Bellator's Chad Robichaux on Zach Makovsky: Fight Could Turn into a Slug-Fest

This Saturday night’s Bellator 41 event will feature veteran fighter Chad Robichaux as he challenges current Bellator Bantamweight Champion, Zach Makovsky.

At 35 years old, it might be surprising for some to hear that Robichaux will be making his nationally-televised event debut this weekend.

He did, however, gain a big win over Humberto DeLeon on the undercard of the Strikeforce event in his hometown of Houston last August.

But don’t mistake his lack of big-event fights as inexperience. A black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr., Robichaux also owns three of his own Gracie Barra gyms in Texas which train nearly 1,000 students.

Chad himself began training in jiu-jitsu and karate at just five years old and has been expanding his skills for what is now over 30 years.

Not only does he have the background, but as the pound-for-pound top fighter in his area, “Robo” also has the professional mixed martial arts record to prove his ability to challenge the reigning Bellator champion.

Robichaux possesses a spotless 11-0 professional mixed martial arts record, with his first ten wins coming by way of submission.

However, even given his experience in the sport, Robichaux admits that this fight against Zach Makovsky is very different from any in his past.

“It’s a big step up in competition for me,” Robichaux told Bleacher Report. “But I’m here to win.”

It’s easy to look at Robichaux’s undefeated record and say that he hasn’t stepped up to fight top-level competition yet, but that isn’t the case at all. In fact, the biggest reason that he hasn’t been on the national stage before this is likely due to his own selflessness.

You see, like many other fighters who are now sponsored by Ranger Up Apparel, it was in 2005 that Chad put his mixed martial arts career on the side as he was deployed by the military to do more important work in Afghanistan.

He spent four years in there, completing a total of eight tours, before returning home to pick up where he left off.

Chad continued to hone his craft between tours, spending the weeks he had to sharpen his skills before being sent back time after time.

Though there is no question that the military has helped create another level of discipline and composure for him, his time overseas also made it impossible to move up the ladder in MMA.

Now that he has more time on his hands, Robichaux has been set on proving himself in his sport. He has run through the local MMA scene and is now ready for the national stage.

With that said, Zach Makovsky definitely is a different level of fighter from the ones Robichaux has fought in his local shows in Houston.

When Bellator called Chad to set up the fight with Makovsky, they informed him that it would not be for the Bellator Bantamweight title.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed when they told me it wouldn’t be for the title,” he admitted. “But I knew what I was getting into when I signed on, so it’s hard to be upset about it now.”

A shot at the title would be great, but the important thing at the moment for the 35-year-old is getting his name out there.

Even though he believes he’s going to win the fight, Robichaux understands and respects Bellator’s decision to not grant him a title fight yet.

“How they explained it is that it’s a tournament belt. You have to win the tournament to get a shot, so I’ll have to win the tournament to have a chance to win the belt,” he revealed. “But I kind of like what they’re doing with the tournaments.”

While Bellator hasn’t officially announced another Bantamweight tournament, Robichaux believes that it will likely happen later this year and that he will be included.

“What they told me is that with a win, or even a good performance, I’ll get a place in the next tournament.”

While he admits that his opponent has faced better opponents than he has in his past, Robichaux believes the two of them are relatively similar in terms of skills.

“I think we’re good at a lot of the same things,” he explained. “But I think I have the advantage in the striking and in the grappling. He might have an advantage with his wrestling.”

Given Makovsky’s strength and wrestling pedigree, Robichaux actually went in an interesting direction for a training partner by working with a man who literally weighs twice as much as he does—Minnesota Vikings defensive end Brian Robison.

Using his obvious strength advantage, Robison worked on his top game while Robichaux worked on his escapes from the bottom.

“Brian is an amazing athlete,” Robichaux boasted of his training partner. “He belongs a thousand years ago with a battle axe in his hand!”

Certainly working with someone who is such an impressive physical specimen will be to his advantage, but Chad also believes that he and Makovsky are a lot alike in the mental aspects.

“We’re both very disciplined, strategic fighters,” he continued. “Mine comes from my military background, but also I’ve spent my entire life training in combat sports.”

Given their similarities, Robichaux also believes that the fight could play out a bit differently than some people might be expecting.

“With our grappling backgrounds, people are going to be waiting for the fight to go to the ground,” he said. “But it could definitely turn into a slug-fest.”

This is often true with fighters who possess great ground games. Each man is so good at defending what the other does that it can turn a fight into a standup war. But if it does turn into a battle on the feet, “Robo” will be ready for it.

“I actually really like striking,” he spoke with enthusiasm. “If you haven’t seen my fights and you just look at my record on Sherdog, you’d probably think that I’m just a grappler.

"But a lot of my submission wins have come after I’ve knocked a guy down. Other guys might look to throw more strikes and go for the TKO, but with my Jiu-Jitsu background, I see the submissions.”

Zach Makovsky was the inaugural Bellator Bantamweight Champion after winning each of his three fights by decision. Given Robichaux’s history of finishing fights early, it’s no surprise that he wants to avoid going to a decision.

“I’m not trying to hide what I’m looking to do. It’s no surprise that I’m going to be looking to finish,” he admitted. “There isn’t one part of me that’s looking for a decision. I do not want it in the judge’s hands, with him being the seated champion.”

While a seated champion technically does not have an advantage in a decision, there often seems to be a level of comfort that judges have with giving a champion the benefit of the doubt when making a decision.

It can also often be difficult for a fighter who is lesser-known to gain support of the fans in attendance, which can play into how the judges see a fight, as well.

If he can keep the fight out of the judges’ hands, Chad Robichaux has a very real chance of being the first fighter to defeat a reigning Bellator champion in a non-title fight.

This would obviously put the company in an awkward situation with their champion having lost a fight between title defenses, but they are currently going with the assumption that their current champion, Makovsky, will walk out of the cage victorious on Saturday night.

“They wanted me to sign on again to do maybe the finale show of the season,” Chad said. “But that was in anticipation of me losing this fight. I told them, ‘Let’s talk after I win this fight on Saturday’.”

Chad Robichaux will also be fighting for Soldiers’ Angels, a nonprofit organization which aids and comforts wounded and disabled veterans. It is a great organization which could use your support to help with their efforts to improve the lives of those who have given such great sacrifices for the rest of us.

He would also like to thank everyone at Gracie Barra, as well as the folks at Alchemist Management and Ranger Up.

Bleacher Report MMA would like to thank Chad for his time during this very important week and we wish him the very best of luck as he faces Zach Makovsky at Bellator 41 this weekend, live on MTV2.