By Dustin De La Torre
Battling back from a tough loss, former Ultimate Fighter contestant Chris Cope (5-2) sits down with Fight Hub TV correspondent, Dustin De La Torre to discuss his upcoming fight at UFC 143 where he will be facing the always tough, Matt “The Immortal” Brown (12-11). Chris talks to us about himself as a fighter, Wooo Nation and the significance it plays in him getting ready come fight time and sheds some light on his predictions and who he feels will win the main event of UFC 143: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight championship
FHTV: What are your thoughts about your upcoming fight versus Matt Brown at UFC 143?
CC: He has been in the UFC for awhile. He has fought a lot of good guys, lost to some but beating a lot of them along the way. This is going to be a big test for me; I have trained my ass off and have worked really hard in this camp. I have made a lot of leaps and bounds since I was on The Ultimate Fighter. I expect this fight to be the best fight I have ever had.
FHTV: Matt is known for his fast and exciting ‘leave it all in the cage’ fighting style, does that play into your hands?
CC: He goes for broke they say in the animal kingdom, the animal is the most dangerous when it is injured and that’s how he is. He brings it and goes full throttle, always moving forward. He has great cardio and is always throwing strikes, always throwing different stuff at his opponents and can do that with his great striking. I think he is very underrated on the ground and in my opinion, when he fights he goes for broke. So I just need to be very careful and wait to capitalize on that.
FHTV: How has camp been for this upcoming fight?
CC: I have had Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Strikeforce fighters K.J Noons and Joe Duarte have helped me prepare for Matt. There are a lot of great guys here at The Arena. When we spar… we spar hard, some days it is just a lot about surviving with these guys because they push you to the max.
FHTV: There has been some talk that this fight may be a winner stays/ loser goes fight. Does that add any extra pressure or does that allow you to really let you leave it all out in the cage come Saturday night?
CC: Yeah it does. It has crossed my mind and I try not to think about that. I try to look at it as I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. I love fighting in the UFC it’s the best MMA organization in the world and I know no one can take that from me. I still work my full time job. I train on my lunch breaks and after work so it’s not like I am sitting around all day. You never know when you are going to be cut from the UFC, they have cut guys who had just won a fight and they have kept guys who have long losing streaks so you just don’t know. It is what it is and all I can do is train and prepare myself for my fights to the best of my ability because once that cage doors closes its all in God’s hands.
FHTV: What were some of your emotions running through your head after the Che Mills fight?
CC: I got caught plain and simple. Che is a beast, I did not do anything wrong; After the fight, I went back and talked to my corner and they said the same thing. The first round is always tough.
FHTV: If we can discuss the topic, is it possible to speak on the Cris “Cyborg” Santos situation with you. I know she is a teammate of yours at The Arena down in San Diego I was just curios as to what is your reaction to this situation?
CC: I actually do not know too much about the situation. I do not know why she did it but she did. She just put a big blemish on her career and tainted her legacy. I like Cris a lot, I think she is a great woman and she just broke the rules and will have to suffer from the consequences. Now when she wins fights, people will always question is she using anything?
FHTV: When we first talked a little over a year ago you had just finished filming TUF and were still working at the law firm. Are you still there currently?
CC: Yeah I still work; it helps me because it gives me a schedule that allows me to do stuff away from the gym. Most, if any full time fighters, only train 3 hours a day and the rest of the day is just wasted away. My ultimate goal is to go to law school and become an attorney and still continue to fight as well. Lawyers are fighters in my opinion they just fight with their minds. Going into a court room is like stepping in the cage you have a judge the jurors are your audience and the opposing side is your opponent.
FHTV: For those who do not know what is Wooo nation? And how did Wooo come about?
CC: It is a trigger word and it is the way that I get peak mental state to compete and that is the word that triggers me. I’ve been at the market and had people ask me to “Wooo”. Diego Sanchez is doing the same thing when he is yelling “YES” it’s just a way of getting into peak mental state and helps you get in the mental state of where you want to be.
FHTV: What are your thoughts on Diaz versus Condit and your predictions?
CC: I think Diaz is going to win he has been around for along time he has had his ups and downs in his career and now he is clicking on all cylinders. Even if you do not like the Diaz brothers you have to respect them because they bring it come fight night. If anyone is going to beat Georges St. Pierre I think it is going to be Nick with his reach cardio and ground game that matches up best with Georges.
FHTV: Would you like to thank anyone?
CC: I would like to thank my gym The Arena down in San Diego, if you are down their go check us out Jeff Clark, Pat Speight and anyone who helped get me ready. I always want to thank Wooo Nation you guys provide me with support and we do this together this fight is dedicated to you guys I want to fight my butt off for your guys.
