Ben Callum "Denniston is coming for my belt I've got to defend that"

Kingdom MMA chats to Ben Callum ahead of his first UCMMA title defence

by Ben Heather @benheather

Today I got the chance to have a chat with the UCMMA middleweight champion Ben Callum ahead of his first title defence on Saturday night at UCMMA 33. Callum will put his belt on the line when he fights Denniston Sutherland.

Thank you Ben from taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions for Kingdom MMA, especially when you will be cutting weight today.

Ben: For those people who don't really know Ben Callum or may be checking out UCMMA for the first time on Saturday, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what people can expect to see on Saturday night?
Callum: Well i am a mixed martial artist who is a well rounded fighter but a prominent stand up up striker. I would definitely describe myself as being explosive.

Ben: I would definitely agree with the fact that you are explosive, the total combined time spent in the cage of your last three fights is 95 seconds and you won them all.
Ben: Do you always look to get in and back in the locker room as quick as possible rather than getting in to a three round war?
Callum: Yeah i do, I always train and prepare myself to go the distance but i don't get any overtime pay so the quicker i win the better it is for me.

Ben: You are now 5-1 as a MMA fighter with your only loss coming against current TUF 17 fighter Luke Barnatt. Do you feel you have learnt anything from this loss?
Callum: Yeah I do, I believe I learnt a hell of a lot from that loss. The way i see it, that was a great experience for me. After that fight I made a lot of changes to my game off the back of that loss and it has made me a better fighter.

Ben: Have you or would you be interested in applying to get on to a series of The Ultimate Fighter?
Callum: No I have never applied before but it is something i would definitely be interested in. I would love the opportunity and would love to apply if they did another series in the UK or anywhere I could afford to go.

Ben: On Saturday you are fighting Denniston Sutherland at UCMMA 33, how has your preparation gone ahead of this fight?
Callum: The preparation has gone really well, I have worked harder on specific areas of my game and I am very confident of all aspects going in to this fight.

Ben: Your opponent Sutherland has been on the UK scene for a long time and enters the fight with a lot of experience. Is this the biggest challenge of your career so far?
Callum: Yeah this is the biggest challenge, I have a lot of respect for Denniston and the UK MMA scene. He is coming for my belt and I've got to defend that.

Ben: Do you think Sutherland has any weaknesses you can exploit?
Callum: I wouldn't say Denniston has any weaknesses but what i will say is that I believe in my strengths.

Ben: You fought four times last year would you like to be as active again this year?
Callum: Yeah definitely if not more this year. I always want to stay active.

Ben: This will be the first title defence of your UCMMA Middleweight belt, has that put any added pressure on you going in to this fight?
Callum: No I am just taking this as another fight, every fight is the same to me. I have always treated every fight as if its a title fight so this is no different.

Ben: How much weight do you need to cut before weigh ins tomorrow and are things on schedule?
Callum: I have got 8lbs to go and so I am well on schedule. I am just relaxing and chilling out now if i was worried I would be working on the cut now. I will cut the remaining weight this evening then be ready to weigh in.

Ben: What weight do you walk around at between fights?
Callum: I between fights I can go up to 103kgs (227lbs)

Ben: Thank you for your time and answering all the questions for kingdomMMA.co.uk. Would you like to thank any training partners and sponsors?
Callum: God always comes first. Everyone at Team Titan, Bola Omoyele, everyone at Keddle's gym, Paul Dewberry, Jude Sammuel, Legacy BJJ, my strength and conditioning coach Andrew Marshall and Dynamic Fightwear.

Ben: Again thank you for your time and for speaking to kingdomMMA.co.uk and good luck this weekend at UCMMA 33.

Keep checking Kingdom MMA for the latest news on Ben Callum, UCMMA as well as all the latest news from the world of MMA.