Yves Edwards Interview @ MMAWeekly.com

Interview with Yves Edwards:

Yves Edwards, (pronounced Eve), is one of the classier
guys you will meet in the sport of mixed martial arts.
His war and, eventually, win against Aaron Riley will
go down as the fight of the year for me. He gave
Riley literally thousands of dollars of dental damage!
So how is the soft-spoken fighter able to turn on a
switch and become one of the best strikers in our
sport today? He tells us in our weekly interview on
MMAWeekly.com

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Ryan: Yves, about time we hooked up again man it’s
been awhile.

Yves: I know the last time I talked to you is when I
fought and won in Hawaii.

Ryan: I know, about time you return your phone calls. (Laughs) All right man you’re back in the Octagon for just the second time. You’re a veteran fighter. You have fought so many talented guys. In your first UFC experience you not only had to overcome the Octagon, but you had to fight Matt Serra. You took him to a majority decision. Tell me about the first time in the Octagon.

Yves: It was kind of weird. I saw them put the cage up two days before, and I saw how big the arena was going to be. But I was just so excited being in the UFC. It didn’t really bother me at all to be honest. Usually I’m really, really nervous before a fight. I like that though because the more nervous I am the better I perform I feel.

When I came out it was kind of “ah” inspiring when I stepped out from behind the curtain. I walked out to make the “walk” to the Octagon. I see the sell out crowd, (UFC 33 at Mandulay Bay), it’s a big show, but when I made my way to the Octagon, the pressure just rolled off my shoulders every step I took. It was very peaceful to be honest. It was kind of weird in a away. After the fight I come back home and my students, my friends, my family they ALL watched the fight on television, they were all like a GREAT fight, you had him,” etc. It was strange to me that I’m doing something a few hundred miles away and the people that I truly care about are watching ME on television. I guess I wasn’t expecting all these people talking to be about it. I was just focused on Matt Serra. My corner men are telling me what to do in the fight, his corner men are Renzo Gracie….it was like a dream. I wasn’t in “ah” or anything, it was just a truly great experience.

Ryan: Very cool. That’s why I sound like a broken record, but I truly respect anyone who steps into the Octagon, because it’s such a different beast. I don’t think the fans can truly understand “the moment” of truth so to say. I talked with Sakurai, and his people that trained him, and they said they’ve never seen HIM so nervous. I’m thinking “this is the legendary Mach Sakurai and he’s nervous with all the fights he’s been in”?

Yves: For a guy like Sakurai you have to understand he’s putting it all on the line. What I mean, is I was the underdog coming in to fight Matt Serra. He had already been in there before. I didn’t feel like an underdog, I was ready to do my thing. Unfortunately I didn’t quite do enough to pull it off. In my fight, I didn’t have as much at stake as Sakurai did. He is not only a big name, but he has the entire Japanese contingent with him and had pretty much an entire country, ALL of Japan riding on his shoulders. The entire Japanese fight contingent was watching every move he made. When you look back at it, it’s probably the biggest fight that any Japanese fighter has had in UFC history. Especially a fighter of his caliber.

A guy like Yuki Condo is a great fighter, but he’s not Sakurai. Sakurai fighting for a UFC title is a very big deal, especially to the Japanese fight fans and I think he was carrying that with him. For me I don’t have the reputation he has, so I didn’t have the pressure he had to deal with the first time in the Octagon.

Ryan: What did you learn from your first fight in the UFC against one of the best in the world in Matt Serra?

Yves: I learned a lot. First thing I learned was Matt Serra isn’t as “guido” as he looks. (laughs) Meaning I was trying to play the “mouth game” with him. Meaning I was trying to get him to stand up with me. I knew his jujitsu was really good, I figured he had more of an ego and would let his ego get in the way. He’s a very smart guy. He didn’t fall for the trap. He tried to stick to his game plan and he didn’t fall for any of my mouthing off. I learned it’s more than just the gimmicks. It’s part of the game. I also learned that I can go out there and compete with anybody on any level. He’s a great grappler and he had dominant position on me and did nothing with it. I wasn’t “turtling” up or hiding from him, I was attacking trying to come back with my own stuff. I think my grappling skills have become very good, the common perception may be different because they know of my standup game, I’ve learned as a fact though they are good to compete with anybody in the world and my last fight in the UFC proved that.

Ryan: Take me back when UFC Vice President, Joe Silva called you and said hey your going to fight Caol Uno.

Yves: I wasn’t expecting that phone call at all. I talked with Miguel over at the Hook N Shoot promotion and he said Joe was trying to get in touch with me. So I left a message with Joe. I figured Joe Silva had another fight for me, not a UFC match. Then he told me he wanted me to fight in the UFC, and I was SO excited. I respect Joe Silva a lot as he puts the best guys in the Octagon. Then he told me it was against Caol Uno! I was in shock because Uno is one my six favorite fighters in the world! Uno is one of those six and three of them are now in my weight class at 155. For Joe to say Uno to me, or BJ Penn or Jens Pulver it’s the same thing. I’m thinking “wow” I get to fight someone I truly look up to. I get to fight one of my hero’s. At first that’s all I could think about. I’m going to be in a cage opposite of one of the guys I look up to. I’m going to have a chance to be at his level. Whether it be for one night or the rest of my career. I will have a chance to be at that level. Thinking about it makes me excited. I can’t sit down, I can’t wait.

Ryan: Does it make it tougher since he’s one of your favorite guys?

Yves: It’s such a weird thing with me. It’s kind of like when I fought Aaron Riley. I love to watch Aaron fight. We can talk before the match, and I like to be around him, but as soon as I step in there, none of it matters. I watch fight tapes of myself and it’s weird. I don’t remember any of these things happening. I turn on a switch and it’s all business. It’s kind of amazing how I fight. I don’t see it until I watch a tape, and I’m like wow, that’s me.

Ryan: It’s interesting to look at your career. You’re still pretty young in your fight career but you’ve already accomplished so much, where do you see yourself right now in your professional career?

Yves: Hmm. Good question. I’m still having a lot of fun with it. It’s still fun for me. Some guys can’t say that. I truly love what I do. My goals now have become more realistic and have changed. I should say that I finally have direction now. Everyone has goals and dreams. I’ve decided at this point of my career I shouldn’t have dreams, just goals. I realize I have opportunities right now, especially with the UFC to become a great, great fighter. I can go down in history as a great fighter, but to do that I have to beat great fighters. The good think about Joe Silva as a matchmaker and the UFC in general, is basically you fight NO chumps. Everyone you fight is a great fighter who can headline any smaller show in the country. I’m coming in, probably on the lower end of the great fighter level. Every fight that I win is taking a step forward. It’s not staying at the same level or just staying busy. Every fight I get is taking a step up. That’s my goal is to get better. Right now in my career I’m not where I want to be yet,
but I see this as a way I can get there is beating the
top guys.

Ryan: How do you see this fight going with Uno?

Yves: I see this fight literally going at 110 miles per hour for 15 minutes, IF nobody makes a mistake! He’s like the energizer bunny on speed. He doesn’t stop, he doesn’t quit. To be able to compete on that level with him, I’m going to have be in that kind of shape. That’s my plan right now is to be in that kind of shape and I’m training hard for it and I’m ready to go 110 miles per hour for 15 minutes if need be. There is so much he can do. He is dangerous. He has a great single leg take down, he’s always active, always busy, he has lot of movement, doesn’t stay in
one spot. He’s a tough target to hit. It’s not like a deer that a hunter is trying to catch, he’s more like a rabbit, getting away….very tough to catch. You have to keep pace with him to beat him.

Ryan: It’s interesting that you say that, because you look at the champ, Jens Pulver. That was an amazing fight with him and Uno. Then BJ Penn goes in there and catches him in :11 seconds. Can you learn anything from 11 seconds compared to Jens in five rounds?

Yves: Actually you can. Of course you get a little more from Uno’s fight Vs Jens. It went so long, but even in the short time with BJ you can learn. Uno made one mistake in that fight and that one mistake made it a very quick night. BJ basically had the
“perfect shot” as he rocked him with the undercut. You don’t see that much, especially against the fighter of Uno’s caliber, but he caught him and turned his world upside down. I don’t know if it was a “lucky” shot, as much as it was a “perfect shot”. Jens is such a different fighter. Jens has this way of shutting ANYONE down. I’ve never seen anyone do it like he does it. He does it even in a different way than Miletich did it in his hay day. So you watch what Jens does in his fight and take some of that with you, but you can’t take everything he did because I’m not Jens. I take what I can use in my game plan and use it as well as I can.

Ryan: Interesting stuff. Can you knock out Uno?

Yves: I think I can knock anyone right now, especially at this weight. The thing is getting the right punch to land. I have the power to do it, I’m sure. Catching up to him and getting that punch to land is a different story. If I get in there and I can make the fight happen sure. It’s just not an easy task to do against a world class fighter like Uno. Even though BJ Penn did it quickly, once again it was perfect timing. I don’t even think BJ expected to do that, he was probably ready for a war. BJ’s great training led him to do that. Same thing for me. Can I knock him out? Yes. Is it a guarantee? Nothing is guaranteed in this sport. It’s of course what I’m looking for because that is my style, I’m working hard at it, but it’s not a guarantee.

Ryan: For the casual fan it seems like this fight will be a stand up war. Do you see this fight going to the ground?

Yves: I think it will go to the ground at some point. Like I was saying, Uno has a great single leg takedown. I imagine he will probably use it at some point. If he catches me and surprises me with it, then I’m sure it will go to the ground for awhile, but I will try to bring it back to the standup game. I know now that I can basically grapple with anybody. I have to use what’s my best weapon against him, and try to limit his strengths in this fight. I have seen him do some amazing things, inside people’s guard. I never thought about somebody being knocked out inside the guard before, especially with straight punches. But I have seen Uno do that more than once.

Ryan: I have seen you fight for quite a while. I saw you fight up close in Hawaii at the Shogun show were you defeated a very talented fighter in Kultar Gill, then of course any fan that hasn’t seen the Aaron Riley fight MUST SEE IT. It was the fight of the year and one of my favorite fights period. I know how good you are, you know what you can do. Do you still worry if you lose this fight you won’t be back in the UFC? Basically your only losses would be against Matt Serra and Caol Uno two legends in the sport.

Yves: To be honest, I don’t think about that at all. It’s more important to think about how I’m going to win with the guy in front of me. That’s my mindset. I know I can beat anyone if I’m on my game. If I worry about it, it slows me down. You can be distracted driving. You can think when you get in the car, did I leave the iron on, did I turn off the lights, etc. Your not thinking about what if I lose this fight, as you throw a punch at this guy. Ryan, I don’t worry about it to be honest. I don’t TRY to be exciting for the fans, but I come off as exciting because that’s just my game. I am who I am and there’s nothing more than that.

Ryan: I will leave you with this question. Take me through your training schedule. You say you are ready to go 110 MPH in this fight, what are you doing to get ready for this guy?

Yves: Basically I train hard ALL the time. There are so many good guys I work with. Basically, Lewis Wood is the guy I work extensively with. This guy is hard core and can game plan anybody. He does it right. Lewis is talented at everything. He is currently ranked 6th in the world by the WBA as a featherweight. The big names WON’T fight him and I’m serious when I say that. Carlos Barrera is the champion and said he would only fight him at 122 not 126 which is his weight. People in the business say he has more heart that Barrera if you can believe that. Derrick Gainer has pulled out of his fight with Lewis FOUR TIMES! The amazing thing is you wouldn’t think a world class boxer has the skill to fight, but I will be hitting him in his guard and the next thing I know he’s on top of me throwing punches asking me what happened? The guy is legit, he cross trains and is great in my training. He doesn’t let me get tired. He’s great.

Ryan: Yves Edwards, always a pleasure to talk to you man. Your one of the true good guys in the sport who RESPECTS his sport and I appreciate that man.

Yves: Thanks Ryan, it’s always good to talk with you and I will see you in a couple of weeks.