CP: Were you ever worried about the stigma of getting back into the UFC via the reality show? Or did you just think that whatever got you in the UFC was worth it?
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WES SIMS: No, people understand. Good or bad, there’s nothing that’s going to hurt Wes Sims. I’m a certified black man when I want to be. I’ve been on BET. I was on the “Iron Ring” for God’s sakes.
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You were? I didn’t know that. I guess I didn’t watch much of that show.
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Yeah, if you did know that you wouldn’t have asked me that question. What’s going to hurt my career after that? Negative press? Bring it on! I was on “Iron Ring”! And David Isaac, if you read this, you still owe me money, fool.
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Who owes you money?
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The producer, what’s his name, David Isaac.
They didn’t pay you?
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They didn’t do anything. They’re bad for the sport. For real. They put on all these little tryouts all over the country to put together a good little reality, no, they put on a reality show. I won’t say it was good.
Where were you training before joining this season of TUF? I know you started out with Hammer House…
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I’ve always been with Hammer House. Mark [Coleman] got me in this sport, and I’m loyal. I know my roots. I’ve cross-trained other places, trying to learn and get better. I went to Houston and trained with Sol Solis. I trained out in Vegas with Randy Couture. I trained in the streets under I-55 in Cicero for a while, where I was living.
You were living under I-55, as in, on the street?
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Yeah, that’s why when you asked me how I liked the house I said it was great compared to where I was living. I was living pretty much in a garbage bag and not even a tent, just a sleeping bag.
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So you went from living on the street to moving directly into the Ultimate Fighter house?
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Yeah.
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How did it come to that? How did you end up homeless?
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Well, I had ups and downs in my career. You make a little money and spend a little money. There are highs and lows in this sport. This is obviously a high and I’m riding it out. It’s only going to get better from here.
Lots more here.
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