We thought it might be fun to have Martin Ives catch up with him the week before, find out where he's at mentally, physically and philosophically.
Q: So Luc, in one week you make your long awaited MMA debut (pro rules - 3x5minutes - knees & elbows allowed) after something of a misfire on 30th January - what went down in January?
A: Well, I was supposed to fight Liam Cullen under semi-pro MMA rules, but unbeknownst to me he had cleverly decided that he was bare hard and would fight twice in the same night. One fight kickboxing and the other with me, in that order.
When word got back to him that majority of people were betting on me to win via 'Rape' in the first round, as well as psyching him out with a baby oil/bodybuilding routine at the weigh-in, I think he started to question his chances. Hence him fighting a kickboxing fight, winning, having a bad leg, withdrawing from fighting me due to injury, and later on, drunkenly dancing on the same bad leg victoriously...
All I can say is that it was very frustrating for me to sacrifice so much, and train so hard and not even get to fight! Especially for all my friends who had come to support me. If I get the pleasure of being rematched with Mr Cullen in the future, I'll make it a personal matter of beasting him thoroughly, even more so for wasting my time, and my friends hard earned sterling.
Q: How long have you been training in martial arts for, and what motivated you to take the step up in competition and try MMA?
A: Well, when I was 13, I was obsessed with Dragon Ball Z and that made me want to train martial arts, so I started training in Shotokan Karate at my school. After a years' worth of practicing choreographed dance routines (kata), I became very frustrated with the fact we never did any live sparring. I saw UFC on a documentary and was fascinated by the idea of different styles fighting each other in a 'no-rules' contest.
Later on, I discovered my first UFC video. What I saw was not what I had expected... Strikers getting owned by Royce Gracie. Intriqued I searched 'Gracie' on the interenet and discovered there was an Academy in Dagenham, run by Marc Walder. I did one lesson of BJJ and quit Karate immediately. Since then, I have trained BJJ predomiantly ever since.
Q: You're fighting at welterweight for this one - how do you balance training/nutrition with a full time job? What will you be doing this week to ensure you are fighting fit for the 19th?
A: Yeah I'm fighting at 77kg/12st 1lb. I usually walk around at 13st. I usually cut most of the weight in water a few days before the weigh-in, and rehydrate back up to 13st. I've recently gone part time at work, so I only work 3 days a week, 7am-3pm, so it's not that hard really to balance everything.
In terms of food, I pre-prepare 3 days worth of meals at a time, so I haven't got to worry about cooking something healthy in a rush, especially since I'm going to so many different places to train. On my days off I train 2-3 times a day, workdays just once. In the last week before the fight, I train very light - just some pad work and light grappling. I do alot of mental prep... Visualistion in the float tank, and I do hypnosis with my mind coach who keeps me focused. I like to watch films and stuff my face the night before.
Q: As a young, attractive man with a reputation as a socialite - how do you strike a balance between a big night out and serious training?
A: Haha - Well if I'm 6 weeks away from a fight, I'll go out, but no alcohol most of the time. Every now and then I'll have a couple to relax. After the fight is different matter altogether! I usually get tramp drunk on just about anything I can put down my throat, and gorge myself to bloatation on the filthiest foods imaginable until I pass out.
Q: For many years you stopped watching MMA, only recently returning to the action - why did you stop watching it and do you think the sport has changed much since the days of Genki Sudo?
A: Yeah for a long while I had no interest in the MMA side of fighting and was a BJJ snob. I started BJJ because I was a fan of 'no-holds-barred', what has now evolved into MMA. Back in those days, the quality of MMA in Britain was light years behind America. In terms of places to train in quality MMA there weren't any. So I just kinda went with the flow of competing purely BJJ, and just stopped watching MMA and lost track of it all.
Later on, I got disillusioned with BJJ competition. I think due to it mainly becoming points fighting, with the ongoing fad to score a point or advantage, and them run or stall for the rest of the fight.
I think seeing my friend, Spencer Hewitt, do so well at MMA influenced me to try MMA and reminds me why I started BJJ in the first place - because I love MMA! These days everyone watches MMA - more than they do boxing! Britain has caught up on the MMA scene. There's a lot of good people to train with in Britain!
MMA has evolved massively since the Genki days. Everyone can do everything! Boxing - kicks - wrestling - BJJ, and the level of athletism is far greater. Welterweight and lighter divisions are stacked with a ridiculous amount of talented fighters! It's never been better in terms of entertainment and action!
Q: Moving on from that question, what modern fighters have impressed you?
A: Gee - there's too many!
Diego Sanchez all day - nothing beats his focus, especially with those psycho "YES" chants!
Former WEC champ Ben Henderson is another fighter who's always involved in exciting fights - great wrestling and invulnerable to submission.
Mike Brown - awesomely powerful for his weight and devastating ground and pound.
Guida! Relentless pace and crazy hair!
And The Korean Zombie has got some serious punishment threshold.
Q: Leading into this bout, what do you know about your opponent, and do you have anything you would him to know about you?
A: Not alot... He's a kickboxer and that's about it. Nope, he can find out on the night.
Q: There are a number of your Terror Squad team mates on the card in Brentwood - who should we be looking out for?
A: All of them are gonna tear it up, so I'd watch all of them! Spencer Hewitt, John Williams and Dan Lawson have all trained like beasts!
Q: A number of our mutual friends refer to you as 'Tank' - You don't look that much like Tank Abbott - what's with the name, and will you be using it as your moniker for your debut?
A: Definitely not! I'm not really a fan of nicknames. There was a drunken incident at a fesival last year, where I decided to become my alter-ego called 'The Tank'. The Tank thinks he is indestructible, and the only phrase he ever says is "I'm a Tank". Whilst projectile vomiting.
Q: Do you have a favourite type of tank?
A: Mammoth tank from C&C. If you play Red Alert 2, it's called the Apocalypse tank.
Q: Just before we finish, can we kill the elephant in the room? There is another MMA event on the 19th - UFC 128 - in fact, after watching you do your thing, we're going to hotfoot it back to Knee HQ and watch it - who is your pick - Shogun or Jones?
A: Jones!
Luc Lamude competes at CFC: Ultimate Cage Fighting, 19th March 2011, at The Brentwood Centre. For tickets: http://www.nationalboxoffice.co.uk/cage-fighter-championship-ticket-76.html
Luc is a technician, a perfectionist, a master at his game. In fact he is the 'GAME''
ReplyDeleteBloody good interview mate! Refreshing.
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