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Before
Elmer Waterhen begins the tenth year of his professional MMA career, the
veteran has a key opportunity right in front of him, as on November 16th he
will fight KOTC Canadian Welterweight Champion Garett Davis. If Waterhen wins,
then the resilient fighter will hold not one, but two Canadian titles at the
same time. Not many fighters can say they’ve accomplished that during their
career.
“I’m
very excited,” said the KOTC Canadian Middleweight Champion about the “Stand
and Deliver” headliner, which will take place at Edmonton’s Mirage Banquet. “I’d
have two belts. It doesn’t really matter to me who I fight, but to have the
opportunity to hold two belts, God answered my prayers.”
“I’ve
seen him fight several times, and they’ve offered fights with him before but
they fell through,” Waterhen added about Davis. “To fight someone like him,
man, I’ll have to take my game up a notch.”
Although
Davis hasn’t fought in well over a year, due to injuries he sustained last
summer when he was hit by a car while riding his bike, the veteran is one of
Canada’s leading welterweights. In addition, the Vancouver fighter was recently
awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by UFC and PRIDE veteran, Denis
Kang.
“Anyone
can get a black belt; it just depends if you have the money and if you take the
classes,” said Waterhen. “But for him as a fighter, he’s a very underrated
fighter. He should be fighting in the UFC. That’s the kind of fighter as I see
him.”
While
Waterhen was quick to praise the abilities of the welterweight champion, the
Saskatoon fighter does have a game-plan in mind, which he feels will put his
best skills to use and secure the win.
“My
game-plan is to come out, move forward, and hopefully I can keep the pace up,”
said Waterhen, who defended his middleweight belt in March, by tapping out Mike
Froese in the first round at KOTC Canada’s “Infamy” card. “I’m going to try to
keep it standing up. I consider myself to be a straight brawler and I plan to
keep it standing up.”
Of
course, Waterhen has been preparing to cut to 170 pounds, which the
middleweight champion hasn’t had to do in some time.
“I’m
pretty much good with cardio, but having the bigger weight cut, hopefully I can
finish it quick,” said Waterhen. “Get off a really good, quick or fluke
submission, and if not, brawl it out standing up.”
Another
reason why Waterhen is eager to add the Canadian welterweight title to his
collection, is because the Way of the Dragon Martial Arts competitor is reporting that
2013 will be his last year fighting.
“I
really love fighting; it’s not who I fight, it’s just that I love fighting,”
said Waterhen. “All my career I’ve been fighting guys that are top notch: going
to the UFC or coming from the UFC. To have the privilege of fighting guys that
are over my league, I really thank God for giving me the opportunity to fight
guys like Niko (Vitale), Jesse (Bongfeldt) or Rory MacDonald, guys like that.
God gave me such a great career.”
In
the meantime, Waterhen is looking forward to returning to Edmonton for the
“Stand and Deliver” card, and the fighter plans on making the most of his time
while he’s there.
“Since
I’m going to be there for four days, I would really appreciate if people
brought non-perishable food for the food bank,” Waterhen said. “They can just
drop them off at the gates, at the front door, since I’m going to be
volunteering at the food bank on Monday. I’d like to drop some food off for them.
Christmas is around the corner.”
Tickets
for “Stand and Deliver” can be purchased by heading to ClubZone.com or at the
Wild West Shooting Centre.
www.goatpr.com
