10 Questions With Aaron Simpson (3/13/2009)

[DarrickPatrick]

10 Questions With Aaron Simpson (by Darrick Patrick)

Aaron "A-Train" Simpson is a professional mixed martial artist who has appeared in organizations such as World Extreme Cagefighting, Full Moon Fighting, Proving Grounds, and Tuff-N-Uff. At the time of this interview, his next scheduled match is against Tim McKenzie in the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC Fight Night 18: Condit vs. Kampmann on April 1st, 2009.

Darrick: What was the journey that led you to competing in professional mixed martial arts?

Aaron: Wrestling is what really led me here. Back during the early years of the UFC, my college wrestling coach Kevin Jackson was training for a run at the Olympics in 1996 and also fighting in the UFC. I would train with him back then and I remember watching his UFC debut on pay-per-view, thinking how cool the sport was. That is my first memory of the sport. Several years later, I was going out to Buffalo, New York to train with Josh Koscheck to get ready for the 2004 Olympic Trials and he was talking about fighting and getting on this new UFC reality show. At the time, he was contemplating getting out of college coaching. Next thing you know, he is an up-and-comer and is really making a name for himself.

I started thinking about fighting even more at that point, but was still coaching wrestling at Arizona State University and competing on the international level in freestyle. Then in the summer of 2007, I got a call from Tito Ortiz to come up to Big Bear to help him train for his fight with Rashad Evans. I had known Tito since college as we both wrestled during the time. I spent a month with Tito and then cornered him in Sacramento for the fight. At this point, I was picking up some things and I am ready to make the jump. I got back to Tempe and decided to make a move into fighting while I'm still young. So, I joined CB Dollaway and Ryan Bader at Arizona Combat Sports. There the Lally Brothers took me on, made me the resident wrestling coach, and I began training.

Darrick: Any words of advice for other individuals looking to train in MMA?

Aaron: Just coming from my background, I would say get involved in a wrestling program. If you are in junior high or high school, go out for wrestling. It is the best thing you can do for this sport because you have free training and a free facility. If you are older, get to a gym that has BJJ as well as stand-up and start training. It is nice to have a background in one of the three major aspects of the sport (wrestling, BJJ, and boxing/kickboxing), but you can work to make these your strengths. If you are completely new to combat sports, take your time and really learn the game.

Darrick: Who is someone that greatly influenced you while growing up?

Aaron: My father was a wrestling coach and started me in the sport at the age of four. He never pushed me into doing it, but supported me full on. He was the biggest influence in developing my mental toughness and my work ethic. He would tell me stories about the old-time boxers and wrestlers that outworked everyone. He would tell me about Dan Gable and his relentless training. I owe a lot of who I am to my dad.

Darrick: Your next scheduled fight is against Tim McKenzie on April 1st. What are your thoughts about this upcoming match?

Aaron: Tim is a tough competitor who has a lot more experience in this sport than me. He brings a well-rounded game into this fight, so I am doing everything in my power to prepare myself for a fifteen minute battle. Tim and I are actually friends, as at one point he trained down here in Tempe with us at AZ Combat Sports. He actually showed me how to snap my hook and I worked with him on some wrestling. It will be real interesting to see where he is at in his career and how far I've come along since first beginning MMA. I have a lot of respect for Tim and I know that this fight could put either of us on the map.

Darrick: In your experience so far, what brings you the most fulfillment out of martial arts?

Aaron: Getting a quick KO in my last fight was pretty fulfilling, but also just the training and development of another aspect of combat has been awesome.

Darrick: Who is someone in the sport that you highly respect?

Aaron: I have a great deal of respect for Cain Velasquez. He is a former ASU wrestler that I coached and is obviously now one of the top heavweights in the UFC. I was so impressed by his work ethic and his drive in the wrestling room, I can honestly say that I don't think there has ever been anyone in that program that has worked harder than Cain. I also know Cain and where he came from. He came from a tough, hard-working family in Yuma, Arizona (which happens to be where I am from) and was the first in his family to go to college and earn a degree. He took school very serious because he knew that the opportunity to better himself was through getting an education. I have an enormous amount of respect for Cain.

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

Aaron: I have three kids - my daughter is sixteen years old, whom my wife and I adopted when she was twelve. Plus we have two twin babies (a boy and a girl) and they take up all of my time outside of training. There really is no room for other interests at this point. Although if I had the time, I would travel because I love experiencing different cultures and getting to know different people.

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

Aaron: When I was a kid, I was a closet breakdancer. I would only do it when I was by myself and I was pretty damn fresh!

Darrick: What is your oldest memory?

Aaron: I remember hanging onto the gas tank of my dad's old motorbike, sitting in front of him as he took jumps with my brother hanging onto him from behind. With no helmets, might I add! We didn't sit in fancy car seats back then and we slept in the back window on road trips. There was none of this child safety stuff...that was the way it was and we liked it! (from the old Saturday Night Live sketch of Grumpy Old Man)

Darrick: If you were the last person alive on Earth, what do you think you'd do to entertain yourself?

Aaron: I would find some transportation and start searching. I'd travel to the far ends of the Earth looking for who knows what. I would also talk to myself a lot, as well as my best friend Wilson the Volleyball.

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 Aaron Simpson in the following places:

Official Aaron Simpson MySpace Profile:

http://www.myspace.com/45645354

Aaron Simpson on Fight Finder:

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Aaron-Simpson-24986

Aaron Simpson Photo Gallery at Sherdog.com:

http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/24986

[NWOWolfpack]

My father was a wrestling coach and started me in the sport at the age of four. He never pushed me into doing it, but supported me full on.