Eskimos star gung-ho for MFC 11 - Gridiron

Anyone who thinks Adam Braidwood is taking his foray into the MFC ring lightly couldn’t be more wrong.

With the Canadian Football League season winding down and the Edmonton Eskimos’ playoff hopes gone with the wind, Braidwood’s off-season plans completely revolve around his Feb. 3 MMA debut at MFC 11 – Gridiron.

“It’s all that I will be thinking about. I don’t have to worry about getting a job or going to school. I’m 100% focused on the fight and I’m taking it very seriously,” said Braidwood, the Eskimos’ standout defensive lineman who is toying with the idea of changing his nickname from “Bad News” to “Boogeyman.”

“I was talking to coach (Esks’ boss Danny Maciocia) today and he told me to make sure I stay in shape. I told him he could count on it because I’ll be training for my fight.”

The end of the Eskimos’ 34-year playoff run is a disappointment for Braidwood even though his performances on the field are likely to earn him spot at the year-end awards ceremony as a finalist for the Rookie of the Year honour. But trying to turn the team’s demise into a positive, Braidwood figured the early conclusion to the season will allow some additional training time for the fight.

Already Braidwood is putting together his game plan – one that includes training with MFC and Pro Camp Sports Management stars Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald and Victor “The Matrix” Valimaki.

“I definitely want to pop back into Edmonton for a couple of days and train with them,” said Braidwood, who will head home to Vancouver after the CFL campaign where he will roll with friend Blake “The Snake” Fredrickson and former UFC/Pride fighter Lance Gibson.

And just as he was a quick study on the football field, Braidwood is a heads-up student when it comes to MMA as well. He has downloaded over 500 videos of fights and instructional tapes to hone up on his skills and he has plans on taking in classes at a boxing-only gym back home in B.C.

“I love watching fighting techniques and new submissions and things about footwork. I’m up on things mentally, now I just have to catch up physically,” said Braidwood.

“Watching what other people do gives me a chance to reflect on what I need to do. I want to be a well-rounded fighter. The more well-rounded you are, the better you’re going to do. I’ll try and stand up with the guy because knockouts are awesome but if I’ve got the opportunity to do a takedown and I think it will help me, I’ve got no problem shooting in.”

Braidwood’s even done some thinking on potential opponents for his debut.

“It’s either going to be some big, huge fat guy or some guy who’s six-foot-three and 240 pounds. As long as it’s someone at the same skill level as me, I really don’t care. I’m not going to watch anything about him and read anything about him. Whoever it is, he’s going to be in for a real fight.”

And Braidwood is holding out hope that his Eskimos teammate Mike “The Wolverine” Maurer, who debuted at MFC 9 – No Excuses, will return to the MFC ring at Gridiron.

“He keeps talking about it and I know he’s definitely interested so I hope so,” added Braidwood.