Issue 114

May 2014

UFC light heavyweight ‘Mr Wonderful’ shares his best bits

BEST THING NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT YOU?

“Well, I love HBO’s Game of Thrones.”

BEST ADVICE YOU COULD GIVE A YOUNGER YOU?

“I kinda like the way things turned out. ‘You just keep doing what you’re doing, you. This could turn into a thing, young man.’”

BEST INSPIRATION TO FIGHT?

“I just don’t like to lose. If I see something I consider fun I will make sure I’m better than you at it. Simple as that. MMA looked like fun.”

BEST MEMORY FROM YOUR FIRST FIGHT?

“It was in Atlantic City. The fight took place at 3:45 in the morning Eastern Standard Time. I was thinking to myself, ‘Self, I don’t know if I can do this.’” 

BEST MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?

“Each fight is its own great memory. I don’t think any single memory is better than the others. If I had to pick I would say my first fight in the UFC.”

BEST THING ABOUT MMA COMPARED TO OTHER SPORTS?

“The best thing is that you can try all you want to make up an excuse for losing but the only real reason for losing is that it was your fault. I like that.” 

BEST OPPONENT? 

“So far I would have to say Rashad Evans.”

WHAT FEELS BEST, A KNOCKOUT OR A SUBMISSION VICTORY?

“I like the fact that the knockout is not a conscious decision but a tapout is. A submission forces you to say that you can not go on. I like that. I’ll go with a submission.”

BEST WAY TO GET PUMPED BEFORE A NIGHT?

“I just sit and meditate. I’ll pace around a bit. For me being warmed up is all mental. It doesn’t require a lot of physical activity but it does require a lot of mental toughness.”

BEST JOB BEFORE BECOMING A FIGHTER?

“Probably when I worked at Blockbuster. The Blockbuster in Harrisburg, PA.”

BEST CARTOON CHARACTER RESEMBLANCE?

“I think I look like Venom from the Spiderman series.”

BEST DINNER GUESTS, THREE PEOPLE, PAST OR PRESENT?

“Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey – you gotta have Oprah, for goodness sakes – and Sean Combs.”

BEST GUILTY PLEASURE?

“Honeybuns, the honey and cinnamon pastry.”

BEST LESSON LIFE HAS HANDED YOU?

“That’s a simple one: don’t ever give up.”