"First I heard that he was out, but I couldn't tell nobody; that's why I called you tonight. Then I found out the next morning that Daley was going to be the replacement. It's part of the game though. I wanted to fight Swick, but it's okay. I'll fight Daley instead, but I was looking forward to fighting SwickÂ…. they are both good strikers. Daley has knockout power in his strikes. I've been preparing for a striker in Swick, but now, I'm just fighting a short guy instead of a tall guy," stated UFC welterweight contender Martin Kampmann as he talked about the change in opponent from Mike Swick to Paul Daley in his upcoming clash at UFC 103. Check out what else he had to say.
PC: How has everything been going Martin?
MK: Everything is going fine. Had a little change up with things, but besides that, everything is good.
PC: When you get news like the news you got the other night, does that take something away from you mentally or do you just look at it as a part of the game?
MK: It stressed me out for a little bit. First I heard that he was out, but I couldn't tell nobody; that's why I called you tonight. Then I found out the next morning that Daley was going to be the replacement. It's part of the game though. I wanted to fight Swick, but it's okay. I'll fight Daley instead, but I was looking forward to fighting Swick.
PC: When they told you Swick was out, was it looking like you were going to be off of the card completely or did they assure you a replacement?
MK: They said they would find a replacement. I'm happy they have a replacement now. I would have hated to train all of them weeks and miss out on a payday and have all of that training go down the drain. I'm happy that Daley stepped up.
PC: Daley is a different fighter than Swick, that's no secret, but they both like to stand, so how do you make the adjustment now to a different striker?
MK: I know they're different, but still, they have a lot of similarities. They are both good strikers. Daley has knockout power in his strikes. I've been preparing for a striker in Swick, but now, I'm just fighting a short guy instead of a tall guy.
PC: It seems like the Condit fight was forever ago. I know you wanted some time off. What have you been doing in your free time?
MK: I've been to Denmark twice. I've still been training though. I took a little bit of time off after the Condit fight and had some family come visit me in the States. I've been doing a lot of traveling like one big road trip. I got to see the States a little bit. It was fun. Besides that, I've still been training hard, you know? I try not to take too many days off. I always try to get to my training.
PC: A change of opponent can not only mess with your mental preparation for a fight, but also your physical preparation as well. Does Daley change anything you were going to do gameplan-wise?
MK: It's still pretty much the same. I think Paul Daley has a weaker ground game than Swick does, so I might have a bigger advantage on the ground against him. Maybe if I get the chance, I might try to take him down, but you know the fight starts standing up and that's where I plan on being.
PC: The Swick fight was a number one contender's fight with the winner facing GSP at a later date. I'm sure with Daley being the new opponent, that has changed, correct? And would you like to go straight to GSP after this fight if successful or would you still like to fight Swick?
MK: I would still like to fight Swick, you know? I don't think Paul Daley has the same name recognition, so this is probably not a number one contender's fight anymore. Even though Paul Daley's a very tough guy, he doesn't have the name recognition that Swick does. Unfortunately, I don't think a win would bump me up to number one contender.
PC: This will be your third fight at 170. How is the cut for you and do you feel you have it down to a science now?
MK: Ah, the weight cut is no problem. I'm actually feeling a little bit light now, so I'm trying to eat and get my weight up. I want to get in there heavy, you know? I don't want to get in there too light; my last time I cut weight, it was no problem at all, so I'm just trying to keep my weight up.
PC: Is Paul Daley someone you had been keeping up with prior to this or was it a mad scramble to find footage on him?
MK: I've seen him fight back when I fought in England. We fought on some of the same shows in the same organizations, so I've heard about him. I've seen him fight before. I know he's a tough guy with knockout power. So he's definitely a guy I respect for sure. I will be looking up some footage of him though because I don't know him that well. I'm definitely going to try to find some video though. He throws more kicks than Swick as well, so we'll see.
PC: A lot of guys at Xtreme Couture preparing for fights right now. How helpful is that and what is the atmosphere like over there?
MK: We have a lot of people training for fights right now. We have 4 guys on the same card. At 103, it's me, Trigg, Tyson Griffin and Vitor Belfort; then 3 days before, we got Maynard, Stout and Mike Pyle. So everybody basically has a fight coming up, so everyone is working hard, you know? It's a lot of action going on at Xtreme Couture now.
PC: Randy just fought one of the better fights you will ever see in mixed martial arts in Nogueira. I know he didn't pull it off, but what did you think of his performance?
MK: I thought it was a great fight. You know, obviously I was hoping for Randy to win, but he still showed a lot of heart. I was worried a couple of times when Nogueira had him in some of those submission attempts. He didn't get the win, but he showed he is a tough guy and that he could still compete with the best.
PC: Martin, I wish you the best of luck in Dallas. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
MK: I want to thank all of the fans that's supporting me. I want to say thanks to Hitman Fight Gear, Xtreme Couture and MMA Agents.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]