The Weekly Wrap: Jan. 9 - Jan. 15

Quoteworthy

“I came to fight. Ben was a better man. He caught me with that guillotine. I wanted to box. He wanted to kick. S--t happens. I was winning the match. I was getting the takedowns. I had the control. I came to fight, Ben came to grapple; two different things.” -- Jamie Varner following his loss to Benson Henderson at WEC 46

“I didn’t hear them, but I won’t take offense to them. Fighting’s a tough sport; people get emotional, win or lose. I sound like an idiot after the ‘W.’ I keep going on and on, and I just have so much love and happiness inside of me, I keep talking forever. Fighters, we get emotional. We’re very emotional people, so it’s cool.” -- Newly crowned WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson to MMAWeekly.com on Varner’s remarks

“The commentary screwed me; the whole judges had a negative outlook on me since the beginning of the fight. Nobody watched the fight. They listened to the critics. It’s easy for Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg to sit there in a chair and say what’s going on when they’re not getting in there. They’re not throwing punches ... I’m noticing when I’m landing shots, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are criticizing the shots and criticizing what I’m doing while I’m hitting him and talking about how good Gray Maynard is while I’m hitting him.” -- Nate Diaz discussing his loss to Gray Maynard on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show

“To tell you the truth, you need guys like him, you know. If everybody would be a nice guy, it would be pretty boring. You need guys that try to get under peoples’ skin. I think it’s part of the game. It’s good for promotion, too. People know that I’m French speaking. If I started getting involved into a trash talking war, I’m going to finish second because my English is not good, first, and also it’s not my style ... I like those guys that talk a lot of trash, even though I’m not like that. But I like to see them fight. It’s very entertaining.” -- Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre on his UFC 111 opponent, Dan Hardy, and fighters of his ilk

“There is only one champion, so I believe this fight must happen. It’s a professional issue, and I believe they can fight. Deep down, everyone wants to know who is strongest. Friendship is friendship, but they’re not amateurs. The eventual winner isn’t my concern. What matters to me is how they win, and their strategy. This would be a mental battle.” -- Yoshizo Machida, father of UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, to PVT Mag on a potential fight between his son and middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva

“I will never see that judge in a courtroom again. I don’t see myself doing anything crazy again ... I want to be a positive role model. I could have really hurt someone or hurt myself. I will never let something get me so down I would hurt myself or others.” -- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to The Orange County Register on being sentenced to three years probation for leading police on a car chase in 2008

“I called my manager [and] I told him I got a concussion. He said I had to choose between two things: either I don’t fight and get sidelined for quite a long time, or go ahead and fight.” -- Mark Munoz to abs-cbnnews.com on fighting against Matt Hamill at UFC 96 despite suffering a concussion in training eight days before

“I was going broke looking for a job. I got a load of bills that need paying. When I got the call, I thought, ‘Thank God. Now I can pay some bills.’” -- Gary Goodridge to SI.com on taking the New Year’s Eve fight against Gegard Mousasi

* * *

The Week Ahead

The fighting future of UFC heavyweight champion and pay-per-view cash cow Brock Lesnar is expected to become clear, and MMA legislation in New York is expected to take a step forward.