In less than 2 weeks, French fighter Xavier Foupa-Pokam will be making his UFC debut, fighting against PRIDE veteran Denis Kang. 26 years old French is not new to this game, bringing to the Octagon a professional record of 20 wins and 8 losses, with two losses coming early is his career in the way of DQ.
On Saturday, April 18, Xavier has all the intentions to continue his winning streak, making it 8 in the row. Just days before Xavier's next fight at UFC 97, Valetudo.ru is glad to present you an exclusive interview with a largest MMA organization newcomer.
valetudo.ru: Have you started the training process for you fight against Denis Kang for UFC 97?
Oh yes. I'm always taking all my opponents very seriously, so just as usual I'm having a long, hard and precise preparation for this fight.
valetudo.ru: Are there any surprises that you will be preparing for Canadian fighter? Will you prefer to keep the fight on the ground or standing?
Well, Kang is a good overall fighter so I'm expecting him to try everything he can. I'm ready for everything and everywhere. I'd prefer to have it standing.
valetudo.ru: Have you watched Denis' fights? What are his strengths and weaknesses?
He's got a very good jiu-jitsu and a good boxing. I know which of his weaknesses I'm going to capitalize on... But If you really want to know it, just watch the fight and enjoy!
valetudo.ru: How many times a day/week do you train? Please describe your typical training routine preparing for the fight.
I'm training every day. 5 days a week, 2 times a day. When on a fight preparation, I can't have full week-end period of 2 consecutive days because the sessions are very hard and I need to have a break day in the middle of the week to recover correctly and be efficient.
A typical day of training? For example, on Tuesday :
I get up at 8. Then I dance a bit of raggamuffin playing on my alarm clock (alone in my bedroom, yes ! But, so I start the day in a good mood!...). I take a shower, eat breakfast correctly, then go to the gym for the physical conditioning session. I'm in the gym, ready to start at 10:30 AM. Then, I lift weights, according to Olivier Ancely, our physical conditioning coach. At 12:30 PM the session stops, and I shower and eat at the gym. I'm back home at 2:30 PM. If I feel that I need it, I don't hesitate to take a nap ; because recovery is as important as the work. But I make sure to be up at least 1 hour before going training to be sure I'm perfectly awake. Then I jump in my car at 7 to head to the Snake HD Dojo for the evening Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training session that starts at eight. It finishes at 10:00 PM. And back home at 11:00 PM. I cook my dinner and my midday lunch then I go to bed before midnight.
valetudo.ru: Do you have to cut any weight before the weigh-inns? If so, how many pounds (or KG)
Yes. I'm fighting at -84kg and my normal weight is... 91 kg.
valetudo.ru: What is your mix martial base? Who helped you to improve your ground game to such a high level?
I'm a fighter from the Snake Team, the team founded by Cyrille "The Snake" Diabate; I'm muay-thai based. I was doing karate for 7 years before that. We also learn and teach BJJ in our gym, and we are partner with the SANKUNO, run by David Pierre-Louis, which is one of best BJJ school in Europe. They help us a lot.
valetudo.ru: How did you get to the Mix Martial Arts? Was there anyone who introduced that sport to you?
In fact, when I was doing karate, we used to trade the UFC tapes, in the locker-room. We used to say that "it was too violent"... But we watched it! And we liked it... Few years later, I was fed up with competition karate, too much focused on speed. I needed more contact and to use my legs more. I first wanted to turn to kick-boxing and I met Cyrille that taught me muay-thai. He was starting to train MMA and he made us, his students, try MMA too. We liked it. So the Snake Team became an MMA Team.
valetudo.ru: What was the reason of your constraints in the fight against Murilo "Ninja" Rua on Cage Rage 24? Were you overwhelmed by Brazilian well-known name or was it something else? Maybe injuries?
No. Actually, I think that I started the fight not breathing correctly. I was a bit excited and impatient to have that fight, and maybe a bit tense. So in the second round I was feeling a kind of lack of oxygen. That's it.... In MMA, even small details can have a big consequence. That's what makes our sport so complex... And exciting at the same time ! But I've worked on it and this kind of mistake couldn't happen anymore.
valetudo.ru: Do you plan to compete in MMA tournaments in France?
I've got an exclusive contract with UFC. So, if UFC comes to France in 2010 as it could happen, I might have a hope to fight in front of my relatives and friends for the first time of my life !
valetudo.ru: You have experience competing in Russia, Western Europe, Japan, USA, South Africa and Brazil. What are the main differences in competing in different countries / continents? Which one was you favorite and why?
The principal difference would be the difference between the fighting areas, ring or cage, the specific rules and the behavior of the crowd. I don't really have a favorite country to fight in, but I definitely liked fighting in Russia. Every time, even when I was fighting Russians, as I was winning, the crowd was very nice and thankful for me having given a good show and congratulating me for my victory. The Russian are very fair-play. During the WAFC world tournament final, I was very focused on my fight but when on the way to the cage I could feel the whole crowd supporting me. That was nice!!! After my fight against Andre Rudakov, a Russian fan came to me and offered me his army beret! That was nice, too! I appreciated it.
valetudo.ru: What was your toughest fight up to date?
My fight against Martin Kampman. I wasn't pleased with the editing of the video, but live, this fight was a real war!
valetudo.ru: Which fight was the most memorable and why?
I don't know... Maybe the fight I remember more right now was the one against Arman Gambaryan. Before the WAFC World Cup, I was feeling that he was considered as the favorite for the win... But I was here to get this cup! So when I knocked him out during the semi-final, I felt really invincible: no one could step between me and the world cup.
valetudo.ru: What do you or members of your team think about Bertrand Amoussou? There have been circulating rumors that he is quite contradictory person and many French fighters don't want to deal with him.
We think that Bertrand used his role as the editor of "FightSport" magazine to push his name, then to push his brother Karl and a few of his friends. A lot of French fighters feel that they were put to the side even though they were more deserving to be in he magazine or to benefit from FightSport's connection in the fight world. He seems more interested in his own promotion than in the promotion of the sport of MMA.
valetudo.ru: After your fight with Denis, who would you like your opponent to be? Are there any fighters in UFC or any other organizations who you particularly want to face?
I don't know yet. For now, I'm focused on my upcoming fight.
valetudo.ru: Would you ever like fight Anderson Silva? How do you think that fight would go?
Of course!!! A lot of middleweights would like to have a chance to take his crown. I don't really believe in predictions, only fighting matters to me.
valetudo.ru: What are you predictions on Silva vs. Leites bout?
I think that The Spider could add one more knock-out on his record...
valetudo.ru: Do you know Russian fighter - Alexander Shlemenko? Would you like to fight against him?
Yes, I know Alexander. He's one of the top Russian guy of my weight division. Maybe one day i'll fight him but first i would love "Blade", my team mate, to get his revenge on him.
valetudo.ru: Xavier, in the very beginning of your career, you had a few losses due to disqualification. Was it happening because you were young and emotional or due to some other reasons?
Yes, I was young, violent and impulsive... Well, today I'm not impulsive anymore... But still young and violent!
valetudo.ru: Were there any losses in your career that you would badly like to avenge?
Yeah, of course. I think that nowadays my both fights against Ryuta Sakurai and Ninja would not end the same way at all. But what is done is done and you've got to move on. Looking back should only be useful to stay aware of the mistakes you've made and to be sure not to repeat them. To succeed, you've got move forward.
valetudo.ru: How would you evaluate (appraise) MMA development in Europe compared to the rest of the world? What about France in particular?
It's still getting bigger and bigger all over Europe. The only problem is France, my home country. There are still a lot of lobbies keeping pressure on the politics to avoid the growth of MMA. But there's a big and passionate MMA fan base in France ; and one day or another our politics will have to consider us as real athletes...
valetudo.ru: A question from your fan in Lithuania: Have you heard anything about MMA tournaments in Lithuania or any Lithuanian fighters?
I'm sorry but I don't really know about Lithuanian MMA.
valetudo.ru: After your fight against Api Hemara, you danced a Haku. Have you ever thought about learning that dance professionally to scare your opponents, or was it just an element of the show?
None of both. I just wanted to pay an homage to the courage of the guy that accepted to step in the cage a second time after having been knocked out. After our quarter-final, I had asked him to teach me that dance later, because I was admiring this war dance. But after our final bout, I went to him and asked him to teach it to me right there, right in the middle of the cage! It was an other way to show respect to Api, my opponent. Fighting is our passion, fighting is our job, fighting is what we love. But showing respect to an opponent is important. So, it's a good thing for the people to see that 2 people can be fighting each other, then sharing a good moment together right afterward. We are not just fighters, but warriors.
valetudo.ru: Please list your top three fighters in Snake Team and top five French fighters.
Top 3 fighters in the Snake Team:
Gregory "Blade" Babene
Mamour "Mamourinho" Fall
Hedi BenAbdhallah
5 french top fighters:
A part from the ones that are already well-known in the UFC there are:
Christian "Tonton" M'Pumbu
Gregory "Blade" Babene
Mamour "Mamourinho" Fall
Karl "Psycho" Amoussou
Bendy Casimir
Thanks for all the support in Russia. I hope myself and the other fighters from the SnakeTeam will have many more visits to your wonderful country!
