By Derek Bolender
Special to CBSSports.com
In July 2006, 24-year-old Martin Kampmann decided to leave his native Denmark behind and embark on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. The move was supposed to be temporary.
His intention was to catch up with his old friend and fellow mixed martial arts fighter Mike Pyle in Las Vegas and train at the local Xtreme Couture facility that was opened the same year by a then-retired Randy Couture. While spending time in Las Vegas he was approached with a golden opportunity from a California-based MMA organization called World Fighting Alliance.
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| Kampmann isn't worried about a last-minute change of opponents. (UFC) |
He has been a resident of Clark County ever since.
The "Hitman" -- a nickname given to him years ago by a Danish reporter -- started out his young UFC career going 4-0 at the 185-pound middleweight class. Throughout those four fights, he showed an incredibly well-rounded skill set and the potential to one day become a champion. It was all smooth sailing until his September 2008 fight at UFC 88 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kampmann would learn a valuable lesson that evening from his veteran opponent, Nate Marquardt. The size and strength of Marquardt proved to be too much to deal with for the noticeably smaller Kampmann. He eventually succumbed to a first-round TKO loss after enduring a flurry of punches, knees, and kicks. The move down to a more ideal weight class at the welterweight limit of 170 pounds was clearly the next logical step.
"I wanted to go down to 170 for a long time [prior to the Marquardt fight]," Kampmann said. "I decided with my manager we would keep going at 185 because I had been doing good so far. Then whether it's a loss or a victory we'd take it from there."
He finally had a great reason to make the move to a more comfortable weight class and he hasn't looked back since. For his first welterweight fight at UFC 93, he was relegated to a preliminary card matchup against the Brazilian Alexandre Barros, whom he TKO'd in the second round with relative ease.
Next up was the first headlining fight of his career at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1, 2009, against another young superstar-in-the-making, former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit. Kampmann appeared to be extremely relaxed on the big stage in his first career main event and unfazed by the enormity of the situation.
"Once you get in there and get punched in the head then you're not thinking about the pressure anymore," Kampmann said. "I was getting a lot more attention before the fight, of course, interviews and stuff like that. The pressure wasn't so bad."
It turned out to be one of the most grueling and entertaining fights of 2009 as Kampmann pulled off a razor-thin split decision victory.
The UFC management was impressed and set up a Sept. 19 fight at UFC 103 with American Kickboxing Academy product Mike "Quick" Swick, who is also undefeated in the welterweight class. The winner would also be the lucky recipient of a title shot against reigning champion Georges St. Pierre, likely to take place sometime in early 2010.
It was all set in stone until Swick was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an injury sustained during training.
"I was very disappointed," Kampmann said. "I have been training hard to fight Swick and I was looking forward to it so of course I was disappointed."
Swick's replacement against Kampmann will be Affliction refugee and UFC newcomer Paul "Semtex" Daley.
Regarding the swap of opponents, Kampmann stated, "They are different guys but there are still similarities. They both like the standup game. They have different body types but my training camp was good. There's not much I need to change up. I think I'll be well prepared still."
Daley, like Swick, is known primarily for his standup skills. Both men are very similar in that they enjoy pressing forward and using their hands to overwhelm their opponents. Kampmann does not seem worried about Daley's biggest strong point.
"The guy can crack, you know. I've been hit by some heavy-handed people before. If he gives me a good shot I can take it," said Kampmann.
The strategy should be essentially the same for Daley, and that is why he can make the seamless transition on short notice. It's very simple. Find a way to win, and possibly still receive the chance to face off against St. Pierre for the welterweight title.
A loss would throw him back into the extremely competitive welterweight heap where he may never again reach this plateau. Kampmann knows what could be at stake on Sept. 19.
It's just another one of those golden opportunities.
