One of the many things I admire about Frank Trigg is his commentaries. Rather than deliver a flat analogy of each fight, he has the ability to mix humor with an easy-to-understand knowledge of the sport. I’d put him right up there with Bas Rutten, a favorite of mine when it comes to calling a fight. For newer female fans still learning the sport, it helps a lot.
And that’s what this article is about – the many ways that women view and appreciate the mixed martial arts in contrast to the male perception.
Two very different audiences, with two very different types of appeal.
As a longtime fan of the sport, way back when the UFC was truly no-holds barred, I’m fascinated with all aspects of mixed martial arts, but most especially the more human side of the fighters. As a result, I’ve published several books, each character-driven with a romance, focusing on mixed martial arts competition ala the UFC and Pride. I take the fighters out of the ring and into relationships, and readers are loving it! The books have spent multiple weeks on the New York Times and I get requests daily for a continuance of the series.
Through letters, emails, and face-to-face talks during book signings, I’ve learned that readers who’d never heard of the sport are now tuning in for each pay-per-view, and for the The Ultimate Fighter weekly show. Some of my favorite fighters are being googled on a daily basis. Readers are creating screen savers, avatars and wallpapers featuring their own personal favorites in the sports.
And that brings me to Frank Trigg.
I’ve been a long-time fan of his for many reasons, but most of all, it’s Frank’s ability to make comic remarks on the rear-naked choke – the move that defeated him against Matt Hughes – and his candor during presentations on Pride FC that has endeared him to not only me, but a lot of other female fans. And I have to admit, he’s pretty easy on the eyes. My last book featured a fighter with a shaved head, and many, many fans asked me if Frank was my inspiration.
Call me lucky, but I actually got to have a two hour phone interview with Frank, and it was incredibly enlightening! I had to write shorthand to keep up with him. He’s an admitted fast-talker – I liken him to a Chihuahua on speed – and he’s brutally honest in his opinions on both the fighting scene, and life in general.
Because this interview is focused on the contrasting male/female appeal of mma fighters, I tried to focus on the more human side of being a fighter. I hope you enjoy this peek into Frank’s life as much as I did.

1) You’re partners in a gym, you own Triggonomics, an urban athletic wear line, and you run a marketing company – all this in addition to being a color commentator for PRIDE. Even though you have all these very successful ventures outside of actual fighting, you’re still in excellent shape, so... are you actively competing these days?

Frank: I’m trying to. I’ve been checking into things, and basically, I’m waiting for the right contract. I was going to be working at CFFC – Cage Fury Fighting Championships. But they pulled the rug on that.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be with the UFC again. While I was working for PRIDE and they were signing my paychecks, I read off a one-sheet, and part of what I had to read was that Pride fighters were better, stronger, whatever. It wasn’t me saying it, it was just my job, what I was told to do.
Now though... there are hard feelings. So who knows?

2) I’ve seen the photos on your Myspace site, and I’ve seen your wife Nicole and your two children. Is it difficult for your family to watch you fight?
Is your wife comfortable enough with the sport to react the same as other fighters?

Frank: Nicole was a fitness model and a body builder, so she gets the prep work, the dieting for weight weeks, the whole thing. She’s always there, cheering me on, but during the fight, she stays in the crowd, not in my corner or backstage. I have a team of six people working for me, and Nicole is my handler. She helps a lot with reporters. After a fight, the adrenalin is still there. Nicole gets questions up front and reminds me of pertinent situations, facts, names, stuff like that. Then when I’m interviewed, I already have the answers on hand.

3) It seems to go one of two ways – either a fighter had difficulty as a child, and that’s what got him into mixed martial arts, or he was always an athlete and after college or the Olympics, he wanted to continue with competitions and transitioned into the sport.
What about you? I know you were a wrestling finalist in the 2000 Olympic trials, so how have sports, specifically mixed martial arts or wrestling, affected your life?

Frank: Collegiate level sports teaches control. That’s what it always comes down to. When I hold a guy down, and he can’t move, can’t fight, he eventually expends so much energy struggling that he just has to give up. I’ve controlled him. That’s what it’s always about – controlling your opponent. And yeah, that carries over into everything in life. I have two kids from previous marriages, a fourteen year old son and a six year old daughter, and I’m a better parent for having that control. I don’t wig out and scream and yell. My kids know there are consequences to screwing up, but they don’t have to put up with a lot of shouting.
Too, you’ve seen it in movies where a drunk bumps into someone, and then blames the other person. Happens all the time. No sweat. I apologize, ask if he wants another drink... so it’s seven bucks? Big deal. I can afford it.
Problem is, the guy will start posturing, thinking that he wants a fight when he really doesn’t. I ignore it, until he touches me, then I say, okay, let’s fight. Now he’s caught because he doesn’t want to back down. I wait and let him hit me first. I’m a fighter – I can take a punch. No problem.
Later, the guy gets dragged out and I’m not in trouble because I didn’t start it, and I didn’t hit first. Control keeps things simpler.

4) When I told readers that Mike Swick loved the show Entourage, they were excited to know they had that in common with him. I was pleased to know that Mike and I both love The Shield. So Frank, let’s see what you share with my readers.

What are your favorite shows?
Favorite actors, actresses?

Frank: You know, I like drama and Entourage doesn’t seem to give that to me.
I’m more into CSI Miami and Cane. Bionic Woman just started, and I’m trying that.
I like Dexter. A terrific show. Funny but still complex.

5) It’s great to see how UFC and Pride fighters are appearing on entertainment TV outside of competitions. We saw you on King of Queens, right? And Bas Rutten has made a few appearances, along with other fighters. (I’ll never forget Dan Henderson removing his teeth to fight on that show!)
I’ve seen Chuck Liddell on Entourage.
Do you have any future appearances planned on entertainment TV?

Frank: I do! You know, I’ve had two years of acting school. But then I’ve been in LA for seven years and everyone who’s been in LA that long wants to be an actor, right? I’ve done some stuff, had some parts. Most recent would be Redbelt, with Tim Allen and Randy Couture, but that’s still in production.
Right now I’m working with an agent for a reality series, pitching some stuff to producers. I read for a part as a bad handler in a futuristic themed movie. I read for a part to co-star opposite Gerald Butler.

6) Readers often write to me, asking if the fighters are really friends who can also compete against each other, as I portray them in the books.
Personally, even though they claimed to be good friends, I loved seeing Rampage and Henderson match up. It was a toss-up who to cheer for, because they’re both faves for me. Same thing with the recent battle between Shogun and Forrest Griffin. Love them both as fighters – but Forrest’s “cookie” comment won over a lot of female fans. It was the hot topic on message boards the next day, with a lot of, “He’s so adorable” comments made.
(For those who didn’t see it, when asked about a recent loss, Forrest said he went home and ate a lot of cookies to recover.)

So Frank... who are your close fighter friends – the guys you hang out with, and compete against?
Do you train with other friends to help them prepare for fights? Who?

Frank: Let’s see... Randy Couture and I go way back. Forrest Griffin, Tyson Griffin. Gray Maynard. Mike Whitehead. Frank Mir.
Two friends fighting in the octagon against each other is no different than friends in baseball, where one’s a pitcher and one’s a catcher. Happens all the time. It’s a sport, and it’s only personal during the fight, not after you win or lose.

7) The Pride fighters are about 50% on wins – which really surprises me! Do you feel it’s the difference in the octagon vs a ring, the few differences in the rules (Pride allows head kicks when they’re down and the UFC prohibits elbows to the back of the head) or is it the magnitude of the event itself?
Or... something else entirely?

Frank: You can only make so many excuses before you have to say the UFC is better. Shogun had a bad ACL, but he fought, so...
You strip away the different rules, the different excuses, and the UFC guys are cleaning up.

8) So many of my readers watch The Ultimate Fighter – and get very annoyed at how childish and destructive the new fighters appear. This goes back to the contrast of how men view things vs women. We don’t see it as fired-up so much as destructive, stupid, and the epitome of immaturity.
Including the Ultimate Fighter show, have there been any changes to the UFC that you think detract from the sport? Anything that adds to it?

Frank: Let me tell you, Broadcasters in any field haven’t done the sport or coached it, so they don’t understand it, yet they try to put together how they think it should go and what will appeal to viewers. I don’t like it either. Some of the guys on there are encouraged to act like idiots. Tearing stuff up? What the hell. It’s immature and ridiculous. Show some respect for others’ property! But the show is put together by guys who haven’t done the sport, so what do they know? They’re basing this off old drunken college days, when that’s not what it’s about.
It’s good for the new fighters, gets them some exposure and experience. But other than that... they’ll keep tweaking the show until it’s right. Look at how it’s changed already from the beginning. Remember when they had the fighters out cutting down trees or some shit? Crazy.

9) Do the women throw themselves at you? Come on, you can tell us. The fighters as a whole are sex symbols (I’m sure you knew that) and the better looking guys just have to get a lot of female fans after them. Being a married man, how do you deal with it? How does your wife deal with it?

Frank: Hey, my wife is uber hot. She’s got no reason to be insecure or to worry about it. She could get up, walk out right now and get plenty of attention. We both know it. Same is true for me. I could get laid in minutes. It comes with that level of celebrity that gets you perks at restaurants and clubs. Women may or may not recognize you as a fighter or commentator, but they know you’re getting the VIP treatment, and that’s what counts. When I was on King of Queens, Kevin James told me there’d be a difference. If you’re in a movie, the audience has to go out and get a ticket, pick up a date, buy popcorn – they have to make an effort to see you.
When you’re on TV, it’s a different phenomenon. Guys sit in their underwear scratching their nuts and drinking beer, their wives are in their nightgowns, and you’re there on the television – with them, in their house. Know what I mean?
 They figure, “He, he’s in my living room. He has to be okay.”
After seeing me on TV, they assume they know me. People will come up and get cozy real quick, like I’m a friend. It’s crazy.
And I admit it, I like to flirt. I don’t mean anything by it, it’s just part of my personality. But flirting is one thing. There’s a line I draw. People don’t realize it, but I’m not a big crowd person. I get uncomfortable when women start crowding in too much, getting too feely. My wife will see it, and she laughs at me instead of coming to my rescue.
The thing is, she has a real job, so she can’t always be with me when I’m out, so I’m not about to do anything that’d make her uncomfortable. We both know we could walk out any minute and get laid, so why do it?

10) So why “Twinkle Toes?”

Frank: There’s a story to that! I paint my toe nails. Hey, I’m a metro-sexual. I’m secure in my masculinity.  I even get pedicures and facials. I like being pampered. My daughter likes to pick out the colors for me to use on my toenails. Anyway, I was fighting in Japan and the commentator asked a fan who was her favorite fighter. She didn’t really speak much English, so she said the guy with the twinkle toes, and it stuck.

11) Lastly, what’s up for you next, in your personal life and your career?

Frank: All kinds of stuff.
I’m on-air everyday with TAGG radio at TAGGradio.com  till 10:30 am, PAC.
I’ve got the TRIGGONOMICS URBAN ATHLETICS clothing line at Triggonomics.com that’s doing great. People think it’s MMA wear, but it’s more urban athletics, like Echo or Phat Farm. We’re seeking more retail outlets for that right now, and we’ve just come up with some new designs.
I’m doing casting calls.
And I signed for trading cards. Those will be available in about three months. They did the top twenty-five fighters first, starting with Couture and Liddell and Ortiz. 
With all that, marriage and kids, I’m definitely staying busy.

No doubt about it. Frank Trigg has an excess of energy, intelligence and motivation. Whatever he does, I’m sure he’ll succeed. I look forward to it all!
It’s easy to see why the fighter mentality – which contrary to some lame stereotypes epitomizes honor and dedication and strength – would appeal to so many women, and work so well in novels written for female audiences. I’ve found incredible success with my books based on fighters as lead protagonists.
I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.

Note: Lori Foster is the Waldenbooks, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author of over 70 titles published through a variety of houses, including Berkley/Jove, Kensington, and St. Martins. Her fighter series includes CAUSING HAVOC, SIMON SAYS, and HARD TO HANDLE, available in February 08. You can visit Lori at www.lorifoster.com