Mac Danzig’s Unlikely Voyage to the UFC

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By Thomas Gerbasi

When The Ultimate Fighter reality series started taking off in 2005, making stars of previously unknown fighters and giving them the opportunity to compete regularly in the UFC, some veteran competitors didn’t take too kindly to this development, especially the ones who had already been toiling on the local circuit in search of their big break.

Mac Danzig – while never making an issue of it – probably fit into that category. A pro since 2001, the Cleveland native had one of his biggest years in 2005, winning all seven of his fights by submission or TKO. But the UFC didn’t come calling.

“What has been a theme in my whole career was that I fought as much as I could, fought a lot of tough guys in smaller shows and never got any recognition for it,” said Danzig. “So I waited and waited and kept plugging away at the sport and I got that fight in PRIDE against somebody I probably wasn’t quite ready to go up against, but I took it anyway, and after I lost that, look at what happened.”

After Danzig lost in a high-profile PRIDE match against Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai in February, he finally got the call – not to fight in the UFC, but to compete for a spot in the organization by spending six weeks on a reality show: The Ultimate Fighter.

“I try not to have a sense of entitlement,” said Danzig, 17-4-1 as a pro. “I don’t think that people should walk around acting that way, but I feel like I earned the right to be in the position where I can really make a name for myself. I’ve had so many years sitting on the backburner, fighting in the small shows and just not getting the right fights, not having the right management, being stuck in exclusive contracts with smaller shows, and finally getting my chance to put my name out there is a big deal for me. I feel like I’m deserving of it, and when the opportunity was there, I was like ‘hey, I might as well go for this and try to make a name for myself,’ because in the end I want to make a living in this sport, and being on the show is a great way to get that started.”

To the surprise of some, Danzig took the opportunity to participate on the show, and when his name was announced to the world, even more wondered if it was even fair for the seasoned vet to be put in with a group of up and coming fighters that he dwarfed in experience.

“I got that a lot and a lot of people reacted that way when they found out that I was on the show, but it’s almost like I can’t win no matter what I do,” he admits. “If I do good on the show, people would be like ‘oh, you’re on the show with a bunch of guys that weren’t ready to fight you.’ And if you don’t do well, you’ll hear something too. I just took the opportunity that was given to me and I gave 100 percent. There were quite a few really tough guys that were on the show that were just unknown – J-Roc (Jared Rollins), George (Sotiropoulos), and Matt Arroyo were extremely good fighters on the same level that I was but they just didn’t have the experience.”

That experience was obvious once the bell rang, and Danzig tore through his three fights on the show, submitting Joey Scarola and John Kolosci (twice) en route to Saturday’s final match against teammate Tommy Speer at The Palms in Las Vegas. But even though accomplishing his mission of getting to the finals and being one win away from a UFC contract may have been expected, what Danzig didn’t count on was the way he was tossed into the public eye as one of the main focuses of the show.

“I knew that because of how I performed on the show that I was gonna get a certain amount of airtime and that I’d be featured a decent amount, but I didn’t realize how much they were actually going to use me and how much non-fighting airtime I was gonna get,” he said. “We really had no idea how it was gonna play out, and even the producers would tell us, ‘hey, you guys have no idea how it’s going to turn out, so don’t even try to think about it.’ We thought it was gonna be the Dan Barrera show, but after seeing all the episodes we realized that he was only really featured in the episode that he fought in. So it’s kinda cool that I got a lot of exposure, and at the same time it’s real strange for me. I went on the show and I knew what I was getting into, but I don’t know, it feels like I’ve exploited myself. (Laughs) I guess I have some personal, moral issue with being on a reality show, but what can you do? (Laughs) The only thing I don’t like is that people really think that they know me and know who I am because they saw me on a reality show and they feel like they can judge me. I don’t really like that, but hey, that’s what I signed up for, so I keep my mouth shut about it.”

And contrary to his portrayal on the show as the grouchy curmudgeon, now that he’s been freed from the house and is back in familiar confines in Los Angeles, Danzig is an affable 27-year old who appears to be enjoying the ride – well, somewhat.

“After the first episode, I was getting over 50 emails a day,” he said of the first time he realized that things had changed for him. “I got fan mail, people talking to me like they’ve known me all their lives, some people telling me what’s wrong with my personality and what I need to change. I said, ‘Man, this is a lot different than what I thought I would be.’ I like the publicity and I appreciate it, but I can’t wait until this whole thing is over and forgotten as far as the mainstream reality show viewership goes, and return to being just a fighter.”

On Saturday, fighting will be the only focus for Danzig, who will be battling perhaps the rawest talent from the show in Speer.

“Tommy is a tough farmboy,” said Danzig. “He’s definitely one of the most naturally tough people I’m gonna fight. You can’t underestimate the guy, he has no quit in him, so it’s gonna be a tough fight.”

What may even be tougher is the natural size and strength advantage that Speer will hold over Danzig, a natural lightweight who moved up to 170 for the show, much like season two winner (and current lightweight contender) Joe Stevenson. After Saturday’s fight, Danzig will follow ‘Joe Daddy’s lead, and go back to 155 pounds, win or lose.

“I decided that before I even went on the show,” said Danzig. “I really have no business fighting the top five guys at 170, or even the top ten when it comes down to it. It’s not that I can’t beat them, but if you put me in with Matt Hughes or Georges St-Pierre ten times, I’m gonna win a number of those times, but realistically, with all skills being the same, those guys are extremely skilled and much bigger than me. I walk around at 170, those guys walk around at 190, so it’s not a good idea for me. I really want to make a run for a title, and 155 is my weight class. I feel that within a couple of years I can be a world champion at 155.”

Mac Danzig has come a long way from battling it out on the small show circuit, and now that he’s here, he’s not going anywhere.

“155 is the toughest weight class there is by far, and that’s where I’ve got to be,” he said. “I’m looking forward to jumping in the mix with those guys and I think that’s where the exciting fights are.”

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