After several weeks of long hard training and endless hours in the gym, it’s time this weekend for Tim Boetsch and Bibiano Fernandes to do what they do best and fight. Both of these guys are facing touch opponents – I actually worked with Tim Boetsch’s opponent Nick Ring several years ago so I know how tough he is, but both guys worked their asses off this camp and are ready!
Tim has trained with us for several camps before, but this was Bibiano’s first time with us so I’m particularly excited to see how he does. He’s an exciting fighter and his stand up is a good compliment to his obviously strong ground game. Not only was this his first time training with us, but it will be his first fight dropping down to featherweight to compete in the Dream featherweight tournament.
He’s faced his opponent in the first round, Takafumi Otsuka before and got the win, but a fight is a fight and anything can, and often does, happen. Bibiano is a great guy and anyone who knows his story – he grew up extremely poor and literally spent time living by himself in the Amazon as a young boy – should be rooting for him to get the win and move on in the tournament.
His background and his outlook on fighting and life in general is unlike just about any other fighter I’ve worked with before. The first time I met him we went to get some Pho for dinner with Matt and within ten minutes of sitting down he started asking about me, my life, and even my thoughts on God. He said part of what he enjoys most about fighting is getting to know so many different people – not something you’d hear most fighters give as a reason they like to fight.
Tim has trained with us for several camps before and did extremely well in his last fight, which was also the first time he dropped down to 185lbs, so everything is pretty well dialed in as far as his training is concerned. Over the last few fights, I’ve learned well how much volume/intensity Tim responds well to and worked to manage his training effectively. With the confidence of knowing he can make the weight and fight well at 185lbs, I anticipate Tim to once again look great and put on a fight that the fans will enjoy watching.
His opponent, Nick Ring, trained with us several years ago as part of winning the Pride amateur auditions at the time. When Nick first arrived, it was obvious he was talented, hard working, and very mentally tough – not to mention he was also one of the most naturally well conditioned fighters I had worked with at the time. Had it not been for some serious knee injuries, I think Nick’s career would likely be in a different place by now.
I have no doubt that Nick will not be an easy fight for Tim, but I know Tim is well trained and ready to go. Any time you have two fighters that are very mentally tough and in good shape, there’s a good chance you’re going to see a tough fight and I won’t be surprised if this fight ends up going the distance. Of course I think Tim will end up coming out on top, but I definitely expect Nick to put up a tough fight and I’m not surprised they are televising it live and free on Spike for everyone to watch.
Bibiano’s fight will also be televised live but since it’s from Japan, it will be airing on HDnet at 12am Friday night/Saturday morning. I’ll certainly be up late watching it and I also expect an exciting fight from Bibiano as well.
After spending more than ten years now as a strength and conditioning coach and having worked with a wide variety of sports, I have to say that I firmly believe that few athletes out there consistently work as hard, both physically and mentally, as MMA fighters. This is especially true when they are getting ready for a fight.
I’ve been a part of collegiate football camps, pro football camps and been around athletes of the highest level getting ready to compete in national and international competitions and there’s no doubt other sports are not easy by any means, but I think if most people saw the grueling physical and mental stress that most fighters go through when getting ready to fight, they’d have a whole new respect for the sport and the fighters themselves.
It’s one thing to get ready to put on some pads and a helmet and go out on the field and play on Saturdays or Sunday as part of a team, but I think it’s a whole other thing to get ready to enter a cage or ring, stand in front of an opponent, and know that up to a million people or more may be watching you fight. No one wants to get knocked out or tapped out in front of everyone and after all the hard work that goes into getting ready and anyone that’s ever fought on any level has a tremendous amount of respect for those who do it for a living.
In any event, I hope that everyone will join me in watching both Tim and Bibiano fight this weekend and wish them luck. Rest assured they’ve trained hard and will be doing everything they can to put on a great fight and get the win! I’ll be doing a post fight wrap up of Tim and Bibiano’s fight, as well as any other good fights on their cards, stay tuned for that next week.