"One week after Amir Sadollah secured his position as MMA's best-known 1-0 fighter, the Richmond, Va. resident is still adjusting to life in the UFC.
Sadollah shared his experiences since his finale victory over C.B. Dolloway while a guest on a recent edition of TAGG Radio (
TAGG Radio Network - Home of TAGG Radio & The Lights Out Show!), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (
UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com).
"The chicks are swimming," Sadollah joked. "It's kind of crazy. You know what? The guys are swimming. It's kind of weird. It's like male groupies. I appreciate the support and everything, but, yeah. They don't feel bashful about coming up and giving me hugs."
Despite never having competed as a professional before the filming of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest," Sadollah stormed through the first ever 32-man "TUF" field. The 28-year-old even had to face the widely considered favorite Dolloway twice along the way.
"I was really not disappointed," Sadollah said of being matched with Dolloway a second time. "To tell you the truth, I was happy ... because [Dolloway] was a guy I didn't want to fight. Of everyone I fought on the show, that was the guy I most didn't want to fight again. So in a tough-love kind of way, that was the best thing for me. I was like, 'Well if I want to win the show, I've got to fight the toughest fight.' And that was the toughest fight, and I had to do it twice."
Not that Dolloway was the only challenge on the road to victory.
"They were all the hardest fights I've had in their own respects," Sadollah said of his other bouts on the show. "Steve Byrnes was a hard fight for me, you know. It was my first fight in the UFC. Actually it was my first fight ever in a cage, with pro rules, elbows and knees to the face. That was kind of a lot at once.
"My fight with Matt (Brown), you saw that. It was a slugfest. He's probably the best striker I've fought in an MMA fight. Gerald (Harris), you saw it. I've never been picked up like that since I was a kid."
To complicate matters in Sadollah's first bout with Dolloway, the wear and tear of three fights in as many weeks left the newcomer with a difficult physical condition to battle.
"I was hurt," Sadollah admitted. "My fight with Matt (Brown), I got something called benign positional vertigo. That's from getting hit in the head, which Matt Brown did to me a couple of times. It basically just gives you dizzy spells. And I was really scared, too, because I noticed it after my fight, then your next fight is a week after that.
"I thought I had a concussion. I was training, and every time you change positions, the whole world, like, your perception of reality just spins. It's damage to the organ in your ears that handles your balance. I thought I was concussive. I thought I had brain damage. So going into that fight with C.B., it's to the point where they stand me up and I'm bloody and I'm smiling. And I'm smiling because the whole ring is like spinning, and I thought something was wrong with my brain."
But Sadollah persevered and was able to pull a pair of upsets over the much-hyped Dolloway to win the title of this season's "The Ultimate Fighter." And what assortment of prizes did ZUFFA provide its newest star?
"A contract and a smile," Sadollah joked. "I didn't even really think about it. Then everybody after the fight and online and stuff was like, 'Yeah, where's your car and your watch?' I was like, 'Yeah, where is my car and my watch?' But, nah, it's OK. There's definitely other benefits that come along with it."
Several cast members from "The Ultimate Fighters," including champions Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans and others, have eventually elected to compete in a weight class differing from their season's contested level. Sadollah hinted he could be next in line.
"I used to think that I was a decent sized 185(-pounder) before I got on that show," Sadollah said. "And now I see that I am a small 185. [Cutting weight] is something I would consider."
Undecided for now, Sadollah plans on enjoying a much-deserved break before planning his ascent up the ranks of his ultimately chosen division.
"I haven't had any formal conversations with anyone," Sadollah said of his future plans. "Just the general vibe I get is I get some downtime, and then (it's) back with the nose to the grinding stone. I'm guessing in the next three or four months, I'll have something."
Sadollah also shared details of his amateur training background, as well as why he may decide to move to Las Vegas. To hear the full interview, available for free in the TAGG Radio archives.
This story, written by John Morgan, was produced by TAGG Radio (
TAGG Radio Network - Home of TAGG Radio & The Lights Out Show!) specially for MMAjunkie.com (
UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com). The show -- which is hosted by fighter/broadcaster Frank Trigg, Gorgeous George and ace producer Goze -- books some of the biggest names in MMA. Download all the former episodes at
TAGG Radio Network - Home of TAGG Radio & The Lights Out Show!, or tune into TAGG Radio's live shows Monday-Friday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT."
The future's uncertain for Amir Sadollah | MMAjunkie.com
Good read, I hope Amir sticks around for awhile.
The future's uncertain for Amir Sadollah 
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