Ed Herman: Man, that's a hard one. Fighting is what I do. What I feel at that time is hard to put into words. Any athlete just feels a passion for what they do and I think it's more visible in a fighter because you're going to war and you know it's not going to be comfortable or easy. There's just so much on the line every time I go out there, I just find myself digging deep to get as focused as possible to perform the way that I know I'm able to.

FiveKnuckles.com: It's almost like the fans seem to know you all too well and a lot of that stems from seeing you grow as a fighter since your days on the Ultimate Fighter season 3.

Ed Herman: Well, I love all the fans that have backed me up from the show up until now. It was pretty cool to have been on that show and get a chance to let people see who I am. I think people can definitely relate to me better when they see me step in there because of that fact alone. At the same time, the show definitely twists people's personalities around a bit. I had good time though and I wouldn't change anything (laughs).

FiveKnuckles.com: Well, you had one of the more inspirational runs on the Ultimate Fighter that I can remember. Can you describe a little bit of that experience?

Ed Herman: It was frustrating for me from the very beginning because I didn't have good coaching and I wasn't on the team I wanted to be on. I also had to wait a long time to fight; I remember I didn't fight until the very end, and then I fought twice in a row. Being locked in the house, under their rules, and not being able to talk on the phone was hard. It was a new experience for me at the time, much different than anything I could've expected.

FiveKnuckles.com: Season 3 was a lot like season 10 because everybody was dogging Ken Shamrock as a coach.

Ed Herman: (Laughs) Yeah, it was like this last one with Rashad [Evans] and Quinton [Jackson].

FiveKnuckles.com: Right. It seems to be a win/win situation for a young fighter going into the house with Tito Ortiz or Rashad Evans teaching you the ropes, but if your coach doesn't show much interest, I'm sure that changes the whole game.

Ed Herman: That's actually where it counts. It helps having the support of the coaches more than you would know. That's what makes or breaks a fighter on that show. Having people there to mentally support you through the whole process is huge and if you don't have that, you're kind of off on the island all by yourself.

FiveKnuckles.com: So I take it you're still a fan of the show and tune in every now and again?

Ed Herman: Yeah, I still watch the show. This past season actually reminded me of the season that I was on so I could understand what some of those guys were going through. You can say what you want about the Ultimate Fighter, but...