“You have to find the best person to train you, and I think he chose wrong…I will never line up with a loser, a loser in every sense. [Sonnen] did not win the fight (against me), (he) was caught doping, is being sued for various things, and is suspended from the UFC…Want to be a champion? (Be) allied with good people.”
(“And you made sure my nose looks like a big-ass clove of garlic? Okay, perfect.”)
“You have to find the best person to train you, and I think he chose wrong…I will never line up with a loser, a loser in every sense. [Sonnen] did not win the fight (against me), (he) was caught doping, is being sued for various things, and is suspended from the UFC…Want to be a champion? (Be) allied with good people.”
As you may recall, Silva spoke out last month about his first meeting with Okami — the 2006 Rumble on the Rock bout that famously ended with a DQ-via-illegal-upkick — claiming that Okami could have continued fighting, but basically puss’d out in order to pick up an easy victory. It seems like Silva is slowly working himself up into a one-sided rivalry with Okami. Whether that will lead to a better or worse performance from the champ…well, that’s always a mystery.
Following a year’s worth of layoffs due to surgery on his knee and hips, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueiraannounced this weekend that he’d be returning to action at UFC 134 (aka ‘UFC Rio‘) on August 27th. He didn’t name an opponent, but said that he’s “looking forward to fighting in the co-main event.” His longtime training partner Anderson Silva will be headlining the show against Yushin Okami.
Following a year’s worth of layoffs due to surgery on his knee and hips, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueiraannounced this weekend that he’d be returning to action at UFC 134 (aka ‘UFC Rio‘) on August 27th. He didn’t name an opponent, but said that he’s “looking forward to fighting in the co-main event.” His longtime training partner Anderson Silva will be headlining the show against Yushin Okami.
“We are lobbying daily for the fight,” said Schaub’s manager Lex McMahon in a text to ESPN.com. “As of now, we have not been offered the fight. We are optimistic that if [Nogueira] is healthy, Brendan has a good shot to be his opponent in Brazil…Also, I’m a huge Cro Cop fan and have tremendous respect for him, but it seems a stretch that Cro Cop would fight [Nogueira] in Brazil after Brendan knocked him out with one of the most vicious KOs I’ve ever seen. Brendan is one of the most dominant fighters in the division and we’re hopeful the UFC will reward him with the great honor of fighting in Rio.”
Schaub has racked up four-consecutive victories in the Octagon, establishing himself as a serious heavyweight contender with his recent wins over Cro Cop and Gabriel Gonzaga. Nogueira would be another big-name feather in the Hybrid’s cap — and there’s no better time to challenge him than when he’s coming off a battery of injuries and surgeries. Very clever, Brendan.
Of course, the UFC might set Big Nog up with a less dangerous opponent if they want the Brazilian legend to pick up a comeback victory on his home turf. And if that’s the case, we just might see Cro Cop going through the motions one last time.
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic responded yesterday to recent comments Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s boxing coach Luis Dorea made in which the Brazilian trainer called for a rematch between his fighter and the Croatian PRIDE veteran.
Dorea told Tatame last week that he would love to see the two former PRIDE legends square off one more time before they retire and that the match-up would be a perfect first bout back for Nogueira, who has been sidelined several months after undergoing double-knee surgery in 2010.
(Man, those were the days.)
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic responded yesterday to recent comments Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s boxing coach Luis Dorea made in which the Brazilian trainer called for a rematch between his fighter and the Croatian PRIDE veteran.
Dorea told Tatame last week that he would love to see the two former PRIDE legends square off one more time before they retire and that the match-up would be a perfect first bout back for Nogueira, who has been sidelined several months after undergoing double-knee surgery in 2010.
“I’d like to see him fighting [Mirko] Cro Cop. If it doesn’t happen in August, it can be in September, October… But it’s a fight I’d like to see. I’ve seen Cro Cop saying things about it, saying he’d like to fight Rodrigo. They’re two legends, two big names… It really would be an interesting fight to watch in MMA. As for the when, to me, it’ll only happen in August if he’s 100% healed. Rodrigo has a big heart, he really loves doing it and he’s fought while not 100% for his fans, because of his commitment, because he respects UFC, so he has fought while injured. Rodrigo is sick now; he’s injured, he’s having fevers… But, as he always overcomes his own obstacles,” Dorea explained. “Rodrigo is an example to be followed inside and outside the Octagon for the things he does. Minotauro shows a lot confidence for us, but now, for him to get into a fight, he has to be 100% healed. He’ll only fight in August if he’s 100%”. He has a full team of physiotherapists helping him, and he’s doing great on his healing process… But it’s a fight we’d like to see: Cro Cop vs. Rodrigo.”
Cro Cop was contacted by Fighters Only yesterday and he told the UK-based magazine’s web editor, John Joe O’Regan, that he would gladly accept the bout and said he would love to do it in Brazil in August on the UFC 134 card set for Rio de Janeiro.
“Yes I saw the comments made by Nogueira’s boxing coach and I agree,” Filipovic stated via text message. “I am ready to fight Nogueira any time, even in Brazil in August.”
Filipovic is 0-2 in his last two outings with both losses coming by way of devastating knockout. In his last bout against Brendan Schaub at UFC 128 he was holding his own against the former TUF 10 contestant, but with just 1:16 remaining in in the fight he walked into a counter-punch that left him sprawled out on the canvas wondering where he was and asking, “What just happened?”
When asked afterwards if the fight with Schaub would be Filipovic’s last in the Octagon, UFC president Dana White said, “Yeah, I’d probably have to say that’s the last time we see Mirko “Cro Cop” fight [in the UFC] again,” but if we’ve learned anything from White, it’s that nothing he says is set in stone, so you never know.
Bellator 43 weigh-in results: here. Watch the fights, featuring new Bellator Ring Girl, Jade Bryce on MTV 2 tomorrow night (May 7th) at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m.
Shinya Aoki may fight Jamie Varner or Antonio Mckee at Dream 17 on May 29th: here.
Nick Diaz’s boxing match dreams come true, will fight Jeff Lacy sometime in Autumn. […]
Bellator 43 weigh-in results: here. Watch the fights, featuring new Bellator Ring Girl, Jade Bryce on MTV 2 tomorrow night (May 7th) at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m.
Shinya Aoki may fight Jamie Varner or Antonio Mckee at Dream 17 on May 29th: here.
Nick Diaz’s boxing match dreams come true, will fight Jeff Lacy sometime in Autumn. Find out what this means about a possible UFC fight with Georges St. Pierre: here.
Crazy ass Ken Shamrock offers to fight Royce Gracie at UFC Rio to pay off Zuffa debts: here.
Wanderlei Silva says he’s 10 fights away from retirement: here.
Since people actually care about their fight this time around, here’s the UFC 130: Edgar vs. Maynard Preview: here.
SI Swimsuit Model, Kate Upton tweeting pics of her cleavage: here.
Enjoy some naughty pics from “UFC Rio” Ring Girl, Maria Melilo below. *Note she has a very big landing strip. I thought Brazilians didn’t believe in any hair down there, but I appreciate Melilo’s ’cause I usually miss my target.
Ken Shamrock spoke Fight Network Radio recently and stated that he believes that if the UFC would look past their personal and legal issues and give him a rubbermatch with Royce Gracie at UFC Rio in August, they will sell out and set pay-per-view records much like his pair of fights with Tito Ortiz did.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/TheFightNetwork)
Ken Shamrock spoke Fight Network Radio recently and stated that he believes that if the UFC would look past their personal and legal issues and give him a rubbermatch with Royce Gracie at UFC Rio in August, they will sell out and set pay-per-view records much like his pair of fights with Tito Ortiz did.
“There’s no doubt in my mind, and anyone else will tell you that if this fight was to happen, this would be the biggest pay-per-view to date, but they will not let that happen. [The UFC] would have to swallow their egos for that to happen and these guys have too big of egos to let that happen,” he said. “I love to fight. I want to fight. I think staying within my capabilities of fighting people who were from my time…Trying to fight these young kids, obviously I’m a bit too old for that, but if I stay within my realm of things I think fans would enjoy it, I would enjoy it and I think it’s good for the sport.”
Although his chances of talking Dana White and company into signing the old school bout are slim-to-none, especially when Shamrock brings up that it likely won’t happen due to the UFC president’s huge ego. Still Ken is holding out hope that money talks.
“That fight, Royce Gracie-Ken Shamrock should happen. The fans want it, I want it, Royce wants it,Brazil wants it. The only problem with that is you have a bunch of people who have big egos who believe that the UFC created this whole thing when they absolutely did not,” he explained. “People like myself and Royce Gracie and [Mark] Coleman and many, many other people created this UFC phenomenon so’s that they can sit there and control it which is what they’re doing today, trying to control it for themselves. So they’re not gonna let that fight happen.”
Prior to the UFC revealing that the Japanese standout would be squaring off with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC Rio in August, our Japanese correspondent Stewart Fulton visited Yushin Okami to interview him and take in a training session at Real Japan Wrestling gym in Tokyo.
Okami touched on a number of topics including the fact that he has been preparing for an inevitable showdown with Anderson, his training with Team Quest, Xtreme Couture and Yoshihiro Akiyama and his thoughts on a GSP-Silva super fight.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/Us)
Prior to the UFC revealing that the Japanese standout would be squaring off with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC Rio in August, our Japanese correspondent Stewart Fulton visited Yushin Okami to interview him and take in a training session at Real Japan Wrestling gym in Tokyo.
Okami touched on a number of topics including the fact that he has been preparing for an inevitable showdown with Anderson, his training with Team Quest, Xtreme Couture and Yoshihiro Akiyama and his thoughts on a GSP-Silva super fight.
We will have an update in the coming days from “Thunder” now that the bout is official and we’re hoping to get his thoughts on Silva’s recent allegations that he faked being injured by an illegal upkick to get out of their 2006 Rumble on the Rock bout.
