Catch Up with Danielle West

Catch Up with Danielle West

(25.01.12)  At the beginning of a very busy February for WMMA, we caught up with Danielle West prior to her fight with Jorina Baars on 12th February 2012 at Girls Fight Only IV in Holland. Following a number of fight cancellations in 2011, Danielle is hoping for an exciting and busy 2012.

 

 

How did your fight life pan out for you in 2011 and did all go according to plan?

I managed to have 2 fights which for me is a record but I also had 5 cancellations; 3 due to illness (2 from the same person who somehow managed to fight a week before and after our fight curiously), 1 due to natural disaster (the Tokyo quake hit 2 hours before my fight against Esui) and a cancellation after an opponent missed weight by 7 kg and the promoter refused to allow the fight to take place (I offered to match the overweight opponent at the Grapplers Showdown the next day but she declined). I got to train in Europe, Thailand and the US with some top people and took gold at a few grappling competitions so not a bad year.


Tell us about your draw with Rin Nakai that took place in Japan back in September 2011?

I had a 3 week camp for the fight that I was lucky to do in San Diego at Arena MMA with Jeff Clark. They were amazing in terms of training, strategy, drilling and support. The night before I flew out to Tokyo a huge family emergency struck which I managed to address but it left me terribly distracted. I didn't manage to fully execute my fight plan which for me was the biggest disappointment. I managed well enough in the fight that I didn't lose to a highly ranked, experienced and undefeated (10-0-0) fighter but I also didn't win or manage to stop my opponent which resulted in a draw. I realise to get a draw in Japan against a popular hometown competitor is a bit of a result but it wasn't the result I had wanted nor was it the result I had hoped to give my team. There was interest in a rematch but I think Rin is currently on a break from competing.


What does MMA have in store for you in the New Year?

As with every year there is lots of exciting stuff on the horizon. I have an excellent management team, Pro Game Management have been brilliant in getting me fights. I am fighting Jorina Baars in Holland next month and there are several big matches in the works all over the globe.


Have you got any goals for this year and what are you hoping to achieve?

My big goal for 2012 is to break the top 10 of the unified WMMA rankings. I would also like to fight in Japan and the US (preferably against Yana Kunitskaya).


How well did the transition from Xmas food go into the New Year’s training?

LOL! With tears and regret. Actually, I've had the same diet for the past 4 years and it's always served me well. I've tweaked it as I've gotten a feel for my own biology and this current camp has seen me actually get ahead of schedule which is a first.


Have there been any changes to your fight team and sparring partners this year; if so what are they and how are you hoping this will improve your abilities?

Yes. Mainly because I've moved and changed jobs and one of my gyms moved as well. I was sad to have move from Eddie Kone's as he is an ace teacher and supportive coach and I loved the Bloodline Fight Team (I worked a lot with Lisa Marie McCallam as both a sparring partner and helped her with her fight camp against Stacy Hayes which was really rewarding to see her win and utilise techniques I drilled with her no less). I am now with New Wave Academy training under Nick Osipczak and still doing a day each week at Master/ Fuzion MMA under Matt Chapman and have my coach Olof Ingermarsson fly over from Sweden once a month. The sparring partners at NWA have been great and I am working a lot with Laura Clark both to help her prepare for her last two fights and now she is helping prepare me for mine. Last year I was travelling a lot and this year things seem like they may be a bit more stable in terms of routine. I still regularly am getting beasted by my sparring partners which is a good sign and I'm hopefully I'm also giving something back to the teams as well.


How is the preparation going for your upcoming bout against Jorina Baars and have you been working on anything in particular?

So far everything seems to be on schedule. I have done over 22 fight camps since making my pro debut (and have had 16 cancellations) and there is a familiar pattern in terms of fatigue, skill, aggression and anxiety which I feel I started to manage or rather accept last year. I am preparing as much as I can for this match and think my coaches and team feel confident. For this fight I am working a lot on my focus and mental preparation and obviously relentlessly drilling the game plan and drilling my weakest areas to minimise mistakes in the match itself.


Jorina is still relatively new to MMA coming from a strong striking background; how much will that influence your preparation?

I think it was Ida Hansson who once eloquently said something to the effect that it isn't the most experienced and top ranked opponent that worries me, it's the underdog with nothing to lose. I am training extremely hard to ensure I am at my best for this and am feeling a bit more pressure for this match than I was for the fight with Rin where I was the underdog.


You seem to have been doing a lot of fighting overseas recently, how much would you like to get a few domestic fights in this year and why has this been quite problematic to try and arrange?

I love fighting abroad as there is less pressure plus I get to see new places and meet new people. That being said it would be nice to have one domestic match before retiring that my fight teams can attend. I think the big problem is getting opponents since all the domestic opponents in my weight class aren't as experienced (Stacy Hayes had the opportunity to fight me and came in 7kg overweight so I will never agree to sacrifice any more of my time to dedicate a whole camp to an opponent who is unreliable). And I think there is only one promotion that has the budget to fly in a female opponent but they haven't shown any interest as of yet.


Finally there was mention of the big ‘R’ word last year, would you like to say anything more about that and is it something you’re still considering?

Absolutely!! I always said I would retire at 35 and that hasn't changed. Before the year is over I will be retiring but hope to continue training and will work with other fighters to help prepare them for fights. I was just recently given a lovely gi from my sponsor Scramble so will be competing in at least one major BJJ tournament but as far as MMA I am hoping to have as many fights as I can this year and end on a high.

 

 

Cage Queen would like to thank Danielle for taking part in this interview and we wish her an excellent 2012 and end to her MMA career. On 24th January 2012 Danielle appeared on Sports Tonight, The Cage, together with Lisa McCallum and hosted by Bret Freeman; you can watch the episode below.