Sam Hoger Interview

Courtesy of Joe Burns:

I recently interviewed former UFC fighter and TUF alum Sam Hoger. During the course of the interview, we spoke about his lay-off from fighting, his opening of the Miletich Fighting Systems Gym in Houston and his upcoming bout with Braden Bice in World Fighting Championships’ September 19th card.

JB: Sam you have taken some last time off since your last fight. Tell us what you have been doing.

SH: Well, I came down here to Houston and I have been spending a lot of time here building up this gym and expanding the Miletich Fighting Systems and bringing it to the south so that we can continue to expand as a team and as a unit.

JB: Now, has opening up the gym taken time away from your training or have you been able to keep up the same training schedule?

SH: I have been able to maintain a pretty decent shape at least relative to training. Despite just opening a gym, training takes a lot of time and effort, a lot of hours. You know a lot of those hours fit right into training, training with other people, trying to make them better. So, thankfully, I think it has taken a little away but not much.

JB: With your school being in Houston now and with you training down there, who are your training partners and who are your coaches at the school?

SH: Well, of course, my head coach, as always, is Pat Miletich and then coaches down here are Ken Mosel Yves Edwards’s old trainer. I have Bruce McGraw. He is one of the guys I am working my Jiu Jistu with and then Leroy Franklin; he is my strengthening and conditioning coach.

JB: Now with your time off did you focus on any aspect of the game to improve it for MMA?

SH: Well, yeah, one of the things I have been focusing on besides working with my students is my wrestling base. I have been improving it a lot and working with a national wrestler we have here. He comes in and trains with us and I have been really working on my wrestling. Trying to make sure when I get tied up in the clinch I have a better idea of what to do and what to expect.

JB: So, after fighting such fighters as Stephan Bonnar, Rashad Evens and Lyoto Machida, what was the toughest fight you have had and what have you brought away from your fights with these fighters?

SH: The toughest fight I had was actually in my amateur career with the pro fights. When ever I fought Lyoto Machida and I fought Rashad Evens they were good fights but by that point in time I was well prepared by MFS. I didn’t feel that they were that tough of fights. I mean my hardest fight was in my amateur career that was against a guy named Jason Braswell. That was one guy that just pushed and pushed and I had to keep pushing to stay on top. Like when I fought Machida, which was just a fight that he was constantly running. I didn’t even feel like was in a fight after that. With the Evens fight it was a good scrap. The same thing with the Bonnar fight... they were all high intensity fights but I was better prepared for those fights compared to my amateur career.

JB: How did your upcoming fight in the World Championship Fighting come together?

SH: We have spoken about it in the past and you know Braden Bice is a guy with two belts and I think he has done well in the past. I really thought it would be a great fight for me to take so he proposed the fight and I checked him out and I think he is a strong wrestler with heavy hands. It should be a good time.

JB: It looks like World Championship Fighting is putting on quality shows. What do you think of the organization?

SH: W.C.F. is making some big moves. I am really surprised at the quality of the shows they are putting together and the attendance there is just electric in the arena. I don’t know what Joe Cavallaro is doing, but from what I seen it been a colossal event every single show. I think since the inception of the promotion they have had UFC fighters on every card. Now they’re having this show at the Shriners Auditorium Friday the 19th of September and are going to keep up the high action pace that comes with every WCF show.

JB: Was it easy to scout Braden Bice? I did some research on the internet and I really didn’t seem to find any information or videos on him.

SH: No, I haven’t been able to find anything on him but I have heard a lot about him and I have seen the belts he has won. He seems like he is coming to fight.

JB: Sam that is all I have for questions. Do you have any people to thank?

SH: I would like to thank Joe Cavallaro and World Championship Fighting for letting me fight on their card. I would like to also thank Dana White and the Fertitta brothers for everything they have helped me with in the past. I want to thank my girl friend Erica Lynn Dugger for all the help she has given me and being there and making this all come together. Of course I want to thank my team at Miletich Fighting Systems Houston and Miletich Fighting Systems. By the way, to get tickets to the World Championship Fighting show on September 19th visit www.WCFighting.com

For more information on Sam Hoger visit Miletich Fighting Systems Houston web site at www.mfshou.com

For full information about World Championship Fighting including fight card, ticketing prices and directions visit www.WCFighting.com