Matt Embree has been one of North America’s best fighters for quite some time now. His issue as of late, however, has been being healthy enough to fight. Since his fight with Kevin Ross earlier this year Embree has not been active and has only competed once in 2014. He normally fights around five times a year.
Embree is now set to compete for a second time this year at USKA Fight Night where he will take on Justin Greskiewicz. Matt Embree took some time from his busy training and teaching schedule to answer a few questions about his upcoming fight with Greskiewicz as well as his previous fights.
MTA: Matt you are set to fight for the second time this year; you will be facing Justin Greskiewicz in Pennsylvania at USKA Fight Night. How has your training been going?
Matt: Training has been going very good, feeling sharp and have been getting in some good sparring lately.
MTA: Only two fights so far this year, is that by choice or has it been difficult to get fights as of late?
Matt: I actually had an injury I was taking some time off to heal up from. I missed a few fight opportunities but I'm back at 100% and ready to get back in there.
MTA: Justin is a veteran in the North American circuit, how familiar are you with him?
Matt: I've known Justin for a while; he’s fought another guy from my camp as well as pretty much all the top guys in North America.
MTA: What would you consider Justin's strengths?
Matt: I think it’s his size and range that give him advantage over most opponents.
MTA: Yea Justin is a tall fighter, how big of an advantage do you consider height and reach to be?
Matt: Height and reach are really big advantages, but if you are skilled enough and have the experience in dealing with it then it shouldn't be an issue. There is always a way to win.
MTA: As usual you are going to be the away team. How difficult is it to block out the crowd, especially when they are not cheering for you?
Matt: I’ve been doing it since I started fighting so it’s not really anything different, but it would be nice to fight in my home town for once. The Muay Thai scene in Toronto is big and constantly growing so you would have a lot of educated fans attending the event. It would be off the chains.
MTA: Your last fight against Kevin Ross it seemed like you gassed a little something that never seemed to be a problem for you in your career. Was anything going on that caused you to get tired sooner than normal?
Matt: I didn't really feel like myself in there that fight and everything kinda just felt off. But that's also a part of fighting and you have to deal with that and still try and get the victory.
MTA: Back to that fight with Ross how did you feel about that decision, did you think you had won?
Matt: I feel like I won the fight anyway you cut it really. It was far from a good performance on my part, but I grinded him out in the clinch, dictated where the fight was and imposed my will on him which he didn't really have an answer for. He took the first 2, I won the last 3. He was ahead the first 2 rounds, I didn't feel sharp so I changed up my strategy. I adapted to his style and he wasn't able to adapt to mine. But a fights a fight and I accept it for what it is as a learning experience because it shows me where I need to improve.
MTA: There were some comments made after that fight with Kevin what was as all that about?
Matt: He came off as kinda arrogant, saying how I was scared to brawl with him and only wanted to hug him ext. My response, why you scared to clinch? That's what a brawl is brother, it ain’t always pretty, sometimes its gotta get ugly, head in your face, knees in your gut, elbow to your head, grind to a victory. Fighting is fluid, and to complain about the way a person fights isn't a champion’s mentality to me. You adapt and find a way to win. But now were 1 and 1, I gave him a rematch right off the bat, no questions asked. Now I want my rematch. There is clearly unfinished business and I want a crack at that title. Let's prove who the better fighter is really.
MTA: Can we get a prediction for this fight?
Matt: I'm going to come out victorious.
MTA: Since you haven't fought in six months what have you been doing in that time?
Matt: I’ve been teaching a lot, also training around the injury and I think it gave me time to improve on other areas of my game. Reading and just chilling out.
MTA: Any words for your supporters?
Matt: As always much love for the support, keep supporting me and all the other Nak Muay out there. Be fans of all the fighters out there, respect the art and enjoy the show. Peace.
Embree is now set to compete for a second time this year at USKA Fight Night where he will take on Justin Greskiewicz. Matt Embree took some time from his busy training and teaching schedule to answer a few questions about his upcoming fight with Greskiewicz as well as his previous fights.
MTA: Matt you are set to fight for the second time this year; you will be facing Justin Greskiewicz in Pennsylvania at USKA Fight Night. How has your training been going?
Matt: Training has been going very good, feeling sharp and have been getting in some good sparring lately.
MTA: Only two fights so far this year, is that by choice or has it been difficult to get fights as of late?
Matt: I actually had an injury I was taking some time off to heal up from. I missed a few fight opportunities but I'm back at 100% and ready to get back in there.
MTA: Justin is a veteran in the North American circuit, how familiar are you with him?
Matt: I've known Justin for a while; he’s fought another guy from my camp as well as pretty much all the top guys in North America.
MTA: What would you consider Justin's strengths?
Matt: I think it’s his size and range that give him advantage over most opponents.
MTA: Yea Justin is a tall fighter, how big of an advantage do you consider height and reach to be?
Matt: Height and reach are really big advantages, but if you are skilled enough and have the experience in dealing with it then it shouldn't be an issue. There is always a way to win.
MTA: As usual you are going to be the away team. How difficult is it to block out the crowd, especially when they are not cheering for you?
Matt: I’ve been doing it since I started fighting so it’s not really anything different, but it would be nice to fight in my home town for once. The Muay Thai scene in Toronto is big and constantly growing so you would have a lot of educated fans attending the event. It would be off the chains.
MTA: Your last fight against Kevin Ross it seemed like you gassed a little something that never seemed to be a problem for you in your career. Was anything going on that caused you to get tired sooner than normal?
Matt: I didn't really feel like myself in there that fight and everything kinda just felt off. But that's also a part of fighting and you have to deal with that and still try and get the victory.
MTA: Back to that fight with Ross how did you feel about that decision, did you think you had won?
Matt: I feel like I won the fight anyway you cut it really. It was far from a good performance on my part, but I grinded him out in the clinch, dictated where the fight was and imposed my will on him which he didn't really have an answer for. He took the first 2, I won the last 3. He was ahead the first 2 rounds, I didn't feel sharp so I changed up my strategy. I adapted to his style and he wasn't able to adapt to mine. But a fights a fight and I accept it for what it is as a learning experience because it shows me where I need to improve.
MTA: There were some comments made after that fight with Kevin what was as all that about?
Matt: He came off as kinda arrogant, saying how I was scared to brawl with him and only wanted to hug him ext. My response, why you scared to clinch? That's what a brawl is brother, it ain’t always pretty, sometimes its gotta get ugly, head in your face, knees in your gut, elbow to your head, grind to a victory. Fighting is fluid, and to complain about the way a person fights isn't a champion’s mentality to me. You adapt and find a way to win. But now were 1 and 1, I gave him a rematch right off the bat, no questions asked. Now I want my rematch. There is clearly unfinished business and I want a crack at that title. Let's prove who the better fighter is really.
MTA: Can we get a prediction for this fight?
Matt: I'm going to come out victorious.
MTA: Since you haven't fought in six months what have you been doing in that time?
Matt: I’ve been teaching a lot, also training around the injury and I think it gave me time to improve on other areas of my game. Reading and just chilling out.
MTA: Any words for your supporters?
Matt: As always much love for the support, keep supporting me and all the other Nak Muay out there. Be fans of all the fighters out there, respect the art and enjoy the show. Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment