Dana White recaps all the key moments from UFC 132. (photo: Hector Castro/MMADieHards.com)
UFC President Dana White recaps several moments of UFC 132 including what is next for Wanderlei Silva, Scoring Siver/Wiman with UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta and singer Justin Bieber, and the difficulties of choosing the night’s awards.
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Brenneman weighs in
In a stunning and unpredictable turn of events Saturday, UFC President Dana White released a video stating that Nate Marquardt failed his medical clearance for his bout against Rick Story at UFC Live on Versus 4, and immediately released him from the organization.
“It’s true. He failed his medicals. Not only is out of this fight and out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC,” White said in a video he posted on his Twitter via Tout.com.
This comes as a huge shock to the MMA world, and no further comments have been made by UFC officials or anyone from Marquardt’s camp.
Story was not left without an opponent, as Charlie Brenneman got another chance and has been slotted in. Brenneman originally was supposed to fight TJ Grant on the undercard, but Grant was removed from the bout with an undisclosed illness and the match was scrapped. Brenneman is from Holidaysburg, Pa., some 90 miles from Pittsburgh, where the event is being held.
Brenneman trains under Mike Constantino at AMA Fight Club in Northern New Jersey. Constantino’s camp, which includes brothers Jim and Dan Miller, has became known for fighters being prepared on short notice. Miller stepped in against Marquardt at UFC 128 on a week’s notice, and lost a decision.
(Joe Rizzo contributed to this story)
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Photo: Hector Castro/MMADieHards.com
MMADieHards.com recently caught up with UFC lightweight Jim Miller at AMA Fight Club at Whippany, NJ.
Miller discussed the recent matchup of Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis, becoming the division’s #1 contender, the matchup of potential title opponents – Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard, and the dangers of his next fight at UFC on VS 5 against Ben Henderson.
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“MMA, brother, is a wonderful thing to watch. It’s good for the people that watch it, it’s good for the young generation coming up and I know people love it, because I love it myself.”
- WWF Hall of Fame wrestler “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka spoke to TheGarv.com about his passion for MMA.
“No, he didn’t come (to the 209). I think he got scared. I told him ‘don’t be scared homie,’ but I think he did get scared.”
- Cesar Gracie told MiddleEasy that Dana White did not come to Stockton, Calif. to talk business with Nick Diaz.
“If Chuck Liddell (in his prime) was a heavyweight fighting one of these guys, especially Shane Carwin, he would’ve knocked him out. Chuck was a fast starter. He didn’t play. He tried to put you away. These guys are just too tentative to me.”
- Former Olympic boxer Howard Davis Jr. talked to 790 the Ticket in Miami about stand-up in MMA.
“Thank u UFC for a lot of Good memories. Respect to all the staff at Zuffa for always treating me like family.”
- The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove addressed his release from the UFC via his Facebook page.
“I can speak street, like ‘What up dog?’ and ‘How’s it goin’, yo?’ I can speak 1920’s, like ‘You’re the bee’s knees’ (and) ‘Now you’re on the trolley’. So yeah, I got a couple languages that I’m fluent in, and they’re all basically English.”
- Greg Jackson told MMA30 that not only does he breed champions, but also he can spit a little slang.
“My mom has a lot more than that because she kept everything from high school. My mom has a medal from my first state championship from when I was 9 years old. It was in 1988 and I got second place at 70-something pounds.”
- Daniel Cormier told MMA DieHards that his mom has more of his trophies than he does.
“I’m pretty sad not to be fighting and I’m trying to renegotiate my contract for a year, but Strikeforce doesn’t want to made a deal, they want to keep paying me what they paid before, but now I’m the event’s champion and I’ve never been defeated in Strikeforce. I just wanted to be recognized.”
- Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos told Tatame.com that financial issues keep her out of the Strikeforce cage.
“I’ve been sitting on the sidelines, sitting there watching everybody go out and fight. Hard times have been on Josh Barnett. Dealing with athletic commissions, everybody saying, ‘You did this, and you did that. You’re the problem for this.’ That’s hard times. Hard times for my family. Hard times for my friends. Hard times by me. Hard times not being able to get a fight. Hard times is the company, waking up one day, saying they’ve been sold out to your competitor. Not knowing what the hell you’re going to do. Where’s my contract at? Where’s my money? Where’s my security? Who says I’m going to get that shot now? Having that on your mind? That’s hard times.”
- Barnett let the world know about his “hard times” at the Strikeforce open media workout.
“If you’re going let a fight continue when (Mark) Hominick’s got a big (expletive) lump on his head and on numerous times he’s in bad spots, you can’t stop a championship shot with three seconds to go. I had my guard up, I was kicking Diaz’s legs. Had Herb Dean been refereeing I think the fight would have been allowed to continue.”
- Strikeforce welterweight Paul Daley said on the ESPN UFC podcast that with a different referee, he would have had a different outcome against Nick Diaz.
“Imada, I’m going to kick your ass one day. No hard feelings, I like the guy, he’s a cool guy, but I got to get that win back.”
- Jorge Masvidal told Ariel Helwani that he wants another shot at Toby Imada, because Masvidal was on the wrong end of Imada’s inverted-reverse triangle at Bellator 5.
“Intelligent people don’t do this sport, or at least they tap when things start popping, but I got something inside of m that doesn’t want anybody to be better than me. I got in this sport to inspire people, that’s how I justify it. It’s so people can see me doing something with all my heart, and give them the courage to do what they want.”
- Strikeforce lightweight fighter Conor Huen explained to MiddleEasy where he found the courage to continue fighting with a broken arm against Magno Aleida.
“One skull to the collection, to the next, to the next, until I’m standing on top of a pile of bodies, with a pile of gold in my hand.”
- Barnett ranted in the cage at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum after he defeated Brett Rogers.
“I don’t really listen to what he says. His English is not that good, anyways. Also, speaking of, ‘Alistair is my son,’ I still do not know exactly know what that means. I still don’t, when I think about it, what does it mean?”
- Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem told Ariel Helwani what he thinks about Fabrico Werdum calling him “son.”
“Regardless of victory or loss, I believe I want to fight for five years, so I don’t even begin to think about quitting.”
- Contrary to popular belief, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira told Fighters Only that retiring is the furthest the from his mind.
“He hasn’t lost a fight in five years. He’s never lost in the UFC. The last time he lost was to Yushin Okami in October 2006. He’s got the most title defenses ever, with eight. He’s got the longest (UFC) win streak ever, at 13-0. And in my opinion, he’s the greatest mixed martial artist ever. Ever, period.”
- UFC President Dana White declared Anderson Silva the best fighter, ever, at the UFC 134 press conference.
“I’d beat up Machida on the way to the ring to beat up Anderson, and I’ll kick Nogueira’s ass in the parking lot on the way to my after party.”
“I could write a dissertation on this experience: ‘The Tragic Interplay of Delusion, Insecurity, and Incompetence: the Nog Brothers’ Story’.”
“Stay tuned for the sequel, ‘Help, an Asian Judoka is Beating My Ass: The Anderson Silva Story’.”
- MMA’s most entertaining mouth, Chael Sonnen, tweeted some trash talk to Anderson Silva and the Blackhouse family while he and Yushin Okami were visiting Brazil.
“I hope Royce fights. To have a Gracie fight there would be great for the fans, to have someone from my family fighting. I hoped to do it, but I don’t have the time to concentrate to it.”
-Renzo Gracie told Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour that he would appreciate seeing a Gracie family member participate at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro. Since it cannot be him, his choice would be Royce Gracie.
“After I get my lightweight title belt and hold that for awhile, then I’ll do 145, maybe.”
- Clay Guida shared his aspirations with Pro MMA Radio of going after the featherweight belt after he attains the lightweight belt, maybe.
“(Junior dos Santos) is one of the best at it, but Alistair Overeem is the best striker in mixed martial arts.”
- Bas Rutten on Inside MMA said that while UFC No.1 contender Junior dos Santos is good at striking, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem is the best.
“(My friend) was a purple belt at the time and he said ‘You got to me these guys.’ I was doing ‘Married with Children’ at the time, I was busy and those guys wear pajamas.”
- Ed O’Neill, a.k.a. Al Bundy, explained in this Youtube video that he hesitated to join the Gracie Academy at first, but now 17 years later he is a Gracie jiu-jitsu black-belt. Maybe we’ll see O’Neill take a Steven Seagal role, and start cornering fighters.
“When you’re a young guy and you beat a guy who has accomplished so much, you almost take some of his glory with you.”
- UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones told Aaron Tru that he plans on taking more than just a victory when he fights Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
“He’s a fascinating cat. He does triathlons. He’s got Iron Man endurance. That’s one of the reasons he (expletive) people up. He puts a pace on them and they can’t keep up with him. It’s like he’s running, and he’ll run at his pace and before you know it they’re wilting and he’s beating the (expletive) out of them.”
- Joe Rogan talked on his UStream broadcast about Nick Diaz employing a high-level pace in a fight due to competing in endurance races.
“We’re getting hit up by his lawyers at the moment; it’s been a pain in the ass. So if anyone rubs me the wrong way, it’ll be Koscheck for sicking his lawyers on me. I would drop a lot of weight to fight him.”
- TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar voiced his frustration to MMA Fight Corner about Josh Koscheck not cooperating and allowing Bonnar to use Kos on his “Trash Talkin’ Kids” T-shirt line.
“If he does want to fight me and run his mouth and continue to run his mouth personally, then we can settle this. I’ll fight him at 185 for the fans.”
- Koscheck, a welterweight, told Bleacher Report that he is willing to meet Bonnar, a light heavyweight, in the middle to settle this feud.
“We were sitting in the airport. There’s a kid (James Head) fighting (at UFC 131). He’s smarter than me. He’s a petroleum engineer. It kind of goes electrical engineer, chemical, petroleum, then mechanical. If he was a civil engineer, I wouldn’t think so much of him (laughs). But he’s petroleum. I looked at him and thought ‘What are you doing fighting, dude?’ And then I thought to myself, ‘That’s a dumb question. What am I doing fighting?’ ”
- UFC heavyweight and mechanical engineer Shane Carwin told The Vancouver Sun that when he ponders why other people fight, it makes him have second thoughts why he does it.
“My plan is (to unite the UFC and Strikeforce belts) but let’s take it one step at a time. I’m taking this fight very serious. If I would win the tournament I, personally, and I believe many fans, would love to see the tournament winner against the UFC champion.”
- Overeem, the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, confirmed at the Strikeforce press conference that his ultimate goal is a UFC/Strikeforce unification match.
“Shaq helped us launch the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. He’s always supported us and has always been a good friend, so now that he wants to be involved, I’m more than happy to get him.”
- UFC President Dana White told ESPN that Shaquille O’Neal assisted in the initial development of TUF, and if the “Big 401K” desires a position working for the leading MMA promotion, he’s got it.
“Dos Santos is a real man, and Lesnar got a close-up view and he’d rather go flip hamburgers at the Waffle House. Brock Lesnar needs to go back to pro wrestling and stay there. He needs to hire a manager to do his talking for him, because the guy (isn’t) smart enough to put two words together.”
- The always entertaining Don Frye told MMA Beatdown radio on the MMA Diehards Radio Netowork how he feels about former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.
“CBS is still out there. It’s going to be the matter of getting the right card to them. The Mayhem Miller thing didn’t help. It’s a much bigger issue than you might have imagined. It was definitely an issue. It took months to get resolved.”
- Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker admitted to Yahoo Sports that the melee between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and the Cesar Gracie camp left a bad taste in CBS’ mouth and created serious complications.
“As far as having pressure when I was a prospect, there really is none. When I got to this sport, when I started I wanted to be the best and I expected to be the best. I put that pressure on myself, I already have high expectations of myself, so when other people do, I agree with them.”
- Chris Weidman explained to MMA DieHards how he deals with the pressure of being a young prospect.
“Just because we fought, doesn’t mean it’s squashed. If he came back (to the UFC), I’d fight him. You can’t take the bitch out of someone. It’s in their soul.”
- Donald Cerrone explained to Ariel Helwani that his longtime archrival Jamie Varner is still no friend.
“I just looked back at Shane’s wife and she’s covering her face. She can’t look.”
- Rogan on the air after the first round of the main event at UFC 131, when dos Santos battered Carwin.
“My legs hurt so bad.”
- Dustin Poirier tweeted following his successful three-round battle with Jason Young.
“I think that’s going to be the fight of the decade. GSP is all style and he’s performance, and he’s etiquette and he’s just a perfectionist fighter. Nick is just a caged animal. I mean hell, he’d rape a gorilla.”
- Frye during MMA Beatdown radio sized up the Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz fight.
“Yushin and I go back to civilization tomorrow. Thanks for everything, Brazil. It was like camping in Compton.”
- Sonnen tweeted his relief to return home to America, with Yushin Okami.
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A collection of noteworthy quotesthis week from around the world of MMA:
“Jon Jones is the king of hoe moves. That’s (expletive) your ex-girl, Superhead, or Kat Stacks would do. I wouldn’t apologize for (expletive) and I don’t think Rashad should either. Like I said before, that’s some hoe (expletive); petty in my eyes. So what? He called Jones a white boy? I’ve heard worse and y’all have too.”
-Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal explains to Fight Hype why Jon Jones does not deserve an apology from Rashad Evans, for calling Jones a “white boy.”
“I’d always love to fight Wanderlei. He’s one of my favorite fighters ever. It would be a dream come true. But, if I never have to fight him, then maybe I can just get a picture with him and an autograph. That would be pretty cool.”
- UFC middleweight Brian Stann told Sherdog.com that a fight with Wanderlei Silva still interests the Marine, but he’ll settle for a signature.
“I have one more fight, but it’s a specific fight only. It’s one special fight. If it was against anybody else, ehhhhh, not interested. Been there, done that. There’s always a new, better opponent, a tougher opponent. I just want one fight.”
- Royce Gracie shares with mmamania.com that he simply wants one more fight. The MMA pioneer just won’t say who it is.
“Let me be clear I’m not hurt again, I’m not hurt. I picked up a suspension (from) the Canadian commission and therefore should only return to training (after) 30 days this month. So once again, I’m not injured.”
- UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo tweeted that it is not a new injury preventing him from fighting Chad Mendes, but rather a medical suspension stemming from UFC 129 in Toronto.
“That fight is not a done deal, and I guarantee you that those two will not be coaches (on TUF 14). Not even close. All the stuff that’s out there about that fight and the meeting we had here is all (expletive).”
- UFC president Dana White confirmed some of the false details to HeavyMMA that have floating around about a potential fight between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.
“Brian Stann, if he keeps winning and doing what he’s doing, that guy is going to be a superstar.”
-White told MMA DieHards he thinks Stann could be headed.
“I think that ‘Rampage’ dominated the fight, but I also think that I want to keep ‘Rampage’ active. Guys have to stay consistent and keep fighting, or you’re going to look like that.”
-White admits to MMA DieHards that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson dominated Matt Hamill at UFC 130, but the third round found “Rampage” fatigued due to inactivity in recent months.
“People think ‘Oh, Travis Browne, he’s not a prospect, he’s not doing anything in the sport. At best he might come out to be a top 20 or top 15 in the UFC.’ Nah, that’s not where I see myself. I see myself coming up and I needed to make a statement tonight, and I sure did.”
- UFC heavyweight Travis Browne told MMA DieHards how he felt people viewed him since his draw with Cheick Kongo, therefore The Hawaiian had to make an example out of Stefan Struve at UFC 130, when he knocked the gigantic Struve unconscious.
“If they were earlier in the card (it would be fine), but being in the co-main and the main event position is when you take the most criticism. When you’re the co-main or the main event, you’ve got to go out there and perform and look good. When you don’t, you’re going to hear my opinion about it – and the fans and the media, I’m sure.”
-White voiced his criticism of both Frank Mir and Roy Nelson at the UFC 130 post-fight press conference.
“Wanderlei has been a hero of mine for a really long time. I used to walk across town and get old Pride bootleg videos, before you could get them in the states, to watch Wanderlei fight.”
- Chris “The Crippler” Leben explained to Conner Cordova how much of a fan he is of his next opponent, Wanderlei Silva.
MMADieHards.com’s Pete Sumulong gets Dana White’s thoughts on the performances of Rampage Jackson and Frank Mir. Dana also addresses rising stars Brian Stann and Rick Story, and gives us a quick update on Brock Lesnar’s condition.
