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FLD Exclusive - A Conversation With Mark Bocek

Brad Taschuk: Thanks for taking some time out of your day for us Mark, how are you?

Mark Bocek: Good, I just got back from training. Just finishing up some food now.

BT: What kind of food are you snacking on these days?

MB: Right now just some scrambled eggs, toast and veggies. I like to keep my diet clean all the time, but especially leading up to a fight and as I need to start cutting. I don’t starve myself or anything, I eat when I’m hungry, but keeping it clean helps the cut in the last couple days.

BT: Would you say keeping a clean diet and cutting weight are some of the harder things to do as a fighter?

MB: The weight cut in the last day is the hardest part, but the dieting part I actually like.

BT: What are you walking around at right now?

MB: I normally walk around at 180, and then start to trim down in the last few weeks before the final cut.

BT: Not exactly a cut to sneeze at. Well Mark, one of the unique things about FightLockdown is that we allow our members to contribute questions for fighter interviews, so I’ve got a few of those for you. On your UFC profile there's a quote that says after you watched UFC 2 you knew you wanted to be a fighter. What was it that intrigued you so much and inspired you to get into the sport?

MB: Martial arts has always intrigued me. I was never into team sports, it was always an individual thing with me. I was doing  Karate and Kung-Fu at the time, and when I saw Royce fight [Minoki Ichihara] I didn’t understand how he did what he did. It really opened my eyes to what would happen in a real fight when it hit the ground. After that I immediately started looking for some gyms in the area that taught grappling. Initially it was mostly just Judo that was being taught, and we would teach ourselves a little bit more from those Gracies in Action tapes, but then I started making trips down to the states to get it from the source.

BT: And then a few years after that, you started teaching the Fertittas, right?

MB: I was never their main instructor or anything, but around 2000 I helped [the Fertittas] out for a couple of weeks.

BT: Still, they’re not bad contacts to make.

MB: No kidding.

BT: You talked a little bit about Royce intriguing you back in the 90’s. What fighters do you enjoy watching today?

MB: GSP. He’s just such a complete fighter. He might not win an Abu-Dhabi or K-1 Championship, but when everything is adapted for MMA, he does it the best. You’re never going to see him get ragdolled for four and a half rounds like Chael did to Anderson, because he doesn’t have a weakness. Don’t get me wrong,Anderson is great and I love watching him as well, GSP is just the most well-rounded guy out there. I don’t want to see GSP/Anderson though, the size difference is just way too big, it wouldn’t be fair. I’d much rather see Anderson against Jon Jones.

BT: Yeah, a lot of people still don’t realize how big of a Middleweight Anderson is.

MB: Even at Light Heavyweight he’s big.

BT: Let’s get back into you career here. Is there a particular submission that you think of as your go-to or favourite submission?

MB: Not really, you’ve got to take what you can get. I guess I’ve had a few fights where I’ve gone with the rear-naked choke, but that’s because the back is the best position you can get, if it there’s you take it. You can’t try to force something that’s not there anyways.

BT: I have to say that my favourite submission of yours has to be the top-side triangle you slapped on Hazelett.

MB: Yeah, that’s something I throw around in practice all the time, but I wasn’t looking for it. I didn’t go out thinking that I was going to finish in the first round, it just happened that his arm was underneath in half guard and I was able to step over right into it. That’s what I mean where you’ve got to be ready to take the openings that are there.

BT: You talked about not forcing things that aren’t there a minute ago. Did you happen to catch the Hioki/Roop fight recently because it seemed like Hioki was trying to force his topside triangle, which has brought him a lot of success in Japan, is that the type of thing you’re talking about?

MB: Yes I did. Hioki got taken down a bit and Roop was doing very good in the third round, but Hioki is a very good fighter. It was also his first fight in the UFC, and that can play a big role. As far as the triangle, you said he seemed to be going for that a lot from the top, I don't remember that part of the fight too well, but any time you keep trying the same thing and your opponent is ready for it, you’re not going to find success with it. You have to be willing to switch it up and catch them by surprise.

BT: Before we move ahead to your next fight, which fight of yours has impacted your career the most so far?

MB: Hmm… I would have to say the last one, the Henderson fight. It really made me step back and look at things, re-evaluate everything. I felt like my training was starting to level off where I was at, so after that fight I changed things up, and made the move up to Montreal with Firas and TriStar. I was really disappointed after that fight, but at the same time I learned a lot from it, and it’s made me even hungrier to come back with a nice performance.

BT: Your next opponent, Nik Lentz has made some very good fighters look very average in the Octagon. You already mentioned that you’ve made the move to Montreal, how else have you changed your preparation for this fight?

MB: I’m doing lots more drilling now, and overall I just feel like I’m training smarter. Firas handles pretty much everything when it comes to the training camp, and he has so much experience doing camps for top level guys like Georges that he can put it all together really well. I’ve got my jiu-jitsu base, but he’s really helping bring everything else along to compliment it.

BT: I’m not sure how much you listen to the commentary on your own fights afterwards, but Rogan and Goldberg are always talking about how good your wrestling is for someone with a Jiu-Jitsu base. Has the move up to Montreal and working with guys like Georges added to your wrestling game?

MB: Definitely. Georges isn’t just a great wrestler when it comes to MMA, he’s an excellent wrestler overall, I’ve been able to pick up a lot from him. We also go and work with the guys at the Montreal wrestling club, and he’s even one of the best guys there.

BT: We’ve mentioned Nik Lentz, and he’s obviously your next opponent. Do you feel like you have any particular advantages over him?

MB: I feel like I’m better everywhere, and that’s not to overlook Nik. He’s a very difficult opponent and an underrated guy because he’s been on some undercards and had a couple boring fights. But he hasn’t lost in the UFC or in his last 15 fights, and he’s very good up against the cage. He’s very good at dragging guys into his fight and making it a difficult fight. It may not be the most exciting thing for the casual fan, but it works. You know, the fans in North America aren’t like the Japanese fans either, they’re not as educated, they really want to come see a Boxing match, a couple guys slugging it out, but they won’t go watch a Boxing card. With Nik, I have to make sure not to overlook him, because I’ve done that with opponents in the past, and he’s too good. With my skills, I’ll have to go out there and see how it goes, and then we’ll adapt between rounds if we need to. If the striking is working we’ll stick with the striking, if not then we’ll go from there. The most important thing to not fight his fight.

BT: How is it that you avoid getting dragged into his fight?

MB: Footwork. That's the biggest thing. I need to make sure I’m in the right places, and not back myself up to let him get me on the cage and work his game. If I can do that, I’ll be successful.

BT: Well Mark, I appreciate your time, and from one GTA guy to another, I wish you the best of luck in your fight.

MB: Thanks.

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