10 Questions With Sean Loeffler (12/19/2009)

[DarrickPatrick]

10 Questions With Sean Loeffler (by Darrick Patrick)

Sean "The Destroyer" Loeffler is a professional mixed martial artist who has appeared in organizations such as King Of The Cage, Total Fighting Alliance, Cajun Fighting Championships, Gladiator Challenge, Havice Prizefighting, South Bay Promotions, Total Combat, International Fighting & Boxing League, Cage Of Fire, Reto Maximo, and Kage Kombat. At the time of this interview, his next scheduled match may be against Daniel Hernandez at Called Out MMA 2 on January 24th, 2010.

Darrick: What was the road that led you to professional mixed martial arts competition?

Sean: My personal journey through the world of professional mixed martial arts has been a strenuous, yet rewarding experience. I guess it basically started at the age of five when my parents took me to Tae Kwon Do, then competing in sports all the way up through my childhood, eventually seeing the first UFC event, and the next thing I know I'm taking a professional cage fight at age seventeen. (Laughs) Now I'm twenty-seven years old with ten years of pro experience. I have captured the King Of The Cage superfight belt, and I am the current Gladiator Challenge, International Fighting & Boxing League, and Cajun Fighting Championships world middleweight champion.

Darrick: Your next scheduled fight is possibly against Daniel Hernandez on January 24th. What are your thoughts about this upcoming match?

Sean: My next fight was originally supposed to be against Brad Harris at the Called Out MMA event, but now it looks like I may be fighting Daniel Hernandez in their late January show. If that doesn't pan out, I have an option to fight The Ultimate Fighter alumnus Ryan Lopez in Oklahoma in a few months. So either way I'll be active.

Darrick: Who are a few of the people in the sport that you highly respect?

Sean: Actually, I guess a short list of people that I respect in the sport would start out with Nick Diaz first and foremost. Not only is he a beast of a fighter but he says it like it is and doesn't give a fuck what people think. I respect the shit out of that guy. Next would have to be B.J. Penn. He's such a phenomenal Jiu-Jitsu guy but has amazing boxing and makes every fight exciting, so I gotta give him props too. Lastly I would have to say Ramon Dekkers and if you don't know who he is, he's a pro K-1 fighter whose style can be described basically as really crisp technical aggression. Just a straight forward, in-your-face bad motherfucker and I love that style of athlete. Speaking of athletes - Go Chargers!

Darrick: What brings you the most fulfillment out of martial arts?

Sean: Easily the most fulfilling aspect of martial arts for me is teaching and coaching. I enjoy nothing more than passing on effective, high percentage techniques to my students and fighters - and then watching them go through the learning process. I try to assist them through the process without making some of the same little mistakes that I made along the way. So, yeah...I mostly enjoy the instructional side of martial arts and the mental preparation involved in competing is a cool little battle in itself that I enjoy too.

Darrick: Do you have any words of advice for other individuals looking to compete in MMA?

Sean: Giving a few words of advice to the people out there trying to get involved in the sport is simple. Listen to your coach, work harder than you did the day before every day, pass along the knowlege that you have gathered from fighting, and lastly be thankful that we have such an amazing sport to take part in. Give it your all, don't cheat and fuck up it's reputation for all of us.

Darrick: Who are some of the people that greatly influenced you while growing up?

Sean: My father and mother have both highly influenced me growing up. When it comes to connections, I have always had a good connection with my father. I mean every once in a while he still intimidates the shit out of me, but that's because I respect him and admire the things that he has accomplished. It's cool now that he's like one of my best friends. I also always admired Bruce Lee. I don't want to be generic, but how can you not? Also like my dad, Bruce taught me a lot without having to say a whole lot and those are the type of people who you can really admire throughout life.

Darrick: Outside of MMA, what are your other interests?

Sean: I am really obsessed with the San Diego Chargers - I really, really love the Chargers. I fucking hate the Patriots and Raiders, but I love the Chargers. (Laughs) Other interests would have to be playing the guitar for peace and going to Pennywise shows. Those guys are my friends and the best band in the world. As weird as it is, I also like fixing up and decorating my apartment. I take a lot of pride in having cool shit. I worked my ass off and literally fought for what I have, so I like my home to look nice.

Darrick: Tell us something about you that most people don't know.

Sean: The majority of people don't know that I actually wrestled Shaquille O'Neal for fun when I was a freshman in high school. I would play basketball with him on the weekends at the park in Manhattan Beach when he played for the Lakers and we were pretty tight! Most people don't know that, but it's sort of cool. Oh, and for those of you who don't know - I have a perfect eight-year-old daughter named Amber, but the mother won't let me see her. So, I haven't seen her for about four years and it kills me. A lot of people might not know about her, but I would do anything to change the circumstances.

Darrick: What is your oldest memory?

Sean: I'm sitting on a plane going to Hawaii when I was around six years old and the flight attendant spilled hot coffee on me. Then the next year, we flew to Florida for vacation and the flight attendant spilled orange juice on me. What's wrong with those bitches? (Laughs)

Darrick: If you were stuck in a bomb shelter for the rest of your life, what three items would you take in with you besides food and water?

Sean: Hmmm, well, let's see...I guess the first one is a generic answer, but a video iPod so I could have like a thousand movies stored in it. The second thing would probably be paper and a pen to document my thoughts if anyone found me in the future and wanted to know what my crazy ass was thinking. By the way, I'm counting that as one item for all you assholes thinking that's more than one - get a life. (Laughs) Lastly, I would take a kettlebell in with me. A heavy one, I love kettlebells. I feel like there are a million things I could think of to do with it.

Finally, I wanna' include a quick shout-out to my sponsors: Ship Shape Tattoo (http://www.shipshapetattoo.com) has hands down the most quality tattoos and some cool shirts too. Next up is the Nutrition Zone stores of Vista, Los Alamitos, and Escondido in California. These guys have the best prices and most desired supplements you can get. Lastly is Wickdom Kingdom Fight Gear (http://www.thewickedkingdom.com) which is a brand new fight gear line launching in 2010 with reasonable rates and the sickest designs you've seen in a long while. They will have gloves, shorts, and other fight gear. Thanks so much for having me for the interview and I hope to do it again soon!

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 Sean Loeffler in the following places:

Official Sean Loeffler MySpace Profile:

http://www.myspace.com/seanloeffl

Official Sean Loeffler Facebook Site:

http://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?id=100000534785872&ref=search&sid=551507858.701379293..1

Official Sean Loeffler YouTube Page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/loeffler

Sean Loeffler on Fight Finder:

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Sean-Loeffler-16004

Sean Loeffler Photo Gallery at Sherdog.com:

http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/16004