“I predict that it doesn’t go the distance… It’s going to be a rock ‘em, sock ‘em fight.” -- Mike Thomas Brown to Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show.
"Yes, I would have liked to see the ref let the fight go on a little bit more because we are all fighters and we fight until the end. Yes, I got hit hard, but felt as though I could have recovered if I had the chance. As for next time, my message to all the refs would be to, please let the fight go until I’m put out to sleep." -- Josh Koscheck on his personal blog on his loss to Paulo Thiago.
"I think Michael's probably a bit relieved he's not the only person flying the flag anymore. I'm certainly not trying to steal his spot; he's done wonders for the UK in MMA. I think he's secured his spot. We've just got his back; that's all." -- British lightweight Dan Hardy on Michael Bisping and U.K. fighters in the UFC.
"I think now I deserve the title shot. That's what I want to do. I want to show the jiu-jitsu to the world, and show the people that you can win the fight without hurting your opponent." -- Demian Maia after defeating Chael Sonnen with a slick triangle at UFC 95.
"I do believe I'm one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. I'm the number one pound-for-pound fighter just above Georges St. Pierre." -- WEC featherweight Jose Aldo, who fights Chris Mickle Sunday night, to WEC.tv.
“I don’t take pills. I don’t take any meds. When they set my finger after the fight, they wanted to put me under. I come from a long history of drug addicts. My parents are both recovering addicts and alcoholics, so I just try to stay away from everything.” -- WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner to MMA Weekly about his foregoing prescribed Vicodin as he recovers from hand surgery.
“In the course of the match Mr. St. Pierre scored with numerous sophisticated grappling techniques, takedowns, pins, guard passes etc. Lubricant doesn’t discriminate. If lubricant made Penn’s grappling ineffective, it should have also made St. Pierre’s grappling technique ineffective.” -- Georges St. Pierre grappling trainer John Danaher in an affidavit to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
“I’m probably going to be pretty relaxed going into this fight. You might not see as much talking. I am going to take this serious, I really need to come back with my next fight big.” -- B.J. Penn to Fighters Only magazine.
“He thought it would be an interesting thing. He’s seen Kimbo Slice fight on TV, and he’s like, ‘I’d like to fight some of these guys.’” -- Sandro Gelke, manager of former WBC heavyweight boxing champion Hasim Rahman, to Sherdog.com about Rahman getting into MMA.
The Week Ahead
The latest event from World Extreme Cagefighting takes place Sunday, headlined by Mike Thomas Brown vs. Leonard Garcia for the featherweight title. The card will produce outcomes with significant bearings on several WEC division rankings.