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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
My Name Is…
Eastern Oklahoma, OK
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Gerald Harris I am an Ultimate Fighter
The popularity of the UFC and Spike TV has made shows like The Ultimate Fighter as a part of the sport as the big pay-per-view fights that the UFC prides itself on. The Ultimate Fighter is your chance to get a look at these guys before they become the next big thing. The show has produced several champions and this season was like no other. Dana White, President of the UFC, had a new twist to the show this season; fight your way on.
Tulsa East Central product Gerald Harris entered the show with a good record, but limited experience in the octagon. Harris had two bouts in the IFL (International Fight League), but lost both. When Dana White and the UFC came calling Harris jumped at the opportunity.
“The first time I was in the magazine I was 6-0. I was doing pretty good, but I was only doing it part time. I was teaching and coaching wrestling at East Central High School. I was training, but not real hard. Mainly cardio work. Then I went to the IFL and lost both of those fights. After those two loses I decided to do it full time.”
Training full time in mixed martial arts is a full time job. Harris dedicated himself to a regiment and stuck with it. But the term professional is rarely heard when you talk about MMA fighters. True is these are pros, for many reasons.
“In other sports like football and baseball you have a draft process that athletes go through to make teams. In MMA anyone can train and get a license to fight ad be considered a professional. But if you want to really do it so organizations like the UFC sign you for a match you have to dedicate yourself to train full time and live the right lifestyle. In my two loses I lost to guys that were training full time.”
The setting for the show is very unique. A bunch of fighters living under the same roof who will probably end up pounding on each other at some point in the show. It makes for an interesting dynamic. These guys don’t have to become friends, but they do have to limit the action to the octagon.
“You’re locked in that house with no TV no phone no magazines no contact with the outside world. You can go outside, but only to the pool. You can’t go anywhere and when you travel you’re in a van with tinted windows. You’re isolated. That’s what people don’t understand about the house, you’re not in your normal comfort zone. You go crazy.”
But the fact that you’re living with guys that have to beat you up to stay on the show always hangs over your head.
“You eat dinner with them you see each other every day. Some guys even had to room together. Most of us have never been in a situation where you hang out with a person all day then you have to fight them to stay on the show.”
Maintaining your composure is important, but what about the way you’re portrayed on the show? Is it accurate?
“I didn’t go out of my way to be on TV. I’m not getting a lot of TV time, but when I do everyone notices. They liked the fact that I wasn’t doing a bunch of stupid stuff just to get on TV.”
The fighters were split into two teams, Team Rampage and Team Griffin. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson selected Harris in a draft process after the bouts to get on the show. The two coaches are great personalities as much as they are great fighters.
“He’s (Jackson) just like that in person. He’s a comedian. He’s not acting on the show, that’s exactly how he is. When the cameras are off he acts the same way. I hung out with him for a couple of days after the show. He’s just a real cool dude.”
Another aspect to the show is the fight that takes place with the coaches after the show airs. The build up to the big pay-per-view event helps fuel the teams to want to compete against one another.
“Everything was cool until one of the fights went to the judges scorecards and Griffins fighter won. As Rampage was leaving he yelled over to Forrest, “I bet our fight don’t go to the scorecards!” You could barely hear Forrest when he said something like “I don’t want to bet,” and that’s the point in the show when you realized these two guys are going to go at it and put on a great fight.”
The training schedule seems none stop. As the coaches and trainers try to prepare the fighters for their bouts, the fighters themselves usually need to cut weight to make the fight.
“We trained twice a day. We had a bike at the house, but no one really used it unless they had to cut weight.”
So if you’re stuck in the house where does the food come from? Every time the cameras are on the house someone is standing there with the refrigerator door open.
“We had a list on the table and all you had to do was put on it what you wanted. Steak, lobster, whatever you wanted, but you had to cook it. Me, Mike Dulce, Tim Credur and Jeremy May were the cooks in the house. Jeremy’s father was a chef, but no one liked him so no one ate his food. Me and Jeremy were cool though so I ate all the time.”
Harris lost his second fight, which placed him out of the competition to become the Ultimate Fighter. But that’s not the end of the road for Harris. And once the fighting is over where will Harris land?
“My plan is to take this as far as I can with the UFC. There are a lot of opportunities out there. More training and working with kids. My eight-year-old son wrestles so I want to work with him. Ghost Dog Boxing and Pepe Johnson, who helps train Allan Green, has started the foundation for the youth program and getting involved with them is a goal of mine.”
With roots deeply grounded in Tulsa, Harris attributes his success to a youth program he belonged to and coaches that were no nonsense type guys.
“If it wasn’t for my youth wrestling program and the Hutchinson YMCA I don’t know where I would be right now. All of my friends either went to prison or got involved in something that got them in trouble. I want to make a difference in my community so I’ve always wanted to start a youth program for kids, but that’s after my career is over. Keith Reed was a guy that told me to stay out of trouble ad keep my head right. I didn’t go to some big camp to learn from college coaches I just had a guy that cared about his kids. I stayed out of trouble because he told me if I got in trouble he was going to kick my butt. I listened to him and it helped me get to where I’m at today. “
The future of MMA and the UFC is bright. Record breaking pay-per-views and best fighters in the world has made the UFC the leader in the world of MMA.
“The UFC is the greatest place for the top fighters in the world to put their skills on display, but now there are a lot of other organizations giving fighters a place to battle. Boxing has too much tradition so I don’t think it will take over boxing, but it may from an entertainment aspect. People love to watch MMA on TV and in person. It gets millions of viewers and it brings in new talent. I think it will just keep getting better.”
The fighters in the UFC like Harris spend hours watching tape of fights and hours on the mat honing wrestling and judo skills then jumping up for time on the speed bag and then a couple of rounds with a sparing partner. Harris not only puts the time in on the bag and mat, but whenever the big fights take place Harris is right there to watch.
“I watch to learn. Watching guys like B.J. Penn and St. Pierre just motivates men and makes me want to learn more. A lot of people think I’ve been fighting for a long time, but really my career just started. I’ve only been fighting for a little over a year. I want to become a champion in the UFC and go on to do great things in my life.”
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