Eric Pele would make a great spokesman for one of those fad diet systems.

Take a look at the before and after pictures and you’ll instantly see the difference. Sure he could always fight but he didn’t exactly look the part. When Pele was first stepping up to fight and at the same time making a bit of name for himself on the A&E reality show Inked, the Las Vegas resident was walking around at 368 pounds. During one episode of Inked, he was shown fighting but shortly afterwards ‘Big E’ ballooned up to 450 pounds.

It was just simply too much bulk for Pele to be carrying around. So with his family first and foremost in his mind and combined with the desire to become the best mixed martial arts fighter he could, Pele worked his butt off – literally. And that brings him to the Maximum Fighting Championship’s MFC 16: Anger Management where he will face unbeaten Chase Gormley in one of the co-main events.

So it’s the new and improved Pele making his debut with the MFC and on HDNet.

“I feel great now. I always tell people that I lost the weight not because I wanted to be able to fight better but for my health and because of my kids and family,” said Pele. “But now that I have lost it I do feel better about my fighting and a few more fights have popped up and I’ll be able to see how I do. I hadn’t fought for a year and half and I really believe you can see the difference between now and then.”

The weight loss hasn’t changed one thing – Pele’s hands are just as cement-hardened as always and he’s likely to look for another knockout victory when he faces Gormley. But the drop has given him an opportunity to become a more well-rounded fighter. He’ll never be confused for a jiu-jitsu wizard but at least he can hold his own if the fight isn’t a straight-up, stand-and-brawl.

“I do feel I can be more active on the ground especially in scrambles. And I do have a few tricks up my sleeve,” laughed the big fella, hinting at something out of the ordinary might be in store for Gormley.

“I’ve got a wrestling background – it’s not as decorated as his – but I think I’ve got some things that he hasn’t seen before. But I still sell myself as a striker especially with the big boys. I’m glad that the MFC has seen something in me to give me the opportunity to fight and I want to put on a show.

“I’m going to bring the guns blazing and show everyone why HDNet and the MFC hired me. This isn’t going to be a boring fight. I’d rather chance getting KO’d then take a safe route and lay and pray.”

Pele became a bit of celebrity thanks to his appearance on Inked, a reality based show inside the Hart & Huntington tattoo parlour in Las Vegas’ Palms hotel. It definitely generated quite a buzz as one of the first A&E reality shows (followed later by Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels, Criss Angel’s Mindfreak, etc.) but actually Pele came away somewhat disappointed from the whole experience.

“It would have been a great show had the powers that be known how to handle it but they dropped the ball,” he explained. “They really could have elaborated a lot on things but they made a bunch of changes in who was running the show. The original producers were great but when the first season was over they changed people and brought in some younger guys and they tried feeding their own ideas and it wasn’t much of a natural thing.

“They really should have focused on the artists and the art. I would bring in some of my friends and I’d work on a really big bold piece and it would be some of my best work but they wouldn’t air it because the guy didn’t have a great story. I have my own private studio now and I keep very busy but it still allows me the time I need to prepare for my fights because I have some really cool clients.”

ANGER ISSUES: Some interesting bouts are on tap at MFC 16: Anger Management when you consider what could be in store for some fighters should they come out on top. Obviously a victory by Ryan Ford or C.J. Fernandes puts them in the driver’s seat for a crack at the MFC welterweight title. But consider:

• Does Chase Gormley, if he gets to 6-0 by beating Eric Pele, look like a serious threat for Scott Junk’s heavyweight crown?
• Does Chris Camozzi, should he convincingly beat Dwayne Lewis, move to the front of the pack for the middleweight championship? How about a rematch with Jesse Forbes after their unbelievable battle at MFC 15 with the winner getting Patrick Cote’s belt?
• Whose ‘0’ will go in the “Matchup of Matts” when Veach meets Macgrath? And where does the winner go from there? Does the winner move into the welterweight (or even, if rumor has it right, the lightweight) upper echelon?
• And for Mike Maestas … he’s tasted victory in a top contenders’ tilt with Ryan Heck. If he gets by Ben Henderson, shouldn’t he be first in line for the 155-pound title shot?

CHAMPIONS UPDATE: And speaking of the MFC title-holders, it looks like both of the current injured champs will be back before the end of the 2008 schedule. Light heavyweight kingpin Roger “The Hulk” Hollett is on the mend from his knee injury and may even be ready to go by the show in September. Heavyweight boss Scott Junk might need a touch longer but there’s a sentiment out there that he could be back and rarin’ to go by the November date at the River Cree Resort and Casino. I’ve said in past Z-Files that the MFC needs to fill its vacant championships (lightweight and welterweight) and re-establish the middleweight title (passing the torch from Patrick Cote to a new champ) by the end of the year and it would be doubly satisfying to not only have that accomplished but to also have both reigning champs make title defences by year’s end too.