‘Crank’ eager to resume training

Frank “The Crank” Camacho clearly knows that even the best professional fighters train hard to keep themselves ahead of the game that’s why he is more than eager to get back to the gym and prepare for a possible match this summer.

Camacho returned to Guam last week after spending a few days in the mainland following his Jan. 27 fight against Drew Dober in Ultimate Fighting Championship on Fox 27: Jacare vs Brunson 2 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. He lost to Dober via unanimous decision, but earned his third straight Fight of the Night award. He had his first two during his victory over Damien Brown and loss to Li Jingliang last year. He defeated Brown by split decision, but forfeited his FOTN bonus as he was 4 lbs over the 156-lb weight limit in their lightweight division duel.

“I can’t wait to get back to work and showcase the improvement for my next fight. Slowly but surely, I will get there,” said Camacho in an email to Saipan Tribune.

The Marianas pride signed a four-fight deal with UFC and his manager, Jason House of IridiumSports/Team Darkside, is lining up his next bout with negotiations moving forward to determine his opponent.

Camacho said that his performance in his three fights also caught the attention of some UFC officials, making him more determined to get the win in his next fight.

“The next fight, definitely I am going to get that ‘W.’ My manager mentioned the three fights and [all] FOTNs, we are in good standing with the UFC. We’re looking forward to what comes next,” the 29-year-old warrior added.

Camacho said Dober and Brown, whom he fought a month apart, have different fighting styles.

“It is tough to compare them. They are both tough fighters in their own ways,” Camacho said.

Although it’s up to UFC to find his next opponent, Camacho could not help but express his wish to challenge Diego “The Dream” Sanchez and the former UFC lightweight title contender responded to the call out via Twitter.

“I did call out Diego [Sanchez] and he responded through my Twitter. We will see what happens next,” added Camacho.

Sanchez, who uses the Twitter handle @DiegoSanchezUFC, responded with a short “I like the match up” message to Camacho. He was the first winner of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter as he defeated Joe Stevenson (33-16, 7 KOs).