Author: Mike Hodges

Firas Zahabi Says GSP’s Recovery Is Going "Very Well"

Since undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL a few weeks ago, Georges St-Pierre has been out of the spotlight. He has been working hard to rehabilitate his knee and make a successful return to the Octagon. The champion suffered the injury during …

Since undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL a few weeks ago, Georges St-Pierre has been out of the spotlight. He has been working hard to rehabilitate his knee and make a successful return to the Octagon. 

The champion suffered the injury during a training session earlier this month and it forced him out his scheduled bout with Nick Diaz at UFC 143. Since then, there hasn’t been much update on St-Pierre’s status. 

St-Pierre’s trainer and close friend, Frias Zahabi, recently spoke to MMAFightCorner.com about the champion’s injury. He revealed that the surgery was a success and that “Rush” is doing well. 

“GSP is recovering very well,” Zahabi said. “Georges will start rehab at The Sports Science Lab, has been in contact with me regularly and is motivated to start rehabilitation. Everyone is very confident on a full recovery and we are all looking forward to the next training”

Zahabi opened up about his relationship with St-Pierre and said the two remain very close. While Zahabi is widely considered to be one of the most successful trainers in Montreal, the Tri-Star gym coach said he originally began training in mixed martial arts. 

It was during his introduction to MMA that Zahabi befriended the French-Canadian. As he explained:

I have been working with GSP for 10 years now. We started out as training partners. We got along very quickly and become very close. After that Georges asked me to be his head coach and take his training more seriously. He wanted me to oversee all his training as we have similar mentalities on how to train. We have been training together ever since.

While St-Pierre remains sidelined, his original opponent, Diaz, will meet Carlos Condit for the UFC interim welterweight title at UFC 143.

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Frank Mir Says Alistair Overeem’s Cardio Will "Suck" Against Brock Lesnar

Although oddsmakers have favoured Alistair Overeem to prevail over Brock Lesnar this weekend at UFC 141, Frank Mir doesn’t necessarily see the bout going to Overeem, at least not convincingly.Overeem’s size is something to consider when matching up aga…

Although oddsmakers have favoured Alistair Overeem to prevail over Brock Lesnar this weekend at UFC 141, Frank Mir doesn’t necessarily see the bout going to Overeem, at least not convincingly.

Overeem’s size is something to consider when matching up against Lesnar, as he stands 6’5″ and weighs in at 255 pounds.

However, given his experience with Lesnar, Mir believes Overeem’s size and strength will affect his cardio, and his lack of wrestling skills will prevent him from having any success on the ground.

“Are you going to try to tell me he’s going to wrestle with a national champion wrestler for five minutes? His cardio is going to suck [after wrestling with Lesnar for a while],” Mir said during an interview on ESPN Radio. “I’ve seen guys with muscles like that, and that’s why he slows down,” he said.

Mir has faced Lesnar on two previous occasions and is 1-1 against the 265-pound South Dakota native. Mir is the same size as Overeem, and despite being more efficient on the ground, Mir wasn’t able to utilize any offense from his guard. 

Mir also pointed out that the Dutchman’s striking skills aren’t as strong as some may think, due to his vulnerability to being hit in his last bout against Fabricio Werdum, and predicted that Lesnar might be able to have some success on the feet against Overeem as a result.

While some critics have pointed to Overeem’s kickboxing and Muay Thai clinch being a key factor to stop Lesnar from taking him down, Mir said Lesnar’s wrestling ability will allow him to dictate the pace and score the take down at will.

“He’ll put his forehead in your chest, and he’s going to run you through. If he’s not able to take you down with that initial blast, he’s going to run you against the cage,” he said. “Then he’s going to rip your legs out from under you. Now, you should have gotten taken down in the middle of the area, but instead, you’ve been taken down against the cage [where it is more dangerous].

“Speaking from experience, that sucks,” he added.

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Vitor Belfort’s Exclusive Training Camp for UFC 142

In anticipation of his upcoming bout against Anthony Johnson at UFC 142, Vitor Belfort has given fans an exclusive look into his training camp.”The Phenom” has already began his preparation for Johnson, and with only four weeks left, he opened up about…

In anticipation of his upcoming bout against Anthony Johnson at UFC 142, Vitor Belfort has given fans an exclusive look into his training camp.

“The Phenom” has already began his preparation for Johnson, and with only four weeks left, he opened up about his daily routine.

In the first installment, Belfort is seen training in grappling and jiu-jitsu, as well as striking, in order to be ready for January 14th. This will be Johnson’s debut at 185 pounds.

Belfort is coming off a knockout victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133 earlier his year that saw the Brazilian rebound from a knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 126, where both Brazilian’s met in a middleweight title bout. 

Belfort is still optimistic about his chances at a title opportunity in the future, but he said he can only focus on his opponent before anything else. 

“My head is on today,” Belfort told UFC.com. “Tomorrow is to take care of yourself, today is the day. So on (January 14th) is going to be the day that I’m gonna’ perform my athleticism, my technique, my performance, but if I don’t take care of today, tomorrow may not come.”

UFC 142 is scheduled for January 14th, live from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Brock Lesnar on Alistair Overeem: "I Don’t Care Where His Career Has Been"

Although he might have surrendered the UFC heavyweight title just a year ago, Brock Lesnar still believes he is as dominant as before. Lesnar returns to the Octagon this weekend after being diagnosed with diverticulitis, which had kept him out for…

Although he might have surrendered the UFC heavyweight title just a year ago, Brock Lesnar still believes he is as dominant as before. 

Lesnar returns to the Octagon this weekend after being diagnosed with diverticulitis, which had kept him out for most of the year, when he meets Alistair Overeem at UFC 141. 

Overeem has certainly made his presence felt in mixed martial arts, but he is relatively unknown to most UFC fans. The Dutch striker will make his debut against Lesnar, intending on challenging for the UFC heavyweight crown.

Overeem’s muscular 255-pound frame certainly provides a challenge to Lesnar, and it has contributed to Overeem’s 11-fight winning streak.

But Lesnar isn’t intimidated at all.

“I’ve got this fight against Alistair (Overeem), and this guy is not gonna stand in my way,” Lesnar said in a UFC 141 pre-fight interview. “I don’t care how many fights he’s had and I don’t care where his career’s been, when the door shuts and it’s time to go, he’ll know really quickly that he’s got a fight on his hands.”

The winner of Lesnar and Overeem is expected to face UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.

UFC 141 is scheduled this weekend, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

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Mike Winklejohn Says Jon Jones Can Overcome Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson

Following a stellar year, most would assume that Jon Jones is set to reign over the light heavyweight division for the foreseeable future. The UFC light heavyweight champion defeated three former UFC champions in the span of nine months, while suc…

Following a stellar year, most would assume that Jon Jones is set to reign over the light heavyweight division for the foreseeable future. 

The UFC light heavyweight champion defeated three former UFC champions in the span of nine months, while successfully defending the 205-pound title twice in 11 weeks. 

However, his role as champion will only continue to become harder as more challengers await. 

Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson are two potential opponents for the 24-year-old, as well as light heavyweight prospects Phill Davis and Alexsander Gustaffson. 

But Jones’ trainer and striking coach Mike Winklejohn doesn’t see any future opponents, including Henderson and Evans, giving the champion many problems.

“They all present different challenges,” Winklejohn said while making an appearance on Sherdog Radio. “Dan’s big right hand is always a big challenge. [He’s] somebody that could be able to close that gap and find a hole and try to get to Jon’s chin. I think Rashad Evans is probably capable of closing the gap, if he wants to, faster than anybody out there in trying to strike with Jon.

But I think [against] all of them, Jon’s got the ability to just pick them apart from long range like he has with all of his other fights and break them down and then finish the fight when it’s time.”

Jones has looked virtually unstoppable against the competition so far, having finished Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida respectively.

Jones is expected to meet either Evans or Henderson in his next bout, which has drawn a lot of interest from fans and critics alike.

Evans and Jones are former teammates, and despite having had the opportunity to train both of them, Winklejohn isn’t concerned.

“I think he’s prepared to fight Rashad,” he said. “He believes in his heart that he can beat Rashad. So no matter what Rashad says, it becomes posturing…I think Jon sees that and I’m not worried about it.” 

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Wanderlei Silva on Shogun Rua: At 100 Percent, Rua Will Beat Jon Jones

Having previously trained with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Wanderlei Silva knows what he is capable of inside the Octagon.Rua’s recent loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 139 brought up questions about the Brazilian’s consistency and longevity while competing in t…

Having previously trained with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Wanderlei Silva knows what he is capable of inside the Octagon.

Rua’s recent loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 139 brought up questions about the Brazilian’s consistency and longevity while competing in the light heavyweight division. “The Axe Murderer” said Rua was not himself against Henderson. 

Silva, who is a former training partner and close friend of Rua’s, said the former Pride Grand Prix winner is not meeting expectations and needs to revitalize his training regimen in order to compete at the highest level. 

“Shogun has a lot to revamp in his training. Everyone believes he can beat anyone at 100 percent, so he has to go into these fights at 100 percent,” Silva told Sherdog.com.

“I was sad about his loss,” he added.

Rua has faced criticism regarding his health since debuting in the UFC in 2007.

Rua has constantly battled through injuries, which have resulted in some poor performances and have prevented him from realizing his potential.

His injuries have ultimately limited his success in the UFC. That was evident in his title bout against Jon Jones, where Rua was coming off another knee injury and hadn’t fought since capturing the light heavyweight title nearly a year prior against Lyoto Machida at UFC 113. 

Silva said if Rua is able to stay healthy and able to compete more consistently, then he will challenge for the title once again. Silva said he would favour Rua in potential rematch against the 24-year-old Jones.

“Shogun is the most talented guy I’ve ever seen,” he said. “He’s the guy to beat the champion, but he has to be 100 percent.”

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