Pat Healy hasn't had it easy.
The 45 fight veteran was a bit of a journeyman for the beginning of his career, unable to put a serious win streak together while bouncing from promotion to promotion.
"Bam Bam" finally settled down in Strikeforce, dropping down to lightweight and giving Josh Thomson a hell of a fight in his debut with the promotion and he proceeded to lay waste to everyone else in his path, finishing his tenure with a six fight winning streak including victories over five straight opponents who would go on to earn contracts with the world's biggest promotion.
After his victory over Kurt Hollobaugh this past weekend (Jan. 12, 2013) on the Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine preliminary card, he finally earned that UFC contract.
The newly signed UFC fighter had a guest appearance on Bloody Elbow Radio yesterday where he talked about everything from his expectations for his UFC career, contract disputes and who he wants to fight in his promotional debut.
Check it out:
Matt Bishop: Things didn't quite go how you wanted them towards the end, but how do you feel about Strikeforce now and the legacy it's gonna leave?
Pat Healy: I look back on it fondly. I had a lot of good times. Pretty much the majority of my career at lightweight took place there and it really changed my life. I was working a job and training before Strikeforce and that changed everything for me. Now things are looking on the up and up.
Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): With Kurt Holobaugh getting an invite to the UFC, your last five opponents have all earned UFC contracts after fighting you in Strikeforce. What does that say about your level of competition and how you finished your Strikeforce career?
Pat Healy: That's a pretty good statistic. Another statistic is three of my opponents dropped down to 145 pounds after fighting me, after they felt what a real 155 pound fighter is like in the cage.
Matt Bishop: Do you feel like you made a good impression on the UFC brass?
Pat Healy: Yeah, I felt like it was a good fight. It wasn't my greatest fight, but there were a lot of circumstances everyone can look at heading into it. Zuffa was in charge of Strikeforce for about my last three or four fights with them so they have a pretty good feel for me now.
Matt Bishop: What do you think of Gilbert Melendez backing out of the fight with you twice with injury and then getting that title shot for his UFC debut which was just announced? Does that bug you at all?
Pat Healy: It doesn't really upset me. I think it goes to what I was saying all along where I think Gil made a business decision. Obviously with this happening, it looks like it was the right business decision to make. I'm not upset about it. I'm gonna be rooting for Gil to carry the Strikeforce banner and hopefully win that fight.
Matt Bishop: You were outspoken last week about the situation with Eddie Alvarez and Bellator, particularly because of what happened with your friend Tyson Nam. What kind of made you want to come out and speak publicly about that?
Pat Healy: I guess from watching Tyson's case first hand and I've met Eddie Alvarez a few times through the years and I think he's a really good guy and you've got to respect what he does there. He comes out and fights really hard. It's just sad to see him caught in that situation. Just the prospect of him not fighting, having to go through a legal battle. It's just sad seeing any fighters getting sued, especially by the organization that they're with. We're already at a disadvantage because the contracts they draw up are their contracts. We didn't get to sit down and negotiate those. They drew them up and those are the same for everybody.
Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): We've seen fighters really help themselves out recently by calling fighters out in the fallout from their bouts like Rory MacDonald and Daniel Cormier. They got a fight booked within days. Is there anyone you want to fight for your UFC debut?
Pat Healy: I'm looking to fight like a Joe Lauzon or a Jim Miller. Somebody on that level who's got a big name and I want to go out there and show everyone what I can do. I want someone like that.
Matt Bishop: What do you have to do to make sure this UFC run is successful?
Pat Healy: I have to take it very,very serious, get in there, work hard and make sure I'm fully prepared for a fight. I just need to go in there, let it happen and I think my skills are there. I'm ready to make an impact.
You can follow Pat on Twitter @BamBamHealy.
So what do you think, Maniacs?
Do you believe in Pat Healy? Will calling out Lauzon and Miller pay off and earn him a big fight for his UFC debut?
Sound off!