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John Albert vs Dustin Pague

John Albert

TRAINING: The short and sweet of it is every morning Mon thru Thur I work with Saohin Srisuk and do tons of rounds of mitt then bag work. Mon, Wed, Fri I run mid day. Tue, Thur strength and conditioning mid day, and spar every night around 6. With Fri morning sparring I’m kinda done and over the week of hard training early.

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started MMA with Dennis Hallman probably around August 2006. A friend asked me to help him out with wrestling and he said he would help me with striking. I was all for it. I truly loved martial arts and really wanted to learn and I figured this was my opportunity. My friend brought me down to Dennis's gym, Victory Athletics, to start training. I was hooked, and I loved everything about MMA. There were so many ways to defeat someone, it was like a physical chess match, and me being such a competitive person, I loved the challenge MMA had to offer. Three months into training, Dennis asked if I wanted to fight my first amateur fight. I said yes and it is all history from there

What ranks and titles have you held? None

Do you have any heroes? I grew up watching all the Jackie Chan, and Jet Li films; they were the ones who got me loving martial arts, and of course Dragon Ball Z. My true heroes are the people in the armed forces, the people that lay down their lives to give us the freedoms that I enjoy today. My Grandpa Gresham, uncle Gordon Ross, and brother Jeremy Delozier have all served. My uncle is a Master Sgt. and he still serves today. He is probably my biggest hero. Of course my father, who's always been there and supported me, and my mother, who raised me to be the man I am today.

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? It’s truly hard to explain how I feel to be fighting in the UFC. It just feels right, like this is where I am supposed to be. This is what I am supposed to be doing, fighting for the UFC. I’m actually living up to my own goals and dreams. I have never been happier in my life.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? No college or degree

What was your job before you started fighting? I started as a residential electrician for 2.5 years and then became a commercial electrician for 4 years. I worked full-time all the way up to The Ultimate Fighter

Specific accomplishments in amateur competition? I won a belt against one of Matt Hume’s top amateurs, won a belt for one of the largest MMA shows in Washington and defended it, and went to Oregon and won a belt there. They are just amateur belts, and there are thousands of amateur belts out there - I want the 10 lbs of gold the UFC has to offer

Ranks in any martial arts styles: Brown belt in Cowboy Karate

Favorite grappling technique: Triangle, goose neck

Favorite Striking technique: Jab, right uppercut to the body