They might not be the flashiest fighters in the game but few competitors possess the pure grit and toughness of twin brothers Ryan Healy and Pat Healy. Not only are both lightweights extremely resilient but they are also very skilled in all aspects of MMA and are absolute nightmare match-ups for most young 155ers on the rise.

Training out of the famed Team Quest in Portland, Oregon, the Healy brothers are often underrated by the MMA community and listed as underdogs in a vast majority of their fights. With a four-fight winning streak in Strikeforce, Pat is finally beginning to earn the necessary respect from the fans and media but Ryan remains overlooked.

Heading into his main event bout with UFC veteran John Alessio at the Score Fighting Series 4 this Friday night, many expect Alessio to pick up yet another victory on his road back into a ZUFFA-branded organization. Alessio has gone on record of saying that he feels he is the better fighter in every area imaginable but Healy, as you might assume, believes it’s all a crock.

“I think it’s a joke that John Alessio thinks he’s that much better than me. He does have a very healthy ego about himself, that’s for sure. He says he’s better at me in all areas but I think all he’s got is his game off his back,” said Healy recently in an interview with FindMMAGym.

“He might have better submissions than me but I think he lacks toughness. He’s been around the sport for a long time but that’s always been his Achilles heel as far as when it comes down to a hard fight, he tends to break in those situations. I definitely think that’s where my advantage lies,” the 28-year old explained.

Alessio’s talk of campaigning his way back into the UFC has also irritated the Oregon native. Healy is fighting for just the same reasons and is looking to rain on the Canadian’s parade and make a statement of his own in the process.

“I would hope that winning this fight would put me right in the discussion for a contract with the UFC or Strikeforce. You know, Alessio keeps saying that he’s on a campaign to get into the UFC but who isn’t? He kind of makes the discussion for himself and I don’t really know how much legitimacy is in his campaign,” Healy shared. “I’m definitely hearing the buzz about this fight and how I’m a huge underdog but that doesn’t bother me, it motivates me. All of that stuff lights a fire underneath my ass and me and my brother both have just kind of gotten use to it.”

The fact that his opponent and pundits believe that all he has is his chin and toughness is just another insult that motivates Healy to prove them wrong. On March 16, Healy has all the ammunition necessary to make a splash, it just depends if he can follow through and jump.

“When people say that my best attribute is my toughness it’s kind of a slap in the face to me. That’s basically them saying that I have no skill and that I’m just a tough guy that will go out there and scrap,” an animated Healy revealed. “It does bother me and in the back of my mind, I keep telling myself that I’m going to show these people, they’ll see.”

They might not be the flashiest fighters in the game but few competitors possess the pure grit and toughness of twin brothers Ryan Healy and Pat Healy. Not only are both lightweights extremely resilient but they are also very skilled in all aspects of MMA and are absolute nightmare match-ups for most young 155ers on the rise.

Training out of the famed Team Quest in Portland, Oregon, the Healy brothers are often underrated by the MMA community and listed as underdogs in a vast majority of their fights. With a four-fight winning streak in Strikeforce, Pat is finally beginning to earn the necessary respect from the fans and media but Ryan remains overlooked.

Heading into his main event bout with UFC veteran John Alessio at the Score Fighting Series 4 this Friday night, many expect Alessio to pick up yet another victory on his road back into a ZUFFA-branded organization. Alessio has gone on record of saying that he feels he is the better fighter in every area imaginable but Healy, as you might assume, believes it’s all a crock.

“I think it’s a joke that John Alessio thinks he’s that much better than me. He does have a very healthy ego about himself, that’s for sure. He says he’s better at me in all areas but I think all he’s got is his game off his back,” said Healy recently in an interview with FindMMAGym.

“He might have better submissions than me but I think he lacks toughness. He’s been around the sport for a long time but that’s always been his Achilles heel as far as when it comes down to a hard fight, he tends to break in those situations. I definitely think that’s where my advantage lies,” the 28-year old explained.

Alessio’s talk of campaigning his way back into the UFC has also irritated the Oregon native. Healy is fighting for just the same reasons and is looking to rain on the Canadian’s parade and make a statement of his own in the process.

“I would hope that winning this fight would put me right in the discussion for a contract with the UFC or Strikeforce. You know, Alessio keeps saying that he’s on a campaign to get into the UFC but who isn’t? He kind of makes the discussion for himself and I don’t really know how much legitimacy is in his campaign,” Healy shared. “I’m definitely hearing the buzz about this fight and how I’m a huge underdog but that doesn’t bother me, it motivates me. All of that stuff lights a fire underneath my ass and me and my brother both have just kind of gotten use to it.”

The fact that his opponent and pundits believe that all he has is his chin and toughness is just another insult that motivates Healy to prove them wrong. On March 16, Healy has all the ammunition necessary to make a splash, it just depends if he can follow through and jump.

“When people say that my best attribute is my toughness it’s kind of a slap in the face to me. That’s basically them saying that I have no skill and that I’m just a tough guy that will go out there and scrap,” an animated Healy revealed. “It does bother me and in the back of my mind, I keep telling myself that I’m going to show these people, they’ll see.”

See how skilled AND how tough Healy is by tuning in to the live stream for Score Fighting Series 4 at TheScore.com starting at 7:30 PM EST.

By: Mitch Ciccarelli