The UFC held its traditional post-fight press conference after UFC on Fuel 10 in Fortaleaza, Brazil. UFC executive Marshall Zelaznik, Fabricio Werdum, Thiago Silva, Erick Silva, Leonardo Santos, and William Patolino were all on hand to answer questions from the media. MMASucka covered the event, and here are the highlights from each speaker.
Marshall Zelaznik, UFC executive:
- 6286 people were in attendance attendance
- Fight Of the Night bonus went to Thiago Silva vs. Rafael Cavalcante, Submission Of the Night went to Erick Silva, and KO Of The tight went to Thiago Silva. Each bonus was $50,000.
- First time Brazilians won every fight on this card, first time ever for card in Brazil.
- 8 Submissions in the night, setting a new record.
- Feels Werdum-Nogeuira fight was important for contendership, chatter in office backs that up, but there are no plans yet from Dana White.
- There are issues with holding September show in Porta Alegre, and show could very well be held in Bela Horizonte.
- Says UFC will likely be back. Spoke with governer and mayor, and a new arena being built. Town was supportive and welcoming. Soccer match was happy to see them. Noted the UFC made some refurbishments to venue. Stated that it was a very warm night that challenged the production crew.
- Says Brazilian fans have never let the UFC down, and Forteleza fans met their expectations. The venue had challenges, but the UFC’s production crew were able to overcome them and make it look world-class. Mentioned that having air conditioning was the only thing he would change.
Fabricio Werdum
- Says that the old times in Pride were different, and is very happy with the present. Feels he learned a lot from first defeat in Pride.
- Says BJJ is very important, as is wrestling and Muay Thai, but you can’t go into MMA with only one art. You might win one fight, but you can’t keep it up.
- Living in US, he has support from sponsors, Kings MMA, Rafael Cordeiro. To be pro is different.
- Said that to fight someone like Nogueira is very tough, but he was able to stay up. Feels he had to fight very intelligent, as 5 round fights aren’t easy. Lose energy quickly, making it harder when guys like Big Nog just come forward.
- About A. Rodrigo Nogueira, “He wanted to box, I took him down as per strategy.”
- Was very happy to submit Nogueira, but was not out to hurt him. Thinks Yamasaki stopped fight on right moment. Was happy to see Big Nog this time, but doesn’t want to fight him again.
- Did not feel like an outsider, was not booed. Said that Minotauro is a hero in Brazil, but that he still has friends come from the south of Brazil to come and cheer him on.
- Offered to take Minotauro out for sushi the next weekend, made a joke about possibly sleeping with him tonight if he wanted.
- Feels his biggest win to date was submitting Fedor.
- Feels he has not reached 100%, Fabio Gurgel already told him in the locker room, “You were good, but…”
- Watched the World BJJ Championships, saw some new positions. Has been training with Cobrinha for 5 months, doing privates with lots of repetitions, which allowed him to get the armbar almost by reflex.
- Spoke on the possibility of an Ultimate Fighter Mexico against Cain Velasquez if Cain beats Junior dos Santos. Said it would be good, as Latin America needs to be introduced to our sport. Would not like the additional time missed between fights, but would do it if the UFC asked him.
Erick Silva:
- Feels it is too soon to challenge GSP. Is not worried, and just wants to do work.
- Only focused on next fight, so he will take 1-2 weeks off, then start working out again and wait for his next UFC assignment.
- Will do 20 fights to get to a title shot if the UFC wants that. Says he wants to have a lot of experience, and wants to get the title on his waist in his first fight for it.
Thiago Silva:
- When asked about a verbal altercation and challenge with Bigfoot Silva after his fight, Silva responded, “He must be sad cuz I left (American Top Team), but if he wants to fight me, he has to go to 205.”
Leonardo Santos:
- Said Patolino is a great opponent, who is at ease in the cage. Patolino is a guy that will complicate things if you let him “show his fight.” Came back for finale with everything, to pressure him, and “not let him show his fight.” Feels Patolino’s biggest concern was his takedowns.
- Is now very sure he can strike with anyone.
- Could go back down to his normal weight class of lightweight, but is enjoying being at welterweight as he doesn’t have to starve himself to make the weight. Will talk with his camp and the UFC, and then make the decision based on what they think is best.
- Would consider fighting Santiago Ponzinibbio again only if challenged. Feels that their fight during TUF Brazil 2 will go down in history as a war between Brazil and Argentina. Feels Santiago is a good Argentinian who will raise his country’s profile in the UFC. Also says that Ponzinibbio has a big heart.
- When asked about humility, said that he is from the old school of BJJ, fighting in it since he was a child. Stated that he learned you must respect those who are more advanced, and that is what they do in Nova Uniao. You can be champion in one discipline, but must respect your seniors there. Says they respect everyeone, but people need to know who’s talking, and that’s very important in their team.
- Friendship, respect, and hard work are the main considerations in Nova Uniao.
- Says he tries to work hard, and be humble because life comes in stages, and “Who knows what’s next?”
- Feels the importat thing in having done TUF Brazil was making friends for life.
- Says Jose Aldo is a friend for life, and “he can be a champ or no one or retire, but I will still be his friend. Whatever he needs, I will always be there for him, from the bottom of my heart.”
William Patolino:
- On whether he felt he was over-emotional or if he was ready for the fight, Patolino simply stated that Leo Santos was the better fighter, who imposed his will and came for the submission. Congratulated Santos.
- Says he is very young, and learned a lot in his first defeat. Says he has a lot to learn, but will trust his camp and give a better fight next time.
- Feels that there is a victory in that he became more mature as man. Says today was important, and that while he was sad to lose, he was happy to have learned a lot. Says he will become more mature and come back better.
- When asked if his young age was a factor in his defeat, Patolino said that life has a learning curve, he is still very young, and that means he has a lot of emotion and energy. Said the loss was an issue of strategy. He tried to follow a strategy, but Santos was able to, “flip me over, get on top, and get the submission.”
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