BIO
Hometown: Williamstown, PA....now Bettendorf,
IA. I actually live in the MFS gym, literally!
Age: Just turned 25 this past October.
Education: I have a teaching degree in Health
and Physical Education from Lock Haven University in PA.
Team: Miletich Fighting System (MFS)
Current record: My submission grappling record
is 25-4 and my MMA record is now 3-0.
A.T.: Were you a high school athlete?
M.C.: I actually played football and basketball in high school.
Walked on D-1 wrestling as I went to college at Lock Haven.
A.T.: What got interested in fighting?
M.C.: I started doing karate at 15 because I always liked the
Van Damme movies, etc. Then the UFC came around and the guys I
was training with starting imitating what they saw in the UFC.
After a year or two I got pretty good at it.
I did some boxing, some wrestling, met Danny Ives and started
training BJJ and the rest is history.
A.T.: When did you move out to Iowa to train with MFS?
M.C.: I moved to Iowa last Valentine's Day. I'm closing in on
my first year now with this team.
A.T.: Why MFS?
M.C.: I thought about a few other teams and actually visited some
of those academies while contemplating my options. When I visited
Iowa I felt at home instantly. My first week I visited I rolled
with Jason Black and Jeremy Horn every morning. Pat Miletich held
pads for me also. They treated me like family and they didn't
even know me. The team unity and work ethic at MFS was exactly
what I was looking for.
A.T.: How has your training changed since you have been out there?
M.C.: I can honestly say the training here at MFS is like nothing
I ever experienced. The guys here are so intense that you would
have to experience it to believe it. I have never gotten beaten
up like I have here. It's a humbling experience for sure.
A.T.: Do you train differently when you have a fight approaching?
M.C.: I guess the intensity level picks up when you have a fight
approaching. Otherwise, we don't do too much differently. We train
hard all the time.
A.T.: Mike, I understand you train full time. Is there anything
in particular that keeps you motivated?
M.C.: Motivation is easy to come by out here. Some days I don't
want to train, some days I just want to sleep and stay in my bed
all day and rest. However, last week for instance...I was having
a unmotivated day...Tim Sylvia comes upstairs to my apartment
and is like "Get your ass down stairs, I need someone to
wrestle with." How can i say no to that?
A.T.: Some of the best professional fighters come from MFS. What
kind of impact do your coaches and team mates have on you?
M.C.: My teammates push me each and every time I step in the practice
room. I have Pat Miletich, Jens Pulver and Tim Sylvia in the gym
everyday. These guys lead by example. They work as hard as anybody
I have ever seen. They rub off on the rest of the team. They are
guys I look up to a lot and I hope to one day achieve even half
of what they have. Then I have other guys who really work with
me like my roommates Ben Rothwell, Rory Markam and Danny Ives...other
guys like Spencer Fisher and Nate Schroeder have had huge impacts
on me also.
A.T.: Your standup skills are incredible but your last two fights
you finished your opponents with submissions. Do you have a preference
on how to finish your fights?
M.C.: I am the kind of guy where I want to go out there and bang.
I like to mix it up and I want to knock guys out but it seems
that everyone I fight wants to take me
down. That's fine with me because I have a strong wrestling and
bjj background. Honestly, I really am comfortable everywhere in
a fight.
A.T.: I have seen you before some of your fights and you always
seem calm and you seem to keep your composure well. What goes
through your mind as you are warming up for your fight?
M.C: I think I am calm because I know I train with the best team
in the world. Nobody is going to hit me like Tim Sylvia, Ben Rothwell
and Justin Eilers do. Nobody is gonna throw me around like Iowa
wrestlers do. I am totally 100% prepared for anything I encounter
in the ring.
A.T.: What about when you are actually in the ring toe to toe
with your opponent, is anything different running through your
mind?
M.C.: When I'm in there I am just going with the flow. My instincts
take over and I'm just in the battle. Anything can happen and
I know that...I'm just trying to win. Usually I can't recall what
happened in the fight until I watch the tape.
A.T.: You were supposed to have a fight in the last Ring of Combat,
but your opponent backed out on you. Does that make the urge to
fight any stronger?
M.C.: I was very upset that my opponent backed out. I trained
hard and was ready to fight. I came all the way to NJ to fight
and the guy "no showed" me. Some good came out of it
because I got to go home to PA. and see my family for Thanksgiving.
A.T.: You are scheduled to fight Rich Attonito in April in Reality
Fighting. How do you think that fight will go.
M.C.: Rich is a hell of a fighter. I have a lot of respect for
him as a competitor. I think he is gonna come hard and try to
take me out. He's an aggressive fighter for sure. I think it's
a matter of who executes the game plan best. Rich is gonna come
out and try to throw me around like he does to everyone else.
Rich is strong in the clinch and I'm sure he will look to take
me down and hit me. I on the other hand will be looking
to knock him out as i do with all my opponents. One thing is for
sure, this fight is gonna be fireworks. It will be like putting
two pitbulls in the same room.
A.T.: Are there any fights you would like to get set up after
your fight with Rich?
M.C.: I have a manager for these things. There are a lot of guys
out there I want to fight. My career is basically in the hands
of Ron Turcsak (my manager) and Pat Miletich (my trainer).
A.T.: Do your future plans include the UFC or Pride?
M.C.: Well of course they are every fighters dream and I do want
to fight in one of those shows down the road. This is a goal of
mine and I knew in my head if there
was a chance to make it happen I had to move to Iowa and train
with the best team in the world.
A.T.: Thanks for your time Mike. Is there anything you would
like to add?
M.C.: Anytime. I just want to thank all my friends and family
that have supported me to this point. I need to thank all my teammates
at MFS who push me and make me the fighter I am today. I feel
totally at home here in Iowa and I couldn't ask for a better group
of guys. The thing that separates MFS from all the other teams
is we are together all the time in and out of the gym. We are
training partners and best friends.
