At every post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White is hit with the same question three or four times, sometimes more:
“Dana, what’s next for (insert fighter’s name here)?”
When he’s in a good mood, White laughs, makes some joke about how “you guys ask me this every time,” says “He’s in the mix/We’ll have to see,” and moves on to the next question. When he’s grown tired of that line of questioning, he simply says, “I don’t know,” and looks to find the next media member holding a microphone, hoping they’re not going to ask him what’s next for someone else on the dais.
Yet as much as the man standing at the podium is never really fond of the question, there is a group that dislikes the question even more – the fighters themselves.
Think about it.
For the last two month-plus, they’ve spent countless hours per day preparing to step into the cage with someone who will try to punch them in the face, and before they’ve even had a chance to test themselves and the game plan they’ve prepared, we want to know what comes next. Add a title into the conversation, and you have even more questions that have to be asked, but can’t truly be answered.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion is days away from facing off with Dan Henderson, the only man to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously in a major mixed martial arts promotion, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer if there were such a thing in this sport. It is a dangerous matchup, and one that “The Dragon” has been preparing for diligently with his team of coaches and training partners at the Black House facility in Los Angeles.
“Dan Henderson is a great champion; he’s done a lot for the sport, and he has great significance, so it’s hard to talk about (what comes next) before the fight even happens,” Machida says through translator Derek Lee. “It’s hard to say because the fight hasn’t even happened.”
Saturday night, the two light heavyweight standouts will step into the cage together in the co-main event of UFC 157 in a pairing that came together as a result of a chaotic year in the 205-pound ranks.
At the beginning of August, Machida knocked out Ryan Bader, leading to White proclaiming the former champion as the division’s new #1 contender, the man who would face the winner of the impending September showdown between Henderson and champion Jon Jones.
One knee injury, one decision to turn down a short notice fight with a dangerous man, one cancelled event, and six months later, here we are, sitting on the eve of what should be a terrific physical chess match between two proven talents, and we’re fixated on what comes next, leading Machida to a familiar refrain.
“I respect Dan Henderson a lot, and it’s a really tough fight. There really is no point in talking about what comes next until I fight him.”
Thankfully, Machida has been a little more open in his willingness to discuss what his opponent will bring to the cage Saturday night, and how he will come away from the UFC 157 co-main event victorious. Of course, “a little more open” with someone as traditionally reserved with his thoughts as the 34-year-old Brazilian still only gets you about three-percent of the response the same question would elicit from one Chael Patrick Sonnen.
“I think Dan Henderson is a very tough fighter,” Machida started in his assessment of his fistic dance partner on the UFC Countdown show for this event. “He’s a guy with strong hips, but he doesn’t use his wrestling too much. His ground game is very defensive. He has strong striking and good takedowns. He can get out of bad situations.
“I expect Dan Henderson to come very well prepared; he’s very professional in that sense. I will also come very well prepared, and the fans can expect a fight between two fighters that really want to take the next step in their careers.
“Although he is a tough opponent, a guy that has never been knocked out, I have what it takes to knock Dan Henderson out.”
This contest has obvious title implications, with Henderson and Machida resting at #1 and #2 respectively in the latest edition of the UFC rankings. Earlier this month, the former champion shared his belief that the winner of this matchup of the division’s top two challengers should produce the next title challenger.
With the door to question about finishing Henderson and his continued pursuit of the title he once held seemingly ajar, the time seemed right to ask where the man with memorable finishes against Randy Couture and Rashad Evans (to name a few) would rank becoming the first man to knock out the former Pride and Strikeforce champion?
“I don’t want to talk about it too much; I’m not worried about that,” Machida answered through his translator, slamming the door to questions about the future closed, finishing with a familiar refrain. “It’s hard to talk about it before the fight even happens.”
As much as we might want to get annoyed with athletes who trade in clichés and rattle off variations of the same five or six answers in every interview, imagine what it must be like on the other side of the microphone — cameras focused on your face, tape recorders collecting your every word, questions you’ve answered numerous times in the past asked again.
And once more just for good measure, before the inevitable happens.
“What comes next after you beat Dan Henderson?”
Like everyone on the card, it’s a question Machida has been asked countless times in the last two weeks, and dozens more in the last two days. Only with the stoic and pensive karate fighter, he doesn’t begin his answer with “Not that I’m looking past Dan Henderson” before adding a “but” and rolling out his five step plan for regaining the light heavyweight title.
“There really is no point in talking about what comes next until I fight him.”
It may not be what we want to hear, but you can’t knock the logic.
Thankfully, it’s only a couple more days until Machida and Henderson share the cage, and the most popular fight week question stops being a question about the future, and starts to be a question about the here and now; one that is answered with every reporter’s least favorite answer:
“It’s up to Dana and the UFC. I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight.”
Check and mate.
At every post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White is hit with the same question three or four times, sometimes more:
“Dana, what’s next for (insert fighter’s name here)?”
When he’s in a good mood, White laughs, makes some joke about how “you guys ask me this every time,” says “He’s in the mix/We’ll have to see,” and moves on to the next question. When he’s grown tired of that line of questioning, he simply says, “I don’t know,” and looks to find the next media member holding a microphone, hoping they’re not going to ask him what’s next for someone else on the dais.
Yet as much as the man standing at the podium is never really fond of the question, there is a group that dislikes the question even more – the fighters themselves.
Think about it.
For the last two month-plus, they’ve spent countless hours per day preparing to step into the cage with someone who will try to punch them in the face, and before they’ve even had a chance to test themselves and the game plan they’ve prepared, we want to know what comes next. Add a title into the conversation, and you have even more questions that have to be asked, but can’t truly be answered.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion is days away from facing off with Dan Henderson, the only man to hold titles in two weight classes simultaneously in a major mixed martial arts promotion, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer if there were such a thing in this sport. It is a dangerous matchup, and one that “The Dragon” has been preparing for diligently with his team of coaches and training partners at the Black House facility in Los Angeles.
“Dan Henderson is a great champion; he’s done a lot for the sport, and he has great significance, so it’s hard to talk about (what comes next) before the fight even happens,” Machida says through translator Derek Lee. “It’s hard to say because the fight hasn’t even happened.”
Saturday night, the two light heavyweight standouts will step into the cage together in the co-main event of UFC 157 in a pairing that came together as a result of a chaotic year in the 205-pound ranks.
At the beginning of August, Machida knocked out Ryan Bader, leading to White proclaiming the former champion as the division’s new #1 contender, the man who would face the winner of the impending September showdown between Henderson and champion Jon Jones.
One knee injury, one decision to turn down a short notice fight with a dangerous man, one cancelled event, and six months later, here we are, sitting on the eve of what should be a terrific physical chess match between two proven talents, and we’re fixated on what comes next, leading Machida to a familiar refrain.
“I respect Dan Henderson a lot, and it’s a really tough fight. There really is no point in talking about what comes next until I fight him.”
Thankfully, Machida has been a little more open in his willingness to discuss what his opponent will bring to the cage Saturday night, and how he will come away from the UFC 157 co-main event victorious. Of course, “a little more open” with someone as traditionally reserved with his thoughts as the 34-year-old Brazilian still only gets you about three-percent of the response the same question would elicit from one Chael Patrick Sonnen.
“I think Dan Henderson is a very tough fighter,” Machida started in his assessment of his fistic dance partner on the UFC Countdown show for this event. “He’s a guy with strong hips, but he doesn’t use his wrestling too much. His ground game is very defensive. He has strong striking and good takedowns. He can get out of bad situations.
“I expect Dan Henderson to come very well prepared; he’s very professional in that sense. I will also come very well prepared, and the fans can expect a fight between two fighters that really want to take the next step in their careers.
“Although he is a tough opponent, a guy that has never been knocked out, I have what it takes to knock Dan Henderson out.”
This contest has obvious title implications, with Henderson and Machida resting at #1 and #2 respectively in the latest edition of the UFC rankings. Earlier this month, the former champion shared his belief that the winner of this matchup of the division’s top two challengers should produce the next title challenger.
With the door to question about finishing Henderson and his continued pursuit of the title he once held seemingly ajar, the time seemed right to ask where the man with memorable finishes against Randy Couture and Rashad Evans (to name a few) would rank becoming the first man to knock out the former Pride and Strikeforce champion?
“I don’t want to talk about it too much; I’m not worried about that,” Machida answered through his translator, slamming the door to questions about the future closed, finishing with a familiar refrain. “It’s hard to talk about it before the fight even happens.”
As much as we might want to get annoyed with athletes who trade in clichés and rattle off variations of the same five or six answers in every interview, imagine what it must be like on the other side of the microphone — cameras focused on your face, tape recorders collecting your every word, questions you’ve answered numerous times in the past asked again.
And once more just for good measure, before the inevitable happens.
“What comes next after you beat Dan Henderson?”
Like everyone on the card, it’s a question Machida has been asked countless times in the last two weeks, and dozens more in the last two days. Only with the stoic and pensive karate fighter, he doesn’t begin his answer with “Not that I’m looking past Dan Henderson” before adding a “but” and rolling out his five step plan for regaining the light heavyweight title.
“There really is no point in talking about what comes next until I fight him.”
It may not be what we want to hear, but you can’t knock the logic.
Thankfully, it’s only a couple more days until Machida and Henderson share the cage, and the most popular fight week question stops being a question about the future, and starts to be a question about the here and now; one that is answered with every reporter’s least favorite answer:
“It’s up to Dana and the UFC. I’ll fight whoever they want me to fight.”
On Sunday, February 17, 2013, Court McGee reached 2,500 days of sobriety.
“Pretty crazy, huh?” he asked me with a laugh, breaking the silence over the phone when he told me how many days it had been since his last sip of alcohol when we spoke a couple of weeks earlier.
While most pre-fight interviews focus on the previous result and the opponent on deck, speaking with the articulate 28-year-old who embodies the word “fighter” in many ways is always a chance to talk about so much more. There are very few topics that are off limits with McGee, who has never hesitated to discuss his past struggles, present situation inside and outside the cage, or future goals with nothing but complete openness and raw honesty.
Fighting may be his profession, but the cage isn’t just his place of business. As much as he loves the competition, fighting on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts also affords McGee a platform, a way to reach out to those who are struggling and going down the same dangerous paths he managed to survive.
Win or lose, the man who was once clinically dead sees every fight as a chance to show others that you can make it out. It’s a message he carried throughout his winning turn on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, and the same one he will bring to the cage with him when he makes his welterweight debut Saturday night inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California at UFC 157.
“(Fighting isn’t) the end-all, be-all,” said McGee, who faces veteran Josh Neer this weekend. “Don’t get me wrong: it can feel like that. There are some days when you wake up and think it’s the end of the world, and there are other days where it’s the greatest feeling, but maintaining that sober lifestyle, and knowing that a loss isn’t the end of the world…”
One thing you get used to in talking with McGee is how quickly and frequently he shifts direction when he speaks, leaving sentences dangling without a conclusion as he pivots to a tangential thought.
“You can lose jobs, gain jobs, make a lot of money, lose a lot of money,” he said, re-starting his paused point from a slightly different angle. “But it’s kind of `Are you happy with where you’re at?’ and `Are you happy with what you’re doing?’ and `Do I think I’m doing what my higher power thinks I should do?’ and I am. I’m able to carry the message to people all over the world.”
As we spoke on a Monday afternoon earlier this month, McGee told me he lost a friend the day before. He said it with the flat tone and unwavering voice of a man who has spent a lot of time talking about friends who left this world too early, and one who knows all too well what it’s like to be in the same place.
“He was a great guy. He was funny, a little off – he wasn’t a real popular guy – but there was something about him that was real personable; not a lot of people didn’t get along with him, you know? He was a great guy, and for whatever reason, he overdosed on some sleeping medication. That was Saturday night or Sunday morning.
“I just think that I fight to carry the message to people like that – who haven’t gone over the edge – and think if I can make it out, you can make it out, and that gives me inspiration to show up. That’s one of the things, man – you’ve just got to suit up and show up – and I’ve done that.”
He’ll suit up and show up again on Saturday, looking to halt a two-fight losing streak when he steps into the cage as a welterweight for the first time.
Relocating to the 170-pound ranks was something McGee discussed with his coaches prior to his pairing with Costa Philippou last March. After dropping a unanimous decision to the surging Serra-Longo Fight Team member in Sydney, Australia, he returned to the cage four months later to take on Nick Ring at UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta, putting his plan to change weight classes on hold once again.
“About a week before I had agreed to fight Costa, I had been talking and thinking about going down to 170, but then I got offered the fight, so it was kind of like, `OK – we’ll take it, and then we’ll go down after.’ Then it was like, `OK, I’ll fight Nick again; I’ve got a good game plan going in. I’ll stick with it, and just worry about cutting down after.’
“Immediately after, I called (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) and said, `My next fight is going to be at welterweight.’ It was part of the game plan for a while, but I thought the matchups were good. It ended up working out the way it did, but everything worked out the way it was supposed to, you know what I mean? I just have to be okay with the way things work, accept the way things are, and try to make the best of my decision, the decision of the judges, and try to kick some ass on the next one, you know?”
McGee felt he did enough to earn the victory against the former in Australia, and just about everyone who saw the fight with the latter believed he should have been declared the winner in Calgary.
Some fighters who find themselves on the wrong side of a questionable decision never miss a chance to remind you that the judges robbed them. As much as he still disagrees with the final scorecards, McGee’s reasons for focusing on the positive elements of each contest are fairly standard when it comes to the world of fighting, and a sharp dose of reality when examined in terms of the life the fighter used to live.
“I used them as an experience to try and grow from,” explained McGee, whose record now sits at 3-2 in the UFC and 13-3 overall following his consecutive setbacks. “It’s `what can I learn from it?’ and `what can I take positive from it?’ instead of making everything negative, and blaming everybody else. That would stop me from being the best I could be, and that would stop me from being able to carry the message.
“If I dwelled and `I should have had this’ and `I should have had that’ – if I had everything I wanted, I’d be f***ing dead right now or in prison, you know what I mean? I kind of make the best of it because things are a lot better than I could have ever imagined them to be.
“Don’t get me wrong: losing is really difficult to deal with as a professional athlete,” laughed McGee as he resumed. “It hurts your pride, hurts your ego, you start second-guessing, and you go through a lot of emotions that a lot of people wouldn’t understand unless they’ve been through it, but that’s part of it; that’s part of the journey.”
As a competitor, McGee is focused on avoiding the anguish of a third straight defeat on Saturday night. Just as he has since his first fight, he’s ready to suit up, show up, and put his skills to the test in the cage.
As always, it’s about much more than just the outcome of the fight.
“It’s not just fighting any more – it’s a business, it’s a job, it’s a career. I have a family that I have to support, and the responsibility of being a dad. And then the most important responsibility is staying sober, because I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if I didn’t maintain my sobriety.
“A loss, a win – what matters to me is that I show up every day, just like I showed up to practice today. I felt good today, but there are Mondays where I don’t want to be there, and I don’t want to practice; I feel terrible, but the point is that I show up. It’s the same thing that I show up for my children. I tell my wife I love her, and I clean the living room even though I don’t want to. It’s the last thing I want to do, but it’s my living room too.
“By me showing up every day, I can show someone else in the world that if I can show up and do this every day, doing the best I can do – whether I win or lose, I’m still me, I’ve shown up, and I’ve done the best I can do – maybe they’ll take a little bit of inspiration from that, and they’ll show up for whatever they need to show up for, whether that’s bagging groceries at WalMart or helping their wife clean the living room.”
Suit up and show up, every day, no matter what you’re doing. You never know who your efforts will inspire.
Court McGee has done it every day for the last 2,500 days, and the outcome of Saturday’s fight won’t stop him for continuing to do the same come Sunday morning.
On Sunday, February 17, 2013, Court McGee reached 2,500 days of sobriety.
“Pretty crazy, huh?” he asked me with a laugh, breaking the silence over the phone when he told me how many days it had been since his last sip of alcohol when we spoke a couple of weeks earlier.
While most pre-fight interviews focus on the previous result and the opponent on deck, speaking with the articulate 28-year-old who embodies the word “fighter” in many ways is always a chance to talk about so much more. There are very few topics that are off limits with McGee, who has never hesitated to discuss his past struggles, present situation inside and outside the cage, or future goals with nothing but complete openness and raw honesty.
Fighting may be his profession, but the cage isn’t just his place of business. As much as he loves the competition, fighting on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts also affords McGee a platform, a way to reach out to those who are struggling and going down the same dangerous paths he managed to survive.
Win or lose, the man who was once clinically dead sees every fight as a chance to show others that you can make it out. It’s a message he carried throughout his winning turn on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, and the same one he will bring to the cage with him when he makes his welterweight debut Saturday night inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California at UFC 157.
“(Fighting isn’t) the end-all, be-all,” said McGee, who faces veteran Josh Neer this weekend. “Don’t get me wrong: it can feel like that. There are some days when you wake up and think it’s the end of the world, and there are other days where it’s the greatest feeling, but maintaining that sober lifestyle, and knowing that a loss isn’t the end of the world…”
One thing you get used to in talking with McGee is how quickly and frequently he shifts direction when he speaks, leaving sentences dangling without a conclusion as he pivots to a tangential thought.
“You can lose jobs, gain jobs, make a lot of money, lose a lot of money,” he said, re-starting his paused point from a slightly different angle. “But it’s kind of `Are you happy with where you’re at?’ and `Are you happy with what you’re doing?’ and `Do I think I’m doing what my higher power thinks I should do?’ and I am. I’m able to carry the message to people all over the world.”
As we spoke on a Monday afternoon earlier this month, McGee told me he lost a friend the day before. He said it with the flat tone and unwavering voice of a man who has spent a lot of time talking about friends who left this world too early, and one who knows all too well what it’s like to be in the same place.
“He was a great guy. He was funny, a little off – he wasn’t a real popular guy – but there was something about him that was real personable; not a lot of people didn’t get along with him, you know? He was a great guy, and for whatever reason, he overdosed on some sleeping medication. That was Saturday night or Sunday morning.
“I just think that I fight to carry the message to people like that – who haven’t gone over the edge – and think if I can make it out, you can make it out, and that gives me inspiration to show up. That’s one of the things, man – you’ve just got to suit up and show up – and I’ve done that.”
He’ll suit up and show up again on Saturday, looking to halt a two-fight losing streak when he steps into the cage as a welterweight for the first time.
Relocating to the 170-pound ranks was something McGee discussed with his coaches prior to his pairing with Costa Philippou last March. After dropping a unanimous decision to the surging Serra-Longo Fight Team member in Sydney, Australia, he returned to the cage four months later to take on Nick Ring at UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta, putting his plan to change weight classes on hold once again.
“About a week before I had agreed to fight Costa, I had been talking and thinking about going down to 170, but then I got offered the fight, so it was kind of like, `OK – we’ll take it, and then we’ll go down after.’ Then it was like, `OK, I’ll fight Nick again; I’ve got a good game plan going in. I’ll stick with it, and just worry about cutting down after.’
“Immediately after, I called (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) and said, `My next fight is going to be at welterweight.’ It was part of the game plan for a while, but I thought the matchups were good. It ended up working out the way it did, but everything worked out the way it was supposed to, you know what I mean? I just have to be okay with the way things work, accept the way things are, and try to make the best of my decision, the decision of the judges, and try to kick some ass on the next one, you know?”
McGee felt he did enough to earn the victory against the former in Australia, and just about everyone who saw the fight with the latter believed he should have been declared the winner in Calgary.
Some fighters who find themselves on the wrong side of a questionable decision never miss a chance to remind you that the judges robbed them. As much as he still disagrees with the final scorecards, McGee’s reasons for focusing on the positive elements of each contest are fairly standard when it comes to the world of fighting, and a sharp dose of reality when examined in terms of the life the fighter used to live.
“I used them as an experience to try and grow from,” explained McGee, whose record now sits at 3-2 in the UFC and 13-3 overall following his consecutive setbacks. “It’s `what can I learn from it?’ and `what can I take positive from it?’ instead of making everything negative, and blaming everybody else. That would stop me from being the best I could be, and that would stop me from being able to carry the message.
“If I dwelled and `I should have had this’ and `I should have had that’ – if I had everything I wanted, I’d be f***ing dead right now or in prison, you know what I mean? I kind of make the best of it because things are a lot better than I could have ever imagined them to be.
“Don’t get me wrong: losing is really difficult to deal with as a professional athlete,” laughed McGee as he resumed. “It hurts your pride, hurts your ego, you start second-guessing, and you go through a lot of emotions that a lot of people wouldn’t understand unless they’ve been through it, but that’s part of it; that’s part of the journey.”
As a competitor, McGee is focused on avoiding the anguish of a third straight defeat on Saturday night. Just as he has since his first fight, he’s ready to suit up, show up, and put his skills to the test in the cage.
As always, it’s about much more than just the outcome of the fight.
“It’s not just fighting any more – it’s a business, it’s a job, it’s a career. I have a family that I have to support, and the responsibility of being a dad. And then the most important responsibility is staying sober, because I wouldn’t be where I’m at today if I didn’t maintain my sobriety.
“A loss, a win – what matters to me is that I show up every day, just like I showed up to practice today. I felt good today, but there are Mondays where I don’t want to be there, and I don’t want to practice; I feel terrible, but the point is that I show up. It’s the same thing that I show up for my children. I tell my wife I love her, and I clean the living room even though I don’t want to. It’s the last thing I want to do, but it’s my living room too.
“By me showing up every day, I can show someone else in the world that if I can show up and do this every day, doing the best I can do – whether I win or lose, I’m still me, I’ve shown up, and I’ve done the best I can do – maybe they’ll take a little bit of inspiration from that, and they’ll show up for whatever they need to show up for, whether that’s bagging groceries at WalMart or helping their wife clean the living room.”
Suit up and show up, every day, no matter what you’re doing. You never know who your efforts will inspire.
Court McGee has done it every day for the last 2,500 days, and the outcome of Saturday’s fight won’t stop him for continuing to do the same come Sunday morning.
Five years and 16 consecutive wins after losing his MMA debut, Ryan Jimmo finally made his way into the Octagon.
Seven seconds later, the 31-year-old Canadian stood in the center of the cage, smiling as he broke out his patented celebratory dance, a rock-solid “robot” that ended with a full front split.
The journey to UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta last summer was a circuitous one, as he threw hands across his home and native land in various organizations, ultimately settling in Edmonton for an extended run in the country’s premier organization, the Maximum Fighting Championship.
After racking up nine consecutive victories prior to his MFC return, Jimmo rattled off four more wins to arrive at a title shot, and then defeated fan favourite Dwayne Lewis to claim the vacant light heavyweight title. In his next two outings, “The Big Deal” defeated current Ultimate Fighter contestant Zak Cummings and former PRIDE and UFC competitor Sokoudjou by decision to run his winning streak to 16 straight.
Half of those 16 wins – including six out of seven following his return to the MFC – came by way of decision, earning Jimmo an unappealing reputation as a decision fighter; someone more interested in making sure he added another win to his resume than entertaining the fans.
It’s that reputation and string of results that made his blistering debut knockout of Anthony Perosh all the more impactful.
“I’ve nailed guys with a right hand lots of time in a fight, and lots of time in training, so I don’t know if my power was ever put into question,” offered the engaging Canadian, who celebrated his 17th consecutive victory with a cigar and a couple cold bottles of Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale.
“I had done a lot of decisions, but because I was fighting in a different league, and if you lose in a league outside of UFC, sometimes you don’t get a chance at the UFC, so I had to fight more conservatively. It was good to be on a bigger stage where it’s worth taking the risk. In the smaller shows, if you take a big risk, if you win, it’s like `Good knockout.’ You’re going to make a highlight reel, and that’s about it.”
The streaking light heavyweight competitor explained the risk/reward assessment involved with opening up his style by combining two of Las Vegas’ staples – fighting and poker.
“It’s like poker – you’re not going to put $15,000 in the pot if all you’re going to win is $100; it’s not worth it. They’re bad pot odds to take a risk like that, so you play safe and conservative. But if you put $15,000 in and you can win $100,000, it’s worth the risk. I didn’t get anything before for taking the risk; now I get an appropriate amount back.
“It was good to be on a bigger stage where it’s worth taking the risk. If you take a big risk and you get it, you get a big bonus check.”
Jimmo did just that with his performance last July against Perosh, netting an additional $65,000 for Knockout of the Night after his near UFC record finish. Next up for the New Brunswick native is a showdown with James Te Huna, a heavy handed New Zealander who also holds a first-round TKO win over Perosh, and has posted a 4-1 record since joining the UFC roster in February 2010.
After a long journey to arrive on the biggest stage of the sport, it would have been understandable had Jimmo taken a little time to bask in his impressive debut win, but instead, the former Canadian National Karate champion opted to get right back into the gym to focus on putting forth an equally spectacular performance in his sophomore showing in the UFC.
“I started training right after my last fight. I took a week where it was a little bit easier, but I was still riding a bike, doing the right things. I’ve been back here since October, so it’s almost been like an extended camp.”
“Here” is Delray Beach, Florida, home of the Jaco Hybrid Training Center and “The Blackzilians,” the talented fight collective that includes Rashad Evans, Alistair Overeem, and fellow UFC on FUEL 7 competitor Jorge Santiago. Following a long stretch spent training in Edmonton, moving south not only offered a warmer year-round climate, but a serious upgrade in training partners and coaching.
“I’ve always had good instructors, but what are down here are superior training partners,” explained Jimmo, who stands as the lone Canadian on the team known by the portmanteau originated by Evans to describe its initial composition.
“The coaches are awesome down here as well, but I get world-class training partners down here. Before, my sparring partners were maybe an amateur boxer with two or three fights, and I would have to just work. I would have to do things like just try to hit him with jabs for a whole round or just evade and use head movement for a round; I’d have to pick out little spots and just try to work on them. Now I have guys with complete games who are better than me who can help bring me up to the next level.”
While many have talked about how this weekend’s fight card has been overshadowed by the stacked pay-per-views that bookend it on the UFC fight calendar for February, Jimmo has paid no mind to what else is happening in the organization.
Though he has an idea of the course he’d like to take to reach the top of the loaded light heavyweight division, his focus has been trained on Te Huna for some time, and won’t waver until after his hand is raised in the Octagon Saturday night inside Wembley Arena in London.
“I have a fight in 10 days. I don’t know what you’re talking about otherwise. Does that answer your question?” responded Jimmo when asked about his fight and this card being stuck between a pair of powerhouse pay-per-view events. “I have a fight in 10 days, and I don’t know about any other cards that are happening, and I’m focused on that. I don’t even know that the other things are happening. I didn’t know it was Christmas, so when you say, `Does this overshadow you?’ I don’t feel it overshadows anything because I don’t even know it’s happening.
“I just simply want to perform excellently, to the top of my ability. Afterwards we can worry about being a superstar and getting noticed. Superstars get noticed because they perform with excellence inside of the cage. I don’t know about the other stuff because I don’t think about it.”
“I have a bit of a road map,” added Jimmo, “but you can’t plan how you’re going to step off the curb a block and a half from where you’re at, you know? You put one foot in front of another, and make sure to show up for this fight. After that I can reassess my options. I have to make sure I nail this fight pinpoint on and perform very excellently, and then we go from there.”
As for predictions, the surging light heavyweight opted to keep things real simple: “I think people can expect some fireworks… and another installment of The Robot.”
Five years and 16 consecutive wins after losing his MMA debut, Ryan Jimmo finally made his way into the Octagon.
Seven seconds later, the 31-year-old Canadian stood in the center of the cage, smiling as he broke out his patented celebratory dance, a rock-solid “robot” that ended with a full front split.
The journey to UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta last summer was a circuitous one, as he threw hands across his home and native land in various organizations, ultimately settling in Edmonton for an extended run in the country’s premier organization, the Maximum Fighting Championship.
After racking up nine consecutive victories prior to his MFC return, Jimmo rattled off four more wins to arrive at a title shot, and then defeated fan favourite Dwayne Lewis to claim the vacant light heavyweight title. In his next two outings, “The Big Deal” defeated current Ultimate Fighter contestant Zak Cummings and former PRIDE and UFC competitor Sokoudjou by decision to run his winning streak to 16 straight.
Half of those 16 wins – including six out of seven following his return to the MFC – came by way of decision, earning Jimmo an unappealing reputation as a decision fighter; someone more interested in making sure he added another win to his resume than entertaining the fans.
It’s that reputation and string of results that made his blistering debut knockout of Anthony Perosh all the more impactful.
“I’ve nailed guys with a right hand lots of time in a fight, and lots of time in training, so I don’t know if my power was ever put into question,” offered the engaging Canadian, who celebrated his 17th consecutive victory with a cigar and a couple cold bottles of Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale.
“I had done a lot of decisions, but because I was fighting in a different league, and if you lose in a league outside of UFC, sometimes you don’t get a chance at the UFC, so I had to fight more conservatively. It was good to be on a bigger stage where it’s worth taking the risk. In the smaller shows, if you take a big risk, if you win, it’s like `Good knockout.’ You’re going to make a highlight reel, and that’s about it.”
The streaking light heavyweight competitor explained the risk/reward assessment involved with opening up his style by combining two of Las Vegas’ staples – fighting and poker.
“It’s like poker – you’re not going to put $15,000 in the pot if all you’re going to win is $100; it’s not worth it. They’re bad pot odds to take a risk like that, so you play safe and conservative. But if you put $15,000 in and you can win $100,000, it’s worth the risk. I didn’t get anything before for taking the risk; now I get an appropriate amount back.
“It was good to be on a bigger stage where it’s worth taking the risk. If you take a big risk and you get it, you get a big bonus check.”
Jimmo did just that with his performance last July against Perosh, netting an additional $65,000 for Knockout of the Night after his near UFC record finish. Next up for the New Brunswick native is a showdown with James Te Huna, a heavy handed New Zealander who also holds a first-round TKO win over Perosh, and has posted a 4-1 record since joining the UFC roster in February 2010.
After a long journey to arrive on the biggest stage of the sport, it would have been understandable had Jimmo taken a little time to bask in his impressive debut win, but instead, the former Canadian National Karate champion opted to get right back into the gym to focus on putting forth an equally spectacular performance in his sophomore showing in the UFC.
“I started training right after my last fight. I took a week where it was a little bit easier, but I was still riding a bike, doing the right things. I’ve been back here since October, so it’s almost been like an extended camp.”
“Here” is Delray Beach, Florida, home of the Jaco Hybrid Training Center and “The Blackzilians,” the talented fight collective that includes Rashad Evans, Alistair Overeem, and fellow UFC on FUEL 7 competitor Jorge Santiago. Following a long stretch spent training in Edmonton, moving south not only offered a warmer year-round climate, but a serious upgrade in training partners and coaching.
“I’ve always had good instructors, but what are down here are superior training partners,” explained Jimmo, who stands as the lone Canadian on the team known by the portmanteau originated by Evans to describe its initial composition.
“The coaches are awesome down here as well, but I get world-class training partners down here. Before, my sparring partners were maybe an amateur boxer with two or three fights, and I would have to just work. I would have to do things like just try to hit him with jabs for a whole round or just evade and use head movement for a round; I’d have to pick out little spots and just try to work on them. Now I have guys with complete games who are better than me who can help bring me up to the next level.”
While many have talked about how this weekend’s fight card has been overshadowed by the stacked pay-per-views that bookend it on the UFC fight calendar for February, Jimmo has paid no mind to what else is happening in the organization.
Though he has an idea of the course he’d like to take to reach the top of the loaded light heavyweight division, his focus has been trained on Te Huna for some time, and won’t waver until after his hand is raised in the Octagon Saturday night inside Wembley Arena in London.
“I have a fight in 10 days. I don’t know what you’re talking about otherwise. Does that answer your question?” responded Jimmo when asked about his fight and this card being stuck between a pair of powerhouse pay-per-view events. “I have a fight in 10 days, and I don’t know about any other cards that are happening, and I’m focused on that. I don’t even know that the other things are happening. I didn’t know it was Christmas, so when you say, `Does this overshadow you?’ I don’t feel it overshadows anything because I don’t even know it’s happening.
“I just simply want to perform excellently, to the top of my ability. Afterwards we can worry about being a superstar and getting noticed. Superstars get noticed because they perform with excellence inside of the cage. I don’t know about the other stuff because I don’t think about it.”
“I have a bit of a road map,” added Jimmo, “but you can’t plan how you’re going to step off the curb a block and a half from where you’re at, you know? You put one foot in front of another, and make sure to show up for this fight. After that I can reassess my options. I have to make sure I nail this fight pinpoint on and perform very excellently, and then we go from there.”
As for predictions, the surging light heavyweight opted to keep things real simple: “I think people can expect some fireworks… and another installment of The Robot.”
For the first time in his mixed martial arts career, Paul Sass is looking to rebound from a loss.
After rattling off 13 consecutive victories to begin his career – including a trio of first round submission wins in the UFC – the British jiu-jitsu specialist returned to home soil last September, only to have his moment in the sun turn into a nightmare evening he’d much rather forget.
“Honestly, I don’t remember,” said the soft-spoken Team Kaobon representative with a chuckle when asked about the closing sequence of his UFC on FUEL TV encounter with Matt Wiman last fall in Nottingham. “And I don’t really want to relive that either. I’m trying to put that behind me, put that away with this fight now.”
Though the contest held true to Sass’ previous UFC appearances in terms of ending in the first round, it was the 24-year-old Liverpool native who was on the wrong side of the submission finish. While he controlled the early portion of the contest with his relentless search for limbs, it was Wiman who was able to find a finishing hold, latching onto an arm out of a scramble along the cage. Sass tried valiantly to defend, but the veteran lightweight Wiman was able to extend the arm, forcing the local favorite to tap and incur his first career defeat.
Now, just a little over four months after tasting defeat for the first time, Sass is prepared to step back into the cage, and get back into the win column, as he squares off with Team Alpha Male’s Danny Castillo Saturday night at Wembley Arena when the UFC returns to FUEL TV.
In a time when fighters are more well-rounded and diverse with their offense as ever before, Sass is a throwback to the days when specialists ruled the cage.
He has earned submission finishes in 12 of his 13 career victories, with his signature triangle choke known as the “Sassangle” accounting for nine of those wins. While he’s continually working to improve the other facets of his game, the talented ground fighter isn’t trying to disguise his desires when the cage door closes.
“Jiu-jitsu is obviously what I’m best at, so I want to get it to the ground as soon as I can. If that means I have to pull guard, I will do, (in order to) take them down and look for a submission. That’s just where I’m most comfortable.
“That was the move I was catching when I was younger; I was just getting everyone with the triangle,” explained Sass, who counts Jacob Volkmann, Michael Johnson, and fellow British UFC fighter Jason Young among those he’s submitted thus far. “Then I was learning new set-ups for it, and I’ve kept progressing with it – finding new ways to get it. Sometimes it’s there and I just go for it as soon as possible. It’s become my favorite move, and a move that I get more than anything.”
Getting the chance to get back into the cage this quickly after suffering the first defeat of his career was a great fit for Sass. Getting the chance to do it on home soil was a welcome surprise.
“I didn’t expect it when I got told there was going to be one at Wembley like four or five months after the one in Nottingham,” Sass said of the UFC’s decision to return to England this weekend after having reserved their British stop for later in the fall each of the last three years. “I think it was a shock to everyone when it came back so quick.
“My coach told me I was fighting at Wembley against Danny, and I just said, `Yeah.’ I couldn’t say no; I want to get back to my winning ways. I know he’s a good wrestler and he’s got a powerful right hand, and that’s all I need to know really. Either it goes my way, and I get a submission win or – well, I can’t afford to lose, really.”
That’s the reality Sass sees right now as he prepares for this fifth UFC appearance. Despite starting his career with 13 consecutive victories, that initial loss last September has brought his momentum to a screeching halt, and he has little interest in thinking about what a second straight defeat bring.
In a sport where “everyone eventually loses,” toting around as impressive a record as Sass had heading into his bout with Wiman last fall can be a blessing and curse. Each fight is accompanied by whispers about when the streak will end, the desire to maintain a perfect record ratcheting up the pressure of performing another notch or two.
While the loss to Wiman remains a memory buried away in his head and a bitter taste in his mouth, Sass acknowledged that there is a slight sense of relief that comes with no longer having the weight of an unblemished record on his shoulders as he enters the cage this weekend.
“It put sort of pressure on me – trying to keep the winning streak – so that’s gone now,” Sass admitted. “I’m going to come back ten times stronger now, and I have that defeat out the way. I can put that behind me, and just get back to my winning ways; make my way back up.”
They say you learn the most from your defeats, and that before you can truly know how to win, you must first experience losing.
Sass had done exceptionally well prior to having experienced his first professional setback. If that means he’s only now prepared to put it all together and make a real run in the 155-pound ranks, everyone in the lightweight division better step up their efforts when it comes to their submission defense – especially when it comes to defending the triangle.
For the first time in his mixed martial arts career, Paul Sass is looking to rebound from a loss.
After rattling off 13 consecutive victories to begin his career – including a trio of first round submission wins in the UFC – the British jiu-jitsu specialist returned to home soil last September, only to have his moment in the sun turn into a nightmare evening he’d much rather forget.
“Honestly, I don’t remember,” said the soft-spoken Team Kaobon representative with a chuckle when asked about the closing sequence of his UFC on FUEL TV encounter with Matt Wiman last fall in Nottingham. “And I don’t really want to relive that either. I’m trying to put that behind me, put that away with this fight now.”
Though the contest held true to Sass’ previous UFC appearances in terms of ending in the first round, it was the 24-year-old Liverpool native who was on the wrong side of the submission finish. While he controlled the early portion of the contest with his relentless search for limbs, it was Wiman who was able to find a finishing hold, latching onto an arm out of a scramble along the cage. Sass tried valiantly to defend, but the veteran lightweight Wiman was able to extend the arm, forcing the local favorite to tap and incur his first career defeat.
Now, just a little over four months after tasting defeat for the first time, Sass is prepared to step back into the cage, and get back into the win column, as he squares off with Team Alpha Male’s Danny Castillo Saturday night at Wembley Arena when the UFC returns to FUEL TV.
In a time when fighters are more well-rounded and diverse with their offense as ever before, Sass is a throwback to the days when specialists ruled the cage.
He has earned submission finishes in 12 of his 13 career victories, with his signature triangle choke known as the “Sassangle” accounting for nine of those wins. While he’s continually working to improve the other facets of his game, the talented ground fighter isn’t trying to disguise his desires when the cage door closes.
“Jiu-jitsu is obviously what I’m best at, so I want to get it to the ground as soon as I can. If that means I have to pull guard, I will do, (in order to) take them down and look for a submission. That’s just where I’m most comfortable.
“That was the move I was catching when I was younger; I was just getting everyone with the triangle,” explained Sass, who counts Jacob Volkmann, Michael Johnson, and fellow British UFC fighter Jason Young among those he’s submitted thus far. “Then I was learning new set-ups for it, and I’ve kept progressing with it – finding new ways to get it. Sometimes it’s there and I just go for it as soon as possible. It’s become my favorite move, and a move that I get more than anything.”
Getting the chance to get back into the cage this quickly after suffering the first defeat of his career was a great fit for Sass. Getting the chance to do it on home soil was a welcome surprise.
“I didn’t expect it when I got told there was going to be one at Wembley like four or five months after the one in Nottingham,” Sass said of the UFC’s decision to return to England this weekend after having reserved their British stop for later in the fall each of the last three years. “I think it was a shock to everyone when it came back so quick.
“My coach told me I was fighting at Wembley against Danny, and I just said, `Yeah.’ I couldn’t say no; I want to get back to my winning ways. I know he’s a good wrestler and he’s got a powerful right hand, and that’s all I need to know really. Either it goes my way, and I get a submission win or – well, I can’t afford to lose, really.”
That’s the reality Sass sees right now as he prepares for this fifth UFC appearance. Despite starting his career with 13 consecutive victories, that initial loss last September has brought his momentum to a screeching halt, and he has little interest in thinking about what a second straight defeat bring.
In a sport where “everyone eventually loses,” toting around as impressive a record as Sass had heading into his bout with Wiman last fall can be a blessing and curse. Each fight is accompanied by whispers about when the streak will end, the desire to maintain a perfect record ratcheting up the pressure of performing another notch or two.
While the loss to Wiman remains a memory buried away in his head and a bitter taste in his mouth, Sass acknowledged that there is a slight sense of relief that comes with no longer having the weight of an unblemished record on his shoulders as he enters the cage this weekend.
“It put sort of pressure on me – trying to keep the winning streak – so that’s gone now,” Sass admitted. “I’m going to come back ten times stronger now, and I have that defeat out the way. I can put that behind me, and just get back to my winning ways; make my way back up.”
They say you learn the most from your defeats, and that before you can truly know how to win, you must first experience losing.
Sass had done exceptionally well prior to having experienced his first professional setback. If that means he’s only now prepared to put it all together and make a real run in the 155-pound ranks, everyone in the lightweight division better step up their efforts when it comes to their submission defense – especially when it comes to defending the triangle.
Yves Edwards’ fighting career is just about old enough to drive.
The 36-year-old lightweight veteran had his first official fight in October 1997, though there were surely a couple other fights before that which don’t appear on his resume. Over those 16 years, Edwards has traversed the country, and made trips to Canada, Japan, and Russia, amassing a 42-18-1 record competing in organizations big and small against recognizable names and relative unknowns alike.
At one point early in his career, he was viewed as the uncrowned king of the UFC lightweight division, and his flying head kick finish against Josh Thomson at UFC 49 remains immortalized in the company’s pre-main card hype video.
In addition to mastering Thugjitsu — which is officially defined as “the modern art of the beatdown” — Edwards has also become proficient in the art of pre-fight psychological warfare.
On the day of weigh-ins, while everyone else is waiting to step on the scale, counting down the seconds and minutes before they can once again let food pass through their lips, you’re likely to find Edwards in the back, snacking on a candy bar or cookies, an early reward for making weight without issue.
“There are times where on the day of weigh ins, I’ll get down to 152 pounds, but the next day, I’m still 175, so I feel real good about the cut, and I still feel strong the next day,” said Edwards, explaining the origin of the on-the-scale snacking routine that has become his signature in recent years. “If I get down to ’52, I go ahead and eat before the weigh ins, and I can enjoy myself while everybody back there are a little bit miserable.
“I just remember cutting weight for Golden Gloves and other stuff as an amateur, and then getting on the scale as a pro realizing that I made my weight cut, and this is a really miserable time. Everybody is uncomfortable, everybody feels bad, and I’ve learned how to make the weight cut best for myself.
“I like trying to make myself as comfortable as possible, as soon as possible, and I love sweets. Getting on the scale while I’m eating something delicious and that other guy is miserable – it may not affect him in the fight itself, but it might piss him off a little bit. He’s back there miserable and I’m nibbling on something while he’s still spitting into a cup to make sure that he’s under.”
This weekend, the seasoned professional welcomes former Strikeforce fighter and Team Jackson-Winkeljohn member Isaac Vallie-Flagg into the Octagon. While Valllie-Flagg made it known that he likes “anything chocolate,” the UFC newcomer better not be expecting Edwards to share his snacks on Friday.
“I stopped giving people my food after I gave Sam (Stout) one of my Oreos,” admitted Edwards, who was knocked out by the Canadian with a vicious left hand at UFC 131 one day after the two chowed down on cookies during their pre-fight face-off. “It’s not going to happen again, but it’s nice to know that he likes chocolate. Maybe I’ll have some chocolate and not let him have any; that will piss him off.”
At a time when many veteran fighters are showing signs of decline, cashing paychecks on the regional circuit, or have already hung up their four-ounce gloves for good, Edwards is still in the thick of things in the deepest, most competitive division in the UFC.
His blistering first-round knockout win over Jeremy Stephens two months ago lifted his record to 4-2 during his second stint on the biggest stage in the sport, and continued to show that while he may be the senior statesman of the active competitors in the lightweight division, he continues to be a tough out for anyone who stands opposite him inside the cage.
Part of what has contributed to his longevity and ability to continue to compete at a high level is Edwards’ approach to training.
“When I game plan for my opponent’s strengths, I game plan like I’m fighting the best guy at that thing, no matter what his strength is,” explained Edwards, who is based in Austin, Texas, but also trains with the all-star collection of athletes at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
“If his strength is kickboxing and his wrestling is not the best, I’m not training just to beat his wrestling; I’m training to try and be successful against a guy at (Georges St-Pierre’s) level. That’s what my mentality is. I know I’m not at GSP’s level of wrestling offensively or defensively, but that’s what I look at when I look at an opponent. I try to train for that level of guy in that aspect of the game.
“If I’m worried about wrestling, I’m worried about GSP. He’s a weight class higher and someone I will never fight, but that’s the guy I’m training for, you know? I’m training for Anderson Silva when it comes to standup. I’m training for Marcelo Garcia when it comes to straight jiu-jitsu.”
More than anything, though, the fact that Edwards continues to enjoy the process of preparing for a fight and the day-to-day quest to improve in all areas is what keeps him adding more fights to his already lofty appearance total.
“It’s still fun. I’m still having a good time. I don’t not enjoy it,” laughed Edwards, who has earned stoppages in 33 of his 42 career wins. “I think about that sometimes. A couple months ago I was training with Gleison Tibau, and he was throwing a little bit hard. We were wearing (MMA training gloves), but he was hitting me a little hard in the face – he was on top, and I was trying to get up – and it was hard to get up. I was thinking to myself, `He’s hitting me hard.’ Right after that, I thought, `Oh well. I guess I gotta get up because this is still kind of fun.’ That’s the thing, you know?
“I’m never not having a good time. Even if I’m in the gym, I’m extremely tired or getting beat up, I’m still having a good time. I’m sure I would be having a better time if I were winning the round or winning the moment, but even at that point I’m still enjoying it. It’s still a challenge, it’s still a lot of fun, and I still want to get better – and I feel I am still getting better – so I guess that’s motivation. When I feel like I’m not improving and I can’t make any more gains, then I guess the desire may start to fade.”
For now, that desire is still going strong, and is bolstered this time around by the opportunity to compete on the same card as his close friend and long-time training partner Tyron Woodley. The two always corner each other, and have discussed the possibility of fighting on the same event for a number of years, dating back to Edwards’ days with EliteXC.
With Woodley, a former Strikeforce welterweight title challenger, moving to the UFC roster and stepping up to replace Erick Silva opposite Jay Hieron later in the night on Saturday, the two will get to cross another item off their individual Bucket Lists.
“As soon as the Strikeforce-UFC merger was going to happen, I got excited about the fact that I would possibly get to fight on the same card as my big baby brother. For it to be for his first time up, I’m excited about it.
“I’m really excited to be sharing it rather than having one of us there supporting the other. We’ll both be out there at the same time; we’ve got our own things to take care of and we’ll be there together all the way through. I plan on opening the show and setting the stage for him to come out and close it in a very similar fashion.”
Having spent nearly 16 years inside the cage trading leather with some of the best in the business, Edwards has a very firm grasp on where he stands and what his prospects look like going forward.
It’s that understanding continues to make him one of the most entertaining fighters in the lightweight division, and promises to make his bout this weekend a can’t-miss engagement.
“I don’t feel like my window is closing, but I completely understand that I’m 36 now, and it probably is. At the very least, I know it’s not as open as it was 10 years ago, so I want to go out there and make it as exciting as I possibly can, and demonstrate what thugjitsu is at its highest level while the sport is at the highest level its been at. I want to go out there and put on a show, man, and I’m not going to hold anything back, that’s for sure.
“Once thugjitsu hits, don’t blink.”
Yves Edwards’ fighting career is just about old enough to drive.
The 36-year-old lightweight veteran had his first official fight in October 1997, though there were surely a couple other fights before that which don’t appear on his resume. Over those 16 years, Edwards has traversed the country, and made trips to Canada, Japan, and Russia, amassing a 42-18-1 record competing in organizations big and small against recognizable names and relative unknowns alike.
At one point early in his career, he was viewed as the uncrowned king of the UFC lightweight division, and his flying head kick finish against Josh Thomson at UFC 49 remains immortalized in the company’s pre-main card hype video.
In addition to mastering Thugjitsu — which is officially defined as “the modern art of the beatdown” — Edwards has also become proficient in the art of pre-fight psychological warfare.
On the day of weigh-ins, while everyone else is waiting to step on the scale, counting down the seconds and minutes before they can once again let food pass through their lips, you’re likely to find Edwards in the back, snacking on a candy bar or cookies, an early reward for making weight without issue.
“There are times where on the day of weigh ins, I’ll get down to 152 pounds, but the next day, I’m still 175, so I feel real good about the cut, and I still feel strong the next day,” said Edwards, explaining the origin of the on-the-scale snacking routine that has become his signature in recent years. “If I get down to ’52, I go ahead and eat before the weigh ins, and I can enjoy myself while everybody back there are a little bit miserable.
“I just remember cutting weight for Golden Gloves and other stuff as an amateur, and then getting on the scale as a pro realizing that I made my weight cut, and this is a really miserable time. Everybody is uncomfortable, everybody feels bad, and I’ve learned how to make the weight cut best for myself.
“I like trying to make myself as comfortable as possible, as soon as possible, and I love sweets. Getting on the scale while I’m eating something delicious and that other guy is miserable – it may not affect him in the fight itself, but it might piss him off a little bit. He’s back there miserable and I’m nibbling on something while he’s still spitting into a cup to make sure that he’s under.”
This weekend, the seasoned professional welcomes former Strikeforce fighter and Team Jackson-Winkeljohn member Isaac Vallie-Flagg into the Octagon. While Valllie-Flagg made it known that he likes “anything chocolate,” the UFC newcomer better not be expecting Edwards to share his snacks on Friday.
“I stopped giving people my food after I gave Sam (Stout) one of my Oreos,” admitted Edwards, who was knocked out by the Canadian with a vicious left hand at UFC 131 one day after the two chowed down on cookies during their pre-fight face-off. “It’s not going to happen again, but it’s nice to know that he likes chocolate. Maybe I’ll have some chocolate and not let him have any; that will piss him off.”
At a time when many veteran fighters are showing signs of decline, cashing paychecks on the regional circuit, or have already hung up their four-ounce gloves for good, Edwards is still in the thick of things in the deepest, most competitive division in the UFC.
His blistering first-round knockout win over Jeremy Stephens two months ago lifted his record to 4-2 during his second stint on the biggest stage in the sport, and continued to show that while he may be the senior statesman of the active competitors in the lightweight division, he continues to be a tough out for anyone who stands opposite him inside the cage.
Part of what has contributed to his longevity and ability to continue to compete at a high level is Edwards’ approach to training.
“When I game plan for my opponent’s strengths, I game plan like I’m fighting the best guy at that thing, no matter what his strength is,” explained Edwards, who is based in Austin, Texas, but also trains with the all-star collection of athletes at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
“If his strength is kickboxing and his wrestling is not the best, I’m not training just to beat his wrestling; I’m training to try and be successful against a guy at (Georges St-Pierre’s) level. That’s what my mentality is. I know I’m not at GSP’s level of wrestling offensively or defensively, but that’s what I look at when I look at an opponent. I try to train for that level of guy in that aspect of the game.
“If I’m worried about wrestling, I’m worried about GSP. He’s a weight class higher and someone I will never fight, but that’s the guy I’m training for, you know? I’m training for Anderson Silva when it comes to standup. I’m training for Marcelo Garcia when it comes to straight jiu-jitsu.”
More than anything, though, the fact that Edwards continues to enjoy the process of preparing for a fight and the day-to-day quest to improve in all areas is what keeps him adding more fights to his already lofty appearance total.
“It’s still fun. I’m still having a good time. I don’t not enjoy it,” laughed Edwards, who has earned stoppages in 33 of his 42 career wins. “I think about that sometimes. A couple months ago I was training with Gleison Tibau, and he was throwing a little bit hard. We were wearing (MMA training gloves), but he was hitting me a little hard in the face – he was on top, and I was trying to get up – and it was hard to get up. I was thinking to myself, `He’s hitting me hard.’ Right after that, I thought, `Oh well. I guess I gotta get up because this is still kind of fun.’ That’s the thing, you know?
“I’m never not having a good time. Even if I’m in the gym, I’m extremely tired or getting beat up, I’m still having a good time. I’m sure I would be having a better time if I were winning the round or winning the moment, but even at that point I’m still enjoying it. It’s still a challenge, it’s still a lot of fun, and I still want to get better – and I feel I am still getting better – so I guess that’s motivation. When I feel like I’m not improving and I can’t make any more gains, then I guess the desire may start to fade.”
For now, that desire is still going strong, and is bolstered this time around by the opportunity to compete on the same card as his close friend and long-time training partner Tyron Woodley. The two always corner each other, and have discussed the possibility of fighting on the same event for a number of years, dating back to Edwards’ days with EliteXC.
With Woodley, a former Strikeforce welterweight title challenger, moving to the UFC roster and stepping up to replace Erick Silva opposite Jay Hieron later in the night on Saturday, the two will get to cross another item off their individual Bucket Lists.
“As soon as the Strikeforce-UFC merger was going to happen, I got excited about the fact that I would possibly get to fight on the same card as my big baby brother. For it to be for his first time up, I’m excited about it.
“I’m really excited to be sharing it rather than having one of us there supporting the other. We’ll both be out there at the same time; we’ve got our own things to take care of and we’ll be there together all the way through. I plan on opening the show and setting the stage for him to come out and close it in a very similar fashion.”
Having spent nearly 16 years inside the cage trading leather with some of the best in the business, Edwards has a very firm grasp on where he stands and what his prospects look like going forward.
It’s that understanding continues to make him one of the most entertaining fighters in the lightweight division, and promises to make his bout this weekend a can’t-miss engagement.
“I don’t feel like my window is closing, but I completely understand that I’m 36 now, and it probably is. At the very least, I know it’s not as open as it was 10 years ago, so I want to go out there and make it as exciting as I possibly can, and demonstrate what thugjitsu is at its highest level while the sport is at the highest level its been at. I want to go out there and put on a show, man, and I’m not going to hold anything back, that’s for sure.
If Jon Fitch didn’t already have a signature walkout song – “Rusty Cage” by Johnny Cash – the perennial welterweight contender could stride to the Octagon this weekend to the sounds of ‘90s one-hit wonder Jesus Jones.
“Right Here, Right Now” is the best way to describe Fitch’s focus heading into his intriguing UFC 156 main card pairing with Demian Maia this weekend.
After years of trying to figure out what it would take to get back to a welterweight title shot and attempting to chart a course for the future in his head, the perennial contender has chosen to simplify his thinking.
Sort of.
“I don’t believe in time; I don’t think time exists,” began Fitch, who put an end to a two-fight winless streak back in October with an entertaining unanimous decision win over Brazilian prospect Erick Silva. “(Time is) a man-made creation, and all it really is is the measurement of objects passing through space. Depending on what field of that you’re from, space is either ever-expanding or ever-contracting, so the objects in space that we’re measuring are never in the same place twice, so how can something strict like time exist if those things and those measurements are never the same?
“I joke around and tell people that I have my own scale for age also. I say that I’m turning 25 this year,” continued the 27-4-1 welterweight, who turns 35 at the end of February according to conventional thinking. “I believe that once you hit 30, you should be allowed to count backwards again until you hit 21. Then you have your second 21st birthday, and then you count forward again until you hit 40. From there I haven’t decided if I want to count backwards again to 30, and have a second 30th birthday or if I’ll just continue going forward.”
His laugh breaks the awkward silence that comes when the person who is supposed to be leading the discussion has no idea what to say next.
“The other aspect is living in the moment. Focusing on what’s in front of you right now is the best thing for you. If you start thinking too far into the future, people start putting limits on themselves that way. `In three years I’ll be this old, and that’s too old to make a run for this or do that’ because of these made up rules and regulations people follow that have been passed down from another generation or their peers or whatever. I don’t believe in that. I believe in creating your own reality around you how you see fit.”
The cerebral competitor adopted his new mindset after the roughest patch in his six-year UFC career, and a period of financial uncertainty.
After battling to an unsatisfying draw with BJ Penn at UFC 127, Fitch was forced to the sidelines with a shoulder injury. He returned at UFC 141 in December, and was promptly knocked out by surging contender Johny Hendricks in just 12 seconds, the first time he’d gone without a victory in consecutive bouts since the fourth and fifth fights of his career.
He was dealing with lingering injuries heading into the Hendricks fight, had to pull out of a planned fight with Aaron Simpson in the summer after suffering a knee injury during training camp, and felt the financial strain that comes with living in California and not fighting frequently enough.
In advance of his bout with Silva at UFC 153, Fitch talked about his need to open up a little more, and give the fans a more entertaining show, admitting that a loss would likely mean it was time to get “a real job” in order to deal with the fiduciary challenges he was facing.
What resulted was one of the most entertaining back-and-forth battles of the year, with Fitch coming away with a unanimous decision win, and the pair earning Fight of the Night honors.
“I think the biggest thing was just focus; eliminating too many thoughts and too many concerns about what was taking place in the moment,” said Fitch of the changes he made in advance of sharing the cage with Silva in Rio de Janeiro back in October. “Whether it was that one individual fight, that one individual training camp, or that one individual day of training – you can’t start thinking about what is this next fight going to bring me? What’s going to happen after this? Who am I going to fight next? All those things, I think I had too much going on in my mind to be really focused on being myself, and the best version of me that I could be for the fight.
“I didn’t really change much about my style or whatever, I think I just gave myself more focus for the individual fight, and that allowed me to be the best me that I could for that fight. I think focus brings another level of performance out of me, and I don’t think that next level of performance that I’m currently operating at will be something that people will be dissatisfied with.”
That is music to the ears of fans that are eagerly anticipating his showdown with Maia on Saturday.
After straying from his grappling base and seemingly plateauing at middleweight, Maia has been rejuvenated since moving down to the welterweight division, following up his awkward debut win over Dong Hyun Kim with an emphatic first-round submission victory over Rick Story on the same UFC 153 fight card that featured Fitch’s tussle with Silva.
Running through Story established Maia as a dangerous addition to the welterweight ranks, and a man some might choose to avoid, but not Fitch. He welcomes the opportunity to step into the Octagon with the decorated Brazilian grappler, and looks forward to the challenges that come with this matchup.
“I get excited for challenges like this, and this is definitely a big challenge,” offered Fitch of his impending meeting with Maia. “He’s a very dangerous opponent in areas where I’m strong, so it’s going to be a very fun test. He’s definitely very tricky on the ground; he’s got a slow, methodical ground game that is very smooth. He’s able to transition very smoothly into submissions and his control positions. He’s not super-vicious with ground-and-pound; he may grind and control you into the submission, but he may not do a lot of damage along the way.”
In addition to simply being one of the best grapplers in MMA, Fitch believes part of Maia’s success since dropping to welterweight has come as a result of his size. The six-foot tall Brazilian has long limbs, which allows him to do things on the ground that opponents might not be expecting.
Fortunately for Fitch, he’s got someone with similar attributes helping him prepare daily in San Jose.
“He still has a lot of reach, which helps out with striking quite a bit, but it also allows you to have a different type of leverage when you’re grappling. Tall guys, long guys, they have a different type of leverage when you’re grappling with them.
“We have 185-pound champ Luke Rockhold, and he’s one of those guys who is a great example of that. He might not have the exact same base jiu-jitsu as some other people, but because of his length, he’s able to do some things that other people could never do, and I couldn’t do. Because of that, they’re able to hit submissions in different places that you wouldn’t expect, and their control is different in different ways.”
A talented grappler in his own right, Fitch showed off his defensive abilities on the ground against Silva, fending off a rear naked choke attempt for a large portion of the second round. He’s been called “unchokeable” for his ability to avoid getting caught, but while he appreciates the accolade, he’s not at all interested in putting the title to the test in the cage with Maia this weekend.
“That’s something I would rather not test,” he laughed. “Maybe someday if he would like to train together maybe I could try that out, but I would prefer to keep him as far away from my back as possible. That’s kind of a bad place to have Demian Maia.”
As much as he’s looking forward to the challenge of facing Maia this weekend, more than anything, Fitch is just happy to returning to the cage is quick succession. After enduring two of the most challenging years of his career, the soon-to-be 35-year-old – or 25-year-old by his count – just wants the chance to be active and productive in 2013.
“Getting the chance to fight regularly is pretty nice; it’s something you take for granted when you’re fighting three times a year. I’m super-excited to start off this year with a fight in February, and hopefully I’ll be able to crank out quite a few this year.”
If Jon Fitch didn’t already have a signature walkout song – “Rusty Cage” by Johnny Cash – the perennial welterweight contender could stride to the Octagon this weekend to the sounds of ‘90s one-hit wonder Jesus Jones.
“Right Here, Right Now” is the best way to describe Fitch’s focus heading into his intriguing UFC 156 main card pairing with Demian Maia this weekend.
After years of trying to figure out what it would take to get back to a welterweight title shot and attempting to chart a course for the future in his head, the perennial contender has chosen to simplify his thinking.
Sort of.
“I don’t believe in time; I don’t think time exists,” began Fitch, who put an end to a two-fight winless streak back in October with an entertaining unanimous decision win over Brazilian prospect Erick Silva. “(Time is) a man-made creation, and all it really is is the measurement of objects passing through space. Depending on what field of that you’re from, space is either ever-expanding or ever-contracting, so the objects in space that we’re measuring are never in the same place twice, so how can something strict like time exist if those things and those measurements are never the same?
“I joke around and tell people that I have my own scale for age also. I say that I’m turning 25 this year,” continued the 27-4-1 welterweight, who turns 35 at the end of February according to conventional thinking. “I believe that once you hit 30, you should be allowed to count backwards again until you hit 21. Then you have your second 21st birthday, and then you count forward again until you hit 40. From there I haven’t decided if I want to count backwards again to 30, and have a second 30th birthday or if I’ll just continue going forward.”
His laugh breaks the awkward silence that comes when the person who is supposed to be leading the discussion has no idea what to say next.
“The other aspect is living in the moment. Focusing on what’s in front of you right now is the best thing for you. If you start thinking too far into the future, people start putting limits on themselves that way. `In three years I’ll be this old, and that’s too old to make a run for this or do that’ because of these made up rules and regulations people follow that have been passed down from another generation or their peers or whatever. I don’t believe in that. I believe in creating your own reality around you how you see fit.”
The cerebral competitor adopted his new mindset after the roughest patch in his six-year UFC career, and a period of financial uncertainty.
After battling to an unsatisfying draw with BJ Penn at UFC 127, Fitch was forced to the sidelines with a shoulder injury. He returned at UFC 141 in December, and was promptly knocked out by surging contender Johny Hendricks in just 12 seconds, the first time he’d gone without a victory in consecutive bouts since the fourth and fifth fights of his career.
He was dealing with lingering injuries heading into the Hendricks fight, had to pull out of a planned fight with Aaron Simpson in the summer after suffering a knee injury during training camp, and felt the financial strain that comes with living in California and not fighting frequently enough.
In advance of his bout with Silva at UFC 153, Fitch talked about his need to open up a little more, and give the fans a more entertaining show, admitting that a loss would likely mean it was time to get “a real job” in order to deal with the fiduciary challenges he was facing.
What resulted was one of the most entertaining back-and-forth battles of the year, with Fitch coming away with a unanimous decision win, and the pair earning Fight of the Night honors.
“I think the biggest thing was just focus; eliminating too many thoughts and too many concerns about what was taking place in the moment,” said Fitch of the changes he made in advance of sharing the cage with Silva in Rio de Janeiro back in October. “Whether it was that one individual fight, that one individual training camp, or that one individual day of training – you can’t start thinking about what is this next fight going to bring me? What’s going to happen after this? Who am I going to fight next? All those things, I think I had too much going on in my mind to be really focused on being myself, and the best version of me that I could be for the fight.
“I didn’t really change much about my style or whatever, I think I just gave myself more focus for the individual fight, and that allowed me to be the best me that I could for that fight. I think focus brings another level of performance out of me, and I don’t think that next level of performance that I’m currently operating at will be something that people will be dissatisfied with.”
That is music to the ears of fans that are eagerly anticipating his showdown with Maia on Saturday.
After straying from his grappling base and seemingly plateauing at middleweight, Maia has been rejuvenated since moving down to the welterweight division, following up his awkward debut win over Dong Hyun Kim with an emphatic first-round submission victory over Rick Story on the same UFC 153 fight card that featured Fitch’s tussle with Silva.
Running through Story established Maia as a dangerous addition to the welterweight ranks, and a man some might choose to avoid, but not Fitch. He welcomes the opportunity to step into the Octagon with the decorated Brazilian grappler, and looks forward to the challenges that come with this matchup.
“I get excited for challenges like this, and this is definitely a big challenge,” offered Fitch of his impending meeting with Maia. “He’s a very dangerous opponent in areas where I’m strong, so it’s going to be a very fun test. He’s definitely very tricky on the ground; he’s got a slow, methodical ground game that is very smooth. He’s able to transition very smoothly into submissions and his control positions. He’s not super-vicious with ground-and-pound; he may grind and control you into the submission, but he may not do a lot of damage along the way.”
In addition to simply being one of the best grapplers in MMA, Fitch believes part of Maia’s success since dropping to welterweight has come as a result of his size. The six-foot tall Brazilian has long limbs, which allows him to do things on the ground that opponents might not be expecting.
Fortunately for Fitch, he’s got someone with similar attributes helping him prepare daily in San Jose.
“He still has a lot of reach, which helps out with striking quite a bit, but it also allows you to have a different type of leverage when you’re grappling. Tall guys, long guys, they have a different type of leverage when you’re grappling with them.
“We have 185-pound champ Luke Rockhold, and he’s one of those guys who is a great example of that. He might not have the exact same base jiu-jitsu as some other people, but because of his length, he’s able to do some things that other people could never do, and I couldn’t do. Because of that, they’re able to hit submissions in different places that you wouldn’t expect, and their control is different in different ways.”
A talented grappler in his own right, Fitch showed off his defensive abilities on the ground against Silva, fending off a rear naked choke attempt for a large portion of the second round. He’s been called “unchokeable” for his ability to avoid getting caught, but while he appreciates the accolade, he’s not at all interested in putting the title to the test in the cage with Maia this weekend.
“That’s something I would rather not test,” he laughed. “Maybe someday if he would like to train together maybe I could try that out, but I would prefer to keep him as far away from my back as possible. That’s kind of a bad place to have Demian Maia.”
As much as he’s looking forward to the challenge of facing Maia this weekend, more than anything, Fitch is just happy to returning to the cage is quick succession. After enduring two of the most challenging years of his career, the soon-to-be 35-year-old – or 25-year-old by his count – just wants the chance to be active and productive in 2013.
“Getting the chance to fight regularly is pretty nice; it’s something you take for granted when you’re fighting three times a year. I’m super-excited to start off this year with a fight in February, and hopefully I’ll be able to crank out quite a few this year.”
At every post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White is hit with the same question three or four times, sometimes more:
Yves Edwards