Ahead of Rematch at Legacy FC 16, Steven Peterson Embraces The Villain Role

AHEAD OF REMATCH AT LEGACY FC 16, STEVEN PETERSON EMBRACES THE VILLAIN ROLE
BY KYLE NAGEL ON DEC 12, 2012 AT 1:00 PM ET

Steven Peterson continued surprising the tattoo-shop workers who had drawn his unusual request before inking it onto his chest.

That Superman logo? He wanted it bigger. Then bigger. Then bigger.

"I made them size it up about three times," Peterson told MMAjunkie.com. "Once it covered my whole chest, I said, 'That's exactly what I want.'"

Because, to Peterson (8-2), the eye-catching tattoo is more than just a decoration. It matches an attitude of self-confidence he has built throughout his life.

He has taken that attitude from the neighborhoods of Los Angeles to McKinney, Texas, and will carry it with him when he faces Matt Hobar (5-1) in a featherweight bout at Friday's Legacy FC 16 event in Allen, Texas. At 8-2, Peterson hopes a win will catapult him into an organization such as the UFC, which has signed many Legacy FC fighters over the past year.

For more than just the tattoo, Peterson has been a fighter to draw the crowd's attention – but not always in a positive way. He fits the profile of one of MMA's most intriguing if also is most-booed: the villain.

Two fights ago, for instance, Peterson was seen making a crybaby face to the cameras and the crowd after opponent Hobar – the rematch is this Friday – dislocated his shoulder, ending the fight. Peterson said he was responding to the crowd's boos because of the way the fight ended, not making comment on Hobar.

Still, the story spread, and Peterson doesn't mind all that much. His goal is to use his raw emotion in his fights, and sometimes that means acting in a way interpreted by observers as silly, or worse as a jerk.

It's a category of MMA character that, frankly, is useful to promoters when putting together fight cards. Even the fans who don't like Peterson will come watch him because they hope to see him take a beating. But being disliked by fans isn't enough to keep getting fights. His winning – two straight victories after a loss against Chris Jones at Bellator 62 – makes him even more valuable.

"Steven is the perfect blend: a good guy, but he has absolutely no problem whatsoever playing the villain if that's the role he's given," said Mick Maynard, president of Legacy FC. "The beautiful thing is he has the ability to pull a win out of his ass.

"Everybody wants to see this guy get smashed, and just when you think he's going to get beat, he survives. He's tough as nails, has an incredible heart, and he comes out and wins."

'S' on his chest

Peterson grew up in an area of Los Angeles where being white made him a minority. That also at times made him a target, he said, which sharpened his fighting skills from an early age.

An attitude followed.

"When I was growing up, people always told me, 'You walk around like you have an S on your chest,'" he said. "My head was up. Even if I got beat up, my head was up. I took a lot of pride in myself. So at one point I finally just said, 'I'm really gonna get an S on my chest.'"

When he turned 18, he found the right tattoo shop and explained what he wanted. He faced a few chuckles, but he still asked for it to be bigger. After three sessions, it covered much of his chest, and there is still some coloring and shading he wants to have done.

Not long before getting the tattoo, having moved to McKinney when he was about 13, Peterson had become known around town for the weekly night of backyard fights at his house. One night, one of the guys who came to fight was better than most, and Peterson asked him where he learned how to do it.

The fighter responded that he did some MMA training at a nearby gym. Peterson went to the gym and started his own training, and he finally found an outlet that matched his attitude that would soon be inked on his chest.

"I still love it," Peterson said of his tattoo. "It gets the statement out there and describes who I am. Anybody who sees it thinks, 'Who does this guy think he is?' But the people who know me know exactly what it means. I'll fight to the death if I have to. I never give up, and that's my attitude."

Playing the villain

In his first amateur fight, just a month or so after he took his first class, Peterson came out screaming when the round began. But his lack of training superseded his raw emotion, and he suffered his first amateur loss (he went on to a 7-1 amateur record before turning pro).

In other fights, he would slam the cage or the mat. He would scream. He would just do whatever felt natural, which to others often seemed over the top, or even like he was a bad guy.

Still, he kept winning. His second pro fight was at Bellator 27, and he beat Ernest de la Cruz by unanimous decision. His two losses have come while changing weight classes, he said, including his decision loss against Jones three fights ago.

Then in his first fight against Hobar at Legacy FC 13 in August 2012, he added to his villain profile.

"He threw a sloppy punch, and I slipped it and threw a short hook over the top, and he left his arm hanging," Peterson said. "My punch went through his arm, and his arm dislocated and fractured. I chased him down and the ref broke us up, and the crowd started booing me for the way the fight ended.

"I was upset about the crowd, so I did a little crybaby face, acting like that toward the crowd and then the camera, and some perceived it was toward [Hobar]. They're gonna see it how they wanna see it. I just went with it."

Peterson next beat Cody Williams at Legacy FC 14 in September before getting the rematch against Hobar. Hobar's only loss came against Peterson.

"It seems like especially in MMA at this moment, the villain is a good role to play," Maynard said. "But you're seeing a lot of fights being made and people making money not necessarily based on their skills as a fighter but whether they can make a marketable fight.

"(Peterson) is the perfect combination. He wins, but he also doesn't mind playing the villain."

Because of the way the last Peterson-Hobar fight ended, many are anxious to see Hobart's reaction this time and Peterson's chances of beating him again. Even though he said he wasn't making his crybaby face at Hobar for the dislocation, he stressed that he can't control what others think.

All he can do is puff his chest out and fight.

"I'm not going to change anyone's opinion," he said. "I get paid to fight, and that's what I do best. I have to get in there and do my thing for me and my family. If that's what people think, that's fine. I'll just be fighting."