Pat Barry raised the bar when it comes to showing respect for an opponent at UFC 115 in June when he stopped in the middle of the fight to hug Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
As an MMA fan-turned-fighter, Sean McCorkle makes his UFC debut Saturday at UFC 119 in Indianapolis. And the heavyweight admitted he'll have the same fan-like butterflies for his fight against Pride and K-1 veteran Mark Hunt that Barry said he experienced against Cro Cop.
"I honestly don't think that I can (contain my excitement)," McCorkle said. "As ridiculous as it sounds, I'm excited just to meet him. I've always been a fan, even before I ever considered fighting, and I hope that he wins every fight in his career from here on out. Just not his fight against me."
Checking in at 6-foot-7 and typically fighting at super-heavyweight at well over 300 pounds, the unbeaten McCorkle (9-0) said when he got the call he was 320 pounds – a full 55 pounds away from the UFC's 265-pound heavyweight limit. But thanks to some guidance from a conditioning and diet coach, he believes he'll be ready.
There aren't many guys in the world who would have a much better record than he has if they'd fought the exact same opponents.
-- Sean McCorkle on Mark Hunt
And he also works regularly with a fairly high-profile cast of training partners, including fellow UFC 119 and Indiana-based fighters Chris Lytle and Matt Mitrione, plus former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and former Pride and K-1 fighter Tom Erikson, now an assistant wrestling coach at Purdue.
"Tom Erikson has been nice enough to let (Mitrione and I) come up to Purdue and absolutely manhandle both of us three times a week," McCorkle said. "Erikson is amazing, and has taught me more about wrestling in a month than I had learned in my entire career up to this point."
McCorkle's career up to this point has has just one fight past the second round – four submissions and four knockouts are on his resume, which has been entirely in his home state of Indiana. With the UFC making it's Hoosier State debut, McCorkle gets to fight in his backyard – but he has mixed feelings about the home-cage advantage.
"To be honest, I would have rather made my UFC debut somewhere out of town," McCorkle said. "It's a lot of extra pressure fighting in front of everyone you know, and you have to be careful not to let the distractions get to you. I will say that I feel it's a distinct advantage being able to sleep in my own bed and being able to eat at home, especially considering this is my first cut to 265."
Against Hunt, McCorkle draws a legendary kickboxer also making his UFC debut largely thanks to a technicality. Hunt still has a fight left over on his original deal with Pride, which was purchased by Zuffa. If not for that, it's not likely the UFC would have been clamoring to sign the heavyweight – who himself has had to work at trimming down to hit 265. Hunt has lost five straight MMA fights, though they've been against some of the biggest names in the sport: Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Melvin Manhoef and Gegard Mousasi.
McCorkle said that level of competition has held Hunt back in MMA – though the New Zealand native does have Pride wins over Wanderlei Silva and UFC 119 main-eventer Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
"I've watched all of his fights repeatedly, and I think the biggest reason Mark has struggled in MMA has been the level of competition he has faced for his entire career," McCorkle said. "He has fought the best of the best, and practically fought them all back to back to back. There aren't many guys in the world who would have a much better record than he has if they'd fought the exact same opponents."
Though it can be a little more difficult to track down super-heavyweight opponents, McCorkle's first nine career opponents have a combined record of 68-87. He knows the bar for his level of competition gets raised instantly on Saturday night.
"He obviously will be the best fighter I've ever faced, especially since he's in the best shape of his life right now, and I definitely won't be the best he's ever faced," McCorkle said. "But I honestly don't believe that will make any difference. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm winning this fight. It's my time."
McCorkle and Hunt fight as part of the unaired preliminary card at UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. Eastern, preceded by two preliminary fights on Spike TV at 9 p.m.
As an MMA fan-turned-fighter, Sean McCorkle makes his UFC debut Saturday at UFC 119 in Indianapolis. And the heavyweight admitted he'll have the same fan-like butterflies for his fight against Pride and K-1 veteran Mark Hunt that Barry said he experienced against Cro Cop.
"I honestly don't think that I can (contain my excitement)," McCorkle said. "As ridiculous as it sounds, I'm excited just to meet him. I've always been a fan, even before I ever considered fighting, and I hope that he wins every fight in his career from here on out. Just not his fight against me."
Checking in at 6-foot-7 and typically fighting at super-heavyweight at well over 300 pounds, the unbeaten McCorkle (9-0) said when he got the call he was 320 pounds – a full 55 pounds away from the UFC's 265-pound heavyweight limit. But thanks to some guidance from a conditioning and diet coach, he believes he'll be ready.
There aren't many guys in the world who would have a much better record than he has if they'd fought the exact same opponents.
-- Sean McCorkle on Mark Hunt
And he also works regularly with a fairly high-profile cast of training partners, including fellow UFC 119 and Indiana-based fighters Chris Lytle and Matt Mitrione, plus former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and former Pride and K-1 fighter Tom Erikson, now an assistant wrestling coach at Purdue.
"Tom Erikson has been nice enough to let (Mitrione and I) come up to Purdue and absolutely manhandle both of us three times a week," McCorkle said. "Erikson is amazing, and has taught me more about wrestling in a month than I had learned in my entire career up to this point."
McCorkle's career up to this point has has just one fight past the second round – four submissions and four knockouts are on his resume, which has been entirely in his home state of Indiana. With the UFC making it's Hoosier State debut, McCorkle gets to fight in his backyard – but he has mixed feelings about the home-cage advantage.
"To be honest, I would have rather made my UFC debut somewhere out of town," McCorkle said. "It's a lot of extra pressure fighting in front of everyone you know, and you have to be careful not to let the distractions get to you. I will say that I feel it's a distinct advantage being able to sleep in my own bed and being able to eat at home, especially considering this is my first cut to 265."
Against Hunt, McCorkle draws a legendary kickboxer also making his UFC debut largely thanks to a technicality. Hunt still has a fight left over on his original deal with Pride, which was purchased by Zuffa. If not for that, it's not likely the UFC would have been clamoring to sign the heavyweight – who himself has had to work at trimming down to hit 265. Hunt has lost five straight MMA fights, though they've been against some of the biggest names in the sport: Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Melvin Manhoef and Gegard Mousasi.
McCorkle said that level of competition has held Hunt back in MMA – though the New Zealand native does have Pride wins over Wanderlei Silva and UFC 119 main-eventer Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
"I've watched all of his fights repeatedly, and I think the biggest reason Mark has struggled in MMA has been the level of competition he has faced for his entire career," McCorkle said. "He has fought the best of the best, and practically fought them all back to back to back. There aren't many guys in the world who would have a much better record than he has if they'd fought the exact same opponents."
Though it can be a little more difficult to track down super-heavyweight opponents, McCorkle's first nine career opponents have a combined record of 68-87. He knows the bar for his level of competition gets raised instantly on Saturday night.
"He obviously will be the best fighter I've ever faced, especially since he's in the best shape of his life right now, and I definitely won't be the best he's ever faced," McCorkle said. "But I honestly don't believe that will make any difference. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm winning this fight. It's my time."
McCorkle and Hunt fight as part of the unaired preliminary card at UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. Eastern, preceded by two preliminary fights on Spike TV at 9 p.m.