Its not everyday fans of MMA can come to terms with their past love in Pro Wrestling, but with the debut of Brock Lesnar in the UFC, that may change. Despite Brock's failed attempt to defeat Frank Mir in his debut fight, Brock still impressed a lot of people and possibly set the path for more pro-wrestlers to try their hand at Mixed Martial Arts.
Though Brock wasn't the first to do such thing as others like Yugi Nagata beat him to it. Brock's impact will no doubt go down as the biggest though.
Catching up with another pro-wrestler this week, we're interviewing a man that comes from a rich traditional of fighting in Jacob Mitchell. Jake is a Hawaii born independent professional wrestler with ties into MMA running from "Scrapyard," "Chute Boxe" and of course "Team Punishment." Many MMA fans know of Jake Mitchell from his background in Icon Sport [or Rumble on the Rock] events as well as his few fights in K-1.
MMAJunkie.com caught up with Jake to get his opinion on Brock Lesnar, his MMA career and some other subjects.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Jake, its been a while since we've heard from you, how are you doing?
JACOB MITCHELL: I'm doing good, just got back into the wrestling business and its looking pretty strong.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Thats good to hear. Though let me ask you about another pro-wrestler and thats Brock Lesnar. What do you think of Brock and how the fight with Frank Mir went down?
JACOB MITCHELL: I think Brock looked extremely good. He had the fight, but he made a rookie mistake in giving up position to a guy with BJJ knowledge like Mir. The ref's decision to stand both guys up really crippled Brock's chances of winning it. I think if he didn't hammer Mir in the back of the head and instead got a better position, it would of been stoppage via strikes.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: You share the same opinion with the rest of the internet.
JACOB MITCHELL: The internet MMA fans are smart.. Some of them are haters, but they're smart.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Any site in particular you feel are "haters?"
JACOB MITCHELL: The people that post on the forums at Sherdog are some of the worse. Most of them are irritating too. Like with St. Pierre and Shogun. People say St. Pierre is the next of kin to God - Which he is to an extent. GSP is an awesome fighter, I'll never take anything away from him but people don't criticise him for losing to Serra who's also a top notch fighter. But then you've got someone like Mauricio who I know on a personal level and they break him down 'cause his first fight in the octagon was a lost to Forrest. People think Forrest is a chump for some stupid reason.. Just watch him eat Bonnar's best and nearly beat my boy Tito. If you're gonna hate on someone - Then hate on everyone that falls under the same circumstances, you know?
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Yeah, we do see that a lot. Would you compare MMA Fans to Wrestling Fans, e-Wise?
JACOB MITCHELL: To an extent, yeah. The difference with MMA and Wrestling fans is the big line of Wrestling fans knowing what'll happen in most cases. Independent fans don't have the luxury of knowing who's gonna show up when and who's gonna be champion until what time.. Which is the same deal as MMA Fans. You can't compare WWE or TNA fans with MMA fans because WWE and TNA smarks know whos gonna walk out on the top and who's not -- MMA fans don't. They only got their gut to rely on.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: What made you pick Pro Wrestling over MMA anyway? From what we saw and heard, you could of been something special and had a lot to offer.
JACOB MITCHELL: I don't know to be honest. I guess wrestling is a family business and I was looked at to carry the banner in the next generation. Though.. Maybe I can try other options now that my nephew is breaking into the business too. He can carry the banner for my family while I persue a career in Mixed Martial Arts.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Are you announcing your move to MMA?
JACOB MITCHELL: haha, I'm just going over my options! But its a possibility that I won't ever close the door on.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Can you go over your different ties in MMA? From the people you know to how you met them?
JACOB MITCHELL: Well, the first MMA guy I can remember meeting was Dennis Alexio. He was a kickboxer from Hawaii and is actually a cousin to my first cousin. Then, of course I knew Kimo.. After Kimo, me and my dad were introduced to the Gracie Family and I got to know Royce who's a real good guy. I also got to met Kyra [Gracie] and we'd see each other off and on when she'd come to Hawaii and because we're so close in age it was cool. Until this day we still hang-out when we're in the same place.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Wow, Kyra Gracie is a pretty tough chick.
JACOB MITCHELL: She's tougher than a lot of guys I know and that says something.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: I bet. Anyway, please continue.
JACOB MITCHELL: Then of course I know BJ as when you're a celebrity in Hawaii you grow to meet other celebrities. BJ is a solid guy, we kick back and drink once in a while when I'm at home. I know Chute Boxe fighters because I went to Brazil with my brother and got to check out the Chute Boxe academy. I met them and they're cool people just a little language barrier there. I learned some Portuguese 'cause thats my heritage but they rap.. And I didn't know what the hell they were saying until they started speaking English and we were good after that. I met Tito.. When I was.. In California during a show with some company. I recognized him and went up to talk to him and to my surprise he knew who I was. Tito man, he's overlooked as a bad guy.. When he's a cool guy with a win attitude.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: You train with any of those people?
JACOB MITCHELL: I've been training with BJ during my last hiatus from wrestling. I was bouncing back and forth from BJ's camp, to Big Bear with Punishment and with Wanderlei and The Ruas. Its been extensive but I've learned a lot. My BJJ has grown so much.. As well as my Muay Thai. Working with BJ is solid, 'cause he's a workhorse and won't let you go by learning just some. If you're working with him, you're gonna bust your ass until you know what you're doing. Same goes for Tito. I was working with Kendall [Grove], Solomon [Hutchinson] and [Matt] Hamil in Vegas and I got a taste of Hamil's amateur wrestling for a bit until Tito pointed a few things out and I capitalized on. Silva is a beast and the Rua's aren't no joke neither. By mixing all those different elements I had the oppurtunity to see different aspects of MMA and learn so much.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: What do you think of pro-wrestlers stepping into MMA?
JACOB MITCHELL: I think if you're trained properly then go for it. But if you're thinking its fun and games.. Don't bother. People get their asses handed to them. If you're serious about trying a different aspect to combat sports, then go for it. I know a few of my friends are heavy into MMA like I am. Cross for example usually watches fights with me and we go over what we would of done in situations.. Just to compare opinions to see what each would do.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: How long do you think it'll be before more pro-wrestlers start the crossover?
JACOB MITCHELL: Brock is gonna start a trend in America. Soon, you're gonna see a lot of wrestlers moving into MMA. Even though Brock wasn't the first to make the move.. He's by far the most significant.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Lets jump ahead to next month.. Silva versus Henderson - Whats your prediction?
JACOB MITCHELL: I'm a PRIDE fan to the death and this is a dream matchup. Hollywood versus The Spider.. Its rough and close to call but I think Anderson's got it. Though, I'm not counting Hendo out because he's capable of pulling the win out. I'm routing for both.. As its a good matchup, definitely one of the best in the UFC.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: One last question Jake. If you could fight anyone in the world under MMA rules. who would it be?
JACOB MITCHELL: Tim Sylvia. I don't like him and I think I could knock him out with one clean right.
MMAJUNKIE.COM: Anyone else?
JACOB MITCHELL: Nah thats about it. Knocking out Sylvia would definitely make my day.
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