“I Can Neutralize a Lot of a Jiu Jitsu 
Player’s Strengths”

Red Bears’ middleweight fighter, Chris Albandia, is in Chicago and has just arrived home after another busy day.

“I’m a teacher and I had a regular school day this morning. I just got back from training, which involved some mixed martial arts-type work: striking, kicking and takedowns. I only trained once today, but sometimes during the school day we have access to a weight room, a treadmill – things of that nature – so I do train twice a day,” says Albandia.

Chris was born in Chicago, but of Filipino descent. His parents met and married in Chicago, with their three sons taking up wrestling. However, it was at Minnesota’s St. Olaf College that Chris took up the fighting style.

“Both my brothers and I wrestled. I actually started doing it because ‘big brother’ did it, and I felt that it was something I had to do at the time. Then I fell in love with the sport.”

By chance, some years later Chris was encouraged to make the transition from wrestling to MMA. “I ran into someone (Farrar Puckett) coincidentally, who noticed that I had cauliflower ears and realized I wrestled. Farrar actually fought in Japan, and he said the one thing he needed to work on was his wrestling game. At the time I had no interest in MMA: I had seen early ultimate fighting and they were just bloody guys with no techniques, trying to bludgeon each other.

“I said to Farrar, there was no way that I would want to do it, but I would definitely be interested in working out with him. We started working out and I asked him to show me a couple of submissions, and he did. I kinda developed a whole new respect for the game. So I went back to my first martial arts school that I’d been training out of in Chicago, and I began training with a pro boxer and really learnt to respect that game.

“Prior to that, I thought to myself: How hard can boxing be? But once I got in there with him I realized there’s a really… I mean they call it the sweet science, and I learnt to understand that then. There’s a lot more to it than just flailing your hands. And the other person I was training with (Oscar Bravo), he was also a world champion pro kickboxer, and I learnt about the kickboxing game a little more. Then the owner of the school asked if I’d be interested in fighting and I said yeah, and I won that first fight. It was all over after that – I was hooked.”

Chris, who are your main training partners now?

“Right now, I’d say Mark Miller, Vincent Argulles – he’s a Golden Gloves prospect with phenomenal hands, and Clay Guida – he recently fought in the UFC. Then our jiu jitsu coach is Dino Costeas…”

He’s also Andrei Arlovski’s coach.

“Yes, and I train with Andrei as well. The nice thing about Andrei is that he’s just one of the guys when he sets foot in that class: He’s not the kind of guy who says it’s all about me, or that the class has to stop and focus on him. He does what the class does, so he’s great that way.

“I just found out yesterday that he’s fighting in April at the UFC against Fabricio Werdum, and I believe he’s back and turning things up again. It’s Fabricio’s first time in UFC but he’s fought in PRIDE.”  

Do you do a lot of weights in your training?

“When I have a fight coming up I actually try to cut away from traditional weightlifting. Most of the weight training I do is more explosive: isometric-type exercises, plyometrics, box jumps, sprints with resistance… And I have a personal trainer for that, Desire Maye. She works in a gym where the focus is more on functional training, so it’s gotten away from your traditional bodybuilding – although they do have free weights and equipment of that nature. But the gym’s actually geared more towards exercises for specialized training in specific sports.”

Have you watched many of Fabio Leopoldo’s fights?

“I’ve really just seen the clips of him that are online. One was an IFL fight (vs. Ryan McGivern), another was a clip of his fighting in Japan on the pancrase circuit. Then there was a quick fight where he threw a jab that landed the right way and cut his opponent – it was like a 10-second fight. So there wasn’t much to gauge off of that. I believe that is the majority of his fights…the fight I haven’t seen is his loss to Matt Lindland.”

How will your wrestling background match up with Fabio’s BJJ?

“I’m pretty confident in my wrestling, but our jiu jitsu instructor has done a phenomenal job with us. I may not necessarily be a blackbelt in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu setting, but when you throw punches and kicks in the mix, I think my jiu jitsu gets a lot better, so to speak. Either that or I can neutralize a lot of a jiu jitsu player’s strengths with punches and other strikes.”

Do you expect most of your battle with Fabio to be on the ground or do you expect it to start on the feet and see what happens?

“I’d like to stay on the feet because if we can finish it on the feet, then there’d be no need to go to the ground.”

So you’re suggesting you could finish it on the feet?

“Absolutely, and if I can I’ll try to stay away from his takedowns.”

Chris, is there anything you’d like to add?

“I’d like to thank West Loop Gym, everyone with Team Dino Costeas in Chicago, and Healthkick.”