Issue 160

November 2017

One of the most exciting fighters ever to compete in MMA picks the bouts that changed his life.

1. Josh Hall, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest

That was the fight to get on The Ultimate Fighter, and I TKO’d him with less than 10 seconds left in the first. Being a tournament format, I knew that was just the beginning, but it was a huge weight off my shoulders.

I quit my job; I went to Vegas and spent every dime I could to get to the tryouts, as that was the first season they made you fight to get on the show. I sacrificed everything I had at the time in my life to go out there and do that.

That has to be one of the fights of my life, because it was a do-or-die moment, so it’s easily number one. My life would be completely different had I not won that fight.

2. Erick Silva, UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva

This is probably a pretty obvious number two, mainly because it was my first main event. My whole family was there. It was close to my hometown and I think there were more relatives than at our family reunion!

My kids got to come into the Octagon afterwards, and it just couldn’t have been a better night. Looking back, it’s an awesome feeling to know I came that far… so far. Everybody at welterweight is hungry: they all want to be the main event, and they want what I have.

That is the ultimate dream. I wanted others to be jealous, and I want the target on my back.

3. Douglas Lima, ISCF: Invasion

Probably the toughest fight of my career, in terms of pain. I don’t remember much – the amount of focus I had that night was high.

I say I’d be willing to die in there and that was one of those nights that I would have been glad to. I took it on short notice and everybody expected him to go on and do big things – I was brought in to get knocked the f**k out.

He kicked my leg really, really hard. He didn’t kick it that often, but he tore it to pieces. I felt that for a few weeks after. I couldn’t even walk out of the cage, but I did get the belt.

4. Chris Lytle, Ultimate Fight Night at Conseco Fieldhouse

I fought Chris in his hometown. He was supposed to take on Mike Swick in a UFC main event, but turned down the fight to put on his own show for his hometown fans.

I lost, but it was the first time I was in the cage with a high-level professional. It made me realize they are human and I could compete. I had to keep the dream alive and keep going for it. The first round was a good back-and-forth, but his ground game proved to be better than mine, just like in the second fight.

5. Pete Spratt, International Freestyle Fighting 1

Another fight where I was a sacrificial lamb. It was in Fort Worth, Texas – his hometown – and most likely, the guy who put it on was good friends with him.

They matched UFC vets with up-and-comers that should be easy wins. I was so f**king scared walking into that fight. I didn’t know who he was, so I watched his highlights and was like, ‘Holy s**t, I have to fight this guy?’ I had a good game plan and we had a pretty good fight.

I wrestled him a lot, defended most of the strikes and punched back. Overall, I think I won.