Quadros Interview

I last spoke with “The Fight Professor” Stephen Quadros just as he was ready to begin his assault on English soil to embark on work as a co-presenter and commentator for the UK’s most beloved mixed martial arts (MMA) extravaganza, Cage Rage. Mr. Q has also been busy back stateside working on the brand new International Fight League, the world’s first mixed martial arts league…and planning his next foray into the film business.

Alan: So since our last interview you have become a regular visitor to the UK working with the Cage Rage event. What’s that been like for you?

Stephen: It’s been like a soul pilgrimage to the homeland. On my mother’s side I have English, Irish and Scottish blood in me so it has been instinctive that I would return here. And hey, there are some really beautiful women over here! (He smiles) In February 2007 I am beginning my third year working with the Cage Rage organization and let me tell you I have had nothing but fun and seen many success stories and resurrections.

Many of my friends would tell me to be careful of the food here but the Cage Rage shows are at Wembley so I have had great culinary success at the Indian restaurants in that area. I used to prefer Thai and Italian food but no Indian food is high on the list. Chicken curry rules, hahaha. As a matter of fact I am getting hungry just talking about it…

A: What do you think of the level of the fights in the UK seen now?

S: The fights I have had the honor of participating on, as a commentator and an analyst since I started coming here in February of 2005 have been nothing short of breathtaking. Cage Rage has staged some memorable bout that have featured the best and most entertaining MMA talent in the UK, like Zelg Galesic, Rob “The Bear” Broughton, James “The Colossus” Thompson, Ian “The Machine” Freeman, Robbie “The Flame” Olivier, Brad “One Punch” Pickett, Mark “The Wizard” Weir, Mark “The Beast” Epstein and countless more, but also has had the insight to showcase top level international talent as well. When your organization’s world champions are Antonio “Junior” Silva, Melvin Manhoef, Anderson “The Spider” Silva (who recently won the UFC middleweight title by knockout as well), Chris “Lights Out” Lytle and Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, you stand in a league with the big boys. As a matter of fact, because of the growth of Cage Rage I believe there has been a new interest in Britain as a hotspot for international MMA. And I am proud to be part of that legacy.

Since I have been coming here I have seen some epic battles. My first Cage Rage show was an orgy of knockouts which saw UFC veterans Jorge Rivera and Curtis Stout rejuvenate their careers by their short work of Alex Reid and Sol Gilbert. Both Rivera and Stout continued to enjoy their winning ways…until they both met up with a man from Brazil named Anderson (Silva). I had had the pleasure of getting to know Anderson Silva when I worked as the lead commentator for Pride years before and he, like Jorge and Curtis has breathed new life into his career at Cage Rage. But unlike any other middleweight, aside from Zelg Galesic, who is the current Cage Rage British champion, Anderson has never lost a match in Cage Rage. As a matter of fact, eventually I would love to see Zelg challenge Anderson for his world title. That would be as good as it gets. Both men are extremely honorable. Silva has the technique and the experience and Zelg is coming off a stinging list of wins inside the distance.

Everyone knows that Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro is one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, lightweights in the world. As Cage Rage world lightweight champion Shaolin has submitted EVERYONE he has faced. He also has decision wins over Tatsuya Kawajiri, Ivan Menjivar and a choke out victory against Joachim Hansen. Watching Ribeiro in the cage is like watching a 21st century jiu-jitsu version of Michael Angelo, his artistry is that pronounced.

And what can you say about Melvin Manhoef? The first time I saw him roar into Cage Rage was when he dismantled a very tough Matthias Riccio (France). Manhoef proceeded to use his in-cage post-fight interview to challenge Wanderlei Silva, who was in attendance that night! Melvin has such an aggressive style and physique, that it probably intimidates most of his opponents. But one guy who didn’t seem too scared was from Wanderlei’s Chute Boxe team down in Curitiba, Brazil. And that man was called “Cyborg” (Evangelista Santos). Many times fighters will engage in a battle that is remembered for days and weeks afterwards. But when Cyborg challenged Manhoef for his Cage Rage light-heavyweight title on the 4th of February 2006, no one knew it would go down as one of the most exciting MMA in history. They went at it! It was unbelievable, like a real life “Rocky” movie or something. Both guys were so banged up and exhausted that they were both ready to fall! But it was Melvin who had just a teeny bit left and finished Cyborg late in the second (round). I will never forget that night!

A: Lets talk about the new IFL.

S: The International Fight League (IFL) is trend-setting concept that was created in 2006 by Kurt Otto, a highly successful real estate investor and a life-long martial arts participant and Gareb Shamus, chairman of the comic book empire Wizard Entertainment Group. The IFL is the world’s first mixed martial arts league. Teams are made up of fighters from five weight divisions: lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight. The team who wins at least 3 matches in one night claims the victory and advances. In 2006 we had two tournaments, the Legends Championship, which was a four-team competition, and the World Team Championship, which utilized eight teams. Pat Miletich’s team “The Silverbacks” won both competitions; so all eyes are on them at the moment.

In 2007 the league has grown to include 12 teams. And look who the coaches are: besides Miletich we have Bas Rutten (Anacondas), Ken Shamrock (Lions), Matt Lindland (Wolfpack), Frank Shamrock (Razorclaws), Renzo Gracie (Pitbulls), Maurice Smith (Tigersharks), Carlos Newton (Dragons), Don Frye (Scorpions), Marco Ruas (Condors), Ken Yasuda (Sabres), Igor Zinoviev (Red Bears)! This season is going to be WILD!

In 2008 there will be more new teams added including “The Bulldogs,” which will be coached by the UK’s own Ian “The Machine” Freeman! Mario Sperry (Brazil) will have a team, so will Jerome LeBanner (France) and D.B. Park from Korea. All the new 2008 teams will actually make their debuts in 2007 in a few exhibition events to be announced shortly.

The team concept enriches the experience of what MMA on a lot of levels. For one thing it gives the fighters a sense of belonging to something. No fighter trains alone and they all need a support group to be successful. The IFL makes this a built-in situation. The teams are all on salary so the fighters only have to worry about training and fighting, as opposed to having to work a separate job and doing MMA around that. They all get win bonuses and a bunch of other really cool stuff.

For more info go to www.IFL.tv

A: So you’re slowing down your workload, I see…

S: Hahaha, that’s funny. Naw, I’m just getting warmed up. Wait till I direct my first feature film this year, somewhere in between all this other activity. I’m not going to say much more about it other than it’s relatively low-budget, set in Los Angeles and has a lot of fights in it. What? You were expecting a remake of “The Sound of Music?” Hahaha…

Eventually I will be the host, or ‘presenter’ as you say in the UK, for a big-time talk show that focuses on the wild world of MMA. This is something I have been wanting for a while now. And I don’t care if it’s in the US…or in England! (Laughs)

There are a few other groundbreaking deals that are on my plate right now too. I can’t get into the details right now but trust me, I may be seeing a significant change in my lifestyle if things go as planned.

A: That’s great. You have worked on a number of TV and film projects, any experiences that stand out in your mind?

S: As an actor I have been blessed to have had the pleasure to work with some great people, like:

Cuba Gooding Jr. – We starred opposite each other on a 60 commercial that debuted at half-time during Super Bowl XXXIII on Sunday, January 31, 1999. In it Cuba persuades me, the leader of a "Reservoir Dogs" style gang, to try the latest in low cal soft drinks from Pepsi.

David Caruso on C.S.I. Miami – to me David is one of the greatest actors on television. Peter Falk. Those three were so classy and accommodating on the set.

Peter Falk on Columbo – He is such a towering figure, yet so easy to work with. He is one of the classiest guys in the business.

But it’s hard to top working with Chuck Norris on Walker, Texas Ranger. It was the premiere of, I think, the sixth season and I was in almost every scene. It was a great guest lead role for me. I portrayed a US Marine who goes AWOL to track down a drug dealer who murdered my sister, who was a DEA agent. And I got to fight the man, Chuck who fought THE MAN…BRUCE LEE! (*Norris fought Bruce Lee onscreen in Enter The Dragon) Chuck Norris, and the whole crew for that matter, treated me extremely well. I don’t forget things like that.

Working with Jet Li on Cradle 2 The Grave (Warner Bros) was pretty incredible too. I actually did not deal with him directly, but we got to hang out a bit. The fight choreographer was the great Corey Yuen. Besides making a brief appearance in the film I was fight technical advisor for the big cage fight scene. They wanted some UFC guys for that so I hired Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. They all did an excellent job.

And of course there was when I starred in a low budget horror flick with Traci Lords. It was called Shock ‘Em Dead and it’s really hard to find. I played a nerdy guitar player who makes a deal with a voodoo woman to become a rockstar. And of course my character fall in love with Traci in the movie… That was fun!

A: What do you think of direction of MMA right now with things like the UFC buying WEC and Pride? MMA becoming more mainstream and so on.

S: The UFC’s, or more specifically, the Fertitta brothers’ purchase of Pride potentially has some extremely good possibilities. I look forward to how that all plays out. Hopefully they will use the power wisely.

Eventually we must have the same rules for every MMA organization. Personally I feel that elbow strikes to the head must be eliminated and that knees to an opponent’s head on the ground should be made legal. I feel this is the best merger between the UFC and Pride rule structures.

A: As always great to catch up with you!

S: Are you kidding me? I really appreciate you taking the time to interview me Alan! We always have so much fun! I’d like to give a shout out and a hefty THANKS to all my friends and all the fans who have always supported me. Believe me, the best is yet to come for The Fight Professor!

You can visit Mr. Quadros at his official website at:
www.StephenQuadros.com

Or on MySpace at:
www.MySpace.com/StephenQuadros

Visit Mr. Quadros on the worldwide web at: www.StephenQuadros.com

Alan Orr is a disciple of Robert Chu Sifu and the European representative of the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun system.

He is also the UK representative for Guro Mark Wiley in the Filipino martial arts and Sensei Eddy Millis of Shark Tank in NHB/Grappling.

Web: www.alanorr.com

For further information Tel: 07958 908 196 or email: info@alanorr.co.uk

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