Tag: quick quote

Dan Henderson Says Fans Like Him Because He Is “Genuine”, Not So Much Jon Jones

Longtime veteran Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson (29-8) has been involved in numerous title matches over his career, from PRIDE titles, to unifying belts, and winning the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt over a year ago. Now ‘Hendo’ has a chance to capture his first UFC title when he faces current champ Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, likely sometime this […]

Dan Henderson celebrates win over Fedor Emelianenko

Longtime veteran Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson (29-8) has been involved in numerous title matches over his career, from PRIDE titles, to unifying belts, and winning the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt over a year ago.

Now ‘Hendo’ has a chance to capture his first UFC title when he faces current champ Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, likely sometime this early fall.

When Jones was asked about his thoughts on facing Henderson this past Saturday, ‘Bones’ commented that the “haters” would come out of the wood work in support of Henderson.

During a spot on The MMA Hour (@MMAFighting.com), Henderson was asked why he thought the fans would support him instead of the champion.

Henderson basically laid it out that the fans like him because he is “genuine” and the “impression” he gets from Jones is just the opposite.

“I think it all has to do with being genuine and the fans sense that: when you are and when you’re not. I’m pretty much who I am all the time and I don’t know if they get that impression from him.”

“His whole attitude sometimes. It’s not completely not genuine,” Henderson clarified. “But I think that’s what the fans are turned off by.”

“I don’t know him personally, so I can’t really say if it’s genuine or not. It’s just the impression that I think fans get.”

Henderson goes on to talk about Rashad Evans performance versus Jones at this past weekends UFC 145 event, and offers some thoughts on how he feels he can beat the champion, but you’ll have to hit the link above to read those comments.

Things Still Unclear If Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva Is A No. 1 Contender Bout

With all of the changes being made to this May’s upcoming UFC 146 event, there is bound to be some uncertainty, especially if your former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez or his opponent Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. Velasquez had been scheduled to face Frank Mir in a No. 1 contender bout in the co-main event of […]

With all of the changes being made to this May’s upcoming UFC 146 event, there is bound to be some uncertainty, especially if your former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez or his opponent Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva.

Velasquez had been scheduled to face Frank Mir in a No. 1 contender bout in the co-main event of the Memorial Day weekend event, but with Mir moving up to face champ Junior dos Santos, Velasquez is now scheduled to meet Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. Silva meanwhile, had been set to meet Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson, with Nelson now set to face Gabriel Gonzaga on the pay-per-view card.

The question for Velasquez and Silva, is their match a No. 1 contender bout or not.

Neither Javier Mendez, who coaches Velasquez at the American Kickboxing Academy, nor ‘Bigfoot’s’ manager Alex Davis have been told. Both men explain the situation to Mauro Ronallo on Monday’s episode of ‘The MMA Show with Mauro Ronallo‘.

“I don’t even know if this takes us out of the No. 1 spot, I don’t know,” said Javier Mendez, Velasquez’ trainer at the American Kickboxing Academy. “The view where we’re at, we were in the No. 1 status position if we beat Frank Mir. Now we’re up in the air if it is considered that or not. I’d like to logically think it would be considered, but it’s hard to say.”

Silva’s camp echoed the words of Velasquez’ in regards as to if the new matchup is a title eliminator.

“That hasn’t been told to us yet — I mean, nobody’s said that — but I would say that if ‘Bigfoot’ beats Cain he will make a huge statement and it will definitely put him right there in line somewhere,” said Alex Davis, the manager of Silva.

“(The UFC) had the option of bringing Werdum in or bumping ‘Bigfoot’ up, but with the problems in Brazil, for them to take Werdum off that card — if it’s losing Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen — I kind of expected it,” Davis said of Silva filling the co-main event slot. “I don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand (Bigfoot) was one of their best options.”

Debuting UFC Heavyweight Chad Griggs Says He’s Willing To Take Risks In Order To Finish Every Opponent

This Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia former Strikeforce heavyweight Chad ‘The Grave Digger’ Griggs (11-1) will step into the Octagon for the first time when he meets undefeated fighter Travis Browne on the preliminary card of UFC 145. Griggs enters the fight on a six fight win streak with eleven wins under his belt, all of […]

Chad Griggs

This Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia former Strikeforce heavyweight Chad ‘The Grave Digger’ Griggs (11-1) will step into the Octagon for the first time when he meets undefeated fighter Travis Browne on the preliminary card of UFC 145.

Griggs enters the fight on a six fight win streak with eleven wins under his belt, all of them finishes.

‘The Grave Digger’ tells MMAMania.com that he is someone who is willing to take risks in order to finish an opponent because he doesn’t want to battle to a decision.

When your fighting at heavyweight, everyone has the potential to knock their opponent out, and with that attitude Griggs feels he can make it a long ways in the UFC’s biggest division.

How far do you think you can get in the UFC heavyweight division?

Chad Griggs: Well, I think the heavyweight division is a funny division. We’re such big guys with heavy hands that anybody can win at any time and one mistake can be it. I see a huge amount of potential for me to excel in the UFC division. I know there’s a ton of tough guys in there and I consider myself one of ‘em. I’m gonna go into every single fight planning on winning and I’m gonna be planning on winning by knockout or submission. I’ve never been to a decision and I don’t want to ever go to a decision. I guess with that attitude comes a little bit of risk and not playing it safe but at the same time, it sometimes brings a little more respect and excitement to the fans. The fans are who’s paying the bills and paying my paychecks and putting me on the cards.

I’m gonna take some risks and I think I have a lot of potential and a good chance of going a long ways. I know I’ve got a reputation of being a crazy brawler but believe it or not, I practice hours and hours on my back, hours and hours wrestling and I just haven’t had the chance to display it yet. I got a chance to have one good lateral throw with Overeem in my last fight but like I said, when you put pressure on people and they cuddle up and you just start hitting them, you don’t have time to do anything else. You just start aiming for their head and hit ‘em hard and wait for the ref to pull you off. So until that doesn’t work and I have to do something else, I’m gonna keep trying that.

You asked for a really big fight after your last victory over Valentijn Overeem and you got Travis Browne, who’s a top 15 heavyweight in the world. Does that excite you that you got what you wanted?

Chad Griggs: Absolutely no question about it. I’m very excited about this fight. I think this is a good fight for me and a really good opponent for me. If I could have picked one out myself, this is probably who I would have picked. He’s a top in the world right now, he’s undefeated. He’s big, great record and has some good highlight fights. He likes to dance around and be snazzy and if I can go in there and get a good win, obviously it’s gonna look fantastic for me and that’s ultimately the goal to get in there and make a name for myself, fight tough guys, beat them and make more money!

Former Bellator Bantamweight Alexis Vila Eyeing Move To UFC Flyweight Division

Bellator Season Five Bantamweight Tournament finalist Alexis ‘Exorcist’ Vila (11-2) was bumped from the Season Six tourny this past Friday in the opening quarterfinals to Luis Nogueira via unanimous decision. Following the second loss in the Bellator cage, the first two of Vila’s career, the former Cuban born Olympic Wrestling Bronze medalist was released from […]

Alexis Vila

Bellator Season Five Bantamweight Tournament finalist Alexis ‘Exorcist’ Vila (11-2) was bumped from the Season Six tourny this past Friday in the opening quarterfinals to Luis Nogueira via unanimous decision.

Following the second loss in the Bellator cage, the first two of Vila’s career, the former Cuban born Olympic Wrestling Bronze medalist was released from contract.

At 41-years of age most fighters would be looking to hang up their gloves, for Vila he has his eyes set on the Octagon and wants to do it as part of the UFC’s flyweight division.

Speaking on the MMAjunkie.com Radio show, Vila talked about dropping weight and getting back to his wrestling versus his next opponent.

“I know that [bantamweight is] not my weight class, so I want to prove I’m the best flyweight in the world,” Vila said.

“I think I have to go back to putting people down with my wrestling,” he said.

Now, he needs to find a home where he can put that on display. A fan of current UFC flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez, Vila, who once auditioned for “The Ultimate Fighter 14,” would like to test himself inside the octagon.

Vila said he has many more years of fighting ahead.

“I take care of myself, do the right thing, train, and that’s it,” he said.

Shinya Aoki Wants To Prove Japanese MMA Is “Still At The Top Level” This Friday Versus Eddie Alvarez

With days remaining before one of the most anticipated rematches of the year, outside of the Octagon, fans will get a chance to watch lightweights Shinya Aoki (30-5) and Eddie Alvarez (22-3) square off in the Bellator cage this Friday in the main event of Bellator 66. This is a rematch of their DREAM ‘Dynamite!! […]

Shinya Aoki

With days remaining before one of the most anticipated rematches of the year, outside of the Octagon, fans will get a chance to watch lightweights Shinya Aoki (30-5) and Eddie Alvarez (22-3) square off in the Bellator cage this Friday in the main event of Bellator 66.

This is a rematch of their DREAM ‘Dynamite!! 2008′ match which saw Aoki finish Alvarez in 92-seconds with a heel hook submission.

Speaking to MMAjunkie.com, Aoki talked about the improvements he’s made since their first meeting, especially in his standup since he joined the Elite MMA gym in Singapore. One of the main goals in this fight for the DREAM lightweight champ is to show the world that Japanese MMA is “still at the top level” of competition.

“I believe Eddie Alvarez and I have both evolved as different fighters,” he said. “I’m more confident in my standup skills with the hard training with Muay Thai champions at Evolve MMA gym in Singapore.

“And what makes Eddie dangerous is the power in his hands and his wrestling skill. He mixes these skills well and executes the game plan effectively.”

“My main goal in this fight with Eddie Alvarez is to prove myself and Japanese MMA are still at the top level,” he said. “I’d like to show my style is MMA, not just grappling or striking.”

The two meet this Friday (April 20, 2012) in the main event of Bellator 66 which takes place at the I-X Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The main card is set to air live on MTV2 with the prelim card streaming live at Spike.com.

Bellator Champ Hector Lombard One Step Closer To Signing With The UFC

That’s good news if your Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard (31-2-1, 1NC), but not so good for the Bellator Fighting Championships and it’s CEO Bjorn Rebney. Lombard’s contract with the Chicago based promotion ran out late last fall and is now at the point where the UFC has offered the middleweight fighter a contract, leaving […]

Hector Lombard

That’s good news if your Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard (31-2-1, 1NC), but not so good for the Bellator Fighting Championships and it’s CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Lombard’s contract with the Chicago based promotion ran out late last fall and is now at the point where the UFC has offered the middleweight fighter a contract, leaving Bellator the option of matching or simply letting their 185-lbs champion go.

Lombard is Bellator’s first and current middleweight champion. Along with former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez, represent one of the faces of the Bellator promotion.

Rebney spoke to Sherdog.com this Wednesday about where things were specifically between the three camps.

“We’ve received the final proposed UFC agreement from Hector’s attorney, and right now we are in the process of reviewing it to determine whether we’re going to match the agreement,” Rebney told Sherdog.com on Wednesday morning. “We’ve got the 60 pages of UFC contract that were forwarded to us by Hector’s counsel. We’ve been waiting on the actual contract itself to see all of the specifics and every conceivable detail and know exactly what is being offered. Now we have something really specific to look at.”

….

“Out of respect for Hector, I think we will turn [the UFC contract] around very quickly,” said Rebney. “Obviously, we have a huge event coming up Friday [Bellator 66]. As soon as that is over, we will sit down with our partners and go through the UFC contract line-for-line and make a strategic decision whether we’re going to match it or pass. [If we pass, we will] wish him the best and let him go knock out everybody in the UFC.”

Lombard fought his last bout in the Bellator cage last November at Bellator 58, earning a second round TKO finish of Trevor Prangley. The win was twentieth straight victory and is undefeated in twenty-five bouts.

If Lombard does leave for the UFC, the Bellator middleweight title will likely see the Season Six Middleweight Tournament winner face off against Russian fighter Alexander Shlemenko, who won the Season Five Tournament.