For its second edition on the American continent, that is, FFC 25 that will take place June 10 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Final Fight Championship inked a deal with Matt Wagy, a young fighter who did not get to leave his mark yet, but he trains in one of the world’s best camps – Team Alpha Male.

Wagy originated from the world of BJJ and wrestling, but do not expect that he will force solely ground game because he finished all his wins but one via TKO. There is no doubt he will try to do the same in the FFC ring. When it comes to his downsides, he lost via guillotine a couple of times, but this 24 year old fighter from Delray Beach sees it as his advantage since BJJ is one of his stronger points.

Despite the fact that he originates from Florida that can boast with famous gyms such as American Top Team and Blackzillians, Wagy decided to leave ATT and move to California to train with Team Alpha Male in Sacramento – a gym headed by the UFC bantamweight contender and one of the best fighters in lighter categories -Urijah Faber with whom Wagy trains every day.

His opponent in the FFC ring will be Paul Webb from California. He is a complete fighter, dangerous both on feet and on the ground, but Wagy believes himself to be a batterer fighter and that is why he promised to win in his FFC debut.

Changing ATT for Team Alpha Male

“I grew up in ATT-in. When I was younger I started to train jiu-jitsu there. Politically, there have been some problems, but all the people who are dear to me are there. The gym is now simply too big and they cannot dedicate themselves to young and up and coming fighters as needed. It is hard to focus on all fighters and they have so many gyms, so it is all monopolized. In my opinion, ATT is too big, while on the other hand, everybody in Team Alpha Male cares about you. There are less fighters, the core is made up of 25, 30 people. All rotating, travelling, best fighters come and visit us… So Team Alpha Male suits me better and I have more opportunities to work with the best fighters in lighter categories. The gym is better for lighter division fighters and I like the atmosphere, it has more of a family feel to it. ATT is fine, it is a great gym, but I wanted change and I like it there. Actually, I think we have the best team in the world at the moment.”

From grappler to well-rounded fighter

“I’ve come far with my stand up technique training in the Alpha Male. My coaches were Justin Buchholz, Dwayne Ludwig, Martin Kampmann, Master Tong is our Muay Thai coach and Joey is our boxing coach. We have great strikers and I advanced very much in stand-up. Everything just depends on whether I need to use it, but now I feel comfortable wherever the match goes, which was not the case two years ago.”

Paul Webb is no threat

“Anyone who enters the cage has a chance. He has six, seven wins so he’s not a beginner, but I think there his skills are not even close to mine. I think I have advantage in all segments, but I respect him. I do not want to underestimate him and think he cannot win because everyone has a chance. But he has no advantage in this fight, he will have to be lucky if he plans to win. ”

Game plan

“It all depends on what he will do. I will dictate the fight and I’ll see what he has to offer. If I see something fighting in the stand up, I will go for a knockout, if he lets me throw him down, I will and I will see how he reacts on my moves. But I will decide on stoppage, it only depends where I want to finish him. I am always the one pushing and putting pressure, but I will not be stupid and I will respect him. But I know I have advantage and I will win.”

Guillotine paradox

“Honestly, no one does guillotine on me. I train every day with Urijah Faber. He is a master of guillotine and hangs on me trying to suffocate me. Webb saw footage of these defeats and therefore probably accepted the fight. These guillotines will we provide me a lot of fights and it is my advantage because they all think they will do guillotine on me, but that won’t happen again. People do not respect my BJJ because I was stupid and I did some mistakes, but BJJ is one of my strongest weapons so everybody who think they have advantage on the ground will be proven wrong. It’s a mental thing to me. When I lost those matches I was not myself mentally, I had some personal issues, I was stupid, I cut too much weight… I did not have that killer instinct and I was simply not myself.”

Dropping to bantam was bad idea

“I had all my worst matches in bantam division and this is where I lost all my bouts. I did all my wins in feather weight and I never lost there. So it is pretty clear it all works well when I’m healthy and when I feel good. That’s when I inflict damage. I did all my TKO’s in this division.”

He heard good stuff about the FFC

“I was not sure what to expect. FFC contacted my manager and so I learned about the
offer. Then I spoke with Gabriel from the FFC he told me all about the promotion and I am satisfied. I also trained with Antun Račić and he also said that FFC is doing good things in Europe so I have the impression that it is a legitimate promotion. So, according to what I heard FFC should be a good platform for the development of my career, but time will tell. But first I have to show up and win. No point in good stepping stone if I lose the match. I have to win and everything else will work out fine.”

Wagy does not mind the ring

“I do not prefer it, but I do not mind. I’m used to the cage, but I fought in the ring as well. I really do not mind. I prefer the cage because it can be used to my advantage and I can press the opponent against it, but I can do the same in the corner of the ring. I do not know how tight the ropes are and I do not know how big the ring is, so I will have to figure it out when I get there. I suppose it will not be a huge ring.

I train quite the same as before. I’ve been working in a boxing ring a bit that we have here in the gym, moving and hitting mitts. But in the end everything will be the same. I’ll use the same advantages as well as in the cage because they are effective in the ring as well, so for me it is not a big change. ”

Predictions

“You can expect that I will finish the fight. You can expect that I will try to finish the match throughout the bout; I do not want to go for a decision. I will win in the most violent manner I can.”