Gary ‘Big Daddy’ Goodridge Interview

DC: Well now that you have been retired what have you been up to?

GG: Working at this, working at that. My wife’s a very successful lawyer, I’ve been helping her out. Doing a little of this, a little of that, looking after my kids.

DC: Throughout your career once you stuck your claim in PRIDE, people saw a game, hard hitting fighter, but where did you see yourself as far as heavyweights in the world?

GG: I saw myself as just a hard-hitting entertainer, a kick ass entertainer and I just wanted to do my best. People paid good money in seats to watch me and I just wanted to make sure they got their money’s worth every time that I got up.

DC: Did you ever feel as if you were constantly having to prove yourself when you got into the ring?

GG: No, I never felt that, I am who I am regardless. There will be many fighters better than me, there will be many fighters that have better submissions that can kick better that can punch better, but not everybody will be able to do what I can do in terms of electrifying the crowd. I thrive on that. The only other person that does it the way I do besides me is Wanderlei Silva, Sakuraba.

DC: How did you feel about your “job’ as the Gatekeeper?

GG: I loved it. People thought, ‘well, it’s an embarrassment.’ Nah, man I was proud. I was proud to be somebody. Regardless of what they named me I knew I was a somebody but I was proud to be whatever they wanted me to be, I was happy.

DC: The list of your opponents is really crazy, Ruas, Vovchanchyn twice, Nogueira, who was your toughest and/or most memorable?

GG: My toughest, I would have to say was, what’s his name…the guy’s name is…Mark Schultz. Mark Schultz is the toughest opponent I’ve ever had.

DC: Why’s that?

GG: Just because at the time when I fought him he was unbeatable because I didn’t know anything about the ground. It was just the timing.

DC: When you finally beat Don Frye in your final match describe to me how it felt to be in the ring there after the two losses and everything.

GG: I didn’t really remember the two losses, what was going over me was, you know, I’m quitting fighting. It was tough for me. Emotionally it was hard because I was being forced to quit. I didn’t want to quit, I wanted to be there I wanted to stay there. I was being forced to quit and it was a very emotional time for me.

DC: Talking a bit about the other side of fighting, one that the public doesn’t see as much. There’s always seemed to be a lot of politics in the fight game, how have those effected you if at all?

GG: Actually they never really effected me until now, I’m being effected by politics now because where I am, but you don’t really see politics there. In Japan there are a lot of politics but it’s all over the place. As a fighter it doesn’t really effect you that much. If you’re fighting for one group and you go off to fight for somebody else, it’s more honor. Loyalty and honor.

DC: If you weren’t a fighter what do you think you would have done?

GG: I probably would have been a gynecologist.

DC: Why’s that?

GG: A lot of openings in that field.

DC: Why did you stay in Japan? As opposed to the US or Brazil or Canada?

GG: They made me a good offer and I stayed. They gave me a three-year contract and I stayed. That’s what I required to fight, a long-term contract rather than a short-ass, one fight contract.

DC: You mentioned tat a good offer would bring you back, is there anything specific you’re looking for, any unfinished business?

GG: No, I’m ready.