Adib Sulaiman first took the plunge into MMA when he fought at the Ultimate Beatdown Borneo in March 2018. He then signed on to compete at the ONE Warrior Series few months later and he currently holds a 3-2 win-loss record. We at BruSports News grabbed the opportunity to speak to the 30-year-old to know more about him.
Q: Tell us something we don't know about Adib Sulaiman.
A: I have a Bachelor's Degree in computer science and information technology. I started studying computing - network engineering - in 2011 all the way to computer science 2016. Totally different field to where I am currently at in terms of my fighting career.
Q: Share with us your MMA journey. Why did you venture into this sport?
A: It started off as a hobby and I became passionately invested in it before turning it into a career.
Q: Was the decision easy or difficult when you chose MMA full time over a computing/programming 8-5 job?
A: My mindset of getting into MMA as a career is to not have regrets and looking back to what could or should have been.
Q: Is there an athlete who we can compare your fighting style to?
A: I watch a lot of high profile fights and try to learn as much as I can.
For myself, whenever I watch a fight, I take it as study material rather than for most people who only want to watch it as a form of entertainment.
Q: What is your favourite discipline of MMA? Why?
A: Nothing in particular. Being in the sport, we cannot have favouritism for a discipline.
This is due to the nature of the sport being vastly open into different aspects of the fight. That's the beauty of MMA.
Q: What do you think is your best memory to date in the sport?
A: Signing on for ONE Warrior Series and meeting some big stars in the sport such as Rich Franklin, Max Holloway, Michael Chandler and many more!
Q: Who is your MMA idol?
A: Georges St-Pierre. Just the way he carries himself, he managed to bring himself up from a loss and get back to the top.
He had a very successful MMA career and retired with health and wealth still in tact despite knowing the sport takes a lot out of an athlete.
Q: What is your ultimate goal in the sport?
A: For Brunei to recognise it as a legitimate sport and see the growth of martial arts in the country, which we are seeing at the moment with many gyms and people getting into the sport.
Q: What do you think makes a good MMA athlete?
A: Being discipline and being able to listen to a good well experienced coach in the sport.
Q: What do you normally do during your spare time?
A: Managing Wolfpack gym, personal training and I do enjoy doing some chores around the house.
Q: Since you are a coach yourself at Wolfpack, who was your coach that got you going?
A: Eazy Anuar and Dayat Abdul, when I started my journey back in Busiido MMA.
Occasionally I go to Bali MMA in Indonesia for my fight camp preparation for.
Fortunately, I also have my students that help me in terms of training as I train alongside them in bettering my art.
Q: What's your secret to staying in shape?
A: It’s not really a secret as it is my career to coach and train as well. Therefore I am blessed to have it as a daily routine to train alongside my students and partners.
Q: Do you have a diet plan? What's your favourite food?
A: Everything in moderation. We hear a lot of diet plans from a lot of people. This really depends on the individual on what is compatible and there is no one size fits all kind of diet.
As for myself, I do enjoy some sweets and chocolates, but as I said everything in moderation.
Q: If not MMA, what sport would you be doing?
A: Honestly, I don’t know but I am now doing free diving and swimming.
Q: If you were given a chance to have lunch with any athlete, who would it be and why?
A: My idol Georges St-Pierre. I would like to listen to his life stories and his training routine, his mindset towards competition and just learning about his perspective in life.
Q: What kind of advice can you give to an athlete who wants to follow in your footsteps?
A: Choose a good gym, be discipline and be smart in your training. Recovery is crucial and do not wreck yourself physically everyday.
Q: If there was one song you could play on repeat for an entire training session. What would it be and why?
A: I wouldn’t want one song to play on repeat forever in a training session, I would go crazy! (laughs)
But I would probably go for LOGIC, any song from his latest album 'no pressure' because of the way he composes his song lyrics.
His beats and rhythms resonate alongside my journey and his growth in his career and perspective on life.
Q: Some messages to the readers to end this interview?
A: Be patient and keep on grinding on our crafts and passion. We should use this time wisely.
