Long-time veteran ready for another win
UFC veteran Dennis “Superman” Hallman has seen it all.
Druing a career that has amassed 60-plus fights, Hallman has experienced his fair share of battles in and out of the cage. From being one of the most outspoken fighters on the topic of steroid abuse in MMA to being the first man to ever defeat Matt Hughes twice, Hallman has traveled a long road.
The next stop on his journey comes this weekend at UFC 133 in Philadelphia, where he’ll look to make it three in a row against the charismatic and unorthodox Brian Ebersole.
“I’ve been able to train really hard for this fight and I’m looking to build off of the last few wins that I’ve had. I’m going out to get this next victory and move forward from there.
“My preparation has been the same as it’s always been. My coaches and I can’t worry about what my opponent is going to do. They just have to get me ready to do the things that I do best so that’s what we worked at in this camp. It really doesn’t matter what he does. It only matters what I do. I’m coming out there to do my best and bring the fireworks.”
Ebersole garnered attention with his victory over Chris Lytle at UFC 127. Ebersole grabbed the attention of hardcore MMA fans with his “hairrow” and his trademark cartwheel kick attempt. It’s a move Hallman doesn’t expect to see on Saturday night.
“I don’t think he’s going to cartwheel kick me. I can’t see that happening and I’ll be very surprised if it does. You can get away with something like that a few times but if you do it too many times it’s going to backfire on you. I hope that he tries it but I don’t anticipate him doing it because I expect him to employ a very good game plan against me with a lot less shenanigans.”
Hallman will be looking to further the momentum he has built with wins over Ben Saunders and most recently Karo Parisyan. The former contender has had a slew of personal issues arise over the past few years and following the TKO loss to Hallman, he was once again released by the UFC.
“I went in there and fought, landed a punch that dropped him and it worked out good for me. Karo freaking out afterwards…I believe that had to do with him being frustrated with himself. I’m not sure what the UFC’s methods are but I think he was cut because he didn’t come into the fight in great shape. They knew he didn’t take it seriously.”
Following the stoppage win over Parisyan at UFC 123, Hallman was scheduled to return to the octagon in March, but a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the bout.
“The recovery has been a lot better than I expected. It was a pretty torn LCL in February and I decided not to get surgery, just rehab it. I really just babied it for awhile. Then when it was ready to go I went full steam and it has been really good for me now.”
For years Hallman has been vocal about the abuses of steroids in the sport of mixed martial arts and when the recent controversy over Hormone Replacement Therapy exploded, he took his stance on the issue as well. Hallman, who was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, credits the treatment for saving his career and feels MMA fans and media speak without doing the proper research.
“People should educate themselves. When people run around uneducated about a topic and put their opinion out there, it is called ignorance. We have the internet now so maybe people should do a little bit of studying or research about HRT and what it really entails before they form opinions on it. After they’ve done the work, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Prior to them doing the research I don’t expect people to put out their opinions without being knowledgeable on the subject they are giving their opinion about.”
At this point in his career the clock may be ticking on Hallman’s chances to make a run up the divisional ladder. The former Washington state wrestling champion continues to set big goals but doesn’t concern himself with a future that hasn’t yet materialized.
“I really try not to look too far forward so after Saturday night we’ll see. Right now I can only see up to Saturday.”
Hallman also invited fans who wish to follow him on Twitter to do so @DennisHallman.