Fighter of the Month  - April 2009  Josh LaBerge

By: David Pasquarelli

When Rick asked me to write another Fighter of the Month interview for April I immediately agreed but I wondered how I could make it any more interesting than the March interview. Luckily for me the April fighter of the Month is Josh LaBerge who is a truly interesting cat, a true mixed martial artist and a sincere fan of the game, as his interview responses show.  Josh is a tall Featherweight at 5’10” and is only 24 years old with a long ride ahead. While Josh currently holds a 4-4 professional record, I believe that he is on an upswing with unlimited potential due mainly to his heart and gameness in any fight thus far. Josh has been on a bit of a tear lately with two wins in the month of April within days by beating Frank Latina on the U.S.F.L. Springfield Massacre card and then besting Chris Simmons at the Bellator event less than a week later and taking the fight on short notice. 

So, without further ado I give you Josh LaBerge your NortheastMMA fighter of the Month for April 2009:

NEMMA: What team do you train with?

Josh LaBerge:

I train out of Gillett’s MMA in Fall River and Mark Wishers Kickboxing Academy where there are some serious beasts that, if made the transition to MMA, watch out!

NEMMA: What was your first martial art? Do you have one primary art that you rely on?

Josh LaBerge:

My first Martial Art would have to be Mixed Martial Arts, I never trained Jiu Jitsu or wrestling or boxing. I started at Gillett’s where we train everything. I don’t know, is street-fighting an art?

NEMMA: How long have you been training? How did you get into MMA?

Josh LaBerge:

I’ve been training for about 3 years. Funny you ask, because out of all places, I got into MMA in jail (lol). I got into some trouble and did like 3 months in jail. There was nothing to do but eat, sleep, play cards, workout and grapple. I suck at cards so I just worked out and used to grapple for soup (lol).  I was pretty good in there going undefeated, tapping out guys ten times my size and weight, while my only experience in ju-jitsu was watching a few UFC’s (lol). Everybody thought I was friggin Royce Gracie or something, and word spread I was this Jiu-Jitsu phenom (lol). All I did was put a few guys in goofy arm bars and rear naked chokes (lol). I really didn’t know what I was doing at all. When I got out, not even a month later I got into the same shit that put me in there (fighting) and ended up get stabbed twice by this local gang. For a week in the hospital I had plenty of time to think and realized I need to smarten up with my life and go get a hobbie (lol).  I love the UFC so I went down to Gillett’s MMA on South Main and fell in love with MMA. I owe a lot to Tim Gillett. Six months later I e-mailed Mike Littlefield, (who’s address I got off a website) to get me a fight. When my hand got raised that night I got hooked and have been addicted ever since.

NEMMA:  Who is the toughest person you fought, win or lose?

Josh LaBerge:

I like to fight top-ten guys, so if you look at the guys I fought there all tough dudes, I don’t fight cream puffs like Frank Fritzledick and Joe Sixpack. So it’s hard to say but if I would have to pick 1, I would have to go with Andrew Caron.

NEMMA: Who is you all-time favorite MMA fighter? Why?

Josh LaBerge:

Wanderlei Silva because he just don’t give a f#*!%. Who doesn’t like that guy …he swings to kill and his nickname is the “axe murderer”.

NEMMA: What is your favorite music to train to or while hanging out?

Josh LaBerge:

Whatever motivates me.  I like everything from Jedi Mind Tricks to Sublime to The Used…. I was listening to Metallica and Glassjaw today on my I-pod while hitting the bag but Tim (Gillett) always bumps Alanis Morrisette on the stereo and we’re not allowed to touch it, so there ya go.

NEMMA:  What do you do for fun when you’re not training?

Josh LaBerge:

Any free time I get to myself I just chill out, relax and let my body heal. Between working 8-9 hour days as a mason, then rushing back from Boston going straight to train for 3-4 hours, it really takes a toll on me.

NEMMA:  Have you played the new UFC Undisputed game yet?  What do you think of it?

Josh LaBerge:

 Joe Lauzon just tapped me in 15 sec! The ground is tuff in that game. I like it but only cause the first one sucked ass and there hasn’t been anything out since. There’s room for improvement, I’m sure the next one will be way better.

NEMMA: Who are your sponsors so far?

Josh LaBerge:

American Stand Up, No Quarter mma and Darkside Tattoo out of Westport, Ma. Thanks to the man, the myth, the legend Bill “B-Money” Murphy my manager. He’s very good at what he does. Big thanks to No Quarter for sending me to Jacksons MMA in New Mexico for training camp the entire month of July!!

NEMMA:  Do you have a website or Myspace page that people can visit to keep up with your career?

Josh LaBerge:

Yes, 2skinniejs@myspace.com. I also have a website that should be complete in a couple of weeks.

NEMMA:  Do you have any fights coming up for the summer?

Josh LaBerge:

I was supposed to fight Chris Grandmaison for GFL in June but I had to pull out due to breaking my hand in the Bellator fight with Chris Simmons. I’ve been offered Ken Stone and Justin Homsey. Both of those guys are badasses with good records and both ranked, those are the guys I like to fight.

NEMMA:  If you could choose only one, who would like a rematch with?

Josh LaBerge:

Well, if I HAD to choose I would have to say Aguilano Brandao. Not to take anything from him, He’s a great fighter and an awesome person but I feel like I pushed too much and let him fight his fight, rather than making him fight mine.

NEMMA:  Where would you like to see your career in one year? Two years?

Josh LaBerge:

Still fighting in New England but defending a local title. We’ll see how things go? WEC might not be too bad either! (lol)

Thanks for the interview Josh. Hopefully we get to train together some time in the future.