MMA Socialites

Jon Jones... and Family

When talking to Jon Jones it's hard to believe he's only 22 years old. And I'm not just saying that because of his success in the octagon, nor because of his poise during our call. But his admiration for his family and his views on life make you think he's lived a full life already. 

He met his fiance Jessie in high school. He was a Senior and she was a Junior. It was Science class where he first spotted her beauty. It wasn't until she dropped her pencil and he raced to get it that finally connected. Fast forward a couple of years and now they're the proud parents of two baby girls. Leah is now 18 months and Carmen is just 9 weeks. 

When I asked Jon about his relationship, family life and how do you focus on camp he said "This sport can turn you into somewhat of a celebrity. Leaving my parents' home and going into this sport, could really confuse a young fighter. But being with Jessie it keeps things in check for me. It doesn't get to my head, and I live the life of an older man. It keeps me in the house and grounded. Jessie is definitely a huge percentage of my success."

I asked him about having such a young baby at home and being at camp. How do they deal with that as a family? Jon said "With the girls being such a young age, not seeing them for even two weeks I miss out on a lot. They change so much in that short amount of time. We Skype every day. I make funny videos for them to see daddy."

But it's nice to see he's in good company. Being at a camp with someone like Joe "Daddy" Stevenson, he's not the only one leaving behind a family to focus on his next opponent. Jon said he puts the guys on the phone to talk to Jessie and girls. 

I asked him a question that I thought he'd actually sort of laugh at.. "Fast forward 20 years, Carmen says she wants to be a fighter, what would you say?" He surprised me with his response, "I'd support her 100% and make sure that she takes it seriously. I'd help her make sure she's putting her best foot forward. Plus it's hot that girls fight."

Knowing his desire and interest in Criminal Justice I had to ask him about it. Does he watch Law & Order and much as I do? Laughing he said "YES! One of my coaches was my Criminal Justice teacher and was sort of lazy. So he'd put an episode in just let us watch it. I think I got an A in that class!"

I also had to ask about the infamous DQ (illegal elbows) against Matt Hamill. He said "Yeah I was upset at first but was ready to move on. It sort of took pressure off of me knowing I had that one loss on my record. It was my management that wanted to protest it. I don't think it was really reviewed that much so it is what it is. In my heart I'm still undefeated. I've seen and hung out with Matt since then and we're cool."

So when you tune into watch Jon fight Brandon Vera March 21st on Versus, know this. "I'm doing this for my family. I'm doing this so my little girls can go to college. I'm NOT giving this fight to Brandon."

Please follow Jon on Twitter here!

  

A Different Side of Ben Henderson

If given the opportunity to talk to Ben Henderson, what would you ask? I'm guessing the route I picked is different than what you've read else where. I wanted to let the dust settle a bit from his recent media 'tour' and catch him after he had had a chance to rest up a bit. Yeah, come to find out that doesn't really happen with Ben. When he should be enjoying his new title of WEC Lightweight Champion and basking in the sun and eating bon-bons, he's relieving his mother from her job and working in her convenience store up to 17 hours a day. And I don't mean he's showing up and signing autographs. Instead of wearing his new shiny belt he's wearing a store apron. He grew up with a mother that worked multiple jobs. And now being a small business owner, she finds herself working even more hours than before. When I asked Ben about it he said something about it being about his culture (he's part Korean). But the more I talked to him it became clear there's more to it than that. When he has something in front of him he only knows to work hard. 

For example his pending wedding. Yep, sorry ladies Ben is 'taken'. Over the Christmas holiday he got engaged to his girl Katie. Mind you the wedding isn't until November OF NEXT YEAR but because Ben is so focused and a hard worker, he's already created their wedding website and picked the music. He said "I wanted to be a part of the planning process and figured this is when I'm available to do my part. I'm going to begin training for my next fight soon and know I won't have as much time to help out." You can hear the excitement in his voice. And what a great team they'll make. She's currently going to school to be an occupational therapist!

When I asked him about his strong views on religion again he embraced the conversation, almost proud. Saying his mother brought them (Ben and his brother) up to be Christians. He grew up in the church and attended youth group on Wednesdays and church on Sunday. His mom wanted them to fit and christianity was a way of doing that. He said as he got older and was in college he saw other perspectives and decided that in fact having the strong belief and living the christian lifestyle was the right choice for him.

Okay, so I couldn't help but ask about the belt. Where is it? What does one do with a title belt? I've seen a few guys hang them up at their gym. He laughed and said  "I don't know where it is right now. Sometimes my friends like to take it to the mall and show it off. But, I do keep it at the gym.." 

Then I asked him about his future. Does he see himself moving over to the UFC? In a pointed and passionate tone he said "I want to be the best at what I do. I want to be the best fighter. Like Michael Jordon was in his sport, I want to be that in mine. In order to be the best I know I need to fight the best. Give me the top 155 pounders on the planet."

That, my friends, is who Ben Henderson is. The SmoothOne.

Please follow Ben on Twitter at twitter.com/SmoothOne155

Announcing MMA Socialites

I’m excited to announce the launch of MMA Socialites in partnership with Lani Carwin, wife of UFC Heavyweight contender Shane Carwin. MMA Socialites was created as a way to bring the fans into the lives of MMA fighters and their families, as well as all others deeply involved in this sport, within a community atmosphere. We’ve taken our passion for the sport and the lifestyle we both live, coupled with the stories we’re told, to share with you, the fans. Regardless of the juncture, whether training for the first MMA fight or defending a title, every fighter has a story to tell and we wanted to share them with you.

Our goal is to tell the stories of the fighters outside the cage, and present the side of them that fans rarely see. We’re confident that by showing the fans who these fighters are outside the cage, the more MMA will gain mainstream acceptance and the more the sport will grow. We won’t focus on breaking news, but rather on interviews, event coverage, as well as community meet-ups at events. We’ll bring you into the lives of the fighters, their families, and get the perspective and stories of those non-fighters that still play a key role in the growth of this sport.

Lani says “I am thrilled to be involved with MMA Socialites, and the launch of the site is so exciting!  The MMA industry is a passion of mine; not only because my husband, Shane Carwin, is a top-notch talent in the UFC, but because the potential for growth and advancement of the sport is incredible. As my knowledge base has grown through the years of my direct exposure, my excitement for the sport has as well. MMA Socialites was born to expose an entire population, a group that has been completely neglected, to something they are just as interested in as I am.  There are so many women that love the sport and crave more knowledge and insight into our industry.  We are here to bring that - to give them a place to bond, gain insight, and attain a whole different perspective that I have no doubt will be so interesting for them.  Thank you to Rachel for all her hard work - and let the ride begin!”

And what a ride it will be. Please come and join the community -www.mmasocialites.com- to stay in the loop on our efforts, also,  follow us on twitter. If there’s a fighter or fighter’s wife you want us to interview just email and let us know. We want to hear from you, the fans!

Team Pellegrino

It's funny, I always have such a hard time giving posts titles, but once you read this interview I did with Melissa Pellegrino, you'll see that she and Kurt are just that; a Team.

Q: How did you and Kurt meet?

A: Kurt and I met in high school.  We started dating as seniors and we were married 8 years later.

Q: How long have you been married?

A: Married for 3 years, together for 11 years.

Q: I understand you two have a little girl (Priscilla), does she watch daddy’s fights?

A: Yes, she's seen some of his fights on dvd's, never live though.  She is only 2 so she doesn’t really get the concept, so any time she sees a fighter on TV she thinks its 'daddy'.  It could be Mike Tyson fighting and she'll be yelling 'go daddy!!'  So its pretty funny.

Q: Were you a MMA fan prior to meeting Kurt or did him being a fighter get you involved in the sport?

A: I never knew about the sport until he started training back in 2000.  Kurt was a wrestler through high school and college so I was always of fan of him competing.  So i went from a wrestling fan to an MMA fan.  I now really enjoy the MMA game.  He likes to make fun of me because he thinks I know more about the fighters and whatnot than he does.  But I really don’t.  Its hard to be this connected to the sport and to the UFC and not be an educated fan, so I try my best!

Q: Care to share any inside information on how you support him? Do you do anything special while he’s training for a fight? Special recipes to help him lose weight before the big weight cut?

A: Yes!  I'd like to think he'd be lost without me! haha.  The whole training camp is definitely a process, and a huge support system has to be in place so that he doesn’t have to worry about anything else besides training 2-3 times per day.  So this even includes both of our parents helping out.  We start about 8 weeks out with the weight cutting.  I prepare all his meals, 3 times a day.  As long as he is eating clean, that’s the main concern.  Making sure he's eating properly to shed some of the initial weight and also to keep his body fueled to keep up with the intense training.  He doesn’t actually lose the 10-12 pounds until fight week.  But he takes off about 10 pounds during the 8 weeks.  Its also a challenge to have a 2 year old running around the house when Kurt is trying to nap between training sessions, so when he comes home for lunch, I make sure he eats and then Priscilla and I go out so he can get his sleep for an hour or two.  We have become shopping pro's! ha

Q: Have you ever cut weight with him?

A: Ummm, no! ha.  Although I wish i did.  In the beginning I eat healthy with him, but then I get so sick of making such healthy meals that i just find something tasty to eat! I give Kurt credit because I couldn’t eat the healthy for 8 weeks! ha  It gets real hairy the week or two before he leaves for the fight...he can smell a potato chip on my breath from 20 feet away, so I’m very careful to keep that stuff away from him.  Again though, very hard with a 2 year old who loves Oreos!  It never fails though, fight week I lose 4 or 5 pounds, in stress alone. ha!

Q: Sounds like he’s been cleared by his orthopedic to get back to training full time and he’s doing Active Release Therapy. Any idea when we’ll see him back in the octagon?

A: Yes, he's been cleared to start training again back in the 2nd week of December.  Which is great, because I thought he was miserable cutting weight, but I found out he's much more miserable when he can’t train! In all seriousness tho, its great that he's feeling better, it was a little scary for him to have a back injury, but he's coming along.  He wants to be back fighting hopefully in March.  That gives him a good 10 weeks to get back in fighting shape.  He was even training on Christmas Eve he is so excited to be back in the gym again.

Q: What do you as a family like to do when he’s not training?

A: We are pretty low key people.  We like to do dinners and movies and spend time with friends and family, the typical things.  Winters in NJ are kind of miserable, but the summer time we love the beach and parks and anything outside!  Regardless of the season, we are always at our academy, and so is Priscilla.  Its our home away from home.  We definitely take advantage of the time between fights to do 'normal' family things.  We love the life we have, but the fight camps are definitely hard, so we just try to work together and stay on the same page to make things run smoothly! 

Q: How’s the academy coming along? Anything you want to promote or tell our readers?

A: Our academy is great.  We've been open for about 14 months now.  We are up to about 175 students.  We teach brazilian jiu jitsu, wrestling, submission grappling, & kickboxing for adults and for kids.  It definitely takes up 90% of our time.  I am a stay at home mom, but with the academy its more like 2 full time jobs!!  Its great though, and I really enjoy being there and all the dedicated students we have.

Q: Do you always go to Kurt’s fights and if so, what’s your routine so to speak?

A: Kurt leaves usually 5 days prior to his fight and I go out about 2-3 days later.  I usually show up the night before weigh ins.  I check into my own room so Kurt can be with his team and concentrate on losing the last pounds. I see him that night, but only for a little bit.  The day of the weigh in I wait to hear thru text from his coaches when he makes weight, then i meet him in his hotel room after he's done.  He leaves for the weigh in and I meet him there.  After the weigh in we go back to the hotel for a bit, kurt rests and then we go out to eat with the whole team.  Then its back to hotel for rest.  I usually stay with him and watch TV and stuff.  Usually about midnight or 1am, we go out and get pancakes for more carbs!  Sometimes I end up staying in his room.  Fight day is all about relaxing in bed watching TV.  I stay with him most of the day until it comes close to him leaving.  I let him get into 'fight mode'.  I can really tell when its time to leave because there's this switch that goes off with him and he just is really quiet and focused.  So that’s my queue to let him be with his coaches.  I see him immediately after the fight, he always manages to come into the crowd and find me...even if he gets mauled by the fans on the way!  That’s the best part.  Finally being able to see him when its all over... after 12 weeks of craziness, and being able to breath again is always a plus :)

 

You can read more about the Kurt at http://www.kurtpellegrino.com/

Info on their Academy can be found at http://www.pellegrinomma.com/ 

Follow Kurt on Twitter at twitter.com/kurtpellegrino

And of course MMASocialites is on twitter twitter.com/mmasocialites

Rachel - twitter.com/mmahotstuff 

Lani - twitter.com/lanicarwin

Women and MMA

According to Dana White on an interview he recently did with Bloomberg, about 35-40% of MMA fans are WOMEN! Ladies, we're taking trips to Vegas to support our fighters.