Vigilante MMA

Our exclusive special correspondent Nam Phan is back to bring you all the details of this past week’s show.  Find out who Marc Stevens blamed for his (insanely quick) loss to Cody McKenzie, what Jonathan Brookins does to stay so relaxed and why Stevens threatened to suffocate Nam with a pillow.  Hilarity ensues. 

VigilanteMMA:  That was a crazy show last night huh?

Nam Phan:  What a show, what a show.  Look at that.  We get one win, go nuts, and then what happens?  Two of our guys get put to sleep (laughs).

VigilanteMMA:  Speaking of Team Koscheck “going nuts,” they didn’t show a lot of “house drama” if you will, but did mention the tension between the two teams.  Was it as bad as it looked?

Nam Phan:  I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.  I mean, both teams were just kind of teasing each other back and forth, but maybe we took it a little too far with the whole “banging on the wall incident.”  I don’t think they appreciated that.

ViglanteMMA:  But as you already said, they got their revenge in the cage.  I have to admit, I was pretty shocked with the outcome of Stevens vs. McKenzie.  That was one quick fight.

Nam Phan:  We told Stevens numerous times not to shoot but to try to stand and go for the knockout.  But all he kept saying was, “this guy can’t guillotine me” and “he hasn’t fought anyone like me.”

VigilanteMMA:  Hmm, that took all of 20 seconds to dispel.  When you talk all that crap, it sure makes the fall from grace that much further.  What did he say after he awoke from his little nap courtesy of McKenzie?

Nam Phan:  After his loss, he blamed Koscheck because he said he didn’t fight well against taller guys.  And that he would have preferred to fight Dane Sayers and that his mind wasn’t set on McKenzie.

VigilanteMMA:  Funny you didn’t hear all of those excuses prior to the fight.  As you said, he sounded very arrogant.  Did Koscheck hear that he blamed him?

Nam Phan:  Yeah, Koscheck heard that Stevens tried to blame him for his loss.  So he told everybody, “In the end, I can coach you all you want, and it doesn’t matter who you fight, because you need to be ready to fight anyone.”  And then he said, “In the end, you’re the one that’s fighting.  I’m not fighting, you’re fighting.  And though I may be coaching you, when something’s not working, YOU need to do what it takes to win.”

VigilanteMMA:  On the other end of the spectrum, you have a guy like Cody McKenzie.  I thought it was interesting hearing what he had to say to you prior to the fight.  He’s a very humble guy.

Nam Phan:  Yeah he is.  I mean I’m asking him what advantages Stevens has over him, and he listed all of these things, like he’s more athletic, better wrestler, etc.  And then I asked him what he’s bringing to the table, and he simply says “I’m going to win.”  I was just like, “wow.”

VigilanteMMA:  So let’s talk about the other fight last night with Jonathon Brookins and Sevak Magakian.  That’s another fight featuring two different personalities.  Sevak is pretty intense whereas Brookins seems very laid back.

Nam Phan:  We (Brookins) were roommates.  Yeah, he’s just very chill, very down to earth.  He was my best friend in the house.  I have nothing but good things to say about that guy.  He’s very soft-spoken, very articulate.  At night, he’d just sit in the backyard and write in his journal and sip his tea.

VigilanteMMA:  Very cool.  What did you think of Sevak’s chances?

Nam Phan:  I thought Sevak would do very well.  I’m familiar with him from the California circuit, and he’s done very well.

VigilanteMMA:  So were you surprised by the outcome?

Nam Phan:  I actually didn’t see it.  How the fights actually happened was, it was Stevens vs. McKenzie all by itself, and then Sevak vs. Brookins and Sako vs. Sayers on the same day.  So when Sevak was fighting, I didn’t get to see it because I was in the back warming up Psycho (Sako).

VigilanteMMA:  Interesting.  It was another quick fight.  After seeing it last night, were you surprised that it ended that quickly?

Nam Phan:  Apparently Sevak went in with bruised ribs.  We were sparring and I ended up dropping him with a kick to the body.

VigilanteMMA:  Do you think that hindered his chances against Brookins?

Nam Phan:  I don’t know.  He thought so.  Apparently after the fight he told Brookins that he had hurt his ribs and that he would have done a lot better if he was 100%.

VigilanteMMA:  So in other words, we can blame you for Sevak losing then.

Nam Phan:  Here’s my theory on that.  If you’re hurt, don’t fight.  But if you’re hurt and you fight, you can’t complain.  I’m saying, if you lose, don’t take the glory away from the other guy by making excuses.

VigilanteMMA:  Well said.  Besides, it looks like you took Koscheck’s lecture back in episode 3 to heart about you guys not taking it easy in practice?

Nam Phan:  Funny you should mention.  The same thing happened with Marc Stevens.  He and I were sparring and he cracks me hard.  So I’m like, OK, and I drop him with a leg kick to the body.  Then he’s complaining all day about me sparring hard, whining about the body kick.  So the next day, Stevens tells me “If you drop me today, when you sleep I’m going to suffocate you with a pillow.

VigilanteMMA:  Seriously?  What did you do?

Nam Phan:  I put a finger up to his face, and said “Listen, the only reason I dropped you was because you cracked me.  You hit me hard.  You hit me hard, I’m going to hit you hard.  And today when we spar, if you go hard, I’m going hard.”

VigilanteMMA:  It sounds like you and Marc Stevens won’t be going to the movies anytime together.  Where’s the bad blood stem from?

Nam Phan:  I’m just not impressed with him as a fighter or as a person.  In the beginning I thought he was OK, but towards the end, I thought he was very questionable.

VigilanteMMA:  I think we’re all starting to see that.  Anyway Nam, that’s all we have today.  Thank you again for your time and we’ll talk to you next week.

Nam Phan:  OK, thanks guys.

To learn more about Nam, make sure you friend him on facebook and find him at his personal page, iamnam.com