Ben Henderson sat down and talked about his upcoming fight with Clay Guida and the fact that his fight won’t be part of the broadcast of the UFC on Fox card.

Ariel Helwani was out and about on the town and decided to do his best Jay Leno by asking people about the sport of mixed martial arts. Questions included what is MMA and what is UFC and if they knew about the free fights this weekend on Fox.

Cain Velasquez recently spoke to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani about his upcoming fight, his time off and more.

MMA Heat talks to Clay Guida about his upcoming fight against Ben Henderson.

This is by far the best promo video for UFC on Fox.  It uses clips from Ariel Helwani’s famous interview with Bob Arum and turns it against him.  Unbelievable is all that can be said about this video.

Chris Weidman will be fighting Tom Lawlor on the SpikeTV portion of UFC 139. He recently sat down with MMA Diehards to discuss his upcoming fight, his previous fights and more.

Are you going to come out with some outrageous walkout? You know your opponent is known for that, do you plan to up the stakes yourself and do something like that?
Nah I am not that creative. That’s kind of his thing and I will let him shine with that. I will try to shine when I get in the cage. I give him props for those walkouts as they are pretty sick.

In taking on Tom Lawlor, obviously he is a tough guy. We know your wrestling background, your grappling background. As much as you would like to test your standup, eventually you are going to take this guy down and punish him right?
I am going to test out my striking first. Every single one of my fights I throw punches and kicks before I get a takedown. As always I plan to mix it up and work some standup. I want to make the fight as exciting as possible.

In your debut fight against Alessio Sakara were you affected by the UFC jitters at all?
A little bit, but not too crazy. I would say it got to me a little bit, but not enough to stop me from winning that fight.

Were you surprised how that fight went?
The thing is I took that fight on short notice and had a little injury leading into it. I was a little unsure of what was going to happen. I didn’t get any sparing in. I didn’t know where I was at. My mind it could have gone bad. I didn’t know how I was going to do without the proper training. But I have great coaches around me that had faith in me.

You have had some trouble with injuries in your UFC career and fighters always say they don’t go into a fight without any. How close though do you feel to being 100%?
I am feeling awesome. Knock on wood I still have another week of training, but I am doing great.

Are you excited for the UFC on Fox debut?
Yeah I am pumped. I just hope that fight is as exciting as I think it is going to be. People who haven’t been exposed to mma and the UFC and their first time if it is a great show they become fans.

It’s been apparent in Tom Lawlor’s past couple of fights that his cardio is a bit of a problem. Are you really busting out the cardio in this fight or do you feel like you want to punish him for three rounds.
I like that, I am going to punish him. I mean one of my strengths in wrestling or jiu jitsu tournaments is my cardio. I definitely went hard with the cardio. I had a lot of time to prepare for this fight and my cardio has never been better. I could go at a very extreme pace for three rounds. I am not going to stop till he breaks mentally. I am going to be looking for the finish. I would love to knock him out cold, but I also would love to just totally dominate the fight for three rounds and break him.

Are you a proponent of training at different camps or are you sticking with one camp?
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. I go to Renzo Gracie’s academy. I am from Ray Longo and Matt Serra’s camp. But I do travel into the city to work with Renzo. I go to Delnore Kickboxing in Long Island. I do travel around a little bit, but for me I feel it is important to have a home. A place where you have guys that really care about you. If you are traveling around and traveling around it is hard to find that because they already have that. Ray Longo and Matt Serra I have that. It’s good to go around to different gyms to learn new techniques and sparring, but for your confidence and mental edge it is important to have a home.

How often do you go down to Renzo’s?
I go down every Monday and Saturday.

What song do you plan to walk out to?
The UFC just texted me about it and I haven’t had time to think of it. It will probably be something like Empire State of Mind.

Is it you can chose whatever you want or is there a list?
The UFC will let you pick whatever song you want and then approve it or not. Sometimes you pick a song that someone else already has and you have to pick a different one.

With Tom Lawlor moving up to Connecticut have you run across him in training circles at all or friends that have?
No. I didn’t even know he was up here. I know that he is out in California with Dan Henderson. But I didn’t know he was in Connecticut.

Do you feel like if you beat Tom that you will be a main card kind of guy or is that not something you really think about much?
I think so. I think I will probably be up there as far as my next fight. It depends who they give me. When I first started, my first fight was on a main card on a Versus, obviously not PPV. My manager at the time said once you were on the main card, all your fights will be on the main card. Then my next one was on Spike which was good. This one was supposed to be on Spike, then it wasn’t, now it might be. It’s a little stressful trying to figure it out and let my friends and family know so at this point I am just not worried about it.

You can listen to the full interview at MMA Diehards

Evan Cutts got the call to fight Reagan Penn for ProElite 2 with just under two weeks notice. Knowing that it was going to be a good opportunity for him, the decision process didn’t take long before he accepted the fight. He battered and punched Penn for fifteen minutes in what many called the only exciting fight on the entire ProElite card. Cutts appeared on Recap Radio to discuss the fight and more.

How’s things going man?
Everything is going great. I am still on that little high from winning and it is great to come back home after a victory like that. I have a great support group here and my family is here you know and everyone has been treating me like a king.

Did you have a good size group make the drive up to Moline for your fight?
Yeah. My parents, my little sister, my wife was there. I have a little brother who is probably going to make his debut in mma early next year with an amateur fight. He had to stay home for wrestling as a he had a wrestling meet this weekend.

So you got the call and you were told hey we got a fight for you on ProElite, it’s going to be televised, but your opponent Reagan Penn. What was your first thought when you were offered this fight?
My manager Rafael Casias with Wreck 1 Management talked to me and kind of asked me about it. My first response was what do him and Johnny think? At first I was pretty nervous but then I started to think about it and it was kind of like a win-win. It would get my name out there, especially if I go in there and smash Penn. It would show some people what I could do. Leading up to the fight I got that sense that this was an opportunity. They called me with twelve days notice. Training camp was a bit nervous. I was training like three times a day. I was getting back into fight shape. It was my first fight that was five minute rounds. I think here in Texas you have to have four or five pro fights before they let you fight five minutes. I was only training for like a month and I was training for three minute rounds before I got the call.

So this was your first fight with five minute rounds?
Yeah it was. I was gassing at the end of it also. I could hear BJ screaming at Reagan that there’s only a minute left and I remember thinking thank the lord I only have a minute left. I will just keep holding onto this choke and maybe he will give it to me.

A lot of people know the name ProElite from their old days and now they are coming back and this was their second show under the new management. So as a fighter how was everything? Did they treat you well?
It was a great experience. They flew us out there Wednesday. All we had to do Wednesday was do some more paperwork for tax stuff. They were just like normal people and everything ran smoothly and ran well with the commission. ProElite did a real good job at the press conference of everyone that was on the televised card feel like they were on a televised card. They had fighter packets made up for us that confirmed for us times and any questions we had. Everyone was a phone call away. This was my first big show but I felt like things went really smoothly.

What was the game plan going into the fight and did it play out the way you wanted it to?
Not really at all. The tale of the tape said Reagan was 5’8” but I would like to correct that. He’s not 5’8” he’s almost six foot. He’s just a bit an inch under me. Going in a lot of it was I have basically been a ground guy my entire career and this time we worked a lot of boxing and staying long with the jab. We worked a lot of almost point striking and trying to steal rounds at the end with takedowns. But the plan was to avoid the ground because he comes from such a great background with grappling. Of course you saw the first round I got jabbed and taken down and mouthed a profanity. Really it didn’t go the way we had planned it go but it was ok.

I had Johnny Bedofrd in my corner who is a real experienced fighter. He is a real good coach and has a distinctive voice too. So in the cage I have never had an issue not being able to hear him. It’s really nice having a good corner that you can hear and listen to. There’s points in the second round I was like going for a toe hold and he yelled at me to stop doing that. He said something like let go of the toe hold and beat him up in the body. Just having a good corner there. Even though it didn’t go to our previous game plan, I was still able to follow a game plan. Johnny was there analyzing and giving me feedback in between rounds. He was saying look for this, keep your right hand things like that. I feel like we had a game plan during the fight.

It seemed that Penn gassed really early and that was a big difference maker in this fight. How much do you think your cardio played into the result?
Yes and no. I think mentally I have a lot of tenacity when I come to a fight. I am looking forward to having a real training camp when it comes to this next one. Reagan you can see in the middle of the first he starts diminishing and by the end of the second he was done. Having a good cardio base helped. Months leading up to this fight I had mrsa and I spent like a week in the hospital and another month and a half with a pick-line into my arm getting antibiotics and pills for three weeks. I feel I used to have really good cardio. Like I feel like if I had my old cardio like before I had mrsa I would have been able to finish the fight in different spots.

For people that don’t know mrsa is really bad. So the question is how bad was it?
The thing was that if I was in the US when it happened, I wouldn’t have let it get to the point that it did. I was on vacation with my wife who was my fiancee at the time. We were vacationing in the Bahamas and I just cut my leg snorkeling. You know a few scratches from the coral. It wasn’t really a big deal, but then the days after that it started getting red and I knew it was infected. I didn’t want to go to an ER down here in the Bahamas and so I waited a few days. On the plane ride it seemed like my leg blew up in a matter of four hours. So when I got back to the US you couldn’t even see my knee. My knee was like a giant tube. I went to the ER and they told me if I had waited any longer it would have been really bad. They took multiple MRI’s cause they thought they might have had to take my leg. I got real close to not being able to do this sport. It turned fighting into something that is like, you know I never felt like it was something I had to do, but it turned it into very much a privilege that I get to fight. I feel lucky and blessed that I get to fight. I see guys in the locker rooms, they have that look in their eyes where they almost feel obligated because they told people they were a fighter.

After the fight Penn had the following to say “Congratulations to Evan Cutts, he kicked my ass pretty good tonight. There were some things that went on in my training camp but I am not here to make any excuses. I could have done more, I was being stubborn and thought I could walk through this fight by half ass’ing it but now I know what it is” What’s your take on him thinking he could half ass his way through a fight with you?
I think his first fight he fought a guy and it was a quick fight for him. It was very much a jiu jitsu match fight for him. I didn’t see the fight previously and I got on youtube and found it. I noticed it wasn’t very long and I was like oh man he finished him quick. I think Reagan throws like a jab-right kick then Gardiner goes for a takedown that isn’t very effective and his head goes to the outside. Reagan did what he was supposed to do and took the back and choked him. That fight wasn’t a good first fight experience. You get the idea that this isn’t much different than a jiu jitsu match. Once you have somebody grinding on you throwing punches it makes a difference. I think it may come back to just cagetime. You know it was his second fight and it was my eighth. I had two pro fights and five amateur fights before this. I know that it is going to be a battle and a grind. I think when you do a lot of gi-jiu jitsu your mma scrambles get a little lazy. I am a big lover of gi, I don’t want people to misconstrue that I don’t love it. I think it is a great sport. But when you have an mma fight you have to take it off and put the gloves on. You have to take the punches even if they are at 10-15% from your partner.

There have been fighters who focused on a specific aspect like jiu jitsu then transitioned into mma. Is this something that applies to you?
MMA was always a goal. I started watching it at like 15. I was doing American karate and thought I could do that inside the cage. Then the sport started evolving and I got into a boxing and jiu jitsu gym. MMA when I was about sixteen I decided I wanted to fight. I never went into it thinking I am going to be a ground guy. It just kind of evolved that way being around Johnny and growing up having a wrestling base. It’s easier to train jiu jitsu and wrestling 100% every day cause you aren’t getting beat up every day. Even if you are sparing at like 80% on Monday, Tuesday you feel it. My legs hurt, my face hurts. I think early on when I first started training jiu jitsu I could grapple really hard for three hours and I would be tired, but it wasn’t like I would have to wear a knee brace afterwards.

Do you have another fight lined up yet or are you waiting for the next ProElite card?
Nothing scheduled. I am on contract with ProElite. I have two or three more fights with them. I am hoping that ProElite stays with HDNet obviously. It’s cool fighting on tv. You have lots of friends who can watch you. I would like to have as many people see the fight. I am going to keep fighting for them for a little while.

Where can the fans reach you at?
I am on twitter @thebutchercutts and on facebook you can find me Evan The Butcher Cutts. You can find links to my sponsors and home gym.

Any sponsors or people you want to thank?
Rafael Casias with Wreck 1 Management and Joe Fortis with Title Shot Management. They worked jointly to get this fight together. I want to thank Johnny Bedford who is a friend, coach and recently a brother in law. I married his wife’s little sister. Execution Fight Gear, Lexani Custom Wheels, Integrated Medical Center, and Fitness Fight Factory.

UFC video of fighters giving their thoughts and predictions on the main event for UFC on Fox: Cain Velasquez versus Junior Dos Santos

Hard to tell who wins this, but it’s full of amazing references in ways you would never even imagine. Take the next twelve minutes and enjoy this video.

Something completely unheard of with the amount of security that is typically around a UFC event. A fan at UFC 138 was somehow able to enter the cage and was quickly escorted out.

Alistair has a dispute with his long time management Golden Glory and has decided which gym it’s going to be to prepare for Brock Lesnar.

THE REEM SEASON 2 EPISODE 7: CROSSROADS from THE REEM on Vimeo.

Dana White UFC on FOX Vlog day 1 is a Behind the scenes look into the last two UFC events. UFC 137 and UFC 138.  Plus a few great clips from the UFC on FOX Press conference.

Photo by Stan Balazia for Cagefanatic

On Saturday November 5th, Andrei Arlovski took on Travis Fulton at ProElite 2 in Moline, Illinois. The fight was the co-main event of the card, that featured an opening round of a heavyweight tournament, as well as a main event with another former UFC champion Tim Sylvia. The night’s fights were broadcast on HDNet.

Arlovski’s fight with Fulton was not a very exciting fight until the last second of the fight. Arlovski landed a beautiful headkick that knocked Fulton out cold as time was about to expire.

After the fight, Arlovski spoke to Matthew C. Scaro about the fight. Arlovski was very candid in his responses and acknowledged that his career has taken a bit of an offswing.

“I wouldn’t say I am back, just a second start. You know like a baby does little steps. Of course thank you God, thank you team and all my friends that came to support me. It was just what Greg Jackson and all my trainers wanted me to do. It was a little bit late, but that’s ok.”

Many have thought that the next logical fight for Arlovski would be to fight Tim Sylvia as both not only were victorious at ProElite, but also have a history during their time in the UFC.

“It’s up to ProElite (who I fight next). Everybody knows what’s gone on between me and Tim Sylva. I honestly don’t even think about that stuff. But this guy from Germany said he wanted to fight me because I didn’t say hi at the airport. I feel bad for that guy because that means he is miserable.

I really appreciate ProElite for this opportunity to rebuild my career. Like I said, it’s a second step. I feel like everything is going right right now. Right team, right coaches, right place to train. It’s up to ProElite who I fight next.”

You can see the full interview with Matthew C. Scaro from Cagefanatic.com below.

At UFC 137, Bart Palaszewski made his long awaited UFC debut against Tyson Griffin.  Palaszewski was a staple of the WEC having competed in the organization seven times earning a record of 4-3, finishing three of his four opponents.  In May he was supposed to make his UFC debut, but an injury forced him out of the contest.

It also gave him time to reevaluate his career at lightweight, and Palaszewski decided it was time to drop down to the featherweight division.  By dropping to the 145 division, Palaszewski’s cardio massively increased.

“I actually had to add a lot more running and conditioning to my regimen just to be able to make weight,” Palaszewski told Sherdog Radio.  “My gas is, I don’t know if it is on Clay Guida’s level, but it is up there right now.  It’s very good.”

And that boast in cardio is what set the game plan in motion for Palaszewski even before Griffin missed weight.

“He looked pretty drained. Other than that, I was going to push the pace from the beginning either way. It just kind of gave me a little more confidence that I knew I was going to be able to get him tired. I didn’t overlook him in any way, shape or form. I knew that the weight cut was rough on him, but I knew he’s still a game opponent no matter what. Obviously, like I said, I was going to push the pace even harder than we planned. It worked out, I guess.”

As for Griffin missing weight, Palaszewski told Sherdog Radio’s Beatdown show that he felt disrespected.  “I don’t know what happened.  If something happened, I hope he comes out with it and tells me. It’s over and done with, but I kind of took it as kind of, I don’t know if it was disrespect, but I feel like he overlooked me and didn’t take the camp super seriously. He didn’t take it too seriously overall camp, diet and everything else. I think he thought I’d be a steppingstone to getting his career going again, but obviously it didn’t work out that way. Unless there was a reason why he didn’t make weight, as far as an injury or whatever, I think that’s what happened.”

Listen to the full interview at Sherdog Radio

Zac Babiarz will be fighting this weekend at XFO Fight Night at Offsides Bar and Grill in Woodstock, Illinois. This will mark Babiarz’s second amateur fight for the promotion. MMA Recap’s Michael Finch caught up with Babiarz to discuss his training, conditioning and more.

Zac Babairz prefight interview

It’s been nearly two weeks since Will Brooks was in the toughest fight of his career, but he’s already back at the gym training for his next fight.  Brooks is scheduled to meet Chris Tickle at XFO 42, a fight that will take place at the Sears Centre, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.  For his fight with Tickle, MMA Recap is going to check in on Brooks through out the training camp to see how things are going for this fight.

Let’s start off with your most recent win against Ryan Bixler.  That was the toughest fight of your career to date.  In the first round you suffered an accidental eye poke and weathered a storm of punches from Bixler.  You were able to recover after taking him down and held on to him.  How much trouble were you in while he was unloading on you?

Before the fight went to the ground I believe I was in more trouble being that I couldn’t see and he was able to land some very solid shoots. Once I was able to hold him I didn’t feel in trouble as much I was more focused on getting my vision back in my eye.

In the second round you looked extremely fresh compared to Bixler.  And it showed as you took him down again with ease.  I noticed that you took his back, much like you did in your previous two fights, only this time you had to finish with the rear naked choke instead of the armbar.  Did you attempt the armbar or was it just straight for the rear naked choke?

When I took his back I was looking to gain control more than looking for any type of submission. I didn’t really look for any submission in particular I I just took what was presented and at the time it was the rear naked choke.

How much time did you take off before you got back into training for your upcoming fight?

I took about a week off that has kind of been the routine of my last couple of training camps and fights lucky not because of injury but just to rest, relax, and go back home to Gurnee to spend time with my family and friends.

You are scheduled to fight Chris Tickle, have you researched your opponent at all and if so what skills do you think are his best?

Yes I’m scheduled to fight Chris at the XFO 42 I’m very excited for this fight it will be another tough opponent and I look forward to it. I haven’t researched him I don’t really research many of my opponents my coach does most of that for me. It’s works better that way so I can focus on more the training camp I trust my coaches and know that they will put together a great game plan for the fight.

With this training camp is there one thing in particular that you want to improve on with your own skill set?

This training camp will focus on just getting better in every aspect just like previous training camps. We train not to focus on working one thing during training camps because we feel as though it takes away from the instinct to work other aspects of MMA.

Talk to us a bit about the start of training camp.  What’s the schedule like for the first week or two?

The first 2 weeks aren’t too much different from later weeks of the training camp. The only difference is that I’m more just focused on getting some weight off and getting back in the mix of strength and conditioning.

Any sponsors or people you want to thank?

I would like to thank LVRG clothing, GNC in south Elgin, the academy of advanced athletics, and last but not least my family and friends.

Carson Beebe is one of the top prospects to come out of the Midwest. He auditioned for the Ultimate Fighter at the open workouts and impressed not only the media that was in attendance, but the UFC brass earning him a spot to fight his way into the house. Unfortunately he ran into a very well experienced Johnny Bedford and lost. Beebe has since rebounded with a victory in August, and will be competing again this Saturday at Chicago Cagefighting Championship.

In an exclusive interview with MMA Recap during Recap Radio, Beebe discussed his time on The Ultimate Fighter, how the loss has affected him, and how it all has lead to his fight against Dan Aguirre this weekend.

How’s everything going my man?

I just got out of practice here at Watson’s getting ready for my fight.

We will get to that here in a bit, but the big thing that we need to talk about is your time on The Ultimate Fighter. I was hounding you since the open tryouts. You were featured on every major site as one of the big names to be on the show and you did your part and didn’t say a word as to what happened. But now it has aired and you lost your fight to Johnny Bedford to make your way into the house and you can talk about it. What was that fight like for you?

I would say walking into the fight I was as prepared as I possibly could have been. I was down at Greg Jacksons training with Clay Guida. It was convenient as he was getting ready for his fight with Anthony Pettis. I was just trying to keep up with him going three a days with that maniac. I was in the shape of my life, fully prepared and I fought a tough guy. I’ve been saying this since the day it happened, that was probably the most fun five minutes of my entire life. The fight was awesome. He was the toughest opponent I’ve ever fought. The first time I think I was actually forced to stand and bang as he stopped my takedowns. Unfortunately I came up short. I am going to grow from it and learn from it. I believe adversity leads to perseverance and perseverance builds character and it is an overall positive experience.

The big thing that I did notice was that he had five times more fights than you did. Were you at all surprised that you were paired up with someone that had that much more experience or was that something you thought could happen?

I had no idea what to expect. I just knew that whatever cards were dealt to me I would have to play them. You have 24 hours to accept the fact of who you are fighting and you have no time to sit there and feel sorry for yourself. You can’t think “Oh this guy is real tough”. You have do your best to win the fight. I had a real tough opponent. It was a lot of fun.

One thing that people don’t realize is that it is a very closed atmosphere. It’s not a few thousand people screaming. It’s like fifteen to twenty people and staff. Other guys who have fought on TUF have said that the experience just in front of a small group of people was actually more unnerving than a in front of a large crowd. Was that something that was different for you?

For our season it was a really neat opportunity because we got a chance to fight inside a completely empty Mandalay Bay. It was pretty sweet. We walked in there, the lights were going off and the Ultimate Fighter song was playing in the background. Dana White was standing there. You definitely have pressure and nerves running through your veins. Jon Jones said it’s alright to have butterflies so long as you can get the birds to fly in the right formation. I definitely had butterflies, but I got in the cage and that’s where I felt most comfortable. The bell rang and I was right at home. It was awesome being in that big stage under the bright lights.

You said that you only knew about your opponent just twenty four hours before and you have been through camps where you were focused on a single guy for six to eight weeks. Was it a lot of pressure off or on with this difference?

You know when you are training for a fight and you know who your opponent is you still try to focus more on what you can do and the strengths and weaknesses you have and adapt to that person. You have no control over what your opponent is going to do. He might be known as the best kick boxer in the world and then come out and throw a flying triangle at you. You focus on what you can do. On the Ultimate Fighter it made it a little easier to practice that theory. You don’t have time to watch tape on the guy and worry about anything. You go out there and do what you can do and it made it a little easier I think.

We know that the UFC flies you out a couple days before and keep you locked in your hotel room. They even say that if you peak your head out from your room you will be cut from the show as there are alternates there waiting. Was that difficult being locked up in your hotel room and what did you do to pass the time?

What was the most difficult was when we got there and we were cutting weight and can’t eat and are just sitting in your room starving. You stare at the clock counting down the minutes until weigh-ins. That was the hardest part. But it was a huge opportunity and you are excited to be there. So whatever kind of crazy shenanigans they want to put you through you have to go through with a smile on your face. I think it kind of sucked, but I dealt with it.

What were you able to take from the entire process to help propel your career?

I learned from that that I do have what it takes to compete at the top level. I think Bedford is a top level fighter and I showed I could stand and bang with him. But what I learned the most was that I need more experience. He had something like thirty fights and I just need more experience like that. Now we are going out and trying to find the toughest guys we can find and get into real fights. Fights where I have to dig deep. That’s what I am focusing on moving forward.

As I understand you are now back to school, so when do you graduate and what’s your degree in?

I am going to school for business administration. I am planning on graduating next December. I am down here at Lindenwood Bellville just outside of St. Louis. I am wrestling again and I am super excited to be back on the mat. I have had some great opportunities to come down here and join the wrestling team down here. I met a great group of guys down here. I have great teammates that support me and will be coming up by the bus load for the fight. I always say it is a lot easier to compete when you are having fun and I am having a blast down here.

You mentioned you are training at Kyle Watson’s gym, where else are you training at while you are at school?

I am training my jiu jitsu and Muay Thai over at Watson’s and then doing preseason over at Lindenwood Bellville. If you ask any college wrestler I don’t think there’s anything more difficult or rigorous than preseason. I am going to be in phenomenal shape going into this fight.

You have a fight coming up with Danny Aguirre, is this fight going to be at featherweight or bantamweight as I know you both have competed in each of those classes?

It’s going to be a catchweight at 140. I am trying to focus on my grades and get that degree and that’s a little more difficult to study and take tests when you are sucking a bunch of weight.

What’s your thoughts on him?

He’s a tough kid. He’s 5-0 and has great cardio. We are going out trying to find toughest guys we can find. My management team Sucker Punch and I sat down and we talked about “The Ultimate Fighter” experience and what we needed. We need more tough guys, more tough fights. That’s what they did. They hit up Chicago Cagefighting Championship and found the toughest guy out there. Aguirre is six foot one and has been in some battles. I am looking forward to handing him his first loss.

Are you on twitter?

Hit me up it is @carsonbeebe. Follow me on there.

Any sponsors or anyone you want to thank?

I want to thank Gilbert Grappling for helping me get to where I am at. Uflacker Academy and Watsons down here. I want to thank all my boys from Lindewood Bellville wrestling team for helping me get ready. I also want to thank Sucker Punch for setting this up. I want to thank Izzy styles and the whole Martinez family, Beebe trained, my friends, my family. I also want to thank Jig-Jaw, Mio Fight Gear, and Chicago Cagefighting. I owe it all to everyone who has helped me and all to God.

In season four of Bellator, Chris Lozano was regarded by many to be a big underdog in the tournament. It came as no surprise as Bellator is known for trying to match up the number one seed with the number eight seed, the number two with seven and so on and so forth. Lozano got matched up against former Bellator welterweight champion Lyman Good in the opening round with Good being a top seed by everyone’s account.

Unfortunately for Lozano, the night just wasn’t his night. An accidental head butt in the second round could have played a factor in the fight, and it did according to Lozano. But the Cleveland based fighter used that fight as motivation to prove that he is one of the best fighters inside the Bellator cage.

Lozano didn’t make excuses when he lost to Good that night, but now, nearly six months later reveals that an injury played a big factor in that fight while appearing on the September 13th edition of Recap Radio.

“A lot of people didn’t know this when I was preparing for Lyman Good I had a back injury. For the first six weeks of my eight week camp I injured a disk and I couldn’t lift weights. I was hurt. I was advised by people in the sport to back out of the tournament and get ready for the next season. But I needed the money, my family needed the money and I needed to make this happen. I believed in my heart that I could beat Lyman even if I was 50% of what I was. I trained and did what I could to get ready. I wasn’t able to train and do what I wanted to do. I wasn’t able to push myself on a lot of different levels. I still think I almost beat Lyman. If I hadn’t taken that head butt in the second round that swelled my eye up I really think I would beat him.”

The injury forced him to learn to be not just a better fighter, but a smarter fighter. In training for Weedman he says he changed up a lot compared to his first fight for Bellator against Good.

“I am a lot smarter now. I know a lot more about a lot of different things. Things like how to prepare, how to train, how to eat. I have just increased my fighting IQ in my training and in the ring. Everything I do is smarter now.”

“I focus on everything, but because I had Brent Weedman as an opponent I focused at being good at the things he was good at and being able to match him. Now that Douglas Lima is the target, I am going to focus on him. What I have learned is that when you focus on the opponent at hand is that you build a skill set that you take with you to the next opponent. Regardless of what that opponent’s skills are. Wrestling, grappling all that is part of the sport anyways and you do it.”

Unfortunately in the opening round of the fight, Lozano did not fight a smarter fight like he had originally planned and that nearly cost him the fight, but thankfully only cost him a round.

“The first round the game plan did not play out the way I thought it would. But the second round you saw the game plan. It [the game plan] was to use my superior striking against his. Weedman is a great kick boxer. But I feel there are certain things that I do better than him that would give me the opportunity to really chop him up. First round, as soon as it started off, I tried to hit him with a one-two and I got away from the game plan of taking my time and trying to be more technical than him. I just jumped to the fight and got caught. He kept the pressure on me and obviously anyone who saw the fight knows that he spent the entire round looking for subs and trying to soften me up. I just played my defense well and got ready for the second round.”

Now in just a short timeframe, Lozano will be taking on Douglas Lima in the semifinals. But unlike most fighters who enter the Bellator tournament and aren’t sure what to expect with training and weight cutting in the semi-finals, Lozano is due to a smart thought on his part after losing to Good during season 4. He immediately sought out another two fights as quick as he could, with as little turn around time as possible. All in the hopes that it would pan out for him.

“Yeah. I told myself that night I lost to Lyman I would get back in the ring. I was going to use that lose to motivate me. I got back in the gym and I worked hard. I was going to fight fight fight as if I was in that tournament. I said I was going to get two fights as close to back to back as possible so that when I get back into this tournament I had already taught myself how to handle the preparation, how to handle the weight cut and training.

“My coaches at first thought I was just like a guy hurt trying to get his ego back. But after talking to them, they knew me well enough to know that I didn’t break. They went with the flow. I listen to them and everything they say for sure, but whenever I feel a certain way, they listen to me too. They were like if that’s what you want to do and that’s what you feel is best for you, then we got your back and they got me ready.”

Lozano is still probably going to be the underdog in his next fight, but that doesn’t mean one should count him out. Lozano said it best when describing the fellow fighters in the tournament.

“You start off with eight dudes who are all bad asses, now you are down to four dudes who are the most bad ass. The margin for error is so small. People think that some fights are uneventful, but really what you saw was two guys who understand that one mistake costs you a shot at Ben Askren.”

Eric “Red” Schafer will make his return to the cage at XFO Outdoor War on September 3.  He will be fighting Midwest Training Center’s Chris Albandia in the night’s main event.  MMA Recap caught up with Schafer to talk about the fight, the layoff, and the drop down in weight.

You are returning to the cage after nearly a year and a half off. So first question is why the long layoff?
In my last UFC fight I messed up my hand, so I took a few months off to heal that. It started healing up, but by then I had left the Roufusport team at the end of the summer of 2010, and didn’t have a gym to train at.. In December I started my own gym, which kept me busy for a while. The gym settled down a bit this summer, so I started training harder and signed for my first fight this September.

Are you at all worried about the ring rust with such a long layoff?
I am not worried really. I have kept my competition up by doing grappling competitions. Since May of last year I have been undefeated in 35 no-gi matches at 12 different events, so I have remained active. Grappling is not the same as fighting, but it helps me work on mental and physical aspects of competition. I feel I have made huge gains in the psychological aspects of the game. I have been involved with UFC camps with Brock Lesnar and Pat Barry, so I have been sparring with some real monsters in the off-season.

You are scheduled to fight Chris Albandia, who is also coming back from a long layoff. Do you think that you both sort of negate each other’s ring rust?
Exactly, we both have not fought in a while, so if anything, I should have less ring rust, do to my competition in BJJ. But I assume Chris has been busy training hard too, so I am training to fight Chris at his best.

What are your thoughts on Chris as an opponent?
Chris is an accomplished fighter (IFL and M-1 vet) with good wrestling and good ground tactics. Those types of fighters have given me trouble in the past, so this is the perfect opportunity to test myself, and see if I have patched some holes in my game.

The fight is going to be taking place at XFO Outdoor War. Is there anything you prepare for with the fact that the fight is going to be outside?
I have been to some outdoor fights were the surface has gotten slippery do to some dew as the night cools, but I am a pro at using slippery mats to my advantage. I am ready for what ever the weather brings us.

This is your first fight since being cut from the UFC. Are you looking to use this as a springboard back into the organization?
I would love to go back and fight in the UFC. I feel that I still have not realized my full potential, so I want to give it one more shot. I also feel much better at this lighter weight (185 versus 205), so I think I will be much more dangerous at this weight.

This also marks the first time you will be fighting at middleweight. What’s the reason for dropping down in weight?
I feel much more athletic at 185. I am faster, more flexible, more agile, and my cardio is at a much higher level. I have had many grappling matches of over 30 minutes in the last year (including an hour plus marathon), and have never quit. I should have been this weight from the start.

Which one of your fights stands out the most to you in your career?
I think my Houston Alexander win is currently my career defining moment.. I was the underdog in his hometown. I had a rough start, but overcame that to turn the tide and submit him at the end of the round. That was a special moment considering the whole storyline.

Where can the fans find you at?
My website is redschafer.com, where I write a blog with pictures and videos of all my matches. My twitter is twitter.com/redschafer and my facebook is facebook.com/redschafer. My gym also has a facebook page, facebook.com/redschafermma.

Any sponsors or people you want to thank?
I just want to thank all my family and my teammates at Red Schafer MMA and the Rebel Alliance fight team. Also, my boxing coach, Scotty Sievewright; my wrestling coach, Tony Senner; my kickboxing coach, Adric Kennedy, and my main sparring partner, Karl Turek. I’d like to thank Brian Butler from Suckerpunch Entertainment for setting this fight up and helping out with sponsors. PS If anyone is looking to sponsor me, then please contact me! Everything helps.