Veteran Wiuff Expects Big Performance Against Nakamura
Mike Sloan Feb 19, 2007
Travis Wiuff (Pictures) has seen it all. The veteran has
fought across the globe for virtually every promotion under the
sun. Splitting time at heavyweight and light heavyweight, Wiuff has
more ring experience than most MMA superstars while suffering just
a handful of losses. The Minnesotan is also an engaging guy who
happens to be a pretty darn good fighter.
Yet hardly anybody knows who he is. A win on Saturday night could change that.
Wiuff is scheduled to square off against rugged Japanese fighter
Kazuhiro Nakamura
(Pictures) on the PRIDE card in Las
Vegas. The fight will be one of the several televised fights on the
Japanese promotion’s second Stateside show, and to say that Wiuff
is excited would be an understatement.
"I can't wait for this fight," Wiuff told Sherdog.com. "Nakamura is a tough fighter without a doubt. He's fought some of the best guys out there and he's beaten plenty of really good, tough fighters. In reality, Nakamura has only lost to the best guys, the elite guys. He's lost to premiere fighters like (Dan) Henderson, Wanderlei (Silva), Josh Barnett (Pictures); those type of fighters. I expect him to be very difficult for that reason and because he's fought on the biggest stage several times."
"I expect this to be one hell of a fight," he proclaimed. "The fans should really enjoy the fight because I'm going to do everything in my power to win and I fully expect Nakamura to do the same. I am not going to train all this time for nothing, you know? He's got awesome judo and I know how to fight judo. I will give it my all and I expect to win. This fight between Nakamura and me, it might be the fight of the night. I promise to everybody who will watch that this will be really exciting. I know it will be because I won't stop fighting until my hand is raised. What's great is that Nakamura is the same way. There's no way this fight won't be super exciting."
One would think PRIDE hopes for the type of battle that Wiuff is predicting. It's also logical to suggest that Wiuff has been brought in to be more or less an opponent for Nakamura, a man designed to make the Japanese tough guy look like a world beater. And while Wiuff senses that same sort of atmosphere around the PRIDE ring, he is undaunted and fully understands why.
And, to put it bluntly, Wiuff doesn't care. He understands the business aspect of the promotion and said that he can't complain because of how well the company from the Land of the Rising Sun has treated him.
"Up to this point, PRIDE has easily been the best organization I have ever fought for," he revealed. "I recently had a few fights in the IFL and at that point, the IFL was by far the greatest organization in terms of how I was treated. The IFL paid me well, they took care of me, and respected me a great deal. They did everything possible for me and I didn't think any other organization would top them until now. I am blown away by how professional PRIDE is. I've never expected this. Sure they pay very, very well, but the way the company has treated me has been mind-blowing. I have fought for a lot of organizations and quite a few top organizations, but nobody comes close to PRIDE.
"However, I do feel that PRIDE has brought me in to be a showcase fighter for Nakamura. It's no secret, really, because they have a few of the best Japanese fighters on the card and they are fighting Americans. It's not that they are being disrespectful by any means, but I do feel as though I'm being brought in as a showcase fighter for Nakamura. It's OK, though, because the more people who think I'll lose the better it is. I love being the underdog."
Training one's butt off is all part of being a professional fighter, but when someone knows that he's the underdog and not many people give him a chance of victory, training that much harder makes the prize that much greater.
Wiuff freely states that he's never had a training camp as rewarding as the one he currently is wrapping up, and if that's an indication as to how well he'll perform inside the Thomas and Mack Center on Feb. 24 then that doesn't bode well for the durable Nakamura.
"I have been training very hard, harder than I probably ever have before in my entire career," Wiuff said. "Everything has been going well and I have never felt better. I know it sounds cliché but I truly haven't felt better. Fighting on such a big stage is a dream come true and there is no way that I'd not come in 110 percent. Especially fighting a guy like Nakamura and in front of all those people, I have been training super hard."
Wiuff chuckles at the thought of being a huge crowd favorite even though the vast majority of those in attendance might not know who he is. "Not many people do know who I am, but after Saturday night they will," he declared.
"It's funny but even though I am the underdog going in and I am not known by everybody I will probably have the advantage because the crowd in Vegas will be cheering for me because he's from Japan,” Wiuff said. “It will probably make me fight even harder because I'll have the support of the crowd. Well, at least I should have the support of the crowd, even though I'm not exactly a household name. It's funny how that works and hopefully it'll help me be victorious."
Yet hardly anybody knows who he is. A win on Saturday night could change that.
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"I can't wait for this fight," Wiuff told Sherdog.com. "Nakamura is a tough fighter without a doubt. He's fought some of the best guys out there and he's beaten plenty of really good, tough fighters. In reality, Nakamura has only lost to the best guys, the elite guys. He's lost to premiere fighters like (Dan) Henderson, Wanderlei (Silva), Josh Barnett (Pictures); those type of fighters. I expect him to be very difficult for that reason and because he's fought on the biggest stage several times."
Though Wiuff and Nakamura fail to possess the sort of bandwagon or
legion of fans that guys like Tito Ortiz (Pictures) or Matt Hughes (Pictures) enjoy here in the States, it's a
fight that people shouldn't miss. Both men are about as tough as
they come and the skirmish should be hotly contested. At least
that's what Wiuff expects from his judoka opponent.
"I expect this to be one hell of a fight," he proclaimed. "The fans should really enjoy the fight because I'm going to do everything in my power to win and I fully expect Nakamura to do the same. I am not going to train all this time for nothing, you know? He's got awesome judo and I know how to fight judo. I will give it my all and I expect to win. This fight between Nakamura and me, it might be the fight of the night. I promise to everybody who will watch that this will be really exciting. I know it will be because I won't stop fighting until my hand is raised. What's great is that Nakamura is the same way. There's no way this fight won't be super exciting."
One would think PRIDE hopes for the type of battle that Wiuff is predicting. It's also logical to suggest that Wiuff has been brought in to be more or less an opponent for Nakamura, a man designed to make the Japanese tough guy look like a world beater. And while Wiuff senses that same sort of atmosphere around the PRIDE ring, he is undaunted and fully understands why.
And, to put it bluntly, Wiuff doesn't care. He understands the business aspect of the promotion and said that he can't complain because of how well the company from the Land of the Rising Sun has treated him.
"Up to this point, PRIDE has easily been the best organization I have ever fought for," he revealed. "I recently had a few fights in the IFL and at that point, the IFL was by far the greatest organization in terms of how I was treated. The IFL paid me well, they took care of me, and respected me a great deal. They did everything possible for me and I didn't think any other organization would top them until now. I am blown away by how professional PRIDE is. I've never expected this. Sure they pay very, very well, but the way the company has treated me has been mind-blowing. I have fought for a lot of organizations and quite a few top organizations, but nobody comes close to PRIDE.
"However, I do feel that PRIDE has brought me in to be a showcase fighter for Nakamura. It's no secret, really, because they have a few of the best Japanese fighters on the card and they are fighting Americans. It's not that they are being disrespectful by any means, but I do feel as though I'm being brought in as a showcase fighter for Nakamura. It's OK, though, because the more people who think I'll lose the better it is. I love being the underdog."
Training one's butt off is all part of being a professional fighter, but when someone knows that he's the underdog and not many people give him a chance of victory, training that much harder makes the prize that much greater.
Wiuff freely states that he's never had a training camp as rewarding as the one he currently is wrapping up, and if that's an indication as to how well he'll perform inside the Thomas and Mack Center on Feb. 24 then that doesn't bode well for the durable Nakamura.
"I have been training very hard, harder than I probably ever have before in my entire career," Wiuff said. "Everything has been going well and I have never felt better. I know it sounds cliché but I truly haven't felt better. Fighting on such a big stage is a dream come true and there is no way that I'd not come in 110 percent. Especially fighting a guy like Nakamura and in front of all those people, I have been training super hard."
Wiuff chuckles at the thought of being a huge crowd favorite even though the vast majority of those in attendance might not know who he is. "Not many people do know who I am, but after Saturday night they will," he declared.
"It's funny but even though I am the underdog going in and I am not known by everybody I will probably have the advantage because the crowd in Vegas will be cheering for me because he's from Japan,” Wiuff said. “It will probably make me fight even harder because I'll have the support of the crowd. Well, at least I should have the support of the crowd, even though I'm not exactly a household name. It's funny how that works and hopefully it'll help me be victorious."
