UFC 131: Jesse Bongfeldt: "Mixed Martial Arts Is My Guiding Light"

Long regarded as one of Canada’s most respected mixed martial artists, in the future, Jesse Bongfeldt will be looking to take his career to the next level.

From May of 2003 to September of 2009, Bongfeldt, in 19 professional bouts—including victories over current UFC contenders Sean Pierson and TJ Grant—in five provinces across Canada, established himself as one of the nation’s top mixed martial artists.

In his long-awaited UFC-debut, Bongfeldt, who had been courted by Dana White and Co. in the past, fought Rafael Natal to a three round majority draw at UFC 124 in late-2010.

Now, in what will be his second match in the Octagon, Bongfeldt is currently slated to take on Chris Weidman—an fast-rising undefeated middleweight prospect—on Saturday night at UFC 131 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jesse “Water” Bongfeldt about his early days in the sport, the artistic element of mixed martial arts, and, of course, his upcoming match.

I read that you started martial arts at a very young age—do you remember your first day?

My first day? Jeez, man—I was running around in a ninja outfit from the day I was born [laughs].

[Laughs] You were always passionate about martial arts?

Yeah—I loved it right from the start. I remember, in grade two, when I could kick and punch—I just thought it was the most amazing thing ever.

What inspired you to try your hand at mixed martial arts?

I was always a rough-and-tumble kid—always getting into scraps—and the reality of it was; specific situations that weren’t just kicking and punching. Naturally, I ended up in those situations when you’ve got to learn grappling.

Back in ’93—when Royce Gracie was down on the ground, rolling around—and all of my cousins had done judo, I was always at the judo club. There was a little trail out my back door that led to the judo club and I used to sit there and watch my older cousins and my older brothers play judo.

Was there any chance, in your opinion, that you weren’t going to be a part of martial arts—in some capacity?

I had a friend and on Christmas Day, he got a snowboard, went down the hill, fell on his head and was paralyzed. That kind of always stuck with me—it freaked me out a little bit. That’s the kind of thing that it would take to stop a person from doing what they love doing.

Have you ever thought about where you might be had you not taken the mixed martial arts-route?

No—I’ve never really thought too much about it [laughs]. I guess I should [laughs], but I’m into other things, too. Mixed martial arts is my guiding light, though.

When did you realize that you had what it took to make a career out of your passion?

I don’t know—I think I always thought it was inevitable. It was a way of life; something that keeps me centered. I was a kid writing notes on martial arts—building up binder after binder—it was just something that I always did.

What else are you interested in?

I like to play music. I like doing all art—all art. I like theoretical physics. I want to go back to school—I’d like to make a career out of mixed martial arts, so I can put some money in the bank—but really, I’d like to go back to school eventually.

Do you feel that there are any parallels between your mixed martial arts career and some of you other interests?

I mean it’s all art—I look at it as art and expression and humanity. The higher arts that people did when they had the means to do these things—is something that people aspired to in their daily lives, besides the daily grind, you know?

How would you compare mixed martial arts to art? I’m not really understanding that.

If you look at the arts, you can see that there are unifying principles. Anybody that does math can see some of the art of math and the art in nature. It’s like a spiral, for example; it has a mathematical equation, but its beauty is hard to describe with words—it’s hard to describe with math itself.

The comparisons between striking and grappling and the places where they end and the places where they bend and movement—the technique—in the transition from one move to another and the way you do it versus the way someone else does it. It’s a beautiful thing to see personal expression epitomized at the peak of combat; the highest order in the biggest league in front of millions of people. It’s beautiful.

In your experience, do a lot of mixed martial artists view what they do in the way that you do?

I think I grew up in the tail-end of a generation—some of the guys are still out there—but I got to have a piece of that. I try to retain that in my Muay Thai and in my wrestling as much as possible and try to bring some central aspect of what it is and why we’re doing it—it’s not just hurting somebody or mastering another person’s physical body; you’re learning a skill that can keep you safe and keep your loved ones safe. It’s a multi-faceted thing; the art of it, the ancientness of it, the practicality of it, the high-order of it—it’s hard to ignore.

How important has the sport been to your life?

Ah, jeez. How do you answer that? What else would a person want to do? Victory is big—I can’t think of anything else.

When you started, did you realistically think that you would make it to the UFC at some point in your career?

Yeah—I didn’t think about it, though. It was what it was; it was inevitable. The UFC called a few times and I had to turn them down—I just wanted to be in a specific place at a specific time at a specific weight.

What made you sign the contract this time around?

Well, I thought it was good timing; I put the weight on that I wanted to put on and I was in the right place—mentally—where I wanted to be. I’ve got my little guy here, now—it was just time. All of the signs were there that this is what needed to be done.

Do you think you would’ve regretted it—had you signed with the UFC earlier?

I don’t know. I try to not have too many regrets. Things work out the way they do for the right reason and it’s just the way it was. I don’t speculate on that too much.

What does fighting in the UFC mean to you?

Well, the UFC is the major league of martial arts and this—I think—is the epitome of all sports [laughs]. To be a martial artist, you’ve got to be good at everything; you’ve got to have speed, explosiveness, strength, technique, you’ve got to be able to lift a lot and run fast—you’ve got to do everything.

To be in the UFC has got to say something about a person’s athletic ability and their commitment to bettering themselves. I don’t know, man; the UFC is where it’s at—it’s the top of the game. Why would you want to be anywhere else?

Did you approach your first match in the UFC any differently than you’ve approached your past fights?

I don’t think so. I try to—for my own benefit—just approach it as a fight, you know? They were all just as important, because each one led to the next. The approach has always been; keep it on the level—keep your mind focused on where it needs to be—and just look at it as another fight and try not to be too drawn in by the, you know, the lights.

Is it ever difficult to remain level-headed in your approach to mixed martial arts?

Oh, yeah. A guy walks in and he’s constantly feeling the duality of emotions—it’s a matter of balancing these issues and circumstances. It’s a constant balancing act.

How do you feel about your first performance in the UFC?

I think it was okay; it was good. I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t finish, because I saw a few opportunities that I could’ve capitalized on. This is my first draw; my first inconclusive fight. It’s different.

How does getting a draw feel?

It blew my mind; I thought I had won for sure. There are so many perspectives out there, but it was a bummer.

You weren’t satisfied?

No, but it doesn’t bother me—for some reason [laughs]. I still got in there and I did it—everybody got to see—and it was exciting.

What did you take away from your first performance in the UFC?

I took away a snapped ligament in my ankle [laughs]. On the very first takedown, Natal got me up against the fence and worked his outside trip and snapped my ankle. I was in pain right off the bat and I had to work through that. I’ve been there before, but this is the big show. Right then and there—when I was lying on my back—I said, “You know what? Just relax, go with it, and work as hard as you can.” I hope that I’m able to do that if the situation ever arises again.

How do you feel you dealt with the situation?

Well, what could I have done better? You can always second-guess your training-camp, but things change the second you get in there; when you’re moving around with an opponent that has different energy than people in your camp. As far as what could be done different? It’s all about training harder and training smarter, you know? Just try to have a solid foundation—a quality base—and that’s what I’m always working on. I’m always trying to work on my fundamentals.

How much better do you feel you are now than when we last saw you?

Good question. [Long pause] The performance speaks for itself—I guess we’ll see.

How are you feeling going into your upcoming match?

I feel great. I’ve been working everything; bringing everything up simultaneously is a hard task, but I think I’ve done a good job. That helps me psychologically; to be prepared that way makes things smoother.

Do you feel that this is the best Jesse Bongfeldt that we’ve ever seen before?

Yeah. There are so many variables in fighting, but I’m definitely up there in a few of those variables. I’m feeling pretty damn good.

What problems do you feel Chris poses to you?

He’s a fantastic wrestler; his take-down percentage is way up there—I’ve been working on that—but he’s a wrestler. I’m going to have to work to stay off my back and hopefully land a hand on him and do what I need to do.

What do you think Chris’ game-plan is going to be this weekend?

Take me down and elbow me in the head, I think.

What are you doing to do to make sure that’s not a reality?

Aside from technique, it’s my own drive, my own training, my own ability to motivate myself. Technique-wise; there’s going to be a lot of movement and going through him in order to get off the cage and control the center of the ring.

Do you feel Chris has anything that you haven’t seen before?

I don’t assume he does; the sport has come a long way—it’s hard to find something new.

How much of a factor do you think your experience is going to be in this fight?

I don’t think my experience will be much of a factor in this fight. These guys are trained in top gyms and they’ve got a lot of abilities that bring them a long way—those abilities speak for themselves when you get in there. Experience can be a benefit if I come into a situation—like when I snapped my ankle—that is bad; I’ve been there, you know?

When you were starting in the sport, do you feel that you would’ve dealt with your injury in the same way?

Oh, yeah. I’ve been in that situation before; in the first round of a fight, I shattered the top of my foot on his elbow and in the second round, the guy snaps my knee with a throw, and then in the third round, you catch him with an armbar and break his arm in half—I’ve been there. A guy has to keep doing that, you know? You get to a fork in the road where this incident occurs and now it’s, “Okay—what do I do from here?”

Do you think that makes you any stronger—knowing that you can fight through those injuries?

Well, knowing that I have is something nice to be able to reflect upon [laughs], but getting in there and doing it is often a different story. I think I have a pretty good success-rate of doing that. Yeah—I guess I do.

Do you make any predictions going into your fights?

No—I don’t. I don’t like to anticipate the outcome of the engagement. There’s definitely a strategic-goal, and once I’m in there, I’ll have to enact that goal tactically; feel the opponent out and see what happens.

What would a win this weekend mean to you?

Oh, that would be everything, because that’s the setup for the next fight and the next fight after that. That’s what we do to advance in the sport, right?

Assuming you win, where do you see yourself in the UFC’s middleweight division?

Well, it’s a tough, tough division, but all of the divisions are tough and every fight gets harder. I just see myself on the way up the hill. That’s what it is; an uphill battle.

What do you feel is the next step in your career?

Well, the next step is always the next fight; it’s about winning and moving on and continuing to win until you can’t move up anymore.

Where do you feel your ceiling is in this sport?

I don’t think about that. Guys ask you, “You think you could beat this guy? What about this guy? You think you could beat this guy?” Well, there are no answers to that. Or, rather, “Can you beat this guy? Can you beat that guy?” Well, there’s only one way to find out, right? Let’s get in there and do it; stand across from the guy and see what you can do. You can speculate on things all you want, but the reality of this sport is; talk is cheap.

Have you always had this outlook?

Yeah. That’s the way that I was raised; it is what it is—it’s the reality of it. My dad always told me that it was mind over matter and that talk is cheap—those are the principles that I was raised by—and they go hand-in-hand with the career that I’ve chosen.

Have you thought about how much longer you’d like to pursue this career?

I’d like to compete for as long as I can. It can be an old-man sport if a guy takes care of himself and trains smart.

What would you be satisfied with when it’s time to call it a career?

Championships. Every sport is about championships

Are there any other goals?

No—just championships. Everything else will fall into place from there.

How would you like to be remembered when it’s all said and done?

I’d like to be remembered the same way that the other guys that have put their blood, guts, and heart and soul into it—the respect that they get when they show up in a room and the honour that they receive as warriors from the younger guys. That’s probably all a guy can ask for.

What would that mean to you?

That’s one of the biggest parts of it; admiration from your fellow warriors, right?