Full-Time Fighter: Preparing for Josh Haynes and "Night of Combat II"

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

What a crazy night, exciting night.

I was at home relaxing when I got a text message from Nate Brodnax (one of the top guys at MMAagents.com), who asked where my weight was and if I was in shape. They knew that my weight would be good and that I was in shape because I just fought three weeks ago and was preparing for a fight Oct. 18 for Ultimate Victory Challenge (www.ultimatevictory.org).

So, I knew that something was up.

I called him back right away, and he told me that Steve Byrnes had been injured. Nate wanted to know if I would like to replace Byrnes and fight Josh Haynes on the "A Night of Combat II" card in Las Vegas. Now, you have to understand that in the past, I would have just said yes, whether I was in shape or not, even if my gut was telling me no. I just have a hard time turning down fights. I enjoy it so much.

However, I feel that I have learned from my lessons and wanted to talk it out, though my gut was saying take it. Nate and I discussed it and decided it was a good idea. I talked it over with my coaches, and we also decided that it was a great opportunity and that my conditioning, skill and weight were exactly where they needed to be.

So we took the fight.

Obviously, time will tell if I have made the right decision, but at least this time it was well thought out, and I am honest with myself that I am truly excited for this fight. There have been times in the past in which I accepted a short-notice fight and later tried to convince myself it was the right decision -- even though I knew it was the wrong one.

Despite Haynes' 10-10 record, he is not an athlete to be taken lightly. After all, I'm not in a position in my career to take anyone lightly. I have thought of Haynes as a very tough fighter since his run on "The Ultimate Fighter 3." From the tapes I have seen, he is not the most technical fighter out there, but for sure, he's one of the toughest. I don't think he can spell the word quit.

Rich Franklin put it best when he said, "I would rather fight an athlete with great skill and less conditioning than a fighter with less skill and great conditioning." I believe Haynes fits into the latter, which makes him dangerous from beginning to end.

I think that is one of the best parts of fighting. He has a dimension of his game that scares me and poses a challenge for me to figure out. The excitement lies in overcoming that fear and fighting to the best of my ability. I am ready to do that.

This fight will air on HDNet on Oct. 17. Actually, I have been told that the whole card will be shown on HDNet, so make sure to check it out.

All that being said, I will still be at Ultimate Victory Challenge to hang out and corner a couple of my training partners from the Relson Gracie school in Westerville, Ohio -- Marc Cofer and Brandon Willis. There are still tickets available through the Ultimate Victory website, so if you're anywhere near Chillicothe, Ohio, on Saturday, Oct. 18, come check it out.

Last, as always, my thank yous: Shawn at TFSupplements.com, the cheapest name brand supplements with fast shipping, and TapouT.com. And for my shameless plea: if there is anyone else out there that would be interested in sponsoring me for this fight, email Danny at Danny [AT] mmaagents.com.

For all the great Junkie readers, I will try to get to a computer during the week and give any updates that I think you guys might be interested in. I know I always like reading the "all access" and "behind the scenes" stuff, so I will try and bring some of that to you as well.

Before I forget again, I want to publicly congratulate Benji Radach on his awesome performance Saturday night on the EliteXC card. I had the opportunity to train with Benji when I was in Huntington Beach, Calif., a couple of weeks ago, and I left very impressed and very confident that he would win that fight. You looked awesome Benji. Great job!