MMANews.com's own Chris Howie recently caught up with the master of Thug-Jitsu, former UFC and PRIDE veteran Yves Edwards to discuss his upcoming fight at HDNet Fights “Reckless Abandon” on December 15th against Alonzo Martinez, among a number of other topics. Below is a complete transcript of the interview which was conducted on Tuesday, December 11, 2007.
YVES EDWARDS INTERVIEW (DEC. 11, 2007)
Chris Howie of MMANews.com: This is Chris Howie with MMANews.com and today I am speaking with “The Texas Gunslinger” Yves Edwards. Yves, how are you today?
Yves Edwards: I'm doing good. What's going on man?
MMANews.com: Not too much man. How has training gone for your upcoming fight with Alonzo Martinez?
Yves Edwards: It's gone very well. I'm just getting my weight down now.
MMANews.com: What is your weight at?
Yves Edwards: I'm at 165 lbs. now so I should be fine for the weekend.
MMANews.com: Just to clarify is this fight at 155 lbs. or 161 lbs.?
Yves Edwards: It's at 155 lbs.
MMANews.com: Who helped you train for this fight?
Yves Edwards: I've been training a lot with the guys from ATT [American Top Team]. All the coaches and all the guys like Mike Brown, Roan Carneiro (who will be fighting Tony DeSouza at the next UFC), Mike Bruno, Rafael Dias, Marcus Aurelio, Thiago Alves… I'm going to end up leaving someone out and I'm going to get my ass kicked next time I'm there. [laughs]
MMANews.com: How to do feel you match up with Martinez?
Yves Edwards: I feel I match-up very well because I don't think I'm going to lose this fight so I obviously think I match up well. We'll see, you know? I'm sure he's going to try and bring it but he's going to run into a lot of problems with me.
MMANews.com: What advantages and disadvantages do you see yourself having against him?
Yves Edwards: One advantage I know I have is that I'm going to win the fight. I don't know too much about him, just what I've seen from his highlight reel, but I know I'm definitely a better striker and I'm better on the ground. I'm not sure how his wrestling is, he is from Nebraska, but I'm not sure if he wrestled at a D-1 school or anything like that. I haven't seen any outstanding wrestling in his video but he does look tough. I have a lot of experience and my striking skill is going to be better than his and my ground game is better than his but a fight is a fight and sometimes those things don't matter. It's a matter of who has more heart and who is going to fight the hardest. I know I have heart when it comes down to it.
MMANews.com: What are your feelings on working with HDNet Fights?
Yves Edwards: Well I haven't had the full experience yet but so far it has been great. Mark Cuban is in charge and that guy is awesome. I don't have any expectations but I doubt that I will be disappointed in the end. I'm just looking forward to fighting.
MMANews.com: Do you have a contract with HDNet Fights or is this a one fight deal right now?
Yves Edwards: Right now it's a one fight deal but they've already made offers for me to fight for them again. Not on a specific date but the door is open to come back and fight for them. They know I am under contract with EliteXC and EliteXC has been very good with letting me fight for them. Depending on timeframe and Elite's schedule and HDNet Fight's schedule, we'll see when I can fight for them again. Maybe early next year.
MMANews.com: Are you working with any other companies?
Yves Edwards: No, just Elite and HDNet. That doesn't mean I'm opposed to working with other companies though, they are just the only companies I have dealings with at this time. I'm willing to go anywhere man. I just love to fight.
MMANews.com: For some of the newer MMA fans out there, would you mind explaining what thug-jitsu is?
Yves Edwards: [laughs] Sure. Thug-jitsu is the modern art of beat-down. It's about finding what the other guy is weak at and what you are strong at and beating him up and winning fights.
MMANews.com: Is there anything particular you worked on for this fight?
Yves Edwards: Pretty much just stuck to the regular training regimen and trying to improve. This fight will probably be like a lot of my fights where this guy will want to take me down because he won't like the stand up game with me. Of course he will have to commit to standing a little bit because if he just shoots takedowns he is going to fail. The stand up game will not be fun for him and I imagine he'll just try and take me down like everyone else and we'll see how it goes from there.
MMANews.com: I caught the preview showdown for “Reckless Abandon” and Martinez was saying that he wanted to stand and bang with you.
Yves Edwards fights Alonzo Martinez @ HDNet Fights on 12/15
Yves Edwards: Oh really? Well we'll just have to see how that works out for him then. That's fine with me and I don't have a problem with that. More power to him. I don't know how smart that will be. A lot of people have problems with Windows Vista but I doubt many people would want to take on Bill Gates in making a new O.S. If he wants to stand with me that's fine but there won't be much banging on his part.
MMANews.com: Do you have a preference in your fights in terms of keeping it standing or going to the ground?
Yves Edwards: I prefer to win. This is MMA and it's not about who is better where. It's about finding where that guy is weak and making him play the game there.
MMANews.com: Do you have any inspirations for getting involved in MMA movies?
Yves Edwards: I've always been a fan of Martial Arts movies and fights whether it be MMA or boxing. I also love the challenge.
MMANews.com: Do you have a favorite Martial Arts movie?
Yves Edwards: When I was a kid my uncle bought a Beta Max VCR in 1979. The first day he bought it he had Superman and Enter the Dragon. When I was a kid I wanted to be like both of those guys. Now I don't like Superman because he wasn't real but I've always wanted to be like Bruce Lee. I'll sit down with my wife and kids and watch Enter the Dragon and they'll ask me to quote the movie and I'll just sit there and quote along. I think I've literally seen that movie over 100 times.
MMANews.com: What do you like to do when you aren't preparing for a fight?
Yves Edwards: I like chilling with my wife and kids and play WORLD OF WARCRAFT. I have a level 70 human rogue. I'm the bomb.
MMANews.com: I don't play much WORLD OF WARCRAFT but that Mr. T commercial makes me laugh everytime I see it. Have you seen that?
Yves Edwards: Yeah, I like that one more than the [William] Shatner one.
MMANews.com: Maybe Mr. T is really….
Yves Edwards: [In a Mr. T voice] Maybe Mr. T is pretty handy with computers. [laughs]
MMANews.com: Do you have a prediction for your fight this weekend?
Yves Edwards: Other than my hand being raised at the end? No. I can't really predict what will happen in my fights but I predict to win it.
MMANews.com: After this fight do you have anyone you would like to fight?
Yves Edwards: Everyone is always on my radar. I'm not ranked right now so I'm just trying to take out anyone in front of me.
MMANews.com: Alright Yves. Is there anyone you would like to thank?
Yves Edwards: I'd just like to thank my sponsors Nosubmit.com and ATT. They invited me into the fold and treated me like a brother, man. They don't see it as someone who is coming down to train they see it as being part of the team and everytime I'm there I feel like I'm home. They are all great guys and I don't think I could have picked a better team.
MMANews.com: Ok Yves, I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today and good luck this weekend.
Yves Edwards: No sweat man. Thank you.
For more exclusive MMANews.com fighter interviews, check out the interview archive section by CLICKING HERE.
Contact Chris Howie regarding the above Yves Edwards interview via email at [email protected] or chat with him directly in the MMANews.com forums by clicking HERE.
