wednesday, May 14th

I didn't have to be awake until 10am on Wednesday morning but somehow woke up at 7am. As I waited for KJ to get up, I finished up the BJ Blog. The 3 hours went by fast and I could hear him stirring. He walked into the kitchen and I caught him in time to see everything he was putting into his shake for the morning, and the supplements he took with it as well. He literally wakes up and rolls out of bed to the gym though. I had to rush to get all my stuff together, even though I was up WAY before he was.

As we were leaving to the gym, I noticed he had a set of golf clubs.. Mental note to self, ask if he actually plays! He went out to take Rocky for a walk, we climbed into the M3 with Rocky in tow, and headed to City Boxing's downtown location again.

Normally KJ's Wednesday morning practice would have consisted of grappling or jiujitsu, but there was a professional boxer with a south paw stance in town that was leaving the next day, so Mark wanted KJ to take advantage of the opportunity to train with him. He met us at the gym at 10:40. KJ had already started stretching and warming up when the Cuban Fighter walked in. Pepe helped KJ to wrap his hands as the Cuban kid got his hands wrapped and put on his pads.

The guy was good, but KJ held his own and they battled it out back and forth for 6 five minute rounds. He turned to the double end bag, the uppercut and hook box, and the speed bag to finish off his workout. He got some stretching in at the end before heading to the showers. He woke up that morning weighing 172, and after his workout weighed 166. Little rocky patiently waited without barking, the entire training session.

After the morning training, KJ took Pepe and I to lunch at a Brazilian place called Brazil by the Bay. I learned at this time that Pepe knows at least one word in english. KJ was asking him what he wanted, "Pollo, carne, pescado?" And Pepe said to KJ, "Chicken!" KJ ordered the beef, and I ordered the chicken as well. Each plate came with beans, rice, and farofa. I absolutely LOVE brazilian food and barely ever eat it, so was thrilled about his choice for lunch.

After lunch we dropped Pepe off at the gym and then went back to the house. KJ was supposed to train jujitsu at 1, but because of the last minute change in schedule, his grappling session had gotten postponed. We got back to the house and he took a nap for a couple hours. When he woke, he made a chicken sandwich and veggies. I had noticed that he had guitar hero, so I challenged him to a game before I got on the road. I had to be back in Vegas and at the airport for a flight at 11:30pm.

Only playing guitar hero once every other month means that I am not very good at it. I played one song and scored the same amount that KJ did in the first minute of his song. So I suck at it... So what?? I played one more song and decided that if I really want to get good, I'm going to have to break down and buy it. I don't have enough time in the day so I think I have come to terms with the fact that I will never be a professional Guitar Hero player, and never make the big bucks.

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Tracy Lee

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Monday, May 12th..

A whim... Thats what I call most of my thoughts of late, and it's the only way to reason with myself on why I'm now in San Diego. I had every intention of staying home for a few days; instead now I have myself booked on a flight to Providence, RI to head to Connecticut for the IFL that flight leaves Vegas at 12:35 wednesday night, so with the crazy schedule I am keeping the week after, I decided that it was my only chance to follow KJ Noons around as he readies for defending his belt against Yve Edwards. I called him around noon; he called me back about 4. He agreed that I could come out, and I was on the road by 7:30.

At that point, I started booking flights. I hadn't decided whether or not I was going to make IFL, and at that moment it was like all the pieces of the puzzle fell together. Redeye on American for Wednesday night meant that I had to be leaving San Diego with enough time to repack my bag for another week and then get dropped off at the airport.

Four and a half hour drive has me sitting where I am now, but the time in between then and now has been filled with nonstop activity. Three and a half hours of my drive was entertained by Crooklyn on the phone; my only stop to pull over to a Starbucks to use their internet. I sat blocking the drive thru for at least 20 minutes. Lucky for me people had kicked their caffeine habit for at least that 20 minutes. I continued on the drive into beautiful San Diego as a slight rain welcomed my arrival. Midnight found me settling into the extra bedroom in the condo that KJ shares with his gorgeous girlfriend, Melany. As I walked in, I notice two things. KJ's pride and joy, his Elite XC Lightweight Championship Belt, and a dog's barking coming from their room; he says,"That's Rocky. We're leaving to the gym at 830am, ok?" I was up for a few more hours working before calling it a night.

Tuesday, May 13th

8:15 came and KJ was knocking on the door to wake me up. See, I do sleep sometimes! He tells me we're leaving in 15 minutes.. I rush to check emails and get ready to run out the door. He has already made his protein shake breakfast, but shares with me the ingredients. He puts ISO Extreme, a meal replacement with glutamine in orange flavor, multi vitamins, body octane (powder supplement) and water in a shaker and drinks it on his way to the gym. I asked my typical question; He weighed 172 when he woke up that morning.

Rocky comes running out of the bedroom and its at this point I get a good look at the dog. It's a Yorkie, and Yorkie's are small, but this has got to be the smallest one I've seen without it being a puppy. Hardly the dog I expected given the name, Rocky Balboa. But the dog was a total sweetheart and won me over with his excellent behavior and for lack of a better term, puppy dog eyes. I spent a small amount of time trying to get a picture of him, but anytime I hold my camera up (which is very easily the size of the dog) he escapes down the hallway in fear of the unknown.

I give up and head down 4 small flights of stairs to the garage where KJ's white M3 sits. It sits on 18inch BMW rims, and has a red and black leather interior. We got in the car and he jammed his foot on the pedal and slammed the shifter into each gear as if we just took off from the start line of a 1/4 mile drag strip. A smile played across my face as he did so; memories of my old car club came flooding back for a moment.

KJ's condo is over right near the San Diego Sports Arena and directly around the corner from the Throwdown Training Center. He lives within minutes of World Gym located right off the Garnet exit of I5, which is where his first training session of the day was. We met Shoshana, his stength and conditioning coach there.

Now if there's one thing I know about World's Gym, is that there are some SERIOUS people working out there. When I say serious, I mean sometimes the women even have more muscle than the men, or that it looks like the layout of last months Muscle and Fitness. And as we walked into the door to this haven of vanity and sinewed tissue, I felt a little intimidated a everyone behind the desk turned to look at us. KJ spoke to them a second, they turned back to what they were doing, and we followed Sho into the weight room.

Tuesday was back and shoulders day for them. THey proceeded to do two excercises at a time, and take turns switching off so that while KJ was doing one, Sho was doing the other. They did 4 sets of each excercise, doing about 10 reps each set. They worked on a total of 10 different excercises rotating with other members of the gym. KJ's weights were light to work on building lean muscle. After lifting, Sho helped KJ stretch out, as i've seen many trainers do with their fighters.

When we were leaving, KJ grabbed a rapid recovery drink from the gym, and we went to pick up his friend Bailey for their daily run on the beach. AS we were driving KJ explained to me, "I used to think that lifting weights was bad for boxing and MMA; that it would slow me down. I thought it would make me bulk up. Shoshona is helping me build lean muscle and it has helped in my boxing to increase the power of my punches and take downs. I definitely had misconceptions about it. I'm leaner and more powerful than I ever was!"

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Tracy Lee

www.combatlifestyle.com     

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Tracy Lee

www.combatlifestyle.com

So, I had the chance to spend the last few days with newly signed Elite XC Fighter, Conor Heun as he was getting ready for his fight. I shot some photos of him training, cutting and hanging out. I also took a second to ask him a few questions that I was curious about. Click here to read my blog about the last few days hanging out with Conor Heun: http://www.combatlifestyle.com/words/gdetail.php?id=48

Talk about your new contract with Elite XC. How long are involved with them for? what are your thoughts and feelings about the organization?

I signed with pro elite for two years. I am really excited to be involved with the organization because I think they take really good care of their fighters and are positioning themselves to be the number 1 MMA league in the world. The fact that they are bringing MMA to network television is reason enough to sign with them. I also like the 160 lb weight class. I can make 155 but i'm a lot happier at 1 60. Also I feel I match up well with a lot of the fighters in the division and that wearing the belt within the next two years is an attainable goal.

Are you still involved with the IFL at all?

As of right now I have no contract with the IFL. I believe the change in the structure of the league, basicly the move from simulated "teams" to a true camp vs camp format is a positive change. I would be interested in the opportunity to fight side by side with my teamates from legends MMA training center in Hollywood, and my contract with pro elite allows me to fight in other organizations, however the IFL rules are not favorable to our fighting style. The pro elite cage is far superior to the ring and the IFL's restrictions on elbow strikes make for a watered down version of MMA. I personaly was quite impressed with the new rules released by the Dream promotion out of Japan. I think knees to the head should be allowed on the ground, as well as kicks to the face especially when engaged in a footlock battle on the ground. I also prefer that fights are judged in their entirety as opposed to the 10 point must system. With that being said I am very happy to be fighting under pro elite rules and would not rule out fighting for the IFL again in the future.

Tell us who you train with.. What does each person involved bring to your game? My team at legends is headed up by Chris Reily and Eddie Bravo who train my striking and ground game respectivly. Our competition team consists of Scott "Einstein" Epstein, Chris Sepulveda, Chris Brady, Mack Danzig, Dan "the outlaw" Hardy, Takashi, Amir Rhnivardi, Jorge Olivera, and Jeremy Williams. Plus.all the guys from 10th planet. The guys on the competition team are the guys who are there everyday pushing me during our strength and conditioning sessions run by Shy, and during hard sparring. Of course Jiu jitsu is my main love so I also spend a ton of time rolling with all the great 10th planet guys of which there are to many to name. Chris Reily, Dan Hardy, and Amir are the guys working my stand up and Eddie, Brent (or checkuroil of UG fame) and Einstein are the master minds behind my ground game. It's a great group and we all feed off each other's energy and work to bring everyone level up.

What's your "game plan"? What do you think you need to do to successfully defeat your opponent during this fight?

Well, my opponent is a very accomplished striker. His kicks are very dangerous and he has power in both hands. I need to control both the distance and the pace of the fight, not giving him time to relax or breath. I will be very impressed if he can deal with the ferocity of my attack and maintain the same pace that I can.

Do you have any way that you train thats not "orthodox"? Something that most fighters don't normally do, but seems to work for you? If so, what is it?

I have been working with Kelly Carter of titleshottraining.com and he brings some very inovative training methods to the table. I juggle to work hand eye coordination, use active isolated stretching to limber up, and use a healing and diagnostic technique that Kelly practices called lifeline. And although it is not unique, I see Dr Peter Goldman of goldmanhealing.com for zone healing. In fact, Dr Pete as I call him, works with all the top fighters around the globe. Just check out his website. It reads like a who's who of MMA greats.

Why do you think Tom Denny didn't want to take the fight with you when offered?

I imagine it has to do with the way our styles match up and with the risk vs rewards associated with the contest. First off, I am a great wrestler and an accomplished ground fighter. Denny has said that he likes to take the fight where his opponent doesn't want to go. I have never been knocked out or submitted in MMA so there is really no place i'm not willing to fight from. Secondly, Denny is a big name with 41 fights to his name. Comparitivly i'm a nobody. If he lost it would be a great win for me but if he won people would say he beat a kid with only 8 fights, big deal. With Malepet he fights a less well rounded fighter who also posseses a huge following from his Muay Thai career. If he beats malepet that is quite an accomplishment, if he losses he lost to a well known and highly skilled striker. I noticed you have a degree on display. Who'd you beat up to get that? Ok but seriously.. What do you have degree in, and why are you fighting now instead?

My degree is in English literature from Ithaca college. I moved home to boulder Colorado right after college and started my own business running a screenprinting shop and launched a clothing line on the internet. My partner and I had some creative differences so I sold him my stake in the company. With nothing other than coaching high school wrestling going on in boulder, I decided to check out someplace new and sold my shop. With the money I got, I moved to Hollywood and decided to give the corporate world a shot. I got a job selling dental equipment and was making a good living but I felt trapped in my little cubicle. Looking around the office I saw all these great people who had basicly given up on their dreams in exchange for the stability that comes with a 9 to 5, a 401k, and health insurance. I just knew it wasn't for me. After stepping inside the cage, winning my first pro fight, and cashing my first check for doing something I really loved, I was over the corporate life for good. I guess for some people, true feedom comes only when locked inside the cage.

what level guitar hero are you playing at?

I have beat all the songs on medium and have moved on to hard but am still struggling on the nastier licks, so i'm going back and trying to perfect all the songs on medium.

What do you like to do when you're NOT fighting?

I love to snowboard, surf, skate, and just chill out at the beach or the pool in beautiful southern California.

Any sponsors you want to thank?

Yea, Melee fight gear, TapouT, goldmanhealing, Joe Rogan.net, Badner chiropractic, titleshottraining.com, ring and cage, rolcom communications and anyone else who wants to throw the kid a bone. Thanks to everyone who has helped make my dream a reality.

"Where is my dividend miles number?" I pondered as I sat in the columbus, OH airport. I had just signed up for the Aloha Pass, and remembered also my intention of signing up for the Marriott rewards club. It was Monday afternoon, and I was heading home from my UFC 82 weekend. I sat in the airport booking flights for Hawaii, Denver, San Jose, Vegas, Montreal, and Atlantic City. I loaded pictures as I did so, and I got on the Underground to see what had been said in response to threads I was involved in. As usual there was a lot of negativity towards me, but tons of positivity and thanks for the hard work I put in.

I had walked into the airport with a smile on my face. I had happily said hello to all the people I came in contact with. I had experienced a fun weekend although certain fights hadn't gone the way I had hoped they would, I feel those fighters had made a terrific showing and everyone knew it. So smile I did knowing that I covered the weekend as best as I could.

Thursday 3pm:

A week before the fight, I had figured out that I wasn't going to be alone on my flight to Ohio. I had the company of my friend Jenny who works for Proelite.com and Chad who owns Toe 2 Toe clothing. They had a layover in Vegas, and I met them at the gate on Thursday afternoon. Upon landing I was determined to catch the end of the American Fighter preparty at the Frog Bear and Boar bar but when I walked in at 12:30am, I found myself turning around and walking directly out. The place was empty so I went to the hotel to check in instead.

Friday 1am:

I found many familiar faces hanging out in the lobby as well as the hotel bar. So I ran my bags upstairs and came down to say my hellos. As stomachs were growling, a group of us adjourned to the Tip Top bar across the street where we found more friends as well as a basket of sweet potato fries.

Friday 3am:

Bedtime! I crawled into bed with my laptop within arms reach.

Friday 8am:

I found myself waking up at 8am and reaching over to my laptop. I think that it's time I propose to it, as I find myself waking up next to it more often than not. I was meeting Dan Henderson to shoot him cut at 12:30, but at 11 got the call that Jon Fitch was cutting weight at that moment. When I walked into the gym in the hotel, I saw a guy with a scruffy beard on the floor covered in towels and had to doubletake on whether or not it was Fitch; it was actually Luigi Fioravanti. In the next couple hours I watched as 12 out of 20 guys on the card cut weight in the same room. Joe Rogan, Bruce Buffer, and Mike Goldberg all partook of the hotel's facilities; I guess I should have as well..

[2-29]Dan Henderson cutting weight (Click for Pics)

Friday 2pm:

Wanting to not get backed up on work, I ran to the room to get the photos online and then went in search of a ride to weigh ins. As the van circled around to the back of the Arena, we passed all the people waiting in the cold to watch the fighters step on the scale. I hadn't eaten as I often forget to on weigh in day so I had a small idea of what the guys were going through at that point. We were there at least an hour early, but the stands were almost completely full already. Weigh Ins went smoothly as they always do at a UFC. Received my first bracelet of the day; it was bright orange.

[2-29] UFC 82 Weigh Ins (Click for Pics)

Friday 6:45pm:

Dinner after weigh ins with Dan was held across the street from the hotel at Mitchell Steakhouse. On my way over I found him in the lobby surrounded by fans taking pictures and signing autographs; He's always such a great sport about that. His entire team was already at the restaurant in the process of ordering dinner. I chose a lobster bisque and requested some bread to go with. I didn't want to eat a full meal as I needed to leave early for the events I was going to that night. Dan went with a sauceless chilean seabass as well as some asparagus.

[2-29] Dinner with Dan (Click for Pics)

Friday 8pm:

My mission, that I chose to accept that evening included an amatuer fight, 2 charity events, and a UFC preparty. It was after 8pm already and I wasn't sure that I would make it. I stopped at my room to grab my gear and then was dragging Jason MacDonald out with me on my journey. I also for some reason brought my equipment backpack which is the size of a small child. I don't quite know what I was thinking.

Friday 8:30pm:

The fights were held at the Lifestyle Pavilion. It was located near the backside of the Nationwide arena. The place was packed, and I was suprised at the venue itself. It reminded me of the way they do the WEC at the Hardrock in Las Vegas. Upper level overlooking a hexagon cage on the lower level. They had a really good lighting set up too. We met up with Sean Salmon, his brother Daniel, and his dad who were there spectating. Fights were going by quickly as they often do with amatuer events. Second bracelet of the day; white with some logo on it I think.

Friday 9:45pm:

Jason and I jumped in a cab over to Sugar Bar. This was the charity fund raiser for the Ray Mendoza Scholarship fund. Sponsored by MMA Authentics, Ray was Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman's former roommate; Ray was killed in Iraq in the line of duty. Tons of fighters were on hand to support the cause. There were finger foods and desserts although I only found myself partaking of a chocolate covered strawberry. I spent over two and a half hours at this event; Jason ended up staying after I left. I got another orange bracelet here, as well as a red smily face stamp in the VIP area.

[2-29]Ray Mendoza Scholarship Fund Charity Event (Click for Pics)

Saturday 12:30am:

Vinicius and I walked over to Mynt Lounge to catch the American Fighter Charity Event. It was a bit late, so many of the guests had left. Not to say that the place wasn't packed though. I found all the huge brazilians with 2 full bottles of goose on their table. I assume they weren't drinking much, but they seemed to be having a good time. I also found a bunch of the Zuffa staff in the VIP area. I ran into some UG friends while I was exploring the club. My girlfriends Jenn and Cindy met up with me there and we stayed for about half an hour. Jeff Adler from American Fighter gave me my 4th bracelet of the day; was a gray one with coors light logos on it. I had also received a big fat red X on the back of my hand going into the club.

Saturday 1am:

UG friends and Jenn and Cindy in tow, it was off to BOMA. When we pulled up out front, I realized that this was an old church. Matt Salmon met us at the front as I was receiving yet another red mark on the back of my other hand. All the Salmon brothers were there, as well as a few other fighters. I didn't stay long; I was tired, and knew I had a long day ahead.

Saturday 1:45am:

One thing I remember from my trip to Ohio for UFC last year was the street vendors selling Teriyaki Chicken Gyros. I knew that I would be eating at least one on this trip and when I walked out of Boma, I smelled the tasty treat wafting from the cart parked outside. I ordered 4, yes 4 of them. 2 for me, and 2 for Chad from Toe to Toe. He was with me last year when we ate them so it was like a trip down memory lane. I stood in the street trying to catch a cab and Chris Lytle and his group joined me. As we were standing there talking, I asked him, "Isn't Ken Pavia supposed to be here?" I pointed at a guy walking down the street in the cold and said, "that guy kinda looks like Ken." The way he was walking, and talking on the phone reminded me so much of the fight agent, but I wasn't seriously thinking it was him. So Chris starts jumping up and down yelling, "ken! Ken!" Lo and behold, the guy turned and started walking towards and chris exclaimed, "Oh shit! It IS Ken!" Not sure why Ken was walking down the street in the freezing ass cold, no where near the hotel at 1:45 in the morning, but it was him. Chris and Ken walked into the club and I spent the next 20 minutes in the frigid night trying to get a cab back to the hotel.

Saturday 3am:

Pictures loading, I washed the 3 stamps off my hands and tore off the four bracelets. It's been a long time since I had gotten that many. Exhausted, I passed out quickly.

Saturday 10am:

I got a full Night sleep. To me, thats about 6 hours. I felt good, and was looking forward to going out to lunch with Matt Salmon, as well as over to the Arnolds. I took my time getting ready, and worked on getting all the photos up from the night before.

Saturday 1pm:

Matt picked me up and we ate at a Mongolian BBQ spot. I happily munched on the stirfry and wished that I could find a good place like it in Vegas.

Saturday 2:45pm:

We walked over to the Arnolds from lunch. Everything was in the Arena District; the clubs, Nationwide Arena, the restaurants, and the convention center. I barely got my credential before the media room closed. I walked into the exhibit hall and was overwhelmed by the amount of people that were walking up and down each aisle. I made a beeline to the UFC booth and spent most of the afternoon there.

Saturday 3:45pm:

All of sudden, they were clearing EVERYONE out of the UFC booth. Lucky me, they allowed me to stay and shortly I was getting run over by none other than the Governator, Arnold Schwarzeneggar. I snapped a photo of him with Sam Stout, Antonio Nogueira, Jason MacDonald, Chris Lytle, Brian Stann, and Houston Alexander. I was pretty thrilled about being in the right place at the right time. We walked around the crazy crowded event trying protein bars and shakes, gawking at the body builders, and chatting with people before deciding that we were over it. Leaving the Arnold, Sam was a good sport about taking a photo in front of the billboard he was on..

[3-1]The Arnold Classic (Click for Pics)

Saturday 4pm:

Grabbed lunch with Pavia and then spent the next few hours in the room getting work done.

Saturday 7:30pm:

Grabbed a shuttle to the Arena and got myself set up in my media position just as the event was starting. Where the had me sitting was right next to the walkway where many of the fighters and their camps were sitting so I got to see everyone coming and going all night. Shooting the fights becomes somewhat methodical. It's difficult to shoot, and also concentrate on the fight thats going on. I notice that the more I have been doing it though, the better I am getting at it.

Saturday 11:45pm:

I know I shouldn't pick my favorites, and for the most part, I don't.. I was really rooting for Dan to win though. His impressive first round had me on the edge of my seat thinking, "Oh he has this!" I was very disappointed with the outcome of the fight. Anderson Silva is a tough opponent and you have to hand it to Dan for stepping up the plate to challenge him.

Sunday 1:00am

I made my way to the press conference after the fight. One thing that stands out most in my mind is Anderson saying that he would never fight Paulo Filho. Don't all the fighters usually say, "I'll fight whoever the UFC puts in front of me"?. It was getting late though, and I had to be at some more events, so I walked over to Sugar bar with Matt Stansells and Sam Stout. I met my girls Jenn and Cindy there and then we went on a crusade to find a cab back to the hotel. We walked all the way to the Hyatt before running into Heath Sims, and a cab that took us back to the hotel.

Sunday 2:30am:

The lobby was filled with people. I was expecting it to be a lot of fans, but it was a lot of fighters, their families and friends, and industry people. There was a share of fans too, but overall it looked like this was where the afterparty was at. I hung out the next couple hours there as I watched people come and go; everyone ultimately ended up back there.

[3-1]UFC 82 Afterpartying (Click for Pics)

Sunday 4:30am:

The MMA Authentics crew showed up and had an impromptu afterparty in their room where we ordered room service. This took so long, that most were almost passed out by the time the food arrived. If you pass out first though, you're the one that gets messed with! lol

Sunday 6am:

Bed time. Again, had no problems passing out considering how exhausted I was.

Sunday 11am:

More picture loading; feels like it never stops!! I got myself showered, packed, and then I checked out.

Sunday 12pm:

I left my bags at the bell desk and grabbed a cab over to the Arnolds. I think it was the first time the whole weekend that I went somewhere by myself. When I got there, I headed straight over the UFC booth again. Thankfully the crowd was a little bit lighter that day so it was easier to move around. I spent a lot of time tasting the protein bars at the next booth over,