The Ultimate Fighter 12: Interview with Nam Phan

TUF 12 contestant Nam Phan talks to Curt Heinrichs of ProFighting-fans.com

Nam Phan is a cast member on the 12 th Season of the wildly popular MMA series The Ultimate Fighter. In addition to fighting to join the ranks of the UFC, Phan has battled for notable organizations like the WEC, Strikeforce, K-1, King of the Cage, and Sengoku against notable fighters such as JZ Calvacante and Josh Thomson. Phan has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has a solid background in jiu-jitsu that allows him to bring a well-rounded style to the cage.

During this season of The Ultimate Fighter, Nam will be speaking to profighting-fans.com writer Curt Heinrichs to discuss each episode and give the readers a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on inside the fighter’s house. While Nam is careful not to reveal any of the action from future episodes, his presence and insight help to make the Spike series even more enjoyable.

In the most recent episode, Nam faced guillotine expert Cody McKenzie in the quarterfinals. Cody is the much taller of the fighters and used his size to press Nam into the cage and neutralize Nam’s striking prowess. Nam stayed calm and delivered a heavy body shot that floored Cody before Nam finished the fight by TKO with some brutal ground and pound. With the victory, Nam moves on to the semifinals, where he will take on Michael Johnson. It is worth noting that Nam is the lone remaining fighter from the Yellow Team, Team Koscheck, still in the tournament.

Since it’s been a few weeks since I last spoke to you, let’s recap some of the action on The Ultimate Fighter:

Since we last spoke, the UFC announced a merger with the WEC. What are your thoughts on the merger?

It’s great. I think it was a very good thing. I always wanted to try 145, and now I can try going 145 with the UFC, which gives me more opportunities for sponsors, more money, and more exposure. It is a very positive thing, for sure.

Josh Koscheck had a pretty explosive confrontation with GSP’s paramedic Brad Tate. Talk a little bit about what went on at the weigh-in that sparked the confrontation.

There’s a lot of things that the camera doesn’t show in each episode. Brad Tate was making fun of the Armeniana (Sako and Sevak) and saying racial slurs about them. They had both already lost, and he was saying things like why don’t you teach these guys how to fight, or how to use silverware, or eat on a table. He pretty much called them savages and he kept going at it. Josh Koscheck got angry and blew up at him.

Did you feel that the portrayal of Koscheck was accurate, or do you think it was edited so Kos looked like the bad guy of that confrontation?

I wouldn’t have handled it that way, but Brad was really pushing Josh’s buttons. It’s not like he came out of nowhere and did it, there was a lot leading up to Koscheck reacting like that, but it wasn’t shown on TV.

Since your team only had 3 fighters in the quarterfinals and only you advanced to the semifinals, how did your practice sessions change from the beginning of the show to the end? Were you doing more opponent-specific work or were you working on becoming a more well-rounded fighter?

I was working on focusing on working for my next opponent, how to beat Michael Johnson. I felt like he had some holes in his game. I felt like I had better striking and jiu-jitsu. The only thing he had on me was good wrestling. I thought I could capitalize on that.

In your quarterfinal match with Cody McKenzie, you gave up quite a few inches in height. What was your gameplan going into the fight and how did you keep your cool after the first round where Cody pressed you into the cage for most of the round?

My game plan was not to get caught in a guillotine and keep the fight standing, not get taken down. I wasn’t too worried because I have a lot of experience and I’m used to being the smaller guy in all my fights, so it wasn’t too difficult for me to stay calm against the fence.

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What was going through your head while waiting for the semi-final fight announcement? Was there any fighter in particular that you were hoping to face or not face?

For sure, I didn’t want to fight Brookins. That guy is amazing. If I had a choice, I wanted Alex Caceres to win and then I would beat him and I would advance to the finals. The semifinalists were Jonathon Brookins, Kyle Watson, and Michael Johnson, but I thought the best choice out of the 3 of those guys was Michael Johnson.

You will be taking on Michael Johnson in this week’s episode. What was your gameplan heading into the fight and what concerned you the most about facing Johnson?

I really felt like my striking was better. I thought I could beat him in the stand-up and I would be ok. The only thing I was worried about was him taking me down. Of course, he’s a lot bigger than me and he’s really strong. I knew just by looking at him that he’s strong because the guy is just frickin’ monstrous.

Do you watch the episodes when they air on TV? Is there anything that you remember happening that they don’t show on TV?

I do watch the show. There are so many things that happen that they don’t show, and I can’t remember right off the top of my head. In the next episode, there are lots of things that happen. In this next episode, there are a lot of things that happen and it gets really crazy. It gets kind of bad for me.

By Curt Heinrichs
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer

The Ultimate Fighter logo used with permission from the UFC