MMA Hot Stuff

UFC & Spike TV Announce Bouts for TUF Finale

UFC® AND SPIKE TV ANNOUNCE TWO EXCITING BOUTS TO BE FEATURED ON “THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®: HEAVYWEIGHTS” FINALE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5

Undefeated Jon Jones Takes On The Ultimate Fighter^® Alum Matt Hamill And Lightweight Contenders Frankie Edgar And Kurt Pellegrino Do Battle

Las Vegas, NV (USA) October 14, 2009 – The live finale of The Ultimate Fighter^®: Heavyweights on Spike TV will include two bouts showcasing four of the UFC’s rising stars.  Emanating from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 9:00 PM ET, the co-features announced today include a light heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Matt Hamill and a lightweight matchup pitting Frankie Edgar against Kurt Pellegrino. 

Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter^® 10 Finale are $500, $350 and $250, plus any additional box office or service fees, and go on-sale Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12pm PT.  Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

UFC^® Fight Club^™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to The Ultimate Fighter^® 10 Finale Thursday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. PT via the website UFCFIGHTCLUB.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, Oct. 16 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

Despite being one of the youngest fighters in the UFC, the 22 year-old Jones has emerged as one of the fastest rising talents in the sport of mixed martial arts.  The Endicott, NY resident has a perfect 9-0 professional record, with his last three victories coming inside the UFC Octagon^™, the most notable of which was a unanimous decision over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94 in January. 

Hamill (8-2) gained national attention as a standout performer on season three of The Ultimate Fighter.  The three-time NCAA wrestling champion with a devastating ground game has won his last two bouts in the UFC, including a knockout of Mark Munoz in the first round of their contest at UFC 96 in March.  This light heavyweight bout will also be a battle for bragging rights in upstate New York, as Hamill trains in Utica.   

Coming off an impressive victory over Sean Sherk at UFC 98 in May, Edgar (10-1) now ranks amongst the top 155 lb fighters in the UFC.  To continue his quest for BJ Penn’s lightweight crown, the Toms River, NJ product must defeat fellow New Jersey resident, Kurt Pellegrino.

The pride of Point Pleasant, NJ, Pellegrino (20-4) is coming off the biggest win of his career, a three-round decision victory over Josh Neer at UFC 101 in August.  His third consecutive win in the Octagon put him in the upper echelon of the 155 lb division, and a victory against Edgar would move him ever-closer to a title shot. 

Other bouts, including the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights,” will be announced at a later date.  The two finalists will be competing for a six-figure contract with the preeminent mixed martial arts organization in the world, The Ultimate Fighting Championship®. 

Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com, UK.UFC.com, GERMANY.UFC.com, UFCJapan.jp or UFCEspanol.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship®

UFC is the largest live pay-per-view provider in the world and the fastest growing main stream sports organization in history.  Owned and operated by Zuffa™, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed residentially through North American cable and satellite providers including iNDEMAND Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN Entertainment, BellTV, SaskTel Max™, Shaw Pay-Per-View, and Viewers Choice. International distributors include WOWOW in Japan, Premiere Combate and SporTV in Brazil, with worldwide distribution via the Internet on UFC.com and Yahoo! Sports.  UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada.  UFC programming is distributed in 132 countries, territories and jurisdictions, reaching 415 million homes worldwide.

 

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa® , The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

The Ultimate Fighter Finale Sanchez vs Guida

Tomorrow night is the much anticipated Finale between Team US and Team UK. Although there will be one fight where it's team UK vs team UK because there are 3 Team UK guys and one Team US appearing in the Finale. Not only will we see the TUF guys fight it out for a contract but we will also see some other great match ups. Below are some of my predictions, winners in green!

Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida - This has all the ingredients for a spectacular fight. Clay is one of the most ferocious and explosive fighters in the light-weight division. Diego has recently dropped a weight and has shown he's comfortable in the 155 weight class. I'm really looking forward to this fight. Both fighters are coming off of wins (Diego beat Joe Daddy and Clay recently beat Nate Diaz). As far as my prediction goes, I'm going to give the W to Clay. 

Chris Lytle vs Kevin Burns - Kevin is still somewhat new to MMA, however his record isn't too shabby at 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the UFC. If you recall Kevin is the one that fought Anthony Johnson twice. The first fight he won although be-it in a controversial way with his open hand punches. He's going to have a tough fight on his hands as he takes on the veteran (26-17) Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. Chris is coming off a loss against Marcus Davis via split decision but still won Fight of the Night honors. As many of Chris' fights do. I give this fight to Lytle. In fact I'll even say it'll go in the first round by TKO.

Joe Daddy Stevenson vs Nate Diaz - I love the light-weight division. Joe daddy is another veteran of the sport with a record of 29-10 although he's coming off a tough unanimous decision loss against Diego Sanchez. And while Nate doesn't have the depth in his record (10-3) his fights have been explosive winning him fight of the night honors as well as submission of the night.  I'm also excited to see this fight because I think it's going to be a fun match up to watch. I hope this one goes the distance with Joe daddy winning via decision.

DaMarques Johnson Vs. James Wilks - True Team US vs Team UK fighting for the contract in the welterweight division. This will be interesting to watch because as you may recall DeMarques is the guy that had some funny run-ins with Michael Bisping. The water throwing incident. Given the records of both fighters, I'll go with the more 'experienced' one and give the win to DaMarques Johnson. Plus I'd like to see Bispings reaction to the loss.

Ross Pearson Vs. Andre Winner - Team UK vs Team UK fighting for the light-weight contract. I guess this is a win win situation (for Team UK).  Tough to call but I'll go with Ross Pearson on this one.

Good Luck Frank Lester. I can't help but cheer for him. He lost, worked his way back into the house and even though he lost again I'm glad to see him get another chance. I'm hoping this is the fight he wins!

Don't forget to fill out your UFC Fantasy picks!

Event information:

Date/Time:  June 20 9pm ET/PT

TV: Spike TV

Location: If you're in Las Vegas, you're in luck because tickets are still available. The event will take place at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort. For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com

Kimbo Slice Heading To The UFC

Sort of. He's at least going to try for a contract with the UFC. Kimbo is one of the new contestants on The Ultimate Fighter 10 which began taping this week.I swear it was just a couple weeks ago I thought I saw an announcement that Kimbo was going to walk away from MMA because he wasn't into the training it takes to be a successful MMA fighter and was going to take a stab at boxing?

Whether you're a  Kimbo fan or not this is a sure way to get even more viewers to tune into TUF. Huge ratings win for the UFC.

I wonder who will be his coach, Rashad Evans or Quinton Rampage Jackson?

Here's an old video of Rampage giving his opinion of Kimbo:

The UFC On Spike TV Continues To Knock Out The Competition

The Premiere Of The Ninth Season Of “The Ultimate Fighter” Delivers Best Ratings In Years For Spike TV’s Signature Series

New York, NY, April 3, 2009 - Unlike most television series which suffer ratings decline as they get older, the ratings for “The Ultimate Fighter” are like fine wine, getting better with age.  The season nine premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K.” on Wednesday, April 1 drew its highest rating in Men 18-49 since Season 4 (August, 2006) and its most watched season premiere since Season 5 (April, 2007).  The episode also drew more Men 18-34 and 18-49 than anything else on cable in its timeslot (10:15-11:15pm ET/PT), besting all sports competition including the NBA on ESPN.

Overall, the series drew a 1.8 in M18-49, a 2.1 in M18-34, a 2.7 in M25-34, and an average audience of 1.8 million viewers.

This season, the two “Ultimate Fighter” teams are divided based on nationality, with eight mixed martial artists from Great Britain and eight from the United States.   “The Ultimate Fighter 3” champion and top middleweight contender Michael Bisping coaches the Brits, and former concurrent PRIDE champion of the 185 lbs and 205 lbs divisions and U.S. Olympian Dan Henderson, coaches the U.S. squad. 

Prior to the season premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Spike TV aired the first-ever live UFC fight from Nashville, TN headlined by welterweights Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann.  The “UFC Fight Night” delivered 1.9 million viewers and, like “The Ultimate Fighter,” drew more Men 18-34 and 18-49 than anything in its timeslot (8:00-10:15pm ET/PT).

Overall, the “UFC Fight Night” delivered a 1.7 among M18-49, a 2.1 for M18-34, a 2.7 in M25-34, and attracted an average audience of 1.9 million viewers

Spike TV is available in 97.7 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press

ESPN MMA Live: Episode 47

Miguel Torres will be defending his title against Takeya Mizugaki in his own back yard this Sunday!

Miguel called in talked about not feeling the additional pressure fighting in front of his hometown fans, they're what helped him get where he is today. He also talked about his training preparations.

He also talked about his plans to move up a weight class. I'd LOVE to see this.

Kenny confirmed the fight with BJPenn will in fact be happening and as he announced on KennyFlorian.com looks like UFC 101 August 8^th in Philly.

Lashley joined in and he talks about his performance against Jason Guida. Find out what he thought of his performance also find out if he would fight for the UFC now. Is there a possibility he'll appear on The Ultimate Fighter? Also, find out his thoughts on being compared to Lesnar.

 

Announced/Rumored Fights:

• Forrest Griffin vs Thiago Silva happening at UFC 101
• Matt Hamill vs Brandon Verra UFC 101
• Rousimar Palhares vs Alessio Sakara UFC 99
• "JZ" Cavalvante vs Tatsuya Kawajiri Dream 9
• Gegard Mousasi vs Rameau Sokokjou Dream 9

 

Versus to sign multi-year extension with WEC that could run two more years

--I'd like to see old fights hosted on versus.com.

The crew gave a Fight Night debrief. If you missed the fights check out what they had to say.

Loving the training table series keep it up guys. Although I'm still craving a whopper my way.

Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida to Headline TUF Season 9 Finale

LIVE Saturday, June 20 from The Palms In Las Vegas

 

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization is proud to announce a stellar headlining match for The Ultimate Fighter® Season 9 finale, which will take place Saturday, June 20 from The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas’ Palms Hotel, live on Spike TV. Both winners of their last three matches, ascending lightweights Diego “The Nightmare” Sanchez and Clay “The Carpenter” Guida are on a collision course that will end in the Octagon^™ for what could be three of the most furiously-paced rounds of the year.

“Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida has the potential to be one of the most action packed fights of the year,” UFC President Dana White said. “Both men have won multiple “Fight of the Night “awards and are two of the most aggressive grapplers in the division. Guida is coming off a big win over The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 winner Nate Diaz and Sanchez just defeated The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 winner Joe Stevenson. The winner of this fight will move into the upper portion of the lightweight rankings and get that much closer to a title shot.”

Tickets for this event will go on sale Saturday, April 4 at noon PT and will be priced at $354, $254 and $154. Please visit or call the Palms box office at (702) 944-3200, call any Ticketmaster location at 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

UFC^® Fight Club^™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, April 2 at noon PT via the website UFC.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, April 3 starting at noon PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com. 

Coming off three impressive wins against David Bielkheden, Luigi Fioravanti and Joe Stevenson, Diego Sanchez (fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) looks to be peaking at the perfect time in his career. In his first ever UFC fight at lightweight, the Albuquerque, New Mexico native looked lean and hungry against Stevenson as he pounded out an impressive decision victory. A winner on the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter, the 27-year-old Sanchez has fond memories of fighting at The Ultimate Fighter season finales.

“Clay likes to push the pace and test a fighter’s conditioning, but so do I,” Sanchez said. “Right now, I’m at the perfect weight and it’s the perfect time in my career to make a run at the title. I’ve already won a couple matches at the finales, so I’m feeling confident heading into this fight.”

A fighter that doesn’t have an “off” switch, Clay Guida (fighting out of Johnsburg, Ill.) is known for his aggressive style and perpetual high energy level. Coming off a three round decision win against fellow rising star Nate Diaz, “The Carpenter” seems to be immune to boring fights, and he guarantees a memorable night against Sanchez, who is also known for his conditioning.

UFC: TUF 9 Finale to feature Nate Diaz VS Joe Stevenson

GracieFighter.com has confirmed that Nate Diaz will be fighting Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night on June 20th, which happens to be the TUF 9 Finale.

The two lightweights and TUF alumni, will both be looking to get back to their winning ways. Diaz is coming off a razor close decision loss to Clay Guida, while Stevenson is trying to bounce back off of a two fight losing streak. Stevenson suffered a loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 91 and another loss to Diego Sanchez at UFC 95.

Speaking of Guida and Sanchez, those two will be facing off as part of the TUF 9 finale as well, making for another exciting lightweight fight.

Diaz VS Stevenson is quite an interesting battle. Both have great Jiu Jitsu, but are polar opposites when it comes to body type. Diaz is tall with long limbs and will clearly have the reach advantage, while Stevenson is short and powerful. This should be a great fight!

A Great Month To Be A MMA Fan!

What a way to start a new year!

January is mapped out to be a killermonth for MMA Fans! This month we have four star studded events:

·         Jan. 17^th– UFC 93: Dublin (PPV)

·         Jan 24^th – Affliction: Day of Reckoning (PPV)

·         Jan 25^th -  WEC 38: Varner vs Cerrone

·         Jan 31^st- UFC 94: St Pierre vs Penn II

UFC 93 is being held in Dublin, Ireland  In the light heavyweight main event, former two-division world champion Dan Henderson will collide with former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin in three-round war which will set the tone for the 205lbs division in 2009.

With more than just a win on the line, the winner of Franklin vs Henderson fight will be "crowned" the next coach for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Michael Bisping.

Then, 2005 PRIDE® Grand Prix Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua returns to the Octagon™  to throw down with UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in a rematch MMA fans thought they would never see. The pair last met in Japan in 2006, with the legendary Coleman pulling off a stunning upset by breaking Rua’s arm in the first round.

Also making his UFC debut is former PRIDE standout Denis Kang!

The match-ups for the event are:
MAIN CARD

• Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin
• Mark Coleman vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
• Alan Belcher vs. Denis Kang
• Jeremy Horn vs. Rousimar Palhares
• Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Alexandre Barros vs. Martin Kampmann
• Antonio Mendes vs. Eric Schafer
• Thomasz Drwal vs. Ivan Serati
• Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway
• Denis Siver vs. Nate Mohr

Affliction Day of Reckoning  This event is being promoted by Affliction Entertainment and is scheduled to take place in Anaheim, California at the Honda Center. The event was originally scheduled for October 11, 2008 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. FormerUFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will be a commentator for the event. Tickets are still available at www.ticketmaster.com

The main event features current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts(WAMMA) Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko defending his belt against former UFCHeavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Also on the card is Josh "Babyface Assassin" Barnett who takes on Gilbert Yvel. In a light-heavyweight match, current Strikeforce Champion Renato "Babalu" Sobraltakes on former UFC fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Matt Lindland was re-assigned from a 195-pound catchweight bout with Sobral to a middleweight matchup against former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort.

Headlining the undercard, which will be broadcast on HDNet Fights, the last IFL Light-Heavyweight Champion Vladimir Matyushenko will take on PRIDE veteran (and twin brother of Antônio RodrigoNogueira) Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

The match ups for the event are:

PPV matches

• WAMMA Heavyweight Championship bout: Fedor Emelianenko (Champ) vs. Andrei Arlovski
• Heavyweight bout: Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
• Light Heavyweight bout: Renato Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
• Middleweight bout: Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
• Lightweight bout: Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
• Heavyweight bout: Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov

HDNet matches

• Light Heavyweight bout: Vladimir Matyushenko  vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Welterweight bout: Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
• Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs. LC Davis
• Featherweight bout: Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
• Welterweight bout: Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

WEC 38 will bring not only a title fight but also the highly anticpaited rematch between former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver! I don't know why but when I see these two in the cage the song "Eye of the Tiger" runs through my head. The event will take placein San Diego at the San Diego Sports Arena and is expected to air on the Versus Network.

Varner will be making his second title defense after winning the belt. His last fight was an amazing KO victory over Marcus Hicks. Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is coming into the fight on a high note after defeatingformer lightweight champion "Razor" Rob McCullough in one of the most exciting fights of 2008. Varner has great wrestling and boxing skills, while Cerrone brings great boxing and a wicked submission game. Not to mention that Cerrone fights out of Greg Jackson's camp, so you know he'll come in prepared with a great game plan.

The match ups for the event are:

MAIN CARD

• Lightweight Championship bout: Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
• Featherweight bout: Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver^]
• Welterweight bout: Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Campabell
• Featherweight bout: Jose Aldo vs. Fredson Paixao

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Welterweight bout: Hiromitsu Miur  vs. Edgar Garcia
• Lightweight bout: Ed Ratcliff vs. Anthony Njokuani
• Bantamweight bout: Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
• Welterweight bout: Blas Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
• Bantamweight bout: Scott Jorgensen vs. Frank Gomez
• Bantamweight bout: Charlie Valencia vs. Seth Dikun

UFC 94 - St Pierre vs Penn 2 In March 2006, top welterweights Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn fought for the division’s No. 1 contender’s spot. St-Pierre earned a razor-thin split decision and went on to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship® welterweight title. Penn dropped to the lightweight division and won the organization’s 155-pound title.

Now they’re about to do it again. But this time, there’s much more at stake. UFC® lightweight champion BJ Penn looks to be the first fighter in history to hold two UFC® championships at the same time when he faces Georges St-Pierre for the UFC® welterweight championship at UFC® 94: ST-PIERRE VS. PENN 2

Also on the card is the American Psycho, Stephan Bonnar taking on the quick rising star Jon Jones, aka Bones. As well as Lyoto Machida, as he returns to the Octagon to continue his run towards a light heavyweight title shot. I also can't wait to see one of our bay area boys Nate Diaz taking on Clay "The Carpenter" Guida! You know a card is packed full of great fights when a fighter such as Jon Fitch is on the preliminary card!

The rest of the match ups are:
MAIN CARD

• Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre vs. lightweight champ B.J. Penn (for welterweight title)
• Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
• Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
• Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
• Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
• John Howard vs. Chris Wilson
• Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
• Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer

As you can see, January is packed full of great MMA events, including one of the biggest fights in UFC history as BJ Penn attempts to show he's one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. My predictions will soon follow!!!Also check back for a listing of bars in your area showing the PayPerView events!

Stephan Bonnar: Interview with MMAHotStuff.com

Sure, everyone is hyped for the Welterweight championship fight between BJ Penn and GSP at UFC 94, but personally I'm looking forward to seeing one of my favorite fighters, Stephan Bonnar, return to the cage to take on fast rising star Jon Jones.

A finalist from the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show, and one-half of what could possibly be the most significant fight in the history of the UFC (see Bonnar VS Griffin 1), Bonnar has played a special role in the rise of MMA as a mainstream sport. Whether it's in the cage or in front of a camera and microphone, Bonnar continues to be a familiar face for UFC and MMA fans alike.

I had the pleasure of interviewing a charismatic Stephan. Find out what "The American Psycho" has been up to, how he got involved with ESPN's MMALive, why Hugh Hefner is one of his heroes, and much more:

Rachel: You've been a prominent figure on ESPN's MMA Live. How did you get involved with the program and are you setting yourself up for a career in TV after fighting?
Stephan: I got involved in that partially through my agent Dean Albrecht...a real cool mofo, and also by the recommendation of my comrade Kenflo Florian.  ESPN is sports defined & now they cover MMA. It is so sweet to go out to the beautiful ESPN university and do that show....and walk around and see the Sportscenter dudes and big football players in suits.  It is such a great time.  I definitely enjoy doing the show.  I have also had the opportunity to do other work in this field, such as: I had the opportunity to do cast interviews, weekly episode recaps, and live webshows for Spike TV on seasons 2, 3, & 4 of the Ultimate Fighter.  They also had Forrest and I host, "The TUFfest 25 Moments" TV show, and I have done some other shows, commercials, and appearances for Spike and it is a blast.  Spike has been great to me. I've also done some public speaking to teenagers at schools for the UFC.  I have done color commentary on smaller MMA shows.  I've even done ring announcing.....Oh yeah, I'm starring in a movie coming out  too....check it out at ultimatechampionmovie.com. 
Doing stuff like that has been so much fun....and the best part is I actually get paid for it.  It really beats the sh!@ out of any other job I have had like office work, laboring, probably even teaching martial arts....although that is pretty fun too.  It's still not as much fun as getting beat up in a cage though.  So to answer your question, Yes, I would like to continue doing these sort of things.

Rachel: You're on a show seen by millions, and you fight in front of thousands. Do you ever get nervous? 
Stephan:Yes of course, more for fighting, but its a good nervousness. Kind of like a super altert feeling.

Rachel: What's your favorite scene from "American Psycho"? Are you as rigid with your hygiene routine as Patrick Bateman?
Stephan: I wouldn't be called that if you saw my hygiene routine.  I live in warm up suits & workout clothes, shave twice a week, hate shopping & haircuts.  I will tell you, the hardest part of doing the "Ultimate Champion" movie was the grooming.  I had to groom my body hair, shave, clear up the ringworm.  I even tanned so the movie wouldn't be mistaken for Powder 2. Oh yeah....my favorite American Psycho scene is when he's having the menage a trois and he keeps looking in the mirror and flexing. I just found that hilarious.

Rachel: On your UFC profile you list Hugh Hefner as one of your heroes. Is it the sheer number of girls or the amount of money? Be honest…
Stephan: The reason Hugh Hefner is listed is because we filled out those questionairres after being locked inside the TUF house for 8 weeks, and all I could think of was, "So this is my big opportunity, huh? Locked up with 16 dudes for two months fighting with them twice a day.  What did I do wrong with my life? How did the cards fall this way...  Why couldn't I have been like Hugh Hefner and photographed beautiful naked women for a living...Hmmm must be nice."  But then I saw his TV show with the 3 blondes he's dating and realized...Wow! If I had to deal with the 3 of them 24/7 I'd blow my brains out.

Rachel: What would you be doing with yourself if you hadn't found your way into MMA?
Stephan: It'd probably be back to gangbanging and rapping.

Rachel: I see you're a Chicago Bears fan. I have Kyle Orton on my fantasy team this season and he hasn't been bringing me many points. Can you have a talk with your fellow Purdue Alum?
Stephan: They almost made the playoffs. They could've won that game.  I was there when Brees was QB...always wished the Bears would've drafted him.

Rachel: It'll have been about 18 months since you've fought. Did you focus on any specific skills or aspects of your game during your break?
Stephan: It will be 15 months since my last fight actually and I have focused on a lot things...striking, submissions for all of that time minus of course the injury & surgery time.

Rachel: How do you feel you have evolved as a fighter since your famous Ultimate Fighter finale fight? Which by the way is still my favorite TUF fight, ever.
Stephan: I've gotten older...kicks and jiujitsu a lot better....wrestling a lot better...and defense improved.

Rachel: Who has been the biggest influence in your fighting career?
Stephan: All my  teachers.  I thank them all.  Dexter Grove for taekwondo.  Kent Lewis high school wrestling. Carlson Gracie..God bless his soul, former jiujitsu teacher, and Joe Kaehn..my first boxing coach.  I thank them all for getting me started.  And of course I thanks  all my teachers since then & now, like Randy, Sergio Penha, Duke Roufus, Mark Dellagrotte and Sityodtong...and my training partners and coaches at Xtreme Couture, Warrior, Master Toddys.

Rachel: Your opponent at UFC 94, Jon Jones, is a relative UFC newcomer, but looks to have a solid wrestling background with overall athleticism. What challenges do you think he poses for you?
Stephan: He's long, explosive, and unorthodox.

Rachel: You began wrestling at the early age of 10 and Tae Kwon Do at thirteen. You began training at Carlson Gracie Jr Jiu Jitsu School in 1999 and won the Heavyweight Chicago Golden Gloves titles in 2002 and 2004. Out of all of the disciplines what is your favorite and why?
Stephan: To be honest with you I get sick of them all.  I always have gone through phases.  For example in 2002 I was in a boxing phase and did the Golden Gloves. 2003 was a jiujitsu phase.  2004 another boxing phase. 2005 was TUF season 1. Then I got really into muay thai after the show. Then wrestling. I always feel like I'm doing more of 1 discipline until I'm close to a fight, then its more even.

Here's to wishing Stephan the best of luck at UFC 94. If you're not going to make it to the event, check back in a couple of weeks for a list of bars showing the fight! And come February, don't forget to check out Stephan as he makes his acting debut as the lead in Ultimate Champion. For a sneak preview of the movie:
ULTIMATE CHAMPION MOVIE TRAILER ULTIMATE CHAMPION MOVIE TRAILER

The Ulitmate Fighter Season 8 contestants

Want to catch a sneak peek of the fighters from TUF 8? Take a look here.