Few have done more for mixed martial arts in Canada than Tom Wright.

In 2010 Wright was named as the Director or Operations for the Ultimate Fighting Championship because of his extensive resume and was a huge factor in getting the sport legalized in Toronto and selling out the Rogers Center (formerly Skydome) with over 55,000 people for UFC 129.

Before working with the UFC he was the 11^th commissioner of the Canadian Football League serving between 2002 and 2006. Also, Wright was the President of Adidas Canada and President and CEO of Salomon Group North America.

One of the biggest hurdles Wright is looking to overcome right now is getting the sport legalized full-time in the state of Vancouver.

In 2009 the Vancouver City Council approved a two-year trial period for MMA opening the doors for the UFC and other promoters to do business in the city during that time.

UFC ran two events in Vancouver, British Columbia during this time including UFC 115 with Chuck Liddell’s final fight against Rich Franklin and UFC 131 featuring Junior dos Santos blistering the face of Shane Carwin.

Now that the trial period is over Wright and his team are working towards getting the door open for MMA 365 days a year.

“We still have to have the authority to sanction for the city of Vancouver to go forth; right now the two year trial period is over. The report from the Vancouver Athletic Commission has not been presented to city council yet but I expect that’s going to happen sometime in March.”

Wright continued to explain that there are problems with the sport not being regulated on a provincial level.

“With the absence of a provincial athletic commission, the regulatory and sanctioning responsibilities are handled individually. In some places they feel they can handle it and in others they don’t” he said.

“From my perspective, speaking for the sport of mixed martial arts, what I’m interested in is a level of consistency and continuity and while you just don’t know if Victoria would be different than Burnaby, would be different to Richmond, than would be different than Vancouver to use those as an example,”

He continued “It’s important that we have that level of consistence for fighters safety, development of athletes, development of referees or judges and making sure that there’s a level playing field”

Rumors have been circling for months about a possible UFC event taking place in the province of Alberta, Wright weighed in on this rumor.

“I’ve always wanted to take our pay-per-view show into Alberta, it’s a really strong market, it’s a strong as BC [British Columbia] is and it’s a place on our radar, there’s two Cities in Calgary and Edmonton that like Vancouver could easily host a UFC pay-per-view but until such time as Dana and Lorenzo make an announcement you’ll have to wait and see but if I were a betting man I’d say it’s probably coming.”

To check out the entire interview, listen to this week’s installment of MMASucka where Jeremy Brand talks at length with the big-dog of MMA in Canada.

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Follow @justinfauxmma on Twitter and keep up with the latest news by following @MMASucka on Twitter and onFacebook

Ed Herman hopes that 2012 continues as his 2011 ended. After suffering a horrific knee injury in a fight against Aaron Simpson, Herman spent nearly two years on the shelf after surgery. He was able to return to the octagon triumphantly, gaining wins over Tim Credeur and Kyle Noke. Now set to face off against Clifford Starks at UFC 143, Herman looks to continue his comeback to the upper echelon of the middleweight division.

Herman went through tough times during his layoff, forced to take on bartending and security jobs to make ends meet while still going into debt. But he has also learned the value of patience, and the maxim of “good things come to those who wait.”

“It was rough. Financially and mentally. Wondering if I was even going to be able to come back. Definitely a hard thing to go through. We live paycheck to paycheck like everybody else, until you get up to the real big money. We make a decent living but at the same time being out for that long, it’s rough. I went into debt pretty far, thirty or forty grand just to be able to pay the bills and support my family. To get back, get in there and get a couple of wins right off the bat was great to be able to pay some bills and get out of debt.”

“I tried [to come back too soon] originally, but then I got injured again after my first surgery. I had to have the whole ACL surgery again. So that time I decided I had better take my time if I wanted to make another run, if I was to have any chance of coming back. So I think that the timeline that I had coming back was good off of the second injury.”

The lessons taught from the injury and subsequent rehabilitation have bled over into Herman’s training habits as well. He has the demeanor of a more mature and intelligent fighter than the one who initially earned the nickname “Short Fuse”.

“I’ve adjusted things quite a bit actually. I’m out in Colorado now so I’ve got the new camp and I just stepped back a little bit and I listen to my body a little more than I used to. I just turned 31, so it’s not the same as when you’re 22 and you can train all day and not feel any pain. I spar a little bit less, at Team Quest we used to bang every day. 5 or 6 days a week, we would throw down. I’ve cut that back to 3 or 4 days of sparring and trying to train a little smarter.”

Herman’s evolution also comes with the choice of a new locale. After training for years in Oregon with Team Quest, Herman made the move to set up shop in Colorado. The change in scenery appears to have been just what the doctor ordered for re-invigorating his career. While he looks back fondly at the TQ days, his voice gains more excitement as he discusses his current home.

“I miss my training partners from [Team Quest], I had great training partners. But at the same time we were losing a lot of guys. I feel that in Colorado there’s a big MMA scene. I have to travel a little bit more, I drive down to Denver a couple days a week and to Boulder. They’re both about an hour from where I live, so I have to travel a bit more but I’m still getting great training. I’m training with guys like Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub and Eliot Marshall so there’s a lot of good guys to train with.”

When the talk turns to Starks, Herman’s confidence shines through. While not sounding cocky or arrogant, it’s clear that he believes that this fight is destined to end with his arm raised in victory.

“[Starks is] a real athletic guy, a good wrestler. But I feel like he’s fairly green in the sport and I feel like his inexperience in the striking game and in submissions is going to help me out. Plus I feel like my wrestling is just as good as his. It’s a different style of wrestling but I don’t think he’s as accomplished as a wrestler.”

You can forgive Herman for being confident. Starks is a late replacement in the bout against Herman, and to hear him tell it he was almost desperate for someone to step up and save his fight on the card.

“It’s kind of a crazy situation. I was originally supposed to fight Chris Weidman. I think he was injured. We kind of looking for an opponent and Clifford Starks was the only one they could find. I was already halfway through training camp and my guy got hurt, so it kind of leaves me floating and not knowing what’s going on. My agent really pushed for me to stay on that card and for [UFC] to find me an opponent. Thanks to Clifford Starks for taking the fight on such short notice and thanks to UFC for grabbing somebody and getting me fighting. I really don’t want to wait any longer.”

Herman’s fight with Starks is rumoured to be on the portion on the undercard shown on Fuel TV, as part of the UFC’s new deal with Fox. Herman looks forward to the increased exposure the deal can potentially bring UFC fighters.

“I think it’s great because there’s going to be a major mainstream network pushing MMA which we’ve never had before. Hopefully get some more acceptance out there and people will watch the sport that haven’t seen it before. Sponsorship-wise, I think it’ll be a big deal too being on Fox because it’s a mainstream channel so hopefully a lot of those mainstream sponsors will jump on board and give guys who are on the undercard the opportunity to get TV time, exposure, and [bigger] sponsors.”

A win over Starks will mark Herman’s third consecutive victory since the injury. He is hopeful that will put him back in the upper-tier of the 185 pound division. While he’s not picky about his choice of opponents, he does offer some suggestions.

“I hope they’ll give me a top 10 guy, or somebody with some hype around them to try and get my name towards the top again. Like I said, one fight at a time for me but if I can get this win against Starks it gives me the opportunity to fight somebody in the top 10.”

“Everybody I’ve lost to is on my radar. [Aaron] Simpson’s on there, but so are some other guys. [Alan] Belcher, Demian Maia, who I would love to have another crack at as well.”

Whatever the scenario, Herman sounds like he is in a very positive frame of mind headed in to 2012 and what he believes will be a banner year for his new camp in Colorado.

“I opened a new gym out here in Colorado called Trials MMA (trialsmma.com), I’m hoping to grow my gym, my student base and my team here in Colorado. Help my teammates get back on track, my teammate [former IFL champ] Ryan Schultz has been out for a couple of years and just had his first fight back. He’s looking to make a run and get into the UFC so hopefully that will happen. That would be good for our team and our gym.”

When asked specifically about his own career in the year to come, Herman laughs and lets a bit of the old ‘Short Fuse” shine through.

“A lot of ass whuppings and a lot of paychecks.”

Follow Ed Herman on Twitter: @EdHermanUFC

You international folks may not know the name Daniel Swain, but you will soon enough. Swain has made a name for himself on the British Columbia Pro MMA Circuit by going 4-1 over the last year, but for the last few months he has been living back home in Newport, Washington.

I made the decision to move back home because I wasn’t finding fights and I just came off my first loss as a fighter and I thought I need to come back home and figure everything out about what I was going to do with this, get everything situated and make a little money, get a job and whatnot.

Since being home I’ve helped coach my wrestling team again and got back to my roots wrestling and I’ve been training pretty much by myself getting ready for my upcoming Battlefield fight and the fight I just had.

News was floating around the internet that Swain had a fight in Montana on January 21. That indeed was the case as the 21 year old (then 20) fought at the Majestic Valley Arena in Montana for the Kalispell Kombat organization. Swain fought a local favorite in Zach Dickson and he disappointed a few local fans.

I got a phone call from a promoter who said he knew of a promoter in Montana who needed 145 [pound] guys and there was this guy who was meant to be the tough guy around Montana, he was 4-0, home town guy and they wanted to pretty much bring someone in so he could beat up on for the home crowd so I said “Sure, I’ll take that fight” on two weeks’ notice.

It was in an arena that was pretty big for a low-level show and the fight happened and was my first knockout which is pretty crazy for me – I dropped him in the first ten seconds with a knee and I hurt him pretty bad, after that I pretty much stalked him until I got him with a flush knee and he crumbled and went to sleep.

I looked at the ref and he wasn’t going to step in cause he’s the hometown guy so I hit him a few more times and the ref finally pulled me off of him.

When you hear the name ‘Blackzilians’ you think Rashad Evans, Melvin Guillard, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and coach Mike Van Arsdale. You don’t envision a red headed white kid by the name of Daniel Swain. But the Newport, Washington native has drawn the attention of the Blackzilians thanks to his last decisive victory.

The promoter had Anthony “Rumble” Johnson there for autographs and whatnot and after I got done beating up that guy pretty bad he was waiting outside the cage to shake my hand and tell me I have some potential, to keep with it and I’m gonna go somewhere in this sport.

Then later in the night he got a hold of one of my cornermen who was at the bar with him, I wasn’t 21 yet so I wasn’t able to go to the bars with him but he got a hold of my cornerman who gave him my number and whatnot. They got in contact a few days after the fight and now I ‘ve got a paid trip down to Florida to train with the Blackzilians.

Daniel has a fight coming up in Vernon, BC at Battlefield Fight League 13 on February 11, 2012 against a fighter by the name of Russell Davis. This fight was given to him at the last minute, which has become somewhat of a standard thing when it comes to Swain.

It was a last minute fight actually, Jay was looking for someone for me, I didn’t think he was going to find anyone for me but he did, Russell Davis I believe is his name, I’ve watched his tape he’s beat a few guys and looks decent but he doesn’t look like anything I won’t be able to handle though.

My wrestling is better than his and after last fight I know my striking is better than his from what I’ve watched so I‘m ready to go in there and make a statement and make sure the Blackzilians know they aren’t making a mistake by flying me down there to train with them.

The question at hand following this fight is will he become a full time fighter down in Florida or will he stick it out with the BC-based Battlefield Fight League?

I have no clue, theres a lot of talk about me fighting on the Battlefield after this one, this fights only a one-fight contract but if I win here I think Jay [Golshani, BFL President]will want to sign me to a multi-fight deal but my management [Echelon Fighter Management] takes care of that stuff.

Daniel won the 2011 NCWA wrestling championship, which shows that he definitely has his wrestling base down. The Blackzilians are well known for their wrestlers with Davis, Johnson and Spong all having strong wrestling bases. So what will Swain bring to the table?

I’m gonna bring the drive, I want to excel in this sport to the highest level – I want to be with the toughest guys in the gym, I want to train with the hardest trainers, I want to do all I can to make it in this sport and I am going to do all I can do to make it here.

With plenty of people involved in his career thus far, he has plenty to thank.

I’d like to thank West Coast Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for getting me started in this game of MMA, my management team at Echelon Fighter Management, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson because if he wouldn’t have been at that event i wouldn’t have this amazing opportunity and Glen Robinson who manages the Blackzilian Gym.

You can follow Daniel on twitter at @Swain145

Popular Canadian veteran John “The Natural” Alessio returns to action March 16^th in Hamilton, Ontario for the Score Fighting Series. Alessio’s opponent will be Team Quest product Ryan “Diamond” Healy and Alessio is hoping that the end of the evening not only sees his hand raised in victory, but leads to an invitation back to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Long-time fans will remember Alessio’s first trip to the UFC in 2000, where as a fresh-faced nineteen year-old he stepped into the Octagon against the UFC Welterweight Champion at the time, the legendary Pat Miletich. Alessio made a strong accounting of himself before submitting to a second round armbar. Looking back, he admits that it was far too soon in his career to be matched up with a veteran on the level of Miletich, but being full of youthful exuberance took the opportunity anyway.

“If I was at the beginning of my career and had that fight opportunity now, it would be stupid for me to take. But back then it was kind of something you kind of had to do to get out there and get known and stuff so I did it. But yeah, it definitely was too early in my career. I wasn’t developed enough maturely and technique wise, you know, considering everything that Pat Miletich knew defending his belt for the fifth time against a 19 year old kid.”

Alessio spent the next few years racking up wins in promotions as diverse as Canadian TKO precursor UCC, King of The Cage, Pride and others before being brought back to the UFC in 2006 to fight TUF winner Diego Sanchez. The fight was on the undercard of the famous Matt Hughes-Royce Gracie fight, which at the time set pay-per-view records for the UFC. Alessio lost that fight by decision but had one of the more memorable moments in UFC history when with Sanchez having back control, a standing Alessio attempted to armbar Sanchez, using his own head as a fulcrum.

“I knew that if I isolated the arm on that side of the head that he wouldn’t be able to choke me. And then I realized, you know, once I was doing it that it was kind of arm barring a little bit. So I had Jeremy Horn in my corner at the time and you know he was like ‘Keep trying to do that. If you can catch that arm deep enough over your shoulder, you know, it should work. But I mean Diego was wise to what I was trying to do and stuff. So yeah, it was an attempt to do…something. (laughs)”

After dropping another decision to Thiago Alves, Alessio again left the UFC. He had a moderately successful run in the WEC, challenging Carlos Condit for the promotion’s welterweight title before heading out on a multinational journey that rivals “Mr. International” Shonie Carter. Alessio has fought in Canada, the U.S., Japan, Belgium and the Netherlands over the last three years; compiling a run of nine wins in his last ten fights. While he’s not looking past his opponent on March 16^th, his ultimate goal remains to be back in the UFC.

“It’s one of those things that I’ve had a hard time getting into UFC and things but I really feel like I’m right there. Anytime, you know. I really feel like beating Ryan Healy is a great win for me. I think it’s a fight where I can really showcase all my skills and look really good and I think I’d do it so, you know, I think I’ll be right there getting that phone call. Whether it be one more fight after that or directly but I am absolutely ready. I’m ready for a short notice phone call to step up also. You know, I’m ready.”

The road to UFC for Alessio goes through Healy, twin brother of Strikeforce’s Pat “Bam Bam” Healy. Alessio has a clear respect for his opponent, while remaining supremely confident in his ability to win the fight no matter how it plays out.

 

“Healy’s tough man. Both those brothers. Tough guys. I’ve said it before, I respect them. They work out real hard. You know, they’re in it to win it. I have trained with his brother Pat before. I’m very familiar with the brothers. But with that being said, I’m too much for him. I think I’ve got him beat everywhere. I’m going to show that on March 16th and put it on him. I’m going to attempt to make a highlight reel to get into the UFC and I’ve got to use him to do it. I’ve got no problem with Ryan, you know what I mean? Like, he’s a good guy but I’m there to win a fight and I have to kick his ass. ”

The thirty-two year old Alessio seems acutely aware that he’s entering the later stage of his career, no longer the wide-eyed teenager he was when he made his UFC debut. A call back to the big show could be Alessio’s last opportunity to perform at the highest level of the sport. Alessio is more matured and focused then in past years, with his anchor being his wife and child.

“I just stay out of clubs and things like that you know, that Las Vegas has to offer. So, I just live a nice clean life and try to just do outdoor stuff. I’m married now and have a kid. I’m just trying to be a family man. It’s really fulfilling too. It gives you lots to work for. I’ve got tons of motivation, you know, trying to support my wife and kid, you know, with fighting so, it’s good. It works good for me.”

His training has become more focused as well. In addition to spending time at Xtreme Couture training under the more famous “Natural” Randy Couture (“I’m the Little Natural”, Alessio jokes), he has enlisted grappling guru Robert Drysdale to shore up his jiu-jitsu prowess. He believes the combination of the two will have him ready to face any and all elite competition.

“There are so many good training partners and sparring partners [at Xtreme Couture], your confidence goes up when you know you’re working with such good fighters all the time. Getting into a fight really isn’t that much of a big deal. I feel like I spar crazier dudes in the gym all the time. It helps a lot and of course there’s a lot of guys in Vegas that train so I get a lot of training partners. And the coaching is really good here, you know. I’ve recently made a move over to Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu, uh, still an Xtreme Couture member for sure and part of the team to train there. But I do most of my Jiu-Jitsu with Robert Drysdale. He’s helped me out so much man, I feel like my ground game is always improving and getting more dangerous daily. It’s fun.”

Fighting in Canada is something that Alessio is looking forward to as well, the contest in Hamilton will mark his first bout in Ontario since the province regulated MMA. Alessio will likely be the crowd favourite, despite hailing from the other side of the country, having grown up in Vancouver. Ironically, despite having played host to two UFC events the state of MMA remains unclear in Alessio’s hometown, being bogged down in city politics. It is a situation that clearly frustrates Alessio, being unable to fight in his own hometown due to the dithering of bureaucrats.

“ Vancouver is missing out. I mean, the shows, when it comes, they sell out. It does nothing but generate money for the province. They’re missing out, they need to get their stuff together. UFC did really good there, both shows. They want to go back, I’m sure, it’s they just don’t want to have to deal with the headaches. So, I’m just hoping the commission will get their act together. They’ll make money off of it. The city will make money off of it. The fans want it. I want it. I want to fight in UFC in my hometown. That’s like a dream obviously so… if I could do something to make UFC legal there, that’d be great.”

In the interim, he will be content with watching the fights as they roll through his adopted hometown of Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world. The next one being the welterweight clash between Nick Diaz and his one-time opponent Carlos Condit. Alessio obviously has an insider’s perspective of the fight but speaks about it as excitedly as any fan would.

“This is a hell of a fight. First of all, it’s going to be a great fight for everybody to watch in my opinion but picking a winner is going to be tough man. They’re both so talented and similar in different ways. They’ve both got good striking, but not the same kind of style. They’ve both got great jiu-jitsu, different styles a little bit. And neither one can really, really wrestle. So, they’re very similar but I’ve just got to give a slight edge to Nick Diaz. [Based on] the streak he’s been on. The guys he’s fought. Not that Condit hasn’t been on a good streak or fought good guys either, you know, but I just think it’s kind of Nick Diaz’s time right now. He just seems to be really shining right now in all his fights and really doing a lot of damage to guys, you know, he’s been been beating some people up.”

With his focus on Healy and a possible call-back to the UFC, Alessio tries not to look too far into the future. But when asked to name someone he’d love to fight, his voice perks up with anticipation as he states who could really use an Alessio-style beating.

“Mike “The Situation” from Jersey Shore. I love Jersey Shore because it just makes me mad to watch it. (laughs) But yeah, I’d love to fight that douche. Oh man, just hit him in the club. Not that I want to promote street fighting.”

When pointed out that the “Situation” has been backstage at a couple of UFC events, Alessio laughs again and devises a plan.

“I might have to [lean into him]. I might have to do the old walk by and bump him in the shoulder.”

We’ll see what the situation is for Alessio after March 16^th.

Follow John on twitter @johnalessio79

There are few figures in mixed martial arts that are as polarizing as Michael Bisping — The confident Brit has  legions of fans who either love him or hate him.

Last week he was preparing for dangerous submission artist Demian Maia before Mark Munoz was forced to step aside due to injury giving him the the biggest opportunity of his career, being in a title-eliminator fight against Chael Sonnen.

“I had just finished a training session for Demian Maia, working out of the Ultimate Training Center in Huntington Beach. I had just finished training and having my post-workout lunch and my phone went off, it was Dana White,”

He continued “I answered the phone and he said “I think I’ve got some good news for you” and went on to tell me about Mark Munoz being injured and if I’d like to take the fight. I said give me a minute to talk to my coaches out of respect then called him back five minutes later and said sure, let’s do it.”

Bisping is coming off one of the biggest fights of his carrer smashing his ‘Ultimate Fighter’ opposing coach Jason “Mayhem” Miller displaying magnificent boxing that put the Bully Beatdown host on dream street.

If the talented middleweight can leave Chicago with his hand raised this weekend he will punch his ticket to walk into enemy territory to face Anderson Silva in a soccer stadium in Brazil but he doesn’t see Sonnen as a more difficult opponent.

“Demian Maia is just as dangerous of an opponent, he submitted Sonnen in about 90 seconds so this isn’t necessarily a harder fight but Chael Sonnen is a guy with a lot of hype around him at the moment “

He went on to explain that Maia and Sonnen although two very different opponents have their similarities.

“Stylistically there are some differences and in some respects the fights real similar. They’re both southpaws, they’re both gonna try to take me down so in some respect it’s similar but in others it’s not,” he says.

“If I knew I was going to be facing Sonnen a while ago I would’ve been training with a bunch of top-class wrestlers as oppose to training with a bunch of BJJ guys, that being said I am a fighter and have been waiting for this opportunity my entire life and I want to get a title shot.”

Despite being in the elite 185-pound division for most of his career and leaving with his hand raised most of the time he still feels the general public underrates his abilities and laughs at the proposed betting lines.

“I think people underrate me, I think that’s pretty fair to say. I think I’m about a 4 to 1 underdog and to be honest I think that’s ridiculous. He beat three opponents to get a title shot, I beat my last four. I’ve been in the UFC for six years and gone nowhere, Sonnen came into the UFC and was cut by the UFC, all that time I’ve been in the UFC fighting the best in the world and have only lost three times in my career,”

He insisted” Well, I’ve only really lost once – I’ve had two bullshit decisions in the past so if people put me as a 4 to 1 underdog so be it, I’m not really bothered. I’m confident in my skills and my coaches are very confident that I’ll win this fight.”

Being on the FOX platform for the second time brings a whole new set of eyeballs to the table and the ability to catch the attention of more and more viewers than ever before but he feels that they don’t have to worry about making this one entertaining.

“I always feel pressure to put on an exciting fight, I think that’s why I’ve had such a successful career because I do put on exciting fights and obviously with it being on FOX there’s going to be a new audience and we want to give the new fans something to see, watch the UFC and become fans for life,” he says.

He stated “To be honest, with myself and Chael Sonnen it’s pretty much guaranteed to be good. I know Sonnen is a wrestler but he’s pretty exciting to watch for a wrestler, he’s relentless, he fights at a great pace and he doesn’t take guys down to lie on them, he takes them down to try and finish them”

He continued “It’s got all the ingredients to be the best fight of the year – We’re both ready, we’re both in shape and it’s gonna be a real dogfight so do not miss this fight, it’s going to be an amazing fight and I can’t wait.”

All the action goes down this weekend when the brash Brit puts it all on the line looking to spoil the coming out party of the outspoken Sonnen, be sure to check out the entire interview over at MMASucka Radio.

Move over Chael Sonnen, mixed martial arts now has a new foremost political pundit.

Jacob Volkmann has made waves for the second time in consecutive fights with his comments about U.S. President Barack Obama. Last time, Volkmann earned himself a Secret Service visit after saying “someone needs to knock some sense” into Obama. This time around, Volkmann was again placed on administrative leave from his job coaching wrestling after insinuating that the President needed a “glassectomy” which by Volkmann’s definition is “when you cut a hole in the belly button and put in a glass window so you can still see with your head up your ass”.

To hear Volkmann tell it though, he figured his comments wouldn’t result in further discipline from the school board as he didn’t necessarily say that he’d give Obama such a procedure.

I wasn’t surprised [the remarks caused controversy], I was surprised at the school placed me on administrative leave. The information they actually have on my comment wasn’t correct. I was more angered by the administrative leave thing. Because I never said that Obama needed a glassectomy. If you listen to the interview, I said ‘call me if you need to schedule a glassectomy’ and then told Joe Rogan to ask me what a glassectomy was so I could explain it. I never said Obama needed a glassectomy. I wasn’t really saying it was for him, but you can take it how you want.

Joe Rogan didn’t appear to be pleased with Volkmann’s comments during their post-fight interview, but Volkmann insists that it was just a case of taking the comedian by surprise.

I think Joe is rooting for Ron Paul, so he’s a Republican. He explained later that it kind of caught him off guard when he heard it, so he didn’t know how to react. That’s why he did what he did.

There is a reason behind Volkmann’s political sound-offs, beyond a genuine dislike for the President’s policies. Stuck in the glut of the UFC’s lightweight division, he sees it as a way to bring attention to himself and make him stand out in what is arguably the UFC’s deepest division.

I’m on the prelims and the only way you’re going to get to the main event is either you’re going to have exciting fights all the time, which I like my technical fights, but the public, the majority of them anyway don’t seem to like them as much. So I need to find a different route to get my name out there and hopefully get on the main card so I can get a shot at the title. That’s why I’m doing this.

Plus, Obama’s policies really do bother me so I do have a reason behind the whole thing. I’m not just doing it [only] to get my name out there. Did you hear that story about how there was a guy that was against him, so he sat down and had a beer with him so he could talk it over? I hope that maybe he can sit down and chat with me about his policies. But that’s probably never going to happen.

 

I actually did send a letter, I called, I’ve e-mailed. I did get a response back from somebody at the White House, saying how hard they’re working on his policies and how good they are. I was like ‘this is a joke’, it was a mass letter.

With an Obama vote clearly not being in Volkmann’s future, he somewhat surprisingly doesn’t sound all that excited with anyone from the Republican field either.

I have a hard time with any of them, to be honest. I saw the Iowa primary, the thing was a joke. They were just sitting there pointing fingers at each other. The only person that wasn’t getting in to the whole finger-pointing was Ron Paul, but I don’t think he has a chance. I think Romney’s going to win. But [Romney] didn’t really impress me at all.

When asked to pick one candidate he favours, he echoes the sentiments of Rogan and Jon Fitch in his support of Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

I’m rooting for Ron Paul but I don’t think he has a chance. He just doesn’t seem to care about the pointing fingers part of politics. You’ve always got a politician who puts the blame on the other ones saying ‘They did this, they did that. You should vote for me because they did this.’ He never does that. He just sticks to his beliefs and he doesn’t really point fingers. He doesn’t get into the mudslinging part of campaigning and I like that.”

With a dearth of candidates to Volkmann’s liking, one has to wonder if he plans on making his “Volkmann For President” t-shirt into a reality. The MMA world has already seen Chris Lytle move from the cage to the political arena, why not Volkmann?

No. That’s not something I want to do. It would be too frustrating. I’d get too mad. I’d be yelling at people all the time.

Volkmann is currently riding a five fight winning streak inside the UFC, yet his name isn’t mentioned in the title picture, nor is he placed on the main card for pay-per-view events. When asked about this, Volkmann is blunt in his assesment.

It’s the fact that you’ve got some turd out there and all he wants to see is a knockout or some blood out there. That’s not my style. I’m going to stick to my guns. I’m a wrestler, I like to get the guy to the ground and ground and pound or work for a submission. Obviously I haven’t had a submission yet, but I’ve come close quite a few times. But that’s the reason. Those fans are the guys buying pay-per-view’s and those are the ones that are complaining about me. That’s why I’m not moving up in the ranks.

Changing his style for something more crowd-pleasing isn’t something Volkmann is prepared to do, however.

No, I want to keep my job. I don’t want to be standing with someone that’s better in the stand-up than me and lose.”

 I’ve been working on [striking] every day. The thing is confidence. When I’m practicing, I have that confidence in the gym. But for some reason it’s not following over to the cage. It’ll catch up, I’ll get the confidence. It’s just a matter of time. Maybe I have to lose the first round and feel the pressure before I can open up. Who knows?

 

It seems to be working. I’ve won five in a row. I’m going to stick with what works and work with my trainer on the stuff I need to work on. It’ll come together when it’s supposed to.

I’m hoping to have 3 more fights [this year]. Hopefully I don’t have a seven and a half month break like last time because of my comments.

 

I actually got rid of my manager. I made enough money last year that my student loans are due now, because I was under ”economic hardship”.  So now I have these expenses that I didn’t have the last couple of years and I had to get rid of my manager, which kind of sucks because he’s a good guy and he was doing a decent job, Monte Cox. So now I have to talk to UFC myself and I haven’t heard back from them.

One guy was in a suit and tie and he had an overcoat on, he was being escorted by a local cop. The cop had his hand on the gun, ready to shoot me. I was like ‘are you kidding me?’ At least it wasn’t a guy from DC that flew out, it was a guy from Minnesota Secret Service that came out. So at least the taxpayers weren’t paying for a plane ticket for that guy to come out.

Duane Ludwig got a great present on Christmas Eve last year when UFC figurehead Dana White gave him the  news that his knockout of French-Canadian striker Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 3 in 2006 would be recognized as the promotions fastest knockout in history.

“Bang” Ludwig was making his octagon return following a three-year hiatus and wasted no time putting Goulet away. Ludwig was approached by Goulet at rapid-speed throwing a looping hay maker that was countered by Ludwig and put his lights out in 6:06 seconds.

For years anytime he was given a working microphone the former kick boxer lobbied to get it overturned and he got it but not without controversy.

On boxing day, two days after receiving the news he’s waited upon for five long years with Keith Keizer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission denied that the record was broken. ”There’s no legal avenue to overturn it” before going on to say “I timed it myself with a stopwatch. It was eight seconds. Officially, it’s got to stay at 11 seconds, but unofficially, it could be at eight.”

Despite video proof put forward by the UFC President Nevada still recognizes 7-second obliteration of Tim Hague as their fastest but the UFC has it for Ludwig.

“They don’t want to go back and fix that because they don’t want to admit that they were wrong. I know they said they have a lot of fighters complaining about fights being stopped earlier or later with the times so they said they don’t want to open up a can of worms.”

Ludwig stated in interviews in the past that he wanted to leave behind a legacy for his two children and is thrilled that the bosses inside the UFC are giving him the record in their books.

“The UFC are still the number-one show in the world and the promotion that everyone respects and knows and it means more to me for the UFC, my fans and my family on my side with this than the athletic commission.”

Last year the Grudge Training Center product made his return to welterweight division and since then has been unbeaten collecting back-to-back victories over ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ alum’s Nick Osipczak and Amir Sadollah.

“My wrestling and my jiu-jitsu are the most improved part of my game — That’s attributed directly on me moving up to 170 [pounds] so when I go into the gym I concentrate on becoming a better athlete and not so much sweating, worrying about calories or losing weight.”

When most people enlist the services of professional fighter turned nutrition magician Mike Dolce they are usually in a predicament like Thiago Alves, having difficulties making weight and unwilling or unable to bulk up the additional pounds to move up.

For Ludwig it was quite the opposite, he wanted to move up a weight class from his usual 155-pounds and let Dolce take care of his diet while he takes care of the physical part of his career.

“I have learned through Mike Dolce when to eat and what to eat – A lot of it has to do with timing of your meals to benefit your works outs and stuff so he definitely educated me a lot — It’s not just the basic low-carb diets, definitely not just that. It’s a lot about the foods and the nutrients and where they come from and there’s a lot more to food than people think.”

As he looks to stretch his win streak further he has a tough task ahead of him in the veteran of 43 bouts Josh Neer.

Neer is on quite the little tear of his own though, “The Dentist” is on a five fight win-streak with his last win coming in his promotional return busting up the face of Kieth Wisniewski to force the doctor to step in and call-off the action.

“I think we match up well; obviously we’re both top-notch strikers. I feel I have better speed, better power but he’s definitely tough as nails. Both our wrestling is decent but he’s better off his back than I am with more submission victories.

It’s a good match-up on paper but I feel I’m the better athlete and I’m gonna win.”

These two talented strikers will go to war in the co-main event slot of this Friday’s UFC on FX 1 event headlined by Jim Miller vs. Melvin Guillard.

You can catch the entire interview on MMASucka radio as he chatted with Jeremy Brand and Trevor Dueck for over twenty-minutes.

Although much of the hype surrounding next week’s ProElite event in Hawaii revolves around the anticipated fight between Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove and Ikuhisa “The PUNK” Minowa, there is much more going on in the undercard to make next Saturday’s event a continued success for ProElite.

While MMA has its share of “free agents,” you can consider Steven “the Soul Samurai” Saito one of the most sought after freelance fighters in Hawaii. Next Saturday, the “Soul Samurai” takes a break from coaching and makes his return to the cage after a 10 month long hiatus, taking on Big Island striker Toby “2Quick” Misech in the 145 pound division on the ProElite undercard.

The “Soul Samurai” (3-2), most recently lost to Will Shutt via split decision at X-1 Champions 3 last March, is hungry to make his return to the cage and add another “W” to his record.  He is a well-rounded fighter with solid striking and ground skills, finishing two of his fights by TKO (punches) and by submission (rear naked choke). This is a guy who is too busy for any online school these days.

MMASucka caught up with the “Soul Samurai” in the last leg of his fight camp for an interview:

Tell us about your upcoming ProElite fight and how you are preparing for your opponent.

First of all thank you for this interview opportunity. You guys are working hard to get us fighters exposure and that is so important for us local fighters and the sport in general.

As far as ProElite, I gotta thank T.Jay for this opportunity and Rich Chou for the match making and doing all the background stuff! These guys work so hard to create a stage for us fighters to live our dream.  People gotta understand that there is no fight without everyone doing their part.

Anyway, I’m excited for this fight. I’m fighting Tony Misech from Hilo. Supposedly he is the number one 145 pounder coming out of the amateur ranks. The plan is to finish him quickly and efficiently. That is always the plan. I’ve made some big changes since my last fight and most of them have to deal with my mental state and my relationships with my coaches, training partners, and family.  The mentality behind fighting really is almost everything. When all the physical training has been done, the mind creates what happens. As far as my teammates, sometimes in this sport we can see each other and without thinking we begin to treat them as equipment rather than people and sometimes you need to stop that and remember they are human beings. They are your friends. Your family. So you really need to be careful to treat them with not only respect but care as well.  It is important for me that we all work as a team so that the team effort shines more than my individual effort.

Your last fight was almost a year ago and you lost by split decision. Are you doing anything differently with your fight camp this time around?

Yeah, My career so far has been a mixed bag. Ups and downs and a lot of time in between fights. That is why I consider this fight with Toby the beginning. A new start. My last fight was tough. Will Shutt caught me in a nasty  knee bar,  heel hook,  and an armbar. I consider jiu-jitsu a stregnth of mine and was surprised that I got caught so much.  So I’ve been working more transitions between striking and submissions.

As far as what I’m doing differently, I have been told I had way too much on my plate. I work a full time security job, train full time, have several part-time coaching jobs, landscaping, running my own school, having a girlfriend, and taking care of my family.  This time around I stopped teaching my classes 3 months out to focus on my training. That helped greatly to give me sometime to re-evaluate my methods and fix the holes in my game. These holes were primarily mental, phillisophical, and spritual.  It took a lot to sort out and overcome these  challenges so I am eager to see what the results will bring.

I’m sure most of your opponents can say that you are one of the most respectful fighters they have come across. Explain your philosophy about fighting and what keeps you so humble.

My friend Travis always talks about how societies where guns are worn on their belts, everyone is a lot more courteous.  This is sort of how I view it as well.  We all are trained fighters, professionals, and public figures. There is no reason for disrespect.  In ancient Japan, warriors were required to learn codes of conduct, courtesy, and the arts because they knew that the act of killing takes a toll on the human soul. They knew that if other aspects in the human soul are not cultuvated, warriors can quickly become sick, sadistic, and unable to live in society apart from war.  Even though MMA is a sport, it still comes from the  martial arts which teaches how to kill uour oponent if necessary. I had to come to grips with what this is in order to continue as a practicing martial artist. We must understand what it means to take a life, when to be ruthless, and when to show mercy. This is what weilding power consists of…these many moral decisions.  Every person who studies martial arts in my opinion needs to rectify this with their own values.  Otherwise society suffers.

This has been a point of inner conflict at times for me.  Here are some questions that I ask myself: “Is there a need for warriors now days?  Or does the answer lie in passivism much like what the Dalai Lama teaches?”

Sometimes I wonder if the path I have chosen and the one I teach my students, is really the right path. Teaching carries tremendous responsibility and indefinitley take it seriously and can be a weight on my shoulders. It is a weight I gladly bear though because I love teaching and love learning as well. If I did not ask myself these difficult questions then I’d be unworthy to be a teacher.

Furthermore, the acting of being humble or the acting of being arrogant is primarily a exterior show. To me, posturing and acting tough or mean or even acting nice ae all antics that can be used to Get into the head of your opponent.  However,  this only works against weak minded fighters. I find it a waste of energy and just not me.  Look, the same result is going to occur no matter how nice or how mean you are to me outside or inside the ring. The fact is I’m going to finish you as effieciently and quickly as possible then I can go back to living and training. And I know you are goin try to do the same. That is why for me, I dont waste my energy acting like I need to be disrespectful. When we face off at the weigh ins, they know my intention and I know theirs.

What are your plans for the future? What would you like to accomplish and what can your fans expect from you in the next 6-12 months?

I plan to win all my 6 fights this year in dominant fashion. Everything else is a secret.

Any last words?

Live your dream never ever give up always believe in your dream and take action. Greatness is within you. Believe it!!

Humble by nature outside of the ring, you can be sure that the Soul Samurai will bring out the beast the moment he sets foot in the ProElite cage next Saturday night. Be sure to tune into HD Net to catch all of the action.  The undercard fights may be streaming live online, so check out www.ProElite.com for more information.

Steven’s video:

Standing 6’4” and weighing 280-pounds, Soa Palelei is one of the most physically imposing heavyweights in the game.

Fighting out of Perth, Australia “The Hulk” is fresh off the heels of a 16-second dismantling of Queensland based slugger Matt Walker for Australia’s premiere MMA organization, Cage Fighting Championships.

With this victory he has won four of his last five outings with his only defeat coming to Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Daniel Cormier.

Although he is achieving success in his home land, Soa eyes a return to the United States in his future.

“I want to fight the best, I’m in the best shape of my life and I’m hungry,” he states “The UFC and Bellator have some of the best guys and I want to test myself against them”

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has had his chance on the big stage and failed to collect a victory in 2007 against Eddie Sanchez.

“It was the worst fight of my career, nothing went right,” Soa says “I had to fly back home because my son was in hospital while cutting weight and I didn’t show up to fight, plain and simple.”

But he has no regrets about his performance that night. “You have to learn from your mistakes and move forward, I didn’t show up prepared and lost” he says.

Soa has the chance to notch his fourth straight knockout victory and kick-off the New Year with a bang on January 21^st when he squares off with PRIDE & Sengoku veteran Henry Miller.

“He’s a big, strong guy weighing over 100-Kilograms who’s fought a lot of tough guys in his time,” he says “He’s a big banger and if I let him hit me on the button I will go down so I have to be ready”

Training alongside K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt on a daily basis has helped keep him sharp and prepare him for the challenges ahead.

“I don’t care who I fight in the future, I don’t think any of them hit harder than Mark [Hunt] and I can wrestle, I have jiu-jitsu and train to go as long as is needed”

2012 is the year that “The Hulk” looks to take on the best challengers whether they be in the United States, Australia, Japan or Madagascar.

Can you name the Strikeforce middleweight champion? If so, congratulations. I guarantee you the casual MMA fan has never heard the name Luke Rockhold. Rockhold took to the MMA scene in 2007 when a few of his friends convinced him to come down and train with them at American Kickboxing Academy in California. He impressed the coaches during his first sparring session and has been a part of the team since.

His first two fights were for a small promotion in California called Melee on the Mountain. He went 1-1 with that organization when being called upon by Strikeforce. Since joining the Strikeforce organization he has gone 7-0 with notable wins over Jesse Taylor, Paul Bradley and most recently Ronzaldo “Jacare” Souza for the Strikeforce middleweight championship.

Rockhold was originally slated to face former title contender Tim Kennedy, but Kennedy had to pull out due to injury. On short notice Strikeforce place Keith Jardine in the fight against Rockhold for the middleweight strap on Saturday Jan. 7 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. This must have been a tough change going from the traditional Kennedy to the highly unorthodox Jardine.

 My training has changed but not too much just more influence on my offensive wrestling. Never know what to expect from a guy like Jardine so I want to be able to control where the fight takes place and wear him out, do to his suspect cardio.

This will be Jardine’s second fight with Strikeforce, in his first he fought to a draw against former light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. Some critics questioned the organization for placing him against Rockhold for the middleweight title. What does Rockhold think of this?

No, I don’t think he deserves a title shot! It was a replacement fight on short notice, so it is what it is. I’m happy to face him and excited about the challenge! I was supposed to fight Tim Kennedy but he pulled out do to injury! He is the fight that makes sense and I want fights that make sense in the future!

If you look at Rockhold’s record you would be shocked to see how many finishes he has. Of his 8 wins he has 7 finishes, with 6 of those coming by way of submission. He holds a brown belt under Dave Camarillo at AKA and feels that jiu jitsu is a huge part of his game, but his striking is definitely elusive as well.

Jiu Jitsu will always be a big part of my game plan. I believe I am one of the elite grapplers in my division and will have a big advantage in this fight. I also believe I’m the better striker. Going to take the fight as it comes, planning on putting him to sleep one way or another!

Strikeforce is now here to stay, other than the heavyweight division that is. Many people in the media are already projecting that Zuffa will send some of their UFC fighters over to Strikeforce if they just don’t stack up in their respective division anymore. I personally would like to see them throw together some dream match-ups between organizations. What would Rockhold like to see happen?

I hope they mix things up, weather they bring fighters over from organization to organization or  co-promote events. We have some of the best fighters in the world in Strikeforce and fans need to see who the true champions are!

One of Rockhold’s training partners and friends, Jon Fitch fought this past weekend at UFC 141. He was surprisingly upset by Johny Hendricks in the first round. The folks over at MMAFighting.com put together a Fighter vs. Writer feature and Rockhold did not hold together so well, going 2 for 5.