Kingsbury interview: PED villain Victor Conte helps MMA fighter’s rise

Kyle Kingsbury is a brave guy. He's not afraid to step into a cage for a fight or shut out the noise around him beforehand. Working with Victor Conte can create that sort of negative buzz.

Conte's the guy, who first helped dozens of athletes (Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Bill Romanowski, Tim Montgomery, Shane Mosley) rise to the top of their games, then took them down when he ratted out them out. Conte was the mastermind behind BALCO. In a comeback attempt as a nutritionist/trainer he hasn't found too many high level clients, but count the UFC's Kyle Kingsbury as one of his current devotees.

"It's only a risky decision if you're not doing something right," Kingsbury said. "Obviously, I'm going to get tested more. Obviously, I'm going to get questioned more. I'm not worried about that, I'm on the right side of the fence. There's no anxiety going into a fight whether I'm clean or not."

Kingsbury says Conte is in the right place now, because he fears getting thrown in jail for good this time around. During the BALCO investigation, Conte cooperated with the feds and got only four months in jail.{ysp:more}

Kingsbury trusts Conte's training philosophies. He's been convinced to go away from traditional fighting training methods like working at high altitude and doing road work. Conte's training plan for the MMA fighter is centered around explosiveness, not just endurance.

Kingsbury, a former defensive lineman at Arizona State, is starting to gain a foothold with the promotion. The Season 7 "Ultimate Fighter" alum has won three straight as he gets set to show off Conte's work in a fight on Saturday night against Fabio Maldanado.