And after signing UFC stars Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Cheick Kongo to its roster which includes top UK talents Michael Bisping and Paul Kelly, co-owner Anthony McGann told Fightnewz.net that it's set to get even better.

 

 

MCGANN: It's quite a well-known story by now, but the whole thing must have started two and a bit years ago.

 

There was a promoter put on a seminar in Liverpool and he brought over Quinton and Dean Lister.

 

It was supposed to have Chuck Liddell and all kinds on it.

Anyway, they flew them out and the promoter went missing with all the money - it was a disaster.

 

Michael Bisping knew Dean Lister quite well from being in the Ultimate Fighter house because he is obviously one of Tito Ortiz's friends.

 

So we stepped in, we fixed them up with some hotel rooms because they were left a bit in the lurch.

 

We let them put a seminar on in here and it was busy. We advertised it quickly and a lot of people turned up and we made some money.

 

We turned it around for them so it wasn't a wasted time and we took them out into Liverpool and stuff and showed them round, like you do with people from another country.

 

That's how we met them. And we were over in Belfast at the UFC in the Odyssey Arena and after the show we ended up going for a Chinese and had some fun with Quinton.

 

We extended the hand - with him fighting in the UK we are the best facility in the country with the best coaches.

 

We told him that if he wanted to come and train with us before the show he was more than welcome.

 

Then it came about that Mike was going over and training with those guys at Big Bear and that's where it started.

 

UFC 75 was actually a split camp. They trained the first two weeks in Big Bear and then they moved on I think it was the last four weeks here.

 

Then it was Mike, Cheick Kongo and Quinton and we trained well. Our team worked well with theirs and obviously on the night our three guys won.

 

It was a great time and we had a lot of fun. It was born from there. Mike and Paul go over to America a lot and train at Tiki's Gym, which is where Quinton bases from.

 

They know all the guys, we know all them. So basically when he was looking for a change, I speak to him regularly, he is my friend and it was a natural progression.

 

He knew we run a good operation, Mike was always telling him how good his operation was compared to his management-wise and stuff so it was just a natural thing, he wanted a change and he has come to us.

 

 

MCGANN: It has been a massive shot in the arm. I'm not shocked or anything, because like I say I've been his friend for a while.

 

The same as Cheick Kongo, I've been a good friend of his for a while. So for me it's not like some superstar has come out of the blue and said: 'Will you manage me?' or whatever.

 

Because we are friends. While they were in England my girlfriend used to take them shopping while I was busy for example.

 

They know my son Jack and they lived in our house for six weeks.

 

 

MCGANN: Most definitely. A lot of Quinton's trainers before were friends. When he was tired they would let him have a breather and that kind of thing.

 

We aren't like that. We've got an Olympic standard boxing coach in Tony Quigley and a top-drawer ju jitsu coach in Mario Sakuta, who fought bare knuckle in Russia.

 

We're also getting nutritional advice from Ricky Hatton's former conditioning coach Kerry Kayes - that's a headline in itself.

 

And we are the kind of people who if we are giving up our time for you, we expect 100% effort in return.

 

 

MCGANN: This weekend we had Ricco Rodriguez flying in for two weeks and Cheick Kongo is due to arrive.

 

The Wolfslair has made big news recently but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

We are really moving in the sport now. We've got a couple of other things that we haven't spoken about yet, but we have got more guys coming.

 

We can't speak about them yet but in fairness Michael Bisping opened all the doors for us and when Quinton Jackson came on board he turned us into a whole  new animal.

 

And since then we are changing on a daily basis. People now all around the world are now saying, 'Wow, who are the Wolfslair?'

 

They knew about some English gym that Mike came from. But a lot of fighters come from gyms and then they move on and go to bigger camps in America.

 

Early on in Mike's career in his first fight in the UFC he was offered to go and train with Tito and everything. And a lot of kids get starstruck.

 

Mike turned round and, this is a credit to him, said, 'No, I'm going to stick with the guys who got me here'.

 

He saw it as disrespectful to win the Ultimate Fighter with us and move on.

 

In fairness it was a key decision and greatly helped us and he chose to stick with the Wolfslair.

 

From time to time he goes out and trains in the States. Mike went out and trained with Junior Perez for Charles McCarthy, who was a ju jitsu guy.

 

He had eight black belts on the mat and that all works with us. But Mike does his day-to-day training in our octagon and he has for a few years.

 

 

MCGANN: I see us easily in the top five in the world and I would probably say even higher.

 

We are making a lot of press at the moment and everyone is paying attention to the fact that these big guys have joined us.

 

But we are coming up to the big test at UFC 89 in Birmingham on October 18.

Mike fights Chris Leben in the main event and Paul fights Marcus Davis. They are two top Americans and we know we've got it to beat them.

 

If we beat them and we put on the back of it all the recent moves where the Americans have joined us and the camps we are putting on, then people will really look at us and say England has definitely come up to speed with the rest of the world.

 

We know it already. I'll give you an example. We've had a lot of American groups come here and they walk in to this gym and already have this mental image that they are so much better than us.

 

They come in here and every single one of them who has walked through the doors has been instantly shocked.

 

They have learned that the English guys know what they are doing. The Americans don't spar, they pitter patter in sparring and they wear headguards.

 

Our guys knock seven bells out of each other. Mario Sakuta teaches them not to mess about. If someone gets knocked out with a high kick, get up smiling and keep your hands up next time!

 

 

MCGANN: The UFC are interested in him. The UFC will never take you off a loss. He had a controversial draw last time out against Andre Winner.

 

I'm always a guy who says: Don't let it go to the judges and don't complain about the judges. But this time it was a really bad decision.

 

It was a bad call and one of the worst calls. We've been to the highest levels of MMA and we've had a similar type of situation against Rashad Evans in Newark.

 

A fight can come down to takedowns and Abdul took that kid down several times, four or five times a round and not much was happening stood up.

 

So in the sport it's a clear win. There is a lot of contention over takedowns shouldn't win fights. But all the fighters know that if they get taken down they are going to lose points.

 

That's the sport we are in - don't get taken down or take the other guy down and even the match.

 

Abdul took him down greatly and got given a draw, which set us back in our plans. But for us, Abdul is still knocking on the door, we aren't worried about him.

 

Since he has come here he trains well with the team and he is a different guy.

 

He is doing strength and conditioning work. Abdul used to train in different gyms, you need team-mates who are going to do this every day with you.

 

And the training we get in here is as good as it's going to be in Europe.

 

He has trained here on and off for a couple of years but I could never push him forward until he had signed with the Wolfslair.

 

Abdul is a very talented fighter and he has shown that in the past. Some of his fights have been amazing. I believe that Abdul has got it to go places.

 

Jean Silva is one of the best fighters in his weight class and Abdul beat him and it shows you his capability.

 

Last time when he got the draw it disheartened him a bit but he is back on the horse now and he has got a fight coming up against Ross Pearson at Cage Gladiators at Liverpool Olympia on October 4.

 

Abdul doesn't get easy fights but anyone that knows Abdul knows they are in for a long night.

 

He is training great and training with the likes of Mike and Paul and Quinton builds a guy's confidence.