(This is actually good practice for…something. Photo courtesy of RichFranklin.com.)

From MMA Stomping Grounds via Fightline:

I was talking to the UFC after the second [Anderson] Silva loss and they encouraged me to move up to 205. They told me my position there would be more appealing to them from a business perspective. They weren’t interested in a third match between me and Silva and they didn’t want me fighting contenders because I could eliminate possible title fights, so I was stuck in that I was going to be fighting people on the back end of their losses to Silva and I didn’t care for that gatekeeper position. After the Travis Lutter fight, I said I would try my hand at 205 again…

I think I gotta be quick on my feet [against Matt Hamill]. I’m giving up some weight so he might be giving up some speed. I need to use my footwork to confuse him and stick and move and stick and move and avoid takedowns. Once he does take me down, I can’t let him lay on top of me. I need to stay active on the ground.

From UFC.com:

“At first when I started training for this fight, I was putting on weight, and everything was fine. But when I started getting down to the nitty-gritty of the fight and hitting all my two-a-days and double sessions as many times a week as I do, it’s difficult to make sure that you’re eating more than you’re burning constantly. My primary concern when I’m fighting at 185 is making weight. I meticulously weigh my food out and now when I weigh my food out, I’m doing it to make sure I’m eating enough food. It’s a completely, completely different process now.

I’ve put a little more red meat in my nutrition program…Come weigh-in day, I’ll have to cut four, maybe five pounds at the most. I’ll probably fight somewhere around 210 and I assume I’ll be giving up around half a dozen pounds to Matt. But that’s to be expected. Hopefully between each fight I can take some down time, not train as hard, focus on putting on some more muscle, and worry about drilling more rather than burning as many calories as I usually do, if I’m gonna make a home at 205.”

And also:

“Everybody has haters. I was watching (comedian) Katt Williams. He said Jesus only had 12 friends and he had a hater, and he (Jesus) was perfect. Judas threw him under the bus. So it doesn’t matter what you do in life, there are gonna be people who don’t like you.”