UFC veteran Tim Credeur (12-3) is perhaps best known by MMA fans for his role on the seventh season of Spike TV's popular reality show, The Ultimate Fighter. The cool, scrappy jiu-jitsu player with good standup and a laid back attitude fought his way into the show's semi-finals where he dropped hard fought battles to Jesse Taylor and eventual finalist C.B. Dollaway.

While fans may know him best for his time spent on the show, Credeur may have really made his name in a loss to Nate Quarry last Wednesday. Credeur showed vastly improved hands and almost finished Quarry in the first round of their three round battle, knocking down the iron-chinned veteran several times before Quarry stormed back. The two went toe-to-toe for the duration of the contest in an instant classic which, to no ones surprise, earned "Fight of the Night" honors.

Credeur sat down with FiveKnuckles.com the day after his loss and discussed a variety of issues including his epic battle with Nate Quarry, his TUF days and his good friend Forrest Griffin.

FiveKnuckles.com: How are you feeling after 15 minutes of back-and-forth, non-stop action?

Tim Credeur: I feel good today. He definitely caught me with some right hands, but I think I did a better job keeping my hands up and my chin down. Except when I come in and start landing a lot of punches... you know I start getting over anxious and I'm just going to throw until the wheels fall off. And that's just craziness. I guess it fits my moniker. I try to be smart about it, but sometimes I'm a little too nuts for my own good.

FiveKnuckles.com: How do you feel about your performance last night?

Tim Credeur: I knew Nate Quarry was the kind of guy that would stand there and fight. I don't know if he really believed I was going to stand there too, but I think I showed last night that it was a good fight for me at this point in my career. Having a tough battle with somebody like Nate maybe proves that I deserve to be there. I got a little work to do and think I was a little over-aggressive sometimes, but I'll work on it. I'll be back in the gym next week.

FiveKnuckles.com: What was the plan going into the fight with Quarry?

Tim Credeur: Well, my plan was to keep my distance and use some kicks. I knew he was gonna throw the over-hand right. I tried to use my speed and combinations because we thought we'd be a little faster than Quarry. I think we were right, and I think I won the first round. The problem in the second round was I got too overanxious. Sometimes it's my fault and I'm just aggressive. If I start landing a couple punches, I'm going to run at you. That's just not a good idea, and my boxing coach almost cut my head off. I take it as a learning experience and move forward from here. If I keep making the progress I'm making, we should be in the win column the next time.

FiveKnuckles.com: What do you make of the 'Fight of the Year' rumors circulating, and the growing respect for you as a fighter?

Tim Credeur: It's an honor to be even mentioned as 'Fight of the Year' in the same category as the fights like Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida. I don't think you...