A Farewell to Phil Mcracken

Fighter profile of Phil Mcracken by Lucky Lefty

 "Ben Doveran" Phil Mcracken (168902), former AFL Tokyo and BFT Sydney champion enjoyed a long 11 years fighting both in the ring and cage. He has fought with many rulesets and in multiple weightclasses and has traveled the world to face off against some of the best middleweights on this planet. 

Beginning his career later than most, Mcracken made his MMA debut at the age of 25 in Tokyo. After just one year of training and his first win, making his way through public gyms was sometimes a hassle for the young Mcracken as he would often not have certain types of training available. It was also difficult to get used to new sparring partners and coaching teams but nevertheless Mcracken was able to string together a 6 fight winstreak despite all this. It all seemed to be going great until Mcracken dropped a unanimous decision to a superior wrestler. After being outwrestled for the greater part of 3 rounds Mcracken felt beaten at his own game. He dedicated himself to his wrestling after this loss and soon found himself in the cage once more, ready to compete. His gameplan was simple: take the taller fighter down and ground and pound. The fight was going in his favour completely until nearly the 4 minute mark of the very first round where a quick submission out of thin air caused Mcracken to tap out and lose for the second time in his career. 

Mcracken was dissapointed not only in another loss on his record but also in the fact of being submitted by a fellow brown belt. In his mind the 2 worst things had just happened and these were the two worst ways to lose. But "Ben Doveran" was not so easily discouraged! These losses fueled his desire to win more than ever and it was at this time that Phil Mcracken vowed to never be outgrappled again. He went to work immediately at a grappling gym to tie up all of his loose ends in his ground game. 

The work payed off as Mcracken went on to win 5 of his last 6 fights at 170 lbs, including the AFL Tokyo championship against Akisame Hikaru and losing only to the legendary Super Hans in an action packed superfight. The loss to Hans was no shame at all for Mcracken. At this stage of his career he was able to deal with defeat as a part of the sport like any true champion would. And shame though it was not, this loss was the main reason for his move up to middleweight. After one last fight with his rival Hikaru, Mcracken announced his move up to 185 lbs. There, he declared, no man could best him on the ground ever again!

Phil went on to establish himself as a top contender in the BFT Sydney middleweight division, with wins against some of the toughest veterans of the sport. His outstanding performances quickly earned him renown among fans and fighters alike and it was not long before he found himself capturing the BFT Sydney championship title. After another splendid 6 fight win streak and two title defences "Ben Doveran" Phil Mcracken was knocked out by Chev Chelios for the first time in nearly a decade. His granite chin was never brought into question until that night. Everyone had expected him to win once more after dominating the seemingly unstoppable Chelios by armbar almost a year prior in just 2 minutes and 51 seconds. In the end however, Mcracken was so confident in himself that he had not tried to take the fight to the ground once despite his corners desperate screams to take his man down! It was not long before the worst had come to pass.

This marked the end of an era for Mcracken and many say that he never fought the same after being knocked out by Chelios. His next two fights almost prove this statement to be true as even though he won the unanimous decision over Johnny Cage, critics and fans alike were very unforgiving of his will to finish the fight that night. Perhaps it was a sign that his body was giving out or perhaps it was his sexual preference that prevented him from finishing Cage that night. Either way everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before this deflated fighter was once more on the receiving end of a beatdown he could not come back from. 

Finally the call came in months later and a fight was offered to Phil: an old fighter by the name of Damian Nitchke. Here was a guy that Phil had debuted against in his first fight with BFT. He was a veteran of many fights and although he was no slouch by any means, Mcracken was able to dispatch him inside of 2 rounds in their first meeting. It appeared Nitschke still had hard feelings about the stoppage on that fight and wanted to prove he could redeem the loss. The fight was set up and before long these two warriors faced off for the last time in their rivalry. 

But it was not to favour Phil Mcracken this time. This time Nitschke proved to the world that any fighter against any odds can best his opponents given the proper gameplan. The most interesting part of this rivalry is that it took each man just about as long to put the other out. Both fights were stopped in round two around the 3 minute mark!

And so it is with a heavy heart that I finally release one of my own original creations in Phil Mcracken. Farewell and adieu old friend!

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