UFC 131: Nick Ring: "My Job Is Not Over; It's Time to Keep Truckin' Along"

Undefeated after 11 professional bouts, Nick Ring, come UFC 131, will be looking to add to his unblemished professional record with a win over promotional newcomer James Head.

Prior to his run on ‘The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz’, Ring, who previously competed in DEEP and Bellator, was regarded by many as one of Canada’s top mixed martial artists.

On the show, Ring, who was selected with the first overall pick by Tito Ortiz, registered victories over Woody Wetherby and eventual tournament winner Court McGee.

Unfortunately for Ring, due to a recurring knee injury, he was subsequently forced to withdraw from the tournament.

Since leaving the show, Ring has notched a unanimous decision victory over Riki Fukuda at UFC 127 in late February and is now slated to take on Head at UFC 131 on June 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Nick Ring about, among other topics, his time in the ‘TUF house’, fighting in the UFC, and what the future holds for the man they call “The Promise.”

What inspired you to try out for ‘The Ultimate Fighter’?

My manager suggested it to me; the tryouts were coming up and he got me to go. [Laughs] Obviously, it worked out okay.

Were you at all apprehensive before you tried out?

Well, it’s just like anything; if you’re going to fight or making a speech or anything like that, you’re going to be a little bit—a little bit—anxious.

You don’t know what’s going to happen—it’s the fear of the unknown. [Laughs] You go in there and do your thing and see what happens. It wasn’t like I was going into a fight, though; so I wasn’t really fearful—it was fine.

How did you feel the tryouts went?

I had made it all the way to the end. Throughout the tryouts, they were making a bunch of cuts; they were cutting everyone that they didn’t want.

I made it all the way to the end, so I figure I did pretty well up ‘til there. Again, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, right? But I thought it was a good sign that I made it to the end of the tryouts.

Before the tryouts, did you think that you would make it through?

[Laughs] You know what? I kept telling myself, “Don’t get your hopes up.” I think the number one goal was to get in there, try it out, and see how it goes; at least get on their radar. Obviously it went the whole way, though.

What do you think you would be able to take away from your time on the show?

Honestly, I didn’t have any agenda going in there, necessarily. I was excited to be a part of it and I saw it as a big opportunity I wanted to jump on. I wasn’t really expecting to take anything away from it, but at the same time, I got to live with those guys for six weeks—I’ve built some good friendships. I was very honoured to do it.

Looking back, would you do anything differently if you had the opportunity?

Well, no—not really. It played out the way it played out, you know? I didn’t exactly what was good for my body.

Now, you’re probably talking about the knee injury and I know from experience that the competition was done for me at that point; the smartest thing to do—for my career—was to pull out at that time.

As bad as it is, it is what it is; I wasn’t going to get any further in that competition with a blown-out ACL and I would’ve done more harm than good by trying.

How is the knee now?

It’s good—it’s 100 percent. After I got out of the show, I got knee surgery from Laurie Heimstra. She works on the worst knees in the world; alpine skiers. My surgery was a fairly straight-forward ACL repair; no meniscus damage—nothing else supportive was blown out.

For her, it wasn’t that hard of a surgery—she did a good job. It was my third one—by the way—and it does get more complicated as you have to do them over and over again, but it looks like this surgery is going to stick.

When was the last time you were at 100 percent?

2006 [laughs]. You know what, Ed? That was the first time I blew out my knee—in 2006—and I’ve had three knee surgeries since then. My doctor—my other surgeon—said that I would never fight again and I said, “Fuck it; I’m going to do it anyways.”

I ended up dong the FILA World Grappling Championships—I got three bronze medals doing those, I fought in Bellator, and I got on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ before I actually blew it.

This is after the doctor said that I would never fight again and I feel it was definitely worth ignoring his advice [laughs]—if I had decided to listen to him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

When your surgeon told you that and you decided to pursue your career in mixed martial arts anyway, realistically, how far did you think you could go in this sport?

Well, I didn’t know. [Laughs] I just wanted to fight some more—I always wanted to be in the UFC. With the knee being in the condition that it was, he said that it wouldn’t be possible and I was happy to prove him wrong, you know?

He was right, though; it did blow again. He said that it was going to blow again and I just thought that I had to keep on going before it blows and if it blows than I’ll go get the surgery again and that’s what happened. [Laughs]

I’m very happy to say that—after this last surgery—I think this one is going to stick.

Was there any hesitation to continue fighting?

As a fighter, until you make it big, you’re not making any money. You’ve still got to put food on the table and you’ve been told that you’re not going to fight again; you have to figure out how to pay the bills.

That’s another thing with fighting; it’s been my experience so far, that you’re not going to be making a whole lot of money, so you better have some side jobs and doing some stuff that does make money.

It’s not like it’s not a concern, but oh, well. The thing is; you’ve only got one chance at this and you’ve got to use it to your full potential, right? I don’t even care—I’m going to go as far as I can and at least I can say that I tried.

With all of that being said, how does it feel to be back at 100 percent?

Man, I’m feeling great. I’ve got some great opportunities ahead of me and I’m just going to go full steam ahead.

What does fighting in the UFC mean to you?

The UFC is the Olympics of my sport; this is huge. These are the toughest guys in the whole world and I’m honoured to be a part of it, you know? You’ve just got to put the work in and keep on going.

I’m very honoured—it feels great. That in itself feels like an accomplishment, but my job is not over; it’s time to keep truckin’ along.

How do you feel about what you’ve been able to accomplish so far?

I’d like to go a little further than what I’ve accomplished. I’m happy to be here, but at the same time, I don’t feel like my job is over. Like I said; keep going.

How do you feel about your last performance?

Well, you know, whatever; I fought Riki—he’s a world-champion. I don’t think it was my best, but at the same time, when you’re fighting tough guys, you’re not going to look good all of the time, right?

If you were 100 percent going into your bout against Riki, how do you feel that would’ve played out?

I’m not saying I wasn’t 100 percent. Riki is a tough guy; if you fight tough guys, you’re going to get hit a lot. You’re going to land your own stuff and get hit—[laughs] whatever. It’s going to be a back-and-forth battle, right?

I guess that’s pretty much every fight moving forward, eh?

You know what? That’s what it is. When I first started fighting, some guys were tough and some guys weren’t as tough, but this is the UFC, now.

It’s the Olympics of my sport, so I think it’s pretty safe to say that everyone is going to be pretty tough—you’ve got to have that in your mind when you train.

What did you take away from your last fight?

Nothing [laughs]. I’m back to the drawing boards, I guess.

Looking back, is there anything that you would’ve done differently?

I don’t know. Not get taken down. It’s just like any fight—whatever.

How are you feeling going into your upcoming fight?

Good.

What problems do you think he poses to you?

He looks like a big, strong, athletic guy...whatever. I’m not going to talk too much about this. I’m going to see how this one plays out.

How do you think it’s going to play out?

I guess we will see. I’m planning on going in there and winning—that’s how I would like to see it go.

What would a win at UFC 131 mean to you?

Well, it would mean a lot to me. You don’t go into any fight to lose—that’s for sure. A win at UFC 131 is exactly what I’m planning to do and it’s exactly what I want.

Assuming you win, where do you see yourself in the UFC’s middleweight division?

I’m making no predictions.

No?

No.

What are you expecting out of the crowd?

Since this is my hometown crowd, I’m expecting them to cheer for me. In fact, I demand it [laughs]. But seriously, I’m not too worried about the crowd; I have an opponent to worry about.

The crowd doesn’t get into your head?

No—not one bit.

Has it always been this way for you?

I guess so. Honestly, if the crowd is what you’re worried about, than you’re in the wrong sport. You’ve got to focus on what you’ve got to do; there’s no reason for you to be worrying about the crowd. I’m going to go in there and do my job; I can worry about the crowd after the fight.

What do you feel you can accomplish in this sport?

I’m not going to even talk about that, right? I’m just going to take this one fight at a time.

Have you always had this outlook?

Yes.

Do you think that that is what has gotten you so far in the sport?

Well, it hasn’t hurt.

Have you been getting any hate-mail lately?

[Laugh] Yeah.

More so than usual?

I don’t know—have you been sending it [laughs]?

[Laughs] I thought our last interview would’ve drawn...

Whatever. Who cares?

Is there anything that you’d like to say to your fans while you have this opportunity?

No—not really. [Laughs] Thanks for watching me, guys, but—thanks for watching me.

That’s all?

Yeah—that’s all.