FF: So Ricky, you have a fight coming up this Saturday, are
you fighting 45s?

RJ: No I’m going down to bantam weights – 35s. We originally
tried to set a catch weight of 140  and I
had a few opponents fall thru .  The
opponent they found for me Frank Morris would only accept the fight a little
bit above 35 because he is a smaller guy naturally.

FF: So tell me about that, I heard some talk about there
being a 1lb disagreement between you guys. You couldn’t come to terms with Alfredo
Corona?

RJ: Originally I was set to fight Zach Chavez which I was looking
forward to. I think he is an exciting fighter and it would have been a fun
fight and I think he hurt his shoulder. They asked Alfredo and he jumped on it
but he wanted the catch weight to 143 and with that he could weigh 145 with the
allowance. The whole point of me trying to do the catch weight of 139-140 is to
get my body down that low and fight someone who naturally fights that low. Not
to fight someone that normally fights at 145s because I’m trying to make the
change to 35s. So that is where the conflict was with Alfredo. He didn’t want
to go down so much more in weight. For me it doesn’t make sense to fight at 45s
still when I’m trying to go down to 35s.

FF: ok you’re still fighting at a catch weight so is just to
acclimating to 35 weight class? Or is there strategy?

RJ: Oh yeah, yeah. You know the last few fights I haven’t
had to cut much weight come fight time and so I haven’t been below 140 since
high school. I just want to see how my body feels at this weight before I fully
commit to 135. I don’t really have a problem being a small 45er but my
instructors and team mates think I would be better off as a big 35er.

FF: So Frank Morris, a new opponent, I’m sure it doesn’t
change your game plan any. What do you know about the guy?

RJ: I don’t know much about him other than what people tell
me. They say he has had some tough fights and he’s a scrappy dude.  He comes in there to fight and that is what
I’m looking for is someone coming in looking for a fight not someone going to
tap from me taking him down like my last opponent.

FF: No mouth piece malfunctions?

RJ: Yeah (laughs)… You know I put my heart and soul into
this and come fight day I come in there to bring it and I hope my opponent take
it as serious as I do.

FF: You’re serious in those shows, and you’re the main event
again. That is kind of becoming commonplace for you. How does that feel with
your career moving to keep you in the headlining spot?

RJ: It doesn’t really change anything besides the fact that
I have to wait all night to fight while everyone is getting the job done. I
gotta sit around with my thumbs up my butt. It doesn’t change anything with how
I approach the fight. It’s still a fight regardless of whether I’m the first
fight of the night or the last fight of the night. It’s an honor being the main
event on these cards. It shows that the promoters think I’m worthy of it and
it’s a great honor. My teammate that fights before me Tommy Thompson could
easily be the main event just because of his fighting capabilities and fighting
style. For us to be the co-main and main event is an honor.

FF: Speaking of Tommy, we’ve got a couple of infinite guys
in a rare northern Colorado show. How does that feel going into this?

RJ: It’s always good when you’re going into a show with a
teammate or several teammates – it makes it a little easier to push each other
during training because you both know “Hey our time is coming…”  so it makes those tough days where you want
to quit or where you pushed it to the limit worth it because you’ve got that
guy right beside you. And then we have a fighter making his MMA debut Thomas
Sandow that night who has been in there sharing the blood and sweat with us. It
should be a good night for all of us.

FF: You’re always an exciting fighter. I always enjoy
watching your fight.  Any last words for
Frank or any of your teammates.

RJ: For Frank, I’m coming in there prepared. I hope you take
it as serious as I do and when that bell rings, be ready. As far as my
teammates, I’ve been in there in the gym training with them I know that we are
all prepared and we’re all gonna take care of business come Saturday night. You
know the training is far harder and much worse that the fight is gonna be Saturday
so I’m looking to go in there to have some fun and come out with my hand
raised.

FF: Do you have any sponsors you want to thank?

RJ: First and foremost my family at Infinate  and the guys at factory X for the
training.  I have a lot of people that
support me, not just sponsors and whatnot. As far as my sponsors, max muscle
Loveland/ft Collins they take care of me. Troy and Kayla at Performance MMA are
amazing to me and have been behind me for a long, long time and I can’t thank
them enough. I have old Chicago restaurant, Ink’d Out, Mama Tried, M and E
Painting, Spradly Barr Ford – they’ve always supported me and finally picked me
up as a sponsor,  and 100 Octane picked
me up as well. And that’s where the official after party is.

FF: As usual we always enjoy watching you fight. Thanks for
taking the time to talk with us.

RJ: I’m looking forward. And thank you guys for all that you
do. It’s awesome.