Will Rentz plotting impressive rebound at CFFC 130: 'Average people are broken by failure'
Newly appointed Gracie PAC MMA coach using setback to fuel return at Friday's event in Tampa.
"Iron" Will Rentz has proven himself quite capable of providing highlight-reel finishes in the CFFC cage. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old lightweight prospect, he was on the wrong end of such a clip in his most recent outing.
Rentz admits that October result against Chris Alvidrez was frustrating, but he believes he's been able to pinpoint exactly what went wrong, as well as to take a few positives from the ordeal.
"You never want to lose, especially like that, but it started pretty good," Rentz said. "We had a little wrestling exchange. I got up, and he threw a couple real weak punches at me. I thought he was getting tired – not as tired as I thought he was, obviously - so I started putting the gas on, got a little bit reckless, a little bit ahead of myself, and he just caught me."
The result snapped a run of back-to-back knockout victories for Rentz, but he refused to let the setback dampen his spirits. After all, when handled properly, losses can often provide the biggest opportunities for improvement.
"You know, failure is a part of the game – part of life," Rentz said. "Average people are broken by failure. The good ones overcome it, and the great ones find a way to make it the best thing that could have happened to them – and I'm looking to do that right now: Find a way to make it the best thing that could have happened to me."
Since that October outing, Rentz has accepted a position as a coach at Tampa's Gracie PAC MMA, a gym owned by UFC featherweight Billy Quarantillo. It's an opportunity that has allowed Rentz to immerse himself even deeper into the sport, and he believes it's providing him real benefits along the way.
"When I first started this, I never really thought I'd be one of the guys that got into coaching, but here we are, and I love it," Rentz said. "I love passing on that information to the next generation.
"You have to understand those finer details, so that's definitely helped me out, just especially with my series and the wrestling game, because you do things sometimes and just don't understand exactly how you're doing it, but when you have to explain it to someone else, you have to perfectly understand those finer details, and it just helps you run through that series and whatever you're teaching them. It's better, so that's definitely been a blessing."
The 24-year-old Rentz (3-2) now steps back into the cage at Friday's CFFC 130 event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. There, he takes on Marcellus Wallace (2-1) in a matchup that nearly happened prior to the two fighters' professional debuts.
"We've kind of been circling each other for a while on the independent scene, especially as amateurs," Rentz said. "He was actually supposed to be my last amateur opponent before I went pro, but that fight ended up falling out, so we're pretty familiar with each other. ... Well, at least I'm familiar with him. I don't know how familiar he is with me.
"He's a good kickboxer. A lot of kicks. Solid jiu jitsu. Not the best wrestling, but we'll see. I'm going to expect the best, and we'll see what happens when we get in there. I've got a pretty good plan for what I feel he could throw at me and, you know, we'll see."
With Rentz's attacking style, a victory likely means excitement, as well, allowing him the potential of quickly regaining some of the momentum he saw slip away in October. For now, though, "Iron" Will isn't considering anything past CFFC 130. In a sport where one small mistake can mean the difference between victory and defeat, he's committed to complete focus in pursuit of a positive result.
"Of course, we have the goals – get to the UFC, UFC champion one day – but you have to take it one fight at a time," Rentz said. "I can't think too far ahead in the future. It's just do what I've been doing, focus on where I can control, and do what I need to do in the cage every time."
