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6th January 2001 CHOKE ATHLETIC Interview with LEIGH REMEDIOS conducted by Paul@Choke
Introducing once again - Leigh Remedios from the Team TMA stable of fighters. Leigh is currently one of the best pound for pound fighters in the UK, and weighs in at Lightweight. Choke: It's been a while since our last interview with you. What's been happening in the fight life of Leigh Remedios? Leigh: Well since then I've fought in Hook n Shoot in the U.S. while with Ian Freeman at UFC 27. I took part in the Iron Man competition in the UK and most recently fought in Prague, Czech Republic. But for this year, I've been asked to fight on in so many events that it's not funny. Obviously I can't do all of them <laughs>. Choke: Anything in the UK? Leigh: Yeah, a few things have been mentioned, but we'll have to wait and see. Choke: Obviously with your studying taking top priority at the moment, we haven't had a chance to see you in action as much as we'd hoped. Your most recent fight was in the Czech Republic which is great, but I know a lot of people who are desperate to see you in action on UK turf. Any better indication of when we can expect this? Leigh: Well.......Depending on timing, I'd like to compete again in the KSBO. Choke: That's the event in Nottingham? Leigh: Yeah...They treat me really well and pay me pretty good too. I'm not sure if Lee Hasdell is running any events yet? He treats his fighters quite well also. Maybe we can come to some arrangement, as with the last one the timing was a bit out. It's also possible that I'll fight on Alan Mortlock's <sic> show, as I've agreed to fight Jeremy 'Bad Boy' Bailey at that one. Choke: That's a fight that quite a few people want to see happen. Leigh: Yeah.....But to me, I don't know if fighting Bailey now is going to prove anything? I mean who has he beat? He hasn't beaten anyone of note. I'm not taking anything away from the guys he has beaten.......He beat Paul Ramsdale and John Williamson, but since then he's been very inactive whereas I've kept active and at the moment, I don't see how beating him will boost my career. It's a lose - lose situation. Choke: Now, it's common knowledge to most people that you are a TMA fighter. There was a rift last year that split the UK MMA division up. This rift forced TMA to focus attention on the European scene instead of the UK one. The most recent success in Russia, your fight in the Czech Republic and Holland has opened up doors to fights in Japan and the U.S. I guess that this is one in the eye to all the doubters out there? Leigh: Well to be honest, the scene isn't that big in the UK right now, so a rift is kind of sad. There really isn't much of an audience at the moment to get the thing going. Choke: Maybe more positive media attention would help out? I see that your Documentary for Channel 5 was repeated again over Christmas. Leigh: Yeah, it was shown on Bravo. More TV coverage would be great as the only revenue at in the UK is from people attending shows. Whereas abroad, even in Europe, they make big money from selling videos and are heavily sponsored, which in turn allows them to pay the fighters more. Everyone is happy and the sport is portrayed in a positive light. It might happen here one day, who knows? Choke: A big problem at the moment in the UK is that the sport isn't viewed as being 'government friendly'. Maybe some adjustments to the rules need to be made? Leigh: Yeah, I appreciate that. With Ground and pound and head shots, but hey, look at boxing.....It's all about head shots and it's widely accepted. Well <laughs> it's accepted-ish. Choke: With that in mind, maybe a proper governing body is what's called for? Rob Byrne from the Full Circle Martial Arts Academy tried to arrange a meeting between all the factors last year, but the whole thing fell apart when two of the most influential people on the UK scene, made it clear that they weren't interested at all. From then on things ground to a halt, which is a shame really. Leigh: I think that was possibly a bit selfish. They could have at least agreed to come along and hear it out and see what was on offer. Not to commit or anything, just to check it out. I mean, I put my name down and so did Ian Freeman amongst a host of others. Without trying to sound big headed, as far as fighters go, we are right up there. So it could have worked. Choke: What people don't realise is that the UK scene is still very much a baby. While everyone occupies themselves with the politics, an already formed organisation that has major financial backing, will just come along and take over. This problem should be worked out amongst everyone but it won't happen. Leigh: It's all silly, the politics suck! I mean for instance, I've just fallen out with Andy Jardine but that won't make me stop my fighters from fighting on any of his shows or anything. Wether he would bar them from fighting on his shows, is completely down to him. Choke: Going back to making the scene grow, a governing body is a must! Then it's a question of having an investor to help promote it in a positive light, through mainstream advertising and media attention. Changes to the rules as mentioned a minute ago, need to be made. At least in the beginning until there's a foot in the door. Leigh: Easier said than done though. Choke: Currently the scene doesn't look too healthy. Look at it from the eyes of a professional businessman looking to invest some money in a new venture. He will attend a show and be scared off straight away by the gangster style image that is being portrayed. I know that it's not intentional, but the sport needs to be presented in a more attractive manner. Without major backing to generate real interest, the UK MMA scene will always remain as an underground movement. Leigh: I'm not a businessman so I'm not qualified to comment. But I get the message and feel that the scene needs to have this kind of wholesome type image. Like Judo for instance or Amateur boxing, it has a real family kind of feel to it. You'll find both kids and adults at shows partly because they have a genuine governing body. It feels totally official. Choke: If everything was properly regulated, you'd find that adults would let their kids take part because they feel that they are in good hands. Most people will laugh at the mention of kids, but with Judo in particular, it's the kids who keep the sport alive. Doing the same for Vale Tudo isn't an impossible dream. Leigh: A governing body will not be easy to set up, because too many people want to be THE governing body in their own right. Choke: I guess it's a case of keeping hope alive? Phew!.......Let's move onto a lighter note. <laughs> Leigh: Yeah! <Laughs> Choke: Going back to the UFC in New Orleans, one thing that has really stuck out in my mind was that for your weight (155lbs) you have an incredible ability to consume vast amounts of food! I mean, you could easily eat for Great Britain. How do you get away with it without bloating out? Leigh: <Laughs> Yeah! <Laughs> I've got a ridiculous metabolism. If you look at my dad, he's an old guy who smokes, eats and drinks whatever he likes yet he has a perfect six pack stomach. <Laughs> He doesn't work out or anything. Choke: Must be a bit of a headache really? Leigh: Yep, costs a fortune on food bills. Choke: Do you eat healthily though? Leigh: I eat reasonably healthy. I consume low sugar but moderate fat levels. You see I don't have to worry about getting fat, but the sugar is what gives me energy depletion. Plus it rots my teeth <Laughs>. Choke: Another thing I remember from the states when training together in the weights gym, is that where I tend to train with a lighter load but with high reps for definition and explosive sharp power, you were training with very heavy weights with lower reps. Have you altered your training since or are you still going full on? Leigh: I'm still doing power lifting because the strength I have at my weight is a huge advantage. I feel much stronger at this weight than everyone else I come up against. It's not an advantage that I'm willing to give up, so my weights routine has stayed the same pretty much. Choke: You mentioned yesterday that your training had altered. In what way? Leigh: Yeah, my personal trainer - Floyd Brown has got me doing this matrix style of training, which helps me with my muscle stamina. I'm also doing plyo-metrics that he's prescribed <Laughs> Doctor Brown <Laughs>. I'm having a lot of success with this training, doing really well. I'm also doing a shit load of striking practice. Choke: It's great to see that you are still working so closely to Floyd. How's he doing? Leigh: Oh, Floyd is cool. It's sometimes difficult because he lives in London and it's a bit of a trek for me. But luckily he comes to me sometimes. He's got some very good stuff. You'll see it when I fight next <Laughs>. Choke: So we can expect even more striking from you? <Laughs> Leigh: Yeah, even in my last fight in Prague, I was up against a very high level kick boxer and I came out striking. Put it this way, he didn't want to know. He was backing off the whole time. Choke: Going back to Floyd, how else does he help with your training? Leigh: Floyd's training is very scientific. He makes a point of monitoring me on a regular basis and adapts my training accordingly. For instance, my long term endurance is fine but my lung capacity needs attention, so that's what we are working on now. Plenty of hill sprints at the moment. Choke: How are you feeling fitness wise right now? Leigh: Feel great..........Very sharp! Choke: Sometimes it's easy to over train though. Leigh: Yeah, but if you do it sensibly you'll be ok. Eat well and get plenty of rest. Just don't over do it. Choke: So even though you aren't training for a fight at present, you are keeping your training tempo at a high level? Leigh: Yeah....I'm at a level where if a fight was announced, I could step it up a notch without any worries and be ready. Obviously I'd adapt the areas to be worked on specific to whoever I'm fighting. If I was just fighting a regular guy, I'm at a level of fitness now to be able to go in there right away. Choke: Looking back at your last U.S fight in Hook n Shoot. I've just been contacted in person about the possibility of you fighting there again. Seems that you impressed the right people there. I've forwarded all the details to your Manager Julian at TMA. Stateside exposure would be great for you as a fighter. Do you intend to follow that up? Leigh: I need a few more details beforehand though. Firstly, I need to see if I can get time away from studying first. I think that their event takes place in March? Aside from that TMA have received a load of offers to for me to fight in the same month. 8 offers in total. It's not even funny <Laughs>. As it stands, I'm not sure if I can do any of them due to me being at University. Choke: It's got to be a nice position to be in.....Plenty of fights on a plate. I know that the European time table for your fight stable is massive in 2001. You will eventually get plenty of opportunities to get maximum exposure. Leigh: Believe it or not, there was a time when I wanted to fight and couldn't get the fights. Now all of a sudden everyone wants me to fight<Laughs>. Yeah, it's cool. It's just the timing. Choke: Any ambition to fight in an event like the UFC? Leigh: UFC or Pride..........Yeah, I'd love to. I think I'd have a better chance in the UFC right now. Maybe on the undercard or something? I mean I wouldn't want to be up against someone like Jens Pulver or anything. I feel that I might be able to hold my own with him, but he'd probably win. But if I fought on the undercard, I think I could do ok. Choke: I have a friend who runs the Iron Heart Crown event in Chicago. Trust me when I say that their belts are worth fighting for alone. Each champion in their own weight gets this mad looking belt. It puts the WBA and WBC boxing belts to shame! <Laughs> Maybe we could make an introduction to your manager Julian? Leigh: <Laughs> Whatever! Choke: Ok, UK scene again. What does it hold for you at the minute? Leigh: To be honest, I'm not going to fight too much in the UK........I'll probably do the KSBO because they are a good organisation. But I think as far as the UK goes, I'll work more on getting my fighters into the other events. The UK doesn't really pay that well at the moment for me. Choke: There are smaller organisations springing up all over the place at the moment, and are putting on events. A couple that are worth mentioning are the San Gokui and Combat Sports Trial ones. With the right nurturing, I think that these could grow into something very healthy for the UK scene. Any views on this? Leigh: I haven't been able to get to these events due to travel. You see, I ride a motorbike and these places are a bit of a trek for me. If I could catch a ride, I'd go for sure. I'd like to have made it for the Combat sports trials in Bath. I don't know too much about the San Gokui event to be honest, but the ground roots level is what brings on the new breed, so it's all good I guess? Choke: We haven't mentioned the fight in Prague in any detail yet. How did that come about? Leigh: I saw it advertised and contacted the promoter - a guy called Roman, who said he was looking for some fighters. My manager Julian worked out the finer details and I ended up going over. Choke: You said they were looking for fighters, but I understand that you ended up going on your own. Must have been a bit daunting? Leigh: Well to be honest, I had visions of turning up at the airport with nobody to meet me there <Laughs>. But it all worked out and they really took care of me. A big thank you to the guys for that one. Choke: Who cornered you for the fight? Leigh: Roman did <Laughs> but it was another day at the office. Didn't bother me at all. In fact, the crowd were so loud that I couldn't even hear what he was saying to me. Choke: <Laughs> Give us a brief summary of the fight itself. Leigh: He was an undefeated Thai boxer and was on the Czech Republic Vale Tudo team. I came out to box him but he didn't want to know and kept backing off. I think they must have misread my CV because they treated me like I was a World champion kick boxer. I had to shoot in because he was backing away all the time. As I shot in, he caught me in a Thai clinch and tried to knee me. The thing is that at this weight, I feel so strong. From the clinch I grabbed him and basically chucked him on his ass and really hammered him. Choke: You won from striking? Leigh: No, I went for an armbar but he was all greased up and slipped out of it. He somehow manage to get on top of me and the crowed went ballistic........Shouting - "Czech....Czech....Czech!" I got hold of him and more or less bench pressed him in the air and flipped him over where I regained the mount. I then let a few strikes go and he turned his back slightly. From here I worked the choke in and got him with it. Choke: Where you well received by the fans? Leigh: Of course they were cheering their guy, but afterwards everyone was congratulating me and was generally cool. Choke: I understand that you've been invited back? Leigh: Yeah, but it's one of the fights in March <Laughs>. As I said, it all depends on University. If I don't compete there, I should be taking some of my own guys over to compete at least. Choke: You mentioned that it was held in a proper cage as opposed to a ring. Did you prefer that? Leigh: I've fought in a cage before, but it was good because it gave me room to move. Choke: Most cages have a very hard and quick surface. How did this one match up? Leigh: <Laughs> It was soft and slow. I didn't get good traction when I shot in initially. But overall, I liked it because they can't escape from the arena like you can in a ring by grabbing the ropes. Choke: Channel 5 were there filming you again weren't they? Leigh: Yeah, they are doing a follow up to Natural Born Fighters.....they filmed the fight and interviewed me afterwards. Choke: Any idea of it's release date? Leigh: I think that they want to get more footage of me in another event. They also want to get some action with Ian Freeman, so things are on hold at the moment. Choke: Can't wait! If the first one was anything to go by, should be pretty good. Leigh: From what I've been told, it'll be a lot better. Choke: I know that your UK appearances might be a bit of a rarity this year, but if given a choice of who to fight on the current circuit, who would you go for? Leigh: I'd be interested in fighting Chris Millward. He's expressed an interest in fighting me. He looks pretty good and is primarily a Judo guy. He's a bit heavier than me, so he'd probably have to drop his weight a bit as I'm fighting under 70kg now. Choke: How about John Kavanagh? He's also expressed an interest in fighting you at some point. He won his last fight in Belfast quite convincingly. Leigh: Yeah, John's a good fighter and a really nice guy. I've seen footage of him and he's quite a tidy fighter overall. The only problem for John is that he's stuck at the moment. He doesn't have the level of competition in Ireland to stretch his abilities. He's without a doubt the best at his weight in the Emerald Isles, but he needs to be competing in the UK against more experienced guys to make a name for himself. I don't want to put him down in any way, but he doesn't have the name at the moment that I'm looking to beat. One day maybe? Choke: Who do you rate on the UK circuit regardless of weight? Leigh: Erm......Chris Millward, he'll be very good. Danny Batten, I think he'll make a big name for himself soon. It's a shame that Danny Brennan isn't competing any more. Alex Reid for sure, a very effective fighter. James Zikic of course. He's a very good all round fighter. In fact a lot of the London Shoot guys are good. John Thorpe is another good one. I rolled with a kid at London Shoot....What's his name?? Andrew Liu, that's it......he seemed very technical. Of course I've got to mention Ian Freeman, but he's currently more of a Worldwide fighter. If I've left anyone out, it's not on purpose, it's just that my mind has drawn a blank. Oh yeah, not forgetting Alexis at London shoot. He is awesome! Shame he doesn't compete in Vale Tudo. Choke: On a closing note, any last minute shout outs? Leigh: Yeah, Floyd Brown for obvious reasons, Team TMA for their great management and Choke for their overall sponsorship deal. It comes in very handy <Laughs>. Choke: Leigh, thanks for your time. I look forward to seeing you fight again very soon. Leigh: Thanks Paul, no problem at all.
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