Last week we interviewed Ed Whitmore, who is fighting Carl Dieckmann for the 185-pound SteelFist pro title this Saturday at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington. This week, we chatted with Dieckmann (he's the one sans a shirt in the above football photo) about the fight and what it's like to come back after a few years out due to a long-term injury from football.
Dieckmann: "While playing footbalI broke my Fibula and Tibula. After my surgery to fix the damage I developed compartment syndrome. Long story short; my body tried to kill my leg off.
"I am stubborn and decided I wanted to fight and continue pushing myself. Boxing and wrestling and jitz all the time., while adapting a smarter way to train, so as to not reinjure myself!! ... I love combat, I wanted to compete and was offered a fight by Blake Sprouse!
"I admire the older guys, who fight to fight!! ... I never really research whom I fight, I rely on my knowledge skills and toughness and go out and truly see who comes out on top!! (The gentlemen in the above photo) have been my rock and rebuild crew!! #Oilerforlife #Gofightwin #BTW
Whitmore versus Dieckmann looks to be a great bout, and we wish both good luck.
A CHAT WITH AMATEUR BEN GUYMON
Also on Saturday's card is a three-round amateur bout between Box Elder County's Ben Guymon, who trains with Pat Reeves' Pack at Foley's gym in Ogden. His opponent in the 145 pound bout is Kyle Frazier of One Hit MMA.
Ben, seen working out with fellow Pack member, amateur Eric Munoz, was kind enough to spare a few minutes to talk about the bout.
Guymon: "I've been training 6 days a week for this fight. I do drills on Monday, spar on Wednesday and grapple Thursdays. I then have a mitt session on Friday. ...
"I also lift kettle bells every other day, and run or do some form of cardio on the days I don't lift. My trainers are Patrick Reeves, Billy Zumbrun and Dave Foley. My training partners are Eric Munoz, Geovanni Gavilanez, Todd Pacheco and Justin Roberts. ...
"(My opponent's) name is Kyle Frazier. He trains at One Hit MMA. He's a wrestler and a kick boxer. ... I define my style as freestyle. There is a little bit of everything in what I do. I constantly work on being a complete fighter. I got bullied every day when I was a kid. As soon as I could, I started in Martial Arts. I began with Shaolin Kung Fu and a variety of other Martial arts, including Muay Thai and Judo. ...
"When I was 17 I saw a couple of UFC cards. I thought it looked fun, so I sought out some trainers and got to work! ... I would love to make fighting my career, and will work myself to the bone to get there! ... Georges St. Pierre is the fighter I most admire. I always thought it was cool how much respect he showed his opponents. Yet he was still dangerous."
Thanks Ben, I'd like to chat with him more about how learning MMA helped him deal with childhood bullying. We wish Ben and Kyle the best on Saturday night.
A FEW MORE STRAIGHT RIGHTS ...
Munoz, by the way, is set to fight in Ogden in April. ... There's a Brigham City amateur boxing card on Feb. 25. Dave Foley of Foley's gym provided me a list of gym fighters who will compete. They are: Carson Matthews, 12, 95 pounds; Lizbeth Herrera, 17, 147 pounds; Alex Treadway, 18, heavyweight; Luis Cornejo, 16, 135 pounds, Vinnie Apodaca, 10, 86 pounds; and Cole Kunzler, 17, 120 pounds. Other gyms with fighters are invited to email me their fighters competing: doug1963@gmail.com
Finally, professional boxer Josh Morales left the hospital today after being seriously ill for a while. There's a Go Fund Me account for those wishing to help here.
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