Teleportation, Times Machines and Amir Sadollah
Published by Jim Genia on January 8th, 2010 in Current Events

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He entered into the competition with no fanfare, no fearsome reputation and no pro MMA bouts to his name, but unlike those who came before and after him – the credential wrestlers, the seasoned veterans and the King of the Cage and IFL champs –

Amir Sadollah won the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” on pure moxie. And while some of the SpikeTV-broadcast reality show winners seem to have fallen by the wayside while others have shined, the jury is still out of the Richmond, Virginia native, who, thanks to injury, has only fought twice in the 18 months since the TUF 7 finale. What do we know of him thus far? Based on his submission wins on the show, we know Sadollah can grapple, and after his gutsy Muay Thai-heavy performance against Phil Baroni at UFC 106, we know he can strike. Perhaps after January 11th’s UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax, Virginia, where Sadollah is set to face IFL veteran Brad Blackburn, we’ll know more.

“For the most part, eighty-percent of the year I’m in Las Vegas, training and stuff,” says the 29-year-old, who now calls Xtreme Couture in Sin City his homebase – a fact that makes for one heck of a commute whenever he wants to see familiar faces. “I wish I had a teleportation device so I could go back and visit my family and friends instantly, but I don’t.”

Does Richmond’s proximity to Fairfax – it’s roughly a two-hour drive between them – mean more pressure to perform at UFC Fight Night 20? “I’m just excited to be fighting for the UFC anytime and anywhere it is,” says Sadollah. “I mean, I think there’s pressure in all fights, but not because it’s closer to home or anything. I will definitely have more family and my whole support network there.”

Other than shifting where he spends most of his time, has life changed much for Sadollah since winning the TUF competition? “A little bit. If I could go back in time and show myself what life would be like three years in the future, with the fights and Las Vegas and stuff…” and his voice trails off. “It changes things, to say the least. Not that I’m a celebrity or something, but people do come up and kind of talk to you on the street.” He adds, “I definitely have to be careful how I act in public.”

In Blackburn, Sadollah faces an opponent with over 25 fights on his resume, and his record includes knockouts over studs like Jay Hieron and Brazilian beast Delson Heleno and wars against Ryo Chonan and Chris Wilson. On paper, Sadollah should have his hands full. His thoughts on Blackburn?

“Tough guy. Should be a challenging fight, and I like challenging fights.”

What can fans expect from the man whose sambo skills enabled him to submit CB Dolloway twice with the same technique and whose striking skills saw him weather big punching Baroni’s best? “I don’t really go into fights with a mindset that I’m going to grapple or strike with someone,” says Sadollah. “I go into fights doing what I do better and go from there.”

Aside from a controversial loss at UFC 101 (a premature stoppage against Johny Hendricks), that modus operandi has worked for Sadollah. Time will tell if it holds up.