The press conference starts off with Dana White reading off the night's bonuses, while suspiciously wearing a black baseball cap. When Dana was asked about his cap, he jokingly stated that it was in support of Tiger Woods, and got a good laugh. He stated, "What he does at home is his business." Okay, so maybe he wasn't joking... Either way, I tend to agree with him.
First question of the night went to Jon Fitch. When asked about how Fitch felt about the three fight winning streak he's built up since his loss to Georges St. Pierre back at UFC 87, Fitch responded: "It feels good, but I'm disappointed in the fact that my last three fights were also decisions... I went out there with the intention to stand and bang tonight. I showed vast improvements, I think, but it's still not where I need it to be." Later in the conference, Fitch remarked on how tough his opponent Mike Pierce was. Unsurprisingly, after the fight he had, he was the most bruised up fighter in the winner's circle.
Dana White, as usual, was then thrown into the hot seat and asked if there was anyone who could challenge B.J. Penn at 155 after yet another dominant performance turned in by the champion. White wisely avoided any names and instead simply touted Penn's rededication to the sport. "He's the real deal," said White. "He's been coasting on talent for ten years; now he's taking it serious."
Frank Mir was then called upon to remark on Penn's performance. Mir praised his boxing and athleticism. "At this point, at 155 it's hard to see who would have a definitive shot at taking him out," he said. "He's a tough number for anyone to pull; B.J. is one of the best fighters in the world." Later Mir cited Frankie Edgar as a good choice to face Penn at 155, mentioning his solid boxing and wrestling ability. Has anyone actually wondered how well Edgar would fair on the ground with Penn, if by some chance he actually took him down? Scary stuff.
The focuse then turned to Kenny Florian. Kenny was asked asked about his recent change in training camps after his much publicized departure from Mark Dellagrotte and Team Sityodtong in favor of Firas Zahabi's Tri Star Gym in Montreal. Florian responded with the usual retort a fighter gives, paying respect to his trainers and stating he was happy with his move, and mentioned that he's learning a new striking system. Clay Guida knows a thing or two about how effective the striking system is that Kenny is into these days. When asked about the significance of finishing his opponent, Florian talked up Guida, calling him tough. He noted how pleased he was to be one of the few to actually finish him. He acknowledged his slow start, but then talked about his plan to use Clay's own aggression against him.
Frank Mir was then was asked if he thought Brock Lesnar was watching his performance against Cheick Kongo. Mir actually took the high road. "I just want Brock to get healthy," he said. Well, he took the high road briefly, then afterward he made a sharp turn. "Maybe if he watched the fight, he'd be more inclined not to get too healthy," he said. He then went on to say that his performance was both a statement to himself and to his training camp that he could bounce back from a decisive loss, and that he really needed to smash Kongo in incredible fashion, with the obvious implication being that Kongo wasn't on his level. "A loss to Cheick would be a really bad statement on my career," Mir said. "If I would have went out and won a three round decision over Cheick Kongo, I don't think it would have really elevated my status."
Mir eventually showed his less competitive side when asked about when he went over to check on Kongo after the fight. He explained that the fight was "done and over with" and that he went back to being a regular person and was concerned for the safety of the man he just violently struck in the head and then choked unconscious. Good side of Frank Mir shown here.
Dana White then heaped praise onto Mir for backing up his pre-fight trash talk with his dominant performance. Mir stated his intentions of facing Brock Lesnar again and feels that he's neck and neck with Shane Carwin and Cain Valasquez in terms a title opportunity. After his one minute and twelve second destruction of the French striker, it's hard to disagree with him.
Assuming none of those three men fight each other, things do look good for Mir. Since Nogueira faces Cain Valasquez at UFC 109 in February, you have to look at the fact that Mir holds a victory over Nogueira, and he just blew Cheick Kongo out of the water in seventy-two seconds, whom Cain Valasquez had a three round competitive fight with. Because of this, the argument could be made that he's ahead of both fighters, even if only in terms of interest. Arguably, only Shane Carwin is ahead of him now, and that's because he was set to face Brock Lesnar prior to his illness.
Dana White was then thrown the million dollar question: "When will Brock Lesnar return?" Dana restated that he'll know within a month to a month and a half whether or not Brock Lesnar will require major surgery. In the event that Lesnar does require major surgery, he would then be open to creating an interim championship.
When asked about his weight gain, he stated that it was only to be competitive in the heavyweight division. He cited the hulking Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, before citing Cain Valasquez as the only top heavyweight in the UFC who isn't cutting to 265 (leaving off Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira), which Mir actually did for this fight. This actually brings up a point of real interest. Mir probably had near as much of a weight difference against Kongo, who weighed in at 239 lbs., as Lesnar had when he trounced Mir at UFC 100. Perhaps Cheick is going to bulk up and become obsessed with revenge as well.
Stefan Struve was then asked for his thoughts on his spoiler of a victory over the returning Paul Buentello. Struve stated that his gameplan was to take him down and submit him, but it didn't quite work out that way. Instead he found himself standing and trading with him on the feet, which he believes he did an okay job with. Good to hear that he sounds more okay with winning than he did immediately after the fight.
Dana was then asked about how he would look to progress Struve along after his performance against Buentello. Dana pointed to the fact that Struve is in his early 20s, giving the impression that he's in no hurry to throw him to the wolves in the division just yet. Good call.
The next question for Dana was if he had spoken with Diego Sanchez before his trip to the hospital. Dana said Diego was "as busted up as I've ever seen anyone after a fight" and praised him for his heart to continue. He also praised Herb Dean for not stopping the fight in the first round after Penn nearly finished Diego with a violent flurry of punches on the feet, followed by some stiff shots on the ground.
Penn then made his way to the stage with his gorgeous UFC Lightweight Championship belt draped over his shoulder. I really love the look of those things. When asked about Diego's mental state throughout the fight, Penn answered: "It's kind of hard to say. One thing I give Diego a lot of credit for, is that he recovers really well. I hit him with some big shots and he recovered and kept going. He never totally gave up the fight, he always felt he was still in it." He said that after Diego survived his almost fight-stopping flurry that he gave up his usual aggressive style in favor of one that wouldn't get his face caved in.
When asked about what a move back to 170 would entail with respect to his current strength and conditioning program, Penn answered: "I just want to enjoy tonight. I don't even want to think about that right now." I'm glad to hear that. No need to come off bored with your division. Penn was then asked to rank where he puts his performance against Diego Sanchez among his career highlights. "To me it was just a fight, but Frank Fertitta and Mike Goldberg were telling me this was the best performance of my career," he said. When asked if he was surprised Diego kept trying to take him down despite his lack of success, Penn said, "It's a blessing whenever someone tries to grab my leg, because that is my chance to hit them."
Towards the end of the conference, White got asked about his plans for a show in Boston, and slated "next summer" at Boston Garden as the time and destination for a long-awaited show in his hometown. He went on to put over the UFC 107 card, prelims included, before taking some final questions. White was asked if he was apprehensive in continuing the UFC's expansion so aggressively while dealing with so many fighters getting injured and pulling out of cards. White acknowledged fighter injuries as being part of the fight game, and then turned his attention to a vocal minority of fans who complain about some cards being less stacked than others. "If you're a fight fan, and you like really good fights, the UFC is going to bring them to you," he said. The final question of the conference was whether or not White intended to produce a card on March 13 next year, which is the date set for Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao to have their epic showdown. White laughed and replied, "Hell no." Then he said he plans on attending that fight.
[Dana White photo by Wade Keller (c) MMATorch]
FAVOR: Would you help MMATorch by taking a short survey to create demographic info for our ad company? CLICK HERE
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
Tiger Woods 'Quits' Golf
Wow, it's unbelievable how far this scandal has gone, from a seemingly
innocuous car accident to the world's best-paid sportsman giving up what he
does best – play golf. An apologetic Tiger Woods announced on his website
that he is in fact taking a 'hiatus from golf'. He asked for understanding
and said he decided to take an 'indefinite break' and will not play in the
Ryder Cup. This is sad news for many sports fans, who follow sites such as
Dozensports.com, but there really doesn't seem to be an alternative. It's
gonna be a sad Christmas for Tiger and his family, and the healing he asked
for, will take a lot of time. Much more time than he
expects.(http://www.dozensports.com)
