Ultimate UFC 127 Auction for Charity

THE ULTIMATE UFC 127 AUCTION – FIGHT FOR QUEENSLAND - BID NOW

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP LAUNCHES CHARITY AUCTION OF INCREDIBLE COLLECTORS ITEMS AND A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME FAN EXPERIENCE TO AID THE QUEENSLAND PREMIER’S DISASTER RELIEF APPEAL IN AUSTRALIA

As the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Australia for the record-breaking UFC 127: PENN v FITCH event in Sydney on February 27, the world’s biggest combat sports organisation wants to give back to Australians by raising money for the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal.

The Appeal, set up by the Queensland government, will assist Queenslanders affected by recent flooding and Tropical Cyclone Yasi. Many communities have been devastated and some families have lost everything.

The UFC and its fighters are donating unique UFC 127 memorabilia and an unprecedented VIP experience to its Sydney show, including:
•    The actual Octagon canvas on which UFC 127 bouts will take place
•    The UFC gloves and shorts worn in the Octagon by UFC stars when they compete at UFC 127
•    An ultimate Aussie UFC 127 experience where the winner and a mate will have unprecedented behind-the-scenes access and VIP treatment during the UFC 127 weekend – Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 February.

Marshall Zelaznik, the UFC’s Managing Director of International Development, said: “Australia has been really great to the UFC, especially since we started holding live events there a year ago.  I don’t think anyone who has seen the footage from the recent natural disasters in Australia could fail to be moved by what the people of Queensland are going through, and we as a company want to do our bit to help.”

The auction is now live at http://ufc.thegivingbridge.com

Please note bidding for the Ultimate UFC 127 Experience pack ends at 7pm AEST (Sydney time) on Tuesday, February 22. Bidding for the merchandise items – which can be shipped worldwide – ends March 1 (AEST).

Full bid items:

Ultimate Aussie UFC 127 Fan Experience – BIDDING ENDS 7PM AEDT, FEB 22
The ultimate way to experience the biggest fight card in Australian history! You and a friend will have unbelievable access behind-the-scenes at both the weigh-in and on fight day, to the Octagon, and to the combatants and guest fighters. You’ll stay for two nights in a two-bedroom apartment at the official UFC 127 host hotel, Star City, have breakfast with UFC star Kenny Florian, plus much, much more:
•    Two nights (Friday 25 and Saturday 26 February) in a two-bedroom apartment at the official UFC 127 host hotel, Star City
•    Two VIP tickets to UFC 127 at Acer Arena on Sunday, February 27, sitting next to UFC fighters Ryan Bader and Josh Koscheck
•    Dream chance to visit one of your favourite fighters backstage and actually walk to the Octagon as part of his camp for his UFC 127 bout
•    Attend UFC 127 post-fight press conference on Sunday, February 27
•    Reserved front row seating for the weigh-in and Fight Club Q & A at Acer Arena on Saturday February 26
•    Express passes to the front of the line for official UFC 127 autograph sessions, also at Acer Arena on Saturday, February 26
•    Transport from hotel to and from the arena for the weigh-in on Saturday 26 February and fight day on Sunday, February 27
•    Go backstage at the UFC weigh-in at Acer Arena on Saturday, February 27, see the fighters prepare for battle and meet UFC President Dana White and other UFC personalities
•    A pair of UFC gloves personally signed by BJ Penn and Jon Fitch
•    Signed BJ Penn merchandise
•    Fight day Breakfast with UFC fighter Kenny Florian
•    Have photographs taken inside the Octagon before doors open to the public
•    VIP Backstage tour on fight day, visit with UFC staff behind the scenes, and see the dressing rooms
•    Two UFC 127 event programs
•    Two UFC 127 t-shirts
•    Two strictly limited UFC 127 posters signed by every fighter on the card

NOTE: Transport to Sydney and accommodation on Sunday, February 27 is not included.

UFC 127 Octagon Canvas – BIDDING ENDS MARCH 1
Bid now for your chance to win the absolute ultimate piece of UFC memorabilia: the actual Octagon canvas from UFC 127. Mixed martial arts history will literally take place on this canvas, with 12 UFC bouts featuring fighters from all over the world, including UFC icon BJ Penn, elite welterweight Jon Fitch, middleweights Michael Bisping and Jorge Rivera as well as the likes of George Sotiropoulos, Dennis Siver, Chris Lytle and Kyle Noke. This is the ultimate piece of UFC memorabilia for your gym or home, and worldwide shipping is included.

Jon Fitch UFC 127 Fight Shorts - BIDDING ENDS MARCH 1
Welterweight star Jon Fitch, one of the most successful fighters in the history of the UFC, has donated the fight shorts he will wear during the UFC 127 main event v two-time UFC Champion BJ Penn. This is a rare chance to own a piece of one of the most pivotal matchups in the UFC welterweight division. Worldwide shipping included.

Michael Bisping UFC 127 Fight Gloves and Walk Out Shirt - BIDDING ENDS MARCH 1
Own the very UFC gloves that ‘The Count’ will use in the Octagon during his UFC 127 co-main event vs. Jorge Rivera. Also included will be the official Bisping walk-out shirt ‘The Count’ will wear into the Octagon as he looks to settle his feud with ‘El Conquistador’. Worldwide shipping included.

Jorge Rivera UFC 127 Fight Kit - BIDDING ENDS MARCH 1
Middleweight contender Jorge Rivera has donated his walk out shirt, actual fight shorts and the UFC 127 fight gloves that he will wear when he vows he will knock out Michael Bisping in the co-main event. Worldwide shipping included.

Kyle Noke UFC 127 Fight Shorts - BIDDING ENDS MARCH 1
Aussie hero Kyle Noke has donated his UFC 127 fight shirt, fight shorts and fight gloves to help raise money to help his own. Bid now for a real piece of Aussie MMA history. Worldwide shipping included.

Ross Pearson UFC 127 Fight Kit - BIDDING ENDS MARCH 1
Bid now to own TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson’s actual UFC 127 fight gloves, walk-out shirt and board shorts that he will be wearing in his hotly anticipated fight with Spencer Fisher. Worldwide shipping included.

The UFC encourages fans to give whatever they can to the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal at: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

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Warburton Ready for His Second Chance

"I’ve just got to go out there and do a job. I’m gonna stand and trade with him and see what he’s got." Your commute to work ain’t got nothing on Curt Warburton’s trek to Sydney, Australia for his UFC 127 bout against Maciej Jewtuszko.

First, the lightweight prospect drove two and a half hours from his home in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England to Manchester Airport. Then it was an hour flight to Heathrow, followed by flights to Bangkok and then Sydney, which clocked in at 12 and 10 hours, respectively. Yet you won’t hear any complaining from Warburton.

“I went last year with Mike (Bisping) for his training camp, so it should be okay,” he said. “I can’t see it being a problem. At least I’m getting out and seeing places. Plus it’s nice and warm over there.”

If you’re wondering how a native of cold and rainy England can have such a warm and sunny attitude about what isn’t an easy trip, consider that Warburton’s used to being on the road, taking the three hour drive to the Wolfslair Gym in Widnes every week to train. It’s a labor of love to say the least, yet what makes it more bearable is the fact that in the gym at the moment are a group of fighters, including UFC 127 card mates Michael Bisping and Tom Blackledge that are going through the same thing he is.

“We’re all in the gym together and it makes the gym a bit busier and a bit more of a laugh,” said Warburton. “If it’s just me in the gym fighting on a show, then everyone’s just on me all the time – you have to do this, you have to do that. It takes a bit of the pressure off if there’s a few people on the show and we all go through the same stuff.”

“As soon as we get on the mat, everything’s serious and we train serious,” he continues. “I live three hours drive away from the gym so I’ll come down on a Monday and live in the gym all week with a few other lads. As soon as training’s finished, we’ll all go for some dinner or we’ll make some dinner in the kitchen and we’ll just have a bit of a laugh waiting for the next session. It’s really good and we are like a bit of a family here.”

And as the old saying goes, steel sharpens steel, so having a group of UFC vets in the gym can only strengthen each fighter’s chances for victory in a little over a week’s time. Warburton’s assignment is Poland’s Jewtuszko, an exciting battler who made a significant impression on fight fans in his lone WEC bout last August when he knocked out noted striker Anthony Njokuani in just 95 seconds.  Warburton hasn’t seen a lot of his opponent, but he has seen enough to get a read on him.

“All I’ve seen is what’s on Youtube,” said the 30-year old Brit of Jewtuszko. “And he’s very unorthodox and unpredictable. He’s a southpaw and I keep getting southpaws for some reason and I hate them. (Laughs) But I’ve just got to go out there and do a job. I’m gonna stand and trade with him and see what he’s got. I’m pretty strong for my weight and if he starts causing too many problems with him being too unorthodox, I think if I get him down, I can’t see him getting back up.”

“From what I’ve seen of him, he doesn’t know what he’s doing himself until the last minute,” Warburton continues. “Jumping scissor knees, jumping scissor kicks, spinning elbows. With him being so unorthodox, he leaves himself open and his guard’s down, so he’s there for the taking, but I have to go in range really tight because he could pull something out from nowhere. But if it comes to the point where we go into the clinch, I think I’ll be able to take him down quite easily.”

It’s a confident outlook from a fighter with just eight pro fights, but Warburton has earned that right, not only on the UK scene with a 2007 win over fellow 155-pound prospect Ross Pearson, but with a gutsy effort in his UFC debut last October against seasoned veteran Spencer Fisher. It was a toss into the deep end for “The War”, but he won the first round against Fisher and almost submitted him before running out of gas in the second frame en route to a three round decision loss. Regardless of the final outcome, Warburton showed that he belonged.

“I had a few things go wrong in training camp and we were deciding whether to pull out or not, but with it being my first time in the UFC and it being such a big opportunity, I didn’t want to pull out,” he explains. “I still thought I could win the fight, and the first round was going really well, but I gassed. I took a lot out of it though, and with him being such a great fighter, knowing that I could cope with him reasonably well until the last round, it gives me a lot of confidence going into this fight.”

Jewtuszko, at 8-0, has a similar level of experience on paper, but where Warburton may hold an edge is that he has lived through the first-time UFC jitters and also got a master class in high level lightweight fighting from a long-time contender in Fisher. You can’t put a price on such an education.

“He was experienced,” said Warburton of Fisher. “He knew when to pick the pace up and stuff like that. He knew how to control and when to put pressure on, and I learned a lot there. It was the first time in the big arena as well, so I might have had a bit of nervous energy. I felt okay, but you never know, and hopefully I’ll go into this fight a bit more relaxed.”

Despite the nerves, Warburton conducted himself like an old pro early on against Fisher, and it was an impressive showing from the former semi-pro football (soccer) player who started MMA in the off-season five years ago just to stay in shape.

“I picked it up really easy because I was rolling about with lads that had been doing it six, seven months and I was tapping them out with stuff, but I think I was just using my strength to be honest because I really didn’t know anything,” he said. “I got a fight a few months later and after winning that it just went from there. I really got my big break to come down to the Wolfslair and train a year and a half, two years ago.”

In 2010, Wolfslair team members Warburton, Blackledge, Rob Broughton, and Aaron Wilkinson were brought in to compete in the UFC. Broughton submitted Vinicius Queiroz at UFC 120, Warburton lost to Fisher, Blackledge will debut at UFC 127 against Anthony Perosh, and Wilkinson acquitted himself well on The Ultimate Fighter 12 but was cut after a TUF12 finale loss to Cody McKenzie. Needless to say, in the stacked lightweight division, having your hand raised is even more imperative if you want to stick around. Warburton plans on being one of the last men standing.

“I’ve had a good training camp for this fight, so hopefully I can put a good performance on because I want to be fighting in the UFC and the only way to do that is to win.”

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Aussie Perosh Seeks Elusive UFC Win

“I’m going to have the crowd behind me and it’s going to be great. We’re both up and coming guys, and this time I’ll be ready.” I have never played rugby, but I enjoy watching it on television every once in a blue moon.

Or so I thought until I chatted with Anthony Perosh.

A little background: I remember a few occasions, after midnight, laying in bed studying “Aussie” rules football on ESPN2. Though the American in me didn’t totally comprehend the sport’s rules or scoring system, the non-stop speed, palpable grit and poetic chaos of the game instinctively fascinated me.

Rugby, what a game!

And then, after a few years of harboring this belief – Perosh, a native Australian, made me feel utterly childish during a recent interview.

“No, no it’s not rugby. It’s different,” the 38-year-old UFC fighter said, shattering my assumption that Aussie rules football and rugby were one and the same.

“It’s complicated,” he continued. “We have four types of football and they’re all different. We have soccer, then rugby, then rugby league and Aussie rules football. That’s how crazy it is in Australia.”

Perosh, who is set to clash with Tom Blackledge at UFC 127 in Sydney, ought to know. For more than a decade he’s been an ardent fan and season ticket holder of the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League. He’s had the same seat at Sydney Cricket Ground stadium since 2002: Bay 8, Row J, Seat 9.

“The Aussie Rules Football is recognized as the only national football league in Australia because it’s in every city and state in Australia,” Perosh said. “I love watching; it’s my getaway every two weeks when they play their home game. I go and support my team. I cheer when they win and yell when they lose.”

Perosh figures to be the subject of much cheering himself when he steps into the Octagon for the fourth time on February 27. The Aussie fan favorite seeks redemption for his TKO loss last year to the legendary Mirko Cro Cop, a Croatian who shares the same bloodline as Perosh.

It’s worth reminding people that Perosh (10-6) took the bout with Cro Cop on a mere two days’ notice after Ben Rothwell was scratched from the UFC 110 main card with an injury. Most fighters wouldn’t dare step up to the plate on such a short turnaround. Yet Perosh, a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has competed several times in the prestigious Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships, said he was inspired by something he heard UFC president Dana White say at a press conference days before the event.

“That very morning at the UFC press conference, Dana White said, ‘It’s amazing how many guys turn down opportunities,’” Perosh said.

Later that day Perosh was offered the fight.

“I didn’t want to be one of those guys who turned down an opportunity to fight one of the biggest names in the world in front of my home crowd,” he said. “So it was almost a no-brainer.”

Anyone who saw the fight can never question Perosh’s will to win. Unable to take Cro Cop down to the mat, where Perosh excels, the last-minute replacement absorbed quite a beating. His face a bloody mess, Perosh valiantly fought on for 10 minutes before the cageside doctor halted the fight at the conclusion of round two.

This time around, Perosh has benefitted from a full training camp and dropped to the 205-pound weight class, though he knows substantially less about Blackledge’s tendencies than Cro Cop’s.

“From the footage I’ve seen he looks to be well rounded,” Perosh said of the British fighter, who trains with Michael Bisping at the Wolfslair Academy. “He likes to head kick and he looks well-rounded with his wrestling and BJJ as well.”

One of the most unlikely outcomes for the fight would be Blackledge triumphing by submission; no fighter has toppled Perosh in that fashion. Perosh’s biggest weakness, however, has been his lack of hand speed and general stiffness in the standup realm. When he doesn’t win by submission, Perosh’s odds of winning plummet. He’s won by TKO three times, been technically knocked out four times and lost twice by decision. Of note: Perosh has never won a fight that went the distance. Neither has Blackledge, who has never heard the final bell – whether winning or losing - in his 16 fight career, so something will have to give in their meeting.

For Perosh the stakes are huge. He has yet to have his hand raised inside of the Octagon. This is his golden chance, in front of his hometown faithful, to finally achieve that elusive milestone.

Perosh does not mention the fact that time is ticking on that dream. He is a few months shy of his 39th birthday but claims he is in the best shape of his life.

“I’m going to have the crowd behind me and it’s going to be great,” Perosh said. “It’ll be just like when I fought Cro Cop last year except this time I’ll be fighting a non-contender just like me. We’re both up and coming guys, and this time I’ll be ready.”

View the original article here

Fukuda Learns from an Unlikely Mentor

At UFC 127, Japanese middleweight Riki Fukuda makes his UFC debut against TUF11 veteran Nick Ring. Phil Baroni isn’t just Riki Fukuda’s close friend and longtime training partner. Baroni also moonlights, rather proudly, as Fukuda’s English teacher.

So while Fukuda, a Tokyo native, relied on an English translator for a recent UFC.com interview, the “New York Bad Ass” insists it was totally unnecessary.

“His English is fine! He’s my number one (English) student,” Baroni said enthusiastically, all kidding aside. “I’ve had a couple others.”

Leading up to his UFC 127 bout against middleweight Nick Ring, the 30-year-old Fukuda spoke exclusively in Japanese to UFC.com. Curious at what I was missing, I pressed Baroni to describe his buddy’s English.

“He has a New York accent,” Baroni said, “and he uses all the same words I do.”
Like what?

“Fugetaboutit,” Baroni offered.

What else?

“(Expletive) it.”

Baroni, wife at his side, brainstormed a bit more for the lessons he had imparted. After a short pause, two more Baroni-isms jumped to mind as staples of Fukuda’s fast-evolving second language:

“Yeah, right” and “nice, playa’, nice.”

English lessons aside, Fukuda (17-4) is best known for a seven-fight win streak that includes a unanimous decision victory over Murilo “Ninja” Rua, older brother of UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. A revealing measure of Fukuda’s valor can be traced to his pro debut back in 2004 when he battled Joe Doerksen in Hawaii. Fukuda’s record was 0-0; Doerksen was 25-5.

Baroni was one of the men working Fukuda’s corner that night.

“He fought his a—off,” Baroni recalled. “He was a former wrestler and Doerksen was a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who kept catching him in submissions and then Riki would escape and the crowd would go crazy. He showed a lot of heart and guts. I knew then that he would be a star if he ever had the right training and opportunities.”

While the bulk of Fukuda’s training has been in Japan, often with sparring partners Yushin Okami and Yoshihiro Akiyama, he has also traveled with Baroni for stints at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, and Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

“All of the U.S. gyms are huge compared to Japanese gyms and they have a nice environment for training,” Fukuda said through his translator, Fumihiko Ishii. “All of the American fighters are very serious about reaching success and are more committed compared to Japan.”

That dedication, Fukuda indicated, is what has elevated his game over the past few years.

“I’ve put more effort in,” said the former collegiate wrestler, who also earned a college degree in law. “I committed to train harder than before.”

Fukuda, who also developed a fondness for yoga, MTV, reggae music and burritos during his forays in the U.S., surmised that many Japanese fighters have not fared well inside of the Octagon because they don’t cut weight or focus only on finishing a fight, rather than strategy. The Japanese fighter expects to have his hands full when he faces Ring, a member of the Ultimate Fighter season 11 cast who is 10-0 as a pro.

Baroni, a UFC veteran, sensed that his good friend was battling jitters as his UFC debut inched closer.

“He’s really nervous because this is his big chance; it’s do or die,” Baroni said. “I told him to fight and enjoy it. Go out there with a smile on your face, don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself. Not a lot of guys get to fight in the UFC. I’ve been there before and froze and fought tight and not to my potential. What happens is what will happen. The outcome will take care of itself.”

View the original article here

Tweets of the Week - 2/11

UFC 126 Remix
Kyle Kingsbury @Kingsbu looked great with his 29 second TKO on Spike this weekend even while running a bad fever. Follow @Kingsbu  -Ryan Bader

Sorry guys, was a bad night. I'll learn and will come back much better   -Ryan Bader

Got a soar foot..... Lol  -Paul Taylor

I just had the greatest night of my career and 20 mins before my fight my grandfather ( father) passed!! I'm so sick I don't know what to do  -Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone

Waitin to leave the hospital. Great news it's not broken!! Time to relax and have some fun. Thanks4all the love guys!!  -Chad Mendes

Big thank you to my sponsors @BSNFinishFirst @SLiMEnews @mmaelitebrand @SPRAWLshorts Support these guys!  -Forrest Griffin

But seriously, on a scale of 1 to 10 how dangerous is Anderson Silva??? Dance around for a bit then POW you're a HL reel...  -Benson Henderson

I just sow the kick. It was fantastic even then I think this will land once in a million , land tonight I only have one thing to say I love the fans and I will be back soon I have so much energy on me that i am ready to run , thanks for every one that came to se the fight and how both the fight much love  -Vitor Belfort

Sorry I tapped guys I should have gone asleep like a man !! :(  -Paul Kelly

Very happy to get the W for my teammates, coaches all my sponsors including #Xbox360 and too all my fans  -Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson

Catchweight?
http://plixi.com/p/76269206 sooo my hands doing great n still getting better everyday! Cnt wait till I can punch @philmrwonderful wit it;)!  -Dominick Cruz

@TheDomin8r if u want war little dude a war is what u'll get  -Phil Davis

Stann & Deliver
Long day and haven't had much time to tweet updates, working/training hard and still waiting for an opponent but UFC 130 looks like the date  -Brian Stann

Meathead of Household
This little monster put an ENTIRE bagel in his mouth and needless to say, vomited everywhere. Ahhh, the joys of parenthood  -Matt Mitrione

Git ‘er Downes
I just saw that Larry the Cable Guy is going to have his own show on the History Channel. They just don't make history like they used to  -Daniel Downes

Only If There’s a Laugh Track
I wanna make saying "hey gang!" cool.  -Kenny Florian

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UFC® Sells Out Rogers Centre In Minutes

UFC® 129: ST-PIERRE vs. SHIELDS Generates Largest Single-Day Event Gate in Rogers Centre History

55,000 Tickets Sold for Historic UFC Stadium Event

Toronto, Ontario, Canada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that tickets for UFC® 129: ST-PIERRE vs. SHIELDS at Rogers Centre in Toronto on April 30 sold out minutes after being made available to the public. Rogers Centre was originally configured for 42,000 seats, but due to overwhelming demand, UFC and Rogers Centre officials reconfigured the venue to accommodate 55,000.

UFC® 129: ST-PIERRE vs. SHIELDS, which is presented by TapouT®, is the first major mixed martial arts event to ever be held in Ontario. The event doubles the largest gate and attendance records in UFC history. The previous gate record for a UFC event was $5.4 million, which was set on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for UFC 66: LIDDELL vs. ORTIZ 2. UFC 124: ST-PIERRE vs. KOSCHECK 2, held at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Dec. 11, 2010, previously held the attendance record with over 23,000 fans.

With two UFC records already shattered, UFC 129 is also the largest single-day event gate in the history of Rogers Centre, which has played home to some of the world’s top entertainment and sporting events.

“UFC continues to set new milestones,” UFC President Dana White said. “We’ve sold 55,000 tickets in our first stadium event in Toronto and we continue to take the UFC to the next level.”

“Based on the lightning quick sell-out, there is no doubt that UFC’s fan base is extremely passionate”, said Silvio D’Addario, VP Events, Rogers Centre.  “We’ve worked closely with UFC to configure our venue to provide the best fan experience possible and we look forward to hosting this historic event.”
While UFC 129 is sold out, tickets for the UFC® Fan Expo at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto on April 29-30 are still available at www.ufcfanexpo.com. Featuring the largest collection of UFC® fighters ever to appear in one location, exciting special events, interactive Q&A sessions, meet and greets, training and development sessions, the Octagon®, and much more, the UFC Fan Expo is a can’t-miss event for UFC fans.

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Tuchscherer Swinging "The Crowbar" Again

"I’ve had time to reevaluate the way my fights have been in the UFC and I kinda went away from the old Tuchscherer. I’m gonna bring back the old Tuchscherer.” The January announcement that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was going to coach season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter was met with a blitz of positive press and an equally enthusiastic response from fans.

Another interested party – heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer – was pleased as well, despite the assumption that he was losing a key training partner as well as some of his coaching staff as he prepared for his UFC 127 bout against Mark Hunt. But as “The Crowbar” explains, he has not only worked with his usual team for this fight in Vegas, but his itinerary includes a return to Greg Nelson’s camp in Minnesota and some work in Arizona with Ryan Bader and company.

“It hasn’t sidetracked me at all,” said Tuchscherer of Lesnar’s TUF13 stint. “I’ve been getting good training in, done some different things and switched up some things that I think are gonna be better for me.”

While conducting this interview, Tuchscherer was in Las Vegas, working with Lesnar for the week before heading back to Minnesota. This camp has provided a nice change in scenery and training philosophies for the 35-year old, who is hoping to even up his UFC record at 2-2 with a win over Hunt.

“What it (visiting different camps) does is let you see how other people train and lets you try different things instead of doing it the way you’ve always been used to doing it,” he said. “To keep evolving in this sport, you have to widen your game. You can’t be one-dimensional, and if something’s not working, it’s time to change it up.”

Coming off a first round TKO loss to rising star Brendan Schaub at UFC 116 last July, Tuchscherer has had plenty of time to reevaluate an Octagon stint that has yet to set the world on fire. Entering the organization with a 17-1, 1 NC record in 2009, the former Division II All-American wrestler got no favors in his first bout when he was pitted against former world title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga and then absorbed a cringe-inducing, yet inadvertent kick to the groin before getting stopped later in the first round with a legitimate barrage of strikes.

Next up was Tim Hague in February of 2010, and while Tuchscherer pulled off the majority decision win, he faded down the stretch thanks to a rough weight cut on fight week.

“I don’t know what went wrong,” he said. “I thought I was in good shape, but I think having to cut all that weight hurt me. I was walking around at 278 the week of the fight and I’ve never had to cut before.”

Then came the one-sided loss to Schaub, and in the months since that bout, Tuchscherer came to a realization when it came to the way he’s been fighting and performing.

“I said ‘what am I doing?’ I’m trying to fight a way that I shouldn’t be fighting. I shouldn’t be trying to be someone that I’m not. Us wrestlers try to work standup a lot, and you always want to put on a good fight, so I think I went away from my style as far as being a grinder. I’m a guy who’s in your face and who closes the distance right away, and in my last couple fights I went to ‘let’s go out there and see if I can be Mike Tyson and try to bang with this guy,’ and I was trying to do things that I probably shouldn’t be doing, especially against someone else who has that as their forte.”

So after finding out that striking with a former Golden Gloves champ with dynamite in his fists (Schaub) wasn’t the wisest course of action, Tuchscherer has gotten back to what got him here in the first place – good ol’ fashioned Mark Coleman / Dan Severn ground and pound. He’s also tightened up his cardio routines (he’s already been walking around at 265), and when it’s time to fight on February 27th against the former K-1 Grand Prix champion, his goal is clear.

“I’m gonna push, push, push,” he said. “I feel right now that I’m in the best shape that I’ve ever been in, my weight’s maintained, I’m walking around at about 265, and I feel good about where my cardio’s at. I’ve had time to reevaluate the way my fights have been in the UFC and I kinda went away from the old Tuchscherer. I’m gonna bring back the old Tuchscherer, and I’m bringing back to the table what got me here in the first place.”

One thing that isn’t on his throwback ‘to do’ list though is his former hobby of stock car racing in North Dakota.

“Racing’s been done since I started in the UFC,” he said. “I even had a couple people come up and ask me, ‘do you want to drive?’ It’s really tempting, but I’m so focused on this. I used to race 40-50 nights a year in the summer and I went from that to going to only two races, and that was to watch. You can always race when you’re old. (Laughs) You can’t fight when you’re 50-60.”

Well, unless you’re Randy Couture, who probably can’t be counted out from stepping into the Octagon at 60, but he’s the one in a million who could. For the rest of the fighting population, there’s a small window in which to put together a successful career, and Tuchscherer is willing to do what it takes to reach his goals. That means a lot of sacrifice, from him, and from his family. Luckily, the entire clan, which includes his wife Natalie and their two children, is on board.

“My family’s gotten me to where I am,” he said. “If I didn’t have their support, I wouldn’t be here. My hometown is Fargo, North Dakota, but when I train, I gotta leave every week. My wife works a full-time job, 48 hours a week, plus she takes care of two kids, and if she wasn’t there to help that part of it out, I couldn’t do it.”

So to make sure all the sacrifices are worth it, “The Crowbar” will start swinging again in less than two weeks. If you’ve watched him over the last couple years, you may not recognize him, but if you’ve seen his bouts in Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks, it could be like seeing an old friend with a new haircut.

“I’ve been doing a lot of different things this time and I’ve got a real good feeling about this fight,” he said. “I’m looking at this fight as the new me, like I’m reinventing myself.”

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