A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to watch an incredible fight at Reality Fightings: Eruption in Plymoth, MA. As soon as I could I began to find out as much as I could about this young fighter. Anthony has stepped up and will be entering the cage again on Nov. 5th at Lombardo's in Randolph, MA at the Cage Titans Promotion. Here is a brief interview I was able to have with the busy Kaponis.
Q. Anthony, how did you spend the week following your fight with Bessette?
A. I spent the following weeks just healing. It was a good battle that I should have won.
Q. In your upcoming fight in the Cage Titans Promotion who are you expected to match-up with?
A. This guy, Antwan Penn, don't really know much about him but that doesn't matter.
Q. Are your training routines different for each fight you take or do you follow a prescribed routine that is heavy in one discipline or many?
A. My routine stays the same. Very motivated and always train like its my last fight
Q. How did you come into MMA?
A. After high school I had really nothing to do. Then I watched a UFC event and thought to myself, "wow, I could get paid for this?" Man, I signed up the next day.
Q. I understand that your brother competes as well. Is he a training partner?
A. No, we actually stay away from each other during training.
Q. What role does your family play in the advancement of your MMA career?
A. They really don't have a factor in it. My only motivation is my wife and my kid. They are the reason I wake up at 4 a.m. for work then go to training at night.
Q. Where do you train, do you have to commute far to get training in?
A. I train with American Fight Team at American Martial Arts Academy in East Longmeadow, MA. I live in CT so it's about a 40 min commute one way.
Q. What discipline(s) did you want to learn at first?
A. Wrestling, did it for 16 years. Then I just wanted to learn Muay Thai. I love to just bang out.
Q. I’ve been told you are probably fighting at a weight that is significantly less than your normal walking weight? Is this true?
A. Yes, I walk around at 180 and cut down like when I had a 9 day notice for the Bessette fight.
Q. What are your nutritional habits when in camp as opposed to normal training days?
A. Just eat clean. Biggest thing you can do.
Q. What is the hardest thing for you to sacrifice when preparing to fight?
A. Barely seeing my family, food, fun, and no time for anything else, but hey if you wanna make it big thats what you need to do.
Thanks Anthony for sharing just a little of what your life is like as an MMA competitor. We here at WesternMassMMA.com will continue to support our Western Mass fighters as well as those everywhere. Keep an eye out for Anthony as he prepares for
battle on Nov. 5th against Antwan Penn. Also representing the American Fight Team will be Barrington "Rude Boy" Douse. Good luck to all the fighters and make sure you leave it all in the cage. We'll be watching...
Joe Leonard is a contributing author here at WesternMassMMA.com. Please feel free to leave feedback, comments, and suggestions for future interviews and articles.