Adrenaline MMA Quick Results

Adrenaline MMA
Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates, IL
06/14/2008

Main Event
Mike Russow def. Jason Guida – guillotine choke/neck crank – RD 1 – 2:13

Main Card
Terry Martin def. Daiju Takase – disqualification/groin kick – RD 2 – 3:35
Forrest Petz def. Brian Gassaway – unanimous decision (29-28) x 3 – RD 3 – 5:00
Bart Palaszewski def. Jeff Cox – knockout/head kick – RD 2 – 3:07
Rory Markham def. Jay Ellis – triangle choke – RD 1 – 0:56
Clay French def. Jameel Massouh – rear naked choke – RD 2 – 3:18
Joe Jordan def. Ryan Williams – unanimous decision (29-28) x 3 – RD 3 – 5:00

Preliminary Card
Mike Stumpf def. Dom O’Grady – TKO/GnP – RD 2 – 3:53
Tom Belt def Marcus Levesseur – TKO/strikes – RD 1 – 4:10
Herc Hayes def. Kerry Schall – unanimous decision (29-28) x 3 – RD 3 – 5:00
Aaron Rosa def. Ron Fields – TKO/strikes – RD 2 – 0:34
Hector Urbina def. Dave Kleczkowski – TKO/strikes – RD 2 – 1:19
Louis Taylor def. Adam Maciejewski – unanimous decision (29-28), (30-27),(29-28) – RD 3 – 5:00
Joe Pearson def. John Hosman – triangle choke – RD 1 – 1:42

Adrenaline MMA debut show recap and thoughts

Last night in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Monte Cox’s upstart MMA organization, Adrenaline MMA made its debut. HDNet Fights was on hand broadcasting live from the Sears Centre and Affliction heavyweights Ben Rothwell, Tim Sylvia, and Andrei Arlovski were there to promote the upcoming Affliction card in July. The card featured mostly Illinois talent but a few Wisconsin fighters were on the card as well. Here’s a recap of the action and my thoughts on the promotions first card.

Preliminary Bouts

In the opening bout, Joe Pearson (26-10-1) was knocked down by John Hosman (7-4-1) but it ended up being a bad decision for Hosman to follow Pearson to the ground as Pearson threw up a triangle choke that Hosman was unable to escape. Hosman who is the bantamweight champion of the XFO, as well as our local Gladiators show, snapped a five fight win streak with the loss.

In a battle of two light-heavies, Louis Taylor (3-0) was able to outpoint Polish wrestler and Keith Hackney fighter, Adam Maciejewski (6-5) with scores of (29-28), (30-27), and (29-28) respectively.

Dave “The Polish Hammer” Kleczkowski (5-4) of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu in Milwaukee lost via TKO in the second round to Hector Urbina (12-4). Early in the fight Kleczkowski rocked Urbina with a punch, but Urbina survived and was able to out strike Kleczkowski for most of the round. Kleczkowski was also able to score a couple of takedowns in the first but he was unable to control Urbina and keep him on the canvas. In the second round, Kleczkowski went for a high-risk knee bar from the bottom. Rather than give it up, he continued to go for the submission and was TKO’d from Urbina who just dropped shots on him from above. I was also surprised to see not a single Matamoros guy in Kleczkowski’s corner for one of the biggest fights of his career. Freestyle Academy fighter Brian Geraghty and Neutral Ground’s Jay Ellis were his corner men.

After spending most of the first round underneath Elite XC veteran Aaron Rosa (11-2), Ron Fields (24-26-1) was dropped by a right cross early in the second round. The ref stepped in to save Fields at 0:34 in the second round. It looked like Fields was out so it will be interesting to see if he is allowed to fight next weekend against Justin Lemke of Adrian Serrano’s at the KTK show for the 205lb belt.

In a heavyweight clash, Antoine “Herc” Hayes (7-5), who had trained a little at the Roufusport Gym for this fight surprised everyone and beat Kerry “Meat Truck” Schall (21-10) of Miletich Fighting Systems with a unanimous decision. Schall won the first round by winning most of the exchanges but in the second round Hayes was a better wrestler and applied an Americana from side control. Hayes secured the victory with ground and pound from the top in the third. Scores were a unanimous (29-28) across the board.

Tom Belt (4-1) defeated wrestler Marcus Levesseur (5-2). Levesseur had Belt pressed up against the cage for an extended period of time but Belt was patient and ended up taking Levessuer down and getting full mount. Belt continued to strike and the bout was stopped after Levesseur turtled up to avoid punishment at 4:10 in the first.

In the most exciting battle on the preliminary card, Mike Stumpf (10-1) of Team Curran beat previously undefeated Dom O’Grady, now (4-1). The first round took place entirely on the feet and O’Grady was able to maintain cage control, however Stumpf was able to win most of the exchanges. In the second round, Stumpf scored a knock down and was quick to go for the kill. He wasn’t able to finish O’Grady and even got his back but O’Grady rolled out and was able to get back to the feet. Stumpf again rocked O’Grady with another knock down and was able to finish the fight with ground and pound at 3:53 in round two.

Main Card

Joe Jordan (42-12-2) was able to snap the five-fight winning streak Ryan Williams (5-3) was riding. Williams an XFO vet had no answer for the unorthodox striking style of Jordan. Jordan mostly toyed with Williams, taunting and teasing him earning him a shower of boos from the crowd. Late in the fight, Williams tried to mount a comeback but it was too little, too late. All the judges scored it (29-28).

In a lightweight bout, Jameel Massouh (16-4) of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy took on Clay French (16-2) of the H.I.T. (Hughes Intensive Training) Squad. While both fighters weighed in at the exact same weight of 155.4 lbs, Massouh looked much smaller than the wrestler. Massouh started out the round with some nice leg kicks but was taken down by French. He used some rubber guard technique to keep French from posturing up and delivering blows. Massouh was able to get back to his feet towards the end of the round but French finished the round with a high kick and a big punch that may have stunned Massouh. In the second round French scored a takedown and began an onslaught of ground and pound. Massouh risked giving up his back to avoid more punishment and French capitalized on the mistake by sinking in a very deep rear naked choke.

Short-notice replacement Jay Ellis (5-19) of Neutral Ground fought Rory Markham (14-4) of IFL fame. The crowd was very pro Markham and Ellis was greeted with a chorus of boos. In dashing fashion, Ellis entered the cage with a flying summersalt. At the weigh-ins a day earlier, Ellis weighed in at 161.6 lbs, while Markham missed weight by ten pounds weighing in at 180.1lbs. As the fight started Ellis ran straight at Markham and attempted a flying knee that went high when it flew over Markham’s head causing an entanglement that left Ellis on the bottom. Ellis quickly reversed the bigger Markham, but Markham threw up a triangle choke on Ellis. Ellis tapped before Markham was even able to secure it properly at :56 in the first round to lose his tenth straight fight which is also nine straight that haven’t made it out of the first round.

Bart Palaszewski (29-11) fights for Team Curran and is a star in the IFL. He was looking to snap a three-fight losing streak and faced off against UFC veteran Jeff Cox (9-6). Cox controlled much of the first round with his ground control and looked to be winning the fight but in the second round as Cox was back pedaling with his hands down, Palaszewski unloaded a right high leg kick to the chin that dropped Cox to the canvas.

Chicago’s Brian Gassaway (28-18-2) scored a knockdown on Forrest Petz (14-5) in the first round and attempted a rear naked choke. He wasn’t able to finish Petz, who came back to win the next two rounds as well as the fight.

Terry Martin (17-4) won a disqualification over Pride and UFC veteran Daiju Takase (7-12-1). Martin scored two knockdowns in the first round but began to run out of steam as Takase kicked him in the cajones. In round two, the bout was called to a halt when Takase kicked Martin two more times in the balls.

Main Event

Chicago police officer and Pride veteran Mike Russow (10-1) fought another local fighter Jason Guida (17-16). When the fighters approached the cage, the crowd went nuts and was equally divided with the kind of energy Adrenaline had probably hoped for the entire night. In the bout, Russow quickly scored a takedown but Guida was able to get the fight back to his feet. Russow then went for another takedown and as Guida attempted to get back to his feet Russow was able to either guillotine or neck crank Guida forcing a tap.

My thoughts

They say imitation is the best form of flattery, and Monte Cox is trying his best to make Adrenaline MMA the next Strikeforce. Strikeforce is famous for putting on huge events in the cities of their most talented stars. Examples are their recent Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le card that took place in both fighters hometown of San Jose, California. Earlier in the year they also held a show in Washington that was headlined by hometown hero Bob “The Beast” Sapp and also featured Washington native Maurice Smith. Using this formula Strikeforce has been able to carve out a niche demographic and has been profitable where many other organizations have failed.

What Adrenaline MMA did right was put on a card that featured many of the hometown and local fighters from Illinois. Unfortunately, most of the biggest stars from the surrounding area were in the audience and not in the cage including Andrei Arlovski, Shonie Carter, Jeff Curran, Jens Pulver, Tim Sylvia, and Ben Rothwell. While Illinois has a plethora of talent they needed a bigger main event to be taken seriously by the casual fans.

This resulted in a venue that holds 11,000 being filled with roughly 2000-2500 fans in attendance and seemed slightly smaller than the last IFL Grand Prix event I attended at the venue. In other words, if you stock a card with XFO and IFL talent you’ll get the same turnout as the XFO and IFL shows that took place there in the past.

I am aware that the card suffered many injuries and pullouts but felt that any organization that signs Jeff Monson as a headliner in the main event is doomed to fail. While Jeff Monson is a respectable and talented fighter, the truth is that he is an unknown to casual fan and doesn’t sell tickets or pay-per-views. Stars sell tickets. Luckily for Adrenaline MMA they were able to pick up local hero Jason Guida to fill in as a last minute replacement for an injured Monson, who’s broken hand has not recovered from his Josh Barnett fight last month.

Lastly, Adrenaline MMA did nothing to market to the Wisconsin fans who are easily within driving distance, a force they would be wise not to ignore in the future if they are going to attempt to rely on the already proven small local MMA fanbase from the Chicago area. The number of fans in attendance was really no more than a decent sized Gladiators or XFO show, despite the big show production that went into the event. While the card featured three fighters from Wisconsin, all were last minute replacements.

Adrenaline MMA’s next card will take place in the Quad Cities in September and will feature Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell in co-main events on the card. Their opponents will be announced after the Affliction card on July 19th.

Here are the results:

Adrenaline MMA
Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates, IL
06/14/2008

Main Event
Mike Russow def. Jason Guida – guillotine choke/neck crank – RD 1 – 2:13

Main Card
Terry Martin def. Daiju Takase – disqualification/groin kick – RD 2 – 3:35
Forrest Petz def. Brian Gassaway – unanimous decision (29-28) x 3 – RD 3 – 5:00
Bart Palaszewski def. Jeff Cox – knockout/head kick – RD 2 – 3:07
Rory Markham def. Jay Ellis – triangle choke – RD 1 – 0:56
Clay French def. Jameel Massouh – rear naked choke – RD 2 – 3:18
Joe Jordan def. Ryan Williams – unanimous decision (29-28) x 3 – RD 3 – 5:00

Preliminary Card
Mike Stumpf def. Dom O’Grady – TKO/GnP – RD 2 – 3:53
Tom Belt def Marcus Levesseur – TKO/strikes – RD 1 – 4:10
Herc Hayes def. Kerry Schall – unanimous decision (29-28) x 3 – RD 3 – 5:00
Aaron Rosa def. Ron Fields – TKO/strikes – RD 2 – 0:34
Hector Urbina def. Dave Kleczkowski – TKO/strikes – RD 2 – 1:19
Louis Taylor def. Adam Maciejewski – unanimous decision (29-28), (30-27),(29-28) – RD 3 – 5:00
Joe Pearson def. John Hosman – triangle choke – RD 1 – 1:42

Jameel Massouh to replace Zac George on Adrenaline MMA show

Jameel Massouh of Dave Strasser’s Freestyle Academy has replaced an injured Zac George, who himself had replaced UFC veteran Alberto Crane. Massouh will face off against Clay French on this Saturday’s Adrenaline MMA show in Hoffman Estates, IL. The show will take place at the Sears Centre and will be headlined by a fight between Mike Russow and Jason Guida.

Jameel Massouh, also referred to as “The Sergeant”, sports a (16-3) record and is riding a two-fight win streak. He is coming off a unanimous decision win over a very tough Myles Merola of British Columbia in March. The fight took place in the Hardcore Championship Fighting organization in Quebec, Canada and was headlined by David Loiseau. It was believed Massouh may have earned himself a ticket back to organization’s next show in May, which was to be headlined by Renato Sobral, but the organization dissolved prior to the event happening.

Massouh’s opponent, Clay French sports an MMA record of (14-2) and holds wins over Pride FC and KOTC veteran Jason Ireland. He also holds a split decision win over Ultimate Fighter season six champion, Mac Danzig. He’s won seven-straight fights, all of which took place in 2007. His last defeat was in Pride FC, where he lost via flying triangle choke to Shinya Aoki in November of 2006 at Bushido 13. French trains with Matt Hughes at the (Hughes Intensive Training) or Hit Squad Gym in Granite City, Illinois. His teammates and coaches also include Robbie Lawler, Tommy Speer, Matt Pena, and Marc Fiore.

Adrenaline MMA

The Adrenaline MMA show took a hit today when it was announced that Jeff Monson was injured and would not be able to compete against Mike Russow. It was announced today that Jeff Monson will be replaced by Jason Guida of Illinois. In addition, Brian Gassaway’s opponent, Tony “The Freak” Fryklund was scratched from the card and was replaced by UFC veteran Forrest Petz of Ohio.

Here is the most current version of the ever changing card:

Adrenaline MMA
Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates, IL
06/14/2008

Main event:
Jason Guida vs. Mike Russow

Main card:
Daiju Takase vs. Terry Martin
Jameel Massouh vs. Clay French
Forrest Petz vs. Brian Gassaway
Jeff Cox vs. Bart Palaszewski
Jay Ellis vs. Rory Markham
Anthony Lapsley vs. Mark Miller
Herc Hayes vs. Kerry Schall
David Kleczkowski vs. Hector Urbina
Aaron Rosa vs. Ron Fields
Louis Taylor vs. Adam Maciejewski

Preliminary bouts:
Dom O’Grady vs. Mike Stumpf
Joe Jordan vs. Ryan Williams
Joe Pearson vs. John Hosman

Jay Ellis is a late replacement to fight Rory Markham on Adrenaline MMA show

Neutral Ground fighter Jay Ellis of Milwaukee has stepped up on short notice and will fight Rory Markham this Saturday in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on the Adrenaline MMA show. Rory Markham was slated to fight Taiwon Howard (5-1), however Ellis’ name was added to the card just a day ago with no announcement. Jay Ellis joins Wisconsin fighters Jameel Massouh of Strasser's Freestyle Academy and Dave Kleczkowski of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu all of which were added as late replacements on the card.

Jay Ellis trains at Neutral Ground BJJ in Milwaukee. He sports a (5-18) MMA record and has lost nine straight fights dating back to May of 2007. He fights at both 155 and 170lbs but his bout with Markham will take place at 170lbs. He’s fought in many of the local promotions including Freestyle Combat Challenge, Gladiators, XFO, and Madtown Throwdown. He most recently lost to Mike Vaughn of Blast Martial Arts and Fitness Gym in Madison at Gladiators – Thunderdome. Ellis has fought many notable fighters including Kiuma Kunioku, Bart Palaszewski, Sherron Leggett, and Joe Jordan. His most notable win came when he beat UFC veteran Nate Mohr.

Rory Markham sports an MMA record (13-4) and is a veteran of the International Fight League or IFL where he holds a record of (6-2). Markham trains out of the Miletich Fighting Systems Gym or MFS. He was a member of the IFL’s Quad City Silverbacks and helped the team win multiple championships. Of his 13 wins, 70% have been TKOs and 30% have come by way of submission. Markham is a Chicago native growing up on the city’s south side.

I’m not going to over analyze this fight. Markham is the bigger, faster, and more experienced fighter. I’ve grappled Ellis and he’s physically very strong and a very good grappler but he just isn’t able to put it together in the ring. His last eight fights haven’t gone past the first round and none have resulted in a W. In my opinion, he’s taken fights against opponents that are out of his league and this is an example. I assume there aren’t to many guys who are willing to step up and fight an experienced fighter like Markham on less than a weeks notice. While I wish him best and will be rooting for him on Saturday, I don’t think he’s going to beat the more experienced and bigger Rory Markham.


Adrenaline MMA
Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates, IL
06/14/2008

Main event:
Jason Guida vs. Mike Russow

Main card:
Daiju Takase vs. Terry Martin

Jameel Massouh vs. Clay French

Forrest Petz vs. Brian Gassaway

Jeff Cox vs. Bart Palaszewski

Jay Ellis vs. Rory Markham

Anthony Lapsley vs. Mark Miller

Herc Hayes vs. Kerry Schall

David Kleczkowski vs. Hector Urbina

Aaron Rosa vs. Ron Fields

Louis Taylor vs. Adam Maciejewski

Preliminary bouts:
Dom O’Grady vs. Mike Stumpf

Joe Jordan vs. Ryan Williams

Joe Pearson vs. John Hosman

Dave Kleczkowski to replace Rob Kimmons on Adrenaline MMA show

Dave “The Polish Punisher” Kleczkowski of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu in Milwaukee has stepped up on short notice to replace Rob Kimmons of Xtreme Couture in Kansas City. Kimmons opted out of the Adrenaline MMA show next Saturday to sign with the UFC and replace an injured Alessio Sakara who was slated to fight Rob Yundt.

Dave Kleczkowski sports an MMA record of (7-3) and has mostly fought on Jeff Curran’s XFO shows but has fought for Wisconsin promotions such as Gladiators, Konquer the Kage, and Combat USA. Most recently Kleczkowski defeated Caleb Wolff at a Combat USA show in Michigan this January with a rear naked choke in the first round.

Prior to the January bout, Kleczkowski dropped three straight fights against very tough competition including UFC veteran Joe Jordan, Ultimate Fighter Season 3 cast member Noah Inhofer, and XFO mainstay and journeyman fighter William Hill.

Kleczkowski will face off against Hector “El Toro” Urbina in the Adrenaline MMA card in a middleweight bout. Hector Urbina is a 25-year-old fighter out of Muncie, Indiana and fights for Team Wolfpack and sports an MMA record of (11-4). Like Kleczkowski, Urbina has lost his bouts to his biggest competition in Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Adam Maciejewski, and Tim Kennedy. He does hold wins over local middleweights Herbert “Whisper” Goodman and Adrian Serrano. He primarily fights for KOTC but has also fought for Icon Sport and Elite XC/ShoXC.

It is unknown how much time Kleczkowski has had to prepare for the Adrenaline MMA card as Kimmons was only announced as Sakara’s replacement four days ago. Is he in shape and is he tuned up for what could be the biggest fight of career? Dave Kleczkowki is a jiu-jitsu fighter and wrestler but he has decent standup game to go with his grappling skill sets. He showed against Joe Jordan last summer that he isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with a UFC vet for three rounds and trade blows. On ShoXC, Urbina classified himself as a ground fighter but his takedowns were so sub par that he was unable to get the fight to the ground in most instances and he relied on his wild and untamed striking to get him through the fight were he won himself a unanimous decision.

The main card will be broadcast on Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights and there is a possibility that a good performance over Urbina could earn Kleczkowski another Adrenaline fight on the September card in Moline. That card will be headlined by Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell and will also be broadcast live on HDNet Fights as part of the three-fight deal Adrenaline MMA signed with HDNet Fights. Whether this fight stays on the feet or goes to the ground it should be an interesting bout. Wisconsin Combat Sports would like to wish the “Polish Punisher” best of luck next Saturday.


Adrenaline MMA
Sears Centre
Hoffman Estates, IL
06/14/2008

Main event:
Jeff Monson vs. Mike Russow

Main card:
Daiju Takase vs. Terry MartinJameel Massouh vs. Clay FrenchTony Fryklund vs. Brian GassawayJeff Cox vs. Bart PalaszewskiTiawon Howard vs. Rory MarkhamAnthony Lapsley vs. Mark MillerHerc Hayes vs. Kerry SchallDavid Kleczkowski vs. Hector UrbinaAaron Rosa vs. Ron Fields

Preliminary bouts:
Dom O’Grady vs. Mike StumpfJoe Jordan vs. Ryan WilliamsJoe Pearson vs. John Hosman
Louis Taylor vs. Adam Maciejewski

Fighter Interview: Ben Rothwell of Miletich Fighting Systems

Ben Rothwell sports an MMA record of (29-5) according to Sherdog and currently fights out of the Miletich Fighting Systems in Iowa. He’s currently riding a thirteen fight win streak that dates back over two years including an undefeated run in the IFL where he won 11 straight fights and rose to stardom to became one of the organizations most talented and recognizable stars. Most recently, he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Ricco Rodriguez at the IFL 2007 team championships in September via unanimous decision. He then left the organization last year at the expense of the IFL’s first-ever Grand Prix and a chance to become its champion to find greener pastures in the free agent market. Earlier this year, Rothwell signed a non-exclusive contract to fight in the newly founded Affliction and Adrenaline MMA organizations, both of which will hold their first shows this summer.

Rothwell is going to be a part of history on July 19th when he fights on a blockbuster card that is deeper in heavyweight talent than the entire UFC heavyweight division. His rumored opponent is none other than Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. The proposed fight, organization, and card are among the hottest and most discussed topics in MMA right now. I recently caught up with perhaps the greatest MMA fighter ever to come out of Wisconsin last Saturday to discuss with him his upcoming fights in Affliction and Adrenaline, his MMA roots in Wisconsin, and Kimbo Slice.

Enjoy…

Wisconsin Combat Sports: Ben, you’re fighting in July on the new Affliction card. There are so many great heavyweights on the card it’s better than the UFC Heavyweight Division. What do you think about the show?

Ben Rothwell: I’m very excited for it. I think it’s a great card just for the fans alone and to compile that many great heavyweights on one card. I think each fight could almost be a main event type fight. It’s what everybody has been waiting for, it’s going to change the rules and I believe take the sport to a new level putting this type of card together. Some people are questioning it, asking, “Is Affliction putting all their eggs in one basket?” Who Cares? Enjoy it, July 19th, why would anyone complain about this, it’s an awesome thing to see and I think it has such a buzz about it and it’s going to be a successful show. We’re putting all the best guys together and letting them go at it. I think your going to see more shows like this and that’s the way it should be. It’s no knock on the UFC, they pioneered it, they kept the sport alive and did their thing, plus they have a lot of great fighters on their cards. But there’s nothing wrong with something different. Affliction put their money where their mouth is and their making it happen. Not only the PPV, but the first five fights are going to be aired on the Fox Sports Network for free to build it up. It’s just great all around and I think it’s going to be a great night.

WCS: About the match-up, you’re going against Andrei Arlovski, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion.

BR: Stop right there. As of right now, it’s still TBA. Andrei has issues with the UFC. He’s under a contract that has a clause where he is under a work release and there is a lot of heavy rumors, although I think it’s fair to say that there is a lot of potential that the fight will happen. That’s what they talked about and want to happen, but the UFC still has a certain amount of control over the situation and if they match, he might stay with the UFC still. But in the next three of four days, I think we’re going to get the official announcement; then we can run wild with it.

WCS: Alright, assuming that you end up fighting Andrei Arlovski, tell me your opinion of him. I mean, he’s an extremely powerful striker although it seems like his last few fights he’s been a bit more timid, however I did not get the chance to see his Jake O’Brien fight, have you noticed that at all?

BR: You know, Andrei’s an incredible athlete. Anytime he’s fighting and he’s not fighting one of my teammates I’m always excited to see him fight because he’s known for his striking and he goes out and most of the time tries to put on an exciting show. It’s seems like when things were going good for him, he was crazy, he was coming out at everyone very aggressively, but when he got knocked out by Tim, everybody seems to have noticed that there was a difference. He got hit and realized that he was human. He might have second-guessed himself in some of his previous fights. It’s not only the striking, I think it’s the wrestling, anytime a guy comes in and brings more than just striking to the game it also changes him. If he knows that he’s going to fight a guy that is only going to strike with him, he’s a lot more confident, because he knows what’s going to happen. Justin Eilers and Paul Buentello were not going to try for a takedown. We knew it, Andrei knew it, and you see a different type of Andrei. But he changes when you have a guy who brings the possibility of a takedown or a guy who can knock him out. He’s just fighting smarter now is what is comes down too. Unfortunately, the beginning period with some of his fights like Werdum or even Pe De Pano, who are more of your ground guys, he was concerned with winning the fight rather just going out and recklessly throwing bombs, possibly making a mistake and losing a fight. So you have to respect that. When you’re at that level, there’s no room for mistakes and winning is all that really matters.

WCS: What kind of game plan are we going to see out of you? Generally, from what I’ve seen in most of your fights, it seems like your biggest assests are from the clinch. You have big knees out of the clinch, good strikes and elbows out of the clinch, you also have some nice head kicks. Lastly, are you afraid of Arlovski’s power at all?

BR: Well, you have to remember that I’ve been training for the last four and a half years with Tim Sylvia. He’s one of the biggest heavyweights and he’s top five in the world. Talk about power, I understand power. I deal with it. I’m thankful to have that confidence and experience and I’ve fought a lot of guys who have that kind of power, where if you make a mistake that could be it. Andrei is no different, he’s the same kind of guy with that power and speed and you just have to watch yourself. It goes both ways, we both possess that kind of power, where if someone connects, someone is going to go down. That’s the game, that’s what I train for. You just have to go out there and keep your head on. I’m the kind of fighter who makes things happen and takes what comes and try to make my opponent make a mistake. I’ve been pretty good about capitalizing on peoples’ mistakes.

WCS: After you severed ties with the IFL, Roy “Big Country” Nelson ended up winning the Grand Prix and the Championship, which most people assume you would have won. He’s also the only one who gave you a decent fight. Now there are rumors that came out yesterday saying that if Kimbo wins his fight tomorrow he gets to fight Roy Nelson. What do you think of that fight?

BR: So you heard if Kimbo wins that he’ll fight Roy Nelson?

WCS: Yes, that’s the rumor.

BR: That’s bad news for Kimbo. Roy and I have our differences and our thoughts on the fight. Whatever, but we had a great fight and it takes two great fighters to have a great fight, so it is what it is. Roy Nelson is obviously a tough guy and I think he’ll put it on Kimbo for sure. Some of the heavyweights are mad because he’s getting so much hype, kind of undeservedly and he’s getting it because of hype and not because of action. He’s fighting James Thompson, who he’s probably going to knock out. The guy was knocked out cold in his last two fights. Kimbo is going to go out and throw some haymakers and probably knock him out too. Roy is a well-rounded heavyweight, has a solid chin and can box himself. Kimbo might have a bad night with that fight. Lucky for Roy to get that fight because it’s going to build him a whole bunch of hype and he’ll steal a lot from Kimbo.

WCS: I also heard that you’re going to be headlining the Adrenaline show in Quad Cities in September/October I think?

BR: September 6th is what is on paper right now, that’s what they’re looking at. It’s going to be in Moline, which is part of the Quad Cities. As far as an opponent, we don’t know. June 14th in Chicago at the Sears Center is the first Adrenaline so obviously the focus right now is on that. After that I think they are going to start working on the Moline card. So I have July 19th for Affliction and September 6th for Adrenaline.

WCS: If I could have my wish, I’d like to see you fight Aleksander Emelianenko on that card, but that’s just me. As far as the Affliction show and your contract, you’re going to be fighting under Affliction and Adrenaline. Are you looking to do more fights with Affliction or fight for any other organizations?

BR: Well, both of my contracts are non-exclusive so I can fight between the two. It’s a cool thing; I can take things as they go. When you’re with an exclusive contract like the UFC there’s no choices, no options, you fight whomever the next guy is they put in front of you. For this I get a little bit more of an opportunity to weigh my options. If there is a dry time and Affliction doesn’t have anything going on, I can go fight for Adrenaline or vice versa. We’ll see how things go; I’m not in a rush. I have two fights to worry about and that’s my main focus right now.

WCS: Alright, getting back to the local area, you’re from Wisconsin and your parents own a restaurant in the Kenosha area. How often do you make it back to the state?

BR: Just about every weekend, sometimes every other. I have a daughter whose five and I come back for her and I like to see my family and stuff. Anytime I represent the area I try to represent Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I’ve just had a great response from this part of the state and it’s cool because anytime I fight near by, people come from all over the state and look at me as the Wisconsin guy and they came to support me and that’s cool. The hometown not so much, they don’t understand MMA and they never gave it the respect it now deserves. I mean come on, the sports on CBS live television, obviously something is going on here, but my hometown just doesn’t get it. I’ve kind of turned my back on it for reasons of that sort because of their media and the people there. I love supporting the Quad Cities and I like the rest of the fan base I’ve gotten from the rest of Wisconsin. I always try to go out and represent the cheeseheads and the Midwest all together. I think the Midwest has some of the best and absolute toughest fighters in the sport and the world.

WCS: When you started out your training, you started out here at the Duke Roufus gym before going over to Miletich correct? Was the move due to lack of heavyweight sparring partners here in Wisconsin? Also, whom besides Tim Sylvia and Brad Imes are you training with?

BR: Yeah and Kerry Schall, Brian Vetell, Sherman Pendergarst, and we got different guys who come in and make visits. We have a group of heavyweights, plus the 205ers a lot of times are around 230, so we train together with them. So there is a good group of us. The team overall, we have about 25 name fighters that have skills and we all work and help each other.

I trained with a guy from my hometown first and that just didn’t work out, it was a bad relationship. I came to Duke because he was a world renown kickboxer and Duke overall is just a supercool guy and he was a mentor to me. When I made the move to Iowa it was more about the heavyweights and at the time and Duke was still more heavy into kickboxing and I needed to expand my wrestling and my ground game and I needed some bigger guys to work with so I went to Pat’s, but when I went to Pat’s I also tried to maintain the relationship with Duke. It’s really worked out great for me and Duke’s actually helping me get ready for this next fight. I’ve kept a good relationship with him and Pat together and I like to make trips back to Milwaukee as much as I can to work with him. Duke’s my standup coach, he’s one of the best out there and I believe in him 100%, I love his coaching style. In the IFL people started thinking I was just a kickboxer and that had a lot to do with Duke. I have a lot more skills to show, but when the standup is getting the job done, why go to the ground?

WCS: Alright, well that’s about all I have for you. Good luck against Andrei Arlovski. I think that fight is really going to be the one that is going to put you on the map, it’s the highest profile fight of your career. I want to wish you luck from Wisconsin Combat Sports and our readers. Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans or any of your sponsors?

BR: I just want to let everyone in Wisconsin know that I appreciate the support and I try to represent the Midwest the best I can. I’m really looking forward to these future fights and hopefully some of Wisconsin will take the three hour drive to Moline in September to support us for the Adrenaline show as well.

WCS: Thanks a lot Ben, I appreciate it.