Author: Garrett Derr

In the world of mixed martial arts, many fighters become consumed with the busy lifestyle that comes along with the sport. They become so attached to the sport that they rarely get time away from their everyday training.

Not UFC welterweight, Jake Hecht.

Instead, Hecht is rarely seen as he thoroughly enjoys traveling the world, checking off bucket-list goals, one country at a time. While fighting certainly comes first for the 28-year-old Missouri native, traveling comes in at a close second.

Hecht recently sat down with Bleacher Report to discuss his love for traveling and much more.

 

Garrett Derr: Jake, I understand you began boxing when you were in your teens. What sparked this interest and why did you eventually choose MMA over boxing?

Jake Hecht: What sparked my interest in the combat sports in general was my older brother. I guess older brothers are supposed to pick on their young brothers, but mine took it to a whole new level. He broke my collarbone, broke my rib, and knocked my teeth out.

It got to the point where I had to come back with something to defend myself. So, I started wrestling, but that only lasted three months at a time. I started taking up boxing and started defending myself. I won the golden gloves award and was pretty good at it.

I chose MMA over boxing because I had the wrestling background and I could blend the two pretty easily. When I had a boxing match, all I wanted to do was put the guy on his back. That’s why I chose to chase after MMA.

 

GD: If you come from a background in boxing, what’s your opinion on the MMA vs. boxing duel? Will MMA be the death to boxing? And, if so, why?

JH: I don’t even think it’s a competition to be honest. I understand boxing has been around for so long, and it’s old money. The sport has such a history, I just don’t understand how it’s even a competition though. I watched the Mayweather fight the other night, and I could get up, and get a glass of water, and miss absolutely nothing.

If you get up and leave an MMA fight, you miss half the fight and tons of entertainment. MMA is much more entertaining and at a much faster pace. I’m not saying it will be a death to boxing, but I think our society is moving towards a faster pace where people want more entertainment. This is what MMA gives you over boxing.

 

GD: The last time I talked with you, you mentioned that you’d like to fight in every continent, minus Antarctica of course. So, what has it meant to you to have the opportunity to fight where most guys have never even been before?

JH: It’s amazing, it really is. My second passion besides fighting is traveling. So, for me to be able to go somewhere like the places I’ve been is just awesome. After my fight in Australia, I got to spent 10 days out there. We went mountain climbing, cliff-diving, and a ton of other things. It was awesome. I can’t wait to continue traveling and do as much as I can possibly do.

 

GD: I know you’ve been to Jordan, England, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and of course the US. Outside of fighting, have you been anywhere else?

JH: This past year my girlfriend and I went to Spain and ran with the bulls. That was pretty crazy. I also went to a jiu-jitsu camp in Portugal. Most people will ask why Portugal, but it was one of the sickest camps I’ve ever been to. The gym was on the beach. You step out of the back door and you are literally on the sand. The set up was amazing.

Australia has been my favorite trip so far. The crazy stuff we were able to do. I said I wanted to go cliff-diving and my buddy knew of a place. I said I wanted to go deep sea fishing and catch a marlin, my buddy knew a place. It was so crazy and we has such a good time.

 

GD: So, the last time we talked you were getting ready to take on TJ Waldburger and things didn’t go as expected. You got caught like a lot of guys do, so where do you think you really went wrong in that fight?

JH: TJ is a slick guy and I think we underestimated his submission skills and scrambles. I hope everyone knows now that he is one of the best in the business in turning the scramble into a submission. I would have went for the winner again, because that’s in my mind every time I take the Octagon.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the move I went for will work. But, I got caught and I wouldn’t have changed anything. I’ve been trained to go for the finish. He was the better man that night. But, I came out of that fight flat. From the first second of the fight, I need to set my pace and keep that pace for 15 minutes.

 

GD: You’ll now meet Sean Pierson in your upcoming bout at UFC on FX 3. What have you done differently this time around training for a well-rounded opponent like Sean?

JH: I felt like my last game plan was perfect. I never felt better going into a fight. I heard that I had another opponent right away, so I was able to continue this camp into the next one. We were able to spread this camp out for a while. I’ve known about this fight for 14 weeks now. I need to keep working on my standup, my shots, and my ground game. I don’t think this fight is any different in preparation.

He is an older guy, so let’s be honest, I think he is at the twilight years of his career. If I come out, push the pace, and get in his face, I think he’s going to break. I think he’s going to break quickly. So, that’s the plan, to get in his face, put my hands on him, and look for damage. That’s what we’re going to do.

 

GD: Out of curiosity, how bad do you believe referring and the judging has been in MMA? Recently you have Mario Yamasaki and the strikes to the back of the head in the Erick Silva bout, Kim Winslow stopping John Albert’s fight, and of course you have Steve Mazzagatti. What’s your opinion?

JH: I mean, let’s be honest, it’s a hard job. You got to give the guys credit for what they do. But, a lot of times they mess up, and make outrageous calls that you can’t believe. It’s human error and they are going to make mistakes. But, on the other hand, there have been some pretty retarded calls and just things that shouldn’t happen.

I don’t know how much more training they can get or how much more tape they can watch. The only solution I could think of, is having a set range of things that score higher on a judge’s score cards. For example, damage, if a guy is cut or damaged, that’s weighed more in the scorecards. Just having a set criteria will help. You have judges who favor the ground, judges who favor the standup, and so on.

 

GD: In your opinion, who is the best referee in the sport?

JH: Herb Dean, without a doubt.

 

GD: Who is the worst referee?

JH: I mean the popular vote to go with is Mazzagatti, because he has a history of mistakes.

 

GD: Thanks for the time Jake. I wish you the best of luck in Florida.

 

Garrett Derr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

You don’t always get what you want.

If you’re UFC welterweight Mike Pierce, you almost never get what you want.

Pierce, who’s coming off three consecutive split decision bouts, has seen his hand raised just one lonely time to Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX 1. In the others, Pierce fell short to rising star Johny Hendricks and UFC veteran Josh Koscheck.

But, the tides are turning. Pierce will now get what he wants as he’ll meet Carlos Eduardo Rocha at UFC on FX on June 8th in a welterweight showdown.

Pierce recently sat down with Bleacher Report to discuss his recent calling out of Rocha and a variety of other topics.

 

Garrett Derr: Mike, I’m sure you’ve heard it a 1,000 times, but you’re coming off an extremely tough loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 143. As you awaited the judge’s scorecards, were you pretty confident that you won the fight?

Mike Pierce: Oh yeah. I was ready to get my hand raised and go crazy. If you take a look at the fight and watch it over again, look at Josh Koscheck’s demeanor. He didn’t look happy and he didn’t look like he won the fight.

He didn’t have the facial expressions like he usually does when he wins a fight. He didn’t look like any of his past fights where he won. He wasn’t expecting to get his hand raised and he was really surprised when he won.

 

GD: I had you winning that fight, Dana White had you winning that fight, so what can the UFC or the commission do to improve the quality of judging? Or, do you feel human error is a part of the sport?

MP: I’m not sure what the UFC can do since they are really just the promoters, you know. The local commission needs to do something about the judging, though. I think they need to sit down and set some things straight or place some type of standards.

I think they [judges] might need to be educated, so these guys know what counts for what. I’m not sure what needs to be done, but something needs to happen.

 

GD: Split decisions seem to be right up your alley. Your last three bouts have resulted in a split decision. What goes through a fighter’s mind as they wait to hear that decision over and over again?

MP: Split decisions are never fun. But for this fight, I really thought I won. I was like cool, and then they called his name. I said great, this is going to be a split decision. I went into the decision thinking that I at least won 29-28, and that it was going to be unanimous.

For it to be split, it was kind of shocking. I didn’t get to talk to Dana after the fight, but I did catch his interview with Ariel Helwani where he said he had me winning the fight. They thought that I won the fight, but missing out on the win bonuses and that stuff, when you really won, really sucks.

 

GD: You’ll meet Carlos Eduardo Rocha at UFC on FX 3. Were you disappointed at all with your matchup considering he hasn’t even fought in a year?

MP: No, I don’t think so. I sent out on Twitter that I wanted an easy fight, so I called out all the Brazilians in the 170-pound division. Carlos answered, so I got the fight that I wanted.

 

GD: What weak points do you see in his game that you’ll be able to exploit come fight night?

MP: I think everything. I’ll be able to exploit everything. I think the only tool that he has that is any good, is his ground game. He’s pretty good at these weird scrambles and being on the ground. Other than that, I think that he’s a fish out of water.

I want to finish him early. I think he’s going to have a tough time figuring things out. He’s going to get beat up on his feet, and for the short time we end up on the ground, he’ll get beat up there too. He’s not going to want to fight me after the first round, if it happens to make it past the first. I want to put this guy to sleep.

 

GD: Taking a look at your career, you’ve fought some of the toughest fighters in the UFC. Koscheck, Hendricks, Fitch, and even Munoz. So, who do you believe has been your toughest matchup up until this point in your career?

MP: It probably doesn’t make any sense, but I beat him in a split decision, Paul Bradley. He was one of the guys that was so much like me in my fighting style and strength. He was a really tough dude who had a tough loss at 185, and then moved down to welterweight.

I think if he would have started at 170, the guy would probably still be in the UFC. He’s a guy I fought twice and he got a lot better. Fitch was obviously a tough fight. I think I beat Koscheck, but I don’t think that he was any tougher than Bradley.

 

GD: So, you’re an Oregon boy. And, of course, so is Chael P. Sonnen. Who wins the showdown between him and Silva this time around?

MP: Chael, of course, without a question. I think Chael is going to go in there and do what he did the first time around. He’s going to go in there and do what he did the first time around and not get caught in a submission this time.

You rarely make the same mistake twice. I’m hoping he goes in there and beats the guy for five straight rounds. There’s a chance he finishes him, but I’m not sure what is more gratifying, having him finish him or beat his a– for 25 minutes. I think that would be more gratifying.

 

Garrett Derr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Following his loss on season 14 of the Ultimate Fighter, John Albert believed his dream of fighting in the UFC was about to go up in smoke.

Fortunately for Albert, he was wrong. Instead, he found himself celebrating his first win inside the Octagon in a 69-second knockout over Dustin Pague. Albert would fall in his very next bout to UFC veteran Ivan Menjivar despite showing signs of greatness in the opening minutes of round one.

Albert will now look to capture his second major win when the UFC travels to the Palms Casino Resort in Paradise, Nevada on June 1st where he’ll meet Erik Perez in a bantamweight showdown.

Albert recently sat down with Bleacher Report to discuss his upcoming bout and a variety of different topics.

Garrett Derr: John, you’re coming off a tough loss to Ivan Menjivar where you held your own the first few minutes before getting caught. Talk me through this loss. What were your feelings at the time?

John Albert: Well simply, I felt I hurt him real good and I smelled blood and went for the kill. I gave every ounce of energy I had. It wasn’t enough, unfortunately. I jumped the guillotine and that is the worst mistake you can make in fighting. Giving up position when you have no energy to even finish.

I was hoping to recover on the bottom, but he unintentionally hit me in the back of the head like five times and actually knocked me out. Then he slipped in the choke and I woke up in a rear-naked choke. I didn’t know which side to defend and I was going back out, so I had to tap.

I thought for a split second just to go out, but I was already out once so I was kind of like, f— it [laughing].

 

GD: How hard has it been to regain that focus and turn your full attention to your upcoming opponent in Erik Perez?

JA: Not hard at all, to be honest. This is a sport and a competition and I just felt honored to fight someone that I consider almost legendary. He’s a true pioneer in the sport and I had such a good time fighting him that the loss didn’t affect me.

I went right back into training and focusing on what I needed to work on. I just need to improve as a fighter. I love this sport and win or lose, if I give it 100 percent, I’m happy.

 

GD: Talk to me about Perez. He’ll be making his UFC debut and he’s a guy we haven’t heard of before. What do you know about him?

JA: Well, if anyone follows mixed martial arts outside the UFC, they’d know he’s a very talented and tough fighter coming off a five-fight win streak. He is very durable and a good mixed martial artist. He transitions well from striking to wrestling to grappling.

But I feel he’s never been stuck with anyone like me, and I feel he plays right into my ground game. I think his strong suit is his durability, though.

 

GD: You mention his durability, so how do you see this bout playing out?

JA: I want to get the knockout in the first round. I train for a 15-minute fight, but my fighting style is kind of all-out aggression. I don’t like to pace myself. I just like to go, go, go. So, I feel it’ll end in the first round either way [laughing].

 

GD: You were set to take on Byron Bloodworth and he was forced out due to an injury. How much have you had to change your preparations for Bloodworth to focus solely on Perez?

JA: No changes, to be honest. I train to be the most complete fighter and a true mixed martial artist. Dennis Hallman’s game plan for me is to walk across the ring, take the guy down and submit him. He feels that’s how strong my ground is.

But I don’t follow his game plan ever [laughing]. Because I love to trade, put on a show and take the fight where I see fit. I just go out there and fight because that’s when I’m having the most fun.

 

GD: You’ve taken part in the Ultimate Fighter house and got to showcase your skill set on the Season 14 Finale. What advice would you give to the guys who are just coming out of the house? What do they need to know in order to be successful in the UFC?

JA: The simplest advice I can give is to believe in yourself and don’t give up on your dream. I thought after I lost, that was it. But I had this weird feeling I was going to get called by Sean Shelby and quit my job to train full time.

In order to be successful in the UFC, you have to commit to fighting 100 percent. These guys are top-level athletes and competitors. They are just simply too good to only be able to be a part-time fighter.

 

GD: In the main event, Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann will square off for what many consider to be the No. 1 contender’s spot. Who wins this bout and why?

JA: Honestly, this is a tough one to call. Ellenberger always goes forward and puts people away. Kampmann can endure a lot of pain, though. They both are amazing mixed martial artists and I see a split decision maybe going to Ellenberger.

 

GD: You train with Dennis Hallman, one of the all-time greats in the sport. What’s the biggest thing he’s taught you about the sport and yourself? 

JA: Besides all the technique, he’s taught me how to be tough. You know he is a big advocate on experience and had me fight as much as possible as an amateur. I had 15 amateur fights and we both wanted more to gain experience.

But I just was beating everyone and no one wanted to fight. It took six months to find a fight for me and towards the end, he just told me that I was ready. He also has given me confidence because he believes that I’m a world-class fighter even though sometimes I don’t feel that way.

 

GD: We know John Albert the fighter and not much outside of that. What is your favorite thing to do outside of the Octagon when you’re not training for a fight?

JA: I got a few things that I love to do after a fight. One is to go out and eat at restaurants for a week straight. I don’t cook my own meals [laughing]. Besides that, I love to hunt, fish and camp with my pops.

I also love comic books and gaming. I feel that I’m quite the nerd who likes solitude [laughing]. So, guns, video games and comic books.

 

GD: In closing, who would you like to thank?

JA: I’d like to thank everyone who supports and believes in me. Specifically, my family and friends. My coaches, teammates, Dennis Hallman, Saohin Srisuk and Ali Crosbie. Victory athletics Fight Team and my agents at Paradigm MMA Management. My fans can follow me on Twitter at @ufcprincealbert and chat with me at athletebay.com.

 

Garrett Derr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com