LAS VEGAS – UFC middleweight "Crazy" Tim Credeur (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) knows all about the ups and downs that come along with life as a professional cagefighter.After all, it's been nearly two years since Credeur lost a narrow split-decision slugfest to Nate Quarry in a 2009 "Fight of the Year" candidate, and the Louisianan thought his career – not to mention his life – might be in jeopardy following a recent abnormal brain scan.
So don't expect Credeur to have sympathy for the equally snakebitten Ed Herman (21-9 MMA, 4-5 UFC) when the two meet on the main card of Saturday's The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale event. Credeur holds Herman in high regard, but he's not willing to sacrifice his spot in the UFC for the good of someone else.
"I have a lot of mutual respect for Ed," Credeur said. "I think he's amazing. He's an icon, hero of mine in our weightclass. He come up under that hard time at Randy Couture and Matt Lindland's gym. All those 185-pounders came out of there, so I've always respected that guy. I don't have nothing but good things to say about him.
"I'm not too much of a douchebag. I don't talk too much smack, and I don't disrespect my opponents. Without them, I wouldn't be here. At the same time, just because I'm a nice guy, you don't know. When that bell rings, it's on and popping. It's fireworks time."
A former cast member of "The Ultimate Fighter 7," Credeur was building to big things with a crowd-pleasing style and a three-fight octagon win streak. But after dropping an epic showdown with Quarry, Credeur was forced to bow out of two different scheduled contests.
The second bout, a planned UFC 113 fight with Tom Lawlor, was cancelled due to the brain scan, and Creduer admits there were some dark moments between then and now.
"Being a warrior is about going down journeys," Credeur told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Everybody would be doing this if they got to stand on top of the mountain everyday. That's not what it is. Being in a warrior, we go through hills, and we go through valleys – deep, dark, devastating valleys.
"A warrior is somebody that has the courage and the integrity to fight through it when everybody turns their back on you and when it's tough. That was a tough 18 months, a tough 20 months, getting through that, but we made it through, and we're back again. It's time for the next chapter in Tim Credeur's career."
And that chapter will play out on Spike TV, when Creduer and Herman meet on the main card of Saturday's The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale.
Both fighters are recovering from serious injuries, and both are hoping to return to the win column for the first time since 2009.
With 10 years of professional fighting under his belt, Credeur is in some ways back at square one in his octagon career. However tall the order, the lifelong martial arts practitioner doesn't feel his past accomplishments have fallen totally away.
"Man, I've been doing this for 15 years," Credeur said. "It's not starting over. I've got a bunch of young, tough, hungry guys in my gym. I train with Dustin Poirier everyday. He's going to shock the world at 145 (pounds) next week in Vancouver. He shocked the world against Josh Grispi. We've got a bunch of those guys.
"My blade's getting sharpened every day in the gym, teaching these guys and staying healthy to train with these guys. We're bringing Louisiana MMA back to the map. I'm just excited to be a part of the UFC again and have this opportunity. I definitely don't take it for granted."
MMA continues to grow at an exponential pace, and there are certainly legions of new UFC fans who have never watched Creduer or Herman compete. That will change on Saturday night, and with just six career decision results in the 45 combined career contests, the middleweights appear poised to impress.
If you listen to Credeur, it's practically a guarantee.
"I'm hard white trash," Credeur said. "I'm all about the death battles. I want to get in there and get in a streetfight. I just want to get in there and go to battle. I don't want to play point-fighting MMA. I want to get in there and fight and let the cards fall as they may.
"I'm going to fight until the end – throw punches, throw submissions until he blows up or I blow up. That's just the way I want to fight, and I don't care if it costs me my career. I don't care what anybody says. That's just what I'm going to do until the end of it.
"I beat up my best friends every single day. Dustin Poirier is one of my best friends. I love him to death. He's one of my best friends in life, and we beat the brakes off each other every single week. Ed Herman ain't going to be no different. I have a lot of respect for the guy, but unfortunately, his road in the UFC has got to end Saturday."
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