Marcus Brimage won’t allow his Nov. 8 UFC Fight Night 55 bout against Jumabieke Tuerxun to go the distance.
That simply cannot happen, not after what happened in his most recent fight, a split-decision loss to Russell Doane at UFC 175. In that matchup, Brimage said he felt he clearly won round two and took a 10-8 in round three, making him the clear winner.
The judges did not see it that way, and the UFC bantamweight is not happy about it.
“You can definitely quote me on this: The Las Vegas, Nevada, athletic commission’s MMA judges should do everyone a favor and kill themselves and invite everyone to the funeral,” Brimage told Bleacher Report. “The fight against Russell Doane, that was blasphemy, man! I watched that fight so many times, and I just cannot see how I lost that fight.”
Questionable judges’ decisions aside, Brimage now has a job to do on Nov. 8. After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, Brimage‘s future inside the Octagon may depend on him defeating Tuerxun in Australia.
Despite the high stakes, Brimage is pleased with his recent progress heading into the bout. Due to family issues, he moved his camp from South Florida’s American Top Team (ATT) back home to Spartan Fitness in Birmingham, Alabama, a decision which has helped his mentality immensely.
“Instead of me having to constantly worry if everything’s OK, I know for a fact that everything’s OK. It’s just a lot more stress off my mind before camp,” Brimage said. “I’m going back to the roots, man, back to what got me into the UFC in the first place.”
The choice has paid off so far, Brimage said. While Spartan Fitness doesn’t boast the high-profile names and facilities of ATT, it carries a certain aura and mystique that the South Florida camp couldn’t offer him.
“I’m not gonna lie: My skill and my MMA knowledge has grown a lot since leaving Alabama and going to ATT, but my coach, he looked at me and he said, ‘Boy, you ain’t ‘Bama tough no more,’ Brimage said. “We ain’t got all the fancy facilities and everything that South Florida has, but it’s just hardcore grit, you know? Just like Alabama football.”
Now, Brimage will get the chance to show Sydney what “‘Bama Tough” is all about when he takes on Tuerxun, a fighter who has also lost his last two fights.
But even this fight did not come without its setbacks and switch-ups. Brimage was originally scheduled to face Erik Perez at UFC 180 in Mexico City before his opponent had to pull out of the fight with an injury (h/t MMAFighting.com). While most fighters would view falling off the UFC’s inaugural Mexico card as a disappointment, Brimage views it as a positive.
“To be honest with you, I view this as an upgrade, because when I’m in Rome, I do what the Romans do,” Brimage said. “In Mexico, I wasn’t going to leave until I saw some cock fights, and now I’m in Australia, I’m not leaving until I see two kangaroos fight. So I think that’s an upgrade in my situation.”
UFC Fight Night 55 will also mark Brimage‘s second fight at bantamweight, and he said the weight cut will be less of an issue this time around. He now has that part of the game down to a science, and that knowledge will allow him to enjoy himself more leading up to, during and after the fight.
“I’m down to 152 right now, so I’m ahead of the game,” Brimage said. “With that, I have a little extra energy, so I’m actually going to sight see. Going to Australia, especially this time of year, I hear it’s very beautiful. So I’m going to go enjoy myself, and like I said, I’m not leaving until I see two kangaroos fight. I don’t know where I can find it, but I’m going to watch two kangaroos fight.”
Once the lights dim and it’s showtime in Australia, Brimage knows that nothing else will matter. His letdown against Doane will fade into obscurity. Australia might as well be Nebraska. Two straight losses will be forgotten with a win.
And he will violently pursue that “W.”
“I’m going to leave the judges out of this one,” Brimage said. “Obviously, they don’t know what the hell they’re doing, so we’re going to leave the judges out of this one. I’m going for the kill, and I’m thinking more of a bonus on this one.”
*Note: All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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