(Kampmann tangled with Nate Marquardt in his last fight at middleweight.)
Danish mixed marital artist Martin “Hitman” Kampmann was one fight away from a title shot when Mike Swick dropped out of their title eliminator bout, making away for Paul Daley to step in and TKO Kampmann.
“I was getting close there but I kind of took a step back in my last fight,” said Kampmann. “A couple more fights, really, its up to the UFC [and] I want people to say I deserve a shot too. Right now I just got to bounce back from my loss. I’ll take this fight, hopefully win this and win some more fights.”
With his opportunity taken from him, the tight-lipped Xtreme Couture fighter has machine-like focus after his first welterweight loss, only his second in eight UFC bouts. The first step on the road back to contention is to dispose of Minnesota Martial Arts Academy representative Jacob Volkmann—a late replacement for Rory Markham, one of a dozen fighters scratched from the card due to injury.
“Two different guys you know? Markham is primarily a striker and Volkmann is a lefty. In that sense, it’s changed up a lot,” said Kampmann. “I’m prepared for whatever. I’m ready for the challenge.”
Challenges are something the Dane welcomes. His easy weight cuts to hit the 170-pound limit mean he can add more muscle to his frame. A middleweight until a TKO defeat at the hands of Nate Marquardt, Kampmann doesn’t rule out more 185-pound fights in his future. But first he may need to settle accounts with the man he was meant to fight in the contender bout.
“I absolutely would love to fight [Swick],” said the 27-year-old. “He fucked up in his fight too. We can fight. I’ll still fight him. It’ll be a good fight and maybe some of the fans would still like to see that.”
Kampmann takes no solace in his successful welterweight debut versus Alexandre Barros and a “Fight of the Year”-caliber thriller against Carlos Condit. He values the loss more and it’s motivating him in the new year.
“I hate losing so I’m very unhappy about that loss to Daley. I think I should have done better. I should have won that fight,” said Kampmann. “I made mistakes and stuff like that, but I guess I can’t complain too much overall. Still, I’m not satisfied. I want to win all my fights.”
Kampmann spoke with Fox Sports’ Inside the Cage on Reno, Nevada’s 1450 AM, hosted by Greg Delong with co-host Danny Acosta.
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