Fighting a who’s who of MMA royalty and coming back from numerous crippling injuries, Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig discusses tenacity, longevity and getting the job done quickly.

Q: You infamously own the unofficial UFC record for fastest knockout against Jonathan Goutlet at UFC Fight Night 3. How did you get it?

Duane: “Ha ha, good times… It was with a straight right over his jab.

I made him drop his jab and it landed straight on his jaw. Even if it wasn’t me that was some cool s**t. There was a discrepancy though with the timing so that’s why it wasn’t official. I think what happened was that everybody was in such shock, including the timekeeper, he forgot to hit stop!”

Q: You’ve stated you’ve been doing Muay Thai as long as you can remember. When did you start training in general?

A: “I first started training Thai boxing when I was 15. I did that for about four years and from then on I learned MMA from basically watching DVDs and sparring. Then I was a boxer for a little bit and then I worked with my boxing coach Trevor Wittman from Grudge Training Center, Denver.”

Q: You’ve been a successful part-time fighter in the UFC for a number of years. When did you realize MMA was what you wanted to do for a living?

A: “It was only up until two years ago that I decided to go full-time. Before then I was an electrician back and forth between fighting and working.”

Do you advise being a part-time pro?

“I was lucky because I had natural talent and when I do train I always make sure to train hard and smart. The thing is, when you train you’re only able to do it for a maximum of four hours a day unless you’re in fight camp so you can definitely have a job and still train like a full-timer. For me, doing electrical work, I’d work out in the morning, go to work, do a run during lunch and then do a few hours in the evening.”

Q: Do you consider yourself a martial artist or a fighter?

A: “A martial artist for sure. A martial artist is always willing to be a student, evolve and pass on the knowledge.”

Q: Your career has been blighted by injuries. What’s been the worst?

A: “It was my last injury when I received a knee to the chest and cracked my sternum. It made it painful and near impossible to take a deep breath, turn, or pick anything up. I was very limited to what I could do. Even when I broke my leg I was still mobile on crutches and I could lift weights.”

Q: How was coming back from the infamous broken ankle and what advice do you give for getting over something like that mentally?

A: “I did all my rehab on my own and it worked out well. I was able to drill jiu-jitsu and lift weights and stuff like that. I spent a lot of my time with my family and had a lot of time to switch roles and coach and develop gameplans and techniques. On the mental side, fortunately I don’t really look into it too much. You just gotta try and focus on what you can do and not what you can’t do. My first fight back with Nick Osipczack, it wasn’t 100% and it still isn’t but I just do what I can with what I have. You just have to take other avenues to get in shape and use the parts of your body that work to the best of your ability.”

Q: What advice do you give guys wanting to get into MMA?

“My advice is to take things slowly. Learn how to wrestle and roll.

The most successful mixed martial artists are wrestlers. If I could go back I’d learn how to wrestle, then roll and then striking. Try and find good training partners. You gotta take things one step at a time. Now my goal when I go to the gym is simply to get tired and get a little better. That’s it and that’s all you need.”

What advice would you give regarding the business side of MMA?

“Find a manager that you can trust. Mine’s like a brother to me and he’s always made good decisions for me. Also, you need a manager where you’re always going to be able to see the contract and be involved in the negotiations if you choose to.

Then again, you can’t get too involved with it because you need to concentrate on yourself as an athlete. When I fought BJ Penn I hadn’t rolled for a year. I was just training Thai boxing. When they called me, my first question was, ‘How much?’ So it was definitely about money rather than a thought-out career decision, so you can be too smart for your own good for sure.”