Tag: Interviews

AJ Scales: "As Long as My Body Holds Up, I’m Going to Continue to Compete"

To certain, it would be a stretch to say that Regina—a city that boasts a population of fewer than 200,000 citizens—is synonymous with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. But AJ Scales, the man behind Complete Martial Arts and Fitness—far and away R…

To certain, it would be a stretch to say that Regina—a city that boasts a population of fewer than 200,000 citizens—is synonymous with Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

But AJ Scales, the man behind Complete Martial Arts and Fitness—far and away Regina’s top Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy—is, in the eyes of many, synonymous with the sport in the city.

Since first taking to the mat 15 years ago, Scales, a black belt under the famed Nova Uniao banner who is also an undefeated amateur mixed martial artist, has won numerous tournaments across Brazil and North America and has shared the mat with everyone from Thales Leites to Georges St-Pierre.

Earlier this month at the International Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Federation’s Pan Am championships in Irvine, California, Scales—who has been teaching at Complete Martial Arts and Fitness for the better part of the past decade—added to his resume as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner.

“This is one of the biggest jiu-jitsu tournaments going on right now in North America—fighters from all over the world come to this tournament—and this year, I placed third in the black belt master’s division,” recounted Scales, 36, who also competed in the event in 2011.

Although Scales—who was dealing with a minor hand injury going into the event—fell short of making it to the final match of his division, he emphasized that he isn’t necessarily disappointed with his performance in ‘The Golden State.’

“[I’m] very satisfied,” Scales noted. “I don’t like to lose—I always go to win every tournament—but, you know, things happen …that’s just the way things go.”

Despite the fact that Scales doesn’t have any events lined up at the moment—outside of Saturday Night Fights 5 on May 5th at the Turvey Centre in Regina, an amateur mixed martial arts show that he is putting on—he doesn’t intend on hanging up his gi any time soon.

“I saw a lot of grapplers at the Pan Americans and I still have at least 15 years of competition in me,” said Scales, who would like to win “a few major titles” before walking away from the sport. “Until my body says that I can’t do it, I’m going to do it. As long as my body holds up, I’m going to continue to compete.”

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Reza Madadi: ‘I Will Manhandle Him and Send Him Back Home’

The fun and games are over.UFC newcomer Reza Madadi (11-2) is ready to make a statement when he enters the Octagon to take on Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-0) at UFC on Fuel 2.”I will manhandle him and send him back home,” Madadi told Bleacher Report.Madadi i…

The fun and games are over.

UFC newcomer Reza Madadi (11-2) is ready to make a statement when he enters the Octagon to take on Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-0) at UFC on Fuel 2.

“I will manhandle him and send him back home,” Madadi told Bleacher Report.

Madadi is slated to square off with Izquierdo in his home country of Sweden for the only 155-pound matchup of the evening.

And as expected, “Mad Dog” Reza wants no one standing in the way of his homecoming party as he’s spent his entire life fighting in the city of Stockholm.

However, without a run-in with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, it’s likely Reza would still be on the outside looking in.

“I actually found out that I would finally fight for the UFC when I attended UFC 138 in Birmingham. I was there to coach Papy Abedi when my manager and I met Joe Silva,” said Reza. “My manager introduced me to him and he said that he heard a lot about me and that he would do his best to get me in.”

“Two weeks later, I received my lovely contract.”

Reza will attempt to record his seventh straight victory when he stands across the Octagon from Izquierdo in just a few short hours.

Reza is also aware that while his confidence may be sky-high, there’s no easy fight in the UFC.
 
“I realize that every matchup is tough in the UFC. I don’t know too much about him [Izquierdo], and I don’t want to know about him either. I just want to do what’s natural for me and that’s fight,” said Reza.

However, Reza believes there’s no reason not to be confident as opportunities to fight at the highest stage in MMA come few and far between.

 “I am not concerned in any area,” said Reza. “I know that I am better than him wherever the fight goes.”
 
As Reza continues to progress into the prime of his career, he realizes none of his accomplishments would be possible without the help of others.

 “I would like to thank my head coach Selman Berisha and my other coaches Boris, Sasha Martinovic, Omar Bouiche, Martin Lindqvist and my manager, Manos Terzitane,” said Reza. “I also want to thank my sponsors for making this possible for me—Carspot, Orcbite, Great Earth and Venum.”

“But most importantly, I would like to thank God for giving me this opportunity.”

 

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Reza Madadi: ‘I Will Manhandle Him and Send Him Back Home’

The fun and games are over.UFC newcomer Reza Madadi (11-2) is ready to make a statement when he enters the Octagon to take on Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-0) at UFC on Fuel 2.”I will manhandle him and send him back home,” Madadi told Bleacher Report.Madadi i…

The fun and games are over.

UFC newcomer Reza Madadi (11-2) is ready to make a statement when he enters the Octagon to take on Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-0) at UFC on Fuel 2.

“I will manhandle him and send him back home,” Madadi told Bleacher Report.

Madadi is slated to square off with Izquierdo in his home country of Sweden for the only 155-pound matchup of the evening.

And as expected, “Mad Dog” Reza wants no one standing in the way of his homecoming party as he’s spent his entire life fighting in the city of Stockholm.

However, without a run-in with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, it’s likely Reza would still be on the outside looking in.

“I actually found out that I would finally fight for the UFC when I attended UFC 138 in Birmingham. I was there to coach Papy Abedi when my manager and I met Joe Silva,” said Reza. “My manager introduced me to him and he said that he heard a lot about me and that he would do his best to get me in.”

“Two weeks later, I received my lovely contract.”

Reza will attempt to record his seventh straight victory when he stands across the Octagon from Izquierdo in just a few short hours.

Reza is also aware that while his confidence may be sky-high, there’s no easy fight in the UFC.
 
“I realize that every matchup is tough in the UFC. I don’t know too much about him [Izquierdo], and I don’t want to know about him either. I just want to do what’s natural for me and that’s fight,” said Reza.

However, Reza believes there’s no reason not to be confident as opportunities to fight at the highest stage in MMA come few and far between.

 “I am not concerned in any area,” said Reza. “I know that I am better than him wherever the fight goes.”
 
As Reza continues to progress into the prime of his career, he realizes none of his accomplishments would be possible without the help of others.

 “I would like to thank my head coach Selman Berisha and my other coaches Boris, Sasha Martinovic, Omar Bouiche, Martin Lindqvist and my manager, Manos Terzitane,” said Reza. “I also want to thank my sponsors for making this possible for me—Carspot, Orcbite, Great Earth and Venum.”

“But most importantly, I would like to thank God for giving me this opportunity.”

 

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Damacio Page: "It’s Do or Die, My Back Is Against the Wall"

Very rarely does a fighter see himself remain in the UFC after suffering three consecutive losses.Therefore, it’s do-or-die for Damacio Page.Page (12-6), who’s coming off two straight defeats to Demetrious Johnson and Brian Bowles, will put it all on t…

Very rarely does a fighter see himself remain in the UFC after suffering three consecutive losses.

Therefore, it’s do-or-die for Damacio Page.

Page (12-6), who’s coming off two straight defeats to Demetrious Johnson and Brian Bowles, will put it all on the line when action begins on April 14th at UFC on Fuel II.

“My back is against the wall right now,” Page told Bleacher Report. “I have nothing to lose right now.”

“I have lost two fights in a row and hardly anyone stays in the UFC after losing three straight,” said Page. “Only a select few have made it past three straight losses.”

With his future in jeopardy, Page isn’t about to let his lifelong dream come to an end.

A mixed martial artist was someone Page aspired to be growing up from a very young age.

In order to focus his attention on his upcoming bout against Brad Pickett (20-6), Page often recalls the long road which he traveled to get to where he is today.

“It was apart of growing up for me. It was in my blood to fight. I started wresting in high school and then again in college. I love the physical aspect of the sport. You go out there and wrestle someone and it’s the same thing when you fight someone,” said Page. “It’s one-on-one only more intense.”

“It’s for guys to get to their peak performances and to fight each other,” said Page. “What more could you want than that?”

Page will do everything and more to capture his win since October of 2009, but it won’t come without a price.

His opponent, Pickett, is also on a fast track to the top of the bantamweight division, having won 10 of his last 12 fights.

In order for Page to break his losing streak, he’ll need to dictate the pace of the fight early and often.

 

 

“I think my speed will be the biggest factor in this fight. I think I’m faster and more explosive. I think that’s the biggest key. I think he’s a tough individual. He brings problems for anyone at 135. He’s a great fight for anyone,” said Page. “He’s going to give you problems the whole way.”

“I’m focused on me in general. As long as I do me I’ll be fine. I went back to the drawing board. I’m done with the injuries that I had over the past two years. I’m finally feeling 100 percent. I just did me for this whole camp,” said Page. “As long as I do what I do, I should come out with the ‘W’.”

If Page is anything like the Page we’ve seen in the past, viewers and those in attendance can expect an early finish and a series of fireworks from the get-go.

However, it’s been two-and-a-half years since we last saw a Page finish.

And a rule of thumb for all fighters: if you can’t finish, make sure you’ve done enough to win the judge’s scorecards.

“If it’s going to the judge’s scorecards, I’ll leave no doubt in their minds. I’m going to win. I don’t know if he wants to put on a show for the fans or what he wants do. I know that I want to win,” said Page. “If I go to the judges I’m going to convince them that I won the fight.”

“If it’s a short night then awesome. That means I can get ready for my next fight. I think either way I’ll have my hand raised,” said Page.

Page recognizes the depth of the 135-pound weight class but believes anyone has the opportunity to become the champion.

However, before Page can focus on what’s ahead, he’ll need to defeat an extremely dangerous opponent in Pickett.

“I think everyone has their time to shine and I think this is my time.”

 

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator 64 Winner Chad Laprise Reflects on His Debut

Canadian fighter Chad Laprise (5-0) made a memorable debut with the Bellator Fighting Championships last Friday night in Windsor, with a beautiful triangle submission-win over Josh Taveirne.  Laprise got the tap at 2:48 of the first round, le…

Canadian fighter Chad Laprise (5-0) made a memorable debut with the Bellator Fighting Championships last Friday night in Windsor, with a beautiful triangle submission-win over Josh Taveirne.  Laprise got the tap at 2:48 of the first round, leaving his perfect record of five wins and five finishes intact.

I spoke with Laprise today as he got ready to head off to British Columbia to corner Adrenaline Training Center mate Jesse Ronson in his title fight in Trail on Saturday night.

Laprise’s other teammate and friend Chris Horodecki was knocked out in his fight right before Laprise went out for his.

I wondered what type of an effect that had on Chad as he made his way out:

I didn’t actually see it, but I kinda heard it on TV. I saw the guys’ faces when they came back to get me for my fight. But it just makes you want to go out and do it even harder for him. Chris is not just a teammate he’s a friend, so you want pick it up for him.

Laprise sure did pick it up, getting his submission win in the first round with a beautiful display of ground fighting that we haven’t seen from the knockout artist.

He was a lot bigger than me. He came in on fight night about 20-pounds on me but I had trained off my back for months for this fight. I drilled getting to the cage and wall walking up so that’s exactly what I did in the fight.

Laprise then went into how he got the choke:

He’s a good wrestler and he can take you down but he had a tendency to leave his head down and lay on you a bit, so I knew if he got me to my back that I was going to go for that choke and it was right there so.

I was lucky because it’s a lot easier to get a guy early because he isn’t as slippery as the later rounds. It was there early so I took it. I had to work it a bit, but I knew I had it right away and I knew that if he didn’t tap he would go out and he pretty much did just as the ref came in.

It was a pivotal win for Laprise, as it gives him his first win in Bellator and sets him up nicely for what’s to come in the year ahead.

Luckily because of my win, I am talking to a few places right now and I would like to fight for Bellator again. They treated me just unbelievably first-class so I hope I can fight for them again. I am pretty much 100-percent healthy after that fight so I could fight in a month in Rama if the opponent was right.

I asked him who that opponent would be but he wouldn’t bite.

“I just want to build my record this year with good fighters and fights. That’s what I am looking to do. I would love for it to be for Bellator, I don’t care if I have to travel around to fight.”

Laprise is now off to British Columbia, but only for a couple of days. He is a hard man to keep out of the gym.

 

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA, MMA Editor at CKSN.ca and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.

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Francis Carmont Talks UFC in Sweden, Remembering Dreams, and More

We’ve all been stressed out at one point or another.But few can understand the stress a mixed-martial artist undergoes leading up to his UFC debut.Enter UFC middleweight, Francis Carmont (17-7).”I think if you ask any fighter, they’ll tell you that the…

We’ve all been stressed out at one point or another.

But few can understand the stress a mixed-martial artist undergoes leading up to his UFC debut.

Enter UFC middleweight, Francis Carmont (17-7).

“I think if you ask any fighter, they’ll tell you that their first fight in the UFC is always the most stressful,” Carmont told Bleacher Report.

Carmont didn’t waste any time making his name known as he breezed through UFC veteran Chris Camozzi en route to his first win inside the Octagon.

But Carmont now has bigger fish to fry.

Enter UFC newcomer Magnus Cedenblad (10-3).

Cedenblad will be making his own debut at the big stage when he meets Carmont in a preliminary bout at UFC on FUEL II, when the UFC travels to Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday, April 14th.

Carmont knows the pressure Cedenblad is going through and plans to spoil his homecoming party.

That’s right, Carmont will be entering enemy territory, as Cedenblad is a native of Sweden.

“It doesn’t matter to me where we fight. I always fight in front of a hostile crowd,” said Carmont. “I can’t fight at home in France because it’s still illegal to fight there.”

“Nonetheless, Sweden is a great country. To be a part of this first UFC event in Sweden is a great pleasure of mine,” said Carmont. 

The challenge for Carmont will be defeating himself when action begins on April 14th—in that Carmont sees his doppelganger in Cedenblad, as he believes they both possess a very similar style. 

“We have more or less the same style and attributes. The key for me will be to impose the pace of the fight,” said Carmont. “It’s definitely going to be an interesting matchup for me.”

“In MMA, it’s quite hard or nearly impossible to predict the outcome of the fight. There are so many ways to win,” said Carmont. “The goal for me is to bring back the victory to Montreal, Canada, where I currently live and train.” 

As Carmont continues to progress in his career, he hopes to remain the same person he was when he strapped on the gloves for the very first time. 

There’s one ingredient to accomplishing this—remembering your dreams.

“I never put any limits to my dreams. I want to become a champion some day.”

 

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

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