Last Saturday my good friend Bryan Peden took his first amateur MMA fight for Barbarian Fight Club in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He won via 2nd round tap out due to strikes in the 2nd round in a very impressive performance. I had the chance to watch Bryan fight live in the front row and caught up with him shortly after his fight. Here's what he had to say:
Justin: Ok, so first of all congrats on the win Saturday. How did it feel to actually step in a cage and fight?
Bryan: Thank you. It was an awesome experience and one that I am looking forward to doing again in the future. It is kind of something that your not really sure what it is like until you actually do it and it was a lot of fun.
Justin: Now I understand that the guy you ended up fighting was not the guy you were originally set to face. What happened?
Bryan: Well I was set to face about 3 or 4 different people throughout the whole process but for the last couple of weeks leading up to the fight I was supposed to fight a kickboxer named Andy Loving I think. I got a call the Thursday night and he said that he had a rib injury and had to withdraw. Luckily Travis Davidson stood up and took the fight. The only thing that really sucked about the whole situation is it was supposed to be a fight at 185 but he said he would not be able to make that weight so I weighed 187 and he was 194.
Justin: Did you have any difficulty cutting the weight?
Bryan: I woke up Friday at 185 so it wasn't bad but I actually over shot what I wanted to be at. Next time I will be a lot smarter about it so I can be even stronger. All in all it was about a 30 pound cut.
Justin: Wow, that's a serious cut. Ok, let's talk about the fight. How did you feel about your performance?
Bryan: I was happy with the win but I could have done much better. I was really anxious leading up to the fight and couldn't sit still for about 2 hours before the fight. I didn't relax enough and had a major adrenaline dump which made my legs feel like lead. That is probably the biggest thing I learned from this fight, to just relax and know when to start warming up.
Justin: Now you got the win in the 2nd round after your opponent tapped due to strikes. Was that a part of your gameplan going into the fight? Did you want to take him down and finish the fight there?
Bryan: I think I was capable of finishing the fight anywhere but he kept clinching with me, so in the second I took him down and got good position. I had trained to do ground and pound for three 3 minute rounds so I was comfortable down there. I landed a few good elbows and body shots but I landed a good clean shot to hit orbital bone that made him think twice about staying in there any longer and a few more shots made him tap.
Justin: I was really impressed with your ground control leading up to the finish. I especially liked the transition from back control to the leg scissors then back to mount.
Bryan: The leg scissors is something I did a lot in wrestling so I knew I could control him there and next time I can hopefully get some more damage done in that position.
Justin: Well I know from rolling with you int he past that your leg scissors is not a great position to be in. I halfway expected him to tap from that alone.
Bryan: I couldn't get the good squeeze that I usually can do because my legs were shot by that time
Justin: Now I've heard a lot of fighters say they don't really remember a lot of their fights due to adrenaline rushes. Did you experience the same thing or do you remember the fight?
Bryan: Haha right after the fight I remembered very little but once people started talking to me about it more I started to remember more. In between rounds I don't even remember my corner talking to me, I just had my eyes locked on my opponent and I remember thinking "I hope I can stand up off this stool". I remember seeing my dad and he just gave me a head nod and I took that as permission to open up a can of whoop ass.
Justin: Haha nice. The ring girls and the ring announcer were not impressed with the liveliness of the crowd but did comment on how great your support crowd was during your fight.
Bryan: This is the first time I heard about that. That's a little sad I guess but I did have a good group of fans and am thankful for that. I will put on a more exciting fight next time.
Justin: Yea, I just think it was tough to expect people to be rowdy at 1PM, but I thought your fight was very entertaining. The only part I didn't like was when you got leg kicked when you guys were touching gloves. I thought that was a little cheap.
Bryan: So did I but he came over after the fight and apologized for it. He was a real nice guy and I am just thankful that he took the fight so I could get this first one under my belt.
Justin: I also think you got a little pay back with a leg kick of your own. A much harder one at that.
Bryan: Yah he kind of evaded it but it landed somewhat and he said something after I hit him with it to the sense of damn nice kick. That's when he started clinching with me more and going for the take downs.
Justin: Now one of your training partners fought at the show too right?
Bryan: Yes, Buck McLamb won in a first round TKO, just over 30 seconds I think. He did great and is fighting again in Harrington DE for Stellar Fighting promotion in September. He has a great wrestling and lots of power in his hands. He could be a force in any promotion's heavy weight division. I wouldn't be too surprised if he had a pro fight sometime in 2012.
Justin: Yea I was really impressed with Buck's performance. Once it hit the mat he really let the strikes fly and was nailing some nasty knees to the body.
Bryan: The funny thing is he found out the night before that he could knee to the body of a grounded opponent. He wanted to finish the fight that way but I know from experience that he could have finished it as soon as it hit the mat with an americana. Even as a heavy weight his strength from wrestling for so long is on a different level from most others.
Justin: Now you said Buck is planning to fight again in September, but when can we expect to see you back in the cage?
Bryan: Around this time next year. I will keep training and honing my skills but I have a lot of stuff going on with school in which any type of injury could hinder my future in it. It is just not too beneficial for me to be pursuing a penniless amateur career right now. Like I said I will keep training though and getting better. It will not be a stagnant time off for me.
Justin: What would you say is the area you that you need to improve upon most now that you've actually gotten in there and fought.
Bryan: Just my mental probably. I know it was a win but I do not believe it was a good showing for myself. My cardio going into the fight was great but it looked like I had been a couch potato for the past month. Experience is not something that you can practice and just getting in the cage and getting a fight in without any injuries and getting a finish just boosted my confidence. Like I have said, next time I will put on a good show and really portray my skills
Justin: Well as a fight fan I was thoroughly entertained by your fight and thought you looked very good, especially considering it was your first fight.
Bryan: Thank you. I will not look like the same fighter when you see me next time. I would like to do some BJJ tourneys with my time off just to keep in the competitive mode.
Justin: Very cool Bryan, I know I'm really looking forward to seeing you fight again.
Bryan: Thank you. I would just like to thank Travis Davidson again for being a stand up guy and taking the fight, Barbarian Fight Club for putting on 2 good fight cards at a great price. Buck McLamb and Ted Dabbs for helping with sparring and wrestling. Kyle King for tightening up my BJJ, and my brother, Billy, for working with me on everything and pushing me throughout the whole camp. I would also like to thank all my friends and family and everyone that came to watch the fight.
(Image from my personal collection)
