Hawkeye at Heart

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Derrick Mehmen’s career was at a crossroads in May 2012. He was reeling from a second straight unanimous decision loss, this one to Gian Villante in Strikeforce, and knew something had to change.

Mehmen moved from Florida, where he trained with American Top Team, back to his home state of Iowa and has since rattle off six consecutive wins. That extended run of success will culminate with a shot at the vacant World Series of Fighting heavyweight championship when he meets Smealinho Rama at WSOF 14 on Saturday at the Edmonton Expo Centre at Northlands in Edmonton, Alberta. Mehman cites a number of factors in his professional struggles and subsequent move.

“I was in a bad relationship, and it was just an awkward time in my life,” he told Sherdog.com. “My support system wasn’t there like it was in Iowa. I came back to my roots. The people I have around me now on a daily basis are great. I changed the people around me and my outlook on the game. I used to go into fights super nervous and overthinking things. I was too worried about losing and got timid. Now, I just fight, and I’m trying not to think too much. I’m just out there to punch somebody in the face and beat people up.”

Even though Mehmen switched from American Top Team to Hard Drive MMA, he had nothing but positive things to say about the time he spent at the Coconut Creek, Fla., powerhouse.

“I learned a lot at ATT,” said the 29-year-old Mehmen. “My leaving ATT had nothing to do with the people there. I learned a lot, and I have nothing bad to say about ATT at all.”

Mehmen’s comeback started in October 2012 with a first-round technical knockout of John Reed at an Iowa Challenge event. He followed it with a pair of wins under the Pinnacle Combat banner before making his World Series of Fighting debut in September 2013. In his first WSOF appearance, Mehmen knocked out 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships silver medalist Rolles Gracie in the second round. Four months later, he picked up a unanimous decision over Scott Barrett at WSOF 8. In his most recent appearance, Mehmen took a unanimous verdict from Dave Huckaba at WSOF 10 in June, the victory earning him a shot at the heavyweight crown against Rama -- a 22-year-old Canadian who owns an 8-1 record, with seven first-round finishes.

“He is a tough guy,” said Mehmen, who sports 13 stoppages among his 18 career wins. “I’ve watched a couple of his tapes. He’s still pretty young in the sport, and I remember being 8-1. He’s had some decent wins and fought some tough guys, but not as tough as me. He’s in over his head.”

Even though he has more experience than Rama and has already won three times inside the World Series of Fighting, the 6-foot-4 Mehmen admits there are times when he wonders if the organization is giving him the respect he deserves.

“I feel like [the WSOF] has put me in some of these fights as an underdog,” said Mehmen, a former wrestler at the University of Iowa who made his professional MMA debut in September 2006. “They do little things, like make me come out first, and it pisses me off. It’s just one more thing to motivate me.”

Mehmen indicated his pre-fight preparations have gone according to plan.

“Camp has been going great,” he said. “I’ve been working really hard. [Former WSOF welterweight champion] Steve Carl and I live and train together. He’s been teaching me a lot of jiu-jitsu. I’ve got a great group of guys around me, good sparring partners, and it’s been going well. My last couple of fights, I was at about 250 or 255 pounds, but this time I’m already down to 248, so I’m leaner and hopefully quicker.”

With the fight being held in Edmonton, Mehmen has made some slight adjustments to his camp.

“The fight is going to be taking place at a higher elevation and I’m having to get ready for a five-round fight, so I’m worried a little more about my cardio,” he said. “Instead of doing three rounds of anything, it’s more like five, six or seven. Instead of doing five or six rounds of sparring, now I’m doing nine or 10.”

Whether the fight goes one round or five, fans can expect to see Mehmen going full speed for however long it takes.

“I’m going to go like a bat out of hell as long as I can go, and no matter how tired I’m going to be, I know he’ll be just as tired,” Mehmen said. “There’s no pacing and holding back to this fight. I’m going to go out there and dictate the pace. I’m just going to be go, go, go until I get the opportunity to put him away.”