With his UFC debut at 29 years old, many would think Carmont is past his prime, except GSP.
Originally from Paris, France, Francis (Limitless) Carmont (16-7) made the bold decision to leave the comforts of home and venture to the city of Montreal.
The brave move has paid dividends for the natural light heavyweight, who has officially reached the highest mountain available to mixed martial artists -- the UFC.
He is now set to make his middleweight and Octagon debut on Oct. 29 vs. Chris (Kamikaze) Camozzi (15-4) at UFC 137: St-Pierre vs. Condit.
It's been a long road for the lifelong martial artist, with an all-too-familiar name who triggered his decision to go from the gym to the cage.
"I've always wanted to do martial arts, especially contact martial arts," stated Carmont. "At a young age, I really enjoyed fencing and subsequently moved onto Pencak Silat. But in the early '90s, I saw Royce Gracie, a small guy winning fights so efficiently and it was like a lighting rod that hit me ... It struck me hard and was the catalyst that forged me forward into making fighting my career."
He spent a decade honing his skills, building his record in his home country, but there was something missing; there was untapped potential that only he and a few others believed needed to be honed. The time had come for Francis to pack his bags and head to the TriStar gym in Montreal to train with some of the world's best mixed martial artists, including UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
"I started my career 10 years ago in France, mainly in Thai Boxing competitions. I recently decided to move to Montreal to train with some of the world's best, and am very happy about making that decision. Georges is a very good athlete. He trains every day, something I did not always do in France. It has really opened my eyes to not just training hard, but training smart."
And this new way of preparing for fights, Carmont has not only achieved his dream of getting to the big show but removed his tendency to brawl, and instead, created a cerebral athlete similar to many who have trained under the watchful eye of TriStar founder Firas Zahabi.
"The people that will see me fight will see an athlete that not only comes to win, but to also finish his opponents. One thing I learned when I came to Montreal and began training with GSP, is that I now go into fights with a plan, and a specific strategy. This is what you will see from me. I plan to not only be explosive, but with a clear, sound strategy that will see me win consistently.
"To get to the UFC is everyone's dream. When you come from Europe, sometime it's harder as you may not have the recognition or eyeballs on you. What fighter does not dream of fighting in the UFC? It's everyone's dream and I'm now ready for the challenge."
At 29 years of age, many would think that time may be running out for Carmont to reach the pinnacle of the sport; but according to GSP, that's not necessarily the case.
"Francis is a new generation of fighter," stated St-Pierre. "If you've never heard of him, you will. He's very well rounded, a hard worker and puts forth a great image for the sport. I really believe he deserves this chance in the UFC, because he's ready to fight with the division's best. I can definitely see him going very far. He's ready. It's 'Go Time' for him."
Here's a look at the full card for UFC 137: St-Pierre vs Condit:
Main card
Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit
Welterweight bout: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Heavyweight bout: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione
Heavyweight bout: Mirko Filipovic vs. Roy Nelson
Featherweight bout: George Roop vs. Hatsu Hioki
Televised Preliminary card (on Rogers Sportsnet)
Lightweight bout: Dennis Siver vs. Donald Cerrone
Featherweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Bart Palaszewski
Preliminary card
Middleweight bout: Brad Tavares vs. Tim Credeur
Bantamweight bout: Scott Jorgensen vs. Jeff Curran
Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Eliot Marshall
Lightweight bout: Ramsey Nijem vs. Danny Downes
Middleweight bout: Francis Carmont vs. Chris Camozzi
