Josh Shockley missed his first chance to make a big impression with the Bellator Fighting Championships in April, but he'll get another chance next month.
The 20-year-old local mixed martial arts rising star, who trains at Duneland Vale Tudo in Valparaiso, will make his major promotion debut when he fights Chicago's Mark Miller at Bellator 25. The fight card will take place at the Chicago Theatre on Aug. 19, with the Shockley-Miller welterweight bout scheduled for the preliminary card.
Shockley was scheduled to fight at Bellator 14 in April, also at the Chicago Theatre, but had to pull out with an injury -- a sternal clavicular dislocation.
On Tuesday, the Lake Station graduate told The Times he suffered that injury while training with teammate Darren Elkins, who makes his second UFC appearance on Sunday.
Shockley said that having to miss his April fight was disappointing, but he's healed and ready to go this time around.
"It took me about eight weeks to get over it," Shockley said. "Having to pull out of the (April) fight really sucked, but I got over it. I'm only 20 years old, so big fights will come and go."
Shockley (6-0-1) is unbeaten in his MMA career, including an impressive submission win over M-1 veteran Vener Galiev on his home turf in St. Petersburg, Russia, 17 months ago. His last win was a unanimous decision over Jeff Green at the Duneland Classic 6 show at the Lake County Fairgrounds last September.
When he enters the cage against Miller, it will be nearly a year since his last fight. But Shockley said he doesn't think ring rust will be a factor.
"I train hard every day at the gym, so each day is like a fight," Shockley said. "For me, fighting is the easy part. I'd rather fight every day and practice once every three months."
Miller (10-6) is coming off a unanimous decision over Charles Wilson on the Hoosier Fight Club 4 card at The Steel Yard in Gary. That fight was his debut at lightweight and snapped a four-fight losing streak.
Miller is best known for his appearance on Season 9 of the UFC reality series "The Ultimate Fighter." To get into the house, he had to beat his Gilbert Grappling teammate Kevin Knabjian.
Bellator 25 will also feature the promotional debut of Portage-based welterweight John Kolosci (14-6), who will face former Eastern Illinois University wrestler Kenny Robertson (9-0), also on the preliminary card.
Shockley said he and Kolosci, former teammates, still train together from time to time.
"We work together just about every chance we get," Shockley said. "He has a lot of things to offer me at practice, as do I him. Having some Region flavor on a Bellator show is a great thing. The Midwest fighters tend to get overlooked, and it's about time we get some attention."
