Let me introduce to you an up and coming fighter with a bright future in MMA. His name is Brent Schermerhorn (4-1-0) and he currently fights for ProElite.
Q. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. My name is Brent Schermerhorn, I was born in Germany and raised in Baltimore and upstate NY would consider myself from Upstate NY area. I joined Military beginning ’03 and shortly after was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. I joined Shoot Hakkei once there and they treated me like family and that’s where I started my career and turned Pro. I trained with many skilled fighters there, most notably Takeya Mizugaki, and our gym was frequently visited by Takanori Gomi for cross-training. I then moved to Hawaii, where I bounced between couple gym before settling at “Chris Leben’s Fight School” and continued fighting Pro circuits. I visited Alaska and fought for their middleweight belt and won via 2nd round Triangle. My Pro record is 4-1 to date, and next fight will be again ProElite Jan 21st. Can be viewed live on HDnet. Around July I’ll be moving back to Japan and plan on continuing my fighting career both in the US and in Japan.
Q. Which fight do you feel is your absolute best and which was your worst?
A. My best fight was I’d have to say my TKO finish in my last ProElite fight. I haven’t had a fight yet that I could showcase all my skills and talents, but I’m OK with that because I’ve never had a fight go distance to date. Worst was a brutal KO finish where I was caught with a combo and put out. Something I think I needed looking back and I learned a lot and grew from it, although I’d like to avoid that happening again. Ha-ha.
Q. Lets talk about your training and your camp/gym. How often do you train there? Aside from Chris Leben’s UFS camp, any other gyms?
A. This training camp has been great, and possibly my best so far; injury-free and completely healthy. I think there’s much room for improvement as always, but each camp I learn from and improvements are made. Having Chris Leben as my head coach is invaluable, with him having 20+ UFC fights and experience in every aspect. Ralph, another coach, and the rest of my team, are the reason for me being where I am today. I train there almost every day, with occasional rest day here and that’s typically on Sundays. Another advantage of being at a high-profile gym is having many people visiting and or cross-training so get a wide variety of looks and techniques. I cross-train a little with some other Pro fighters on Island, and Arthur Wong from M1 Muay Thai has been very generous with bringing sparring partners and offering me help with areas of my game. Many others have assisted too, Chris coaches to other Pro fighters as well.
Q. Are you going to make MMA a full time job?
A. I would LOVE nothing more to make MMA my full time job, but as of right now I’m currently active duty Navy. Starting out MMA it is very tough to earn a living to pay the bills, although that’s the ultimate goal and dream! Right now I fight and train because LOVE I have for it though, so you could say it’s a “full time hobby.” Ha-ha.
Q. Do you have separate trainers for BJJ or wrestling?
A. I have many coaches and some of them work on just my wrestling and only my BJJ, but for the most part my coaches are MMA coaches and incorporate it all together and “cut the fat” from each art. The sport is still so young that we haven’t even seen or completely developed, which I absolutely love. I stay interested in MMA mainly due to constantly being able to learn and push myself.
Q. Tell us about your typical day without giving away any secrets about your diet/nutrition and training.
A. A typical day for me would be an a.m. cardio/conditioning session, work (Navy) and then after work straight to my fight gym, where I spend most of the rest of the evening training and drilling techniques. It doesn’t leave much time for anything else but it’s small sacrifice to potentially get to where I’m trying to go so it doesn’t bother me. My diet varies but as a rule overall I try to eat clean a majority of the time, meaning the less processe] food the better. I fight both Welter and Middle, and basically always same size walking for both, so to make Welter I need to make some changes to it during camp. Living in Hawaii, there’s always fresh fish and good food available, so it helps tremendously.
Q. Personal: For the female fans- are you married? Kids?
A. Lifestyle with military active duty and being a Pro MMA competitor is a hard schedule, so no I’m not married and never have been. No kids either, maybe one day.
Q. Besides training, what do you do in your spare time?
A. I’m typical guy living in Hawaii I guess. I love the beach and the water, so diving, snorkeling. I’m a extreme sports junkie, so there’s not much if anything ill say no to in those regards. I ride my GSXR (crotch rocket) every chance I get and love being on two wheels. I’m a single guy so finding time for drinks and social time occasionally when not in camp is typical too.
Q. Lastly, what does your future look like?
A. Well right now I have a fight Jan 21st and I try not to ever look past that. I’ll be leaving Hawaii shortly after with the Navy and be going to San Diego for 6 months, and then back to Japan for next couple of years where I want to further my career in military and MMA.
