Dave Herman isn't your typical fighter.

While most athletes will talk about the rigors of training, the respect they have for all their opponents and how important everything is to them, "Pee-Wee" would rather talk about peanut butter and jelly waffles or his favorite beer.

Herman wasn't originally scheduled to be a part of this weekend's huge heavyweight event, but he was called on to replace an injured Gabriel Gonzaga and the Team Quest combatant gleefully stepped up to the challenge.

Now, on just three weeks' notice, "Pee-Wee" will be taking on The Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner Roy Nelson this Saturday night (May 26, 2012) on the UFC 146 main card in Las Vegas.

Herman spoke with MMAmania.com during a special guest appearance on The Verbal Submission and he talked about fighting someone he respects, the potential benefits of a short notice fight for him and his dreams of a Las Vegas afterparty in this exclusive interview.

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Ever since moving to the continental United States to train full time in mixed martial arts (MMA) Brad Tavares has seen a tremendous leap in his development as a fighter.

The native Hawaiian got off to a very early start, fighting for the first time professionally when he was still in his teens.

Now at 24 years old and training as much as four times a day at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, he feels he's finally starting to reach his potential in the "Mecca of MMA."

The Ultimate Fighter season 11 alum was stifled in his last bout, a grueling affair against former Division I All-American wrestler Aaron Simpson and he'll finally be returning to the Octagon tomorrow night (May 15, 2012) for the first time in over 11 months when he battles Dongi Yang on the Facebook portion of the UFC on Fuel TV 3 undercard in Fairfax, Virginia.

Tavares spoke to MMAmania.com about convincing his mother that MMA was okay, the learning experience from his last fight against "The A-Train" and what he feels he needs to do to find success against Dongi Yang tomorrow night in this exclusive interview.

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Dustin Poirier has always been a fighter, but not always the good kind.

Admittedly hanging out with the wrong crowd and having no direction earlier in his life, it was the realization that he could be the best in the world at something after discovering mixed martial arts (MMA) that has kept him focused.

He hasn't looked back.

The bayou brawler has quickly gone 4-0 in his UFC career and will be headlining his first main event next Tuesday night (May 15, 2012) when he faces "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung at UFC on Fuel TV 3 in Fairfax, Virginia.

In part one of our interview, "Diamond" discussed his obsessive tunnel vision on his opponent and more. Today, he talks about the advantages of fighting a popular opponent, how he adapted his fighting style after his loss to Danny Castillo and the outside pressure to challenge for the title in this exclusive interview.

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While there are plenty of college wrestlers who made the transition to mixed martial arts (MMA), some people are just brought into this world with both fists swinging.

Dustin Poirier is one of those people.

The Louisiana native will be the first to admit that growing up, he got his education in "the school of hard knocks," repeatedly getting into trouble at a young age before cagefighting gave him the outlet he desperately needed.

Not only was it a pastime that kept him grounded, he was damn good at it, too. "Diamond" blew through the local circuit and made his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut just 17 months ago, crushing number one Featherweight contender Josh Grispi to make a tremendous first impression.

He's since stretched his UFC record to 4-0 and has now earned himself main event status. The Gladiator Training Center product will soon take on "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung next Tuesday night (May 15, 2012) at UFC on Fuel TV 3 in Fairfax, Virginia.

Poirier spoke with MMAmania.com about his crazy tunnel vision before fights, his life-changing fight bonus and how his opponent Chan Sung Jung has adapted his style to the UFC in part one of this exclusive interview.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight Danny Castillo doesn't care that he hasn't gained much recognition among a majority of mixed martial arts (MMA) fans ... at least not yet.

The Team Alpha Male fighter impressively went 3-1 in 2011, stepping up three times on short notice and bringing home the bacon each outing. The 32-year-old is always ready to fight. Just like the Boy Scouts, he's prepared to step up at any moment.

"Last Call" changed things up in preparation for his upcoming fight with John Cholish this Saturday night (May 5, 2012), training all around Las Vegas, Nevada, while his team of trainers worked on the new season of The Ultimate Fighter Live with his teammate Urijah Faber.

And he feels he's much better off for it.

Castillo will fight on the UFC on Fox 3 "Prelims" card in Cholish's back yard of East Rutherford, N.J., but he's never been more confident in himself. He spoke with MMAmania.com about his long term MMA goals, being away from his family for this training camp and his one unique pre-fight destination in this exclusive interview.

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UFC welterweight Johny Hendricks was toiling away in the middle of the pack.

Despite his accolades from wrestling (two-time national champion at Oklahoma State), despite his nearly spotless record (11-1 at the time), he just couldn't break through to the casual fans. "Big Rig" wasn't getting the televised fights and the attention he deserved.

But one punch changed everything.

That one punch, a powerful left hook, sent then-consensus number two-ranked Jon Fitch crashing to the canvas where he would be finished in just 12 seconds. Fitch had been a long-time thorn in the UFC's side, beating everyone in front of him except UFC champion Georges St. Pierre and the world's biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion has made sure to repay Hendricks in kind.

Now, he's getting a marketing push, extra media appearances, UFC fan Q&A's, spotlights cageside during UFC events, talk of title contention and he'll be getting a huge fight on national television this weekend (May 5, 2012) against Fitch's friend and former teammate Josh Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3.

Hendricks spoke with MMAmania.com during a guest appearance on The Verbal Submission about his life-changing left hook, entering the welterweight title "mix" and his upcoming fight against top contender Josh Koscheck this Saturday night.

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Jim Miller is a simple man with simple needs.

He doesn't drive a flashy car, he built most of the furniture in his home, he brews his own beer and he still mops the mats after every practice at AMA Fight Club in his native New Jersey.

That "do it yourself" mindset has kept him grounded, helping him avoid the distractions of success that other mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters have potentially fallen into before and it has also inspired him to branch out and try to learn anything and everything to expand his arsenal of attack.

Knowing this, it's no surprise that Miller has won eight of his last nine fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), including a strong first round submission of Melvin Guillard in his last appearance on the big stage this past January. That bout set up his huge Lightweight showdown this Saturday night (May 5, 2012) when he'll face Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC on FOX 3 in his backyard of East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The burgeoning title contender spoke with MMAmania.com about random drug testing, whether his principles have cost him career opportunities and what he brings to the table that Diaz's most recent opponents haven't in this exclusive interview.

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When welterweight Pascal Krauss steps into the Octagon next Saturday night (May 5, 2012), it will be a re-debut of sorts.

"Panzer" premiered at UFC 122 back in November of 2010, garnering "Fight of the Night" honors for his domination of Mark Scanlon, but he hasn't been heard from since.

The undefeated former Cage Warriors champion has been plagued by injuries and bad luck, which has kept him out of the cage for a whopping 19 months, but the German-born fighter remains optimistic about his chances.

Krauss teamed up with Duke Roufus in Milwaukee for much of the past few months in preparation for his upcoming fight against John Hathaway on the UFC on FOX 3 preliminary card. Hathaway has also been out for over a year while dealing with injuries so he's hoping their cage rust will cancel out.

The clobbering kraut spoke with MMAmania.com about the frustrations of the past two years, being an MMA role model for Germany and perhaps finally finding a training home in America in this exclusive interview.

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