Mike Lemaire talks upcoming bout with Jason Rzepka at Art of War

MTA: You are fighting Jason Rzepka at Art of War on May 4th at the Golden Acorn Casino. How has training for this fight been going?

Mike: Training camp has been going great. I am training with my coach former world champion Melchor Menor here at the Art of Eight training center in San Diego where I am also one of the instructors. Training under his knowledge and experience in the sport of Muay Thai is definitely an advantage. We have been training hard I am ready to go.

MTA: Are you familiar with Jason at all?

Mike: I do not know anything about him yet except the fact that he has 1 pro fight.

MTA: This fight is your pro debut; does that add any type of pressure to start your pro career off 1-0?

Mike: I am not putting too much pressure on myself, the fact that this is my pro debut is very exciting, I have been training in Muay Thai for a while now and had a good training camp with my coach and teammates, I am confident going into this fight, this is my time!

MTA: You moved to the US from France to pursue Muay Thai correct? How is the Muay Thai scene here different than in France?

Mike: Originally I moved to the US in 2005 because my mother is American and lives in Boston, so my plan was to improve my English, get an education and of course train in Muay Thai. Thanks to mixed martial arts here in the US we have witnessed a comeback of Muay Thai as a sport which is great, MMA isn’t legalized in France yet, at least not in a cage. Muay Thai always has been popular in France and we have had great Muay Thai fighters coming out of France competing at the international level. Muay Thai is not as popular as soccer is in France but it has always been around, martial arts in general are very popular in France.

MTA: How did you end up training with Mel?

Mike: A friend of mine who has been training under Mel introduced me to him before the Art of Eight training center opened for a position as a Muay Thai instructor. When my friend asked me if I would be interested in working for Melchor Menor I was very exited and I jumped on the opportunity.

MTA: Since this is your pro debut has anything changed as far as training, is the intensity level up as opposed to before?

Mike: Of course the intensity of training is greater because you have to be conditioned to go 5 rounds. The main difference for me really was to train under the expertise “eye” of Coach Mel. He was able to see my strong points and exploit them to my advantage and of course address and work on my weaker points.

MTA: Can you give us a prediction for your fight?

Mike: All I can say is watch for my knees!

MTA: What can fans expect from you in the coming years?

Mike: Fans can expect to see me fight at the highest level in the coming years. I would like to fight for world titles in Muay Thai and compete on the international scene. I also train in Jiu Jitsu so I will pursue a career in mixed martial arts and compete in the UFC.

MTA: Any words for your supporters?

Mike: First I want to thank Muay Thai Authority for supporting me and the sport of Muay Thai. I want to thank Coach Mel and all my training partners, all my friends and my students who support me and I would like to thank my sponsor Myopharm for providing me with supplements.