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
I’d pay to see Gerald Harris and ‘King Mo’ Lawal in a sitcom.
David Weintraub
Jose Aldo and Anderson Silva will star in a movie called ‘Ridiculous’, and I will be there opening night.
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