Ramsey Nijem Talks UFC On FX 4 Bout
Posted on 12 Jun 2012
by MMAScoops.com Staff

Ramsey Nijem (5-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) recently spoke about his UFC on FX 4 bout with C.J. Keith (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), here are the highlights…

On Knowing His Opponents: "We went to a wrestling camp in high school together. And I remember seeing his picture after he got signed by the UFC, and I was like, 'I swear I went to wrestling camp with that kid.' I could be wrong, but we're about the same age. If it's not, I look like a dumbass saying that. I think if it was him. I beat him in a wrestling match – if I'm right."

On His Broken Hand ThatTook Hm Out of Action: "I fought Danny Downes and was feeling good, so I asked for a fight right away," Nijem said. "I was going to fight on the New Year's card (against Anthony Njokuani at UFC 141), and I broke my hand two or three weeks right out (from the fight). And it wasn't really a bad break; I just landed on it weird and broke it and had to pull out of the fight. We were wrestling a little bit, and I was doing a takedown on one of my training partners," Nijem recalled. "And we both landed on my hand. My hand was taped up and wrapped up, but it broke kind of low. It hurt, but not too bad – but I felt the bones move and was like, 'Oh crap, I just broke my freakin' hand.' I've been ready to fight for a little while, but I haven't been able to get a fight until now. But (the hand is) 100 percent, and I've been feeling real good. There's no problems there. I've broken this hand before."

On The Worst Part About Being a Fighter: "One of the worst parts (about being a fighter) is getting up every morning and getting your body goingbecause it hurts," Nijem said. "And I'm only 24, so I can imagine it's only going to get worse. It's a stressful life. A lot of people think it's a fun, relaxing life. But they don't realize you don't get paid unless you're fighting. Being injured and out is the worst part because you don't get paid, you don't get to fight, you don't get to move up in the rankings, and you get to see all your other peers training and fighting. It's like a weird addiction we have to fighting."

On The Fight: "He's a striker who likes to throw a lot of kicks, and he's got some wrestling background," Nijem said. "So obviously I'm cleaning up my wrestling, checking kicks and getting ready to fire some punches off. I definitely feel like I can beat him in the boxing. I don't want to get in a technical war with him. I'm going to be a grinder like I do best and try to push the pace, put him on the fence, try to get knees, take him down and get on top where I'm most dominant on someone's back or on top."