Ramsey Nijem on Being The Ultimate Fighter's 'Kid to Beat'

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After Ramsey Nijem needed less than a minute to finish Clay Harvison in their fight on Episode 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, UFC President Dana White offered some high praise.

White called Nijem's rear-naked choke, "the fastest and most decisive finish of the season so far," and said of Nijem, "This kid is the kid to beat."

In our weekly interview, Nijem told MMAFighting.com that he felt just as confident in himself as White did in him. Nijem also talked about the other fight on this week's episode, and about his coach, Junior dos Santos, getting a new opponent for UFC 131, with Shane Carwin filling in for the sick Brock Lesnar.

The full interview is below.

Michael David Smith: You took Harvison down, took his back and got him to tap to the rear-naked choke in less than a minute. You must have been pretty pleased.
Ramsey Nijem: It was a good win, and it felt good to get in there. I wasn't feeling good before the fight, but I was feeling very good after I won.

We saw that you were sick beforehand. What happened?
I don't know, I just started throwing up. It might have been nerves or something but I've never hard nerves like that. I have a pretty bad stomach so I'll get sick to my stomach pretty easily. Something didn't sit right.

It seemed like Junior was giving you a lot of individual instruction. What did you learn from him?
He just wanted me to do what I'm good at, which is wrestling, and so when he was teaching me stand-up he was teaching me about closing the distance to allow me to take advantage of my wrestling. A big thing Junior showed me is getting angles so I could go for the takedown and not get knocked out.

After you won, Dana White said you were "the kid to beat." Is that how you felt as well?
Oh, I felt like that going in. I had high expectations for myself going into the house and felt I was good enough to win the show, so every fight I expected to win. I'm definitely glad my performance backed up what I thought.

The other fight was Chris Cope beating Shamar Bailey by unanimous decision. What did you think of that one?
I actually didn't even see that fight because I was in the back, but I know Shamar felt like he deserved to win. He left it in the hands of the judges, though, so that's what happens.

It's now been announced that Brock is sick and he won't be fighting Junior. Did you ever get any inkling on the show that Brock was sick?
No, I had no idea. That came as a total surprise to me. It was hard to see because we really wanted to see Junior fight him. It must have been recently that he got sick because he looked OK. I hope he gets better. I wanted to see the fight because I think it would be a great win for Junior, but seeing Junior against Shane Carwin will be a great fight, too. That's going to be fun seeing two huge heavyweights throwing bombs. That fight might even be more fun for the fans.

(Editor's note: Ramsey Nijem will join us each week during Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter to share his thoughts on that week's episode. Follow Ramsey on Twitter @RamseyNijem.)

 

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Kennedy interview: Army Special Forces/MMA fighter gives insight on the bin Laden mission

There aren't many of us who understand what really went into the  Osama bin Laden kill. Tim Kennedy is one of those unique Americans who've been in the middle of an intense international man hunt. As a Special Forces Army Ranger, Kennedy served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. While awaiting his return to active duty, he's embarked on a pretty successful MMA career with Strikeforce.

Kennedy joined me on ESPN1100 in Las Vegas to give us some insight on what went down and how he feels about some people questioning the tactics of the military.

Many people were angered by the fact that bin Laden's body was dumped at sea. Americans with an eye-for-an-eye mentality certainly won't see video of the kill, and there won't be official photos to view. Kennedy doesn't understand why those things would be necessary.

"If somebody hurt my family, I wouldn't want to sit there and watch that guy executed. I would just want to know that justice was done," Kennedy said (7:45 mark).

Kennedy also countered fear-mongering media members who think bin Laden's death means the U.S. is cutting back in its pursuit of terrorists around the world.

"This isn't even the beginning of the end. This is an opportunity for us to really catch them while they're scrambling," Kennedy said. "If anything it's going to stir up more reaction and more fanatics. Right now it's just as dangerous as it's ever been."

As far as his MMA career, Kennedy reiterated that he wants a fight with Robbie Lawler. He mentioned the Fedor Emelianenko-Dan Henderson card proposed for the Chicago area in late July.

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A behind-the-scenes video of UFC Fighter Summit

The UFC and its roster of fighters are finishing up huge summit in Las Vegas. The promotion brings 300 athletes to town to discuss marketing, nutrition and various subjects they deal with on a daily basis.

UFC welterweight Charlie Brenneman posted a video report of the goings on at Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas.

Make sure you check out Pat Barry talking about the new insurance plan UFC is offering all of its fighter for injuries suffered inside and out of the Octagon (4:10 mark).

Not everyone is patting the UFC on the back for it's revolutionary offering of insurance to combat athletes. Longtime MMA opponent, Bob Reilly, a New York Assemblyman rained on the parade:

"What immediately came to my mind was, What's the need for insurance? Because advocates for MMA have been touting how safe this sport is and that no one is ever injured, and in fact, the testimony here is that the worst that ever happened was a broken arm," Reilly told MMAFighting. But I don't think that insurance is going to do anything for the very prevalent brain damage that fighters will suffer.  I think what MMA should be doing is, instead of providing insurance for injuries, is to do away with injuries."

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Justin Bieber’s dad pals around with UFC fighters

Justin Bieber, the international pop star, Twitter sensation and tween that everyone wants to hang with, is not known for being an MMA fan. His father, on the other hand?

A huge MMA fan who likes to get close to fighters and take the ubiquitous fist pose picture. Check him out at the pre-parties for UFC 129. Here he is with UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez.

Not as lean-y with Phil Davis but he does manage the double thumbs-up.

And another double thumbs-up with Jon Fitch, whose face seems to be saying, "WHO IS THIS GUY, GET ME OUT OF HERE."

Check out more pictures from UFC 129 at Combat Lifestyle.

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Indy tipping contest scores

In another lean week top scorers, two names shot ahead from the pack to challenge the leaders - @tailzer and @harleymac1. Pulling off an impressive Brit-centric Minella to gain 6 points, @tailzer took second place in the overall standings. Well done sir! @harleymac1 also made impressive gains with his 6 point Minella. Honorable mention goes to [...]

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Cspeedphotos from Laguna Seca

MotoGPBlog has been following Dan Lo of CornerSpeedPhoto, (Twitter: @cspeedphoto) for a while now. He’s a talented photographer based in the States, and we’re honoured to feature some of his shots from this year’s Laguna Seca MotoGP round. In particular, the shot of Canepa at turn 2 is awesome. Thanks Dan! Dan used the following kit [...]

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MMA not legal there, but USA wrestlers take on Russians in NYC

MMA may not be legal in New York, but that doesn't mean you can't see some of its future stars in the Big Apple. Beat the Streets, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing wrestling opportunities for youths, is hosting a one-of-a-kind dual meet in Times Square today.

America's best wrestlers will take on Russia's best in the middle of one of the world's busiest areas at 6 p.m. ET today. Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo will return to the mat for the first time since winning the gold medal. Recent NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner Jordan Burroughs, world team member and future fighter Shawn Bunch, world silver medalist Jake Herbert (pictured), world bronze medalist and world team members and NCAA champions Brent Metcalf and Jake Varner will also take the mat.

The whole thing will be broadcast on the largest LED screen in Times Square. Rashad Evans, football players Justin Tuck, Antonio Garay, Marcus Colston and Willie Colon and actors Matthew Modine -- yes, the star of "Vision Quest" -- and Billy Baldwin are all expected to attend.

It's a great event for the wrestling community, undoubtedly giving the growing sport more exposure. But MMA proponents can't help but note the irony that wrestling is a sport that is the launching pad for MMA stars and a key component of the sport. It's taking center stage in the biggest city in the country, and the biggest city in the U.S. not to have hosted an MMA event.

So if you're in Manhattan, head to Times Square to catch elite wrestling for free. If politicians continue to squabble over the sport, it will be the closest thing you'll get to MMA anytime soon.

Not in New York City? You can still watch the dual meet through online streaming here, and follow me on Twitter for updates throughout the meet.

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