 | Andre Winner: Stand with Me By Elliot Worsell |
If you stand and strike with Andre Winner, you're likely to lose. That's the mantra the Leicester lightweight carries into the Octagon each and every time out. Blessed with blazingly quick hands and feet, Winner's punch expertise is matched only by his confidence. "I will fight any lightweight in the world in a stand-up battle," says the 28-year-old, who most recently blitzed Rolando Delgado inside a round at UFC 105. "There is nobody out there at lightweight who can compete with me and box with me. I'm talking about everybody. Don't get me wrong, there are some good guys out there at 155, but nobody I've seen can match me for boxing or striking in general. I would trade with all of them." Though well-rounded and comfortable in various positions, Winner likes nothing more than entering a striking showdown with an opponent. The athletically-gifted lightweight punches with a technique and authority that opponents often lack. He sets up attacks with a sharp, range-finding jab and then launches follow-up shots with the sole intention of knocking his foe out. Rather than adapt his punching to MMA, Winner almost rattles off punches like a boxer - something that isn't lost on the explosive lightweight. "I wouldn't call myself a boxer, because I think there's more to my striking than just my hands," he says. "I enjoy boxing, though. To be honest with you, I like to watch boxing more than MMA. Often when I watch an MMA fight, the fighters make it look so hard and knackering. "Sometimes I watch boxing for guys like Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones because they are so dominant and just exude confidence and skill in everything they do. Everything seems to be under control and measured with those guys. They make it look so easy. I can't say the same about fighters in MMA. I sometimes watch MMA fighters and it reminds me of how hard my job could be. It actually makes me anxious and worried about my own fight." Winner isn't the type to show any outward signs of anxiety or nerves. He slips in and out of range on opponents with a cool and clinical head, before launching two-fisted attacks at breakneck speed. These tactics were showcased in Winner's bout at UFC 105 in Manchester, the night he spectacularly felled Delgado with a right hand. Aware that he needed to drag Winner to the floor, Delgado was left in the wilderness by his inability to shoot on his opponent and the threat of the hands coming back at him. As a result, Delagdo was essentially a sitting duck for the flaming fists of a man hungry for his first UFC knockout win. "The Delgado win was really pleasing," recalls Winner. "Nothing's ever perfect, but it went the way I wanted it to. I'm not going to let it get to my head, though. Yeah, I knocked someone out in the first round, but people get knocked out at every event in the UFC. It's not exactly something unique or amazing. I expect that kind of performance from myself each and every time." Winner's next chance to make good on his promise arrives on March 31st at UFC Fight Night. His opponent will be Rafaello Oliveira, having originally been lined up to face American Cole Miller. "I'd been training for a few weeks before I heard that Miller had pulled out," says Winner. "It was a shame, as it would have been a good fight, but these things happen in this sport. It didn't bother me too much. In fact, it doesn't really ever matter who I fight, as I'm one of those guys that will happily fight any lightweight in the world. If you want to be the best, you've got to fight the best. I want to be the best. I'm here to prove myself." Winner makes do with Oliveira and looks to chalk up knockout win number two on March 31st. The Ultimate Fighter season nine finalist accepted the fight blind - admitting he knew very little of Oliveira - but is simply happy to be fighting again. After all, when you beckon the entire lightweight division to a stand-up brawl, you've got to be prepared for all-comers. "I didn't know that much about Oliveira when it was announced," admits Winner. "I've since done my homework and I've got a rough idea of what he's all about. I'm really looking forward to it. "He's (Oliveira) an aggressive fighter, sets a good pace and has good ground skills. He's not a technical striker and can be quite wild sometimes, but he doesn't mind standing and banging if that's where the fight goes. He's got a good attitude to the fight when it's going his way and is the kind of fighter that looks great when he's on top." Oliveira has won 10 of his 12 professional mixed martial arts bouts and most recently defeated John Gunderson at UFC 108. Primarily a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter, Oliveira has also scored four of his victories by knockout and has shown a willingness to strike when the mood takes him. Despite this, Winner isn't getting too excited about the possibility of showcasing his punch arsenal on March 31st. With the Delgado stunner still ringing in the collective ears of a division, Winner doesn't expect too many lightweights to voluntarily test the credibility of his fists. "I expect him to try and take me down," admits Andre, 11-3-1 in his own mixed martial arts career. "He may sling a few punches here and there, but he'll want to drag me to the floor as soon as possible. He'll then try and grab whatever he can down there. He can give it a go, but I don't think he's going to get any joy with those tactics. I'm a fighter, I'm ready for a war and I'm not scared to fight him anywhere. I'll beat him wherever the fight goes." With standards set high following his first-round victory in November, Winner now looks to keep the ball rolling against another jiu-jitsu exponent. However, while Delgado's hesitancy allowed Winner to tee off at will and fully showcase his punching repertoire, the Leicester man enters the Oliveira bout with a slightly higher level of caution. "I'd say Oliveira is small step up from Delagdo, simply because his wrestling is a lot better," says Winner. "His wrestling will allow him to shoot on me a bit better. Delgado had problems shooting on me simply because he was so bloody tall. "My sub-defence needs to be good, my takedown defence needs to be good and my scrambling needs to be sharp. So long as I keep all those things in check, I should be able to then dish out some of what I can do. "I will make sure I sit down on my punches and mix things up. I'll keep him going backwards and keep tagging him. Oliveira fights well when he's on top and I want to take him out of that comfort zone. I'd love to just go out there and knock him out, but I'm prepared for everything. I'm looking to shut down everything he does, hit him with everything I throw and just keeping hurting him." An amiable and articulate individual, like any fighter Winner also boasts an intense mean streak. The Team Rough House slugger isn't afraid to put his neck on the chopping block and unsettle a division. A long-time friend and training partner of Dan 'The Outlaw' Hardy, Winner seems to have plenty in common with the go-getting Nottingham star. Furthermore, Winner's mix of punch-power and self-assured boasts also recall another fighter who recently entered the UFC with big plans. "The mad thing is, I'm a big boxing fan, but I can't really remember watching James Toney when I grew up," says Winner. "I watched loads of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank during that era, but none of Toney. I think it was because my parents didn't have cable television back then, so it was very hard to keep up with the American boxing scene. Toney never really fought on British television. "Over the years I've since watched plenty of videos of Toney and he was an amazing fighter. He's older now and a lot heavier than what he used to be, but as far as hands go he's going to be second to none. He still needs to get someone good to work with and teach him about takedown defence and submission defence, though. "He'll need to keep every fight standing and just hope that people are foolish enough to think they can trade shots with him. Not only is he technically superb, he can also bang with either hand and has carried his power up through the weights. Toney can do it all, as far as boxing and punching goes." On March 31st Winner hopes UFC fans will be uttering similar statements about him - and then some.
