Marloes Coenen Talks Ronda Rousey, Invicta FC and Cris Cyborg
By Dave Carpinello
Former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Marloes Coenen recently took some time to talk with PunchDrunkGamer about her finger injury, fighting for Invicta FC and GLORY, Ronda Rousey and a possible rematch with Cris Cyborg.
PDG: Since your win over Romy Ruyssen at Invicta FC 1, what have you been doing and do you know when you will fight again?
Marloes Coenen: I ripped the ligaments off of my finger during the fight; as a result my finger was also dislocated. That had to heal. The ring doctor told me it was just dislocated and I believed him. Until I posted a picture, after several weeks (stupid me!) on Facebook and a physiotherapist told me to see the hand specialist. By then though the damage already was done. Fortunately, it’s almost healed now. So I have been spending the summer healing, training and then we celebrated the season with bbq’s at my R-grip gym in Amsterdam.
PDG: Invicta FC has taken the world of women’s MMA to the forefront lately; what was your experience like fighting for them?
Marloes Coenen: Shannon Knapp and Janet Martin met each other via me. Janet wanted to sign me for Blackeye and flew to Kansas, where I was staying at that time. It ended up with Shannon and her starting up a new all female show. Certainly in the beginning I was informed on designing the name and such. When it finally all happened I was very proud of the two ladies for what they had accomplished. It was cool to be the first main event on such a historic day.
PDG: What differences did you notice between fighting for Strikeforce and fighting for Invicta FC?
Marloes Coenen: In terms of size and publicity, the first show was a big difference of course. Though no TV-deal, a lot of people tuned in to watch it online. More than Invicta FC had anticipated. And the second show was even better in terms of ratings globally. The fact that there are no men on the card brings a different dynamic and a different audience, I believe. But it could also be that the Kansas people are just amazing fans.
PDG: Since your loss to Miesha Tate, have you made any changes to your training and fight preparations?
Marloes Coenen: Yup, I moved back to 145lbs. More powerrrr!
PDG: How has training with world class athletes at Golden Glory elevated you as a professional fighter?
Marloes Coenen: The question should be… How is training with a world class trainer such as Martijn de Jong and a great manager in Bas Boon, who’s been guiding you since the beginning of your career?
PDG: Speaking of GG, you were very outspoken after Alistair Overeem left; is there still animosity between the two of you?
Marloes Coenen: Everything about Alistair has been said, I stood up for my trainer and GG team & now I have moved on.
PDG: Could you give your fans a breakdown of your weekly training schedule?
Marloes Coenen: Normally, when healthy is twice a day and five days a week.
PDG: When you are enjoying your downtime; do you happen to play any video games?
Marloes Coenen: Video games, yes I am stuck in my childhood with Tetris. My brother was a hacker avant la lettre. I can remember playing games on the Amiga 500 like Shuffel Puck-cafe, Lemmings and there was a really cool game that was designed like Donkey Kong and involved magic sticks that created stairs which helped you to escape. Is there’s anyone out there that can tell me the name of that game?
PDG: UFC President Dana White recently changed his mind from “Never” to “Maybe” as far as the UFC having woman’s MMA; what do think the chances are that we see WMMA in the UFC?
Marloes Coenen: Honestly, whatever. I have a contract with Invicta FC and they believe in the woman in mixed martial arts and I want to fight for GLORY as they also believe in us women in MMA. GLORY will become such a big and amazing player, I want to be a part of that. Being amongst the elite standup fighters in the world inspires me so much. If you see guys fighting like Semmy Schilt, Remy Bonjasky and Peter Aerts, you can only think about improving yourself. I’m not going to wait till Dana “like a god” White changes his mind to decide my future.
PDG: Ronda Rousey has been on a tear lately, what do you think of her as a fighter and also an ambassador of female MMA?
Marloes Coenen: She is a great grappler. The way she took out Sarah Kaufmann was amazing and so unexpected to me. But she does lack balls, she judoed at 154lbs, entered Strikeforce at 145lbs and when she had to fight Cris Cyborg she dropped to 135lbs. Using me as an example. Let me tell you this, I fought Cyborg (and will do so in the future again) and then was asked by Strikeforce to drop to 135lbs. Having said all this, career wise it was really smart of her and she deserves a master in PR. She doesn’t care how she gets there, as long as she gets there. And she’s successful at it, looking at the magazine covers like ESPN and changing Dana White’s mind.
PDG: Enlight of Cris Cyborg’s positive drug test, do you believe that you deserve a rematch or that the fight should be declared a no-contest or both? And do you think as Ronda Rousey said “That she has cheated her whole career”?
Marloes Coenen: I can be quite naive, but I knew what she was doing when I had to fight her. It was my decision to step into the cage with her. So I have to suck it up as well. It’s not me who can decide what should happen. The authorities (whoever that might be) or fans can do that, not me.
PDG: Thanks again for your time; are there any sponsors, teammates, etc. that you would to thank?
Marloes Coenen: I would like to thank the group of financial investors, lead by Pierre Andurand, who bought GLORY World Series and Golden Glory. They will bring the team and the events to another level (www.gloryworldseries.com). Also check out upcoming talent Hubert Geven. He’s flying under the radar still but he will soon become a big star.
At last, but not least! I would like to thank my fans, from all parts of the world, who support me via Facebook and Twitter. You girls & guy’s rock and I love reading your comments! Thank you. You can follow me on https://twitter.com/MarloesCoenen and http://www.facebook.com/marloes.coenen.
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