So I had a chance to Interview Rampage Trainer Juanito Ibarra yesterday and it turned out to be a great interview. We talked about the weigh-in, the fight, Dan Henderson and more. It was interesting how he felt Chuck was intimidated at the weigh-in, Anyway here it is and I hope you guys enjoy it:
good stuff dude. your interviews are always very well-done, maybe the best in MMA in my opinion (and i've interviewed almost a hundred athletes, bands and artists over the past 15 years).
Great interview. Lol at the Leben comment...sure is funny how things ended up turning out.
Juanito Ibarra - I'll tell you what, there is that kid that fought on the UFC card. What is it? Leben I think. He fought on this same card. The one with the crazy hair and he stinks like hell. I was working on a UFC show last year and he was on the other side of the curtain and he didn't know I was there and he was talking to somebody and he said "man Rampage is washed up." And I called Rampage from the locker room and I said "son, this kid…I just heard this kid say right next to my ears that you are washed up." He goes "Juanito, I keep hearing that too." I said "you're just beginning."
wow thanks for the good words man. I try to do the best interviews I can man but let me tell you I was very surprised at what a great interview this turned out to be. Juanito is an amazing guy to speak to and I see now why Rampage was so motivated. I hope more people read this interview because he drops a lot of jewels on here.
you're really good at drawing out the good stuff from your subjects. i think a lot of it is just having an authentic, conversational style- when people try to be "journalists," it ends up sounding really stiff and forced, and you just hear the same old shit from the subject. if you just treat them like a normal human being, and talk to them like you would anybody else, it always turns out better. it seems like that's the way you approach things, and it's working great- can't wait to see more.
That interview was so good that I didn't even notice how long it was. Normally, I'll start skimming through but there was so much good info.
Great job!
ttt
That was a cool interview.
^^^^^
You nailed it whoabro. I hate reading some of these interviews because they are always from the same pool of 60 questions. This interview was great, and gave great insight into rampages training.
Juanito sounds like a class act all the way.
Great interview with Juanito, thanks for the heads up.
Also a great 4 part intreview on that site with Jens Pulver, covering his career start all the way to his fight with Gomi.
Also an interview with Diaz on there, will read it next.
ttt great interview
thanks for the feedback and I hope more people read this as it really shows what a good trainer and oerson Juanito really is.
great interview
the pulver interviews are fantastic, too- you really drew out his story, as well as some great details on his career. can't wait for part 4!
ttt, great stuff
great interview
thanks for posting
Good interview. Solid info and not the usual blah-blah.
cool, definitely want to check this out later...
FAMOUS interview! Sport needs more at this level.