In every sport there seems to be a handful of coaches and/or trainers who transcend what greatness is all about. The NBA had Phil Jackson, the NFL had Vince Lombardi and Major League Baseball has Tony LaRussa.

In the fight game, there are several marquee trainers who have led countless warriors down the path to becoming world champions. Boxing’s Eddie Futch is arguably the greatest trainer the Sweet Science will perhaps ever witness and in mixed martial arts, Pat Miletich reigns supreme.

Kickboxing’s answer, at least American kickboxing, is Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.’s own Eddy Millis. The founder of the legendary Shark Tank, Millis is one of those guys who, if you want to learn the ins and outs of kickboxing in America, you turn to him. Millis has paved the way for success to champions too numerous to count and his training methods are second to none.

This Saturday inside the Bellagio Resort and Casino, Millis will have not one but three of his own fighters competing in K-1’s Battle at Bellagio IV. He has the popular Mighty Mo set to lock horns with two-time defending K-1 World Grand Prix champion Remy Bonjasky in a highly-anticipated super-fight, former WWE professional wrestler Sean O’Haire giving it his best inside the K-1 USA tournament and relative unknown powerhouse Mark Selbee in the tournament as well.

If the pieces all come together, Selbee could wind up in the finals against O’Haire. While that is a situation most coaches would covet, Millis isn’t sure what he’d do and who’s corner he’d sit in. While the likelihood of that phenomenon actually occurring is highly improbably, it’s not impossible.

Sherdog.com: Let’s talk about Mighty Mo first. He is prepared to fight Remy Bonjasky on Saturday, so how has training gone?

Eddy Millis: Training has gone very well in preparing for Remy. We know that Remy has very good knees and we have been working a lot in terms of defending them. He is very athletic but he is predictable and he’s kind of robotic sometimes. We feel that we have devised the proper formula to beat him. I’m not going to fully discuss what we’re doing because Remy might be reading this. We don’t want him to know what we’ve been doing (laughs).

Sherdog.com: Remy is also very agile and quick. I can’t recall Mo ever fighting someone as quick or agile as Remy. How have you guys prepared for that aspect of his game?

Millis: Well, I don’t think you can really judge Mighty Mo on that aspect because if you think about it, he has only started doing this about a year ago. Mighty Mo is matched up perfectly against Remy because a lot of times when Remy fights because, like I said, he is quite predictable with a lot of the techniques that he does. Mo is very quick and actually very agile as well. The only major flaw that Mo does is that he sometimes drops his hands. If you look back at his fights, the only time he really got caught was when he dropped his hands. It was just a mistake that he made. But we’re prepared for Remy and I think we’ll do just fine.

Sherdog.com: There has been some flack headed Mo’s way ever since he was knocked out by Koaklai. In your words, how was Mo after that loss and did it take him long to get over it?

Millis: Oh, he was really down about it. But the thing is, he said, “You know what, it is what it is and I’m new to this sport. So I’m just going to step it up and prepare.” He’s going to get stronger and faster and he’s down weight already. He fought Koaklai at 289 and right now he’s walking around at about 275.

Sherdog.com: How and when did you start working with Mo? Did he come to you or did you actually find him?

Millis: It was Brian Warren, actually. He came up to Brian after doing one of the Toughman competitions and said that he wanted to be trained and managed. So Brian told him that he knew who to talk to and he knew where to go. That’s how that happened.

Sherdodg.com: Switching over to your other fighter for this event, Mark Selbee. He lives in Atlanta but your Shark Tank gym is in California. I know he works full time so how do you train the guy?

Millis: He trains with a group of guys during the week down in Atlanta, but on the weekends he flies out here to train with me at the Shark Tank.

Sherdog.com: How is Selbee? Is he pretty easy to deal with and train or is he somewhat difficult?

Millis: He’s pretty easy to train. He has the experience and he is a full-contact world champion, so he at least knows what he’s doing. That makes it pretty easy and he listens well.

Sherdog.com: With Selbee not knowing exactly who he was going to face in the alternate bout until a few weeks ago (Editor’s Note: Selbee has replaced an injured Michael McDonald is in the tournament’s main draw), for you as a trainer is it harder to train a fighter without a set opponent or is it actually easier?

Millis: Well, with K-1, especially if you’re going to be in the tournament, you can’t focus on training for only one style of opponent. You might be fighting three different guys in one night, so you can’t just train for someone who is just a puncher or just a kicker. You have to train for all types of fighting styles at all times because you don’t know who a second or third round opponent will be. So, it doesn’t make a difference if the opponent is known ahead of time or not when it comes to fighting in tournaments or as an alternate. You want to go through general training routines and focus on a lot of conditioning.

Sherdog.com: Let’s switch gears to Sean O’Haire, your third fighter on the card. He made his K-1 debut last December against Musashi. I didn’t see that particular fight and to be completely honest, I don’t know much about him. I’m also not a big WWE fan, either.

Millis: He’s a good fighter. He has the size and strength and he’s fought in mixed martial arts as well. He knocked out that guy from PRIDE, Shungo Oyama, last November. He has potential and he learns pretty quickly.

Sherdog.com: How is he as a person? I know from experience that some pro wrestlers are conceited jerks and act like rock stars. Is Sean like that at all?

Millis: What? Did someone tell you that Sean was like that?

Sherdog.com: No, not at all. I’m just stating that sometimes some pro wrestlers can be pompous and tough to deal with. Nobody said Sean was like that. I was just asking.

Millis: No, Sean is a good guy. He listens very well and he says, “Yes sir,” and never questions my instructions. He just listens and soaks up the information. He learns quickly and he has good form. He is very, very pleasant to work with. He is a very good student and he’s a good person. He’s not hotheaded whatsoever like some pro athletes.

Sherdog.com: Do you expect Sean to win the entire tournament?

Millis: Well, he doesn’t have the vast experience like some of the participants, but I expect him to do very well. I won’t be surprised at all if he wins it. He’s very good and this is his opportunity to prove it. He will do very well, believe me.