On this past week’s episode of The Cageside Beat, the official radio show of ProMMAnow.com, hosts Brian Furby and Jack Bratcher spoke with renowned martial arts author Glen Cordoza, who has co-authored 15 different MMA and BJJ books.
He has helped pen such Victory Belt published works as Mastering the Rubber Guard with Eddie Bravo, Wrestling for Fighting with Randy Couture, Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge with B.J. Penn and Fedor: The Fighting System of the World’s Undisputed King of MMA, to name just a few.
Cordoza discussed how he made the transition into writing and started working with Victory Belt and so many of the world’s top MMA fighters and coaches. He explained his writing process, a few of the challenges, as well as the rewards and some of his most memorable experiences from working alongside some of MMA’s greatest icons over the years.
When asked about who he has had the most pleasure of working with Cordoza immediately mentioned Eddie Bravo, and said although he has co-authored four different books with Bravo, he continues to learn from the 10th Planet pioneer.
As a fighter himself, Cordoza also cites the three months he spent living in Hilo, Hawaii, working with and training alongside B.J. Penn as one of his most memorable experiences.
However, there is one experience Cordoza ranks above all else. Getting to go to Stary Oskol, Russia, and spend time with Fedor Emelianenko during the height of his stardom as the Pride heavyweight champ tops the list:
“Hands down traveling to Russia and going to Sary Oskol will stand out in my mind as being the most memorable experience, just because at the time this was when Fedor was at his peak. He had this aura about him, this mysterious guy that trains out in the middle of nowhere. And it is indeed out in the middle of nowhere. We had to take a train from Moscow, we were on a train for like two days just to get to Stary Oskol. And from there it was very clear we were out in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t see another foreigner that was there the entire time. We had an escort the entire time that was taking us to and from the gym, we were able to hang out with Fedor at his place and really just experience Russia as no one else would really be able to experience it. And in addition to that, I was able to train with the Red Devil Fight Team. It was a real intimate experience with their training protocol. And as an athlete I’m always interested to see how guys train, how they prepare for fights and everybody knows Russians have this rustic kind of real old school approach that is world renowned that is being highly effective but basic. And I got to experience that and I’ll never forget that.”
Cordoza talked a lot more about spending time with Fedor in Russia and other topics, and also stuck around to help Furby and Jack preview the UFC 143 card featuring Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz for the UFC interim welterweight title.
For anyone who has ever thought about writing a book, especially if you are an MMA fan or journalist, you should enjoy hearing about Cordoza’s process and journey. Die hard Fedor fans will also likely enjoy this. All this and much more on this episode of The Cageside Beat — check it out:
Learn more about Victory Belt publishers and their numerous martial arts books at www.victorybelt.com and follow Glen Cordoza on Facebook.
That’s awesome, lucky man.