Fighters Only

Issue 062

May 2010

The great thing about MMA is that it is so subjective. Everyone’s got an opinion and we love a bit of debate, so we spoke with four people from across the MMA world to find out their thoughts on the current state of play.

We asked four different figures from the MMA world their opinions on the pressing matters of the hour.

The Fighter

Anthony Njokuani

WEC Lightweight

12-2-0

The Fan

Joshua ‘Jiggy’ Pierce

Musician and MMA fanatic

The Writer

John Morgan

Award-winning journalist

The Insider

David Weintraub

Zuffa backstage employee

Q1. If you could choose to learn from any coach, but only for one day, who would it be?

Anthony Njokuani

Anderson Silva would be the one person that I would love to learn from. I love his striking. He’s a great striker and I love his style.

Joshua ‘Jiggy’ Pierce

Randy Couture – I know he’s still a fighter but he corners guys so well and has so much knowledge.

John Morgan

Helio Gracie. MMA wouldn’t exist without him.

David Weintraub

Andre Pederneiras. Everyone who has ever worked with him says he’s ‘The Master’. Jason Parillo for hands.

Q2. Which city do you think has the most passionate fans?

Anthony Njokuani

Vegas is fight / party central! The atmosphere inside an arena during UFC or WEC is electric! It gives me the chills every time I’m at an event and the crowd goes crazy. That’s why I love to knock people out, so the fans can go crazy.

Joshua ‘Jiggy’ Pierce

Vegas, but it’s spreading all over the world. They say Canada and the UK are crazy for MMA though!

John Morgan

Any city in Canada. Those fans are great.

David Weintraub

No city in particular, but South Florida in general. There are more gyms and Gracie stickers down there than anywhere else I travel. Although Hawaiians LOVE fighting, period.

Q3. MMA, ultimate fighting, cage fighting, submission fighting, no holds barred – which term (if any) do you prefer to use?

Anthony Njokuani

How about Zuffa? They are the top MMA promotion in the world! But my answer is MMA. Zuffa has been great to me and I look forward to giving my best every time I step into the Octagon.

Joshua ‘Jiggy’ Pierce

C’mon man I would never say cage fighting! That’s ‘country boys raising hell’ kinda fighting! I say MMA – Mixed Martial Arts!

John Morgan

Since ‘human cockfighting’ isn’t an option, give me MMA.

David Weintraub

MMA to fans, ‘cage fighting’ to the ignorant.

Q4. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or forums – which do you use to get your MMA news?

Anthony Njokuani

Twitter all the way baby – follow me at @anthonynjoku. You can also follow my management. We often post pics and video blogs of recent news – @KO_reps.

Joshua ‘Jiggy’ Pierce

Twitter and Fighters Only magazine!

John Morgan

MMAjunkie.com, of course! But Twitter is quick and easy.

David Weintraub

None – people. Emails, phone calls, fighter websites. I find those forums have too much nonsense and clutter to be useful.

Q5. More MMA fighters are getting into the movies – who do you think has the best chance of becoming a movie star?

Anthony Njokuani

I think Rampage would make it in the movie world. I’ve seen him in a movie already and he looks like he has the whole acting thing down to a T.

Joshua ‘Jiggy’ Pierce

Rampage – he could be the Shaft of our generation!

John Morgan