“I wouldn’t imagine Mayweather would take a fight with me, but if he did I wouldn’t turn it down.”

Boxingtalk.com recently caught up with The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 contestant Allen “Monstah” Berube. Allen discusses UFC 69, The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 and BJ Penn’s upcoming fight against Jens Pulver. You don’t want to miss what he had to say about Floyd Mayweather’s comments about the UFC and the importance of bringing lobster home. Check it out!

PC: How’s everything going Allen?

AB: Everything is going great. I’m just training hard and trying to step it up and compete with the big boys now.

PC: I saw you at UFC 69. How did you enjoy the show?

AB: It was great; gotta love that. Me being an underdog myself, I had a blast watching these guys upset the favorites.

PC: The lightweights are back in full swing. Roger Huerta and Leonard Garcia definitely didn’t hurt the cause. What did you think of that fight?

AB: What a battle. It was great. Everyone loved that fight.

PC: Would you consider Matt Serra’s victory over George St. Pierre one of the biggest upsets in MMA history?

AB: I think it was a big upset, but you gotta understand Serra has been around the game for a long time. He’s no joke. I think a lot of people underestimated him; anything can happen. I really believe that. This is MMA. Anything can happen on any given day. These are some little tiny gloves and if you get hit with one of them gloves, it aint the same.

PC: How was it being a part of The Ultimate Fighter Season 5?

AB: I had a blast being in the Ultimate Fighter house. It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. I was definitely the rookie in the house; just getting into the sport myself. It was an honor being in there with some of the guys I was in there with. I had no idea when I got chosen that I would be picked to be in the house with these guys. I had been watching a lot of the guys on TV, Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz, Matt Wiman and Gabe Rudiger. Those are all big names and I stepped in there only having a few fights, so I was like wow! It brought my level and my game way up being around those guys for the 6 weeks I was there. I’m even thinking of now making a career out of the sport having the opportunity. I still have a long road ahead of me and a lot of learning to do. I’m going to step back from the restaurant business I think and start fighting a little more.

PC: How did you get in the restaurant business and what made you try out for the show? 

AB: I got into the restaurant business about 9 years ago when I was visiting Tampa and someone told me, “Hey why don’t you bring some lobster down here with you?” (Allen is from Maine) I did it a few times and I was able to pay for my trip. I bought a little location and opened a store and it was all take out; it did great. Then I decided to open another one and add some seating to it. I added some seats and opened up in South Tampa and I did great down there. I got a little bit over my head. I went over and said I’ll close the little one down and I’ll open a 4,500 square foot one with full bar and 200 seats; tried that and it didn’t do so well. It took about a year for me to go under in that one. I still have my 40 seat restaurant and I got rid of the big guy. I was regrouping for a little while and I was looking for a cheap way to advertise my business. I went to one of the local fights and it was 1,000 people in the crowd and I thought I could get in that ring and advertise my restaurant. I did it a few times and I actually done pretty good and I started enjoying it. I got a little bit of a following and before you know it, it became a passion. I started really enjoying the fight game and someone told me with my personality I should go try out for the Ultimate Fighter. They were having tryouts in Miami and I said, I’ve seen crazier things happen. I got in the car with my coach and another guy and drove down to Miami and did the tryout. We went down there were 1,000 guys, tried out and I definitely wasn’t the best one down there, but I wasn’t the worst either. I did my best I busted my ass and they liked me. I got the call back and next thing you know I was in the house with 15 other guys and I was fighting for a spot; trying to get that big money.

PC: You had a chance to work with BJ Penn for a little while. Who do you like in the BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver fight?

AB: Being that BJ was my coach, I like BJ. I have nothing against Jens. He’s a great guy I just think BJ is going to be too much for him. BJ is amazing. The guy is out of control. The thing that I learned about BJ is when he puts his mind to something he can do it, no matter what it was. He gets that look in his eye. When I saw him on Spike, he had that look and he’s an aggressive guy.

PC: Floyd Mayweather Jr. went on record and said some things about the UFC and Chuck Liddell. I hear you issued a challenge to him. Can you tell us about that?

AB: Basically what happened was, everybody heard what Mayweather said about Chuck Liddell and I just thought it was wrong. They have enough room in this world and in the United States for boxing and MMA. For him to say something like that, you know? We let boxing be. Boxing is going to be around forever. People are saying MMA is going to run boxing out, I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I don’t think boxing is going to run MMA out either. It would be great to see a couple of these boxers try and come into MMA. He was basically saying that all we are is boxers that couldn’t make it in boxing; maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. I guess we could see if Floyd Mayweather came into MMA and see what he has. I can’t imagine that he would take a fight with me, but I wouldn’t turn it down.

PC: Who do you like in the Mayweather/ De La Hoya fight?

AB: I’m torn. You don’t want to like the bad guy; Floyd Mayweather. The kid is good, you know? His boxing is unbelievable. At the same time you gotta love De La Hoya. I’m a 32 year old guy. I know me and De La Hoya are a lot closer in age than me and Floyd, so it would be good to see the old man win the fight.

PC: What can we expect to see from you in the near future?

AB: Well, like I said I’m just training hard. Hopefully I get a fight on the Ultimate Fight Night in the UFC on June 23rd. Dana is hopefully going to give me that shot. I believe everyone in the house gets a shot on that night. I’m just going to go out there and take somebody out. It will probably be somebody that I was in the house with, but it really doesn’t matter to me. I figure if they’re 155 pounds I could fight them. I feel pretty good. I have a lot of athletic ability and throughout the season of me being in the house you could see my talent was rising and my ability was growing. They pick me in the first week to fight because I was the rookie in the house. The kid that I fought, he trains full time. That’s all he does. He gets paid to train. I run a restaurant and I train part time. I changing that up right now and look out when I’m training full time. I’m going to take that kid out!

PC: I appreciate the interview Allen. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

AB: Nope, but I will tell you if you bring home lobster, you guaranteed tail!

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