The Ultimate Fighter

MMA Sport issue 10 interview exclusive with Mac Danzig

Stars like Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Joe Stevenson and Keith Jardine came from The Ultimate Fighter reality show and now you can add one more...Mac Danzig. We caught up with The Ultimate Fighter 6 winner.

Mmasports: Congratulations on winning The Ultimate Fighter season 6, how has life changed for you since the show?
Mac: I guess the biggest change has been all the media attention... I get recognized in public all the time. I'm not really into all that, so it's taken me by surprise, but it's great to see and meet the fans on a regular basis. I love them. A lot of the fans are really cool people.

Mmasports: What was the hardest thing about living in the TUF house?
Mac: Just the overall lack of freedom. It was hard not being able to leave the house and being stuck around people who I really didn't get along with. Many times I just wanted to take a walk outside, but if you left the property, you'd get kicked off. Another hard thing was not being able to communicate with my family. I spent a lot of time worrying about whether or not everything was ok back home.

Mmasports: Who was the most annoying person and why?
Mac: To me, probably Richie. He and I just had completely different personalities and I wasn't into his vibe. A lot of the other guys couldn't stand him either, but I was the only one who really voiced my opinion... It's all good now, though.

Mmasports: Were you content about the way you came across on the screen?
Mac: Not really. But at the same time, it could have been a lot worse. At this point, I'm not really worried about what people think of me. I know who I am. My true friends and family know as well, and that's all that matters. That being said, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from the fans, which feels really good.

Mmasports: Would you do the experience again?
Mac: Absolutely not. The only way I'd do "The Ultimate Fighter" again would be as a coach.

Mmasports: What have you been doing since your victory over Tommy Speer?
Mac: Just relaxing and taking care of some personal family stuff. I'm planning on taking some trips next month if I have the time.

Mmasports: What does Mac Danzig do for fun?
Mac: I'm really into photography and nature. I like to get out of the city whenever I can and enjoy the wilderness. Road trips are a lot of fun. I'm also into independent films and music.

Mmasports: You won the competition at the welterweight division, you've elected to move down to lightweight now?
Mac: I've always been a lightweight fighter. That's the weight class I've fought most of my career in. I never had any intentions of staying at welterweight past the show. Those guys are too big for me.

MAC BREAKS DOWN EACH TUF 6 FIGHT
Joey Scarola: This fight was the very first fight on the show and happened just 4 days into the whole experience. I didn't have much nervousness going in because once Hughes asked me to fight first, I figured 'Hey, this is what I'm here for, let's do it.' I had seen Joey spar in the evaluations and I wasn't sweating his stand-up. I figured I'd knock him out, but like most guys, he shot-in on me and once we got to the ground, I knew I'd do well there too. There is a huge difference in effective grappling for MMA and sport-style BJJ. Joey didn't like the strikes on the ground and that's what set up the triangle choke.

John Kolosci: I was confident going in. John's style played right into my hands. My biggest strength is countering someone who's just looking for takedowns. This was one of those fights where I never worried about my cardio, or had any thoughts during the fight other than technique and the task at hand. That's a good feeling, and the fight went flawlessly.

John Kolosci 2: I was more nervous for this fight than any other fight in my career. It actually took place on the very last day of the show's taping. Every single minute of the six weeks, all you can think about is going home, but the four semi-finalists couldn't relax until the very last day, because the biggest fight of our lives was happening right then. I also didn't want to lose to someone I just beat in convincing fashion a couple weeks earlier. All the stresses of the show cumulated into that one morning and I think it really showed during the fight. I was very cautious not to get caught with any of his wild strikes. I really thought the fight sucked and I wasn't happy with it while it was happening but I did what I had to do to secure a win. I felt I had him beat mentally, as was the case with Joey and then Tommy in the finals.

Tommy Speer: Having the benefit of training with Tommy for six weeks with Team Hughes, I knew his biggest weakness was being on his back. I really felt that I could beat him in any area of the fight, but if I got a takedown, it would be over quick. All the talk he did about how much stronger he supposedly was than me and how he was going to overpower me never came to fruition. I think Tommy has a lot to learn about fighting in general. I always thought that we were friends but I guess he never liked me, or at least he convinced himself that he didn't like me to motivate himself for the fight. That doesn't make much sense to me. I never like to have any ill feelings towards the person I fight. That's bad energy you don't need. He wouldn't shake hands with me or say 'hi' the week of the fight, even though we had been roommates for six weeks. He had this whole "tough guy" routine. I think he's just immature. Whatever his problem is, it kinda pissed me off, and I brought a little bit of that anger into the fight. All the strength in the world won't help you if you don't have the technique to back it up. The fight went just the way I planned and it was a huge relief to put an end to that chapter of my life.

Mmasports: You've been around for a while; it's been a long road for you, just how tough was it to get here? Were there times when you wanted to give your MMA career up?
Mac: Yes, there were many times that I considered leaving MMA. I got to the point where I could barely survive working a part time job and training full time. It's rough enough to be a fighter for a long time, but when you're broke for years and years, it's hard to keep the love sometimes. There are some organizations out there that aren't good for the sport. They will pay fighters garbage and expect everything in return. I got stuck in a contract with one of those organizations and I paid for it. I think it's all a part of the journey and you have to take the good with the bad. I've been at the lowest point with MMA and I think that's a valuable thing to go through. I think it gives me the advantage of not taking my current success for granted.

Mmasports: Tell us a little bit about the journey you've taken to get to this point?
Mac: I've always been the type of person who dedicates themselves completely to one goal. Whenever there was something I felt passionate about, it consumed me. Fighting became my passion after the first 6 months of training and after a year, when a friend of mine (who was also fighting at the time) decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue full time training, I followed suit. His Aunt offered me her garage for a few weeks until I found a place. I had quit my job in Pennsylvania and drove to California with a few of my possessions. I struggled just to make enough money to eat at first, but with the help of fellow fighters who helped me find work and my dedication to training, things slowly got better over the years. Although I didn't get as many fights early on as I would have liked to, I trained consistently all the time, so I was always progressing. I had some bad experiences with an organization that held me under an exclusive contract, and didn't let me take better opportunities that were offered, but once I got out of that situation, things worked out. Now here I am, 7 years after I started, with a great spot in the biggest MMA organization in the world. I couldn't be happier.

Mmasports: What advice would you give to an MMA fighter trying to make a name for themselves?
Mac: Just be yourself and keep fighting as much as you can when you're starting out. Don't go out of your way to try and market yourself by being someone you're not. But most of all, don't let any fight organization or manager take advantage of you. Remember, it's your name and health on the line every time you step into the ring, not theirs. Don't ever let anyone make you feel like they're doing you a favor. A lot of people will act as if they're giving you the opportunity of a lifetime, when all they're really doing is taking advantage of you.

Mmasports: What's next for you? Do you know when you are fighting next?
Mac: I'm not sure when exactly my next fight will be, or against who. All I know is that I have three fights scheduled for the year. There are so many highly skilled fighters in the lightweight division, I don't think I'll ever have an easy fight again in my career.

Mmasports: Is there anyone in particular you'd like to fight?
Mac: No, I just want to fight great fighters and have great matches. I'll fight whoever they put in front of me.

Mmasports: Now that you're fighting at the top level, what are your goals?
Mac: I'd like to become world champion one day, but really all I want is to become the best fighter my potential will allow me to be, while making a living doing it.

Mmasports: Any last comments?
Mac: I want to give a sincere thank you to all of my fans. The support each and every one of you sends means so much to me... I plan on making all of you proud in the years to come.