Brent Knopp Heads into Saturday's SFL America with an Eye Toward the Future | MMAWeekly.com

Middleweight Brent Knopp rebounded off his first career loss with a unanimous decision win over Adam Dehart at Super Fight League 50 in July, but he isn’t totally satisfied with how the fight played out.

“It’s good because I won, obviously, but my coaches and myself pride ourselves on finishing – we don’t like going to a decision, to the cards, because you never know when you can lose it when you put it in the judges’ hands,” Knopp told MMAWeekly.com. “It’s not what the fans want to see, they want to see a finish.

“I feel bad that I could not finish. I felt like I let myself down and my team down. It’s a time to learn and go back to the drawing board and see why I couldn’t finish the guy. There’s some minor techniques I needed to correct, and I did that over the last time. And hopefully we won’t have this problem next time.”

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In the win over Dehart, Knopp was able to come out with a positive, knowing that now if need be, he can go the full five rounds and still be effective in the fight.

“It’s always good to know that I have the gas tank and the experience of going five rounds; especially not being at the higher levels like the UFC or whatever,” said Knopp. “Some of those guys have never have fought five rounds before they’ve gone for a title.

“I feel like I can fight five anytime. It feels good to have that confidence. The main thing, I am dangerous every round. It’s not just like I’m trying to get through the fourth or fifth round – I’m going to finish you in the fourth or fifth if you’re slipping.”

On Saturday in Tacoma, Wash., Knopp (7-1) will look to pick up his second straight win when he takes on Josh Clark (9-3) in a light-heavyweight main event at SFL America: Team Challenge – Seattle vs. Central Valley.

“(Clark is) probably going to stand with me,” Knopp said. “He’s six-foot-four, so he’ll a lanky guy and will probably have the reach advantage on me. I’ve just got to go with fundamentals; keep my chin down, be patient, stalk him down and beat him up on the cage and expose him there. I’ve got to make sure I don’t have my chin out, and when the time comes, put him away.”

Having built a solid reputation for himself in the Northwest over the course of his career, it could be time for Knopp to take his game to the national stage. But first, he wants to make sure he’s ready when he gets there so he can stay there once he arrives.

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“It’s definitely something that I want to do, but my fights speak for themselves, and if I’m just getting by with decisions, then maybe I’m not ready for that,” he said. “But, if for example, in this fight I go out and knock this guy out like in the second round and have a spectacular finish, then yeah I’m definitely ready to do that kind of stuff.

“We’re not just trying to get to that level. When we get to the next higher level, we want to be successful there and be the best in the world. When the time is right, the time is right, it’s no rush, so to speak. I don’t want to put myself in a bad situation.”

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