Meet Matt “Danger” Schnell, the breakout star of MTV’s ground-breaking MMA series Caged. As humble as he is talented, Matt not only went undefeated during his time on Caged, he did so with his dignity intact. No small feat for a cast member on an MTV reality show. But make no mistake, Matt isn’t just some reality show star looking for his 15 minutes of fame. In fact, if you watched Caged, you know “Danger” not only has the talent to make it to the top, he has the work ethic too.
I recently had the good fortune to sit down with Matt to discuss his time on Caged and more importantly, what he’s been up to since the show wrapped this past Winter. Read on to find out whether or not Matt went out to California to train with Team Punishment, why he’s the perfect training partner for UFC star Dustin Poirier as he trains for the Korean Zombie and whether or not we can expect a second season of Caged next year.
And folks, don’t be surprised if we see Matt join his training partner Dustin in the UFC in the very near future…this kid could be the future of the UFC’s newest weight class, the Flyweights.
“Every day I’m working towards that goal of getting signed to a UFC contract.”
VigilanteMMA: Most people now know you as “Danger” from MTV’s Caged. Overall, are you happy with how you were portrayed on the show? Is there anything about the show that you would have changed, now given the gift of hindset?
Matt Schnell: The show did a very good job in portraying me for who I am. The producers took a lot of time to really understand me as a person and they did a great job in portraying me. As far as the show goes, I do wish they would have showed a little more of the training and just working hard. That was just a big part of the process for me, just grinding every day in the gym and I don’t know if they captured enough of that. But with everything else they did a great job and I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s blessed my career and I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out.
VigilanteMMA: The show took place in a small town in Louisiana called Minden. How did the city react to all of the MTV cameras?
Matt Schnell: You know, honestly I’m from Shreveport LA, which is a bigger city…Minden is kind of on the outskirts of Shreveport. But as far as how they reacted to it, I honestly don’t think that many people even knew about it. The whole time this was going on, I wasn’t trying to go out and be like “Hey look at me, I have cameras following me.” I even had friends that I went to high school with calling me like “Dude, are you about to be on a MTV show?” And the reason I kept it that way was because it was a very long process; it was 3 years in the making so I didn’t want to go out and tell everybody and then have it not happen. So when it happened, it turned out great.
VigilanteMMA: Well, lucky for us and MTV, the show made it on air and was quite the hit. I would imagine with the show’s success that you’re getting recognized in public. What’s the weirdest fan experience you’ve had?
Matt Schnell: Yeah, I do get recognized a lot…I’m down in south Louisiana training for my pro debut, so here I get recognized a lot more than I did when I was out in California, but a lot of times it’s just a real awkward thing when people recognize you. I don’t know if people just don’t want to walk up to you and say “Hey, how you doing?” but some people are just weird about it. I had this couple just stare me down from across the room and it was just an awkward situation. And then recently a girl walked up to me and said “You know who you are” and then just walked away. And that was just strange. It’s just a very weird situation when you’re being watched.
VigilanteMMA: Let’s shift back to what happened during the season. Your family life was a pretty major story line throughout the season. Most importantly, how’s your Mom doing with everything?
Matt Schnell: Oh, she’s doing great. She was going through a very hard time there with her husband leaving her. But she was able to sell her house; she has a nice little apartment now. She’s caught up with all of her bills. Everything is just going well for her. Her life is headed in a positive direction. I couldn’t be happier with the progress she’s made.
VigilanteMMA: Your father was also featured on the show. Has your Dad changed his tune in regards to you being a fighter? He looked like he turned a corner there at the season finale after your big win.
Matt Schnell: Yeah. My dad is very, very supportive of me. And he has been, especially since the show came along. No one really believed that I was going to make anything of this at first, nobody. Not my mom, not my brother, not my sister, nobody. But as I started fighting and as I won, they started talking to coaches and things of that nature, it became more apparent that this was something that I could do for a living. And now I’m pulling in a little money, and I’m supporting myself so my Dad couldn’t be any more proud of me. I’m completely self-sufficient and he’s very excited about my future. He’ll be at my first pro fight if his schedule permits it. I think the show definitely did help in changing the way he thought about it. It’s been a long time coming and I’m very excited about it and he’s excited about everything too.
VigilanteMMA: Matt, speaking of you starting out in MMA, how did that come about? Did you start out with a traditional martial art or did you just start training in MMA?
Matt Schnell: I actually just started training after high school. I was an athlete all through high school; I competed in wrestling, I did a little track, I played a lot of football and after I graduated high school I didn’t have any scholarship offers anywhere (laughs), go figure…I was just an average athlete, but being an athlete I don’t think that you ever stop being an athlete. I still just wanted to compete in something, whether it was boxing, or jiu jitsu, or anything. I needed to compete still. So it was really my love to compete that pulled me back into fighting. So I went to a gym and got beat up and I was hooked and I’ve been training every since.
VigilanteMMA: Let’s get back to the show for a bit. The season finale showed you capping off a perfect season (4-0) which ultimately landed you a spot on Tito Ortiz’s Team Punishment. What did that all entail? Did you end up going out to California to train?
Matt Schell: Yeah, I did go to California and met a lot of cool people and I got to work with a lot of the best people in the sport. I was able to create some relationships with some pretty high level guys. I got to train with Rafael Cordeiro at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, I got to train with Tito…me and Tito have a great relationship. He’s a good buddy of mine, we text each other back and forth. He’s very interested in what my future entails. Just the whole experience with Team Punishment was great. They treated me so well. They provided for me, and they continue to do so. They still send me gear all the time and always keep in touch with me. So it was a great experience and it allowed me to open up a very good relationship with a solid company in the sport.
VigilanteMMA: During the season, it also showed you training with UFC veterans Tim Credeur and Dustin Piorier at Tim’s gym Gladiator’s Academy. What are some of the differences between professional and amateur practice? What’s the biggest thing you learned from training there?
Matt Schnell: You know honestly, I don’t know if there’s much difference between an amateur and a pro practice, at least not at my level. A good amateur is probably going to be a decent pro. The difference is, is just seeing how dudes really do it. Just seeing how they train every day. I’m here in Lafayette training with these same guys and they’re treating me very well. I just sparred with Dustin today and I can barely walk. But he’s an awesome dude. Dustin is getting ready to fight the Korean Zombie and I’m doing everything out here to help him with that. It’s just being in the environment, and just watching a guy like Dustin Piorier prepare for a fight. It’s hard to explain but it makes you want to be better. It makes you want to train harder and I’m very blessed to be in the situation I’m in to be training with such good people. And Tim, great dude, takes a lot of time and effort into making me better, and everybody at his gym. And it’s not just if you’re a pro or an amateur, he’s just in it to make people better. And that’s what’s great about this place in Lafayette.
VigilanteMMA: Very cool. And wow, that’s awesome that you get to help Dustin Piorier train for his #1 title contender fight against the Korean Zombie.
Matt Schnell: Yeah, it’s a big fight. But honestly, the only thing I really have to offer him is that I just happen to be part Korean, so he can just beat me up (laughs).
VigilanteMMA: So now that you’re training with all of these UFC guys, who are some of your favorite fighters to watch, outside of the guys you’ve been working with?
Matt Schnell: You know, I’m a huge fan of Chael Sonnen. I got to meet him, and he’s a very nice guy. Always been a fan of his style and the way he fights. He’s just a grinder…he’s a mean dude, he’s very intelligent too. I’m just a huge fan of fighting in general you know, I’ve got a lot of respect for pretty much every fighter out there. Of course I like the little guys; Joe Benevidez, pretty much all the Alpha Male guys. Dominick Cruz is a lot of fun to watch. But if I had to pick a favorite fighter right now, I’d probably say Chael Sonnen.
VigilanteMMA: Changing the tune a bit, I want to ask you about your least favorite activity, cutting weight. To those aspiring fighters out there reading this, what kind of advice can you give them regarding safely cutting weight?
Matt Schnell: The biggest thing is to make sure you always keep your metabolism going. You want to stay away from carbs of course. You have to keep your water intake. I think a lot of people just think they’ll just stop drinking water to lose all of their water weight, but that’s not really how your body works. You have to increase your water intake to flush out all of the bad things. You shouldn’t really cut your water intake until the day before the weigh-ins. So the biggest thing is don’t skip meals and increase your water intake I would say. And stay away from sodium.
VigilanteMMA: Awesome, thanks. So you had mentioned you’re training for your pro debut. Tell us a little more about that.
Matt Schnell: I’m out here training full time with Tim and Dustin. I’m supposed to, or at least it’s in the works for me to go to camp with Tito Ortiz for his last fight too, so we’ll see what comes of that. I’m hoping that comes through. I’m here working with Tim and Dustin at the Gladiators Academy out here in Lafayette just working hard. I’m fighting sometime in June. We don’t have an exact date nailed down and we don’t have an exact location nailed down but it’s going to happen in June. I’m taking a fight in June. I don’t care if I have to fight in a tool shed, I’m taking a pro fight in June. And as I learn more about it, I’ll release the details.
VigilanteMMA: OK, so we know you’re fighting in June. Do you know what organization it will be with?
Matt Schnell: There are two different ones right now, I can’t name either one of them, but we’re dealing with two different ones right now.
VigilanteMMA: So have you had any fights since you’re time on Caged?
Matt Schnell: No, I have not. That was October 28th, and that was the last time I fought so I’m definitely anxious right now. I want to fight again. So that’s why I’m saying, no later than June…I’m taking a fight in June.
VigilanteMMA: Awesome. Make sure you keep us in the loop. So before I let you go, I need to ask you about a possible second season of Caged. Will there be a season 2 and if so, what can people expect out of you?
Matt Schnell: I would definitely be down to do a season 2. It’s something I’m very interested in and I think there’s a lot of my story that’s yet to be told and I want people to come along on the journey with me. I’m getting better every day, I’m training hard. I think here in the next year or two, if I get a few fights under my belt, I’ll be able to compete at the highest level in this sport. And I don’t know if a lot of people know that, or give me much credit, but I work hard and I train hard and I’m working every day to be better at what I do. So here in the next few years you should watch out for me.
VigilanteMMA: So when you do turn pro, what weight class will you be at?
Matt Schnell: I’ll be a 125er, I’ll be fighting at flyweight. I’m very excited about that. I’m in the best position of anybody, and that’s not me trying to be cocky, it’s just with that weight class being so new, I can make that weight and I’m a big 25. I feel strong at that weight class so I think I can be fighting in the UFC here soon. But I have a lot of work to do and I’m working hard. That’s the goal every day. Every day I’m working towards that goal of getting signed to a UFC contract.
VigilanteMMA: That’s great Matt. Based on what I saw on the show, you’re work ethic is 2nd to none and I have no doubt we’ll be seeing you in the UFC very soon. And I hear you already have a leg up on the competition, as you already have your very own custom t-shirt through Punishment Athletics. Where can people buy it?
Matt Schnell: You can find my t-shirts at PunishmentAthletics.com. It’s called “The Danger tee,” it’s a pretty cool shirt so go buy it!
VigilanteMMA: Awesome, I actually saw your shirt. Very cool. So lastly, are you on twitter? Any last shout-outs?
Matt Schnell: My twitter handle is Danger_Caged. I’d like to give a shout out to my original gym, Elite Combat Academy in Shreveport, Lousiana. I’d like to give a shout out to Gladiators Academy in Lafayette, who’s taking such good care of me now. And also Punishment Training Center and Kings MMA out in Huntington Beach. I’m just very appreciative of everything and I look forward to getting better and growing in this sport and showing everyone what I’m capable of.
VigilanteMMA: Awesome. Thank you for your time Matt and good luck.
Matt Schnell: Thanks a lot. I appreciate the time!
