American Mixed Martial Arts fighter, Alan “The Talent” Belcher, will match up against Kalib Starnes at UFC 77 on Saturday, October 20th. Coming off of a persuasive win against Sean Salmon at UFC 71, Belcher, who recently signed a new four-year contract with UFC, is eager to get another win under his belt. Belcher took some time to talk to BuddyTV the other day about how he’s been preparing for this fight and his predictions on the outcome. Check out the full interview transcript and the mp3 audio below.

Hi I’m Rob Symington with BuddyTV and I’m here with Alan Belcher today, how are you doing Alan?

I’m doing fine, training hard, just got finished with practice.

Great. We’ll it’s great to have you as an interview guest today on BuddyTV. You are definitely one of the most exciting middle weight fighters out there right now, and you’re definitely a pleasure to watch.

Thanks a lot, that’s a great compliment. It’s very exciting, for sure.

Two of your last four fights have been taken on very short notice and one went the distance and the other you finished with a submission in the first round. How does it feel to finally have a lot more time to train for this fight against Kalib?

It feels spectacular, but you know time is only what you make of it. I’ve had time for other fights and kind of half-assed it, you know kinda got burned out early or whatever. But I don’t know what it is man, it’s probably a mixture of things ... the people and my faith and my family and just everything man. I’m hungry and I’m at the top of, I wouldn't say my hottest point, but I’m on my way.

Great, that’s awesome. So, where are you currently training now?

I’m in Milwaukee, Wisconsin training with Duke Roufus. He’s my main coach, he’s my friend, and just everything man. He’s my main coach and I’m with him everyday here in Milwaukee.

Do you still ever train with Rich Clementi?

Yeah actually, when I’m back home. Me and Rich are really good friends. We train a lot, pretty much weekly. He comes to my place, I go to his place and we’re good training partners. He’s always got news stuff to teach me and we like to spar you know what I mean, and with the other guys over there. Yea, me and Rich, we definitely train together. Unfortunately this time Rich is kind of giving his career a good go right now. He’s training I think harder than he ever has and he wants to be there for everything, but I’m like ... Man, I want you to be the best Rich you can be and he’s training for his fight back home and he needs to concentrate on his own stuff. I don’t want to feel like I’m burdening him by him having to train me because you know, you’ve got to put a lot into the people that you’re training ... almost like you’re doing it for yourself. You’ve got to be there for them, when they’re lazy and relaxing you’ve got to be there pushing them so you’re working just as hard. This time I had some stuff going on so I set-up my camp as kind of a long camp so he had a fight a few weeks ago and I was already up here and everything so, it was just the way everything worked out this time. I brought Thomas Denney up and he’s been a good friend of mine for the past couple of years but we’ve really bonded and we’re making a family and a team with everybody that’s up here right now. Thomas is an incredible coach and human being and a lot of people don’t really know about him as far as being a trainer man, but with all due respect, Thomas is a good fighter but oh my gosh he’s a top notch coach that’s for sure. He’s made me super competitive for this fight as well as the other people I’ve brought up here. I brought up a great friend of mine Dustin Rhodes from Alabama, you guys are going too be seeing him in a lot of shows here coming up soon.

The next thing I wanted to ask you was do you have any rituals or things you do for good luck before a fight?

No, well, I don’t know I guess I kind of have the same ritual as far as the last couple of days before the fight. You know, I kind of eat the same kind of stuff; I’m going to switch it up a little bit this time. Usually, after the weigh in, I have some food and stuff that I eat to kind of prime my body for a big meal. I eat easily like an Outback sweet potato and cyclone pasta, I guess that’s my normal ritual after working at night time. Later at night I usually eat some pizza and some cake and stuff like that.

Haha. That must be pretty good after the weigh in?

Oh yea, for sure man. Some people can’t handle the cheese and red sauce, but I’ve got a pretty strong stomach and I eat junk food in the off season to train for that. The next day I usually have a big breakfast: Waffles, pancakes, lots of fruit lots of carbs, then I do a real light meal then maybe one more sushi, I just like to get some raw fish, which is kind of dangerous ...but what I think, .... but I’ll get two orders of sashimi, nigiri ... something really light for my stomach.

Lets talk a little bit about your upcoming fight here? Kalib was recently quoted saying that you're a “strong, explosive athlete with knock-out power” and that he's going to have to be really cautious because you can finish a fight with one shot. Do you think he's gonna pretty much take it to the ground?

I hope so! This is what I am training for. If he stands with me, I mean, the only way he can beat me is if he is in better shape and he's just gonna keep on trying to take me down. Like I said, in these drills I've got Scott Johnson in the middle of the floor trying to take me down, and Bryan Baker trying to take me out on the wall. I never stop moving, no body's going to be in the kind of shape that I'm in this time, I'm just, in the best shape of my life. There's no way he can beat me. There's no way, I am 100% confident, flukes and accident happen, but the way I am prepared the percentage is so high, its not even a factor for me.

Yeah. Do you have a prediction for the fight? How are you going to finish him?

You know, it's kind of cliché but, the first opportunity I get to finish him. Hopefully, it's not in some kind of slow, pathetic way. I want it to be explosive no matter what it is. I don't want him to get tired and me just pound him and kind of hurt him and have the ref say "That’s it, that's enough." I don't want that. I want "Fight's over now: Bam! He's hurt. And if the ref does not stop it, he's going to get injured really bad at that second and I want it to be decisive, I want to dominate and that's how I see it going no matter how it is. To tell you the truth man all my game ... I don't have any thing I am working on this fight. Normally I got this, I've got to work on my wrestling, I've got to work on my Jiu Jitsu because this guy is good I just feel like my camps are starting to be like, prepare for battle man, get ready you know ... like I've never been ready before. Worst case scenario is if he does takes me down, which it's not gonna happen this fight. I really feel like I'm gonna hustle so much that if he does take me down, I'll submit him from my back. I can get up anytime I want. I never been this confident before a fight. I am so excited to get in there. I'm usually like: Man, at this time I'm tired of the diet, tired of training, and I can't wait to get this over with. But this time, I can't wait to get in the cage. It's crazy, I never felt this aggressive.

I'm definitely looking forward to watching it, that's for sure. So, this is going to be your second fight with someone that was on the Utimate Fighter TV Show. How do you feel about you being able to move up through the ranks and really make a name for yourself without needing that show to really kick star your career?

You know, it feels good. It feels good. You know that show is a dangerous show man. You can be a nice guy with good skills and they can make you look like an idiot, so. I'm not going to take that kind of chance, that's for sure. You know I've said things in past, you can probably read some of my interviews and stuff, where I kind of badmouthed those guys and stuff but man I grew up the last couple of years. You know, I don't talk to make people happy I just say what I really feel. And at that time I really did think that, you know, I had some hidden you know, built up anger or whatever. You know, because I didn't make it on the show you know it's just ... inferiority and conflicts I guess, like those guys aren't as good as me. But you know I take all that back, there's been really great, great competitors who've come off that show. There are some guys that are jokes and shouldn't be on there but, I definitely like the path that I chose and I wouldn't change anything, no regrets. If they ask me to do the show now, probably not right now ... it's not worth the risk. I like my chances in fighting on Pay-Per-View

Right. Is there anyone in particular that you would like to be in the Octagon with?

There's not a single match-up or anybody that I despise or hate. You know I think that I can put together a game, that's why I work hard in every aspect of my game. I want to be the best at everything. I've got plenty of time. I want to be the kind of fighter that I don't have to fight one way or another. I am prepared all at once and when it comes to camp time, I just have to get in shape and bam I'm get ready for anybody. Watch the tapes, work out a game plan and we're ready to go. I don't have to learn anything new. I want to be good at everything. There's nobody out there that I say "I want to beat this guy because I don't like this attitude,” or I match up well against him. I think I match up well against everybody. The only people I want to fight, and you know I'm not begging for a rematch right off the bat but in future, I would love to get those losses off my record. In the meantime, I will be kicking everybody's ass and keep winning. Can't get any more loses. I'll take my three loses with all three guys are in the UFC: Marvin Eastman, Yushin Okami, and Kendall Grove.

Yeah. I would definitely love to see those guys come around as well. Your last fight against Sean Salmon you had to step-up to the light heavyweight division and you did great. Do you plan on staying on the middle weight division or is the light heavy weight division also an option for you?

It's an ongoing option. I am growing, all the time. Right now I'm a 185-er and who knows what kind of growth spur I'm going to go through. Hopefully, I'll grow into a 205-er, so I don't have to punish my body so much with this crazy camp. I am training so hard and also eating not as much. After the fight I get heavy... it's just like a terribly cycle man, I think I'm gonna grow to be a 205 fighter, but right now for the moment, I'm worried about this fight. Its a 185 fight, I am going to make the weight and we'll take it from there. Probably afterwards I'll still be 185 and it's probably just going to be, after they see this fight, they're gonna go “Man, how do we get Alan Belcher at a title shot? Who does he need to beat? Because this guy is a Champion when it comes to the way he's just dominating.” I'm so changed. The Sean Salmon fight was just a glimpse of how my attitude is. You know, this is my job, this is my livelihood. It's how I'm going to feed my grandkids. And uh, that was just a glimpse of how this is going to be. This fight is just going to be so one-sided. Not because I am better, not to put anything against Kalib Starnes. It doesnt matter if it was any tough guy out there, I am ready for this fight and ready for anybody. No disrespecting against Kalib at all, he's a great competitor. Of course there are some things I could pick apart and say that I'm going to beat him at this aspect; but at this point, it doesn't matter who it is, I am ready to fight. It's definitely going to be a surprise.

Alright. So, who are you favorite mixed martial artists to watch, currently?

Oh my favorite guys ... I don't know, pretty much anybody who's exciting and pushing the pace. I have a lot of respect for Randy. I like the way Randy and Forrest fight. I like those guys a lot. You know, maybe not the most world class athletic boxers and kick boxers or anything like that, but you know those guys push the pace and fight hard. And that's the guys I like to watch right now. I'm trying to turn myself instead of like relying on my skill and my talent and just cruising through. I don't even like my nickname anymore because it's kind of holding me back. I'm not just a talented person who doesn't have to work hard man, I wanna get down, get gritty, work hard, and outwork people.

Right. So, what do you think you'd be doing if you weren't fighting?

Oh man. Hard question right there. That's the only reason I am fighting man, I don't want to do anything else. I love fighting. I am so blessed. God gave me this job and gave me a way to make money and make a life out of what I like to do. Its terrible that not everybody can do that kind of stuff, but that's why I feel so lucky. I thank God every day for giving me these opportunities.

Yeah, definitely. Do you still have your school your teaching at?

Yeah, I still have my gym back in Biloxi. I have some real good guys running it for me while I'm gone. It's really taken off. We recently moved into a new facility, big open metal building with a match cage and ring. Heavy bags, Title Boxing hooked me up with a lot of stuff, they're one of my really good sponsors. It's a professional place now. We've got…I have good guys teaching there, and you would be surprised to see something so good down in the dirty South. Biloxi, Mississippi.

Well it definitely sounds like you've got a good thing going down there. So one thing I wanted to find out for you is it was recently reported you signed a new four-fight contract with UFC, is that accurate?

Yeah. This is the first of the four fights on my new contract.

So how does it feel to know that you have that kind of support from the organization?

It feels great! It feels like they want me to be there, and makes me feel like I deserve to be there. I put in my time but I'm going to solidify it with this fight. Its not going to be a mistake. This performance, however it turns out, I am going to come out on top one way or another. I'm gonna let it all out and release the beast and just let it all hang out, give it all I've got.

Well I definitely think that your fight against Kalib is going to be one of the most exciting of the night, so I'm definitely looking forward to it. Alan, I want to thank you for your time today and from all of us at BuddyTV we wish you good luck and much success on October 20th and beyond. Thanks Alan.
 
Alright. Thanks a lot man.   

- Interview conducted by Rob Symington
(Image courtesy of Sherdog.com)