Not many people get to do something that they dream about. But, for Brock Jardine that all changed one day when the hard work, determination, and sacrifices paid off when he got a call from the UFC. He got called to replace Rick Story’s opponent.

I got the chance to interview Brock before his fight and here is what we talked about.

What got you first interested in MMA?

I wrestled a lot, from high school through college. Once my college career was done, MMA was the logical next step since I still wanted to compete and a few of my friends on the wrestling team at Utah Valley University were also doing it.

When did you start training for MMA?

About 5 years ago, I started grappling and doing Jiu Jitsu, I did a few tournaments and did pretty well but I wasn’t doing it full time since I was still a student.

How did you find and start training with The Pit Elevated Fight Team?

I started training there because they were the closest gym that had Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai, it was a different gym then. The same guys were there like Court McGee, Steve Siler, and my college team mate Ramsey Nijem, but it wasn’t until the days following Court winning the Ultimate Fighter that his relationship with John Hackleman lead our team and our gym to the point where the it became an official Pit.

Your single loss is to Tony Ferguson, who won The Ultimate Fighter 14. Did you watch that season? How was it watching him win it?

It wasn’t hard, Tony is a tough fighter and it didn’t really hurt that much since my closest teammate Ramsey Nijem made it on. The worst part was that they cut me from the show the day before we were supposed to move into the house which was tough.

What was it like getting the call from The UFC, and taking the fight against Rick Story with only a months’ notice?

It was a dream come true, everything I’ve done over the past 5 years, all the training, all the sacrifice, every hardship I’ve endured was finally validated. The time frame wasn’t that big of a deal since I had just fought May 4th so I was in decent shape already.

How have you been preparing for your fight against Rick Story?

The same way I prepare for every fight, two a days, watching my weight, training every day with my teammates who really push me and of course a trip out to California to train with John Hackleman at the original Pit compound.

Does it help that on the same card as your fight, two of your teammates are also fighting on the same card?

Absolutely, the one time I lost I was fighting away from home, the only people with me were my coach Jason Mertlich and my manager, my dad and brother had come out to watch the fight but they were in the stands so when I was in the dressing room it was difficult since my teammates were always there with me before and I think that had something to do with the outcome. This time I’ll be in a comfortable environment with all my teammates and coaches around me and it won’t feel any different from the times we’ve fought together locally on the same card.

How does it make you feel that you have tons of people that are pumped to watch your debut? I live in the area you grew up in and anytime someone mentions the UFC you are the first thing that they talk about.

It’s a great honor for me, my family still lives in Virginia and they are all very proud of me and what I’ve been able to accomplish. The respect I’ve earned for my family by making it to the UFC is really a great feeling and I’m happy that my family is able to share that feeling with me.

Give everyone a reason or two as to why they should tune in to watch you fight Rick Story on UFC on FX 4 on June 22nd.

It’s going to be an exciting and fast paced fight, we’re both high energy fighters with a wrestling background so neither of us have an advantage there. It’s going to come down to who wants it more and the only thing I know for sure is I want this more then anyone.

I want to say thank you to Brock Jardine for giving me the opportunity to interview him. You can watch him fight this Friday June 22nd on Fuel TV at 6 p.m.

You can follow Brock on Twitter @BrockJardine