Jon Fitch: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
“That’s what this is about for me. It’s about legacy, it’s about being someone that people look at throughout history and say, ‘That guy was one of the best fighters on the planet.’ Being a champion in multiple weight classes is something that not too many guys have done.” -- Urijah Faber prior to his WEC 52 victory
“They sure are hearty and delicious.” -- Joseph Benavidez to Heavy.com on “eating black belts alive” with his “Joe-jitsu” in recent submission wins
“There was no controversy whatsoever regarding UFC 122, absolutely none. Either politically or elsewhere, there was a deafening silence in that respect. I think they ran out of arguments, quite frankly.” -- Marek Lieberberg, the UFC’s promoter in Germany, on the reception to the second UFC event in the country
“I’m not going to cry about it. If I’ve failed to convince the UFC, [UFC President] Dana White and the fans that I’m overwhelmingly the number one contender and that I absolutely should be fighting for the belt, then I take that as my own responsibility. It’s my own fault. If people are dissatisfied, then I’m going to correct that. There wasn’t an overwhelming rush of support after the [Thiago] Alves fight. That was kind of eye-opening. I handily beat the number three [welterweight fighter] in the world, and people are still not willing to thrust me into competition with GSP. Something’s missing.” -- Jon Fitch to the Los Angeles Times
“I get my job. You’re in the business of entertainment. People want to see you lay it on the line. They want to see your heart. They want to see what you’re made of. They want to see what you’re about.” -- Jorge Rivera to Sherdog.com
“It’s just frustrating. I am a fighter and I need to make a living doing this, but at the same time it’s about getting that gold. But if the gold is something that I’m not going to get an opportunity to fight for, then I have to face that possibility and move forward and do some other things. If I don't get the chance to fight for the belt, I will never ask to fight for this belt again. I will never want to fight for that belt again. The main goal is to get the belt, but it seems the closer I get to the belt the further away it gets, like it’s not going to happen. I understand that [Mauricio ‘Shogun’] Rua is hurt, but they’ve been in situations like this before and have made it work.” -- Rashad Evans to ESPN.com
“That’s the weirdest comment I have ever heard in my life. [Rashad] is scheduled to fight in March. We offered him a fight in September; he turned it down. He said he didn’t want to harm his brand. I don’t know what the Rashad Evans brand is or what that means, but he said he didn’t want to harm it. It’s not like we were keeping him from fighting; he chose to wait for Shogun. It’s not our fault; Shogun had knee surgery. Personally, I have a great relationship with Rashad. He’s a great guy. When you meet him outside, he’s a great guy. But when it comes to fighting, he is a complete head case.” -- UFC President Dana White
“I kept it on the down low, but law school is like junior high; it’s a big rumor mill. It’s really small. I think someone found a YouTube fight of me and Din [Thomas], and it went viral in the law school. People were watching it on laptops in class.” -- Tyrone Glover to Sherdog.com on attending law school after leaving MMA in 2005
“There’s a couple of things that are just taking place naturally in society and pop culture. Anybody who’s between the ages 21 and 34 -- most of the guys are probably in their 20s that come here -- they’re living in a society where reality television is around them all the time. They’re vlogging. They’re blogging. They’re on Web sites and Tweeting. The idea of having a sense of personality and being visual, it’s something that’s part of their normal lives. We’re finding it, I wouldn’t say easier, but less of a challenge for guys to come in with some level of personality.” -- Spike TV Executive Vice President Brian Diamond to MMAJunkie.com on casting for “The Ultimate Fighter”
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The Week Ahead
All the results and implications from UFC 122. Plus, the promotion gears up for UFC 123 on Nov. 20, headlined by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida and B.J. Penn vs. Matt Hughes.