Kyle Watson is an accomplished MMA fighter and the head Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor at Matt Hughes' "H.I.T. Squad" training academy in Granite City, IL.  I approached Kyle for an interview shortly after his upcoming fight with Luciano Azevedo was announced for the stellar Shine Fight Promotion's third event in March.

Shine Fights 3 will feature blockbuster match-ups like Ricardo Mayorga vs. Din Thomas (rumored as close to being official), Hector Lombard vs. Alexandre "Cacareco" Ferreira, "Ninja" Rua vs. Falaniko Vitale, Luiz Azeredo vs. Luiz "Buscape" Firmino, and Nick Thompson vs. Danillo Villefort.

Kyle has a long rap sheet of impressive accolades in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition that is almost too extensive for the entire internet, so click here to check the full list of his achievements on the H.I.T. Squad website.  I was slightly hesitant about inquiring with Kyle for an interview on account of my fanatical support for his opponent, Luciano Azevedo, but that turned out to be no problem at all--Kyle is an Azevedo fan as well.

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"Alright Kyle, thanks a million for agreeing to this interview—especially because you know I’m a huge fan of your upcoming opponent in Shine Fights 3, Luciano Azevedo.  When we were chatting on The UG, you mentioned you were very familiar with Azevedo, and went so far as to call yourself a fan of his.  What made you a fan, and what do you feel his strengths are?"

KW:  "Luciano is an aggressive fighter who pushes the pace and continually looks to finish the fight.  I respect that a lot.  He seems to be well rounded, has good scrambling ability and has strong submissions.  My passion is jiu-jitsu so I always appreciate fighters who can make it translate well in mma."

"Tell me how your training and preparation has been for this fight, and what your thoughts are going into the bout?"

KW:  "My preparation is going very well. I have an excellent strength and conditioning coach who has me on a strict plan.  I feel the strongest I have ever been so I can’t wait to see how I feel as we get closer to the match.  I am injury free right now and my weight is good…floating around 177-178.  Other than that, I have a great team to work with and an amazing facility that offers everything you could want as a fighter.

Going into this fight, I know I am up against a tough opponent, and this is one of the best opportunities for my career.  But as much as I respect Luciano and although I am the underdog, I am confident that I will surprise many people in this fight.  I am very big and strong for 155.   And working every day for the past few years alongside the many UFC vets and up and comers we have here in the gym, I have gotten much better than my last videos have shown.  I will be ready to show people I am a contender."

"Have you implemented anything new or changed something specifically to prepare for Azevedo?"

KW:  "I always watch video of my opponents and develop a strategy because I feel game-plans are crucial, especially when facing experienced fighters.   I continue to work all aspects of the game so I can be ready for anything, but yes, I have made some special adjustments in my training to be ready to counter his style.  I’ll leave it at that."

"Walk me through your training regimen: how many hours a day, how many days per week, and who are your normal training partners?"

KW:  "While it is a very physically demanding job, I love the fact that I now do this full time so I can devote complete attention to my training.  We maintain a rigorous schedule, training six days a week. Mon-Fri we train morning and night.  We usually concentrate on conditioning and technique in the mornings and then we go live at night, whether it’s sparring, wrestling, ground and pound or jiu-jitsu….we mix it all up.  After that I also teach jiu-jitsu classes at night through the week.  I have between 50-60 jiu-jitsu students and it’s growing all the time.  Saturday is kind of an open day and I usually lift and then work some technique.  Sunday is the all important rest day.

My training partners include a wide array of tough fighters, each good at certain things.  So I try utilize each one to help me in specific areas.  Normally day to day I am training with Robbie Lawler, Matt Hughes, Matt Veach, Brian Foster and several other up and coming fighters and jiu-jitsu guys.  I have also spent a lot of time training with Miguel Torres, Dan Hornbuckle, Clay French and many others."

"The casual fan knows you as the BJJ instructor at Matt Hughes’ gym, the H.I.T. Squad.  Tell me the story about how you were offered such a respectable position?"

KW:  "Well, it’s kind of a long story with a lot of strange coincidences, but I’ll try to give you the abbreviated version.  Through college I was competing in bjj and mma, and I continued this after college along with my full time job. I became the operations manager for the Kaplan center in Champaign, IL.  Basically, I advised college students and ran a business that offered prep classes for standardized tests that students have to take to get into grad school.  It was very difficult to juggle a 50 hour per week career, training, a house, girlfriend, and two dogs.  I was spreading myself too thin was kind of at a crossroad in my fighting career.  Fortunately, right around that time Matt was looking to start the gym, and he was also preparing for his second match with GSP.  And a few of his training partners were guys I had consistently trained with in the past.  So when it came up that they were looking for a bjj coach, my name was dropped and recommended a few times.  Also, Marc Fiore had recently moved to my hometown, so he had seen a few articles in the local papers about my mma and bjj successes. This was at a point where I had built up decent reputation in the Midwest jiu-jitsu community.  Those couple of things and a few other coincidences made it seem meant to be.  I was sitting in my office one day and got a call form Fiore to come try out.  I was nervous but ecstatic.  I tried out, and within three weeks I quit my job, left everything behind, and moved to St. Louis.  I made a lot of sacrifices, and it was scary at first, but it was the best decision I have made and I couldn’t be happier."

"In the last interview I read, you were a purple belt.  What belt are you now, and are you still competing in grappling competitions, or focusing strictly on MMA?"

KW:  "Yeah, that interview is a few years old.  I have had my brown belt for about 2 years now.  Jiu-jitsu is my first passion, so I still compete in the bigger tournaments and have done well this year.  I won the brown belt middleweight division at the NAGA championship in Indiana this year.  Also, in July I traveled to the BJJ mecca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to compete in the International Masters tournament.  I placed second in the brown belt lightweight division, losing narrowly on points in the finals. Then I returned the next day to compete in the brown belt open division where they combine all the weight classes.  Once again I placed second.  I won several matches against some big brown belts, before losing by points in the finals to the guy who won the ultra-heavyweight division the day before and outweighed me by almost 100 pounds.  I was pretty happy. It is hard for Americans to medal there, especially in the brown and black belt divisions.  Plus I was able to hold my own with most of the blacks and browns at Royler Gracie’s academy where we were training.  So I feel that I am still able to maintain a high level in sport jiu-jitsu while training mma.  But when I have a fight coming up I do spend less time in the gi. This year I plan on doing the Pan Ams and maybe heading to Brazil again."

"You’ve always wanted to be more than just a BJJ-oriented fighter, and strived to be well-rounded.  I know you’ve trained a lot of Muay Thai, which is obvious from watching your fights.  Are you still training with Ryan Blackorby in Peoria?  If not, who provides your current striking instruction?"

KW:  "I haven’t trained with Ryan Blackorby for a while.  He is a fantastic coach, but with all the other traveling I do it is hard to make it to Peoria.  But we have two great striking coaches here at the gym now so between them and Robbie, I get plenty of great instruction.  Our boxing coach is Ryan Davis and our Thai coach is Jason Ciluffo.  You can see their long list of credentials at our website www.thehitsquad.com under 'Trainers.'"

"Your wrestling and clinch skills seem to have really improved as well, and I know for a while you were training with the wrestling team at Eastern Illinois University.  It also can’t hurt having one of the best wrestlers in the history of MMA to train with.  Tell me how your wrestling skills are progressing, and how you feel your increased wrestling efficiency has helped your overall MMA game?"

KW:  "Well, you are right.  At this gym, you can’t help but get better at wrestling. We definitely have a good supply of strong wrestlers.  When I started mma, my wrestling was weak because I never wrestled in high school or college.  But quickly I realized how important it was.  So I began to seek out people to practice with.  Over the years it has gotten better, but I definitely saw a big jump in improvement in the last couple of years being at this gym. I feel much more confident now, and it is important because being able to dictate whether the fight is standing or on the ground is a major advantage."

"Being a BJJ wizard, you’ve now spent many years training the full gamut of MMA with your focus on Muay Thai and wrestling.  What do you feel was the hardest to pick-up, and what came to you most naturally?"

KW:  "I don’t feel that anything was necessarily harder.  I think athletes who are willing to empty their cup and listen to their instructors can accomplish amazing things in short time.  The key is repetition so that it becomes second nature. If you drill any technique correctly and realistically with the right supervision, you are going to excel.  I have been fortunate to have worked with the coaches and training partners I have, so my progress rarely plateaus."

"I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the Shine Fight Promotion, who is coming out of the gate with a head full of steam and generating interest with the exceptional talent they’re signing.  How did you become a part of the Shine Fights team?"

KW:  "My manager Marc Fiore worked with them on their past shows and some of our other Hit Squad fighters were showcased.  My teammates had great things to say about how they were treated, and that goes a long way in this sport. Plus as you said they are putting on great cards and getting pretty good attention.  So, I asked Marc if I could get a contract with them and they made it happen.  I thank Shine for the opportunity, and guarantee they won’t be disappointed."

"As you know, I’m incredibly excited for your fight with Luciano Azevedo at Shine Fights 3 in March.  You two are actually startling similar fighters:  you both have an excellent base in submission grappling but have added an aggressive striking assault, you both fight at a very high pace and look to overwhelm your opponents, and you’ve both fought some tremendous talent.  How do you see this fight unfolding, and what aspects of the fight do you see as absolutely critical for you to control?"

KW:  "You are correct, I feel that we do have a lot in common and that is what is going to make this an exciting fight.  We both are very well rounded and it’s going to come down to who can implement their game-plan better.  Also, we are both hard to finish so it could definitely be a war.  One big difference though is that he plays more of a fast, loose game where I am play slower and tighter.  I’m not a big fan of making predictions and saying what will happen in the fight because it is such an unpredictable sport, so I’ll just say this. I am going to be in the best shape of my career and I will be ready for wherever the fight goes. He likes to bring continuous pressure, but I plan on being on the giving end of that."

"Any closing comments or message to the fans?"

 KW:  "I want to tell the fans thank you for the support and to keep an eye on me this year.  I plan on making some waves in the lightweight division, and hope that my hard work will result in some exciting fights for them.

I want to thank Shine Fights and Luciano for making this fight happen, and thank The Garv for the interview and exposure."