10 Questions With Nick Moghaddam (5/30/2009)
Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 1:38 pm
10 Questions With Nick Moghaddam (by Darrick Patrick)
Nick "The Mercenary" Moghaddam is a professional mixed martial artist who has appeared in organizations such as Valor Fighting, Gladiator Challenge, California Xtreme Fighting, and Orange County MMA Championships. At the time of this interview, his next scheduled match is against Lamar Jiles in Bellator Fighting Championships at BFC 10 on June 5th, 2009.
Darrick: What was the journey that led you to professional mixed martial arts competition?
Nick: I had a successful football career in North Carolina and when I finished school I had a few good friends that were instructors at LA Boxing in Costa Mesa. That was in 2004 and from there I started training full-time in Jiu-Jitsu with Allan Goes, eventually competing in many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions. It was a very natural progression after being a Jiu-Jitsu champion in many big BJJ organizations that I started to focus on my MMA career.
Darrick: Who are a few of the people in sport that you highly respect?
Nick: First off would be Allan Goes since he turned me into a Jiu-Jitsu champion and psychologically prepared me to fight in professional mixed martial arts. I've watched some of his legendary fights and in my opinion he has the best Jiu-Jitsu in MMA. Another person that I really respect is the late Carlson Gracie. He shared his knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu around the world when all of the other Gracie brothers were trying to keep BJJ a secret within their own family. Also, my MMA/kickboxing coach Sean McCully was one of the first Americans to start fighting MMA in Japan back in the '90s. He fought in the heavyweight class of K-1, although he started his career as a lightweight and he's only 5' 8'' - that took a lot of balls and I respect that. Last but not least, I've never seen anyone with a work ethic like Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos.
Darrick: Your next scheduled fight is against Lamar Jiles on June 5th. What are your thoughts about this upcoming match?
Nick: Well, I've been training with a do-or-die attitude for this fight with Lamar. I'm either going to do this man in or die trying. I have been training very, very hard. Evangelista Cyborg kicked me in the head twenty minutes ago, so this fight should be easy compared to my training!
Darrick: What brings you the most fulfillment out of martial arts?
Nick: The number one most fulfilling aspect is that I'm a competitor and I love to compete. Another thing that I really enjoy is teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to my adult students and my younger students, but especially the kids. When I show them a technique and they execute it perfectly, those kids will never forget that Jiu-Jitsu lesson and it will stick with them for the rest of their life. I really like watching my students win BJJ competitions, that makes me very happy. Generally, I like to spread my knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to as many people as I can. I think it's a great sport and everyone deserves to learn great Jiu-Jitsu. The last thing I highly enjoy about martial arts is that you never stop learning and can learn something new almost every day.
Darrick: Who is someone that greatly influenced you while growing up?
Nick: As far back as I can remember, my high school football coach Mike Bargas was my greatest influence.
Darrick: Any words of advice for other individuals looking to train in MMA?
Nick: Find a good coach with a good team and stick with them.
Darrick: Outside of martial arts, what are your other interests?
Nick: Surfing, snowboarding, dirtbiking, nightlife, and really hot females.
Darrick: Tell us something about you that most people don't know.
Nick: I am a college graduate and I got a full-ride scholarship for football to a Division 1-A school. I went to East Carolina University and majored in Communications.
Darrick: What is your oldest memory?
Nick: When I was about ten years old, my dad brought home the first UFC tournament. My twin brother Chris, my dad, and I sat on the couch to watch UFC 1. I totally remember Gerard Gordeau throw a roundhouse kick to the Sumo wrestler Teila Tuli's face and he knocked his teeth out into the fourth row of the stands.
Darrick: If you were stranded in a jungle with only three items, what would they be?
Nick: The first thing would be a machete so that I could go hunting for food and secondly I would have iodine pills so that I can have clean drinking water. The last one isn't hard at all - I would have Miss November with me. You guys know why! (Laughs)
FOR OTHER EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS BY DARRICK PATRICK:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4974388&blogID=343519835
You can also check out Nick Moghaddam in the following places:
Official Nick Moghaddam MySpace Profile:
http://www.myspace.com/spartanjujitsu
Nick Moghaddam on Fight Finder:
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Nick-Moghaddam-17779
Nick "The Mercenary" Moghaddam is a professional mixed martial artist who has appeared in organizations such as Valor Fighting, Gladiator Challenge, California Xtreme Fighting, and Orange County MMA Championships. At the time of this interview, his next scheduled match is against Lamar Jiles in Bellator Fighting Championships at BFC 10 on June 5th, 2009.
Darrick: What was the journey that led you to professional mixed martial arts competition?
Nick: I had a successful football career in North Carolina and when I finished school I had a few good friends that were instructors at LA Boxing in Costa Mesa. That was in 2004 and from there I started training full-time in Jiu-Jitsu with Allan Goes, eventually competing in many Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions. It was a very natural progression after being a Jiu-Jitsu champion in many big BJJ organizations that I started to focus on my MMA career.
Darrick: Who are a few of the people in sport that you highly respect?
Nick: First off would be Allan Goes since he turned me into a Jiu-Jitsu champion and psychologically prepared me to fight in professional mixed martial arts. I've watched some of his legendary fights and in my opinion he has the best Jiu-Jitsu in MMA. Another person that I really respect is the late Carlson Gracie. He shared his knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu around the world when all of the other Gracie brothers were trying to keep BJJ a secret within their own family. Also, my MMA/kickboxing coach Sean McCully was one of the first Americans to start fighting MMA in Japan back in the '90s. He fought in the heavyweight class of K-1, although he started his career as a lightweight and he's only 5' 8'' - that took a lot of balls and I respect that. Last but not least, I've never seen anyone with a work ethic like Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos.
Darrick: Your next scheduled fight is against Lamar Jiles on June 5th. What are your thoughts about this upcoming match?
Nick: Well, I've been training with a do-or-die attitude for this fight with Lamar. I'm either going to do this man in or die trying. I have been training very, very hard. Evangelista Cyborg kicked me in the head twenty minutes ago, so this fight should be easy compared to my training!
Darrick: What brings you the most fulfillment out of martial arts?
Nick: The number one most fulfilling aspect is that I'm a competitor and I love to compete. Another thing that I really enjoy is teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to my adult students and my younger students, but especially the kids. When I show them a technique and they execute it perfectly, those kids will never forget that Jiu-Jitsu lesson and it will stick with them for the rest of their life. I really like watching my students win BJJ competitions, that makes me very happy. Generally, I like to spread my knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to as many people as I can. I think it's a great sport and everyone deserves to learn great Jiu-Jitsu. The last thing I highly enjoy about martial arts is that you never stop learning and can learn something new almost every day.
Darrick: Who is someone that greatly influenced you while growing up?
Nick: As far back as I can remember, my high school football coach Mike Bargas was my greatest influence.
Darrick: Any words of advice for other individuals looking to train in MMA?
Nick: Find a good coach with a good team and stick with them.
Darrick: Outside of martial arts, what are your other interests?
Nick: Surfing, snowboarding, dirtbiking, nightlife, and really hot females.
Darrick: Tell us something about you that most people don't know.
Nick: I am a college graduate and I got a full-ride scholarship for football to a Division 1-A school. I went to East Carolina University and majored in Communications.
Darrick: What is your oldest memory?
Nick: When I was about ten years old, my dad brought home the first UFC tournament. My twin brother Chris, my dad, and I sat on the couch to watch UFC 1. I totally remember Gerard Gordeau throw a roundhouse kick to the Sumo wrestler Teila Tuli's face and he knocked his teeth out into the fourth row of the stands.
Darrick: If you were stranded in a jungle with only three items, what would they be?
Nick: The first thing would be a machete so that I could go hunting for food and secondly I would have iodine pills so that I can have clean drinking water. The last one isn't hard at all - I would have Miss November with me. You guys know why! (Laughs)
FOR OTHER EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS BY DARRICK PATRICK:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4974388&blogID=343519835
You can also check out Nick Moghaddam in the following places:
Official Nick Moghaddam MySpace Profile:
http://www.myspace.com/spartanjujitsu
Nick Moghaddam on Fight Finder:
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Nick-Moghaddam-17779