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[The Iceman]

FightHype.com recently spoke to mixed martial artist Pete Spratt about his recent win over TJ Waldburger at the premier edition of HDNet Fights. Check out what he had to say about his performance, his future plans and much more.

PC: Congratulations on your win over Anthony Waldburger at HDNF 1.

PS: I appreciate it.

PC: How do you feel about your performance in the rematch with Waldburger?

PS: I felt good about it man. I had a statement that I needed to make in that fight, being able to get the rematch with TJ because I had lost to him last month. I just felt like I needed to make a statement in this particular fight and I think I did just that.

PC: You were coming off of 3 losses in a row, all by submission. How much have you been working on your Jiu Jitsu defense and what did you do, preparation-wise, differently for this fight than the first one?

PS: Actually, the last 5 months I've been training straight Jiu Jitsu anyway. I just got my Blue Belt on Monday so I'm feeling real good about that. I just made a mistake in my last few fights and got caught. In the Marcus Davis fight, I was on my back and I kept my legs extended and I'm sure his corner told him in between rounds that when I was on my back, I left my legs extended and to take my ankle next time I did it. He capitalized on that and got the submission. In the Tamden McCrory fight, he's 6'4" and I just kind of slipped into his triangle defending a takedown. I slid right between his legs and with TJ, quite honestly, I started to gas towards the end of the first round. I didn't get to focus in the last fight like I did for this one because I was training my Jiu Jitsu coach for his fight. I was training Rodrigo, holding pads and getting him ready, and I was also training another guy that's in our camp named Rudy Hernandez, getting him ready for the same show, and with all three of us getting ready and holding pads, it took it's toll on my body. I wasn't able to get myself prepared for my fight. I took all of those elements out for this fight and you see what could happen when I'm focused and I'm able to do what I need to do to prepare for a fight.

PC: Was this a rematch you had been wanting to avenge since you loss to him?

PS: Yeah, I was originally signed to fight Sam Morgan on that particular show and actually, right after that fight, Guy Metzger was in my corner in Austin. The day after, I contacted him and told him if anything happened to Sam Morgan, I want the rematch with TJ. I told him if he could make it happen, make it happen and about a week or two later, sho nuff, Sam Morgan falls out of the show and he put the rematch together with TJ. That was something that I just felt, deep down inside, was going to happen. I honestly really didn't think I was going to be fighting Sam. For some reason, I knew I would end up fighting TJ.

PC: How did you hook up with HDNET Fights?

PS: Guy Metzger is the President of HDNET Fights and I've trained with Guy for several years and whenever he has an opportunity to do something, whether it's a TV show or something to do with fights or anything like that, with our friendship and knowing each other so long, he always calls me to get on board with anything he's dealing with. He made the call and I told him I would do it and that's pretty much how it went.

PC: You just mentioned getting your Blue Belt in Jiu Jitsu and many people felt that is one of your weaknesses, your Jits defense. What can we expect to see from Pete Spratt in future fights?

PS: You will definitely see some better defense on the ground and getting back to my feet. I want to work on my wrestling and takedown defense and my submission defense. I'm always going to do what I like to do and that's get back to my feet and end the fight early. If I could do that, it would be nice or you never know, I could even pull out a submission like I did when I fought in the UFC for the very first time. I like to try and make it exciting for the fans; they want to see exciting fights and knockouts and that's the way I try and give it to them.

PC: With Guy Metzger and Mark Cuban being over HDNET Fights, how excited are you to be able to fight more in Texas?

PS: It's very exciting. It's been a long time since my family and friends have been able to see me fight live and it was definitely a homecoming being able to go back to Dallas and fight. I'm glad I gave the performance that I did. You see how Cuban treat his guys, the Mavericks, and I know with him being the boss, we're going to be treated well and taken care of. I'm just looking forward to continued success with HDNET Fights and looking forward to doing bigger and better things with those guys. Also, with them, it's not going to be a situation where I'm going to have to be exclusive so I would be able to fight in other venues so if the UFC calls and wants me back, I will definitely take those opportunities as well.

PC: You got your revenge against TJ. Are there any other welterweights out there who you've been eyeballing to get some payback on?

PS: Well definitely Tamden McCrory. I definitely want to get that guy again because I pretty much…in a lot of people's opinion, the fight probably should've been stopped early on, but he persevered and got the submission. But yeah, I'd like to fight that guy again. Marcus Davis and I are stable mates so I don't think that fight will ever happen. We both train with Mark DellaGrotte out of Boston so I don't see that fight happening. I wouldn't mind fighting Matt Serra again and even getting my shot at GSP again. I'd love to avenge a few of my losses.

PC: Are you planning on fighting again this year?

PS: I was looking to take the rest of the year off. I signed to do a movie in New York City called "Across the Line 2". I haven't heard much back on that and if that doesn't happen, because I was supposed to shoot that in December, if that falls through, I have an offer on the table to fight HDNET Fights on the 15th so I should know within the next two days if I'm going to be shooting a movie or fighting for HDNET again in December. I'm not sure if the fights will be in Dallas, but I'm hoping the 2nd show will be back in Dallas. Then I'll be shooting a movie that I've been cast in that will be shot in Austin. It's going to be a nice little action flick too so I got a lot of things on the table.

PC: Back to your fight with TJ real quick. Did the fight go as expected or was there an element of surprise for you?

PS: The fight went as I expected it. I felt like when we fought the first time, he gave me all that he could give in that fight. I felt like that was the best TJ that I was going to see because it wasn't much more he was going to be able to do. He was able to get me up against the fence and score some takedowns and I felt that he shot his best. On that particular night, he was at his best and I felt like I wasn't at my best. The fight went exactly how I expected it to go. I wanted to defend the takedown and just pound the kid and that's what I did.

PC: You definitely accomplished that. I appreciate the interview my man. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

PS: I want to thank my manager, Chris Brennan, for coming in last minute and cornering me. He showed up at 6:00 and the fight started at 7:00. 210 Fight Gear for all that they've done, IMG which is my management and they get me endorsements and my movie deals and of course my boys from Tapout. They always keep me dressed to impress in my Tapout gear when I'm going to do my thing.

http://fighthype.com/pages/content11...7ef81b3cc50e92

[Noob]

Lol. His movies career is more exciting than his fighting career.


He has a lot of physical talent, if only he could realize some of it.

[colin]

He's a good athlete and he has some nasty head kicks. I like that hes focusing on his BJJ. He could be a very well rounded fighter if he continues training hard.