The Education of ‘The Hybrid’

---

Trevor Wittman was not overly impressed. In fact, he was a bit put off by the bravado of Brendan Schaub the first time their paths crossed.

“My first impression was, ‘Boy, this guy is cocky,’” Wittman said.

In time, he grew to admire Schaub’s undying belief in himself, not only because it drove him to soaring heights but because it was sincere. Schaub was the real deal, a genuine article, a supremely talented multi-sport athlete who was convinced he was destined for greatness. Soon, Wittman was convinced, too.

“I learned to love it, because it was real,” Wittman said. “The more you get to be around him, the more you realize the kid just believes in himself. Nothing breaks him. He carries confidence about him with everything: the way he stands, the way he looks, the way he talks.”

In the cutthroat world of mixed martial arts, few traits are more valuable, especially in the heavyweight division, where, on any given night, the opponent can outweigh Schaub by 30 pounds or more. Less than 10 full rounds into his professional MMA career, he finds himself on the cusp of a Top 10 ranking in a weight class populated by behemoths like Brock Lesnar, Alistair Overeem, Antonio Silva and Grudge Training Center stablemate Shane Carwin. His has been a rapid rise.

“The sky’s the limit with Brendan,” Wittman said. “He doesn’t have much experience. He’s young in the game. What he’s accomplished so far is mind blowing to me. There’s no telling where he could be in five to seven years.”

A Legend Beckons

Schaub’s career trajectory now has him on a collision course with 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, once one of the most feared men in the sport. Old lion and young will meet in a featured heavyweight bout at UFC 128 “Shogun vs. Jones” on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Eight years the Croatian’s junior, Schaub was 18 when Filipovic made his debut in 2001. As a college freshman, he remembers watching Cro Cop mesmerize the MMA world.

“When Fedor [Emelianenko] and Cro Cop were fighting [in Pride], my roommates weren’t really into it,” Schaub told the Sherdog Radio Network’s Savage Dog Show. “We talked the other five roommates into chipping in to get the pay-per-view. I remember that being a big deal. When they found out about the Cro Cop fight [at UFC 128], those guys were texting me: ‘This is crazy, man. You remember when we watched that?’”

Filipovic scourged many a foe in his heyday, many of them felled by his devilish left head kick. It remains one of the most-talked-about weapons in the sport, despite the fact that nearly five years have passed since he used it to lay waste to Wanderlei Silva. Cro Cop’s UFC performances have been spotty at best, marred by one-strike knockout losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Frank Mir. Though his best days are almost certainly behind him, Filipovic still commands respect inside the cage.

“I don’t think that his skills have so much diminished,” Wittman said. “He’s fighting in a 30-by-30 cage now instead of a 20-by-20 ring. In his Pride days, he could make those exchanges happen because you couldn’t get away from him. I just don’t think he’s adapted. He’s still the same Cro Cop.”

Schaub will enter the match on a three-fight winning streak. The 27-year-old Coloradan last appeared at UFC 121 in October, when he delivered a unanimous decision over Gonzaga -- a former title contender and the man many credit with hastening Filipovic’s decline.

Schaub views a showdown with Cro Cop as a logical step in his progression, a test he must pass in order to prove himself to the masses.

“I’m young in my career. I think this is a good step for me,” Schaub said. “When you look back on my career, it’s one of those fights you kind of check off, so for me it’s a big deal, especially growing up such a big Cro Cop fan. He’s dangerous. Is he the Pride champion of 2006? That’s tough to say. It’s a different fighting style for him.”

Though he carries a certain amount of reverence for Filipovic, Schaub vowed not to fall into the same trap as Patrick Barry, who, between an uncomfortable series of in-cage embraces, wailed on Cro Cop for the better part of three rounds at UFC 115, only to be submitted. According to Schaub, extracurricular friendships can wait until after the battle.

“The way I show my respect is a little different than these other guys,” he said. “The way I show my respect is by throwing right hands at their face and trying to take them out and giving them all I got. I think that’s the best way to do it, especially in the fight game. Anything else, and I think you’re doing guys of that stature, like Cro Cop and Gonzaga … it’s not good. I think it makes them look bad, and I think it makes the guys that do hold back look bad.”

Costly Mistake

Schaub entered Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series as little more than an intriguing prospect. A former professional football player, he had the kind of athleticism rarely seen in heavyweight fighters but remained in the backseat, as better-known cast members like reformed street-fighter Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and one-time International Fight League champion Roy Nelson swallowed the spotlight.

It did not take long for Schaub to leave his mark. He carved through Demico Rogers, Jon Madsen and Marcus Jones, finishing all three of them with relative ease. Quick and heavy power punches, coupled with a developing ground game, caught the competition by surprise. Wittman expected it.

“He’s not super big. He walks around at 249 pounds and always ends up at 243 [before a fight],” he said. “He’s so explosive, so fast from Point A to Point B and so athletic. Plus, he’s willing to learn. I have to tell him to leave the gym.”

Continue Reading » Born to Fight