When Ramsey Nijem showed up to take his place as one of the cast members on Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter, he was battling a case of bronchitis. So when the 14 fighters on the show were asked to work out for coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos, Nijem was operating at less than 100 percent.
So when dos Santos made Nijem the fourth choice on his seven-man team, Nijem breathed a sigh of relief -- at least he wasn't picked last.
In an interview with MMAFighting.com, Nijem discussed his thoughts on getting chosen to Team Dos Santos, what it was like hearing a speech from UFC President Dana White on the first day of taping, and what he thought about the first fight of Season 13, between Shamar Bailey and Nordin Asrih.
Nijem also talked a bit about his background and his recent work as a sparring partner for Jake Shields. The full interview is below.
Michael David Smith: What were your reactions to hearing Dana White's speech when you first walked into the gym?
Ramsey Nijem: One of the things they edited out is that he said, "Don't be a pu**y." That was kind of funny but I also really took it to heart. The whole time we were there I thought about that every time practice was getting tough -- I tried really hard to push through it. I wanted to impress Dana White because he's the boss.
How did you feel about being the fourth fighter picked for Team Dos Santos?
I didn't have a preference between Junior and Brock. They're both great fighters and they both had great coaching staffs. I was just excited not to be picked last -- it was just like when you're a kid on the playground, you don't want to be picked last. I was happy with where I was picked. I actually had bronchitis during the tryout period, and I looked like s**t, so I was just happy to be picked at all.
How sick were you? Did it affect your performance?
They gave me antibiotics. I was sick for about the first week and a half or two weeks on the show. That really sucked. Being sick made it hard to keep up with everybody. I was wheezing, having a hard time breathing and having a hard time sleeping, but I got through it.
What's your background as an athlete?
I was a Division I wrestler at Utah Valley University. I wrestled my whole life, and I come from a really competitive family. My older brother is an amateur boxer, and my younger brother is also a wrestler. My dad is a Palestinian refugee who is really tough in everything he does, and he had a really tough background growing up in a war-torn country. Our family is competitive, we all hate losing and we all do everything 100 percent.
How did you get into MMA?
I've only been fighting a year and a half. A year and a half ago I was done wrestling and still had a lot of energy but I didn't know what to do. My roommate, Brock Jardine, was fighting and he was telling me I should do it. So I gave it a try, met Court McGee before Court was on The Ultimate Fighter and started working with Jason Mertlich. I've also worked with Jonathan Brookins and I've had a chance to work with some of the guys at The Pit, including John Hackleman.
Jake Shields has mentioned that you went to his camp to spar with him.
Yes, I just got back from Jake Shields' camp. Jake met Court on The Ultimate Fighter when Jake was one of the assistants to Chuck Liddell and Court brought me out to Jake's camp with him. Jake is an amazing fighter, and he's such a workhorse -- I've never met anyone who works so hard in my entire life. He's got a great group of training partners and I got to train with them. I sparred with Jake every day, wrestled with him, grappled with him, did conditioning with him.
Who are you picking, Shields or Georges St. Pierre?
I have total respect for GSP, but he's not a finisher, so he's not going to knock Jake out and not going to submit Jake, and I know Jake is in great shape so he's not going to out-condition Jake. I really believe that if the fight goes to the ground Jake can submit him, although it's obviously a task to take GSP down. If it's in the stand-up, GSP has that jab that could give Jake problems, but I think Jake is going to show what great shape he's in. I'm one of the few people out there putting my money on Jake.
The fight we saw on this week's episode, Shamar Bailey vs. Nordin Asrih, turned into a pretty easy decision victory for Shamar. What were your thoughts while watching that?
The fight was pretty boring to watch. It was just a control fight. Shamar went out there with a game plan to use his better wrestling to win. Some people might criticize him because it was boring, but that was the first fight, and everyone was nervous and uncomfortable. So to go out there and perform that way, I say good job by Shamar to go out there and do what he had to do, use his wrestling -- his strength against Nordin's weakness -- to win the fight.
(Editor's note: Ramsey Nijem will join us each week during Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter to share his thoughts on that week's episode.)
So when dos Santos made Nijem the fourth choice on his seven-man team, Nijem breathed a sigh of relief -- at least he wasn't picked last.
In an interview with MMAFighting.com, Nijem discussed his thoughts on getting chosen to Team Dos Santos, what it was like hearing a speech from UFC President Dana White on the first day of taping, and what he thought about the first fight of Season 13, between Shamar Bailey and Nordin Asrih.
Nijem also talked a bit about his background and his recent work as a sparring partner for Jake Shields. The full interview is below.
Michael David Smith: What were your reactions to hearing Dana White's speech when you first walked into the gym?
Ramsey Nijem: One of the things they edited out is that he said, "Don't be a pu**y." That was kind of funny but I also really took it to heart. The whole time we were there I thought about that every time practice was getting tough -- I tried really hard to push through it. I wanted to impress Dana White because he's the boss.
How did you feel about being the fourth fighter picked for Team Dos Santos?
I didn't have a preference between Junior and Brock. They're both great fighters and they both had great coaching staffs. I was just excited not to be picked last -- it was just like when you're a kid on the playground, you don't want to be picked last. I was happy with where I was picked. I actually had bronchitis during the tryout period, and I looked like s**t, so I was just happy to be picked at all.
How sick were you? Did it affect your performance?
They gave me antibiotics. I was sick for about the first week and a half or two weeks on the show. That really sucked. Being sick made it hard to keep up with everybody. I was wheezing, having a hard time breathing and having a hard time sleeping, but I got through it.
What's your background as an athlete?
I was a Division I wrestler at Utah Valley University. I wrestled my whole life, and I come from a really competitive family. My older brother is an amateur boxer, and my younger brother is also a wrestler. My dad is a Palestinian refugee who is really tough in everything he does, and he had a really tough background growing up in a war-torn country. Our family is competitive, we all hate losing and we all do everything 100 percent.
How did you get into MMA?
I've only been fighting a year and a half. A year and a half ago I was done wrestling and still had a lot of energy but I didn't know what to do. My roommate, Brock Jardine, was fighting and he was telling me I should do it. So I gave it a try, met Court McGee before Court was on The Ultimate Fighter and started working with Jason Mertlich. I've also worked with Jonathan Brookins and I've had a chance to work with some of the guys at The Pit, including John Hackleman.
Jake Shields has mentioned that you went to his camp to spar with him.
Yes, I just got back from Jake Shields' camp. Jake met Court on The Ultimate Fighter when Jake was one of the assistants to Chuck Liddell and Court brought me out to Jake's camp with him. Jake is an amazing fighter, and he's such a workhorse -- I've never met anyone who works so hard in my entire life. He's got a great group of training partners and I got to train with them. I sparred with Jake every day, wrestled with him, grappled with him, did conditioning with him.
Who are you picking, Shields or Georges St. Pierre?
I have total respect for GSP, but he's not a finisher, so he's not going to knock Jake out and not going to submit Jake, and I know Jake is in great shape so he's not going to out-condition Jake. I really believe that if the fight goes to the ground Jake can submit him, although it's obviously a task to take GSP down. If it's in the stand-up, GSP has that jab that could give Jake problems, but I think Jake is going to show what great shape he's in. I'm one of the few people out there putting my money on Jake.
The fight we saw on this week's episode, Shamar Bailey vs. Nordin Asrih, turned into a pretty easy decision victory for Shamar. What were your thoughts while watching that?
The fight was pretty boring to watch. It was just a control fight. Shamar went out there with a game plan to use his better wrestling to win. Some people might criticize him because it was boring, but that was the first fight, and everyone was nervous and uncomfortable. So to go out there and perform that way, I say good job by Shamar to go out there and do what he had to do, use his wrestling -- his strength against Nordin's weakness -- to win the fight.
(Editor's note: Ramsey Nijem will join us each week during Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter to share his thoughts on that week's episode.)