Julien Solomita | Staff Writer/Journalist
In mixed martial arts, a scoreboard doesn’t measure a fighter’s progress, but rather each drop of blood and sweat shed on the mat. Fourteen years and 49 fights after his journey as a professional fighter began; John Alessio (34-15 overall, 0-4 UFC) is making one last run at a coveted UFC victory. “The Natural discussed his career with me on Fighting Solo Radio.
“It’s a weird thing that I haven’t gotten that win in the UFC,” he said. “It’s something that I think about all the time, and it frustrates me. I need to win this fight to stay in the big show and that’s why I’m going to be pushing so hard this camp to bring a tremendous pace and put it on Shane Roller.”
The Canadian lightweight was part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pre-Zuffa long before his return to the octagon in 2012. Coming back to the UFC, Alessio joins a new breed of fighters.
“It’s cool to have been in the sport this long and still be a relevant fighter,” Alessio said. “From day 1 to today, every fight was to get back into the UFC. It’s been a battle for years, trying to get back in and im finally here. Now the work gets real hard, and this is where the fun stuff starts.
There are very few athletes in history that have competed on a professional level across generational lines. Those who did were often the some of the world’s greatest, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Jamie Moyer etc. Alessio is on this elite list, and has seen firsthand, the difference between two generations of fighters.
“The UFC is definitely different now than it was before,” he said. “Back then, it was all about being the bigger, stronger guy. Now it’s about who the more skilled guy is. The sport has progressed so much, and the guys are just so much better now, and they are training everything. Now you won’t last if you aren’t cross-training (training across multiple disciplines).”
Alessio, although taking a long break from the big show, never strayed away from the world’s best talent. The Vancouver native fought for 12 different promotions after three losses in the UFC, one against the promotion’s first welterweight champion, Pat Miletich. When he was away from the UFT, “The Natural” remained a part of team Xtreme Couture and continued to train with UFC talent in Las Vegas.
“It definitely helps you judge where you are. The whole time I thought, ‘these guys are in the UFC, they are doing well and I do well against them in training, so why aren’t I in the UFC?’” he said. “It is definitely a confidence booster, knowing you can hang with the UFC guys.”
After remaining on the mat with Zuffa affiliated athletes while away from the promotion, the roles have recently been reversed. Alessio, now in the UFC, credits some of his lesser-known training partners for his day-to-day progress in the gym.
“Some of the guys that people don’t even know of, the up and coming guys, are the training partners that help me out the most,” he said. “It’s the guys behind the scene that mean the most in training. I could spit some names out but that would mean nothing. These guys get in there and bang with us UFC guys all the time and get no credit and don’t get paid for it.”
With experience on his side, Alessio remains in premier physical condition, and now looks to nab a win in his 50th professional trip to the cage when he faces Shane Roller at UFC 148 on July 7.
“Shane Roller will be more willing to trade than Bocek was and it will be interesting to see how he approaches this fight,” he said. “I’m going in there for the kill, again. I’m going for that knockout.”
The two lightweights will face off at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 7. This card features the middleweight championship between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva.
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