John “Guns” Gunderson grew up in Central Oregon, now he lives in Las Vegas and fights all over the world. The Mixed Martial Arts specialist is a three-time fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. UFC is the pinnacle of MMA fighting and one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. Gunderson took some time to answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete:

Central Oregon Athlete – How long did you live in Central Oregon?
John Gunderson – 12 years.

COA – Where are you living now?
JG – Las Vegas.

COA – When did you get into MMA?
JG – in 2002

COA – Did you play sports in Central Oregon growing up?
JG – Yes, football and boxing.

COA – What has been the highlight of your MMA career so far?
JG – Winning a fight in the UFC.

COA – What’s on your upcoming schedule?
JG – Looking at Dec. 16th in Costa Rica.

COA – What is something that the typical MMA fan doesn’t know about the sport?
JG – For a real professional it takes up all of your time.

COA – What is your training schedule like when you have a fight on your calendar?
JG – Conditioning in the morning for an hour, then techniuqe, then sparring at night for two hours.

COA – What is your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
JG – I use to love to run up Pilot Butte.

COA – Anything else to add?
JG – Central Oregon made me tough because of everyones work ethic that is passed along.

A friend just called me to tell me how awesome the winter biathlon was that he had just watched on TV. I’m excited, because I think the NBC coverage of the winter biathlon at the Olympics has been awesome and I’d love to see the sport grow. I’ve always been a big fan because it’s such a unique sport and I really feel like people don’t realize how “cool” it is.

My older brother Sam Cordell is a former national champion in the sport, so I’ve grown up watching it and thinking, “If people only knew how awesome this is!”

It’ll be interesting to see if the coverage of biathlon from the games will help grow the sport.

If you don’t know what biathlon is, here are some links:
• Biathlon (Wikipedia)
• Team USA