Thread: some ufc newsbits - jan 2

DANA WHITE said in an interview if Rashad wins , he will look at setting Rampage V Rashad on the same card in new jersey that already has CARWIN V MIR & HARDY V GSP , THIAGO alves vS. Fitch

Baroni v Marcus Davis rumoured, as is Gomi V Florian

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GSP has called Dan Hardy his most dangerous foe yet

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Former Pride FC lightweight champion and promotional posterboy, Takanori Gomi, has signed a multi-fight deal to compete inside the Octagon under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) banner, according to MMAFighting.com.

In his heyday, "Fireball Kid" was considered perhaps the best lightweight fighter on the planet. He has struggled recently, however, losing two of his last four matches to competition that is far from elite.

Nonetheless, Gomi is a fantastic and exciting addition to the talent-rich 155-pound class, which is currently dominated by division champion, B.J. Penn. Gomi and Penn actually went toe-to-toe at "Rumble on the Rock 4" back in 2003, with "The Prodigy" coming away with a convincing submission (rear naked choke) victory.

Is a rematch on tap sometime in 2010 if Gomi can put together a few wins? Rest assured UFC President Dana White and Co. view Gomi as an instant threat to the title ... so don't doubt it.

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With welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (14-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) forced to bow out of a planned UFC 109 contest with Paulo Thiago (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), UFC officials were forced to search for a replacement.

They didn't have to look far.

Koscheck's American Kickboxing Academy teammate Mike Swick (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has been tagged as Thiago's new opponent according to a report from AOL FanHouse.

An additional report from Sherdog.com states that Swick has verbally agreed to the contest, though bout agreements have yet to be distributed.

Featuring a main event between UFC Hall-of-Famers Mark Coleman and Randy Couture, "UFC 109: Relentless" takes place Feb. 6 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The main card airs live on pay per view.

Koscheck on Monday confirmed that he had been forced to withdraw from the contest due to an undisclosed injury suffered in training.

Should the UFC finalize the matchup, Swick will look to rebound from a November loss to Dan Hardy. The loss was Swick's first since dropping to the welterweight division following an April 2007 loss to Yushin Okami.

Swick had enjoyed a four-fight winning streak at 170 pounds, and the loss allowed Hardy to move on to a March meeting with current welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

Meanwhile, Thiago looks to build on a November win over late-replacement Jacob Volkmann at "UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II."

Thiago splashed on the scene earlier this year with a stunning first-round knockout of Koscheck. It was the 11th consecutive win for the Jungle Fight vet, who's posted 10 stoppages in his 11 career wins. However, his win streak came to an end in July when Koscheck's teammate, Jon Fitch, posted a unanimous decision win at UFC 100. Thiago won the first round of the matchup, but Fitch took control in the final two.

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Rumour has it that American Top Team light heavyweight and the man set to co-main event UFC 108 alongside Rashad Evans on January 2nd has suffered an ankle injury during training.

The news comes via Figure Four Weekly who also reveal the UFC are making it worth the Brazilian’s time to remain a part of the already massively injury hit card. It must be noted that this is an unconfirmed report.

This comes hot on the heels of today’s news that former PRIDE star, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 109 fight with Brandon Vera, putting even further pressure on the promotions roster.

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UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has made a bold statement: the next middleweight champion will be Nate Marquardt.

In an interview with Tatame.com.br yesterday that surfaced via urdirt.com, Silva made the following statement:

"I think the next champion of this category will be Nate Marquardt. If I'm not over with the belt, I believe Nate will be the next [middleweight champion], the next guy to win for a long, long time this way."

With such a bold statement, it is currently unclear whether Silva plans to retire or to leave the middleweight division in pursuit of the light-heavyweight division, where he has fought twice.

Silva and Marquardt have fought previously, at UFC 73 in July 2007. It was the first time Silva had to defend his middleweight title after earning it in October 2006 where he defeated Rich Franklin via KO. The Marquardt vs. Silva fight ended at 4:50 in the first round after Silva out-wrested Marquardt to the mat and then proceeded to unleash a punch that, ultimately, ended the fight, followed by a few addition shots before the referee was able to declare the TKO victory for Silva.

"I've been following all [Marquardt]'s fights, and he has evolved a lot since the last time we fought," Silva said. "He has evolved a lot... I believe he is the next champion in that category."

Silva, who is coming off of elbow surgery, is potentially slated to fight next at UFC 112 in April against Vitor Belfort, reported MMAFrenzy.com. Belfort and Silva were initially scheduled for UFC 108 on Jan. 2, 2010, however, Silva's manager, Ed Soares, said that Silva would not be finished recovering from his injury in time for the fight. They were then penciled in for UFC 109 on Feb. 6, but, for the same, reason, the fight was forced to be rescheduled.

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Former UFC heavyweight champion, Frank Mir believes his opponent on March 27th in Newark, New Jersey, Shane Carwin is the best in the division right now, even better than his own most heated rival, Shane Carwin.

Speaking via MMAScraps radio, Mir said:

“So I’ve seen what Carwin can do in adversity. He’s a tough guy mentally and physically. So if I can face Carwin, that definitely proves to me that I am a better fighter than when I fought Brock because the guy that Brock fought, he can't beat Carwin either. I have to be better than I was at UFC 100 and UFC 107 to defeat Shane Carwin. So a victory over Carwin will satisfy those demons that keep me up at night. I feel he's a very dangerous opponent and the fighter in me wants to face the best fighters in the world and right now I think Shane Carwin is the best in the UFC. If Brock and him fought each other, I was picking Carwin.”

“I felt he was the better fighter. He was going to nullify Brock’s wrestling ability because he’s equally if not better a wrestler than Brock. If they had to box with each other, Lesnar is not much of a boxer. He has a big right hand but Carwin has good head movement and great hands. To be able to face someone like Shane Carwin is an honor in my point of view and is someone I will seriously train hard for.”

The pair will square off for the interim heavyweight title following long term illnesses to current champ, Brock Lesnar. The fight will co-main event UFC 111 alongside the welterweight title defence of Georges St. Pierre against Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy

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Alan Belcher: "I'm the only one who can stand with Anderson"

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LAS VEGAS – Fans and MMA pundits alike have frequently referred to the "curse" of "UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva" as a rash of unexpected injuries has forced the promotion to constantly scramble to keep the Jan. 2 card filled.

But on the eve of Saturday night's pay-per-view event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White said he doesn't believe the UFC needs to make changes in the face of an injury epidemic.

In fact, White says he's just surprised the promotion hasn't dealt with a similar situation before now.

"It's just one of those things," White said. "Guys are getting injured. It's never happened in nine years. Then again, this is a physical sport.

"These guys train hard. I don't think people really realize. You can watch it on TV, but you don't realize what goes into mixed martial arts training. It's actually shocking that we haven't injuries like this sooner."

While a wide variety of training-related injuries have plagued the UFC 108 card, White points out that not all of the card's casualties have been suffered in the normal line of duty.

"There's some freak stuff out there, like what happened to Brock Lesnar," White said. "You've got [Carlos Condit] cutting himself on sheet metal. You've got some weird, goofy stuff, too."

White and the UFC have frequently told contracted fighters that it's better to withdraw from a fight than to suffer a loss due to injury. White said that policy hasn't changed despite the cost to Saturday's event.

"If you're hurt, you're hurt," White

"Listen, it screws up the schedule and things like that, but I'm serious when I say this – this isn't any fight promoter BS – we're in the fight business. Our job is to make fights. Guys get hurt some times, and we've got to put on more fights. That's what we do.

"We have a deep roster. We have 350 guys under contract, and there's guys out there that want to fight. For instance, like [UFC 108], all these guys (getting hurt), it would be easy to say, 'Oh, Brock Lesnar isn't on the card.' But all these other guys have got to get paid, too. These guys make money, and these guys have got to fight."

With Lesnar, Condit, Steve Cantwell, Sean Sherk, Rory Markham, Gabriel Gonzaga, Antonio Rodrgio Nogueira and Anderson Silva all being forced out of the UFC 108 card with a variety of injuries, White and his team have admittedly struggled to fight through the "curse" of the event.

Even matchmaker Joe Silva recently fell victim to the odd circumstances.

"This is so bad, Joe Silva blew out his MCL," White said. "Even the matchmaker is down. Everybody's getting injured.

"He's got to have knee surgery now. You'll see his ass hobbling around here in a few days."

But despite the seemingly never-ending string on injuries and the growing number of UFC fight cards that need to be filled, White said he's not looking to change anything about how he or his fighters deal with injuries.

"We put on a lot of shows last year, too, and this didn't happen," White said. "These guys want to fight. They enjoy fighting."

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White anticipates getting some clarity on both Lesnar's future and the future of the heavyweight division soon.

"We'll know this week," he said. "I think Brock's going to the doctor this week, and we'll know how this thing is going to go – whether it's over.

"It could be career-ending for him."

In November, Lesnar underwent what White classified as a "minor surgery" to treat a case of diverticulitis. But the UFC boss has continually stated that Lesnar has been diagnosed with additional issues as well, though he said he refuses to reveal the nature of the problems to protect the champion's privacy.

And though Lesnar's camp recently denied they took up the UFC's offer to send the former WWE superstar to the Mayo Clinic, White insists he did go.

"He did go to the Mayo Clinic," White said earlier this month. "You can't listen to him. You've got to listen to me. He's never going to tell you what's going on. You know how he is; he doesn't want anybody to know.

"You guys talked to him, apparently, and he tells you something different. I keep telling him, 'Brock, I have to be honest about it. I'm not going to lie to everybody about it.' But there's only so much that I can tell you (the media)."

If Lesnar, who's already proven one of the UFC's biggest pay-per-view draws and marketable stars, is sidelined indefinitely, the division will go on without him. Luckily for the UFC, two key upcoming matchups could get the heavyweight title picture in order rather quickly.

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LAS VEGAS – UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (19-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) is slated to defend his title against British slugger Dan Hardy (23-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on March 27 at the as-yet-unannounced UFC 111 event in New Jersey.

And regardless of the result, St-Pierre today said it may be has last title fight for quite some time.

The Canadian recently revealed he's considering a run at the 2012 Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling, and today St-Pierre said that plan would include vacating the UFC's 170-pound title.

"Right now I don't think my wrestling is good enough to be at an Olympic level," St-Pierre said at today's media gathering. "The takedowns that I use for mixed martial arts and the takedowns that are used in Olympic wrestling are totally different. The setup is different. It's a different sport.

"I'm a good wrestler, but to [compete in the Olympics], I would have to focus on wrestling and dedicate myself 100 percent for a period of time. I would not take my retirement now, but if I decide to do it, I would have to dedicate myself 100 percent I would say for a year-and-a-half or so."

It's a potentially life- and career-altering decision, and St-Pierre admits there is much to consider on both sides of the argument.

"There is a lot of positive and negative about it," St-Pierre said. "The negative is my income. I won't have as much income as I would if I keep my career. It would diminish dramatically. That's the first thing. The second thing is I would have to give up my title, of course. I would have to stay away from mixed martial arts for at least a year-and-a-half because I need to qualify.

"People don't realize that to go to the Olympic Games, just going there, is pretty hard. It's not an easy thing. You need to qualify yourself for your country, and even if you qualify yourself for your country, it doesn't mean you're going 100 percent. You need to qualify yourself for the Olympic Games, itself. It's something really, really hard. That's the negative thing."

But St-Pierre doesn't believe the potential of walking away from his title is all bad.

"The positive thing about it is I'm not a poor guy right now," St-Pierre said. "I've got good money, and I'm the kind of person that everything I do in life, it's an experience. I like challenges, and I would not like the fact that when I get older, around 60 years old, I think about it and tell myself, 'Oh, I had the opportunity to do it. Maybe I could have done it. I don't know; I didn't try.' This would make me sad.

"I don't know if I can do it. It's a challenge. But, it's always behind my head. My life is always about experience. I like to do new experiences. I like challenges. But it's something that I need to sit down and think a little bit more before I make my decision."

While St-Pierre is widely considered among the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artists in the world, his spot in the world of freestyle wrestling is far less secure. There is certainly no guarantee that St-Pierre would even qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games if he tried, but the 28-year-old said the thought of, "What if?" is a far worse option than the potential for failure.

"Even if I try it and don't make it, at least when I get older, I'm going to think about it, and I'm going to tell myself, 'You know what? I gave everything I had, but I didn't make it,'" St-Pierre said. "My mind would be clear. But if I don't try it, when I'm going to be 60 years old and thinking about it, I'll be like, 'Maybe I could have done it, but I'll never know because I never tried it.'

"I don't like things like that. It already happened before in another situation where I could have done stuff, but I didn't take the opportunity, and now days I always wonder if I could have made it. I don't want to be caught in that situation."

St-Pierre said he currently rates his chances of pursuing his Olympic dreams at "50-50." The process would not be a simple one, and "Rush" would have a multi-tiered qualification process to pass before he could book his travel plans to London, site of the 2012 Olympic Games.

But despite the certain drawbacks to his MMA career, St-Pierre says he sees potential benefits for the sports of MMA and wrestling.

"It could be good and bad," St-Pierre said. "It could be bad because I leave the sport for a year-and-a-half. But it could be good in another way to make [MMA] even more mainstream. If I do well, and I get into the Olympic level, it could be very good. It could be very good for the sport of wrestling, as well."

St-Pierre wasn't quite ready to commit to a full-fledged Olympic qualification effort, but he hardly attempted to discount the possibility.

"I have a decision to make, but I don't know if I'm ready to do it," St-Pierre said. "I just need to think about it right now.

"I'm going to have to make my decision pretty soon."


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"I don't think it's fair. I think Rodrigo (Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) was in line to fight for the title and it is unfair that he won't get the fight, but as the MMA does not follow a ranking, we have to go with the decisions of the UFC. It will be a good fight though. Both are top contenders and it is always good for us to analyze and have a better sense of the adversaries we face. It will be a great fight. It's kind of hard (to predict the winner)... If the fight is standing then Carwin has more chances to win, but if it goes to the ground then Mir has more chances. I'll be on the fence. I have no favorites (laughs)." -Junior Dos Santos


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What happened with the last card is people were (complaining) because the Rashad Evans vs. Rampage fight wasn't happening. Look at what happened. This is my philosophy on this: if you're a (expletive) fight fan, we're going to put on good fights for you. It's been pretty crazy. In the history of being in this game, I've never seen anything like this. We've never had injuries like this. It's part of the business. We're in the fight business. Our job is to make fights that people want to see and when guys fall off we've got to fix it. You get 10 (expletive) hardcores on the Internet going, 'Oh, this card (stinks), there's no this, there's no that.' Then guess what? Don't (expletive) buy the card! It's usually the ones that they're bitching about that end up being some of the best." - Dana White

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"I learned a lot from that fight (with Machida)," Thiago Silva recently said through an interpreter. "I think I can correct the mistakes from that fight. I'm not overlooking anything else right now, but I just want to get the chance to fight him again."

We learn with our mistakes, and I learned a lot with these mistakes," Silva said. "That was a big stage. ... This is my job, and this is one of my resolutions: be [the least] emotional I can be, and go there to perform a job and do my best, to be the best, and get a win and put myself on a track to be the champion.

"That's what I want, is to compete against the best and be the champion. That's what it is. A win against Rashad would put me in the track against Lyoto. That's where I want to go."


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The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its Boston debut on Aug. 28.

UFC president Dana White, who formerly lived in Boston, told the Boston Herald the organization will host an event at the 19,000-capacity TD Garden on the date, though an official announcement won't be made until closer to the show.

Back in November Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law a bill that calls for the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission to become the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission and oversee MMA events.

White has long expressed his interest in a Boston event but first needed the state adopt legislation to oversee the show.

Massachusetts State Athletic Commission official were not available today for confirmation of the event.

White, though, tells the newspaper that the event will feature many regional fighters (possibilities include Kenny Florian, Marcus Davis and Joe Lauzon).

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship's long-anticipated Vancouver event today got a green light.

As expected, the Vancouver City Council today voted in favor of a two-year trial for mixed martial arts in the city.

UFC president Dana White has long hinted at the possibility of a show in Vancouver, and during this past weekend's UFC 107 event, said a June event would be likely if regulation was adopted.

Sherdog: You mentioned talking to M-1 recently, more recent than anyone thought. What's going on there?

Dana White - "Listen, I think there's a million different ways to cut deals. Believe me, I want Fedor more than the people that are yapping that they want him in the UFC. And I like Mousasi too. So I would love to have them both in the UFC. And there's a lot of different ways to cut a deal".

... "There's only one way to find out how Fedor would do in the UFC. Get his ass over here and let's get him in there and get him fighting. I could do the same thing with Mousasi. I like Mousasi, I don't know how he'd do over here. There's a lot of really good guys here. It's not like fighting in other promotions. They are not deep enough. There are not enough good fighters over there for them to challenge. There is here, that's what makes it fun and interesting".

Frank Mir on Junior Dos Santos

"[...] I mean, of course, all top ten guys in the heavyweight division should be treated with respect, as each of them can pose a threat to any other. But Dos Santos is not really someone I would bet a dime on if he fought me. And all those boasty comments he made claiming he was more deserving of a title shot, or the interim title, are ridiculous and don't deserve much attention. Let's be honest here, Dos Santos might be a solid fighter, or a very good one for that matter, but he is no match for me with the skill set and strength I posess nowadays. Nobody in the division could keep up with me in the grappling game, and I think people overestimate the fact that Nogueira is Dos Santos' tutor. I've beaten Nogueira quite easily, we all know that. I presume submitting Dos Santos would not be difficult either, especially as I've seen the ground game is not his comfort zone. Then goes the physical aspect, in which I am far superior as well. I think it shouldn't surprise people that if I had to fight Brock tomorrow I would be able to overpower him. I've gained an aweful amount of strength in the last couple of months, and obviously I'm cutting weight to be able to weigh-in at 265. Thus, I'm too strong for a guy like Dos Santos, who is - what - 240? Nah, forget it. That's too much of a disadvantage on his side. And when it comes to the stand-up department, I believe I'm the faster guy. Even if we're equal on speed then it's OK, since I've clearly got the better technique. You saw what happend to Kongo. He's one of the best strikers at heavyweight and he couldn't stand with me. After all, I'm the only man to ever KO Nogueira, and that says it all. Consequently, even if Dos Santos is a better striker than Kongo - though I doubt he could be that much better - it wouldn't change much as to the outcome of the fight. Let's be realistic, I would beat him on any given night. You'd have to be out of your mind to claim otherwise."

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greg jackson interview






On Jon Jones:

Jon Jones I was so happy with. Usually he will go three rounds and get the decision or he will finish the guy kind of later. I was really excited to see him follow every part of the gameplan just exactly the way we mapped it out. In the end I think he got frustrated because he just kept hitting the guy and hitting the guy and Steve Mazzagatti, who is a friend of mine, didn’t stop the fight and [Jon] got a little frustrated and threw some downward elbows without thinking about it, it was obvious because he was like ‘Wait, what?’

So it was a decision I didn’t quite agree with, after he took the point away he reviewed the tape and disqualified him. I would have liked to have seen a no contest, but you know I am sure he learned that you cant do that kind of stuff and we’ll move on from that.

FO: What’s your take on the downward elbows he was disqualified for?

Its an illegal move, but its not a move that’s like super… ‘oh my god, the downward elbow will destroy you!’ Its nothing like that. The downward elbow, especially to your forehead, is just an elbow like any other really. But its an illegal move and so we shouldn’t do that, but its not a move that suddenly crushes you, like the other elbows feel fine but the downward elbow is somehow like the death touch or something?

Its just another elbow you throw but its something you can’t do in the sport, and so you have to take what comes with that. But I think it definitely wasn’t intentional as in Jon sitting there going ‘I’m gonna hit a downward elbow!’ He was just frustrated trying to get in and finish the fight - I forget how many seconds of unanswered punches sitting in mount - so yeah, it’s a mistake he made and he will learn from.

FO: What was he like in camp and where does he go from here?

He was amazing, he listened really well and did everything I asked him to. He is very creative and we developed a very close relationship. I think he is very happy and I am definitely happy with him. Matt is an incredibly tough fighter to be handled the way he was handled, we haven’t seen that before, so I am expecting big things from Jon [in the future].

FO: Rashad Evans faces Thiago Silva at UFC 108; Silva is a big guy, even for a light-heavyweight!

Yeah he’s a big guy and he hits really hard, as you could see in his last fight. Its going to be a great fight, Thiago is a really, really tough guy and Rashad will hopefully be able to implement what he wants to do without getting into trouble.

FO: Did you learn much about Silva from his fight with Keith Jardine?

Absolutely. You always learn, win or lose you always learn something from a fight. I can’t give away too much because its gameplan stuff but we definitely learned a lot from that fight.

FO: I know your schedule is mad busy right now, can you tell us what you have got coming up?

Oh man, we’ve got.. Let me see if we can get them all. Cowboy is coming up soon, and Tyler is also fighting. we’ve got Carlos Condit fighting Paul Daley, we’ve got Rashad, we’ve got Nate Marquardt, we’ve got Keith Jardine, we’ve got GSP against Dan Hardy. we’ve got so many fights coming up it’s a little crazy right now.


On Brian Stann at TUF 10 finale:

Brian Stann had a good performance, another good one. I think he was negating everything that (name) was doing on the ground, in fact I think it was in the first round that he ended up doing more damage from underneath than the other guy was doing on top. I 100% felt he won the first round.

I am excited that he is doing so well in the UFC now, he just had a little girl born and it was hard to get him to concentrate 100% on this fight. We’re going to do a few things, get his takedowns better and get a little more power on that right hand, just little things we’re going to do. Overall I was really happy with him.

On James McSweeney at TUF 10 finale:

James did really well, he finally calmed down and did his movement right and his ground staff. He had a really good night and I am very happy with it. I think that everybody gets rocked, I was real happy that when he did get hit real hard that he was able to cut back and do so well.

FO: Does he have a problem with getting hit hard? It seems to make him shy off sometimes…

I don’t think he has a problem with it, everybody gets rocked, just in this fight he got rocked and was like “holy moly!” but then he came back strong. I think right in the first round he broke his hand, it’s a bad break too, you can see the lump right on the metacarpal area.

FO: He was the bad guy of TUF 10, is he a difficult personality?

No, not at all. He teases a lot and I think a lot of people misunderstand that, but he is just messing around. He is a really good guy to me.

FO: “Good guy to me” - is that the operative phrase there?

No not all, he is really nice to his teammates too, helps them all out and does his thing. But its reality TV, it is what it is. He is always messing around, teasing people and joking with you and if you take that seriously then he will get you pretty quick. Again, TV cameras do funny things. He has never been hot-headed with me or in the dojo. I am sure he has got a temper but I couldn’t say if he has in the ’real world’.

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04/01/10 - James Toney wants Lesnar, is trained by "death fighter"

Fringe boxing champion James ‘Lights Out’ Toney continued his efforts to talk his way into a UFC fight (and a potentially lucrative contract with the organisation) by accosting Dana White after the recent UFC 108 event.

Toney, a former IBF champion who currently holds titles with minor bodies NABO and IBA, gatecrashed the post-event press conference and told White he wants to fight for the UFC. White expressed interest in the proposal and said the two would talk about it.

Today, FightHype published an interview with Toney in which he declared his desire to enter the UFC heavyweight division and fight the likes of Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice. Despite his inexperience in MMA terms, Toney believes he would have a fighting chance.

"I want Brock Lesnar and I know, unfortunately, he’s injured right now and had surgery, but I want him, Kimbo, Kendra, whatever his name is, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell or whoever. [Fans] think I will get my ass whooped. They will all be disappointed. You know I got a very big mouth and it can’t be shut. I have never been stopped in damn near 90 professional boxing fights and never will be. I still do my thing. They let a street fighter in the UFC; I know they can let a future Hall of Fame boxer with real fighting skills and credentials in there, but they scared."

Toney also had interesting comments to make on the ground-fighting aspects of MMA. An absence of ground game has hampered strikers like Houston Alexander in the UFC, but Toney was dismissive of suggestions he would struggle.

“They talking about ground game? That don’t mean nothing to me dog. Number one, I ain’t going to allow none of them boys to lay on top of me like a lil’ fag, you know what I’m saying? I ain’t going to the ground; that ain’t happening.”

And regarding the training that he would be doing for a future career in MMA, he made what is surely the most preposterous claim any fighter has ever uttered in this regard.

“I got one of the best mixed martial arts trainers in the world, which is my daddy. You know what I’m saying? He is one of the original death fighters. They fought to the death, like in them movies, but it’s a matter of time. I will be ready to go."

also,lesnar has started to train again his trainer, randy couture and dana white have said

he could be back fighting again in spring, but it's expected winter to be more realistic