411 MMA Interviews: Scott Jorgensen
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 04.12.2010
The WEC bantamweight fighter speaks with 411mania.com for an exclusive interview before his PPV fight with Antonio Banuelos at WEC 48! Jorgensen gives his thoughts on what happened with the first fight with Banuelos, WEC's move to PPV, going into contention for the title, and much more!
WEC bantamweight fighter, Scott Jorgensen (9-3, MMA; 5-2, WEC), makes his long awaited PPV debut on April 24 at WEC 48. Jorgensen on this night will have a chance at redemption and get back a previous loss against his opponent, Antonio Banuelos (17-5, MMA; 6-3, WEC). At WEC 41 in June of last year, Banuelos took a controversial split decision win over Jorgensen, while many believed that Jorgensen truly won that fight. Since the loss, Jorgensen went on a 3 fight winning streak in the WEC; his most recent win was by a jaw dropping guillotine choke over Chad George in 31 seconds at WEC 47 last March.
Scott Jorgensen recently sat down to speak with 411mania about his preparations for his rematch with Banuelos:
Jeffrey Harris: How excited are you to be fighting on PPV for the first time and you're going to have the chance to avenge one of your losses which was a controversial split decision?
Scott Jorgensen: I'm excited. The PPV, the main card, it's all kind of the bells and whistles of it man. I'm just excited to get that fight. It's a fight I've wanted since that first decision. I felt I won that fight and I want my redemption. I want my chance to show the better didn't win in that fight. It should've been my win and I'm going to take it back.
Jeffrey Harris: How do you want to approach Banuelos this time since you feel that way about the previous fight?
Scott Jorgensen: Same way. I feel like I won that fight. There are a few things that I could've done different, but I'm going to approach it the same way, the same attitude, the same mentality. I'm just going to take it to him and take his heart out of the fight.
Jeffrey Harris: After that loss you did what any good fighter should do. You got back in there and you're currently on a 3 fight winning streak. You win this and you've won 4 in a row and you're 6-2 in the WEC. Is that in your mind at all, that you could be a title contender if you win this fight?
Scott Jorgensen: You know it's in my mind a little bit, but again man, that title contention you're next in line for the belt, that talk, to me it's just a big distraction and get pulled away from the task at hand. I've got something to focus on right now and that's all I'm worried about. Whatever comes out of this fight, whether it's a title shot or title contention, whatever people want to call it, will happen regardless with a win. So my plan is to go out there and fight and do what I've been doing and stick to my game plans. I win this fight and I win the next one, I win the next one, and I win the next one, they're going to have to give me that title shot. So I just put that stuff in the back of my head and worry about that stuff when the day comes.
Jeffrey Harris: You won your last fight with quite frankly I think one of the nastiest chokes I've ever seen in the history of MMA when you choked out Chad George. How did that win feel for you?
Scott Jorgensen: It was good. It was short, it was quick. I didn't get to use a lot of the stuff I went through camp working on, which is fine, it just keeps the mystery. Nobody got to see my new game, my new style. It was good to get that quick victory. I would've like to have fought a little big longer, a little bit more, but the way I won that fights sends a definite exclamation point to the rest of the division that I'm coming and you got to be on top of your game. I might be evolving even more and more as you speak.
Jeffrey Harris: What's going through your head when you get a choke like that? Do you think, "I've got his neck so I'm going to go for this choke as much as I can?" What's the mindset of getting that submission?
Scott Jorgensen: With that particular one, I got it locked up and I started to – I didn't know if I had enough and I just wanted to see the way he'd react. The way he reacted told me that it was tight enough and that I could finish it. Once I knew that, I just tried to take his head clean off. I was going to squeeze until that ref pulled me off. Thank God I put him in a position where he wasn't able to get out. It just happened to be a really cool way to finish.
Jeffrey Harris: I saw your fight with Takeya Mizugaki, a former WEC bantamweight title contenter, live at WEC 45 in Las Vegas. That was a great fight, and I think you decisively won that fight. You really just went after him and didn't give him room to breathe. I think he won that last round when it seemed like he finally woke up from that beating you gave him. But man, that was a really impressive performance. Did you see that fight as a big opportunity for you?
Scott Jorgensen: I feel like I wont that fight decisively. Even though he won the 3rd round, all he did was get a couple of takedowns, that's what won him the round. I don't really feel like he beat me up at all. I was out striking him the whole fight. I landed more powerful shots the whole fight, and it was just a good win for me against a good name opponent and to do what I did to him. I did something Miguel Torres couldn't do to him and not a lot of guys have been able to. I dropped him twice, wobbled him multiple times, and put him in danger the whole fight. I think it was probably one of my better fights as far as putting a whole game plan together.
Jeffrey Harris: You talked a little bit about some new stuff and a new style you've been working on. Can you talk about that training and your trainers at all?
Scott Jorgensen: Kit Cope moved out to Boise, Idaho. He's living with me now. He's my Muay Thai coach, and I've got a group of guys around me that are really solid that push me and keep me going hard and humbled. I don't have the belt yet. I'm not the best in the world. I haven't moved up a division and cleaned it out yet so I got a lot to work on. We're just trying to evolve my style. I'm just trying to make sure every time I fight, before I come back for that next fight, I've got something new and different to offer my opponents. I think that's what's going to be hard for Antonio to keep up. I've fought 3 times. My game's evolved. My style's changed and I'm getting smarter. It's going to be a different fight for him. It's going to be the same fight for me.
Jeffrey Harris: I really enjoy how competitive and exciting these fights in the lighter weight classes in the WEC are. And I think it's great you guys are finally back on DirecTV and moving to PPV. What are you thoughts on the move to PPV?
Scott Jorgensen: I think it's awesome. This card is insane. If I wasn't going to be on this fight on it, I was going to go so, it's something I would do. I'd fly out and watch it regardless. I think it's awesome. I think it's a great thing for the fans to see a card that well put together. Sean Shelby and WEC did an awesome job putting this thing together and I know a lot of people are grumbling about ZUFFA and having to buy more PPV's, but if you look, we're putting more and more free shows on. We're looking out for the fans. They'll get their money's worth out of it.
Jeffrey Harris: 10 times out of 10, if I had the chance of paying for WEC 48 and that crappy Pacquiao / Clottey fight, I'm picking the WEC 48 for a PPV. Because I know if I watch WEC I'm going to see some great action, great title fights, some exciting finishes, and maybe even some crazy upsets.
Scott Jorgensen: I think WEC is probably the most exciting sport to watch even more so than football, baseball, anything man. You don't see anywhere in the world the amount of energy expended in one 15 minute fight. And you know in our division, it's unreal. It's the most exciting thing to be involved in. The WEC has done a great job in signing the top of the top at 135, 145. I think we give the fans their money's worth every time. You don't know how many times you hear that, you know, "we're more exciting than the UFC fights." And you get a great feeling when you hear that from fans and people in the industry.
"Me personally, I don't care if it's a title fight or not, you're going to drag me out of that cage. If the doctor's going to stop, I'm going to get carried out. I'm not going to stop."
Jeffrey Harris: Have you been up to Colorado to train with Joe Warren at his new gym yet?
Scott Jorgensen: I've been out there a little bit. He actually just texted me before you called about coming out. He's going to be cornering me, and I'm cornering him for his Bellator debut. He was one of my cornerman – he was there for the Takeya Mizugaki fight. He cornered me a lot and helped me get my mindset right and the approach that we took with Takeya. I went out there before I fought Chad, but it was a work in progress. I heard it's changed a lot. One of my other training partners, Jesse Brock, was out there. I'll either be out there next week or Joe's coming here next week.
Jeffrey Harris: I was wondering how friendly you are with Joseph Benavidez and if you've ever trained with him. And how would you feel about maybe matching up with him and maybe fighting him some time after his amazing performance against Miguel Torres?
Scott Jorgensen: Joseph and I are friends. We've been in the same locker room a couple times. Now, we're good buddies. We work with each other a lot. We want the best for each other. We have the same management. We've trained together . . . there's a good chance I'll be rolling around with Joseph. If we fight, it's going to be a big fight and it's going to be one of the most exciting fights you're ever going to see. Joseph and I are very straight forward and I think it would be a treat for the fans; of course we don't necessarily want it to happen until it absolutely has to. So we'll wait and see if one of us will get the belt and one of us will have to fight for it.
Jeffrey Harris: I know you were busy on the WEC 47 card, but I was wondering if you got to see the Brian Bowles/Dominik Cruz title fight and what your opinion was on Bowles' loss. I also asked Urijah Faber about this since he fought with a broken hand before. Does this ever come up with you fighting through a serious injury? Is it more important to call it quits and not risk further injury?
Scott Jorgensen: Brian's tough. My perspective is that Brian is tough and so is Dominik and no way does my opinion reflect on them. They got to take care of themselves and do what they think is right for their bodies. Me personally, I don't care if it's a title fight or not, you're going to drag me out of that cage. If the doctor's going to stop, I'm going to get carried out. I'm not going to stop. I've wrestled. I've fought with injuries every single time I've done it. I've never been completely 100% healthy. I've wrestled with separated wrists, torn ACL's, MCL's. Wrestled with high ankle sprains, everything. It's just part of the sport. You want to be involved with a contact sport, as something as rough and tough as this is, you've got to be willing to go out there and if you're going to sign that contract to fight, you better to be willing to go through blood, guts, and hell to continue to fight and take a victory. Otherwise, I think there's something wrong with your heart.
Jeffrey Harris: Being a father, do you think MMA and training in martial arts is a good way for younger kids to achieve discipline and get in shape?
Scott Jorgensen: I think it is. I see beyond the punching and the kicking and the blood. I've seen 14 and 15 year olds getting into trouble and turning their lives around, getting straight A's because they want to compete in this sport. And they don't look at it as a fight, they look at it as a sport and they want to be in this sport and learn discipline and self-control for this sport. They can go out there and beat up any 15, 16 year old on the street, but they learn the discipline and this is not something you take advantage of. You use it where it's appropriate. If my son decides to do this, in no way will I make him or force wrestling upon him, he's old enough now he can actually start wrestling. It's something I don't push on him. At my gym, I run a kids class and I let him pick and choose. I own a gym and he's always down there, but I never forced him, "You're going to class. You're going to learn how to box. You're going to learn how to wrestle." It's always up to him. If he wants to do that, he can do it. If he wants to grab his cars and go play on the big tires, he can do that. If wants to watch a movie in the lounge he can do that. I want my son to be free choice. I'm not going to force anything upon him. I've seen too many kids grow up forced wrestling, they've burnt out. They just don't want to do it. They don't enjoy it. My son's a kid and that's what he deserves. He deserves that fun, so that's the plan for now.
Jeffrey Harris: So why do you think fans should get this PPV?
Scott Jorgensen: Why do I think they should?
Jeffrey Harris: Yeah.
Scott Jorgensen: Because I'm fighting on it! When's the last time you've seen me put on a boring fight?
Jeffrey Harris: Never man.
Scott Jorgensen: I just think it's awesome. Faber's fighting. Brown's fighting. Donald and Ben. Me and Banuelos. It's going to be a card to watch. You don't want to miss it. You don't see very many UFC cards this stacked with this many fast, exciting guys which they've got on the PPV card for the WEC. And not only, if they get to see any of the under card it's going to be disgusting. Crazy. There are fights I don't want to miss. I'm going to show up early just to watch. And after I beat Antonio Banuelos, I'll finish watching . . . As a fan and as a fighter, there's nothing better in the world to be buried in the middle of something like this. I'm excited.
"My game's evolved. My style's changed and I'm getting smarter. It's going to be a different fight for him. It's going to be the same fight for me."
Jeffrey Harris: Any people or people or sponsors you would like to thank before the fight?
Scott Jorgensen: My son, Brandon, for putting up with everything I do, all the traveling in the last month and all the stuff I got to do. He's a great kid and very understanding for a 4 year old. My sponsors, Fight Care, Paradigm Apparel, Washed Up Hollywood, my management MMA Incorporated. My Gym, Combat Fitness, all my training partners who trained there; there's too many guys to name. My coaches, Jesse Brock, Kit Cope, all you guys. Thanks for the support and all my fans out there. I wouldn't be where I'm at without you guys cheering me on and expecting big things out of me. And if people want to follow my fight and follow what I'm doing to get ready for this fight, just go to ScottJorgensen.tv.
Jeffrey Harris: Last silly question that somebody dared me to ask you, how did it feel to choke a ***** out sir?
Scott Jorgensen: *Laughs* It feels good, you know. It's another good feeling to get the win. I didn't even know I choked him the way I did. I didn't know I choked him unconscious or anything like that. It was pretty cool.
Jeffrey Harris: Scott, thank you for your time. Good luck and I hope you get that loss back man.
Scott Jorgensen: Thank you man.
WEC 48 goes down at the Arco Arena in Sacramento and will be broadcast live on PPV on April 24. Remember to check 411mania.com for the latest and greatest coverage of the event as well as the quickest and best play-by-play results, and full event report. So remember to bookmark the site or save us to your homepage. You can also follow 411mania on Twitter:
