The Weekly Wrap: July 25 - July 31

Quoteworthy

“This is the moment of truth that the UFC has talked about. Fedor and I are here in the States. If they want to come out and fly here, we are ready to conduct negotiations. Of course it still doesn’t imply we are ready to accept any conditions they’ll throw at us. We want to talk to the UFC about having Fedor compete against some of their fighters, but only within the framework of co-promotional efforts with M-1 Global.” -- M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein discussing the possibility of Fedor Emelianenko competing in the UFC

“We built this business, this entire freaking industry. How are they going to come in and help us co-promote? It’s basically them coming and saying, ‘We’ve got this guy and some people say he might be the best heavyweight in the world. So for that, we want half your business.’ Yeah, OK. That s--t probably works in Russia. Not here.” -- UFC President Dana White talking during a conference call about the Emelianenko negotiations

“Over time I think that the other organizations have got just as much of a chance of getting some great fighters as the UFC. There’s just too many great fighters out there to limit to just one organization.” -- HDNet founder Mark Cuban in an interview with USA Today, touching on how many Affliction fighters will end up in UFC

“We’re kind of like boy friend and girlfriend, of course [White] being the girlfriend. For me, it was about competition.” -- Former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz on his return to the UFC and settling his personal issues with UFC President Dana White

“The Affliction payscale that they were paying these fighters [was] really escalating the fighter purses beyond the true value. And I think sooner or later the natural laws of economics apply to all businesses, and it finally applied to Affliction and they are out of the business.” -- Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker in an interview with Sherdog.com

“It’s kind of just like a catch 22. You know you try to build up the fights and pump up the fights, but you never know how you’re going to be portrayed. But you know, as far as for me, where my head is right now, it’s just all about fighting. You know, I’m not here. I’m not trying to hype up a fight. I’m not trying to do anything. I’m just trying to go out and defend my title and walk out of the cage the 155-pound champion, and that’s the only thing that’s on my mind right now.” -- Lightweight champion B.J. Penn discussing his upcoming title defense against Kenny Florian at UFC 101

“I think Kenny is going to go out there and beat B.J. If B.J. shows up a little out of shape or a little bit messed up in the mind, I think Kenny is going to win. At the same time, if it’s the old B.J., the B.J. from the past, he’s going to give Kenny a lot of problems. If Kenny can stick to his game plan and frustrate B.J., Kenny can win. It’s just a matter of who shows up. Whenever there is a fight that is too close to call, it’s whoever has the better mindset.” -- World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Miguel Torres breaking down Penn vs. Florian with Yahoo! Sports

“I try not to schedule fights the week I’ll be on my period. Making weight is hard enough and during our period, we may retain around seven pounds of water weight. Plus bruises hurt more, you’re bloated and cramping and, emotionally, it’s tougher to battle through the training. Also, some states require us to wear breast padding, since we’re allowed to punch there. One time I didn’t have any; a guy told me to put a rolled-up towel in my bra. I said no. I usually just wear three sports bras during a fight.” -- Gina Carano in an interview with ESPN.com

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The Week Ahead

Sengoku crowns its inaugural featherweight champion on Aug. 2, as Hatsu Hiko vs. Masanori Kanehara and Marlon Sandro vs. Michihiro Omigawa closes out the grand prix. Also, buildup hits high gear for UFC 101 and WEC 42.