Author: By Jordan Newmark

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last December, prior to The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale, Jonathan Brookins mentioned he was preparing mentally and physically for both his opponent, Michael Johnson, as well as a long growing process in the UFC. Brookins was speaking about the journey of his own evolution as a professional fighter, one that wouldn’t peak at the finale, but that would be a nationally televised starting point for things to come. Some journeys are best mapped by clarifying the goal, then working backwards, and Brookins believes he has done just that.

“In all honesty, I do see greatness,” Brookins asserts. “In all respects of the word. I think that’s an obtainable task for me. No matter how I come about learning how to accomplish that, I think that is ultimately what is going to happen. It is just a matter of how and when.”

On the outside, the first step on that road was unanimously positive, as Brookins defeated Johnson to become the TUF winner at lightweight, but Brookins sees negatives. “I think what the fans learned and what I learned in that fight is that I’m resilient and I have so much to learn,” Brookins says of his three round decision victory. “I think that fight really exposed me as a really young fighter. I’m not as well-rounded as I would like to be. I was happy to come out with the win, but I know that Michael really took it to me.”

The 26-year old is famously known for his self-effacing humility, but there’s no arguing that Johnson had Brookins on the ropes in that first round.

“He really did his job and beat up on me for quite a while,” admits Brookins, who was tagged with several hard shots in the opening frame. Brookins gives all the credit to Johnson’s own evolution as a fighter for this early onslaught.

“When we were in the house, we had a lot of time sparring together and I never really felt in the house, the six weeks we were together, that he ever really got the best of me sparring. I was really surprised he was doing so much better than me in the standup, and it was a real testament to the type of power he has. He looks to be continuing to grow a lot in this sport and I’m real proud of Mike.”

The first round undoubtedly went to Johnson, but the following two rounds went to Brookins. “I knew I had to get it to the ground and I knew that he was going to be ready for me to get it there and take him down,” explains Brookins, who understood he had some rough sledding ahead of him to bring the fight into his strength, but once he did, the fight was his. “He wasn’t easy to take down in practice, so I knew taking him down now was going to be tough. I had to grit my teeth and keep coming forward and keep on trying until I got it. Once I took him down, I knew I could do some damage there.”

Since the finale win, the 13-3 Brookins’ journey has been very positive, as he trained at several different MMA camps, but he did hit a bad speed bump in the form of a sidelining injury in June. Originally, Brookins was scheduled to face the power punching of Jeremy Stephens at the TUF 13 finale. Two and half weeks out from the fight, Brookins broke the bottom floor of his orbital socket when his face crashed into a knee while practicing takedowns at The Pit Elevated. Minus that hiccup, Brookins found kindred spirits amongst his fellow cagefighters in Orem, Utah.

“They’ve got some of the greatest vibes ever,” tells Brookins. “Their head coach, Jason Mertlich, has all these great guys over there and they’re all down to Earth and very mellow. Court McGee really kind of leads the way with his incredible work ethic and incredible drive. All the personalities are great there and it’s got one of the best training facilities I’ve ever seen in all of the United States. To me, it seems like it will be a hot bed for where guys go to train. It seems like the hidden gem. Utah is one of the most beautiful places you’ll ever go visit. It’s high elevation and it’s just a beautiful place with really good vibes out there.”

Some may assume all UFC fighters know each other or maybe there’s a fraternity for former TUF winners that led Brookins to travel from his home in Orlando, Florida west to Utah. Hopefully, one day that will be true, but it was actually a six degrees of separation between one of Brookins’ old friends that extended the invite. A friend Brookins made when he was a two-time high school state champion wrestler in Oregon and was an NAIA college wrestler at Lindenwood University in Missouri.

“I wrestled with a friend of mine in high school,” says Brookins. “Me and that kid also went to college together and wrestled on the same team. We both left that college. When I left I went to Florida to pursue fighting. He went to Utah Valley University to wrestle and his best friend there became Ramsey Nijem. Ultimately, Ramsey started training with Court. The next season after mine, Ramsey was on the TUF finals. My friend was telling me that he knows these guys and he lives out there and maybe I should come out there. I took him up on that offer and stayed at his house and he introduced me to Court and Ramsey. From then on they have been some of the greatest people I have ever met.”

Now, Brookins is healthy and ready to meet his next challenge head on in the Octagon: Erik “New Breed” Koch. On September 17th at UFC Fight Night in New Orleans, Brookins will make his UFC start in his previous division, featherweight, against one of the fastest rising stars of the lighter weights. The Roufusport product has a stellar 12-1 record with back-to-back highlight reel “Knockout of the Night” bonuses. From Stephens to Koch, the UFC is certainly expecting a lot from Brookins with these tough matchups, and that’s what Brookins wants.

“I think he’s a great opponent,” states Brookins. “I’ve heard nothing, but great things about him. He’s got a lot of good reports behind him and I think that’s really cool they matched me up against a guy who’s got a lot of steam behind him right now. I like that they’re putting me up against tough people. I think that’s really nice of them and real cool. I really hope to go out there and perform. I hope they always match me up against tough people.”

For this training camp, Brookins has mostly kept to the Sunshine State and the people who raised him as a fighter: Gracie Barra Orlando. “They’ve got really, really strong Brazilian jiu-jitsu out here,” reports Brookins, a dangerous purple belt in BJJ with eight of his 13 pro wins coming by submission, which doesn’t count his two sub wins in the TUF house. “Their jiu-jitsu comes from guys who are straight from Brazil who could have been here a couple months or a couple years. I like putting on the gi and growing in that aspect. To me, that is one of the reasons I stick around here, because I have so much further to go in my jiu-jitsu and that’s one piece of the puzzle that I can hone and perfect and it will take a lot of time, but I have the place to focus on it, so I like to take advantage of it.”

This weekend, the next section of Brookins’ journey takes place in the Octagon in New Orleans against the dynamic “New Breed” Koch. After five years of being in MMA, Brookins will be entering the cage with a new mindset as a UFC fighter. It has been a roller-coaster that has led Brookins to this point, but now the journey to greatness can begin, which should be enjoyable for all to see. If the fans are ready to follow, Brookins is ready to lead.

“There are times when you’re completely consumed by what you want, and there are other times when you feel completely lost in the world,” expresses Brookins. “It has been that type of journey. I would say that where I’m at right now is probably the tail end of confusion. I’m figuring out how much of significance and how much of an honor it is to be fighting in the UFC and working for this company. I didn’t quite grasp that as much as I should. I was really disappointed that appreciation didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been grinding away for so long at this sport, it was never a question in my mind whether I was going to fight in the WEC again or the UFC. I knew that I would. But the way that it happened, it happened so fast and so sudden, I’m trying to catch up mentally to that. That’s where I’m at right now, so this will be a real interesting fight for me. The fact that the perfection is still so far off into the distance that you have to keep working towards it, that keeps me motivated and keeps me going.”

There is nothing particularly normal about fighting in the UFC. It’s a highly competitive organization showcasing the best hybrid athletes battling in a combat sport that’s been saddled with an outlaw label by the mainstream media and, at the same time, people can’t get enough of it. It’s a loud, enthusiastic, raucous fanbase cheering on the best multi-talented fighters of a generation who come to challenge each other inside the eight-sided cage known simply as the Octagon. The fighters that succeed have no need for normal and can be comfortable amidst the chaos.

Insert Clay Harvison and his “Spirit Hood”.

At The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale weigh-ins in June, Harvison took to the scale donning a fashionable wolf Spirit Hood animal hat with an attached scarf and pockets, announcing his presence as a one man wolf pack in the UFC. The following night at the finale event, Harvison secured a decision victory in his Octagon debut over fellow TUF housemate Justin Edwards in a three round slobber knocker. This win capped off a year in which, “Heavy Metal” had won three fights in three completely different atmospheres, proving that he is one with the chaos.

“When you’re fighting at the house you’ve got (UFC President) Dana White on your left shoulder and you’ve got (former UFC heavyweight champion) Brock Lesnar on your right,” explains Harvison. “You’re fighting in a warehouse with 40 people watching. That’s not crazy or weird, right? Honestly, it was way more packed and loud at Wild Bill’s because it is 3,000 people in there going ape s**t and chanting my name at once. I wasn’t the main event at the finale, so it was more calm and collected. So, if you can handle having the Spike TV logo under your feet then you’re fine. I felt good going into the finale fight and I felt good going into the first fight in the house. I knew that’s where I was supposed to be and I know that I am now where I’m supposed to be in life.”

The almost 31-year old native of Georgia has had an anything but normal year. In June 2010, he scored a first round knockout, elevating his professional record to 8-3, which was totally comprised of local MMA shows. From there, Harvison made it into the TUF house and onto Team Lesnar. He won his first fight in the house against Mick Bowman by decision, a bout which was made famous by Harvison continuing to fight with his pinky dislocated and the bone protruding through his skin. Lastly, Harvison’s successful debut win over Edwards at the finale on June 4th, 2011.

“I knew that the UFC was where I was going to end up,” affirms Harvison. “I never gave up on my dream and I never stopped training until I accomplished my dream and I’ve accomplished it. I’ve not completely accomplished it, but I’m headed in the right direction. Hard work pays off, period. I was glad I won. It was a war and it was a close fight. I thought I won the second and third and he won the first round. He’s a game opponent and it was extremely fast paced. It was a good fight.”

As for the action inside the cage at the finale, the up and down and all around tussle went almost all to plan. “First round, I was pretty much going to let him gas out and that went accordingly,” says Harvison whose excellent conditioning was a huge factor in his first UFC victory. “I was going to try and finish him in the second or third. Unfortunately, he had a brick for a head and I couldn’t knock him out. I was planning on winning in the later rounds, honestly.”

To prepare for the fight, he uprooted himself and went west to train with another fellow TUF housemate: Ramsey Nijem. “I wanted to work on my wrestling and Ramsey was the best wrestler in the house, so I was like ‘I’m going to go work with Ramsey.’” That meant joining The Pit Elevated gym in Orem, Utah. “I knew from the fights I had seen Justin in and from the tape that he likes to go in there and blow it all out in the first three or four minutes. I knew he liked to do a double blast and I train with ‘Stripper’ Ramsey, who was on his team on the show and I know his wrestling is not as clean as Ramsey’s. There’s also a bunch of good D1 wrestlers out here and they get after it.”

On September 17th on the Battle on the Bayou card, “Heavy Metal” enters the Octagon for the second time against Seth Baczynski. Harvison was originally scheduled to take on DaMarques Johnson, who withdrew due to injury and Baczynski has taken the fight on short notice. At 13-6, the “Polish Pistola” has won back-to-back fights in outside organizations since losing his UFC debut by decision to Brad Tavares, and he trains at Power MMA and Fitness in Gilbert, Arizona with UFC stars like Ryan Bader and CB Dollaway.

The change in opponent doesn’t affect Harvison, because he is confident in himself and his training to win these clashes. “When we train conditioning, we push it to the max because we plan on being in three round wars and we don’t plan on catching people early,” asserts Harvison on the ethos of The Pit Elevated fight team, which includes Nijem, TUF winner Court McGee, TUF alum Josh Burkman, and head coach Jason Mertlich. “If it ends early, good, but if this goes into the later rounds, we’re going to break you. That’s what everybody’s mentality is out here. We’re going to out work your ass, period.”

The fight team’s name, The Pit Elevated, is a nod to and named after the world renowned martial arts school The Pit, owned/operated by John Hackleman. “It’s awesome just having him in my corner,” relates Harvison, and to add to his ridiculous year, nowadays he has the same famous horned rim glasses and goatee that advised the legendary Chuck Liddell now advising him. “You can’t get knowledge like he has and all that experience. He had a world champion under him for years with Chuck Liddell. He gives his information straight and to the point and it’s not too complicated; you just go in there and execute.”

In “The Big Easy,” New Orleans, Harvison will look to continue his winning ways against Baczynski.

“I’m trying to get ‘Knockout of the Night’, ‘Fight of the Night’, ‘Submission of the Night’ – whatever I can get – and win,” exclaims Harvison, who wants a victory with the utmost authority and, most of all, he wants it to be exciting. “I want to be one of those people that people always want to watch. That’s what the fans pay for and I know that’s what all the regular Joes in Hooters all over America want to see and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

And that’s exactly the type of not normal thinking we like to hear in the UFC.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

He lost. He got dropped. On March 26th, at UFC Fight Night in Seattle, Washington, TJ Waldburger lost to Johny Hendricks in the first round by TKO. Waldburger knows it and he knows what he did that led him to a loss in his second fight in the UFC.

“I threw the sloppiest left round kick in the world,” remembers Waldburger. “I left my hand down and I didn’t snap it back and come back to my stance. Just a horrible left round kick. He countered with a punch and came back with another one and then the ref called it.”

The question is, so what? It’s too bad he lost and all, but it’s not like Waldburger’s going to quit because of one loss. Waldburger is only 23 years old and he is a cage-fighter competing against the best competition. He started fighting MMA professionally when he was still in high school, so technically Waldburger’s an old vet with 19 fights under his belt. Losses happen, you learn from them and you move on.

“Overall a fight’s a fight,” states Waldburger. “You go in there and fight. I made an amateur mistake and he capitalized on it. I have no excuses for that. I’m going to work on those little details and fix them, but what’s done is done.”

After the loss, Waldburger did what every fighter should do and that’s get back in the gym, get better and get himself ready to fight in the Octagon again. “It’s about tuning up the finer details,” explains Waldburger. “We’re at such a high level that you can’t make simple mistakes. Guys who fight at this higher level will capitalize on them. I’m not trying to change my game, but just tighten up the holes.”

At UFC Fight Night in New Orleans a week from today, Waldburger gets his chance to improve his 13-6 record by facing the 12-3 Daniel Roberts, who is coming off back-to-back losses of his own. “If he’s anything like me, then your losses are only going to motivate you to get better and to figure out what you need to work on,” says Waldburger, who is eagerly preparing for the best Roberts has to offer. “Hopefully he does that, but you never know. He might come out a totally different person than what we’ve seen last, so I’m just trying to be ready for anything.”

Stylistically, it is obvious why Roberts and Waldburger were paired to fight each other: submissions. “After looking at his background, I saw that he was a good grappler and most of his wins come by submission,” remarks Waldburger of Roberts having 9 of his 12 wins come by submission; meanwhile, 10 of Waldburger’s 13 wins are by submission. “Ground versus ground really comes down to who has the better timing and who is going to react better to the situation, flowing rather than forcing things. I think in jiu-jitsu what is going to win is reacting and adapting.”

A trademark of Roberts’ fights that the Texan is dutifully aware of is that he starts out fast. “I think I’d be ready to go at a fast pace for all three rounds and at the same time I’m ready to slow him down and play my game too,” explains Waldburger, who will look to counter Roberts’ usual early frenzy to pull “Ninja” into his own pace. “It’s really about weathering the storm and slowing him down. If he comes out fast then he’s going to wear out fast. It’s really about being the more experienced pro fighter than going in there and getting into it in a hurry and being more amateur.”

Both fighters seemingly prefer the ground, but this is MMA, and Waldburger is training to finish fights on the feet too. “That’s the main thing in the fight – whatever it takes to win the fight,” asserts Waldburger, who trains at Azteca boxing as well as his main gym, The Grapplers Lair, which he has trained at his entire career. “Looking at him on tape it looks like I’ll do good within the standup, but you never know until you get in there with him. We’ll play with it and see where the fight has to go. I’m confident in my standup game, but I’m not a standup guy or I’m not a jiu-jitsu guy – I’m a fighter.”

In his UFC debut win over David Mitchell at UFC Fight Night last September, Waldburger showcased much of his vaunted grappling as well as solid takedowns. “It seems like every time the fight goes to the ground I feel more comfortable there and I’m winning that way,” says Waldburger, a rank of purple belt in BJJ under John Moore of The Grapplers Lair. “With Mitchell, I kind of wanted to stand with him, but I was feeling more comfortable on the ground and I was doing better on the ground with him than I was standing. So that’s where I was continuing to take it. I’m just going to react and adapt with Roberts to find out where I need to go to win.”

Training for his third fight in the Octagon, Waldburger is sticking with the people who have been with him every step of the way to shape him as fighter: Moore and The Grapplers Lair. “I wouldn’t be anywhere without Grappler’s Lair or John and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” says Waldburger of Moore, who is not only his coach/mentor, but also Waldburger’s father-in-law and a soon to be grandfather as Waldburger and Moore’s daughter, Shayla, are expecting their first child in November. “John is an amazing coach. He has a really good understanding of what it takes to win the fight and to perform. He doesn’t set himself to one thing and is open to any martial art and that’s what mixed martial arts truly is.”

On September 17th, live on SpikeTV, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Waldburger will clash with Roberts in what should be a grappling fan’s dream matchup. “I feel more motivated training because I’m at the top fighting for the UFC, and once you get to this top you’re starting at the bottom again, so you can work your to the top here,” affirms Waldburger, a young man who has the wisdom and humility to learn from his mistakes and the youth and talent to right them. “I’m definitely seeing little stuff I know I could do better at and I feel like I’m at the level now that I can compete with the top guys and that’s why the UFC hired me. I’m training harder and training more. I put my work and my effort into this and it’s not easy, but I’m here now and I’m going to keep doing it until I’m told otherwise.”

  Fight fans need to get to know their finishers. The knockout artists and the submission specialists. The fighters who get the job done with time still on the clock and the ref pulling them off their opponent. In the UFC’s burgeoning featherweight division, one such 145er has been earning that Anderson Silva-like cage cred with first round stoppages in his last 3 fights: Erik “New Breed” Koch.

“It’s a rush,” says Koch. “That’s what we work for. I don’t do pads everyday, spar everyday and wrestle everyday to get decisions. I’m not looking from a standpoint when I’m doing pads, ‘OK, just do this and then get away so you can win the round.’ When I’m doing pads, I’m lighting them up and I’m looking at angles because I’m looking for the ‘killshot’, the knockout blow. I want the finishes. That’s where the bonuses come from.”

The 22 year old Iowa native knows a thing or two about bonuses, securing back-to-back “Knockout of the Night” awards. At WEC 52, in Koch’s final fight before the merge with the UFC, “New Breed” caught Francisco Rivera with a head kick only 90 seconds into the first that led to the TKO ending moments later. Most recently, in March at UFC 128 in Newark, Koch made his presence known in his organizational debut by stalking Raphael Assuncao for two and a half minutes before dropping the hammer on Assuncao with a knockout punch.

“During the feel out process, I felt like [Assuncao] was panicking standing and was looking for a way out and I capitalized on it,” Koch continues, noting that both award-winning finishes were a part of his fight strategy and not random occurrences. “The crazy thing is that those two knockouts are exactly what we planned for and it worked. I believe in my coaches and I believe in my team and it works. You have to listen and then execute, and when you do it pays off and you get bonuses.”

Koch is a young, rising star in a camp full of them at Roufusport, overseen by kickboxing legend Duke Roufus. Tucked away in the continental United States’ tropical oasis known as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Roufusport is busting at the seams with talent like Anthony Pettis, Alan Belcher, Danny Downes, Ben Rothwell, and many more being added regularly. Everyone at Roufusport has a fight scheduled, making it a true working gym where each fighter is preparing to be their best as well as helping to prepare their teammates to be their best.

“We have a killer squad here now,” asserts Koch. “We have Ben Askren up here full time. We have Joao ‘Jo Z’ Zeferino, a black belt jiu-jitsu coach from Brazil who is a stud on the ground. I get to put a bunch of different things together and tighten everything up. It’s gotten to the point that I’ve trained so hard for so long and I’ve beaten myself down so much that I’m ready to get into the cage. I’m ready to get it done. I’m excited for fight day. It’s the same feeling I had for Assuncao, so I hope that translates over well again.”

“New Breed” will put that wrestling and BJJ training to good use against his UFC Fight Night opponent, Jonathan Brookins. On September 17th in New Orleans, Louisiana, Koch will tangle with The Ultimate Fighter season 12 winner. Brookins is primarily known for his relentless takedowns and his slick ground game. The 26 year old Floridian has a 13-3 professional record with eight of those wins by submission. As action packed as the fight should be, don’t expect much in terms of “trash talk” from Koch, as he’s simply excited for the challenge and the competition.

“He’s a real nice dude,” states Koch. “He’s intelligent, he’s a good wrestler, he’s a hard worker and most of all he’s a tough guy. He can take some punishment. He’s one of those guys that will bring a tough fight and you have to bring your A game against him. I look at him that he’s a prime example of that. He’s going to go in there and he’s going to hit it hard. But I know what he’s planning on doing and that’s what I’m training to prevent and then put a highlight on it. I want to give the fans what they want to see and that’s a knockout.”

On paper, Brookins’ gameplan will be to take this fight to the ground, and that’s where Koch’s training with Askren and “Jo Z” come to play. “I feel like if I can do anything with Askren, if I can stuff a couple of his takedowns or if I can give him problems on the ground then I’m confident going into the fight,” explains Koch. Askren is simply one of the most highly decorated collegiate wrestlers ever, an Olympic wrestler as well as an undefeated 8-0 MMA fighter. “Working with Jo Z at jiu-jitsu is the same thing. These guys fight at a heavier weight class than me, so if I can handle my own with them then I’m very comfortable. I think I can stuff what Brookins is bringing to the table and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

In theory, this is a classic matchup of “striker vs. grappler”, but looks can be deceiving. If one does a little digging into Koch’s past, one would see a 12-1 professional record with seven of those wins coming by submission. The plot thickens, as he previously trained at a grappler’s based gym known as Team Hard Drive in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Plus, Koch’s recent admission that he’s training with top notch ground talent at Roufusport, which is supposed to house just a bunch of crazy amazing kickboxers. It’s almost as if this “striker” is just as dangerous a finisher on the ground, which seems a bit unfair.

“I’m always confident striking,” says Koch. “I don’t care if it is against Jose Aldo, I’m not going to go in there and not be confident about striking. But I’m confident everywhere I go and that’s where my nickname, ‘New Breed’, comes from. A lot of people think I’m just a kickboxer, but that is not true. Most of my fights end by submission. Just because my last two fights that everyone has seen have been knockouts, doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing on the ground. I love the ground. Team Hard Drive, most of those guys were ground oriented and coming from Iowa with a wrestling base and rolling with the guys we have here – honestly, I think my ground is just as good as my striking. If Brookins does get me down, I’m not going to panic because I’m comfortable on the ground. I’m confident where ever the fight goes.”

On September 17th, live on SpikeTV, “New Breed” will be looking to finish the TUF winner, Brookins, to propel himself into the top five of the UFC featherweight division. “My mentality is that wherever I go, if I do get on top I’m going to make you pay for it – I want to finish,” affirms Koch who wants to put a stamp on this victory the same way he did in his UFC debut. “September 17th, I’m predicting another first round knockout. I want to be an exciting fighter and I want to stand out. With the competition in the UFC, you have to stand out and the best way to do that is give the people what they want to see.”

And that’s a finish.

On October 8th in Houston, Texas, two of the UFC’s lighter-weight champions will put their titles up for grabs against two of their fiercest rivals. In the co-main event at UFC 136, the featherweight king, Jose Aldo, is set on a collision course with the division’s newest star and, at the same time, a longtime UFC stalwart in Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian. In the card’s main event, UFC lightweight champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar will face Gray “The Bully” Maynard to complete the trilogy between these evenly matched elite fighters in another battle for the belt.

But before any of these fighters can take to the cage, all four, plus UFC President Dana White, had to face the MMA media at the pre-fight press conference in Houston Tuesday. On one side of the podium sat two champions with their UFC gold gleaming in front of them. On the other side sat their envious and hungry challengers. The answers were short and direct; no surprise, as there’s no room to joke when there’s a championship on the line.

For “The Bully”, the question isn’t ‘is there motivation going into this rematch’, but can the undefeated TUF alum ever illustrate the enormity of it in finite words for us to understand?

“Since January 1st, it’s been on my mind every day and every night,” says the Xtreme Couture prospect who challenged Edgar for the belt on New Year’s Day in a five round slobberknocker, which started out with Maynard almost winning by KO in the first and, eventually, ended indecisively in a draw. “It’s up to [Edgar] if he wants this to end in the first round or if he wants a full fight. But I’m walking away with the belt.”

The lightweight champion has a similar motivation as his adversary to bring closure to this rivalry and to move on to defending his belt against new competition.

“We’ve fought a couple times already and there really aren’t any secrets,” explains Edgar, who originally won the title off BJ Penn at UFC 112 and then ran the tables on the veteran in the rematch at UFC 118. The pride of New Jersey is planning on bringing that UFC gold back to the Garden State at least one more time. “It’s everything to me. For me to bring the title home would mean everything. I get such great support at home, I feel like they’re in the cage with me.”

At 145 pounds, Florian made a statement in June in his first fight at the weight with a unanimous decision win over Diego “The Gun” Nunes at UFC 131.

“I felt I performed really well and could have done another five rounds that night,” asserts Florian, who simply overpowered Aldo’s Nova Uniao teammate in a fight where the critics questioned whether Florian could even make the weight. “I was coming off an injury and with my foot up for two months, I gained weight. Now, I’m already down closer to the weight, so the weight cut won’t be as difficult.”

Lastly, the first ever UFC featherweight champion, Aldo, is singularly focused to remain the only UFC featherweight champion ever.

“All I can do is train hard and go in there and win my fights,” said the Brazilian phenom, who made a near mythical tear through the WEC ranks, winning all eight of his fights and seven by KO/TKO. The Brazilian successfully defended the UFC belt via five round decision against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, displaying his stellar striking, including his much feared leg kicks. “I learned those kicks from Pedro Rizzo, from watching him for years and then later training under him.”

At the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, two young champions will look to continue cementing their legacy against challengers eager to feel the weight of UFC gold around their own waist. In the featherweight division, Florian and Aldo clash in a matchup of BJJ aces with punishing Muay Thai. In the lightweight division, Maynard and Edgar will look to settle this rivalry once and for all with the winner wearing UFC championship gold.

“I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path.” – Dalai Lama

In the Octagon, expectations cannot only hinder one’s path, but can easily lead to one’s defeat. Every mixed martial arts fight is an ever changing, formless and unique experience. At any moment, the battle can seamlessly move from standing to the ground and from the ground back to standing. A fighter can gain or lose an advantage in the blink of an eye. Being completely open, but ready, for whatever comes next is essential to being an MMA fighter, and it’s a mindset lived by UFC welterweight Amir Sadollah.

Most famous for winning The Ultimate Fighter season 7, Sadollah believes this philosophy was key to his early UFC success. “I did a good job about being open to the whole experience,” explains Sadollah, who didn’t let having no prior professional MMA fights slow him down from being crowned the TUF champion. “If you have an expectation, then ultimately you are going to be let down and it’s never going to be exactly what you think in your head. Take in the experience as opposed to trying to predict and expect certain things.”

This concept that each fight can be a shapeless, violent amoeba with no fate but the one you make is what drew the Brooklyn born Sadollah to it in the first place.

“In MMA, you’ll never be bored and it will never be mundane,” says Sadollah of the sport he made his profession and in which he has a 6-2 record. “You will always need to push yourself as hard as you ever had. I like the hard road. The first training session was such a draw for me because it was the first thing in my life where if you wanted something bad enough and if you worked hard enough you could go and get it.”

On the cusp of turning 31 years old, Sadollah is preparing to enter the Octagon for the eighth time on August 14th at UFC Live against Duane “Bang” Ludwig. “Every time I go into a fight I want to show an improved skill set,” asserts Sadollah.

He has changed dramatically as a fighter these past three years, going from an unknown to a rising star and a fan favorite. “I want to be the type of fighter that I like to watch, the type of fighter I would like to train with, and the type of fighter that I want to learn from. Aggressive, talented, and fun to watch – that’s my focus.”

Those improvements were certainly on full display in March at UFC Fight Night when Sadollah tore through fellow TUF alum DaMarques Johnson en route to a stoppage in the second round.

“Who doesn’t want to leave work early?” jokes Sadollah, who secured mount on Johnson and rained down elbows for an impressive victory. “It’s what the fans want to see and it’s always something you strive for. As a fighter you should always be looking to end fights. You’re fighting someone who doesn’t want to be finished, so it doesn’t always end up that way, but you try your best.”

It should come as no surprise that Sadollah is progressing in the area of “ground and pound” because of where he trains. “At Xtreme Couture, all the guys there have such good ground and pound, control from the top and strikes from the top, so it’s kind of just something I picked up,” he humbly states. Sadollah trains daily with a who’s who list of wrestlers and top ranked UFC fighters at living legend Randy Couture’s gym in Las Vegas. “My theory and the theory of the people I work with is that you always want to be training to impose your will. I’m always trying to improve my wrestling, and it’s definitely a focus of mine. I’m always trying to be dominant on top and land strikes, so that win (over Johnson) was definitely gratifying.”

One of Sadollah’s major strengths is his standup, and to keep it crisp he takes his training camp international. “I was over in Holland for a few weeks at the beginning of this camp to work with my striking coach Marco van de Broek,” said Sadollah, whose openness to experience is a physical pursuit as well as a general outline. “I think it’s important for me to go to new places and meet new people and to punch them. It is easy to settle in your comfort zone and I just never want to be the guy who gets comfortable and stops growing as a fighter. I’m constantly trying to shake things up and make sure I’m still paying attention.”

Sadollah will need to keep his striking game sharp, especially considering his upcoming bout is with former professional kickboxer Ludwig. “It’s a fight I’m excited for because he’s a high level striker and that’s something I want to be,” affirms Sadollah of his veteran opponent who has a 28-11 record with the majority of his wins coming by knockout. “That’s how you get better and that’s how you show that you are a high level at something; you fight someone who has a high skill level at that something. He seems to be more of a counter fighter type, but I try to make no assumptions about a fighter. I think you have a general idea about how a fighter fights a fight, but you don’t really know until you get in there and do it.”

It’s a good matchup and a good plan – Sadollah and Ludwig will exchange sound leg kicks and straight punches until one of them drops, but this is MMA and anything can happen. “I try to put as little hype into that as possible because every time I see two guys who I think ‘this is going to be such a standup war,’ it always turns into a wrestling match,” remarks Sadollah. But both Ludwig and Sadollah only ever appear in compelling and entertaining fights no matter where they end up. “I joked about it when I first heard about that match that I’ll go straight to him with a double leg. I think stylistically I like to stand up and he likes to stand up, so in theory it should be exciting.”

On August 14th, Sadollah will try to extend his winning streak against the veteran Ludwig. He has already used his open mindedness in training to better himself as a fighter, and once in the cage, he will make no assumptions about his opponent, minus he’s really good and that Sadollah will bring the fight to Ludwig as it presents itself in that moment. But Sadollah will allow one prediction for his meeting with Ludwig: “I expect fireworks.” That’s an expectation that makes all fight fans happy.