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Posts Tagged ‘Bellator’
“Why Anderson? Because Anderson is a huge name. He’s talking the talk that is kind of what we’re talking about. He’s talking about doing superfights. He’s talking about the things that Nick’s been talking about that Nick did when he was with Strikeforce that Nick is into. That’s why. And he’s exciting and just a great fighter. He’s talking about catchweights, he’s talking about exciting fights that people want to see instead of being limited to fighting, you know, if this is your weight class, if this is the number one contender, this guy did this, this guy did that. We’re not interested…. people are thinking now, ‘Why does Nick want to fight this guy? Why does Nick get a shot at the title?’ It’s not about the title. If he was at 185, we don’t want the title. Nick isn’t trying to be disrespectful to other great middleweights out there on campus and want that. There are a lot of great middleweights that are at the front of the line for a title shot. This is about fighting and a superfight.”
- Cesar Gracie, coach of Nick Diaz, told Middle Easy that his student is interested in a superfight with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
“That’s a big joke. Everybody saw that it worked for Chael, and he got really famous with that, and now everybody wants to be on the spotlight. No opponent makes sense for Anderson at this moment. Unless we do a catchweight against Georges St. Pierre. They didn’t offer the fight, but he’s the only one that could do a super fight. Anderson has the biggest paycheck in the UFC, and you can’t promote an event with these amateur kids that are coming up now.”
- Jorge Guimaraes, one of A. Silva’s managers, told Tatame that UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is the only fitting opponent for the 185-pound kingpin.
“Everywhere we go the fans are asking me for Nick Diaz. They’re always asking me when Georges is going to fight Nick Diaz. And when I tell them, he’s retired they have this crazy look on their face, like that’s crazy they still have to fight. I think Georges wants that fight. I think Diaz deserves a lot of money for that fight. I think they should pay him significantly, I think it’d be a big fight. I think everybody would be watching. Nobody would miss that fight. And I think for Diaz, he’s not happy. From what I hear, Nick Diaz is not happy with all the judging in the sport, and I can understand all that, but hopefully he changes his mind. He’s a great fighter and definitely a lot of people want to see that fight.”
- Firas Zahabi, GSP’s head trainer, told MMA Fight Corner fans are still interested in seeing the UFC welterweight champ battling Diaz.
“No, that’s on him he is worried about TriStar. I don’t care about that, I fight for myself and that’s it. I am not worried about that. He is all upset because Georges whooped him, but, I am going to hurt him even worse, so. I am training for the best B.J. I am just preparing myself to be the best version. I am going to come out evolved, I am going to be in shape, explosive and exciting like I always do. I am going to be very technical and I am going to be on point. I don’t know where B.J. is at. You know, he didn’t even show up to this. He is dropping out of the VADA testing. Last time I saw him he looked really out of shape. I don’t know where his head is at in this, but, he better get serious or I am going to hurt him very badly.”
- Rory MacDonald spoke about B.J. Penn, his opponent at UFC 152, at the UFC 152 press-conference in Toronto, Ontario.
“It’s an interesting fight and I think either Stann knocks him out or Bisping wins the decision. I know (Bisping) is good and talented and he has faced some good guys but every time he has faced a top ten guy he has lost. Like with the Chael Sonnen fight he did awesome and a lot of people thought he could have won but he didn’t find the way to win. And I am not knocking him – I think he’s a great fighter, I really do – but I question his mentality against top guys when the pressure is on. Which is pretty much what everyone says about him. He has had chances to fight for the title twice now and he doesn’t come through when the pressure is on.”
- Chris Weidman spoke to Fighters Only about an upcoming match involving Michael Bisping and Brian Stann at UFC 152.
“We don’t make the rules. We enforce them. It’s not our job to make sure the fight goes the way the promoter wants it to go. It’s the fighter’s job. It’s their show. They’ve got to be the entertainer. I don’t make the fight what everyone expects it to be. If you want to make a 15-second standup rule, then come up with a 15-second standup rule and I will stand them up in 15 seconds. I can only go with what’s given to me. I don’t judge fighters by who they are and what they’re known for. I can’t even count how many fights I’ve done which all has gone fine, but sometimes things are going to go bad. It’s just like good fighters. Sometimes it goes bad and they get subbed or they get beat, and that’s the way it goes. Unfortunately, we’re in a high-profile position. We can’t see it all. You got to understand, I don’t work for Dana and we [referees] don’t work for Dana. I feel I’m a public servant for the fans and the fighters. I want to make sure the fighters have a good, clean, fair fight that they trained for and expect.”
- Steve Mazzagatti talked to Heavy.com about his job as a mixed martial arts referee.
“I think the sport has gone so far with mixed martial arts that we try to do a good example for kids and for fans in general to watch this sport of mixed martial arts. For Forrest to be able to use testosterone, you look at professional baseball, you got Barry Bonds and all the guys in baseball that were looked down upon and are now allowed into the Hall of Fame because of it. Guys in our sport are allowed to do it and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it. I don’t think it’s showing a good light on us athletes who have worked so hard to get the sport where it is today. I don’t know about the win overturned because he let them know that he was doing it, but, I don’t think it’s a good thing that we show our kids as athletes, you know what I mean? Setting a good example is doing the right things, and that is being drug free and showing what a person’s body can really do.”
- Tito Ortiz told TMZ he isn’t happy with Forrest Griffin, the final opponent of the “People’s Champ,” or other fighters abusing testosterone replacement therapy.
“Sorry to all my fans hoping to see me back in the big show. We were talking to the UFC about the (Daniel Cormier) fight in (Strikeforce) and agreed to it. But for some reason they picked Mir instead. It is what it is at least I was considered so maybe in the near future I will be back thanks for all of your support.”
- Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia stated on The UG that he was considered as an opponent for Daniel Cormier.
“That’s the fight I want. I want my title back. I think he is much easier to study Jon Jones now… last time the guy was a brand new style in the UFC. Now we’ve seen him fight other guys and have more information what he’s going to do in the Octagon. I am working towards beating him in a rematch.”
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua told Yahoo! Sports he thinks he would perform better in a rematch against the combatant that took his light heavyweight belt, Jon Jones.
“I guess the difference is he’s probably got arms twice as long as everyone else I’ve fought. But it’s not rocket science, I’ve been doing it a while. There’s certain things I need to be careful for that he does well and it’s the same approach I have with any fight. There are certain things that guys do best and you just got to be aware of that and still got to implement what I want to do with him. … I think with my style, I feel very comfortable going against his style. My focus is to win every round, not to land the H-Bomb but just to make sure I win every round. If I hit him pretty good along the way, hopefully it knocks him out. But I do need to make sure I get inside of his length, stay in his face and make him fight me.”
- Dan Henderson told MMA Weekly his plan is to win rounds and not search to land his big right hand when he meets Jones at UFC 151.
http://www.mmafighting.com/bellator/2012/7/25/3186147/eddie-alvarez-to-fulfill-final-fight-of-bellator-contract-in-october
Urijah FaberVerified Haha thanks @sonnench for the encouraging text!pic.twitter.com/OIrqpJwb
Urijah FaberVerified Congrats 2 @RenanBaraoUFC. He’s a tough dude. Broke my rib in the 1st with a great knee. Thank u 4 all the support pic.twitter.com/uC9sJrRh
Joe Lauzon Weidman is the next person I want to see fight Anderson. #UFC149 #UFC
Dana WhiteVerified See that kick to the body that hurt him and ref steps in? F*ckin refs
Dana WhiteVerified BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Dana WhiteVerified Not to mention that Levine let’s them sit against the fence for 5 full minutes
Dana WhiteVerified Officiating is kicking combat sports right in the NUTS!!! A ref let’s 2 guys lay in a clinch against the fence for the last 5 mins of 3rd rd
Dana WhiteVerified WOW brutal
Dana WhiteVerified I’m going on a blocking spree today. Who’s first f*ckers?
Miesha Tate cant believe @ToothlessMMAFan would ask Bryan 4 an interview the night b4 weigh-ins & then b**** bc he 4got while cutting 2 135 & apologized
Miesha Tate If ur an MMA journalist u gotta understand that fighters the night b4 weighins r dehydrated & hungry & if you’ve never been there u sound…
Miesha Tate like an idiot crying about an interview that @BryanCaraway was kind enough to try & oblige then anyways. He apologies & offers 2…
Miesha Tate reschedule & u still wanna be an ass?? Whoa… @toothlessmmafan don’t ever call me 4 an interview cuz u won’t like what I have to say
Luke Rockhold Yes girls taking good care RT @TheKaddyGirls: @rockholdmma hard living believe n a dream golf tourney Bridges Golf Clubhttp://instagr.am/p/NcFLrcw9HA/
Ronda Rousey 7-11 sells lottery tickets AND won the lottery… That’s totally not the least bit suspicious… pic.twitter.com/Wf8luM0m
Jon Bones Jones Just ran into my man @JustinBieber at the mall, is it me or is he getting taller? pic.twitter.com/epbllPAi
Joe Rogan It’s a complicated issue, and anytime a terrible tragedy like the Colorado incident happens some people automatically blame guns
Joe Rogan I think the real issue is the killer was a sick and broken human being. As a culture we need to figure out how such a person is created.
Joe Rogan The whole issue is beyond tragic and my thoughts and condolences go out to the families of the victims and the wounded.
Joe Rogan In a perfect world there would be no need for guns, but tragic events like this are a horrible reminder that the human race is still a mess.
UFC president Dana White.(photo: Hector Castro/MMADieHards.com)
“I think that the under card was awesome. These guys blew it out of the water. I said this the other day and it’s true: This company, we make money. I like breaking records. We broke the gate record here tonight and I’m embarrassed. I was excited when I heard, but now I’m embarrassed. The under card delivered — they were awesome. The main card did not [deliver]. I don’t think the Faber-Barao fight deserved the boos — you’re talking about two of the best guys in the world in a five-round title fight. It was very technical, everyone understands how good Urijah Faber is and Barao dominated him tonight. I think there were a lot of things that went wrong. I felt like I was at UFC 33 again. I think that Cheick Kongo and Shawn Jordan pressed against the fence for three rounds and I think the ref let him do it…. We’re at UFC 149. We can count on one hand how many shows actually sucked. And tonight is one more finger on the hand.”
- Dana White admitted at the UFC 149 post-fight press conference that the event was not one he was impressed with
“It just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. Whether it was Boetsch or Lombard winning, I was expecting a real war. I thought this thing was going to be a war. You can’t be angry with [Lombard], but it just shows you guys, ranking guys who don’t fight in the UFC, it’s two different worlds. Guys that fight in other organizations that end up in top 10 rankings, it’s a whole other world over here. Lombard maybe should fight at 170. He made 185 easily. He’s short and wide, but I think he could make 170.”
- White addressed Hector Lombard’s UFC debut at the UFC 149 post-fight press conference.
“I’m down to fight anybody, anytime, anywhere. Dan Hardy has a lot of hype behind him and I know if I beat him it will put me on the map, for sure. That’s the only reason why, I have nothing personal against him, he has nothing personal against me. A win over Dan Hardy and I guarantee everybody knows my name afterward. A win over somebody else might not give me the same recognition. I will be completely honest. When I fought in Manchester, England, they were very cruel to me. One fan actually spit directly in my face, and he was lucky enough where it hit my mouth … to be disrespected like that … for some butter-toothed Brit to spit in my mouth, that was some bull. And honestly, it’s never been the same.”
- Matt Riddle told mmafighting.com he wants a bout with “The Outlaw.”
“Yeah, I guess (I did just send a big F you to all the haters out there). It looks more impressive, I think, because I used to be so boring, so, all the better. I visualized it for a long time. I knew this was coming. I don’t know how that sounds but I’ve seen this every day when I close my eyes, so it was not unexpected.”
- Ryan Jimmo told mmafighting.com his KO win over Anthony Perosh was a message to the naysayers.
“I’ve gotten all good responses about it. The only thing I think people think was bad, it wasn’t really bad, it was one person in a forum or a blog said, ‘No grown man should ever get on his knees.’ Something like that. Besides that I’ve only seen good feedback off of it. I have heard nothing from Dana (White).
“There’s nothing bad you can really take from it. I didn’t tell him, ‘You cheap ass.’ I just can’t think of a way somebody can construe that into something that was bad for me to be throwing out there.”
- Lorenz Larkin talked Punch Drunk Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network about the response he received after requesting fighter bonuses in Strikeforce.
“I don’t want to fight Cain Velasquez. He’s helped me so much to become a mixed martial artist. When I started, the dude opened himself up to me and showed me so much. He didn’t have to do that for me … As I’ve said time and time again, if Cain is champion, in my heart of hearts, I know I don’t want to fight that guy. Then I will go fight Jon Jones. I will fight Jon Jones if I have to. Imagine that: Me and Jones standing across the cage from one another. That would be crazy because you know I’m putting him on his back.”
- Daniel Cormier told ESPN he’s willing to drop to the light heavyweight division to avoid battling Cain Velasquez.
“I think Chael should keep his word and leave the UFC because that’s what he said he was gonna do if he lost,” Jackson said. “He lost horribly. Bad! Chael sucks. He should go somewhere where people like his interviews, the way he talks [expletive] on everybody. I can’t stand that boy. [Expletive] Chael.”
- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson told Lowkick that Chael Sonnen should exit the UFC after losing to Anderson Silva.
“If stupidity was a disease that was treatable by medicine, ‘Rampage’ would be the first one in line at the pharmacy, every morning. If ‘Rampage’ wants to fight with me, let’s fight! But, the reality is, he’s on a two-fight losing streak, he can’t make weight, nobody cares about him, he doesn’t keep his word, and he’s out of the company in a matter of months. If he wants to fight, I accept.”
- Sonnen joined “MMA Uncensored Live” and admitted he is willing to fight “Rampage.”
“I don’t like being somebody’s teammate and being treated like I’m a groupie. I didn’t even want to go out of my way to say hello to that guy. Get over yourself. All you do is swim. If someone slapped you every time you jumped in the pool, I might have a little respect, but I was a swimmer before I did this stuff, and you can’t tell me that swimming is OH MY GOD, because it’s not.”
- Ronda Rousey gave her opinion on Michael Phelps to yahoo.com.
“F—. F— is my favorite word, period.”
- The UFC president told the edmontonjournal.com his favorite word, as if you didn’t know.
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UFC president Dana White.(photo: Hector Castro/MMADieHards.com)
“I’d say this one wins. This is the winner. We lost nine to injury and we had to move two other fights. So I would say, yes, this was the craziest card of all time.”
- UFC president Dana White admitted to mmajunkie.com that UFC 149 was the craziest card in all his years running the organization.
“We had an excellent camp down here, we have an excellent strategy and obviously we benefitted from Aldo’s input. Aldo knows how Urijah fights, and he was also able to help us devise our strategy going in to make this camp, so thank God we had an excellent camp and we’ll be very ready for this fight.”
- Renan Barao talked on the UFC 149 conference call about the assistance UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo has given in the Brazilian’s training camp for his UFC 149 bout against Urijah Faber.
“Is he going to bring Jose in there to help fight me? If so, then yes, but we’re all individuals. I feel like Renan, although he has a lot of similarities to Jose Aldo, he is a very different fighter. They’re different sized fighters. They’re different skill sets. It’s a different fight. Same with me and my camp. I don’t think that having Aldo’s input is going to change too much for me. He’s probably going to tell him to kick me in the leg, but I’m sure Barao was planning to kick me in the leg anyway. I’m stoked for a great fight. I really like the camp I’m fighting against. It’s kind of a fight pitting the two best lightweight camps in the world against each other, so I think we’ll take extra pride in that for sure.”
- Faber said on the UFC 149 conference call that Aldo helping Barao won’t make a difference in their UFC 149 bantamweight interim championship bout.
“I didn’t see myself losing against Nate. I didn’t necessarily try to protect my undefeated record. I didn’t see myself going undefeated for my entire career. That would have been great, but for me, I just thought I was faster. I thought that using my timing, using my hands, using my speed and using my wrestling, you know I didn’t want to do a whole lot of taking down and wrestling. He was waiting on that, he was ready for that. I got a fat lip, my legs are a little sore; he got a couple leg kicks in. Just frustrated. No pain in my body takes away from the fact that I look at him and I feel like he’s wearing my belt. Kudos to the guy, he came out hard. He took some good shots as well. We went out there and fought hard, he came out on top today so there’s nothing you can take from the guy.”
- Tyron Woodley told Sherdog that the only pain he suffered in a loss to Nate Marquardt in the Strikeforce welterweight title match is seeing “The Great” sport a belt he feel he could’ve won.
“I really felt good, basically, in the first round. He was a very tough opponent; he’s a very tough guy. That’s why we were fighting for the belt. But, I thought I just came prepared. I really feel like it’s my time. I’m one of the best in the world. Actually, I feel like I am the best in the world.”
- Marquardt said at the Strikeforce: “Rockhold vs. Kennedy” post-fight press conference that at this point in his career he is the world’s finest fighter.
This will be the first time in my adult life that I won’t be working. I will just be focusing on developing a team to win the show and focusing on preparing to knock Roy Nelson out. That is my new job and my new passion. I know Roy likes to be the UFC’s Jester but he better know this is not a joke for me. He can keep striving for being average; I am pushing myself and those around me to find the American Dream. The dream that comes from lots of hard work and sacrifice, no gimmicks necessary.
- Shane Carwin wrote in his blog that he is taking his coaching role on TUF 16 against Roy Nelson very serious.
“Why is everyone slipping it under the cover now? “Oh yeah, she’s selling Skechers to thirteen year olds.” I don’t want some girl whose entire fame is based on a sex video to be selling Skechers to my thirteen year old sister. That’s the horrible kind of role model that I really do not want to be around, why I’m doing things like this: Because girls like Kim Kardashian are being pushed in my sister’s face, and it’s just not healthy. She shouldn’t even have role models like this. And that’s why I’m doing stuff like ESPN Body, because someone needs to do it, for god sakes.”
- Ronda Rousey talked about reality show star Kim Kardashian at the ESPN Body Issue wrap-up party.
“I don’t know if I can export that. How do you guys see him? He is what he is and I enjoy fighting guys like that, that are a little bit cocky. It’s funny to put them in their place.”
- Dan Henderson spoke to Tatame about the opportunity he is getting to knockout a “cocky” Jon Jones at UFC 151.
“I came home and I watched it, and I was kind of like you know, if I was sitting here, watching this on the couch, I probably would have been talking smack about myself. I always say accountability is a huge part of the sport, and you are accountable for your actions.
“I feel like I was just a little slow on the trigger. I don’t want to see guys take unnecessary punishment. It’s a rough sport. Everyone knows what they sign in for, but it’s a millisecond-basis game. You’re making choices right there on the spot, and in the heat of the moment, I felt like I was seeing some stuff.
“In hindsight, I have to step my game up and make sure I’m on point for the next guys.”
- Referee Josh Rosenthal commented on siriusxmsports.posterous.com about his late stoppage when Chris Weidman defeated Mark Munoz at UFC on FUEL TV 4.
“I want Anderson Silva. Every time I’ve had a full training camp I’ve gotten a finish. I want a chance at Anderson Silva.
- Weidman said in a UFC on FUEL TV 4 post-fight interview after he defeated Munoz that wants a shot at the UFC middleweight kingpin.
“There is no way to deny what we just saw. Weidman is on a roll, he is tapping guys out, getting Fight of the Night, and doing everything he needs to do. Now he is playing with the big boys. Now he is in the main event. The test was passed with flying colors. Chris Weidman, present company included, you are the best middleweight in the UFC.”
- Sonnen stated on UFC Tonight that Weidman is the best UFC 185-pound competitor.
“Chael is an amazing guy, an amazing athlete, a class act – I think every fighter on the planet could learn from Chael Sonnen, he built the fight and he chose the fight against the baddest man on the planet, we all know that you don’t pick a fight with Anderson Silva unless you’re crazy or really talented and Chael is really talented.”
- Mike Dolce, Sonnen’s nutritionist, spoke to MMASucka about his client’s most recent bout, which he lost to Anderson Silva in the UFC 148 main event.
“The knee got me in the face … and when he hit me with it I remember thinking for an instant, ‘oh, ref’s going to step in and probably take a point or do something,’” Sonnen carefully explained. “But this is not my message, I want to pick my words very carefully. This is not my message to say this. The knee landed where the knee landed. The result is the same, and I do not dispute the result.
- Sonnen joined UFC Tonight and talked about the controversial knee Silva landed in their UFC 148 middleweight title match.
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Guess who’s back, back again! DieHards Radio is back, people! Amy and Alex (both formerly of MMA Beatdown Radio, Alex currently also of Miami’s 790 The Ticket) are bringing sexy back to Blog Talk. And, you guessed it – we aren’t alone! We hope you all give our brand new co-host, Lloyd “Cupcake” Woodard, a giant Montanta grizzly bear wrestling welcome – DieHards style!
A brand new show is not a brand new show without an old friend – so we’re bringing The Monsoon to Punch Drunk with us! Lorenz Larkin is fresh off of an impressive victory over Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy.
Tune into Punch Drunk Radio every Tuesday night at 9pm ET for fighter interviews, special guests, breaking news, contests, event recaps, and website updates… All that and more on the latest Punch Drunk Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. And if you can’t catch us live, make sure you catch the the archive (available on demand HERE right after thebroadcast), and download the show from iTunes!
“If you would like to have a barbeque at my house, I’d love to have you come over for a barbeque.”
-Anderson Silva invited Chael Sonnen over for a medium rare steak in a UFC 148 post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
“That’s the way you deal with combat. You always shake hands and you always leave it in the Octagon, or in the ring, or on the mat. Those are the rules and I follow those same rules. That was great that he did it, it was very nice of him. Man, the Brazilian fans have it down right. They back their guy. North American is the only country in the world where we don’t do that, and that’s fine. But I really admire the Brazilian fans, including when I’m getting booed on the way in. I should be getting booed when I’m taking on their guy.”
- Sonnen had a different tune at the UFC 148 post-fight press conference towards the Brazilian, Silva, and the UFC middleweight champ’s countryman.
“Any time you’re a part of training camp or you’re friends with somebody and they lose, you just worry about them like, how are they going to handle it mentally? Are they going to come back from this? You know, I don’t know what Chael’s plans are, but I got a feeling he’s done fighting. I don’t know. I’ve just got a feeling he’s done. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think he was serious when he said, ‘If you beat me, I will leave forever,’ and there’s a very good chance of that.
“I never met anyone that had a scenario where it’s like, ‘If I don’t win this then I’m done,’ it never worked out positive for them because, just in my experience, you have to love the grind and if you love the grind, eventually you’ll get what you want because you give up what you need to give up. Apparently Chael had his limit like, ‘This is it, I’ve had enough. If I don’t win this then it’s all not worth it.’ Having lost that, yeah, there’s a very good chance he could pursue other things. He’s a very smart guy, very well spoken. I know, whether he’ll admit to it or not, he has a lot of passion to be a broadcaster of sorts. He seems to excel in any type of speaking arrangement. He loves doing interviews. He loves hyping fights and I’m sure he loves training. He’s a good fighter. He’s a great fighter and he’s an awesome athlete but he can’t fight forever and maybe he’s at a point he’d like to do something else. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong.”
- Neil Melanson, Sonnen’s coach, was a guest on The Verbal Submission, and he gave his insight on the future of The Gangster from Oregon.
“It’s easy to say, ‘take Anderson Silva down.’ Chael is an amazing wrestler — he went to the Olympics I think. Not everybody can do that. I’m not that level of wrestler. I can wrestle a little bit, but I’m not Chael Sonnen. But, I can kickbox [much] better than Chael Sonnen can. I won’t get knocked out in the second round like Chael Sonnen did. That’s a fact…. You’re a fool to bet against Anderson. He’s amazing. For me, personally, I want to fight the guy because I want to see how I can do against him. I’ve beat a lot of guys, but I want to fight that guy. I think I can do better. And I’m never going to know that until I get in there with him. Yes, I want to fight him. Yes, I want to get paid for a title shot. Yes, I want the main event. I want all that. For me, personally, for my mind and soul, I want to fight the guy just to know how I would do. I think I can do better than Chael Sonnen did. In fact, I know I can do better than what Chael Sonnen did.”
- Michael Bisping vowed on UFC 148 post-event show on FUEL TV to do a better job against Silva than Sonnen did, provided the Englishman is granted the opportunity.
“He said he wouldn’t fight Chael again, either. The two times he went to 205, it wasn’t because he wanted to, it was because I asked him to. I love being involved in every aspect of the business with this guy. I love to watch him fight. I love the anticipation and the build-up. To watch this guy do what he does is seriously one of my favorite [expletive] parts of my job. I love it. This guy is my favorite fighter. He really is. And as hard as he is to deal with, I just love it. I love dealing with him. He’s our Mike Tyson. The guy is unstoppable, unbeatable. Now it’s like, ‘Who can challenge him? Who can beat him?’ I don’t know. Let’s find out. Let’s see what happens.”
- Dana White told USA Today he’ll have to see what happens in regards to a bout between Silva and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“I call it like I see it and [the win] just looked dirty to me. [Silva] greased himself again. After the Vitor [Belfort] fight I saw him grease himself. I wasn’t very fond of that first one. He did it again, blatantly. And then the shorts grab. And then finally the knee, it ended up legal, but it looked like bad intentions. All that together, it just wasn’t very champion-like for me. I want to see a respectful champion out there. I know emotions might get high with all the crap talking, but you got to keep those separate and got to fight clean.”
Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold voiced his displeasure on Sirius XM Radio regarding Silva’s victory over Sonnen at UFC 148.
“My focus is to fight. There’s going to be a lot of fans that might be upset, but they won’t be upset with my performance. That’s my goal, that’s what I’m there for, to give fans the best performance and that’s the most important thing to me.”
- Cung Le told MMA DieHards, though fans may be let down that he wouldn’t partake in the UFC Fan Expo festivities; they can count on him to deliver a good show against Patrick Cote UFC 148.
“I think I perform best when my back’s against the wall. I didn’t get the phone call and nothing was said to me, but in my mind it’s one of those things where you have to go out and win because if you don’t win it could be your last fight in the UFC. Joe Silva can cut you for a while; you can have to go fight somewhere else. Going into this fight off two losses, I feel like this is a must win fight for me. I’m not thinking about the title, I’m not thinking about who I’m going to fight next, I’m thinking about who’s in front of me. I’m thinking about Fabricio (Camoes) right now, thinking that I have to go in and win, but not only just edge out a win, I need to win impressively.”
- Melvin Guillard explained his mindset heading into UFC 148 via MMA Weekly.
“If I had my way, I’ll fight the winner of Faber and Barao. I’ve been working very hard and I’m super happy about this.”
- Mike Easton, who defeated Ivan Menjivar at UFC 148, told MMA DieHards he would like to fight the winner of Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao.
“For me, I’m a fighter, I’m here to kick ass, I don’t care who I’m fighting. I’m already a three-time world champion, I’ll fight anybody, anywhere, so I’m going to leave that to the gentlemen of the UFC to decide. I know [Junior dos Santos] didn’t want to fight me in the first place. I know he was happy [about the NSAC decision], I just know that. I hit very hard, I’ve knocked out a lot of people, I’ve submitted a lot of people. I am, in any way you look at it, a legitimate threat to his title. I’m going to get it. He knows that. Cain (Velasquez) is also doing very well right now, but Cain doesn’t hit as hard as I do. Cain is smaller than I am and has less experience. I’m the biggest legitimate threat out there, that’s why he’s afraid.”
- Alistair Overeem explained to mmafighting.com why he is the biggest threat to UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos’ title.
“Alistair did meet with me. I think he’s a stud. I liked the meeting, liked what he had to say, and I like the fact that he came in town, he came in the thing he walked in, I saw him walk in he was meeting Lorenzo (Fertitta), I (expletive) walked in my office and shut the door. He went downstairs and waited for 40 minutes until I called him upstairs and then came in my office like a man and nothing but respect for Alistair now. We all make mistakes, we all do stupid (expletive) all the time and I say this all the time it’s all in how you deal with your mistakes and how you handle yourself after. He handled himself like a (expletive) stud. He was an absolute stud and a man and I respect him for what he did.”
- White, President of the UFC, verified at the UFC 148 post-fight press conference that he and “The Reem” are on good terms again, after Overeem tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (P.E.D.’s) and got ejected from the UFC 146 heavyweight title main event.
“That’s what we’re trying to – you make a good point and Anderson Silva said it at the press conference the other day. Anderson Silva, the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world has broke every record in the UFC and is the greatest fighter ever in mixed martial arts. He’s 38 years old, people don’t realize that, he’s not 28, he’s 38, and he’s not doing testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). This guy comes in 100 percent natural and he beats everybody. And something should be said for that, I don’t disagree. You know the guys who are using testosterone replacement therapy going up against a guy who isn’t, and this guy’s still the greatest in the world. So to me, the bottom line is you don’t need that junk. If you don’t abuse stuff earlier in your career, you’ll never need to use that kind of junk.”
- White gave his stance on TRT in an interview with ESPN.
“The much fabled UFC 149 injury bug has touched down close to home, much closer than I’d like, actually taking me out of the upcoming fight vs. James Head in Calgary’s UFC debut event. Now last week it just so happens that I got hurt training and after a few days I realized I’m not going to be able to compete at the event, so I zipped back home to take advantage of Canada’s lovely health care system, and start getting back on track. This morning i go online and wow, there’s a pretty vocal contingent of people screaming bloody murder over a few changes to the card? FOLKS… it’s the top of the sport your still going to get good fights!! Look at some of the guys competing even on the undercard. You may not know them now, but they did the work to be in the show, and can fight. Let’s show the guys on UFC 149 a bit of respect, and watch a good show. Some quality guys there for sure. I think that Fedor vs. Jose Aldo super fight’s going to have to wait for a bit.”
- Claude Patrick took to The Underground and defended the injured fighters, including himself, that have altered UFC 149.
“Me and DellaGrotte have been friends for a while. I think the reason I was looking at him for a new trainer is because he and Shawn kind of have a similar style. They use a lot of similar techniques and they both come from similar backgrounds, so I thought it might be an easier transition to work with him and it was. He’s got some new tricks to teach me and I look forward to getting more time in with him. For that fight me and him worked together for not even a full week, so imagine what we could do with a full training camp. When you think about what me and him could do in a full camp together, people need to start worrying about me.”
- Sam Stout talked to MMA DieHards about the latest addition to his corner, Mark DellaGrotte.
“I put my heart, soul and body into this sport. I’ve had ACL surgery, back surgery, neck surgery, a meniscus tear. When people ask me, ‘Why you retiring?’ I’m retiring because it’s time. … I’ve done everything I wanted to do. My number one goal was to be the best fighter ever in the Octagon. I think I can hold hands with many who can stake that claim. … Chuck Liddell, Randy [Couture], Ken Shamrock, thanks. We helped build this sport into what it is today.”
- Tito Ortiz thanked some of his biggest rivals during “The People’s Champ’s” Hall of Fame speech.