James Krause Discusses Fighting and Winning at Welterweight

MMAjunkie Radio recently interviewed UFC fighter James Krause coming off his big win at welterweight over Warlley Alves. Below are some highlights.

James Krause on his last fight: “I felt like this fight, this was my 56th fight, pro and amateur, and I felt like I’ve never been more intimate into a fight ever, in my entire career. I was so into this fight. I don’t know if you guys can see me – I was talking to him the entire fight. I was just so involved. And even after the fight was over, the camera pans at me, and I’m looking at my coach, but I’m not really looking at him. I’m still processing. I felt like a different person whenever I was in there, and I think that was my ability to kind of flip that switch. There were times when I would literally just sit in the pocket and eat those kicks just so I could call him a (expletive).”

Krause on fighting at 170 pounds: “I can have fun, and if I want to have a cookie after practice, I can have a cookie. If I want to take my family to a steakhouse, I can do that. I’m going to have fun with it, and it makes it more enjoyable again. It makes it where I want to fight more frequently. It makes it to where life is good again.”

James Krause on the difference in weight: “Whenever everything is even, the power, the strength, all that stuff – maybe sometimes the 10 pounds does make the difference. I completely agree. I am doing it now. It’s really because I have no choice. I don’t want to kill myself to make – it takes me two months to make 55. If I fight three times in a year, six out of the 12 months of my life are dog (expletive). It’s not worth it to me anymore. But you’re right, I shouldn’t have to do that.”

His thoughts on a 165-pound division: “They could literally (create the 165-pound division) today. They could do this today and they could make a top-15, no problem. Look at the women’s divisions, there’s people that are on three-fight losing streaks. Look at the heavyweight division. These guys are losing three, four, five fights in a row, and they’re still top 15 in the world. You could put together a stud-ass top 15 at 165 right now, and it would be 100 percent legit.”