Chael Sonnen is less than 48 hours away from his highly anticipated rematch with Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight championship. Sonnen squares off with Silva on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 148.Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter cau…
Chael Sonnen is less than 48 hours away from his highly anticipated rematch with Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight championship.
Sonnen squares off with Silva on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 148.
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter caught up with Sonnen after Thursday’s open workouts to discuss his long road back to title contention, whether or not he thought he’d ever get another chance, the promise he made to his dad that he’d one day be a world champion and much more.
Check out the exclusive interview in the above video.
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter caught up with “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz, to discuss the final fight of his career, his early aspirations starting with wrestling in high school, his accomplishments earned through fighting and his induc…
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter caught up with “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz, to discuss the final fight of his career, his early aspirations starting with wrestling in high school, his accomplishments earned through fighting and his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
Ortiz faces Forrest Griffin in the rubber match of their trilogy on Saturday night. They’re tied at one win each, with both fights going to very close decisions.
There are many ways to describe Forrest Griffin. Former UFC light heavyweight champion. Three-time best-selling author. Family man. But when you strip away the cynicism and ‘aw shucks’ attitude, you’re left with a man who is incredibly smart and analyt…
There are many ways to describe Forrest Griffin. Former UFC light heavyweight champion. Three-time best-selling author. Family man. But when you strip away the cynicism and ‘aw shucks’ attitude, you’re left with a man who is incredibly smart and analytical.
After months away from the cage, he’s finally back to put an end to his rivalry with Tito Ortiz at UFC 148. At times there have been words. It’s a rivalry that has been built upon a mutual respect as both fighters have been able to pick up a win over one another.
“Obviously, he’s a great fighter. Sometimes I don’t think that people give him enough credit. You have back surgery and you fight who? Lil Nog when he’s at his best. Rashad Evans on three weeks notice when he looks like he couldn’t look better. He’s gonna fight this unknown guy named Machida,” Griffin told Bleacher Report.
While Tito’s career is coming to an end, Griffin isn’t ready to call it quits. He’s also not worried about his legacy at the moment. His reasoning makes a lot of sense when you look at it from his perspective.
“This f***ing genius who writes books, you should read them or you should just buy them. He said when you’re climbing the mountain, if you look down, you’re not moving forward. If you look back you’ve quit you’re forward progress. If you look up, it’s a daunting task. You’re not paying attention. You look right at your foot hold and your hand hold. I’m still in the middle of it. And when you’re in the middle of it and you feel like you’re ‘going through hell’ like Churchill, keep going.”
“It’s not time to look back. There will be a time when I physically cannot do this sport. I think Tito’s there and it’s gonna suck for me because I like doing it.”
Griffin also addressed the issues of fighter injuries. This summer has been one of the worst in UFC history with many top fighters withdrawing from fights due to various injuries. While I believed that it was the fault of the fighter’s insurance, Griffin has a different point of view.
“Here’s the thing man. You have all these guys at a high level and the thing about fighting is that you actually have to fight about twice a week to get good at it. I’ve always wondered why more guys didn’t get hurt. It’s like being a running back in the NFL.” He added, “You’re gonna get banged up. You’re gonna get hurt and now one thing I think we can’t have is like when people were really hard on Quinton.”
“I didn’t see the fight in Japan but he didn’t make weight and he didn’t’ fight well. He fought injured. Everybody has had to do that at some point,” Griffin said. “I don’t think you should punish a guy for losing when they were hurt. If I sit around and wait till I’m 100 percent healthy then I’m outta shape because I’m not training.”
Griffin has seen various ups and downs in his career. And one thing that’s always consistent is that fans will love him when he’s winning and abandon him on a loss. It’s actually a common theme in MMA where fans are the ultimate front-runners and will only ride with a fighter when he’s winning.
“I want people to like me. People just love to throw shit. It’s weird man. I’m a nice guy. I’m trying to be positive. I’ve got my own things, I’m kinda crazy but I’m not trying to hurt anybody. I’m trying to be good and I’m doing the best I can. Just like everybody else. I don’t appreciate and I don’t think it’s funny, the criticism, I hear the same shit.”
Finally, Griffin addressed his infamous fight with Anderson Silva. It’s a performance that he’ll never be able to live down and one that he will likely regret for the rest of his career.
“If I could take the Anderson fight back I’d fake a f***ing injury and never do it. But I never thought like that before. Before I was like ‘f**k it, I’ll do it anyway”, know what I mean? Then people are so harsh on you, they judge you so much. But you can’t let people dictate what you’re gonna do.”
Forrest Griffin meets Tito Ortiz for the third and final time this Saturday at UFC 148.
At UFC 147, middleweight champion Anderson Silva will attempt to silence outspoken contender Chael Sonnen in a rematch that has been nearly two years in the making. In their first meeting, Sonnen dominated Silva through four rounds before getting caug…
At UFC 147, middleweight champion Anderson Silva will attempt to silence outspoken contender Chael Sonnen in a rematch that has been nearly two years in the making. In their first meeting, Sonnen dominated Silva through four rounds before getting caught in a triangle choke in the final frame. Ever since, Sonnen has been berating Silva with trash talk to sell the inevitable rematch.
The fight card will also feature the final fight in the storied career of former UFC champion Tito Ortiz, who will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame before the fight and has announced he will retire afterward. After splitting his first two meetings with Forrest Griffin, Ortiz will attempt to ride into the sunset by winning a rubber match against a fellow former titleholder.
Additionally, Cung Le will welcome Patrick Cote back to the Octagon in a middleweight bout, Demian Maia will make his welterweight debut against Dong Hyun Kim and Chad Mendes will compete for the first time since being knocked out in a title fight against featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
Before Saturday’s event, which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the fighters will hit the scales on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. Video of the weigh-ins will be streamed live on the above video player. After the weigh-ins, stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all the latest on UFC 148 and the rest of your MMA needs.
Sean Smith is a Featured MMA Columnist for Bleacher Report who has also had work promoted on UFC.com. Follow him @SeanSmithMMA.
Patrick Cote has had a long road back to becoming a UFC fighter. A one time challenger for Anderson Silva’s middleweight title, he’s had a lot of time to reflect on what he needed to change in his training camp and life style if he ever wanted to get b…
Patrick Cote has had a long road back to becoming a UFC fighter. A one time challenger for Anderson Silva‘s middleweight title, he’s had a lot of time to reflect on what he needed to change in his training camp and life style if he ever wanted to get back into the Octagon.
After stringing together four wins outside of the organization, he got his opportunity to return when Rich Franklin was pulled from his match against Cung Le to replace Vitor Belfort at UFC 147. For Cote, after falling from the big show and seeing life away from the UFC, he was desperate for another shot.
“I went to the middle of nowhere in my last fight. Amazon forests very deep in Brazil. It was a good life experience and I’m telling you right now, I enjoy this more today because of that,” Cote told Bleacher Report. “I enjoy this and I don’t want to go back there. I want to stay in the UFC. You’re like a rock star when you’re here and you have to enjoy it and appreciate it.”
Perspective is the key word for Patrick. After 11 fights in the UFC and an overall record of 4-7 in the promotion, he recognized that he was doing a lot of things wrong in the gym.
“I’m not back for one fight. I’m back because I want to make another run at the title. I’ve been there before and I was doing maybe half of what I’m doing in training now. I’m doing right now what I should have been doing three or four years ago.” He added, “I feel good. I have my hands full. Cung is no joke and I’m still very very confident. I did my homework and I’m ready to go.”
Even though he was no longer under contract with Zuffa, he never thought about signing with another organization. For him, the end goal was always to return to the UFC.
“In my head I was still a UFC fighter. Even if I wasn’t fighting in the big show. A lot of people asked me to go to other organizations, pretty big organizations. In my head and my heart I was still in the UFC. As a fighter I was still working for the company.”
Finally, as a man who has faced Anderson Silva, and the first to take the champion out of the second round in the UFC, he spoke about the legend that is the Spider.
“Fighting Anderson Silva is very complicated. Not just physically but mentally it’s very very complicated. I think the first fight when he fought Sonnen he was surprised by the pace. He looks pretty pissed now and that’s not a good sign.”
Patrick Coté fights against Cung Le at UFC 148 on July 7th.
UFC fighter Cody McKenzie steps into the cage at UFC 148 against Chad Mendes, expecting a tough fight from a strong wrestler. Since joining the UFC in 2010, McKenzie is 2-2, either winning or losing his fights via submission. He tapped Aaron Wilkinson …
UFC fighter Cody McKenzie steps into the cage at UFC 148 against Chad Mendes, expecting a tough fight from a strong wrestler.
Since joining the UFC in 2010, McKenzie is 2-2, either winning or losing his fights via submission. He tapped Aaron Wilkinson and Marcus LeVesseur via the patented McKenzie-tine choke, but lost by rear-naked choke to Yves Edwards and Vagner Rocha.
Besides training with Nick and Nate Diaz in Northern California, McKenzie also headed back to Spokane, Washington, working with Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm.
Now representing BJJ Spokane, Beerbohm works with a tough group of lightweights, including UFC newcomers Sam Sicilia and The Ultimate Fighter Live tournament winner, Michael Chiesa. McKenzie also benefited when pro lightweight Mike Hanks also returned to Spokane to resume his full time MMA career aspiration.
Speaking with MMAJunkie, McKenzie discussed some of the aspects of training camp that he focused on to help prepare for the Team Alpha Male fighter:
(For) this fight I did a lot of grappling because I know Mendes will want to get it to the ground. This fight the game plan is pretty obvious. We’ve all seen want Mendes likes to do, and we’ve all seen how I fight. I come right at you, and he likes to kind of pin guys. I always grab that neck, especially with all the wrestlers in the sport trying to come in and hold me down and pin me.”
Trying to latch on the guillotine choke will be extremely difficult against Mendes, but a brief mental lapse may lead to an opportunity McKenzie will gladly pounce on. In addition, McKenzie is a scrappy fighter and will try to take it to Mendes wherever the fight ends up, including if it’s a ground battle.
After McKenzie decided he wanted to drop from lightweight to featherweight, he wanted a tough fight. Here is how Mendes believes it unfolded (via MMAFighting.com):
I was anxious to get back in there and I think that the UFC was having some difficulty in finding someone, just due to injury and I think matchups were already taken. So I think Cody actually called the UFC, that’s what I heard, and said he’s going down to 145 and wants a tough fight.
So they were, “Mendes is the only one available, but haven’t you guys trained together?” And he said, “Its a business, send me a contract.” So, you know, it’s him calling me out, and it’s a business, so I’m going to get in there and try to whoop that ass.
Mendes will want to keep this fight on the mat, with the Team Alpha Male fighter on top, and avoid leaving his neck out for McKenzie to latch on to. If all goes according to plan, Mendes will look to grind McKenzie down through three rounds of the fight.
Mendes vs. McKenzie will be on the main card of UFC 148 on Saturday night and will feature occasional training partners squaring off.
There are many ways to describe