Interview with EliteXC Fighter Bryan "KidLightning" Caraway

Here is D Wizzle's interview with MMA fighter Bryan "KidLightning"  Caraway. Caraway is a featherweight fighter from the state of Washington. He has a 10-2 professional record and is coming off a big win against Alvin Cacdac  at the last Strikeforce show in June. Nine of his wins have been by submission.

This interview was done before it was announced that Caraway's next fight would be against the highly touted Wilson Reis  at EliteXC's next big show on July 26 in Stockton, California.  

 

Hey Bryan, how's it going? Congratulations on your win at Strikeforce!

Thanks! I was stoked to be fighting for Strikeforce.

Your style of fighting was listed as "Cowboy Karate" at Strikeforce. Can you give me a definition of that?

Yea, we are  from the Northwest so we're a bunch of tough country dudes with technique! It's  really just supposed to be funny and it keeps everyone guessing.

You looked really good against Alvin Cacdac. You were on him from the start and eventually forced him to tap from the rear naked choke. Did you expect to have such an easy fight?

I never expect to have an easy fight but I trained really hard for it, and I knew he was a stand-up guy so I figured he couldn't hang with me on the ground. It actually went EXACTLY how we planned it.

Your girlfriend Miesha Tate fought on the card and won also. Is that the first time you guys were on the same card together?

Yea,  it was pretty cool!

 Were you more nervous about your fight or her fight?

A different kind of nervous for her. I always throw up before my fights because I'm so competitive, and I hate losing more than anything. But for her, I'm worried about her getting hurt or jacked up!!

The crowd booed when you won since Cacdac was from San Jose. How did it feel to win against the hometown fighter with the crowd booing you?

Well, winning always feels awesome, but that adds a little zing to it! (laughs)

Do you have a nickname?

Yea, it was "The Kid" for a long time because  I started fighting when I was only 19 so Dennis Hallman nicknamed me "The Kid"  but everybody I trained with said I'm lightning fast so now its "KidLightning."

How is the MMA scene in Washington?

The amatuer MMA scene has blown up huge and the pro scene is growing as well with Strike Force coming here. As far as the Northwest,  MMA is huge in general and I believe we produce the toughest fighters around.

Where do you train at and who are some of your trainers and training partners?

Well I trained at Yakima MMA with Rich Guerin while I was in college for about three years so he was really influential in who I am today as a fighter. I originally started with Hallman for a little while,  and then he introduced me to Rich because  he was a lot closer to where i went to school. But now, I moved back over to the Olympia area a few months ago and I'm training with Dennis Hallman again. I have some good training partners  like Eddy Ellis, Matt Lininger, Wesley Welch, Cory Devela, and just recently Mike Joy.  I also go and train with Lyle Beerbohm, Sterling Ford, and  Cody McKenzie. We make trip up to Ivan Salaverry's gym, and drive down to Team Quest a lot and I train with some real tough guys there like  Matt Lindland, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Shultz, Ian Loveland, Zack George, Dave Jansen, Nathan Coy,  and Ed Herman. All the Quest guys are cool.

 Of all your wins so far in your career, which one was the most satisfying?

Uh,  I don't know... probably the Strikeforce show  is up there  when I dominated Noah Thomas. Noah was supposed to fight Josh Thomson, but Josh got cut so they called me up on short notice, and I  was supposed to get beat up but  it was totally the opposite.  He then  got on TUF 5 so  that makes it even better that i beat him.

 Are there any opponents that you would like to fight next? 

I just wanna fight who ever is  gonna get me to that next level and noticed that much more!

What part of your game do you think you need to work on the most? 

I like to think I'm pretty well rounded but probably if I had to pick, it would be stand-up.

How is your stand-up?

My stand-up's actually pretty slick so I'm told, but being a wrestler forever, I'm more comfortable on the ground. I just need to get more confidence in my skill on my feet.

Thanks a lot for your time Bryan. Congrats on the win again and I hope to see you fight again soon. Do you have any final words for the fans out there?

Just watch out for me! I'm gonna be coming up for sure. I live, eat,  and sleep fighting.  Training is all I do.  I'm focusing my whole life on fighting so you  better believe I'm gonna be the champ!! Thanks for the interview! Stay up.