On September 18 Linz is to host a new edition of the Final Fight Championship. In the MMA part of the program, one of the most interesting matches will be the one between Lemmy Krusic and Dragan Pesic.

Lemmy Krusic so far entered the FFC ring thrice. After two consecutive defeats he suffered in this promotion, he will seek to return to the winning streak against Dragan Pesic in Linz.

Krusic got into combat sports when he was 17. He claims the reason behind that was Cro Cop vs. Minotauro match. After that he started to train hard and ever since his first day in the gym he knew combat sports are something he wanted to do professionally. Today he has 20 matches below his belt and 16 wins. Lemmy currently lives and trains in Linz and he will do this upcoming match in a very familiar surroundings, in front of his almost “hometown” audience.

”I train all MMA segments. I’m also working on my stand-up a lot. I train everything else, but at this moment I am definitely most focused on my stand-up game. When I lived in Ljubljana I was more into wrestling and BJJ, but I changed my regime now. Of course, to be a successful MMA fighter you have to train hard.”

Out of 16 wins he scored in his career, Krusic believes the biggest one was the one against Vaso Bakocevic. It was in November 2013 at FFC 9. However, when it comes to his toughest match, he admits it was the one against Matija Blazicevic.

“We did all three rounds very well, but the main problem was the fact that he has more kilos than me. Before that match I did not fight for six months and that fight was so hard for me. It was really hard for me to win that match and he was definitely my toughest opponent. But the most interesting fact was that I bought him to the AFC and then we had to fight each other in the end.“

Vaso Bakocevic was his first opponent in the Final Fight Championship. After three rounds Krusic won via unanimous decision

“My first FFC match was a big experience. This match with Bakocevic was crazy. I honestly think it might be one of the best matches in the FFC ever. Had we fought in the UFC, we would have gotten the ‘fight of the night’ bonus“, said Lemmy and laughed.

“After that I fought Antun Racic. It was a good match and the organizers told me it was the ‘fight of the night’ again. I lost. But I would have gotten the bonus once again! I could have earned $100.000 so far (laughs). Nah. I had bad game plan for that match. I should have listened to my own instincts and try to get up instead of working from the guard. I think I would have done better in that match that way. I watched Antun’s last match against Ragimov who got up every time and scored the victory in the end. But it’s just one more experience. When it comes to my last FFC match, the one against Philipp Schranz, I can only say I made a rookie mistake. And it cost me victory. I really lost that match without a good reason. However, I do not want to seek excuses. The guy defeated me. But I was under big stress at that period of my life. I was moving, I changed my training partners, I was seeking for a new gym. I was a bit lost. I did not have confidence in people whom I prepared with for the match and then in the end I did not believe in myself either. What can you do? What happened, happened. I shook his hand and congratulated him. I moved on. Maybe we meet in the ring again. Honestly, I would love to fight Schranz again because that loss still haunts me.”

Krusic is doing his FFC 19 preps in Linz and he is satisfied with his training regime.

“My preps were excellent. Everything is going according to plan. I’m well prepared and I worked on all the segments of the fight, focusing on stand-up. I did some wrestling with my colleagues from Chechnya… The advantage of living in Austria is the fact that you have people from all around the world here. There are Chechens, Russians… Those guys never surrender and I enjoy training with them.”

His new opponent will be Dragan Pesic who currently has a score of 7 wins and 4 losses.

“He is a stand-up fighter, although his BJJ is also good. I do not know how well prepared he is when it comes to his conditioning because I never saw his match that went to decision. But as far as I heard he is preparing for all three rounds. It is important for me to be ready for that match. I find it extremely stupid when people say this will be an easy match for me. But those people never fought in the ring. I don’t think Pesic will be an easy opponent for me. There are no easy matches. He is experienced. He fought in the UK throughout his entire career. I really do not know any other fighter except Zelg Galesic and Patrick Peresa from this region who fought in the UK. He took preps for this match very seriously. I do not think about my advantages. When I enter the ring, I do not calculate. I fight. My heart is my strongest weapon. Giving up is not an option and I fight to the last second. However, I might be slightly better on the ground than him.”

Anyhow, there is no doubt Lemmy Krusic is to deliver a very attractive match in the FFC ring in Linz.

“Everybody knows what my matches are like. It will be a good fight and I believe people will enjoy it. We know what my matches with Vaso and Antun were like, but we all saw his match with Bilic as well. We will go crazy!” said Lemmy ahead of his new match for the Final Fight Championship promotion.