10Q: Ten Questions with UFC Fighter Terry Etim
Filed Under (Interview) by admin on 13-10-2009
Tagged Under : Terry Etim, UFC
I recently had the opportunity to converse with Terry Etim, a rising star with the UFC and one of the leaders of the British charge into the upper echelon of mixed martial arts. Needless to say, this was a good chance to learn a bit about MMA, its specified training, and the man himself. The 10Q follows below…
CT: You are listed at 6’1” and you fight in the lightweight division, making you remarkably light for a competitive athlete of that height (or in otherwords, remarkably tall for an athlete of that weight). With the recent (and terrible) Corey Hill injury (snapped tibia with a leg kick) is there any increased concern in the UFC about taller fighters cutting to the lightest weight classes?
TE: No, not really, at least its not a concern for me personally. I mean there are a number of lightweights around the same height as me, if not taller – Diaz, Delgado, Bucholz to name a few, and luckily injuries like Corey Hill’s are quite rare.
At the moment, I’m still only young at 23 and my frame still lends itself to fight comfortably at 155lbs, plus the height/reach advantage it gives from a striking point of view far outweighs any injury concern for me at the moment.
CT: Since entering the UFC in 2007, four of your six UFC matches have been at events held in Britain (and one in Germany), making you something of a featured attraction for the UFC’s European incursion. Since your first UFC fight at UFC 70, have you noticed any changes in the British MMA climate, whether in terms of fan knowledge, appreciation of the ground game, crowd size, crowd noise and so on?
TE: Yes, definitely. MMA in general is increasing in popularity now nationwide with a number of different ‘MMA’ gyms/events popping up across the country. I mean, don’t get me wrong, UFC 70 was fantastic considering the UK had had to wait since UFC 38 for the promotion to return to our shores.
The event was a sell out I think and if I’m right broke all kinds of merchandising records for the arena and the crowd fantastic, but in general, there is definitely an even bigger following now. The crowd are also becoming more educated and appreciative of the ground game also which is nice from a MMA practioner’s point of view, the fans appreciate there’s more than just the striking element of your game.
CT: Who would win in an MMA match, Margaret Thatcher or Hilary Clinton? The fight would be under Pride rules, so soccer kicks and knees to grounded opponents would be permitted.
TE: It’s got to be the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, all day long. With her Handbag Ground & Pound and with the UK being the home of soccer Margaret’s kicks would be top notch, Hilary wouldn’t stand a chance!
CT: The fifth fight of your career, against Diego Gonzaleaz, took place in the World Cage Fighting Championships and, quite notably, was refereed by Mike Tyson. This fight took place in 2006, so the rules and refereeing in MMA were pretty much as advanced as they are today.
You won the fight with a triangle choke, but do you have any knowledge of the training or refereeing experience Mike Tyson had received, and were there any concerns going in that he had demonstrated his competence at refereeing mixed martial arts?
TE: Absolutely no concerns regarding Mike’s proficiency as a Ref. As far as I am aware he had been given the basic training necessary but that was never even a factor for me. I was simply focused on my own performance.
Of course, having Mike Tyson as a ref was excellent as he is an idol of mine, a real boxing inspiration so it was an honour him being in there with me and my opponent.
CT: Your last fight was at UFC 99 against Justin Buchholz, and it was the kind of performance that singlehandedly gains a fighter waves of new fans. You overcame a broken nose in the first round to secure a submission victory in the second.
In MMA, we’ve seen broken noses end fights either when the injured fighter does not continue (Tom Atencio vs. Randy Hedderick) or when the broken nose affects the fighter’s breathing or performance so severely that he is unable to prevent a TKO (Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga).
Is there anything a fighter can do in training to improve his ability specifically to maintain composure in situations that normally induce either physical handicaps or a state of near-panic?
TE: Just real hard work/training in the gym with excellent training partners. That is really all that can prepare you for anything you are going to face inside the cage. There are various pressure drills in the gym that we go through to recreate the worst case scenario but obviously I can not really go into them as [I] don’t want to give too much away!
But definitely, I believe that the hard training and support that I was put through by my coaches and training partners at Kaobon helped me keep my composure and got me through that fight.
CT: As a mixed martial arts fan, what was the most entertaining or inspiring fight you have seen and why?
TE: That’s a hard question. I think its too difficult to just name one particular inspirational fight or fighter. Obviously early UFC, legends like Royce Gracie / Randy Couture are inspirations MMA wise, and today people like GSP / Anderson Silva can make experienced opponents seem like novices.
I just hope to keep gaining experience and training hard to one day come close to the likes of them. I, however, started off boxing and Mike Tyson in his prime was hard to beat. Another inspirational fighter.
CT: Tell me a little bit about some of the guys to keep an eye out for in the future at Team Kaobon.
TE: Well we have a whole host of up and coming guys at the gym who are all currently undefeated and destined for big things. It would be unfair of me to single any out and name a few.
Take a look at www.ommac.tv which is a local Mixed Martial Arts promotion that a number of our guys from the gym have featured in to get an idea of the names coming out of Kaobon to look out for in the future! Watch this space!
CT: You worked your way into the UFC after accumulating an impressive 9-0 record in several smaller organizations, with all nine fights occurring in the UK. While it is usually the case that athletes earn a spot in the UFC by fighting in smaller shows, how does rising up the ranks in British MMA differ from the American version of the story?
TE: I doubt it differs very much. I’m sure it works in pretty much the same way, hard work while gaining as much experience that you can along with good management.
CT: As an Englishman, your ancestors were responsible for killing Mel Gibson at the end of Braveheart and making lots of men cry in the theatre in front of their girlfriends. On behalf of your countrymen, do you have anything to say to these moviegoers? An apology, perhaps?
TE: Ha ha! They were probably crying because of the state of Mel Gibson’s mullet! That hair cut would bring a tear to my eye!
CT: Kimbo Slice has UFC matchmaker Joe Silva in a Peruvian Necktie and won’t release Silva until he gives you any matchup you want from the UFC roster. Who do you want to fight?
TE: The usual answer really, I’ll fight whoever the UFC suggest for me. I’m not in any rush at the moment. I just want to slowly learn my trade as I’m in this for the long term. Obviously, eventually I would like to fight for the title at some point but in the meantime, I’m just happy to develop and learn new skills.