Born in Nampa, Idaho, heavyweight Justin Eilers made his Octagon debut at UFC 49: Unfinished Business, but he didn’t always expect to be a Mixed Martial Artist.

"I was playing football at Iowa State and I had a good buddy who’d been doing this fighting for quite a while, Jens Pulver. And after I got done playing ball…You know, I was going to the NFL, but I had a shoulder injury. I had to get surgery on it, and I knew I would be sitting for a year. So I contacted Jen and said, ‘Hey, I’d like to come and do some fighting until the combines come around next year for the NFL.’ Then I moved down to Bettendorf, Iowa, and started doing it with him. But I’d never turn around and go back to playing football because I’m just happy doing this now."

Justin had only been fighting for two years when he first competed in the Octagon against Mike Kyle. At 6’2" and weighing 232 lbs, Eilers casually strode down to the ring, displaying a huge bull neck and shoulders that resembled the proverbial brick amenities-block. UFC announcer Joe Rogan looked for words to describe Justin’s massive physique, then Rogan summed him up by saying: "This dude just looks tough."

When 6’4" Mike Kyle entered the Octagon, the crowd knew they were in for a cracker, and it was apparent the fight wouldn’t be going the distance. At 4.35 into round one, the huge warriors were in a clinch and Big John McCarthy deducted a point from Kyle for delivering knees to Justin’s groin. Eilers was allowed time to recover, then Justin further penalized Kyle by catching him with a solid over-hand right.

Kyle then landed a right to Eilers’s jaw, but Justin seemed oblivious to the punch and countered with a left hook that KO’d Kyle. This brought Justin’s MMA record to 9-2-1, at just 3.50 minutes into round one. In his post-fight interview, Eilers commented: "I want to fight again tonight, man. Do you have another fight going on?"

The Team Miletich fighters were proud of their new-model heavyweight. And the UFC crowd had already taken Justin into their hearts. "I grew up with that guy (Mike Kyle). Nobody out here really liked him anyways. Just from the fight…how he was talking and stuff…and from past events, people saw him walking around all cocky. So everybody was real happy to see me fight him and beat him," laughs Justin.

"Like I say, I’ve known him all my life, so I knew he was a real good athlete. He’s a big, strong guy, so I knew he was going to come at me with everything that he had. He’s trained hard and he’s trying to improve in this sport. He’s definitely working on his hands and on his techniques to better himself. But I just knew what to expect. I’ve seen a few of his fights, and I knew his flaws. I just exploited them when I fought him. He’s not good under pressure. He’s only good when he’s dictating the fight. And he leaves his chin out when he’s punching. Those are two big flaws that I exploited in that fight."

Mike Kyle throws a right at Justin Eilers

Eilers had previously suffered a very controversial defeat against Cabbage at Super Brawl in Hawaii. "It was a really good fight. We just stood the whole time. You know, big bombs…back and forth… But, being in Hawaii, I think they just gave him the split decision. I would like to have dropped him, but I didn’t land the right punch. It was a good scrap though, and great for the fans."

Justin’s main sparring partner for the past two and a half years has been Tim Sylvia. Eilers says the Miletich camp’s heavyweight stable was further strengthened by the inclusion of Mike Whitehead and Ben Rothwell.

"It’s been Tim and me here the longest, and now we have the two other really tough heavyweights. So it’s we four, and that’s good when you have four heavyweights, and they’re all different. Tim’s a tall striker; Mike is a short, stout, really tough wrestler; and then Ben is another big, strong guy. Ben is a lot like Tim, I guess. He’s a 6’5" guy who’s big and athletic as well.

"So it’s awesome. We’ve got a really good group right now, as heavyweights. And everybody is different. As far as training for fights goes, we’ve got a guy for every type of fighter you’re going to face. By the time we get to the fight we’re pretty well prepared."

Team Miletich is one of the world’s most successful MMA training grounds, regularly providing a number of fighters for each UFC. At Super Saturday, Tim Sylvia, Robbie Lawler and Justin Eilers will all be representing the Iowa gym. And Miletich world-welterweight champion Matt Hughes is likely to be defending his title against Frank Trigg in April at UFC 52.

Eilers agrees just being from Pat’s gym gives its members a ring of confidence when entering the Octagon: "Yeah, definitely. We’ve talked about that a lot, because there have been so many world champions from this gym. And just the history and prestige of the gym has to give you a little more motivation in the room. It gives you a little more confidence when you go to events and fight, just because of what you’re representing: the guys that have fought before you. And now it’s your turn to leave your legacy.

"And Pat is a good coach. He gets in there and teaches us. He’s in there every day of the week, showing us new stuff. So as far as learning goes, it couldn’t be a better place. They’ve got our pro classes where we pretty much train our butts off and get ready for fights. Then they’ve got beginner classes, and all kinds of different stuff if you want to step back from the hard-core training and just learn for a while. Then you go to the beginners’ class and work on technique. But when you come walking out to the ring with those guys, you feel pretty damn confident."

Justin Eilers replies with a KO left hook

"I don’t know a whole lot about him, but what I do know is that he’s a guy who likes to stand and punch. That’s what I get from him. So it looks like he has some decent power in his hands. I’m pretty much expecting him to come out and try to stand with me and land a big shot to daze me. But the guy has no Jiu Jitsu; he has nothing on the ground; he’s not a very good wrestler…You know, a lot of times when he’s lost, it’s when people have taken him down and pounded on him. I expect him to try standing with me the whole time and get lucky landing a knockout blow, which is not going to happen."

Well, the guys I train with, while preparing for a fight like this…You know, this is my second UFC fight, and there’s no way I can take a step back. I came out and got my first win. But now I can’t take a step back. Consequently, I’m training harder for this fight than I did for the first one. And we’ve got an awesome training camp going right now. Getting hit by these guys…I really doubt Buentello hits harder than they do. We’re used to each other’s power. With the group we’ve got, we’re probably used to getting hit harder by each other than anybody who’s out there could hit us. And all the guys in our room have outstanding chins because we do spar hard. If you’ve got a week chin and it gets exposed, you get knocked out. Eventually everybody in our room gets a hardened chin, so they just don’t get hurt any more.

"No disrespect to Paul Buentello, but I just don’t think he can hit as hard as the guys that I face in the room can. And I expect him to bring everything he’s got, because this is his debut. But I’m just not going to take a step back."

"I never like to go to the ground. I like to be a stand-up fighter. I think that’s what the crowd wants to see. They want to see heavyweights who are willing to get in there and fight, and not make it a wrestling match. Everybody thought I was going to take Cabbage to the ground. I never did. That’s just the type of fighter I want to be known as. I want to be known as the guy who’s going to go in there, and no matter how hard the other guy he’s fighting hits, he’s going to stand up with him and fight. That’s what I plan on doing.

"Now, if I do get in trouble…if I do get caught a little bit, and I do get wobbly, then…then I’ll go for the takedown, and I’ll try to take it to the ground. But I’m always looking to stand. So just expect that from me."

"Everybody always tells me I hit harder than anybody they’ve ever sparred with. Basically, I don’t try to hit hard – I try to bring my punches as fast as possible, and step through, because speed is power in punching. I just punch as fast as I can and as accurately as I can. And that’s the biggest thing, too. A lot of people you face only have one-punch knockout power. But when two, three, or four punches hit you - one after another - that’s what puts people down. And if I link up with one, you can be sure there are two, three or more coming in the same direction…if you’re still standing.

Justin Eilers's BIG right fist

"If you think about it, when you throw a four-punch combination, all four punches aren’t thrown as hard as possible. There are the range finders, maybe the one-two, that are possibly medium powered and used to find the target. Then the three-four come hard. Which means you’re not throwing every punch as hard as you can. You’ve got to find that range. And a lot of the time, the punch that knocks you out is the one you don’t see. That’s where slipping, rolling and parrying comes into play. So say you throw a four-punch combo, the guy comes back; you slip and come right back over the top, hit him, and parry. That’s the stuff that catches them: when you catch them off guard.

"That’s what I work on. I work on my hands a lot, ‘cause you know when you’re fighting, the first thing you fight with is your hands. And then kicks, knees, elbows and then the ground game, that all comes after. But when you’re fighting, you’re fighting with your fists first. That’s why I want to get my hands as good as possible. That’s what I work on: combos, head movement, slipping and parrying, and all that stuff. That’s what I want to be the best at."

"Well, as I said, I’m going to come out and test this guy standing and see what he has, because everybody says that’s his only shot: to stand and land something. So, of course I’m going to be the blockhead and stand with him. That’s the way I am. We’ll test what he has standing up, we’ll test his power, his movement, and basically see what he has. But I predict a knockout. I’ve seen this guy hurt before, and I know I’m definitely capable of knocking him out.

"And like I said, I’m just working on great combinations, movement and stuff. This guy doesn’t seem to move too well on his feet. He’s basically a guy who just stands there and wants you to run into his punches. So I’d say I’m probably going to catch him: possibly with a hook, or an uppercut, or something that he’s not going to be able to get out of the way of."

"Oh, shoot. Put in there, this is the greatest sport in the world. I love fighting. And I’m just having a blast doing it. And I want to thank my fans and the people who support me. No matter who you are, in any sport, you’re going to have people who love you and people who hate you. But I just appreciate everyone’s support, and I’m trying to do this sport the best I can. I don’t want it to be a huggy-bear match, like those guys out there hugging each other. When I come, I come to fight and to throw my hands. And I just want people to know I appreciate their coming to watch me fight."

"Yes they are. Oh man, that’s my team."

"Full Contact Fighter and Sinister Clothing."

Justin Eilers shaping up for Super Saturday

 For more on Justin Eilers and UFC 51: www.ufc.tv

Look for Justin’s bout against Mike Kyle, including behind-the-scenes footage of Justin, on the UFC 49: Unfinished Business DVD.

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