Legacy Fights Interview Series – “Through Hell and Back” with Mike ‘The Greek’ Bronzoulis

A wise philosopher poet named Euripides once stated that it is slavery not to speak one’s thoughts.

With that, we arrive at our next interview with a man who certainly does not hold back any of his own in Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis. A  seasoned-veteran with ten wins on his record, Bronzoulis will enter battle in the Arena on January 29th looking to notch his eleventh victory against Joe Christopher in the main event of the upcoming Legacy Fighting Championship event.

Self-described as man who wears his heart on his sleeve, Bronzoulis is known around town as a very passionate individual never too shy to speak his mind. Aside from being an accomplished mixed martial artist, Mike B, as his friends call him, is also known by many involved with the fight scene as a brash individual, perhaps even as an impulsive trash-talker who will go so far as to throw flying vegetables when he’s on the attack.

Digging deeper, the truths I hold to be evident based on my short interactions with Bronzoulis are a bit more convoluted. He is indeed every bit as fiery as his preceding reputation would indicate, yet he also possesses a quality of soul and an unyielding sense of loyalty that shows a convergence of vastly different emotions, making him perhaps more complex of an individual that many may realize.

All in all, he may not have to slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra, capture a Cretan Bull, or clean the Augean stables in a single day but I get the sense that Mike Bronzoulis nonetheless labors with Herculean effort as he fights adversity on a vision quest to achieve immortality in the fight game.

Read on and get to know a little more about Mike Bronzoulis prior to his main event bout at Legacy on January 29th.

Thanks for taking the time out of your training schedule to speak to me, Mike.  How’s life treating you during the holidays?

I have a lot of adversity to overcome man. Holidays… no holidays… for some reason my life is always challenged in every area so I’m dealing with a lot of adversity during this season. Just got to stay focused and keep training. You know.

You go by the nickname, “The Greek.” A man proud of his culture, I can respect that. Aside from the delicious food, what are some of the things that make you proud to be a Greek?

Well, I go by the nickname “The Greek” because of my father. He passed away from cancer three years ago and that was his nickname, “Mike the Greek.” People used to go around town always calling him that so I took it with me, for him. I remember his last wish to me was for me to be a champion so I carry that with me to honor him.

As far being Greek, I love being Greek man, everything about it. They say us Greeks are descended down a whole bloodline from Hercules and everything… That’s very inspiring and I kind of believe that, I really do. I love the food, I love the culture, everything. I go to the Greek Festival every single year man; I live right next to it! I love being Greek. We have great intelligent minds, the best in the world. And I love fighting as a Greek because fighting is a thinking man’s game and our minds are good for those situations.

I know that “family” is a central focus in Greek culture. Are you close to yours?

Yes, definitely super close to my family. My father is deceased right now like I said but I am very close to my mother and I try to take care of her. I’m close to my brother, my nephew… When I’m not training, I’m with my family. They give me strength, inspiration, and encouragement. And when things are lonely and the walls get really high, my mother, man she is like a rock. She gives me insight and makes me stronger. She means everything to me. My brother too.

Mike, you have a reputation as a very passionate individual. Some may even call you sensitive or hot-headed. How do you respond to that?

I am all heart. What can I say; I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’ve been through hell and back and I don’t put up with any sh-t from anybody. Some people think of it as being hot-headed but it’s me, going through life, becoming harder. I’m just trying to become the strongest individual I can be. And you know what, mentally I’m so solid. People misinterpret that but I’m like a soldier man. I’m finely tuned, ready for battle.

Moving on to your fight career –you’re a seasoned-vet at this point and you’ve got some impressive wins on your record. One fight that impressed a lot of people was your fight with Kamal Shalorus, who’s now in the UFC. Is that what you feel is your toughest fight?

That was my toughest fight, the fight with Kamal. I took it on like a week-and-a-half notice. I was in horrible shape. I only took the fight to see how I’d compare to one of the top fighters around, which is kind of obvious now that he’s fighting in the UFC. That fight was tough and challenged me in a lot of ways. My heart, my conditioning, my chin – I learned a lot from that fight, more than other, and now I know I’m going to be doing really well once I get to the UFC or any other big show. I know this just from that fight alone.

Your last fight with Jonathan Harris… there was a lot of talk before the bout which culminated at weigh-ins. The salad-throwing “incident” – a lot of people have sensationalized it. Was it part of hyping up the fight or what? What happened there?

People always like to have something to talk about. I didn’t do it to be cute. I did it because that’s me and I’m a spur-of-the-moment type of guy. He was talking a lot of stuff and the situation presented itself and it just kind of happened. I’m just one of those guys. Hype is all around me.

You’re coming off your second win in a row now. You’re looking to make it three when you defend your belt against Joe “Jitsu” Christopher out of Dallas. What do you know about him?

I know he is a black belt. He has most of his wins have been by submission and he’s never been TKO’d up until the 29^th of January.

Are you worried about his Joe “Jitsu” at all?

No, I am not worried about his “Joe-Jitsu.” My plan is to take him down immediately and show him his black belt don’t mean anything to me. I train with black belts all around me. I’m going to make sure he notices that then I’m going to knock him out cold or submit him.

How are you going to beat this guy, any predictions?

Yeah, I’ll make a prediction. I’m going to beat him… viciously.

I’ve said recently that this fight between you and Christopher is a micro-example of the rivalry between Dallas and Houston. What do you have to say to our Houston fans that will be cheering you on?

I hope they are ready for a night of excitement because Mike B. and the Paradigm crew are going to put an amazing show. We’re going to be reppin’ our skills and talent and we’re going to knock some people out, put on a great display, and send them Dallas boys back home.

Houston fans will get exactly what they want. Houston fighters are talented, passionate, and train really hard. There are a lot of stars in Houston. It’s a shame we all have to fight each other.

Anyone you want to thank for helping you towards this fight?

I want to thank the entire Paradigm Team – Lee King, Tim Snyder, Jeff Rexroad, Rashon Lewis, Damon Ponder, Brian Melancon, Colin Wright, Lester Baxter, Coach Gordon, Coach Renan Chavez, Coach Igor Santos, and everybody else.

Also want to thank Big Ike Villanueva and Jason David Frank at Rising Sun Karate.

I want to thank Coach Aaron (Navarro) at Main Street Boxing Gym, Coach Bobby (Benton), and Big Lou Savarese.

I also want to thank all my sponsors:

Apex Fire and Control
Life is Mental” – Kelly Stallings
Houston Spine and Disc
Smoothie King
WGC
Big Woodrow’s
Jesus Didn’t Tap
MMA Grillz
Clean Bloodline MMA Clothing
CieAura with CX2 Wristband

Thanks to my management team at KO Dynasty.

Thanks to my mother, my brother, and also thank you to my webmaster, Amy Gonzalez, who takes care of my website.

Any last words?

Yeah, I want to say I respect Joe Christopher to the fullest. By no means am I talking crap. I think he’s a very worthy opponent and I’m exciting to be fighting him. But if he thinks’ he’s coming here with that belt he has on the poster and leaving with it, he’s out of his mind. Somebody tell him to bring that belt down here so I can add it to my collection.

All the Houston fans, I want to say thanks for all the support. Show up on fight night and don’t miss the best card around.