A California rabbi stepped into the octagon for his first amateur MMA bout and stunned the crowd by winning againt TKO in the second round. 22-year-old Yossi Eilfort began training just six months ago under former UFC fighter Thierry Sokoudjo.
He told local newspaper The Algemeiner that he had never hit anyone in his life. Eilfort got into MMA to promote self-defense in the Orthodox Jewish community, initially attracted to the “physical, personal, mental challenge.”
“I believe if we’re not challenging ourselves, then we’re wasting time,” Eilfort said.
MMA veteran Sokoudjo was just as surprised as we were to hear about the rabbi putting on a pair of 20 oz. gloves.
“I never thought that a rabbi would be interested in fighting,” he said. “But I was stoked. He never quits.”
Eilfort trained every day while balancing his religious duties at his synagogue. He didn’t train in the last few days leading up to the fight, however, to observe the Shabbat.
Sokoudjo coached Eilfort at Team Quest, the prestigious gym founded by MMA legends Randy Couture and Dan Henderson that molded UFC title contenders Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen, among others. Eilfort’s fight was on a card called Mansion Fights, held at a historic North Hollywood house.
The rabbi saw a man being carried away on a stretcher as he was getting ready for his bout, but Eilfort would be the one dishing out the damage when his time came.
According to The Algemeiner, about 20 friends, relatives and members of his congregation watched Eilfort quickly take his opponent down and ground and pound his way to victory. And that wasn’t even all he had.
“It was very uncomfortable hitting someone,” he said. “I actually held back, but I proved what I wanted.”
Eilfort says he plans to use his hand-to-hand experience to become a police chaplain and teach self-defense seminars.
