UFC: I needed a change - Te Huna

James Te Huna (red shorts) def. Igor Pokrajac (white shorts) - TKO - 3:26 round 3 during UFC 110 at Acer Arena on February 20, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. Photo / Getty

Kiwi middleweight James Te Huna will headline New Zealand's first UFC show in Auckland at Vector Arena on June 28. Te Huna will write an exclusive blog for nzherald.co.nz each Wednesday during the final month of his training camp as he builds up for his bout with American Nate Marquardt at UFC Fight Night 43.

After my loss to Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in Brisbane in December I knew I needed a change.

At that stage, I had lost my last two UFC fights at light heavyweight and I was becoming stale, which can happen when you're a fighter.

It's happened twice before in my career and I identified the need for change earlier but this time it took me 12 months to see something had to be different.

So I made the decision to drop to middleweight and rather than constantly working to keep myself up at 93kg as a light heavyweight, I will cut weight to fight at 84kg.

I am excited about the opportunity to headline my first UFC card when I meet American Nate Marquardt at UFC Fight Night 43 at Vector Arena in Auckland later this month.

Competing in my home country is something I never thought was possible when I first joined the UFC and it's made more special knowing it will be kick-starting the next phase of my journey as a fighter.

I've decided to do the final five weeks of my training camp in Auckland and it's great to have my team out here staying with me as we prepare.

I am feeling focused and comfortable with my weight after I enlisted the help of Johann Bilsborough, who works with AFL club Carlton, to fine-tune my diet.

For the past three months I have cut down the portion sizes of my food, stopped eating as much steak as I used to, while I also haven't had a drop of alcohol since January.

I try to keep my calories low and have upped my fats to keep my energy levels high.

Greek yoghurt has become a staple of my diet, while I add avocado to almost every meal.
Green tea is something I have always liked and I rarely drink coffee. I am walking around at about 90-92kg, which is the lightest I have been in 12 years.

I plan on weighing 90kg one week before the fight and am confident I will be able to drop the remaining 6kg when I get on the scales one day before the bout. In April I performed a test cut and found I was able to drop some weight easily.

One other crucial tweak I have made as I seek a change to my build-up is getting a new striking coach on board.

British boxing guru Mark Kinney has worked with some of the fight game's best strikers and we first met three years ago in Denver, Colorado when he was coaching former UFC competitor Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson.

Mark and I clicked immediately and when I got in touch with him through my management team and asked him to help me with my fight against Marquardt, I was really pleased he agreed to work with me.

He will join me for the final five weeks of this camp and I know he would only come out here from his home in the UK if he thought he could make a difference.

I've always believed in my stand-up abilities and I think Mark will give me a great edge.

Catch you guys next week.