Pitt Punter and MMA Fighter Dave Brytus

by Zak Woods on Jan 12, 2009 1:00 PM EST in Interviews Comment 9 comments

Dave Brytus is the senior punter for the University of Pittsburgh, he is also an MMA fighter. WKR recently talked to Dave Brytus about the transition from football player to combat athlete. You can check out his website at www.davebrytus.com.

Watch Kalib Run: So you are fighting at the Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC) on Feb. 21st, do you know who your opponent will be?

Dave Brytus: I will be fighting Brendan Schaub at the Ultimate Warrior Challenge on Feburaury 21, 2009. Brendan trains out of T'sKO gym in Denver, Colorodo and is undefeated as a professional fighter. I have a ton of respect for Brendan. He is a great fighter and he will be a tough opponent. However, I am very confident in my training and I will be prepared to fight whoever I have to in order to be the best heavyweight fighter out there.

WKR: How long have you been training for?

DB: I have been training in MMA for about 2 years now. However, I was not able to train full time though because of football. Now that I am done with college football, I am able to come into this fight training full time and I will be fully prepared. I have also been in karate since I was 10 years old and I am an ex Golden Gloves Boxing Champion.

WKR: What would you describe as your greatest strength as a fighter?

DB: My greatest strength as a fighter is definitely my striking. For a heavyweight fighter, I have very fast and powerful kicks and I like to utilize my martial arts background a lot.

WKR: How do your teammates feel about your fighting career?

DB: My teammates from the University of Pittsburgh fully support me. They love it and think its pretty cool that the punter does MMA out of all people. There will be a lot of my teammates making the trip to Washington DC on February 21 to watch me fight.

WKR: Why did you decide to be a punter?

DB: I really never intended on playing football when I was younger. I was always a hockey player and dreamed of one day playing in the NHL. However one day when I was in 7th grade, me and a bunch of my friends were playing football in the backyard. My neighbor saw me kicking the football over our house and asked me to join the team because they needed a kicker and punter. So I tired it out the next year and I ended up being pretty good at it. I met Jim Littler who was my kicking coach and he taught me everything I needed to know about kicking and punting. By the time I was a Junior in high school, I already had scholarship offers to punt in college.

WKR: Would you say that you have the most street cred of a punter in NCAA football?

DB: Haha, I guess I would have to be up there. Everybody sees my size and all the tattoos I have and automatically think I am a linebacker. I think I got more attention as a MMA fighter and a martial artist then I did a football player during my college career. I was even asked to perform a board and concrete breaking demonstration at the Sun Bowl when we played there this past year.

WKR: How did you become involved in MMA?

DB: I got into MMA because I always loved the martial arts and fighting. The sport is growing very fast and I want to be a part of that. I want to test my fighting skills against the best in the world and you cant do that in karate tournaments or in boxing. You can only do that in MMA were everything is full contact and you can utilize every part of your body to win the fight.

WKR: Do you have a background in any particular martial art form and if so, for how long?

DB: I have trained in Japanese Shotokan Karate since I was 10 years old at the House of Martial Arts Karate Academy under head instructor Sensi Givo Bovo.

WKR: Other football players, such as Rex Richards, have attempted the transition to varying success, what makes you different?

DB: I feel I could be very successful as a pro mma fighter because I use a style a lot of heavyweight fighters are not used to seeing. I come from a strong karate background and I really try to base a lot of my game plan off of that. The stances I use and the way I counter and throw kicks confuses a lot of fighters who are not used to seeing that style and I think it gives me a big advantage. I would say my style is kind of like a more aggressive Lyota Machida.

WKR: Which sport do you feel is more dangerous and which do you feel is more violent.

DB: Well this is a tough one for me to answer, Haha. As a punter, football is not too dangerous and its definitely not violent so I would have to say MMA. However, if you look at the sport as a whole, I would say football has a lot more permanent injuries and fatalities so I think its more dangerous but I think MMA is more violent.

WKR: Do you think football taught you anything to help you prepare for MMA?

DB: Absolutely! Football has taught me so much when it comes to this sport. More then anything it has taught me hard work and commitment. Playing collegiate football at the division 1 level is a full time job that is all year long. Getting up at 6 am every morning in the offseason to run and condition teaches mental toughness. You also learn a lot about overcoming adversity and that is essential when you’re a pro mma fighter.

WKR: Thanks for your time

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Comments

damn thats cool...

Makes me want to fight someone, all 5’ 8’’ 150 lbs of me…

I know so little about MMA – Are there weight classes?

by grahamfiller10 on Jan 12, 2009 2:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

There sure are. You could fight at 155lbs — Lightweight, but I’d recommend cutting the 5 pounds to fight at 145lbs — featherweight.

by Kid Nate on Jan 12, 2009 3:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Are there well known undersized fighters

by grahamfiller10 on Jan 12, 2009 6:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It depends on the weight class

For instance Dan Henderson optimal weight is 185lbs. but he likes to fight at 205lbs. B.J. Penn is a really popular fighter who is at his best weight at 155lbs. but he loves to fight at 170lbs.

On Feb. 21st Penn will fight George St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight (170lbs.) title in a highly anticipated rematch. St. Pierre won their first fight.

watchkalibrun.com

by Zak Woods on Jan 12, 2009 7:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs