Rick “The Jet” Roufus Interview 03/27/08
By Dave Carpinello
PunchDrunkGamer recently talked with K-1 Legend and MMA newcomer Rick “The Jet” Roufus about his new MMA career, training and his future in fighting!
PDG: Your first mixed martial arts fight was last month against Maurice Smith; even though you lost, what positives if you take from the fight?
Rick: It was a positive experience for me as I have known Maurice for a very long time. Back in the 1980s when I was getting started in kickboxing; which I went on to win six World Titles in. Maurice was still doing kickboxing but then he branched off and started doing mixed martial arts. He got a lot of experience in the 1990s working with Frank Shamrock and eventually went on to beat Mark Coleman for the UFC heavyweight title. I learned a lot from that fight; a side from getting a feel for the cage in an actual fight. I won’t be fighting a fighter that has that big of a weight advantage in an MMA fight again. I learned that it doesn’t matter how good your standup game is if you are fighting someone that is very good at takedowns and grappling. It was a very humbling experience.
PDG: Smith outweighed you by almost 30 pounds.
Rick: Yeah, I didn’t really notice it at the weigh-ins but then when I got in the cage and looked at him I said to myself “Holy Christ”.
PDG: Being that was your first MMA fight; how was the training leading up to the fight?
Rick: I started training back in August because I had scheduled fights coming up but something went wrong with each one and they never materialized for me. The organizations either folded or switched promoters and so finally I decided to take the fight with Maurice.
PDG: So are you going to with MMA or is there a chance that you will go back to K-1?
Rick: Absolutely, I am going to stick with MMA. I won’t rule it out but I don’t see me returning to stand up fighting. I haven’t heard from K-1 in a while and my focus right now is 100% on MMA. K-1 and the Japanese are pretty hard to deal with.
PDG: Okay, so how many more fights would you like to have this year?
Rick: As many as I can get. I am fighting in the semi-main event this Saturday night in Oklahoma. Mark Kerr is also going to be on the card as the other co-main event. I have been training at the Lion’s Den down here in Arizona with Edwin Dewees. I have been working a lot on the ground trying to improve my submission and grappling techniques.
PDG: The “Battle on the Border” is the event you are fighting in; who is your opponent and what do you know about him?
Rick: I am fighting a guy out of Arizona named Mike and his record is 8-6. I’ve been told that he is a boxer with decent submissions so it should be a good test to see where my training is at. I actually just found out about the fight yesterday so I don’t have a whole lot of information about the event or my opponent.
PDG: Your fight with Maurice was just a little over a month ago; did you go right back to the gym and start training again?
Rick: Yes, I did because I was very frustrated with my performance in that fight. You know, you do six months of training for a fight that only lasts 1:50 and it is kind of a shock to your system. I don’t take losing very good so it was best to get right back into the gym.
PDG: How is the training going; what is your schedule like?
Rick: It’s almost like going to a martial arts class and being a white belt. You have to drop a lot of what you thought you knew and you try to learn a lot of it for the first time. I’m trying to grasp as much knowledge as I can and take a lot of smaller fights to build up my experience. I train every day from four until seven o’clock. I usually only take Wednesday and Sunday off and I have been working on my conditioning by running almost everyday. On Mondays, I work a couple hours with my standup trainer and I also do some high altitude running in the nearby mountains here. Most of the time though I am working with Edwin on submission, grappling and wrestling. I am one of the oldest if not the oldest fighter at the gym but I am showing up every day and working out 100%.
PDG: You’ve done boxing, kickboxing and now MMA; which one of the three sports is more punishing to your body?
Rick: Before I started training MMA I would’ve said the Thai boxing and kickboxing because those fights are nonstop action. Now I would have to say MMA because of all the different aspects, some days I wake up so sore that I don’t want to get out of bed. But if you want to be successful, you have to put in the hard work no matter how sore your body is. So overall I would have to say that MMA is harder on your body because you work every part of your body.
PDG: How many more years do you expect to keep fighting?
Rick: Right now I am still hungry and I don’t have any timeline as far as my career goes. As long as I can still compete, go to the gym and it is still fun, I will be fighting. I probably won’t stretch it out as long as Maurice has and be fighting still when I’m 46 but the sky is the limit and we will see what happens.
PDG: After this fight Saturday night, do you have any other fights scheduled?
Rick: Yes, I have another fight coming up in three weeks in Romania against Mike McDonald. I fought him already twice in kickboxing but this is going to be an MMA fight. I believe the event is USA vs. the World. I have also been talking with World Victory Road about fighting on their next card in May.
PDG: So after you get a couple of fights under your belt; are there any fighters out there in particular that you would like to fight?
Rick: I am going to stay in the 205 lb weight class but if I was offered a fight with Mirko “Cro-Cop”, I would definitely take that fight. I would take that fight without a doubt. Other than that, I would like to fight Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva and Houston Alexander.
PDG: What are your thoughts on the Shamrock vs. Le fight this weekend?
Rick: Cung comes from a standup background and even though he has converted to MMA now. He is taking on one of the best submission grapplers ever. What can I say Frank Shamrock is the best. I just hope that Cung is prepared because he definitely bit into a Big Apple for this fight. Cung’s only chance is to keep Frank off of him and that is going to be tough to do for the whole fight.
PDG: Thanks for taking the time Rick, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Rick: It was a pleasure and I appreciate the interview. I want to thank all of my fans and my sponsors including HeadBlade.
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