By Rodrigo Galvan

“Hard work and dedication.” These words came to mind after I interviewed middleweight amateur fighter Mike Houston. In only one year of competing in MMA, Mike Houston is already fighting for the BANG FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP middleweight title this Saturday at Sam’s Town Casino in Tunica, MS. Mike resides in West Memphis, Arkansas and fights out of Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. He is currently 3-1 and ranked #5 in the state in the middleweight amateur division. Mike has been succeeding in athletics all his life. He was one of the leading tacklers in the nation when he played college football for Arkansas Tech, he holds several grappling titles, and even holds a victory in a toughman contest. If the past is any reference to what the future may hold, then we’ll be seeing Mike Houston dominate the professional ranks like he is dominating the amateur ones. ATO caught up with Mike Houston and here is what he had to say:

First of all, thank you for taking the time to talk with us.
Thank you for having me.

You have a full time job as a mechanical engineer, what is it that draws you to MMA?
All my life I’ve been involved in sports even up through college when I played college football. When I graduated from college I just felt that there was something missing, I kind of had that void. For about two years I wasn’t really miserable, but I didn’t have what I wanted to do and then I found jiu-jitsu and it really filled that void and from there it just progressed into MMA.

What is it about jiu-jitsu that made you want to do MMA?
I started out with jiu-jitsu just for something to do. I already knew a little boxing and fought in a toughman contest. There was a fight in West Memphis (AR) and the guy that owned the gym that we were training at was putting it on and one of the guys who was supposed to be in the main event wasn’t able to do it and I was the same weight. My trainer told me that with my jiu-jitsu experience I should do it so I did and ended up winning and I got started from there.

How much harder is it to train in MMA than jiu-jitsu?
The biggest difference is trying to learn the striking. I’ve gotten to where I can relax when I do jiu-jitsu and not wear myself out so much, but the striking is a little tougher on me cardio wise.

Do you recommend someone to try a combat sport (karate, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, boxing) before fighting MMA and if so why?
I definitely recommend it because that lets you know if that’s what you want to do. Also when people do MMA, there are so many skills that you have to learn that you might spread yourself to thin and you might not be prepared in certain aspects of the fight game when you get into the cage.

So jiu-jitsu is definitely your strength?
Definitely. Lately I’ve been working more on my striking but I definitely want to take the fight to the ground and use my jiu-jitsu.

How long have you been doing jiu-jitsu and MMA?
I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu since February of 2009 so about 15 months now and for MMA I’ve been doing it right at about a year.

Because you are new to MMA, are you surprised that you are getting a title shot this fast?
Actually I am. I’ve only had four fights but I know I’m ready for it and I train hard and I am getting coaching from the people who know how to get me ready for this. I am a little nervous though because of my experience, but I’ll be ready.

What are you doing different in your training to prepare for a 5 round title fight instead of a 3 round fight?
My jiu-jitsu is staying the same. I try to make every roll and don’t sit out any. And on my striking days I’ve increased the intensity. I’m working in a lot more running and doing a lot more rounds with the mitts.

Tell us a little bit about your opponent David Martin.
From what I understand he’s about 6’2 so he’ll be a little taller than me and have a little bit of a reach advantage. Most of the fights I’ve had so far I’ve had a reach disadvantage so that shouldn’t be anything new. He fights out of BANG! GYM and supposedly they’re a good striking gym so that’s what I’ve been focusing on, trying to protect myself enough standing to get him to the ground where I want to take the fight.

Is it tough fighting an opponent when you don’t have a lot of film on him?
Playing college football I’m used to being able to study film on people and I’m well versed in studying film and I like to pick up on the little things that they do. But in amateur MMA, the guy is going to do what the guy is going to do and from what my trainers tell me it doesn’t matter what he does and if I go out there and execute my game plan I’ll be ok.

You’re fighting in his backyard. BANG! is putting on the event and he’s probably going to be the crowd favorite. How do you handle that?
I just block it out. That doesn’t bother me a bit. I kind of like being the underdog and it takes a little pressure off of me because he is the champion and I’m coming to take his belt in his backyard. So I feel like all the pressure should be on him and I’m just ready for it.

If he’s reading this interview what do you want to say to him?
I’d like to wish him luck and hopefully we’ll put on a good show for all of the fans.

Your teammate Brian Hall just won the V3 Bantamweight title, does that give you any extra motivation going into this title fight?
Definitely, and not just Brian, we’ve got a lot of guys over there that are very competitive locally and some nationally. If you walk in our gym we have a trophy case full of belts and I would love to have a belt with my name on it sitting in the trophy case.

Describe the feeling you felt going into your first MMA fight.
Nerves. I was very nervous. I was excited but had butterflies. I’m used to being in elite situations with college football and all, but I was with a team. This was kind of the first thing that I’ve done where it was just me, and it was all up to me whether I won or lost. It all rested on my shoulders so it was definitely nerve wrecking.

So were you more nervous going into your first MMA fight or your first jiu-jitsu/grappling tournament?
Probably my first fight because my first jiu-jitsu tournament was in Nashville and no one was really there to see it other than some of my teammates. My first fight was in my home town and all of my friends and family were there to watch so it added a little bit more pressure.

The first amateur rankings just came out on the ATO website and you are currently ranked #5 in the state (TN) at 185, how does that make you feel?
That surprises me a lot because I’ve only had four fights and to here something like that is quite an honor. It makes me know that I’m training at the right gym and Dave (Ferguson) has got me following the right path.

How has the cut to 185 been going since you’ve decided to move down in weight and do you think that it can have an effect on your performance since this is the first time that you’re fighting at 185?
It may effect it a little but I’ve actually done practice cuts and simulated fights the next day and I felt great but I didn’t have the same adrenaline and nerves that I have for a real fight and I know this is going to be a five round fight instead of a three so that’s why I’ve really been buckling down with my training and doing more running.

Explain to the fans what a simulated fight is and how that works.
You’ll get in the boxing ring and work mitts for maybe three, three minute rounds. Then you’ll get out of the ring and simulate takedown drills against the wall in case you’re up against the cage in your fight. You’re against the cage and the guy is trying to take you down and you have to fight to stay up and you’re trying to take him down and he’s trying to stay up and you do that for a couple of rounds. Then you get on the ground and do your jiu-jitsu work. You go through all of the aspects of training and do several rounds of each and see how you feel and I’ve actually felt pretty good when I did it.

Have you ever had to cut weight before?
No sir. That was the first time I’ve ever cut weight when I did the practice cut. All of my life I’ve been focused on trying to gain weight and that was the first time that I ever went backwards. I cut pretty good and right now I’m at about 202 so I’ve got about 17-18 pounds to go. I should be fine though, I cut 16 the last time and I feel really good about it for this fight.

How tough is it having a full time job and training MMA at the same time?
It can be very difficult, but fortunately I have a pretty set schedule so I don’t have to juggle things around. The toughest part is having to sacrifice one aspect of fighting to train for another because I only have a limited amounted of time each day to work on something and since I’m still new to the sport, I’m still learning everything. There are just not enough hours in the day to where I learn everything that I need to learn. But it’s very rough having a full time job and training especially on those rough days where you’re tired and you have to drive all the way over there to train, but after I’m done training it was all worth it and I feel much better.

So go over a typical day for you.
I wake up early in the morning and feed my dogs and try to eat a descent breakfast. Then I’m off to work and I work all morning and usually balance my time between the plant and the office. Then I go to lunch and I try to eat a healthy one. Then I’m back at work until 5. When I get off at 5, I’m able to go back home and relax for just a minute and get myself ready. Then I drive to Memphis and from about 7 to 9 I try to focus on whatever it is that I’m going to be learning for that day. Once I’m done I usually get home at about 9:45 and try to spend what time I have left with friends and family.

Is your job pretty stressful?
Some days it’s pretty tough. I work at a Japanese automotive supplier that’s mostly owned by Toyota so a lot of the time days can be stressful especially when we send a product out to our customer and something is wrong with it. We have to hustle and try to figure out what happened. Some of those days are really tough but I’ve been there long enough to where I’m able to roll with the punches and know what to do whenever times get tough.

So how far do you want to go with MMA? Are you doing this just for a hobby because you already have a full time job or do you eventually want to do this full time?
I would love to be able to do this for a living. If I could make it that far, that’s something I’d definitely love to do. Being an amateur fighter, it’s a little more than a hobby because as much time as I dedicate to this, it’s a part of my life. If I have ten fights as an amateur and I’m 5-5 I have to be realistic with myself, but if I have ten fights as an amateur and I’m 9-1 then I’d definitely like to take it to the next level.

Do you want to avenge that one loss you have on your record or do you not worry about it on the amateur level and use it as a learning experience?
I’m pretty competitive and I hate that I lost that fight and there are a lot of factors that went into that fight. It was the first fight that I fought in a ring and my game plan was to take him down and when I did we went through the ropes and instead of starting us back on the ground they started us back on our feet and I got caught. But that fight is one of the reasons why I decided to drop to 185. He was 6’6 and caught me with a good punch and knocked me silly for a couple of seconds. I would like to avenge it but I’m actually glad that it happened because it opened my eyes in that I needed to evolve in my striking game much more. I was completely relying on taking people down and if I don’t ever get to avenge that loss it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Who do you enjoy watching fight and who do you emulate your game after.
A lot of people have told me that I’m like a bigger version of Uriah Faber. He’s not necessarily the best in any one category, but he’s fairly well rounded and he’s athletic and tough. I don’t see that so much because he’s so much better than I am, but I’ve heard people say that I’m like a 185 pound version of Uriah Faber so I take that as a compliment.

What was your family’s first reaction when you told them you wanted to be an MMA fighter?
I come from a pretty tough family so they weren’t surprised. They weren’t as knowledgeable about it back then as they are now so they were kind of concerned, but once they learned what it was all about they quickly got behind me and now they are all excited about it.

What about other people’s reaction when they here that you are a mechanical engineer that fights MMA as well?
Most of them are ok with it. Some of the older generation will see the cauliflower ear or I’ll come to work with a black eye and they’ll kind of look at me a little funny. But most of the people now are kind of hip to it with the UFC being so popular so everyone pretty much knows what’s going on and they’re pretty excited to see me doing it.

How did you get involved in the toughman contests?
Just boredom. There was actually a guy that I was a roommate with and played college football with that worked with a former junior middleweight champion who lives here in town and he came over to the house a few times and showed us a little bit of boxing. It was nothing too in depth and I decided I’d take that and go to the toughman contest just to see what it’s about.

Have you been able to take anything from your playing days in football and carry it over to MMA?
Definitely. I think a lot of people that haven’t played a demanding sport like wrestling or football maybe don’t have that toughness that you learn from it because an everyday person usually doesn’t put themselves through those trials and tribulations so they may not know what it’s like to be down in the 4th quarter and have to test yourself and be able to pull through with something. So I think that’s helped me whenever times get hard or if the fights going the wrong way I don’t fold because I’ve been able to go through that before.

Now there are several gyms in Arkansas. What makes you want to drive the 30 minutes everyday to Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu to do your training instead of going somewhere near your home?
Well no disrespect to any of the gyms in West Memphis, I respect what those guys are doing and I wish them luck but in my honest opinion there is no better way to prepare yourself than going to Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. You think about a guy like Dave Ferguson who has fought Dan “The Beast” Severn and has a plethora of knowledge about the sport and a lot of times he’s in there doing the business side of it and the paper work and that just tells you the kind of skills and knowledge that the instructors there have and the trust that Dave has in his coaches. They’re not just good locally, they’re good nationally and some are even world champions. So the teaching you get at Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu is far superior to anything you are going to find in Arkansas, Mississippi, or other parts of Tennessee.

Who are your main training partners and coaches over there?
My main jiu-jitsu instructor is Joel Gingery, my boxing coach is Tom, my judo coach is Mike Ostrowski and the guy who kind of ties it all together for me and does the MMA is Jeremy Brock and he is from my home town and he is well versed in all aspects of the game. Fortunately for me because he lives in West Memphis, if there is a day where I get off of work late and we want to work right at the house doing stand up or some takedown work we can do it. So he kind of ties it all together. I train with everyone at the gym. Any time I go and do jiu-jitsu there are several great guys that I can practice with every day. As far as MMA I like to train with the bigger guys. Obviously Austin (Lyons) is a professional fighter and has very good hands and he helps me a lot as far as learning and sparring. Any of the guys that show up on a Saturday will give me a great workout. Doug Larson (ranked #3 at welterweight) really pushes me and is helpful because he’s about my size.

You have several teammates fighting on this card. Does is make things easier when you guys are all fighting on the same night?
It does because you have a lot more of the school there to support you especially fighting somewhere locally because the guys can come and watch and you feel like you have that backing behind you. But any time I got teammates fighting on the same card it pumps me up more because they’re training just as hard as I am in the weeks leading up to the fight so it’s not like I’m putting in all of this effort by myself because I have a team doing it with me.

When you’re not doing MMA or working, what do you like to do?
I hunt, fish, play guitar, and work on motorcycles and old cars.

Who do you credit the most for where you are at today?
My parents. They were able to support me all I that I needed growing up. When I was playing sports they were always able to drive me wherever I needed, especially baseball when I played competitively, we would go everywhere and they took me there with a smile on their face and supported me. Even now when I’m doing MMA they’re my biggest fans and I just have to say that I appreciate them and what they do for me.

Any last comments.
I’d like to thank aroundtheoctagon.com (ATO) for giving me the opportunity to do this interview, Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu and all of the instructors and teammates that I have and that help me out, and all my friends and family that support me.

Thank you.
Yes sir, thank you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 3:21 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.