On how he’s going to fight Rashad:

“I’m just gonna go and do what I do: go in there, strike with him, wrestle with him, take him down, ground and pound, look to submit…MMA him, if you will.”

When I asked him about whether or not he was concerned with Rashad’s wrestling ability, given that they were both collegiate wrestlers, Davis quickly asked, “Can you tell me his wrestling pedigree?” to which I had no reply.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOfR96_euMw

Davis brought up a great point. While Rashad is often touted to be a successful collegiate wrestler, upon further research, his wrestling “pedigree,” as Davis put it, pales in comparison to Davis’ NCAA career. While Davis had an overall record of 116-17 and was an NCAA Division I All-American four times (winning a NCAA title in 2008), Evans was only 48-34 at Michigan State.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxT6luq8glo

He would later go on to add, “I like him. I have a lot of respect for him.”

I also asked him about his thoughts on the development of Jon “Bones” Jones has made since their time together with LionHeart in 2008-2009:

“At the time…I was so bad I didn’t know how good he was! He still came a long way from where I saw him to where he is now…he’s come a long way.”

How would he prepare for a fight against Jon Jones? “I’d approach the fight as I approach every fight: baseball bats and billy clubs, man.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VkHcpUiSl0

When asked about his favorite fighters, BJ Penn easily made the list.

“I mean, I like different things about everybody, you know? I like BJ’s kinda like…crazy style…BJ’s like ‘brawl,’ he don’t care. I like that. He’ll fight anybody. I-I will not, I won’t fight ‘anybody.’ But BJ would, and I like that about him. BJ would fight [Alistair] Overeem. I won’t…but BJ would. I like that about him.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VkHcpUiSl0

By: Kevin Leong

“[Expletive] that bum.”

When pressed on why he feels such animosity towards Cole, he responded:

“I just don’t like him…not because of him beating Leonard [Garcia], nah, I don’t think that’s any reason, but just the way…his attitude prior to the fight and after the fight, and just his overall attitude now…I just don’t like the dude. And I plan on calling him out until I get that fight; as a fighter I want it, I want it, I want it, and if I gotta chase his [expletive] down to 145 then I will.”

He also stated that “[The fight] is gonna happen, 100 percent.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUHfXDB9rHk

On the tension between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones, Cerrone’s torn. As a member of the Jackson fighting camp, Cerrone’s stuck having to juggle his loyalties: one being with a recently ex-teammate and good friend, and the other with a current, successful teammate. On the controversy, Cerrone stated,

“Man, Rashad left camp, but Rashad was there, I mean we were like a family, you know, and he was there before everybody when it was just Rashad and KJ, you know, and that’s where my aisle sits…I’m a Rashad fan to the end, and that’s how I feel, so whether he left camp or not, I’m in Rashad’s corner…Rashad’s a good friend of mine, man, I talk to him all the time, it sucks to see him have to leave the team because of a bunch of [expletive], so yeah, I’m hurt by the situation.”

On Jones:

“Jones is a good dude, man, he’s young, and he’s talented, and he’s got all the right weapons and all the right tools. He’s a cool dude; I got nothing bad to say about him.

I had a chance to ask him about TapOut Ranch, a new 10-acre housing/training facility he purchased in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“It’s going very well, man, we just got the gym completely built up, though it aint nothing like the one you guys got here, but [expletive], it’s good, man, I love it. Leonard [Garcia]’s been on the road all month, so he gets back, and we’ve got 25 guys out there right now, so things are going good…We got a bunch of up-and-comers; that’s the plan, man, to build them up.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTNbpNHIHjw

Cerrone’s also recently became a big fan of Mark Hominick after his latest performance against Jose Aldo. While he admitted he’s not the biggest “fan” of the sport and doesn’t watch all the fights, his favorite fighters to watch are the guys that “just throw down and say ‘[expletive] it’ and stand their ground.”

It’s no surprise, considering Cerrone’s definitely one of those guys. No stranger to “Fight of the Night” honors, he’s never afraid to bang and trade blows.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CijaGLq_NNc

By: Kevin Leong

“I’ve been taking so many fights back-to-back, and I haven’t had time to be in the gym, no time for drilling, no time for anything, it’s basically been just getting into shape to fight again. And I’ve had so many opponent changes that I never have a chance to really sit down and focus on one guy, because I’ll be scheduled to fight somebody and then at the last moment they’ll switch it to somebody else.”

As a result, his camp’s going to focus on taking few fights this year to adequately prepare for each matchup.

“I fought six times last year, and it really hurt me more than anything.”

In the meantime, Leonard’s been focusing back on his wrestling and also getting his blackbelt in jiu-jitsu later this year.

About his fight with Chan Sung Jung, aka “The Korean Zombie,” Garcia admitted having never seen the twister before. However, right after the loss he was in the back room, training with Greg Jackson, and making sure he’d never be caught in a move like that again.

As for his transition to the UFC from the WEC, Garcia stated,

“It’s been great; of course, I was in the UFC before, and to come back at a different weight class where more people knew who I was, and had more exposure, it’s been much better for me. I’m accepted better in the UFC.”

For UFC 129, Garcia threw a viewing party for the armed forces at the Nellis Air Force Base. I asked him about what the armed forces mean to him:

“The armed forces, I mean, they’re our heroes. They’re great people and they really do risk life and limb for us to do what we do, just in life, period. So any time I get an opportunity to do anything with the troops, I’ll do it.”

Leonard’s been asking for a big fight against a guy like Michihiro Omigawa, but may be slated to fight Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres, instead.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOFIXFAhSR4

By: Kevin Leong

While the event wasn’t actually set to begin until 10 a.m., many fans and spectators lined up as early as 8 a.m. to stand in line for autographs. And if that’s not surprising enough, autograph sessions weren’t expected to even begin until noon.

Vendors and nutrition companies lined one side of the parking lot by a modest stage where the ribbon-cutting was set to take place.

Though definitely a far cry from the size and number of booths at the famous UFC Expos, the vendors and businesses there were more than enough. And, as always, there were more than enough of those annoying handouts to go around.

The gym itself was actually smaller than I imagined it would be, but that’s likely more my faulty expectations than a reflection on the gym itself. In fact, it’s roughly 45,000 square feet; not small by any standards.

Also, this is the third UFC Gym, and the largest of the three. There was more than enough space for several rows of ellipticals, treadmills and other heart-pounding, sweat-inducing machines for members to use.

The staff and a few members gave a quick circuit demonstration with five stations, showing how even a 25-30 second rotation can give an intense workout. By the end of the two-and-a-half minute demonstration, all members were sweaty and visibly worn out.

That’s the kind of intensity that is foreign and fascinating to many outside of the sport, and can now take part in it through the gym.

You know you’re in an MMA gym when you find equipment and machines that look like they’ve been taken straight out of someone’s backyard sitting in front of you, and yet, it strangely doesn’t look out of place. Seriously, where else would you find a tire sitting in the middle of the floor?

On top of that, there was a Jacob’s Ladder right next to some treadmills and a rope workout machine that simulates the climbing rope they made you climb back in gym class in the ’80s.

You see these types of workout machines in specialized workout videos and late-night infomercials, but I’ve never seen them up close. They’d definitely provide a cool, innovative workout.

And if that’s not a big enough giveaway to the kind of gym you are in, sitting dead-center in the gym is, of course, an Octagon.

However, the biggest difference that separates the UFC Gym from an ordinary gym is its family and community focus.

Several kids who were taking classes at the UFC Gym walked into the cage in the afternoon, giving spectators a demonstration of the moves they had been learning.

There are self-defense classes for men, women and children. And the gym has a section devoted for kids called, well, “Kid’s Gym.”

This focus on families and communities goes all the way to the top. As it says on the UFC Gym’s Senior Vice President Adam Sedlack’s Twitter page, the gym is “A new place in the fitness industry. Not your Parent’s Gym; It’s your Gym!”

In a brief conversation with Adam, I was amazed about how passionate he was not only about the business aspect of the gym, but its significance to the community and ability to affect peoples’ opinions of the sport.

Through their UFC viewing parties (free, of course, for members) during some of the recent fights, people unfamiliar with the sport have gotten to see it for the very first time.

And because of the classes and opportunities provided by the gym for these newcomers to take part in some of the intense workouts and training like that of UFC fighters, many have become instant fans.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vQ3bdUqyXU

Check out our fighter interviews from Phil Davis, Donald Cerrone, Leonard Garcia, and more from BJ Penn and his special announcement regarding the UFC Gym: BJ Penn branded gym in Hawaii.

By: Kevin Leong

Well, I have found the answer to that question. It would be the Mixed Martial Arts Training Journal. No, this isn’t the kind that your little sister keeps under her mattress, or the one you wrote in as a kid saying what you wanted to be when you grow up. Not even the one that says who ate a bug on recess. This is an MMA Training Journal. So, hit the jump and read about one of the most interesting and unique products I have come across.

This journal has every thing that you will need to chart your progress and goals for training. I will not be posting any pictures so that I can protect the content (since it is all print after all), but will let you know whats inside. It has an excellent introduction to the journal that explains why this little book is so important and includes a spot for your statistics, including height and weight and even a win/loss record (if you have one) and a BMI table.

Now lets get to the real meat of this journal. It has something that I think is very important – a place to set your goals. This is one are I think that is tremendously overlooked. People commonly set goals that are somewhat unattainable or do not set them at all. Think about it – without goals what are you working towards and how are you going to get there? It breaks it down in a couple of different ways from 45 days out to weekly goals.

Then you get into the daily journal. This part is unbelievable. It has everything for your training needs. You can input everything that you did that day. All types of training. Everything from weightlifting to who you rolled with that day and how you did. You can also put down what you ate and drank. This is the part that I found to be the most helpful. When doing this you can really break down what you eat and see if you are getting enough of what you need. For me, I found out that I was not eating enough calories through out the day. Now that I can see everything that eat and drink I am also less likely to eat crappy stuff.

Towards the back it has a place for notes and where you can enter in what you have learned about certain techniques or drills that you learned. It even has the rules for mma, muay thai, and jiu jitsu where it lists things like weight classes and ways to win.

I really can not say anything bad about this journal. If there is one product that I can convince you to get I hope it is this. By far one of the most useful pieces of equipment I have come across. I think that anyone that is truly serious about competing in mma, muay thai, or jiu jitsu should pick this book up. Trust me when I tell you, you will not be disappointed. This journal can be had for right around $20.

(Highly Recommended)

Click here to buy The Mixed Martial Arts Training Journal

As always visit www.mmagearadvice.com for more of my reviews.

By Jeff Sims

**Disclaimer** I received these at no cost for the purpose of review and received no payment from the company to do the review.

Progressive Martial Arts, located in Queens, New York, was established in 1995. Currently located in a brand new, state of the art 4,500 sq. ft. facility, PMA offers programs for all ages.

Check out and feel free to review Progressive Martial Arts here.  You can also visit their main website here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA-4DMYLyCQ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnZHCQsxc9A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQNWa3-Cd8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ByDtID9mQ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKBik5yGRDY