After spending more than a decade establishing himself as one of the strongest figures in powerlifting and bodybuilding, Larry Wheels has started drifting toward a very different challenge: grappling and mixed martial arts.
The shift has little to do with titles or competitive ambitions. Instead, it seems tied to a search for the sense of motivation he admits he lost after years under the barbell.
“Bodybuilding, powerlifting, I’ve done it for so many years. Fifteen years, bodybuilding. But I lost that, you know, that oomph that I used to have with it,” Wheels admitted recently, reflecting on how his relationship with strength sports has changed.
That realization pushed him toward combat sports, though Wheels made it clear he is not approaching the transition with unrealistic expectations.
“I’m not going to try and become the next world champion boxer or grappler. I just want to take the time I have today while I’m still young and learn,” he said.
The lessons arrived quickly.
A previous visit to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas exposed the gap between elite lifting strength and the demands of high-level grappling. Before training, Wheels sounded confident that his sheer size and power would be enough to keep him competitive against smaller athletes.
“I only have to be strong. I’m just not gonna get down. When I hit the ground, the argument is made,” he said ahead of the session.
Former UFC fighter Justin Jaynes quickly exposed the gap between raw strength and grappling technique, scoring a clean double-leg takedown on Larry Wheels before settling into side control.
Things did not improve against undefeated PFL bantamweight Cobey Fehr, who kept Wheels on the defensive with nonstop pressure and repeated takedowns.
Wheels reportedly spent the following week working specifically on his wrestling. The extra preparation gave him at least a brief stretch of resistance when he later rolled with former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili.
Still, the pace quickly became overwhelming.
Larry Wheels thought he could survive a round with former UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili
He tapped 3 times in 1 minute 😭 pic.twitter.com/A7hqf0WYQt
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) May 23, 2026
With roughly a minute and forty seconds left in the round, Dvalishvili said that Wheels was tired as he struggled to keep up with the pace. Additionally, Wheels ended up tapping 3 times in one minute.
Moments later, Wheels acknowledged it himself. “I got nothing dude! It was fun though!” he admitted.
The exact type of pressure that has defined Dvalishvili’s championship run in MMA. His style is built around constant movement, relentless pace, and exhausting opponents until their conditioning collapses.
Wheels, whose athletic background revolves around short bursts of maximum power output, eventually ran into the unavoidable reality that once the gas tank empties, size alone stops mattering.
