© Marc Wickert,
www.knucklepit.com

March 13, 2008

On March 29, 2008, Brent Beauparlant will be shaping up against middleweight Amir Rahnavardi in the Robert Guertin Arena, Quebec, for what is expected to be a heavy-metal clash. And Beauparlant is hell-bent on squeezing out sparks for his segment of the star-studded MMA card, which will feature David 'The Crow' Loiseau vs. Todd Gouwenberg in the main event.

Right now, Brent has just arrived home in Ontario after completing a five-hour drive back from the Warrior Gym in Toronto. "Carlos Newton's coach and manager, Terry Riggs, is also my coach and manager. When I was with the IFL, I was making the trip about once every two to three weeks, but now I think I'll be down to about once a month," says Beauparlant.

"While in the IFL, I was trying to catch up with everybody else: in submission, striking, and general ringmanship. The other guys with the IFL had about 10 fights behind them and they had a lot of experience. I think this year I'll still be training in Toronto once a month, but I won't have the catching up to do. And through Terry Riggs, I'm starting to understand the system now. It's sort of like a hybrid judo/jiu jitsu on the ground, and standing, it's sort of like a hybrid boxing and Dutch Muay Thai. Everybody is looking at the Dutch Muay Thai these days… like Bas Rutten. And the big thing right now is Rob Kaman – everybody wants him in their corner."

Brent says he also trains in Montreal because he basically lives an hour from there, and he works out in pretty good company with Georges St-Pierre, David Loiseau, Patrick Cote, Jonathan Goulet… "I'm training with Tom Murphy, too, who fought in the UFC when it was all Canadians versus Americans (UFC 58: USA vs. Canada. See www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-ufc58.htm ). He's a southpaw and a very strong wrestler. In Toronto, they're all pretty well unknown guys, who are fighting amateur MMA right now, but they're going to be pro in maybe a year or two. I'm really happy; training is good right now."

Not only has Beauparlant recently moved house from Ottawa to Ontario, but he is now a freelance gladiator due to the pin being pulled on his IFL Dragons' team. "Well, what it was, I think, was that the IFL changed their whole business plan, and I guess the Toronto team didn't make the grade and they had to cut somebody."

Brent, were you surprised to see Chris Wilson do so well against Jon Fitch at UFC 82?

"Oh, astonished. Honestly, I was flabbergasted because I really think that Jon Fitch is a very strong fighter."

Do you feel there are a lot of great MMA fighters out there, such as yourself, who are not that well known to the public?

"For sure. Look at Anderson Silva right now. At the moment he's a god, but for people like us who have seen him come up the ladder – even myself, I trained with him at BTT (Brazilian Top Team) – everybody knew about him years ago, and the general public is only starting to know who he is now."

That's where you also trained with Wanderlei Silva.

"Yeah, but Anderson had already left Chute Boxe at that time."

When was your last fight?

"About four months ago against Benji Radach. He just outsmarted me – that's the bottom line. I wish I could tell you something more sophisticated, but he used the strategy against me that I was going to use against him. And good on him."

Benji's a nice guy.

"Yeah, he seems a nice guy, and you know what it's like – for the guys who have been in the game a long time, it's business; nothing personal."

Are you back to competing as a light heavyweight?

"No, at 185 (middleweight). I fought for the IFL at 205 to just fight a fight. The guys at 205, their reach just kills me."

Are you expecting more of a stand-up strategy from Amir Rahnavardi?

"I'm expecting the same thing as with Benji Radach: He's going to try to play the pocket a lot, and he's going to be in and out of the zone a lot, trying to hurt me with his reach because he seems to be a tall guy."

So he'll want to do a hit-and-run job on you?

"I think so. The thing is, he's trained by Bas Rutten, and the hit-and-run strategy is a very good thing because I'm sure he's a guy who hits hard and kicks hard, and that's not something where you can take a lot of punishment."

Do you expect him to be as well rounded as you are?

"No, I don't."

He seems to be mainly a striker.

"Well, my striking has gone up by leaps and bounds, and I have the one tool that most people don't seem to have, which is the wrestling. I can decide whether I want to bring you down or take you up, so it will be a really interesting fight."

When we talked the first time, you said MMA was very underground in Canada. Now they're getting world-record crowds. What happened?

"Well, we're five years behind the United States: It's as simple as that. But we caught up, and it just seemed to happen overnight. There was a major investor who came into the sport and we're having our first UFC in Montreal: St-Pierre vs. Serra, and I think it sold out the same day the tickets went on sale."

And you're fighting Amir Rahnavardi in the HCF (Hardcore Championship Fighting).

"Yes. I'm basically unknown in Canada, but with the HCF, it's more accessible in Canada, and I think people will be saying, 'Oh, who's this guy?' But it's just one of those weird things; the list goes on. There are all these fighters out there.

"Like a guy that nobody really knows about is Lyoto Machida, who fights in the UFC at 205. This guy's beaten everyone. He's defeated Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Stephan Bonner, Rameau Sokoudjo… I'd say he's probably the best 205 in the world and nobody knows who he is. I heard about him when I was in Sao Paulo a long time ago and he's beaten everyone."

Who are you tipping on your card between David Loiseau and Todd Gouwenberg?

"David Loiseau."

Read the full article on Knucklepit.com.