The legendary Don Frye spoke to Submission Radio this week in a wide-ranging interview that included turning his life around after a near fatal hospitalization, taking pain pills before fights to get through his back pain, and Ronda Rousey. Frye won his first three fights in PRIDE, and then lost the next four, something he attributed to a lack of motivation and the abuse of pain pills.
Everybody that knows anything about fighting saw that one coming,” said Frye. “She never recovered from the Holly ass-whooping, and she’s got a bunch of idiots in her corner. She needs to step back and hire somebody new. Gene LeBell is great, I love Gene and he’s the only decent one she’s got in the food chain there, but poor Gene doesn’t know where he’s at sometimes. And them other monkeys, god dang man, they shouldn’t even tell a kid in a schoolyard fight how to throw a punch.
Frye has a simple plan for how Rousey can find success again.
Hatred and hard work,” he said. “It’s the simplest way to put it. Hatred and hard work. … It strokes the fire, buddy. You gotta have fire in your belly to get after it. S***, she had life by the balls, had a nice house up in Hollywood Hills. You know, she’s not suffering. I mean, most people get into fighting because you want to better your life, you’re not happy with your life. It’s not about the title or the belt or the money, it’s just better – oh yeah, it’s about the money to pull yourself out of the gutter, out of the projects, ghetto, barrio or what have you. You want to make a better life for yourself and for your family. And if you’re living in a six-million-dollar mansion, it’s hard to get up in the morning and run, it’s hard to do the work you’re supposed to do, and you’ve got to have people in your corner that will call you out when you miss a practice.
On the rematch and that hatred, you gotta be the one that calls your people out and say, ‘Hey, you’re missing the practice. I’m here ten minutes early, where the hell are you?’”
Frye was asked if it was easy to maintain motivation in his career.
“No, I lost it and that’s when I started getting my ass kicked there in PRIDE,” he said. “You know, that and the drugs. I mean, I hurt my back and I started taking pills so I could get to the next fight, and I got to the next fight stoned. And s***, when you’re stoned, you don’t have much hatred. You just have nothing. You’re just numb from the neck up and it’s no good for anybody.
I remember I took a pill before the Shamrock fight doing my back. I hurt my back somewhere before Shamrock. And then I took a pill before the Takayama fight. And then I took a couple pills before the Le Banner fight. And you could tell I was walking around there like I was blind. Geez, I did’t know what the hell I was doing.
It was pain killers – Vicodin or Percocet, you know, one of those. That was the beginning stages of my back injury.
The Predator was asked if he regrets not taking time off to let the back heal.
Absolutely,” he said. “That would have been the only intelligent thing to do. But I wasn’t intelligent, and hell, I’m Don f***ing Frye (laughs). I’m not going to let an injury hold me back.
Frye also offered his thoughts on Mark Hunt and his lawsuit against the UFC.
I love Mark Hunt, I really do and that disappoints me, man,” said Hunt. “It’s just kind of chicken s***, you know what I mean. It’s pro sports. He knew what he was getting into when he signed the deal, when he answered the phone, come on. Come on, Mark. Man up, buddy. Come on, you’re better than that. You’re just lowering yourself by doing that s***. I mean, everybody knows. You can just take a look at what’s his name, Brock Lesnar, and tell, even if you don’t know anything about pro sports or steroids. Like I said, Mark knew the score going into it. Come on, man. And it wasn’t Lesnar’s fault Mark couldn’t throw a kick and didn’t throw a punch. He just stood there like a freaking punching bag the whole five (sic) rounds.
Frye also had firm words for past champions Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum, and current UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. The Croatian American was strongly critical of the UFC when he learned that he made $600,000 in his last, successful title defense vs. Alistair Overeem, and the loser made $800,000.
You know what the champ, what’s his name? Yeah, Stipe Miocic,” began Hunt. “S***, that’s your fault for not having a better agent. You’re worth what you settle for. Fire your agent and get a better agent, get a better attorney. That’s your fault. Can’t blame anyone but yourself. I did the same mistakes in my life. As far as Cain Velasquez, come on man, the guy hasn’t fought in three years, can’t even make yourself fight, can’t even fight once a year. Geez Louise. Werdum, I like Werdum, but I don’t know what he’s bitching about. Geez, he’s made a good living.
You make more money boxing than you do in MMA – and my god, boxing’s dead. Like I said, you need a better agent. The UFC’s got a stranglehold on it, but now that they sold it it’s gonna be interesting and I think Bellator, you’re gonna see Bellator take over now. Everybody’s gonna shift to Bellator since you can have your own sponsors on your gear. That’s where they make all the money. God bless Conor McGregor for what he’s done for the sport. Everybody should be happy and they should all kneel down and kiss his ring.
