The Old Man and the Cage
Tim Leidecker Jun 3, 2008
In 1951 Ernest Hemingway wrote the novella "The Old Man and the
Sea." His last work, it describes the epic struggle between an old
fisherman and a giant marlin.
Frenchman Jess Liaudin (Pictures) knows all about that struggle.
Born in Évry, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, he didn't
exactly have a carefree childhood. He traveled a long way to
Houston before eventually making London his home in the
mid-90s.
Despite a four-year career in full-contact karate and kickboxing, "Joker" had to restart from scratch, washing dishes for $6 an hour. That was also when Liaudin sent his first letter of application to the UFC.
His fairytale ride in the Octagon came to a screeching halt this January, though, when Marcus Davis (Pictures) knocked him out in 1:04.
Despite renewing his contract with Zuffa before the Davis fight, Liaudin has his back against the wall when he steps into the cage Saturday against Englishman Paul Taylor (Pictures). In light of Zuffa's recent wave of premature contract terminations, another loss could mean a sudden end to the likeable Frenchman's UFC career.
Yet Liaudin told Sherdog.com that he doesn't think about getting cut.
"At the end of the day, if you're competitive, you want to win every fight regardless of what could happen," he said. "I don't fight in the UFC to impress people and I don't think that I am better than another person. Letting the ultimate fighter hang out in the club to get some honeys, that's not my style. I am here to fight and win as many fights as I can, and that is what the UFC pays me for."
His fight against Taylor will be a rematch of a February 2003 bout that took place in Cage Rage. The fight was highly competitive and entertaining, with both men coming close to victory, but Liaudin is reluctant to talk about it.
"I really don't want to complain, but I think that fight should have been stopped in the first round. I had secured a very tight armbar, and the only way Paul managed to get out was by heel kicking me in the face, which wasn't allowed," Liaudin explained of his decision loss. "I don't think he meant to do it in a bad way; it probably was a natural reaction for him to try to get out like this. Royce Gracie (Pictures) was a guest referee for this fight, and he didn't have a clue about the rules, which were the unified rules, and let him get away with it. Looking back, I don't think I won the fight, but it was a draw, in my opinion."
After preparing at Team Quest in Temecula, Calif., with Dan Henderson (Pictures), Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures), Jason Miller and company for his first three UFC fights, the 34-year-old set up his training camp at Joe Stevenson's new training center in Victorville, 70 miles north.
"I just wanted to change and do something new. I met Joe before, and he tried to seduce me at an after party. It didn't work, but since he was so cute and bought me a drink, I felt obliged to train with him some time down the road," Liaudin said with a laugh. "Seriously, I wanted to do something new and I did in this camp. The training and conditioning was different, and I really improved my wrestling and grappling with Joe's help. My boxing has also become way better than before thanks to [Cobra Kai boxing trainer Irvin Bounds]. In fact, in this camp, I did more boxing training than grappling."
While Liaudin was training hard for the Taylor fight, another Frenchman caused quite a sensation in Japan. At Shooto's "Tradition" show, David Baron (Pictures) submitted former Shooto middleweight champion Hayato "Mach" Sakurai to make French MMA history.
Liaudin, who shares a common opponent with Baron in former Cage Rage British lightweight champion Abdul Mohamed (Pictures), is full of praise for his countryman.
"David is a great fighter," he said. "He's got good cardio and is very aggressive with his submission attempts. He was very well prepared and hungry to win, however I don't think it was the best Sakurai we saw. He looked like he took the fight lightly and was a little out of shape, but full credit to David. Even a Sakurai that isn't 100-percent ready is still very dangerous, and it was a great performance from him. Rumors have it that he has signed with the UFC, and it would be great to face him in the Octagon. One of his coaches claimed that he would beat me easily, and I would love to prove him wrong."
All of that is still a long way off, however. With his career likely on the line against a dangerous up-and-comer in Taylor, Liaudin is under huge pressure come Saturday night.
"I don't want to sound greedy or just think about the money, but I've been fighting for 17 years and never made money out of it," he said. "I am an old man now and I don't have much time left in this game, so I want to make as many dineros as possible, so I can buy a house and have kids."
In the end, even if he loses, a man who has been through the times Liaudin has experienced is like Hemingway's fisherman in "The Old Man and the Sea."
He may be beaten, but he cannot be destroyed.
Frenchman Jess Liaudin (Pictures) knows all about that struggle.
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Despite a four-year career in full-contact karate and kickboxing, "Joker" had to restart from scratch, washing dishes for $6 an hour. That was also when Liaudin sent his first letter of application to the UFC.
Twelve years and more than 80 full-contact fights later, he finally
arrived in the big league. He got off to an excellent start, too,
submitting German kickboxer Dennis Siver (Pictures) and knocking out "TUF" alumnus
Anthony Torres
(Pictures) in his first two
outings.
His fairytale ride in the Octagon came to a screeching halt this January, though, when Marcus Davis (Pictures) knocked him out in 1:04.
Despite renewing his contract with Zuffa before the Davis fight, Liaudin has his back against the wall when he steps into the cage Saturday against Englishman Paul Taylor (Pictures). In light of Zuffa's recent wave of premature contract terminations, another loss could mean a sudden end to the likeable Frenchman's UFC career.
Yet Liaudin told Sherdog.com that he doesn't think about getting cut.
"At the end of the day, if you're competitive, you want to win every fight regardless of what could happen," he said. "I don't fight in the UFC to impress people and I don't think that I am better than another person. Letting the ultimate fighter hang out in the club to get some honeys, that's not my style. I am here to fight and win as many fights as I can, and that is what the UFC pays me for."
His fight against Taylor will be a rematch of a February 2003 bout that took place in Cage Rage. The fight was highly competitive and entertaining, with both men coming close to victory, but Liaudin is reluctant to talk about it.
"I really don't want to complain, but I think that fight should have been stopped in the first round. I had secured a very tight armbar, and the only way Paul managed to get out was by heel kicking me in the face, which wasn't allowed," Liaudin explained of his decision loss. "I don't think he meant to do it in a bad way; it probably was a natural reaction for him to try to get out like this. Royce Gracie (Pictures) was a guest referee for this fight, and he didn't have a clue about the rules, which were the unified rules, and let him get away with it. Looking back, I don't think I won the fight, but it was a draw, in my opinion."
After preparing at Team Quest in Temecula, Calif., with Dan Henderson (Pictures), Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures), Jason Miller and company for his first three UFC fights, the 34-year-old set up his training camp at Joe Stevenson's new training center in Victorville, 70 miles north.
"I just wanted to change and do something new. I met Joe before, and he tried to seduce me at an after party. It didn't work, but since he was so cute and bought me a drink, I felt obliged to train with him some time down the road," Liaudin said with a laugh. "Seriously, I wanted to do something new and I did in this camp. The training and conditioning was different, and I really improved my wrestling and grappling with Joe's help. My boxing has also become way better than before thanks to [Cobra Kai boxing trainer Irvin Bounds]. In fact, in this camp, I did more boxing training than grappling."
While Liaudin was training hard for the Taylor fight, another Frenchman caused quite a sensation in Japan. At Shooto's "Tradition" show, David Baron (Pictures) submitted former Shooto middleweight champion Hayato "Mach" Sakurai to make French MMA history.
Liaudin, who shares a common opponent with Baron in former Cage Rage British lightweight champion Abdul Mohamed (Pictures), is full of praise for his countryman.
"David is a great fighter," he said. "He's got good cardio and is very aggressive with his submission attempts. He was very well prepared and hungry to win, however I don't think it was the best Sakurai we saw. He looked like he took the fight lightly and was a little out of shape, but full credit to David. Even a Sakurai that isn't 100-percent ready is still very dangerous, and it was a great performance from him. Rumors have it that he has signed with the UFC, and it would be great to face him in the Octagon. One of his coaches claimed that he would beat me easily, and I would love to prove him wrong."
All of that is still a long way off, however. With his career likely on the line against a dangerous up-and-comer in Taylor, Liaudin is under huge pressure come Saturday night.
"I don't want to sound greedy or just think about the money, but I've been fighting for 17 years and never made money out of it," he said. "I am an old man now and I don't have much time left in this game, so I want to make as many dineros as possible, so I can buy a house and have kids."
In the end, even if he loses, a man who has been through the times Liaudin has experienced is like Hemingway's fisherman in "The Old Man and the Sea."
He may be beaten, but he cannot be destroyed.
