mixed-martial-arts-peter

PETER KALJEVIC

“Nobody Wants to Stand and Exchange
With Me”

14 Feb.’07, photos © IFL

On February 23, 2007, the Chicago-based Red Bears will be taking on New York’s Pitbulls in Atlanta, Georgia. This IFL showdown is of particular interest to MMA fans and fighters alike, as it will be the first time Red Bears coach, Igor Zinoviev, will be revealing his team to the public when they take on Renzo Gracie’s much respected Pitbulls team.

Also expected to be watching this encounter very closely will be members of the Tiger Sharks team, who take on the Red Bears on April 7, and the Silverbacks, who face Igor’s team on May 19. Interestingly, the latter two events will be fought on Red Bears home soil in Illinois.

Prior to joining knucklepit.com for a chat, Red Bears lightweight representative, Peter Kaljevic, had just finished his own training, after instructing some boxing and Thai-boxing classes at the Town Sports International Gym in New York.

Born in Montenegro, Yugoslavia, Peter first took up martial arts when he was six years old. “At first I did a little bit of karate after seeing the Bruce Lee movie, Enter The Dragon. That was in the former Yugoslavia. After that I met a Thai trainer and I took up Muay Thai and boxing with him,” says Kaljevic.

“I came to America while representing Yugoslavia in chess competition and I never went back. I’m very happy here in America, but every year I go back to Montenegro for a vacation and to visit family. After my father passed away, I brought my mom here. I only have my sister there now, and she has her kids with a house and property, so she’s better off staying there.”

About eight years ago, Peter met former Soviet Army commando, Igor Zinoviev, and the pair have stayed close friends ever since. “Igor and I go far back: We used to have the same Russian Muay Thai coach in Brooklyn. That’s how I first met Igor. I’d also seen him fighting in Japan and in the UFC, so I was happy to meet him when I discovered we were training at the same gym. I was actually shocked to learn he trained there. And after that we remained good friends.

“I don’t think Igor was training for a fight at the time; I think he was just training to stay in shape. But I was training for Muay Thai fights because I’ve had over 200 Thai boxing fights. After Igor and I became friends he invited me to join the IFL Red Bears team that he was coaching.”

Peter, do the Red Bears train together?

“Not all the time, but most of the time. We fly over there to train in Chicago and sometimes we come here to train in New York. It just depends on where is convenient for team members. A lot of the time it is in New York because Armin Mrkanovic and Mo Fozi also live here in New York.”

As well as Muay Thai, what other fighting skills are in your MMA game?

“I have experience in BJJ, which I learnt under Rudolpho Amaro and Marco Santos.”

Do you still prefer to stand and bang rather than fighting on the ground?

“Yes. I do. I’m very good on the ground, but even if a fight goes to the ground, I just stand back up and strike. Even though I’ve been training for a long time in jiu jitsu, I’ve won most of my MMA fights by knockout. And Muay Thai is always at the back of my mind.”

Does Igor get in there and spar or grapple with you guys?

“Yeah, he helps me considerably at defending against takedowns, with my groundwork, and with getting back up from the ground. He puts a lot of pressure on us.”

Do you think the Red Bears will have the advantage of being an unknown team against the Pitbulls?

“I think many of our fighters are unknown, but I am not, because I used to train Renzo’s guys at stand-up. At the time I didn’t know I was going to be in an MMA team competing against them. I met Renzo when he first came here from Brazil and he was also training with my boxing coach.”

What do you know about Erik Owings?

“I don’t know much about Erik. I was there on December 29 when Renzo fought Carlos Newton in the IFL, so I saw Erik’s last fight against Ed West.”

Do you expect his plan to be to take you down?

“Yes, because he won’t want me to use my Muay Thai skills and he’ll want to keep me on the ground as much as he can. The Pitbulls are not on my level of Muay Thai, so they won’t want to exchange. In every fight I’ve had in MMA, nobody has wanted to stand and exchange with me.

“But if it does go down, I’m not worried: I’m very strong on the ground. I would like to use my elbows in the ground fighting, but they’ve taken elbows out for fighter safety. Still, I have plenty of other stuff I can use down there. I don’t mind being taken down, but I’m not going to waste too much time there – I’m just going to get back up and strike.”

Do you think MMA is similar to a chess game?

“I think it is. You have time to think – even on the ground, and you can plan your moves. I always have a strategy, and it helps in both activities to have a good memory.”

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

“Can I add something about the IFL?”

Yeah, sure.

“I think it’s the best thing to happen for the fighter, because in many other organizations, the fighter gets treated like a prostitute – they aren’t treated nicely. And in boxing too: I’ve had 17 pro boxing fights and they get treated very badly there also. In some organizations they make sure you don’t get enough notice to train before a fight, and if they can’t beat you, they are going to rob you with the scorecards. They are going to find a way to stop you.

“Even my five losses; I think it was very questionable what they did, but I was the main event, so what can I do? The IFL looks after its fighters, whereas many other MMA organizations just use the fighters and give them small change. I think the IFL is the best thing to happen for fighters and everyone.”