Q&A with Team Quests Heavyweight “The Mountain” Jared Vanderaa.
By: Justin Sansonetti
I recently got to sit and chat with one of Team Quests' Heavyweight prospects Jared Vanderaa. We talk about his fight career and his way of hopefully fighting in the UFC and more.
Q: When did you find MMA? And want to become a professional fighter?
A: I started training MMA in February of 2010, right after wrestling season, and had my first fight in October of 2010 and was like I'm going to try and go for it. I started wrestling at 15, a sophomore in high school and then I dislocated my shoulder right at the end of the season. I got it fixed and joined an MMA gym immediately after and that's how I jumped onto that.
Q: What's it means to be a fighter for you?
A: Just something I enjoy, I put all my time and effort into it this because I enjoy it. I don't make money doing yet so for me it's all pure enjoyment and driven off of that.
Q: What's it like training at Team Quest? And how do they help you evolve as a fighter?
A: Yes so I train at Dan Henderson's athletic center which is basically for Team Quest and now I currently own Team Quest Athletics Center in Hemet, California.
A: It helped in a lot of ways because I started in their lower program not to discredit any of them, but their lower end fighters and it gave me a good foundation, and then I went and trained with the other pro's that we have. That has bigger people, and I predominantly became Sam Alvey training partner and that's who I predominantly train with now. We picked up another guy named Diego whos likes ranked stupidly high in the world of jiu-jitsu, he was an ADCC alternate this last event so I've picked up a few good guys and I think my grappling and stand up as come along way with them from where I became.
Q: As your fighting career picks up a little bit of steam how was it fighting an MMA vet like Tony Lopez?
A: It was one of those things where I knew I was going to win, we've sparred like a year ago and like we weren't going hard but there's this feeling to someone and I know that feeling Id get in a fight, and I just felt comfortable in it. I mean no disrespect to Tony but I did not properly train for that fight the way I should have, I trained hard but I could've done so much better. I was kinda being a prissy little bitch cause I was having some issue's with my manager and sadly I basically sabotage myself by not trying to push myself even harder because I was a little annoyed with my older manager at the time. It didn't affect my manager at all, it only affected me in the outcome of that fight. I still won but I should've finished that fight.
Q: With that said, dealing with different emotions outside the cage how would u say that effects you preparing for a fight going in?
A: Weirdly enough I do better when I'm stupidly busy when I take time off to focus on a fight I find it where I lose basically all of my losses fall in a timeline of when I wasn't working so many hours. I think I focus so much on the fight I never really relax, even knowing my technique was good I look good I just didn't mentally relax and I'd put myself in a position. A position like when I fought Andrew Van Zyl and Vernon Lewis, I felt like technically I was the better fighter but maybe if I wasn't so focused making sure technique and stuff were fine during the fight that maybe I could've pulled the trigger to get that finish versus letting it go to judge's where I lost in their eye's twice.
Q: Following that up, would you say in those fights did you over train maybe overthink?
A: I think it was more over thought, me focusing on the smaller things versus me pulling the trigger and going harder. And I felt like there was this weird pressure, I kinda had to be like this certain persona and I was finding myself where I didn't want to be mentally outside of the gym.
Q: What's next for you? Do you have any fight on the horizon?
A: Nothing set in stone yet, I know my manager is trying to push the UFC or LFA whatever we can get right now. I'm fine with whatever thrown my way, I'll take a fight for the UFC or take on for LFA but with this whole pandemic happening its kinda hard to get fights but I know by the end of the year it should open up.
Q: My question was that, how close do you feel you are away from the UFC or Bellator?
A: Honestly I think I'm there and I kinda have this weird thing where I can always elevate my skill level to the person I'm training with. So if I have a higher level skilled guy, I will match them and I think to go into the UFC I'll have that mindset like okay this is the big league's. I feel I'd be able to perform at my best like psychologically yes this is the big league's and I belong here so my performances will actually get better once I get into the UFC.
Q: Would you like maybe to get an opportunity on the Dana White Contender Series to get that foot in the UFC?
A: Yeah actually I would like that, one of my friends Dan Kennedy he's a big MMA person, but he's the bass guitarist for the band 'Suicide Silence' wants me to fight Brett Martin out of Michigan he's like 9-1. Id fights anyone, I'd throw my daughter in there if it means me getting a chance... She understands.
Q: What do you think you could bring to the UFC HW division?
A: Probably even more versatility, because like most of the fighters there are somewhat still kinda one dimensional. You look at half the fighters, they’re either really good at grappling or really good at stand up, there’s no real heavyweight that’s in between. Like Stipe, his boxing is good but it’s not great and his wrestling is good but not great he’s maybe the closest to some diverse style, he’s got no jiu-jitsu whatsoever. I mean that was shown when he fought Francis Ngannou where his neck was out and had many times where he could’ve swooped up a guillotine or rear-naked choke and I think he could’ve got it because Francis was dead in the waters exhausted. DC probably one of the best grapplers in the division, Francis just knocks out people by looking at them so I mean you see that with a lot of guys it’s either one or the other. There’s no one that’s going in there and just grappling and doing phenomenal, Curtis Blaydes is probably the closest his stand up is definitely improving but he is at the end of the day the best wrestler in the heavyweight division. I think I would be one of the few guys that could hang with the stand-up and the grappling.
Q: What's the ultimate goal you hope to achieve out of fighting?
A: I think my goals will change once I get into the UFC, I mean first and foremost goal for me that hasn't changed his going for UFC belt. My newest goal that I think will be the goal I really want to focus on because I got a couple of years before I even fight for a UFC belt even if I go onto a 3-5 fight win streak, is to beat Justin Gaethje leg kicks ratio he has 3.2 for one minute and my goal is to either match that or beat that.
Q: When all done how do you want to be remembered?
A: I want them to realize when I come and leave I left most of their jaws dropping, them saying this is one bad motherf***er but he's weird as shit too. I feel ill be one of the weirdest people that you're going to see in this sport, I feel like I'm going to be the Dennis Rodman of the MMA world.
Q: Lastly, with Fight Island this week what are your picks in the title fight?
A: Unpopular opinion, I think even Masvidal said this is I think it's going to be a boring wrestling match and I think Usman will try to takedown Masvidal but I think Masvidal is a lot better in the grappling then a lot of people give him. I would like to see Masvidal win I just like him better, I kinda get bored with Usman and I don't care for his personality as much but the dude is a monster and the champ for a reason.
I like Volkanovski just because his name and I think this coronavirus will actually hinder Max because I guess he never saw his coaches in person and did a lot of Zoom and I don't think that has good has been present so I think that will play a factor into this fight so I'm going to go with Volkanovski.
For the first title fight, I'm going to go Petr Yan by knockout and I'm not saying that proudly because I would like to see Jose Aldo win. I want Aldo but I feel Yan will win.
