Chris "The Assassin" Lozano Interview

Rising MMA star Chris Lozano discusses his win over UFC-vet Jason Dent and his MMA future

Pro Fighting Fans staff writer Curt Heinrichs spoke to Chris "The Assassin" Lozano following his NAAFS Fight Nite in the Flats win over Jason Dent. From his strategy heading into the Dent fight to his next fight and daily training, Lozano shows that he has more than just talent, he also has the work ethic and determination needed to be successful. A product of the popular Strong Style Fight Team from Independence, Ohio, Lozano is 5-0 as an MMA pro and is now fighting in the Welterweight division despite being the reigning NAAFS Middleweight Champion. Curt's interview with Lozano is below:

Your fight at Fight Nite in the Flats VI against Jason Dent was a bloody fight that was almost exclusively a stand-up fight. Was this the plan going into the fight or did you find your strikes working and you kept with that gameplan?

Dent is mostly a stand-up fighter. I knew he had some submission skills, but mostly he is a stand-up guy. I wanted to test myself and my skills by taking him head-on. As far as a game plan, I was prepared for whatever.

Leading up to the fight, much was said about the rivalry between GriffonRawl and Strong Style. Now that you and Dent have squared off, did you leave your differences in the cage, or are there still hard feelings between the two camps?

I guess the best way to solve a problem is to fight it out. He talked some shit and I called him out on it. I fought for what I believed and so did he. I feel like I have as much heart about the issue as he did and we were not going to back down. Now after the fight, I think all that is behind us, as long as nobody says anything negative about the other.

Chris Lozano, the reigning NAAFS Middleweight Champion, will fight Gerric Hayes in his second fight at 170 pounds.

Since you have a relatively low number of pro fights under your belt, what aspect of your game to you want to improve over time?

I have been working a lot on my ground game. I know that I have been blessed to have the skills that I have in the striking game, but I have to work every day to sharpen my skills on the ground. I have a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and I am working on earning my purple belt. I know that may take a while, but I work every day to become accomplished in jiu-jitsu. I know I am not as good as I can be on my feet, but my ground game needs more work right now.

What does a typical day of training look like for you at Strong Style?

We train Monday through Saturday, putting in 6 days a week. Basically, I spend 3 days a week on stand-up and the other 3 days on the ground. I want to be a well-rounded fighter so I need to train that way. I do lots of gi work when I do jiu-jitsu. I feel like that is the purest form of jiu-jitsu and I can take a lot from that style and put it into my style. Every week though, I am doing three days of stand-up and three on the ground. I work on my cardio everyday, whether it is hitting bags or running.

With the entire team walking you out to the cage, it appears like Strong Style is a close-knit unit on fight night. Is that the case other times as well?

We are a really close team in the gym and outside of it. We are really family-oriented. It is a fun group. We train together, we hang out together, and we take vacations together. We all have tattoos on our backs for a reason. There is a closeness with the team that I have never experienced with any group before. That really comes out on fight night. You know that you have your whole team behind you.

What fighters did you look up to and are there any that you model your fighting style after?

I don’t really look up to anybody as far as their style. I really respect and look up to anybody who has accomplished what I want to accomplish, which is fighting on the big stage; anyone who has made their name doing what they love to do. I watch interviews and study them to see if I can pick up tips and secrets of how they act and present themselves. I try to model my career after the best of the best. I look up to anyone who competes in this sport for the love of the sport. I don’t respect the guys that do what we do for money or women or anything like that. I look up to the guys who look to be the best possible fighter, because that is what I want to be. I am in this to be the best that I can be, not for the money or the women. I want to be known as the guy that works as hard as he can.

With an impressive knock-out streak and a decisive victory over a UFC veteran, the bigger promotions have to take notice of you. Have you gotten any interest from the UFC or Strikeforce to compete for their organization?

You know, you always hear talk about moving up, but there is nothing on paper, nothing for sure yet. My next fight is for the NAAFS and I can’t wait. All I can do is keep pushing, keep training, and keep sharpening my skills. The way I’ve heard it, you can either get put on The Ultimate Fighter, or you can just be a monster in the cage and the UFC will come calling. Until either one of those happens, I just have to keep kicking ass and keep getting better.

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Speaking of your next fight, what do you have scheduled down the road? Who is your next opponent, and what do you know about him?

Next up, I fight Gerric Hayes in the NAAFS. He is a submission fighter and he is pretty skilled. (*** On the night Lozano defeated Jason Dent at Fight Nite in the Flats VI, Hayes defeated Chuck Ellison by way of kneebar submission). I am not going to switch up my training camp because he is a submission specialist. I am just going to continue to do what I do in the gym to get better. I passed up a fight with another organization to fight a guy in New York, but that guy is a striker. I have already fought Dent, who is a striker. I want to test my skills now rather than later, when I am on a bigger stage. That way, if I need to make some big changes in my training, I can do it. Basically, I am going to watch tape on Hayes, and learn what he likes to do. Then I will get in the gym and defend against his skills and at the same time, polish my striking. I know I can always get better.

A teammate of yours, Forrest Petz, was defeated last weekend at UFC 116. Would you like to comment about the training camp leading up to the fight or the fight itself?

This fight was exciting for the whole team. Our striking coach Mark Marinelli had me and some of the other guys working with Forrest on striking. They brought in some top-level guys to work with him on the ground. You know, he took the fight on short notice and had about 2 weeks to prepare. He got beaten by split decision (***by Daniel Roberts in a UFC 116 preliminary match) and the score cards read 29-28 and 28-29 (x2) for the other guy. In the eyes of all the judges, Forrest took one round and one judge saw him winning the fight by taking two rounds. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, especially since he took the fight on such short notice. He’ll be back.

Any thank you’s before we wrap up this interview?

Yeah, for sure. I want to thank John P. Lennon, domgear.com, D. Daniel Productions, all of my sponsors basically. My sponsors let me work on my training and give me the financial support that I need to stay focused on making my dreams come true. I also want to say thanks to the fans. They support me and make it possible for me to do what I love. Thank you!

By Curt Heinrichs
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer

Photo provided by Chris Lozano