Heading into UFC 139, welterweight Martin Kampmann is riding a two-fight losing streak, but many actually feel the judges got both of those decisions wrong.
Based on a recent interview with MMASucka, don’t expect “The Hitman” to give either Diego Sanchez or Jake Shields too much credit anytime soon.
Kampmann got straight to the point regarding his controversial UFC on Versus 3 loss to Diego Sanchez:
“With the Diego fight I made mistakes, but I still beat him. His face was a wreck afterwards and he still has the scars to prove it,” the Xtreme Couture fighter said.
“I definitely believe I won that fight and I got the better of him. I would love to avenge any one of those two losses because I think I’m the better fighter and I can beat any of those guys,” he added.
Speaking of the split decision loss to Jake Shields at UFC 121, a performance that many felt was one of the worst of Shields career, Kampmann had no problem knocking the Cesar Gracie black belt’s grappling-heavy style:
“For the most part wrestlers take people down and lay on them. That is how I lost to Jake Shields. I was kneeing Jake in the face and in the body. I had a solid submission attempt with a choke. He landed one punch on me in that entire fight and he didn’t once try to submit me,” Kampmann recalled.
“He won the fight by getting on top of me and humping my leg. I think the current scoring system favors wrestlers too much. You can punch a guy ten times in the face, but if he takes you down and cuddles with you, they give the round to that guy. It is what it is,” he also said.
Kampmann also said that he “gave that victory away by fighting a bad fight,” giving Shields essentially no credit for the highly debatable win.
The only UFC fighter to defeat Carlos Condit also weighed in on the current welterweight title picture, giving Nick Diaz absolutely no chance against reigning 170-pound king Georges St-Pierre.
“I personally think Carlos Condit got screwed. Nick Diaz has been pretty good at hyping himself up. To be honest, I don’t think Diaz is that good,” Kampmann said very frankly.
“Anytime he has fought any good wrestlers he has had problems. I think he’s going to lose badly to GSP. Diaz is good at running his mouth and doing his thing…you know…being a punk,” he stated.
“I would love to fight Nick Diaz sooner than later. I would absolutely love to fight him somewhere down the line.”
Strong words from The Hitman, a guy who is usually pretty mild-mannered in his interviews.
As expected, Kampmann also discussed his upcoming bout with Rick Story.
“I’d love to make it a more technical striking match, but I don’t think that is what he is going to do. I think he is going to want to come in close. I think that is his strength; he’s a strong dude who wants to come in swinging,” Kampmann indicated.
“He might get clipped, but when he’s in the pocket like that he’s dangerous. From a distance though I will be able to pick him apart,” he remarked.
Despite Story having a marked wrestling advantage, Kampmann has no fear of being taken down in this fight.
“He tries to take his opponents to the ground a lot. He is a wrestler by nature. I’m sure he is going to try and take the fight to the ground, but I’m prepared for that,” Kampmann said.
“I’m totally ready to counter or stuff the takedown. If it does go to the ground I’m very confident in my Jiu-jitsu skills too.”
UFC 139 takes place at the HP Pavilion Center in San Jose, California, where Story vs. Kampmann is the fourth fight on the main card.
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