Issue 081
November 2011
After charting an impressive 24-8 record in five years, all while working full-time construction, 32-year-old 170lb ‘Vicious’ wants to knock down Strikeforce’s heaviest hitters
You recently won your rubber match with Roger Bowling at Strikeforce Challengers in July. It was the third time you’d faced him in about 14 months. Were you sick of seeing him across the cage from you by the end?
“I am definitely ready to see someone new [laughs]. We had three really good fights and it’s really helped me make a name for myself, so I can’t really knock it and say I wish we didn’t have it because I’m glad we did. There’s no bad blood we’re two nice guys that got along well. We just know what our job is. So that friendship, that good, tying bond we have kind of goes out the window for those three five-minute rounds.”
You’re known for being a bit of a slow starter in your fights, and your losses have either come via decision or as stoppages early in the first round. Why is that?
“I don’t know, but we are actually trying to figure that out as we speak. We’re trying to fix that. All I can think of is I spend a little bit too much time trying to feel my opponent out. Plus, they come out so tough at the beginning I feel like they need to fade a little bit so I don’t make a stupid mistake and get caught. I feel it’s just better to keep my chin down, hands up and weather the storm. When they start fading I can turn it on. So I have to change it up a little bit and get that faster gear earlier in the fight. It really comes down to my trainer figuring out the way to get in my head, and trick my head into thinking differently in that first round. You’re mind’s always the toughest part to try to fix so that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Have you considered using some Clay Guida-style face slaps before you step in the cage?
“If it works then yes I will take it [laughs]. We haven’t tried that one yet but I guess if worst comes to worst we might have to try some face smacks.”
There have been a couple of guys on your record who were picked up by the UFC shortly after they beat you: Kevin Burns and Jacob Volkman. Was that disheartening at the time?
“At the time it was but I’ve always been a person to get better from anything that knocks me down. I learn from it and make sure I come back better than ever. Now, here I am as one of the contenders in Strikeforce now. I believe everything happens for a reason.”
There have been a few cuts in Strikeforce based off single losses. Are you worried and stressed in the back of your mind that if you lose a fight you could be out of a job?
“No, no stress and no pressure. I know if I train hard that I’m going to be very hard to beat. On top of that, if I lose and I put on a great show, why wouldn’t they still want to have me around? I just always make sure I train hard, come out tough and fight the greatest fight ever.”
You’ve fought much of your career in Missouri, where you’re from, but your last fight was in Las Vegas. What was it like competing in the fight capital of the world for the first time?
“It was great, I felt like a king. Everyone was saying ‘Hi’ to me, taking pictures, I had interviews, all that good stuff. It was great. The spotlight didn’t really faze me too much, I just knew what I was there to do. I knew I had to be there to fight, perform and win. That’s what you have to keep in mind.”
What was your fighting background before MMA?
“Before MMA, as a teenager, I started out boxing and kickboxing. I switched to mixed martial arts because I just wanted to try something different. I boxed and kickboxed for about four or five years, got introduced to MMA and started training in that.”
You’ve been fighting MMA professionally for five years, so is it your full-time, Monday to Friday occupation now?
“I wish it was but no it’s not, I do have a full-time job. I do construction. I’m a subcontractor. I do siding, doors, windows; I sell it and install it. I’ve done it for 12 years. I train every other day just to keep what I’ve got, then come fight time, about six weeks out, I train every day. I normally get up bright and early, train a couple of hours in the morning, work a good eight-hour day, then go train two-and-a-half hours at night. After, I go home, drop dead and do it again the next day.”
There’s talk you’ve ‘graduated’ from the Strikeforce Challengers series up to the big Strikeforce cards now. You’re a striker and Paul Daley is coming off a loss, is that a guy you want to mix it up with?
“Oh I’d love to. I’d love to. I think that would be a great matchup. Daley, Tarec Saffiedine, Scott Smith, even though he lost his last one, those guys they just match my style. I just think it would be a great war.”
