EFC75: Biko vs Ellenor for the Interim Bantamweight Championship

"I just feel like it's going to be a great fight with a great clash of styles. It's going to be really entertaining."

Cal Ellenor/TheBigAlPodcast

In the week leading up to Cape Town's anticipated #EFC75 fight night, we caught up with Sunderland's Callum 'Cal Pacino' Ellenor who is set to take on Luthando Biko for the interim Bantamweight championship.

Cal Pacino chatted about his life and where it all started for him as a mixed martial arts fighter, his family, training with Andrew Fisher; the owner of TFT gym back in Sunderland and most importantly, the preparations for his fight against his challenger, South African Luthando Biko who fights out of Port Elizabeth under former EFC champion and veteran, Chris Bright. Not forgetting that he will be showcasing his new suit that hasn't been released to the public. The fans and the media will get to see the dapper side of Cal at the post-match conference.

On his life in as a mixed martial artist in Sunderland: I'm a mixed martial artist from Sunderland, I have been training and competing since the age of 12. I turned professional when I was 20, nearly 21 years old. Since then I've had a record of 7-1 in my career. The 1 is a loss I had in my first fight in the EFC which was a controversial one, where everyone including myself thought I had won it. I have got an MMA class that I teach. I have also trained in TFT, my whole MMA career. I have always trained there and nowhere else. I have got a daughter and another one on the way due in May next year. I'm an easygoing family-orientated guy who loves having a good time. I am just trying to be the best fighter I can be and no stress. 

Fighting in the UK in comparison to the MMA scene in South Africa: The vast differences are that in South Africa it's a much busier scene in terms of gyms and active fighters. I feel like here in South Africa, the fans are interested in everything about the scene whereas back home (UK), they know about MMA because of McGregor but they are not really MMA fans and here they are not bothered about the names. They just love and enjoy the sport. I just love that I can be able to come out here and fight especially now after my last couple of fights. The amount of support from the fans is amazing and it's just growing so much. It's just enjoyable and gets bigger every time. I love being out here and competing. 

The inspiration behind his love for MMA and transitioning onto the scene: I used to watch it with my dad a bit and I used to box from a young age. I used to love watching these fights and everything about MMA, I just didn't know where I'd be doing it and that's when I found my coach, Andrew Fisher. He had a gym and one of my friends invited us to go and check it out so I went in and loved it straight away. The reason I found it enjoyable was that, coming from a boxing background and doing well, fighting some good guys; and then going into this like fish out of water not knowing anything, being humbled by guys half my size. It propelled me to be better and learn quicker. In anything I do, I love learning and MMA is a lifestyle but also a sport where you can learn so much about yourself when you are competing with different people. It's a sport that never stops evolving and that's why I love it so much. I actually just did boxing before I learned all the wrestling from Andrew's gym. I had never wrestled a day in my life until I went there. 

On mixed martial arts making a fighter more responsbile and respectable: I feel like MMA kind of makes you respectable and it humbles you quite a bit. Like I said before, you get to learn a lot in each fight you are competing in. You tend to have all these mental battles with yourself and all this anxiety and you have to go through certain paces to get through them. I feel like it makes you more mentally strong and it just gives you respect for lots of things; things that you take for granted. It definitely changes you for the better, I have never heard of any fighter whose turned for the worst. It's always positive. 

How he keeps himself motivated in an ever changing sport: I just feel like the confidence comes from the training; I've got great training partners. Just being in there, day in and day out and pushing myself. I always felt like my lessons that I learned from a young age through boxing, sometimes I would be hitting and missing and the other times and I wasn't at my fittest and that's why I've got some steep losses that I shouldn't have had. I learned from that and now I make sure that fitness is not the reason that I lose so even outside the gym, I always make sure I do a little bit extra to get that little bit of edge. That is why I've got the self-belief and mentality and I know that worst case scenario, I've been in these bad spots in the gym and I have got good trainers that I train with at TFT. 

On what makes fighting in the EFC special for him as a fighter: It makes it special fighting in the EFC because it's not every day that you get to fly out to another country to do what you love. I feel like the response I get every time is amazing and I get more opportunities when I'm out here. I also feel likes there's a short percentage of people that do this, to be able to come out and fight on live television in front of a massive audience. It is really inspiring and I love doing it and getting the opportunity to put out a show and enjoy myself the whole time.

Biko vs Ellenor at EFC75 weigh-in/EFCworldwide

The best fight of his career to date: The fight I enjoyed being in the most, I don't think it was enjoyable or anything like that but I fought it in Scotland. I went there and fought a tricky guy who was quite slick of his butt on the floor and I was in a bad spot, but even though I was in a bad spot, I felt I had good awareness of what was going on and really enjoyed just being there the whole time. There was not a moment from getting into that cage that I felt uncomfortable despite being in a bad spot. It was a fight where I felt relaxed and enjoyed myself. That was really my most favourite for me, although it was not the most appealing for everyone who was watching it but it was a fun fight.

Ranks and titles he has held in his career: As of professional, this is the first title (interim bantamweight) title I will be fighting for so I am really looking forward to getting in there and bringing the belt back to our gym (TFT) since there's never been a world champion as of yet. 

On his title fight against his challenger, Luthando Biko: Well I feel like keeping it long, it's going to be a lot of hard work for him and that's what I will try and do, to keep the pace on him. Beat him with range basically, and at his own stuff. I feel like I can beat him in many different ways whereas I feel like he has a set style where he likes to get on top and keep the pressure. I have got more tools to bring to this fight but obviously this is a title fight, anything can happen but when it comes to skill set, I feel like I'm the more well-rounded fighter coming into this fight and definitely see myself coming out winning. 

A message to the fans ahead of the fight: I just feel like it's going to be a great fight with a great clash of styles. It's going to be really entertaining and I just feel like I will win within a distance so it's going to be a good one. Oh and I have also got a suit that hasn't been released out to the public yet which I will showcase at the press conference (laughs). 

The #EFC75 event will be as follows: 

Till next time. . .