The press conference began as attendance and fighter bonuses were read off. The attendance was 17, 431 people along with 400 people at the viewing party. The gate did $2.5 million, a record for the Acer arena in the last 10 years.
It was the second-fastest selling UFC event ever, selling out in one hour, and they broke a record previously held by Iron Maiden for merchandising.
Bonuses were $50,000 each, with "Submission of the Night" going to Chris Lytle for his damaging kneebar over Brian foster, "Fight of the Night" going to George Sotiropoulos and Joe Stevenson, and "Knockout of the Night" being awarded to Cain Velasquez.
Amadi's Analysis: No surprises with the bonuses. These were three dominating and star-making performances. Well, Chris Lytle's victory wasn't so much star making, as it was a reminder that Lytle still holds a black belt in jiu jitsu and is more than just brawling journeyman fighter. He's a well-rounded journeyman fighter.
First question of the night was thrown to Dana White, and he was asked when the UFC would return to Australia. Dana suggested that the UFC's foray down under would become an annual event. He stated that his intention was to legalize the sport in Melbourne, and hold the next show there.
Amadi's Analysis: Great to hear. The Sydney crowd was incredibly enthusiastic the whole night and brought unbelievable energy. Having more and more fights overseas is great for the UFC, and it's always good for the sport of MMA to expand its reach beyond the U.S and UK.
Talk moved to the heavyweight division, and Dana White was asked to comment on the direction of the UFC's heavyweight division. Dana stated: "The heavyweight division is more exciting than it's been in years. It just keeps getting better and better. Obviously it's great that Brock Lesnar is back. We will see what happens with Frank Mir and Shane Carwin, and if those guys come out unscathed, then they'll fight for the title (against Brock Lesnar); if not, then Cain Velasquez will get that slot." He went on to say that he was surprised at how dominant Cain Velasquez was against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Amadi's Analysis: Cain Velasquez has arrived. No debating that now. He's a star now, and quite frankly the UFC would have an easy time marketing a fight with Cain and Brock Lesnar after his destruction of the legendary "Minotauro" Nogueira. Actually, other than the possible big business that could be done by completing the Mir-Lesnar trilogy, there is no reason for Cain Velasquez not to get a title shot ahead of Frank Mir or Shane Carwin.
Mirko Filipovic (yes, you're reading this correctly, Cro Cop actually attended a press conference) was asked about his comfort level in the cage and where he felt his place was in the division. Of course, because of his unfamiliarity with this level of interaction with other human beings, he neglected to move the microphone close enough to his face to be heard. However, I could make out that he was comfortable with his training and that he feels that he belongs near the top of the division. White interjected, letting the media know that the Ben Rothwell fight is still the plan, and that due to Rothwell merely suffering a stomach virus and not physical injury, it's possible that fight gets made quickly.
Amadi's Analysis: No, he doesn't. He had a conservative performance against a fighter he should have crushed in the first round. Instead, he stopped him with a cut at the beginning of the third round, leaving as many questions unanswered.
Talk moved on to George Sotiropoulos, and Dana made note of how educated the Australian crowd was about the sport, as was evident by their intrigue with the ground wizardry of their countryman. Dana White made mention twice of how Sotiropoulos dominated Joe "Daddy" Stevenson, and said he was in the mix for a title shot, now that he improved to a perfect 5-0 in the UFC. When George himself was asked if he felt he deserved a title shot, he had this to say: "I don't think I've earned a title shot yet, but I think I'm well on the way." He went on to say: "As long as I perform well, those shots will come."
Amadi's Analysis: Yep. I recently wrote a column on the death of the guard, and made mention of the fact that the style we've become accustomed to was no longer sufficient, and fighters with more dynamic guards, more specifically, fighters who are familiar with the rubber guard and the 10th Planet System would slowly take over the scene. Well, it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen. Stevenson was lost on the ground against Sotiropoulos. Stevenson is a black belt in jiu jitsu, and seemed to have no answer for anything Sotiropoulos had to offer. I believe in the beginning of the second round, Greg Jackson can be heard telling Joe "Daddy" to take George down and just control him. Once that happened, George used the rubber guard, locked in an omoplata, and used that as a sweep to gain top position. More dynamic guards are still killers in MMA.
Talk moved on to Michael Bisping. Bisping was asked if he was able to take any positives away from the unanimous decision loss to Wanderlei Silva, and Bisping had this to say: "None that I can think of right now, but I'm sure there is. I don't know, it was a close fight. Personally, I think I won rounds one and two. " Wanderlei Silva also acknowledged how close the fight was and suffered no delusions of a dominating victory. He clearly stated that he believed the knockdown in the third round and the finish of in the last few seconds in the first round got him the victory, and luckily for him, the judges agreed.
Amadi's Analysis: There were some sound issues half way through with Bisping, who cemented further that he believed that he won the fight, but at the same time was gracious in defeat to Wanderlei Silva. Interesting way to go about it, but Bisping had no ill words to say about Silva, and was mostly frustrated with his loss, not so much Wanderlei's win.
Cain Velasquez was asked what message he felt he sent to Brock Lesnar and the other heavyweights. Cain replied: "Just that I'm getting better. I really pride myself on working hard, always improving, and I think I have to be my best to beat those guys, so that's what I'm going to do." He went on to say that he feels he is ready for a title shot when the UFC is ready to give it to him.
Dana was asked about bringing the Ultimate Fighter reality show to Australia, or having Australian fighters, and Dana White stated that he is indeed interested in taking the show international, and Australia is one of the places he is looking to go.
One gutsy reporter asked if Cro Cop's change in training and coming out to Australia in advance is any indication of some sort of rejuvenation in his career. Cro Cop essentially said yes, there is, and cited things he did differently. He said when he would fight in the U.S that he would only fly out two days before and that he would have to be woken up before a fight.
Amadi's Anlaysis: Geez, get it together Mirko.
One reporter, who perhaps had never spoken to, or watched an interview with a fighter before, decided to go down the line and ask everyone who they wanted to fight. As you'd expect from fighters, most of them said "anybody the UFC wants," except for a select few. Stephan Bonnar injected some much needed life into the question and jokingly said he'd like to finish the fight with Krystof (who stopped Bonnar via a cut with an illegal headbutt in the third round). Wanderlei Silva said he'd like to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama, whom Dana said wanted a fight with Wanderlei (guess that's a lock). Mirko Cro Cop really upstaged the sliced up Stephan Bonnar and said he'd like a fight with Dana White. Krystof actually agreed and said that if it's what the UFC wants and if it's what Stephan wants, then he'd be willing to rematch Stephan Bonnar.
Amadi's Analysis: Interesting that Krystof was so somber with his response, since he looked pretty satisfied after slicing up Bonnar and winning that way initially.
Cain Velasquez was asked how he believed he'd fair against Brock Lesnar given his size and wrestling ability. Cain answered that he'd have to tire him out, fight a smart fight, and stay away from their power.
Amadi's Analysis: This is exactly what anyone breaking down this fight would say Cain has to do to be victorious. Whether Cain's next fight is against Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, or Brock Lesnar, the heavyweight division is the most interesting in the UFC right now, and because of Nogueira's destruction at the hands of Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos will likely be thrown into that mix.
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