Turkey for the FILA World Championships. Let’s talk about the road to Turkey first.

BC: Just getting to Turkey? I qualified at the Best of the West tournament, and competing against some good guys there. I won the US Trials in Las Vegas where I came up against Sim Go again. It had been awhile since we had competed last and he had won the North American ADCC trials. He by far has been the toughest opponent I’ve had and he brings out the best in me because he’s so good.

Going to Turkey we had a one week training camp at No Limits in LA, then we flew out with our coaches to Antalya. The competition there was really good. I was shocked to see that the competitors from the UK and France were really, really good. They are using all the same half guard techniques we are using over here, looking for the same Darce chokes that we use. I met a guy who’s now a good friend of mine Matt Sanchez in the finals and I ended up winning 10-5.


OTM: Now with all of the skills you have under your belt you are moving forward with a career in Mixed Martial Arts. How’s your career been so far?

BC: Right now I’m just 2-0, I’ve had fights against two really good opponents….

OTM: That first fight was in Japan was it not?

BC: Yeah, it was in Japan in 2002 where I fought in Deep 5th Impact against Rambaa Somdet. He was a well established Muay Thai fighter and had actually beat (Takumi) Yano, who was a high level Japanese grappler at the time, so it was a pretty tough fight.


OTM: Your next match is a title fight coming up on October 6 at Cage Combat in San Mateo.

BC: Yeah, I’m going to be facing Rolando Velasco who is a really good fighter. I believe he’s had two TKO wins and another decision win over another really good Jiu Jitsu fighter. All I know about him is that he wrestled for Modesto Junior College and he has pretty good ground and pound and I hear he’s pretty scrappy on his feet. I’m pretty confident on the ground, so we’ll just see where it goes from there.


OTM: With your diverse background what is your main preparation for an MMA fight?

BC: My main preparation is mainly my standup. Actually I can’t say that, every day we do two hours of stand up, basically boxing and Muay Thai for two hours, and we mix it all together with boxing and wrestling and jiu jitsu. I’d I train about six hours a day with about two hours devoted to each aspect with boxing, jiu jitsu and wrestling.


OTM: What do you do when you’re not training six hours a day?

BC: When I’m not training? Thanks to Cartel Bodyboards and No Friends, they provide me with body boards and wet suits so I’m usually out surfing when I’m not training. Other than that I’m spending time with my kids, either taking them to and from school and doing the whole family thing.


OTM: How old are your kids now?

BC: My son Sean is nine, my daughter Keiko is four.


OTM: Do they have any interest in following in Dad’s footsteps in martial arts?

BC: I don’t know, my daughter is a scrapper and my son is really into school right now, but he takes judo classes, so maybe.


OTM: Any sponsors to thank or shout outs to make:

BC: I’d like to thank OntheMat of course, Shoyoroll, Budovideos. I’d like to thank Cartel, No Friends, Triumph United and Clinch Fight Gear.


OTM: I guess that wraps things up. Good luck to you Saturday at Cage Combat.

BC: Thanks and hopefully I’ll see you guys there.