10 Questions With Ulysses Gomez (4/27/2009)

[DarrickPatrick]

10 Questions With Ulysses Gomez (by Darrick Patrick)

Ulysses "Useless" Gomez is a professional mixed martial artist who has competed in the Palace Fighting Championship organization at events such The Return, All In, and Best of Both Worlds. At the time of this interview, his next scheduled match was intended to be against Pat Runez at PFC 13: Validation on May 8th, 2009. The fight however has been rescheduled to take place at PFC 14 on September 25th, 2009.

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

Ulysses: I graduated high school and had nothing to do with myself besides work. I used to always watch the UFC and people would tell me that I could do that if I wanted to. I had never even trained a day in my life, but I figured if they could do it than so could I. One day I woke up and thought to myself, "Why not? Why don't I do it?" I looked in the phone book, found J-SECT, and started training in BJJ. From there I went on to boxing, then Pankration, and finally MMA. The first day I trained BJJ was August 1st, 2001 and as cliché as it sounds, it changed my life.

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

Ulysses: I have a ton of advice, but I think the best advice that I can give anyone is what Master Lloyd told me a few years back. He explained to me that you are who you keep around you. If all of your friends do drugs, than you will most likely do drugs. If all of your friends go out and get busted by the cops, than that will most likely happen to you as well. How does this pertain to MMA though? Easy! If you want to be the best fighter, you have to train with the best people in your gym. Don't duck the best guys because you have an ego. If you have a fight coming up, you should be losing every day. You should be going against the best people you can find to train with and having them kick your butt. It gets to the point where you get so sick and tired of losing during training that you take it out on your opponent in the fight.

Darrick: Your next scheduled match is was supposed to be against Pat Runez on May 8th, but will now be on September 25th. What are your thoughts about this upcoming fight?

Ulysses: Pat is a good fighter with great wrestling, plus he's pretty fast and has a good top game. I have some things I'm working on for my match with him, but other than that it's just another fight.

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

Ulysses: Oh, man - that's not a fair question to ask! I respect so many guys for different reasons that if I started naming names, I'm sure that I would forget someone and they will get upset. (Laughs) I respect anyone that takes six to eight weeks out of their life to train for a fight. In my book, the training is always the hardest part. When I train for a fight, it's one of the loneliest times in my life. I do my running alone and I eat a lot of meals by myself. Even though you have sparring partners there to work with you, it feels like it's you versus them when you spar. They push you and push you because that's their job. It's tough, man. That's why I respect someone who takes that much time out of their life. Anyone can walk into the cage or ring, but training two to three times a day, six days a week for six to eight weeks is totally different. You get my respect right there. People think that fighting is all about pizza and blow jobs, but it isn't!

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

Ulysses: Learning and teaching. I enjoy when someone teaches me a move and I can apply it to my game, like I was smart enough to figure it out and use what they showed me. It doesn't just go in one ear and out of the other. I also like teaching kids because they are fun to work with and they have no egos. They just want to train and have fun.

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

Ulysses: I try to learn from everybody because everyone can teach you something. Outside of mixed martial arts though, my parents obviously influenced me as they've always been there for me no matter what. My older brother Herc too because he had a dream as a kid and found ways to live his dream. I'm also a huge Tony Robbins fan, I listen to a lot of his audio CDs.

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

Ulysses: I love watching movies, playing video games, reading books, and taking naps.

Darrick: What is your oldest memory?

Ulysses: The day that I was born. (Laughs) Naw, I don't know on that one.

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

Ulysses: I'm an achievement whore on Xbox 360. My Gamerscore is close to 45,000. My girl calls me a dork when I'm playing Xbox LIVE and I have my headset on.

Darrick: What comic book character do you relate to most?

Ulysses: I don't read too many comic books, but I do however love watching the television show Lost. As far as that is concerned, I would say I'm more like Sawyer because even though he's a prick sometimes, he's okay most of the time. He actually does care about everyone on the island. I'm the same exact way. Even though I'm moody, especially when I'm dieting for a fight, I do care about people.

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 Ulysses Gomez in the following places:

Official Ulysses Gomez Website:

http://www.uselessgomez.com

Official Ulysses Gomez MySpace Profile:

http://www.myspace.com/uselessgomez

Ulysses Gomez on Fight Finder:

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Ulysses-Gomez-30396

Ulysses Gomez Photo Gallery at Sherdog.com:

http://www.sherdog.com/pictures/gallery/fighter/30396