Issue 174

December 2018

The veteran heavyweight on future fights and the career that could have been.

You remain a fan favorite despite the recent loss against Sergei. Would that have put you in the heavyweight title mix?

I already have my hit list. I have Rampage and Cro Cop on my list. That’s two extra fights. Then you have Matt (Mitrione) on the list. Then someone brought up Frank Mir and Josh Barnett again. So, that is five fights. I thought I was going to be able to retire soon but apparently, I have some fights to do yet.

Speaking of fan favorites, you had a pretty cool house guest in King Mo recently. What came of your time spent together?

I have known Mo for years. He came and stayed with me in Vegas. We woke up one morning and he asked me a question and I asked him a question and then the next thing you know we were shadowboxing in the kitchen. Mo is always a good house guest.

At this stage in your career, you have been there and done it. What do you focus on when entering a training camp for a fight?

My first job is just to stay healthy. I am an old guy. That is first and foremost. It’s Groundhog Day, so it’s all about getting better and better.

You have now been in a number of movies. What was your initial inspiration to make your mark on the silver screen?

Getting into movies was the whole reason I started doing martial arts to begin with. Everybody in martial arts wants to be in B-movies and be a martial arts superstar. It went full circle when I did Scorpion King and Kickboxer. I am pursuing that outside the cage and I also want to pursue other avenues in entertainment. Bas Rutten went down a few different avenues in entertainment. I can definitely do some other different roles. I was into old-fashioned Bruce Lee and movies like that. Then later it was Randy Couture and Bas. There are a few guys that can really do something in the industry.

There are some similarities between MMA and movies. There are long days and embracing the grind and then you perform under the bright lights for the crowd and fans to see. Do you see the similarities as well?

Yeah, definitely the long days. You could look at being on a movie set like you are in a fight camp. I see it that way but movies are just so much easier on the body. I could do movies until I was, like, 300 years old.

You recently said that UFC belts don’t mean shit. But how cool would it be to win a Bellator belt at this point in your career?

I definitely want to fight for the belt. We already have five fights set up. Hypothetically if Fedor or Chael or even Ryan (Bader) have the belt, that would be another fight added to my hit list.

The company might have to go back to the old MMA one-night tournaments for you to knock some of these off the list. Are you ready for that?

I would like that but I don’t know if these young guys would keep up with that.

Who is the guy who you haven’t fought that you have to before you can call it a career?

The one remaining fighter would probably be Fedor, so that I could say I took on the three greatest heavyweights of all time – Big Nog, Cro Cop, and Fedor. I already have two of the three on the list. I just never faced Fedor. He would be the third. I would be the only fighter to have beat all three.

Not only were you a wrestler growing up but you also played baseball and football. What kind of baseball player was ‘Big Country’ back in the day?

I was a better baseball player than an MMA fighter. I played shortstop, third base, outfield and I pitched. I was a pitcher that could hit. I wonder what could have been if I chose baseball. I would have definitely made a lot more money.