Nate Smith will enter this weekend’s MCF 18 a perfect 5-0 as a pro. Battling Delfino Benitez from the promotion’s 125lb strap, former Victory FC amateur champ Smith is looking to win his first title since turning pro in 2017. We caught up with Smith ahead of his main event title fight Saturday.

First of all, how did you get into MMA?

Man, I got into MMA from just watching it growing up. As well as from a lot of other influences.

Do you got any background in any other sports?

Yes! I was very deep into football as well as wrestling. I have a huge background in wrestling which a lot of people sleep on.

What is your career, or would MMA be your full-time job?

I work part-time jobs here and there, but I give my undivided attention to my MMA career. Just so I can reach and push towards my maximum potential.

Who are you currently training with and who are some of your main sparring partners?

I train with a lot of stud UFC fighters and prospects as well as ex-Bellator champions. From Anthony Smith, Devonte Smith, Johnathan Martinez, Cody Stamen, Sid Bice, Brandon Royval and the OG himself Joe Warren. All at Factory X.

List of accomplishments such as titles, belt ranks, etc…?

USA Junior Olympic wrestler in Greco Roman, Fargo All-American as well national champion. Won a ton of amateur belts, too many to think of as well. I’m currently number 24 in the country in the flyweight division.

What are your favorite striking and grappling technique?

My favorite strike is the basics A Dutch style 1,2 into my double leg takedown.

You’re set to fight Delfino Benitez coming up. What do you think about him as an opponent and how do you see this fight playing out?

I think of him just as another individual in my way and I have to get through them. Nothing else, nothing more, nothing less. I already beat him twice so it’s another day in the office.

If you weren’t fighting where would you be today?

I would be honestly just working a regular 9 to 5 job and taking care of my little four-year-old girl.

You’re still so young in your career. Where do you see yourself in the next couple years?

Well in the next two years I will be a top contender. And followed up with me beating and becoming the new flyweight champ and having a long run like Mighty Mouse.

With how the state of the flyweight division is would you consider moving up to 135?

Yeah but only if I had to bump to 135 regardless. I know what I have to do no matter what weight and that’s be great and make history and win titles.

Is there someone on the regional scene you would like to fight?

Someone who’s getting a shot in the UFC to be honest because I personally feel there’s guys who are given chances who aren’t even remotely close to my level of skill.

Explain a normal day in the life of Nate Smith?

My normal day consist of me getting up taking a good shower, having some coffee preparing me. As well as getting a couple push-ups in just to get my body active, eat a nice breakfast if I can, then head out straight to training and get ready for growth and development.

Favorite TV show?

Favorite show that’s pretty hard to say I have mini from watching anime to watching Black-ish but honestly other than that I don’t really watch TV.

Last question. Why do you fight and who do you fight for?

Why! It’s bigger then me. Because not only do I fight for my daughter to provide a good life for her and show her how to continuously push forward through any obstacle that is thrown her way in life. As well as for my family. I really want to take my grandmother out the hood and give her everything that she wants or anything that she wants because my grandfather passed away four years ago and it was one of the biggest heart breaks I have ever had. And plus I want to continue making my grandfather proud of me continuing to pursue my dreams even after I got my education in college and being the first in my family to do so.

MCF 18 takes place live on Saturday, October 19 at the D&N Events Center in North Platte, Nebraska. A live stream PPV of the card is available.

The post MCF Flyweight Nate Smith Plans To Have A Long, Mighty Mouse-Like Run appeared first on Cageside Press.

Born on September 22, 1995, KOTC’s Meaghan Penning hails from Madison, Wisconsin. Currently living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the strawweight prospect visits her family in Detroit, Michigan for a few weeks every three months. Penning loves to travel and that includes around the US and sometimes overseas. Traveling around the US, Penning finds, can be helpful for her training. That’s a good thing, too, with all that back-and-forth.

The next stop on her itinerary will be in Wyandotte, Michigan, for King of the Cage’s Supremacy 2 on April 13. There, Penning (3-0) will face Marina Coffman with gold on the line.

Penning spoke to Cageside Press about her training and upcoming title bout, among other topics.

“I’ve trained in Denver with Rose Namajunas, in NYC with Renzo Gracie, in San Diego at the Arena, and a few other places. I decided Albuquerque at Fit NHB is the best place for my current goals in fighting so that’s where I live now. Some of those goals include a grittier mentality and fighting style, becoming an eloquent boxer and wrestler, and to continue to improve my ground game, particularly ground and pound.”

At Fit NHB Penning trains with coaches Tom Vaugh, Arlene Sanchez-Vaughn, and Jonathon Judy. When in Michigan at Victorious MMA it’s with Victor Torres, who is the main event on the card. But mostly for the past 6 months, her main sparring partners have been Amber Brown, Nicco Montaño, Brenda Means, and fellow amateur fighters, Sarina Ochoa and Shania Arredondo all at Fit NHB says, Penning.

Before getting into MMA, Penning stated in jiu-jitsu.

“BJJ is where I started, I completed a lot before I switched to MMA. I coached Cross Country running in college which has given me killer cardio and stamina. I also played a little tennis growing up, but in general, I don’t have a very athletic background. Building athleticism was a huge goal of mine and one of the reasons I picked Fit. Daily wrestling classes have made a huge difference already over the last six months.”

Penning made her MMA debut not long ago in July of 2018.

“One of my best friends — Hainite Tuitupou — and I went on a 25 day, 5 country bicycling trip in Europe. While we were there, we were talking about this girl we knew who was in great shape and trained kickboxing,” Penning recalled. “We were like, ‘if we make it back home (it was not the easiest trip…we kinda bit off more than we could chew) we need to train some martial arts and be some bad bitches like that girl.’ So we both did and now, three years later, we’re both 3-0 as amateur fighters. She will be fighting for the Golden Gloves boxing women’s 119 title the same night I’m fighting for the KOTC amateur women’s 115 MMA title.”

While pursuing her MMA career, Penning also takes gigs as a ring card girl for local MMA events. It’s something she certainly enjoys. “I love the glamour and the interactions with the crowd. It’s also showed me who makes up MMA audiences and what they like to see at fights. But more than anything, it’s a great way to gain experience as a fighter – you have the best seats in the house at live fights.”

One of the biggest issues with fighters starting out is usually the weight cut. With Penning, it was a learning experience but she has figured out her weight plan and her diet already. She’s made weight so far in all three of her fights which has been at strawweight (115). Her first two fights Penning had opponent changes and opponents miss weight so she ended up going to 120 for a catchweight.

“Before moving to Albuquerque, I walked around kind of dehydrated all the time. I also ate very low sodium so I’d walk pretty light for the weight class, maybe 121. I remember running in the hot Michigan summer sun and barely sweating two lbs in an hour. Now I know a lot more about the weight cut and have tried a few different techniques. First I tried low sodium and water loading and then would cut 7-8 lbs in the sauna (total) the day before and day of weigh ins said Penning.”

“The last time I fought, I tried more of the wrestling style and liked that a lot better. I start about 10-12 lbs out 1-2 weeks before the fight and each night, I have a new goal weight to hit. The day before weigh-ins, I need to be 5 lbs out and then I cut that in the sauna or hot tub. I emphasize eating foods with high nutrition or calories for low mass weight. Staples include blended nut butters, kale chips, salmon, red meats, and coconut butter bars/cookies. I also eat fruit – maybe two servings a day – oranges, blackberries, and mangoes especially- before and sometimes after my workouts. Makes me feel hydrated and seems to help my muscles with recovery. The sugar also gets me going when I’m sluggish. I try not to cut my water more than half of my normal daily amount until I’m 2-3 days out Penning explains.”

For Penning, it’s all about dedication. “I don’t do anything in my life halfway. If I’m going to do anything, my goal is always to take it all the way,” she said. Whether strawweight will continue to be her home, however, remains to be seen. “It’s still unclear whether I will stay 115 or drop to 105 when I go pro, but whatever weight I end up at, my goal is to be the best in the world at that weight class and defend a title multiple times.”

“After I’ve done that, I want to be in movies that are centered around martial arts stunt scenes like a female John Wick,” explained Panning on her goals in MMA and beyond.

When Cageside Press asked Penning about when she wants to go pro, she said:

“My coaches at Fit NHB want us to stay amateur as long as we can to gain experience. Maybe another 4 or 5 fights. Maybe less maybe more depending on how I progress. I’m confident and excited with the rate at which I’m learning new tools and building athleticism and mentally, I feel ready for anything.”

In three fights, Penning has a 100% finish rate with two stoppages by TKO and one by submission.

“With striking my favorite techniques are all in the footwork. I’ve learned a lot from my coach Arlene about when and how to change up footwork and stances and I’m excited to show more of that. Grappling I love fancy chokes, anacondas and Darce chokes off a transition. I like a lot of things in grappling that might not always be practical in self-defense or in the cage but are cool to learn for the sake of the art.”

Penning will look to improve to 4-0 as an amateur this Saturday for KOTC: Supremacy 2. She’s set to take on 8-fight amateur veteran Marina Coffman.

“She’s 3-5 so she’s had 5 more fights than me and fights regularly. I generally go into a fight the way I would a self-defense situation. I try and take as little damage as possible and finish as quickly as I can. However, I want to make MMA my career and that requires experience in a variety of fighting styles. This fight, I want to show off what I’ve learned in Albuquerque. I don’t want to give it away – you’ll have to come to the fights to find out, but I hope my supporters see me show off some fighting styles I’ve yet to utilize in my past 3 fights.”

To close out the interview we asked a very serious question: PS4 or XBox One?

“Never played either one. I’m awful at video games. The problem is I’ve grown up around video game nerds my whole life so I was always the worst and never properly encouraged. My brother and dad are both computer science majors. As a kid, I played space invaders on a Nintendo 64. One of my best friends since the 4th grade, Mattie, is a consultant at a tech company in West Michigan and her and her fiancé play Xbox one I think? They also recently took up kickboxing. Don’t be my friend — I will convert all your hobbies to martial arts.”

The post Get To Know Meaghan Penning Before Her KOTC Strawweight Title Shot This Saturday appeared first on Cageside Press.

You could be forgiven for not believing in Brent Primus’ chances at Bellator NYC this weekend. But what you, or anyone else thinks, doesn’t matter. According to Primus, he’s never been more ready in his life for an opportunity like the one he’s getting Saturday night. He’s had a great camp, and despite making his return to the cage after what will amount to a more than 14-month layoff, his cardio is better than it has ever been.

“I feel so blessed to be on this card. People train their whole lives and don’t get this opportunity, so I’m truly blessed,” Primus said. “I’m the underdog, and I like being the underdog. I’m just living it up, and I can’t wait to go in and shock everybody and show everybody why I’m here.”

And shocking everybody is exactly what Primus plans on doing.

“I’m going to shock everybody, because everybody thinks Chandler is going to walk right through me. That’s not the case. That’s not going to happen. I’m going out there to bring it to Chandler and show everybody why I’m here.”

Shocking people isn’t anything new for Primus, who walked away from his own landscaping business in his 20s in order to pursue a career in MMA. He’s now 7-0 as a pro, and 5-0 since joining Bellator in 2013. The 32-year-old Eugene, Oregon, native has undoubtedly proven that he’s made the right choice, and admits that fighting for the Bellator lightweight title beats waking up early to cut grass. Especially when that title bout is taking place at Madison Square Garden.

“It’s a dream come true to fight in Madison Square Garden,” Primus said. “Not only that, but I’m fighting on the same card as a bunch of legends that I’ve looked up to for a long time. A dream come true, for sure.”

While a dream come true, there have been some aspects of being a title-contender that Brent Primus has had to get used to. Namely: the media. Although it was weird at first, doing multiple interviews each day, the nerves have since passed and it’s become just another part of the job, Primus said.

The adjustment to the media for the small-town Northwest native is understandable, considering where he came from.

“It’s crazy to think I’m coming from Eugene, this little teeny town,” Primus said. “When I was starting out fighting I was fighting in fairgrounds, and now I’m fighting at Madison Square Garden.”

The Northwest is home to, and produces a lot of, talented MMA prospects, and according to Primus, it isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The MMA and jiu-jitsu scenes in Oregon and the Northwest are blowing up, with more and more fighters, promotions, and tournaments, and he’s enjoying watching the sport grow in the region, Primus said.

When he faces Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler on Saturday night and realizes his dream, Brent Primus plans on winning. Although many may not agree, and would likely be shocked by such a result, we know one person that won’t be.

The post Bellator NYC: Brent Primus is Ready to “Shock Everybody” at MSG appeared first on Cageside Press.