I got a little bit of the Marine mentality from my dad, I guess. You can't but help absorb the culture you're around.

You don't really realize the effect those things have on you when you're growing up but then when you look back you can see how they molded you.

The sport in 2000 wasn't as big as it is now [in 2008].

I did a lot of smoker fights and fought pretty much every week since Pat wouldn't let me fight until he was sure I was ready. I was also boxing and so I had 30 unofficial fights or more of those.

I remember coming across some DVDs of the UFC and so I started watching that and became a fan of it. It was a little boring because of all the grabbing and holding and I fast-forwarded through a lot of it, but I still watched because I like martial arts.

A lot of military kids make a lot of moves but I only made the one, so it wasn't really an issue for me.

My parents were divorced and my dad was in the Marines. I lived in California until I was 10 then we moved to Bettendorf, Iowa when I was in the fourth grade. I had an older brother so it made it a little easier to adjust to things.