Return of a former champion
I caught up with JFC's 2008 Fighter of the Year and former champion Andre3000. In this following interview we discussed how much the JFF has changed, what his opinions are on several issues, and how he feels about certain e-fighters. Andre doesn't hold any opinions back and here is what he had to share with the e-fans.
Reporter: First off, we are glad to have you back. You have been here from day one, let me ask you, is the JFF is as much fun today as it was back in the days?
Andre3000
: The JFF is still as much fun as it ever was, but it's definitely different because there are so many more fighters now. I understand why there had to be a be a JFC/UJC split, but I miss being in the same league as some of my old rivals. I definitely enjoy my fights a lot more when I have a pre-existing e-relationship with my opponent. But with the volume of people we have in the league now, it was pretty obvious that we needed a second major league.
Reporter: We know you have spout with troll master Meatmallet, DublinDevil83, Brad aka Jumper, so is Anarchyelbows a friendly rival or is he an enemy?
Andre3000
: Meat is my main e-nemesis, and I enjoy tangling with DD83 and BRAD as well. That's because they are all worthy adversaries. AnarchyElbows is too irrelevant to even register as a rival or an enemy. He wouldn't even be on my radar except for the asinine comments he makes about things that have nothing to do with fantasy fighting. He should actually thank me for the publicity I'm giving him by even talking about him for this long. He's like a speck of dust in the JFF universe.
Reporter: You were JFF fighter of the year in 08, is safe to say that this year the award will be giving to Stella? Is he only awesome because you took him under your wings in JUF 1?
Andre3000
: I really enjoyed having Stella as part of my team when I was a coach in JUF 1. If I remember correctly, he was the first person I drafted after taking my JKA teammates. But I can't take any credit for him being awesome. He has put together an amazing streak, and I would be shocked if he didn't win Fighter of the Year for '09. He definitely gets my vote.
Reporter: Have you been in the dark place yet? When can we expect another youtube video of Andre3G?
Andre3000
: Ummm, I think only BB really knows what the dark place even is. I've definitely struggled a lot more in '09 than I did in '08, but I'm still really happy with my overall JFC record (19-10). I just need to start stringing wins together with no slips, because that's the only way I'll ever get to reclaim the title. As for YouTube videos, I don't have anything planned at the moment, but if I get inspired you never know... I'd like to see some videos from people who have never made them before.
Reporter: What your opinions on team GP, exhibition fights, International GP?
Andre3000
: I love the team GP, mostly because I love my team. We just got edged out in the finals in the last one, and as I said at the time, I wanted to win that more than I wanted to win the JFC belt. I think winning as a team is way better than winning as an individual. I also think an International GP would be great, because the International JUF was awesome. As for exhibition fights, I'm not really sure if I see the point. Team feuds get hashed out in the GP.
Reporter: You missed UFC 100 (you didn’t miss much), when will you cross the border for an event here in the U S and A? UFC 107?
Andre3000
: Man, it sucked that I had to bail on UFC 100. The next time there is a major Junkie gathering, I will DEFINITELY be there. I love traveling to the US and A.
Reporter: Who is the most underrated JFF fighter? Anybody that you believe is overrated?
Andre3000
: I think my teammate, Goodcat, is probably the most underrated. That is about to change when he wins the JFC belt, though. As for overrated - every member of JNMMA.
Reporter: Which movie did you enjoy more, Never Back Down or Never Surrender?
Andre3000
: I haven't seen Never Surrender, but I have seen the trailers. Never Back Down pretty much sucked, so I'm going to with Never Surrender even though I haven't seen it. It wins just because it has GSP, Anderson, and Rampage in it (f*ck BJ).
Reporter: If you Gordon, Stella, and Blue were in the Coney Island hot dog contest, who finishes first, second, third, and last?
Andre3000
: Man, that's a tough one. We're all big boys. But that Japanese kid who always wins the contest is pretty skinny, so I'm not sure how much of a factor our sizes would actually play. I'm going to say Stella would win, because he's the youngest and therefore should have the biggest appetite. I'll give BB second, myself third, and of course Gordon would finish dead last as per usual.
Reporter: Anybody you like to thank or give a shout out to?
Andre3000
: Well, I'd like to thank you for interviewing me. And I'd like to give huge shout outs to the rest of JKA! EnderWiggin, Goodcat and I have been training together forever, and Pillman4, phoenix-mma and OSU have all been amazing pickups. Goodcat will be bringing us the belt back at the next JFC, and OSU will be earning himself a #1 contender fight. We're ranked #1 overall as we speak. Things are looking rosy for JKA.