Before Edmonton’s Mike Scarcello tries to win his sixth straight fight against Lenny Wheeler at Unified MMA 29 on December 16 in Edmonton, the Canadian lightweight contender sat down with Pro MMA Now.
If someone told you when you were growing up that you’d someday be fighting for a living, would you have believed them?
No, I wouldn’t have believed them (laughs). I was more focused on becoming a professional hockey player. Deep down, I always wanted to be a boxer. But where I’m from, a smaller town, my dad kind of lied to me and told me there wasn’t any boxing in town, so I stuck with hockey. After hockey was done, I switched to MMA.
Did you fall in love with the sport right away?
I did. Right away I fell in love, definitely.
Why have you been so successful?
I work really hard, and I have a great team around me — great coaches and training partners. Great instruction and great guidance, combined with hard work, will let you go a long way.
Is Lenny Wheeler your toughest opponent so far?
I’ve fought many tough guys, but Lenny is probably the toughest. I’ve fought a lot of tough guys, actually, so it’s kind of hard to say. But he’s a very skilled, hard-nosed opponent.
What does a win over Wheeler do for your MMA career?
I hope that a win over Lenny Wheeler will boost me up the 155-pound rankings and people will get to know me a little better around the country. I hope it just helps me advance in my career, and it should.