The Weekly Wrap: April 4 - April 10

Quoteworthy

“You’re never really ready for a guy like Miguel Torres, so I think just another fight in general would help me. You’re going to have to have a lucky day against Torres. I think every fight is a new fight, and you have the same chances of winning, a 50-50 chance of winning.” -- Joseph Benavidez discussing a timetable for a potential title shot with the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show”

“I was depressed for like two weeks. It was terrible. I was looking forward to this fight for a long time. It sucks when something like this happens.” -- Bantamweight contender Brian Bowles telling Yahoo! Sports about the injury that kept him out of the WEC title fight with Miguel Torres on April 5

“I’m hoping that this fight gives him a bit of education and a bit of understanding. No old guy should be going out and beating a 25-year-old guy. That technically shouldn’t be happening. He’s in his physical prime. He’s bigger than me. He’s got almost as many fights as I do. The truth is he should be beating me, but he’s not. He’s not because I’m not going to lay down. I refuse to die, and at the end of the day, I think I believe a little more than he does in what we’re doing.” -- Frank Shamrock in an interview with Sherdog.com regarding his April 11 bout against Nick Diaz on Showtime

“I’m more consistent about everything being a cannabis user. I’m happy to get loaded, hear some good music … I remain consistent. And I have an easy way to deal with [the drug tests]. I can pass a drug test in eight days with herbal cleansers. I drink 10 pounds of water and sweat out 10 pounds of water every day. I’ll be fine.” -- Nick Diaz talking about his marijuana use with the Los Angeles Times

“It was anger. He was basically saying that I was old and past my prime. I wanted to give him a one-second ass kicking for that. Anyone who would hear something like that would, of course, be pissed. I don’t really remember what happened. Wasn’t it like 15 seconds? During my Shooto days, I used to be able to finish guys in seconds. I was really happy that I could do it again. He said my style was very old, but my techniques still work. I want to show the crowd that I can win this whole tournament with this old style.” -- Hayato Sakurai discussing his win against Shinya Aoki at a post-fight press conference for Dream 8

“I already consider myself to be top 10. I think it’s crazy if you don’t.” -- Michael Bisping to ESPN.com

“I would still like to get that little bit of fear that I used to get when I first started fighting. I think that fear used to work for me in a way that I don’t get it anymore. I told the referee before, he says, ‘Is there anything I’ve got to know about you?’ I told him, ‘I might go down. You might see me go down.’ I leave myself exposed, but in return for doing that, I throw big punches and try to put my opponent away. It’s a give and take thing. One thing’s for sure, I’m not going to stay down.” -- Eddie Alvarez talking to the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show about his Bellator Fighting Championships debut against Greg Loughran

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The Week Ahead

All the fallout from Strikeforce’s premiere effort on Showtime, plus the UFC returns to the city where it has drawn its largest live crowd to date, Montreal. The road to UFC 97 starts with the airing of a “Countdown” special April 13 on Spike TV.