FiveKnuckles.com: Do you feel pressure being under those circumstances?

Dennis Hallman: Of course there's a lot of pressure in my scenario. The way that MMA pays out, a fighter gets half the money to show and the other half to win. The full amount is never guaranteed. There's definitely pressure on me to perform well, but I know when I prepare correctly, the pressure gets cut in half.

FiveKnuckles.com: What are you expecting out of John Howard who is trying to build off of a 2-0 record in the UFC this Saturday?

Dennis Hallman: I expect John Howard to be athletic and explosive. I try not to worry too much about what my opponent is going to do. I have to do what I need to do and he's going to react to me. I can't worry about reacting to him because I perform better like that. I expect a hungry John Howard. I expect a John Howard that wants to keep the fight standing up. That would be the game plan if I was fighting me. I wouldn't want to face myself on the ground so I'm expecting a stand up fighter in John Howard and I've prepared for that.

FiveKnuckles.com: Where have you been training and who's been helping you get ready?

Dennis Hallman: I'm from a small town in Washington state called Yelm which is twenty minutes east of Olympia. I'm training with a local boxing guy, Carlos Hernandez up at Next Level Boxing. I've trained my wrestling with three-time Veterans World Champion Brad Swartz at Vision Quest and also with my guys at Victory Athletics. I did some sparring with the guys from Brave Legion; Rick Story and Mike Pierce. And there's been a bunch of local fighters that want to be a part of this so they've been taking time out during the day to help me out.

FiveKnuckles.com: One would be led to believe that due to your extensive background... you would certainly have the mental edge over a young fighter.

Dennis Hallman: It doesn't have to be that way. I think the only advantage there, whether it is mental or physical, is gained in preparation for the fight. If a fighter does everything in training that he can possibly do to get prepared and the cardio is there; that's all you can ask for. There's absolutely nothing more that I can do personally to get ready for this upcoming fight. I laid it all on the line in training so I'm the most confident I've ever been.

FiveKnuckles.com: Not too many fighters in this sport can say they beat the legendary Matt Hughes. In fact, you not only beat him once, you've done it twice in a combined time of thirty eight seconds. What have those victories done to boost your confidence over the years?

Dennis Hallman: In my eyes, the victories over Matt Hughes were two fights that I just performed well in. To me, Matt Hughes was just another guy I beat. I was confident that I could win both of those fights....