Jan Nortje To Soko "Take Your Pain Pills Before The Fight"

http://www.mmaunltd.com/feature-detail.asp/NewsID/311/jan-nortje-talks-super-hulk-tournament.htm
The Giant’ is a befitting nickname for Jan Nortje. Standing 6’11” and weighing in at over 330lbs, he truly is an intimidating figure. Primarily a striker, he holds an undefeated pro-boxing record, an 8-15 kickboxing record and a 2-5 MMA record. His K-1 and MMA records don’t accurately reflect his level as the South African behemoth has been in there with the best. His first K-1 bout against Matt Skelton, a decorated professional in boxing and kickboxing, is indicative of his willingness to fight the greatest and he has fought the who’s who of the striking arts including Aerts, Hoost, Le Banner and Schilt.

Next up for ‘The Giant’ is the ‘Super Hulk’ open-weight tournament in Japan’s Dream organization. It pits eight fighters against each other in a tournament format. The line up includes Dream’s middleweight GP winner Gegard Mousasi, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Bob Sapp, Mark Hunt, Minowaman, Hong Man Choi and former professional baseball player Jose Canseco. A few of the names are recognised for mismatch bouts in Pride FC and the addition of a big name American athlete in Canseco gives some backing to the ‘freak show’ claim. That said, all of the fighters have had successful athletic careers in one domain or another and therefore the tournament has plenty of interest in the combat sports communities.
Nortje faces Sokoudjou in the first round and Rohit Verma talked to him regarding his upcoming bout.

Thank you for doing this Interview for MMA Unltd Mag today.
Thank you for the interview, it's because of you guys that the sport is alive and well!

Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved in the Martial Arts?
I started martial arts in 1996, just messing around in the gym. I used to own a nightclub and some of the South African special forces guys came to make trouble and I gave them a proper hiding. Mike Bernardo's coach heard about this and two months later I fought K-1 against Matt Skelton.

What was life growing up in South Africa?
Growing up in South Africa was great. Lots of outdoors stuff , lots of sun but not much martial arts. The more popular sports are rugby , cricket and soccer, that is why there is only a handful of good martial artists in South Africa.

Carving your career on the K-1 circuit facing top competition such as Cro Cop, Le Banner and countless other stars in the K-1 Organization, which fight sticks in your mind the most and why?
I think the fight that stands out the most for me is when I had to Fight Mike Bernardo. He was the person I always wanted to be like in my younger years , I was his sparring partner and he was THE MAN in the gym so beating him was like passing the torch. Well, I fought all the K-1 Champs except Remy [Bonjasky] and Mark Hunt, lots of the fights stand out as special.

Dream will be hosting yet another tournament. A David vs. Goliath event of sorts. You will be fighting team Quest’s Judo champion and heavy puncher Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou from Cameroon. How is preparation and who are you training with?
I'm in Vegas at the moment training at Randy Couture's gym with Ray Sefo , Shawn Thompkins , Nick Feketi and the whole pro-group. We are really giving it horns in training because this is a fight I can not and will not lose!

Sokoudjou stunned the MMA world by knocking out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona but coming into this bout the fight favors you standing up and he has the advantage on the ground. Who are you training with at the moment to help you if the fight does hit the mat?
Nick Feketi was the silver medalist in the 2008 Olympics in heavyweight wrestling, he is helping me. Randy has some input as well and the gym is full of excellent wrestlers that also help so if we go to ground I should be good.

Are you coming into this fight with confidence that you have a big height and reach advantage over your opponent and the knowledge that you have competed in a tournament format throughout your fighting career?

I go into all my fights with full confidence because has two arms, two legs, one head and one jaw just like me. He is just another human who made the mistake getting in the ring with me!


There has been mixed reactions in the MMA community since the tournament was first announced, calling it a “Freak Show”. How do you feel towards these comments?
“Freak Show“? Who ever says that is welcome to step in the ring with any of us ‘freaks’ and we will give them a show!