Monday and Tuesday

Today

I interviewed Duke Roufus today for my next FIGHT! story. We were talking about the growth of MMA compared to other "hot" sports and how splintering in the industry could have serious consequences. "Where's beach volleyball now?," he said.

Diet8 a.m. Big bowl of fruit salad, water, green tea. 10 a.m. Banana, water. Noon Chili, bread, water. 6 p.m. Two Taco Bell burritos, water.

Conditioning I had to work late today so I just went to the YMCA with Amanda and did an hour of cardio.

Skills Nada.

Monday

I did round-robin grappling in the cage with Johhny Rees, Dominic, and a guy I just met. After that I went two five-minute rounds with Dom, one with Pat and another with this kid Will. By the end of the first round I was done but I kept pushing as best I could. I learned that you can survive chokes for a long time if they aren't sunk in all the way. I also learned that pain comes in infinite forms in MMA. Like the pain of a guy grining his knee into your thigh or arm while passing your guard, or that guy's shoulder smashing your nose for thirty seconds straight, or falling face first into the cage. I was pretty gassed but I kept working for 20 minutes, which would have been unthinkable two months ago.

Diet 8 a.m. Big bowl of fruit, water. Noon Curried chickpeas, rice, a piece of bread, water. 4 p.m. A cup of yogurt, banana, water. 6:15 p.m. Granola bar, Gatorade. 7:15 p.m. Pizza, steamed vegetables, water.

Conditioning Lots o' rollin'.

Skills Started working on basic submission defense. Other than that I just got my ass kicked, picked myself up, and got my ass kicked again.