BloodyKnux
03-09-2007, 08:00 PM
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/noble.jpg
Derrick talks about his wins and losses in 2006, and the Bodog Fight show experience.
If there was a fight career that more resembled a roller coaster ride in 2006 than Derrick Noble?s, I can?t find it. On a four fight win streak Derrick defeated the very tough Yves Edwards prot?g? Carlo Prater (Thugjitsu 19-4-1) and earned himself a shot at the MFC title belt. Then Derrick made his debute at the UFC with a rematch against Thiago Alves. Noble had defeated a green Alves by choke in 2003. The rematch went very differently and Noble lost for the first time in over a year by knockout in the first round. Then he headed back to the MFC, where he faced the seemingly unstoppable Eddie Alvarez, for another tough loss also by KO. A lot of fighters would have hung it up, having made it to the big show, and a shot at a belt only to be twice disappointed.
Undeterred Noble bounced back. Derrick strung together three solid wins, and made his way onto the second season of the Bodog Fight TV show. Now he?s faced KOTC and IFL vet Jake Ellenberger(14-1) in St Petersburg, Russia for the March 13th episode of Bodog?s second season. The winner moves on to the Pay-per-View April 14th with the likes of Fedor Emilianenko and Matt Lindland. How did 2006 end for Derrick Noble? We?ll find out Tuesday as the 4th episode of Bodog Fight appears on ION at 11pm EST.
_______
BK- So when and where did all the fights we?re seeing on the second season of Bodog Fights actually take place?
DN- It was the second week of December, in St. Petersburg. I?m from Illinois, and it was actually colder in Illinois when I left than it was there. So I didn?t notice it too much. There wasn?t even snow on the ground.
BK- How different is it fighting that far away on a closed set?
DN- That was a big difference in the fight, because it?s a closed show with very few people in the crowd. It?s similar to the fights from the Ultimate Fighter. It was basically just other fighters and the Bodog production people in the arena. It?s kind of different fighting in front of forty people instead of a crowd. Once the fight got going, it wasn?t much of a factor. I don?t pay attention to that stuff anyway.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Noble-Ellenberger-Fight-8211.jpg
Noble and Ellenberger decide who goes to the PPV.
BK- How is Bodog keeping the results a secret? Does Bodog have a KGB tail on you?
DN- I don?t know if they have that going on, but they make everyone sign their wavers and non-disclosure agreements. Everyone signs their contracts and is expected to stick to them.
BK- Jake Ellenberger is fighting out of a respected team with Team Quest, he?s 14-1 and has a string of wins, what else do you know about him?
DN- Going in to the fight that was pretty much all I knew. He only had one loss at that point. I knew he was tough guy. I talked to some people about him, and heard that he was a tough all around fighter. So I went into the fight expecting a tough all around fight.
BK- Speaking of Team Quest pretty Crazy night last night, did you watch Randy?s in the UFC?
DN - I was there live. A few buddies and I went there for the weekend. People were on their feet. Especially for the main event, everyone was on their feet for the whole 25 minutes. It was a pretty electrified crowd, with randy winning like that. It was definitely a very pro-Couture crowd.
BK- Tim?s got that problem with crowds.
DN- Yeah, I was at the weigh-in the night before, and they booed him. He got booed his whole way into the ring, and he got booed after the fight when he was talking into the mike. He basically was booed every time he was spotlighted the whole weekend.
BK - That is a shame. Tim?s a great guy in person, and a fierce competitor. Anyone going against Randy is not going to be a crowd favorite, but show some respect. It?s a tough loss for him. Around the middle of 2006 you had a couple of tough losses too, how?d you bounce back from that?
DN- Yeah, I had some disappointing fights. The UFC, I don?t have any excuses. I went in and I got caught. Eddie Alvarez, again, I don?t have any excuses. I just wasn?t ready for him. I was not aware of how good he was, so mentally I didn?t think it was going to be as tough of a fight as it was. When I went in to fight him, I?d seen some of his fights and he looked good but not overly impressive. Since my fight, he?s just run through people. Now, I know this guy has really fast hands. I?d been told by the UFC that if I won that fight, they?d bring me back, and I was kind of looking past that fight to be honest with you. I found out a little too late that he was better than I expected him to be.
BK- How?s everything going with your degree and your training?
DN- Everything?s going well, I finish school in May, so I?m excited about that. Then I?m moving up to Minnesota to train full time with Sean Sherk, Nick Thompson, and the guys at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. I?m training with the guys I?ve been training with until then, and then hopefully be able to dedicate a little more time to focus on my training and fighting. I?m looking forward to that.
BK- Are you going to be in the PPV in April?
DN- Trick question? That?s dependent on results of my fight in the next episode. They?re taking the winners of season 2 and putting them on the Pay-per-view. So you?ll have to watch to find out. As far as that fight goes it was a tough fight, and I?m excited to see it. I think it will be a fun one to watch.
BK- Are you exclusive with Bodog Fight?
DN- Yeah, for right now, I?m fighting exclusively for them. The competitions there and they?re treating me well, so I?m there for now.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Noblegirl.jpg
Derrick works hard for Bodog
BK- Is the Bodog Money obvious when you work with them?
DN- Yeah, you can tell. They do everything pretty much first class. I was in one of the nicest hotels in St Petersburg for two weeks. Bodog treats the fighters pretty well. So far it?s been great. I would probably never have made it to Russia if it hadn?t been for this event. That was a good experience. The production and the fights were all good. I can?t complain about anything.
BK- Your weight class at 170 is blowing up right now, and with the last season of TUF, lots of 170 pound fighters are getting a lot more recognition. Does that affect how you approach the sport?
DN- It?s good because it?s spotlighting that weight-class. There are a lot of good match-ups right now, and it?s not hard to find a good fight. Whether it?s the UFC or another organization here are a lot of tough fighters spread out at that weight class. Bodog?s signing a lot of tough guys, they just signed Jake Shields and they got Jose Pele Landi-Jons. They?re bringing in some top guys. Nick Thompson is now with them.
BK- What?s Calvin Ayre really like?
DN- I talked to Calvin a little bit. He?s really focused on the fighters, and taking care of the fighters. He seems to be in it for the benefit of the sport.
BK- First season there was a lot of Calvin Ayre starring in Fantasy Island, and this season, they really just cut straight to the fights and focusing on the fighters.
DN- The producers and the Bodog people are really receptive to fans critiquing, and they knew that a lot of people complained about the first season, and I think they knew that going into this season, and they made a few changes.
BK- How much of this show is the MFC crew with new backing?
DN- I think it?s all Bodog now. Miguel is the matchmaker also for MFC, but everyone that I worked with and who were in St Petersburg were all Bodog employees. Vlad (Lavrinovich, MFC president) was a part of this show, but I don?t what his affiliation with Bodog is, but this one being in Russia, he was there helping and coordinating a lot of the stuff for the St Petersburg series. I don?t know what the status of the MFC is, if they?re going to do shows under that label, or if it?s all Bodog Fight.
BK- How have the reviews been for the second season, and the move to ION?
DN- I don?t know really, what kind of feedback they?re getting, but from their press release, ION is kind of designing their programming to cater to a different market. I think they?re using Bodog Fight as one of their shows to do that. I?ve been seeing the St Petersburg series commercials all over. On Spike TV and on USA Network and MTV, They?re definitely putting their ads out there. With ION, the channels kind of unknown at this point but hopefully with promotion and marketing they can turn that around. The money and commitment is there, they?ve already filmed season 3 and 4.
I?m really ready for my episode to air, and I have been since December, because I haven?t been able to talk about it.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Noble-Ellenberger-Fight-8173.jpg
Winner revealed Tuesday 3/14 at 11pm EST on Bodog Fight!
BK- Thanks for talking to us, and good luck with your career. I hope we see you in April on the card with Fedor and Lindland!
DN ? Thanks.
Check out an interview with Derrick on the Howard Stern Channel 101 on Sirius at 4:30pm Eastern Tuesday on the Bubba the Love Sponge show.
Tune in to ION at 11pm Tues March 13th and again Saturday March 17th for Episode 4 of Bodog Fight.
-Jim ?DC Books? Kirkland (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/member.php?u=270)
Check out BoDog and MFC Matchmaker Miguel Itturate?s take on the match HERE! (http://www.bodogfight.com/series-2/extras/?play=preview-nob-ell)
Our Bodog Fight Season 2 discussion is HERE! (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24678)
Big thanks to Derrick, Bodog Fight?s Eric Nicholl and Trevor Miller, and as always Rachel for giving me the time and space to do these.
Derrick talks about his wins and losses in 2006, and the Bodog Fight show experience.
If there was a fight career that more resembled a roller coaster ride in 2006 than Derrick Noble?s, I can?t find it. On a four fight win streak Derrick defeated the very tough Yves Edwards prot?g? Carlo Prater (Thugjitsu 19-4-1) and earned himself a shot at the MFC title belt. Then Derrick made his debute at the UFC with a rematch against Thiago Alves. Noble had defeated a green Alves by choke in 2003. The rematch went very differently and Noble lost for the first time in over a year by knockout in the first round. Then he headed back to the MFC, where he faced the seemingly unstoppable Eddie Alvarez, for another tough loss also by KO. A lot of fighters would have hung it up, having made it to the big show, and a shot at a belt only to be twice disappointed.
Undeterred Noble bounced back. Derrick strung together three solid wins, and made his way onto the second season of the Bodog Fight TV show. Now he?s faced KOTC and IFL vet Jake Ellenberger(14-1) in St Petersburg, Russia for the March 13th episode of Bodog?s second season. The winner moves on to the Pay-per-View April 14th with the likes of Fedor Emilianenko and Matt Lindland. How did 2006 end for Derrick Noble? We?ll find out Tuesday as the 4th episode of Bodog Fight appears on ION at 11pm EST.
_______
BK- So when and where did all the fights we?re seeing on the second season of Bodog Fights actually take place?
DN- It was the second week of December, in St. Petersburg. I?m from Illinois, and it was actually colder in Illinois when I left than it was there. So I didn?t notice it too much. There wasn?t even snow on the ground.
BK- How different is it fighting that far away on a closed set?
DN- That was a big difference in the fight, because it?s a closed show with very few people in the crowd. It?s similar to the fights from the Ultimate Fighter. It was basically just other fighters and the Bodog production people in the arena. It?s kind of different fighting in front of forty people instead of a crowd. Once the fight got going, it wasn?t much of a factor. I don?t pay attention to that stuff anyway.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Noble-Ellenberger-Fight-8211.jpg
Noble and Ellenberger decide who goes to the PPV.
BK- How is Bodog keeping the results a secret? Does Bodog have a KGB tail on you?
DN- I don?t know if they have that going on, but they make everyone sign their wavers and non-disclosure agreements. Everyone signs their contracts and is expected to stick to them.
BK- Jake Ellenberger is fighting out of a respected team with Team Quest, he?s 14-1 and has a string of wins, what else do you know about him?
DN- Going in to the fight that was pretty much all I knew. He only had one loss at that point. I knew he was tough guy. I talked to some people about him, and heard that he was a tough all around fighter. So I went into the fight expecting a tough all around fight.
BK- Speaking of Team Quest pretty Crazy night last night, did you watch Randy?s in the UFC?
DN - I was there live. A few buddies and I went there for the weekend. People were on their feet. Especially for the main event, everyone was on their feet for the whole 25 minutes. It was a pretty electrified crowd, with randy winning like that. It was definitely a very pro-Couture crowd.
BK- Tim?s got that problem with crowds.
DN- Yeah, I was at the weigh-in the night before, and they booed him. He got booed his whole way into the ring, and he got booed after the fight when he was talking into the mike. He basically was booed every time he was spotlighted the whole weekend.
BK - That is a shame. Tim?s a great guy in person, and a fierce competitor. Anyone going against Randy is not going to be a crowd favorite, but show some respect. It?s a tough loss for him. Around the middle of 2006 you had a couple of tough losses too, how?d you bounce back from that?
DN- Yeah, I had some disappointing fights. The UFC, I don?t have any excuses. I went in and I got caught. Eddie Alvarez, again, I don?t have any excuses. I just wasn?t ready for him. I was not aware of how good he was, so mentally I didn?t think it was going to be as tough of a fight as it was. When I went in to fight him, I?d seen some of his fights and he looked good but not overly impressive. Since my fight, he?s just run through people. Now, I know this guy has really fast hands. I?d been told by the UFC that if I won that fight, they?d bring me back, and I was kind of looking past that fight to be honest with you. I found out a little too late that he was better than I expected him to be.
BK- How?s everything going with your degree and your training?
DN- Everything?s going well, I finish school in May, so I?m excited about that. Then I?m moving up to Minnesota to train full time with Sean Sherk, Nick Thompson, and the guys at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. I?m training with the guys I?ve been training with until then, and then hopefully be able to dedicate a little more time to focus on my training and fighting. I?m looking forward to that.
BK- Are you going to be in the PPV in April?
DN- Trick question? That?s dependent on results of my fight in the next episode. They?re taking the winners of season 2 and putting them on the Pay-per-view. So you?ll have to watch to find out. As far as that fight goes it was a tough fight, and I?m excited to see it. I think it will be a fun one to watch.
BK- Are you exclusive with Bodog Fight?
DN- Yeah, for right now, I?m fighting exclusively for them. The competitions there and they?re treating me well, so I?m there for now.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Noblegirl.jpg
Derrick works hard for Bodog
BK- Is the Bodog Money obvious when you work with them?
DN- Yeah, you can tell. They do everything pretty much first class. I was in one of the nicest hotels in St Petersburg for two weeks. Bodog treats the fighters pretty well. So far it?s been great. I would probably never have made it to Russia if it hadn?t been for this event. That was a good experience. The production and the fights were all good. I can?t complain about anything.
BK- Your weight class at 170 is blowing up right now, and with the last season of TUF, lots of 170 pound fighters are getting a lot more recognition. Does that affect how you approach the sport?
DN- It?s good because it?s spotlighting that weight-class. There are a lot of good match-ups right now, and it?s not hard to find a good fight. Whether it?s the UFC or another organization here are a lot of tough fighters spread out at that weight class. Bodog?s signing a lot of tough guys, they just signed Jake Shields and they got Jose Pele Landi-Jons. They?re bringing in some top guys. Nick Thompson is now with them.
BK- What?s Calvin Ayre really like?
DN- I talked to Calvin a little bit. He?s really focused on the fighters, and taking care of the fighters. He seems to be in it for the benefit of the sport.
BK- First season there was a lot of Calvin Ayre starring in Fantasy Island, and this season, they really just cut straight to the fights and focusing on the fighters.
DN- The producers and the Bodog people are really receptive to fans critiquing, and they knew that a lot of people complained about the first season, and I think they knew that going into this season, and they made a few changes.
BK- How much of this show is the MFC crew with new backing?
DN- I think it?s all Bodog now. Miguel is the matchmaker also for MFC, but everyone that I worked with and who were in St Petersburg were all Bodog employees. Vlad (Lavrinovich, MFC president) was a part of this show, but I don?t what his affiliation with Bodog is, but this one being in Russia, he was there helping and coordinating a lot of the stuff for the St Petersburg series. I don?t know what the status of the MFC is, if they?re going to do shows under that label, or if it?s all Bodog Fight.
BK- How have the reviews been for the second season, and the move to ION?
DN- I don?t know really, what kind of feedback they?re getting, but from their press release, ION is kind of designing their programming to cater to a different market. I think they?re using Bodog Fight as one of their shows to do that. I?ve been seeing the St Petersburg series commercials all over. On Spike TV and on USA Network and MTV, They?re definitely putting their ads out there. With ION, the channels kind of unknown at this point but hopefully with promotion and marketing they can turn that around. The money and commitment is there, they?ve already filmed season 3 and 4.
I?m really ready for my episode to air, and I have been since December, because I haven?t been able to talk about it.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/dcbooks/Noble-Ellenberger-Fight-8173.jpg
Winner revealed Tuesday 3/14 at 11pm EST on Bodog Fight!
BK- Thanks for talking to us, and good luck with your career. I hope we see you in April on the card with Fedor and Lindland!
DN ? Thanks.
Check out an interview with Derrick on the Howard Stern Channel 101 on Sirius at 4:30pm Eastern Tuesday on the Bubba the Love Sponge show.
Tune in to ION at 11pm Tues March 13th and again Saturday March 17th for Episode 4 of Bodog Fight.
-Jim ?DC Books? Kirkland (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/member.php?u=270)
Check out BoDog and MFC Matchmaker Miguel Itturate?s take on the match HERE! (http://www.bodogfight.com/series-2/extras/?play=preview-nob-ell)
Our Bodog Fight Season 2 discussion is HERE! (http://www.bloodyknux.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24678)
Big thanks to Derrick, Bodog Fight?s Eric Nicholl and Trevor Miller, and as always Rachel for giving me the time and space to do these.