Zen
04-03-2003, 11:54 PM
Mike trains @ the school I attend in Nashville. Haven't seen him in awhile since he's been training in Denmark. He's a wizard on the ground, never really seen his stand-up. He will win this fight. Damn I can't wait to start training again.
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Interview: Up and Comer MIKE PYLE
Submitted by: Ed Clay
Posted On 04/04/2003
Arpil 6th, 2003 - St Petersburg, Russia
Q. Please tell us about your training background? A. Well, my training background, I think maybe is a little different than other people. I started training just in a little, small shed behind my mother’s house. Watching the instructional videos and from moves in the magazines and recently, I have been trained under good supervision in the last year. I pretty much have been self-taught. That is why I think I’m a little different than some of the other fighters that are out now because they have been educated and trained by people from the beginning, which I have not.
Q. So I heard you worked out with a grappling dummy? A. Yes. Pretty much. Yes, I know that sounds pretty funny. I had to train somehow. That is pretty much how it is. No matter what the weather, cold, hot, rain, it did not matter. I would train any way I could.
Q. So when did you begin fighting? A. I began fighting probably about three years ago, around 199, ’98 or ’99. I have been fighting in kicking shoot in Memphis, Tennessee on Beale Street. That was the first fight I had.
Q. Okay, can you tell us how those fights went? You have a six and one Mixed Martial Arts record with your only loss being to Quinton Jackson via close decision? A. That would be a 7 and 1 record, actually.
Q. Why did you fight Quinton when you only weighed 170 pounds, and how did the fight go? A. The reason behind the Quinton Rampage fight was that I was scheduled to fight Chat Lavender at 175 pounds and not even one week before, he had gotten hurt at a grappling tournament and so I got a call from Jeff Mullin, and he asked if I would like to fight Quinton and that he was a little heavier. I said yes, no problem. Quinton, of course, was a heavier opponent than me. I was 170 and he was 200 pounds. I took the fight anyway. I also had a shattered right hand. It was completely broken at the time but I still fought.
Q. How did the fight go? A. It was mostly on the ground with me constantly attacking Quinton. Quinton of course, was typical being the rampage Jackson that everybody knows, slamming me around and kind of throwing me out the ring a little bit but as far as that went I completely dominated the fight. I was in his hometown and it was hard to get a win on Quinton in his hometown. He got the decision.
Q. And last year you talked about making some commitments to fighting. You made some major commitments, you started training in Nashville with Luiz Palhares and Ed Clay and you have recently spent three months in Copenhagen, Denmark to train Thai Boxing and you live there now. How have these changes helped your game. A. These changes are going to be everything for me and my future, because like I said earlier in the interview, I never had the supervision of knowledged trainers and never had the guidance. I have not had a person pushing me to be what I can be. Now I am starting to realize that so that is the best thing that has happened for me besides having this talent to be able to do this.
Q. How often do you go back and forth? What is training like? What’s the idea? A. Well, the idea is – right now I will be back and forth between Nashville, Tennessee and Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a far stretch to go to but that is where the best training is and where some of my friends are. And that’s what really matters. People to be there for me for a fight or to just go shopping with.
Q. Now you’re training Thai Boxing with Brian Talerate. How is that going and how is it improving your game? A. My game has improved ten-fold. Like I said before, I have not had any guidance or training before I came to Nashville or Denmark and now I am learning the way that I should, Instead of just doing things on my own and doing them somewhat incorrectly, now I am being corrected. Everything is like it should be. I am becoming a well rounded fighter now.
Q. Many people who train with you say you are a “phenom” on the ground and have an unbelievable natural ability. Ed Clay says you are one of the best that he has ever seen and one of the meanest in the ring. What do you think of your skills and ability? A. I never realized that I had such an impact on people like that. I just did not know that I was different than other people until I started being exposed to some of the best and training with some of the best. Now I can feel that and it also helps to feed the animal inside of me when I go to fight.
Q. So what do you think of your ability? What are you capable of? A. I am capable of going to the top now that I have been exposed and am under the wind of good training coaches. That is what is going to make the difference for Mike Pyle. People think that I’m a phenom now, you just give me another five or six fights and I’ll show the world.
Q. Now, you surprised may when you fought John Fitch this summer in Las Vegas. You took down the Purdue wrestler and choked him out in about two minutes. Was the way the fight went a surprise to you? A. No. I have – most of my fights, most of my fights are over quickly anyway. I have not been put to the test yet except with Quinton. I do not think it was a shock for me because I trained for it. I was training in Nashville at Nashville Mixed Martial Arts for that fight and I was well prepared. So no, it was not a big shock for me at all.
Q. Now, You recently fought in Denmark. What was the event, how did that fight go and who did you fight? A. The event was a Veeking fight three. It was in Copenhagen, Denmark. My opponent was Don Coiman from Team Shirber, a Dutch fighter with, I believe he hd a few more fights than me, ten to eleven fights, with a pretty good record. His stand-up skill was pretty good which all the Scandinavian fighters are known for their stand-up. But I out-classed him on my feet and on the ground and I beat him in about 49 seconds. Rear naked choke.
Q. Your next fight is in Russia in the M1 event. You are fighting a seasoned veteran and a very well respected UFC veteran, Andre Semenoff. What is your outlook on this fight and how are you training? A. My outlook is just the same for all. His name is nothing, it’s only a name. He has the same skills that I do, he can do the same things that I can. I just have to be better at it than him and I feel that I am better at it than him in this game. I don’t believe that he is smarter than me in the ring.
Q. Now, a lot of people way that Semenoff isn’t – that is is not possible to submit him. Do you think that is true? Do you think you have a chance to submit him? A. Well, everyone can be submitted, it just has to be at the right time. If I submit him, I submit him. If I knock him out, I knock him out. Or, if I take the decision, I take the decision. Either way, I’m leaving St. Petersburg with a victory for sure.
Q. What do you want to do after the Semenoff fight? A. After, I just want to relax. But for now, there is nothing after Semenoff. Right now it is just Semenoff. I’m only thinking as far as the fight on the 6th right now.
Q. Is there anything else you would like to add? A. Now that I’m under good coaches and good training, I’ve got a lot more learning to do and a lot more potential to be the number one fighter and I will be. That’s it.
======================================
Interview: Up and Comer MIKE PYLE
Submitted by: Ed Clay
Posted On 04/04/2003
Arpil 6th, 2003 - St Petersburg, Russia
Q. Please tell us about your training background? A. Well, my training background, I think maybe is a little different than other people. I started training just in a little, small shed behind my mother’s house. Watching the instructional videos and from moves in the magazines and recently, I have been trained under good supervision in the last year. I pretty much have been self-taught. That is why I think I’m a little different than some of the other fighters that are out now because they have been educated and trained by people from the beginning, which I have not.
Q. So I heard you worked out with a grappling dummy? A. Yes. Pretty much. Yes, I know that sounds pretty funny. I had to train somehow. That is pretty much how it is. No matter what the weather, cold, hot, rain, it did not matter. I would train any way I could.
Q. So when did you begin fighting? A. I began fighting probably about three years ago, around 199, ’98 or ’99. I have been fighting in kicking shoot in Memphis, Tennessee on Beale Street. That was the first fight I had.
Q. Okay, can you tell us how those fights went? You have a six and one Mixed Martial Arts record with your only loss being to Quinton Jackson via close decision? A. That would be a 7 and 1 record, actually.
Q. Why did you fight Quinton when you only weighed 170 pounds, and how did the fight go? A. The reason behind the Quinton Rampage fight was that I was scheduled to fight Chat Lavender at 175 pounds and not even one week before, he had gotten hurt at a grappling tournament and so I got a call from Jeff Mullin, and he asked if I would like to fight Quinton and that he was a little heavier. I said yes, no problem. Quinton, of course, was a heavier opponent than me. I was 170 and he was 200 pounds. I took the fight anyway. I also had a shattered right hand. It was completely broken at the time but I still fought.
Q. How did the fight go? A. It was mostly on the ground with me constantly attacking Quinton. Quinton of course, was typical being the rampage Jackson that everybody knows, slamming me around and kind of throwing me out the ring a little bit but as far as that went I completely dominated the fight. I was in his hometown and it was hard to get a win on Quinton in his hometown. He got the decision.
Q. And last year you talked about making some commitments to fighting. You made some major commitments, you started training in Nashville with Luiz Palhares and Ed Clay and you have recently spent three months in Copenhagen, Denmark to train Thai Boxing and you live there now. How have these changes helped your game. A. These changes are going to be everything for me and my future, because like I said earlier in the interview, I never had the supervision of knowledged trainers and never had the guidance. I have not had a person pushing me to be what I can be. Now I am starting to realize that so that is the best thing that has happened for me besides having this talent to be able to do this.
Q. How often do you go back and forth? What is training like? What’s the idea? A. Well, the idea is – right now I will be back and forth between Nashville, Tennessee and Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a far stretch to go to but that is where the best training is and where some of my friends are. And that’s what really matters. People to be there for me for a fight or to just go shopping with.
Q. Now you’re training Thai Boxing with Brian Talerate. How is that going and how is it improving your game? A. My game has improved ten-fold. Like I said before, I have not had any guidance or training before I came to Nashville or Denmark and now I am learning the way that I should, Instead of just doing things on my own and doing them somewhat incorrectly, now I am being corrected. Everything is like it should be. I am becoming a well rounded fighter now.
Q. Many people who train with you say you are a “phenom” on the ground and have an unbelievable natural ability. Ed Clay says you are one of the best that he has ever seen and one of the meanest in the ring. What do you think of your skills and ability? A. I never realized that I had such an impact on people like that. I just did not know that I was different than other people until I started being exposed to some of the best and training with some of the best. Now I can feel that and it also helps to feed the animal inside of me when I go to fight.
Q. So what do you think of your ability? What are you capable of? A. I am capable of going to the top now that I have been exposed and am under the wind of good training coaches. That is what is going to make the difference for Mike Pyle. People think that I’m a phenom now, you just give me another five or six fights and I’ll show the world.
Q. Now, you surprised may when you fought John Fitch this summer in Las Vegas. You took down the Purdue wrestler and choked him out in about two minutes. Was the way the fight went a surprise to you? A. No. I have – most of my fights, most of my fights are over quickly anyway. I have not been put to the test yet except with Quinton. I do not think it was a shock for me because I trained for it. I was training in Nashville at Nashville Mixed Martial Arts for that fight and I was well prepared. So no, it was not a big shock for me at all.
Q. Now, You recently fought in Denmark. What was the event, how did that fight go and who did you fight? A. The event was a Veeking fight three. It was in Copenhagen, Denmark. My opponent was Don Coiman from Team Shirber, a Dutch fighter with, I believe he hd a few more fights than me, ten to eleven fights, with a pretty good record. His stand-up skill was pretty good which all the Scandinavian fighters are known for their stand-up. But I out-classed him on my feet and on the ground and I beat him in about 49 seconds. Rear naked choke.
Q. Your next fight is in Russia in the M1 event. You are fighting a seasoned veteran and a very well respected UFC veteran, Andre Semenoff. What is your outlook on this fight and how are you training? A. My outlook is just the same for all. His name is nothing, it’s only a name. He has the same skills that I do, he can do the same things that I can. I just have to be better at it than him and I feel that I am better at it than him in this game. I don’t believe that he is smarter than me in the ring.
Q. Now, a lot of people way that Semenoff isn’t – that is is not possible to submit him. Do you think that is true? Do you think you have a chance to submit him? A. Well, everyone can be submitted, it just has to be at the right time. If I submit him, I submit him. If I knock him out, I knock him out. Or, if I take the decision, I take the decision. Either way, I’m leaving St. Petersburg with a victory for sure.
Q. What do you want to do after the Semenoff fight? A. After, I just want to relax. But for now, there is nothing after Semenoff. Right now it is just Semenoff. I’m only thinking as far as the fight on the 6th right now.
Q. Is there anything else you would like to add? A. Now that I’m under good coaches and good training, I’ve got a lot more learning to do and a lot more potential to be the number one fighter and I will be. That’s it.