Issue 037

May 2008

2007 looked to be a promising year for Martin Kampmann – three straight wins in the UFC, scheduled to take on a former middleweight champ in Rich Franklin in the main event of UFC 72, and maybe one win shy of securing a title shot at 185lbs. But the 25-year-old Dane sustained a severe knee injury midway through the year that forced him into the sidelines and out of action for over a year. 

Text: Jatinder Dhoot

Main image: Courtesy Xtreme Couture

Kampmann has been in some tough bouts in the cage, but the 15-2-0 pugilist’s knee never experienced such a brutal blow as that particular training session. “I got it (the injury) training while sparring, a guy fell down on my leg and it hyper extended the wrong way,” says Kampmann. “I tore my LCL and my ACL and my meniscus was torn too, so pretty much my whole knee was fucked up.” A complete reconstruction of his knee was necessary, which forced Kampmann to withdraw from his battle with former middleweight title holder Rich Franklin. The surgery was an intricate one requiring cadaver tissue replacement. “I had cadaver tissue put in my ACL and also in my LCL,” explains the Danish fighter, now training out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. “They had to open up the knee so that’s the biggest part of the surgery.” Following that procedure, his meniscus also needed repair. 

Kampmann, who defeated Crafton Wallace, Thales Leites and Drew McFedries in the UFC in a span of six and a half months, was on quite a roll prior to the injury. As painful as the injury has been for Kampmann, having to sit out and watch the UFC as a spectator and not being able to step into the cage has been the hardest part. “It sucks man,” Kampmann states plainly, with disgust on missing out on a year’s worth of MMA competition. “It sucks to sit and watch the UFC, you want to be in there fighting – all the other guys you train with have fights and train hard and you want to be in there sweating and training with those guys too and be in the cage fighting as well.” 

The Xtreme Couture camp has been very supportive of Kampmann in his recovery process, which has been completed. Despite the long road to recovery, Kampmann admits there is still room for improvement. “I still feel it in my knee, I don’t know if it’s ever going to be as it was before,” says Kampmann. “It’s been better, but it’s been a long time and it’s been tough for sure.” Being away from the gym for a while has brought back the fire in Kampmann. “I’m back to Vegas, training hard, working hard every day,” he says. Jay Hieron, Mike Pyle, Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, as well as Randy Couture himself are amongst many of Kampmann’s training partners on a daily basis. 

Kampmann trains all aspects of the game with them, but the road from Denmark to America stems from his love of kickboxing. While competing in Muay Thai in Denmark, Kampmann was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. “I heard about this whole grappling thing and wanted to try it out and I liked it,” recalls Kampmann. “I got twisted up the first time but I came back and kept coming back and learned the stuff.” Kampmann fell in love with MMA and new he had to refine his grappling skills to complement his striking acumen. He’d travel to Sweden to get a chance to up his ground game. “I use to go to Sweden to train with August Wallen, who was from Shooters MMA,” recalls Kampmann, who credits him for imparting his ground fighting knowledge onto him. “I learned a lot of stuff from him.”

Some amateur and pro bouts in 2002 and 2003 Denmark and England allowed Kampmann to improve his game and put his name out there on the MMA scene. “I had a couple of amateur MMA fights and then took a pro MMA fight, and took it from there,” says Kampmann. He was gaining composure with experience, and his relaxed attitude on fight days caught the eye of an MMA journalist that led to the birth of his nickname ‘The Hitman’. “It came from a Danish MMA reporter who would report on my fights and thought I was cool in that I was not showing too much emotion and being professional when I was fighting,” recalls Kampmann. But Kampmann’s exploits weren’t heralded in the mainstream for Danish fans to relish in – the sport was and still is more of an underground athletic endeavour for those involved. “It’s still a very small sport back in Denmark, it’s not mainstream yet,”, he adds. “A lot of people still don’t know anything about it, they hear ‘Ultimate Fighting’ and they think you’re fighting a sumo wrestler to the death or something like that.” 

In the US, where the sport was picking up a lot of steam, Kampmann began to shine. Four wins in 2005, including one in King of the Cage, turned UFC matchmaker Joe Silva’s head in his direction. A couple of wins later in the ‘big show’ and Kampmann saw a real bright future for himself in the sport in America. “When I won my second fight I decided to try and do this full time,” he adds. And with a third win in the UFC Octagon, it’s been a heck of a ride for Kampmann. “It’s been a great experience for me fighting for the UFC,” says Kampmann. “Especially since I won all my fights, that makes it even better,” he adds with laughter.

The affable Dane, who has a mix of submission and KO wins on his resume, has a bright future at middleweight. His willingness to learn and seek out the best technique promises he’ll shoot up towards his potential in the next few years. “I just try and pick up as much as I can from everywhere,” says Kampmann, who has some highly skilled training partners to do so, but also makes trips to Marc Laimon’s school to further enhance his skill. Being able to critically analyse your performance is certainly key to growth in the sport, and Kampmann is armed with the skill, as well as a sense of humour to enjoy the process. When asked what he learned from his last fight against Drew McFedries, he replies, “Stop blocking punches with my chin.” 

Jokes aside, he’s looking to make an impact and have people take notice upon his return to the Octagon this year. Although Kampmann’s won three in the UFC, he still has a fairly low profile in Las Vegas, but looks to change that this year win some big wins. Things have been hectic for ‘The Hitman’, but he is close to getting back that focused feeling when he fights. “I’m usually very focused and try to be relaxed as well. Of course you’re always a little bit nervous before a fight but I try to be relaxed and focused at the task at hand.”

The task at hand now is to return to his winning ways. He’s fought off at big injury, and is now ready to fight off all foes at middleweight. “I’m very much excited, I can’t wait. I’m going to be happy to be back, I can’t wait.”