| James
Zikic Interviewed
by Suley Mahmoud 22 January 2003 
Zikic
knees Interview
conducted at Nando’s chicken restaurant in Kilburn high street. (note - Nando's
the the traditional London Shootfighters' eating venue-
see Jon Thorpe interview) Suley
: Hey Jamie, thanks for talking too me. Just wanted to ask you some catch up questions
about what you have been up to since UFC 38 Brawl at the hall. S:
Any comments on How the fight went against Miller, anything you’d like to
comment on? James
Zikic : It was a real tough fight, I believe that Phillip Miller deserved
to win the fight, he won the first round and closer in the second round but he
had the edge on the wrestling ability. I felt I won the third round though. Overall,
it was a tough grueling fight and it showed me there was a few things I had to
work on. I was very fatigued after the first round and feel that this was due
to the creatine I was taking leading up to the fight. My body went wild and I
felt really overheated. I still had the will to win though and was basically fighting
on heart from round 1 onwards. I no longer use creatine I don’t believe it
helps that much in fighting and basically I feel my body doesn’t agree with
it. S: What
have you been doing more recently? James
Zikic : Well, for the last four months or so I have been concentrating
on Professional boxing. I have been boxing everyday Monday to Friday and my boxing
has gone to a new level. S:
where are you doing your pro- Boxing training now then Jamie? James
Zikic : I have been training at the Peacock gym in Canning town, I
have been using their sparring partners and facilities. They have help me take
my skills to a whole new level, I’m really happy with how its going. S:
You are now boxing Pro, how’s the competing been going for you? James
Zikic : Very well, I have had two professional fights and two wins
can’t complain. I’m ranked at number 15 in the country in cruiserweight
division. S:
OK, two pro fights two wins. Perfect record ;)
I really wanted to give this interview because I know a little Inside secret of
what is coming up for you in MMA! Can you reveal this or is it still top secret
and we will have to watch this space? James
Zikic : Well I have been lined up to fight Marvin ‘the beast man’
Eastman. On the next 2H2H show on March 16th in Rotterdam, Holland,
and I’m gonna beat him! S:
Cool, that’s gonna be a great fight, I personally know your hands have got
much faster and harder hitting since training exclusively boxing for a while so
this is gonna be a war against a tough guy. How
do you feel the fight will go? James
Zikic : I believe that I’m gonna stop him in the late part of
the fight. S:
Any game plan that you can tell us about? James
Zikic : Yeah, been working on a strategy with London Shootfighters,
I am not gonna give it away but there is gonna be some fireworks. I have been
wrestling a lot more! S:
Jamie you are currently around 88kg for boxing, Marvin Eastman is a big guy. Any
ideas if your going to bulk up to fight him or stay the same? James
Zikic : I’m gonna come to Nandos more often. (smiles) Miguel
jumps in with a reminder : K1 Jamie S:
Oh Jamie I forgot, tell us the other bit of news about K1. ;-) Thanks Miguel. (Miggy
nods now tucking Back into his WHOLE chicken Nando’s, haha) As well as the
news about 2H2 is there any other news you’d like to tell us about? James
Zikic : I’ll be participating in the K1 battle of Britain tournament
in April! S:
Excellent, how do you feel it will go, aren’t you a little on the light side
to be in there with some of those guys? James
Zikic : I have see the standard of the K1 fighters from Britain and
I’m not really impressed with them. I’m not worried about the weight
at all I spar a lot of heavy weights in the gym, Julius Francis, Danny Williams...(Damn
tape recorder messes up and can’t hear the names), I’m used to the power
so I think I can take these boys out. S:
How about when the kicks and Knees get involved, you have great hands but what
about the other tools you need to compete with these guys? James
Zikic : I am going to spend 4 weeks in Holland with Ernesto Hoost at
the Vos gym, so my kicks won’t be a problem.:-) I
like the idea of fighting these guys it’s David and Goliath, and I enjoy
being David. :-) Phil
Brown wants to ask a question takes the Dictaphone: Jamie
your a great fighter and a lot of people who read this website want to know what
keeps you motivate to train, what makes you rise above setbacks i.e. Phillip Miller
—WHAT KEEPS OU MOTIVATED. James
Zikic : (looks blank) Haven’t a clue. ( everyone creases up with
laughter) Phil:
You bastard! Phil:
Ok, If you had to choose one what art would you concentrate on, Boxing MMA, Subs. James
Zikic : Err, Semi contact point fighting :-) (LOL) Phil:
Perhaps a doubles team with Michelle "mouse" Cresno S:
wtf is that?? Phil:
She’s in the back of all the American Magazines doing flashy kicks! S:
Oh, (snatches back Dictaphone, get this back on track) S:
Word is that you lurk on SFUK reading all the posts and writing down peoples name
who dis you, is it true? James
Zikic : : Who told you that? S:
Miguel. (James stares at Miggy with mean intentions)is it true. James
Zikic : Yes! S:
Ok, I have some questions I’ve been asked to ask you by some of SFUK members Firstly
how come you didn’t try to compete in Abu Dhabi trials recently? James
Zikic : : Basically I couldn’t afford the specialist time to just
grapple for a couple of months and I didn’t want to go in and not show my
full potential. It is a mistake to think you don’t need to work on just one
aspect of the game if you want to compete in a specialist format. S:
I see, I know you have been practicing Yoga recently! What kind is it and how
do you feel it’s improved your game? James
Zikic : I have been studying a form of Hatha yoga, just makes my body
more overall flexible and looser, and to help focus my mind. Makes the execution
of technique easier S:
Well it’s a mini interview for a reason that’s the end any thing you’d
like to say to the fans of UK MMA? James
Zikic : Just that my last couple of performances haven’t been
too good, and there’s reasons for that but no excuses. This time I’m
going to prepare 100% and your all going to see the real James Zikic come out. S:
Thanks James always a pleasure.
Note:
Suley is an up-and-coming pro MMA Star from London
Shootfighters and will be starring in Lee
Hasdell's UZI2 on 8 March 2003
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