Okay, so maybe he is, at least some of the time. He’s also a vegan, a nature photographer, and – cringe – a former reality TV star. As far as the 28-year-old is concerned, any one of those labels is fine, just as long as one always takes precedence: a solid fighter.
“It’s weird to have people act like they know me because I was on The Ultimate Fighter,” said Danzig. “It comes in waves. I wouldn’t say I’m famous, but sometimes, for a week straight, people will recognize me. For a while I’ll still be known as ‘that guy from the TV show,’ but as time passes, I think that I’ll break free of the stigma and be known as a regular fighter. You take the good with the bad. It was being on the show that brought me to this place, so I’m happy.”
Fortunately, Mac-as-misanthrope – Danzig’s most tiring role – seems to be nearing its overdue death. One year has passed since the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 6 and MMA fans are no longer chattering about hummingbirds or hummus (reminders of his television persona). These days, the topic of conversation is his Octagon debut post-TUF.
This past April at UFC 83 in Montreal, Danzig defeated Canadian Mark Bocek with a third round rear naked choke. Though he passed his first big test by the skin of his teeth, Danzig said that he was satisfied with his overall performance.
“Normally, the best thing you can hope for is a quick finish,” he said. “Even though this one went three rounds, I was happy with the way things went. I would have liked to finish it earlier, but the guy is good. There’s a misconception among some people that after you win the show, you get an easy first fight to build yourself up. In this case, some people didn’t know just how good Bocek was because they hadn’t heard of him, but there was also this expectation that I would walk right through him. It was like a no win situation, but I did what I had to do and I felt pretty good about it.”
Victory was sweet for Danzig, but as some hardcore fans know, it wasn’t his first time at the rodeo. The Cleveland-born, Pittsburgh-bred fighter has been plugging away at his fighting career since 2001, well before MMA had hit the mainstream. At 21, armed with two hundred bucks and an old Toyota Tercel (“I was lucky to go when the gas prices were still low,” he quipped), Danzig – to the dismay of his peers -- quit his job and moved west to train in Los Angeles.
Random work in nightclub security and construction helped make ends meet while he pursued his earliest endeavors on the pro circuit. But after a 12-win streak (with one loss) in King of the Cage, Danzig got his big break: a 2007 PRIDE fight against Hayato Sakurai. The match ended in a second-round defeat. After six years of sacrifice, Danzig was left questioning his future.
“After that, I thought, ‘Man, I got my chance and I didn’t do what I was supposed to,’” said Danzig. “I was disappointed and I wasn’t sure what my options were anymore.”
Danzig, resilient, didn’t waste time sulking. Instead, the lightweight quickly executed Plan B and joined the cast of TUF 6. Reluctant as he was to move up a weight class and share his personal life on TV, he found that the sacrifices would pay off with an even bigger break: becoming The Ultimate Fighter.
Four submission victories and a six-figure contract later, Danzig’s dues are officially paid. To keep up the momentum, he made a few changes over the past year, starting with a return to 155 pounds, which, according to Danzig, is one of the most exciting weight classes in the UFC.
“There are so many tough fighters in this division,” he said. “It’s hard to say where someone falls on a scale because on any given day, any one of the top ten or fifteen lightweights in the UFC can beat each other. It’s that competitive. It pushes me to keep proving myself.”
Danzig’s second adjustment was his February move to Las Vegas and the Xtreme Couture gym, where he currently trains.
“I owed it to myself to make the move,” he said. “I had already been coming out here for about a year and a half to train with friends like Gray Maynard and Forrest [Griffin]. But after I won the show, I realized that the training in Vegas was so good, and so consistent, that I’d be a fool not to take advantage of it. I want to take this as far as I can and do it right with no regrets.”
Working on his skills with fighters like Tyson Griffin, Martin Kampmann, and a coterie of fellow TUF alums like Maynard and Amir Sadollah, Danzig is confident taking on his next challenge. On September 17 in Omaha, Nebraska, he’ll face Clay ‘The Carpenter’ Guida at UFC Fight Night. Although Guida’s recent record has been rocky, Danzig paid respect to his upcoming opponent.
“Clay is one of the coolest people I’ve met in the fight game,” said Danzig. “One of the things that makes him dangerous isn’t necessarily his skills, but his intensity and heart. He’s constantly moving forward and has a good work ethic. He goes for the whole fifteen minutes.”
Danzig said that he was happy with the match up, but he’s careful not to make specific predictions.
“I don’t do that,” he said, “except to say that I know that I’m going to win. I think I have an advantage in training with guys who, skill-wise, are better than Clay. I know what he’s going to bring to the table. I just have to work on stopping him and controlling the pace. The best-case scenario: I end it in the first round. I’m not going to say how, but I’m going for that first round finish.”
In the meantime, now that his reality TV stint is over and his fighting career is on firm footing, Danzig is ready to take on more roles. First, he and longtime girlfriend Angeline Grace are expecting their first child in November. And next year, he and current UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin will make cameo appearances in “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” a film adaptation of the popular book by Tucker Max (Danzig’s former student).
So go ahead and add expecting father and budding actor to the existing list of labels. However you perceive him, Danzig will be careful not to lose sight of his own goals and expectations.
“I’m looking forward to getting this fight out of the way and concentrating on the child,” Danzig said. “But as far as the media attention and the movie goes, people can get wrapped up in that stuff and forget what really matters, which is putting on good fights. I don’t think I’ll ever have that problem as long as I have the drive and the will. I’ve always taken the sport seriously and I still have a long way to go.”
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