“I’m After the Scrap and Brawl”

IFL Condors new light-heavyweight recruit, Emmanuel Newton, is known as the ‘Hard-core Kid’. But despite administering some thunder-shaking takedowns and slams, Emmanuel actually earned the nickname due to his tastes in music, although he does acknowledge that his fighting strengths are his positive energy and his will to destroy anyone and anything that stands in his way.

It’s now evening in Norwalk, Southern California, and Emmanuel is taking time out to chat with Knucklepit, having left the gym for the day. “I got done training and I’m here at the mall walking around with my buddy. About an hour ago we finished training: We did a mile and a half of sprints and five 5-minute rounds of kickboxing,” says Newton, who lists wrestling and Muay Thai as his original fighting styles.

“During the Korean conflict, my dad was based in Thailand for about 15 years, and he died when I was in my teens. But he was always showing me some Muay Thai, and I was doing wrestling in high school at the same time.”

Emmanuel says he started competing in MMA because it was a lot easier than going to school and working. Then after Paul Herrera saw Newton training with Tito Ortiz in Huntington Beach, he gave the Hard-core Kid an opportunity to fight in a local show.

“But I think it is because of my father’s influence that I am a fighter. Before I got into MMA I was a lifeguard. Then I started training and had my first fight in 2002 when I was 18, which I won. From then on I realized that was what I wanted to do.”

Now a full-time fighter, Emmanuel trains at Antonio McKee’s Body Shop Fitness Gym where he works out with a number of other big-name athletes. “My main training partners are Antonio McKee and all the Sabres; sometimes I train with Dan Henderson and Rampage Jackson. The majority of the MMA fighters live in Southern California, so I train with lots of them.”

Emmanuel, what influence has Marco Ruas had on you?

“As a kid, I watched Marco fight: He was one of the first UFC fighters that I was influenced by. He’s around my weight and he’s tough.”

Do you prefer to stand and bang in fights, or to take it to the floor?

“I prefer to stand and bang – I have a big, hard head, and I’ve never been knocked out, so I prefer to stand and bang. But if it does go to the ground, I’m more a pick-you-up-and-slam-you-on-your-head, ground’n’pound-type of guy.”

As opposed to doing arm bars and chokes?

“I’m not a submission guy. I look at submissions as a pussy way to end the fight. If I’m going to win the fight, I want it to be with you down on the ground, not wanting to get up, and me feeling like I actually did something, instead of putting you in a submission, and you tapping, getting up, and walking out of the ring. I want to see that I inflicted some damage on you, so I want to finish with g’n’p if it’s going to be on the ground.

“I’ve seen it a million times where one guy will be beating the living crap out of another guy – he’s getting destroyed – and then all of a sudden the guy giving the beating gets submitted. You think, what the hell. I have nothing against submissions, but I want to win conclusively. And I want to know in my mind that I beat him down, and that it was me and not just some submission.”

What are you expecting from Jeff Quinlan on May 19?

“Well, I see that his record is 0-1-0, so if that’s his record… I mean, I don’t know too much about him – I don’t know what his style is, but I’m just going to go in there and pull him apart. I don’t take anybody lightly, but if his record’s 0-1-0, I don’t see him beating me because: number one – I have more experience in there, and number two – I haven’t had a good war in a while. I’ve won the majority of my fights lately in the first or second round. It’s been a while since any of my fights have gone to the decision, and I haven’t lost since I was 19 years old, and I’m 23 now.

“So I just don’t see him beating me: I’m not going to go in there and dance around, and think he’s not going to come in there to fight, because anybody who steps in that ring is there to fight, and I give them respect. But an 0-1-0 record, to me it makes me feel better knowing that I’m probably going to be looking pretty good on national TV against an 0-1-0 guy, and that I’m hopefully going to knock him out or finish it pretty quickly and get paid.”

How do you think Marco will go against Maurice Smith in the IFL Superfight?

“I think that Maurice has real good stand-up, but Marco likes to stand and bang too. Marco is a ground guy and he does have good submissions: He is Brazilian. And he does have Vale Tudo, which is mixed, but I think if they keep it standing, there’s a chance of Maurice knocking him out. But I feel if it goes to the ground, Marco will most definitely win, so I think Marco is just going to take him down and finish it there.”

Emmanuel, is there anything you’d like to add?

“Man, I’m just happy to be fighting for the IFL. I think it’s a very well put together organization, and they take care of the fighters from what I’ve seen. I’ve never fought on one of their shows, but I train with Antonio McKee and all the Sabres, and I’ve seen how well everyone gets taken care of.

“And whoever’s going to be watching my fight, I just want them to know that I’m going to be putting on a good show. I’m after the scrap and brawl: I’m not going to go to the ground and just roll around and lay there. I’m going to stand up and bang. And if it goes to the ground, it’s going to be on him to take it there, because I’m planning to stand and knock him out.”

Sponsors?

“I’m open to offers.”