“The Game” Plans on Returning in 2013
(article by the Coffee Boy)
Loud, tough, and always ready to throw down, Arnaud “The
Game” Lepont has been a character in the world of Asian MMA over the last two
years with his wins at DARE Fight Sports and ONE FC, and more recently his bout
with one of the best lightweights in Asia, Shinya Aoki.
After going 2-1 this year – with two wins against the likes
of Brian Choi and Cris Haja, and a loss against Shinya Aoki – Arnaud Lepont has
taken a bit of a break, visiting family and working on his book. We decided to
do some catching up with him, mainly so that his fans can see what he’s up to
and be assured that he plans on making his return in 2013. Also, we get to know
the French phenom just a little bit better.
Anyways, here’s our little (well, not really) interview with
the one and only Arnaud Lepont:
Hey Arnaud, long time. What have you been up to since your
last fight?
I am doing great, Seth.
I had a short holiday in Vietnam with my family and I spent some time with my
son. I enjoyed every minute of it. It was great…long time I have not been in
Vietnam and it was a real pleasure. I love this country. I am back in Malaysia
at the moment, and guess what? I am back in training at MuayFit, the best
martial arts gym in Malaysia.
What did you take from your loss against Shinya Aoki? Did it
hit you hard?
It was tough. Firstly,
because I honestly thought I could match up with him and see how good he was in
“stand up.” Instead of that, the fight went straight to the ground and
honestly, he just over-played me. I was so sure he would stand with me on the
first round. On the ground, he is just too much for me. In another universe, I
was ashamed for my team and for those who were believing in me. That's why I
refuse to tap. The loss was difficult to handle, but the worst is all the “keyboard
warriors” and B-level fighter who spit on you and try to hit you when you are
down. It's easy and pathetic. I prefer to lose in front of one of the top 10
fighter in the world than winning to a can.
Was it a wake-up call in any way?
It was not so much of a
"wake-up call", ‘cause I was ready, my cardio and stand up was great.
I made a mistake. I listened too much the press and I have done a bigger
mistake, I was focusing on a stand up war instead of seeing that as a MMA
fight. My mistake. But I bow down to Shinya. This guy is in another level when
we talk about ground fighting.
So will you be back in the cage again? If so, when, and whom
are you targeting?
I am 10-2 and I still
have the will to win and bang. Hopefully at One FC 7 or 8. I am still under an
exclusive contract with them and I’m proud of it.
Are you comfortable at 155lbs? There are some pretty big
dudes in that division.
(laughs) Yes I am. I
fought all my life at 170lbs! Even at 180lbs! I think I am a pretty big dude
myself. Cutting to 155lbs is tough, I will not go under. I am planning to stay
at 155.
What are your plans for 2013 ?
I hope to bring victory
again to my team. So I will try to fight at least twice. I would love to fight
three times like this year. I have a 2-1 record this year. I am also planning
to do some seminars, around Malaysia and Asia for sure, but maybe in France for
March or April. I am also working with my team on my book. Trust me, it's gonna’
be something. I prefer to keep it a little bit secret, ‘cause I really want to
make a big surprise. Some chapters will be awesome, it will be my time to thank
my fans, give them some exclusive pictures and also payback to some of my
haters.
Time for some stupid, random questions. YOU READY?!
…
If you were an animal, what kind of an animal would you be?
A panda…but a deadly
one.
If you were a Star Wars character…who would you be?
Han Solo.
What’s your favorite color?
Red
What’s your favorite drink?
Red Wine.
What would I find in your refrigerator right now?
Fruits and chicken.
What is the last book you read?
“I of the Sun” by
Richard Arthur
If you could trade places with any other person for
a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional. with whom
would it be?
Obama
What’s the last movie you went to see?
“Silent Hill” a few days
ago… I lost 90 minutes of my life, and it was a total waste of money!
What is your favorite movie?
The Running Man.
If Hollywood did a movie on you… who would play you?
Bill Murray would be a
good pick…but he’d have to put on some muscle.
If you were a car, what car would you be?
A Mini Cooper.
If you were written about in the
newspaper, on the front page, what would the headline say?
"Entertaining
and sexy, everybody should play TheGame"
What makes you angry?
No bread for
breakfast.
Describe yourself in 3 words.
Awesome…determined…accessible.
Three things you’d bring with you on a deserted
island?
John Nutt, sunglasses,
and a bottle of wine
Is
there anything you wanna tell your fans andor your haters?
I will not waste my time with my haters so I
prefer to thank my fans, those who always support me and send me a message or
come ask for a picture. I always have some time for them and will always
respect their attention. Thanks to my sponsors, MouthGuard Kombat, Machismo, MotorTraders,
Vengeance, Jaded, and True Fitness. Thanks to my gym, the best one in Malaysia,
MuayFit.
I think it is ok if he doesn't return anymore. But if he insists, he needs to work doubly hard because all the LW in One FC are all studs Folayang, Laursen, Boku, Zoro, etc. Hope he can pull a miracle
ReplyDeleteOf course if he returns he will work doubly hard. That's how these guys improve.
Deleteit's also ok if you not comment just to spit on him.
ReplyDeleteHe is a nice guy and a good fighter.
Haters will always hate.
Keep going on the game !
Every fighter has fans and haters, best just to ignore them
DeleteI am not a pro le pont but i don't get your "Hope he can pull a miracle".
ReplyDeleteHe just faced Aoki, he lost, but before he beat caliber guys like Haja and Choi...I don't see any miracles in that.
All i hear now is someone who visibly don't like him.
Everybody in MMA eventually loses, it's how they come back that matters.
DeleteI'm sure LePont at no stage thought Aoki would be an easy option, fair play for asking for that fight. He was brought down to earth but his attitude since has been great.
This guy is a Beast... I have never met someone that holds to great characteristic. On one hand he is a great entertainer that can promote a fight as a mad man ready to bang, and on the other hand he can be humble when thanking those that have taken him to the top.
ReplyDeleteWe all will have wins and losses but champs KEEP coming back again and again. Can't wait to see the next ass whooping by "The Game". P>S> For those that are haters, keep hating cause if you like it our not your showing you still follow THE GAME... FAN.... - Jason Starbuck
Well, he might be a superstar if he just fight patsies from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia
ReplyDeleteWhat is with these white expats coming to Asia thinking they can pad up their records here lol
DeleteHe fought Cris Haja from Poland if i am right who beat Wiktor Svensson from Tiger Muay Thai. He beat Brian Choi also from Korea who was 3-1 at that time.
DeleteI don't see any patsies.
He asked for Aoki, got beat by the best and so ?
Do you mean there is no good fighter in "Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia" ?
No disrespect. But do you see guys from those countries getting fights out of their own merit? They are token fighters. If they are good, PXC or even URCC will get them.
DeleteEven the Philippines has a long way to go before they can develop a UFC Caliber fighter. Japan and Korea are still the top dogs in Asia. Brian Choi is he from KTT or Team MAD?
DeleteDo you agree with my assessment?
He came to Asia to train in some of the best Muay Thai gyms, he can only fight the people put in front of him. The fact is a lot of 'white expats' come to Asia and get beat. So what you see are the best "white expats' rising to the top. As for the question are there no good fighters in Singapore, Indonesia or Malaysia - actually sadly not many, except for imports. BUT they will come through because the expats are training them to a higher level now. These three countries are a long way behind Japan, the Philippines and Korea. As for the Philippines, they have a few really good fighters who are not far away from the UFC and with the UFC coming to Asia more often they will get a chance. Oh and as for Japan so many of there organisations put of shitty shows with mismatched or poor fighters, plus there are too many draws. Japan is on a big downward spiral. The Philippines and especially Korea are coming strong.
Delete"Do you agree with my assessment?"
Delete- Yes and No. First, Brian Choi is from Evolve Fighting Team, which is one of the best (if not the best) team in Asia. Brian Choi is one really good fighter at 155lbs. But true that Japan has top level fighters and no doubt they are on the top of the food chain.
"If they are good, PXC or even URCC will get them."
-C'mon son. Really ? If you don't know about it, URCC is UNDER the "OneFC Network" so if i am right, OneFC decide which fighters from URCC can join OneFC, not the opposite. So A level fighter are at OneFC (Folayang and Eric Kelly for exemple.) Watch Decada show next week. Kelly and Folayang are Main eventer...but they are not when they go to OneFC. PXC is not under OneFC network and they only can take what left available. The best fighters go where there is the most money, and no doubt OneFC got the most.
So without your respect it's like King of the Cage and UFC. Dare/URCC/PXC/Dare would be KOTC and OneFC would be OneFC. Point.
Firstly dude lol and then ROFL - Brian Choi is 3-2 his only wins are in junior organisations. I'm not saying he is not good but he is certainly unproven at present. PXC is a proven path to the UFC - Something neither URCC or One can claim. As for the rest of your statement. Dude you really should not be on this site, We don't do hype and bullshit. You seem to be ready to swallow all you are told.
ReplyDeleteYour claims that ONE have the best fighters because they pay more is shaky at best. or did you forget Bob "Tap" Sapp? Probably the most expensive fighter to appear at One. Also I have seen One contracts have you? Some of these guys ain't getting so much.
Evolve MMA is just padding their fighter's record by making them fight patsies. And when the time comes they have to face real competition, they either get KO or Tapped.
DeleteYou are right for PXC, my mistake.
ReplyDeleteBut they've done more than 30 shows...OneFC only 6...let the time decide.
But Martial Combat was not really a newbee organization for me.
No, i have not seen any OneFC contract, but i guess if they can afford guys like Arlovski or Pulver...they might pay well
ONE FC does NOT pay most of their fighters "well".
ReplyDeleteThey have given away so many tickets at all their shows (rumor has it that at ONE FC Manila, as many as 9,000 tickets were given away), and have lied about attendance figures (usually only a little more than half of what they announce were actually at the show). With this kind of a business plan, how does ANYONE expect ONE FC to pay their fighters well? Some fighters get as little as 500 dollars to fight and 500 to win. Some more "popular" fighters get about 2k to fight and 2k to win. It doesn't get too much more than that, except for one or two fighters.
On top of that, their level of talent is all over the place. They have one or two really great fighters, a bunch of below average fighters, and some who should consider alternative careers. Anyone who says ONE FC has "the best in Asia" clearly don't understand the sport or just love to give them head.
you're crazy OneFC has some of the best fighter on the planet they wont pay fighters much now but soon they will its a business they are being smart also fuck you for hating on them they are changing mma as we know it no more ufc dictating the sport hahaha you faggot go watch boxing or something you fag hahaha
DeleteI don't know why you Anonymous people are being so hard on each other. But lol at you all. One hears rumours and believes them with out knowing the truth. The other believes the hype without caring about the truth.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, why not just watch and enjoy the fighting and fighters at what ever organisation you enjoy, regardless of where and who they are.
WELCOME TO THE FIGHT WORLD where hustling is not only on the ring but also outside
Delete