05/27/2012
“UFC 146 Postfight Show on FUEL TV” Quotes: UFC 146 Recap and Analysis
LOS ANGELES, CA – The following are quotes from the “UFC 146 Postfight Show on FUEL TV” about UFC 146: DOS SANTOS VS MIR. Jay Glazer hosted the show, with analysis from former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. Ariel Helwani conducted exclusive postfight interviews backstage. Here’s some of what was said:
“UFC Postfight Show on FUEL TV” Host Jay Glazer on dos Santos vs. Mir: “As Junior said in the Weigh-in Show yesterday, he got a second round knockout. The key for Frank was to get Junior to the ground, but Frank wasn’t able to do it. As time goes by, Junior’s just going to get better and better at defending the takedown.”
“UFC Postfight Show on FUEL TV” Analyst Rashad Evans on Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir: “Junior dos Santos looked very good, confident and focused. Frank tried to take him down and it didn’t go well.”
Evans on dos Santos’ keys to winning the fight: “He has excellent footwork and he’s light on his feet. It’s really hard to catch him off balance. He knows his bread and butter. He has great boxing for MMA. He throws good combinations, but he doesn’t throw too many combinations. Junior was going for the body when Frank was protecting his head. Eventually, Frank lowered his hands and it was the body shots that led to the shots that ended the fight.”
Junior dos Santos, interviewed by Ariel Helwani, on how he won the fight: “I told you second-round knockout. He tried to submit me, but I did a good defense. I wanted to make him tired in the first round, so I could knock him out in the second. I’m very confident with my hands and I wanted to beat him.”
dos Santos on Mir’s ability to take a punch: “That surprised me. He could take a punch. He survived a little bit, but not much.”
dos Santos on if he wants to fight Velasquez next: “If the UFC wants to see that fight again, I’ll do it. Bigfoot is a very strong fighter and Cain beat him. If the UFC wants to see it, let’s do it.”
Frank Mir on his fight with Junior dos Santos: “I feel good. I wanted to be on the winning end of it, but you can’t win them all. I went out and gave a good effort. His hand speed wasn’t that surprising. It was his foot speed that was. He got to throw what he wanted to. A few times I tried to get in there and engage, and fight on my terms he was able to get out. He landed more shots than I did.”
Mir on trying to take dos Santos down: “I wanted to catch him off guard and tried to be aggressive at the start. Then I was going to go back to it and catch him again.”
Mir on how he lost: “He caught my ear and I got wobbly and then he got me with a straight shot to the chin. He was able to come in and out and throw a few shots and jump back out. I should have laid into the kicks a little more. dos Santos is the champ for a reason.”
“UFC Postfight Show on FUEL TV” Reporter Ariel Helwani on who would fight dos Santos next: “Yesterday, after weigh-ins, a very high level person at the UFC came up to me and said that one person would be fighting for the title if he looked good, and that was Cain Velasquez. He looked good and then some tonight.”
Evans on who should fight dos Santos next: “I definitely think it should be Cain. He came out strong and confident tonight.”
Evans on who can beat dos Santos: “I think that Alistair Overeem can, and Cain Velasquez can do it on another day.”
UFC President Dana White on the night: “Not only the heavyweight fights, but all the fights on the whole card from top to bottom were great. I said it before, it was a good looking card on paper and you never know it’s going to play out that way, but it did tonight.”
White on Junior dos Santos’ victory: “He looks good. There was a lot of crazy talk about him boxing one of the heavyweights. This isn’t boxing. This guy has got great hands, has great takedown defense, and stayed on the outside of Frank Mir. He respected him and picked him apart, took his shots and knocked him out.”
White on dos Santos taking a boxing match: “I think boxing and MMA are two different things. If you’re talking about a possible fight with the Klitschkos, their styles are so goddamn boring. What they do is jab and hold, jab and hold. It’s not like how guys fight here, where they just go toe-to-toe. There’s no clenching and holding. It’s just two totally different sports.”
White on if dos Santos can defend his belt longer than other heavyweight champions: “I do. I think he’s got a great chin, a great takedown defense, and incredible power to knock people out.”
White on if dos Santos will fight Cain Velasquez next: “Yeah, that’s what’s next. Cain was the undefeated champion, and he gets another shot at Junior.”
Evans on Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva: “Cain looked relaxed coming out and it was all Cain in the fight. The ground and pound was too much for Bigfoot. Bigfoot made a mistake throwing a leg kick against a wrestler. You shoot a leg like that and a wrestler is going to take you down. Cain looked impressive and composed. This is the new Cain Velasquez. Tonight he made a case for fighting dos Santos again.”
Cain Velasquez with Helwani, on the effect of Silva’s blood during the fight: “It was slippery. I was kind of worried about that spot in the Octagon and slipping in it. Silva is a competitor and he’s going to give every ounce to it.”
Velasquez on preparing for Silva: “We saw him throwing kicks to the mid section and they said to grab the leg and scoop it forward. Right away, he threw the kick and I rushed him.”
Evans on Roy Nelson vs. Dave Herman: “Roy caught Dave standing up straight and he caught him with a big right shot.”
Roy Nelson on ending the fight with three punches: “I like to throw one punch in a fight, but I can live with three. I was looking for the punch. He was pushing his jabs and I thought I could go right over him.”
Nelson on what he’s changed in his preparation for the fight: “I’ve surrounded myself with good people. You try to invest in yourself with good people.
Nelson on who he wants to fight next: “Whoever can pass the test.”
White on Roy Nelson: “I don’t know if you noticed after the fight, he came over and pointed at me and yelled some sh*t at Lorenzo. We had a pretty tough conversation with Roy a few weeks ago. I think he came out and made a statement and wanted to shove that right up mine and Lorenzo’s asses, and I accept it.”
Evans on Stipe Miocic vs. Shane Del Rosario: “Del Rosario came out and threw some punches and leg kicks. Once Stipe got him on the ground, he was able to handle him. He figured out the puzzle and what he had to do and got the win. The ground and pound by Stipe was just too much for Del Rosario.”
Stipe Miocic on his fight: “I was just trying to stay out of the way of his kicks. I slipped and it probably looked terrible on TV, but I felt fine. It was a good fight and he kicked hard.”
Evans on Stefan Struve vs. Lavar Johnson: “This guy Struve is getting better and better each time he comes out. He moves like a little guy. He moves like he’s 5’3”. Johnson was going to fight the fight he wanted and land the heavy shots, but he let Stefan pull guard and get the arm bar. Struve is very confident. He’s grown with his standup. He’s a big guy, but he’s confident going to the ground.”
Stefan Struve on his game plan for the fight: “I wanted to keep it as easy as possible and didn’t want to let him get into his game. I felt like if I jumped guard I could get the arm bar.”
Struve on who he wants to fight next: “I would love to fight Mark Hunt. I’ve been watching him since I was 10. I’m still growing and I’m almost a brown belt in BJJ.”
White on Jason Miller retiring: “I think that’s a great idea for Mayhem to retire. The thing is with Mayhem Miller; his last fight was embarrassing with Bisping. Then he came out with that pink sh*t or whatever that was at the weigh-ins yesterday. The guy doesn’t take it seriously, and he looked it tonight.”
Glazer with breaking news about UFC 147: “Vitor Belfort has broken his hand and is out of UFC 147.”
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