Kevin Randleman Talks Strikeforce Debut, Injuries and the Future

Kevin Randleman Talks Strikeforce Debut, Injuries & the Future 06/24/2009
By Dave Carpinello
 

On June 6th, “The Monster” Kevin Randleman made his return to North America as he fought Mike Whitehead under the Strikeforce banner. Randleman lost by unanimous decision as it took two rounds to shake off the ring rust for Randleman who hadn’t fought in over a year and underwent several surgeries to repair injuries sustained throughout his mixed martial arts career. “The Monster” recently sat down with PDG to discuss what’s next, the injuries from his fight and his continued evolution as a fighter.
 

PDG: Not a bad showing against Mike Whitehead considering the long layoff. What injuries did you suffer in the fight?
Kevin Randleman: I broke my right hand in the first round and I have already had surgery to repair it, so I should only have to wear a cast for about six more weeks. I also got a small crack in my left hand but it’s nothing serious and I just have to wear a splint when I sleep. The doctors had to put plates in my right hand so it will be stronger after it is healed.

PDG: How would you grade your performance overall in your fight against Mike Whitehead?
Kevin Randleman: It was definitely another great learning experience for me as a fighter. The bottom line is that I lost the fight and like I said before after being out of the cage for so long, if I was going to lose one of my comeback fights it was going to be the first one. There were so many uncertainties going into this fight with my shoulders and the surgeries that I had on them in the past year. Sometimes it starts to get in your head about whether or not your body is going to hold up during the fight. It took a little longer for the ring rust to go away but overall the fight taught me a lot. It wasn’t until the third round of that fight that I finally relaxed and started to follow the game plan. My timing was really off in those first two rounds and Whitehead’s wasn’t. I really had to work in th ´at fight for the first time in my career and I think it showed with some of the jiu-jitsu that I was able to utilize to get off the ground. It comes down to the fact that I threw little to no strikes in the first two rounds and didn’t follow the game plan that my corner had set up for me.

PDG: The ring announcers (Frank Shamrock and Mauro Renallo) repeatedly commented that your gas tank was empty in the first two rounds.
Kevin Randleman: What the fuck do they know? I will drop down to 185 pounds and put a hurting on Frank Shamrock….for fucking free! I can’t stand to hear him speak, has he not seen my resume? I come to a fight to bang. Gassed? Hell no it is called ring rust and if that was not the case why was the third round my best of the fight. I’m pretty sure that Frank would not have much to say if he got in the ring with me and I punched him in his face. I could hear a lot of what they were saying during the fight when we were on the ground near where they were doing their little announcing. The difference between me and those two is that I know there is still a lot more that I need to learn. I know that I still have the ability at my age to be the best and that’s a lot more than I can say for Mr. Shamrock. So if he has anything else to say I am sure that he can talk to the promoters and make the fight happen. As far as Mauro goes, if I want to know when the Boston Tea Party took place then I’ll ask him. Otherwise he can just STFU.

PDG: So what training are you going to be able to do now with your hand in a cast?
Kevin Randleman: In about three weeks I will be able to start hitting the pads and as soon as I get the okay to start sparring I will be in the gym that day. I had no injuries going into that fight and I plan on that being the same going into my next fight. I love this sport and hopefully I can continue to improve and fight for at least another three to four years. I’m going to have some time here to work on my kicks while in the cast and so my striking should improve more before my next fight. There were so many opportunities in that fight to throw kicks and I just didn’t take advantage of them.

PDG: Ok, first fight in over a year; I want to hear the letter grades you would give yourself in certain categories.

PDG: Striking.
Kevin Randleman: B-

PDG: Cardio
Kevin Randleman: B

PDG: Have you had a chance to meet with your trainers Shawn Tompkins and Ron Frasier?
Kevin Randleman: We haven’t sat down and gone over everything yet but we talked about it that night and had some conversations on the phone. We are planning to get together this week and go out to dinner to go over everything I did right and everything I did wrong in the fight. When we talked right after the fight they were pretty unhappy that I wasn’t throwing my hands in the first two rounds. Like anybody who saw the fight knows that was my biggest problem. Overall I don’t think that my trainers were very happy with my performance since I did not follow the game plan that they set forth in the weeks leading up to the fight. Which is a good thing because I am also not happy with my performance.

PDG: With Mark Coleman cornering you and Phil Baroni that night; some are calling it more of the same for the former Hammerhouse members. What did you think of Baroni’s fight?
Kevin Randleman: He went out there and did all that he could, Joe Riggs is a bad man. It was a good fight and I don’t think in Strikeforce that you are going to see very many lackluster fights with all the talent that they are signing. That fight was nothing less than I expected with two bangers going in there and throwing nonstop the whole fight. As far as the Hammerhouse statement goes, I’ll accept it on the basis that at this point in my career I am ready to take the good, the bad and the ugly. I definitely believe that both of us can make a positive impact on the sport in the years to come.

PDG: When do you expect to return?
Kevin Randleman: I will be ready to fight again in September barring any setbacks.

PDG: Besides your current contract with Strikeforce, you are still signed with Sengoku. Are you going to be fighting in Japan this year?
Kevin Randleman: Yes I still have two fights left with Sengoku and Showtime is honoring that contract.

PDG: In other news, Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko are finally going to fight. What do you think of that match up?
Kevin Randleman: I think that I can’t wait to watch it. I also think that one of the white guys is going to win. If Josh can’t beat him then hopefully Alistair Overeem will get a shot because his striking has improved tremendously over the past couple of years and he is a very dangerous opponent.

PDG: Thanks for your time Kevin and good luck with the recovery.
Kevin Randleman: Anytime and thanks to all my fans out there and thanks once again to Scott Coker and Strikeforce. I also want to thank Cage Fighter and Rolling Stone and you can get their new shirts at Walmart.

**Kevin “The Monster” Randleman will be in Denver, Colorado on Saturday June 27th at the King of Champions event signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. For more information on the event CLICK HERE.**