Vernon “Tiger” White: The Evolution Of A Warrior
By: Kal Thompson of boxinginsider.com
boxingthoughts@yahoo.com
Vernon “Tiger” White is a veteran of over 50 professional MMA fights. He has competed in virtually every major organization in the sport. Vernon’s pro career began in 1993 and as the sport has evolved, so has Tiger. As a member of the legendary Lion’s Den, Vernon spends his time training his team members as well as continuing his own fight career. Vernon “Tiger” White is no stranger to championship gold, but these days, it’s the challenge and competition of the fight itself that drives him.
Kal: What have you been up to since your last fight in January?
Vernon: I’ve been busy training and helping to train the new guys in the Lion’s Den. I’ve also been doing volunteer work with my girlfriend at her school, working with the severely mentally and physically handicapped.
Kal: Who has been the toughest fighter that you’ve faced?
Vernon: Vladimir Matyushenko. He has been and always will be. I went 25 minutes with him and we beat the tar out of each other.
Kal: What was it about Matyushenko that made him so tough?
Vernon: His heart. I would say that we both have power, but his hands are so big that when he swings at you, one of those knuckles is going to catch you. His hands are like bear paws.
Kal: You mention the size of his hands. I’ve noticed that a lot of the Eastern European fighters not only have large hands, but their striking style seems to allow more power and force to be delivered when they punch. Since you have been in the ring with some of the men, then maybe you can elaborate on the possible reasons why.
Vernon: They have a way of punching that is not like boxing. It is more of a clobbering punch. Most of these guys have long arms, but they seem to have wrecking balls at the ends of their arms. When they swing them, not only do they have the power from their “trunk,” but they also have the mass and technique. I don’t know if it’s the trunk or hips, but I’ve actually begun to change my punching style. I’m starting to hit a little more with the first two knuckles rather than the last two. My last two knuckles kept swelling up, so I’ve learned to hit with the first two knuckles like some of the Russians do.
Kal: While using this technique, have you noticed a difference in the power of your punches?
Vernon: Yeah, I have. A lot of the guys who I’ve been training with have voiced that they do not like to get hit any more. I have actually had to resort back to the old style of punching during training, which is a straighter punch rather than the arching style of punching.
Kal: Do you have a current contract with any specific organization or are you a “free agent?”
Vernon: The WEC wants me to fight Scott for the belt; and I’d like to do that. My main goal is to fight as much as I can and make a little bit of money. I would like to pick up some sponsors and fight. Honestly, If I get the belt then I get it. If I don’t, I don’t. I just want to go out and fight. Not to sound like a jerk, but I’ve had belts before. Belts can be won, and belts can be lost. It’s the fact of being able to go out there and keep doing it after so many years that keeps me going.
Kal: Of all of the different organizations that you’ve fought for over the years, do you have a preference?
Vernon: Honestly, now I would have to say that every organization has their people that you don’t like. However, at this point, there is nobody in WEC that I don’t like. Everyone in the WEC is upfront, forward, and nice. I mean some of the guys train with Chuck. They know that Chuck and I have our problems, but they don’t treat me any differently because of that. Scott went through what we as fighters go through. He doesn’t pressure anyone. He just wants everyone to be happy.
Kal: You just mentioned your problems with Chuck Liddell. I have read rumors that you suffered quite a nasty injury in your fight with Chuck. Will you please elaborate on this?
Vernon: I heave mentioned to a lot of people about the eye-gouge that I received from Chuck in that fight. A lot of those people have told me that they don’t believe that Chuck gouged me in my eye. You know what? A doctor’s bill for $38,000 says something totally different. When people get a broken socket, it is shown in the front of the facial area. Mine was so far in the back of the eye that the doctor had to take my eyeball out of the socket. They pull bone out of my nasal cavity. That’s how far back the finger went. They put a silicone implant in and then screwed it down with a ****l screw to keep my eye from coming back out. They then placed stitches in my eyelid and taped it to the top of my forehead so that the eye wouldn’t come out, as well. So for all those people out there who thought I was talking trash, I have x-rays to prove differently.
Kal: Is your eye fully healed now? Have you had any problems with your eye since this incident?
Vernon: There have been a couple of times in training that I have been poked in the eye. Ken (Shamrock) kicked me in the face and his toe went in my eye, but it was nothing like Chuck.
Kal: A few other fighters have complained of being eye-gouged by Chuck. Do you think that this is something that he has incorporated into his arsenal; or do you think it is accidental?
Vernon: If you look at the rest of his fights where he has eye-gouged people, nobody else suffered the damage that I suffered. Chuck keeps people on the outside. I think what happened was that when I was coming in, he does do that open punch thing, and as I was coming in and he was coming out he didn’t mean to hurt me as bad as he did, but he did what he had to do to win that fight. Even though some people feel that it is not the correct way to win a fight, as long as he’s allowed to keep doing it and not get in trouble for it, then why should he stop? When I first started fighting in Pancrase, I would become so tired that when I would kick, I would kick people in the groin. I’ll admit that the fact that I was so tired caused that. I have learned how to not kick people in the groin anymore. However, if I can make it look like an accident against someone like should, because he’s got his thing, then why shouldn’t I? He’d never get his chance to stick his finger in my eye if I kicked him in the crotch. But I wouldn’t go back to that because some people thought I did it on purpose, even though some knew it was an accident.
Kal: In your opinion, who is the current top MMA fighter in the 205 lb. division?
Vernon: I don’t think there is a top guy. I would say that with striking and ground ability, there are some guys out there better than the Chuck who is the current UFC 205 lb. Champion. I am happy that Chuck won his last fight. Other than grabbing onto the fence, I am happy that he won his last fight the right way. There are still other organizations out there that would not allow him to grab onto the fence. For example, Pride doesn’t even have a fence. Quinton beat him in Pride. I that if Chuck went back over there and fought someone under their rules, he’d most likely lose. I know this came back to Chuck. I don’t hate the guy, but if you expect someone to respect you as champion, then you need to show the other fighters respect. Things that have been done in the past do not show a lot of respect on his part for anybody. It just shows that he has his eyes on one thing; and that he’ll do what ever it takes to get that one thing and that is not cool.
Kal: Are there any fighter out there with whom you’d absolutely love to fight?
Vernon: Not really. I’ll fight anybody. There have been times when I’ve been asked to fight guys who are bigger than me and I’ve said ok. I want to fight to be able to fight. Of course, I want to win, but if I’m fighting a guy who outweighs be by 40 or 50 lbs then I’m just want to go out there to fight and make a name for myself.
Kal: Do you have any upcoming fights planned?
Vernon: I have been offered a fight with Bobby Southworth in March at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. We are in talks about this fight right now.
Vernon “Tiger” White is currently looking for acting opportunities as well as obtaining more sponsors for his upcoming fights.
For these inquiries, as well as fan mail, contact:
tigermail222@hotmail.com
This Rampage Interview is a few weeks old but I dont know if anyones seen it
Rampage Jackson: Respect, Fairness, And The Future
By: Kal Thompson of boxinginsider.com
boxingthoughts@yahoo.com
On Sunday, February 26th, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
will face off against Dong Sik Yoon in Pride 31:
“Unbreakable.” This fight will be the last on
Rampage’s current Pride contract.
In the following interview, Rampage discusses:
-His future in mma.
-His upcoming Pride opponent
-Chuck Liddell’s questionable tactics including eye
pokes
-Randy Couture’s retirement
-His thoughts on Vanderlei vs. Arona II.
-His personal values
-Plus much more!!!
Kal: With whom have you been training for your
upcoming Pride match?
Rampage: I’ve been training a little but with Tiki
Ghosn, Antonio McKee, and with Randy Couture for a few
days. There are also some more guys that aren’t as
well known.
Kal: How long have you been in training for your
upcoming Pride fight with Dong Sik Yoon?
Rampage: Not that long. I’ve put in about 6 weeks.
Kal: Are you training differently for this specific
opponent?
Rampage: No. Not really. I’ve pretty much been doing
the same thing. This guy has got Judo and everything,
so I’ve been standing up with guys wearing a gi, but
I’ve also done that before.
Kal: What are your personal thoughts of Yoon? Have
you reviewed his prior fights?
Rampage: I saw him fight a couple of times. I don’t
think he has as much mma experience as most of the
other fighters.
Kal: Would you say that inexperience is his biggest
weakness?
Rampage: Yeah, he’s probably a good judo guy. But he
hasn’t had much experience in mixed martial arts.
Kal: With his background in Judo, are you going to
work a specific game plan in this fight; or are you
going into this match as you would any other?
Rampage: I’m going in to do my thing. I’m going in to
fight my fight.
Kal: Can we expect any big slams?
Rampage: I mostly slam people when they make
mistakes. If he makes a mistake, then most likely you
will see that.
Kal: What were your thoughts on the Ricardo Arona vs.
Vanderlei Silva 205 lbs. Pride Championship match….
and it’s outcome?
Rampage: I thought Arona dropped the ball. He clearly
has the skills to beat Vanderlei. After all, Arona
beat him in the Grand Prix. He just didn’t do like he
did in their first fight. Had Arona done that, he
probably would have won the fight. I think Arona
still could have won this fight if Vanderlei didn’t
have the referees fighting for him. You can clearly
remember that when Arona was beating him up on the
ground, they did the same thing to Arona that they did
to me. They stood the fighters up. They gave Vanderlei
a yellow card. What’s that going to do? Why are you
going to give the guy a yellow card, but then stand
them up? They don’t do that to other fighters.
Standing the fighters up was just a like a reward for
Vanderlei. If you are going to give the fighter a
yellow card and punish him, then take away the 10 %
(from the fighter’s purse) and then put them back on
the ground in the same position. It obvious that they
wanted Vanderlei to still be their champion. Let’s
face it, Vanderlei is a lot more exciting that Arona,
but that doesn’t mean that you have to treat a fighter
like that. Arona is not that exciting, granted, but he
was clearly beating Vanderlei. If you’re going to
have fighters like Arona fighting for you, there is a
chance that they will win the championship. If you
aren’t going to be fair and allow those fighters to
fight and be your champion, then just don’t put them
in the fight at all.
Kal: In the most recent UFC 205 lbs. Championship
match, former champ Randy Couture faced off against
the current belt holder Chuck Liddell for the third
time. What were your thoughts on this fight?
Rampage: Liddell looked pretty good. He fought the
same as he did in their second fight. I wish Randy
would have retired as champion.
Kal: With your upcoming fight being the last on your
current contract with Pride, are there any specific
mma organizations at which you are looking for a new
contact?
Rampage: I’m looking at a lot of different
organizations. I’m looking for an organization that
wants to promote me and pay me what I’m worth. If
Pride can promote me that way I want to be promoted
and pay me what I’m worth, then I could stay there. I
just want to fight for an organization that will treat
me fair. I’m not the type of fighter who has a lot of
crazy demands. I just want people to treat me fair. I
want to be treated the way they would want to be
treated if they were a fighter. I don’t think that’s
too much to ask for.
Kal: Have you given any thoughts of possibly signing
with the UFC if they offered a contract?
Rampage: I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know if
the UFC wants to promote me, or if they just want me
to go and get “knocked the hell” by Chuck and then
throw me away.
Kal: Being that you completely dominated Chuck
Liddell in your fight with him, do you think that
would really be much of an obstacle?
Rampage: Chuck is a tough guy. I don’t think I’d have
a problem with Chuck, but in a fight, anything can
happen. Chuck Liddell is a Kempo fighter. A lot of
people don’t know about Kempo, but I do. I know that
Kempo uses head-butts and thumbs and fingers in the
eyes. Chuck has been using “Kempo” a lot. Chuck
Liddell has been sticking a lot of people in the eye
lately. Anything can happen in a fight. If Chuck
thumbed me in my eye, I’m sorry to say it, but I’d
thumb him right back in his. I like Chuck a lot, but
that could cause you to lose the fight. I never
underestimate a man’s will to win and be champion.
Chuck has wanted to be champion for a long time. He
deserves it and everything, but with thumbing….a guy
could lose an eye. How would you feel then?
Kal: When you beat Chuck Liddell in the fight between
the two of you, did you experience any problems with
thumbs or fingers in the eye?
Rampage: No, he wasn’t on that tip back then. It
after that when he started using those tactics.
Kal: Are there any certain fighters in the 205 lb.
division that you would like to fight?
Rampage: I would like to fight every fighter whose
has beaten me. If God was willing, and I could come in
100%, I’d like to see how I could do against those
fighters who have beaten me. Only the Lord knows that
I was not 100% when I fought those people. That’s my
only thing. I want to get a crack at Vanderlei first
and then Shogun, because I think Shogun is tougher
than Vanderlei. I’d like to take out Vanderlei first,
then Shogun. Then I’d like to work my way on back down
to Sakuraba and go on to Marvin Eastman. If I could
choose, that would be the order.
Kal: Is there anything that you would like to add
before we conclude the interview?
Rampage: I want to ask everyone to put God first in
their lives. You can’t go wrong once you’ve done
that. If you truly seek the kingdom of Heaven first,
all of your hearts desires will be added upon you.
That is true, because I am living it now. This is
real. God has blessed me a lot.
Also, y’all look out for me on that myspace.com tip
and also on my web page, rampagemma.com. The website
and my clothing line are getting revamped. I’m going
to have some cool stuff for y’all. I’ve just got to
bare down and get my little brother going. He’s one of
my employees and he’s kind of lazy, so I’ve got to
bare down on him and get him going.
God bless all my fans. I love y’all. Who knows what
the future holds? I want to fight in America. I want
to see how it goes. I just feel that I haven’t been
getting treated the way I want to be treated. Who
doesn’t want to be treated right? Raise your hand if
you don’t want to be treated right. I bet you that
nobody has got their hand raised. I just want to let
all y’all know what’s real.
*Credit Kai Thompson of Boxinginsider.com
