Bryan Battle made a name for himself under Team Alexander Volkanovski during season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter. The American mixed martial artist rose to the expectations and eventually won The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 after submitting Gilbert Urbina via rear naked choke. Since then, Battle has picked up two straight wins to his name, debuting in the UFC’s welterweight division in the last fight that earned him a prolific head kick KO win in under a minute at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Hill.
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Heading into his fourth UFC appearance, Bryan Battle will be introduced with a different nickname this time around. No longer the “Pooh Bear” of the UFC, Battle will step inside the cage as “The Butcher”
Why did Bryan Battle change his nickname?
For starters, Bryan Battle never liked the nickname, Pooh Bear. “It’ll be ‘The Butcher’. That’s what we’re doing out here, we’re finishing these dudes and taking their hearts afterwards… As a fighter I’ve evolved so much, my mentality as a fighter has changed, my style as a fighter has changed. And so, I’m just gonna keep that attitude and keep that swagger going into this one and all the fights afterwards, I’m coming for all these dudes’ necks.” Battle said in a conversation with Alex Behunin.
The name Pooh Bear got linked to Bryan Battle during his early years in MMA after a healthy argument with some friends ended up with his teammate referring to him as “Pooh Bear.” Bryan recalls how during one of his amateur fights, his coach at the time told the promoters he is nicknamed Pooh Bear. At the time, Battle did not seem to mind, but his desire to have a tougher nickname was always there.
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“I didn’t like it. I wanted a tougher nickname, and I knew how those things started. Even then, it was too late. I never should have said, ‘Don’t call me that,’ because as soon as I said it, they kept on calling me it, it started spreading in the gym.”
He could have changed it anytime, however, the bunch of “Winnie the Pooh” jokes that followed after he decided to go with the nickname were hilarious, and Bryan enjoyed them thoroughly. Safe to say, until now! Heading into his second UFC appearance in the welterweight division and in the back of a KO win to his name, he is now Bryan “The Butcher” Battle.