Interview: Wes 'The Project' Sims - 1/24/2004
by Tony Caiazzo

Wes Sims is a big man who carries a pretty big burden on his shoulders. Ask any MMA fan about him, and they are going to tell you about him stomping a mud hole in the face of the fallen Frank Mir at 43: Meltdown. This immediately vilified Sims in the eyes of many fans.

But just like every coin, there are two sides. Many people have never given Wes the chance to explain why things transpired the way they did. Those of us here at InsideFighting felt that it was important to give him that opportunity. Wes took a few minutes with me to talk about how he got into the game, what he thinks about linear heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, his first fight with Frank Mir and his upcoming rematch with Mir at UFC 46: Super Natural on January 31st, live on Pay-Per-View.

One thing is certainly clear from where I stand. Wes Sims is NOT a blood thirsty, rabid dog who lashes out on a whim. So without any more prefacing from me, let's get down to business and hear what "The Project" has to say.

IF: When did you get into fighting?
Sims: It's a long story, but pretty entertaining. I played college basketball, but I always wanted to be a pro wrestler. So I came back to central Ohio, which is where I am from, and my doctor just happened to be Mark Coleman's doctor. He thought that Mark might be able to help me out, so he gave Mark a call. Mark just said, "Hey buddy, I wanna get into it to, I'm a fighter" and I just told him that I'd give that a try, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. So I just started training with Mark. He blew me off for about thirty days, and then he was fighting Ricardo Morais in Pride. Morais is 6'8, and that got me in cause Mark needed a training partner who was tall. I was there, and he beat me up for a long time. And in 2001 I had my first fight in June. I fought Dan Severn.

IF: Now what about your nickname "The Project"? Where did that come from?
Sims: Everybody had a name and I was like "maaaaan, I'm left out." (both laugh). We were up in Toronto doing Joe Gold's Full Contact Fighter, the television show. Everyone was asking Mark "Man, who is that tall guy with you?" Cause at the time I was only about 220(lbs). I was tall and lanky. They asked if he ever had to fight Kevin, and he said he was starting to feel more comfortable in his way of training people. He pointed to me and said "Like my Project over there, Wes Sims." He was talking about me and it just stuck.

IF: Cool
Sims: No, I didn't grow up on the bad side of the neighborhood or nothing like that. (laughs)

IF: Alright, now tell us a little bit about what happened in your last fight when you fought Frank Mir. Cause a lot of people just saw you go nuts, and don't understand why you did it.
Sims: Well, everybody's judged that. The hardcore fans that have seen me fight before as well as the everyday fans who just watch the UFC. I've had more people come up to me and tell me that they loved it more than people coming up and telling me that they hated it. I think more the Jiu Jitsu guys who were saying, "Hey, Sims is a cheater, and he's got no skill at all." I mean. I'm just gonna have to leave that to be questioned, and the only way I'm gonna disprove it is to do it in the ring, and without telling them. But I'm more determined, more poised and more focused on this fight and I'm ready to stomp the hell out of Frank, and literally with my fists, not my feet. (laughs)

IF: Right.
Sims: Last time, I mean, it was the big show, I had my father there, I had big things on my mind like "I made it to the UFC, I did it." Man, I was just - I was in there and things just kinda I went off my game plan and went crazy right from the beginning. I mean, when you got Kevin Randleman in your ear, you quit thinking and just want to entertain. I wanted to impress the guys. So I pushed it real fast, I got myself in a bad position, BUT Frank, he gouged me in the eye more than once. One time? I could understand that happening. It could have been an accident, things happen in there that are out of our hands, but it happened more than once. And it got to the point where I couldn't see. When I was on my belly and he was going for the rear naked, he gouged me a couple times. He did it when I was on my back once, but when I was on my stomach he got me a couple of times. I thought, "One time could have been an accident because I was trying to put my head up, but he keeps doin this." And so I tried to start yelling at the Ref, but he didn't do anything. I was trying to get my mouthpiece out, and you can see me yelling. I was trying to get my mouthpiece out, but the choke was in so tight that I couldn't open my mouth. (laughs)

IF: (laughs) Opening your mouth when you are getting choked from behind is tough!
Sims: I mean, my eyes were bleeding. I had blood on both sides. I had to go back and have surgery on both of them. I had to have on one, a piece of skin taken out on the inside, and the other had to be drained cause it had a bacterial infection in there. But I just slipped out once he did that and I didn't get any support from the ref, I felt wronged, and I should have just started punching him. I could have ended this chapter of the book on that night. But I get a rematch now, so this time I'm gonna make things right.

IF: Now I have actually heard that Mir has gained about 20 pounds of muscle to try to deal with you. How do you respond to that?
Sims: I heard that, but I guess he was on MMAWeekly (radio show) this morning too, and he said he's cut down to about 255. So I think he cut it off. We were supposed to fight back in November, but I broke my arm and I heard he did a grappling match and I heard he got beat cause he ran out of gas. And that's a grappling match. I know he doesn't want to run out of gas when he's in there with me, cause he'll get pounded. I'm sure he's cut the weight and worked his cardio. I'm sure he's gonna come in focused and ready, but I know he's gonna remember last time he was in there. The last memory he has is looking up at my size-16 foot. (laughs)

IF: You are training with Ricco Rodriguez right now. How's that going?
Sims: Very good. Ricco's a very dedicated trainer. He's pushing me. He told me one thing and that was "You can never question Ricco Rodriguez's cardio" and I'll tell you, I can see why that guy's been running me. I can't gain weight out here! I'm lower than what I wanted to be going into. He's got me running like a racehorse. He's training me. It's gonna be a very, very exciting fight.

IF: Do you have a specific message that you want Frank Mir to hear?
Sims: (Laughs) He should have never come back. Cause he doesn't understand. This is more than just a fight for me. This is my chance to redeem myself; this is my chance for revenge or whatever you want to call it. I'm not going in there with a hatred towards him, I'm going in there focused. I'm going to PUNISH Frank Mir. I mean, he's gonna pay. He's gonna hurt real bad.

IF: Alright Wes, time for some quick name association. I'm just gonna say a few names of fighters and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to mind.

IF: Vlady Matyushenko
Sims: Tough wrestler

IF: Andrei Arlovski
Sims: Under-rated. He's a bad ass. Arlovski is a bad ass.

IF: Tim Sylvia
Sims: (laughs) Oh man! A joke!

IF: Antonio Nogueira.
Sims: Champion.

IF: Any messages for your fans?
Sims- Oh! I love the fans! Tony, I love the fans. I believe that when they spend that $29.95 to buy the UFC and watch it on television or if they are dedicated enough to come up to the event and watch it live? My goal and my job is to entertain them. I will go in there and I will win in the most impressive fashion. Or I will lose in a devastating fashion.

IF: Well I wish you the best of luck Wes, and on behalf of InsideFighting I would like to thank you alot for some of your time, and I'll let you get back to training.
Sims: Thanks Tony, God bless you.

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