Road to ruin: MMAmania exclusive sit-down with UFC fighter Chris Wilson
When Chris Wilson enters the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, this Saturday night at UFC 82: “Pride Of A Champion,” he will be stepping into the famous Octagon for the first time in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
However, his ultimate goal is to walk out of Columbus with a win over top 10 welterweight fighter and UFC title contender, Jon Fitch. Wilson is thrilled to have an opportunity to fight in the UFC.
“It means a lot to me,” Wilson told MMAmania.com. “I always put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well. In that sense, there is some pressure to perform well.”
The Team Quest fighter replaced Japanese fighter Akihiro Gono on the UFC 82 card and he plans on taking full advantage of his opportunity.
“I’m coming in kind of as the underdog, kind of the unknown guy, not unknown completely, people who follow the sport might know a little bit about me,” Wilson said. “Being in the UFC, for the reach that the UFC has, the general public may not know who I am nearly as much as they know Fitch is, so I’m definitely the underdog.”
“To me, it’s really just a great opportunity to go in there and show my skills and show that I’m competitive at the top-level and just because you haven’t heard of me doesn’t mean I’m not a threat to your career. It’s a great opportunity for me and it really couldn’t be any better.”
Wilson views this fight against Fitch as a rare opportunity. It’s not everyday that a fighter who makes his UFC debut against a top 10 contender who is undefeated (7-0) inside the Octagon.
“Obviously it’s not normal for someone who is in their UFC debut to come in against a guy who is in that title shot situation like Jon Fitch is,” Wilson said. “So yeah it’s not normal, but at the same time, I’m not looking for an easy fight. I plan to establish myself in the welterweight division.”
To prepare for the fight, Wilson has been working out with his fellow Team Quest-mates in the mountains of Big Bear, Calif. He had just five weeks notice to prepare for this fight.
“It was a good opportunity to train against tough guys at (high) elevation,” Wilson said. “I feel like I got a lot out of it and I really feel like I’m optimizing the time I have.”
Wilson — who has an impressive career MMA record (13-3) — has been around the sport for a while. He’s fought in many promotions such as King of the Cage, BodogFight and the IFL, defeating the likes of Jay Hieron, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season five contestant Brandon Melendez, Rory Markham and more.
Wilson is a well-rounded fighter who has strong stand up with a fairly decent ground game. Before joining Team Quest, in fact, Wilson was unsure of his ground game. But now that Wilson is with the prestigious camp, he feels confident in taking the fight to the ground. And he credits Team Quest with the assistance.
“I came into Team Quest with a decent repertoire of striking, but when you’re trying to use your striking against that caliber a fighter, even you’re striking has to get better,” Wilson said. “My all around game has risen from being at Team Quest. I am the fighter I am today because of Team Quest.”
Wilson gets to work out with the likes of former UFC middleweight contender and Olympic wrestling silver medalist, Matt Lindland, as well as Chael Sonnen and, of course, the main event challenger for UFC 82 this Saturday, Dan Henderson.
He acknowledges that Fitch is a good wrestler, but he believes he has dealt with better in training.
“Fitch, he may have been captain of the Purdue wrestling team, but sorry, Fitch is no Lindland, Fitch is no Chael Sonnen, Fitch is no Matt Horwich,” Wilson said. “I don’t think he’s got the wrestling skills of the room that I’m in and I don’t think he’s got the submission skills of the room I’m in, but a fight is a fight.”
Wilson knows that Fitch won’t be an easy task, but he believes that he will be prepared, come Saturday night.
“I definitely don’t underestimate Jon Fitch, he’s number four, he’s earned his spot and he’s a tough fight no matter how you look at it, but I do think that I have a much better chance against Fitch than most people give me credit for.”
A win on Saturday night is the most important thing for Wilson. He isn’t feeling the pressure and is looking to make a lot of noise this weekend.
“There is a little less pressure on me because nobody really expects anything out of me. Hell, half the people don’t even know who I am and the other half want to see me to lose. It’s because they like Fitch,” Wilson said. “So it’s like I’m going in there as the underdog and I’m looking to ruin everybody’s night, except mine. I plan to stop his streak and ruin Dana’s (White) plans for his title shot.”
No doubt about it, if Wilson can go out there and win, he would do just that.
Chris would like to thank his sponsors, including Premier Fighter, Metabolic Adaptation, Mike Dolce at Strengthcoachonline.com and Sports Lab. For videos of Wilson in action click here and here.
Written by admin on February 26th, 2008 with
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Read more articles on UFC 82 and Chris Wilson and UFC Fighter Interviews and UFC Welterweight Division and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Jon Fitch and MMA.
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