Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy Joins UFC FIGHT PASS

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy to begin new role within the UFC

Former UFC title challenger Dan Hardy to serve as colour commentator for six exclusive live events. Hardy will join John Gooden and Andy Friedlander in all new broadcast team.

Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy - the popular and charismatic former UFC welterweight title contender - will serve as the color commentator for six UFC Fight Night events to be screened exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS, the UFC announced on Friday.

Known for his punching power, punk rock Mohawk hairstyle and quick wit, Hardy remains the only British fighter to ever challenge for a UFC title, losing in a memorably courageous performance to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111 in March 2010.

Hardy has a MMA record of 25-10, 1NC, but is currently off the active roster having been diagnosed with a rare heart condition a year ago. Although Hardy, still only 31, continues to train in MMA he is fully focused on his new position within the UFC.

Hardy’s first assignment at Octagonside will come on March 8, when he will be calling the action at the same O2 Arena in London where he twice competed as a UFC welterweight contender.

The Briton said:

“I’m very excited to be putting on the headset for the UFC. I’ve got the same nerves and butterflies that I had when I first signed for the company as a fighter back in 2008. I think I can bring a great perspective to the color commentator’s role. Researching and breaking down UFC fighters and fights is what I’ve been doing for over 10 years now, only now I am not just concentrating on my own division, but every division. I think I bring a different perspective to the role. Not only have I fought and trained with some of the best fighters in the world, I think I’ve had one of the most varied careers in the history of the UFC.

“If we only look at my 6-4 record in the UFC, I’ve done it all. I’ve knocked people out and I’ve been knocked out. I’ve headlined huge Pay-Per-Views and I’ve fought on the prelims. I’ve fought guys I liked and respected, and I’ve fought in grudge matches. I’ve been in every high-pressure situation a fighter can find himself in, from challenging a pound-for-pound champion like Georges St-Pierre, to fighting in my hometown with all my family and friends in the front row, to fighting to stay in the UFC when I was 0-4 a couple of years ago.

“I’ve packed a lot of experience into my 10 fights in the UFC, and I’m looking forward to sharing that experience and insight with the fans.”

 UFC Chief Content Officer Marshall Zelaznik added:

“Dan is extremely popular among our fans, and we are very excited that he will be bringing his wealth of experience to six of the upcoming 2014 UFC FIGHT PASS Fight Nights.

“I’d like to add that, as popular as Dan is, he auditioned for the position. And he blew us away with his audition and got the job because he is the best candidate. He has a unique perspective and style of delivery which I know UFC FIGHT PASS subscribers will enjoy.”

Hardy will be part of an all-British announcing team for the six exclusive UFC FIGHT PASS events which will emanate from the British Isles, mainland Europe and the Middle East.

Sitting next to the Outlaw at Octagonside will be veteran mixed martial arts play-by-play broadcaster John Gooden, while the vastly experienced emcee Andy Friedlander will be introducing fighters from inside the Octagon, serving as the Octagon announcer.

Gooden has earned his reputation on the European mixed martial arts circuit as an insightful play-by-play man and television pundit. Hailing from Greater London, he has competed at a national level in both judo and karate and trained for the last decade in Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Gooden will now call mixed martial arts events exclusively for the UFC.

Friedlander brings a wealth of experience to his role as the voice of the Octagon. He has served as the major event emcee at the famed 90,000 seater Wembley Stadium in London for over a decade, hosting over 100 globally televised football matches including two UEFA Champions League finals. He has served in a similar position at Twickenham Stadium - the home of English Rugby Union - and has also become a fixture at major boxing events across the UK. Like his new colleagues, Friedlander is a passionate MMA fan and student of the sport. He currently trains under former UFC veteran Jess Liaudin.

March is a huge month for UFC FIGHT PASS subscribers. On March 1, UFC FIGHT PASS will be the only place to see UFC Fight Night Macau, headlined by a welterweight battle between “Stun Gun” Kim and John Hathaway. Then comes the stacked March 8 London card headlined by No.1 ranked light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson taking on unbeaten British banger Jimi “Posterboy” Manuwa and, on March 9, subscribers will witness the hotly-anticipated season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil: Team Wanderlei vs Team Sonnen.

UFC Fight Pass is now available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. It will be rolled out in additional markets throughout 2014, continue to check UFC.TV for updates. Content will vary country to country according to local television blackout rules.

All bouts live and subject to change. Visit UFC.com and UFCFightPass.com or more information.

Stars of UFC London predict who will win at UFC 170

Phil Harris, Danny Mitchell and Brad Scott predict UFC 170

by Ben Heather @benheather

Normally before all the UFC events we put out our own predictions picking who we think will win and our reasoning for why. This week we thought we would try and mix it up and instead of giving you our picks we have instead asked some of the best UK fighters, who will all be showcasing their skills in the Octagon in a little over 2 weeks at UFC Fight Night 38 in London.

The fighters who will be predicting the fights for this event are:

Phil Harris (1-2 UFC 22-11-1 MMA)

The english flyweight who meets Louis Gaudinot in London. That fight will kick off the show in London and is sure to be a great battle between two tough flyweights. Phil will be looking to return to London in the UFC and get his hand raised again as he did in February '13 when he defeated Ulysses Gomez.

Danny Mitchell (14-4-1 MMA)

The Cheescake Assassin will make his UFC debut next month against Igor Araujo. Mitchell has a very good record and is a welcome addition to the UFC roster. Mitchell has faced a lot of top opppnents including Dean Amasinger, Gunnar Nelson and also fought to a draw against former Cage Warriors Welterweight champion Cathal Pendred.

Brad Scott (1-1 UFC 9-2 MMA)

First became a familiar name to UFC fans when he was part of Team UK on TUF: The Smashes where he made it all the way to the final of the welterweight bracket. He would lose that fight against Robert Whittaker but then moved up to middleweight. He made his UFC middleweight debut against Michael Kuiper in Manchester finishing him in the first round and will return to action again in London.

So lets get down to business, below you will find the predictions for the fighters.

Ronda Rousey vs Sara McMann

Harris: Rousey by Decision

Mitchell: Rousey by Submission Round 1

Scott: McMann by Decision

Daniel Cormier vs Pat Cummins

Harris: Cormier by TKO Round 1

Mitchell: Cormier by Decision

Scott: Cormier by KO

Rory MacDonald vs Demian Maia 

Harris: MacDonald by Decision

Mitchell: Macdonald by TKO Round 2

Scott: MacDonald by Decision

Mike Pyle vs TJ Waldburger

Harris: Waldburger by Decision

Mitchell: Pyle by TKO Round 1

Scott: Pyle by Decision

Robert Whittaker vs Stephen Thompson

Harris: Whittaker by TKO Round 2/3

Mitchell: Whittaker by Decision

Scott: Whittaker by TKO Round 2/3

There you have it, we would like to thank all the fighters for picking who they think will win and we will see on Saturday night who comes out with the most correct results.

Brad Pickett Meets Cage Warrior Champion Neil Seery at UFC Fight Night 37

Brad Pickett Makes his Flyweight Debut Against Irishman Neil Seery at UFC Fight Night 37
by Tommy Strong - @strong_tea

(Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors)

With just over 3 weeks until UFC Fight Night 37,  UFC officials have announced a replacement fight for Brad Pickett after seeing Ian McCall having to pull out due to an injury.

Pickett (23-8) will now make his UFC flyweight debut against Irishman Neil Seery (13-9 MMA) in London. Current Cage Warrior flyweight champion Seery, will now vacate his belt and move over to the UFC to make his debut at the age of 34.

Since joining the UFC , Pickett put together a record of 3-3 in the Bantamweight division. With losses coming against former title contenders Michael McDonald, Eddie Wineland and current Bantamweight champion Renan Barao, Pickett finds himself out of the title picture at 135, and will try a hand at a new weight.

With all the hard work that has Pickett has gone through, he will be no doubt be pleased that a fight has been found so close to the scheduled date, however a source close to the fighter told Kingdom MMA, that finding an opponent on short notice proved to be difficult:

"The UFC couldn't find anyone to take the fight with Brad" 

Having picked up 4 fight of the night bonuses and 1 knockout of the night bonus in his 6 UFC fights and Seery having finished 5 finishes of his last 6 opponents last 6 fight, fans watching on BT Sports, and those in attendance at the O2 on March 8th can no doubt expect fireworks.

With the addition of Pickett vs Seery, UFC Fight Night 37 now includes:

Also confirmed for the Main Card:
Alexander Gustafsson vs Jimi Manuwa
Melvin Guillard vs. Michael Johnson
Brad Pickett vs. Neil Seery
Omari Akhmedov vs. Gunnar Nelson

Preliminary Card: 

Cyrille Diabate vs. IIir Latifi
Luke Barnatt vs. Mats Nilsson
Bradley Scott vs. Claudio Henrique da Silva
Roland Delorme vs. Davey Grant
Igor Araujo vs. Danny Mitchell
Louis Gaudinot vs. Phil Harris

What's next for the winnners of UFC Fight Night 36

Kingdom MMA look at what’s next for the winners of UFC FN36?

by Sam Heard @SamHeard_

Lyoto Machida
Next fight: Winner of Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC 173)

Now 2-0 at Middleweight against a pair of the most dangerous fighter on the UFC roster, it would be a bold statement to suggest that Machida isn’t deserving of the next pop at the 185-lbs belt.

His speed and technical striking advantage over former Strikeforce LHW champion Gegard Mousasi were plain to see, meriting him a one-sided decision victory after five rounds. It’s worth mentioning that against virtually any other opponent Machida’s performance probably would’ve earned the stoppage – Gegard ate several huge kicks directly to the jaw which would’ve been more than enough to drop most other middleweights (and indeed smaller African elephants).

Though he hobbled after his victory, this could well work to his advantage in his pursuit of being given the next title shot. Weidman and Belfort won’t be throwing down until May 24th which means either way Machida will be forced to wait and his foot injury will prevent him being given a match-up before then.

Ronaldo Souza
Next fight: Winner of Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Boetsch (UFC 173)

There’s no denying that Souza fell behind Machida in the race to secure the next no1 contender spot.

While he was mostly untroubled against Francis Carmont, I can’t help but think he should’ve been able to secure the submission victory from the dangerous ground positions he managed to take against the Frenchman. Going into Saturday’s fight, three of Carmont’s seven career loses had come via submission so expecting someone with Jacare’s BJJ credentials to submit a fighter having taken their back multiple times isn’t a big ask.

I find the UFC’s matching of Rockhold – who looked awesome in his last appearance – against middle-of-the-line Boetsch pretty strange. If, as most fans are expecting, Rockhold beats Boetsch, Joe Silva should arrange the rematch of Rockhold and Jacare, the winner potentially being next in line after Machida.

Erick Silva
Next fight: Brandon Thatch

Silva’s match up went according to the script as he immediately blasted through heavy-underdog Takenori Sako on Saturday night.

Silva can be a tricky fighter to matchmaker for. He looks like a world-beater against lower-level UFC welterweights but as soon as he takes a step-up in competition, he finds his momentum crushed by another loss (admittedly in the loss to Dong Hyun Kim he had been dominating until the KO). I believe that if Silva actually manages to amass a few consecutive UFC wins he could be a real contender in the 170-lbs division.

A clash with the massively-hyped prospect Brandon Thatch – who had stopped all 10 of his last opponents in the very first round – would be an amazing match up. Both fighters have similar offence-based styles so seeing the two in the octagon would surely be exciting from the start. A win for either of them against the other would more than likely buy their place into the division’s top ten rankings.

Nicholas Musoke
Next fight: Winner of Thiago Alves vs. Seth Baczynski (UFC on Fox 11)

Picking up the win on Saturday in front of a hostile Brazilian crowd (and in spite of a horrific looking groin shot in round three), Swedish Nicholas Musoke looked highly impressive.

A fight with the winner of Thiago Alves and Seth Baczynski makes a lot of sense. Alves hasn’t fought for the last two years and cannot expect to jump back to the top of the Welterweight division where he once resided. Assuming he wins against Baczynski, a fight against the impressive Nicholas Musoke would be perfect in his quest to re-establish his status in the division.

Charles Oliveira
Next fight: Felipe Arantes

Charles Oliveira finds himself in a state of limbo, comfortably dealing with opponents outside of the Featherweight division’s top-ten but then stumbling against the likes of Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson. He made a difficult opponent in Andy Ogle look second-rate, eventually submitting him in the third round.

Only just coming off his two fight skid, it’s too soon to give Oliveira another top-ranked opponent. Instead, he should be given the opportunity to garner some consecutive wins against respected opponents like Ogle so he can build some momentum and self-confidence.

A perfect opponent for his next fight would be Felipe Arantes who, like Oliveira, was victorious on Saturday against Maximo Blanco. Arantes would be given a hike in competition and the chance to put himself on the map while Oliveira would confirm his talent by acquiring another UFC win.

Nicolas Dalby vs Sergei Churilov Meet for Vacant Cage Warriors Welterweight Title in Demark

Nicolas Dalby vs Sergei Churilov Meet for Vacant Cage Warriors Welterweight Title in Demark

The CWFC welterweight world title will be on the line when Cage Warriors Fighting Championship heads to Denmark next month.

Home favourite Nicolas Dalby will take on Ukraine’s Sergei Churilov for the vacant 170lbs belt in the main event at CWFC 66 at Copenhagen’s Ballerup Super Arena on Saturday, March 22.

CWFC officials can today confirm that the belt has been vacated by previous champion Cathal Pendred, who has been released from his contract by mutual agreement.

Dalby (11-0), Scandinavia’s highest-ranked welterweight outside the UFC, is undefeated in his 11 professional bouts since making his debut in March 2010.

The well-rounded 29-year-old holds notable wins over Morten Djursaa, Ivica Truscek, Acoidan Duque and Glenn Sparv.

Commenting on the opportunity to compete for the CWFC belt in his hometown, Dalby said: “I’m extremely excited about fighting for this prestigious title. I’ll do my utmost to ensure that CWFC, the fans in the arena and the viewers at home are treated to a very entertaining fight.”

Churilov (15-1), a team-mate of former CWFC middleweight title challenger Pavel Kusch at Ukraine’s renowned Combat Dobro camp, has taken 11 of his 15 professional victories inside the first round.

The 29-year-old previously competed for Cage Warriors Fighting Championship at CWFC 46 in Kiev, when he impressively submitted Anatoly Starodubtsev.

“I’m really happy to have been given this massive opportunity by the biggest MMA organisation in Europe,” said Churilov. “I’m working hard to make sure that I do everything I can to bring the belt back to Ukraine.”

Paul Dollery, Cage Warriors’ Director of Operations, added: “This has all the ingredients to be a fantastic bout, headlining our historic first ever event in Scandinavia, and the winner will be a very worthy CWFC champion.

“We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Cathal Pendred for his time as an outstanding CWFC athlete and champion, and we sincerely wish him the best for what will undoubtedly be an exciting future for him.”

The meeting of Dalby versus Churilov is just one of nine bouts that have today been confirmed for CWFC 66. With several bouts still to be announced, check out the current fight card below:

Sergei Churilov vs. Nicolas Dalby - CWFC welterweight title bout
Mohsen Bahari vs. Bruno Carvalho
Jack Hermansson vs. TBA
Robbie Olivier vs. Martin Svensson
Martin Akhtar vs. Toni Tauru
Damir Hadzovic vs. Tommy Maguire
Hakon Foss vs. Per Franklin
Emma Delaney vs. Lina Akhtar Lansberg
Rioo Ibrahim vs. Alexander Jacobsen
Haci Firat Dogan vs. Mathias Lodahl

Josh Sampo before UFC 170 "Zach Can Expect Fifteen Minutes of Hell"

Kingdom MMA talk to Josh Sampo before his fight at UFC 170

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

The UFC flyweight division has seen a drastic improvement over the last six months or so, with fresh blood adding depth to the division and giving Sean Shelby more options with who he matches up with champ Demetrious Johnson.

At UFC 170 on Saturday night two more flyweights will battle it out to climb into the championship discussion as Zach "Fun Size" Makovsky meets Josh "The Gremlin" Sampo in Las Vegas.

Makovsky was impressive in his UFC debut, defeating veteran Scott Jorgensen in a unanimous decision back at UFC on Fox 9 in December.

Sampo was equally as impressive in his own UFC debut as he took a hard fought submission win over Ryan Benoit back at TUF 18 Finale in November.

Speaking to KingdomMMA.co.uk Sampo played down the significance of fighting on the major platform that is Fox Sports 1, saying:

"This fight is just the next fight in my fight career."

"If I was the first fight or the main event, I'm still going to fight exactly the same and leave it all in the cage so personally it's not that big of a deal other than friends and family getting to watch from home."

Sampo's UFC debut was as a late replacement despite turning in a FOTN performance and he expects no less heading into battle with Makovsky on Saturday night. He said:

"I feel my style has all that and more to be fight of the night, but your opponent has to bring an equally good fight to you to make the fight eligible to receive such honors."

"I feel this fight has all the ingredients to be that. We'll all have to see what happens, but I think that it has a strong chance."

Sampo had trouble making the flyweight limit for his fight with Benoit and found himself ineligible for the FOTN bonus. However, he has played down the significance of loosing such a large amount of money in his mind. He said:

"The Lord works in mysterious ways, and from what I've seen my opponent (Benoit) needed that money much more than I did. He's a very deserving guy and I'm glad the money went to a good place in taking care of his family and child."

"When it comes down to it, I would have paid that amount for that experience again and again."

Sampo fights out of St.Charles MMA and has worked meticulously with his team to formulate a plan to negotiate his way past Makovsky. He said:

"My coaches do an amazing job of breaking down his game and coming up with a good game plan to negate anything he might throw at us. I feel we match up well in all areas of skill. It's going to be a battle of nutrition and will."

 "I never give predictions. All I can guarantee is on February 22nd I'm going to bring everything I've got and leave it all in the cage. A hundred miles an hour from bell to bell. Zach can expect fifteen minutes of hell from me."

Despite being an ever expanding division, a couple of wins strung together and anyone can be in contention for a crack at Demetrious Johnson. A win here could propel either man into the upper echelons of the rankings. Sampo said:

"Ultimately that's not up to me, all I can do is show up and fight my butt off. When the dust settles I'll let you know where I stand."

"I feel Zach is an awesome competitor and this is going to be a great test telling me where I am in the flyweight division."

Sampo has already ruffled some feathers in his short UFC stint, weirdly calling out "Uncle Creepy" Ian McCall with a bizarre "moustache battle" challenge. Sampo said of the call out:

"I have no ill feelings toward Ian."

"He's been one of the top flyweights since I began my career. I wanted to fight him then and want to even more now. I want to fight the best. I figured bringing his stache into the mix would get some attention on the fight and could push it into actually happening.  Hopefully this is a fight that will come to fruition in the near future."

  UFC 170 takes place Saturday February 22 from the Mandalay Bay Events Centre, Las Vegas, NV.

Brad Scott talks to Kingdom MMA before his fight at UFC London

Kingdom MMA catch up with Bradley Scott during his fight camp in Arizona

by Ben Heather @benheather

Bradley "Bear" Scott returns to action in the Octagon on March 8th as the UFC returns to London, ahead of that fight Brad took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to Kingdom MMA from Arizona where he is preparing for his fight at The MMA Lab. Brad is set to face Brazilian fighter Claudio Henrique da Silva that night. Today we caught up with Brad to discuss what he has been doing since his last fight, the performances of his team mates from The Lab recently and many more subjects.

Ben: At UFC on Fox 10 two of your MMA Lab team mates, Benson Henderson and John Moraga were in action in close fights. How did you score the fights?
Brad: In both cases people have been disputing the outcome but I think Benson won personally. Look at the fightmetric stats as well, I know that doesn't always show clearly the fight but personally I think Benson won 3 of the 5 rounds. People whinge that he only wins split decisions but I don't give a shit. He is fighting the best guys in the world, its going to be a close fight. Benson is a beast, I spar with him at The MMA Lab and he goes harder there than he does in his fights as well.

As for John Moraga, it makes me mad. John did a lot more damage, John even dropped the guy. Personally I believe that in a fight you're trying to do damage if you think about it. I know we all train MMA as a sport but at the end of the day you're trying to do damage and I don't like the idea that John was doing all the damage and all that guy did was simply hold him down. He didn't do anything, he didn't go for any submissions, no ground and pound, all he did was lay on him and cuddle him and that is not how you do damage. John left without a scratch on him, the other guy got dropped and John clearly won the fight in my eyes. John Moraga is a scary dude.

Ben: At UFC 169 we also saw another fighter from The MMA Lab Andy Enz, who has been one of your sparring partners during this camp. What did you make to his performance?
Brad: He is tough as fuck, and he doesn't give a fuck who you are either, He just stood toe to toe with a dangerous striker and he just kept going. He improved so much in his time at The Lab and was a lovely guy as well. I genuinely wanted him to win, I really like him and its savage that he lost.

I thought he won the last round as well, plus if you look at the way he landed when he got dropped he put his hands down so he must have regained consciousness as he went down.

I was not impressed with Clint, I would break his soul if he didn't knock me out in the first 2 minutes. I nearly called him out after the fight too.

Ben: Sticking with the recent UFC 169 event another English middleweight, Tom Watson was in action. How did you rate his performance and what do you think is next for Kong?
Brad: The fight was crap, it was like he was fighting not to lose. I personally think both me and Luke Barnatt would beat him and he is ranked above us both. Look at his UFC career, first of all he was given way to tough of an opponent in his debut in Brad Tavares. From Jack Marshman to Brad Tavares it was like welcome to the UFC that wasn't great match making in my opinion. Then his next fight against Stanislav Nedkov he went out and was trying to finish the fight and did. He rightfully got the Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night bonuses for that fight.

Then I don't know whats happened, I like Tom a lot. I used to look up to him a lot. I just don't know whats gone on, just throwing leg kicks is asking to be taken down. I hope he gets another shot and he just comes out and tears it up.

Ben: Now lets look back at your fight in Manchester and the events after, do you feel that after your fight in Manchester you got the credit you deserved for the win? It seemed to me that other guys seemed to get a lot more air time and publicity after the fight.
Brad: It doesn't bother me if I am honest with you. In all fairness Luke (Barnatt) got the Fight of the Night bonus which was quite impressive. It was quite cool when he landed the upper cut on Craig, put his hand in the air and walked away and Andrew Craig was still on his leg trying to take him down. That was pretty funny.

I believe a lot of it is because my fight wasn't televised. From what I have heard I had one of the biggest cheers of the night. I couldn't believe the reception I got, I was chuffed to bits and wasn't expecting that. Plus, in all fairness my fight wasn't the most exciting fight though was it. It was a couple of exchanges which I feel I got the better off. I landed a good upper cut put him against the fence and choked him out. Once I knew I had the choke I cranked on it so hard I hurt my back.

I was happy with the credit I got. When I beat the next guy then I will be more satisfied.

Ben: Did it annoy you that when your fight was announced for UFC London the fans were commenting negatively and wanting bigger names and better fights on the card?
Brad: No I'm on the undercard anyway so that doesn't bother me. I think they were more interested in the main card but they should be happy with what they get on the prelims. I could understand if I was on the main card, but not with me on the prelims. I think everyone on the whole card is awesome.

I do know what the fans mean though, they want big big names. They want guys that they have seen on a regular basis on the bigger shows but on the prelims its the guys working there way up the ladder that's why they are called the prelims. Due to the time zones you're not going to get Jon Jones and the fans should be happy that the show is being headlined by Gustafsson. As fans if you want to see the best unfortunately for us Brit's you've got to travel.
England does not have a big enough fan base yet which is why the UFC are trying to promote it in England by putting English fighters on the card. Beyond The Octagon is a fantastic show they are trying to promote a big show, trying to build the sport and promote English fighters and the fans moan, come on give em a chance.

I would be happy to be on the prelims for the next 5 fights and I would not care. I genuinely mean that, I think the pressure goes up as you go up the card and people expect more but people will be impressed by my next fight. I'm going to light Claudio up.... touch wood.

Ben: The win last time proved you were justified to go up in weight, what was your reasoning behind moving up a weight class?
Brad: Food. My whole life depended on dieting but now I can eat what ever I want as long as my performance is good I can eat what I want. My only worry was being dwarfed by people but I was a bigger build than Andy Enz, I move faster than a lot of middleweights and its a reason why John Crouch and everyone at the MMA Lab has been trying to get me to move back down to 170. When I go in there and get absolutely man handled that's when I will consider going back down in weight but until then I'm staying at 185.

Ben: For this fight did you ask for a specific fight?
Brad: All I did was ask to be on the London card then they gave me Claudio da Silva and as soon as that name come through I knew exactly who it was and took it. It could have been anyone mind I would have taken it but I said yeah 100% I know who he is, I know what he is good at, I've seen him fight he's a jui jitsu master.

Ben: Your back at the Lab for this fight, is that something you intend to do for every camp now?
Brad: The Lab is awesome, I know its predominantly a lightweight gym but there is a lot of heavier guys there as well and they are all good. We are all learning the same, we are all drilling the same, we're all getting our hard sparring in. It doesn't matter what size you are you can still share the same gym. I do a lot of sparring with Benson, hard sparring because Benson is the same height as my next opponent but he is fucking stronger than my next opponent. Benson is a freak of strength, he lifts me clean up and slams me but he hasn't managed to keep me down or submit me yet.

Ben: Being at The MMA Lab seems to have a family atmosphere do you agree?
Brad: Yeah its the same as Dragonslair, I think that's why I get on so well. Everyone helps each other, great sparring, two of my sparring partners are all American wrestlers. One of them is good at jui jitsu as well, he won the worlds at blue belt and I know people may say its only blue belt but its the world championships so its legit.

Ben: Last time out you promised me a win by knock out, whats the plan for this fight?
Brad: Yeah I fucked up didn't I. I really doubt I am going to submit this guy, I want a knockout... not a TKO, I would love something horrific where his teeth hit the back row in the binocular seats. We will see what happens, I have to keep it tight stop him from locking anything on if he gets me down and then let him have it when we are stood up.

Ben: Did you find going back to The MMA Lab easier as you knew everyone?
Brad: I knew everyone and sparred the first day I got back, I felt personally I went back a better fighter. I had been drilling all the things I had been told to while I was away and I returned 10x the fighter I was the first time I went to The MMA Lab. I have added another boxing coach back in the UK, both of them are completely different styles and I am blending them up so I will be devastating people.

Ben: What was it like to walk out in the UFC in UK?
Brad: What compared to Australia, fucking awesome. I got spat on in Australia. I couldn't believe the cheer I was getting. It gave me goosebumps.

Thank you for your time, we really appreciate it and hope you have a safe trip back to the UK and we will see you in action as the UFC returns to London on March 8th.