UFC lightweight contender Kurt Pellegrino talks about his eagerly anticipated clash with Nate Diaz. "If this is what he wants, he's definitely getting a step up in competition," he stated and you don't want to miss what else he had to say about Diaz, the fight and much more.
PC: How's everything going man?
KP: Not bad. Just freaking training again.
PC: Right back at it huh?
KP: Yeah, right back at it. I got like 2 weeks off and then we came back home and it was like, "Oh, we fighting again!" I was like, "Fuck!"
PC: You'll be ready fight night my man, I'm sure.
KP: I'll be ready. I'm getting ready.
PC: Is your lip all healed up for training?
KP: Oh yeah, I'm fine. That's all healed up and ready to go.
PC: You finally got the fight that you wanted against Nate Diaz. How excited are you about that?
KP: I'm real excited. I'm fighting Nate and people say he's really good and Nate wants to fight tough competition and an experienced guy and he's definitely going to get that with me. If he beats me, then I guess the story's out that he's a tough kid.
PC: Who let you know that the fight was offered to you and what was your initial reaction?
KP: My initial reaction was May 24th (laughing) just so I could have more time to have fun. It's fine with me. I still have a real good base and my weight's not high and my manager called me and said, "April 2nd!" I said, "Well, if I can't get May 24th, I'll take April 2nd." This is the second biggest fight of my life and I'm going to make the stars shine in the sky for me again. It's no turning back.
PC: Do you think this is the type of high-profile fight that you need to put your career back where you would like it to be?
KP: Yeah! Nate is a good Jiu-Jitsu guy. He's a Brown Belt under Caesar Gracie. He's always had good training partners, he won the TUF show, he's famous, he made his stand in the UFC by winning the TUF show and winning his other 2 fights outside the TUF show and he submitted a guy that I submitted. I think it was just made for me and him to meet each other. We got to rock and roll now.
PC: This is becoming a very stacked card. I'm sure you're planning on getting "Something of the Night." Which do you see it being?
KP: The only thing I want on this fight is the W. Every time I fought on Spike, I accomplished that. The first time, I won "Submission of the Night" and in my fight against Alberto, I got "Fight of the Night." This time, I'd rather not get any of them and just get a W. I just want to get the W. If it helps me and my family...I don't go out there for submission or fight of the night, but I sure do go out there to win and fortunately, I always get them. Who knows? It might be submission or knockout of the night AND fight of the night. I know Nate's going to bring it and so am I so who knows.
PC: His Jiu-Jitsu could give anyone problems. How do you see this fight playing out?
KP: I don't know what's going to happen on our feet. I know he's real good on his feet...well, I don't know...I hear that he's real good on his feet and then I hear that he stinks on his feet so I'm just going to go with he's a real good, strong striker. He's a real good Jiu-Jitsu guy. I know that he's not really good at wrestling or takedowns so I have at least one playing card. If we're going to match Jiu-Jitsu, okay, we can match it. If you want to match striking, okay, we can match it. But if you want to match wrestling, there is no way. I definitely have one card and if I'm losing it on my feet, I'm just going to take him down because I know my Jiu-Jitsu is better than his. I just gotta hope I don't get submitted because, like I said, if he's the first one to submit me...if I'm not knocked out or tired and he got me for real, I'll be the first man to say it.
PC: He asked for a step up in competition and you are definitely that. Do you think he bit off more than he can chew by asking for guys like yourself?
KP: I think he prides himself off of being a tough kid like everyone does. I've fought a lot of tough guys. I fought at 170 a lot of tough guys. Joe Stevenson and I might not have even been ready for that fight. I shattered my hand and still finished the fight, attempting submissions and still taking Joe down. I don't know if Nate could've done that. I don't know if anyone could have done that. He would've found a way out. It's stupid to find a way out. If this is what he wants, he's definitely getting a step up in competition and so am I. It's going to be exciting either way.
PC: This is a pretty quick turn around for you. Is that okay with you or would you have preferred the later date like you said?
KP: To be honest with you, it's good for me, but I wanted it to be May 24th. I really just took 2 weeks off and it was 8 days after when my stitches came off. The day they came off, I put Vaseline on my lip and started rolling Jiu-Jitsu. I never really stop training. I just stop doing cardio. About 2 weeks ago, I started back up with my cardio, my running and my strength and conditioning. I'm going to be ready. I'm going to be more ready for this fight than I was for Alberto and I was in the best shape that I could ever possibly be in for that fight against Alberto conditioning-wise. I would imagine this would be better because I had to build a foundation for that fight and my foundation is already here.
PC: Will you train with your normal guys at the Armory or will you bring in some new Jiu-Jitsu guys to prepare for Nate?
KP: I always say this all of the time. I have a kid at my school named Rafael Chavez and he's the best Jiu-Jitsu guy I've ever rolled with. The kid's a stud and if Nate came here or Alberto Crane came to my school, Joe Stevenson or like when Drew Fickett came to my school to help me train for Crane, he submits them all. He's a stud. I can't believe how good he is. I hate his guts. Without that kid, I would retire from fighting. He's a stud and he's great at Jiu-Jitsu. I've never met anyone like that for MMA training Jiu-Jitsu; he's that good! That's my ace in the hole and without him, I have nothing. If I walk out of practice without getting caught, I'm not getting submitted and that's what I'm doing. I start off on top and let's rock and roll. I'm basically trying to survive for 10 minutes and trying to knock them out on the floor. Those guys are really helping me. I brought some southpaws in and I'm working out with Buddy McGirt again and his son is a 6'1" southpaw that's an 18-0 fighter. Those guys light me up every day so I'm not afraid of getting lit up.
PC: We know that.
KP: We all know that I got a good chin.
PC: This is the fight you've been telling me you want. I'm glad you finally got it. I'm sure I'll speak to you again before April. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
KP: I just want to thank all of my training partners. I just pray to God that I make my stars shine bright this time, that's all. This is my opportunity and my second chance at life and I want to thank my sponsors. I want to thank my wife and my beautiful daughter for putting up with my shit. It's round 2 now!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]