I first encountered Chi Lewis Parry, pronounced ChI not ChE or ChA backstage at a UCMMA event. I was following his colleague Jason Radcliffe for a look into the mind of a fighter before a fight. I never spoke to Chi but I noticed him. How can you not notice him? At 6’10” and 117kg he is hard to miss. But it wasn’t just his size that caught my eye. I never spoke a single word to him, as at that time I had never been introduced. I remember that this man mountain took to the mat for his pre-fight warm up and he went at it as hard as if he were already in the cage. Working the pads, you couldn’t help but stop and watch the pure brutal force he was dishing out. I definitely felt sorry for his opponent and couldn’t wait to see Chi in action. This was near on two years ago in February 2012 and since then Chi ‘Chopper’ Lewis Parry has stormed the Heavyweight division with an undefeated record of 5-0-0 but has also been struck with injury and is now in the process of relocating to a new fight team.
Before I take an in depth look into Chi’s MMA career and how he came about being involved in the sport, as well as looking at his fights to date and goals for the future, I need to take it back a bit.
Chi has already been a professional athlete in the field of basketball, playing all over the world in places such as the UK, USA, Thailand, Germany, Spain, Bosnia and Lithuania. He got to travel a lot and enjoys the sport as a whole but the politics killed it for him. He managed to take himself to the pinnacle of basketball and try out for the Los Angeles Lakers. He literally took his talents and worked the summer leagues in California building a reputation which lead to him receiving a call. It isn’t as simple as being a good enough player to get in. In America it is all about schooling and as he never went to a Division One college, it was extremely hard for him to get noticed. He learned that talent literally will only take you to the door but that politics will let you in. Chi was pi**ed off with it so he let the dream go and focused his energy on something that he felt wasn’t going to f**k him over politically.
“The sport of basketball itself is a great team sport and I made some fantastic friends out of it”.
As sad as it is that Chi had to let his basketball dreams go, it is good for MMA fans because we now have him in our world.
Outside of MMA Chi is a family man with an imaginative soul who works in a security job. He has a beautiful family and he feels it is his passion and responsibility to improve their quality of life as well as his own.
“Being in security is a very inspiring job because every day it inspires me to get the hell out of that employment”.
Moving on to the early days of MMA for Chi, it was through a close friend of his, Danny Brennan that first saw Chi take up the sport back in 2006. Danny is an excellent submission wrestler and accomplished fighter. Working the doors together, Danny introduced Chi to catch wrestling and from that point on he was hooked and began to train in all aspects of the sport with the intent to compete.
The first MMA fight that Chi sat down and paid attention to was Chuck Liddell v Alistair Overeem in Pride. Overeem lost the fight but Chi was inspired by his style and liked the way Overeem, being a tall guy knew how to use his range. Learning how to use his range is something Chi needed to achieve in order to stand out. Other than Overeem, Chi is hugely inspired by the Dutch style of fighting and fighterssuch as Bas Rutten, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky and Melvin Manoef because they all have their individual style but they all know how to fight aggressive which is what Chi likes.
The lifestyle of a serious MMA fighter dictates a hell of a lot of training, clean eating and the motivation to get to the top. Some have it and some don’t. Chi has it because he is a very passionate man. In all aspects of his life he refuses to fail and therefore puts in the necessary work to ensure that it does not happen.
“Training is easy when there is a goal in sight.”
Speaking of goals, Chi has a long term goal and that is to be the first British Heavyweight to fight for a world title and to of course win. In terms of dreams and goals, it doesn’t get a lot sweeter than that and Chi is already on course to make his dreams come true.
Chi has fought on various promotions; in fact he has fought five times and never fought on the same promotion twice. He never arrives early to a venue when he is fighting as he hates sitting around and waiting so would rather be doing something until the time comes that he needs to do his job.
“I get in, job done, and get out”.
Chi first fought on UCMMA in February 2012 where he took on Ollie Beard defeating him at 1m29s of R2 by TKO. Not a lot of people know but Chi fought that bout with a fresh plate in his hand. He acquired the injury in a K1 bout against Ian Hawkins and his hand was in no condition to accept the fight but he was hungry and eager to get his MMA career started. During the first exchange of the fight against Ollie, he re-injured his hand so it changed the dynamics of the fight. Chi and Ollie still have a mutual respect for each other and to this day train together, so competing against him, Chi feels hegained a lot.
“The fight against Ollie and the injury taught me a lot about myself and in fact made me a much better fighter”.
The injury to Chi’s hand turned out to be completely snapped 2nd and 3rd metacarpals. This saw Chi out of MMA for a year. He had to have K wires to repair the damage. The last time he broke his hand he rushed his recovery so this time, he wanted to ensure that he took his time and healed fully which worked as everything is good and he is well and truly back.
I often look at the fighters who I term ‘quick finishers’ in MMA and think it must feel disappointing to train so hard, only to finish a fight so quickly. Most say they don’t care and a win is win which is exactly what Chi says about his fight against Nikki Kent in March of 2013. Fighting on Dynamite Fight Series Chi KO’d Nikki at just 8s of the very first round but says in all honesty that he didn’t feel amazing; more disappointed because he was expecting a fight and never got one.
After his time off with injury and coming back with a win, it wasn’t long before Chi was back in the cage on CSMMA in June 2013 where he fought David Gregory, taking another win at 2m25s of R1, this time by submission. Chi likes Dave and says he is a very game guy who wasn’t at all intimidated by his size. Getting the submission win was a great feeling for Chi as up until then no one had had the chance to see his wrestling but that is where he started out so is naturally comfortable on the ground.
In September 2013 Chi once again took a very quick win against Arkadiusz Dorocki on Kayo MMA defeating him at 17s of R1 by submission. Chi didn’t know a lot about Arkadiusz other than he was a multi tournament grappling champion and was also undefeated so it was no secret that he was going to immediately look to take Chi down. Chi respected his ground game and was expecting a very low shoot so he drilled standing guillotine variations and it all paid off.
Chi’s last fight was against Stephen Lambert on Heat Sports. At 3m50s of R1, Chi took the win by TKO taking his undefeated record to 5-0. Again, Chi has respect for Steve and feels he is a tough game guy and that always makes for a good fight. During this fight, Chi got to demonstrate more of his wrestling which he thought was fun.
Being undefeated must be a fantastic feeling and Chi is certainly feeling good about it. He always felt that this was the way it would all play out and he only visualises victory and the positives.
“I feel good being undefeated and a name on everyone’s lips”.
Looking at Chi with no knowledge of his fights, you wouldn’t be blamed for assuming he is purely a KO guy but as his record shows, he can beat his opponents with KO/TKO power and by Submissions. He is equally dangerous on the ground or standing and is happy for the fight to go anywhere. He trains his ass off so should be!
“Wherever my opponent wants to take it, I will meet him there”.
Being the size that Chi is, it is often a major problem for him when it comes to finding opponents. Ricco Rodriguez pulled out of a scheduled fight in 2012 and Chi feels it sent warning shots around the domestic scene. He has had opponents pull out on the day and feels people take it way to seriously. It is agame; no different to basketball, only in this game the hurtcaused is intentional.
“Maybe that’s the secret to my success; I have fun whilst I am out there”.
As in any sport, there are highs and lows. But for Chi competing to be the best is what he loves. For him, injuries are the lows to the sport as it always slows you down and in some cases can completely alter the path you have made plans for.
“Being a professional athlete is to me the ultimate high”.
Chi has certainly made a name for himself in the world of MMA. Being away for a year injured hasn’t dampened anyone’s enthusiasm for him. His manager Sid of Mogul Management has nothing but good things to say
“I must say that the thing that impresses me the most about Chi is his focus. He is very cool, calm and calculated. He has a goal and together with the team, he executes everything told to him with pin point precision, in order to achieve every single target ever set. It’s impressive in his training and it’s especially impressive when he fights and that is shown with his undefeated record and the variety of his wins and the way he finishes his opponents. I would say he is one fight away from a big signing, he is that good”.
Of course, his management are going to be proud of Chi but in all honesty, it isn’t hype and inflated promotion. Promoter of UCMMA, Dave O’Donnell is also excited about Chi saying
“Reach for the stars and on the way you meet Chi Lewis Parry. And what a gentleman he is. But when the cage door shuts, he is all business and I can see big things for this giant of a man. He is sharp and ready to challenge for most heavyweight titles”.
And even fellow Heavyweight Paul Taylor has nothing but good things to say
“Chi is a good fighter and a nice guy. I think he is going to take some beating in the Heavyweight division as he is powerful and uses his range well. He is also a hungry fighter who is improving all the time”.
So with a past glittered with glory what can we expect next from the gentle giant? Chi expects to fight for one of the big organisations this year and wants to be the champion of that organisation so he will be competing on a much bigger stage and couldn’t be more excited. He plans on continuing his win streak and reigning as Heavyweight Champ. Chi feels it is an honour to fight and he loves entertaining the fans.
So in 2014 we will be seeing a lot more of Chi ‘Chopper’ Lewis Parry and one fight he would love to take and has been asking for, for a long time is to take on Tyson Fury. Tyson talks a lot about no one wanting to fight him but Chi is volunteering. Can we get this on? Let us wait and see. Other than Tyson, Chi is hell bent on being champion and will fight whoever stands in his way.
So two years ago, I stood in the warm up room watching a man warm up for his debut fight. A man who impressed me before he even stepped into the cage. Two years later, this man has stepped into the cage five times and stepped out as the victor on each and every occasion. 2014 has only just begun but watch this space as I have a feeling that this year may just shoot Chi Lewis Parry to the very top of his game.
written by Suzy Athey
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