ONE ON ONE FT. GAUGE LATTIMORE
[The scene opens up to a studio location with one of Union’s mainstay reporters, Isaac Cohen, leading the sit down interview with former Cruiserweight Champion, Gauge Lattimore.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Ladies and gentlemen, I am privileged enough to have the opportunity right now to sit here and chat with the former Union GP Cruiserweight Champion, Gauge Lattimore, ahead of his Co-Main Event fight against Sergey Loktev. First off, Gauge, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your day to make this happen.”
GAUGE LATTIMORE: “No, no… Thank you for having me here.”
ISAAC COHEN: “I want to start things off by giving a little more attention to what’s at stake here this weekend with your fight against Sergey Loktev. Currently, there is a Grand Prix tournament taking place to crown an Interim Heavyweight Champion. Originally, Owen Barnes was scheduled to participate in this tournament for the undisputed title, but he had to withdraw before the tournament was even able to get off the ground. Your matchup with Sergey is a semifinals bout, and the winner moves on to face Viktor Volkov in the finals. Before we dive into your fight at UGP 38, I want to first ask you about your last fight against the debuting Von Mathieu. How important was it to get the win against Von Mathieu?”
GAUGE LATTIMORE: “It was massive for a number of reasons. Obviously you wanna win every fight you step into, but as far as the tournament is concerned, it’s simple. It’s a single elimination tournament, so you win and move on. I was facing an absolute unit in the quarterfinals round, and he’s a guy who doesn’t have a whole lot of tape to study on. I touched on it then, but I knew the mindset Mathieu had coming into that fight, because I was in the almost exact same situation he was in the first time I faced Daniel Fisk. But also the other reason was the fact that I was coming off a loss to Michael Santos that ultimately saw the demise of the cruiserweight division. I put that decision on my shoulders and it still don’t sit right with me to this day. But also, I’ve never lost back to back fights since my debut in Triumph FC. I had to go out there and prove to no one else but myself that I can bounce back after a setback.”
ISAAC COHEN: “You certainly rebounded in a big way. You spoke about not having much to train for against Von Mathieu, but your opponent this weekend had been a staple in Everest. What are some things you’ve seen from him that you’ll be building a blueprint against?”
GAUGE LATTIMORE: “Sergey is, let’s say, a little more compact than me. He’s a jacked 230, so I know he’ll try to push me into deep waters. But he’s still gonna have to play catch up with me. I wholeheartedly believe that no one in the heavyweight division has the cardio that I do from round one to round five.”
[Gauge pauses for a moment before continuing his assessment.]
GAUGE LATTIMORE: “A lot of his wins have been from what he can do with his kicks, so yeah I have to watch out for that. Gotta protect myself and not blindly rush in to get my range like I usually do. But we prepare for every situation for every fight, because anything can happen at a moment’s notice and sometimes you have to go off instincts out there.”
ISAAC COHEN: “Okay last one for me, I don’t want to keep you from your valuable time. You’re not someone who goes out and creates disingenuous drama for the sake of promoting a fight. I haven’t heard you say much about Sergey except from what has been said today. In general, what do you think of the guy?”
GAUGE LATTIMORE: “He’s looking to make a name for himself in this tournament. I can respect that. I was in the exact same situation during the G2 round robin and the cruiserweight tournament. He’s built some buzz down in Everest, even won the title. He’s got a win over Dax Levandrier, who I think could be the next big thing if he can get his name out there more. Sergey came into Union and boom, beat a world title challenger pretty convincingly. Now he’s trying to do it against me, a former two-time champ. Guys like Sergey are dangerous when they get in this situation, because he’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain. If he wins, strap a rocket to him and send him to the moon. Put his face on the Wheaties box and build him up as the face of the franchise for the future. But if he loses, well it’s okay, he’s still young and wasn’t supposed to win anyway, but he’ll bounce back and learn from this. I have nothing against the man personally, but all I can say is, he gonna learn today!”
[Isaac and Gauge simultaneously sit up from their respective seats and let out a chuckle. With the mood relaxed and the fighter seemingly ready to wrap up this interview, the reporter takes note of it.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Well, Gauge Lattimore, I appreciate you taking the time for this. Good luck this weekend in your big Co-Main Event fight.”
GAUGE LATTIMORE: “Thank you, Isaac. Before I go, shout out to all my people back in Detroit. Deebo, Moony, I’ll be flying back ASAP to get you boys ready to make some noise. D-Town stay down!”
[The scene fades off with Isaac and Gauge shaking hands and making some more small talk before finally cutting to black.]
