Jacob Volkmann Has ‘Volkmann for President’ Signs in His Own Yard

Ahead of his bout against Roller, and ahead of the election, Volkmann recently joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to discuss his opponent, politics and more.

On fighting in Minnesota: “It is a little more nerve-wracking. I know there’s going to be a lot of family and friends here. I am going to stay in a hotel room, though, a few nights before, then for the next three nights just because I want to focus.”

On whether he can take Roller down: “Yeah. I’ve watched the videos. I’ve seen a lot of times where he just opens up. Whenever you put the heat on him, he defends himself and his arms are up. It’s pretty easy to see the opportunity to take him down there.”

On whether this fight is a must-win: “Oh, this is a must-win for sure. Not only just to stay in the UFC, but just because I have a lot of bills to pay. After a loss you only get half of what the contract is [for winning].”

On why he fights instead of focusing on his career as a chiropractor: “I’ve been competing my whole life. It’s something my whole life I’ve been training for, just competing. I love to compete. I figure I’ve only got a handful of years left of competing, so I might as well keep on doing it when I can.”

On whether he’s satisfied with how the UFC has promoted him: “They’re doing what pays the bills. Obviously I haven’t finished a fight yet in the UFC. That’s the main thing that they’re weighing their decision on. I can’t really hold it against them. They’ve got to pay their bills too.”

On why he hasn’t been able to get a finish in the UFC: “I don’t know. I don’t know why Danny Castillo didn’t tap to that one [choke]. I couldn’t get underneath Antonio McKee’s neck. Just a fluke. That’s the way it goes. ... Ninety percent of the people that I’ve got the D’Arce in, that I got Danny Castillo in, well, probably 99 percent of people would have tapped on that. That was extremely tight. I don’t know how he even got blood to his head.”

On whether he expects to see “Volkmann for President” shirts at the event: “I’m hoping so. I gave about a hundred of them away to people that are going to the Target Center. I’m hoping there will be over a hundred shirts there because I’ve sold some too.”

On how many write-in votes he’ll receive this election: “If you’re smart, a lot. Especially if you don’t like Obama, but you don’t want to vote for Romney, just put my name in there.”

On whether he’s a fan of Mitt Romney: “No. I don’t like his haircut.”

On whether he has a “Volkmann for President” sign in his yard: “I have two of them. I’ve got two yard signs. … I was going to put more, but I didn’t want to spend too much money on my campaign.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 57:12).