There’s no denying that Tom Lawlor is entertaining. From the Hulk Hogan entrance complete with feather boas, t-shirt ripping and “Real American” blaring, to the pre-fight weigh-ins dressed head to toe as Dan “The Beast” Severn at UFC 113, “Filthy” Tom knows a thing or two about showmanship and, simply, having fun. As he prepares for his UFC 139 bout with rising middleweight star Chris Weidman, Lawlor is focused on a lot more than planning a memorable walkout; he is planning an upset.
“I would say that played and plays a huge part in being able to motivate me,” explains Lawlor. “In the past there has been a fight or two that I wasn’t as motivated as I should have been. If you’re a competitor there is always something that needs to drive you and if you don’t have that then you’re not going to perform at the best of your abilities. You’re not going to put forth everything and you’re not going to do everything you can to win the fight. The fact that there are so many MMA websites and so many people with their lists that tout Weidman highly, it really does drive me. On betting odds, I’m a 2-1 or 3-1 underdog, so I’m definitely pumped up for this fight. I’m pumped up to fight Weidman, I’m pumped up to fight his aura, his hype train – I’m ready for it all.
In his first fight in over a year, Lawlor wants to mark his return to the Octagon on November 19th with a win against the top MMA prospect. It has been a while since UFC fans have seen any pre-fight antics from Lawlor, since his last cage appearance was in October of 2010 at UFC 121 against the heavy handed Patrick Cote. The dominant unanimous decision win over Cote snapped a two fight losing streak which started with a razor thin split-decision loss to Aaron Simpson followed by a second round submission loss to Joe Doerksen. Add to the mix Lawlor’s lightning quick guillotine choke of CB Dollaway, and he has fought four well-respected and recognizable names at middleweight in the UFC prior to Weidman.
“A lot of people look at him as a real big prospect for this sport and some people think he might challenge for the title in the future, but in my opinion he is still young in his career,” says Lawlor. “He has a lot of competition experience in wrestling and in grappling, but he’s still kind of putting it together as a mixed martial artist. I think I have a couple more years experience on him even though I don’t have many more fights. I’ve been training and doing everything else like working on striking and blending everything together. On paper and the odds, I’m sure I’m the underdog. I’ve gone against guys who on paper are better wrestlers than me in the past and fought against guys who are better strikers on paper than me in the past and none of it ever deters me. I’m going to go out there and do what I do. I’ve seen some things in Weidman’s game I think I can exploit. The people who think he is going to run over me because he has a better wrestling pedigree than me will be sorrily mistaken.”
For a guy who is revered in the MMA blogosphere mostly for dressing up as an esoteric early days of UFC reference, Harold Howard, at a weigh-in, Lawlor is a solid, well-rounded fighter who owns a “Submission of the Night”, a “Fight of the Night” and a recent win over a former number one contender. At 3-2 inside the Octagon, Lawlor also holds the only UFC victory over fellow Ultimate Fighter season 8 alum Kyle Kingsbury at light heavyweight. On top of that, he looked at his best in his previous outing, manhandling Cote for three decisive rounds. Plus, the fight should have ended in the first with Lawlor’s arm-triangle choke, but Cote escaped by slyly grabbing onto the fence and pulling himself out of the attempt without the referee noticing the infraction
“Honestly, during the fight I felt no danger,” asserts Lawlor. “I felt like I could have done what I wanted. I didn’t stand up and throw down with him because that’s where he’s the most dangerous, but I really wasn’t scared of his standup either. I feel like I could have stood with him and thrown down, but I had such a clear advantage on the ground that I wanted to keep up the pressure and not let him do anything. I pretty much shut him down for 15 minutes and it might not have been the most exciting thing to watch, but that’s a guy who fought for the title before and is pretty well regarded. I was able to do almost whatever I wanted.”
At 28 years old, the four-time NCWA All-American wrestler from University of Central Florida has spent the past year working on himself outside the cage. Following the Cote bout, Lawlor participated in a tour for the US troops where he injured his knee training with a few fellow fighters, which did sideline him from cagefighting for a little bit. Most of Lawlor’s time off has been spent in a series of new gyms in a familiar area of the country. It’s been an unexpected, but welcomed, time off, where he has gotten to sharpen and improve his skills while properly rehabbing injuries.
“At the beginning of the summer, I relocated up to the New England area,” tells Lawlor. “I trained there before my last fight. That’s where I originally grew up. I had moved down to Florida and that’s where I had been training for the past 10 years. I had gone ahead and moved back home and moved to Providence, RI. I train at a couple different places. I have a great strength coach in Kyle Holland, who also works with Joe Lauzon and Kenny Florian. I work with the same boxing coach that Joe does, Steve Maze. I go up to Joe’s gym a lot to spar with the guys he has there. I train five or six times a week at a phenomenal jiu-jitsu place, Tim Burrill’s BJJ. He also coaches Jorge Rivera and Mike Campbell, and there are a lot of good guys that I have been sparring with in New England. Currently, I’m at Team Quest in Temecula, California getting ready and putting the finishing touches on for this fight. It’s a great camp and there are a lot of good guys my size here. It doesn’t hurt that Dan Henderson is here getting ready to fight in the main event as well.”
Although Lawlor has not fought in 2011, the Weidman bout will be the third Lawlor’s been scheduled to be in. He was set to take on Maiquel Falcao at UFC 134 before Falcao was released, which led to Lawlor being matched up with Kyle Noke at UFC Live in August. In the training camp for the showdown in Milwaukee, Lawlor injured his arm, leaving him unable to punch and unable to continue with the fight. Nevertheless, Lawlor has been basically training for this return to the Octagon for the past nine months with a few hiccups, but he will have a renewed vigor to fight going into this bout against the undefeated Weidman.
“I feel like I’m a better person than I was a year ago,” admits Lawlor. “Being away for a year, I haven’t been working for a year. There have been a lot of things going on, from not having money, making a big move, buying a house, and a lot of things have gone on that really put things into perspective in the grand scheme of things. In a way, it excites me even more to go ahead to fight. I’m not as nervous to fight. Being away for a year, I really have the itch to fight, and after this fight I want to fight more often. I realized that your window is only open for so long in this sport, and to be out for a year is pretty big. I should be in my physical prime right now, even though my physical prime was probably when I six, so I’m way past my physical prime at this point. Taking a year off doesn’t seem like a waste and probably will be good for me in the long run, but I’m definitely itching to get back in there and continue fighting more often.”
This weekend, Lawlor wants to derail the hype train behind the young gun Weidman. And soon enough, his absence will only be a memory to fight fans, as he is preparing the expected tour-de-force of weigh-in and walkout hi-jinx, as well as the in cage grit and toughness that earned him his spot in the UFC. As Lawlor prepares to meet Weidman head on in a fight that will re-establish him in the UFC’s middleweight division, in typical fashion, Lawlor is doing it with a wink and a smile.
“The number one thing I’m going to show off in this fight is my physique,” divulges Lawlor. “I’m getting prepared to make a run at the Mr. Olympia 2012 title; a lot of people don’t know that. I’ve had a lot of time to work on my vascularity and my body building. Also, I have a new hair cut and a new beard, so those are things I will show off as well. You’re not going to see too much difference in the way that I fight. I’m not going to say I’m going to look intimidating, but I’m going to look damn good – that’s for sure.”
A year on the shelf for Lawlor to prepare for a fight and to come up with a weigh-in costume will no doubt be entertaining.
He has lost six of his past eight fights, yet fans still go nuts whenever they see Wanderlei Silva at the neighborhood grocery store, at his Las Vegas gym, or posing for pictures at a UFC Fan Expo. The mounting accumulation of L’s on Silva’s record are still dwarfed by his 22 highlight reel knockouts and an extraordinary unbeaten streak that once spanned 18 fights against top-shelf competition. As much as ever, the ultra-aggressive Brazilian is widely revered for the fearlessness and ferocity that define his style, which has made him one of the best in the business at making “stadiums shake” (a goal of his). But after 15 years in the fight game, and a 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben, retirement whispers have begun to swirl around the 35-year-old MMA icon. A growing chorus of fans and reporters are wondering: “How much longer should Wanderlei Silva fight?”
Silva’s performance against Cung Le (7-1) in the UFC 139 co-main event could go a long way toward answering that question. Cung Le, a San Shou master whom Silva called “the best kicker in MMA,” lives in San Jose, California, and has a huge following in the San Francisco bay area. Silva will have to beat Le in his backyard, but doesn’t seem the least bit fazed by the home field disadvantage, asserting, “I’m going to make his fans cheer for me.”
I interviewed Wandy a week before the showdown and he sounded as upbeat and positive as ever while candidly addressing a host of topics including A) potential retirement; B) whether he intends to become a more defensive and cautious fighter; C) how being a terrible soccer player led him to MMA; D) why he wants to fight in Japan and Brazil “one more time” and E) the best advice he can offer to young fighters.
Here are the unedited excerpts of that poignant and revealing interview with one of the sport’s most beloved figures:
UFC: You’re known as an ultra-aggressive fighter. Have you ever thought about becoming a little more patient inside the cage or is that just simply impossible?
Wanderlei: It’s true, after my last fight I need to change my game a little bit because this sport is changing a lot. I don’t have more space for (a) fall. I’ve trained a lot on my defense and for attacking in the right moment. I’m going to try and hold my instincts. Because sometimes my opponents touch me and I want to kill them. I need to wait a little bit more. I’m going to try. I pray a lot and I ask for God to give me the strength to help make me calm and allow me to execute my coaches’ gameplan.
UFC: The Wanderlei of today versus the Wanderlei of six or seven years ago? Who wins?
Wanderlei: Whichever one trains more! It’s an interesting moment for me right now. I’ve had a lot of changes in the past few years. When I moved to the UFC I changed my life and I’ve been adapting since. Right now I have a gym and we have 40 amateurs and 15 pros. I’m training with these guys. Right now I’m back to the normal things in my life.
UFC: Did the loss to Leben make you think about retirement?
Wanderlei: No, I didn’t think about that. I felt sad because I trained a lot for that fight. It was like an accident, no? It happens. Sometimes I have bad days, but on the bad days my fans make me feel good.
UFC: You’ve defeated so many elite fighters and thrilled millions of fans. What is your proudest moment in this sport?
Wanderlei: I think it’s when I won the PRIDE Grand Prix because I was champ after beating the toughest guys in the world. I’m so happy with my career. I’ve fought with the toughest guys in the world – heavyweights, light heavyweights, middleweights. I’m proud because I’ve fought the best guys and I’ve done good, and I have a lot to give to this sport in the future.
UFC: When adoring strangers walk up to you and mention a fight, what fight do they bring up the most?
Wanderlei: I think my two victories against Rampage. I think my second knockout over him is one of my best victories, no?
UFC: You and Vitor Belfort both live and train in Las Vegas. You’re both Brazilian legends. And so many fans still talk about the first fight between you guys. What are your thoughts on a rematch with Vitor Belfort?
Wanderlei: He’s a good guy but of course I’d like to fight again with him. That fight needs to happen.
UFC: How much longer would you like to fight?
Wanderlei: It depends how long my body allows me. But I do want to fight in Japan and Brazil before I retire.
UFC: Why?
Wanderlei: I made my (career) in Japan and I had the best times of my life there. I’ve had a lot of fun and I need to give one more fight there. Brazil is my hometown so I want one more there, too.
UFC: You get to pick your opponents for Japan and Brazil? Who are you picking!?
Wanderlei: Good question! I don’t know. That’s the boss’s decision.
UFC: Let’s turn to Saturday night’s fight with Cung Le. What are your impressions of him as a fighter?
Wanderlei: Before I knew nothing about him, but after the fight was made I studied his game and he’s a really good fighter. I haven’t seen anyone fight like him. I need to adapt my style for him. But I’m ready for the fight.
UFC: You run a gym in Las Vegas. What’s the best advice you can give to a young fighter for their careers? Not technique-wise, but career advice?
Wanderlei: I tell the guys in my gym … I have 16 years in this sport and I wish I could just be starting my career right now. Because, man, this sport is changing so much. The last event (UFC on FOX), going to the biggest channel in Brazil (Globo) … everybody is talking about it in Brazil, everybody! It’s unbelievable how big this sport is right now.
UFC: What did you feel when you saw Junior dos Santos knock Cain Velasquez down with that booming overhand right?
Wanderlei: He made everybody here jump out of our seats! He’s a humble guy who came from a simple family. Man, that was a really important event for us in Brazil because it was on the biggest channel in Brazil. That would be a dream for all MMA fighters. So that victory has opened a lot of doors for fighters in Brazil.
UFC: MMA is growing like a wildfire in your home country, which is really the motherland of the sport. Soccer (“football” everywhere else in the world) is huge in Brazil and they always field one of the world’s best teams. Are you a big fan of soccer?
Wanderlei: I watch soccer but I’m not a fanatic for it .A long time ago I wanted to play, but every time the guys chose their teams I was one of the last guys. The guys knew I didn’t play very well. I played very bad, man. After that I started to fight.
If you’ve never seen Cung Le fight before, just think of a Hollywood action movie, but in real life. But that’s just the surface stuff. Beyond the highlight reel knockouts, jaw-dropping strikes, and flashy scissor kicks, there lies a fighter, one you would have seen if you were around when he entered his first Sanshou tournament, the US Open, in 1994.
In that tournament, Le broke his hand because he admittedly didn’t wrap his hands properly, and then later on he broke his foot. But he kept going, eventually taking first place in the tourney. That’s not flash. That’s heart.
“It just depends on the person,” he said humbly, recalling the true start of his martial arts career. “For me, even though I had a broken hand and broken foot, I don’t want to give up. Sometimes you dig deep, and the next day you realize what kind of person you are.”
Fast forward to 2009. Le, a legitimate superstar in the worlds of Sanshou and kickboxing, where he compiled a perfect 17-0 pro record, is matching that success in mixed martial arts, where he is 6-0 with six knockouts and the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, “former” only because he vacated the title to do some film work. He returned in December of 2009, but suffered his first loss via knockout to the aptly-nicknamed “Hands of Steel,” Scott Smith. As a 37-year old husband and father whose legacy in combat sports was already secured, it could have been the time for Le to say “enough.”
He didn’t.
“It definitely hurt a lot after I lost to Scott Smith,” said Le. “The next morning was really tough, but I have a great support system. My wife and my family got me through it, I learned a lot from it, and I wasn’t make the same mistakes I did that time.”
He didn’t.
In June of 2010, Le faced off against Smith a second time, and at 1:46 of the second round, he evened the score, knocking his rival out.
Now he will make his UFC debut, and his opponent on Saturday is no pushover. In fact, facing off against Wanderlei Silva is precisely the way Le wants to make his entrance into the Octagon in front of his hometown fans in San Jose.
“It’s definitely full circle, and to get to fight in San Jose in a UFC event is really awesome,” said Le, now 39. “I watched Wanderlei fight a lot over the years and he’s definitely a legend. I’m excited to fight him.”
And fans should be excited to see this fight, simply because it will match the ultra-aggressive attacks of Silva, who isn’t nicknamed “The Axe Murderer” accidentally, against the precision flash of Le in what promises to be a standup scrap for as long as it lasts. Or will it?
“I don’t know if he (Silva) is gonna shoot in or not,” smiles Le. “Wanderlei has a good camp and they might be preparing to change things up, so I’m prepared for everything.”
And we assume you have a few tricks as well, Mr. Le?
“I got a lot of surprises up my sleeve.”
One of those surprises came in 2005, when he finally decided to dip his toe in the MMA pool. When I first spoke to him a couple years earlier, the pressure was already mounting for him to take a stab at MMA, and as he told me in 2003, “The reason why I haven’t stepped into the mixed martial arts arena is that I feel that I’m not complete as far as ground fighting goes,” said Le. “I did work a little bit with Ralph and Cesar Gracie but there’s so much to learn, and if I’m going to step into another arena, I want to be prepared. At this point, with two gyms and a son, I didn’t have any time to train properly enough. I feel my standup is okay to go up against these guys, but you can get on the ground, be beating these dudes up, and you end up in some kind of lock and it could be all over.”
By 2005 though, the American Kickboxing Academy’s Javier Mendez talked to him and told him that now was the time to strike.
“Javier Mendez talked me into doing it in 2005, and that’s when he became my trainer,” said Le. “Before that, we were just friends and he told me that I should be trying out MMA because it was about to blow up with the TUF show. Javier broke it down and said that I can grow from it, and sometimes you have to take chances. I took the chance and I’m very grateful that I listened to Javier and that I have a great team around me.”
Le debuted in 2006 with a first round knockout of Mike Altman, and he’s gone on to win six more bouts along the way (all in San Jose), with the only blemish being the loss to Smith. He has plenty of high-profile victims on that record, including Frank Shamrock, Smith, Tony Fryklund, and Sam Morgan, and while he’s knocked out his opponent in each of his victories and is rightfully considered a striker, it is important to point out that Le was a high school wrestling All-American and a California state junior college champion on the mat. He admits that “learning the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu part and getting into the right position when you do a takedown so you don’t put yourself in trouble with submissions and bad position,” was his biggest MMA hurdle, but now he’s confident that anything thrown at him in the Octagon will be something he can handle and counter, including Wanderlei Silva, who is the only thing on his mind right now.
“It’s just one day at a time and one fight at a time and Wanderlei is a very tough opponent and I’m very excited to fight him, so I’m not looking past him at all,” said Le. “Right now the crosshairs are on Wanderlei.”
On Saturday, Le opens fire.
Pray for world peace. Pray for prosperity. Pray for good health.
Standard stuff compared to the extraordinary prayer of UFC fighter Michael McDonald.
“As a child I said, ‘God, I want a hard life.’”
The genesis that spawned that unusual wish? Young Michael, intuitive beyond his years, observed a curious trend in the world. It involved the decimals of human civilization who have etched their names in the history books.
“Anyone whose name is still remembered from years past,” McDonald said, “they either did something really bad, or something really good. But they have one thing in common: They all had a hard life.
“Most people just want to skate through life and satisfy their needs in the easiest way. I want to do something unique with my life, and the only way I’m going to do something special is if it’s a hard life.”
By his own account, McDonald’s quest for a rocky road has been granted. The Modesto, California, native is a professional fighter, and less than one percent of the population can truthfully say that. It is an often unglamorous life filled with grueling training sessions that often push you to the limit physically, mentally and spiritually. Fear is a common companion. Sacrifice and discipline are musts. Frequent partying and living on the wild side are potential career killers.
The interesting thing is, though he’s been training since he was a teenager and even turned pro at the exceptionally ripe age of 16, McDonald (13-1) says he didn’t choose the fighting life. It chose him.
“Fighting was never in my plan for myself,” said the deeply religious McDonald, who at 20 years old is the youngest fighter among the UFC’s roster of 303 athletes. “I wanted to be a counselor, I wanted to be a cabinet maker, I wanted to be a preacher, I wanted to be a martial arts teacher. Fighting was never something I wanted for my own life. But in time it came to be. This is what God put in my life and this is what I need to do right now. It might not have been the plan I had for myself, but this is a good life. It might be hard – but I asked for a hard life. This is the plan that He has for me. This is my ministry right now.”
Regarded by many as a future star-in-the-making, McDonald is 3-0 under the Zuffa banner and chases his fourth straight win on Saturday when he faces unbeaten Alex Soto (6-0-1) at UFC 139. The bantamweight battle harbors a potential redemption of sorts for McDonald, in his own eyes at least. One of the division’s most dangerous finishers, McDonald’s potent right hand has ended seven of his fights. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt has also submitted four foes. But his last two UFC foes (Chris Cariaso and Edwin Figueroa) have been stubborn, taking McDonald the distance and making him settle for judges’ decisions. That doesn’t sit well with McDonald, even though he said a shoulder and knuckle were badly injured before his Cariaso fight.
“Everyone has bad and good nights; that fight with Chris Cariaso was not a good night for me,” McDonald said. “I consider it a loss in my book. I think I should have been able to finish Chris Cariaso. I’ve only had two decisions in my life. I do not want to go to another decision. Alex Soto seems very well-rounded. Someone who is so well-rounded and aggressive, with a crazy gas tank, you can’t plan exactly what you’re going to do. So I really don’t have a gameplan. I just want to finish the fight and I’m going to go out there and play it by ear.”
Certain fighters, like Clay Guida and Wanderlei Silva, are adrenaline junkies who relish the energy of a frenzied live arena and fight to entertain fans. McDonald is different. A self-professed “perfectionist,” he is well aware that some people have branded him The Next Big Thing at 135 pounds. In fact, McDonald has at times let his mind wander, comparing himself to other phenoms who achieved incredible success in their early twenties such as Rory MacDonald (now 22), Erik Koch (23), light heavyweight champ Jon Jones (24) and featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo (25). McDonald concedes that envy and even jealousy have seeped into his thoughts from time to time, but he’s determined to rise above that kind of competitiveness.
“This is a little bit of the psychology behind Michael,” he says with a chuckle. “No one has ever asked me that but actually I do make those comparisons. It’s not something that I’m proud of, but it’s been a defect of mine. Growing up I always thought that when I did something I was special. And what made me special was never the fact that I was good. What made me special was the fact that I was good – AND I WAS YOUNG. Yeah, there are people that can do what I do, but no one can do it as young as I can.
“I still struggle with it occasionally. When I see other young people in competition that are good at something – I want to hate them. That’s my automatic reaction, because they are taking away from my specialness, so to speak. But now that I’m getting older and more mature I can stop and see that it means nothing. I have to keep a check on that. I should be learning no matter who the person is. I need to respect all these people and their awesomeness. So I’m learning to have a more appropriate mindset about it. I realize now that I’m not special because of what I do, or because someone tells me. I’m special because of the way God made me.”
Along the same lines, McDonald refuses to bear the heavy load of outside expectations. He has succumbed to that burden once before, two and a half years ago, when he lost his only pro fight via TKO to Cole Escovedo. A deep depression followed.
“I ran away and pushed everyone away,” he said. “It led me down a miserable road and I don’t ever want to do that again. Now I have a much healthier mindset about it. I’m not doing this for the people. If I can help people along the way then that’s great, but I’m not doing this for other people. I’m doing this because my God, my father, gave me a mission and this is what he put in front of my life.”
If you can’t already tell, fighting is not McDonald’s favorite topic. It’s his aforementioned ministry. In his mind, similar to No. 1 lightweight contender Benson Henderson, fighting simply gives him a large public platform to spread God’s message.
“A lot of people think that when I speak at church I’m going to talk about being a fighter and my successes, and I don’t. Because I’m not something special. I didn’t do something extraordinary. I ruined my life,” McDonald said. “I was miserable … I looked in the mirror one morning and I didn’t like who I saw. I always thought that I would be a good person when I grew up and I wasn’t. I hated my life. I became a liar. I had everyone fooled. I was a phony. I was a manipulating bastard. That was the main reason I hated myself. No one really knew me — I didn’t know me. That’s what I’ve been talking about in my testimony. I hated myself and didn’t really want to stay on this planet anymore. God took me at that point and he turned me into a good person. Now I get to talk about my screw-ups and God’s victories in my life. Fighting is not about me being the best, it’s not about me being rich. To me, it is my ministry right now.”
Our time is almost up. There is one more question for Young Man McDonald. What is the upside of being only 20 years old and days away from your third UFC fight?
“The upside … ummm…I guess the upside is knowing that I have a long ways to go until I’m the best I can be,” he said. “A lot of people in the organization have a very small window of opportunity to generate income from this. That’s not the case for me. I probably have 15 or more years left, give or take a few years. So I feel comfortable and I’m not in any rush to get the title or get to the top right now. Other fighters might be of a certain age so they’re in a rush and they need it soon; I don’t. I can be as patient as I want. I’m putting my money on the fact that Michael McDonald at 25 will be better than Michael McDonald at 20. So that is making my career go a lot smoother.”
Everyone knows that Urijah Faber wants another chance to wrest the UFC bantamweight title away from his nemesis, Dominick Cruz.
“The California Kid” thought he had done enough to accomplish the feat at UFC 132 in July. Over 25 minutes, Faber and Cruz went back and forth, combining to deliver one of the most entertaining fights of 2011 as the first bantamweight duo to headline a UFC Pay-Per-View in the organization’s history.
When the scorecards were read, Cruz’s hands were raised as Faber threw his head back in disbelief. Four months later, the charismatic former WEC featherweight champion is one win away from earning a place opposite Cruz inside the Octagon once again.
“I think it’s pretty high up there,” said Faber of where a trilogy bout with Cruz rests on his personal “To Do” list. “He has the belt and that’s what I want; that’s the pinnacle of this sport, to be UFC champ, and that’s where I want to be. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get back in with him, but I’ve got to earn it, and that means beating Brian Bowles.”
Tucked into the third position on Saturday night’s UFC 139 event, the pairing of Faber and Bowles matches two former WEC champions hungry to once again stand across the cage from the current 135-pound king.
Despite his championship pedigree, Bowles isn’t as well known as some of the other fighters in the bantamweight division — a former world champion who currently competes in anonymity in the UFC. While his own star shines brighter than most amongst the lighter weight fighters, Faber knows that fan recognition isn’t going to be a factor in determining Saturday night’s outcome.
“The thing that matters most is that I entertain, I dominate, and I show my skills. I wish that it made a difference that nobody knows who Brian Bowles is, but it doesn’t. He doesn’t care about that. He’s going to go in and fight tooth and nail, and that will make for a great fight.
“It’s going to be best man wins, and I believe that’s going to be me, and I’m going to do it in a dominating, exciting fashion. That’s what it’s about for me — putting my best foot forward, having fun doing it, and making sure everyone else has fun while I’m doing it also.”
As much as he’s itching for a chance to face Cruz for a third time, Faber isn’t overlooking Bowles, not in the least.
“I know he’s got a strong skill set. He’s a dangerous guy because he goes for broke, which are the kind of fighters I like. He’s got a heavy overhand right, solid standup all around, and a lot of good chokes. He’s pretty good at everything, but I think I’m going to have an edge in every area.
“The one thing that you have to do is be respectful; respecting what he has to offer. He can knock guys out, he can choke guys out, and as soon as you think you’re above that — that it can’t happen to you — that’s when you see black belts like Wagnney Fabiano and Miguel Torres getting submitted by our guy, Joseph Benavidez.
“You’ve got to respect the fact that if somebody knows how to do something, you’ve vulnerable to it. That’s why I don’t get caught in anything; I’ve fought a lot of black belts and heavy punchers, and awareness is the key.”
In addition to being aware of Bowles’ abilities inside the cage, Faber also knows there are some who question his potential quick return to a championship bout.
Just four months after losing to Cruz at UFC 132, the 32-year-old leader of Team Alpha Male will earn another kick at the championship can with a win on Saturday night, a much faster return to title contention than is afforded to most contenders. To Faber, there is a simple explanation.
“It’s not really my concern, but what it comes down to is how many guys can beat me? I had a one-sided fight against Mizugaki. I had a one-sided fight against Eddie Wineland. I have the #2 guy in the world, Joseph Benavidez, as one of my training partners.
“Who else do you give that to? You give it to somebody that can beat me and you give it to guys that have a chance like Eddie Wineland or Brian Bowles, and the winner gets a title shot, and I’ve been winning those. Any opportunity they give me, I’ll take it, and they’re usually hard earned.”
Securing the chance to face Cruz for a third time is about more than hoping to win the rubber match in their personal battle; it’s about filling the one gap that remains on Faber’s resume.
“Getting that UFC title is a big goal on my list, and it’s what I’m shooting for, what I’m working for. I see improvements all the time, and especially now at the new weight, I have every advantage to win, so I’ve just got to make it happen.”
He was successful the last time he was in this position, earning a victory at UFC 128 and channeling YouTube celebrity Antoine Dodson while offering Cruz a warning in his post-fight interview.
Saturday night, Faber hopes history repeats itself, with a win over Bowles bringing him the chance to settle things once and for all with the UFC bantamweight champion. The only difference is that this time, he’s chosen to offer his warning to Cruz in advance.
“Dominick, I can hurt you, you can’t hurt me; we both know it. Run tell that, homeboy.”
There is a well-documented negative side to “hype” for a fighter. It creates cynicism and a belief that the excitement for this particular fighter is disingenuous. It also causes additional pressure to be placed on the success of said fighter. Those would all be relevant issues if that fighter was not a two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler who qualified for the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship by winning the East Coast trials after only eight months of formal Brazilian jiu-jitsu training, who has an undefeated pro MMA record, including two wins inside the Octagon, and is already the proud owner of a “Submission of the Night” bonus in his second fight in the UFC.
Actually, the hype can’t even compete with the reality of Chris Weidman.
“I am in this 100%,” declares Weidman. “The only reason I got into this sport was to be the champion. I wasn’t doing this for any other reason. Where I’m at right now, with the hype behind me, if that wasn’t behind me or if I wasn’t undefeated, I don’t care if I’m undefeated, just as long as I’m on the right streak towards the top. I have put this pressure on myself since day one, so it is nothing new.”
At 27 years old, this Hofstra University alum from “Strong Island” was at the top of every MMA website’s must watch and see list. Weidman was the prospect of prospects coming into his hurried Octagon debut in March at UFC Live against veteran UFC middleweight Alessio Sakara. On less than three weeks’ notice, Weidman went toe-to-toe with Sakara for a grueling and bloody three rounds in which Weidman controlled all the action. It was a true test for Weidman with little prep time – a tough opponent on a three fight win streak, and it was a physically exhausting fight which he won in every aspect.
“It was huge for me,” says Weidman. “It was a great experience. I was in there with a seasoned guy and I knew he was ready for a full fight. I wasn’t in the best shape going into that fight for sure. It was pretty much two weeks’ notice, so I was a fat kid two weeks before that. So for me to get in the shape I did and to be able to go three full rounds and get the win even though I wasn’t in the best shape makes me feel confident, especially having a full camp to be able to go three rounds at a fast pace. I felt like I went hard in that fight for all three rounds, but I didn’t go for some submissions that I usually would have because I wasn’t in my usual top quality shape. It was a great experience. He was a tough guy, and to go all three rounds like that was good for me.”
About three months later, Weidman was itching for another fight, and he replaced Court McGee in his bout with Jesse Bongfeldt. This time he had eight weeks’ notice to prepare, which was really the first time in Weidman’s six fight career that he had a dedicated training camp. Most of Weidman’s other fights were on short notice, with just enough time to make sure his cardio was there. Weidman had the opportunity to get better during the full camp and was considering this a statement fight, which was bad luck for Bongfeldt,
“Every fight is a big fight,” tells Weidman. “After the Sakara fight there was a lot of hype about me and where my future is heading. I think every fight is going to be kind of like that, but the fight with Jesse Bongfeldt really felt like people were trying to figure where I’m at. I wanted to show that I belong here in the UFC and that I’m someone who is going to be no joke and that I’m coming up.”
In his second Octagon appearance, Weidman didn’t disappoint, displaying the vaunted wrestling and submission skills everyone expects to see. “It’s definitely one of the things I work on – the kimura from side control,” notes Weidman, who attacked Bongfeldt with that move numerous times in the first round, and even though he didn’t secure it, it helped win the fight. “It’s one of my go to moves and I tried to set that up for the finish. He did a good job defending, but it ended up working out that I got another submission. As long as I am keeping pressure and attempting submission after submission, even if I don’t get it, it is mentally breaking the guy and sooner rather than later I’m going to get the submission.”
The “Submission of the Night” finish came at 4:54 in the first. As the two scrambled to their feet, Weidman drilled Bongfeldt with a knee to the mid-section and followed up with a standing guillotine choke. It was a lethal combo, which did help stamp Weidman’s arrival into the UFC middleweight division as a fighter whose power and submissions can make quick work of anyone.
“When I hit him with the knee, I knew I took the air out of him and my arms were instantly around his neck,” remembers Weidman. “I knew he wasn’t going to have much fight because he just took a knee to the stomach pretty hard and probably wasn’t expecting me to go so hard with the choke because of the short time. I was pretty confident with it that I would get the finish even with the time that was left.”
In San Jose this Saturday, Weidman will tangle with the returning Ultimate Fighter season eight alum “Filthy” Tom Lawlor for his third trip to the Octagon in less than a year. At 3-2 in the UFC, facing all recognizable opponents, Lawlor will look to employ his own wrestling, submissions and strikes on Weidman. Although it was 11 months ago, Lawlor had his best Octagon appearance to date in his dominance of former number 1 contender Patrick Cote at UFC 121. Lawlor is durable, versatile and will be hungry for a win over a young, but rising, name like Weidman.
“I think he is going to be a great test,” admits Weidman. “I think he is a tough kid and he’s going to come forward. I think he has good wrestling, good jiu-jitsu and good striking, so he’s well-rounded. I’m really excited and I think he’s going to be a good test to where I stand. I want to be on the top of this sport and these are the type of guys I need to be able to beat: tough guys who are well-rounded. It’s going to be an exciting fight, a good test for me and I’m going to try to win in a dominant way and get the finish.”
To prepare for this fight, Weidman is training with the dynamic duo from Long Island and TUF season six: Matt Serra and Ray Longo. Both coaches have vibrant personalities and a near unparalleled amount of experience, which they both use to pass on their fighting knowledge to Weidman. They have been with Weidman since the beginning and facilitated his quick rise in MMA by pushing Weidman to go pro immediately after believing in what they saw in him in their gyms. Weidman also trains a couple times a week in Manhattan with Serra’s own jiu-jitsu mentor, the legendary Renzo Gracie.
“They’re great coaches, so it makes it easier for me to become a fast learner because they’re great teachers,” asserts Weidman. “They’re both fun to be around. They’re easy going guys. They make light of tough situations if you’re having a bad day and they’re making you laugh. They make it fun. Having them together in your corner is a perfect combination. I think we match up well as far as them being the coaches and me being the student because as a wrestler I was a very technical wrestler and that’s what they’re all about – the technique. The way I learned wrestling from technique to technique is how I’m trying to learn jiu-jitsu and the standup. It’s not that much of a different type of learning than when it was wrestling.”
At UFC 139, Lawlor will be playing a dangerous game by standing on the tracks with Weidman’s hype-train ready to come through. “Just like any fight, I’m completely ready for a war,” states Weidman, who has higher aspirations than being a prospect; he’s looking to make the middleweight division his own, one fight at a time. “I’m 100% ready for a three round back and forth crazy slugfest, on to the ground then back up again, attempting submissions, and non-stop action. I’m totally prepared for that. And I’m going to be looking for the submissions and looking for the knockouts the whole entire fight. Without a doubt.”