The Triangle Choke: Chris "The Samurai" Bennett Interview

Chris "The Samurai" Bennett discusses his stellar amateur career & the challenges of going pro

Chris Bennett finished off a stellar amateur career going 18-1 when he moved up in weight to fight Muhammed Abdullah as a Welterweight at MMA Big Show: Triple Threat. Having 19 amateur fights is more than most mixed-martial artists but Chris is still only 19 years old. He continues to improve in each fight and is now well versed on his feet. Keep this kid in your radar as he could be in the major circuit in the very near future.

SD- Leading up to your last amateur fight of your career they had problems finding you a fight. Talk about what happened and how you ended up fighting in the welterweight division.

CB- I talked a lot to Greg Hupp (MMA Big Show Amateur Matchmaker) about finding a tough guy. I always like fighting tough guys because I like a challenge. I didn’t care if I lost as long as I got a good fight. Of course I don’t want to lose but win or lose I knew I wouldn’t hurt myself in terms of my record. I knew it wasn’t going to look bad. We had a hard time finding guys that wanted to fight me being 17-1. I also asked him if he found anybody at 145 and he didn’t. I had fought a 170 fight before. I didn’t like it but I did it. I asked him if he had anyone at 170 and he mentioned Muhammad Abdullah from Team Vision. They asked him if he wanted to fight me and he took the fight

Bennett locked in a Guillotine to stop the fight in the 2nd Round at MMA Big Show: Triple Threat on February 20, 2010.

SD- What did you weigh in at for this fight?

CB- I weighed in at 161 with my shoes and jeans on.

SD- What did he come in at?

CB- I think he was 171. From what I was told he cut a lot of weight to get there. He was probably a good 20 lbs heavier than me come fight time.

SD- Where did all of the verbal sparring come from? Do you guys know each other?

CB- No, when I met him he was a cocky kind of guy. He had that I’m a bad ass attitude. Me being me I didn’t like it. I try to be a classy guy but I can talk crap too. He decided he was going to act like a hard ass in front of everybody so I turned it up a little bit.

SD- You typically only see trash talking at the weigh-ins or during pre-fight hype. You were yelling at each other across the cage before the sound of the bell. If I read your lips correctly you said “This is my house.” Speak about that.

CB- Just like I said before the fight he was really being a dick to me. I hate to say that about anybody but I’m sure he was just trying to get in my head a little bit. I don’t want anybody to try to do that so I came back at him. When it came time to get in the cage he was getting boos and I was getting cheers. When he was getting booed I was saying to him, do you hear that, do you hear that, they are my fans. They aren’t here to see you. I was trying to get into his head a little bit and he was trying to do the same to me

> Check out the MMA clothing & merchandise including brands like Affliction, TapouT and Intimidation MMA Clothing available online through ProFighting-fans.com!

SD- His strength advantage was evident in the 1st round. You had him in positions where you finish most guys in your weight class. He was able to power out of those. At the end of the 1st round were you concerned at all?

CB- I wasn’t really concerned. I was kind of confused. I was trying to figure out what I needed to do to beat this guy. When I went back to the corner with Nathan (Fitch) he asked me if I was tired. I said no. Then he asked me if I was going to be able to tap him out with an arm bar or something and I told him he was too strong and I didn’t think I was going to get him with anything like that. Nathan told me I needed to grab a choke then. My plan going into the second round was to get him into a choke hold whether it be rear naked or guillotine. When he shot in again I knew I could get him so I jumped on him.\

Bennett, a local favorite in the Cincinnati area, announced he was going pro in his post-fight interview on February 20.

SD- You had him in a standing guillotine then he slammed you to the mat. Did you think you were going to finish him prior to the slam?

CB- When I had the standing guillotine I knew he was real big so he would hold me up. So of course with his strength he was able to fight my grip. Once I felt I was going to get it there I loosened it up and dropped down. Then I grabbed it and sunk it in. It took me a second once I hit the ground because we hit hard. But once I sunk it in I knew it was over. I held on and waited for the ref. He was actually tapping before the ref saw it. The ref didn’t see it until the crowd stood up.

SD- Just talk about that feeling of the crowd and how you have grown since your first amateur fight.

CB- In my first fight I was really young. I feel really blessed to be in such a great area with great fighters around. I’ve had a lot of mentors around me. I feel like I’ve grown a ton and I’ve learned so much about the fight game and stuff.

SD- I’ve always described you as a student of the game which in my opinion is your biggest asset. Now you are a month away from your pro debut. Speak about what that is going to mean to you and which weight class do you see yourself competing in.

CB- I think my first fight will be at 150 lbs just because the cut is new to me. I typically don’t cut at all so I want to be safe and not over exert myself. Then after my first bout I’ll drop down to 145 lbs. The new MMA Big Show gym is opening which is closer to home. When that opens I’m going to get in the gym more and start packing on some weight and maybe go to 155. Before I hit 155 as a pro I definitely have to put some muscle mass on me.

SD- Thanks as always Chris. We are excited to see you competing as a pro. Best of luck.

By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer & Director of MMA Content