The Triangle Choke: Mojo Horne Interview

Mojo Horne is not your everyday fighter striving to make it into the UFC, far from it. Mojo is 31 years old with an amateur record of 17-1 and a professional record of 5-0. To add to his experience, he has trained for years with UFC mega star Rich “Ace” Franklin. I recently spent some time with Mojo as he prepared for his upcoming bout which you can read about in our MMA Big Show: Retribution preview.

TTC- How did you get started in MMA?

MH- Actually, when I first started training I never planned on fighting. I guess it was really to fight better in a bar. I trained with some guys who moved away and didn’t really have anyone to train with. I met Josh Rafferty (was on The Ultimate Fighter) and ended up meeting Rich Franklin. I’ve been Rich’s training partner ever since.

TTC- How is training going leading up to the fight with Brendan Seguin?

MH- Its going pretty good. I was sick for a few weeks. Its starting to come around.

TTC- You fight at 185 lbs. What weight do you walk around at?

MH- I walk around at between 205-215 lbs normally when I’m not getting ready for a fight.

TTC- How much weight will you have to cut for the weigh in on Friday (interview conducted on Monday before the fight?

MH- Anywhere between 10-15 pounds.

TTC- That is a good bit of weight to cut. Do you anticipate a strength advantage?

MH- This guy looks pretty strong so not sure.

TTC- There is some video of Seguin on the internet. How much do you know about him?

MH- Not much, I know he has had a lot of tough fights. When he steps up (in competition) he loses. When he fought Denis Kang he lost, Joe Doerksen he lost. He uses his stand up a lot which works well for me.

TTC- For the readers who haven’t saw you fight. What are your best skills?

MH- I think one of my biggest strengths is my aggressive style; a lot of guys don’t know how to deal with it. Besides that I guess it would be my stand-up. I’ve worked with wrestling coaches, I have Jim Kelly as a Jiu-Jitsu instructor; I feel my game has really stepped up the last few months.

TTC- Rob Radford (Rich Franklin’s boxing coach) helps you with your striking. How long have you trained with him?

MH- On and off for a long time. He was one of Rich’s original coaches. Unfortunately, Rob’s pretty expensive! Hopefully I can work with Rob consistently going on. I think he is no doubt one of the better stand-up coaches in terms of MMA. I have another stand-up coach named Rob Walker. He is more of a Muay Thai coach; between the two of them I definitely have a good package.

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TTC- You have been Rich’s training partner since the beginning?

MH- Yeah, I was with Rich before he was Rich! (laughs). I’ve been with him since he was fighting in Extreme Challenge (2001).

TTC- You have fought in some big fights with big crowds. What do you expect the crowd to be like at this fight?

MH- I’m not sure the crowd will be very large. Unfortunately one of the earliest dates we could get bumps against the Arnold Classic and UFC 96. It always a good crowd though. Its what you make it. All of my hardcore fans will be there.

TTC- What are your aspirations in the sport?

MH- I’m not in a big hurry to get into the UFC. When I finally get to UFC, I want to go through the ranks. If I was to make it there now or before the end of the year; I would be one of those first level guys who runs into problems at the next level up, that is not what I want. I’m going to fight at the smaller shows. Everyone talks about UFC, fame, fortune blah blah blah but when I get there I want to fight maybe four fights and get a title shot.

TTC- What are some specific things you have been working on for this fight?

MH- Unfortunately I was supposed to fight Cale Yarbrough but he had to back out. I heard he got sick. I’ve really only had 3 weeks to prepare for the fight and was sick for part of that. I’ve really been pushing myself through the training. I’m doing everything I can to make sure my lungs are right. I feel like I’m a pretty well rounded fighter anyway. I’m ready to get in there and throw some punches and see what happens. Hopefully it will come out in my favor.

TTC- Best wishes Mojo

By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer & Director of MMA Content