Z-Files #49 – The Heat’s on Heath: Humorous chat with serious guy

Posted on | February 5, 2010 | No Comments

There’s a lot on David Heath’s mind heading into MFC 24.

The likeable light heavyweight from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is riding a two-fight losing skid in the Maximum Fighting Championship, while his upcoming opponent, Dwayne Lewis, is soaring with a six-fight winning streak. Heath has called this bout a must-win but yet at this very moment there’s a more pressing issue at stake.

“Do you like Feta cheese?” was the inquiry from Heath in between questions about his February 26th fight. “There’s Feta in my salad and it’s pretty good. I’ve never had it before.”

Talk of strategy can wait. There are culinary issues to be pondered.

“What are these things?” was the next query. “She said they’re dried cranberries. Not bad.”

Throw in some candied walnuts, some arugula, a little vinaigrette, and we’re good to go.

Then talk does turn toward the Lewis encounter, and Heath, clearly in a very good state of mind, is still able throw curveball.

“Tell Dwayne I’m terrified and I’m quite sure I’m going to get knocked out.”

But seriously folks. Stand-up comedy put aside, Heath (14-6) is geared up to fight Lewis (10-4) in the co-main event of MFC 24: Heat XC and he isn’t the least bit concerned about his foe’s recent tear.

“Dwayne has a puncher’s chance … and that’s it,” touted Heath. “I was going to move to 185 (middleweight) after my last fight but I liked the idea of this fight so much that I decided to stay at 205. I think it’s a great matchup for me.

“Dwayne’s a big, strong guy and he’s heavy-handed but I’ve seen him in person and I’ve seen him on tape so I know what to expect. He’s won a lot of fights lately but, no disrespect, he hasn’t fought guys at my level.”

Of late, though, some have questioned Heath’s ability to compete at a higher level, and it has certainly been an up-and-down run for him in the MFC. He opened with a surprisingly disappointing outing against Emanuel Newton – one which cost him a shot at the light heavyweight title. He then rebounded to beat former champion Roger Hollett (who had since lost his crown to Newton) with a convincing first-round submission. But after that impressive victory, Heath sunk into a funk with a controversial decision loss to Travis Galbraith and then a defeat at the hands of Mike Nickels – albeit in the MFC’s 2009 Fight of the Year.

If ever there was a time to turn things around, this is it, so in order to help his own cause, Heath is resorting to what he calls “new slash old stuff” in training.

“I’m going back to my roots, a more complete regimen,” he tightly offered to maintain some secrecy. “Oh, it’s just rock ’em, sock ’em robot bar brawler. I’m going Tank Abbott style.”

Heath has been a crowd-pleaser in the MFC with his tougher-than-nails attitude, the sort of spunk he showed in the fight against Nickels when he dropped his hands and nodded at Nickels to throw the kitchen sink at him. It was an electrifying moment but one which Heath regrets. He intends on fighting with the same robust style against Lewis, only thinking more his head than his heart.

“I’m trying to be smarter and that’s the approach I’ve taken in training – to be more in-depth, to be smarter, and to stop giving away fights to guys who aren’t in my league,” said Heath. “Looking at Dwayne’s history, I think he’s going to want to turn it into a brawl. That’s no surprise, but I’m a better technical striker than him.”

And while Heath knows the fans will always love a good throwdown more than a strategy-filled affair, the seven-year veteran is willing to bet that the crowd will still get their money’s worth out of fight where he uses his brain for more than just a target.

“This is going to be more of a thinking man’s fight on my end. Honestly, I think brawling is just for unskilled retards,” added Heath.

“I’m going to try and take away every chance he has to win the fight and to stay out of danger, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stay on the outside and just pick and jab at him all night.

“Absolutely a thinking man’s fight can be appealing to the crowd. I know we’re in the entertainment industry and I won’t be trying to make people fall asleep.”

RANDOM THOUGHTS: David Heath is far from being the only fighter facing a must-win situation at MFC 24. With his penchant for taking extremely long breaks between fights, it’s a safe assumption that Travis Galbraith is in a state where he needs to be impressive for his career to have any more shelf life. And he doesn’t have an easy task in facing hot British prospect Tom Watson. Another eyeing a similar situation is Thiago Goncalves who looks great in training and allegedly has quite a highlight reel but showed little of anything in his last outing against Cory MacDonald … Prediction on shortest fight of the night at MFC 24: Jared Kilkenny vs. Jason Kuchera. Free-swinging fists and low gas tanks make for quick battles so bank on this one ending inside three minutes.

CRYSTAL BALL: Expect to see the middleweight title up for grabs at MFC 25. Bryan Baker has to be considered the front-runner for a crack at the belt with Thales Leites a strong contender to be in the opposite corner.