 This upcoming UFC card has some pretty heavy hitting up and coming fighters. A lot of fight fans will be the first to say they enjoy those up and coming boys more so, only because they seem to put everything on the line to prove themselves.
This upcoming UFC card has some pretty heavy hitting up and coming fighters. A lot of fight fans will be the first to say they enjoy those up and coming boys more so, only because they seem to put everything on the line to prove themselves. Plus, they’re not so apt to be so careful, as we see some veterans have a tendency to do when they’ve elevated their careers. It’s proven in all the smaller shows as these rookies go toe-to-toe and really do try to take their opponent’s heads off. I’m not saying that the bigger shows don’t have that pulse-pounding excitement as well, however the level of excitement is a bit different. Take into consideration a college basketball game as opposed to a professional game. Some people prefer college b-ball as opposed to the pro’s cause there’s more reckless, balls-out ball playing and less showcasing. The young guns seem to be more aggressive and super-charged. Again, it’s the level of competition/playing and the amount of experience that makes a difference. One of the matches I’m really looking forward to viewing is the match where Aaron Riley goes up against Robbie Lawler. Too bad this one is going to be a pre-lim cause I have a good feeling this’ll be an all-out war. If Aaron fights like he did against Yves Edwards and Robbie is tip-top like he was against Shogun Kawakatsu, this could become one of those fights to remember. Both are very well rounded and very strong in their stand-up game. Robbie has yet to show his ground skills but rumor has it that this kid has some mad wrestling skills (who wouldn’t--coming out of Pat Miletich’s camp) as well, but is known for his knockout power. The question remains, can he take a punch? We know that Aaron can. So, with all this squawking about Robbie Lawler being a very dangerous opponent, how is Aaron Riley handling it all and what’s he doing to prepare for this match with a relatively unknown? I caught up with Aaron and was able to get into a casual conversation with him and get caught up with the fighter who prefers to have no nickname. In his first interview with MMA Ring Report, I asked Aaron to give a little summary about his background and how he got into MMA, just for the record. I found a very detailed background that supports the reason why he’s such a versatile competitor. According to Aaron, "I first started out in traditional martial arts and then from there, I went into judo where you can compete a little bit more. After that, I went into Kung-Fu and then after that, a little high school wrestling. I started to take kickboxing as a freshman in high school, then I continued with kickboxing and wrestling all throughout high school. I hooked up with Brazilian jiu jitsu as a junior in high school and I also took up boxing as a senior. I took things as I went along and stuck with them. I went to different schools for these disciplines. I actually took BJJ in Evansville and that’s where I met up with Jeff Osborne, promoter for Hook N Shoot. I’m originally from Indiana and I graduated from high school in Tell City, Indiana cause they had a wrestling program. I’m 21 years old now and I moved to Washington because I was getting bigger opportunities as far as fighting was concerned, but my training opportunities didn’t meet up to the level of competition. I talked to Jeff Osborne and Joe Silva and started to look into places to train. I had been training in Iowa but some things didn’t work out. There were no hard feelings but it just didn’t work out. That was at Pat Militech’s school. I should clarify that I had competed in Texas and Japan right after high school. It was the first time I went on the road. My career kind of took off from there. I had all ready trained with Pat Militech on my Spring Break and I went back to him after high school and stayed with Jeremy Horn and trained there for a month and a half in the summer, and had a couple of fights. Then, I tried to go back over there after the summer but it didn’t work out for me. So, I went back home and kind of hung around there for a bit and had a few fights here and there. Then, I got the opportunity to go to Abu Dhabi and met Dennis Hallman. From there, Dennis Hallman had invited me to come out and train at AMC Pankration. Miguel (Jeff’s partner) and Jeff both, thought it would be good for me to go and train out of Washington. Prior to this, I wanted to go and train with Frank Shamrock at American Kickboxing Academy. I talked to Frank once on the phone about trying to come out there. He said that was cool and that I could try out for his team. He was top dog at the time and I really wanted to go there but I went out to Washington to check it out and I saw how the gym was and how the team was and what they had to offer. I saw Dennis in the Abu Dhabi U.S.A. qualifiers and I saw how good a grappler Dennis was. Then I saw him grapple again in Abu Dhabi and just the fact that he could grapple Renzo Gracie, who was born on the mat, and he didn’t get submitted, amazed me. I think that Renzo might’ve actually have beaten him by a single point. Anyway, he impressed me. The level of grappling was what impressed me and I talked to Dennis and he said that he was just a high school wrestler until he moved to AMC as his training gym cause Matt Hume’s got a lot of good stuff. So, from my first day at the gym, I saw that there was just so much to learn there at the gym, so I just stayed there. I didn’t even know where I was going to stay. Dennis said just come out and we’ll take care of it. A buddy of mine drove out with me and we stayed with Dennis for a while and then, I lived at AMC for about a year and half. Now, I live right down the road from the gym and I’m rooming with Roman Roytberg, (Maurice Smith’s student) and another amateur fighter and we have a house together. With three fighters living together, we can support and encourage each other." Even with all this training and becoming well versed as a fighter, was becoming a professional fighter in his cards at the time? Did this competitive athlete dream of becoming a fighter all along? For Aaron, "it was something that kind of happened. I didn’t say I would or wouldn’t. It just happened. I was used to rough housing with my friends and then the kickboxing helped me to morph into the NHB. I didn’t really think about it. It was a natural progression. So, I think that people are just born to do it or not. Some people do it, others watch. Martial arts was my world but not having such tunnel vision now, I’ve got my priorities straight and see things on a much bigger picture." Since that time of transition, Aaron Riley has made a home for himself in Washington, not to mention at AMC Pankration, and what has now evolved into a new team of professional fighters. Riley managed to pick up a lot of new and useful skills to benefit his level of competition. He has now made it into the UFC and will be facing a very tough, yet relatively unknown opponent. It’s no new thing for Riley, who has faced many tough opponents in the past. One that comes to mind was his match against Yves Edwards in Osborne’s Hook n Shoot. When asked about his previous fight, Riley was open to talk about the fight that caused quite a stir, especially the comment that was made by Edwards in a previous interview with MMA Ring Report. According to Edwards, he could not understand why Riley thought he had won the decision. Baffled by this, Edwards openly expressed this in his interview. For Riley, "At the time, I felt that the fight was more of a draw than anything at the time. Just looking back at it, I felt that a lot of things were even, just looking at the tape. And even at the end of the fight, I thought it was going to be a very close fight. I really just felt that it was even. I felt that I controlled the grappling portion of the fight and that he controlled at least a part of the stand-up. I thought the fight was fought equally in the stand-up and on the ground. One thing that bothered me was that in Shooto rules, there was a point in the fight, very early in the first round where he kneed me in the face and in the nose. And then, I took him down. Then, they broke the fight up to have the doctor look at my nose. Then, they re-started the fight from the stand-up position and I thought in Shooto rules that we were supposed to start in the same position and that we’d be back on the mat. So, there were some little things that bothered me. All in all, it was just a good fight and everyone that watches it really enjoys it. So, despite the decision, you have to look past it and move on. I just think that it was evenly fought on the ground and in the stand-up, and that I controlled the ground and he controlled the stand-up. It was 50/50." Even with the disagreement in the outcome of the fight, in reference to Yves, Aaron feels that "he’s the nicest guy in the world. He’s in a different weight class now but he knows that I’d fight him again. I really do like him though." Knowing that his opponent is relatively unknown in the bigger events, what has Riley done to prepare himself for his match against Lawler? Was it relatively difficult for Riley to find out what Lawler was all about? According to Riley, "All I know is what I’ve heard from other people. I learned some stuff about him from Dennis Hallman cause he fought in the same show Robbie debuted in at Shogun. Really, I’m just going by what I’ve heard and I treat my opponents the same, I expect them to be well-rounded cause that’s what everyone’s striving for. I hear that he’s a powerful stand-up fighter and that’s something I’ll have to definitely look out for. I just look at every fight that everybody’s dangerous with a submission or a punch. I give credit to every fighter so it doesn’t matter if he’s a newcomer or not. I treat him the same." In addition to this, Riley’s game plan will pretty much remain the same. With the exception of changing it up a little, "the game plan is just go out and win and worry about what you’re going to do and not what he’s going to do. We just pay attention to the little things that he’s done." So, while Aaron is concentrating on what he’s going to do, his prediction for this match is "a good fight. Seriously--from what I’ve heard about him, I just think it’ll be a good fight. As far as who’s going to win, it depends on the timing. I could be like Muhammed Ali and say that I have his number in the second round at the third minute mark but that’s not how it is." As far as his training goes, in order to prepare for himself, physically for this match, Riley has changed things up a little. "I changed my program a little bit. I do my cardio with Maurice Smith in the mornings and I’m going to the Washington Institute of Sports Medicine. Maurice goes there to train for all of his fights and he brings all the fighters there. Maurice Smith’s Kickboxing and AMC have merged now. We have running programs and different drills--plyometrics etc… Plus, there’s sparring, training at night, and swimming. It’s really hard to get injured in swimming unless you hit your head or something. Otherwise, it’s really good for the whole body." Riley strives to be a solid performer and he claims to "just strive to be well-rounded in all. Although I do enjoy the stand-up more and spend a little more time with that cause I enjoy it more." With top trainers by his side, pushing and guiding him to reach that next step up the MMA ladder, Aaron professes that he owes it to his trainers--" Maurice and Matt, primarily. Ivan Salavarry and I do quite a bit of training together and he’s on the card as well. And my roommate--Roman helps me to train as well. Roman is Maurice’s protégé. He’s the nicest guy." With the merger of two camps--AMC Pankration and Maurice Smith’s Kickboxing, who does Aaron (exactly) represent now? Aaron states that he represents "AMC Pankration, but like I said, we merged and it’s now called Team Synergy. All pro fighters will be fighting under that title. Miguel is my manager. Matt was getting overwhelmed with the sanctioning body in Washington, promoting, and he’s also interested in getting back into competition. Plus, he runs the gym. So, he’s wearing a lot of hats. Miguel’s taken over for most of Matt’s pro fighters in Managing. He’s taking over for good. It’s not a temporary thing."
As a representative of Team Synergy, Aaron Riley is ready to tackle a bigger fight medium, packed with worldwide media coverage, fight fans from all over, and the biggest venue in the nation in the sport of MMA. So, was he surprised to get that call from Joe Silva? "I was very happy but at the same time, it was something that didn’t necessarily catch me off guard. I don’t want to sound all cocky but I knew that they were interested in having me at the show. I was really ready to be in the UFC and all I had to say was that "it was about time (laughs)." Joe strived to get me into the show but I guess it was more Matt that was holding me out to compete in the show. I was just happy that he kept me in mind and called me." For Aaron, being in the UFC means reaching his initial goal of getting there. Now that’s he’s reached that, he’s set his next goal a bit higher and that is to "be the best fighter in my weight class and win the title in the UFC." So, if he wins this match, whom does Aaron see himself going up against next? "It’s really whomever they match me against. I’m not really into challenging people. I’m into climbing the ladder of MMA and whomever the fans would want to see me fight. It would be about putting together a fight that they’d want to see. So, whatever is in the best interest of the sport and wherever I’m at, at that time. It’s whomever I’d have to fight to keep climbing that ladder to get me to the top."
It’s not about whom he gets to face for this 21-year old. It’s all about whom he’s going to face and right now, that would be Robbie Lawler. He’s the only one Riley has on the brain. As Riley states, "he’s the one I’m focused on right now." However, if Aaron got his chance to face anyone, the competitor(s) that comes to mind would be the likes of "Carlos Newton, Matt Hughes, and Sakarai. These are guys that’d be interesting to see how things happen. I had the chance to role with Sakarai in Abu Dhabi. He’s really slick on the ground and a competent fighter in stand-up. As far as Carlos, he’s really good on the mat. I would not want to be on the ground with Carlos. Then, with Matt, he’s got the takedowns and he’s really good at maintaining position. That would be a fight where I would try to keep it up. Matt is a 3 or 4 time All-American in wrestling. He’ll more often than not get a guy to the ground. That’s just one area that he’ll always have an advantage. That’s why you have to be a well-rounded fighter. Matt and Carlos fighting again will be interesting to see. I’m really looking forward to that. He really proved himself as a champion against Sakarai. I think he’ll go into that fight with more confidence but you can never tell with Carlos. Just like the Pele match, things were looking tough for him but he pulled that off and he’s always a dangerous fighter. It wouldn’t surprise me if he became the champ again but he’s going to have to get through Matt." There’s fighting and then there’s the post-fighting days, kind of like the afterlife of MMA. It’s hard to find something that’ll equal the extremity and excitement of being an MMA competitor. Realistically though, a fighter’s window of opportunity is pretty short, especially in this extreme sport. Aside from going to the moon, what else could possibly equal the rush of competing in this sport? Once Aaron Riley reaches his ultimate goal in his MMA career, where does this 7-1 competitor see himself? For Aaron, "I will take on a completely different career. I was thinking of body guarding work. There are a couple of different options. I talked to a guy at the gym who’s involved with some Secret Service work. I’m interested in doing something like that." Aaron Riley is always exciting and well-rounded fighters always have the opportunity to come up with a cool nickname for themselves, a name that they’ll always be remembered for. Well, it was my mistake because Aaron did have a nickname--the "Rock." Unfortunately, it was a very common nickname and seemed to be favored by a few fighters, Pedro Rizzo to name one. So, why not get another one? Aaron’s take on nicknames went something like this--" The Rock is completely worn out. Pedro has it and probably about 15 million other fighters. So, no--no nickname. I don’t need one." Whether or not Aaron Riley has a nickname or feels the need to have one, this competitor doesn’t need to prove his fighter’s persona in the cage to anyone. He’s proven it well up to this point, especially to the point where his name (as is) will be remembered. And behind his full name stands a serious fighter who means business. The fighter with no nickname--Aaron Riley--remember it well because he’s probably just a few steps away from reaching his next goal. And when he does, it’ll be all about the fighter that stands behind his name, not the name that stands behind the fighter.
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