Bloody Elbow's Eddie Mercado spoke with UFC heavyweight Adam Milstead following his UFC debut victory over Chris de la Rocha at UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt. Milstead touched on various topics such as his introduction into MMA, his debut performance, sparring with UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, and a possible leap into the music industry.
Audio Only Interview: UFC Heavyweight Adam Milstead
Milstead recalled how his very first MMA fight was also his first fight ever:
"I started training and had picked it up pretty quick. Two months later I was fighting my very first fight. I remember... it was one of the most nerve wracking things of my entire life because I'd never been in a fight in my entire life. Growing up I was always a big guy; no one ever picked on me. I ended up going into the fight, winning it and fell in love with the fact that I worked my butt off to get my hand raised at the end ... Ever since then I stuck with it."
Milstead is fresh off of a second-round TKO victory over Chris de la Rocha at UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs. Garbrandt. Although Milstead achieved a finish in his promotional debut, The Prototype was rather critical of his inaugural UFC performance:
"My performance could have been a hell of a lot better. I'll say that right now. I've watched it about a hundred different times. I picked out a lot of different things that I need to work on. Mainly the hardest part about dealing with it was the fact that all of your dreams and goals came down to one moment, one opportunity. It was like you got to do everything you could to get things right to make sure you capture that dream ... When it came time to jump in the cage I definitely had the UFC jitters."
Milstead regularly frequents UFC heavyweight top dog Stipe Miocic's gym, Strong Style Fight Team in Cleveland, Ohio. The Prototype touches on his sparring sessions with Stipe Miocic:
"We always tell each other that we're going to start out nice and easy but it usually ends in a crazy intense brawl. We're still safe about it but at the same time - I mean we're both in there to get work and help one another. Going easy just doesn't feel like we are helping one another so we go pretty hard."
Milstead uses his music to distract himself from his upcoming fights. The Prototype is not against walking out to the Octagon to his own music nor is he against singing and fighting at the same UFC event. Milstead explains how he used music to curb his anxiety:
"I remember when I first decided to put out something online. I did that because prior to one of my fights I could not stop thinking about the fight. I'm going to sit down, relax, and start playing guitar. I started recording and I put out this song and people liked it. Next thing I know I wasn't thinking about the fight. Ever since then it's been one of those thing; it's like a fight ritual."
Check out The Prototype performing his original song Like I Love You:
Is Milstead the next big thing in country music? Will we see a UFC event where Milstead will both perform music and compete inside the octagon? Brock Lesnar is about to fight at UFC 200 and Michael Bisping is the UFC middleweight champion so I suppose anything is possible. There is no scheduled bout as of yet for Milstead.
Stay tuned to BloodyElbow.com for updates, news, and interviews.
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