Guy Mezger
Biofiles | Published March 8th, 2008
 Status: Mixed Martial Arts Fighter. Challenges Tito Ortiz at UFC 50 in Atlantic City on October 22.
Height: 6-1 Weight: 205
Born On: January 1, 1968 In: Houston, TX
Childhood Heroes: “Audie Murphy. The most decorated soldier in American history. He did some incredible things. He jumped on a burning German tank and used a machine gun to stop the Germans from advancing. He saved his whole unit. He was a normal guy who did some incredible things. As a kid you always want to dream of big things. Of course, I’ve always loved Muhammad Ali.”
Hobbies/Interests: “Well, to tell you the truth, I enjoy my work, teaching the kids the programs I have here (at Guy Mezger’s Martial Arts & Fitness in Dallas). I’m kind of a boring guy. I like water sports, jet skiing. I do work at Scottish Rights Children’s Hospital. They provide free medical care - so they rely on volunteers.”
Nicknames: “My mom used to call me ‘Guyger The Tiger’, does that count? My fighting name for a while was ‘Sandman’, because I had so many strings of knockouts.”
Favorite Movies: “My favorite older movie is Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. The Godfather I, II, except for the third one. Of course, you gotta go with the hero movies like Braveheart and Gladiator.”
Musical Tastes: “You couldn’t pin me down to one, I like anything from Pearl Jam to Helmet to The Eagles to Andrea Bocelli. All kinds.”
Favorite TV Show: “Seinfeld.”
Early Fighting Memory: “Four-years old, kindergarten. Being picked on by the six-year-olds. I knew right then that there was two ways to live life…either on the top of the foodchain or the bottom of the foodchain. (Did you win that first fight?) I lost. I got kind of pounced on. That’s why I said, The bottom doesn’t look so good.”
Childhood Dream: “As an athlete, I always wanted to be an Olympic wrestler. It never really happened obviously. I always had a desire to be somebody, you know?”
Favorite Meal: “Korean barbecue.”
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Oatmeal with honey.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Rum raisin. And then I’m a sucker for a hot fudge sundae.”
First Job: “Mowing lawns in Plano, Texas (age 13).”
First Car: “Was a motorcyle. A 1976 Harley Davison (age 15).”
Funny Fighting Memory: “Something that made me laugh…Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, there were fighting. In Charlotte, North Carolina - UFC 5. In that fight, there wasn’t a tremendous amount of action. They were on the ground a lot, headbutting each other. Ken’s father (Bob) was getting pissed [laughs]. He yelled, ‘If you’re gonna sit down in his guard, why don’t you just kiss him!?’ For a second there was a pause in the fight and they both looked at each other. And Royce said, ‘Please don’t do that!’ Then they go back to killing each other.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Man, there’s been so many. I would say my best victory was beating Funaki in Pancrase (in Tokyo in ‘98) Live at Budokan. Just it was….he’s a very smart fighter. He beat me before. It was just a type of thing where…he’s the chessmaster…and I outplayed the chessmaster that day. It just went down as one of my best wins, the way I fought the fight. I was just more determined to win than he was.”
Most Painful Moment: “Physically or mentally? I’ll be honest, I think my most painful moment was my loss to Arona (in Pride). Because I really felt like I won the fight. It was a hard fight but I think I won the first 15 minutes of the fight. The fight was just after 9/11. I had friends who died in the World Trade Center. I didn’t want to fight really in the first place. It was a tough situation. I was under contract. My heart wasn’t really into it. It was the first time I felt more like a mercenary than an athlete…like I went there more for the money. Then I changed my mindset, Gonna try to win. I put out a tremendous effort. I felt I won. Felt really let down with the whole Pride thing, like what do I have to do to win there? It was a depressing time…and to lose the fight on top of it. My most painful moment. Is this really what I want to do with the rest of my life? It was kind of a reflective time, a very sad time for me. Not just the loss but the whole deal.”
Worst Injury: “Funaki broke my leg (’95). Had me in a leglock. I had a three-inch spiral fracture in my shin bone. Painful s—, just so you know.”
Favorite Vacation Spot: “Anywhere there’s water.”
Favorite Fighters To Watch: “A whole line of guys. I love watching Nogueira. I just think he’s an incredible athlete to watch. I used to like watching Sakuraba but he hasn’t been doing great lately. But I liked his early fights. Igor Vovchanchyn…he’s always fu—– somebody up [laughs].”
Favorite Fights: “Bas-Funaki - an awesome looking fight to watch. I liked Gatti-Ward. Unbelievable match.”
Closest Friends From Fighting: “My Lion’s Den teammates are like my brothers. Travis Lutter. I’m basically friends with everybody in the fight business. I like to think that I’m capable of being friendly with everyone. I’ve had some differences along the way but I hold no malice in my heart. I think everyone is potentially my friend, even my opponents who I fight.”
Funniest Fighters: “Quinton Jackson is a pretty funny guy. The funny s— that comes out of his mouth. He fought Vovchanchyn. But before the fight, he hands to Igor a letter supposedly written by his mother asking Igor not to hurt him. Quinton wrote it. Igor - I don’t think he understood it. Everybody there was cracking up. And Quinton ended up winning the fight. Tank Abbott is very funny. It’s not a lot of fun when he directs the humor at you. But he is hilarious when he’s out there. Whether he’s putting his foot in his mouth or somebody else’s mouth.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “I like to see honorable, respectful people. Vanishing qualities in America.”
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