Dan Weichel isn’t just fighting for a title at Bellator 138. He is fighting for his sport.
Weichel, you see, is the best mixed martial artist in Germany, a country where mixed martial arts is only barely legal. Germany has actively worked against MMA in years past, with the sport being kept off national TV for a long while and children being barred from attending live events. Politicians have only recently begun thawing to the idea of cagefighting, which creates both danger and opportunity for Weichel.
Set to face Patricio Freire for the featherweight belt, he has the chance to elevate the sport in his home country by becoming the first German to capture the title of a major promotion. Weichel took the time to speak with Bleacher Report about his past, present and future in combat sports and what this fight means to him.
How did you first get into martial arts?
At first, I was inspired by martial arts movies like Bloodsport and Bruce Lee movies, and I was always fascinated by the technique and the sport. I kept asking my parents if I could start doing martial arts, and one day I saw a poster in my school for beginner classes, and I asked if I could do it.
Finally, they sent me over there. From the first moment I set foot on the mats, I knew this would be my life.
And how old were you when you first started training?
Thirteen when I started martial arts. Jiu-jitsu I started about one year later. A friend of mine was training there, and he invited me to a class, and it was a real passion for me. I really loved it.
Tell me about your early days in MMA. How did you get into it? Where were you fighting? What was the environment like for you at the time?
I was training more jiu-jitsu than anything else. I was not really training in wrestling or striking very much. I started to compete at amateur Shooto in Holland…and after that, they asked me if I wanted a pro fight and started my career with Shooto Holland. From there on, I went into qualification fights to fight in Japan, and I flew over from there, and then I started fighting all over Europe in European Vale Tudo in Sweden and Cage Warriors in England, and I just kept going.
When Bellator announced that they were getting away from tournaments, given that you won a tournament in 2014, how did you feel about that? And how was it taking another non-title fight against Pat Curran?
I felt they were going in the right direction, and they’re doing a great job promoting shows now. I’m very glad I got to have the experience of fighting in a tournament. It was a really intense experience in my life and career. I’m very happy I was there.
Fighting Pat Curran was a very big fight for me. He’s a former champ and has a very good resume with Bellator, and he’s one of the best featherweights in the world, and that’s one of the guys I wanted to compete with. I’m very happy that it got me that title shot right now.
How do you think you match up against Patricio Freire at this point?
I think I match up perfectly with Patricio. My team and I have worked on the perfect game plan, and I feel so comfortable right now. The last three or four weeks, I’ve felt ready. I feel great with our game plan, my body moves the way I want it to move, I feel no flaws in the techniques I’m trying to do. I think it’s a good matchup, and it should be a hell of a fight.
In general, how is MMA looked at in Germany right now? When the UFC first went there, it was banned from television, and children were barred from entering the arenas. Has it changed much? And how does it effect you? (Note: the TV ban was lifted earlier this year.)
The MMA scene is slowly growing in Germany, I would say. Right now, it’s not at all on TV, and that makes it hard to show people what MMA is all about. They just hear about it or see things on the internet, so they don’t really get MMA. But I also see through social media that MMA keeps growing, and more and more people are talking to me on the streets saying, “Oh, I saw you fighting in the United States on the internet,” and that’s really nice.
Still, for most people, I have to explain what MMA is all about, especially the ground fighting. They’re not used to jiu-jitsu, and they don’t understand why people can punch on the ground. They don’t understand that the person on the bottom can finish fights with submission techniques. It’s a lack of understanding. If it was on TV, it would be awesome for the German MMA scene.
Do you feel like that adds a bit of pressure to your fight? When I spoke with Chan-Sung Jung ahead of his UFC featherweight title fight, he said that he wanted to be the guy to make MMA mainstream in Korea. Are you feeling that way?
I don’t feel pressure. I feel excited for that. I feel excited that I can be the person to make MMA more popular in Germany. I don’t feel pressure, I just feel happy about that. I take that positive energy with me into the fight.
Switching gears, how does fighting in America feel for you in terms of jet lag? How do you deal with long travel before a fight?
We basically fly over a week before the fight. I feel good with that. Traveling is always a little bit stressful, but normally when I arrive I normally get a good sleep, and the next day is just a normal day. I start my training routine with my coaches. It’s harder when I travel back than when I travel to the states.
What has been the toughest fight in Bellator thus far?
I would say Pat Curran, definitely. I felt if, for one second, I had a lack of concentration, he would take advantage. In the second round, for one moment, I lost my concentration, and he took me down. I wasn’t expecting it that moment. I felt like I had to keep my concentration very high to win that fight, and so it was a very tough one. I knew for every moment and every second of that fight, he was dangerous. That was a tough fight for me.
I have to say, when I fought in Salt Lake City with Matt Bessette, that was a very tough fight for me as well. I underestimated the high altitude, and I had to fight through the conditions and fight against myself. It was a different kind of fight for me.
Pat Curran is obviously a very different fighter from Patricio Freire. Are you more confident heading into this fight than you were then?
I definitely think they’re two completely different styles. Pitbull is way shorter than Curran is, but he is more explosive and moves forward and mixes things up. But I’m ready for that. I think I know what kind of fighter I’m facing right now, and I’m ready.
How do you think the fight is going to pan out?
This fight can go anywhere. He’s a complete fighter, I’m a complete fighter and it’s all about who mixes things up better and who has more heart that night. This fight will be a pure war, anywhere. Striking, wrestling and on the ground. For MMA fans, this is a fight to watch.
All quotes obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report unless otherwise noted.
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