Tag: quick quote

UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos (15-1) is still hot under the collar when it comes to former Strikeforce title holder Alistair Overeem.

Despite having a December meeting with former champ Cain Velasquez at UFC 155, Dos Santos still wants to be the guy to “arrange” a beating for the Dutch striker.

Overeem is currently under suspension for a positive steroid test and has been talking trash in the hopes of securing a title shot versus the Brazilian once his sentence is completed. Which coincidentally is also in December.

Speaking to Tatame.com, Dos Santos explained his thoughts on Overeem.

“I knew Velasquez was the contender, but if UFC wanted me to fight Overeem I’d gladly shut him up because he’s been saying a lot of crap, he’s been learning from Chael Sonnen”, the champion said on an exclusive interview with TATAME.

“I’m tired of these guys who think they’re so big, so strong, so bad and that people will get frightened by them because they look bad. There’s no such thing anymore. We’re athletes and the winner will be the one who trains the most. That’s what I have to say about it”.

“I really told Dana White I’d love to fight Overeem. Beating Overeem, actually. That’s what’s going to happen when this bout actually happens. It would be a pleasure. From the way I see it, he didn’t deserve a title shot. Cain deserves it and that’s why we’re fighting. Overeem deserves to a beating and I’m going to arrange that”

UFC middleweight Brian Stann (12-4) is ready to return to the Octagon and is looking to make a big statement when he faces Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping later this month in Toronto at UFC 152.

Stann made a rather large statement in his last fight by knocking out Alessio Sakara with his ground-and-pound last April at UFC on FUEL TV 2.

Now ‘The All American’ faces one of the top-fighters in the middleweight division and will look to finish the Brit in order to improve his own standing at 185-lbs.

Speaking to ESPN.com, Stann was respectful of his opponent but vowed to “test his chin” once he and Bisping step into the cage.

“I absolutely want to test his chin,” Stann said. “Anybody who stood with me knows the fight doesn’t last long. I’m in this to be a champion and I need to beat Michael Bisping to make a statement.”

Expressing his admiration for the Brit, Stann added: “This guy’s one of the biggest stars of the UFC. He’s on the cusp of a title shot. That’s the situation I’m always looking for. I want to fight the best guys.

“I don’t think there’s an opponent out there that would have gotten me more excited. He’s a guy that settles into the fight quickly, executes his game plan very well and mixes it up.”

Fighting at 185-lbs, Stann is 4-1 in the division with wins over Sakara, Jorge Santiago, Chris Leben and Mike Massenzio. While his only blemish comes at the hands of former two-time contender Chael Sonnen.

When it comes to training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas, many professional fighters seek out World Champion Robert Drysdale, including former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir.

Mir is expected to face undefeated Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier sometime this fall, becoming the first Octagon fighter to cross over to the SHOWTIME broadcasted events.

Drysdale, who is 4-0 as a professional mixed martial artist himself, tells Tatame.com that they have a “traps” set for the American Kickboxing Academy fighter.

Whom have you been coaching?
Frank Mir, Forrest Griffin… Vitor Belfort trained here when in Vegas. Dan Hardy trained here, Martin Kampmann, Matt Riddle… Everybody who comes to Vegas train here at the gym. No exceptions. There’re lots of guys, man.

How do you see Frank Mir-Daniel Cormier fight going?
Man, it’s a hard one. It’s hard because the guy’s tough on the stand-up and has good takedowns. The mistake most people make when fighting Frank is underestimating him. Everybody that underestimates him gets caught. Frank’s a sniper, lands directs hits. He choses the right moment and lands it when finally does. It’s a tough fight but he’s prepared. We know it can go to the ground and Frank may be on the bottom and we’re training for that. I guess Frank has an advantage on striking. On the ground, if he (Cormier) makes a mistake, he’ll get caught. But he’s a tough guy, a guy whom we respect a lot. It’s a fight we’re taking very seriously. We never joke about a fight.

Could you analyze Cormier’s ground game, since he hasn’t shown it on his fights so far?
He knows how to block Jiu-Jitsu. He knows what everybody knows: the anti Jiu-Jitsu. He knows how to defend an armbar and a triangle, has Wrestling base and a good posture. He won’t make a mistake, but we’re bringing some traps for him.

But only defending Jiu-Jitsu is not enough when one is fighting Frank Mir.
Exactly. That’s what I tell people. You can’t make a mistake with him. I train with the guy. He goes smoothly, you think he’s not paying attention. Brother, the guy catches you and you don’t see that coming. You can’t tap, you have to scream. If you try to tap out he breaks you in half (laughs).

Despite training some of the top fighters, Drysdale is looking at furthering his own mma career, with a recent first round submission win taking place this past July under the Legacy Fighting Championship banner.

The former ADCC champ says he’s having problems finding opponents willing to face him for what Legacy FC can afford but hopes to be matched up versus a UFC veteran in the near future.

Have you been matched up?
It’s always f… hard finding someone to fight me.

Nobody wants to fight you, is that it?
The shows I’ve been fighting at don’t pay well, so nobody wants to fight me for two, three grand. They want like ten, fifteen thousand and the guys don’t wanna pay it, so they argue about money. It’s hard, but I’m sure they’ll find a way. It’s always like that. I’m used to it.

Will you fight at Legacy FC?
Yeah, it’s a Legacy fight again.

Is it possible you fight for the belt?
That’s the plan. I have a couple more fights on the contract. I guess next fight won’t be a title fight but the third one might be. What I asked them is a UFC veteran. I asked them twice because I guess it’s a bigger fight. There’s no use on defeating someone who’s never been in the UFC. It’s not a big win. I want someone who’s been in there, a known guy so it makes a difference to my record. That’s what I asked them but it’s not an easy task. It’s not easy finding someone to fight me.