Philippou Still Taking It One Fight at a Time

“My haters are my motivators” – Nicki MinajThere’s at least one UFC fighter out there who admits he reads MMA websites and what he’s seeing is surprisingly not overwhelmingly positive. For middleweight Constantinos Philippou, who is currently e…

UFC middleweight Costa Philippou“My haters are my motivators” – Nicki Minaj

There’s at least one UFC fighter out there who admits he reads MMA websites and what he’s seeing is surprisingly not overwhelmingly positive. For middleweight Constantinos Philippou, who is currently enjoying a three fight win streak inside the Octagon, credit has been specifically hard to come by for his back-to-back victories over two-time Fight of the Night winner Jared Hamman and, most recently, The Ultimate Fighter season 11 winner Court McGee in March. In both bouts, Costa showed off his previous professional boxing skills with fast, accurate punches and solid footwork, but there are still dissenters whose voices are only fueling Philippou’s competitive fire.

“In the Jared Hamman fight, it was a short fight and he didn’t get to punch me really, so a lot of people think I just got lucky,” explains Philippou. “People think that someone can get lucky with a punch and that doesn’t make you a good fighter – I disagree. I walked in there trying to knock the guy out and I did that, so I don’t believe in lucky punches. But in the Court McGee fight, he had a lot of takedown attempts and couldn’t take me down. I got to show a lot of boxing. I got to actually show I’m a good striker. I read a few days ago online that I’m the most underrated fighter for the middleweights in the UFC. I agree with that. Some people think I got lucky and then some people think I was running. Punching and avoiding takedowns takes skill. I’m going to keep winning and I’m going to keep fighting and, eventually, they’re going to see.”

The 32-year old Cyprus native and current Long Island, New York resident followed up his nearly decapitating first round knockout out of Hamman with a polished unanimous decision over McGee at UFC on FX 2. For 15 minutes, the previously undefeated inside the Octagon McGee tried his best to dictate the action, but was literally beaten to the punch over and over again by the quicker Philippou. As the 13-2 McGee is universally seen as a tough, well-rounded opponent, Costa proved it will be a chore for future opponents to wrestle Philippou to the ground, and it won’t be any more fun eating his array of hooks and uppercuts.

“He was dangerous all three rounds,” tells Philippou. “Every time I was trying to put together a combination or put more power into my punches, he was trying to take me down. I was worried about getting taken down and losing the fight, so I wasn’t able to throw too many punches. I could only throw two or three punches and then move. I was obviously a little bit faster than him and had better footwork. I practiced a lot on my takedown defense. He couldn’t cut me off; he didn’t know how to beat me to the punch. In the cage, I don’t have a game plan. I just saw how he reacted to my footwork and he couldn’t cut me off, so I kept doing the same thing: move, punch, move, punch. It wasn’t an easy fight. He’s very strong and he kept coming, but I was always in control.”

The win against McGee was nearly a year to the day of Philippou’s debut in the UFC and was certainly a great highlight to cap off his rookie season in the organization. At 10-2, 1 NC, he showed a lot in his freshman year in the UFC by taking fights on extremely short notice, gritting out a victory over a veteran, scoring a highlight reel knockout, and defeating a former TUF winner. With a little over four years’ experience in this sport and a lifetime of experience in another one, Costa is making strides with each Octagon appearance to be seen as a mixed martial artist instead of a boxing convert, as well as a good fighter who could one day be great. It’s a long journey to achieve those goals and Philippou is in no rush to get there.

“It’s a great feeling fighting in the UFC,” says Philippou. “It’s every mixed martial artist’s dream to be in the UFC. The fact that I’ve won three fights in a row, that’s great. But I take every fight one at a time and I’m not planning for the future now – I’m just focused on my next opponent. Everyone is asking me do you want to fight someone top 5, top 10, or challenge for the title? And I’m not even thinking about that. I’m not even ready for those guys – how’s that. Nobody admits that they’re not ready for a title or high competition like that. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not even close to that. One fight at a time. Hopefully, I win my next fight and we’ll take it from there.”

Up next for is a battle with the granite chinned, cardio machine Riki Fukuda at UFC 148. A star of the Japanese MMA circuit, Fukuda joined the UFC in 2011 and lost a controversial split decision to Nick Ring at UFC 127. Minus the judges, most who watched this debut bout thought Fukuda won, including UFC President Dana White, who paid him his win bonus despite the results. A year later at UFC 144, Fukuda put on a striking clinic against Steve Cantwell where he threw and landed well over double that of his opponent and scored several takedowns. If there’s a game middleweight more under the radar than Philippou, it’s probably Fukuda with his 18-5 pro record.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know who this guy was because most of his fights were in Japan and I never saw him before,” admits Philippou. “I watched his last two fights in the UFC. Overall, he has 20 or so fights, so he is a very experienced fighter. Pretty fast, tough guy, in excellent shape, he keeps coming. I saw in his last two fights, that you expect a fighter in the second or third round to slow down a little bit, but he wasn’t slowing down at all. He kept coming. It will be a very tough fight. I’m in pretty good shape and I’m ready to go, so we’ll see.”

Even for an MMA novice, one look at Fukuda’s record of 14 of his 23 fights going by way of decision means Philippou needs to be fully prepared for three rounds of constant struggle. On top of that, the Japan native can take a punch, with only one loss via TKO, but Costa believes it matters more who is doing the punching than the one receiving it. Fukuda’s original background is as a wrestler, but he does have a penchant for slugging it out on the feet, which makes this fight on paper similar to the one with McGee. A standup duel would please Philippou greatly, with half of his wins coming via fist-battering, but he is willing to show off his burgeoning ground skills.

“He’s a little faster than Court McGee,” asserts Philippou. “I think everyone wants to try their striking skills for the first couple of minutes and if that doesn’t work for them then they try to go to plan B and try to take their opponent to the ground and try and submit him or ground and pound him. I think that will be the case with Riki also. To be honest, I hope he strikes with me. I’m more comfortable on my feet, but if he decides to wrestle, then it will be a great opportunity for me to showcase my wrestling skills and my ground game. People don’t really think I know how to wrestle or do any jiu-jitsu, so I’ll be more than happy to go to the ground with anybody.”

In preparation for Fukuda, Philippou tirelessly puts himself through the ringer against the best and the brightest of the Serra-Longo Fight Team. Under the supervision of Ray Longo for striking and Matt Serra for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he receives a nearly unparalleled level of expertise from each of these two larger-than-life personalities. As for training partners besides the numerous black and brown belts in BJJ milling about, Philippou has the privilege of tangling with two NCAA Division I All-American wrestlers from Hofstra University in Strikeforce’s Gian Villante and the UFC’s fastest rising undefeated middleweight Chris Weidman. For Costa, 15 minutes with Fukuda is a walk in the park compared to the daily treatment of fighting Weidman and the light heavyweight Villante.

“They’re both amazing wrestlers,” affirms Philippou. “They’re both bigger than me, they’re both stronger than me, and they’re both stronger than Riki Fukuda. I know that if I go three, four, five rounds with them and can defend takedowns from them then I will be able to defend anyone’s takedowns. Weidman is fighting a week after me in a five round fight and we’re preparing at the same time. He’s in shape for five rounds and he’ll keep coming stronger and stronger with every round. I know that Fukuda cannot match Weidman’s power or Villante’s power, so it definitely gives me a lot of confidence.”

On July 7th at UFC 148 in lovely Las Vegas, Nevada, Costa looks to earn some much deserved respect by clashing with Fukuda. “One thing I can promise, I will be ready to fight, I will be 100%, in shape, healthy, and trying to finish my opponent,” states Philippou, who will test Fukuda’s fabled chin for all three rounds if need be, but is focused on stopping his foe with time still on the clock. “Most likely it will be an exciting fight and I expect to win, and I’m going in there trying to finish the fight no matter what round it is.”

With a potential four fight win streak on the line, it’s about time fans jump onto Philippou’s war wagon before it runs them and the middleweight division over.

Silva vs. Sonnen II – Now It’s Even More Personal

For a number of reasons, the July 7th Pay-Per-View should be titled UFC 148: Finally. After nearly two years of waiting, UFC fans will be privy to the rematch of rematches that they’ve clamored for since the very second the original bout ended: UFC m…

For a number of reasons, the July 7th Pay-Per-View should be titled UFC 148: Finally.

After nearly two years of waiting, UFC fans will be privy to the rematch of rematches that they’ve clamored for since the very second the original bout ended: UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will fight Chael P. Sonnen, again. In the co-main event with a more somber finality, the longest tenured and easily one of the most important fighters in UFC history, Tito Ortiz, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and will face fellow former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin for the third time in Ortiz’s last cagefighting performance.

As momentous as these two mentioned events will be at UFC 148, something “finally” happened Monday that UFC aficionados have been expecting for a long, long time: Silva got mad at Sonnen. Real mad.

On a phone call about UFC 148 with members of the MMA media as well as the four stated competitors and UFC president Dana White, “The Spider” used his words. Never have the sweet subtleties of Portuguese ever been spoken with such vitriol as Silva’s translator/manager Ed Soares tried his best to keep up with the defending middleweight champion’s heated exclamations. It took almost three years of baiting, but it appears Sonnen has “finally” got under Silva’s skin with their confrontation less than two weeks away. The outbursts from the champion took everyone by surprise, including White, who less than a minute earlier gave Silva a pass for not being talkative over the entirety of his UFC career.

“People aren’t showing up to hear this guy give speeches,” stated White. “You’re showing up to watch what this guy does in the Octagon. And when he gets in there he’s an artist. He does what others can’t. You show up to watch this guy fight.”

Very true. Silva has fought and won all 14 of his Octagon appearances and has been the most formidable champion in company history since he won the belt in his second UFC bout against then champion Rich Franklin in October of 2006. Since submitting Sonnen in the fifth round of the recognized 2010 Fight of the Year at UFC 117, Silva spent last year demolishing top contenders Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami in one-sided title defenses. Previously, Silva has shown emotion in the cage and in particular in his usually intense weigh in staredowns, but he never uncorks in this way while answering press questions.

“First of all, Chael is a criminal,” said Silva to a stunned listening audience. “He’s been convicted of crimes and he doesn’t deserve to be inside the Octagon. When the time comes, the time is right, I’m going to break his face and break every one of his teeth in his mouth.”

Wow. In the lead-up to Silva and Sonnen’s first outing, Sonnen was burdened being the quote machine that fueled the hype train for the middleweight championship matchup. At least for one phone call, Sonnen wasn’t the only one spinning gold soundbites to whet the appetite of pay-per-view buying masses. It may not rhyme and it may not be as cleverly worded as some of Sonnen’s famous quotes, but the Brazilian’s fire was palpable as he described the dismantling of his adversary.

Chael Sonnen‘s going to get his ass kicked like he’s never gotten his ass kicked before,” asserted Silva. “What I’m going to do inside the Octagon is something that is going to change the image of the sport. I’m going to beat his ass like he’s never been beaten before. I’m going to make sure every one of his teeth are broken, his arms are broken, his legs are broken, he’s not going to be able to walk out of the Octagon by himself. I can guarantee that. I know that he’s listening. The game is over. No more [expletive] talking. It’s on now.”

The facilitator of this ferocity, the indomitable adversary, the silver-tongued, relentless wrestler who many believe haunts Silva’s UFC legacy is “The American Gangster” Sonnen. At 27-11 and hailing from the mean streets of West Linn, Oregon, Sonnen showed Silva’s fallibility by beating the champ for 20 plus straight minutes until succumbing to a triangle armbar in the waning moments of the final round. Many wanted an immediate title rematch, but Sonnen went back to work in the middleweight ranks by submitting Brian Stann at UFC 136 and beating Michael Bisping via unanimous decision at UFC on FOX in January. It’s clear that Sonnen is walking into this highly anticipated rematch with the same confidence that nearly won him the strap two years prior.

“All that happened was Anderson found himself in a fight for the first time,” affirmed Sonnen. “I think Anderson’s a really good setup guy. He uses a lot of movements and motions to set guys up. But at the end of the day, his skills are amateur. If you walk into a fist fight with your hands down then that’s amateur. I treated him like an amateur the first time and he’s going to look like an amateur this time.”

Not to be outdone by his newly verbose rival, Sonnen waxed poetic about the facts of these fisticuffs to help emphasize the imperative that fight fans absolutely need to tune in on July 7th and watch these two in caged combat.

“I have to tell you, the stakes are pretty high in this one,” told Sonnen. “It’s a big difference from what I did in college or in high school where I was trying to score points on the other guy or I had an opponent try to score points on me. I’m trying to hurt this guy and he’s trying to do damage to me. The stakes are much greater. This is the biggest sporting event of the summer and for a reason. We’ve been talking about something for two years. Waiting for two guys to finally settle their business. There is no sport, there is no fight in the history of combat or in all of 2012 that has much weight and as much emotion, not just from the fans and the media, but from the athletes participating as this one. The stakes are completely different. I’m not playing around. He thinks it’s funny to say he’s going to break my face. Tell him I have two words for him ‘medium rare.’”

Before Sonnen meets Silva, another rematch of great importance will transpire to not only settle an entertaining trilogy between fan favorites, but to cap off an unparalleled UFC career. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has been a fixture in the world of mixed martial arts for 15 years. Ortiz’s career is more than wins/losses, more than titles held and defended, and amazingly more than his 26 fights inside the Octagon. In short, Ortiz was famous even when the sport wasn’t.

In the years prior to The Ultimate Fighter, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was a part of almost every famous rivalry, and every time he stepped into the Octagon it was memorable. Ortiz was a whirlwind taking on The Lions Den, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, and, of course, Chuck Liddell. For a time, Ortiz nearly had a monopoly on the intangible element that transformed two guys fighting in a cage to a sport. But what fans should remember most were the post-fight scenes of Ortiz straddling top of the cage yelling to a frenzied crowd “I love you”.

“I’ve been waiting for 15 years for this 15 minutes,” said Ortiz. “15 minutes of my life I’m going to have to give. I know who Forrest is, I know how he fights, and I know how he likes to fight. I’m going to try and absorb as much as I can over the next week and continue what I’ve been doing for the last eight weeks and continue on with a winning mentality. This fight means the world to me and it will show on July 7th how much this fight means to me. I’m not coming into this playing around, I’m not talking smack, I’m coming in to fight. I know Forrest is ready, I’m ready, so let’s fight. As far as being inducted into the Hall of Fame, I’m very thankful for Dana and Lorenzo Fertitta for presenting this to me. It’s a qualification of the dedication I’ve put into MMA and to the UFC that I’ve grown and become the person I am today and I’m thankful for it.”

Standing across the cage from Ortiz for the third time will be the original TUF winner, former 205 pound champion, and, surprisingly, a two-time New York Times bestselling author, Griffin. In two previous clashes with Ortiz, Griffin has gone to two split decisions and won the most recent at UFC 106. At nearly 33 years old, Griffin went 1 and 1 last year with a clear cut decision win over Franklin in February and a knockout loss to Mauricio Rua in their rematch in August. Griffin does not have the emotional baggage attached to this fight as Ortiz does, but, as a competitive stalwart of the light heavyweight division, Griffin is as eager as ever to get back on the winning track, especially against an antagonist like Ortiz.

“Obviously, we have some history,” said Griffin. “You can’t over prepare for a fight like this. His last couple fights haven’t gone the way he’s wanted them to and I’m coming off the same thing. My whole thing is to never lose two in a row.”

On July 7th at UFC 148 in Las Vegas, Nevada, fight fans will finally get a resolution to one of the most talked about fights in UFC history as Silva collides with Sonnen for the title for a second time. It’s a championship bout that didn’t need any help to hype, but that received an enormous push with a now frighteningly serious Silva and an always ready Sonnen. Also, one of the most prolific trailblazers in cagefighting will make his final Octagon appearance against a two-time foe who helped light the torch for the current generation of fighters as Ortiz takes on Griffin. In all honesty, this is the must-see MMA event of the year, you know it, and it’s only a weekend away – finally.

Five Rounds or Bust for "The Carpenter"

The phrase “you learn more from a loss than a win” is a platitude to a cynical some, but it’s a an age-old truism for those who strive for greatness. The UFC’s former journeyman lightweight turned top contender Clay Guida knows that much can be…

UFC lightweight Clay GuidaThe phrase “you learn more from a loss than a win” is a platitude to a cynical some, but it’s a an age-old truism for those who strive for greatness.

The UFC’s former journeyman lightweight turned top contender Clay Guida knows that much can be learned from his unanimous decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC on FOX last November. For one, Guida battled for a full 15 minutes to a Fight of the Night bonus with Henderson, who was one Octagon appearance away from declaring himself the number one ranked 155-pounder in the world. As Guida looks to forever etch his name amongst the division’s upper-echelon against Gray Maynard at UFC on FX 4 on Friday night, Guida will draw from his wealth of in-cage experience to make him an even stronger and better prepared fighter than before.

“I think if you don’t know how to take positives from a loss, then you’re not a competitor and you don’t know how to handle a loss,” explains Guida. “Getting better in scrambles, better positioning in the wrestling, better clinch work, finishing my takedowns. Obviously, we pushed the pace until the last second, until the final bell and that’s what we expected and I expect nothing less of myself. I’m going to come back to the UFC a better fighter.”

Plus, no one looks more formidable in a losing effort than “The Carpenter.” In arguably the most talent rich division in MMA, Guida has an impressive list of 29 career victories, including the four fight winning streak – Shannon Gugerty, Rafael dos Anjos, Takanori Gomi, and Anthony Pettis – which led into the Henderson bout. But what is truly mind-bending about Guida is that if an opponent is going to defeat him, they’ll need to give probably the best performance they could possibly give that night. Five of Guida’s six losses in the UFC won Fight of the Night and two won Fight of the Year, which means he really does not go gentle into that good night.

Although the match with Henderson did not go how he wanted, Guida has lost little ground in the weight class’ standings by losing to the present champion. On top of that, Guida’s next opponent is not a step down in competition in the slightest, and a win should put him within a hair’s breadth from the belt like last year’s bout with Henderson would have. Tomorrow night, in an event that should literally make cagefighting fans salivate with expectations, Guida will fight “The Bully” Maynard.

“We actually asked for this fight,” tells Guida. “We wanted to set ourselves up with the toughest competitor in the division who had lost to the next toughest competitor in the division, who was Frankie Edgar, who had the belt at the time. We had just lost to the eventual champion Ben Henderson, so there was no sense to us in entertaining lesser fights. We know we’re competitive with all these guys. It’s a tight race. I still believe I’m right up there with Frankie, Ben Henderson, and Gray. I think it’s the four of us and everyone else. We want to set ourselves up to getting right back into title contention and I think finishing Gray Maynard gets us back there and makes us the number one contender. He had one of the most memorable trilogies in MMA in the lightweight division. He was the only guy who had beaten Frankie (before Henderson) and he eventually lost to him, but up until that point he was number two in the world. He’s a top dog. On June 22nd, it’s going to tell a lot when I run away from the pack with a big win over Gray.”

The 30-year old Illinois native is known for his “can do” attitude and relaxed “The Dude” like philosophy to life outside of the Octagon, but the veteran of nearly 40 pro MMA matches is simply not messing around inside it. Guida raised his stock in the division with his four straight wins, which featured two Submission of the Night bonuses, and has no plans facing opponents that are not the best of the best, which “The Bully” is. At 33 years old, Maynard was undefeated and on an eight fight winning streak against all highly regarded adversaries in the UFC until the draw followed by a loss to Edgar in 2011. Expectations should be these two meeting head-to-head in the center of the Octagon like the battering rams they are.

“I think this is a great matchup for the both of us,” claims Guida. “You have a big strong wrestler in Gray Maynard who has a lot of accolades. He’s the most decorated wrestler that I have faced to date – three-time All-American, Big 10 wrestler. He’s big and cuts a lot of weight. He throws heavy punches, has very good boxing, and we’ve seen him drop guys in his last few fights. He has vicious ground and pound and very good takedowns. We’re going to try to take that and wear him down over the five rounds. I think that’s huge for us. I think it’s going to be one of those fights where anything can happen. Two good wrestlers who are good at scrambling and are always conditioned. I’m going to take him deep into the fourth and fifth rounds and see what he’s made of.”

Outside of the Edgar/Henderson rematch for the belt, this is easily the most meaningful tangle the division has to offer. Maynard vs. Guida feels like a title fight even if it isn’t and, thankfully, there is some justice in the fight game because the UFC created the five round non-title main event last year. The additional time has always been seen as a theoretical boon for cardio monsters like Guida, who use their relentless intensity and never-ending gas tank to break their opponents. It’s been a little while since “The Carpenter” has been in those championship rounds, but Guida has felt what it’s like to duel for 25 minutes in the Strikeforce cage when he won the lightweight title against Josh Thomson and lost it to current belt owner Gilbert Melendez in 2006.

“I’m a completely different fighter than I was then,” affirms Guida of his Strikeforce title winning and defending appearances. “I have more tools basically. I have better wrestling, better takedowns, better ground and pound, my hands have more power in them, and I’m more diverse on my feet. I’m not your typical wrestler just going for takedowns like I did against Josh and Gilbert. In the same sense, I’m still the same hard-nosed fighter. What you see is what you get. Nothing’s pretty. I still try to punish my opponent and try to finish fights at all cost. I tried to finish Josh Thomson every chance I had. I went for submissions, I tried ground and pound. I had a choke in real deep against Gilbert in the first or second round and tried to finish him then, but came up short. They called that a split decision, but I don’t think it was that close. He beat me up for four out of the five rounds. Gray Maynard has more experience at five rounds as of late, but I know this is what I was built for. Conditioning is my bread and butter and this is a long time coming. I haven’t had a belt in six years and I miss it. I think this is going to be a nice warmup for what hopefully is to come in the future, and that’s a title shot.”

In preparation for Maynard, Guida is making the familiar drive from “The Prairie State” to the literal hot bed of MMA coaching and fighting talent in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For roughly three years, he has been sharpening his tools under the close supervision of striking coach Mike Winkeljohn and MMA guru Greg Jackson, who Guida compares to football coaching greats Vince Lombardi and Bill Belichick. In charge of keeping Guida’s expected strength & conditioning at its insane level are the fine kettlebell instructors at FireBellz like Zar Horton and Jess Hoffman.

As far as training partners at Jackson’s gym, it’s almost throw a dart and hit a champion, would-be champion, or future champion. The list of wildly talented fighters on this particular team appears to never end, with extreme notables like UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit, TUF 14 winners John Dodson and Diego Brandao, Donald Cerrone, Brian Stann, Cub Swanson, Travis Browne, and on and on and on. If there is a recipe for success, then Winkeljohn and Jackson were the ones that unearthed it, and it’s rubbed off on every member of their mini-army of past and current champions and stars in combat sports.

“Being around success spreads like wildfire,” states Guida. “It sounds cliché, but a positive attitude is contagious. I want to be around people who want to win and have a positive mindset and are out to settle for nothing less than their absolute best. Even in defeat, I say if you haven’t lost then you probably haven’t tried. People who are not willing to put themselves out there haven’t felt defeat, but probably haven’t done anything with their lives. I’m out here fighting tooth and nail against some of the greatest welterweights, lightweights, featherweights in the world and it’s only going to better all of us. It’s very humbling to be out here and we’re a big family.”

Speaking of family, it is his older brother and fellow MMA fighter, Jason Guida, who gives Clay his final bit of readying before stepping into the Octagon: a few hard slaps to the face. “I get hit hard in the fight and I get hit even harder by my brother before it and that’s just the warmup,” laughs Guida. Besides Guida’s trademark swirling shoulder length hair, belching in between rounds, and carousel of hard rock entrance music, the smacks from the man who initially got him into this sport might be the wildest recurring aspect to Guida’s fights. As jarring as these open-palmed strikes are for an average three rounder, hopefully Jason doesn’t ramp them up too much and knock Clay out before he steps into the cage for this five round main event.

Tomorrow night in Atlantic City, “The Carpenter” is aiming to redeem himself in his title shot campaign with a battle on the boardwalk against Maynard. “Even after a loss against who is now the belt holder in the lightweight division, I wouldn’t say I was down and I definitely wouldn’t say I was out,” declares Guida, who is hunting for a headlining finish over Maynard with only that gold on the horizon. “I come back even stronger after a defeat than a victory. I’m just excited for the challenge of facing the toughest wrestler I have had to face and prove something to myself and something to the fans that I’m going to be right back in there. I’m coming in guns blazing for five rounds and I want to set the tone for future main events and future title fights.”

Cub Swanson – The Featherweight Iron Man

Is it possible to measure the amount of “fight” in someone?If one could quantify the sum total of fight in UFC featherweight Cub Swanson, it would be a gajillion out of a potential gajillion quarks or whatever imaginary unit name we settle on. Put …

UFC featherweight Cub SwansonIs it possible to measure the amount of “fight” in someone?

If one could quantify the sum total of fight in UFC featherweight Cub Swanson, it would be a gajillion out of a potential gajillion quarks or whatever imaginary unit name we settle on. Put the nearly eight year professional cagefighting career with over 20 bouts aside, Swanson took an unfortunate knee to the face in practice leading up to his first UFC appearance in 2011, which pretty much destroyed the left side of his face. Swanson required reconstructive surgery to fix seven fractures, including wiring his jaw shut and the addition of three metal plates. Only five months later, Swanson fought in the Octagon – that’s a man with fight.

A year after suffering the devastating injury, Swanson is 1-1 in the UFC and ready to make the trip into the cage for a third time. “Being able to come back from that and perform at the highest level was huge for me,” says Swanson in the understatement of understatements made by the almost too humble fighter. If there was a time to quit a contact sport and no one would judge, it would be after a face caving incident like Swanson had. And yet, he used the dire situation as a learning experience, moved on from it, and is solely focused on more tangles in the Octagon.

“I had to almost relearn how to get hit again,” tells Swanson. “At first, I was a little shy and it took me a bit and I was wondering if I would ever get over that. It’s all mental stuff that I had to work through. I’ve gotten so many hours of sparring with some of the best up-and-coming boxers in the world and some of the best MMA fighters in the world. That’s my lead side and I have no issues with it. It’s strong. There’s metal in there. If anything, it is stronger than before. If anything, it taught me a lesson in there about fighting smarter. I used to think that I was indestructible. Now I know, I’m very skilled and I need to use those skills.”

These skills were on full display in January on the UFC on FOX undercard, where Swanson scored a picture perfect, one punch knockout on George Roop. The bout itself was a complete contrast to Swanson’s first Octagon outing against Ricardo Lamas, where the two attacked each other nonstop like magnets made of fists and feet. The 28-year old with “So Cal” and palm trees tattooed on his chest and stomach showed a patience and maturity with his striking, which is often unseen in many of Swanson’s previous fan-friendly brawls. It was a simple and effective finish that should have won Knockout of the Night – if it wasn’t for Lavar Johnson – and earned Swanson his first UFC victory.

“The combination is something I work here in California all the time – a jab, jab, cross,” remembers Swanson. “I knew that was going to work because being a tall guy he pulls his head back and most people can’t close the gap to capitalize on his chin being in the air because he’s tall. But I’ve got long arms and I’m pretty good at catching the overhand. I threw a quick jab and I caught him and I saw he was pulling back, so I threw another jab to load up my right. We knew he liked to counter hook and he did that and I ducked under the hook and threw my overhand and caught him flush on the chin.”

If coming back from the face shattering injury, facing two opponents in the UFC, and almost grabbing a Knockout of the Night award against the ever-game Roop wasn’t enough to earn the hypothetical gajillion quarks, then let’s talk about broken hands. The Californian has competed in multiple Fight of the Night bonus bouts in the WEC, and, even more noteworthy, was on the winning side of all of them. A lesser known piece of trivia is Swanson’s undefeated streak when he’s broken a hand (or two) in a fight. What this means is that he doesn’t flinch in a firefight, can excel in extreme circumstances, and needs to take better care of his hands or eat more calcium.

“I feel like I’m a scrapper,” states Swanson. “I’m very technical, but when it comes down to it I’m a scrapper at heart. I really like to fight like that sometimes. I think that sometimes people pace themselves and when they get sucked into my game maybe they don’t do as well or maybe I’m just that good – I can’t say. Those fights have all gone my way and I’m also 4-0 with every fight I’ve broken a hand in. That’s a random fact. In the John Franchi fight, both my hands were broken and I won the Fight of the Night and I submitted him in the third. I broke my hand in the [Hiroyuki] Takaya fight, Donny Walker, and in the rematch against Shannon Gugerty. It definitely tells you what you’re made of.”

That is not even the full extent of the broken hand woes, as Swanson’s had a total of eight including breaks in training. Thankfully, Swanson does train smarter and has remained uninjured since the facial incident. But while on this topic, let’s throw out another gem from the Swanson vault of toughness, which no one should ever try to replicate including Swanson.

“At the time, I was only doing jiu-jitsu in my first few fights,” starts Swanson. “My buddies and I were rolling one weekend at the park on the grass and I split my knee open pretty bad on a sprinkler. I knew I needed stitches, but I knew I couldn’t train with stitches. I thought if I did it ‘Rambo’ style and burned it shut and as long as I could keep it clean that I could train on it, but it would be uncomfortable. I had my brother heat up a butter knife and stick it into the cut. He messed it up the first time, so he had to do it twice. I think back now on that and it was pretty stupid. Lesson learned.”

Up next for the 16-5 Swanson is a showdown on June 22nd with Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson at UFC on FX 4. A native of Sunderland, England, Pearson is a strict kickboxing striker who has gone 5-2 inside the Octagon, including two Fight of the Night performances. The Ultimate Fighter season 9 winner made a successful drop down to featherweight from lightweight against Junior Assuncao at UFC 141, and even a cursory knowledge of Pearson’s background shows he’s a very difficult man to beat, which is why Swanson not only wants the fight, but asked for it.

“The kid is definitely tough,” admits Swanson. “He comes forward and gets after it. I like him as an opponent. The reason I like the fight is because I think he’s a top guy in our division. I thought he was a top guy at 155. At 145, he’s a force. That’s why I was excited about this fight. I had a few names thrown at me and this was the one that I really wanted. With all the injuries I’ve had, I know I’m not unbreakable and you never know when your career is going to end, so I want those memorable fights, I want those good fights, and I want to match up against someone who is going to put on that Fight of the Night performance and help make me a household name. His style is tough to deal with, but that’s what I’ve been training for. If I can take him out early then I’ll be happy, but if not then I’ll be ready for the Fight of the Year.”

In preparation for “The Real Deal”, Swanson spent most of his time either in the gym he owns, Tru-MMA in Palm Springs, CA, or at the infallible aura-inducing Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a member of Team Jackson, Swanson works with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn while sparring with Donald Cerrone, Clay Guida, Diego Brandao, and a never-ending litany of the who’s who in MMA. If that wasn’t enough, Swanson also trains at Cathedral City Boxing Club with some of the best the “sweet science” has to offer. At Cathedral, one particular pugilist is not only their star pupil, but Swanson’s former classmate: Timothy Bradley.

“I admire his dedication and his maturity,” tells Swanson. “We went to high school and are from the same graduating class and we come from a small school. We are probably the two biggest athletes to come out of our school. He was the likely one because he’s been doing it for so long. I was in and out of trouble and I made it into this sport later, but we’re back to training together and it’s awesome. The valley gives us a lot of love. It’s good to see people you grew up with doing big things. Watching him train and being able to spar with him, it shows me what kind of level I can get to at some point.”

Back at home in Tru-MMA, Swanson wears two different hats: a still budding professional fighter and an experienced coach. “I have a group of guys at my gym in Palm Springs and being a teacher for the last four years as well as being a student of the game myself, it pushes you to another level,” says Swanson, whose best protégé is his closest: his 6-0 flyweight, older brother Steve. “Being a teacher makes you ask why you do things. It makes you more of a rounded fighter.”

A week from today in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Swanson’s evolution from young and tough to skilled and respected faces a dangerous next step against Pearson. “One thing I can promise, I’ve been with Zuffa for five years and I’ve literally progressed with every single fight,” affirms Swanson, who has overcome many hurdles out of the cage all for the chance of being one of the most memorable fighters in it. “I hope fans can appreciate that and see that. It has taken nine years of my life, my whole 20’s, and I’ve given up a lot and made a lot of sacrifices in my life personally to be where I’m at. At the end of the day, a little thank you from the fans gets me geared up.”

All that fight fueled by a cheering Jersey crowd should mean a long bruising night on the boardwalk for Pearson.

Henderson, Edgar Do It Again in Denver on August 11

If you’re tired of seeing winners of multiple Fight of the Night awards battle in proverbial five round wars, then maybe the UFC’s lightweight division isn’t for you.For the non-cynics who love seeing the best battle the best, it’s officially t…

If you’re tired of seeing winners of multiple Fight of the Night awards battle in proverbial five round wars, then maybe the UFC’s lightweight division isn’t for you.

For the non-cynics who love seeing the best battle the best, it’s officially time to begin eagerly anticipating the August 11th title rematch between challenger Frankie Edgar and champion Benson Henderson. At the Pepsi Center, a kilometer from Mile High, in Denver, Colorado, the two darlings of the UFC’s proud 155 pounders will re-engage for rounds six thru 10 in a rematch following their Fight of the Night battle at UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan. In the original bout for the belt, fight fans saw 25 minutes of back-and-forth action, gutsy performances, and a former WEC titlist crowned a UFC champion.

What can Octagon enthusiasts expect from the division’s elite in the return bout at UFC 150?? Simply, more and better.

At Tuesday’s press conference hyping this main event clash between the combined nine-time Fight of the Night winning rivals, Henderson and Edgar agreed that they’ll need to be better to even stand a chance in these five extra rounds. “If I don’t get better, then he’s going to beat the crap out of me,” admits Henderson, whose sentiments are continued by Edgar about how essential their evolution is for this outing. “Steel sharpens steel. I can’t go in as the same guy. You have to make adjustments and you have to apply them right away and apply them better.”

It wouldn’t be a proper media event featuring the former UFC lightweight champion Edgar and UFC President Dana White, if the questions weren’t dominated by the ongoing hypothetical discussion of “The Answer” dropping to featherweight. Long story short, Edgar barely cuts weight to make 155 pounds as opposed to bigger opponents like Henderson, and White believes Edgar should try out the lighter weight class. It’s a valid argument with fighters trying to gain any advantage they can, but Edgar’s phenomenal success in the lightweight division in the Octagon is hard to argue with, and it deserves all the respect it gets.

“I think the rematches that have gone on with Frankie Edgar have showed that this guy is very tough and durable,” asserts White. “I believe he should be at 145 pounds; he doesn’t agree with me. To be honest, the fact that I believe he belongs at 145 pounds and the fact that he’s held the title and beat the list of the guys he has at 155 pounds – the guy is an incredible fighter, tough, durable guy, and an amazing athlete. And, man, would he shine at 145 pounds, but he wants to stay at ‘55.”

In February, the 14-2-1 Edgar continued his role as the UFC’s “Rocky,” as an upkick in the closing moments of the second round opened Edgar’s nose like a faucet. The deluge of hemoglobin did not appear to affect him too much, as he continued trading fists, feet, and takedowns with Henderson for 15 more minutes. The rematch in Denver will be Edgar’s third in 12 Octagon appearances, all with title on the line. In the previous two rematches, “The Answer” won more impressively in his second decision win over B.J. Penn and scored a Knockout of the Night over Gray Maynard last October.

“Looking at tape, we’re obviously going to make the adjustments in these next couple months,” tells Edgar. “See things we can capitalize on. Obviously, Ben is going to make these adjustments as well. It’s a bit of a guessing game as to who is going to do what and we’re just going to figure it out on August 11th.”

The sky’s the limit for “Smooth,” who lost the WEC lightweight belt in the final WEC bout and in four fights inside the Octagon has made the UFC lightweight belt his own. Henderson’s lone Zuffa defeat to Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision in 2010 has been more or less repealed by an undefeated streak of UDs in the UFC over Mark Bocek, Jim Miller, Clay Guida, and Edgar. For the Colorado Springs native, this bout will have a partisan hometown crowd as Henderson makes his first of a self-expected many title defenses. Simply put, “Smooth” wants to face the best fighters on the planet, whether that means a rematch or not.

“To be honest, I’ve said it before, I don’t care who they put in front of me,” explains Henderson. “I want to get to Anderson Silva’s records. I want to dethrone him from the record books. If he’s at 12, 13, or 14 title defenses, I want to have one more above him. You have to start with Frankie, the guy they put in front of me. It doesn’t matter to me; I couldn’t care less who they put in front of me. I’m not one of those guys who has animosity towards other fighters. I want to fight this guy, I want to fight this guy. He has a weird haircut – I want to fight him. Whoever. Whoever the UFC says is the guy who’s next is cool – let’s sign it.”

On August 11th at UFC 150 in Denver, Colorado, the #1 and #2 lightweights in the world will collide for the second time this year, for the belt, and, hopefully, for another Fight of the Night. Both share a Spartan mentality supremely focused on belts instead of BS, and success instead of soundbites. Neither Edgar nor Henderson are ones to talk trash or create drama; they come to fight, they come to win, and they come to put on a show for the fans. It’s the title fight rematch that fans should have wanted and should have expected, as all five round wars deserve another.

Ian McCall – An "Uncle Creepy" You Can Love

“I’m the best 125 pound fighter in the world and I’m just trying to make people fall in love with me.” – Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCallAn incredibly odd draw result may have initially robbed Ian McCall of proving the former, but the 15 minutes of fr…

UFC flyweight Ian McCall“I’m the best 125 pound fighter in the world and I’m just trying to make people fall in love with me.” – Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall

An incredibly odd draw result may have initially robbed Ian McCall of proving the former, but the 15 minutes of frenzied mayhem preceding the decision certainly earned “Uncle Creepy” many new fans and a possible crush or two.

On March 3rd, on the other side of the planet in Sydney, Australia, the UFC debuted a new weight division, flyweight, and its uncrowned, mustachioed king, McCall, in a three round Fight of the Night war against former bantamweight top contender Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. For the UFC faithful’s first taste of flyweight fisticuffs, Johnson and McCall traded fists, feet, and takedowns in what looked like fast-forward action for 15 minutes. It lived up to the hype, it solidified the addition of this new division if only just for the existence of this fight, and it introduced Octagon enthusiasts to McCall’s most hilarious nickname and unbridled, entertaining fury in the cage.

But there was one minor hiccup.

As this bout was part of a mini-tournament to decide the first UFC flyweight champion, a stipulation was added that if the judges’ decision was a draw, then there would be a sudden death fourth round. As luck would have it, the judges’ outcome was a draw, but due to a clerical mistake transcribing the scores, the decision was wrongly read in favor of Johnson. This error was discovered after the fighters were already backstage and done for the night.

Thus, no fourth round. Thus, a main event rematch set for June 8th, live on FX. Thus, McCall is champing at the bit to prove once again why he believes he’s the greatest flyweight in the world.

“I have been busting my ass and it’s driving me [expletive] crazy,” exclaims McCall. “I’m going insane. I have had to move out of my house. My wife said, ‘OK, you’re out. Go move in with your strength and conditioning coach. Just get this done.’ She’s all for it and she’s very supportive. She knows I need to just clear my head, stay away, be alone, and just get this done. Once the day comes, my job will be done.”

It’s tough to tell what has the 28-year old Californian more riled up: thinking he won the fight outright or that he thinks he would have won that final tie-breaking round. The opening five minutes featured tussling of both the standup and the ground variety, including McCall scoring two takedowns to Johnson’s none. The second round was a striking duel, with neither successful in their takedown attempts and “Mighty Mouse” landing a little more on the feet. The final frame was undoubtedly for “Uncle Creepy”, which was highlighted in the final minute by McCall ground and pounding Johnson from mount while wildly screaming and gesticulating to the cheering Aussie crowd.

“I know that I would’ve finished the fight in that fourth round,” asserts McCall. “I think everyone knows that. The momentum swing was very much in my favor. It was all downhill for him. I felt him wilt underneath those shots I was putting on him on the ground. It still bothers me. It has been bothering me ever since. I have had this nagging thing in the back of my head that has been eating away at me that’s been driving me [expletive] crazy. It’s unfinished business. I don’t like to leave things unfinished. I’m a perfectionist and it’s driving me nuts. I just want to get this over with.”

Admittedly, McCall has watched the frustrating fight with Johnson a couple times, but ultimately has resigned from further viewings. The men in McCall’s camp that have agonized over the video tape to pick apart the memorable organizational debut are his coaches from Team Oyama in Irvine, California. The dynamic duo specifically instructing McCall is Muay Thai specialist Colin Oyama and third degree BJJ black belt Giva Santana. They are the architects who McCall looks to lead him to a decisive victory over “Mighty Mouse” and improving his overall 11-2-1 record.

“I don’t bother watching it much because the more I watch it the more it pisses me off and the more I realize I won,” states McCall. “I leave it to my coaches to watch. They are my coaches for a reason and I have faith in them. They put together the gameplan to make sure I can finish the fight and put my stamp on it more or less. It being physically possible, it is hard to prepare any harder than I did for the last one, so it comes down to gameplan. The gameplan has changed, not by much, but now I know exactly what to do. I need to beat him up. I can’t get into this long distance, jogging match with him. I have to get into his face and take him into uncomfortable positions like I did in the third round.”

If there’s a positive to take away from the previous 15 minutes of hands-on experience fighting Johnson, minus the bonus check, it would be McCall’s wrestling. “Uncle Creepy” is lukewarm to disappointed in his striking in the first outing, but he did score several takedowns, passed Johnson’s guard several times, and showed an advantage on the ground. It was a very rare sight to see the highly regarded 14-2-1 Johnson mounted, taking punches, and bleeding from the mouth in the final seconds of the third round. It’s an area that the Washington resident will no doubt address in his training camp, but McCall is not resting on his own wrestling laurels.

“Obviously, the takedowns got into his head, and not only that, but the punishment he was taking when I got on top of him,” says McCall. “I got a little over-zealous in the beginning and he swept me, but he wasn’t able to hold me down. I have to take him down, be patient, and deliver some punishment when I’m there. I definitely know that is in his head. I know that he knows I’m the far superior wrestler, the far superior grappler. I know it’s uncomfortable being underneath me (laughs). I hurt everyone that I get on top of. He’ll definitely be watching out for that. People always say to me, ‘what if he works on his wrestling?’ Great! Good for him. Do you think I’m going to stop doing what I do best? I’m a good wrestler. I’m still wrestling just as much if not more than I was before. My wrestling has gotten better since that last fight. I haven’t stopped working.”

To prepare for the first rematch of his career, McCall is training at Team Oyama with Oyama, Santana, and other fighters like K-1 kickboxer Romie Adanza. He can also be found grinding on the mats at the California Republic Academy of Wrestling with the Holiday brothers, Sheldon Kim, and John Azevedo. Last but not least, as mentioned, McCall is living with his friend, mentor, and strength & conditioning coach Corey Beasley of Innovative Results. For him, it is these men in the gym and especially two women (McCall’s wife Shay and daughter London) outside of it that fuel McCall’s confidence in this rematch with Johnson and towards his goal of being a star and eventual title holder in the UFC.

“Now, I completely proved to myself what I thought all along, which is that I could beat him,” tells McCall. “I think he’s shown me everything he has to offer. I think he put on the best performance he could against me and I know I didn’t. I know I didn’t fire off my hands and my kicks the way I should have. Coming into this one, I think I’m going to outperform myself from the last time and show the world that I’m here to do something great. I don’t just want to be champion. I want to be a feared person in this sport. I want people to really respect me.”

If there are still UFC fans undecided on whether to root for the Fight of the Night winning, heavily tattooed, Rollie Fingers mustached, oil black pompadour sporting, reformed partier, proud father and husband, Chihuahua owning, 125 pound cagefighter with the unforgettably catchy “Uncle Creepy” moniker, then just know McCall steps into the Octagon looking for a fist fight, with whoever is unfortunate enough to be in there with him, all for you. And he couldn’t be happier to do it.

“I should’ve been here all along,” affirms McCall. “I blew my WEC appearance. I ruined that because of the demons I had. Being in the UFC, it’s exciting. My first fight I got to be on the main card and got to be in the first flyweight fight in company history. This time I get to be in the first flyweight headliner. All this excites me. It gets me going. I don’t get the Octagon jitters. I’m not afraid to perform. I get off on it. This is something I love to do. I was ranked #1 in the world for a reason. I have this cult following for a reason. They enjoy the violence that I show them. I leave it all out there and put it all on my sleeve and give it all that you want. I just want to make people happy. I’m just trying to do my job. You’re the sick twisted people who want to see me hurt someone for money (laughs).”

On Friday in Sunrise, Florida, this Californian will settle the score with “Mighty Mouse” in a hotly anticipated flyweight rematch. “I think they’ve created a monster,” says McCall, who knows his first fight in the UFC put the division on the map, stole the show in March, and made room in all fight fans’ hearts for the flyweights and, especially, “Uncle Creepy.” “We’re only going to get better. I think we’re going to take over. I think I’m going to take over.”