Author: By E. Spencer Kyte

A lot of athletes today only speak to the media in clichés. Every question is met with a well-used line about trying hard, giving 110 percent, or working towards the ultimate goal of winning a championship. It’s a back-and-forth that both sides are used to playing, and one that fans have become accustomed to over the years.

Things are a little bit different in mixed martial arts. While there are certainly a collection of tried and true questions and answers out there about training camp, injuries, the next opponent, and the outcome of the next fight, there are numerous fighters who offer a refreshing break from the norm.

DaMarques Johnson is one of those fighters.

The 30-year-old welterweight says what is on his mind, and answers questions with the kind of candidness that you rarely encounter in an athlete who doesn’t punch other people in the face for a living. Even within the fraternity of fighters, Johnson stands as one of the more frank and brutally honest individuals within the group.

While most everyone will tell you they’re taking it one fight at a time and not looking past their next scheduled opponent, most have glanced at the rankings or around the division and formulated an idea about whom they’d like to fight next should they emerge victorious. Not Johnson. Just as he has his own way of answering questions, the man known as “Darkness” doesn’t exactly look at his career in the same way that most of his contemporaries do either.

Coming off a loss, most fighters would talk about the importance of getting back into the win column. Sporting a 4-4 record inside the Octagon since his time as a thorn in the side of Team UK coach Michael Bisping on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, you would think that finding some consistency and stringing together a few wins in order to move up the rankings would be one of Johnson’s foremost concerns. At the very least, it sounds like something most fighters would say if they were in his situation.

“You know, I don’t even think that far ahead,” said Johnson of starting a winning streak next weekend when he welcomes Mike Swick back to the cage after more than two years spent traveling the world while battling injuries and illness. “I’m really just doing what I love to do and taking it at that, because I know I’ve only got X amount of time to do it. I’m just trying to make the best of every single fight. There’s a good possibility that I could have went 8-0 in the UFC, but s**t happens. It’s a learning process as you’re in there, even as you’re getting more and more fights in the UFC.”

Like many, Johnson watched Swick as a member of the inaugural cast of 16 to enter the Ultimate Fighter house, and dreamed of being able to one day follow in the fighter’s footsteps. Next weekend in Los Angeles, the 18-10 Johnson will be locked in a cage with the 14-4 veteran.

Swick last stepped into the Octagon at UFC 109, losing by technical submission to Paulo Thiago when the Brazilian put him to sleep with a D’Arce choke after he was dropped and dazed with a counter left hook. Once a title contender in the welterweight division, it’s hard to know where to place Swick at this point, as he had dropped two straight prior to his extended hiatus. With such a long break between appearances, it could be hard for Johnson to formulate a game plan heading into next weekend’s contest.

That is if Johnson were the type to put together a detailed game plan in the first place.

“Fans and media can talk about game plans all they want, but in the same breath, planning and planning and planning is all well and good, but sometimes you’ve just got to accept the chaos as it comes. That’s kind of the approach I’m taking.

“Of course there are general ideas and places I would prefer the fight be,” he continued, “but that could all change the minute I get punched in the face or I punch him in the face. A lot of it is just going to come down to your will to fight, and I love fighting people. I’m kind of good at it (laughs), so I try not to over-complicate it.”

One thing Johnson wants from all his fights – whether it’s this one, his eight previous UFC appearances, or the bouts hat came before his debut in the Octagon – is a finish, even if he’s the one on the business end of things. The native of West Jordan, Utah has only been to a decision three times in his career, and would prefer that things end without having to go to the scorecards.

“I’ve never, ever been a point-fighter; not in my jiu-jitsu days, not in my fighting career. I don’t see a decision as – I don’t know – I hate decisions. You have to be in there for a long time. Even if you do well, you can still lose, and even if you do horrible, you can get a win that you don’t even feel good about because you’re all lumped up. It sucks.

“I would much rather just get in there, get my ass knocked out, get an arm ripped off or knock someone out or rip their arm off, and there be some finality to it, as opposed to the whole judges rendering decisions thing.”

That’s what he expects from this upcoming encounter with Swick on FOX. Rather than sketch out a picture of how he’ll have his arm raised in victory next Saturday night, Johnson’s assessment of what will happen when the cage door closes is a stripped down vision that’s equal parts refreshing and realistic, and 100 percent cliché-free.

“I’m just preparing for an ass whipping, that’s about it. I’m preparing to get punched in the face, and be in spots to punch him back in the face. That’s really the extent of it for me. Mike Swick definitely has a lot of threats and potential to do bad things to me, and I think I pose the same kind of threats to him.

“I like the matchup; I think he and I are going to put on an amazing fight. There’s a 50 percent chance that I’m going to win this fight, and there’s a 100 percent chance that one of us is going to sleep.”

Don’t worry, fight fans: Urijah Faber has no intention of sitting on the sidelines with the interim UFC bantamweight title should he emerge from his showdown with Renan Barao on Saturday night victorious.

The concern, of course, stems from Carlos Condit’s decision to wait for a title unification fight with injured champion Georges St-Pierre after winning the interim welterweight title at UFC 143. Despite there being a collection of contenders at the ready, “The Natural Born Killer” has kept his focus on fighting St-Pierre, something many fans have questioned, but Faber is quick to defend.

“I’m definitely not waiting for anything,” laughed the charismatic 33-year-old when asked about his post-victory plans. “I’m not a waiter; I’m extremely impatient, and I like to fight. I don’t plan on waiting, but it’s up to the UFC; I’ll do whatever they tell me to do. If they want me to wait I will; I just kind of roll with the punches.

“I understand Condit though; it’s a huge payday for him to fight Georges St-Pierre, who is one of the biggest draws in the UFC, if not the biggest, so it makes sense for him,” suggested Faber. “Carlos has worked hard to get this opportunity, but that’s not the same case with me and Dominick. He’s not one of the biggest draws in this sport – I feel like right now I’m probably a bigger draw than he is, and there are a lot of tough opponents out there, so I don’t wait around for people.”

This wasn’t supposed to be how things played out this summer for the former WEC featherweight champion. He was supposed to be facing Dominick Cruz, his nemesis – the UFC bantamweight champion whom he coached against this past season on The Ultimate Fighter. They were supposed to meet in the Octagon with Cruz’s title on the line for a second consecutive year, first as the main event, and then as the co-main event on the annual Fourth of July weekend pay-per-view.

But then Cruz became member of the UFC M.A.S.H. Unit; the walking wounded forced to be removed from the summer schedule. Torn knee ligaments required surgery, and the prolonged recovery period prompted the organization to introduce an interim title and call up the surging Barao from a previously scheduled fight with Ivan Menjivar.

And then injuries shifted the plans again, moving Faber and Barao from the penultimate place on the UFC 148 fight card to the main event of the company’s debut even in Calgary, Alberta. Even though the change of venue threw a wrench into things, it should come as no surprise that the laid back “California Kid” is choosing to focus on the positives of all the changes instead.

“The one thing that is upsetting is that I had probably a thousand people that I know were there for me (at UFC 148),” admits Faber. “But I’m excited to fight in Canada. I think there are a couple of positive things, and I’m a guy that loves to focus on the positives. The Canadian fans have always been awesome. I’m super-pumped to be the main event, and I feel like the fight has the potential to be Fight of the Year with this opponent. There are a lot of great things with this fight. Also, the extra two weeks back home is kind of nice as well.”

As for not having the opportunity to resolve things with Cruz once and for all, Faber says it’s not something he’s concerned about right now.

“My focus is all about Barao. Dominick is someone I was forced to deal with because he was my opponent, he’s the guy that has the belt, but right now, I don’t really care about him. I’m focused on Barao, and if Dominick’s in my face again, we’ll deal with it then.

“Barao is such an incredible opponent; I mean, he’s more dangerous, and he’s on a bigger win streak than anyone in the sport. On top of that, I feel like I got the better of Dominick in the last fight, even though I didn’t get the judges’ decision, so that’s something that is to be determined on its own. I’m just looking forward to having a great fight with Barao, and getting that belt.”

In order to check “UFC Champion” off his personal “To Do List,” Faber must halt Barao’s 31-fight winning streak.

The Brazilian standout, who counts UFC featherweight champion and former Faber opponent Jose Aldo as one of his training partners, lost the initial fight of his career in April 2005 and hasn’t been beaten since, with a December 2007 No Contest the only result that has registered outside of the win column. Deemed a potential champion when he debuted with the WEC two years ago, Barao has lived up to expectations thus far, most recently earning a unanimous decision win over former title challenger Scott Jorgensen in February.

“You don’t want to take anything away from the guy – it’s incredible to have a win streak like that,” offers Faber. “It says that he’s mentally tough, and he’s well rounded as an athlete and as a fighter, but the bottom line is that I’ve been fighting for world championships since my third fight. Whether it be on Gladiator Challenge, King of the Cage, the WEC or the UFC, I’ve been fighting whoever they consider the best out there. That’s what I do, and I’ve got an impressive finish record, an impressive win-loss record, and I’m still at the top of my game. He’s not fighting any of those other guys he beat; he’s fighting me, and he’s not going to beat me.

“I’m going to have a conditioning edge and a comfort level in five-round fights that he’s not used to, on top of being a creative guy in the ring,” Faber says, adding that he feels there are more areas where he will have the advantage come fight night.

“I feel like the guys he’s beaten that are top level – guys like Cole Escovedo, Scott Jorgensen, and Brad Pickett – are all pretty straight forward fighters,” continues Faber, “and I can be able to trick you in there; have a little element of surprise and creativity. On top of everything else, that’s another thing that he hasn’t seen before.”

While he’s established himself as one of the biggest stars in the sport, a UFC title is the one thing that has eluded Faber to this point in his career. Saturday night, he gets a second chance to have UFC gold wrapped around his waist for the first time, and he doesn’t plan on squandering it.

“I have a lot of different ways to win,” he suggests. “I could KO, TKO, or submit him, outlast him for a decision. I don’t really know; I’m just predicting that I’m going to win. I’m not sure how, but I feel like I can go anywhere the fight goes.”

Lost in the frustration of what felt like a never ending string of injuries and changes to the summer fight schedule are the opportunities these shifts bring for the fighters who are called upon to step in for their fallen colleagues.

One man’s bad break is another man’s good fortune.

That’s how Shawn Jordan came to be a part of the UFC’s debut event in Calgary, Alberta, where the former LSU football player will share the cage with one of the heavyweight division’s longest tenured veterans, Cheick Kongo. When Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira announced he’d be unable to return at UFC 149, it was the 27-year-old with just one previous Octagon appearance under his belt that got the call. Thankful for the opportunity, Jordan plans to make the most of it on Saturday night.

“You know, I ‘m really excited about this card, and the opportunity I was offered to fight Cheick Kongo,” explained Jordan following an afternoon training session with the all-star cast of coaches and teammates that comprise Team Jackson-Winkeljohn. “He’s a really well known veteran who has helped build the division to what it is today, so it’s really exciting for me to have an opportunity to compete against such a prestigious athlete.

“It’s kind of nice to know that they can call on me, count on me, and that they feel confident enough that I’ll put on a good performance; that I’ll come in there and fight. Again, they’re throwing me in there with a great fighter, and they’re giving me that opportunity after one fight in the UFC, so it’s a great feeling, and it makes me feel pretty confident in the fact that I am available to them and able to compete at this level.”

Jordan transitioned to the UFC roster when it was decided that Strikeforce would no longer maintain a heavyweight division. While the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva garnered the majority of the attention, people who remembered his two fights under the Strikeforce banner knew to keep an eye on the compact bundle of potential known as “The Savage.”

After fighting almost exclusively in his native Louisiana to begin his career, Jordan started garnering greater attention when he stepped in on a week’s notice to replace Lavar Johnson opposite veteran Devin Cole at a Strikeforce Challengers event about a year ago. Though he lost by unanimous decision, he showed plenty of promise, the athletic ability he displayed as a fullback on a pair of National Championship winning teams at LSU still present now that he had traded the gridiron for the cage. Two months later, Jordan faced off with Johnson, earning a second-round submission win over the heavy-hitting knockout artist, showing another glimpse of his potential in the process.

Just 15 fights into his career, Jordan stepped into the UFC Octagon for the first time in March, earning a second-round technical knockout win over former British strongman champion Oli Thompson in a highly entertaining contest that was punctuated by Jordan sticking the landing on a celebratory backflip in the center of the cage.

“It was a good feeling; almost a sigh of relief,” explained Jordan. “You’re coming into the UFC, everyone’s expecting the level of competition to go up, and you have to perform better, so it’s one of those things where you get a little nervous, the anxiety builds up, but once it’s over you say, `Wow — I’m supposed to be here. I can do this.’ It was a great feeling to be able to compete in my first UFC match, do well, and perform in a different country at that; the Australian fans are great.

“Finishing that backflip was nice,” he added with a laugh. “I don’t usually mess that up too bad, but against Devin Cole I almost ate it the first time I tried it.”

With a win in the UFC under his belt, Jordan returned from Australia, spent a little time at home, and headed right back down to Albuquerque, New Mexico to help his teammates prepare for UFC 145. Plus, he had a feeling his phone might ring too. Anyone worrying that the reduced timetable to get ready for this fight might leave him under-prepared when the cage door closes in Calgary can rest assured that Jordan will be at his best on Saturday night.

“I was actually in camp helping Jon (Jones) and Travis Browne get ready for their fights April 21st. I went back home, took care of some stuff, but I had been in camp for a couple weeks already getting back in shape because chances were I was going to get a last minute call on something. At our camp, this is what we do; we show up, and we’re ready to fight, so I’m not really concerned (about the short notice). I’ll be ready for the fight.”

As you would expect, Jordan credits his time playing fullback on the perennial Division I powerhouse with helping him make the transition from football to MMA, and from fighting on the smaller shows to competing on the biggest stage in the sport. While the athleticism needed for both is certainly part of it, Jordan points to his ability to be coached and previous experience under the bright lights at LSU as two key elements that have aided him on his journey up the heavyweight rankings.

“Playing for a school like LSU, being in the spotlight, and playing in front of a 100,000 fans every time I came out to play really did help the transition to competing in front of however many thousand fans we have at the fights. It really helps with the fight anxiety, handling the pre-fight jitters.

“Football makes you very coachable,” he continued. “You’re used to listening, and then just going out there and doing it; you don’t need to be told over and over and over again. That aspect really helps the transition into the fight game. Playing for a team like LSU really, really changes it mentally for me. You see so many fighters come in, and they get broken pretty early. I think as far as the mental toughness aspect goes, I think it’s really hard to break guys that come in from football because we’ve been beaten and broken, screamed at and hollered at, broken and built back up to how they want us to be, so I think that really helps a lot.

“Moving up to Jackson and Winkeljohn’s gym, and having the opportunity to train with guys like Travis Browne and Jon Jones and Brian Stann and Buddy Roberts — all these accomplished fighters — really helps your confidence too,” Jordan added. “Being at that gym helps you see your potential, and see how well you can do as long as you put the work in.”

Despite his early success and the big opportunity before him at UFC 149, Jordan remains level-headed about his future, though that isn’t to say he’s hasn’t thought of what a win over an established veteran like Kongo this weekend could do for his career.

“I try not to get too far ahead of myself, and I think it’s another thing I get from football I suppose: I have to be ready for the next fight. It doesn’t matter who it is — the next fight is the most important one. Sure, I’ve beaten Oli Thompson once, but if it came up again, that would be the next biggest fight for me.

“A win over anybody is huge to me. I don’t like to lose, period; it doesn’t matter who it is. The fact that it’s Cheick Kongo, and he is a well-known veteran who has helped build this sport up is great for me at this point in my career. It would help propel me a little bit more in the heavyweight division.”

It’s been a little more than three years since Jordan stepped into the cage in Monroe, Louisiana and submitted Jayme Mckinney to win his pro debut. Since then, he’s made his way to the UFC, picked up a victory inside the Octagon, and is now poised to make his pay-per-view debut against a perennial contender.

“It’s kind of surreal almost,” Jordan said of his journey to this point in his career. “You start this sport because you want to get to the UFC one day; you want to compete with the best fighters in the world. Once you’re there and it’s in front of you, it’s like, `Cool. I’m here.’ It’s surreal; you don’t really expect it to be that soon, that quick, and then to come in, compete, and perform well, it’s a relief and a confidence booster at the same time.”

Jordan maintains a fairly basic vision of what happens whenever two heavyweights step into the cage, and as for Saturday night, he’s says he’s ready for whatever Kongo has to offer.

“We’re heavyweights: we come out there, we swing, and one of us usually ends up getting knocked out because we’re big guys,” he admitted with a laugh. “I’m fairly comfortable doing whatever. You want to grapple? Do submissions? Throw hands? I’m fine with whatever; whatever comes up.”

Injuries are a part of the sport, and they also create chances for emerging talents and relative unknowns to show they’re ready for bigger and better. Opportunity knocked and Jordan answered, turning Nogueira’s lingering ailment into his chance to move up the heavyweight rankings.

One man’s bad break is another man’s good fortune.

Nothing went as Court McGee had planned leading into his last fight. Things didn’t play out as he had expected once the cage door closed either, and the combination of the two has the former Ultimate Fighter winner irritated, but intensely focused as he readies to make his return to the Octagon this weekend at UFC 149.

“I let myself down. I don’t have anybody to blame other than myself on the business side,” McGee began. “I’m a fighter and I love fighting, but it got to a point where I didn’t want to fight; I wanted to try and figure out the business side, and do this, do that. Then I got to the point where I was like, `S**t – what am I doing this for?’ I lost track of why it is that I love to step into the cage and fight guys, and I found that again. You can’t explain it really, but I’ve got it.

“I was so disappointed after the fight because I let myself down; I didn’t cut him off as well as I can,” added McGee, turning his attention to another source of frustration – his March loss to Costa Philippou. “But we’re not in a square ring, so you can’t corner a guy, and it’s hard to put somebody on the cage if they’re running. It’s just one of those things that are frustrating, and there have been two or three fights that have been like that.

“What if he would have rocked me, and come in? Followed up, finished, and got Knockout of the Night? That’s fifty grand, man. Or if he would have stood there and fought me, we would have got Fight of the Night, and that’s fifty grand, you know what I mean?”

McGee has built his reputation on being a fighter who is hard to put away; a well-rounded mixed martial artist whose greatest strengths inside the cage are his conditioning and heart. He’s earned the adoration of fans for his entertaining back-and-forth fights, both during his time on The Ultimate Fighter and since winning the middleweight competition on Season 11 as a member of Team Liddell.

He feels like he didn’t get the opportunity to give that to the fans in Australia back in March, in part because of an illness that plagued him in the weeks leading up to his fight, but also because of the strategy Philippou employed. It’s one that we’re seeing utilized more often, a trend that worries McGee.

“Look at it in the Clay Guida fight; same thing,” McGee offered, referencing the lightweight’s recent split decision loss to Gray Maynard that saw Guida attempt to use an uncharacteristic stick-and-move approach to counter Maynard’s size and strength advantages. “If they had given Clay Guida the fight, it would have been okay for you to run in this sport, when we get paid to compete; to fight. It’s not an amateur boxing match where I score once or twice and then see how fast I can run away; we’re out there to finish the guy. You’re out there to submit him or knock him out. So for two-and-a-half minutes when you run side-to-side and don’t throw one punch, what are you doing exactly?”

As much as the loss continues to frustrate him, McGee has turned the page, shifting his focus to Nick Ring, and using his experience in Australia to push him through a more rigorous and productive training camp heading into their meeting on Saturday night. Rather than use the illness that slowed him and Philippou’s game plan as an excuse that he lets hold him back, the 27-year-old southpaw is using them as another lesson learned on his journey as a martial artist, and fuel to deliver a better performance when he steps into the cage at the Scotiabank Saddledome this weekend.

“Yeah, I got sick, and I was on a s**t-load of antibiotics, and I lost a bunch of weight, and I didn’t have as much energy and strength as I usually would, but that’s part of it too. To be a martial artist, you take on a challenge. It’s not the winning or the losing – granted, everybody wants to win, and everybody is willing to work to win – but winning and losing is only a part of it. It’s the journey. It’s the experience. I took a lot from the experience, so it’s fueled the fire in me that I can’t explain to you, man.

“I went out to Gilbert (Melendez’s) gym,” continued McGee. “I’ve got some really good partners out there like Tareq Azim, and Jake Shields is one of my best training partners. Even though he’s a regular stance guy, it’s really good training; really good intensity, and he’s a really good partner for me, so I go out there and work.  So I spent some time out there, and I got some good training, and that was a part of my camp that I didn’t get to do last time because I was struggling a little bit. I couldn’t afford to get out there, and I didn’t want to put my family in a bad situation. This time I’m doing a little bit better, and I was able to afford a trip out there, and it worked out. I got really good training the last week.”

The fight with Ring is not only a welcomed opportunity to face another fighter who likes to come forward and engage, but also a matter of unfinished business, as McGee and his upcoming opponent shared the cage during Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, with the Canadian earning a questionable two-round decision win over “The Crusher” prior to a knee injury eliminating him from the competition.

Most people believed the close contest should have gone to a sudden victory round, including McGee, who is looking forward to the chance to renew acquaintances with Ring on Saturday night.

“I think it should have gone another round,” admitted McGee of his TUF tilt with Tito Ortiz’s first pick. “I’m not saying I should have won the fight, but I think it should have gone another round at least, and now we’ll get a chance to do it.

“Another thing too is that he’s a true martial artist. I know Nick Ring, and I’ve talked to him since the show, and he’s a true martial artist. He’s a good guy, and I like competing against guys like that. And he takes it serious. I mean, most everybody in the UFC takes it serious, but it’s good to compete against somebody that loves competing and who has the same passion for martial arts as I do.”

Despite having a great deal of respect for his upcoming opponent, McGee plans on starting another winning streak on Saturday night, and has designs on doing so in impressive fashion.

“I want to come out and hurt Nick Ring; finish him. I want to beat up Nick Ring, man. I want to come out and beat him, and that’s something that I’m going to do.”

Luke Rockhold isn’t a big Greg Jackson fan.

As he prepares to defend the Strikeforce middleweight title for the second time against a second opponent to come out of the vaunted Albuquerque, New Mexico-based fight camp, Rockhold hasn’t shied away from expressing his thoughts on the game plans put forward by the heralded coach or the in-fight tactics he uses to – as Rockhold sees it – help sway the judges in favor of his charges.

“It’s not what I like. I’m a fan of the sport, and those aren’t the fights that I really enjoy watching,” Rockhold said of Jackson trainee Clay Guida’s recent bout opposite Gray Maynard last month in Atlantic City, New Jersey. “I don’t want to watch those fights. I want to watch fun fights. It’s martial arts – you have to have all aspects of the game – but to some extent this is for the fans, and we have to entertain.

“We have to come with game plans, but we have to entertain (as well), so you have to be smart. It is about winning and getting that “W,” but to me, I want the crowd on my side and the excitement, and that kind of kills a little bit of that for me. I want to entertain. I want to make everybody around me have fun.”

It’s not just the strategies employed by some of the members of the Jackson-Winkeljohn fight team that have the 27-year-old American Kickboxing Academy representative riled up either. During the media conference call for Saturday’s bout with Tim Kennedy, Rockhold expressed his frustrations with the way Jackson shouts praise for his pupils after everything they do throughout the round.

If you’ve ever watched a Jackson-trained fighter in the cage, you know exactly what Rockhold is talking about, and as far as the Strikeforce middleweight champion is concerned, it’s more for the benefit of the judges scoring the fight than the fighter in the cage.

“It’s something I noticed a long time ago, and I’ve just been kind of dwelling on it,” admitted Rockhold, who pushed his record to 9-1 with a first-round technical knockout victory over Keith Jardine in his first title defense back in January. “I found an opportunity (on the conference call) to let it go and talk about it. It’s just really annoying that he has to try to play that game.

“Judges are easily manipulated these days – they’re not that aware – and I’ve just noticed that when one of his fighters land a combination or doesn’t even land a combination, he’s still yelling, ‘Great job! Amazing kicks! Amazing punch!’ It’s really kind of annoying to listen to. I think it’s a tactic – it obviously works for their camp; the proof is in their record, but… it is what it is. It just gets under my skin. It’s annoying.

“It’s hard to say how much impact it has because I’m not a judge,” Rockhold continued. “I’m not watching their scorecards as Greg Jackson is yelling out those comments, but it’s just annoying and it’s something that… it’s just ridiculous. It doesn’t matter to me (though) – I’m going to win this fight. It doesn’t matter what Greg Jackson does. It just gives me that much more satisfaction to overcome those people; overcome those little cheats.”

“Those little cheats” would be Jackson and Tim Kennedy, the former Army Ranger who squares off with Rockhold on Saturday night at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. Though he’s out to stop Kennedy in the main event of Saturday’s card in the home of the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, Rockhold has a shared frustration with the former Army Ranger who has put his military service on hold to pursue his MMA career full-time for the time being.

Rockhold has spoken candidly about his belief that he and other members of the Strikeforce roster don’t get the respect and recognition they deserve in the rankings, a sentiment that has been echoed by his opponent several times in the past. Because of the UFC’s standing as the premier destination for the top talent in the sport, Rockhold feels that he and his fellow Strikeforce competitors consistently fly under the radar with fight fans, and believes it will remain that way until they’re given the opportunity to prove themselves against their most established, more well-known counterparts in the UFC’s 185-pound ranks.

“We’re never really going to get that respect until we get some crossover. I’m fully aware of what I can do, and how I can compete with the best in the world. I train with one of the best camps in the world, so UFC fighters, Strikeforce fighters – I know where I stand.

“The rankings don’t tell a true tale, so we’ll see; we’ll see what the future holds. I think it’s out there – there’s a possibility of it happening – I just hope they can make it happen.

“I’ve got to keep winning. I’ve got a tough opponent ahead of me, and I’m looking to make a statement this fight, and I’m going to show a lot of new things, a lot of improvements, and the more I show, the better I get, they can’t deny me those fights, so I’m just going to do what I have to do.”

Right now, that means pushing his winning streak to nine with a win this weekend. Kennedy’s only loss since debuting with Strikeforce three years ago was a unanimous decision defeat to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a bout for the then-vacant middleweight title in August 2010. He has since earned back-to-back wins over veterans Melvin Manhoef and Robbie Lawler to once again put himself in position to challenge for the title.

Though his win over Lawler last summer was just the second time out of 14 wins that he’d earned a victory by way of decision, Rockhold believes that Kennedy will be content to try and turn Saturday’s championship contest into a wrestling match. That’s not the type of fight Rockhold wants, but he’s ready for it nonetheless.

“He says he’s going to fight, but I think he’s going to be more of a wrestler; I think that’s the avenue he’s shown a lot. I think in the standup realm, I think I can control that realm, and I’ve got to just…”

Rockhold sighs. He seems frustrated, but it’s not exactly clear what has put him in this state.

“I’ve got to let myself go,” he finally added. “My takedown defense is – I can get up, I can do it all. If Tim plays that game, it’s just not a game you can keep up for five rounds. I’m not going to let him. You’re going to gas out. You can’t keep trying to take a guy down and wrestle him for five rounds, especially the way I’m going to keep getting up, keeping the pressure on; it takes a lot out of you. He’s going to have to adjust. He’s going to have to adapt, and I’m going to try to catch him on the way in, and catch him early.”

The root of Rockhold’s frustration becomes apparent as he continued his assessment of how he sees Saturday’s contest playing out in the cage.

“I’m not going to lie: this could be an annoying fight for me; not so much for the fans. I’m going to keep coming, and keep it exciting. If I have to keep stuffing takedowns and keep trying to catch him on my way in, it’s what I’m going to have to do, but he’s not safe, no matter what.”

Eager to make an impression, Rockhold plans on doing everything he can to earn another finish on Saturday night, regardless of how Kennedy approaches things inside the cage.

“If he tries to get inside, I’m going to be on his neck. I feel very confident in my jiu-jitsu. I didn’t want to play as much with it versus a guy like “Jacare,” but I feel like my jiu-jitsu is at the top of the game, and I’ll be on his neck if he gets in, and I’ll be throwing knees and uppercuts trying to knock him out on the way in.

“He’s going to be in danger no matter what he does. I’m just going to keep going until that final bell sounds or he’s sleeping on the ground.”

 
 

Every fight card features a familiar collection of stories: newcomers who can’t contain their excitement about finally being called to the biggest stage in the sport, veterans who are certain that this fight will be when they start their final push to challenge for that ever-elusive championship, the emerging prospects on the brink of contention, and the champions determined to let nothing prevent them from holding on to the 12 pounds of gold they’ll walk to the cage with in the main event.

Quite frequently, there is also the returning fighter – a veteran who has already had a taste of life in the UFC, and is back for seconds after a brief hiatus. Their stories are usually an amalgamation of the newcomer and the veteran – more excited than words can explain about the chance to compete on the biggest stage once again and more prepared to make the most of the opportunity this time around.

Many times, those fighters and those stories tend to focus on the future – what they intend to make of their second chance, and how this time is going to be different. Rarely does anyone talk about the time in between, the gap between stints on the big stage, and the flood of uncertainty and doubt washes over a fighter during that period.

Wednesday night in San Jose, Joey Beltran will be making his return to the UFC, this time as a light heavyweight, stepping up on short notice to take on James Te Huna in the co-main event of the organization’s latest fight card on FUEL TV.

After amassing a 3-4 record through seven appearances in the Octagon as a heavyweight, Beltran was released from the organization after suffering a nasty knockout loss to Lavar Johnson back in January. In advance of his return, “The Mexicutioner” opened up about the difficult times he endured and choices he faced during his time away from the bright lights and bigger paychecks of the UFC.

“There’s definitely a lot of soul-searching that happens, especially when for so long you were supporting your family, and now all of a sudden the checks are – they’re not cut in half, they’re cut into a fraction of what they once were. I owe a lot to my wife; she really picked up the ball and ran when I fumbled, and put me on her back in many ways.

“After the Lavar Johnson fight, it was probably one of the hardest times in my life,” explained Beltran, who earned back-to-back wins to begin his UFC career before dropping four of his final five appearances. “I definitely slipped into a heavy, heavy depression, and I actually probably didn’t leave my house for two weeks. It sucked. I was left with so many questions, regrets, and feeling real bummed, beating myself up, kicking the can around every day. But my wife was there every day encouraging me and being patient, allowing me to go through that process; same with my coaches.

“As far as the hardships,” Beltran continued, “financially is probably the biggest one. You go through, “Well s**t — should I really be training six or eight hours a day or should I go get a job?” A “real job” as they say – a 9:00 to 5:00. I’m still the man of the house, and I need to provide for my family, so do I go get a job or do I keep pluggin’ away at this dream?

“Then I just made a decision that I’m not going to quit; I’m not going to retire. This is my job – my family needs me, and I need to continue fighting for my sanity. If I’m going to retire, I’m not going to go out on a loss, so I gave myself at least one fight.”

Having decided to continue fighting, the next career question Beltran had to answer is which division he would call home?

Beltran had always been a heavyweight by nature. Standing six-foot-one, he was never the guy who had to worry about cutting weight to get below the 265-pound ceiling for the division. He’d lose a little weight during camp, but more or less, he fought close to his walking around weight, and he’d been successful up until his final few bouts in the UFC. But the way his first stint in the UFC ended got Beltran thinking about making a change.

“Losing four out of five fights, regardless of if they were all entertaining or not, that doesn’t cut the mustard in the UFC. There was no hard feelings, no ill will, and I knew once I got out of my depression that I had to change the game, flip the script, and come back with something brand new. I knew that that was going to be the drop to 205.

“That gave me something to work for even though I was medically suspended. I couldn’t spar, I couldn’t really train the way I enjoy training, but I still had a goal to work for, and I made a commitment to do a test cut to 205. That went pretty well; it was a little rough, but I made it.”

He picked up a decision win over former Ohio State wrestler Anton Talamantes in March, controlling the action throughout, gaining confidence in his decision to move down to light heavyweight in the process, even if his new weight class doesn’t come with as tasty a menu as he was accustomed to in the past.

“After the first cut, I stayed right around 225, and it’s been really, really easy. I’ve actually been fortunate enough that I don’t have to do any of the horrible sauna cuts; I do it really easy with just dieting. Up until the last five days, I pretty much each as much as I want, I just have strict ingredients that I can eat. I can eat as much spinach as I want (laughs), but you know, whatever. I will admit this though: after eating clean for so long, you really do feel crappy when you fall back to old patterns. For me, it really showed me like, “Damn! This really was garbage that I was putting my body for so long and then going out and fighting.”

“I definitely feel as strong, if not stronger, at this weight,” Beltran continued in his breakdown of the changes to his game since relocating to the light heavyweight division. “To be honest with you, the athleticism hasn’t picked up dramatically, but that will come with time through all of the explosive drills and agility drills that my strength and conditioning coach has been working with me on. That will come, but right off the get-go my cardio has gone through the roof, and my hand-speed has picked up for sure. As far as can I still take a punch, can I still throw wallops? Yeah, for sure, it’s all good man. I don’t think that will ever go.”

After getting back into the win column in March in his debut as a 205-pound fighter, Beltran was putting in time in the gym, on the lookout for another competitive matchup on the regional circuit when the injury bug started attacking the UFC’s summer schedule, and an opportunity for a teammate created an opening for Beltran to make his return to the UFC.

“It was actually Brandon (Vera) who shot me the text to let me know the good news,” Beltran explained with a laugh. “They had all come back from Vegas — that’s another thing too (laughing): I was basically all alone for this process. Not all alone, but my teammates were all in Vegas, my normal coaching staff were all in Vegas for The Ultimate Fighter supporting Dominick Cruz in that venture, so I had to stay in California. I started getting some workouts in with Mark Munoz and all the great crew of fighters and coaches over there at Reign Training Center. I owe a debt of gratitude to Mark for opening the doors, and welcoming me with open arms over there at his gym.

“Brandon had been back for about two weeks, and he and I had been going hard training, and he was giving me compliments on how much I’d improved, especially in my standup and technically. I think that might have been part of it; I was fresh in his head.”

The UFC tabbed Vera to replace Thiago Silva in a matchup with former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua atop the August UFC on FOX fight card. Accepting the offer left Vera’s original opponent in need of a dance partner.

“When they asked him to go fight “Shogun,” I think a little light bulb went off. “Oh? Te Huna needs an opponent? Let’s sneak Joey in the back door,” Beltran said, chasing the words with another laugh, the excitement and the gratitude he feels for an opportunity to once again be competing in the UFC coming through in everything he says. “I owe a lot to him, and his manager, and my coach Eric Del Fierro; quick thinking and quick phone calls contributed a lot to getting me back in.”

Though he’s clearly ecstatic about returning to action on the biggest stage in the sport, many wonder if Beltran will be the same aggressive fighter he was during his first tour of duty with the UFC. He always absorbed a great deal of punishment in his previous bouts, and went out on the business end of a big time knockout. That has to change a man, right?

“People have asked me if I watched that fight, and the answer is “No” because I remember what happened,” Beltran said of his January encounter with Johnson at the United Center in Chicago. “I remember the moment. Let me — I don’t remember all those nasty uppercuts when I was slumped over on the fence; I was already out. But the first uppercut he landed I remember. I was coming in on this entry that we had worked on, and he was smart – he was waiting for that. Right when I came in, I just felt it. BOOOSH! He cracked me solid, and I tried to regain myself, but he just jumped on me.

“When you’re dealing with 250-pound men, you make a mistake, and they crack you, you’re going to go down; I don’t care who it is. All I have to do is make sure that I don’t make those same kinds of stupid mistakes and I’ll be alright. I’m not going to change who I am; I’m not going to change my style. I’m going to add some new tricks to my style, but as far as my heart and my will and the spirit that I bring into the cage, that’s never going to change. I’m definitely going to come forward the whole time, but I’m going to try to not lead with my head as much.”

As for the meeting with Te Huna and their placement as the co-main event of the evening, Beltran remained candid in his assessment of what he expects from his New Zealand-born counterpart on Wednesday night, and said he thinks there is good reason for them to hold down the second to last slot on the FUEL TV fight card, even if some people happen to think otherwise.

“He’s definitely tough, and he definitely likes to scrap; I could not have asked for a better opponent to come back to. If he wants to scrap, I’m down, man. The fans are going to get excited; FUEL TV is going to be excited. Everyone is going to be happy because it’s going to be a good one.

“It’s pretty crazy to me; I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t catch that mistake,” Beltran joked about returning in the penultimate fight of the night. “I know the haters are coming out in hoards, but I have to give myself a little bit of credit: I’m a seven-fight UFC veteran, I have a reputation for putting on nothing but entertaining fights. James Te Huna is coming off two first round knockouts. There’s a whole build-up around me dropping to 205 – everybody’s interested in seeing what I can do in this new weight class, so as far as the build-up and the story, there is definitely one there.”

There definitely is, and for once, it’s not one of the same stories you’re hearing every fight week.