"I'm expecting a tough fight. He's well-rounded a lot like I am, but I think he's more like a Jiu Jitsu guy more than a standup guy. I think he will stand a little bit to set up his shots to take me downÂ… I think this fight could be over in the 1st round. That's my plan, to end it in the 1st round," stated UFC lightweight Josh Neer as he talked about his upcoming clash with Kurt Pelligrino at UFC 101. Check it out!
PC: How is training going Josh?
JN: It's good.
PC: Are you pretty much done with the hard part of camp?
JN: I'm pretty much done with the hard part. Now I'm just trying to lose this weight and that's about it. I'm just trying to get my weight down and make weight.
PC: You recently got some legal troubles behind you. How much of a relief was that leading into this training camp?
JN: Yeah, that definitely helped me out a lot. It seemed like it drug on forever. It took like 5 ½ months to get it over with and done. It was tough to have something like that hang over me for that long.
PC: You and Kurt Pellegrino are two of the toughest people in the UFC. What type of fight are you expecting from him at UFC 101?
JN: I'm expecting a tough fight. He's well-rounded a lot like I am, but I think he's more like a Jiu Jitsu guy more than a standup guy. I think he will stand a little bit to set up his shots to take me down.
PC: Do you feel any pressure to fight on the card following UFC 100?
JN: It's really just another fight for me. It's not UFC 100, it's UFC 101, so UFC 100 is over.
PC: Philadelphia is known for having some rowdy fans. This is the UFC's first trip to "The City of Brotherly Love." What type of crowd are you expecting?
JN: I'm expecting a really good crowd. I don't know how educated [in MMA] they are, but I think they're definitely going to appreciate a good fight. I've always wanted to go to Philadelphia. That's one of the places I've always wanted to visit. But I think it's going to be a really good crowd.
PC: This fight on paper has the potential to be "Fight of the Night." Do you think that is a fair assessment?
JN: I think it has the potential to. I think this fight could be over in the 1st round. That's my plan, to end it in the 1st round!
PC: Pellegrino has been training with Kenny Florian in the past and I'm sure he has for this camp as well. Who have you been training with to prepare for him?
JN: I've been training with a lot of wrestlers. The only guy that people will know is Jeremy Stephens. They have this really good kid at our gym right now. His name is Miles something or other. I don't know his last name. This kid is really, really tough. He's good at everything, you know? And we have another guy named Tim Norman, who is a really good wrestler. I've been training with a lot of wrestlers since I've been back in Des Moines. We have a kid's wrestling program in our gym, so we get a lot of college wrestlers and high school wrestlers come in and out of our gym, so I think that's really helped me out a lot.
PC: You're coming off of a big win against Mac Danzig. How important is it for you to string a couple of wins together?
JN: I think that's really important. That's my main thing is that I'm inconsistent. I will win one and then I will lose one. I need to start putting together three or four wins in a row instead of winning one and then losing one. So that's real important to me.
PC: The UFC could possibly grab a few guys from Affliction's roster. How does that affect you, if at all?
JN: If they're getting guys from Affliction, I don't know anything about that, but most of the good guys from Affliction were at the heavier weights. I don't know if they even had any good 55 pounders, so I don't know who they would be bringing in at 55.
PC: How is your weight looking? I know lightweight isn't the easiest cut for you.
JN: It's really a tough cut for me. I've been thinking a lot of going back up to 70. It seems like I weigh more now fighting at 155 than when I was fighting at 170. It's definitely a tough cut. I've been working on a lot of strength stuff and I think that's making me a little bigger. But it's definitely a tough cut.
PC: I know you would prefer to stand and bang, but are you more than comfortable with your skill set on the ground against Kurt?
JN: It doesn't really matter to me. I'm prepared for anything that he has to offer, but I would prefer to keep it standing. I'm so sick of fighting guys that want to hit and run. I want to fight guys that want to stand and bang, but they don't want to stand and bang. They want to stand and run. I want to fight someone that wants to fight and not someone that just wants to hit me and run. We'll see if he sticks to his word because he's been saying that he's going to stand and bang with me, so we'll see if he sticks to that.
PC: Big lightweight fight on the same card, the main event with BJ against Kenny. Who do you like in that fight and why?
JN: Before, I was leaning towards Florian, but now I'm thinking BJ is going to win. I just think he has too much experience for Florian. I think Florian's record Â…I mean, he's beat some good guys, but I think his record is kind of padded. I think BJ has been in with top competition and I don't really see that with Florian. He beat Huerta and Stevenson and that's his biggest wins, but I haven't seen him beat guys like Gray Maynard and Tyson Griffin, guys like that. I don't know, but I just think his record is a little bit padded.
PC: Good luck next Saturday man. I always enjoy your fights and I'm sure this will be a good one. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
JN: That's it man!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]