HOUSTON, TX, July 23, 2012 – Moving on with our Cage Combat 10 interview series we speak to Kolton Englund of Silverback Fight Club.
At 19 years of age, Kolton is one of the younger fighters in the amateur lightweight division fighting in the Houston area but he’s never been afraid to step in there and test himself against his elders. Currently sitting on a 2-3 record after his last fight this past March, he’ll be looking to even things up this coming Friday nigth when he takes on Ralph Garcia at the Humble Civic Center.
Here are his thoughts prior to this upcoming bout.
Interview – Kolton Englund (Silverback Fight Club)
Thank you for interviewing me Mike, I feel great coming into this fight. i have been training very hard for a while now because previous fights have dropped off so I’m excited to fight. Y’all haven’t seen me in a while so I’m hoping to refresh everyone’s memory about me.
How long have you been training altogether now?
I started training at the age of 15. It was something I wanted to try out besides football. What 15 year old wouldn’t want to know how to fight? I slowly fell in love with kickboxing more and more until it was at the point where I was at the gym 24/7 trying to perfect my kicks and punches. JDF, Raul Marquez, and Silverback Tony (Orozco) took me in under their wing and really helped me become the fighter I am today. Now I’m at Silverback Fight Club pretty much all the time and I love it there.
Aside from the guys you mentioned, you else do you look up to in the world of MMA?
I would have to say Anderson Silva. He’s so accurate and confident in his own skills… It makes me one day want be just as good as him or better. If I’m feeling down I’ll watch a highlight video of his fights and five minutes later I’ll be heading to the gym again. My parents have also taught me that it’s a sport and push me to be the best I can be.
What the hardest part about being a fighter?
My biggest fear is losing I hate. I hate it more than I like winning. Also controlling my anger and staying composed is a challenge. I think I’ve overcome a lot of that though and it’s just part of growing as a fighter.
Tell us about your last fight with Lucas Orozco. What did you learn from it?
My last fight was going as planned the 1st round I was planning on feeling him out and countering him. but then I did leave my hand down and I got caught it shows you that those little gloves are no joke lol it doesn’t take much, they hurt!
My normal training day is waking up early and doing boxing with Raul Marquez then getting my run in. Later on in the day I go train at Silverback with my team. I’ve been doing three-a-days and everyday it will alternate from boxing to kickboxing with my coach Jim from McCall’s MMA.
Stylistically, how do you prefer to fight – on the feet or on the ground?
I love the standup. I love to put on a show and have the crowd on their tip-toes the whole time. That’s what people want to see so I give it to them…but no one has seen my ground in a fight yet either. <smiles>
Who are you fighting next and what do you know about him?
I’m fighting Ralph Garcia out of Galveston. He fought my teammate Eric Thompson so I know he’s a good fighter. This should be one great fight wherever it goes!
Aside from getting back in the win column, what else is motivating you for this one?
My motivation for this fight is that 155 title. I’ve dreamed about having this belt for a long time and now I feel it’s time to make that dream come true to be the youngest amateur title holder in Houston!
It’s very hard to even guess how a fight will go because crazy things happen in that cage. I’m ready for wherever this fight goes I feel confident in every aspect of my game.
What else should people look forward to at Cage Combat 10?
This is a huge card right now so the fans can look forward to a lot of great action but you will wanna stay until the end when I fight because there will be fireworks I can promise you that.
Any last words before Friday?
I’m ready for this fight. I wanna thank everyone that has helped me get this far in my career I really appreciate it. My Silverback family, Jim, Raul Marquez, Drew at ACS, Darren, and my parents for pushing me to my limits and setting me up with the best training I can possibly get. Thanks to all my fans who give me confidence y’all really do keep me going! See everyone July 27th!