CLEANING UP: DUSTIN DENES
Dustin “Clean” Denes
Full Contact Fighter, June 2003, interview by Keith Mills
Dustin “Clean” Denes has been turning heads in the U.S. since last March when, what was then still considered Brazilian Top Team, touched down at Hook n’ Shoot in Indiana. Shortly after that show and pushing the limits, Florida started their own franchise dubbed the American Top Team.
FCF: You were fighting originally at 205 lbs.?
DD: Yes, originally 205.
FCF: So, you are set on staying at 185 for now?
DD: Oh, definitely. Pound for pound I’m much better.
FCF: You are relentless in your pursuit of submission; once you get the arm, it’s just a matter of time.
DD: I’m always prepared for the worst. I’m ready to punch, kick, wrestle, do jiu-jitsu, but to me submission is a very important because it just takes a moment. It’s very rare someone is going to get knocked out with one punch, it’s an accumulation.
DD: Submission is not an accumulation, it’s just one moment. The right timing and the fight is over. That’s it. That’s very important to me, taking advantage of opportunities – and not only taking advantage but being able to capitalize and finish the job. I capitalize because that is the end of the fight and that gives me the victory.
FCF: That degree that you are relentless does differ from some of the rest of the American Top Team.
DD: I’m always pushing the limits with the fighters on American Top Team we all learn together, but when I come home my work never stops. It’s not only in the gym where I’m learning, I come home and I study tapes. Everybody has a different approach, everybody has a different style. No matter how good a guy is or how bad a guy is, there is always something to learn. I think that is very important.
FCF: Is there anything you want to get across in reference to your striking?
DD: I’m well prepared. I’m prepared for the worst. I’m well trained in everything and this is what I do.
FCF: Do you even think about it, that you have a high percentage of finishing fights?
DD: I go there prepared for the worst. If it’s going to be three five-minute rounds, I’m gonna prepare for fifteen minutes of guerilla warfare. I always go in there prepared for a war.
FCF: What were you doing before this?
DD: I was training in Brazil. I got a 4-year college degree at Florida State and I got an MBA at Florida International. I got a college background, then went to Brazil for a couple of years and dedicated myself to jiu-jitsu. I did a lot of wrestling in high school and freestyle, so I went to Brazil a competitor.
FCF: How long were you in Brazil?
DD: Off and on for 3 years.
FCF: And that was when you moved from wrestling to Jiu-Jitsu?
DD: No, I moved over to jiu-jitsu prior to that. I still wrestled even though I started jiu-jitsu. Wrestling is something that really compliments jiu-jitsu.
FCF: Is there anything else that you think compliments jiu-jitsu like wrestling?
DD: Anything. A guy can have the best jiu-jitsu in the world, but if he has no stand-up and no wrestling, it’s going to weaken his jiu-jitsu because he’s going to be preoccupied with the other elements. You’ve got to be complete.
FCF: Considering what you’ve done and where you are at 26, you obviously have quite a drive, a work ethic. How would you describe that to people who have never met you?
DD: What you put in is what you get out. Sometimes they look at the fight, it may have been a minute or two, but that was hundreds and hundreds of hours in the gym to make that one minute.
FCF: It seems like that drive, that focus, occupies your entire life. There isn’t much room for anything else.
DD: No, that’s it. When I’m training, I’m working. When I’m at home relaxing, my brain is working. I’m always working to get the enemy.
FCF: Why the nickname “Clean”?
DD: I used to have a shaved head, so they’d say “Mr. Clean.” For the most part, they call me “Clean.” A few of the guys call me “Cobra” at the school. “Clean” sticks with me, that’s something that can’t be removed.