Getting inside a cage to fight isn’t for everyone.
But it is for UFC featherweight Dennis Bermudez (7-3).
However, if you would have told Bermudez just two and a half years ago that he’d be fighting in the UFC, he would have said you’re crazy.
“I was told that I should give fighting a chance when I was coming out of college,” Bermudez told Bleacher Report. “But I wasn’t getting in there and doing that,” he laughed.
Finally, after multiple attempts, “The Menace” was convinced to give mixed martial arts a whirl.
The only problem: He would agree to his first fight without ever having trained in the sport.
“Time freed up and I went down to train with one of my buddies for the first time,” said Bermudez. “I’ve wrestled my entire life and my style was always a fast pace and in your face type of game.”
“To make a long story short, I went down there and tapped a buddy out in really my first go-around with the sport. They told me I needed to start doing it but at the time I wasn’t even training. I thought about it for a while and said screw it, I’ll do it,” said Bermudez. “I went over to Steve Blackman’s gym in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and started training.”
It wasn’t long until Bermudez would be recognized as a legitimate threat, as he went on to win the first seven fights of his career.
Bermudez’s early dominance in the sport eventually led to a spot on Season 14 of the Ultimate Fighter.
After running through opponent after opponent, Bermudez arrived at the series finale, where he would meet Diego Brandao.
Bermudez would continue his dominance through the first four minutes of the opening frame, only to get caught via armbar with just nine seconds remaining in the round.
However, it’s been a fairly easy thing for Bermudez to overcome, as he knows his future is filled with bright lights and many more opportunities.
“It was definitely easier to push aside and move on because I have a very good fan base and a good support system,” said Bermudez. “I could go out there and they’d tell me I’m awesome regardless of the outcome of the fight.”
“I always try to go out there and put on a good show. Everyone thought this guy was going to come in and knock me out. I was super focused going in and for the most part did what I had to do. I re-watched the tape and said to myself, wow man I am pretty good. I didn’t know I could do that, but I did,” said Bermudez.
Bermudez is now slated to take on fellow featherweight Pablo Garza (11-2) at UFC on Fox 3 when the UFC travels to Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 5th.
May 5th will also mark Bermudez’s return to the east coast, as he hasn’t gotten to fight in front of his hometown fans since November of 2010.
“Garza’s reach and height is something I’m a little concerned with, but I’ve been working with longer guys. I need to get inside of him and kind of do my thing. At the same time, I think I’m effective on the outside as well,” said Bermudez. “I feel like if I grab a hold of him, he’s going to know he’s in the cage with ‘The Menace’.”
“It’s also going to be huge fighting on the east coast. The last time I fought it was out in Las Vegas, so a lot of my fans couldn’t make the trip. This time around I’ll have people from PA, upstate NY, and Long Island there,” said Bermudez. “I’m expecting a pretty big crowd.”
In terms of the outcome of his featherweight showdown with Garza, Bermudez expects to put on a show as usual.
However, fans in attendance and those viewing shouldn’t expect a very long show.
“I don’t think this guy will get to see the judge’s scorecards.”
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