IFL lightweight John Strawn is in Chicago on the eve of the Red Bears vs. Silverbacks clash, and has just returned to his room after the pre-fight weigh-ins.

“I’m sitting in my hotel room, trying to relax. I’m excited – a little nervous, which is good because I’m making sure I’m focused, but I’m trying to relax,” says Strawn.

John arrived in Chicago at noon yesterday, and for this event he is not sharing accommodation with another Red Bear teammate, but has elected to rent a room at the hotel with his wife, who is also his biggest fan.

It was the individuality of wrestling that lured Strawn as a youngster to the sport because he didn’t want to be swallowed up by the team aspect of other school activities on offer.

“I started wrestling in middle school when I was 12, and I continued to wrestle through high school. It was just to take up a sport. I tried all the sports in seventh grade and wrestling was the one I liked best: the one-on-one competition where I had to rely on myself was the attraction, rather than waiting for someone to throw me the football or pass me the basketball: It was me out there.

“ I had my first fight in 2001 when I fought at a Travis Fulton show in a boxing ring he set up at a local bar, and they were voluntary fights. Travis used to come through our hometown from the Cedar Falls area, and he would kinda do a circuit from town to town and see if anyone would volunteer to fight. The local tough guys would fight some of his ‘carnies’ – the guys who traveled with him and fought the locals.”

These events were known as the Tuesday Night Fights and John would compete each week or every other week, often fighting twice in the one night.

“You could go in for boxing, kickboxing or MMA, and I realized I wasn’t a boxer or a kickboxer, so I knew I had to go in there and wrestle them down. I did well, and that’s where I met my coach, Dave Sherzer, on the night of my first fight. He had 20 years’ experience in karate and he’d been doing MMA with his karate students before he met me. Dave is the one who transitioned me from a wrestler to a ground fighter, and he gave me some stand-up skills.”

Red Bears lightweight John Strawn

John, you’ve won 31 of your fights, and 23 have been by submission. Are you still primarily a submission fighter?

“I would say that’s a ‘yes’, but most of the time I get them down and pound ’em, and then they give up the submission. I tend to ground’n’pound them into making a mistake, and then I submit them. Instead of pressing the submission I press the action.”

How did you get into tree removal?

“A job opportunity opened up and I had worked with my father on firewood since I was eight years old: We would go out to the woods and cut up downed trees. And I was handy with the chainsaw, so a man gave me a job and I started climbing trees.”

Do you use the ankle spurs, if that’s the right expression, to climb the trees or do you use a cherry picker?

“Spurs and a cherry picker: It depends on the tree. If it’s a front-yard tree, I probably have 2000 hours in bucket equipment. But, yes, they’re called gaffs or spurs, and I use them with a climbing belt and ropes to get to the trees in backyards or over houses, etc.”

What would be the tallest tree you’ve climbed?

“At least 120 feet; a white pine. And then the largest tree I’ve climbed and cut down was a one-hundred-and-thirty-year oak: That was 100 feet tall.”

Scary?

“Occasionally it can be scary, but more so I’m calculating what a mistake would do – what could go wrong at any moment, so I’m prepared for problems. I have to be aware at all times.”

Have you heard of a blues band from Oregon called The Riggin’ Warriors?

“No I haven’t, but I’ll have to check them out.”

“They’d be loggers. They go out into the big wood and cut logs and bring in timber for lumber.”

Bart Palaszewski of the Quad Cities Silverbacks (left) and John Strawn 
of the Chicago Red Bears (right) face off during the IFL weigh-in for fights 
between the Condors and Razorclaws and the Red Bears and Silverbacks 
on May 18, 2007 at Buffalo Wild Wings in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

How did you and Travis come to be with the Red Bears?

“They had a few of their guys get injured, and some others were coming over from Russia for the ‘Russian’ Red Bears, and they had visa problems. So when they scrambled to find people who compete at this level, our names came up and they got in contact with us.”

You have respectable backgrounds: It’s not as though you popped up over night, is it?

“No. I’ve been trying to get this opportunity for at least four years of the five and a half that I’ve been fighting. In the beginning it was just for fun – just for sport and competition. But after a while it was, ‘When am I going to get my shot?’ And to me this is the big shot; the big show.”

How will Travis go against Ben Rothwell?

“Travis has very heavy hands. I hope to see him go out there and perform well.”

Where do you train now?

“At Team Hard Drive. The National Guard Armory took us up as a sponsor and they let us have our mats in their open area, so we roll out our wrestling mats and train there in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.”

What are you expecting from Bart Palaszewski?

“I’m expecting Bart to come out and counterpunch and throw good bombs and flurries. I’m not going to overlook his ground game at all because he comes from a great camp of submission fighters (Team Miletich).”

With an impressive MMA record of 31-8, do you see your experience being an advantage against Bart?

“No, because Bart has 26-8, and he’s been fighting as long as I have, so I’m not taking my experience for granted at all.”

Do you feel confident?

“I do feel confident: I think this is a good match-up for me, and at a good time. I was preparing for a fight that was to be in Omaha today, and when I got this call I had to turn that fight down and come to the big show.”

Will cardio be a factor in this fight?

“He’s known for good cardio; I’m known for good cardio, also. A lot of people have called me the Energizer Bunny because I keep going and going… I press the fight. I’m not going to let the fans see a boring fight. That is not what I’m there for: I’m a professional fighter. I’m not there to dance around.”

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

“I’m just thankful for the opportunity and thankful that I finally got this call.”