Author: Gary Herman

Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Notebook: Exclusive Talk from Dana White, GSP, Melendez

Henderson to get next title shot After his impressive three round decision victory over Clay Guida, Ben Henderson made his intentions clear—he wants his opportunity to be the UFC lightweight champion. At the post-fight press conference, Dana Whi…

Henderson to get next title shot

After his impressive three round decision victory over Clay Guida, Ben Henderson made his intentions clear—he wants his opportunity to be the UFC lightweight champion.

At the post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed the matchup.

“They’re both exciting fighters,” White said of Frankie Edgar and Henderson. “Them being the main event in Japan? It should be a great fight.”

The UFC will be heading to Japan to have an event at Pride FC’s former stomping grounds of Super Saitama Super Arena on February 26, 2012.

A smiling Henderson is eagerly anticipating the fight.

“I think it’s a great matchup,” Henderson said. “Obviously, I’m very confident. I think I match up very well. Frankie and I are going to put on a great show.”

 

Georges St-Pierre on Nick Diaz

In one of the most anticipated UFC welterweight title fights in the company’s history, Georges St-Pierre defends his title against Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz.

“Very excited,” St-Pierre told Bleacher Report’s Gary Herman. “It’s the fight I want to have, and it’s the fight people want to see.”

Diaz got the desired fight after his public outburst following his three-round domination of BJ Penn.

“I don’t think Nick Diaz is a bad person,” St-Pierre said. “I think he’s very smart. He knows how to get what he wants—a title shot.”

With the fight about three months away, St-Pierre already has a prediction for the matchup.

“It’s going to be Georges St-Pierre winning the fight.”

 

Melendez vs. Edgar

With many of Strikeforce’s top fighters joining the UFC, the top star still left in Strikeforce may very well be Gilbert Melendez.

A few months ago, Melendez was very close to joining the UFC.

“I can’t lie,” Melendez said. “I got pumped on it too. I reached out to Dana and said, ‘I’m ready when you are.’ but that’s just talk. Nothing is set in stone until it’s written on the contract.”

However, coming over to the UFC did not happen, and now Melendez is set to take on Strikeforce No. 1 contender Jorge Masvidal.

“I think he’s tough,” the Strikeforce lightweight champion said. “He’s real talented, but the more and more I watch tape on him—the more I see holes that I can expose.”

Should Melendez be successful against Masvidal, he wants to be in the sport’s top promotion.

“I want to be the UFC champ,” Melendez said. “That’s my goal. When you’re the UFC champ, you’re number one in the world. The goal is to be in the UFC ASAP.”

The big reward for Melendez coming over would be a fight with UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Melendez is very confident that he will perform well in a title unification match.

“I think he’s an amazing fighter,” Melendez said, “but does he look like he can’t be dethroned? No. Is he untouchable? No. We’ve seen how to beat him for one round, but can you keep it for two or three? I think I can keep it up for five.”

 

Return to Kongo

Back in June 2009, Cain Velasquez defeated Cheick Kongo by unanimous decision. From that point, Velasquez went on to win three more fights and the UFC heavyweight championship.

Kongo, however, has not forgotten their match. After defeating Matt Mitrione at UFC 137, Kongo openly campaigned for a rematch with Velasquez. Kongo even went as far as to say Valesquez’s victory over him was a fluke.

Now, Following his defeat at the hands of Dos Santos, Velasquez responded to Kongo’s challenge.

“For sure,” Velasquez said, when asked if he wanted the rematch. “If that will get me back to where I want to be? Yeah, I’ll be there.” 

 

Only one fight

A complaint from many of the UFC fans coming into the promotion’s debut on Fox was that the network would only be televising one fight. That was especially a problem with the scintillating Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida fight situated on the undercard and off TV.

White offered a simple explanation as to why.

“We’re not in a deal with Fox yet,” White said, inferring that Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos was a bonus fight for the fans. “Our deal doesn’t start until January. This was a welcome to UFC on Fox deal.”

As far as showing the Guida vs. Henderson, White said, “This was never part of the deal.”

 

Career Saved

In his preliminary fight against former WEC champion Cole Escovedo, Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres was in an absolute must-win situation.  Caceres had gone 0-2 in his first two UFC fights (0-3 if you include his last fight on the Ultimate Fighter reality show).

“This was my third fight under the UFC banner,” Caceres said, “and considering that I lost my first two, I knew that tonight it was do or die.”

Coming into the matchup with Escovedo, Caceres was nearly a 3:1 underdog.

Nevertheless, Caceres pulled off the victory with a dominant unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 30-27. With the win, Caceres assures himself another chance with the promotion.

 “It’s my dream to fight in the UFC and I want to make sure it lasts as long as possible.”

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UFC 137 Breaking News Notebook: Comments from Diaz, Sonnen, Faber and Dana White

St-Pierre vs. Diaz Is Set The on-again, off-again Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz is apparently back on. At the UFC 137 post-fight press conference, Dana White announced the matchup. “Carlos Condit is going to step aside,” White said. &ldqu…

St-Pierre vs. Diaz Is Set

The on-again, off-again Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz is apparently back on.

At the UFC 137 post-fight press conference, Dana White announced the matchup.

“Carlos Condit is going to step aside,” White said. “St-Pierre’s next title fight will be against Nick Diaz.”

The bout quickly came about following Diaz’s impressive unanimous decision win over B.J. Penn. In the post-fight interview, the Strikeforce welterweight champion made the brash statement that St-Pierre was scared of him.

According to White, St-Pierre was not pleased with those comments.

“Since 2004, I’ve never seen GSP like he was tonight,” White said. “GSP flipped out tonight.”

White had more from his conversation with St-Pierre.

“He’s (Diaz) the most disrespectful guy I ever met,” White said, repeating what St-Pierre told him, “I’m going to put the worst beating on him in the history of the UFC.”

Diaz immediately reacted to St-Pierre.

“I got to come off like that just to get a fight,” Diaz said, not happy with the situation. “I got to be the bad guy just to get the fight.”

Upon hearing Diaz’s statement, White quickly added, “It worked.”

 

Chael Sonnen’s Verbal Barrage on Anderson Silva

The worst kept secret in MMA is Chael Sonnen’s desire for a rematch against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“He’s a big nuisance,” Sonnen said. “He’s just a nuisance. He’s a fake and a phony.”

Sonnen has taken to the media to go after any angle possible to make the match happen. This includes verbally going after Silva’s training partners.

“Are you fighters or aren’t you?” Sonnen said. “Black House has so many excuses they should just be called Team Backout.”

 

Another Chance for Faber

Urijah Faber is set to take on Brian Bowles on November 19. Since the fight announcement, rumors began to circulate that the winner would receive a chance at Dominic Cruz’s bantamweight championship.

“Yes,” Faber said. “At first, there was talk of me having an immediate rematch with Cruz, but I want to beat a top contender first.”

Should Faber vs. Cruz 3 take place, the fight would be Faber’s fourth title chance in his last eight fights.

Faber offers no apologizes for what some people believe is preferential treatment for biggest star from the now-defunct WEC.

“I’ve been in the top of my weight class for eight years,” Faber said. “There’s haters out there. If someone wants to beat me to get into one of these title shots, then go ahead and do it.”

 

Lauzon Ready to Get Back in the Cage

After his scintillating submission victory against Melvin Guillard at UFC 136, Joe Lauzon is already talking about his next potential opponent.

Lightweight striker Anthony Pettis is clearly in his sights.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting fight,” Lauzon said of the former WEC champion. “We have talked about it.”

Lauzon also knows when he would like the fight to take place.

“I would love to fight in Vegas on the Super Bowl card in February,” Lauzon said. “We’re both exciting fighters. We both go for it.”

 

Japan’s MMA

Prior to the explosion of the UFC in the United States, MMA was first popular in Japan. But with the UFC buying Pride Fighting Championships and its subsequent replacement, Dream, not having much mainstream success, the future of the sport is cloudy at best.

HDNet announcer Mike Schiavello believes there still is opportunity.

“The small shows are flourishing at the moment,” Schiavello said. “The big shows? Not so much. Dream is still in a pretty good position. Hopefully, they can still do a New Year’s show.”

“I don’t think it will be like the Dynamite show as we know it. I think there’s a 60 percent chance.”

 

Next Featherweight Title Shot

Chad Mendes was recently passed over for a shot at Jose Aldo and the featherweight championship in favor of the better-known Kenny Florian.

Florian failed in his attempt to win the title, and now, the UFC may be close to calling Mendes’ name to face Aldo.

“We haven’t signed any contracts, but I truly believe I should be the next one in line,” Mendes said. “Whenever they tell me, I will be there, front and center, to sign that contract.”

UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen also confirmed that the fight was close to being announced.

“Mendes is the No. 1 contender in the featherweight division, but I’ll leave it at that,” Sonnen said, clearly alluding to the potential title bout. “I don’t want to say what’s next for him because it’s not public yet.”

With the UFC recently announcing that it will be returning to Brazil on January 14, 2012, Aldo vs. Mendes would appear to be a perfect fit from a timing standpoint for the main event spot.

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Nate Marquardt Talks Fight with Paul Daley, Free Agency and BAMMA

Nate Marquardt wants one specific opponent. Should the fight take place, the match-up may be the most exciting non-UFC bout that can be made. Nate Marquardt has his sights locked on British slugger Paul Daley. “He has a good name,” Marquard…

Nate Marquardt wants one specific opponent.

Should the fight take place, the match-up may be the most exciting non-UFC bout that can be made. Nate Marquardt has his sights locked on British slugger Paul Daley.

“He has a good name,” Marquardt told Bleacher Report’s Gary Herman. “He’s a good fighter—and he talked all that crap about me? I want to fight him.”

When Marquardt was recently let go by the UFC, some fighters defended him and some fighters did not. Most of the fighters, however, knew the former middleweight title contender personally.

Daley, however, never came in contact with Marquardt.

“I just met him a few weeks ago in England,” Marquardt said about Daley, “but I hadn’t met him before that.

Regardless, Daley had this to say to Bleacher Report just after the Marquardt situation went down.

“Obviously, he was called out (on steroids) and it’s not the first time he’s been caught,” Daley said, “so obviously he’s been using performance-enhancing drugs when training, fighting etc…”

Daley was not finished.

“As soon as the (Tyron) Woodley fight’s out of the way, Nate can get a hold of my manager and we’ll make the fight happen,” Daley said. “As far as what he said about me and the rest of those guys—I think we all pretty much have the same mentality. If he wants to fight, we’ll fight.”

Now that both are competing in the upstart BAMMA organization, the fight has a very realistic shot to take place. Marquardt has already signed to compete on the organization’s next show on December 10.

“It’s still undecided,” Marquardt said, when asked about his next opponent, “but I’m really hoping it will be Paul Daley.”

Fighting with BAMMA will be a new experience for Marquardt. His last 14 fights have all been in the UFC. He went 10-4 in the promotion.

Once he was let go by Zuffa, Marquardt quickly became very popular.

“We were pretty much contacted by every organization outside of the UFC,” Marquardt said. “We looked for what would be the best fit, and what would have the most opportunity. We thought BAMMA had the best show outside of the UFC. They have good fighters, and they are growing rapidly.”

Changing promotions is not the only new experience for Marquardt. In December, Marquardt will also be debuting at 170 lbs.

“I want to be a dominant welterweight,” Marquardt said about his career goals. “I want to show everyone I’m one of the top welterweights in the world—if not the top welterweight in the world.”

Even though Marquardt has not fought since March 2011, he has still been in the spotlight. He had a role in the recent movie release Warrior.

“I was in Pittsburgh filming for nine weeks,” Marquardt said. “It was something I’d definitely considering doing more of.”

While in Pittsburgh, Marquardt had a chance to meet another actor in the movie—former Olympic gold medalist and current pro wrestler Kurt Angle.

Angle often talked about making the switch to MMA, but nothing ever came of it. Marquardt believes he would have been a success.

“We hung out a few times,” Marquardt said about Angle. “If Kurt had focused his career to MMA instead of wrestling? He could have been a star for sure.”

For now, Marquardt is no longer acting and is looking to reignite his fight career. He has a simple plan to get back to the spotlight.

“I need to win big fights against big names.”

Daley could certainly be his next attempt against an MMA star. Should the two meet, Marquardt is very confident in the result.

“He’s got an exciting style,” Marquardt said, “but I think I’d destroy him. I’d be too much for him. I am too well rounded. My takedowns are too good. My ground is too good.”

“I think I’m a better stand-up fighter. I’m stronger. I train harder. That’s it.”

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UFC 136: Brian Stann on Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva and Jones vs. Evans

Brian Stann is only one fight away. Should Brian Stann defeat Chael Sonnen this coming Saturday at UFC 136 in Houston, he will be the next man up for the UFC middleweight championship held by Anderson Silva. Silva also happens to be the longest reignin…

Brian Stann is only one fight away.

Should Brian Stann defeat Chael Sonnen this coming Saturday at UFC 136 in Houston, he will be the next man up for the UFC middleweight championship held by Anderson Silva.

Silva also happens to be the longest reigning titleholder in UFC history.

“We’re all in this to be champions,” Stann told Bleacher Report’s Gary Herman. “It’s amazing what he’s done. Anyone who can win that many fights consecutively in the UFC? It’s just incredible.”

Silva has won all 14 of his UFC fights. Silva’s most difficult fight was over Stann next’s opponent, Chael Sonnen.

Unlike the Sonnen vs. Silva build-up, Sonnen has shown admiration for Stann. Stann is also a fan of Sonnen’s.

As a result, Sonnen did not use his sharp wit to help build the matchup. Sonnen publicly said that Stann would not be his first choice of opponents but that the two have to fight because of their standing near the top of the UFC middleweight division.

Stann will not let that respect get in the way of his MMA goals.

“No, it’s a competition” Stann said, when asked if it is more difficult to fight someone he knows well. “I don’t want to have to fight any of my friends, but it’s a competition. It has nothing to do with what kind of person they are.”

 

 

“It’s just like playing basketball with one another. You compete and then you become friends again after.”

Stann’s preparation for the Sonnen fight has taken place at Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque, NM. Jackson’s MMA is the same place where light heavyweight Jon Jones and current No. 1 contender Rashad Evans first crossed paths.

Jones and Evans have developed a very public rivalry since Jones first stated that he would be willing to fight Evans. Evans was caught off guard, and in direct contrast to Stann’s views on fighting a friend, Evans was disappointed that his alleged friend Jones challenged him.

Evans has since left Jackson’s MMA, and he is now looking forward to the title fight with Jones.

“I’m friends with both guys,” Stann said of the two top light heavyweughts. “Without a doubt, I miss training with Rashad. In fact, he trained with my last opponent. It’s very unfortunate that it happened.”

Stann believes the media played a major role in the feud.

“I think so many people wanted that fight to happen,” Stann said. “Many people were interviewing Jon Jones about Rashad. It created a situation.”

Like Jones, Stann has shown tremendous progression in his MMA career. Starting as a light heavyweight in the UFC, Stann had a pedestrian 2-2 record. However, since dropping to middleweight, Stann is 3-0, with all stoppages.

Stann believes Jackson’s MMA is responsible for a lot of the growth.

“Now, I really feel comfortable with these skills that I’ve learned over the past few years,” Stann said. “I can fight at a much faster pace because I’m not thinking so much while I’m in there.”

Stann will need to have a lot of confidence in order to be successful in the fight. He is currently listed as a +200 underdog to Sonnen.

“Everything is the best it’s been as far as my technique so I’m ready to fight,” Stann said. “It’s definitely my toughest test to date.”

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UFC 134 Silva vs. Okami: Nogueira on Schaub, Dos Santos, and Brock Lesnar

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been one of the most successful heavyweights in the history of mixed martial arts. But the question is—can Nogueira still compete with the sport’s top stars? Nogueira has only fought three times in the past two-…

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has been one of the most successful heavyweights in the history of mixed martial arts.

But the question is—can Nogueira still compete with the sport’s top stars?

Nogueira has only fought three times in the past two-and-a-half years, and he lost two of those fights. Both Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez finished Nogueira by knockout. Nogueira’s only win over that time period was a decision victory over Randy Couture.

Nogueira could be close to the end of his storied career, in which he held both the Pride heavyweight championship and the UFC interim heavyweight championship.

Now ready to resume his career, he is preparing for a fight with fast-rising prospect Brendan Schaub.

Since losing in The Ultimate Fighter season 10 finale to Roy Nelson, Schaub is on a run of four straight wins. Among the fighters Schaub has beaten are Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop.

“Schaub is a tough young guy,” Nogueira said about his opponent, “I feel great to be getting back in the Octagon, and I am very excited to be fighting at home.”

Even though Nogueira would appear to be playing the gatekeeper role in this bout, the former champion is not thinking about retirement just yet.

“I think I can fight a few more years,” Nogueira said. “I’m in good shape right now. Stronger than before.”

The upcoming fight with Schaub will take place on the televised portion of the UFC 134 pay-per-view this coming Saturday.

The match-up will also mark the first time Nogueira has not been in the main-event or co-main event since his UFC debut back in July 7 2007.

At this point, Nogueira will need to make a big impression to get back into contention. The oddsmakers do not necessarily agree that he will be successful. Schaub is currently listed as a 2 ½ to 1 favorite.

Coming back after a year-and-a-half absence, Nogueira was not concerned about who he was facing.

“Whoever they put me in to fight, I’ll be ready,” the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt said. “If I have a chance to fight for the title, I’d love to.”

Nogueira would quickly change his mind though if the champion is Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos, Nogueira’s close protégé, is set to face off with UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in October.

“He’s not the type of guy I just train with,” Nogueira said, when asked if he’d want to challenge for the title if Dos Santos won. “He stays with me.”

Nogueira believes Dos Santos has a great chance in the title fight.

“He’s very comfortable,” Nogueira said about Dos Santos. “He has fast hands and improved a lot of his wrestling. He’s the top of the weight division. Very exciting to watch him fight.”

Should Nogueira have a successful restart in his career, someone he could see himself crossing paths with is former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

However, Lesnar would first have to recover from his second bout of diverticulitis.

“I hope he comes back,” Nogueira said. “Everybody wants to see him fight again. He’s a strong guy. He’s a very strong guy to fight with me. I want to see him healthy.”

Nogueira has also spoken of his desire to have a rematch with his former The Ultimate Fighter rival, Frank Mir. Mir defeated Nogueira by TKO back in December 2008.

After the fight, UFC President Dana White stated that Nogueira had just gotten over a staph infection in the weeks leading up to the bout.

Originally, the two former champions were slated to have a rematch last September, but Nogueira pulled out in order to have surgery on both of his knees.

Even though it has been close to three years since Nogueira and Mir first fought, Nogueira still does not respect the trash-talking Mir does.

“I don’t like that,” Nogueira said about Mir’s interview style. “I have to be confident, but I’m not going to say anything bad.”

Unlike Mir’s pre-fight gamesmanship, Nogueira has nothing negative to say about the fast-rising prospect.

However, after his recent losses as well as his recent medical problems, Nogueira has to win this fight so that nothing negative is said about him. This fight represents a genuine crossroads for the highly decorated star.

With a win, Nogueira can quickly get back into the title picture, but with a loss, Nogueira may have to seriously consider what should be next.

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Houston Alexander Talks Kimbo Slice, UFC and Upcoming PPV vs. Razak Al-Hassan

Can Houston Alexander make it back? Just a few years ago, Alexander exploded into the UFC with lightning fast wins over both Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara. However, almost as quickly, Alexander disappeared from the major MMA scene. Following a strea…

Can Houston Alexander make it back?

Just a few years ago, Alexander exploded into the UFC with lightning fast wins over both Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara. However, almost as quickly, Alexander disappeared from the major MMA scene.

Following a streak of consecutive UFC losses to Thiago Silva, James Irvin and Alessio Sakara, Alexander was in a must-win bout with Kimbo Slice.

Alexander’s matchup was envisioned as a high-impact slugfest with the better brawler winning. The fight did not turn out that way. Slice defeated Alexander by unanimous decision in a somewhat lethargic bout.

The bout was the only one of Slice’s fights to go to the scorecards.

“If I could go back and do it again,” Alexander told Bleacher Report, “I’d probably do it differently. People expected two gorillas to go at it and pound on each other’s chest. He had a strategy. I had a strategy.”

Regardless, Alexander was not in complete agreement with judges’ decision.

“I guess some of the judges don’t count kicks. It is what it is.”

With the loss, Alexander was dismissed from the UFC. Now, two years, five fights, and three wins (one no-contest) later, Alexander continues his road back. In just a few days, Alexander is set to take on another former UFC fighter, Razak Al-Hassan.

The fight will be featured on this Saturday’s MMA Fight Pit: Genesis card. The show will be available on pay-per-view starting at 9 p.m. EST and 6 p.m. PST.

“It’s a great matchup,” Alexander said of the bout with Hassan. “Guy likes to strike. I like to strike. I like to kick. He likes to kick. It’s going to be a great match up for both of us.”

Alexander is familiar with Hassan’s past.

“It’s good to see him develop like he has,” Alexander said. “He was one of those up and comers that I saw in Omaha.”

Omaha is where Alexander became a very busy fighter.

“I’ve probably had 200 unsanctioned fights between here and there,” Alexander said about the early part of this career. “I’ve fought five people in the same night, and I fought once a week for almost two years straight.”

The idea of participating in that many unsanctioned fights appears to be a very eerie proposition. Alexander was not worried about it.

“Exact same rules,” Alexander said, when asked what the differences between sanctioned and unsanctioned were. “Being in an unsanctioned fight means your record is not updated. It was one knockout after another. A lot of them lasted under a minute.”

Alexander has a simple explanation for his underground success.

“People don’t like being punched in the face,” the man nicknamed the Assassin said. “I don’t mind it. It wakes me up. I know it’s ‘go time.’ Retaliation is a must.”

The upcoming fight with Hassan will mark Alexander’s fifth since leaving the UFC. All five have been with different organizations.

“It doesn’t matter to me as long as the opponent is a quality opponent,” Alexander said. “It’d be nice to be in one organization, but it’s also nice for me because I get to travel to other parts of the country and other parts of the world.”

“It’s good for me to be a free agent right now because if I sign with any organization right now it’s going to be for big money.”

If Alexander had his choice of future opponents, one fighter quickly comes to the top of the list. “The Sandman” James Irvin.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t get to fight James Irvin again,” Alexander said about the potential rematch in March 2011.

Irvin won the first bout in just eight seconds.

The second bout was canceled just a week prior to the fight when Irvin was suspended for a positive steroid test. The failure was Irvin’s second offense.

“The guy has to cheat people to beat them, so he has to use steroids,” Alexander said of Irvin.

Alexander, though, did stop short of saying the Irvin was using performance enhancing drugs in the first fight back in April 2008.

“I don’t know. I can’t say that,” Alexander said. “I never should be in that position (to lose the fight). Whether he used or not, I should never have been in that position.”

“Using steroids is like a quick fix. It’s like that stuff for your tires.”

However, should Alexander be victorious over Hassan and receive an offer to rejoin the world’s top MMA promotion, he would definitely embrace the opportunity.

“UFC is the epitome of MMA,” said Alexander. “There’s only one MMA organization that I know of that gets on ESPN. ESPN is the Mecca of all sports. You want to get the recognition.”

As for the upcoming Hassan fight, Alexander will believes he will impress the crowd.

“I’m going after the guy, being aggressive. I predict I’m winning the fight, and I’m not trying to take it to the judges.”

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