Interview: Kevin “Bad Boy” English ready for IFL Super Fight

By Robert Cheshire

Kevin English took time to talk with me about his IFL Super Fight with Jeff “The Big Frog” Curran that will take place on April 7th in Moline, Illinois. We also talked about his wrestling background and how he became the “Bad Boy.”

RC: How did this deal with the IFL for a Super Fight come about?
KE: My dad was contacted by a few people to see if I’d be interested in the fight. Of course, I jumped all over it when he mentioned it. He did some checking around and then it was all set within a few days.

RC: Do you have any other plans with the IFL such as fighting in anymore Super Fights or for one of the teams?
KE: I haven’t made any plans yet. They are probably waiting to see how I do. If they offer me the opportunity to fight on one of the teams it would be great or another Super Fight would be nice too. It would be nice to get to fight on one of the teams but nothing is in the works right now.

RC: I know you have done some smaller shows. What are some of the bigger of the smaller shows you have fought in?
KE: I fought in the Ring of Combat and in RMN-MMA and some other shows. All the shows have been well organized but nothing like the IFL. Nothing as big as what I’m about to fight in.

RC: How familiar were you with the IFL before the offer came?
KE: I’ve been following them for a while. I’ve been following even more since they are growing bigger. I knew about them when they were first starting out because friends were telling me about it. I’m a big fan of MMA and try to read up on everything that comes out.

RC: You have a huge wrestling background. Can you speak about that for a moment for the readers that are not familiar with you?
KE: I’ve competed since I was 7. I competed in high school, nationals, world team trials and trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center where I thought I wanted to train for the Olympics. I have also been a coach for about 5 or 6 years. I’ve coached high school and national teams. So, I’ve been involved as both a competitor and a coach.

RC: Speaking of wrestling, I understand you met Randy Couture when you were about 12 years old.
KE: Yeah, that’s funny that you brought that up. I didn’t really get to meet him personally. I was competing at a Northern Plains regional tournament and they had the Senior Nationals at the same time. Actually, Randy and Dan Henderson were both competing there at the same time. I can remember watching them but it didn’t register at 12 years old who those guys were. A couple of years ago I was going through some of my old wrestling stuff and I came across the program and saw that they were both in there and I was like “wow, Dan Henderson and Randy Couture were both there!”

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