Irish Whip Fighting Exclusive: Jon Fitch Interview

IrishWhipFighting.com had a chance to speak to UFC Welterweight Jon Fitch. Fitch is quickly climbing up the welterweight ranks and has had much success in the UFC thus far. See what Fitch has to say about his experiences as a fighter and his upcoming fight against Diego Sanchez at UFC 76 on September 22.

Hey Jon, thanks for taking the time to take this interview. We here at Irish Whip Fighting are huge fans and cannot thank you enough for your support! Irish Whip Fighting would also like to congratulate you for your dominating performance at UFN 10 and racking up another jaw-dropping victory over Roan Carneiro.

General...
Masson Liang: What influenced you to start a career in mixed martial arts?
Jon Fitch: My assistant coach at Purdue University, Tom Erikson, was fighting in Pride at the time. He would have Gary Goodridge and Mark Coleman come into town and help him train. It looked like fun so I would get involved and help out. I’ve been hooked ever since.

ML: Who are your biggest influences/heroes in MMA today?
JF: My trainers and team mates.

ML: Who has been your toughest opponent thus far and what do you consider the biggest/best win of your nearly flawless record?
JF: Kinyuoshi Hironaka was one of the toughest guys I’ve fought. He seemed like nothing I did to him hurt him. Carneiro was a difficult fight because of his size and strength.

UFC...
ML: Climbing up quickly in the rankings among top fighters in the welterweight division (i.e. GSP, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Karo Parisyan), whom do you look forward to fighting the most in the near future?
JF: All of them. I want to fight all of the best fighters in the world. I’m not one of those fighters that want to be famous and have a title but not really ever fight the best competition. I would rather never be heard of and beat all the best guys. At the end of the day I only care about how I feel about myself.

ML: You said you felt "demoted" for not being featured on the main cards of the UFC events, how does it feel to finally be bumped into UFC 76's main card?
JF: It’s great because it allows me to get the fights I want. Many of the top fighters didn’t want to fight me because no one had ever heard of me. Now they won’t have a choice but to take the fights with me.

ML: After Diego Sanchez's first loss to the hands of Josh Koscheck at UFC 69, did you spot any weaknesses of Diego's that you're prepared to capitalize on at UFC 76?
JF: I have been studying Diego, and many other top fighters, for a long time now and have game plans for most of them already. Everyone has weaknesses in their game; it’s just a matter of exploiting them.

ML: Have you taken any drastic changes in your training regimen in preparation for Diego Sanchez? Has training gone fairly smoothly and injury free thus far?
JF: I have a great team and system for my training. I have no reason to make major changes to it. I have been working with some very good south paws and wrestlers to help me prepare specifically for Diego.

ML: Rumors surfacing in June claimed that you were originally set to face Karo Parisyan at UFC 76. With Sanchez as your newly confirmed opponent for UFC 76, is a match-up against Karo Parisyan still in the works for the near future?
JF: Like I said before, I want to fight all the best fighters. I think that Karo is one of the best, so he is still definitely on the list of guys I want to fight someday.

ML: Having Wilson Gouveia now in the UFC, can Fitch fans look forward to you avenging that loss in a rematch anytime soon?
JF: Not very likely. Wilson has gotten much bigger since our fight and I have gotten much smaller. I don’t see this fight ever happening. I actually owe a big thanks to Wilson. If he wouldn’t have knocked me out that night I might not have started on the path I am on today.

ML: Not to put you on the spot or anything, but who are you rooting for in the Couture-Gonzaga fight for UFC 74 and the Jackson-Henderson fight for UFC 75?
JF: I don’t really root for anyone to win fights other than team mates. I just want to see great fights and maybe some techniques that I might not have seen before.

Training...
ML: Recently returning from Japan, how were your experiences over there and did you get a chance to train at all or was it just a good ol' vacation?
JF: It was a great experience. I got to train with Kastsuhiko Nagata, who I went there to corner at K-1 Heros. I also got to train with former opponent Hironaka. I also got to meet and hang out with Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, which was a crazy experience. Kid is as famous in Tokyo as Shaq is in Miami.

ML: Have you trained at camps anywhere outside of the U.S.? If not, is there any place you have your eyes set on to go train in the future?
JF: I got to visit a few gyms on Japan and it is possible that I would go and train for a short time at the Killer Bee's gym. For the most part though I feel that my gym, the American Kickboxing Academy, is one of the best gyms in the world and there is no reason to train anywhere else.

ML: Is there anyone out there that you'd absolutely love to train with?
JF: I would love to train with Aoki, he ground game is amazing and I think it would be a good experience to roll with him.

Misc...
ML: Taking a quick peek around Irish Whip Fighting, what do you think of the site?
JF: I think it has a good look, but could use much more news about me. hehehe.

ML: Are there any last words you'd like to say to the hardcore Fitch fans out there? Sponsors to thank?
JF: I would like to thank Toe2Toe.tv and jigsaw inc. Also check out my website at fitchfighter.com

We at the Irish Whip Fighting team cannot thank you enough for taking the time for doing this interview and we all wish you the best of luck against Diego Sanchez at UFC 76 on Sept. 22 and look forward to seeing you add another loss to his record!

The Lianger

Irish Whip Fighting Exclusive: Team Quest Interview

On the day the IFL announced their fight card for their 2007 Grand Prix (which consists of the four top fighters in each weight division) I had the unique opportunity to sit down with rising MMA star Matt “Suave” Horwich. With victories over the likes of Jason McDonald, Vernon White and Josh Burkman, he is one of the most dangerous and well rounded middleweights fighting today. Drawing strength from his deep spiritual faith he has unmatched focus determination that has helped him realize his dream of becoming a world class fighter. Coming off of a stunning KO via a “cro-cop” like high kick he shared with me his thoughts on winning the IFL GP and his goal to become the first ever IFL middleweight champion as well as becoming the first Rock/MMA superstar.By Doug MacEwan


Doug: “What initially attracted you to Mixed Martial Arts and how did you get your start?”
Matt: “Like a lot of young kids growing up I was always watching Bruce Lee movies and got involved in traditional Martial Arts at a young age. After watching Royce Gracie dominate the first few UFC’s, I saved up as much money as I could and moved to northern California to train with him for five hours a day five days a week for a month straight. It was an amazing experience for a sixteen year old and that helped me build the foundation for my submission skills.”

D: “That’s really impressive….so how did you find team Quest?”
M: “Even though I took some time off from training to pursue other interests like playing the guitar and exploring my musical side I was still watching all the UFC events I could and saw Randy Couture dominating much like Royce did during his first reign as the HW champ. At this point in my life I was traveling around and the opportunity presented itself for me to travel up north to begin training with Randy at Team Quest.

D: “What was it like training with all of the great fighters at Team Quest and what makes Team Quest arguably the best MMA training facility in the world?”
M: “Having the opportunity to train with the best MW fighters in the world in Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson along with other world class fighters like Ed Herman Nate Quarry and Chris Leben, you are being challenged by the best every day you come to the gym. Both Henderson and Lindland are two of the best wrestlers in the history of our sport and they helped me develop an excellent ground game. The environment is exactly what you need to push yourself to become a champion and you are constantly pushed every day to be the best. The work ethic we all have at TQ as well as the whole atmosphere here could not be better. I have to give a lot of credit to Matt Lindland who is like a father figure to many of the fighters and works really hard to promote us and get our names out there on top of training us to become the best. He had helped me so much over the course of my career and it amazes me how he is able to dedicate so much energy into helping all of us on top of the work he needs to devote to his own career. We also believe in cross training with other gyms and I have had the chance to train with BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell and many other top fighters and gyms.”

D: “What has your experience with the IFL been like and what are your thoughts on the merger between the UFC and PRIDE fc?”
M: “First of all I can’t say enough great things about the IFL. They treat their fighters extremely well and pay us a monthly salary to help us afford to train full time on top of what they pay us per fight. It ends up being much more than the UFC can offer unless you are one of the really big names. I am really excited about the upcoming GP and I think that the IFL has a great business plan and will continue to grow and become more successful. As far as the merger with PRIDE and UFC there are two ways to look at it. On one hand you now have the dream match ups like Shogun vs Liddell and the fans will get to see match ups they only dreamed about in the past. On the other hand this makes the UFC more powerful and without that competition they could end up paying the fighters less than they would have if they had PRIDE bidding against them for talent.”

D: “If you could fight anyone in the world who would it be?”
M: “I would love an opportunity to fight Anderson Silva because in order to be the best you have to fight the best. I have tremendous respect for him as a fighter and as a person and it would be an honor to test my skills against him.”

D: “How do you stay focused with all of the distraction and temptation that has gotten the best of many great talents in the past. I am also curious to hear your thoughts on the recent string of positive steroids tests that have plagued MMA”
M: “I put a lot of faith in god and I find it easy to make the choices that will put me in the best position to be successful. I owe it to myself and the people around me that I care about to stay focused and diet and train the right way. As far as steroids it is unfortunate that some people try to take short cuts and sacrifice the integrity of the sport and themselves. I can only control my own actions so there is not much I can do other than set a positive example”

D: “Give us your dream match ups for every weight class.”
M: “ That’s tough but here are the fights I am dying to see: HW-Fedor vs Gonzaga, LHW-Shogun vs Liddell, MW-Lindland or Henderson vs A. Silva WW- BJ Penn vs St. Pierre 2”

D: “Thank you for your time and giving www.irishwhipfighting.com and all the fans a glimpse into the world of Matt Horwich. The last thing I want to know is what your goals for the future are and how your fans can get in contact with you.”
M: “Thank you for your visit. My goal is to continue to fight hard and to win the IFL Middleweight belt. I would also like to continue to develop my musical talent and purchase land to build a house where I can spend time with my friends and loved ones. My fans can reach me on my myspace account under the screen name ‘Wildheart' or look me up by my name Matthew Horwich.”