Issue 103
July 2013
From young kickboxing sensation to one of MMA’s hottest coaches, how did UFC welterweight Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig renew the fortunes of one of MMA’s most promising fight teams?
As he walks up and down the mats, knee brace tightly strapped up, barking orders at his students, UFC welterweight Duane Ludwig looks to be in his element. It’s a far cry from his situation 10 months ago, when an injury sustained during his fight with Che Mills at UFC on Fuel TV in Nottingham, UK, left him with a complete ACL tear that seemingly put an end to his fighting career.
LEADING MAN
Team Alpha Male head coach
It was a situation that left Ludwig heartbroken and disheartened, and with such a devastating injury taking him out of action since that fateful night, Ludwig admits that things got scary financially. However, an out-of-the-blue phone call from former WEC featherweight champion and current UFC bantamweight Urijah Faber yielded an offer Ludwig simply couldn’t refuse.
“Urijah texted me one night and said, ‘Hey Duane, is this still your number?’ and I texted him back to say yes,” reveals Ludwig, as he sips on his beloved Bulletproof coffee. “He rang me and we spoke at length about me becoming the head trainer of Team Alpha Male.
“He brought my wife and me out for a little seminar just to see if we connected well with everyone, and to see if it’s what we were both looking for. It was kind of like a first date. I ran a free seminar for them over the weekend and it felt like a pretty good fit.
“We went back and forth over some details and we’re still working on a few details, but overall it seems to have worked out pretty well.”
In his typically modest way, Ludwig downplays the quick success he’s helped bring to Team Alpha Male since Faber convinced him and his family to move to Sacramento. However, what Ludwig has done since he’s taken over the reins is impressive to say the least: his team is currently undefeated in the Octagon this year, with seven victories in the first six months of 2013 already.
But it hasn’t been a huge overhaul of the system, according to Ludwig, and he claims he had no intentions of changing too much because the team was already so successful.
“The first week I was there I didn’t run any of the classes, I just sat back and watched how things were operating,” he says. “I didn’t want to change too many things, I just wanted to add to it and tweak some things.
“When I watched the classes I thought they needed more structure, detail and needed to slow things down. I wanted to make sure we slowed things down so all the athletes knew what was going on.”
But as well as bringing in his own training philosophies, Duane also took into account the psychological issues that a change in head coach can throw up. As he admits, it’s normal for human beings not to want, or in some cases be able, to adapt to change.
However, Ludwig insists he has nothing but praise for his fighters and his arrival had been well received judging by the level of respect they’ve shown him since he became head coach.
“Something happens in the mind, especially when one individual gives another individual some information that they didn’t know,” he explains. “They kind of look up to them in some way. There’s a bit more respect and instantly you know that this guy knows his s**t.
“So when I’m in the gym and I’m explaining techniques, combinations, scenarios and the way things should work and shouldn’t work, if I can break down every aspect, including the ones they may not have seen, that just builds a bit more trust and respect for me.
“It’s about give and take because I respect them and they respect me, which keeps us all grounded. But it also comes from the way I carry myself in leading by example.”
Even though there are some of the best fighters in the world at the gym, the fact there isn’t a UFC title taking pride of place on a mantelpiece somewhere sticks out like a sore thumb. In fact, in the last eight title bouts within the UFC and WEC, none of the Team Alpha Male members have managed to gain a belt. It’s something Duane is aware of and is determined to rectify.
He explains: “When Urijah Faber adds or fixes three things to his arsenal, he’s going to be wearing the belt. When Chad Mendes fixes two things he’s going to be wearing the belt. Chad should actually be wearing the belt right now, if José Aldo hadn’t grabbed the cage for that takedown he’d be wearing that belt right now; I think that’s one of the main things that helped turn the fight around.
“However, Chad has two things that he needs to add to his arsenal before I could be 100% comfortable putting him in the cage for that belt.
“Joseph Benavidez has one thing to fix, one f**king detail to fix and that’s just crazy. If he fixes one thing he’s going to be wearing the belt.”
He adds: “It’s only one thing and it’s an easy fix which is hard to understand. If he fixes that one f**king thing he’s going to be the champion in the best f**king organization in the world. That’s a mind-f**king-blowing thing to me and he knows what it is.
“Faber will not win the belt unless he fixes three things and when he fixes those three things he also will be wearing the belt. It’s just small, f**king details, and when they’re fixed they’ll be champions. Once they fix those things they’ll be the baddest motherf**kers in their division. Can you tell how excited I am about this?”
We most certainly can.
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