David Loiseau – The Crow Flies Again

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By Thomas Gerbasi

Travel back to the spring of 2006, and the last person you expected to eventually read a comeback story about would be David Loiseau.

Fresh from devastating wins over Charles McCarthy and Evan Tanner, and following a punishing five round war with then-UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, the Montreal native was looking to rebound from the loss in his first championship fight, but the goodwill he garnered for his courageous performance was destined to carry him through the summer, fall, and winter, and into another championship run in 2007.

But a little over six months after the loss to Franklin, Loiseau returned to the Octagon to face young gun Mike Swick at UFC 63, and after a mostly listless performance, “The Crow” lost a unanimous three round decision and was released from the UFC. The decision came as a shock to fans and those in the media, but no one was more surprised than Loiseau.

“It did surprise me,” he said. “But I’m not mad or anything. It happened for a reason and I believe that if it wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t have gotten as good as I am today. So I’m grateful that it’s turned out like that.”

Most would have crawled into a hole, praying for someone to rescue them. Loiseau did what fighters do – he fought. Things didn’t get better for him though, as he dropped two of his next three bouts to Joey Villasenor and Jason Day, with the only win coming in May of 2007 over little known Freddie Espiricueta. By February of 2008, Loiseau had lost four of five fights, and a return to the UFC seemed nothing more than a pipe dream.

What made it even worse was that every time Loiseau showed up to UFC events, either on his own or with teammates like welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, he would feel the energy and excitement, watch himself on a pre-event highlight reel, sign autographs until his hands got sore, and then watch the Canadians he either came in with or paved the way for – St-Pierre, Day, Patrick Cote, Jason MacDonald, Sam Stout – do their thing in the Octagon. But when the door shut, he was on the outside looking in. It should have been a crushing blow. Loiseau didn’t take it as such, instead using his nights in arenas around North America as fuel for one final run.

“It was actually motivating, and wasn’t tough at all,” said Loiseau. “It was exciting, and when I see my teammates fighting and doing so well, it inspires me to work hard. And when you work hard and you’re disciplined and you don’t cut corners, the doors will open eventually.”

Less than two months after his three round split decision loss to Day, Loiseau returned to action with a three round win over Todd Gouwenberg. In June of last year he knocked out Andrew Buckland, and he closed out the year with a fifth round TKO of The Ultimate Fighter three’s Solomon Hutcherson in September. For the first time since he ran up the middleweight ranks in 2005, Loiseau had a three fight winning streak, and though he wasn’t taking on a Murderers’ Row in terms of opposition, he finally began showing glimpses of the fighter that once headlined UFC events.

“I basically changed everything,” he said. “Everything I do now is more specific. I work a lot more on my weaknesses and I just keep working hard. I’ve always been a hard worker, but it’s one thing to work hard – another to work hard on the right things. That’s what I’ve been doing – working hard on the right things, and it’s been helping me out a lot.”

Team Loiseau now includes familiar names like Firas Zahabi, Greg Jackson, and Jonathan Chaimberg, the trio that has helped elevate St-Pierre’s game over the last few years, and as the UFC prepared for its second trip to Montreal for UFC 97 this Saturday night, it was fitting that the phone rang in the home of one of the city’s favorite MMA sons.

“It’s like coming back home after a long trip,” said Loiseau, who returns to the Octagon to take on Ed Herman. “I feel like I’m back home, and I’m happy and grateful to be back.”

Loiseau’s excitement is evident, but perhaps even more wound up by the return of “The Crow” are the fans which clamored for him to come back for more than two years.

“I’m actually very happy that the fans feel like that because I fight for the fans,” he said. “Every time I step in there, I’m trying to make them happy and give them their money’s worth. And when I’m not out there fighting, I’m greeting the fans. I show up at fights where I’m not fighting and none of my teammates are fighting, and I’m there, available for pictures, autographs and stuff like that. The fans make the sport happen, so it’s important to be a crowd pleaser.”

With spinning back kicks, deadly elbow strikes, and the type of heart that you hope beats in every fighter, but one that only a few truly possess, Loiseau will bring excitement to the Bell Centre this weekend. But will he be able to make another title run in a division that has changed drastically since his last UFC appearance in 2006?

“The middleweight division is like any other division – it’s very tough, it’s stacked, but I’m ready for the challenge,” said the 29-year old Loiseau. “I’m happy that I’m here now at this stage of my career than last year or two years ago because now I’m ready – I’m ready for the challenge, and ready to get back in the mix with the boys. The time is now.”

It certainly is, and if Loiseau was looking to make an entrance in his return, there may be no better place to do it than in his hometown arena. But all that really doesn’t matter. David Loiseau has gotten back to the UFC by fighting through trials that should have broken his spirit. He knows that most people don’t even make it back, and if he loses, it could mark a return to the small show circuit. But if he wins, he will have started a new chapter in his career and in his life. And while he appreciates that a packed house will be chanting his name on Saturday night, when it comes to getting the job done in the Octagon, it will be his responsibility alone.

“Whether there’s 20,000 fans cheering or not, when the bell rings it always comes down to the same thing – it’s me and Ed Herman,” he said. “It’s all about the fight, and I try to focus on the job at hand, which is to take him out.”

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