Young Talks Knockouts, Cars, and Next Fight

reprint from IFL.tv, with permission:
By Evan Lisabeth

Savant Young is one of the true nice guys in mixed martial arts, but don’t let his jubilant personality deceive you. In the ring this 5’6” dynamo from South Central, L.A. is all business. I recently got the chance to sit down and talk with him about his upcoming fight with the Pitbulls’ Erik Owings, his rough past, and his bright future.

How has training been going, any injuries?

I’m feeling 100%. I didn’t feel 100% last time I came out against Ryan Schultz. I was down with the flu, and it was a real test for me to get through that fight. Right now everything is great. I have no injuries, training with all the guys down at the Body Shop, and we definitely have a real good buzz going on at the gym now.

How do you feel going into this fight with Erik Owings?

I feel just the same as I feel about fighting anybody. It’s a match, and I’m looking to go in there and win. It’s the semi-finals, so everyone’s hyped up to see what we’re going to do. I’m looking to put on a good show no matter who my opponent is.

If you had to choose, what is your preferred way to win this fight?

My preferred way to win this fight, to be honest with you, is submission. That’s what the Pitbulls pride themselves on. I know he’s looking to go out there and submit me, and it would be a real gift for me to tap someone who is so high up in his submission game, supposedly.

How do you think your jiu-jitsu matches up with his?

I don’t have any belt ranking in jiu-jitsu, but I have beaten real good jiu-jitsu guys before. I’ve beaten black belts. It’s like any other fight, they’re all human. The belt doesn’t make the fight, it’s the person wearing it.

He is a black belt, so I figure he’s going to try and display those skills. I want to show him I can play in his territory. I want to show him that I am a more well-rounded fighter than he is. He’s going to expect me to come out and just strike, but I’m willing to trade on the ground as well.

How do you feel fighting in the Pitbulls’ hometown? Do the potential jeers of the crowd play in your mind?

I’ve been counted out as far as me making it to where I am in life, period. People cheering for my fight is the last thing I’m worried about. They’re not in the ring with me. I’m going to be in there on my own, displaying what I love to do. I’m going to go out there and do what I do, and by the end of that fight they’ll be cheering for me.

You have a win over Ultimate Fighter season 3 winner Kendall Grove. Not only did you fight two weight classes up, you also gave up a foot in height. What do you think that fight says about you?

I put him to sleep with a guillotine choke. It shows that I’m not afraid of anybody. I was counted out, I was the 6 to 1 underdog. I came in at 170 lbs., and he was 192. I won, dominated the fight, and after the fight he told me I was probably one of the toughest guys he’s ever faced. Me being so small, he thought he was going to run through me, so it felt good to get the win. To actually put him to sleep was a gift, it sends out a message to anyone else who fights me that they can’t take me lightly.

If you look at my past fights, I don’t have one of those built up, 30-0 padded records. I take quality fights and it shows. I have a real record, and I’m proud of what I’ve done because I only fight credible opponents.

What does it feel like to knock someone out?

To land any good shot, it’s a rush. You never know what’s going to happen when you hit somebody. The feeling of knocking somebody out, it’s like a hole-in-one at golf, it’s like that one shot from half court. You know that you were the superior fighter that night.

When you get the KO it’s like all the training, all the hard work you’ve been going through leading up to the fight, you made someone else pay for it. When you connect you just know the fight is over, even if they still want to fight, their body just won’t let them. You turned that light switch off.

Outside of mixed martial arts, you’re an avid gamer and car enthusiast, what is your favorite car?

My favorite car is actually the car I’m driving now. I have a BMW 745 and I love it. But my heart is this little old race car I have. My 1973 Mazda RX-3. It’s a joy to drive it because it’s just a little monster when I bring it out, it’s kind of like a little car version of me.

What would be your finishing move in a video game?

The superman punch KO is my finishing move. I’m one of only a few people in MMA right now that has a documented KO from that punch alone.

Have you always had KO power?

I’ve knocked plenty of kids out on the corner. Where I grew up, if you couldn’t knock anybody out it was a problem. I’ve always had it in me, I’ve always been a strong kid, I don’t even lift weights. I just naturally have that power.

In South Central, Los Angeles you grew up fighting on the streets from an early age. What was that experience like for you?

To be honest with you, I’ve never lost a street fight. It’s a whole different game when you’re fighting on the street. All the stuff you can’t do in the ring you can do out there. We used to have a lot of backyard fights. My buddies would bring their boxing gloves, and if anybody had a problem in the neighborhood we used to just settle it in the backyard.

When the person didn’t want to fight anymore, we would shake hands and we were cool. Whenever problems came around, we dealt with it the best way we knew how, and the best man won. Afterwards we really had to agree not to mess with each other anymore, because the whole neighborhood knew what happened, they knew you settled it, and that was the end of it.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Savant.

No problem, man. Thank you.

See Savant Young and the Sabres in action on August 2 as they take on the N.Y. Pitbulls in New Jersey in the IFL semi-finals.