“I just came back one day to get some extracurricular training outside of Glory, and I was presented with it and I was very surprised, but it was probably the best surprise I ever had in my life,” Witt said. “It validates that, hey, I’m not just a lunatic out here wrestling sweaty men for no reason. (Laughs) There’s levels to it and there’s reasons why we do the things we love to do.”
One thing Witt loves more than anything else is getting into a fight, and that’s how he’s made his name through five trips to the Octagon. Sometimes that’s been a good thing; sometimes it hasn’t been. So while he’s established his grappling bonafides, don’t expect him to be looking for flying armbars this weekend.
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“I like fighting,” he admits. “I like grappling because nobody can hit me most times at that point, but I like hitting people. I don’t like when I get hit, but I like hitting people.”
So in other words, business as usual this weekend in San Diego?
“I’m the same old, same old,” Witt said. “I know what I’m good at and I stick to that. I’m good at grappling, good at wrestling and I’m good at putting people in positions that make them work harder than I’m working. I don’t want to work hard, that sounds like no fun at all. (Laughs) But I’ve definitely worked pretty hard on what I’ve been doing, and I know it’s cliché to say because I say it every time, but I’m fine-tuning the details. I know how to fight, I know what to do, I’m getting better in certain aspects, and it’s hard to understand that you’re getting better, but you have to look at the small details of what you’re getting better at. It’s not like you’re making huge strides 15 years later; you’re making small little details that add up over time, and that’s where I’m at.”
He’s in a lot different place in his career than Quinlan is. The Hawaii native is making his UFC debut in his seventh pro fight, a time Witt remembers well in his own career. Well, maybe not so well.
