Larry Wheels has made a career out of defying physical limits. The 260 lb (118 kg) powerlifter and social media personality has bench pressed 660 lbs (299 kg) and squatted 900 lbs (408 kg), building a massive following on the back of feats most people can barely imagine.
A recent training session at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, however, offered a very different kind of lesson.
Wheels arrived at the gym confident that his size alone would be enough to hold his own against trained grapplers. Before the session began, he laid out his expectations plainly.
“I only have to be strong… I’m just not gonna get down… When I hit the ground, the argument is made,” he said.
It fell apart almost immediately.
Former UFC competitor Justin Jaynes, who previously competed at featherweight and lightweight, went against Wheels on the mat. Jaynes cornered Wheels against the cage, drove in with a double-leg takedown, lifted the powerlifter entirely off the ground, spun him around, and planted him on the mat before locking in side control.
For a man accustomed to moving hundreds of pounds of iron, being neutralized so efficiently by a lighter, technically sharper opponent was a jarring reality check.
The session with bantamweight PFL signee Cobey Fehr was no different. Fehr, an undefeated professional who competes at 135 lbs (61 kg), repeatedly pressured Wheels into the fence and secured takedown after takedown.
When Wheels tried to scramble back to his knees and bulldoze forward using his size, Fehr shut it down with a sprawl, transitioned into a front headlock, and settled in an arm-in guillotine choke that left Wheels no choice but to tap.
By the time Wheels walked back to his car, the composure from earlier in the day had completely dissolved. He was candid about the toll the session had taken.
“I’m going to cry. I’m a b**ch. I got b**ched out,” he admitted.
For Wheels, whose entire public identity has been built on the premise that being bigger and stronger than everyone in the room matters above all else, the session at Xtreme Couture was a very public reminder that on the mat, those rules simply do not apply.
