Exclusive GSP
Interview From MMA Sports
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Here is the exclusive interview with GSP in
issue 8 of MMA Sports Magazine.
MMA: Congratulations on your
big win at UFC 74 over Josh GSP: Koscheck,
how did you feel about the fight?
GSP: It was the fight that I was the most
well-prepared for and I'm glad that I'm back
for a title shot.
MMA: You had fire in your
eyes, something we didn't see against Matt
Serra, what was different this time?
GSP: I changed a lot of things in my
training & also in my personal life and it
paid off.
MMA: Koscheck said you
couldn't take him down, you did easily
within 30 seconds of the fight, was that
something you were looking for?
GSP: My strategy was to put him out of his
comfort zone and I knew he was not very
acclimated to fight from his back.
MMA: Do you think he was
surprised at how easily you were taking him
down?
GSP: I think he probably underestimated my
wrestling, but that's his mistake and during
the fight I tried to focus on what I was
doing to him, not on what he was doing to
me.
MMA: You were trying for a
Kimura in the second round and looked like
you almost had it, how close were you?
GSP: I made a little technical mistake. Greg
Jackson showed me what I did wrong after the
fight; and if I'm in the same position next
time I'll be able to finish him.
MMA: You looked so
comfortable in this fight, tell us about
your training for this fight?
GSP: I train with the best guys in every
discipline - boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu
and muay thai, and I have a sports
psychologist, Brian Cain, who helped me to
get through a lot of stuff in my life.
MMA: In your interview after
the fight, you said your loss was the best
thing that ever happened to you for your
career, what did you mean?
GSP: When things go well in your career, you
don't fix something that's not broken. Even
though I knew I was doing a lot of things
wrong, I didn't fix them. This taught me a
big life lesson and allowed me to fix a lot
of those things.
MMA: So what have you been
doing since the fight?
GSP: I went to France to see some old
friends and some vacation in the South of
France.
MMA: What do you think went
wrong against Matt Serra?
GSP: I took my eyes off the goal, forgot my
#1 priority and forgot who I was.
MMA: What did it feel like
after that fight?
GSP: It was a humiliation - after the fight
I thought it was the worst moment of my
career. And then after a couple of weeks, I
realized it was the best thing that ever
happened to me for my career.
MMA: How did you recover
mentally?
GSP: I didn't only recover - this loss made
me a way stronger & better fighter. By
beating me, Matt Serra made me stronger. In
the school of life, what doesn't kill us,
makes us stronger.
MMA: Obviously you'd want a
rematch; everyone would love to see that,
what would you do differently this time?
GSP: I would change a lot of things - the
way I approach the fight, both physically &
mentally.
MMA: What are your
predictions on a rematch against Matt Serra?
GSP: A win, of course. I'm going to show
everybody that I'm better than what I showed
last time.
MMA: Matt Hughes will be
fighting Matt Serra in December, what are
your predictions on that fight?
GSP: Well, on paper, I think Matt Hughes is
the better fighter than Matt Serra, but it's
not always the better fighter that wins the
fight, but the fighter who fights the best
that night.
MMA: Either way who wins,
what would you like to say to the person you
face that
holds the title?
GSP: Be at his best because I will be at my
best as well and we'll put on a good fight
for the fans.
MMA: Is there anyone else
you want to fight in the UFC?
GSP: I want to fight every fighter who's on
top and who deserves to have a title shot.
Because to be the best, you have to beat the
best.
MMA: So when do you fight
next and when do you think you will get a
title
fight?
GSP: They've told me my next fight is a
title fight, and it's the winner of the Matt
Hughes/Matt Serra fight.
MMA: You've changed a lot of
things since your Matt Serra fight, tell us
about that?
GSP: I've changed my manager, a lot of stuff
in my training and in my personal life, and
started working on my mental game as well as
my physical abilities.
MMA: How did you get the
nickname “Rush”?
GSP: When I was fighting in Canada, I
finished all my opponents in the first
round, so my manager at the time thought it
was very appropriate.
MMA: Thank you very much for
the interview, anything else you'd like to
say?
GSP: Thank you to my manager, Shari Spencer,
all my training partners, trainers, my
sponsors and my fans who stuck with me even
through the difficult time that I just got
through. Also, I'm launching a new website,
www.gspfightclub.com - come check it
out.
"I would like
to thank my sport psychologist Brain Cain.
Before I met him I used to think sport
psych
"The work I did with Brian Cain
on my mental preparation was an important part
of the training program for my win over Chuck
Liddell at UFC 76. if you are looking to get
the most our of your ability, you have to try
Cain's Psychological Warfare Mental Toughness
Training Program. It helped me and it will help
you."
"I have worked with
Brian Cain and I have seen him work with
fighters ranging from UFC World Champions to
fighters getting ready for their first amateur
fight. He knows how to mentally prepare a
fighter to fight their best when it means the
most. Mental Training is a training just like
weight training or training your stand up skills
or wrestling. This is one area of training,
most fighters don't even know exists. MMA is a
metal sport, lots of fighters win or lose before
they step foot in the cage."
