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  - MCFEDRIES KICKED OUT OF MFS GYM, HOPES TO RECONCILE
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - by Steven Marrocco - MMAWeekly.com
Drew McFedries’ comments at UFC 98 have cost him his place in Pat Miletich’s gym.
The hard-slugging middleweight Wednesday told MMAWeekly.com he has been kicked out of MFS Elite’s flagship training center in Bettendorf, Ia.
Following a 37-second destruction of Xavier Foupa-Pokam last month, McFedries said his work with Matt Pena and the H.I.T. Squad, headed by former MFS regulars Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler, was a key factor in his victory.
“I really didn’t get a lot of support from my own team at MFS,” said McFedries. “Which is sad, that’s my hometown.”
McFedries said Miletich contacted him after the fight and told him it was “time to move on.” After returning to Bettendorf, McFedries attended a meeting with the gym’s regulars, including Miletich, and the decision was made final.
Miletich initially told AOL Fanhouse he was taken aback by McFedries’ statement.
"My entire team and myself were furious with Drew McFedries because we worked our ass off to get him ready for that fight," he said. "Four different guys offered to go with him to that fight (and) he turned them all down. He went and took one of his buddies to the fight. Then, he not only thanked guys from another camp, which is fine, but it could have stopped there. But to say what he said about his teammates and his team for no logical reason was wrong. He needs to either apologize to his team and do an interview stating the true facts of what went on, or I think there's probably going to be some issues.”
McFedries said his comments came from difficulties prior to the fight in getting MFS teammates to corner him. After his comments, he spoke to several of them about the issue.
“I see their reasoning, but they just never brought it up to me,” he said. “I guess those were the things we needed to work out, have a sit down and have a back and forth about what was going on in the gym. And at that point, it was too late. I think we could have had more of a resolution.”
Miletich initially declined comment on the dismissal. Later, he wrote via text message that McFedries “is a good guy, but needs to explore other opportunities so he appreciates what he had here.”
While McFedries acknowledges he chose his words poorly, he still believes the issue exists.
“I think there are other guys in the gym that feel the same way,” he said. “But they’re not going to speak up, because they’re afraid, they’re afraid of the same result happening to them that happened to me.”
He did not know what his next move was.
“I’m unaffiliated,” he said. “All my loyalties have been to Pat Miletich’s gym, period. No matter where he is, that’s where my loyalties have gone. I was hoping we could talk and fix things, rather than him just kicking me out. Because things don’t change then.
“I may need to go and try some other people, but I would definitely like to reconcile. I do want to train there. That’s the only place I’ve ever wanted to be at. I think Pat Miletich has a great amount of knowledge. He’s helped me out in so many ways that I can’t even name.
"I think he’s taking this situation as me trying to slander him, but it’s not. I said what I said. Was it the correct statement? No. I wish I could go back and clarify things. I put this general statement out there, and people took from it what they wanted. I was upset that I don’t have the guys that I trained with at my match.”
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