It’s rather odd to take a fight on three weeks’ notice and then have the opponent change on even shorter notice at this level of fighting, but I far prefer this situation to not having a fight at all. Some of you may know that the titleholder in my weight class, Paulo Filho, pulled out of his scheduled title fight with Chael Sonnen for the March 26th card. Now, since the WEC was having a difficult time finding someone to fight Sonnen on short notice, they have decided to bump Bryan Baker up to fighting Sonnen since he is an undefeated WEC contender who might be able to give Sonnen a good challenge. This left me without an opponent.

I’ve just found out that Scott Harper (8-4) has accepted the fight with me. I’m glad for this. Scott may have a few losses but hasn’t dropped a fight since joining American Top Team this last year. He is on a three fight win streak with three submission stoppages. He looks to have a good ground game but not exceptional stand-up. This means that I will be able to stick with my previous gameplan and look for the knockout standing.

My weight was down to 203 today, and I feel good. My hands have been flying well and have good power. I just did my last hard muscular endurance workout at API tonight, so I am at the beginning of my taper week. I will be focusing on lower impact exercises (band work, cardio) and technique. My last night of real sparring was tonight as well. I feel really good.

I’ll be back at the gym in the morning to do some hard grappling, pad work, clinch technique, and some rounds on the airdyne.

This is a good time for me to thank my sponsors. I just got a package in from Warrior Wear today, and I must say that they hooked me up with quite a bit of stuff. I’ll feel snazzy with all of my new pairs of fight shorts, hoodies, and shirts. I also got a load of supplements in from IslandSupplements.com, and I am quite happy with that. I’d also like to thank MMAoverload.com, Nu U Spas, On Point Inc., and the Family Chiropractic Clinic of Rochester, MN.

Peace.