Undefeated middleweight champion Chris “The All-American” Weidman and No. 1 light heavyweight contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson held an open Q&A with M&F readers Friday, May 15. The heavy-handed powerhouses will headline UFC 187 on Memorial Day weekend. In case you didn’t know, Weidman and Johnson are two of the best combatants in the UFC. The newly-minted jiu-jitsu black belt Weidman hasn’t fought since defending his title against Lyoto Machida at UFC 175 in July 2014, while Johnson recently defeated former 205-pound title challenger Alexander Gustafsson in January.
Fans Chatted Live!
Followers of our M&F Twitter account tweeted questions to either fighter using their name and #ASKMuscle. Select followers had their names and questions featured during the interview that was streamed live via Periscope.
Fan: Are you taking any supplements and what do you prefer?
CW: I have a new nutritional company and they make their own supplements. There’s no name for the supplement all I know is that they know the WADA code. It’s basically herbs. I haven’t been taking much protein. I take a multi-vitamin, I take fish oil and a magnesium thing before I go to bed. A couple little things before I workout; ginseng and something. Just more herbs. I’ve only been taking that for the last 4-5 weeks since I started with the nutritional company. I also use Monster Milk for recovery.
Fan: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of Long Island?
CW: I was a south shore guy my whole life. I never liked the north shore. It’s confusing. I still only really know Nassau County, but now I live in Suffolk County, Dix Hills, which is the north shore. I love it out there. I love all of Long Island. If there’s one thing I like and hate about Long Island, it’s the food. It’s so damn good. The pizza and the bagels. I love being from Long Island because I can have it any time I want, but it’s also a problem when you’re trying to eat healthy.
Fan: What’s on your playlist? What gets you pumped before a fight?
CW: I listen to Wonderboy’s [Stephen Thompson] Spotify playlist that he makes for me since he’s better with music than me. I listen to Christian music. I listen to country music and rap. I like it all. The oldies; 60s, 70s and 80s on Pandora. That station is unbelievable. I have it playing in my house all the time.
AJ: I like Lil Wayne, anything from the south. I like Jay-Z, I like his stuff a lot. I like Kendrick Lamar. It’s more of either you’re from the southies or the northies. I don’t deal with too much west coast rap.
Fan: Are you training any differently now that you’ve gotten a little bit older?
CW: I train smarter and I train with people who I trust. I don’t just jump in there with random people. For my last 3-4 camps, we’ve had the same guys. Stephen Thompson, Gian Villante, Eddie Gordon, a boxer Max Tassi and my full jiu-jitsu crew from the Renzo Gracie Academy. All the guys I trust with no ego issues. Everybody wants a piece of the champ. Everyone wants to beat me in practice. I’m used to that, but you don’t want anybody to hurt you doing it. Sometimes you get in risky situations where someone wants to beat you in a situation, even if it means you get hurt. It’s a problem.
AJ: Yeah, I train differently because I train more now. When I was younger, I’d miss training all the time because I didn’t take my career seriously. Now, I take my career more serious and I’m in the gym all the time. I train with professional athletes, not up-and-comers, who have experience in the gym and in the cage. I train hard and I train safe.
Fan: Were you ever in any fights growing up in school?
AJ: I’ve never really been in a fight outside of the cage. I was always an athlete and tough. The only fight I was fighting was trying not to get my butt whooped from my granddad all the time.
