LAS VEGAS – Alexander Gustafsson's permanent smile this week has left an undeniable mark on fellow foreign UFC fighter Martin Kampmann.
While Kampmann's home country of Denmark might have a bit of a rivalry with Sweden, the UFC welterweight admitted that it would be cool to help carry a show in his home country like Gustafsson is doing with his headlining appearance on UFC on FUEL TV 2 this weekend in his hometown of Stockholm.
"I'd love to fight in Denmark eventually," Kampmann said during an interview this week with media members in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas. "We have UFC going to Sweden. I'd have a lot of people come out if UFC came to Denmark.
"UFC is not that big in Denmark, but there's still a hardcore group of fans. When I started training MMA when I was back in Denmark, I used to go to Sweden a lot. I don't like to say it because Denmark and Sweden are kind of competitors, but they were a little bit ahead of us."
Kampmann (19-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC), a native of Aarhus, Denmark, said he hopes new MMA television programming in his home country will help the sport to grow to the point the UFC would be interested in hosting an event there.
"It's definitely grown a lot," he said. "There's a lot more fighters, lot more shows, lot more gyms, lot more exposure from the mainstream media. But they've still got a ways to go."
How far Kampmann's career goes very well could depend on how he does in his next match against Jake Ellenberger (27-5 MMA, 6-1 UFC) at The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale on June 1 at the The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
While UFC president Dana White has all but declared the five-round main event a title eliminator, Kampmann insists he doesn't feel any added pressure.
"I don't worry about that," he said. "I just go in there and fight. That's my job. Of course I'd love to fight for a title shot. But that's not up to me. I focus on going in there and performing, kicking people's [expletives], and the rest is up to the UFC."
The 29-year-old Kampmann has put together back-to-back wins over Thiago Alves and Rick Story after suffering two controversial setbacks in a row.
While he wasn't exactly pleased with his overall performance in his win over Alves this past month in Australia, he said scoring a last-minute guillotine choke for the victory gave him some added confidence — as well as the knowledge he can perform at a much higher level.
"I felt I really had to finish the fight because I was probably behind on the scorecards," he said. "I went for the finish and luckily got his neck.
"I'm my own worse critic. Even when I have wins, I'll go back and look at all my mistakes. There's a lot of room for improvement. I haven't shown the best Martin Kampmann in the UFC yet."
Kampmann might have to do just that in order to beat the red-hot Ellenberger, who has won six fights in a row — four by knockout — after losing his only UFC bout against now-interim champ Carlos Condit in his promotional debut in September 2009.
"He's done good, he's beaten some good guys, and he's knocked out some good guys," Kampmann said. "He's tough. He's up at the top of the division, and that's why I want to fight him. I want to fight the best guys the UFC has to offer."
The 27-year-old Nebraska native just beat the past two men to defeat Kampmann, defeating Sanchez by unanimous decision (whereas Kampmann lost to Sanchez by a controversial unanimous decision), and knocking out Jake Shields (who scored a split-decision victory over the "Hitman").
"I think I beat (Sanchez) up more than Ellenberger did if you look at his face," Kampmann said. "I think I gave him stitches for the rest of the year."
While Kampmann said he couldn't really compare the bouts (though he fantasizes about erasing both losses from his record, or at least getting rematches), he said he knows he's going to have to avoid Ellenberger's dangerous hands.
"He might not be super slick," he said. "But he's got really heavy hands and knockout power. That's definitely his best asset, and that's what I got to watch out for."
But Kampmann warns those big punches could leave Ellenberger equally vulnerable.
"When you swing crazy like that, you leave a lot of holes too," he said. "That's holes for me to pick on and punch him. I don't know if he's going to try to take me down. I feel like I can stuff his takedowns. Maybe I'll take him down. We'll see. I feel confident in striking with him or on the ground."
Kampmann reiterated that he's not the same fighter he was when he lost to Sanchez just a year ago, and that he's ready to take advantage of arguably the biggest fight in his six-year octagon career.
"I'm a better fighter now," he said. "I could whip my (butt) if I fought myself a year ago. I'm getting better all the time. My main focus is putting it all together in the octagon and fighting up to my full potential."
