Sherdog.com: Do you still feel like you’ve got nothing to lose with the Quarry fight?
Sherdog.com: Have you done anything differently this time around, in terms of how you’re training for Quarry versus Baroni?
Sell: You always go with a different strategy for every guy, but overall it’s been pretty much the same. You’ve gotta be well rounded in this sport, ya know? There’s no aspect of the sport you can overlook. I’ve been working takedowns a lot for this fight. People don’t even realize, for the Baroni fight I worked zero takedowns. We really didn’t think he would take me down. So now I’ve got that in my arsenal, too. And that’s only going to get better.
Sherdog.com: Long term what is the plan?
Sell: Just work my way up the chain, man … get the belt. What people don’t realize is that I’m 6-0. I’m young in this sport; I’m going to be 23 next month. Half of these guys have twice as many fights as me going in there, ya know? Quarry is 13-1, I feel like I jumped the gun and right into the heat. I’ve been the underdog my entire career, and now I’m moving up. But even if I lost at this level, I can go to the small events, beat a bunch of guys and I’ll be right back in there. I’m not going anywhere, no matter what happens. That’s why there’s no pressure. I already have a name, everybody already knows who I am.
Sherdog.com [Corso]: Will this fight give you a chance for respect?
Sell: There’s definitely a chance for respect. But there’s always going to be haters. They’ll probably find something wrong with this fight, too [laughs]. Say I go in there an knock him out in two seconds. They’ll still be like, “Ah, well, you landed that lucky punch, and Nate wasn’t ready for it.” They’ll always make something up. But what are you going to do? People that hate are people that can’t do it.
Sherdog.com [Corso]: Do you feel more comfortable with the underdog role?
Sell: There’s something about me, my whole life, I’ve liked proving people wrong. So I kind of like being hated a little bit. I don’t mind it. I kind of have a “f__k you” kind of attitude. Everybody wants to doubt me? F__k you, I’m gonna show you what’s up.
Sherdog.com: Will your mindset change if you beat Quarry? Now it won’t be, “Sell is sneaking in here and taking guys out.” It will be, “Everybody’s gunning for Sell.”
Sell: That’s fine also. The way I look at everything in life, “expect the worst, hope for the best, no disappointments.” I always expect the worst possible thing to happen, that’s why even in the Baroni fight, there was an interview I did somewhere, and they said, “If Sell lasts the first round, that’s good, he’s proven himself. If he lasts two rounds, it’s good. If he loses even on decision, he’s proved everybody wrong already. If he beats a guy decisively he’s golden.” So right after the first round, he could have knocked me out right then, man and it wouldn’t have even mattered. You were supposed to knock me out in 10 seconds, now what’s up? Now you didn’t do that. Now you’re tired. Now it’s a fight. So what’s up? Ya know what I mean?
Sherdog.com: So you mentioned game plans earlier. What’s the game plan for Quarry?
Sell: He is a steady guy, and the best thing he’s got going for him is that he’s in shape. He’ll keep coming at you. It is hard to throw him off his game plan. But from the fights that I’ve seen, his jaw has not been tested a lot and I haven’t seen him get rocked and really come back. So we’ll see what happens.
Sherdog.com [Corso]: Do you want to offer a prediction?
Sell: As far as predictions go, I like the element of surprise.