When opportunity knocks on your door, it’s a door that you have to open and that is what Andy Uhrich did when he received a phone call from Titan FC to face Bobby Cooper on short notice at Titan FC 33 on Friday.
Uhrich (10-5) has won back to back fights since dropping two in a row in Bellator and his most recent win came three weeks ago as he defeated Marcus Andrusia by unanimous decision at Summit Fighting Championships 10.
One week after that win, Uhrich received a call to face Cooper in a welterweight bout. His last fight was at middleweight and he told The MMA Report that it was a no brainer to accept the fight against Cooper at Titan FC 33.
“I got offered a week after a fight so I just got out of a training camp and I won my fight by unanimous decision,” Uhrich said. “Came out and did not have any injuries or anything like that. Took a week off and then I got a call the next weekend asking ‘it’s a long shot, but can you make weight,’ because I fought at 185 in my last fight. I knew I could make the weight. Being able to fight on Titan. Bigger promotion and CBS Sports. It helps out a lot. It was kind of a no brainer, so I took it.”
Prior to accepting the fight, did Uhrich take a moment to look at the film of Cooper in deciding whether to take this fight? Uhrich admitted that he did not look at his opponent as the only thing that went into his mind was could he make the weight.
“The way I look at it, I do not really divulge into all that — what is he good at, what is he bad at. I will look at his demeanor and see how he fights and everything like that. I did not look him up when I said yeah. The biggest thing that was on my mind was making the weight and that is no disrespect to him. I have looked him up. I have studied him now since I took the fight. That never goes through my head on who the guy is. Where he is from. What camp he is from. None of that matters.”
“This fight game is so saturated with so many guys. There are good guys. There are not very good guys, but there are so many fighters out there that when the opportunity rises like this. I am 29 years-old, when something like this comes up, I have to take it because these opportunities — what are going to make or break my career right now. I have fought in bigger shows like Bellator and Strikeforce. These are the shows that short notice opportunities you have to take them to move up. That is why I try to stay ready.”
Uhrich will be looking for his third win in a row, which is something he has not been able to accomplish since 2010. When it comes to how he plans to win, he just wants to get his hand raised by the referee at the end of the fight but he plans to be searching for his fifth career win by knockout.
“There is no disrespect to Bobby. I have looked him up and he has a similar record. Like I said, I feel like he is kind of like me. I do not know how old he is, but I think he is a little younger. He has been on bigger shows and he has won on those bigger shows. He is still there in the midline of these mid shows kind of like me. We are both fighting. We are both fighting for the same thing. For that break and he is coming out there to get his hand raised, I am coming out there to get my hand raised. Any means necessary.”
“If it’s going to be a grind out war where I win in 15 minutes and beat on him for a little bit and maybe get beat on a little bit. That is cool with me as I have done it my whole career. I am not scared to get into a dog fight. If I go out there and knock him out, that’s cool. I am chasing the knockout and I feel that it’s coming. I am going out there to do whatever it takes. I am going to get my hand raised, be respectful, and be a humble fighter.”