UFC NEWS: Brock Lesnar excited to coach TUF, says Junior Dos Santos is a "roadblock" on his way back to the title

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Brock Lesnar's first interview since his loss to Cain Velasquez took place during a media day for The Ultimate Fighter on Tuesday in Las Vegas, and HeavyMMA has now posted video of a large portion of that interview.

Lesnar, who has been very reclusive and has shied away from being in the spotlight until his fights, is taking six weeks away from home in Alexandria, Minn. to film this season, but he seems to be in good spirits about the project at the outset of filming.

"It?s thirty below zero in Alexandria right now," Lesnar said. "I had enough of the ice fishing and trouncing around in the snow. My wife had enough too. Dana [White] did all the right things for us to be here. And Spike. Is Las Vegas a place I?d want to be? No. There are other warm places I can think of. But it?s not painful. At least it hasn't been yet. Talk to me in five weeks and we?ll see. But right now, I?d have to say that it?s pretty accommodating."

"I never thought I'd ever be down here to do this," he added. "It's kind of refreshing."

Lesnar is looking forward to the opportunity to help impart his knowledge, as well as that of his coaches, on this group of "young and eager" welterweights. But while some have already questioned his merits as a coach, Lesnar has no worries about their ability to successfully do their job during this six week show.

"You guys can sit and discredit me, but in my mind, I?ve got just as many fights as Junior," Lesnar said. "I've been competing my whole life. I've got a great coaching staff, guys that have been coaching top fighters, top wrestlers. Marty Morgan is a 16 year veteran at the University of Minnesota with National Championship teams, Erik Paulson, Greg Nelson, [Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros]. I think we're well capable of coaching underqualified guys to become the next Ultimate Fighter. I?ve got faith in my people. These guys made me a champion, so why can?t we make these young, eager kids successful? I think we can."

"I was the UFC heavyweight champion. What more qualifications do you need? ... I am [excited to be a coach]. Yesterday was pretty cool, being here and picking our teams. It's kind of like being back in the wrestling room again. These kids are young and eager, their eyeballs are this big, they're excited to be there and the atmosphere is good."

Lesnar says his goal for his team on the show is simply to win. He and his coaches want to win, and he believes between the knowledge and experience that he and his staff bring to the table, they shouldn't have any issue helping improve these fighters.

"I've been a human sponge since I've got into this sport, I've tried to evolve and better myself," Lesnar explained. "We're going to train the guys exactly how I'd train for my training camps, we're going to evaluate their fights, we're going to try to make these guys, at the end of the day, win. We want to win this thing, that's our goal."

"I can teach these guys, I've got the staff. I'm not going to be able to get in there and pound with these guys, but I don't know what coaches have even done that, maybe a couple of times [on TUF]. I would have to say the kids that we're coaching don't have a quarter of the background that myself, or my coaching staff, has. So if we can't teach these guys something than there is something wrong."

At the end of the road for this season is a fight with Junior Dos Santos, but while this will make for a big heavyweight showdown, don't expect any trash talk or mind games from Lesnar on the show like we've seen over the past few seasons between coaches.

"I'm here to train and I'm here to make these guys better," Lesnar re-iterated. "Junior Dos Santos is a roadblock on the way to me getting my title back, and that's it. I have no beef with Junior. He's a nice kid. He's just in my way, and I?m gonna do what I can to get him out of the way. I'm not here to stir any s*** up, I don't need to do that. I ain't a mindf***er, I'm an ass-kicker, that's what I try to be."

The former UFC Heavyweight Champion and biggest draw in the sport knows full well that the UFC bringing him on this show, and him agreeing to do so, was a smart business decision. When it comes down to it, the money to be made and the exposure to bring the sport with him on Spike TV for 12 weeks is a good move. However, Lesnar again professed his love for the sport, nipping the belief from many that he's looking to tuck his tail and run from the sport at the first signs of adversity.

"This is business at the end of the day? we're all here on business," he said of The Ultimate Fighter. "Dana White understands the business, I definitely understand the business. At the end of the day, me and my ugly face on Spike TV and people getting to see Junior Dos Santos I'm sure we're going to have a good pay-per-view buy.

"I love this sport. I do. I would not be here if I didn't enjoy this. I could definitely do something else with my life, but for the time being this is who I am and this is what I want to be. If I'm here to reach new households for the sport I think it's a good thing."

Penick's Analysis: At least for the early part of this show, it looks like Lesnar will be a straight-forward coach, and with the staff that he's got with him he is absolutely going to be an asset to the welterweights that find their way onto his team. I'd encourage people to watch the full interview (search "Brock Lesnar Interview: Part 1" posted by "heavy" on YouTube), as the context of his comments and his demeanor when making them is important as well. Lesnar is calm, he seems genuinely interested in helping these fighters out, and he knows being on TV for this show is going to be a good thing overall. The nice thing about this season as well is that it won't bring the manufactured bad blood and rivalry or the forced trash talking that we've seen recently, especially in Josh Koscheck last season. This will be two heavyweights who believe they're two of the best in the world at heavyweight, competing with these fighters for six weeks and preparing to fight for a title shot. It's straight-forward, it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be memorable, and I'm looking forward to the March 30 debut on Spike.

[Brock Lesnar art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8268.shtml

Thales Leites Fabio Leopoldo Kimo Leopoldo Brock Lesnar

HYDEN BLOG: Nick Diaz, Mark Hominick, and Matt Wiman

By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

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Nick Diaz recently said in a conference call that he would like to fight Anderson Silva or Georges St. Pierre. He believes he could beat either one, which is fine, I expect an athlete to have confidence in himself. I don't think Diaz could beat either one of those two, but that's me. But I do have an issue with a couple of things regarding his statements.

The first problem is that he just recently signed a contract extension with Strikeforce. Why would he do that if he wanted to fight GSP or Silva so badly? I'm pretty sure the UFC would at least consider signing the reigning Strikeforce Welterweight Champion to a deal. If Nick wanted to fight GSP as much as he claims he should have tried to get a deal with the UFC.

My other problem is that Diaz claims that GSP, among others, received preferential treatment that Diaz didn't get. I don't buy that, as GSP fought guys like Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn, and Frank Trigg, as well as guys like Karo Parisyan (who Diaz also fought) and Sean Sherk. GSP also fought Jason Miller, a guy Diaz seemingly doesn't want to fight even though they're pretty evenly matched.

It seems to me that Diaz is just pulling a Chael Sonnen, except Diaz is being much more intellectual about it than Sonnen ever is. Diaz is making some out-there claims, but none of it is anywhere near as bad as what Sonnen has said.

I would love to see Nick Diaz fight Georges St. Pierre, that'd be an awesome fight. I think GSP would win, but it'd be a hell of a matchup. I wish it could happen, but there's no chance of that coming together right now. I suppose we can file this in our wish-list drawer and hope that one day it happens.

*************

Mark Hominick looked great as he beat George Roop last Saturday. Hominick is very confident in his striking ability as he prepares to fight Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight title at UFC 129. I like Hominick's self-confidence, as it doesn't come off as arrogance. I expect him to think he's going to win, as I expect all fighters to think they're going to win every fight; why bother fighting if you thought otherwise? Where Hominick makes the right move is that he says Aldo has never faced a striker as good as he is and we'll all see how Aldo handles that. That's not cocky and off-putting, that's showing that you believe in yourself. That's what I expect to see in a guy getting ready to fight for a title.

*************

Matt Wiman looked damn impressive in his victory over Cole Miller. Wiman was incredibly tenacious, and turned Miller into an unrecognizable fighter, as that wasn't the same Cole Miller we've seen before in the Octagon. He looked totally outmatched and just plain ineffective. For Wiman to do that to someone of Miller's ability speaks volumes about his progress as a fighter. Matt Wiman looks like a new fighter, and one I want to see a lot more of. Now if only he would get rid of that stupid "Handsome" Matt Wiman nickname.

Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/hydenstake/article_8267.shtml

Curtis Stout Sam Stout Georges St Pierre Masanori Suda

Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg Preview and Predictions

Filed under:

Two title belts are on the line, and the most famous fighter in the promotion will step into the cage, when Strikeforce returns to its home base of San Jose on Saturday night. We've got the full preview right here.

What: Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg

Where: HP Pavilion, San Jose

When: The Showtime card starts at 10 PM ET on Saturday.

Predictions on the four televised fights below.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/01/28/strikeforce-diaz-vs-cyborg-preview-and-predictions/

Anthony Walsh Wang Guan Wang Sai Ron Waterman

5 Oz. MMA Link Club

Welcome back to another ediition of ?MMA Link Club?, Five Ounces of Pain?s weekly smorgasbord of offerings from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy? Brock Lesnar Talks TUF 13 (MMAFighting.com) Catch Up with “The Dean of Mean” (CagePotato.com) Eleven Fights Make the Cut for UFC’s Next Appearance on Versus (Versus.com) More than [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/01/27/5-oz-mma-link-club-27/

Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper  Kit Cope 

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Strikeforce inks pay-per-view deal in Japan to air Heavyweight World Grand Prix

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Strikeforce has taken a step towards building a presence in Japan, as Fighter's Only reports that they have secured a deal to broadcast their Heavyweight World Grand Prix events on pay-per-view in the country.

Per the report, the deal is with SkyPerfect, and will begin with the February 12 event in New Jersey, headlined by the quarterfinal bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.

With the organization publicly discussing the possibility of running one of the World Grand Prix events in Japan, this is a step towards gaining a foothold. How successful a step remains to be seen, but it gets them exposure on television with a few names who have been notables in Japan, the biggest of which are Fedor and Josh Barnett.

The February 12 event also features the quarterfinal bout between Andrei Arlovski and Sergei Kharitonov, while the remaining two quarterfinals - Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers - have yet to be scheduled.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is a positive move for Strikeforce to gain visibility, though how much visibility this type of thing will gain in Japan is up for debate. But with FEG's troubles and the viewership dropping for other events in Japan, an alternative with names known to the Japanese fans could get them some positive numbers. At any rate, it's a good move for Strikeforce.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8223.shtml

Matt Hughes Matt Hume Mark Hunt Brad Imes

Behind the scences of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix (video)

Catch-up with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and World Grand Prix participants Andre Arlovski, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett. Behind the scences of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix (video) is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Behind the scences of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix (video) is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/strikeforce-news/behind-the-scences-of-the-strikeforce-heavyweight-world-grand-prix-video-53231/

Dan The Beast Severn Frank Shamrock Ken Shamrock Sean Sherk