Interview with Nick Klein
What have you been up to?
Basically I got off the show and they told us we all had fights. I went home and trained for a month and a half. I got a little curious who I was fighting so I calledup Joe Silva and he told us that seven of us didn’t have fights so I took a few weeks off and ate some bad food. I’ve been working on my hands and wrestling and trying to get my game back to where it needs to be. I’m just training and that’s about it.
You don’t know why they didn’t have a fight for you?
We were all kind of mad because they told us at the end of the show that we did. I know a lot of people put in a lot of hard work. They made huge roster cuts when it came to putting on that show. It is what it is. It just kind of sucks because a lot of us quit our jobs and we’d like to have some of that money.
Do you have any fights coming up or have they told you anything?
No, they hadn’t told us. I know they have a lot of time and money in us so they will probably keep a lot of us around. They’ll give some of us a little more time to round out our game.
You are under contract with them aren’t you?
Yeah, we are all still under contract. I don’t see why they would get rid of any of us but there has been news about them cutting fighters.
You went to Vegas for the finale didn’t you?
I just got back. I had a good time. Very good fights. I got to hang out with old friends and see some celebrities.
Did Jesse behave himself?
Jesse got kicked off for being a wild man. He learned his lesson. Everybody else had a lot of fun adn let some steam off.
How did you start in MMA?
Basically, there where some small bar fights in my area. If you fought you drank for free. I just showed up and started doing some kickboxing there and beat a few guys. I did submission grappling also. I wanted to learn more. I went to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym in my area. I started training and it went from there.
Was your family supportive in your decision?
At first it was a little shaky. My mom always supports me and my dad thinks it’s cool that I do this. The support has been great. Before the show started they told me to quit my job and train to pursue my dream.
What did you do for employment?
I was going to college and also had a full time job plus training full time. It was so busy all the time. Going to school for four or five hours then working 8 then training from 7:30 to 9:30 every night. I was a sales rep for a library company. I talked to a bunch of old people. It was boring but it was the perfect job for me.
Didn’t you you cancel your Jamaican vacation to come on the show?
When I was in the interview process I wanted them to let me know so I could come in great shape and have a good chance at winning the whole thing. They let me know a month ahead of time so I canceled it.
You beat one of Forrest’s friends in your first fight. Did he ever give you a hard time about that?
I think Forrest knew Dave was a quality opponent. I felt like the UFC was setting it up for me to lose the fight. There wasn’t to many unbeaten guys in the top 32. He was 8-0.. He was just a specimen. He cut his weight and was back to 210 the day of the fight. He was a big guy. I’m 6′3 and he’s an inch or two taller than me. He’s a purple belt. He’s a jiu jitsu instructor at the Hardcore gym. He’s got great Muay Thia. Forrest always teased me about beating his friend. Dave was a good guy. He was a good sport. I think that was one of the reasons Forrest wanted me on his team.
Coming into the house who was your favorite to win the contract?
I was asked on the second day who was going to in the finals and I said it was going to be me and CB. He comes from a great camp. He’s got great skills. His wrestling is great. He’s got good submission defense. He’s got good hands and likes to stand and bang. He was a favorite. Tim Credeur was a favorite. He’s a black belt in Jiiu Jitsu. He can stand and bang too. He has been training since 1992. It was intimidating.
What was the best fight on the show?
Tim and Riddle, it was back and forth. Riddle took Tim’s back a few times. Riddle proved he’s got a lot of talent to be so young. Tim showed great patience and technique and worked out of those dangerous positions and got the win.
Riddle looked great the other night against Dante.
I thought that was a great matchup for Riddle. Riddle is also a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. Dante is a brown belt. Riddle is explosive and has different style of Jiu Jitsu and Dante is more laid back. I thought they are very equal with there skills I knew it was going to be a good matchup.
Who do they let in to watch the fights? I could have sworn I saw Rashad Evans watching one of them.
No, there is so much confidentiality that only the assistant coaches are there. One of the guys on the camera crew looks like Rashad so that may be who you saw. They don’t let anybody in. I like fighting in front of small crowds. If it’s something small like that I’d fight everyday. It’s being in front of big crowds that rattles me.
They had three women judging all the fights and they had their kids there. Some of the decisions were controversial. Listening to the ladies talk they didn’ have any experience or knowledge especially on the ground. The people they did let in they made sure they were people that wouldn’t go out and tell who was on the show or who won. They brought in people who were oblivious and let them judge the fight. It was kind of weird.
Did you get along with Jeremy May on the show?
Jeremy has changed a lot since the show. America had seen how he acted. I think it put things in perspective for him as far as how he treats other people. I know he had a rough past. The folks in the house gave him several opportunites to redeem himself after doing several stupid things. Once he started making the comments to Jesse and the oher guys about being a Jewish bitch. It crossed the line. Mike Dolce’s wife is Jewish. That was just too far. That happend four weeks into the taping so the last two weeks we just all kept our distance and he was a loner. Now he’s training with Rampage’s camp in Big Bear and I think that’s been a good influence on him. Hopefully he’s changing for the better.
I had talked to Matt Brown and Jesse Taylor and they both still hate him.
He may never change. Hate is a strong word. We don’t get along but he has matured a lot since I saw him last week.
Looking back on your fight with CB what are your thoughts?
Well, what people don’t know is our fight was right after Cale and Pat’s fight. We were back in our locker room jumping rope. And all the coaches and teammates were out there watching. Usually you have a lot of moral support before the fight we had none of it. For two strikers to go at it we thought that it would go for a few minutes. We didn’t think they’d go to a decision. We warmed up for and hour and a half and when we finally got in there we had no shoulders left. We turned into a grappling match because we were so burned out. Our original plan was to go in there and bang. I wanted to display my hands but they were so worn out there was no snap left. We had a medium performance even performing on a medium level we put on a better show than some of the other guys on the show. I usually go in there cold and would have liked to gone in there like a didin my first fight against Dave. I was pretty aggressive with my jiu jitsu . I should have had him with the knee bar. I needed 20 more seconds in the first round I had a deep armbar in and I should have had him there. But it is what it its. He beat me fair and square.
Would you like to fight him again?
I would. But I’m not going to call him out. He deserves to move on after the Ultimate Fighter. He’s got to lose a couple and I’ve got to win a few for that to happen. I wish him all the best but I would like to fight him again.
It’s funny how they built up CB to be a superstar and Amir came out of nowhere and beat him.
I don’t think CB respected his groud game enough. When we were training Amir didn’t have the best jiu jitsu. He was wirey and gave us fits but he never was risky and went for submissions alot. Maybe he was hiding his game so we wouldn’t figure him out. Rumor got to CB that his ground game wasn’t too good. And when you watched the fight CB was laying on top of him and not posturing up like a jiu jitsu defenseman would. When he fought me and Tim he postured up whenhe fought Amir he didn’t and got caught in both fights.
Amir just wasn’t shown alot on the show and I don’t know if that was editing or what but I figured if they knew he was going to be in the finals he should have been got more camera time.
I think Amir has twice the personality as CB. CB is a good guy and all but Amir is a goof ball and I’m suprised they didn’t show him more. I hung out with him and Cale the most and we laughed the whole time doing stupid stuff. CB was more quiet and collected and spent a lot of time in his room concentrating and working hard. He’s got a lot of heart and he could be a superstar.
Amir reminds me a lot of Forrest Griffin.
Yes, he does. A whole lot.
How did you hear about Jesse getting kicked off?
I called up someone from the house and they told me what happened. I think I was the last one to find out about it. I was shocked. I think it was 3 or 4 weeks after it happened. They did a great job of keeping it a secret. I’m really not suprised. After 6 weeks of them asking us to create drama and having no form of entertainment when you finally get out and get booze you act crazy so I’m not suprised.
When did all of that go down?
March 8, filming was done for two days after the last day of taping Dana took us all out and treated us to dinner and we went to some clubs and went dancing. Eight to ten guys stayed an extra night without Dana’s supervision and got into trouble. JT isn’t the smartest guy but he is a hard worker. It just got the best of him.
Do you think he’ll be back in the UFC?
Yeah, I was sitting next to him at the Finale and Dan Henderson texted him and said UFC will make the Jesse Taylor Amir fight happen because people want to see who really would’ve won. It’ll be a good fight.
Who would you pick?
It’s hard to pick against Amir but roling with them both if Jesse fights him like he did everyone else. Just a straight take down and pound you out I think Jesse would get a decision.
I’d like to see Gerald and Jesse fight.
That would be a great fight. Two great explosive wrestlers going at it who stay active on top. That would be a great fight.
I think Gerald has a bright future in the UFC. If he didn’t get caught against Amir he would’ve advanced and could’ve won the whole thing.
Yup, Gerald has a lot of great skills. He trains with a great camp. If we would’ve remained in the competition I would have liked to fight him. He probably would’ve slammed me a few times but it would’ve been fun.
Is there anybody else you see from the show that will have a great career?
Well, he had a bad showing on the show but I’d have to say that Luke Zachrich will do well. He’s a tough kid. He’s Rich Franklin’s #1 training partner. He’s got really good hands. It’ didn’t show on the show because Dan just came after him like a wild man. Luke is really hard to take down and trains in a good camp and has a ton of potential.
Where do you train now?
I’m at the same gym. I’m pretty humble. I’m loyal. Everyone here put in a lot of effort to get me to this level. I’m not going to leave them high and dry. We are trying to build something. I train at Twisted Fitness in Madison Wisconsin. I train under Mark Plavcan.
Who are you picking in the Rampage-Forrest fight?
I wouldn’t count Forrest out. I’d say Forrest just because of cardio. It’ll go deep four rounds at least. Forrest has great cardio but so does Rampage but I think Forrest will take him down late and get a TKO.
Was it all editing or did Forrest and Rampage get along fairly well?
It’s not editing. They are some of the most humble, down to earth guys you’d ever want to meet. Rampage came from a whole different background. He’s close to his family and friends. He keeps them close and takes care of them. He came over to the house every day. He had nothing better to do. Forrest is a good guy too. He came up like we did on the Ultimate Fighter. He was granted a great privilige abd he hasn’t forgotten that. He’s very humble.
Anything else you want to say to the fans?
Thanks to unbreakable mouthpieces. I want to say thanks to the fans. Look for me to take a fight in 6 or 7 months. I can’t wait to show off my hands. Stick with me. Thanks everybody.
