Clint Kingsbury Has No Problem Taking Things One Fight At A Time

By: Bryan Levick

Clint Kingsbury may carry amateur status in the sport of mixed martial arts, but his skills and the way he carries himself can be likened to those of a 10 year veteran. The 33-year-old Ontario, Canada native is currently the head wrestling coach for Adrenaline MMA.


For those of you not familiar with Adrenaline MMA they are based in London, Ontario, Canada and boast some exciting and successful mixed martial artists. UFC lightweight Sam Stout, WEC lightweight Chris Horodecki and WEC featherweight Mark Hominick are a few of the fighters that Kingsbury works with on a daily basis. The trio is led by head trainer Shawn Tompkins. As you can see, Kingsbury is surrounded by guys who can help him achieve his goals of being a champion in the sport.

Kingsbury has used his wrestling background and the training he has received at Adrenaline to remain undefeated as an amateur. On Saturday night October 30, Kingsbury looks to capture the Full Contact Fight League bantamweight title when he takes on Dominic Sidone at Halloween Havoc in Port Huron, MI which can be seen beginning at 7:30 PM EST on Go Fight Live.

“The Hammer” has worked to get where he’s at and his teammates respect his work ethic, one that he has carried with him ever since he begun competing in organized athletics. His wrestling was so dominant that it drew the attention of people all over Ottawa.

“Some of the local MMA clubs had heard through the grapevine about me and through word of mouth I was contacted to come down and help these guys sharpen their wrestling skills,” Kingsbury told Go Fight Live. “I was training Nabil Khatib who has fought the likes of Carlos Newton and Gideon Ray. I was then contacted by a club called Ronin MMA to come and work with Nick Denny,” explained Kingsbury.

“From there I started to learn other aspects of mixed martial arts, but I didn’t get into MMA until I moved to London. A good friend of mine Shawn Garris told me about Adrenaline and before I knew it I was working alongside Hominick, Stout and Horodecki,” he said.

It wasn’t long before Stout approached Kingsbury and told him that he had a future in the sport and he needed to explore the opportunities MMA could present him.

“One day after doing some pad work with Stout he approached me and said that I could be successful in this sport. From that point I started taking some more classes and began sparring with these guys. It worked out well because they needed work with their wrestling and I need work in the other disciplines. It was a win-win situation for all involved,” Kingsbury stated.

One would think that Kingsbury has been training MMA for a lot longer than he has, but in reality he doesn’t even have a full year under his belt.

“It wasn’t until this past January that I began to take this thing seriously. I had my first fight in February against Konnor Kuppe,” said a proud Kingsbury. ” I was able to defeat him by TKO early on in the second round. Since then I have won all five of my fights.”

Although Kingsbury has thus far been successful he knows he still has a lot to learn, but at 33 he is also aware that there isn’t a whole of time left for him to compete.

“Right now I have this fight scheduled for FCFL at the end of October. I also have another title fight which will take place in the XCC. They wanted me to fight in November, but it just didn’t fit into my schedule at this point. My goal is to obtain both titles and then I will reevaluate what my plans are as far as turning pro or taking more fights as an amateur,” Kingsbury told me.

“Both Hominick and my striking coach Adam Hickson would like me to have at least eight amateur fights before I decide to turn professional. I don’t want to turn pro for the sake of turning pro, I want to have the tools that are necessary for me to succeed.”

Although his next fight will be contested at 135lbs., Kingsbury feels as though he could make the drop to 125lbs. If and when the WEC starts a strawweight division he wants to be fully prepared.

“There has been talk about going to Bellator or fighting at 125lbs. in the WEC. Right now those are just aspirations that I think about. At this moment in time I want to win one fight at a time, win these titles and have some fun while I am at it,” said an excited Kingsbury.

Next Saturday’s bout will be his first in the FCFL and Kingsbury is excited about the opportunity. He is also looking forward to teaching his opponent a lesson in humility.

“I know that the FCFL has put on some pretty good shows and that they are led by a group of solid individuals including Jason Harkes of Canadian Pro Fighter. He has shown support to a lot of the local fighters and I was happy that they came to me with this opportunity.”

“As far as Sidone is concerned I know very little. I watched a couple of his fights and he happens to be a little bit smaller than me. From what I’ve heard he can be a little bit arrogant and that will provide me with a little ammunition because I come from a long history of combative sports and I am not arrogant at all. In fact I take pleasure in crushing those who tend to be on the arrogant side. I don’t know the guy personally so I don’t want to disrespect him, but from what I have seen I am not all that impressed.”

“He claims to be a wrestler and if you’ve seen pictures of me you will know that I have been wrestling for a long time. This guy doesn’t have the cauliflower ears and there isn’t a whole lot of wrestling in the fights that I have watched of his. He’s a bit of a wild swinger and seems to fight the same way every time. He definitely doesn’t bring the level of wrestling to the table that I do,” said Kingsbury proudly.

With each and every training session Kingsbury is improving in all aspects of mixed martial arts. There are no better judges than the men who sweat with him each and every day. Kingsbury’s confidence is growing right along with his skills, as evidenced by the way he can now keep up with his training partners.

“Hominick is known as “The Machine” because he keeps going and going. He never gets tired, for the longest time he could impose his will on me. Now my goal is to stay with him and back him up, I can use that to carry over into my fights. I have become very aggressive and tenacious which is only going to spell trouble for my opponent.”

“I am confident enough to go into a fight and impose my goals. In this fight I see Sidone coming out wildly while I keep my composure and pressure him until he wears out. One thing my opponents have said about me is they have never been in a fight with a guy who can apply constant pressure they way I do. I’m looking to ground and pound him until the ref stops the fight or he gives me his back and I win by submission. I am looking to end it in the second or third round,” said Kingsbury matter of factly.

Another characteristic that Kingsbury has is he tends to be very loyal to those who have helped him along the way. This is never more evident than when he talks about his sponsors and teammates.

“Jason has been a huge supporter as has been a gentleman by the name of David Spinney who has made it possible for me to train full time. Drako Sports provides me with all of my equipment. Then there are my coaches Hickson, Hominick, Stout, Horodecki and all the guys at Team Tompkins. Without their help I wouldn’t have the opportunities that I have.”