Tag: quick quote

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson (29-8) is trying to position himself as the next contender for the UFC strap, telling Sherdog.com Radio that he matches “up real” against current champ Jon Jones.

Of course, if Henderson plans selling himself against Jones, the UFC champ has to defeat Lyoto Machida this weekend first. Yes, most are putting their money on Jones to win, but any fighter is just one punch away from losing.

“I think I’m a tough fight for anybody. If you’re in a fight with me, you’re definitely going to know you’re in a fight. I don’t know if really Jon Jones has felt that too much in his career. I definitely would test that out. I think style-wise I match up real well with him.”

“It’s unfortunate that Rashad got hurt, but you know, it’s happened twice now. He’s had people step in. … All I know is, if I have to, I’ll pull out the age card and just say I should have seniority here. I’m getting older. Rashad’s got a little more time than I do. That’s pretty much one of the last things I’ve got on my list for my career. to get a UFC title and keep it for a little while.”

Henderson is coming off a thrilling victory against Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua last month in the headliner for UFC 139. The two former PRIDE fighters went toe-to-toe for five rounds with Henderson coming out the winner by unanimous decision.

This Saturday night, UFC lightweights Nik ‘The Carny’ Lentz (21-3-2, 1NC) and Mark Bocek (9-4) will square off in the last bout of the Facebook prelim matches for UFC 140, which takes place in Toronto, Ontario.

Despite having a strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background, which includes seven submission victories to Bocek’s name, Lentz says he isn’t afraid to go to the ground against his Canadian opponent and plans on finishing the fight before the end of the second round.

Speaking to MMAMania.com, Lentz discussed his upcoming fight versus Bocek, the illegal knee by Charles Oliveira in his last bout, his thoughts on training, plus much more. So be sure to check out the interview by hitting the link.

Here is a portion of that interview.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Going back to your Mark Bocek fight. He’s a really solid submission guy. Would you be confident taking him down and going to the ground with him?

Nik Lentz: Yeah, definitely. He’s actually more of a top jiu-jitsu guy so he likes to be on top. I’m not saying he’s bad off his back or anything but he’s definitely not your average jiu-jitsu black belt when it comes to being on the ground or on his back but he’s better than your average black belt in jiu-jitsu when he’s on top. I definitely will take him down if the opportunity is there. As far as just really good jiu-jitsu people just in the UFC, I think I’ve fought four or five high level black belts so Mark Bocek isn’t the first guy that’s been a very tough jiu-jitsu opponent for me.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): When you’re visualizing success against Mark Bocek, when you close your eyes and think about this fight, what do you see?

Nik Lentz: I see me winning within two rounds. I see me with my hand raised.

On the other side of the coin of the upcoming UFC light heavyweight championship bout, current challenger Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida (17-2) looks to regain his title this Saturday when he faces title holder Jon Jones at UFC 140.

Machida’s camp has been busy preparing ‘The Dragon’ for this fight, knowing that Jones possesses a myriad of “surprises” for his opponents with this fight on December 10th likely being no different.

In an interview with Tatame.com, the challengers brother, Chinzo Machida, talked about Lyoto’s training camp bringing in such fighters Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal and Anderson Silva to help with the preparations.

Elbows can always catch fighters by surprise, but Jon Jones always uses them. Lyoto plays with the distance and there’re many people who point him out as the one to beat Jones. What did you do in terms of strategy?
We’ve been training not these aspects, but all aspects: the stand-up, the takedowns, both on the defensive and offensive parts, and on the ground. It was a global work. We know the dangers of the elbows, of everything. We’ve been studying a lot, watching the videos. Let’s see the result of our training when the time comes.

Is it good for Lyoto that Jon Jones really goes for it and he rather working on the counterattack?
I guess it helps him a lot, but we don’t get stuck on that. If Jon Jones makes a mistake, Lyoto will strike too. He’s prepared for all situations.

You brought King Mo to help out on the trainings. Lyoto’s very good on the takedowns, but Jon Jones is an expert. Was this help of King Mo mostly on the offensive takedowns?
The main idea is to do the best thing for the moment, you know? If Lyoto has a chance, he won’t miss the chance to take Jon Jones down. But Lyoto’s intention is to do what he’s always done. The fight’s not only about wrestling, but also the stand-up and the ground game. MMA is a mix, so we brought an outside sparring, to get him prepared the best possible way for anything that happens when he’s there.

The two headline this Saturday’s UFC 140 event at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones (14-1) is set to defend his title for a second time, and will step into the Octagon for a fourth time in 2011 when he meets former champ Lyoto Machida this weekend.

The two are set to headline UFC 140 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Jones was a guest on The MMA Hour earlier today, telling host Ariel Helwani that he’s “the best I’ve ever been.”

“Judging on my numbers in the weight room, judging on my numbers in the cardio tests, it’s the best I’ve ever been,” Jones said. “I’m the best fighter that I’ve ever been right now.”

“That I got good at fighting … that changes nothing about the real world. I have changed as an athlete — I believe in my heart that I’m the best, I believe I won’t lose to Lyoto, or Rashad [Evans], or [Dan] Henderson or any of the other guys. … As ‘Bones’ I’m growing and yeah I’m a little cocky and it’s important to be that way. But as Jonathan, in the real world, everyone who meets me will say I treated them with the utmost respect.”

Jones has dismantled virtually all of his opponents, and many expect the same when he meets ‘The Dragon’ this Saturday. If Jones is truly feeling that he is at “his best” right now, then Machida will really need to elevate his fight game if he wants to walk away with UFC gold.

Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair ‘The Demolition Man’ Overeem (35-11, 1NC) has headed back to Holland to finish training camp for his upcoming UFC 141 bout with Brock Lesnar.

Overeem had announced that he was making Las Vegas his new home in order to take advantage of the training opportunities there, but an illness in the family has forced him back to his birthplace.

In his Blog for Yahoo! Sports, Overeem details his decision to move back home to take care of his mother who is “recovering from cancer and needs my support. She needs me in Holland over the next couple of weeks and I came back for her.”

The former K-1 King says the bout with Lesnar is still on and that the move back to be near his mother is the right decision, because he’d worry more if he stayed in Las Vegas rather than just being a short car ride away.

What I can say is that going back to Holland to be with my mother won’t be a distraction; it is actually stopping me from getting distracted. If I stayed in Las Vegas for this camp I would be constantly worried about her and my focus would have been compromised. Now I can train 100 percent, and know she’s just across town.

Overeem is still adamant that he will “rip apart (Lesnar) piece by piece” when the two meet on Dec. 30th in Las Vegas, and that he can match his opponents power.

I have no problem saying that I think I can match power with Brock Lesnar. In fact the UFC poster for our fight has Brock and me side by side with our measurements and I am the bigger man.

There are some fighters who I think are born great, guys like Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones. I was born a very good fighter, but I have to work very hard to get to “great” and that’s why I have made so many sacrifices already to win the UFC title.

Be sure to check out the whole Blog as ‘The Demolition Man’ talks about why it was so easy for him to decide to move from light heavyweight to heavyweight.