The public’s perception on Mixed Martial Arts in the UK
Whilst interviewing Paul Sutherland recently I asked him this question. If you could change one thing in mma what would it be and why? His reply was “I would change the public’s perception on MMA or Cage fighting as it gets called. We need to bring it more into the mainstream, we need to educate people that it has rules and it has regulations. All the fighters are proper athletes and aren’t just Neanderthals that just come out and start swinging. It’s the perception of what we do and we should be taken equally as any sort of professional athlete”
Whilst on the train journey back from Trojan’s gym Paul’s answer to the question did get me thinking on how about we could change the current British public’s perception of mma. As mma fans we know the sport isn’t full of Neanderthals looking to have a brawl. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some of them out there in the local shows.
But we know that most mma fighters are highly skilled and highly conditioned athletes. So why doesn’t mma get the recognition it deserves? I believe that current public opinion still stems from the sports early days when it was marketed as a no holds barred sport, anything goes and cage fighting.
We know how hard Dana White and the Fertitta brothers worked to change the opinion in the USA. As you had Senator John McCain call mma “Human Cockfighting” from the early days of the sport. As most of us will know the turning point of the ufc and mma in the USA was the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and its premier on the television network spike.
5 weeks ago on Tuesday saw the premier of The Ultimate Fighter season 12 on Sky Sports in the UK. So far we don’t know what affect this will have on growth in mma in this country. But it is definitely a move in the right direction.
So where do we go from here. Obviously last week was the first UFC fan expo in this country and ufc 120. I’m not going to say what I thought about those two events because that will be in another article. What I am going to say though is I thought the expo and the ufc event would have been marketed alot more into the mainstream and not just in the usual places like espn, mma websites and mma magazines.
I know the event sold out totally which shows there is a massive loyal fan base in the UK already. But if the ufc want to exponentially grow even more in the UK then some mainstream advertising campaign needs to be done.
I did notice Randy “The Natural” Couture was on the one show for all of about 30 seconds. He got asked to punch chocolate and called an ultimate fighter. Surely having him on there and talking about mma would have been alot better than punching chocolate for the last 30 seconds?
So where do we go from here? Currently Alex Reid is supposedly the poster boy for UK mma. We all know it’s Michael Bisping, so isn’t it about time that he was a guest on chat shows such as Soccer am etc? Before Bamma 4 all I saw was Alex Reid on Various chat shows. So surely the poster boy for British mma deserves that, just look at how many boxers have been on soccer am.
I also think there should be an insight to their training. A bit like the ufc all access programmes but focusing on UK based mma gyms. This will show the general public how skillful mma really is, how physically and mentally fit you have to be. It could also show the different rules and regulations used in mma.
Twitter @danyoungmma
Email: danyoung_1985@hotmail.com
Monday, 25 October 2010
Wrestling in MMA
Wrestling in MMA
There has been a lot said recently about the use of wrestling in mma. Some critics and fighters say it is killing the sport. Other critics and fighters it’s just the evolvement of mma and should be embraced. My own view is that wrestling seems to be the best base to start in mma as you can dictate where the fight is going to take place.
Im going to break this article down into three sections. The for arguement, the against arguement and my own opinon of it. As i write this three of the ufc belt holders (Frankie Edgar, GSP and Brock Lesnar) use wrestling extensively during their bouts. Also all the number one contenders in the ufc have a wrestling base.
So what makes wrestling such a weapon in mma? Fighters with a wrestling background can control the fight which gives them a distinct advantage. High level wrestlers are renound for being being extremely tenacious and mentally tough due to their years of hard training. They also already have high levels of strength and conditioning.
Fighters such as Chael Sonnen and Clay Guida are renound for their tenacity during fights. Always working for finishes on the floor, in the clinch and in the stand up. When you see a fight with either of these fighters you know it’s not going to be a boring fight.
So what is the disadvantage of having all these wrestlers coming into mma? Some fighters are using it just to secure the win. Recently there have been alot of decisions in mma going to wrestlers who have controlled the fight but haven’t done any damage. Safely winning the round by getting the takedown and controlling the other fighter. At the end of the fight you see the other fighter looking like he has just had an easy sparring session.
This is starting to get called “lay and pray” by some critics. Even ufc president Dana White has not given fighters title shots due to their boring fight style even though they are winning the fights. Jon Fitch and Gray Maynard both never got their title shots due to this reason. At the end of the day mma is a business and the more exciting fights there are the more the fan base will grow. Fighters are employed to fight not to wrestle.
So it’s time for my opinion on this subject. Im not a seasoned fighter nor am i some meathead who just wants to see a brawl. If i want to see that im sure i could go down some pub and watch it. What i want to see is a mixed martial arts fight. Wrestling has and will have a massive part to play in the evolvement of mma. It is still a young sport so who knows what is going to be the next martial art which controls mma for a while. We have all seen the early mma fights where solely bjj fighters came in and submitted guys for fun.
Now every fighter trains in bjj. So i do believe all fighters are going to start training in wrestling alot more now so they can control the fight. This will hopefully bring an end to the boring one sided fights and more grappling wars like the fight from Joe Stevenson v Nate Diaz tuf 9 finale. If you haven’t watched that please do. It was transitions submission attempts and plenty of ground and pound.
Dan Young
p.s. You can follow me on twitter @danyoungmma
There has been a lot said recently about the use of wrestling in mma. Some critics and fighters say it is killing the sport. Other critics and fighters it’s just the evolvement of mma and should be embraced. My own view is that wrestling seems to be the best base to start in mma as you can dictate where the fight is going to take place.
Im going to break this article down into three sections. The for arguement, the against arguement and my own opinon of it. As i write this three of the ufc belt holders (Frankie Edgar, GSP and Brock Lesnar) use wrestling extensively during their bouts. Also all the number one contenders in the ufc have a wrestling base.
So what makes wrestling such a weapon in mma? Fighters with a wrestling background can control the fight which gives them a distinct advantage. High level wrestlers are renound for being being extremely tenacious and mentally tough due to their years of hard training. They also already have high levels of strength and conditioning.
Fighters such as Chael Sonnen and Clay Guida are renound for their tenacity during fights. Always working for finishes on the floor, in the clinch and in the stand up. When you see a fight with either of these fighters you know it’s not going to be a boring fight.
So what is the disadvantage of having all these wrestlers coming into mma? Some fighters are using it just to secure the win. Recently there have been alot of decisions in mma going to wrestlers who have controlled the fight but haven’t done any damage. Safely winning the round by getting the takedown and controlling the other fighter. At the end of the fight you see the other fighter looking like he has just had an easy sparring session.
This is starting to get called “lay and pray” by some critics. Even ufc president Dana White has not given fighters title shots due to their boring fight style even though they are winning the fights. Jon Fitch and Gray Maynard both never got their title shots due to this reason. At the end of the day mma is a business and the more exciting fights there are the more the fan base will grow. Fighters are employed to fight not to wrestle.
So it’s time for my opinion on this subject. Im not a seasoned fighter nor am i some meathead who just wants to see a brawl. If i want to see that im sure i could go down some pub and watch it. What i want to see is a mixed martial arts fight. Wrestling has and will have a massive part to play in the evolvement of mma. It is still a young sport so who knows what is going to be the next martial art which controls mma for a while. We have all seen the early mma fights where solely bjj fighters came in and submitted guys for fun.
Now every fighter trains in bjj. So i do believe all fighters are going to start training in wrestling alot more now so they can control the fight. This will hopefully bring an end to the boring one sided fights and more grappling wars like the fight from Joe Stevenson v Nate Diaz tuf 9 finale. If you haven’t watched that please do. It was transitions submission attempts and plenty of ground and pound.
Dan Young
p.s. You can follow me on twitter @danyoungmma
TUF 12
TUF 12 Moving to Sky Sports
Next week sees the start of season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. By now most fans will have heard the news that TUF 12 is being shown on sky sports instead of freeview (five usa). This has come as a shock to quite a few including myself as I thought the TUF series’ would have been more available on freeview than sky.
But if you look at it from the ufc’s point of view, the viewing numbers from the broadcasts on freeview have been poor. Sky sports is the flagship sports broadcaster in the uk and will normally have good viewing figures even for minority sports. Also the common male subscriber of sky sports falls into the 18-35 age category which also happens to be the ufc’s target audience.
So with this move of TUF 12 to sky sports I can see the ufc may have a plan to move all ufc events in the uk to Pay Per View. Dana White has admitted regularly that he wants the uk market to be pay per view. Currently the ufc has 2 years left on a deal with espn uk to broadcast all ufc events and other programmes. So I assume that when this deal is over that we may end up being in a pay per view market.
Anyway back to the subject. In my opinion having tuf on freeview was an experiment to draw in new fans to the sport. I do believe this has worked as once again the latest ufc card has all but sold out even though its lacking the big names.
So when will we see if tuf 12 is a success on sky sports? I believe we wont until the deal with espn uk is close to the end and are listening to offers from other broadcasters. I do hope we don’t move into the pay per view market as i think it will hit the uk market hard. Who would be willing to pay £15 for every event?
Email : danyoung_1985@hotmail.com
Twitter : @danyoungmma
Next week sees the start of season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. By now most fans will have heard the news that TUF 12 is being shown on sky sports instead of freeview (five usa). This has come as a shock to quite a few including myself as I thought the TUF series’ would have been more available on freeview than sky.
But if you look at it from the ufc’s point of view, the viewing numbers from the broadcasts on freeview have been poor. Sky sports is the flagship sports broadcaster in the uk and will normally have good viewing figures even for minority sports. Also the common male subscriber of sky sports falls into the 18-35 age category which also happens to be the ufc’s target audience.
So with this move of TUF 12 to sky sports I can see the ufc may have a plan to move all ufc events in the uk to Pay Per View. Dana White has admitted regularly that he wants the uk market to be pay per view. Currently the ufc has 2 years left on a deal with espn uk to broadcast all ufc events and other programmes. So I assume that when this deal is over that we may end up being in a pay per view market.
Anyway back to the subject. In my opinion having tuf on freeview was an experiment to draw in new fans to the sport. I do believe this has worked as once again the latest ufc card has all but sold out even though its lacking the big names.
So when will we see if tuf 12 is a success on sky sports? I believe we wont until the deal with espn uk is close to the end and are listening to offers from other broadcasters. I do hope we don’t move into the pay per view market as i think it will hit the uk market hard. Who would be willing to pay £15 for every event?
Email : danyoung_1985@hotmail.com
Twitter : @danyoungmma
BAMMA 4
BAMMA 4
So last night was the night Tom ‘Kong’ Watson finally fought Alex ‘Reidinator’ Reid for BAMMA’s Middleweight Belt. As most of you will know this fight should have happened back in May but Reid had to pull out due to an injury. The fight was also due to be live on bravo in may so I wasn’t shocked to find out it would also be aired live last night.
I’m going to focus more on the event and how it was ran than the fights itself in this article. All the fights were finished well within the distance except the main event. This was the only fight to go to the judges scorecards on the night.
I have been to a few mma events ranging from ufc events to local events such as ultimate impact, Tear up. So I was interested to see how the so called flagship British mma organisation event would compare to the big dog that is the ufc. I was impressed by how much media coverage this fight was getting, so I had high hopes for this event.
The doors were due to open at 4pm but for some unknown reason they didn’t open until 20 past 4 and it was freezing outside! I presume that was down to the arena and was out of bamma’s control. So when we finally got into the arena we tried to go sit in our seats ready for the first fight which was due to start at 5pm.
We were told by the steward that there was a 5 minute delay due to the crew sound checking and testing for tonight’s live broadcast. We were fine with it as it was only 5 minutes. That 5 minutes soon turnt into 10 minutes and again we asked the steward. She happily went and checked and it was definitely going to be just 5 more minutes. 15 minutes later we were still stood outside waiting to go in and the first fight was due to start any minute.
We started to get pretty annoyed now and couldn’t help but notice the amount of technicians going in and out of the door near us and looking very stressed. Luckily we only had to wait 5 more minutes and we were allowed to take our seats. When we walked in and seen the octagon and our first impression was it was very professional.
When we got to our seats we found an armrest broken and one of the chairs had no cover on it. It was then pointed out to me all the wires underneath and around our seats, I forgot about them later and proceeded to trip over and sadly spill my pint of cider (I cried inside haha). We then noticed the massive amount of wires just above our head which was very visible to a lot of the crowd by us and it just looked tacky.
It was obvious that the sound check and the video check had either been rushed or not finished because microphones did work then didn’t. The videos never started then started randomly and started but skipped. It just seemed tacky, cheap and rushed.
The first bout got started pretty quickly and also ended pretty sharpish too. The next two bouts also followed in a similar fashion As soon as one ended the next bout was almost ready to start. After the third bout had ended the ring announcer told us we had 15 minutes before the next bout was going to start.
I’m used to being informed of breaks at other mma events so I wasn’t surprised by this and happily just relaxed for a bit before the action began again. After the fourth bout had finished we were expecting either the next fight to start ASAP or get told it was going to be 10/15 minutes before the start of the next bout. If you’re unlucky enough to follow me on twitter (@danyoung260785) you would have noticed that I was ranting a lot about waiting.
I think the fifth bout started approximately 20 minutes after the previous bout had ended. But at no time were we told about this wait. We then were randomly called over by the stewards. We thought we had done something wrong until she asked how would we like to be sat down in all the empty seats. Obviously we said yes straight away. This came as such a shock to get moved......Dana white I hope you read this because I’m at ufc 120!
The next few bouts followed the same sort of pattern with various amounts of time waiting in between the bouts. The longest amount of time we waited was about 50 minutes and we knew that was coming as it was the main event which was being aired live on bravo.
During the whole event it seemed like that the main event was the only important bout on the fight. Im sure other fighters would have felt a bit undermined by this because i think all the fighters are just important as one another to make the whole event a success.
I did like how all the fighters who had already fought that night mingled with the crowd and happily posed for photos. I don’t know if I have seen this at ufc events. But I’m sure they would do. I was lucky enough to meet and chat to Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley and Marc Goddard during the night.
Overall I think the event was a massive success because everyone at work was talking about the fight today asking me questions and some even want to come to the next event. Personally the fights that night were brilliant and yes I was stood on my seat (I needed too I’m only 5 ft 7!) for the main event. I will be making every attempt to go to BAMMA 5 in Newcastle in December and I’m sure it will be very popular after Saturday’s event.
Twitter @danyoungmma
So last night was the night Tom ‘Kong’ Watson finally fought Alex ‘Reidinator’ Reid for BAMMA’s Middleweight Belt. As most of you will know this fight should have happened back in May but Reid had to pull out due to an injury. The fight was also due to be live on bravo in may so I wasn’t shocked to find out it would also be aired live last night.
I’m going to focus more on the event and how it was ran than the fights itself in this article. All the fights were finished well within the distance except the main event. This was the only fight to go to the judges scorecards on the night.
I have been to a few mma events ranging from ufc events to local events such as ultimate impact, Tear up. So I was interested to see how the so called flagship British mma organisation event would compare to the big dog that is the ufc. I was impressed by how much media coverage this fight was getting, so I had high hopes for this event.
The doors were due to open at 4pm but for some unknown reason they didn’t open until 20 past 4 and it was freezing outside! I presume that was down to the arena and was out of bamma’s control. So when we finally got into the arena we tried to go sit in our seats ready for the first fight which was due to start at 5pm.
We were told by the steward that there was a 5 minute delay due to the crew sound checking and testing for tonight’s live broadcast. We were fine with it as it was only 5 minutes. That 5 minutes soon turnt into 10 minutes and again we asked the steward. She happily went and checked and it was definitely going to be just 5 more minutes. 15 minutes later we were still stood outside waiting to go in and the first fight was due to start any minute.
We started to get pretty annoyed now and couldn’t help but notice the amount of technicians going in and out of the door near us and looking very stressed. Luckily we only had to wait 5 more minutes and we were allowed to take our seats. When we walked in and seen the octagon and our first impression was it was very professional.
When we got to our seats we found an armrest broken and one of the chairs had no cover on it. It was then pointed out to me all the wires underneath and around our seats, I forgot about them later and proceeded to trip over and sadly spill my pint of cider (I cried inside haha). We then noticed the massive amount of wires just above our head which was very visible to a lot of the crowd by us and it just looked tacky.
It was obvious that the sound check and the video check had either been rushed or not finished because microphones did work then didn’t. The videos never started then started randomly and started but skipped. It just seemed tacky, cheap and rushed.
The first bout got started pretty quickly and also ended pretty sharpish too. The next two bouts also followed in a similar fashion As soon as one ended the next bout was almost ready to start. After the third bout had ended the ring announcer told us we had 15 minutes before the next bout was going to start.
I’m used to being informed of breaks at other mma events so I wasn’t surprised by this and happily just relaxed for a bit before the action began again. After the fourth bout had finished we were expecting either the next fight to start ASAP or get told it was going to be 10/15 minutes before the start of the next bout. If you’re unlucky enough to follow me on twitter (@danyoung260785) you would have noticed that I was ranting a lot about waiting.
I think the fifth bout started approximately 20 minutes after the previous bout had ended. But at no time were we told about this wait. We then were randomly called over by the stewards. We thought we had done something wrong until she asked how would we like to be sat down in all the empty seats. Obviously we said yes straight away. This came as such a shock to get moved......Dana white I hope you read this because I’m at ufc 120!
The next few bouts followed the same sort of pattern with various amounts of time waiting in between the bouts. The longest amount of time we waited was about 50 minutes and we knew that was coming as it was the main event which was being aired live on bravo.
During the whole event it seemed like that the main event was the only important bout on the fight. Im sure other fighters would have felt a bit undermined by this because i think all the fighters are just important as one another to make the whole event a success.
I did like how all the fighters who had already fought that night mingled with the crowd and happily posed for photos. I don’t know if I have seen this at ufc events. But I’m sure they would do. I was lucky enough to meet and chat to Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley and Marc Goddard during the night.
Overall I think the event was a massive success because everyone at work was talking about the fight today asking me questions and some even want to come to the next event. Personally the fights that night were brilliant and yes I was stood on my seat (I needed too I’m only 5 ft 7!) for the main event. I will be making every attempt to go to BAMMA 5 in Newcastle in December and I’m sure it will be very popular after Saturday’s event.
Twitter @danyoungmma
n interview with paul reed
An interview with Top British Featherweight Paul Reed
1. You’re fighting John Cullen at SFC 3 for the Featherweight title on October 10th. How do you feel about fighting back in Scotland?
Im really excited to be fighting back in Stirling, Scotland for the belt. I left Edinburgh and moved to Bristol when i was 7 and always go back when i have the chance. So to fight there it’s even better.
2. Your opponent John Cullen has a professional record of 10-3 (4 wins by tko, 6 wins by submission and all 3 losses coming by Rear Naked Choke) Without giving too much of much of your gameplan away, where do you see this fight taking place?
There is no real gameplan as such. Were going to see how the first round pan’s out. If my boxing is stronger than his i will stay stood up looking for the finish. If the takedown is easy then i will utilise my wrestling and look for the finish on the floor.
3. Securing the belt at SFC 3 will be a great achievement. Where and who would you like to fight next?
I would like to fight in Canada in the Warrior 1 promotion against John ‘The Haggis Basher’ Fraser.
4. Your last fight at KSW 14 was a very close decision. Personally i thought it should have gone to a final round. What is your view on the decision?
I felt i won the 2nd round. I went up to lightweight for this fight. He was too big and started to gas in the 2nd round. I felt i was dominating on the ground and i was very confident of winning the final round.
5. The MMA scene in Poland seems like it is taking off massively. How does it compare to the UK scene?
I loved it. They were a really respectful crowd with a real passion for mma. There wasn’t any drunk wannabe hard men there which is good. It was a massive arena and i thought it was never going to get filled up. When i went out for my fight there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
6. Now onto Kudegra. What is your view of the postponement of the inaugural event in which you were due to fight in and now the suspension of all events with the loss of matchmaker Ian Freeman?
Shows get cancelled for a number of reasons, i paid for the flights up which has left me out of pocket. But because of the cancellation i was able to go fight at KSW 14 in Poland which was a blessing in disguise. As one door closes another one opens.
7. Looking back at your back to back losses at BAMMA 2 & 3. Do you feel you have something to prove?
Yeah i definitely do. In the loss against Omer i was easily winning the fight and i feel if i fought him again i would easily beat him. It was just a moment of lack of concentration and he put got me in a triangle.
With the Grimshaw loss i cut too much weight and felt sluggish. Which i believe affected my overall performance. But taking nothing away from Grimshaw he caught me with a real good shot.
8. You have a loss to Brad Pickett at Cage Rage 26 early on in your Career. Would you like a rematch sometime in the future?
Won’t happen now as he is fighting at bantamweight in the WEC. Im good friends with him, I did chase it but it never came about about.
9. If you could fight in any organisation against any opponent which one would it be?
I would love to have fought Bj Penn in Pride. I really like Prides rules for being able to control wrestlers.
10. What sort of preparation do you do for your fights? As in diet, strength + conditioning and weight cuts?
I don’t have specific fight camps. I stay in shape all the time. Constantly training as im not getting any younger. I was back in the gym training just 2 days after fighting at KSW 14. I have give up drinking alcohol and im really strict on what i eat 90% of the time but do allow myself the occasional krispy kreme and i like to cut around 5-6 kilos in the sauna.
11. What did you think of Ronnie Mann’s impressive performance at Shark Fights, where do you rank yourself compared to him and would you ever fight him?
He is at a real high level. I have sparred with him in the past and everything about him is quality. His BJJ and Muay Thai are excellent and he had a real impressive wrestling base even before he went and trained with Shawn Tompkins in America. He was due to fight Brad Pickett in the past but Brad broke his arm and that fight sadly never happened. He will fight in the WEC.
12. Who is Paul Reed outside the MMA world?
I’m just a normal husband and dad to my little girl.
Paul would like to thank all his team mates at Olympians MMA, Caged Steel for sponsoring me for so long with awesome kit, Jess at Sweat box where i train BJJ with Pedro Bessa. Steve Hodge for doing tonnes of Muay Thai Sparring with me for the fight.
I would like to thank Paul for taking time out of his busy training and coaching schedule for this interview and wish him all the best for his fight at SFC 3 on October 10th and in the future.
Dan Young
Twitter @danyoungmma
1. You’re fighting John Cullen at SFC 3 for the Featherweight title on October 10th. How do you feel about fighting back in Scotland?
Im really excited to be fighting back in Stirling, Scotland for the belt. I left Edinburgh and moved to Bristol when i was 7 and always go back when i have the chance. So to fight there it’s even better.
2. Your opponent John Cullen has a professional record of 10-3 (4 wins by tko, 6 wins by submission and all 3 losses coming by Rear Naked Choke) Without giving too much of much of your gameplan away, where do you see this fight taking place?
There is no real gameplan as such. Were going to see how the first round pan’s out. If my boxing is stronger than his i will stay stood up looking for the finish. If the takedown is easy then i will utilise my wrestling and look for the finish on the floor.
3. Securing the belt at SFC 3 will be a great achievement. Where and who would you like to fight next?
I would like to fight in Canada in the Warrior 1 promotion against John ‘The Haggis Basher’ Fraser.
4. Your last fight at KSW 14 was a very close decision. Personally i thought it should have gone to a final round. What is your view on the decision?
I felt i won the 2nd round. I went up to lightweight for this fight. He was too big and started to gas in the 2nd round. I felt i was dominating on the ground and i was very confident of winning the final round.
5. The MMA scene in Poland seems like it is taking off massively. How does it compare to the UK scene?
I loved it. They were a really respectful crowd with a real passion for mma. There wasn’t any drunk wannabe hard men there which is good. It was a massive arena and i thought it was never going to get filled up. When i went out for my fight there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
6. Now onto Kudegra. What is your view of the postponement of the inaugural event in which you were due to fight in and now the suspension of all events with the loss of matchmaker Ian Freeman?
Shows get cancelled for a number of reasons, i paid for the flights up which has left me out of pocket. But because of the cancellation i was able to go fight at KSW 14 in Poland which was a blessing in disguise. As one door closes another one opens.
7. Looking back at your back to back losses at BAMMA 2 & 3. Do you feel you have something to prove?
Yeah i definitely do. In the loss against Omer i was easily winning the fight and i feel if i fought him again i would easily beat him. It was just a moment of lack of concentration and he put got me in a triangle.
With the Grimshaw loss i cut too much weight and felt sluggish. Which i believe affected my overall performance. But taking nothing away from Grimshaw he caught me with a real good shot.
8. You have a loss to Brad Pickett at Cage Rage 26 early on in your Career. Would you like a rematch sometime in the future?
Won’t happen now as he is fighting at bantamweight in the WEC. Im good friends with him, I did chase it but it never came about about.
9. If you could fight in any organisation against any opponent which one would it be?
I would love to have fought Bj Penn in Pride. I really like Prides rules for being able to control wrestlers.
10. What sort of preparation do you do for your fights? As in diet, strength + conditioning and weight cuts?
I don’t have specific fight camps. I stay in shape all the time. Constantly training as im not getting any younger. I was back in the gym training just 2 days after fighting at KSW 14. I have give up drinking alcohol and im really strict on what i eat 90% of the time but do allow myself the occasional krispy kreme and i like to cut around 5-6 kilos in the sauna.
11. What did you think of Ronnie Mann’s impressive performance at Shark Fights, where do you rank yourself compared to him and would you ever fight him?
He is at a real high level. I have sparred with him in the past and everything about him is quality. His BJJ and Muay Thai are excellent and he had a real impressive wrestling base even before he went and trained with Shawn Tompkins in America. He was due to fight Brad Pickett in the past but Brad broke his arm and that fight sadly never happened. He will fight in the WEC.
12. Who is Paul Reed outside the MMA world?
I’m just a normal husband and dad to my little girl.
Paul would like to thank all his team mates at Olympians MMA, Caged Steel for sponsoring me for so long with awesome kit, Jess at Sweat box where i train BJJ with Pedro Bessa. Steve Hodge for doing tonnes of Muay Thai Sparring with me for the fight.
I would like to thank Paul for taking time out of his busy training and coaching schedule for this interview and wish him all the best for his fight at SFC 3 on October 10th and in the future.
Dan Young
Twitter @danyoungmma
An interview with ronnie mann
An interview with Ronnie mann
1. Your last fight against Doug Evans (ufc vet) for the Shark fights featherweight title was scored as a split decision in your favour. How do you think the fight went and do you agree with the decision?
Personally I don’t think it was a split decision. I know judges in America score takedowns quite heavily. But if you do watch the fight again you can clearly see that it wasn’t a split decision and a lot of other people think that too. But at least I won at the end of the day.
2. Your last fight was your first fight in America. How does fighting there compare with fighting in Japan and the UK?
Both Japan and America are totally different. In Japan you can hear a pin drop as the fans are so quiet and focused on the fight which shows they are well educated. Whereas the American fans are screaming a lot. It’s good in both ways as you feel the support from the crowd, I do like when the fans shout your name in America as you can really feel the support.
3. You split your last training camp between Trojan free fighters here in the UK and tapout training centre in Las Vegas. Do you plan on doing the same regardless where your next fight is held?
Yeah. I’m not quite sure if I will if I’m fighting in Japan as it’s on the other side of the world and I will have to sort out my visas back in England. But as for fighting in America I will definitely train there when fighting in the states.
4. What is it like training with the mma legends that are Shawn Tompkins and Kevin Randleman; do you feel they have added something to your game?
It’s amazing as they are all excellent strikers and wrestlers. All the guys I train with are top level fighters who are fighting in the WEC and UFC. There are also a lot of guys who I train with who fight around my weight at Featherweight and Lightweight. So it’s good to train with these guys who are around y size at a top level.
5. You have trained in Holland and in Thailand for Muay Thai. Which style of muay Thai is stylistically better for mma?
For MMA I prefer the Dutch style. If i was for just Thai boxing I prefer the Thai style with the kicking and more square on stance. For MMA it’s definitely the Dutch style as your more on your toes with a lower wider stance, it’s a lot more combination’s with punches and kicks and that’s what you need in MMA. Where as in if you used the Thai style which is a lot more of upright stance and a lot more of kicking you will get taken down a lot more. This would be detrimental to you when fighting.
6. You started fighting at a real young age (turned pro at 17) with your record currently standing at 18-2-1. Do you think this will give you an advantage when you reach your prime?
Yeah any experience is an advantage. But more and more athletic people are coming into the sport and starting late and doing well. But as with MMA anything can happen. I do see it is a slight advantage learning all the techniques when you’re young though.
7. Team Trojan is renound for turning out Professional kick boxers for the past 20 years. What is it like to have support from a team like that?
I feel honoured to be one of the pro’s for Trojan. We have had a lot of pros come out of Trojan gyms whether it is Thai kickboxing or MMA. I feel greatly honoured to be part of the pro team.
8. You currently have 1 fight left on your sengoku deal and you’re the newly crowned shark fights featherweight champion. Where is your next fight going to take place?
It was meant to be at the end of this month in Japan. But I doubt that is going to go ahead now because I haven’t heard anything yet as regards to an opponent. So as I don’t think that is going to happen, I’m waiting to hear from my manager to see what he has got down the line for me.
9. As a fan I think it’s only a matter of time before you’re going to sign for the wec. Who would you like to fight in that organisation?
Yeah that’s where I want to fight. I have heard in the past he was keen to sign me up but I still had fights left on my deal with sengoku. That’s the reason why I’m not fighting for WEC at the moment. I’m just waiting to get this contract finished and then sign. In terms of who I would like to fight, I would just like to be there and fight anyone to be honest. Whoever they match me up against I feel I can make a good fight against a lot of the guys out there at the moment.
10. Would you ever move weight division either up or down?
I haven’t thought about it yet, I am very comfortable at Featherweight to be honest. It’s a tough cut for me to get down to featherweight. But I think I’m too small to fight at Lightweight even though I have fought at Lightweight early on in my career and I think featherweight. But if I start losing fights and going downhill then maybe I will drop down a weight. I feel that featherweight is the weight for me at the moment and my build is perfect for it.
11. What sort of fight camp do you have for a bout?
The last one I had I started here at Trojan for 2 weeks sparring with the guys working really hard on technique. Then I flew over to America and spent 5 to 6 weeks there training with Team Tompkins. I plan to do it a lot like that now especially if I’m fighting in America. I will plan to go over there at least a month before the fight. But I will always start my camps over here getting my conditioning up and then topping it off in America.
But if I’m fighting in Japan again then I might have to think about things a little differently as it’s on the other side of the world to America. I would have to travel back to do my visa so I would probably just end up doing my camp in the UK.
12. What weight do you normally walk around at and how much weight do you cut in the sauna because you look substantially bigger against your opponents.
I walk around at about 74 to 75 kilos, sometimes I go up a little bit more. When it comes close to the fight about a week or 2 out I like to drop down to about 70 to 71 kilos and then cut the rest from there a week before.
13. If you could fight in any organisation against any opponent and at any weight, who would it be and why?
As before I would like to fight anyone in the sport especially the top level fighters. Basically the best people but there is no one specific. My main aim is to get into the top 10 world ranking so whoever I have to fight to get there then it’s them.
14. What other hobbies and sports do you do and follow?
Not much to be honest as MMA is so time consuming with all the different skills you have to train and conditioning. It takes up all my time to be honest. But any time I do have I’m just your normal bloke. I like playing the computer, chilling out with friends and used to like going fishing ever now and then.
15. Who is Ronnie Mann away from the mma world?
I’m quite a laidback and chilled out person. Just a general person who you would meet out in the streets.
16. Is there any shout outs or people you would like to thank?
I would like to thank my sponsors Sci-mx nutrition, my manager Gary Barron, especially Team Trojan for getting me to this level and Team Tompkins for helping me out with my last fight.
www.trojanfreefighters.com
I would like to thank Ronnie for taking time out of his busy training and coaching schedule for this interview, wish him all the best for the future and look forward to watching him provide exciting fights in the future and hopefully the WEC.
Dan Young
Twitter @danyoungmma
1. Your last fight against Doug Evans (ufc vet) for the Shark fights featherweight title was scored as a split decision in your favour. How do you think the fight went and do you agree with the decision?
Personally I don’t think it was a split decision. I know judges in America score takedowns quite heavily. But if you do watch the fight again you can clearly see that it wasn’t a split decision and a lot of other people think that too. But at least I won at the end of the day.
2. Your last fight was your first fight in America. How does fighting there compare with fighting in Japan and the UK?
Both Japan and America are totally different. In Japan you can hear a pin drop as the fans are so quiet and focused on the fight which shows they are well educated. Whereas the American fans are screaming a lot. It’s good in both ways as you feel the support from the crowd, I do like when the fans shout your name in America as you can really feel the support.
3. You split your last training camp between Trojan free fighters here in the UK and tapout training centre in Las Vegas. Do you plan on doing the same regardless where your next fight is held?
Yeah. I’m not quite sure if I will if I’m fighting in Japan as it’s on the other side of the world and I will have to sort out my visas back in England. But as for fighting in America I will definitely train there when fighting in the states.
4. What is it like training with the mma legends that are Shawn Tompkins and Kevin Randleman; do you feel they have added something to your game?
It’s amazing as they are all excellent strikers and wrestlers. All the guys I train with are top level fighters who are fighting in the WEC and UFC. There are also a lot of guys who I train with who fight around my weight at Featherweight and Lightweight. So it’s good to train with these guys who are around y size at a top level.
5. You have trained in Holland and in Thailand for Muay Thai. Which style of muay Thai is stylistically better for mma?
For MMA I prefer the Dutch style. If i was for just Thai boxing I prefer the Thai style with the kicking and more square on stance. For MMA it’s definitely the Dutch style as your more on your toes with a lower wider stance, it’s a lot more combination’s with punches and kicks and that’s what you need in MMA. Where as in if you used the Thai style which is a lot more of upright stance and a lot more of kicking you will get taken down a lot more. This would be detrimental to you when fighting.
6. You started fighting at a real young age (turned pro at 17) with your record currently standing at 18-2-1. Do you think this will give you an advantage when you reach your prime?
Yeah any experience is an advantage. But more and more athletic people are coming into the sport and starting late and doing well. But as with MMA anything can happen. I do see it is a slight advantage learning all the techniques when you’re young though.
7. Team Trojan is renound for turning out Professional kick boxers for the past 20 years. What is it like to have support from a team like that?
I feel honoured to be one of the pro’s for Trojan. We have had a lot of pros come out of Trojan gyms whether it is Thai kickboxing or MMA. I feel greatly honoured to be part of the pro team.
8. You currently have 1 fight left on your sengoku deal and you’re the newly crowned shark fights featherweight champion. Where is your next fight going to take place?
It was meant to be at the end of this month in Japan. But I doubt that is going to go ahead now because I haven’t heard anything yet as regards to an opponent. So as I don’t think that is going to happen, I’m waiting to hear from my manager to see what he has got down the line for me.
9. As a fan I think it’s only a matter of time before you’re going to sign for the wec. Who would you like to fight in that organisation?
Yeah that’s where I want to fight. I have heard in the past he was keen to sign me up but I still had fights left on my deal with sengoku. That’s the reason why I’m not fighting for WEC at the moment. I’m just waiting to get this contract finished and then sign. In terms of who I would like to fight, I would just like to be there and fight anyone to be honest. Whoever they match me up against I feel I can make a good fight against a lot of the guys out there at the moment.
10. Would you ever move weight division either up or down?
I haven’t thought about it yet, I am very comfortable at Featherweight to be honest. It’s a tough cut for me to get down to featherweight. But I think I’m too small to fight at Lightweight even though I have fought at Lightweight early on in my career and I think featherweight. But if I start losing fights and going downhill then maybe I will drop down a weight. I feel that featherweight is the weight for me at the moment and my build is perfect for it.
11. What sort of fight camp do you have for a bout?
The last one I had I started here at Trojan for 2 weeks sparring with the guys working really hard on technique. Then I flew over to America and spent 5 to 6 weeks there training with Team Tompkins. I plan to do it a lot like that now especially if I’m fighting in America. I will plan to go over there at least a month before the fight. But I will always start my camps over here getting my conditioning up and then topping it off in America.
But if I’m fighting in Japan again then I might have to think about things a little differently as it’s on the other side of the world to America. I would have to travel back to do my visa so I would probably just end up doing my camp in the UK.
12. What weight do you normally walk around at and how much weight do you cut in the sauna because you look substantially bigger against your opponents.
I walk around at about 74 to 75 kilos, sometimes I go up a little bit more. When it comes close to the fight about a week or 2 out I like to drop down to about 70 to 71 kilos and then cut the rest from there a week before.
13. If you could fight in any organisation against any opponent and at any weight, who would it be and why?
As before I would like to fight anyone in the sport especially the top level fighters. Basically the best people but there is no one specific. My main aim is to get into the top 10 world ranking so whoever I have to fight to get there then it’s them.
14. What other hobbies and sports do you do and follow?
Not much to be honest as MMA is so time consuming with all the different skills you have to train and conditioning. It takes up all my time to be honest. But any time I do have I’m just your normal bloke. I like playing the computer, chilling out with friends and used to like going fishing ever now and then.
15. Who is Ronnie Mann away from the mma world?
I’m quite a laidback and chilled out person. Just a general person who you would meet out in the streets.
16. Is there any shout outs or people you would like to thank?
I would like to thank my sponsors Sci-mx nutrition, my manager Gary Barron, especially Team Trojan for getting me to this level and Team Tompkins for helping me out with my last fight.
www.trojanfreefighters.com
I would like to thank Ronnie for taking time out of his busy training and coaching schedule for this interview, wish him all the best for the future and look forward to watching him provide exciting fights in the future and hopefully the WEC.
Dan Young
Twitter @danyoungmma
An interview with paul sutherland
An interview with Paul Sutherland
1. Your next event Ultimate Impact 3 “Adrenaline” takes place on November 27th. How do you feel your events are going so far?
I think they have been a success. The first show was a tester to see what sort of a crowd we would get and it went really well. We are looking at creating the future stars, with most of the guys that we bring in all have between none to five fights on their record. So they are all on an even keel when they compete together. It’s all about creating the next generation of British mma superstars
2. When you announced your inaugural event. You said the events are built for the new inexperienced Pro’s. How do you see the state of the emerging British talent coming through?
I think they are more well rounded, what you have to appreciate I have been in the sport since the start of it in the UK taking part in the early shows. Comparing the guys from then to now, the guys now are a lot more rounded, better trained as there are a lot more mma gyms about with access to good trainers. This is totally different from five to ten years ago.
3. You regularly judge at various events around the UK. With all the controversy surrounding judging in mma at the moment what do you look for when scoring a round?
We are governed by the unified rules on how to judge fights. I always look at ring generalship damage and effective work. Example a guy can be throwing a lot of volume on strikes but may not be landing and the other fight could be moving backwards and counterstriking effectively. To the untrained eye the guy moving forward is winning the round but that is not always the case! Takedowns also are another thing. I only will score takedowns if something is done after that. If the guy gets taken down and his opponent gets straight back up. I usually will not score the takedown as no effective work has happened after that. But judging is very difficult watching live than on a TV so people have to understand that angles are different and you visual perspective is different to. So I think it's very important to have a trained eye whilst judging and it's an advantage if you have fought before yourself as you tend to know what is going on in there a little more. But having an educated eye is the key thing.
4. You judges bamma 4. You had a very easy night until the title fight. How impressed were you with Alex Reid and which round did you declare as a draw?
I declared the second round as a draw because the both put together good offense in the round with Alex Reid at the start of the round and Tom Watson at the end of the second round so I scored it a 10-10. I’m quite a fan of 10-10 rounds because if you’re unsure it’s better to score it as a 10-10 than to guess and score it a 10-9 in someone’s favour.
I was impressed with Alex Reid he is obviously very tough and very durable. He has always been that way as I have known the guy for about Ten years. It was never going to be an easy fight for Tom Watson
5. UFC120 is next weekend. What fights and fighters are you looking forward to seeing and are you judging this event?
I am judging the event and I am also judging ufc122 in Germany. I’m really looking forward to Dan Hardy v Carlos Condit. That for me is the headline fight as it should be very interesting as both are aggressive fighters. With both fighters looking to come forward and pressing the pace.
I am interested to see where this fight takes place. Whether it will stay standing or if one of the fighters trys to take it to the ground. I think Dan Hardy has the advantage on the feet as he has some very heavy hands and is probably the best counter puncher this country has. Carlos Condit has the advantage on the ground as he has a very expansive ground game and is very aggressive with it. Both fighters have very good cardio so I am expecting that to go the distance as they are both so durable and I’m expecting that one to be a tough one to judge if it does.
6. The British mma scene is growing at a very fast rate. How long till you see the uk having a ufc or wec champion and the uk becoming a mma superpower up there with the likes of brazil, usa and Canada?
I think we are getting there but we are still a little bit behind. The main thing what we are behind on is wrestling. They do it in college and wrestling is a big amateur sport over there. Things are definitely improving though and we aren’t that far away. I think in the next Five years we will have either a WEC or a UFC champion.
I think one of the guys who are really underrated is Brad Pickett. He is doing really well in the WEC and is ranked in the top Ten in the world. Surprisingly not a lot of people talk about him seeing as he is right up there.
7. You’re General Manager of Trojan Free Fighters which is a well respected gym with some world class talent. What is your overall goal for the gym?
To continue to develop and bring more quality fighters to compete all over the world in every organisation. To educate the general public as well in the sport and get it into the mainstream. To continue to grow our gym, our reputation in the sport and our talented fight team.
8. Rumour has it that Trojan has a big wave of new well rounded talented fighters coming through. Who do we need to look out for?
We have so many it would be unfair for me to pinpoint one fighter in particular. In general all the group of guys we have coming up are well skilled, well rounded and well trained. All of them are very hungry. Any fighter that comes out of the Trojan gym if you’re going to beat them you’re going to have to beat them solidly.
9. As a coach what do you think is the most important skill any fighter can have?
I would say mental toughness is the most important skill. You see a lot of fighters who come in very skilled but mentally not very strong. They could be very good on the pads, good grappler but when you have to dig in the trenches in the third round after being beat up a little bit you have to have that mental strength to get over that hurdle and win the fight.
10. Do you think wrestling is becoming too prominent in fights? With some fighters looking to outscore and opponent and not look for the finish?
At times yes but at the end of the day it’s still a fight and wrestling is an important component of MMA. If you are getting controlled by a wrestler you have to do something about it as wrestling is part of the game. If the fight your actually in is stalling then it’s up to the referee to stand the fighters back up on their feet. Bottom line is wrestling is a part of the game so I don’t think it’s being boring, I believe it’s the most important tool to have as you are able to dictate where the fight takes place.
11. If you could change one thing in mma what would it be and why?
I would change the public’s perception on MMA or Cage fighting as it gets called. We need to bring it more into the mainstream, we need to educate people that it has rules and it has regulations. All the fighters are proper athletes and aren’t just Neanderthals that just come out and start swinging. It’s the perception of what we do and we should be taken equally as any sort of professional athlete.
12. Do you think tuf 12 being moved to sky sports in the UK is going to make mma even more popular and get it into the mainstream?
I do because as most people have sky sports in the up. Most people like to watch a fight and it’s being pushed into their faces. I think it’s going to cause an upturn of people being interested in shows and training in MMA gyms.
13. If you could fight anyone in any organisation and at any weight. Who would it be and why?
Well I’m retired so I don’t want to fight anybody!
14. Who is Paul Sutherland outside the mma world?
Just an average everyday guy, who likes to go out with friends enjoy myself and spend time with my family.
15. Is there anybody you would like to thank?
I would like to thank all the guys at Trojan, all my fellow coaches, all the coaching staff, all of the fighters and all of the training partners. All the guys have really good attitudes with everybody willing to help everybody else. It’s a nice little family we have at Trojan and I would just like to thank all the guys at Trojan from the bottom end of the scale to all the way to the top.
www.trojanfreefighters.com
I would like to thank Paul for taking time out of his busy training and coaching schedule for this interview and wish him all the best for his events and Trojan Free fighters in the future
Dan Young
Twitter @danyoungmma
1. Your next event Ultimate Impact 3 “Adrenaline” takes place on November 27th. How do you feel your events are going so far?
I think they have been a success. The first show was a tester to see what sort of a crowd we would get and it went really well. We are looking at creating the future stars, with most of the guys that we bring in all have between none to five fights on their record. So they are all on an even keel when they compete together. It’s all about creating the next generation of British mma superstars
2. When you announced your inaugural event. You said the events are built for the new inexperienced Pro’s. How do you see the state of the emerging British talent coming through?
I think they are more well rounded, what you have to appreciate I have been in the sport since the start of it in the UK taking part in the early shows. Comparing the guys from then to now, the guys now are a lot more rounded, better trained as there are a lot more mma gyms about with access to good trainers. This is totally different from five to ten years ago.
3. You regularly judge at various events around the UK. With all the controversy surrounding judging in mma at the moment what do you look for when scoring a round?
We are governed by the unified rules on how to judge fights. I always look at ring generalship damage and effective work. Example a guy can be throwing a lot of volume on strikes but may not be landing and the other fight could be moving backwards and counterstriking effectively. To the untrained eye the guy moving forward is winning the round but that is not always the case! Takedowns also are another thing. I only will score takedowns if something is done after that. If the guy gets taken down and his opponent gets straight back up. I usually will not score the takedown as no effective work has happened after that. But judging is very difficult watching live than on a TV so people have to understand that angles are different and you visual perspective is different to. So I think it's very important to have a trained eye whilst judging and it's an advantage if you have fought before yourself as you tend to know what is going on in there a little more. But having an educated eye is the key thing.
4. You judges bamma 4. You had a very easy night until the title fight. How impressed were you with Alex Reid and which round did you declare as a draw?
I declared the second round as a draw because the both put together good offense in the round with Alex Reid at the start of the round and Tom Watson at the end of the second round so I scored it a 10-10. I’m quite a fan of 10-10 rounds because if you’re unsure it’s better to score it as a 10-10 than to guess and score it a 10-9 in someone’s favour.
I was impressed with Alex Reid he is obviously very tough and very durable. He has always been that way as I have known the guy for about Ten years. It was never going to be an easy fight for Tom Watson
5. UFC120 is next weekend. What fights and fighters are you looking forward to seeing and are you judging this event?
I am judging the event and I am also judging ufc122 in Germany. I’m really looking forward to Dan Hardy v Carlos Condit. That for me is the headline fight as it should be very interesting as both are aggressive fighters. With both fighters looking to come forward and pressing the pace.
I am interested to see where this fight takes place. Whether it will stay standing or if one of the fighters trys to take it to the ground. I think Dan Hardy has the advantage on the feet as he has some very heavy hands and is probably the best counter puncher this country has. Carlos Condit has the advantage on the ground as he has a very expansive ground game and is very aggressive with it. Both fighters have very good cardio so I am expecting that to go the distance as they are both so durable and I’m expecting that one to be a tough one to judge if it does.
6. The British mma scene is growing at a very fast rate. How long till you see the uk having a ufc or wec champion and the uk becoming a mma superpower up there with the likes of brazil, usa and Canada?
I think we are getting there but we are still a little bit behind. The main thing what we are behind on is wrestling. They do it in college and wrestling is a big amateur sport over there. Things are definitely improving though and we aren’t that far away. I think in the next Five years we will have either a WEC or a UFC champion.
I think one of the guys who are really underrated is Brad Pickett. He is doing really well in the WEC and is ranked in the top Ten in the world. Surprisingly not a lot of people talk about him seeing as he is right up there.
7. You’re General Manager of Trojan Free Fighters which is a well respected gym with some world class talent. What is your overall goal for the gym?
To continue to develop and bring more quality fighters to compete all over the world in every organisation. To educate the general public as well in the sport and get it into the mainstream. To continue to grow our gym, our reputation in the sport and our talented fight team.
8. Rumour has it that Trojan has a big wave of new well rounded talented fighters coming through. Who do we need to look out for?
We have so many it would be unfair for me to pinpoint one fighter in particular. In general all the group of guys we have coming up are well skilled, well rounded and well trained. All of them are very hungry. Any fighter that comes out of the Trojan gym if you’re going to beat them you’re going to have to beat them solidly.
9. As a coach what do you think is the most important skill any fighter can have?
I would say mental toughness is the most important skill. You see a lot of fighters who come in very skilled but mentally not very strong. They could be very good on the pads, good grappler but when you have to dig in the trenches in the third round after being beat up a little bit you have to have that mental strength to get over that hurdle and win the fight.
10. Do you think wrestling is becoming too prominent in fights? With some fighters looking to outscore and opponent and not look for the finish?
At times yes but at the end of the day it’s still a fight and wrestling is an important component of MMA. If you are getting controlled by a wrestler you have to do something about it as wrestling is part of the game. If the fight your actually in is stalling then it’s up to the referee to stand the fighters back up on their feet. Bottom line is wrestling is a part of the game so I don’t think it’s being boring, I believe it’s the most important tool to have as you are able to dictate where the fight takes place.
11. If you could change one thing in mma what would it be and why?
I would change the public’s perception on MMA or Cage fighting as it gets called. We need to bring it more into the mainstream, we need to educate people that it has rules and it has regulations. All the fighters are proper athletes and aren’t just Neanderthals that just come out and start swinging. It’s the perception of what we do and we should be taken equally as any sort of professional athlete.
12. Do you think tuf 12 being moved to sky sports in the UK is going to make mma even more popular and get it into the mainstream?
I do because as most people have sky sports in the up. Most people like to watch a fight and it’s being pushed into their faces. I think it’s going to cause an upturn of people being interested in shows and training in MMA gyms.
13. If you could fight anyone in any organisation and at any weight. Who would it be and why?
Well I’m retired so I don’t want to fight anybody!
14. Who is Paul Sutherland outside the mma world?
Just an average everyday guy, who likes to go out with friends enjoy myself and spend time with my family.
15. Is there anybody you would like to thank?
I would like to thank all the guys at Trojan, all my fellow coaches, all the coaching staff, all of the fighters and all of the training partners. All the guys have really good attitudes with everybody willing to help everybody else. It’s a nice little family we have at Trojan and I would just like to thank all the guys at Trojan from the bottom end of the scale to all the way to the top.
www.trojanfreefighters.com
I would like to thank Paul for taking time out of his busy training and coaching schedule for this interview and wish him all the best for his events and Trojan Free fighters in the future
Dan Young
Twitter @danyoungmma
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