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At Heavyweight for The Seattle Tiger Sharks is
3-time NCAA All-American wrestler Reese Andy. Andy started wrestling in the sixth grade while growing up in Montana. In high school, he established an era of dominance as a
3-time 4-A State Champion. His collegiate wrestling accomplishments culminated to his induction into the Hall of Fame at The University of Wyoming on September 24th, 2004. Andy graduated with an astonishing NCAA record of 110 - 29. Now the 34 year-old athlete is a fierce IFL competitor, and has a solid MMA record of 6-1-0. He co-owns West Coast Fitness in Renton, WA - which keeps his lust for health, fitness and training balanced with his taste for business.
Seattle's Hometown Heavyweight faces a serious powerhouse of an opponent June 1st as he squares off against Krzystof Soszynski from the Los Angeles Anacondas. Soszynski currently has an
MMA record of 12 - 6 - 1,
with an IFL record of 3 - 2 - 0.
NWFS: I appreciate your time for the interview brother! Wow, we were impressed with your gym, West Coast Fitness, when we came out!
Reese Andy: Thanks for taking the time out.
NWFS: You have a ton of great equipment, and are set up very nicely. What's it like running your own gym?
Andy:
It's still not real to me yet. Sometimes I feel like [I should be] answering to somebody when decisions are made.
NWFS: West Coast Fitness is a partner of Xtreme Caged Combat 5, a mixed martial arts event taking place in The Tacoma Dome on June 2nd, the night after you fight in Everett for The IFL. Tell us about the event and what we can expect.
Andy: The event is jammed packed, We've got 22 fights expecting to be done. The show is going to start way early with some of the debut fighters first. We have about 5 representing West Coast Fight Team.
There's only two who have had fight experience from West Coast. The main show will get on
it's way at 8pm. The show itself should have knockouts, plenty of grappling and tapouts for the night when you got that many fighters throwing down!!
NWFS: How has your life changed now that you've been in The
IFL for over a year?
Andy: Life has changed quite a bit. In the past workouts were hit and miss and I
didn't know when I was fighting again. With the IFL we know when, and our team is hooking up to compete so we are always working out... Our bodies feel it and we all have nagging injuries.
I'm sure the rest of the league is feeling the same.
NWFS: With a wrestling background, then history training with Matt Hume & AMC, your game is really coming together with the kickboxing techniques from Maurice, isn't it?
Andy: Yes, the game has changed for me personally. I tended to do more grappling and wrestling with Matt. Now with Maurice
it's flipped, he likes to keep the fight on the feet. 75% of our practice is staying on the feet. The team says
I'm getting things going and that's good to hear, but
there's still room for a large improvement I think.
NWFS: You're coming off a submission win over Adam Maciejewski the Red Bears in April. That was a hard fought bout wasn't it?!?
Andy: The fight itself was less difficult than past wins. Maybe things are just gelling together more for me - and Adam is still tough!
NWFS: Next up on your schedule is a bout against the tough Krzysztof Soszynski . How do you feel you match up with him?
Andy: This is good test and good match-up. Krzysztof is coming off some good wins and
he's not cutting down to make 265. I'm going to be weighing in around 210 and Maurice thinks
he's going to come in lighter around 235 to be quicker. I think I will be faster to the punch and takedown, and should be able to stay out of any submission attempts.
I'm expecting to win a long fight and hard head from
Krzysztof.
NWFS: How do you think The Anacondas match up against the Tiger Sharks?
Andy: The Anacondas are the team to beat currently. The match-up is unique with grapplers against strikers on both sides of the team. We are excited for it and have been training hard.
NWFS: Isn't this going to be your first fight in Washington as a pro?
Andy: Yes it is!
NWFS: Are you beginning to get recognized by fans in public?
Andy: A few have asked about the IFL when
I've worn a shirt but not me personally. I'm under the radar still.
NWFS: That may not last very long. Where do you see yourself in five years? What are your goals?
Andy: The million dollar question. I could be done fighting and living in Washington state in 5 years.
I'm going to see what the league is planning to do with the contracts and salaries. In the end, I will have to wait and see if Maurice sends me out to the pasture. Maurice has kidded around because I get up slow sometimes and grunt. He smiles and says,
"What's wrong now?!?". I shake my head and tell him,
"I'm here right!?!" My main goal is to get competition over with. My body feels better when
I'm in fight shape. Getting out of shape and regrouping to get back in is real work.
NWFS:
Best of luck in Everett - we'll see you June 1st! Make
the NW proud, eh?
Andy:
Let's roll!
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