To call Carlton Haselrig an accomplished athlete would be an understatement.

In college, he was such an outstanding wrestler that he went on to become a six-time NCAA champion (three Division I titles and three Division II titles). The six NCAA championship titles is a distinction that is exclusive to Haselrig and is likely to remain so since Division II champions are no longer allowed to compete in the Division I tournament. While competing for the University of Pittsburgh of Johnstown, Haselrig would go on to defeat Kurt Angle. Based on his credentials, it’s not a stretch to call Haselrig one of the greatest amateur wrestlers in the history of the NCAA.

After college, despite not having played football while in school, NFL teams were so intrigued by his athleticism and strength that they recruited him to play football. Haselrig would ultimately agree to play for his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers as a 12th round pick. The late-round flier paid major dividends after he became an All-Pro offensive tackle in only his third season.

Injuries and off-the-field issues forced Haselrig out of the league in 1995 after a brief stint with the New York Jets, however, the competitive fire never died. A fan of mixed martial arts, Haselrig began to train in the sport and made his pro debut at the age of 42 on April 19 against former IFL heavyweight Shane Ott during a Battle Cage Xtreme card in Atlantic City, N.J.

Despite giving up a lot of experience to Ott, Haselrig came out like a man possessed and scored the upset TKO at 4:09 of round 1. The win was so impressive that ProElite-owned Elite Xtreme Combat has signed him to fight on the undercard of its first-ever CBS show on May 31 in Newark, N.J.

In spite of Haselrig’s high-ranking stature within amateur wrestling and the NFL, he is still a relative unknown to many MMA fans. As such, FiveOuncesOfPain.com decided to catch up with Haselrig for an exclusive one-on-one interview.

You can now read the transcript of our conversation with Haselrig below.

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Earlier this week I had the opportunity to go visit Brad Daddis’ Daddis Training Centers location in Philadelphia. I was able to get a glimpse of EliteXC heavyweight Jon Murphy’s training routine as he gets ready to face Brett Rogers in a swing bout scheduled for EliteXC: Primetime on CBS on May 31.

After Murphy finished working out with trainer Rigel Balsamico, I was able to interview him for my latest CBSSports.com interview.

Murphy is always candid when speaking with the press, something he’s getting an opportunity to do more of these days, thanks to his inclusion on the first-ever MMA broadcast on primetime network television.

During the interview, Murphy spoke openly about his past history with alcohol abuse; how sponsorships have been impacted through CBS’ involvement with MMA; his thoughts on Kimbo Slice and whether he wants to fight him; how he feels about being an undergo for this fight vs. Rogers; and much more. You can check it all out by clicking here.

A lightweight (155 lbs.) encounter between James “Binky” Jones and Calvin Kattar is the latest fight for the undercard of EliteXC’s debut CBS show on May 31 to be finalized.

A source first informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com of the news on Wednesday and we were able to confirm the news with Jones himself on Thursday evening.

Jones’ involvement with the show was first reported by the website FightTicker.com several weeks ago, however, his opponent wasn’t finalized until earlier this week.

Jones, a resident of the Baltimore area, has a substantial following in the Mid-Atlantic region and is a part of Team Ground Control and Team Rawdogg. Trained by John Rallo, Jones is 6-6 according to Sherdog.com’s fight finder. He’s currently on a two fight win streak and looked dominant in recent wins over Mark Getto during ShoXC’s Jan. 25 event and Al Buck during Ring of Combat 18 on March 7.

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Two fighters from Philadelphia’s famed Fight Factory fight camp have been added to the undercard of EliteXC’s first-ever “Saturday Night Fights” card on CBS television, a source close to the camp has revealed exclusively to FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

The Fight Factory, started by head trainer Stephen Haigh, features both DREAM lightweight Grand Prix competitor Eddie Alvarez and female MMA champion Tara LaRosa. Two of the camp’s up and coming fighters, Zach Makovsky, a former Division I wrestler, and Mike Groves, an aggressive boxer and wrestler, will both be appearing on the undercard in separate fights.

Makovsky has signed on to fight against Andre “Giugeto” Soares of American Top Team in a 140 pound encounter. Soares is 5-1 according to Sherdog.com’s fight finder and is on a four fight win streak. He most recently fought on April 18 for Battle Cage Xtreme in Atlantic City, submitting Josh Spearman with a guillotine choke at 0:19 of round 1.

Prior to the win over Spearman, Soares last fought in September of 2006, submitting Matt McCabe with an armbar at 1:09 of round 1 while competing for the Combat in the Cage promotion.

Makovsky made his professional MMA debut just over a year ago, recording a split decision victory over Leandro Escobar at Extreme Challenge 75 on March 23. He then returned to action this past October on a Combat in the Cage show, where he recorded a unanimous decision victory over Emerson Souza.

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A 140 pound encounter between Wilson Reis and Justin Robbins has been added to the undercard of EliteXC’s debut telecast on CBS on May 31 in Newark, N.J.

The bout was confirmed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com (www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com) by two separate sources within the past 48 hours.

Reis, 3-0, had been scheduled to fight former UFC lightweight Doug Evans during EliteXC’s ShoXC event on April 5. However, he was scratched from the card during the week leading up to the fight due to a question about his medicals. The concern proved to be a false alarm but the proper clearance was not submitted to the California State Athletic Commission in time for Reis to remain on the card.

Reis was replaced by Bao Quach, who won a TKO over Evans at just 0:55 into round 1.

The Brazilian-born fighter trains full-time in the Philadelphia area and is a jiu-jitsu instructor at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United in Jenkintown, PA. A renowned competitive grappler, Reis made his professional MMA debut at Extreme Challenge 81 last July, recording a unanimous decision over Baba Shegeyasu.

He improved his record to 2-0 while fighting for Combat in the Cage last October, submitting Diego Jimenez with a rear naked choke at just 2:00 of round 1. He would go on to make his ShoXC debut this past January in Atlantic City, submitting former Division I wrestler Zach Makovsky at 1:15 of round 2.

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Apparently Kimbo Slice is now officially “Street Certified” according to this poster and it looks like they will most definitely play off of Gina Carano’s stint on American Gladiators to hype her up. I, for one, am excited for this event. Let’s just hope it does the kind of numbers that CBS is looking for.

EliteXC and CBS officially announced the lineup for the premiere of CBS Saturday Night Fights on May 31st from the Prudential Center in New Jersey.

The televised card is as follows:

MAIN EVENT

• Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson

UNDERCARD

• Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith (EliteXC MW Title Fight)
  
• Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young
• Phil Baroni vs. Murilo Rua
• Brett Rogers vs. Jon Murphy

Check out more CBS Saturday Night Fights content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com!

Here’s a quick video clip of referee Herb Dean going over the rules for mixed martial arts bouts in preparation for the May 31st CBS Saturday Night Fights event. CBS released this video on their official YouTube profile and hopefully it airs several times before the fights on May 31st. It features Nick Diaz and Jake Shields with Herb going over the finer points of the rules to show people that MMA isn’t “barbarism” like some have called it.

This is exactly the kind of thing that EliteXC and CBS should be doing to gain more viewers. Like it or not, there are still people who are clueless about the sport and hate it for no apparent reason other than “it’s too violent.” Well, of course it’s violent. It’s a fight. But there are plenty of rules and regulations, things you can and cannot do. And it’s much more regulated than most people who know nothing about it believe. Like I said, hopefully this is aired several times before the fights so people can go into the thing with an open mind.

HT: The Savage Science

What: CBS/EliteXC Saturday Night Fights first event
When: May 31, ‘08
Where: Prudential Center in Newark, N.J

Here’s the latest on the Saturday Night Fights first event:

• Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson vs. James Thompson
• Gina Carano vs. Kaitlin Young
• Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith EliteXC MW Title Fight
• Phil Baroni vs. Joey Villasenor
• Jon Murphy vs. Brett Rogers (swing bout)

Card is not final and will be updated as fights are officially signed.

Check out more CBS event content on 5 Oz. of Pain.