Vik “The Spartan” Grujic is a fighter in the UFC’s Welterweight division. He showed up on our radar during his run on TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia. Although he came up short in the TUF finale, losing a decision to Nordine Taleb, he came back big at Fight Night 43 with KO over Chris Indich.
Grujic’s next fight is against Chris Clements at UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs Bisping.
I had a chance to sit down with “The Spartan” and have a talk about his upcoming fight, and the unfriendly attitude his home country’s government has toward MMA fighters.
Aaron Robbins: Vik thanks for taking some time for me. How has the fight camp been?
Vik Grujic: “It’s been fantastic. I’m over in San Diego at Alliance. I’m healthy, and in good shape. I was training in Melbourne prior to coming over here. Obviously, the training over here at Alliance is a lot tougher. I’ve really stepped up a notch and it’s gone really good.”
AR: I know you’re a family man, but you don’t get to bring your family with you. That has to be tough.
VG: “When I have a full training camp unfortunately the situation doesn’t really work out for anybody to come over but myself. I’m in the situation where I need to come over here to train properly, but I can’t bring my family which sucks. At the same time I am able to focus on training 100%. There are pros and cons, I guess, but yes it’s just me over here.”
AR: So you have to leave your family for about five weeks for this fight?
VG: “It’s actually six weeks. I’m over here for five weeks training, and then I’ll be away for fight week as well. The fight is in Sydney, which is a whole other state than Melbourne. I’ll spend the fight week there. So six weeks in total.”
AR: It has got to be tough to leave them behind. How do you fill your time here in the States when you’re done with training?
VG: “I spend a lot of time at the beach. It’s very relaxing for me, so I try to spend time there whenever I can. There are several things I’ve gotten to do since I’ve been over in San Diego. I’m a big fan of Sea World.”
AR: I’m sorry Vik; did you just say you are a fan of sea gulls?! (I obviously misunderstood Vik here.)
VG: (Laughs) “No Mate. I said Sea World. We have sea gulls over in Australia and they are just as big a pain in the ass there as they are here!”
AR: I follow your Twitter feed and it seems you have quite a weakness for junk-food. Is that a fair assessment?
VG: “Oh….yes. Yeah I do. With fighters we go from one extreme to the other. You have to eat healthy to compete, but then you talk about a cheesy, gooey pizza that’s a weakness right there. Junk food is a vice. I really enjoy Twizzlers. Somebody brought up crack the other day on Twitter to me, and I told them that Twizzlers were my addiction. I try not to indulge in bad foods too often though.”
AR: I’m just giving you hell Vik, I couldn’t help myself. Vik what’s the biggest contrast between training in Australia and training at Alliance?
VG: “Well we do have some fighters on the east coast of Australia, but they are very scattered. It’s very tough to train over in Australia because of the politics between gyms. For example my Jiu Jitsu coach is an hour away from me. I travel twice a week to train with him. I also have to travel to train with my striking coach. There aren’t guys close to me with a high level game to spar with, so it’s hard to get sparring in. It’s quite a bit of a task just to get a basic training camp in over there.
“At Alliance I walk downstairs and I have a gym full of MMA’s best. I don’t have to worry about anything. I get told what time I’m training and what decisions will be involved. I don’t have to think about anything. I get prepared in the best possible way that I can. It’s a huge peace of mind coming out here to train.”
AR: You will be facing Chris Clements in your upcoming fight. Give us your thoughts on the fight.
VG: “I don’t really go out of my way to train for a specific fighter. I know that he’s going to try to hit hard and knock me out. I’ve watched him a bit, and I know he likes spinning back-fists and spinning kicks. He’s pretty crafty in that sense. I mostly just try to work on the holes in my game. I try to become a more complete fighter and progress. Every fighter I face is a challenge, but if I can be the best me and pressure him; put him on the back foot then the fight’s not his. That’s pretty much the way I look at it. I want to fight my fight and take him out of the equation. He’s a striker and I feel confident in my stand-up. I’m good on the ground as well so we’ll see where it goes. This training camp I have focused on my Jiu Jitsu quite a bit. I’ve neglected it for the last couple of years because I’ve had success with my striking. That’s the aspect of my game I’ve been focusing on a lot more lately.”
AR: Do you feel that fighting in Australia gives you the proverbial home-field advantage?
VG: “When I fought Nordine the crowd was definitely on his side. The support really helps a lot. I hope that’s one of the things that lifts me for this fight, being at home. I’ll have the crowd backing me, and I’ll feel that support. It drives you and pushes you even harder to get the win. I think that will be a good motivator.
“I do this to make a living for my family and I’m not sure if people are aware but the cage is banned in Victoria, Australia. Our government doesn’t give us that support that fighters have in the U.S. I don’t think they understand how much goes into being a fighter; what it takes to prepare for a fight. In Australia there are a lot of sports that are supported, but MMA fighting is frowned upon. I was walking through a Wal-Mart and you see fighters advertising sports drinks, and you see Cain Velasquez advertising telecommunications. MMA athletes in North America are celebrated. Back home most people don’t know who I am or what I do for a living. Victoria is behind the times because our government actually holds us back. I want people to know how hard it is for us to go out there and try to achieve in this sport. That’s why I’m happy that the fight is over in Australia. I’d like to see the attitude toward fighting change.”
For more information on the opposition from the Victorian government click here.
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