Kingdom MMA catches up with "The Cheesecake Assassin" before his big fight in Macau, China
by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA
The deliciously nicknamed Danny Mitchell is looking to incarnate some cheesecake vengeance against Wang Sai at UFC Fight Night 48 Macau, as he looks to rebound from his first UFC defeat to Igor Araujo.
Danny Mitchell holds a record of 14-5-1 and despite being 28 years-old he has already beaten some of the best MMA has to offer. His favourite victories include submission wins over veterans Niko Musoke and Besam Yousef; with the latter awarding him the call up to the UFC.
The AVT Fight Team member made his UFC debut at Fight Night: Manuwa vs Gustafsson, where he met Igor Araujo (25-6-1) in a losing effort. Mitchell seemed to be overwhelmed by Araujo on a number of occasions, both standing up and on the ground.
"It was a clash of very similar styles, I think it was a close fight, closer than the judges scored it. I was always attacking, just ended up on bottom a little too often."
With a loss under his belt in his UFC debut, 'The Cheescake Assassin' got straight back into training to make sure it would not happen again. With the attributing factor his lack of wrestling, Mitchell knew what to focus on.
"I'm always improving whether I win or lose. Just working more on my wrestling, I think that is the key. I've focused a lot more on boxing and wrestling in this camp and feel much sharper in both areas."
Now, Mitchell turns his focus to Macau, China on August 23rd as he faces The Ultimate Fighter China runner up Wang Sai (6-5-1).
"I am excited to be fighting in Asia I've always been a big fan of Bruce Lee so to be fighting in China is going to be real fun! He's tough and likes to fight so I think it will make for a every entertaining fight, generally nothing worries me in life."
Sai has never managed to amount more than a two fight winning streak in his career, however he proved a very tricky individual during TUF China. He advanced all the way to the final, only to be topped by Lipeng Zhang in a mightily close split decision.
"He only just missed out [TUF China] he is tough and will be constantly improving working with the likes of Mike Swick at AKA Thailand. He doesn't have the regular striking style you often see so it will be a case of working him out as the fight goes on."
The Doncaster based fighter will see the tables turned from his UFC appearance in London, this time he won't be the fan favourite as he travels to Sai's homeland of China for the fight.
Mitchell has fought against partisan odds before, beating Besam Yousef in his homeland of Sweden, a fight he took on less than a week's notice.
"Obviously he will have the home town fans but that doesn't bother me I enjoy fighting in other countries and there's almost less pressure when I fight outside of the UK."
Nine of his 14 victories come by submission, and with his very slick and unpredictable jiu-jitsu, it could be a very tough fight for Sai.
"I think opponents will find it hard to guess what is coming next, I think it gives me a way to win a fight and any time and the fans love to see a crazy submission!"
When Mitchell isn't fighting, he is a head coach at Dewsbury's AVT Martial Arts where he helps mentor some of the top talent in the country.
"We have lots of guys coming through the ranks with over 30 fighters but I would say you will be hearing a lot more from the likes of Jay Furness (10-2) and Josh Collins (5-0) in the next year or so."
When asked if coaching gets in the way of his training, he responded: "No I love to teach and help other people alongside my own training, martial arts is pretty much all I do!"
The main event of UFC Fight Night 48 will see England's Michael Bisping take on deadly standup specialist Cung Le. Mitchell has shown some patriotism, backing fellow Brit Bisping to get the job done: "Team UK all the way!"
Danny Mitchell would like to thank his sponsors for their continued support: Badboy Europe, Gold Standard Nutrition, 7ink Tattoo's, The Handmade Cheesecake Co and XS Mouthguards.
Keep up to date with Danny Mitchell on Twitter.
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