AKA co-founder Javier Mendez explained to Yahoo! Sport’s Dave Meltzer recently that he doesn’t have an opinion on his fighters fighting each other and that he doesn’t get involved in the decision making process when it comes to fights being offered to two of his guys like they have been by UFC president Dana White to Koscheck and Fitch.
“My standpoint is it is up to the fighters,” said Mendez. “I back both my fighters with whatever decision they make. If they both agree and the organizations want it, then it will happen and it’s nothing personal.
And Mendez isn’t the only one at the California gym who doesn’t bat away any suggestion of an inter-team showdown. Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Daniel Cormier has expressed an interest in facing UFC heavyweight champ and main training partner, UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez if the money is right and if it doesnt harm their friendship.
AKA co-founder Javier Mendez explained to Yahoo! Sport’s Dave Meltzer recently that he doesn’t have an opinion on his fighters fighting each other and that he doesn’t get involved in the decision making process when it comes to fights being offered to two of his guys like they have been by UFC president Dana White to Koscheck and Fitch.
“My standpoint is it is up to the fighters,” said Mendez. “I back both my fighters with whatever decision they make. If they both agree and the organizations want it, then it will happen and it’s nothing personal.
And Mendez isn’t the only one at the California gym who doesn’t bat away any suggestion of an inter-team showdown. Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Daniel Cormier has expressed an interest in facing UFC heavyweight champ and main training partner, UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez if the money is right and if it doesnt harm their friendship.
“He’s a friend,” said Cormier. “I’ve trained him for all of his recent fights. I cornered him. We face each other every day in sparring.It’ll be a very difficult fight for us to do. It will have to be worth it to us financially. We share the same coaches and the same management team. We’d have to address this as a group, with [manager] Bob Cook, Javier.”
Mendez says that if both fighters decide that there will be no hard feelings between them, then he would be okay with the heavyweight tilt going down as well if it’s offered.
“We’ll have to set up separate camps and take care of them as best we can. Daniel [Cormier] has talked about it before. Whatever Daniel wants, I’ll back 100 percent. If Cain says, ‘No,’ guess what I’m going to do? I’ll be behind Cain.”
Although he says he would fight Velasquez, Cormier says that he would much rather find a better solution for his career aspiration of one day wearing UFC gold.
“I don’t want to be just a good fighter. I want to be the best in the world. I could be in line for a championship, but if it came down to us, I’d much rather go to 205,” Cormier explains. “That would eliminate a lot of things. We have a great thing going at AKA — to avoid a lot of negatives, to avoid people having to choose sides, I’d rather move to 205, maybe beat someone and then face Jon Jones. I’d have to have that fight instead of Cain.”
Cain mentioned last month that he’d lock horns with Cormier as well, so if he gets past dos Santos and Cormier can beat Barnett, then Joe Silva could very well have his first heavyweight title defense of 2012 already in the bag.
(“I want people to look at me and say, ‘Wow, this is where he started and look where he ended up.'” Photo props: MMA Weekly)
By Ben Goldstein
Over the last six years, we’ve watched Chris Leben evolve from The Ultimate Fighter‘s original wild-ass brawler, to a multi-faceted contender who has the tools to defeat virtually any middleweight opponent on any given night. In fact, two of Leben’s last three fights have resulted in the greatest victories of his entire career — his epic UFC 116 Fight of the Night against Yoshihiro Akiyama, and his stunning 27-second knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132.
On November 5th, Leben will headline UFC 138 in Birmingham, England, against Mark Munoz, in a meeting that could put one of them on the short-list for a title shot. We spent some time on the phone with the Crippler last week and discussed all the notable battles in his life that have led him to where he is today, facing yet another massive opportunity. Enjoy, and check out our previous Retrospective Interviews right here.
THE ORIGIN STORY
(Matt Lindland, overdressed as usual.)
CHRIS LEBEN: “I think I was in the fourth grade when I got into my first fight. I can’t remember what it was over — something on the playground. But that was my first real, non-wrestling match, hitting-each-other-in-the-face kind of fight. And all the other kids just stood around and watched. I didn’t get into fights a lot, but I definitely had some good ones, like all kids that are a little more on the wild side.
I did a little wrestling in grade school, and something called Christian Karate that I did in like third grade. Then I started boxing in eighth grade and I actually took that really seriously.
Even when I was in junior high, my plan was always to fight in the UFC. I joined Team Quest right after I turned 21. You have to remember that at 185 pounds, I was training with Matt Lindland, Evan Tanner, Chael Sonnen, Ed Herman — we were all in the same room, every day. And every day I walked into the gym, my first coach Robert Follis would say, ‘Good morning Chris, how are you doing?’ And I’d say, ‘Did you get me a fight yet? Did you get me a fight yet?’ I’d never say, ‘Good morning, how are you,’ it was always ‘Did you get me a fight yet?’ I believe it was about six months until I had my first amateur fight.”
(“I want people to look at me and say, ‘Wow, this is where he started and look where he ended up.’” Photo props: MMA Weekly)
By Ben Goldstein
Over the last six years, we’ve watched Chris Leben evolve from The Ultimate Fighter‘s original wild-ass brawler, to a multi-faceted contender who has the tools to defeat virtually any middleweight opponent on any given night. In fact, two of Leben’s last three fights have resulted in the greatest victories of his entire career — his epic UFC 116 Fight of the Night against Yoshihiro Akiyama, and his stunning 27-second knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132.
On November 5th, Leben will headline UFC 138 in Birmingham, England, against Mark Munoz, in a meeting that could put one of them on the short-list for a title shot. We spent some time on the phone with the Crippler last week and discussed all the notable battles in his life that have led him to where he is today, facing yet another massive opportunity. Enjoy, and check out our previous Retrospective Interviews right here.
THE ORIGIN STORY
(Matt Lindland, overdressed as usual.)
CHRIS LEBEN: “I think I was in the fourth grade when I got into my first fight. I can’t remember what it was over — something on the playground. But that was my first real, non-wrestling match, hitting-each-other-in-the-face kind of fight. And all the other kids just stood around and watched. I didn’t get into fights a lot, but I definitely had some good ones, like all kids that are a little more on the wild side.
I did a little wrestling in grade school, and something called Christian Karate that I did in like third grade. Then I started boxing in eighth grade and I actually took that really seriously.
Even when I was in junior high, my plan was always to fight in the UFC. I joined Team Quest right after I turned 21. You have to remember that at 185 pounds, I was training with Matt Lindland, Evan Tanner, Chael Sonnen, Ed Herman — we were all in the same room, every day. And every day I walked into the gym, my first coach Robert Follis would say, ‘Good morning Chris, how are you doing?’ And I’d say, ‘Did you get me a fight yet? Did you get me a fight yet?’ I’d never say, ‘Good morning, how are you,’ it was always ‘Did you get me a fight yet?’ I believe it was about six months until I had my first amateur fight.”
CHRIS LEBEN vs. MIKE SWICK WEC 9, 1/16/04 Result: Leben wins via second-round knockout and becomes the first WEC middleweight champion
“That was the first time I met Dana White. He was actually sitting in the front row for that fight, so I went up and talked to him, which was a pretty big deal for me. At that point, I think The Ultimate Fighter probably wasn’t much more than a pipe dream for the Fertittas. But me and Dana talked about fighting Sakurai in PRIDE because he was a little big after his knee injury back then, and possibly getting into the UFC sometime.”
“I kind of look at it like boot camp: You don’t necessarily enjoy it while you’re there, but once it’s done you’re glad you did it. And don’t get me wrong, I had some great times on the show, some fun moments, and I learned a lot — both about fighting and myself — but if they said, ‘Hey Chris, we want you be a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter right now,’ would I jump at that opportunity? To be a coach, yeah, I’d jump at that. But to be a competitor and live in that house with all those other guys, at my age, where I am now in my life? Absolutely fucking not.
The top-tier of the martial arts world is a small world, and we’re the original [cast], so I feel camaraderie with those guys. Every time I see Stephan Bonnar we’re always telling war stories.”
On the previousrumors of Chris Leben being booked to face his TUF nemesis Josh Koscheck: “It’s funny, the guys at my gym know more about what’s going on in the sport from me. Half the time I hear about who I’m fighting from some random fight-school member that read it on a blog somewhere. The Internet’s not really my favorite thing, but I heard some people at my gym saw that idea being kicked around on forums, and I loved it, but the opportunity never came to me. I’d love to take that fight.”
On the next page: An ill-fated run-in with the Spider, going zombie-mode against Terry Martin, and the fight he’d rather not discuss.
FightHub TV caught up with former IBO and The Ring Magazine light welterweight boxing champ Ricky Hatton recently in the UK to get his take on MMA and according to “The Hitman” he’s come around in his opinion of the sport.
“At first mixed martial arts wasn’t seen as too popular, but more and more it’s getting bigger and bigger all the time. And the more and more yo look into it…at first I thought it was just people rollin’ about on the floor huggin’ each other, but that’s far from it. As it’s getting more popular, when you actually look into it scientifically there’s a lot more to it. It’s not just about standin’ there and usin’ your feet and usin’ your fists,” he explained. “It’s about gettin’ your opponent on the floor, puttin’ him in a certain move, which is a work of art in its own right. The more and more popular it’s gettin’ it’s not become just a part-time thing now. It’s a professional sport and I’m sure I speak for the mixed martial arts people as well as the boxing people in saying that these people — the nutritional people — are the best probably even more so than in boxing because it’s a lot more physical than boxing, isn’t it? I can say slowly but surely, the more I’ve watched it I’ve become a bit of a fan.”
(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHubTV)
FightHub TV caught up with former IBO and The Ring Magazine light welterweight boxing champ Ricky Hatton recently in the UK to get his take on MMA and according to “The Hitman” he’s come around in his opinion of the sport.
“At first mixed martial arts wasn’t seen as too popular, but more and more it’s getting bigger and bigger all the time. And the more and more yo look into it…at first I thought it was just people rollin’ about on the floor huggin’ each other, but that’s far from it. As it’s getting more popular, when you actually look into it scientifically there’s a lot more to it. It’s not just about standin’ there and usin’ your feet and usin’ your fists,” he explained. “It’s about gettin’ your opponent on the floor, puttin’ him in a certain move, which is a work of art in its own right. The more and more popular it’s gettin’ it’s not become just a part-time thing now. It’s a professional sport and I’m sure I speak for the mixed martial arts people as well as the boxing people in saying that these people — the nutritional people — are the best probably even more so than in boxing because it’s a lot more physical than boxing, isn’t it? I can say slowly but surely, the more I’ve watched it I’ve become a bit of a fan.”
Perhaps most surprising is Hatton’s assertion that “The Sweet Science” could stand to learn a thing or two from it’s distant cousin. Although he says he likely wouldn’t have tried his hand at the sport, he gives MMA and its fighters credit.
“I have enough to worry about looking at the fists without having to look at the feet, the elbows and the knees. No, I am a big fan. I was a very physical boxer, so something like that is right up my street and the more popular it gets [more people realize] these are professional athletes who work hard and dedicate themselves at it, so I tip my hat to them. I don’t think [MMA will eclipse boxing]. Boxing will always have its own audience and boxing is its [own] sport,” Hatton pointed out. “[MMA] is becoming [more] popular all the time. Certainly in the United States it’s becoming very popular, but I think there’s room for both sports. Boxing can learn a bit from mixed martial arts. You go there and they create [an amazing] atmosphere with the ring entrances and the music and everything like that. In this financial climate you’ve got to put something out there that sells. From that point of view boxing can learn something from mixed martial arts, but I think they’re always going to have their own fans — mixed martial arts and professional boxing.”
Top Canadian Lightweight Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki has never backed down from a tough fight and he is not about to start now. Despite the sudden passing of Team Tompkins founder and coach Shawn Tompkins only a couple months a…
Top Canadian Lightweight Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki has never backed down from a tough fight and he is not about to start now. Despite the sudden passing of Team Tompkins founder and coach Shawn Tompkins only a couple months ago, Horodecki is trainng, fighting and leading the way to recovery for himself and his training […]
British featherweight, Jason “Shotgun” Young, has gone from London to London in his quest to become the best fighter he can be in his blooming career. Young is in London Ontario at the Adrenaline Training Center preparing his game for his b…
British featherweight, Jason “Shotgun” Young, has gone from London to London in his quest to become the best fighter he can be in his blooming career. Young is in London Ontario at the Adrenaline Training Center preparing his game for his battle with Japanese fighter Michihiro Omigawa that takes place on November 5th at UFC […]
JS: Hi Paul, cheers for taking the time to chat today. Post-BAMMA 7 news emerged that you’d had a disagreement with the promotion. What are the implications for your touted December bout with Nate Marquardt? PD: I doubt the fight’s going to…
JS: Hi Paul, cheers for taking the time to chat today. Post-BAMMA 7 news emerged that you’d had a disagreement with the promotion. What are the implications for your touted December bout with Nate Marquardt? PD: I doubt the fight’s going to materialise now. I saw the interview with him that was published on MMAWeekly.com, […]
