When Jared Hamman and Poai Suganuma first locked horns at the April ShoXC, the fight was fast, and many found the ending controversial.
Heading into the important rematch, Jared took some time to speak to ProElite.com regarding his thoughts on the first fight, what he expects in the rematch, and his shot at redemption this Friday at ShoXC.
Let's start off talking about the first fight. It ended in controversy, so I want you to tell me your thoughts about what happened in that first fight.
Well, people keep saying controversy and what not, but in the mind of an athlete like myself, or a fighter... No matter what you put behind that loss... meaning, "I lost, but this"; or "I lost, but that"; or "I lost in controversy"; blah blah blah... It's still a loss. In my mind, whether it was a situation where the ref stopped it short or whatever, it's still a thing where I have to go back and remedy that situation.
The only thing I'll say about the situation is that I could have kept on fighting no problem. I was still coherent; I was still ready to go. He did land a good shot, but I was still ready. I was going for a take down on his leg. So when I saw the ref in my face, I was like, "what are you doing?”
And if you look in the fight, I wipe my face because I thought maybe he cut me & that's why they stopped the fight. I didn't see any blood, and I was like "uhhh, what are you doing? What's going on?" So that's the way I feel about that. I can't blame it on the ref, the ref is doing his job, but, I could've kept on fighting. But that's the end of that story.
So how do you feel headed into the rematch?
To me, it's a new fight, it's not like I'm angry or pissed off, or flying off the handle or whatever. I understand I got set back in my plans and now it's just another fight for me, hopefully, on the way to the championship belt.
I actually learned a lot from Georges St Pierre. I took some of his stuff that he said he was doing mentally - because when he lost to Matt Serra that wasn't supposed to happen. I watched how he dealt with it and how he handled it, and I kind of tried to follow his example.
A week or so after the fight, I was pouty, but I think I was just sad and bummed out. I had started training right away, but I was still mentally bummed out. Then I realized I have to shut this off - put it away, bury it, and start training for the next fight; and that's exactly what I did.
The good thing about the situation that happened is that before, I was doing the fighting thing, and I was undefeated. It's fun, fun & games, a good time, and I'm hanging out enjoying all these new experiences. But when [the loss] happened, with a knockout like that and the situation, it pissed me off. Not in the sense of "oh I hate people" or "I hate this fighter" or "I hate the ref" or whatever; but more like now I am super determined to get on that path. I have a goal.
If that had not have happened the way it did, I wouldn't be as focused on my objective - which is to get the championship belt.
Now, you've changed gyms recently, correct? You were at Unbreakable, but now you're somewhere else?
I'm now at VMAT (vmat.tv) in El Segundo. It's Vladimir Matyushenko's gym. After the last fight with Po'ai, like I said earlier, I realized I have to take this seriously and become a professional about all of this & this cannot just be a hobby anymore. This has to be something I keep all of my focus on.
I didn't necessarily quit Unbreakable. It's not like I left on bad terms or anything like that. It's like going from freshman football, to JV, to varsity - it's just different levels. Brian & Unbreakable Gym brought me to one level and then I had to step up to another level, and that's what it is with Vladimir. It's a whole new level of training. He's got the experience. He's a veteran of the UFC and all these other organizations so he knows what it's like.
So how do you see the rematch going in your mind?
I going in there to complete an objective again. I'm not going in there thinking "this guy kicked my butt last time" or anything like that. I don't see him being very defensive or a slow fighter. I see him being aggressive. And I'm going to be as aggressive as I can be - that's the way I fight. I would be really surprised if it went to decision or even went into the third round. It's going to be a hard, fast fight. I can almost guarantee it.
I've been training for three hard rounds, but I really strongly don't think it's going to the third round at all. I just set us coming out and we're just going to slam, bang, and go 'round. It's going to be an entertaining fight.
How important is it for you to get this win?
It's very important. It's not a do-or-die situation for me, because I'll never get stopped from pursuing what I want. So if I were to lose this fight, I would just have to keep going at it and going at it. It's important though. If I don't win this fight then I won't be able to go for the belt. I'll have to restart and start doing the stepping stones again. So in that aspect, I'll lose some ground.
Right now, the first fight was somewhat of a controversial situation, so I still have some leverage and standing. But if I lost this fight outright, then I have to rebuild. Now it's like a see-saw. He beat me, so people are looking to see if I can come back and beat him. So it's important to show people that I can still do this. I'm never going to give up & I will keep on going.
Friday August 15th, Hamman vs. Suganuma II. Any final words, Jared?
The one thing I regret at the fight, and I said it afterwards, is that I give God's glory always when I win. I meant to do it when I lost, but I was so mentally flustered that I forgot to do that.
So I just wanted to say, to God be the glory, and thanks to Po'ai for agreeing to do the rematch.
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