Interview with Middleweight Title Fight Contender

Sam Ferguson

January 12th, 2012

Sam Ferguson wakes up and heads out to the gym. He trains and coaches, that’s all he does. He lives with two different Carlson Gracie fighters, and he spends his whole day at the Carlson Gracie gym. His life revolves around the cage, and that’s how the Champaign native wants it.

 

He came to Carlson Gracie after he lost his passion for football, and he’s taken to the camaraderie of the gym. He socializes with other fighters outside of training, and he rocks out at Alice Cooper and Hank III concerts with his coaches. Moving away from central Illinois has taken Ferguson out of his element, but the gym has been a respite for the young fighter, and the bonds he’s made from the gym have helped fuel his obsession for MMA.

 

 

Ferguson is on the main card for Invasion Aurora later this month, and we sat down with him to talk about life downstate, his fighting style, and his passion for MMA.

 

Describe your fighting style.

Carlson Gracie jiu-jitsu.

 

What have you been working on over the last year?

This is the first year that I was actually an MMA fighter. Before that I trained everything separately. I use to do only a few days of MMA training, and now I’m constantly in the cage working stuff that’s a lot more MMA specific than I was a year ago. So over the last year my emphasis has been working less on the individual nuts and bolts and more about putting the car together.

 

Where do you see yourself going in the next year? Have you mapped that out with your coaches or are you just trying to take it one fight at a time?

I’m always thinking about the long-term. I’m definitely going to fight pro eventually. The good thing for me is that I don’t have to do a whole lot of thinking. I’ve got three great coaches. They know what they’re doing with me. So based on my faith in Jeff (Neal), Jason (Sullins), especially Jason, and Lukasz (Banach). Jeff will tell me when I need to go pro. He knows that’s what I want to do.

 

What’s your intro music?

It changes every time, but I’m definitely coming out to country.

 

Who are your favorites?

Hank III is my boy. The first walkout song I came out to was “Working Man Blues” and the announcer was like, ‘I’m not sure who this is, but it’s very country.’

 

First pro fight, do you have any music you’re thinking about?

No. I don’t know. My first pro fight my mom will be there, she’s there for everything. So I’ll probably come out to something for her. She’s been there a lot for me.

 

What do you do when you’re not fighting? Do you still go to school?

No, I graduated. I got my degree in criminal justice last May. It’s paying big dividends for me right now. Laughs*

 

Do you miss it downstate?

Every motherfuckin’ day. I’m definitely not a Chicago guy at all. It takes me out of my element a little bit. I live in Plainfield right now, and it’s a beautiful area.

 

\What’s more your element? What do you do back home?

It’s a little slower paced. Mike Davis (Cut Throat promoter) thought I was a pothead because I seem so laid-back. Which, if you know me, is kind of funny because I’m usually pretty straight-laced. The craziest I get is shots of Wild Turkey.

 

What would be your coat of arms if you had one?

I have a Spartan tattoo on my back, so I’d probably have that in one corner of my shield. I’d have an ear of corn to represent central Illinois, and I’d have the Carlson Gracie bulldog in another corner.

 

You mentioned that you had a plan about your MMA future; do you think about how many fights you want to do this year? Do you want to pace yourself, or are you taking them as they come?

I’ve got a bad habit of not being able to say no to Jeff. I was in Texas and I hadn’t trained in probably like four or five days and Jeff calls me, ‘Hey, what’re you doing? Do you want to fight on the fourteenth?’ So I ended up having two days of training for that fight. I was definitely doing my water trick on the drive up from Texas. Which is definitely fun when you have to go to the bathroom every 45 minutes.

 

So MMA is clearly a passion for you.

I remember I was injured last year, and I couldn’t walk or go to class and stuff, it hurt too badly. And there were two days were I was loading up on ibuprofen and muscle relaxers, and I tried to walk in here normally but Jason kicked me out. So there were a couple days where I felt like I was going to chew my face off. So if I’m not in the gym then I feel depressed. I just can’t wait to choke people. Jiu-Jitsu is my heroin.

 

Sam will be fighting at Invasion Aurora against Ryan Kirwan on the January 27th for the Cut Throat 185lb belt.

 

story by Michael Claire-onlinesportfreaks