Striking with T's KOs

Written by Brad Rysz and Brian Lopez-Benchimol

Established in March of 1998, T’s KO Fight Club dubs itself as Colorado’s “Most Professional” training gym. Trevor Wittman is the head boxing, kickboxing and conditioning instructor at the famous Denvergym.

Teaming with the world-renowned Greg Jackson Camp, Wittman and Jackson have produced some of the best fighters in the world. Rashad Evans, Shane Carwin and Nate Marquardt are just a few to come out of the infamous camp. It’s under the stellar guidance of these two trainers that allows their fighters to progress to the next level.

MMAMadness.com caught up with the celebrated Wittman to pick his brain and see his outlook on the landscape of MMA and the trials and tribulations of a coach in the now mainstream and exciting sport.

ON HIS TEAM AND TRAINING…

Q: What is the biggest attribute that keeps your team winning?
TW: I would say the biggest attribute is the "team." First, the Fighters are such team players because when one fighter has a fight all of the other fighters stay in the gym to help that teammate out, even if they are not scheduled to fight. The only time I do not see the fighters in the gym would be because of an injury.

Second, the trainers, which there are many on this team, always game plan together and dedicate 100 percent of their energy to make sure they are doing their jobs and duties to the fullest.

And finally, there are no rankings on the team and what I mean by rankings is that I have been in many gyms where there is very uncomfortable feeling of egos, fighters, and trainers striving to be the best in the gym.

In our gyms (Jackson's, T's KO, and Tristar), whether you are World Champion or a debuting fighter, or whether you train multiple champions or just making the transition to training the fighters: Our main concern is that everybody is doing everything in their power to win!

Q: Do you think your boxing tenure has helped you teach fighters to use the space in the octagon? 

TW: Well, compared to ring, fighting in the 30-foot octagon is like fighting in the parking lot.

So yes, having good ring generalship has a big part to the way I train our fighters. I do feel positioning is the most important part to all athletics and I drill positioning of the feet and using your feet on a consistent basis.

Q: Do you currently train Boxers as well as MMA fighters? 

TW: I only have one Boxer left and his name is Manuel Perez. I will never push a fighter away who I have made a commitment to until his career is finalized. I have made almost a 100% crossover to MMA. I love this sport!

Q: Biggest challenge for you as a trainer? 

TW: Turning young hungry fighters away. This is the hardest thing for me to do, but taking on too much I do believe will water down what I do well, and that is personalize each fighter.

Q: Do the trainers have any input as to when the fighter fights? It seems GSP vs. Alves is sooner than necessary from GSP's camps perspective. 

TW: We all believe GSP could use a break he is always fighting back to back. But he knows that is what his fans want: to see him fight so now here we are again back in contract with another challenger.

Q: Who are some of the up and coming guys in your gym to watch out for that haven’t made it to the big shows yet? 

TW: Brendon Schaub (Colorado Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion, Fight to WinAbsolute BJJ Champion, former NFL player, and Undefeated MMA Fighter, with all KO's in the first round), James McSweeney (Kickboxer from London with 130 professional kickboxing matches and just making the move to MMA), and Joe Warren (two-time world champion Greco Wrestler, who in his first fight last month fought 20-fight veteran Chase Beebe in Japan on Dream, and stopped Chase in the first round via knee strikes).

ON RASHAD EVANS…

Q: What phase of training is Rashad Evans in as he defends his title? 

TW: The “go” stage. The contract is signed and Machidais the next man on the list and Rashad knows Machida is probably the most awkward and technically sound challenger in the 205 lb weight class. So we are full board in the correct pre-peaking stages to keep our hands on the 205 lb belt.

Q: Thoughts on Machida as an opponent and what kind of problems he poses? 

TW:I think he is a very challenging opponent for Rashad. We want the biggest challenges because that makes those wins so much sweeter. The problems he pose are his hand and foot speed.

Q: If Rashad is successful, where do you see the fight being won? 

TW: I really believe Rashad is the fastest light heavyweight on the planet. But not only that, he has a big punch, great feet, cat-like reactions, and world-class wrestling. So he pretty much can win the fight in any area, as long as he stays focused and disciplined.

ON SHANE CARWIN…

Q: Shane Carwin has been a pet project of yours for several years; tell us how it feels to see the naysayers being proved wrong?  

TW: Actually Shane and I have only been training together for just over a year. It doesn't feel good or bad to prove the naysayers wrong.

I believe critics are what keeps the drive in these fighters, and I always say good or bad attention, it is still attention and just keep paying attention to what he will do.

Q: When did you realize you had something special?  

TW: The day he came into my gym. The first conversation and training session we had I felt like it was a gift from God, there is nothing he is not good at or can’t adapt to.

Q: Could he be a Boxing World Champion?  

TW: If he started right now, no. It would be too tough to make the quick turn with the short amount of time. If he started boxing in his early twenties, yes I do believe he could because of his athleticism and his work ethic. 

Q: His wrestling credentials aside, he seems to have Mike Tyson power. 

TW: No doubt about that! The night before weigh-ins at the [Gabriel] Gonzaga fight we were hitting mitts and I had just got a new pair of WINNING mitts I purchased from China. Anybody in the fight game knows WINNING products are the best quality, and Shane actually popped my air mitt and blew the zipper out.

I have never seen this, especially with a brand new quality product like those. Then the punch he hit Gonzaga with, no hip turn, no shoulder turn, only good hand rotation. That says he is by far the biggest puncher in the UFC right now.

Q: Does Shane’s full time job limit his potential? 

TW: No, he is a lot like me, a workaholic. I think that is good for him, as long as he is getting his rest. He is one of those types he always needs to be doing something, that is why is has been successful in everything he has done, because of his work ethic.

You can find more of Brad Rysz's work at MMAMadness.com. Feel free to e-mail him any questions or comments at [e-mail].