Preview: Sylvia Defends Against Couture at UFC 68
Kampmann vs. McFedries
Mar 2, 2007
Martin
Kampmann (Pictures) vs. Drew McFedries
Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann is an engineering student from Aarhus, Denmark and trains in Las Vegas, Nevada. He began competing in boxing and Muay Thai kickboxing before taking up submission wrestling. Kampmann began fighting MMA five years ago and is 14-2 as a pro. "The Hitman" is the 2001 Danish Thaiboxing champion. He can grapple as well, placing first in the 2004 Fight Back submission wrestling tournament and winning a 170-pound grappling match at the Battle of the Vikings.
Kampmann took part in the 2004 M-1 Grand Prix, where he faced UFC
and PRIDE veteran Andrei
Semenov (Pictures). He sustained a cut and the bout
had to be stopped, giving Semenov the win, en route to his
eight-man tournament triumph.
Kampmann has not lost since that M-1 bout. He was a late replacement for Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures) in the WFA last July, where he stopped Edwin Aguilar (Pictures) with strikes in the first round, serving notice to middleweights that his crisp striking and aggressiveness make him a dangerous opponent.
Drew McFedries trains out of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp and brings a 5-1 record into his UFC debut. By his own admission, he is usually in the shadows and is always the guy who helps other fighters prepare for battle. McFedries quietly did his thing and compiled a solid record, returning to form even after a three-year absence from the sport to rehab from Crohn's Disease; he's a fighter on every level.
The Iowa native began fighting in 2001, suffering a decision loss to Nathan Quarry (Pictures). He would hand striker Claude Patrick (Pictures) his first pro loss, via decision, and go undefeated in 2003. McFedries returned to action last October and stepping up in his Octagon debut in November was just business as usual. His knockout of Alessio Sakara (Pictures) then propelled him into the UFC spotlight.
McFedries' wrestling is solid but his hands were a huge secret weapon going into the Sakara match. He spars on a regular basis with current UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and others at MFS, so his timing, accuracy and footwork rival that of many of the sport's top strikers.
McFedries has the ability to take the fight where it needs to go - a true Miletich fighter trait - without fear of being caught in a bad position or being dominated in an unfamiliar aspect of the game. It is that mindset, coupled with the huge heart of fighter who has come back from death's door, which makes him incredibly tough to beat.
He may be just another member of one of the most successful camps in all of MMA, but McFedries has shown the heart and ability to hang with anyone. Like McFedries, Kampmann has skills on the ground but the Dane is going to keep it standing whenever possible. That works in McFedries favor, because his quality of training partners and environment is superior to his opponent.
I think it will be competitive bout, with McFedries taking the win via submission.
Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann is an engineering student from Aarhus, Denmark and trains in Las Vegas, Nevada. He began competing in boxing and Muay Thai kickboxing before taking up submission wrestling. Kampmann began fighting MMA five years ago and is 14-2 as a pro. "The Hitman" is the 2001 Danish Thaiboxing champion. He can grapple as well, placing first in the 2004 Fight Back submission wrestling tournament and winning a 170-pound grappling match at the Battle of the Vikings.
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Kampmann has not lost since that M-1 bout. He was a late replacement for Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures) in the WFA last July, where he stopped Edwin Aguilar (Pictures) with strikes in the first round, serving notice to middleweights that his crisp striking and aggressiveness make him a dangerous opponent.
He debuted in the UFC a month later against Crafton Wallace (Pictures). Kampmann caught a kick and put
Wallace on his back, where he showed his ground skills and tapped
Wallace, with a rear-naked choke. His subsequent domination of
Thales Leites
(Pictures) in a unanimous decision
victory prompted the UFC brass to put him on pay-per-view.
Drew McFedries trains out of the Miletich Fighting Systems camp and brings a 5-1 record into his UFC debut. By his own admission, he is usually in the shadows and is always the guy who helps other fighters prepare for battle. McFedries quietly did his thing and compiled a solid record, returning to form even after a three-year absence from the sport to rehab from Crohn's Disease; he's a fighter on every level.
The Iowa native began fighting in 2001, suffering a decision loss to Nathan Quarry (Pictures). He would hand striker Claude Patrick (Pictures) his first pro loss, via decision, and go undefeated in 2003. McFedries returned to action last October and stepping up in his Octagon debut in November was just business as usual. His knockout of Alessio Sakara (Pictures) then propelled him into the UFC spotlight.
McFedries' wrestling is solid but his hands were a huge secret weapon going into the Sakara match. He spars on a regular basis with current UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and others at MFS, so his timing, accuracy and footwork rival that of many of the sport's top strikers.
McFedries has the ability to take the fight where it needs to go - a true Miletich fighter trait - without fear of being caught in a bad position or being dominated in an unfamiliar aspect of the game. It is that mindset, coupled with the huge heart of fighter who has come back from death's door, which makes him incredibly tough to beat.
He may be just another member of one of the most successful camps in all of MMA, but McFedries has shown the heart and ability to hang with anyone. Like McFedries, Kampmann has skills on the ground but the Dane is going to keep it standing whenever possible. That works in McFedries favor, because his quality of training partners and environment is superior to his opponent.
I think it will be competitive bout, with McFedries taking the win via submission.
