Ryan Larson is about to lock horns with Derrick “D-Rock” Krantz at King of Kombat on August 20th in Austin, TX for the 170lb title. He is looking to extend his professional record to 6-1 and continue to move up the food chain.
-What gym are you currently training and fighting out of?
I am training out of Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ in San Antonio, TX. I am currently a brown belt under Rodrigo and train Muay Thai under Pete Spratt.
-How long have you been training and when did you begin your career in MMA?
I began training BJJ in 2002 under Phil Cardella (Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) in Austin. I spent a good portion of time training here until I relocated to San Antonio; my girlfriend (now fiancée) was in medical school. My original intentions were to have fun and I had no idea of eventually entering into professional MMA. After about a year of training with Phil, I started to compete more and get pretty serious about BJJ. I traveled to compete at the Mundials in Brazil as a blue belt.
-What got you interested in becoming a professional fighter?
I always viewed MMA as an incredibly tough sport and enjoyed it as an observer. BJJ was just a natural segue for me to enter MMA.
-Tell me about your occupation outside of fighting.
I specialize in real estate and investment properties and have been doing this since 2006. It can be boring at times but it does afford me plenty of time to focus on training so I can’t complain too much.
-Your record is 5-1 and interestingly enough your career started in 2006. Talk about your lack of fights since your professional debut.
When I decided to become a professional fighter, there wasn’t an option to fight as an amateur in the State of Texas. It wasn’t until after I went professional that amateur fights became sanctioned. I honestly wasn’t impressed with my early performances and wanted to hone my skills. I wish I would have had the option to fight amateur in order to gain the experience but it was too late for that. I have regularly competed in grappling tournaments which has kept me pretty busy. I decided to focus on my stand-up and competed as a professional boxer to improve my hands. I have had my fair share of injuries as have had my potential opponents. Couple that with some promotions falling through at the last minute and I have missed quite a few opportunities to fight. I have had roughly twenty training camps and only six fights to show for it. Some things are just out of your control in the fight game.
-Describe your training camp leading up to a fight.
I like to have about eight weeks to prepare for my fights. I’m pretty much always in shape so it’s just a matter of building up towards the fight. We focus on stand-up sparring with takedowns 2-3 days per week. I work with guys like Bobby Southworth, Pete Spratt, Rodridgo Pinheiro, and Aaron Rosa. We are all training for fights at the moment so it’s working really well. Two a days, six days per week is what we strive for during this camp. I take an occasional trip to Austin to work my wrestling with Kamal Shalorus and Jason Carr. Speaking of Kamal, I was fortunate enough to become good friends with him when he first came to the States. We trained together a lot and I knew early on that he was a really tough guy. He has helped me tremendously with my wrestling.
-Tell me about your opponent, Derrick Krantz, for this fight.
I know he has a lot of experience, around 30 fights or so. He’s a strong guy that likes to push the pace and finish his opponents. He’s well rounded so I expect a tough fight. I took this fight because I know he has fought some really tough guys. I feel that a win over Derrick will be an impressive accomplishment for me.
-Talk about the toughest guy you have fought thus far.
That’s really hard to say. I honestly can’t answer that. I feel like the toughest thing I have faced thus far is dealing with the internal demons while preparing for these fights. Training is the hardest part. I feel like I train with some of the toughest guys out there and being able to make it through all of that and come into a fight healthy is one of my biggest challenges. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life and injury free coming into this fight. My motto is that you can have a really hard, sucky training camp and an enjoyable fight, or an enjoyable training camp and a hard, sucky fight with poor results.
-What are your long term goals?
First and foremost is to beat Derrick Krantz in dramatic fashion. I want to prove that I am one of the best 170lb fighters in this region/state. I’d like to advance onto bigger shows and fight tougher guys. Continuing on with a warrior spirit of fighting to win, not to lose is something I believe in strongly. I want to be known as a guy that always puts it on the line. Ultimately, I want to be the best martial artist that I can be. I want to have top notch BJJ, Olympic level wrestling, and perfect Muay Thai if possible.
-Is there anyone you would like to thank?
Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ (RPBJJ), all of the guys I train with: Pete Spratt, Bobby Southworth, Aaron Rosa, Rodrigo. They have helped me have the best camps over my last two fights. My sponsors Unrivaled, Clinch Gear, MMAOverload.com. I would also like to thank my fiancée, Cat, and my brother Jonny. They have always help encourage me and to stick with this.
-Matt Little is currently a blue belt under JD Shelley at North Dallas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (NDBJJ) and an amateur MMA writer.