Author: By E. Spencer Kyte

Ed Herman shouldn’t have come out for the second round of his fight with Aaron Simpson at UFC 102.

Anyone watching the fight knew that the former Ultimate Fighter finalist had injured his leg when it was caught in an awkward position as Simpson took him down late in the round. One minute later, there was Herman, ready to keep fighting, the idea of stopping never having crossed his mind.

Just a few ticks into the second frame, Herman attempted a kick and immediately collapsed in agony. The bout was stopped, and for nearly two years, so too was Herman’s career.

What could have been the end of his time as a professional fighter became the catalyst for a fresh start and a career resurgence; the forced hiatus having proven to be a positive for the 31-year-old redhead known as “Short Fuse.”

Between his loss to Simpson and his return to the cage in June 2011 against Tim Credeur, Herman uprooted from the Pacific Northwest and broke from Team Quest, the legendary outfit where he had trained for his entire career. He relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado, and eventually opened a gym, Trials MMA, the name inspired by the trials and tribulations every fighter experiences and that Herman knows all too well.

After 22 months away from the Octagon, Herman scored an impressive 48-second technical knockout victory over Credeur, following it up two months later with a first-round submission win over fellow TUF alum Kyle Noke, before running his winning streak to three with a second-round submission of Clifford Starks at UFC 143 in February.

“I’m not sure if it’s coincidence or what, but after moving out here, I’ve won three fights in a row, and things have gone real well for me,” admits Herman, who faces the toughest test of his career this weekend at UFC 150 when he takes on former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

“I think sometimes you get going and you kind of feel like it’s a job or something that’s a burden; you don’t remember how great it is to have an opportunity to compete in the UFC, at this high level,” Herman offers, trying to explain the connection between his relocation and his return to contention in the deep and competitive middleweight division.

“Sometimes taking time off like that or the realization that your career is almost over because of an injury – it kind of lit a fire under my ass. (That) got me back to enjoying the sport, enjoying the training, and looking at it from that perspective like when I first started. I’m just trying to enjoy it, have a positive attitude, and things have really come together for me in that sense.”

It’s never been a question of talent with Herman.

His ability was evident prior to his appearance on season three of The Ultimate Fighter when he notched wins over the likes of Brian Ebersole, Glover Teixeira, and former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne, and he continued to shine through his time on the UFC’s long-running reality TV competition. Despite dropping the season’s middleweight final to Kendall Grove, Herman’s gutsy performance earned him a ticket to the big leagues as well.

A few months away from celebrating his ten-year anniversary as a professional fighter, Herman knows that while he has the physical tools to be successful inside the cage, it’s the mental approach he’s taking to his craft that has helped him the most during his recent run of success.

“(I’m) just trying to enjoy myself in this sport, and not let the nerves get to me,” he says, reiterating an earlier statement. “Every fighter gets nervous before fights, and I’ve really tried to put it in perspective – enjoy what I’m doing, and realize that I’m lucky to be able to do this. That mental part has really helped me.

“A lot of guys say that it’s 80 percent mental – we’re all tough, we all have the skills, we all have the know-how. It’s putting it together at the right time and being mentally sound and prepared (that makes the difference), and I feel like that’s what I’ve been able to do more than anything.”

This weekend will be Herman’s second opportunity to fight at home on the UFC stage, the first coming that fateful night against Simpson at UFC 102. While his previous experience went as poorly as possible, Herman is happy to get the chance to fight close to home again, and believes all the time he spends training in the thin air and elevation will definitely play a part in how things play out on Saturday night.

“I think it’s great that I don’t have to travel,” said Herman. “Vegas isn’t too bad – it’s easy travel – but sometimes you go a lot farther away, and that can affect you a little bit. I’m stoked to fight here in Denver. It’s going to be great for exposure for my gym, and I think the altitude is going to be a huge factor.

“I was just in Vegas a couple weeks ago for the Fight Summit, and I did some training, and I just felt amazing. I’ve never felt in such good shape. I don’t know if I’m just in that good shape or if the altitude is helping me as well.

“I was never a huge believer in the altitude stuff when it came to training, but I think the difference is when you sleep here and you live here in the altitude, rather than guys who just go and train there for a couple of weeks or whatnot. I think being here full-time and living here is what makes the difference.”

Rattling off three wins since returning last summer has earned Herman the opportunity to welcome Shields to the middleweight division, though it’s not unfamiliar territory for the former welterweight title challenger.

Shields won the Strikeforce middleweight title in a bout against Jason “Mayhem” Miller and defended the belt against current light heavyweight title challenger Dan Henderson prior to exiting the organization. When he signed with the UFC, Shields returned to the 170-pound ranks, where wins over Martin Kampmann and Yoshihiro Akiyama bookended losses to Georges St-Pierre and Jake Ellenberger.

Despite the fact that Shields is coming off a victory at UFC 144 in February, Herman says he wasn’t surprised to hear that the Californian was returning to compete in the 185-pound weight class, and welcomes the opportunity to share the cage with a well-known, highly respected former champion.

“If you look at his past, he’s actually done a lot better at middleweight, rather than at 170. I don’t know if the cutting weight affects him more, but he’s always seemed to do better at 185. I’m prepared for a battle, and I’m super-stoked to get an opportunity to compete against one of the best guys around. I’ve been asking for a bigger name – someone that I can go in there and get a big win against. I think Jake’s a perfect matchup for me; he’s a very talented, very intelligent fighter, but I think it’s a great matchup for me stylistically.

“It’s no secret that Jake’s highest percentage of victories are when he’s taking guys down and controlling the ground game, looking for his submissions,” continues Herman, offering his assessment of Shields and a glimpse into how he’ll approach the fight when the cage door closes on Saturday night.

“I’m not afraid to go on the ground with him, but I don’t really want to be underneath Jake; he’s really good at passing the guard, and controlling dominant positions. I’m going to try and defend the takedown, and put my hands on him. I’ve seen him get dropped a few times, so I feel like I need to be patient and smart, and try to hurt him with my hands. I just need to be really smart, pick my shots, and be an intelligent fighter this time.”

After nearly 10 years as a professional fighter, and three years removed from the horrific injury that made him take stock of his career, Herman feels like he finally has all the pieces in place to make a serious push towards the top of the middleweight division.

“This sport takes a while to mature into, and I really feel that I’ve done that. That two-year layoff kind of gave me a realization of what I have and how soon it can be over, and (made me recognize that) I’ve really got one more good run in this thing.”

Don’t be surprised if Herman takes another step forward on Saturday night.

Act like you’ve been there before.

It’s a saying you hear a lot in sports. On the football field, it’s often attributed to the way legendary running back Barry Sanders, like the late Walter Payton before him, would simply hand the ball to the official whenever he scored a touchdown. With Sanders – as with Payton – there were no elaborate celebrations; no Sharpies removed from socks, no cell phones hidden under goal posts, and no “Future Hall of Famer” blazers created to wear after putting six points on the board.

It was simply score, hand the ball to the official, and get back to going about your business. It’s an approach Dennis Bermudez is employing when it comes to his career in the UFC.

Preparing to compete on the first pay-per-view event of his career, the finalist from Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter isn’t allowing the larger scale production and heightened expectations that come from excelling on the show and earning a dominant win in his post-TUF debut change the way he prepares or carries himself.

“I treat everyday like the day before or the next one, and just try and get better in every aspect,” says the humble Long Island-based wrestler, who takes on Tommy Hayden in preliminary action this weekend as the UFC returns to Denver, Colorado for UFC 150. “I don’t try to hype myself up about it being a big pay-per-view or anything like that. I act like I’ve been there before; I act professional and just do what I’m trained to do.”

“Barry Sanders is my man!” interjects the 25-year-old Long Island native when I mention the former Detroit Lions running back as someone who exemplified the “Act like you’ve been there before” mantra on the field. “He was one of my idols growing up. I remember four years after he retired, I still felt like he was coming back.”

Though Sanders never made a triumphant return to the gridiron, Bermudez did return to the cage in impressive fashion after coming up short against Diego Brandao in the finals of the featherweight competition on The Ultimate Fighter two seasons ago. “The Menace” collected his first UFC win back in May, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Pablo Garza on the undercard of the third UFC on FOX event.

It was a solid overall performance – one that showcased the wrestling skills Bermudez honed at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, and the conditioning that helped him get into the Ultimate Fighter house in the first place. While fans and critics came away impressed, Bermudez exited the cage feeling a little unsatisfied.

The resilient wrestler doesn’t want to be just another fighter who spends his UFC career earning opportunities based on the time he spent on The Ultimate Fighter. He aspires to be much more than that, and uses everything he encounters as a chance to continue developing as a fighter, identifying the positives from his loss to Brandao and working to improve upon the things he wasn’t initially pleased with from the bout with Garza.

“A loss is a loss, and it’s not part of what I’m about, you know?” Bermudez asks rhetorically, referencing his loss to Brandao on the Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale. “I wasn’t going to try and be very negative about it. I looked back at the fight, and I did a lot better than I remember doing in the fight, watching it from the outside, and I just improved on it. I just used it as fuel.

“It took a lot of pressure off,” he says of getting a victory in the Octagon under his belt.  “I like to entertain – have a fast-paced fight with a lot of action – and a part of me felt like I kind of laid on him. I was looking for the opportunity to really punish him, but there were very few, so in my head, actually fighting, it wasn’t as exciting as it was from the outside.

“During the fight, it seemed a lot more boring, but if you watch the fight, there were a lot of big slams,” laughs Bermudez. “I didn’t realize I had him that high. I just like to put on fast-paced performances, and I didn’t feel like I delivered the best fight I could have overall. I reached one of my goals – to get a UFC win. I’ve got bigger and better goals, but I knocked off one of the small, short-term goals.”

With his first official UFC victory out of the way, the first pick of Team Mayhem looks to make it two-in-a-row when he returns to action against Tommy Hayden at UFC 150 this weekend in Denver, Colorado. While the thin air and altitude of “The Mile High City” got the better of a number of competitors the last time the Octagon was built inside the Pepsi Center for UFC 135, Bermudez doesn’t foresee having any problems with his conditioning come Saturday night.

“I’m not very worried about it; I actually think it plays to my advantage,” he admits. “I’ve got a great gas tank, and I like to try and get to the bottom of it, but it never happens.”

Hayden dropped his short-notice debut to Fabricio Camoes back in January, the first career loss for the Jorge Gurgel student who has only been beyond the first round three times in his nine career fights. And while the pairing might confuse fans and media, Bermudez isn’t bothering to get caught up in questioning the matchup.

“The UFC knows what they’re doing. They’ve got a plan for everybody they match up, and that’s why they’re the best organization out there. I have faith in them and what they’re trying to do, so I’m just going to go out there and do my job.”

The fact that fighting is now his sole occupation pushes Bermudez, who scraped by like many fighters stuck on the regional circuit prior to earning his opportunity to compete on The Ultimate Fighter. Now that he no longer has to schedule training around trying to make ends meet, Bermudez is ready to take his career to the next level, and start crossing off some of those bigger goals on his “To Do” list, as well as whatever other random tasks he needs to accomplish from day-to-day.

“One of the biggest benefits that came from being on The Ultimate Fighter was not having to work a job while training,” he admits. “That’s a big struggle and problem for up-and-coming pro fighters – they don’t make enough money fighting to be able to just fight, so they have to get a side job or a full-time job. They have to find other revenue outside of what they’re getting from fighting because it’s just not enough. I’ve been there, done that, and got the t-shirt, and now I don’t. We’re not shipping packages at UPS anymore.

“I train people on the side because I enjoy doing that, but that’s a huge positive. My day is based around training, and then doing anything else that has to get done – whether that’s grocery shopping, washing the car, getting an oil change, whatever. Training comes first, and then I do the other little things.”

Next up on his list of things to do is collecting a second consecutive win Saturday night against Hayden. Just as he keeps his approach bare bones and blue collar, Bermudez keeps his thoughts on how he achieves that goal simplistic and straightforward too.

“It’s a fight, so I’m going to go out there and fight. We’re going to throw leather at each other. If he tries to take me down, that’ll be a mistake, but right now I’m just trying to get better everywhere, and I plan on being dominant in every position.”

Once he’s victorious, He won’t call anybody out, talk trash about others in the featherweight division, or break out a celebratory post-fight dance routine. Instead, Bermudez will put on his sponsor’s shirt, have his hand raised by the referee, politely answer Joe Rogan’s questions, and start thinking about when he can get back in the gym to continue improving.

After all, he’s already been here once before, and he plans on being here many more times in the future too.

People scoffed when the UFC announced that Jamie Varner would be the man to replace Evan Dunham against Edson Barboza at UFC 146. They envisioned a one-sided sparring session for the fast-rising Brazilian Muay Thai specialist; another dominant performance, another victory, and another step closer to title contention. In the eyes of many, Varner was being led to the slaughter.

His experience didn’t matter. The fact that Varner first stepped into the Octagon as a 21-year-old meant nothing. Neither did his reign as the WEC lightweight champion. That was a long time ago as far as the fight game is concerned, and a lot had happened to Varner in the interim.

A four fight winless streak culminating in a first round submission loss to Shane Roller on the final WEC card left him without an invite to join the others who called the little blue cage their home in moving to the UFC when the companies merged in January 2010. He was controlled and beaten by Dakota Cochrane at a regional event nine months later, abruptly announcing his retirement after the bout, only to retract his statement a few days later.

Though he earned a pair of first round finishes in a small show heading into the contest, beating regional journeymen and stepping under the brightest lights in the business against a fighter everyone had tabbed for stardom were like comparing apples and cinder blocks. No one gave Varner a chance, but that’s because no one knew the journey the former WEC standout had been on in his time away from the spotlight.

“I would have to say that a lot of it was just growing up, to be honest with you,” explains Varner, speaking candidly about the course his career has taken thus far. “I was 21 when I had my very first fight in the UFC. I was a world champion for the WEC at 23 years old. I had a lot of growing up to do, man. I was young, and I didn’t quite know how to handle all the pressure, I didn’t know how to handle the business side of things, or even all the attention. It honestly took me going through those ups and downs – getting fired, losing my job with Zuffa, hitting rock bottom – to really appreciate what I had and what I have, and it definitely puts things into perspective.

“Everything has just fallen into place,” he says of the voyage that has him ready to face Joe Lauzon on the main card of the UFC’s fourth event televised on FOX this Saturday.

While his record shows a victory over Nate Jolly as the starting point for his recent resurgence, the truth is that the beginning of Varner’s turnaround came prior to his loss to Cochrane.

Before he was a hopeful on Season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter, Cochrane was just another up-and-comer looking to make a name for himself on the regional circuit, called upon as a late replacement when Varner’s original opponent fell out at the 11th hour. Cochrane couldn’t make the contracted weight, but Varner opted to fight instead of walking away. Though the fight would turn out to be the lowest point of a very bad stretch for the Arizona Combat Sports product, it was also the catalyst for the career renaissance Varner is now enjoying.

“I took that fight, and I fought for all the wrong reasons,” Varner recalls of the bout with Cochrane. “(I was fighting for) the reasons that I told myself years ago that I wouldn’t be fighting for, and that I would (make me) stop fighting. I fought for the money, and because it’s what people wanted me to do, and not because it’s what I had in my heart. I felt like I had to fight, as opposed to wanting to fight. That fight was horrible, and I felt bad being in that situation, so I came home and regrouped.

“I had a point in my career where I had lost four out of six fights, and I suck at losing,” he says, a chuckle chasing the frequent fighter admission. “I’ve never been a good loser. It doesn’t matter if it was chess, checkers, video games – I don’t like to lose. I suck at losing. Going through all those losses, I forgot how to win, and every time I lost, it was kind of like a downward spiral – I’d put even more pressure on myself to win because I didn’t want to lose my job or I wanted to make more money or win the fans back or earn their respect. I kept putting pressure on myself, and I didn’t enjoy the training.”

Varner says he’d fixate on the one or two mistakes that he made in practice, and get down, unwilling to allow himself an off day in the gym.  Though he could spin similar missteps into a “Don’t be so hard on yourself; you’re doing great” moment for a teammate, training partner, or student, it took his mom telling him to do the same for himself for the once-again relevant lightweight to ease up on himself.

“That just clicked in my head,” he admits. “I was always so hard on myself; I’m such a perfectionist, and I always put so much pressure on myself to win that I lost track of why I did this and why I’m a fighter, which is to one day be the best. I have this dream to fight and compete, and it’s fun, and it’s a great job.

“I get to do what I love to do. Not many people get to say that, and I completely lost track of that in the past, and it took me a while to understand that. It also took having all the right people in the right places to remind me of that too. I’m living my dream, and I need to honor that, respect that, and cherish that because it’s not going to last forever.”
 
Refreshed, refocused, and having worked his way back from the brink of wanting to walk away from the sport, Varner pulled off arguably one of the biggest upsets of 2012 back in May. He shocked those who gave him little chance of surviving Barboza by dominating the previously unbeaten prospect, sending him crashing to the canvas under a barrage of punches in just over three minutes.

The win put Varner back on the map, but there is still work to be done; one victory does not a contender make. Fully aware of this and ready to prove those who are still unconvinced of his return to elite form, Varner agreed to step in against Lauzon when Terry Etim was forced to the sidelines due to injury. Like the Barboza fight, it’s an opportunity the 27-year-old couldn’t pass up, one he frequently describes as win-win, and one that comes with the added bonus of being on FOX.

“I go out there, fight a guy like Joe Lauzon, and I lose, I’m supposed to lose to a guy like Joe Lauzon. He’s a top 10, top 15 guy in the world, and Joe Lauzon has the ability to beat anybody,” speculates Varner. “Yes, he has lost – he’s lost four fights in the UFC – but he has that ability. You’ll never count him out no matter who he fights because he has that ability; he’s so dynamic and well rounded.

“To beat a guy like Joe Lauzon, it catapults my career, and legitimizes my first win. I do see some stuff online where people think what I did with Barboza was a fluke, even though I dominated the fight. It wasn’t like I was getting my butt kicked and landed that one lucky punch. I think it will help legitimize me and it’s a step in the right direction.

“Also, being on FOX,” he continues. “Hopefully we’ll have a rating with eight million viewers watching the fights, and I’ll be able to show the world all the sacrifices that I’ve made, and all the struggles and adversity I had to overcome just to make it to this one moment to entertain them. It’s just such a great opportunity.”

Paired with one of the most decorated bonus winners in UFC history, there’s a very good chance that Varner and Lauzon will send the fans home happy on Saturday night. If he emerges victorious, Varner knows he’ll have worked his way into the small group of contenders vying for a chance to fight for the title. Before he can start to think about the future, he’ll have to worry about deal with the task at hand, one he believes will be the toughest of his nine-year, 29-fight career.

“The right thing to say is that I can’t overlook Joe and blah, blah, blah, but it’s human nature; you can’t help it. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I win, and I would have to think that the guys that have beaten Joe are in the top 10 or are thought to be contenders, so I’m just going to go with that. If I beat Joe Lauzon, I’m a top contender. I’m not going to say I’m going to be fighting Gray Maynard or Anthony Pettis right away for a #1 contender spot, but I’ll probably be in the conversation, I would say.

“But my main focus is on Joe Lauzon, and he’s quite the obstacle,” adds Varner. “He poses quite a lot of threats in different areas because he’s so well rounded. He’s tough. He is very smart, calculated, and methodical, and it’s going to probably be my toughest fight to date.”

Six months ago, no one would have believed that Varner would be fighting on the main card of a UFC event on FOX with a place in the upper echelon of the lightweight division at stake. A few days from now, that’s exactly what will happen. It’s the next step in a journey of rediscovery and redemption for the former WEC champion, a trying journey that has rekindled Varner’s passion for fighting, and reshaped the expectations he puts on himself as he prepares to step into the cage.

“I think it’s a more interesting story (this way), and it shows my character. My character was in question for many years in the WEC, and I think to have to overcome some of the things I’ve overcome and fight my way back into the organization, I think it says a lot about me and who I am. I also feel that everything happened for a reason, and honestly, I wouldn’t change anything.

“I’m still young,” states Varner, who started his career in March 2003 and will be stepping into the cage for the 30th time in his career when he meets Lauzon Saturday night at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. “If you had a guy coming into the sport at 27 years old, you’d still think, `this guy’s pretty young for the sport.’ Well, I’ve already been in this sport for so long and I’m still only 27. There’s a lot of years left, there’s a lot of fight left in this dog. I’m really excited to be here, and I’m really excited for this opportunity.

“I’m not putting all this pressure on myself to win; I’m just enjoying it. The only thing I can control is how hard I fight and how hard I train, so I’m just going to go out there and fight with every bit of my being, and whatever happens happens. I’ve (always) been (in exciting fights), so I know that if I lay it all on the line people are going to enjoy seeing me fight.”

Win or lose on Saturday night, Varner has once again found his passion for fighting, and getting the opportunity to do it on the biggest stage in the sport, a privilege he can truly appreciate after taking the long way back to the UFC.

“It took me getting into the right place mentally, physically, and spiritually. I was put on this planet to do something; I was put on this planet to fight. It really took going through all those struggles and overcoming that adversity to really see that picture more clearly.

“There’s nothing like hitting rock bottom to show you the things you took for granted.”

 

A lot of athletes today only speak to the media in clichés. Every question is met with a well-used line about trying hard, giving 110 percent, or working towards the ultimate goal of winning a championship. It’s a back-and-forth that both sides are used to playing, and one that fans have become accustomed to over the years.

Things are a little bit different in mixed martial arts. While there are certainly a collection of tried and true questions and answers out there about training camp, injuries, the next opponent, and the outcome of the next fight, there are numerous fighters who offer a refreshing break from the norm.

DaMarques Johnson is one of those fighters.

The 30-year-old welterweight says what is on his mind, and answers questions with the kind of candidness that you rarely encounter in an athlete who doesn’t punch other people in the face for a living. Even within the fraternity of fighters, Johnson stands as one of the more frank and brutally honest individuals within the group.

While most everyone will tell you they’re taking it one fight at a time and not looking past their next scheduled opponent, most have glanced at the rankings or around the division and formulated an idea about whom they’d like to fight next should they emerge victorious. Not Johnson. Just as he has his own way of answering questions, the man known as “Darkness” doesn’t exactly look at his career in the same way that most of his contemporaries do either.

Coming off a loss, most fighters would talk about the importance of getting back into the win column. Sporting a 4-4 record inside the Octagon since his time as a thorn in the side of Team UK coach Michael Bisping on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, you would think that finding some consistency and stringing together a few wins in order to move up the rankings would be one of Johnson’s foremost concerns. At the very least, it sounds like something most fighters would say if they were in his situation.

“You know, I don’t even think that far ahead,” said Johnson of starting a winning streak next weekend when he welcomes Mike Swick back to the cage after more than two years spent traveling the world while battling injuries and illness. “I’m really just doing what I love to do and taking it at that, because I know I’ve only got X amount of time to do it. I’m just trying to make the best of every single fight. There’s a good possibility that I could have went 8-0 in the UFC, but s**t happens. It’s a learning process as you’re in there, even as you’re getting more and more fights in the UFC.”

Like many, Johnson watched Swick as a member of the inaugural cast of 16 to enter the Ultimate Fighter house, and dreamed of being able to one day follow in the fighter’s footsteps. Next weekend in Los Angeles, the 18-10 Johnson will be locked in a cage with the 14-4 veteran.

Swick last stepped into the Octagon at UFC 109, losing by technical submission to Paulo Thiago when the Brazilian put him to sleep with a D’Arce choke after he was dropped and dazed with a counter left hook. Once a title contender in the welterweight division, it’s hard to know where to place Swick at this point, as he had dropped two straight prior to his extended hiatus. With such a long break between appearances, it could be hard for Johnson to formulate a game plan heading into next weekend’s contest.

That is if Johnson were the type to put together a detailed game plan in the first place.

“Fans and media can talk about game plans all they want, but in the same breath, planning and planning and planning is all well and good, but sometimes you’ve just got to accept the chaos as it comes. That’s kind of the approach I’m taking.

“Of course there are general ideas and places I would prefer the fight be,” he continued, “but that could all change the minute I get punched in the face or I punch him in the face. A lot of it is just going to come down to your will to fight, and I love fighting people. I’m kind of good at it (laughs), so I try not to over-complicate it.”

One thing Johnson wants from all his fights – whether it’s this one, his eight previous UFC appearances, or the bouts hat came before his debut in the Octagon – is a finish, even if he’s the one on the business end of things. The native of West Jordan, Utah has only been to a decision three times in his career, and would prefer that things end without having to go to the scorecards.

“I’ve never, ever been a point-fighter; not in my jiu-jitsu days, not in my fighting career. I don’t see a decision as – I don’t know – I hate decisions. You have to be in there for a long time. Even if you do well, you can still lose, and even if you do horrible, you can get a win that you don’t even feel good about because you’re all lumped up. It sucks.

“I would much rather just get in there, get my ass knocked out, get an arm ripped off or knock someone out or rip their arm off, and there be some finality to it, as opposed to the whole judges rendering decisions thing.”

That’s what he expects from this upcoming encounter with Swick on FOX. Rather than sketch out a picture of how he’ll have his arm raised in victory next Saturday night, Johnson’s assessment of what will happen when the cage door closes is a stripped down vision that’s equal parts refreshing and realistic, and 100 percent cliché-free.

“I’m just preparing for an ass whipping, that’s about it. I’m preparing to get punched in the face, and be in spots to punch him back in the face. That’s really the extent of it for me. Mike Swick definitely has a lot of threats and potential to do bad things to me, and I think I pose the same kind of threats to him.

“I like the matchup; I think he and I are going to put on an amazing fight. There’s a 50 percent chance that I’m going to win this fight, and there’s a 100 percent chance that one of us is going to sleep.”

Don’t worry, fight fans: Urijah Faber has no intention of sitting on the sidelines with the interim UFC bantamweight title should he emerge from his showdown with Renan Barao on Saturday night victorious.

The concern, of course, stems from Carlos Condit’s decision to wait for a title unification fight with injured champion Georges St-Pierre after winning the interim welterweight title at UFC 143. Despite there being a collection of contenders at the ready, “The Natural Born Killer” has kept his focus on fighting St-Pierre, something many fans have questioned, but Faber is quick to defend.

“I’m definitely not waiting for anything,” laughed the charismatic 33-year-old when asked about his post-victory plans. “I’m not a waiter; I’m extremely impatient, and I like to fight. I don’t plan on waiting, but it’s up to the UFC; I’ll do whatever they tell me to do. If they want me to wait I will; I just kind of roll with the punches.

“I understand Condit though; it’s a huge payday for him to fight Georges St-Pierre, who is one of the biggest draws in the UFC, if not the biggest, so it makes sense for him,” suggested Faber. “Carlos has worked hard to get this opportunity, but that’s not the same case with me and Dominick. He’s not one of the biggest draws in this sport – I feel like right now I’m probably a bigger draw than he is, and there are a lot of tough opponents out there, so I don’t wait around for people.”

This wasn’t supposed to be how things played out this summer for the former WEC featherweight champion. He was supposed to be facing Dominick Cruz, his nemesis – the UFC bantamweight champion whom he coached against this past season on The Ultimate Fighter. They were supposed to meet in the Octagon with Cruz’s title on the line for a second consecutive year, first as the main event, and then as the co-main event on the annual Fourth of July weekend pay-per-view.

But then Cruz became member of the UFC M.A.S.H. Unit; the walking wounded forced to be removed from the summer schedule. Torn knee ligaments required surgery, and the prolonged recovery period prompted the organization to introduce an interim title and call up the surging Barao from a previously scheduled fight with Ivan Menjivar.

And then injuries shifted the plans again, moving Faber and Barao from the penultimate place on the UFC 148 fight card to the main event of the company’s debut even in Calgary, Alberta. Even though the change of venue threw a wrench into things, it should come as no surprise that the laid back “California Kid” is choosing to focus on the positives of all the changes instead.

“The one thing that is upsetting is that I had probably a thousand people that I know were there for me (at UFC 148),” admits Faber. “But I’m excited to fight in Canada. I think there are a couple of positive things, and I’m a guy that loves to focus on the positives. The Canadian fans have always been awesome. I’m super-pumped to be the main event, and I feel like the fight has the potential to be Fight of the Year with this opponent. There are a lot of great things with this fight. Also, the extra two weeks back home is kind of nice as well.”

As for not having the opportunity to resolve things with Cruz once and for all, Faber says it’s not something he’s concerned about right now.

“My focus is all about Barao. Dominick is someone I was forced to deal with because he was my opponent, he’s the guy that has the belt, but right now, I don’t really care about him. I’m focused on Barao, and if Dominick’s in my face again, we’ll deal with it then.

“Barao is such an incredible opponent; I mean, he’s more dangerous, and he’s on a bigger win streak than anyone in the sport. On top of that, I feel like I got the better of Dominick in the last fight, even though I didn’t get the judges’ decision, so that’s something that is to be determined on its own. I’m just looking forward to having a great fight with Barao, and getting that belt.”

In order to check “UFC Champion” off his personal “To Do List,” Faber must halt Barao’s 31-fight winning streak.

The Brazilian standout, who counts UFC featherweight champion and former Faber opponent Jose Aldo as one of his training partners, lost the initial fight of his career in April 2005 and hasn’t been beaten since, with a December 2007 No Contest the only result that has registered outside of the win column. Deemed a potential champion when he debuted with the WEC two years ago, Barao has lived up to expectations thus far, most recently earning a unanimous decision win over former title challenger Scott Jorgensen in February.

“You don’t want to take anything away from the guy – it’s incredible to have a win streak like that,” offers Faber. “It says that he’s mentally tough, and he’s well rounded as an athlete and as a fighter, but the bottom line is that I’ve been fighting for world championships since my third fight. Whether it be on Gladiator Challenge, King of the Cage, the WEC or the UFC, I’ve been fighting whoever they consider the best out there. That’s what I do, and I’ve got an impressive finish record, an impressive win-loss record, and I’m still at the top of my game. He’s not fighting any of those other guys he beat; he’s fighting me, and he’s not going to beat me.

“I’m going to have a conditioning edge and a comfort level in five-round fights that he’s not used to, on top of being a creative guy in the ring,” Faber says, adding that he feels there are more areas where he will have the advantage come fight night.

“I feel like the guys he’s beaten that are top level – guys like Cole Escovedo, Scott Jorgensen, and Brad Pickett – are all pretty straight forward fighters,” continues Faber, “and I can be able to trick you in there; have a little element of surprise and creativity. On top of everything else, that’s another thing that he hasn’t seen before.”

While he’s established himself as one of the biggest stars in the sport, a UFC title is the one thing that has eluded Faber to this point in his career. Saturday night, he gets a second chance to have UFC gold wrapped around his waist for the first time, and he doesn’t plan on squandering it.

“I have a lot of different ways to win,” he suggests. “I could KO, TKO, or submit him, outlast him for a decision. I don’t really know; I’m just predicting that I’m going to win. I’m not sure how, but I feel like I can go anywhere the fight goes.”

Lost in the frustration of what felt like a never ending string of injuries and changes to the summer fight schedule are the opportunities these shifts bring for the fighters who are called upon to step in for their fallen colleagues.

One man’s bad break is another man’s good fortune.

That’s how Shawn Jordan came to be a part of the UFC’s debut event in Calgary, Alberta, where the former LSU football player will share the cage with one of the heavyweight division’s longest tenured veterans, Cheick Kongo. When Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira announced he’d be unable to return at UFC 149, it was the 27-year-old with just one previous Octagon appearance under his belt that got the call. Thankful for the opportunity, Jordan plans to make the most of it on Saturday night.

“You know, I ‘m really excited about this card, and the opportunity I was offered to fight Cheick Kongo,” explained Jordan following an afternoon training session with the all-star cast of coaches and teammates that comprise Team Jackson-Winkeljohn. “He’s a really well known veteran who has helped build the division to what it is today, so it’s really exciting for me to have an opportunity to compete against such a prestigious athlete.

“It’s kind of nice to know that they can call on me, count on me, and that they feel confident enough that I’ll put on a good performance; that I’ll come in there and fight. Again, they’re throwing me in there with a great fighter, and they’re giving me that opportunity after one fight in the UFC, so it’s a great feeling, and it makes me feel pretty confident in the fact that I am available to them and able to compete at this level.”

Jordan transitioned to the UFC roster when it was decided that Strikeforce would no longer maintain a heavyweight division. While the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva garnered the majority of the attention, people who remembered his two fights under the Strikeforce banner knew to keep an eye on the compact bundle of potential known as “The Savage.”

After fighting almost exclusively in his native Louisiana to begin his career, Jordan started garnering greater attention when he stepped in on a week’s notice to replace Lavar Johnson opposite veteran Devin Cole at a Strikeforce Challengers event about a year ago. Though he lost by unanimous decision, he showed plenty of promise, the athletic ability he displayed as a fullback on a pair of National Championship winning teams at LSU still present now that he had traded the gridiron for the cage. Two months later, Jordan faced off with Johnson, earning a second-round submission win over the heavy-hitting knockout artist, showing another glimpse of his potential in the process.

Just 15 fights into his career, Jordan stepped into the UFC Octagon for the first time in March, earning a second-round technical knockout win over former British strongman champion Oli Thompson in a highly entertaining contest that was punctuated by Jordan sticking the landing on a celebratory backflip in the center of the cage.

“It was a good feeling; almost a sigh of relief,” explained Jordan. “You’re coming into the UFC, everyone’s expecting the level of competition to go up, and you have to perform better, so it’s one of those things where you get a little nervous, the anxiety builds up, but once it’s over you say, `Wow — I’m supposed to be here. I can do this.’ It was a great feeling to be able to compete in my first UFC match, do well, and perform in a different country at that; the Australian fans are great.

“Finishing that backflip was nice,” he added with a laugh. “I don’t usually mess that up too bad, but against Devin Cole I almost ate it the first time I tried it.”

With a win in the UFC under his belt, Jordan returned from Australia, spent a little time at home, and headed right back down to Albuquerque, New Mexico to help his teammates prepare for UFC 145. Plus, he had a feeling his phone might ring too. Anyone worrying that the reduced timetable to get ready for this fight might leave him under-prepared when the cage door closes in Calgary can rest assured that Jordan will be at his best on Saturday night.

“I was actually in camp helping Jon (Jones) and Travis Browne get ready for their fights April 21st. I went back home, took care of some stuff, but I had been in camp for a couple weeks already getting back in shape because chances were I was going to get a last minute call on something. At our camp, this is what we do; we show up, and we’re ready to fight, so I’m not really concerned (about the short notice). I’ll be ready for the fight.”

As you would expect, Jordan credits his time playing fullback on the perennial Division I powerhouse with helping him make the transition from football to MMA, and from fighting on the smaller shows to competing on the biggest stage in the sport. While the athleticism needed for both is certainly part of it, Jordan points to his ability to be coached and previous experience under the bright lights at LSU as two key elements that have aided him on his journey up the heavyweight rankings.

“Playing for a school like LSU, being in the spotlight, and playing in front of a 100,000 fans every time I came out to play really did help the transition to competing in front of however many thousand fans we have at the fights. It really helps with the fight anxiety, handling the pre-fight jitters.

“Football makes you very coachable,” he continued. “You’re used to listening, and then just going out there and doing it; you don’t need to be told over and over and over again. That aspect really helps the transition into the fight game. Playing for a team like LSU really, really changes it mentally for me. You see so many fighters come in, and they get broken pretty early. I think as far as the mental toughness aspect goes, I think it’s really hard to break guys that come in from football because we’ve been beaten and broken, screamed at and hollered at, broken and built back up to how they want us to be, so I think that really helps a lot.

“Moving up to Jackson and Winkeljohn’s gym, and having the opportunity to train with guys like Travis Browne and Jon Jones and Brian Stann and Buddy Roberts — all these accomplished fighters — really helps your confidence too,” Jordan added. “Being at that gym helps you see your potential, and see how well you can do as long as you put the work in.”

Despite his early success and the big opportunity before him at UFC 149, Jordan remains level-headed about his future, though that isn’t to say he’s hasn’t thought of what a win over an established veteran like Kongo this weekend could do for his career.

“I try not to get too far ahead of myself, and I think it’s another thing I get from football I suppose: I have to be ready for the next fight. It doesn’t matter who it is — the next fight is the most important one. Sure, I’ve beaten Oli Thompson once, but if it came up again, that would be the next biggest fight for me.

“A win over anybody is huge to me. I don’t like to lose, period; it doesn’t matter who it is. The fact that it’s Cheick Kongo, and he is a well-known veteran who has helped build this sport up is great for me at this point in my career. It would help propel me a little bit more in the heavyweight division.”

It’s been a little more than three years since Jordan stepped into the cage in Monroe, Louisiana and submitted Jayme Mckinney to win his pro debut. Since then, he’s made his way to the UFC, picked up a victory inside the Octagon, and is now poised to make his pay-per-view debut against a perennial contender.

“It’s kind of surreal almost,” Jordan said of his journey to this point in his career. “You start this sport because you want to get to the UFC one day; you want to compete with the best fighters in the world. Once you’re there and it’s in front of you, it’s like, `Cool. I’m here.’ It’s surreal; you don’t really expect it to be that soon, that quick, and then to come in, compete, and perform well, it’s a relief and a confidence booster at the same time.”

Jordan maintains a fairly basic vision of what happens whenever two heavyweights step into the cage, and as for Saturday night, he’s says he’s ready for whatever Kongo has to offer.

“We’re heavyweights: we come out there, we swing, and one of us usually ends up getting knocked out because we’re big guys,” he admitted with a laugh. “I’m fairly comfortable doing whatever. You want to grapple? Do submissions? Throw hands? I’m fine with whatever; whatever comes up.”

Injuries are a part of the sport, and they also create chances for emerging talents and relative unknowns to show they’re ready for bigger and better. Opportunity knocked and Jordan answered, turning Nogueira’s lingering ailment into his chance to move up the heavyweight rankings.

One man’s bad break is another man’s good fortune.