At Last Word on Sports we’re always trying to keep our eyes open for new and upcoming talent. One fighter that we’ve been watching for a little while now is, Dominic “All Day” Clark. Dominic has started to make a name himself within the world of MMA, and after recently fighting to impressive guillotine victory at Pandemonium 8 we caught up with Dominic to get his take on his fight and some of the big issues in the world of MMA and fighting today.
How does it feel putting up back-to-back wins?
It feels pretty good! I definitely followed the game plan… we knew he would try to keep the pressure on, and try to get the take-down, and we wanted try to counter that with some jiu jitsu and it ended up working.
At what point in the fight did you really know that you had secured the victory?
I actually go for that jumping guillotine in training – I wouldn’t say quite a bit, but I definitely throw it – and if I jump for it, it’s a pretty high percentage for me (for sinking it in). I thought about it the first time, but it kind of wasn’t there, so had to work my way back up. That said, as soon as I jumped for it I knew that it was just a matter of time..
How did you train for this fight and opponent specifically?
We trained a lot. He was a pressure fighter, so we trained a lot against the ropes and in the corner. We worked different wall drills and positions, giving pressure off the wall. Doing things like countering the takedown, working on the jiu jitsu. Looked for different ways to finish the fight, and it kind of all worked out perfectly.
Were there any of your training partners that were particularly integral to helping you prepare for this fight?
Chad George helps out really making sure that I have the right training partners. He (Chad George) has also been helping to come up with the different game plans and things of that nature, so Chad George is definitely an integral part of the camp. He’s coming off a big injury, so he couldn’t be much of training partner directly, but he definitely did things like make sure I had the right partners, and the right sized people.
After coming off a couple of big wins, is there anyone you have in your sights to fight against next?
We’re looking right around May/June area. My manager said May, the end of May – possibly June. It really all depends on my manager – he’ll let me know when and where. He told me to get ready for May, so we’ll see what we have going from there.
I’ll probably start a new camp here in a week or two, and you know, get right back at it. I can just get right back into the training camp, you know I didn’t really take too much damage (in the last fight).
Last time we talked, you said that you felt that you were a solid two or three fights away from the UFC. Do you still think that’s a realistic ambition?
Yeah, I do. You know, obviously I am focusing on my next fight and getting to 6-2, but my manager says 2 or 3 more victories and we should at least be knocking on the door – at least getting their attention, especially if I keep finishing fights. That’s the goal, just keep getting W’s and finishes.
We followed up with Dominic with a couple of questions about some of the big issue and news makers that are currently swirling around the world of MMA today.
Which training camp do you really feel like is the one to watch out for right now?
Definitely I think PKG, where I’m training out of, is one to watch out for. Luckily being in the LA area, you definitely have the outlets of other training partners – such as Black House, or other neighbouring gyms. So, there are so many good training partners in the LA area, that I think PKG has a solid foundation here and I’m truthfully just really happy to be a part of it.
Cain Velaszquez recently spoke out about a need for more intense drug testing in MMA. Do you agree with that stand-point, or do you think things are fine the way they are?
I don’t really pay too much attention to all those little things. They really don’t pertain to me, so I don’t really have an opinion with where I’m at.
Wrestling being banned from the Olympics – Thoughts?
I think it’s a horrible decision. I mean, you kind of figure that wrestling is hitting a downfall when it’s getting cut from schools and colleges. So, it wasn’t really looking that good from that aspect. I think eventually, due to petitions and what not, that wrestling could probably get saved for 2020 (at the Olympics) – but, you never know.
Big Lightweight match-up coming up April 20th between Gilbert Melendez and Ben Henderson – who is your pick?
That should be a great fight. It’s really hard to call the winner there. It’s going to be interesting to see how Gilbert attacks somebody who has a lot of athleticism (in Henderson). So, it’s going to be a real battle to see whose athleticism really comes out at the top on that one. I think that the striking is pretty much a push, wrestling is going to be very close. I think it pretty much comes down to whoever shows up that night.
We want to thank Dominic for taking the time to sit down and talk with us again. We feel as though it’s only a matter of time before his name is on the lips and minds of everyone in the MMA world. We’ll be following his career closely, so stay tuned!
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Follow Dominic on Twitter: @DomALLDAYClark
