411Mania Exclusive Interview: John Gunderson!
Posted by Lotfi Sariahmed on 10.31.2007
As part of 411Mania's coverage of the IFL Grand Prix, Lotfi Sariahmed talked to Lions lightweight John Gunderson! How has the lightweight prepared for his bout with Wagnney Fabiano? What has it been like in the last year for this carpenter turned IFL star! All that and more in this Exclusive Interview!
He's the carpenter turned IFL lightweight star. John Gunderson burst onto the IFL scene this season with Ken Shamrock's Lions and finished 2-1. Now Gunderson faces Wagnney Fabiano on Saturday in the World Grand Prix. 411Mania's Lotfi Sariahmed talked to the
411Mania.com: It seems like the lightweight bracket is the only one that HASN'T been hit with the injury bug. How have you managed to stay healthy?
John Gunderson: I've just been lucky. I'm not 100% healthy. But there'd have to be a serious injury where a doctor said I couldn't fight for me not to fight in that fight. For me I'm just one of those guys that I'm not going to give up and I'm going to fight no matter. I've just been training smart and the last couple of weeks I've been trying not to be stupid with my training. I'll be ready to fight. I'm ready now and I'm just waiting for all this hard work to pay off.
411Mania.com: Do you think having all these injuries takes away from the Grand Prix or not too much?
Gunderson: Oh of course. Except for the lightweights where it's the same four guys that made it. You have these other guys that never came close to making it and now they're in it. But that's good for them. If I were in that position I would take that opportunity too. With all these fighters out it's a blow to the Grand Prix but with the lightweight division again, it's going to be awesome.
…instead of it being a four-man tournament it should have been an eight-man tournament."
411Mania.com: This lightweight division is easily the strongest in the IFL with just so many good fighters even outside the four of you competing in the tourney. Talk about the depth in this division and how it helps you as a fighter.
Gunderson: Yeah, realistically instead of it being a four-man tournament it should have been an eight-man tournament. There are a couple of guys that should have been in it too. You have Ryan Schultz, a tough guy. You have Savant Young, Deividas Taurosevicius and then you have Shad Lierley. And there are other guys too that I just can't come up with off the top of my head. For guys like that you have to really train. All those guys are about the same; I think anyone of those could win any given day. With my training I just keep it hard and I don't really train for a specific person until that fight comes up. I keep my training top notch and prepare myself for a tough fight because every one of those guys are a tough opponent.
411Mania.com: On that same note, who do you think are the top fighters in the division and where do you feel you rank?
Gunderson: I think the top ranked fighters are in the Grand Prix and that's why we're here. I think after the tournament I'll go out and show where I rank. I never like to rank myself but I'll let my fighting do my talking for me. I think that Ryan Schultz is the toughest matchup for anyone in that division. I think he got caught twice by Bart and by Horodecki but I still think he's one of the tougher guys because of his wrestling ability. When he just decides to take someone down and ground-n-pound him he can. I'm one of those guys where you can't just take down and ground-n-pound. I have good groundwork; good standup and I have good wrestling. I'm one of the most well rounded fighters in the IFL; I'm not just one-dimensional.
411Mania.com: You're 2-1 in your first season in the IFL with that one loss being to Bart Palaszewski by split decision. Looking back on the fight now, do you feel that was the right decision?
Gunderson: No, I feel it was the wrong decision but I'm not going to whine about it. It was my fault for not pushing the fight. I'm just more focused on my training. I have a much better camp, better coaches and a better training facility. I'm just more focused now. So if that fight happens again, it'll be a much different fight. I think realistically that with that fight we both played a cautious game and I was pretty disappointed with my performance but I still feel that I won the fight.
411Mania.com: Lets get to this fight with Wagnney Fabiano coming up on Saturday. How's training coming and who have you been training with for this fight?
Gunderson: I've got a new grappling coach who's a black belt in jiu-jitsu named Gary Grate. He's a good friend of mine and just a great coach. He's worked with me a lot and we've become training partners. I brought in a new kickboxing coach and a great boxing coach whom now just works for me. We work well together and it's done wonders. I also brought in a strength and conditioning coach. I've always been a strong kid but just naturally, I haven't really lifted weights. But now that I have this coach my strength has gone through the roof so I'm excited about that. I'm just ready to go out there and showcase the skills that I've picked up and things that I've learned for the last couple of months. I've been training for this fight since my last fight. I took a couple of days, Saturday and Sunday, and then I was back in the gym on Monday. There have been a couple of times where Ken (Shamrock) has been kind of upset at me for going at it so hard. But that's just me. If I'm not in the gym I feel like I'm cheating myself.
…they don't want to respect you because they're on a TV show…
411Mania.com: On a somewhat related note, I have to ask. Lots of people saw Ken Shamrock on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter where he didn't look the greatest. But obviously television is going to portray you differently. So how's it been having Shamrock as your coach?
Gunderson: It's been good. We have a pretty good friendship, become pretty good friends. He made me captain of the team and stuff. He's done a lot of things for our gym to get a lot of guys out there and brought in a lot of the coaches. Ken's a good guy. He puts in a lot of good work and dedication. He's a good coach and he's done nothing but good things for me. He knows how to train. Sometimes when you get on a show like that you get stuck with a bunch of guys that you don't know who they are or they don't want to respect you because they're on a TV show and it's more about them.
411Mania.com: Moving back to your fight with Fabianno, he's the top lightweight in this bracket but you don't hear a lot about him with Horodecki and Palaszewski in the spotlight. What are some of his strengths that you have to be prepared for on Saturday?
Gunderson: For sure his grappling is his biggest strength. And his cardio probably is always up to competing. He's a competitor. I think that he comes right at a person and force his will on them. He's great at that. I believe that if for some reason he wins this fight, he'll win the tournament. I don't think either of those two guys have the submission skills to compete with him. But either one of them could knock him out. But if he takes them down that's it.
411Mania.com: Has there been anything you've seen that you could possibly exploit?
Gunderson: There's a couple of things. I've studied him. I don't think he's going to be able to have an easy time with me on the ground as he or anyone else thinks. I've got really good ground (skills). I'm a little stronger than anyone he's faced especially in the IFL this year. I have way better hands and the wrestling is not bad either. I brought on some really good wrestlers on my team to work them out. I'm not saying he's not going to take me down but if he does, we'll see what happens.
411Mania.com: The other fight in that bracket is the rematch between Chris Horodecki and Bart Palaszewski. Horodecki took the last fight by split decision, who do you like in this one?
Gunderson: That's a hard match to call. I think they're both awesome fighters. Both those guys are tough fighters. I think Horodecki probably Vegas being with the guys that he trains with. I've trained out there before and I know his game has stepped up a bit. I know his ground game is better now and if he can't strike he'll take Bart down. Even if he can't take Bart down he'll fight with him standing. But then with Bart's power he can catch you at any time. That's a fight that I wouldn't bet on.
…I'd rather fight Horodecki."
411Mania.com: Do you have a preference on a potential opponent in the Finals if you get Fabianno? Maybe get that rematch with Palaszewski?
Gunderson: Well, I'd fight him (Palaszewski) again, but I'd rather fight Horodecki. Bart's definitely a tough opponent and I definitely want that rematch down the line but I'd rather fight Horodecki. I have more to gain out of that. He's undefeated and he's the poster boy for the IFL. That being said I have a lot of respect for him but I'm here to fight the best so…
411Mania.com: The big news for the Grand Prix is that MyNetworkTV is actually going to broadcast an hour of the event live. What does that mean to you as a fighter in the IFL?
Gunderson: That's awesome. I'm really excited about that. That means hopefully we'll get some more events broadcast live and it becomes more popular over time. More people are interested watching a live fight than watching a fight three weeks later. I've had people call and congratulate me saying, "Hey good job, I'll get to watch the fight in a month." It's not as entertaining when you already know the results.
411Mania.com: Any added pressure knowing that these fights are live?
Gunderson: Nah. It wouldn't matter to me if it weren't live to be honest with you. I mean I like that it's going live but I'm still out there trying to win whether it's live or whether its just for the people in the arena.
411Mania.com: Unfortunately there's been a bit of controversy with this Grand Prix as well. With Ben Rothwell and Mike Whitehead out of this Grand Prix, what are your thoughts on this whole thing from a fighters' perspective?
Gunderson: Well, I think it's too bad Ben Rothwell's out of the Grand Prix. It's a huge blow to it because of who he was and he was one of the big stars of the IFL besides Horodecki so it takes away from the heavyweights. But you still have the lightweight Grand Prix, that hasn't changed at all. The middleweight Grand Prix hasn't changed either. This is just a hassle you have to deal with and it's just like any other business or any other organization. They're going to lose their stars and that's just a part of it. That doesn't mean the Grand Prix's not going to happen. It's still going to continue and Rothwell's not bigger than the IFL. Hopefully we'll just move on and better things will happen for him and better things will happen for the IFL.
411Mania.com: John a year and a half ago you're fighting on smaller shows and working as a carpenter and now you're an IFL star. What motivated you to make that drive up to Ken Shamrock's open tryouts last year and did you ever expect to be where you are right now?
Gunderson: I actually came from a gym where Josh Haynes was training with me and I trained with a couple of people like Chris Leben and Ed Herman and all my friends were pursuing the dream. Their dreams were coming true and I was in the gym still training. If you'd ask anyone how tough I was they would have told you. But I was basically only making it to the gym twice a week an hour or two a day because I was working. I had the determination I just never made the next step because there are so many lightweights out there. It's hard to really make that next step especially from a small team. I was just about ready to quit when I got the call that they were having these tryouts so I was like, "All right, I'll give it a shot." I said to myself going up there that if I didn't make it, it just wasn't meant to be.
411Mania.com: How did you get into MMA in the first place? I saw you were an amateur boxer for a while.
Gunderson: Yeah, I grew up in a small hillbilly town in Oregon. I got along with a lot of people but if you had a problem we'd settle it. I always just wanted to fight. That's how I found my way into MMA was through boxing. I actually had a pretty good boxing gym in our town and coached in fights and then kind of quit. Then I went to an MMA fight and it just kind of took me away and that was it in a nutshell.
411Mania.com: On that same note the IFL is in the middle of its Draft with all sorts of fighters looking to make it onto rosters. You were at the tryouts in LA. What was that like for you talking to these fighters that are in the same position you were in not too long ago?
Gunderson: I got to see a lot of guys with a lot of potential and it was really weird to see what people would do for their dream. Some of these guys are flying in from all over the place and probably for the other tryouts too I'm sure. It's a good way to discover talent because a lot of guys don't get the opportunity and it just passes them by just like with any sport, too bad. There are a lot of guys that are better than a lot of guys in there and they just don't get the chance. So it was really kind of a weird atmosphere watching those guys in there because I remember that was basically me just a year ago. I don't know if I would be able to compete. Last year there was a spot; you'd be on a team if you made it. This year you don't have that and you have to respect these guys for that.
411Mania.com: You're not the only Lion in this Grand Prix. The team is sending three representatives to the tourney. At heavyweight, Roy Nelson takes on Bryan Vetell. How do you think Roy will do in that bout?
Gunderson: I believe he's going to walk through the Grand Prix. I think Roy is going to walk through the Grand Prix. You have to understand how good that guy is. You look at him and you have no idea until you go to the gym and he's just amazing. You spend 10 minutes around him and he could teach you something. He trains out of Vegas, he doesn't train here in Reno with us but he comes up. If you spend a couple of months with him he will make your game so much better because he's so intelligent when it comes to MMA because he's such an athlete. It doesn't look like it but he's one of those guys that you do not judge a book by its cover. He's a stud. He'll finish both of his opponents.
411Mania.com: At welterweight Pat Healy takes on Jay Hieron. He lost to Hieron back in 2005 so what does Healy have to do here to make it to the Finals?
Gunderson: First of all, Healy is out. He just let the IFL know a couple of days ago. He'll be out for a couple of months because he sustained a pretty serious injury on our last serious day of training. He tore some ligaments in his arm. His arm got dislocated and he was still going to fight until the doctor said, "I don't know if you should do this…you might be paralyzed for the rest of your life." But he'll still be in my corner for the fight.
411Mania.com: It wouldn't be right of me if I let you go without giving me a prediction on your fight with Fabianno.
Gunderson: My prediction is a TKO in the late 2nd/early 3rd round. He's going to try and take me down and if he'll take me down, but he won't be able to do anything from there.
411Mania.com: Any sponsors you want to thank before you go?
Gunderson: I'd like to thank Warrior Wear and Fairtex.
411Mania.com: Thanks for the time John and good luck Saturday.
