Andy’s Blog

Thanks again for checking in on my blog and lately a lot of people have been asking me how I feel about what is being said about me online in the MMA forums and such.  Does it make me mad?  Does it
bother me?  Am I flattered with the positive fans?

Within the last six months I’ve had everything from people writing to tell me that they are going to kick my ass if they see me on the street, that I should go down in weight all the way to being told
yesterday that on the Sherdog forums there was a thread that Matt Hughes and me would be a good fight at 170 lbs.  (Matt, just so you know, I never started that thread, hahahah!)

I’ve been fortunate to have met a lot of really, really good people in the sport over the years but one of the best has got to be Jens Pulver.  I remember on the show I developed a dislike for him as I
viewed him as the enemy to my coach, BJ Penn.  One day early in the season we had heard that Jens was coming over to the house and a few of us immediately got disgusted and decided that if Jens came over, then we wanted to leave or we would stay in our rooms to avoid contact with the “enemy”.

Of course, as the problems began to escalate with BJ and myself, I began to know the real Jens and without a doubt, the guy is one of the most impressive human beings I’ve come in contact with.  The fact that he wanted me on his team despite all the animosity and was willing to overlook me being front-row center and raising my hand to proclaim that I wanted nothing to do with him, said a lot about Jens as a coach, a person and as a Christian.  Anybody that spends 5 minutes with Mr. Pulver will become an instant fan, and I surely did.

Anyway, one day on the show Jens had mentioned to me why he stopped frequenting the forums and MMA sites.  It wasn’t just all the criticism and negativity that exists there, it was when somebody
decided to start sending him anonymous death threats.  I stopped for a second and realized then that no matter what, no matter who you are or what you have accomplished, there are always going to be people who just have the need to say something bad about you or something negative.  I mean, if people just criticized me, that would be one thing, but to tell a UFC World Champion, pioneer and legend that he sucks and you’re going to harm him, now you have to start wondering about what kind of people are on the other side of that keyboard.  I’m not at liberty to discuss Jens’ life, but if you knew what he has had to overcome to reach where he is now, you’d be as disgusted as me when you think about some of the cowards that think it’s cool to trash him online or send him threats.
But I always keep his story in mind when I come across the negative and when compared to how many good and great fans that follow the sport and send messages of support and see the good instead of always focusing on the bad, then it makes it all good.

So for those of you that dislike me, hopefully someday that will change but even if it does not, my job is to train and perform as hard as I can and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability.  To the people who have supported me, it is greatly appreciated and I plan on rewarding your faith as soon as possible!

Friends & Fans,
Thanks for all the support and messages in regards to my recent fight at the UFC.  First and foremost, I am grateful to have such wonderful friends and fans who are there for me before, during and most importantly, after my fights. Thank you.
The fight itself, I felt great and was very, very excited to be finally fighting in the Octagon.  This dream of mine started back when I was 19 years old and along the way there have been a lot of ups and downs, but through it all the vision of me fighting in the UFC someday kept me going and while the fight did not go the way I had planned, the last 10+ years of sacrifice and hard work was well, well worth it.  Being in the Octagon was a feeling I can’t describe, all I can say was that it was one of the purest moments of my life and it was
awesome.
All the credit goes to Cole Miller; before the fight began he came up to me and in one of the classiest moves ever, he shook my hand and said it was an honor to share the cage with me.  I felt the same way and knew it was going to be a good fight.  In the early goings, I felt the fight was going well and was starting to get into a good rhythm.  Cole made a great move and deserved the victory and proved that on that night, he was better than me.  Congratulations to him. 
As for me, I’m VERY anxious to resume training again and fight ASAP.  Not sure who, where, what or when, but all of you that know me know that as with all the other peaks and valleys in my life, I too, will see this one through.  Thank you again for all the support, we’ll get em’ next time!
I’m going on a vacation with my family so will be “out of the office” for the next week; I’ve only seen my family a few times since January and it’s time to play the role of the good son but look forward to seeing you all again soon thereafter.  I’ve included a link to an article that the UFC did that explains my whole family situation for
good laughs, and yes, my parents STILL don’t know, hahahah.
http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=6500&pid=681