Following Loss of Longtime Mentor, Mark Hominick Trying to Fight Back into Contention

Mark Hominick ground and pounding Jose Aldo

The past couple years have been like an emotional roller coaster for UFC bantamweight Mark Hominick.

After a five-fight winning streak was snapped with back-to-back losses inside the cage, Hominick dealt with tragedy outside it when longtime mentor Shawn Tompkins passed away, only to run the opposite side of the emotional spectrum when his daughter was born.

With everything that’s happened, Hominick told MMAWeekly.com that it’s imperative to him to place his feelings aside and focus on fighting’s endgame.

“Yeah, it’s definitely been a mix of emotions this year, but I’ve always tried to use winning as my motivator,” said Hominick.

“I think with the ‘Korean Zombie’ (Chan Sung Jung) fight, I wanted to win too badly. I fought really out of character by really wanting to make a statement and fought aggressively and paid the price. It’s weird, even after 10 years, you learn from every mistake, and that’s what happened in that fight.”

Hominick is seeking to get out of his professional funk at UFC 145 on April 21 in Atlanta, against an opponent that oddly enough he’s had to had to convince others is a dangerous fighter.

“The thing is, with Eddie Yagan, I’ve had to sell his creditability,” said Hominick. “He’s a longstanding veteran and has had more years in the fight game than myself. He’s fought a lot of tough guys who have been at the top at one point or another and is finally getting his shot at the UFC.

“The thing with him, he’s got a dangerous overhand right, a dangerous guillotine as well, and he comes to fight, which I love. He’s one of those guys who’s in there to scrap. I find those kinds of fights exciting.”

After last year’s setbacks, Hominick knows he’s got to toe the line for a bit and earn his way back into contender status, starting with UFC 145.

“Right now I’m not thinking of next in line or anything like that,” he said. “I’m going out there to get back on the horse and get back on the winning streak.

“Before the fight with Aldo, I had a five-fight winning streak, and I want to carry that kind of momentum – that kind of steamrolling effect – and get a string of wins and build my spot as that number one guy. I’ve got that opportunity in front of me for a lot of eyes to be on the fight and for me to make a statement of where I’m at and where I’m going.”

Should Hominick get back on track, the bigger aspiration is as it’s always been, to claim a UFC title.

“I’ve always just had the goal of being world champion and never really strayed from that,” he concluded. “When I’ve come off a loss, I’ve wanted to win the next fight. When I come off a win, I want to win the next fight as well. I’ve always been hungry for that and never lost focus towards that same goal.”

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