Rich Clementi hasn't had too much time to dwell on the past. Less than a month after a trio of judges ruled his local opponent the winner of his most recent fight, he is on to the next challenge. And it's a big one.
None other than DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki (27-5 MMA, 11-2 DREAM) will be there to help the veteran get out of his funk. The pair meet Saturday at "DREAM.17: Fight for Japan," which takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
"It's actually a fight I've been wanting for years," Clementi (40-19-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).
His excitement would have been absent had you spoken with Clementi a few short weeks ago. He had just fought Reza Madadi for a lightweight title at Superior Challenge 7 in Stockholm, Sweden, and suffered a majority-decision loss. That wasn't the heartbreaker, though. It was the fact that the bout originally had been ruled a draw. Per the Swedish commission's rules, a winner had to be picked, and – surprise – the decision went to Madadi, a Stockholm-based fighter.
Shock, not anger, was the prevailing emotion for Clementi after the decision was read. He largely had controlled the fight on the ground and nearly stopped Madadi in the first round with strikes. He had also given up several takedowns. But he felt the result wasn't even in question.
One of the judges was Madadi's personal trainer, he later found out.
"I couldn't even be mad," Clementi said. "I was just like, 'Wow.' I'm still kind of that way. But by the same token, it was a good fight, and luckily, a lot of people got to see it and got to see my skill level and what I'm about."
Clementi filed an appeal this past week with the Swedish MMA Federation – the sanctioning body that oversaw Superior Challenge – to reverse the decision. Although he was unsuccessful in doing so, he said he holds no grudge with Superior Challenge. He does, however, believe there are lessons to be learned moving forward, and the decision could have far-reaching effects on the international talent attracted to the promotion.
"Foreign guys are going to be a little reluctant," he said. "It's almost like you're fighting in Russia; you have to kill a guy to get the nod. I told [the commission] that if they're looking to do big things, that's something that's going to hinder you.
"I think that it's going that won't happen again. I would love to fight for them (again)."
But for now, the future beckons. Clementi is set to fight one of the most feared grapplers in the sport – a man who continues to command reverence despite several high-profile setbacks. Aoki is 4-0 since his loss to Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez, and he's stopped three of his opponents by submission. Even without his trademark colorful pants, he hasn't missed a beat lately.
Lyle Beerbohm, Aoki's most recent victim, felt he couldn't be submitted by the grappling ace. He was dead wrong.
All this, and Clementi has had less than a month to get ready.
"A lot of people might look at it as a last-minute fight, but if you look at the things I've done – Terry Etim (and) Anthony Johnson – all those guys I've beaten in under four weeks' notice," he said. "The more of a challenge it is for me, the more I step up to the plate."
Aoki's supreme confidence in and out of the ring is well known to fans. But Clementi said that could be the fighter's undoing when they meet.
"If he doesn't respect me, that's going to be a little bit of a mistake," he said. "I think the problem that some fighters have done with him is the fact that he doesn't look like the strongest guy in the world. As the fight progresses ... he takes some shots, and I think guys get a little ballsy at that point, and they deviate from that game plan.
"And that's my main thing. I respect the guy thoroughly. I've been around the game a long time, I know what a guy like that is capable of doing, and I'm coming up with a really good game plan to fight him."
Unsurprisingly, the plan is to make Aoki do exactly what he doesn't want to do – what all of those holding his kryptonite have forced him to do. Sure, Clementi could test his luck on the mat. But he'd rather use his fists to take the grappling ace out of his element.
"If I'm on the ground playing around, I'm not doing my game plan," Clementi said.
Besides, a knockout will leave no need for judges.
"Do I think I'll win a decision in Japan? Hell no," Clementi said. "I'm going to be hunkered down, and you're going to see a very aggressive boxing style that you haven't seen yet."
It's a huge risk, to be sure. But a big payoff could lead to even bigger opportunities such a return to the UFC. The promotion is headed to Clementi's backyard in September for "UFC Fight Night 25: Battle on the Bayou."
"If you don't roll the dice sometimes in life, you never reap the rewards," Clementi said. "You could sit back and need to be one of these guys, man – it makes me sick. And you see it a lot in the UFC, to be honest. You see guys name dropping. You're name dropping because you think you can beat that guy. You're not saying you want to fight the most toughest guy, generally.
"Even when I took the (Gray) Maynard fight, I told (manager) Monte (Cox) – and he actually advised against it. I was like, 'He's the toughest guy in the division right now. I'll take that fight.' Sure, I lost, but if you don't step up and fight the toughest guy, you don't get the reward."
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