Welcome back faithful followers to the place where we get to learn a little more as to what goes on inside the noggin of a mixed martial artist. Today, I sit down with American Combat Acadamy of Fargo’s Miguel Cooley, and we discuss his upcoming fight for King of the Cage and talk a little about being a father and husband who fights.

SUGA: You have around 40 MMA fights and have fought some of the toughest guys in the Midwest over the years. What is your favorite of those fights and why?

COOLEY: Of all my fights, I believe my favorite would have to be when I fought I fought Mike Hansen. He is a very strong wrestler with brute strength. He shot in on me and I went for a triangle right away. He then picked me up and slammed me about five times to break the hold. I then went for a more traditional choke and won. I had family in the audience, and my fight fans were high in that part of the state. I was in the best shape of my life.

SUGA: 'Psycho' Mike Hansen has been around the block a few times as well,  and I am sure his dong and gash (think James Thompson) along with his stair alone can unnerve someone. Your mention of your family brings me to another question. You have a lot of kids, what do they think of their pops being a pro cage fighter?

COOLEY: Well my kids are something else. They should be acting. My kids always look up to me. They will pretend they are performing somewhere and introduce themselves like I would be introduced as "Miguel way 2 Cooley." My daughter is into grappling so much she beat a lot of boys in

her wrestling bracket, but I took her out and put her in ballet. She still asks to wrestle, so she always jumps on me or tries to take me down all the time. The parents of all my kids' friends know what I do for a living; they always tell me to be careful. ... They also stand on the table and say 'from Moorhead, Minnesota' then they say their name.

SUGA: As a father and fighter myself, I think one of my favorite perks in this sport is when I see the excitement in the eyes of my son when he sees me grapple or fight. But I can also see where watching me can give a child anxiety or stress about watching their parent possibly get injured or see you hurt someone. Do you bring your kids to your fights? How are their emotions before and after you fight?

COOLEY: No, I don't bring my kids to my fights anymore since the possibility of getting injured as I get older is greater, but they do come to watch me spar or grapple. They love to work out with me as I prepare for a fight, but before I actually fight, they always say a prayer for me and my opponent. Fighters really need to teach there kids that fighting is an art and sport and not two people hitting each other out of anger. After the fight, they are excited to see if I won or not. If I lost or I'm bruised and banged up, they are excited to see me and ask if I need an icepack. And it always ends up in my kids' schoolwork drawings and stories. And of course my oldest, who is 11, handles it differently. He keeps asking to come with and asks if I won, then he asked how much money did I win; so there's no stress with him. I used to bring the whole family to my fights and used it as a family getaway. Whether it be swimming at a motel or an amusement park, it was fun for all of us.

SUGA: My wife has come to most of my fights and has told me that she can feel every punch, kick and submission attempt. How does your wife handle it? Also, you have a very tough fight coming up for KOTC against a hungry young lion. What do you know about Tyler Klejeski?

COOLEY: She handles it differently then my kids, since my kids don't think I can feel pain. Basically the same as yours except more so. Well, as for Tyler, what I could find on him is what is on youtube, and he is a hungry lion, but more of a wrestler than a striker and goes for submission attempts that most fighters don't see or wouldn't take the risk. But I've been up against all this before and it's nothing new.

SUGA: I bet you have after so many fights. Being the salty dogs, we have seen most of the tricks and know how to handle them. What is your offical record? Where are you training to prepare for King of the Cage?

COOLEY: I really don't know my official record. I have had so many fights and I also had so many old-school tournaments on Native American reservations. For instance, the Dog Soldiers Invitationals held on Spirit Lake reservation. I am training with the Academy of Combat Arts in Fargo to help prepare me for the KOTC event.

SUGA: mma.tv has you at 18-20, which is pretty good considiring some of the names on that list. Brock Larson(twice), Isaiah Larson, Victor Moreno, Scott Harper (WEC), Tat Romero, Kyle Jensen (WEC), Shane Wessels, Jeremy Lang (WEC) and Joey Clark, to name a few. Dylan Spicer is a character and a heck of a trainer, what's it like training under him? What is your strategy?

COOLEY: My strategy for the KOTC against Tyler is to go in and take him down to the mat for ground and pound until he opens up for me. Then I will submit him or choke him out. Whatever opportunity he gives me, I will take. If he wants to bang with me, I will do that too. I know from experience that the crowd loves that, but this isn't all about pleasing the crowd. It's an MMA show, with two exciting fighters to thrill them. A win is a win with a choke, submission or TKO. This is King of the Cage, Underground 59!

SUGA: Sounds a lot like my usual gameplan, so I love it! Fighting for KOTC for me felt like I legitimized my career in a sense that they were some of the first fights I ever bought on DVD, and to be a part of their show was cool. Thanks for stopping by THE SUGA SHACK. Who do you want to thank?

COOLEY: I want to thank God for showing me the opportunities I have had, and my family for putting up with me. I would like to give a huge thanks to the Academy of Combat Arts for emptying my cup and filling it half full with the knowledge I need to keep moving forward.