CORMIER ON MENDES VS. EDGAR: “IF MENDES WANTED A FIGHT TO GET HIM CLOSER TO THE TITLE, THIS IS IT.”
LOS ANGELES – UFC TONIGHT hosts Kenny Florian and Daniel Cormier and interview Chad Mendes, Holly Holm and Forrest Griffin. Karyn Bryant and Ariel Helwani add reports.
UFC TONIGHT host Daniel Cormier on Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar headlining The Ultimate Fighter Finale: “If Chad Mendes wanted a fight get him closer to the title, this is it. This was like the Frankie Edgar sweepstakes – everyone was calling him out. And Chad won it.”
Chad Mendes on headlining The Ultimate Fighter Finale against Frankie Edgar: “This is a fight a lot of people wanted to see for a long time. I’ve been watching Frankie for a long time. He’s always a guy because of his size, when I worked my way up the rankings and he dropped down to 145, I figured face each other. The time is now and I’m excited. He’s a scrapper. We have similar styles. He has great cardio, pushes the pace and mixes his boxing with wrestling. The winner will be right in line for the title. It’s a huge fight for me. ”
Mendes on the key to beating Frankie Edgar: “I’m more dangerous than he is if I’ve had a full camp. I’m a very dangerous fighter. I can put anyone to sleep at any time. I’ve got to fight a smart fight.”
Mendes on his biggest advantage over Frankie Edgar: “My power. I can put anyone to sleep with one punch. Since dropping down to 145, I don’t think his power is there like it was at 155. If I fight a smart fight, I win this fight.”
Mendes on if he lost to McGregor because of the short notice: “That was 110 percent the factor. None of those body kicks hurt at all. Going into the fight, I was in decent shape and talking it up, but I wasn’t in five-round shape. With a full camp, I destroy that guy. He better not try to ditch out to 155. He owes me a rematch with a full camp. We’ll see if he’s man enough to do that.”
Mendes on who wins between Aldo and McGregor: “I think Aldo wins the fight. He’s more athletic, he’s faster and he hits harder. He has more weapons. Conor has splashy spinning kicks, but it’s nowhere near what Aldo has. He’s going to find out real soon.”
VIDEO: Chad Mendes Interview
Holly Holm on if the Ronda Rousey fight is the biggest of her career: “Absolutely, it can’t get any bigger than this. She’s been the most dominant champion of any fighter ever. It’s huge.”
Holm on if she was ready for the title shot: “At first I was nervous, but now I’m thinking, why wait? Let’s do it now. Fighting is never the easy route. You have to take the challenges. I’m going in there to win. I have a lot of work to do.”
Holm on if the fight is her boxing vs. Ronda’s judo: “It’s definitely not as simple as that. I can’t just use boxing footwork. I have to be ready for a lot of situations. I can’t just let her punch me and let her put me on the ground. I have to use footwork, but I need to work on a game plan to give her problems.”
Forrest Griffin on his accomplishment he’s most proud about: “Probably being the TUF winner. That night I started to think: I’ll never have to work again. When I started in the house, I made sure I could go get my old job back.”
Griffin on most embarrassing thing that happened to Kenny Florian: “In the house, he lived off an all-toaster diet: pop tarts and hot pockets.”
Griffin on his job now: “It’s my job helping these athletes realize this is not going to be their only job. You have to think that you’re going to do another job, you can’t live off this. Most will not be Anderson Silva and be able to retire. So you have to think, what am I going to do next?”
VIDEO: Forrest Griffin Interview
http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/
UFC TONIGHT Insider Ariel Helwani on Anthony Pettis’ next fight: “Pettis has said he wants to return in December, but doesn’t have a fight yet Both Edson Barboza and Eddie Alvarez have said they want to fight him.”
Helwani on Hector Lombard’s next fight: “Hector Lombard has said he wants to fight Rory MacDonald when he returns and Rory has said he’s open to it. They were supposed to fight once already, but it didn’t happen.”
Helwani on Jordan Mein retiring: “I’ve heard he’s retired. The UFC has said he’s requested it, and people close to him have said it, but I haven’t confirmed it with him yet.”
Helwani on a Shogun Rua injury: “I’ve just learned that Shogun Rua is to have right shoulder surgery soon.”
VIDEO: Inside the Octagon: Urijah Faber’s next fight, Shogun Rua’s surgery
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