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
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