Fisher Thankful UFC Hasn’t Cut Him, Says It’s Do or Die
Spencer Fisher file photo: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
Spencer Fisher has lost two straight, and if he doesn’t win Saturday at UFC 120, he doesn’t expect the promotion to keep him.
In fact, he’s surprised the UFC hasn’t released him already.
“My back’s against the wall right now,” Fisher said last week during an episode of “Beatdown” on the Sherdog Radio Network. “The UFC has been really nice in keeping me around. A lot of guys, I know they’re cutting them after two losses. I was kind of worried after that last fight I’d been cut already, but they were nice enough to keep me around and I’m thankful for the position I’m at and I’m going to work my butt off for this upcoming fight. … It’s kind of a do-or-die situation with me right now. I gotta go out to win, whether that means me putting him on his back and submitting him, which I can do, or stand up and knock him out, and I can do that as well, I think.”
Fisher fights Curt Warburton in a preliminary lightweight bout. A member of the England-based Wolfslair camp alongside Michael Bisping, Warburton holds a 6-1 record that includes a first-round stoppage of “Ultimate Fighter 9” winner Ross Pearson. He will be making his UFC debut.
Fisher, on the other hand, has been fighting in the UFC for five years. He’s 8-5 in the Octagon, a respectable record in the deep lightweight division, but it’s his back-to-back losses that have him worried. Joe Stevenson finished him with elbows in October 2009, and Dennis Siver outpointed him in June. Fisher believes the UFC has kept him on the roster at least in part due to his entertaining style.
“I think I’m a fighter’s fighter,” he said. “I know what kind of fights I like to watch and I think I bring a lot to the table. I’ve kind of got away from that a little bit in my past couple of fights, but I’m going to go out there and get back to what got me here in the first place. That’s a fast-paced, in-shape Spencer Fisher.”
Although Fisher acknowledged that he’s seen only a small amount of tape on Warburton, he’s confident he can knock him out or take the fight to the ground if necessary.
“The tapes I’ve seen of him, he pretty much does the same things over and over again,” Fisher said. “He likes the standup, it seems like, but he’s not very fast. … Again, I think I can put him on his back if I want to. People don’t usually see me doing my wrestling because I’m the one trying to avoid the wrestling usually, but I’m more than capable of putting him on his back if I need to and submitting him.”
Fisher prepared for the bout at his gym in Moline, Ill., with Josh Neer and Jeff Joslin among his training partners. In the past he might have trained at other camps and worked on filling the holes in his game. He stayed home this time as part of a plan to focus on his strengths.
“This time I just kind of buckled down and stayed here,” Fisher said. “I just got back in shape and kind of got back to the things that got me here ... . I’ve always been worried about what the other guy was going to do and not so much what I was going to do. What I’ve gotten back to, the biggest thing is being in shape and I added a few more new tricks to my game.”
Check out the full interview (beginning at 46:20) with Fisher, who also discussed why he left the Miletich camp.
View the original article here
Herman Cautiously Optimistic After Two Knee Surgeries
Ed Herman file photo: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
Following his stint on the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” middleweight Ed Herman became one of the more familiar faces in the UFC. He fought nine times in the Octagon between June 2006 and August 2009, but Herman has been missing in action for the past 14 months. On the rebound from a pair of serious knee injuries, he has opened his own gym in Fort Collins, Colo., after spending much of his career with Team Quest in Oregon.
“My knee is feeling good right now,” said the 30-year-old Herman. “I’m taking my time with coming back since I can’t afford to hurt it again. It’s been super frustrating to be out this long, but it’s allowed me to focus on the mental part of my game, coaching and my family, as well.”
Herman first injured his left knee in the opening round of his last fight against Aaron Simpson at UFC 102 in August 2009. When he went to throw a head kick in the second round, Simpson caught the leg and pushed Herman to the mat. He immediately grabbed his leg, and the bout was called off due to the injury. Herman tore the anterior-cruciate ligament and meniscus in his knee and, after undergoing surgery a month later, was working his way back when he hurt the same knee again in January.
“I was just training, and I came back too soon,” said Herman, who has 19 finishes among his 21 victories. “I was doing some light sparring and came down on the knee wrong and got hurt again.”
The ACL and meniscus in Herman’s left knee were torn again, putting him back on the shelf.
“Having the two injuries back-to-back really makes you take a step back, look at what you have and realize just how quick you can lose it,” said Herman, who was a finalist on Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” “Before the first knee injury, I’d never had anything like this happen to me before. I was prepared to do the rehab again since I’d gone through it once before, but the emotional part of it was tough. I’m glad I have a great supporting cast.”
Along with rehabbing the injuries, Herman made the decision to leave Team Quest and open his own gym -- Trials Martial Arts -- with Team Quest teammate Ryan Schultz in Colorado. Herman admitted the decision to strike out on his own was not an easy one to make.
“It was a very hard decision for me to leave Team Quest and come out to Colorado,” said Herman, who has beaten Chris Price, Scott Smith, Joe Doerksen and David Loiseau while fighting for the UFC. “I’d been looking to open my own gym for a while, and Ryan and I got an investor. [Schultz] lived in Colorado, and I came out and visited, and it seemed like a nice place, so we decided to open the gym here.”
With the new gym opened, Herman has focused on preparing for a return to the Octagon, which he hopes will come in the first few months of 2011.
“I’ve been talking to [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva about how things are going,” said Herman. “I’m looking at February or March 2011 to get back in there. I want to give myself plenty of time to be ready.”
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