Velasquez: “For a long time, I’ve been envisioning this fight in my head, but I had to go out and do it.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – The following quotes are from today’s UFC 155 POSTFIGHT SHOW ON FUEL TV for UFC 155: DOS SANTOS VS. VELASQUEZ II. The show was hosted by Karyn Bryant, with Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier and UFC TONIGHT’s Kenny Florian offering analysis. Two-time MMA Journalist of the Year Ariel Helwani conducted fighter interviews on-site.
UFC 155 WEIGH-IN ON FUEL TV Analyst Kenny Florian on Dos Santos vs. Velasquez II: “You saw a different Cain Velasquez in this fight from the weigh-in to the way he came out. He had a different focus, he looked ready to go. It was the takedowns, the relentless pace and he came with strikes and he hurt Junior dos Santos. You could see he was tired towards the end, but he still delivered. They say he doesn’t have submissions, but his cardio is hid submissions. Dos Santos was rocked several times in this fight, he got back to his feet every time, he fought really, really well in this fight also, we can’t forget that. Cain kept pressuring Dos Santos and it was the strikes that made his wrestling better.”
UFC 155 WEIGH-IN ON FUEL TV Analyst Daniel Cormier on Dos Santos vs. Velasquez II: “Crazy, crazy pace by Cain Velasquez. He did really well. From the cage where I could see him walking in there, and I was in Cain’s corner, he looked good. Just like a bull in the cage being ready to let loose. If you remember UFC 151 he wasn’t sure of himself, he was injured, but this time he came in the ring with smoke coming out of his nose. The guy was ready to fight.”
Florian on Velasquez keeping his pace: “The striking was incredible and he kept up the pace. I don’t know many bantamweights that can keep up that pace.”
Cormier on what he was telling Velasquez in the corner between rounds: “I was telling Cain, now give him some ups and downs, fake the take downs, because he was so focused on them. He knew that in order to win this fight he had to make it simple use the thing that made him special, his cardio.”
Velasquez on how he feels to get the belt back: “This feels good. For a long time, I’ve been envisioning this fight in my head, but I had to go out and do it. The stuff going on in my head was telling me to keep the pace, pressure the legs, always move up and down and don’t slow down.”
Velasquez if Dos Santos did anything that surprised him: “We prepared for him well. We saw in the tapes the way he backs up, he doesn’t throw a lot, but re-engages when he’s comfortable, so we didn’t let him get comfortable.”
Velasquez on if he got frustrated not getting the take downs in the first round: “I wasn’t. I think the stuff I worked on in the gym helped out. Working with Daniel Cormier and the others over and over, made it tougher and I had to keep doing it.”
Velasquez on if prepared physically for the fight: “I wanted to come in lighter and faster this time. He’s really fast. I wanted to be in shape, move at any angle and be really quick against him.”
Velasquez on if not being injured this fight made a big difference: “A lot of stuff with injuries really affects you - not being able to work on things in the gym translates into your performance in the Octagon. Being 100 percent mentally and physically helped so much.”
Velasquez on what he prepared for this time against Dos Santos: “We really studied the tapes from the last fight. It was a lot of stuff, stuff we saw in the weigh-in, him putting his fist in the face, to I’m going to go to the middle of the ring. I wanted to put it in his head what I’m going to do. I kept the high-paced wrestling style and it really breaks people and used it to my advantage and wore him down.”
Velasquez on if he’d fight Daniel Cormier: “I wouldn’t. This is my friend, my coach, my teammate. If you want to see us fight, go to AKA and watch us spar in the gym three days a week.”
Cormier on if he’ll fight Velasquez in the near future: “No. They have a lot of other people for me to fight. He might force me to cut some weight.”
Velasquez if he wants to fight Alistair Overeem next: “Whoever wins that fight [between Overeem and Bigfoot Silva], I have to step up. That’s what it comes down to.”
Velasquez if he would fight Dos Santos again: “Definitely. That was a tough fight.”
UFC President Dana White on if he thought the fight would end the way it did: “I told everyone that I was talking to back there that this fight wouldn’t go five rounds. I thought either one of them could win. You saw Cain not afraid to trade with Dos Santos early on, but you saw him take him down. But you also saw how tough and how much heart Dos Santos had. From what I am hearing his jaw was broken in the second round and he kept going on, he is tough.”
White if the fight should have been stopped earlier: “The guy went five rounds so the answer is probably no. Cain probably could have stopped it in the second round, I don’t want to criticize Cain, I’m just saying he may have been able to go a little harder there to finish it. But, he was fighting a great fight, playing it a little safe and he really wanted that belt.”
White on Velasquez: “He did everything everybody else thought he couldn’t do. Everyone questioned his chin, which I didn’t do. Thank god for the co-main event tonight. The co-main event and main event saved the night.”
White on if a third Velasquez vs. Dos Santos fight could happen: “When I walked out of the ring everyone was screaming at me for a rematch. It could happen.”
White on if Velasquez vs. Cormier could happen: “Yeah, from what I understand from Cain and Cormier’s people, those two will fight. Or the other option is for Cormier to go to 205. I like him wherever he wants to be.”
Helwani on the heavyweight division: “Baring injuries, 2013 will be the most exciting year for the heavyweight division. In the upcoming months we have the return of Alistair Overeem, plus Daniel Cormier is fighting for the Strikeforce title. The new champion has a lot of choices of who he might fight next. The fight I’d like to see most is Cain Velasquez vs. Daniel Cormier.”
Cormier on if he’ll fight Velasquez: “Ariel is finding different ways to ask for this fight. I just cornered the guy and hugged him after he won the fight. Cain almost started crying when he was asked if we were going to fight. There are some interesting matches at heavyweight for me first. I’ve got a few fights to do, then I might move down.”
Florian on the heavyweight division: “Everyone is forgetting Alistair Overeem. He’s definitely still in the mix.”
Cormier on upcoming fights in the heavyweight division: “I have a fight in January. Overeem has a fight next. We have some obstacles to get over before we might fight Cain. We have to do some things before that could happen.”
Florian if he’d like to see a trilogy fight between Velasquez and Dos Santos: “Why not. That was a great fight. That fight was one of the greatest in combat sports history. Of course I’d like to see another fight and complete the trilogy.”
Cormier on a possible trilogy fight between Velasquez and Dos Santos: “JDS lost the title tonight, but he gained a lot and got a lot of new fans. Maybe he does what Cain did when he lost the belt, take another fight. Then he’ll deserve a rematch. These guys will definitely fight again.”
Florian on Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon: “They say one of the most important aspects of the fight is the art of deception. Miller had us all fooled he went into Joe’s face and landed some kicks to the face and changed the whole game plan. There were some amazing grappling exchanges. Lauzon really brought it with the ground game and Miller really did well with the counters.”
Jim Miller on his performance: “I am pleased. I did come into the fight with a game plan of using the low inside kicks and I have been working on using my elbow for years. I didn’t have an opportunity to use them until tonight. So tonight was the coming-out party for my striking.”
Miller on what got him the victory: “I was out and able to start striking early. I got that momentum and kept it going.”
Miller on fighting a fellow south paw: “We did see that he had some troubles with other south paws so we tried to exploit it.”
Miller on his confidence: “I am here to stay. This is my 14th fight in the UFC. When I step into the cage I am looking to leave it all in there. Like I told Joe, 15 minutes can be a long time if you are getting beat up, but in the long scheme of things it really isn’t that much time. You just have to go in there and give it your all.”
Miller on if it was difficult taking the fight on such short notice: “Not really. I personally don’t think it was that short of notice. It was six weeks. I am a professional. I was a little heavier than I normally am, basically the heaviest I’ve been. I lost 30 pounds in six weeks. It was tough, but this is my job and I love it.”
Joe Lauzon on how he’s feeling: “I am a little sore in the face area, but I feel not too bad.”
Lauzon on if the blood affected him: “It was a little slippery, but it was my fault for getting hit. Jim was a great fighter I have no complaints. It was really hard to see. It was the first time I’ve ever been cut like that so I had to make some adjustments.”
Lauzon on if he thought Miller was aggressive: “Yeah, you know we expected it pretty much like that. He was a little faster with the elbows, but that’s it.”
Miller on Lauzon’s attempt to guillotine: “The heal hook was pretty close. I was able to control the wrist and slip my toes to not let him grab a hold of me. But the last guillotine didn’t do much.”
Miller on his plans for 2013: “I hope to be very busy in 2013. I had eight months off between my last fight and this fight. I like to fight every three months.”
Cormier on Tim Boetsch vs. Costa Philippou: “It was a great fight from the beginning. Tim got inside early. But something was wrong with Tim later in the fight and Costa moved in.”
Florian on Boetsch: “There was a definite change after the eye poke and it definitely affected his vision in the fight. Tim is a big name and was on quite a streak. Boetsch was beating big names before he came in here. He beat Okami and some others. Costa really took the wind out of his sails.”
Cormier on Philippou’s future: “Costa needs a little bit of work for a title shot, but he has put people on notice.”
Philippou on how he feels after beating Tim Boetsch: “Like a million dollars. There’s no other way to describe it. I was stressing on this fight. People were telling me I don’t belong out there, and I almost believed them. But deep down I believed in myself.”
Philippou on if he made an impression with this fight: “If I didn’t tonight, I don’t know what else I can do. Everyone will know who I am now.”
Philippou on if he head butted Boetsch: “I don’t know about the head butt. I’m really sorry about the eye poke. I didn’t mean to do it.”
Philippou on if he was prepared after taking this fight on short notice: “I was already prepared for this fight. I was training for Nick Ring.”
Philippou on where he ranks in the division: “I don’t know. I’m five and zero now. You guys tell me where I belong.”
Florian on Leben vs. Brunson: “It looked like Chris Leben had some ring rust. Derek Brunson, we all knew he was a wrestler, but I was impressed by his one-two punches and how he got in on the legs each time.”
Cormier on Brunson: “Derek never let Leben get started. He did what he needed to do. He wrestled in the first round and really wore him down for the full five minutes.”
Florian on Brunson using his wrestling to set the pace of the fight: “A wrestler will do that to you. When you get taken down several times, you hesitate with your striking.”
Cormier on Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami: “You know what man, classic Yushin Okami. Alan was on a good one, but Okami has great ground control, you can see him giving some ground and pound. As you see history repeats itself here.”
Florian on Belcher vs. Okami: “Okami just nullified everything that Alan Belcher was trying to do out there.”
Florian on where Okami should go next: “It is a problem. He already fought Anderson Silva, and it wasn’t like he had a close fight with Silva, Silva destroyed him. But if he gets some other fights going, particularly good fights, he might be looked at as a contender again.”
Florian’s favorite moment of the year: “There were so many great moments. But I guess it has to be the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen fight. There was so much anticipation and even the weigh-in was crazy. The fight was great. That was the best moment for me.”
Cormier’s favorite moment of the year: “My favorite moment was being able to fight Josh Barnett and in the Strikeforce Grand Prix. To go out and dominate and win in the fashion that I did was just incredible. It was a fantastic year for my gym and for myself.”
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