THE CANADIAN PRESS
UFC president Dana White knows all about Mark Bocek’s jiu-jitsu skills. As a teenager, the would-be mixed martial arts fighter from Woodbridge, Ont., used to school White.
White and brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta took up jiu-jitsu around the time they bought the UFC in 2001. Bocek just happened to be in Las Vegas at the time, training with their instructor John Lewis.
"They were like three or four of them so he (Lewis) brought me along just to help out," recalled Bocek.
"He used to come in and smack us around, submit us every 13 seconds," White recalled. "And it’s good to see him in there fighting (in the UFC today). I’m so impressed with the way that kid fights, too. He’s got a ton of heart, he goes after it. He was a great kid then and he’s a great kid now."
Bocek was a purple belt back then. Now 26, he is a black belt and about to enter the cage for his third UFC fight. The Canadian lightweight faces off against Mac Danzig, winner of Season 6 of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show, at UFC 83 in Montreal on April 19.
Bocek isn’t much of a talker at the best of times, so he doesn’t say much about his link to the UFC at the highest levels. But he allows that White has always been good to him
"Dana’s very cool to me every time he sees me," he said.
Bocek (5-1 and 1-1 in the UFC) is coming off a decision over Doug Evans at UFC 79 in December, the same month that. Danzig (18-4-1) defeated Tommy Speer in the December finale of "The Ultimate Fighter."
Both fighters stand five foot eight and train in top camps: Bocek with Team Quest in Temiculah, Calif., and the 28-year-old Danzig at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Bocek, a decorated international jiu-jitsu competitor, also spent time training in Brazil after the Evans win, which followed a UFC debut loss to highly regarded Frankie (The Answer) Edgar at UFC 73 last July.
"That’s nothing to be ashamed of," White said of the Edgar defeat.
Bocek, for his part, says he feels more at home every time out.
"I was just more comfortable in there and a more experienced and a more skilled fighter," he said of the Evans bout. "Now I feel that again from the last fight — more confidence."
Danzig will be a handful, however. He has experience, working his way through smaller circuits until a brief stop at Pride and then the UFC, via the reality show.
"Mac Danzig is awesome," White said. "He’s a tough little kid, man. This guy goes after it. He is another one who’s mean and nasty and all business, serious about his career and about fighting."
Danzig showed his talent — and the size of his heart — in moving up a weight class to welterweight (170 pounds) in winning the show and beating the much bigger Speer. Danzig normally walks around at 170, cutting to 155 to fight at lightweight. He reckons Speer weighed 190 the night they met in the cage.
.Technique and experience won out over size as Danzig choked him out in two minutes and one second.
The strategy in this fight seems easy to predict. Danzig expects Bocek to try to take him down. Bocek says Danzig will want to keep the fight up.
"He’s going to stand and throw punches a little bit. He’s going to strike a little bit, I’m sure, but at the same time I know he’s looking to just set up takedowns," said Danzig. "And if he has the fight his way, he’ll be able to take me down, get my back and get a choke and finish the fight.
"That’s what he’s looking to do, he’s a jiu-jitsu guy. I’m ready for anything… My objective is to keep the fight standing where it’s a disadvantage to him."
Bocek’s assessment is simple: "He’s going to try and sprawl and brawl."
While Danzig has not gone through formal jiu-jitsu training, he knows what he’s doing when it comes to grappling. Nine of his wins have come through submission. Neither man has ever been submitted.
Away from the cage, Danzig relaxes via photography and just gave permission for one of his shots to be used on an album cover. His work, mostly nature and landscapes, can be seen at www.macdanzigphotography.com.
Bocek (www.markbocek.com) teaches jiu-jitsu.
