Louis Taylor Fighting for More Than WSOF Gold

Louis Taylor comes from a hardened area of Chicago, the type of neighborhood that brings the phrase “Survival of the Fittest” to life with cold reality.

Taylor has fought his way from the South Side to a World Series of Fighting title shot, as he will challenge David Branch for his middleweight championship at WSOF 34 on Dec. 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Branch finds himself on a nine-fight winning streak that has seen him capture belts in two weight classes and become one of the promotion’s premier attractions.

“Overall, I think he’s a really good fighter,” Taylor told Sherdog.com. “I don’t think he gets the respect he’s earned. I wouldn’t say deserved, but it’s earned. I think people are finally starting to pay attention to him, and it’s good to see that people are starting to realize that he holds titles in two weight classes before Conor McGregor and that McGregor isn’t the only one to do it. I think he’s really well-rounded, but I also think he’s going to lose.”

Taylor set the WSOF record for the fastest submission when he choked Cory Devela unconscious with a guillotine in just 29 seconds on March 12. He followed the performance with another submission, as he tapped Phil Hawes with a guillotine choke at WSOF 32 a little less than five months later. Taylor believes there are reasons why fighters like he and Branch have been overlooked.

“He would get more respect if he was in the UFC,” Taylor said. “He’d be on billboards; he’d have a bigger name if he left and went somewhere else and got those two titles, whereas since he’s done it the other way around, people don’t look at him the same way. You can beat the same dang person outside the UFC, but it’s not looked at as highly. It is what it is.”

Branch holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Renzo Gracie and has improved his striking since arriving in the World Series of Fighting in 2012. However, Taylor thinks his greatest asset rests upon his shoulders.

“What he does best is thinks in his fights,” he said. “Also, he’s got pretty good cardio for a big guy. If he thinks his opponent will or could knock him out, he’ll run and play that cat-and-mouse game until he can get the fight where he wants. A lot of fighters sometimes put pride over obstacles, where you’ll have a guy who hits like Mike Tyson, but his opponent will say, ‘I don’t care. I’m going to go and knock him out.’ David is not that type of fighter. He’ll recognize where someone is better than him somewhere, and he’ll try to avoid it.

“It’s smart, but where I think David is going to get knocked out by me is that I don’t think he respects me or what I can do,” Taylor added. “I’m going to focus on what I need to do, and going 25 minutes is nothing; and beyond that, this fight is going to be a fight. The first one to make a mistake is going to have a bad night. I’m not planning on fighting for 25 minutes, though. This fight’s not going the distance. It will take up to 25 minutes to figure out who is the best, but it’s not going to a judges’ decision one way or the other.”

Like Branch, Taylor has been on a roll. He has not lost in nearly five years, and while he has not stayed as active as he would like, the 37-year-old has rattled off six straight wins. The Chicago Fight Team rep did not need to eliminate outside distractions or switch training camps in order to get his career pointed in the right direction. Rather, it was all about mindset and learning from his mistakes in his two most recent losses.

“I lost my Joe Riggs fight [in 2010], and I think I respected his name too much,” Taylor said. “Then when I lost to Perry Filkins [in 2012], I didn’t respect his name at all. It was all about finding that balance of respecting everyone, no matter who it is, and not underestimating anybody.”

Taylor’s heart remains heavy ahead of the most important fight of his career. He hurts for his hometown, where rampant violence continues to dominate the headlines. Taylor wants to be a part of the solution in the Windy City.

“I grew up in Chicago, and we have so much crime here,” he said. “We just had a young boxer (Ed Brown) get killed on the West Side. My nickname has always been ‘Handgunz,’ and it meant the same as [my new nickname] ‘Put the Guns Down,’ but some people aren’t that bright, so I just changed my name so people wouldn’t have to look so deeply into what it means. I’m trying to bring attention to the real problem we have, not only in Chicago but the entire United States. I don’t care what race you are or what part of town you’re from, but people here have grown a thick skin. This city has a thick skin, and it’s tough. This goes all the way back to the Al Capone era. Other cities claim to be tough, but Chicago is a really tough city.

“What we need to do is get these young kids who are 6, 7, 8 years old and teach them right from wrong, keep them in the YMCAs, keep them active, teach them about the past and how to properly respect people,” Taylor added. “It’s a cultural thing, and I have the luxury of being involved in many circles around this city. I’ve learned about the Latino culture, the white culture, obviously the black community -- everything.”

Taylor grew up in Englewood, a violent Chicago neighborhood, and knows crime and desperation firsthand. Through his training camp on 63rd Street and Central Avenue, he does his part to keep young students out of trouble.

“We all need to understand how the other cultures do [things] and learn how to respect each other, even though we may all be different people,” Taylor said. “When we learn how to do that, then we can move forward and start to make this city and this country great.”