Tag: Interview

[EXCLUSIVE] Cole Miller Reflects on Strange Fight With Manny Gamburyan at ‘Fight Night 26?


(Photo via Getty Images.)

By Elias Cepeda

Cole Miller was confused. Near the end of the first round of his UFC Fight Night 26 featherweight fight against Manny Gamburyan this past Saturday, “The Anvil” was working for a double leg takedown against the cage on Miller when Cole defended and hit him with two elbows before the horn.

The elbows were ruled legal and they hurt Gamburyan. Bad.

So much so that the former title challenger slumped down to his knees in an apparent daze and could not immediately stand up and walk to his own corner. In fact, he was on his knees in Miller’s corner.

“I didn’t really get it,” Cole told CagePotato on Sunday. “I looked at [referee ] Yves Lavigne, he was looking at Manny. I was unsure if the fight was over or if time had expired. I was looking for the ref to give us an idea of whether there was finality in the fight, or if it was an illegal blow. Later, Yves told me was a legal blow and so does the video. But at the time, if it was illegal I was looking for him to say so, take a point, give me a warning, call the fight or something. It was a confusing situation. Yves told me to go to my corner but I told him, ‘I am in my corner.’ The way Manny was there on the ground in my corner, I couldn’t raise my hands, walk away and go to my corner or anything. They actually moved me and my corner to another area while he stayed there on the ground. Yves was pointing to a direction for me to go. I was thinking, ‘I’m in my corner. Someone needs to take him to his corner.’ Over a minute and twenty passed before they had the doctor even look at him.”

The break between rounds for fighters is a minute long. If a fighter cannot answer the start of the next round, they lose, normally. Examples of this have been seen throughout MMA, kickboxing and boxing history.

If you’re so beat up that you can’t answer the next round’s bell, you’re done. You’ve lost.


(Photo via Getty Images.)

By Elias Cepeda

Cole Miller was confused. Near the end of the first round of his UFC Fight Night 26 featherweight fight against Manny Gamburyan this past Saturday, “The Anvil” was working for a double leg takedown against the cage on Miller when Cole defended and hit him with two elbows before the horn.

The elbows were ruled legal and they hurt Gamburyan. Bad.

So much so that the former title challenger slumped down to his knees in an apparent daze and could not immediately stand up and walk to his own corner. In fact, he was on his knees in Miller’s corner.

“I didn’t really get it,” Cole told CagePotato on Sunday. “I looked at [referee ] Yves Lavigne, he was looking at Manny. I was unsure if the fight was over or if time had expired. I was looking for the ref to give us an idea of whether there was finality in the fight, or if it was an illegal blow. Later, Yves told me was a legal blow and so does the video. But at the time, if it was illegal I was looking for him to say so, take a point, give me a warning, call the fight or something. It was a confusing situation. Yves told me to go to my corner but I told him, ‘I am in my corner.’ The way Manny was there on the ground in my corner, I couldn’t raise my hands, walk away and go to my corner or anything. They actually moved me and my corner to another area while he stayed there on the ground. Yves was pointing to a direction for me to go. I was thinking, ‘I’m in my corner. Someone needs to take him to his corner.’ Over a minute and twenty passed before they had the doctor even look at him.”

The break between rounds for fighters is a minute long. If a fighter cannot answer the start of the next round, they lose, normally. Examples of this have been seen throughout MMA, kickboxing and boxing history.

If you’re so beat up that you can’t answer the next round’s bell, you’re done. You’ve lost.

Gamburyan, of course, didn’t lose the fight. He was given far more time to recover than he was supposed to be allowed, and then he continued on for two more rounds. After three rounds, he was declared the winner by the judges, presumably on the basis of his repeated leg kicks, take downs and ground control.

In a post fight interview with MMA Fighting, Gamburyan acknowledged that “maybe” the fight should have been stopped after the first round, though he disagrees with Miller that the strikes were legal. UFC President Dana White said that he scored the fight for Miller, who left Gamburyan’s face a cut, bloodied and swollen mess, but said that Cole essentially sabotaged himself by sticking around Manny after the first round and appearing to check on his condition. White told reporters after the event that Miller should have just gone to his corner.

“I was in my corner.” the irritated ATT fighter emphasizes. “I was in my corner. Where was I supposed to go? I hit him with legal blows and he couldn’t continue and couldn’t go to his corner. I was kind of propping him up so he wouldn’t fall on my leg. I couldn’t walk off to get instruction, we were already there in my corner.”

That confusion and officiating mishandling aside, Miller feels that he won the fight a second time, or deserved to. “I don’t really know how they score things in Massachusetts,” he says.

“I don’t know if they score things differently for MMA or what. The effective grappling part definitely went to Manny because of his takedowns. I wasn’t able to do anything about that, he had all takedowns but I had all the striking and did all the damage. I cut him twice. He’s a tough dude, to his credit. He earned every bit of it. I hit him with knees, punches and kicks so hats off to him. I just think they made the wrong call. I was trying to finish my opponent the whole fight.”

Cole and Manny were friendly before the fight, knowing one another since they spent six weeks training together on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter on Jens Pulver’s team. With such a bitter taste in his mouth about this fight Cole insists that he still doesn’t harbor any negative feelings against Gamburyan.

“Manny didn’t do anything wrong. He fought the way he knows how and I fought the way I know how,” he says.

“He didn’t get the judges to call his name. He’s good and he fought well. I was just throwing those knees to take his head off. I’m not going to bug him for getting the decision.”

Cole says he doesn’t count this fight as a loss and, although he’d be willing to rematch Gamburyan, he isn’t calling for a re-do. “I’ve never wanted a rematch with anybody,” Cole maintains.

“A fight is a fight. If the UFC wants to make that happen, I’ll rematch anybody. But, I don’t want a rematch. For what? I fought the kind of fight I fight and he fought the way he fights. The judges made the wrong call, that’s it. There is no need for a rematch.”

[EXCLUSIVE] Matt Brown Reflects on Becoming The UFC’s Unlikeliest Welterweight Contender


(Can Matt Brown keep rolling through the division’s elite? / Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

Since the beginning of 2012, UFC welterweight Matt Brown has won six consecutive fights, all but one by KO/TKO within the first two rounds. His most recent was a startlingly fast and violent knockout of the previously red-hot Mike Pyle in under thirty seconds this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 26.

All of a sudden, Brown is more than a tough and exciting fighter — he’s the owner of the most impressive win streak in the division outside of Georges St. Pierre and Johny Hendricks, who meet one another with GSP’s title on the line in November.

Brown has been calling out the champion and, well, now it makes sense. CagePotato spoke with the contender Sunday while he celebrated with family far away from the lights that shone on him kindly in Boston during his latest victory.

“It’s weird, man,” Brown muses while sitting with kids playing and shouting around him. “Obviously, I’m real happy with the result but I do feel a little unfulfilled. It wasn’t the type of fight I prepared for at all. But you take what you can get, right?”


(Can Matt Brown keep rolling through the division’s elite? / Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

Since the beginning of 2012, UFC welterweight Matt Brown has won six consecutive fights, all but one by KO/TKO within the first two rounds. His most recent was a startlingly fast and violent knockout of the previously red-hot Mike Pyle in under thirty seconds this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 26.

All of a sudden, Brown is more than a tough and exciting fighter — he’s the owner of the most impressive win streak in the division outside of Georges St. Pierre and Johny Hendricks, who meet one another with GSP’s title on the line in November.

Brown has been calling out the champion and, well, now it makes sense. CagePotato spoke with the contender Sunday while he celebrated with family far away from the lights that shone on him kindly in Boston during his latest victory.

“It’s weird, man,” Brown muses while sitting with kids playing and shouting around him. “Obviously, I’m real happy with the result but I do feel a little unfulfilled. It wasn’t the type of fight I prepared for at all. But you take what you can get, right?”

Brown says he is “completely healthy” after the quick fight with Pyle but isn’t sure what his next step will be on his path towards the welterweight championship. “I don’t know what is coming next,” he says when I ask him if he’ll pursue another fight before the November title fight between St. Pierre and Hendricks, or attempt to wait it out and ask for a title fight for his next one.

“We haven’t really talked about that yet. We are just trying to enjoy the moment for a bit. The goal is the title but I don’t really care how we get there. I’m not thinking about that.”

Brown doesn’t seem to read too much into how particularly fast he dispatched of Pyle, who himself was riding a four fight win-streak before running into his former training partner Saturday. “I would probably feel even more confident if it was a longer fight,” Brown confesses.

“Anyone can get caught like that in a short fight.”

Such humility seems contrary in a man who, at the UFC Fight Night 26 post-event presser said that he was in it to do one thing – kick St. Pierre’s ass. But Brown says that his calling out St. Pierre is not a calculated move to make sure he isn’t overlooked.

“It is completely natural,” he says. “He’s the champ and winning the title is why I do this.”

[VIDEO] UFC on Fox Sports 1 Post Event Press Conference & Fight Highlights

(Video via UFC Youtube)

Per usual, the UFC Fight Night 26 post event presser table was filled Saturday night with fighters who had plenty to celebrate as well as those that felt miserable. Some guys managed to embody both feelings.

Conor “Brock Hype Lite” McGregor won his second UFC fight in impression fashion and looked as dandy as ever afterwards wearing sunglasses and a bow tie but nonetheless said he felt like he had just loss and was filled with disappointment because he couldn’t finish Max Holloway. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua looked devastated and as though he had to dig deep into his gut to sit and face questions about his shocking first round submission loss to Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen, on the other hand, was humble when it came to talking about his win over Rua. He said the win was his biggest ever and that the shoe could have easily been on the other foot.

When it came to speaking of future opponents, however, Sonnen the troll was in fine form when said he’d beat Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort in one night. Alistair Overeem didn’t make it to the presser after getting knocked out by Travis Browne but his opponent was, and went into honest detail about the moments he was frozen by body shots by the kickboxer.

Matt Brown didn’t take his foot off the gas pedal in saying he wants a title shot and Urijah Faber and Michael McDonald talked about the possibility of fighting one another in the future.

For the complete UFC Fight Night 26 post event press conference video, press ‘play’ above. For highlights of the Brown vs. Pyle, Rua vs. Sonnen and Faber vs. Alcantara bouts, check us out after the jump.


(Video via UFC Youtube)

Per usual, the UFC Fight Night 26 post event presser table was filled Saturday night with fighters who had plenty to celebrate as well as those that felt miserable. Some guys managed to embody both feelings.

Conor “Brock Hype Lite” McGregor won his second UFC fight in impression fashion and looked as dandy as ever afterwards wearing sunglasses and a bow tie but nonetheless said he felt like he had just loss and was filled with disappointment because he couldn’t finish Max Holloway. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua looked devastated and as though he had to dig deep into his gut to sit and face questions about his shocking first round submission loss to Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen, on the other hand, was humble when it came to talking about his win over Rua. He said the win was his biggest ever and that the shoe could have easily been on the other foot.

When it came to speaking of future opponents, however, Sonnen the troll was in fine form when said he’d beat Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort in one night. Alistair Overeem didn’t make it to the presser after getting knocked out by Travis Browne but his opponent was, and went into honest detail about the moments he was frozen by body shots by the kickboxer.

Matt Brown didn’t take his foot off the gas pedal in saying he wants a title shot and Urijah Faber and Michael McDonald talked about the possibility of fighting one another in the future.

For the complete UFC Fight Night 26 post event press conference video, press ‘play’ above. For highlights of the Brown vs. Pyle, Rua vs. Sonnen and Faber vs. Alcantara bouts, check us out after the jump.

Rua vs. Sonnen Highlights:

Brown vs. Pyle Highlights:

Faber vs. Alcantara Highlights:

-Elias Cepeda

Machida Accepts Belfort Fight, Says ‘What’s up Now?’


(Where’s your smart mouth now, playboy? | Photo via GQ Magazine Brasil)

Here at CP, we’ve been doing our best to bring you the latest developments between former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and UFC match maker Vitor Belfort. It first appeared that Belfort would fight Tim Kennedy, then that Belfort would fight Chael Sonnen, then that he would face Machida. When that plan stalled, the totally retired Nick Diaz was offered a fight with Machida at middleweight.

Now, Machida is saying that he has accepted a fight with Belfort and is using the “Phenom’s” own words to embarrass Vitor. “I’ve accepted the fight,” Machida recently told Globo.com, at least that’s what google translate tells us.

“And [I am] sure Vitor Belfort will accept, because, as he said, your son does not run from a fight.”

Ok, so here’s what that last part is about. Last year, when Jon Jones needed a last-minute replacement fight after Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen had conspired against him and all of humanity, Machida was offered the title shot. He turned it down.

Something about needing more time to prepare to get choked out again, if we recall correctly. When Vitor Belfort accepted the fight against Jones, he seemed to passively aggressively put down Machida.

“I will fight Jones,” Belfort said back then.

“As a real Brazilian, as the [Brazilian National Anthem] says, ‘you will see that your son does not run from a fight.'”

Nicely played, Lyoto. That’s the type of acerbic wit that can only be sharpened by bitterness from losing decisions and having to drink a glass of urine each morning.

Do you think Vitor will accept the Machida fight and take him on in Brazil, taters? And, do you think Belfort will manage to pull Machida out of his shy shell and make the former dominant champ scrap?

– Elias Cepeda


(Where’s your smart mouth now, playboy? | Photo via GQ Magazine Brasil)

Here at CP, we’ve been doing our best to bring you the latest developments between former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and UFC match maker Vitor Belfort. It first appeared that Belfort would fight Tim Kennedy, then that Belfort would fight Chael Sonnen, then that he would face Machida. When that plan stalled, the totally retired Nick Diaz was offered a fight with Machida at middleweight.

Now, Machida is saying that he has accepted a fight with Belfort and is using the “Phenom’s” own words to embarrass Vitor. “I’ve accepted the fight,” Machida recently told Globo.com, at least that’s what google translate tells us.

“And [I am] sure Vitor Belfort will accept, because, as he said, your son does not run from a fight.”

Ok, so here’s what that last part is about. Last year, when Jon Jones needed a last-minute replacement fight after Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen had conspired against him and all of humanity, Machida was offered the title shot. He turned it down.

Something about needing more time to prepare to get choked out again, if we recall correctly. When Vitor Belfort accepted the fight against Jones, he seemed to passively aggressively put down Machida.

“I will fight Jones,” Belfort said back then.

“As a real Brazilian, as the [Brazilian National Anthem] says, ‘you will see that your son does not run from a fight.’”

Nicely played, Lyoto. That’s the type of acerbic wit that can only be sharpened by bitterness from losing decisions and having to drink a glass of urine each morning.

Do you think Vitor will accept the Machida fight and take him on in Brazil, taters? And, do you think Belfort will manage to pull Machida out of his shy shell and make the former dominant champ scrap?

– Elias Cepeda

Interview: A Healthy, Thankful Joe Lauzon Readies to Battle at Home in Boston Saturday Night


(Lauzon still carries a little reminder from his most recent war against Jim Miller. / Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

“I’m definitely excited and equally scared,” Joe Lauzon says while driving through some nasty Boston traffic this past Wednesday. On Saturday, the Massachusetts lightweight will fight in front of his home town at the Boston Garden on the UFC Fight Night 26 main card — but that isn’t what has Lauzon excited and scared.

The 29-year-old just found out that he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child together, a boy. “Obviously I want everything to go smooth and have a healthy kid. There’s all kinds of stuff to be worried about,” he confesses.

That’s Joe the expecting father talking. Joe the fighter doesn’t expect a child to change anything at all for him.

“Having a kid doesn’t change anything for me, fight wise. There’s a little bit with timing — I don’t want to fight right before or after he is born, but other than that…I train really hard and I fight really hard. I don’t think having a kid will change any of that,” he says.

So don’t expect platitudes from Lauzon about how being a dad adds or takes away from his motivation, as has often been said by other fighters. Joe likes to scrap, always had, always will.

And, after a pretty long lay-off, Lauzon has a good, tough bout ahead of him Saturday against the underrated Michael Johnson. 2012 saw Lauzon raise his star with a win and two Fight of The Year candidates, but he has yet to fight in 2013, choosing to let old injuries heal and wait for a chance to fight in Boston.


(Lauzon still carries a little reminder from his most recent war against Jim Miller. / Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

“I’m definitely excited and equally scared,” Joe Lauzon says while driving through some nasty Boston traffic this past Wednesday. On Saturday, the Massachusetts lightweight will fight in front of his home town at the Boston Garden on the UFC Fight Night 26 main card — but that isn’t what has Lauzon excited and scared.

The 29-year-old just found out that he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child together, a boy. “Obviously I want everything to go smooth and have a healthy kid. There’s all kinds of stuff to be worried about,” he confesses.

That’s Joe the expecting father talking. Joe the fighter doesn’t expect a child to change anything at all for him.

“Having a kid doesn’t change anything for me, fight wise. There’s a little bit with timing — I don’t want to fight right before or after he is born, but other than that…I train really hard and I fight really hard. I don’t think having a kid will change any of that,” he says.

So don’t expect platitudes from Lauzon about how being a dad adds or takes away from his motivation, as has often been said by other fighters. Joe likes to scrap, always had, always will.

And, after a pretty long lay-off, Lauzon has a good, tough bout ahead of him Saturday against the underrated Michael Johnson. 2012 saw Lauzon raise his star with a win and two Fight of The Year candidates, but he has yet to fight in 2013, choosing to let old injuries heal and wait for a chance to fight in Boston.

“Last year I was 1-2 so it was not my most productive year,” he says. “But I still had some good fights. A couple fight night awards but it was not the best year for me. I had a lot of stupid little nagging injuries, so taking a little more time off after the Miller fight was great. I could have fought months ago but we kept hearing rumblings about Boston in August or the fall so we decided to try and wait a little longer to fight at home as opposed to rushing out and fighting injured earlier and missing this chance.”

The chance to fight in his home state for the first time since a win at UFC 118 in 2010 holds more than sentimental appeal to Lauzon. It’s also just plain easier.

“At first, when I got into the UFC (in 2006) the whole traveling process was pretty cool. Going to airports, flying across the country, having your hotel paid for by the UFC,” Joe remembers.

“But now it is getting a little old. I’m not the biggest fan of flying or airports and it is nice to sleep in your own bed, eat the food you like, be able to do laundry and have my own car.”

What’s more, Lauzon’s loyal Boston-area friends and fans won’t have to go through so many hoops to see him fight live. “That’s really the coolest part,” he says.

“I have a lot of people who are so supportive and come to see me fight every time, no matter where I’m fighting. When they do that, they have to take time off of work, buy airplane tickets, pay for hotels — it’s a huge commitment out of their lives just to see me fight and support me. With this fight being in Boston, all they’ve got to do is buy their fight tickets and show up. It’s much easier on them.”

Lauzon is wrapping up a busy day of media obligations, including an open workout at The Garden, and he’s had friends and family and well-wishers on him like white on rice for the past couple months. With all the hub-bub of fighting at home, he still hasn’t forgotten that he’s got to fight and beat a man on Saturday night for all this to be a truly good time.

“I think we are pretty comparable in wrestling and stand-up,” Lauzon says, comparing himself to Johnson. “But I’m pretty far ahead on the ground. So, I don’t think it is any secret that we’ve got to go in there, get in the clinch and take him down. We’ve got to do whatever we’ve got to do to get him down and once we’re on the ground, I think the submission will come.”

If it does, Lauzon will undoubtedly bring the Boston Garden crowd to their feet. The exciting fighter says that when he last fought at home, in 2010, he didn’t really know what to expect in terms of the reception he’d get as well as the emotional charge from the Boston fans.

“I didn’t quite understand how many people were going to be there the last time, at UFC 118. I didn’t realize how crazy it would be being a local guy,” Joe says.

“Now, I get it and I’m really looking forward to it. It is going to be absolutely roaring. A lot of times when I walk out to fight, I don’t look up, I don’t look at the crowd, I’m just looking at the ground. This time, I don’t want to lose focus, but I am going to pay a little more attention to it. I’m going to embrace it a little more. We trained real hard, I’m healthy and I’m ready to go…I want to get back in the win column and if I get this win I’ll be incredibly thankful.”

Interview: Back on Track, Cole Miller Hopes to Keep the Train Running at UFC Fight Night 26


(Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

Heading into his featherweight bout against Bart Palaszewski last April, Cole Miller had lost two fights in a row for the first time in his ten-year MMA career. He did not want to lose a third.

A third straight loss would likely mean being cut by the UFC, where he’s made his living for the past six years. “Not losing for a third time wasn’t really motivation, it was just a matter of the fact that if I lost, I’d be out,” he tells CagePotato.

“I had to think about things I’d do outside of fighting to make money if I got cut and had to fight on smaller shows again where the pay isn’t as good as the UFC’s. I thought about things I could do and how I could set myself up other than fighting in order to make a living.”

Miller did not lose for a third consecutive time, however, and he has another UFC bout scheduled at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston. It wasn’t long after he stopped Palaszewski with a rear naked choke at the TUF 17 Finale that Cole was looking for another fight.

“[The feeling of winning again] was a relief, mostly,” he remembers. “Bart might be the best guy I’ve ever beaten. I turned my attention to fighting again pretty soon, though. I thought I’d be able to get another fight in before now, maybe as a substitute or something, but I wasn’t able to.”


(Photo via Getty)

By Elias Cepeda

Heading into his featherweight bout against Bart Palaszewski last April, Cole Miller had lost two fights in a row for the first time in his ten-year MMA career. He did not want to lose a third.

A third straight loss would likely mean being cut by the UFC, where he’s made his living for the past six years. “Not losing for a third time wasn’t really motivation, it was just a matter of the fact that if I lost, I’d be out,” he tells CagePotato.

“I had to think about things I’d do outside of fighting to make money if I got cut and had to fight on smaller shows again where the pay isn’t as good as the UFC’s. I thought about things I could do and how I could set myself up other than fighting in order to make a living.”

Miller did not lose for a third consecutive time, however, and he has another UFC bout scheduled at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston. It wasn’t long after he stopped Palaszewski with a rear naked choke at the TUF 17 Finale that Cole was looking for another fight.

“[The feeling of winning again] was a relief, mostly,” he remembers. “Bart might be the best guy I’ve ever beaten. I turned my attention to fighting again pretty soon, though. I thought I’d be able to get another fight in before now, maybe as a substitute or something, but I wasn’t able to.”

Instead, Miller settles for an incredibly tough fight against fellow TUF 5 season member Manny Gamburyan about four months after his last fight. Miller says he’s worked hard to improve between appearances, but that the Armenian judoka poses unique challenges.

“I would say that yeah, I’ve improved since April,” Cole says. “But Manny is such a specific challenge that it’s really more about preparing for him than anything. His size and his style make for such a unique fight.”

Both fighters, of course, are featherweights but Miller is 6’1″ to Gamburyan’s 5’5″. Cole knows that it won’t be enough to simply have a longer reach than his opponent — not when that opponent has an aggressive style and hits like an anvil.

“He just keeps coming forward, throwing bombs,” Cole says of Manny.

“He has an unorthodox striking style but hits hard and doesn’t stop swinging until he drops his opponents or takes them down. And on the ground he’s good as well, but most of his stuff comes from Judo, Sambo and catch wrestling, so it is different than the looks you get from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts. We respect him but I know that I’ve done the training to be ready for what he’ll bring.”