Interview with Kit Cope

KMA-First of all Kit how are you doing? Is your arm OK from the Ken Florian fight?

Kit-I am lovely, thanks. Actually my arm was injured going into the J-Lo fight. I separated it riding motocross 8 months prior, but it was still usable to an extent. I had 3 good wins on it before it decided it had enough in the Flo-jo fight. People think that it was the armbar that did it, but if you know anything about subs, you would know that an armbar does nothing to your shoulder from the spot he had it. It jacks your elbow. My elbow is fine. I did just have shoulder surgery though. You can see the pictures of my operation on my site: www.kitcope.com!

KMA-Are you interested in continuing in MMA or are you going to pursue Muay Thai or K1?

Kit-I will fight in pretty much any arena offered to me. I am trying to focus on MMA at the moment though.

KMA-What is the difference between K1 and Muay Thai, besides a whole lot of money?

Kit-Actually there is not much difference which is the reason I have done so well in the K-1. The only differences are a few rules. In Muay Thai you can neck wrestle and throw knees, not in K-1. In Muay Thai you can throw elbows, rarely in K-1. A pro bout in Muay Thai is 5 rounds while in K-1 it's 3. That's about it. I've actually made substantially bigger purses in Muay Thai, but that's just because I am the pinnacle of the sport. Scott Coker over at K-1 treats me very well though.

KMA-Another Muay Thai fighter, Carlos Condit, reciently had a huge upset win over Charuto Verrissimo. He countered Charuto's jab with a stiff short hook and kneed him in the head when he shot in for the take down. The fight was called in 17 seconds but the fight was really
over much sooner. Have you seen or heard of Carlos?

Kit-Actually I've never heard of him. Usually if he's been a pro of any stature in Muay Thai I would have heard of him. That's not to say he's not good.....necessarily.

KMA-You have some of the same skills, what do you think you need to have the same sort of success as some of the other Muay Thai MMA fighters like Wanderlei Silva, the Rua brothers etc?

Kit-I need better shot defense and mostly to stop changing up my style and stick to what got me to the UFC level in the first place. As soon as that comes to fruition I will be unstoppable.

KMA-Do you think Muay Thai is tougher to stick with than other martial arts?

Kit-Regardless of how I'll be hated for saying so...absolutely! 9 out of 10 MMA fighters you ask will tell you that Muay Thai fighters sustain surpassingly more damage than other pugilistic sports. Am I getting too wordy.

KMA-You are already one of the most famous fighters in the world. You fought on the Ultimate Fight Night before millions and millions more already knew you from the MTV reality show. Are you going to be in the movies or some rock band next?

Kit-Funny you should ask! I would love to do movies, however I am so busy training and fighting that I can hardly put enough time into that pursuit. On the other hand I actually AM in a rock band. The band is called PAYBACK. A couple of my bandmates are extreme athletes as well, actually at the top of the game. We have Jason Ellis, pro skateboarder, on lead guitar and Carey Hart, pro freestyle moto icon, on Bass. I am the singer. To the question you are asking yourselves at home, the answer is: NO. There is nothing that I cannot do. To that next question that just popped in there: YES, I am phenomenal at all of it as well.

KMA-Have you been to Hawaii before?

Kit-I have. I came out to corner one of my friends and teammates, Ricco Rodriguez at ROTR.

KMA-Anything you want to say to your fans in Hawaii?

Kit-The first thing I would say is "How awesome that I have fans in Hawaii!" Then I will say "I vow that I will bring my sunshine over to you not only in March when I come to sign autographs and corner Mystee in the Hybrid show, but also to show you cats a great live annihilation." The last things I would like to say are:"Drink Xyience NoxCG3, support Filthygear.net, and wear Osiris shoes, YEAH!"