We go one on one with TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah as he breaks down his fights in the house and the fight that crowned him The Ultimate Fighter.

Mmasports: Congrats on winning the Ultimate Fighter man, so what’s next for you?
Amir: Thanks, well I'm not sure who/when my next opponent is, but for now I'm just trying to organize my life and continue to train hard.

Mmasports: So, how did you get started in Martial Arts?
Amir: I never had a solid athletic background, I just started training about five years ago, "from the ground up", so to speak. I heard from a high school friend that there was a Muay Thai school in the area. I went there the very next day, and haven't really stopped training since. I didn't even know what Jiu-Jitsu was when I started, but they had a beginning grappling program as well. I tried them both, and loved everything I was learning.

Mmasports: And how did you make the transition into MMA?
Amir: I trained for a year before I ever competed. I started doing grappling tournaments first, then Muay Thai fights. I ultimately wanted to try an MMA fight, but really wanted to be sure I had a solid base in all aspects of the game before I did.

Mmasports: Did you audition for TUF7 or how did you get on the show?
Amir: A friend called me a couple days before the open tryouts, and told me about it. I had no idea how I would do, but I knew I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try. I did pretty well in the tryouts, got called to Vegas for a second set of interviews, and eventually got "the call" a few weeks later. I actually still have the message the producers left me saying I made the show.

Mmasports: How hard was it, staying in the house with a bunch of guys and having no tv/phones/or contact with the outside world?
Amir: A lesser man would insert a gay joke here, but as you can see, I am clearly above that. It was hard no doubt, but I actually believe it might have been better that way. When you have no access to your usual support network, and no outlet for the stress the only thin left to do is fight. Fight and get better, mentally as well as physically.

Mmasports: With all the personalities on this season of TUF, there has to be some "golden" unseen footage, what’s the funniest thing we didn’t get to see?
Amir: I really feel like we had one of the best seasons as far as laughs go (and fights). So many of the guys on the show were goofballs, there was a lot you didn't get to see. I hope a lot more of it will make it to the DVD, it's definitely worth seeing. I guess one that sticks out to me was this game of charades we played. It was like four days before we left the house, and we were all almost completely stir crazy, and ready to get home. Gerald and Sene made up famous people, animals, jobs, etc., and we had to act it out. To see 16 cage fighters acting out stuff like, "a horse", "fireman", and, "Christina Aguilera", was probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. The absolute best was Schultz trying to act out "Camel Toe". Classic.

Mmasports: Haha that better make it on the extra footage! What was your take on the whole "ordeal" with Jesse, once you were able to watch it?
Amir: I never saw any of the security footage until the episode aired. I heard the story from Dana, and kind of knew what to expect, but it was still wild to see. We had all seen Jesse get rowdy before, but not like that. I guess six weeks of crazy just builds up on you.

Mmasports: Ok, enough of the TUF stuff. I am sure you are getting sick of those question by now...so where are you training now and how is that going?
Amir: I came back home, to relax and spend time with friends and family. It's nice to be home for now, but I'm also using the time to train at my old gyms, and learn some new technique.

Mmasports: Do you have a favorite cheat food?
Amir: Not really, just anything I'm not supposed to have, but I have a weird relationship with junk food. Every time I eat a cheat meal it's like hooking up with a strange girl. Seems like a great idea at first, but halfway through you realize that this cheeseburger isn't good for you and could have a disease. Wait, what are we talking about again?

Mmasports: Haha cheat foods I think...so any word on when we could see you fight again?
Amir: I haven't heard anything yet, but hopefully soon. If I had my way I would fight in the next four months or so, but I'm prepared to fight when they want me.

Mmasports: Ok fun one. If you could play matchmaker for a day, what’s one fight you would make happen?
Amir: I don't know if I'll get in trouble for saying this, but as a fan, I would really love to see Randy and Fedor. Also maybe some cliche hot girl-on-girl fight. We all win those.

Mmasports: Yes we do. And if you get in trouble, I got your back...What about if you could fight one person, past or present, who would it be?
Amir: Hmmm…probably a caveman. But he can't use his club or any of those sharpened rocks on a stick.

Mmasports: Haha…well I noticed you have A-Ha on your myspace, plus your rockin "the steps"…(which I also sport)…so lets talk 80's for a minute. Favorite 80's Movie?
Amir: Kickboxer. I'm not sure that that was technically in the 80's but that is virtually impossible to prove.

Mmasports: Good movie…what about 80's Band?
Amir: Depeche Mode. Don't act like you weren't down with the Mode.

Mmasports: Not gonna deny it, but I was more of a Crue kid…haha…last one favorite 80's TV show?
Amir: Transformers or Voltron. Oooh, that would actually be a good fight, can I change my answer in the matchmaker question?

Mmasports: Haha I will see what I can do...alright man I think that’s all I got for you...anything you wanna close with?
Amir: Besides all the sappy thank you's? San Dimas High School Football rules!

AMIR BREAKS DOWN EACH TUF 7 FIGHT

Steve Byrnes
I didn't know a lot about Steve Byrnes before I fought him. Dante told me the day before weigh-ins that he had fought in the UFC before, so I was a bit nervous, but was excited to be matched up with a UFC vet. I felt to win would mean I deserved to be there. The fight with Steve was tough, and as is the norm for me, I had to weather the storm, and create opportunities.

Gerald Harris
Fighting Gerald was a huge test for me. I hadn't fought such an athletic, explosive guy before, and I wasn't pumped about being dropped on my head. I had seen one of his fights in the IFL before, and watched him shrug off about fifty submission attempts from Leopaldo. I kind of knew it would be better to just get up when possible and look for a big strike.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown was and remains one of my good friends. Every fight in the house posed its own unique challenges, and this one was unique for sure. We were pretty familiar with each other's styles, so it was good to know we were going to bang it out, but we were also very aware of each other's favorite strikes. I honestly was the least nervous for this fight, simply because I respected Matt a lot, and told myself that there was no shame in losing to such a worthy opponent. I was able to take a lot of the pressure off myself this way, and we had a lot of fun in that fight beating the crap out of each other.

CB Dollaway
Fighting CB the first time was my biggest test to date on the show. Not that the others weren't as good, but CB took me into deeper waters than I had ever been before, and I really had to dig deep to pull it out. I was focused on not letting him pass my guard, I had seen what happens when he gets in a dominant position, and I wasn't eager to let it happen to me. For this reason, I wasn't really trying to get up as much; I wanted to play it safe on the ground. I also learned not to be too forwardly aggressive on my feet; he took me down with ease whenever I did that.

CB Dollaway - TUF 7 Finale
The second fight with CB was different for sure, especially when you couple it with the fact we were fighting live, and for such a huge honor. I stayed mobile at first, but got greedy going forward for just a second, and was on my back. CB almost had me trapped in a few really bad positions at first. At one point he had my arm held behind my back, and almost had me in side mount with my arm trapped between his legs. Both times I realized I had better do something, and quickly. I trained for, and expected CB to be over top of me, throwing down hard shots, so I worked a lot on throwing up kicks just to keep him either close or far away. Luckily he came down closer, and I was able to catch the arm bar. If you watch my face when I get up, I was in utter shock. I can honestly say I am still kind of taking it all in.