Dean Lister - The Art of The Fight

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By Thomas Gerbasi

Art comes in different forms for different people. For some, it’s painting, for others music, and still others find ways to express themselves through writing or film. For Dean Lister, his artistic outlet is fighting.

Let him explain.

“I appreciate the creativity I have in creating my own moves, which of course are primarily grappling moves, but I do have a lot of artistic ability that I put into this sport,” said Lister, 2-0 in the UFC’s Octagon and 9-4 overall in mixed martial arts. As an example, he cites his first UFC win last May, a submission victory over Alessio Sakara in which Lister showed the beauty of the ground game by totally dismantling his opponent’s offense before going on the attack himself with seemingly effortless precision.

“In my fight against Alessio Sakara – a very tough opponent, by the way - at UFC 60, its neat when you invent a way to apply a move and in this case I finished him with a triangle choke in a special way that I do it,” said Lister. “I’m not saying no one’s ever done it, but I believe I pretty much invented it and no one ever taught it to me. It’s really interesting to see your own mind come up with solutions that work for you and work for your students. I finished him with my own move, my own setup or trick, to get him into the triangle choke, and once I had him in there, I knew he was done. It’s just me creating solutions, and it’s very satisfying to me to come up with a finishing move on an opponent.”

Some may find it a stretch to call any combat sport an art, but if you’ve ever put on gloves or a gi and tried to think five moves ahead of your opponent on the mat or remembered to tuck your chin in or to bring your jab back to a defensive position after throwing it, you’ll know that to reach an elite level in a sport that has been referred to move than once as ‘kinetic chess’, it takes more than sheer muscle or athletic ability. It takes skill, and more importantly, it takes smarts. That’s why Lister’s bout this Thursday in Hollywood, Florida against fellow middleweight standout Nate Marquardt is an intriguing one for true fans of the sport.

“We both have a lot of grappling experience and I do see it going to a grappling game eventually,” said Lister of the upcoming bout. “I feel that Nate’s gonna try and stand on his feet with me and I don’t feel he’s gonna be eager to go to the ground. His strategy’s gonna be to stay away and hit me and hurt me. The fans should expect a complete strategic battle between two guys who know how to finish their opponents. In this game, we’re not gonna want to do the same things. We’re gonna have different specific things we want to do in this fight.”

Of course, Lister - a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black belt whose list of accomplishments truly mark him as world-class – wants to take the fight to the mat. Ground fighting is his strong suit and every opponent who steps into the Octagon with him and every fan who watches him knows it. In fact, you can joke with Lister that he should change his name to “Ground ace Dean Lister” or “Grappling wizard Dean Lister” because those are the terms that usually precede his given name when discussion turns to him.

“It’s kinda nice that some people know my background and of my expertise on the ground,” said Lister. “That doesn’t bother me – that’s truly what I am, so it doesn’t offend me. But in the same way, there are a lot of good boxers that can’t fight in the UFC, there are also a lot of great wrestlers that never learn how to strike, that never change their stance or certain habits to become a better MMA fighter. I do have a style of grappling that enables me to fight, and that’s something I hope people understand.”

But does it become a hindrance rather than a help when opponents basically prepare to defend one aspect of the game and nothing else?

“The thing is, over time, you’re gonna have to get good at everything,” said Lister. “That’s my goal, to constantly improve in whatever area I’m lacking, and I have been doing that in striking. As far as grappling is concerned, a grappler is truly what I am deep down inside, and for me, it would be difficult for me to stray from that. I have an open mind and I always keep learning, but I’m not fooling myself into being something that I’m not. I try to stay true to myself and what I do.”

What he’s done has worked so far in the UFC. First was the impressive win over Sakara, and though he followed that up three months later with a unanimous decision victory over Yuki Sasaki, the 30-year old Lister was visibly tired as the bout entered the third round, and he left the Octagon disappointed despite the shutout verdict in his favor. He is pleased with his overall progress in the UFC though.

“It is satisfying,” said the San Diego native. “A lot of guys come into the UFC and have one or two fights and don’t even win. This is my life and my career, and I’m satisfied that I’m 2-0, but I do feel I’ve made some big mistakes, as far as my last fight for instance. But I learned from these mistakes, they’re things I don’t want to repeat, and I feel I’m gonna become better and better. So I’m satisfied, but I definitely want more.”

A win over Marquardt would be a great start, and if he does turn back the former King of Pancrase, he will definitely be knocking on the door for a title shot at UFC Middleweight boss Anderson Silva, a fighter Lister has been watching very closely.

“You look at every one of the top fighters and think about what would happen,” he admits. “It (a fight against Silva) would be another example of me being a grappler. I can throw a punch too, but I’m a grappler. Anderson Silva can grapple too, but he wants to stand on his feet, so in that case it would be two completely opposite camps. It would be him trying to stay away like hell, and me trying to get in like hell. He’d be a very tough opponent, but I think we match up well, and it would definitely not go to a decision. One of us would make a mistake and that’s gonna be it.”

That could be the description of every Lister fight from now to whenever he hangs up the gloves – one mistake and that’s it. That may be more intimidating than facing a Chuck Liddell right hand, the fact that a second’s lapse of focus could leave you tied up in a painful position with no possible escape. Lister knows this, and that’s a big part of the appeal of this sport for him. If it was easy, everyone could do it. But it’s not, and that’s why at its core, mixed martial arts is an art – Dean Lister’s art.

“It’s the hardest sport I could possibly think of,” he said. “It’s made me a lot better person, and a lot stronger mentally. Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling themselves, they were great for me and they still are, but I wanted to open my mind more and learn more, so that’s why I opened my mind to MMA. There are a lot of reasons why I do this sport, and they all tie in together, but basically, this is my career, my passion, and what I love to do.”

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