Heritage: Thank you for agreeing to interview with me Oliver, how are you doing?

Oliver Geddes: Pretty good, thanks. A little tired, but that comes with the territory. ^_-

Heritage: How were you first introduced to MMA and what is your training background?

OG: I was first introduced to MMA somewhere around UFC 20 or so. Whichever fight it was when Frank Shamrock dropped Zinoviev on his head. That was the first UFC I ever saw. I was always into traditional martial arts, but I got interested in MMA around then, and ended up doing some kickboxing, followed by boxing and Muay Thai, until eventually ending up in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, which is my primary training at the moment.

Heritage: Where do you train and what weight class do you fight in?

OG:I train at the Roger Gracie Academy in London, and I fight at either Welterweight or Lightweight, depending on my schedule leading up to a competition.

Heritage: You fight out of London, How different is being an Amateur fighter in the UK vs. being an Amateur fighter in the US?

OG:I think at this point I should clarify something. In principle, it's very similar, however over here we have different rule sets for amateurs that vary drastically in the level of contact involved. I fight amateur rules competitions, which is basically the same as pankration in the US, in that it involves no headshots at all. However, we also have pro rules amateur competitions which are similar to pro rules, but usually don't allow elbows and insist upon heavier MMA gloves. To be honest, there are a whole host of rule sets available, including semi-professional rules, which is headshots on the feet, and no headshots on the ground, which some people like as a step-by-step transition to full pro rules. I'm at the bottom end of that scale at the moment. @_@

Heritage: Tell me a bit about your last fight, who was your opponent, how did you train, what was the outcome and what did you take away from that experience?

OG:My last fight was my second fight in an amateur MMA tournament, after I won the first by arm bar. Honestly, I trained pretty much how I normally do, maintaining my full-time BJJ training and just going out there aiming to grapple with people who don't really want to. Unfortunately, I went to take my opponent down early on and got caught in a guillotine choke. It was tight, but I wasn't feeling in any danger, so I passed to half-guard (on the wrong side, unfortunately), and then eventually to mount, whilst still in the guillotine. There, I struggled my way out of the guillotine eventually, went for an arm bar as time was expiring, got it, but rolled out of the fighting area, was reset in the middle and then time ran out. Not what I was hoping for, but, uh, guess I have to learn how to get out of guillotines when the guy doing them is holding on for dear life. Ahem.

Heritage: What are your thoughts on the future of MMA in England?

OG:I think we're developing really nicely as a nation. There's a lot of talented young up and comers out there who are starting early in life and developing from there. We don't have the wrestling background that the USA has, which hurts us a little bit in that regard, but we try to make up for it with good quality striking coaches and an increasing number of very solid BJJ fighters giving our guys a lot of tools to work with. As things are now, a lot of our fighters go to camp abroad, but give us another...ten years or so, and then I think we'll have enough depth and experience that we can get some high level camps with a lot of solid fighters going over here, and then we'll see.

Heritage: Who are some of the fighters that you look up to and that motivate you?

OG: Obviously, given my background, I'm always partial to a BJJ fighter, problem being that they remain frustratingly inconsistent within the cage, no matter how nice they can look against the mid-level fighters. The first fighter I was really a fan of was Matt Hughes, and since then, obviously Georges Saint-Pierre (although I did prefer it when he was working his basic BJJ submissions really nicely, his fight with Jason Miller being one of my favourites) and for some reason I have a soft spot for Thiago Tavares even though he's had a slightly rough time lately. Also, Roger Gracie, being my coach and the best BJJ fighter in the world, is making his ground skills work in MMA and I'm looking forward to seeing him continue working his way up the ranks in Strikeforce.

Heritage: What are your goals for your MMA career?

OG: Honestly, I'm looking to get a professional-rules win under my belt. That's the extent of it. I'd like to reach some of my BJJ goals first, and then after that I'll put in a full training camp, sharpen up my striking which has been by the wayside for some time, and get out there, fight, and win, hopefully in impressive fashion. After that, we'll see where we go. One step at a time!

Heritage: Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to be Mixed Martial Artist?

OG: I wish I was in a position to really advise anyone. All I can say is that there are a LOT of people who jump into MMA with very little ground game at all, and I think that hurts you a lot overall. You don't have to be a submission wizard, but there are guys fighting out there who would barely have more than one or two stripes on their white belt, and I think if the sport is going to develop it's going to need a slightly better grounding in all the base skills for all fighters before they just jump into the cage and bang.

Heritage: Thanks again for you time. Do you have any last words for your fans, sponsors, trainers or any future fight promotions?

OG: I would like to thank everyone at Roger Gracie Academy for all the help they've given me in all aspects of my game, and my sponsors, Black Eagle Martial Arts (http://www.black-eagle.co.uk) and Scramble (http://www.scramblestuff.com) for their help in getting me to where I am today. And if you want to follow what I've been up to, I have a website at http://www.thejiujitsugame.com and all my fight videos, both Amateur MMA and Grappling competitions, end up on YouTube so you can follow them there! Take care!

Heritage: Thanks again Oliver. Best of luck with your career and I hope to catch up with you

 

-- Heritage