"He just got caught. If you fight with the style that Wanderlei chooses to fight with, those kinds of things are going to happen and that's why people love to watch him fight. Unfortunately for a fighter and a training staff, it just breaks your percentages of getting knocked out a little bit. I would like to see him stay where he's at. He will be fine there, but also, we want to see dream matches like him and Anderson Silva one day," stated Xtreme Couture trainer Shawn Tompkins as he talked about Wanderlei Silva and gave an update on several other fighters he works with, including Forrest Griffin, Junie Browning and more. Check it out!
PC: It was a rough year for Xtreme Couture with Randy, Wanderlei and Forrest all coming up short in their respective fights. It appears it will be on the shoulders of Hieron, Belfort and maybe Horodecki to start this year off right for you guys. How are they looking in the gym?
ST: They look great man. All of them are healthy and ready to go. I'm actually excited to get it started off. We actually have 6 guys fighting this week; 3 of them with Affliction. We're going to go 6-0 this week.
PC: That's a lot of fighters Shawn. How do you keep yourself involved with all of them when they're all preparing for fights like this case?
ST: I just don't sleep, that's all (laughing). Nah, we have a great coaching staff all together at Xtreme Couture. I have a great conditioning coach, Jake Bonacci. I don't have to worry about getting these guys into shape because he does that for me. We also have an All-American wrestler from Iowa, my man Nick, so between the two of them helping me out, it makes it bearable to have that many fighters.
PC: Wanderlei Silva, who you do a lot of sparring with, recently suffered a knockout loss to Rampage Jackson. How is he doing and when can we expect him back?
ST: If Wanderlei had his way, he would be back in the cage tomorrow. A loss is never a good thing for a fighter; it's tough on you and tough on your family. He's doing fine. He's looking forward and waiting for the call from Dana to tell him who he is gonna fight next, but he's fine. What he is doing right now is really focusing on his gym, which he is opening this month here in Vegas, and see what happens from there. But I know he's ready to fight tomorrow. That guy doesn't like to take breaks.
PC: Same question with Forrest. I understand he broke his hand and will be out for awhile, but how is he mentally recovering from the loss?
ST: Again, Forrest is not one of those guys doing this to be champion. He's doing this because this is what he loves to do. He never thought he would actually get the opportunity to just be a fighter. So he's just happy to just be out there doing his thing. He knows, just like we do, that the title will come around again. He just has to get through this hand injury, which is a tough thing for a guy like Forrest because he doesn't like to take a lot of time off. We're just supporting him that way and letting him heal up and we'll be back in business.
PC: Going back to Wanderlei for a moment, would you like to see him stay at 205 or move down to 185 like some of the rumors we are hearing?
ST: I think he's fine right where he is right now as far as dropping weight and going to a lower weight division, because he's been doing this for so long and fighting at this level, I don't want to see him have to do too much of a weight cut because he trains at a high, intense level already and he does fine with those bigger guys. He just got caught. If you fight with the style that Wanderlei chooses to fight with, those kinds of things are going to happen and that's why people love to watch him fight. Unfortunately for a fighter and a training staff, it just breaks your percentages of getting knocked out a little bit. I would like to see him stay where he's at. He will be fine there, but also, we want to see dream matches like him and Anderson Silva one day.
PC: Junie's hands looked good and much improved against Dave Kaplan in his UFC debut. What were the main things you felt like you needed to work on with Junie?
ST: I followed the show once I found out I was going to train Junie and I seen David Kaplan's style and the way he just walks forward. The main work that I did was to just pressure Junie. I had him in the best shape of his life so that wasn't going to be a question of him wanting to quit. I really just wanted to bring his level up and give him the confidence that he needed. Junie is the kind of guy that needs the attention; he just doesn't know what kind of attention he wants. We just had to clear his mind and let him know that it's people out there that love him and will take care of him like myself, my wife and his Xtreme Couture family. That was basically the idea. It was an easy gameplan to be honest with you. Kaplan is a pretty straight-forward fighter with no surprises. It was just making sure that JunieÂ…you know, when I rolled the dice with him, I wanted to make sure they came up right.
PC: Is he living with you full time or only when he is preparing for fights?
ST: Right now he's back in Kentucky doing appearances and rolling with his original team, but he will be coming back here, as far as I know, to be full time here at my house. I'm just giving him a little bit of time off. We're being told we're fighting on April 1st against Cole Miller. He wanted to take a little bit of a break and go see his family and stuff, which was cool with me because I had the Affliction camp coming up and my house is going to be full anyway. That's the plan though, that he's going to be out here and living with me full time.
PC: How does your wife handle you bringing these fighters in and living with you guys for long periods at a time?
ST: We made sure when we moved out here that we picked the right size house. The upstairs is really like the fighters' house and we have our own living quarters downstairs. She's Sam Stout's sister so she's grown up in the sport and she handles it. She's a lot like me in the sense that she brings these boys in and treats them like they're her own. She's excited about it, but it gets a little crazy sometimes. I'm not going to make it sound like its all gold, but we do well with it. She loves the sport like I do.
PC: I didn't know you were married to Sam's sister.
ST: I knew her first so I didn't pick up my fighter's sister.
PC: I know you are a busy man. I appreciate your time and good luck in the fights you guys have coming up. Is there anything you want to say to close this interview out?
ST: I just want to thank everybody for their support. They can look for 3 big knockouts this weekend with Chris Horodecki, Jay Hieron and Vitor Belfort. And I have to thank Tapout for always supporting me.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]