\Bryan Caraway

Former WEC fighter, Bryan "Kid Lightning" Caraway, returned to Tacoma WA on Feb 19th and beat Shorty Weikel via a 1st Rd rear naked choke at CageSport XIII.

A week after the bout, Bryan spoke to NWFS about the fight, his training with

Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, and much more..

NW Fightscene: You just beat Shorty Weikel at CageSport XIII. How's it going since the fight?
Bryan Caraway: Its going great. Its always feels good to get a win over an opponent that has a good record.. or just a win in general to get back on the winning streak.

NWFS: Coming into the fight you didn't know too much about him. Do you like that, not knowing too much about an opponent?
Caraway: Naturally, I really want to know. But I think I do better when I don't know too much, so I don't over analyze things. I knew a little bit. I knew enough of what I needed to know. Just by seeing his record you could tell he was a ground guy.

NWFS: In the fight, you got a 1st round rear naked choke win. And not even a scratch on you. Talk about the fight.
Caraway: Yeah, it worked out really good in my favor. I've been working so hard with my standup and just everything. Working with world-class guys everyday. When you go up to anybody else and they're not world-class, it just seems easy, makes everything easy. Came out there and hit him with my signature fake shot left hook right straight. That rocked him a little bit. Followed up with another right straight and he didn't like my hands after that anymore. I think I rocked him a little bit and he fell back on his heels and shot a really sloppy shot. And I sprawled to a head lock, took his back, and it took me a little bit. He's got a lot of heart, hanging onto my gloves and wrist control, but once I got free I beat him up a little bit. Got him bloody and softened him up a little bit, and sunk in the rear naked choke.

NWFS: You're training with world-class guys down at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento. Talk about who you're training with.
Caraway: Like I said, I train with some of the best guys in the world. The likes of Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, Dustin Akbari. We just have a whole house full of just bad-assed guys in the smaller weights. We have a lot of up and coming guys too that are not even known, that are just studs. TJ Dillashaw, he's a NCAA Division One wrestler. He's only been training for about two years and the kid's striking is already phenomenal. Awesome scrambler wrestler, gets his subs. He's going to be doing big things here real soon. Our team is just phenomenal... No matter who you go with in our gym, even if its with a guy you've never heard of, you're going to get a good workout. And it just makes everything else seem easy.

NWFS: You've been fighting for a long time having previously been with Victory Athletics and now at Team Alpha Male. Talk about the differences between then and now.
Caraway: I actually started out with Yakima Mixed Martial Arts and Rich Guerin. I was at their gym for like 3 years. Dennis [Hallman's Victory Athletics] was a big part of my career too, but it wasn't as long. Was there about 2 years... The biggest difference between being at Victory Athletics and being down here is having a lot of world-class athletes and a lot of consistency. Having a gym where there's a lot of other athletes putting in a lot of time that don't have to work jobs. I think that's the biggest thing. Victory Athletics has top talented guys but they have to work 9 to 5 jobs. And you don't really have people training on a world-class level like they should, with their job being fighting, training 9 to 5. Here at Alpha male, the training is a lot more consistent. Guys, that's all they do here is fight. So there's morning practices, afternoon practices.. its just basically making me more consistent and the team is making me more accountable for being there to train.

NWFS: Any fights coming up for you?
Caraway: I'm back on the phone trying to find another fight man. I'm tired of only getting two fights a year, fighting 7 months apart. It really messes with my psyche and the ring rust. And I feel really confident after this last fight and I just want to get back on the horse. Hopefully I can land something at the end of March or definitely something in April. 

NWFS: How do you feel about the merger with the WEC and the UFC?
Caraway: I am super, super stoked. Basically its going to start helping get recognition to 145 & 135 lb divisions. I still believe these are the best fighters by far in the world. We have the best cardio, the best technique, the best scrambles, & we still have knockout power. We're wearing 4 ounce gloves.. And now we get to show the world how good we are because the UFC brand is so dominant. Having them backing us is going to allow us to get more fan base, [which] in return allows us to get more pay. So I'm really stoked about that.

NWFS: Where do you see the sport of mixed martial arts headed in ten years?
Caraway: Right now, mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world. Its blowing up. In the last couple years, its quadrupled in size, maybe even more.. tenfold. Its ridiculous. I pray everyday that the sport just keeps continuing to grow. And that we end up getting, not necessarily the recognition, but the pay, and getting treated the way we deserve. I believe we are the hardest working athletes in the world. And we get paid considerably less than any other mainstream sport. Other mainstream sports, fifty percent of the gross revenue is going to talent. Right now the UFC being the biggest [MMA] company in the world. I recently read an article and I actually ran the numbers myself, on how much they reported they made off their pay-per-view, and what the total fighter payout was. And it was at 6 percent, what that talent got on paper. They got six percent of their gross revenue. So its pretty ridiculous. I hope in ten years we can be getting paid like what we deserve, like NFL and NBA players.

NWFS: Do you ever think that MMA will become an Olympic sport?
Caraway: I do actually think that. They've had Pankration around, for a long long time. And I think MMA will eventually evolve into an Olympic sport. I don't necessarily think its going to be exactly like you see in the UFC. I think they'll put in a little more rules, a little bit of tweaks on it and stuff, but I think you'll start seeing MMA in the Olympics here before too long.

NWFS: Any one you'd like to give shoutouts to? 
Caraway: First and foremost, I'd like to thank God. Through Him, all things can be achieved. I'd like to thank my family, for their support through thick and thin. I'd like to thank my mom for she's always been there pushing me since I was a little kid. Getting me involved in wrestling and just pushing me to be the person I am today. I'd like to thank Miesha Tate, my girlfriend and training partner, for helping me through all the tough times. And being there with me through the good and the bad. I'd like to thank Fight University, Vicious Fightgear, Team Alpha Male, Form Athletics, and all my training partners. Victory Athletics and Dennis Hallman. Yakima MMA & Rich Guerin. And last but not least NW Fightscene.