Jared Hamman: After two FOTN bonuses, I just want to get a "W" (Exclusive Interview)

This Saturday, Jared "The Messenger" Hamman will make his third appearance inside the Octagon, facing C.B. Dollaway in the preliminary action of UFC on Versus 5. Hamman, who won two consecutive Fight of the Night bonuses, will look to solidify his place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after losing a decision to Kyle Kingsbury, KO to Alexander Gustafsson and a Decision victory over now-cut Rodney Wallace.

All-overall, Jared Hamman is currently 11-3 in his Mixed Martial Arts campaign, with 9 KO/TKO and 2 Submission victories. "The Messenger" trains alongside Vladimir Matyushenko at VMAT in El Segundo, South California, as well as with the UFC veteran and Dutch kickboxing extraordinaire Antoni Hardonk at Dynamix is Santa Monica.

In an exclusive interview to LowKick.com, Hamman spoke about his expectations from the fight with C.B. Dollaway, and his future in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Our photographer Scott Hirano (@scotthirano) was at Antoni Hardonk's Dynamix in Santa Monica for a photoshoot of Hamman's last training session before he takes off to Milwaukee.

Make sure you follow Jared Hamman on Twitter @JaredHammanMMA. Also, to all the wine lovers out there, participate in Jared's "MMA is fine as wine" contest, and you might win two bottles of "The Messenger" wine.

Enjoy!

You're fighting C.B. Dollaway this weekend. What can you tell about your training camp coming to this fight?
Training camp is going really well. I had many coaches coming to help me out. I trained today with Antoni Hardonk at his new gym, Dynamix, and really confident that I can get that "W" and have all the tools to with this fight. There's a lot of good people who helped me to prepare for this fight.

And about C.B. as a fighter?
I like CB's style. He's not going out there to lay and pray. He's coming to fight. So I enjoy his style, and expected a really exciting fight for the fans.  I will go for it, and I expect him to go for it.

Dollaway is well-known for his wrestling. Do you feel fully prepared to stop his takedowns?
I trained a lot at Grudge Training Center in Denver, Colorado with Trevor Wittman and Nate Marquardt. For the past few weeks I've been training at Team Quest in Temecula, so like I said before, I believe I have all the necessary tools to win this fight.

This is your first fight at 185lbs weight class. What's the reason behind moving down in weight classes, and how rough was the weight cut?
I want to be more professional with my approach.  At 205 I didn't have to diet a lot, so it was pretty easy for me to make weight. After my last fight I realized I want to be the best as I can – and it means to be more disciplined and professional. At 205, my original weight was 215, and right now as we speak I'm closer to 190. My dietitian is PR Cole (fuelthefighter.com), and she made a fantastic job with my nutrition coming to this fight.

You're currently 1-2 in the UFC, coming off a Decision loss to Kyle Kingsbury. Do you feel like your job is on the line against C.B. Dollaway?
Yeah. I mean, everyone knows that with a few losses in the UFC you're on the line. Sure. But I try to keep it out of my mind. You don't know when your last fight is going to be, so it's just about going out there to compete. So I enjoy every opportunity I get to compete. I just want to go out there and enjoy the fight.

You won two Fight of the Night bonuses. It's a great achievement, and I can name only a few fighters in the UFC who won two back-to back bonuses. Is that something you will have in mind this Saturday? To get another bonus?
It's more important to get the win. Of course I would love to get another bonus, but getting that "W" is more important for me. I lost my last fight to Kyle Kingsbury, and to tell you the truth, I'd prefer the win over getting a bonus. If I get "Fight of the Night" it's cool, but I need that win.

Is there someone you would like to fight in the UFC Middleweight division?
I haven't looked really deep into division. I'm concentrated on CB Dollaway and making my weight for this fight. I appreciate the opportunity to fight someone of CB's caliber, and I'm not looking past him.

As a fighter, do you like to fight against respectful fighters (Vitor Belfort), or someone who talks trash (Chael Sonnen)?
I'd rather fight someone professional, someone who has respect. So I'd choose Vitor. In my opinion, guys who are talking smack about their opponents are unprofessional. It's hard to respect them back.

What's your prediction for the fight with C.B. Dollaway?
I fight my heart out to get the finish, and I know that C.B. fights the same way. I'm going to give my 100%, fight my butt off and win that fight. So my prediction is that it's going to be an exciting fight that will not go to the judges.

So basically, a Knockout?
Yes! Exactly.

There's also something I would like to ask you about. I checked your Twitter and it looks like you're a wine fan?
Yeah. It's actually a pretty cool thing. They made a wine named after me, it's called "The Messenger".

Alright. Would you like to mention anyone?
Of course, I would like to thank God for all the good things in my life. Vladimir Matyushenko, Antoni Hardonk, Team Quest, Grudge Training Center and all my fans who are following me. I'll pay you back on Saturday.