411 MMA Interview: Kevin Burns
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 06.19.2009
Kevin Burns speaks with 411mania for an exclusive interview before his fight with Chris Lytle on The Ultimate Finale.
This Saturday, The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom is finale will go down to determine two new UFC fighters. Also taking place on the main card is a welterweight battle between Kevin Burns and Chris Lytle. Kevin Burns spoke with me last week about the fight and preparing for his fight with Lytle as well as dealing with the controversy from the first fight with Anthony "Rumble" Johnson. The 7-2 Burns hails from Des Moines Iowa, and is definitely ready and excited for his fight with Lytle. The stakes are most definitely high as well since both fighters are coming off of a loss in the previous fights.
Jeffrey "The Vile One" Harris: You are facing Chris Lytle on the finale show. He's a tough guy, and he's not afraid to stand and bang. What do you think of Chris Lytle as a fighter and this fight?
Kevin Burns: Chris Lytle as a fighter obviously as you just mentioned, extremely tough, he's been around for a really long time. He's basically fought anybody that is anybody in our weight class over the course of his career and that excites me because at the end of the day, I have the opportunity to get in the cage with somebody who isn't afraid to stand and throw with somebody and trade as I am. I definitely like to stand in front of people and let things fly which is honestly pretty cool for the fans, those fans are going to get what they pay for. And I honestly feel its shaping up to be fight of the night.
TVO: Even though you are still relatively early in your MMA and UFC career, you definitely don't want another loss at this point after losing your last fight to Anthony "Rumble" Johnson. So how important do you think it is to pull out, not just a win, but to win impressively.
KB: I think its very important to win impressively. I step into the cage with one goal in mind, and that's to win and finish people. I never fight not to lose, and I always fight to win. You just mentioned, two losses in a row is definitely something you don't want to have on your resume. I don't see myself losing this fight any way, shape, or form. I have one of the best training camps I've ever had quite honestly coming into the fight, and I'm prepared to press the pace.
TVO: Where are you training and where are you at this point in your training?
KB: I'm really starting to wind things down and worry about cutting the weight off, that's really the last piece. I train in Des Moines, primarily, but I've been coming out to Vegas to train with Ken Hahn and the folks at Striking Unlimited on a regular basis, usually a week or so at a time . . . so primarily Des Moines, but I've been going out to Vegas regularly.
TVO: How is the weight cut for you to 170, and I mean do ever maybe forsee a weight cut to 155? Or do you feel 170 is your ideal weight class?
KB: I'd have to cut off a limb to make 155. There's no possible way my body can make 155. I walk around 195-200 pounds. I cut from there. It's pretty easy for me. I've got a very unique body when it comes to cutting weight. I can cut weight in about four days. But, I never forsee myself leaving this weight class because I'm able to cut the weight and get down to 170, and by all means if I can do it I'm going to be one of the biggest in the weight class versus one of the smallest.
TVO: I'm sorry if you've heard a lot about this before, but after the first fight with Johnson which you were declared the winner, were you not OK with having a win like that or is a win a win?
KB: I definitely didn't want to win like that. That's why I requested the rematch as quickly as I did, so I could make it right, put it by me, and I thought in both fights they were extremely competitive. Its unfortunate how it ended. Obviously I didn't want that, but sometimes things happen in the cage that you don't plan for.
TVO: But when you read about all the negative feedback do you try to ignore that, and not read the reactions of keyboard warriors and what not?
KB: Sure. Honestly, I don't spend a lot of times on any of the forums, mainly because quite honestly people are going to have their opinions and that's exactly what it is, an opinion. I don't take or put a whole lot of weight in it if somebody wants to their opinion, "the controversy," "He did it on purpose," or whatever they want to say. I'm going to let them say what they want to say. I know what happened that night, and I really don't hold anything from it. I train and do I what I do and get ready for my next fight. So I really don't pay any attention to keyboard warriors. I like that word.
TVO: I think you matching up with Lytle is very cool, and not looking past this fight, is there anyone else you'd like to fight at welterweight like facing Carlos Condit or Martin Kampmann because those would make for very intriguing matchups?
KB: Yeah, I'd love to fight either one of those two and quite honestly when I look at who I would want to fight next, it really is more important for me to get back on track for a title shot. Who ever that is in the UFC, that's who I want to fight. But I think that is an interesting matchup, me and Chris Lytle, the way that we each fight and I'm really excited to get in there and do that. But like you said, I'm not going to look past anybody. My number one goal in mind is to take care of business on the 20th, and after that evaluate where I'm at, talk to the UFC, and continue a path on to the title shot.
TVO: Any issues between you and Chris Lytle?
KB: No. I've actually never met him before, but I hear he's a pretty straight up, stand up guy. I'm honored to compete against him.
TVO: Now in preparing and training for a fight do you have a specific method for each fighter or do you generally keep it the same for each fight? When I spoke with Josh Koscheck, he said he doesn't want tape of his opponents and that his coaches watch the tape.
KB: I watch a lot of film myself. My coaches also do, and we all kind of get together and have a little quote un-quote pow wow together -- here's what we want to do, the gameplan, and I leave it up for debate for a while honestly between everybody to achieve their opinion. And at the end of the day, my coaches, I trust them, put together the gameplan, and I kind of go from there. Its kind of a democracy I guess.
TVO: What's the hardest thing about training for you? Be it the dieting or the weight cutting for example?
KB: I don't really have to diet. Quite honestly, I eat about 6,000 calories a day. The only time I had to diet for the last fight was four days, 1,200 calories. I have a really unique body when it comes to that. But, I really love what I do. I can't say there's really anything "hard" for me. I really, really truly love what I do. I love all the aspects of training going into it. I look forward to it. I get up every single day, and I'm honestly pretty jacked up, *laughs*.
TVO: Is there any fight so far in your career, "that was my toughest fight?"
KB: As far as competition is concerned, I'd probably say Anthony Johnson is the toughest competition I went up against. He tested me the most and also opened my eyes to the most part to things I needed to work on, primarily my striking skills as well as my footwork. And I think if that fight had ended any differently, with me winning possibly or even going to decision, whatever happens happens, it would have not been as evident for me to see on film the things that I needed to fix.
TVO: With the new welterweight talent coming from this season of The Ultimate Fighter, and the UFC re-signing Frank Trigg, do you ever pay attention to the new talent coming in or do you mainly focus on yourself and your opponents?
KB: For this particular training camp, I've really just focused on myself. I've got a new baby at home, about three and a half months old. So between that and training, my wife has been very understanding about my training to help me, but likewise I in my free time try to put as much time back in as possible so that I would do my part. I haven't had a whole lot of time to watch TV lately. But I usually keep up pretty well on it as things get back to normal in my household that will probably be the case.
TVO: Being a fighter and a family man, how is it balancing the fighting, the training, and still being a family man at the end of the day?
KB: I have a lot of opportunities to get my training in during the day. My training partners come in pretty early, and my wife is extremely . . . understanding, and she helps out a lot. And it helps when you have someone fully on board because we can balance things and make it a win/win for everybody in the long run so its not a drain on us as parents or whatever the case is. But without that, I think it would be really a lot harder than it is, but I feel lucky that I've got an outstanding wife that supports me in what I do, and I support her in what she does.
TVO: Any people or sponsors you would like to give a shout out to?
KB: Yeah, absolutely. I would love to thank Tito Ortiz and Punishment Athletics. They're my main sponsors for this fight. They've helped me out a lot. And I'd also like to thank White Chocolate Management.
TVO: Thank you so much for your time, and good luck with your fight, hope you guys have a real barn burner.
KB: Thanks man, I appreciate it.
The live Ultimate Fighter Season 9: USA VS. UK Finale is going down this Saturday, June 20. And remember MMA fans, if you want the quick fix to our live coverage of the event, remember to bookmark 411mania.com/mma to your favorite places or save 411mania.com as your homepage.
