MMA Warlike Interview with:
Phillipe Gentry
What is your nickname and if you do have a nickname how did you
get it? I have a few nicknames. The 2 I hear the most are Phillie which is
just short for Phillipe I guess. The second one is Tagarella which means
chatterbox in Portuguese. Apparently, I talk a lot.
How do you separate fighting and your personal life? The
difficulty for me is not separating from my personal life as much as separating
it from my professional life. My wife and son are supportive of me
fighting. However, I'm still responsible for supporting them financially.
I run a couple of start up companies right now on top of selling real
estate which is my primary income. All of my start ups are Jiu Jitsu and MMA
related but, real estate obviously is not. So, I have to put on my game
face and go sell homes until some of my other businesses take off. My
other companies are Lutador Grappling, Wicked Jitsu and I just partnered up
with my stand up coach and another partner to open up Eagle Fighting Systems which
is a MMA gym here in GA.
Why fight MMA? Honestly... it's addicting. As a brown belt
in Jiu Jitsu, I'm familiar with competition and have always enjoyed it.
However, I really just did my last fight just to help promote my other
companies. It kinda backfired though and now I'm hooked. LOL
There's nothing like the energy and anticipation of getting in the cage.
It's such a rush. Now, I plan on fighting 2 more amateur fights and
then going pro. I'll probably build a pro-record over the next couple of
years to help me with my gym. I love teaching and I believe that as a
teacher I need a little more experience in the cage to go along with my Jiu
Jitsu experience.
Who is the best MMA fighter in your opinion? Wow, there's so many great
fighters out there it's hard to say who the best is. Stylistically, I
like the Jiu Jitsu black belts that have developed their striking like BJ Penn,
Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Nick Diaz and Jacare De Souza.
Who was your toughest opponent? I know this is a MMA interview but, my
toughest opponent actually came in the BJJ world. His name is Chace Wheaton.
We are on the same team now but, we fought each other in 06' and he beat
me via submission. That loss rocketed my training to another level.
I never had been dominated like that before and I never wanted to be
dominated like that again.
Where do you train and who are your trainers? I train my Jiu Jitsu at
What do you look for in other fighters? I'm not sure I understand
this question. As far as my students are concerned I look for natural
ability combined with heart, dedication and persistence. Training and
fighting is a roller coaster. You have good and bad days. I look
for people that keep coming back no matter what. People that have something
to prove to themselves above all others.
When I'm looking for opponents for myself, I look for someone that has equal or
more experienced and can really push me. I haven't fought anyone with
less wins than me to date.
What motivates you to fight? Like I said earlier, it's kinda
addicting. I love the energy from the crowd and the entensity of the fight
itself. My ultimate goal is to learn how to be a better teacher through
fighting myself. I really don't aspire to be the WEC champ or anything
like that. I'm getting started a little late for that in my opinion.
I'm already 30 years old.
What would you do if you were not a fighter? I would do the same
things I'm doing now except not fight. Fighting doesn't pay the bills or
anything.
If you could fight anyone in the sport of MMA, who would it be and why? If
you play tennis you could call someone out like Roger Federer or Pete Sampras
and if you lose it's no problem. You've got no bumps or bruises. You just
lost a tennis match. However, if yiou call someone out in MMA, you can
end up in the hospital. I think it's better to take a look at whoever a
matchmaker puts in front of you as opposed to calling people out.
If you could fight anyone NOT in the sport, who would it be and why? There's
a few democrats I would love to punch in the face but, that's a different
conversation all together. LOL
Have you any superstition or mania on fighting days? Not really.
I'm sure like most other fighters, there is a lot of nervous energy
followed by a state of calm confidence. I do light yoga and breathing exercises
about an hour before I fight. That's probably the only different type
thing I do prior to a fight. Oh, I also eat a lollipop.
When will we be seeing you fight again? It looks like I'm going to
be fighting March 20th at the Charleston Coliseum. We are still working
out some kinks in the contract but, I think it's going to happen. If not
I will probably fight in April or May here in
Do you know who you will be fighting? Not yet.
Are there Fans, Friends or sponsors you would like to thank and give a shout
out to? Yes, I would like to thank Sponsored Fan, Lutador Grappling, Wicked
Jitsu, Pro Sport Chiropractic and my wife, son and all my training partners and
coaches. Without them I wouldn't be who I am today.
How can folks contact you? They can reach me through my manager, Jeff
Chasner at Sponsored Fan- www.sponsoredfan.com <http://www.sponsoredfan.com/>
<http://www.sponsoredfan.com>