As a member of Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, Rich Attonito’s run to become champion reached an abrupt halt when he suffered a broken hand in his first round fight with Kyacey Uscola.
Sent to the sidelines for the duration of the show, Attonito finally got his chance to show the world his skills as he faced Jamie Yager on the main card of The Ultimate Fighter Finale.
Capitalizing on the opportunity, Attonito scored a 2nd round technical knockout victory over Yager, and undoubtedly assured himself future fights in the UFC.
BumpyKnuckle.com was able to speak with Rich before the fight, and get his thoughts on fighting Yager, training with famed American Top Team, and his time spent in the TUF house.
BumpyKnuckle.com: A lot of guys had issues with Yager on the show but you seemed to get along with him. Were you surprised that the UFC picked you to fight him?
Rich Attonito: Yes and no. I didn’t really assume that I was going to be fighting anybody in particular if I would be fighting at all. So I guess when I heard the news I was happy about the matchup. I know a lot of other guys voiced a real desire to fight him but I thought maybe the matchup with him made sense because he did fight two guys from American Top Team on the show. I think logically that would’ve been the next fight in the quarterfinals had I not broken my hand.
I don’t see it as too bizarre. I guess people would assume he would fight one of the other guys who had personal problems with him and I guess some people wanted to see those guys instead because of that, but that doesn’t mean those fight are going to happen. I think him and I are very exciting fighters and the matchmakers thought that putting two exciting guys together would be a great exciting fight to kick off the main card.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Some people might be surprised that Yager is even fighting considering the fact he didn’t answer the bell for the third round in his last fight in the house. How do you feel about that?
Rich: Him not answering the bell for the third round definitely puts a stigmatism on him but you know it was two great, exciting rounds. Yager draws a lot of attention and I’m sure there are people that want to see him win, but there’s probably more that want to see him get his ass kicked. And sometimes the sport and entertainment in general is about ratings and people having an interest in something where the emotions they get from it are positive or negative. As long as they’re getting a reaction there’s that interest that they are captivated to watch.
He’s a big draw and has got a lot of attention. People have wanted to see him get shut up. He’s not a bad guy at all, I actually get a long with him really well, but he does say some things that put himself in a position. Maybe the UFC just wants me to shut him up. I don’t know.
BumpyKnuckle.com: How long has it been since the show finished and you knew you were fighting him?
Rich: The show was done March 4 and then I found out I was fighting Yager one of the last days in April. So we had about a 6 or 7 week period we knew ahead of time. That gives you some time to prepare and formulate a gameplan and improve upon a few things. For the most part you’re going to go in and see a lot of what you saw from that fighter on the show.
BumpyKnuckle.com: How long have you been at American Top Team? How has it been training there?
Rich: Oh man, it’s been great. I’ve been there since February 2006 so a little over 4 years now. American Top Team has changed so many things for me. That’s why I moved down there from New Jersey to take my fight game to a whole other level. To do that, you’ve got to be surrounded by the top guys. If you wanna improve you have to have guys to train with and get beat up on. You need guys that are better than you and help you learn and get to their level. Going there and having the level of talent and fighers at the gym has helped me improve way farther beyond had I stayed in New Jersey.
The trainers and the team atmosphere are great and I can’t say enough good things about American Top Team for myself. It’s been a great experience. Ricardo Liborio is awesome. He’s embraced me since the day I came and really helped me improve along with so many of the other coaches like Howard Davis, my boxing coach who was on the show.
I have so many thanks to give to so many people who have helped me improve. I know when I step in the Octagon to fight whoever; chances are I’ve seen a lot tougher guys in practice everyday. It doesn’t mean I overlook anybody, I never underestimate an opponent cause that’s one of the worst things you could do, but when your training with top level guys day after day and week and week and year after year; when you get in there you know there’s no question on whether you’ve go the right training. It helps out a lot.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Did you enjoy your time on the show?
Rich: I enjoyed it. It was a great experience. Obviously breaking my hand was disappointing and hard to deal with at times but overall it was a great experience and I would do it again.
There are things about being on the show that are tough to deal with. Sometimes the living situation with people and the fact you can’t have telephone, TV, books, music or magazines; those are the types of things that make some days in the house crawl by. You’re secluded from family and friends and that makes it tough but the good that you’re getting from it far outweighs that.
It’s great to be on the set of the production of a TV show and be surrounded by some of the names in the sport that we had around us. Being able to interact with Dana White and everything is a lot of guys dream.
BumpyKnuckle.com: Anything you’d like to add?
Rich: Big thanks to all my family and friends and American Top Team. Buffalo Wings & Rings in Coconut Creek, Florida; Alex Mendoza has been really helpful there sponsoring me. And Institute of Human Performance and the UFC for giving me this opportunity.
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