UFC QUOTABLES: Jorge Rivera says he knew Michael Bisping would bite on UFC 127 trash talk

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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"Honestly, when we asked for the fight, the people at the UFC were like, 'He might not take it. His camp might not take it.' I was like, 'Don't worry about it. I'll make sure he'll take it.' I knew he was going to bite. He took the fight and then I knew he was going to keep on talking...

I watch guys like Chael Sonnen, who was basically going through the same thing. He was a good fighter not getting the notoriety that he wanted. He starts talking a little bit, and the whole world starts watching. I'm thinking to myself, that's the one thing that I feel MMA can learn from boxing. We have to be able to get people to want to watch this fight. Nobody wants to watch something more than two people who don't like each other...

This is how I make my living. Yeah, I want to be known. Yeah, I want to have exciting fights. Yeah, I'm going to bring it every single time. I want to be recognized for that. So let me hype it up a little bit and watch me deliver on it."

-Jorge Rivera talks to Sherdog.com about the reasonings behind his verbal sparring with Michael Bisping ahead of UFC 127.

Penick's Analysis: Rivera certainly accomplished what he wanted to ahead of this fight. He got Bisping riled up, and we'll see on Saturday whether he did enough to throw Bisping off his game. But for a fight that didn't have a ton of heat or interest, he's certainly made it a more appealing and interesting fight than it was initially. So now he just needs to back up his trash talk with a good performance on Saturday in Australia.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8570.shtml

Wallid Ismail Darren M Jackson Jeremy Jackson Quinton Rampage Jackson

UFC VIDEO: Dana White's UFC 127 video blog part three (feat. Bisping vs. Rivera weigh-in confrontation)

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Day three of Dana White's video blog for UFC 127 in Australia is now up, and features the up close and personal view of the face-offs at yesterdays weigh-ins. That includes the confrontation between Michael Bisping and Jorge Rivera, with a very heated Bisping launching expletives at Rivera and his camp. Check it out below:

App Users Click Here For Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbvKTpvsh3k

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8589.shtml

Rich No Love Clementi  Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper 

UFC QUOTABLES: UFC on Versus 3's Joe Stevenson - "2010 sucked, 2011 is my year"

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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[Being knocked out by Mac Danzig] was more emotionally disturbing. I had never been knocked out before. I had fought Jens when I was 16 and he broke my orbital. I wasn't knocked out ? I was in a lot of pain. But it's definitely the punch you don't see coming and the one you least expect. I was not even thinking that he would swing on me. I was thinking 'I rocked him, here it goes.' And that's what I get for being greedy and trying to get the finish early when I didn't stick to my gameplan. You watch the tape and you can hear (trainer) Greg (Jackson) go 'stick to the gameplan Joe.' And I take full responsibility for that. But I got a lot of questions out of my head. I kinda wondered what it would feel like to get knocked out, and it doesn't really feel like anything.

2010 was definitely a year that I needed to take a lot from as far as what I did, veering from gameplans, letting the crowd take control of me like in Australia and things like that, and learn from those experiences. I'm gonna learn from my mistakes and not allow that to ever take place. 2010, forget about it, it sucked, and 2011's my year."

-Joe Stevenson talks to UFC.com ahead of his bout with Danny Castillo at UFC on Versus 3 and reflects on his December loss to Mac Danzig.

Penick's Analysis: Stevenson's been a gatekeeper to the elite for awhile, but the loss to Danzig really hurt. It was his fourth loss in his last six fights, and put him at 3-5 over his last eight. If he's been able to go back to the drawing board ahead of this fight with Castillo he can get himself on track, but Castillo, despite fighting a lower level of competition in the WEC than Stevenson has in the UFC, is still an extremely dangerous opponent and cannot be take lightly. Stevenson's got to be fighting for his job now as well with the massive cuts coming in the lightweight division, as a third loss in a row will likely spell his end in the UFC. He can avoid all that on Thursday with a win in Louisville, and fans can tune in for that one as it will air on Facebook.com.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8626.shtml

Wanderlei Silva Marcus Silveira Aaron Simpson Wes Sims

UFC on Versus 3's C.B. Dollaway content with slow road to the top

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Take a look at his recent success - three straight wins and five victories in his past six fights - and C.B. Dollaway appears a legitimate middleweight contender.

Tonight against Mark Munoz in the Versus-televised co-headliner of UFC on Versus 3 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., the fast-rising 185-pounder has a chance to post another signature win.

But even Dollaway admits a potential title shot still is a few wins away.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/gk39Xm2NCiU/ufc-on-versus-3s-c-b-dollaway-content-with-slow-road-to-the-top.mma

Todd Duffee  Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou  Yves Edwards 

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Marloes Coenen fine with replacement Liz Carmouche, looks forward to eventual bout with Meisha Tate

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Strikeforce Women's Champion Marloes Coenen finds herself with a new opponent just a week out from her first title defense with Meisha Tate suffering a knee injury, but she still looks forward to a meeting with Tate down the line.

In an interview with MMAJunkie.com, Coenen expressed some disapproval for the way Tate has marketed herself thus far in the sport.

"It would have been a very good fight... because she's presenting herself as being a cute girl... and I present myself a different way," Coenen said. "Let's put it like that... I'm a professional, so I'm not going to hate somebody for how they present themselves and want to beat them up more.

"But I do believe that we as women are the pioneers of the sport, and what we do will set the blueprint for the next generation. I believe we have to present ourselves as worthy and honorable women. How you do that is up to you, but I do it differently than Miesha does."

For now, however, Coenen turns her attention to Liz Carmouche, and despite the last minute nature of this fight, Coenen's fine in taking the fight, and expects a good stylistic matchup.

"It wasn't disappointing because I know I will get a shot at [Tate] again," Coenen said. "And Liz is very talented. I like it. She's a good opponent, and her standup is even better than Miesha's. Props to her."

"MMA is a sport, and it always stays MMA. So I feel well-rounded in all the areas of the game. Liz is a little different of a fighter than Miesha is. I believe Liz is very talented, and she will be a big star in the coming years."

Coenen and Carmouche meet in the co-main event of next weekend's Strikeforce event from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: It's going to be a conflict for a lot of women fighters trying to make names for themselves in a male dominated sport to market themselves in certain ways. Fighters like Gina Carano and Meisha Tate have taken the road of being somewhat sex symbols, while others like Coenen have and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos have simply let their performances speak for themselves. Still, that's not to say there is anything wrong with Carano or Tate taking that route for themselves, but Coenen's reaction to that type of hype isn't surprising either.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8578.shtml

Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo  Luciano Azevedo