There aren’t many UFC fighters who have been around as long as Ed Herman. As he approaches his sixteenth UFC fight (a record only matched by around five percent of the current UFC roster) and eight year with the organization, Herman still sees himself as having the potential to be a contender in the middleweight division.
“I still feel like I have time to make a run and get a title shot,” Herman told MMASucka, “I’m only 33 so I’m kind of in my prime – I’ve got a lot of miles on me for 33 but at the same time I’m still learning all the time and still trying to get better every day. People can say what they want, ‘gatekeeper’ or whatever, but I’ve been in the UFC for eight years fighting the best guys in the world so I’m pretty proud of that. To be able to stay in the UFC and be a ‘gatekeeper’ or whatever is still an accomplishment…I’m pretty proud of the things I’ve done in the UFC…I’m unbeaten in five of my last six UFC fights, if you don’t count the Jacare fight.”
“I’m definitely proud of having been able to been in the UFC as long as I have, I’m getting close to 20 fights for them. I’ve had some ups and downs. There’s some things I wish I could have go back and do differently, some fights I lost that I think I could have won – all of them, pretty much! I feel like I’ve been in every fight that I’ve lost, no one has come in and kicked my ass. I’ve got caught in a few submissions quickly…but every fight I’ve been in I’ve been right in there. I can always be proud that I brought it every time.”
Herman has sometimes struggled for form in his UFC career, never managing to string together more than three wins in a row – however his losses include a close split decision loss to Alan Belcher and a TKO loss due to injury. After losing the TUF finale to Kendall Grove, Herman was caught in a quick submission by Jason MacDonald in his first official UFC fight. Starting at 0-2 put the Washington native on the backfoot somewhat, but he boasts a good record of finishes and only having lost to top opposition such as Demian Maia, Jake Shields and Alan Belcher.
“At times you think ‘if I would have done this or if I would have got one more takedown, or if I would have won this fight’,” Herman said, reflecting on his record, “like the Kendall Grove fight, if I’d have not gone for that armbar at the end where I had his back and then he ended up on my back, I would have won. But you can always what if everything in your life. You can’t dwell on that shit – of course I think about it at times, but not to the point where it bothers me.”
In his last fight at UFC 167, Herman was dominated by former title challenger Thales Leites in a fight where Leites managed to keep Herman suffocated on the ground and the Ultimate Fighter 3 runner-up never really got out of the blocks.
“Thales outsmarted me a little bit,” Herman said, “He had a good gameplan and he was able to execute that by taking me down and getting on top, and controlling the position. I’ve got to give him credit for that, he’s a talented guy. I just never got going, so it was just not a good night for me.”
Herman fights Rafael Natal on Saturday in Cincinnati, the man who was originally scheduled to be his opponent at UFC 167. Despite having previously prepared a strategy for Natal, Herman doesn’t see that as giving him any advantage when they meet on Saturday.
“He was supposed to fight me too, so I don’t think there’s really any advantage in that sense,” Herman said, “we’re both coming back into the same fight. I’m excited for it, I think it’s a good fight for me…I’m ready to go. [I plan to] fight smart, use all of my game. I don’t want to give away too much, but of course I’m going to try and knock his head off like I always do – but I have to be smart about it and use my offensive grappling as well.”
“I can definitely see myself knocking him out, I think his chin is a little questionable. If I can be smart and not rush things, I can land a couple of big shots and hurt him. He’s a tough guy though, comes from a good camp, and he’s got some power in his hands as well.”
With a title shot still at the back of his mind Herman thinks the UFC should reward veterans for their longevity – but believes that deciding who gets a title shot is often a “popularity contest”.
“It’d be nice if they gave some vets a title shot,” Herman said, “a guy like me who’s been there forever. But it’s kind of a popularity contest at the end of the day and your popular guy gets the titleshot.”
“I need to take care of Rafael Natal first, he’s a tough talented guy and I’m not going to look past him.”
