Royston Wee has been getting a lot of buzz since he was signed-up as Singapore’s first-ever UFC fighter. With the big fight coming up in just a couple of days, Coconuts Singapore sat down with Royston to get his thoughts on his career, his family and his future in the fight game.
What is it like to be the first Singaporean fighter in the UFC. Do you feel you carry the weight of the nation on your back?
Yes a little bit. Fighting in front of your home crowd has both good and bad points. There is of course more pressure and everybody knows you. They are all cheering for you but at the same time you do feel the pressure. Overall I think there is more good than bad though.
How did you get into MMA?
I picked up martials arts at first to protect myself because I was quite a small kid. I also wanted to keep fit. Eventually I became pretty serious at it.
What does your family think about you being a professional fighter?
I come from a typical Asian, Chinese family so of course they wanted me to get a eight to five job but they have been very supportive. I would say my parents are100% if not 200% supporting me.
Chinese New Year is just around the corner. What do you think your family will ask you about the fight?
You know typical questions like: How was the fight? Are you injured?
Were you already training when you did National Service?
I graduated from poly and I started training. I was about two months in to my muay thai and BJJ training before I went for NS. Gladly I was able to train during my time in NS and still do so now.
Do you have aspirations for another career after fighting?
For now I just want to focus on building my career in this field, to be one of the top contenders in my weight class, at least in the Asian countries – to be one of the top contenders.
You fought two fights in Malaysia in 2011 within one month but then you didn’t fight since? Why the time out?
When I was fighting I was actually teaching and training full time. But after my fights I switched to part-time as I had to pursue my degree with a double-major. During that time there were some promotions that asked me to fight and I tried to do it but I couldn’t commit full-time. In the end I decided it was too much of a hassle and I wanted to just concentrate on one thing at a time and give my best. Eventually I finished my degree and this is when Rebel FC, the Ultimate Fighter and everything started knocking on my door.
You mentioned Rebel FC (a new Singaporean promotion), were you originally going to fight with them?
Yeah, I was supposed to fight in Rebel against a Malaysian guy but with the Ultimate Fighter tryouts in Singapore we had a mutual agreement with Rebel FC that if the UFC or the Ultimate Fighter signs me then they would have priority over Rebel. Both of us had a good mutual agreement and eventually I got the fight in the UFC.
Your teammate Andy Neo just fought in Rebel FC. Is Impact Gym going to make an impact in the MMA world in Asia?
When Impact wasn’t that active in a lot of competitions, no one was talking about the gym. In recent years Impact MMA Singapore has been winning MMA, BJJ and Muay Thai fights so a lot of people started to notice us. There’s a lot of good things being said and a lot of gossip going around too. Whether it’s positive things being said, gossips or rumours, I think we are doing really well to get such attention.
Any particular teammates that you think are up and coming that we should keep an eye out for?
There’s a lot, a lot! Not that I’m only helping the guys at my gym but there’s a lot of good guys like Juan [Wen Jie] and Garie [Tang]. Garie’s not in any of the weight classes that are in the UFC right now because he’s a small guy but the UFC will soon introduce a straw weight division so hopefully people will soon get to see his talent. Andy [Neo] is good as well.
Can you share some details about the contract that you signed with the UFC? Is it a one fight only deal or are you signed for multiple fights?
The contract is really confidential so I can’t really say anything much about it but you will see a lot of me. You won’t just see me once. Hopefully if I do well you’ll see a lot more of me.
What do you think about your opponent? How will you handle his height and reach advantage?
He’s tall you know but actually when I met him he wasn’t as tall as I thought. I’ve been training and analysing his fights and have come up with not just one but multiple strategies to neutralise his strengths. I don’t know whether or not I should say it but I’ve been working on a technique very much (focused) on him. You’ll probably see me use a flying triangle.
If you win the coming fight, who within the bantamweight division in the UFC would you be keen to fight?
Man there are so many tough guys out there. Everyone in the UFC is really good. I don’t know after the fight I’ll sit down with my manager and the UFC and we’ll talk about which other fighters they want me to fight.
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
Well I’m 27 now, so in five years time I’ll be 32. I don’t know man. If my body allows me to, I’ll continue fighting maybe until around 33 or 35. But we’ll see how it goes because this sport is pretty tough on you. If I’m competing regularly, five years is a long time and I don’t really want my body to take too much stress. I hope I’ll still be in the UFC though.
Who is your favourite fighter of all time?
There are a lot of fighters that I like but there are three main fighters, all from different weight classes that I really look up to. GSP, Cain Velasquez, and Urijah Faber. I would say that GSP and Cain Velasquez are the ones that I have watched and analysed a lot be it their daily lives and what they do for training, their styles and stuff.
Urijah Faber, on the other hand, has been who I have looked up to starting from my younger years. He’s a legend in the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) in the lower weight classes – the weight class I’m in now.
I would love to train with Team Alpha Male. When I first started training I was telling my gym mates that though we’re all small guys we are pretty good in the gym and strong. So I suggested we call ourselves alpha male guys or something as we’re small guys with big egos – that’s when I got to know about Urijah Faber and stuff!
The first UFC smackdown in Singapore happens tonight, 7:30pm at the Marina Bay Sands.
