Chicks Heart Fights

Gerald Harris - member of Team Rampage on the Ultimate Fighter, comedian, history teacher - answered a few questions for Chicks Heart Fights. Find out what it was like to live in a house with 15 guys, what Harris did to hecklers, and what he thinks of the nickname “the Hotness,” after the jump.

Chicks Heart Fights: What was it like living with 16 fighters?
Gerald Harris: It was crazy as hell. I didn’t mind it at first, because I lived in a Frat house in college. This was a little different, because we had no freedom or contact with the outside world. No radio, TV, internet, magazines, telephone, or conversations with anyone other than cast members! No one wants to watch TUF and hear us talking about the Super Bowl - They want drama!

CHF: What was the best part of being on the show? the worst part?
GH: The best part of being on the show is gaining national attention. TUF puts you in the position to be a future UFC champion, you can also build a huge fan base. The worst part about being on the show is fact you can’t talk to anyone outside of the show and you miss the real world, but it’s worth the sacrifice. Oh yeah, no sex – that really sucked! Some people probably chose to take care of themselves when they were alone (you know what I mean), but I didn’t feel comfortable with all the cameras so I held out!

CHF: What fighters do you look up to?
GH: No to kiss a$$, but I look up to Rampage Jackson, because of his struggles in life. Also, I look up to B.J. Penn for his confidence and skills in the cage. I also look up to the Gracie family for changing the sport and building the respect for ground game. Back in the day people said that once it hit the ground it was over, but they made ground fighting an offense and excellent defense.

CHF: What would you say are your strengths in training and fighting?
GH: I’m a very mentally tough person, so I don’t have a problem training – I don’t like it, but I do it to out work and out smart my opponent. I was blessed with physical strength at birth, but that only lasts a minute or two – I have to condition my body to fight 3-5 rounds. In a fight, I am very focused and active – I have the ability to control the pace and action in the fight – I also slam the $hit out of people.

CHF: What is your training schedule like?
GH: Hard – I don’t wanna list what I do – just different things involving cardio, stand-up and ground work.

CHF: How did wrestling prepare you for a life of teaching, joking and fighting?
GH: Wrestling made me a responsible person – I was so busy that I didn’t have time to be in the streets. Wrestling kept me from being lazy, procrastinating, and also kept me focused on my academics. It did nothing for comedy except for when I slammed people and thought it was funny. The obvious advantages in MMA are good scrambling and takedowns, it can be your worst enemy too if you rely on it too much – the game is too well rounded to be one dimensional.

CHF: Since you were a history teacher, I have to ask. What was your favorite part of history?
GH: I’m all about the past – you gotta know where you come from. Some people walking around know nothing about their ancestors and family tree. When I taught history, we focused on all religions, races, and continents, so that people understood where they came from and about others.

CHF: What did your students think of your fighting?
GH: They use to come to the fights and cheer me on, I’m sure that a few of them that I got in trouble came to see me get my ass whooped – but it didn’t happen.

CHF: Do you ever have plans to go back into comedy?
GH: Yeah, but I want to be an actor – I look up to people like Will Smith and Jamie Foxx – I’ve followed their careers for years and I would love to do what they do. When I’m done fighting, I plan on going into acting.

CHF: What did you do if you had a heckler?
GH: I murdered hecklers – everyday at lunch in high school. I sat at a big table and people were brought in to try and heckle me (we called it ragging on each other) I never lost a battle to this day. So when hecklers tried me – I drowned them out with jokes and shut them up quickly. Oh yeah, I did get booed off the stage at Ohio State (Spring 2002, I’ll never forget it) by thousands of people! That one hurt!

CHF: Finally, I’m trying to make the nickname “the Hotness” happen for you. Gerald “the Hotness” Harris. What do you think?

GH: Sounds good to me, but I can’t be walking in the ring with that nickname. I would have to come out to some sexy slow music and I don’t think that will go well with the mostly male audience! I’ll keep the name with out the “the” part. Let’s roll with Gerald Hotness Harris. Thanks for the compliment!