Author: By Mike Straka

On a night when former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar seeks redemption and Benson Henderson defends his belt for the first time, for Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, who meets Melvin Guillard in the UFC 150 co-main event, it’s not about legacy or even a shot at the title.

Cowboy has other things on his mind.

“Money motivates me,” he says. “But also, I would like to fight Anthony Pettis and he keeps BS’ing about his shoulder, but Melvin (Guillard) stepped up and took the fight and that’s awesome, but I want to take out Pettis and be the number one contender.”

In a division as deep as lightweight, any fight involving two top ten players could be deemed a number one contender bout, but with Cowboy winning eight of his last ten and dropping fights only to Nate Diaz and the current champion Henderson during that run, he may just be on to something.

Not that he cares.

“I don’t care about a title shot,” he says. “I want to fight Pettis. I hope he takes a fight with me.”

“He’s very eloquent isn’t he? He’s very Shakespearean in his answers,” says Cerrone’s coach Greg Jackson, who also happens to be Guillard’s former coach.

“He fares very well against Melvin,” says Jackson. “Melvin is very explosive and he’s got great timing, and when you get him down it’s hard to keep him there and he’s been well trained for his last six or seven fights with us, so he brings in some good techniques. But Cowboy’s our guy and he’s a great fighter and I think he’s going to win.”

Cowboy and “The Young Assassin” had trained together prior to Guillard’s parting for seemingly greener pastures in South Florida with The Blackzilians, and Cerrone is drawing on his experience in the gym for insight into his next opponent.

“I trained for years with him but that doesn’t bother me,” he said.  “I’ll fight Leonard (Garcia) and he’s my brother. I will fight anybody they put in front of me because it’s business, man. I don’t care. As for Melvin, I have his number, brother, that’s the plan. He’s tough, he’s very athletic and he’s got a lot of things I have to look out for, but I can definitely take him. Melvin will fold as soon as the going gets tough, and it’s going to get tough real quick.”

For Jackson, Guillard represents the second time he will corner against the Blackzilians and a former student. The first rivalry was a well documented light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.

 “A rivalry doesn’t bother me,” says Jackson.” I never get caught up in the hype because I’m here so many times. Maybe if this was my first or second fight I might get caught up in it. But hey, I still love Melvin, I think Melvin is awesome. The Blackzilians were a better fit for him and I hope he’s happy there. Fighting is just business for me, it’s not personal, I’m not like ‘dammit.’ It’s completely business, but Donald’s our guy and we’re going to do everything we can to help him win.”

The awkward reality of fighting a former teammate was illustrated recently in a Tweet from Team Jackson’s Diego Sanchez to Cerrone, which was as “Inside UFC” as it gets.

“Wow you and Melvin??? I was like ‘he took the fight??? after all those ass whoopin’s I seen with my own eyes in training!!!?” Sanchez Tweeted.

Greg Jackson wouldn’t elaborate on Sanchez’s revealing Tweet, but did want to clarify his thoughts on the “Fredo-like” act of discussing family business with people outside the family.

“Donald is a phenomenal fighter and an amazing athlete but I’m not going to go and say who does what in sparring,” says Jackson. “Because if I do that it sets this precedent where now everybody’s worried about sparring and ‘what’s Wink going to say,’ ‘what’s Greg going to say.’ So for me, sparring is a sacred thing you really shouldn’t have to think about. Like, ‘uh oh I had a really bad day.’ I know how it is myself.  I did two rounds today and I’m thinking ‘Good Lord when did it start getting so hard?’ But maybe next Tuesday I’ll have a better day. That’s why I never talk about who does what in sparring.”

Cowboy however, makes it pretty clear that his experience in the gym with Melvin inspires confidence.

“Training with the guy — if you push him — even in his fights, when he’s down and he starts doubting himself he breaks pretty easy, he folds up a little bit. But I hope a confident Melvin shows up. I want the best Melvin they got. If he thinks he can beat me, that’s great, I’m here and I want to see it. Just tell Melvin ‘I’m coming to whip your ass.’”

In addition to looking forward to facing Guillard in the Octagon, Cerrone’s hoping to get to Michigan on August 19th to catch his friend, NASCAR great Kevin Harvick, in action at Michigan International Speedway.

“He’s racing the same night I’m fighting, which is kind of a bummer but I’ll catch him the next week at the Pure Michigan 400,” he says.

Cerrone adds that Harvick is more than just a friend, but also an inspiration and a good business adviser.

“We talk a lot, he and his wife (DeLana) always talk to me, and just the other day he texted me ‘Get your ass off the lake because the word ‘champion’ sounds a whole lot better before your name doesn’t it?’, said Cerrone. “He always checks on me, is always pushing, he advises me what to do with my money, and he’s crossed over a couple of NASCAR sponsorships for me to pave the way for me. It’s just cool having him, who has made a lot of money, explain to me how to make a lot of money and then be smart with it.”

With Greg Jackson explaining how to be smart in the cage and Harvick at the bank, Cerrone can focus on fighting. What more can a fighter ask for?

“How about Anthony Pettis?” says Cerrone.

The last time light heavyweight prospect Phil Davis (9-1) fought, it was the main event of UFC on FOX 3: Evans vs Davis in January. That fight didn’t go well for “Mr. Wonderful,” as he was defeated in a unanimous decision that has been widely panned by fans and critics as a lackluster affair for the rising MMA star.

Davis does not disagree.

“I don’t know if I had jitters,” says Davis of his first main event appearance on FOX.  “I just had a horrible performance. For this camp, I spent a lot more time in the gym and I’ve prepared myself, my mind and my body for a much better fight. I think this time around I’m going to have a terrific fight.”

Davis meets UFC newcomer Wagner Prado (8-0) – an undefeated Brazilian who’s fought his entire career thus far in his native country – at UFC ON FOX 4: Rua vs Vera on August 4th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Davis says he’s excited to be the one to welcome him to the machine.

“He probably told his whole neighborhood that he’s fighting in the UFC,” says Davis. “He’s excited. I’ve never gone against a guy like that. He’s coming with the kitchen sink, that’s for sure. He brings a lot of youth to the table. I know what it’s like being a young guy coming in and taking on a guy who’s had a bunch of big fights. I know what it’s like to be excited.”

Davis was once in Prado’s shoes. It was Brian Stann at UFC 109 who welcomed the wrestler from Penn State into the machine and it was Davis who walked away with a unanimous decision and instant name recognition.

“Mr. Wonderful” also spent time as an assistant coach to the young UFC hopefuls on TUF Live: Team Cruz vs Team Faber this summer, and some of that hunger from guys fighting their way into the big show may have rubbed off on Davis and rekindled the fire within.

“I’m excited when I fight but I’m excited for different reasons now,” he says.

Granted, Prado’s first eight opponents for the most part were not ever tested in any big promotion, but “Caldeirao’s” standup is pretty sick nonetheless, with seven of his wins coming by way of knockout, and Davis has been shoring up his ground game perhaps in an attempt to avoid the Muay Thai specialist’s strengths.

“You’re going to see a lot more jiu-jitsu from me,” said the four-time NCAA Division I All-American and 2008 NCAA National Champion from Penn State. “I’m definitely going to use my wrestling, that’s part of my game that’s never going to go away. I’m training under a bunch of good guys in San Diego, like Lloyd Irvin, Andre Galvao and Dean Lister. At first, my ground game was to kind of stay out of trouble, but now I’ve developed my offensive game and my own tricks. All of the good guys have things that no one else can do. That’s what makes them good and I’m starting to develop that kind of game.”

After submitting Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch with a Kimura that Joe Rogan dubbed the “Mr. Wonderful,” Davis said that he wasn’t the kind of guy who would over gameplan a fight. He’d rather go in and let the fight dictate the plan. These days he’s a bit more methodical in his approach.

“I still look to put on a good fight. Not fight safe,” he said. “But strategy comes into play a little more now that I’m developing my game and those tricks I talked about. But I’m not going to tell you what they are.”

Although Davis was disappointed to suffer the first loss of his career earlier this year, he’s not dwelling on it and he’s not saying he wants that fight back. At least not right away.

“That fight is done man,” he said. “If Rashad and I ever have the pleasure to do business together he’s going to want the fight the way it went last time and he’s not going to get that fight again, ever. I’m a much better fighter today than I was six months ago. This camp has been very good and I’m learning a lot of new things.”

And if you’re thinking that going from a headlining FOX bout to an undercard fight on FUEL TV with a UFC newbie in just six months bothers Davis, you’d be wrong.

“I’m not worried about that. I just have to put on a great performance and I will be back in the mix and ready for those big fights again. And I will. I will have a great performance.”

He also doesn’t mind fighting someone who is coming in to the UFC with stars in his eyes, knowing what a win over a veteran like Davis would do for his career.

“I’m happy for him,” says Davis. “Stann did it for me and I respect that. You can only get excited for the first time once. I get excited for other reasons now, but that first time in the UFC excitement only happens once, and that’s a special thing.”

As the Pink Floyd song goes, “Welcome my son. Welcome to the machine.”

At just 2-0 at middleweight, Brian “All American” Stann (10-3) is still fairly new to the division, but that’s not stopping the man who commanded elite forces in Iraq as a Marine from following a stringent set of goals for his UFC career at 185 pounds.

“My mission coming into 2011 was to break into the top ten,” said Stann. “Going into the (Chris) Leben fight I said I was going to be a top 10 fighter. If I beat Jorge Santiago I’ll be in the top 10. He’s been there for the last two years, he’s as high as number six on some rankings, and this fight has everything for me that I need. Everything I want is sitting right in front of me. 2012 is the year I want to fight for the title.”

But first he has to get through former Sengoku champion and UFC veteran Jorge Santiago (23-8) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 28th. The newly re-signed Santiago is an ace on the ground who is dangerous from anywhere the fight goes, and Stann understands the challenges set in front of him.

“I’m very impressed with Jorge Santiago as a fighter,” he said. “He’s a champion. He’s won multiple belts since he’s left the UFC the first time, and he poses two really big challenges. Obviously he’s a world class grappler, so he’s very good on the mat. But more importantly, he has a way about him that just finds ways to win fights, whether it’s on the ground, in the clinch, by decision, standing – he has really shown he possesses a talent to find ways to win fights, even ones where he was clearly behind, like the last fight with (Kazuo) Misaki.”

Stann had his sights set on Wanderlei Silva, but a training injury forced “The Axe Murderer” to withdraw from the bout, putting Stann’s Memorial Day weekend fight in jeopardy before Santiago stepped in.

“I knew it was a long shot anyway, there were five or six guys that were all qualified who were asking to fight Wanderlei Silva,” said Stann. “I wasn’t trying to jump on the trend, I was saying back in my WEC days that that would be a great fight for me. When I first started watching his fights, I was awestruck with his tenacity and the way he fights. The fact that he backed out of our fight there were a number of reasons he just physically couldn’t be ready for it and I don’t take that as an insult at all, and I got a better fight out of it. Santiago is ranked way higher than Wanderlei is right now, so this is a great fight for me and my career. Ultimately I asked to be on this card because it’s Memorial Day weekend. That’s the most important holiday for me. We didn’t even know who the opponent would be when we asked to fight on May 28, I just wanted to fight on this card. That was the most important aspect for me.”

Like an advancing military unit, Stann is plotting his UFC career step by step, and he’s implementing that plan accordingly.

First it was a switch to Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico and a drop to middleweight from light heavy. A submission win over Mike Massenzio last August proved that Stann could perform after cutting more weight than he had his entire life, and following that impressive debut came a first round knockout over the battle-tested Leben at UFC 125 earlier this year.

Hearing Stann talk about his developments in the fight game, it becomes apparent that the former WEC light heavyweight champion has the ability to separate himself from the fighting commodity he represents inside the Octagon.

“The key for me is attacking everywhere,” he said of his strategy for Santiago. “I’m no longer a one-dimensional fighter. I can fight everywhere and there’s nowhere in this fight that he can take it where he can overwhelm me. I feel like I’m a better wrestler than he is, I think I’m a better striker. The area where he is better is Jiu-Jitsu, but this isn’t a grappling tournament. We’re not starting off slapping hands and starting on our knees. I can knock guys out from every single position and that’s what I’m going to try to do this fight.”

Stann also feels like he has the advantage of being accustomed to the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, which govern all UFC bouts, and fighting in the Octagon, whereas Santiago followed a different set of rules and fought in a ring for the last few years of his career.

“I think the differences in the rules from Sengoku to UFC will affect Jorge,” he said. “The rules we have don’t let guys take you down and just lay on top of you. You have to advance your position. You have to work for submissions, and try to finish the fight. So the fact that they stand you up a little bit quicker here, I think that’s a factor and I’m sure Jorge has trained for that. The biggest thing is the cage, however. It’s a lot easier to hold someone down on the mat in a ring than it is with a cage. That cage offers a huge variable for guys that want to get back on their feet. It gets very difficult to hold anybody down once they get their back to the cage.”

Outside of the cage, Stann dedicates his life in furthering the causes of returning U.S. military veterans, whether that is advocating for the latest and greatest medical treatment for vets, or helping them land jobs through his Hire Heroes Organization, a non-profit organization that helps employers find the right candidate among former servicemen and women. Stann says his fighting is a boon to that mission as well.

“It’s really my job as the president of the Hire Heroes Organization to go out there and find strategic relationships that are going to help place veterans in jobs after their service is up, he said. “I have an amazing executive director and executive who run the show day-to-day who report to me, but I can’t tell you how many very valuable relationships have developed from watching me fight or who have read interviews because the media have been very kind about mentioning Hire Heroes in many of the pieces about me and I’m grateful for that.”

Miguel Angel Torres (38-3) is looking forward to his second UFC fight on Memorial Day weekend at the end of this month, but don’t think for one second that the former WEC bantamweight champion is nervous about fighting in the big show.

“Whether I’m fighting in the UFC, the WEC or my first fight in my hometown, I never feel any pressure from any fight,” says Torres, who is coming into UFC 130 against a very tough Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (13-1) as a different fighter, and a different man than fans have come to know over a decade fighting the best his division’s had to offer.

“I’m training now up at Tristar with Firas Zihabi,” Torres says of his fairly new alliance in Montreal, home of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. “You saw in my last fight I was getting booed a lot for not going in and chasing Antonio. The old Miguel Torres would have rushed in and made it a crazy fight. But now that I’m training under great trainers and great partners in the gym, I’m more relaxed and I stick to the game plan. Whether it pleases the fans or not, the biggest adjustment I’ve made is knowing what I need to do to win. I’m no longer going to let my emotions get the better of me and I’m not rushing out and getting caught in any more gunfights.”

But a gunfight is just what he might have in store for him. Johnson is riding a three fight win streak with a submission victory over Damacio Page and a unanimous decision against Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto at UFC 126 among his recent conquests.

“Demetrious is one of those guys who doesn’t have a lot of fights, but he’s very, very quick,” he said. “I’d say he’s one of the quickest guys I’ve ever fought. He’s a very good wrestler with very good takedowns, and his footwork is very good, so his striking is going to be all over the place. It’s like fighting another version of (bantamweight contender) Joseph Benavidez. He poses a lot of threats but I have a very good game plan and I’ve been training really hard for this fight. I’m very confident in my approach to this situation.”

Torres says his approach will not only prolong his career, but it’s also helped him change his life in more positive ways than just winning fights. In fact, he credits back to back losses to Brian Bowles and Benavidez for helping him realize that he had grown too comfortable at the top of the bantamweight mountain.

“It was a matter of time,” says Miguel. “Whether it was them or somebody else, it was just a matter of time before I got caught up in my little world. I was doing well and I was winning my fights with the same training and the same methods, but it was just a matter of time until somebody with a good team deconstructed everything I was doing wrong. Those guys both did that and all that did was force me to go to a better team and step my game up. I think the sign of a true champion and a true fighter is to learn from those kinds of fights and go back to the drawing board and fix what you did wrong and make yourself better. And until those losses happened I wasn’t going to do that. It took that to change not just to be a better fighter but also a better person. So I think those losses made me stronger. Now I’m training with a great team and a very inspiring coach whom I respect very much out here in Montreal, not to mention the guys I train with back home, and I’m learning new things. I was doing well with the same game for ten years, now a day doesn’t go by when I don’t learn something new. My ground game is more dangerous, my striking is 100 percent more dangerous, I had no wrestling before now, and I have good wrestling now, but most of all, I’m a much smarter fighter.”

He’s also a much taller fighter than his next opponent. In fact, at 5-9, he’s one of the taller bantamweights around. Johnson is just 5-3, and Torres will have a significant reach advantage, something that proved effective in his unanimous decision victory against Banuelos. And while not looking past Johnson at all, Torres says he’s happy about all of the former 155 pounders who are now cutting weight to try their luck in the lower divisions that he helped pioneer.

“I look forward to those types of things happening,” he said. “The fact that guys are now dropping from 155 to 145 and eventually 135 is a great thing because now the guys like me who were pioneers of those weight classes can show the world what we’re made of. I have always said that guys in our weight classes have the same skills that the guys in the heavier weight class have. I think it is a great thing.”

Watch the choke that earned Miguel Torres the WEC Bantamweight Title here.

Miguel Angel Torres (38-3) is looking forward to his second UFC fight on Memorial Day weekend at the end of this month, but don’t think for one second that the former WEC bantamweight champion is nervous about fighting in the big show.

“Whether I’m fighting in the UFC, the WEC or my first fight in my hometown, I never feel any pressure from any fight,” says Torres, who is coming into UFC 130 against a very tough Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (13-1) as a different fighter, and a different man than fans have come to know over a decade fighting the best his division’s had to offer.

“I’m training now up at Tristar with Firas Zihabi,” Torres says of his fairly new alliance in Montreal, home of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. “You saw in my last fight I was getting booed a lot for not going in and chasing Antonio. The old Miguel Torres would have rushed in and made it a crazy fight. But now that I’m training under great trainers and great partners in the gym, I’m more relaxed and I stick to the game plan. Whether it pleases the fans or not, the biggest adjustment I’ve made is knowing what I need to do to win. I’m no longer going to let my emotions get the better of me and I’m not rushing out and getting caught in any more gunfights.”

But a gunfight is just what he might have in store for him. Johnson is riding a three fight win streak with a submission victory over Damacio Page and a unanimous decision against Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto at UFC 126 among his recent conquests.

“Demetrious is one of those guys who doesn’t have a lot of fights, but he’s very, very quick,” he said. “I’d say he’s one of the quickest guys I’ve ever fought. He’s a very good wrestler with very good takedowns, and his footwork is very good, so his striking is going to be all over the place. It’s like fighting another version of (bantamweight contender) Joseph Benavidez. He poses a lot of threats but I have a very good game plan and I’ve been training really hard for this fight. I’m very confident in my approach to this situation.”

Torres says his approach will not only prolong his career, but it’s also helped him change his life in more positive ways than just winning fights. In fact, he credits back to back losses to Brian Bowles and Benavidez for helping him realize that he had grown too comfortable at the top of the bantamweight mountain.

“It was a matter of time,” says Miguel. “Whether it was them or somebody else, it was just a matter of time before I got caught up in my little world. I was doing well and I was winning my fights with the same training and the same methods, but it was just a matter of time until somebody with a good team deconstructed everything I was doing wrong. Those guys both did that and all that did was force me to go to a better team and step my game up. I think the sign of a true champion and a true fighter is to learn from those kinds of fights and go back to the drawing board and fix what you did wrong and make yourself better. And until those losses happened I wasn’t going to do that. It took that to change not just to be a better fighter but also a better person. So I think those losses made me stronger. Now I’m training with a great team and a very inspiring coach whom I respect very much out here in Montreal, not to mention the guys I train with back home, and I’m learning new things. I was doing well with the same game for ten years, now a day doesn’t go by when I don’t learn something new. My ground game is more dangerous, my striking is 100 percent more dangerous, I had no wrestling before now, and I have good wrestling now, but most of all, I’m a much smarter fighter.”

He’s also a much taller fighter than his next opponent. In fact, at 5-9, he’s one of the taller bantamweights around. Johnson is just 5-3, and Torres will have a significant reach advantage, something that proved effective in his unanimous decision victory against Banuelos. And while not looking past Johnson at all, Torres says he’s happy about all of the former 155 pounders who are now cutting weight to try their luck in the lower divisions that he helped pioneer.

“I look forward to those types of things happening,” he said. “The fact that guys are now dropping from 155 to 145 and eventually 135 is a great thing because now the guys like me who were pioneers of those weight classes can show the world what we’re made of. I have always said that guys in our weight classes have the same skills that the guys in the heavier weight class have. I think it is a great thing.”

Watch the choke that earned Miguel Torres the WEC Bantamweight Title here.

By now you’ve heard that the much anticipated third bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and number one contender Gray Maynard has been scrapped due to injuries sustained to both parties, with Edgar’s being a more serious injury involving his back and ribs.

“All of the reports are talking about my ribs, it’s actually my back,” says Edgar. “My back’s been bothering me for quite some time. A few weeks ago I had to take a week off so that my back could calm down and I was trying to fight through it. I got through it and it kept blowing out on me here and there but then I ended up blowing out a rib last week. My rib kept popping in and out and then last week my back went out on me really bad, so I went to see a doctor and he said I’ve got bulging discs and now I’m going to go see a specialist to see what he can do about it.”

Edgar made a day trip from New Jersey to Las Vegas on May 9th to see the UFC doctor while the annual UFC Fighters Summit commenced.

“I saw a UFC doctor yesterday and he said my L2 and L5 discs are bulged, and he recommended that I don’t fight right now,” Edgar said. “I can’t even put my socks on or hold my kids, it’s pretty bad right now.”

Edgar laid on his back on his living room floor during our interview, saying that laying down is the only position he can maintain right now that doesn’t cause him pain. Frankie said his ribs popped badly last Saturday while training at Ricardo Almeida’s Jiu Jitsu Academy in Hamilton, NJ.

“I think it was more my fault than anyone else’s fault to be honest,” he said. “I was trying to favor my back and probably putting too much pressure on my abs and compounded the injury when the rib popped out. I really don’t know for sure but it’s just unfortunate.”

A rupture of a disc causes the “shock absorbers” between two vertebrae to leak, causing the bones to grind against one another. Consequently, nerve irritation and bone instability causes severe back pain.

“I was planning on going through with the fight with the back injury,” says Edgar. “I didn’t want to postpone the bout at all. I feel like I lost the fight right now. I’m very depressed about this whole situation. I’m sure in a couple of days I’ll realize I did the right thing by going to see a doctor. It’s not fair to myself, to Gray, it’s not fair to the fans to take a fight like this. I mean, I’m never 100 percent healthy when I step in the Octagon anyway but this is something different. I’m not even 30% right now. When it’s really inflamed, the pain is excruciating. When it happened on Saturday the drive back home from Ricardo’s was the longest drive of my life.”

For Edgar, this is not the first time the champ has had a back injury. He had back surgery some eleven years ago as a result of an injury sustained while wrestling.

“I had back surgery when I was 18,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s correlated to this injury I have now but that’s why I’m going to see a specialist.”

Edgar says he’s not sure how long he’ll be out for, but is hoping for the best.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be out. I’m hoping surgery won’t be an option right now, I’m hoping I can rehab it and get better and get back to training in a month, but I can’t give you any solid answer right now as to how long I’ll be out,” he said. “From what I hear, Gray is pretty banged up and he wasn’t having the best camp either, so maybe everything happens for a reason. I know that when I fight Gray I want him to be at his best, he wants me to be at my best and I’m sure the fans want us both at our best too.”