There is no other way to describe Paul Rodriguez, except for the "Upset Kid." Through no fault of his own, he is a relative unknown who has fought Phil Johns and Shooto fighter, Takanori Gomi, on his way up to around twelve fights. But Rodriguez came into the lime light with his surprise knock out of AMC's Dennis Hallman. Rodriguez was in a war with Hallman, which Hallman was getting the better of his, until a huge hook connected knocking out Hallman for a while. Rodriguez had a minor set back with his fight in Japan with Takanori Gomi, but took back with him a whole new training method, which immediately resulted in a win over Phil Johns and most recently, Rodriguez carefully studied his next opponent, who was Jesus Is Lord member, Ray "Bradda" Cooper and took him out quickly with an arm bar. Next stop is a bout with Steve Berger on March 30th. Does this kid ever take it easy?
I thought we better get to know a little more about Paul Rodriguez. This interview took place after his surprise victory over # 3 ranked Shooto Middleweight, Ray "Bradda" Cooper at Super Brawl XX. The post-fight interview questions were left in to provide a wider view of Rodriguez.

FCF: I sitting here with Paul Rodriguez right after his surprise arm bar victory over Ray "Bradda" Cooper. Obviously, coming into the fight you were considered the underdog. Tell us how you felt coming into the fight like that?
Paul Rodriguez: I definitely felt like the underdog, but I felt pretty confident, actually. I saw some things [about Ray]. My training has changed a lot, Din [Thomas] has got me doing different things, things that I have never done before as a mixed martial arts fighter. I was lifting the wrong way with weights, I was doing body building. I wasn't conditioning right or training right and that's all changed in the last five months. I knew I was the underdog, so that gave me the "nothing to lose" mentality. I know that I would try hard, but I knew that I was the underdog. I didn't think that he was going to beat me. I thought that it might go to a decision.

FCF: Was your strategy to try and arm bar him right off the bat? Tell us what your strategy was.
PR: Here it is with the Jesus Is Lord guys, me and Din, we never jump to guard, we try to fight for the top or stand up, but we saw something that after they take guys down and they are in the guard, they like to wind up and throw big punches. We were going to stay patient and block them here and there. They don't ever double up on them, it is always one at a time. We were going to be patient in there and hope that they were going to leave something in there. It worked for Din, when he winded up and he got the triangle twice [against Stephen "Bozo" Palling] and I saw it with Ray. I was thinking about it the first time he threw it, but he left it there the second time. He was putting his forearm on me to wind up. We thought that if we were quick with our submissions early, they would work. That was the game plan. I wasn't confident that I could knock him out or put him on his back. He is a great wrestler and I knew he was strong, but I didn't know he was that strong. [laughs] After the first clinch, I was like, whoa.

FCF: Does this win change anything for you? Do you have any fights lined up?
PR: Actually I am going to fight Steve Berger in a month. But, like I said, I started training full-time now, so hopefully this will work out for me. I am only going to get better from here. I have only been training professionally for seven or eight months now.

FCF: Where are you fighting Steve Berger?
PR: Somewhere in Illinois.

FCF: It is for HOOKnSHOOT?.
PR: No, I don't know. Jaime [Levine] would know more about it than I would. All I know is that I'm fighting Steve Berger.

FCF: When is the fight?
PR: March 30th.

FCF: You are turning into the "Upset kid" with this fight and your win over Dennis Hallman. That fight with Hallman was a war with you connecting with a huge punch. Did you expect this fight to be like that fight?
PR: A little bit, yeah, I did. I was shooting stuff and I was going to be real patient, not to expend too much energy, but I think that I could have worn him down because the one thing that I think that I have is conditioning. I was hoping in the later rounds that I would be able to fake a shot and punch, like I did with Dennis and see if he drops his hands.

FCF: Did you just start training with Din [Thomas] or have you always trained with him?
PR: Me and Din are roommates. We live together and we've known each other since we were little. I started training with Din as a student and I would train once in a while, when I had a fight I would pick it up. I saw the success that he [Din] was having when he dedicated himself and I'd like the same thing for myself.

FCF: Who else trains with you guys, anyone notable?
PR: Chad Sanders, Mike Cardoso, Scott Bills, other than that Din's got a lot of young guys that are coming up. A few of them are actually fighting in the same show that I fight Steve Berger.

FCF: How has your training changed since you started training full-time? Obviously, with more time to train you have more time to do more things, but what training methods are you now doing?
PR: The way I was training prior was totally wrong. The big thing that helped me was when I went to Japan and Gomi beat me by decision. He basically whipped me for 3 five minute rounds. When I went there I saw how they trained. They do so much kickboxing, they do so much wrestling. Prior, we were just doing a lot of grappling, you know, starting on our knees because we came from a Jiu-Jitsu school and we train with Jiu-Jitsu guys. After that we started rounding out our training. We don't do long runs anymore. We do more sprint conditioning. The weight lifting I was doing before was for body building and not for athletic stuff. And we just recently learned this in the last couple months, so all this changed and I can tell the difference, in my training, in my fighting and how much stronger I am at this weight.

FCF: When you mean that you are not doing body building weight lifting, do you mean you are now doing high reps or different types of lifts?
PR: Actually I am doing more power lifting, like power cleans and dead lifting, stuff that is geared more toward what we are doing. There's no more isolation, like single joint lifts. It's more athletic movements.

FCF: Olympic style lifts?
PR: Yeah. We are not trying to put on more weight, we are just trying to get as strong as we possibly can for our body weight. It's made a big improvement.

FCF: Tell me about your background. Were you always involved in the martial arts?
PR: No, actually I started, well, me and Din, started at a Bart Vale Shootfighting school about four years ago. [chuckle] And then we moved to Orlando to go to school and we hooked up with Andre Laneras. He was a black belt under [Ricardo] Dela Riva. He's never fought before, but he was a real good instructor and he gave us good basics, but he moved back to Brazil. We train with a bunch of guys in Orlando, guys like Marcio Simas once in a while to keep up with Jiu-Jitsu stuff, but basically we train with the fighters. Now I'm training full-time, so there's a lot more dedication to it.

FCF: How long were you training in Jiu-Jitsu before you started fighting NHB?
PR: Well, when I started [training in] Shootfighting, it was closer to NHB because we didn't use gi's, that was in the Bart Vale school. We did a lot of kickboxing, palm striking, and stuff. We started that real early, but it wasn't very good. It did give us a background though. We did that for a year and a half or two years then we went to Jiu-Jitsu for a while. Once we started competing, we were smart enough to get away from that early, so we could do other types of training, without gi's and wrestling.

FCF: Is Team Rival, basically Jaime Levine? [All of Din & Paul's crew were wearing Team Rival clothes]
PR: Yeah, basically.

FCF: Is he a big part of you being able to train full-time because most fighters can't live on the purses they win?
PR: Yeah, actually he lives in Orlando too. He's at the school every night. Him and Din are thinking about opening up a big place, through him. He is planning to put in an octagon and everything. He helps us a lot. I don't even know who is on Team Rival. I know we have a close knit group in Orlando. Half of these guys here [at Super Brawl], I didn't even meet until today.

FCF: So it's not actually a team, it's more of a sponsorship?
PR: Yeah. I guess we could be our own independent team, but I guess he wants everybody to be under the Team Rival name.

FCF: How often are you planning on fighting?
PR: Since I started training full-time, I was hoping a lot this year. I wanted to know if I could do this thing or not. Since I changed my training, I had a busy schedule. I fought Phil Johns, then I did a NAGA tournament about a month ago, then I did this, then I fighting next month, so I'd like to see how I do when I dedicate myself. I'm always learning and always training.

FCF: Are you looking to fight once a month or is that a little busy for you?
PR: It's a little busy for me, but it just depends with how my body holds up. I train better now, I train harder and smarter. I eat better.

FCF: Do you feel a bit sharper because of all these competitions or is it hard to tell because you also changed your training methods?
PR: Yeah, I think it is more because of my training methods because they were so pathetic before. It's probably going to be a bit of both.

FCF: You've already fought some pretty big names, but haven't really received much recognition, until you KO'd Dennis Hallman. You fought Phil Johns, Gomi, and you are going to fight Berger.
PR: I also beat Mike McClure.

FCF: Are you looking for a title?
PR: Yeah, eventually, I will see how I do against Berger and eventually, I'd like to build my name up and fight in the UFC and see how I do. I just want to be the best and I want to fight the best people. I've already fought people better than me already, and heavier. I want to be the best in my weight class.

FCF: How many fights have you had already?
PR: I've had a lot in Jaime's [Levine] small shows in Orlando. I fought Gomi in Japan, Phil Johns, and Mike McClure. I fought Ben Harrison in one of Chris Cordeiro's shows. And I fought David Strasser in the WEF. He was just too fucken heavy and held me down for three rounds and won the decision. I got close to twelve fights. I have also been doing the grappling tournaments lately.

FCF: Are you looking to fight in the 170lbs class? What is the weight you want to fight at?
PR: Yeah, I like to stay in between 165 & 170lbs. When I fought in Japan, I dipped down to 152lbs and that was just too hard. That was the first time I did that. I felt weak. I just wasn't used to that. Prior to that I was in the 170s or 180s, so I like the weight that I'm at now. I am actually the quickest and strongest at this weight.

FCF: Are you above 170lbs and suck weight to get to 170lbs?
PR: I walk around at 170lbs, sometimes I go up to 173lbs, sometimes down to 168lbs. I like to stay in between there. If I drop, it's only 3 of 4lbs. It feels more natural for me. Strength wise, I can hang with this weight class, I think.

FCF: Is there anything else you would like to add?
PR: Not much. I am just going to keep working hard and build myself up. I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it. I need to dedicate myself. I'd like to ask you to excuse my friend [Din Thomas addressed the crowd arrogantly after his win at Super Brawl XX over Stephen "Bozo" Palling and the crowd booed him]. He's not really mean. [laughs] That's just how he is. He's my best friend, I live with him now, he's my roommate. He's not really like that.

FCF: I enjoyed the show. [laughs]. The crowd didn't though.
PR: Yeah, he's really a good kid. I'd also like to thank the fans for the support. That's what we need for this sport. I try my best and the people that I run into, I try to educate them about it. I apologize for my friend though. [laughs] I think people like that are good for the sport. I mean you need humble people too, but…

FCF: Everyone loves guys like Tank [Abbott] right?
PR: Yeah, you need the characters too. Outside of that I'd just like to thank everyone for supporting the sport.

FCF: Thank you.
PR: Thanks.