Extend your right arm out in front of your chest. Now spread your index finger and thumb about one inch apart.

That’s how close Travis “Diesel” Wiuff was to fighting Chuck Liddell for the UFC light heavyweight title back in 2006.

Yet when most MMA fans think of Wiuff, they think “journeyman.” And that’s understandable for fight fans who are new to the sport. After all, Wiuff will be chasing his 60th professional victory when he takes on Mike Kyle at King of the Cage “Vengeance” on Feb. 12 in New Mexico.

But most fight fans don’t truly understand how close Wiuff was to a title shot and the stardom that surely would have followed.

In April of 2005, Wiuff fought Renato “Babalu” Sobral at UFC 52. That same night Liddell defended his title against Randy Couture.

The winner of the Wiuff-Sobral fight was expected to earn a shot at Liddell. And he did. But that man wasn’t Wiuff.

After a tight first round (Wiuff said he believes Sobral might have won the first with a late, 10-second flurry), Sobral locked in an armbar and Wiuff was forced to submit.

Wiuff said the submission happened so quickly, he had very little time to react.

The loss was tough to swallow. But what made matters worse was that Wiuff and his agent, Monte Cox, took a major gamble before the fight. Knowing he likely would get a title shot with a win against Babalu, Wiuff passed on a three-fight deal the UFC had offered, instead opting to sign a one-fight contract.

They knew a win and a title shot against Liddell would bring a big-time payday.

So they gambled. And lost.

“Our thinking was, knowing the fight after Babalu would be for a title, if we signed a three-fight deal, we’d be fighting for not much money,” Wiuff said. “I think I had won like 19 straight coming into that fight with Babalu. We thought we’d win and it would be a really big payday. It backfired, but it was a chance we had to take. Who knows what would have happened if I didn’t get caught in that armbar?”

What did happen was that Babalu went on to fight Liddell for the light heavyweight title at UFC 62, and Wiuff was released by the UFC.

The Rochester resident and Owatonna native hasn’t fought for the UFC since.

Still, Wiuff, who wrestled collegiately at Rochester Community and Technical College and Minnesota State, Mankato, says he doesn’t dwell on that loss. Does he wish he could have a do-over? Oh yeah.

“It’s hard not to look back, because it seems like that fight is on Spike every week, and somebody will come up to me and tell me about it,” Wiuff said. “Obviously, I wish I could have that one over again. But I wish I could have all of my losses over again.”

Since the loss to Babalu, Wiuff has had great success in the cage. But the road hasn’t been easy.

Wiuff has been somewhat of a nomad, fighting for organizations all over the world. He is 23-8 since his last UFC fight and has compiled wins against big-name guys like Chris Tuchscherer, Kaz Fujita, Ricco Rodriguez, Sean Salmon and Matt Horwich. But he’s also had some ugly losses against guys like Alex Schoenauer, James Lee, Devin Cole, Jared Hammen and Stanislav Nedkov.

Wiuff said the wins don’t stick out. But he can remember all of the losses.

“The 13 losses, I care more about those than the 59 wins,” Wiuff said. “When you start thinking about getting win No. 60, all it means is that I’m getting old. I’d like every one of those losses back. I’ve got an excuse for every loss, it seems like. I always want another chance to prove I’m better than that.”

There are a couple of signature wins that Wiuff said he won’t forget. In 2008, he became the first person to ever knock out Fujita. Just before that, he won the first (and only) YAMMA Pit Fighting heavyweight title, knocking off Rodriguez (a former UFC champion) and Tuchscherer (currently in the UFC) along the way.
“A lot of people laugh about the YAMMA thing, but it was big for me,” Wiuff said. “Beating Ricco and Tuchscherer, I remember those.”

Mostly, Wiuff remembers the payday. But that’s not because he’s money-hungry. It’s because fighting is his job.

Fighting puts food on his table, it puts clothes on his daughter’s back and a roof over her head.

Fighting is his life, and he treats it as such.

That’s part of the reason Wiuff gets so worked up when he sees fighters on local shows who don’t take the sport as seriously as he does. “I don’t think they get it. It’s a joke,” Wiuff said. “This is my job, it’s what pays the bills.”

It should be noted that it takes a lot to get Wiuff worked up. He’s a self-described introvert. Despite his hulking, 250-pound frame, Wiuff is a quiet, kind man who would rather stay home on a Friday night than be out at the bar with friends.

When Wiuff fights in Las Vegas, he’s not out soaking up the night life. Instead, he’s usually in his room, playing video games or watching movies.

That may be part of the reason so many fight fans know so little about Wiuff. He’s far from a rah-rah guy. Wiuff relies on his manager, Cox, to promote and market him. And he’s hoping with a win over Kyle on national TV (the event will be broadcast on HDNet) next week, the marketing will become a little easier.

“Hopefully, I can get that win and some more things will open up for me,” Wiuff said. “There are a lot of opportunities out there right now. Ideally, I’ll beat Kyle and then sign a contract with probably Strikeforce or the UFC. Kyle (13-7-1) has been fighting for Strikeforce, so maybe that will open a door there.

“Monte talks to the promotions pretty much daily. He said it’s not that they don’t know who I am, it’s not that he has to sell me to them. I just need to pick up a win in one of these big fights.”

You see, Wiuff (59-13) isn't satisfied fighting on regional promotions, something he’s done for a good chunk of his career. He’d love to return to the UFC or any major promotion, for that matter.

Mostly, he’d like the regular paycheck. He’d like the certainty of knowing where that paycheck will come from. And he’d like to only fight a few times a year and still net enough from those fights to provide for his family.

“I fight on these regional, small shows and nobody knows about it,” Wiuff said. “Every once in a while, a big opportunity like this comes up. Monte makes sure of that. Now it’s all about taking advantage of that opportunity. I’ve let a few of these slip away, and that’s all on my shoulders. I still love fighting, and I still love to train, so I’ll keep doing this until my body gives out or I don’t love it any more. But I know I only have a few of these big opportunities left, so I need to capitalize.”