UFC Veteran & WEC fighter John Alessio

By William Davis

John "The Natural" Alessio is former UFC veteran and current WEC fighter at 170 pounds. His most notable UFC fight came when he frustrated Diego Sanchez for three rounds. Diego ultimately got the decision, which was controversial, but he wasn’t able to implement his usual ground and pound game plan. Alessio was last seen in action when he submitted Brian Gassaway with a rear naked choke in the first WEC event under Zuffa rule. For his dominate performance, he was rewarded with an opportunity to fight for the vacant WEC Welterweight Title.

William Davis: Thank you for taking the time for the interview. You have a upcoming match with Carlos Condit for the vacant WEC Welterweight title, where and with whom have you been training?

John Alessio: I’m currently training in Las Vegas at Randy Couture’s Xtreme Training Center. I came out here for my last fight (a submission win over Brian Gassaway). After the fight, I moved to Las Vegas from California. I wanted to train full time out here, and it’s been absolutely spectacular. The caliber of guys to train with is high and the atmosphere is amazing.

WD: Do you have to adjust your training for a fighter who is taller than you?

JA: I’ve been training with a lot of tall guys to prepare. Guys like Jay Hieron, Mike Pyle, Kendall Grove, and Jason Miller have been helping me get the range I’ll need to fight a taller fighter.

WD: What do you know about Carlos’ style, and are you going to implement a specific game plan in your fight?

JA: Well, Carlos is a good kick boxer. He likes to throw knees, and his Jiu-Jitsu seems to be pretty good. He’s got a nasty triangle armbar that he likes to use in the guard.

I’ve just been playing in the guard and getting used to taller guys trying to go for submissions. There’s really not a specific game plan for this fight. Game plans usually go out the door or can change during the course of a fight. You never know exactly what to expect. You can prepare a certain way, but you never know if the fight will actually play out the way you planned. So, I’m just training in everything as hard as possible and trying to get my conditioning perfect.

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