We are here with Paul Buentello at RebelX MMA gym in Santa Fe Springs CaliforniaOTM: We are here with Paul Buentello at RebelX MMA gym in Santa Fe Springs California, so Paul tell us how has the training camp been?
Buentello: It’s been really good, it’s been a long 14 weeks now so you know? I was scheduled to fight October 11th and then it got pushed out and then I was going to fight on the November 5th show for the EliteXC but the show went extinct. It’s been a really long camp for this one.
OTM: For your opponent on Saturday you are fighting a young up and comer in Kiril Sidellnikov, they are calling him Baby Fedor. How do you feel about fighting some from the Red Devil Sports Club?
Buentello: I look at it like its going to be a tough fight because he has good people to train with and you’re only as good as the people you train with. So that’s the only thing I am looking at and what makes this fight a little different is that he is coming from a great team and a great camp. For this fight I have to give him the same respect and fight him hard.
OTM: Do you think that it will be a disadvantage for him fighting in the states and in a bigger show like Affliction?
Buentello: I think it’s going to be a bit different because it’s going to be a bigger show and I think it might get him a bit nervous but I’m not depending on that. I think he is probably a season veteran fighting in M-1 Global shows. I think the crowd will be a little bit different here and might get spooked a bit from the crowd but I think he is going to be tough and give me 110%.
OTM: Knowing that he is coming out of a good camp is there anything you focused on for this fight while in your training camp?
Buentello: I worked mostly on defense and takedowns, just to get better at defending the takedowns. I also worked on being faster and being looser in my combinations. I also did a lot of weight lifting just to be a little stronger and worked on calastetics and more core exercises to be more agile. In this fight you have to work on everything, with this kid you really don’t know too much about him because he has only had 6 or 7 fights.
OTM: Looking back at the last Affliction show and seeing you fight since your King of the Cage days; your striking has really shown so much improvement. What do you attribute that to?
Buentello: Just paying attention and learning you know listening to ever coach you have that gives you advice, make sure you take it in and be coachable. That is always going to be the main thing about training, it’s being around people that I respect and take their word for it. Like I said just be coachable, it could be a guy off the street telling me some ideas and how to implement it. Being coachable is something I learned and to take everybody’s advice.
OTM: You mentioned earlier that you were going to be on the EliteXC November show now I know there are several fighters having to deal with contract disputes, have you had to deal with any of the fallout from that?
Buentello: No, I’ve been fortunate to have a decent manager that knows what he is doing plus I am under the Strikeforce umbrella. I do have one more fight left on my contract with them and that kind of in a way protects me and lets me be a free agent in a way and the promotion is letting go outside my contract and work.
OTM: Now looking back at 2008 I believe you fought only once, is that something that will change this year?
Buentello: I definitely want to fight more and more every year but it’s all about scheduling. I just have to sit back and wait; everything has politics and scheduling so I just have to be patient.
OTM: Not looking past your opponent but if you are able to get the win is there anybody out there that you would like to fight, possibly a rematch with Arlovski down the road?
Buentello: The only fight that I would really want to get back is the Alistair Overeem fight. For that fight I just wasn’t 100% there and you know there were a lot of variables and you know there is sometimes that one time you should not have fought and that was it. I didn’t listen to myself and I didn’t listen to anybody around me and still fought but I do want that fight back.
OTM: Being in the fight game as long as you have over the years where do you find the motivation to keep training, to keep learning and moving forward?
Buentello: Motivation comes from the love of the sport first of all, I am a fan first and a fighter second and I just love it so much and I just have so much fun with it. For me the main motivation comes from having my family back home and just making those small sacrifices to leave a legacy of fighting in this game.
OTM: Thank you very much Paul, we appreciate the time. Is there anything you want to say to your fans out there?
Buentello: Check me out PaulBuentello.com and also my YouTube channel. I got great sponsors this time for the fight, Diapep really helped me out with the energy level and Progenics really helped me out with the supplements and that is why you will see a big difference in my physic and stuff because of Progenics also just don’t blink on this fight.