It took just over seven years of being a professional in the sport, a case of walking pneumonia and a former UFC heavyweight champion, but Roy Nelson’s cardio looked bad in a fight. For all the haters and harpies of his trademark tummy, UFC 130 was really a unique experience seeing “Big Country” gassed in the second and third round while being outwrestled by Frank Mir. The Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner knows best how uncharacteristic his performance was, he’s owned up to it and he is ready to move on from it.

“I got the walking pneumonia a week after I went to Canada for the Expo from basically touching dirty fans,” semi-jokes Nelson. “My whole fight career, I always give you 100%. I usually have more cardio than the other guy. With this fight, I hit a wall and that’s what happens when you’re not up to 100%. Afterward, it is easy to blame the way I look or the color of my hair – there’s always something else to blame. Going into the fight against Frank, I was going up against a former champion. I wasn’t feeling good, but I was feeling confident. How do we get paid? We get paid to fight, so I went in there and did the best that I could. It went better for Frank that day.”

At 35 years old and a veteran of 22 pro fights spread across numerous organizations, Nelson is focused on entering the Octagon for the fifth time and his future past that. “If I lose I’m going into the gym to become a better fighter and if I win I’m going into the gym to become a better fighter,” says Nelson, owner of a 16-6 overall record and a 2-2 UFC slate, with back-to-back wins followed by back-to-back losses. “A thing I’ve always said is, ‘once you fight me, you’ll never want to fight me again.’ I believe that’s true from all the way from dos Santos, Frank and to anyone I’ve beaten before. If you’re going to fight Roy then you need to bring all your guns because you’re going to be in a war.”

The Las Vegas native’s next Octagon appearance will be at UFC 137 on October 29th when he will square off against international fan favorite Mirko Cro Cop. Nelson knows exactly how much weight Cro Cop’s name and 27-9-2, 1 NC career carries if one has a win over him. “I think it’s cool because you have to beat a legend to become a legend. He’s definitely beaten some of the top guys. He’s a guy that if you can beat him then you know where you stand in the scheme of things with the rest of the heavyweights in the world.”

Cro Cop and Nelson are in a similar position coming into this fight. Both are well regarded heavyweights who have faced some of the best their division has to offer and both are on a two fight losing skid. For Cro Cop, Mir and Brendan Schaub caught the former PRIDE star with about a minute left in their respective fights. For Nelson, the decision loss to Mir followed the decision loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 117. The most important thing for both fighters is to walk out of the Octagon with a win, and Nelson will do anything to make sure it’s him.

“In this fight, I’m coming off two losses,” he explains. “The first fight I lost I was fighting for a shot at the world title and the second fight I was fighting against a guy who has already had the title twice. For me, losing to those guys and now coming out here, it’s basically that I need to get back into the win column. I don’t care if it is the ugliest fight in the world, I just need to get the W. Once you get the W in the win column then you can start making your way back to the title. But first you need to get that W because you can’t climb up the ladder while you’re losing.”

Fighting an opponent as famous as Cro Cop does have an upside of generally knowing what to expect from him. The Croatian striker has been surgically knocking out opponents for well over a decade, and from his time as a professional kickboxer to his glory days in PRIDE to his nine fights inside the Octagon, Cro Cop continues to more or less have the same well-documented strengths and weaknesses. Nelson believes he’s figured out his opponent stylistically and knows how to counter it.

“I think Mirko is going to stay on the outside and pick his shots with his left hand and look for his kicks,” estimates Nelson. “That’s what Cro Cop is really good at. He sucks you into a lullaby and you put your guard down and then BAM that’s where the kick or the punch is. For me, I have to be patient and look for my shots or look for the takedowns. I have to punch him in the face, but I have to be patient. Mirko is a patient man and he waits for that one mistake and he capitalizes on it.”

“Big Country” does have two Knockout of the Night bonuses that both occurred in the first round, but Nelson is ready to go all three rounds with Cro Cop. “With every fight, I prepare like it’s going 15 minutes,” states Nelson, well aware that he might need to go into the later rounds in search of another bonus, as all but one of his foe’s losses in the UFC have occurred in the third. “If it gets done earlier then it’s like going to work and punching out early because you got all your work done. Mirko is very steady and elusive when it comes to striking and he stays out on the perimeter and picks his shots. He is a guy you have to hunt down, and it might take 15 minutes to get there.”

This Saturday, the mullet, the beard and the belly of “Big Country” will take to the cage against feared fists and feet of Cro Cop.

“He is one of the most feared strikers when it comes to matchups, but one thing that people don’t like about fighting me is that I’m not afraid to bang with you,” asserts Nelson, eager to put his crushing right hand and black belt in BJJ to use to get back to winning, climbing the ladder, and proving the naysayers wrong. “You not only have to be the better striker, but you have to see who hits harder. Another thing is that I have a good ground game. It’s not a pure classic ‘grappler vs. striker’ because this grappler is willing to bang with you.”

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

Dennis Siver? Well, he’s still climbing the ladder of notoriety in the land of Volkswagens and BMWs, where the sport of mixed martial arts is still largely treated as second-class citizenry compared to boxing.

“I have never met the Klitschko brothers, unfortunately. I don’t even think they know who I am!” Siver said, days before his UFC 137 battle with Donald Cerrone.

Decidedly low-key, Siver’s aspirations – if achieved – would define his legacy and perhaps make most of his distracted countrymen suddenly take notice.

“I want to be the first German UFC champion,” the 32-year-old said through an English translator. “That really motivates me. This is my fuel, my motivation, to make my fans happy seeing me winning.”

And win he has. To the surprise of many, the European pioneer has ripped off four straight wins, even becoming the first lightweight fighter in the UFC to knock off George Sotiropolous (7-0 in the UFC before Siver outstruck and upset him via unanimous decision at UFC 127). Fresh off a topsy-turvy, nail biting win over Matt Wiman, Siver (19-7) now faces perhaps the most formidable foe of his pro career in Donald Cerrone. Like Siver, Cerrone (16-3, 1 NC) has been red-hot of late, winning five straight in one-sided fashion. The former bull rider’s most eye-opening victory was a TKO annihilation over highly-regarded contender Charles Oliveira.

“Cerrone is a very dangerous opponent because he is able to fight and attack from every conceivable position,” Siver said of the 6’0” Greg Jackson protégé, who went unbeaten as an amateur kickboxer but has submitted 12 opponents in his pro MMA career. “He doesn’t tire and will stay on you relentlessly. This is going to make for an exciting and interesting fight. But when an opponent dismisses me, it only motivates me more. The list of those who haven’t taken me seriously is long and littered with rude awakenings.”

Siver’s perception of being slighted might be rooted in Cerrone’s pre-fight sentiments.

“I’m not too worried about him, to be honest,” Cerrone said. “I just figure every guy I go up against is going to be tougher then the last. Dennis comes to fight and I expect exactly that. And he better be at his best.”

While many of the world’s elite fighters train in North America or Brazil, Siver (Russian by birth) prefers to sharpen his skills in his adopted homeland. He very much subscribes to the ‘If it ain’t broke …’ mantra.

“I like training with my long-term training partners,” said the stocky striking specialist, who lives in Mannheim, Germany. “I have never said that training in Germany is more effective. I just like staying with my family and friends in Germany and I’m used to my gym and the people there. I’m a big proponent of never changing a winning team. I may not be training with one of the big camps, but my team, Kiboju, under head trainer Nico Sulenta, has helped me get better with every single fight. I get pushed more from fight to fight and it has helped me become a true mixed martial artist.”

Previously an accomplished pro kickboxer, Siver has added to his arsenal with stingy takedown defense, underrated jiu-jitsu and respectable takedowns. A former master car mechanic who can rebuild an engine from scratch, Siver must now find the fix to turn back the challenge of an opponent who will have a decent height and reach advantage.

“No predictions,” Siver said. “I respect Donald, he’s a great fighter. We both like to bang so I sparred a lot. But of course I did my wrestling and BJJ training as well because you never know where a fight will go. May the best man win on the night.”

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

Nick Diaz failed to show up to back-to-back press conferences to hype up his then-scheduled title challenge against welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre. Not sure whether the enigmatic fighter would actually show up for the bout, the boss pulled Diaz from the main event.

Believe me. White could have done worse, like terminate Diaz’s fight contract. He didn’t.

The question remained, though, when would the Strikeforce champion make his first return to the Octagon since 2006. The solution was brilliant. Diaz would indeed be granted his UFC return at UFC 137. Not against GSP. He would instead face BJ Penn, one of only two men to win championships in two different UFC weight classes and a fighter who will go down in the annals of history as one of the best ever, pound for pound.

Yet in a strange twist of events, GSP ended up injuring his knee during training, forcing him out of his title defense against Carlos Condit. This elevated Penn-Diaz to the main event, the spot originally pegged for the maligned Stockton native.

And for my money, Penn-Diaz is a more intriguing, more fan friendly matchup than Diaz-GSP.  

Probably sounds a bit like blasphemy to some. I don’t care. I’m a firm believer in that statement. Think about it for a moment. Have you ever witnessed Diaz or Penn in a boring fight when it didn’t involve an elite wrestler holding them on the ground for the length of the bout?

Enough said.

Neither Diaz nor Penn is a dominant wrestler, so a lay-and-pray strategy isn’t in the cards for either man. Instead, we will see two of the best fighters in the world, pound for pound, go head-to-head in what will likely unfold as a back-and-forth barnburner for as long as it lasts. That makes for must-see TV.

So, what will happen once the action gets under way?

Let’s dismiss with the obvious first. This fight will not be decided on the ground.

Diaz and Penn are the two best submission artists in the division, bar none. Penn is the more decorated of the two, holding the amazing distinction of being the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships. He did that after only three years of BJJ training.

Diaz is not a decorated submission grappler, like his opponent. But he doesn’t take a back seat to anyone, including Penn. That is especially true when it comes to his offensive guard. The Cesar Gracie black belt might even hold the edge over Penn, in terms of the lethal nature of his guard.

None of that will be overly relevant on October 29. This fight won’t be decided by either man’s BJJ skills. Neither Diaz nor Penn are particularly effective at taking the fight to the ground, and neither of these guys wants to pull guard against the other. It may end in a submission. That is a very real possibility, though a knockdown, not a takedown or someone pulling guard, is the likely prelude to a submission.

This bout will be decided in pugilistic fashion. These guys are coming to throw hands, first and foremost. And they will keep throwing hands, mixed with the occasional kick, knee and elbow, until someone falls down or the final bell sounds. That is crux of each of their game plans. Trust me on that one.

Diaz will come out looking to slap box. He will paw with his right hand, while he looks for openings for quick right hooks and sharp straight rights down the middle. His mouth will be running the entire time, taunting Penn with venomous comments about any and everything.

Back to the slap boxing part. Diaz will be doing anything but slapping his foe. He will appear to be throwing pitter-patter punches. Yet, he throws with such great technique and overwhelming volume that the accumulation of damage from his blows is very real. And it compounds quickly.

Diaz will look to overwhelm his foe with activity, just like he did Frank Shamrock, Paul Daley and the eight other opponents he has faced since the calendar flipped to 2008. They say speed kills. Well, so does overwhelming activity and pressure, and that is what Diaz does better than anyone else.

Penn does not want a fire fight. The conventional wisdom is that the best way to beat the Hawaiian superstar, other than a lay-and-pray strategy, is to smother him with pressure. That is a risky proposition, though, because the former lightweight and welterweight champion is probably the best pure boxer in the division, and he loves to counter.

“The Prodigy” has the second best jab in the division, and that is the key to his standup offense. Much like a traditional boxer, Penn stands with his weight cheating toward the front and heavy hips. That allows him to throw with maximum force at any moment. Diaz has below average takedowns, so Penn won’t alter his normal stance, other than possibly sitting down just a bit more to generate even more power.

Penn can counter with the best of them. But he doesn’t stick and move on his counters. He plants and bombs. What that means is Diaz will have ample opportunity to return fire, assuming a Penn counter doesn’t turn the lights out. With Diaz’s sturdy chin, that is a safe bet.

Once on the inside, the fight should be all Diaz. Penn needs space to do real damage on the inside, particularly against a taller opponent. Diaz does not. He might be the sport’s single-most prolific puncher in a phone booth.

That is what Diaz wants. He wants this to be a fight in the phone booth. He wants to be trapped in the trenches with Penn.  He wants to overwhelm Penn with activity, forcing the former two-division champion to defend, rather than attack.

By contrast, Penn wants space to maneuver. He wants time to set up his shots. And he wants the ability to land one or two fight-altering shots.

On paper, Penn is the more skilled fighter. He is also the more accomplished champion. But this fight has Nick Diaz written all over it. Diaz is the second hottest welterweight over the last couple of years, second only to GSP. Penn has largely been an average welterweight in the UFC. His record stands at an average 2-3-1. Both wins were against Matt Hughes.

Something tells me that win number three won’t be against Diaz.

QUICK FACTS

BJ Penn
•    32 years old
•    5’9, 165 lbs
•    70-inch reach
•    16-7-2 overall (12-6-2 UFC)
•    13 of 20 UFC fights have ended inside the distance (11-2 in those fights)
•    Two losses to Edgar were his first losses by unanimous decision in his UFC career
•    2-3-1 in UFC welterweight division
•    2-2-1 in his last 5
•    6-3-1 in his last 10
•    6-7 overall against current or former UFC/PRIDE champions
•    Penn has never been submitted
•    Second fighter in history to win championships in two UFC weight classes (lightweight and welterweight)
•    Has competed in 4 weight classes (155 lbs, 170 lbs, 185 lbs and HW)
•    First non-Brazilian to win gold in the black belt division of the Mundial World Championship (BJJ)
•    Three UFC post-fight awards: Submission of the Night (2), Knockout of the Night
•    Current layoff is 244 days
•    Longest layoff of UFC career is 273 days (excluding the 3-year period when Penn was absent from the UFC and competing actively elsewhere)

Nick Diaz
•    28 years old
•    6’1, 170 lbs
•    74-inch reach
•    26-7, 1 NC
•    Finished 9 out last 10 opponents
•    5-0 in last 5
•    10-0 in last 10
•    Former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion (never lost the title; vacated it to return to the UFC for the first time since November 18, 2006)
•    Current layoff is 203 days
•    Longest layoff of career is 315 days

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

Stun Gun Returns in Dec. to Face Pierson updated October 3
A welterweight showdown is on tap for December 30th, as South Korea’s Dong Hyun Kim returns to the Octagon for what should be an exciting scrap with Canada’s Sean Pierson.

“Two talented welterweights on the comeback trail will face off at UFC 141 when Sean Pierson takes on the ‘Stun Gun’ Dong Hyun Kim.” said UFC President Dana White.

Janitor vs. Mauler Re-Set for December
Two of the toughest contenders in the light-heavyweight division have verbally agreed to fight in Las Vegas December 30th as Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson will take on Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko.

The two were originally slated to meet at UFC 133 in Philadelphia last month, but a late injury sidelined Matyushenko. Instead, Gustafsson fought Matt Hamill, winning via TKO in the second round.

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 updated September 12
A second bout between top contenders has been added to the UFC’s year-end card, company president Dana White confirmed today. Verbal agreements are in for a matchup between top-ten welterweights as 11-1 Johny Hendricks takes on 23-3-1 Jon Fitch. Both men are standout wrestlers; the December bout will be Fitch’s first return to the cage since being sidelined by injury earlier this year.

Overeem Signs with the UFC; Faces Lesnar in December updated September 6
Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem has
found a new home – in the UFC. But after signing a deal with the
promotion today in Las Vegas, he’s going to get put to work immediately,
as it was also announced that he will make his Octagon debut on
December 30th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against former UFC
heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Stay tuned for more information on Overeem vs. Lesnar and the December 30th event in Las Vegas.

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

Honestly, there’s nothing not to like about this guy. In his past six fights in the UFC and WEC combined, Roop has fought all top 10 opponents and across three different weight classes. After going 1-1 in his first two fights outside of The Ultimate Fighter house, Roop took on George Sotiropoulos at the start of Sotiropoulos’ tear through the lightweight division and six months later Roop battles former WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland to a decision. Meanwhile, Roop’s proper weight division is featherweight, where he is 2-1-1 in his last four.

Now, Roop’s about to face a man many believe is the best 145er in the world who wasn’t previously in the UFC: Hatsu Hioki. At 12-8-1, people will not be making the argument that the Arizonan is the uncrowned champion like some do with the 24-4-2 Hioki. But that won’t stop Roop come fight night at UFC 137 when he plans on ruining Hioki’s debut and playing his favorite role: the underdog that wins. No one explains it better than Roop himself; he’s in the Octagon to fight the best – period.

“I actually got the choice of fighting Hioki or [Dustin] Poirier,” says Roop. “I was kind of shooting for the Poirier fight already, but then they offered me Hioki. I really do want to fight the best. If you look at all of my (UFC / WEC) opponents from Sotiropoulous to my last fight, each one of those guys were ranked in the top 10 at that time. I like to fight the best and I feel like it brings out the best in me. I want to look back at my career and say that I fought the best. I don’t want to fight a turd. I’m not one of those guys asking for ‘tune-up’ fights, so I can make sure I get my win bonus. I’ve got a hot sugar momma who pays my bills for me, so I’m not worried about that. I would be graduating from pharmacy school this year if I wanted to make money at a secure job. I want to look back at this and I want to know that I pushed myself. I want to be able to tell my kids that I competed against the best in the world at my time. It’s all about my life and my legacy. I might not have a legacy like Anderson Silva, but it’ll be a legacy to my family, my friends, and myself. I’m going to be proud of myself for taking on the toughest competition in the world.”

Seriously, there’s nothing not to like.

The 29-year old simply loves to scrap. He proved as much on the eighth season of TUF as Roop won his first fight by decision while suffering from a broken hand. And though he has been a nomad with his weight while searching for tough competition, he has finally found a home at 145 pounds. In his first two fights in the division, Roop won Fight of the Night in the draw against Leonard Garcia at WEC 47 and scored a highlight reel, head kick Knockout of the Night on Chan Sung Jung at WEC 51.

“All finishes come by surprise,” admits Roop. “I don’t train to finish guys. I train for a three round grueling war. If anyone trains to plan on finishing a guy in the first round then they are making a huge mistake. I plan on putting the pressure on in all three rounds. I’m always happy with the finish. I do have that killer instinct that if I see a finish I go for it, but my plan is to win that war.”

Roop won a war of his own creation in his last fight at The Ultimate Fighter 13 finale in June. Roop’s opponent was the highly touted Josh Grispi, who no doubt was the favorite leading into the bout. Grispi went undefeated in the WEC and earned himself a title shot against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, before Aldo was forced out of their UFC 125 bout due to injury. But on that UFC 125 card in January, Grispi suffered his first loss in over four years to rising star Dustin Poirier. Roop expected the 23-year old to come out on fire in the first, which he did, but Roop cooled those flames in the following rounds with punishing attacks both standing and on the ground.

“I expected him to come out strong and fast and the idea was to take him into the later rounds,” tells Roop. “That’s where I feel like I have the advantage and that’s where I think I thrive in fights. The second and third rounds were great rounds for me. After the first round, I went back to my corner and I felt like I lost that first round. The second and third rounds, I hit him with everything but the car. It was a satisfying win. I was able to display a lot of my tools. I was able to display that I’m a complete mixed martial artist. I’m not just a standup fighter or I’m not just a wrestler or not just a jiu-jitsu player. I’m a complete mixed martial artist. I showed my submission defense in the first round and then I showed my heart that I bring to every fight and the pressure I put on him. On the other hand, he made me look good. He made me look good because his gas tank wasn’t there. If someone’s gas tank isn’t there then you can do whatever you want to them.”

Roop finished Grispi with a right hand to the body at 3:14 into the third. It was easily the most complete performance Roop has given inside the Octagon. Roop dominated every aspect of the game: submission defense, takedowns, striking, ground and pound, cardio and sheer strength. Maybe the most impressive attribute of Roop’s in the June bout was his ability to overpower Grispi. Being 6-foot-1 and fighting at 145 pounds, Roop was able to pack on a surprising amount of muscle before his last fight, and he is doing the same for the showdown with Hioki.

“I hired on a great strength and conditioning coach here in Tucson,” explains Roop. “I put on a lot of muscle. I put on about an extra 10 pounds onto my frame. I felt very strong. My power lifting went through the roof from when I started my camp to when I finished my camp. I have also done the same thing with the training for this fight. I feel like I’ve always been strong. From watching Grispi fight on TV the dude looks shredded; he’s got good genes or something. That was definitely something I was worried about, him having much more strength than me. But when we got in there I felt like I could have picked him up and tossed him out of the cage.”

Waiting in the wings for Roop is Japan’s most recent favorite son, Hioki. The 28-year old has won and defended about every notable featherweight belt he could have outside of the UFC/WEC, and he vacated one such title (the Sengoku belt) to join the UFC. Hioki has victories over several Japanese legends as well as two wins over Roop’s former teammate and opponent Mark Hominick. He is a well rounded fighter and has been able to defeat foes in all areas, but Hioki’s especially great on the ground, with 12 of his 24 wins coming by submission.

“Hioki is the toughest guy I have faced to date,” states Roop. “He’s an awesome fighter. I’m going to have to fight the best fight I’ve ever fought in my life to win this fight. I will tell you this – I will be ready. I will get that W at the end of the day. He’s a tough opponent. He’s very good everywhere. He’s spectacular on the ground. He’s good standing up. I’ve watched those fights and honestly two of those split decisions he didn’t even lose. He’s the tallest opponent I’ve ever faced, but I think I’m the tallest opponent he’s faced. I think he’s almost the same as me in that he gets better as the fight goes on. He puts more pressure on you as the fight goes on as well and that’s what I do. He’s going to be in great shape. I know he’s not going to gas out. He’s fought title fights that are five round wars with Marlon Sandro. I expect the best Hatsu Hioki anyone’s ever seen. I’m going to be ready for that. I’m going to be ready for this fight like I’ve never been ready for any other fight.”

For his toughest test, Roop is in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, splitting his time between APEX Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing Inc. “I do boxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and mixed martial arts sparring Monday through Friday evenings and I do strength and conditioning Monday through Friday mornings,” reveals Roop, who is busily preparing for Hioki with hard sparring five nights a week. “I spar every single night; I do ‘shark tanks’ Monday through Friday and I feel like nothing gets you in better shape than specific training. Strength and conditioning makes me stronger, but for cardio, technique and timing, there’s nothing better than getting in there and having a real MMA fight.”

Lastly, Roop was a member of Team Tompkins, overseen by the late Shawn Tompkins, who passed away suddenly on August 14th. As with most, if not all, of his fighters, Tompkins and Roop were friends and it was more than just a coach and student relationship. The loss of Tompkins was a terrible one to the sport of MMA and not just as a phenomenal source of knowledge of it, but as one of the good guys inside and outside of the cage, one who exemplified the quality of the spirit of the people involved in it. Much of Tompkins’ legacy will be his fighters and how they carry on his lessons with their own careers.

“Me and Shawn Tompkins were really close,” says Roop. “When I moved to Vegas, I moved up there just for Shawn Tompkins to train with him and we became real close. It’s a huge tragedy to the sport and to a lot of us because he was an irreplaceable coach, an irreplaceable friend and an irreplaceable mentor. Shawn Tompkins was always there for you no matter where you were at in life. You’ve seen him really be there for all kinds of fighters who really didn’t have their heads on straight and he helped them through that. For me, he was a great coach and he helped take my game to the next level. I know Shawn Tompkins is still looking down and we’re all going to make him proud at Team Tompkins. We’re only going to get stronger.”

On October 29th in Las Vegas at UFC 137, Japanese superstar Hioki will make his Octagon debut against the rabid underdog Roop. It’s a position Roop has come to know well and he half expects it. Either way, Roop gets what he wants, and that’s a chance to tangle with the best and write his own legacy one cage fight at a time. It’s also another opportunity to prove the doubters wrong, which is an added incentive.

“Heck yeah it affects me,” exclaims Roop. “I love playing the underdog! I know everyone says that, but I truly do love playing the underdog and proving people wrong. I love people saying I can’t win because it makes me train hard and it gives me fuel. It gives me that nervous feeling like when you’re a kid and someone says, ‘I’m going to beat you up after school’ and I’ve got that feeling for four months every day. I love it! I love that feeling. I think it helps me in my fights.”

Whether he’s a 3-to-1 or a 7-to-1 underdog going into this fight, when the cage door shuts it’s only Hioki and Roop in there. Meaning, Roop’s got a 50/50 shot of getting his hand raised no matter how prestigious his opponent may be. And Roop’s going to give it all he’s got to make that upset a reality.

“I just want the fans to be excited,” says Roop. “I just want them to remember me. I want them to really want to see me fight. Whether it was an exciting fight or a cool kick – I want them to remember me.”

If he beats Hioki at UFC 137, no fight fan will ever be able to forget Roop.

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

Simply put, it was a rookie mistake. On June 4th in the season 13 final of The Ultimate Fighter, Ramsey Nijem fouled up his UFC debut with a first round TKO loss to Tony Ferguson. Nijem got too excited, said goodbye to his gameplan and just started exchanging punches with Ferguson. Even the best of fighters forget themselves the first time they’re in the Octagon, especially in the main event. But the key to a fighter’s future is to recognize the slip up and learn from it, and Nijem has done just that.

“It was definitely a big rookie mistake,” admits Nijem. “I let my pride get in the way instead of sticking to my gameplan. I didn’t play to my strengths. I played into someone else’s strengths. I didn’t even try to take him down once. When we hit the ground, I tried to stand right back to my feet to continue on my feet. I think part of it is that I hit him a couple times and I felt some good connections. I saw I stunned him a little bit, so I got a little fired up. I have a kill switch, which is good sometimes and gets me in trouble other times.”

At 23 years old, let’s chalk Nijem’s mishap up as a factor of youth. The former NCAA Division I wrestler from Utah Valley University was the youngest fighter in the house and, arguably, the least experienced, having only competed for two and a half years prior to the show. Nevertheless, Nijem’s greenness didn’t hold him back as he ran through the TUF competition to get to the finals. The problem wasn’t training or preparedness; Nijem got sidetracked trying to prove something in the fight and not just trying to win it.

“I had a really good training camp and I felt ready,” tells Nijem. “I had worked a lot on my standup, but I got caught up in the moment and forgot what got me to the dance. I started reading what people had been saying on the internet that I couldn’t standup with him or I would get knocked out. Leading into the fight, I definitely had a chip on my shoulder and a little bit too much pride.”

What got Nijem to the dance is his wrestling, coupled with his ability to finish. During TUF 13, Nijem tapped Charlie Rader and Clay Harvison with rear naked chokes and TKOed Chris Cope to propel “Stripper Ramsey” to the finals. Nijem’s 5-2 pro record adds another pair of rear naked choke victories and a TKO win from local shows in his hometown Orem, Utah. Wrestlers are accused of only muscling their way to decisions, and Nijem is looking to disprove that by building an Octagon career on stopping opponents.

“I’m looking to finish all my fights,” asserts Nijem. “I don’t just want to be a wrestler who grinds out decisions. It’s boring for the fans, but it’s awful to do yourself. It isn’t very fun to out grind someone. I’m always trying to finish my fights because that’s what people want to see. You can be a wrestler, but you can be exciting as a wrestler.”

Now, he has the opportunity to get back to his previous winning ways against Roufusport product Danny Downes at UFC 137. On October 29th, Nijem will make his second debut in the UFC by changing weight classes: welterweight to lightweight. Awaiting Nijem at 155 pounds will be the 8-2 “Danny Boy”. The Marquette University alum is mostly known for his standup, especially coming from a highly touted gym overseen by kickboxing legend Duke Roufus.

“He’s got a good record and he comes out of a good camp,” explains Nijem. “I’m going to be dropping down to 155 and I’m going to be pretty big for 155. I feel like I’m going to have the athletic edge on him: size, strength and explosion. Obviously, I think I’m going to be the better wrestler/grappler. He’s a tough kid, but I watched Jeremy Stephens take him down and manhandle him. I think I’m a better wrestler than Stephens. That’s obviously the plan going into this fight.”

To prepare for the Downes bout, Nijem has been battling in a couple pits – literally. Nijem cuts his training time between John Hackleman’s illustrious “The Pit” in Arroyo Grande, California, and its sister school “The Pit Elevated” in Orem, Utah, which is run by Jason Mertlich. Nijem is sharpening up his fists and feet under Hackleman, and strengthening his submissions and ground control under Mertlich. Plus, Nijem is working with friend/TUF winner Court McGee, housemate/former opponent Harvison, as well as some of Hackleman’s best kept secrets like The Pit black belt Luke Riddering.

“I’m training with John Hackleman at The Pit, which is a prestigious camp,” says Nijem. “We kind of do it old school out here. We’re outside, it’s nothing fancy, it’s just hard work, just sweat and blood. Back home, I have Jason Mertlich, who is a jiu-jitsu black belt, so I’m always working with him to improve my submission game. He has really good combat style jiu-jitsu (Four7). You’re never really lying on your back, you’re on top and it’s a vicious style of grappling. I do think I’ve made more progress by leaps and bounds working with my coaches John Hackleman and Jason Mertlich. Obviously after my last fight, I’m a grappler/wrestler and that’s my strength, so that’s what I’m going to stick to in this fight. I’m going to put him against the fence, beat him up and take him to the ground.”

Lastly, Nijem is poised to get his first W in the Octagon, but, most of all, this fight is another opportunity for him to do what he enjoys doing the most: fighting. “If I was wealthy and retired, I would be doing the same thing I’m doing now: training for fights and fighting,” affirms Nijem, who honestly loves fighting and is pursuing it as a career because it’s fun and he wants to win at it. “I hope people see the passion and the competitive drive in me. Once I get in there and we start fighting I’ll be having fun and I enjoy having fun and I enjoy fighting. This is just how I’m having fun now: punching someone in the face.”

On October 29th at UFC 137, Nijem and Downes will clash in a lightweight bout, both hoping to rebound from their first Octagon losses. “I’m going to be a lot more calm in the cage going into this fight,” states Nijem, who will look to score a win by systematically taking apart his opponent like a veteran, despite his youthful appearance. “It’s not that I have to go and out wrestle this kid. In my book, that’s not performing. I want to go out and look for finishes and win every single position.”

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire once shared his definition of swagger, or “swag,” in a published interview. He called it the confidence knowing you work hard for success, a natural feeling and charisma that comes out when you know you’re at the top of your game. Cerrone has his own point of view: It’s a part of his persona and it is what it is. Those who like it, admire it. Those who don’t, just have to deal with it. To any opponent rubbed the wrong way, more power to the Cowboy.

“I’m not sure I call it swagger,” Cerrone said. “That’s just how I am. Some people like my boy Leonard (Garcia) love the interviews and the press. That’s not me, man, so people think it’s being cocky or arrogant, but I don’t think it’s like that.”
 
Call it brash, call it confident, or apply your own interpretation of swag, but understand that Cerrone has earned the right to walk tall. He’s a winner of five straight fights since a first round submission loss to Ben Henderson last year, and he has quickly moved into lightweight title contention with a series of impressive victories, including respective Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night honors against Paul Kelly and Charles Oliveira. He also rebounded from that April 2010 loss to Henderson with WEC wins over former champion Jamie Varner and Chris Horodecki to start a run that takes him into his UFC 137 bout against Dennis Siver with a record of 16-3 (1 NC) as a replacement for Sam Stout.
 
A closer study of Cerrone’s resume reveals that he’s lost just twice in two years — both to Henderson — and 75 percent of his victories have come via submission. In Siver, he faces a lightweight on a 7-1 surge since his 2009 return to the UFC. Built like a tank and armed with a lethal spinning back kick, Siver’s dangerous standup proved superior in an upset victory over George Sotiropoulos that cost the Australian lightweight a title shot. Against Matt Wiman, Siver also proved he can grind it out en route to a decision win. In what can be viewed as a statement bout that will have future implications on the lightweight title picture, Cerrone has spent the last two months preparing for a bit of everything with the added pressure of being a replacement fighter.

“Jackson’s (MMA) has a bunch of good guys always getting ready, so it’s always game time over there,” Cerrone said. “The coaches are always good about game plans and analyzing the opponent. It’s up to me to apply it in the cage.”

Never shy about promoting his willingness to fill in on short notice, Cerrone steps in for Stout, who, still grieving over the untimely death of his trainer and brother-in-law Shawn Tompkins in August, withdrew from the match.

“I’m ready to go whenever I get the call,” Cerrone said. “I want to make some good money and put on good fights. If that means being ready at a drop of a hat, then that’s what must be done.”
 
In June, Cerrone was on the other end of making a sudden adjustment when Vagner Rocha was tapped to replace the injured Mac Danzig at UFC 131. Cerrone had only a month to prepare for the UFC newcomer, but all he did was open the pay-per-view broadcast by completely dominating Rocha — tenderizing his lead leg like prime grade beef — to earn a unanimous decision. While the win bumped his UFC record to 2-0, Cerrone left the Octagon unhappy over a habit that’s dogged him over his career. He’s often a notoriously slow starter before picking up steam in the later rounds, which hurt against Henderson and nearly cost him against a game Ed Ratcliff in December 2009.
 
“I warm up a little slow sometimes and it pisses me off,” Cerrone said. “My boy (Jackson’s teammate Clay) Guida goes out there and from second number one he is on fire. I admire that and want to be like that.”
 
Two months after Rocha, Cerrone destroyed Oliveria in just 3:01. His fight with Siver will be his fourth of 2011 and his development is accelerating at a rapid rate. While he’s been quiet preparing for the German lightweight, Cerrone is no stranger to trash talk. He’s verbally sparred with Varner and Danzig, and has made no secret about his disdain for Cole Miller, which was born four years ago following Miller’s win over his best friend, Garcia. Bottom line, he’s earned the right to be a bit cocky because he’s backed it up. Question it and he’ll throw it back in your face.

“That’s my philosophy 24/7,” Cerrone said. “Whether I’m wakeboarding, riding my Yamahas or kicking someone’s ass in the gym, I don’t really think that much about it. If the other guy gets messed up by my style, he’s in the wrong game.”

Call it swagger or arrogance, Cerrone prefers quiet confidence. For the Cowboy, who enjoys adventures in the Octagon, the ocean and on the bike, it’s a way of life.
 

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

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With middleweight prospect Brad Tavares forced from his UFC 137 bout against newcomer Dustin Jacoby due to injury, another Octagon debutant will step in, as Clifford Starks will put his 7-0 record on the line against the 6-0 Jacoby. The bout has been verbally agreed upon.

Moving to the October 29th main card with this change will be the bantamweight showdown between Scott Jorgensen and Jeff Curran.

GSP injured; Penn-Diaz Elevated to 137 Main Event
Returning UFC welterweight contender Nick Diaz will get
his UFC 137 main event after all, as UFC President Dana White announced via
twitter Tuesday afternoon that 170-pound champion Georges St-Pierre has been
forced to withdraw from his October 29th title defense against Carlos Condit
due to a knee injury.

Diaz, who was originally scheduled to face GSP in the UFC
137 main event before being pulled from the bout due to two press conference no
shows, will now see his three-round bout with BJ Penn elevated to the main event a week
from Saturday.

“We will sit Carlos to wait for GSP,” wrote White. “It’s looking so far like he could be ready in a couple months.”

Also getting a bump in the bout order will be talented middleweight prospects Brad Tavares and Dustin Jacoby, who will now see action on UFC 137′s main card.

Credeur Injured, Tavares Takes on Jacoby Oct. 29 updated October 5
The UFC 137 fight card has undergone yet one more revision with Tim Credeur being forced to withdraw due to injury, UFC president Dana White announced today.

His opponent Brad Tavares will instead face UFC newcomer Dustin Jacoby, a 6-0 middleweight out of Springfield, Illinois.

Camozzi Returns to the UFC Against Francis Carmont updated September 12
A UFC newcomer faces a returning veteran as Francis “Limitless” Carmont and TUF alumni Chris Camozzi will go to war at UFC 137. Carmont, a French striker who trains with event headliner Georges St-Pierre in Montreal, has long fought at light heavyweight but will make his promotional debut at 185 pounds against the TUF alumnus.

Musical Chairs at UFC 137 – Diaz vs. Penn Set for Vegas updated September 8
If UFC fans didn’t get enough blockbuster news this week, company President Dana White delivered some more Thursday evening with the announcement that Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz is not only remaining in the UFC fold after being pulled from his UFC 137 title bout with Georges St-Pierre (due to missing two pre-fight press conferences this week) but that he will still be fighting on October 29th. The opponent for the Stockton native’s first Octagon bout since 2006? Former two division world champion BJ Penn.

The bout came to fruition after Penn’s original foe for the UFC 137 event in Las Vegas, Carlos Condit, was moved up to replace Diaz against GSP. And by popular demand, White made the new bout happen, tweeting “This is crazy but here we go again! You wanted it so you got it. Penn vs Diaz Oct 29th in Vegas.”

Diaz Out, Condit in to Face GSP
A wild week for the Ultimate Fighting Championship just got wilder on
Wednesday afternoon, as UFC President Dana White revealed in a Las Vegas
press conference that the man challenging for UFC welterweight champion
Georges St-Pierre’s title on October 29th in Las Vegas won’t be
Strikeforce 170-pound king Nick Diaz, but “The Natural Born Killer,”
Carlos Condit.

The shocking news came after Diaz no-showed a press conference in
Toronto Tuesday and did the same thing in Vegas. And after not returning
phone calls, White decided to pull the Stockton, California native from
the main event of UFC 137.

Cowboy in for Stout, Faces Siver at UFC 137 updated August 29
After the Monday removal of Sam Stout from his UFC 137 bout with Dennis Siver, rising lightweight star Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has stepped up to the plate yet again, verbally agreeing to take on the streaking contender from Germany in the October 29th bout in Las Vegas.

Cerrone is currently riding a five fight winning streak that includes three UFC victories and two post-fight awards for KO of the Night and Fight of the Night. Siver has notched four straight wins, and is coming off back-to-back victories over George Sotiropoulos and Matt Wiman.

Curran’s Back, Meets “Young Guns” at UFC 137

After a seven year absence, veteran Jeff Curran will return to the Octagon on October 29th in Las Vegas to take on bantamweight contender Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen at UFC 137. Curran, whose last UFC appearance was a decision loss to Matt Serra at UFC 46, has since gone 19-6 and is remembered for a five fight WEC stint in 2007-09. The “Big Frog” has won four of his last five, but will be tested by former WEC title challenger Jorgensen, who is fresh from a first round knockout of Ken Stone in June.

Fan Faves Danny Boy and Stripper Ramsey to Fight

A lightweight match between the tough-as-nails Daniel “Danny Boy” Downes and TUF 13 runner-up Ramsey Nijem has been verbally agreed to for the UFC 137 fight card, UFC president Dana White confirmed today.

Crazy Tim to Face Tavares at 137 July 21
Verbal agreements are in for a middleweight bout between “Crazy” Tim Credeur vs. Brad Tavares at UFC 137, Dana White confirmed.

Credeur — Louisiana’s first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt — hit the public eye as a member of the TUF 7 house; Hawaiian Tavares was a season 11 standout.

At that same event, two longtime veterans will look to establish themselves in the ever-deepening featherweight division as Bart Palaszewski and Tyson Griffin have verbally agreed to meet.

Siver vs. Stout, Fire vs. Truth at UFC 137 updated July 16
UFC president Dana White today confirmed a hotly-speculated-about lightweight bout to take place at UFC 137.

“A potential Fight of the Year candidate has been verbally agreed to between hard-hitting Dennis Siver and Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout,” he said.

Also at UFC 137, a light heavyweight matchup has been verbally agreed to as Eliot “The Fire” Marshall will welcome Brandon “The Truth” Vera back to the Octagon.

Condit vs. Penn Added to UFC 137 updated July 15
The title fight between GSP and Nick Diaz won’t be the only showcase for elite 170-pounders this fall in Las Vegas. A match between two of the best welterweights in the world has been set as “Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit will take on BJ “The Prodigy” Penn at UFC 137.

The two hinted at the matchup on Twitter this last week. Condit, who is coming off a first-round KO of the Night victory over the previously-undefeated Dong Hyun Kim, tweeted to Penn on Monday that “The people have spoken @bjpenndotcom, they want to see us scrap, let’s give em what they asked for.”

Penn – who had previously been exchanging barbs with Jon Fitch about a possible rematch of their UFC 127 main event draw, responded with: “@CarlosCondit Yup. Let’s do it! October 29th.”

Dana White confirmed today that both men have verbally accepted the bout.

Cro Cop/Big Country, Kongo/Mitrione This Oct. updated July 14
Roy “Big Country” Nelson and Mirko Cro Cop, fan favorites for both their in-cage performances and their out-of-ring personas, have agreed a Las Vegas battle this fall.

UFC president Dana White confirmed today that PRIDE legend Cro Cop and TUF winner Nelson have verbally agreed to a heavyweight matchup at UFC 137 on October 29.

Those aren’t the only star heavyweights on the UFC 137 roster – White also confirmed today that Cheick Kongo and Matt Mitrione have agreed to a bout on the same card. “Both men are coming off big knockout wins at UFC Live in June,” he said.

Roop to Welcome Hioki to Octagon at 137 updated June 1
Highly regarded featherweight phenom Hatsu Hioki lands in the Octagon on October 29th to begin his quest for the title. Welcoming him to UFC and looking to take out another top contender will be the always dangerous George Roop. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the UFC 137 bout.

GSP vs. Diaz Superfight set for October updated June 1
UFC President Dana White’s tweet Wednesday afternoon was short and sweet – “U wanted it! U GOT IT!!!”
 
What the fans wanted was a showdown between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and the STRIKEFORCE welterweight title holder, Nick Diaz. So on October 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the UFC 137 Superfight becomes a reality.
 
Unbeaten since 2007, St-Pierre has taken on and beaten all comers, barely losing a round in the process. Since regaining his title from Matt Serra in 2008, he has turned back the challenges of Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Josh Koscheck, and Jake Shields. But this fall, he will face off against the man many believe has the style to dethrone him, Shields’ longtime training partner Diaz.
 
A proud native of Stockton, California, Diaz, like GSP, has not lost since 2007. Along the way, the UFC vet has defeated Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, Mach Sakurai, KJ Noons, and Paul Daley, and with his world-class striking skills and jiu-jitsu game improving with each fight, he is on track to shock the world on October 29th.

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

Jones vs. Machida to Headline UFC 140 in Toronto updated October 6
Owners of the most unique styles in mixed martial arts today, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones and former titlist Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will meet in the Octagon in the main event of December 10th’s UFC 140 card at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

The verbally agreed to bout was announced by UFC President Dana White on Twitter Thursday.

“Alright Toronto!!! Dec 10th UFC 140 tix go on sale next weekend and ur main event is Bones Jones vs Machida!!!” tweeted White.

Jones is coming off his first successful title defense, as he scored a submission win over “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135 in September. Machida is fresh from a UFC 129 knockout of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture in April.

Detailed ticket information for UFC 140 will be announced shortly. Bouts already announced for the event are Frank Mir vs. “Minotauro” Nogueira, Tito Ortiz vs. Rogerio Nogueira, Brian Ebersole vs. Rory MacDonald, Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung, Igor Pokrajac vs. Krzysztof Soszynski, Nik Lentz vs. Mark Bocek, Dannis Hallman vs. John Makdessi, Rich Attonito vs. Claude Patrick, and John Cholish vs. Mitch Clarke.

Croatian vs. Polish Experiment in Toronto
An explosive light heavyweight showdown has been verbally agreed to for December 10 in Toronto as Igor “The Duke” Pokrajac takes on Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski.

Korean Zombie vs. Hominick at UFC 140 updated September 17
“The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Mark Hominick have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 140 in Toronto on December 10th. Jung is coming off a Submission of the Year win and Hominick’s last outing had him pushing featherweight champion Jose Aldo to the limit in one of the best performances of his career.”

Toronto to Host Bocek vs. Lentz updated September 13
Two lightweight grappling specialists have verbally agreed to face off December 10 in Toronto as Nik “The Carny” Lentz takes on Canada’s Mark Bocek, confirmed UFC president Dana White today. The bout will mark Lentz’ return to action after an injury sustained in his UFC on Versus 4 Fight of the Night against Charles Oliveira.

Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz Set to Fight in Toronto updated September 9
Verbal agreements are for a match between two of the most accomplished light heavyweights in the sport as Rogerio “Lil Nog” Nogueira will face the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz December 10th at UFC 140 in Toronto.

Nogueira and Ortiz were originally set to meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night in March, but an injury sidelined Ortiz, and Phil Davis fought in his place. (Trivia time: Five months later, Ortiz repaid the favor by stepping in for an injured Davis at UFC 133, an from which Nogueira was also forced to withdraw due to injury.)

Hallman Returns to Lightweight; Faces Makdessi at UFC 140 updated September 8
Verbal agreements are in for a lightweight showdown between Dennis “Superman” Hallman and Canadian John “The Bull” Makdessi at UFC 140 in Toronto, UFC president Dana White confirmed today.

Hallman’s most recent bout was at welterweight against Brian Ebersole at UFC 133; Makdessi is coming off a spinning back fist knockout at UFC 129. “John Makdessi, thank you for choosing me. I always wanted to visit Toronto,” tweeted Hallman.

What’s Next for Big Nog? Mir in Toronto updated September 7
A heavyweight standoff between two big names has been booked for December, as former UFC heavyweight champions Minotauro Nogueira and Frank Mir have verbally agreed to rematch at UFC 140 in Toronto.

“Both men are known as two of the premiere submission specialists in the division but have shown dangerous striking skills as well,” said UFC president Dana White.

MacDonald, Ebersole Make UFC 140 Roster updated September 6
“Two of the welterweight division’s most promising contenders have verbally agreed to fight as Brian ‘Bad Boy’ Ebersole takes on Rory ‘Ares’ MacDonald December 10 in Toronto,” said UFC president Dana White.

Also on tap for Toronto, “Raging Bull” Rich Attonito and Claude “The Prince” Patrick have accepted a welterweight matchup.

Two strong lightweight prospects have verbally agreed to make their UFC debuts that night as 7-1 John Cholish will face 9-0 Canadian Mitch Clarke.

More information on UFC 140 will be available soon on ufc.com.

News Source: UFC.com.
Read full story HERE .

If the name sounds unfamiliar, that’s okay for now, because the 25-year old Utah native is used to being the secret weapon in fight camps around the mixed martial arts world. Suffice to say for now that Lundell is a two-time grappling world champion, the youngest North American to earn a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt (he was 19 when Pedro Sauer awarded him the honor), as well as a two-year letterman in wrestling for Iowa State, which is even more impressive considering that he never wrestled in high school.

As for his MMA credentials, to say that this secret weapon has worked with various big names over the years would be an understatement, considering that he has shared the mat with Frank Mir, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, Miguel Angel Torres, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Rogerio Nogueira and Lauzon over the years.

With that out of the way, it’s back to Houston and UFC 136, and a confident Guillard came out firing his punches and kicks, looking for a highlight reel finish. But it was Lauzon who caught “The Young Assassin” with a counterpunch and rocked him. It was time for his new coach’s plan to kick into gear.

“I had Joe stick to the front headlock,” said Lundell. “Front headlock, guillotine, front headlock, run around, choke. And that’s because Melvin Guillard is so athletic and explosive that had we not gone front headlock, he might have gotten away.”

Lauzon worked for the front headlock, but with his arm tied up, he ran around, sunk his hooks in, and finished Guillard off with a rear naked choke. Perfect plan, perfect execution, game over. Lauzon, already sold on his new coach, couldn’t have been happier.

“For pretty much all my camps, I’ve always been the main coach,” said the lightweight contender. “I have a boxing coach, I work with jiu-jitsu guys, and I work on other things, but the gameplan is usually my gameplan. I figure out what I want to do and we talk about it and figure it out. This is really the first camp where I kind of took a back seat and listened to Ricky. And we talked all about the front headlock, though we didn’t think the front headlock was gonna come off me dropping him with a punch. We worked a whole bunch of takedowns, a whole lot of keeping him on the ground and really doing our best to keep Melvin on the ground and negating all the stuff he likes to do to get up. But as a Plan B, when Melvin posts up, we’re gonna grab his head and put him in a front headlock, and then we’re gonna work. And that’s where all the stuff from Ricky came in.”

Lauzon’s meeting with Lundell was a happy accident, as the most recent UFC fighter summit in May coincided with the New Englander’s training camp for his June bout with Curt Warburton. Wanting to take in the summit while still staying busy in Vegas, Lauzon arranged to hit pads with respected striking coach Jimmy Gifford, and it was Gifford – one of Frank Mir’s coaches – who recommended “J-Lau” work a bit with Lundell, who was in camp with the former heavyweight champ.

“I don’t want to work out with some guy that’s here to train Mir,” said Lauzon. “He’s got to be enormous.”

“He’s like 155 pounds,” responded Gifford.

That response got Lauzon’s gears turning.

“Mir can bring out anyone in the world, and he’s bringing out this kid Ricky Lundell,” he said. “So we just grappled and the kid was phenomenal. He made a huge impression on me, but I think I made a little bit of an impression on him too, and I’m thinking, ‘this kid’s perfect.’ He’s a jiu-jitsu guy, he has great wrestling, he’s my size and he’s a great communicator. The communication was a big thing.”

That’s not surprising, considering that unlike most wrestlers who add jiu-jitsu on later, Lundell did things in reverse, studying jiu-jitsu from the age of six, getting his black belt, and then getting involved in wrestling at the behest of one of the sport’s greats, Cael Sanderson. So for jiu-jitsu based fighters like Lauzon, Mir, and Penn, Lundell not only had the wrestling tactics to add on, but he came from a jiu-jitsu background, so he spoke their language.

“The communication aspect is huge, and we definitely speak the same language,” said Lauzon. “You have very, very few guys that are good at jiu-jitsu and wrestling that started as jiu-jitsu guys. BJ’s really the only guy that started with that too. Most guys are more like Jake Shields, who wrestled first and then did jiu-jitsu. So it definitely helps to have that jiu-jitsu first mindset.”

“I think that’s a huge area that’s helped me, and it’s helped me in reverse the other way too,” explains Lundell. “I’ve worked with Sean Sherk and he felt like I could speak his wrestling language and teach him the right jiu-jitsu that he needed. And in reverse, Lauzon and those guys know that if I show them a shot, we both know that he won’t end up in a triangle or an armlock or a guillotine from this shot. Whereas if he went to just a wrestler or a wrestler who had trained up to purple belt or something in jiu-jitsu who wasn’t really well-versed, he may be showing you shots that are really going to get you submitted at a higher level; he just doesn’t know it yet. So it helped me a lot because I already knew the submissions, and then going to wrestling, I was already able to build a base from the ground up, rather than being a wrestler who’s standing above and has to learn the ground.”

Yet given his skill and technique on the mat, it begs the question – why isn’t he fighting as well?

“I thought about fighting before, but it wasn’t my first interest,” he said. “I enjoy coaching and the sport of wrestling and jiu-jitsu together. So I’ve spent my time trying to perfect those areas of the game, and I think that in order to be the best coach I can possibly be, going out and working on my boxing and striking is good, but it’s not where I should spend the majority of my time if I want to be able to coach the best guys.”

And he’s obviously made the right call, as he’s become “the” guy for many of the world’s top mixed martial artists. It’s an amazing feat, considering his age and his journey to this point – come on, he graduated college, yes college, at 18 – and he’s done well for himself with his University of Grappling school in Lindon, Utah. But it’s his ability to break down the ground game in an understandable fashion that has put him where he is today.

“It’s not about how many moves you know,” he said. “I think a lot of people have a hard time understanding this, but let’s say you have three five minute rounds. Well, because we have three five minute rounds, that means we only have 300 seconds to scrap per round. Let’s say it takes us 10 seconds per shot that we’re gonna do in this fight, and that’s way overexagerrating, but let’s just pretend that it only took us 10 seconds to set up every shot. That means you only have the opportunity for 30 shots in an entire five minute round. So if you know 500 shots, how is that going to help you? There’s 470 that you didn’t even get to cover yet.”

As an example, he points to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who has become one of the premier wrestlers in MMA despite not having a traditional background in the sport. But what he does have is a killer and nearly unstoppable shot that has been built not only from technique but from repetition.

“He (St-Pierre) almost shoots the exact same shot every time,” said Lundell. “I know what GSP’s going to do, but the thing is, he’s practiced that shot 25,000 times. And then I’m like ‘hey, we know what he’s gonna do; here, do this defense.’ And you practice it 300 times. So you have the defense practiced 300 times, and GSP’s coming in with a total count of offensive shots at 25,000? You don’t have a prayer to stop that shot yet because you haven’t put in the time to be actually able to stop GSP’s go to. Just like Cael Sanderson, everybody knows he’s going to ankle pick you. He’s going to ankle pick and double leg. There’s no question, everybody knows, but you can’t stop him because he’s done it so many times and he’s so good at it that your defensive level doesn’t match up to his offensive level.”

It’s that type of unglamorous, often tedious, work that most don’t want to go through on a daily basis, but that wrestlers have perfected because it’s been ingrained in them since they were competing as kids. So if you wonder why wrestling is the dominant discipline in MMA today, one that five of the seven UFC champions (Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones, GSP, Frankie Edgar, and Dominick Cruz) would probably count as the core of their style, it comes down to the years of work in wrestling rooms around the country. It’s also why you see many wrestlers picking up solid striking and jiu-jitsu games, but few strikers and jiu-jitsu players doing as well on the wrestling side.

“This may offend people, but I believe that wrestling requires a lot more work ethic,” said Lundell. “It’s very difficult, it’s grueling, it’s not rewarding, it’s painful, and because of that, I think not as many people like to really work in those areas. The thing is though, a wrestler comes in, they’re already naturally strong, they’ve trained hard, they’ve built explosive power, they’re able to endure constant pressure, and they’re extremely fit, so it’s pretty easy for them to come in and already understand position for jiu-jitsu and stay in good spots and move and learn those areas. They also have super heavy hands, so they have that knockout power and learn how to strike really, really easy. But when you take (boxing champion) Floyd Mayweather, he can get punched, but he’s not structurally built to shoot under another person, lift them up and slam them down on the ground. And that’s something that’s only built through years of time and actually doing it and having it done to you. So it’s gonna take somebody years and years to do that because most guys start wrestling when they’re 15 or younger. And how are you gonna catch up to (middleweight contender) Chael Sonnen, who’s been wrestling since he was a kid? It’s gonna be almost impossible.”

So how did he do it as a fresh-faced teenage jiu-jitsu black belt?

“I think the transition’s difficult, no matter what you do,” said Lundell. “Wrestling’s a very difficult thing to pick up, but I think it gave me different views than everybody else has because I got to understand jiu-jitsu fully. I got my black belt and then I started wrestling, and I think it gave me different views than other people, especially because I wasn’t just wrestling with the local best junior high and high school coaches. My training partners have been Cael Sanderson and Justin Ruiz. They helped make wrestling easier for me when it came to proper technique and those types of things. I think a lot of people have a hard time learning how to wrestle because they don’t go to the right guys for answers, and they’re not necessarily learning technical wrestling; they’re learning brute force strength, just blow through somebody wrestling.”

It’s almost a jiu-jitsu-esque approach to wrestling, where it’s not just about size in a fight, but who has the better technique and who the smarter combatant is. Unfortunately, dealing with high-profile MMA fighters before high-profile UFC fights doesn’t allow him to reinvent the wheel. If you’ve got a bout with a world-class wrestler like Sonnen coming up, you won’t have the time to catch up to his wrestling, so Lundell instead focuses on those few moves that will allow you to nullify his game and implement your own.

“The first thing you want to do is look at that person and how they think and how they like to play the game,” he said. “Then you don’t focus on 20 moves from each spot and 30 moves from 30 setups; you focus on the right setups for the right guy. And each guy’s different. When I worked with BJ Penn, his stuff is way different from Sean Sherk’s. With Sean, it was power, explosive shots, and those types of things. When I worked with BJ, it was making sure your elbows were deep so that you could actually lift the guy up. Way different thought process. I know Sherk’s 5-foot-6 and his neck is like three feet in diameter (Laughs), so when he shoots in on somebody, I’m not super worried about things happening to him. BJ, on the other hand, he’s got a skinnier neck and a bigger head, so if he gets his head stuck in a guillotine, he might have a hard time getting out of there. So we tailor your game to you.”

“Joe Lauzon, different game than what Frank Mir’s gonna have, especially with the weight and how they like to strike and how they like to move their feet,” Lundell continues. “We focus on certain aspects of their training and bring it down to the core fundamentals of what they need to do, and we give them their ‘go to’ shot and their ‘go to’ areas. This is what you’re good at. You’re not good at the scramble, so we’re gonna stay out of the scramble. You’re not good at 50-50 tying, which would be like Randy Couture’s over-under, so we’re gonna work at staying out of the 50-50 tie completely, and just work outside shots. You’re about to fight Dan Henderson, there’s no way we’re getting to the 50-50 there; it’s circle and push out, circle and push out. That’s all we’re doing. So we focus on the real core of what they need to do for that fight, while working on what they need to do to become a better fighter in the long run, which is develop their ‘go to’ areas.”

Hearing Lundell break down the finer points of the ground game, you almost get the impression that he could teach anybody how to grapple. But then you look at how world-class fighters get baffled by a dominant wrestler, and you realize it’s not that easy. It’s the top disciple in the sport for a reason, yet for those who work with Lundell, he lets them in on just what that reason is.

“In boxing, if you miss a punch, the guy steps away and you step away, and you both get to restart,” he said. “If you miss a shot in wrestling, you are now stuck underneath me for the next five minutes unless you can get out. So it (wrestling) is something that’s so tough because anytime you make a mistake, you pay for it. And you really find out how good you are really fast. There’s no fake stuff. It’s really self-revealing as to your actual ability. People find out real quick who’s the dominant player and who’s not. The guy on top is dominant, despite what the jiu-jitsu world wants you to believe.”

News Source: UFC.com.
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