Photo: WEC.tv
Josh Grispi (13-1) is an undefeated featherweight fighter in the WEC. All his wins in the WEC have been in the first round and his total ring time in the WEC is 3:38! He has been out of action due to surgery on his ankle. Grispi is back and says he is better than ever. Grispi trains in the Northeast with South Side MMA and the Lauzon brothers. Grispi lives at home with his parents and works with his dad roofing buildings. Grispi is set to face L.C. Davis on June 20th in Edmonton, Canada. The winner of the fight is likely to face the winner of Faber vs. Aldo. I got a chance to catch up with Grispi. Enjoy!
EVeezy: Talk about coming back from the ankle injury.
Grispi: Well, I had to get it fixed if I was going to compete with the top 145'ers. After the Jens fight I told myself I have to get this fixed. I mean I could barely walk before I fought Jens. So I got it done and I was out longer than I thought I would be. I thought I would be done withit in a monthand I could go back to training. I was shocked when they told me I would be in a hard cast for a month. (Pauses) Sorry I'm driving. It was pretty hard sitting around not doing anything. I'm usually very active and not doing anything for awhile kind of drove me crazy. After about 3 months I got the cast off started doing physical therapy and training a little bit. I have one more physical therapy session left and I am starting to train hard. It feels awesome because I have no pain at all and it is weird because I am so used to feeling it. I'm feeling real good right now, Kickboxing, Grappling, Conditioning. It feels good to be 100%
EVeezy: Do you ever get nervous in training about your ankle holding up when throwing a kick?
Grispi: Yeah, definitely. I don't want to re-injure it at all. When I throw a kick I tend to go a little bit lighter on it. I have been keeping an eye on it, watching where I step. I think it helps me improve technically. But it hasn't bothered me like I thought it would, it feels real tight, real strong.
EVeezy: You said you are driving, do you ever get any road rage?
Grispi: (Laughs) Sometimes, in Boston I might. I'm pretty good about driving, I am real calm. I like people behind me, that way I don't get road rage.(Laughs)
EVeezy: So what are you driving. What car have you bought with that WEC paycheck?
Grispi: Ah.. a Durango. Yeah. (Laughs) I'm just joking this is my mom's car actually. It's already paid off so I just pay for the insurance. But I mean it's WEC. It's not like I'm drivin' a fringin' Ferrari or something. (Laughs)
EVeezy: I heard you are still roofing with your father. Talk having a job and training.
Grispi: Yeah still roofing part time with my dad, but luckily he is part owner of the company so he gives me a break so I can go train. It's great to have a part-time job, I would love to train full time like most guys ya know. I go to work and I'm tired, but I still have to go in and train. It's kind of crazy, but I'm happy I have a job.
EVeezy: So I heard you like to do a lot of fishing...
Grispi: I'm on my way right now (Laughs)
EVeezy: That's awesome, what do you usually catch? And do you fish at a lake, river, or pond?
Grispi: We go to alot of lakes and ponds and normally we catch Bass. That's what me and my friends do all the time. Even after training or something, I like to go out and fish just to relax.
EVeezy: You are fighting L.C. Davis in Canada, have you ever been outside the U.S.?
Grispi: No I have not. It's going to be a pretty cool experience going there. I have to get a passport so that should take awhile, so I have to get that tomorrow. But I am really excited to go up there!
EVeezy: So your opponent L.C. Davis is a big wrestler, a really strong guy. He brings a different style then you have faced in the WEC. What do you think of him?
Grispi: I don't know if he will be stronger, but I will let him think that at least. (Laughs) He's a real good wrestler, strong lefty. Good takedowns, decent ground and pound. He's got quick hands, but I think I will be a lot taller and use my reach. If he wants to take me down that's fine, Jiu-Jitsu is my main background anyway. So I think it is going to be a great fight.
EVeezy: Do you plan on fishing while your up in Canada?
Grispi: (Laughs) Yeah I wish that would be cool. I don't know anything other than I heard it was cold in Canada. I hate cold weather. I like it when the suns up. I'm a girl when it comes to cold weather.
EVeezy: Massachusetts has been unregulated for a while, what was it like when you were coming up getting fights in the area?
Grispi: Well Massachusetts recently got regulated, but it wasn't awhile ago. The promoters would tell you the name of your opponent, but you could never really find any information on them. I would go on their facebook and MySpace and check out their profiles to find out if they were Kickboxers or Wrestlers. It was pretty fun. I liked fighting locally, it was cool because you get recognized and fight in front of your family. It was pretty crazy, it was exactly as it would be if Massachusetts was regulated. The rules were the same, but some aspects weren't strict I guess.
EVeezy: Did you hear any stories about fighters not getting paid? Or other shady things happening?
Grispi: Oh yeah. That's happened, I heard promoters went out and sold tickets and come fight time there was no fights. Promoters just took the ticket money and left without putting on any fights. There was a lot of shady stuff like that.
EVeezy: What are some of your favorite activities to do in your free time?
Grispi: Me and my cousin Robbie do everything together. We play video games, right now we are playing NHL 2010. Just about every year we buy the new edition. I play a lot of Halo and Gears of War, which is crazy I like that game. Doing outdoor stuff, we are usually running around doing crazy s***.
EVeezy: You are undefeated in the WEC (3-0) do you think you have lived up to your name "The Fluke"?
Grispi: If I find an opening I'm taking it. I am not going in there to feel a guy out, I'm going in there to take my opponents head off. If they want to shoot in, they will run into one of my submissions. If they want to stand they will get knocked out. It looks like a fluke, but I am just going out there and take them out right off the bat.
EVeezy: Talk about the fighting culture in Massachusetts. Is everybody a tough guy? What's it like?
Grispi: Uh... You could say we get into a few scuffles down here. (Laughs) I've gone to other states and I said to myself, "Holy crap these people are nice!" (Laughs) You know California places like that so it is kind of weird. Everybody over here usually has a stick up their ass. (Laughs)
EVeezy: I heard you are traveling out to California to do a Q & A at WEC 48. Are you excited?
Grispi: Yeah it's going to be awesome man. I'm excited! I want to see that fight between Faber and Aldo, it's probably one of the few fights I have wanted to see in awhile.
EVeezy: You have a lot at stake in this fight. You are undefeated right now and with a win against L.C. you are the likely a title challenger.
Grispi: Hopefully I am in that category. If not, I am still 21, I still have a lot of time. I am not in any rush, I have told the WEC every time, "I will fight anyone." Win or lose I just want to go out there and fight. I want to put on a show. I want to fight the best and gain experience.
EVeezy: Dan Henderson is 39 years old he is going to be fighting for the Strikeforce 185 title. Do you see yourself fighting that long?
Grispi: Holy Crap Dan Henderson is 39 years old!? He doesn't look it at all. Probably not honestly. (Laughs) Naw I don't know. I don't look that far into it. I just take it one fight at a time, money is money. Obviously I love to fight, but if I am in that kind of shape maybe.
EVeezy: The most recognizable fighters coming out of the Massachusetts area are not predominately wrestlers. Why is that?
Grispi: I don't know. We have always done Jiu-Jitsu and seen each other at Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. I have been doing that my whole life. I feel that we would rather be on our back trying to submit a guy. Ideally we would like to stand up and trade with an opponent and if our opponent decides to take us down we will look for the submission. Joe has gotten real good with his wrestling and Danny is getting real good too. I don't know, I think that we just like Jiu-Jitsu. We never grew up in a wrestling state if you want to call it that. I don't know man, we have all just done Jiu-Jitsu.
EVeezy: Talk about being on this media bliz and answering the same questions over again.
Grispi: Usually I have a rough idea of what I am going to say anyways. I usually have a set list of what to say or I'll say it the first time and just stick with that answer. Most times it is just about my ankle, and I say "It's doing good and I am training fine."
EVeezy:Talk about being shy in public. Where does that stem from?
Grispi: I think it stems from school. I hate going in front of crowds, I am usually more of a trouble maker. I tried to avoid talking in front of class all the time. I hate it. I hate being in front of people and everybody looking at me. I don't know why I never liked it. So I think it just comes from school. I'm not good at school, I'm just not book smart I guess... I'm good at beating those kids up though (Laughs) No I'm joking!
EVeezy: What's your opinion of the WEC moving to PPV?
Grispi: Yeah, I think it's good man. Hopefully they will be getting money like the UFC does. That'd be good. It's nice that they did free cards for a while to bring in fans and then do the PPV. Smart move on their part by have Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber headlining too.
EVeezy: Would you like to see yourself on free tv or on PPV?
Grispi: I think my next fight is on PPV. I'm not to sure though. Yeah I think it is PPV. I don't really pay attention to it so maybe it's not, but free tv is cool. Some people come up to me and say, "Hey I saw your fight the other day." Not realizing that it is just a replay. I don't know how I feel about that. As long as I finish my fight quick, I don't really care.
EVeezy: Any Sponsors or any shoutouts you wanna give out?
Grispi: Yeah check out joshgrispimma.com all my sponsors are on there so if anyone wants to check it out go there. Thanks to my coaches Scott Lockheart and Bill Moehoney. Steve Maze, Danny and Joe Lauzon and everyone at South Shore Academy.
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