After blowout loss in hometown, UFC Fight Night 101's Ben Nguyen more relaxed than ever

Ben Nguyen is entering UFC Fight Night 101 with the hope of erasing memories of his previous UFC appearance from his hard drive.

Nguyen (14-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who fights Geane Herrera (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at Saturday’s event, went through what has to be considered a nightmare scenario earlier this year. He fought Louis Smolka at UFC Fight Night 91 in July in his hometown of Sioux Falls, S.D., and in front of his friends and family suffered a hellacious beating which resulted in a second-round TKO win for his opponent.

The expectation upon taking the bout was to return home and shine inside the octagon when all eyes were on him. However, reality played out the opposite way, because Nguyen had no answers for Smolka’s game on fight night.

Depending on the athlete, experiencing such a devastating moment could do irreparable harm to one’s psyche. Nguyen said he didn’t allow that to happen, though, and simply focused on what could help him do better next time.

“It was a big downer for me losing in my hometown, and it just kind of lit a fire under my ass, and it was just like, ‘Let’s do this. I’ve got to get better,'” Nguyen told MMAjunkie. “I just chose so many different avenues to get better. Not just like what happened in the fight, but just overall improving as a martial artist and an athlete. I’ve been doing a lot of mental preparation for this. I got a mental coach now, Jeff Jordan from Fight Brain. We meet every week on Skype, and he helps frame things a little bit differently and helps me visualize the win.

“It was a big build-up to the fight for me. I hadn’t been at home for a long time, and it was like kind of a homecoming for me,” he continued. “When I woke up that day, I just didn’t feel right. When I fought Louis Smolka I didn’t do anything that I wanted to. I could have stood up anytime in that fight, and I just got pummeled on the ground and got really tunnel-visioned, and it was probably my worst performance.”

UFC Fight Night 101 takes place Saturday (Sunday in Australia) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The flyweight bout between Nguyen and Herrera opens the FS1-televised portion of the card following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Suffering his first UFC defeat was disheartening for Nguyen, especially because he hadn’t been dealt a loss in nearly six years prior to his encounter with Smolka. There’s lots to be learned even in defeat, though, and after being beat up for the majority of the more-than-nine-minute contest, Nguyen said his toughness and durability were validated to himself in entirely new way.

“Looking at the silver lining of things, I felt like taking a beating like that, I don’t think anything can match up to that,” Nguyen said. “He beat my ass pretty good. I hung in there as long as I could, I probably would have stayed in there until the end if (referee) Herb (Dean) didn’t stop it. I do agree with that decision to step in; I took way too much damage in that fight.”

With more than four months of recovery time following the loss, Nguyen said he’s in a much better place going into UFC Fight Night 101. Although South Dakota is his home, he’s spent much of his time over the years in Australia, as well, so the fight with Herrera is also somewhat of a home game.

Nguyen said he’s not allowing himself to get caught up in the perception of any home field advantage but admits he’s more comfortable ahead of this fight than the one before it.

“I actually feel a little bit more relaxed this time around,” Nguyen said. “I didn’t have to travel much – had a two-hour plane ride. I think a big thing in being able to compete at your best is to have an environment that’s the same to where you train. My environment hasn’t changed much. I’m pretty relaxed. I feel the most relaxed than the lead up to any other fight I’ve done. So it’s nice.”

As far as the fight itself, Nguyen said he has a positive outlook on the matchup. He and Smolka were rolling on nice winning streaks when they clashed earlier this year, but for the fight with Herrera, the circumstances are very different. Both men are coming off defeats and know the pressure back-to-back UFC losses can add to a career.

Nguyen said he doesn’t allow those thoughts to creep into his head, though. For him, the key to success is enjoying himself once the octagon door is locked, and if he does that, he said everything else will fall into place.

“I definitely want to go into this one in control the whole time,” Nguyen said. “I definitely want to feel like I’m in the octagon.

“I feel like all the fights I’ve done in the UFC so far are just a whirlwind almost. I want this one to feel like I’m there and I’m just having fun and I’m in control and confident. I just want to do it in like a confident fashion. I’m hoping for a quick and easy finish, but it doesn’t always happen that way.”

To hear more from Nguyen, check out the video above. Or to watch the full interview, click on the video below.

For more on UFC Fight Night 101, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.