Quad Cities Silverbacks Post Fight Press Conference!
Posted by Lotfi Sariahmed on 08.03.2007
All the news you need to know from the Silverbacks!
Following the end of the Sabres v. Pitbulls team match-up, each of the four teams came in one after the other to field questions from the media. These are some of the highlights from the Silverbacks press conference following their win over the Anacondas.
Quad Cities Silverbacks Pat Miletich On whether the team bout was as easy as the 4-1 final score
Well no. These guys trained very hard. The assistant coaches put a lot of time into these guys. We had a very structured training camp and these guys really adhered to it very well. That's really where these fights are won as everyone knows that's involved in the sport. So coming into the fights we were very confident and really expecting all of our guys to perform very well. They did and they executed the game plan perfectly.
On the difference between this team bout and their first match of the season in Houston
I think it was just our team coming off the championship. It's a huge roller coaster having been involved in the sport as an athlete. I know the type of roller coaster you go through when you come off a big show, win a championship and then have to come right back and fight against a very tough team in a short amount of time. The Anacondas are obviously very talented. It's tough to come right back and get up physically and mentally to be able to perform. It's like Steve Rusk (Assistant Coach) said. For us to lose that, everything had to go wrong. Everything did go wrong in that one. We really wanted things to go well this time. We kept these guys on a tight schedule. They knew what they were doing a month out from the fight. Every day, every morning and every evening they knew exactly what they had to do.
"The North Star" Ben Rothwell then grabbed the mic to add his thoughts to what Pat said…The team moaned and started chuckling. Mike Ciesnolevicz put his hands over his face. Mike later said this was just Ben.
On having a team with fighters from your own camp
I think it's very important and that shows why Renzo's team and my team are in the finals. He has a large roster of great jiu-jitsu fighters and I have a large roster of very accomplished mixed martial artists. It's also very important for people to understand that in the gym my IFL and UFC guys are warring with each other. These guys are every bit as tough as any guy out there on the planet. That's important for people to understand that the levels of the young guys I have coming up are very talented, very scary guys. These guys will fight and do well against anyone on the planet.
On his camp "struggling" then cleaning house in the IFL
You can't always win everything in a sport that has so many weapons. There are too many talented people in this sport to go and dominate constantly. In the PPV/TV level, the highest level in this sport, we're batting about .800. We've had close to 80 guys on PPV and TV. That's saying something overall. We expect a lot out of our guys and the guys that make it through are going to be guys that win most of the time.
On the steroid issue
The IFL has written a policy it will be very strict about. Steroids can be a shortcut obviously. Guys see the belt in front of them and you have to weigh the consequences against the goal you're trying to reach and you have to make a decision. It's a grueling sport as are many professional sports and guys bodies get damaged very badly. They reach for that stuff to hopefully heal up and get their bodies strong enough to get through training. The sport has gotten a black eye because of it but I think all sports are going through the same thing.
On Dana White taking away bonuses for fighters who test positive
I think people are still going to want to win that belt and get on TV. I don't know if guys weigh out the consequences enough and a lot of people make mistakes in life. We're all human. Hopefully people are learning from their mistakes and the mistakes of others. As for Dana taking away bonuses, you're not fighting anymore for a certain amount of time. You're giving up a year of your career. It's a hard way to learn but it's sufficient. Saying you're going to b**** slap, Dana's not capable of that. We all know that. His language is often a cover for his insecurities.
Ben Rothwell Following up Pat's response on the difference between this bout and the Houston bout
I got this question a few times before. People have said, "It looked easy tonight." There's this quote that says when you see somebody do something and makes it look easy that means they're doing it right. What we really did right is how we prepared for this fight. I really got to hand it to my coaches. They put us through hell in the right way. We won the fight before we got here because of that.
On being a record holder now (fastest KO in IFL history over Soszynski 0:13)
It's cool. People ask did I plan to do it. It's one of those things that if I went out there and tried to make that happen I probably would have had a three round fight. I feel like I really went out and showed how hard we train. It only took 13 seconds to show it but I was happy to represent my team the way I did. It really had something to do with how my teammates were fighting before me. It really got me pumped up. Rory Markham's not here (he went to the hospital to get X-Rays on his sore left hand) but I was just so impressed by him tonight. The way he fought it really fired me up. It really showed how hard we trained. His fight lasted longer and he got to show more but that had something to do with me being as fired up as I was.
On how he stays motivated
Pat likes to tell me all the time if I haven't shaved in a while and I'm a bit out of shape that I look like a piece of chewed up bubble gum on a barber shop floor. That will just demoralize me to the point where I have to do something about that and it's just not right. But for me I'm not on top of anything. I have some goals and I have a long way to go. The warrior I'm going to be three years from now? I don't want to fight him. That's my goal. I'm about to do a lot in this sport. I'm about to permanently leave my name in the history books.
Bart Palaszewski On his fight with Harris Sarmiento
I knew Harris was a tough fighter but I had to get up and fight Harris three days out. I couldn't do much studying him at all. I don't do much anyway but I just don't know what kind of fighter he is. Is he a ground guy? A stand-up guy? It was all kind of hearsay. Pat knew more or less what kind of fighter he was. I didn't know if I should expect him to come forward or shoot at me or what. So I just took it easy more than anything.
Mike Ciesnolevicz On not finishing the fight against Alex Schoenauer
I don't really know. I was just on automatic pilot. I saw he was hurt and I think I did throw a punch but I think I missed. Then my instinct was just to shoot. I was just going with the flow. I just went. I didn't think I hit him at first then I saw him stagger. So I just went.
On if Schoenauer hurt him in the 2nd round
I wasn't hurt per say. But he hit me in the ear and it felt like someone clapped my ear. So I was a bit stunned from that. But I wasn't hurt from the punch or anything.
On his thoughts on the fight
I won. I got a "W" that's the bottom line. He fought backwards the whole fight. I don't think you can win a fight going backwards. I think I was the aggressor. I dictated the fight. He was fighting out of his corner the whole time. I was going forward and he was going backwards. I think it was close and I think the head kick at the end stole the fight for me. So I just don't think you can win a fight being defensive the whole time and going backward.
On how he got turned on to MMA
I was 15 and I started seeing MMA competitions. I was really interested in what was going on. So I had to learn some stuff. My dad signed me up for karate lessons. I didn't wrestle in high school because my family all played basketball. So I went to Lock Haven and I wrestled and boxed. I took some small fights here and there and I was 3-0. I had a friend who was visiting Iowa to train with Pat (Miletich) and he asked me if I wanted to go. I thought that was awesome. So I went to Iowa to train for a week. Pat said I had some potential and offered to train me. So I went home and told my family I'm going to Iowa. They all thought I was crazy. I just packed up my car and drove 15 hours to Iowa. I've been there for three years now.
On where he stands in the IFL's light heavyweight division
Obviously I'm top three after beating Alex twice. I'm looking forward to the Finals and the Grand Prix. I do pretty well when I train with Tim Boetsch, we're good friends, and he showed tonight that Matyushenko is beatable.
A reporter asked him where he stood outside of the IFL and he said he didn't know. Pat told him to talk about Tim Sylvia to which Mike replied, "I kick Tim Sylvia's ass all the time. I'm not going to lie, I'd be the heavyweight champ in that organization.
Gerald Harris On his place in the IFL
I'm really new to this sport, which isn't an excuse in any way. I just know that I have a lot of potential. I really believed I could go in there and win the fight. I didn't go in there just to hang in. I wanted to win so bad and trained hard. I'm at the point right now where I've learned. It's not a setback in anyway. I've learned from the (Fabio) Leopoldo fight and that fight. Those were my first and only two losses. You're going to see a lot from me in the future I just know it. I got so much more to learn. It's good to watch my videos and say I could get better. It builds confidence.
On his team next season
I'm more of just an alternate catching phone calls and going to fight…But seriously, I'm not a religious person but I was blessed with this fight win or lose. I was really going through some financial problems and my family was struggling and I got the phone call. It wasn't a desperation thing where Pat said he needed somebody. It was more of an honor for him to say that guy, one of Matt's (Lindland) guys. He trusted my training and I showed up and did the best I could do. I'm not too disappointed.
On what his students (he was a teacher) will say about Harris fighting
Some of them will laugh at me and I'll probably laugh with them. We joke around. Their advice is to "not get beat up" or "don't lose." But when it comes down to it from young to old they always say that's a good job. You went hard. It comes down to just being real with that person. My students look up to me. They come to all my fights and they've never seen me lose before though. But I stopped teaching in May. You can't do this part time. It's disrespectful to the sport to try and be an elite athlete and be part time. These guys are in the gym every day. It's a whole other level. I'm just a fighter now.
Kurt Otto then gives out a check and an XBOX for Fastest Finish and Knockout of the Night to Ben Rothwell. He also gives a check to Bart Palaszewski for submission of the night against Harris Sarmiento. Then he gave Gerald Harris his check for Fight of the Night and he wanted to make sure everyone knew that his Mama came all the way from Tulsa Oklahoma to see him fight.
