Tag: Fighter Q&A

UFC 139 Fan Q&A: Josh Koscheck’s Thoughts on Cain’s Strategy, His Fight with Daley, and Montreal Fans

(Video props: Youtube/MMAHeat)

One of the sport’s most notorious heels, Josh Koscheck, joined Mike Goldberg in San Jose for the UFC’s latest Fighter Q&A session. There was little hate for the welterweight in his own backyard, and rather than fending off attacks from his legion of haters he weighed in on a variety of subjects including his previous battles with GSP and Paul Daley, his desire to fight Tito Ortiz and Chris Leben, and how Condit royally screwed himself.

The goods are after the jump.

(Video props: Youtube/MMAHeat)

One of the sport’s most notorious heels, Josh Koscheck, joined Mike Goldberg in San Jose for the UFC’s latest Fighter Q&A session. There was little hate for the welterweight in his own backyard, and rather than fending off attacks from his legion of haters he weighed in on a variety of subjects including his previous battles with GSP and Paul Daley, his desire to fight Tito Ortiz and Chris Leben, and how Carlos Condit royally screwed himself.

 

On Cain Velasquez’s loss to Junior Dos Santos: (9:20)

“It was a tough deal. You know, I think that Cain himself really prepared hard for this fight and I don’t like to see…it’s not about winning or losing. I don’t like to see that happen to a friend, a brother, the way it happened. I could accept the fact that Cain went out there and got beat just in a decision, but seeing a friend get knocked out is really heart-touching. One of the things I said to Cain after the fight was, “You know, Cain, it’s not about winning or losing. You’re going to get to go home. You have a beautiful wife, a beautiful kid, and just cherish those things. You can come back from a loss—we’ve all done it, we’ve all been there—now it’s going to show if you’re a true champion or not, the ability to come back from this loss…It shows he is a champion, because Monday morning he was in the gym. He was working out Monday.”

 

On how the Diaz-GSP bout will go: (14:38)

“To be honest with you, I like the Diaz kid. I think that he brings something similar to what I bring to the table. He’s not afraid to say what’s on his mind. Realistically, I think GSP is a strategist, and GSP is going to come in with a good game plan; that’s where he can play it safe and get the victory. But I’d love to see Diaz win, because when I beat Carlos Condit February 4th, and that means me and Diaz for a title shot, and then that means it’s a big fight because he talks really good and I believe I can talk up a fight really good.”

 

On the next generation of fighters: (18:08)

“You know, I see it first hand. I own a couple of gyms in Fresno, and it’s absolutely insane to see these kids training these days. And thank god I’m 34 this year and I’ve probably got two or three years left of this because I don’t want some young little kid who’s been training for twenty years coming up and kicking my old butt when I’m forty. So hopefully I’ll be sitting next to you, Goldy”.

 

On fighting at Middleweight: (18:52)

“I would love to go up for a fight. I actually tried to fight here in San Jose. I was begging Dana, ‘Let me take the Hughes fight, but please keep me on the San Jose card. I want to fight in San Jose.’ I’ve been training out of San Jose for eight years and I consider this as my second home. I really, really tried to get the fight with Wanderlei Silva here in San Jose, but it didn’t work my way. Maybe next time. I’d love to have a grudge match with possibly Chris Leben and some day I think that would be a fun fight from the Ultimate Fighter 1.”

 

On a catchweight bout with Tito Ortiz: (20:18)

“Oh, I’d love that. [Goldy: ‘Where would we catch?’] Wherever! Me and Tito have had some words and I’m not one to shy away from a challenge. Never have been in my life. One of the reasons I think I’ve been so successful in this sport is because I have ADD. It’s not because I’m a good athlete. It’s because I put my mind to something and I just can’t let it go. I definitely would love to fight Tito. That would be a fun fight. But would he love to fight me, that’s the question. He’d have a lot to lose.”

 

On another rematch with GSP: (21:27)

“It’s probably going to haunt me forever. I don’t even know if I’ll ever get another chance at him. I had two chances and I failed. I’m one that hates to fail. I don’t like to have that defeat. I believe that I can still beat him. Circumstances of that fight—and I’m not making any excuses—it happened. I got popped in the eye right away and couldn’t see. Georges fought a hell of a fight that night and stuck to the game plan and he won and he was the better fighter. Not only once, that night, but he’s been the better fighter twice, so it’s up to you guys. Can you guys talk Dana White and the UFC into doing a third one, maybe here in San Jose? [very weak applause]”

 

On another bout with Daley: (16:00)

“I would fight with him [rather than wrestlefuck him]. You guys have got to understand the pressure I was under in Montreal. I had Javier and Dave and Bob Cook in my ear saying ‘you’d better stick to this game plan. You’re wrestling for 15 minutes if you have to’ because The Ultimate Fighter coach, fighting for the title was on the line. So for me for once in my life I listened to the coaches and I got the victory. I felt like I could have stood with him because right off the bat he threw a jab and I was like, ‘oh my god, you’re so slow’ and I told him, I yelled at him, ‘You’re so slow it’s not even funny!’ I like to talk when I fight guys. I was in his ear the whole time saying, ‘if you get up, I’m going to knock you out’. And he goes, ‘let me up then’, and I was like, ‘nah, you got to get up though’. I was in his ear the whole fight. I kept telling him how slow he was on the feet. ‘Man you’re so slow on the feet, oh and your mom *umm mmm mmm mmm mmmmm*’ and that’s when he put his finger in my eye at the end and he tried to sucker punch me.”

 

On changing his name: (30:45)

“I’m thinking about changing my name. Ocho Cinco changed his name, and it seems like every time I walk out to the cage it’s the same reaction: you hear this ‘booo’. I’m like, alright, I just might be changing my name to ‘Boo Koscheck’ because when I walk out and everyone’s booing I’ll be like ‘Yeah! They’re cheering for me!’”

 

On Cain’s strategy vs. Dos Santos: (37:19)

“I have mixed opinions obviously because I train at AKA, so it’s going to be a little bit different, but in my opinion I really, truly believe that the game plan was a little bit off for the Cain Velasquez fight. I’m not going to get into that. I’ve said what I had to say to our team and I’m going to keep that private.”

 

On Condit turning down the short notice fight against him: (41:25)

“He’s a moron, because I was out partying two nights before, having fun. I was like, ‘Oh, GSP is hurt? Dang, I’ll take that fight!’ I texted Dana right away and was like, ‘Hey, DW, I’m ready to go. Let’s get that fight’ and he was like, ‘Oh my god, you’re nuts’. But Carlos Condit had a chance to fight me on seven days notice and he blew it. Now he’s going to fight me on 12 weeks…no chance. Sorry.”

 

On the Montreal crowd getting to him in his bout with GSP: (52:40)

“Oh I heard them. [laughs] I was a little nervous at first coming out because every time they would show me or Georges on the screen, me is would be [growling], Georges it would be ‘Yaaaay!’. So it was interesting, that’s for sure. I’ve never experienced a walk out like that before. 24,000 Montreal, Canadians just throwing beer and whatever else, yelling ‘F-you’. It was pretty intense, and I remember at one point during the fight they were just heckling me, singing their songs. It was a good experience. When I’m old, I’m going to have grandkids and I’m going to get to look back and say check this out on Youtube. It’s your Grandpa and he was a little shit-stirrer.”


UFC 135 Fan Q&A: Rashad Evans Discusses Tonight’s Main Event, Espionage, and Peeing in the Cage

(Video courtesy of zpzp420 on Vimeo)

If there’s one thing the UFC does well, it’s making its stars available to the fans. Well, actually, it’s probably putting on mixed martial arts fights, but the UFC is pretty good at making its stars available to fans as well. These fan Q&A sessions give us a chance to see a fighter’s true personality, sometimes even many of his personalities. Yesterday’s session with Rashad Evans is true to form: you’ve got the usual goofball fans asking for a staredown, the requisite racially insensitive remark (no, not from Rashad, this time), and even a frank, thought-provoking discussion on the very-real problem of in-cage urination.

If you don’t have time to watch, we took notes. Check out some quotes after the jump.

(Video courtesy of zpzp420 on Vimeo)

If there’s one thing the UFC does well, it’s making its stars available to the fans. Well, actually, it’s probably putting on mixed martial arts fights, but the UFC is pretty good at making its stars available to fans as well. These fan Q&A sessions give us a chance to see a fighter’s true personality, sometimes even many of his personalities. Yesterday’s session with Rashad Evans is true to form: you’ve got the usual goofball fans asking for a staredown, the requisite racially insensitive remark (no, not from Rashad, this time), and even a frank, thought-provoking discussion on the very-real problem of in-cage urination.

 

On whether he’d rather face Rampage or Bones (1:20):

“I would rather fight Jon Jones. I mean, you know because, we have our issues and stuff. The situation with the whole Greg Jackson thing, and the [camp] splitting up. I’d rather fight him.”

 

When asked to snap a photo,Goldberg maintains the company’s firm stance on political correctness (4:10)

“My wife’s the Asian one, but I can take a picture”. (“Ooohs” from the crowd) “She knows she’s Asian. Don’t ‘ohhh’ me. She knows.”

 

On what makes Jon Jones dangerous (6:30)

“One thing that makes Jon good is the fact that he’s so young he just throws anything and he does that because he has no fear. But, the longer he fights, he’s going to establish more fear. He’s going to fight a little more conservative, and when you start fighting a little more conservative, start thinking about your moves, then that’s when you see a slight hesitation, and then he’s going to be like everybody else. But right now he’s so young he’ll do something that makes no sense, like you wouldn’t even do it because it makes no sense. But he does it, he has the balls enough to do it and he pulls it off because no one expects him to do it.”

 

On Rampage’s assertion that Jones hasn’t fought anyone (13:05)

“He hasn’t had those epic battles like Rampage and stuff, but you can’t deny that the kid definitely put in work. It’s hard to say, you can’t take away what he’s done. He hasn’t fought all the top guys in the weight class, but he did destroy Shogun, though. He did destroy Shogun. He’s been running through people, so you can’t deny that the kit put in work, but I do agree with Rampage that he hasn’t really put in the kind of work that he has.”

 

What he would bring to cage against Jones that “Bones” didn’t already see in training camp (15:50):

“I don’t really got to bring anything more than what he’s already seen at training camp, because that was enough then and I think it will be enough later on. And that’s a promise.”

 

On what he learned from the loss to Machida (31:00):

“Well, I wouldn’t sit around and watch, for one. For two, I won’t be talking when I’m getting rained on with punches. I can get hurt; I’m not invincible. I learned I’m not invincible. Going into that fight I think I would just be more aggressive. And that’s what I was saying earlier. When you go into a fight sometimes you’re so worried about what other people are doing that you’re not really doing your gameplan. And by you sitting there, watching them, you take your own self out of your game. So sometimes when you’re in a fight with someone who’s a little bit confusing or a little bit quirky you just got to go for yours and see what happens after that.”

 

His take on the “Spygate” saga (32:30):

“I think they did it, but I don’t think Jon was really a part of it. I think it was just that Malki, his manager, knew someone that was there and he was trying to get information from him. But I don’t think that Jon was in on the plan or really knew where Malki was getting his information from. I don’t think, but I could be wrong. They definitely found somebody doing it, though.”

 

Undoubtedly inspired by our recent feature on fighting through adversity, Rashad leaks a secret about his TUF fight with Brad Imes (50:00):

“During that fight, I was so tired. I peed myself. No I swear, I did, it’s embarrassing to say, but I did. Because I was so tired, I was just like, I just let it go.”

Matt Hughes Fan Q&A: Don’t Ask Him About Tonight’s Fights

“…and those are the seven key differences between Durum Wheat and Hard White Wheat. Next question, please.”

The UFC continued their always entertaining series of Fighter Q&A sessions last night with Matt Hughes joining announcer Mike Goldberg on stage. As usual, Hughes shoots from the hip and shares his thoughts on everything from GSP’s standing in the sport to the recent testosterone replacement controversy, but one thing he doesn’t feel comfortable talking about is tonight’s fights. The reason? He really hasn’t seen many of the guys compete.

If you’re interested in catching the hour-long video, check it out here. If you learned nothing from your high school reliance on Cliffs Notes and want to continue eeking by on second-hand information, join us after the jump for a recap of the highlights.

“…and those are the seven key differences between Durum Wheat and Hard White Wheat. Next question, please.”

The UFC continued their always entertaining series of Fighter-Fan Q&A sessions last night with Matt Hughes joining announcer Mike Goldberg on stage. As usual, Hughes shoots from the hip and shares his thoughts on everything from GSP’s standing in the sport to the recent testosterone replacement controversy, but one thing he doesn’t feel comfortable talking about is tonight’s fights. The reason? He really hasn’t seen many of the guys compete.

If you’re interested in catching the hour-long video, check it out here.  If you learned nothing from your high school reliance on Cliffs Notes and want to continue eeking by on second-hand information, join us after the jump for a recap of the highlights.

–  Hughes is at the point in his career where he just wants interesting fights. He thinks the Diego Sanchez fight is one the fans want to see, and he has no concerns about Diego fading in the later rounds. Diego is a guy that comes ready to fight, so he’s excited for the challenge.

–  When asked about the Royce fight, Hughes shares that he was frozen for the first twenty seconds once they hit the ground.  He had no intention of grappling with the UFC’s first champion, and when they did go down he was worried that Royce was going to slap on some “magical Gracie move” that no one had ever seen. Once he relaxed and composed himself, he felt confident in his game and in control of the fight. He would have been happy to break Royce’s arm and end the fight, but he was expending too much energy and decided to release the hold and look for something else.

–  Hughes feels that GSP may have a mental weak spot caused by the loss to Matt Serra. The bout with Nick Diaz will be the first time GSP has fought someone in better shape than he is. Although the Stockton native has a unique style, Georges holds an advantage in every aspect of the fight game. Hughes feels that a mentally prepared GSP also takes out Anderson Silva should that fight ever take place.

–  As he’s stated before, Hughes only watches bouts that he has a special interest in, whether it’s a training partner or friend competing or simply an intriguing bout. He was asked numerous times about tonight’s match ups, but almost without fail he said that he wasn’t familiar enough with the fighters to evaluate the bout, even stating that he’d never seen Dominick Cruz fight. The only bouts that he did comment on were the Tito-Bader and Leben-Wanderlei fights. While he didn’t really break them down, his money is on Bader and Leben.

–  You could see that Hughes was dying to tell some stories about Tito, even bringing it up on more than one occasion, but in the end he won the internal struggle to remain silent out of respect for Tito’s mindset leading into tonight’s competition.  Hughes tends to pull no punches in his tales, so hopefully he’ll share some of these stories down the road.

–  Growing up on the farm, his family lived five miles away from the nearest kid, so he and his twin brother Mark had few other places to turn for friendship and competition. Hughes describes the competitive drive against his brother as a sickness: “I want the faster truck, the stronger truck, the better looking wife, the more disciplined kids.”

–  In preparation for his fight against Diego Sanchez, Hughes will travel around quite a bit for his training. He will once again pair up with BJ Penn and hopes that BJ’s experience in training for and fighting against Diego will offer him some insight into the bout. Regarding his sale of the “HIT Squad”, he didn’t enjoy the hour long drive to get to the gym and didn’t feel like any of his training partners there threatened him or put him in dangerous situations and that he wouldn’t grow as a fighter if he was always the top dog.

–  As one of the older guys in the UFC, he’s totally against testosterone replacement therapy and thinks it’s a real problem in MMA and other sports. Hughes says never put any sort of substance into his body.

–  Mike Goldberg has countless quotes that he’d rather we all forget, but there is one that he’s serious about protecting. The long-time UFC announcer revealed that he actually owns the copyright to his post-stoppage yell: “It is ALLLLL over!!!!”