Rashad Evans is Ready to Crack Rampage
“My mom’s on Rampage’s side. She’s cheering for Rampage. She’s always saying, ‘Ruuh-shawd, be nice to Rampage! He’s so funny!’ I’m like, ‘Ma, who cares if he’s funny?’ It didn’t bother me at first. It was kind of funny until I saw the last two episodes and then I got mad. I found myself getting hot and livid again because I was just thinking, ‘Man. I want to fight this dude so bad.’ I think that when we get a chance to fight, we’re still going to be upset and ready to get it on. That animosity is still going to be there, because we just don’t like each other. I could see him walk into a room and I start getting ready to throw down. The hair raises on the back of my neck because I know he’s going to say something. I just want to crack him.”
Yesterday Quinton “Rampage” Jackson announced that he would be coming back to the UFC to finish up his contract before moving onto movies. It seems obvious that one of his remaining fights will be against Rashad Evans who Rampage was supposed to fight before he left to film the A-Team remake.
Although the fight wont be taking place until sometime in 2010 Evans is wasting no time in promoting it. I myself can’t wait to see these two great light heavyweights throw-down sometime in the near future.
Michael Bisping Praises Henderson’s UFC 100 KO Victory
“I honestly don’t know what happened to me out there. I will just have to accept what the organizers say in their rules about when I fight next and take it on the chin. But I do know that I have the ability to bounce right back and succeed in my aim of lifting the world title. Henderson won it fair and square and I have nothing but praise for him. I have seen people like my training partner ‘Rampage’ Jackson lose fights in one or two rounds and still go on to become one of the best light-heavyweight fighters of them all, so I am not disheartened in any way.”
Michael Bisping changed his tone of voice with UK news publication Daily Star giving his opponent on Saturday night “praise.” Before the fight between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping at UFC 100, Bisping was basically shit talking his way to a beating. He claimed he could out-wrestle a former Olympian wrestler and that ultimately the former PRIDE middleweight champion possessed no skills to defeat him.
Maia Believes he Would put on a Show Against Silva
“I see myself ready to fight for the belt. I would go at Anderson and it would give him the chance of knocking me out or give me the opportunity to finish the fight. That’s what I expect. I’m not saying I will win, but I will fight to end the fight before the judges decision. I want to do an aggressive fight and expose myself more. The UFC were waiting on the result of Anderson-Thales match to see what to do with me. They told me they were planning to give me the chance in August but because of their performance the UFC decided not put Silva in a main event very soon. Then they matched me and Nate Marquardt to find out the next challenger for the belt.”
I say if he defeats Marquardt give him the shot! He seems confident enough that he would be able to put on a show against Silva so why not let the fans see it. Of course right now we have a nice line being created of fighters that might be getting the shot. It has been said the winner of Bisbing/Henderson will get a shot. Obviously Maia must have been told he is fighting in a number one contendership match and then with the mention of a Vitor Belfort return by Dana White the middleweight division is going to be stacked with fighters all wanting the champion.
Cro Cop Win Will Stand Against Al Turk At UFC 99
“It’s very simple. By the unified rules… first of all the referee didn’t see the foul. What you’re asking is can we go to instant replay. You’re saying now that the fight’s over, can you take a look at it? If the referee had seen the finger and stopped the fight immediately, he could have given a stop for five minutes to recover, and then if (Al-Turk) couldn’t have gone on, it would have been a no-contest…. In any sport, a judgment call cannot be overturned. It’s one of those things that happens, but nobody saw it around the Octagon until the replay.”
Mostapha Al Turk recently lost his second fight in the Octagon to Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ due to an eye poke which allowed Cro Cop to capitalize and get the TKO victory. Due to the fact that the eye poke is an illegal maneuver the bout should have been stopped and Al Turk given five minutes to recover. Unfortunately for Al Turk the referee did not see any wrong doing and the bout continued. Al Turk and his team were looking at filing a complaint with the athletic commission but it seems that with the quote above from UFC Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, there will be no point because nothing will come of it.
Gracie on Diaz: “If something big came along, we would put him at light heavy”
“We’ll probably have him go back to welterweight again unless Strikeforce has something for him at middleweight. I know he wants to go back and fight at welterweight. He likes to do triathlons so he likes to stay leaner for those and it ties into the MMA. He wouldn’t have to cut that much weight if he was leaner with the workouts he has to do for the triathlons and everything. You won’t be seeing him go back to lightweight anytime soon because he’s just not very good there. His skills are good at any weight, but when he loses that much weight in the cut, he’s prone to health problems, infections and all kinds of things start happening to him. He gets very big and that’s not his natural weight. He will fight at higher weights. If something big came along, we would put him at light heavy. We would bulk him up a bit and let him fight the really big guys. I bet people would enjoy that. He’s a true old school fighter. He’s like the Gracie Jiu Jitsu guys from the old school. He will fight at any weight class. That’s the kind of fighter he is.”
The quote above comes from renowned trainer Cesar Gracie. The fact that Diaz is willing to compete at light heavyweight in Strikeforce is astounding. Diaz has seen opponents across the ring at three different weight limits already in his career not to metion the multiple catchweight bouts he has faced.
At only 25 years old Diaz has had over 25 fights all around the world against some big named fighters. Stepping into a higher weight division will prove some problems but being 6 feet tall he should be able to stand toe-to-toe with a majority of the LHW fighters.
Clay Guida Already Setting His Sights on Title After TUF 9 Finale
After I beat Diego, I feel like I’ve fought the toughest competition in the lightweight division in the two and a half years I’ve been with the UFC. People see my record, and 5-3 is nothing great. But people who have seen my losses know that every time I fight, I put on a show. I’ve lost a few close ones. Roger got the best of me, in a fight that he deserves. That was a turning point in my career. They guaranteed Diego a title shot if he beats me, but he’s not getting that title shot. I know I’m ready for a title shot. I fight better for better opponents. I’m going to outwork everyone in my division, I’m going to outwork the champion, and one day, I’m going to have that belt around my waist.
Clay Guida sounding extremely confident in an interview with Cagewriter about his upcoming fight at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada. Guida will be facing some tough competition though in recently turned Lightweight Diego Sanchez.
Sanchez just like Kenny Florian was a former Middleweight fighter and then Welterweight. Both fighters faced off in the finale of TUF 1 and Sanchez came out the better man.
As mentioned in the interview with Clay Guida, Diego Sanchez has been promised the title fight if he can get the better of Guida. Clearly Guida feels it should work both ways and will be looking to put on an amazing show while trying to get the win in order to prove to the UFC he is the man who deserves the Lightweight title around his waist.
Mustapha Al-Turk Believes He Can Beat Cro-Cop at UFC 99
“I suppose nowadays in the fight game there are no easy fights. I’m stepping up as usual and hoping to take a big scalp come June 13th…I feel good. I feel like I’ve got the tools and the know-how and the skill to deal with him and beat him…You know, I’ve got a good stand-up game – probably not as good as his – and I’ve got a good ground game. I’m a good wrestler. My jiu-jitsu’s good. I’ve got a good chance and I believe in myself, that’s the most important thing…It’s only three and a half weeks away. It is quite short notice, but hey, you know, I’m stepping up and I’m going to take it to him.”
Mustapha Al-Turk with some very confident words there ahead of his upcoming fight at UFC 99 against Mirko Cro-Cop. After watching Al-Turk’s last fight against Kongo I believe I can safely say that Cro-Cop has this one in the bag unless Al-Turk has improved greatly. If Al-Turk was to lose this fight I believe it would be his last in the octagon.
Sean Sherk Doesn’t Approve of MMA Rankings
“There are guys ranked above me, that I’ve seen, that I know damn well I can beat. Rankings don’t mean squat. (Shinya) Aoki is a good example. He’s a big 155 pounder but he’s got no boxing, no wrestling. Where does that leave you in the UFC? You can’t wear pants, so guess what? You’re in some trouble. I’d like to see a lot of those guys come here and I think eventually they will.”
Sean Sherk today told Cagewriter his feelings on MMA rankings. Obviously Sherk doesn’t believe that Aoki deserves to be ranked because he is not an all around MMA fighter. It also seems that Sherk would like a shot at some of the more highly ranked fighters. If it was down to me I w0uld give him the cance against a guy like Aoki, see if those leggings really do give him the advantage.
Wanderlei Silva Willing to Bet $50K on His UFC 99 Fight with Rich Franklin
“If Anderson believes in Franklin so much, bet $50,000 and let’s see who takes the money. I go to knock him out. I have trained so much and Rich won’t last two rounds. I think it is good Anderson has been preparing him. I hope he is also on the corner. I want to dare him to bet $50,000. I put these amount and Anderson or his sponsors, Ed Soares or Joinha, bet another part. Who wins takes the money.”
Wanderlei Silva has not took to kindly to former training partner Anderson Silva showing Rich Franklin a few moves in his Californian gym over the past few weeks. There has to be no better way to prove you are ready though than to open yourself to a $50K bet, and then even claim you will go for the KO before the third.
UFC 99 is coming up on June 13th from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. The main event is of course a 195lb catch-weight bout between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. Other fights on the card include Cain Velasquez Vs. Heath Herring and Caol Uno making his return to the UFC to face off against Spencer Fisher. UFC 99 despite being an international event will be live on PPV and air later at night via tape-delay also on PPV.
UFC 99 Causing Disputes in Germany
A public dispute erupted yesterday after the Cologne City Council discussed the UFC’s entry into Germany. Event organizers claim that the council is hell bent on foiling the upcoming event.
“MMA is not a sport because it legitimatizes death and serious injury. The only aim is to destroy your opponent.” Adding further: “I personally find disgusting … Here one finds the lowest human instincts. ”
– councilor Manfred Wolf
OK so apparently MMA legitimatizes death? Well according to the Germans it does. Seems pretty amazing to me that they would be able to come to such a conclusion when there have been three deaths in 15 years (See here and here) not quite the same as the 15 in boxing in the same time.
See the thing that really amazes me here is the complete lack of intelligence within the statement above. Germany would allow boxing to go on within the country (twice in next few months) but they would not allow a sport that has shown a safer track record over the past decade.
I really hope this event still goes on as planned because preventing people from seeing world class athletes competing in a legitimate sport is absolutely ridiculous.