Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) How did you land a spot on TUF 5? Did you go to an open casting call or send in a tape? A. Rob Emerson: I was a fan before I became a fighter, I watched every season of The Ultimate Fighter. I have wanted to be on the show since season 1 but they never did my weight class. The timing was perfect this season and I wanted to get on the show. I got on the phone with a producer and when they flew me out, they liked my personality. I was out there for 3 days. They wanted to see how I acted in front of the camera, etc. Q. Mark (RealityWanted) What was it like with the cameras on you guys all the time, did it effect the fight? A. Rob Emerson: Not at all. I love fighting and the cameras didn't have any effect on my fighting out. Q. Mark (RealityWanted) Once you were selected to be on TUF 5, did you ramp up your training/workout/diet? A. Rob Emerson � That's the hardest part, there are so many different guys in the house with different fight styles. I stuck with all my old routines and training, you have to be ready for anyone Q. Mark (RealityWanted) Out of the guys in the house besides Nate Diaz, who you he have wanted to pick to fight and why? A. Rob Emerson: I would have called out Nate if he didn't call me out. I thought he was one of best fighters in the house and one of the best on his team. I didn't want an easy fight; I look for the better fighters and give fans a good show. Q. Matt (RealityWanted) What did you think of Manny's complete meltdown and Team Pulvers reaction your wall tagging? A. Rob Emerson: It was nothing; I was board and just doodled on the wall. Everyone was on edge and we had no entertainment. People were getting sick of each other. Once one guy got pissed off at Team Pulver, it went though the entire team. It was meant to be funny. If Pulver's team had done it to us, we wouldn't have shed tears over it. They over reacted. I made a damn happy face on the wall and wrote the words "Suck It". Nate took it real personally and the rest of team took his side. When you're locked up like were, you have to do something. Q. Mark (Reality Wanted) Like when you grabbed that shield in the house and got hit in the balls when you did a test run on trying to dodge that spear? A. Rob Emerson: A. Ya, I got hit in the nuts with the ball and that shit hurt. I was ready for him to toss the spear at me. Q. Mark (RealityWanted) What did you leave behind while filming was going on? A. Rob Emerson: I work at a gym full time so didn't walk away from too much. It was hard to leave my friends, but I was here for a reason and did what I needed to do. I love Orange County, and I work hard and party hard on the weekends. Q. Mark (RealityWanted) The first episode of TUF 5 looked crazy. BJ asked people to raise their hands to show who wanted to be on his team. Did you raise your hand and if so why? A. Rob Emerson: I raised my hand. I did at first then BJ didn't pick me and I thought I was going to get stuck on Pulvers team, I was so nervous because I thought BJ could teach me a lot more. Q. Mark (RealityWanted) I read on FightFinder.com you actually fought Jens Pulver back in 2002, I don't think that was mentioned on the show, how was that played out? Did you and Jens talk before team selection? A. Rob Emerson:: It would have been a little weird to be on his team since I had fought him. I talked to him prior to team selection, he came across as a dick and I didn't like his personality. When you fight a guy you get more respect for him but he basically brushed me off. So I decided I didn't want anything to do with him. BJ is more technical and a much better fighter. Q. What did all you guys think about Team Penn after losing 3 fights in a row? A. Rob Emerson: We were frustrated that we kept losing. The picks really had an effect on us and Team Pulver picked off our weaker guys for the first two fights, but as you saw the 3rd was a damn good fight. BJ wanted nothing to do with how Pulver was picking the week links out of our team. We wanted to fight the tough fights. I lost respect for guys taking out the weaker fighters. I want to pick a good fighter and give fans a great fight. I have great respect for Nate Diaz. Q. What was it like living in the house? Could you sleep or eat normally? It looked like it could be a mad house at times? A. Rob Emerson: The training in the house was off, we got up at 6am to be at gym at 7am and some guys stayed up till 1am drinking and playing pool, so it was hard to get to sleep. It took me a couple of hours to get to sleep. I don't think I got one good night of sleep while I was there. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) How was food, could you diet? A. Rob Emerson: We used the shit out of a George Forman grill. Spike gave us great food and we got to pick what we wanted and they delivered it along with any supplements we needed. Q. I think I know your answer to this one. If BJ and Jens were to fight today, who would win? A. Rob Emerson: BJ would win. The guy needs to train a bit but he can beat anyone in the world. He is one of the best fighters in the world. It's hard to live your life and keep steady training. BJ wants to beat Pulver twice and George St Pierre twice. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) Speaking of George St Pierre, what did you think of the St Pierre vs. Matt Serra fight a couple of weeks ago? A. Rob Emerson: I was speechless; no one expected that to happen, we thought St Pierre would dominate Serra. To me, it looked like George mis judged Matt's height. Over hand punches come at a different angle and when a guy that short throws such a fast explosive punch it's hard to stop. George never had time to recover. I think if they had a rematch it would go much differently. I was shocked since George is normally great with timing and distance. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) Do you get together and watch the UFC PPV fights? A. Rob Emerson: I watch them all; I watch all the UFC fights I can. I am a fan first. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) what got you into MMA? A. Rob Emerson: I got into a lot of trouble in high school and got into martial arts. One day I went to watch a friend in an underground fight in LA. A guy dropped out of a match and someone approached me and asked if I wanted to jump in the ring. I had a black eye and they said I looked like a fighter. I had a beer in one hand, donut in the other, and I was also hung over. I knocked the guy out in round one. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) what's next for you? Will you keep fighting and look to work your way back to the UFC? A. Rob Emerson: This is all I got, this is my passion. This is what drives me. I love what I do and drive to the gym with a smile. I could have a job with more money, but I would not be as happy as I am now. No matter what is going on in my life it all leaves when I am in the gym. If I have a good practice in the gym, I have the best day ever. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) Will you stick at the 155 weight class? A: Rob Emerson: Yes I won't hop classes to much. I don't see too many 155 pounders I can't beat. It would be hell to cut myself to 145. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) Looking back on the fight with Nate, what would you do differently if you had the chance to do it again? A. Rob Emerson: People on my team talked Nate up a great deal and I had too much respect for him. I have a solid ground and pound game, but I was too cautious since I was worried about Nate's submission skills, south paw, and reach. I concentrated on stopping the take down. I should have thrown more knees and elbows. I focused on trying to stop his take downs. I should have given myself more credit. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) what is it like to watch yourself on the show now, is it odd? A. Rob Emerson: No, it's strange to see myself. I am more concerned with what people think of me. I want to appear more positive and have fans like my personality and fighting skills. I want to give UFC fans what they want, a good battle. Q. Mark (RealityWanted.com) Is there anything else that you would like to tell the fans of MMA, UFC, and TUF? A. Rob Emerson: Just don't stop watching the show and the fights. You don't know what's next and what will happen in The Ultimate Fighter. You are all in store for an exciting season. I am going to stick around the UFC and give you the best fights and spill blood. I want to be in the best fights, best wars, get cut, and bloody. No boring fights.>