Prospect Watch: Pat Schilling – ‘The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale’ Interview
By Dave Carpinello
‘Thrilling’ Pat Schilling is off to a 5-1 start in his MMA career and he makes his second appearance in the Octagon on June 1, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale against Max Holloway. Schilling recently took some time to talk with PDG about his upcoming fight, fighting in the UFC, video games and balancing a full-time job with his passion to be a mixed martial arts star.
PDG: This will be your second fight in the Octagon, coming off the first loss of your career; how was your training camp leading up to this fight?
Schilling: My training camp for this fight was much improved considering I only had about eight days to get ready for my last fight against Daniel Pineda. I was able to implement a much stricter training schedule including strength, flexibility and conditioning programs even though I still have a full-time job. Working around that schedule was difficult at times but I am happy with how this training camp went.
PDG: So how many hours a week were you able to train while working a full-time job?
Schilling: As many as anyone who doesn’t work a full-time job outside of the sport. I would put in a couple of hours before one of my shifts and then a couple more hours after my shift ended. Depending on the workout schedule I was averaging a couple of two hour long training sessions per day, six days a week.
PDG: Where and with whom did you train for this fight?
Schilling: I moved around between a few different gyms including Ambition MMA, Focus MMA, Spartan MMA and other gyms in the St. Paul, Minnesota area. I also did my strength and condition training at Horsepower MMA. I think that gave me a very well rounded camp leading up to this fight.
PDG: Coming off a loss, did it surprise you when the UFC told you that your next fight would be on the televised main card portion of the event?
Schilling: I actually didn’t know I was going to be on the main card until I got to Las Vegas last week since they didn’t announce the final card until after last week’s season finale of The Ultimate Fighter. Even when they announced the remainder of the fights I was thinking I would probably end up on the preliminary portion of the card but they put those other fights before mine and I ended up on the main card in only my second UFC fight, so yeah, I am pretty excited about this opportunity.
PDG: What is like to have started your professional MMA career just over two years ago and to already be fighting on the biggest stage (UFC) and on TV?
Schilling: Yeah I have only been training mixed martial arts for three years now. I have come a long way in a short period of time and it is definitely surreal to be fighting in the UFC on the main card.
PDG: What did you take away from the first loss of your career to Pineda at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller?
Schilling: I know what the atmosphere will be like now and I have really never been one that gets nervous before fights and you think you know what it will be like to fight on the big stage but the actual experience is completely different and having that experience will only help me this time around. I will be more mentally prepared for this fight and Max Holloway is a completely different opponent than Pineda. I had a full training camp for this fight and so just about everything is different.
PDG: Speaking of Holloway, what do you know about your opponent?
Schilling: He is the youngest fighter in the UFC at only 20 years old and like me he lost his Octagon debut (to Dustin Poirier). So he has about the same experience as I do, he is primarily a striker and he has a crafty style about his striking game. I know I will have to work hard to out strike him and implement the gameplan that we are going with for this fight.
PDG: Which I would imagine involves getting the fight to the ground and working submissions?
Schilling: Yeah, I feel comfortable wherever the fight takes place, I know that is a horrible cliché but I have been training my stand-up game very hard during this camp and my ground game has always been my greatest weapon so I feel good regardless… standing or on the ground.
PDG: What differences between fighting in the local shows and fighting in the UFC have stood out to you?
Schilling: It has been quite different but also very enjoyable because you know what to expect because of the organization the UFC puts into its events and they treat the fighters very well. The local shows I fought for treated me well also, they just were not as organized as the UFC and there seemed to be constant moving parts leading up to and during the events that can add unneeded stress to the fighters. This time around I have known who I am fighting for eight weeks, I was able to put together a full training camp and so the transition was smooth.
PDG: Besides your training and full-time job, I heard you are also quite the gamer. What console do you prefer and what games take up the most of your time?
Schilling: I play everything; I ran the video game department for Best Buy and I worked at Game Crazy for about five years. I have been gaming for a long time and I own every major console, I haven’t played a lot of games on the PC but I did recently pick up Diablo III. I brought my Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita to Las Vegas with me so that I could game on my downtime. When I am at home though I am usually playing the Xbox 360 but I do get on the PlayStation 3 from time to time. Lately though I have been playing a lot of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I would say I prefer the RPG action-adventure games the most but that doesn’t mean I won’t play the first-person shooter games. One of my favorite games/series of all time is the Mass Effect trilogy.
PDG: There is another fighter based out of Minnesota that is a big Skyrim fan, Nik Lentz.
Schilling: Yeah I heard he was a gamer nerd like myself [laughs].
PDG: If you beat Holloway, do you have any plans of celebrating by attending E3 2012 next week?
Schilling: I would absolutely love that, it has been something I have always wanted to do but unfortunately I don’t have the proper credentials yet. When I was with the gaming department at Best Buy I was fortunate enough to go to their Entertainment Holiday Kickoff and play with a ton of new games, gadgets and more. It was a miniscule version of E3 but it was still very cool.
PDG: Back to your fight; what advantages do you think you will have going into your fight with Max Holloway?
Schilling: I definitely think I will have the strength advantage because I really focused on that during my training camp. Also, I think I will have more control during the fight and Holloway will be wild at times. So strength and control are the two big things but I am also a finisher, I will be looking to put him away as opposed to lay ‘n pray for three rounds.
PDG: Good luck with the fight; is there anything else you wanted to add?
Schilling: Thanks for the interview! I wanted to thank Horsepower MMA, Throwdown, Mighty Mouth Guards, Ambition MMA, Focus MMA, Spartan MMA and all of my friends and family that have supported me so far in my career.
Follow Pat Schilling on Twitter – @PatSchilling
**Photos courtesy of UFC.com
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