WF: First of all, thank you for the interview. How are you?

FM: Doing real well.

WF: When did you start training and why?

FM: When I was a kid, my parents owned a karate dojo and I got my black belt at 12.

WF: How do you develop your strategy for each fight?

FM: Pretty much the same thing.. look at opponents strengths and weaknesses and then fight my fight.

WF: What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC?

FM: It’s the best organization in the world. I am a vegas guy. I love it.

WF: What was the biggest challenge in your fighting career so far?

FM: Not sure, I look at each fight as a big challenge to myself to see how well I will do.

WF: You lost your last fight against Brandon Vera, can you tell us something about the fight?

FM: It was too short and I got caught. He deserves congratulations on his fight.

WF: What did you do since your last fight?

FM: Relaxed for a bit then started working on strategy for the next fight.

WF: Do you already know, when you have your next fight and who your next oponent will be?

FM: It is up to the UFC to announce, sorry.

WF: If you could choose an oponent, who would it be?

FM: Probably a samurai from days gone by. They had so much bravery and lived to fight. Then fedor since he is at the top of game right now.

WF: What do you think about the UFC Heavyweight champion – Tim Sylvia? Many people were disapointet about his last performences, what is your opinion?

FM: He finds ways to win, he sticks to his gameplan, he hits much harder than people think,,, he is a nice guy outside of the ring, he keeps his word on wanting to fight me so I like him.

WF: You defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 to become the UFC Heavyweight champion. How does it feel to see Sylvia as champion although you never lost against him?

FM: It’s the way the ball bounces. He is a good guy. He deserves his current position. The rules are the rules and are in place to protect the integrity of the sport so that’s cool.

WF: Would you say that Tim Sylvia is the same fighter you fougt in 2004 at UFC 48?

FM: He is better,… most good guys continue to get better. He works really hard so he is better without a doubt.

WF: You lost the UFC Heavyweight title by reason of an inqury, how did it feel to loose the title whitout loosing a fight?

FM: The UFC did what they had to do… Dana made the decision in the best interest of the sport. That’s fine with me.

WF: Mirko Filipovic signed a deal with the UFC, do you think he is a gain for the UFC Heavyweight division?

FM: Huge gain,… he is an exciting dangerous fighter.

WF: Finally, do you have a message for your fans in Germany,Austria and Switzerland?

FM: I hope all are doing well in Europe, all the best and I look forward to fighting over there one day.

© WrestlingFever.de | 2007