Linton
Vassell traveled the
Bellator
MMA road for over a decade, and during that time, he twice
unsuccessfully challenged for the light heavyweight championship.
However, a move back to heavyweight resulted in a five-fight
winning streak—it included four finishes—and has him upbeat ahead
of his
Professional Fighters League debut.
The 40-year-old Vassell will clash with former Absolute
Championship Akhmat titleholder
Denis
Goltsov in the
PFL 1 co-main event on April 4 at the Boeing Center in San
Antonio. There were bumps along the way, as losses to
Ryan Bader
and
Phil
Davis made “Big Swarm” question his status as a fighter.
Something had to change.
“Definitely, the weight cut was one of the biggest factors, and I
think mentally, when you lose one [and] then you lose two, you sort
of doubt yourself,” Vassell told Sherdog.com. “I was contemplating
whether to retire, and then I was like, ‘Damn, I lost at
heavyweight, as well. Should I retire?’”
The heavyweight loss to
Valentin
Moldavsky seemed like the last straw, but Bellator kept Vassell
on the roster and booked him against fearsome
Pride Fighting Championships veteran
Sergei
Kharitonov. The result altered the trajectory of his career
once more.
“I’d been watching him pretty much through his Bellator career,
kickboxing career and Pride,” Vassell said, “and I knew, if I take
him down, I’m going to get this. I believed in myself, trained as
hard as I possibly could. If I lost, then I was definitely gone.
Everything came [together]. I got the win and the confidence came
back, and we’re here now. It’s five wins [in a row].”
Being 40 usually signifies the twilight of an athletic career, but
Vassell has replaced youthful bravado with battle-tested wisdom.
These days, he takes a more measured approach, including the use of
a chiropractor and a hyperbaric chamber.
“I think it’s how you look after your body,” Vassell said. “You’ve
got to be smart. Back in the day, I’d overtrain, and I was always
cutting weight. I’d get sick, get injured, because I’m trying to
push it that extra bit more to lose that weight.”
Vassell calls the powerhouse
Kill Cliff Fight Club camp home. Top talent and an all-star
coaching staff—it includes
Greg Jones,
Sean
Soriano, Henri Hooft, Jason Strout, Said Saparov and
Nik Lentz—have
him feeling confident ahead of his latest test. Training partners
like
Steve
Mowry,
Darion
Abbey and
Bailey
Schoenfelder add an additional boost.
“I’ve got so many coaches out there that have been helping me and
getting me ready,” Vassell said. “A big fight camp has been
happening. I can’t moan. We’ve all been helping each other get
ready and pushing each other.”
How does Vassell visualize his encounter with Goltsov
unfolding?
“He’s a good striker, good grappler,” he said. “He’s a tough guy,
but I’ll still bring my A game. I think I’m going to be the
stronger guy and the better guy on the feet and grappling, as well.
I see myself finishing from the ground-and-pound.”