WSOF 3's John Gunderson talks split from Xtreme Couture, rebirth at Syndicate

World Series of Fighting lightweight John Gunderson long considered Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture his home gym. But in the past year, he had a change of heart.

Gunderson (34-14-2), who meets Dan Lauzon (16-4) tonight at WSOF 3, had taken up coaching to earn a living between fights, but also wanted to work with the best professionals in town.

“I wanted to be involved with a good MMA team, and I just felt like Xtreme Couture wasn’t it,” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

WSOF 3 takes place at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The event’s main card airs live on NBC Sports Network following prelims on MMAjunkie.com, which hosts Gunderson vs. Lauzon.

Once packed with the industry’s top talent, Xtreme Couture’s pro ranks have thinned in recent years as several stalwarts such as Gray Maynard and Mike Pyle have moved to other gyms such as American Kickboxing Academy and the gym Gunderson now calls home, Syndicate MMA.

After deciding to leave Xtreme Couture, Gunderson reached out to Las Vegas trainer John Wood, who at the time was coaching a season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and struck a deal to teach a class at Syndicate. Soon, he was a regular fixture.

That left Gunderson the job of recruiting fighters for pro practices. So he sent a text message to every professional he respected. The next session, the number of attendees quadrupled.

“When they all showed up together and had a great practice, and the facility itself is so big, and there’s so much talent around, guys are going to want to stick around,” Gunderson said. “We have three to five coaches on the floor as opposed to one.”

In a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com, Randy Couture attributed the exodus of fighters to places such as Syndicate, where they aren’t charged a membership fee. Gunderson said he has no hard feelings about his former home.

“I enjoyed my time there,” he said. “I had great training partners: Tyson Griffin, Gray Maynard, Evan Dunham. The list goes on.

“There was nothing like it when Shawn Tompkins was there running it. We had all the guys in the IFL and the UFC and the guys trying to get there. That was a bond, and you could tell from how the fighters did at the time. They took a bunch of great wrestlers and great kickboxers, and it was perfect. Luckily for me, I was there to experience that as a fighter.”

And it’s that experience that Gunderson is using to move into the next phase of his career as a coach and fighter. How long he does the latter is currently unknown, but he said he’ll compete as long as his body allows. A neck injury cost him a fight with Gesias Cavalcante at WSOF 1, but he said he’s ready to go.

“I still have the hunger to fight,” he said. “As long as I’m still able to train the way I need to, then why not fight?”

He’ll put his body on the line for the 51st time tonight when he meets Lauzon, who at 25 years old already has the mileage of a veteran.

“I’m excited about it,” said Gunderson. “I think the fans are going to get what they paid for.”

For the latest on WSOF 3, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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