"I think a lot of these guys can bounce back for a bit, but to bounce back and to really stick around, they're going to have to do what they can to evolve and learn new things from each of the 3 phases of MMA, which is striking, wrestling and Jiu Jitsu. If these fighters aren't actively pursuing the latest techniques and the best trainers in all 3 of those aspects of fighting, then if they do mount some sort of comeback, it will be short-lived
You gotta have it all down. The days of being able to get by on 1 or 2 of the 3 are just about gone," stated legendary Eddie Bravo as he talked more about the evolution of mixed martial arts. Check out what he had to say about the recent performances of some of the biggest names in the sport, including Antonio Nogueira, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Rashad Evans, Shinya Aoki and more.
PC: I know how busy you are bro so I appreciate your time as always.
EB: I appreciate the interview.
PC: How is the New Year treating you so far?
EB: Everything is beautiful so far man. I can't complain one bit.
PC: It was a crazy year in MMA last year. It just seems to get better and more unpredictable each year. What did you think of the year that we had in 2008?
EB: It was crazy. You have the WWE/UFC champion, which is crazy. A lot of crazy stuff and a lot of guys getting knocked the hell out. A lot of torches being passed; crazy stuff.
PC: It definitely seemed like the year of passed torches. Icons of the sport like Liddell, Ortiz, Couture and Hughes all only fought once last year and all of them lost. Do you think it's a situation where it's a changing of the guard or do you think some of those guys can come back strong this year?
EB: You know what, in these times, I think a lot of these guys can bounce back for a bit, but to bounce back and to really stick around, they're going to have to do what they can to evolve and learn new things from each of the 3 phases of MMA, which is striking, wrestling and Jiu Jitsu. If these fighters aren't actively pursuing the latest techniques and the best trainers in all 3 of those aspects of fighting, then if they do mount some sort of comeback, it will be short-lived. Nowadays, if you don't have an open mind
I mean, look at Anderson Silva. He was around for awhile and he wasn't considered the best. Anderson Silva has been fighting for awhile, but then he got really good at Jiu Jitsu where all of a sudden, you can't take him down and pound him out anymore. If you did, you're going to get submitted. So you have to have that kind of mentality. If you're a top fighter and you're not known for submissions, man, you should be known for submissions too. There is no reason why you can't be. If you're not actively polishing your Jiu Jitsu
if you're a wrestler and you're not involving your striking and doing
like Jon Fitch said, "Fuck it, I'm going to Thailand to just focus on striking." That's a beautiful thing. Look at BJ Penn, who is known for his grappling and is a phenomenal Jiu Jitsu player and now, all of a sudden, he's one of the best strikers in MMA too. That's the future!
It's a lot of guys that are good at maybe 2 phases, but not all 3. There are guys that are good strikers and wrestlers, but they're not good at Jiu Jitsu. Then you have guys that are good wrestlers and have good Jiu Jitsu, but they never got their striking together. You gotta have it all down. The days of being able to get by on 1 or 2 of the 3 are just about gone.
PC: We've seen both Nogueira and Rampage look subpar after coaching The Ultimate Fighter. Would you like to see them remove guys that are getting prepared for a title shot from the coaching duties?
EB: No, I think it's awesome. The more famous and the better the coach they can get on the TUF show makes it that much better. Fighters are going to win and lose man. No one is going to be undefeated. Does anybody know anybody's record? I don't know any of these guys' record. All I know is like their last 3 fights. I don't know anybody's record. Boxing is all about the record and in MMA, it's all about what have you done for me lately.
PC: Who would you give "Fighter of the Year" to for 2008?
EB: Man! Anderson Silva maybe. How many fights did he have? I would have to say
damn! Thiago Alves, Anderson Silva and BJ Penn going through Sean Sherk was pretty amazing. Rashad Evans would be right there. He knocked out Chuck and Forrest. You know what? I would have to say Rashad Evans man.
PC: It's crazy to me to see guys like Rashad, Florian, Forrest and Diego Sanchez evolve so much from the show. You're all about evolving and learning more. How impressed are you with some of the TUF alum?
EB: Yeah, exactly. Kenny Florian is another BJ Penn-esque type of fighter. He was known as a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt with good grappling and now he's one of the best strikers in MMA. That's how you're going to survive in this sport. You have to be as good as you can be in every aspect of the game. Your boxing, your kicking, your wrestling, your takedowns, your takedown defense, your top game Jiu Jitsu, your bottom game Jiu Jitsu; all of it gotta be as good as it can be. You gotta be working on all of those things all of the time. If you're leaving out one of those things, then eventually you're going to just drop off.
PC: When I spoke with you before, you told me Dustin Hazelett was the real deal and he appears to be well on his way of making you look like a genius. Are there any other gems out there you want to let us know about?
EB: Keep your eye out for George Sotiropoulos. That guy is going to be a dark horse right there. He's dropping down to 155 and his Jiu Jitsu is taking a whole different look. He's been training with me and I don't know anybody that trains harder than George Sotiropoulos. He's got that Sean Sherk work ethic, but instead of dragging tires and all of that stuff, which he does too, but he has that same work ethic in technique. He practices technique all day. He's going to be known as another Hazelett-style fighter or another Aoki-style fighter for sure.
PC: Aoki recently beat Eddie Alvarez in Japan and had a very successful year. I know he is one of the fighters you really like because he utilizes that rubber guard. That has to make you proud to see him have so much success while using your bread and butter?
EB: It's awesome. A lot of guys are using the rubber guard now; a lot of guys. But what makes Aoki different are the pants. The pants just make the rubber guard more effective. Slipperiness is the enemy of submission. It would be like a wide receiver in the NFL going out to play a very important game in the rain with no gloves. Will he play that game with no gloves? Hell no! If he didn't wear gloves, the coach would probably fire him. It's no question Aoki is so effective with his rubber guard right now because of the pants.
PC: I know you don't get surprised very much in this sport, but when you look at the guys Nogueira has fought throughout his career, did it shock you that Frank Mir would be the one to stop him with strikes?
EB: You know what, after a while, you can only take so many blows to the head and it seems that the more guys get knocked out, it's easier for them to get knocked out. Nogueira used to have the strongest chin on the planet, but after a while, it's obvious that it's not there anymore. He had the best chin arguably in MMA. Now he's getting rocked in his fights. Tim Sylvia rocked him, Heath Herring rocked him and of course Mir. He's been getting rocked and I think it's just wear and tear. He might be on his way out. It might be time. Your body can only take so much punishment. It didn't seem like Frank Mir was hitting him that hard. It wasn't like a Rashad/Chuck Liddell punch. They were just medium power punches and it just seems like his body is wearing down.
PC: And that's the scary part Eddie because you're right, Mir was not loading up with those punches and to see Nog get dropped time after time was kind of scary and sad at the same time.
EB: There is a theory out there that every time you get knocked out, it's easier to get knocked out again and it turns into a snowball effect. So maybe that's what's going on; maybe that's real.
PC: Who do you have training with you right now that are guys to watch out for?
EB: Yep, George Sotiropoulos is officially 10th Planet now. He's representing 10th Planet now. Dan Hardy is with me; he has a fight coming up with Rory Markham. Conor Heun is 8-2 and looking to get into the UFC as soon as he gets this Elite XC mess handled and get out of his contract. He had a non-exclusive contract so he can actually jump to the UFC right now so we'll see if that happens. I have a lot of young up-and-comers that you'll start seeing, you know? Meghan Thomas just fought in Vegas. She got a TKO from the mount. She's 2-0 now and representing 10th Planet. The first female MMA rep. They're calling her the next Gina Carano already because she's hot. Look out for Meghan Thomas.
PC: Last time we spoke, you mentioned ending your career with a rematch with Royler. Have you heard anything else about that match?
EB: No, I haven't heard anything. Royler is still not accepting the match so whatever. He's got a family and he's got to look out for his best interest. It's all good. I would like to finish out my career with a Royler rematch right here in LA. That would be perfect. We'll see. I'll be waiting and I'm in no rush. I'm busy as hell man. I'm doing seminars every weekend. If I take another match right now, then I can't do the seminars and I would be losing a lot of cash so I'm all good.
PC: As always, thanks for your time. I really appreciate the interview. Where can people find more details about these bad ass seminars you're putting on?
EB: They can just go to my myspace. The address is myspace.com/thetwister.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]