Monte Cox Xtreme Fighting Organization Interview
Mar 10, 2004
Manager and promoter extraordinaire Monte Cox takes time out to
talk about XFO, the Russian Invasion show, and what Team Extreme
has planned for the next few months.
James Hirth: So how did the XFO show with Jeff Curran come about?
Monte Cox: Well I had been working with Jeff on some of the
Extreme Challenge shows. He and our partner Dan Lardy wanted to put
together another smaller show so we came up with the Xtreme
Fighting Organization. The great part about it is that there is so
much quality talent between Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, these
will be really good shows. Like Bart Palaszewski versus Antoine
Skinner. That’s going to be a great fight. That could easily be an
Extreme Challenge bout.
JH: So will the XFO have titles?
JH: So it is like a farm team for Extreme Challenge and other shows.
MC: Yes. But as I said with all the quality talent here in the Midwest, the shows will carry strong cards of their own. It just shows how many great camps are in this part of the country.
JH: So how did you get involved with the Russian Invasion show in Atlantic City? Did they contact you or…
MC: Yes, they contacted me. Matchmaker Miguel Iturrate and I talked over what fighters from Team Extreme would be good for the show. We have Jason Maxwell and Justin Eilers fighting and heavyweight Travis Wiuff waiting in the wings just incase someone falls out of the show.
JH: With most of the Red Devils fighting almost exclusively in Russia, were you able to get a hold of film of these guys?
MC: No we weren’t. That was the one thing we couldn’t do in time. Miguel has given me a basic report of their individual strengths and weaknesses but we’ll find out more when we get to Atlantic City. The week of the show their will be a “U.S. Team” and “Russian Team” environment and more of an information sharing session.
JH: Does that bother you? I mean especially with fighters from other countries, you cannot be sure their reported record is even accurate.
MC: Well I told the guys just to focus on their own skills and make sure they arrive in shape. That way they should be ready for anything and should stick to their own game.
JH: From what I’ve gathered, Jason Maxwell (USWF, KOTC, HnS, USMMA, ZST veteran, 4-6 in MMA) and Sergei Goliaev (M-1 and Free Fight Holland veteran, 4-2 in MMA) are somewhat evenly matched experience-wise. However Justin Eilers (Extreme Challenge, Superbrawl, IFC veteran, 8-3-1 in MMA) appears to have a great deal more experience than Mikhail Bogdanov (M-1 and Free Fight Holland veteran, 3-1 in MMA).
MC: Yes well the one thing I told the guys was that the Red Devil Fight Club doesn’t have any bums on it. They are all tough guys or they wouldn’t be a part of that camp.
JH: Right, and it’s also a given that they have a military background because most fighters out of Russia have been training in grappling and striking since their youth.
MC: Right but I also think our guys have faced better competition. Maxwell has been in there with Duane Ludwig and Jens Pulver (Maxwell is out of the event due to an elbow injury and will be replaced by UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi – JH). Eilers has faced Dan Severn and “Cabbage” Correira. I don’t think those particular Red Devil fighters have faced athletes of that caliber. I have kind of a funny story with Kerry Schall. I told him I had a fight for him in RINGS Japan…
JH: Oh, I already see this coming.
MC: Yes. I told him most of the Russians in RINGS were not very good. Like Volk Han, Andre Kopylov and Achmed Labasanov. Well he ran into Fedor (laughs).
JH: And Fedor killed him (laughs).
MC: Yeah, but who knew (laughs)? He had only had a few fights and who knew what a buzz saw Fedor would turn out to be (laughs)? Kerry would say “Hey, you ought to talk to my manager. He’ll get you an easy bout in RINGS” (laughs).
JH: Were you surprised that there weren’t more big names from the Red Devil Team in this event? I mean obviously the headliner Andre Semenov is well known and they wouldn’t get Fedor to fight here but what about Amar Suloev or Sergei Bytchkov? Or maybe the whole idea of this event was to expose the unknown talent on the Red Devil Fight Club.
MC: You’d have to ask Miguel about that but I really believe it comes down to budget. You can fly a bunch of the unknown guys over here and get them bouts for cheap but if you bring in Suloev, it’s going to cost more. And I’m going to want more to put a fighter against him. It’s just like me putting together an Extreme Challenge card. I have no problem getting Jeremy Horn or Jens Pulver to fight on those cards. What is really hard is finding them opponents who will fight them for money within the budget.
JH: You mentioned to me there was another Extreme Challenge coming up right?
MC: Yes. It will be March 26th in Minneapolis. It will be the first show I have done there in a few years. I held some of the early Extreme Challenges there.
JH: So this will be sort of a homecoming.
MC: Yes. Dave Menne wanted to a show there with me for quite some time and now is our opportunity. It’s a good time because there isn’t really a major show running there right now. Brad Kohler is promoting there but he doesn’t use many big names.
JH: His show is called Ultimate Wrestling right?
MC: Yes, that’s his show. Brad and I are friends and I helped him with his show before. I told him if Dave ever needed help putting on a show there, I would help him too so there’s no problem.
JH: Will Dave be fighting on the Extreme Challenge show?
MC: Yes, he’s fighting Leo Sylvest. We should have a number of good bouts on that card including Dave’s fighter Daryl Guthmiller against Josh Raferty from Meat Truck Inc. and Kyle Jensen against Spencer Fisher. That will be a great fight too, a guy who is 15-4 (Jensen) against a guy who is 8-0 (Fisher). Travis Wiuff is also on that card.
JH: I know you have some other things happening too.
MC: There’s the show in Cincinnati, Ohio with Kerry Schall. He and Joe Doerksen (22-5 in MMA) will be on that card. There will also be a 4-man tournament with George Gurgel (5-1) and Joe Jordan (14-8-1) in opposite brackets. The winner will be a qualifier for the annual Extreme Challenge/Superbrawl show later this year. There’s also a Victory show on March 6th in Omaha Nebraska. Spencer Fisher is fighting on that show. We hold an amateur submission grappling and boxing event weekly in Iowa. The next one is on March 19th and it is where guys like Robbie Lawler and Drew Mcfedries were discovered. And then Jens Pulver (19-5-1 in MMA) is fighting in Shooto on March 22nd.
JH: What is next for Matt Hughes? He still has a few fights left in the UFC right?
MC: Yes. He has two fights left. He’ll be facing a top contender.
JH: Have you heard the rumors of Royce Gracie likely signing a 2-fight deal with the UFC?
MC: I’m not buying it just yet. I’ll believe it when I see it.
JH: That would be a great fight for Matt to get back the title, especially if B.J. drops back down to 155 lbs.
MC: Like I said, I’ll believe it when I see it (laughs).
JH: Let’s talk about the rest of the Miletich camp and what they’re up to. Jeremy Horn has a fight in TKO this weekend against David Loiseau right? (Horn won by submission in just one minute –JH)
MC: Yes. And he may have another big bout soon.
JH: How about Tony Fryklund (10-2 in MMA, last fought Eugene Jackson at the Battleground show in 7/03 – JH)?
MC: He was originally supposed to be on the same TKO card. He will be on the next one in April against Stephane Vigneault and fighting Buck Greer in May.
JH: And Jason Black (16-0-1 in MMA, last fought at Extreme Challenge 53 in 9/03 – JH)?
MC: He is also supposed to be in TKO in May or June and then in a bout in Hawaii later this year.
JH: LaVerne Clark (16-12 in MMA, last fought in the Hardcore Fighting Championships in 10/03 - JH)?
MC: LaVerne is in New York training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu full time. He has a fight in Des Moines in April and has been boxing. He was on ESPN 2 recently.
JH: And finally how about Rich Franklin (13-2 in MMA, last fought on 12/31/03 in Inoki Bom Be Ye – JH)?
MC: They were going to do another Inoki show in May but now it will be in October and Rich will be fighting on that show.
JH: And of course big Tim Sylvia faces Andre Arlovski in April. Do you have any thoughts on that bout?
MC: I think Tim will handle him.
JH: Andre has solid stand-up and a sambo background. He may be a big challenge for Tim on the mat, maybe his biggest challenge yet since the bout with Ricco didn’t really go to the ground.
MC: Tim can keep the fight where he wants it. Andre is only effective when he’s moving forward. Tim doesn’t like to back up so that won’t work. He has the reach and his submissions are solid. When he first got here, I can remember Matt Hughes rolling with Tim and submitting him easily. The last time the rolled, it was Tim submitting Matt a couple times. He’s good. He just hasn’t had to show it yet.
JH: Well thanks for taking the time to speak with me Monte and good luck to everyone on Team Extreme.
MC: Thank you.
James Hirth: So how did the XFO show with Jeff Curran come about?
Advertisement
JH: So will the XFO have titles?
MC: It may. That is something that Jeff is interested in.
This show is an opportunity for Jeff to begin his legacy as a
promoter in the Midwest. The fighters that do well in the XFO will
have the opportunity to fight on a bigger card at a later date.
JH: So it is like a farm team for Extreme Challenge and other shows.
MC: Yes. But as I said with all the quality talent here in the Midwest, the shows will carry strong cards of their own. It just shows how many great camps are in this part of the country.
JH: So how did you get involved with the Russian Invasion show in Atlantic City? Did they contact you or…
MC: Yes, they contacted me. Matchmaker Miguel Iturrate and I talked over what fighters from Team Extreme would be good for the show. We have Jason Maxwell and Justin Eilers fighting and heavyweight Travis Wiuff waiting in the wings just incase someone falls out of the show.
JH: With most of the Red Devils fighting almost exclusively in Russia, were you able to get a hold of film of these guys?
MC: No we weren’t. That was the one thing we couldn’t do in time. Miguel has given me a basic report of their individual strengths and weaknesses but we’ll find out more when we get to Atlantic City. The week of the show their will be a “U.S. Team” and “Russian Team” environment and more of an information sharing session.
JH: Does that bother you? I mean especially with fighters from other countries, you cannot be sure their reported record is even accurate.
MC: Well I told the guys just to focus on their own skills and make sure they arrive in shape. That way they should be ready for anything and should stick to their own game.
JH: From what I’ve gathered, Jason Maxwell (USWF, KOTC, HnS, USMMA, ZST veteran, 4-6 in MMA) and Sergei Goliaev (M-1 and Free Fight Holland veteran, 4-2 in MMA) are somewhat evenly matched experience-wise. However Justin Eilers (Extreme Challenge, Superbrawl, IFC veteran, 8-3-1 in MMA) appears to have a great deal more experience than Mikhail Bogdanov (M-1 and Free Fight Holland veteran, 3-1 in MMA).
MC: Yes well the one thing I told the guys was that the Red Devil Fight Club doesn’t have any bums on it. They are all tough guys or they wouldn’t be a part of that camp.
JH: Right, and it’s also a given that they have a military background because most fighters out of Russia have been training in grappling and striking since their youth.
MC: Right but I also think our guys have faced better competition. Maxwell has been in there with Duane Ludwig and Jens Pulver (Maxwell is out of the event due to an elbow injury and will be replaced by UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi – JH). Eilers has faced Dan Severn and “Cabbage” Correira. I don’t think those particular Red Devil fighters have faced athletes of that caliber. I have kind of a funny story with Kerry Schall. I told him I had a fight for him in RINGS Japan…
JH: Oh, I already see this coming.
MC: Yes. I told him most of the Russians in RINGS were not very good. Like Volk Han, Andre Kopylov and Achmed Labasanov. Well he ran into Fedor (laughs).
JH: And Fedor killed him (laughs).
MC: Yeah, but who knew (laughs)? He had only had a few fights and who knew what a buzz saw Fedor would turn out to be (laughs)? Kerry would say “Hey, you ought to talk to my manager. He’ll get you an easy bout in RINGS” (laughs).
JH: Were you surprised that there weren’t more big names from the Red Devil Team in this event? I mean obviously the headliner Andre Semenov is well known and they wouldn’t get Fedor to fight here but what about Amar Suloev or Sergei Bytchkov? Or maybe the whole idea of this event was to expose the unknown talent on the Red Devil Fight Club.
MC: You’d have to ask Miguel about that but I really believe it comes down to budget. You can fly a bunch of the unknown guys over here and get them bouts for cheap but if you bring in Suloev, it’s going to cost more. And I’m going to want more to put a fighter against him. It’s just like me putting together an Extreme Challenge card. I have no problem getting Jeremy Horn or Jens Pulver to fight on those cards. What is really hard is finding them opponents who will fight them for money within the budget.
JH: You mentioned to me there was another Extreme Challenge coming up right?
MC: Yes. It will be March 26th in Minneapolis. It will be the first show I have done there in a few years. I held some of the early Extreme Challenges there.
JH: So this will be sort of a homecoming.
MC: Yes. Dave Menne wanted to a show there with me for quite some time and now is our opportunity. It’s a good time because there isn’t really a major show running there right now. Brad Kohler is promoting there but he doesn’t use many big names.
JH: His show is called Ultimate Wrestling right?
MC: Yes, that’s his show. Brad and I are friends and I helped him with his show before. I told him if Dave ever needed help putting on a show there, I would help him too so there’s no problem.
JH: Will Dave be fighting on the Extreme Challenge show?
MC: Yes, he’s fighting Leo Sylvest. We should have a number of good bouts on that card including Dave’s fighter Daryl Guthmiller against Josh Raferty from Meat Truck Inc. and Kyle Jensen against Spencer Fisher. That will be a great fight too, a guy who is 15-4 (Jensen) against a guy who is 8-0 (Fisher). Travis Wiuff is also on that card.
JH: I know you have some other things happening too.
MC: There’s the show in Cincinnati, Ohio with Kerry Schall. He and Joe Doerksen (22-5 in MMA) will be on that card. There will also be a 4-man tournament with George Gurgel (5-1) and Joe Jordan (14-8-1) in opposite brackets. The winner will be a qualifier for the annual Extreme Challenge/Superbrawl show later this year. There’s also a Victory show on March 6th in Omaha Nebraska. Spencer Fisher is fighting on that show. We hold an amateur submission grappling and boxing event weekly in Iowa. The next one is on March 19th and it is where guys like Robbie Lawler and Drew Mcfedries were discovered. And then Jens Pulver (19-5-1 in MMA) is fighting in Shooto on March 22nd.
JH: What is next for Matt Hughes? He still has a few fights left in the UFC right?
MC: Yes. He has two fights left. He’ll be facing a top contender.
JH: Have you heard the rumors of Royce Gracie likely signing a 2-fight deal with the UFC?
MC: I’m not buying it just yet. I’ll believe it when I see it.
JH: That would be a great fight for Matt to get back the title, especially if B.J. drops back down to 155 lbs.
MC: Like I said, I’ll believe it when I see it (laughs).
JH: Let’s talk about the rest of the Miletich camp and what they’re up to. Jeremy Horn has a fight in TKO this weekend against David Loiseau right? (Horn won by submission in just one minute –JH)
MC: Yes. And he may have another big bout soon.
JH: How about Tony Fryklund (10-2 in MMA, last fought Eugene Jackson at the Battleground show in 7/03 – JH)?
MC: He was originally supposed to be on the same TKO card. He will be on the next one in April against Stephane Vigneault and fighting Buck Greer in May.
JH: And Jason Black (16-0-1 in MMA, last fought at Extreme Challenge 53 in 9/03 – JH)?
MC: He is also supposed to be in TKO in May or June and then in a bout in Hawaii later this year.
JH: LaVerne Clark (16-12 in MMA, last fought in the Hardcore Fighting Championships in 10/03 - JH)?
MC: LaVerne is in New York training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu full time. He has a fight in Des Moines in April and has been boxing. He was on ESPN 2 recently.
JH: And finally how about Rich Franklin (13-2 in MMA, last fought on 12/31/03 in Inoki Bom Be Ye – JH)?
MC: They were going to do another Inoki show in May but now it will be in October and Rich will be fighting on that show.
JH: And of course big Tim Sylvia faces Andre Arlovski in April. Do you have any thoughts on that bout?
MC: I think Tim will handle him.
JH: Andre has solid stand-up and a sambo background. He may be a big challenge for Tim on the mat, maybe his biggest challenge yet since the bout with Ricco didn’t really go to the ground.
MC: Tim can keep the fight where he wants it. Andre is only effective when he’s moving forward. Tim doesn’t like to back up so that won’t work. He has the reach and his submissions are solid. When he first got here, I can remember Matt Hughes rolling with Tim and submitting him easily. The last time the rolled, it was Tim submitting Matt a couple times. He’s good. He just hasn’t had to show it yet.
JH: Well thanks for taking the time to speak with me Monte and good luck to everyone on Team Extreme.
MC: Thank you.
