UFC president Dana White was one of many who watched as Fedor suffered his first defeat in ten years to the heavily decorated Brazillian Jiu-Jistu practitioner Fabricio Werdum.  White who has been very vocal on his thoughts of the Russian heavyweight claimed he felt vindicated while on tour for UFC 116.

“I’ve been saying it for years, Fedor is not a top 10 heavyweight. He just got beat by a guy who couldn’t cut it in the UFC in the first round. There’s at least 10 fighters in the UFC right now who would beat Fedor even worse.”

Despite the harsh criticism White stated he would still be willing to offer the former WAMMA champion a new contract if he wishes to sign on with the UFC.

“Tell you what, if he wants to sign with the UFC now, the previous contract where I offered him an insane amount of money is off the table. I’ll give him a new contract, 20K to show and 20K to win. If he doesn’t accept it, too bad.”

Coming off a stunning KO victory over hall of famer Chuck Liddell, Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin addressed questions from the press at the post-fight conference of UFC 115.  When asked where he believes he fits in the divison Franklin answered:

“If it was up to me I would love to fight for the title here at 205, thats my personal goal I’m aiming for right now but at the end of the days that’s the UFC’s call and not mine so whoever they want me to face I will. As far as I know the winner of Randy Couture vs James Toney is probably next in line for the title but I would love to compete against either one of them to determine the number one contender.”

Franklin also addressed a potential return to the middlweight class where he was once champion claiming that he was unhappy with his past performances against current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“There are some great fights for me at 185, a lot of well rounded guys there. I would like to face Anderson [Silva] again, simply because I know I did not perform to the best of my ability. I mean not to sound pretentious or anything but I think I’ve progressed enough skill-wise to a point where I could potentially win in that situation. I had him hurt a couple of occasions but I couldn’t close it because my KO power hadn’t really developed like it has now.”

“Personally, I think Pacquiao got exposed in that fight for being one-dimensional. You can have all [the] offence ability in the world but with no defense you’re not going to last long against a good counter puncher such as myself. Look at the way Clottey was getting through, each time he threw something it landed. Then at the end Pacquiao’s was all busted up, when’s the last time you’ve seen my face all messed up like that? That’s the difference between an amateur and a true pound for pound boxer.”

“I think Pacquiao gave the fans a boring fight, he was punching his arms for all 12 rounds. At least when you watch Floyd Mayweather you know you’ll be seeing non-stop action for 30 minutes straight and that’s what you’ll see on May 1st . “

“The attendance numbers ain’t nothing compared to what I have drawn in the past or what I would have drawn if that was me in the ring that night, everybody knows that. Half those seats were empty in the back and people say Pacquiao is a draw? Let’s not forget who generated a revenue of 2.5 million dollars in one fight alone. The only reason why he’s popular is because he’s an ethnic minorty and from the Philippines so it’s something special. If he was from Africa he would be just another boxer.”

“The thing is I am just looking out for the good of the sport, everyone should compete on a fair level but he [Pacquiao ] doesn’t want that. I’m not going to say what he is or isn’t on but lets just say that HGH is one hell of a drug. All roads lead to Floyd Mayweather, we all know that. If he wants to fight me, he doesn’t have to look far. Just look for the biggest mansion in Vegas and that’s me. The matter of the fact is I put the offer on the table and he declined ain’t no two ways about it, he doesn’t want anything to do with a true pound for pound fighter. Once I get [Shane] Mosley out the way then we’ll see what Pacquiao has to say until then I don’t want to hear about him or nothing.”

“So what he was punching me, big deal, isn’t that what happens in a fight? The reality of the situation is that I was using the cage to get to my feet and which I basically did and then for some reason Steve [Mazzagatti] decides to step in. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. I mean if the punches had some force behind them I could understand it but those were like soft jabs that didn’t hurt at all, it was like he was just hitting me to stay busy rather than damage me. That’s is why I wasn’t covering up – the punches didn’t hurt and definitely weren’t doing any damage, at least not enough to slow me down, but then he [Steve Mazzagatti] calls the fight? Please, my grandmother hits harder that that. Maybe it looked bad to those at home and to those who have never trained but I had worked back into standing position and was ready to fire back some of my own, so how bad could the punches have really been? Come on, if you would have seen me the next day you’d have hardly thought I was in a fight – I woke up the next day with barely a scratch on my face. Look at some fights I have had in my career, I’ve been in plenty of worse positions and managed to turn the fight around and win.

You know Shogun wasn’t the only one robbed that night. So what If I lost the first round by a small margin, all that meant is there were still two rounds up for grabs, my shoulders were just loosening up at the beginning of the second round – the real fight was just getting started. Look, I don’t want to make this sound like I’m taking anything away from Cain, he’s a great fighter, probably one of the best in the heavy weight division at the moment. I just feel like I’ve been working my entire career to get this shot in the UFC, only to have it taken away from me by an incompetent referee. Losing is one thing but to have such a big opportunity taken from you? I’m disgusted.”
Rothwell then went on to adressed his fans and promised that a much more improved Ben Rothwell  next time out:

“If you feel as ripped off as I do, let me apologize, but I also want all you people to know that next time I step in the cage no ref is going to steal anything from me and tell me what fight I didn’t win, I’m gonna take matters into my own hands and put some people to sleep, bank on it”

I know Michael attended live UFC events a few times in the past. You know we lost a great ambassador for the sport and he truly help the sport grow, so offering a tribute is the least we can do.

White then announced a special post fight ceremony to be held where Michael Jackson will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

I know the hall of fame is more for the fighters, but Michael helped the sport grow so I think we can make an exception in this one instance.

Many fighters under the UFC banner were influenced by Jacksons music including the current UFC Middleweight champion – Anderson Silva who himself expressed his interest in taking part in the tribute:

I first heard his music when I was very young. He touched me very much back then, I would love to perform ‘Thriller’ in honour of my idol. He [Jackson] deserves a good send off and I am happy that [the] UFC is paying their tribute to a legend.

Others influenced by Micheal Jackson included former Welterweight champion Matt Hughes,

“I know people think of me as just a country music fan, but his [Jackson's] music transcended all social bounds. I would have to say my favourite song of his was ‘Dirty Diana’. I can remember days when I didn’t feel like training and I used to put that song on and it would get me fired up.”

“I don’t see how the judges could declare that a win for him, besides a flash knockdown (he) never had me in any real danger during the fight. I was actually a little surprised by the decision I thought the judges would’ve scored the fight in my favour considering that I controlled the pace of the fight and, but that’s how (it) is I guess – you know sometimes the ref picks who wins and other times they let the fighters decide. The fact that it was a split decision shows you how close the fight was, I still feel that I’m a top contender at this weight and should be in line for the title. I always go out there looking to finish my opponent and push the pace, I hate to see guys stall while in a dominant position and rely on the judges to hand them the win. “

Guida then went on to comment on how he believes that stylistically he would be the most difficult match up for the current champion – BJ Penn. “I saw his fight against St Pierre and I noticed some holes in his game that I could capitalize on. On a style basis I think that I have the best shot at dethroning BJ (Penn) right now. The blueprint is out there now I will just need to reapply it.”

When asked about who he would like to face next, Guida responded “I will do whatever Dana and the UFC wants me to, I have proven myself at 155. If they want me to go up in weight, I feel I can  create some waves at that division too”

You know Kurt has all the tools to make the switch to MMA, and if he’s willing to put the time and effort in – I think he could reach the top of the ladder pretty easily and I hate to admit it but he would definitely be a threat to my title. I’ve said (it) before, he is a better wrestler than I am and that would come into play in MMA. Having stong  wrestling ability in my opinon is the most important skill required for MMA and Kurt has that in abundance.

With his olympic wrestling background I could see him going far in MMA, I don’t see no reason why someone with his skills and athleticism  can’t compete at the highest level like how I did.

Lesnar is currently set to defend his UFC title against interim champion, Frank Mir at UFC 100 on July 13th.

“Are you kidding me, he  seriously wants to return to the UFC?” asked White “He hasn’t won a fight in years and when he did he usually put everyone to sleep, the only time he’s in an exciting fight is when he’s getting his [expletive] ass handed to him. Look, he just got beat by a near 50 year old in under 10 [expletive] seconds, how do you expect to be taken seriously after that? he just made MMA look like a  complete joke. If he has any hopes of ending his career  in (the) UFC he will have to go on TUF, there’s no other way he’s getting in”

“Man, who in the UFC as good as Floyd Mayweather? Look back to 2-3 years ago, when this all started. One of the stars in the sport, Chuck Liddell, has gone 3-4. The man has been Knocked out so many time his boss made him retire. How many times you seen Floyd Mayweather knocked out? How many times you seen Floyd Mayweather even knocked down? None.”

When pressed about recent UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida
being compared to names such as Pernell Whitaker and even Floyd himself, in being MMA’s
most elusive fighter, Floyd had this to say:

“Who? Who’s Lyoto Machida? Lyoto Machida? Oh you mean that guy who sold 200,000 PPVs now he’s a superstar? It doesn’t take much over there does it? I’ve sold 3.5 million PPVs between my last 2 fights alone. How much money did Machida make his last fight? $100,000 maybe? Tell Dana White, for $100,000, I will come show him what a 28 million dollar check looks like.

How is Machida as good as Floyd Mayweather? Because he’s beaten a few unskilled bar room fighters? At the end of the day, you already know, when you watch Floyd Mayweather you see the past, present and future of the sport. Machida don’t deserve to be mentioned in he same breath as me. Kousta Tszyu would whip up on his stank ass anyway.”

Our interviewer then divulged into one of the most repeated questions the fans wanted to
heard be asked, and that question being what are his opinions on Fedor “The Last Russian
Emperor” Emelianenko?

“Again, who? Oh, you mean that Russian guy Oscar let fight for him? The guy who fought Freddie Roach’s boy? Yeah, I know him. He’s a nice guy, but man was Roach’s boy whippin’ up on him until he got that hail Mary overhand. He needs to get at a real boxing coach like Roger Mayweather to teach him how to throw a punch. The man had his head down and his eyes closed when he threw that punch, anyone who says that wasn’t luck doesn’t know much about the sweet science…”

When asked about Sean Sherk, Floyd was pretty frank about his thoughts on MMA:

“Man, I am here to talk about Floyd Mayweather, the face of boxing. The cash king. The pound for pound greatest fighter who ever lived. I got Marquez, the man who SHOULD be the pound for pound king. I mean really, he beat Pacman both times. You know it, I know it, the fans know it. They keep asking me why I ain’t come back to fight Pacman? Because in my eyes Manny wasn’t number one pound for pound when I was gone. The guy who beat him twice was. In my eyes, I am coming back to fight the number one pound for pound guy. Once I whip his ass and reclaim my throne, I’m going to show you all that little midget from the Phillipines will be nothing but an after thought when Money May gets a hold of that ass.”