Article by Thomas Gerbasi at UFC.com about Kampmann’s return from injury and his faceoff versus Jorge Rivera at UFC 85 who won his last fight in all of 80 seconds.
Picture this. You’re 25 years old and working at a job that maybe only 20 to 30 people in the world can do at the level you perform at. Things are good, you’re about to get a big promotion and then suddenly you’re told that you’re done. Gone is the promotion, the increased paydays, and to top it off, you can never work at this job again.
Welcome to the world of Martin Kampmann in May of 2007, when the rising middleweight star blew out his left knee, lost a headlining bout against former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC 72, and thought that perhaps he would never fight again. Now try to get through your days with that type of albatross around your neck.
“I was definitely concerned that I wouldn’t be able to fight, especially since it was such a big injury and because I had a long time where I felt it wasn’t getting any better,” said Kampmann, who went through two surgeries on the knee. “I felt like it was stagnant, and it was natural to be worried.”
Add to this possibly tragic tale the fact that Kampmann had the world at his feet a year ago, with his future limitless. Entering the UFC in August of 2006, the Aarhus native came to the organization with the reputation as a devastating striker with world-class Muay Thai skills. Yet in the course of his three fights in the Octagon, Kampmann showed he was far from one-dimensional as he submitted Crafton Wallace and Drew McFedries and outpointed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Thales Leites. The main event in Belfast against Franklin might have been his worldwide coming out party, but it wasn’t to be. Not that he was concerned about such matters when sitting on the couch waiting for a green light to start rehabbing his knee.
“It sucks no matter what position you’re in,” said Kampmann, now 26. “But what frustrated me the most was not being able to compete or train. Losing the fights I would have had, that was annoying, but the whole fact that I wouldn’t be able to train or fight was worse.”
And when he was cleared to begin rehab, it wasn’t the intense workouts that he became accustomed to both at home and especially in the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas – it was a tedious process that tested his patience daily.
“I did a lot of small, stupid exercises that feel ridiculous when you’re used to doing the amount of training you usually do,” he said. “Of course to rehab your knee you have to take really small steps and do that stuff. But when you’re used to training real hard, it feels horrible.”
This went on for six months, months that felt like years – and that was on the good days. But soon, with the discipline that had gotten him to a 12-1 pro MMA record in the first place, he was let back into a world he thought he might never see again and after, as he puts it, “crossing the barrier” of being scared about his knee, he became the old ‘Hitman’ again.
On Saturday, at UFC 85 in London, Kampmann returns - and not a moment too soon if you ask any of his fans.
“A lot of people asked when I was coming back, and I’m happy to hear that people haven’t totally forgotten about me,” he chuckles. “I’ve been out a long time, so it’s good to hear that somebody’s looking forward to me coming back.”
And he isn’t getting any warmup fights as he looks to extend his eight fight winning streak. On the other side of the Octagon will be hard-hitting Jorge Rivera, whose last bout in January saw him take out Kendall Grove in just 80 seconds. Then again, the New England veteran was on the other side of that equation in 2007 against Terry Martin, making some wonder which Rivera will show up next weekend.
“I think he’s a real tough dude,” said Kampmann of Rivera. “I think his problem has been his inconsistency. Sometimes he’ll show up and he really isn’t there, and other times he’ll show up and he’s a different dude. He’s a game fighter and he comes to fight. I don’t know what guy’s gonna show up, but I’m preparing for the worst. If the easy guy shows up, it’s an easy win and that’s good for me (Laughs), but I’m prepared for that too.”
What fight fans should be prepared for is a potential war, especially considering the standup credentials of both fighters. Then again, Kampmann admits that he hasn’t been especially sharp with his standup game in his UFC.
“I don’t think my standup has looked good in any of my fights in the UFC so far, so I think I still have a lot to show in that area,” said Kampmann,
a former Danish Thai Boxing champion. “Maybe we’ll get to see that in this fight. My last two fights I got knocked down, so I think people might actually be underestimating my standup, which is good for me.”
And bad for his opponents, especially considering that he’s scored submission victories against two fighters known primarily as strikers (Wallace and McFedries), and was well rounded enough to nullify the ground game of a grappling wizard in Leites, who was dealt his first and only pro loss by Kampmann in their November 2006 bout. So if he’s able to do all this and he still hasn’t shown his best standup game, Kampmann is going to be a tough out for anyone in the division, including a man he studied extensively while on the sidelines – 185-pound champ Anderson Silva.
“Anderson showed that he is a tough dude,” said Kampmann. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I enjoy watching him fight. Of course, I might have to fight him myself someday, but until then, I enjoy watching him fight.”
He’s taking notes as well, something he’s always done and which he believes has enhanced his own game.
“I do it with all fighters I watch, no matter if it’s my division or lightweight or heavyweight,” he said. “I look at their strong points and weak points, and sometimes you’ll look at a move and be like ‘oh, that was cool, I want to try that in training.’ I always look at the fights to see what other fighters are doing.”
Saturday night, study time is over for Kampmann, and his year on the sidelines will be just a faint nightmare he has buried deep in the back of his mind. Now it’s time to pick up where he left off and get back to the business of being a professional fighter. To some, that may be a simple dream in a world where people beg for fame, riches, or power – or all three - but for Martin Kampmann, fighting and training is all he’s ever wanted, and he didn’t realize how bad he needed it until it was taken away from him.
“I want to show a good fight,” declares Kampmann with the words he’s wanted to say since last May. “I don’t think it’s gonna be one that goes the distance and I think the fans are gonna appreciate it. I want to make exciting fights.”
Source UFC.com
Tags: Martin Kampmann, UFC 85
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