Issue 051
June 2009
Spencer ‘King’ Fisher is one of the most exciting fighters you will find at 155lb. Win, lose or draw, he enters the Octagon with a furious passion and ready and willing to throw bombs, snap on submissions and fight his heart out.
Emotional, dynamic, hard working and highly skilled, Fisher leaves it all in the cage and has won the hearts of thousands of fans worldwide for his style of fighting. The next thing he’d love to win is the lightweight crown. He lets us know how he intends to work his way back up the ladder to contender status.
What are your thoughts on fighting Caol Uno?
He will be my toughest fight to date. The guy has fought the who’s who of everybody out there – he’s won a lot and lost a lot of fights but they were the best guys out there. I expect him to want to prove himself that he belongs in the UFC’s lightweight division. I think he’s a great competitor, like I said he’ll be my toughest fight to date, but saying that also I don’t think he’ll want to stand and will try and take me down, that’s what I expect. But unlike the other guys in the division he tries to finish people once he takes you down, so he won’t lay on me like some of the other guys do.
What did you learn from your last fight with Frankie Edgar?
That my wrestling sucks! [Laughs] Well, just you can’t leave it in the hands of the judges; and I was losing that fight, and no fault other than myself. But in my view, I don’t mind somebody taking me down but they should look to finish the fight. In this fight coming up with Uno I’m sure he’ll be looking to finish the fight and I’m excited about that.
You’re always looking to finish fights? You’re never going for a decision?
When I fight I go out there and leave it all in the ring every time I fight, that way you’ll always remember, “That was a Spencer Fisher fight”. I want people to feel like they get their money’s worth, win or lose. I want them to see me fight again.
You fight with a lot of passion, energy and excitement. Do you consider yourself an emotional fighter?
Oh everybody who knows me will tell you I fight with too much emotion, I think that’s why I get taken down so much. But I’m really good at not taking damage on the bottom and when I get back up I’m usually in good enough shape that I wear the other person out.
Do you ever feel like sometimes your not there 100% mentally for a fight?
Well, my wife would tell you for sure I have lulls, I’m sure everybody else does too – sometimes you’re up and you peak out and sometimes you don’t. You’ve just got to find those things get you motivated to train hard.
What motivates you?
I have a family, and kids are expensive.
Do you get recognized in the streets and what do they say?
A lot of people recognize me but the thing I hear the most is, “You look taller on TV”. [Laughs]
What’s your mindset before a fight?
I’m my own worst critic, before I walk out, I’m really nervous. If somebody would take me and the person I had to fight and put us in a room and say “Go for it”, I could fight anybody all day long, doesn’t matter who it is. But to tell me I’ve got to go fight in front of my friends and family and the people who believe and trust in me, that’s what’s hard. To walk out in front of a thousand people and a lot of people you love and who love you, they want you to go out there and do well, for me it’s very nerve-wrecking.
Right before you fight you seem quite excited, you’ve got a big smile on your face. Is that nervous energy getting out or are you just really happy to be there?
Well, this is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, the thing I’m most passionate about. I’m from a small town and when I told people that I was going to do this they kind of laughed it off, and now that I’m living my dream it’s just a great accomplishment for me to go out there in front of millions of people seeing me and have my home town know who I am, it feels really good. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
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