Castellammarese: E-MMA's Renaissance man
Sorry for using this pic diablo, but it was the easiest one of cast to find...also it's hilarious
Castellammarese is one of the biggest figures on the landscape of fantasy fighting today. He has clinched the JFF's FighterOTY award, he has won big fights and title belts at nearly every level of competition, whether on junkie or other sites. In addition to this, he's as ruthlessly effective as a league executive as he is in the cage itself. Not too mention that he's a 7'4", 350 lb ginger from f---ing England (source: showdownmakesupfacts.com). I sat down with this fantasy fighting giant to discuss the year that was 2009, and the year that will be 2010.
JFF NEWS: Thanks for taking time out of "family drinking games" to sit down with me stella.
Castellammarese: No problem man, thanks for having me, and thanks for running the JFF news. I think I can speak for the rest of the JFF staff, and everyone in the JFF, when I say that the JFF News has become one of the most important parts of the JFF. I feel that it has helped set us apart from other fantasy fighting sites, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who looks forward to reading your JFF News posts every time they are posted. So thank you, Grapple, for all the hard work you have put in to the JFF News this year
JFF NEWS: I can't take all the credit. Taimaishu, nebraskanassassin and arcarsenal all have filled this roll during 2009. Also props to Metalmike00 and tai who have help me personally with the news. Now, in my opinion, this has been a banner year both for you and the JFF as a whole. We've seen two historical title runs from you and goodcat, a nearly historical JEC run from metalmike, and the formation of the UJC. Talk a little bit about the UJC and the rollicking success it has had in its first half year..
Castellammarese: This year has been pretty amazing. And let me just say, Goodcat has demolished my title run. He has been absolutely incredible this year and I am certain he will be equally as incredible next year. Metalmike has been awesome too. I'm sure he will transfer his skill in the JEC over to the JFC/UJC. Regarding the UJC. I honestly thought it was going to fail at first. We actually struggled for a while to get the 32 men needed for the initial GP. When the seperation of the league was first announced, I was away, camping in Wales for the weekend. Thats why I wasn't revealed as the president of the league right away. When I came back, all of the controversy over how it started, what with Buffaloblue starting the league as a result of a bet where Junkie lost to Weekly. That was just a story that BB thought would give it more of an impact, and as I was going out for the Weekend I didn't object to the way it happened. And when I got back from camping, I saw that not a lot of people where signing up for the UJC as I am sure they felt it would look like they where betraying Junkie since it seemed this league was the biproduct of Weekly beating us. Then, when I was revealed as the mystery president, there was quite a lot of hostility and confusion about it all. So I posted an interview that a former JFF News anchor (Arcarsenal) did with me, and it seemed to clear a lot of things up and people started to understand the reasons for the UJC and me becoming the league president, and they started to sign up for the UJC. In hindsight, I think it could have been handled a lot better, but in the end, it worked out well and the UJC has been thriving ever since.
JFF NEWS: When you were asked to lead the UJC, you were the 4-time defending champ of the JFC. Did you ever have any qualms taking the job because of this?.
Castellammarese: Like I said, I did an interview with the JFF News around the time (IMO, it is definitely worth a read to get an understanding of how the UJC came about, and my reasons for moving over - [admin]http://forums.mmajunkie.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14051[/admin]). If you read that, you will understand that I wasn't really asked to be the UJC president. Myself, BB and Show felt the league was getting too big, and that it had to be split. I was champion at the time, but I was also Team Captain of AoW, and we where on a roll at the time. I had defended my title against a team mate, and joint captain, Phenom. And it sucked. I hated fighting him. So I decided right then that I never wanted to fight another team mate. And it just so happened that when the league was to be split, I was scheduled to fight another team mate, Celticwarrior. I felt it was for the best and decided to become the UJC president. It was either myself or Showdown, so I figured I would do it. Since then, I have left AoW and joined TXS, where I have fought my new team mate, and captain, DanielsanFTW for the UJC title. :lol: . Now your probably thinking, what makes it so different this time. Well, I am not the captain of TXS. When I was at AoW, we did our training via PM. And I was almost always the one to initiate the training. So fighting someone who I am supposed to lead, was just not worth it for me, and it took away a lot of the fun. So the decision to jump over as champion was actually a pretty easy one
JFF NEWS: You have clinched UJC/JFC Fighter of the Year already. What does this mean to you?.
Castellammarese: This measn everything to me. I have worked my *** of this year to win that award. I have lost only 4 times this year. Once to Enderwiggin who at the time was one of the top contenders, Srdafish in the UJC GP Final, Andrewrees who is an absolute beast, and DanielsanFTW in a UJC title fight. Not a bad list of people to lose to. I honestly would have prefered to have shared this title with my team mate, Goodcat, but because BJ didnt finish Diego until the 5th round, he drew his last fight and I took the title on my own. Winning this award is the absolute pinnicle of my fantasy fighting career, and I am hoping to emulate it again this year
JFF NEWS: Last years FOTY is now in self imposed exile. Can we expext you to be gone from Junkie by the end of 2010?.
Castellammarese: I won't lie, there have been times when I have contemplated retiring from the JFF completely. Back before the Team GP earlier this year, when I was champion and fighting team mates, and some more recently. Infact, I have been seriously considering it for the last few months now. I have been thinking about doing it after the 2010 Team GP. Mainly because my real life has been getting busier, and I have decided to give my University course a real go this year. But at the end of the day, I am adicted to MMA and fantasy fighting, and I'm not sure if I would ever be able to retire from it. So it is unlikely that I will be gone from Junkie next year. However, I may decide to step aside as the UJC president at some point and give someone else a go at running a league. People don't know how much time it actually takes to run a league, especially for me with the time difference. I am up from 3am to 6am the day before events to log the picks and post the H2H. Then again, who am I kidding. I love this s**t
JFF NEWS: If you can look at it objectively, who would you vote for for Fighter's Fighter of the Year? My leading three candidates are you, goodcat and srdafish, but you can pick someone else of course..
Castellammarese: As good as Fish has been, and he has been good, DanielsanFTW has out done him in the UJC. So my top 3 would be myself, Goodcat and DanielsanFTW. I have already mentioned to a few people who I will vote for, and this is because on the whole, I think he has been the best fighter this year. And that fighter is me :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: . J/K. No seriously though, being objective I would 100% vote for Goodcat. He has been an absolute stud this year, and really, IMO, deserves the Fighter if the Year award as well. His title run has blown mine out of the water, and I am pretty confident he will get the nod for the Fighters Fighter of the Year.
JFF NEWS: The Team GP is coming up quick (only one UFC between now and the start). Last year you and the now defunct AoW took the whole thing, and this year you're on everyone's favourite to win the tourney, TXS. Do you think your experience going deep into the GP last year will help your team and you live up to the expectations?.
Castellammarese: There is always going to be expectations on a team like TXS. They where the first team in the JFF, and I am proud to be a part of the team. I think my experience will serve the team well. I have been here and won it before. So I know what it takes to be a Team GP champion. I think the major factor for TXS this year is our roster. It is stacked from top to bottom. We've got the 2 current champions in Goodcat (JFC) and DanielsanFTW (UJC). We've got smarty and mmaisgreaterthanyou who are perenial contenders and are always there or there abouts and who have been around for a very long time. And we also have 7time, who is one of the top prospects in the JFC. I really think with our roster, and the experience each member brings to the team, we will be a force to reckon with, and it is going to take an unbelievable performance from someone to stop. I honestly think we will take the title fairly comfortably
JFF NEWS: The EPK Invitational begins in just a few days time. What can we expect from Team Junkie? There is buzz that last years finalists, Tagg and Junkie, shoudl have no trouble reaching the finals again. Can we expect a different outcome of that match?.
Castellammarese: Junk
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