New Interview with Ivan Salaverry

madnav · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:28 pm Post subject: New Interview with Ivan Salaverry

from the knuckle pit:

At the time of this interview, Ivan Salaverry is talking to knucklepit.com on his cell phone while driving up to Vancouver to pick up a front desk. “I’m getting ready to open up my gym. It will be ready in early September. We’re currently doing the walls and all the construction,” says Salaverry.

On 22 July, 2006, Ivan defeated Art Santore at the World Fight Alliance (WFA): King of the Streets event, held at the Forum in Los Angeles. “I enjoyed it. It was a good win for me because it was through a strike, and a lot of people were surprised that I do have kickboxing abilities – as opposed to just submissions.

“I knocked Art down with a roundhouse. Then he staggered and moved back a little bit. I got him with another kick, which didn’t do too much. I followed up with a right cross and then I left-hooked him. He dropped, and that’s when I got on top of him and started punching before the referee stopped it.”

With that win behind him, Ivan is now ‘heads down’, frantically getting the Ivan Salaverry MMA Gym finished for it’s first-weekend-in-September official opening, at 8th and Thomas in downtown Seattle.

Not only will the gym be a great place for name MMA fighters to hone their skills, but it will be the ideal place for people off the street to come in and be prepared for life on the streets.

“There will be after-hours sessions for MMA fighters – say from 8 till 10 in the evening - when I’ll be preparing fighters for competition. And that will be a closed-doors situation. I love my guys, but when they’re bleeding and cussing, it’s not appropriate to have them surrounded by nine-to-five regular folks.”

Ivan, on your web site you say people have a natural fighting spirit.

“Everybody has a strong fighting instinct inside them. And I show people how to harness that instinct by teaching them strong, well-rounded techniques. I want people to come to me with a yearning for a mixed martial arts lifestyle – to be healthy, to lose weight, and to learn techniques of wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, submission wrestling…”

So you’ll be one of the instructors?

“Absolutely.”

Who else?

“Right now, I have kickboxer Danny ‘Boy’ Bennett, and I’m trying to get Brad Kertson in there for MMA.”

Are you accepting registrations prior to the official opening?

“We’re already taking applications and there’s an enrolment form on my website.”

Will you be doing individual styles as well as MMA?

“I’m dividing it into striking and grappling: one curriculum for submission wrestling and one for kickboxing. There will be another curriculum class for MMA.”

Will you still be training and fighting out of AMC or your Ivan Salaverry MMA Gym?

“I’ll now be training and fighting out of the Ivan Salaverry MMA Gym.”

Are you working out with Maurice Smith these days?

“Maurice lives here in Seattle, so we practise together sometimes, but right now he has the commitment with IFL, and he’s doing his own thing in another part of the city. We still train and chat, but we’re busy doing our own things.”

Will you be getting involved in the IFL?

“Listen, right now I’m not going to say no to anybody. I’m presently involved with the WFA, but I think the IFL is a good idea… and the UFC is a good idea. Now is a good situation for fighters. There might be certain disagreements between the UFC and me, but all in all, it’s good for fighters to have a lot of different promotions gunning for them. I want success for the IFL, the WFA, and for the UFC, because it affects everybody – the organizations and the fighters.”

Are you still picking on Tito at training?

“No, it’s the reverse: I get picked on. He’s a beast. I was just with him last weekend and we did a photo shoot for Team Punishment and it was really cool. I know he’s going to be going to Big Bear to train soon, so I’ll be heading up there as well.”

What did you think of Tito’s and Tim Sylvia’s victories?

“Listen, all the congratulations to Tito, but Ken needs to retire from competition and concentrate on coaching. It’s another paycheck for Tito and another paycheck for Ken, but is it really what the public wants to see? Does it really want to see another beating of Tito on Ken? I wouldn’t particularly want to see that. And I think Ken needs to retire and stop talking so much crap about Tito. Tito has shown that he’s a good guy… I mean, from the TV show and from all the people saying so.”

What about Tim’s victory over Andrei?

“Man, it became a boring fight, but you know what: Congratulations to Tim. I didn’t think he was going to win, but he took it to him.”

When will ‘Little Ivan’ be arriving?

“He’s arrived and 14-pounds heavy. He was born July 9 and is doing very well – a super, super healthy kid.”

So which one’s Ivan the Great and which one’s Ivan the Terrible?

“Oh, gees. I believe I’m Ivan the Terrible.”

Your next fight?

“I don’t know. They’re talking about some time in November or December for the WFA, but nothing’s set in stone.

Ivan, is there anything you’d like to add?

“If anybody would like to check into my website, they can see what things I have going.”

Your sponsors?

“G Conspiracy, Tuttle Chiropractic, Hands On Health Massage, Pro Body Discount Nutrition Center, and Britt Salaverry Real Estate.”
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"There's an old saying in Tennessee- I know it's in Texas, probably Tennessee that says 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me- you can't get fooled again'"