Midwest fighter and friend of tap or sleep midwest James Krause from Odessa Missouri (hometown of TOS Midwest's Josh Helm, and fighters, Tonya, Owen and Chris Evinger and Casey Smith) will fight Donald Cerrone at the WEC June 7th event "Brown vs Faber". James trains at K2L/Grindhouse with tap or sleep fighters Brian Davidson, Josh Bernal, Bubba Bernal, Tony Matzke, and Matt Bernal. He and Josh Bernal cornered Matzke to his title win earlier this month against Doug Thompson. Watch out WEC here comes Krause.

Good Luck Bro we all got your back.

James Krause: 'I Got Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain'
By Ariel Helwani
May 7, 2009

Come June 7, Donald Cerrone (9-1) will have the unenviable task of facing a hungry WEC newcomer who's looking to make a name for himself for right away.

We'll forgive you if you've never heard of James Krause (10-0) before, but that may change come next month (WEC: Faber vs. Brown 2, VERSUS, June 7, 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT).

The newest addition to the WEC's lightweight division spoke to VERSUS.com about making his debut for the organization against Cerrone and much more. The full interview is below.

Ariel Helwani: Did you have any reservations about accepting a fight on a little over one month's notice?
James Krause: For some reason, I usually fight a lot better on short notice fights. I don't really know why, but it was plenty of notice for me. I would have took it if the fight was tomorrow.

A lot of casual WEC fans don't know much about you, so tell us what we can expect to see from you come June 7.
I don't really have a style, to be honest with you. I'm smart and play well into other people's weaknesses. I look a lot of people up (online). I train for my opponent and whatever he is good at. Every person you are going to fight is going to have a weakness and I try to make my strengths that weakness and I just try to attack it. He's definitely beatable just like any other fighter.

What do you think is Cerrone's biggest weakness?
I don't think his ground game has been tested, from what I've seen so far. Obviously, he is very good off his back. Our records are pretty similar, actually. We both have a lot of wins via triangle off our back (and) we're both taller guys. We're pretty much the same style of fighter as far as physical body attributes go. He has some bad habits standing up, so I am just going to get in there and see if I can grind him out.

What did you think of his performance against Jamie Varner in January?
I thought he looked great against Varner. I think with Cerrone, he has a groove he gets into and you can't let him get into that groove because if you let him get into that groove, he's a beast. If you noticed in the fight with Varner, he's one of those few fighters that can actually get better as the fight goes on. I think Varner just played a real timid role and didn't attack as much as he could. I think he should of just went straightforward against Cerrone instead of playing the whole running game. To me, it seemed like he was real timid and didn't want to get in there and engage.

Were you one of those who believed Cerrone deserved an immediate title rematch?
Fortunately for me, it's not my choice (laughs). Sure, I don't see too many, as of right now, that are (contenders). Maybe (Cerrone) and McCullough. Those are the top dogs as far as who is going to get Varner next, but let's see if I can go in here and mess that up a little bit.

The WEC's lightweight division is wide open right now. Do you think that a win over Cerrone can put you in the mix immediately for a title shot?
You know, I don't know. Maybe, for example, if it's a quick fight, they would probably want to test me one more (time). I think if it's a good fight and we go in there and beat the hell out of each other, I can definitely see it happening. I think that's (WEC matchmaker) Sean Shelby's job. I'm down, though.

In less than two years, you made it to WEC and will be fighting on VERSUS. Are you feeling more nervous for this fight just because it's on such a big stage?
No. Actually, I don't feel nervous at all. I got nothing to lose in this fight, man. I got nothing to lose and everything to gain. The pressure is all on Cerrone - not me. Like I said, I'm not worried about anything. I just have to go in there and fight. He's the one that's got to worry about everything - not me. He's the one putting a lot out there. He's risking a lot right now and I'm not risking anything. I'm supposed to lose in everyone else's eyes, which is fine because I've played the underdog role for my entire career.

I have been fighting for a little longer than two years. I had a pretty exstensive amateur career and have been fighting pro for around two years. I was 18-1 as an amateur. I've got a lot of fights under my belt, so hopefully my experience and cage time will play a good role.

Most MMA fighters don't have exstensive amateur careers. Why did you feel the need to fight in 19 amateur bouts?
In Missouri, that's all there was. Missouri just came out as a pro state right before I went pro. So, that's all we had. Whenever I could, I would fight twice a night. Whenever I could get a fight is when I fought.

This is the first time in your pro career that you will be fighting outside of the Missouri-South Dakota region. Is that a big deal for you?
No, the location means nothing to me. Who I am fighting is what I'm worried about. It means nothing to me. It's not necessarily where you're fighting, it's who you're fighitng and I've fought some tough guys.

What are your thoughts on fighting in WEC, as opposed to the UFC?
It's great for me; it's actually what I wanted. I didn't want to be in the UFC. I think WEC is a good spot for me to start and work my way up. I don't want any handouts and I want to work my way every step. I think it's a good opportunity for me to get in there and show everybody what I'm all about and what I can do. Hopefully we can start with Cerrone.

Right now, Varner is the man you will be gunning for at 155. What are your thoughts on him as a fighter?
He's a great fighter. It's funny you ask me that because two months ago, I was watching these guys on TV, but it's all the same now. He's a great fighter, but everybody has holes, man. It's all about if you can find those holes and take advantage of them.

Varner's a great guy. I actually talked to him on the phone a while back about Cerrone and he had nothing but good things to say. He's a nice guy and I look up to him as a fighter, but if it comes down to it, like he told me over the phone, business is business.

So, you actually called Varner to get tips on Cerrone?
Yeah, actually I did. I got a mutual friend who gave me his number and we just kind of talked about him. He gave me his advice on what I should do and shouldn't do and went from there.

Can you share any specific advice he gave you?
He said, obviously, Cerrone is a really tough guy. (Varner) told me that he played a real tentative role, like I was telling you earlier, and that he played the outside game on a bigger and stronger guy but he should have just went straight at him. That doesn't necessarily mean I am going to do that, but he definitely gave me some advice. He's a nice guy who took the time out of his schedule to give me some advice, which was great for me. I can't really ask for much more.

How do you envision your fight against Cerrone ending?
Wow. Let's go with second round, sub(mission), triangle (choke).

The triangle choke seems to be your favorite weapon of choice.
Yes, sir, it is.

While we're on the topic of predictions, who are you picking in the Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown rematch?
Man, that's a tough one. Wow. I'm gonna stick with Brown, man. I took him in the upset over Faber the first time and I'm going to have to stick with him.