Tagged Interview

One the fastest rising Mixed Martial Arts training facility these days is the Reign Training Center in Lake Forest, California. Home for many top MMA fighters in the world including its head man Mark Munoz, Reign is also home for many up and coming fighters in MMA. Current heavyweight Manny Lara is one of those fighters looking to learn from the top guys in the gym and make a name for himself in the process.

Tomorrows UFC 149 has gone through massive changes from top to bottom and Canadian welterweight Chris Clements was one of the many replacement fighters. After Thiago Alves got injured he stepped in to face Siyar Bahadurzada on the UFC 149 main card. You would be seeing that exciting bout though as Bahadurzada would get injured and be replaced by Matt Riddle to complete to overhaul.

If you’re a follower of Bellator, then you know Lloyd Woodard has been very successful in the promotion, coming from the state of Montana. This fall, there will be another Montanan taking care of business in the cage for Bellator as Tim Welch will step up and test the chins at 170 pounds. We spoke to him after he got the good news from Bellator.

Fight fans in the Mid-Atlantic Region are very familiar with Lightweight Jeremy Carper. They know him as a hard-working, dedicated, West Virginia fighting machine. The proficiency of Jeremy’s stand up game has garnered him the nickname “Cro-Carp”, a play off the nickname of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.

Earlier this month 12 of the 16 TUF Live fighters made their official UFC debuts at the season’s finale. The four that didn’t get their shot under the big lights were unable to fight on the card due to injuries sustained in the last few weeks of the season. One of the unlucky ones was Mike Rio.

With only four bouts in his professional MMA career, Sergio Pettis is scheduled to fight for the third time this year on June 15th when he squares off against Tom McKenna.

It’s not often that we get to hear true sentiment from athletes. Original thoughts are not always what “the business” wants it’s participants to put out there. How many times have we heard a Shaquille O’Neal interview where all he would rattle off was that he “wanted to play within himself”, he just wanted to “come out and play his game” and just wanted to “help the team”? Most pro athletes keep their heads down chasing that fame and fortune, sometimes to their own detriment.

Imagine being only 50 years old and a Corporate Executive in the Casino industry? Would you coast along the rest of your life and be perfectly happy knowing you hold a great position and the title of Vice President? Would you take the risk of leaving your job in order to start your own fight promotion in hopes that a sport you love, catches on in the US?