Bas Rutten is in the game again. When you are born as a warrior then you can always find a new challenge. Exclusively for Nokaut.com Bas shares his post fight thoughts and future plans with MMA fans worldwide.
Rumours are true, Bas Rutten is back in the ring. A simple questions: Why?
Bas: Because they all said that I was getting older and I would have «ring rust» I just wanted to prove them wrong.
How are your trainings doing? It must be hard to switch to an old life discipline again.
Bas: It was pretty hard to start, in the beginning my timing was gone and my stamina was very bad, but it went pretty fast and it came back. Eating in the mornings is difficult for me. All the little injuries that came back were nagging me, but it was good, I got it back.
What's the difference between the ex-champion Bas Rutten and today's Bas Rutten?
Bas: I am older now so I trained smarter, I really have to because like I said, I am getting older, so no 2 crazy workouts a day anymore. At the fight I think I was more relaxed than I ever was and fell really good out there. I was heavier than normal, (only 4 more pounds) and I just fell great.
Do you think you can make even better impact in a MMA world after this long break?
Bas: I think I can, I think I can everything (haha), but I need to train a little bit longer than 3 months (liike I did now) to fight the big guys, but I am confident, I am talking about the Light heavyweight devission here...... I was fighting this time with a partly torn ACL and miniscus, arthrites, a pulled groin muscle and a popped rib, all those have to be gone before I start training again.
Your first appearance will be at IFL, but can we expect you in the UFC or PRIDE anytime soon?
Bas: It was the WFA and I signed only with them AND the IFL, so if the pain in my knee goes away, lets see what happens..
How can you expect to beat someone in MMA? They have learned all the tricks from your instructional DVD's and books? ;-)
Bas: Good point, haha. But its all about the set ups. This is the beautifull thing about MMA, everybody knows a lot, but it's the way you set things up that make it work.
Your comments on PPV are legendary. Who do you want to comment your fight, if you are able to choose?
Bas: I was happy with Stephen Quadros and Bill Goldberg, I think they did a great job! I really like Mauro Ranallo too.
What do you think about LHW division in PRIDE? It looks maybe stronger then ever before.
Bas: You are right, the fighters that they have there at Pride are really strong, plus they have a whole bunch of them!
How about the HW's? Can someone beat Fedor?
Bas: Anybody can be beaten, as long as they fight competitive fights and don't choose their opponents, which is something that Fedor doesn't do, picking out the opponents I mean, he's the real deal! He's also a fighters who looks like he never underestamates an opponent, it's going to be difficult for people who want to try!
What are your thoughts on the OWGP? Can you predict a winner?
Bas: No predictions, everybody is good. Josh Barnett is shaking up the MMA world with his recent victories. It's just a great tournament and it's difficult to pick an opponent.
It's well known that you like CroCop's fighting style. But he didn't become a champion as you expected?
Bas: He's not over yet, I think that he fought too many tough opponents in a short ammount of time, if he makes sure that he's rested well, I really think he has a huge chance to get the title!
Is there anyone who you would like to fight the most?
Bas: No, I don't have anybody, yeah, I would say Rickson Gracie, but right now I just want to have my injuries fixed. It's hadr to concentrate on fighting if you are injured, you don't want it.....
Your fans at Nokaut.com are very excited about your's MMA comeback. A message for them?
Bas: I hope that I showed them that I can still fight. Thanks a lot for the support that I always get from Nokaut.com!! Keep supporting MMA!
Thank you for the interview Bas and good luck with your next fight!
Bas: No problem, like I said, lets heal up first and than I start training again, I have my guys from the IFL team here now and we train two times a day, they look good! Hopefully I can pick it up fast again. Thanks!
25.08.2006.
Source
http://www.nokaut.com/
