Issue 171

October 2018

As “Violent Bob Ross” Pena namechecks the late painter, but his career could yet be the real masterpiece.

Being one of the few fighters still unbeaten after the recent TUF Undefeated season, which fight from your flawless career are you most proud of to this point?

It’s hard to say because I was really proud of my performance against Jose [Martinez] on the show. I am also really proud of my fight in the finale with Richie [Smullen], because it won me $50,000!

If you had your way, in a fantasy world, who would you choose to pick a fight with and why?

I’m going to go outside of MMA and say Triple G [Gennady Golovkin]. I just want to see if I could do it. He seems to be the toughest dude out there today around my weight class. I have to see if I could do it.

What has been the most memorable training session you have been a part of?

The one that stands out to me the most was when I got into a fight with Zach Fears. We got into a fight but we are really cool now. It’s funny, after this altercation we became really good friends and he is one of my favorite training partners.

It was a week before one of my fights and he elbowed me in the face. When it happened I saw red and we just started banging right then and there.

They had to break us up. It was crazy. It was one of those things where afterwards we both went to each other and we had mutual respect because neither one of us backed down from the other. It was pretty cool.

Now that you find yourself in a position to inspire people with your position and platform, who are some of the people that inspired you to get to this point?

Most definitely Jose Aldo. When I was living at the gym, I was looking at his career as I knew he did that same thing I was doing.

He is considered one of the greatest of all time. He was undefeated for ten years. If he can do it, I can do it. I would tell myself that all the time. I am also inspired by Anderson Silva, Kendall Cross and Kobe Bryant. Those guys have been some of my lifetime heroes and guys I look to for inspiration.

You mentioned living in the gym. It was more of a walk-in closet as opposed to a gym. Going through those trials and tribulations while living at St. Charles MMA, what was the lowest moment where you almost gave up?

There was never a time when I thought I couldn’t do it anymore. But there definitely were times where I questioned myself.

I wondered if I was making the right decision. I questioned how long I could do it before something had to give and I really had to make something of it.

Was it the Jose Aldo story that kept you moving forward?

It was my own mental resolve. It was my own inability to quit. I started something and I told myself I was going to do it.

I was going to make it to the UFC. I was going to be the best. I can’t quit. I just couldn’t quit.

You said that you want to be the lighter weight-class version of Jon Jones or Anderson Silva. Those are pretty big shoes to fill. Are you ready to live up to those self-imposed expectations?

Most definitely. I feel like I can do that. I am six foot three at 155 and possibly 145. That is only one inch shorter than Jon Jones. I am a good wrestler. I know it didn’t show in my fight with Richie.

But I am a good wrestler when I want to be. I am a good striker. I am good off my back and I have good submission skills. I was supposed to be the guy who got submitted.

No one knew I had a ground game and I went out there and subbed the ground guy. I can do it all like those guys. I feel I have the potential to do what those guys did. Just without the PEDs, you know?

What was it truly like to live in the TUF House?

I loved my experience in the house. It wasn’t that bad for me. Up until the point where I broke my foot, I was really enjoying it. It was nice not being distracted by anything. It allowed me to pour myself into training. You don’t really realize how much all of that stuff is a huge distraction – the girlfriend, the phone, the TV, the video games, all of that is a distraction.

When you had nothing to focus on but the training and fighting I felt like I was able to get a lot better. It showed me the way to do things going into a fight camp. This past camp I didn’t really watch TV or play video games. I tried to eat, sleep and train.

You are Team Cormier. We saw the historic performance by DC against Stipe. From your perspective can you describe DC the person, the coach and the fighter?

DC is a great person, both inside and outside the cage. He has accomplished so many things. I have spent the last two months training with him and living next to him. The one thing I told people was that in spending so much time with him you kind of forget who DC is and what he has done and what he can do. I was there watching the fight live at T-Mobile.

I remember watching Stipe go limp and it shocked me. It reminded me this guy who I have been hanging out with, this guy I have been working with, the guy who is a normal guy to me, it reminded me how amazing he really is. I forgot who he was. It reminded me again. Man, DC is one of the greats. You saw it.

You were involved in a pretty nasty car accident on the way to practice a while ago. How did that moment change your life?

There was a moment in that whole experience when I had accepted that I was going to die at any moment. I closed my eyes and said ‘OK, I’m done.’ I’m just waiting and waiting and all of a sudden everything stops.

I thought I was dead. I opened my eyes and I am upside down. Wait a minute, I’m not dead! I remember I had to kick my window out and I started walking. It took me days to get over that. I had accepted that I was ready to die. Once I got over it I realized how short life can be. I know it’s a cliché, but you realize how quickly it can all be taken away.

When it’s time to go and fight I am the most happy I have been in so long. It’s the most relieving moment in my life right now. I think that comes from the accident. I just want to seize every moment. After going through that experience, I feel like life is too short for me to not go out there and give it my all when I fight. It’s so easy for me.

The “Violent Bob Ross” nickname is one of the best in the business. Now that you are working on a canvas of your own, what will the final masterpiece painting look like when it’s all said and done for Luis Peña?

It’s going to say that I was one of the greatest of all time. That’s all I want. I want to go down as one of the greatest of all time and walk in the same footsteps as DC.