John Cullen interview ahead of Immortals showdown.

Post date: 21-Aug-2013 18:29:02

Hello , First off can you give us a brief bio ? (Name , Team, Record, style, next opponent , event)

John Cullen fighting out D-unit Mma My record is 17 wins, 8 losses, 2 draws with 9 subs and 8 (t)ko's. My fighting style is Muay Thai and BJJ. I'm fighting Mariusz Abramiuk at Immortal Fight Promotions on 31st August.

Do you think your strong background in Mauy Thai has shaped your MMA game?

Yeah definitely my Muay Thai training has helped me so much throughout my MMA career, especially my clinch and knee techniques, these have given me an edge in the striking department for most of my fights.

A key player in the D unit , does coaching at the club help you with your MMA game?

Coaching at D-unit has helped me greatly as I get to go over my basics regularly, which helps keep me sharp and my technique good. Also talking in front of large groups of people at the classes has helped me with my self confidence.

D unit recently held an inter club event , where you there and what can you tell us about the next bread yous are bringing through the club?

The inter club we held was fantastic, it was great to watch our next generation of D-unit soldiers picking up experience and putting on a show. I'm very proud of all the guys who represented the team that day.

In training do you stick to the basics or do you like to try out the latests fads of MMA (training masks, butter coffees, gymnastic training)etc etc.

I try to cover all areas of MMA in training working on Muay thai,BJJ, Wrestling and Boxing, I also cover strength and conditioning and lots of cardio. I'm not really into training masks and fad diets I try to eat clean meals mostly and just keep on trying to improve everywhere.

Training , coaching , living MMA , how does one relax ?

On the very few days that I'm not in the gym I like to go to cinema, I like to go camping and hill walking and generally being outdoors and I love spending time with my family and my dogs.

Do you follow any off the top MMA organisations (UFC , Bellator, Cage Warriors) ? What do you think of the new bread of super technical youngsters coming through the ranks ? And how do you think us Scots would fair in this mix ?

I try to watch as much MMA as possible as I'm a huge fight fan and I'm hugely impressed with the younger generation of fighters who are very creative and technically brilliant but I'm sure the standard of coaching and fighting in Scotland will ensure we can hang with anyone.

If you could pick another 5 Scots to fight with you and represent Scotland on the first UFC card , who would you pick and why ?

Alan Johnston, John Quinn, Graham turner, James Doolan, Martin Delaney. As all of them are great examples of Scottish MMA fighters and I think they all would give a great account of themselves and do Scotland proud.

You have a great coach at the D-unit in John Nicolson, a man with great all round skills and experience, do you think having someone like John with that wealth of experience is one of the keys to separating your team from some of the newer teams popping up around Scotland?

Yeah absolutely John was a great fighter with lots of experience and a vast knowledge of the fight game. John's work ethic, gameness and no quitting attitude has rubbed off on the rest of the team and made the D-unit one of the most feared and respected gyms in the country.

Fighting up North again are you looking forward to it after your last excellent performance and reception?

Yeah its great to have the crowd support you in such a vocal way I'm very excited to fight in Aberdeen against an opponent of such a high calibre and I hope we have a great fight which everyone enjoys.

Any last words, thanks, sponsors, Twitter etc

I'd like to say a huge thank you to John Nicolson and all my team mates at D-unit And thank you to everyone who supports me and wished me well .

Follow on twitter @JC_DNFT

For more info on the upcoming fight in Aberdeen on the 31/08/2013 check out https://www.facebook.com/ImmortalsFightPromotions