The Triangle Choke: Greg Nagy Interview

Imagine if you will, you start into a career and set lofty long-term goals like many of us do. However, your vocation is in sports where mistakes and moments live on forever. In most day-to-day jobs if you make a mistake, even a large one, you will bounce back and it will not hit the national scene (the likes of Enron excluded). In sports, those who make the blunders or fail to live up to expectations live on and often become adjectives or punch lines; Scott Norwood, Chris Webber, Ryan Leaf to name a few. The rewards are high, but so are the risks. Enter professional MMA fighter Greg Nagy. Nagy, a relative unknown, has a 1-1 professional record. He went from obscurity to national prominence in a matter of minutes when he agreed to fight Herschel Walker at Strikeforce Miami on January 30. The financial opportunity and exposure were too much for Nagy to pass up but a loss could be devastating to his career. In the heart of his training camp, Nagy was gracious enough to give Pro Fighting Fans' Editor-in-Chief Scott Dryden a few moments of his time.

SD- Speak about your background in MMA and where do you train?

GN- I started training a year and half or so ago at Rage in the Cage training centers here in Chandler, AZ. They focus on everything from Jiu-Jitsu to wrestling to Muay Thai to boxing. We have a very well rounded staff with the coaches here.

SD- Describe your athletic background and your base.

GN- I really don’t have a base. I don’t have any high school wrestling experience. My athletic experience is basically football in high school. For me, I’m learning everything in MMA so I don’t really have one strength or weakness if you will.

SD- What got you involved in MMA?

GN- The competition of it. It’s very pure how it’s just you versus one other person and there is no one else to rely on. It is just you and your skill and how you can adapt your game because every opponent is different.

SD- Did you have any amateur bouts?

GN- I have two cage fights and a Muay Thai fight under my belt.

SD- How did you like the Muay Thai bout?

GN- It was a nice change from the cage fighting with the rules and what not. I just like the competition period. The Muay Thai fight was fun and cage fights are always fun.

SD- Where do you see yourself settling down in terms of weight class?

GN- Ideally I would probably drop down to middleweight at 185lbs.

SD- Describe your gym - do you have big name pros there?

GN- We have Richard Hale here who is going to be fighting for Strikeforce. He would have been on The Ultimate Fighter had they not dropped his weight class. Coach Kelly Davis who was a world champion in boxing - we have Coach Rick Jones teaching Muay Thai and we have a great Jiu Jitsu coach as well. We have a nice stable of guys and a lot of big guys to train with.

SD- You have limited experience in MMA and now you are in the middle of a media whirlwind now that you are fighting Herschel Walker. How are you handling all of the attention?

GN- To be honest with you I’m not sure it fully set in yet. It is new to me to be getting phone calls and doing interviews. I’m just trying to answer you guys’ questions as best as I can and remained focused. My main priority is the training. I’m not really focused on the attention that Herschel and I are getting. I have a job to do. I’m going to the gym and preparing and training myself so I can execute that on the 30th.

SD- When you were approached about the opportunity to fight Herschel, did you immediately accept? What went through your mind at that point?

GN- I immediately accepted it because I realized it was the opportunity of a lifetime. Now even, I’m somewhat shocked regarding the scope of the situation; who I’m facing and where I’m facing him at. It’s a primetime event on Showtime for Strikeforce which is an elite organization. I’m still a little bit awestruck by the grandeur of the event.

SD- What weight will the fight take place at?

GN- I heard that Herschel is weighing around 215lbs. Technically a heavyweight bout but will take place near 215lbs

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SD- Do you take Herschel seriously as a MMA fighter? He has trained extensively but never competed. What are your thoughts on Herschel?

GN- You know you take every fight serious it doesn’t matter who it is. When you step in the cage that is serious business no matter who you are going against. Herschel is a very athletic person; a very high caliber athlete. I’m sure everyone knows about his workout regimen and what not. I’m taking him seriously like a take any other fight seriously because the minute you don’t is the minute you get hurt in there. I’m curious to see how Herschel is going to transition to the fight game. However, I’m not selling him short.

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SD- Concerning your close friends, are they still treating you the same?

GN- Yeah they are the same. I try to stay grounded so I’m not approaching it as anything different. The friends I’ve had before are still going to be my friends now and the same goes with my family. Everyone is a little bit shocked about the attention I’m getting but everyone is really excited for me.

SD- Do you have long lost friends crawling out of the wood works?

GN- No not yet but anything can happen.

SD- Has the mood in the gym changed since you started training for the fight and are you getting local media coverage?

GN- I don’t really think so. Everyone in the gym has a really good head on their shoulders. They are helping me with training but no one is really going overboard. We have a really good group of guys here who are helping me out. No one is really paying attention to the media.

SD- From a training perspective there is little to be known about Herschel other than he trains at the renowned American Kickboxing Academy with Javier Mendez. Other than that you only know that he has a striking background with Tae Kwon Do. What are your thoughts coming into the fight from a preparation/training viewpoint?

GN- From a training perspective we anticipate he will want to keep this in the stand up. You alluded to his background in Tae Kwon Do - we have access to the tapes of him training which are posted everywhere. As far as preparation we are prepared for anything. I’m practicing my striking, my takedowns, my takedown defense, my jiu-jitsu, etc. We don’t anticipate the fight staying in any one place. If anything I’m going to want to push the pace and dictate where the fight goes.

SD- Were your goals to make it big in MMA and make a career out of it prior to signing the contract to fight Herschel Walker?

GN- Yeah, I did. I’m very shocked it all happened so soon. Definitely, that was my major aspiration down the line.

SD- I’m interested to see how the nerves are for both of you. Herschel has been a professional athlete but the sport of MMA has proven it is not an easy transition. Do you anticipate nerves being a factor for either of you and do you expect a feeling out process?

GN- I think we both will want to feel each other out at first. As far as the transition goes, I don’t think there is anything that can prepare you for the cage. He may be used to competing on a big stage but it is a little bit different when you are locked in that cage with just one other person. I have two cage fights on my resume so I think that gives me a little bit of an edge. I definitely think he will be anxious to say the least when he steps into that cage.

SD- Thanks Greg for taking time out of your busy schedule. Best of luck on the 30th.

By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Editor in Chief