Next weekend, the World Series of Fighting is back with their ninth event. In the main event of the evening, Welterweight champion Steve Carl looks to defend his title for the first time against former UFC contender, Rousimar Palhares.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Steve to discuss his upcoming fight with Palhares, nerves, and fighting a guy that seemingly no one else wanted to.

How are you feeling going into WSOF 9?

I’m feeling pretty good right now. I got a couple little injuries I am just resting up because I get banged up a little bit in training. It is the story of our sport.

Does fighting Palhares get you excited?

It does. One of the reasons I took this fight was because I see him as probably the biggest challenge to me so far. This sport for me is overcoming fear and embracing the excitement part of it. This fight is extremely exciting for me.

Pushing yourself when you have a fight coming up

It does. I was talking about it today during my conditioning work out. It is so much easier to push yourself when you have a fight coming up then when you don’t. The entire time you are pushing yourself and the more tired you get, you just see your opponents face and it makes you go that much harder. It helps me to continue to push myself.

Are you worried about Palhares holding on to a submission too long?

Not so much you know. Ya, there is the potential of losing and I will probably be in crutches for a while if I don’t win this fight (laughs). That’s in the back of my mind, but I have already come to terms with it and accepted the fight. That is something I can not worry about, because if I am worrying about it, it will eventually happen. Instead, I need to be thinking about finishing Palhares.

Respecting Palhares

You can go in there and fight Palhares without having any respect for him, but at the same time, that is exactly how you end up getting heel hooked or knocked out. You don’t have to respect the person, but you have to respect their abilities.

Are you trying to shock the world and submit Rousimar Palhares?

It’s not the game plan and there really is no game plan. I am going to go in there and fight him. My game plan is rarely to go in there and try and submit a guy. My game plan is to go in there and fight, and submission just come my way. You get the fight going at a certain pace and your opponent can’t keep up, there is holes and opening to finish fights.

Becoming the face of WSOF

I think that would happen becoming the face of the organization. That was another reason why I took this fight. I had a lot of haters and a lot of people doubting me going into the Burkman fight, and I still think there are people who doubt me. After beating Rousimar, I don’t think people could doubt me anymore.

Being the underdog next Saturday night

I like the underdog role. With the underdog role, it takes the pressure off me. If I am not expected to win, then it doesn’t really matter. I just need to go out there and do what I am supposed to do. If you are walking into a fight and everyone in the world expects you to win, then you better win. Pressure is on you to win, you have to. In my case, even with the belt, there is so much to gain with this fight and it’s not really about the title. It’s about beating Palhares and earning respect.

Dreams of fighting in the UFC?

I think everybody when they start out- with the UFC being the #1 organization and the face of the sport- everybody has the dream of being a UFC Fighter. I never actually got into MMA to compete at all; it was just to learn more self-confidence. I accomplished every goal that I set out to years ago in this sport. I am completely satisfied if my career ended tomorrow. I am happy where I have made it and where I am at.

Nerves before a fight

I was a mental midget in the first part of my career for sure. Like I said, I never actually got into the sport for fighting, it was just to learn more self-confidence. After two months of training I had my first pro fight. I was absolutely terrified. My first dozen fights I was terrified. I never got that experience to develop my mental attitude like I should have. I kind of just realized if you go in there afraid, you can’t perform to your abilities. The biggest thing I do to prepare is have a blank slate before a fight. Just be calm, no matter what. When they ring the bell, you both have a shot, and you have to give it your best.

Fighting Palhares when no one else would

I completely understand [Jon Fitch refusing to fight Palhares] and I was on board with him initially. When Fitch came out and said that, I was like ‘Ya I don’t want to fight that guy either’. But, after World Series of Fighting 8, I really got on them to know when my next fight was going to be and they said they wanted me to be the main event in June against Jon Fitch. I said that wasn’t going to work because I was not going to wait that long to fight. Then they asked me if I would fight Palhares in March, so I said yes because I am the champion and I am not going to say no to anybody. But, on the same hand, that makes it even sweeter to fight Palhares knowing that the next guy in line does not want to.

World Series of Fighting 9 goes down Saturday, March 29th in Las Vegas live and free on NBC Sports Network. Stick with FanSided over the next week as we will have interviews with Marlon Moraes, Tyler Stinson, Josh Burkman, and more.