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Exclusive: Eddie Bravo Talks About the Royler Gracie Rematch Situation and Much More

(Bravo says, “Don’t be scared, romie.”)

When a relatively unknown brown belt named Eddie Bravo defeated a revered member of the fabled Gracie clan eight years ago at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling Championships, many people, including the man he beat, Royler Gracie wrote off the win as a fluke. Since then, Bravo has been painted as a rebellious martyr by the Gracie loyal and has worked tirelessly to prove that there’s more than the Gracie way of competing in submission grappling and MMA.

Recently it was announced that a rematch between Gracie and Bravo would be taking place at this year’s ADCC tournament and after agreeing to the bout and speaking about it in the press, Royler made some high monetary demands to the event organizers that may very well leave the match in jeopardy.

We spoke to Bravo over the weekend and touched on a number of topics, perhaps most importantly the status of his match with Royler that was to provide him an opportunity to once and for all silence his detractors.

Check out what he had to say after the jump.

(Bravo says, “Don’t be scared, romie.”)

Here’s what Eddie had to say:

The main reason you left the UFC was because you were getting burned out from all the travel and you wanted more time to focus on 10th Planet, your music and your personal life. Are things more normal and are you less busy now?

I left the UFC because I was way too busy, but I’m as busy as ever. I’m dealing more with my 10^th Planet Association stuff than traveling for the UFC. I’m traveling just about as much, but I’m getting more productive stuff done now.

You seem to be focusing a lot more on your music and your band, Smoke Serpent. You’ve been doing shows and putting out new music, so it seems like that’s been a big focus since leaving the UFC.

The plan was to quit the UFC to focus more on my schools and focus more on my band and focus more on my personal life. I got engaged. I’m going to get married next year. I’m 41. It’s time to have kids. It’s time to slow down a bit. There are a lot of things I wanted to focus on and music was definitely one of them, but I’ve been so damn busy. Last weekend was a good weekend for me. We played a big gig in Hollywood. It was our best gig to date. It was a packed house; the sound was great…it was awesome. Then on Saturday, the whole day I filmed Mastering the Twister: The DVD and then Sunday, the whole day we filmed a music video for the song Jiu-Jitsu, which is coming out great. We’re using the same production crew that worked on Star Wars Episode 3 and James Cameron movies and Michael Bay movies. We’re going ultra-big with the DVDs this time.

We’ve talked before about how the 10th Planet Association is kind of like the Freemasons, where its members come from all walks of life and work in different industries, but are a great pool of resources. Is that how you came to work with this production team, was through 10th Planet?

That’s EXACTLY how it went down. They’re called six digit productions and they specialize in getting all the crazy shots in like Transformers and stuff like that. They do Super Bowl commercials and big time music videos. They’re no joke; they’re huge. It just so happens that one of the owners and one of the directors of photography train at my gym and they said, ‘Let’s go big with this. Let’s make a jiu-jitsu instructional like there’s never been one and let’s make it so that no one can ever top it. The equipment that was used to make this video was insane. It could be way overboard. All you really need for an instructional is a garage, a curtain, one camera and you record the techniques. That’s all you really need. You don’t need to go big, but I decided that since I could do it and the offer was there to do the instructional and a big-budget music video for [our song] Jiu-Jitsu, and we’re doing another one for Dropped, which is something I’ve never done before and they’re going big with these videos – I figured, why not? So I said, “Let’s do it. Let’s see what happens.” It could be way over the top, but one thing’s for sure, it probably will never be duplicated.

It’s nice to get a leg up like that from members of your team. Most people who don’t train don’t realize that your team in a lot of ways is like your family who stick together through thick and thin.

Absolutely. We’re gigantic underdogs. I have about 30 schools, but most of them are run by [10th Planet] blue or purple belts. We’re barely at the baby stages [in 10th Planet’s development]. This is all just beginning, so it’s really important that we all stick together and grow as a team. When somebody wins big from 10th Planet Rochester, the whole 10^th Planet Association benefits from their success. If somebody wins big from 10th Planet San Francisco, 10th Planet Yuma benefits as well. If we all stick together and stay strong and keep pushing through…Like I said, we’re the underdogs here. We’re the dark horses. We’re tiny. In the scope of things, most people in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community know who we are, but most people aren’t on board. Most people are still on the traditional side [of BJJ], which is fine. We’re not trying to eradicate the traditional side. We’re just trying to add to its own no-gi side. We’re trying to prove that no-gi and traditional jiu-jitsu are two different sports just like judo and Greco-Roman wrestling. The one myth that is my mission to dispel is that if you want to get good at grappling for MMA, train with the gi. Hopefully one day people will see that it’s two different sports. It’s judo and it’s Greco.Even just no-gi jiu-jitsu on its own is WAAAYY different than MMA jiu-jitsu. The whole gi vs. no-gi debate should be done with. Forget about what I’ve always said about the gi and no-gi and all that stuff. Listen to the number one Gracie on the planet right now. The number one Gracie on the planet is Roger and he said it himself, that 80 percent of BJJ does not work in MMA. He said it. He said that. Think about what that means. If 80 percent of your system does not work in MMA, how does that system prepare you for MMA? There’s almost as much difference between no-gi jiu-jitsu and MMA jiu-jitsu as there is no-gi and gi jiu-jitsu. In competitions like Abu Dhabi [Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships], all the top guys are going for leg locks and getting really, really good at doing leglocks. It used to be that if you did leglocks you were a traitor [to traditional BJJ]. That isn’t a theory. There’s no denying that. That’s the way it used to be. You were the enemy if you went for a leglock in a tournament , but now you see it all the time in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi’s been around for almost 15 years and the no-gi grappling sport has evolved since that time into a leg lock game. Now all the top Brazilians aren’t only using leglocks in their games, that’s the main focus of their game and they’ve taken the whole leglock game to a whole other level. It’s beautiful. Guys like Rafael Mendes, [Rubens] Cobrinha [Charles], Caio Terra…What they’re bringing a high-tech Brazilian guard to the table with leglocks mixed in and they’ve taken it way beyond catch wrestling. That’s what it’s turned into. It’s a beautiful thing. But in MMA, we all know that leglocks are very, very dangerous. Leglocks are a strong part of the no-gi circuit, but they don’t prepare you for MMA. The best leglock guy out there in MMA, no doubt, is Masakazu Imanari. He was crushing everybody with leglocks, but he hasn’t really gotten anybody with one in a long time and he hasn’t really gotten a major belt yet. It makes you question whether or not the leglock game is the way to go. There are so many good leglock guys out there, yet there aren’t any of them winning belts in MMA. Look at Dean Lister. He was known on the West Coast as one of the best leglock guys around. He never won an MMA fight with a leglock. It’s too risky. Gokor Chivichyan’s system is the same. You ask the top guys who trained under him like Manny Gamburyan and Karo Parisyan why they aren’t going for leglocks and they’ll tell you it’s too dangerous in MMA. Yeah leglocks happen in MMA and yeah they work, but when you sit back to apply a leglock, you’re leaving your opponent’s arms free and one punch can change the outcome of a fight. Our focus at 10th Planet is jiu-jitsu that works and doesn’t change even if you add a striking component to the competition. That’s the clinching game and that’s the style that we focus on. It’s not the only style that should be played. We work in all the open styles as well like the Spiral Guard, De la Riva Guard – but the main focus is, and will always be jiu-jitsu so that you don’t get your head smashed in.

You mentioned Abu Dhabi and how the 10th Planet nation supports one another immensely through victory and defeat. The big news for 10th Planet recently was that its founder would be coming out of “retirement” to rematch the legend he beat to make a name for himself in the sport. Now there is a possibility that the fight may not happen for various reasons. What is the status of your ADCC super fight with Royler Gracie?

I was in the Middle East training with [ADCC founder and UFC part owner] Sheikh Tahnoon and on my last day there, he told me he wanted to see me grapple in ADCC again. He asked me who I wanted to grapple against and I told him I’d only train and come out of retirement for a Royler rematch. So he said, “Alright, let me call Renzo [Gracie] and see what’s up.” He called Renzo up from his gym, Renzo called up Royler and five minutes later Renzo called back and said that Royler accepted the match. So it was on. The next morning it’s all over the Abu Dhabi website and Royler does an interview with Gracie Magazine and Tatame talking about the match and says he’s looking forward to it. He even talks a little shit about how lightening doesn’t strike the same place twice and that it doesn’t kill the same horse twice or something like that, I can never remember the horse analogy. Anyway, he was talking about the match for five days, he did a bunch of interviews and then all of a sudden he wants $50,000 to compete. Guy Neivens, the Sheikh’s right –hand man actually called me up two days before Royler told him he wanted the 50 grand to tell me something fishy was going on. He said, “Royler’s up to something here. In an interview he did, he said he accepted the match but the contracts hadn’t been signed yet. I don’t know what he’s talking about because there’s never been a contract signed in the history of Abu Dhabi. You just get the invitation and you go. There are no negotiations.” There’s never been a contract in Abu Dhabi, ever. No one has ever signed a contract. You just thank the guy who created this and who made it possible for you to be paid cash for jiu-jitsu. You accept it, you bow down and you give respect. You don’t have a contract. You don’t negotiate. No one’s ever done that. The fact that he mentioned contracts in one of his interviews made everyone suspicious that he was going to try to pull something. Guy thought it was weird. The Sheikh thought it was weird. Then two days later he called and said he wanted $50,000 to show PLUS the $25,000 win money. The Sheikh was offended and insulted that he did that and he basically said, “No. It’s not going to happen that way.” Since then, Gracie magazine put out a thing saying, “Don’t believe the rumors. Royler’s going to do it. More news to come.” I have a feeling he’s going to do it without the 50K show money, but he’s trying to get me to train as little as possible and be as unprepared as possible, so they’re making everyone believe it’s not happening until the last possible minute. Who knows? I’m training hard. I’m thinking it’s still probably going to happen. I think he’s going to buckle under the pressure. Why he asked for 50K after he accepted the fight is beyond me. No one’s ever done that before, even in the UFC. No one’s ever accepted a fight and done interviews about the fight and then demanded a ton of money. No one’s ever done that. Why did he do that? Who knows? Some people think he may have started looking at some tape trying to study my techniques and maybe he thought it was too unorthodox or that the bout was too big of a risk. Nobody knows for sure. What we do know is he accepted the fight, he talked a bunch of shit and then he demanded $50,000 to show. That’s never been done ever. Who knows what his reasons are?

I heard from a source that you rolled with a Gracie black belt and that you surprised him with how well you did. Is there any truth to that?

I mean, I rolled with a few people, but I don’t want to talk about it.

That’s commendable. What happens in the gym stays in the gym. Maybe Renato Laranj has been spying on you and reporting back to Royler.

Yeah, maybe…maybe.

Where can people keep up with the latest 10th Planet news and official updates?

They can go to 10thPlanetjj.com on the Nibiru forum. I’m on there every day if you’ve got any questions. If you’re interested in seeing what kind of techniques I teach at headquarters here in LA, I put all of the videos of my techniques on the site in the techniques section. They’re called “Mastering the System.”

Where can people go to check out your music?

Go to ReverbNation.com/label/EddieBravoMusic. You can download all of my stuff there for free.

When is the new Mastering the Twister DVD coming out?

I’m not sure. Maybe at the end of the Summer around August.

As far as seminars, are you playing it by ear as you wait to hear if the Royler bout is on before booking anything?

Exactly. I’m not booking any seminars for August or September. I’m leaving that open in case this is a little trick or a ploy Royler is trying to do. I’ll be ready no matter what.

Well Eddie, as always it’s been a pleasure. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. Hopefully things work out and you finally get your opportunity to try to prove to your detractors that the first time against Royler was no fluke. If it’s going to hapen, we’ll check in with you closer to the fight to see how training is going.

Alright. Thank you, man.

-Mike Russell-

Exclusive: Team Co-Founder Bas Boon Talks the Past Present and Future of Golden Glory

(Boon [far right] with a few of his Golden Glory brothers.)

If you’ve followed kickboxing and MMA for a while, chances are you’re familiar with Golden Glory thanks in large part to fighters like Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, Marloes Coenen, Siyar Bahadurzada, Gokhan Saki and Sergey Kharitonov.

It’s behind the scenes, however, where several key players from coaches Cor Hemmers and Martijn de Jong to founders Ron Nyqvist, Frederico Lapenda and Bas Boon make Golden Glory run like a well oiled machine.

We recently spoke with Bas Boon about the past present and future of his esteemed Dutch-based “fight family.”

Check out what he had to say after the jump.

(Boon [far right] with a few of his Golden Glory brothers.)

We recently spoke with Bas Boon about the past present and future of his esteemed Dutch-based “fight family.”

Here’s what he had to say:

First off Bas, thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
When did you first get involved with martial arts and kickboxing?

At age 15.

Did you train?

Yes, I trained in tae kwon do and at age 16 I began training in kickboxing. I started together with Peter Aerts. A seminar with Rob Kaman got me hooked. I fought 19 fights and won 17 in a style called PKA. You had to kick eight times above the belt to win. There were not too many low kick fights at that time. I had a knee injury when I was 17 and it got to a point were I stopped fighting and I concentrated on my business. I started a small martial arts store when I was 17.

Do you find that a lot of fans from North America are surprised when they hear about how long Golden Glory has been around and just how deep its roots are entwined in the highest levels of MMA and kickboxing from current members of the team to guys like Bas Rutten (through Cor Hemmers), Rob Kaman, Gilbert Yvel, Peter Aerts, the Dekkers brothers, Heath Herring etc…etc?

I have been together with Cor Hemmers for over 26 years. We promoted fights together like the classics Peter Aerts vs. Maurice Smith, Aerts vs. Frank Lobman and Ballentine vs. Dekkers. I produced about 400 fighting shows. In that period you get a lot of knowhow and I know that when a formula works to keep this going. The only two fighters who went their own way after some years with Golden Glory were Heath Herring and Gilbert Yvel. We wished them luck with their future careers. I admit it is quit unique to have a team that has worked together for almost 12 years and still everybody is together.

Your team is known for primarily as kickboxing specialists because of the K-1 pedigrees of a number of your fighters. Has it been a difficult to convince people that you are both a well-rounded MMA AND a kickboxing team?

Not really. We have Sergey Kharitonov who struggled with a long lasting shoulder injury, but is now fit to fight MMA and kickboxing. We have John Olav Einemo who suffered an injury but is fit to fight MMA again. Siyar Bahadurza defended his Shooto world title belt in Brazil by winning by KO in round one and he did the same at a PTA event, winning his fight by KO in round one. Alistair destroyed Brett Rogers for the Strikeforce world title defense bout and won the K-1 World Grand Prix. Semmy has already promised me that he is hungry to win a fifth K-1 GP belt and then wants to win a title in the UFC or Dream. Marloes Coenen won the Strikeforce women’s world title and has defended it. We convince people by beating our opponents and fighting as much as we can worldwide.

We know who the fighters are. Who are the people who make up the business and training sides of Team Golden Glory?

I handle most of the business, but I do consult a lot with Cor Hemmers and other trainers and people who were involved from the start. I am the person who will look after the contracts and take care of flights, seminars, TV interviews, media appearances, social media, production etc.

Besides your well-known champions like Alistair, Marloes, Siyar and Semmy, what other champions has Golden Glory produced?

We are working on bringing Kharitonov and John Olav Einemo back into the MMA world. Krista Flemming was world champion in kickboxing. Nieky Holzken became the K-1 Max champion in Sweden. Now Robin van Roosmalen and Max are both 21-year-old 70 kg talents who we will see fighting in the K-1 and Glory events next year. Heath Herring won the WVTC9 in Aruba. Chalid Arrab en Stefan Leko won the K-1 Las Vegas GP. Gokhan Saki won the K-1 Hawaii GP and multiple Thai/Kickboxing world titles. Errol Zimmerman won the K-1 GP in Amsterdam, just to name a few.

A little known fact is that the founders of GG were also responsible for creating the International Vale Tudo Championships (IVC). What role did the experience of promoting the IVC play in establishing Team Golden Glory?

My long time business partner Frederico Lapenda who I produce movies with in Hollywood was the founder of the WVTC. During the event in Aruba the idea was created to start an elite fighting team, and as such, Golden Glory was born.

In your opinion, which fighter has progressed the most from the first day they walked into the gym until now?

I must say Alistair Overeem, by far. Semmy progressed a lot in his boxing and so did Siyar, but overall, Alistair has improved the most.

A lot of camps have a rule that teammates will never fight each other. What is Golden Glory’s stance on teammate versus teammate bouts?

We fight each other every day in the gym. Semmy already fought Errol in K-1 and Karaev fought Chalid, so no problem. It becomes an extra match to see who is GG’s strongest fighter.

It’s been said that the best teams are like family. Seeing footage of Marloes and Alistair’s mom waiting with fans at the airport in Amsterdam for his triumphant return after winning his Strikeforce title and seeing the in-ring team celebrations at events like the Glory MMA and kickboxing event you held recently, it’s obvious that your fighters aren’t just training partners. Do you see them as your family members?

Yes it is one big family and even if some of us do not train together, they all fight proudly under the banner of Golden Glory. The good thing is that Semmy Schilt is the man to beat at this moment and he prepares in Golden Glory Zuid Laren in Holland and Golden Glory Romania. Alistair Overeem prepares at Golden Glory Breda in Holland. It would have been a real battle if they had met in the K-1 finals. We sometimes talk crap about each other. In Breda they always say that they will beat the crap out of each other if they would meet in the half-finals or finals. It’s the honor of who is the best GG fighter too. They do this in the gym every week – beating each other up.

You recently made your Ultimate Glory events available through pay-per-view purchase via YouTube. Prior to that they were free. What made you decide to stream past Glory show for free when you could have definitely charged for them?

We want to make it more popular and we want everybody to know that Glory is a very high quality produced show that will compete in the future with any other big fight promoter in the universe. Martijn de Jong and Bert Ditmans are the driving force to promote these glory events. I work more in the production and distribution side of it, like making TV deals and help together with Cor Hemmers and some partners with the matchmaking.

I’m from a small town in Ontario, Canada just outside of Toronto – the Canadian city Dana White calls the Mecca for MMA fans and where the sport was recently sanctioned. Having covered MMA for several years in Canada, I’m sure a show like yours would do well here. Have you considered bringing Glory events or gyms to other locations like Canada?

We are rapidly extending with the opening of GG gyms around the world, recently after Golden Glory Romania and Golden Glory Pattaya Thailand we have opened a Golden Glory gym in Berlin Germany. The beginning of next year Golden Glory California will open and we have serious talks for Golden Glory Dubai and Moscow. If a co-promotion can be done with somebody in Canada, we are all ears.

Can we expect to see more recognizable Golden Glory fighters like Gokhan and Siyar on future Glory cards?

Yes that’s the purpose of the Glory events to create a platform to have our use stable of talented fighter fight on a regular basis.

You recently revealed some details about the Golden Glory satellite location that you are opening in California. Will it be open to the public or is it by invitation only?

It will be open for the public and there will be a professional section in the future.

Alistair’s web-based documentary series “The Reem” is incredible from the cinematography right down to the choice of music. Are there plans to make similar series for other Golden Glory fighters?

It is very expensive to have camera people fly with us all over the world. This is a childhood friend of Alistair and there is a special bond with the team as well. As you could see in the Thailand episode other GG fighters were also interacting with the camera. This is a huge job and the large amount of hours and efforts put into in this documentary is crazy.

A lot of fighters seem to be spending time with other camps to fill in gaps in areas of their game that need work. Do you host fighters from other teams for training camps or do you prefer to keep your cards close as not to reveal any Golden Glory training secrets?

No we do not, only fighters who have signed a management deal. I consider it very unprofessional to help fighters with a different management to then find out that two years later it will be your opponent in some big MMA/kickboxing show.

Considering you are based out of Holland where you helped put Dutch kickboxers and MMA on the map, is it frustrating to think of all of the opposition you’ve encountered from politicians from the earliest days of the Cage Fighting Championships (CFC) to the Glory event you held in October?

Its politics we just have to deal with this. The UFC hired former state athletic employee Marc to only work for the UFC and get the UFC’s shows sectioned in as much states as possible. Europe works different, but overall they make it more and more difficult to promote events in Holland. I am concentrating on the worldwide business of Golden Glory. I run the Golden Glory Pattaya gym and am closely involved in a project called “Fight Game” which is a clothing company that is currently one of the biggest sponsors of Golden Glory. I have more interesting projects I am working on and do not want to spend time in politics which use fighting sports to gain popular interest for their own agendas. I like to keep busy with positive things.

Where do kickboxing and MMA rank in Holland in comparison to other popular sports like football and ice hockey?

Soccer is number one but then fighting sports for sure, no other sport gets 20.000 people for a sports event in Holland.

If you could predict a Golden Glory fighter who will likely be turning heads in the near future, who would you say it would be?

Philp Verlinden and Robin van Roosmalen and Russian fighters Max and Kharitonov will be more and more in the news soon.

What’s next for Golden Glory in 2011?

Alistair fighting Werdum, Semmy back in MMA in UFC or Dream, Kharitonov in Strikeforce, Marloes and Siyar in Strikeforce and there is so much more coming.

Again, Bas, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. We wish you continued success in 2011 and look forward to talking to you again in the future.

Thank you. I wish everybody good health and happiness keep training and make your wishes become reality as a fighter.

-Mike Russell-

Breakfast With a Champion, Featuring Alistair Overeem

(“You kick one little girl at a birthday party and nobody ever lets you live it down.”)

In an effort to constantly increase and improve our interactive offerings to the Potato Nation, we’ve come up with a new concept for a series of ongoing articles that will give our readers the opportunity to interact with some of MMA’s biggest stars.

We dubbed the series, “Breakfast With a Champion,” because we will be posting them early in the morning for you to read and because the concept is that you send us your questions for various titleholders and we forward them and post the replies here when we get them back.

The beauty of it is that you get to ask questions that typically don’t get asked by journalists and you get to contribute to the content you want to read in one of two ways: By posting questions for future guests and by suggesting which champs you want to take your questions.

We’ll do our best to get in touch with as many of them as we can and to answer as many of your questions as possible. All we ask is that you keep your questions respectful and that you spread the word about the series.

So without further adieu, check the first instalment of Breakfast With a Champion, featuring Alistair Overeem after the jump.

(“You kick one little girl at a birthday party and nobody ever lets you live it down.”)

So without further adieu, here is the first instalment of Breakfast With a Champion, featuring Alistair Overeem.

Does it annoy you when retardo keyboard warriors make unfunny
horsemeat jokes a thousand times that only they laugh at? -Snakey

I don’t pay much attention to what people say on the internet to be
honest, but sometimes I hear something funny about the horsemeat jokes
and I think some fans are pretty creative. The horsemeat thing is
pretty much overblown because I don’t eat it that often. I eat more
beef, fish and chicken than horse but I have to say it’s a pretty
funny gimmick.

If were not a fighter, what would you be?? -nahin123

I don’t know but before I was fighting I wanted to join the army, like
a special forces unit or something like that, but my eyesight wasn’t
good at the time so I knew that something like that wasn’t going to
happen.

Alistair, after watching you fight for years and reading your
interviews and watching The Reem and all of the other online
interaction we’ve had, I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer.
So my question is…… do you think we should meet? -Lutador Vomitando

I’m pretty much out of the spotlight but I try my best to attend as
many public appearances to meet my fans as I can. I’m very fortunate that I can
inspire them and meet them. They are the big part of my success. For
example, I wasn’t supposed to fight in the K-1 Grand Prix, but when the
fans voted me as a fighter that they wanted in the grandprix I decided
to do it. One year later I won the title. Maybe if you go to a
fight there is a possibility you can meet me in person.

Alistair…
Who’s your favorite fighter to watch? (I mean in combat sports –
Boxing, MMA, Kickboxing, whatever.) –ExpectJesusBro

There are some fighters I like to watch; back in the days it was Bas
Rutten and Vitor Belfort. In my Pride days I liked Shogun, although he was
my competitor. I also like Diego Sanchez for some reason, although
some think he’s a little over the top, but I like his intensity and
mental state. The new kid, Jon Jones, is also a fighter that I like to
see fight and for some reason, Brock Lesnar.

What’s it like knowing you can beat the sh*t out of any human
being? Also, please beat Frank Mir’s face in. -Fedor Penn

It’s pretty weird, actually because I know that it keeps me out of
trouble. When I was a young kid I got in a lot of fights in the
streets, so you would expect that if I know how to fight I would fight
more, but the opposite happened. If you know you can beat most of the
people up, you think it’s not worth it. You can get in trouble even if
it’s not your fault. The public opinion will say, “It’s not a fair
fight,” so I try to avoid problems on the street, otherwise they charge
me with assault with deadly weapons haha .
*Editor’s note: Yes, the world’s most dangerous heavyweight uses emoticons.

Would it be a moral victory if you could submit Werdum? -Trouser Snake

No, not really. Winning against Werdum alone is a moral victory. If I can
submit him, I will of course, but I always want to go for the KO, even if
Werdum is the best ground fighter in the world.

Alistair…What is your take on your fight with Cro Cop? What was up
with the knees? Was Cro Cop faking? I never heard your side of the
story. -Old_Bald_and_Irish

At the time of the fight I thought he was faking some of my knees to
the groin. You have to understand, I was in fight mode and I believe
the first one or one of those shots was a foul so I apologized for it during
the fight. But when you are winning a fight and you think that some of
the shots where not hitting the groin, you think he’s trying to get
out of the fight. It was unfortunate that the fight ended like that
because it was a very heated fight. I called him out because in Japan
there were not many big names out there and Crocop was a fighter who
had that name, so I used the press to get under his skin. I respect
Crocop a lot and he’s one of the legends in the sport and I wish him
good luck and hope to see at least one more fight of him.

What is one thing you’re very good at that isn’t related to fighting? (One skill you could pursue another career with.) -llbunbaoll

I don’t have anything else that I’m good at because all my time is
focused on fighting. But I know how to play videogames haha.

Is there any truth to the rumors that you are having issues with
your Strikeforce contract negotiations and that you may pull out of
the Grand Prix? -Mike Russell

No, that’s false. I think the tournament is one of the greatest things
that’s happing now in MMA and I’m proud to be part of it. I see
winning this tournament as my biggest goal at the moment.

@Alistair: What is the maximum number of teenage Japanese pop
singers that you think you could lift at one time? –Chromium

I don’t know. The girl group I lifted had six girls. I think I can
add two more girls.

Alistair, I know everyone is thinking this and it’s not online anywhere, what is your weightlifting routine and how often do you weight lift? -molson

It’s strange a lot of people ask me that question. To be honest, I don’t do maximum lifting. I do more repeating exercises. I use something like 220 pounds and do it multiple times instead of bench press only a couple of times. In my YouTube clip you see me deadlifting and that was 660 pounds.

Thanks for taking our questions, Alistair!! What are the biggest improvements you’ve made while evolving as a fighter over the years, and how did you achieve them? -dim mak

Keep training hard and making sure you surround yourself with a good team. When you fight at the top you need to make sure you can focus just on training and have the right team behind you — from your ground and standup trainer to your nutritionist. I think that experience also helps you to become a better fighter. Most importantly, learn from your mistakes.

What’s the best advice you’ve received that you wish a fighter had given you when you were first starting out in MMA? –KarmaAteMyCat

Before you go in to the ring or cage make sure you have proper training. Your coaches know if you have the talent to go into the ring or cage. Some training partners of mine are very good in training but for some reason they are not successful during a fight. So make sure you have the talent and discipline to become a fighter. It’s not a profession you should take lightly and there are way better opportunities in life to make money. I’m very fortunate that I can, but believe me, there are so many fighters and maybe one percent of them can make a decent living.

Would you be able to defeat Batman in a fight? Batman is allowed to use his utility belt. –Tats

The fight is over before he can reach his utility belt. The Reem will destroy Batman!! I have to say though that The Reem is no villain; he’s a hero just like Batman, so I think that fight will not happen.

Alistair, is there a desire for you to fight Badr Hari again in K-1 this year? –Venomous

We have to see what’s happing in Japan. It’s not certain if K-1 will have another Grand Prix this year and my priority is now with the Strikeforce Grand Prix, so I doubt it that the fight is going to happen, but a third fight between him and me would be the biggest fight in K-1 history.

Two part question: Do you think there is anyone in the world who can beat you, and if so who? Why did you kick that little girl? –blackboxmma

I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think at the moment, I’m the best fighter in the world. You have to have that attitude if you go into a fight. Fighting is not like tennis or soccer there is a bigger “x-factor” involved. A fight can be over with one punch or a submission so the chance of losing is much bigger. You can lose a fight althoughyou are a better fighter. That’s what makes fighting so interesting. About that little girl segment, they cut it very bad that it looks like I kick her for no reason. It was her birthday and as a birthday gift she wanted to have a kickboxing lesson from me with her girlfriends. Soat the end she wanted a kick from me and after I gave her a gentle kick and she was saying, “Harder” and I was like, “Are you sure?”. So I kicked her again a little harder and she went to the ground and everybody was laughing, including her, so it was just fun and laughs.

Alistair, you seem poised and well spoken in all interviews (especially The Reem episodes), which would lead me to believe that you are an educated man. What level of schooling did you complete? –destinationblood

When I was young I didn’t like school that much and was a rebel. The teachers always told me that I have potential but at that time I thought that every teacher said the same thing to everybody. I knew that if I studied I could be an educated man, but for some reason the sport chose me. So when I finished my college degree I focused on fighting. Now that I’m older and wiser I would advise my children to stay in school and get a degree in something. Now I school myself by reading certain books for example; Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

When you look at your career up to now what would you say the turning point was? I mean, at 205 you did well but seemed to not be at your best against the best competition (Shogun, Chuck, Lil Nog, Arona). Now at HW you’ve been dominant. -Kid Clam Curtains

When I was fighting at 205 there was a very big talent pool out there. I was pretty young compared to most of them and I looking back my frame was not built to be a 205 fighter. I had to cut too much weight and couldn’t do strength training and we tried to win fights purely based on technique and striking, which my old trainer, Lucien Carbinwas very good in. The turning point came when I started to switch things up in my training camp. I left Lucien Carbin and started training with Cor Hemmers. At his gym there were a lot of K-1 heavyweight fighters, so I sparred against big guys, and trust me, those sessions were just like fights. We made a plan to fight at heavyweight, so we started to gain weight and began fighting like a heavyweight.

If you could change one bad thing about the world into something good, what would it be? –frndlylion

Nuclear power. I have to explain that; the use of nuclear power is highly debatable because of the high risk. Just look at the disaster in Japan. You don’t hear much about it, but it’s the biggest disaster in human history. That can affect the world. They still didn’t find a way to stop the meltdown. So that’s a bad thing, but we are in need of new energy sources because the oil will dry out at one point. So if I can make a wish, then it would be that we find a way to make safe and clean nuclear power so we have ourselves a new energy source.

Which fighter that you’ve met was the biggest douchebag? -Turd Furgeson

Sorry, I’m not going to answer that. I’ve heard some fighters say they think that I’m the biggest douchebag and I don’t even know them personally, so judging people on a first impression is not the way to go if you ask me.

Is there any fighter out there you absolutely hate? Is it Badr Hari? –RwilsonR

No, I don’t hate any fighters, not even Badr. I didn’t like his attitude in the K-1 about the things he said about MMA and the things he did in the ring, but as a person I don’t know him. To be honest I see a new Badr emerging — a Badr Hari that has learned from his mistakes and realizes that his actions affect himself the most. Hating on people costs energy and that energy I need to focus on my fights.

Rick Story Still Breathing Unassisted, Speaking in Complete Sentences

“…and I saw his knee looked like it was getting bigger and bigger … and then it hit me.” (VidProps: Karyn Bryant)

Karyn Bryant caught up with Ricky Story after UFC 130, and he wasn’t getting his jaw wired up. After determining that he wasn’t suffering from a concussion, Bryant asks him about the fight, and reminds him that he absorbed some damaging shots in the process. Story allows that, yes, he was hit with some fearsome blows, and he even wound up taking a bite out of his mouthguard (!!!). Sounds like maybe you don’t want to order from that mouthguard manufacturer any more?

Story seems a little sheepish, saying his performance “was definitely good enough for the win,” except he doesn’t seem so definite. Awww, cheer up, big guy. MMA crowds boo, it’s their thing. It’s like Red Wings fans throwing octopi on the rink, or Philidelphia Eagles fans being turbo douches and needing a jail in the stadium.

“…and I saw his knee looked like it was getting bigger and bigger … and then it hit me.” (VidProps: Karyn Bryant)

The decision win over Alves is Story’s sixth straight since his loss to John Hathaway two years ago, and those haven’t been creampuffs. Story now finds himself in the company of elite welterweights like Shields, Koscheck, Hardy, Fitch… pretty much everyone who’s challenged Georges St Pierre and come away empty-handed.

Unfortunately, there’s lots of other dudes being talked about for top 10 in the 170: Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger, Mike Pyle, Anthony Johnson, Nate Marquardt…who does a guy need to physically dominate to get ahead around here? With this much talent clustered at the top and still no one seeming like a decent match for GSP, how does a fighter make himself stand out?

Don’t worry, I’m sure BG will do some armchair matchmaking. Go ahead and discuss amongst yourselves who should be moving up the welterweight rankings. And somebody send this man a decent mouthguard.

[RX]

Check Out The Bum Rush Radio Show Episode 21 With Special Guest Karo ‘The Heat’ Parisyan

We’ve been off for a few weeks mainly due to logistical reasons, but we’re finally back with another episode of Ben’s mom’s favorite MMA podcast.

On this week’s episode weekend writer Seth Falvo joins us as we break down this weekend’s UFC 130 event and next weekend’s The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale. We also sit down with embattled former UFC welterweight contender Karo “The Heat” Parisyan, who talks about his heartbreaking loss to Ryan Ford at MMA Live 1 last week in Canada, his haters, his thoughts on the media and his plans for the future.

We’ve been off for a few weeks mainly due to logistical reasons, but we’re finally back with another episode of Ben’s mom’s favorite MMA podcast.

You can download the episode directly by right-clicking HERE, listen to it in your browser HERE or subscribe to the show so you can download and listen to new episodes on iTunes when they are released HERE.

As always, we invite you to leave your constructive criticism and suggestions for segments, guests or improvements for the show in the comment section below.

Exclusive Interview: Brock Lesnar Discusses ‘Death Clutch’, Part 3

For the previous installments of our conversation with Brock Lesnar, click here and here.

BRIAN D’SOUZA: [When you were sick], maybe you thought a lot about your family, about what you’ve achieved in life…any regrets?
BROCK LESNAR: No, you know, I thought, if this thing is going to take advantage of me, I wanted to figure out what was wrong with me so I could beat it. When you’re laying there, after the fact, you start thinking about your family, and your friends. It wasn’t until afterwards when you’re thinking ‘Man — I really could have died from this stuff,’ when the dust settles, and you start thinking about it.

And on the other side of things, on the business side, there’s a lot invested in you, or a lot of value to you from the UFC. What was their attitude back then and recently, right now [when you pulled out of the Junior dos Santos fight]?
The first thing that came out of Dana White’s mouth was concern for my health. He said, “Don’t even worry about the fight. Let’s get your health taken care of.” That goes to show a lot about the company, and about the person that Dana White is.

Josh Barnett once told me ‘We have a pro wrestling system for MMA.’ But I kind of believe it’s a star system; I believe this based on the estimated pay-per-view buys which suggest — which we both know — you’re the number one draw in the organization by far. Going into the millions of pay-per-view buys where Georges St-Pierre can maybe do 800,000 or 900,000. How do you feel about being the number one guy?
Well, I don’t feel any different other than I’m glad to be in that spot, that opportunity; it’s a lucrative spot to be in, and at the end of the day, I hope that I can get back in the Octagon to keep trying to pursue those numbers.

For the previous installments of our conversation with Brock Lesnar, click here and here.

You’ve got these great numbers. There’s a lot of respect for you. You probably get a lot of great things contractually that most guys could never even dream of getting — no matter how successful they are, because on top of this, you were in the WWE, which is a great public relations machine itself. You were a star there, and came into the UFC, and became a bigger star than any UFC fighter could possibly become. Are you grateful to pro wrestling — or your own hard work and athleticism — for making you what you are?
Absolutely. I’m not stupid — without the WWE, the WWE made me a household name and increased my value tenfold before I even pursued the UFC. Could I be where I am today without the WWE? Probably not. Could I be drawing the same numbers that I’m drawing? Probably not. I brought a lot of fans over, a lot of crossover fans that I brought, just from the general public and WWE fans, I believe.

Do you believe that the real growth, in terms of pure numbers in MMA, is actually attributed directly to superstars like yourself, and a couple other guys…who are the household names who do these kinds of numbers?
I have to believe that just the growth of the sport in general — with anything — the more visibility they could gain, the bigger the audience is going to be, obviously. The UFC is doing all the right things to make this a mainstream sport, and if I can contribute to that, I’m glad for it and at the end of the day, it becomes more lucrative for other fighters, and myself, and the UFC, and we can still put out a great product that entertains people, and everybody is happy.

An ESPN Magazine estimate recently pegged your annual salary — probably from [fight] purses alone — at 5.3 million dollars. Is that hotter or colder, or can you not disclose that?
I’ve got no comment. No comment for that.

How do you feel your salary compares to someone like Manny Pacquiao — and again, we say MMA is a pro wrestling model — but he’s said to clear $32 million in the same survey.
Don’t believe everything you read.

I don’t necessarily believe everything that I read, but especially for the lower guys, like one of your opponents Shane Carwin — his guaranteed purse for his fight against you was $50,000; in boxing, it’s usually 25 percent of the purse bid that goes to the [title] challenger. I believe you’re doing pretty well, because you definitely have all the leverage over the UFC, but the guys who don’t have any kind of power aren’t really given the best kind of deal.
I don’t know for sure, I really don’t. I’m only concerned about one person, and that’s myself. I have no idea — I don’t read anything, I don’t pay attention. At the end of the day, I just want to fight and win fights and this is prizefighting for me, and winning fights, you win prizes.

I totally understand. You’re an individual and your own hard work got you to where you are. But have you ever thought about the next generation that’s coming up — they’re going to be kids [who] might look for some advice or some guidance to navigate the system.
I think the youth that want to enter this arena, it’s a good opportunity for learning disciplines and I think you’re going to see as the years go on, better fighters, because they’re learning all these new disciplines at a younger age, and it’s really becoming second nature to them. But as far as the business side of things, this is a capitalistic world we live in and if they can learn to save their money, they should provide a good living for themselves.

Is there anything else that you wanted to say on the subject of your book, or your life, or what you’re going to do next?
Hopefully, people go out and read this book [Death Clutch]. And right now, I’m just focused on my health, and trying to get better, and trying to get into the Octagon.

Buy ‘Death Clutch’ at Amazon.com