Kaitlin Young Interview

Photo Credits:
Photos 1,2 and 4: Esther Linn/ Invicta
Photo 3: All Event Photography
Pgoto 5: Dave Mandel/Sherdog


Respected among fans and fighters alike due to her always exciting fights and hard work ethic, Kaitlin Young's best attribute may be her "fight whoever is put in front of me" attitude. She steps into her Invicta fight with Lauren Taylor as the favorite, but as always, will surely not overlook her opponent. One thing about Kaitlin is that when she is on the card, you know you are going to have an exciting fight.

Q: Pretty much every female wants a shot with Invicta, what does it mean to you that they keep bringing you back?
A: It is a huge compliment. I am very flattered and excited. It has been so awesome to be so active this last year.

Q: Not that you don't always go out and try and put on a good performance, but the fact they have so much faith in you, does it make you want to do so even more?
A: Oh for sure. Like you said, it's not that you don't want to put on a good performance in every fight, from the first show and how well they treat everybody, you fight for you, but in a way it makes you feel like you want to fight for that promotion, you want to do things that will get them better ratings, not just because you want to be an exciting fighter for yourself.

Q: This is the second fight in a row where you have a late replacement, does it affect the way you train or do you just keep going with what you are doing?
A: A little bit. There are always a couple things that I see that a person does that I want to capitalize on. I am training for every scenario possible in each camp so it is not a huge shift. It is enough time to work specific drills to stuff that that person does. Three weeks I don't feel is bad.

Q: Is it harder, in this case you, or harder on the replacement?
A: I would say it would be harder on her. I think if you don't know you have a fight or have a name, that is the hardest. If I don't know who I am fighting, the motivation is a little harder. But I think she fought recently and is probably in shape, so this case it is probably neither here nor there.

Q: Have you seen much of her?
A: Yep, she has a lot on YouTube.

Q: How do you feel you match up with her?
A: I think she definitely is a gamer, it will be a good fight. I see some things I will try and take advantage of.

Q: She is undefeated but has not fought anyone of your caliber, does that somewhat make it a no-lose situation for her?
A: Yeah, absolutely! If she goes out and puts on a good show, it is a good situation for her, win or lose.

Q: Does that make her more dangerous?
A: For her, I haven't met her, but I get the sense that she is the sort of person who wouldn't fight not to lose anyway. For the type of fighter she is, it wouldn't change it a lot but with other fighters I think it would.

Q: On almost the flip side, it is the biggest stage she has fought on, can the pressure affect her?
A: It's possible. When I am in a camp I am in my little cocoon, I don't pay a ton of attention to the other stuff going on in women's MMA, but I think sometimes the additional demands for a bigger show, like stuff like this interview, you aren't always super prepared to deal with. It can be a disadvantage. It depends on how you deal with pressure, how your coaches deal with pressure, which I think is sometimes overlooked. It is the wild card, we don't know with her.

Q: The question I always have to ask, do you have a prediction?
A: Oh, you know the answer to this haha. I don't make predictions, but I will be looking for a finish.

Q: A lot of people were looking forward to you and Amanda, is that a fight you would like at some point?
A: Sure! I am not really picky about who I fight. I would fight her but I wasn't necessarily looking forward to that fight more than any other fight with someone who has a pretty established name.

Q: You recently has some problems with a sponsor and some other companies stepped up, how did that make you feel that they did that for you?
A: It was great. In this camp, Joe Taverni has been amazing and Intimidation threw me some extra cash because I had been shorted by GameBred. It is a huge help because I have started working much less during camps. I train the same, but I can rest more and it makes a huge difference. That would not be possible without going into the hole during camp unless your sponsors are helping. Those guys helping out has been tremendous and I am very thankful for that.

Q: UFC announced the format for the next Ultimate Fighter, it is guys and girls, do you like that or would you like it differently?
A: If I were Dana White and looking for viewers, it is great. Depending on who is cast, it could be good or bad. The nice thing is there is twelve of each. The interesting thing is that it is more like reality except most teams have like two women in a room full of twenty guys training. I assume they are training together so it will be interesting and show people who aren't involved in the sport that it goes on. I am sure people will be looking for love triangles and things to haha. I think it is good, it will show the hard working women and they work hard like the guys. I think it will be good honestly.

Q: Anyone you want to thank?
A: All my teammates at the Academy, Robert Brant, Greg Nelson, Ryan Murray, Tom Schmitz, Matt Miller at Horsepower Strength and Conditioning, Nutri Shop in Lakeville, Minnesota, Intimidation Clothing and Joe Taverni, Slade from Tussle, he knows why and everyone else will at the weigh-ins, you for interviewing me and all the fans.