Latif Idris. It may not be a name that you know right now, but in the world of MMA, it’s one that you can expect to hear in the years to come. The refugee turned future MMA star currently trains at the PKG gym in California, and after three professional fights, he is ready to make a name for himself.
We recently sat down with Latif to get to know more about his past, what got him started in MMA, and what some of his views are on burning topics within the world of MMA.
What originally got you started in the world of MMA?
When I was younger, when we first moved into this country, our whole family had a crazy affinity for boxing. So I started out boxing when I was 14 or 15, picked that up, and kind of wanted to expand beyond just using hands so I got into Muay Thai. I started fighting that for a little while and then pushed into MMA, built up my jiu jitsu in there. So, I guess it all started when I was younger as a big boxing fan; it kind of evolved from that.
Where did you originally immigrate from?
Eritrea, it used to be part of Ethiopia and it broke off. In 1998 there was a war going, and so we got refugee status and moved to Washington DC, and then I eventually moved to LA.
There aren’t really too many fighters from Eastern Africa (laughs).
Was there a particular reason you and your family came to America?
Well, again Ethiopia and Eritrea were at war, and it had been going on for a little while. Eritrea gained their independence in 1994, and when ’94 came around we were living there, and then there was a border dispute with Ethiopia and another war came up – this was around 1997/98. Once that came up, everyone had in the back of their minds: ‘Is this going to be another really awful war?’ What ended up happening is that a lot of people just ended up exiting from the country.
What my parents did, was that they applied for political refugee status. So, they went to the various consulates around Eritrea for England, France and the US. France and England said ‘no’, but the United States said ‘come in’, so that’s where we went as political refugees.
Who was the inspiration both as a mentor, and just in terms of who you grew up watching?
I would probably say that the first fighter that I ever got into was Sugar Ray Leonard, because he was out of the first gym that I trained and fought out of. He was always the kind of guy, size-wise, that really fit the description of a fly-weight more than other fighters.
In terms of ‘who’, Ernesto Huiz from King Boxing was probably the first guy that got me to think about Muay Thai and kick-boxing more – other than straight boxing.
Between those two, I guess Robert0 Duran was probably another guy, too, that I always had huge affinity for. Mainly because, he grew up kind of the same way I did. He grew up in the third world, with really nothing – so, his story is kind of similar to mine.
What pushed you to make the move from DC to PKG?
I think you find more fighters migrate out to the West. California is big place for gyms, Vegas probably being the other one – you might go to New Mexico or the Pacific Northwest – unless you’ve got a really solid gym. There are really few and far between in the Washington DC area. I trained out of Floyd Irvin’s over there for a little bit… but, other than 1 or 2 gyms there really aren’t too many options.
How would you describe your style of fighting?
Primarily, I started off as a striker. I was very much into the Muay Thai style because I was into the punches and the kicks, and the knees and the elbows. I’m kind of an aggressive fighter because I look a lot to finish fights, which is not really a big characteristic of a lot flyweight fighters. I’m always looking to finish a fight as opposed to going the distance.
I like to keep a lot of movement in my game. I am working on my ground game and my wrestling, jiu jitsu I’ve been doing for a few years. So, you know, I’m a really aggressive striker.
Since moving over to PKG how has your fight game evolved?
I’ve become more of an overall MMA fighter. That’s always the interesting thing about MMA, a lot of people come in and say ‘I want to learn MMA’. MMA isn’t a strict martial art, That’s what is so great about PKG, is that they’re very solid about all aspects of the game. I’ve been doing this for a decade now, but at one point I realized I wanted to go someplace that really covered all aspects of the game.
Once you get out here, you fight a little bit and you start to get a name, you ask people where to train. Overwhelmingly , people were saying ‘you should go to PKG’. I was really looking for a place with a good stable of fighters right around my weight class; most places you go, the next closest guy that I would have my weight class (flyweight) would be a welterweight. At PKG you’ve got good quality fighters; you’ve got Chad (George) who fights at 135lbs, Dom (Clark) fights at lightweight… so, you definitely have a solid fighter of lighter weight available to you.
How would you describe the training environment over at PKG, where you train?
It’s super supportive. It’s a really super group of guys. The whole aspect of the group of guys there – they’ll pick you up when you’re down, and when you’re up they’ll help you out a little bit. It’s a good group of guys that have been in the fight game for a little while now, so they know the ins and outs of it. Even with the loss, which was my first career loss, everyone there has been through it – so, it’s good to have a good group of guys that can help you deal with it.
I think the other aspect of it is that it’s a good group of quality guys that you have around you. For someone that has been in a lot of gyms, it’s really something that I’ve found to be evident at PKG.
What would you say is becoming the most important technique in MMA today?
I honestly think it’s the transition aspect of fighting more so than anything. Being able to switch-on and switch-off, not really having to ever limit yourself. Being able to stand upright, and go for take-downs, being able to work off the ground – so, I think that’s the most important aspect of it. Gone are the days of guys are who are just ridiculously good at one aspect of fighting, and they just don’t know anything else. It’s gotten to the point where you have to be a savant at all aspects of the game, so I really think that transition aspect is the most important.
You recently fought at BAMMA USA: Bad Beat 8. You got caught early in the fight, what happened?
Well, I think first of all, it was kind of clip to the side of the head that caught me off guard. The good thing about that fight, in all honesty, was that it helped me get in touch and correct the parts of my game that I needed to get corrected. Now that I’ve seen it in live action, I’ll definitely fix up on things – maybe be a little bit more on angles, rather than just moving forward. Once you look at a fight you realize what you need to work on – and that’ the good thing with the loss, is that you kind of get to go back to the drawing board.
Do you have another fight date in the near future?
That’s always the thing about being a fighter, you can be disappointed about having a loss, but it’s not like you pack it up and go home. You just see that there’s another fight coming up.
I am probably looking around the summer time – maybe May/June… June most likely.
If you could fight anyone in the world who would it be?
In all honesty, the two guys that I would like to see myself against – and they’re the two top guys in their respective professions – Anderson Silva and Floyd Mayweather. They just have that aura of invincibility around them. Floyd Mayweather is like 47-0, and Anderson Silva hasn’t lost in a number of years – so, it’s always the enigma that I want to try and see where I am at. It’s always a good barometer to test yourself against the best of the best – so, I’d love to crack that puzzle with the both of them.
After talking with Latif a little bit about his life and career, we switched gears a little to discuss with him his thoughts on some of the big topics in the world of MMA today.
GSP fought recently to another decision. Do you think he’s lost his killer instinct? Or do you think he’s just a smarter fighter?
I don’t necessarily think he’s lost the killer instinct. In all honesty I think it shows what a great fighter he actually is. Most of us would’ve just thrown the game plan out the window after having had a guy talk so much smack for so many months, and say: ‘hey, I’m going to knock this guys teeth in’, however, he didn’t. There’s a glaring weakness in Nick Diaz’s game that Georges St. Pierre is really good at – he can take people down at will, and Nick Diaz doesn’t really have great takedown defense. You know the fact that he didn’t go crazy and go for the KO is a big testament toward him.
I think a lot of it also has to do with him being down there in New Mexico (Albuquerque), where they’re all about game planning, which is a good thing. It’s an important aspect of the game. So, I think it’s just more that as he’s gotten older he’s gotten smarter and looked for ways to win it, opposed to just fighting it.
Jon Fitch being cut from the UFC – do you think it was a premature cut seeing as he was 1-2-1 in his last 4 fights?
It was kind of weird for sure. It was kind of a long time coming, though I think. There was a lot of rumbling about Jon Fitch being the technical boring fighter – dragging you down and taking you down. It may not make for a lot fireworks, but it gets you the victory. Let’s be honest the guy is still one of the top welterweights in the world, but I always felt like it was a long time coming trying to get him cut from the UFC. There was all that business about trying to trademark the guys from AKA (American Kickboxing Academy), and they had some kind of a disagreement with the UFC and that kind of damaged the relationship a little bit; I think some of that residue is still there. So you take that, and the notoriety of being a boring fighter, and the opportunity came and they let him go.
He’s still a world class fighter, and I think he’s on the World Series of Fighting now.
The UFC/FOX deal has really sunken in now – do you think the UFC has grown positively, negatively… stagnated as a result?
I think the casual fan has benefited in that it’s on network television, and everyone now has the opportunity to watch a UFC fight. I guess the problem now is that they rely a little bit more on the business side of it. You don’t necessarily see the most qualified guys getting title shots. Take Nick Diaz… he’s a fantastic fighter, and I don’t take anything away from him, but it was argumentative that he deserved a title shot over Hendricks. Or Chael Sonnen, to get a shot against Jones. It seems more and more that they’re catering to the more popular fighters, and not necessarily the one’s who are deserving of a shot. It seems like they just started making fights that the casual fan would want to see, and not guys like you and me. I’d rather see Jon Jones and Dan Henderson, but you know they can more easily market Chael Sonnen.
Do you really think we’re ever going to see the “super fight”?
The good thing about the UFC, or what I heard Dana White say a little while ago, is that they put together the fights that you want to see. A little bit of interest wavered off in boxing because you never got to see the top two guys go up against each other – it’s kind of a moot point now, but Mayweather and Pacquiao were the top two guys in the same weight class, and it never happened, and it made boxing kind of unattractive to a number of fans. The UFC says that they want to show the best of the best and the fights everyone wants to see. I can’t think of anything a reason I wouldn’t want to see GSP v Anderson Silva, or Anderson Silva v. Jon Jones.
I still think they’re going to do it, I just think there are a couple of contenders at each division that deserve their shot. You’ve got Chris Weidman at middleweight and he definitely deserves a shot, and he’s getting one. The same thing with Hendricks. So, i feel like once one or two of those top contenders have had their title shot, they’re definitely going to move toward the title shot.
We want to thank Latif for sitting down and talking with us. We look forward to seeing this inspirational fighter move forward with his MMA career, and expect to see big things from him in the future. We’ll keep you updated on his next fight!
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