"We're just trying to give the fans something to do on a Friday night and we'll continue to do these shows as long as we get the people there and enjoying them. It's Friday Night Fights so what better way to do it than to give them a little bit of boxing and MMA," stated Xtreme Couture MMA Vice President and mixed martial artist Kim Couture as she talked about the June 20th Friday Night Fights card featuring boxing and MMA that free to the general public. Check out what she had to say about her involvement with the event, her on pro debut on the same card, her thoughts on Gina Carano's performance against Kaitlin Young and much more.
PC: How are you doing?
KC: I'm doing great!
PC: Gina looked impressive against Kaitlin on CBS. What did you think of her performance?
KC: I thought she pulled it off very nicely. I knew that front kick would come in handy. She's very confident in that front kick. She uses it a lot and I think she used that to control the fight. She controlled her and did it at her tempo.
PC: A lot of people thought Gina's best chance of winning would be to take Kaitlin down. Were you surprised she did so well standing with her?
KC: No, no, no. I am very confident in her standing. I was surprised with her ground game. She looked good on the ground.
PC: Gina came in overweight and I saw a lot of people saying they were surprised she was overweight training at Xtreme Couture, but that wasn't the case for this camp, was it?
KC: Well, she was recording the 2nd season of American Gladiators, which took her far into the training time that she needed for this fight. We didn't see her at the gym until the last couple of weeks. She didn't have a lot of time to train. She came in over and we were all pretty disappointed in that. I sat in the sauna with her from 7 in the morning until 1:45 in the afternoon and we did the best that we could to try and get out what we could and I think all of the stress of that show made her realize that she doesn't want to go through anything like that again. When she has a fight coming up, she needs at least 6-8 weeks, maybe even 10 weeks to get prepared for her fights.
PC: This was a huge stage for the women. Do you think Kaitlin and Gina represented it well?
KC: Oh yeah. I thought they represented it very well. I have much respect for Kaitlin. She's a tough competitor and a great person in general. I hope to do more with her in the future.
PC: What did you think of the rest of the card?
KC: I thought Lawler and Scotty Smith had a fantastic fight. It sucks the way it ended, but that sets up a rematch, which will be great. They really did an excellent job for doing it for CBS. I'm sure the people enjoyed the show. I don't know about the rest of the cards. I didn't get to see the beginning fights and I wasn't that impressed with the Kimbo and James Thompson fight.
PC: June 20th you will be fighting Kim Rose in the battle of the Kims. How has training been going for that?
KC: It's going great. I only took a week off after my last fight so I've been in there going twice a day and working with my strength and conditioning coach ever since the last one. I'm very prepared and very ready. I've been chomping at the bit for a while to get something set up. I'm glad this one came together quickly.
PC: You've been in that sauna. You're not going to be underweight, are you?
KC: No, I actually do have to put on weight though. I fought my first fight at 125 and this one will be at 130. I'm walking around at about 131 right now so I'd like to put on a few pounds to have something to cut.
PC: You didn't have much footage to watch for your previous opponents. Have you had a chance to see any footage on Rose?
KC: I got to watch her fight at the Tuff-N-Uff show in Vegas at the Tropicana, but I only caught the tail end of that fight so I'll watch some footage when I get back home. They got a couple of fights for me to check out. It's my pro debut so I'm really looking forward to that. We're going to do three 5-minute rounds, which is different from Kaitlin and Gina's fight that was three 3-minute rounds. It kind of sets precedents because there is no reason, as we're trying to be accepted as professionals, that we can't fight three 5-minute rounds and if there is a championship at stake, five 5-minute rounds.
PC: It's also historic in the sense that MMA and boxing will be on the same card. How exciting is it for you to be a part of this?
KC: I think it's great; the fact that the show is going to be free, it's the 25th anniversary of the Thomas & Mack and to be able to do this for the locals and for people in Las Vegas is great. We're not trying to be a PPV or be the UFC, we're just trying to give the fans something to do on a Friday night and we'll continue to do these shows as long as we get the people there and enjoying them. It's Friday Night Fights so what better way to do it than to give them a little bit of boxing and MMA.
PC: Are you surprised that a card like this hasn't been attempted already?
KC: Yeah, I'm surprised. I don't know if it hasn't been tried before. I haven't heard of it being successful. This is 2 titles on the line in boxing on ESPN so this is not a little show. This is a big deal and we're honored that they are accepting us to be a part of that card and allowing us to have 5 MMA fights on their show. It's a big honor so I would like to say everyone is going to get a lot for their money, but it's not going to cost them any money. You can't get much better than that.
PC: It definitely doesn't get much better than that. Two title fights in boxing, your pro debut and Spratt-Alessio for free. Great night!
KC: And I'm fighting for free again so how do you like that? I kind of helped put this card together with fighters from our gym and the way we put this together was through great sponsorships from Planet Hollywood stepping up. The price range where the 2 main events were at, Dennis Davis' fight and Pete Spratt and John Alessio, that pretty much wiped out the whole budget so I said, "I will fight on the card and I will fight for free." We're going to pay Kim Rose and just make things work. When we have more in the future, then things might change, but I'm just looking to go in there and just let it go.
PC: You know I respect you a ton for the things you do that some people will never know. You also take a lot of shit and you keep trucking. I think you're a huge asset to the sport.
KC: Thanks. Yeah, you know I hate to say it, but I don't really need the money and I'm not doing it for the money. I enjoy competing and I like to test my skills and I've learned a lot. Hopefully I come in looking like a completely different fighter from my last fight. I'd like to say 50% better so I'm looking forward to it.
PC: Is there anything in this fight that you've been working on that you would like to accomplish?
KC: Wrestling, wrestling, wrestling! My husband has been trying very hard to get me cauliflower ears. I didn't know how well I would do in wrestling. I'm kind of long and have a funky body so I didn't think I would be one of those people that would want to shoot in on somebody. I've really enjoyed learning the wrestling game and then joining it with my Jiu Jitsu game. I'm going to really enjoy taking her down. She has a boxing background and I don't mind banging for that first round, but then I want to take her down and see what I got on the ground.
PC: I appreciate your time as always. Good luck on the 20th. Is there anything you would like to say in closing?
KC: Just thank you for your support and I hope everybody comes out and enjoys a night of free entertainment and good fights. I'm looking forward to getting out there.