StandThemUp Exclusive: Nick "The Savage" Duell

STU member Curt Heinrichs stepped up on short notice and made his way to the lions den that is Strong Style Martial Arts to get his reportin' on.   Fortunately for us, Curt was successful and brought us some interesting stuff to do on a slow Wednesday before the fights.  Here is a exclusive interview with Nick "The Savage" Duell (8-2) while he is cutting weight in preparation for his co-main event bout against Dominique Steele (5-1) at the NAAFS Night of Champions (tonight).

CH: Steele is a big dude and he’s fought at Heavyweight earlier in his career. Are you expecting him to be ridiculously bigger than you on fight night?

ND: would think that dropping down from a heavier weight, you actually get a lot skinnier before you get acclimated to that weight. I think he’s going to be skinny and lose a lot of muscle weight to get down to 170. I may actually be the bigger fighter on fight night. I know he’s still going to be really strong, though.

Check out the rest of the interview after the jump:

CH: Vision MMA is one of the biggest gyms in Ohio and they’ve fought Strong Style a few times recently. Is there any rivalry or bad blood between the two or any extra pressure to represent your team?

ND:  There’s no rivalry. They’re good dudes down there and they have a lot of good fighters. I feel like we have the best gym up here and I want to always beat my opponent, no matter what gym he trains at.

CH: What are you expecting Steele to bring to the table on Wednesday?

ND:  He’s a good wrestler, very explosive. Tons of heart. Going to be all over the place. I’m expecting him to bring all he’s got to try and beat me. I’m going to be ready for him and find a way to beat him.

CH:  In your bout with Daniel Head, you out-grappled him. In your win over Kevin Knabjian, you out-struck him. Where are you most comfortable in a fight?

ND:  Honestly, I like scramble-type fights. I don’t just like standing straight up or going just to the ground. I kinda like fights that go all over. I like to scramble with guys and make them work; not to be cocky, but that’s my favorite type of fight.

CH:  Does a win here get you a rematch shot at Kyle Baker?

ND:  That’s up to Greg Kalikas and the NAAFS. I just want to get in there and put on a good performance and get the win however I can.

CH:  Is that something that’s always in the back of your mind: “Get that belt back!”?

ND:   I don’t really care about the belt. I do know that it’s MMA and on any given Sunday anything can happen. There’s no such thing as luck. He’s a big, strong guy and he caught me. If either of us hit each other on the chin, the other one is going down. He just got there first. Of course, I want to get a chance to get back at him. That actually is more important to me than the belt right now.

CH:  You’ve got lots of teammates (Hawk, Miocic, Lozano, Rogers, Eye, Petz) all getting called to Bellator or the UFC. How close are you to getting the big shot?

ND:   I got pretty close, obviously. Everybody’s heard about that by now. I lost my fight and missed that chance, but now I look at it as having more time to sharpen my skills and keep getting better. I want to make sure that when I get there, I stay there. I’m not going to be the guy that has one fight and never goes back to the UFC or Bellator.

CH:  You’re fighting at home in Canton. Does that give you any extra incentive or pressure to go out and win and put on a show?

ND:   There’s pressure to win with every fight. Especially, after losing there’s pressure. If you look at my record, I’ve never lost 2 fights in a row. I always come back better than ever and KO a guy or submit a guy or get a good win against a good guy. My first fight in Canton was against Knabjian, and I had a pretty good fight that night. I look for the support of the crowd to push me to fight hard. 

CH: How’s the fight going to end on Wednesday?

ND:  I am going to give the most cliché answer and say: with my hand raised. I am going to do whatever it takes to win.