FiveKnuckles.com: What is it that makes Carwin an elite fighter?

Brendan Schaub: Shane comes from that wrestling background, his base is phenomenal. You will never feel anything like it. He'll go with jiu-jitsu black belts, other division I wrestlers, and we've had some big name wrestlers in here ya know; they come in here and they just get eaten up by him. His ground game is ree-dic-u-lous! What's crazy to see is you'll see him stand with guys. Christian Wellisch he knocked out cold. Gabriel Gonzaga... knocked out cold. The scary part about Shane is he wants to be on his feet. His stand-up game is evolving and he's knocking elite athletes out. But his ground game is unbelievable.

FiveKnuckles.com: Testing yourself against an elite fighter like Carwin every day, how do you think your skills compare? What do you bring to the cage?

Brendan Schaub: I bring my heart, my work ethic, as a fighter you gotta have a fighter's heart. They used to call me lion heart when I was little kid (smiles). As far as physical attributes, definitely my boxing; I was a Golden Gloves champ. Jui-jitsu too and I think just being well-rounded and training with the best guys around. Wrestling with Shane has brought me to a new level. I've got a couple of tricks for takedown defense. Before wrestling with Shane, I wrestled a little bit in middle school and high school but not to the extent of Shane. When the UNC wrestling team is in season, I also train and wrestle with them. Shane and I were actually talking about this the other day. I feel like I can compete with any heavyweight in the world. I know Shane can beat any heavyweight in the world, as far as me, I'm right there. If there is any knock on me or anyone looks at my resume, it would definitely be my experience though. I'm 4-0 as a pro but I do have Jui-Jitsu and boxing as a background too.

FiveKnuckles.com: What are some of the things you feel that you need to improve as a fighter?

Brendan Schaub: Just being more relaxed in a fight and not getting over-excited. After every fight I look back and think it was terrible, I looked so sloppy, what could I have done better, etc. My last fight Spalevic tucked under and left his body wide open while I'm still aiming for his head. I should have went to the body. My body shots are probably one of my better punches and I didn't go to the body. It's just experience, stuff like that, staying calm and taking advantage of what my opponent gives me.

Check back later this week for part two of our exclusive sit down with Brendan Schaub. In part two, Schaub addresses Jose Canseco's MMA aspirations, gives insight into Bobby Lashley's game, and compares Shane Carwin's size 5x hands to a big hamburger with five bratwursts attached to it.