DALLAS, TX, September 12, 2011 – This Friday at Houston’s Arena Theater, North Dallas MMA’s Steven “Ocho” Peterson will be making his way to Houston for a fight against hometown favorite Steve Garcia on the HDNet-televised Legacy FC 8 event.
Heading into this bout, the twenty-one year old fighter amassed an impressive record of 5-1 overall after a 4-1 amateur career. He is currently riding the wave of a three-fight win streak while fighting for the Xtreme Knockout (XKO) organization in the Dallas-area. In fact, he’s their current 135 champion after winning the belt against an experienced opponent in Doug Frey and defending it against Alex Russ. Now he’s looking to grow his career even further by taking on this challenge in Houston.
Steven Peterson has fought and won for the Legacy organization before on the amateur level (Lonestar Beatdown 15, Feb 2010) but this will be his first time fighting for the Legacy Fighting Championship as a pro. With the increased exposure of the card being featured on HDNet, “Ocho” is looking at is an integral opportunity to showcase his skills in front a national audience. But in order to capitalize on that opportunity, he’s got to get pat perhaps the toughest test of his career in Steve Garcia.
With a newborn son now in his life, Steven Peterson is no short on motivation heading into this Friday night’s event. Read on and get the rest of his thoughts on his upcoming fight with TXMMA.com.
Steven, before we get to the LFC8 fight, we here at TXMMA like to congratulate you on the birth of your son! How does it feel to be a new father and how was the experience at the hospital?
Thanks a lot. It’s got to be the best feeling in the world.
We were expecting to have a normal birth but after twelve hours in labor, we had to have a last minute c-section. I didn’t expect that at all, but seeing my son for the first time was an unreal and unforgettable moment.
With your life suddenly changing with the birth of your son, how does this affect your fight career? How are you balancing things so far?
Besides the fact that I now get much less sleep at night, I feel that this experience will only strengthen me as a person and also as a fighter. I have an amazing girlfriend that takes care of our baby while I try and sleep so I am able to wake up and train in the morning. Once she goes back to work, he will be going to training with me in the morning and she will watch him while I train at night. We’ll definitely do what it takes to make everything work.
So far I’ve been able to stick to my same training schedule for the most part, but with less sleep there’s only so much I can do. I have a new source of inspiration though. I will use this drive to push myself as far as I can go.
You’re currently 5-1, and you’re coming off two big wins in a row in particular against Alex Russ and Douglas Frey. What are your goals here in the next year and how do you plan on utilizing that momentum for this next fight?
My goal for this next year is to earn a contract with the UFC, Strikeforce, or Bellator. But I’m not going to get ahead of myself. I try to stay focused on the task at hand and right now my goal is to get this win against Steve Garcia this Friday night.
How would you characterize yourself as a fighter at this point in your career? Some people say you’re pretty wild in there… Is that accurate?
I wouldn’t call it wild so much as I’d call it unpredictable, and i see that as a major advantage. I am well rounded in every aspect of the game and I will continue to improve and fine tune all of my skills.
This fight against Garcia on Friday will be your first fight in Houston since August 2010. It’s also your opponent’s hometown. Does that make this a tougher fight for you?
Not at all. I’m used to fighting in my opponent’s hometowns. Last time I fought in Houston, it was my opponent’s hometown also… it was the same case in my last Bellator fight… and my last two fights I fought at “The Gym” where my opponents are based out of. In every single one of my fights I’ve been the underdog until now. I saw a poll online that showed me as the favorite by 85%. I enjoy beating my opponents in front of their hometown fans. It makes it feel like more of an accomplishment.
How does it feel to be fighting for Legacy on a card that will be featured on HDNet?
Fighting on HDNet gives me even more motivation to put on a good show so I can be nationally recognized. Hopefully this fight will open up more doors for my career.
What do you know about Steve Garcia? Do you see him as a tough fight for yourself?
He looks to be mostly a boxer. At this level of the game I see every fight as a tough fight, and I train accordingly.
Any idea on how you guys may match up?
I think we should match up pretty well as far as standup goes, but I see an advantage for myself once it goes to the ground. I am not too worried about anything he has to offer but anything could happen in there so i will keep my guard up.
How do you see yourself winning this fight?
I want a knockout. I know I have knockout power but I haven’t scored one in a fight yet.
If you had to give last words to your opponent before this fight, what would you tell him?
You better bring your A-game!
What’s next for you after this fight?
My manager said either a fight for the 135 Legacy title or I may be able to score a fight with Jens Pulver. Both opportunities would be huge for my career and it would be an honor to fight such a legend in the sport if that Pulver fight does happen.
Any last words before you step into the cage at the Arena Theater?
I’d like to thank my amazing girlfriend Amanda Zmak. I also wanna thank my coaches J.D. Shelley, Carlos Moreno, John Lawson, and Dave Masi. I also want to thank all my training partners and my manager Pierre Bertrand. See you guys at the fights!
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