Allen "Monster" Berube found himself on The Ultimate Fighter 5 a mere 8 months after beginning his career as a MMA fighter.  An impressive start to his career, to be sure, but his inexperience cost him last night when he lost to Cole Miller on the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter.  However, we certainly haven't seen the last of Allen Berube.  Allen took some time to talk with us earlier today about his time on the show and what he has in store for the future.

Below, you can find the transcript of our interview along with the full mp3 audio.



BuddyTV:  How did you find yourself on Ultimate Fighter 5?  When were you contacted, how did that all work out?

Allen:  I went down to the trials in Miami and I was in kind of a casting call.  I call it the “cattle call.”  It was like 1,000 guys standing in line just waiting to be seen, you know?


Were you pretty confident going in that you had a good chance of getting a spot?

I got to tell you the truth: I was a little bit set back when I got there because there was a lot of studs there, you know these guys, a lot of tough customers. And, you know, I’m kind of a rookie in the sport so I was looking at the competition saying, “Hey, I don’t know.”  So I didn’t have any huge expectations, you know?


What did the tryouts entail?  Did you guys spar or fight with each other or what?

We did some grappling in the beginning. We hit the punch bag second round and then it was all interview.  The interview was my bread and butter.


Going back a little further, how did you get into MMA and what’s your background as a fighter?

Well, I actually own a restaurant in Tampa, Florida. And I had a buddy that was going to one of these local shows and he was going to fight.  And I went to go watch the fight and I saw how many people were in the crowd and just figured if I got in the ring I could actually advertise my restaurant.  So about a month later I was 25th and I did pretty good.  So I fought a few more times and then what happens is someone told me to try out for Ultimate Fighter down in Miami so I was like, “Oh why not, I’ll try out.”  Right place right time sometimes, you know?


Watching the show last night, was there anything that you wish they had shown from your time on the show that they didn’t?

No, you know I think they put me in good light.  I was real happy with the editing; I think they did a great job.  You know I was a little nervous before going in because you don’t know how they’re going to portray you.  I really honestly went in the house figuring I’m gonna try and be the best person I can you know, not backstab anyone and try to be as nice as I can, just try not to make any enemies.  A few sly comments, but everyone’s making them on each other, you know?


In your time working with B.J. Penn, what were the main things you took away from his teaching?

B.J.’s a great guy; he’s an awesome teacher.  He actually reminds me a lot of my coach in Tampa.  It’s a dream come true.  What would these people give to be on the show?  You don’t get much better than that.


As the season goes along for us fans, who are the fighters, in your opinion, to look out for?  Who impressed you?

Well, I think Nate Diaz impressed everyone.  He’s a great fighter.  He’s confident; he’s got the build for it.  Among other people you got to really take a look at Joe Lauzon; he’s so explosive.  He’s unsuspecting too, you know?  You look at this kid, he’s the kind of guy where if I rolled up on him in the street I would think I was going to light him up.  Might be the other way around though.


What do you have planned for the future?  Are you going to keep fighting?

Of course, I’m definitely going to keep fighting.  I had an opportunity land in my lap with this whole thing.  I’m really fortunate to be where I am in such a short time in my career.  You know a lot of these guys are fighting for five or six year before they get a shot like this.  Everyone in the house was like; “Golly I wish I had that opportunity when I was only eight months in.” My first fight was in June last year and now all of a sudden I’m in there with some of the best in the world being trained by maybe the best in the world.


Do you have anything planned for sure in the near future?

Well hopefully they’ll use me on the Ultimate Fight Night on June 23rd.  That would be nice.  I keep on trying to put my nose in there as much as I can and try to get as much press as I can to do this thing and, you know?

(Interview Conducted by Oscar Dahl)