I had the opportunity to sit down with Lee Metcalf, a 6-3 Pro fighter who is ranked #7 on NortheastMMA.net's rankings. I was not very familiar with him and cannot remember if I have seen him fight or not so I was very intrigued to get to know him. Here is how it went....WesternMassMMA.com: Can you give our readers a little history of your background and who is Lee Metcalf??
Lee Metcalf: I'm from Rockland, MA. I was raised in Rockland and have lived here pretty much my entire life. Its one of those towns where everybody knows everybody. Growing up I was a pretty athletic kid. I was always playing some sort of sport. Although, I didn't get into organized sports until highschool where I played football, baseball, and basketball. I boxed a little bit as a teenager, but other than that, didn't try any other combat sports.
WesternMassMMA.com: You have an outstanding record of 6-3, and are 4-1 at Club Lido...what do you look for when choosing an opponent?
Lee Metcalf: I leave the opponent choosing up to my coaches. I've never been one to call out another fighter. They will get pitched a fight and ask me how I feel about it. I'll always say yes. I know my coaches well enough to know if they get pitched a fight that they feel I might not be ready for, they won't even ask me. So if they ask me, I know they feel I can win. But, to answer the question, I always have taken tough fights. That's what I'm here for. To test myself against good fighters.
WesternMassMMA.com: What does a typical day of training consist of for you???
Lee Metcalf: I try to train twice a day for 4 days out of the week.. I'll also get 1 or 2 training sessions in over the weekend and I like to allow myself 1 day off per week to rest. I have no set schedule, it all depends on how my body feels on that day.
WesternMassMMA.com: What is your most memorable moment/fight in the cage and can you walk us through it??
Lee Metcalf: My most memorable fight was against Pat McGreal for sure! Ironically he's a friend of mine now. But, it was a 3 round fight, back and forth the whole time... Unfortunately, I ended up losing that fight, but I definitely also learned the most about myself from that fight! Most memorable moment was the walkout for my very 1st fight.. Such an odd feeling. Its very hard to describe unless you've been in that moment.
WesternMassMMA.com: Nice. Can you tell our readers something that they may not know about you?? A particular interest or just some fun facts.
Lee Metcalf: Most people don't know that I'm an encyclopedia when it comes to animals... I can tell people a lot of information about almost any animal...
WesternMassMMA.com: That's awesome. From a fighter's aspect do you feel it is important for fighters to attend the mass state athletic commission meetings?? Did you know that they are open to the public and anyone can attend??
Lee Metcalf: I did not know the meetings were open to the public... Me personally, I don't think its too important for the fighters to attend. But more so, the refs, coaches, promoters, etc... That being said, if there were an issue with the commission's decisions, or if the commission's rulings affected us fighters in a negative way. I think it would be absolutely important for us to attend and be heard..
WesternMassMMA.com: Nice, I totally agree. I think many fighters don't realize that the commission meetings are open to anyone. In fact the last couple meetings they were discussing Muay Thai rules and discussing the amateur fighting rules. You have fought many times for Club Lido. Can you tell our fans what they can expect when they see an MMA show there?? Describe the atmosphere...
Lee Metalf: First thing fans will notice about Club Lido is, its much smaller than all of the other venues locally. Which is a good thing though because you're close to the action no matter where you are. The atmosphere is dark and loud! From a fighter's perspective its just how I like it. Whenever I fight at Club Lido I feel like a gladiator fighting in ancient Rome... The crowd is loud, the music is loud, you can hear the fights from the warm up rooms. Then when you're on deck you're in a dark hallway. They call your name, your music plays and you walk out into bright lights and screaming fans! Its definitely a different experience than other venues I have fought for..
WesternMassMMA.com: It is a great atmosphere and the sound system was excellent. There isn't a bad seat in the house and drinks are readily available in just an arms reach away. What other sports do you enjoy watching?? Favorite team..please don't say Yankees ;)
Lee Metcalf: The only sport I'll really sit down and watch from start to finish, is football.. I watch every game I can. I just love the sport! I'm a Pats fan obviously, but I'll watch every team. I will occasionally also watch baseball (hate the Yankees) and basketball. But usually only once the playoffs start. There's hundreds of games between those two sports and I don't have time to sit and watch the regular season games. Plus the intensity level picks up during the playoffs.
WesternMassMMA.com: Definitely. I watch every Pats game but it is impossible to watch every baseball games, just like basketball. In the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, who are your favorite fighters and why???
Lee Metcalf: I don't have any one particular fighter or fighters who are my favorite, but I do like watching fighters who are exciting. Fighters that will never play it safe and always take a chance to finish a fight if the opportunity is there! Fighters that come to mind are guys like Uriah Faber, Kenny Florian, Joe Lauzon, etc... They always push the pace and are always looking to end the fight asap!
WesternMassMMA.com: Did you happen to watch the last UFC in Brazil?? The crowd was very loud and I hate to say it put our American crowd to shame. In Brazil they cheer for the ground game and jiu jitsu where the American crowd likes to boo when they are on the ground. What are your thoughts on that??
Lee Metcalf: I did catch a couple of the fights. And yes, any foreign crowd puts an American crowd to shame... Americans want 2 guys to stand and just punch each other in the face until someone falls. They don't appreciate the ground game at all... Americans want a kick boxing match. This is MMA. MMA is grappling dominant. No matter how you look at it, grapplers win the most fights.
WesternMassMMA.com: Exactly. Don't get me wrong I love to see heavyweights fight and stand and bang it out but the ground game makes the sport so much more diverse. I have grown to enjoy the ground game and the battle for submissions and the chess game behind it. I do agree with the Americans booing for fighters just laying on each other and not advancing though.
Lee Metcalf: Oh absolutely! I love watching a good scrap on the feet, but I appreciate the ground game just as well. Everyone loves seeing a nice KO!
WesternMassMMA.com: I want to thank you for your time Lee and letting our fans get to know you. We at WesternMassMMA.com will see you fight on Sept 16th against Rodrigo Almeida and wish you the best of luck. Please take this time to give anyone you want a shoutout!
Lee Metcalf: I would like to give a HUGE thanks to my coaches Scott Lockhart and Bill Mahoney of South Shore Sport Fighting. They are both geniuses in the fighting game! They turn average joes into champs on a regular basis. I'd like to thank my teammates for beating me up every day. A fighter is only as good as his teammates, and thankfully we have some of the best fighters/training partners in New England! Also I'd like to thank my family and friends for all the support. Last but not least, I'd like to thank my girlfriend Nina for dealing with my crazy training and work schedule. Plus dealing with me when I'm cutting weight and close to a fight. I'm not a nice person to be around when I'm starving and close to a fight!
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