Shane “Soul Train” Benbow will be one of the many fighters participating at Tuff-N-Uff’s mammoth fight card on May 27 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, NV. Benbow, whose amateur record is 2-0 and trains in Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and boxing, will have his work cut out for him as he takes on Cesar Campos (4-0) of TapouT Training Center. Benbow had time to sit with me after a grueling training session at Throwdown Training Center to discuss his fight, how he began in MMA, and his nick name.

Benbow, a native of Nashua, New Hampshire, is a relative newcomer to MMA. He began training in late 2008 when one of his friends convinced him to train. Benbow reflected on his beginnings, “I trained with a guy named Chris McCloud and he gave me some names of people when I moved to Vegas. When I moved here he told me to come here and train with John Wood and the people at Throwdown. I came out here with my brother, musician Ace Projection. I don’t regret any second of it.”

There were some big differences that Benbow noticed, “There are people from everywhere here. You’re not going to get the typical New England (in best Massachusetts accent) Hahvahd Yahd individual. You’re going to get people from all walks of life. I’m training with guys from Brazil, guys that have trained in Thailand. I have some of the best Muay Thai coaches in the world in Chaz Mulkey, Shawn Yarborough, and Kevin Ross. The training with these guys has been so valuable, priceless.”

Benbow has the owner of Throwdown Training Center, John Wood, to thank for getting exposed to Tuff-N-Uff. Wood asked Shane to help work the corner for one of the gym’s fighters, Matt Church. After watching a few more fights and seeing how professional everything in the organization was and the high level of talent involved in Tuff-N-Uff, Benbow knew that he wanted to fight there.

Benbow promises to deliver an exciting match for members of the viewing crowd on May 27. “My name is ‘Soul Train,’ baby! Expect to see some serious footwork. Not really super flashy, but I make the technical stuff look good. I go out there and do my thing: move around, stay focused, and try to end it as quick as possible. They don’t call me ‘Soul Train’ for nothing.”

The 145-pounder has some lofty goals for his MMA career also. Benbow commented, “Of course I want to eventually go pro. I would like to fight in Japan and go all over the world. I want to be a champion and become one of the best in the sport. But I want to thank the people who have helped me so far: my mom, Miss Juanita Benbow, my brother, Ace Projection, my sister Corrine Benbow, all of my training partners, John Wood, my Muay Thai coaches Kevin Ross, Chaz Mulkey, Shawn Yarborough, my jiu-jitsu coach Cameron, all the people at corporate Throwdown for giving me the opportunity to wear the logo and fight under them. I’d also like to thank God for giving me all the talent and all the skills and all of the people who have helped me to become a better mixed martial artist every day.”

With all of the support and the drive to become on of the best mixed martial artists in the sport, expect Shane Benbow to go far. You can see Shane fight in just three short weeks on Memorial Day weekend at the Cox Pavilion. For information on tickets, go to Tuff-N-Uff’s website.

By James Lawrence

• Las Vegas MMA Examiner