"I'm excited that there are so many different promotions out there and guys are able to fight on a national level...It gives us ways to make money and not just depend on just one promotion. We have options out there and the only thing we need now is a fighters union to make sure that we don't get robbed and screwed around by different promotions," state MMA welterweight Pete Spratt as he talked about the current state of mixed martial arts. Check out what else he had to say as he talked about the debut of mixed martial arts on network television, his upcoming fight this Saturday with Jason Von Flu, his future plans and much more.
PC: What's up with you bro?
PS: Nothing man. Just the same old thing.
PC: How is that baby doing man?
PS: She came out good man. 6 pounds, 1 ounce and 18.5 inches long and she was born on March 25th.
PC: You told me you're fighting in Virginia this weekend. Who is your opponent?
PS: I'm fighting Jason Von Flu. I think he's from season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter, but I don't know.
PC: Yeah, he fights out of The Pit (Liddell's camp).
PS: Yeah, yeah!
PC: Yeah, he normally cuts really bad in his fights. He has a lot of scar tissue in his face. How much do you know about him?
PS: I've been hearing that he's pretty tough and that he'll probably stand with me for a little while, but I heard he's a tough cat. He's coming off of 3 TKO losses and I'm hoping to add to that streak.
PC: How much does it mean for you to get back in there and erase that whole episode you had against Ford?
PS: Ah man, it means a lot. I've been over that last episode a couple of weeks after it happened. A lot of people question me about that. I'm to the point where I'm not giving the MFC anymore publicity man. They got enough after all of that extra stuff. I really don't have nothing to say about that. I'm over that whole deal. Me and Ford will rematch one day and we will see what happens.
PC: Some fighters may feel like you're slipping because you just had a newborn and all of that, but how has your training been going?
PS: Training camp was good man. I'm actually 175 right now. I changed up my camp a little bit with some strength and conditioning coaches. I've put on a little more muscle mass and I want to see how that works out for me.
PC: Did you get a chance to check out Georges fight with Matt Serra and if so, what did you think?
PS: Yeah, I checked it out man. He looked good man. He really pushed his gameplan and had Serra guessing on whether or not he wanted to stand or go to the ground or whatever the case may be and he had Serra confused. It was a good showing for GSP; very good showing.
PC: Last time we spoke, you told me you were looking to stay busy. How many more times would you like to fight this year after Saturday?
PS: I don't know man. I kind of look at the opportunities. I was actually scheduled to fight 3 weeks after this fight with Mark Weir in London, but that fight got postponed. I've got something on the table for June and I also plan on competing in the No-Gi Championship at the beginning of June. I may have something on the table for July so I'm grinding man. I got another mouth to feed.
PC: Definitely. For the people that think the fight is over once Pete Spratt hits the ground, let us know how much you've been working on your ground game?
PS: I've been working on it pretty much the same as I've been working on it the past year. I work it at least once a day, 4 to 5 times a week. I do Gi and No-Gi so I'm feeling pretty good about where my ground game is. If people are going back to my fight with Ford, after the 2 illegal elbows, I wasn't myself anyway. That's one of those things, but before that, it was nothing he could do. After watching the tape, I was able to see what was going on because honestly, after the elbows and I got up off of the stool and said I was ready to continue, I don't remember anything up until the point of getting choked. I feel pretty good about my ground game.
PC: Do you enjoy the way that you're able to fight all over right now or would you like to solidify yourself with one major organization?
PS: Quite honestly, I would like to finish up my career where it kind of took off and that's with the UFC. I'm looking at I'm 37 now and I only have a few years left, but that depends on how my body feels. If I still feel like I feel now when I'm 42, I'll still be fighting. Right now, I'd like to get back in and get in the top 10 in the world at welterweight and fight for a title, whether it is in the UFC or wherever, but ultimately I would like to end my career in the UFC.
PC: You've been around this game for a while now. Did you ever think the sport will make it to CBS and 2 PPVs per month?
PS: Coming up, we all hoped to get to this point. I knew it would, but I didn't think I would be around to reap the benefits with the explosion of MMA. I'm still at the point where I'm going to be able to reap some of the benefits and I'm excited that there are so many different promotions out there and guys are able to fight on a national level. It's a good thing. As a fighter, it gives us guys a lot of different avenues to compete with all of these organizations coming up and what's better than good old fashioned competition? It gives us ways to make money and not just depend on just one promotion. We have options out there and the only thing we need now is a fighters union to make sure that we don't get robbed and screwed around by different promotions.
PC: Get that insurance as well man!
PS: Hey, exactly; some nice benefits.
PC: Had you ever seen anybody run the way Kalib Starnes did in his fight against Quarry?
PS: Nah man, that was crazy. I couldn't believe it, but from what I heard, he broke his foot in the 1st round I believe. If he broke his foot, he sure did do a good job of running if his foot was broke. He finished the fight and did what he had to do to finish the fight, but at the same time, it was disappointing for the fans, but I guess in hindsight, he did what he had to do to survive.
PC: What can the people in VA that are coming out to watch you expect from you Saturday night?
PS: They can expect what they always expect from me, a fight that's going to get finished or be finished. I'm going to try my best to do my thing to finish this guy and I'm sure he's going to do the same to me. It's going to be an exciting thing for the fans in the area man. They need to come out there and check it out because not only is my fight an exciting fight, but the whole card, from top to bottom, is a good card. You have some UFC vets on there, Aaron Riley, Carlos Condit, who has the WEC title, and Marcelo Brito, a great up and comer, so it's a lot of exciting fights on the card.
PC: Well good luck Saturday. Let me know how things go. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
PS: I want to thank my sponsors Fight2train.com; I got a new sponsor knowyourbet.com and also my main sponsor Renegade Fight Gear. I want to thank my manager and my agent for getting me my movie deals and all of that good stuff at IMG.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]