By Felix Rodriguez, Staff Writer
The flyweight match was originally scheduled to take place at Legacy 14, but Campuzano pulled out of that fight due to injury and the ensuing war of words between the two has guaranteed that there is more than a strap on the line, these fighters definitely have some bad blood they are looking to settle. Flick was angered when Campuzano claimed he was “going to break the Brick” after their original matchup was announced and he doesn’t believe Campuzano’s reason for backing out was an injury. He said “Will was talking all this mess about how he was gonna break me and then he backed out of the fight. I don’t know the real reason, I think he was scared.” When asked why he felt this way Flick reasoned, “Will can’t keep his story straight, first he claimed to have emphysema. That is something old people get from smoking, I doubt he smokes cigarettes or even pot to have that, he’s too young; then he claimed to have an ankle injury and the third thing he said was that having back-to-back camps would be too hard on his body after Chad Robo pulled out from their original fight.”
Flick cannot wait to step into the cage this December 14th and have Campuzano staring at him from across the cage. He noted “No matter who he is training with come Friday he [Campuzano] ain’t ready for me. I’m ready for a war and I can’t wait to drop some elbows on his face but 30 seconds in I’ll choke him out if I can.” Flick has been wrestling since the age of three and credits his father, Jimmy Flick for motivating him to develop his life-long love of grappling.
When asked if Campuzano’s previous experiences fighting for the world’s biggest promotion put him at a disadvantage Flick didn’t think this was the case because of his own circumstances coming up as a professional fighter. He explained, “My first professional fight was at Bellator Fighting Championships against a gentleman by the name of Humberto Deleon who was 5-2 at the time. I fought a 5-2 guy when I was 0-0 on TV for my first fight, I’ve been wrestling and competing my whole life I can handle the pressure too.”
Campuzano is definitely the more experienced fighter who has bigger names on his résumé and Flick would love nothing more than to add Campuzano’s name to his own win column, witch currently lacks a big name opponent. Flick defended the quality of the opposition he’s faced so far by noting that he’s fought who ever has been put in front of him and pointing out that his last two opponents were not exactly world beaters, but they were the replacements available to him after both Chad Robichaux and Will Campuzano had pulled out of scheduled matches against him. Flick doesn’t want to pad his record before getting his opportunity in the big stage and emphasized that “people can think what they want, I’ll fight whoever, the two guys I fought last were the only two people I could book after these guys [Robichaux and Campuzano] backed out.”
Flick is tired of what he sees as excuses and back tracking. He is ready to prove his doubters wrong and win his second title as a pro MMA fighter in hopes of getting a call from the UFC one day to provide for his family in the way he feels they are deserving of. He is thankful for the sponsorships and support he has received along the way from Pros in Control, Domestic Drilling, Lightning Fluid, Rocks Supplements, Ryu and I’m a Beast, but like any new father he wants even more for his baby girl. The way Flick sees it Will Campuzano is the first obstacle on his path to greatness and being able to do right by his family.
For more information on Jimmy Flick follow him on twitter @Jimmyflick or find him on facebook and add him as a friend. Legacy 16 will be aired on AXS TV this Friday December 14th, 2012 at 10pm EST. Make sure to check out TXMMA’s upcoming Legacy 16 preview for more information on the card.