Author: By E. Spencer Kyte

One item on the mantle in Joseph Benavidez’s house stands out from the rest. Amidst the family photos and personal totems you’d find lining the mantle in anyone’s house rests a Polaroid – a 4×6 photo of a UFC championship belt.

“Everyone comes in and they’re like, `Why do you have a picture of the belt up there?’ and I’m like, `I’m just waiting on the real one,’” laughs the Las Cruces, New Mexico native. Benavidez doesn’t have to wait too much longer for the opportunity to replace his prized Polaroid with the real thing.

Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, the 28-year-old will square off with Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in the final bout of the four-man tournament to crown the inaugural champion in the UFC’s newest division.

Pundits predicted Benavidez would find his way into the final pairing in the flyweight tournament. The former WEC star is regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound competitors in the sport, having amassed a record that he describes as “16 and Dominick Cruz.”

While mathematical errors forced Johnson to battle Ian McCall for a second time in order to advance to this stage, Benavidez punched his ticket to the finals with a blistering second-round knockout win over Yashuhiro Urushitani back in March. It was the kind of display that showed why many tabbed him to win the tournament when it was initially announced, and just how much of a difference moving ten pounds down the scale has made for the Team Alpha Male representative.

“I had adjusted my life to fight at 135, but it wasn’t the best I could be,” admits Benavidez. “I always had to compromise something at 135, in both my lifestyle and as a fighter.  At 125, I don’t have to make any compromises with my style. I can go out there and literally be the best fighter in every aspect of the fight, and that’s what makes the champions of the weight class better than everyone else in the division; they go in there and fight how they want to. This is definitely the weight class I’m supposed to be in.

“I feel stronger. I feel perfect, and the weight cut actually helps – it brings a certain discipline to my life and to my camp that I didn’t need at 135. I always worked as hard as I could, but I didn’t need to be disciplined in my diet and focused on that realm – getting in the runs, getting the diet right, making sure everything is on point. I rocked Eddie Wineland, and rocked Ian Loveland, but they wouldn’t go down. At this weight, if I hit someone, they fall.”

Moving down in weight is certainly the most visible change Benavidez has made in his career, but there was an important shift that occurred prior to his departure from the 135-pound ranks that has been paying dividends as well.

The flyweight title hopeful was spending a great deal of time in Las Vegas, and began working with the late Shawn Tompkins prior to making his UFC debut. “The Coach” passed away unexpectedly the same day that Benavidez used what they’d worked on to earn a unanimous decision win over Wineland, his second consecutive win inside the Octagon, and fourth straight victory following his split decision loss to Cruz in their second encounter. From there, Benavidez connected with respected Muay Thai coach Shawn Yarborough, who in turn introduced him to the tandem of Jimmy Gifford and Ricky Lundell. He’s been working with them ever since.

“I had met Shawn Yarborough down in Brazil. I told him I was in Vegas and that I would like to train with him. He introduced me to “Giff,” who introduced me to Ricky Lundell, and I was hooked right away. These guys are amazing trainers. I hadn’t seen the coaching like these guys were doing – mixing MMA with wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

“Our team is very unique because we don’t have a head coach at Team Alpha Male; different people run practice every day,” explains Benavidez. “We have our routine for a warm-up, then someone will show a technique that we should work on, and someone will run us through it. There’s not really a head coach telling us what to do. I can do that all throughout training, but now when I get down to these final weeks, I’m in amazing shape, I’m ready to go five rounds, but I need to put in the little, fine details, and that’s really where a coach or coaches come in and help me.

“I’m fighting for a world title. I haven’t been a champion yet, and when you’re looking to become a champion, you have to do things that you haven’t done before. You have to do stuff that other people aren’t willing to do. You have to do whatever it takes, so if I feel something can help me for this fight, I’m going to do it. It’s been amazing thus far having Ricky and Giff out here helping me for the fight. I got here with my training partners and working hard, but I want to take it to the next level. I want to do everything it takes to do that, and if there is something that can help me, I’m going to do it, and this has definitely helped me.”

Saturday’s meeting with Johnson is invariably the biggest fight of Benavidez’s career. Though he went five rounds with Cruz for the WEC bantamweight title in the main event of WEC 50, this time it’s a UFC title at stake, as well as a permanent place in the organization’s history. While the magnitude of the moment is certainly not lost on him, Benavidez instead views his UFC 152 championship co-main event match with Johnson as an opportunity to achieve one of the goals he set out for himself at the start of his career.

“It’s another fight, and I have to think like that. I can’t let the pressure get to me as much as I let it inspire me. I don’t try to look at it like I’m making history and let that freak me out as much as I let it inspire me and remind me why I’m doing this. When I got into this sport, I wanted the limelight, the main event, and the world title. That’s everyone’s goal in this sport; everyone wants the main event, the recognition, the world title, and now I feel like this isn’t pressure – this is where I’m supposed to be. This was my plan, this is what I’ve worked for, and this is what I deserve.

“I look at it as I set a goal, this is what I wanted, and now it’s happening,” continues Benavidez, his speech quickening, reflecting the excitement and energy thinking about this weekend’s bout sends coursing through him. “The journey (from Las Cruces, New Mexico) just makes it that much sweeter. It’s been a rough road, and it’s been hard work, but that makes it even sweeter. I just think of everyone who has helped me along the way, and supported me throughout life and my career, and think this is for them. This makes my family happy. This makes the people that support me happy. This is what I planned for, and this is why I did everything I did. This is why I go to the gym at seven in the morning and leave at seven at night. This is why I go that extra round. This is why I didn’t go out that one night. This is why I’ve made all those sacrifices.”

This is also an opportunity for Benavidez to bring UFC gold home to Team Alpha Male, and the possibility of succeeding where his teammates came up short earlier in the year only serves as further motivation. Having answered questions about being overshadowed by teammates like Mendes and Faber throughout his career, Benavidez wants to make it perfectly clear that this isn’t about trumping his teammates’ accomplishments or emerging from their shadow – it’s about winning for the team, and establishing himself as one of the elite talents in the sport.

“It’s not me trying to separate myself from anyone on the team; I want a belt for our team as well, and that’s going to mean a lot to me. We’ve had the two shots (this year), and it’s going to mean a lot for me to be the one to bring it home, and let everyone know that at Team Alpha Male we have a world champion.

“I’m trying to separate myself from every fighter in the world and establish myself as one of the best fighters in the world. There are only a select few who can be UFC champions, and I’m going to be one of them. Chad and Urijah having fought for titles, win or lose, it was motivating for me. Unfortunately they lost, and now I need to do this for us, for the team. I believe all of us here have had or will have our moment in time, and this is just my time.”

Just as he put a Polaroid on his mantle to represent the championship belt that would one day rest there, Benavidez has thought about winning Saturday night. He’s thought about Bruce Buffer announcing him as the first flyweight champion in UFC history while Dana White wraps the title around his waist in the center of the Octagon. In fact, it’s the only thing he thinks about.

“Have I stopped thinking about it is the question,” he laughs, detailing how frequently he plays the scene out in his mind. “I think about it constantly – in training, laying in bed, watching TV, when someone’s talking to me and I’m not listening to them. That’s what I’m thinking about; that’s my life right now. It’s the most important thing in my life right now, and that’s what I’m steadily thinking about.

“I’ve looked at (the Polaroid) every day that I’ve been in the UFC, thinking about taking down that piece of paper and replacing it with a real, shiny belt. That’s something I’ve been visualizing from the beginning, knowing that picture is just there until I get my belt. Just the thought moves me, so I can’t imagine how the dream becoming a reality is going to feel.”

Brian Stann was supposed to be the one to welcome Hector Lombard to the UFC. Fresh off an impressive first-round stoppage win over Alessio Sakara in April, the hard-hitting middleweight was tabbed to be the first to step into the Octagon with the organization’s latest acquisition.

Lombard stood as another “How good is he really?” mystery; a fighter carrying a 25-fight unbeaten streak into this debut on the biggest stage in the sport. With a great deal of intrigue in the pairing and a strong likelihood that it would produce an explosive encounter, the 185-pound competitors were tabbed to headline UFC on FOX 4 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on August 4.

It was a quality opponent and opportunity for the 31-year-old Stann, but it wasn’t meant to be. A shoulder injury forced him to withdraw from the contest, and Lombard was eventually selected to replace Michael Bisping opposite Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta. Having lined up their opponents to square off while they recovered, it only made sense for the UFC to have Bisping and Stann meet once they were fully healed and ready to return to action.

“I was very excited; I didn’t expect it,” says Stann of the opportunity to face Bisping this weekend at UFC 152. “I thought I missed out on a major opportunity getting injured. I thought I was going to have to fight somebody who was more of an up-and-comer or a lower ranked opponent, and work towards getting a fight with some real significance.

“I got lucky – I got lucky with the timing, and now I’m fighting a guy who is ranked above me. This is a fight I have wanted for a long time. In order to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. This guy is one of the best, and that’s what I’m looking to do.”

The last year has brought a great deal of change to how and where Stann prepares for his bouts. After making routine trips to work with Greg Jackson, Mike Winkeljohn and the tremendous collection of fighters assembled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the 31-year-old Marine made the decision last December to prepare at home in Atlanta instead.

In a sport where egos and opportunities can drive a wedge between teammates, and fracture working relationships, drama didn’t prompt Stann to relocate; tragedy did. After the sudden death of his brother-in-law two days before Christmas, the decision to leave his family to prepare no longer made sense for the 12-4 former WEC light heavyweight champion.

“For me, this is born more out of tragedy and circumstance, and I had to do it. At the same time that this has happened, my kids are also getting older; my kids are in school full-time. Daddy can’t spend six months of the year in a completely different city across the country; that’s just not feasible. There’s a lot of great talent here in Atlanta that used to exit to do their training camps, and we’d train in between fights together – a lot of guys went to ATT, I went to Jackson’s, some guys would go up to New York, other guys would go to California. Now everybody is training together, and we’ve brought together some coaches, and it’s been a pretty incredible environment.

“The shift has gone great. When I’m here in Atlanta, I’ve got an extremely great group of guys – I brought in a great group of guys. There’s a lot of focus, there’s a lot of eyes on every single round I’m putting in. There’s a tremendous focus on drilling and practicing technique every day; it’s an environment that I found where I’m improving in every area faster than I was previously.”

After a stretch where it seemed like all the top fighters in each division were migrating to a small number of “super camps” around the country, Stann believes we’ll see more elite athletes choosing to downsize in the future, opting to receive more focused, individualized training, rather than competing for attention and coaching alongside other title hopefuls and titleholders.

“Fighters, when they get to certain levels, it’s difficult to train for a big fight when you’re in a gym where there are 15 other guys training for a big fight. Sometimes you can get lost in there, and there’s not enough individual attention on what you need to accomplish technically in order to prepare for your fight.

“It’s impossible for someone to decide to train somewhere else unless there is some big drama,” Stann laughs, crediting reality TV with our craving for changes to be born out of scandal, not real life circumstances. “Your life changes as you get older, you get in a different situation – some guys start building around home, some guys still travel to train. I just choose not to (travel) as I get closer to my fight, and focus more here – bring people in to here so I can be with my family more often. It has nothing to do with any drama or anything I wasn’t getting.”

While this will be Stann’s tenth appearance inside the Octagon – and 17th fight overall – there isn’t a great deal of tape for his opponents to dissect. Just three of his previous 16 contests have gone to the scorecards, with all five of his middleweight matches to date ending inside the distance.

What complicates things even more for his opponents is that the majority of his wins all look the same. They showcase the athletic ability that made him a standout linebacker at Navy long before he stepped into the cage, and the punching power that has produced nine stoppages, eight of which have come in the first round. His most recent setbacks look alike as well, all three of his UFC defeats coming as a result of opponents attacking with takedowns, nullifying his power by putting him on his back.

Still developing as a fighter, Stann knows that the relatively short amount of time he’s spent inside the Octagon plays to his advantage, and that the fighter who steps into the cage Saturday night in Toronto will be better than the one who stopped Sakara five months ago in Sweden.

“It’s difficult for people to only evaluate me on tape because they’re not seeing my entire skill set, and so you can still surprise people at times. I’m still getting better every day. For this camp, a gentleman by the name of Raymond Jordan moved in with me; he’s been training with me every day, and he’s an elite level wrestler.

“I’ve been focusing on different areas of my game for a long time now, and improving on them, like heading up to train with Chael (Sonnen), training with different elite level black belts to refine my technique and build on my skill set. Everything I do is deliberate. I don’t just show up to the gym everyday and whatever the coaches feel like teaching I do it – for me, there is always a deliberate plan in place. For these next three weeks, I’m focusing on these techniques because this is where I need to get better. For these weeks, I’m focusing on these techniques. There is always a plan in place for me.”

Heading into this weekend’s meeting with Bisping, Stann’s plan can be summed up in a single word: win.

“Of course you’re always thinking about finishing the fight, but for me, I’m just focused on winning; I’m focused on going out there, fighting hard, and winning. If you go into the Octagon just looking for the knockout, you can sometimes find yourself very far behind on the scorecards, and that’s a mistake someone can make.

“You’ve got to go in there and fight; you’ve got to attack, you’ve got to execute your game, and the knockout will come. It’s like hitting a home run – if you try to hit the home run, you’re going to strike out. Just let it happen – that’s what I do when I strike. I’m very powerful even when I don’t throw my hardest punches.”

While some fighters use their pre-fight interviews to make bold predictions about quick victories or diminish their opponent’s chances, Stann keeps things pretty realistic. Where Bisping has been his talkative, boisterous self in the build-up to Saturday night’s contest, “The All-American” offers a far more level assessment of what fans should expect at the Air Canada Centre this weekend.

“It’s who executes better, and there is always some degree of chance. Either one of us, at any given time, you get clipped and the fight could be over, and that’s one of the beauties of MMA, but whoever executes better is going to win.

“It’s going to be more than just a kickboxing bout – there’s going to be a lot of wrestling taking place, there’s going to be a lot of setups, a lot of chess going on. Who executes better along the cage, on the ground – all these factors are going to play into it. There’s probably going to be some momentum shifts throughout the fight. We’re both professionals – I’m in the best shape of my life, and he’s probably going to come in in the best shape of his life, and both of us want to win, and that’s what makes for great fights. Neither will is going to be broken. We’re going to get after it in there, and I really think it will come down to who fights best that night.”

Stuck on the sidelines, Dominick Cruz is in the midst of the toughest fight of his career.

Four months after a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) forced him out of a summer title defense against his nemesis and fellow Ultimate Fighter coach Urijah Faber, the UFC bantamweight champion is fighting his body and his mind as he works towards a clean bill of health. He knows that he taking the right steps – following his physical therapist’s orders, adhering to the rehabilitation schedule set out for him, giving the new construction of his knee time to fuse and strengthen – but he still can’t shake the feeling that he’s not doing enough.

Cruz is what my father would call a “gym rat.”

Though originally embedded in my vocabulary as a descriptor of the basketball fiend who could always be found shooting 15-foot jumpers in the dimmed lights of the dormant gymnasium or working on his handle in the wee hours of the morning, the tag is easily transferable, and is an apt description of the 27-year-old “Dominator” and countless others in mixed martial arts.

The majority of his days are spent in the gym, drilling, grinding, training, preparing. It’s not only what he does to earn a living, but how he identifies himself as well, and right now, that has been taken from him. Just as the basketball junkie would be lost without the ability to shoot foul shots to his heart’s content, Cruz feels like there is something missing since he’s unable to put himself through the daily grind that has been his routine for so long. The only thing keeping him from over-extending and pushing too hard too soon is his belief that suffering through the restrictions of his injury is what being a champion is all about.

“Sometimes being a professional isn’t always about giving 100 percent because right now I’m not allowed to give 100 percent,” opines the injured champion. “If I tried to go put 100 percent into my training right now, I’d blow my knee out. Right now, being a professional is about staying calm, staying very patient, and letting the process take its course. I feel like a true champion can figure out a way to make due with what he’s got, and right now, that’s what I’m trying to do.

“It’s frustrating,” he says with a laugh, answering the obvious follow-up question about how he’s handling the rehabilitation process. “If anything, that’s the one thing you can really get out of this interview. I’m frustrated. I’m ready to train, I’m ready to fight, but I can’t. This is for sure the toughest battle I’ve gone through in my life; no question. My livelihood somewhat depends on my body, and me fighting, me performing, and me practicing, and I’m not able to do that right now.

“It’s a constant mental battle. `Are you doing enough to be the best? Are you doing what you’re supposed to be doing?’ I know deep down inside that I am, but something in the back of my mind – because I’m an athlete, because I train, because that’s what I do and that’s what comes natural to me – something in the back of my brain is always telling me, `You should be doing more.’ The hardest part of physical therapy isn’t the therapy; it’s holding back on the things that I’d like to be doing.”

Not only is Cruz battling the physical limitations that accompany the kind of major injury and surgery he’s experienced, but the always candid champion says he’s also fighting to accept the praise, encouragement, and support being offered up by the legions of UFC fans who are eager to see the man who stands atop the 135-pound weight class healthy and back in action.

“One of the biggest, toughest things for me is the fans – the fans want to see me fight. People want to see the champion out there doing what he does best, and for me to be out, I feel like it’s hard on the fans, and I don’t like that because I appreciate my fans, and I like to be able to go out and perform for them.

“To be going to these big events and not be training is by far the hardest thing ever,” Cruz continues, elaborating on one of the struggles you might not naturally expect a champion to contend with as he comes back from injury.

“In my mind, what I’ve been telling myself since Day 1 is that you can go to every event out there and make yourself as famous as possible, but unless you’re putting the work in, it’s all in vain because none of this continues unless you’re training hard and doing what you’ve got to do to win. In my mind, it’s hard for me to go out there and get all this praise, and get these pats on the back when I can’t go in there and grind myself to the bone, and make myself feel like I deserve all this recognition. It’s hard – that’s the mental struggle and that’s the battle. I challenge myself everyday so that I can feel like I deserve those pats on the back and that I deserve to be champion, and when I can’t go out there and grind myself to the bone, it’s a mental battle for me because I judge myself more than anyone else possibly could.”

While his own quest to get back in the cage is the driving force in his daily routine, Cruz is also spurred on by the increased depth and list of potential challengers coming together in the bantamweight division in his stead.

After he was forced out of his scheduled trilogy bout with Faber this summer, UFC President Dana White inserted surging Brazilian standout Renan Barao in Cruz’s place, an interim bantamweight title adding to the stakes of the bout that ended up headlining UFC 149 in Calgary in late July.  Over five rounds, the Nova Uniao product got the better of the exchanges, beating Faber to the punch and having a counter to much of what “The California Kid” had to offer. Once he finally stopped bounding around the Octagon, Barao’s hand was raised and the newly minted interim title was wrapped around his waist.

“You know, they were fighting for the #1 contender spot in my opinion,” Cruz says of the contest. “I tip my hat to Barao for a great performance that night, and I take nothing from him, but until he fights me, he’s not the true champion. That’s just the way it is, and everybody knows that. I’m not taking away from the performance that he had, but that was for the #1 contender spot; that wasn’t for the championship.

“He’s done a good job to get there, but when he fights me, he’ll get to see what it’s like to fight for a championship belt. All I can do is sit back and wait – get my knee better, perfect what I’m doing, and stay mentally sharp. Him beating that guy that he beat, it was good for the division. Out with the old, in with the new.”

While Barao has asserted himself as the top contender in the division – and has suggested he’d rather wait to face Cruz in the future than defend the interim title he won in Calgary – there are others making noise in the division as well, including one of Cruz’s closest friends, Mike “The Hulk” Easton. The D.C. native has amassed a perfect 3-0 record since making his UFC debut in October 2011, giving him eight consecutive victories overall, and making him an intriguing contender in the division his teammate and chief training partner currently reigns.

“Me and Mike have talked a lot about it because if you don’t talk to your training partners about there being a possibility of fighting them you’re an idiot,” Cruz laughs. “We know there is a possibility, and I wouldn’t want it any other way than to be fighting one of my best friends for the world title. What better circumstances are there than you and your main training partner are the two best guys in the world, and you’re going to fight for that position? In my opinion, we’re doing something right. He’s like family, but that would not stop us from beating the living crap out of each other, and I know he shares that mindset with me. Maybe that’s why we’re such good friends?”

While his injury and inability to step into the cage provides daily frustration and motivation, it also allows Cruz to sit back and assess his dominion from a distance, and keep tabs on those who are lining up to challenge for his title. The way he sees it, the division – and the UFC as a whole – will continue to get deeper and stronger as time marches on.

“The division is developing and the UFC altogether is growing. There are more fights, and as a result, they’re able to bring in more fighters, and the level of competition just keeps rising. Needless to say, the 135-pound division is growing, and keeps getting better.

For right now, the division and the sport are moving forward without him, leaving Cruz to battle his frustrations and limitations while reminding himself that he’s doing the right thing. It’s a constant struggle for the bantamweight champion, but one that he knows leads to a day when he’ll once again be able to step into the Octagon and remind everyone – even himself – why he’s viewed as one of the very best in the sport, and the undisputed ruler of the 135-pound ranks.

“The division never stops; there is always going to be somebody that is the next best contender, and somebody who is looking super-good like they could beat the champ. But the bottom line is that until they get in there and fight the champ, they’ll never know.”

You’ve seen Eric Del Fierro before, whether as an assistant coach on The Ultimate Fighter 15 or in the corner of a growing number of UFC stars, including bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Phil Davis, Brandon Vera, and Alex Gustafsson. Now meet the head coach at Alliance MMA, one of the sport’s top gyms.

UFC: What is your official title and how did Alliance MMA come together?

Del Fierro: I am the head coach at Alliance MMA. I would say a quarter of the guys that are on the official pro team have been with me since before Alliance MMA existed as a gym. We’ve always been a part of the same team, and I’ve been coaching for 12 or 13 years. I’ve been with Brandon (Vera) for a decade now, and the team has grown since then.

(UFC bantamweight champion) Dominick (Cruz) has been with me for six years, I think Phil Davis has been here for four-and-a-half years or so, so we have a big group of guys now, and it just keeps growing. The gym itself has existed now for about five years.

In this sport, there are a bunch of talented gyms and teams that we sometimes don’t hear a lot about. You guys are starting to get that attention now. Does it feel a little overdue based on the success you’ve had and the quality prospects that are part of the Alliance team?

I think part of the exposure is more to blame on me in the sense that I’m an introvert. I’ve never really liked attention. I’m real quiet. Some people that know me will tell you I’ve opened up in the last three-to-five years, and that’s probably from working with my shrink (laughs), but I’m a real shy guy.

I’ve coaching for 10-years-plus and I’ve had guys on the UFC main cards for about that long, and nobody really knew much about Alliance MMA or myself for that matter. I think this last two years, three years I’ve been more open to interviews, and more open to giving exposure to the gym and what we’re doing here. I think it goes hand-in-hand with the actual business of the gym. As I got friendly to media, I decided it was easier to go ahead and accept whatever media was coming our way.

There are some very talented fighters that you work with, Dominick Cruz probably being the most high profile of the group. How is his rehab coming along, what’s the outlook for 2013, and how is his demeanor right now?

He’s doing way better now. On that episode of The Ultimate Fighter (where they announced Renan Barao was stepping in to face Urijah Faber), what people don’t know is that (Dominick) had been hurt for about a week at that time, but I don’t think reality hit him until that day when Dana (White) announced that there was going to be an interim belt. These guys pride themselves on these titles – holding these championship belts, and Dominick’s a real prideful guy – and I think it affected him when he found out there was going to be an interim belt. He took it real hard, and the next few weeks were a real hard time for him.

But now he’s doing great. Rehab is going great; I think he’s eight or nine weeks post-op, maybe a little longer. He’s doing good. He’s on a smaller brace now instead of a full knee brace. He’s moving around, his physical therapy is making him do more. He’s doing great, he’s staying positive, and as a camp we’re staying positive. I’m involving him more with our coaching of the guys we have now getting ready for fights; he’s taken almost a full-time role helping me coach these guys, and just being more involved. At the same time, we’re keeping him busy – keeping him out traveling and keeping him in touch with his fans.

How hard is it to keep him reined in and make sure that he sticks to his rehab schedule versus pushing too hard to get back?

We’ve talked extensively about that even before the surgery – how this had to be treated. It’s such a severe injury that there is only one way to rehab it, and part of it was not rushing back into the gym and thinking that when it feels great you’re ready to move. That’s a mistake a lot of guys do with these injuries. The injury feels great, it feels stable, and you think, “Well I’m going to jump back into it right now because I feel good” and then they get re-injured.

Everybody is taking it 100 percent serious, and Dominick is real focused on bringing it back to normal slowly based on whatever the doctor and the physical therapist recommend.

Is there a target date for when he would be ready to come back next year?

No. Personally, the time I’m looking at – what I’m going by – is the average (amount of time) these injuries take to heal. Whether Dominick’s body heals faster or slower, I’m still giving him the whole nine months from the date of injury.

Ideally, I’d like to see him back in full training by the New Year; not necessarily booked to fight, but at least training. But it’s not my call, and we all acknowledge that it will be the doctor and the physical therapist that make the decision as to when he’s ready to get back to training.

Switching to some of the other guys in the gym, you mentioned you’ve been working with Brandon Vera for a long time. How proud of him were you coming out of that fight with “Shogun” where he seemed to have a revelation that he hadn’t always given himself the best opportunity to succeed in the past?

I’m proud of all my guys, no matter what. I coach these guys for the passion of the sport and knowing that we’re all here to accomplish something. I take great pride in that, and these guys take pride in their fights.

Like any other athlete, it’s a process. It could take six months to a year to create somebody that’s ready for a championship or it could take ten years; you just never know what the learning curve is and how long it’s going to take to get these guys to click.

Brandon – anybody that has trained with him, anybody that’s part of the team here knows his skill set; they know what Brandon can do. A focused Brandon should be top 3, top 5, no problem. Brandon kind of marches to the beat of his own drum: if he wants to train hard, he’ll train hard, and it’s our job to motivate him, but ultimately, when it’s fight time, it’s him in the cage and nobody else. What everybody saw in that fight is what we’ve already known: he’s got the skills and he belongs in there.

It was a good fight for him, and at this stage in his career, he’s still growing as a fighter. It’s weird to say because everyone has seen him for eight, nine, ten years now, but the truth of the matter is that he’s still growing; he’s still maturing as a fighter. Some guys mature early, some guys take a little longer, and Brandon is one of those guys that are still learning a lot about himself inside the cage.

You mentioned that sometimes it takes six months and sometimes it takes longer, Phil Davis is obviously somebody that progressed quickly and has been on that path towards being a champion. He had a setback against Rashad Evans in January and an unfortunate situation with Wagner Prado last time out. Where is he at in his development and progression towards being a champion?

Phil Davis is a work-in-progress. He’s a very, very talented athlete, and what people don’t realize is that he took the UFC by storm the first year in. He trained with us, and had smaller fights before getting to the UFC for ten months or so before getting his first UFC fight.

His first UFC fight was against Brian Stann, who had been a world champion in the WEC, so it wasn’t an easy fight. He went in there, dominated, and made a statement, and everybody expected big things from him. From that point forward, he fought every eight weeks the rest of the year. I think he fought a total of five fights. As you know, there is only so much we can do on the learning side of things (when you’re fighting that frequently). All we were doing was keeping him prepared for his fights and keeping him fighting. It was pretty much on-the-job training.

The Rashad fight obviously exposed a few weaknesses in Phil’s game and what we were doing. We were getting away with a lot of talent and his ability to implement game plans, and it had worked for us. Rashad is talented and he’s been around the game a very long time, and we knew we were going to have a very tough fight. Phil was coming off a knee injury at the time, and it wasn’t 100 percent what he should have shown. But now that he’s had time to rehab that knee injury and get back to learning again – as opposed to just getting ready for fights – it has been great for Phil’s career. I expect this coming fight and everything after that to be great.

One of the guys who was a part of that first year run for Phil was Alexander Gustafsson, who then came to you and wanted to work with you. How much development have you seen in Alex since you’ve started working with him, and how bright of a future do you think he has in the light heavyweight division?

The thing about these guys – both Phil Davis and Alex Gustafsson – is that they’ve both helped develop their game. Alex was a world-class striker when he came here and wrestling was his weakness, and it was vice versa for Phil Davis. They’ve helped sharpen each other’s game more than they even know yet.

Alex is very, very talented. He’s come a long way since that fight with Phil; his wrestling has come along, his jiu-jitsu has come along, and he’s just a tremendous talent to work with. The kid is awesome. He’s got a great fight coming up in December against “Shogun” (Rua) and I think people are going to see him establish himself as one of the top 5 guys in the division.

They weren’t friends and teammates when they fought the first time, but they are now. Have you had those conversations with both guys about a potential rematch?

We’ve covered those bases. All the guys at Alliance MMA have no problem fighting each other if and when there is a belt on the line. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but yes, we’ve addressed that situation. At the same time, this is the sport, and if they’re all trying to be the best, sooner or later they might have to face each other.

Injuries have obviously been one of the biggest stories of the year, and one that has impacted the Alliance MMA team. As a coach, what’s your take on the cause of these injuries and is there a way to keep them from happening as frequently?

I think Dominick said it best in one of his interviews when he said, “In order to get ready for a fight you have to fight day in and day out in the gym.” It’s the truth in wrestling, it’s the truth in jiu-jitsu, and it’s the truth in striking. As coaches, we have things in place for trying to get these guys to their fights as safely as possible.

These guys train year-round, and somehow, the stress of a fight and the psychology of the fight causes these guys to gain an injury during a camp. If you think about these guys – they’re here training day in and day out, then they booked to fight, and six weeks into the camp, two weeks from the fight, they get injured. It’s not anything different from what they’ve been doing all year – sometimes it’s just an accident or these guys pushing too hard. That’s why we have coaches trying to mitigate these things, and hoping that they don’t happen.

With our guys who are main card, main event guys, there are certain times that we’ll shut down the live training or the live sparring because we know they’re worth a little bit more to the card. Prelims we can push a little bit harder sometimes because we know they’re easier for Joe Silva to replace, but come main event time, we have some things in place to make sure that these guys are as safe as possible so we can get them to their big fights because this is how they make their living.

Who are the lesser-known guys or guys that don’t get as much attention that people should be looking out for from Alliance MMA?

We’ve got some fights coming up back-to-back in the UFC right now. We’ve got Jeremy Stephens in early October (UFC on FX 5). The following week, we’ve got Phil Davis (UFC 153). After that, it’s Alex Gustafsson (UFC on FOX 5), Phil De Fries again (UFC 155), and Ross Pearson. We’re staying pretty busy. We also have Vinc Pichel and Myles Jury from The Ultimate Fighter 15 who will hopefully be getting ready for fights here soon as well.

We’ve got a busy squad and a lot of fights to look forward to. Hopefully Danny Martinez will be making his UFC debut soon too.

Follow Eric Del Fierro (@EricDelFierro) and Alliance MMA (@AllianceMMA) on Twitter.

UFC 151. Very few fight cards remained unchanged, and in total, more than 60 fights have been re-shuffled in some way, shape, or form over the first eight months of the year.

Rather than dwelling on what has gone wrong and all that could have been from the first two-thirds of 2012, why not look ahead to the fistic goodness on the horizon over the next four months instead?

Six title fights, including the crowning of the first flyweight champion in UFC history, a pair of title eliminator bouts, and challenging tests for a pair of the top up-and-coming talents in the organization are on the calendar to round out the year.

Despite all the upheaval and changes that have come already, the following list of fights should be enough to get fans excited for the final four months of 2012.

JOSEPH BENAVIDEZ VS. DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON – UFC 152

One of these men will have their name etched in the history books as the first ever UFC flyweight champion.

Both Benavidez and Johnson made the move down in weight after having challenged for gold in the bantamweight division, and have established themselves as the top two talents in the UFC’s newest division. Incredibly fast and exceptionally well-rounded, these two dynamic athletes should make sure that the inaugural title fight in the flyweight division is a memorable one.

JON JONES VS. VITOR BELFORT – UFC 152

With everything that has transpired involving Jones since he last stepped into the cage, there has to be heightened interest in seeing the light heavyweight champion return to action. This time, he’s squaring off with a dangerous knockout artist looking to cash in a once-in-a-lifetime lottery ticket.

It may not be the fight everyone was expecting, but rest assured, when Jones and Belfort meet in the center of the Octagon at the Air Canada Centre, they’ll deliver.

JUSSIER FORMIGA VS. JOHN DODSON – UFC ON FX 5

Less than two weeks after the UFC crowns their first flyweight champion, the first challenger for the belt could be decided in this under the radar battle slated for October 5 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dodson, the bantamweight winner of TUF 14, has designs on winning titles in three weight classes, working his way from flyweight to featherweight. After earning a decision win over Tim Elliott in his UFC flyweight debut, he’ll now welcome the highly regarded Formiga to the Octagon. The Brazilian is one of the top 125-pound competitors in the sport, boasting a 14-1 record and five straight wins heading into this one.

The Shooto South American champion and “The Magician” should combine to deliver a fast-paced contest that could potentially steal the show out from underneath their much larger contemporaries on FX.

JOSE ALDO VS. FRANKIE EDGAR – UFC 153

An injury to Erik Koch has opened the door for former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar to step up opposite Jose Aldo and fight for the title in his featherweight debut.

A bout between the two mainstays on the pound-for-pound list has been something fans – and UFC President Dana White – has been interested in seeing since Edgar dropped the lightweight title to Benson Henderson at UFC 144. The Toms River, New Jersey native announced his intention to relocate after losing his rematch with Henderson at UFC 150, and will now square off with the dominant featherweight champion on his home turf on October 13 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.

Aldo, who enters the bout on a 14-fight winning streak, has successfully defended the featherweight title five times between the WEC and UFC, most recently stopping Chad Mendes in the main event of UFC 142 in January. The two pound-for-pound list fixtures could easily combine to deliver one of the most exciting fights of the year in this one.

JOHNY HENDRICKS VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN – UFC 154

Both men won bouts believed to establish them as the #1 contender in the welterweight division. Now they’ll square off with each other to officially determine who will be the next man to challenge for championship gold in the UFC’s 170-pound weight class.

Hendricks has earned four straight wins, including back-to-back victories over former title challengers Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch to find himself on the brink of earning a shot at the belt for himself. To get that opportunity, he’ll need to get through the UFC’s “Comeback Kid,” Martin Kampmann, who has made a habit of rallying from the brink of defeat to emerge victorious in 2012.

GEORGES ST-PIERRE VS. CARLOS CONDIT – LATE 2012

After more than 18 months, the wait is almost over. This November at the Bell Centre in beautiful Montreal, Quebec, Canada, GSP – who has been recently cleared to resume training after being sidelined by injury – is hoping to finally make his return to the Octagon, squaring off with interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit in a title unification bout at UFC 154 on November 17.

The welterweight champion has not fought since defeating Jake Shields at UFC 129, and he will be testing out his surgically repaired knee for the first time in a dangerous matchup with his occasional training partner from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Despite all the heat Condit took for his strategic victory over Nick Diaz at UFC 143, “The Natural Born Killer” has been a finisher throughout his career, and will surely look to bring the fight to the returning French-Canadian superstar in this one.

RORY MACDONALD VS. BJ PENN – UFC ON FOX 5

There are a number of storylines that could be attached to this bout to help sell it even further, but the fact that you have one of the most respected and talented champions in UFC history squaring off against one of the most promising prospects in the sport should be reason enough to be excited.

Originally scheduled to take place at UFC 152, a nasty cut above MacDonald’s right eye turned Toronto’s loss into Seattle’s gain, and gave December’s FOX show a third incredible contest. These two have been bickering with each other in the media from the time the bout was first announced, and as entertaining and engaging as it has been, it should pale in comparison to what these two will deliver when the cage door closes.

MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA VS. ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON – UFC ON FOX 5

After going through back-to-back back-and-forth battles with Dan Henderson and Brandon Vera, Rua’s next hurdle on the road back to the light heavyweight champion just happens to be a surging Swedish finisher looking to earn his chance to fight for the title as well.

Having earned five straight wins over increasingly more talented opposition, this is a chance for Gustafsson to show that he deserves to be considered among the best of the 205-pound weight class. A victory over a former champion like Rua – especially a finish – could put “The Mauler” in line for a title shot in early 2013.

BENSON HENDERSON VS. NATHAN DIAZ – UFC ON FOX 5

Everyone who has been waiting to see the lightweight division take a step forward only has to wait until December, when Henderson will defend the belt against Diaz in the headlining bout of what is stacking up to be the best card of the year on FOX.

Controversial or not, Henderson holds a pair of wins over Frankie Edgar already this year and wears the lightweight title around his waist. Continuing to improve with every appearance, “Smooth” will need to continue that trend, as Diaz has found his rhythm since returning to lightweight. Consecutive wins over Takanori Gomi, Donald Cerrone, and Jim Miller have carried the TUF 5 winner to the role of title challenger, and his blend of slick jiu-jitsu and signature Diaz Brothers boxing give him a real chance of walking away from this one as the champion.

JUNIOR DOS SANTOS VS. CAIN VELASQUEZ 2 – UFC 155

Why not end the year with the biggest fight possible, literally?

Just 13 months after meeting for the first time, dos Santos will defend the UFC heavyweight title against the man he won it from in the main event of the company’s final show of the year.

Though “Cigano” easily earned his first successful title defense against Frank Mir at UFC 146, Velasquez’s performance against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the co-main event of the evening was the standout performance of the night. The former champion manhandled his Brazilian opponent, quickly opening up a nasty cut on his head with the same ferocious ground-and-pound that earned him a stoppage later in the first round.

Their first encounter lasted only 64 seconds and felt a little anti-climactic after a great deal of build-up on the initial UFC broadcast on FOX. Expect the rematch to reach its full potential.

Momentum is a very important factor in any fighter’s career, but it doesn’t only come down to wins and losses. Though repeatedly having your hand raised is essential, so too is staying active, as a string of wins spread too far apart can press pause on a forward progress.

When you’re trying to make your way through the UFC lightweight division, both elements of momentum are crucial, as every event seems to produce another memorable battle and a new contender ready to join the long list of fighters already vying for a shot at Benson Henderson’s championship belt.

In a division as deep and talented as the 155-pound ranks, being active can at times trump wins and losses. A pair of solid wins can quickly erase the memory of a one-sided defeat, potentially elevating an active fighter on the rebound above one with the same number of consecutive victories who has been stuck on the sidelines for too long.

Such is life for Evan Dunham, the talented 30-year-old contender who has watched his progress up the UFC lightweight ladder move forward in fits and spurts thanks to untimely injuries.

Nine months after facing Melvin Guillard in the main event of the second UFC Fight for the Troops event at Fort Hood just outside of Killeen, Texas, Dunham returned from an injury to find himself competing on Facebook against former Ultimate Fighter contestant Shamar Bailey. One bout after entering the cage as a fringe contender, Dunham had been shuffled back into the middle of the lightweight deck.

After following up his decision victory over Bailey with a second-round stoppage win over Nik Lentz four months later, the 13-2 southpaw was paired with rising star Edson Barboza in a bout that would move the winner into the mix in the deep 155-pound ranks. But in May, veteran Jamie Varner shocked fans by halting Barboza’s unbeaten run, the former WEC champion a late replacement for the once again injured Dunham.

“It was a really tough thing to do,” said Dunham of the decision to withdraw from the bout with Barboza. “But it was one of those situations where I wasn’t going to be able to perform. It was frustrating, but having done it before made it – I won’t say easier, but with the first time it happened, it seemed like there was no end to it. This time, I knew I would be back, I knew that given time to heal, I would be healthy, and that when I was, I would get right back to it.”

Everyone has their own theories on why so many fighters have been falling out of bouts due to injuries this year; some believe it’s just a run of bad luck, while others wonder if the introduction of medical insurance has made it more palatable to pull out of a fight to treat an problem that might have previously gone overlooked. In Dunham’s opinion, it’s just another part of being a fighter.

“It’s just the nature of what we do and training with really tough guys. When you go in and bang it out with guys that are world-class guys every single day, injuries are going to happen. They’re a part of the sport, and unfortunately it happened again.

“It’s nothing specific that I think that I’m doing,” Dunham offered, unable to point to one area of his training routine that has been at fault for the bumps, bruises, and bigger injuries that have been accumulated along the way. “I’ve pulled back a little bit now just to give my body a little rest, but it’s just one of those things that it happens when you least expect it, and there is no way to plan against it.”

They also seem to happen at the worst time, at least in Dunham’s case. Four months after being matched with one of the top up-and-coming prospects in the division, the well-rounded Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is preparing to return to action against grizzly Canadian veteran TJ Grant at UFC 152 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

While getting back to business on a big card is a plus, squaring off with a lesser known, but no less of a challenge opponent like the 18-5 lightweight from Nova Scotia isn’t exactly the matchup Dunham was hoping to have in his return.

“I was definitely pushing for a more name guy,” admitted Dunham between training sessions last month. “(Donald) Cerrone and (Anthony) Pettis were two names that we were throwing out there and hoping to get, but that didn’t work out. When they told me TJ’s name, I jumped on it because I’ve never been one to turn down a fight, so if that’s who they want me to fight, that’s fine with me. He’s a very talented opponent. He’s got two good wins at 155 (pounds), and so it’s just one more person that I need to get out of my way to move up that ladder.

“You definitely want to go against name guys, but he’s very talented. He’s very good on the ground; he’s pretty good everywhere,” Dunham continued in his assessment of his matchup against the 28-year-old Canuck. “There is a little less pay out with it, but it is what it is. I’m going to go out there and fight my ass off – I’m sure he will too – and I’m going to come out the winner, and hopefully it will be a great fight that people enjoy.”

It’s hard to say where a third consecutive victory would put Dunham in the lightweight pecking order, in part because the division remains the busiest, most talent-rich collection of fighters in the UFC.

Fortunately for Dunham and his fellow 155-pound competitors, the congestion that has kept the division backed up for the last three years appears to have finally cleared. The chain of championship rematches has ended, with Nathan Diaz challenging Henderson for the title later this year, and as far as Dunham is concerned, all the other spots on the lightweight ladder are up for grabs.

“Our division was so jammed up for a while with the rematches and that stuff. It was hard for anybody – even if you were fighting all the time – to really move up the ladder because the ladder was already capped. We’ve already got the next matchup for the title – we know what that’s going to be – but after that, it’s anybody’s game, so this is a perfect opportunity to step up and show why you deserve that title shot.

“It’s always changing, and I think we’re kind of getting to a point where the guys that really deserve to get that shot are being noticed and getting that recognition,” added Dunham. “We’re at a time where there are going to be potential changes in the title, and more guys being able to fight for it. Rather than having one or two challengers in the span of two years, we’re going to have three or four, which is really good for our divisions.

As for what comes next if he’s able to extend his winning streak when he travels north of the border? All Dunham is looking for is a little momentum.

“I usually don’t look past (my current opponent) or name names or anything like that, (but) I just want to fight whoever I need to fight, whoever I need to beat to get that title shot. Whoever that person is that I need to beat to get that title shot, that’s who I want to fight. It’s just all about going out there, keep winning, and staying relevant.”