Interview: Rick Gravesen

By Rhonda Reigstad

 

Rick Gravesen isn’t a household name like so many others. If you follow the fast growing sport of ultimate fighting you have heard of him.

 Rick started fighting in 1996 and retired after a car accident. Some of his training partners were champions Pat Miletich, Jens Pulver, Tim Silvia, and Jeremy Horn. His record was 27-12 at the end of his career. At the height of his career he was ranked as high as number five in the light heavyweight class.

 Rick sat down and answered some questions for us here at Femmefan.

What is “ultimate fighting”?

 Ultimate fighting is a mixture of other "traditional" combat sports. It allows the fighters to punch, kick, knee, and elbow while standing.  Fighters can also throw their opponent to the ground where in addition to strikes the fighters can also utilize submission techniques such as joint locks and choke holds. Fighters are required to wear a groin cup, mouth guard and four-ounce gloves.  A fight is won by knock out, verbal submission, the corner can throw in the towel, the referee or ringside doctor can stop the fight for a fighter’s safety or a fighter can "tap out". When a fighter taps out, he taps the mat several times to let the referee know that he wants to stop the fight. This is the most common stoppage, as most fights are won by submission.  The referee or ringside doctor can stop the fight if a fighter is not protecting himself.

 What type of training is involved?

 Ultimate fighters must be well versed in many different types of fighting skills.  Skills are broken down into two main categories—grappeling and stand-up fighting. Examples of grappeling styles are wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and judo. Examples of stand-up styles are boxing, kickboxing and karate. An ultimate fighter must be well rounded and ready to fight his opponent standing or on the ground. You can be the best kick boxer in the world, but if a wrestler takes you to the ground, it is pretty hard to throw effective punches and kicks in that position. The exact opposite is also true. You can be the best submission fighter in the world, but if you can't get your opponent to the ground where you can utilize those submission skills, then you'd better be ready to fight standing up.

 Who did you look up to when you were training for ultimate fighting?

Pat Miletich and Jeremy Horn. I fought Pat twice. He was my first fight ever and then I fought him again a month later. He beat me easily both times. Back then Pat Miletich beat ALL of his opponents easily. He was light years ahead of all the other fighters. Pat rolled through his first 20 fights without a scratch, and this was back when ultimate fighting was true no holds barred combat. There were no weight classes, no time limits and the only rules were no biting and no eye gouging. Pat was 170 pounds and I watched him fight guys that were 270 pounds and just throw them around the ring like nothing. He was and still is a good kick boxer as well as a good ground fighter. When he put it all together in the cage he was incredible.

Jeremy Horn was my second fight. I was flown to Atlanta to fight this guy from Omaha. When I took a look at him, I knew I had the fight won. He was the most unintimidating fighter I had ever seen! He didn’t look like a fighter—he looked like he should be working at a gas station! In this sport, looks can be deceiving. Two minutes later, I was tapping out to a submission hold. If I didn’t tap out, Jeremy would have broken my arm. Because of the way he looked, it was easy for promoters to find opponents for Jeremy. I should say "it was easy for promoters to find VICTIMS for Jeremy.” The guy is a warrior. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only fighter in the world that has ever fought Jeremy Horn BARE KNUCKLE!  (There might be a few others out there—they just can't tell their story because their jaws are still wired shut!)

 Jeremy and Pat later became my friends and training partners. After becoming a five-time UFC champion, Pat is now retired and runs one of the top fighting gyms in the world. Jeremy also runs a top fighting gym and is still one of the top fighters in the world.  On August 20, he is fighting for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Without the influence and training of these two champions, I never would have survived as long as I did in ultimate fighting.

 What are the necessary steps to get sanctioned? How long does it take to become a professional ultimate fighter?

Currently, there is no sanctioning body for ultimate fighting. Every fighter is different. I've seen guys come to the gym with no formal fight training and they are ready to fight in two months. The next guy that walks in with the intentions of becoming a fighter may not fight for two years.

 In your time of being involved in ultimate fighting, have you noticed any growth in the sport? Are more people following it?

Ultimate fighting started out as an underground bare knuckle-fighting event, now it is a legitimate sport that is legal in almost every state. It has been growing in leaps and bounds and I believe it will continue to grow.

 What is your most memorable moment in your fighting career?

Every single fight is memorable. If I had to pick a single moment, I'd have to say it was when I won my first tournament. When I first started fighting, it was always in a tournament format, which means you would have to fight two or three times in one night. Keep in mind—this was back when there were no weight classes and no time limits. Your first opponent might be 300 pounds and if the fight went on for an hour, you'd still have to fight two more times that night! There weren’t that many fighters back then and if you won a tournament it was a pretty big deal. I'd won more tournaments later in my career, but I'll never forget that first one. The first time you knock an opponent out is pretty cool also. (Actually, EVERY time you knock your opponent out is cool!) It's a good feeling to knockout somebody. I've never been knocked out. I've been choked unconscious before, now that's a memorable experience! There's nothing quite like waking up and not having a clue of where you are or what happened—then realizing that you just lost a fight in front of thousands of people. I could go on and on about "memorable" moments!

 Are you still involved in ultimate fighting?

A car accident forced me into retirement. I broke 13 bones in the right side of my face. The plastic surgeon did an awesome job of putting everything back together but he told me that if I ever took a direct hit on the upper outside of my right cheek that he didn’t want to be the one that would have to fix the damage! I've got four steel plates around my right eye, but the bones in my cheek had too many fractures to effectively plate it back together. He took out what he couldn’t save and resculpted the rest and just let it heal without the benefit of support from plates or screws. I miss fighting more than you could ever imagine. I still promote ultimate fighting, but it's just not the same as getting in there and going head to head with another trained warrior.

 Thank you, Rick, for taking time to answer my questions and good luck in your future endeavors!

[Top] [Print this Page]