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FOX Sports 1 UFC TONIGHT Show Quotes – 2/12/14
Florian and Stann Break Down Machida vs. Mousasi, Plus Rousey Interview on UFC TONIGHT
LOS ANGELES, CA – On this week’s UFC TONIGHT, Kenny Florian and guest host Brian Stann preview the upcoming UFC FIGHT NIGHT MACHIDA VS. MOUSASI. Plus, Karyn Bryant interviews women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey about her UFC 170 title defense. Ariel Helwani adds reports.
UFC TONIGHT Guest Host Brian Stann on Gegard Mousasi coming back from a long break to fight Lyoto Machida: “He’s had ten months off and that can really affect your timing and rhythm. You’ve got to wonder, is he coming back sharp? You have to be sharp against Machida.”
UFC TONIGHT Host Kenny Florian on Mousasi’s history: “Mousasi is a smart guy. He’s a former light heavyweight champion and has beaten some of the best guys in both middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.”
Stann on Machida moving to middleweight: “Machida has looked fantastic in this division. He’s smaller for the light heavyweight division. In this division he can be faster and more aggressive.”
Florian on Machida’s keys to victory: “He’s a tricky southpaw. He’s so accurate with his striking. He’s excellent on the ground too. He has to control the range. He’s been able to dominate with his style. He has to be first and use the speed advantage against Mousasi. He can’t let Mousasi take charge in the fight. And he has to finish strong each round.”
Stann on Mousasi’s keys to victory: “He’s a very great striker. He’s got fantastic timing. When he gets you on the ground, he hammers you. He needs to push the pace. He has to use movement and feints and disrupt the timing of Machida. He has to use leg kicks to finish his combinations.”
Stann on who will win between Machida vs. Mousasi: “In a close fight, I think Machida takes the win here in a methodical fight.”
Stann on Jacare Souza vs. Francis Carmont: “Carmont comes in underrated in this fight. He’s a sound fighter. He’s huge for the weight class. Carmot is really long and his range is great.”
Stann on who will win the Souza vs. Carmont fight: “I’m going with Jacare. He’s been devastating since being in the UFC. But it’ll be closer than everything thinks. Jacare’s the most feared man in the UFC middleweight division right now. He’s going to win and he might get a title shot.”
Video: Strikezone and Stann’s Picks
http://msn.foxsports.com/ufc/
Florian on Sara McMann challenging Ronda Rousey at UFC 170: “She’s one of the only women out there who has the elite credentials that Ronda does. She has faced the elite in the Olympics. She has a style that could pose a problem for Ronda.”
Stann on if McMann can challenge Rousey: “Athletically yes. But with everything else going into a title fight, all the things to distract you, no. Rousey is in a rhythm. She looks so prepared for this fight, but McMann has a lot of new things to prepare for this fight. Where McMann is weak, Rousey is strong. She’s continually getting better and more aggressive.”
Ronda Rousey on fighting another Olympian: “I’m really excited. She’s a high level athlete. I always rise to the level of my opponent. It makes me better.”
Rousey on how she’s been preparing to fight McMann: “We’ve looked at her pace and personality and her rhythm of her fights. She goes for takedowns at certain times. We try to predict in what situations she’ll try those.”
Rousey on less build up to this fight than her last with Meisha Tate: “It’s been nice. It’s more stressful having an opponent that you have to pay more media attention to. I’m glad there’s been less media stress this time.”
Rousey on her upcoming movie projects: “I’m extremely excited about those, but I’m in camp right now and I try not to even focus on those things. Entourage will be filmed next and the other is at least a year away. There’s a big gap where I can fit some more fights in. I’m a fighter, not an actor. It’s cool to have another career to be excited about. That’s what happened after the Olympics. I didn’t have anything. You have a short shelf life in MMA and I don’t want to be done without options.”
VIDEO: Ronda Rousey Interview:
http://msn.foxsports.com/
UFC TONIGHT Insider Ariel Helwani on Gilbert Melendez getting a new UFC contract: “It’s not looking good. I spoke to UFC President Dana White yesterday. He said, ‘I’m done with Gilbert. I like Gilbert very much, but I don’t like his manager.’ He has the same manager as GSP. Dana said: ‘Being GSP’s best friend doesn’t make you a good manager.’ Dana said if Gilbert wants to fight in the UFC, he should call Lorenzo quickly and he also should start looking elsewhere.”
Helwani on Alistair Overeem’s next fight: “Dana White told me he offered Alistair Overeem a five-round main event fight against Junior dos Santos in Brazil, but he turned it down. He then offered him a three-round co-main event in Las Vegas and he also turned that down. He said he wants nothing to do with dos Santos and he’s hiding from him.”
Helwani on Frank Mir’s future: “I spoke to his manager and he said despite Frank’s four-fight losing streak, he still wants to fight in the UFC and he doesn’t want to go anywhere else. Dana White told me he hasn’t talked to him yet and hasn’t decided what to do about Mir.”
Helwani on the potential Anthony Pettis – Jose Aldo superfight: “Anthony Pettis’ manager told me he will meet with his doctor next week to see about his recovery from his knee injury. After that, he’ll know if he can fight on July 5th. If can’t, Dana White told me the UFC might have Jose Aldo fight at 145 again and defend his title, but he’s not sure against who. So it’s very much possible Jose’s days fighting at 145 are not over yet.”
UFC TONIGHT
UFC TONIGHT is the official weekly news and information show of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on FOX Sports 1. Veteran UFC fighter and multiple title contender Kenny Florian, light heavyweight Chael Sonnen, veteran combat sports journalist Karyn Bryant and four-time World MMA Awards Journalist of the Year Ariel Helwani bring you all the news and analysis.
Follow on Twitter at: @kennyflorian; @BrianStann; @arielhelwani; @KarynBryant; @UFCTonight; @FOXSports1
