PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 30th, 2012) – As a born and bred New Yorker
unable to fight in his own hometown, Don Carlos-Clauss takes pride in
being the unwelcomed house guest every time he steps foot inside the
cage.
“If I don’t travel, I don’t fight,” said Carlos-Clauss (9-6, 3 KOs),
who’ll face hometown hero Mike Campbell (10-4, 7 KOs) of Providence,
R.I., on Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 at Twin River Casino.
“The only way to get big fights is to face guys in their hometown and hopefully piss in the punch bowl.”
“Not in this fight,” Campbell countered. “He’s not going to be a road warrior on Friday night.”
Campbell’s middleweight showdown against Carlos-Clauss is part of a
dynamic undercard on Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment &
Sports’ “Far Beyond Driven” mixed martial arts show, which also features
the highly-anticipated main event between John “Doomsday” Howard and
Scott Rehm.
Campbell-Clauss is an intriguing match-up for a number of reasons, not
just because of the contrast in styles – Campbell is a natural striker
while Carlos-Clauss has four years of Division I college wrestling
experience at Virginia – but because of what’s at stake for both
fighters. After signing a promotional agreement with CES MMA, Campbell
is now one of the most prolific Rhode Island-based fighters for New
England’s No. 1 combat sports promotion, joining a list that includes
Todd “The Hulk” Chattelle and Andre Soukhamthath.
Campbell takes that distinction seriously; he fought on CES’ first show
in Rhode Island two years ago and wants to continue being part of that
family if and when he gets back to the top (he fought on two World
Extreme Cagefighting shows in mid-2009), which could come soon if he
wins Friday night.
“CES is one of the best and biggest up-and-coming promotions and I want
to grow with them,” Campbell said. “I’m still growing as a fighter and
they’re still growing as an organization, so let’s grow together and
make it happen.
“I’m expecting a lot of big things in the next year or two. I’m much
more patient now as a fighter. I won’t make the same mistakes I made in
the past. Everything is coming together. I’m starting to evolve into
what I thought I was when I was with the WEC. I wasn’t ready for that
then. I am now.”
Carlos-Clauss has put far less pressure on himself. He didn’t start
training for mixed martial arts until several years after college when
he already stopped working out for more than a year. The idea at the
time was simply to get back into shape.
“I got fat and ugly looking,” he said. “I was disgusted with myself.”
With no amateur experience, Carlos-Clauss made his professional debut in
2007, losing to Travis Lerchen. He continued taking fights in other
people’s backyards and eventually began learning – and winning – along
the way. Among his notable wins are a split-decision victory over Calvin
Kattar in 2010 and, most recently, back-to-back victories over John
Ortolani and Jacob Kirwan, the latter coming on the undercard of the
Bellator Fighting Championships show at Caesar’s Hotel and Casino in
Atlantic City in May.
Starting with the win over Kattar, Carlos-Clauss has now won four of his
last seven fights. The combined record of those seven opponents is a
respectable 58-22. Likewise, Carlos-Clauss has only lost to one fighter
who now has a losing record (Lerchen, who was 1-0 at the time and is now
5-9 overall). In other words, Carlos-Clauss will fight anyone at any
given time in almost any venue.
“Those are the fights I want. That’s the whole point of doing this,
right?” Carlos-Clauss said. “These are the wins that get you noticed. I
don’t want to get by beating up on a bunch of puds. I want to fight the
best and beat the best. I want to take their status.
“If you’ve covered this sport, you know it’s all about constant
evolution. Everyone has different backgrounds and strengths, but I work
on everything. Every week, my workouts are split up evenly. The whole
point is to be well-rounded. I’m ready to go to the ground, or stand and
bang – whatever it takes to get that win.”
Although fighting has become his life, it’s not his only source of
income; Carlos-Clauss also runs a training facility in Ithica, N.Y., so
he has something to fall back on once he stops fighting. Putting less
pressure on himself has already helped him achieve more success than he
ever could’ve imagined.
“Obviously, everyone has those [Ultimate Fighting Championships] dreams,
but I’m 32 years old. I’m realistic about what I’m doing,” he said.
“This is what I do for fun. I don’t have to fight. I don’t need the
money. I like to train and compete.
“Instead of worrying about wins, I’m just worrying about having fun in
training and making my team proud. How far can I go? I have no idea, but
as long as I’m having fun I’ll keep doing it.”
Winning certainly helps make it fun, and Carlos-Clauss has trained hard
during this camp to make sure he has the right game plan for an opponent
he describes as “aggressive.”
“He tends to physically overwhelm guys,” Carlos-Clauss said of Campbell.
“I think it’s clear I have the wrestling edge. I don’t think he’s a guy
who looks to take guys down. I see him wanting to stand up unless I get
the better of him and he goes for a takedown. He likes to stand and
bang. So do I. It should be an exciting fight.”
With a seven-month layoff since his last fight, Campbell has worked
equally hard, especially on his wrestling as he attempts to dispel the
notion that he’s a one-dimensional striker.
“Just getting more of an understanding of the game has helped me
significantly,” said Campbell, before adding that he’s worked
exclusively with Providence’s Brennan Ward, a former standout wrestler
at Rhode Island College.
“That’s my boy,” Campbell said. “Anyone who has seen him knows he has
great wrestling. Last time out, he shot in on me between 20 and 30 times
and only took me down once, so if I can do that against Brennan, I’m
not worried about anyone else’s wrestling.
“I’m expecting a really tough fight. That’s what I’m preparing for
mentally and physically. He won’t be able to handle me physically. He
buckles under pressure. He doesn’t like to get hit. The positions I put
people in 90 percent of the time are the positions he doesn’t like to be
in. It’ll be an incredible fight.”
Tickets for “Far Beyond Driven” are $35.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00
and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at
www.cesmma.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin
River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the
first bout scheduled for 7.
The undercard features a light heavyweight battle between Greg Rebello
(13-4, 7 KOs), also of Providence, and Carlos Cline (3-3, 1 KO) of
Queens.
Lightweight Ruben Rey (5-3, 5 KOs) of Providence will face Sergio Moran
Cabrera (1-0) of Boston; Hector Sanchez (0-3) of Woonsocket, R.I., will
battle newcomer Dave Maggiore of Framingham, Mass., in a welterweight
bout; and Johnston, R.I., light heavyweight Joe Pingitore (1-0, 1 KO)
will face newcomer Ahsan Abdullah of Cortland, N.Y. Also on the
undercard, Tyson Chartier (2-2) of Waltham, Mass., will face Wakefield,
R.I., welterweight Tim O’Connell (4-4); welterweight Chris Cole (2-1) of
Attleboro, Mass., will battle Robbie Leroux (3-1, 1 KO) of Fall River,
Mass.; and Dinis Paiva Jr. (1-3) of East Providence, R.I., will face
Framingham’s Gilvan Santos (1-3) in a welterweight bout. All fights and
fighters are subject to change.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Far Beyond Driven.” Anybody
under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter
through the West entrance).
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