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MMAyou.com: Thank you for speaking with MMAyou.com today. Mezger: No problem.
MMAyou.com: You have been in the ring and cage with a who's who of great fighters: Liddell, Wanderlei, Arona, Little Nog, Sakuraba, Tito, Schilt, Kondo, Bas, etc. Who were the toughest on that list?
Mezger: Well, you pretty much named all the tough ones. To be honest it is hard to narrow it down to just one "toughest" because they all had their challenges for me.
MMAyou.com: You came from a wrestling and American kickboxing background, while so many other top fighters came from a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Thai Boxing background. Was this an advantage or disadvantage for you?
Mezger: As for advantages and disadvantages; if you are going to be successful in MMA, even in the early days of NHB, you had to become diverse. You are going to have to train with all kinds of martial artist/athletes and study different styles. No one is just a Thai Boxer and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner only, they add wrestling and boxing.
Even before I stepped into my 1st UFC, I had trained and competed in many different styles of combat sports/martial arts; Texas Judo champion, kicking boxing champ, full contact karate champ, high school and college wrestling, boxing and Thai Boxing, and just before my 1st UFC I trained with Ken Shamrock in the Pancrase style, but had not competed yet in Pancrase.
The real cool thing about MMA is that is has cut all the useless crap out of martial arts. You don't have to learn a whole system in order to get the advantages that style has to offer.
MMAyou.com: You were very relaxed when fighting. In some of your fights you looked so relaxed that it almost looked like a sparring session. Do you think that at times this prevented you from finishing a hurt fighter and letting him get back into the fight?
Mezger: I don't know, never really thought about it in that way.
MMAyou.com: Why was it that in your Pancrase days, so many fighters gave up positions like mount and side control so easily? These are big no nos from the BJJ perspective.
Mezger: Because changing from one position to another really is only an advantage if you are able to capitalize on it.
MMAyou.com: How is your relationship with Tito today?
Mezger: Our paths don't cross much anymore. I don't have any hard feelings towards him and I am figuring he does not have any towards me. Tito has done well for himself and I expect to see him even do better.
MMAyou.com: If you fought Fedor in your prime, how would have approached this fight?
Mezger: That is a tough one to answer because it is all speculation, but if I fought Fedor I would, now we fade into dream sequence, ... Jump back kick him in the face. End of story. Okay, now back to reality. I would do my best to move around and attack him with my kicks and punches. To be taken down and having to fight from under Fedor would not be a healthy place to be. Attack and move off, try to draw him into lunging at me and hopefully catch him with a hard counter punch. He is a tough guy to prepare for.
MMAyou.com: What are your thoughts on the possible Ken versus Frank fight?
Mezger: I would prefer not to see it, but they are big boys and they have to do what they have to do.
MMAyou.com: Who is the best pound for pound MMA fighter in the world now?
Mezger: That is another tough one to limit to just one. I would give it to two guys right now: GSP and Fedor
MMAyou.com: What are your plans with HD Net fights?
Mezger: That is a really open ended question. Let me give a short and precise answer:
It is our intention to be a major player in MMA promotions.
We right now show the most live MMA fights then anyone else from strong regional shows, Sport Fight & Strike Force, to the best on the international field. Dreams and other Japanese events.
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