It’s been almost a year since Ryan McGivern lost a hard-fought battle to Tim Kennedy via guillotine choke. Needless to say, McGivern then found himself at a crossroads in his career. After winning his first six professional fights, the Iowa-native lost five of his next nine including the submission loss to Kennedy.

His next test came in the form of Fabio Leopoldo – the man responsible for the second loss of his career. Thankfully for McGivern, he may have saved himself a job in the IFL by recording his first-ever knockout victory. He was waiting to find out which fighter he would face next when Tim Kennedy, scheduled to fight then-IFL middleweight champion Matt Horwich in February, was called into duty by the U.S. Military.

His replacement came in the form of our friend Ryan Mcgivern and a few weeks later the once struggling fighter was crowned the IFL’s new middleweight champion following a unanimous decision over Horwich.

His first title defense comes on May 16, against Dan Miller, winner of seven of his first nine fights (one no contest). For the first time in his career, McGivern now enters the ring with a bulls-eye on his back.

MMARated Radio caught up with McGivern to talk about a whole host of topics:

* What’s like being a champion?
* Has life changed?
* Has the IFL treated him any differently?
* His upcoming fight against Dan Miller?
* Will he enter the fight with a different mindset now that he is the champion?
* Filling in for Kennedy less than a month before the Horwich fight?
* The Horwich fight
* What he would like to accomplish in his career

LISTEN TO THE RYAN MCGIVERN INTERVIEW AT MMARATED.COM