Issue 120
October 2014
The undefeated UFC welterweight sensation gets nostalgic about Crash Nitro Kart.
What was the last video game you played?
“The last video game I played was the latest Call of Duty game. It’s pretty good and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I also played Lord of the Rings: War In The North too. That was a lot of fun.”
New games are always fun, but what was the first console you ever had?
“Well, I remember playing the Super Nintendo when I was very young. I think that’s the first one that came out. Then my sister and I got a PlayStation a little bit later on. That’s the console I really remember playing first. That was a great console.”
What were your favorite video games to play?
“Obviously, we played Super Mario because that’s a classic game, but the game I remember most fondly was Crash Nitro Kart which was a spin-off of Crash Bandicoot. The first was called Crash Team Racing and I played that too, but Crash Nitro Kart was my game. It was a lot of fun racing and shooting each other because it got really competitive between me and my friends.”
Do you ever get a chance to play video games online against fans or your friends?
“No I don’t really play online too much. I recently tried playing Halo 4 online, but I didn’t know what the hell was going on (laughs).”
You’re actually sponsored by a video games company, CCP. How did that come about?
“CCP are an Icelandic company that created this huge spaceship MMO called EVE Online and we’ve been working with them for a long time, even before I made it to the UFC. We did a sponsor deal with them. One of the main guys at CCP trains at Team Mjolnir, which is my team in Iceland, and we’ve been close ever since. About two years ago, we made a really great deal with them and it’s such an honor to be sponsored by them. It’s a great company.”
BACK TO THE FUTURE: VIDEO GAME HISTORY OF MMA
Rapper’s fight delight
Hip-hop MC’s and mixed martial artists have always had a strange relationship. Despite both industries flourishing it almost seems as if rappers are trying to be fighters, while mixed martial artists are trying to rap.
TUF alumnus Kevin Casey, the 3-0 Ralek Gracie, ex EliteXC VP Jared Shaw and everyone who took part in the legendary International Fight League rap have all attempted to prove themselves on the mic.
On the other hand, rap has always had a fascination with violence, and as the popularity of MMA grew artists such as the legendary Joe Budden and Ghostface Killah have all taken a liking to MMA’s finest. Hell, there was even a hip-hop-themed reality TV show called Iron Ring which had the likes of Nelly, Ludacris and Rick Ross managing their own team of fighters, including TUF 11’s Jamie Yager.
But the two arts really combined on 2004’s Def Jam: Fight for NY, a fighting game that pitted some of the biggest rappers at the time against one another in street fights. Fighters were able to utilize a number of styles including kickboxing, wrestling and submission grappling and fights could even take a place in a cage, however this game was less like the glitzy UFC and more like New York’s shady Underground Combat League – the same promotion in which former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar made his debut.
So if landing a head kick on Fat Joe brings you more joy than choking out Roy Nelson it’s probably time to dust off the old PlayStation 2.
1. DMX (left) seems to be channeling his inner Nick Diaz by talking trash before blows are even thrown.
2. We’re still waiting for the day when a fighter is actually submitted via bear hug. One can only dream...
3. Ludacris does mention that he likes to ‘throw them ‘bows’ in the song Southern Hospitality. Clearly he’s a man of his word...
LAUZON’S BEST BITS
Geek and UFC 155lb contender Joe Lauzon shares morsels from his life in video games
JOE LAUZON ON HIS GAMING STARTING POINT
“When I started playing video games, I played a little bit of Atari, but Atari sucked. Even when it was the new thing it sucked. But I remember we used to play Nintendo all the time. So obviously all the Super Mario Bros. games, Ninja Gaiden, games like Battle Toads, and Double Dragon and all that kind of stuff. But the game I really played most was probably Mega Man.”
SEPARATED AT BIRTH: RYAN JIMMO/AGENT 47
Ryan Jimmo may not be a Romanian-born super assassin clone called Agent 47 who has been created to kill whoever he has been targeted to, but if you were to give him a black suit and a blood-red tie then the UFC light heavyweight could sure pass himself off as the gun-toting mercenary. One thing they have in common is that they’re both very adept at hand-to-hand combat. Although we’re pretty sure Jimmo draws the line at snapping necks to cash checks like his video game counterpart.
