Interview with Arm Chair Fighters: Best Advice from Couture, Wrestling Vs BJJ, and Gray’s P4P Favorite Fighter

Q: Gray, congrats on the win at UFC Fight Night 20. You had a hard fought win over Nate Diaz. Looking back, were you happy with your performance? And what (if anything) would you have done differently?

Yeah, I’m always happy with a win against a tough opponent. Hind sight is always 20/20, so there’s always some things I would change.  But fighting Nate or his brother Nick is never an easy task. They are tall, long, lefty’s, with good ju jitsu. It’s never going to be pretty win.

Q: The Diaz brothers seem to revel in the trash talking to get their opponents to fight THEIR fight. You did a good job of not falling into Nates strength (jiu jitsu), and keeping the fight on its feet. Is it hard to stay focused on a fight plan?

Not really. It’s just hard to fight them because of their style and build. Like I said, it’s never going to be a pretty win.

Q: You were selected to Penn’s team during TUF 5. He picked you for the finals, and even asked you to be a sparring partner. Is it hard to step in with a guy that you’ve trained with & befriended?

BJ’s a good friend. But, I can’t pass up an opportunity to fight for a belt. We’ve all been on this journey to the top for a long time. You meet people on the way and become friends, but you can’t let that get in the way of accomplishing your ultimate goal of becoming a UFC world champion.

Q: You’ve been training at Extreme Couture for awhile now. What’s the best tip/bit of advice that Randy Couture has given you?

Concentrate on the preparation, not the outcome.

Q: There has been a long running debate as to which discipline has been the most effective in mma. Many say wrestling, other say jiu jitsu. But it appears that wrestlers seem to be able to incorporate the striking aspect alot easier than many jiu jitsu practitioners. From a wrestling background, what skills do you think have best prepared you for your success in mixed martial arts?

Work ethic!! Wrestling builds an unbelievable work ethic. That’s the key to being successful in anything you do, and wrestling teaches that. It’s no secret, it’s just hard work. We can apply that to other sport and excel very quickly in them.

Q: Who do you think is the best P4P fighter in mma today?

Anderson Silva. The way he has gone through top ranked opponents is unbelievable.

Q: You’ve won your last 6 fights by decision, with the last 2 coming by split decision. As a fighter, are you concerned with leaving the decision up to the judges?

No, I knew I won all those fights before the decisions came out. Of course I would like to finish all those fights, but that’s not realistic. Almost all the guys I fought have never been finished in their whole career. So we knew I had to go in there with a good game plan for all of them and be prepared for 3 hard rounds.

For the full interview go to www.armchairfighters.com