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Exclusive B/R Interview with Nate Marquardt: "Cry Baby J Is an Idiot"

JS: Hi Nate. I wanted to kick off by asking you about your recent decision to sign with BAMMA…what are your thoughts on potential opponents? What free agents out there at the moment interest you?NM: Well I’ve already stated that the guys I wanna figh…

JS: Hi Nate. I wanted to kick off by asking you about your recent decision to sign with BAMMA…what are your thoughts on potential opponents? What free agents out there at the moment interest you?

NM: Well I’ve already stated that the guys I wanna fight most are the guys that talk crap. I’d say the biggest possibility would be Paul Daley, Hector Lombard or Ben Askren. Honestly though I would be very pleased to fight any other world class fighters out there at 170.

JS: Do you believe welterweight is your optimal fighting weight?

NM: Yes I do. Right now I’m back up to my old weight and I can tell you I don’t feel as good. I felt great at 170.

JS: And what made you believe BAMMA is the right promotion for you? What had Tom “Kong” Watson told you about BAMMA? How have you found your dealings with the organisation thus far?

There were several things. They offered a very good contract which was fair. They also promote and treat their fighters well. They have some big news for American fans coming up that I’m not sure if I’m allowed to talk about.

I could see myself fighting with BAMMA for a long time. Tom Watson told me that they treat him well and they can get top level opponents. Tom just beat Murillo Ninja Rua. Thus far everything is going well, I’m excited about my future with BAMMA.

JS: Will you be in attendance at BAMMA 7 in Birmingham, England on September 10th?

NM: Yes! Scouting potential opponents and meeting the fans.

JS: Joey Villasenor, your teammate has also signed for BAMMA. It is not inconceivable that you two become the number one and two within their welterweight division. Would you fight a Jackson’s teammate for a belt?

NM: Definitely Joey and I could become the top two in the division. That’s a problem that I am looking forward to having. He’s been my teammate since 2004. Joey, Keith, Rashad, Diego, Greg and I all made the Jackson’s team what it is today and I’ll never forget our brotherhood.

JS: Ok, and what can you tell us about your Jacksons stablemate Eric Perez, who also features on the BAMMA 7 card?

NM: Well I haven’t trained with him much. I believe he trains with the lighter weight guys mostly and I’ve only seen him spar a few times. He seems like a really nice kid though.

JS: Are you excited to actually fight in the UK again when you make your BAMMA debut later this year? Have you ever spent any sustained period of time in the UK following your two previous fights in London?

NM: Yes very excited! We spent about a week after one of my fights there. We hung out with some friends including my ol’ buddy James Zikic.

JS: Sounds great. Ok, following the recent Versus 4 incident, did you appreciate Ariel Helwani affording you the opportunity to broadcast your version of events on his MMAHour?

NM: For sure. He let me tell my side of the story and he was very fair.

JS: OK. I don’t want to dwell on the issue because it’s firmly in the past, but I just wanted to briefly touch upon the reaction from the MMA community to your departure from the UFC back in June.

You are renowned for being a true gentleman, amiable and respectful, so it must be hurtful when less considerate fighters scramble to pass comment and judgement on their fellow fighters?

NM: Definitely yes. There are a lot of people who are quick to pass judgement even when they don’t know both sides of the story. They should not judge unless they’ve been in that situation or if they are an expert on the issue.

It’s even more sad when fellow fighters openly pass judgement when there is a clear discrepancy on what happened.

JS: I believe you have been in Hawaii? Was it a holiday or a business trip? I presume you didn’t pay BJ Penn a visit? What do you make of BJ’s overstated comments since the incident?

NM: Yes I went there on vacation and to watch the fights at Kalapaki Joes. I was planning on stopping by his gym but we went to Kauai (a different island). “Cry Baby J” is an idiot to speak the way he does. I don’t know how a pothead is going to go and be so judgemental over medication prescribed by a doctor.

I’ll assume CryBJ has glaucoma and gets his weed from a “doctor” and I won’t pass judgement on him for that.

JS: Other fighters were quick to jump on the bandwagon with their input: What did you make of Dan Hardy’s quip about you always having a job as a male stripper if you were banned from fighting? Is it a case of a fighter on a losing streak looking to gain publicity off the back of your name?

Or is this verbal retaliation for some of the comments you have directed towards him in the past? Is it the same deal with the relatively unknown/inexperienced Ben Askren?

NM: Hahaha! I actually hadn’t heard about Dan Hardy. Well I guess I would take that as a compliment. At least he didn’t say “a job as a punching bag” or “a mattress” as I’m sure one may say of him if he were to lose his contract after his recent losses.

Ben Askren? Oh, you mean that little goldilocks I saw on twitter? Yeah I didn’t even know who he was until he messaged me. Listen. All these guys are trying to build themselves up by talking badly about me and that will probably never change.

Some guys make a name for themselves by talking and others do it by fighting. I’ve always felt fighting is the best way.

JS: Absolutely, and what about Paul Daley, another man who has been vocal about his desire to fight you under the BAMMA banner? Does it interest you fighting him given his recent two defeats? If you did fight him, would you outwrestle him or would you feel comfortable standing and trading with him?

NM: Honestly his last loss does take away from the interest in fighting him, but he’s still one of the best and I’d still like to punch him in the face! I am confident I would beat him wherever the fight may go. Obviously I would have a wrestling advantage but I am also one of the best on the feet.

JS: What do you make generally of this recent phenomenon of fighters taking to Twitter to air controversial opinions? Is it fast becoming the people’s online octagon in which words seem to count more than action?

NM: Yeah a lot of these guys are really outspoken. Let’s just remember that fighters aren’t fighters because they are intelligent, smart or wise. There are intelligent fighters with good morals, but the guys on twitter, fb and elsewhere that are very ignorant, opinionated and closed-minded are the most outspoken.

JS: I recently spoke to Tom Watson and he vehemently defended you and your integrity as a person/fighter…what does it mean and how does it feel to have your training partners, the men who know you best, support you?

NM: Well that’s just it. You find out who your true friends are. You find out who your brothers are and who is looking out for themselves. It does Tom no good to defend me but he does because he knows my character and he’s a loyal guy. It makes our team even stronger!

JS: Ok, moving onto life outside the cage, can you briefly explain your relationship with MC Hammer? Has he significantly enhanced your social media presence? Do you have Hammer’s back if there is ever a showdown between him and Jay Z?

NM: Hahaha! Yeah of course I have his back against anyone. He is a very important part of my management. He is one of the main reasons we chose BAMMA actually.

Without getting into details, Hammer guided Alchemist and ultimately me toward a specific type of deal and BAMMA quickly stepped up and here I am! He’s the man. He is very wise and I really look up to him. It’s not just a publicity thing, he’s the real deal.

JS: I’d like to see you enter the cage to the tune of “Can’t Touch This” whilst doing the Hammer dance. That would be a fitting tribute to your business partner. And finally, you have recently appeared in a mainstream MMA movie, “Warrior”…was it an enjoyable experience? Any funny off-camera anecdotes which you can divulge?

NM: It was amazing. I made friends with some really cool people like Bryan Callen, Yves Edwards, Joel Edgerton, Gavin and Greg O’Conner, Tom Hardy, Anthony Timbakis, Frank Grillo and all the stunt guys. Yeah there were a bunch of funny things that happened as there always is if Callem is around!

Actually the biggest thing was a situation I’m not very proud of. There was a guy at a sandwich shop that was very rude to my wife and I spiked a 6″ sub on his chest. Everyone on the movie teases me to this day about it!

JS: Haha, that must have been one brave sandwich-artist…okay, well thanks for taking the time to talk and I look forward to meeting you in the UK.

NM: No worries at all, looking forward to it.

Follow me on Twitter @jonathanshrager

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UFC on Versus 5: Jared Hamman Plans on Knocking C.B. Dollaway’s Head off

Jared Hamman is set to make his return to the Octagon on August 14 at UFC on Versus 5. That night, Hamman will be making his welterweight debut when he takes on C.B. Dollaway.In his last fight, Hamman lost a highly entertaining decision against Kyle Ki…

Jared Hamman is set to make his return to the Octagon on August 14 at UFC on Versus 5. That night, Hamman will be making his welterweight debut when he takes on C.B. Dollaway.

In his last fight, Hamman lost a highly entertaining decision against Kyle Kingsbury which earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors. In fact, Hamman has earned those honors in his last two appearances inside the Octagon.

The former defensive end at the University of Redlands, teacher and football coach never really planned on beginning a mixed martial arts career. He actually stumbled upon it after his first year of coaching.

“I was 22 years old and just got done coaching the season,” Hamman recently told Bleacher Report. “A friend of mine came up to me and said ‘Hey, I’m doing this fighting stuff. you should come check it out.’

“After the season was over, I was ready to do something athletically. So when my friend came up to me and asked me, I said ‘absolutely.’

“I tried one class, and man you know how it is. You get addicted from there.”

Hamman is one of many up-and-coming fighters to transition from football to mixed martial arts. Coming from football, instead of some form of combat sport, has many benefits, Hamman believes.

“Football players have all around athleticism,” Hamman said. “But as far as being an athlete, you have strength, power, speed, and quickness. But the other aspect is a lot of the guys are very coachable. That’s why I think football players are successful [in mixed martial arts].

“Also, they come in with a clean slate. I only wrestled one year in high school; I didn’t have any bad habits. Sometimes wrestlers drop their hands, boxers can’t stop the takedown. I think the coach-ability factor is key.”

Although coming from a football background is great for ones all around athleticism, wrestling has proven to be a necessity when it comes to being a successful mixed martial artist.

“Had I known how much wrestling helps MMA athletes now, had I known that in high school,” Hamman said. “I would have wrestled every year.”

So to make up for his lack of wrestling background, Hamman has spent quite a bit of time training at VMAT with Vladimir Matyushenko, who just so happens to be one of the best wrestlers in MMA today. When speaking about his time training with Matyushenko, Hamman had nothing but praise for the former UFC light heavyweight title challenger.

“Vlad always tells me ‘hard heart, cold head.’ Vlad’s not just a wrestler, he’s a European wrestler,” Hamman said. “They are very technical. Vlad has always taught me technique, technique, technique. I don’t need to be taught hard work, mental toughness, and whatnot.” Hamman said. “I need to learn technique. I need to get better at technique.

“Vlad is fantastic at that. He teaches the right fundamentals. To be able to learn from him is amazing.”

There is no secret that the time he has spent with Matyushenko will pay dividends when he takes on C.B. Dollaway. But going into their fight, Hamman knows he will be facing more than just a wrestler.

“I think he’s a fighter that likes to stand and trade,” Hamman said. “He’s not only a wrestler, but the dude likes to fight. I respect that. I like fighting guys who like to bring it. He never backs down.

“And I think that’s how a fight should be. It shouldn’t be some pitter-patter; it should be about trying to win a fight, not letting it go to a decision.

Hamman also acknowledged the fact that he needed to watch out for Dollaway’s takedowns. But what does Dollaway need to watch out for?

“I think he knows (laughs),” Hamman said. “Everyone knows I’m going to come in there to fight. Whether he takes me down or whether he stands up or whatever, I’m coming to knock his head off.”

When asked for a prediction for their bout Sunday evening, Hamman explained that he is not one to make predictions. However, he did offer up one prediction.

“I’m going in there ready to fight my butt off and let the chips fall where they may,” Hamman said. “That’s what I do in every fight. That’s the only thing I can predict. The rest is in God’s hands.”

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UFC on Versus 5 Fight Card: Ed Herman on Kyle Noke and Career-Threatening Injury

Ed Herman will fight for the second time in as many months, as he is set to fight Kyle Noke this Sunday at UFC on Versus 5. Slightly less than two years ago, Herman wasn’t sure he’d ever fight again after tearing his ACL in a bout with Aaron Simpson.”Y…

“You question yourself,” Herman told Bleacher Report. “It’s tough being injured like that. You never know how things are going to hold up after surgery. Yeah, those thoughts go through your mind. At the same time, I was trying to stay mentally strong and telling myself I was going to come back a stronger fighter, which I’m hoping to do.”

In June 2011, Herman took his first step in making a strong comeback to fighting. In less than one minute, Herman scored a knockout victory over Tim Credeur to taste victory for the first time since April 2009.

Uninjured and looking to make a quick return to the Octagon, Herman immediately jumped back into training in hopes of being booked for a fight at UFC 135. Instead, Herman was offered the opportunity to take the fight with Noke as a replacement for an injured Tom Lawlor.

“I was hoping to get on that Denver card, but this popped up, so I jumped on it,” Herman said. “I was pretty much right back in the gym. I wasn’t training extremely hard the first couple weeks, but I was back in the gym working on my technique, doing my strength & conditioning, coaching classes and stuff like that.”

Since he likely wouldn’t have enough time to prepare for a fight at UFC 135 after his bout with Noke, competing on that card will probably not be an option for Herman anymore. However, Herman would still like to make a third UFC appearance before the end of 2011.

“I would definitely like to fight again before the end of the year, preferably right before Thanksgiving—so I could eat—would be great,” Herman said.

One fight Herman had been interested in was a rematch with Season 3 winner of The Ultimate Fighter Kendall Grove, who “Short Fuse” lost to in the show’s middleweight tournament finals. However, Grove was recently released from the UFC after losing four of his past six fights.

With Grove out of the picture for now, Herman is still interested in attempting to avenge any of his past UFC losses. Beyond that, Herman would like a shot at a Top 10 middleweight fighter in the near future.

“I’d love another shot at [Jason] MacDonald, Demian Maia, [Alan] Belcher, all those guys,” Herman said. “Whoever the UFC wants for me and my career, I just want to fight guys who are a hot ticket right now, guys in the Top 10, so I can go out there an prove I can compete with the Top 10 guys.”

After being out of action for nearly two years, Herman left only one uncertainty on the minds of his doubters after earning a win in his first fight back. Because he was able to end the fight so quickly, some might still wonder about Herman’s conditioning after such a long time away from competition.

Nonetheless, Herman would be perfectly fine with another quick victory at UFC on Versus 5. Although he isn’t hesitant about going into deep waters, Herman doesn’t feel he needs to prove anything about his cardio in this fight.

“I’d be happy to finish the fight in the first minute again,” Herman said. “My conditioning is there and I know it. I’m confident and I’ve been training really hard. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s going to be a three-round battle or I can finish it again in a minute.”

Once he steps into the cage with his well-rounded opponent, Herman believes his intensity and pace will make the difference in determining the outcome of this fight.

“I just think my overall aggression and in-your-face style,” Herman said. “I don’t think he’ll be able to deal with that as well as my wrestling strength in the clinch and on the ground.”

Herman would like to thank Dethrone Royalty Clothing, Get Some Fight Gear, Muscle Pharm, ESP-XC and Trials MMA.

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.

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Barack Obama Incident in the Background, Jacob Volkmann Is Focused on UFC Live 5

Jacob Volkmann will be fighting Danny Castillo at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle this Saturday night in Milwaukee, Wisc. This will be Volkmann’s first fight since a split decision victory over Antonio McKee at UFC 125 in January.Like many mixed martial…

Like many mixed martial artists, Volkmann is a former NCAA wrestler; he made his pro debut back in 2007. He has fought in the welterweight division for most of his career up until two straight losses in his UFC debut which resulted in his move to the lightweight division, where he is currently on a three-fight winning streak.

Volkmann is probably most familiar to fans for his comments made in an interview with MMAfighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, where he called out US President Barack Obama to be his next opponent inside the octagon.

Bleacher Report had a chance to talk to Volkmann recently about his upcoming fight and the Obama incident earlier this week.

Primarily a wrestler, Volkmann has been working on his stand up a lot, but he says that his training camp remains unchanged. He also appears to be enjoying what the summer heat has done for his weight cut.

“It’s [camp] going pretty good, same as usual, I’m actually losing a little bit more weight because of the heat in the summer.” Volkmann told Bleacher Report. “I’m always working on my hands pretty much every day, but, it [camp] will be the same, same goals.”

The incident with Obama resulted in a visit from the Secret Service. Volkmann was never really bothered by the incident, but was a bit upset with the fact that he didn’t get his point across.

“That’s all behind me, it never really nagged me.” Volkmann said. “I was trying to get a point across, but it kind of died off, point never really got across, Obama is still making his foolish decisions.”

It’s safe to say that Volkmann won’t be voting for Obama’s re-election come 2012.

The incident even got the UFC fighter in a little bit of hot water with the high school where he coaches wrestling. Volkmann was put on a two-week administrative leave after the visit from the CIA.

Making a living as a professional athlete involves hard work, natural talent and a little bit of luck. Only a select group of people are able to make a career of the sport they love and everyone else has to get a “real” job.

Volkmann, who is a practicing chiropractor, makes no bones about it, professional fighting comes first and his practice as a chiropractor comes second.

“I only do appointment only, if people call in I go in, I don’t have office hours. Fighting is what pays the bills right now.”

Despite focusing all his efforts on his fight career, it must be nice to know he has something to fall back on once his fighting days are behind him.

Danny Castillo, a Team Alpha Male product, is in a bit of a similar position as Volkmann. Both fighters have won their last three fights and are looking to carry on that momentum and continue to move up the ranks in the lightweight division. Volkmann gave us his thoughts on his matchup with Castillo.

“It’s a much better matchup than it was with Antonio McKee.” Volkmann said. “He [Castillo] swings pretty hard, he comes at you pretty hard, which it’s easy to take a guy down like that. His ground game is not the greatest, he’s got decent defense, but it’s not very good. I think it is going to be easier, it’s a much better matchup than Antonio was.”

The fight with Antonio McKee in January wasn’t an easy one, but Volkmann gives off the impression that Castillo should be a walk in the park, something fans will find out this Saturday.

Although Volkmann is fighting at lightweight, a move back up to welterweight isn’t completely out of the cards, as he likes fighting in both weight classes.

“I kind of like them both, they’re slow at 170, but they are bigger and at 155 they are a lot quicker, but when you get in the cage, it’s about the same,” Volkmann said. “If ever I do get that belt, then maybe I’ll go challenge a 170-pounder. I’d like to get my revenge on Kampmann and Paulo Thiago, but that’s on hold.”

Volkmann had a rude welcome to the UFC welterweight division, losing a decision to Thiago in his debut and being submitted by Kampmann in his second outing.

Should he win this weekend, Volkman is looking to fight a top 10 guy that will help to elevate his status in the division.

“I need a top 10 guy. Well a good fight, I’d like to fight [Clay] Guida, Jim Miller, [Charles] Oliveira or [Donald] Cerrone.” Volkmann said. “[Anthony] Pettis that’d be fine, it’d be the same kind of fight with Guida, what I’d have to try and do is take him down and just ground and pound. I think it would be much more fun with Guida, that would be a really fun fight.”

Maybe he is right, often when two wrestlers are pitted against each other, the wrestling is nullified and the fans are treated to a stand-up war.

Everything in camp is on schedule for this fight and Volkmann was happy to say there were no disturbances. For his last fight, Volkmann wasn’t exactly getting a good night’s rest.

“I had a kid just before my last fight and I was up most of the night with the kid sleeping on me.”

Volkmann had quite a bit of time between his last fight and his fight this weekend. During that time, he rested up and went back to his wrestling roots for a bit.

“I did senior nationals for Greco, it was back in April I think it was, just to get my weight back down because I was up to 185-190 [pounds].” Volkmann said.

He told Bleacher Report that he went 3-2 in the competition.

With wrestling in his roots, Volkmann remains involved in the wrestling community, and when he isn’t training, a lot of his time is devoted to coaching wrestling.

“I got this month off, part of July off and part of September off, and other than that, I am coaching non-stop.” Volkmann said.

That’s all the time Bleacher Report had with Volkmann. Watch him fight Castillo at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle on the under card which starts showing at 4:45 ET on the UFC’s Facebook page.

Should he win, it will be interesting to see if he has anybody as popular as the President to call out.

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report, Follow @Leon_Horne

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UFC on Versus 5 Fight Card: C.B. Dollaway Talks Upcoming Fight with Jared Hamman

Coming off his first loss in four fights, C.B. Dollaway will look to get back on the winning track this Sunday at UFC on Versus 5, where he will meet Jared Hamman.In his last fight, Dollaway became one of the few fighters to secure a takedown against N…

Coming off his first loss in four fights, C.B. Dollaway will look to get back on the winning track this Sunday at UFC on Versus 5, where he will meet Jared Hamman.

In his last fight, Dollaway became one of the few fighters to secure a takedown against NCAA Division I wrestling champion Mark Munoz. However, after letting Munoz back to his feet, Dollaway was rocked by a counter right hand.

Despite the knockout loss, Dollaway went into the fight against Munoz with plans of beating his opponent in the stand-up. An All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, Dollaway wasn’t overly discouraged by the loss to Munoz and has been tightening up his left hook to prevent being countered in the future.

“I felt fine out there,” Dollaway told Bleacher Report MMA in an exclusive interview. “I just basically thought I was going to have a better outing on the feet. I thought I had the advantage. I’ve been working on my striking a lot and just got caught with that punch. I wasn’t even really looking to take him down a whole lot. I was planning on being on the feet a lot and s–t happens, so nothing I could do about it.”

Shortly after his loss to Munoz, Dollaway participated in the grand opening of Power MMA alongside Ryan Bader and Aaron Simpson. Since the three training partners had recently left their previous gym, Arizona Combat Sports, Dollaway’s training camp for his fight with Munoz was a bit chaotic.

“I think the only thing it affected was not having a home there for awhile, just kind of training wherever we could,” Dollaway said. “Now, we’re starting to get things settled in, starting to get a training regimen down and getting our camp more organized. I think that was kind of part of it, not having everything organized and set up like we needed to have it.”

Dollaway stopped short of blaming his loss on the transition between gyms, though, and he stated that the temporary distraction was necessary to ensure the future success for him and his teammates.

“We knew that might have to be a sacrifice you have to make for a little bit,” Dollaway said. “In the long run, it’s going to be the best thing for us.”

Recently, changing weight division has been a popular route for fighters to take after losing a fight. Even the fighter who defeated Dollaway in the Season 7 finale of The Ultimate Fighter, Amir Sadollah, has made the move from middleweight to welterweight.

Although fighters like Sadollah have found success by cutting to lower weight classes, Dollaway doesn’t see himself making a move unless he runs out of options at 185 pounds.

“I’m comfortable at middleweight,” Dollaway said. “I’ve toyed around with the idea of moving to 170, but it’s just one of those things that, unless I have my back against the wall, I probably never would do. It’d be a significant cut. It’d take time. It’s not something I could do in eight weeks.”

Dollaway’s opponent, Hamman, has not fought in nearly one year and will be making his middleweight debut after taking his first three fights in the UFC at light heavyweight. Dollaway, who has remained relatively active at the same weight for his whole MMA career, believes Hamman’s potential ring rust and weight cut could have an impact on the outcome of the fight.

“I think the layoff will play a factor,” Dollaway said. “He hasn’t been in the ring in a long time. Like I said, when you move down a weight class, it’s not something you can do in eight weeks. I don’t know when he planned on making the move to 185. I don’t know what he cut to get to 205, but I’m sure he cut something, but it’s going to be a significant move down and we’ll see how he reacts. I definitely think it’ll play a factor.”

Hamman’s last fight, which happened in September 2010, came against a sporadic training partner of Dollaway’s in Kyle Kingsbury. While Kingsbury hasn’t trained with Dollaway regularly during his training for the fight with Hamman, he has still given “The Doberman” a few tips on how he was able to come away victorious in a unanimous decision over Hamman.

“[Kingsbury] trains with us from time to time,” Dollaway said. “He’s not here full-time. But he’s told me some things, gave me some inside information on things that he found worked in his fight with him. So, yeah, he’s helped out a little.”

Although he appears to hold a distinct advantage over Hamman in the wrestling department, Dollaway will look to mix things up and beat Hamman in all areas.

“Obviously, he doesn’t have much of a wrestling background, so I can capitalize on the takedowns,” Dollaway said. “On the ground, he’s a purple belt. I’m a purple belt too, so it’ll be a good technical matchup on the ground. I think I have enough striking on the feet to stand there with him, so I’m just going to mix it up, not get stuck in one mindset and just go wherever the fight needs to go.”

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Houston Alexander Talks Kimbo Slice, UFC and Upcoming PPV vs. Razak Al-Hassan

Can Houston Alexander make it back? Just a few years ago, Alexander exploded into the UFC with lightning fast wins over both Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara. However, almost as quickly, Alexander disappeared from the major MMA scene. Following a strea…

Can Houston Alexander make it back?

Just a few years ago, Alexander exploded into the UFC with lightning fast wins over both Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara. However, almost as quickly, Alexander disappeared from the major MMA scene.

Following a streak of consecutive UFC losses to Thiago Silva, James Irvin and Alessio Sakara, Alexander was in a must-win bout with Kimbo Slice.

Alexander’s matchup was envisioned as a high-impact slugfest with the better brawler winning. The fight did not turn out that way. Slice defeated Alexander by unanimous decision in a somewhat lethargic bout.

The bout was the only one of Slice’s fights to go to the scorecards.

“If I could go back and do it again,” Alexander told Bleacher Report, “I’d probably do it differently. People expected two gorillas to go at it and pound on each other’s chest. He had a strategy. I had a strategy.”

Regardless, Alexander was not in complete agreement with judges’ decision.

“I guess some of the judges don’t count kicks. It is what it is.”

With the loss, Alexander was dismissed from the UFC. Now, two years, five fights, and three wins (one no-contest) later, Alexander continues his road back. In just a few days, Alexander is set to take on another former UFC fighter, Razak Al-Hassan.

The fight will be featured on this Saturday’s MMA Fight Pit: Genesis card. The show will be available on pay-per-view starting at 9 p.m. EST and 6 p.m. PST.

“It’s a great matchup,” Alexander said of the bout with Hassan. “Guy likes to strike. I like to strike. I like to kick. He likes to kick. It’s going to be a great match up for both of us.”

Alexander is familiar with Hassan’s past.

“It’s good to see him develop like he has,” Alexander said. “He was one of those up and comers that I saw in Omaha.”

Omaha is where Alexander became a very busy fighter.

“I’ve probably had 200 unsanctioned fights between here and there,” Alexander said about the early part of this career. “I’ve fought five people in the same night, and I fought once a week for almost two years straight.”

The idea of participating in that many unsanctioned fights appears to be a very eerie proposition. Alexander was not worried about it.

“Exact same rules,” Alexander said, when asked what the differences between sanctioned and unsanctioned were. “Being in an unsanctioned fight means your record is not updated. It was one knockout after another. A lot of them lasted under a minute.”

Alexander has a simple explanation for his underground success.

“People don’t like being punched in the face,” the man nicknamed the Assassin said. “I don’t mind it. It wakes me up. I know it’s ‘go time.’ Retaliation is a must.”

The upcoming fight with Hassan will mark Alexander’s fifth since leaving the UFC. All five have been with different organizations.

“It doesn’t matter to me as long as the opponent is a quality opponent,” Alexander said. “It’d be nice to be in one organization, but it’s also nice for me because I get to travel to other parts of the country and other parts of the world.”

“It’s good for me to be a free agent right now because if I sign with any organization right now it’s going to be for big money.”

If Alexander had his choice of future opponents, one fighter quickly comes to the top of the list. “The Sandman” James Irvin.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t get to fight James Irvin again,” Alexander said about the potential rematch in March 2011.

Irvin won the first bout in just eight seconds.

The second bout was canceled just a week prior to the fight when Irvin was suspended for a positive steroid test. The failure was Irvin’s second offense.

“The guy has to cheat people to beat them, so he has to use steroids,” Alexander said of Irvin.

Alexander, though, did stop short of saying the Irvin was using performance enhancing drugs in the first fight back in April 2008.

“I don’t know. I can’t say that,” Alexander said. “I never should be in that position (to lose the fight). Whether he used or not, I should never have been in that position.”

“Using steroids is like a quick fix. It’s like that stuff for your tires.”

However, should Alexander be victorious over Hassan and receive an offer to rejoin the world’s top MMA promotion, he would definitely embrace the opportunity.

“UFC is the epitome of MMA,” said Alexander. “There’s only one MMA organization that I know of that gets on ESPN. ESPN is the Mecca of all sports. You want to get the recognition.”

As for the upcoming Hassan fight, Alexander will believes he will impress the crowd.

“I’m going after the guy, being aggressive. I predict I’m winning the fight, and I’m not trying to take it to the judges.”

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