Kevin “The Monster” Randleman – Back In The USA 05/31/2009
By Dave Carpinello
The Monster returns this Saturday night as part of the Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields card in St. Louis. After a 3 year absence from fighting in the USA, Kevin Randleman will face off against Mike Whitehead.
PDG: How has your training and preparation for your first fight back in the States gone?
Kevin Randleman: Training has been great. I have been practicing my jiu-jitsu and situational training and of course working on my wrestling. Not to mention the amount of time that I’ve put into mit work.
PDG: What has been your training schedule?
Kevin Randleman: On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I have three practices a day. Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I only have two workouts because it is sparring day. I would say that I am at the gym at least four hours every day and then about six hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Those extra two hours are spent working with my strength and conditioning coach working on my cardio and weight training. I have been training for this fight for the last three months.
PDG: When is the last hard day of training for you?
Kevin Randleman: Tuesday and then I will be leaving that night for St. Louis. Then when I get out there my cornerman Shawn Tompkins has taken care of all the arrangements with a local gym to finalize my preparation for Saturday night’s fight.
PDG: Going into your fight with Mike Whitehead, what do you think is going to be your biggest challenge?
Kevin Randleman: He is going to be a big boy when we fight. I don’t know how much weight he is going to put back on after weigh-ins but I will probably be around 220 pounds. He is a good wrestler that is taller and bigger than I am; which is nothing really new for me because everyone that I fight is usually taller than me.
PDG: What advantages do you see for yourself going into the fight?
Kevin Randleman: I am faster, quicker and I believe that I am stronger than he is. I think I’m a better wrestler and I will be able to use my agility to my advantage. The bottom line is that I am not going into this fight taking him any lighter than any other opponent that I have ever faced. I thought I could beat Fedor Emelianenko, I thought I could beat Mirko Cro Cop, I think I am better than every fighter when I step in the cage and if I didn’t think than way why the fuck would I be fighting? I have watched a few of Whitehead’s fights and I know that he has been training with Wanderlei Silva but I don’t think that his style is going to be that much different than in his previous fights. I think he is going to have a disadvantage though with his weight cut for the fight. He walks around at about 250 pounds and he is going to have to cut down to 205 pounds for this fight.
PDG: How has your experience so far been working with the guys at Strikeforce?
Kevin Randleman: They’ve been great and they are a real good group of people. I am just excited that they gave me this opportunity to fight for them. Scott Coker is a good boss and he always treats his fighters very well. It is hard to ask for more than that.
PDG: It must be nice to be back in the US fighting for your fans here.
Kevin Randleman: I’m very excited about it and the bottom line is that without them I would not be here. In the past I have always been in shape going into fights but I never really trained for them. I’ve had to start over from scratch so many times because of injuries and this time around I have trained hard and put in the work that is needed to perform at 100% of my capabilities. For the last two months my cardio coach has been busting my ass and everyone else that I train with has been pushing me to the limit without taking their foot off the pedal. I have to give a lot of credit to Tom Owens, who was an All-American wrestler and even though he only weighs 160 pounds; he was working me when I first started training for this fight. It pissed me off to the point of realization that I had a lot of work to do before I could get back in the cage. I dedicated myself 100% mentally and physically.
PDG: Besides Shawn Tompkins, who else is going to be in your corner Saturday night?
Kevin Randleman: I am going to have “The Hammer” Mark Coleman in my corner. He may not have trained for his fight with Shogun Rua but he is training his ass off now. We have been going head-to-head and have even had some heated arguments during practice. I’m also going to have Alex Schoenauer who has been drilling me in jiu-jitsu since his days back in the now defunct IFL. I have been working with a lot of training partners but those are the three guys that I’m going to have my corner.
PDG: Thanks again Kevin. Is there anything else that you wanted to add?
Kevin Randleman: I am very fortunate to be fighting on this card for Strikeforce and even though I have changed a lot of things in my life the Monster is still going to come to that cage to bring the pain. Nothing against Mike Whitehead but I know that he took this fight knowing that I am coming off of several injuries but he made a big mistake thinking that I am the same fighter from back when he knew me. I don’t know how this fight 6 is going to go but I can tell you this….I don’t plan on losing!
I want to apologize to my fans for not being focused in the past and not taking fighting seriously and letting some of them down. Those days are behind me and I look forward to thrilling all of you again starting on Saturday night. Old dogs can learn new tricks and I am very privileged to be able to fight. I want to say thanks to Cage Fighter, MMA Elite, PDG and Rolling Stone for their support and go to Wal-Mart and get your MMA Elite and Rolling Stone t-shirts.
