In part three of this three part interview series I introduce you to another middleweight fighter from Fond du Lac, WI. 29 year old, Brad “Pitbull” Resop sports a (1-0) MMA record and his next fight is an amateur fight on December 22 at the Combat USA show in Menasha. He faces off against newcomer and a former training partner in Andy Kandal. Kandal now fights out of West Bend, Wisconsin. In this interview, Resop talks about his opponent and how he became interested in fighting in mixed martial arts.On his opponent Andy Kandal:
“It’s his first fight. He trained here with us for a little while. He thinks he’s more of kickboxer with a little Greco-Roman wrestling. That’s all I really know about him. I heard he has a pretty weak heart. He likes to give up if you get him on his back. That’s going to be the gameplan, is to get him down.”
Background:
“I got into the sport through my teammate Scott Beck. I watched him fight and thought it didn’t look hard at first, so I thought, “I’ll give it shot”. When you watch it on TV it looks easy and everyone thinks, “Hey, I can do that.” I started training down here and learned it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was. I began to love the challenge and I was learning something new everyday. My wrestling background has kept me in it and it’s fun. I’m also not getting any younger so I thought I should do something.”
On his style:
“I grew up wrestling my whole life. I also like Jiu-Jitsu. I like to think that I have heavy hands. I like to put guys on the ground and ground and pound.”
On organizations:
“I’d like to fight for Throwdown FS, I like the Vale Tudo rules. I went to my first Gladiators show on December 1st in Milwaukee. They put on a really good show. I haven’t had a cage fight yet, so I’d like to get in there. Madtown puts on really good shows, but I’ll fight for whoever pays me.”
Favorite fighters:
“My favorite fighter is Vitor Belfort. He’s a Jiu-Jitsu fighter, but his hands are so good. I have tried to adapt his style. You always have to worry about him taking you down, but he can easily end it on the feet just as fast. I also have to root for the local boys, so I’d say Eric Schafer. In a small town like this, Eric’s putting this town on the map. There are so many guys out there, I try to steal a little bit from everyone’s arsenal.”
On Gladiators 48 – Season’s Beatings:
“I’d give Fight of the Night to Sam (Thao) vs. Omar (Chowdury). Sam walked in there and he didn’t have his gloves taped and was wearing jogging shorts, I thought, “This kid’s going to get murdered.” That was a great fight. It was back and forth and I thought Omar’s Jiu-Jitsu had it, but Sam really took it to him. Just a great fight.”
Brad Resop would like to thank:
“Unified Martial Arts for training me and making me the best fighter I can be.”
Expect more interviews and profiles from fighters in the Combat USA show this week. An interview with Neutral Grounds fighter, Reed Ehmke should be posted in the next day or two. Please support the local MMA scene and it’s athletes by going to the shows. Wisconsin Combat Sports will be there next Saturday covering the action. We hope to see you there.
This article was originally posted on http://www.wicombatsports.com/ on 12-19-2007.
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