Thursday, December 20, 2007

Fighter Interview: Scott Beck of Unified Martial Arts in Fond du Lac, WI



In part two of a three part interview series with fighters from Unified Martial Arts in Fond du Lac, I introduce you to Scott Beck. Scott is another fighter that will be fighting on the Combat USA show this Saturday entitled Season’s Beatings. Beck is 28 years old and sports an MMA record of (3-3). He faces off against James Vanderwellen of Third Heaven in Beaver Dam. The two recently did battle last September with Vanderwellen getting the win. Beck will be looking for redemption in this rematch to even the score. In my interview Scott talks about his past, the present, and his future in mixed martial arts.

On Style:

“I started out at Third Heaven in Beaver Dam. I have a good BJJ background. I have a pretty decent Muay Thai background, and I work a little boxing. I used wrestle also.
I’m better at submissions, but in this upcoming fight I’m looking to stand up. I feel comfortable on the ground, but I feel I have a huge advantage in the stand up department.”

Sports background:

“In high school I did wrestle, I wrestled for 4 years. I never took it anywhere after that, I wish I would have. I’ve been a fan of the UFC since it originated in the early nineties. I’ve been an athlete my whole life and I thought, I’m getting older here. I better do something now. About a year and a half ago I got into this, I wish I would have started sooner, but I’ve come a long way since I started.”

Favorite fighters:

“Randy Couture, he’s the pinnacle of the sport and he stood up for the fighters. He’s making a point and making a stand. This isn’t a small business anymore, you put your time and effort in, and you deserve to get compensated for it. Another fighter I look up to because he’s from my hometown is Mr. Eric “Ravishing Red” Schafer. I met him a quite a few times, he’s a great guy. He’s another great ambassador of the sport. He also arm barred me about 30 times in three minutes one time.”

Goals:

“I want to take this as far as it will go. I don’t have the choice to fight amateur anymore; I have to stay pro. I want to make sure that I get the best training possible. I just bought a membership to Duke’s and after this fight I am going to start going there to train. Some of the best guys in the state and Midwest train at Duke’s. Actually, some of the best fighters in the world train at Duke’s. He’s a four-time world champion kickboxer. Eric Schafer, he’s almost a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. That’s where I want to be, I need to get beat up by those guys and learn from them. I want to fight at 170lbs, but I have fought at 185lbs, which is basically my walking weight. My next on February 16 against Shawn Wilkerson at Gladiators in Milwaukee will be at 185lbs.”

On his opponent:

“James Vanderwielen, I fought him also September 1st for Title Town Combat. So there is no confusion. My corner went to his corner and said, “We’re not going to touch gloves.” That was the plan, but I decided to touch gloves anyway and got caught with a punch. It kind of took me out of my game. We ended up going to the ground, which is what I wanted to avoid doing. I ended taking him down, which surprised a lot of people. I got caught and got mounted and he won the fight. I was asked to take this rematch, I wasn’t looking for it, but I wasn’t going to back down either. Jim’s a great guy and I respect him. It’ll be a good fight.”

Prediction:

“I’m going to win, I feel I should have won the first fight. I’m looking for the first round knockout.”

Beck will also be fighting another rematch on February 16th in the Gladiators show versus Shawn Wilkerson. This is a rematch he’s been looking for since their last bout. Here’s his take on redemption:

“I fought Shawn Wilkerson on May 12 in Illinois. I’m not going to make any excuses whatsoever; I got caught in a guillotine choke. I don’t like the Illinois rules, if I have my choice I will not fight in Illinois until they allow elbows. I believe that if the elbows were allowed I would have won that fight. I’ve been looking to get him, since the fight. I’ve gone through Pat O’Malley and Ron Faircloth. He avoided both of their phone calls and finally Duke got him for me, so I appreciate that.”

Beck would like to thank:

“Everyone who’s helped me train the last couple of months. I want to thank Adam Sandaval. I trained at the Haus of Combat. He’s been great. I want to thank Mike Biddle for training with me two, sometimes three times a day. Brad Resop has helped in my standup by punching me in the face a little bit.



Expect more interviews and profiles from fighters in the Combat USA show this week. An interview with Unified Martial Arts fighter Brad Resop should be posted in the next day or two. Please support the local MMA scene and it’s athletes by going to the shows. Wisconsin Combat Sports will be there next Saturday covering the action. I hope to see you there.
This article originally was posted on http://www.wicombatsports.com/ on 12-17-2007.

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