Issue 106
October 2013
The tattoo-wearing, muscle-car driving, heavy-hitting former UFC welterweight title challenger talks music, movies and more.
CARS
What was the first car you owned and how much did it cost?
“It was a gift from a family member and it was a Ford Fiesta Concord. I don’t even remember what year it was, all I remember is it had four gears, went 60mph and the doors used to rattle on the motorway.”
What car do you have now?
“My regular daily driver is a Nissan Frontier. It’s just a black truck. That gets me around Vegas and it’s pretty good. My play car is my 1969 Pontiac Le Mans. She’s called Josephine.”
What made you get the Pontiac?
“I had a 1971 Chevy Nova before and that was a real fun car, but it needed a lot of work and the engine was huge. So I bought the Pontiac. I just drove past the guy on the freeway, on the way back from the TapouT warehouse. He had a ‘for sale’ sign in the window and I followed him off an exit and bought it for $7,000. Him and his father rebuilt it and it was just perfect, I love it.”
MUSIC
What music are you into?
“During training camp I listen to a lot of hardcore and metal, and a lot of dubstep recently because it’s got that continuous beat that’s very heavy – anything with a lot of bass I enjoy. When I’m not training I can’t be listening to that all the time because it keeps me too tightly wound.
“When I’m trying to relax and switch off I’ll listen to anything from Massive Attack, to The Doors or whatever. I have a lot of punk, ska and reggae from my Dad’s musical taste. And my mom was a bit of a hippy so I got all the Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits and Jefferson Airplane off her.”
Are you a vinyl guy?
“I have somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 records (laughs). I prefer the sound and I like the ceremony, the process, of taking the record out and cleaning it, putting it on the turntable, choosing your track and putting the needle on. It keeps you very connected to the music and very invested in it.”
SHUFFLE
HIT SHUFFLE AND TELL US THE FIRST FIVE SONGS. NO CHEATING
Deftones, Bloody Cape
“I got their first album, Adrenaline, when it came out, then they played Nottingham’s Rock City for their second album, Around The Fur. I saw them on that tour and I’ve been a fan since.”
Cancer Bats, Hail Destroyer
“It’s definitely on my fight camp playlists. It just gets me fired up, that one. Good tune, good band.”
The Doors, My Wild Love
“Jim Morrison (singer) had a very shamanistic energy to him, and My Wild Love in particular is a song where it almost sounds like a peyote ceremony or something.”
Jefferson Airplane, Somebody To Love
“In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas they used the track White Rabbit and it fit perfectly. That whole psychedelic movement, it was very groovy. I wish I’d been around then.”
Meshuggah, Autonomy Lost
“Love that s**t. It’s my running music. Because the rhythm of the music is that half-beat stuff it just gets me fired up and keeps me running when I’m tired.”
TV
Do you watch TV?
“I’ve just finished watching Game of Thrones and that was fantastic. I don’t have TV, I have a TV so anything I watch has got to be online or DVD, which makes it difficult.”
If you could be in any TV show what would it be?
“Game shows would be kind of fun. Or if it was like a cameo in an actual TV show, something like Sons of Anarchy or Game of Thrones would be awesome. One of my goals in life is to get into a Quentin Tarantino movie, even if it’s just for a split second.”
Do you watch any sport on TV?
“Not really. Only when I’m in the US, I watch football – NFL. I like to watch game highlights. I don’t have time to sit and watch five hours’ worth of football. MMA is really the only thing I make an effort to watch.”
FLICKS
Who would play you in a movie about your life?
“Samuel L Jackson (laughs). Tom Hardy’s the obvious one. We share a name and he’s a good-looking dude and he’d make me look good. He commits to a role as well.”
What was the last movie you watched?
“I watched Old School last night. I love Will Ferrell, I don’t get why people don’t. I guess it’s his type of humor, but I could watch him all day. I could sit in his house and watch him watch TV and it’d be hilarious.”
If you could punch any actor in the face who would it be and why?
“Leonardo DiCaprio – I wouldn’t want to punch him in the face but I wouldn’t mind choking him out. He’s always in good movies, it’s just him. I like Romeo and Juliet, the way it was filmed and the way they were dressed, but it’s just him, he just ruins the movie for me. Inception as well, another one, just get rid of him. He’s one of those people that no matter what movie he’s in he’s always Leonardo DiCaprio.”
STYLE
What’s your clothing style these days?
“I like Levi’s jeans so I only buy Levi’s. And they’ll be a particular cut, like I wear 508s at the moment. I’m really into plain T-shirts. I know my sponsors hate that but if I’m not wearing Xyience, or Fear The Fighter, or Venum I’ll just wear a plain black T-shirt. Because particularly in airports when I’m traveling I like to pass by unnoticed. And I wear Converse shoes all the time unless I can get away with wearing my Vibrams (five-finger shoes).”
Has your Mohawk gone now?
“Yeah, it has. I’m rocking a style my granddad was wearing during his army days. Just an old-school 1950s boxer look where it’s just combed back and then short back and sides. I make it a bit more punk rock and take it down to the skin on the sides. But I will say, if I do get cleared to fight again I will bring the Mohawk back for the fight for sure.”
You’re into your tattoos. Is there a particular style you like?
“I like traditional stuff. I like tattoos to look like tattoos and not like they’re trying to be something else. I have my traditional Japanese sleeve that I love, I’ve always liked the Japanese style.”
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