Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann Exclusive Interview

Originally posted on the theMMAfiend.com

Martin Kampmann (14-2, 5-1 UFC) burst onto the UFC scene back in 2006 as a late replacement against Crafton Wallace at UFC Fight Night 6. Though he took the fight on short notice, the former Cage Warriors Middleweight champion (2005), FB-Submission Wrestling Tournament Champ +77 kg class (2004), Battle of the Vikings Thai Boxing Superfight Champ (2004), and Danish Thai Boxing Champion(2001) finished the fight within the first round by submission.

Following his successful debut Martin put the UFC Middleweight division on notice, defeating current challenger to the belt Thales Leites by unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale, and submitting heavy-handed Drew McFedries via arm triangle in the first round after a back and forth battle at UFC 68. Martin’s career hit a speed bump, however, when he was forced to pull out of a scheduled headlining fight against former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin at UFC 72. Following a rehabilitation period that had him sitting on the sidelines for over a year, Martin returned at UFC 85, submitting veteran Jorge Rivera by guillotine choke - another submission win in the first round.

But after tough set back to Nate Marquardt at UFC 88, Kampmann decided to drop from the Middleweight division to fight as a Welterweight. No longer would he be one of the smaller guys in the division; at 170, he is huge. He successfully made his Welterweight debut with a dominant TKO victory over Alexandre Barros at UFC 95, and now that he has found his home in the stacked division, he is ready to make a statement.

Martin will have his chance at the upcoming Ultimate Fight Night 18 on April 1st as he welcomes Carlos Condit, who was the WEC WW champ before the organization folded the division into the UFC a few months ago.

We recently caught up with Martin and talked with him about his upcoming fight with Condit as well as how he deals with pressure, what he does for fun when he’s not training like a madman at Xtreme Couture, his opinion on the upcoming super fight between Champion Georges St-Pierre and Thiago Alves, and much more.

The MMA Fiend: Alright, I’ll just get right into it. You mentioned that -

Martin Kampmann: It’s not radio, right?

No, it’s not radio.

Cuz I’m almost done with my burrito here, so I hope you don’t mind if I’m finishing it up.

No, man, go ahead, enjoy. How is your training going for your upcoming fight?

Good, man. I went sparring today, and it’s going down really good.

Without giving away your gameplan, how are you approaching this fight with Condit?

I’m just looking at what he’s good at. He’s got dangerous submissions from the ground, and he’s got dangerous knees in the clinch. And he’s got long, lanky arms and dangerous stand-up. He’s got a long reach. So that’s pretty much what I am trying to work on, you know, to come up with a plan to put him away.


This is your second fight at 170, are you comfortable making the weight now? Is it pretty easy for you?

Yeah, no problem at all, it’s very easy.

************

(laughs) Awesome. Before we go, do you have any sponsors you’d like to thank?

Thanks to Hitman Fight Gear, they give me some cool stuff to wear. Thanks to Xtreme Couture for giving me a cool place to train, and thanks to MMA Agents (mmaagents.com).

Alright, Martin, I appreciate the interview.

Thanks for having me.

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