Tag: quick quote

Tim Kennedy Is Expecting To Face Trevor Smith This January Following Canceled Strikeforce Show

With a second straight Strikeforce event coming under the chopping block, fighters from both cards have been left wondering when they can expect to fight again in order to earn their next paycheck. One of those effected is former middleweight contender Tim Kennedy (14-4), who had been training for a bout with Trevor ‘Hot Sauce’ […]

Tim Kennedy

With a second straight Strikeforce event coming under the chopping block, fighters from both cards have been left wondering when they can expect to fight again in order to earn their next paycheck.

One of those effected is former middleweight contender Tim Kennedy (14-4), who had been training for a bout with Trevor ‘Hot Sauce’ Smith (10-2) on the now cancelled November 3, 2012 event.

Kennedy told MMAjunkie.com recently, telling them that he he is already “out between $10-12,000″ in expenses but expects to be included on the upcoming January card, whether it’s against Smith or another opponent.

“I was actually in a training session with Andrew Craig and Colton Smith from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and Rodrigo Cabral doing wrestling stuff,” said Kennedy. “The guy behind the counter at the gym is like, ‘Hey Tim, are you on the Nov. 3 card?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s why I’m here, evidently.’ (He says), ‘Ha-ha. Not anymore.’”

“I was really mad at that point,” he said. “But moments later, (Strikeforce matchmaker) Sean Shelby called me from Brazil, and he was super cool. He’s like, ‘There’s nothing we can do. We found out online just like you did that Showtime wasn’t going to be televising the event, and if the fight’s not televised, Strikeforce isn’t going to have a card.’”

….

Kennedy still plans a return to hard training next week in anticipation of his January appearance. At this point, he’s unaware whether he’ll be facing Smith or get another opponent, but either is fine.

“Unfortunately, we have a limited roster in Strikeforce now, and there’s really only a couple guys left at 185 for me to fight. I’ve vocalized wanting to fight Roger Gracie. Smith is a big guy at 185, and I’m exciting about that fight. But I’ll fight whoever.”

Kennedy will enter his next fight on a loss, having suffered a unanimous decision defeat against division champ Luke Rockhold this past July in Oregon. The former Special Forces operative had won two straight matches previous, beating Robbie Lawler and Melvin Manhoef.

Heavyweight Daniel Cormier Ready To Move To The UFC

Undefeated Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier (10-0) is ready to complete the last bout on his contract in order to move over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Cormier was to have had that fight next month in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma versus former UFC champ Frank Mir but an injury forced Mir off the card. No new […]

Daniel Cormier with the Strikeforce Grand Prix title – Photo via Strikeforce.com

Undefeated Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier (10-0) is ready to complete the last bout on his contract in order to move over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Cormier was to have had that fight next month in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma versus former UFC champ Frank Mir but an injury forced Mir off the card.

No new opponent was named, and the Nov. 3 Strikeforce suffered a few more injuries causing the entire event to be cancelled.

Cormier talked about the eventual move and his expected final fight in January.

“I think it’s time. Like I said, I love Strikeforce and everything they’ve done for me. That extra fight for Strikeforce, I never looked at it as a negative. It’s a chance to cap my career there. But after this fight, it’s time for me to fight in the UFC. I get to fight in the biggest organization in the world where the lights are brighter and there’s more fans. I’m ready for the UFC, but now I get to fight the beginning of the year in January for Strikeforce, and hopefully jump right back in there in the UFC.”

Cormier was a guest on “The MMA Hour with Mauro Ranallo” on Monday, along with female fighter Felice Herrig and blog writer Spencer Kyte.

Jon Jones Not Interested In TUF Gig Opposite Daniel Cormier

With all the talk of “Super Fights” following this past weekends UFC 153 event, one matchup that UFC light heavyweight title holder Jon ‘Bones’ Jones (17-1) is not interested in, is a “The Ultimate Fighter” coaching job opposite undefeated Strikeforce Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier (10-0). Cormier has one fight left on his Strikeforce contact […]

Jon Jones retains UFC LHW title at UFC 145 – Photo via UFC.com

With all the talk of “Super Fights” following this past weekends UFC 153 event, one matchup that UFC light heavyweight title holder Jon ‘Bones’ Jones (17-1) is not interested in, is a “The Ultimate Fighter” coaching job opposite undefeated Strikeforce Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier (10-0).

Cormier has one fight left on his Strikeforce contact before he moves to the Octagon, and has asked the promotion to pit him and the 205-lbs champ against one another.

Jones is interested in coaching, just not against Cormier calling him a “relatively unknown” in an interview with ESPN.co.uk.

“I’d be interested in a TUF season in the future, but it’d take the right opponent,” Jones told ESPN in a recent interview. “As far as Daniel Cormier saying he wants to coach against me, he would want that wouldn’t he?

“He’s relatively unknown, I want to do it when the fans are aware of both guys, and when it’s spunky and when it raises a lot of viewers. I’m not here to raise his stock.”

Jones successfully defended his UFC title for a fourth straight fight last month, stopping Vitor Belfort via fourth round submission. The win is ‘Bones’ eighth victory in a row.

Cormier is a smaller heavyweight, and would have to drop down in order to meet Jones at the 205-lbs limit. The former Olympic wrestler is undefeated in his career, having beaten Josh Barnett this past May via decision in the final of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.

UFC 153 – Glover Teixeira Calls Out ‘Rampage’ After Win, Jackson “Let’s Give Him What He Wants”

Light heavyweight phenom Glover Teixeira racked up his 2nd straight UFC victory in a thrilling war with Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153. Teixeira talked to UFC Tonight analyst Ariel Helwani after the fight and called out another big name fighter.

On Sunday (Oct. 14, 2012), Jackson would take to Twitter (@Rampage4real) in response to Teixeira’s comments, asking UFC president Dana White to make the fight happen.
– Yo @danawhite set up that fight with Glover please! Lets give him what he wants..fans I won’t let u down #fightofthenight
White appears to have given the matchup a thumbs up by responding on Twitter (@danawhite) himself
– @Rampage4real sounds good bro
Teixeira and Jackson were both scheduled to meet at UFC 153, but the former UFC light heavyweight champ was forced out with an injury. Teixeira was given a new opponent in Fabio Maldonado instead.
Here more from the Brazilian by pressing PLAY or by making the jump

Click here to view the embedded video.

Light heavyweight phenom Glover Teixeira racked up his 2nd straight UFC victory in a thrilling war with Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153. Teixeira talked to UFC Tonight analyst Ariel Helwani after the fight and called out another big name fighter.

On Sunday (Oct. 14, 2012), Jackson would take to Twitter (@Rampage4real) in response to Teixeira’s comments, asking UFC president Dana White to make the fight happen.

– Yo @danawhite set up that fight with Glover please! Lets give him what he wants..fans I won’t let u down #fightofthenight

White appears to have given the matchup a thumbs up by responding on Twitter (@danawhite) himself

– @Rampage4real sounds good bro

Teixeira and Jackson were both scheduled to meet at UFC 153, but the former UFC light heavyweight champ was forced out with an injury. Teixeira was given a new opponent in Fabio Maldonado instead.

Here more from the Brazilian by pressing PLAY or by making the jump

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stephan Bonnar Felt “Paralyzed” After Taking Anderson Silva Knee At UFC 153

This past Saturday night (Oct. 13, 2012), UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva proved again why he is the world’s “pound-four-pound” best fighter in the world by finishing opponent Stephan Bonnar with a knee to the body in the main event of UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When the end came for Bonnar in […]

Stephan Bonnar (Front), cringes after taking a knee from Anderson Silva – Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images via ESPN.com

This past Saturday night (Oct. 13, 2012), UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva proved again why he is the world’s “pound-four-pound” best fighter in the world by finishing opponent Stephan Bonnar with a knee to the body in the main event of UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

When the end came for Bonnar in the first round, Silva appeared to have had enough of his opponent’s striking attempts bringing his attack to ‘The American Psycho’. After Bonnar bounced off the cage after a failed trip attempt by Silva, ‘The Spider’ would connect with a flying knee to Bonnar’s midsection, sending him helpless to the mat. A few more punches from Silva would end the fight as ‘The American Psycho’ lay motionless.

Bonnar took to Twitter (@StephanBonnar) on Sunday to tell fans that he felt “paralyzed” by Silva’s knee and was only starting to function just as referee Marc Goddard stepped in.

Thanks to everyone for the support, I’m so sorry I lost. I feel so bad for letting my fans down, but I promise to make it up to you. Not injured, just caught with a perfect knee to the solar plex and it paralyzed me, was just getting movement back when fight was stopped.

Bonnar flew back to the States following the UFC 153 event in Brazil, to be with his wife who is close to giving birth to their first child.

Before last Saturday’s match Bonnar had never previously been finished inside the Octagon and had promised to keep moving forward in the fight to pressure the 185-lbs kingpin.

In the end, ‘The American Psycho’ was merely another plaything for ‘The Spider’ as the Brazilian merely stood in front of his opponent, hands down, merely dipping and ducking all of Bonnar’s best shots.

Once Silva had had enough, he turned up the heat throwing his own punches, and after a failed trip, landed the fight ending knee as Bonnar bounced off the cage. The end came at 4:40 of the first round.

Mark Munoz Says Anderson Silva Is The “Best Mixed Martial Artist To Walk The Planet, By Far”

UFC middleweight Mark Munoz (12-3) is a former training partner of division champ Anderson Silva, and is looking forward to watching his friends bout with Stephan Bonnar this Saturday in the main event of UFC 153. Despite not training with ‘The Spider’ for awhile, Munoz still considers Silva to be a friend and someone he […]

Mark Munoz

UFC middleweight Mark Munoz (12-3) is a former training partner of division champ Anderson Silva, and is looking forward to watching his friends bout with Stephan Bonnar this Saturday in the main event of UFC 153.

Despite not training with ‘The Spider’ for awhile, Munoz still considers Silva to be a friend and someone he respects dearly.

Reporter Steve Cofield recently spoke to Munoz about Silva’s future in the UFC as well as the route Bonnar had to take to defeat the middleweight kingpin.

The interview aired during a segment of Thursday’s (Oct 11, 2012) SiriusXM Fight Club show.

“The thing with Anderson (Silva) too is, he is by far the best mixed martial artist to walk the planet, by far….(Jon) Jones is coming up, so Jones can stamp himself in history as well but it’s kind of like Julius Erving and Michael Jordan you know, different eras.”

“With Anderson, he’s at the end and I don’t want to say ‘I want to fight Anderson.’ Because I don’t, I don’t really want to but I want to become a world champion, that’s what I want to become. With Anderson he is such a huge, huge name in Brazil, he’s a huge name here, so he can walk away from this sport and be able to provide for his family, and live a glamorous life, retire and still be involved in this sport.”

“See Anderson is an MMA Muhammad Ali, I mean he floats like a butterfly he stings like a…not a bee but something else. He drops people with just like a potshot, you know it’s crazy. ”

When asked which path to victory Stephan Bonnar might take this Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Munoz offered this analysis of how ‘The American Psycho’ could do it.

“(Anderson’s) so accurate and dead on at times with his punches, but he has to be able to move his head and be able to close the gap quickly to take advantage of the times that Anderson is just bouncing. (Bonnar’s) got to get his timing down real quick and be able to disrupt his timing and his rhythm and get him against the cage. Kind of, cut him off. He’s got to come out and coral him. He’s got to coral him because Anderson’s going to be moving around looking to take advantage of the times that Stephan is open.”

“He’s got to be able to move his head, cut off the cage, press him against the cage, dirty box him, take him down if he can, keep a good posture, look for ground-and-pound, and that’s how he is going to win the fight. That’s the only way he is going to win. If he decides to strike with Anderson it’s going to be a long, rather a quick night for him.”

A couple of other notes from the SiriusXM Fight Club broadcast, Cofield asked his fellow hosts to guess how heavy Munoz was when he took the fight with Chris Weidman on six weeks notice for the July show.

‘The Filipino Wrecking Machine’ was apparently 60+ pounds over the middleweight limit of 185-lbs, and had to cut down all that weight over the six-weeks in order to make weight for the UFC on FUEL TV 4 bout in San Jose.

They also said that Munoz went into the fight with a broken foot, which could have certainly impeded his performance in the second round knockout loss to Weidman.

So it’s quite possible that fans did not see the best Mark Munoz competing in the HP Pavilion that night, and the next time we do, a much better Munoz may surprise some critics.

Hater’s gonna hate, and fan boys like me will always look for the excuses to support their fighters.