MMAbuzz.com recently sat down with MMA fighter Chris Woods. Chris Woods is fighting Cruz Chacon on June 29th at Kickdown 38 in Denver, Colorado.

What got you into mixed martial arts and how long have you been training?
What got me into mixed martial arts was the Ultimate Fighter 1® when I first saw that. I remember me and Troy (Winslow (Chris' Manager)) when we were younger it was the first UFC and we watched those and I remember back then saying I don't want to do that because I saw some little guy going up against a big ol' 350 pound man and........... I didn't like that. So we watched the UFC back in the day and then when I watched the Ultimate Fighter 1® and saw how far this sport had come I  wanted to get into it for myself, I felt like I could fight with anybody.

Did you wrestle in high school?
No high school wrestling, but I did a lot of fighting when I was younger. I was always fighting somebody.

You are in South Dakota, what is the MMA scene like out there? Are there a lot of gyms? Are there a lot of fights/promotions? And who puts those on?
Matt DeWolfe puts on Ringwars out in South Dakota. When it first started the caliber of fighter wasn't that great. But it's been around for quite some time you can definitely see the caliber going up in fighters and there are a lot of gyms around here. As a matter of fact it's kind of sad to say but there are so many different gyms and if we all just came together and formed one gym we'd be, we'd  have quite the camp here in South Dakota. We're all fairly close to each other. But there are so many differences and dramas going on here in South Dakota that I don't like to place myself in that.

What gym or fight team are you training with?
I train with Team Miletich of South Dakota, and Alota Kombat is where I get my strength and conditioning, that's the best training a person can get in mixed martial arts.

What does a training routine look like for you?  Do you have days where it's all grappling?  All Striking?  Every day you do a little bit of each?
Every day we do a little bit of each. But we will also designate days of the week, say Tuesday and Thursday, will be all sparring. We'll put on some little gloves that are just like ultimate fighting and we'll throw head kicks, leg kicks, punches, takedowns and throw in a little bit of ground and pound. The gloves provide enough protection that it's like getting hit with a boxing glove, but you aren't limited to just a boxing glove motion, as with these gloves you can go down to the ground and grapple down pretty easily because they are open handed, and that's what they are designed for. It gives you some real time experience.

You have a fight coming up here at the Kickdown 38: Destruction in Denver, Colorado.  You are fighting Cruz Chacon. He's fought the ‘who's who' of mixed martial arts. Diego Sanchez, Josh Koshcheck, Joe Stevenson, Pete Spratt.  How is your preparation going for that and what's it like facing a guy with that much experience?
I'm excited, the preparation was going well until I got sick. I got sick and lost 15 pounds but now I'm trying to get my energy level high enough so I can go in and perform to the level that I believe I can beat him on. The road that I was on with the training was the most phenomenal shape I've ever been in and I was more than prepared for Cruz Chacon. Now we'll have to see what happens.

I've seen you've fight a few times and one of the things I like about you is you seem very intense. When you come into the ring you have this look on your face like the guy you are fighting stole your lunch money when you were a kid. Where does that intensity comes from?
It's nothing personal against anyone who stands across the ring from me. It's just me and the dude across the ring are about to ‘get it on'. I think the stare down shows a lot about the fighter before the fight. But not always, take for instance Frank Trigg, he doesn't like staring across the ring and doing all the hoopla till until it's time to do your business, then he'll stare you down. That's kinda my thing to stare across the ring, and build up that intensity. I guess that intensity I just built up inside myself and then it all comes out. It makes the moment for me.

Personally I love all the pre-fight/post-fight action that goes on, it really adds to the show and to the fights. Like you said you can tell a lot from a fighter just the way they look coming into the ring; the look on their face.
The way a fighter carries himself tells you everything about them. And actually I went to the Ultimate Fighter tryouts here in April and Cruz Chacon was at the trials and I got to talk to him and stand next to him and see him grapple on the mats; see him strike and everything. He's definitely  a tough guy and everything, but I'm training here in South Dakota there are a lot of tough guys that train back here that I can throw down with and I don't expect him to be any different. The thing is I bring that intensity into the ring that not many people can muster out of themselves.

You mention the Ultimate Fighter tryouts, can you tell us a little bit about that?
When I first got there I was really nervous being there I didn't know what to expect. Actually me and Luke Holdorf were the first people there and we just sit sat around and waited till all the people started showing up. There is a variety of people out there. I remember seeing some Gracie cousins. There were people from Randy Couture's gym that were there. It was a wide variety of people. It was the greatest experience I've been through.  It taught me a lot about this sport and taught me a lot about where I am where I was standing.

So they have you grappling with each other?
The tryouts I went to consisted of three rounds. The first round was grappling and I went in there and the way they had it was Dana White would call out the people you would go up there and meet Dana White; it would go two by two by two. The first two people went up and met Dana White and then they would grapple then the next two, then the next two. I went in there and did my thing; a lot of people haven't gotten to see it in Colorado. They haven't got to see my grappling ability because of the way my fights have gone in Denver. I did very well in the grappling and went to the second round and kind of lacked on my striking and got cut. The second round was striking and the third round was camera-to-face interviews.


You mention your fights in Denver and that they haven't gone on too long. You don't have to answer this but do you want to make any predictions with your fight with Cruz? Is it going to be another quick one?
I don't know to be honest with you, I always expect a war.  I always prepare for a war and no disrespect to the fighters around Denver, Colorado area, South Dakota, anywhere, I never expect my fights to go the way they have so quickly. I didn't expect to do to people what I've done to them, I always expect a war and that's what I'm expecting with Cruz Chacon. I think it will be a decision fight; just like I expect with everybody else and we'll see what happens from there. As long as I expect that I am mentally prepared for that.

Is there anyone you want to thank or mention?
I'd like to thank my wife and kids. My best friend Troy Winslow. Isaac Cracco. My very dear friend Jeremy Hart (my training partner) everyone I train with at Team Miletich South Dakota. And any and everybody else....MMAbuzz...Tin Lizzies .. and all my other sponsors, friends and fans that come with the territory.

Comments (5)

Beast said:

... Pretty good read. Sounds like an exciting fighter. If you speak to him again, Mike, wish him luck for me.

June 26, 2007

KPEAZY said:

... Nice interview Mike. Good luck Chris. Hope your career continues to head down the right path. Train hard!

June 26, 2007

MMAbuzz said:

... Hopefully you all can check out Chris' videos. He's one exciting fighter to watch. And he's also a class act outside of the ring, very humble and down to Earth. I don't know about the rest of you but I appreciate a fighter inside and outside of the ring. It really helps the reputation of the sport. Stay tuned to MMAbuzz.com on Friday night for results and photos of Chris' fight. And good luck Chris from all of us. Mike

June 26, 2007

Betty said:

... Is the date for the fight stated in the article incorrectly? It's the 29th, right? Not the 28th.

June 27, 2007

Oakley said:

... Nice read... Good luck Chris

June 27, 2007