In the first part of 2010 Pascal Krauss could be found atop many “Top Prospects” list and with a 9-0 record and all of his wins coming by way of submission or knockout, the young 22 year-old German appeared to be a sure lock as the best fighter to not fight inside the octagon. Then in August 2010 he signed with the UFC and shortly after made his debut, in his home country of Germany versus Mark Scanlon. The fight earned both fighters “Fight of The Night” bonuses with Krauss coming out victorious via unanimous decision.
Since then Pascal Krauss has waited patiently to step back inside the octagon and was originally scheduled to fight in November of 2011 against John Hathaway before being sidelined with a shoulder injury that forced him to pull out of the bout, causing the entire bout to be scrapped. When I asked the very direct yet polite Krauss what it was like to finally be so close to returning to action he was quick to answer, “I’m ready, I feel great and can’t wait to get back in there.”
Recently it was announced that Pascal had joined Roufusport in preparation for his upcoming bout with his original UFC 138 opponent, John Hathaway. So what has it been like training with Duke Roufus and guys like Ben Askren, Alan Belcher, and Anthony Pettis? “Training has been going great and all the guys there are great. Everyone brings a different thing to the table and can’t wait to show the improvements I have made.”
Roufus is the latest highly touted trainer that Pascal has had a chance to work with in his quest to become the best well-rounded fighter in the world. Also on the list are judo black belt Gregor Herb, Renzo Gracie and Ralph Gracie. “I was training with Ralph Gracie and he brought me over to Cesar Gracie’s a few times. I wasn’t there that long but learned a lot.” So did Krauss ever get to go up against the likes of Shields and Nick Diaz? No. “I was there the same time Nick was getting ready for a fight at that time so they didn’t really want him rolling with guys he didn’t know and risk getting injured.”
Krauss made it very clear that he is motivated by winning and will not accept defeat, “I hate losing, I’m a bad loser, I always want to win.” What about the pressure of living up to the hype of being a “top prospect” as given to him by other MMA websites? “I don’t care that much about stuff like that. There’s always pressure on your shoulders when you fight…I hate losing…that’s enough pressure for me. I don’t think about being ranked on a Sherdog list when I’m fighting.”
Only time will tell how high Krauss’ stock really is, but on May 5th, on a stacked UFC on Fox card, Pascal Krauss sure does sound ready to show the world that the “hype” isn’t really hype and that it is in fact, a reality.
Pascal Krauss would like to thank Roufusport and all his training partners, Phantom MMA. You can follow him on twitter @PascalKrauss and PascalKrauss.com
Interview conducted By Gerry Rodriguez, You can follow Gerry Rodriguez on twitter @gerrySbayunco
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Get more great MMA news and analysis over at MMA Valor.
Get more great MMA news and analysis over at MMA Valor.