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T-Bone · 04-10-2008, 12:53 PM

continued...

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At this point in the show, we are still living out of our duffel bags in the hotel, and we are ready to get in the house. The service is very VIP, but I know the 16 winners are ready to get the show on the road. In my mind, we would have already had one of the 16 eliminated by now if we wouldn't have had to fight to get on the house. We had our cell phones, clothing and basically every personal item taken from us. We were given a ton of UFC and TapouT gear to wear (no, we all don't shop at the same store) and were essentially sequestered like jurors on a big trial. We wanted to get in the house, we wanted to know who our coaches were going to be, and we wanted to begin moving toward the finale.

We also had about 13 or so of the fighters that lost and were going home, and of course, the producers were dealing with what they were going to tell people. It was a group of happy guys and a group of guys that just had their dreams of being an ultimate fighter squashed and would be home quicker than any of us could have imagined.

I was not sure if my fight was long enough to really show Dana or either coach what I had to offer. For me, Rampage was more my fighting style. He is a wrestler that likes to slam his opponents and goes for the KO in every fight. Is that what I needed? My MMA career is short, but in that time, I have been known more for my striking than my wrestling. This is in large part due to my trainers from Arizona Combat Sports. Todd and Trevor Lally are great strikers, and they have taught me so much. Not having to lay on people to get wins is what makes me a happy fighter.

Then, I was thinking that Forrest may be better for me. He has great stand up and great takedown defense. His fight with Tito Ortiz showed how well rounded he is, and the TUF Finale with Forrest and Bonnar was one of the best fights I have seen in years. I do not know much about their coaching abilities but for sure, Forrest has an edge with his "TUF" experience.

I had to tell myself to calm down and let things happen. My job is to give 110 percent in the octagon when called upon. In six to eight weeks, these coaches won't be able to make that much of an impact. I needed to gather my tools, my senses and my thoughts and understand that the only thing I could control was how hard I fought. The rest was out of my hands. I have trained my whole life for this moment. The only thing I could control was my performance.

I know some of the crazy antics from the show may make us look like we were not serious about the opportunity or unaware of the lasting impression these antics will leave. I will say the producers do a good job creating an atmosphere where anything is possible. We will test that "anything is possible" theory many times through out the series.

What we now know is that 16 hungry fighters will enter the house next week. All of us have earned this spot. All of us are on the show because we want to be there. We have some great fighters in the house. Nobody wants to go home, and I am excited to be one of them.

This past weekend, I went to XCC 6, where my teammate Ryan "Darth" Bader was headlining the main event. He showed his dominance by winning in 47 seconds of the first round. It was my first post-TUF public appearance. Ryan and I are roommates and former teammates for the Arizona State University wrestling team. He was one of the big stars on the ASU team, and he and I entered into MMA together. Our management team works with corporate sponsors and was able to get SOYO.com and MTX Audio to financially support us, which allows us to fight full time. So essentially, we have been lucky enough to be full-time fighters from the start of our MMA careers.

That fight reminded me of the 31 "TUF" castmates that made the ultimate sacrifice to pursue the dream of one day fighting for the UFC. I know a lot of the guys like "Mowhawk" and others who sold a lot of their possessions to be a part of this opportunity. I am thankful for the easy road we have been given by our management company. You always here the grass is greener on the other side. For my teammates and me, we have a pretty nice lawn with a monthly lawn care service, and I think I owe LG Sports Marketing, MTX and SOYO.com a big thank you for helping me reach this important milestone in my career.

My website should be up soon. In the meantime keep hitting me up on Myspace. Now that we are moving into the house, the real fun begins. So stay tuned, and I will talk to you next week.