Back to drawing board for ‘The Crank’

Frank “The Crank” Camacho resumes training in Guam after last weekend’s loss to Justin Jaynes in the UFC Fight Night 173 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Contributed Photo)

Defeated but not crushed.

After a quick loss, Frank “The Crank” Camacho is swiftly getting back on his feet to prepare for a better showing and redeem himself from the beating he suffered in UFC Fight Night 173 last weekend.

Camacho fell (TKO) to Ultimate Fighting Championship newcomer Justin Jaynes just 41 seconds into their lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada last Saturday night (Sunday on Saipan). The Marianas pride, after the loss, returned to Guam and resumed his training yesterday.

‘I was beat down. But I am not broken. It’s going to take a whole lot more to break any island warrior down. I’m done crying and feeling sorry… upon arriving back home I got straight to work—on the bag, on the bike, and back to training with what I got,” said Camacho.

“Like every loss in my career, it’s been tough, but I have to pick myself up and fix the mistakes I’ve made. We will be back. Just a little bump on the road. Downshifting, ready to pick up speed and CRANK IT UP again soon,” the 31-year-old fighter said.

There’s no word yet on Camacho’s next date at the octagon cage, but last weekend’s duel with Jaynes was just the first of his four-fight deal with UFC. He has absorbed back-to-back losses and holds a 2-5 card overall since debuting in the premier MMA promotion company in 2017.

The match versus Jaynes, a last-minute replacement for Matt “The Steamrolla” Frevola, was also Camacho’s quickest in UFC, surpassing the 2:02 fight time (first round) the latter had in UFC Fight Night 162 last year when he lost (rear-naked choke) to Bennell Dariush. Camacho’s first two UFC fights (loss to China’s Jingliang Li and win over Australia’s Damien Brown) both went the distance (three rounds), the next two were decided in the second round (defeat to Geoff Neal and victory over Nick Hein), while the recent two finished early. In his first three UFC matches, Camacho earned Fight of the Night honors.

While he waits for his next call to the UFC stage, the Team Oyama standout would like to thank all his supporters.

“Thank you to everyone who tuned in. For all the love and support win, lose, or draw. I’m so blessed to have a great support group. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be able to do what I love during these times,” Camacho said.