Jimmie Rivera made a recent appearance on The MMA Outsider Podcast. He chatted it up with Richard Anderson Mann and John Buhl about his stint on the 14th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which begins tonight on Spike TV.

Also don’t forget to check out ProMMANow’s TUF 14 blogger Steven Siler.

“They offered me 135 or 145 pounds actually when I was being interviewed, and I told them 145 kind because I am a big ’35-pounder. To make it one time is not a problem, but to keep making it over and over again and fight on back-to-back weeks it probably would have been a struggle for me, a big struggle. I did not want to be unprofessional on the show”

“My plan is to make it and go back down to my original weight of 135. I feel a lot stronger and also very dominant there as well.”

“I knew a couple of people actually from going out there in the first part and doing our interviews. I knew a good amount of people already. The competition load, I did not see anyone who was an unbelievable fighter, but I think everybody was really good, at the top of their level. I think the next step for them, each fighter that actually went to the show, was the UFC. When I actually got there… I thought everybody seemed really tough and ready to fight.”

On previously scheduled rematch with Abel Cullum

“I would say I was on my way to the UFC, but nothing was definate yet, and I had this great oportunity to be on the show, so I really couldn’t pass it up. So, I asked the president Terry [Trebilcock] from King of the Cage if he would want to release me from [the upcoming fight against Abel Cullum].

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