Detours: Interviews
The format for this section is selected transcripts/descriptions of on-camera interviews over the course of Tommy Conlon's MMA career and afterward, up to Sparta X. The dialogue is written the way I would transcribe a legal deposition (yeah, I used to do that part-time), so it's not my usual style. I just felt it worked for an interview transcript format.
My usual disclaimer: I make stuff up, y'all. None of the reporters/sportscasters mentioned in this chapter are real people, though the real-life employers they work for (ESPN, NBC, Fox Sports, etc.) exist. Also, I'm using fake numbers for UFC fights.
Those of you waiting very impatiently for Ch 24 of Further Down the Road… will have to wait a little longer. I'm sorry. I wanted to get this down first. Also, I am treading a fine line with Tommy in that chapter – I've written it twice, and he's either unrepentant about the floozy-in-lap (he doesn't think Kelly should be so mad about it), or he's a soggy lump of clutching at Kelly's ankles and begging her not to leave, and neither one is really the real Tommy. I am wrestling him into submission now (OOOOOH SOUNDS DIRTY and YES I WOULD TOTALLY WRESTLE HIM AND HAPPILY LOSE).
Interview #1: Jackie Roberts with Tommy Conlon for ESPN, Sparta III. Press room at the Trump Plaza hotel and casino in Atlantic City. Ms. Roberts is wearing a green wrap dress and her signature coppery corkscrew curls. Mr. Conlon is wearing a navy-blue button-down shirt. Frank Campana, Conlon's trainer, is in the room but not on camera.
Jackie Roberts: Good to see you back for this tournament, Tommy.
Tommy Conlon: (nods)
JR: I'll get right to the meat of it: you were released from military prison late last year, approximately ten months ago, and began training as you did for the first Sparta tournament, with your father?
TC: Yes.
JR: In Pittsburgh, at Colt's Gym, where Colt Boyd trains Peter "Mad Dog" Grimes?
TC: Yeah.
JR: And how did that work out?
TC: For awhile it was fine, did just fine training with my father. Then Colt Boyd asked me to leave the gym, so I went to Philly.
JR: What happened?
TC: Grimes asked for a rematch in the gym. I beat him again. Colt said he couldn't have the both of us in the gym, and Grimes was there first. I was out.
JR: So you… (makes a 'continue' hand gesture) went to stay with your brother in Philadelphia?
TC: (nods)
JR: How are you getting along with your brother these days? Is that difficult to deal with, given that when you met him in the cage two years ago, he dislocated your shoulder and tore your rotator cuff?
TC: We're good. It was… well, we're good now. Really solid.
JR: And you started training with his former coach, Frank Campana?
TC: Yeah.
JR: And how did that work out? Tell me about it.
TC: Pretty good. Frank is… different. He has an unusual way of thinking about physical challenges, and it was sometimes tough for me to follow what he wanted me to do. He likes to encourage his fighters to think and relax, and I usually learn by doing, so it was a big shift for me to do things Frank's way.
JR: But you picked it up?
TC: After some time, yeah. He stretched me pretty hard.
JR: And you think you're ready for this tournament?
TC: Yeah. I'm ready.
JR: Well, thank you, Tommy, and good luck to you in the tournament.
TC: Thank you.
Conlon and Campana leave the press room. Jackie Roberts says to her producer, "God, that was awful. The man hates cameras and he doesn't like questions any better. Also, stiff as a board. It was terrible." There's a pause while her producer just shrugs. "Was it me?"
Glenn Barr, the producer, shrugs again. "You were fine. You should probably count yourself lucky you got an interview at all – last time he completely refused to talk to the media."
Roberts drinks half her water bottle. "Okay, I'm shaking it off. Man has the best set of lips I've ever seen on a white boy, but he hates the camera and he would not talk to me. It's a shame, really. So who am I interviewing next?"
Out in the hall, Frank Campana says to his fighter, "Well, that… well. Okay. It wasn't bad. You're gonna have to work on your clichés. You're going to have to study them, you're gonna have to know them."
Conlon says, "Are you quoting 'Bull Durham' at me again?"
"Yes. But that's because it's full of good sports advice. Did you practice answering questions with one or two-sentence answers like I told you?"
Conlon says, defensively, "Yeah. Sorta. Man, I hate these things, Frank. I hate 'em. It's none of their fucking business what my life is like."
"People wanna know," Campana says. "And look. You're the one fighting, yeah. It's your life. But it's also a business. Don't lose sight of that, it's how they pay you. It's a business for the sport, it's a business for the sports broadcasters. They need viewership and they need sponsors, and they get that by…" he waves his hands, encouraging Conlon to finish the sentence.
"Chummin' the water with my personal details."
Campana smacks his forehead. And then he laughs. "Okay, Tommy. I know it probably feels like that to you, but what you gotta decide is what things you can share with the reporters. Find something to say, something you don't care whether anybody knows. Carve off some slices of stuff that doesn't matter, and be ready with it when they ask. Because, except for the part where you were talking about my coaching style versus your learning style – which was good – you pretty much blew that interview in there."
"That bad?" Conlon asks, forehead creased. "Look, I don't mind talkin' about trainin', that's easy. Or the matchups, I can talk about that all day. But I don't like people all up in my personal business."
"Tommy. Listen to me. You need people rooting for you. You might need to share some personal stuff. Not all of it. Just a little. But you're the guy who can get people interested in your life, and in how well you do in this tournament, and maybe…" Campana tilts his head until he gets Conlon's full gaze. "Maybe you might be able to help somebody else. You know? You are not the only person that matters."
Conlon looks away. He presses his lips together, then nods. "Okay, Frank. I'll find something."
"Good. You're gonna get better at the interviews, don't worry."
Interview #2: Hector Ruiz, with Tommy Conlon, for NBC Sports, Sparta III. Boardwalk Hall Arena, Atlantic City, dressing room area, just after the fight cards for the second-round matchups have come down.
Hector Ruiz: I'm here with Tommy Conlon, just before the second round of fights in the middleweight championship tournament called Sparta III. Tommy, you're matched with Muay Thai expert Anthony Veloso in the second card of this round. How do you like this matchup, Tommy?
Tommy Conlon: Great matchup. Veloso's very powerful, very quick, great reflexes. He's formidable. Probably the most pure Muay Thai fighter in this tournament. Which is fine, 'cause it's a style I know well – it's very much a muscle-memory discipline. There are discernible patterns in it which can be countered and exploited. Veloso's very good, so he'll be tough, but I think I got a good shot at him.
HR: You sound prepared.
TC: I've been workin' with Frank Campana on controlling the pacing of the fight, brushin' up on my Sambo and matwork. I'm much more rounded as a fighter this go-round, know what I'm doin' this time. I'm ready.
HR: You've been training with the guy who coached your brother and told him to show him to finish you in the cage. How were you able to get past that?
TC: (shrugs) It's his job, ain't it? It's a coach's job to motivate his fighter.
HR: Does that rivalry ever come up between you and your brother these days?
TC: (silently narrows eyes)
HR: I mean, do you find that the bad blood between you gets in the way of your training?
TC: Nah, man, things are okay.
HR: Do you feel that the time you spent in military prison had any effect on your physical capabilities, or your mental toughness?
TC: No. I'm in great shape.
HR: How about your injured shoulder from the first Sparta tournament? How's that?
TC: I had a lot of PT for it in Pittsburgh, worked pretty hard on gettin' it back to speed. I have full use. It's not gonna be a problem.
HR: Who are you hoping to come up against in the next round, should you survive this one?
TC: Depends on who's in the next one.
HR: Uh, yeah. Any match you'd select for yourself, one you think would be easy for you?
TC: I'd like another shot at Grimes.
HR: Well, good luck to you.
TC: Thank you.
After Ruiz moves on to the next fighter to be interviewed, Frank Campana speaks to his fighter. "That was much better. At least in terms of the technical answers. You still stone-walled him on the personal stuff."
"And I'm gonna keep doin' it," Tommy says. "It is none of his damn business, or anybody else's. I didn't like the tone of his voice, and I ain't answering shit questions like that. I'm not out to make Brendan look bad, or you."
"That's fine," Frank tells him. "Just take care not to make yourself look unsympathetic in the process."
Interview #3: Jackie Roberts for ESPN, with Tommy Conlon. Press room, KeyArena, Seattle, WA, UFC 198. Roberts is wearing beige knit skirt and red blouse; Conlon is wearing a dark grey button-down shirt.
Jackie Roberts: Thanks for being with us, Tommy.
Tommy Conlon: (nods)
JR: You're coming off that big Sparta tournament win last September. Congratulations, by the way.
TC: Thank you.
JR: This is your first UFC fight.
TC: It is. Lookin' forward to it.
JR: Now… you consider yourself a Pittsburgh boy, but your bio says you graduated from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, just about 40 minutes' drive south of here. Is it nice to be back?
TC: (shrugs, opens hands in an uncertain gesture) I, um, I only lived here a couple years. It's just as pretty as ever, but this was never home.
JR: You and your brother have never discussed the reasons why you and your mother moved here. Was that a, a difficult time in your life?
TC: (nods, biting lip) Yeah. I would rather not discuss that.
JR: Have you been doing some sightseeing, catching up with the West Coast and your old high school hangouts?
TC: (shakes head, looking down) Went to visit my mother's grave today. That was about all I wanted to see. (shrugs, raises head) And I had some training to do, some light workouts and familiarizing myself with the arena.
JR: You've never been here before?
TC: No. It's a nice space. I have zero complaints with the fight organization, everything has gone real smooth. UFC's a well-run outfit. Hotel's nice, got plenty of room and stuff. They do a good job with Sparta, but it's a much bigger event, and it's a little more, well, controlled chaos. This is very orderly.
JR: I'm sure Dana White would be pleased to hear that you think highly of the arrangements. And you're prepared to fight Cesar "Garra" Alves tonight?
TC: I'm prepared for The Claw, sure am.
JR: Well, tell me about that – some of the things you've been focusing on in your training.
TC: Well, Alves is known for his Jiu-Jitsu, obviously, as a Brazilian, and he's very very tough. Very compact, body type very suited for mat work, and he may have a slight edge on me with that. But I have a longer reach, and my usual fight style leans a little more heavily on Muay Thai and boxing. So my natural inclination is to try to keep him standin' up to take punishment, and his natural inclination is probably gonna be to go for a takedown, try to submit me on the mat.
JR: You make it sound like a textbook Muay Thai versus Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match.
TC: It'll be anything but textbook. But you know, I'm not tellin' you anything somebody with half an eyeball couldn't see from watchin' tape on both of us. (grins) I'll say it again: I'm prepared.
JR: I had interviewed you earlier in your career, but I did not realize at the time that you had been a world-class wrestler as a young teenager. We saw very little wrestling or matwork from you in your first Sparta fights – other than the ground-and-pound technique – and I was, I admit, surprised to see it work so well for you in Sparta III. But you are in fact a very skilled wrestler, and I'm sure we'll see you hold your own if Alves takes you down.
TC: Again, nothin' new to Alves' camp. They already know, they've seen me fight. (nods) But yeah. I am tough to submit.
JR: With that fact in mind, your loss to your brother Brendan Conlon in the first Sparta is all the more surprising, maybe. Did you two train together when you were younger?
TC: (forehead creases)
JR: Or did he, did he have some special knowledge of your weak spots maybe?
TC: (takes visible deep breath) I had not refreshed my wrestling skills to the degree that they're in operation now. That was a mistake. And… I think maybe nobody in that tournament but Brendan could have done that to me.
JR: Was that a very emotional fight for you?
TC: I would rather be discussing the Alves fight. (smiles)
JR: Okay. So you feel that your ground game is as good as anything Alves can throw at you?
TC: I do. I'm ready.
JR: Now, you just got married a few months ago, right?
TC: (grins) Yeah. My wife just flew in this afternoon, can't wait to see her.
JR: And your brother was in your wedding, or so I heard.
TC: Best man.
JR: Well, our time is up. Good luck to you, Tommy Conlon, and thanks for speaking with us.
TC: Thank you.
(LIVE SESSION ENDS.)
JR: Tommy, I think you are the toughest interview subject I've ever worked with. You have these areas that you just will not discuss, don't you?
TC: (hesitating) We offline now?
JR: Yes. No cameras. Just me and my curiosity.
TC: I hate those damn cameras. (grins) And yeah. There are things too… too personal. I know everybody saw my big brother tear my arm off and they think they know us, but that's just… I don't talk about it to people I don't know. Bren and me, we talk. We're good.
JR: That's really good to know. I hear he came here for this fight?
TC: Yeah. Gonna go hang with them at the hotel for awhile before I come back down here, so I gotta jet. Thanks.
JR: Oh, thank you.
After Conlon leaves the room, Ms. Roberts says to her producer, "That went better than I thought it would. Still ran into that massive privacy wall, but at least he wasn't a jerk about it this time."
Interview #4: Rob Dalton for ESPN, with Tommy Conlon. Press room, Boardwalk Hall Arena, Atlantic City, NJ, Sparta IV. Dalton is wearing gray suit and white shirt with red tie; Conlon is wearing a dark gray Dunkirk Street Gym shirt.
Rob Dalton: We've got Tommy Conlon, who won the Sparta belt last year, with us to talk about the tournament, which will be opening its second set of matchups in a couple of hours. Tommy won his first fight earlier, submitting Logan Battison in the first round. Tommy, how do you like your chances?
Tommy Conlon: As they keep saying, this is a sport where absolutely anything can happen. So, you know… past success is no guarantee of future performance, but I think I'm prepared. (shrugs)
RD: The matchup cards just came down about ten minutes ago, and it looks like you're paired up against fellow Pittsburgher Mad Dog Grimes.
TC: (smiles)
RD: You seem pleased. Now, you've faced Grimes four times before, both at the Sparta tourney and in the gym, and you have defeated him all four times. How about this time?
TC: He's a good fighter. I think I'm better.
RD: What's your strategy?
TC: Well, he's a fast striker; I have to be faster. That shouldn't surprise anybody.
RD: Uh, anything else?
TC: Tell you what, you go interview the Dog and then come tell me what he says. (smiles)
RD: I take your point. You and Grimes used to share a gym, until you beat him in a sparring match and his manager, the gym owner, Colt Boyd, kicked you out of the gym.
TC: He did ask me to leave, yeah. I didn't schedule the spar, though, that was something Grimes asked for and I agreed to. And to be fair, yeah, it was uncomfortable with the both of us training there. So I moved to Philly and worked with Frank Campana, and I will say that it was a good move for me. It stretched my capabilities, and I think Frank's training is the reason I won last year. Frank knows his stuff.
RD: He's unorthodox, but he gets results.
TC: Man, every week he was pulling some new stuff on me, trying to make my brain think in different ways. It was very…
RD: … helpful?
TC: Weird. I used to come outta the gym with my brain hurting. But what that really did was to create some new pathways for me, connect some disciplines in a more interactive way – like… let me see if I can explain this… like I don't really think in terms of "this move is Muay Thai and that one is Sambo," anymore. It's just that certain combinations go together, and the key to this sport is to be able to move smoothly from one discipline to another, deciding which one is best and then following through, and that obviously has to happen very fast if you're going to be successful. My analysis is that, while early on the sport, the BJJ guys had a distinct advance because none of the boxers and Muay Thai guys had a freakin' clue how to defend against submission holds, that's not true so much anymore. I think these days it works better to have a blended style. Which is in itself a difficult thing, because most people, due to their preferences and their body type and their brain structure, most people are going to be most comfortable with either the striking arts or the submission arts.
RD: What about you?
TC: Have you not seen me fight? (smiles) Nah, just kiddin'. I'm a striker who knows how to wrestle, that's the short version.
RD: This is coming up on a year since you bought Colt Boyd's gym in Pittsburgh. How's it going?
TC: Goin' great. (points at shirt logo) It's a neighborhood gym, it's nothin' fancy. Pretty much the same old place it was when I was a kid, when my dad did some boxing and Brendan and me learned our wrestling holds. It's maybe cleaner now. (laughs) Better equipment, definitely.
RD: And Colt's is now in a different part of town?
TC: Yeah, he moved out to a good neighborhood near the stadiums. North of the Allegheny. New building and everything, whole new set of clients.
RD: You mentioned your dad. Things haven't always been cordial between father and sons. Rumor has it that Paddy Conlon battled alcoholism for a long time, but has been sober for several years now.
TC: (pauses) We are good now. We see each other a lot, we're okay.
RD: Good to know that. You don't want to address the alcoholism issue?
TC: They call it Alcoholics Anonymous for a reason. No.
RD: So you have cobbled together a sort of team of trainer-managers to help you get ready for this tournament, is that right?
TC: Yeah. My dad oversees my diet and conditioning. Adam Parker handles my schedule, and Frank Campana consults with us on technique. Obviously Frank is still in Philly and I'm back in the 'Burgh, but the wonders of technology make it happen. Pop takes a lot of film in the gym, and then Fen – uh, my office guy, also a fighter. Jonathan Fenroy, featherweight. Fen sends that to Frank, we watch it simultaneously; it's pretty cool you can do that on a computer now. So then Frank watches it very carefully for things I need to work on, or any awkwardness in my stance or any particular hold or anything, and we discuss that via Skype and phone and stuff. It's a weird arrangement, but I think it works for me.
RD: I should think it does. You have won all three of your UFC fights this year. Which one are you proudest of?
TC: (shrugs) They were all tough opponents. I think I had the worst trouble with Christian Belao.
RD: Whom you knocked out.
TC: Yeah. But he was tough. (grins)
RD: Well, good luck to you, Tommy, and thanks for being with us before your second match of the tournament.
TC: Thank you.
Interview #5: Malik Jones for Fox Sports, with Tommy Conlon. Press room at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, UFC 202. Jones is wearing black suit and pale yellow shirt; Conlon is wearing a pale gray shirt and navy suit.
Malik Jones: Tommy, thanks for talking with us.
Tommy Conlon: No problem, man.
MJ: So you and Roger Arnhouse fight this evening in what you have said will be your final MMA fight. Is that – have I got that right?
TC: (nods) Yes. Last one. As of tomorrow, I am retired, win or lose.
MJ: A lot of folks think that's nuts.
TC: (grins)
MJ: Including me. Let's, let's go over your career so far. You were a wrestling champ as a kid – Junior Olympics and Pennsylvania state championships. You went into the Marine Corps straight out of high school and served ten, almost eleven years. Did six deployments to war zones. Left the Corps, and I know you're sick of hearing people talk about this, but you went AWOL from Iraq following a friendly-fire bombing in which your entire platoon was killed. You got back to the States in time to participate in the first Sparta tournament for middleweights, winning your first three fights by knockout, and lost in the final round, tapping out to your estranged brother, whom you had not seen in fourteen years. You suffered a dislocated shoulder and torn rotator cuff in that fight, after which you were taken into custody by MPs. You spent 15 months in military prison, came roaring out and swept Sparta III, displaying some mad cage skillz –
TC: (laughs, shakes head)
MJ: – that showed your MMA capabilities to be broader and much more honed than anyone had expected from anyone with such a short history in the sport. You fought two UFC bouts in the following year before taking the title at Sparta IV, winning both by submission. You've fought an additional UFC bout since Sparta IV, winning that one by knockout. And you say this one's your last?
TC: It is. I'm done.
MJ: Okay, I'm gonna ask again: why? Why? (makes puzzled face)
TC: You want the official sanitized reasons or the real shit? Oh – sorry. Sorry. Can't say that on TV.
MJ: Uh, yeah, we're live here so watch the language please.
TC: Right.
MJ: Well, why don't you give me both? All I've heard so far is that you're 'ready to retire.'
TC: Well, there are more than one if I'm being honest. I mean, even the bullshi – um, the official reasons happen to be a piece of the truth. So I'll give you those first. For one, I've made enough money to retire and live very comfortably on a normal income. I mean, I ain't buyin' a island in the Caribbean or nothin', but I don't need that. I have a house and a car and some investments, and I plan on workin' every day, so I'm fine. And it ain't like I'm gonna miss the lifestyle, to be honest. I don't mind spending months trainin', I've done that pretty much all my life. It ain't the work. It ain't the cage. It's that I'm not much of a party and entourage kinda guy. I like havin' my family around, I like my guys at the gym. I don't like the media – no offense, Malik –
MJ: None taken.
TC: – and I don't like the gold-diggers and the wanna-bes. I got no time for that.
MJ: Gotcha.
TC: I like gettin' up every day and goin' to work.
MJ: Yeah, I hear ya.
TC: I wanna devote some time to my family, get my gym to where I want it, do some good in my hometown. Maybe coach kids.
MJ: So you don't need the money, you don't like the lifestyle, and you want to spend time with your family. Those are the official reasons?
TC: And my wife asked me to quit.
MJ: (blinks) Your wife.
TC: Yeah. (smiles) Before you go thinkin' I'm whipped, I gotta say she is real smart – she's a nurse – and I have to take her seriously. And I happen to think she's right about this.
MJ: About what?
TC: This is the third rail, okay? Nobody wants to talk about it. I might get my contract yanked for talkin' about it to you right now. Everybody wants to pretend it don't exist and fighters don't have this problem. But they do.
MJ: Uh-oh.
TC: You know what I'm gonna say: CTE.
MJ: You're worried about CTE? (to camera) That's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a degenerative disease similar to Parkinson's.
TC: Look, nobody has proved definitively that it's gonna happen to fighters, or that MMA means you're gonna get it. But if you look at the people who do get it, it's mostly people who suffer a lot of head injuries. Football players, pro wrestlers, boxers. People who get thrown off horses. (shrugs) Combat vets who've been exposed to concussive explosions.
MJ: I see. So you had other experiences with bombings or explosions during your deployments?
TC: You know I can't answer that. About CTE, I got risk factors that a lotta guys don't have. And… (makes hand gesture) I want my life. I'm not sayin' everybody who fights should quit. But I'm quittin', and that's why. (nods several times)
MJ: So… you… Wow. You're serious about this.
TC: As a heart attack. Yeah. I'll stay involved with the sport, you know, still train people and maybe spar some, but with headgear. No more fights. I can't risk it. I never had that much brain to begin with, and I can't afford to lose any.
MJ: Well. There you have it. Tommy Conlon, leaving the sport of MMA after tonight's event. He says… he wants his life. Can't blame the man for that. Thanks for talking with us, Tommy.
TC: Thank you.
Interview #6: Malik Jones for Fox Sports, with Brendan Conlon and Tommy Conlon. Judges' table at second-tier UFC fights sponsored by Pittsburgh Fight Club. Interview canceled, due to medical emergency in Tommy Conlon's family. He declined to reschedule, citing family needs.
Interview #7: Rob Dalton with Brendan Conlon and Tommy Conlon, for ESPN, Sparta X. Press room at Boardwalk Hall Arena. Dalton is wearing heather gray suit and white shirt with maroon tie. Brendan Conlon in light blue Oxford shirt; Tommy Conlon in navy short-sleeve polo shirt.
Rob Dalton: So. The Conlon boys are back at Sparta! But this time they're not in the cage. How are you guys doing?
Tommy Conlon: We're good.
Brendan Conlon: Glad to be back, Rob. The Sparta guys always do a great job with organizing this tournament, and I think we'll see a really exciting finish this year.
RD: Who do you like in the final?
BC: Well, I'll be honest, I would have liked to see my buddy Marcos Santos come back and take the title again, but he's out of commission with that injury. So I'm pullin' for Juan Carneiro, who's got a similar style.
TC: Nah, it's Jamarquay Lewis all the way, man. MCMAP.
RD: Ah, the Marine Corps' martial arts training program, right?
TC: (nods)
RD: Gotta support the Marines.
TC: Well, it's partly that. But that program is designed to teach Marines to disable or kill an opponent in hand-to-hand combat, especially when the Marine has no weapon. It's a tough discipline. If he came outta that program, he knows his stuff.
RD: So you're saying Lewis could kill me with his bare hands? Or you could?
TC: Yep. (smiles)
RD: (to BC) Look at that sadistic smile of his. I am actually afraid right now.
BC: Nah, you'd be okay unless you messed with his family.
TC: (genuine smile)
RD: Whew. Good. Now, one of the things I wanted to talk about with you was not simply the current state of your relationship, which seems to be very warm –
BC: Oh yeah, very.
TC: (nods)
(BC and TC briefly press their shoulders together.)
RD: – but to follow up on a statement that Erwin De Soto made in an earlier interview, how his poverty-level childhood on the streets of Rio led to the development of his fighting skills. I know you guys have always been reluctant to share any details about your childhood, and I respect that. But here are two matters of public record I wanted to bring up, not for discussion, just… just to lay 'em out there. First, your father Paddy Conlon, himself a former Marine and your wrestling trainer when you were young, has been very open about his struggles with alcoholism, and about his sobriety over the last ten years or so.
BC: (nods)
RD: And second, several years ago the two of you founded a nonprofit organization named the Mary Rose Riordan Foundation, which funds and supports the efforts of domestic abuse resource centers across Pennsylvania.
TC: (looks to side, away from camera, blinks several times)
RD: Add to that the fact that you don't discuss the reason why you two had not seen each other for fourteen years prior to the first Sparta and the fact that your mother died in Tacoma, Washington, and it adds up to my assumption that your childhoods were less than ideal.
BC: You could say that.
RD: And my point in bringing the topic up is to ask whether learning to be tough early on in your personal lives was a factor in your success as MMA fighters. (spreads hands in open gesture) Your thoughts?
BC: Well… that is a possibility. But I am reluctant to, you know… endorse that as a building block of success. Because, honestly, no kid should grow up that way.
TC: No kid should have to.
BC: It is an interesting question. Because, no doubt, both my personality and my childhood played into the kind of fighting style that I eventually developed. When I was growing up, my normal modus operandi was to just – just take it. Roll up in a ball like an armadillo and protect the underbelly, and wait until it was over. I got real good at that. Tommy was different. I mean, he was smaller than me, so he had no compunction about throwin' the first punch, he'd –
TC: (to BC) Hey!
RD: Oh, so you guys did fight.
BC: Oh yeah. He was the instigator. It was mostly wrestling, but sometimes he'd get ticked off and punch me, and I'd be lucky to get him back. He was ruthless. He was like a mongoose killing a cobra, no mercy.
TC: You were bigger than me. You coulda sat on me and smushed me.
BC: Well, did I?
TC: Yeah. (nods several times)
BC: Oh. Well, maybe I did, but I have no doubt you deserved it. You were a pest.
TC: (reaches over, puts BC in headlock)
BC: See? (laughing) Total pest.
TC: (scrubs knuckles through BC's hair) Shut up. (laughing)
BC: You're makin' my point for me.
TC: Okay, fine. (lets go, pats BC on back, straightens BC's shirt)
RD: (smiles) Do your kids fight like that?
TC: (laughs)
BC: (smoothes hair) Well, I have two girls and a younger boy. The dynamic is different. (turns to TC) What about your boys, they fight? I can't see 'em doin' that.
TC: Oh, yeah, they do sometimes. But they're tight, you know. Devoted.
BC: Like us.
TC: Yeah.
RD: So. Tommy, you're "Dad" now.
TC: (looks down, smiles) Yeah. I love it.
RD: You know, I was really glad to see you both walk in for the interview. I was remembering that you missed an interview with Fox Sports a few years ago, do you remember that?
TC: In Pittsburgh. Yeah, I remember, that was a Pittsburgh Fight Club event.
RD: I have a confession to make. I was around during the first Sparta, although that was before I had a gig in front of the camera, and I remember seeing you then, that… that angry guy. When I first heard that you'd skipped the interview, my immediate thought was, "Oh, he did it again, blew off the media." And then, of course, when we heard the reason why, that your wife was having complications with childbirth, I felt like a complete heel. I want to apologize to you, right now, for making the wrong assumption.
TC: (nods, looking down) Yeah, that was… that was a dark time. One of the worst nights of my life.
BC: (presses shoulder to TC's shoulder)
RD: I'm guessing that that's saying something, 'one of the worst nights of your life,' given your childhood and your war experience.
TC: (nods, still looking down) I have seen too many people I love die. (blinks rapidly)
RD: (blinks several times)
TC: (crosses self in small, quick gesture, speaks softly) She lived.
RD: (clears throat) Is she here with you at the tournament?
TC: (looks up, smiles) Oh yeah. Couldn't do without my Kelly.
RD: And your wife, Brendan, is she here?
TC: Tch! Like he'd go anywhere without Tess.
BC: Hey.
TC: Come on, I learned from the best. (laughs) Always hang with your wife, it's good advice.
RD: (given wrap-it-up sign from producer) Well, again, thank you both for being here with us today. We wish you well. Brendan and Tommy Conlon, folks.
TC: Thank you.
BC: Thanks, and good luck to you.
RD: (nods)
END TAPE
BC: Didya have to give me a noogie? On camera?
TC: Yeah.
BC: I'll have students trying to give me noogies all year now. Tess is gonna murder you.
TC: I'll talk her round. Tess loves me.
BC: Ha.
TC: Nah, she's great.
Producer: That's a wrap. Good stuff, Rob. Thank you, gentlemen.
A/N: If I wrote this right, you should be picking up on a progression here. Tell me you see it.