“I wanted to prove to people that it’s possible to get in the ring after trying to commit suicide. I sometimes need 16 hours a week of therapy to deal with this thing. But this is living proof not to give up and that good things will happen.” -- Michael Guymon to Yahoo! Sports on his suicide attempt prior to signing with the UFC
“I said, ‘[Expletive] him.’ And I want people to know I don’t mean that in any disrespectful way at all. I’m actually a huge fan of his, and he’s a super-nice guy. When I started fighting, the 145-division wasn’t popular, so I’d go on YouTube and type in ‘145’ and his videos would come up. I have always thought he was a great fighter. But I had to say that because I’m not scared of anybody and so I have to treat him like any other fighter. I always feel I can win.” -- Mackens Semerzier to MMA Fanhouse on his potential “Upset of the Year” submission over Wagnney Fabiano
“Nah, I’ve fought my own Dad so many times, and we’re still friends. It all comes down to competition. I think it’s very strange for the common reporter to understand that we’re trying to hurt each other as bad as we can in those 25 minutes inside the cage but that afterwards we can be buddies because that’s our job and it’s just a competition. If the media wants us to, we can hate each other.” -- Jason “Mayhem” Miller discussing his Nov. 7 Strikeforce opponent Jake Shields on a conference call
“For the pace of fighting that Lyoto forces, always looking for the knockout, I think this fight won’t go past the third round. ‘Shogun’ will knock him out in the third round for sure. Shogun is going to be the unique guy to show the world how to beat Lyoto. Everyone will learn how to beat Machida.” -- Andre Dida, trainer of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, to Terra.com.nbr on the Brazilian’s Oct. 24 bout with Lyoto Machida
“Everybody is different. I don’t want to watch two grown men wrestling with panties on. I’m from the hood; we don’t play that. To me, I’m not buying a ticket to watch two grown men with panties on, sweating, [with] nuts in their face. That’s not me. To compare that to boxing is ludicrous. It’s a porno. It’s an entertainment porno.” -- Boxer Bernard Hopkins talking about MMA with BoxingScene.com
“I get the feeling Hopkins lashed out at the UFC and MMA like he did because he knows nobody under the age of 35 cares about boxing anymore. It must be hard to accept for people of his age; he has dedicated his life to a sport, and now it is being eclipsed by something more exciting -- the UFC.” -- UFC welterweight contender Dan Hardy to The Sun on Hopkins’ comments
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The Week Ahead
All the run-up to UFC 104 on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles, which features a light heavyweight title bout between champion Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, plus a key heavyweight tilt pairing Ben Rothwell with Cain Velasquez.