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Nothing personal: Jake Shields Strikeforce interview exclusive with MMAmania.com

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

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Jake Shields (28–4–1) is one of only a handful of mixed martial artists who have managed to become stars domestically fighting outside the UFC.

To the casual MMA fan his name may not be all that familiar … yet. On the other hand, the hardcore fans and media know full well he’s one of the top fighters in the world regardless of what organization he’s currently fighting for.

The 30-year-old is currently on a 12-fight win streak that dates back to November 2005, which includes victories over quality opponents such as Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit, Mike Pyle, Nick Thompson, Paul Daley and Robbie Lawler, among others.

His last fight against Lawler under the Strikeforce banner was at a catchweight of 182 pounds as he began his transition from his natural weight class at the welterweight limit of 170 pounds to the 185 pound middleweight class to pursue bigger fights.

The man standing in his way of making it 13 in a row is a very seasoned, very dangerous Jason “Mayhem” Miller (22–6, 1 no contest).

The fight will be for the vacated Strikeforce middleweight championship formerly held by Cung Le, which Le won by defeating Frank Shamrock way back in March 2008, but he never once defended it because has been more involved in the movie business than mixed martial arts.

As a result, Shields and Mayhem will collide at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., for the title on Nov. 7. The event will be broadcast live on CBS to a massive nationwide audience.

A victory for Shields would add another belt to his growing collection that includes championships in Rumble on the Rock, Shooto, and EliteXC. A loss would send him back to the drawing board to evaluate his options as he inches closer toward the end of his current fight contract.

Shields took some time out of his busy schedule to talk about a wide range of subjects, including the possibility of going after two Strikeforce belts, avoiding nicknames, the signing of Herschel Walker, Mayhem Miller, and UFC champion Georges St. Pierre.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What was your take on the Shogun Rua/Lyoto Machida fight at UFC 104?

Jake Shields: I thought it was a good technical fight. I had Shogun winning. It was a close fight. I gave at least three rounds to Shogun. I had two rounds that I pretty much gave a draw. If I was a judge I would’ve given it to Shogun.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): The 10-point must scoring system is always up for debate after a fight like that one. Do you like the way the current scoring system is or think it should be changed?

Jake Shields: It’s really tough to score a fight in general. One problem is that the 10-point must system weighs too much on the last round, which isn’t fair either. I think more than the system, it’s the judges. I think we need judges that know the sport. These guys get paid to judge and people bring their buddies in who don’t know anything about the sport to judge. I think they need to fix that more than the actual judging system.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): In your last fight you were able to submit Robbie Lawler in the first round, but what impressed me the most was your stand up leading up to the submission. Do you feel like you were winning the stand up battle prior to the grappling?

Jake Shields: Yeah, I definitely did. I thought I was doing really good out there, but I went back and watched the announcers and they talked about how bad I was losing, but if you watch it I wasn’t. I think they had their minds made up about my stand up (beforehand). Frank Shamrock was going off about how I was in trouble, but it looked like I was landing a lot more shots than Robbie was, in my opinion.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Is your stand up something you’ve been focusing on extra hard in your training?

Jake Shields: Yeah, the last two years I focused a lot on my stand up trying to catch up. Grappling is still my stronger point. I work a lot on my stand up and feel a lot more comfortable there.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’re no stranger to fighting on CBS; however, this time it’s not the Kimbo Slice show that Elite XC was promoting, it’s the Fedor Emelianenko show. Talk about that dynamic.

Jake Shields: I think it’s awesome to be fighting on the card with Fedor Emelianenko. He’s one of my favorite fighters of all time. He’s the headliner but to be the co-headliner is quite an honor to be fighting alongside him. I’m really excited about it. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the promo for it so I hope it gets good ratings.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Have you ever seen Fedor fight in person?

Jake Shields: I actually have. I had the opportunity to go see him twice. I saw him in Japan fight the giant Korean guy (Hong Man Choi). I also saw him fight Andrei Arlovski in Affliction. He’s awesome to watch live.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Will you be coming out of your locker room to watch him fight after yours?

Jake Shields: I definitely plan on watching it as long as I’m not banged up. I plan on just going in the back and doing what I have to do and hopefully they’ll let me come out and watch. Sometimes athletic commissions won’t let you run back out so hopefully they’ll let me.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Strikeforce signed a guy recently who made his name outside the sport of MMA in Herschel Walker. I wanted to get your thoughts on his signing.

Jake Shields: Personally, I think it’s a good sign. Most people criticize it, obviously, but a guy like that is a phenomenal athlete. He’s a well known guy. He certainly shouldn’t be headlining any cards like Kimbo Slice was, but I think he definitely deserves a spot in Strikeforce. Maybe the first televised fight of the night or something. He’s obviously established himself as a great athlete. Hopefully he’s taking the sport seriously and he’ll go out there and maybe actually be a decent fighter.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’re scheduled to face Jason “Mayhem” Miller on November 7. You guys did two episodes on MTV’s Bully Beatdown together. Did you guys get a chance to know each other at all during or outside filming?

Jake Shields: I’ve actually known Mayhem for years. We’re friends but it’s not like we’re great friends or anything. When I see him we’ll talk. It’s not like we call each other on the phone and catch up with each other. I like the guy, but I have no problem trying to break his nose.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): It’s conceivable you could beat the crap out of each other for five rounds and then go have a drink together afterwards?

Jake Shields: Yeah, definitely. I plan on winning the fight, but if for some chance I lost I wouldn’t be bitter. It’s not personal. It’s just a fight and I think we’re both aware of that. It’s related to the business. Sometimes you have to beat up people that are your friends.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Both of you have the majority of your career wins by submission. You’re both great on the ground. A lot of the time this translates into a stand up battle. Is it possible we see you two going toe-to-toe the whole time?

Jake Shields: It’s possible. I don’t think for 25 minutes. I think at some point one of us will go for takedowns because we’re both grapplers. He’ll go for a takedown and then I’ll go for a takedown, but I wouldn’t mind doing a little stand up with him either. I think this is the fight that people could see anything. I’m certainly willing to fight anywhere and I think he probably is too.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Besides your own gym in Berkeley, Calif., where has your training camp been taking place at for this fight?

Jake Shields: Over at Cesar’s gym. Cesar Gracie’s gym is about 30 minutes from here. Nick and Nate Diaz and Gil Melendez have been coming a lot and they come into my gym. I went down to LA for a little bit working at Wild Card Boxing. I went a few places but the majority of the training at my gym and Cesar’s.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I know you train at American Kickboxing Academy from time to time as well. I would think that has to help you out a ton with the stable of quality welterweights they have in Fitch, Koscheck and Swick. Do you concur?

Jake Shields: It’s definitely good, hard sparring. I don’t go there too much just because there’s a good chance I’ll fight some of those guys. They’re not my friends, but it’s just a situation where there are a lot of top fighters there, so I’m sure at some point I’ll fight somebody from that gym. Definitely a lot of talented guys there.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Are you still finding it hard to gain solid weight to try to fill out as a 185’er while continuous training?

Jake Shields: I put some weight on in between fights but once you’re training hard for a fight it’s pretty much impossible to put too much solid weight on. You’re training it all off. I’m eating a lot. I got a chance to catch a sponsor now that has some awesome products. That has helped me gain some weight and keep it lean.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What is your weight now and what do you expect to weigh in at on November 7?

Jake Shields: I’ll weigh in at 185, but I’m walking around at about 193, which is where I was at earlier today. Definitely small for 185 still, but at least I have to cut a few pounds.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’re not exactly doing the Anthony Johnson weight cut though.

Jake Shields: That guy is massive. He could probably fight 185. I saw him about a month ago and I was like, “You’re coming to 170’s?” He was like over 200 when I saw him.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Your style of jiu-jitsu is American jiu-jitsu. Tell me the difference between that and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Jake Shields: A few small changes. I have an American wrestling background and a black belt in Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu. It’s minus the gi and it’s a combination of the two. Not enough people mix the wrestling and the jiu-jitsu. I think they’re both crucial so I combined the two. It’s a lot more high paced jiu-jitsu. It’s not about waiting. Jiu-jitsu is about waiting for your opponents to make mistakes. I’m about forcing your opponents to make mistakes.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Before Mayhem signed on for your fight Frank Shamrock was a potential opponent for you as well. Why did that fight never materialize?

Jake Shields: I don’t think Shamrock wants any part of me. He’s past his prime. After the beating that Nick Diaz gave him he had a reality check. I think maybe he was thinking he could still fight young, tough fighters and it was really a wake up call. Now he will want to try to fight older guys or some B-level fighters. I don’t expect Frank to ever want to fight me at this point.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You seem to have avoided a nickname up to this point even though you’ve been around a while. Are you just praying that something ridiculous doesn’t stick to you at this point?

Jake Shields: (Laughs) Exactly. People try to give me nicknames and I keep pushing them away. I’m not against taking a nickname if it was a cool nickname with a meaning. I don’t want one of these ridiculous nicknames just for the sake of having one. I don’t want to be like “Darth” Bader or “The Dean of Mean” Jardine. Those are cool guys and all but those nicknames are like, really?

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Don’t forget “The Dream Catcher” Gegard Mousasi.

Jake Shields: Yeah, I don’t know where they come up with these nicknames. They just pick anything. I don’t think everyone needs a nickname.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I talked to Jon Fitch about this a few months ago. He basically said it has to come from your friends or teammates and nothing has ever stuck but, on the other hand, he can’t just show up at the gym and tell everyone to call him Cobra or something like that.

Jake Shields: (Laughs) I think that’s what a lot of guys are doing nowadays. They think they found a cool nickname and then come in and are like, “hey, this is my nickname.”

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Moving forward, how many fights left on your current contract if you don’t mind saying?

Jake Shields: I think it’s one or two after this fight. My dad handles the exact contract. I’m not that sure right now, but I know it’s not too many. There’s also a time clause on it.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Are you interested in going after not only the middleweight belt but the Strikeforce welterweight belt as well?

Jake Shields: I would like to do that. I think that would be awesome to take both. I don’t know what Strikeforce wants to do. I think they kind of want different champs, but I would certainly be willing to fight for both. There’s also the problem with Nick Diaz fighting in Strikeforce as well. I don’t want to try to cut in and step on his toes. If the opportunity was right and it wouldn’t block Nick I would definitely fight for both belts.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Strikeforce seems to be having problems with guys not defending their belts. What would justify stripping a guy of his belt in your opinion?

Jake Shields: I guess you have to look at it fighter for fighter to figure out what the reasons are to figure out if they’re legitimate. I think if someone hasn’t defended it in a year that’s long enough. A lot of these guys have legitimate reasons like Josh Thomson. I know Josh. He legitimately broke his foot a couple times so what are you going to do? You don’t really want to strip someone in that situation, but if someone is not fighting it can get kind of ridiculous too.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Cung Le and Alistair Overeem, on the other hand, are different situations.

Jake Shields: Oh yeah. Cung Le definitely needed to be stripped. Nothing against Cung Le but you can’t just hold onto a belt and not fight, and then say you want to do movies or say you’ll only fight if they give you an easy fight.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Right now people are having a tough time figuring out who can beat Georges St. Pierre in the UFC now that he’s run through the majority of their 170’s. Is he still a guy you’d like to test your skills against someday?

Jake Shields: Definitely. I’d love to fight GSP one day. Right now I’m here with Strikeforce and worried about fights that are realistic. That’s a dream fight. I hope he keeps winning and I keep winning so at some point that fight becomes a reality.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Assuming the UFC continues to have the majority of the top welterweights in the world moving forward, will your career be complete if you don’t have a UFC belt when it’s all said and done?

Jake Shields: It would be nice to get that UFC belt but it all depends on what Strikeforce does too. Right now they’re doing really good things. I’ve heard rumors about guys like Dan Henderson. They’re treating me really good so I’m just going to take it one step at a time. It would be awesome to have that UFC belt but that’s not my ultimate goal either.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Before we go would you like to pass along a message to your fans out there or thank any sponsors?

Jake Shields: Thanks to all the fans for the support. I want to thank Champion Nutrition, Tapout, Rockstar Energy Drink and EA Sports. And my whole team and trainers. Without them I wouldn’t be fighting.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Appreciate the time. Thank you again. I’ll see you up in Chicago for the fight.

Jake Shields: Awesome. It was no problem at all. I’ll see you in Chicago.

Derek Bolender is an MMA contributor to MMAmania.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, and InsideFights.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender.

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Best of the best: Shogun Rua UFC 104 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

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In 2007, toward the dissolution of the Japanese-based Pride FC organization, Mauricio Rua was considered (arguably) the top 205-pound fighter in the world.

This was even during the time that Chuck Liddell was executing his reign of terror on the UFC light heavyweight division to the tune of four title defenses, while simultaneously piggybacking the sport of mixed martial arts and dragging it closer to the mainstream.

Since that time Rua has experienced a mixture of ups and downs to say the least.

He suffered through a disappointing loss in his much anticipated UFC debut to Forrest Griffin back at UFC 76 in September 2007, two separate knee surgeries, and countless months of rehabilitation.

Once healthy enough to compete again he took a fight in January 2009 at UFC 93. A rehabbed, but out of shape Rua defeated Mark Coleman in what was the epitome of a lackluster performance.

At UFC 97 in April 2009, a better conditioned Rua showed flashes of his old self when he knocked out another UFC Hall-of-Famer, the aforementioned Chuck Liddell, to earn number one contender-ship status.

The reward for attaining this position is a title match with the current champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, whom no man has been able to figure out, much less defeat throughout his 15 career professional fights (seven of which are in the UFC).

UFC 104 on Oct. 24 marks yet another milestone in the evolution of the much publicized UFC light heavyweight division — a battle between a former world number one (Rua) and the current world number (Machida).

Will Rua be able crack Machida’s code and shock the world in the process? We will find out in a matter of days.

In the meantime, “Shogun” took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss his recent training, the unique challenge of Machida, Brazilian MMA, and what being a UFC champion would mean to him.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Where has your training camp been taking place at and who are some of the training partners and coaches who have helped prepare you for Lyoto Machida at UFC 104?

Mauricio Rua: My training camp for this fight was done in Curitiba (Brazil), my hometown at the UDL academy. I’m working with a team of people that know me very well and most importantly know my game very well; my brother Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Andre “Dida” for the Muay Thai, Joao Raphael “Simpson” and Rodrigo “Pimpolho” for Jiu-Jitsu, Marcelo Barreto as the coordinator, Andre Neumann with the strength and conditioning, sparring partners like Joao Paulo “Tuba,” my manager Eduardo Alonso, and many others.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Are you completely healthy at this point and have you corrected your cardio issue that plagued you in your recent fights?

Mauricio Rua: I’m completely healthy and feeling ready for the fight. We did all we felt was needed and I expect to come to the fight in great condition.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Should we expect to see the very best Mauricio Rua we have ever seen on the night of UFC 104?

Mauricio Rua: I feel obligated as a fighter to do my best when I fight, to give my best effort. This is what I demand from myself and what I’ll do as always at UFC 104. A fight is a fight and many things can happen. Lyoto Machida is a great fighter and we respect him a lot, but I’m going to do my best and I’m sure it’s going to be a great fight.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Is this the first time you have been the underdog in a fight?

Mauricio Rua: No, not at all. During most of my career I was always used to be the underdog. I was the underdog for my last fight with Chuck Liddell. I was the underdog in Pride when I fought Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and I was the underdog on the whole Pride GP in 2005, so it’s nothing new.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you mind being the underdog?

Mauricio Rua: No! Much on the contrary. I even like being the underdog. This way I feel I have much less pressure and it’s the other guy’s obligation to beat me. I feel like I have only the obligation to do my best and I have much more to gain than I have to lose.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Machida is a puzzle that nobody has been able to figure out so far. What is it that makes him so unique?

Mauricio Rua: I think what makes him so unique is his background, karate, and how he adapted it to his own MMA fighting style. When you fight other fighters they usually have a background of boxing or kickboxing, striking-wise, so it’s something you are used to dealing with, as you have been training with those kind of fighters through your whole life so you know their distance, timing, etc. Against Lyoto it is usually something you never dealt with, or at least not so often, and until you figure his style out sometimes it’s too late.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Have you watched tape on Machida’s fights and found a weakness or a specific way to attack him?

Mauricio Rua: My team and I watched a lot of tapes and did our homework. Machida is a great fighter but every fighter has weak points and strong points as there are no perfect fighters. Like I said, a fight is a fight and many things can happen, so we will see by fight time if our beliefs are right.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you feel confident you can beat him if you stand with him toe-to-toe the entire time?

Mauricio Rua: I always come to a fight feeling confident in my skills and projecting ways to win. If it’s going to be standing up, on the ground, etc. — only the fight can tell. Many things can happen in a fight and the important thing is to win and be prepared for any situation that can take place.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you feel like you have an advantage in the submission game on the ground?

Mauricio Rua: Lyoto Machida is a complete fighter, very good standing up, and very good on the ground. I think we are both well-rounded and we both can present challenges for each other on all areas depending on who’s on a better night or execute the better strategy.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Will this fight go the entire five rounds?

Mauricio Rua: I don’t know! (laughs) I think we both fight to finish the fight so it’s very likely that it can end up before the five rounds.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you have an official prediction for the fight?

Mauricio Rua: I never do predictions for a fight. I only want to go in there and do my best. I feel always obligated to put my best effort to give the fans what they want to see, and exciting fight. I want to win, and I fight to win, but I welcome any type of winning situation.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What would becoming a UFC champion mean to you?

Mauricio Rua: It would mean a lot. It’s what we work for, what we train for, and the ultimate goal any fighter can have right now. The UFC is the biggest fighting promotion in the world, has the best fighters and I think the 205-pound weight class is likely the toughest class in the game, so to become the champion in the biggest show and on the toughest weight class means the world.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): If you are fortunate enough to come away with the belt are there any other guys who you would like to fight in the future?

Mauricio Rua: I don’t really think about that. First and foremost I have to focus on Machida. He is the champion and my next opponent so I have to think about him and how to beat him. Only after this fight I’ll think about my next step and talk to my manager and trainers about that. Also, I feel it’s up to the UFC to seek the best matchups and give the fans what they want.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Would you like it if the UFC held an event in Brazil in the near future and is this something that Brazilians would like to see very soon?

Mauricio Rua: Of course, I would love for the UFC to hold a show in Brazil. The sport is growing so much and the UFC has been doing a great job to help its growth. They are doing a lot of PR in Brazil and step by step we can see the improvements here. MMA is getting more and more known by people in Brazil and the hardcore fans would love to see a UFC show down here. Now it’s a matter of getting more people involved into the sport so it becomes viable for the UFC to come, and I think it’s only a matter of time.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank?

Mauricio Rua: I would like to thank my fans for all the support through the hard times. Their the biggest reason for us to go and train every day and we have to always thank them. Also, I would like to thank my sponsors Bad Boy and Nutrabolics for their incredible support. See you guys on October 24th!

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Thank you very much, Mauricio.

Derek Bolender is an MMA contributor to MMAmania.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, and InsideFights.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender.

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Posted in MMA, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, UFC 104, UFC Fighter Interviews, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) | No Comments »

His terms: Joe Stevenson UFC 104 exclusive with MMAmania.com

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Joe Stevenson

The year started off on a sour note for Joe Stevenson. In February at UFC 95, “Daddy” suffered a unanimous decision loss to top UFC lightweight contender Diego Sanchez. It was the second loss in a row for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 winner and his third in four fights, albeit against some of the best lightweight fighters in the world — Sanchez, Kenny Florian and B.J. Penn for the then-vacant lightweight strap.

In June, Stevenson had a chance to put things back in order at the TUF 9 Finale by squaring off against another TUF winner, Nate Diaz. And win he did, largely by out-wrestling the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt. Stevenson also picked up “Fight of the Night” honors in the process (his second in a row).

Now 30-10, Stevenson now looks to string back consecutive wins and climb back up the contender ladder for his second shot at the UFC lightweight title.

He’ll get his chance at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun” on October 24, 2009 when he meets the hard-hitting Spencer Fisher (23-4). The action gets underway from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. and airs live on pay-per-view (PPV).

We caught up with Stevenson this week to ask him about his upcoming match against a fellow veteran in “The King” Fisher, find out how training at his new camp (Jackson Submission Fighting) is going, and see how he feels about a possible future rematch against Diego Sanchez or Kenny Florian (a fight he calls a “fluke”).

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You earned your BJJ blackbelt under Robert Drysdale about a year ago. Can you talk about what that means to you, especially to earn it under Drysdale, and how stylistically that might be different from other jiu-jitsu players?

Joe Stevenson: Robert is one of the best jiu-jitsu competitors, and what people don’t understand is he’s also probably one of the best coaches out there in the game today. Just because of his ability to break down the jiu-jitsu for a particular person to help give him a better concept of what works for his body composition and size. So to have that blackbelt was one of the best moments of my life.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Back in April you teamed up with Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting camp. I read that you were invited by Rashad Evans to help prepare you for the Nate Diaz fight. Can you tell us a bit about how that works? I assume you are still affiliated with your other camps with Marc Laimon and Cobra Kai?

Joe Stevenson: Yeah, Marc is a great friend of mine. My gym is called Joe Stevenson’s Cobra Kai. And honestly, you just try to tippy-toe around things such as, ‘Oh, well I’m going to fight him from that gym or him from that gym.’

… At Marc’s, I really … launched my grappling, (he) really pushed me above and beyond what I thought I was capable of. He helped me believe in myself.

And then with a team like Jackson’s … I’m now put in a situation where I’m not a big fish in a little pond, but a little fish in a big pond. And every day I have to be on my top game and be prepared to go to work.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Will that impact which opponents you feel comfortable taking on, such as a Diego Sanchez rematch. I know he used to train with Jackson.

Joe Stevenson: Honestly, you would have to talk to Greg about that. I am never going to be the person to put him in any type of awkward position, because he’s such a friend and a good man to me.

But, I … pretty much wouldn’t mind fighting him again.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs) Pretty much?

(Stevenson holds his ground, saying nothing.)

Okay. Well let’s talk about the win over Diaz. Both of you were coming off losses. Was this a make or break fight for your UFC career, being that you were coming off two losses?

Joe Stevenson: Well, in the fans’ eyes perhaps, because of the fact that they just care about the two losses, and not the fact that they were against two top-ranked guys in the world — and one was close and one was a fluke. I would rather get caught and submitted or knocked out than lose a decision any day. Because in a decision you either lost because the guy’s better than you or because you did something wrong.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Is that what you call the fluke, the fact that the decision didn’t go your way or the fact that you did something wrong?

Joe Stevenson: No, no, no. The fact that … I’m calling the fluke the fight with Kenny where I gave up my back and got rear-naked (choked).

I’d rather get finished than lose a decision such as losing to Diego, just given the fact that when you lose a decision there’s clearly something you could have done to affect the outcome in a different way, unless you were just dominated.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Right. Well, you beat Diaz largely by out-wrestling him. As gifted as the Diaz brothers are on the ground and on the feet, they have been criticized in the past for holes in their wrestling games. Was that the game plan going in? Did you think Nate was weakest in that department and you went in to exploit that?

Joe Stevenson: Well, I was confident enough that I knew I wasn’t going to get submitted. I knew that he had the ability to submit me, but if I were at no point in time to take him lightly or allow myself to think that he had no chance and always to assume that he was right there on my toes, (then) I would walk away with the victory.

There’s a moment that you overestimate, you just think it’s in the bag, especially with someone like Nate, (then) you actually just get finished and caught.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, the unanimous decision earned you Fight of the Night honors. Were you surprised that the UFC gave out three Fight of the Night honors for that card, along with a KO and Submission of the Night?

Joe Stevenson: A little bit, it was surprising, but also I was happy to see that you don’t just have to strive for these bonuses, that there is more to it than that, that they are going to take care of you.

Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, well they’re making so much.’ They’re always complaining. Honestly, (the UFC has) gotta do it to ensure that the sport continues to grow. For them to do that at the point where they did, it was really awesome of them to do that. It was really cool.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Let’s talk about your upcoming opponent, Spencer Fisher. Both you guys have been fighting for a while now. This is certainly a battle of well-versed veterans. How do you see the matchup?

Joe Stevenson: I see the matchup being tough everywhere, all the way around. Spencer comes to bring it, and he brings it hard.

I see everywhere that I have this fight that I’m going to need to push the pace. He’s the type of fighter that pushes the pace, but I’m going to show him that that’s not necessarily what’s going to happen — that it’s going to be because I dictate what happens.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): While he’s certainly well-rounded, I would think that Fisher is probably more known for his standup. Do you think that stylistically he’ll want to keep this fight on the feet? Do you think that he’s not going to be too keen about going to the ground with you?

Joe Stevenson: Honestly, I don’t think very many people in the world are keen going to the ground with me, especially with me being the one that’s on top …

I have no idea what he’s going to do. I have an understanding of what he wants to do, probably, an idea, more or less. I’m not going to focus on that. I’m going to focus on what I want to do to him, and overbearing him with my will.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Will you have any hesitation just keeping it on the feet?

Joe Stevenson: I have no hesitation keeping it on my feet for a little bit. I have no hesitation keeping it there the whole time. I think he’s well-versed. … (But if) the fight never went to the ground, I would dictate clenches on the feet and dirty boxing like Randy Couture.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You’ve been touted by many as having some of the best guillotines in the business. Was that a move that you actively sought out to make your bread and butter move, or did it just kind of happen by accident, you just discovered that you happen to be really good at guillotines?

Joe Stevenson: You know what happened, everyone tells you, ‘Oh man, be careful of his guillotine. Be careful of his guillotine.’ Or, ‘Oh, Joe’s got leg locks and guillotines. Joe’s got leg locks and guillotines.’ And then eventually you believe it in yourself and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s what they’re worried about?’ And you start doing it more and more, and you see that it’s very difficult to stop, and you understand it very well, maybe better than others. And so it does become a signature move.

However, I would like to think that my ground game is much more than leg locks and guillotines.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): It wasn’t all that long ago that winners from past seasons of The Ultimate Fighter were considered up-and-coming fighters, but today we see former TUF cast members as top contenders in almost every weight class — including yourself, Diego and Kenny Florian, who you mentioned, are both top contenders in the division. Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, Koscheck, all those guys. As the TUF franchise continues to cement its legacy, does that make your accomplishment as the TUF2 winner any more special to you?

Joe Stevenson: I think winning TUF was a great accomplishment in and of itself. What it’s done for me is amazing, and what it continues to do will be at no point in time ever old to me. It’s something that’s as part of my life as my kids. It took six weeks away from my family. It will always be there in the back of my head.

And yeah, it does help you appreciate a little more about it.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Would you ever want to be involved in a TUF season again, as a coach, or would that take too much time away from your family?

Joe Stevenson: Being a coach I would think I would be able to have my family with me. So I wouldn’t really mind that as much as being on the show and being away from everyone. Being a coach would be an awesome experience and would allow me to focus on training even more than I already do, which would be an amazing time and good for everyone.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Joe, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. I wanted to give you a chance to thank any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans.

Joe Stevenson: I’d like to thank all the fans … And I would like to tell anyone that is going to UFC 104 that I’m going to give everything I’ve got to have a very impressive win. And I’m so excited to be fighting in my backyard, in southern California!

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His terms: Joe Stevenson UFC 104 exclusive with MMAmania.com

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Joe Stevenson

The year started off on a sour note for Joe Stevenson. In February at UFC 95, “Daddy” suffered a unanimous decision loss to top UFC lightweight contender Diego Sanchez. It was the second loss in a row for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 winner and his third in four fights, albeit against some of the best lightweight fighters in the world — Sanchez, Kenny Florian and B.J. Penn for the then-vacant lightweight strap.

In June, Stevenson had a chance to put things back in order at the TUF 9 Finale by squaring off against another TUF winner, Nate Diaz. And win he did, largely by out-wrestling the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt. Stevenson also picked up “Fight of the Night” honors in the process (his second in a row).

Now 30-10, Stevenson now looks to string back consecutive wins and climb back up the contender ladder for his second shot at the UFC lightweight title.

He’ll get his chance at UFC 104: “Machida vs. Shogun” on October 24, 2009 when he meets the hard-hitting Spencer Fisher (23-4). The action gets underway from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. and airs live on pay-per-view (PPV).

We caught up with Stevenson this week to ask him about his upcoming match against a fellow veteran in “The King” Fisher, find out how training at his new camp (Jackson Submission Fighting) is going, and see how he feels about a possible future rematch against Diego Sanchez or Kenny Florian (a fight he calls a “fluke”).

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You earned your BJJ blackbelt under Robert Drysdale about a year ago. Can you talk about what that means to you, especially to earn it under Drysdale, and how stylistically that might be different from other jiu-jitsu players?

Joe Stevenson: Robert is one of the best jiu-jitsu competitors, and what people don’t understand is he’s also probably one of the best coaches out there in the game today. Just because of his ability to break down the jiu-jitsu for a particular person to help give him a better concept of what works for his body composition and size. So to have that blackbelt was one of the best moments of my life.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Back in April you teamed up with Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting camp. I read that you were invited by Rashad Evans to help prepare you for the Nate Diaz fight. Can you tell us a bit about how that works? I assume you are still affiliated with your other camps with Marc Laimon and Cobra Kai?

Joe Stevenson: Yeah, Marc is a great friend of mine. My gym is called Joe Stevenson’s Cobra Kai. And honestly, you just try to tippy-toe around things such as, ‘Oh, well I’m going to fight him from that gym or him from that gym.’

… At Marc’s, I really … launched my grappling, (he) really pushed me above and beyond what I thought I was capable of. He helped me believe in myself.

And then with a team like Jackson’s … I’m now put in a situation where I’m not a big fish in a little pond, but a little fish in a big pond. And every day I have to be on my top game and be prepared to go to work.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Will that impact which opponents you feel comfortable taking on, such as a Diego Sanchez rematch. I know he used to train with Jackson.

Joe Stevenson: Honestly, you would have to talk to Greg about that. I am never going to be the person to put him in any type of awkward position, because he’s such a friend and a good man to me.

But, I … pretty much wouldn’t mind fighting him again.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs) Pretty much?

(Stevenson holds his ground, saying nothing.)

Okay. Well let’s talk about the win over Diaz. Both of you were coming off losses. Was this a make or break fight for your UFC career, being that you were coming off two losses?

Joe Stevenson: Well, in the fans’ eyes perhaps, because of the fact that they just care about the two losses, and not the fact that they were against two top-ranked guys in the world — and one was close and one was a fluke. I would rather get caught and submitted or knocked out than lose a decision any day. Because in a decision you either lost because the guy’s better than you or because you did something wrong.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Is that what you call the fluke, the fact that the decision didn’t go your way or the fact that you did something wrong?

Joe Stevenson: No, no, no. The fact that … I’m calling the fluke the fight with Kenny where I gave up my back and got rear-naked (choked).

I’d rather get finished than lose a decision such as losing to Diego, just given the fact that when you lose a decision there’s clearly something you could have done to affect the outcome in a different way, unless you were just dominated.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Right. Well, you beat Diaz largely by out-wrestling him. As gifted as the Diaz brothers are on the ground and on the feet, they have been criticized in the past for holes in their wrestling games. Was that the game plan going in? Did you think Nate was weakest in that department and you went in to exploit that?

Joe Stevenson: Well, I was confident enough that I knew I wasn’t going to get submitted. I knew that he had the ability to submit me, but if I were at no point in time to take him lightly or allow myself to think that he had no chance and always to assume that he was right there on my toes, (then) I would walk away with the victory.

There’s a moment that you overestimate, you just think it’s in the bag, especially with someone like Nate, (then) you actually just get finished and caught.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, the unanimous decision earned you Fight of the Night honors. Were you surprised that the UFC gave out three Fight of the Night honors for that card, along with a KO and Submission of the Night?

Joe Stevenson: A little bit, it was surprising, but also I was happy to see that you don’t just have to strive for these bonuses, that there is more to it than that, that they are going to take care of you.

Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, well they’re making so much.’ They’re always complaining. Honestly, (the UFC has) gotta do it to ensure that the sport continues to grow. For them to do that at the point where they did, it was really awesome of them to do that. It was really cool.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Let’s talk about your upcoming opponent, Spencer Fisher. Both you guys have been fighting for a while now. This is certainly a battle of well-versed veterans. How do you see the matchup?

Joe Stevenson: I see the matchup being tough everywhere, all the way around. Spencer comes to bring it, and he brings it hard.

I see everywhere that I have this fight that I’m going to need to push the pace. He’s the type of fighter that pushes the pace, but I’m going to show him that that’s not necessarily what’s going to happen — that it’s going to be because I dictate what happens.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): While he’s certainly well-rounded, I would think that Fisher is probably more known for his standup. Do you think that stylistically he’ll want to keep this fight on the feet? Do you think that he’s not going to be too keen about going to the ground with you?

Joe Stevenson: Honestly, I don’t think very many people in the world are keen going to the ground with me, especially with me being the one that’s on top …

I have no idea what he’s going to do. I have an understanding of what he wants to do, probably, an idea, more or less. I’m not going to focus on that. I’m going to focus on what I want to do to him, and overbearing him with my will.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Will you have any hesitation just keeping it on the feet?

Joe Stevenson: I have no hesitation keeping it on my feet for a little bit. I have no hesitation keeping it there the whole time. I think he’s well-versed. … (But if) the fight never went to the ground, I would dictate clenches on the feet and dirty boxing like Randy Couture.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You’ve been touted by many as having some of the best guillotines in the business. Was that a move that you actively sought out to make your bread and butter move, or did it just kind of happen by accident, you just discovered that you happen to be really good at guillotines?

Joe Stevenson: You know what happened, everyone tells you, ‘Oh man, be careful of his guillotine. Be careful of his guillotine.’ Or, ‘Oh, Joe’s got leg locks and guillotines. Joe’s got leg locks and guillotines.’ And then eventually you believe it in yourself and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s what they’re worried about?’ And you start doing it more and more, and you see that it’s very difficult to stop, and you understand it very well, maybe better than others. And so it does become a signature move.

However, I would like to think that my ground game is much more than leg locks and guillotines.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): It wasn’t all that long ago that winners from past seasons of The Ultimate Fighter were considered up-and-coming fighters, but today we see former TUF cast members as top contenders in almost every weight class — including yourself, Diego and Kenny Florian, who you mentioned, are both top contenders in the division. Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping, Koscheck, all those guys. As the TUF franchise continues to cement its legacy, does that make your accomplishment as the TUF2 winner any more special to you?

Joe Stevenson: I think winning TUF was a great accomplishment in and of itself. What it’s done for me is amazing, and what it continues to do will be at no point in time ever old to me. It’s something that’s as part of my life as my kids. It took six weeks away from my family. It will always be there in the back of my head.

And yeah, it does help you appreciate a little more about it.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Would you ever want to be involved in a TUF season again, as a coach, or would that take too much time away from your family?

Joe Stevenson: Being a coach I would think I would be able to have my family with me. So I wouldn’t really mind that as much as being on the show and being away from everyone. Being a coach would be an awesome experience and would allow me to focus on training even more than I already do, which would be an amazing time and good for everyone.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Joe, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. I wanted to give you a chance to thank any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans.

Joe Stevenson: I’d like to thank all the fans … And I would like to tell anyone that is going to UFC 104 that I’m going to give everything I’ve got to have a very impressive win. And I’m so excited to be fighting in my backyard, in southern California!

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Get smart: Miguel Torres interview exclusive with MMAmania.com

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

MT

Six months ago Miguel Angel Torres was on top of the world.

The Chicago native had just defended his WEC bantamweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Japanese import Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 — his third straight successful defense. He was at the top of pretty much every top ten list imaginable. He was doing TV spots on ESPN, magazine covers, countless appearances and interviews and pretty much everything else that goes along with being the best 135-pound fighter in the world.

Then four months later at WEC 42, with one swing of his left hand, 29 year old Brian Bowles sent Torres and his whole mystique as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world crashing to the canvas.

Now here we are two months later. The dust has settled and Torres’ reality is that he is no longer the WEC champion and he no longer has that unbeatable image that garnered so much fanfare over the last couple of years. The unbeatable image is likely gone for good, but his lost championship belt is not. And he wants it back — which is bad news for Brian Bowles and all other WEC bantamweight contenders that might stand in his way.

We sat down with the former WEC 135-pound kingpin earlier today and talked about that fight with Bowles, what the future holds for him, a possible WEC/UFC merger and much, much more.

Check it out:

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Start off by telling us a little bit about what you’ve been up to and where your head has been at these last couple months coming off the loss.

Miguel Torres: I’ve been good man. My head’s been good. I’ve been working on my gym a lot, training still. I’ve got a bunch of guys who are upcoming fighters from my gym. I’ve been doing a lot of seminars out of town, working with different gyms and different associations. I’ve kind of looked at this loss like a blessing in disguise because I’ve been able to work on my personal life. I put my life on hold for two years working with the WEC. Now I’ve had a little bit of time to sit back and work on my gym and spend time with my family and spend time with my students so things have been going really good. I’ve been training still. I think I’m going to fight again maybe in January. There’s no set date, but everything’s been going really good.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You mentioned in a pre-fight conference call leading up to the Brian Bowles fight that all the exposure you’ve received since joining the WEC has king of worked against you in allowing your opponents to develop better gameplans against you. But on the flip side of that someone like Bowles who’s only fought seven pro fights doesn’t really have much tape to go by and he certainly hasn’t knocked many people out on film. What kind of factor, if at all, do you think that played in this fight? Was he more prepared for you than you were for him?

Miguel Torres: I think Brian Bowles had more than enough time to prepare for the fight. When he had got hurt in February, when he couldn’t fight in April, until he fought me in August, he had a lot of time to prepare. I know going into the fight that I was coming off two fights, Tapia in December and then Mizugaki in April. At the time I was traveling, doing promo and seminars. Then I would come back, train for my fight for two months and then I would do non stop promo for the next two or three months until my next fight. So I didn’t really have much of a break. Brian was able to be rested. I don’t believe in luck. He hit me with a really good shot. He caught me right behind the ear and I was out right when I hit the ground. I think that was me not being prepared to control a situation like that. I hit Brian and I hurt him, but even a hurt Brian Bowles is dangerous. In retrospect I should have been more cautious going into the fight. I should have respected his power a little bit more. And when I get the opportunity to fight him again, if I do, it’s going to be a completely different fight. I’ll be smarter.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You mentioned some of the promo stuff you do as well, like the TV stuff with ESPN and all that. Do you think having to worry about stuff like that distracted you from fully preparing like you needed to for such an important world title fight?

Miguel Torres: I prepared the best that I could. I think there was a lot of situations that took place leading to what happened. It wasn’t just the traveling. It was also the way I was training, training in my gym with my own guys. Everybody here is real tough, but they don’t have that professional skill level that we need. All the guys that I train with that are professional fighters, I couldn’t train with because they had their own fights. That was the thing with Kurt Pellegrino and Kenny Florian, we usually do a training camp at either their gym or my gym, but we couldn’t do that for this fight because they all fought the day before I fought. That’s really the downfall of training with guys that fight in the UFC. If you guys fight on cards that are the same time then you guys can’t work together.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Before the fight people sort of had you on this pedestal as this unbeatable champion. Did you feel any pressure because of that to kind of fight a more entertaining style or the way you thought your fans wanted you to instead of maybe fighting smarter by picking apart your opponents weaknesses and sticking to your strengths?

Miguel Torres: I’ve always fought the way I’ve fought mainly for the weight class, to make the weight class exciting and popular. I heard things about the way that I fought or the way people thought that I was. I didn’t play into that. I didn’t pay much attention to that. I know I’m human and everybody loses. I just fought the way I fought to try and bring attention to the weight class. I knew with me and the WEC getting a lot of attention that there was a chance to go out there and show the world what 135-pounders can do. If I went out there and fought a very efficient fight where I didn’t take any damage, just took guys out, I don’t think that would be as exciting than to go out there and just bang with guys. I took a different approach. In retrospect I’ll fight smarter next time. But of course there’s always that chance to make a big impact on a weight class, and I felt like that was my time to do that.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You mention being human and that everybody loses, but you had never been knocked out in your career in something like 40 pro fights. Does having that to your credit lead to any over confidence in your chin to where you feel like you can’t be knocked out in a fight?

Miguel Torres: No, it doesn’t at all. I didn’t get hit in my chin. Brian caught me in the side of my head. When I hit the ground I was already out. When he threw the punch he was retreating, going backwards. He was looking down when he threw it. I just walked right into it. I was over aggressive and cocky, and I shouldn’t have gone at him so fast. I put myself in that situation. I could have hurt him and then laid back and let him chase me and counter punched, but instead I was trying to be the aggressor. That was the mistake that I made. I should have fought a totally different gameplan. The way that I was training and the way that I was thinking was totally off. So this fight gave me a chance to sit back and think a little bit, and next time I go out there I’ll be a lot smarter.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): How would you have fought smarter if you could have that fight over again? What gameplan would you use?

Miguel Torres: I still would have stayed standing with Brian. I just would have been a counter puncher. I would have let him come forward and I would have tried to pick him apart that way. I knew going into it that when you have a guy that hits really hard that you can’t chase a guy like that because one shot can change the fight. I should have stayed back and let him come at me, used more of a clinch game to try and take it to the ground and expose his ground game. There’s a lot of things I could have done. Anything but chase him. The worst thing I could have done was chase him and that’s what I did.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): We kind of knew that he was going to have the strength and power advantage. But with some of your recent fights you’ve been able to take some very hard shots and just sort of walk right through them. I don’t think anybody was expecting you to go down so early. Do you think it’s easier to take hits like that later in fights when you’re already in survival mode? I mean, I know you were prepared for his power, but what happened in this fight that was different than the Maeda or Mizugaki fights where they hit you a ton?

Miguel Torres: I’ve never been hit in the side of my ear. I’ve never been hit like that before. I’ve been hit in my face and my forehead and my chin and I’ve never had a problem with it. But I’ve never been hit in the side of my ear like that. Never. I remember chasing Brian. I hit him with a right. He started retreating and I chased him. That was the last thing I remember was chasing him. That first punch he hit me with, when I hit the ground I was already out. I was moving, but I was out already. I was on autopilot then.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): There was a lot of pound for pound best fighter in the world talk and stuff like that going on before that fight. Do you think, maybe even subconsciously, that that led to the over aggressiveness or cockiness you were talking about earlier?

Miguel Torres: No, I never put stock in any of that stuff. People always ask me about that like, “where do you think you belong pound for pound,” and “we think you’re one of the best fighters in the world.” I tell people all the time that I don’t really believe in that ranking system. And the way it is now I don’t think I should be on there because I haven’t had enough fights to be on there. I’ve had a ton of fights, but not enough where people can see what I can do. It’s not fair to put me up there when I’m not where I need to be yet. It wasn’t my confidence, it was the way that I was training. I would go into a gym and I would have ten guys in the cage. Everybody in the cage would have experience and they were tough, but they didn’t have that professionalism that would have them fighting smart. They would go out there and try to take my head off no matter who was tougher. So if I could out-tough anybody that was in the gym, I win. I didn’t have to go to the ground because I was just trying to be tough with everybody. With a guy like Brian Bowles it’s totally different. You can’t out-tough a guy like that because one punch can change the whole fight. That’s the approach I tried to take. I tried to out-tough him and bully him around, but he was a lot stronger than I was.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): He’s real similar to a guy like Mike Brown and we already saw Brown sort of take over his division from a guy who, like you, people thought was unbeatable in Urijah Faber. Do you think that style, the power punching with the wrestling and the strength, is kind of taking over the smaller weight classes?

Miguel Torres: No, I don’t. I believe in my jiu-jitsu and I know that I have one of the best ground games for my weight class. On the ground nobody’s been able to stop that attack yet. And I haven’t used that with Brian yet. And my next fight will be a different kind of fight.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): So does your training change at all moving forward? Do you feel like you need to adapt to figuring out ways to counteract that style?

Miguel Torres: No, I do that anyway. My next training camp, whenever I find out who my next opponent is, I’m either going to be in Boston with Mark DellaGrotte or I’m going to train with Robert Drysdale in Vegas. It just depends on if I’m fighting a striker or a grappler. I’ve been working on my wrestling for the past two years now. My wrestling is pretty tight. My jiu jitsu is there and my striking is there. I just need a coach to clean it up and to help me with a gameplan. My gameplan has always been to just go out there and beat guys up until now and I need to be smarter.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Is Brian Bowles the toughest fighter you’ve faced in your career?

Miguel Torres: I don’t think that Brian Bowles can be put up there yet. He knocked me out. He caught me with a punch. I think Mizugaki is one of the toughest guys that I’ve faced because he could take a punch and stand right through it. He caught me with some shots and I caught him with really good shots and I think he’s one of the tougher guys that I’ve fought.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you still feel like you’re the better fighter between you and Bowles? And what would you do differently if you could go back and do the fight over?

Miguel Torres: What I’m going to do different the next time I fight is, I’m not going to do any PR. I was doing PR for UFC 100. I was there for four days. Then I went to L.A. for four days. I was doing the ESPN show early on for three episodes. I had a couple appearances that were already booked before I booked my fight. So there were a lot of things that are going to get cut out for my next fight. I’m not going to do any of that stuff. I’m going to limit all my interviews. I had a camera crew doing a documentary on how I train. I had a two guys coming down to the gym from Chicago daily doing pictures for the papers. So it was to the point that I was kind of pressured to perform for them instead of training the right way. My next training camp I’m not going to stay in my gym. I’m going to train with either Mark DellaGrotte or Robert Drysdale. I’m just going to take a smarter approach to my fight next time. I’m going to go out there and fight to put the
guy away as soon as possible. I’m going to go out there and try to win as soon as possible, not to make it entertaining for the fans.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you feel like you’re the better fighter?

Miguel Torres: I do. Brian caught me with a great shot and he knocked me out and I give him all the props in the world. But I still think that I’m a better fighter than he is. I think you have to think that way if you’re a fighter. I will never think anyone is better than me. Even if Brian beats me ten times I wouldn’t think he was better than me and I would still try to fight him again.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): As someone who has been at the absolute top of the division, what kind of advice would you give to a young guy like Bowles as he tries to make his mark on the weight class?

Miguel Torres: Good luck. I’d tell him good luck. It’s going to be tough. It’s one thing when you’re coming up and you can put all your time into training and all your time into doing what you have to do, but it’s another thing when you have obligations with the media and the fans and you have to travel and do all these other things. It’s a big difference. It’s a reality check. You realize you can’t spend as much time in the gym. When you travel, your diet is off, your sleeping schedule is off. You know, just because you have a one day trip doesn’t mean one day. There’s the day you leave and the day you get back, that’s three days. So three days out of the week and your whole week is ruined because you got three days that you’re off. When you train for a fight and you take one day off, two days off, it ruins your whole schedule. And then to do that constantly over and over again, it’s very rough.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): It looks like Dominick Cruz is next in line for a title shot. Do you feel like your resume is enough to where you should get an immediate rematch or is that even something that you want to do?

Miguel Torres: I want an immediate title shot. I have the resume for it. I think I have the resume for it. I just think it wouldn’t be fair to Brian Bowles or to Dominick Cruz. That was considered the top contendership for the Brian Bowles fight and I don’t think it would be fair if I stepped in and took it from him. I’d kind of be a prick. If I was Dominick I think I would hate me for that.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): We’ve seen in the past that Zuffa likes to pair guys coming off losses against each other. On that same card there were two other top bantamweights in Joseph Benavidez and Jeff Curran who lost as well. Are there any thoughts on potential match-ups with those guys? And I know you and Curran have gone back and forth with some verbal jabs in the past. Is that a fight that you want?

Miguel Torres: I’ll fight anybody that will earn me a title shot after that fight. If that’s Jeff Curran then I’ll fight Jeff Curran, if it’s Joseph Benavidez then it’ll be Benavidez. I’ll fight whoever the WEC is going to put in front of me to keep me in line for a title shot. The fact that Curran was talking shit and the fact that he wants to fight me, I think this is a perfect time to make a fight happen. But I don’t know if me fighting him is going to do anything for my career because he has four losses in a row. I think a fight with Benavidez will be better for my resume. A fight with Curran doesn’t mean anything. I think he’s a great fighter at 135, but on paper it doesn’t mean anything. I think that if I beat Benavidez it’s different.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): I’ve also heard that Rani Yahya was a possibility. Is there any truth to that? Have you heard anything from the WEC on any of these guys?

Miguel Torres: They gave me a couple guys names. That was one of the names. But he just fought at Abu Dhabi and he hurt his arm. That’s not official, but I heard he hurt his arm. There’s no date yet set for me to fight. They’re trying to bully me into fighting in December and I have all of October booked for travel already so I told them the earliest I could fight is January. And the next camp is not going to be in my gym. I’m not going to be home for two months, so I have to prepare to leave. I can’t just at the drop of the hat just go anymore. I’m going to be smart from now on. I’m not going to just do things like that anymore. I’m going to do my thing.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Speaking of the Abu Dhabi, how come you didn’t compete this year?

Miguel Torres: I chose for the very reason why Rani Yahya is out now. He fights for money. He’s a prize fighter. In the Abu Dhabi there’s no guaranteed money there. You train for a tournament and you go out there and get hurt … I think there’s more risk in a tournament of getting hurt than there is fighting. Now he can’t fight and he’s not going to be able to make money. Training takes time and a fight takes time. It’s all the time you put into it. And then to not get any rewards for it or no benefit. Everybody already knows Rani Yahya is a great grappler. He went to the Abu Dhabi and made it to the semifinals but he got his arm popped. Now he can’t train, now he can’t work and now he can’t fight. If I did the tournament, Jeff Curran is in the tournament, Urijah Faber, whoever is in the tournament that are fighters, now they all get to see me grapple up close and personal against some of the best guys in the world. It gives them insight into my game
and there’s still a lot of mystery about my game because i haven’t fought much on the ground. And I wouldn’t want to give that away for free. I think somebody is going to have to earn that in a fight.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You have a guy that trains under you by the name of Mackens Semerzier who has just signed on to face Wagnney Fabiano on short notice at WEC 43. Tell us a little bit about him and what we should expect to see out of him on Saturday night.

Miguel Torres: Mackens hits like a Mack truck. His jiu jitsu is on point. He’s one of the guys that I can’t catch. I train with Mackens on the ground and I can’t catch him. And his wrestling is ten times better than mine. His wrestling is certified. He’s actually a real wrestler. So he’s got takedowns, he’s got stand up and he’s got grappling. He’s got every area. He was training for a fight October 2 or 3 so he’s already been training to fight for two months already. So when the opportunity came along for him to fight I knew it would be perfect for him because he was already in shape. He hasn’t had just two weeks to prepare for it, he’s been training for this fight for two months already. So I think Wagnney is in for a big surprise on Saturday.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): That’s good that he’s been training. But the deck still seems to be stacked against him. This is only his fourth pro fight, while Fabiano on the other hand is considered one of the top contenders in the division.

Miguel Torres: You can’t look at it that way anymore because times are different than when I first started fighting myself. When Mackens trains he trains with some of the best guys in the world. When I train, I train with my students so it’s a big difference. Mackens has a lot of guys that he trains with that are very good. I think coming into this fight is like Brian Bowles fighting me. He didn’t have the time to think about the opponent and who he was fighting, but he knows this is his chance to make an impact on the community and the whole 145 pound division in the WEC. He’s going to go out and he’s going to do the best that he can. I wouldn’t have him fight if I didn’t think he could win.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Have you heard anything about the possible WEC/UFC merger? I heard they wanted to use some of the marketable guys like you and Faber and some others to bolster UFC pay-per-view cards. How would you feel about possibly fighting in the UFC’s 135 pound division on pay-per-view?

Miguel Torres: It excites me a ton, but I haven’t heard much about that yet. I don’t know what they’re planning on doing or if they’re planning on doing it at all. Until I get a contract or see something in writing, to me it’s all hearsay. I know that the WEC has a contract with Versus for a while. They still have a contract so I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I would love for it to happen though. I think it would be the best thing for the WEC to do. But until it’s on paper and there’s an official document I wouldn’t put much stock into it.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): It was reported that you made 25 grand for your last fight. For a guy that’s as marketable as you, it seems like you’re worth more. Does it bother you that you’re just as, if not more, marketable than some of the guys in the UFC, yet they still make more money than you?

Miguel Torres: It bothers me a lot. It bothers me a lot, especially after this last fight. I was taken care of a ton until this last fight and now I got pushed to the side. I understand that business is business, but I think you should take care of the guys that are marketable. I think even if Brian Bowles wins his next five or six fights he still won’t be as marketable as I am, or Urijah Faber. It’s not a matter of him being a great fighter or not being a great fighter. I think it’s a matter of personality. That’s why Rampage Jackson is so popular, he’s just a character. I think when you got guys that can appeal to the audience like that you’ve got to take care of them. But the WEC knows what they’re doing. They’re doing what they can. They’re not making any money themselves yet. If they were making money like the UFC it would be a different story. That just pushes it more that the WEC should get absorbed by the UFC. But that’s a brand that I believe
in, the WEC. I just don’t see anything big happening in the near future. Not in my lifetime. I think the next generation of fighters, them and the ones after are going to reap all the benefits of what I’m doing. I just don’t see it happening anytime soon.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): So do you feel a sense of loyalty towards the WEC since they helped introduce you to the mainstream MMA world, or would you consider fighting for one of the non-Zuffa owned organizations like Strikeforce or one of the Japanese promotions if they were going to throw UFC-like money at you?

Miguel Torres: I’m a little partial towards the WEC, but at the same time, I’m human and I have a family to feed. So I’m going to go with whoever is going to help me support my family the most.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Alright Miguel. Let me get a couple of predictions from you for some of the big upcoming fights before you get out of here. I’ll say a fight and you tell me who you think is going to win and why. Let’s start with “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson.

Miguel Torres: Cerrone. He’s hard to submit. He’s got a good guard, and he kicks like a mule.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Mike Brown vs. Jose Aldo?

Miguel Torres: Mike Brown by blanket. He’s going to smother Jose Aldo.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin?

Miguel Torres: Lesnar. He’s “The Prodigy” of the heavyweight division.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort?

Miguel Torres: Silva. I like Vitor, but I think Silva is going to win.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): And just in case they ever do fight, Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans?

Miguel Torres: I don’t know, that’s a tough one. I’d probably go more with Rashad because Jardine fought Rampage already so I think they could put together a good game plan at Jackson’s so I’m going with Rashad.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Alright Miguel, before you get out of here do you have anything to say to your fans that are still, two months later, in shock after watching you lose the way you did?

Miguel Torres: For sure. The first thing I want to say to my fans is that I appreciate all the support and loyalty. I will be back. I will have my title back. My last fight, all that proves is that I have to be smarter, and now that I understand that I will come back smarter.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Again, we appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Are there any sponsors or anything like that that you’d like to mention?

Miguel Torres: I’d like to thank Ecko Unlimited and TorresMartialArts.com.

James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Alright. Thanks again champ. Good luck to you going forward, we’re all excited to see you fight again.

Miguel Torres: For sure man. I appreciate it. Thank you.

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Closing the gap: Josh Koscheck UFC 103 interview exclusive with MMAmania

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

kos_interview

The UFC’s welterweight division has been, arguably, the most stacked division in mixed martial arts since the Pharaoh first taught Moses to roll. No other division under any MMA promotion has consistently been home to so many top 10 fighters in the modern era of the sport.

One of the fighters who has been in the thick of things in that division since the emergence of “The Ultimate Fighter” series nearly four-and-a-half years ago is Josh Koscheck.

Having fought 14 of his 16 career professional fights inside the Octagon, “Kos” has learned to adapt and evolve inside the MMA big leagues, transitioning from a four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler and champion to a well-versed, well-rounded fighter with knockout power.

During his career, the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product has faced some of the very best, including reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and former number one contender, Thiago Alves. Koscheck also holds wins over current number one lightweight contender, Diego Sanchez, as well as Chris Lytle, Dustin Hazelett and Yoshiyuki Yoshida — the latter of which earned him the “Knockout of the Night” bonus at UFC: “Fight for the Troops” last December.

Most recently, Koscheck was on the wrong end of an uppercut from Brazilian product Paulo Thiago at UFC 95: “Sanchez vs. Stevenson” — a fight “Kos” was dominating on the feet up until that point. He now looks to bounce back from that loss this Saturday (Sept. 19) at UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort” when he welcomes back to the UFC longtime veteran, Frank Trigg.

An accomplished wrestler in his own right, Trigg (19-6), now 37 years old, has stated his interest in making one last “title run” before Father Time forces him to hang up his gloves once and for all. He’s riding a four-fight win streak and sees the fight against Koscheck as one against his “mirror image.”

We caught up with Koscheck to see how he feels going in against the southpaw Trigg, ask him what it felt like to earn one of the best knockouts in recent memory, find out if he thinks Matt Hughes is dodging him, and see how his recent loss to Paulo Thiago has affected him.

Let’s get after it:

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I last interviewed you in March 2008 before the Dustin Hazelett fight in Columbus, Ohio.

Josh Koscheck: I remember.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Oh, right on. You’ve gone 3-2 since that time, including a highlight reel knockout of Yoshiyuki Yoshida, one of the best knockouts I think that we’ve seen in the Octagon. First, let’s start with that fight. Tell us what it was like to land those shots and put such a dangerous opponent in Yoshida straight down, just out of his wits.

Josh Koscheck: Honestly, I like fighting southpaws. A lot of people don’t like fighting them, I like to fight southpaws. I think it’s better for my style. Yeah, if you can knock somebody out like that, that’s the ultimate. It puts you on cloud nine. It’s just a matter of being patient and capitalizing on that opportunity.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): The win over Yoshida allowed you to bounce back from the Thiago Alves fight. For that fight you stepped in on short notice — I think you had two weeks’ notice — and drew Alves’ number when he was riding this huge wave of momentum. That was a dangerous gamble to take, to take the fight on short notice. Looking back on it now, do you think that fight would have ended differently, had you had more time to prepare?

Josh Koscheck: It possibly could have. I don’t really look too much into that, you know? I’m a fighter, I step up and I fight, whether it’s one week or three months, or whatever. I just focus on what I gotta do to try to win. It just shows that I’m willing to fight anybody, I don’t care where they’re ranked, or what their record is, or how many fights they’ve won or how many they’ve lost. I’ll just fight anybody, I don’t care.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Is Alves an opponent you’d like to rematch one day down the road?

Josh Koscheck: Yeah, definitely.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): At some point around the Yoshida fight, you had mentioned that you wanted to fight as frequently as possible. I think that you had said if you could fight five or six times in the next year you would. You then signed to fight Paulo Thiago — your third fight in four months’ time — and then signed to fight Chris Wilson a few months from that date but a foot injury forced you off the card. Can you talk a bit about how often you’d like to fight, assuming you remain injury free?

Josh Koscheck: Well my plan is to fight one or two more times — hopefully I can get one more in this year after Frank Trigg. I’d try to fight every other month if they’d let me. The only way I’m going to get better is by getting in the cage and fighting. You can train all you want, there’s nothing like the competition. The competition is where you improve, getting in the cage and fighting.

So for me, if I’m healthy, why not fight? I’ll fight every month if they’ll let me. I’ll fight 12 times a year if I can be healthy and the UFC will allow it. That’d be awesome.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Let’s talk about the Paulo Thiago fight. You seemed to be dominating the standup up until he caught you with the uppercut. I don’t know if you’ve watched the replay, but Joe Rogan was just praising your standup skills the entire time, and then seemingly out of nowhere, the uppercut came. What led to the end, did you recognize that you were dominating him and just got a little too reckless, or was it something else?

Josh Koscheck: Yeah possibly. Welcome to mixed martial arts, you know. It happens all the time where you’ll see a guy that’s kicking the crap out of somebody else and (then) either a submission or he gets knocked out or gets a cut, so … welcome to MMA.

That’s part of the sport … that happens. I probably got a little lazy. A little like, “Okay, when am I going to knock this guy out?” So maybe I had that attitude, I don’t really know. It’s been so long ago since that fight for me. I can just say it’s welcome to mixed martial arts. It happens.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): When the fight ended, you told the ref that the stoppage was a little too early. Do you still feel that the fight was stopped a little too early?

Josh Koscheck: Yeah, I would have rather seen me go 100 percent out to where I was getting my ass kicked, and then the ref stopped it. It was a hit, I fell down, I thought that I still had my wits. It wasn’t like I was 100 percent out. Yeah, I was a little woozy, but I thought the ref stopped a little early.

But hey, you know what, that’s part of the sport. I’m not making excuses for it, not at all. Don’t think that I’m making excuses, ‘cause I’m not. That’s part of it, and I’ll deal with it. I was talking in an interview earlier, (and said) listen, you know, this is part of the game.

I’ve had hundreds and hundreds and thousands of wrestling matches. You think I won every one of them? Nope. Not at all. So what happens when you lose, Kos? Well guess what? You go back to the freakin’ gym, you go back to training, and you go back to what you do best. And that’s get back in the gym and grind and work on it.

I’ve been embarrassed before in wrestling matches, where I was like, “Shit, I just got my ass kicked.” You know what? Guess what, go back, try to close that gap. Try to improve and close that gap so you don’t get your ass kicked again. So that’s my theory. It happens in mixed martial arts. It’s a crazy ass game. You win some and you lose some. The key is to try to win more than you lose in this game, that’s for sure.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Are you in favor of the recent move [http://mmamania.com/2009/08/20/nsac-approves-mma-instant-replay-anti-greasing-bj-penn-rule/] to introduce instant replay into situations like that with questionable stoppages?

Josh Koscheck: I don’t know if that would be … to be honest with you, I don’t pay attention to the Internet. I haven’t watched TV in probably over two months. So I don’t know what’s going on in the mixed martial arts world, other than I have a fight … what’s the date on that?

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I think it’s the 19th?

Josh Koscheck: September? Is this month September? See I don’t even know. Yeah, September 19, alright.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs)

Josh Koscheck: So I honestly don’t know what’s going on with anything, and I honestly don’t care. It is what it is. I’m going to show up, I’m going to fight my ass off and try to put on a good show.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well let’s talk about your opponent, Frank Trigg. When I’ve talked to you in the past, you’ve said that you really don’t watch a lot of tape. That said, Trigg’s been around for awhile, I’m sure you’ve seen some of his fights. What do you expect to see from Frank Trigg? Do you expect this to be sort of a sprawl-and-brawl type fight, or is this going to be more of a classic wrestling match?

Josh Koscheck: You know, I have no clue to be honest with you. I know that I have a game plan, and I’m going to be very, very disciplined, and I’m going to try to stick to my game plan. And I think that this game plan is well-suited for a type of opponent like Frank Trigg. I’m going to be very disciplined early in the fight to stick to my game plan.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): How have you been preparing for him? Have you changed up anything drastically from your typical training camp?

Josh Koscheck: Nope, everything is pretty much the same. A couple of months ago, I hired a strength coach when I was injured. I got to do a lot of things I haven’t done in a while with strength and conditioning. But other than that, everything else is the same. I train at AKA with the rest of the crew. I have a lot of good southpaws there that I train with on a regular basis. I put in a hard, 15-week training camp. I’m excited, I’m in great shape, I don’t think I’ve been in this good of shape in a long time. And I’m excited about the opportunity.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): What exactly was the injury? Was it a foot injury that you had that forced you out of the Chris Wilson fight?

Josh Koscheck: Yeah, I had a foot injury. It’s good, you know, ‘cause it let me focus on some areas that I haven’t really got to focus on with my training, I neglected some things, I got to go back to basics and just work on a lot of stuff. I worked on a lot of wrestling, I have my strength and conditioning, and I worked on my boxing, my Muay Thai, and my jiu-jitsu. It was good.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Trigg seems to be a pretty outspoken person. I guess some would criticize him as being a little cocky. Have you two interacted in any way before? Is there like a mutual respect there or do you just not know him at all?

Josh Koscheck: I’ve met Frank a couple times, but I don’t really know him on a personal level. So it is what it is. It’s a fight. So I’m going to try to show up and be in the best shape, and try to put the beat down on him in the first round.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): When I first heard about you scheduled to fight Trigg, the first thing I thought was, “Why didn’t the UFC offer Kos the Matt Hughes fight?” given that Trigg and Hughes are somewhat similar in terms of their styles, and you’ve been vocal about wanting that fight in the past. Do you know why they haven’t offered you that fight?

Josh Koscheck: No, I don’t. I’ve been asking for that for a long time. Rumor has it that (Hughes) doesn’t want to fight myself or Jon Fitch. He doesn’t want to be a stepping stone, I guess. But if he wants to get back to title contention, he’s going to have to go through one of us. So I don’t get it, I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to fight one of us. You know, that’s his decision. That’s on him. But the AKA guys are willing to fight anybody anytime anyplace, I can guarantee you that.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): In terms of being a good fighter and the most important attributes for a fighter, would you put more stock in mental toughness and confidence than you would in physical toughness and preparedness? Are they equally important?

Josh Koscheck: I think, obviously yes, you have to be prepared. But I think one of the most important things is you gotta have that fight in ya’. You gotta have that willingness to go in there and just, no matter what, no matter tired, no matter sick, no matter staph infection, no matter what you have, go into that fucking fight and fight your ass off. That’s mental toughness, and that’s heart.

A lot of fighters lack a little bit of heart, a lot of fighters have heart. Some have more heart than skill, and some have more skill than heart. But I think one of the most important things that you have is when the tough gets tough, and things are not going your way, can you battle through it and fight back and overcome that adversity and still win? That’s a big part of this game is having a lot of heart.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Josh, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. I wanted to give you a chance to thank any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans.

Josh Koscheck: Yeah, definitely. All the Fresno people, come out and check out my gym, AKA Fresno. I know Mania was supposed to do an interview on it, and he dogged me on that. Anyway, AKA Fresno, Dethrone, all my sponsors at my gym, Mar Clothing, KosMMA.com and Carnal DaMMAge — it’s our fight shop that’s in our gym, a badass fight shop, a 1,500-square-foot fight shop. We got one of the nicest gyms in the country, so if you guys are in the area, stop by and check it out.

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Great Dane: An MMAmania.com UFC 103 interview exclusive with Martin ‘Hitman’ Kampmann

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Martin Kampmann learned a valuable, albeit unsolicited lesson from Nate Marquardt at UFC 88 last September at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

“The Great” size and strength advantage of his opponent proved to be too much to deal with for the noticeably smaller Kampmann, who eventually succumbed to a first round TKO loss.

The move down to his ideal weight class at the welterweight limit of 170 pounds was the logical step — and he certainly hasn’t disappointed since making the transition.

At UFC 93 he was relegated to a preliminary card match up against the Brazilian Alexandre Barros, whom he promptly TKO’d in the second round with relative ease.

Next up was the first headlining fight of his career at UFC Fight Night 18 back on April 1 against another young superstar in the making, former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit.

It turned out to be one of the best fights of the year up to that point with Kampmann recording the split decision victory and showing off his wide array of boxing, Muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu skills.

The UFC management took notice and set up a September 19 fight at UFC 103 with American Kickboxing Academy product Mike “Quick” Swick, who is also undefeated at welterweight (4–0).

The winner was to be the lucky recipient of a title shot against Georges St. Pierre, likely to take place sometime in early 2010, which easily made that fight the most important of Kampmann’s career.

The problem, however, was that just days ago Swick sustained an injury during training and was forced to withdraw from the matchup.

He was instantly replaced by another dangerous striker in UFC newcomer Paul “Semtex” Daley.

It is now unclear whether or not Kampmann will still earn that title shot with a victory, however, he would be best served to assume that is still the case and let the chips fall where they may.

In the meantime, “The Hitman” took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss the move to welterweight, swapping Swick for Daley, GSP, entrance music and potential look-a-likes.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You had a tough loss to Nate Marquardt down in Atlanta at UFC 88 and you made the decision to drop from middleweight to welterweight. Was that directly related to the fight or had you debated doing it prior to that point?

Martin Kampmann: I had been debating that for a long time before. I wanted to go down to 170 for a long time. I walk around at pretty much the same weight. I decided with my manager we would keep going at 185 because I had been doing good so far. Then whether it’s a loss or a victory we’ll take it from there.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Is the cut to 170 easy for you now?

Martin Kampmann: Very easy.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’re now 2–0 at 170 pounds. How is the 170-pound Martin Kampmann different from the 185-pound version? Have you noticed a difference?

Martin Kampmann: It’s pretty much the same guy. A little lighter. Not much.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’re coming off a big victory over Carlos Condit back on April 1 at the UFC Fight Night event. What was it like to be the headlining fight? What was that whole experience like for you?

Martin Kampmann: It was great. It was a big honor to be the main event. Hopefully some other time I’ll be the main event again.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Did you feel added pressure to really put on a great show because you were the headlining fight?

Martin Kampmann: I don’t know. Once you get in there and get punched in the head then you’re not thinking about the pressure anymore. I was getting a lot more attention before the fight, of course, interviews and stuff like that. The pressure wasn’t so bad. We did a good show. I think we did a real great fight.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Last Friday (Sept. 4) it was announced Paul Daley would replace Mike Swick as your next opponent for UFC 103 due to Swick’s injury he had sustained a few days earlier in training. Did you find out at the end of last week like everyone else or had you known it was a possibility for a few days?

Martin Kampmann: I think I knew either Thursday night or Friday morning so it was last minute for me too.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Your initial reaction to the news that Swick was out of the fight for sure?

Martin Kampmann: I was very disappointed. I have been training hard to fight Swick and I was looking forward to it so of course I was disappointed.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you approach Daley the same way as Swick since they both have very good, aggressive striking? Will it be a seamless transition on short notice?

Martin Kampmann: They are different guys but there are still similarities. They both like the stand-up game. They have different body types but my training camp was good. There’s not much I need to change up. I think I’ll be well prepared still.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Daley made a statement about you in a recent interview with Thisisnottingham.co.uk saying, “His flaws are very exploitable for someone with my speed and power. I can KO him with one punch or kick.” Would you care to respond?

Martin Kampmann: The guy can crack, you know. I’ve been hit by some heavy-ass handed people before. If he gives me a good shot I can take it.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you have an official prediction for the fight?

Martin Kampmann: Whatever it is (I don’t care). As long as I win I’m happy.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you think it is still possible to get a title shot with a convincing victory?

Martin Kampmann: It’s really up to the UFC. I don’t know. I can’t worry about that. I’m just focused on Daley right now.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Say all goes well at UFC 103 for you but the UFC decides not to give you GSP next, would you be open to fighting Swick in a couple months if he waits for you?

Martin Kampmann: Yeah sure. I think that could make sense. First I’m going to do this fight and then take a week off on vacation. Then I’ll come back and train and see how I feel and see what makes sense.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): If Swick decides to take a fight pretty quick against someone else is there another name out there that would make sense for you to face like a Jon Fitch or a Matt Hughes?

Martin Kampmann: I don’t know. Call me after the fight and then we’ll talk.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Georges St. Pierre is at pinnacle of your division and has been very dominant in your weight class for a while now. Is this guy invincible?

Martin Kampmann: He’s been looking very, very good. He’s pretty close to invincible but anyone can be beaten on any given night and Matt Serra already showed that.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Who are a few guys you love to watch fight or look up to out there that may or may not be in the UFC?

Martin Kampmann: I enjoy watching GSP a lot. He’s a great fighter and he’s fun to watch. Thiago (Alves) he just fought is a guy I like watching too. Of course, Anderson Silva. I also like watching guys I know and guys I train with like Gray Maynard and Tyson (Griffin). I’m going to look forward to watching those guys fight. It’s always more fun to watch people that you train with fight.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What is your routine the night before a big fight? What do you do? Go to sleep real early? Listen to music? Watch the entire Rocky series?

Martin Kampmann: No Rocky series. I’m just chilling out. Kicking back and relaxing and maybe going for a little light training the night before. I’ll work a little bit on what I’m going to do in the fight and break a light sweat. Then I’ll go chill in the room and get a good night’s sleep and be ready for the day after.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you know what your entrance music is going to be for UFC 103?

Martin Kampmann: I think it’s going to be the same I used last time, Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s a Fight.” I’m still looking for something good. I haven’t found the perfect entrance song. That’s one Ron Fisher gave me at Xtreme Couture. He’s usually the guy with the music. He’s a DJ. He brings his IPod to the gym. I told him to find me an entrance song and he gave me that one.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Staying with the music thread – has anyone ever told you that you look like Billy Corgan, the lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins?

Martin Kampmann: I don’t look like that guy, come on.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): (laughs) Maybe if he lost 30 or 40 pounds.

Martin Kampmann: (laughs) 30 or 40 pounds? And if I dyed my hair black.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Well I guess I tried. That’s all I had for you Martin. Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there before we go or any sponsors you want to thank?

Martin Kampmann: Thank you to Hitman Fight Gear for hooking me up with some cool clothing. Thanks to Xtreme Couture and all the fans supporting me and MMA Agents.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Thanks again and best of luck to you at UFC 103.

Martin Kampmann: Thanks Derek. I appreciate it.

Derek Bolender is a contributor to MMAmania.com and InsideFights.com. He is also syndicated to CBSSports.com and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender.

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Bad situations: An MMAmania.com interview exclusive with Mike Swick

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

swick_interview

Since entering the UFC on the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Mike Swick has been on a quest to capture a world title — a journey that’s required a great deal of sacrifice.

After moving up in weight to secure a spot as a light heavyweight on TUF, Swick debuted in the UFC by living up to his nickname “Quick” —  earning a 20-second knockout of fellow contestant Alex Schoenauer at the TUF 1 Finale in April 2005.

He then dropped back down to middleweight and created fits for his 185 opponents, earning three more first round stoppages before out-pointing former number one contender David Louiseau at UFC 63: “Hughes vs. Penn” in September 2006.

A hard-fought unanimous decision loss to perennial contender Yushin Okami — the only blemish on Swick’s record since 2004 and his first loss inside the Octagon — led to his decision to drop again in weight, this time to 170 pounds, despite the fact that the move (at the time) was from a significantly thinner division to arguably the most stacked division in MMA.

Facing criticism for the move, Swick proved his doubters wrong, earning the judges’ nods over Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis, before making “Quick” work of Jonathan Goulet and, most recently, Ben Saunders at UFC 99: “The Comeback” in June of this year.

His 9-1 run inside the Octagon earned him a shot at the title, provided he could first best fellow slugger Martin Kampmann, a dangerous Thai boxer coming out of the Xtreme Couture camp. It was scheduled for this Saturday’s UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort” in Dallas, Texas, Swick’s home state.

The fight had all the makings of an all-out war, with the winner being granted a title shot against reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. But a concussion suffered at the end of his training camp forced Swick off the card. It was a devastating blow to the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product.

With Kampmann now slated to face British rising talent Paul “Semtex” Daley — which will not be for a title shot — Swick has been left in a state of limbo as he recovers from his concussion. Physically, he’ll be ready to fight as early as October; however, the UFC has been busy trying to book the remaining cards in its 2009 schedule.

With no known number one contender in store for GSP, and with qualifier match-up currently scheduled, Swick is forced to wait until something, or someone, becomes available.

We caught up with Swick to ask him if he’s heard from the UFC about what’s next in store for the welterweight division’s title picture, see how his recovery is going and to find out who he’d like to fight next, assuming he could land on a card later this year.

And yes, he mentioned Matt Hughes.

Let’s get to it.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): First, I was sorry to hear about the injury. The Kampmann fight had all the makings of a fantastic fight. How devastated were you to learn you’d have to pull out of the fight?

Mike Swick: Ah, pretty devastated, man. It meant a lot to me to fight in Texas and to fight in front of the Texas fans, not to mention that I really wanted to fight Kampmann and it was a great fight. I was very excited about it.

I trained really hard. I trained for about 12 or 14 weeks for this fight — pretty much ever since the Saunders fight. So it sucks when you go through all that, you’re excited, you go through medicals, you’re getting everything set up, and then you have to cancel that close to the fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): It’s my understanding that you were tripped up while sparring and hit the back of your head against the mat pretty hard. Can you walk us through what happened?

Mike Swick: Yeah, I was sparring, and I got leg-swept, and the way I was angled, my legs just flew up and I landed on the back of my head right on my neck/head area on the bottom of the ring. It jarred me pretty good.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So did you have to go see a physician who refused to clear you for the fight, or did he just recommend that you not do that?

Mike Swick: Well right after, I kept sparring. I sparred two more rounds.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Oh, gee.

Mike Swick: I never even had a concussion before — I didn’t really know or experience a concussion before — so I sparred two more rounds. And then immediately following sparring, I noticed that a headache was coming on pretty serious, and then I got really nauseous, so I was throwing up.

You know, when it’s your head, you don’t really play around. So Javier (Mendez), my head instructor, called in a specialist to come in and check me out. She diagnosed me with a stage 2 traumatic brain injury concussion … They told me that they didn’t recommend me fighting …

I had two doctors check me out. I went and got another (opinion), because I wanted to keep fighting. I kept training. I wanted to fight, I wanted to try to get through it.

Seeing the doctors — as far as someone wanting to fight — it didn’t really help seeing a doctor, because they’re definitely not going to want to be responsible and let you fight. But on the flip side, they were right. When you have an issue like this, it’s probably not good to get punched in the head a bunch of times.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs) Yeah.

Mike Swick: They started explaining the long-term damage and the seriousness of it, and it sounded pretty serious. Again, I’ve had no experience with having a concussion. I’ve never had one before. So, I didn’t know much about it. But they made it sound pretty bad if I got hit again.

So I ended up training still and seeing if it would work out, and seeing how I felt each day. The headache lasted for like a week, on and off for like a good week. I still don’t feel … here and there 100%. I’ll still get that foggy kind of weird-head feeling, headaches here and there.

I got another opinion from another doctor, who also gave the recommendation to not fight. They basically said, they’re recommending me not to fight, but if I chose to … pretty much, in other words, if I chose to go against them and fight anyway, it would kind of be their legal responsibility to make a statement that they didn’t clear me.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Sure.

Mike Swick: It got to the point where it was evidently clear that I’m not going to be able to fight. Because even if I was to push through and train all the way to the fight and show up in Texas, it’s going to get out to the commission that I had a concussion and wasn’t going to get cleared, and they’d stop it right there.

There’s no way the Texas commission would let me fight if they knew that. So I’d have to basically lie to them. And then of course, the two doctors I’ve already seen who feel responsible would say something. So it just all became apparent when we called the UFC that it’s just not going to happen, there’s just no way. All it takes is for one of them to make a call.

It would be even more problematic for the UFC and for the fight card if I kept it on the DL all the way to the event and then canceled like a day or two in advance and then (Kampmann) wouldn’t have an opponent.

Even though it’s a bad situation now, it’s a bad situation for me, but it would be a lot worse situation for everyone else if we waited. So we went ahead, and (AKA manager) Bob Cook told (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva about it and made the decision to pull me from the fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So has the UFC told you what they plan to do about the title shot situation? I mean obviously Kampmann isn’t fighting for the title shot now that he has a different opponent. Have they explained to you at all what’s going to happen with that?

Mike Swick: They haven’t explained anything to me. No. I haven’t really contacted them too much. I’ve been kind of doing my own thing, just trying to get my mind off of everything.

It’s pretty depressing when you train so hard, you really want to fight bad, it’s your home state, all your friends and family are there, and then you gotta back out. So I feel bad because I wanted to fight for the fans, I wanted to fight in general, and I think it was a great match-up.

Obviously the reward for winning is huge, but I also felt bad for the UFC. They advertised the fight a lot and put a lot into it … and then obviously for Kampmann too. He prepared for me for 10, 11 weeks or whatever, and then I backed out, and he had to get a new opponent.

So not only do I feel bad for myself, I feel bad for all the problems that it’s caused. I’m just trying to get my mind off of it and working in my shop here in San Jose, a couple days, just relaxing, staying up with cardio before I head back to the gym and get ready for my next fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): There was talk online that you had stated that you would be ready to go as early as 104 or 105. Do you know what’s next for you in terms of a potential match-up?

Mike Swick: Yeah, if there was any possibility of being on the October card, I would have been ready. I’m in great shape now. I took almost a week off and just did a little bit of cardio and just rested my body — not only for my head, but my body has been pretty beat up from training too from this amount of time. So I’m giving it the adequate rest.

I’m going to start back training again this week, and then full on next week. If I were for sure going to be able to fight in October, I’d be back full-throttle and going at it, I’d be totally ready for that fight and in great shape.

But the way it’s looking, I’d be lucky if I got on November or December’s card. So I just have to focus on my technique and wait to hear. I really hope something comes soon, because I’d like to know who and when I’m fighting.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Is that because the cards are getting booked up already, or is there another reason? I mean the fight cards from the looks of things seem to be filling up pretty quickly. There are a few slots left that haven’t been confirmed in November and December, but obviously the UFC has probably been working to fill those slots since before your injury.

Mike Swick: Yeah, I’m sure there’s a lot of stuff like that. That’s the thing, man, the cards are just filled up. I know Joe Silva, like you said … if I can’t fight, I can’t fight. He’ll put me in as soon as he can, but he doesn’t know.

The cards are filled up. He books those cards so far in advance. Even though there’s some fighters that don’t seem to have opponents, maybe they’re working opponents out for them, they’ve already kind of verbally agreed, I don’t know.

It’s hard to say who’s really available. I mean from the looks of it, it looks like Hughes is available. He’s signed a six-fight deal and hasn’t booked a fight yet. So I’m really hoping he’s available, and I’m really hoping the UFC calls any day now and asks me to fight Hughes.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well that’s something else that I had read. You’ve expressed interest in this fight for a while now, as has your teammate, Josh Koscheck. I spoke with Koscheck a couple days ago*, and I asked that question: why hasn’t the UFC approached any of the AKA guys about a potential Matt Hughes fight, considering so many of them seem to be interested in it.

*[Editor’s Note: The Koscheck interview will be posted later this week].

I don’t want to put words in your mouth or anything like that, but do you get the impression that Matt Hughes isn’t interested in this fight?

Mike Swick: (Laughs) What did Koscheck say, I’m curious?

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): He said … I want to make sure I get this right … he said he doesn’t think that Hughes wants to be a stepping stone for one of the AKA guys. Clearly he expressed confidence that the AKA guys, whoever would be matched up with him — whether it’s you or Koscheck or Fitch — would clearly be winning that fight. So he implied that Hughes was not interested in taking the fight.

Mike Swick: Yeah, I don’t know. I put it out there after the Saunders fight that I really wanted to fight Hughes, and I didn’t hear anything back. After the Saunders fight, in the ring and at the post-fight conference I mentioned Hughes — that I really wanted that fight — (but) they never got back to me about it.

And then it turned out to be Kampmann. You know Kampmann’s not as big of a name as Hughes, but I was excited about the fight. I think he’s a great fighter, and for all the fans who watch the sport, they know who he is, and they know he’s a very tough, dangerous opponent. He’s pretty high ranked, considering his win over Carlos Condit. I was excited about that fight as well.

But yeah, I never got anything back on the Hughes fight. Then again, now it appears that he doesn’t have an opponent, and I don’t have an opponent, and pretty much every welterweight in the UFC is booked right now. I can’t think of hardly any welterweights that don’t have fights coming up that are top ranked. So it just makes perfect sense that we’d fight each other, but I haven’t heard anything back.

I put it out there a few times here and there. You know, I’m not one to pick my opponent, so I feel awkward asking for specific opponents, because that’s Joe Silva’s job, but I want it to be out there that I’m definitely willing to take it and excited about it if it happens.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): One quick question about Saunders: Ben Saunders is a pretty big welterweight. I figured going into that fight that his size might present some problems for you, but it didn’t seem to at all. My question is, did his size present any problems for you, and if not, did you use specific training partners who are big guys going into that fight to sort of help you with that?

Mike Swick: You know the size isn’t the issue. I spent my whole career fighting 205 pounders and 185 pounders. The thing about it is, I don’t think there’re any welterweights out there as strong as my training partners.

Me, Fitch and Kos, we train together, and I think we’re stronger than most welterweights out there. It’s not very often that … or it’s never been that we went out there and felt like anyone really out-powered us, especially in the welterweight division.

So I’m used to strong training partners. Aside from Fitch and Kos, I got middleweights and 205-pounders who are really big and strong as well. So we’re kind of used to that in the gym.

So size definitely wasn’t an issue. I think (Saunders’) reach was a little bit with his kicking. He landed a couple good kicks. His legs were pretty long, he could connect with them from pretty far out. I think as far as his length, that made a difference, I think. It gave him an advantage in the kicking aspect.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well the win over Saunders puts you at a 4-fight win streak, you’re 9-1 inside the Octagon, with six finishes, five of which came in the first round.

When you first decided to drop to welterweight, a lot of people criticized the move — at least online, I don’t know if they said anything to your face — saying that they didn’t think you would be able to compete against the division’s quicker wrestler-types. But now, before the injury, you were getting ready to fight for the number one contender qualifier position.

How did the criticism make you feel at the time, if in fact you were aware of it, and how does it feel now that you’ve legitimized your move to 170?

Mike Swick: Well the criticism came because of the Burkman fight. It was just the timing of that fight. The public doesn’t know a lot of things. There’s a lot of things the public doesn’t know about fighters and what goes into fights and what can happen, and different things that change aspects of fights.

It just happened to be a very bad timing on that one, because it was my very first fight at welterweight. So I think it sent up a bunch of red flags that maybe the move was a bad move and that I wasn’t adjusted to the weight. But it really didn’t have anything to do with that. There was just a lot of other variables that came into play. It was a learning experience, and I became stronger and learned from it.

But as far as the move, I feel absolutely great at 170. I think it’s the best division for me, I feel fast, strong and explosive. I’m almost the same size as I was at middleweight, except now I’m not looking across the ring and fighting guys that are 200 pounds. The guys are actually my size, so it caters to me.

I feel my speed still upholds really well at the lighter weight. It isn’t an issue to where these guys have lightweight speed or anything. My speed still carries over and gives me an advantage in that aspect as well.

It just turned out to be a great move. I’m doing everything I can to prove that I deserve a title shot and that this is the best weight class for me. So I’m just trying to do that with each and every fight that I fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you expect that you’ll have to face Kampmann one day down the road, whether that’s to get a title shot, or after a title shot. Do you still expect that the UFC one day is going to schedule you with that fight?

Mike Swick: For sure, man. I definitely expect the fight, and I want it, I want to fight all the top guys at welterweight. So unless Kampmann loses to Daley, for sure we’re going to fight somewhere down the line, and that’s what I want. I want to fight all the great guys throughout my career.

But I’ve been plagued with Kampmann. I’ve had to back out twice from an injury.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Against Kampmann?

Mike Swick: I mean I didn’t back out against Kampmann from an injury, but at the beginning of scheduling that fight they wanted it too soon, and I was healing up from a broken foot. So I didn’t back out of the fight, but I just couldn’t take the fight because it was too soon. My foot wouldn’t have time to heal.

So that was the first time (laughs), and then we get scheduled again, and I get through the entire fight camp, and then out of the blue have a concussion for the first time in my life. So it’s kind of like (laughs) I don’t know, it’s like he jinxed me or something.

I don’t know, that’s the only time that’s ever happened where twice I had an opportunity to fight somebody and it didn’t work out both times, and not because either one of us didn’t want to, but because of injuries or concussions and stuff like that. I guess it’s going to be that much better when we actually do make it into the Octagon together.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Both you and Kampmann seem to have such exciting stand-up games — I mean both of you are well-rounded everywhere, but when the fights stay on the feet between the two of you, those seem to be the most exciting fights.

What I find interesting is that George St. Pierre has relied fairly heavily on his wrestling in his recent fights — his ground and pound. We haven’t really seen a lot of the old kickboxing GSP in his recent fights. So I was wondering how you felt a guy like yourself, or even Kampmann, how a fight against GSP would go? Would you expect sort of a sprawl-and-brawl type of fight?

Mike Swick: Well if I fought GSP, I’m quite certain that he would go for the takedown. So it would be avoiding the takedown. I feel like my ground game is good, and I feel very strong in that area, but it’s not the fight I would want as far as fighting Georges St. Pierre. I think the fight that the public wants and the fight that I want obviously is the same, and that’s for us to go out there and bang toe-to-toe.

But I’d obviously have to prepare for GSP going for that takedown. He’s become so good at getting that takedown and timing it, he’s winning fights — he’s winning fights easily — just because he’s timing the takedowns perfectly and taking the guys down, holding them a little bit, getting some ground and pound, and that over and over doing that just wins the fight.

I think that’s why we’re seeing it more because it’s an effective strategy that’s working against everybody and it’s giving him win after win after win. So if we get that fight, we’re going to work on every aspect of avoiding that takedown and mixing things up.

And we might surprise people how we fight him. I got some really good training partners in there, and I train with some really good wrestlers. I don’t have a college wrestling background, but for the past five years, I’ve trained with some of the best wrestlers in the world.

I have a decent takedown defense, I feel it’s one of my strongest aspects. So kinda like in the Burkman fight, avoiding that takedown, I think it’s one of the better attributes I have as far as my defense. I think it would hold up pretty well against Georges St. Pierre.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Okay, last question before I let you go. You’re one of the better fighters when it comes to marketing yourself and understanding the role that merchandising can play. From your Swick-Fu line and your blog, to the “Real Quick with Mike Swick” segments to being a sponsored player on Full Tilt Poker, you’ve established yourself as a well-rounded competitor with crossover appeal.

Obviously this has benefits beyond just getting a good fan base. These steps you take now could lead to bigger gigs down the road, such as a career in broadcasting, or just to secure financially your retirement.

How much are these projects a conscious pursuit to take advantage of your current popularity and get your name out there and market yourself in a variety of ways, versus, say, you just doing whatever comes natural, whatever projects interest you at the time?

Mike Swick: You know, it’s about sacrifice. I’ve sacrificed a good part of my life to get where I am today as far as training and competing and stuff. I’ve given up a lot of weekends, a lot of parties, a lot of drinking, a lot of eating what I want.

I’ve given up a huge part of my life in order to get where I am today. Just because I am where I am and fighting in the UFC and living my dream isn’t a sign to stop and quit sacrificing. So now that I don’t have to work a full-time job and I have a lot more time to dedicate to fighting, I don’t just stop the sacrificing and train my four to six hours a day and then just sleep or watch TV.

I pretty much work from the second I wake up to the second I go to bed. Training consists of about four to six hours a day, and I pretty much spend every other second of the day working on marketing, working on business stuff, promotional stuff.

I think it’s a sacrifice that in the long run will pay off. Just during this last fight camp, I formed two corporations, one for Combat Life, which is a clothing brand that I started, and one is for a screen-printing shop here in San Jose. We’ve actually been building … we have a 4,500-square-foot facility located in downtown San Jose, which is headquartering my clothing line and is a full-fledged screen-printing shop open to the public, which will be open I guess in October.

I formed the corporations, I’ve been working on setting this whole thing up, and I’ve been here pretty much everyday for a month or so building. I’ve been actually helping out, hanging sheet rock, working with the guys, planning and buying furniture and all the equipment.

So it’s the sacrifice that I’m making when I’m young to be able to have the security when I’m older for my kids and my family. So I don’t really have any free time unless I travel. Now that I’ve started this new corporation, I’m probably not even going to be traveling too much.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well I think that’s great. Guys like you and Couture and Koscheck — he has the Mar Clothing line, of course — it’s guys like that who are really giving a good name to MMA. To all those people who don’t know any better and think that fighters are just thugs or something, you guys are really establishing yourselves as great role models.

Mike Swick: Cool, man. Thanks

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Mike, I really appreciate you taking the time, truly I do. I wanted to give you a chance to thank any sponsors.

Mike Swick: Yeah, I’d like to thank all my sponsors and all my fans for the support. All the emails and tweets that have came in since pulling out of the fight have been real supportive and have made it a lot better for me. Again, I’m sorry about backing out of the fight, I know that a lot of people really wanted to see that fight, but I really didn’t have a choice, and all I can do is come back stronger and put on a great performance in the next one.

Please check out my Twitter page, which has all the updates about my new companies, the print shop, the clothing line, all the stuff as far as who my next opponent is, what I’m doing, I’m going to have everything posted on there. So that’s the best way to find out what’s going on with me.

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Bad situations: An MMAmania.com interview exclusive with Mike Swick

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

swick_interview

Since entering the UFC on the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Mike Swick has been on a quest to capture a world title — a journey that’s required a great deal of sacrifice.

After moving up in weight to secure a spot as a light heavyweight on TUF, Swick debuted in the UFC by living up to his nickname “Quick” —  earning a 20-second knockout of fellow contestant Alex Schoenauer at the TUF 1 Finale in April 2005.

He then dropped back down to middleweight and created fits for his 185 opponents, earning three more first round stoppages before out-pointing former number one contender David Louiseau at UFC 63: “Hughes vs. Penn” in September 2006.

A hard-fought unanimous decision loss to perennial contender Yushin Okami — the only blemish on Swick’s record since 2004 and his first loss inside the Octagon — led to his decision to drop again in weight, this time to 170 pounds, despite the fact that the move (at the time) was from a significantly thinner division to arguably the most stacked division in MMA.

Facing criticism for the move, Swick proved his doubters wrong, earning the judges’ nods over Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis, before making “Quick” work of Jonathan Goulet and, most recently, Ben Saunders at UFC 99: “The Comeback” in June of this year.

His 9-1 run inside the Octagon earned him a shot at the title, provided he could first best fellow slugger Martin Kampmann, a dangerous Thai boxer coming out of the Xtreme Couture camp. It was scheduled for this Saturday’s UFC 103: “Franklin vs. Belfort” in Dallas, Texas, Swick’s home state.

The fight had all the makings of an all-out war, with the winner being granted a title shot against reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. But a concussion suffered at the end of his training camp forced Swick off the card. It was a devastating blow to the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product.

With Kampmann now slated to face British rising talent Paul “Semtex” Daley — which will not be for a title shot — Swick has been left in a state of limbo as he recovers from his concussion. Physically, he’ll be ready to fight as early as October; however, the UFC has been busy trying to book the remaining cards in its 2009 schedule.

With no known number one contender in store for GSP, and with qualifier match-up currently scheduled, Swick is forced to wait until something, or someone, becomes available.

We caught up with Swick to ask him if he’s heard from the UFC about what’s next in store for the welterweight division’s title picture, see how his recovery is going and to find out who he’d like to fight next, assuming he could land on a card later this year.

And yes, he mentioned Matt Hughes.

Let’s get to it.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): First, I was sorry to hear about the injury. The Kampmann fight had all the makings of a fantastic fight. How devastated were you to learn you’d have to pull out of the fight?

Mike Swick: Ah, pretty devastated, man. It meant a lot to me to fight in Texas and to fight in front of the Texas fans, not to mention that I really wanted to fight Kampmann and it was a great fight. I was very excited about it.

I trained really hard. I trained for about 12 or 14 weeks for this fight — pretty much ever since the Saunders fight. So it sucks when you go through all that, you’re excited, you go through medicals, you’re getting everything set up, and then you have to cancel that close to the fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): It’s my understanding that you were tripped up while sparring and hit the back of your head against the mat pretty hard. Can you walk us through what happened?

Mike Swick: Yeah, I was sparring, and I got leg-swept, and the way I was angled, my legs just flew up and I landed on the back of my head right on my neck/head area on the bottom of the ring. It jarred me pretty good.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So did you have to go see a physician who refused to clear you for the fight, or did he just recommend that you not do that?

Mike Swick: Well right after, I kept sparring. I sparred two more rounds.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Oh, gee.

Mike Swick: I never even had a concussion before — I didn’t really know or experience a concussion before — so I sparred two more rounds. And then immediately following sparring, I noticed that a headache was coming on pretty serious, and then I got really nauseous, so I was throwing up.

You know, when it’s your head, you don’t really play around. So Javier (Mendez), my head instructor, called in a specialist to come in and check me out. She diagnosed me with a stage 2 traumatic brain injury concussion … They told me that they didn’t recommend me fighting …

I had two doctors check me out. I went and got another (opinion), because I wanted to keep fighting. I kept training. I wanted to fight, I wanted to try to get through it.

Seeing the doctors — as far as someone wanting to fight — it didn’t really help seeing a doctor, because they’re definitely not going to want to be responsible and let you fight. But on the flip side, they were right. When you have an issue like this, it’s probably not good to get punched in the head a bunch of times.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs) Yeah.

Mike Swick: They started explaining the long-term damage and the seriousness of it, and it sounded pretty serious. Again, I’ve had no experience with having a concussion. I’ve never had one before. So, I didn’t know much about it. But they made it sound pretty bad if I got hit again.

So I ended up training still and seeing if it would work out, and seeing how I felt each day. The headache lasted for like a week, on and off for like a good week. I still don’t feel … here and there 100%. I’ll still get that foggy kind of weird-head feeling, headaches here and there.

I got another opinion from another doctor, who also gave the recommendation to not fight. They basically said, they’re recommending me not to fight, but if I chose to … pretty much, in other words, if I chose to go against them and fight anyway, it would kind of be their legal responsibility to make a statement that they didn’t clear me.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Sure.

Mike Swick: It got to the point where it was evidently clear that I’m not going to be able to fight. Because even if I was to push through and train all the way to the fight and show up in Texas, it’s going to get out to the commission that I had a concussion and wasn’t going to get cleared, and they’d stop it right there.

There’s no way the Texas commission would let me fight if they knew that. So I’d have to basically lie to them. And then of course, the two doctors I’ve already seen who feel responsible would say something. So it just all became apparent when we called the UFC that it’s just not going to happen, there’s just no way. All it takes is for one of them to make a call.

It would be even more problematic for the UFC and for the fight card if I kept it on the DL all the way to the event and then canceled like a day or two in advance and then (Kampmann) wouldn’t have an opponent.

Even though it’s a bad situation now, it’s a bad situation for me, but it would be a lot worse situation for everyone else if we waited. So we went ahead, and (AKA manager) Bob Cook told (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva about it and made the decision to pull me from the fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So has the UFC told you what they plan to do about the title shot situation? I mean obviously Kampmann isn’t fighting for the title shot now that he has a different opponent. Have they explained to you at all what’s going to happen with that?

Mike Swick: They haven’t explained anything to me. No. I haven’t really contacted them too much. I’ve been kind of doing my own thing, just trying to get my mind off of everything.

It’s pretty depressing when you train so hard, you really want to fight bad, it’s your home state, all your friends and family are there, and then you gotta back out. So I feel bad because I wanted to fight for the fans, I wanted to fight in general, and I think it was a great match-up.

Obviously the reward for winning is huge, but I also felt bad for the UFC. They advertised the fight a lot and put a lot into it … and then obviously for Kampmann too. He prepared for me for 10, 11 weeks or whatever, and then I backed out, and he had to get a new opponent.

So not only do I feel bad for myself, I feel bad for all the problems that it’s caused. I’m just trying to get my mind off of it and working in my shop here in San Jose, a couple days, just relaxing, staying up with cardio before I head back to the gym and get ready for my next fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): There was talk online that you had stated that you would be ready to go as early as 104 or 105. Do you know what’s next for you in terms of a potential match-up?

Mike Swick: Yeah, if there was any possibility of being on the October card, I would have been ready. I’m in great shape now. I took almost a week off and just did a little bit of cardio and just rested my body — not only for my head, but my body has been pretty beat up from training too from this amount of time. So I’m giving it the adequate rest.

I’m going to start back training again this week, and then full on next week. If I were for sure going to be able to fight in October, I’d be back full-throttle and going at it, I’d be totally ready for that fight and in great shape.

But the way it’s looking, I’d be lucky if I got on November or December’s card. So I just have to focus on my technique and wait to hear. I really hope something comes soon, because I’d like to know who and when I’m fighting.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Is that because the cards are getting booked up already, or is there another reason? I mean the fight cards from the looks of things seem to be filling up pretty quickly. There are a few slots left that haven’t been confirmed in November and December, but obviously the UFC has probably been working to fill those slots since before your injury.

Mike Swick: Yeah, I’m sure there’s a lot of stuff like that. That’s the thing, man, the cards are just filled up. I know Joe Silva, like you said … if I can’t fight, I can’t fight. He’ll put me in as soon as he can, but he doesn’t know.

The cards are filled up. He books those cards so far in advance. Even though there’s some fighters that don’t seem to have opponents, maybe they’re working opponents out for them, they’ve already kind of verbally agreed, I don’t know.

It’s hard to say who’s really available. I mean from the looks of it, it looks like Hughes is available. He’s signed a six-fight deal and hasn’t booked a fight yet. So I’m really hoping he’s available, and I’m really hoping the UFC calls any day now and asks me to fight Hughes.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well that’s something else that I had read. You’ve expressed interest in this fight for a while now, as has your teammate, Josh Koscheck. I spoke with Koscheck a couple days ago*, and I asked that question: why hasn’t the UFC approached any of the AKA guys about a potential Matt Hughes fight, considering so many of them seem to be interested in it.

*[Editor’s Note: The Koscheck interview will be posted later this week].

I don’t want to put words in your mouth or anything like that, but do you get the impression that Matt Hughes isn’t interested in this fight?

Mike Swick: (Laughs) What did Koscheck say, I’m curious?

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): He said … I want to make sure I get this right … he said he doesn’t think that Hughes wants to be a stepping stone for one of the AKA guys. Clearly he expressed confidence that the AKA guys, whoever would be matched up with him — whether it’s you or Koscheck or Fitch — would clearly be winning that fight. So he implied that Hughes was not interested in taking the fight.

Mike Swick: Yeah, I don’t know. I put it out there after the Saunders fight that I really wanted to fight Hughes, and I didn’t hear anything back. After the Saunders fight, in the ring and at the post-fight conference I mentioned Hughes — that I really wanted that fight — (but) they never got back to me about it.

And then it turned out to be Kampmann. You know Kampmann’s not as big of a name as Hughes, but I was excited about the fight. I think he’s a great fighter, and for all the fans who watch the sport, they know who he is, and they know he’s a very tough, dangerous opponent. He’s pretty high ranked, considering his win over Carlos Condit. I was excited about that fight as well.

But yeah, I never got anything back on the Hughes fight. Then again, now it appears that he doesn’t have an opponent, and I don’t have an opponent, and pretty much every welterweight in the UFC is booked right now. I can’t think of hardly any welterweights that don’t have fights coming up that are top ranked. So it just makes perfect sense that we’d fight each other, but I haven’t heard anything back.

I put it out there a few times here and there. You know, I’m not one to pick my opponent, so I feel awkward asking for specific opponents, because that’s Joe Silva’s job, but I want it to be out there that I’m definitely willing to take it and excited about it if it happens.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): One quick question about Saunders: Ben Saunders is a pretty big welterweight. I figured going into that fight that his size might present some problems for you, but it didn’t seem to at all. My question is, did his size present any problems for you, and if not, did you use specific training partners who are big guys going into that fight to sort of help you with that?

Mike Swick: You know the size isn’t the issue. I spent my whole career fighting 205 pounders and 185 pounders. The thing about it is, I don’t think there’re any welterweights out there as strong as my training partners.

Me, Fitch and Kos, we train together, and I think we’re stronger than most welterweights out there. It’s not very often that … or it’s never been that we went out there and felt like anyone really out-powered us, especially in the welterweight division.

So I’m used to strong training partners. Aside from Fitch and Kos, I got middleweights and 205-pounders who are really big and strong as well. So we’re kind of used to that in the gym.

So size definitely wasn’t an issue. I think (Saunders’) reach was a little bit with his kicking. He landed a couple good kicks. His legs were pretty long, he could connect with them from pretty far out. I think as far as his length, that made a difference, I think. It gave him an advantage in the kicking aspect.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well the win over Saunders puts you at a 4-fight win streak, you’re 9-1 inside the Octagon, with six finishes, five of which came in the first round.

When you first decided to drop to welterweight, a lot of people criticized the move — at least online, I don’t know if they said anything to your face — saying that they didn’t think you would be able to compete against the division’s quicker wrestler-types. But now, before the injury, you were getting ready to fight for the number one contender qualifier position.

How did the criticism make you feel at the time, if in fact you were aware of it, and how does it feel now that you’ve legitimized your move to 170?

Mike Swick: Well the criticism came because of the Burkman fight. It was just the timing of that fight. The public doesn’t know a lot of things. There’s a lot of things the public doesn’t know about fighters and what goes into fights and what can happen, and different things that change aspects of fights.

It just happened to be a very bad timing on that one, because it was my very first fight at welterweight. So I think it sent up a bunch of red flags that maybe the move was a bad move and that I wasn’t adjusted to the weight. But it really didn’t have anything to do with that. There was just a lot of other variables that came into play. It was a learning experience, and I became stronger and learned from it.

But as far as the move, I feel absolutely great at 170. I think it’s the best division for me, I feel fast, strong and explosive. I’m almost the same size as I was at middleweight, except now I’m not looking across the ring and fighting guys that are 200 pounds. The guys are actually my size, so it caters to me.

I feel my speed still upholds really well at the lighter weight. It isn’t an issue to where these guys have lightweight speed or anything. My speed still carries over and gives me an advantage in that aspect as well.

It just turned out to be a great move. I’m doing everything I can to prove that I deserve a title shot and that this is the best weight class for me. So I’m just trying to do that with each and every fight that I fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you expect that you’ll have to face Kampmann one day down the road, whether that’s to get a title shot, or after a title shot. Do you still expect that the UFC one day is going to schedule you with that fight?

Mike Swick: For sure, man. I definitely expect the fight, and I want it, I want to fight all the top guys at welterweight. So unless Kampmann loses to Daley, for sure we’re going to fight somewhere down the line, and that’s what I want. I want to fight all the great guys throughout my career.

But I’ve been plagued with Kampmann. I’ve had to back out twice from an injury.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Against Kampmann?

Mike Swick: I mean I didn’t back out against Kampmann from an injury, but at the beginning of scheduling that fight they wanted it too soon, and I was healing up from a broken foot. So I didn’t back out of the fight, but I just couldn’t take the fight because it was too soon. My foot wouldn’t have time to heal.

So that was the first time (laughs), and then we get scheduled again, and I get through the entire fight camp, and then out of the blue have a concussion for the first time in my life. So it’s kind of like (laughs) I don’t know, it’s like he jinxed me or something.

I don’t know, that’s the only time that’s ever happened where twice I had an opportunity to fight somebody and it didn’t work out both times, and not because either one of us didn’t want to, but because of injuries or concussions and stuff like that. I guess it’s going to be that much better when we actually do make it into the Octagon together.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Both you and Kampmann seem to have such exciting stand-up games — I mean both of you are well-rounded everywhere, but when the fights stay on the feet between the two of you, those seem to be the most exciting fights.

What I find interesting is that George St. Pierre has relied fairly heavily on his wrestling in his recent fights — his ground and pound. We haven’t really seen a lot of the old kickboxing GSP in his recent fights. So I was wondering how you felt a guy like yourself, or even Kampmann, how a fight against GSP would go? Would you expect sort of a sprawl-and-brawl type of fight?

Mike Swick: Well if I fought GSP, I’m quite certain that he would go for the takedown. So it would be avoiding the takedown. I feel like my ground game is good, and I feel very strong in that area, but it’s not the fight I would want as far as fighting Georges St. Pierre. I think the fight that the public wants and the fight that I want obviously is the same, and that’s for us to go out there and bang toe-to-toe.

But I’d obviously have to prepare for GSP going for that takedown. He’s become so good at getting that takedown and timing it, he’s winning fights — he’s winning fights easily — just because he’s timing the takedowns perfectly and taking the guys down, holding them a little bit, getting some ground and pound, and that over and over doing that just wins the fight.

I think that’s why we’re seeing it more because it’s an effective strategy that’s working against everybody and it’s giving him win after win after win. So if we get that fight, we’re going to work on every aspect of avoiding that takedown and mixing things up.

And we might surprise people how we fight him. I got some really good training partners in there, and I train with some really good wrestlers. I don’t have a college wrestling background, but for the past five years, I’ve trained with some of the best wrestlers in the world.

I have a decent takedown defense, I feel it’s one of my strongest aspects. So kinda like in the Burkman fight, avoiding that takedown, I think it’s one of the better attributes I have as far as my defense. I think it would hold up pretty well against Georges St. Pierre.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Okay, last question before I let you go. You’re one of the better fighters when it comes to marketing yourself and understanding the role that merchandising can play. From your Swick-Fu line and your blog, to the “Real Quick with Mike Swick” segments to being a sponsored player on Full Tilt Poker, you’ve established yourself as a well-rounded competitor with crossover appeal.

Obviously this has benefits beyond just getting a good fan base. These steps you take now could lead to bigger gigs down the road, such as a career in broadcasting, or just to secure financially your retirement.

How much are these projects a conscious pursuit to take advantage of your current popularity and get your name out there and market yourself in a variety of ways, versus, say, you just doing whatever comes natural, whatever projects interest you at the time?

Mike Swick: You know, it’s about sacrifice. I’ve sacrificed a good part of my life to get where I am today as far as training and competing and stuff. I’ve given up a lot of weekends, a lot of parties, a lot of drinking, a lot of eating what I want.

I’ve given up a huge part of my life in order to get where I am today. Just because I am where I am and fighting in the UFC and living my dream isn’t a sign to stop and quit sacrificing. So now that I don’t have to work a full-time job and I have a lot more time to dedicate to fighting, I don’t just stop the sacrificing and train my four to six hours a day and then just sleep or watch TV.

I pretty much work from the second I wake up to the second I go to bed. Training consists of about four to six hours a day, and I pretty much spend every other second of the day working on marketing, working on business stuff, promotional stuff.

I think it’s a sacrifice that in the long run will pay off. Just during this last fight camp, I formed two corporations, one for Combat Life, which is a clothing brand that I started, and one is for a screen-printing shop here in San Jose. We’ve actually been building … we have a 4,500-square-foot facility located in downtown San Jose, which is headquartering my clothing line and is a full-fledged screen-printing shop open to the public, which will be open I guess in October.

I formed the corporations, I’ve been working on setting this whole thing up, and I’ve been here pretty much everyday for a month or so building. I’ve been actually helping out, hanging sheet rock, working with the guys, planning and buying furniture and all the equipment.

So it’s the sacrifice that I’m making when I’m young to be able to have the security when I’m older for my kids and my family. So I don’t really have any free time unless I travel. Now that I’ve started this new corporation, I’m probably not even going to be traveling too much.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well I think that’s great. Guys like you and Couture and Koscheck — he has the Mar Clothing line, of course — it’s guys like that who are really giving a good name to MMA. To all those people who don’t know any better and think that fighters are just thugs or something, you guys are really establishing yourselves as great role models.

Mike Swick: Cool, man. Thanks

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Mike, I really appreciate you taking the time, truly I do. I wanted to give you a chance to thank any sponsors.

Mike Swick: Yeah, I’d like to thank all my sponsors and all my fans for the support. All the emails and tweets that have came in since pulling out of the fight have been real supportive and have made it a lot better for me. Again, I’m sorry about backing out of the fight, I know that a lot of people really wanted to see that fight, but I really didn’t have a choice, and all I can do is come back stronger and put on a great performance in the next one.

Please check out my Twitter page, which has all the updates about my new companies, the print shop, the clothing line, all the stuff as far as who my next opponent is, what I’m doing, I’m going to have everything posted on there. So that’s the best way to find out what’s going on with me.

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Don’t blink: An MMAmania.com UFC 103 interview exclusive with Hermes Franca

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Hermes Franca has officially entered the twilight of his career at the age of 35.

He’s been around the block a time or two and has put together some big wins while enduring a few losses along the way — but he’s still standing tall.

His mixed martial arts resume reads like a who’s-who list of some of the best fighters in the world including Mike Brown, Caol Uno, Josh Thomson, Jamie Varner, Nate Diaz, Spencer Fisher, Sean Sherk and Frankie Edgar.

Franca already has a WEC lightweight championship belt with his name on it but the UFC belt is something that has eluded him throughout his six-year tenure.

His fight against the aforementioned Sean Sherk at UFC 73 was his first and only shot at the belt to date, but unfortunately he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision after twenty five minutes of battle.

Even if Franca would have defeated “The Muscle Shark,” he would have been stripped of the belt because of a positive test for banned substances stemming from a post-fight drug test (Sherk was eventually stripped of the belt for his own positive test).

His route back to a title shot starts with finding a way to beat a man ten years his junior in Xtreme Couture product Tyson Griffin on September 19 at UFC 103 in Dallas, Texas.

Franca took some time out of his busy fight schedule to discuss Griffin, the possibility of a WEC-UFC merger, B.J. Penn and coloring his hair on a regular basis.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You haven’t fought since October 2008 at UFC 90 so it’s been roughly a year due to the knee injury you sustained. Was the rehab difficult for you mentally?

Hermes Franca: Actually I was expecting to fight again. I didn’t know how damaged it was. I had like an ACL, meniscus, and cartilage damage. It was really rough. The doctor said be careful and do the rehab. Day by day it was getting better so after four months I was teaching long hours in my classes. After five months I was training. Now I’m training hard. Thank god nothing is wrong with my knee now. Actually I’m feeling good. I’m feeling 100%. I’m able to do my cardio and conditioning. I’m able to do what I used to do.

But with the training I had to be careful because I was worried about my knee. I’ve never had to be careful with my training before. We always go hard. Thank god I didn’t get hurt again. Everything’s fine. I just finished my training and now I don’t have anything to do anymore but lose weight and step it up on fight night.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You just turned 35 recently. You’ve been fighting professionally for about eight years now. How much longer do you still want to fight and how will you know when it is time to walk away?

Hermes Franca: I don’t know. I think I can be able to fight long enough. I just have to respect my body. I think I got my injury because I fought like nine times in 2006. I have never fought nine times in a year – hard fights. I fought for the title. I fought like nine times in twelve months. I think I was hurting my body. If I am able to fight three times a year, four maximum, I think I can be able to fight many years.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): How many fights do you have left on your contract?

Hermes Franca: I think I have two more fights – this week and one more.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you feel like you still have the ability to win a championship belt?

Hermes Franca: Of course. I don’t fight in the UFC for nothing. I’ve been in the UFC for six years. I’ve had some ups and downs but Hermes Franca is still going to hang in there. I always put on a good show. I think I’ve lost two times in the UFC – Sean Sherk, he’s like a number one contender and Frank Edgar, another great fighter. I think he just lost to Gray Maynard. I never disappoint my fans. I never disappoint the UFC. In my heart I do believe I can beat both again. I do believe I can get the belt.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’ve fought a laundry list of top fighters in your career including Mike Brown, Frankie Edgar, and Sean Sherk. Who would you say was the toughest guy you have fought in your career?

Hermes Franca: Jamie Varner. He came really strong. Frank Edgar. He surprised me a lot. Every time I see him fight he gets better and better. It was a tough fight. Marcus Aurelio from this past year. At my weight everybody knows everything. Everyone knows jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and boxing so if you make a mistake it’s over. You can’t blink.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’re a former WEC lightweight champion. Do you think the WEC should merge into the UFC and add those fighters under the UFC brand name?

Hermes Franca: That is what they’re saying but that is a lot of fighters for just one belt. Before it was just me, Yves Edwards, B.J Penn, not a lot. Now, oh my god, there are like fifty fighters in the lightweight division. It’s out of my hands though. Before you used to do three fights to get the title. Now you have to do like eight fights, maybe more, and if you lose you go to the back of the line.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): The current UFC lightweight champion is, of course, B.J. Penn. He’s a guy you have trained with before. Is there anyone better than him in the world at 155 pounds?

Hermes Franca: I don’t think so. The guy has great skills. He submitted Kenny Florian. He knocked Sean Sherk out. He submitted Takanori Gomi. What can I say about the guy? Nobody is better than him. If one day we have to fight we’re going to be real professional, just for the title, that’s it. It would be a hard one for sure.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Some people still argue that Japanese fighter Shinya Aoki could still be the top lightweight in the world. Do you think Aoki could compete in the UFC?

Hermes Franca: I think so. Sooner or later he’s going to be in the UFC. I think UFC is growing show much that people can see UFC is the best. There’s really no competition. I think they’ll be able to get those Japanese fighters. I don’t think he’s in the top ten. If he wants to be in the top ten he has to fight against the UFC top ten guys and prove it.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You’re facing Tyson Griffin at UFC 103. What are his biggest strengths? What have you learned about him in your preparations?

Hermes Franca: We’ve spent a lot of time looking at his game. There’s no surprising him. I can see the kid is really strong. He has great cardio. We studied his game. I don’t want to spend my energy or time trying to knock him out or trying to submit him. In studying his game I see there are some mistakes so I want to take advantage. Not a lot. Just a couple mistakes and I want to go looking for them.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): To me it seems like you will have a significant advantage on the ground with your jiu-jitsu against Griffin. Is that a weakness of his you will look to hone in on?

Hermes Franca: He’s a great fighter. I think in studying my game he knows I’m a good jiu-jitsu guy. Actually he fought against good Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts like Marcus Aurelio, Gleison Tibau, and Thiago Tavares and he didn’t have any problems. I have seen him defend well against those guys, that is what I’m saying. I’m studying his game and I want to take advantage. I see mistakes. I can catch him.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you have an official prediction for the fight?

Hermes Franca: There are going to raise my hand. That’s my prediction. I do believe that. I wake up everyday and I say, “I’m going to win! I’m going to win! I’m a winner!” I’m there for six years and I train hard. Fighters come and go and come and go and I’m still there. I want to put on a great show and I want them to raise my hand.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Now for the most important question. Will you be coloring your hair for UFC 103?

Hermes Franca: (laughs) I’m not sure man. I think so. I’m going to dye my hair. That’s what I like to do. The UFC right now is a big show. Everyone is watching on TV. My fans are so excited to see me fighting, my family too. I am excited. I am so excited to step into the octagon again. I have missed it a lot.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): So what’s it going to be? Pink or purple this time?

Hermes Franca: (laughs) I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m going to ask my son. I have some fans who texted me and said I need green hair. I’m not sure yet.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): That’s all I had for you Hermes. Is there anything you would like to pass along to your fans out there or any sponsors you would like to thank?

Hermes Franca: I would like to say thank you to Tapout and Affliction. Big thanks to the UFC. I just want to put on a good show. If I put on a good show all my fans are going to be happy. I do it for my family and my fans. They are the best.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): We appreciate the time. Best of luck.

Hermes Franca: Thank you very much.

Derek Bolender is a contributor to MMAmania.com and InsideFights.com. He is also syndicated to CBSSports.com and CNNSI.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and Facebook.com/Derek.Bolender.

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