Issue 014

June 2006

By Damon Martin

As more and more people seem to be popping up these days that are proud to admit that they are fans of mixed martial arts, one high profile fan (who has been following the sport for years) is starting to get others to follow his lead. 

This particular fan also happens to be part of one of the US’s most popular metal bands! Philip Lipscomb of the band Taproot took time out of his busy touring schedule in support of his bands latest album, “Blue-Sky Research” to talk MMA with Fighters Only.

Fighters Only: Tell us how you got into mixed martial arts and about your training?

PL: Well, growing up you’re always fascinated by martial arts and Bruce Lee kind of stuff. I never really did anything and my brother started doing jiu-jitsu and got me into it about 4 or 5 years ago. We always watched the UFC’s and stuff like that. So on a break from tour I was down visiting him and we got drunk one night and started wrestling, and he just showed me so much stuff, and the next day I was in class. I fell in love with it right away. I found just about the worst schools up in Michigan, where I’m from, but now I’ve found some schools down in Texas and I’ve been everywhere finding places to train. I moved to Texas mainly because of the jiu-jitsu down there. Then in L.A. when we were doing our album I started training under BJJ black belt Dartanian Bagby at Absolute Jiu-Jitsu in North Hollywood.

Fighters Only: “The Ultimate Fighter” has become the big thing for MMA right now. Do you guys get to follow that while you’re out on the road?

PL: Oh yeah. I just got our singer into watching it too. I think it’s pretty cool. I wasn’t a big fan of some of the characters on there. I feel like they don’t necessarily find the best fighters out there. I think they pick about half of the best and about half that they feel the best can beat. The first fight of the last season was amazing, with Melvin and Josh Burkman, I thought that fight was great, best fight of the season

Fighters Only: Do you guys carry the MMA DVDs on the tour bus? Have you gotten any of the other bands you tour with into MMA?

PL: I actually have gotten the singer from Chevelle into it recently. When we were doing our last tour with them, I let him borrow a couple of the DVDs and when we were on this last break I talked to him and he was like ‘ I just rented UFC 46, 47, 48’ and I was like ‘hell yeah!’. I got the 30 Seconds to Mars guys watching them. I just showed them the Quinton Jackson slam on Ricardo Arona and they were like ‘Oh my God!’ They were blown away, all the head stomps and everything.

Fighters Only: Who are your favorite fighters to watch?

PL: It’s changed over time, but Wanderlei Silva and Sakuraba were the first two that got me into it. Wanderlei is just a monster, but then you watch Fedor fight. I just watched the Heath Herring match and I was like ‘Jesus!’ He was just looking like a mess, and I’ve never seen Heath look that bad after a fight. Fedor was just one step ahead the entire time. Rodrigo Nogueira is awesome, being a jiu-jitsu guy, I love watching him fight, I hate watching him fight Fedor, cause he’s just got his number. As far as right now, my two favorites are probably Georges St. Pierre and Yves Edwards.

Fighters Only: Do you have any favorites in the UFC?

PL: Gotta go with Randy Couture, and Matt Hughes. I was never a big fan of his, I mean he’s always dominant but after that fight with Frank Trigg, it just made me love that guy. I’ve never been so excited during a fight. Chuck Liddell is good, but I don’t see him as well rounded. He’s so specific in what he does. I like well roundedness, like with Fedor.

Fighters Only: So just to talk a little bit about your band (Taproot), you guys released an album “Blue Sky Research” and you’ve been touring. How are things going?

PL: Tour is great. We just had 3 weeks off, and we just started back up a week ago. We’re out on the west coast right now. Chevelle and The Black Maria are out with us right now. It’s great to be out again, we took 2 years off to work on the album, and now we’re back on tour.

Taproot are currently on tour. Their latest album “Blue-Sky Research” is in stores now. For more info go to www.taprootmusic.com