Special Exclusive: Life is good & only getting better; The Monster Talks!
By Dave Carpinello
An Exclusive talk with Kevin Randleman about his battle with health problems and the heart of an ex-champion that keeps the “Monster” fighting against all odds to make his return to fighting. The day began as any other as I was working through my schedule with my investment company and my new venture PunchDrunkGamer. I received an email from Kevin Randleman’s fiancee Elizabeth with pictures from Kevin’s wounds as he is recovering from a bad staph infection that has infected his body for over 2 years. Talking to the Monster later in the day you would get the impression that he was only a week away from making his comeback to the cage or the ring.
Most Fans have seen the picture of the two holes under Kevin’s right arm on his side depicting something most people that are not doctors only see in a horror film.
Was the Monster depressed? Absolutely not, Kevin’s outlook on life may be something that everyone can take something from. “It is good to be alive and it will only get better” Kevin told me as he was describing the medical care he was receiving.
PDG: Can you describe to me what medical care you are receiving now?
Kevin: Right now the hole from the infection is about half the size that you see in that first picture. I am using a wound vac over the two holes to get rid of the blood and puss that is in the infection. It will probably take another 2 to 3 weeks for the hole to close completely. There is also an IV in my arm that administers medicine two times a day. There is a pick line in my left arm that the IV is hooked up to when I need to take my meds. The pick line runs through my left arm and up close to my heart so that when I take my meds it has almost an immediate response. It does get a little bother sum as all I want to do is get healthy and fight again. I would love to be training and even get kicked in the face right now but I am stuck in the house for the most part.
After the shoulder injury that Kevin suffered back in 2006 and his loss against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, followed by a suspension by the NSAC, a DUI and a recurrence of a staff infection that almost killed him earlier this year. The Monster and his soon to be wife Elizabeth have fought on not because they had to but because the opportunities that are still available in Kevin’s life are greater than the cost of throwing in the towel. As put by Elizabeth, “You can see the progress over the three shots, he is healing like wolverine”
PDG: So how much gauze is still required on a daily basis?
Kevin: Something like 1 or 2 yards and that is only when I don’t want to wear the wound vac.
PDG: Most people including myself don’t even know what a wound vac is: can you describe what that is and how it works?
Kevin: A wound vac is about the size of a women’s little purse and it basically works a suction device that has a little hose that sucks all the bad stuff out and it has a shoulder strap so that I can be mobile. I also have put this foam into the wounds so that they stay open and breathing for the wound vac to work properly. With the wound vac the hole will probably be healed in 2 more weeks as opposed to a lot longer with just using gauze.
PDG: I have a picture of your foot that shows how much your body swelled up when you got sick. Your weight went from 220 lbs to 265 lbs; how much do you weigh now?
Kevin: I am down to 205 lbs. Once I start training again and eating and working out I will be back at 220 lbs and the Monster will back. Nobody can understand the respect that I have for the game of fighting after all that I have been through and still not yet being able to fight again. I thought that I would be a fighter all of my life but now I know that one day I will have to walk away from this sport. I am still a fearless fighter and that makes me dangerous to any fighter in the 205 lb division. The fact that I don’t give a fuck what happens in the cage whether I knock you out or you knock me out makes it all that more exciting. After losing 2 years of my career I look at the fighters that take their opportunities for granted and I see that I cannot do that ever again. I no longer take my health, my future wife, my kids, my friends or my future for granted.
In a world where people put off some things in their lives until tomorrow Kevin has yet to marry Elizabeth because of the many health and career issues that have plagued him over the last few years. That is going to change with his new found belief in that you get one chance to make your life right and the two of them will be married in the spring of 2008.
Example:
PDG: I have heard you refer to her as your wife, your woman and your girl; can I get a straight answer?
Kevin: She is my wife, I don’t need a ring to be married. Elizabeth is one of those women that is hard to find and I refer to her in a million different ways but she is the best.
As you readers will notice; the fighters that we idolize and watch in the ring are just like all of the rest of us. They are human and go through many of the same life decisions that all of us do. The only difference is that when your fax machine gives you a paper load error like in “Office Space” and you take that fax machine to a field and Snoop Dogg it. The fighters of mixed martial arts train and go into a ring a take out their aggressions on their opponent.
And don’t confuse Kevin’s resolve to get back in the ring with some wasted talent theory. The man wants an opportunity to get back into what he does for a career. Who can blame him as he was the UFC Heavy Weight Champion to start the new century.
PDG: Kevin; who are you?
Kevin: I am a leader not a follower. I love to train with my friends and I appreciate all of their help. I want to fight and I don’t give a fuck who it is. I am the top 205 lb fighter in the free agent world.
**Kevin is in the process of moving back to Columbus, Ohio and opening a new gym that may shock most Randleman fans, the gym is going to focus on jiu-jitsu.**
Kevin: The new gym is going to be a combination of everything that I have learned and I will be bringing that back to Columbus. We will have one of the toughest MF gyms in the country. I believe that any fighter should be able to go anywhere and train as opposed to having to train at one camp. If I have a fight coming up I will go to Randy’s gym and I if need other training I will go to that gym.
PDG: Do you still get to see the other fighters since you are not going to the gym?
Kevin: It sucks that I am not able to go to the gym right now but Joe Stevenson and some of the other guys dropped by for Monday Night Football and we had a good time.
PDG: Joe Stevenson vs. BJ Penn; who wins?
Kevin: The “Daddy” has the best chance to win the UFC belt in this division and that is all that I will say. I have known both fighters for a long time and a lot of respect for both.
So as every fight fan is quick to judge, this guy was juicing, this guy was on something. Some fighters have had other problems. I asked Kevin a lot more questions but I will save those answers for later. Anyone that has actually seen or met the Monster in public knows that he is just as human as any other fighter in mixed martial arts and they should be respected as just as you respect your co-workers. Win or lose, they put their hearts out like most of us fill out a time card.
