Ben Saunders Receives BJJ Brown Belt

As he prepares for his UFC 113 fight in New Jersey, Ben Saunders received a new credential for his hard work in preparation for the upcoming bout.

The long time American Top Team disciple earned his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from head trainer, Ricardo Liborio, over the weekend.

Never a stranger to submissions, Saunders has actually been doing quite a good job lately of not needing his ground skills as he's picked up his last couple of wins by knockout.

Devastating in the clinch using knees, Saunders backs up his stand-up with his ever growing ground arsenal, which helped him earn the recognition from his trainer at American Top Team.

Saunders will next compete at UFC 113 against Martin Kampmann in a welterweight contest on the main card.

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Martin Kampmann Prepares to Welcome Carlos Condit to UFC

Martin Kampmann Willing To Fight Any Weight Class...Sort Of

When UFC fighter, Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann, made the decision to drop down to the welterweight division after a successful run at 185lbs, the move was hailed by most industry insiders as the Danish born fighter would likely gain a leg up on the competition at 170lbs.

Always undersized at middleweight, Kampmann never seemed to struggle much taking on anybody at 185lbs, but the decision was made to test the waters at 170lbs and it was a successful move as he won his first fight by TKO in the 2nd round over Alexandre Barros in February.

Now as Kampmann prepares for his main event match-up against Carlos Condit on April 1st, the Xtreme Couture fighter tells MMAWeekly Radio that he's happy to face anybody in any weight class...well, sort of.

When asked if he was happy to be the bigger fighter when facing other welterweights, Kampmann responded, ""Yeah sure. I'd like to fight 55'ers too."

155lbers?!? So of course the next question had to be can Kampmann actually make the cut to 155lbs?

"No, but if they like fighting bigger guys, I'd fight 45'ers too," Kampmann said with a laugh.

Kampmann finishes up his camp in Las Vegas this week before heading to Nashville for his fight against Condit next week. Check out the entire Martin Kampmann interview later this week on MMAWeekly Radio.

Going Smaller, Kampmann Hopes to Get Bigger

Like most combat sports, mixed martial artists are always looking to find any edge that they can going into a fight. One of the most common ways for a fighter to sway a match-up to his favor these days is competing in the lightest weight division you can get your body to go to.

The decision to make a move in weight is sometimes a simple one, but not always, especially when you're already successful competing at a higher weight class... like Martin Kampmann.

The Danish fighter had reeled off four wins in a row in the UFC's 185-pound weight class before dropping a bout to fellow contender Nate Marquardt. But suffering only the second defeat of his 15-bout professional career was enough to cause Kampmann to pull the trigger on the move that he had been contemplating for some time.

"It's funny because he wanted to drop (to 170 pounds) early on," said Kampmann's manager Ken Pavia. " He said, 'Hey listen, I only cut two or three pounds (to make 185 pounds); I probably should go to 70. Let's do it.' And I said, 'I think you have a career here at 85. Why don't we play this out and see where it takes us and then if we encounter a loss, we reassess and we have a whole second career waiting for us at 170.'"

That's exactly what they did, and it worked... for a while.

"He was walking around at 87, 88; he was a very small 85er. But when you beat guys like Drew McFedries, Thales Leites, and you're 4-0 in the UFC, you're one fight away from the strap. Had he beat Marquardt; I think logically he might have gotten a title shot," Pavia continued.

But he didn't beat Marquardt and that was enough of a sign for Kampmann to at least give the crowded 170-pound division a shot.

"He unfortunately took that loss to Nate and we reassessed and he wanted to go to a weight he's more comfortable at."

And that is how Kampmann wound up on the UFC 93 fight card in Dublin, Ireland, prepared to welcome UFC newcomer Alexandre Barros to the Octagon... at 170 pounds.

Martin Kampmann Likely To Meet Alexander Barros At UFC 93

MMAInsider has learned that Danish middleweight Martin Kampmann will likely face UFC newcomer Alexandre Barros at UFC 93 on Jan. 17 in Dublin, Ireland in a welterweight contest.

Sources close to Kampmann said bout agreements have not yet been signed, but he has agreed to face the Brazilian fighter.

Kampmann is coming off a knockout loss at the hands of Greg Jackson disciple Nate Marquardt at UFC 88 in Atlanta, Georgia. It was his first UFC loss in five appearances since making his debut against Crafton Wallace at Ultimate Fight Night 6 in 2006. He currently trains out of Xtreme Couture's flagship gym in Las Vegas.

Barros carries a record of 13-5 in professional competition and got his start in Brazil's bare-knuckle IVC in 1999. From 2000 to 2002, he fought and lost three times in the US, most notably to Matt Hughes at "WEF 9" in May of 2000. He is currently riding a nine-fight win streak in Brazilian competition.