It's funny, I always have such a hard time giving posts titles, but once you read this interview I did with Melissa Pellegrino, you'll see that she and Kurt are just that; a Team.
Q: How did you and Kurt meet?
A: Kurt and I met in high school. We started dating as seniors and we were married 8 years later.
Q: How long have you been married?
A: Married for 3 years, together for 11 years.
A: Yes, she's seen some of his fights on dvd's, never live though. She is only 2 so she doesn’t really get the concept, so any time she sees a fighter on TV she thinks its 'daddy'. It could be Mike Tyson fighting and she'll be yelling 'go daddy!!' So its pretty funny.
A: I never knew about the sport until he started training back in 2000. Kurt was a wrestler through high school and college so I was always of fan of him competing. So i went from a wrestling fan to an MMA fan. I now really enjoy the MMA game. He likes to make fun of me because he thinks I know more about the fighters and whatnot than he does. But I really don’t. Its hard to be this connected to the sport and to the UFC and not be an educated fan, so I try my best!
A: Yes! I'd like to think he'd be lost without me! haha. The whole training camp is definitely a process, and a huge support system has to be in place so that he doesn’t have to worry about anything else besides training 2-3 times per day. So this even includes both of our parents helping out. We start about 8 weeks out with the weight cutting. I prepare all his meals, 3 times a day. As long as he is eating clean, that’s the main concern. Making sure he's eating properly to shed some of the initial weight and also to keep his body fueled to keep up with the intense training. He doesn’t actually lose the 10-12 pounds until fight week. But he takes off about 10 pounds during the 8 weeks. Its also a challenge to have a 2 year old running around the house when Kurt is trying to nap between training sessions, so when he comes home for lunch, I make sure he eats and then Priscilla and I go out so he can get his sleep for an hour or two. We have become shopping pro's! ha
Q: Have you ever cut weight with him?
A: Ummm, no! ha. Although I wish i did. In the beginning I eat healthy with him, but then I get so sick of making such healthy meals that i just find something tasty to eat! I give Kurt credit because I couldn’t eat the healthy for 8 weeks! ha It gets real hairy the week or two before he leaves for the fight...he can smell a potato chip on my breath from 20 feet away, so I’m very careful to keep that stuff away from him. Again though, very hard with a 2 year old who loves Oreos! It never fails though, fight week I lose 4 or 5 pounds, in stress alone. ha!
A: Yes, he's been cleared to start training again back in the 2nd week of December. Which is great, because I thought he was miserable cutting weight, but I found out he's much more miserable when he can’t train! In all seriousness tho, its great that he's feeling better, it was a little scary for him to have a back injury, but he's coming along. He wants to be back fighting hopefully in March. That gives him a good 10 weeks to get back in fighting shape. He was even training on Christmas Eve he is so excited to be back in the gym again.
Q: What do you as a family like to do when he’s not training?
A: We are pretty low key people. We like to do dinners and movies and spend time with friends and family, the typical things. Winters in NJ are kind of miserable, but the summer time we love the beach and parks and anything outside! Regardless of the season, we are always at our academy, and so is Priscilla. Its our home away from home. We definitely take advantage of the time between fights to do 'normal' family things. We love the life we have, but the fight camps are definitely hard, so we just try to work together and stay on the same page to make things run smoothly!
Q: How’s the academy coming along? Anything you want to promote or tell our readers?
A: Our academy is great. We've been open for about 14 months now. We are up to about 175 students. We teach brazilian jiu jitsu, wrestling, submission grappling, & kickboxing for adults and for kids. It definitely takes up 90% of our time. I am a stay at home mom, but with the academy its more like 2 full time jobs!! Its great though, and I really enjoy being there and all the dedicated students we have.
Q: Do you always go to Kurt’s fights and if so, what’s your routine so to speak?
A: Kurt leaves usually 5 days prior to his fight and I go out about 2-3 days later. I usually show up the night before weigh ins. I check into my own room so Kurt can be with his team and concentrate on losing the last pounds. I see him that night, but only for a little bit. The day of the weigh in I wait to hear thru text from his coaches when he makes weight, then i meet him in his hotel room after he's done. He leaves for the weigh in and I meet him there. After the weigh in we go back to the hotel for a bit, kurt rests and then we go out to eat with the whole team. Then its back to hotel for rest. I usually stay with him and watch TV and stuff. Usually about midnight or 1am, we go out and get pancakes for more carbs! Sometimes I end up staying in his room. Fight day is all about relaxing in bed watching TV. I stay with him most of the day until it comes close to him leaving. I let him get into 'fight mode'. I can really tell when its time to leave because there's this switch that goes off with him and he just is really quiet and focused. So that’s my queue to let him be with his coaches. I see him immediately after the fight, he always manages to come into the crowd and find me...even if he gets mauled by the fans on the way! That’s the best part. Finally being able to see him when its all over... after 12 weeks of craziness, and being able to breath again is always a plus :)
You can read more about the Kurt at http://www.kurtpellegrino.com/
Info on their Academy can be found at http://www.pellegrinomma.com/
Follow Kurt on Twitter at twitter.com/kurtpellegrino
Rachel - twitter.com/mmahotstuff
