Graham Spencer Using MFC 35 as His Launching Pad to Featherweight Title

Looking back at the only loss in his career to Mike Adams in 2010, featherweight up-and-comer Graham Spencer feels he learned a valuable lesson that’s helped him get back on track since.

“I sort of went in there intimidated ahead of time because he’d been fighting even before I’d been training and stuff,” said Spencer. “I was really just learning to get my mind right before the fight, going in super confident and be ready to go.”

Wins in three of his four fights (with one no contest) since the loss to Adams has proven he knows how to get in the right mindset for a fight. And most recently, having his mindset right helped him endure possibly the toughest challenge of his career so far, when he went deeper into a fight than he’d ever been in his win in February over Shawn Albrecht.

“It was good that I was able to get in there and get some rounds in,” he said. “It was the first time I’d been in a five-round fight and it went to the fourth round where I won with a rear naked choke.

“It’s always good to get the experience of going into the championship rounds. My cardio felt awesome; I was fresh and ready to go in the fourth round and it was great to get my first finish in a while.”

Spencer’s recent success will be rewarded as he steps up to make his MFC debut Friday against Ultimate Fighter alum Shane Nelson in a feature bout live on AXS TV.

“Shane’s a super tough guy who is good on the ground, good on his feet and is really aggressive,” said Spencer. “I feel like I’m really aggressive too and I’m ready to fight anywhere.

“I want to stay on him and push the pace. This is his first time at 145, so I want to test out his cardio and see how he did with his weight cut and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Spencer told MMAWeekly.com that he feels the fight with Nelson will be a good benchmark for how far he’s come in his career and where he could go in the coming year.

“He’s got a good name, has had some big fights and exposure from The Ultimate Fighter, and I’m really a nobody, so I feel like I’ve got nothing to lose,” said Spencer. “It’s going to be a good fight to see where I’m at.

“I’ve got a three-fight deal with the MFC and I want to be their first Canadian champ and their first featherweight champ. I don’t want to look past Shane, but I’ve had the best camp I’ve ever had so far, so he’s going to be the first step towards having a big 2013.”

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(Photo courtesy of MaximumFightingChampionship.com)