George Sotiropoulos is one of the best MMA fighters to execute the rubber guard.  He showed his excellent ground game against his last opponent, the very tough veteran, Joe “Big Daddy” Stevenson.  Throughout the fight, Stevenson couldn’t mount an offense on the ground.  Sotiropoulos won the fight and got the Fight of the Night award.  Come this Saturday, Sotiropoulos will fight Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino at UFC 116.  I wish I had more time to talk to George but I didn’t want to bother him too  much as he prepares for his upcoming fight.

NERDSociety.com (NS):  Care to tell us what will be your strategy against Pellegrino?

George Sotiropoulos (GS): I’d rather not talk about my strategy.  Once the fight is over, then everybody will know.  Let’s just say I’ve been training really hard for this fight.  I’m ready to stand up or go to the ground with  him.

NS:  You seem to have an open mind and train with different camps, I heard you used to train with Couture?

GS: It’s great training with tough caliber fighters.When I was in Vegas, I trained with Xtreme Couture. But since I live in Vancouver now, I don’t train there anymore.

NS:  Many MMA fighters don’t use the rubber guard, why do you like to use it?

GS: Eddie Bravo (founder of the rubber guard) really emphasizes the clinch game on the ground.  It’s a concept that made sense to me, you have to control your opponent first before going for a submission.  If there’s no control of your opponent, then your submission attempts will be useless.  Bravo is an innovator and a great coach.

NS:  You were in TUF when Matt Serra and Matt Hughes were coaching, did they really hate each other?

GS: Yeah that was real, they didn’t like each other.  There hostility wasn’t just for show, they didn’t like being around each other.

NS:  Any final words to your fans?

GS: I want to thank everyone for their support.  I’ll give it all I have on Saturday!  I want to also thank the guys that prepared me for this fight:  My sparring partners at Team Quest, Eddie Bravo from 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. Eric Jetton, Michael Chapman and Armand Debruge from Impact JJ and  also Leonard Gabriel from Fisticuffs Boxing Gym.

End Of Interview

I want to thank George for the interview and I can’t wait to see his rubber guard on Saturday.  Good luck!

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