ACB commentator Bryan Lacey caught up with Benny Alloway to talk to him about his up coming fight at ACB 60 in Vienna on May 13th and to get his response to his opponent’s, Ismail Naurdiev, comments about him in a previous interview:
Bryan: Your last fight was one of your most impressive performances taking out a top prospect in Sergey ‘Honda’ Khandozhko. What changes did you make for that fight compared to your first fight against Sharaf Davlatmuradov?
Benny: The first thing is that I was in shape for the Honda fight. I started working with Adam Finch from Finch Fitness on my strength and conditioning. I also changed my team after the Sharaf fight. I got my old striking coach back, Michael Unsworth aka ‘Mr C’. After my loss to Sharaf I wasn’t happy with where I was going, I could get away with winning the local fights at home but on the International scene I saw there were a few little holes in my striking that I needed to fix up that I’ve worked on with Mr C. I also went back to my jiu jitsu roots and trained some at Axis Headquaters.
Bryan: ACB have given you another one of their touted prospects for this fight in Ismail Naurdiev. What were your thoughts when you got offered the match up?
Benny: Of course when they called to offer me Ismail I said ‘yes’ straight away without even looking at his record. My manager said it’s a good fight for me so I’m good with it. The main things I took away from studying him is the level of opponents he’s been fighting and the way he wins. After studying him a bit more it’s a very winnable fight for me.
Bryan: Is watching tape and studying your opponent a big part of your fight preparation?
Benny: I don’t spend too much. I watch a few of their fights, mainly the last two fights and with Ismail I’ve seen him at his best finishing fights but I’ve also seen him at his worst when he got finished by triangle earlier in his career. That tells me a lot about the type of fighter he is.
Bryan: I spoke to Ismail last week ahead of this fight and he had some interesting things to say about you. He thinks you will be his toughest fight yet but he also thinks he can KO you early and will send you into retirement. What’s your response to this?
Benny: (Laughing) My first thought was ‘man this kid is delusional’! He needs to realize he does have a great record but it’s very very padded. He’s beaten guys with one fight, two fights, three fights and he’s only had about three fights against opponents with more than four fights on their record. How can he really believe that he’s at the same level I’m at or even close to the top guys at ACB? I really believe he is in for a rude shock on Saturday night. It’s great to be confident and believe in yourself but I think that his management or his team, whoever set him up for these fights, has now set him up for failure.
Bryan: What about his style impresses you and you’ve had to take into consideration in this fight camp?
Benny: Although I don’t think he’s at the same level as myself I do respect the fact that he’s a good welterweight, he looks fit and strong and anyone in our weight class has the possibility of knocking someone out. He likes to throw his right hand a lot and looks like he has some power but I have to respect everything, every part of his game. I don’t think he will be able to make me stress too much in the grappling side of things and the only chance I think he really has is that lucky shot on the feet. He has to realize that pretty much 99% of MMA fights go to the ground at some stage and I don’t think he’s going to survive if it does go there.
Bryan: You fought Sergey ‘Honda’ in his hometown you now fight Ismail in his home country on Saturday. Is being in enemy territory a positive or negative for you?
Benny: Definitely a positive. If I’m in shape and training has gone well and I’m not injured then that means he’s got to have a very good night to beat me and I’ve got to have a very average one. I love going into an opponents hometown or country it makes it a bit more real. It’s not the show that you put on in your hometown it’s the realness of the fight and you’re there to spoil someone’s night and you don’t just piss them off, you piss off their friends, family and fans. I love being the villain.
Bryan: Was the Sharaf fight an eye opener to you of the level of competition at ACB?
Benny: I didn’t expect anything less. I knew ACB was a quality promotion just from the fighters that they have had on it and the guys that they were signing before I signed. It’s really a quality show with really good fighters, some of the best fighters in the world and I don’t think ACB very boring fights on any of their cards which, is a great thing to see from the matchmakers.
Bryan: If you do get the win in Vienna what will you be looking for next with ACB?:
Benny: I’m definitely not looking past Ismail at all but if I did get win I’m not sure. Obviously, everyone wants to fight for the title but without being in the rankings I’m not sure where ACB see me or where this win would put me. I’m hoping that taking out two of their top prospects really puts me in contention to get a top fight with a top 10, top 5 opponent. I actually think that me and Saidov would be a fantastic styles match up and a great fight. I have nothing but respect for Saidov and believe he’s a great fighter. For me it would be an honor to share the cage with him and I can see that being for an interim title or as a title eliminator.
Bryan: For the final question I asked Ismail last week if he had a message for you and he said ‘Enjoy your last two weeks grandpa because I’m going to send you into retirement to collect your pension’ – Do you have a message for him?:
Benny: Confidence is great if previous experience warrants it but you sir are confused with reality. The "Aussie gangster" is coming to town so don't frown when you look like a clown in your home town!
