American Mixed Martial Arts fighter, Jason Reinhardt, will match up against Joe Lauzon at UFC 78 on Saturday, November 17th. The undefeated MMA fighter took some time to talk to BuddyTV the other day about his first UFC fight, a typical training day for him, and what he likes doing when he's not in the octagon. Check out the full interview transcript and the mp3 audio below.
Hi I'm Rob Symington with BuddyTV and I'm here with Jason Reinhardt today, how are you doing Jason?
How are you doing Rob?
I'm doing great. It's really great to have you as an interview guest today on BuddyTV and I'm really looking forward to your fight with Joe Lauzon coming up. So how does it feel, this being your first fight in the UFC?
It feels excellent. I couldn't be happier. It's a dream come true, you know? A lot of work and sacrifice just like all fighters that have a dream, and it's finally here.
So is it more nerve racking preparing for this? Or is this just another day in the office for ya?
No. You know what's nerve racking is getting all your medicals done and the stuff behind the scenes. People don't understand that a lot of stuff goes into this. The training is the hardest part obviously, the fight is the easiest part. But yeah, it's nerve racking of course, I'm not going to tell you it's not, it's nerve racking. But it's exciting you know? I couldn't be happier.
You have an outstanding record and you definitely have an extremely strong ground game, so I'm just wondering what kind of fight can we expect from you on November 17th?
You can expect a ... I'd love to stand and bang, you know? I'd love to stand make this a stand up war and give the fans a really nice, exciting fight. If it goes rick round I'm prepared for that as well. Joe's very strong on the ground. You know, I just talked to Pat Miletich again today regarding my fight with Joe. You know, I'm a natural 135 or 145 pound fighter, so if he feels the need to take me down and lay on top of me and throw elbows I'll deal with it. But I would prefer to stand with him ... and one of us get knocked out, and hopefully it's not going to be me.
So you mentioned Pat Miletich, where do you do all your training at?
I do all my training at Miletich fighting systems. And then I have my jiu jitsu coach ... who is 30 minutes from my house. But I've been living at Miletich fighting systems, I've been living with Tim Sylvia preparing now 13 weeks for this fight.
Alright. So what does a typical day of training look like for you? When you're staying pretty much where you're training, I assume it consumes pretty much all day everyday.
Hell on earth as you can imagine. Wake up at 7:30am and our day doesn't stop until 8/8:15/8:30 at night. It's an all day process, you know. It's just not something you sign up for then go say: ‘Okay, I'm going to go fight in the UFC one day' or ‘I'm going to go fight in the cage.' The training you know, it's so brutal and intense. We wake up, we run our sprints, we do our bleacher run ... circuit training, a lot of jiu jitsu, wrestling, take downs, take down defense, a ton of sparring, boxing, kick boxing. It's an all day thing. Not to mention preparing your food, your diet, your nutrition, and then you have your chiropractor you have to go to. It's an all day occurrence here.
It looks like it's definitely paying off for you though.
Yeah. I couldn't be happier. I love the training, you know? It's miserable a lot of times but if you're going to be a fighter, that's what you have to go through. And if you're going to take this sport serious, that's exactly what you have to go through. It's all about the sacrifice, you know? And the hard work will pay off.
So do you have any rituals or things you do for good luck before your fight?
I have no rituals, I just pray a lot. Pray to God. I don't pray to win, I pray to make sure that we keep both of us safe and that the best man wins, you know? I'm a Christian you know and God's changed my life.
What is your favorite thing to do besides fighting?
I really don't have anything. This is my life. I mean I love to hang out with my wife and my child and see her grow up. But I really don't have any other hobbies. I really don't. This is all I do. I teach. I have my own gym. I teach. I have a Miletich fighting systems affiliate gym ... and I teach, and I train man. This is it. Well, I fish every once in a while. I like to fish I guess.
Yeah. You probably get out there with Tim and go hunting every once in a while, maybe?
Nah. He hasn't taken me yet man. He hasn't taken me yet. I don't know if I can kill a deer to be honest with you.
Yeah. So if this fight goes really well for you this go round, is there anyone in-particular that you'd like to be set up against in the octagon?
No. You know, whatever UFC wants. Whatever my manager tells me to do. It's always been that way. I have a great manager Chad Bergmeyer ... and just, whatever they tell me I'll do. You know I'd be an idiot to look past Joe Lauzon. That'd be the dumbest mistake I could ever make. So right now the focus is on Joe Lauzon and we'll see what happens after that. But I'm very confidant for the fight. I can't see myself losing the fight. I've never been so confident and so relaxed and at peace with myself and strong mentally, in my whole career.
So is there anything you'd like to stay to your fans?
Thank you. Thank you very much. I know I'm a huge underdog in this fight, but hang in there with me and you'll see how hard I trained. You'll see how much heart I have in the fight. And the best mans wins. Thank you for all the support and really the fans are what pushes me. My sponsors and my fans, you know? That's really what pushes me and I can't thank my fans enough. That's why I want to give them an exciting fight because that's what they deserve.
I know the fans definitely appreciate that and I hope you have good luck keeping Joe standing and you guys can battle it out. Jason I just really want to thank you for your time today, and from all of us at BuddyTV we wish you the best of luck on November 17th. Looking forward to seeing how everything comes out between you and Joe.
Yeah. Thank you very much guys.
Interview Conductor: Rob Symington
Image Courtesy of: JasonReinhardt.net
