Ed Herman: It's nice to let my body get all healed up and focus on some of the smaller things, but I've been setback with injuries before so it's getting to be a pain in the ass. I'm just doing my rehab and the added pressure of having a fight to train for just isn't there so I can relax a little bit, but not for long. I'd much rather be fighting and making my living, that's for sure.

FiveKnuckles.com: Being on the sidelines, I'm sure you've had a chance to become more of a fan of the sport and can see that many fighters are being affected by injuries these days. Is there anything that fighters can do differently to prevent injuries in training or overall in general?

Ed Herman: There certainly is. That's something I've been working on personally over the past couple years. I've been trying to take better care of my body. As I get a little older, I'm trying to go about this a bit smarter. Things like training the right way and conditioning really make a difference. I've recently been doing chiropractic and massage therapy along with all kinds of physical therapy and anything else I can get my hands on. I think the more we do that, the more we evolve. We now have more trainers around and more people helping us become smarter as fighters.

If you fight in the UFC, you should be confident enough in your ability to fight the tough fight. I don't think a severely intense training camp is needed when you're fighting at the highest level because the risk isn't worth it. Besides that, there are many different aspects a fighter can train to make sure he's confident and ready come fight night. The old wrestling mentality for dealing with injuries is to say "fuck it" and work through it. That's how it was for me growing up and I never really grew out of that. That's a hard habit to break for a fighter, trust me. These days, you need to listen to your body. A fighter can train in many different ways to stay in good shape. The smarter, more successful athletes know when to let off of the gas pedal and that's what you see with guys who are in their thirties and are world champions like Anderson Silva or Chuck [Liddell] who was champ for a long time. You learn how to take care of yourself as your career goes on.

FiveKnuckles.com: Do you think there's anything the UFC can do differently to make sure fighters take better care of themselves?

Ed Herman: I don't know if there's anything the UFC can do about it. It's on the fighters as athletes to take proper care of themselves. Every time a fighter goes down, there's someone waiting in the balance to step right in. Competition is at an all-time high in the UFC and they're shipping dudes out just as fast as they're bringing them in.

FiveKnuckles.com: Right, and I only make reference of that because there are other organizations watching the UFC's every move namely Strikeforce who has already moved in on top names from the UFC in their push for notoriety.

Ed Herman: I mean having a good product is one thing, but any successful organization comes down...