ONE ON ONE FT. CATHERINE HARRIS
[Rather than a normal interview studio, when the video starts rolling, it’s a split-screen video conference, with Everest MMA’s Kayla Chapman on one side, and recently promoted Union GP Lightweight Catherine Harris on the other. It’s obviously been a struggle for the two women to get everything set up the way they want, as despite her best efforts to muffle it, Kayla’s mic picks up her exclaiming “FINALLY!” toward her ceiling. Cat just chuckles and shakes her head, before both women take a moment to steady themselves.]
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to UGP One on One, ahead of this weekend’s absolutely STACKED card! My name is Kayla Chapman, unfortunately I can’t be in Boston in person to do this interview, because this weekend is also the kickoff of Everest’s third season here in B-E-A-UTIFUL Vancouver, Canada! But let’s get to the more important part of our little equation: joining me now is the Season 2 Everest MMA Featherweight Champion, who now makes her debut in the big stage of Union Grand Prix against Benji Meyers this weekend; please give a warm welcome to Catherine Harris, folks!”
[Kayla’s over the top introduction forces a laugh from the Canadian, who holds a hand up in greeting without wanting to get in Kayla’s way before she’s ready.]
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “Cat, thank you so much for taking time out of what I’m sure is a hectic week for you to talk to me for a little bit.”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “Yeah, of course, happy to be talking with you again.”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “So, obviously, I’m an Everest girl, so I want to start there–I don’t think many people would’ve blamed you if you decided to move up to Union after season 1, even though the championship fight with CC didn’t go your way. You were pretty open about wanting to get that belt before moving up, and…well, season 2 was a pretty good way to do it, huh?”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “Yeah, any time you can rattle off a bunch of wins in a row, it’s obviously a confidence builder. I would’ve liked to be a little more convincing, get the finish in some of those, but…a win’s a win, right?”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “Absolutely, especially in the Golden City! So, obviously, after that, you had the belt, did you give any thought to coming back for season 3 and trying to repeat, or was the destination always Union after winning it?”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “Umm…y’know, I thought about it, but I felt like I had done everything I could really do in Everest, and I wanted to test myself in Union instead. Especially at 155 lbs, I gotta be honest and say I wanted to get here soon enough to maybe get to see how I stood up against Delaney, but that didn’t work out the way I wanted it to. But I still felt like moving up to 155 was the right choice, with a lot of new, impressive fighters on the roster at Lightweight, it doesn’t look like it’ll ever be short on options for fights, right?”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “For sure. Was it just seeing the competition level at Lightweight, cuz the same argument could be made about the 135 pound division; a dominant champion, with a lot of up and comers starting to make their names…”
[Cat shakes her head, waving the question off before it’s even asked.]
CATHERINE HARRIS: “I like the Bantamweights, honestly, I think they found a couple diamonds in that division since it was formed, but I knew I wasn’t going to make that weight. I don’t honestly remember the last time I competed below 145, it just really wasn’t something I thought was a realistic thing. Lightweight was more interesting to me, both from a competition standpoint, and just…for my own health, really.”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “Fair enough, had to ask, though, right? But, since you brought up the competition at 155, let’s get to this weekend’s card–you make your debut against Benji Meyers, who made it to the first episode of DRIP after an 8-1 run on the regional scene, but since that impressive finish on DRIP, he’s cooled off some, only going 1-2 in 3 fights this year in Union. What’s your impression of him, from what you’ve seen?”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “Hm…honestly, the first thing that stuck out to me was his fighting style is really…odd, I guess? I don’t mean that as an insult, I mean like he’s very long, he’s got that real lanky frame that I’ve never really had to deal with before; he’s got the reach of a Middleweight rather than a Lightweight, so that’s something that definitely stood out to me that I’d have to be ready for. His debut fight against Osvaldo, in particular, showed that off, he opened up that cut early on and just kept picking away at it, kept landing those shots from a long ways away.”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “You sound like you’re about to say ‘but,’ though…”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “But…”
[Cat chuckles a little bit, brushing her hair out of her face for a moment before continuing.]
CATHERINE HARRIS: “I think the blueprint to beat him is already out there. Both Cameron Moss and 2Face Rodriguez showed where his weak points are as a fighter–he doesn’t seem to particularly like the clinch, he really didn’t seem to like being on the ground, and…what can I say, that’s what I do. Every time I’ve fought people that rely just on their boxing, their kickboxing, it never fails that the fight hits the mat, and then they don’t know what to do, and…that’s what it looked like, during that fight in Brazil with Moss. It looked like someone that was out of his depth.”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “That’s…maybe a little simplified, but fair enough. I would be a little remiss if I didn’t mention the comment he made on Twitter…”
[Cat can’t help but roll her eyes–Twitter smack talk had never been her favorite thing, and she wasn’t particularly keen to indulge it here, but she didn’t stop Kayla from talking.]
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “…that the fight would be, quote, ‘light work.’ I won’t quote the whole thing, but that was part of it. I’m just curious what your thoughts on that are?”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “…Good for him.”
[Cat clearly isn’t too fussed by the comment, a shoulder shrugged upwards as she talks.]
CATHERINE HARRIS: “I’ve never cared much about what people say on Twitter. A lot of people say a lot of crap when they’ve got their phones in their hands, but it doesn’t do anything for me. If he’s that confident, knowing that the way I fight is tailor-made to beat him? Good for him.”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “It doesn’t motivate you at all, though?”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “Thing about that is, I’ve already got everything to motivate me; it’s really very simple, this weekend is a chance to show the main Union GP roster what I can do, and…Benji’s just in the way of that. The fact that he’s gonna walk out to the cage and stand across from me, that’s all the motivation I need. All that other stuff, the Twitter nonsense, the shouting matches at press conferences or whatever? That…”
[Cat just shrugs her shoulders.]
CATHERINE HARRIS: “Whatever, I don’t pay any of that any mind. I’m focused on the fight–I know Benji’s gonna want to make a point, snap that two fight skid, but I can’t let that happen against me. He’s a tough kid, he’s a good fighter, I by no means think it’ll somehow be an easy fight, but I think my style’s the perfect way to beat him. I think this weekend’s my chance to prove that, to show Union what I’ve shown Everest over the past couple years–hopefully with a finish as well.”
KAYLA CHAPMAN: “Fair enough; well, Cat, I’ve taken up plenty of your time, best of luck on Sunday! I’m excited to see all the fights this weekend”
CATHERINE HARRIS: “Thank you, enjoy the show in Vancouver too!”
[Both women wave to dismiss the viewers, and the stream abruptly cuts to a stop.]
