For James Krause, perhaps the
third time is the charm.
For a while now, Krause (19-4
MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been considered one of the best fighters around not signed to
a major promotion. But the UFC took care of that earlier this week when Krause
stepped in for an injured Isaac Vallie-Flagg to meet Sam Stout (20-8-1 MMA, 8-7
UFC) at UFC 161 in two weeks.
It wasn’t the first time
Krause had gotten the call from the UFC. But this time, he was ready.
“They’ve called me about three
times now, all in the past six months,” Krause told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “They
wanted me to fight Yves Edwards, and I took the fight - but they had him fight
Jeremy Stephens. Then they wanted me to fight Norman Parke, but it was six days’
notice, and it was too much weight for me to cut – 28 pounds. Even if I’d have
made the weight, I’d have fought like crap, I probably would’ve lost, and
nobody would get to see my true skill set.
“I didn’t want to sell myself
short and I wanted everyone to see what I’m all about. I told Joe Silva if you
call again, I’ll be ready. I’ve been training like I’ve had a fight, and I had
a feeling something like this would happen.”
UFC 161 takes place June 15 at
MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The main card airs on pay-per-view following
prelims on FX and Facebook. The Krause-Stout lightweight bout is part of the FX
prelims.
Krause has some big-time
experience in the WEC and Bellator, and that’s where three of his four losses
have come. His two-fight stint in the WEC saw him drop fights to Donald Cerrone
and Ricardo Lamas. In Bellator, he lost to Toby Imada. All three of those would
be considered forgivable losses.
But now he’s riding a
seven-fight win streak that includes five stoppages. In January, he took a
unanimous decision from Imada in their rematch under the Resurrection Fighting
Alliance banner.
But for Krause, answering the
call and being ready to finally get a shot in the UFC was a no-brainer.
“I always liked fighting for
Titan, WEC, RFA ... but at the end of the day, if you’re not in this sport to
be at the top, I don’t know why you’re doing it,” he said. “There are guys who
are extremely susccessful outside the UFC. But that’s always been my goal. The
ultimate goal was to be in the UFC one day.”
Krause said if not for the
weight cut being too brutal, he wouldn’t be on his third call from the UFC. He’d
have fought on one of the previous short-notice calls that came his way.
Turning it down because he was
too big was not something he wanted to repeat if the call came again.
“It was real hard for me, but
(saying no) was something I had to do,” Krause said. “I would’ve been right
back to where I was before. I kind of beat myself up over it, but I walk around
between 180-185. It sucked I weighed that much, so immediately I started
getting my weight down. But I can’t sit there and dwell on it, and I’m not
going to beat myself up over it.”
Instead, he got back in shape,
pretending the call was going to come. And it did. And when it did, he was a
big fan of the name he was hearing on the other end of the line.
Stout has won four of his past
six and six of his past nine, and a win over a veteran like him in his UFC
debut could put a of attention on Krause.
“The style matchup, I like a
lot,” he said. “It’ll be a good fight. He’s shorter, and he doesn’t have a lot
of power. He goes to decision a lot. We liked it for the fact it’ll be a good
fight to showcase my skills. (There will be) high-volume punches, and he matches
up real well for me. I’m sure he’s working hard, as am I, and that’s why we
fight – to figure all this out.”
But Krause’s mind was made up
that he’d love to figure things out with Stout, or whoever else they’d ever
have in mind, the minute the call came in.
“It was pretty instantaneous,”
he said. “I talked to my manager and got back to (the UFC) within a half-hour.
There are other people along the ride with me, so to be respectful I had to
consult those guys. But I loved the matchup instantly – in my head, the
decision was already made.”
For the latest on UFC 161,
stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site. (Source)
