The Fight Professor" Stephen Quadros is a legendary mixed martial arts commentator that has called some of the biggest fights internationally. Quadros currently commentates for Strikeforce on Showtime, but he's most famous for being the broadcast partner of Bas Rutten in Pride. MMA Recap's Andrew Gladstone sat down with "The Fight Professor" to grant mma fans access to one of the legendary voices of mixed martial arts.
How did you first get into mixed martial arts?
"I watched the first UFC and was training on ground fighting the next day. Actually I already knew about the Gracie family a few years before that. We didn’t know what we were doing at first but I insisted that all my students learn how to wrestle and how to do submissions. I would send my top guys to the Machados, Beverly Hills Jiu Jitsu Club and Gene LeBell/Gokor Chivichyan to fine tune their ground game."
When did you first start announcing? And what got you into announcing?
"My first job was in April 1998, K-1 Kings, Yokohama Arena, Japan, Peter Aerts vs. Ernesto Hoost."
"Commentating seemed a natural progression for me. I had already been a fight related magazine editor, martial artist, had trained several fighters for amateur competition and had been in front of the camera as an actor. K-1 called, I answered."
Do you have a martial arts background? And if so what is it?
"Tae Kwon Do under master Soonho Song before I moved to L.A. and then Jet Center kickboxing under Peter Cunningham. Currently I train Brazilian jiu-jitsu intermittently under Alberto Crane and Romulo Barral."
Who is your favorite fighter(s)?
"Kazushi Sakuraba."
Who is your favorite broadcaster partner?
"I have worked with so many great broadcasters that it wouldn’t really be fair to say one was my favorite. I will however give a brief rundown on the ones who have had an impact on me:"
"Al Bernstein-one of the greatest sports voices and minds of all time, the best team player in the booth and a true gentleman, Mauro Ranallo-a man with an unparalleled ability to memorize and limitless energy behind the mike/working with Mauro has made me a better broadcaster, Bruce Beck-the longtime UFC play by play commentator who I had the pleasure of working with once/during the first K-1 USA event; he taught me so much about being professional, Ryan Bennett-like Ranallo, Ryan came from radio and had his own style which conveyed a disarming likeability and style/Ryan really loved the sport of MMA and that caused him to be a great and giving announcer, Barry Thompkins-like Bernstein a legendary voice of boxing’s golden era who had also presided over football and basketball and worked for HBO, ESPN, Fox Sports and NBC, Kenny Rice-the ultimate versatile performer who was born with a rich, powerful voice, who rose to the top level of commentating on so many sports, including bull riding, Kentucky Derby, NFL football, Olympic boxing and MMA, Joe Ferraro who I had the pleasure of working with in Canada/Joe was super knowledgeable and has a great sense of humor, Ron Kruck for being such a consummate professional and one of the nicest guys in the business/Ron made everything easy, Pat Miletich is a virtual almanac of hands on, tried and true knowledge, and of course Bas Rutten who brought a sense of entertainment coupled with an unbelievably creative approach and knowledge of the sport of MMA. I would be remiss to not mention Malcolm Martin and Rob Nutley, my two partners for three years on the Cage Rage UK broadcasts in England/we meshed so well from the very beginning and those gents made me feel welcome, and Jeff Blatnick, the former UFC color commentator who made me feel welcome when I joined he and Ryan Bennett for the WEC broadcasts in January 2004/Jeff is a legend to me and coined the term “mixed martial arts.”"
What was it like commentating in Pride with Bas Rutten? And will two guys be commentating any events together in the future?
"The three years I worked with Bas in Pride were among the best memories of my career. He and I had true chemistry and our knowledge fit together perfectly during the broadcasts. Part of the reason of our success is that our producer for those Pride broadcasts, Michael Braverman, realized what we brought to the table and never restricted us. He pretty much let us loose to do our thing. Many times in broadcasting the producers want you to like all the other broadcasters and curb your enthusiasm…and originality."
"Nowadays it seems that not a week goes by when someone doesn’t ask when Bas and I will be calling the action together again. Who knows, it just might happen again. But at the moment he works for HDNet and I work for Showtime. I recently was a guest on “Inside MMA” on HDNet and it was a bit of a reunion with Bas, Kenny Rice, Ron Kruck (who was there on a taped segment) and myself. Good times!"
What's it like commentating for Showtime and Strikeforce, and are there any plans for you to commentate on the bigger Strikeforce events, such as the CBS shows?
"Working for Showtime is an incredible experience. I feel it has made me grow technically. Producer David Dinkins is a brilliant man who knows how to lead the immense and complicated team that is Showtime Sports live broadcasting unit(s). He’s a great ‘head coach’ for us broadcasters."
"I am blessed to share the booth with amazing talents like Mauro (Ranallo) Pat Miletich and on occasion Al Bernstein. It’s a dream come true. Right now Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock call the action on the main Strikeforce shows on Showtime and CBS. I’m ready to go if that ever changes but I really enjoy working the Strikeforce Challengers events on Showtime."
What has been your favorite fight to announce?
"Favorite? To me that’s different than “best.” My favorite fight to announce off the top of my head was Melvin Manhoef against Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in Cage Rage in England. That was a recklessly explosive battle where both fighters threw caution to the wind and just went AFTER each other. It was as if they both lost their tempers at the same time."
"“The best” fight I announced? Damn, there have been so many. Probably the first fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. Nog was voted fighter of the year (2002) by all the magazines and Fedor changed the way people dealt with the guard, in brutal fashion. It was like Ali/Frazier."
"The “most memorable” fight was definitely Kazushi Sakuraba versus Royce Gracie. 90 minutes later the wise cracker had upset the serious martial artist. It was a turning point in the evolution of MMA."
What has been your favorite event to announce?
"Pride. Once Bas and I put the headsets it was like entering into a dream world."
You've been around the sport of MMA for sometime now. What are some of the craziest things you've seen on the road? And did you and Bas chase any tail together?
"The craziest thing, that I can mention, was my first time in Brazil, when I was traveling to be a judge for the International Vale Tudo Championship (IVC). There was to be a rematch between Johil DeOliveira and Jose “Pele” Landy (Oliveira won the first time by decision). All the teams and fighters had transferred to a small airport in Salvador, Brazil. The holding room for the next flight was tiny. Well wouldn’t you know it, Pele and Johil started yelling at each other in Portuguese and I started getting paranoid, having visions of the last scene in “Scarface.” There were about twenty guys trying to keep these two away from each other. Then we all boarded this little propeller plane. I was scared that those two would attack each other in mid-flight. But they didn’t. A postscript note: after Pele and Johil fought a brutal 30 minute, bare-knuckle fight with headbutts, where Pele avenged his loss, they hung out together at ringside for the rest of the night. Crazy."
"On another note, Bas and I chased tail separately for the most part. Except for that time in Holland. But that’s another story completely…"
Name one thing MMA fans don't know about you.
"That I have 5 drum sets stacked up where there should be a kitchen…"
If you could fight one fighter in MMA, who would it be?
"None. Honestly, I can’t hang with any sober pro fighter that I know or work with and have no desire to find one that I can."
What's your favorite cereal?
"Trader Joe’s shredded wheat…with soymilk."
Any sponsors or people you want to thank?
"I’d like to thank all the fans who have supported and continue to support my efforts. I have several things that are cooking right now, so stay tuned!"
He and Bas were an awesome team in Pride, I hope Dana fires Rogan and Goldberg (I know that will never happen unfortunately) and brings Rutten and Quadros.
Quadros and Rutten were dynamite together and I've never been a big Mauro fan. I think Joe Rogan knows his shit and I like him, but Goldy doesn't do it for me.
He and Bas were an awesome team in Pride, I hope Dana fires Rogan and Goldberg (I know that will never happen unfortunately) and brings Rutten and Quadros.
They could stand to bring in a third, given Joe has to wear 2 hats on every show, but I actually like Joe and Goldberg. Goldberg is the unintentional comedic genius.
Wicked interview. Guess we'll all see him on TV in a few days.
The Showtime team of Gus Johnson, Mauro, Quadros and Frank Shamrock....first off...too big a team. Frank is not a well liked guy according to several interviews I have read. I never find his commentating does anything beneficial to the fight.
I noticed in the last Showtime event, there were times after a big knockdown....like in the Mousassi fight, where all 4 guys were trying to talk at the same time...I was not impressed by Frank's observations or his repeating what the other guys had already said. Gus got better than the first time I saw him, but still kind of useless.
The thing I like about the UFC and Japanese shows; and even Quadro's old shows in Cage Rage and Pride, they were always 2 guys and sometimes a MC for the event (like in Cage Rage), there is no reason to have a third or fourth guy in there. It gets confusing for the listener, it's a good way to cover stupid comments made by guys like Frank, but I would be much happier if it was only Mauro and Quadros, and they let Gus do the fighter interviews in the ring and pre-fight stuff.
It shouldn't be like football, or golf or Nascar, where they need 4 guys, as filler cause there is nothing to talk about.
Interview With "The Fight Professor" Stephen Quadros - Curb Your Enthusiasm
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