by Dustin De La Torre
Joseph Sandoval sits down with Fight Hub TV correspondent Dustin De La Torre to talk about his upcoming fight versus Nick Denis at UFC on FX this Friday. “I know I am going to get the “W”, and I will be happy to get the win however it comes.” Sandoval also shares his thoughts on rebounding from his first career loss to Walel Watson and how watching Tito Ortiz taking on Ken Shamrock is the fight that got him into mixed martial arts.
FHTV: First and foremost thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule as your prepare for your fight and taking some time with us at FightHubTV.com. Joseph can you share with us on how you got involved in MMA?
JS: I got interested in MMA by watching some fights with my grandfather. I remember my first UFC that I ever watched, it was when Tito Ortiz fought Ken shamrock the second time. I was raised on the game of boxing so it was different but I still loved it, like all contact sports. Then when I got out of the Army I kind of just sat and got lazy for about a year, kept watching all the UFC events. Then I decided that I needed to get back in shape and found a gym in Amarillo that was an MMA gym. I liked it but I thought I needed some amateur fights. My amateur career went well, I then moved to Lubbock Texas with my family. That is where I found Eric “Bighead” Davila and Bighead MMA, after being there a bit I asked for a fight and he told me he does not do amateur fights only pro and the rest is history.
FHTV: For those MMA fans who have yet to see you fight what are something’s that we can expect from you once your step foot in the UFC octagon?
JS: I guess if no one has ever seen me fight I’d have to say that it’s going to be a very exciting fight whoever I fight. I like to put on a show and stand up and fight, you know make it look good for the fans, cause I feed off the crowd.
FHTV: Talk to us how training at Big Head MMA has helped evolve your MMA game?
JS: Working with Eric Davila for all of my pro fights has always been great and works great as well. He being a professional fighter like me and much more accomplished fighter then me, it is great because he has been through the same and more than me in the fight game. His coaching is great to have in my corner, plus we are like family now. I actually date his daughter.
FHTV: You have a big fight on January 20th versus “The Ninja of Love” Nick Denis on UFC on FX talk about how your preparation for this fight is coming along?
JS: In preparation for this fight it has just been like any other fight. We watched a lot of video on Denis over and over again. Eric has me doing that now, so I would watch video on this Guy and just study him over. But not just him, I have been watching video on myself as well just to fill the holes in my game to make this a great fight for me.
FHTV: What do you see are the biggest threats in Nick’s game?
JS: The greatest threat I see coming from Denis is the fact that he’s a game opponent. I’m prepared for wherever Nick wants to take the fight, I have been hearing that he wants to take it to the ground and we have a lot of great wrestlers at the gym so I am ready.
FHTV: Like you, Denis sports a great record at ten wins with only two losses. Talk about the opportunity you have here facing Denis after a tough loss.
JS: I think it is a great opportunity to fight him coming off such a bad loss for me. I know it is going to be a great fight however it comes out. I know I am going to get the “W”, and I will be happy to get the win however it comes.
FHTV: Coming off your first defeat of your career to Walel Watson in your last fight what changes have you made to your game if any?
JS: My game has not really changed too much; I have been working on filing in the holes that I did see in my game and in that fight. So I took the loss hard, but not too hard because I wanted to be able to build off of it. So I got back into the gym two weeks afterwards and started to get ready for the phone call again.
FHTV: Being the first time you were ever defeated in your career what were something that’s that your learned coming from the fight?
JS: Coming off a loss would have been alright if it was a great fight. But coming off the loss I did fell badly. I learned a lot about myself from that loss, like I need to start better, and as always hands up, not to let anyone push me around like that in the cage. I just told myself that I would not let a fight end like that again.
FHTV: There have been some rumors going around the MMA community that with the addition of the flyweight division into the UFC that you are considering dropping down to that weight class. Can you fill us in if there is any truth to that?
JS: You know I been getting a lot of people asking me if I’m going to move down to the flyweights. I’ve been thinking about that a lot and I know I can make the weight cut so there is a good possibility that I will be moving down eventually. I just got to get the diet down and I will be there.
FHTV: What does fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship mean to you?
JS: You know making it to the UFC was freaking awesome in my mind. It is like a dream come true, it is the NFL, NBA, or MLB of the MMA world. So that pretty much means you made it, now the hard part is staying here and making a name here.
FHTV: With the start of 2012 what are some goals you have set for yourself inside the cage and outside the cage?
JS: My goals for this year is obviously have a winning record and make it up the ranks in the weight class. I like to fight so I want to get at least 5 fights this year. I want to be able to start teaching more at Bighead MMA. Plus I love to teach the kids, a lot of kids are not cut out for football, basketball, things like that. But they are in love with MMA and they learn a lot from it, and they soak it up so well.
FHTV: Would you like to thank any one?
JS: I want thank my coach Eric Bighead Davila, my manager Bryan Hamper, all my Bighead familia, my Sandoval familia, my beautiful kids, and my girlfriend Nessa for standing beside me through everything. Thanks guys.
