MMAKO-Interviews

Friday, 05 June 2009

Interviews- PHIL " THE PAIN" COLLINS 3

MMA-KO TALKS WITH PHIL " THE PAIN" COLLINS

MMA-KO PHIL “ THE PAIN” COLLINS!!! IT IS AWESOME TO HAVE YOU BACK TO MMA-KO.

MMA-KO On March 20th, at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino you will be taking on Justin Levens. This is going to be a awesome fight. Tell us about this up and coming fight?

PTP Well It’s probably gonna be my most lethal striker I’ve ever fought, he likes to kick, he likes to punch, lot of his wins are by knock out or TKO. I haven’t been hit very much so I guess it’s going to be to see if he could actually hit me. A lot of people keep talking about all his losses, how many loses he’s had in a row but I keep telling people look who he’s fought, he’s fought in the UFC he’s fought in the IFL, he had a controversial loss last fight by a triangle choke grab by the ropes, and he hadn’t loss to bums so I expect it to be a pretty tough challenge, I actually think it’s gonna be a good little war, I think we’re both gonna go in there swinging and see who goes to sleep first.

MMA-KO In your last fight with Marc De La Cruz you came in at the best shape of your life. What kind of changes have you done in your training to get in such awesome shape?

PTP I had to get in better shape for this one, I wasn’t really too worried about Marc De La Cruz too much I was coming off a couple loses I was a little angrier about that, I didn’t want to grapple this time I wanted to get in there and just do what I do, try and inflict pain on him so I could get it over with. Now this one I think we’re both gonna be trying to inflict pain, it's not gonna be just me, last fight it was just me inflicting pain. This fight I think we’re both going to be inflict a little pain on each other.

MMA-KO Where are you training out of now?

PTP Right now I train in Oakdale and Merced, the name of our team The Last Stand Fight Team, our coach is Tom Theofanopoulos , my boxing coach is Ralph, my Jiu Jitsu coach is a guy name Mark Toas, but Tom is basically in charge of all of it, he owns both schools, and I train at both places, Oakdale Mixed Martial Arts Academy and Merced Mixed Martial Arts Academy .

MMA-KO Phil, You are a submission expert and you have explosive punching power, What is your game plan coming into this fight with you being so well rounded?

PTP Well first of all if he hurts me we’re going to the ground. LOL. Basically you know he’s a kicker, my game plan is basically simple I train for everything, I don’t see him being like this big guy whose just going to destroy me, so basically I’m gonna stand there and we’re gonna do what comes natural, we’re gonna fight. If we go to the ground, I’m hoping I’m better than he is. He comes from a pretty good school, he trains with Cub Swanson, I know he’s been training with Joe Stevenson, so he’s got a pretty good camp, so I don’t think there’s too much I can do he’s never seen.

MMA-KO Is there any animosity between you and Justin Levens?

PTP No actually we’re cool, actually to tell you the truth my very first event I ever went to he was the main event, it was kind of strange, now it went full circle 2 or 3 years later I’m fighting him now, I just see this guy I liked. We’re cool, we talk on the spot we have our laughs here and there, but now the talks over.

MMA-KO Is it harder for you to fight somebody you get along with or somebody you do have animosity for?

PTP I don’t even care, once we walk in that ring we don’t like each other then when it’s over we’ll be sitting in a bar drinking a beer together.

MMA-KO: We have never seen you so totally focused. What is your mind frame coming into this fight?

PTP This is the big step, this is gonna make me or brake me, this will prove if I can go to the next level, he’s already been there. If I can beat him easier, or even just beating him proves, you know he’s been in the UFC, IFL, I beat him who says I shouldn’t be there too?

MMA-KO So is this probably the biggest fight of your career?

PTP Ya I think this one most definitely is, he’s actually gonna be the first guy who’s gonna try and fight, you know the other loses came they’re better grapplers than I am, I don’t think they’re better fighters, I just think they’re better grapplers, so my whole things change since those loses, no more grappling with these guys it’s time to go in there and fight, lets get em over with. I’m tired of getting caught in these bull shit arm bars and triangles, let’s fight, Justin he fights, none of his wins are by triangles, arm bars, he wants to fight, so we’re gonna fight.

MMA-KO Looking at your self what do you feel is your best quality as a fighter?

PTP I’m a little faster, a little quicker than people think, they look at me as being very fast, hit very hard, but I’m pretty well rounded, it doesn’t matter if I’m on top, bottom, on the ground, standing up, I’m pretty cool. I think my best thing is I’m real calm, I don’t really get bent out of shape too bad, I don’t get nervous, I don’t go wild, I just stay calm, you know I got good nerves.

MMA-KO Out of your career so far can you give us one of your most memorable moments in the ring?

PTP I think all of them are to me personally, even the loses, you learn from them. I mean I never thought that I’d be doing what I’m doing, I never thought I’d make it as far as I’ve made it, I’ve got sponsored, people actually want to talk to me, I mean you guys are giving me this interview now, I’ve been on 4 or 5 posters, I’m on this poster for this event. To me every fight is like where’d this come from, I’m actually getting paid to have some fun. I’ve never been really hurt or hit in a fight yet, 8, 9 fights no ones hit me, I mean not hit to make me feel it, I’ve been touched but I’ve never been like “whoa that hurts”. But I think all of them, I don’t have no special moment in all, I’m just happy to be doing what I’m doing.

MMA-KO Do you see anything in Justin Levens arsenal that concerns you?

PTP Those Fucking Kicks, I’m just dreading that, that’s it, other than that I don’t see anything that's going to bother me, I’ve been training, working on them, taking them. As long as he don’t kick me in the face we’ll be alright, I’m gonna keep my hands up. It could be interesting, I think it’s gonna be the fight of the night, I really do

MMA-KO What inspired you to want to become a fighter?

PTP Well at first it was just to get in shape, I use to weigh like 260, 270 like 2 years ago, & I’ve gotten down as small as 180, so it’s was fight school in our town it was interesting, I’m gonna go in here and train, see if I could lose a couple pounds, you know get in shape you know I’m drinking, partying getting all chubby, then one day it started falling off, then they dared me, offered me a fight for a hundred dollars to show & 3 hundred to win, and that was the most dope thing in the whole fucking world, like I’m gonna do this for real, I’m gonna get paid, alright I’ll try it. I don’t know what happened from there, I won and kept winning.

MMA-KO How would you define yourself as fighter and a person out of the ring?

PTP I’m a arrogant asshole I’ll keep it real, I ain’t gonna lie, most people who know me, know it, I’m not gonna sit around and say I’m this humble nice guy, you know I pat my self on the back after fights, I bow I dance, I’m a arrogant asshole I ain’t gonna lie, but I do respect every man I fight, I’ve never disrespected none of them, I do talk a little smack, but as far as when it’s over, it was just a show, shake hands, lets grab a beer. I’m cool with Nate, Steve, Kenny, all of them, I’ve met all these guys hung out with some of them, we’re all good, just when we go in there all that friendships to the side, you know I got mouths to feed. Win lose or draw we’re gonna be cool afterwards.

MMA-KO: Is there anyone you would like to thank?

PTP First of all I got to thank the wife for putting up with me all time, my cranky moods, my dieting, training everyday and not being home, she’s probably the maddest at me cuz most of the time I’m cranky, I wanna eat and I’m dieting, coming home late every night, I have no energy for her, I do try to save some. MMA-KO next, cuz me and them go way back to when it first started, they got my back from the start & I got theirs, so MMA-KO gotta be next, then I gotta thank my schools, The Last Stand Fight Teams, everybody on my teams, I’m not even gonna name all their names there’s a whole bunch of them, King Art to Jeff Desmitly to my boxing coach Ralph to all my training partners, my head coach Tom Theofanopoulos. Pick Up Propane, they take good care of me and I gotta thank one of the best promoter Richard Goodman, gotta thank him cuz he’s setting me up with some good fights, he’s brought me a ways so I gotta thank Richard Goodman, and anyone out there looking for a good promoter or manager. I wanna thank the Palace for signing me for the fights they did giving me the opportunity to fight for them 3 times, and Christian Printup the owner of PFC. And I gotta thank Pure Combat cuz I like them, I might be with them, maybe. Also a very special thanks to Gene Fields, Jeremiah Metcalf, Josh Neal and everyone at Team Voodoo.

MMA-KO: On behalf of MMA KO, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview