An Interview with.....John Rutherford, House of Pain Bournemouth

First of all John, We at MMA Warlike want to thank you for this interview.
Do you go by any nickname when you fight, if so how did you get it?
Danny our Boxing Coach gave me the nickname Razor after watching me sparring

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got into MMA 

I did the usual various Martial Arts over the years and was introduced a few years back to Andy Lawrence through a friend I worked with , it was different and I liked the mixed style Greco ,Boxing Thai etc

Why fight MMA?
Why not ! I do like trying to prove being in your 40’s is no reason to stop .

That and there are so many facets to it

What motivates you to fight?
Proving that age is a number and probably not wanting to grow old gracefully !

Give us your most memorable moment in MMA....That moment
that made you say to yourself "I want to do that!"

First time I watched a UFC fight and loved the whole spectacle ,the various fightstyles etc.
What would you do if you were not a fighter?

I’d still train ,but would miss competitive side
How do you separate fighting and your personal life?
Have you seen my wife !  ,

I have a busy job and a wife that understands the Peter Pan

Side of not growing up

Who is your favourite MMA fighter at the moment?
Georges St-Pierre

We're aware that you guys are in your 40's. Do you think age matters when it comes to fighting?
Well it defiantly takes longer to heal !, I think we keep the strength but cv is harder to maintain,

But we also tend to be a bit more canny fight wise.

Now that you are in your 40's did you find the preperation for this fight harder than you used to?Not really training regularly helps and having a good Team around helps no end.

Whats your typical day in the gym?...Give us a little sneak
peek into your training regime.
Morning Gym work weights, Evenings Split Boxing ,Greco ,Thai throughout the week ,

Weekends Shows and events ,The House of Pain is probably one of the Busiest Gyms on the South Coast

What element in your game are you most working on right
now?
I’ve been working hard with Danny Ruegg on my Boxing 

 

If you could fight anyone in the sport of MMA, who would it
be and why?
Michael Bisping I like the way he fights

If you could fight anyone NOT in the sport, who would it be
and why?
A few politicians spring to mind 

But David Haye as I’d love the challenge of trying to last a single round

MMA in the USA is at its peak at the moment. How big do you think MMA is going to compare to that here in the UK in the coming years.Its defiantly growing here and having Sky showing MMA to the Mainstream helps, Having British fighters showing well on the UFC is great, we have a few promoters doing great work to raise the UK MMA profile

What do you do to relax?...What do you enjoy to do away
from training/MMA?

Golf

Do you have any advice or anyone wanting to take up MMA as a sport?
Find a good gym ,somewhere you feel comfortable at ,be patient there are many sides to MMA

Be prepared for plenty of aches and pains ,it takes a while for your body to get used to this.

Who do you train with and what gym do you fight out of?
I train out of the House of Pain Bournemouth, We have a good Team and plenty of support,

All coaches are ex or current Fighters, we also have a good stable of fighters ,

Andy Lawrence,Danny Ruegg and Maciek Ploch ,are all great to work with,

You are fighting  Paul Saunders on Feb 26th Do you have any words for your opponent?

I’ve spoken to Paul several times and I think we are both looking forward to letting the pensioners have their 5 minutes of fame for once
Do you see yourself fighting again after this fight?
Of course already planning more this year.

Are there Fans, Friends or sponsors you would like to thank
and give a shout out to?

All the Crew at the House Of Pain ,Andy, Danny,Magic and Trev

My wife who lets me do this and patches me up after .

My sister who has shown the last 12 months what fighting really is

How can folks contact you?
www.houseodpain-mma.co.uk

Give the fight a plug.....When are you fighting, where and who are you fighting?
Paul Saunders ,Hastings

Good luck on the 26th John and thank you for this interview!