Kingdom MMA speak to James Vicks before his UFC Fight Night 26 fight

UFC on Fox Sports 1's James Vick chats to Kingdom MMA about Ramsey Nijem, what it would be like to fight in the UK and more

by Chris Houten @mrhouts

Recently Kingdom MMA had the pleasure of catching up with UFC fighter James Vick who on Saturday night will open up the UFC Fight Night 26 event taking part in the first fight of the night live on Facebook. Vick who made his way to the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter Live as the fifth pick for Team Cruz. Since then Vick has gone off the radar but now he is most definitely back in the spot light.

Chris: It's been over a year since you were not medically cleared to face Vinc Pichel at The TUF 15 finale, how did you feel when you got the news you couldn't fight?
Vick: Well honestly after we both lost in the semi finals of the show I don't think either one of us, me or Vinc thought we were going to fight the next week on the finale. We both believed we were just going to get placed on a different card later down the road.

Chris: Did you ever feel like you might not make your debut or was there always the promise of a fight down the line?
Vick: Well immediately following TUF the UFC matchmaker Joe Silva promised me a fight. Then once I got injured he told me go ahead and get the surgery and then he would find me a fight once I was healthy again.

Chris: You face Ramsey Nijem on the debut UFC on FOX Sports card, why has it taken so long since the TUF finale to be handed your UFC debut?
Vick: I got injured during training and had to have surgery on my shoulder.

Chris: How has your preparation gone for the fight?
Vick: My preparation for this fight has gone great so far!   

Chris: Going into to the fight with Nijem you have a pretty big height and reach advantage, is the game plan to fight tall and keep Nijem from being able to close the distance?
Vick: Yes its no secret that my plan is to stand with him and try to keep him on the outside and land some big shots and possibly knock him out.

Chris: Nijem is known as a wrestler, with the reach advantage you have do you expect him to be keen to try and take you down?
Vick: Yes I definitely think his plan is to take me down. He'll probably start off trying to come in hard and fast with wild punches and then immediately go for the takedown just like he has done in all of his fights I've seen.

Chris: Do you feel any pressure going into the fight knowing the ufc could cut you with a loss?
Vick: I think every fighter feels some pressure going into these fights since they have been cutting people so frequently recently. But I'm not that worried about it because I plan on winning and then won't have to worry about it for awhile!

Chris: What's your keys to victory against Nijem and how do you see yourself winning the fight?
Vick: Well my keys to victory are to use my superior boxing skills to pick him apart or get back up to my feet should he take me down or work my jiu jitsu to catch him in a submission.

Chris: Finally do you have any interest in fighting outside of the US, maybe on a UK card?
Vick: I would love to fight outside of the US, I've never been outside of the country and it would be so exciting to travel the world some. The UK would be a great place to go fight and visit, since the TUF show I've had alot of really cool and supportive fans from the UK so it would be a honor to fight there!

Chris: Is there anyone you would like to thank?
Vick: I would like to thank all my teammates and friends from Team Lloyd Irvin, Phalanx mma academy, Ironside mma, and Weatherford boxing team who have all been so supportive and helped me progress into the fighter I am today. Also my Mom and Dad  and all my brothers and sister who are always so supportive of me and my career.

Thank you to James Vick for taking the time out to talk to us, we all wish him all the best for his fight and for all the fans who want to watch that fight against Ramsey Nijem then log on to Facebook on Saturday night.

UFC on FOX 7 Prelims Round up

A look back at the UFC on FOX 7 Prelims

by Ben Heather @benheather

I think that Saturday nights UFC on FOX 7 event was one of the best UFC events I have seen in a long time. For me its up there with the likes of UFC 139 as one of my favourite cards. Yes UFC 139 was finished off by one of the greatest fights ever to take place in the octagon in the war between Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua, but UFC on FOX 7 as a whole is definitely well up there in the top few events to me. So now lets have a recap on the main highlights from the prelims.

Facebook Prelims

Lets start with the Facebook prelims, we had two fights both ended in brutal finishes. The opening fight was finished off with one of the best flying knee's I have seen in a long time by Yoel Romero before he jumped on Clifford Starks to finish the fight with punches to a clearly beaten opponent. That fight only lasted 92 seconds and set the tone for most of the nights fights. This earned Romero $50k for a joint KOOTN bonus.

The second and final Facebook prelim fight made it in to the second round but again after 2:52 seconds Anthony Njokuani knocked out Roger Bowling. Bowling tried to rush Njokuani but as he chased in he was caught with a brutal hook which sent Bowling crashing first in to Njokuani's shoulder before face planting the canvas and ending the fight.

FX Prelims

Now on to the FX prelims (or as we Brits have to view it the UFC.tv prelims) and the great fights continued. The FX prelims consisted of six fights and four of them finished in knockouts. One of the two fights in the prelims which went to a decision was an early contender for FOTN.

Three of the knockouts came from members of Team Alpha Male, under the new head coach Duane Ludwig the team have been unstoppable. The first fight for Team Alpha Male was the back and forth battle between TJ Dillashaw and Hugo Viana. TJ got the TKO victory at the end of the first round after catching Viana with a couple of huge shots before pouncing on Viana until Big John had seen enough.
 Next up for Team Alpha Male was Joseph Benavidez who put on a show of class and justified why he is ranked so highly in the UFC rankings. He was better than Darren Uyenoyama in every aspect of the fight before finishing the fight with some brutal body shots at the end of the second round.
 The final member of Team Alpha Male fighting on the night was Chad Mendes and he was in and out of the octagon in only 68 seconds with another great performance for the team and a TKO of Darren Elkins. I truly believe Chad Mendes is the best featherweight in the world.... who is not called Jose Aldo.

The remaining knockout from the prelims was by Myles Jury. Jury Ko'd Ramsey Nijem in the second round, this came as a shock after the way the first round went. The first round was a great ground battle with so many transitions, nobody could keep the momentum and their opponent down. It was a beautiful contest of styles that us true fans of MMA really appreciate. The second round however stayed on its feet before Myles Jury landed the perfect counter right which puts Nijem to sleep. This doesn't stop Jury from jumping on the downed Nijem for one last shot before Big John can stop the fight. In my opinion, on any other fight card this would have been given as KOOTN but with so many to pick from tonight it didn't get the bonus for Jury.

We also had an early contender for FOTN, this was a closely fought three round war between Tim Means and Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal got the win on the judges scorecard he did what he needed to when he got the fight to the canvas. From top position Masvidal did enough to keep it there and get the win but Tim Means showed the world of MMA how to defend when on your back with some nasty elbows which turned Masvidal in to a bloody mess. Tim Means reputation surely has improved even though he rightfully lost this fight, it has to be a warning to any future opponents be warned if you want to take him down in future.

 The other fight on the prelims was a close fight between Lorenz Larkin and Francis Carmont. This was the first disappointing fight on the card and Francis Carmont got the decision with the judges but on the night I scored it for Larkin. Yes Carmont got on top and held Larkin against the cage for spells but it was Larkin who was always the one trying to fight and do damage and when on bottom with his back to the canvas he was looking for submissions, Carmont however was happy to just lay on top to get his win. On my scorecard I had this fight 29-28 Larkin.

In Review

I think its going to be a long time before we get to see a prelim card with as many highlights as we saw on this UFC on FOX 7 prelims. Other than a submission victory the prelims had everything that fans of MMA want to see. To finish with six KO/ TKO finishes in the prelims is unheard of so here today I would like to thank you to all the fighters for making this fight card so enjoyable and once again reassuring me as to why I love the sport of MMA.

Keep checking Kingdom MMA for the results from the Main Card of UFC on FOX 7.