THE HUNTER, PART 2 - Adrian Pang

Adrian ‘The Hunter’ Pang is probably the only MMA fighter on the world scene to sport a spear scar on his body rather than tattoos. It’s the product of the tribal street fights he faced growing up in rough parts of Papua New Guinea, where he first learned he had a knack for fighting.

Since moving to Australia as a teen, Pang has devoted himself to developing his pugilistic talent and has become one of our best and most experienced Mixed Martial Arts fighters. Here, the Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) lightweight title-holder from Brisbane’s renowned Integrated MMA gym talks more about his history and future as a fighter. 

An interview with MMA fighter Adrian Pang by CHRIS POSTUPALSKI.

You had a few boxing and Muay Thai bouts, including a Muay Thai fight in Thailand while you were training at the Fairtex academy. Tell us how the fight went and what it was like training at the Fairtex gym with stars such as Yodsanklai?

Well, I have been sponsored by Fairtex for five years now and they have been great to me. I train there as often as I like, but generally once a year. It’s very inspiring training at Fairtex as there are a lot of superstars there in the Thai boxing community. Some of them have amazing talent and fight to live. I had been in Japan training at the Yoshida dojo [of Hidehiko Yoshida, Pride FC and Sengoku fighter] for two weeks then went to Thailand to train at Fairtex.

When I arrived I was informed I had a fight lined up! So had to lose a fair bit of weight and fight my first full Thai rules fight within around 10 days. The fight was tough and my opponent was very experienced, as well as a lot taller than myself. I won every round and dropped him a couple of times. I landed some severe square elbows to his head and he just kept coming. It was a very memorable fight and my shins were damaged for weeks [laughs].

What is a typical training session like at the Fairtex gym in Thailand?

Training is hard! As a sponsored athlete you must train as hard as all the other top fighters. We would start the day with a 10km run followed by 10 rounds on the pads. Then we would move onto bag work and technique before [stand-up] grappling for about 30 minutes. Cool-down would be chin-ups and hundreds of sit-ups while they smash your stomach with pads.

The afternoon would be similar, only a 6km run instead of 10km. The Thais have trained this way for generations and it works for them. Training there can be what you make of it, so it can be fun and relaxed. I would recommend [that you] experience it for yourself!

Tell us how the opportunity to train with Dan Higgins at Integrated MMA came about?

I started training with Dan over six years ago. I met Dan through Tony Green at a Spartan event. He was there coaching a young up-and-comer named Kyle Noke [former Warriors Realm middleweight champ, now fi ghting out of the famous Greg Jackson camp in the USA].

Dan Higgins has produced more Australian MMA champions than any other coach. Why do you believe this is?

Dan is a great mate and coach! He lives the martial way and is always thinking about training. He sees each individual person has different attributes and trains them accordingly. He always makes sure we are up-to-date with our training and techniques, as well as working on our strengths and weaknesses. Most of all, our fighters are conditioned physically and mentally.

We have seen a new generation of fighters like Michael Mortimer, Tony Rossini and Korey Gibson all progress under the tutelage of Dan and yourself. Who are some of the other youngsters coming out of the gym that we should keep an eye out for?

We have a few guys coming up in the gym but keep an eye out for Silvester Lidicky! He has already had several fights and is undefeated. Hasn’t been training long but is naturally athletic and submitted a few opponents, including a Purple belt [in BJJ] from Perth.

Retirement is probably still a few years away for you, but do you look forward to coaching the next stars of Australian MMA?

I am currently assistant coach out of Integrated MMA Brisbane anyway and I enjoy seeing the guys do well when they compete. Dan and I have had a long road of trial and error in our careers so it’s great to be able to pass on knowledge knowing it will work. Retirement? Hmm, bashing on the young fellas in the gym keeps me young [laughs].

You’re a family man, you run your own business, you help run a very successful MMA school and you also have to prepare yourself for fights, training with the likes of Muay Thai legend Nugget, Steve Compton and Higgins. How do you fit it all in?

I don’t fi t it all in! It is very difficult and I have to remind myself why I do it occasionally. I am lucky I have a very supportive partner who gives me the freedom to train and she looks after me well with the dieting and caring for our son. My work does suffer a lot around fight times as I take a fair deal of time off to train. I do it because I love it.

Tell us how has training with the likes of Steve Compton and Nugget helped you improve the stand-up aspect of your game?

Training with both of them has helped me tremendously, although I don’t execute what I’m taught all the time, as I tend to want to stand and go for it. I am always learning and they both teach me a lot of things. They are also very open and adaptive to what my style is, rather than changing the way I am.

You have strong ties with Nugget. What can you tell us about the rumours of his Muay Thai promotion, Evolution, starting an MMA event?

Not sure what these rumours are, but you could imagine if Evolution ever decides to promote MMA what the outcome would be!

Have you ever considered having another Muay Thai or boxing fight? Or perhaps competing in the Abu Dhabi [submission grappling] trials?

Yes, I would love to have another Muay Thai or boxing fight. It would have to really be worth it as my focus is on MMA. When I was younger I would have boxing/Thai boxing fights in between my MMA fights. Abu Dhabi? I find it really hard to compete without striking, but perhaps when I have finished MMA. 

Do you get ever sick of MMA? I know some fighters after training don’t want to discuss MMA but you seem to want to know every result, watch every fight. What do you do to get away from it all?

I like being up-to-date with what’s going on, as it is our trade. We used to go away on holidays to get away but now we have a son it’s different. We like to go to the beach or just visit family. Just staying home on our property is relaxing enough. No neighbours, no noise.

You were also given the opportunity to train in Japan. Tell us about the differences between how the Japanese and Australian fighters train?

The only difference between the Japanese and Australians is that most of them do it full-time for a living and the experience level was a lot higher. Training is always hard when there are people better than you but I thrive on that competition and learning. Training-wise they don’t do anything different than what Dan is teaching at Integrated MMA every night.

You also fought on the main event of Cage Force 1 where you faced their poster boy, Taiyo Nakahara. You shocked everyone and submitted him in what was a very entertaining fight. Why do you believe you were not asked back to fight in Cage Force again?

Although the outcome is not what the promoter wanted, I was asked back to compete in the tournament. It was all go and I was training for it when it fell through at the last minute, so myself and the American opponent were ruled out of competition. We believe, basically, money was passing through too many hands before it got to us.

You have moved up to fight at under-70kg just to keep busy. Is the move to 65kg still possible should an overseas opportunity arise?

I had over a year without a fight after winning the Hextreme Australasian title in New Zealand at 65kg. It was then we decided I needed to move to 70kg in order to get more regular fights. I am finally comfortable at 70kg but should I get the opportunity to fight overseas we would look at dropping down to 65kg again. I have been fighting for a while now so if an overseas promoter is only waving around a few grand then I’m not interested.

The best 145-pound (66kg) fighters are participating in WEC in the US. How do you see yourself matching up against them and is there someone in particular you dream of facing?

Yes, WEC is the premier event for the lighter guys and watching them on tape they look huge! I would fight any of those guys providing I was getting the right money and was getting some sort of fight deal. Otherwise, a foreigner gets brought over to lose and if he does, he never gets seen again.

Back on to the local scene, your last fight was against Rob Hill on CFC 9. You won the CFC title in a five-round war. Hill has been quoted as saying in interviews that he thought that the judges were biased towards you and he thought he should have gotten the decision. How did you see the fight go?

[Laughs] Rob is a funny guy, hey? Oh, you’re serious? Hard to get a biased hometown decision when you are [a Queenslander] fighting on a Sydney-based promotion, with judges from Sydney. Rob is from Sydney, isn’t he? Nah, look, it was a tough fight and Rob is very skilled and aggressive but when you view the footage, it’s clear I won that fight. There is a lot more I would have liked to have done but I think that about all my fights. It was awesome to fight for five rounds and still have the fitness to execute my techniques.

Except for a possible rematch with Bernardo ‘Treko’ Magalhaes [from Mick Spink’s gym], do you believe there is much left for you in Australia?

I would like to rematch Treko! The first time we fought was my first fight at 70kg after a year of inactivity. He has awesome, very tight Jiu-Jitsu and a good all-round MMA game. I felt myself coming back in the end of our first encounter so I believe our next fight will be a showstopper, as he has also improved a lot.

You have been fighting for nearly a decade. You have seen sponsors come and go. You have seen international opportunities open up and just as quickly get shut down. Is the fire still 100 per cent there, and what is next for you?

Yeah, I’ve seen and heard it all. Have you guys ever noticed most Aussie MMA shows fold around the 13th, 14th show? I.e. XFC, Spartan and Warriors Realm. I still love to fight and think about it every day. I feel CFC are making the right moves in becoming Australia’s premier MMA event. They are looking after me well thus far, so hopefully it continues that way but hey, everyone loves you when you’re winning! I’m currently negotiating with a few international promotions so looks to be a good 2010 for me and Aussie MMA. It’s because of my sponsors that I am where I am — Fairtex, All Type Cabinets, ASN, Sunstand and Integrated MMA.□

Blitz Martial Arts Magazine MARCH 2010 VOL. 24 ISSUE 03