Issue 193

November 2020

Fresh from his victory over Herbert Burns, Daniel Pineda looks back at five of his favorite fights so far.

1. Johnny Bedford, SWC 7: Discountenance

Man, me and Johnny Bedford fought twice. He beat me once. I beat him once. I didn’t know jiu-jitsu at all. I was more of a ground and pound wrestler. I was just a freaking wrestler. It’s hilarious, the one I remember most is the one I lost. We were in such a war. The next thing I knew, I woke up. I asked what happened. I asked if I got knocked out. Everybody said I got put to sleep. No way! I don’t even remember being on the ground. That was one of my favorite fights.

2. Chas Skelly, SWC 8: Night of Rumble

That was back in the Dallas days. It was all of those small shows. If I remember right, I was killing Chas Skelly and then all of a sudden – kneebar. He got me with the kneebar twice. They are both good friends of mine. I train with both of those guys. They’ve come to our gym before. I didn’t know jiu-jitsu at the time. I was using ground and pound and the next thing you know I was in a kneebar. I was wondering what in the hell that was!

3. Ray Blodgett, Legacy FC 6

I was the 145 pound champion and I went up to 155 and that was nerve-wracking. Ray Blodgett was undefeated. He was huge. I went in there and I finished him off in two and a half minutes. It was quick. That is another one. Just think about it. You go up a weight class to fight an undefeated guy, who is way bigger than you and you get a finish like that. Wow! That was badass. It was actually elbows. I finished him the same way I finished Herbert Burns. It was ground and pound with elbows. It was just elbows, elbows, and elbows. Right after that, he came to our gym and we became really good friends and we trained together. It’s crazy. You fight these guys and then you become really good friends with them. 

4. Mike Brown, UFC 146

That is another one. Man, I was a huge fan of Mike Brown. Then to see him across the cage, staring into his eyes. I was really going to fight him! We went into a war. It’s crazy because I lost that one, too. It was a decision. I won two fights and then they [the UFC] put me in there with Mike Brown. I remember I was beating him in the first round. But he took me down at the end of the round and that is what cost me the fight. I tried to shoot in. He just judo threw my ass. I lost that fight myself. I rocked him in the first round. I threw a combo that I ended with a head kick and I rocked him. He was freaking strong. He is super strong and a nice guy, too. 

5. Diego Brandao, UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen

Do you know why I like this fight so much? He knocked everybody out and in our fight I made him shoot in on me. He started shooting in once we started brawling. He kept on taking me down. I couldn’t stop a freaking shot. I was hurt. I had hurt ankles. I was hurt really bad for that fight. Wrestling wasn’t my thing at the time. I was just there to throw down. We did. We threw down for three rounds. It should have been the Fight of the Night but we didn’t get that bonus.