First of all I would like to say congratulations on the win last Saturday and your amazing comeback.

MMABeats: You said something at the press conference that made a big impression on me and it was "Adversity is the dust that polishes diamonds." Can you give me the back story of that quote and how it applied to your comeback on Saturday?

Mark: Because of the tumultuous year I had last year with pulling out against Chael Sonnen and watching him go for a world title, then rushing into a fight with Chris Weidman and getting knocked out the way I did, finding out later that I actually fought on a broken foot. The doctor says, "you will possibly be sitting out for about a year because of this injury." Upon hearing this, which was the straw that broke the camel's back, I spiraled into depression. I'm not a guy that drinks or does drugs, or parties but I love food. I began to eat all my comfort foods and got up to 261 pounds. Being at my lowest of lows and highest in weight I reached out to my strength and conditioning trainer. And from there I was able to turn it around. The structure of diet and exercise dug me out of the pit and I was able to rise out of the pit and become successful! It was this whole year that gave me perspective and made me realize that I had to fix things in my life and make sure everything was handled before I was able to train. So when I say, adversity is the dust that polishes a diamond." - One will go through adversity but because of that adversity at the end you will be able to shine even brighter!

MMABeats: What was the process of getting out of the cycle of eating because you were sad and being said because you were eating? I am an emotional eater and i know this would help  me as well as others.

Mark: I called up my trainer Todd Norman, scheduled a meeting, met him, and we devised a plan of action to get me black in shape. I also spoke to my very good friends in Sam Calavitta and Riley Ross that are very knowledgeable in this as well. They were very instrumental in helping me out of my funk. With a consistent work ethic and diet I was able to chip away at my weight everyday.

MMABeats: If you could have only one Bible verse committed to memory what would it be and why?

Mark: Proverbs 3:5-6 It says, "Trust in The Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He'll make your paths straight."- This verse is the verse that has been the verse I live by! All it's saying in its profound simplicity is all you have to do is trust in The Lord with everything, step out on faith and do what He has called you to do and when doing that He will make your paths straight! I love how this verse just gives you comfort and direction to overcome by trusting in The Lord! 

MMABeats: What keeps you motivated to train even through all the adversity you have been dealing with in the last year ?

Mark: My motivation is summed up in two things: faith and family. I believe God has called me to become a warrior for Him to fight for souls and the platform He's given me is the UFC. When I look back upon his sovereignty over my life, God has been preparing me to become a fighter all along. So I step out in faith knowing that this is what He wants me to do. Also my family, with a wife and 4 children I need to provide and with the UFC I'm able to provide and still do what I love to do while glorifying Him at the same time.

MMABeats: How is the hand? I noticed it was swelled a bit during the press conference and was concerned about you. 

Mark: Just got an X-ray yesterday (Tuesday July, 9) and its only a sprain. Thank goodness!!!! So as soon as the swelling and pain subsides I will continue my training.

MMABeats: Who was your biggest encourager during this camp?

Mark: My biggest encourager was Todd Norman. He's my strength and conditioning trainer. He believes in me and truly wants what's best for me. I love him like a brother!!

MMABeats: With your training have you ever reached a point where you felt like you werent progressing? How did you overcome that feeling and start making forward progress again?

Mark: Yes there were times when my weight was stagnant and I got a bit frustrated. I was training hard and doing everything right but my weight was staying still. So Todd and Sam gave me some of their insight to switch the training up a bit get rest in the middle of the day and when I started resting in the middle of the day the weight started to fall off again. We came down the conclusion that my cortisol levels were high and I had to get them down by training smarter, not harder and get rest in the middle of the day.

MMABeats: During your long layoff did you take time to learn new skills and new tactics for your return?

Oh yes! New skills were definitely incorporated into my weaponry. I honed my skills as far as striking and also my transitions from striking to takedowns.

MMABeats: What is your favorite post fight food ?

Mark: My favorite post fight food is sushi! I love eating sushi afterwards!

   My name is Joseph Lozito. On February 12, 2011 at approximately 8:45 AM, I was involved in a high-profile incident on a New York City subway. 28 hours earlier, a man named Maksim Gelman began a murderous rampage throughout Brooklyn. It started when his mother refused him access to the family Lexus. He proceeded to kill his step-father with a knife. After that he fled to the house of a woman he was stalking and when she wasn’t home, he proceeded to kill her mother and then wait hours for the younger woman to come home and he killed her. While on the run, he attempted several carjacks, slashing others along the way. He struck two pedestrians with cars, killing one of them, bring the death toll to four.The next morning, a woman was reading a newspaper article about him on the subway platform at 96th street where he confronted her, telling her that “what they’re printing about me are all lies” and swatting the paper out of her hands. The woman notified the police and now the police were on a manhunt in the subway system for the man who would later be dubbed “Mad Maks”.At approximately 8:40 AM I made a decision that would alter my life forever. After arriving at New York Penn Station from Philadelphia, I proceeded to the stairway for the platform of the #1 local subway. Notices stated that due to construction, the #1 was running express from 42nd st. to 72nd st., the exact route of both #2 & #3 trains, both of which arrive & depart from the same express platform. This has happened several times in my life and I always just waited at the local platform. On this day however, I decided to go to the express platform since double the trains stop there. That decision would almost cost me my life.When I boarded the train in the first car, two uniformed police officers boarded with me and went straight in to where the motorman operates the train. Their radios were going crazy and while I couldn’t understand what exactly what was going on, they were there for a reason. Being that my commute originated from Philadelphia, I hadn’t seen a New York paper that morning. As the commute started, a man walked up to the motormens door and banged on it and yelled “let me in, I’m the police” unaware that the actual police were behind the door. Looking through the window at the man I would later learn was the man the police were on the train to apprehend, they replied “you’re not the police” and left it at that. As the man walked away, another man who had been standing next to me raced to the same door and was alternately tapping on the window and waving the police out. Again, no action was taken on the part of the officers. As the first man approached the door again, the second man fled back next to me. The first man stopped about three feet from the door, about two feet from me, looked me in the eyes and said “you’re gonna to die, you’re gonna to die”. He pulls out a cooking knife with an 8 inch blade and proceeds to stab me in the face under my left eye. When he cocked his arm back for another plunge, I shot for his legs to take him down. While I was taking him down, he carved the side & back of my head three times. After taking him down, from the bottom, he was slashing upwards while I was trying to catch his hand. His first swing sliced my thumb to the tendon and his second swing sliced my arm to the tricep muscle. Finally on his third swing, I was able to catch his wrist, slam his hand down and he dropped the knife.It was then when I felt a tap on my lower back. It was the male officer from the motormans compartment telling me “we got him”. The fact that "we got him" is in quotes is not just because it was spoken word.I got up and sat on a subway seat, blood pouring out of me, watching the male officer struggling to handcuff Gelman after all the dirty work had been done. His partner offered no assistance and it was only when another passenger on the train helped were they able to handcuff Gelman. Several other officers joined in sporadically and at some point I would say there were over 5 or 6 officers in the subway car which by the way, was now stopped in the tunnel between 34th st. & 42nd st.I BEGGED the police the get the train moving. I was told to hang in there that they'd get me out of there. After about 10 minutes of bleeding from the seven wounds I had suffered, I grabbed an officer by the arm and said "do you have children?' to which he replied "yes". I said "I have two little boys at home, I can't die on this train". I was told not to worry that the paramedics were on their way down to the car, coming through the back of train. A few more minutes go by, no paramedics yet, so I grab another cop by the wrist and say "are you married?" and the reply was "yes" to which I answered "so am I and my wife needs me..I can't die on this train". I was told to stay calm that help was on the way. The only person to offer ANY assistance was the passenger who helped handcuff Gelman. He came and applied direct pressure to my deepest wound, a wound so deep you could see my skull in a photograph. After about 20-25 minutes of essentially bleeding out & on the verge of death, I heard an officer say "ok, we're ready to move". I shouted "what about the paramedics??" and the answer was they were waiting at 42nd st. The truth was they were NEVER on their way to the train. While I was waiting for the train to move, I overheard one of the officers describe me as "likely". I had no idea what that meant. Later at the hospital, I asked my sister who is a NYC cop herself what "likely" meant and she told me "likely to die".Feeling myself get weaker & weaker, we pull into 42nd st. station and there was a problem getting the doors open. When the paramedics entered, as they were transferring me from the seat to the stretcher, I passed out. I found out later from one of the officers that when I passed out, I did so with my eyes open and she thought I had died. Once I was carried up to the street, I was greeted to one officer asking the another, "is that the perp or the vic?".Upon arriving at Bellevue, I was greeted by an army of medical personnel and as I was being treated, an officer comes by my head and shows me the mugshot that was distributed to all cops that day and he asks me "is this the guy who did this to you?" and I said "yes". He says, "well then, you're a hero & I said "I'm not a hero, why am I a hero?" to which he replied "that guy killed four people last night". That was the first I had of Maksim Gelman and his "exploits".After getting several staples and stitches in my head, face, hand & arm, I was transported to my room where I watched Mayor Bloomberg & Commissioner Kelly credit the "quick response by 2 NYPD officers and one off duty cop in the apprehension of Maksim Gelman". Needless to say, I was stunned. I was fortunate enough that the local newspapers came for quotes the next day. They thought they were coming for a victim statement, but what they got was the REAL STORY. Once these stories hit the internet, I was flooded with requests for tv, radio & print interviews and I complied with each & every one of them. Praise was heaped upon me but I was both quick to accept and deflect praise to the others involved, including the NYPD. Even in my weakened condition on the train, I knew they could have done more, but at that point, I was happy to be alive & I was happy to praise anybody.Later that week, I had to testify before a Grand Jury to indict Maksim Gelman. I gave my harrowing testimony and after I left, the male officer gave his testimony. On our way back home, my sister explained that she thought something wasn't right. She said it seemed like the cops were hiding something in the conversation she had with them. She said the female cop said she barely remembered anything and the male cop was very vague in his answers.I missed several weeks of work, but upon returning to work, on one of the first nights I was back, on my way to the train station, a man was following me. I stopped short & confronted the man and he told me he was on the Grand Jury I testified in front of. After he proved he was, he told me something that was basically like getting attacked all was now stopped in the tunnel between 34th st. & 42nd st.I BEGGED the police the get the train moving. I was told to hang i is indeed the hese cops too much credit. They hung you & everybody else out to dry that day. The male cop testified that he was watching everything go down in the car and that when you & Gelman were looking at each other, he started to come out but when Gelman reached in his jacket, the cop thought Gelman had a gun so he closed the door and remained inside". I almost passed out. I now knew that had this officer done his job, I wouldn't have even been touched. I now knew that this officer thought Gelman had a gun and instead of coming out to do something, was willing to sacrifice lives of innocent people to potentially save his own. The fact is, they were on that train to get Gelman, Gelman presented himself on a silver platter. Another passenger tried to get them to come out and they only came out after I had him on the ground and had disarmed him. Yes, they were armed with guns and nightsticks. I was armed with nothing.I felt that someone needed to be held accountable so I hired a lawyer and we filed a lawsuit. I am not expendable. I am not a statistic. The city has basically said that the police had no obligation to protect me or any other person on that train. Even though the man they were looking for, the man who had killed four and injured several others was in their sights and ready to be captured, was on the train, on the SAME car, they didn't have an obligation to do ANYTHING! The city has filed a motion to have my case thrown out before any information is even exchanged between the lawyers. I feel it'"Justice" System, my story needs to be decided by a jury of my peers. All I want is that chance. That is all I'm asking for.

Joe Lozito: A True Life Hero
This is his story on how he survived an attack by the infamous subway killer. And the justice Joe deserves as a survivor of Mad Maks attack.

I had the pleasure a few days ago to talk to Evan Thompson. He is the younger but BIGGER brother of Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson and son of Upstate Karate's owner Ray Thompson. Evan's martial arts and combat sports background started at an early age. His entire family is involved or has been involved with Kickboxing since he was born.I really enjoyed talking to Evan, he is just as pleasant to talk to as everyone one else in his family that i have had the honor of talking to. MMABeats: Do you feel that Stephen being a professional fighter pushed you into wanting to become a professional fighter as well ?
Evan: I wouldnt say so much that it pushed me to want to become a fighter but i will say that it encouraged me to become a better fighter and woek on technique and speed. Stephen inspires me as a fighter. He trains hard and fights hard.
MMABeats: What advice would you dive a young fighter wanting to make MMA their career ?
Evan: Train right. Find a good MMA school and become a well rounded fighter. Take your time and take at least one year of training before taking your first amateur fight. Then take at lest 10-15 amateur fights before going pro. A losing record doesnt look as bad on an amatuer record as it does on a professional one. MMABeats: Who would you say is your biggest influence in your career and why ? Evan: In my MMA career my biggest influence has been my entire family. I want my family's name to be synonymous with Kickboxing and Karate. Just like the Gracie's and the Machado's are synonymous with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.In my teaching career my kids in my classes are my inspiration. It makes me happy to see the kids accomplish things. It is an honor and privilege to be someone that they can look up to as a role model.
MMABeats: Evan would like to give a shout out to the following sponsors and supporters.
My Fit Food
Family Wise Health Care
Cryo-X
UDS Payment Solutions
All of my students and families at RCJ Machado Jiu-Jitsu The Colony
And a special Shoutout to Ray and Stephen Thompson, who I am going to punch in the face soon. :o)