Ring Wraph: Josh “Cuddly Bear” Copeland
Grudge MMA fighter, Josh Copeland Interview:
Today we are talking to Josh ‘Cuddly Bear’ Copeland, another one of the many up and coming fighters from the Grudge Training Center, working his way up the ladder. Josh’s friendly face and boyish good looks belie the sheer power behind his many technically sound punches, his Ju Jitsu background will help him if and when someone takes him to the mat. He is a natural athlete and has played baseball, football, basketball and track, throughout Jr. High, High School, and College so although he has been training in MMA for a relatively short period, (4 years) he has risen through the ranks rather quickly, even before his victory over Richard Foster he was ranked #1 in the state on certain websites, so if you haven’t heard of him yet, you will. He is an undefeated MMA heavyweight who now sits at 6 wins and 0 losses, a perfect record.
His most recent battle with Richard Foster is his only fight that’s lasted past round one. Josh is 30 years old and stands 6’ 1” tall, weighing around 270 lbs. He’s the type of man most describe as a gentle giant, he looks you in the eye when speaking and has no use for excuses. His honesty is refreshing and his face lights up like a lighthouse when holding his nearly four month old son, Aiden.
I caught up with him last week after he used a thundering right hand to batter, bleed, and bash, the taller, longer, lankier, and likewise undefeated Richard Foster from Washington State just ten days ago; here is what he had to say once we caught up with each other.
Mk-Josh, thank you so much for talking to me today.
JC-You are welcome sir.
Mk-When did you come to Colorado or are you a native?
JC-I came here in October 2009 after being born in Idaho and growing up in Arkansas and I love Colorado, it’s a great place to live!
Mk-When did you start fighting?
JC-I had my first amateur fight in 2010.
Mk-Did you ever wrestle in either high school or college?
JC-No, I grew up playing and concentrating on football, basketball, and baseball. I was also on the track team in Jr. High and High School and I threw the discus and shot put, in College I threw the shot put.
Mk-So you’re a natural athlete?
JC-I don’t know about that-
Mk-I’ve watched you workout, no doubt about it Josh, you are a natural athlete, what made you start fighting?
JC-I had never really given it much thought and but been doing Brazilian Ju Jitsu for five years at Travis Lugter’s in college in Texas, when I met a kid named Justin Wren who was MMA fighting at the time. We became best friends and workout partners as well as roommates and as I helped him get ready for his fights, he told me he thought I should give it a try. He felt that even though I had been doing it for a short time, that I could not only compete but win against fellow amateurs. He’s the one who got me thinking about it, the more we worked out together and I really enjoyed preparing him for his fights, the more I thought about fighting.
Mk-So Justin inspired and urged you to pursue your dreams as well as helping him pursue his?
JC-I began Ju Jitsu in 2005, in spring of 2009 Justin got on the show ‘Ultimate Fighter’ where he met Trevor Wittman and Rashad Evans. After the show ended Trevor invited Justin to come to Colorado and train at Grudge gym so when he got home he said, “We are moving to Colorado!” and that’s how I came to Grudge and Colorado. I was sick of Texas and so fortunate to be welcomed by Trevor and I’ve been training at Grudge ever since.
Mk-All the trainers at Grudge that I have met and either worked with or watched them work with others, seem to mirror Jake Ramos and Trevor Wittman by deploying a type of positive reinforcement training method. For instance, I had never boxed in my life and my first day of working with Jake he found something positive that I was doing and talked about it, praised me for it, instead of harping on the thousands of things I had done poorly. I soon found myself working harder and trying harder than ever before, in any sport. They got more work out of me in less time than any old school coach ever did. I’ve witnessed this time and time again at Grudge, have you noticed this and would you agree?
JC-Definitely, one hundred percent, that’s what attracted me to Trevor. Growing up I had my share of old school coaches and I am not motivated at all when I am hollered at. I’ve never responded well to negative reinforcement, I need positivity to reach my maximum ability. Everyone’s different and I’ve had coaches who screamed at me and there maybe athletes who need that and respond to it but I don’t. I’ve responded well to Trevor’s and the entire Grudge teams’ positivity.
When I first came to Grudge, Trevor was super busy with an entire stable of top rated fighters, Brendon Schaub, Nate Marquardt, Justin Wren to name a few, and I felt I had a long way to go just to be worth his time, so in the beginning I worked out alone or with Justin, or in classes for a great deal of the time. I needed to improve my skills before I’d be training with Trevor one on one. I took his classes but didn’t begin working with him one on one until around 2011.
Mk-From what I’ve seen of the Grudge fighters is that there is more than just a tremendous work ethic, these guys train so much harder than what you’ll see in other gyms and I’m guessing that it is due to this positive reinforcement they get from the Grudge trainers. Honestly, these guys truly go the extra mile to please their trainers and it is a pleasure to see.
JC-Yes, absolutely, for me when I am in the cage fighting I don’t want to win just for me, I want to win for my family, trainers, for Grudge, and for my team. It is such a great team to be a part of!
Mk-Josh, I know your friends and fans will love to hear what your work week is like, would you mind walking us through your workouts?
JC-Certainly, Monday I have a private kickboxing with Bryon Youngs from 9:30-10:00, then from 10:00-11:00 I have kickboxing class, then I meet with Loren Landow from 12:00-1:00 for strength and conditioning training. In the afternoon I will either train clients or go see Dr. Ben Cowan at Action Sports and Spine for recovery or adjustments.
Tuesdays, I begin with a private lesson with Trevor Wittman from 9:30-10:00, heavy sparring from 10-11:00, I go teach classes at night and may have a late night workout class as well. I also work with Bryon Youngs from 3:30-4:00.
Wednesdays, I start with striking class with Trevor Wittman from 10:00-11:00, from 12:00-1:00 I do more strength and conditioning with Loren Landow and then at 6:00 we do Grappling, which is wrestling and Ju Jitsu at the 303 training center.
Thursday, Tech spar and wrestling from 10:00-11:30, I teach more classes afterward and see Byron Youngs again 3:30-4:00.
Fridays, MMA training 10:00-11:00, I work with Loren Landow from 12:00-1:00 on more strength and conditioning. I work with Grudge’s Luke Caudillo and Tony Basile from 303 training center, on wrestling 4:00-5:00 pm.
Saturdays, I hard spar from 10:00-11:00 and by then I am pretty tired and Sunday is my day of rest.
Mk-That’s a long week Josh!
JC-I’m usually pretty tired come Sunday.
Josh beamed as he told me about his four month old son Aiden and wife Christina, they are obviously the most important thing in his life. They met each other at Grudge gym and have been together 2 1/2 years. Josh also went to Boyce Bible College for two years in Kentucky studying Youth ministry, and two more years at Dallas Baptist University, where he majored in Christian studies.
Mk-So basically Josh, you either workout or teach workouts six days a week?
JC-That’s it!
Mk-Do you have to worry about your weight?
JC-One of the neat things about being a heavyweight is not having to worry about your weight so much and of course it’s always better to eat healthier things, but it isn’t a big concern and doesn’t worry me.
Mk-Thanks for speaking to us today Josh, and good luck in the future.
JC-Thanks a lot.