Alessio: Future WEC Champ or Just Another Contender?

By Frank Curreri

John Alessio recalls the day he first moved to the United States. The young Canadian arrived alone in California and brought few possessions.

"I was only 19 years old," he said. "I showed up with my suitcase by myself. I was just a kid following a dream. I didn’t let anything get in the way. I just wanted to fight."

After 10 years in the fight game, Alessio has sky-is-the-limit potential. But the veteran of almost 40 bouts is perhaps better known for his losses than his triumphs. Showing gameness and grit, he has tested himself against marquee opponents like Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, Pat Miletich, Thiago Alves and Joe Doerksen. After each big fight, Alessio watched as other guy's hand was raised.

And yet, despite the trend, many still consider Alessio to be championship material. After all, he's only 27 years old and owns 28 professional wins. And Alessio can still make huge strides on his road to redemption if he beats highly-regarded Brock Larson on March 26.

"I pride myself on fighting the best guys that I can," said Alessio (28-11). "I’m not trying to pad my record and fight guys with losing records. I’m not looking for an easy fight. I’m always up for a challenge. Every loss is a disappointment, but it’s also a learning experience. A loss just makes me want to train harder and want to become a better fighter."

Alessio has won three straight and five of his past six fights. Larson is 22-2 and likes to fight at 100 mph, hell-bent on overwhelming and overpowering his opponents. Alessio senses flaws in the Minnesotan's game.

"I’ve seen a few fights, I’ve seen what I need to see about him," Alessio said. "He’s a physically strong guy, a good wrestler and a good grappler. He’s got good ground and pound and submissions and stuff like that. So I respect his ability there. I do believe he’s still one-dimensional. I don’t think he’s going to try and stand with me the entire fight and box.”

Alessio concedes that, when it comes to his own style, there are two different John Alessios. He is respected for having a well-rounded skill set and believes he has no glaring weaknesses. He doesn't want people to label him as a wrestler, or a boxer or a jiu-jitsu guy. He wants to be known simply as a mixed martial artist. And he makes no apologies to those who accuse him of being too conservative at times.

“It mostly just comes down to my opponent," he said. "Some people say when I fight a wrestling style I become very tentative and I’m just looking to sprawl and pick apart my opponent and sometimes it doesn’t wind up being the most exciting fight. There are two different Johns. I can be real aggressive and I can be the guy that wants to outpoint you. Sometimes it just happens in there, you know? But I’m not going to give away which John Alessio is going to show up on March 26. But I definitely can say it’s going to be the John Alessio that comes out on top."

To that end, Alessio has added a major tool to his training regimen. He's the latest pro athlete to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber. Basically, he said, the tent-like device in his bedroom allows him to sleep as if at 10,000 feet altitude -- though really, in the Las Vegas area where he lives, the altitude is 2,000 feet or so. The chamber, which he estimates costs in excess of $5,000, was a gift from a company called Hypoxico.

"It’s been a huge help to my cardio for this fight," he said. "I’m in the best shape of my life and ready to go.”

Make no mistake about it, Alessio views Larson as a launching pad that will land him another crack at WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit. Last year they waged a back-and-forth war for nearly two rounds but Condit prevailed by rear naked choke.

“I am striving for a rematch with Condit," Alessio said. "I was off that day. I had really overtrained for the fight and came in really flat. Not taking anything away from Carlos – he’s a great champion. But I really think I can beat him and put on an even better fight. I’m not close to where I want to be as far as being a complete mixed martial artist. I want that belt around my waist. I'm going to keep fighting and beating people until that belt is around my waist.”