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MMA INTERVIEW: UFC's Phillipe Nover (www.8countnews.com)

MMA INTERVIEW: UFC's Phillipe Nover

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:43:00

By

Dennis Guillermo

Ultimate Fighter Finalist Phillipe Nover: The Next GSP Will BRB“Adversity does not build character. It reveals it.”
Straight From DSource: Phillipe Nover Post Ultimate Fighter Finale Interview

He didn’t even know he was fighting in the main card of the Ultimate Fighter finale until a friend told him not long before his fight, but just like how his profession as an Emergency room nurse demands, Phillipe Nover is always ready for whatever.

Dana White must’ve really meant what he said about Phillipe Nover looking like the next GSP that he actually bumped up Nover’s lightweight finals match against Efrain Escudero as the main event of that evening. It was supposedly Nover’s coming out party, apparently though nobody sent the memo to Escudero.

Escudero handed Nover’s first ever loss as a pro MMA fighter. He exposed Nover’s technical flaws by wrestling and taking him down constantly almost at will during the first two rounds while timing his strikes. In the third round however, Nover made a gallant stand and even almost pulled out a submission as Escudero clung on to his win in the dying seconds of the round. “I fought my heart out man. I really just wanted to fight real hard. I wanted to throw fists, but strategically, I didn’t think it through I guess as much as I should have. All the wealth to him; He definitely deserves to win.” Nover told me when I spoke to him to get his thoughts after the biggest fight of his life.

It has been a roller coaster year for Nover. He gave up his day job as an Emergency nurse to pursue his career as a professional fighter and chase his dreams that ultimately led to the sport’s biggest stage. He caught the eyes of not only the fans that watched the Ultimate Fighter show on Spike TV but also the big names of the sport itself such as Nogueira and the aforementioned Dana White. Despite his recent loss however, the future seems bright for Nover. For now though, life goes on and there are pieces that need to be picked up.

“It’s definitely a roller coaster. I couldn’t even explain it any better than that. I was at my biggest high coming off the show, coming home and training for the big fight, then taking my first loss on such a big stage- it was kind of heartbreaking.” Nover said.

“People I guess think that big time UFC stars, especially coming from the Ultimate Fighter that we’re supposed to be these big time celebrities, but the truth is, I’m an every day normal guy. I just have some talent and a drive to fight and win. I’m here actually back in the hospital working. I’m getting some shifts in because obviously I didn’t win… there’s still bills to be paid. When I got out of the show, I basically moved out of my own house and moved back to my mom’s, so I can quit my job and train. I had to rely on my mother and father on a lot of things especially financially that’s why I give them a lot of respect for that. It was a big roller coaster on the downhill right now, but I’m going to get over this. After the holiday season I’ll pick up the training. I’m going to come out there stronger than ever.”

Dubbed as “The Filipino Assassin” Phillipe does not have to go far for inspiration. Filipino boxer and current pound for pound king of the sport Manny Pacquiao suffered three losses on his way to becoming boxing’s best. “Manny Pacquiao is definitely a great inspiration, especially the week before I fought he fought in Vegas and straight up abused Oscar De la Hoya, and I wanted to keep that fire going but I couldn’t. I couldn’t keep the wins going, although I fought real hard, I couldn’t pull out the victory.” Nover added. Even in defeat, Nover just like Pacquiao kept his Filipino fans that stood by him first. He was thankful to everyone that supported him throughout his Ultimate Fighter run. He appreciates everybody that sent emails and promised to do his best to do everyone proud.

It’s only just begun. With his impressive performances all throughout the Ultimate Fighter series, fans can definitely bank on the fact that you have not seen the last of Phillipe Nover- not even close. Phillipe is going to restart training after the holidays and hopefully fight around March in a UFC card. With the way he has handled adversity though, there is no mistake that this kid is definitely a winner.

(Go to 8CN’s podcast page to listen to my full interview with Phillipe after his fight against Escudero)

Credit to big Nog!

I would like to give credit to coach Nogueira. He put up a great fight. I really felt it in my heart when he lost. Not only is he a great fighter but to me he was a great person. He is such an asset to the sport. He is a warrior at heart and I know this is only a bump in the road. He will return stronger, faster, and better. Mir has great striking ability which he improved tremendously. Nogueira will be back with even great improvements!

Congratulations to Efrain Escudero

Congratulations to Efrain Escudero on becoming the TUF 8 lightweight champion. I never thought I would be saying that but what is done is done. It was an honor to fight and lose a great warrior. I am truly happy for him and he deserves the victory. He strategical won the fight with the use of timing my attacks and going in for the take down. I do feel heart broken from the lose but I am not disappointed in myself. I truly tried my best to defeat him. I left everything in the cage that night. I'm proud to have fought live on spike tv in the UFC and even further to have been the main event. I have so much growing to do in this sport and I am going to continue to get better. I will work on my wrestling like no other. Thank you all for your support. I guarantee I will not let you guys down on my next bout.

The greatest lessons are learned at the lowest points. In this case I learned so much about myself, my team, my family, and my friends. Win or lose I know who are people supporting me. Thank you all especially to those who came to see me
live in Las Vegas!

Asian Journal Article

http://www.asianjournal.com/pdf/webpaper/webpapers/2008/aj081205NY/multi/index.html

Check out the picture on the top right and skip to page four.

Soca gave me my black belt on Dec 6th!!!!

Training for the Efrain!

I do 16 laps with the "Kalabaw" also known as the water buffalo around the farm. Then I pick him up on my shoulders and do 40 squats. It's a great work out! (This is in the Philippines on my cousins farm in a province called Nueva Ecija. )

Interview from www.cagepotato.com

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This afternoon I got a chance to meet up with The Ultimate Fighter 8 lightweight finalist Phillipe "The Filipino Assassin" Nover at Fighthouse in New York City. (Coincidentally, this is the gym where I've been taking Muay Thai lessons for the last two months. So yeah, I guess you could say I'm pretty badass.) Anyway, Nover was cool enough to chat with me about his match-up with Efrain Escudero at the TUF 8 finale next Saturday, working as a registered nurse, living without bathroom privacy as a reality TV star, and his official prediction for Bader vs. Vinny; he also had a special shout-out for his Filipino fans. Later, he hit pads and rolled with a couple guys from his Team Insight crew, and tried to stay loose despite the fact that we were surrounded by a bunch of dudes with sniper rifles and one guy who was, no shit, wearing a terrorist-style dynamite vest (proof at the end of the video). Never a dull moment at Fighthouse. Thanks to Spike TV for the invite.

(BG)

Episodes 11 and 12

First, let me start by apologizing for the late blog post. I received the DVD the day of the episode and I’ve been so busy.

Episodes 11 and 12.

Bader vs. Marshall -

I thought Bader did his thing. He is a great wrestler with unbelievable power! It wasn’t the most exiting fight but he pulled out the win! I personally thought Elliot should have thrown less high kicks and stay in ow stances and focus on the punching. All the credit to Bader. I wasn’t happy how Mir said Bader wasn’t a good fighter and that he was just a wrestler. That was plain wrong — Bader is a great fighter!

Myself vs. Roop -

Going into the fight I had so much respect for Roop. He was a great person to hang around with. It’s so much easier fighting someone who you don’t like. But I liked the guy. We shared food and chatted all the time. I had to put that aside. The other obstacle in my mind before the fight was how tough Roop was mentally. His thumb was really bad and lot of fighters would have backed out. He had a war with Polakowski a week before he had to throw down with me and has no hesitation in doing so. He is one tough dude. In fact, after the win, I went over to him and called him “The toughest dude in the house” but that wasn’t shown. He really was the toughest.

The strategy I had was to go out there and overwhelm him with big shots — and sub him. I wanted to cut the distance fast and stay out of his kicking range. I was swept and stayed cool. As soon as I locked that Kimura I stayed relaxed and slowly adjusted my hips and legs. Right after the fight I felt so free. It was the last day living in the house and a few hours later I was able to call my family and friends.

Side note: The actual fights occurred as follows: Wednesday: Bader vs. Marshall then Efrain vs. Junie. Thursday: Myself vs. Roop and then Krzysztof vs. Vinny. This also meant I didn’t sleep much on Wednesday night before the semi’s. There were only four fighters left in the house who needed to fight and I was one of them. Everyone else was in crazy party drinking mode. Wednesday was nuts! I had to put in ear plugs and cover my head with a pillow. Then I moved my mattress into the closet to stay away from the singing.

After the fight, Dana had some more great words about me. He really thinks I’m a great fighter. He even said “I think this guy is one of the best fighters ever to get on this show.” This really blew my mind. I was silent for a minute just thinking it over. It’s a lot of pressure but I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. Training everyday like my life depends on it.

Vinny vs. Krzysztof -

Again I can add that Vinny is a beast on the ground! His guard is nuts. Once in his guard the trouble begins. Props to both fighters.

Efrain vs. Junie -

I like the way Dana handled Junie this season. He knew Junie wanted an out and if would have gotten thrown out he would have left with all his pride. Dana didn’t let that happen.

As for the fight itself, Efrain played it smart. I knew Junie wasn’t going to take Efrain down. When I saw Junie shoot in and Efrain stuff it, I knew it was going to end soon. The elbow strikes when Junie shot in were genius. Junie said some things after the fight that made him look even worse. I know he didn’t mean he was going to give up fighting. He’s on the card against Kaplan!

The finals -

Efrain and I are good friends. We slept in the same room. We cooked together. We chatted all day. We know a lot about each other. I respect him as a fighter and as a man. It’s all business when the cage door shuts. He knows it and I know it. I am honored to fight him.

New 8 count interview!!!

http://www.8countnews.com/news/117/ARTICLE/1177/2008-12-02.html

UFC profile - Article by Thomas Gerbasi on ufc.com

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=16055

Check out this link for details.

Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira Profile - Phillipe Nover

By Thomas Gerbasi

www.8countnews.com-Article on me!!!

The Next Manny Pacquiao May not even be a Boxer

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:30:37
(http://www.8countnews.com/news/117/ARTICLE/1161/2008-11-25.html)


By

Dennis Guillermo

If you haven’t heard of him yet, you will soon enough. “I am the toughest registered nurse on the planet right now.” said Phillipe Nover after moving on to the semifinals of the Ultimate Fighter show in Spike TV. I must say, it’s hard to dispute that claim.

The great and current UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira described him as a lightweight that punches like a heavyweight. “I have never seen a guy hit as hard as you.” were Big Nog’s words for Phillipe before he went inside the octagon to face the highly touted Dave Kaplan in episode 8 of the Ultimate Fighter show. “When this kid fights, he fights for real!” he added. That’s high praise coming from one of the legends of the mixed martial arts game. Remind you of anyone in particular?

“From what I see in this kid right now, he reminds me of a GSP.” said Dana White, the head honcho of UFC.

Well from what I saw, he reminds me of Manny Pacquiao. No lie… he looks that good.

Born and raised in Brooklyn New York, the 24-year-old Fil-Am ER nurse Nover is as Filipino as it gets. I did say nurse didn’t I? Pardon the stereotype, but there’s more to Phillipe than his choice of profession that juxtaposes him to his Filipino roots. For one, he has that Manny Pacquiao power in his fists. And as much as there have been talks about up and coming Filipino fighters and boxers out there following Pacquiao’s footsteps, I have never been reminded of any fighter of Pacquiao more than Phillipe when Pacquiao first broke into the American boxing scene. This kid Nover is for real. He has the qualities that any fight fan will love and definitely get a lot of Filipinos to follow his career the way Manny Pacquiao caught the Filipino people and the world’s imagination.

I say that, not only because of the way he fights, but also because of the way he conducts himself. Nover is a humble and well spoken guy that does his talking inside the octagon. He is proud of his heritage as shown in the show when he introduced “balut” to his teammates and even displayed a little poster he made in their bathroom that said “Sipag at Tiyaga” written in the colors of the Philippine flag. His fights are always exciting and he really hits like he has brass knuckles hidden in his gloves.

Phillipe has an unblemished MMA record and will be fighting in the semifinals of the Ultimate Fighter to be aired on December 3^rd on Spike. I will be interviewing Phillipe this coming week to get his thoughts on his upcoming match, his background and pretty much anything under the sun so watch out for that.

I really have a feeling this guy will be something special. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day you see tens of Filipino flags waiving in a UFC event the way you see them in the most recent Journey world tour and Pacquiao fights the past 7 years. I may sound like I’m putting too much faith and pressure on a relatively unknown Filipino fighter, but I’m sure that’s nothing compared to the pressure an ER presents. With that said, I really believe this guy has what it takes no matter what pressure he gets put under. Hell, he’s an ER nurse and a heck of a mixed martial arts fighter after all.

Episode 10

I really enjoyed last night’s episode. The fight was exiting and it really showed the personality of both fighters. The fight was between the two nicest guys in the house. I would find it more difficult to fight someone who happens to be a really nice guy rather then fight an asshole.

George Roop is quiet and soft-spoken and has a really “chill” attitude about fighting. I could sit and talk to him and feel really comfortable.

As for John “the hug monster” Polakowski, he is just one big package of fun! How could you dislike the guy? Every day he would see you he’d start it off with a great big hug. At first it was kind of weird but after getting to know the guy it was fun. He gave such a friendly feeling to the house. John and I got along so well. He is so nice that I couldn’t imagine him hurting someone in the cage. The funniest thing I could remember is when he hugged Dana after his fight. That was hilarious!

I felt bad for Roop. Everyone knows how difficult it was to come that far and get into the house. Even though he hurt his thumb his spirit never shattered. From the looks of the thing and with my medical background, it appeared broken. His thumb injury just made him seem even more hungry for battle. Who would want to have the fight of your life with an apparent thumb fracture? He has the heart of a lion. Not to many fighters have that mental ability. That is what makes him scary.

Pre-fight you saw Nogueira tease Roop. It was all fun and games. Big ‘Nog is a really down to Earth guy. As you can see he comes over the house every night before one of us fight. I’m glad he did. Even if his advice was really basic and not very strategic, it still raised our spirits and as a fighter you felt stronger and more ready. Again, might I add how happy I was to be on the red team!?

I thought the fight was pretty action packed. It was back and forth. I would have to agree with Dana and would have rather saw a third round. I guess the judges gave lots of credit for Roop’s takedowns. It was an all out battle and even though John lost I hope to see him still in the UFC.

In the post-fight carnage you saw John drinking for peace. John is really funny guy when he gets drunk. You can’t help but love the guy. Then you saw Junie get pissed at a few guys for throwing food at us in the jacuzzi.

Junie has a really short temper and sometimes people just want to push his buttons to have him react, as you saw in the previous episode where he’s trying to fight everyone in the pool. Spike didn’t show how that actually escalated. They continued throwing food as us and pretty soon someone got so mad that a beer bottle flew up into the kitchen and shattered on the floor. I’m not going to say who threw it. It just got worse from there.

For the semi-finals, as you all can see I chose Roop. It is my sole strategy to enter into the finals and take the easiest fight. I think Roop was the weakest link but not because of his skill level, as he is very skilled in all areas of fighting. I felt Roop was weak because he was injured. He had a hurt thumb and he had just fought. Look at his eye. He only had a week to recover from John before he fought me. If he was wasn’t that injured then I might have chosen someone else.

Dec 3rd viewing party!!

Directions:
Belt parkway to exist 11S. Go down Flatbush Ave and make a left at the third light right before the toll booths. After the left you'll come over a few speed bumps and a check in point to Floyd Bennett Field. There's no security officer in box, just keep driving in and make your first left again. Drive about 1/2 a mile in and you'll see it on your left. (There is a small red plane in the front.)

Seminar in Brooklyn

Come join me! Space is very limited!

My view on the use of Steroids in Mixed Martial Arts

As a professional athlete and a promoter of overall health and well being, I would like to announce my disregard for athletes who test positive for steroids. Athletes who take steroids are mentally beaten already. It would only mean they think that they are incapable of winning the fight as is. I have no respect for any fighter who ever took steroids or is currently taking steroids. And I have the up most respect for athletes who avoid the use of performance enhancing drugs.

I believe combat sports should tighten there laws on steroids. Fines and banning a fighter for 6 months or a year just doesn't cut it for me. This isn't baseball or basketball. People can get seriously hurt in the cage. If a fighter were to fight a tough battle and find out later on there opponent was on steroids, it would only make every injury sustained meaningless. It would actually make the entire fight meaningless.

The UFC represents the most elite athletes / marital artists in the world. Fighters on steroids take that image away. Fighting in the cage is a true test of ones ability. Man to man! All the blood, sweat, tears, sacrifices, and hours upon hours of studying the arts amounts to nothing when you include steroid use in your curriculum.

It is basically cheating! If a person were to walk into a casino in Las Vegas and cheat using loaded dice or some sort of machine or cheat in anyway to beat the casino. The person is banned from that casino for life and given plenty of jail time. No actual physical harm is done by the cheater and the cheater still gets jail time. If you cheat in the UFC and you beat the living crap out of someone while on steroids you get away with it with only a slap on the wrist.

This is Dana's reaction to Sean Sherk testing positive for steroids. Dana is very much against steroid use as well.

"Everybody knows our position on steroids. We invest a lot of money in these guys, then they get caught doing something stupid. It's going to happen. It's so hard to deal with. Should I call everybody every day and say, 'Don't snort cocaine, don't smoke heroin, don't kill anybody, don't drink and drive, don't do steroids'? It's common sense. Steroids are illegal. If you get caught by the athletic commission, you're getting suspended and fined and you'll never be looked at the same way again." -Dana White (http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=2956319)

According to Sherdog.com Chris Leban was busted for steroid use and only given a 9 month fight suspension after his fight on Oct 18th against Michael Bisping. That's basically nothing.

The UFC should upgrade there laws on steroids. How about banned forever and jail time!That's what I think. Professional fighters will think twice before taking these sort of drugs if the consequences are raised.

Episode 09

Dave’s reaction to the fight was surprising. He still could not accept that he lost. His excuse was using the wrong game plan. He said, “I wanted to take Phillipe’s best punches and show him that he can’t hurt me.”

Now that is just plain stupid.

No one plans on getting hit during a fight. In any fight each person tries to avoid getting hit. If that was really his game plan, then he’s a moron.

The night after the fight he made himself look like a fool. Drinking urine with Tom and getting punched in the face by Tom. It just made him look even more foolish. I believe he did this only to get camera time. Well, it worked — he got a few minutes of camera time!

What wasn’t shown was him holding the cup of urine and trying to chase camera men as if he was going to throw it at them. He got out of control. At one point an assistant producer had to remind him not to mess with the camera men. That was a specific rule we were to follow: “Camera men do not exist. Don’t look at them! Don’t talk to them!”

The pranks were hilarious on this episode. Making Krzysztof’s room the “UFC Storage Room” cracked me up. Notice no one really helped him clean the room up. I felt bad for him after that. But Krystof is a funny guy and his prank pretty much screwed the whole house.

I remember waking up that morning and walking into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Seeing the kitchen table missing, I knew something was up! Krzysztof, myself, and most of the guys were upset that no one cleaned their dishes after they ate. I was furious about this. I personally need to live in a clean house. I will never leave a dish int he sink overnight. People took advantage and lived like slobs. So Krzysztof’s prank sort of punished everyone especially those who didn’t feel like washing dishes was necessary.

The coaches challenge was a great surprise. I think Nogueira is a true sportsman. Even though he never played soccer before he still pulled out the win! As soon as we got there he started warming up. He put on the soccer gear; like knee pads and gloves and really got into it. He was dripping sweat trying to win the match. He jumped and leaped to block out balls. I was proud of him. He knew each fighter on the team could really use the $1,000 each and the pressure was on. Mir should have got into it a little more. I mean, it is an $18,000 soccer match!

Al Stankie’s is a great character on the show. He kept our spirits high and brought a sort of old school boxing environment to training. He doesn’t know much about MMA, takedowns or ground work. “Why go on the ground and smell all those farts when you can just beat him on the feet,” he said. I like working with him as did most of the guys on our team. His combos were more related to straight boxing though. It didn’t matter. I just needed to get my punches out for a few rounds.

Things you should know about Al: he screams out funny things during training all the time like “Manchita!” I think that’s his Mexican girlfriend. “Ain’t nothing but a party, baby!” Also “HOEEEE!” and much more!
Stankie loves flirting with young girls. He one time interrupted a cast meeting and ask one of the assistant producers to come home with him as a joke. He wears rash guards and beanies all the time even in public and at restaurants. His son was a New York Yankee, Andy Stankowitz. He has a great vibrating massage machine that feels incredible on my back. He talks a lot and sometimes doesn’t stop. But overall he was fun to be around and I enjoyed him as did everyone else on the show, including the production personnel.

Regarding the fight, I was sad to see Kyle lose. I agree with Nogueira that he acted like team leader. If you analyzed his attitude after the fight you can see what kind of a person he is. He was still proud to have fought Krzysztof. He accepted that he needs to work on his ground game. He is a good team player and has a great outlook on fighting. He took the loss gracefully. I’m also proud of Krzysztof. He is an excellent fighter with so much experience. I see him taking his career far. He also has a great heart fighting with what I thought looked like a broken thumb.

Episode 08

This episode was one of my favorite's so far, mainly because it was
the episode I fought on!. I'm greatly satisfied by SPIKE tv's editors.
They included some great clippings of my training and confessionals! I
believe that people got the chance to see an accurate portrayal of the
real me.

Now, let's start from the top..

If you're ever on a reality TV show, don't eat other people's food! I
learned it this the hard way. People ask me, "Didn't you taste it?"
and my answer is always the same,"No". I really couldn't taste the
urine at all. It tasted just fine. And, might I also add -this was
the first time I ate Tom Lawyers fruit. I never "pillaged" it with my
teammates before. I suffered the consequences though and took full
responsibility for it.

After the fruit platter incident I decided along with my teammates to
add some special white Wasabie sauce compliments of Kyle Kingsberry to
be added to my sushi. It was a disgusting idea. However the rule was
stated: "You shouldn't eat other people's food." So we went along with
it. I personally couldn't add my own sauce because I didn't think I
could let one out while thinking I was going to use it to sabotage a
sushi platter. Fortunately, my good friend Kyle had no problem with
that. The incident when Kaplan ate the sushi actually occurred weeks
after we fought. Editing made it seem that Kaplan ate it before hand.
Good job to the editors. It took about 3 to 4 days before Kaplan
actually ate the sushi but he did. He loved sushi just as much as I
did! Especially those Phillipe Nover California Rolls. =)

Side note to my Filipino readers. If you look at the bathroom scene
where we are setting up the sushi, check out the red and blue sign on
the left. It says "Sipag at Tiyaga" in yellow. (Hard work and patience
in Tagalog.) I made that sign out of foam. Although it fell apart,
when it was up I thought it would bring some good spirits to our team.

Can someone say "Balut"? Watching that scene made me hungry. This
unhatched duck egg / fetus is really tasty and I recommend all the
readers to go out and buy one! Side note. Nogueira and Leota Machida
ate them also on Big Nog's birthday before dinner. I remember Machida
Swallowed the whole thing with no hesitation! He's the man! He would
have eaten the shell to if I didn't tell him to peel it. Warrior's
food baby!

Junie did confess his thoughts to me about Kaplan. A small betrayal.
Surprisingly Iike I stated before. Junie and I got along just fine.
He's a good kid who "just needs some love." haha. Him giving me a
small snippet of how Kaplan fights and what his weakness were gave me
a boast of confidence. However, I think the fight would have gone the
same way even if he didn't mention to me how Kaplan fights.

People ask me. "Why did you submit him instead of grounding and
pounding him for a TKO?" You have to remember that you need to be
ready for the next fight injury free. I didn't want to risk hurting my
hand and be injured in the semi's. I went into this fight with
strategy. Making sure I can get the win without getting hurt. A
submission was the best way in doing that. I was surprised at Mir that
he thought I didn't use strategy to beat Kaplan. He said "Phillipe
just took something that Kaplan gave him." That's not true. Kaplan
didn't give me anything. I earned that victory with elements of speed
and power. No one can truthfully deny that and downgrade that victory.
This wasn't Bonner and Griffin. It wasn't close. It wasn't a war. I
walked over him in just over a minute. He should just accept it! That
is the only way to grow from a loss. Accept it and come back stronger.
I am a better fighter. Plain and simple. We could fight 10 times and
I'd beat him 10 times. I'm not saying Kaplan is not a good fighter. I
think he is. I think he is really good fighter for getting that far. I
just proved that I'm better. To this day Kaplan has not given my the
credit I deserve.

I can now see why Junie took my side before the fight. I agree with
Junie when he stated that Kaplan is a know it all and needed to be
humbled. Before every training lesson and fight I empty my cup and
fill it up again with even better more improved knowledge.
Unfortunately for Dave, his cup is always full.

As you all can see Dana was really impressed by me. I'm glad he
enjoyed the fight. After all, he's the man you want to impress! When
he said I remind him of a young GSP I thought to myself. Those are
some really big shoes to fill. The pressure is on now. I really want
to show the world that I'm not the next GSP. I am Phillipe Nover. I
want to pave my own path in MMA. I have a lot of respect for GSP as a
fighter. He is someone that I look up to and I'm glad Dana
can categorize me the way he did. But I still have a lot of growing to
do as a fighter and a person.

I would also like to shout out all the male nurses out there. Males
can be nurses and still be cool! Not everyone is a "Foker." Thanks for
reading my blog guys.

Halloween 08 with Nover!!

Episode 07

Let me start by saying that with all the hype and talk that Junie
promoted himself he should have beat Roli in the first round. Junie
was first pick overall and fought the last pick overall. Either Roli
was just better than everyone expected or Junie really wasn't as
good as he said he was. I chose the latter. He was upset with his
performance and so was Mir. I would be too if I was him. He barely
won the fight. Junie only has a few weeks to heal and sharpen up his
skills before the semi's. I remember him coming home after the fight
with huge ankle from getting and giving kicks.. I can honestly say
Roli might have humbled him a bit. Might I emphasis the words "a bit"
especially for a guy like Junie. I give respect to Roli for being the
underdog and fighting his heart out. He also has many tools he must
improve including his stand up and over all strength. I just know Roli
is the kind of person to take that fight home to the drawing board,
except his flaws, and come back better.

I guess you can finally see my baking abilities. I can't tell you how
much my girlfriend laughed after seeing my cake for big Nog. All I can
say is it came from the heart. I'm not the most experienced baker but
I tried. Looks can be deceiving. Nog and the team said my cake was
tasty! Jules cake was even better with all that cookie dough inside!
Man I'm getting hungry writing this. Nog must have really liked us to
come over for his birthday. He could have done anything else. But he
came over to share his moment with us. Again I must say how proud I am
to be on the red team. After hearing the comments from Nelson and
Vinny I couldn't stop laughing. They called us gay and said we take
showers together! haha. The blue team is just a bunch of haters! They
wish they had the love we had! Just because we all fight in a cage for
living doesn't mean we can't show some love for each other. Of coarse
in a completely straight and non-gay fashion! We really did cook,
clean, eat, train, go to sleep and wake up together! In different beds
of course! It made time go by faster and helped a lot.

I never knew that Vinny and Nog had a fall out like that. I know Vinny
can run his mouth a bit sometimes. He talks much about the "girls"
which is funny. In the Philippines we'd call Vinny a Playboy. He's
the kind of guy that young girls want, but mothers should watch out
for. I do think that Vinny's Jiu-Jitsu level is world class. He
really is a freak of nature on the ground. But you should never
disrespect the world champ. He did call Nog's Jiu-Jistu "basic". You
really have to watch what you say on reality TV. Everything is
captured. Vinny is still a little fish in MMA compared to Big Nog -the
great white shark! He did apologies for his actions and I don't know
if they made up off camera.

Jules is a really nice guy. I'm sad to say that his skill level wasn't
up to par with most of the guys on the show. Especially his ground
game. He was pretty much a white belt on the ground. He had absolutely
no chance on the ground against Vinny. He did have a chance on the
feet with him. But he didn't execute the plan. He was suppose to throw
his hands. Let his strikes go and stay away from the clinch or any
take downs. I thought the game plan was stick and move. I think was
overwhelmed and was afraid to commit punches. I think he threw 2
punches in the whole fight.

Next week the light weights go at it! I can't wait!

Phillipe trains at Aviator with Brian Donnelly

Watching people do curls in the mirror makes me laugh.

Viewing Party!

What: Watch the nights Ultimate Fighter Episode with me!!!

Where: Aviator Sports and Recreation (http://www.aviatorsports.com/)
at the sports bar

When: Nov 5th at 8 pm

FREE TO GET IN! BRING ALL YOUR FRIENDS!! THE PLACE IS GIGANTIC!!!

Drinks - Food - Autographs - Raffle - Gear

Muscle Fitness magazine December 08 issue

Muscle Fitness magazine December 08 issue. Guess who has a full page!

Episode 06

Junie was really dying to fight ASAP. He was going to explode if he
didn't get in that cage soon. As you all can see Junie decided to pick
Delgado. It was a smart pick for him. Delgado didn't win his fight to
get in the house so Junie thought he would be an easy kill. On the
show the editing made Delgado's black belt look really fake. From a
first hand experience and rolling with the guy, I can see he really
did deserve a black belt. Black belts come at all different levels. He
might not be in the ranks of Vinny or Elliot on the show but he sure
did feel like a black belt. I also do think he had way better
Jiu-Jitsu then Junie. That's why during the fight Junie never wanted
hit the ground with Delgado.

Junie is just full of surprises. The incident where he pulled out the
black belt and spit on it wasn't only disrespectful to Roli. He
disrespected the art itself and all the black belts in the room. All I
remember is Anderson Silva that day looking really pissed off and
saying something in Portuguese that probably meant "That guy Junie is
a an asshole." Anderson Silva is the last person you ever want to piss
off. Junie doesn't seem to have a problem with that. Even Mir himself
didn't approve of his antics. However he also didn't punish him for
it. If I was Mir I would refuse to teach him and corner him.

I never understood this concept a lot of fighters display. That is
downgrading your opponents abilities before the fight to make yourself
look better. What this actually does is make your opponent look
unskilled and if you beat him, so what. You just beat someone who you
said "sucks" anyway. So how much better can you be if you accused your
opponent of "sucking." The smart fighter would not underestimate an
adversary. Instead praise him up for being well skilled in his craft
and formidable in the cage. This way when you beat him it only makes
you look better because you beat someone who is good. So you must be
really good at fighting. Anyone can beat a scrub so why call your
opponent a scrub?

The fight went the distance. I didn't think Junie had the conditioning
to go the full three rounds but he did. With all that drinking
alcohol and eating frozen pizzas he still managed to pull out a
victory. Junie is pretty athletic but he would be so much better if
he just focused and cleaned up his act. I really wanted Delgado to
win that fight. They both fought there hearts out. I have to hand it
to them. For the days following the fight they were both really beat
up limping around the house. I know Junie went to the hospital for an
almost broken ankle and Delgado had two black eyes.

Episode 05

The show started off as a continuation of Junie’s antics. We recapped the fight between Nelson and Efrain. Then Junie jumped over the cage and embarrassed himself, his team, and his coaches. It was totally out of line. At that point I remember standing and watching in total disgust. I remember thinking why doesn’t Mir just ask Dana to throw him off the show. If I was his coach I wouldn’t corner him, train him, or even allow him to come and train at the training center. That is the background from which I come. My coaches wouldn’t tolerate behavior like that. I also agree with Shane Primm saying that “It was Junie’s attempt to steal the spotlight. And it is the most disrespectful thing you possibly can do after a fighter wins a fight.”

Junie was sitting in the pool with Shane and said something along these lines: “So I hear you guys are trying to set Phillipe up with me next week if you have control? So is he the sacrificial lamb?”

That’s pretty funny. I did speak freely and openly to my teammates, coaches, and even some of the fighters on the other team that I wanted Junie next week as long a we sustained control. So he found out the plan. I wanted to fight him because I thought he was all talk. His fighting skills didn’t impress me at all. He did well against Jose Agallar who was a one-dimensional fighter that wanted to turn the fight into a jiu-jitsu match.

I just think Junie is overrated and I wanted to also put an end to his behavior by shutting him down in the cage. He was also first pick overall so I wanted to prove to everyone he didn’t deserve to be picked first. He knows I wanted him but you can see in the next episode he has control and winds up fighting someone other than me. That was odd being he presented himself as such a badass. Junie talked smack to everyone on the show — even to their faces. He never disrespected me to my face. He always called me a “Tough Filipino.” He either respected me as a fighter or he feared me.

As you can see the pranks got a bit out of control to the point where our coaches tried to get involved to put an end to it. I do admit that it was fun pranking the other team. Vinny really can’t take a joke at all. That was out of line. I witnessed him with my own eyes peeing on Efrain’s pillow. Luckily I had a extra pillow which I offered Efrain to keep. All I can say regarding pranks is that it only gets worse. You’ll have to wait and see.

Anderson Silva stopped by as a guest coach. While the man is an animal in the cage, he is a charismatic, smooth, soft-spoken, respectable guy outside of it. He shows the world that really good fighters aren’t knuckleheads and bar brawlers. They are professionals and take life seriously. I look up to him as an overall human being. The lessons he showed us was just what I needed. His kick, knee, and elbow combos were perfect for my game.

The fight between Shane and Eliot was a disappointment. I believed in Shane. He reached too far for that clinch and opened himself up to get body locked and taken down. He did fight the choke well, better than a lot experienced fighters would have. Good luck to him and I know he’ll be back. What was more disappointing to me is that our team lost control. If our team had control I would have faced Junie next. That’s what the plan was.

Episode 04

After watching the episode a few times I was appalled to see how much
focus was given to Junie's and Nelson's antics. I hope the people
watching can separate that type of a so called MMA fighter from the
new age professionals that truly deserve to be on the show. The UFC
and MMA in general have blown up to incredible proportions in the last
10 to 15 years. The only thing stopping MMA from getting main steam
are the politicians and conservatives who believe MMA is "to
barbaric and violent". Junie and Nelson particularly brought evidence
to that point. They got drunk and inner thoughts of violence broke
out. They started breaking things like delinquents as a way to show
how angry and cool they can be. That is not how a human being should
act and even further not how a professional fighter should act on television.
The incidence that occurred on the show brought us back a few years
politically in the struggle to bring the UFC to every state. Even in my
hometown of New York MMA is banned! MMA is not about bar
brawls or street fights. The people who still think it is, now have someone
to look up to. Junie! Young kids and parents will watch that episode
and be turned off. I would not want my kid to be involved in something
like that.

I feel ashamed of the two cast members. At one point I almost felt
sorry for them but those feelings ran dry after realizing that they weren't
genuinely sorry for there actions. As you can see I haven't been
getting much face time on the last few episodes. I try to stay away
from drunk violent behavior not only on the show but in life in general.
People like that have nothing to offer. I was sleeping tucked in my
bed during that pool incident. I made sure I slept early almost every
night so I can the most out of training the next day. I got on the show
with one goal in mind. And that didn't include drinking like a retard in
front of 5 million people.

Junie should have been thrown out right after he threw that glass at Kyle.
That was assault. He should have been arrested. I wasn't comfortable
sleeping in the house with a drunk on the lose. Thoughts of him pulling
out a kitchen knife and stabbing another fighter crossed my mind.
Sorry Junie but if I was Dana you would have been gone!

Junie jumping over the cage after Efrain's fight was just a way to get
more camera time. He will now be the person America loves to hate.
Just the plan he had in mind.

I really hope the fans can learn something from this episode. And that is
- drinking alcohol is just poisoning your body and it will hurt you.
I think Nelson's performance was great for the first 3 minutes. After that
his tank was close to empty and he couldn't give it his all. He knows he
could have done better and he knows its mostly due to his conditioning
level. Efrain looked great in the fight. His take downs were on point.
He had solid knees. He looked great in the scramble also. My hat goes
off to Efrain for keeping his cool and winning the battle in the cage
( where it matters ) and not with his mouth!

In recent news I hear that the UFC is preparing overseas events all
over the world. The Philippines seems to be what everyone is talking
about. If anyone has seen Chuck Liddel's latest video on UFC.com it
was him getting ambushed by 4,000 Filipino fans in Asia mall in the
Philippines. It's simple -Filipinos love the ufc! I trace my roots
to my Filipino family on my mothers side. I practically grew up there
every summer. I take pride in having Filipino Blood running threw me.
I believe Filipinos naturally have a likening to combat sports. All
throughout Filipino history you will find times periods with invasions
and turmoil. We have a very recent war like history that still occurs
to this day. I guess you can even say it makes us tough. If the UFC
plans on expanding it's reach as far as Manila, I'm 100 percent there.
It would be an honor to fight in the Philippines! Hopefully I won't
pass out due to the hot Filipino sun! haha - just kidding.

Episode 03

Wrapping up things from last week, I must say that Eliot definitely deserved getting back into the house. I think he won the fight. He fought such a tough battle against Karen and was pretty beat up after. I remember him icing his body up with this icing machine he had. He is definitely a UFC-caliber fighter.

As everyone saw tonight, I wound up on the red team as Nog's first pick. It felt great to be picked first by Noguiera but at the same time I felt some pressure. I felt I needed to fill in some big shoes. Being first pick for the red team meant you must be a bad ass. I was really happy to get picked by Nogueira rather then Mir. He is the reigning world champion!

As you can see we really focused on the team aspect of things. We trained together, cooked and ate together, and we even slept in the same room. My room had Delgado, Efrain, Jules, John, Kyle, and myself. Our team, as you can see from the episode, almost felt like a family.

This week's episode was certainly not short on drama. It was the craziest thing when Brian and Karen had to leave. When Dana said "You gotta go," he really meant it. From that point on we never saw them again. When we got back to the house all there stuff was gone.

As for the rule about not fighting due to a broken nose, it covers the safety of the fighters. Unfortunately the whole competition is over a six-week period. So you not only have to win your fights, but also win and come out unharmed.

Junie Browning also saw a lot of camera time, which I am sure he was fine with because he loved the attention. He is this emotional roller coaster that got overwhelmed with the entire situation. He said he had a hard time growing up and it was reflected well on this episode. I think that having the ability to drink and eat almost anything you want made him go nuts.

I've read in the past where some people have blamed the UFC and Spike for making alcohol so readily available. I really don't think they are to blame. I believe as an adult we should be responsible for ourselves. Not only are we adults, but also professional athletes (well, at least some of us are). So there should have been close to no drinking in the house. Spike and the UFC didn't tell us we have to drink or force it into our mouths. We didn't have to do anything we objected to. We didn't even have to train or get up in the morning if you so willed not to. It really is as "real as it gets!"

Finally, we have the fight. Ryan is so powerful. After watching the fight over and over on TV, he looked like he hit Tom with a brick. Tom stood his ground well but
made a small error which cost him the fight. I think Tom should fight at 185 lbs. and not at 205 lbs.. He is just not big enough. Nogueira didn't talk openly to the entire team about his fight pick. I think he just pulled Ryan to the side and told him his thoughts. The matchup was perfect.

One last thing: I was asked about the fried chicken reference last week. Well, in the kitchen there was some KFC and it smelled the place up. I think it was ordered for the Spike workers. Cold cuts would have been better. At least it wouldn't have smelled.

Filipino message on TUF

Mouth piece colors














TUF 8 commercial for Episode 3

Thank you to a special Doctor

I would like to send a special thanks to my private doctor. Dr Bernard Yonk (Also a fellow martial artist.) I've known him for so many years and he has given me some great advice on life. At any point in time he'll drop what he's doing even if he's examining a patient and tend to my needs. After a few minutes of health related issues like a twisted knee or lower back pain, the conversion always leads into the latest martial art moves and techniques he wants to show me. Thanks again for your help.

TUF Episodes 01 & 02

I received a lot of positive feedback from my first blog submission last week here on FiveOuncesOfPain.com and I wanted to thank everyone for their support. A few people mentioned they would like me to get into more detail, so before I get into my thoughts from the second episode, I will share more thoughts about the premiere.
First, I wanted to give everyone some more background on me. I fight out of Brooklyn New York with Team Insight. We are small MMA camp that really hasn't hit the main scene. My coaches are Ralph Mitchel and Clarence "Cee" Everett. I also train Jiu-Jitsu under Alexandre "Soca" Freitas.

Some other team Team Insight fighters you have to watch out for are Nardu Debrah, Dave Branch, and John Beneduce. I've been training under Ralph Mitchel since the age of nine-years old. He started me off with traditional arts, Muay Thai kickboxing, Judo, JKD, Filipino Arnis, and basic street self defense.

After watching my training partners compete in mixed martial art fights I thought I can do it also. And after winning my first fight, I was hooked! I am born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and I still live here.Two of the most talked about things from the first show was Jason Guida's failure to make weight and Jose Agallar's controversial comments during his confessional interview.

Jose's interview kind of surprised me because I never knew Jose was that crazy. He seemed like a cool guy when I spoke with him. He even gave me some good fight advice against Joe Durate. I rolled with the guy to warm up. I never knew he had views like that. I am really surprised about what he said on his interview. A lot of my friends and family disliked the kid.

Someone also asked me whether I felt Guida was to blame or if the commission over-reacted by not allowing him to cut one more pound. I think it's totally his fault and he knows it too. You have months and months of preparation knowing you're going to be on TV. From the looks of his build he could have easily lost 10-to-15 pounds of fat two months before getting on thereby making the weight cut much easier. I lost close to 20 pounds trying to get on the show. People say I looked like Skeletor on TV!

Regarding my qualifying fight with Duarte, I realize the result surprised a lot of viewers who had heard he was one of the favorites coming into the show. Even from my perspective I had a really good sense that people favored Durate before the fight. Even Nogueira himself admitted to me that he thought Durate was going to kick my butt. Ever since I fainted everyone there thought I was a punk. When people found out I was fighting Durate they almost looked at me with pity. I just absorbed it all and wanted to prove myself.

I did have some people who supported me. The assistant coach, Daniel Valverde, cornered me well during my fight. he sort of reached out to me backstage as well. I could hear him and Delgado encouraging me while in the cage. I guess you can say I was leaning toward the red team that day.

The publisher of this site, Sam Caplan, asked me some questions following the episode. He wanted to know how my life had changed after the first airing. Surprisingly, the changes have been minimal despite the exposure. Part of it is because New York is so big. I take the train all the time and not one person recognizes me. MMA and the UFC aren't as popular in New York as it is in Vegas and the West Coast. The only attention I get is through the internet or at the gyms and dojos I train at. I had a great premiere party where over 200 of my friends came. That was some great attention. It was a blast!

Onto the second episode, but to be honest, I can't really say much about this episode because while I was there, I didn't watch any fights. I fought last of all the sixteen fights. I don't like watching other fights before mine because it distacts me from what I really there to do. If I were to watch someone else fight I can get so involved that I might lose sight that I'm to perform in just a few minutes. I like to stay backstage and focus. It's a lot of pressure fighting last. Everyone sort of waited for that fight to happened. I guess you can say I close the show well.

I remember the smell of fried chicken in the kitchen area which was a bit distracting while trying to warm up for the fight. Now that I've watch Elliot and Karen's fight I could not agree more with Dana that Elliot should have rightfully got the winning decision.

Overall that day of fighting was one of the most nerve wrecking days of each and every fighter's life. We all knew that our careers were on the line and the pressure was on. Everyone fought there hearts out. It was a great day.

Time to rest

Lately guys I feel a bit over trained. It is very difficult to keep balance in you life with so many things going on. Today I'm taking the day off, sleeping, eating some BBQ and watching some tv. =)

Q & A with Phillipe

1. How did you get into MMA?
I started training traditional Martial arts since the age of 5. I trained at a Karate school from age 5 to 7. My mother and father then enrolled me in a school called Universal Defense Systems under Sifu Ralph Mitchell. There I trained Kung Fu, JKD, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Savate, Arnis, and even street self defense tactics. I started with him at the age of 10. I got into MMA after watching my training partners try it and do well. After my first fight. I was hooked. I enjoy it so much. I so feel alive when I fight!

2. What did your family say when you told them you wanted to be a professional fighter?
My mother and father said I should focus on school and then do what I want after. As long as I finished school they were happy.

3. I understand that you a registered nurse. Which is more exciting: fighting or nursing?
Nursing has it's exiting moments. I work in the ER and have seen everything there is to be seen that is humanly possible. People dying, gun shots, stabbings, heart attacks, the works. But
nothing compares to the fighting. I get such a rush in that cage it's immeasurable.

4. When cutting weight what is the hardest thing to cut out of your diet?
I love ice cream!!! Yum!!!

5. What do you like to do when you are training?
I listen to music all the time while training. That was one thing that was difficult on the show was no music! =(

6. Who gave you the name "The Filipino Assassin"?
I believe one of the guys on the show call me "the Assassin" So I said why not the Filipino Assassin! That sounds better! I have to represent!

7. Where do you train?
I train in Brooklyn NY with Team Insight and I train my BJJ under Soca

8. Which training partner gives you the toughest time in practice?
All my training partners are tough! Each has attributes that push me to the limit!

9. What's the worst job you've ever had?
When I was 15 I worked as a stock boy for $5 an hour. I got screamed at everyday about how poor my skills were as a laborer. From that point on I knew I had to go to school and get a degree!

10. I understand that you are from Brooklyn. Mets or Yankees?
To tell you the truth I hardly watch anything but combat sports. I'm not a big fan of team sports or sports with balls being thrown around. I need to see someone getting hurt. I need to see fists flying. The only other sports I enjoy doing other then fighting is paint balling!