UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II event poster
Press Release – LOS ANGELES, CA – The following are quotes from the “UFC 150 Postfight Show on FUEL TV” following UFC 150: HENDERSON VS. EDGAR II. Jay Glazer hosted the show, with analysis from former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. Insider Ariel Helwani conducted exclusive postfight interviews backstage. Here’s some of what was said:
UFC Postfight Show on FUEL TV Guest Analyst Frank Mir breaks down the Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar fight: “Benson had a great opening round. He came out with low kicks and easily won the first round. I felt later in the fight Frankie took over. Most of the fight he was controlling the shots. It seemed like as the fight wore on he just got stronger. In the fourth round, I thought it was Frankie winning it. The fifth was Frankie showing he’s Frankie and he picked up the pace.”
Mir on his breakdown of who won the rounds: “Obviously I saw Frankie winning rounds two and four. The third round went to Henderson, I’m not arguing that. But for the second, fourth and fifth round, I thought Frankie won those. I saw at least three of the rounds were his.”
Mir on how judges could have scored the fight a win for Henderson: “I don’t know. Maybe the leg attacks in round one. The shots were more devastating. On the ground, Frankie controlled the fight.”
Mir on if being the champ means the challenger has to take the belt away from you: “I hear that so much. But I don’t think judges score it that way. They look at ring control, strikes, grappling. Maybe round three goes to Henderson because he’s the champ.”
Mir on Henderson fighting Nate Diaz next: “Benson won two fights against Edgar, so there’s no need for another rematch. Nate Diaz is a showman in the octagon. He’s great moving forward and has a phenomenal ground game and loves to submit guys. But Henderson is so hard to submit. He looks like he’s in someone’s grasp, but then gets out of it. It’s really hard to submit him. This should be a great fight.”
Insider Ariel Helwani reports on judges’ scorecards: “Tony Weeks gave the fight four rounds to one for Edgar. The other two judges gave the first round and rounds three and four to Henderson. So the only rounds that were disputed were rounds three and four.”
Benson Henderson on how he feels after the fight: “I’m pretty happy to get the W and get my hand raised. But I’m not that tired. I did two and a half weeks of my camp in Flagstaff before the fight. I felt I should have pushed the pace a little more in the fight. I thought I was doing enough but my coaches really wanted me to push the pace more. I wanted to bring it in the fifth. I should have done more.”
Henderson on why he didn’t keep doing the low leg kicks that were so effective in the first round: “He [Edgar] was doing a good job backing away. We wanted to use that tactic to get him off balance, and then pounce on him, but he was doing a good job backing away.”
Henderson on how he’s going to prepare for fighting Nate Diaz: “I haven’t looked ahead to Nate. I’ve been concentrating on Edgar this whole time. But I’m sure my coaches will put together a game plan on how to beat him. He’s a tough fighter and I’m a huge fan of his style.”
Henderson on why Edgar ends up in controversial fights: “Frankie is so good and so tough. Thankfully the three guys who were ringside had me winning the fight.”
Edgar on the fight against Henderson: “I am disappointed. I put a lot of time in, my team put a lot of time. I was confident. I felt like I pushed the pace, I landed more punches, I got the takedowns, and I dropped him. My team thought I won it too and even the crowd seemed like they were behind me.”
Edgar on the judges’ decision: “When I got out there I did my best and it just sucks that the judges can’t get it right sometimes.”
Edgar on what is next for him: “I don’t know. I am pretty disappointed right now. It’s tough for me to make decisions. I think I should be wearing that belt right now.”
Mir on if Edgar should change weight: “It’s not such an easy answer. If he just drops down another weight class, he might give up the advantage he has now. His energy levels are great in this weight class. He has distinctive foot work and a speed advantage. If he drops down, he might give up these advantages.”
UFC Announcer Joe Rogan on Henderson vs. Edgar: “It was an extremely controversial fight. It was a close fight. I think round one went to the champ, round two went to challenger and rounds three, four, and five were really the questions. Frankie thought he won. Henderson thought he won. Most people in the crowd thought it went to Frankie.”
Helwani on who Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar will fight next: “We know that Dana White has said that Nate Diaz next is next for Henderson. What’s next for Frankie Edgar? Dana White wanted him to go to 145. But in both fights he just had against Henderson, he looked great. We know that Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone are trying to fight each other. I think the winner of that fight should fight the winner of Diaz vs. Henderson. So that would be a title contender fight.”
Jay Glazer on Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard: “Guillard is a dangerous, dangerous fighter, but how about this, this is the first time he has ever been knocked out in his career. That is something we didn’t expect, to see him go down like this.”
Mir on Cerrone vs. Guillard: “Cerrone got caught early on by a left hook by Melvin Guillard, Melvin came in really tenacious after that with flying knees, was really trying to finish the fight when he saw that he had a moment there, but Cerrone was able to recover and then he hit the shot that caught him.”
Mir on Guillard dropping Cerrone with a strike: “We have never seen Cerrone get dropped before with a strike.”
Cerrone on his performance: “He got me into the body and I knew the knee was coming. The first thing I tried to do was block the knee. We practice in training on getting composure back.”
Cerrone on being the first to knock out Guillard: “I didn’t even pay attention to that to be honest with you.”
Cerrone on walking out in the arena in his hometown: “It was the most amazing thing. Walking out, I had to pause, look up and smile. It was unbelievable. To see all these people to watch me fight was cool.”
Cerrone on fighting Anthony Pettis next: “He made comments to me on Twitter. Anthony is a fight I want. I am looking forward to it. As soon as it happens, let’s sign it, train and let’s do it. We don’t need to talk about it on Twitter. Let’s just make it happen.”
Mir on Jake Shields vs. Ed Herman: “He [Shields] looked very strong at this weight and against Herman, who came out and had no fear of the ground skills of Jake Shields. He engaged the clinch, drove him against the cage. He was even initiating takedowns on his own.”
Mir on Shields fighting against Silva: “If Jake Shields get him down, there could be a new champion in the division, but that is if he gets him there. Obviously, Anderson Silva is the best in the world; it’s a lot to be said to get past his hands and feet to get him to the ground.”
Mir on what makes Jake a better wrestler: “He is extremely committed towards the shot. When you go in, you have to be tenacious and have that confidence that I am going to drive through you no matter how hard you fight. I am going to get my hands connected and I am going to take you down. He has a very strong mindset and very is determined. He is a very fit guy. He’s deceivingly strong.”
Shields on his performance against Herman: “It was decent and I think Herman is an underrated, tough fighter. I am happy I beat him. I had to slow my pace a little bit. I have only been out here for week in the elevation, so if ever I fight up here again, I’ll come up here three weeks early. I had to fight a little slower than I wanted and it was my first time at 185.”
Shields on who he wants to fight next: “I haven’t really thought about it. I just want to do whatever it takes to get closer to another title shot. I have no hard feeling against anyone; I just want to get my name in the mix with the top guys.”?
Mir on advice he’d give to Max Holloway, the youngest fighter in the UFC: “I was 22 when I started in the UFC. My advice for Holloway: don’t try to be a tough guy when it comes to injuries. You want to prove you’re tough, and when you get a small injury like a hurt ankle, you just tape it up and work through it, but then when you’re older and you go to the doctor to have it looked at or fixed, he says he can’t fix the stuff. Or he says he can replace it with titanium parts. So don’t try to be a tough guy with the injuries.”
UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Jon Jones on how he believes Dan Henderson ranks in the UFC: “He’s right up there. He ranks as high as anyone I’ve fought in the last year. He’s been a champion of other organizations. He’s beat the best like Fedor [Emelianenko] and Shogun [Mauricio Rua].”
Jones on what problems Henderson offers him in the fight: “He doesn’t offer problems, but challenges to rise up to and it’ll be exciting. He’s got strong wrestling and a good overhand right, but nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Jones on what he’s learned in training lately: “The biggest thing I’ve done is to learn how to put people down. I am becoming a good kick boxer, but I’m not dropping anyone. So I’m trying to get better knockout power.”
Jones on if he has a lot of distractions being the champion: “I don’t feel like there’ve been too many distractions. I’ve had more high pressure fights over the last three years, and I’ve been dealing with it pretty well. I’m dealing more with the risk of being embarrassed. I’m closing in on Tito Ortiz’ record as being the best light heavyweight fighter ever and I want to be the best and it motivates me to keep getting better.”
Jones on being sponsored by Nike: “It’s a huge opportunity for me. It’s great for UFC. I’m honored to be the guy to get them in the house. They’re making cool clothing and it’s great for the sport. If I was a young fighter, I’d look forward to getting Nike stuff in the future.”
Jones on if he’s excited about a rematch with Lyoto Machida after the Henderson fight: “I’m not really thinking about Lyoto Machida at all. He’s a great fighter, but he’s a puzzle I’ve figured out once and can do it again. Dan Hendo is what I’m focused on right now. He’s an older fighter who’s coming into his own and just keeps getting better. Looking past an opponent is like looking at second base when a fast ball is coming at you. You can’t do it. Dan’s right hand is like the fast ball.”
Jones on if he’ll move to heavyweight in the future: “Dan Henderson is my main priority right now. I’ve got a lot of years left fighting, and I’ve thought about going up to heavyweight maybe in the next two or three years – so maybe in 2013 or 2014.”
Mir on Jones vs. Dan Henderson: “You can never count Dan out. It’s like Randy Couture and Tim Sylvia. No one thought Randy could pull it off. Don’t be a fool and count Dan out. If Dan is able to figure out the height and elusiveness of Jon Jones, and land the right hand, it could be a long night for Jones. But with Jones, he pulls off things that you’re not seeing other guys doing. And don’t forget his wrestling ability. He doesn’t have the build of a traditional wrestler, but he’s a phenomenal wrestler.”
Dana White on how he answered Frankie Edger when Frankie asked him who won the fight: “I said, I’m not a judge.”
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