MONTREAL — In addition to providing in-depth analysis for Sportsnet at UFC 154, former No. 1 UFC welterweight contender Frank Trigg will be in the corner of co-main event fighter Martin Kampmann when he takes on Johny Hendricks.
Former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture was set to be in Kampmann’s corner, but a scheduling conflict forced Couture to cancel his trip to Montreal. The Danish welterweight, who trains out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, asked Trigg to help out on short notice and the 40-year-old obliged.
“I trained with Martin three days a week throughout this camp to get him ready; I’m a left-handed wrestler like Johny is so it just made sense,” Trigg told Sportsnet.ca Thursday.
Although Trigg does not have a great deal of experience as a cornerman, he is looking forward to the challenge.
“For me it’s going to be very exciting because it will only be the third time cornering anybody, but it will be the first time in a big show and he’s the co-main event so for me it’s pretty neat to be in that space.”
Watch UFC 154 preliminary fights on Sportsnet on Saturday starting at 8 p.m. ET plus an hour-long preview show at 7 p.m. ET. Also, catch live early prelims on Sportsnet.ca starting at 6 p.m. ET.
After being live on the air for Sportsnet during the early part of the night, Trigg will join former K-1 kickboxing star Ray Sefo and mixed martial artist Kyle Griffin in Kampmann’s corner and says he is going to keep it simple. After all, that’s the way he likes it when he fights.
“With this situation with Martin, I’m the third guy in the booth so my job is very limited — carry a bucket, be very quiet,” Trigg said. “I’m not a guy that likes hearing 14 different voices when I’m out there. I want him to have the two voices he’s used to hearing, which will be Ray and Kyle.
“Corners are very important now in the fight game, so the corners have to be dialed in just like the fighter has to be ready (but) both guys are so smart I don’t think the corners are going to be all that important because both guys are so action oriented.”
Trigg has been teammates with Kampmann at Xtreme Couture for years, but he also has a relationship with Hendricks and had even planned to do some training with him.
“I used to train Johny when he was a younger kid in wrestling and then I wanted to go down and help Team Takedown (Hendricks’ team) as far as training goes, but it just didn’t work out.”
The winner of Kampmann-Hendricks could potentially earn a title shot and Trigg says this bout could end up stealing the show.
“This is going to be Fight of the Night in my opinion. This is going to be the best fight on the night … I don’t anticipate a finish; I anticipate sweating and having a lot of anxiety sitting in that corner for the entire fight.”
NOTES: There are a couple other Trigg connections on the UFC 154 card. Exactly 100 numbered events ago, he fought Georges St-Pierre, who of course meets Carlos Condit to unify the welterweight titles in Saturday’s main event. The relative newcomer St-Pierre submitted Trigg at that UFC 54 show in Vegas. The next year, GSP would become welterweight champion for the first time, while Trigg would go on to get submitted again two fights later… by Condit.