Martin Kampmann First Candidate For Vacant Team Alpha Male Head Coaching Position
UFC welterweight Martin Kampmann has been on the sidelines since his UFC Fight Night 27 technical knockout loss to Carlos Condit, his second straight stoppage defeat.
The snide caused “The Hitman” to rethink his dedication to the sport of mixed martial arts, and he decided to take some time off from the cage before deciding what his next move would be.
Tonight, news comes that he may have found what he has been looking for. Team Alpha Male, who has been forced to deal with the loss of dynamic head coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig following team member T.J. Dillashaw’s bantamweight title shot at UFC 173, is considering bringing in “The Hitman” as their new head coach.
Ariel Helwani had the story on tonight’s “UFC Tonight”:
“The first candidate to go to Sacramento and work with the team is a guy you guys know, Martin Kampmann, who was kind of teetering on whether or not he will retire, actually was brought out by Urijah Faber.
Actually, let’s backtrack. He sent Urijah Faber a letter, which wowed Faber. He kind of just said to him he’s interested in this position. Faber brought him out; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, work with the team, and Faber told me that he was really impressed. Loved what he had to bring to the table, loved his energy.
Right now they’re going to talk to a couple of people, not that many, and “Bang” is of course leaving end of May, but the first candidate, Martin Kampmann, so far had a great first step.”
On the surface, the pairing could be an effective one, because Kampmann was undoubtedly been one of the more well rounded 170-pound fighters in the UFC for years. He’s trained striking with decorated kickboxer Ray Sefo and his mat skills were bolstered by MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture.
That knowledge could obviously be invaluable to the rising fighters who populate Team Alpha Male’s talented roster.
And from the sound of things, team leader Faber likes the idea, obviously a glaring recommendation in Kampmann’s favor.
“The Hitman” recently teased coming back to fight by saying he’d simply call up Joe Silva, but things are beginning to sound like he’s found a new way to stay in the gym.
After Ludwig spearheaded a recent run of momentum that will be nearly impossible to re-create, is Kampmann the right man to fill “Bang’s” big shoes in California?
Photo: Pat Lovell for USA TODAY Sports
