Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Josh Barnett recently spoke about tomorrow’s finals, here is what he had to say…
On his fans:
“I’m the one that all the hipsters love. I’m like, ‘Have you ever heard of Josh Barnett? Of course you haven’t. You’re not cool enough.’ I think what’s difficult is my appeal is not solely in MMA,” he said. “I’m sort of split amongst a lot of different genres, if you want to call it that. I’d say overall, I’ve got a lot stronger presence than a lot of MMA fighters. I walk into … all these different places that not only do people know my name, but I’m friends with a lot of major players and movers and shakers. I’ve never been one to put myself into one area, anyway.”
Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Daniel Cormier recently spoke about opposing finalist Josh Barnett, here is what he had to say…
On showing Barnett that the time has come to slow down:
“No knock on Josh, but everybody that fought in that era is starting to slow down,” Cormier said. “He was in the battles just as they were. So I think it’s going to take a guy to bring it out of him, to show him that it is mileage, and time is starting to catch up to him. Maybe after the fight, people will say, ‘He’s slowing down. He’s not what he used to be.’ But guys don’t slow down on their own. Somebody has to actually show them that the time has come, where it’s starting to catch up, all the battles and all the wars.”
On Barnett not have any big wins lately:
“[Barnett] beat all those guys, but a lot of those big wins are back before 2005, so it’s not like all these wins are recent,” he said. “A lot of those wins are way back in the day, so Josh is a completely different fighter than he was.”
On the MMA game evolving:
“Back in the day, if a guy had a leg lock, he could be a world champion,” Cormier said. “Well, the game’s changed now, and it’s advanced. All that stuff doesn’t really pertain to me.”
UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir takes place May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card is set to air on PPV. The prelims will air on FX and stream on Facebook.
The full UFC 146 card is below:
MAIN CARD (PPV)
Junior Dos Santos vs. Frank Mir (UFC Heavyweight Championship)
UFC Heavyweight Lavar Johnson (17-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) just got a great opportunity to continue moving up the Heavyweight ladder.
UFC officials have removed Mark Hunt (8-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) from his scheduled bout against Stefan Struve (23-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) at UFC 146 due to a reported knee injury. Johnson has replaced Hunt to face Struve on the all-Heavyweight UFC 146 card.
UFC 146 takes place Saturday, May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hunt yet to comment on the situation.
Johnson is coming off a first-round TKO victory over Pat Barry at UFC on FOX 3. Johnson had the following to say about this opportunity…
Johny Hendricks’ (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) injury resulting from an inadvertent eye poke from Josh Koscheck at UFC On FOX 3 has already healed and he is now medically cleared to fight again. Initially he was given an indefinite suspension pending an opthalmological exam. He now awaits word on his next opponent and is hoping to face the winner of Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit when they fight to unify the UFC Welterweight and UFC Interim Welterweight titles in November.
If Hendricks chooses to sit out and wait for the winner of the title unification, he would be waiting a minimum of 11 months to challenge for the belt, but he is willing to come back earlier if he and his managers reach a “mutual understanding” with the UFC.
“I’m a UFC fighter. I’m paid to fight. I’m not paid to say this or that. I want something, but that might not be the best thing for me. That’s where my management group and (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and the UFC, that’s what they do. I’m paid to fight. You tell me when and where and I’m going to be doing it.”
WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout (24-0, 14 KOs) is currently training for his third title defense. He is scheduled to defend his belt against Delvin “EL Peligro” Rodriguez (26-5-3, 14 KOs) On June 2nd at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. “Training is going good. I’m tired, so it’s doing its job,” said Trout. “I’m excited. I can’t wait for June 2 to come. I’m working so hard right now and it’s all going good. I’m more excited now than I’ve ever been. In fact, I’m trying to curb it back because it’s making my days go real slow.”
The undefeated 26-year-old Trout lives in Las Cruces, where he has an excellent team behind him in trainer Louie Burke and strength & conditioning coach Siju Shabazz . Trout is working hard to prepare for his upcoming title defense, “I run in the morning and do sprints, about four miles. Then we go to the gym for sparring and skills and drills, do about 20 rounds. Then my strength coach takes over and we get into calisthenics and biometric workout after that. It’s rough.”
Trout respects Rodriguez, but says Rodriguez isn’t on his level.
The card is complete for next Saturday’s Bellator 70, which completes the organization’s current sixth season. The event will feature a Championship main event between Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad and recent tournament winner Eric Prindle.
Bellator 70 takes place next Friday, May 25, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The event will feature 10 bouts and the main card will air on MTV2. The prelims will stream on Spike.com.
The full card for Bellator 70 is below:
MAIN CARD
Cole Konrad vs. Eric Prindle – (Heavyweight Championship)
Rick Hawn vs. Brent Weedman – (Lightweight-Tournament finale)
Hiroshi Nakamura vs. Luis Nogueira – (Bantamweight-Tournament Semi-Final)
This Friday’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live” will feature the season’s final two quarterfinal fights, but the moment of the night that will have evryone’s attention will involve Urijah Faber.
As expected, UFC President Dana White will announce Faber’s new opponent for UFC 148, where “The California Kid” and his mystery opponent will compete for the UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship.
The replacement was expected after opposing coach and current Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz was forced to withdraw from the title fight with Faber due to a blown ACL.
Be sure to check back for more news on TUF: Live and UFC 148.
A Middleweight fight between Rafael Natal (14-3-1` MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) and Andrew Craig (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is slotted for July’s UFC on Fuel TV 4 event.
Natal today made the announcement via his twitter page.
UFC on Fuel TV 4 takes place July 11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The main card airs on Fuel TV while Facebook is expected to stream the prelims.
