Mike: What’s up Chris, I wanted to start off by saying congrats on your win over Brian Foster. Could you give us your thoughts on how that fight went?
Chris: Thanks. It was good, I was happy with the way it turned out. I thought he was gonna go in there and throw a little more then he did. In his last fights he seemed a little wild, or maybe not wild, but he would get in there throwing a lot. He seemed a lot more composed and calculated, and he was throwing some spinning back kicks. He kind of surprised me with that, and he was going for takedowns early, which I wasn’t expecting him to do either. But that’s when I went for the kneebar. So I was happy with the fight, just didn’t go how I was expecting it to.

Mike: You picked up the submission of the night for that one, and already have a ton of fight of the night and KO, were you surprised when you got sub of the night?
Chris: No not really. I work on my ground game a lot, and when I go for submissions I sometimes go for things you don’t really see a whole lot. I thought that one was pretty good.

Mike: It definitely was. So your next matchup is against Matt Brown at UFC 116, what do you think of this matchup?
Chris: I love it! He is just the kind of fight I am looking for. Every time I have seen him fight he just comes at you and looks to knock your head off, he is always looking to fight. Those are the kind of guys I want to get in there with.

Mike: When I saw this matchup I thought it had Fight of the Night written all over it, you think it might pull in another award?
Chris: Right now I like that potential. I like the matchups that should end up being a great fight. I mean you never know what will happen, there’s always the possibility of a quick sub, or quick KO… but I think the fights with that potential of being a fight of the night, are the best fights. Those are the kinds I like to watch as a fan, and also the kind of fights I like to be in.

Mike: How do you see it ending, or how would you like to see it end?
Chris: I’d like to score a big KO.

Mike: Not to look past Matt at all, but with a win here, that would be 3 in a row. Is there anyone you have your eye on that you want next? Or someone you feel has the possibility of being another good fight?
Chris: I’m not real sure right now. I have talked to the UFC before and told them like 5 or 6 guys I think would be good fights. I was like this guy, or this guy, or that guy (laughs). I will just wait and see though. I could careless about fighting guys who are ranked here or there, I just want to be in some good fights that will please the fans.

Mike: Could you tell us a little bit about how you got started in MMA?
Chris: Yeah, I have been fighting since like ‘98. I went to college and wrestled while I was there a little bit. After that I knew some guys who were doing what they called Shootfighting at the time. It was kind of like wrestling, but with some chokes and armbars and stuff. I gave it a try and picked up pretty fast, and I was beating some of the guys who were training for a lot longer then I had. So I tried a couple fights and won, it was lot of fun when you were winning, ya know? (laughs) So yeah I enjoyed it and just got kind of addicted.

Mike: And how did you end up with Intergrated?
Chris: I was real lucky. I met Jason, who started Integrated, while I was training at another place. He used to stop by and roll with me here and there, and he said I had some potential and he started helping some of us out. Well that gym I was at closed, so we just followed him around a little bit. We would train here for awhile, and it would close, then go to another place. We were kind of like vagabonds for awhile, but it all worked out.

Mike: You have a ton of fights. Is there one that stands out to you as the most memorable?
Chris: I don’t know. Probably the UFC fight with Robbie Lawler. It was the first time fighting for the UFC in a long time, and back then they only did like 4-5 shows a year maybe, so it was harder to make it on to one of the cards, and I had to beat a lot of people to get there again. It was kind of funny, because no one really gave me a chance in that one, and thought I would get KO’d right away. People still tell me to this day, how much they liked that fight. That’s like one of the biggest compliments I can get, when what, 8 years later? Someone still comes up and still talks about how much they liked that one!

Mike: You are a well rounded fighter, good standing, good on the ground. Which would you prefer to use more in a fight?
Chris: I generally like to keep it on my feet. I mean its always nice to get a quick finish, but to go in there and get hit with some good shots, and just dig gown deep and keep coming forward and be in a 3 round war, it just gives you a more accomplished feeling afterwards. Anyone can go in there and steamroll another person, but to get hit, fight through it and keep fighting…I respect the fighters that do that, and that’s how I like to fight.

Mike: You have some heavy hands, what would you say is the hardest shot you have ever landed in a fight, sparring or training etc.?
Chris: The hardest I ever landed was in my 2nd boxing match. I went down to Memphis to fight this guy, and he just kept coming forward. I was still a little new to boxing, but I was landing and landing shots and he kept moving forward. Then I tagged him with a shot and threw this big overhand right that smacked him straight in the head. It was one of those where he just fell forward. No arms out to catch himself, just face first. Like a statue that fell over. So he just goes face first into the mat, there is blood going everywhere… I was like “I just killed this guy”.

Mike: What about the opposite side of it, what’s the hardest you have been hit?
Chris: In sparring or a fight? It would have to be a friend of mine who I trained with, Ricky J. He was like 250lbs but was a spitting image of Foreman when he would fight. They weren’t the best punches, but they were hard! Just how Foreman used to fight, I’m telling you! So he caught me once, and I know it wasn’t even full power, but he caught me. I take like 3 steps sideways, and then I thought I fell down. I thought I was sitting on the floor, but I look down and see my feet still moving, and my arms by my side. So I thought I was down, but I wasn’t, and I had no clue what I was doing. When that happens you know it’s not good, so I eventually had to just tell him, I can’t spar with you anymore!

Mike: Last one. If they made a movie about your life who should they get to play the role of Chris Lytle?
Chris: That’s a good one; they would need someone good looking (laughs). I don’t know let me think for a second, I don’t really watch a ton of movies, but one name keeps popping in my head for some reason and that’s Mark Whalberg, so I will go with that.

Mike: Good choice. Anything you wanna close with?
Chris: Yeah I just wanted to thank the guys from Tapout. They always take care of me, so I wanted to thank them.

Mike: Alright thanks for your time, and look forward to that fight! It’s gonna be a good one!
Chris: Thanks Mike, I appreciate it!