Brad: The biggest difference is that I'm having a lot more fun fighting right now. I think I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to live up to the expectations that were put on me after [The Ultimate Fighter 2]. You know, all the guys from the show have those expectations put on them, but my experience couldn't catch up to where it needed to be fast enough to compete and also I was really kinda nervous, especially before the Herring fight.

MMAFightline: What do you think went wrong for you in the Herring Fight?

Brad: I didn't fight my fight and I tried to not get beat up for a couple of rounds and thats no way to go about things. And now being able to build my record and confidence has really helped me go out and have fun and do what I do. If I would have fought that way against Heath I'm not saying that I would have won or anything, but I think it would have been a little more of a competitive fight.

MMAFightline: I don't think we've seen you in a non-competitive fight.

Brad: Yeah, I got that thick skull I guess.

Make sure to check back with us soon for part 2 of our three part discussion with Brad Imes. In part 2, Imes breaks down Brock Lesnar's mma abilities from his time spent training with Lesnar at Miletich, he gives us more of his thoughts on his TUF 2 experiences, and he also goes into his opinions on Fedor, M-1 Global, and what this new organization may mean for his future and the future of mma.

You can get more information on Brad Imes by visiting his website here, or check him out on myspace here.