High praise from Gracie, but if you’re the type of person who thinks a coach is supposed to say that, those who have been on the receiving end of shots from the welterweight up and comer would probably agree with such sentiments.
So where does that power come from? Wells believes he started to realize it after an unusual – and nearly fatal – accident.
“It was way before I even started fighting that I knew I had a gift for power,” Wells said. “When I was young, I lifted a car off my cousin. We were fixing a car and it fell on us and I ended up picking it up with one arm and he came out from under it. And then I dropped it and I was just stuck at that moment, like, ‘Wow, I saved our lives.”
Only 17 at the time, Wells got another hint that he had something extra on his fastball when he would end streetfights emphatically in his favor.
Streetfights? I heard that Wells is one of the nicest guys in the fight business.
“I am,” he laughs. “But I gotta protect myself. And I didn’t start them. People usually came to pick me up, saying, ‘Hey, I got a problem with this guy that’s bullying me.’ I was the protector of people I was hanging around with.”
But did they know about the lifting of cars? With one arm, no less?
“That was a little secret that I kept to myself,” he laughs.
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Well, it’s a damn good one, and Wells’ rise up the 170-pound ladder once he took his power and talent to mixed martial arts mimics the rise of the Daniel Gracie / John Marquez squad that has taken over the UFC over the last couple years to the tune of a 14-0 record compiled by Wells, Sean Brady, Pat Sabatini and Andre Petroski. This Philly Phab Phour has come into the Octagon guns blazing, and Wells is loving it.
“It feels great to keep putting it on for my team and my city,” he said. “And it’s not a surprise. Not at all. We put in a lot of work in the gym. And it’s all starting to pay off.”