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Posts Tagged ‘Michael Bisping’
UFC Lightweight Champion Jon Jones (Photo courtesy of Zimbio.com)
“I respect [Silva] a lot. As I said several times, I do not want to be the guy who beat Anderson, and do not want to be the guy who lost to him. Anderson is a great champion, I’m a great champion…I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m not saying that the fight will not happen. It can happen. But it’s not something I’m chasing.”
- Jon Jones admitted to mmafighting that a bout with Anderson Silva is not totally out of the question.
“That question (about facing Jones) has to be made to Dana White. Let’s ask if he will give me 50% of the UFC. I have my projects out of the UFC and I want to put them into practice. To open my school (martial arts) in Los Angeles. I do my thing, take a breath a little, take time with my family. I have better things to do (than just taking punch in the face).”
- A. Silva gave his price to Tatame for a match with Jones.
“Nick really wants this fight because he has great admiration and respect for Anderson as a fighter. Anderson Silva is a true martial artist, he studied martial arts, is a great representative of the sport. Nick loves martial arts and that, for him, is enough to put Anderson Silva as the opponent.”
- Cesar Gracie, coach of Nick Diaz, explained to Tatame why his student wants to fight Anderson Silva.
“Rich Franklin, I’ve always thought he’d be a good fight. I’ve always looked up to Rich Franklin, he’s an incredible fighter, he’s got incredible passion for the sport, we match up well in terms of a fight, and he’d be a tough fight.
“I’d like to fight him out of respect – he’s one of the all-time greats. I’ve got nothing but respect for Rich, he’s a fantastic fighter.”
- Michael Bisping talked to ESPN about possible opponents in the future, including former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.
“I could see GSP quitting if he gets hurt, if he gets hit with a good shot, but Condit he’s going to keep going, he’s going to be in the fight till the end.”
- Martin Kampmann, who fights Johny Hendricks at UFC 154 for welterweight No. 1 contender status, talked to MMA Weekly about Carlos Condit vs. Georges St-Pierre.
“Chael, someone that never had a title, except for the one he gave himself of course, and didn’t do well in this 205 weight class anyway — I just think it’s a weird message that you send to the fans. I know the real reason is because of course The Ultimate Fighter they need ratings — the ratings are really bad. They think if they get Chael on, the ratings will go up. I think that will happen in the first few shows, but I don’t know if it’s going to be funny every week, so we have to find out.”
- Bas Rutten gave his thoughts on Chael Sonnen coaching on TUF via ESPN.
“Well, Junior dos Santos says all kind of things that don’t really make sense. First he begged to Dana White he wanted to fight me, so as a fighter I accept such a challenge right away. Now he’s saying that I don’t deserve a title fight. He has to make up his mind as he’s changing his story all the time. The same stuff he was saying about me going to the school of Chael Sonnen. I never made the fight between us personal and I never bad mouthed him, the only thing I said was that I think he’s afraid of me which I think he still is haha. When I signed with the UFC I could of easily go for the title shot right away but I chose to fight Brock Lesnar so in no means I’m talking myself into a title shot. If the UFC wants me to fight for the title I’m available and if they decide to let me fight someone else first I’m also fine with that. I’m a fighter and I will get my chance sooner or later.”
- Alistair Overeem gave his thoughts on UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos to Mixfight.nl.
“I wasn’t given much of an option once I gave the go ahead. It was like I jumped out of the plane and it was hit the ground or pull the parachute. That was it, that was the circumstances. That Monday night my manager let me know it was not going to be favorable for me.
“I kind of gave them an inside peek of what was going on in my personal life, and things are getting a little bit crazy, but I was hoping for some understanding. It’s a cold world sometimes.”
- Rich Attonito detailed his UFC release to MMA DieHards.
“It’s been almost a year now since there’s been any live content on Spike network. My anticipation is that it will play itself out very nicely because of how the consumer base and the hardcore demographic views Spike as the home of MMA.”
- Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney gave his expectations to mmajunkie, regarding Bellator being broadcast on Spike TV in 2013.
“It was bad. I didn’t do the things I was supposed to do. The thing that messes with me the most is the way I lost. I lost a boring decision, he held me down for five rounds. I like to make fights exciting and it didn’t happen that time. I got a lot of criticism from it. Fans didn’t like it. But, it made me a better fighter. I trained more on wrestling and learned a lot from the fight. I’m looking at it in a positive way.”
- Douglas Lima talked to MMA DieHards about the defeat he suffered at the hands of Ben Askren.
“I was always upset. I hated everybody if I was dropping to 170 [pounds], especially on weigh-in day. Everything happens for a reason. I don’t take back anything that happened in my past, because if it hadn’t happened back then, I wouldn’t be who I am right now. Moving to [light heavyweight] was definitely the best decision that I’ve ever made in my life.”
- Anthony Johnson admitted to Sherdog that making welterweight was a tall order, and the 205-pound weight class is much better suited for him.
UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar
“If I could find a weakness or work him over on the ground, that’s great. But if I can’t and I’m forced to fight one of those blood-and-gut fights – I know he’s really accurate with his strikes. I know that. I’m going to get hit. I just need to keep pushing forward. That’s what I do.”
- Stephan Bonnar told mmajunkie.com that he is going to fight like the typical “American Psycho” when he faces Anderson Silva at UFC 152.
“It would be an interesting karate duel but I don’t know at what weight we would do it. If it is at 185lbs, I will go for it.”
- Lyoto Machida admitted to Fighters Only that he would be willing to meet UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in a middleweight showdown.
“It’s tough seeing the fighters going out when you know you can’t go in there. I don’t know if the competitor ever leaves you. It’s tough dialing it down. … There are times I’ve had to turn down the intensity and just be a normal human being on fight night.”
- Kenny Florian explained to mmajunkie.com, how difficult it is to watch MMA and not want to compete, since he has retired.
“This is the first time I’ve ever said this to anybody and I don’t think anybody knows except for my wife because she was there when I went through this. I was contemplating going to the military. In the very beginning of my career I was working full-time and also training, but at the same time there was no assurance that you’ll be taking care of for the rest of your life. I was contemplating going to the army because I felt if you went to the army you would have full benefits and be taken care of. That’s what you could say that was the low point of my career, but one of my coaches was like, ‘You know, if you go to the army you won’t have the time to fight or train or do anything you want. Wherever they tell you to go, you’re going to go and you can’t say no other ifs, ands or buts.’ So, I would say that was the lowest point of my life, when I was contemplating giving up mixed martial arts. I was getting ready to say screw it, because I had to take care of my family.”
- Demetrious Johnson admitted to MMA DieHards that he nearly quit MMA and joined the army instead.
“I’ll still be training at Tristar. But I have to do things my way. At the end of the day, I’m the one getting in the cage and taking the risk and I’m the one making the final call.”
- Rory MacDonald told Fuel TV that it’s time he does things his way.
“I’ll be honest, it’s not just because I lost $65,000 dollars. It’s not because I’m not going to see that. Looking at the moves as a technician, judging as a technician, as a professional, as a grappler, my move was ten times more difficult, and you know, way more impressive than his move. Maybe that’s how people judge. Maybe they judge how big the fight is, maybe they judge the fighter as well. Who knows?”
- Vinny Magalhaes told mmafightcorner that his submission at UFC 152 was more impressive and deserving of “Submission of the Night” than Jones’, the fighter who did win it.
“Bellator has gotten bigger, and the Spike TV alliance and the Viacom acquisition have opened up a lot of doors with us. With the demise of the WECs and Afflictions, and with all the troubles that Strikeforce is having, there are less and less alternatives.
“Now there are only two. There’s still a huge number of world-class fighters around the world who are looking for a place with huge television alliances to ply their trade.”
- Bjorn Rebney told USA Today that Bellator and the UFC are the best options for a professional mixed martial artist nowadays.
“I have a lot of new skills I’ve picked up this year and haven’t used yet. I could put Sadollah on his back and choke him out if I want to. Then again, the left hook might take over the day and put him to bed instead.”
- Dan Hardy told MMA DieHards he intended to use a number of newly acquired techniques to defeat Amir Sadollah.
“I think everyone in all due respect just needs to calm down Chris Weidman just because he’s undefeated. He’s undefeated because he’s beaten a bunch of bums. He’s only had about seven fights. I’ve had nearly 30 fights. I’ve been in the UFC when he was still in school probably. So I got nothing against Chris Weidman, but I don’t see him as the Great White Hope that’s going to come in and destroy Anderson Silva. He’s just another middle of the road UFC fighter as far as I’m concerned.”
- Michael Bisping talked to mmafightcorner about the UFC rising star, Chris Weidman.
“It f—ing makes me sick. Listen, you don’t want big opportunities, I hear you. I get it, then. All I can say is, I guess he doesn’t want big opportunities. I get it. Duly noted.
“He wants to fight a guy who weighs 205, but doesn’t want to fight the guy who’s the real heavyweight, the legitimate guy who’s ranked. And Mitrione’s not getting any younger.”
- Dana White confirmed with mmajunkie.com that Matt Mitrione neglected to fight Daniel Cormier, and apparently the UFC president is not happy with “Meathead’s” choice.
“I don’t respect that guy. I don’t like him. I just think he’s disrespectful. He’ll talk all kinds of sh*t behind your back and stuff, but then when he’s at my face, all he wanted to do was talk about the UFC contracts to me. I’m like, ‘Who are you, man? Get out of my face.’ I’m just not up for that type of bullsh*t. I hate people that when you turn around, they’re stabbing you in the back, and when you’re back at their face, they’re trying to be your best friend. That doesn’t work for me. There’s nobody else I want to fight more. I can’t wait to fight this guy. I’m excited that he’ll be the first guy I get to punch when I get back to action.
“Listen, Roy is a talented fighter. Could he be a lot better? I think he could if he would actually be serious about it, and have coaches he would listen to, and things like that. I’m pretty sure he’s uncoachable. He just likes to hear himself talk and tell everybody how great he is.”
- Shane Carwin was a guest on TapouT Radio, and “The Ultimate Fighter 16” coach shared his opinion on the opposing coach, Roy Nelson.
“I don’t really understand how you fly out to Africa, look out on the savannah, look at those animals and go ‘You know, I want to kill that.’ I can’t make sense of that in my head. For someone who’s a self-proclaimed good-guy Christian, it just doesn’t calculate. He’s getting his morals mixed up somewhere. He really needs to have a look at himself and question what he’s doing.
“Hunting for food, that’s one thing, but going out and shooting…I mean on that blog he was out there for what, two weeks? And he shot fifty animals. I don’t think he’s going to eat that, let’s be honest. He’s not my kind of person.”
- Hardy gave his thoughts on Matt Hughes’s hunting photos via Fighters Only.
A champion defends and a champion is crowned at UFC 152 in t the Air Canada Centre in Toronto
Jon Jones avoided a submission loss to win via tapout against Vitor Belfort.
Jones initiated attack starting from his trendy crawl into the cage, followed by a takedown. After blasting Belfort with a few elbows, the Brazilian caught Jones in an armbar and it appeared for a brief moment we may have a new UFC light heavyweight champion. Jones toughed out the synched in armbar and thrashed Belfort’s face wift repetitive left elbows from the guard.
Jones picked the “Phenom” apart in the second frame, particularly with sidekicks to Belfort’s thigh. Belfort found some success with striking, which made it odd when he pulled guard after the champ and challenger clinched up.
Jones caught Belfort with a sidekick to the body that had the Brazilian crumple to the ground. “Bones” jumped on Belfort, but the fight made it back to its feet. Yet again, Belfort pulled guard and did little with it.
Belfort showed even more success with his striking in the fourth round, but decided to pull guard, once again. This would be the last time Belfort made such a mistake, as Jones put him in a crucifix and finished off his opponent with a kimura.
Jones has now defended his light heavyweight title four times, tying a record with UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell.
Demetrious Johnson was just too fast for Joseph Benavidez in the first flyweight championship match in UFC history.
For the majority of the first three rounds Johnson dominated Benavidez in the standup realm. Benavidez had difficulties landing shots on Johnson, and his takedowns were unsuccessful.
In the fourth round, Benavidez dropped Johnson with a right hand, following up with submission attempt. Johnson defended the choke, but he was extremely close to being finished. “Mighty Mouse” escaped the lock and attempted a guillotine-choke of his own. Benavidez got out of the choke, but Johnson was able to accomplish a takedown.
During the fifth frame, Johnson picked up Benavidez and slammed him to the canvas. “Mighty Mouse” looked as fresh as he did at the beginning of the first round, while Benavidez slowed a tad. Johnson set a pace Benavidez had trouble keeping up with until the contest ran out of time.
Johnson won a split decision and was crowned the first-ever UFC flyweight champion.
Michael Bisping outlasted Brian Stann in a three-round battle, but not without a close call.
Bisping and Stann had no problem enagaging in a stand up war. The two middleweights traded blow for blow, and only Bisping attempted takedowns, both of which failed. With 12 seconds left in the first round, Stann clocked the Brit, and had Bisping stumbling. The Englishman clinched up with Stann until time ran out.
In Round 2, Bisping achieved his takedown, picking Stann up and slamming him to the mat. After some time on the bottom, Stann reversed positions and began throwing fists at Bisping. The fight found its way back to standing, but Bisping accomplished another slamming takedown.
Bisping turned the third frame into a bit of a wrestling match. Though, he still exchanged punches with Stann, Bisping was continuously searching for the takedown. “The Count” managed to get a few takedowns, too, but Stann was aggressive with striking until the bitter end.
In the end the judges rewarded Bisping with the decision victory, 29-28 on all scorecards.
Matt Hamill proved he still has his wrestling up to par in his return to the UFC.
Hamill was content to stand and trade punches with the accomplished boxer, Roger Hollett, to begin the fight. Once Hamill got his hands on Hollett, though, a lesson in wrestling was put on display as “The Hammer” dumped the Canadian face down. Hamill brutalized Hollett with vicious ground and pound. Hollett narrowly escaped the first round, but not without tagging Hamill in the dying seconds.
Hollett charged at Hamill, launching punches, but the American switched levels and dumped the Jackson MMA fighter on his back with a double-leg takedown. Hollett got back to his feet, and then Hamill appeared to be fatigued. Hollett was able to defend takedowns and get off more strikes. But, Hamill eventually slammed Hollett back on the canvas via suplex.
Hamill looked a bit fresher in the third and hit a second double-leg takedown. From there, Hamill dominated Hollett, and punished him with punch after punch. Hollett worked his way back to his feet, but Hamill had him on his back within seconds and continued to maul the Canadian.
Hamill earned a unanimous decision in his return to the Octagon after a 13 month hiatus.
Cub Swanson wasted no time disposing of Charles Oliveira in the first fight on the main card.
Oliveira was demonstrating his usual in and out, quick striking method, but it was Swanson’s technical, intelligent boxing that prevailed. Swanson hit Oliveira with a left shot to the liver, hurting the Brazilian. Then Swanson dipped his left side, which made Oliveira think another body shot was coming, but the former WEC fighter went high with a right hand and finished “Do Bronx” off with a single blow to the head.
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UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin. (Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)
“Once you find out it’s against Roy Nelson, somebody that I dislike so much, I was on board. There was nobody I wanted to coach against more than that guy, and to kick his a– in not only coaching, but in the fight as well.
“I hate the guy. I dislike him. I hate him as a person. That’s just it. I’ll be vocal about it.”
- Shane Carwin gave Bleacher Report his opinion on Roy Nelson, his rival coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 16.”
“You just got remember that mine and Dana White’s relationship is like were a husband and wife. I do the man’s stuff around the house. I do the fighting, all the man’s stuff and he does all the woman stuff — all the yapping.”
- Nelson compared his relationship with UFC president Dana White to that of a marriage between husband and wife via mmafighting.
“You know, it’s this: I come from back in the old school, Carlson Gracie’s time. I know this new breed, they all like studying, how I need to study my opponent. But listen: the hardcore fans, they understand my mentality. It’s all about the sport. But it’s just a choice and when this came knocking on my door, I took the opportunity. That’s how I am. And now I’m enjoying the process, I’m enjoying the journey. I’m fighting the best guy in this weight division ever.”
- Vitor Belfort spoke to UFC.com about the difference between old and new breed of MMA fighters.
“For all the people that think I’m cocky, if you really listen to what I say…if you talk to me about fighting, you may just hear something that’s a little arrogant. Because right now, I train so hard to not even get hit, let alone talk about losing a fight. So, I love this sport so much, I owe it to myself to think of myself in the highest regard.”
- Jon Jones admitted to mmajunkie that his brashness is just a byproduct of being a fighter.
“From what I understand, Stann isn’t training with Jackson anymore. Who the hell cares either way? Come on, guys. Just because Stann trained with some smug git from New Mexico who can quote the Ninja Turtles, doesn’t mean he’s got some mystical insight to beat me.”
- Michael Bisping told Yahoo! Sports that he doesn’t buy into the mystique of coach Greg Jackson.
“The Jon Jones piece of meat (expletive) thing. When I see him in (expletive) Toronto, that’s the first (expletive) thing we’re going to talk about. Piece of meat? Give me a (expletive) break.”
- White told mmafighting that he has a bone to pick with “Bones.”
“The thing that drives me crazy about Greg Jackson is Greg Jackson has this whole little thing where he’s the nicest guy in the world, the nicest guy you’ve ever met. Real quiet and humble. He’s a (expletive) hardcore businessman. That’s what that guy is. He plays the whole thing with Jon and Rashad (Evans) and (expletive) Jardine and all these guys ‘We’re all family, we’re all brothers. We’re a big family here and that’s what we are. We won’t fight each other because we’re family.’
“(Expletive) You’re not family. You train together. Yes they like each other. There’s a lot of nice guys in MMA. Keith Jardine is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Rashad is cool too. This sport is full of nice guys. (But Greg) plays this card with these guys.”
- White gave his thoughts on coach Jackson’s family oriented gym to mmafighting.
“I don’t want my family to see that, I don’t want them to hear Dana dropping F-Bombs. The guy who has made himself the star of MMA is the biggest douche bag and loudmouth on the planet and he’s bringing the entire industry down. If there’s no reason for us to be beating each other up than money then we should probably be doing something else. For me it was about surviving, helping people and sharing my knowledge. I don’t think Dana has that going for him, he’s not a martial artist!”
- Frank Shamrock talked to BJPenn.com about White, his arch-nemesis.
She is a great grappler. The way she took out Sarah Kaufmann was amazing and so unexpected to me. But she does lack balls, she judoed at 154lbs, entered Strikeforce at 145lbs and when she had to fight Cris “Cyborg” she dropped to 135lbs. Using me as an example. Let me tell you this, I fought “Cyborg” (and will do so in the future again) and then was asked by Strikeforce to drop to 135lbs. Having said all this, career wise it was really smart of her and she deserves a master in PR. She doesn’t care how she gets there, as long as she gets there. And she’s successful at it, looking at the magazine covers like ESPN and changing Dana White’s mind.
- Marloes Coenen admitted to punchdrunkgamer.com that Ronda Rousey is leading a successful career, yet she is a bit of a coward.
“I think if it was done right and it was done correctly, you could have people watching that fight that have never seen a single MMA fight before. Lots of them. I think it could be the biggest MMA fight of all-time.”
- Rousey told mmafighting that she thinks a fight against Cris “Cyborg” Santos could potentially be the biggest match in WMMA history.
“I want to get back in the mix, so I’ve got to go out and handle Vermola, and then hopefully (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) will put me up against a little bigger name.”
- Following a lengthy hiatus from the Octagon, Chris Leben spoke to mmajunkie about his goals now that he has returned.
“It’s impossible to tell. There’s no system for picking number one contenders. There’s no order, there’s no lineup, there’s no point system. It’s just whoever they feel they’re going to make the most money off of. That’s who gets the title shot. It kind of sucks, because in other sports there’s kind of a clear path; you do this, this and this, and you get this. That’s just not the way combat sports work I guess. It doesn’t work that way with boxing or the UFC. It comes down to showmanship. I have to be a better showman to get a title shot. I don’t have to be a better fighter I just have to be a better showman.”
- Jon Fitch told mmamania he believes showmanship will assist in him getting back to a title shot.
“The biggest (expletive) problem is we got too many rich guys. Too many guys that are rich as (expletive). Money is the biggest detriment to the fight business. Back in the old days when we were just getting going, dudes had to pay the (expletive) rent.
“Once the money starts to pile up. You get some of these guys who have a few million in the bank, getting punched in the face every day isn’t too (expletive) cool. But when guys are (expletive) hungry and they want that (expletive) money and want to get out there and get more of it and more of it and more of it.
“Back in the old days, the guys were always in shape. When you’re hungry and you want to get to that level, that’s how these guys train. Then once you make a few dollars, I’m on vacation. I got to track guys down. He’s in the (expletive) jungle of Brazil. … It’s just not as easy as it used to be.”
- White told mmafighting that some fighters are choosy of which bouts they accept due to already being financially set.
“I apologize to my fans for not being able to fight at UFC Rio, which is something I really wanted to do. It was an amazing feeling to defend my belt here and it would be even better to do it again now against a guy like Frankie Edgar. I tried it all, did my best to be there in the Octagon but it was just no good enough. I hope UFC keeps him as my opponent and postpone our meeting because I really want to fight him.”
- Jose Aldo told Tatame, even though, he had to pull out of the UFC 153 main event, “Scarface” still wish to fight Frankie Edgar.
“Silva called to say ‘Hey Boss, I’ll fight at 205 and save the show in Las Vegas on 8 days’ notice but it was a few hours too late. So when this happened, I called him up and he stepped up and said ‘Absolutely, I’ll fight. I only have 3 weeks to make 185 and can’t do that right now. But I will fight at 205. And I thought, how can I find someone at 205 willing to fight him when we couldn’t find at 205 willing to fight Jon Jones on a month’s notice.
“Then I get a call from Stephan Bonnar and he is pumped. He says that Silva is the perfect style for him and he wants this fight more than anything. Does this fight make sense? Of course it doesn’t. But the bottom line is that Anderson and Bonnar stepped up.”
- White explained to Jim Rome how the UFC 153 main event between Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar came about.
Dana White @danawhite
Rampage is hurt and out of UFC 153 RIO. SUCKS!!!!!!
Dana White @danawhite
Now Aldo is out with foot injury. Main and co main in the same day!! Another amazing day at the UFC. We have some work to do
Stephan Bonnar @StephanBonnar
Holy crap! Haven’t been on twitter in a couple days & i see this crazy rumor that I’m fighting @spideranderson in Brazil ..my fav place
Stephan Bonnar @StephanBonnar
What!!! I’m only a 13 to 1 underdog vs Anderson? I must be better than I thought
Anderson Silva @SpiderAnderson
#SpiderFriday Starting training to #UFC Rio III Ooosspic.twitter.com/hVhfUJi1
Rodrigo Nogueira @ Minotauromma
I thank all of you who gallows asked me to be part of the UFC Rio card 3.Now we’re in. What do you think? Thanks @ danawhite
Dana White @danawhite
Much respect to Anderson, Nog, Bonnar, etc thank u for stepn up for UFC 153!!!! Brazil will be FUN. Here we come RIO 
Quinton Jackson @Rampage4real
Dr. Colker fixing me up as only he can. Back with him and taking his MYO-X. Now I know I’m gonna be pure pow http://instagr.am/p/PkNI0Ev_A_/
glover teixeira @gloverteixeira
I am upset about rampage, I am in shape I’m healthy. And I pray to God so I don’t get any injury, I’ll fight whoever
Fabio Maldonado @ MaldonadoMMA
glover teixeira,you much respect,but we will fight,i have same style of rampage q would fight with you,we are going to do in the ufc fight that the bitetti combat did not
Bisping @bisping
@ufc urijah favour,Joseph benavidez and the rest of the munchkin crew talk s— cos theyre stuck in the body’s of pre pubescent boys
and I’ll take the Pepsi challenge with smug faced little shit any time.
Urijah Faber @UrijahFaber
Thought we were buddies @bisping I know u can dish it out but can’t take it back @ufc ur like a spoiled 3rd grader. Grow up.
Joseph Benavidez @JoeJitsu
Wow didn’t think a big, tough, secure guy like @bisping would get all butt hurt at my blog. Pretty funny.
Demetrious Johnson @MightyMouseUFC
gotta love @joerogan riffs on the flyweight division “basically tiny man that can F&%k you up” Awesome!! #teammighty
Walel Watson @135Gazelle
Im sittin here gettin my pedicure and I’m the only dude so these ladies at the shop throw on college football lol!
Pat Miletich @patmiletich
Enjoyed my weekly TSA episode of “strangers groping strangers” this morning at the Houston airport.
Ben Askren @Benaskren
@patmiletich do you refuse to go through the X ray machines? Some of those TSA people have no shame
Pat Miletich @patmiletich
@Benaskren No, but I do wink at the female TSA agents that look at the security X-RAY of me. They always smile.
Eric Kelly @EricKelly
I respect him but confused why @ColeKonradMMA retired MMA to become a wallstreet nerd! #getyourerickellyon
Cole Konrad @ColeKonradMMA
@EricKelly you get it. My job is to provide for my family. And I needed to make the right decision for them. But it was a blast.
Aaron Simpson @aaronsimpson
Big congrats to @Dadeez87 for his win tonight! Nice to get the first one under his belt. @Powermmafitness @magllc
Ryan Bader @ryanbader
Congrats @Dadeez87 on your win buddy! nice job @RayRgs79@Powermmafitness
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (Photo courtesy of 5th Round)
“Regardless of who wins, even if St. Pierre loses, a fight with me can happen. A fight like this is above anything else. St. Pierre is one of the greatest of the UFC. Right now, a fight with Condit is meaningless.”
- Anderson Silva told SporTV that he wants to fight Georges St. Pierre, whether the Canadian defeats Carlos Condit, or not
“A source from very close to him said Jon Jones was willing to pay the fighters, he felt so bad about the card being cancelled, he was willing to pay the fighters on that card their fees. But after all these attacks on him by other fighters, he chose not to do that. He feels really bad about this situation and did not expect the entire card to be cancelled.”
- It was revealed on MMA Live that Jon Jones intended to pay the combatants that lost pay from the cancellation of UFC 151.
“Every guy who has lost to a champion twice in that weight division basically has to reinvent themselves and most likely change weight divisions. For us, the way I look at it, that’s a big step. For the UFC potentially, it’s just another event. It’s just UFC 151 or 152 or whatever it is, but for Lyoto it’s a much bigger decision in his life. I know that in Lyoto’s heart and in his mind, he believes he can still be the light heavyweight champion of the world. So if he’s going to take this chance, and he’s going to take this opportunity to fight against Jon Jones, he wants to make sure he puts his best foot forward and be 100-percent. Because if he loses, it’s not just like he’s losing another fight. He really has to sit back and reinvent himself and figure out what am I going to do.”
- Ed Soares, manager of Lyoto Machida, explained the “Dragon’s” reasoning for not accepting a championship bout against Jones to MMA Weekly.
“Right now no one wants to fight Jon Jones, but shit I’ll do it, I’ll fight Jon Jones. Guys are turning down the fight; you have to go to an old school fighter like Vitor Belfort to step up to the plate. That’s no knock on Machida or “Shogun,” but if those guys want to coach on The Ultimate Fighter and move off to the side and let me fight Jones, I’ll do it. If no one wants the title shot then give it to Daniel”
- Daniel Cormier told BJPenn.com that he’d scrap “Bones” if no one else would.
“It’s difficult, because Jon Jones has a larger-than-normal wingspan and he’s still very young. He’s still in the phase where he’s playing during the fight, really, but he doesn’t have the responsibility of a champion. He fights with delight, jokingly, striking like I did back in 1930, when I started. Vitor has a great chance to defeat him. The biggest factor for Vitor is to use his explosiveness and his jiu-jitsu, where he is very good. But I think when one of them makes a mistake, the other will end up striking. As a Brazilian, I’ll be rooting for the Brazilian, even though I have a very good friendship with Jon Jones. Whenever I’m with him, I ask him to conduct his career in a different way, because he is very young and is always asking me something. But I’ll be rooting for Brazil, yes. May the best man win, but I’m rooting for Brazil.”
- A. Silva admitted to Bem, Amigos that he will be rooting for his countryman, Vitor Belfort, when the “Phenom” meets Jones at UFC 152.
“No, I think, like I said, everybody’s emotions kind of got the better of them, not just Dana, but a lot of people. Fighters, too. I think that’s reasonable. Listen, Dana is very, very good at what he does. He is the best in the world. You need that fire. The same thing that makes him emotional also gives him the fire too, you know; to knock on these executives doors when people are turning him down time after time. From fighting to get us legalized here and there, you need that fire. Kind of the flip side of that fire can be when things don’t go your way, you get mad. But, I don’t hold that against him for myself. You have to have that passion and you have to have that fire. It can go out of control or it can flash a little bit. But, if he didn’t have that fire, we might not be where we are today because it gets discouraging, you know, time after time. Remember, the UFC wasn’t always like this. It took someone to really get in there and fight and fight and (not) get discouraged and get up again and fight and fight to get it to where we are. That’s why I’ll never say a bad thing about Dana. Sometimes that stuff comes out as a negative and if I have to bear the brunt of it, that’s what I have to do. No, not at all, (ill will towards Dana), for the reasons I stated before. He is a passionate fiery guy and I am not the type of guy to takes that kind of stuff personal.”
- Greg Jackson was a guest on The MMA Hour and he talked about Dana White’s reaction to the trainer’s student, Jones, neglecting to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC 152.
“When you have a card that is only carried by one match, given the attrition rate in MMA, the injuries in training, they kind of set themselves up for the fall. They need to hold themselves accountable. It’s become a bit of a habit, of late, by the leaders, to blame others for their problems, instead of letting people hold them accountable … I think Jon Jones had nothing to gain in that fight. Sonnen, moving to a different weight division, having not fought there for quite a long time, and competing at 185, hasn’t earned the right in the first place.I think Jon Jones was well within his rights, and I back Jackson on the decision that he made and the advice that he gave Jones to pull out of the fight. It doesn’t do the UFC any good to chop the legs out from, possibly their biggest star because he doesn’t take a last minute replacement fight. There was nothing to gain for his career. I think its organizational suicide to do that to your biggest star.”
- Pat Miletich told Bloody Elbow that he thinks vilifying Jones was a mistake on the UFC’s part.
“I love the fact that I’m getting to fight Demetrious Johnson. We’re the two best guys in the world. I’ve always been impressed by him as a fighter and he’s always someone I looked at and was like, ‘that would be an awesome fight, me versus this guy.’ I know where I’m better than him and I know where he has the advantages. You have to go into a fight like that. He’s a speedy fighter, a very active fighter. As far as power goes, you definitely got to respect it but that’s not something I’m going to worry about. I’m going into the fight knowing I’m the powerful striker here. He’s going to be on the defensive. Of course I’d like to test his chin out. Everyone that I go in there, that’s the goal, to hurt them with every punch I throw. Whether it be in the body or in the face, I’m looking to hurt them with every punch. I’m going to be going for it the whole time and when you put pressure on him, that’s when you see people break. Thankfully, that’s what I’m good at, putting pressure on people. … My goal was to come in and be champion and now it’s so close, I can taste it. So there’s no way I’m going to let him take it away from me.”
- Joseph Benavidez talked about his UFC 152 flyweight championship match against Demetrious Johnson via UFC.com.
“The UFC made me very happy giving me this fight right now. It is a pleasure to fight with Edgar inside my country. I think this is going to be the fight of the year. It is a great opportunity to show everyone I’m the best. I will be looking to finish the fight at all times.”
- Jose Aldo talked to Bleacher Report about his upcoming superfight against Frankie Edgar.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, the fight I want to have again is Dan Henderson. That’s the one that haunts me. I go to my Twitter every day and there’s people, ‘Hey Bisping, check this out!’ And I click on it and it’s a picture of me getting knocked out. You can have that. It’s what drives me, it’s why I’m here today. If I could get the opportunity to fight him, I would relish that opportunity and if I was offered it on eight days’ notice, I would take it.”
- Michael Bisping clarified a rematch with Dan Henderson is a bout he desires in an interview with Jon Anik.
“The UFC title has always been in my sights. I’m not doing this for any other reason. I’m in this to be a champion, I’m not here to waste time. I’m not here to just say I’m a UFC fighter and wear a cool tee shirt. I want to be a world champion, period. In order to become a world champion, I’ve got to beat Michael Bisping, period. I’ve got to beat him and make a statement. I’m going to finish him.”
- Brian Stann stated he wants to be the champ via UFC.com.
“I think it’s good to control your own destiny. I just throw a name out there. He’s had three fights in the UFC and two Knockouts of the Nights. His sole loss is to Struve. I think people are scared of him. I think it’d be a good fight. Lavar hits hard. For me, yeah people say I have a weak chin, so this would solidify my place. But I fight at heavyweight. Everyone hits hard.”
- Brendan Schaub joined UFC Tonight and discussed his upcoming bout against Lavar Johnson.
“There’s no such thing as holding back. I want to finish as soon as possible. The only time I did it was because he was a friend of mine. It was against Thales Leites. We went until the last round because he’s a friend of mine and I respect him”
- A. Silva admitted to Tatame that he didn’t have his usual killer instinct when he fought Thales Leites.
“First of all, I would like to say Anderson has never been or went to Nova Uniao. I have never seen him around, we were never friends, only professional colleagues. No doubt, he is a great fighter. If he says he was easy on me because he considers me to be his ‘friend,’ I don’t agree. The fight was not finished because neither of us could do it. People criticized me a lot after the fight with Anderson, I really should have done more and gone for it, but the guys who came after me did not do things much different. The ones who tried to stand-up with him got exposed and were knocked out, and the one who used the game plan of taking him down was defeated on the judges’ decision, like me. I think it’s funny a champion that always talks about respecting each other and martial arts would say something like that. I am a fighter, and I respect everyone. I know what a fighter goes through to get there. We all have good and bad moments in our career. It’s just a big rollercoaster with ups and downs. But, we have got to stay humble and stay quiet about subjects that do not add anything. There is no superman, we are all human beings.”
- Leites disagreed with Silva in an interview with Tatame.
“A lot of people thought I was gay … We would wear a dress [he would allow his sister to dress him up with girl's clothes and play with dolls], put on her shoes. And because I am very vain about my appearance, and have a high voice, a lot of people were sure I was gay.”
- “Spider” Silva talked to Tatame about being considered a homosexual during his youth.
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