Shannon Gugerty: A Fighter’s Spirit

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By Debbie Lee

Every fighter has dreamed of making his way up the ranks, but when Shannon Gugerty says it, he really means it. The lightweight was asleep in his room at Mandalay Bay on the eve of UFC 100 when his unconscious mind envisioned him putting his next opponent in a guillotine choke.

No dream interpretation was necessary: hours later, it manifested itself into reality when Gugerty caught Matt Grice in the exact same submission at 2:36 of the first round.

“It was weird because I already saw it the night before,” he said. “The original game plan was to keep it on the feet, but all of a sudden I was on top and he was in the guillotine. The next thing I knew I felt the ref pull me off and he just kind of fell out my arms. I thought, ‘Whoa.’”

The San Diego native, 27, is no stranger to these types of signs. Whether it’s a chance encounter with future coach Dean Lister at age 14, or a gut feeling that the UFC would come knocking on the door when it did, Gugerty seems to channel good fortune without even trying. What is it: an x-factor, a sixth sense, born under a full moon?

“It’s the fighter’s spirit,” Gugerty said without hesitation. “This game is not just about the mental and the physical aspects, but some other thing that’s inside of you. I want to be fighting for as long as I can and be mentioned in the same breath as the greats. The spirit is about how much I want it.”

Write that off as hokey if you’d like, but there’s no denying that the last five years have been auspicious for Gugerty. Starting with his first pro fight in 2004, he has established himself as a master of the first-round finish, with nine total in an overall record of 12-3 (two are since his UFC debut last year.)

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been smooth sailing the entire way. If one’s heart is all that it takes to win a fight, then Gugerty would gladly go back in time and purge the three defeats from his record – particularly, a loss by triangle choke to Spencer Fisher at UFC 90. Upon reflection, he explained that it wasn’t his spirit, but the other two pieces of the triad that were missing that night.

“No excuses,” Gugerty prefaced, “but physically, I was going in with some injuries, and mentally, I can’t deny that I was nervous. Here’s this big name and everyone is telling you that you’re going to get knocked out. I learned a good deal going through that experience.”

Cynics might attribute his bounce back at UFC 100 to a lower level of competition, but Gugerty disagreed.
“Matt Grice having less experience than Spencer Fisher didn’t have anything to do with it,” he said. “I respect every single fighter the same – we all got here for the same reason and we’re all tough guys. The only difference this time was me. I was injury-free, and I trained harder than I had ever trained for a fight. So in that sense my mind was at ease and was totally calm.”

And there was that spirit again.

“It started to grow as I got closer to the fight,” said Gugerty. “I could tell it was happening because everything just started to click - during the warm ups and leading all the way up until I stepped into the cage.”

Gugerty hopes to recreate that energy on November 14, when he meets Terry Etim (13-2) at UFC 105 in Manchester, England. On paper, it’s an even matchup: the two share a similar level of experience, the majority of their wins have come by submission, and both have defeated Grice by first-round guillotine. But Gugerty says their greatest similarity is their ability to surprise.

“I think a lot of people are expecting to see Terry strike and they forget about his submission skills,” he said. “And those same people are probably thinking that I’m just a grappler when… well, let’s just say I have some tricks up my sleeve and that I’m excited for this fight. I know I’m going in as the underdog and I’m cool with that. I can’t wait to go out there and prove a bunch of people wrong and make them lose their money, because I’m going to put on the best performance of my career. I’m talking fight of the night level.”

Obviously he has the mental part down. What about the physical? Working on his jiu-jitsu with Lister, kickboxing with Brandon Vera (headlining the evening’s card), and boxing with Eric DelFierro, Gugerty swore that this was the most preparation he’s ever had in his career.

“In this division, Terry’s over there towards the top, so I have to be prepared for one of those hard nosed battles,” Gugerty said. “I started training for this fight nine weeks out, as opposed to six weeks for Spencer, and my coaches are peaking me perfectly. I’m not thinking it’s going to be a first round sub like my other two wins, but a high-paced fight full of action: on the ground, on the feet, against the cage, all over. Just really high caliber.”

Okay, physical: check. There’s only one piece left – the thing you can’t put quite put your finger on, but only Gugerty can intuit. Look out, Terry, because he’s got it.

“I’ve always had him in the back of my head, so when my manager called and said, ‘You got Etim,’ I just went out and started running,” he said. “I know it sounds crazy, but I knew this day would come.”