Post-Fight Interview
with Ray "Bradda" Cooper
by Chris Onzuka
FCF: I'm standing here
with Ray "Bradda" Cooper after his spectacular arm
bar from the guard. It almost seems as if he baited his opponent
from the mount in order to turn the fight so he could show off
his submission skills. What are your thoughts about your fight?
Ray "Bradda" Cooper: I'm glad it ended the way it
did. I wanted to show that I could do submissions also. Danny
"Boy" was tough, he could take a good punch. He didn't
panic or anything. So I'm glad it ended the way it did, with
a submission.
FCF: What did you think
about the exchange while standing up? Were you surprised at
anything? It looked like you were keeping him off balanced.
RC: I knew he had good kicks and good punching skills, so I
just went on how I felt. I was planning on trading with him
for a while. But he was setting up for some big kicks, so I
took him down, because of the way he was standing.
FCF: You were just waiting
for him to throw a big kick and were going to come behind that
kick and take him down?
RC: Yeah, I was ready to take him down and try to finish the
fight on the ground.
FCF: What did you expect
from him on the ground? Were you surprised or did you expect
more from him?
RC: It's just about what I expected. He told me that he wasn't
training for a while and that he gained a lot of weight. And
he doesn't train on the ground all the time, so I kind of expected
about that from him.
FCF: Who's up next for
you?
RC: I don't know. They're talking about me fighting the number
one Shooto guy.
FCF: Tetsugi Kato?
RC: Yeah, but I haven't talked to T. Jay or my guys about it
yet, or prayed about it. That's the main thing.
FCF: This is the Super
Brawl in Guam right?
RC: Yeah.
FCF: Are you going to change
anything in your training to adapt to him because he has a very
different fighting style?
RC: I haven't seen him fight, so I have to check him out and
see what I have to work on.
FCF: Do you train specifically
for Japanese fighters because they're often more technical and
most Japanese fighters have a similar style of fighting?
RC: Yeah, I just try to stay well rounded and try to keep up
with those guys. I watch them all the time to keep up with their
techniques. Their fighting styles are quick.
FCF: Is there anything
else you wanted to say?
RC: God bless everybody.
FCF: Cool. Thanks Ray.
RC: Thank you. |