Dan Severn Talks Rashad Evans, Wrestling, Teammates and Retirement

Fred: What’s up, everybody? This is Fred Richani of The Sports Courier, joined today by our good friend, UFC Hall of Famer Dan “The Beast” Severn. How you doing, Dan?

Dan Severn: I’m doing great there, Fred. We’ve got MMA matches taking place back in this direction, we’ve got the MMA Expo over here, we’ve got a stretch limousine in front of us and the red carpet underneath us. Can’t ask for more.

Fred: That’s the beauty of the Beast. You’ve been on a five-, six-, seven-, 10-fight winning streak. Have you lost track of how many fights you’ve been winning lately?

Dan Severn: Fred, I’ve never paid much attention to it in the first place. The victories become just a blur, and the losses, oh, they’re etched up here. I’ll be a gracious loser maybe on the exterior, but rest assured, internally I have a hard time accepting that.

Fred: Back in October in Atlantic City, we spoke about Jon Jones and Rashad Evans. At the time, Rashad was in line to face Shogun Rua for the light heavyweight title at UFC 128. We talked about how Rashad and Jones were saying they wouldn’t fight each other, and you said you’d be willing to fight a guy you trained with, like Don Frye. Many months later, Rashad and Jones are now going to fight. What do you think about that?

Dan Severn: If that’s what people want to see, you should try to make those things happen. You may train with somebody and be friends, but to me, you’ll still be friends after. You’re just going out there and putting your athletic skills to the test. A lot of wrestlers go out there, slap hands, go after each other tooth and nail, and when it’s over, slap hands again. There’s no disrespect about it.

Fred: When you were training in your prime, with training partners you knew you’d probably have to fight, did you ever hold anything back, or did you just go all out?

Dan Severn: Training-wise, you can’t go 100% either, because otherwise you’ll either run out of workout partners, or your workout partners will take you out in the process. You have to know how to train properly and safely. It’s all done in phases and stages, with safety equipment put into place. A lot of the submission grappling was simulated striking, because if you really started banging away on your partner, you’d turn him into hamburger right away. You have to be smart about the way you train if you want any kind of duration in the sport.

Fred: You do have quite a bit of duration. We also interviewed Guy Mezger that same day, and other guys, like Nick Diaz, have said they would never fight a teammate. They say it’s not the same as other sports, like basketball or football. You’re really hitting a guy. Those shots are real. So you wouldn’t have a problem knocking out Don Frye?

Dan Severn: I don’t know if I’d be capable of knocking out Don Frye. Look at him. He’s got that mustache. I might be a little intimidated by that mustache. It’s darker than mine. Maybe I could get a sponsorship package built into this so I can become more intimidating than even Don.

Fred: Now I’ve got to ask you: What came first? Not the chicken or the egg, but the Don Frye stache or the Dan Severn stache?

Dan Severn: Oh, the Dan Severn stache has been around way longer than the Don Frye stache.

Fred: How important a base is wrestling? You come from a wrestling background as a decorated wrestler and Olympic alternate. How crucial is it these days in MMA?

Dan Severn: If you looked at the top 10 guys weight class by weight class, you’d see wrestling as a basic fundamental for probably seven out of 10 of those guys, and I’m probably guesstimating on the low side. Take not just any wrestler, but a wrestler who has achieved some level of success, and now you just have to teach him some submission grappling or striking skills. I coached at both Arizona State and Michigan State, and I’ve witnessed some incredible physical battles where two wrestlers got so frustrated that they came to blows. Now you’re giving a wrestler a green light to smack somebody. That tenacious behavior is already there, so wrestlers will continue to do well in this sport.

Fred: What advice can you give MMA fighters coming in who are really good athletes but don’t have a wrestling base? I don’t believe GSP wrestled much in high school or college, but he’s learned over time.

Dan Severn: He recognized what he needed to round himself out. For someone who never wrestled before, he works out on a continuous basis with the Canadian Olympic team. Matter of fact, from what I’ve heard, he could actually be on the Canadian wrestling team representing Canada in the upcoming Olympic Games. I like GSP because he does his homework and prepares himself properly. And he also looks good in a suit.

Fred: Let’s talk about a guy you mentored early in his career, Ultimate Fighter winner Rashad Evans. How do you rate his development? He held the light heavyweight title and beat a lot of guys, and he still has only one loss, although he took a lot of flak for sitting out to wait for his title shot against Shogun, only to injure his knee. Now he’s going to face Jones and still gets a shot, but by then he’ll have been out of action for over a year.

Dan Severn: There are pros and cons to everything. Being an athlete is hard on the body in the first place, so there could have been injuries from his amateur career that got aggravated. Rashad is an intelligent man. He’ll know when he wants to come back for his next match, and he’ll take his time. I don’t think anyone should ever rush into something if they’re not ready physically or mentally. There’s an abundance of fighters they can throw out there. Prepare yourself properly, and when you want to go after it, go after it.

Fred: Your thoughts on his progress as a mixed martial artist? He has beaten some of the best guys.

Dan Severn: He’s added a lot more to his repertoire. When he first came down to my place in Michigan, he was already a very well-established wrestler working on his strikes and his submissions. Now he’s added elements of kicks. It’s about learning to study your opponents. You want to know what your opponent’s strengths are, what your strengths are, how the strengths match up and where the weaknesses are. You want to avoid their strengths and capitalize on their weaknesses.

Fred: Dan, I’ll get you out on this: What’s next for the Beast?

Dan Severn: The Beast is still hanging in there. I’ve pretty much made it public knowledge that unless a masters division emerges, I’ll probably be out of the competition scene by 2013. I only have a couple of matches I’m looking to put together, and as those come together, I can’t just sit dormant. I’m a big believer that practice is one thing, but stepping into a live match is a whole different state of mind, and so is what your opponent is looking to do to you. So I’ll still do a match here and a match there before those bigger matches, just to keep my competitive edge.

Fred: Where can your fans find you online?

Dan Severn: Simply go to DanSevern.com, and you can see all the wacky things the Beast has done or continues to do.

Fred: We’re looking forward to seeing what you do. Always a pleasure, sir.

Dan Severn: Thank you, Fred.