Bill Mahood: Bouncing Back
Rob King Jul 8, 2005
Bill Mahood is looking to
rebound after a loss to Forrest Griffin in last month’s
UFC 53. The 38-year-old product of Prince George, British Columbia,
Canada is in the co-main event of Freedom Fight 2005, the debut
show for the promotion to be held July 9 in Gatineau, Quebec.
Mahood fights Cesar Gracie fighter Tim McKenzie (7-2-0). "I do not know a whole lot about Tim,” the six-foot-three, 205-pound Mahood told Sherdog.com. “He comes from a good camp in Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu and I have seen a bit of tape on him, but that is all."
Mahood brings a record of 11-3-1 (1 NC) into the bout, all wins
coming by way of knockout.
"I go into every fight with a game plan, but that usually goes out the window pretty quickly in most fights,” he said. “You have to go into every fight with an open mind and be ready to adapt. You have to consider that your opponent might do something different than what you were expecting him to do."
The show, which is being taped for future broadcast on TSN, is set up in a Canada versus the United States format, with the two squads being captained by veterans Gary Goodridge and Tito Ortiz.
Seven fights on the card are in the Canada vs. USA format, making it a very marketable event to fans on both side of the border. "I love the idea of it being Team Canada against Team USA and I love the fact that it’s going to be on free television," Mahood said.
"As a fan myself, I am very excited about this fight," said Freedom Fight promoter Pete Rodley. "Tim has earned a heavy reputation on the west coast as one of the best bangers around just as Bill keeps reinforcing his status as the Canadian Butcher. The only downer is the fact that one of these great athletes is getting knocked out."
Mahood is making a quick turnaround from his loss in the UFC where he fought Griffin, the winner of the light heavyweight division in the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.
"It was awesome to fight in the UFC,” Mahood said. “I obviously wish the outcome was different, but the experience was great. The crowd was amazing. I was treated so professionally and I felt great going into the fight. I wasn’t nervous at all and I was injury free; I was ready to slug it out with Forrest."
This was Mahood’s first fight after a 12-month lay off that was in part due to injury.
"The fight began and he shot in and took me to the ground when I threw a kick,” he recalled. “I was trying to get him into half-guard and go for an armbar but I couldn’t get it. Griffin then managed to get side-control and as I tried to escape from that position, he got my back. He was too high originally. But then he cranked my neck and it hurt. I went black, but I could still feel him on me and the choke and that’s when I tapped. I was OK as soon as he let it go though."
Mahood had a one-fight contract with the UFC and even though he lost he does not appear to have regrets. "I am not the kind of guy who is going to lay on my back and hold the guard."
Age is a question that always comes up when Mahood is talked about. The Butcher is not the youngest fighter in the world, but that does not bother him.
"I am going to continue fighting as long as I can compete at a level I am happy with,” he said. “There is no limit on age in this sport. I mean, look at Randy Couture. He is an example of how long one can compete in this sport. I am very healthy for my age. As you get older, you learn to train smarter. Your body does not heal as fast so you learn your limits and how hard you can train."
Mahood has been training hard for his upcoming fight against McKenzie with his own team the Prince George Fight Club as well as heading down to Vancouver to train with other members of the Epic Management team.
"I’ve been getting help with my boxing from Tony Pepp and my jiu-jitsu with Marcos Soares,” Mahood stated. “I also was down in Florida recently training with Denis Kang and the guys from American Top Team and I got some good sponsors in Sprawl Fight Gear and Prince George 24-Hour Fitness. I’m ready to go."
Mahood, who recently celebrated with his wife the birth of their second child, Lehmann (along with their daughter Kaila), is coming off back-to-back losses — the loss to Griffin in the UFC and a knockout loss to Patrick Cote at TKO 16 in the spring of 2004. Before that, he was riding an 11-fight unbeaten streak, including what he says was the biggest victory of his career, a win over UFC veteran Chris Haseman down in Australia at Spartan Reality Fight 9 in April of 2004.
"It was a good back-and-forth fight,” he remembered. “I finished him in the middle of the third round with strikes when his corner threw in the towel. The thing I think I enjoyed most though was the three weeks I got to spend at Surfer’s Paradise leading up to the fight. It was a nice vacation."
Despite some problems with injuries in the past, including neck and shoulder injuries, he said he is healthy coming into the fight with McKenzie. "No injuries at this time,” Mahood promised. “I should be ready come fight time."
Mahood fights Cesar Gracie fighter Tim McKenzie (7-2-0). "I do not know a whole lot about Tim,” the six-foot-three, 205-pound Mahood told Sherdog.com. “He comes from a good camp in Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu and I have seen a bit of tape on him, but that is all."
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"I go into every fight with a game plan, but that usually goes out the window pretty quickly in most fights,” he said. “You have to go into every fight with an open mind and be ready to adapt. You have to consider that your opponent might do something different than what you were expecting him to do."
The debut show of Freedom Fight is a gigantic leap forward for
mixed martial arts fighting in Canada. The event will be produced
in part by The Sports Network (TSN), Canada’s equivalent of
ESPN.
The show, which is being taped for future broadcast on TSN, is set up in a Canada versus the United States format, with the two squads being captained by veterans Gary Goodridge and Tito Ortiz.
Seven fights on the card are in the Canada vs. USA format, making it a very marketable event to fans on both side of the border. "I love the idea of it being Team Canada against Team USA and I love the fact that it’s going to be on free television," Mahood said.
"As a fan myself, I am very excited about this fight," said Freedom Fight promoter Pete Rodley. "Tim has earned a heavy reputation on the west coast as one of the best bangers around just as Bill keeps reinforcing his status as the Canadian Butcher. The only downer is the fact that one of these great athletes is getting knocked out."
Mahood is making a quick turnaround from his loss in the UFC where he fought Griffin, the winner of the light heavyweight division in the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.
"It was awesome to fight in the UFC,” Mahood said. “I obviously wish the outcome was different, but the experience was great. The crowd was amazing. I was treated so professionally and I felt great going into the fight. I wasn’t nervous at all and I was injury free; I was ready to slug it out with Forrest."
This was Mahood’s first fight after a 12-month lay off that was in part due to injury.
"The fight began and he shot in and took me to the ground when I threw a kick,” he recalled. “I was trying to get him into half-guard and go for an armbar but I couldn’t get it. Griffin then managed to get side-control and as I tried to escape from that position, he got my back. He was too high originally. But then he cranked my neck and it hurt. I went black, but I could still feel him on me and the choke and that’s when I tapped. I was OK as soon as he let it go though."
Mahood had a one-fight contract with the UFC and even though he lost he does not appear to have regrets. "I am not the kind of guy who is going to lay on my back and hold the guard."
Age is a question that always comes up when Mahood is talked about. The Butcher is not the youngest fighter in the world, but that does not bother him.
"I am going to continue fighting as long as I can compete at a level I am happy with,” he said. “There is no limit on age in this sport. I mean, look at Randy Couture. He is an example of how long one can compete in this sport. I am very healthy for my age. As you get older, you learn to train smarter. Your body does not heal as fast so you learn your limits and how hard you can train."
Mahood has been training hard for his upcoming fight against McKenzie with his own team the Prince George Fight Club as well as heading down to Vancouver to train with other members of the Epic Management team.
"I’ve been getting help with my boxing from Tony Pepp and my jiu-jitsu with Marcos Soares,” Mahood stated. “I also was down in Florida recently training with Denis Kang and the guys from American Top Team and I got some good sponsors in Sprawl Fight Gear and Prince George 24-Hour Fitness. I’m ready to go."
Mahood, who recently celebrated with his wife the birth of their second child, Lehmann (along with their daughter Kaila), is coming off back-to-back losses — the loss to Griffin in the UFC and a knockout loss to Patrick Cote at TKO 16 in the spring of 2004. Before that, he was riding an 11-fight unbeaten streak, including what he says was the biggest victory of his career, a win over UFC veteran Chris Haseman down in Australia at Spartan Reality Fight 9 in April of 2004.
"It was a good back-and-forth fight,” he remembered. “I finished him in the middle of the third round with strikes when his corner threw in the towel. The thing I think I enjoyed most though was the three weeks I got to spend at Surfer’s Paradise leading up to the fight. It was a nice vacation."
Despite some problems with injuries in the past, including neck and shoulder injuries, he said he is healthy coming into the fight with McKenzie. "No injuries at this time,” Mahood promised. “I should be ready come fight time."
