Editor’s note: James sent this along yesterday (Monday); however, we were unable to post it until now.

It is the Monday before my first fight in the UFC against Brad Blackburn on July 19. And it marked my last hard day of training.

I decided that I need to do one more day of sprints so I got up at 5 a.m. and hammered out the 30 sprints. Then it was inside to get the kids up and ready to go to daycare. I also had to get ready to go and do my last pad and sparring workout with Chubbs.

Of course, we ended up being late … but that is typical as any parent can tell you.

When we got to daycare I spent a little more time saying goodbye than normal because this was the last time I will see my kids for a week. My wife is taking them to their grandparents tonight because we fly to Vegas in the morning.

So I got to the gym around 8:15 a.m. and got in a good hard hour of pads and sparring. My cardio felt great — my recovery time is really fast, which is what you are looking for as a fighter. I figured I would be a little slow after the sprints, but the legs showed no signs of the run.

I next cruised up to my school and checked my email and relaxed for a little bit. And then it was back to the gym to work on some last minute techniques. You never can be too sharp with technique.

Before heading home I stopped back at the school to finish up a couple of things before I start to run all my last minute errands, which every fighter will tell you are a pain in the butt.

My camp has gone really well for this fight. With Kevin [Burns] and me both on the same card it was easy to get training partners in to work with us.

A typical day for me during this camp started off with cardio or strength training or pad work depending on the day. Then it was off to class at 11 a.m. everyday, which lasted for two hours. Classes consist of technique to full MMA sparring depending on the day and how we were feeling.

Like Randy Couture always says, listen to what your body is telling you. Later in the day I would either lift weights or do cardio. Luckily for me, I was already training hard when I got the call from the UFC. Some guys probably weren’t in the best of shape or training hard when the call came in.

So hopefully that will give me an advantage come fight time.

Tomorrow it is off to Las Vegas and the real UFC experience begins. I have no idea what I have to do tomorrow once I arrive so tune back in and I will tell you what goes down. You will get to read what it is like to be a first time UFC fighter.

James Giboo (10-2) is a professional mixed martial artist and Iowa science teacher who will make his Octagon debut against Brad Blackburn at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. He has competed extensively (and successfully) in the Midwest circuit, which has earned him a rare opportunity to now put his skills to the test against the top fighters in the world under the UFC banner. James will frequently detail his journey to the big time right here at MMAmania.com this week, providing our readers and his fans with a behind-the-scenes account of what it’s like to fight for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet for the first time. To check out more from James here at MMAmania.com click here.