Interviews News - Page 38

Nice Interview: He briefly touches on his situation with Bodog, elaborates on the fight offer with Jon Fitch, and has a cool story about his training partner Brock Lesnar.

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Jaime Martinez: Are there any plans to fight in the U.S.? If so, with whom are you talking and when would that be scheduled? Fedor Emelianenko: “We are planning on having two or three fights this year. The first is scheduled for April 11th, and I’m not sure who I’ll fight yet. It will either be Jeff Monson or Pedro Rizzo.” At the end he said he'll try to win more often Probably got lost in translation and he meant fight, but I thought it was kind of funny

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With the unfortunate cancellation Saturday of the World Cagefighting Organization show billed "The Return" many people were left scratching their heads wondering how the organizers of this event could let it happen. While many questions still remained unaswered at this point, MMANews.com had a chance to sit down and chat with WCO promoter Bruce Bellochi on Monday evening to discuss where things went wrong and to my surprise there appears more was going on behind the scenes than one may have expected.

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A report that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (11-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) will return to the Octagon at March’s UFC 82 event appears to be a little premature. The Chicago Sun-Times today reported that Arlovski will return to the octagon for a March 1 fight at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. However, representatives from Arlovski’s management today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Arlovski hasn’t yet signed to fight at any event. With that said, though, Arlovski has just one fight remaining on his current deal, and he’s expected to fight before the contract expires on April 15. With the recent cancellation/rescheduling of a March 8 event in the U.K., that makes UFC 82 the most likely option for Arlovski’s return

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Mid-month always means two things: It's time to clean my gutters, and it's time to allow Sherdog.com readers their space to editorialize. Topics that respondents covered this month: Floyd Mayweather in MMA, worked fights and how to receive gainful employment from Jeff Sherwood. Enjoy.

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During Wednesday’s media conference call, EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw fielded a number of questions about the organization’s Feb. 16 main event between Kimbo Slice and David “Tank” Abbott. However, he discussed a number of other issues, including his recent media feud with UFC President Dana White.

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Cool Interview with the always candid bas ruten. He talks about kimbo, if he plans on coming back and makes some predictions on the ufc event this weekend. enjoy.

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Bruce Bellochi, promoter of WCO, recently took the opportunity to speak out and explain his side of the story that led to the cancellation of the WCO: Babalu vs. Tiger event this past weekend in California.

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With win, would become second man to win titles in two UFC weight classes If you were to visit any mixed martial arts event anywhere around the world and poll the fighters on who was the most gifted fighter in the sport, B.J. Penn would be likely to finish at or near the top. The UFC lightweight has all the tools for superstardom. He's a phenom in jiu-jitsu; his standup is slick; his takedown defense is world-class; he's charismatic. Tales of his prowess have been spun over the years in building him up to near-mythical status. MMA fighters hold him in awe, amazed by a skill level that is unmatched when focused, understanding that his best is at another level. It is a phenomenon that FIGHT! Magazine writer and author Sam Sheridan calls, "the BJ factor."

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Sean Sherk is so compulsive about his health, if he sees a person smoking a cigarette in a car in front of him, he pulls into another lane to be as far away from the second-hand smoke as possible. “I’m a different person when it comes to that kind of stuff,” Sherk says. “My health is very, very important to me. I’m goofy that way.“ Sherk proclaimed his innocence early and often and said he spent more than $20,000 in what turned out to be a futile effort to clear his name. In December, the California State Athletic Commission upheld the decision, though it reduced the suspension executive officer Armando Garcia had given him from a year to six months.

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As translated by a Sherdogger: Happy New Year, Fedor! I imagine that you've started 2008 feeling good. Yes. I'm feeling very good (smile) After your fight yesterday, it looked like you were more delighted than usual. Was this a special victory for you? It was. Actually, friends of mine came all the way from Russia to support me. During the fight I heard them cheering, so that probably explains my facial expression. Were there any particular reasons why your friends came to Japan to watch you fight this time? It wasn't really that I invited them. They said they wanted to come. I see. They wanted to see you fight in Japan at least once. I think so. They had never been to Japan before. I think watching the fights live in person got their adrenaline going. I think it was their first time to see you greeted by the fans with such a warm welcome in such a huge arena. Did they mention their thoughts after the fight? They were surprised to see such a large crowd cheering and felt a sense of pride. (smile) It seemed that you received louder cheers this time than usual. Did you sense that? Yes I felt it. That kind of support and that kind of arena atmosphere - that's why I came back to Japan. It makes me happy. So, as long as that kind of support is there, will you continue to fight in Japan? Certainly. (smile) Can you give us your impressions on the fight with Hong Man Choi? He's such a huge and powerful fighter. He's the biggest and strongest fighter I've ever faced. In that sense, I couldn't match up with him in the strength department so I was taken down. But I was confident that I could win with technique, and was able to beat him with a joint lock. So was Choi stronger than you expected? No I wouldn't say more than I expected. Before the fight, I calmly analyze analyze the opponent so I never underestimate him. Because of that I almost never get surprised or panic. But when I went to take him down, I was surprised when he went for the takedown himself. I thought he would keep it standing. I was surprised to see you get taken down twice. But if the ropes weren't there on the second takedown, I would have taken him down. He was leaning against the rope to defend the takedown. What did you think of Choi's ground and pound? You didn't get hit much but your face is a bit swollen. My face isn't swollen from the punches. It's from my face rubbing the canvas. So he particularly didn't have any effective offense.. No he didn't. Like I said before, he is huge and powerful and was a difficult opponent. But he didn't have an effective attack. When you got him in an armbar the first time, was he able to escape because his arms are so long that you couldn't get the leverage? Actually, the first armbar was in deep. I heard his arm pop a couple of times. But when he lifted me, my position changed a bit and lost the angle. I didn't think I could finish him and didn't want to use any unnecessary energy so I let go. I didn't want to make the same mistake the second time, so I made sure it (armbar) was tight.

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Interview with Thiago Silva, he talks about finding a camp in the United States, his thoughts on his former teamates shogun and wandy, and announces that he will be facing Rashad in May.

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Kenny Florian (7-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), “The Ultimate Fighter 1” middleweight runner-up who parlayed the TV appearance into a top contender’s standing in the UFC’s lightweight division, has confirmed he’ll next fight Joe Lauzon (16-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 13 on April 2.

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It didn't take too many occurrences of signing for a $15,000 purse and walking home with just $5,000 to sour Marcus Davis on professional boxing. He was, he says proudly, a fighter all his life and he was going to find a way to fight one way or another. But boxing was making him a miserable person and the man known as “The Irish Hand Grenade” finally had gotten fed up. "I just had so many issues and problems, with management and other things, and I was in and out of court so much with all of that," Davis said. "I pretty much got tired of the dirty aspect of boxing. I'd get half — or less — of what I was promised (in a purse). I wasn't getting the fights I wanted. Things weren't going in the direction I wanted. "After a while, I couldn't stomach it any more. It was making me sick. Literally. I had to get away from it."

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Brandon Vera has seemingly flown under the radar since his unanimous decision loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 77. Vera revealed after the fight that he broke his hand in the very first exchange of the fight and had to adjust his game plan. MMAWeekly had the oppertunity to sit down with the rising heavyweight star to discuss the fight and his future. Vera On Breaking His Hand In The Fight: My thumb got caught and pulled back like a banana. I held my breath and pulled it real hard and it didn’t go back in. I finished the first round, went back to my coaches, who were like ‘(expletive) your left hand, you don’t need it! Use your right hand.’ I was like cool, I won’t use my left hand. I wanted to punch Tim so hard.I should have just kept touching and moving, instead of trying to light him up early. He started hitting me; I couldn’t hit him back. I started throwing short elbows to try and catch him on his way in. I sucked. That was one of the most boring fights ever. I’m ashamed to have been a part of it.

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You blow your nose with a Kleenex, you Xerox a document. Sure, there are plenty of tissue makers and even more companies producing copy machines, but Kleenex and Xerox achieved the unthinkable — the brand name supplanted the product. UFC president Dana White would love to see that develop with his company in 2008. He's close to achieving the feat. Many casual fans and non-mixed martial arts media newcomers often tag the entire sport "UFC." Gary Shaw of Elite XC knows there's a lot at stake this year. He would like to see UFC go the way of America Online. AOL was a juggernaut in the late '90s until the dreaded C-word — competition — reared its ugly head.

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New Cung Le Interview courtesy of NWOwolfpack at Punchdrunkgamer

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I know many are fed up with Randy and the situation between him and the UFC, but I thought this was a very good interview and Randy touches on a lot of subjects I haven't heard him talk about before. Its a bit long but a good read. ---------------------------------------------------------------- PDG: You began your career as a wrestler and stepped into mixed martial arts when there really wasn’t much to it. Since then it has become the fastest growing sport in the world, and you have become a legend. What is it like for you to be known worldwide and be considered one of the greats of the sport? Randy: I don’t really think about it, I’m still the same person that I’ve always been. I just kind of do what I do – I like to train in the gym and I like to work with these fighters and I like to fight. I kind of entered this sport on a whim from the wrestling world because it looked intriguing and I saw some other wrestlers doing it and the whole thing kind of just took on a whole life of its own. There have been a lot of sacrifices. The travel and the time away from family, the celebrity [status], and the demands of this professional sport cost me a marriage. I feel very blessed now to have Kim in my life. My current wife – the love that she has and the support that she has, is amazing. Together we have taken it to another level. But it’s a little overwhelming to be recognized everywhere you go sometimes. I’ve been stopped in airports, stopped in the grocery store… it doesn’t really matter. It’s just overwhelming at times, but when you think about it it is also kind of cool. The fans are fantastic and they just have a genuine passion and love for the sport – as do I, so we share that. So it’s not bad at all.

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Lorenzo Fertitta bought the UFC along with his older brother, Frank, and his long-time friend, Dana White, in 2001 because he fell in love with mixed martial arts. In 2000, White convinced the Fertittas, who were running the successful Station Casinos in Las Vegas, to fly to Louisiana to watch a UFC show. They got hooked instantly and a few months later, wound up purchasing the company. As the seventh anniversary of the Fertittas' purchase of the UFC approaches on Jan. 15, Lorenzo Fertitta sat down with Yahoo! Sports to talk about the company's success, the growth of mixed martial arts and his thoughts on White's performance as UFC president. His thoughts about the UFC 78 PPV are especially interesting.

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Talks about training for gonzaga, his fight with arlovski, if he'd fight his former training partner crocop, and the rua brothers leaving chuteboxe.

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