TUF Nations blog with Chad Laprise, episode 12 recap: ‘I’m not in for an easy fight, but he’s in the same boat’

Team Canada’s Chad Laprise joins us in our weekly Thursday morning Q&A, where he’ll break down all the action that took place inside the TUF house, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.

If you have any questions you’d like to ask Chad please let us know in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. Rec’d comments will get first priority. Now with that said, let’s get things started.

Star-divide

David St. Martin: Well, I guess we know who you’re fighting now.

Chad Laprise: Yup, so I’m fighting a teammate again.

St. Martin: Just your luck. We’ll work our way to the fight in a minute. I like any coaches’ challenge with weapons. It’s gotta be fun to watch someone else try to earn you money for a change.

Laprise: You know what? I wasn’t even actually at the coaches challenge. I was sick that day. That was the first time I got to see it. Cote won 20K for himself and then I think we each got $1500. Pumped that he won and a little extra bonus money for us.

St. Martin: Do you want to come clean about drawing male body parts all over the Aussies lockers?

Laprise: Haha! I definitely want to clear the air on that. Brendan O’Reilly was running around the house like a crazy man trying to figure out who had done that. I told him it definitely wasn’t me and I’m glad he finally has the closure to see it on the show.

St. Martin: Moving on to the fight, it was interesting to see Rich Walsh go through his pre-fight visualization, but it didn’t seem to help against Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

Laprise: Rich is a pretty bright guy and he wanted to follow a gameplan. It looked like he was following it there in the beginning. He was sticking and moving, winning the fight on the feet. He just looked like he froze up a bit once he got taken down by Olivier.

St. Martin: Yea, the fight really didn’t last long and Olivier’s standup didn’t look half bad. He was countering well and being a southpaw looked to be throwing Rich off just a bit.

Laprise: I thought Rich was winning the fight on the feet but Olivier’s good everywhere. He’s definitely better on the ground, that’s his specialty, but his stand up’s not bad either. His style is also a bit awkward. He does things that maybe you’re not supposed to do, but he gets away with it because it throws guys off. We’ve been sparring and he’s caught me with stuff where I was just like, ‘Where did that come from?’

St. Martin: He also has that funky confidence in his striking where’s he’s not worried about being taken down. He doesn’t have to keep that hunched MMA stance you see from some guys.

Laprise: 100%. That’s a huge advantage to not be worried about the takedown. He can let loose more on his strikes.

St. Martin: We’ve spoken some about Olivier being compared to Georges St-Pierre but it’s probably only going to pick up from here.

Laprise: Yea, people are already calling him the next GSP. Both French Canadian, coming out of the same camp. He’s going to have a bright future.

St. Martin: Speaking of GSP, any details on his knee injury? All we heard was that it happened in training.

Laprise: No I wasn’t around when it happened. I’m not doing my camp up at Tristar this time. Obviously people can see why given who I’m fighting. I’ve been out of the loop with what’s going on up there, but I hope GSP’s in for a fast recovery.

St. Martin: I know you were down in Chicago training with Team Curran. Have you pretty much had to stay clear of Tristar?

Laprise: Well, Firas Zahabi told me I could come up and train but I chose to stay back home in Ontario for this camp. Once this fight’s done, I’ll head back up there.

St. Martin: Doesn’t that hurt you? It’s the biggest fight of your life and not only are you missing out on the training, but it’s a major shakeup from what’s worked for you in the past.

Laprise: No, I’ve got great training partners back home and for this camp I’m not so much worried about what Olivier’s going to do, but just getting myself prepared. Being ready for anything.

St. Martin: It’s another teammate, so is it almost comforting given the familiarity you have with Olivier? Or terrifying because you know how good he is?

Laprise: No, I mean I know how talented he is. I’m not in for an easy fight, but he’s in the same boat I am. It sucks I have to fight another teammate again but that’s what we knew could happen. The time has come.

St. Martin: We’ve got our last fight of the season between middleweights, Team Canada’s Sheldon Westcott and Team Australia’s Vik Grujic. Anything you can tell us?

Laprise: Yea, this fight’s fireworks. What else can you expect from Sheldon and Vic? They’re both fast finishers and go hard. Great fight.

St. Martin: To the mailbag.

Jamesglory: How has your time on the show and the various dramas/fights, been received by those at Tri-Star and can you give examples, of what they have said? (Name some names too Chad:))

St. Martin: So maybe not Tristar, but any training partners?

Laprise: Yea all of my teammates have been very supportive and have seen my fights on the show. They’ve been great helping me get ready for the Finale. I’m not sure what to say about what I brought back.

Do you have a question for Chad Laprise? Ask it in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. The Ultimate Fighter: Nations airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Portions of this interview have been edited for concision.

Team Canada’s Chad Laprise joins us in our weekly Thursday morning Q&A, where he’ll break down all the action that took place inside the TUF house, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.

If you have any questions you’d like to ask Chad please let us know in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. Rec’d comments will get first priority. Now with that said, let’s get things started.

Star-divide

David St. Martin: Well, I guess we know who you’re fighting now.

Chad Laprise: Yup, so I’m fighting a teammate again.

St. Martin: Just your luck. We’ll work our way to the fight in a minute. I like any coaches’ challenge with weapons. It’s gotta be fun to watch someone else try to earn you money for a change.

Laprise: You know what? I wasn’t even actually at the coaches challenge. I was sick that day. That was the first time I got to see it. Cote won 20K for himself and then I think we each got $1500. Pumped that he won and a little extra bonus money for us.

St. Martin: Do you want to come clean about drawing male body parts all over the Aussies lockers?

Laprise: Haha! I definitely want to clear the air on that. Brendan O’Reilly was running around the house like a crazy man trying to figure out who had done that. I told him it definitely wasn’t me and I’m glad he finally has the closure to see it on the show.

St. Martin: Moving on to the fight, it was interesting to see Rich Walsh go through his pre-fight visualization, but it didn’t seem to help against Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

Laprise: Rich is a pretty bright guy and he wanted to follow a gameplan. It looked like he was following it there in the beginning. He was sticking and moving, winning the fight on the feet. He just looked like he froze up a bit once he got taken down by Olivier.

St. Martin: Yea, the fight really didn’t last long and Olivier’s standup didn’t look half bad. He was countering well and being a southpaw looked to be throwing Rich off just a bit.

Laprise: I thought Rich was winning the fight on the feet but Olivier’s good everywhere. He’s definitely better on the ground, that’s his specialty, but his stand up’s not bad either. His style is also a bit awkward. He does things that maybe you’re not supposed to do, but he gets away with it because it throws guys off. We’ve been sparring and he’s caught me with stuff where I was just like, ‘Where did that come from?’

St. Martin: He also has that funky confidence in his striking where’s he’s not worried about being taken down. He doesn’t have to keep that hunched MMA stance you see from some guys.

Laprise: 100%. That’s a huge advantage to not be worried about the takedown. He can let loose more on his strikes.

St. Martin: We’ve spoken some about Olivier being compared to Georges St-Pierre but it’s probably only going to pick up from here.

Laprise: Yea, people are already calling him the next GSP. Both French Canadian, coming out of the same camp. He’s going to have a bright future.

St. Martin: Speaking of GSP, any details on his knee injury? All we heard was that it happened in training.

Laprise: No I wasn’t around when it happened. I’m not doing my camp up at Tristar this time. Obviously people can see why given who I’m fighting. I’ve been out of the loop with what’s going on up there, but I hope GSP’s in for a fast recovery.

St. Martin: I know you were down in Chicago training with Team Curran. Have you pretty much had to stay clear of Tristar?

Laprise: Well, Firas Zahabi told me I could come up and train but I chose to stay back home in Ontario for this camp. Once this fight’s done, I’ll head back up there.

St. Martin: Doesn’t that hurt you? It’s the biggest fight of your life and not only are you missing out on the training, but it’s a major shakeup from what’s worked for you in the past.

Laprise: No, I’ve got great training partners back home and for this camp I’m not so much worried about what Olivier’s going to do, but just getting myself prepared. Being ready for anything.

St. Martin: It’s another teammate, so is it almost comforting given the familiarity you have with Olivier? Or terrifying because you know how good he is?

Laprise: No, I mean I know how talented he is. I’m not in for an easy fight, but he’s in the same boat I am. It sucks I have to fight another teammate again but that’s what we knew could happen. The time has come.

St. Martin: We’ve got our last fight of the season between middleweights, Team Canada’s Sheldon Westcott and Team Australia’s Vik Grujic. Anything you can tell us?

Laprise: Yea, this fight’s fireworks. What else can you expect from Sheldon and Vic? They’re both fast finishers and go hard. Great fight.

St. Martin: To the mailbag.

Jamesglory: How has your time on the show and the various dramas/fights, been received by those at Tri-Star and can you give examples, of what they have said? (Name some names too Chad:))

St. Martin: So maybe not Tristar, but any training partners?

Laprise: Yea all of my teammates have been very supportive and have seen my fights on the show. They’ve been great helping me get ready for the Finale. I’m not sure what to say about what I brought back.

Do you have a question for Chad Laprise? Ask it in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. The Ultimate Fighter: Nations airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Portions of this interview have been edited for concision.