The Pacific Northwest has always been a hot bed in terms of what it has always held in MMA talent. We have up here, what will someday be viewed as bona-fide MMA legends including Randy Couture, Maurice Smith, Josh Barnett and many others of note. These athletes have produced a population of young and upcoming talent that are making a name for themselves in the sport as I write this.

Given the sports titanic growth over the last few years, its recruiting process has taken on the resemblance in that of the recruiting process in most major sports entities. At times it takes on that of a lottery component, who happens to be where and who sees who on any given day could make all the difference. There are of course, a number of other factors that play into this as well.

Where this is all going specifically is to Landon Showalter, who has been in the past a relative unknown on the domestic front. He has however, been an athlete that has garnered a fair amount respect as a man that will fight anyone, anytime, anywhere at a moments notice. Case in point; after calling Lindland out on an underground forum, JT Taylor slithered away from his scheduled fight with Matt Lindland two weeks before it was to take place at Sportfight 8. Showalter was contacted to fill the spot and he accepted immediately. Showalter had also fought Chris Leban a few years ago in an all out stand up war, putting to rest, any speculation that he wouldn’t have the jaw to stand with him.

He recently fought Steve Bruno at MFC 6 a fight that was termed as one of the best fights of the event. Showalter will be fighting Nick Gilardi in “Desert Brawl” which should be a good tune up for his next MFC appearance. His opponent is to date unknown. I was able to track him down and find out what his immediate goals were as well as some other things he had to say.

 MMARR: How’s it going Landon?

 LS: Just chillin’what’s happening?

 MMARR: Just got back from the MFC 6 huh?

 LS: Ya fought Steve Bruno, it was a good win. I had heard that he was supposed to be pretty tough. I had talked to Benji Radach about it to gather some insight. Benji was pretty helpful and I had trained really well for the fight. When it started, I was completely relaxed and found my range. I actually even got a take down on him. I mean my ground game could use some improvement and I have been providing more time to it, but I’m a banger and feel very comfortable on my feet. I realize that I need to be more of a multi-dimensional fighter if I’m going to take a serious run at this.

 MMARR: Are you implying that you hadn’t done as well as you could’ve in the past?

 LS: Let me just say this; I started this because it seemed like a natural progression form TKD, I was doing that for a period and got bored with it. Charlie Pearson introduced me to Pankration, which is a style of combat that dates back to the Roman era. MMA was largely born out of that. I did it, saw my first UFC and was hooked. No turning back. As far as my commitment to it, ya I was not into it for the discipline. I was there to fight. I was drinking, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and training for a fight on short notice, what seemed like all the time.

 MMARR: What were you thinking?

 LS: I guess I wasn’t, lots of things going on then. I went through a divorce that was disastrous. Well, you might know how those can be. I just had a hard time wrapping my mind around fighting and what it would take to be successful at it.

 MMARR: You have, in spite of that had pretty good success.

 LS: I fight with intensity and a self will that drives me. I stomped Drew Fickett, lost a close decision to Chris Leban, then you know, held my own against Matt Lindland for a while.

 MMARR: Drew Fickett? a person could have made some cash betting on you in that fight.

 LS: It was suppose to be a tune-up for his UFC fight. I pretty much ruined his day around that.

 MMARR: I saw the fight with you and Chris Leban, that was a war.

 LS: It was absolute mayhem. We stood toe to toe for that whole fight. After it was over, we definitely knew we had been in a war.

 MMARR: You tapped out to Dennis Hallman?

 LS: That was bullshit, I will NEVER tapout again.

 MMARR: Would you fight him again?

 LS: Fuck yes, I would not only fight him but I would beat his ass. If you see him make sure you tell him, it was fluke.

 MMARR: Dennis is pretty good.

 LS: Yes, he is. So am I.

 MMARR: It seems you’ve taken on a renewed dedication to your fighting career.

 LS: You think??? I have, it’s my last run at this. I have a new gym in Arlington Washington. I have a great group of guys to train with; Chris Leben works out with me. Everything is in place right now to facilitate success. I had a great fight in MFC 6 and they want me back. They treat me well and I want that welterweight belt.

 MMARR: How is it working out with Chris Leban?

 LS: Great, I have a world of respect for him; we share some personal similarities in our personal lives so it works out very well. We hang out quite a bit on the weekends when he is around.

 MMARR: Where do you see yourself going in this sport?

 LS: Wherever I can, the UFC would be good; Charlie is working on what it might take for me to challenge a team member for a spot on the IFL’s Tigershark team with Mo’Smith, also going to fight Nick Gilardi in the upcoming “Desert Brawl”.

 MMARR: Gilardi should be a fight in which you can take some risks on improving your skills.

 LS: I can’t underestimate him. I’ve made that mistake in the past. So my hope is to crush him, I’m not looking past it though. Don’t get me wrong I will win.

 MMARR: What else do you see yourself doing in the sport?

 LS: Fighting, that’s what I do.

 MMARR: When you’re not fighting what do you do??

 LS: I’m a father; I want to be there for my kids. I don’t want them to go through what I did. The world now as it is, kids need their parents and I’m making sure my children don’t have to worry about that. I’m also dedicated to helping the fighters in my gym be the best they can be. Anything I can do for them.

 MMARR: Is there anything you want end the note on?

 LS: I appreciate everyone at AKA, I thank them all. I’ll fight anyone anywhere if the money is right and Charlie feels it would be good for me. I’m a hired gun. This is my last run at this and I’m going to use all my skill, knowledge and maturity to my advantage.

 MMARR: We’ll make sure they see it.

 LS: Thanks a lot bro’, keep your eyes on the “Show”.

Landon Showalter has a very abrasive no nonsense attitude. A kid from a childhood that has produced the raw talent he has exhibited in the past. With his renewed outlook on himself and an escalated maturity, he has taken his plan for the future seriously. He realizes that this is not some fly by night hobby that he can partake in at a moments notice. He has surrounded himself with true athletes in Chris Leban and Charlie Pearson. He continues to hone those raw talents into what he hopes will be a huge contribution into a bright future. Showalter will be fighting Pete Sell this weekend in Atlantic City in the Ring of Combat show for the super-light heavyweight championship.

For MMA Ringreport, this was Brett Atchley, feel free to conatact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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