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Virgil Zwicker Speaks: Strikeforce, MMA, UFC & More

Exclusive Interview by Kevin Nelson

“I have always been a fighter.” — Virgil Zwicker

Virgil Zwicker is a light heavyweight fighting out of Strikeforce. At Strikeforce Challengers 19 on September 23 on Showtime he faces Lorenz Larkin in the main event. Zwicker is a proud Native American who fights for his people. He has had a tough upbringing, living in poverty and has been incarcerated as a juvenile and as an adult.

Throughout all his trials and tribulations, he has come out of it all a better fighter and more importantly a better man. He has a family of 12 brothers and sisters and growing up this way has made him the person he is today.

KN: What made you decide that MMA is what you wanted to do with your life?

I have always been a fighter. I have always had that fighter mentality. I have never been the type of person to back down from a fight.

KN: A lot of fighters that get into MMA have a background in karate, taekwondo, wrestling, or boxing. Do you have a background in fighting?

My brothers were Golden Glove boxers and I learned to fight on the REZ, and I was the kind of person that did not back down from fights. I am a friendly person but people seem to want to fight me. I had my first pro fight with no background in training. As a matter of fact it wasn’t until my 3rd pro fight until I entered a real training camp.

KN: Have you ever trained with Lorenz Larkin?

We were supposed to fight each other before but it never happened. But yeah we trained together for a brief period and even sparred together. He is very athletic and quick. He is a nice guy and probably will train together with him again once we are done fighting. I feel I have the advantage on the ground and that is largely due to Dan Henderson and Jesse Taylor helping me out a lot with my wrestling.

KN: You have fought at heavyweight. How much weight do you cut to make light heavyweight?

I have been on a diet for 8 weeks and am currently at 214 pounds. Moving down from heavyweight was due to the fact that, having fought at heavyweight, I was facing much stronger opponents and was convinced after fighting Lavar Johnson that I should move down.

KN: How has training gone?

Training has gone really well and working at Team Quest with Jesse Taylor and Dan Henderson has really helped me. I also have been getting help from Ovince St. Preux in training. I feel like I am in the best shape and am ready to go.

KN: How do you see the fight going?

I see us having an exciting fight. He loves to stand up and exchange and so do I. We were supposed to fight before but it never happened. I feel on the ground having trained at team quest with Dan Henderson and Jesse Taylor I have developed a really good ground game and feel I have the advantage. He is very athletic as most of the light heavyweights in Strikeforce are.

KN: You have been incarcerated as a juvenile and as an adult. What was the change that occurred for you that helped turn your life around?

My father was a truck driver and my Mother was a homemaker. We lived in poverty but we had a lot of love in our family. I have 12 brothers and sisters. I had a lot of support so being incarcerated had to do with the mistakes I made.

I learned a lot in prison and seen some things. My wife has been very supportive in helping me change my ways, giving up drugs and alcohol. The turning point was missing the birth of my son while in prison. I knew I had to stop blaming other people and own up to the mistakes I have made and become a better person for my wife and kids.

KN: You are considered a role model to Native Americans for turning your life around. Did you ever imagine you would attain this kind of success?

I never thought of being a success at it. I just love to fight and I don’t have an ego about my success. I just never really thought I would be in the position I am in today. I am very blessed and I fight for my people. I thought of quitting many times, like when I fought for some shady promoters that I helped sell tickets for and was ripped off 25,000, even though I helped sell the place…where I fought was surrounded by reserves so a lot of the people that came to the fight came to see me. But I am proud of how I handled myself. I could have handled things differently. I am under contract with Strikeforce for 3 fights and they have treated me very well.

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