July 27, 2009

Well, it has been awhile since I wrote something so...my fight with Jake did not go as planned. Jake tried to take me down and I was able to defend. I did, however, make a mistake which Jake capitalized on. I know what I did wrong and will continue to work on my skills. I have continued to train and look forward to my next fight.

People have been asking me where they can get the TapOut shirt I wore for my fight. It can be purchased at Dillards or online at TapOut.com.

Matt Veach, a HIT Squad fighter, has a fight coming up in August. I will be working with Veach in the coming weeks to help him prepare.

A couple weeks ago I went to a charity event for the Mike Miller Foundation.. Mike is a friend of mine that recently got traded to the Washington Wizards. His foundation's mission is to provide aid to disadvantaged and disabled children and to encourage children to have a healthy lifestyle. This is the second year I have attended - last year I got an autographed Marshall Faulk jersey; this year I got an autographed LT helmet (If you didn't already know, I am a huge football fan).

Anyway, thank you everyone (sponsors, trainers, fans, friends, and family) who have continued to support me and MMA in general. Peace.

Congrats to the Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling Team on a NCAA championship. I attended the meet each day and watched a lot of good wrestling with my friends Hogie, Jon Madsen and Jacob Hey. I also turned 27 years old on March 20th.
I will be fighting Jake Shields within the coming months. Training has gone well during my long layoff; I have had time to concentrate on improving my strength and endurance. Saying I look forward to getting back in the cage is an understatement.

Congrats to Matt Veach on his first victory in the octagon on Feb 7. He showed great heart and determination in a fight that he took on a 9 day notice. Also, congratulations to Josh Neer on his submission win in the Fight of the Night.
Looks like Strikeforce has purchased Proelite. I have not been contacted personally yet by anyone regarding upcoming events or fights. I do not know who or when I will fight.
Thanks.

As many of you know, my friend and teammate Justin Eilers was shot and killed on Christmas day. Jens, Monte and I will be in Boise this weekend to help raise money for his son Tyson Eilers and to help pay for the funeral. All the money we raise will go into an IRA and will be given to his son for college.

If anyone wants to donate, contact Kris Price 208-866-6674

Congrats to Pat Miletich for his impressive KO of Thomas Denny in Moline IL at the Adrenaline show. It was great to go back to the area and see all my friends from MFS. Also congrats to Ryan McGivern, Mike C and Ben Rothwell for there victories on the show.
I have no news yet on when or where I will be fighting next. I have been training hard even with no fight in sight.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE

As everyone knows Elite XC is no longer around. I enjoyed my time working for them and I was treated really well. Thank you to everyone at Proelite for the opportunity to fight in front of millions of fans.
Last week I spent at the UFC with Matt Hughes. The atmosphere was awesome as usual. I spent time talking to Monte Cox about what my options are. I also had a brief conversation with the very busy prez of the UFC. All that said I think I will be just fine. I will blog when i sign with an organization. Until then I will keep my self in good shape.

People have asked about my game plan for the fight last weekend against Scott Smith on the CBS Elite XC Saturday Night Fights. In the first round I wanted to be in his face and press the pace. I think I did a fair job of it, but Scott did a great job of dealing with the pressure and giving me some of his own. When I got cut in the second round, I knew immediately I had been cut. At that point, more than just wanting to press the pace-I knew I needed to press the pace.

The cut is not in the same place as the first cut. As a matter of fact, it is much higher up on my head and I do not think it is as bad as the first cut.

I want to thank Phillip Torres for letting us train at his gym the week of the fight. They really took care of us before and after the fight!

Not sure when I will fight next. I am going to keep my fitness level up in case I am called on sooner than later. This week I am out at the International MMA Expo(www.immae.tv) in Long Beach,CA. Will be here on Friday and Saturday signing autographs.

later...

Just got done with my fight in Stockton against Scott Smith. I will write more later but my hats off to Scott. He is a tough guy and had a great first round. His kids should be proud of their dad. Getting ready to go back to the hotel and hang out with my friends who came to the fight.

Wanted to thank all my sponsors for believing in me:

One More Round www.onemoreroundclothing.com
You will be able to get the shirt I wore into the ring soon.

Ecko www.shopecko.com
The shorts I wore are available by clicking the link below. www.shopecko.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3178435&cp=2441354.3178471

Nutritox www.nutritox.com
Fusion www.got-fusion.com
Dollamur www.dollamur.com
Toyo Tires www.toyo.com

If you are looking for mats to train on, I have found nothing better than Dollamur's mats. Our gym in Granite City is lined entirely with Dollamur mats on the floor, walls and posts. They have all different colors and ours are desert camo. I trained on them long before they sponsored me!

Till I get back to Illinois.

Just arrived in Stockton for my fight this weekend. Traveled out with several of my HIT Squad teammates.They include:Matt Pena(my boxing coach),Marc Fiore (team manager/coach),Jacob Hey(fighter) and my buddy from back home-Hoagy. A couple more guys from the gym will be traveling out tomorrow and Friday.

Heard a funny Matt Hughes story recently. Seems as if Patrick Flanigan (fancy trick shooter) took his 9 yr old boy to the new Batman movie this weekend. After the movie, the kid told his dad that Matt Hughes could take Batman. Patrick asked his son what would happen between Batman and him fighting. His son said, "Well, Batman has armour and such..."Patrick interupted his son and said, "Matt Hughes doesn't have armour or any of that other stuff," and his son responded, "Yeah,but Matt Hughes is the toughest guy in the world." His dad then asked, "What about Matt Hughes vs your dad?" There was along pause before his son finally responded, "I am not gonna tell you, because you will just get mad." Kids can be pretty funny!!

I just signed a short-term deal with Nutritox, a supplement company that Matt Hughes helped put on the map. They sponsored me for my last fight and are hoping we can work out a longer term deal after the fight. They are big fans of the military as am I.Their website is www.nutritox.com.

I will report more as the fight gets closer.

I have been pleased with how my training has been going as I get ready for my fight with Scott Smith on the Elite XC card next weekend. We leave from our gym ( The HIT Squad) for Stockton on Wednesday.I am anxious to get this fight on and look forward to getting after it.I watched mosts of the fights on Saturday night and my favorite was probably Rory Marham's fight on the UFC card. It looked like Rory was in trouble with the shots he was taking when all of a sudden he delivers one of the best head-kick KO's ever. Congratulations Rory-you deserve it! Not much to say about the other fights.Looked like Arlovski was pretty agressive and Rothwell did a decent job of keeping him at bay.And as far as Tim and Fedor's fight-only thing I could say is-quick.

One More Round has sponsored me before but just this past week I signed with One More Round for a longer term deal. I appreciate all Jim's hard work and the confidence that Mark and the OMR staff has in me. My plan is to keep updates coming as the week goes on as far as training as well as introduce new my new sponsors.