Empire Fighting Championship 1 will be held this Saturday, March 30th, in Biloxi, Mississippi. One of the most talked about and anticipated fights on the card is Lachlan Kritsonis versus Joshua Langley. I spoke earlier with Joshua Langley and learned more about his past and what he brings to the fight this weekend. So, next I wanted to speak with Lachlan to see what’s going through his mind during fight week, what he has planned leading up to the fight, and what he’s got in store for Empire Fighting Championship 1.
Lachlan, where are you from, and what got you into fighting?
Well, I was born in Colby, Kansas, and I moved to Iowa City for a few years while my dad was in school. Then I moved back to Baton Rouge, where my family is originally from. My dad was a fighter, he wrestled in high school and college, and he got into fighting about five years after college.
“So, my boxing coach LJ and I did about ten rounds of boxing sparring. No mouth piece or headgear for either of us. We just went at it.”
And is your dad the reason why you started fighting?
I guess yes, and no. He didn’t push me into it, I wanted to do it myself. But, he’s the reason I grew up around it, and I always knew about it. I started training MMA about three and a half weeks before my first fight. I never really sparred before, so I knew that I should probably get as much in the few weeks that I could. So, my boxing coach LJ (Morvant) and I did about ten rounds of boxing sparring. No mouth piece or headgear for either of us. We just went at it.
You’ll be fighting Joshua Langley this weekend, and he has a lot of momentum entering this fight. Has that affected you at all leading up to it?
No, not really. I always train as hard as I can everyday, no matter who I’m fighting. I always try to take tough fights. If they offer me two, I’ll always take the tougher opponent. It’s not really changing anything for me. I know it’s going to be a tough fight and he’s good, and I’m expecting that, so it should be fun.
“I’ll be ready for whatever and expecting anything. I’ll be ready to sprawl or be ready to shoot, whatever I want to do.”
Your opponent started training jiu jitsu early, and he’s already a purple belt. Are you expecting him to try to take it to the mat?
He might, but I’ll be ready. I got my blue belt over a year ago, and I train a good bit of jiu jitsu, so I’ll be ready for whatever and expecting anything. I’ll be ready to sprawl or be ready to shoot, whatever I want to do.
How will the rest of this week go down for you?
Just some relaxing and some lighter workouts than the past weeks, a lot of drilling, some running. I’ll probably do a little swimming, get the body ready to go peak Saturday night.
What’s a typical week like for you? How often are you training and what do you typically train and when?
Monday and Wednesday evenings are usually MMA class, and Tuesday and Thursday nights are boxing and wrestling. In the mornings is when I do most of my conditioning, swimming, sprints, that kind of stuff. Saturdays are sparring, then I go for a four to five mile run, just to push it a little more. So, I train about 12 – 15 times a week.
And where are you training?
I train out of Beat-2-Sleep boxing in Baton Rouge, and T Webb (Thomas Webb) does his MMA classes there. We got Nakia (Brown) fighting out of there on the same card this weekend, and we’ve got some great boxers and some other local MMA guys.
What do you like most about fighting?
Honestly, just pushing myself everyday to get better. Whether that’s new skills, or practicing techniques over and over, just pushing myself. Or, when I’m alone with my conditioning or bag workouts that I do, just pushing it every day, learning new things. Also, I like helping other people out with things that I might know that they don’t, just overall it gives you a way to be better every single day and learn new things and teach new things. Then, you get to go out and let it all go and show everything that you’ve been working on behind the scenes. You can let it all go in front of a bunch of people.”I’ve always had quick feet, and I take advantage of that.”
What do you think is your biggest strength?
I work on my footwork a lot, being in and out. I have good takedowns, good takedown defense and awareness, just being aware of where I’m at and what’s coming, and just reacting to whatever’s being thrown at me, and being quick. I’ve always had quick feet, and I take advantage of that.
What was it like the first time that you stepped into the cage? What was going through your mind?
That it was time to go, that I was really doing it! I’d only been training MMA for probably three to four weeks, so it wasn’t that much time to prepare myself for it. It was almost like it came so fast that I was walking out and it was like, damn I’m really doing this, it’s time to scrap. So I got in that mind frame and just went out there and did what I had to do.
“That’s why I got back in six weeks later and defended my belt that I got back in March and got a second-round submission. I wanted to get back in there quick and right my wrong.”
What is your record? Are there any notable fights that you want to tell me about?
I’m 3 – 2 fighting as an amateur. I had a good performance last March when I won my first belt, I got a first-round knockout. But, the most memorable fight that comes to mind was my next fight after that in September. It was a bad performance. I almost got the knockout in the first 20 seconds, and then I just zoned in, I almost forgot it was an MMA fight, and just locked in, and didn’t perform to my potential.
That was a fight that just got away from me because I didn’t perform the way that I could. That’s why I got back in six weeks later and defended my belt that I got back in March and got a second-round submission. I wanted to get back in there quick and right my wrong. It taught me a lot. It taught me to not get anxious during a fight, and to stay the course. It gave me a lot of experience.
Tell me, what are your plans for the near future?
I just want keep getting consistent fights and gain more experience every time I fight. I want to keep going out there and fighting for three, three minute rounds and try to be active and work everyday towards getting better, getting in shape and pushing myself. I want to stay in the mindset and try to stay active and get more wins.
Let’s say it’s fight day. How does it begin for you? What do you do leading up to the fight, and what’s going through your mind?
I normally wake up, get breakfast, wait about an hour and do a light 20 – 30 minute workout, and then get some lunch. Then, I go hangout in the hotel room, watch TV, try to take a nap, try to stay calm, stay with the couple of people around me, nothing crazy. Probably, I’ll eat again and go to the arena, go through the medical checks, get warmed up and get ready.
When looking back on your career, what will you have hoped to accomplish?
Just being out there with the best, fighting the best, and beating the best. Traveling the world, gaining experience, experience that I will never forget, and having fun along the road. Hopefully being in the UFC! Hopefully they don’t kick the Flyweight division out, or maybe I’d go out to Asia to fight, maybe move up to 135. But yea, fighting with the best and hopefully being a world champion someday.
So, you’ve got a big fight coming up this Saturday. Do you have anything else that you’d like to plug, or would you like to give any shout-outs?
Yea, I’d like to shout-out my coaches LJ Morvant with my boxing and Thomas Webb with the all around MMA game. Also, my dad for scrapping with me in the wrestling room. I’d like to thank my teammates, family and all of my friends for the support.
Make sure to catch Lachlan Kritsonis take on Joshua “Flash” Langley this Saturday, March 30th, at Empire Fighting Championship 1, in Biloxi, Mississippi. I’ll be there covering the event, and I will have photographs and a full fight recap published shortly after.
Fight Sport Focus 
One response to ““I’ll be ready for whatever and expecting anything. I’ll be ready to sprawl or be ready to shoot, whatever I want to do.” Lachlan Kritsonis, Beat-2-Sleep.”
[…] train out of Beat-2-Sleep in Baton Rouge. We got Lachlan (Kritsonis), Thomas Webb, Donald Wilkinson, Larry Bradford, Nick Lusher, Hunter Jones. We’ve got a lot of […]
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