By Keith Mills

The past two years have been rough on Yves Edwards. In the summer of 2005 Yves was on top of the world, beating Hermes Franca for a second time and getting an invitation to Pride’s Bushido Grand Prix while riding a seven-win streak. Problems developed with first a loss to Joachim Hansen in the first round of the tournament followed by an upset loss to Mark Hominick and seemingly “final straw” loss to Joe Stevenson in UFC. Even BodogFIGHT resulted in two losses for the fighter at one point thought of as the best in the world.

Now Yves looks to turn that around at ElteXC, largely due to his change in training at ATT where previous opponents Aaron Riley, Jorge Masvidal, and Mike Brown all train. This weekend fans get to see the initial results of that change as Yves faces Nick Gonzalez.

KM: How do you feel about your debut in EliteXC this weekend?
YE: I feel good about it. They have a good show, they have a lot of good fighters on the show like Nick Diaz and Jake Shields. I’m looking forward to fighting.

KM: They have some great fighters but aren’t really known for the Lightweights. KJ Noons and Nick Diaz are fighting for the 160 pound belt but not 155. How well do you feel you fit in at EliteXC and what are your options?
YE: I like it. I fought at 160 for a while and that is their weight class. My fight here is going to be at 160 and two of my fights in Pride were at 160. It is an easier cut and it isn’t too much of a weight advantage. I don’t think it is going to pose a problem, I’m just looking forward to fighting. I got with a good team and have a lot of good guys to train with right now. I’m just looking forward to going out there and getting back to it.

KM: I’ll get back to ATT in a moment but first are you still under contract to Bodog?
YE: No, I’m no longer under contract to Bodog. I think that is for the best. I like the EliteXC promotion and they are definitely the direction I want to go in.

KM: Is this a one fight or three fight contract with EliteXC?
YE: I have quite a few fights with them.

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