Props: Vancouver Sun

Quoteworthy:

"Every day at work there was a bad day. I’d wake up at 6 a.m., take a shower. I would be miserable because I didn’t get enough sleep. I was probably training after work the night before so I’d come home and eat at 10 p.m. and go right to bed. No free time. I’d drive to work and it takes me an hour-and-a-half. I’m drinking my coffee and the coffee’s probably upsetting my stomach. Finally I get there, go in, some BS e-mails from people not happy about something. Pretend to work for a little while (but) surfing the MMA message boards. I’d go and meet with a bunch of other guys, go get a breakfast burrito, talk about how much we hated the job. Then I’d actually go do some sales, some cold calls, which I absolutely despised. If it was a really bad day, we’d have a cold-call blitz. I’d actually pretend to call sometimes. If my manager walked by, I’d be talking to the phone; nobody would be on it. I’d drive back home, have an hour-and-a-half drive and be miserable. Then I’d go and train and do it all over again. Now a bad day at work: I wake up at 8:30 or 9 a.m. I eat some breakfast. I go to practice, which I love to do anyway. A bad day for me here is getting my ass kicked in the gym by my friends, which actually motivates me to work even harder the next day . . . Getting my butt kicked in the gym, I go home, pout a little bit and come back better the next day. It’s still a million times better. I’m actually doing what I love to do and what I want to do."

Former desk jockey Ryan Bader inches his way closer to a light heavyweight title shot when he faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at tomorrow night's UFC 119 event in Indianapolis. The TUF 8 champ and undefeated powerhouse may be on a possible collision course with fellow surging prospect Jon Jones -- but must first overcome the experience of "Lil' Nog." Can Bader get it done? Or will the Brazilian put him to sleep in "Naptown?"