Total-MMA.com

Luke Cummo drinks his own urine for its health benefits. Luke Cummo dresses like a ninja before his fights. Luke Cummo reads comic books, wears glasses, and looks like a bully’s wet dream. Luke Cummo also kicks plenty of ass.

Cummo was the last fighter picked during the second season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show. That ended up being a huge mistake for coaches Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin, as Cummo proved everyone wrong, making it to the TUF2 Finale. He did more than just show up for that fight too, he gave the favored Joe Stevenson all he could handle. TUF2 not only brought Luke into the public eye, it also made him a better fighter.

“I won’t lie and say it was peaches and cream the whole time we were there. Six weeks with no outside contact got pretty rough at times and I missed my friends and family alot,” Cummo said. “I’m the type of person that thrives under a strict regimen. The times when I get into trouble are after fights when I have nothing to do except play video games and eat junk food. The public got a glimpse of this after my bout against Anthony Torres when I ate myself into a food coma. On the show we trained twice a day almost every day. We were there for one reason and that was to fight. As a fighter, that was the best environment for me to practice and get better.”

Even before the Ultimate Fighter, Cummo was training hard with some of the Northeast’s best fighters and trainers like Ray Longo and Matt Serra. But the singular focus of his time in Las Vegas helped him improve at lightning speed.

“I really improved mentally and physically while training on TUF2. All we did was sleep, train, and eat,” Cummo said. “When people go to Thailand to train boxing or Brazil for jiujitsu, that is what they do. You can get alot of experience in a condensed amount of time. We also had some great coaches like Ganyao Fairtex, Peter Welch, Mark Laimon, and Matt Hughes brought in Jeremy Horn who is amazing.”

Cummo thrived in the intense and competitive Ultimate Fighter House. Ridiculed by some for his eccentricism and zen mysticism, Cummo proved more than man enough for Anthony Torres and Sammy Morgan. His fighting spirit and sly sense of humor gave fans someone to get behind during a series where the fighters were used as a backdrop for establishing the coaches as legitimate stars.

“Alot of people like the underdog story. I usually root for the underdog,” Cummo said. “Since I was picked last and look like someone who can’t fight, alot of people relate to me as an underdog. I appreciate all my fans very, very much and I try to be as down-to-earth as possible when I meet someone personally.”

During the Ultimate Fighter Season 3, Team Quest’s Ed Herman used not being picked by coach Tito Ortiz to fuel his anger and advance into the finals. Cummo is more philosophical about being snubbed, due primarily to appearance and not lack of potential.

“I didn’t need any more motivation than having to fight. I know that someone somewhere is training with every ounce of energy that they have, and their ultimate goal is to kick my ass,” Cummo said. “That is my motivation and it’s something that comes from the deepest region of my brain. Its similar to ‘fight or flight’ except that strategy comes into play when competing in sport.”

Cummo has continued to improve by leaps and bounds in his post Ultimate Fighter career. He’s added CHEK practitioner Michael Jocson to his training team and continues to perfect not only his grappling and striking, but his body and spirit as well. His latest passion is Lifefood and he is missionary like in his zeal to tell everyone he can about the benefits of a healthy diet.

“Since discovering Lifefood my life has improved dramatically in all areas. I could go on forever about it,” Cummo said. “But I’ll just say that if people are interested they can go to www.LukeCummo.com/lifefood and scroll down for the first chapter of the most amazing book on the subject. If you want to cure disease, improve athletic performance, or stop the destruction of the environment, this lifestyle is for you.”

What’s next for Cummo is anyone’s guess. Ultimately he wants to live with his new wife and child on a farm, drinking his own urine and living the good life. But until that dream can become reality he will continue trying to put people to sleep and will continue doing it philosophically. His next fight is September 19 at Ultimate Fight Night 11 against Edilberto “Crocota” de Oliveira. He’d love to bring his unique perspective and exciting fighting style to the United Kingdom but that could prove difficult.

“Hopefully one day I’ll make it across the pond,” Cummo said. “Except that I heard you can get arrested in England for drinking pee, so maybe not.”