Long time UFC fan favorite Ed Herman has had his work cut out for him over the last six months. Not only did he lose his last fight to up-and-comer Aaron Simpson, he tore his ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) in the process requiring reconstructive surgery and a lengthy rehab process to boot.

Although he's had his share of ups-and-downs, the 29-year-old is on the comeback trail with only one goal in mind: to be back in the UFC stronger and better than ever. Despite the devastating injury, "Short Fuse" still burns strong with much left to prove in the sport of warriors.

The Ultimate Fighter season 3 runner-up is 19-7 throughout his mixed martial arts career with impressive wins over Dave Menne, Scott Smith, and David Loiseau. Herman looks to even out his UFC record upon returning to the Octagon in 2010.

Tommy Kail of FiveKnuckles.com recently sat down with Herman to discuss his career and to see how he's holding up on the long road back.

FiveKnuckles.com: Ed, how's the knee holding up at this point and where do you currently stand in the rehab process?

Ed Herman: I had two major surgeries and my recovery is going great, I have no complaints at all. I'm a little over three months into the process. It's usually six months before an athlete can be released for full contact from a doctor's standpoint. I had a really good surgeon in Dr. Donald Roberts based out of Portland who also operated on [Portland Trail Blazers Center] Greg Oden's knee when he had the same injury.

FiveKnuckles.com: It's good to see that you've put yourself and your career in good hands by seeking out one of the best surgeon's an athlete can find.

Ed Herman: Yeah, most definitely. Dr. Roberts is one of the best in the entire region and to help the matter, I've been busting my ass from the time I got the procedure done. I was in physical therapy the day after surgery and I've been there two or three times a week since.

FiveKnuckles.com: Ed is there a certain type of training aspect that you can focus on right now having limited use of your lower body?

Ed Herman: For sure. I've definitely been able to keep up on many aspects of my game. I've been working more on my hand speed and my upper body strength. I've also been able to keep my conditioning at a high level. There are many different ways I've been training to keep the pressure off of my knee and I'm doing whatever I can do to gain some type of advantage while I'm on the sidelines. It's been three months and I've been pretty damn active. Now, I haven't been able to spar or wrestle at the pace I'm used to, but I'm getting there. I'm actually pretty stoked right now because it's a long road back and it's been frustrating at times. Dealing with an injury like this would put a dent in anybody's plans, but I plan to be back as soon as I can. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that things keep going as well as they have.

FiveKnuckles.com: Were you having problems with the knee leading up to your fight with Aaron Simpson last August?

Ed Herman: No. No problems at all actually. ...