Fulltime Fighter: Sean Salmon's overseas trip to Wolfslair, Part III

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

Well, I certainly am going to have a crazy month.

I have been here at Wolfslair in Windes, England, for the past two weeks training with Paul Kelly, Michael Bisping, Cheick Kongo and the rest of the crew of tough-as-nails fighters. And for the past week, an old wrestling friend of mine turned Cage Fighter (www.mmaauthentics.com) exec Tommy Rowlands was out here as well.

It was cool to be able to catch up with him, and we got to experience a bit of English culture this past Friday night when we found ourselves at Concert Square in downtown Liverpool after a very big soccer game. Crazy, just crazy is all I can say.

It has been a great experience so far here in England. I have learned a ton on every aspect of the game from the ground to simple footwork drills that have already improved my stand up 100 percent. I'm even starting to understand what these Brits are saying a bit better. If you have ever been over here, you know that they do speak English, but they speak much faster than we do, and some of their accents make it hard to catch the first time. (Not to mention their slang is completely different, but I am picking it up.)

Onto the next month of my life. Well, I fly out of Manchester Airport today and land home in Columbus, Ohio, around 7 p.m. On Friday, I will drive up to Cleveland to defend my NAAFS (www.naafs.tv) middleweight belt on the organization's "Fight Night at the Flats V" card, which I am very excited about. I drive back to Columbus on Sunday to catch a 5 p.m. flight back to Manchester. I will be back at Wolfslair on Monday morning training my ass off, getting Kelly and Kongo ready for their fights at UFC 99, as well as helping Bisping for his UFC 100 fight. On June 17 we fly from Manchester to Las Vegas for the remaining three weeks of his camp. I will then finally fly back home to Columbus on July 12.

It is very tough being away from my family, friends and comfortable surroundings for so long, but I can't imagine any other situation where I can learn and improve more than being involved with some of the best coaches and fighters in the world at one of the greatest gyms in the world 24 hours a day. If someone knows of an easier way, please let me know.

This past week here has made it kind of tough preparing for my own fighting, getting my weight down, and training as hard as they need me to in order to help get these other guys ready – while the whole time doing my best not to get injured or cut. If you have ever trained MMA, you know that a cut that requires stitches is a common thing and can happen very easily and unexpectedly. And it can get you pulled from a fight card – especially if that cut happens the week of a fight. So the past week has been a little stressful, but I survived and will be on a plane for the U.S. in a couple hours.

I am very excited to put my new training to use and see just how far I have come. So, if you live in the Cleveland area, make sure to get to the Nautica Pavilion, and for the love of God, cheer for me this time! (Those Cleveland fans can be brutal.)

As always, make sure you support the companies that support the athletes in this sport so we can continue to entertain you as best as we can.

For me that means Cage Fighter (www.mmaauthentics.com). They are growing by leaps and bounds, and I can tell you first hand, they care very much about the athletes. Make sure you go to YouTube and check out the "UFC Fighter Paul Kelly is sang to by Mike DiSabato" video (I promise you will laugh). With TFSupplements.com (www.tfsupplements.com), I will keep saying it: If you buy supplements, check them out first. I promise they will be cheaper and get it to your house quicker. My new team, KOBC (www.kobc.tv) – great guys with a great passion for the sport (also, very cool designs). Of course, my chiropractor Jim Viers of Viers Chiropractic on the corner of Hamilton and Johnstown roads in Columbus. And finally, if you are here reading this, you already know about the greatest MMA website in the world: MMAjunkie.com. Wow, you guys have come a long way from that first dinner meeting we had in Cincinnati just over two years ago. I love it!

I will check back in during my layover in New York on Sunday night, hopefully with news of a victory!

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