THE CANADIAN PRESS
More than a few of us could take time management lessons from Brian (The Bandit) Cobb.
Cobb, 30, teaches high school math full time, is an assistant wrestling coach at Cal State Bakersfield and owns a sports bar. He is also studying online for his master’s degree in math.
Plus he trains and fights professionally in mixed martial arts.
"I’m pretty busy but the structure in my day makes life a little better," Cobb says matter-of-factly.
Cobb (18-6) is wearing his fighter hat this week, taking on lightweight Drew (Night Rider) Fickett in the co-main event of MFC 30 on Friday in Edmonton.
He had to fit the fight in on short notice.
Cobb fought May 20, submitting Radley Martinez in the second round on a California card for his third straight win. Two days late he got the call from the MFC, which was looking for an opponent for Fickett after cutting Hermes Franca in the wake of sexual assault charges in Oregon.
"I came off a great training camp and I was in great shape," Cobb said. "I didn’t take very much damage at all the last fight and I was basically able to throw two more hard weeks right on top of what I already did and just hopefully come out banging on Friday."
He said he didn’t think twice. A prime spot on a card televised by HDNet was too good to miss out on.
"I’m just trying to build my career more and more. I need to fight guys like Drew Fickett to put myself where I want to be. That kind of exposure on such a good card with such good coverage and media coverage is awesome."
Cobb is no stranger to being a late replacement.
He accepted an invitation to fight Terry Etim at UFC 95 on a week’s notice in February 2009. And that was eight time zones away in London with travel woes along the way.
Etim stopped him 10 seconds into the second round.
"I’m not going to blame the loss on my training or the travel or the short notice," Cobb said. "It just wasn’t my night that night."
Usually the UFC is appreciative of fighters who step in on short notice, offering them another chance. But Cobb says he asked to be released, rather than wait for a possible fight down the line.
"I’d rather fight a lot than not every often and I think right now I’m making comparable money as I would being at the bottom of the totem pole in the UFC trying to work my way up," he explained.
"So great moments are bred from great opportunities. That was a great opportunity. I realized where I was and where I needed to be. It really helped me turn the corner to improve and to get where I’m at right now. I’m grateful for that chance and I intend to be back in the UFC at some point. A win over Drew Fickett is definitely going to help that."
Fickett (41-13) is a cagey veteran who went 4-3 in the UFC between 2005 and 2007 with wins over Josh Neer, Josh Koscheck, Kurt Pellegrino and Keita Nakamura.
But his career took a nose dive, culminating in 2009 when he went 0-5
He attributes the downturn to personal problems — alcohol and a custody fight over his daughter. He was taking fights because he needed the money, without doing the necessary training.
He has since changed his life around. Fickett told a news conference Wednesday it has been six months eight days since he last took a drink.
He has won his last five include a 36-second submission of Matt Veach last time out at MFC 28.
"I know he’s a phenomenal grappler," Cobb said. "He’s got a lot of experience in the cage or in the ring. He’s no slouch, he’s beat a Who’s Who of guys and it’s definitely not going to be an easy fight.
"I’m excited to get in there and mix it up with him a bit. I think I have a combination of things that could pose a problem for him, that maybe other people don’t."
Cobb is a resilient fighter, with a strong faith.
He points to his 2010 split decision win in Japan over Kazunori Yokota as evidence.
Cobb got sick on the flight over, falling victim to some kind of 24-hour bug.
"Man I had no energy, couldn’t get out of bed the whole day before weigh-ins," he said. "They ended up sending a doctor up to look at me and give me some medication. I was just wiped out."
The illness made for a difficult weight cut, compounding his problems.
But Cobb answered the bell and won, learning something about himself in the process.
"I’m real proud of that win just because I felt like I really was able to turn a big corner mentally in that fight, pushing myself beyond my own limitations and trusting in my faith that God was going to pull me through and keep me healthy and bring me home safe to my wife. It was just a very profound experience the entire trip. I just felt very, very blessed despite being sick. I don’t know, I’m grateful for that experience, it definitely changed not the fighter who I am but the person that I am."
"I’ve learned I can go overseas and fight and win and be successful. I just have to keep a cool head about myself," he added.
How cool?
Upon his return to California, his drive home from the airport was blocked by a bad car crash that closed the highway.
"I turn my car off, I unroll my windows, I lean my seat back and I fell asleep right there in the middle of the freeway for about an hour and a half," he said. "And then I heard cars starting around me and I woke up and then finished the drive back home. That was a much needed hour and half of rest."
At five foot 11, Cobb normally walks around at 185 pounds but says the weight cut to 155 is no problem. In fact, he is considering a drop to featherweight (145 pounds).
Cobb’s role as barkeep intensified about a year and a half ago when he and his wife bought Sports & Spirits in Bakersfield where he had been tending bar for some seven or eight years.
"Great bar, great service, awesome karaoke saturday nights!" according to one Internet review.
"I don’t really drink but I have a lot of really, really good customers that are friends of me, good regulars," Cobb said. "It’s pretty much everything I expected it to be when I bought it.
"I’ve worked here for so long but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. it’s a lot of fun. It’s real cool, It’s nice to have my after-parties and so much support. Everyone’s coming down to the bar on Friday night to watch the fights on HDNet so everyone’s going to be here supporting me."
