Tag: MMA interviews (Page 3 of 3)

      Joseph Benavidez looking to avenge loss and earn WEC Gold

      August 18, 2010 /

      E. Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com breaks down Joseph Benavidez’s mission on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, when he steps into the cage with Dominick Cruz.

      Most fighters have two goals in mind when it comes to the sport. One is to where championship gold around their waist, and since making through an entire career unbeaten is about as likely as winning the lottery, being able to avenge any losses incurred along the way comes in a close second.

      Wednesday night in Las Vegas, Joseph Benavidez will have the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone as he steps into the cage with Dominick Cruz, the WEC bantamweight champion and the only man to hold a victory over the Team Alpha Male trainee.

      “This is huge, man,” stated the 26-year-old 135-pound contender about the opportunity that awaits him later this week at The Pearl at The Palms. “It’s the world championship which is the goal – should be the goal of any fighter – and definitely is for me. That’s why I train. Right under that on the list is to avenge my only loss, and I get to do it both on the same night.”

      Benavidez and Cruz first faced each other in August 2009. As a protégé of WEC poster boy Urijah Faber and coming off an impressive decision win over savvy veteran Jeff Curran four months earlier, the then-unbeaten Benavidez entered the fight as the favorite.

      Read the full article here.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, WEC

      Miesha Tate – the total package

      August 15, 2010 /
      PHOENIX - AUGUST 13: Miesha Tate celebrates after defeating Hitomi Akano of Japan in the Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Tournament Championship bout at Dodge Theater on August 13, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

      Jon Lane of HeavyMMA.com explores the total package that is Miesha Tate:

      Miesha Tate’s introduction to Mixed Martial Arts was a one-night-only tournament in Evansville, Ind., the HOOKnSHOOT – BodogFIGHT 2007 Women’s Grand Prix. Her first opponent was Jan Finney, a rugged competitor desperate to snap a three-fight losing streak. For Tate this was the payoff for competing among boys on her high school wrestling team, and in 2005 winning the women’s Washington state championship and nationals at the World Team Trials at 158 pounds. Two years after joining an MMA club at Central Washington University run by her future trainer and boyfriend, WEC featherweight Bryan Caraway, her total athletic skills and mental capacity were about to be put through a gauntlet.

      Little did Tate realize her body would be mistreated and emotions played like a yo-yo. It was bad enough she cut too much weight. Finney pushed her for three full, hard rounds, but Tate figured she had done enough to advance. Instead, the judges, working a show not sanctioned by an athletic commission, were more indecisive than a hung jury. The fighters were forced to compete in a fourth round. The three at ringside, still undecided, named Tate the winner, and Tate retreated to the locker room to cool down and ice a leg smarting from Finney’s kicks.

      Read the full article here.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      Jon Fitch doesn’t care if you like him or not

      August 5, 2010 /
      NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 27: UFC fighter Jon Fitch (L) battles Ben Saunders (R) during their Welterweight bout at UFC 111 at the Prudential Center on March 27, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey. Fitch won by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 of the 3rd round. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

      E. Spencer Kyte of HeavyMMA.com sat down with Jon Fitch recently and apparently the fighter doesn’t care if you like him or not.

      There is a movement gaining steam in mixed martial arts and Jon Fitch is their poster boy.

      Over the past six months, there has been a groundswell of frustration with all things wrestling-related in MMA, and we’re not talking WWE. Fans, critics and industry insiders alike have talked about the excitement being sucked out of the sport by repeated takedowns from wrestling standouts like Muhammed Lawal and Joe Warren, with Fitch drawing the most ire of anyone.

      The American Kickboxing Academy product has become a favorite target of fans that have an adverse reaction the instant a fight goes to the ground. Grinding out five straight decision victories will do that for you. Boring has become the adjective most frequently used to describe the former Purdue wrestling captain, and as he prepares to finally rematch Thiago Alves at UFC 117, Fitch has something to say to the anti-wrestling set.

      “Either you’re a fan of the sport or you’re not. If you’re not a fan of the sport, go the [expletive] away,” offered the fighter who has amassed twelve wins in thirteen trips inside the Octagon. “Pardon my French, but go away. We don’t want you here, we don’t need you here, because there are plenty of people who love the sport the way it is. Go away. We’re not going to keep changing the rules just to appease the people who only want to see guys boxing with small gloves. Go away. Watch something else.

      Read the rest of the article here.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      UFC 117 Conference Call with Anderson Silva & Chael Sonnen

      July 28, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: Anderson Silva celebrates after defeating Forrest Griffin during their light heavyweight bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

      Heavy.com MMA writer Matt Brown chatted with Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen on a recent conference call as they prepare for UFC 117. Below is the interview.

      Not that this will come as any surprise, but Chael Sonnen was star of the UFC 117 conference call. Anderson Silva, well, he was full of “yes” and “no” answers. The champ seemed indifferent on the call and almost distracted. Sonnen, on the other hand, was full of gems and seemed quite intense. Just another example of the drastic difference in personalities of these two fighters. Highlights below…

      Sonnen: “Anderson has a lot of tools. I don’t see a major glaring weakness anywhere.”

      Sonnen: “I’m the toughest guy in the company. There’s never been a guy with earrings that can out tough me and he’s not going to be the first.”

      Sonnen “I’m a partner with the UFC and Anderson is an employee. That’s why all the questions are coming to me. I give a clear and coherant answer while he sits on a speakerphone in a car somewhere giving yes and no answers.”

      Sonnen: “I’m gonna be standing, he’s gonna be flat on his back.”

      Silva: “He can say what he wants to say.” – in response to Dana White saying he could cut the champ after another bad performance

      Sonnen: “I believe Vitor is in line next, but he’s not the guy I really want to fight. I have a guy in mind and I’ll challenge him on the night of the 7th.”

      Click here to read the rest of the interview.

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      A chat with MMA fighter Miguel Torres

      August 1, 2009 /

      Miguel Torres may be the best fighter you’ve never seen.

      At 37-1 in his professional mixed martial arts career, Torres is considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. But, it was only in the last two years that Torres has started to garner national recognition. Two years ago Torres debuted for World Extreme Cagefighting, and in a short time became the WEC Bantamweight (135-pound limit) champion with a first-round submission of then-champion, Chase Beebe, in September of 2007.

      In his first title defense, Torres stole the show at WEC 34 in a three-round war with Yoshior Maeda and began to draw the attention of MMA fans worldwide. Now, as he is set for his fourth title defense on Aug. 9 against Brian Bowles in WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles on Versus at 9 p.m., Torres is looking for another exciting fight that will push him up the pound-for-pound rankings and make him an even bigger commodity in the world of MMA.

      As Torres prepares for his latest fight, he took some time from training to speak with The Scores Report about Bowles, how he got started in MMA, and his feelings on Floyd Mayweather Jr.

      Continue reading »

      Mixed Martial Arts

      Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑