We have been doing an in-depth special about the new Tapout House, that Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Leonard Garcia opened up in recently. There is no better person to talk about that experience with, than Carey Vanier. Carey has been through the Tapout House now and emerged with a contract with Bellator.
We asked Carey about the transition to a new environment, “When I was down there I did not know what to expect. My first visit down there, it was all new guys from different parts of the country. Some guys were pros, some guys were amateur. Also, it was the first time that I was meeting “Cowboy” and Leonard.”
Carey also noted he had a lot of fun outside of the gym too, “”Cowboy” took us all out shooting, dirt biking, played a lot of “zombies” in Call of Duty, we played a lot of that game.”
“It was a really good experience for me. I got really close with Leonard and “Cowboy”, and I got to see what it was like to be a pro fighter. To see the day in, day out stuff that they do. At least for me, the #1 question was what do those guys have, that I don’t have. That was one thing I really enjoyed. I got a friendship with all the guys in the house, every single one of those guys had something different to offer. I really have a close relationship with Bobby, he is Leonard’s younger brother, we click.”
Carey also noticed a change in his fighting game in his time training, “My striking. There’s one thing I can tell you about Jackson’s camp, and it’s those guys bang. The days that we sparred, we’d go at it. It was my first time being a gym where everybody is as good, or better than you. The competition level is always high. It’s almost like a sink or swim, especially when you go to the Pro class. I’ve seen guys that came down to the house that thought they were ready to go into the pro class, and work out with the guys that were pros. They weren’t ready at all. I got in, and I had to learn how to swim.”
Click the podcast below to hear the full interview where Carey talks about cornering in a WEC fight, to what he liked most about the house, and more!!!