Hecho En Mexico: Exclusive Interview With UFC's Efrain Escudero

After three rounds against the favored Phillipe Nover, Efrain Escudero won The Ultimate Fighter, respect from the MMA community, and a chance to fight in undoubtedly the pinnacle of organizations in mixed martial arts.

However, the chance to step into the octagon against the elite in the world has been somewhat overdue for the lightweight fighter. After an injury prior to UFC Fight Night 18, Escudero was forced to withdraw from his bout against Jeremy Stephens.

Escudero’s wait seems to be worth it as he is set to battle Cole Miller at UFC 103.

Miller is riding a two-fight win streak, including his most recent victory against Escudero’s former housemate, the infamous Junie Browning. Miller claims a 15-3 record, with ten victories coming via submission.

Escudero will enter this bout with eleven wins, accompanied by zero losses. Nine of his fights have come via submission, putting two very capable grapplers against each other.

Escudero will rely on one thing over most anything in this fight; his background in wrestling. Escudero was able to dictate the entire fight against Nover, taking him down at will. More of the same is going to be necessary to win the fight against Miller, along with avoiding the grasp of the submission artist.

Escudero believes Miller, like so many of his opponents, will be unable to handle his advanced wrestling.

When discussing the role of his wrestling in his upcoming bout, Escudero stated simply, “I do not believe Cole Miller can handle it.”

This upcoming lightweight bout holds many an opportunity for the career of Efrain Escudero. This fight allows him the chance to cement himself in the UFC, along with verifying his skills as a mixed martial artists. However, a new horizon waits for UFC, and Escudero finds himself on the front lines.

As one of few Mexican American fighters in the UFC, Escudero has the opportunity to strengthen the popularity of mixed martial arts in Mexico. With the UFC well developed in Canada, Escudero hopes an event in Mexico is soon to follow.

Before Escudero can become one of the elite in the UFC lightweight division, or aid in the expansion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship into Mexico, he must defeat Cole Miller. With a victory over Miller, Escudero’s goals become more and more realistic, and opportunities in the UFC will continue to grow for this young lightweight fighter.

Efrain Escudero took a moment out of his time to sit down with Inside Fights to discuss his upcoming fight, along with several other topics of interest.

The full interview transcript is available below, containing Escudero’s thoughts on his upcoming bout, the future of the UFC in Mexico, and former Ultimate Fighter housemate Junie Browning. That and more can be discovered in this Inside Fights interview with UFC lightweight Efrain Escudero.

Nate Lawson

You are fighting Cole Miller at UFC 103. What are your thoughts on your opponent at this point in time?

Efrain Escudero

You know, Cole Miller is a tough opponent. I’m giving him the proper respect just like every other fighter. He’s well rounded. He’s an American Top Team black belt. He’s a good, well rounded fighter, and I think it’s going to be an exciting fight to watch just because it is going to come back to whose done more studying and whose done more strategizing.

Nate Lawson

What have you been working on most for this fight? What is your game plan against Miller?

Efrain Escudero

Well I really don’t want to say my game plan, but I’m working on my whole technique. I’m still at this point improving my weakness. Six weeks out I’ll start training day in and day out for Cole Miller.

Nate Lawson

You showed superior wrestling in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter. Do you believe Cole Miller will be unable to compete with your wrestling just as Philippe Nover was unable to?

Efrain Escudero

Yeah, I believe my wrestling is a very strong base in my arsenal, and I do not believe Cole Miller can handle it, and I believe I will be able to dictate where the fight goes. I can avoid being taken down, and I can also, if I feel in danger, I can take him down and ground and pound him.

Nate Lawson

Cole Miller trains out of American Top Team, one of the elite camps in the nation. How do you feel your training at Southwest MMA will compare to Miller’s over at ATT?

Efrain Escudero

It’s not about where you train or what you do. It’s how you train and how do you prepare yourself. In our camp, we might not have the most talented guys in there, but these guys are the guys you really have to beat and they will not give you any respect because of who you are, and what you do, or what you accomplish.

Everybody in our gym is hungry. These guys go in and try to beat me up every day, and that’s just what I need.

A lot of people might say, “ why don’t you go to ACS and train there?” Because I feel comfortable with my camp, I feel strong with my camp, and they helped me get past Phillipe Nover. They will do the same for Cole Miller.

Nate Lawson

Miller has gone to the judges’ scorecards four times. You have gone to the judges just two times. Do you plan on this fight ending before the 15 minutes are up?

Efrain Escudero

Yeah, I do believe it is going to end early. Expect an exciting  fight. I’m not going to lay and pray on him. I’ve been working a lot on my hands. I’ve been working a lot on my ground and pound.

I’ve been working a lot on my jiu-jitsu, so expect a high paced fight. One of my messages for Cole Miller would be “I can’t control being the best guy out there. I can’t control being the best-rounded fighter. I can’t control being the best gifted guy. But what I can control is my conditioning and my cardio that will not stop coming for fifteen minutes”.

Nate Lawson

Miller faced Junie Browning in his previous bout. Do you feel you will be a much better challenge than your fellow Ultimate Fighter?

Efrain Escudero

Yeah, Junie’s just a bunch of talk. I’ve been hanging out with him. He’s a cool cat now. He’s a cool guy. We hang around when we see each other. But I think he just did this whole big show and now he is seeing his whole little debut in the Ultimate Fighter going away because he keeps losing fights.

This is the second fight he’s lost. He’s lost to me and then he lost to Cole Miller. So now he has to prove himself if he wants to stay.

Nate Lawson

Do you think he could set up a legitimate career in the UFC? Or will he destroy all of that with his anger and immaturity?

Efrain Escudero

I don’t think he has anger. I think he just wanted to be on TV. I think if he keeps it up, the way he is going, he is not going to last very long. A lot of people hate him, a lot of people like him. A lot of people want to see him get beat up, and that’s what people want to see. Whatever sells tickets will determine if they bring him back or not.

Nate Lawson

What other guys in the house really stood out? Krzysztof Soszynski or Ryan Bader?

Efrain Escudero

Ryan Bader stands out to me a lot because me and him were both Arizona boys. We both come back from a wrestling background. We’re both from Arizona. When I was in high school I used to like their meets so I could see those guys wrestle, and Bader was one of my favorite wrestlers to watch.

Nate Lawson

Many fans of MMA find the wrestling aspect and wrestlers boring. What do you have to say about that because of your skill in wrestling?

Efrain Escudero

If you look at the top names like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, all those guys. They come from a wrestling background. I believe that wrestling has a major impact because that’s the force. You can determine where your fight goes.

If you’re getting beat up on the feet, you have to be able to do something. You’re not just going to continue to get beat up. Now if you have great stand up, you need very good take down defense.

Nate Lawson

What do you feel sets you apart from the opponents like Cole Miller? What will make you the greatest fighter in the lightweight division?

Efrain Escudero

I’m going to test my skills against Cole Miller. After this fight I’ll be able to test myself because he’s one of the top ranked guys in the world. Once I beat him, I’m not really going to think much about it because I don’t really care about rankings.

Rankings can mean anything. I come from wrestling and rankings always stand out. There’s only one guy that we’re all going after and his name is B.J. Penn, so we just gotta climb up the ladder.

Nate Lawson

What are your feelings about being a Mexican-American fighter? How will your presence in this sport affect those in Mexico and the popularity of the sport there?

Efrain Escudero

I think a lot of people are starting to recognize me now down in Mexico, while I walk down the street. Some here and there are starting to recognize me. I think that the UFC should spend a little more time trying to extend to Mexico now that we have UFC fighters born in Mexico; myself and my friend Edgar Garcia, who will be fighting June 20 at the Palms.

I think that they should make the most out of it. I think it could be a great impact on the Mexicans having the sport .

Nate Lawson

Do you see a UFC event happening in Mexico anytime soon, like Mexico City or Cancun?

Efrain Escudero

I would actually really like that. I don’t know if it would really be a big showing right now because not a lot of people know about it. In two year, maybe. I would love for that to happen.

Nate Lawson

You have a deal with Bud Light. How do you feel that will bring more attention to MMA fans and Mexicans as well?

Efrain Escudero

Being sponsored by a big corporation like Bud Light, that has given me the airtime and the publicity that a lot of companies do down in Mexico. Especially because Bud Light kind of fits the MMA market just as well as the product. Seeing people in Mexico City seeing posters of me on the walls.

My nickname is “Hecho en Mexico”, so that means “Made In Mexico” and it says there’s a Mexican out there trying to represent us, so let’s give him all the support.

Nate Lawson

With your next fight with Cole Miller, can you guarantee a victory right now, or is it still all up in the air like it always is in MMA?

Efrain Escudero

It’s all up in the air. I can never get over confident and be like, “it’s in my pocket.” I gotta go in there and train hard and work hard. You know Cole Miller feels the same. He’s not sitting around saying Efrain’s going to be an easy fight. He’s training every day and putting in the hours.

And if he’s not, he’s in the wrong sport and it will be shown that he should have been training when the fight comes.

Nate Lawson

I appreciate you taking the time to sit down and talk to me, and good luck with you upcoming bout.

Efrain Escudero

Alright. Thank you very much.

Original article can be found on Inside Fights.