Alberto Crane: Sink or Swim

By Daniel S. Archuleta (Video by Greg Savage)
(Daniel_archuleta1@msn.com)

Fighters train their entire lives to make it to the big show. Once they arrive, their reward is to fight for their future in the sport.

For Alberto Crane (Pictures), the opportunity came last year when he debuted in the Octagon and lost to Roger Huerta (Pictures) via third-round TKO.

In the UFC you are only as good as your last fight. Crane believes that Wednesday in Las Vegas, against Kurt Pellegrino (Pictures), he will show how good he really is.

"I feel really prepared for this fight," Crane said. "I'm looking to win and I'm looking to win big. I'm looking for the fight of the night."

Crane (8-1) explained that his training has gone better for this fight due to the fact that he had more time to prepare.

"For my last fight, I only had six weeks to prepare for that fight," he said. "I wasn't really training MMA; I was training more grappling. I didn't really have that much time to prepare. That's not an excuse, but I've been training really hard since a couple weeks after that fight. I'm hoping to put on a show."

The New Mexico-based instructor knows that he is in a must-win situation.

"You know two losses in the UFC, [and] sometimes you aren't back in the UFC," Crane said. "It's sink or swim."

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Crane has competed in the biggest grappling and jiu-jitsu tournaments in the world, including the 2002 jiu-jitsu world championships, where he took home the gold. He displayed his world-class grappling skills against Huerta, but he acknowledges that he has also been working other parts of his game for his upcoming fight.

"I've been up here training with Team Quest here in Temecula, Calif., and I've been working a lot on my weaknesses -- my standup and my takedowns," Crane said. "I had a great camp."

Crane knows Pellegrino (10-3) well from various competitions. Such is the nature of the sport that friends may end up fighting.

"When I first found out I was fighting him, I was like, ‘I know Kurt, so it's going to be kind of awkward fighting him.' But that's the sport, you know?" Crane said. "I still think it's going to be a great fight. He's a tough guy."

Both have great skills on the ground, where they're at home. Crane doesn't see the fight taking place only on the mat, though.

"He's got really good takedowns, but we are going to mix it up a little bit," Crane said. "We are going to stand, and he is going to try and take me down. Eventually it will go to the ground, but honestly I think this fight is going to take place all over."

The resident of Santa Fe, N.M., wants to put on a show, and he is also hoping for a win that will catapult him into the mix of a tough 155-pound division.

"On paper it should go down as a war," Crane said. "I'm excited to have that. It really is going to be a war, and I see myself going out on top."

Asked if Pellegrino presented any stylistic problems, Crane thought not -- and then offered a prediction.

"I have a better jiu-jitsu game," he said. "I'll probably end up catching him in something if he gets tired."