Bellator 146: Melvin Manhoef, Pursuit of the Promise.
11/14/2015
When kickboxing and MMA legend Melvin ”No Mercy” Manhoef (29-12-1, 2 NC) steps foot inside the Bellator cage next Friday night against Hisaki Kato (5-1), he will have only one thing on his mind in Thackerville, Oklahoma: Middleweight title aspirations. At 39 years of age, Manhoef has already etched a long and storied fight career that will undoubtedly secure his place in the history and lore of combat sports forever. As one of the most aggressive and heavy handed strikers to ever grace the cage, Manhoef comes into the fight against Kato with the confidence of a martial artist who has seen 27 of his 29 career victories come by way of Knockout (KO) or Technical Knockout (TKO). For Manhoef, a 93% KO/TKO ratio in victory is a direct reflection of his fan friendly fighting style: unparalleled ferocity and aggression coupled with world class striking. When Manhoef’s striking is at its best, opponent separation from consciousness is the end product in addition to an adrenaline rush like no other:
“It’s very addictive. It’s like I don’t know how you can describe it, but yea every time I do it is like feeling you have power to pull somebody away at that moment. It is very strong. It’s a great feeling you know: the excitement and the win, everything together.”
Melvin Manhoef KOs Doug Marshal at Bellator 125 (Photo credit: Bellator MMA)
For Melvin however, he also knows the pain and heartache of being on the receiving end of a KO defeat having suffered two back to back KO losses most recently to both Alexander Shlemenko (later overturned to a No Contest for Shlemenko’s PED use in the fight) and Joe Schilling. Despite the setbacks, Manhoef treats each loss as a learning experience and has put the last nine months to good use in preparation to change the outcome to a victory at Bellator 146:
“A loss is like very hard you know, but you have to learn something about it. This is what I think. To get better, you have to learn about it. Of course, it is learning point for me you know, and it really sucks. It hurts in your heart you know, you feel the pain but at this moment you still have to fight and go through. Pick the best things out of it and make it a better game for your next match. And that is what I did, and that’s what we are going to do.”
Despite the less than desirable end result against Shlemenko at Bellator 133, Manheof did take note of things he did well in the fight, and how he can apply these positive aspects against Hisaki Kato:
“The takedown defense was ok [against Shlemenko]. So I think this would help me in this fight [against Kato]. In this fight, I am going to be like much more aggressive I think. So, yea. That’s what I am doing for the next fight.”
“I saw with Joe [Schilling] he [Kato] had also like solid ground game. Standup, he likes to come forward. He likes to bang you know. Of course, there are a lot of gaps because [Kato] is coming forward. Yea, I think he has some gaps in standup. He has some gaps on the ground; we didn’t’ see so much, but yea.”
Bellator 133: Manhoef vs. Shlemenko (Photo Credit: Bellator MMA)
While most fighters with the accolades and accomplishments of Manhoef at 39 years of age would be content to rest on their laurels and ride off into the sunset of retirement, this isn’t the case for Manhoef. He still feels an intense drive and hunger inside of him to push for more:
“My drive is the championship now you know. The drive for my family who is supporting me and still believe in me you know. The kids at my gym. At my own gym [Manhoef Fight & Fitness], the kids are like looking up to me and so one more time I want to become champion for them and for myself of course.”
“My goal is to become Bellator champion in 2016 if that is possible, and I think Hisaki is one of the first steps I have to take to go for the title. I think this is my goal, and after I hit my goal we can see what we are going to do. My goal is to become champion.”
Another component of Manhoef’s motivation to achieve the Bellator Middleweight world title resides in an unfulfilled promise made to his son to bring home the belt while fighting under Glory Kickboxing. While Manhoef ultimately came up short in this quest under Glory, his determination to make things right for his son while fighting under Bellator is a powerful testament to Manhoef’s character and a father's love for his son:
“Yea, of course. Because in Glory I didn’t get it [laughing] so I have to you know. You cannot make a promise and don’t do something you know. I have to keep up on my promise so I have to bring something for my child. If it’s gonna be like the Bellator belt then it’s going to be in Bellator.”
“Yea, that [fight against champion Rafael Carvalho] would be nice matchup. I cannot say nothing about that you know. I hope it will be soon.”
Photo Credit: Bellator MMA.
When queried as to what ultimately led Manhoef to sign a 3 fight contract with Bellator initially (and subsequently re-sign after the last fight on his contract with Alexander Shlemenko), he had the following to say:
“What led me to Bellator is [manager] Mike Kogan and Scott Coker, and they [are] guys I have been with already in Strikeforce you know. It was like pretty good fight corporation together, and I like them and they treat me well. Scott Coker as CEO of Bellator, and they give me like opportunity to shine… I’m really glad and thankful to be part of the show.”
With Manhoef’s future currently tied to Bellator and a run at the middleweight title at the forefront of his mind, Manhoef knows the key to future success lies in his continual evolution as a fighter. It’s the kind of evolution he noted has been occurring consistently when asked how he feels the 2005 version of himself compares to that of today:
“It’s gotten better of course on all aspects. Before, I was like of course a standup fighter. I was always not secure on the ground you know. But now, I am like better on the ground rolling with the guys doing everything. So, you know it’s already better so maybe I hope in the future that I can submit somebody for one time would be nice also. So, I think my Mixed Martial Arts gets real better on all levels.”
With a victory over Hisaki Kato at Bellator 146, Manhoef looks to add one more notch to his career belt of accomplishments and kick-start a serious run at the title which may create new memories to add to those he currently holds in highest regard:
“All fights have something you know. All accomplishments have something. [The] fight against [Kazushi] Sakuraba means a lot to me because I was like watching him also fighting, and then the fight against Mark Hunt is like on one day notice I take it and we got what we had to do. You know these kinds of things are like fight against Cyborg was like also one of the phases I had to go dig deep. These are most memorable and good accomplishments of myself what I find very important in my fights in my career.”
In the end, Melvin Manhoef will have a plethora of options available to him with a hard fought win over Hisaki Kato at Bellator 146. A future fight in Japan to pay homage to where his fight career started as well as a desire to fight one superfight at welterweight [77 kilos] brings up a host of intriguing Bellator potential future matchups (Brennan Ward, Michael “Venom” Page, Paul Daley, Josh Koscheck, etc). For right now, Manhoef is just anxious to get back in the Bellator cage for one reason:
“I really want to fight. I really want to do something to let the fans see that I am back. It’s a nice feeling.”
Best of luck Melvin and thank you for your time. Thank you also to Adam at Spike TV and CJ Tuttle of Bellator.
Fighter Fact: “No Mercy” Nickname- “There were like a few guys who had like a big fight magazine, and the guy say like yea I was hitting a guy and then ref didn’t say stop and the guy was already like very bad injured, and I look at the ref and the ref didn’t say nothing. And I keep on pounding then they call me ohh he has no mercy. And that is how they nickname No Mercy.”
How Manhoef hopes his career will ultimately be remembered by the fans: “A fighter that is always trying to fight, and I did like some impossible things and people were always happy with my fighting style you know. This is how I like to be remembered and as champion. That was a champion and then retired.”
11/14/2015
When kickboxing and MMA legend Melvin ”No Mercy” Manhoef (29-12-1, 2 NC) steps foot inside the Bellator cage next Friday night against Hisaki Kato (5-1), he will have only one thing on his mind in Thackerville, Oklahoma: Middleweight title aspirations. At 39 years of age, Manhoef has already etched a long and storied fight career that will undoubtedly secure his place in the history and lore of combat sports forever. As one of the most aggressive and heavy handed strikers to ever grace the cage, Manhoef comes into the fight against Kato with the confidence of a martial artist who has seen 27 of his 29 career victories come by way of Knockout (KO) or Technical Knockout (TKO). For Manhoef, a 93% KO/TKO ratio in victory is a direct reflection of his fan friendly fighting style: unparalleled ferocity and aggression coupled with world class striking. When Manhoef’s striking is at its best, opponent separation from consciousness is the end product in addition to an adrenaline rush like no other:
“It’s very addictive. It’s like I don’t know how you can describe it, but yea every time I do it is like feeling you have power to pull somebody away at that moment. It is very strong. It’s a great feeling you know: the excitement and the win, everything together.”
Melvin Manhoef KOs Doug Marshal at Bellator 125 (Photo credit: Bellator MMA)
For Melvin however, he also knows the pain and heartache of being on the receiving end of a KO defeat having suffered two back to back KO losses most recently to both Alexander Shlemenko (later overturned to a No Contest for Shlemenko’s PED use in the fight) and Joe Schilling. Despite the setbacks, Manhoef treats each loss as a learning experience and has put the last nine months to good use in preparation to change the outcome to a victory at Bellator 146:
“A loss is like very hard you know, but you have to learn something about it. This is what I think. To get better, you have to learn about it. Of course, it is learning point for me you know, and it really sucks. It hurts in your heart you know, you feel the pain but at this moment you still have to fight and go through. Pick the best things out of it and make it a better game for your next match. And that is what I did, and that’s what we are going to do.”
Despite the less than desirable end result against Shlemenko at Bellator 133, Manheof did take note of things he did well in the fight, and how he can apply these positive aspects against Hisaki Kato:
“The takedown defense was ok [against Shlemenko]. So I think this would help me in this fight [against Kato]. In this fight, I am going to be like much more aggressive I think. So, yea. That’s what I am doing for the next fight.”
“I saw with Joe [Schilling] he [Kato] had also like solid ground game. Standup, he likes to come forward. He likes to bang you know. Of course, there are a lot of gaps because [Kato] is coming forward. Yea, I think he has some gaps in standup. He has some gaps on the ground; we didn’t’ see so much, but yea.”
Bellator 133: Manhoef vs. Shlemenko (Photo Credit: Bellator MMA)
While most fighters with the accolades and accomplishments of Manhoef at 39 years of age would be content to rest on their laurels and ride off into the sunset of retirement, this isn’t the case for Manhoef. He still feels an intense drive and hunger inside of him to push for more:
“My drive is the championship now you know. The drive for my family who is supporting me and still believe in me you know. The kids at my gym. At my own gym [Manhoef Fight & Fitness], the kids are like looking up to me and so one more time I want to become champion for them and for myself of course.”
“My goal is to become Bellator champion in 2016 if that is possible, and I think Hisaki is one of the first steps I have to take to go for the title. I think this is my goal, and after I hit my goal we can see what we are going to do. My goal is to become champion.”
Another component of Manhoef’s motivation to achieve the Bellator Middleweight world title resides in an unfulfilled promise made to his son to bring home the belt while fighting under Glory Kickboxing. While Manhoef ultimately came up short in this quest under Glory, his determination to make things right for his son while fighting under Bellator is a powerful testament to Manhoef’s character and a father's love for his son:
“Yea, of course. Because in Glory I didn’t get it [laughing] so I have to you know. You cannot make a promise and don’t do something you know. I have to keep up on my promise so I have to bring something for my child. If it’s gonna be like the Bellator belt then it’s going to be in Bellator.”
“Yea, that [fight against champion Rafael Carvalho] would be nice matchup. I cannot say nothing about that you know. I hope it will be soon.”
Photo Credit: Bellator MMA.
When queried as to what ultimately led Manhoef to sign a 3 fight contract with Bellator initially (and subsequently re-sign after the last fight on his contract with Alexander Shlemenko), he had the following to say:
“What led me to Bellator is [manager] Mike Kogan and Scott Coker, and they [are] guys I have been with already in Strikeforce you know. It was like pretty good fight corporation together, and I like them and they treat me well. Scott Coker as CEO of Bellator, and they give me like opportunity to shine… I’m really glad and thankful to be part of the show.”
With Manhoef’s future currently tied to Bellator and a run at the middleweight title at the forefront of his mind, Manhoef knows the key to future success lies in his continual evolution as a fighter. It’s the kind of evolution he noted has been occurring consistently when asked how he feels the 2005 version of himself compares to that of today:
“It’s gotten better of course on all aspects. Before, I was like of course a standup fighter. I was always not secure on the ground you know. But now, I am like better on the ground rolling with the guys doing everything. So, you know it’s already better so maybe I hope in the future that I can submit somebody for one time would be nice also. So, I think my Mixed Martial Arts gets real better on all levels.”
With a victory over Hisaki Kato at Bellator 146, Manhoef looks to add one more notch to his career belt of accomplishments and kick-start a serious run at the title which may create new memories to add to those he currently holds in highest regard:
“All fights have something you know. All accomplishments have something. [The] fight against [Kazushi] Sakuraba means a lot to me because I was like watching him also fighting, and then the fight against Mark Hunt is like on one day notice I take it and we got what we had to do. You know these kinds of things are like fight against Cyborg was like also one of the phases I had to go dig deep. These are most memorable and good accomplishments of myself what I find very important in my fights in my career.”
In the end, Melvin Manhoef will have a plethora of options available to him with a hard fought win over Hisaki Kato at Bellator 146. A future fight in Japan to pay homage to where his fight career started as well as a desire to fight one superfight at welterweight [77 kilos] brings up a host of intriguing Bellator potential future matchups (Brennan Ward, Michael “Venom” Page, Paul Daley, Josh Koscheck, etc). For right now, Manhoef is just anxious to get back in the Bellator cage for one reason:
“I really want to fight. I really want to do something to let the fans see that I am back. It’s a nice feeling.”
Best of luck Melvin and thank you for your time. Thank you also to Adam at Spike TV and CJ Tuttle of Bellator.
Fighter Fact: “No Mercy” Nickname- “There were like a few guys who had like a big fight magazine, and the guy say like yea I was hitting a guy and then ref didn’t say stop and the guy was already like very bad injured, and I look at the ref and the ref didn’t say nothing. And I keep on pounding then they call me ohh he has no mercy. And that is how they nickname No Mercy.”
How Manhoef hopes his career will ultimately be remembered by the fans: “A fighter that is always trying to fight, and I did like some impossible things and people were always happy with my fighting style you know. This is how I like to be remembered and as champion. That was a champion and then retired.”
