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Bastien Huveneers Hoping to Go Up 2-0 Against Nick Hinchliffe at BFL

Middleweight fighter Bastien Huveneers maybe isn’t “The Muscles from Brussels” himself Jean-Claude Van Damme, but he certainly is no slouch inside the cage. The Belgian fighter, now living in Canada, is 10-3-1 in professional mixed martial arts and wan…

“He [Jean-Claude Van Damme] is only a big name everyone knows. I watched all the action movies like everybody else. When I was young I didn’t even know he was Belgian, I didn’t even know the difference between American and Belgian, everybody was speaking French on my TV,” Huveneers told Bleacherreport.com. “I wouldn’t say I’m a fan or looked up to him, but yeah I enjoyed his movies and looking at him kicking ass, it’s funny to see how ridiculous those movies are sometimes when you watch them again [laughingly].”

Like most people, Huveneers has seen Van Damme’s movies but doesn’t care much more than that for his fellow Belgian.

Maybe it’s because Huveneers is accustomed to professional fighting and can see through the smoke and mirrors of the old-school Hollywood action films. With 14 pro fights under his belt, Huveneers is looking to make his return in the cage after being out of action for the last year and a half.

Huveneers is making his comeback in a catch weight bout against welterweight fighter Nick Hinchliffe at BFL 15 in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The two have met before in what was a hotly contested battle that saw Huveneers come out on the right side of a split decision.

“Last fight with him [Hinchliffe] was really cool last time, it was a war, I mean it was beautiful, it was a lot of fun. He’s a great fighter too so I promised I wanted to get a rematch with him,” Huveneers said. “I had a rough year last year so I couldn’t fight because of a couple of issues. Now having him as my first fight after my time off is kind of cool, it’s a great opportunity to do it again.”

According to Huveneers, the fight with Hinchliffe was close last time and very back and forth. In the second go round, he hopes he can do better, but is prepared for war at the same time.

“I go forward, I hate going backward, I’m not the most technical kind of guy. I don’t mind getting punched and getting hit if it means getting closer and utilizing my offense. But, with him he was basically waiting for me to make a mistake and dodging my punch and hitting me in the right spot, I ate a couple of bad punches, I remember,” said Huveneers. “The whole training has been that I have to be a lot more careful, I know I will probably regret trying to go straight at him and just try to hurt him as much as I can.”

The Hinchliffe fight is where Huveneers’ focus is, and he’s looking forward to getting back in the cage. In terms of what comes next for him, he really doesn’t like to look too far ahead.

“If I win the fight, I’ll get a title fight for BFL,” Huveneers said. “The way I usually do it, I don’t try to think too far ahead, I just like to live in the present for that. I’ll do my best to win that fight and whatever happens will happen and then we will see then. I’m sure he’s got big plans too, we both want to win, if he wins it’s going to suck for me I’m going to have to re-think things and if it goes my way, I’m probably going to get a title fight for BFL or get more money for the next fight which is always good.”

The UFC recently announced that they will be putting on three events in Canada this year, but Vancouver, British Columbia didn’t make the list after two previous visits in 2010 and 2011.

Putting on shows in Vancouver was difficult for the UFC, certainly more difficult than other cities in Canada like Montreal and Toronto. Part of it has to do with the way the city deals with mixed martial arts. Unlike Montreal and Toronto, it isn’t provincially regulated in British Columbia. The cities manage the sport, and that seems to be part of the problem.

Huveneers, a resident of Vancouver and having fought many of his fights in the province of British Columbia talks about the issues facing professional MMA in Vancouver.

“We don’t really understand why Vancouver is so reluctant about having pro MMA around here,” Huveneers said. “The rules for amateur and pro are pretty much the same, the sport is the same, there are a lot of amateur shows everywhere, why there are no pro ones, it just doesn’t make any sense. Personally I never understand why there is such a huge deal about the pro fights […] There’s fights all the time everywhere in Vancouver, but they are just amateur because we can’t do pro. It makes no sense whatsoever and everyone knows it.”

One of the main differences between amateur fighting and professional fighting is the pay cheque. Amateurs aren’t getting paid to fight despite doing the same things fighters would do in a professional fight.

UFC president Dana White was recently asked about MMA being in the Olympics and what he had to say was interesting to say the least.

“It makes all the sense in the world, first and foremost mixed martial arts is a combination of most of the sports that are already Olympic sports. But I don’t believe in amateur mixed martial arts. There’s no such thing, it’s BS. What it is, is a way for a promoter to not pay a fighter. That’s what amateur means. It means I don’t have to pay you because I consider you an amateur and I believe there is no real amateur mixed martial arts in this sport, until the Olympic committee gets behind it like they did with USA boxing and boxing in other countries. I would love for that to happen.”

Huveneers shares much the same opinion as White.

“Absolutely I agree [with White], it’s bull [expletive],” Huveneers said. “It makes no sense, same sport, same rules, same cage, why the [expletive] don’t they get paid?” He continued. “It’s kind of stupid, but that’s the way it works.”

Huveneers has been fighting pro for a while and will be fighting pro at the BFL 15 event in Nanaimo, but it doesn’t change his critical opinion on the amateur fight scene in the province.

Amateur fighting aside, he’s ready for his fight tonight and looking forward to a rematch with a former foe.

“I’ll be happy to see everybody over there. I’m excited about this fight and I am really happy to fight Nick Hinchliffe again. He’s a great guy and a great fighter,” Huveneers said. “It’s going to be a great show!”

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the B/R MMA team, Follow @Leon_Horne

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Alistair Overeem Situation Doesn’t Differ Greatly from Others Who Have Failed

Alistair Overeem, Strikeforce heavyweight champion, K1 champion, Dream heavyweight champion and number one contender for the UFC heavyweight championship is in the middle of a firestorm brought completely upon himself. It isn’t news anymore; …

It isn’t news anymore; people have speculated ever since Overeem made the move to heavyweight, and their speculation was founded yesterday. The dutch heavyweight tested positive for increased testosterone levels as reported by MMAjunkie.com yesterday afternoon.

In light of this news, the heavyweight showdown between Overeem and current champion Junior Dos Santos is all but off for UFC 146 this coming May 26.

As a fan, I couldn’t be more disappointed. Being of Dutch heritage, I’ve always pulled for Alistair and his inclusion in the UFC. After many years it finally happened despite looking like it was never meant to be. Sadly, Overeem could be leaving the UFC as fast as he came. It’s sad, not because he wouldn’t deserve to be cut, but because of all the fans that were looking up to him as a pillar in the UFC heavyweight division.

In any case, if he is cut by the UFC, one has to ask, what is the UFC’s policy on dealing with fighters who don’t pass their drug tests?

I believe in equal competition and am the first person to say that the best possible drug testing should be used in all sports to maintain a level playing field. Guys who cheat shouldn’t get a second chance without having to work very hard for it.

That being said, it will be interesting to see how the UFC handles Overeem’s case compared to others who have cheated in the past, particularly Chael Sonnen and Thiago Silva.

After hearing the news, UFC President Dana White was understandably beside himself to say the least.

“I am beyond pissed,” White told Canadian media during a conference call. “It doesn’t look good, does it? It doesn’t look good,” White said about Overeem’s future with the UFC.

Now I am all for making an example out of a cheater and cutting him from the UFC. My only questions are: Why is Chael Sonnen still in the UFC and fighting for the middleweight title in Brazil against Anderson Silva? And why is Thiago Silva headlining UFC on Fuel TV 2 in Sweden against Alexander Gustaffson?

Sonnen, after taking Anderson Silva to the brink of defeat in their title fight at UFC 117 in August, 2010, tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) released the results almost a month after the fight.

Sonnen tried to appeal, citing medically approved testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) as the cause for his elevated levels but to no avail. The middleweight was suspended from action for what was supposed to be one year but was later reduced to six months—only to be moved back up to one year after he plead guilty to money laundering.

Some people called for the UFC to take more action against Sonnen and other cheaters, but the UFC felt differently.

Dana White told Ariel Helwani of MMAfighting.com the following when asked about having a zero tolerance policy for performance enhancing drugs in the UFC:

The government comes in and takes away your ability to make a living for a year or whatever it is. Then on top of that the money that you made in that fight, they are gonna fine you, which many guys already have that money spent or whatever. This test came out a month later, Chael Sonnen I’m sure has been out making some moves, plus he has to pay taxes on that money and now he has to pay a fine and the public stigma now and everything else. I mean what more could you do to a guy? What more could you do to a guy?

In the case of Thiago Silva, the Brazillian fighter didn’t test positive for anything, in fact it was impossible for him to test positive because he submitted non-human urine for his drug test prior to his fight against Brandon Vera. In fact, Vera was cut from the UFC for losing to Silva but brought back in once it was discovered that Silva cheated.

In both cases, the fighters remain in the UFC despite their shortcomings in pre-fight drug tests. Not only do they remain in the UFC, but they also find themselves in pretty good positions.

Nate Marquardt on the other hand was cut after testing positive for elevated testosterone, but it wasn’t his first offense.

Maybe it makes sense to give guys the benefit of the doubt on their first offense; everyone makes a mistake, and if that is the UFC’s stance on the issue then so be it.

However, if they do decide to cut Overeem after the current debacle, where was his second chance? Despite all the speculation, the Dutchman never tested positive before in his athletic career.

There is, however, one thing that Overeem has in common with Marquardt that he doesn’t have in common with Sonnen or Silva. Overeem’s positive test will likely result in the cancellation of the biggest fight of 2012 thus far—leaving the UFC scrambling to find another marquee opponent for Dos Santos to defend his title against. Just as Marquardt’s positive test resulted in the cancellation of his scheduled bout with Rick Story just one day before the event.

In the cases of Silva and Sonnen, their positive test results were only released after the fights had long been decided.

Silva and Sonnen hurt their own reputation along with the UFC’s, but they never cost the UFC an event in the way that Marquardt did or Overeem may.

I’m sure Overeem will be allowed to plead his case, and depending on what he has to say, he may still have a place in the UFC, but I won’t hold my breath.

On the other hand, with the controversy surrounding TRT and performance enhancing drugs and the UFC’s increased visibility with the Fox television deal, I could understand the UFC wanting to set an example. If this is the case though, all first time offenders should suffer the same fate in order to really set a precedent.

There are still lot of details yet to be released on Overeem’s situation; in fact, the media and fans haven’t had a chance to hear from Overeem himself. This is a story to watch closely as it develops since there are a lot of loose ends, and it will be interesting to see how everything shakes out.

Hopefully there was a major mistake in the testing, but I think it’s safe to say that it’s a very unlikely possibility.

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the BR/MMA interview team, Follow @Leon_Horne

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Ben ‘Killa B’ Saunders: From Jeet Kune Do Beginnings to Bellator Competitor

Despite being only 28 years old, Ben Saunders is the man most traveled in the Bellator Season 6 welterweight tournament kicking off tomorrow night. He holds a professional record of 12-4-0 which includes a seven-fight stint with the UFC, where he went 4-3-0. There are some guys older than him and guys with more fights, but nobody else in the tournament has fought in the UFC—the NFL of MMA.

“It always, I’d say, plays its role as far as mental confidence for sure, I’ve been in there against the best in the world,” said Saunders on having fought for the UFC in the past.

Only one other fighter scheduled to fight in the Bellator welterweight tournament had fought in the UFC before, and that was Brian Foster. However, he was pulled from the event because he was not medically cleared as reported by MMAjunkie.com. The situation Foster is in could result in his retirement and it made Saunders reflect on how lucky he is.

“Anytime you get an injury you sit back and evaluate your life and your career and what you’re going to do and what’s going to happen, it can be depressing, it can be very scary at times,” Saunders said. “When that happened to him, it definitely made me be grateful and tell myself hey man whatever the hell you might be going through or might not be happy about or whatever, shut the hell up and suck it up because you’re still able to do what you want to do,” he continued. “They told me that he got pulled out and then and there that just completely changed my mood, it changed my mentality of everything and it kind of depressed me a little bit.”

Fighters have to deal with injuries and Foster’s situation definitely made Saunders reflect. Despite the impact Foster’s situation had on him, he’ll always give 100 percent and lay it all on the line in his fights, even if it is in a tournament where you need to be healthy to move on.

“I have a certain style that I bring to the cage, a certain aggressiveness, I come to fight. I can’t be thinking what if I do this or what if I do that and that injures me for the next round,” Saunders said. “I’m going to go out on my shield, there is no tournament to me, for me there is no point to even think of anything beyond what’s in front of me.”

Saunders’ attitude is probably a reflection of his passion for the martial arts and combat sports that began at a young age.

“From a very young age, I was like seven to eight years old, my oldest brother was taking karate and he’d come home and beat the crap out of me,” Saunders recalled. “He wouldn’t even beat the crap out of me as in we’d fight, I remember one particular point in time he was like, ‘Hey stand right there I want to show you something really cool’ and then he did a spinning back kick to my gut,” Saunders continued. “My older brother is probably one of the main reasons I got in to martial arts.”

Saunders fell in love with martial arts and was particularly fond of late martial artist Bruce Lee. Lee developed Jeet Kune Do, a martial arts system and philosophy in life. Lee inspired Saunders and he feels Lee is very much responsible for the popularity mixed martial arts has received today. Saunders is one of probably a handful of mixed martial artists whose base is in Jeet Kune Do.

“When I was 14 there was actually a JKD academy that opened up and I was able to convince my parents to let me get a job at McDonald’s to pay for it myself,” Saunders said. “That was the first time I actually started getting a true training, other than that throughout my life a lot of my style is self-taught.”

Tonight, Saunders will be taking on 9-0 fighter Raul Amaya and maybe you’ll get a chance to see some Jeet Kune Do elements come out in his fight. Amaya has a lot of submission wins. and although Saunders hasn’t seen many of his fights, he isn’t taking Amaya lightly.

“The one thing I will say is he’s got a lot of heart, he’s got maybe some power in his hands even if his technique is a little sloppy and he’s got conditioning at what not because he seems to be able to wear his opponents down and catch them later on in the fights,” Saunders said. “Stylistically he seems like a brawling wrestler, the thing I need to watch out for anybody I fight is it doesn’t matter who they are, everyone’s got a punchers chance,” he continued. “I just have to go out there and do what I do best, fight my fight, don’t let him fight his fight and my hand will be raised hopefully via knockout or submission before the third.”

I’m not sure if Saunders is superstitious or not, but he did tell me that the last time he fought in Connecticut for Bellator he was on the same card as his two teammates and all three guys won. Now almost a year later and in Connecticut, he is again fighting with two teammates on the same card.

Should Saunders win, he will move in to the semifinals of the tournament. If he wins the tournament this year, Saunders will get his shot at either a rematch with Douglas Lima or a fight with current Bellator title holder Ben Askren. Askren and Lima fight next week at Bellator 64. Saunders lost to Lima in the tournament finals last season.

Saunders welcomes a potential rematch with Lima, but isn’t a huge fan of fighting teammates either.

“I’m never too fond about fighting teammates man, I mean we do what we do because we are professionals and because we respect each other,” Saunders said. “If our paths cross again, you know what it’s going to be another great fight.”

You can catch Saunders tonight at 8:00 EST on MTV2 as he tries to move on to the semifinals of the tournament. Before concluding my conversation with him, Saunders urged fans to follow him on Twitter @bensaundersMMA and check out his walk out t-shirt at bensaundersmma.com.

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the BR MMA Interview team, Follow @Leon_Horne

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Kids Training MMA: Miracle or Monstrosity?

Mixed martial arts went through its share of controversy over the years—and it still is—but much of the stigma attached to the sport 10 years ago is waning.The hard work of UFC president Dana White along with the founders of Zuffa, LLC…

Mixed martial arts went through its share of controversy over the years—and it still is—but much of the stigma attached to the sport 10 years ago is waning.

The hard work of UFC president Dana White along with the founders of Zuffa, LLC, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, are widely responsible for the ever-growing acceptance of MMA as a mainstream sport.

Ensuring that government bodies signed on to regulate the sport, educating the fans and media and putting a rule system in place are all reasons as to why the UFC has become successful.

Acceptance of the sport has come so far that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda a pair of Georges St-Pierre autographed gloves this past weekend.

Having two grown men compete in a combat sport that can result in devastating knockouts and bone-crunching submissions isn’t any different than boxing, so MMA has its place in the world of sport, no doubt.

What about kids participating in the sport? Are people as accepting? Should they be?

It’s one thing to have grown adults make an informed decision to get inside the cage and slug it out for a living, but having children knocking each other out or snapping limbs in a cage paints a bit of a different picture for most people—and understandably so. Children are still growing, their minds are in critical stages of development and they aren’t of age.

Are kids really punching each others lights out in the cage, though?

Kids do practice mixed martial arts, just as other kids practice wrestling, judo, Taekwondo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the list can go on.

Just because it’s MMA doesn’t mean the right safety precautions can’t be taken. If the correct rules and safety equipment are adopted, MMA is just as safe as any of the other martial arts that are practiced by millions of children and teenagers around the world.

In almost all cases where children are practicing MMA, they are often required to wear head gear, shin pads and other protective gear for hits to the head, and other potentially dangerous maneuvers are disallowed in competition.

The problem is in what people see and not in what is actually happening. People watch a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition and they see kids in a disciplined environment that is teaching them life skills.

When you throw in a cage and board shorts people have a tendency to put on their blinders, when the reality is these kids are learning the same life skills they would be learning in any other discipline of martial arts.

Of course, there is potential for injury, which is true of any contact sport children choose to partake in. That being said, football and hockey programs are still full steam ahead for kids as young as four year old despite the risks of concussion and other injuries.

The video you see to the right is of a Taekwondo competition between two young competitors with full head gear and body protection. The opponent in the white head gear is knocked out cold via spinning-heel kick.

Is this something that should happen? You would hope not, but it does. There are more videos like this one on Youtube.

Can someone honestly say that an MMA competition where kids are not allowed to throw strikes to the head is any more dangerous than what you just saw?

With the right rules and regulations in place, MMA is just as safe for kids to practice as any other martial art. People simply need to realize that what they see in the UFC isn’t what happens at the youth level.

People may get hung up on the fact that some youth competitions take place in a cage, but the cage is nothing more then a barrier to safely contain the action.

How is it any different than a ring or a wrestling mat? Not different at all. Is a cage more dangerous? Not really.

Of course, nobody wants to see a couple of seven-year-olds smash their faces until they look like Shane Carwin did after his heavyweight bout with Junior dos Santos last July.

However, that’s not what happens in youth MMA and people need to see it for what it really is, another extra-curricular activity to help the youth burn off some steam and stay out of trouble.

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and part of the BR MMA interview team, Follow @Leon_Horne

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Josh Thomson Talks Return, Josh Koscheck’s AKA Departure and More

Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson, the last man to beat current champion Gilbert Melendez, is making his return to fighting after a 15-month hiatus due to injury.Thomson took some time out of his schedule to talk to Bleach…

Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson, the last man to beat current champion Gilbert Melendez, is making his return to fighting after a 15-month hiatus due to injury.

Thomson took some time out of his schedule to talk to Bleacher Report about his layoff, Gilbert Melendez’ position in the lightweight division, former teammate Josh Koscheck‘s departure from American Kickboxing Academy and much more.

Thomson, a veteran of the sport, has beaten some of the top fighters the lightweight division has to offer. Over the years, though, he has had to deal with some adversity, mainly trying to stay healthy enough to compete.

“It’s been about 15 months now, it’s nothing new coming off of being injured,” Thomson told Bleacher Report.

Being injured all the time isn’t good for a person who relies on his health to make a living and because of that Thomson’s tried tweaking some things in training camp to help keep his body from breaking down.

He felt that he was flat in his last few fights, and his training regimen may have been part of the reason.

“I’ve been over training since I was in the UFC, but the issue with over training is that when you are younger it doesn’t catch up to you as much, and now being older I’ve certainly noticed a difference,” Thomson said.

“Every year you have to alter training a little bit, which I never did. I kept it the same and pushed it as hard as I could and thought I could do the same things I was doing when I was 22 years old.”

“This camp, I’ve really learned how to taper back a little bit,” Thomson said.

This is the first time Thomson really changed up his training camp in preparation for a fight, but he isn’t getting a tune up fight to feel things out as he is slated to face a dangerous fighter in KJ Noons this Saturday at Strikeforce 39.

Noons has notable wins over former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and UFC lightweight Yves Edwards to name a few.

He went on a bit of a skid, losing two straight to Diaz and Jorge Masvidal before winning his last fight against Billy Evangelista. Despite the two losses, Thomson thinks Noons will be at his best.

“With the Masvidal fight, it made him really take into consideration he needs to change his game from just boxing,” Thomson said.

“I think that’s why in the Billy Evangelista fight, you saw a different fighter. He came out, he was throwing head kicks, kicking more to the legs and he even shot a couple takedowns and got some takedowns.”

“There’s no secret, he’s been working on his wrestling for this game, he’s been working on his kickboxing for this game and it showed in his last fight and I don’t think he’ll get away from that. He is trying to make himself a more well-rounded fighter,” Thomson said. “I’m prepared for that, so it is just a matter of me going out there and implementing my game plan.”

Noons has a background in boxing and kickboxing, but Thomson feels that he maybe becomes a little sloppy in MMA.

“KJ tends to get a little sloppy with his stand up,” Thomson said. “Even though he is a good boxer, he relies on his good chin.”

“I don’t look at myself as being quite as technical as Masvidal on the feet, but I will throw hard and I am pretty good defensively. I just got to keep my chin down and my hands up and I should be good to go. I predict that it’s going to be an action-packed fight.”

Thomson hasn’t fought in 15 months, but he is widely considered one of the top lightweights in Strikeforce and is 1-1 against the current champion Melendez. The last two fights between these two were pretty epic battles, so the tie-breaker would only make sense.

In order for that to happen, Thomson must beat Noons this Saturday and even then, the former champ isn’t getting too hung up on the potential fight with Melendez.

“Obviously, yeah, everyone wants to fight the champion, you know; you don’t want to just sit there and say no, I don’t want to fight him or no, I’m not ready,” Thomson said.

“I mean honestly the great thing about this whole thing is those types of things aren’t in my hands. I just worry about fighting and winning and letting the promotion handle the rest.”

Melendez is UFC material, there has been talk across the Internet and in the media of getting him into the UFC, but so far that isn’t happening and Thomson isn’t surprised.

“I’m not surprised at all; if they are going to keep Strikeforce, they couldn’t keep taking all the talent,” Thomson said. “Even though Gill talks about it like he’s beaten a lot of guys and redeemed his lone loss, but we are 1-1 [Thomson and Melendez] and there are still people here for him to fight.”

Thomson is happy staying in Strikeforce for now because he sees Melendez as being the No. 1 lightweight out there right now.

“I wouldn’t want to leave knowing that I’m leaving to fight lesser competition given that he’s the No. 1-ranked lightweight in the world in my own promotion,” Thomson told Bleacher Report. “If Ben [Benson Henderson] beats Frankie [Edgar], then I would definitely put Gill at No. 1, probably Ben at No. 2 and Frankie at No. 3 or 4.”

Henderson did beat Edgar this past weekend in what many thought was a controversial decision. Talks about an immediate rematch between the two are in the air right now, but there are some guys, namely Melendez, Thomson, Noons and Masvidal from Strikeforce’s lightweight division who could definitely mix it up with the top of the UFC lightweight division.

Keeping its champions like Melendez around is one the only ways Strikeforce will be able to stay relevant, but not the only way. Strikeforce has embraced women’s MMA and is one of the few professional promotions giving women the visibility required for them to thrive.

“I think as more women see what kind of athletes they are and what kind of recognition they are getting, I think they will see a big difference in the amount of women that jump in to this sport,” Thomson said.

“The question is whether there will be a promotion for them to fight in, the deal with Strikeforce is only for another year or two years and Dana [White] has said numerous times that they won’t be in the UFC, that being said there are a lot of women out there banking on Strikeforce surviving.”

At Strikeforce 39, the card Thomson is fighting Noons on, the main event is a women’s title fight between current 135-pound champion Miesha Tate and former Olympic bronze medalist Judoka Ronda Rousey.

Thomson feels the high-level Judokas like Rousey will dominate women’s MMA in the near future because they have a bit of the submission game built into their style already. Even though Rousey is pretty new, he likes her chances.

“Honestly, I haven’t really had enough opportunity to watch Ronda fight, I just know that she has the capability of beating Miesha, I think Miesha has obviously the more experience, but it really doesn’t make a difference,” Thomson said.

“These younger guys are the ones that are coming up that the veterans are showing them all the tricks of the trade. They’ve cut the corner off the learning curve.”

American Kickboxing Academy is the camp where Thomson has built himself up as a fighter and taught himself some of the tricks of the trade.

AKA at one point had the heavyweight champion of the world in Cain Velasquez and the top two welterweight contenders in Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch.

Of late, the team has gone through some struggles.

Velasquez was knocked out in 64 seconds by Junior Dos Santos on Fox, Fitch was knocked out in the opening seconds of his fight with Johny Hendricks and most recently, Koscheck has chosen to leave AKA to train in Fresno.

“Koscheck has been with our team for the longest time. The team has talked about it over and over again, realistically what it is, Koscheck lives in Fresno, he owns two gyms down there and fighters like to sleep in their own bed, they’re tired of commuting, it’s a two-hour drive for him to San Jose,” Thomson said.

“There are also a lot of other underlying reasons, but as a team he is always more then welcome to come back, we’ve already made that clear, Koscheck is always welcome in the gym as if nothing ever happened. If he has other issues with whoever in the gym, that’s up to him; he is a grown-ass man he knows how to express himself and talk about it.”

Despite the tough times, Thomson feels the team is back on track, and a win for him this weekend would definitely solidify that stance.

“We’ve got a great team now, built back up, we were on a stagnant little stage there for a little, but I think the team itself is coming back together.”

Fans can catch Thomson vs. Noons this Saturday at 10:00 P.M. EST on Showtime. If you want to see what Thomson is up to, check out his Facebook page, or better yet, follow him on Twitter @THEREALPUNK

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the B/R MMA interview team, Follow @Leon_Horne

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

BFL’s Micah Brakefield Talks About Possible Pro Career and Upcoming Fight

Battlefield Fight League is a mixed martial arts promotion holding events in the province of British-Columbia Canada. It hosts both amateur and professional fighters on it’s card and Micah Brakefield, a BC native and amateur fighter for BFL is wor…

“Battle Field League is really cool, they treat us like pros and make us look like pros,” Brakefield told Bleacher Report. “It’s pretty cool to be part of a company that has that kind of production value.”

Brakefield has been competing on the amateur circuit for a little over a year now and has compiled a record of 5-2-0. Like many fighters looking to make a solid career for themselves, Brakefield is backed up by a solid wrestling base.

“I wrestled all through high school and then college, then finished doing that and figured I’d move on,” Brakefield said. “There are certain things that you would just learn in real wrestling and it teaches you good fundamentals, things you can fall back on,” Brakefield continued. “Wrestling is just so hard on the body, you go twice a day everyday for eight months and it’s the hardest part of any MMA camp… It takes a special person to go through wrestling.”

Brakefield has the ground game to make the move to pro, and he is simply waiting for his stand up to catchup before making the jump.

“After this fight, if my stand up goes well [I’ll go pro], I wanted to defend my belt once before I went pro and I did that, but I got caught on my feet and I had to sub the guy. So I just want to make sure I feel more confident on my feet.”

One would think this is one of the big differences between guys fighting up the amateur ranks and the pros, that they are simply more well rounded at the professional level. Brakefield agrees to an extent, but has noticed another element that he thinks is just as important.

“People in pro are a lot calmer, I think in amateur people spaz out and they don’t stay calm,” Brakefield said. “I find it really easy to catch people because I’ve stayed pretty calm. In pro I think guys are a little more relaxed and it’s going to be harder to get them out of their game.”

Brakefield is a good wrestler who improves his striking and is able to remain calm in the cage. He also has the fighting spirit, often fighting in different weight classes and having fought heavyweights who are far big than himself. Brakefield will take on all comers.

“I had a fight this year at 170 and one at 265, so I kind of jump around to see what different weight classes have to offer,” Brakefield said. “I took a fight on two weeks notice this year against a 6’6″ 245 pound guy, I actually had to have ankle weights on when I weighed in because I had to weigh 207.”

Brakefield didn’t win against the big man, but it wasn’t without controversy.

“The fight got stopped really early, I took the guy down and he landed 3-4 hammer fists in a row and the ref stopped it cause he thought I was hurt and I clearly wasn’t.”

Despite the loss, it’s easy to appreciate fighters who are willing to fight outside their weight class against much bigger foes and not be scared of the challenge. Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn gained a lot of fans fighting guys who were bigger than him.

Brakefield is still a burgeoning amateur fighter and has a long road of hard work and dedication ahead of him. One thing I found interesting with Brakefield is that despite being an amateur, he has a long list of sponsors backing him up, something you don’t normally expect for fighters at his level.

“I actually was just talking to Darcy [his manager] about this, how he is saying I am changing the way people are looking at amateurs because I have pretty good sponsors.”

FVSTR, DRAKO, Dominant Ground, DANK Energy Drinks, Fine Arts Bartending, Passion Sports, CANUSA Fight Team are on the list of his current sponsors and he is currently managed by Echelon Fighter Management.

Brakefield is fighting this Saturday at BFL 13 in Vernon, BC to defend his BFL middleweight belt against Ryan Allen. Don’t be surprised if you see this young man in the professional ranks some time soon and you might have a chance at seeing him on a season of the Ultimate Fighter if you keep your eyes peeled.

“I will definitely be doing that [trying out for the Ultimate Fighter] once I get my three fights in.”

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the B/R MMA interview team, Follow @Leon_Horne

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