Larry Landless Speaks Out - About His MMA Match!
Submitted by: Keith Mills
Posted On 11/30/2003
from
The December 6th KOTC card is currently advertised as featuring Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister for the Light Heavyweight belt and the MMA debut of Larry “The Landlord� Landless. Yes, that is UFC and KOTC ref Larry Landless. Larry has been around the fight game for years and takes training seriously in addition to his experience in the cage as a ref. Make no mistake about it, this isn’t just some pro wrestling gimmick to sell tickets.
Larry has had a rough week since reffing UFC 45. Although he admits to stopping the Baroni/Tanner fight early on a miscommunication he has since publicly apologized and hopes to put it behind him. It is revealing to note Landless doesn’t say anything about the to this reporter abhorring act of Baroni throwing two punches at him while under his care and Landless just expresses regret for his own mistake. Since this issue has been covered and discussed extensively elsewhere letting this issue go and only focusing on his fight was offered and accepted.
KM: Who is your opponent? LL: I’ve been told it’s Paul Castamone (note: no spelling even close was found in internet search engines so spelling is guessed). I really don’t know anything about him. They say he’s a very strong guy and someone told me he was supposed to fight John Marsh at one time and for one reason or another it didn’t pan out, I don’t know why.
KM: Any idea what his record is? LL: No, I know nothing at all about him. Experienced with some underground fights.
KM: At least you are on an even playing field with this being your debut. LL: Yeah, it works the same for me I guess.
KM: How do you feel about making your debut? LL: I feel good. I was a little concerned a couple weeks ago because I was training and didn’t seem like physically I could put out the work and I was getting worried. Rico Chiapparelli from rAw gym looked at me and surmised that there was something not quite right and suggested a nutritionist. I did and it turned out to be the best thing because now I’m back on track. I feel better and wish I would have seen him sooner. I went to see a friend of mine who works at Evolution Fitness, his name is Clark. He sat down and figured out how much I was eating and how often I worked out in the morning, afternoon, and night. He said I was only consuming barely 22000 calories a day and said I needed to be above 3500-4000 calories a day for the type of work I was doing. I needed to eat more and better foods. He broke down 30% carps, 60% protein, 10% fat. Those numbers were totally backwards. My body was just shutting down, eating itself up. The positive work I put into it slimming up just backfired.
KM: You feel that is the last hurdle preparing for your debut? LL: Yeah, now I’m back on track.
KM: I know you have been training for a while but I don’t know where. LL: I train with the submission factory. That is basically my club. The guys who have been training me have been great because I am the most difficult person to train with my attitude; I still think I’m in charge and have to remember they are in charge. Herb Dean and Mike come to my work and we go running; our sprints, our laps, run the bleachers, run the hills. For them to take that much time out of the day, I don’t show them the appreciation I should show them. I love those guys. They have done so much, they are real friends. They stuck by me when I was at my worst. They still come in, still make me do the work…you got to love them. Charlie Valencia will be my cornerman. He used to train with me, he’s now with New Breed. He does Valencia Freestyle Fighting. He is great, the best 135 or 145 pounder in the world. You have got to see this guy fight. Once he gets the big fights and starts to make a name out there…he is amazing, people don’t know. Charlie Valencia, remember that name. Rico Chiapparelli is helping me out a little bit. I got to get on the mat with a few people like about a half hour or forty-five minutes rolling with Jeremy Horn back in June.
KM: It sounds like you are getting more of the wrestling and jiu-jitsu, more of the grappling experience so far. Are you at all concerned about your striking? LL: Herb is a phenomenal striker. Herb and Mike. I’ve mostly done standup with them and my kickboxing coach. He also teaches at Evolution Fitness. Primarily I’ll always be a wrestler, twenty-five years of wrestling. I feel much better now that I have some hands and start to use them.
KM: What weight will you be fighting? LL: Heavyweight.
KM: No worries about cutting weight or anything like that? LL: No. I’ll probably be a little smaller than the guy I’m fighting to my understanding.
KM: Is that any concern? LL: I think I’ll always have to concern myself with a person that is strong. I think position can be strength but all things being equal strength is great to have. I’m going to have to be on top of things, really be alert, and do my thing.
KM: It sounds like you are mentally prepared. Any nerves? LL: I’m not nervous really. I’d rather just get it over, just get in there and do it. The grind of practice and getting ready for this has been more than the match will probably be. I’ve sacrificed so much as far as social life, I just want to just do this fight and take the rest of the month off and evaluate where I want to go with this.
KM: You own your own gym? LL: Yeah. We’re looking to relocate it. Where we are at is a real bad area; it’s hidden, hard to find, no-one can see it off the major highway…it’s just a bad situation. I’m hoping to relocate it to a better location. Hopefully we can get that going around February. (Note: ). We’re just taking it month to month.
KM: Any sponsors yet? LL: Oh yeah. *********.tv has offered me a sponsorship. Al Nava, I’ve known him for a long time, he’s a real positive person. I have a paint shop that is sponsoring me, God I wish I could remember the name. Of course Joe Camacho, he’ll have a little patch on my shorts. John Ouana helped me out and got me some shorts to fight in. Evolution Fitness in Pasadena, great gym. Of course my family.
KM: The family is real supportive? LL: Yeah, they are. I have a lot of them coming to watch this fight. They get pretty crazy. If they aren’t drinking it’ll be ok, if they start drinking look out.
KM: I feel sorry for your opponent. He is going to have a good deal of the crowd against him. LL: I don’t know, I think I made a lot of enemies this last week. It’s probably going to balance out. (Both laugh).
KM: Here it is your debut but on KOTC’s website it’s basically just listing Lister/Horn and you. You are the only three fighters listed on that card. I’m wondering if any of the other fighters are going to feel ‘this guy is making his debut and he’s billed above me�. LL: I never asked for that. I don’t care if I’m the first fight that night. I’m not worried about those things, I’m dong this for myself. I’m not doing this to impress people. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time. I’ll just do this and then figure out what I want to do next. Whatever I choose to do is my choice. No hard feelings, we’re sportsmen. I’m going to go out there and give it my best and I know my guy is going to give it his best and when it’s over win, lose, or draw, I’m going to shake his hand and wish him well with the rest of his life.
Submitted by: Keith Mills
Posted On 11/30/2003
from
The December 6th KOTC card is currently advertised as featuring Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister for the Light Heavyweight belt and the MMA debut of Larry “The Landlord� Landless. Yes, that is UFC and KOTC ref Larry Landless. Larry has been around the fight game for years and takes training seriously in addition to his experience in the cage as a ref. Make no mistake about it, this isn’t just some pro wrestling gimmick to sell tickets.
Larry has had a rough week since reffing UFC 45. Although he admits to stopping the Baroni/Tanner fight early on a miscommunication he has since publicly apologized and hopes to put it behind him. It is revealing to note Landless doesn’t say anything about the to this reporter abhorring act of Baroni throwing two punches at him while under his care and Landless just expresses regret for his own mistake. Since this issue has been covered and discussed extensively elsewhere letting this issue go and only focusing on his fight was offered and accepted.
KM: Who is your opponent? LL: I’ve been told it’s Paul Castamone (note: no spelling even close was found in internet search engines so spelling is guessed). I really don’t know anything about him. They say he’s a very strong guy and someone told me he was supposed to fight John Marsh at one time and for one reason or another it didn’t pan out, I don’t know why.
KM: Any idea what his record is? LL: No, I know nothing at all about him. Experienced with some underground fights.
KM: At least you are on an even playing field with this being your debut. LL: Yeah, it works the same for me I guess.
KM: How do you feel about making your debut? LL: I feel good. I was a little concerned a couple weeks ago because I was training and didn’t seem like physically I could put out the work and I was getting worried. Rico Chiapparelli from rAw gym looked at me and surmised that there was something not quite right and suggested a nutritionist. I did and it turned out to be the best thing because now I’m back on track. I feel better and wish I would have seen him sooner. I went to see a friend of mine who works at Evolution Fitness, his name is Clark. He sat down and figured out how much I was eating and how often I worked out in the morning, afternoon, and night. He said I was only consuming barely 22000 calories a day and said I needed to be above 3500-4000 calories a day for the type of work I was doing. I needed to eat more and better foods. He broke down 30% carps, 60% protein, 10% fat. Those numbers were totally backwards. My body was just shutting down, eating itself up. The positive work I put into it slimming up just backfired.
KM: You feel that is the last hurdle preparing for your debut? LL: Yeah, now I’m back on track.
KM: I know you have been training for a while but I don’t know where. LL: I train with the submission factory. That is basically my club. The guys who have been training me have been great because I am the most difficult person to train with my attitude; I still think I’m in charge and have to remember they are in charge. Herb Dean and Mike come to my work and we go running; our sprints, our laps, run the bleachers, run the hills. For them to take that much time out of the day, I don’t show them the appreciation I should show them. I love those guys. They have done so much, they are real friends. They stuck by me when I was at my worst. They still come in, still make me do the work…you got to love them. Charlie Valencia will be my cornerman. He used to train with me, he’s now with New Breed. He does Valencia Freestyle Fighting. He is great, the best 135 or 145 pounder in the world. You have got to see this guy fight. Once he gets the big fights and starts to make a name out there…he is amazing, people don’t know. Charlie Valencia, remember that name. Rico Chiapparelli is helping me out a little bit. I got to get on the mat with a few people like about a half hour or forty-five minutes rolling with Jeremy Horn back in June.
KM: It sounds like you are getting more of the wrestling and jiu-jitsu, more of the grappling experience so far. Are you at all concerned about your striking? LL: Herb is a phenomenal striker. Herb and Mike. I’ve mostly done standup with them and my kickboxing coach. He also teaches at Evolution Fitness. Primarily I’ll always be a wrestler, twenty-five years of wrestling. I feel much better now that I have some hands and start to use them.
KM: What weight will you be fighting? LL: Heavyweight.
KM: No worries about cutting weight or anything like that? LL: No. I’ll probably be a little smaller than the guy I’m fighting to my understanding.
KM: Is that any concern? LL: I think I’ll always have to concern myself with a person that is strong. I think position can be strength but all things being equal strength is great to have. I’m going to have to be on top of things, really be alert, and do my thing.
KM: It sounds like you are mentally prepared. Any nerves? LL: I’m not nervous really. I’d rather just get it over, just get in there and do it. The grind of practice and getting ready for this has been more than the match will probably be. I’ve sacrificed so much as far as social life, I just want to just do this fight and take the rest of the month off and evaluate where I want to go with this.
KM: You own your own gym? LL: Yeah. We’re looking to relocate it. Where we are at is a real bad area; it’s hidden, hard to find, no-one can see it off the major highway…it’s just a bad situation. I’m hoping to relocate it to a better location. Hopefully we can get that going around February. (Note: ). We’re just taking it month to month.
KM: Any sponsors yet? LL: Oh yeah. *********.tv has offered me a sponsorship. Al Nava, I’ve known him for a long time, he’s a real positive person. I have a paint shop that is sponsoring me, God I wish I could remember the name. Of course Joe Camacho, he’ll have a little patch on my shorts. John Ouana helped me out and got me some shorts to fight in. Evolution Fitness in Pasadena, great gym. Of course my family.
KM: The family is real supportive? LL: Yeah, they are. I have a lot of them coming to watch this fight. They get pretty crazy. If they aren’t drinking it’ll be ok, if they start drinking look out.
KM: I feel sorry for your opponent. He is going to have a good deal of the crowd against him. LL: I don’t know, I think I made a lot of enemies this last week. It’s probably going to balance out. (Both laugh).
KM: Here it is your debut but on KOTC’s website it’s basically just listing Lister/Horn and you. You are the only three fighters listed on that card. I’m wondering if any of the other fighters are going to feel ‘this guy is making his debut and he’s billed above me�. LL: I never asked for that. I don’t care if I’m the first fight that night. I’m not worried about those things, I’m dong this for myself. I’m not doing this to impress people. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time. I’ll just do this and then figure out what I want to do next. Whatever I choose to do is my choice. No hard feelings, we’re sportsmen. I’m going to go out there and give it my best and I know my guy is going to give it his best and when it’s over win, lose, or draw, I’m going to shake his hand and wish him well with the rest of his life.
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