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Writer's pictureamandansanchez

Houston’s Next Storm: the Rise of a Heavyweight Prospect

Within the past year, UFC cards have been filled with many prospects coming from Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Many prospects, of course, come from the regional scene to prove themselves and get exposure before being a part of a UFC event. In Houston, the city that recently hosted the UFC 247 card, a heavyweight prospect by the name of Sebastian “The Thunder” Storm (2-0) is hoping to make a name for himself. He has his sights set on making an appearance on the Contender series but will first take a match in Fury Fighting Championship against John Clay (0-4). I recently caught up with Storm to get his perspective and journey into a potential career in the UFC. 

After a simple “how are you doing,” Sebastian Storm immediately answered that things had been stressful for him. Some of that stress is due to fight preparation. Most of the stress comes from making various appointments for job interviews. Including many fighters in the UFC and Bellator, Storm has a daytime profession in order to make ends meet. He specializes in the field of digital marketing. Storm has also mentions that his family has recently had a death in the family with the passing of his grandfather. However, there is little stress from his fight camp since he considers his corner to be very solid.

Storm trains under Lee Roy Vasquez and well-known Houston coach, Kru Bob Perez, who’s famous for being the coach to UFC favorite Derrick Lewis and recently Lauren Murphy. Storm’s other training partners include Colin Wright, Delaney Perry, Cal Diaz and former UFC heavyweight Juan Adams who recently signed on with ARES FC. Under Kru Bob, Storm believes that his overall fight IQ has increased and his knowledge in striking has gone to a whole new level. Storm also states that Kru Bob is well-versed in “all facets of MMA” including clinch work and grappling citing that Kru Bob holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 



A post shared by Bob Perez (@krubobperez) on Dec 21, 2019 at 10:01am PST

Time in training has been split between Main Street Boxing and Muay Thai and Paradigm training Center where Storm notes that Lee Roy Vasquez “has been like a big brother” throughout his MMA career. Currently, Sebastian Storm is ranked No. 8 as a heavyweight in his region. To make the 265 weight limit, Storm creates a careful dietary plan. Weeks from fight day, he will take on a pescatarian diet, then vegetarian for two weeks and adopting a vegan diet for the week of the fight. This enables him to come down from 281 to 265 with ease. But his preparation and diet plan are not the only things that give Storm an edge. 

Sebastian Storm boasts a fighting base in Dutch kickboxing since his early adulthood. While living in Germany, Storm would often take the train to visit a kickboxing gym in a town called Maastricht on the edge of the Netherlands. Sometimes he would visit places in Amsterdam in order to train. Eventually, Storm moved back to Texas to attend the University of Houston where he majored in public relations and continued training; even finding a club on campus that trained for MMA and other combat sports. His 9 years spent with Paradigm have put him on the right path to success. 

Sebastian Storm’s amateur and current professional career are reflections of his excellence in training. He holds a knockout and a TKO over Chris Rose and James Hatcher in Fury FC. His pro debut against Rose ended when a series of leg kicks set up Storm to land a well-placed kick to the temple. His victory over Hatcher was a dismantling that ended in the beginning of the second round. Storm’s opponent scheduled for the March 13th, John Clay, will be a step up in experience level despite his losing record. 

Storm will even admit that Clay has been specifically calling out in the past few weeks leading up to their match. He mentions that the Louisiana fighter has “been following him since he turned pro” and talks trash to him via Facebook messenger. Despite having no wins, Sebastian Storm is still taking Clay’s skill seriously and taking his training to new heights. 

“I’ve been working a lot on my boxing. I’ve also been working on my wrestling and I’m going to try to show off some judo.”

Storm is confident that he can apply newer techniques in the cage on fight day. His showcase against Hatcher highlighted the spinning back kicks he threw in the fight, citing that he “was working on spinning stuff” in preparation for that fight. Overall, Storm is hunting for a first round knockout against Clay; specifically a head kick. 

Getting a win and landing a spot on the Contender series will be a step further to achieving his goal of being on the UFC roster. When asked about how he feels about his own skill, Storm believes he can “beat anyone in the world at heavyweight” (short of Derrick Lewis and Juan Adams of course) and would love to be matched up against UFC veterans like Walt Harris. He would also like to fulfill his dream of standing across the cage from Alistair Overeem due to his legendary status and being Storm’s inspiration in Dutch kickboxing. Storm will reminisce on many inspirations since his younger days (and still now) of playing Sagat on Street Fighter. 

For now, Sebastian Storm is concerned with getting his name out in the pro MMA scene and making huge statements. During the interview, he expressed concern on whether or not his age will hold him back from earning a shot on the Contender series. Even at 32 years of age, Storm is determined to prove to the world that he is the greatest heavyweight that no one knows.

Storm is also very thankful for his sponsors for his upcoming Fury fight such as:

Mojoboards

Tomball Auto Glass

Tex Fuel Solutions LLC

Clear Lake Specialties

Paradigm Training Center

Main Street Boxing and Muay Thai

He has also stated that he is still looking for more sponsors if other businesses and enterprises are interested. Fury FC 43 will take place on March 13th at the Bayou Event Center in Houston, Texas.■

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