FiveKnuckles.com: Stories like that seem all too familiar these days with many fighters backing out due to injury. Most fans don't like to see it happen that way, but it does provide an opportunity for somebody new to make a name. Being that these instances have directly affected your fight career, how do you feel about the injury bug that's been going around?

Mackens Semerzier: You're right about that. The injury bug is going around like crazy. I'm glad you asked me this question because it's something I've been dying to talk about... It's not that fighters are getting injured or there are more injuries happening now, it's just fighters are now conscious and they know the way the business works. If you lose a fight, you're one step closer to the exit, bottom line. If you go hurt into a fight and lose, nobody cares. You can't go back and tell the matchmaker that your knee was busted up or whatever else may have been the case. I mean they know fighters fight hurt all the time, but at the same time, they know there are only so many spots available and only so many top level fights can take place in a year's time. In saying that, you can't have too many guys fighting because the good fighters would only be fighting once or twice a year even when they're perfectly healthy.

Waggney told me this too. After the fight, he said he was injured and he should've pulled out. In my head I'm thinking, "I'm a fighter, this is what I do." I had injuries in all of my fights before I got to the show. I had some serious bumps and bruises, but instead of backing out, I pushed on through and it wasn't like I was fighting for a ton of money. I was fighting for a couple hundred bucks, but that's what you do when you want to fight.

FiveKnuckles.com: So you're saying the fighters are beginning to see the way the business works so they're looking out for their best interests?

Mackens Semerzier: Of course... and wouldn't you be too? Doesn't everybody do the same thing? I understand what's going on now, but before I was getting pissed off thinking all these fighters were scratching and jumping out the fights. I understand now that this is a business and when you're fighting for the money that you're using to support your family, you can't ruin that chance. On the long term, if a fight changes, you have enough time to prepare. On the short term, if you ruin that chance and go out to make some money and you lose, you're one step closer to the door. If you fight a tough fight in your next fight and you lose again, now you're out. It's probably not the right thing to do, but...