Issue 002

April 2005

Stephen Quadros 'The Fight Professor' talks to James Hirth first spoke to Stephen Quadros when I interviewed him by phone while he was on the set of Steven Seagal's Exit Wounds in 2000 in Toronto, Canada. We spoke at length about the film, his role as technical fight advisor and the state of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) at the time (the Pride GP 2000 was just starting). In addition to producing a well-rounded interview, we had connected and have remained in contact over the years.

Let me tell you right now, The Fight Professor is a true character. He knows his stuff, always has an opinion on whatever is happening in the sport, and always has several irons in the fire. So when the opportunity came up to interview Stephen again for Fighters Only, I couldn't say no. Well, I could have said no- but then I would have had a call from Stephen telling me how good his interview was with someone else. And he'd do it too.

He'd probably phone me as some fictitious member of the Gracie family and say how I should've called Stephen Quadros but no, I passed it up. He has done this before. I still have the tape. I couldn't believe it when I got home and some guy called me, going on and on about Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. When my wife heard the message her reaction was: "Which Gracie did you piss off now?"

And I had to answer, "I honestly don't know". Then about 90 seconds into the message he uses his real voice. Insert your own expletive here. So that just let's you know who we're dealing with here.

When I spoke to Stephen for this interview we had not spoken about his involvement in the sport' in a while. And of course there is that Pride thing'. Obviously we've discussed it off-record in the past, but I felt we couldn't ignore it here because then it looks like we're hiding something. He agreed and we present you with the following exchange (without commercial interruption) to get the topic out of the way:

James Hirth (MMA journalist and mysterious man about town): "Many people in the world of martial arts know you for your work with the Pride organisation. Why are you no longer the host and play-by-play commentator for Pride?"

Stephen Quadros (the world-famous 'Fight Professor"): "I'd love to say no comment... but I won't, because I don't want to frustrate you or the readers. But in answering, I wish to convey that I hold no hard feelings towards those who worked behind my back to get me removed. Pride hired a new producer from Detroit when the previous producer, who Bas Rutten and I had successfully collaborated with on the English language Pride broadcasts for three years, left the show in early 2003. The three of us-Bas, the previous producer and I had worked hard to develop and even pioneer a new style of broadcasting, which basically was an extension of Bas and my personalities and the personal chemistry we had. I did one show with the new producer and then was let go. A friend of the new producer, also from Detroit, 'replaced' me. After only two shows my 'replacement' was fired and they hired a new 'new guy'. I hold the two gentlemen who succeeded me at my position blameless. I would have accepted the job also if I had been in their position. I have no ill will or grudges towards any of these people. My legacy inevitably will speak for itself, as do all legacies. Time tells all, as they say. I still feel that Pride is one of the best MMA fight promotions. I still have warm thoughts and fond memories of all the fighters, Mr Sakakibara, Mr Mizutani and all the Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) staff in Japan that I shared quality time with."

So there you go. The explanation is there for all to see and we can go on with our conversation without 'that Pride thing' hanging over the interview. You could tell he really enjoyed his time in Japan and the camaraderie with his broadcast partner Bas Rutten. Stephen recounted a conversation with a CBS affiliate from Phoenix, Arizona named Gary Cruz prior to working with Rutten (Cruz had worked with Bas previously): "He told me 'Bas is very good at what he does but he says the word fuck a lot'," said Quadros, laughing. "So before our first time working together, I told him 'Bas, you can't just say fuck on the air. They can't bleep everything ya' know'. He and I both busted up laughing when I said that to him." The chemistry between those two is legendary. It could really help frame a fight and turn an exciting contest into a spectacular one.

Stephen has been quite busy on the MMA scene, working with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). "I'm doing colour commentary for the WEC, a bustling MMA show in central California," Quadros states. "WEC promoter Scott Adams delivers a quality show and they will have five live shows on HDNet in 2005," he continued. As it turns out, the promoter is a UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship] veteran who beat some guy named lan Freeman in Adams's only octagon appearance. (I had to do it, please don't kill me, lan! - JH)

On the other side of the pond, Quadros has recently joined forces with Cage Rage in England, beginning with the Cage Rage 10: Deliverance show in February, he will be doing commentary for five Cage Rage shows this year.

Carefully switching gears, it is important to know that Stephen is busy with work on the other side of the camera too. He was the second unit director and fight choreographer on a film called Pit Fighter, which is already available on DVD in the UK and will be released by 20th Century Fox in the US on June 15. "Pit Fighter is pretty gnarly. It's closer to Taxi Driver than it is to Bloodsport," says Stephen. He will be making his directorial debut next year on Red Dojo, a story written by Eric Von Wodtke. It will be part political drama part supernatural thriller, with a heavy dose of action. (The initial promotion for Red Dojo is online at http://reddojo.com.) "Red Dojo is REALLY going to put me on the map, big time!" exclaims Mr Q.

Of course, given that 'The Fight Professor' has lots of free time on his hands (not!), he will also be the host of an upcoming weekly radio show that is tentatively set to debut on May 4. "The show is titled MMA Fight Night With Stephen Quadros and will be a 60-minute, call-in type show. It will be available internationally online, both live and as an archived sound file at ProKarateWeekly.com and Sports TalkCleveland.com. It will run from 9-10pm (Eastern Standard time), that's 6-7pm here in California. The good thing about my show is that I can do it from any location, even if I'm on a movie set or abroad working on a broadcast."