The Lowdown 05.16.09: Drew McFedries

Posted by Frank Fedele on 05.16.2009

Last week we looked at lightweight veteran Sean Sherk. This week we look at a gatekeeper for the middleweight division, from Bettendorf, Iowa, Drew McFedries.

Last Week Roundup

Sean Sherk is trying to climb back up the lightweight ladder with his fight on the 23rd with Frank Edgar. Sherk is hoping a decisive win against Edgar would put him in line to face the winner of the B.J. Penn versus Kenny Florian fight later in the year. Sherk yearns to redeem himself against Penn and I suspect would actually be rooting for a rematch. He will need to change his strategy for that to work. Some readers are suggesting that he will need to use his conditioning to push the pace with Penn and grind out a win late in the final round. Sherk relied too much on his striking in the last fight and it cost him. We shall see if he gets the chance to challenge Penn and take back what he feels is still his, the lightweight title.

This week in the Lowdown we are going to look at a phenomenon in the UFC. There are fighters that put on exciting fights, but just don't have the skills to challenge for the title in their division. These fighters still have great worth to the UFC, however. The UFC signs multiple fighters from other organizations with impressive resumes. They need to see if the fighter is as good in the ring as they are on paper. They use a gatekeeper fighter in that weight division to test just that. One of the fighters in the middleweight division that helps separate the contenders from the pretenders is Pat Miletech fighter Drew McFedries.

Background

McFedries is a hard hitting striker trained under Pat Miletech. McFedries is a striker through and through, preferring to stand with his opponent rather than take it to the ground. He is one of the hardest hitting fighters in the middleweight division. He hits so hard Martin Kampmann was quoted as saying that McFedries hit as hard as a horse kicked.

McFedries is an Iowa native and moved to Miletech's gym to train. He began his UFC career 2006, knocking out Alessio Sakara in UFC 65. McFedries has fought a number of good fighters in his UFC career, but has had troubles with some of the weight class's elite fighters.


Drew McFedries

McFedries is, however, an exciting fighter with his striking style. He is always swinging for the knockout and has the power to end his opponent's night quicker than he intended. He is not to be taken lightly.

Previous Fights

McFedries started with the UFC in UFC 65 with a win against Alessio Sakara by TKO. This was a good start for the young fighter, but his next opponent would prove tougher. McFedries ran into Martin Kampmann in UFC 68, getting submitted in the first round against him. He bounced back though with a knockout over Jordan Radev in an UFC Fight Night in the first round. Again, McFedries went up in class fighting Patrick Cote in UFC Fight Night and was knocked out in the first round. Marvin Eastman came next in Ultimate Fighter Finale and McFedries won knockout of the night with his vicious knock out of Eastman. The next two fights have been less kind for McFedries, losing to Mike Massenzio and Thales Leites both by submission.

McFedries has shown unable at this time to win against the elite in his division, but has proven to be an exciting fighter and a good test for his opponent. This makes him a good gatekeeper for the division, forcing fighters to beat him before moving up the ladder to better know opposition. In UFC 98, McFedries gets to test the mettle of French Savate stylist Xavier Foupa-Pokam. There have been few savate fighters in the UFC, but Xavier also cross trains in Muay Thai and Kickboxing. Xavier made his first appearance in the UFC in UFC 97, losing to Denis Kang by decision. Wanting to bounce back quickly from that fight, he chose to face McFedries. McFedries will strike with him, so it should be a stand up war. Xavier has eleven knockouts on his resume in his MMA career, so don't expect this fight to go too long.


Next opponent Xavier Foupa-Pokam

This should be a good fight and one I am actually looking forward to. I am interested to see how savate translates to MMA and McFedries will pose a good challenge for Foupa-Pokam.

McFedries UFC Record
Middleweight

* UFC 65: Win versus Alessio Sakara by TKO in the 1st
* UFC 68: Loss to Martin Kampmann by submission in the 1st
* UFC Fight Night, Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher: Win versus Jordan Radev by knockout in the 1st.
* UFC Fight Night, Swick vs. Burkman: Loss versus Patrick Cote by knockout in the 1st.
* Ultimate Fighter Finale, Jackson vs. Griffin: Win versus Marvin Eastman by knockout in the 1st
* UFC Fight Night, Diaz vs. Neer: Loss to Mike Massenzio by submission in the 1st
* UFC 90: Loss versus Thales Leites by submission in the 1st

As you can see from McFedries resume, don't leave the couch during the first round. The fight will probably not go any further. McFedries goes fast and hard in his fights and while this hasn't translated into a great won loss record, it is exciting. That is why the UFC keeps bringing him back to fight. His fights are exciting and he always engages with his opponent. Bring it on Xavier Foupa-Pokam, let's see what you got. Drew is ready.

Final Thoughts

Drew McFedries is actually one of my favorite fighters to watch. He always pushes the action and throws hard and quick. He is never high on the card, but always makes for an exciting way to start the evening. He will be a major test for the young Frenchman and we shall see is savate is any match for the Miletech system.

That is all for this week, please come back next week where we will get the lowdown on another MMA fighter that will be fighting in the UFC soon and take a look at the upcoming event. Please take the time to bookmark 411mania.com. One quick step and all the news you need is but a click away.