When Brad Imes graduated high school, it would've been ridiculous for someone to suggest he would one day be known as a nimble heavyweight who would pull off one of the most unique and fascinating feats in all of mixed-martial-arts.
At the time, in June 1995, Imes was a 5-foot-10, 165-pound reserve football player in Columbia, Mo.
Within two years, Imes would be 6-feet-7 and 290 pounds. Even more, by the time he was a year out of the University of Missouri, where he walked on the school's football team before earning a scholarship as an offensive lineman, he cut his 40-yard dash time to 4.85 seconds and increased his vertical jump from 24 inches to 33 inches.
If you're looking for a reason why Imes recently pulled off two gogoplata submissions in consecutive fights — a seemingly impossible task, particularly in the heavyweight division of MMA — consider his growth. He was a flexible, quick football player who needed to grow into his body to be comfortable.
Because of it, Imes has become famous in the MMA world, almost like Bigfoot.
Brads a cool guy, i know him personally. It is cool that he has two gogoplata victories. His fight with Rashad was epic, and I believe he has left a mark on MMA.
