By Jason Probst
Experience is what you get looking for something else. And in the mind of Drew Fickett, the 35 fights he’s had are just the primer for reinventing himself with each outing.
With a record of 30-5, Fickett, 27, is one of the emerging new breed in the sport; he’s had more fights than birthdays. But despite the frenetic pace that’s kept him remarkably active, he’s still learning, taking something with him from each match.
Facing Keita Nakamura Thursday at UFC Fight Night in a welterweight bout, the Arizona-based Fickett is no longer the new guy in the UFC, with six appearances in the show behind him. But that experience has come with a price. And given that it’s only Nakamura’s second UFC fight (following a hard-fought decision loss to Brock Larson last December), Fickett’s hoping that the tables might be turned this time, given the disappointment of his debut in the UFC against Nick Diaz, in February 2005 at the Mandalay Bay. He was TKO’d in the first round of bout where he never really got untracked.
“I was just like really, really scared. I was in tears the morning of the fight. I wasn’t intimidated by Nick, it’s the whole scene,” Fickett recalled. “In his interview he said he had a lot more experience. Then I stepped into the lights and said Holy Cow!”
Fickett didn’t understand what Diaz was talking about. He had twice as many fights (25 vs. 12) as the Stockton-based battler. It was only afterward he realized that Diaz’ aforementioned edge in experience was in the UFC. While Diaz had a mere dozen bouts, he’d fought three in the UFC, and had already gotten through the nerve-wracking experience of getting familiar with the setting. It’s there that all the trappings come home to roost. Big John McCarthy comes in to give you instructions. The walk into the Octagon. Seeing yourself on the big screen. 10,000 pairs of eyes watching. You can’t train for it and the adrenaline dump can be paralyzing before the first blow is even thrown.