‘Crank’ eyes UFC summer fight

If things go his way, Frank “The Crank” Camacho would like to get back inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon five months from now against any opponent.

“The next plan now is get another fight around summer time and get a win. The fans have been throwing out some awesome suggestions for my next fight,” said Camacho in an email to Saipan Tribune.

Camacho suffered a unanimous decision loss to Drew Dober in UFC on FOX 27: Jacare vs Brunson 2, but the explosive three-round bout did not escape the eyes of the organizers, as they earned the Fight of the Night award.

It was Camacho’s third straight FOTN honors as he got the same award when he lost to China’s Jingliang Li in UFC Fight Night 111: Holm vs Correia and when he defeated Australian Damien Brown in UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs Tybura, with both matches happening last year.

The 28-year-old warrior from the Marianas, despite the loss, remained in high spirits and looks forward to heading back to training after taking a few days off.

“Its [losing] all part of the fight game. All I can do is assess the fight, get back to the gym, and work harder,” said Camacho, who is aiming for another Fight of Night award when he returns to the UFC stage.

Alex White, Matt Frevola, Tim Means, Marco Polo Reyes, Mike Perry, Justin Gaethje, Vince Pichel, Mickey Gall, Bobby Green, Nordine Taleb, Belal Muhammad, Joe Lauzon, Lando Vannata, Sage Northcutt, Thibault Gouti, and Marc Diakiese are some of the names UFC fight fans suggested for Camacho’s next opponent.

“Then again, they are just suggestions,” said Camacho (21-6, 15 knockouts), who wants to fight UFC veteran Diego Sanchez (29-12, 8 KOs).

Camacho, despite some of his fans saying that his loss against Dober was controversial, remains humble and gracefully accepted the decision of the three judges—with two scoring the fight at 29-28 and the other giving it to Dober at 30-27.

“At the end of the day, the fighters showed up to fight. We do what we do best. And in life, we don’t ever get all that we want. All we can do is learn and work harder to achieve the results and goals for the future,” he added.

TrenchTech promoter Cuki Alvarez, MMA pioneer and Spike 22 owner Melchor Manibusan, and Brazilian Ji-jitsu black belt and Purebred BJJ-Guam owner Steve Roberto were at Camacho’s corner during his third UFC fight and are expected to assist the Marianas pride in his preparation for his next bout.