Australian star Anthony Perosh fights for the second time in UFC at edition number #66 in next December 30th on Las Vegas.Australian star Anthony Perosh fights for the second time in UFC at edition number #66 in next December 30th on Las Vegas. Perosh, who debuted at UFC 61-‘Bitter Rivals’ through a TKO defeat to Jeff Monson, will try the redemption in last UFC of 2006 against 6-3-0 fighter Christian Wellisch of American Kickboxing Academy.
Denis Martins- What did you think about that your fight against Jeff Monson at UFC?
Anthony Perosh- I was happy with my performance for the most part of the match. I was defending his takedowns. The one time he did take me down I was able to stand up. I had the better of him in striking from long range but I got caught in the close range.
DM- How popular is the UFC in Australia?
AP- The UFC is popular but only within the martial arts community. We do not get the pay per views live and there is no coverage on free TV or the media. So most of the general public do not know about it. The first season of the Ultimate Fighter has just been aired on pay TV.
DM- Do you see many differences between the America’s MMA to the Australian one? Tell us the main similarities and the differences….
AP- MMA in Australia is much smaller with fewer shows. But the shows put on are of a good production. I would like the Australian MMA promoters do more to bring international fighters to fight the Australians to give the Australians more exposure. Warriors Realm and Spartan are the two premier MMA shows in Australia at the moment.
DM- I know you are an ADCC veteran, how many times did you compete at this tournament? Do you think you can take a few pieces from ADCC’s experiences to a MMA match?
AP- I have competed 3 times in 2001, 2003 and 2005. Fighting top international competitors overseas at the ADCC will help with fighting in the UFC.
DM- You have a partnership with the UFC veteran Elvis Sinosic called Sinosic Perosh Martial Arts. When did it start? What’s exactly this partnership? An Association or an academy?
AP- Elvis and I met at one of the first BJJ clubs in Sydney in January 1996. We started a school in a part time facility in 2001 and then moved to a full time facility in 2002 renaming our partnership SPMA! We know boast 300 plus students at our first school. We opened our second school in 2006 and a third is coming in 2007. The other two schools are managed and run by a senior instructor.
DM- Into MMA’s World, would you qualify yourself as a submission fighter?
AP- My specialty is submission grappling.
DM- What’s your belt in BJJ and what other Martial Arts have you trained to compete in MMA?
AP- Carlos Machado promoted me to black belt in BJJ in 2003. I currently train in Thai Kickboxing and Wrestling.
DM- What do you know about Chirstian Wellisch and what do you expect from him?
AP- Christian has a similar record to me, similar style and similar goals. We are both going to go hard looking for our first win in the UFC.
DM- In your opinion who are the best heavyweight fighters of UFC nowadays?
AP- Andre Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Jeff Monson and Brandon Vera.
DM- Thanks you very much for your time, good luck in your UFC’s debut and would you like to leave a final message thank sponsors and etc)?
AP- Thanks Denis. I would like to thank my sponsors for their support – Atama Australia, Fairtex and Musashi.