It is Friday at my first UFC and it is weigh-in day.

Like a moron, I forgot to shut off my phone and it was ringing at 6:30 a.m. Las Vegas time. If you have ever had to cut weight then you know that this is the one day that you want to sleep in. It isn't because of how you feel ... it is because the temptations are there when you are awake.

I tried to go back to sleep but it didn't work. So I got up and had a tiny protein drink just to get that acid feeling out.

At 8:45 a.m. I went down and picked up my fight shorts from the front desk that were dropped off by my marketing manager. Then it was off to meet with Burt for the pre weigh-ins at 9 a.m. I tipped the scale at 177 pounds this morning, which wasn't too bad. Kevin [Burns] was actually the exact same weight and Burt started giving us crap about working out together.

This is the time that they also check your shorts and sponsors to make sure that they are okay. Then it was back to Kevin's room to hang out before it was time to cut weight. The reason that we went there was the fact that he doesn't have any food in his room and I do.

Plus, it is easier to suffer together rather than alone.

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Editor’s note: James sent this along today (Thursday); however, it is from his experience on Wednesday … he’s a little busy.

Well, it is day two of my first UFC experience in Las Vegas.

The day started out with me getting up and going to the spa to workout. It was one of those workout where you just want to get in a good sweat. Therefore, I divided my time between the treadmlll, bike and elliptical. I was there for about an hour.

While I was in there several of the greatest basketball players from my childhood were also in there working out. There are summer leagues in Vegas for teams and a lot of the coaches and players naturally stay at the Palms because the Mahoof's also own the Sacramento Kings.

I have never seen so many tall men in my life than I have the past two days.

At noon the UFC took us to a grocery store to get some food. Only three of us went, which was a surprise to me because I know I sure can't eat the food around here and make weight. One thing that I got was a small cooler to keep food cold since there are no fridges like I told you before.

Now I have the food that will help me make weight on friday.

At about 3 p.m. I was starting to get stir crazy just sitting in my room so I had to go walk around for awhile. Most of the fighters were out walking around so they also must have had the same feeling. Kevin [Burns] finally arrived today around that time, but he had to go and do an interview right away, so I stopped in and said a quick "Hi" before he was rushed off.

I went back to the spa this time just to sit in the steam room and hot tub. It was pretty cool ... I was in one hot tub and Anderson Silva was in the other. For people who don't know, spas can be kind of weird because there is usually a lot of old naked guys walking around. I guess everyone has the right to do what they want, ... it is a free country.

At 6 p.m. I finally had to go do some more work for the UFC. The first thing was get my pictures taken that they will use on flyers and posters. When you get there they have a girl, Leslie, who puts this white cream all over you to give you a shine. Then you go into a studio to have your pictures taken.

I was waiting for another fighter to finish, so I got a chance to look through the photographers book. Let me tell you it was amazing. The whole book was action shots from past fights and they were unbelievable.

It was finally my turn and they take like 50 different pictures but it is done really fast. The guy definitely knows what he is doing and does his job well.

After that is was back to Leslie to get oiled up for the video. Shooting the video was pretty cool, it gives you a chance to see how they get all those great shots you always see right before two guys fight. Trust me when I say it isn't as easy as you may think, it is a workout in itself. You have to do a lot of shadow boxing to make sure they get the right shot.

It really gives you an appreciation for the work that they do, knowing that they have to do this stuff all day long for two days to get everyone done.

As soon as I got back to the room I changed my clothes and it was off to the training room to meet Kevin and get in a good workout. We probably spent an hour and half in there just getting in a good sweat working on every part of the game.

I was able to meet Brandon Vera -- he was coming in as we were finishing. He definitely seemed like a very cool cat. Kevin already knew him since they both fought on the UFC 85 card in London last month. We basically sat there and talked about our weight and stuff. This is really the first time Brandon has had to worry about it since he is fighting at 205 pounds this time.

I won't tell you what I weighed but I will tell you that I was able to eat a real meal tonight because it was lower than expected.

Well it is off to bed for this guy -- sleep is just as important as training and I have a hard time getting enough.

James Giboo (11-2) is a professional mixed martial artist and Iowa science teacher who will make his Octagon debut against Brad Blackburn at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. He has competed extensively (and successfully) in the Midwest circuit, which has earned him a rare opportunity to now put his skills to the test against the top fighters in the world under the UFC banner. James will frequently detail his journey to the big time right here at MMAmania.com this week, providing our readers and his fans with a behind-the-scenes account of what it’s like to fight for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet for the first time. To check out more from James here at MMAmania.com click here.

Editor’s note: James sent this along today (Wednesday); however, it is from his experience on Tuesday ... he's a little busy.

Well, it was off to Vegas this morning. My wife and I left our house around 8 a.m. to drive to the airport. Of course, we had to make a few stops to get a couple last minute things.

Our flight finally left Des Moines, Iowa, to Denver, Colo., at 11:30 a.m. Once we were there it was hurry up and wait. I can tell you that my wife now wants to kill me because I am getting grumpy because I can't eat any of the junk food in the airport.

At this time I have no idea what I am weighing and I don't like to eat junk leading up to a fight anyways so she has to grin and bare it as it gets worse and worse as the day goes on. Eventually we get on the plane and are off to "Sin City" for my fight against Brad Blackburn at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19.

We landed around 2:30 p.m. Vegas time, which is 4:30 p.m. our time. And I haven't eaten anything yet so you can image how I am feeling. The second I land and turn on my phone it rings and it is the guy from the UFC saying he will be waiting for me at the baggage claim. It was nice to have someone waiting for you and to be able to get right to the hotel. They were also picking up Cale Yarbourgh at the same time so I got to meet him and he seemed like a very cool guy.

As soon as we got to the hotel it was right up to the UFC offices in the Palms. First thing they did was put me on the scale (this is where I meant Burt from the UFC ... he is extremely cool). He told me I didn't scare him too much being 13 pounds over at the time. My response was my weight was pretty low because I was stuck on a plane all day.

Next it was into the little office that they had set up to fill out a bunch of paperwork. I absolutely hate doing that kind of stuff. They just kept handing me more and more. Then right from there it was directly to do an interview for the Web site.

I will tell you that my brain wasn't functioning right at this point because of not eating all day and being on a plane. Needless to sat, but I wasn't really happy with how it turned out. When I say that I am talking about how my answers sounded not how it was ran.

Update: To check of the pre-fight video click here.

Just like that they were done with me for the day and it was off to check into my room. I got to the room and it was really nice but was disappointed that there was no fridge or microwave. I understand the reason there isn't because of all the places to eat here, but as someone who can't eat that stuff -- especially the next couple days -- it makes it hard.

First thing we did is find some food to eat and then it was back to the room to relax and make a bunch of phone calls. I just spent the rest of the night recovering from the trip, watching television and relaxing. Tomorrow (Wednesday) it is back to work and I have some other things to do for the UFC.

One last note: I met Anderson Silva today and that is exactly why I would never fight at 185 -- that guy is huge. Good luck, James Irvin.

James Giboo (11-2) is a professional mixed martial artist and Iowa science teacher who will make his Octagon debut against Brad Blackburn at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. He has competed extensively (and successfully) in the Midwest circuit, which has earned him a rare opportunity to now put his skills to the test against the top fighters in the world under the UFC banner. James will frequently detail his journey to the big time right here at MMAmania.com this week, providing our readers and his fans with a behind-the-scenes account of what it’s like to fight for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet for the first time. To check out more from James here at MMAmania.com click here.

Editor's note: James sent this along yesterday (Monday); however, we were unable to post it until now.

It is the Monday before my first fight in the UFC against Brad Blackburn on July 19. And it marked my last hard day of training.

I decided that I need to do one more day of sprints so I got up at 5 a.m. and hammered out the 30 sprints. Then it was inside to get the kids up and ready to go to daycare. I also had to get ready to go and do my last pad and sparring workout with Chubbs.

Of course, we ended up being late ... but that is typical as any parent can tell you.

When we got to daycare I spent a little more time saying goodbye than normal because this was the last time I will see my kids for a week. My wife is taking them to their grandparents tonight because we fly to Vegas in the morning.

So I got to the gym around 8:15 a.m. and got in a good hard hour of pads and sparring. My cardio felt great -- my recovery time is really fast, which is what you are looking for as a fighter. I figured I would be a little slow after the sprints, but the legs showed no signs of the run.

I next cruised up to my school and checked my email and relaxed for a little bit. And then it was back to the gym to work on some last minute techniques. You never can be too sharp with technique.

Before heading home I stopped back at the school to finish up a couple of things before I start to run all my last minute errands, which every fighter will tell you are a pain in the butt.

My camp has gone really well for this fight. With Kevin [Burns] and me both on the same card it was easy to get training partners in to work with us.

A typical day for me during this camp started off with cardio or strength training or pad work depending on the day. Then it was off to class at 11 a.m. everyday, which lasted for two hours. Classes consist of technique to full MMA sparring depending on the day and how we were feeling.

Like Randy Couture always says, listen to what your body is telling you. Later in the day I would either lift weights or do cardio. Luckily for me, I was already training hard when I got the call from the UFC. Some guys probably weren’t in the best of shape or training hard when the call came in.

So hopefully that will give me an advantage come fight time.

Tomorrow it is off to Las Vegas and the real UFC experience begins. I have no idea what I have to do tomorrow once I arrive so tune back in and I will tell you what goes down. You will get to read what it is like to be a first time UFC fighter.

James Giboo (10-2) is a professional mixed martial artist and Iowa science teacher who will make his Octagon debut against Brad Blackburn at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. He has competed extensively (and successfully) in the Midwest circuit, which has earned him a rare opportunity to now put his skills to the test against the top fighters in the world under the UFC banner. James will frequently detail his journey to the big time right here at MMAmania.com this week, providing our readers and his fans with a behind-the-scenes account of what it’s like to fight for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet for the first time. To check out more from James here at MMAmania.com click here.

Well, the week that I have been dreaming about since I was a young teenager is finally here ... my UFC debut. Brad Blackburn is my opponent and we will go at it in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 14: "Silva vs. Irvin" at "The Pearl" in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 19.

I intend to tell you all about what it's like to fight on the biggest mixed martial arts stage in the world for the first time right here at MMAmania.com.

It is unbelievable to think that a kid from a small town -- who was addicted to watching a sport that people were calling barbaric -- is finally here. Unfortunately, MMA is illegal in my home state of New York. Don’t get me started on how uneducated the people making the laws in New York are on the fastest growing sport in the world.

That's material for its own blog post ... not this one.

I guess I will start from the beginning. I am James Giboo. Most of you are probably saying, "who?" I grew up in Franklinville, N.Y. I was a very athletic kid who had an extreme competitive drive -- I once played a complete football game on a broken leg to give you some perspective.

When it was time to go to college, I chose to come out to Iowa to wrestle at Upper Iowa University. It was mostly my desire to be independent and get away from home that helped me make that choice. In hindsight, it was the right choice because the whole UFC thing would have never happened if I stayed in New York.

I had a pretty successful career in college wrestling; however, the only problem was all the injuries that I suffered. We are talking detached ribs, multiple knee injuries, tons of back problems, hernia and a severe infection. The nail in the coffin was my senior year -- I had only lost once until I suffered another knee injury in practice.

After weeks of rehab and the knee not responding, I almost called it quits. I thank my coach, Heath Grimm, every time I see him for talking me out of it because once you are a quitter, you will always be a quitter. I finished the year coming up short of my dream of All-American because my cardio was never the same and I lost a bunch of one point matches.

In college, I met the love of my life and now my wife, Kelly. This is going to sound stupid but I had this Michigan sweatshirt that I loved and the first time that I saw her wear it, I knew I was going to marry her. We just celebrated our ninth anniversary last Thursday. I have two kids that mean more to me than anything in the world, Desean 7 and Keiana 4.

Any free time that I have in a day is spent with them.

To get to the MMA part of my life, I moved to Des Moines, Iowa, after college to become a teacher at the largest school in the state. While teaching there I made some friends and learned that there was place to actually train in Des Moines. So I was finally talked into going to the place.

And that is where I met Josh Neer.

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