Point fighter Joe Laynpray talks about how he isn"t boring

Fighter profile of Joe Laynpray by Paul Huntington

This week Bellum fighter Joe Laynpray sat down and gave an interview on �The Smasher�s Club� internet radio program. Laynpray is fresh off a victory at Bellum 66: New York Bash � the promotion�s first event outside of Los Angeles. The interview was much like one of Laynpray�s fights, it dragged on much longer than it should have, there wasn�t much excitement, and Joe was in control pretty much the entire time. We�ve taken the liberty of cutting out the majority of the interview and printing Joe�s answers to questions that have plagued him over the course of his career.

On accusations that he is a boring point fighter who makes the fight a wrestling match.

�I do what I�m good at, I wrestled at Pitt in college. I know people think Oklahoma is THE place for wrestling, but It�s Pennsylvania. Yinz have never wrestled until you�ve wrestled someone from PA. I don�t think what I do Is boring, it�s entertaining. The crowd loves a good technical wrestling match. I get fan mail all the time about how great my takedowns are and how cool it is that I wear my singlet out to the cage. People love wrestling, KO�s are so overrated. People want their money�s worth, they want a 15 minuet battle of wills, not a flashy submission or brutal KO�� (Joe then proceeds to talk about the importance of footwork in a takedown).

On why he wastes so much time dancing to his entrance music before he gets in the cage.

�I love Estranged by Guns N Roses. I love to hear all the parts of that song before I fight. The solos really touch me. I remember the 1st time I saw that video and saw the part where Axel jumped off the aircraft carrier. I was so stoaked. I sing that song at karaoke all the time. People like it so much that they throw free beer on the stage at me. I just wish they�d keep it in the cup, but whatever, it�s rock n roll. People get excited when they hear a 10 min long song like that before a fight, it makes it more epic. I think of myself as a showman 1st and a fighter 2nd. Actually I�m a lover 2nd, and probably an intellectual 3rd, and fighter 4th as a tie with being a baker, but anyway Elvis Presley was the king of rock n roll, I think of myself as a modern day Elvis in the cage who fights rather than sings. Although Elvis did know karate as well�� (Joe then proceeds to talk about how Elvis could have adapted his karate to be a good wrestler if he�d of lived longer).

On fans saying he did not deserve a fight of the night award in New York since all he did was control and throw �girl punches� to stop a stand up.

�You know that�s how it is when you are on top. Haters are just gonna hate. It�s like when Napoleon was the king of Rome and all those people were trying to tear him down. I�ve dealt with this my whole life. When I was in college and working on my teaching degree, a lot of people said I was just passed because I was on the wrestling team. It�s just jealousy and insecurity. I am where I am because I am good at what I do. I�m a professional, I don�t go to all these hater�s homes and question how good they are at their jobs. What really gets me is that they can see how good I am at my job. I know of the 5,250 people who were there that night, at least 5,000 of them were there to see me. Nothing against the 3 champions who fought that night in title fights, I respect all those guys, even the ones I have never heard of. But let�s face facts, people tune in to see me, they love me, people name their children Joe all the time. Think that�s some kind of conscience? Of course not, it�s all about me. I�ve heard Bentley was a really popular name last year, here is why Joe is a better name than Bentley� (Joe then proceeds to talk about why fad names come and go, but Joe will always be a popular name).

So there you have it, the most interesting points in Joe�s last interview. Joe is scheduled to face Paul Rua at Bellum 76 in LA.

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