"I'm training like I'm fighting next week," stated UFC welterweight George Sotiropoulos as he talked about his future plans and made it clear that there's some unfinished business he'd like to take care of. Check out what he had to say about a rematch with Tommy Speer, his desire to face Mac Danzig and much more.
TN: How are you doing?
GS: I'm well and I'm training hard for my next fight, whenever that may be.
TN: You were preparing for your last fight with Matt Serra and Ray Longo. Are you still training with them?
GS: When filming for TUF6 concluded in July, I headed to New York to train with Matt Serra and Ray Longo. I settled in and the UFC got me a US Visa and now I reside in Long Island and continue training with Team Serra Longo.
TN: How is that going?
GS: It's going very well. I train six days a week at Serra Jiu-Jitsu academy and Ray Longo's gym.
TN: Do you know when you are going to be fighting again?
GS: No word yet, but I'm training like I'm fighting next week.
TN: How did you feel about the whole experience of The Ultimate Fighter show?
GS: I loved the experience and had a great time on the show. The reason I loved it so much was because I love to train and fight, which is why I was there. I can't get enough of it. When I go to training, I'm thinking of the next training session. I have traveled a lot since getting into martial arts, which means I have had to use a lot of trains, planes, busses and automobiles. However, being on the show, they took care of that. We were flown in and out of Vegas, put up in a nice hotel, lived in a mansion and chauffer driven to and from training every day. We could order any type of food we wanted. This is not how my previous trips to the USA, Japan, Greece or Guam have unfolded. Although the training was great, it usually has meant roughing it on someone's couch, floor or rollaway bed. It was the ultimate fighting experience! You would have to be crazy not to enjoy it. We had two training sessions a day, with elite world class trainers, not to mention the current UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra. He and his crew, Ray Longo and Pete Sell, were like the Sopranos with their heavy New York accents and their Italian background. They always lightened the mood with their humor and antics and the laughs were as much a part of training as was the training. I have become a better fighter through this experience. We were exposed to a lot of techniques, styles, ideas and philosophies, as well as fighting regularly in a short amount of time. All you need to improve.
TN: During your fight with Tommy Speer, you were accidentally poked in the eye. How much did that affect you?
GS: It totally affected the outcome of the fight. Anyone would be affected by this. Just stick a thumb in your eye and see if you can spell your name on a piece of paper, drive a car or have a fight. I guarantee you will have a lot of difficulty doing any of those things safely or effectively.
TN: Is there anyone you would like to face?
GS: I want a rematch with Tommy Speer because the thumb in the eye affected the outcome of the fight. I believe the outcome of this fight would have been different had he not poked me in the eye. I would also like to fight Mac Danzig because that's the match that would have happened if I won the Speer fight. We were both the favorites on TUF6 so a lot of people still want to see this fight happen.
TN: Anything you'd like to say to your fans?
GS: I will always train hard, do my best and be the best!