Ben Saunders Bringing Wu Tang, Violence To UFC Fight Night 103
Ben Saunders Bringing Wu Tang, Violence To UFC Fight Night 103
Ben Saunders will be looking to add another dominant finish to his resume against Court McGee at UFC Fight Night 103.
Every time exciting UFC welterweight Ben Saunders steps into action, there is a good chance he will treat spectators to a highlight-reel knockout or submission.
Saunders hopes the third time is a charm as he begins run number three under the UFC banner. He steps back into the Octagon for the first time in a year to face gritty veteran and winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 champion Court McGee at UFC Fight Night 103 Jan. 15, live from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
"He's really good," Saunders told FloCombat. "He is super durable with amazing cardio. They call him 'The Crusher' for a reason. He comes from a wrestling background and he likes to get the takedown and grind people down and crush them."
In an interesting turn of events, Saunders was seen wearing a sweatshirt from "The Pit" in a recent tweet. Donning gear of the squad of your scheduled opponent is not a common practice. The Pitmaster himself, John Hackleman, sent good vibes back to Saunders, calling him a member of the family. There is clearly no ill will between the two welterweight combatants going into this scrap, and Saunders says he tries to find the quickest method possible to end the battle when fighting someone he considers a friend.
"It is what it is, man," Saunders said. "The cage door closes, and we are both professionals. We both want the win, and we are going to be gunning for it. Unfortunately it's the fight game, and we are looking to hurt each other. The only thing I can hope for is that nothing serious happens that would be a detriment in continuing our careers and take away the longevity. I want to go out there and get the win and move on."
The proud owner of 10 first-round finishes, Saunders is much more than just the submission ace we know and love today. His formative years were spent training in the stand-up arts, namely Taekwondo. As a teenager, he gravitated toward the iconic teachings of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do and spent many hours flipping burgers and working the fryer at fast food joints to cover the expenses incurred while training.
Whether it comes on the feet or on the ground, though, Saunders promises yet another exciting finish Saturday night.
"I am training my ass off," Saunders said. "I am looking to finish the fight by any means necessary, whether it's a KO, TKO or submission. I'm looking to pull off another amazing submission. I have quite a few in my arsenal that have never been seen. I'm looking to showcase some great submissions that night."
A black belt under Ricardo Liborio at American Top Team, Saunders has spent a sizable amount of time working on his super-secret submissions with legendary grappler Eddie Bravo and company at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu in California in the lead up to the fight. While the rubber guard is a well-documented tool Saunders uses, he is keeping a few newfound weapons under lock and key, choosing to launch them inside the Octagon when the time is right.
"Honestly I won't even say them," Saunders said. "I will give everybody the names of them once they are showcased. I don't want anybody to be able to find any footage or get any ideas of what I might be bringing to the table. Some of them have never been seen at all. I worked out in California with Eddie Bravo and one of his foot soldiers, [Richie] Boogeyman Martinez, and we worked some slick stuff. If the opportunity arises, I'm looking forward to showcasing some of that."
The famous "Killa B" nickname Saunders carries was born years ago after his homies got word of a drunken scrap at a bar where he was working at the time. That fact, coupled with some good old-fashioned ball busting and his love for the legendary rap collective, the Wu-Tang Clan, permanently sealed the deal on the nickname.
He brought the ruckus to a disorderly patron, and the moniker has swarmed around him ever since.
"The incident occurred at a bar I worked in back in the day," Saunders said. "A drunk idiot came at me. I was laughing at him telling him to leave. He thought he was a tough guy and tried to knuckle up with me and throw a one, two, three combo. I was tagging him up a bunch and I knocked him over a table. The next day my boy that was working with me told my teammates. I was telling him to shut up. He was like, 'Ben hit this guy with all these bee stings.' I was like, 'Go f*ck yourself.'
"Then because I was a big fan of hip-hop and the Wu-Tang Clan they kept saying, 'Oh, Ben Killa B with the bee stingers.' That's what they started saying to me to get under my skin. Then it just stuck."
Saunders hopes the third time is a charm as he begins run number three under the UFC banner. He steps back into the Octagon for the first time in a year to face gritty veteran and winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 champion Court McGee at UFC Fight Night 103 Jan. 15, live from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
"He's really good," Saunders told FloCombat. "He is super durable with amazing cardio. They call him 'The Crusher' for a reason. He comes from a wrestling background and he likes to get the takedown and grind people down and crush them."
In an interesting turn of events, Saunders was seen wearing a sweatshirt from "The Pit" in a recent tweet. Donning gear of the squad of your scheduled opponent is not a common practice. The Pitmaster himself, John Hackleman, sent good vibes back to Saunders, calling him a member of the family. There is clearly no ill will between the two welterweight combatants going into this scrap, and Saunders says he tries to find the quickest method possible to end the battle when fighting someone he considers a friend.
"It is what it is, man," Saunders said. "The cage door closes, and we are both professionals. We both want the win, and we are going to be gunning for it. Unfortunately it's the fight game, and we are looking to hurt each other. The only thing I can hope for is that nothing serious happens that would be a detriment in continuing our careers and take away the longevity. I want to go out there and get the win and move on."
The proud owner of 10 first-round finishes, Saunders is much more than just the submission ace we know and love today. His formative years were spent training in the stand-up arts, namely Taekwondo. As a teenager, he gravitated toward the iconic teachings of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do and spent many hours flipping burgers and working the fryer at fast food joints to cover the expenses incurred while training.
Whether it comes on the feet or on the ground, though, Saunders promises yet another exciting finish Saturday night.
"I am training my ass off," Saunders said. "I am looking to finish the fight by any means necessary, whether it's a KO, TKO or submission. I'm looking to pull off another amazing submission. I have quite a few in my arsenal that have never been seen. I'm looking to showcase some great submissions that night."
A black belt under Ricardo Liborio at American Top Team, Saunders has spent a sizable amount of time working on his super-secret submissions with legendary grappler Eddie Bravo and company at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu in California in the lead up to the fight. While the rubber guard is a well-documented tool Saunders uses, he is keeping a few newfound weapons under lock and key, choosing to launch them inside the Octagon when the time is right.
"Honestly I won't even say them," Saunders said. "I will give everybody the names of them once they are showcased. I don't want anybody to be able to find any footage or get any ideas of what I might be bringing to the table. Some of them have never been seen at all. I worked out in California with Eddie Bravo and one of his foot soldiers, [Richie] Boogeyman Martinez, and we worked some slick stuff. If the opportunity arises, I'm looking forward to showcasing some of that."
The famous "Killa B" nickname Saunders carries was born years ago after his homies got word of a drunken scrap at a bar where he was working at the time. That fact, coupled with some good old-fashioned ball busting and his love for the legendary rap collective, the Wu-Tang Clan, permanently sealed the deal on the nickname.
He brought the ruckus to a disorderly patron, and the moniker has swarmed around him ever since.
"The incident occurred at a bar I worked in back in the day," Saunders said. "A drunk idiot came at me. I was laughing at him telling him to leave. He thought he was a tough guy and tried to knuckle up with me and throw a one, two, three combo. I was tagging him up a bunch and I knocked him over a table. The next day my boy that was working with me told my teammates. I was telling him to shut up. He was like, 'Ben hit this guy with all these bee stings.' I was like, 'Go f*ck yourself.'
"Then because I was a big fan of hip-hop and the Wu-Tang Clan they kept saying, 'Oh, Ben Killa B with the bee stingers.' That's what they started saying to me to get under my skin. Then it just stuck."