Tag: quick quote

Alistair Overeem Is Back In The Good Graces Of UFC President Dana White

Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, and current suspended UFC fighter Alistair Overeem has apparently righted his wrongs and is back in the good graces of UFC president Dana White. At the post-fight press conference for UFC 148 White talked to the media afterwards about a number of subjects. MMAFighting.com reporter Ariel Helwani asked White about a […]

Alistair Overeem – Photo by Getty Images

Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, and current suspended UFC fighter Alistair Overeem has apparently righted his wrongs and is back in the good graces of UFC president Dana White.

At the post-fight press conference for UFC 148 White talked to the media afterwards about a number of subjects.

MMAFighting.com reporter Ariel Helwani asked White about a meeting he had with Overeem recently looking for details on how things went between the two.

“Alistair (Overeem) did meet with me.”

“I think he’s a stud. I liked the meeting, I liked what he had to say, I liked the fact that he came into town came over … he came into the thing and I saw walk in, he was meeting Lorenzo (Fertitta), I fuckin walked into my office and shut the door.”

“And he went downstairs and waited for forty minutes until I called him upstairs, and then came into my office like a man, and uh, nothing but respect for Alistair now. We all make mistakes and we all do stupid shit. I say this all the time. It’s all in how you deal with your mistakes and how you handle yourself after. He handled himself like a fuckinging stud.”

“… He was an absolute stud and a man and I respect him for what he did.”

“He doesn’t need to fucking talk to me he can talk to Lorenzo. He didn’t have to wait for me, he didn’t have to come up and say what he said to me. He and Lorenzo were talking, but he did.”

Another member of the media asked about whether or not fans would see him in the Octagon this year if he is successful in re-applying for a license following his nine-month suspension.

“I don’t know. He’s doing all the right things now. He’s fixing all the wrongs and we’ll see what happens.”

Overeem tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone (14:1 ratio) this past April following a surprise pre-fight drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. ‘The Reem’ was pulled from his title bout versus UFC champ Junior dos Santos, slated for UFC 146, and was replaced by Frank Mir.

Overeem has maintained his innocence, saying that it was a medication he took prescribed by a doctor, vowing to return and offering to take several drug tests at his own costs to show that he is clean.

Strikeforce GP Winner Daniel Cormier Helping Cain Velasquez Prepare For JDS Rematch

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament winner Daniel Cormier (10-0) is still recovering from a hand injury suffered in his win over Josh Barnett last May in the Grand Prix finale. Cormier isn’t sure when, or who he’ll be fighting next, but he knows his next goal is to help fellow American Kickboxing Academy teammate Cain […]

Daniel Cormier with the Strikeforce Grand Prix title

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament winner Daniel Cormier (10-0) is still recovering from a hand injury suffered in his win over Josh Barnett last May in the Grand Prix finale.

Cormier isn’t sure when, or who he’ll be fighting next, but he knows his next goal is to help fellow American Kickboxing Academy teammate Cain Velasquez regain his UFC heavyweight title.

Velasquez is set to rematch current champ Junior dos Santos later this year at an unknown date.

Until then, Cormier is happy to help his teammate prepare to regain his strap and in an interview with Tatame.com, discusses some of those preparations, his current contract with Strikeforce, plus much more.

Is Velasquez at his best on the trainings against Junior dos Santos?
He’s doing good. He’s just waiting, really excited to be the UFC champion again. He’s excited to get that belt back so he’s in the gym working out, but he has no date, he has nothing set, so it’s it’s kinda still played by it.

What are you doing different for this second fight against Dos Santos?
We have to do something different obviously. The last time wasn’t what we intended to be and we have to do something different because he has established himself as the best heavyweight in the world. It’s gonna be a tough puzzle to crack in but we got to get together as a team and put together a game plan that’s going to be effective and is going get Cain’s belt back.

Anthony Johnson Gives Up Middleweight Bid, Opts For Light Heavyweight Now

Former UFC fighter Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson (11-4) has been plagued by failed welterweight weight cuts for several years and eventually culminated in his dismissal from the top promotion after failing to make weight at middleweight last January at UFC 142. Johnson weighed in at 197-lbs for his bout with Vitor Belfort in Brazil, and following […]

Anthony Johnson (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Former UFC fighter Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson (11-4) has been plagued by failed welterweight weight cuts for several years and eventually culminated in his dismissal from the top promotion after failing to make weight at middleweight last January at UFC 142.

Johnson weighed in at 197-lbs for his bout with Vitor Belfort in Brazil, and following a loss to ‘The Phenom’, ‘Rumble’ was released from the UFC.

Johnson then went on to sign with Titan Fighting Championships and fought at a 195-lbs catchweight in his debut after another failed bid to fight at middleweight.

Now the current Blackzillian team member is ready to try his hand at light heavyweight.

Speaking to MMAWeekly.com, Johnson said it was “now or never” for a move to 205-lbs.

“I sat down with my coaches and we just decided that 205 would be best for me. That way I can perform even better and I don’t have much to worry about, if anything. We’re excited about it and I feel good about it already. I already feel like I have more energy, more strength, and I’m excited about it.”

…

“It’s like it’s either now or never. Now’s the time and I’ve just got to run with it. Each camp I feel a little bit better, I keep improving, doing better things inside the gym, and outside of the gym. Everything is progressing more and more even though I’ve had my ups and downs,” Johnson said.

“I know I can fight at 205, that won’t be a problem. Cause I have the size, speed and the strength for it. I probably should have been fighting 205 a long time ago, but just being me thinking I can do it all, making dumb decisions, maturing, it’s going to work out.”

Patrick Cote Wants Fans To Remember Him For Knocking Out Cung Le, Not Losing To Tom Lawlor

Former UFC middleweight contender Patrick ‘The Predator’ Côté (17-7) will look to make a successful Octagon return this Saturday (July 7, 2012) when he faces former Strikeforce champ Cung Le on the pay-per-view card of UFC 148. Most fans saw Côté last in a unanimous decision loss to Tom Lawlor back in October 2010 at […]

Patrick Cote

Former UFC middleweight contender Patrick ‘The Predator’ Côté (17-7) will look to make a successful Octagon return this Saturday (July 7, 2012) when he faces former Strikeforce champ Cung Le on the pay-per-view card of UFC 148.

Most fans saw Côté last in a unanimous decision loss to Tom Lawlor back in October 2010 at UFC 121. It was a third straight defeat for ‘The Predator’ who was submitted by Alan Belcher at UFC 113, and ended up injured at UFC 90 in a title bout with champion Anderson Silva.

This weekend Côté wants fans to remember him for this fight with Le rather than for his loss versus Lawlor. Côté explains how he plans on making this a memorable fight in his latest blog at Sportsnet.ca.

Ultimately, I think it’s going to be a spectacular fight. I respect Cung as an athlete and man, and there is no need for trash talk going into this one. We both do our talking with our fists and we are both known to be exciting fighters. If I don’t bring my A-game, I will have a lot of problems, and that is why I have trained so hard in camp to prevent that from happening.

This win on Saturday will probably be the most satisfying win of my career to date. I’ve come through a lot in the last year and a win over Cung Le will erase my poor performance against Tom Lawlor the last time I was in the UFC. I don’t want UFC fans to remember me for that fight, and I’ll do my best to erase it from their memory on Saturday. That’s my biggest concern. That fight against Lawlor is in my head and my heart and I want to remove it as soon as possible.

I want UFC fans to remember me for beating Kendall Grove and Ricardo Almeida, not for what happened against Tom Lawlor. Better than that, I want them to remember me for knocking out Cung Le on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

‘Big Nog’ Wants To “Grab One Of Sonnen’s” Teeth Following UFC 148

Former UFC heavyweight champion Antônio Rodrigo ‘Big Nog’ Nogueira (33-7-1, 1NC) is looking to “grab one of (Chael) Sonnen’s” teeth following this weekends UFC 148 bout with ‘Big Nog’s’ Black House teammate UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. The comment follows Silva’s uncharacteristic outburst last week during a UFC 148 media call in which ‘The Spider’ […]

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

Former UFC heavyweight champion Antônio Rodrigo ‘Big Nog’ Nogueira (33-7-1, 1NC) is looking to “grab one of (Chael) Sonnen’s” teeth following this weekends UFC 148 bout with ‘Big Nog’s’ Black House teammate UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

The comment follows Silva’s uncharacteristic outburst last week during a UFC 148 media call in which ‘The Spider’ announced to the world that “I’m going to break his face and every tooth in his mouth.”

Nogueira is still sidelined undergoing intensive rehab for his right arm with was broken by Frank Mir last December. ‘Big Nog’ had been linked to a UFC 149 fight with Cheick Kongo but was unable to take the fight and was replaced by Shawn Jordan at the Canadian event.

Speaking to Tatame.com, Nogueira offered his thoughts on the title rematch between his friend Anderson Silva and the “disrespectful” Chael Sonnen.

“I wanna grab one of Sonnen’s tooth (laughs)”, jokes the heavyweight on an interview with TATAME.

“The guy’s disrespectful. They way he advertises himself is a wrong way of advertising, it’s disrespectful”, says Nogueira, criticizing the wrestler’s performance inside the cage. “He does those warm fights. He’s a tough fighter, a super athlete, but his kind of fight doesn’t sell, doesn’t convince, he’s not a dangerous striker nor a submitter. Where he gets his popularity from? Talking”.

“He’s a guy who says bad things about countries, the athlete, Anderson’s wife, the way he dresses… He gets into things that doesn’t matter”, criticize Rodrigo. “If he said he was going to beat Anderson and explained how I guess it was ok, but he gets into personal stuff and that’s a mistake. Anderson did good on responding to him”.

UFC Middleweight Cung Le “Trained A Lot Smarter” For Upcoming Bout Versus Patrick Cote

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le (7-2) will look to win his first bout inside the Octagon this coming Saturday (July 7, 2012) when he welcomes back former UFC title challenger Patrick ‘The Predator’ Côté back to the top promotion as part of the main card for UFC 148. Le debuted with the UFC last […]

Cung Le – photo via Strikeforce.com

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le (7-2) will look to win his first bout inside the Octagon this coming Saturday (July 7, 2012) when he welcomes back former UFC title challenger Patrick ‘The Predator’ Côté back to the top promotion as part of the main card for UFC 148.

Le debuted with the UFC last November versus Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 139. Despite earning the “Fight of the Night” bonus for the scrap, Le would come up short suffering a second round TKO loss to ‘The Axe Murderer.’

Speaking to MMAWeekly Radio, Le discussed his preparations for Côté and the training camp changes he made for this fight.

“Training with bigger guys like King Mo and all the good fighters over there at AKA, you get banged up. It seemed like I was getting injured every other week. So definitely, that was the biggest part in being healthy for the fight.”

“I just want to compete at the highest level I could and perform to the best of my abilities. I feel like I have a great training camp. It’s not like I went from Wanderlei and started filming movies,” explained Le. “I healed up and got right back in there and changed my training regimen around to make sure that I realize I can’t just go 185 percent all the time and wear down the body.

“You got to rest, you got to recover and you just got to train smarter. For this camp, I trained a lot smarter. I’m in a lot better shape. I’m going in without being all banged up. Sparring with King Mo every other day took its toll on my body.”

UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II takes place on July 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card will air live via pay-per-view with prelim matches being shown live on FX television and via streaming video on the web on Facebook.