Spicuzza makes patient climb up MMA ladder

[Lumi]

Spicuzza makes patient climb up MMA ladder

Palo Verde graduate set to headline Tuff-N-Uff card

The Mardi Gras Ballroom at The Orleans is located a mile from the large arenas at the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.

In the mixed martial arts world, however, the distance between those venues can be measured in years and dollars.

Jimmy Spicuzza hopes to make that journey. The 24-year-old Palo Verde High School graduate takes the next step when he headlines a Tuff-N-Uff amateur card tonight at The Orleans.

"I would like to be in Strikeforce, (World Extreme Cagefighting) or the (Ultimate Fighting Championship) by the time I'm 26 or 27," Spicuzza, a lightweight, said of reaching the big leagues of MMA. "I'm just trying to do my thing and make my name.

"I know there are people out there that are seeing me fight, so if I keep working hard, I know it will pay off sooner or later."

Until then, Spicuzza starts his day at 4 a.m. working a shift for a commercial cleaning company so he can pay the bills and have his days open for training.

"This is what I want to do for my career," he said of fighting. "I don't drink. I don't party. I don't do anything like that. I want to do whatever I have to do to get to the next level."

Spicuzza said he could find professional fights on small cards now, but he has not yet decided to take that leap.

"Most of the guys I train with are pro, and they are telling me to go pro. If this fight goes as planned, then I'll probably go pro after this," he said, adding that he is not looking forward to the business aspect of the sport. "Before I go pro, I'd want to sit down and find myself a manager because the whole political side of things, I don't like to deal with. I just want to fight."

Spicuzza's opponent is quite familiar with professional MMA. Ryan Couture is the son of Randy Couture, a UFC Hall of Famer and one of the sport's legends.

Being the son of a five-time UFC champion made Couture hesitant to choose the same profession as his father.

"It maybe gave me pause when I first started thinking about it, but the more I got into the training, the more I couldn't deny that it was something I wanted to do," Ryan Couture said. "I think the benefits far outweigh the little bit that it can be irritating."

Couture (2-1) also wants to make the sport a career, though he is in no hurry. He said he wants to take two more amateur fights before the end of the year and then see where he stands.

Spicuzza (3-1) has to look a bit further for a role model in the sport. He hopes to model his career after UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

"I think he works the hardest. He's the best," Spicuzza said. "Every fight you see him in, he is noticeably better every time."

While reaching that level is a long way off, Spicuzza believes a win over Ryan Couture could help his advancement.

"He has a good all-around game, especially with the training partners that he's got over at (his gym)," Spicuzza said. "I guess his name just brings a little bit more publicity and exposure for myself as well because there will be people looking at him and they'll see me."

The card features 19 bouts, including two title fights. It is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

 

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Ryan Couture ready to get back in ring after first setback

Ryan Couture ready to get back in ring after first setback

Ryan Couture ready to get back in ring after first setback

Son of UFC legend faces Palo Verde grad Jimmy Spicuzza in tonight?s Tuff-N-Uff event

This past March, Ryan Couture tasted two bitter pills for the first time in his young mixed martial arts career.

He suffered a near knockout blow from former training partner Elisey Yarovoy and then, eventually, a unanimous decision loss to Yarovoy ? the first setback for the 26-year-old son of UFC legend Randy Couture.

But the sour moment in Bellingham, Wash., close to where Couture grew up in nearby Woodinville, he says, was a necessary process for his continued development in the fight game.

?It was disappointing but definitely a valuable learning experience. I learned that I can go in there and work hard for three rounds, and I also learned I could take a big punch,? said Couture, who takes a 2-1 amateur record and his newly-gained knowledge into tonight?s Tuff-N-Uff bout against fellow Las Vegan Jimmy Spicuzza.

The 20-fight card, set to go at 7 p.m. at the Orleans, will also feature a 135-pound title tilt between Xtreme Couture?s Jimmy Jones and Chris Brady of Legends.

Unlike Couture ? who was an accomplished high school wrestler in Washington ? Spicuzza, a 2003 graduate of Palo Verde, had a more nontraditional path to MMA.

The 24-year-old Spicuzza, who played basketball for Palo, had taken some karate training as a kid. After trying out junior college and deciding it wasn?t for him, Spicuzza and a couple of his buddies who were intrigued by the growing combat sport began ?mixing it up.?

That was in 2006. Now, three years later, Spicuzza finds himself squaring off with the son of the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champ who was one of the very fighters who fueled his interest in MMA.

?Of course you think about his name and all that, but even more than that I think about the quality of training partners he has over at Xtreme Couture. But eventually you kind of realize none of that stuff really matters once the fight begins,? said Spicuzza (3-1), who trains at Excel Defense and Team Mica Jiu Jitsu.

?I know what I?m capable of and feel that my training partners are just as good as his. Once we get in the ring, the names, and training partners don?t mean anything. It?s just me versus him.?

But Spicuzza, who said he really became serious about advancing in the sport last August, is definitely not underestimating Couture.

?He has good all-around game and is very technically sound,? Spicuzza said. ?I don?t think there is any part of his game that is lacking, so it?s about staying tight and executing my game plan better than he does.?

After his last fight, Couture also knows that anything is possible ? including surviving a knockout-caliber punch.

?That was the first time I?ve really been rocked in a fight,? Couture said. ?I don?t remember it real well except that I immediately started to go for the clinch, close the distance and try to get the fight somewhere where I could recover.

?It was crazy to me how much that affected by stamina and ultimately impacted the fight. While I was disappointed about the loss, I took a lot of things from that fight, and it helped me refocus my training. I?m definitely ready to get back out there.?