411 MMA Interviews: Amir Sadollah
Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 03.25.2011
The Ultimate Fighter winner speaks with 411mania for an exclusive interview. Amir Sadollah checks in before his main card fight with DaMarques Johnson at UFC Fight Night this weekend.
UFC fighter, welterweight, and The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 winner, Amir Sadollah (5-2, MMA/UFC), will be going into his next professional fight this Saturday against another former TUF alumni, DaMarques Johnson (12-8, MMA; 3-2, UFC). Amir is most recently coming off a win against Peter Sobotta at UFC 122 last November and is looking to keep the momentum going against Johnson who is also coming off a win for this welterweight bout. Interestingly enough, Johnson is Amir's third scheduled opponent for this bout as he was previously set to face Duane Ludwig and James Wilks who both had to bow out due to injury. Amir took a break from his training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas last week to talk about his upcoming fight:
Jeffrey Harris: How is training and the weight cut going and how are you feeling right now?
Amir Sadollah: Really good. Every fight camp I learn something and . . . it's kind of coming along. Definitely felt good.
Jeffrey Harris: How difficult has it been considering that DaMarques Johnson is your third scheduled opponent for this fight and you will be preparing for him on short notice?
Amir Sadollah: You know it happens and it's one of those things you kind of got to roll with. You really should be training for your own strengths and your own game plan and not every fight around the guy you're fighting so it doesn't change very much.
Jeffrey Harris: DaMarques Johnson is another guy that came through on The Ultimate Fighter. He's good on the ground and has good submissions. What do you think of him?
Amir Sadollah: Like you said, he's good on the ground and I think he's got some pretty decent stand up too; pretty well-rounded guy and exciting fighter, so yeah I'm excited. I think it's a great match-up.
Jeffrey Harris: Both of you are coming off a win so getting a win here is crucial to get on the win streak track. So how important is it to keep the momentum going?
Amir Sadollah: Yeah. In our sport it's always about "you are good as your last fight." So there's a little more pressure to feel that way. I think it's just something – you've done all the work in your training and it's time to fight. You just got to respond.
Jeffrey Harris: You basically started your professional fight career in the UFC. Many fighters fought elsewhere before they started in the Octagon. What has this journey been like for you, almost like a baptism by fire?
Amir Sadollah: Yeah. Yeah, definitely a lot of on the job training. It's really humbling to be able to fight in the UFC. I have to work hard to accomplish and have to work even harder to maintain achieve there. It's definitely a challenge, but I enjoy it . . . no shortage of challenges and I enjoy challenges a lot.
Jeffrey Harris: After you beat C.B. Dollaway and came back to fight Johnny Hendricks, it was your first fight at welterweight (170 lbs.). At the weigh-ins you came in a little under weight and the commentators on MMA Live speculated if you perhaps over trained for the fight. Not to make excuses but did anything like that occur?
Amir Sadollah: No, no I don't think so. The weight thing that day – it was the first time I'd been down to 170 . . . I had a cheap scale in my room and according to the scale I was on weight, but apparently I was way under weight. So that was a freak thing.
Jeffrey Harris: After your first loss to Johnny Hendricks you went into a fight with Phil Baroni. Baroni was a long-time and prolific veteran of the sport having previously fought for Pride and the UFC. That was a tough fight for you and I think you had the perfect game plan for a fighter like Baroni. You were able to weather the early storm and put on a stand-up clinic. But how difficult was it in dealing with that early barrage from a guy like Baroni?
Amir Sadollah: Yeah it was just one of those things where it was kind of what I expected. You fight Baroni and you know he's going to hit you hard and come out strong. So it was just kind of one of those things where I expected that's where the fight would go so it was a little . . . I don't want to say easier, but like you said – it's just kind of – that's what it was.
Jeffrey Harris: Was a confidence builder for you coming off your first loss and going through a bloody war like that with Phil Baroni?
Amir Sadollah: I would say it did. To say I wasn't affected by the loss, I'd be lying. Yeah definitely, it was a letdown I didn't want to happen. So that was definitely good for me to go in there, have a tough fight, test myself . . . yeah it did wonders for me I think.
Jeffrey Harris: The MMA world was rocked and turned on its head when ZUFFA, the parent company of the UFC, announced that they bought Strikeforce, their biggest competitor. I know most of your fight experience comes from the UFC and The Ultimate Fighter, but what do you think this deal could mean for not just the industry but the fighters as well?
Amir Sadollah: Yeah, that's a good question. I think time will tell where it goes, but I think it's a good move. If the sport is going to evolve where all of us involved want it to be at that major league basketball, baseball, football level . . . I think there's got to be one major entity and that's definitely the UFC. And UFC is going to head in that direction.
Jeffrey Harris: Going back to your run on TUF, you went through some pretty tough battles on the show alone before you got to the finals and against guys much more experienced than you in MMA. How crazy was that run for you when you were just starting in MMA?
Amir Sadollah: Yeah, it was cool. Like you said, it was where I started, so it was . . . I'm not going to say easier but in a way there just wasn't any time for me to think, "Well, I'm used to this." It was just kind of that where was the level I was at right there, so the only thing that I could do was just to respond. So they kind of pushed me in the deep end, but sink or swim.
Jeffrey Harris: You beat C.B. Dollaway to get to the finals on the show. And then you found out you'd be fighting Dollaway again in the actual finals. Do you think, "Man I have to fight this guy again and the fight probably won't go the same way?" Even though you ended up beating Dollaway much the same way?
Amir Sadollah: Yeah I definitely didn't expect a rematch. It is what it is. In a sport I've never wanted to waste time or energy worrying or expecting who I should fight or shouldn't fight. You just got to get ready.
Jeffrey Harris: What do you think about the fight with DaMarques and do you think he will want to take it to the ground with you and keep the fight there?
Amir Sadollah: We'll see. I truly – I really try not to have expectations. We'll see when the fight starts if he wants to come out and stand or take it to the ground. I'm prepared for all situations.
Jeffrey Harris: Any sponsors or people you would like to thank or give a shout out to.
Amir Sadollah: Yes. I'd like to thank Sucker Punch Entertainment. And you can follow me on Twitter.
Amir also hopes to take up skiing more following his next fight. Thank you to Amir for speaking with us. UFC Fight Night will be broadcast live Saturday, March 26 on Spike TV. Remember to check 411mania.com for the quickest and best live play-by-play of the event and Bellator 38. Also tune in to the site Sunday at 8AM PST/11AM EST for 411 Ground and Pound Radio with Mark Radulich who will be analyzing this week's events and news. You can listen to this week's 411 Ground and Pound Radio with Mark Radulich and special guest co-host, Jeffrey Harris, the 411mania Jack of All Trades below:
