Interview with Ron “H2OMan” Waterman
Published by on February 26th, 2009 in Interviews

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From punching people in the face to rolling up frying pans with his bare hands, MMA legend Ron “H2OMan” Waterman does it all in the name of God. A born again Christian, the forty three year old goliath makes it no secret where he draws his inspiration to continue to compete against some of the very best fighters in the game today.

At 6′ 2″ and weighing in at a lean 280 pounds, Waterman has long been among the most feared heavyweights in the world of mixed martial arts. Over a decade into the veteran’s fighting career, the Pride FC and UFC veteran has compiled an extremely respectable record of fifteen wins with only six defeats while constantly testing himself against the most dangerous heavyweights that the sport has had to offer.

While he realizes that he’s not getting younger, the Greeley, Colorado native is in no rush to step away from the sport he has grown to love. Truth be told, as long as he stays in fighting shape, there’s no reason for it. Waterman is a fighter. According to him, if the shoe fits, wear it.

In an exclusive interview with MMAMemories.com, Waterman talked about some of the biggest wins in his career, not getting paid for his last fight, being a roommate with UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and much more.

MMAMemories: So do you know where you’re going to be fighting next?
Ron Waterman: I really don’t have anything pinned down in the books right now. I know we have some things cooking in Japan but there’s nothing solid just yet.

MMAMemories: I know you were the guy that got Shane Carwin into mixed martial arts and you have spent a great deal of time training with him. How do you think he’s going to do in his upcoming fight with Gonzaga?

Ron Waterman: I think the fight with Gonzaga is going to be a really good test for Shane. It will give everyone a really good view of where’s he’s at in mixed martial arts. He hasn’t really had a formidable opponent like Gonzaga at this point in his career, he hasn’t even been out of the first round. I think this fight will go past the first round, for sure. I think it could go a lot of different ways but Shane hasn’t really been tested so it’s hard to call. It will be interesting but I definitely think that Shane can win this fight. Shane has come a really long way since the years that I have been rolling with him. He used to be a lot more one dimensional, like when I first started, but he’s gotten a lot better on his feet and i definitely think that he has the tools to get the job done.

MMAMemories: Do you find it hard to find training partners that can push you?
Ron Waterman: Right now, Shane is probably the only guy that I can train with that can really give me a good workout. When he’s not around I need like 10-12 guys that are about 200-220 pounds, but with Shane, he’s the only one that can really make me work hard.

MMAMemories: Is there anyone that you really, really want to fight?
Ron Waterman: I’ll fight whoever they offer to me. I’m not a guy that goes around looking to fight a specific person. I’ll never turn down a fight if the offer is right.

MMAMemories: What do you think about Brock Lesnar and how long do you think he will be able to reign supreme in the UFC?
Ron Waterman: Me and Brock were actually roommates for a while. I was on a tag team with Brock when both of us first started out in the WWE. We were in the developmental territory out in OEW out in Louisville, Kentucky. I knew, even way back then, that he could be a force in MMA. Even when I was just a pure wrestler at the time. It’s been pretty cool for me to see him develop the way he has. He’s just one of those guys that is kind of one dimensional, but I don’t see anyone that could stop him. He’s amazingly strong and a crazy good athlete. I mean, at 300 pounds, when i was wrestling with him, he could just do a standing back flip on the pot. He’s just an amazing athlete.

MMAMemories: When was the last time you talked to him?
Ron Waterman: We haven’t talked for some time. It’s been probably a year since I’ve talked to Brock, but we were pretty good friends for quite a while.

MMAMemories: Well you guys should hook back up. You guys would make training partners.
Ron Waterman: Yeah, that’s for sure. He was one of the only guys that could really push me back then. He’s just a really big, strong dude. He’s very similar to Shane in a lot of ways. He’s a real force. I don’t think Mir’s going to be able to stop him this time.

MMAMemories: Are there any other heavyweights out there that have impressed you lately?

Ron Waterman: I was pretty impressed with Cain Velasquez the last time I saw him fight against Denis Stojnić at The Ultimate Fight Night. I hadn’t seen him very much but I was very impressed watching him this last time.

MMAMemories: What would you consider to be the biggest win of your career?
Ron Waterman: I would have to say one of the most meaningful wins to me in my career was back in Pride FC when I submitted Kevin Randleman in the first round. it was a really cool feeling to beat Kevin in front of 40,000 people in Japan. Beating Ricco Rodriguez was another big win, when I fought him the first time in the WEC for the heavyweight championship.

MMAMemories: You have fought in just about every major promotion on the planet. What was your favorite promotion to fight for?

Ron Waterman: Pride FC was always a really great promotion to fight for because they just treat their fighters so good over there in Japan. The only time I fought for Bodog, they treated me really well too.

MMAMemories: And your least favorite?
Ron Waterman: The least favorite promotion that I’ve ever fought for would have to be the last one. It was called “Born To Be Bad” and was presented by Knuckles Inc. They bounced my check for 25,000 dollars , so that left kind of a bad taste in my mouth. I still haven’t been paid for my last fight. I was in the Main Event and I went to cash my check Monday morning and they said there were insufficient funds. I still haven’t collected my purse to this day and the fight was back in November. it’s been three months and I’m still fighting to get my money but it’s not looking very good.

MMAMemories: You’ve been around since the beginning and can truly be considered one of the pioneers of the sport. Where do you see the sport in 10 or even 20 years?
Ron Waterman: I definitely think that mixed martial arts is just going to continue to grow as time goes on. When I first started, my first fight was back in 1998, and I knew back then that this was going to be a mainstream sport, I could picture it overtaking boxing, even back then. In the last couple of years the sport has just exploded. The fans here in the United states aren’t getting so sucked into the violent aspect of it. They are starting to appreciate the skill levels and the training that it actually takes to be successful. Unfortunately I was in the UFC when it wasn’t being aired regularly on Spike. If you wanted to watch it, you would have to find it somewhere on pay per view. It used to be extremely difficult to get sanctioned by the athletic commissions. I was actually part of the start of the change actually. At UFC 22 I was fighting against Andre Roberts when the Las Vegas Athletic Commission was at that fight, deciding whether or not they were going to sanction the UFC in Las Vegas. I think that was one of the main events that they saw how controlled it was. Big John was a little overly cautious for that fight card and he made sure that everything was very professional. I think that was one of the major turning points for the UFC.

MMAMemories: How long would you like to continue fighting?
Ron Waterman: I’m really just taking things as they go right now. I still feel like I can compete and I keep myself in top shape at all times. I could be ready to fight at any point, in probably about three weeks. As far as my training goes, I’m always active and i stay in good shape. I’m always ready, but at the same time, it gets to a point where I’m not just trying to fight, just to fight. I’m not going to do it unless it’s beneficial to me. Getting stiffed at my last fight was pretty frustrating to say the least.

MMAMemories: Any plans of what you may get in to once you decide to quit fighting for a living?
Ron Waterman: I run a real estate company up here in Colorado. I flip a lot of houses on my own and I invest in a lot of different properties. That has been keeping me pretty busy. I also do a lot of speaking at public schools and churches, doing crusades on my own, so I stay pretty busy. I haven’t been traveling with Team Impact in a couple of years but I still do a lot of the same kind of motivational stuff. I’m rolling up frying pans, tearing phone books in half and all of that stuff. It gets there attention.

MMAMemories: A lot of people can be thrown off when a fighter like yourself is as religious as you are. Do you kind of see yourself as a warrior for God?

Ron Waterman: I absolutely see myself as a warrior for God. That’s a big part of who I am. I make sure that I don’t really hide that part of me. That’s just me, that’s who I am and that’s what gives me the strength to continue.

MMAMemories: Have your sons shown any interest in wanting to fight?
Ron Waterman: When you’re a parent it changes everything. My boys are both very good wrestlers and my oldest boy is out of high school now, so I’m sure that that’s something that he’s probably thought about getting in to. I just don’t know if I would be the strongest advocate at leading him down that road. I would prefer that they go to college and get a career and pursue MMA in their spare time like I did.

MMAMemories: Is there anyone you would like to thank?
Ron Waterman: I just want to thank Phylis Lee. She has been my agent since the beginning, way back in 1998. She’s been a great manager for me and she’s done a wonderful job.