Houston Alexander seems like a very humble guy outside the octagon. Here’s a new interview with the man himself who is officially 2-0 in the UFC:
(props to mmafighting.com)
Q: How does it feel to be 2-0 in the UFC?
Alexander: Oh man, it feels great to be 2-0 in the UFC.
Q: What do you think that Chuck
Liddell’s loss to Keith Jardine, a guy that you knocked out, does
for your marketability and where you stand in the UFC?
Alexander: I think my stock went up 52% brother (laughing).
I thought it was an interesting match up when they first announced it. I
thought that they were kind of evenly matched and it could’ve went either way.
Fortunately, the guy we won over won, so that makes us look even better.
Q: Did the maturity coming from being in your thirties give
you an advantage coming into the Jardine fight in terms of knowing what that
fight meant to your career and handling it?
Alexander: Yeah, a lot of people probably would’ve folded
under the pressure, all those people and the hype around it. Experience in the
media and radio and people in general (helped). It was really comfortable being
in the hype down for the first time.
Q: In your first UFC fight, you certainly proved that you
have a jaw in that you were hit hard by Jardine and managed to come back.
Alexander: When it first initially happened he hit me so
hard I didn’t feel like I got hit. It was an interesting strike.
Q: Yeah, you also showed some pretty devastating power and
fast hands. In your second fight against Sakara, another guy that likes to
bang, you showed some pretty devastating skills inside, especially those knees.
One part of your game that UFC fans don’t know much about yet, however, is your
ground game. How strong are your wrestling
skills, your submission skills, etc.?
Alexander: If you watched the Sakara fight. . . I had him
in the half guard and just kind of tossed him over. My ground game is just as
good as my up top game. A lot of people just need to know that I’m a great
wrestler, great grappler, and great at jiu-jitsu.
So, I’m very evenly matched. People have to get past the first line of defense
to see the second line. Fortunately, people haven’t gotten past the first line
yet.
Q: Your name is lighting up message boards, as people
really seem drawn to the way you fight. Your explosiveness, your willingness to
stand and bang, and your clear hope to end fights are some of the things that
the fans are talking about. How does it feel to almost immediately have become
somewhat of a crowd favorite?
Alexander: I work pretty hard for the average fan. I fight
the way a fan would want to see a guy fight. I’m a fan of the sport
also. If I’m sitting in the audience, I want to see those guys really go at it
because that’s what I paid hard (earned) money for. I’m trying to give the fans
what they want. Win or lose, I’m trying to leave it all on the line for them.
I’ve got a job to do, that’s what I get paid to do. Our job is to make it
exciting for the media and the fans. . . That’s what I’ve been trying to do.
Q: There’s been a lot of chatter regarding the light
heavyweight division and future match ups with so many rather surprising
happenings recently. It’s left a lot of people wondering who’s going to fight
whom next. Who would you like to fight next?
Alexander: That’s an interesting question, man. But taking
the political way out, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who they put in
front of me. As long as the guy’s ready, I’m ready. . . It don’t matter who,
brother. It could be the guy on top of the charts, it could be the guy on the
bottom of the charts; it just doesn’t matter.
(Note: Thomas Gerbasi of the UFC is now reporting that Houston Alexander
will be taking on undefeated Thiago Silva at UFC 78.)
Q: I’ll throw something out there for you. After seeing you
fight Sakara, one of the thoughts that popped into my head was a match up
between yourself and Wanderlei Silva would be a lot of fun to watch because of
that inside (clinch) game. What do you think about a match up with “The Axe
Murderer”?
Alexander: (laughing) I haven’t seen too much film on him,
to be honest. But the fight I did see where he fought Rampage was a pretty good
fight. He kind of goes after it. The guy’s just kind of free. It’s real
interesting. . .
Q: Recently, you signed with SFX Worldwide. Tell me about
them and the reasons why you decided they were a good match.
Alexander: (They’re) one of the largest sports agencies in
the world, go figure that (laughing). They go after it; they get a lot of good
clients. . . I’m hoping to expand on a whole bunch of ventures other than
fighting. Those guys are trying to get me involved in a lot of stuff because
I’m really active in the hip hop community and I’m really active in helping
kids.
Q: Anything you’d like to say to your fans in closing?
Alexander: I want to thank the fans for the support. A lot
of fans hit me up on MySpace and things like that and I can’t answer them all;
I really am busy throughout the day. But I appreciate the love and the support.
It’s something I cherish very dearly. I never turn down a signature; I never
turn down conversation because a lot of the fighters don’t know that it’s a
privilege (that) they’re in this situation. It’s a privilege that anyone wants
your time.
Q: Thank you very much, Houston. I know you’re busy and am
looking forward to your next fight.
Alexander: No problem, brother. I appreciate you taking the
time to talk to me.
