What follows is my conversation with UFC welterweight up-and-comer Sean Spencer. His next fight is Saturday, September 10th at UFC 203 versus Yancy Medeiros. Sean was nice enough to chat with me for a bit about his summer, his upcoming fight, and what life is like for a professional ass-kicker. The bolded words are my questions and the italicized words are his answers.

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Have you been watching the Olympics?

A little bit, yeah. I watched some of the volleyball. I think I saw a couple clips of the archery at some point. And then I saw some of the swimming. I saw Michael Phelps doing his thing. I saw some of the basketball a little bit. And I saw the girl, one of the wrestlers, win the gold medal. Oh and the girl that was running, I saw the girl dive across the finish line.

Do you think that was messed up?

No I think it was alright. I don’t know what the rule is. Like if there’s any unspoken rule. To me, when I saw that, that was her really trying. Her blood, sweat, and tears; life on the line. And I’m sacrificing my body. That’s her taking the ultimate risk. ‘I know I’m going to go through some pain for a couple days, but I want this.’ Nobody else did that. So obviously she wanted it worse than anybody else and she deserved that.

If you could have been an Olympic athlete, what sport do you think you would have played?

I would have liked to do the pole-vault, just to be able to do that. That’s something that not a lot of people in the world can do. There’s a lot of finesse involved. It’s a high risk thing to do.

I’d be scared the stick would break

Yeah! You’ve got to trust the stick, you’ve got to trust your body to go up and get around the top thing. And then not have a fear of heights. That’s a really scary event. The long jump would be cool. Those dudes, they get after it. Fencing would be cool. And the hurdles would be cool; to be able to do that.

Do you think you could have been an Olympic boxer?

Yeah definitely. At one point, one of my trainers wanted me to do that. I was like 18 or 19 at the time, but my sight was set on making it to the UFC. So I didn’t want to go that route. My ultimate goal was to be in the UFC, so that would just be something in my arsenal: he’s an Olympic boxer. But I didn’t have—not so much didn’t have the heart to do it—it wasn’t my main goal. There were people early in my career ‘oh you’re so good at boxing, you should be a pro boxer instead of a mixed martial artist.’ I already had set my mind. The first time I did boxing, which was really awesome, competing in front of people and all that. Then a couple months after that, I had my first cage fight. That feeling I got surpassed what I felt when I was boxing, it was more real to me. Boxing is not as real as this (MMA), to me.

Do you think Jiu-Jitsu should be in the Olympics?

I think it could definitely be. I think it has a big enough fan base and it’s big enough, geographically, that people know about it. It’s widely known enough to be in the Olympics. And also too, even events in the winter games, curling—who does that? The only time you see that is in the Olympics. I think jiu-jitsu is way more famous and popular than curling. So that being said, I think they should have it in the Olympics.

What do you think about MMA being in the Olympics?

It’s just one of those things, people say it’s too brutal. But what would you have? Would you have it in an octagon? We’ve got team USA, team Japan—that would be cool man. Who would you have representing your country for this event? How many events would you have? That would be really awesome. I would want to be involved with it. I think they should definitely consider it, for sure.

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UFC 203. September 10th. Sean Spencer vs. Yancy Medeiros. How excited are you?

I’m excited. I’ve been working on a lot of different things. I’ve watched Yancy fight, and I honestly believe he’s not up to par with what I have to bring to the table. I mean he’s tough. He’s a tough guy, trains with a good camp. I don’t want to say he’s not elite. I just feel like I have more fights than he does. I want this more. I’m going to take it further than he will. Every guy you fight in the UFC is going to be potentially dangerous so I’m not going to look past him at all. I just want to go out there and make a statement. I’m just going to take it to him. Every second of every round. I’m going to be smart, I’m going to be methodical, I’m going to be patient at times, but I’m going to take my shot. This is going to be a really high level fight. I just hope that he’s ready.

How did this fight get set up?

He wasn’t even on my radar in terms of people I wanted to fight. I’m coming off a loss to Mike Pyle, it was Fight of the Night. And also too, he’s coming off a loss and his was Fight of the Night. It makes total sense. His record is like 12-4, it’s very similar to mine. We’re the same age. And he wants to go up to welterweight (170 lbs.). It’s like a debut. I don’t know if it’s his first ever fight at welterweight, but it doesn’t matter; UFC welterweight division is different. He can train all he wants to leading up to this fight, it’s still a different weight class. He dropped to 155 lbs. for a reason. ‘Ok, these guys at 170 lbs. are too big, I’m just going to go to 155 lbs.’ But maybe over time the cut is getting to him. So maybe he moved up to welterweight because the cut’s too hard. But now he has to deal with the thoughts of fighting bigger guys. Dustin Poirier is a 155’er and he wiped the floor with him. He threw him around like a rag-doll. And I know that I’m stronger than Dustin Poirier. My style is different, but I’m going to throw everything I know at him in a very smart, strategic way. And I’m going to take a hold of every opportunity that I get in this fight.

What kinds of things go into your research of an opponent?

I’m just watching their body movement, basically. What they’re good at, their strengths. I’m seeing if they are a fighter, really. I know the UFC is the highest level, but there are still guys that, they’re not really fighters. They’ve been doing it so long that they just got morphed into it. You know a true fighter when they take a shot, how do they react from that? Some people get hit with a hard shot, they’ll fall down and go away. It’s a hard shot, but you can fight through those things. Some people won’t fight through it. If someone’s about to get submitted, will they fight through that submission? Or are they going to tap early? I watch those things too to see how much fight they have in them. Yancy Medeiros, his last fight, the other dude was hitting him and he was falling down and falling out. He was just going with it. He made it look worse than what it was. He was kind of like, playing around in a way. Or maybe he wasn’t playing around and that’s how he really is. If that’s the case, then that’s good for me because how is he going to deal with them when I start hitting him?

What have you focused on most in training the last few weeks?

Just dealing with a long, lanky dude. Yancy, he likes those left hooks, good extension. He’ll throw that uppercut. There’s nothing he does that’s like 'oh s***, that’s really slick, creative, or impressive.' His wrestling is horrible. His takedowns are horrible. He’ll rush in with his head down. He doesn’t have any technique. He does clench pretty decent. He’s not afraid to get in there and mix it up a little bit. His takedown defense off the cage is pretty decent. He’s not a savvy veteran but he’s definitely knowledgeable. He’s not afraid to be in the cage and fight or go through the motions of an actual fight. Once I actually put the pressure on him and really start grinding him and forcing him to fight, how is he going to react and respond to that? Some people can go through one or two exchanges before they think 'oh this is too much' and they’re looking for a way out.

What do you think the best part of his game is?

He’s tough, he’s real tough. He will fight. He’s one of those guys that if you put him in a bad position, he’ll actually do some sort of crazy maneuver to try and get out of it and end up in a better position. Like when he gets taken down, he gets kind of squirmy and then we may end up in some type of a position where he’ll try to triangle me. He’ll just throw it up there just like he’s probably done that in training or he’s seen it done. Or maybe he’s actually pretty good at it. I have to be aware of those scenarios and I have to make sure my posture is right. I can’t get lazy in any position. He will try to latch up a submission.

What are you going to do differently in this fight in comparison to your last fight?

I don’t think I’ll have to do too much differently. I’ve evolved from the Mike Pyle fight. I got caught by a back-elbow, there’s not a lot you can do to prepare for that other than be more fight-aware. Your overall awareness in a fight has to be higher. There’s really nothing you can do to train for that than just do it. That just comes with experience.

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How bad is the weight shedding?

It’s only as bad as you allow it to be. Let’s say for instance you know for a fact you have 11 weeks to train for a fight, there is no way on God’s green Earth that you should miss weight in 11 weeks. You should be in the best shape of your life when you start cutting weight. The weight cut is only as hard as you make it. If I’m 190 lbs., I could make 185 lbs. in an hour.

How could you make 185 lbs. in an hour?

I would go to a sauna. But here’s the thing, that’s not the best way to do it. You’re putting strain on your body and putting it into a situation it’s not used to. You’re putting yourself into a 165 degree situation and your body’s not used to that. I do sauna once a week, so my body knows what that’s like. So I would get into a 185 degree sauna and move for like 10 minutes then get out. Then move to a 131 degree sauna for 10 minutes or so. Then I’d take a break for a minute if I felt tired. Then I’d go down to the 110 degree one and move around a little bit in there. I’d step out of there, take a break for about three minutes, then maybe go to a 155 degree one and sit in there. I’d step out of there, and once I felt ready, I’d go to the 189 degree one for five or 10 minutes. That's like 45 minutes so I’d go check my weight and see where I was at. I’d probably be down to 186 by then. You could do it quick if your body is used to it.

How many concussions have you had?

I’ve never had a doctor look at me and say ‘yes, you have a concussion.’ Now have I been rattled a lot? How many times have I been rocked? Probably about 30 times over 10 years.

Are you worried about the long-term effects of so many shots to the head?

No. I am not. You know why? Because I get smarter every day. I haven’t lost a step. Me fighting has not affected any motor skills at all.I’m the best I’ve ever been, right now. Fighting only affects you negatively if you stop taking care of yourself.

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CM Punk: What do you think about him going from WWE to UFC?

He’s just one of those guys that wants to test himself in a real sport. I don’t have anything against the guy. Nobody’s ever really seen him train. That’s a strategy; being this mystery character. Mickey Gall (his opponent at UFC 203) has had previous fights. CM Punk can watch footage on Mickey Gall; it’s out there. But Mickey Gall can’t watch anything that CM Punk has out there. It’s not fair. But in a way, it’s a strategy. Mickey Gall can go watch CM Punk’s wrestling matches to see if he has any fight in him. I don’t know, I don’t think he’s a real fighter.

Who is the best fighter in the welterweight division?

I don’t know. I’d have to put myself up there. I’m realistic. And I’m not delusional. I still have some way to go in my profession, but at the end of the day, I feel I’m the best fighter in the welterweight division. That’s a statement, and that’s my opinion. Now I have to show that to be true by going out there and fighting Yancy Medeiros and then whoever’s next and then whoever’s next after that. My goals have not changed since I started this sport. I got into this sport to be a world champion one day. And to be the best fighter in my weight class one day. That’s never changed. This month marks the 10 year anniversary of when I started fighting. All the way from Bluefield, Virginia to Johnson City, Tennessee to Dallas, Texas. And I’m here. I’m still fighting for this title. I do this for my family, I do this for my friends, I’m about to have a son next month. He’s supposed to be born on September 19th. Nine days after the fight. I’ve got a lot to fight for.