Deividas Taurosevicius, a former pro Rugby player from Lithuania, originally moved to the United States to play for the Professional Rugby League. The league never really got off the ground in America, but Deividas decided he wanted to stay.
It was here he discovered his passion for MMA. The same drive that had made him a top athlete in Rugby (He was awarded Best Player in Lithuania in 1999), he turned toward MMA. Having turned pro in 2002, Deividas now owns his own gym, and holds a record of 11-3, with wins over such fighters as Dan Lauzon, Bart Palaszewski, and Javier Vasquez, to name a few.
This Sunday night at WEC 46, Deividas would like to add the name Mackens Semerzier to that list. ProMMA.info (www.promma.info) spoke with Deividas this week to talk about his upcoming fight with Semerzier. We also talked about the comparisons between playing rugby and MMA, his opinion of the current WEC featherweight champ, how many wins he may need before he could get a shot at the title, and more.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: Thank you Dividas for speaking to us at ProMMA.info (www.promma.info). You are fighting Mackens Semerzier this weekend at WEC 46. How did your training go, and do you feel well-prepared?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: Training go good, feel 100% prepared-ready to go.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: Where do you train, who are your coaches and sparring partners who helped you train for this fight?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: I train in my own gym TAURUS MMA located in Farmingdale Long Island NY. A lot of BJJ black belts came to help me to prepare for this fight. For boxing and kickboxing I work with my coaches Tim Lane and George Wallton. Voulgar Oroudjov is my wrestling coach.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: What is your opinion of Mackens Semerzier as a fighter, and where do you think he is most dangerous?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: I think Mackens is a very talented fighter and at his last fight he pulled the biggest upset of the night by submitting Wagney Fabiano by triangle showing how dangerous he is. And his stand up game is very good too. That means he’s all an around fighter and can by dangerous in every position.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: When did you move to the U.S. from Lithuania, and what is the MMA scene like there?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: I moved to USA seven years ago and I live in New York now. Lithuania also have a lot of good fighters too who fight in Japan, Europe and other countries, but MMA in Lithuania is not popular at this time, they don’t have any deals with TV but I believe one day becomes big and popular.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: You used to play professional Rugby. How does Rugby compare to MMA? Which one is harder to train for, and which is the tougher sport?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: I think any professional sport is tough. Rugby is a team sport 2 rounds of 45min and MMA is an individual sport of 15-25min action. It’s two different fields. The hardest thing is to transfer your self from one professional sport to another but looks like it work out good for me. Some of the Rugby workouts I’m using to prepare for my fights are very helpful.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: Why did you stop playing Rugby to fight MMA?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: Rugby is not popular in the USA and players getting treated like amateurs. But it is very popular in Europe and I was the best player there and good player are treated very well there; financially and socially. But since I stayed in USA I have to leave rugby because it became as a waste of time. I didn’t go back to Lithuania because I met my wife here and got married. Then I decided to try MMA and I think this is destiny and I believe everything happens for a reason and I’m happy what I choose. I have wonderful wife who understands and supports my choice, I also have smart people around me who help me a lot on this life journey and I think my transfer from one professional sport to another was good a decision.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: What is your opinion of the current Featherweight champ Jose Aldo? How do you think you match-up against him and how many more fights do you need to win to get a title shot?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: I respect Jose Aldo for his hard work, he didn’t become champ after one fight, he is a talented fighter who fought fight after fight and now he’s a Champ. About matchup i think we would be match up very good, would be good fight high pace fight with a lot of fireworks, but like I said one fight at the time. How many fights I need to get title shot its all depends on WEC when they feel it’s time then they will give me this opportunity but like I said one fight at the time I’m not looking for short cuts.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: If you were the coach of Mackens Semerzier, what advice would you give to him for this fight against Deividas Taurosevicius?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: Be ready.
WWW.PROMMA.INFO: Thank you Deividas for talking to us at ProMMA.info (www.promma.info). Best of luck in your fight this weekend. Would you like to thank any sponsors or give any shout-outs?
DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS: Thank you to you too. And I would like to thank all my trainers and sparring partners. Also my main sponsors: Maxim Group NY, Sharper Image Tanning NY, Big Valley Nursery NY, Taurus MMA NY, Xtreme Gym NY, Competitive Edge Athletics NY, Precor, Affliction, MMA Overload, Combat Sport, One More Round, Sprawl, and my manager Neal Wolfson for helping me to get where I’m now.
By: Jack Bratcher