To start this off this fight has been in the making for three years. When I fought Guy Mezger the second time chuck fought that same card he was a kick boxer with wrestling skill. I never thought of him as a threat to me. Back then UFC wasn’t half of what it is today. Chuck and I started training in 2000. He needed a manager to help with his contracts and P.R. Sal Garcia was my manager, so I thought I would help chuck and add him to my team. This was the first unleashing of Team Punishment. Chuck helped me when I fought Silva. I help him with Monson. We would help each other for each fight. All the way up to UFC 33 then the training stopped. We knew we were on a collision course to fight each other. When I sign the contract with the UFC fighting Chuck was not a opposition. Both of Chuck and my manager said that if Chuck and I had to fight I would have the choice to renegotiate if this fight would ever happen. Dana said him self that he would not let this fight happen. But as Chuck and I kept beating everyone at our weight this fight now has to happen. Over the three years I have been with Zuffa I have never said “No? I have always said “Yes? The times I went on the road with Dana, all the photo shoots, all the interviews. This s*** was draining. I thought the training was hard , but the PR was worse. I was training for the Belfort fight and got a call saying that Belfort was hurt. I never said once that I wouldn’t fight the replacement I had a choice of Vladdy, Randelman, or Chuck. I remember my manager (Jim Gallo) witch is Chuck’s manager saying Chuck wasn’t training to fight me. So now Zuffa had two choices Vladdy or Randelman. Or I had two choices. So I picked Randelman. He pussed out so Vladdy was the last choice. I never once asked for more money to fight and I had a right to. Two week before my biggest fight of my life has been changed. All the preparing for Belfort had to be change in two weeks. I went from fighting a boxer/BJJ to fighting a world class wrestler. I said lets do it with out even any questions. I had a broken foot before the fight but I never let anyone know. I did what no one thought I could do beat a world class wrestler with wrestling. That same night I watched Chuck lose in my eyes to Bustamante.
I get injured training for Belfort. A torn ACL recovery time eight months to a year and a half. I thought my fighting career was over. I got surgery one month after the injury happened. In May of 2002 my dreams were crushed. I was in a brace watching the UFC on TV for the first time in four years. As the months went on of busting my a** in rehab my knee was getting better. Zuffa was already starting to promote the return of Ken Shamrock. The date was set for Sept 15th. In my mind I would never be ready. I said that was too soon. So Zuffa pushed it back a month. This is only six months after surgery. Plus all the PR trips Zuffa wanted me to go on and I refuse to because of my rehab. Dana got all pissed at me. At UFC 39 I brought t-shirts to sell to promote my fight against Ken. I ask if UFC would sale them and they said no. We have a lot of your T shirts already. How about I take some of the old shirts and replace them with the new ones. They still said no. So before UFC 39 started I went in front of the venue and sign autographs and took picture with the fans for two hours. I thought I could get rid of the three dozen t-shirts while I tend to the fans. Dana comes walking up with one of his friends from his town in Boston. His friend has two kids with him. I shook all there hands and gave them free t-shirts. Dana said “You should not be selling those t-shirts? He was the only one that knew. I was fined 1000 dollars for tending to my fans by the UFC. This really got to me I thought Dana was my friend but I came to realize this was just business. So it got me thinking this whole time I thought we were friends I was blinded by friendship. I still think of Dana as a friend but in the fight game he is just another promoter. I am just another prize fighter to there company that they are trying to monopol
I get injured training for Belfort. A torn ACL recovery time eight months to a year and a half. I thought my fighting career was over. I got surgery one month after the injury happened. In May of 2002 my dreams were crushed. I was in a brace watching the UFC on TV for the first time in four years. As the months went on of busting my a** in rehab my knee was getting better. Zuffa was already starting to promote the return of Ken Shamrock. The date was set for Sept 15th. In my mind I would never be ready. I said that was too soon. So Zuffa pushed it back a month. This is only six months after surgery. Plus all the PR trips Zuffa wanted me to go on and I refuse to because of my rehab. Dana got all pissed at me. At UFC 39 I brought t-shirts to sell to promote my fight against Ken. I ask if UFC would sale them and they said no. We have a lot of your T shirts already. How about I take some of the old shirts and replace them with the new ones. They still said no. So before UFC 39 started I went in front of the venue and sign autographs and took picture with the fans for two hours. I thought I could get rid of the three dozen t-shirts while I tend to the fans. Dana comes walking up with one of his friends from his town in Boston. His friend has two kids with him. I shook all there hands and gave them free t-shirts. Dana said “You should not be selling those t-shirts? He was the only one that knew. I was fined 1000 dollars for tending to my fans by the UFC. This really got to me I thought Dana was my friend but I came to realize this was just business. So it got me thinking this whole time I thought we were friends I was blinded by friendship. I still think of Dana as a friend but in the fight game he is just another promoter. I am just another prize fighter to there company that they are trying to monopol
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