Issue 119

September 2014

Being able to mimic Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida can be a lucrative business in MMA, and as the sport continues to evolve fighters are finding new ways to pay the rent away from the bright lights and TV cameras

Three times BJ Penn has fought Frankie Edgar, and three times he’s taken a beating. On two of those occasions the UFC lightweight title was on the line, while all three – including their most recent matchup on the TUF 19 Finale in July – were all headline fights. On each occasion BJ and Frankie picked up six-figure pay checks along with a number of endorsements. Not bad for a sum total of nearly 65 minutes’ work.

Likewise, Junior Dos Santos was paid a total of $605,000 for his three fights with Cain Velasquez while contesting the UFC heavyweight title. And while he was successful only the first time around, their trilogy unlocked a profitable Nike sponsorship deal for the Brazilian among many other bonuses. Again, hugely beneficial encounters that totaled around an hour.

Fighting the biggest names in combat sports, not just MMA, is a lucrative business. If you climb the ladder high enough to get a shot at the champion then fame and riches generally follow. And they’re well deserved. After all, would you fight Velasquez for $50,000?

OK, what about $5,000? Or even $500? Or what if Cain simply offered to pay your travel costs, would you fight him then? Because, believe it or not, plenty of guys do. And plenty of athletes make a living out of sparring.

Being a professional sparring partner is nothing new in boxing, but it’s pretty new in MMA, although fast becoming a nice way to make a living rather than just an avenue to build up experience.

The days of simply exchanging with your teammates or gym buddies is growing old – at least at the very top – and today mixed martial artists the world over think nothing of traveling for training, or even being hired to mimic the style of a prospective opponent.

THE LIFE OF A SPARRING PARTNER

Sparring partners are no longer just the first guy to step up on the mat in training any given day. A coach may bring in a specific fighter for a plethora of reasons. They may have been brought in because they have a similar fighting style to a future opponent. 

Or it could be as simple as having the same body shape as the opponent, thus allowing a fighter to find range, distance and balance long before the opening bell rings for real.

For 8-1 UFC middleweight Luke Barnatt his early interactions with his TUF 17 coach Chael Sonnen, plus his six-foot-six frame helped prove to Sonnen and his coaches that they should fly the Brit to Oregon to become the main MMA sparring partner for Chael during his training camp for UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“People laugh and say the only reason I was picked by Chael from the very beginning on The Ultimate Fighter is because he knew I would be a very good guy to imitate Jon Jones. I’m not saying that I am Jon Jones, but I know I can imitate him quite well,” Barnatt explains to FO.

“I’ve certainly got the height to imitate his skills, although I don’t quite have the reach. I think he’s 84½ inches and I’m 79½ inches, but I can do the oblique kicks and all the other crazy things that he does. It makes sense that Chael would want to use me as a sparring partner.”

While Barnatt was hand-picked by Sonnen and his coaching staff to help prepare him for the skill-set the 205lb champion possesses, sometimes getting the gig of being a sparring partner can come from nowhere.

For 22-year-old Tom Breese, a former BAMMA British welterweight champion who recently signed to top European promotion Cage Warriors, a chance trip to the world-famous Tristar gym in Montreal resulted in him becoming the main sparring partner to former UFC welterweight champion Georges St Pierre.

“I went to Montreal for around two weeks just to have a cool experience and see what it was like over there, as I’d always been curious,” Breese reveals. “I went to stay at the Tristar dorms, and on the first day of sparring the coaches asked if there were any southpaws in the gym. I mentioned I was a southpaw and they put me in the ring to do some sparring rounds with GSP. 

“It was such an awesome experience and the sparring went really well. Then, pretty much straight after the sparring session, he asked me to stay for his whole camp. He moved me out of the dorms and put me in a hotel. I ended up being his main sparring partner for the whole Nick Diaz camp.”

IRON SHARPENS IRON

Although the main job of sparring partners is to help the fighter they’re training with, it doesn’t mean that they too can’t learn a thing or two along the way. Newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was scouted by Urijah Faber early on in his career to train at his Team Alpha Male gym in Sacramento, California, alongside the likes of Joseph Benavidez, Chad Mendes and Danny Castillo. 

By training there for years and being a sparring partner for some of the most elite lighter weight fighters on the planet, Dillashaw’s skills grew to the point that he became Faber’s main sparring partner for his two world title fights with former 135lb kingpin Renan Barao. 

Not only did the experience help push his abilities to where they are now, he also managed to gain an in-depth look into the style and skills of the then-champion too. Which helped when he beat Barao for himself in May for the belt.

“Being Faber’s main sparring partner did help out quite a lot during this fight as I’d watched Barao’s style of fighting quite a bit during those camps,” says Dillashaw, who in beating Barao put on one of the biggest upsets and best performances in UFC history.

“I got to see what he was bringing to the table. There were certain things that I wanted Urijah to do during his fight that he didn’t do, things that I thought would help him beat Barao. Those are the things I did. I had a game plan in my head and I stuck to it. Me and Duane (Ludwig) came up with something that we thought could beat him.”

According to Breese, who is 6-0 in a career that has spanned four years, getting to train with not only the greatest welterweight of all time but arguably the greatest fighter of all time, when he was just 21, has not only helped him push his skills to another level, it also helped him find a new gym. 

“In the eight weeks I spent out there in Montreal, I improved more than I ever did in my entire career,” he explains. “Wherever GSP was going to train I would be there training with him. For example, I would go to the Canadian wrestling club and work with those guys. John Danaher would come up to Montreal and bring five high-level black belts with him twice a week, and I’d be rolling with those guys. I even went to the track with him to do sprints. Every single bit of training he did I did too. I basically had a GSP fight camp of my own.

“Once I became his main sparring partner, I also had my accommodation paid for and I was given a weekly allowance which was also great. Now I consider Tristar to be the camp I do my training camps at so I’ll be going back there before my next fight.”

While St Pierre is one of the most well-liked MMA fighters in the world, a fighter many would jump at the chance to train with, some fighters have a ring persona that isn’t quite as friendly. Middleweight standout Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping has made his fair share of enemies throughout his time in the Octagon, and sometimes his public image can rub people up the wrong way.

So when former Strikeforce middleweight Lorenz Larkin was brought in to help Bisping prepare for his scrap with Vitor Belfort there were some reservations. However, those fears were quickly dashed once he was able to train with the Brit.

“I actually started working with Mike because someone at the gym I train at recommended me to him,” he recalls. “He wanted somebody fast in his camp who can put together combinations pretty quick and give him a good look at what he’d have to face because he knew Vitor was going to be fast. I think my speed was the biggest reason as to why he brought me in to spar with him. 

“After I met him and we were done with training I told him that when I’d arrived at the gym I’d thought he was going to be the biggest a**hole ever, but soon I realized he’s actually a really nice guy.

“It’s funny because all my friends thought he wasn’t cool and sometimes I’d take one of them with me to training and they’d come out thinking he’s their favorite fighter now. It’s unfortunate that people who don’t know him think that, but I guess it’s kind of better that way because when they do get to know him it’s a totally different experience.” 

He adds: “It was a really cool experience, man; it helped me out quite a bit. Just training with somebody who has been in this sport for as long as he has helps you out a lot. It ups your level as a fighter by training with him and doing different things. By me helping him out, it’s also helping me out.”

HORSES FOR COURSES

Although the landscape is changing in terms of fighters bringing in specific sparring partners for specific camps it doesn’t mean the idea is foolproof. After all, just because a sparring partner is there to imitate another fighter doesn’t mean the fighter they’re assisting will win.

And yet, conversely, it can make all the difference between failure and success. For example, Chris Weidman brought in UFC welterweight and kickboxing specialist Stephen Thompson for both his fights with Anderson Silva and his most recent clash with Lyoto Machida. And Barnatt believes Thompson was the perfect choice for a main sparring partner during Weidman’s camp.

“I think the best example of bringing in a sparring partner to help you prepare for a fight was when Chris Weidman brought in Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson for his fight with Lyoto Machida. Thompson, in my eyes, is the perfect training partner for that fight. Weidman trained with Thompson for the Anderson Silva fights too, and look how that turned out.”

Yet, fighters can have a fantastic camp and bring in the perfect people to help them overcome their opponent, but sometimes luck simply isn’t on their side. For Barnatt, training with Sonnen prior to his fight with Jones was a bittersweet experience as he had a great time, even though things didn’t quite work out as they’d

both hoped.

“It was a great experience for me. I lived and trained in Oregon and I visited the mean streets of Oregon. I idolized him and I still do to this day. He’s been one of the best fighters to compete in the UFC and he’s also one of the best personalities in the sport. And I got to train with him prior to his world title fight,” Barnatt says.

“However, the world title fight didn’t go great but there are reasons for that. Chael knows them and I know them, too. It’s just the way life goes sometimes. I look back at the my time there and I think it’s probably the best experience I’ve had so far in my career. It was fantastic.”

As fighters improve and their skill-sets and athleticism increase, more and more will look to move out of their comfort zone and bring in sparring partners who’ll be able to help prepare them for specific fights and opponents.

And for the guys making their way into the sport, and for some of the older ones perhaps heading towards the exit, the opportunity to train with a champion and improve their own skills and bank balance in the process is something no fighter can really pass up.

Five Notorious Sparring Partners

Cyrille Diabate = Anderson Silva

The long lengthy limbs and kickboxing strengths of French fighter Cyrille Diabate were part of the reason he was brought in by Dan Henderson for his title fight with the former middleweight champion, as the Frenchman was able to imitate ‘The Spider’s rangy Muay Thai style. 

Mark Munoz = Chael Sonnen

When you’re facing a strong American wrestler, who better is there to bring in than a man who defeated him in college? Anderson Silva brought in fellow middleweight wrestler Mark Munoz for his two epic fights with Chael Sonnen.

Gray Maynard = Chad Mendes

José Aldo has always been known for his great takedown defense, but when he had to face an accomplished wrestler in Chad Mendes he brought in former lightweight number-one contender and friend Gray Maynard

Cain Velasquez = Tito Ortiz

Before UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez became the 241lb wrecking machine we’ve all come to know, he was utilized by Lyoto Machida to imitate Tito Ortiz for their fight at UFC 84.

Nate Diaz = Paul Sass

When a fighter is facing someone like Paul Sass, a specialist in triangle chokes, it only makes sense to bring in another BJJ hotshot to help figure out how to defend against them. That’s why Danny Castillo and then-coach Duane Ludwig invited lightweight grappling whiz Nate Diaz into his training camp to make sure he was properly prepared for the Brit.

Luke Barnatt on being Jon Jones

Tale of the tape

Jon Jones – Luke Barnatt

27  Age  26

6’4” height 6’6”

84.5” reach 79.5”

20-1 record 8-1

Tale of the tape

Nick DIAZ – Tom BREESE

30  Age  22

6’0” height 6’3”

74” reach 80”

26-9 record 6-0

Tale of the tape

Renan Barao - TJ Dillashaw

27 - Age 28