After compiling a 3-0-1 record in the UFC, heavyweight contender Travis “Hapa” Browne will welcome Strikeforce standout Chad Griggs into the Octagon at UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans (April 21st, Atlanta). CagePotato video-correspondent Sal Mora caught up to the undefeated slugger at the Jackson’s MMA camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to chat about his upcoming match — which will close out the UFC 145 preliminary card broadcast on FX — as well as Browne’s life outside of the cage. Check out the exclusive video after the jump, and let us know how you think this one will go down. Some highlights from the interview…
– On deserving a “step up” after four fights in the UFC: ”I can’t worry myself with that. Joe Silva lines ‘em up, I knock ‘em down. Whoever he decides to put in front of me, it’s none of my business. I’m just out there to put on a show and keep winning my fights. It doesn’t matter who I fight, or where I stand in the rankings. I’m not somebody who gets caught up in that. I don’t even know where I stand right now, actually.”
– On what his sons think of their dad’s MMA career: “I think right now it’s not something that they have fully grasped. Before I came to camp, my last dinner with my kids…we’re all sitting down to dinner, and the waiter comes over and says, ‘Can I get you guys anything to drink?’ and my son stands up on the bench that he’s sitting on and says, ‘Hey! My dad’s in the video game!’…It was really cool to see my son happy about that. I just want my kids to be proud of me, and I think I’m doing that.”
– On Griggs’s style: “Chad comes out and sets a pretty high pace. He’s a smaller heavyweight, so he can get away with that…No matter what, you have to be just as intense as your opponent, if not more. Otherwise, that can help sway the momentum their way.”
– On dog-training: ”I had my own dog and I was too poor to get her trained, so I started apprenticing under a trainer, and since [then], I just grew fond of training dogs, and saw what difference you can make in people’s lives when they have a dog that’s actually trained and well behaved…I haven’t been training dogs for the last couple years since I started in the UFC, that way I can focus fully on my training and make sure I come out on top in my fights, but it’s definitely something I want to get back to once I’m done.”
– On the possibility of his kids following in his fighter-footsteps: “I think it would be tough for me. I love my boys, and anybody who truly knows me knows I’m a big softie. I hate watching my friends fight; that’s stressful for me because I don’t have any control over it. I would rather take an ass-whippin’ instead of letting them take one. You know what I mean? If they’re catching one, I would rather catch it for them. But I think watching my kids do something like that, I think I would be proud of their accomplishments, and I would be there for them if they ever had any disappointments in their career. But I’m just here to support them, I’m not pushing MMA on them…I’m letting them learn themselves and see what they like and what they want to develop into.”
UFC 145 Video Interview with Travis Browne – Watch More Funny Videos
[Ed. note: I specifically asked Sal to throw in that question about the four-year-old Yorkie. I was hoping that Travis would reveal some pro tips that I could use to control my dog’s separation anxiety, but I guess there’s no such thing as free advice when it comes to dog training. – BG]