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No-holds barred By KRIS HENRY Rare is the case when measuring 5-foot-6, 140 pounds can be an advantage to a male athlete. But then again, Matt Phillips is a rare athlete. While at North Medford High, Phillips wielded a bat as part of the Black Tornado baseball team. These days, he uses a different weapon of choice in maintaining his athletic pursuits. "I like the kick to the head," he says without hesitation. Call it ultimate fighting or no-holds barred fighting, Phillips is smack in the middle of making the gladiator-type sport his forte. Lest those who cross him in the grocery store or shopping mall be concerned, understand that the 26-year-old Phillips is also the mild-mannered sort. He doesn't allow his adrenalin to get him too high or leave him in a pit of exhaustion. He manages an even-keeled nature at all times. And that's just downright spooky. "It doesn't matter if I'm talking to you, kicking at someone's legs or getting punched in the head," Phillips says, "I'm always the same. That makes you much more dangerous than someone who just lets their emotions take over." There was a spike in his enthusiasm recently when Phillips was contacted about a potential no-holds barred championship fight in Panama City, Panama, as part of a 50th birthday celebration for Roberto Duran. Duran and Hector Camacho are slated to fight on the June 30 card as its main event, but fate intervened for the undercard. Ben Thomas, a boxer under infamous promoter Don King, offered to be involved in a no-holds barred lightweight undercard fight as a token of appreciation for Duran. A call went out for no-holds barred fighters weighing about 140 pounds, and you-know-who answered it. "I get offered fights all the time, but this one was pretty special," says Phillips. "I didn't really believe it until I got the contract in the mail. This is definitely the biggest fight I've ever had." That's true not only in prestige, but in monetary allotment for the third-year fighter. "When you get people involved like Don King and others in the boxing profession, they tend to take care of you," says Phillips, who did not divulge what he would make on the two-fight contract. In September, Phillips will fight in Sydney, Australia, as either the defending champion or ranking contender for the newly-created, no-holds barred lightweight belt. Phillips says he knows very little about his opponent on the June 30 undercard, only that Thomas is also about 26 and has some no-holds barred experience but is mainly a boxer. "I just know he's managed by Don King," says Phillips. "I've tried to dig up anything I can on him, but I haven't been able to find one thing on him." As such, Phillips will concentrate on his own game plan. Helping him become a more polished fighter have been longtime training partner Kirby Barker and, over the past three months, Les Gutches. "Kirby's become one of my best friends, and of all the fighters I've ever trained with, he's bar none the best stand-up fighter I've ever been around," says Phillips. "He's always been there for me and he's pushed me. "And everybody knows Les. He's the most famous wrestler this area has ever seen." Phillips has primarily been a stand-up fighter over the past few years, but the sport has evolved to where being one-dimensional can be a one-way ticket to pain. "Years ago, you could be just a ground fighter or a stand-up fighter and it would be a piece of cake," he says. "Now everybody seems to know how to do both." Although Gutches isn't an expert on ultimate fighting, he has been able to show Phillips a hold or two sure to get results. More importantly, the duo have been able to appease any concerns Phillips may have should the action take to the mat. "It's a whole different world down there," says Phillips. "If you get down there, they can choke you or submit you with arm locks and leg locks. "You can't always knock somebody out, so working with Les has been helping me be more well-rounded. It hasn't changed my strategy, but if I go down to the mat, I'll at least have some knowledge to defend myself." In Phillips' last fight in January, he was given just five hours notice prior to the event and subsequently lost after succumbing to a choke hold. "That's not good," he says. "If you can't breathe you can't fight." Gutches says he has seen marked improvement in Phillips' ground fighting over the past three months. "He's definitely getting better," he says. "I feel bad for the guy that he can't find anyone better than me to help him, but I think we've made some progress. It never comes along quick, but he's definitely better now than when he first came to me." As a five-time U.S. Nationals champion and former Olympian, Gutches says he can appreciate the tactics being taken by Phillips to move up the ladder of no-holds barred fighting. "He's attacking it the right way by working on his weak points," says Gutches. Of course, if the ground fighting fails, there's always the kick to the head. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.