The UFC held their traditional pre-fight press conference today for UFC 152 at the Real Sports Bar and Grill in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In attendance were UFC Canada’s Tom Wright and main card fighters Jon Jones, Vitor Belfort, Demetrious Johnson, Joseph Benavidez, Brian Stann and Michael Bisping.
The highlights below thanks to MMAmania.com
Tom Wright
- You can only do the first thing once. When we came here in 2011, it was the first time in this province. People from all around the world, every state, every province. This is the third time in a short time. We’ll be back here next September and the September of 2014. This is a great opportunity for Canadians to watch our sport because there’s a void right now. Hockey is in a lockout. We may not have hockey night on Saturday night but we can have fight night.
Jon Jones
- Dana White is a very passionate guy. He takes that big passion and he gets MMA legalized. I forgive Dana White and I’m just looking forward to talking to him and moving forward. I think we’re both ambassadors of this sport. We need to put this past us
- I definitely believe I’ve maintained focus. It’s awesome to be in this position but it’s extremely stressful. I look at the adversity in my life as opportunities to grow. It made my life more interesting. I gave everybody something to do. I believe I’ve grown from all of it. I appreciate the curveballs life has thrown me.
- It’s been different. The biggest difference is having a lot of people believe they know me already when really there are so many sides to me. A lot of people are so opinionated when they’ve never had dinner with you and know who you are. I trust my personality and let other people be the judge and worry to much.
- I’m a guy who prides myself on having great cardio and solid gameplans, knowing what I’m getting into. I went into that Dan Henderson fight 100 percent prepared for a grueling five rounds. Having the opponent switched is I got prepared for different angles and a gameplan. I feel more explosive. I didn’t have to focus much on cardio because I have a full tank of gas. I focused on martial arts training. I expect to fight cleaner than I ever have before. I had a phenomenal additional four weeks.
- As far as the 151 situation, I definitely really feel horrible about the way it all played out. At the end of the day, I’m hoping the fans opened their mind about the situation. I’m not a UFC executive. I don’t have the power to cancel the event. They never told me that if I didn’t accept the fight they would cancel the event. At the end of the day, being a world champion, I dedicated my whole life to this. To put my belt on the line to satisfy the people around me, I owe it to myself to protect it. I did what was right for myself and trained for the Vitor Belfort fight. I do believe that with a good performance that it’ll be behind me. I believe a good performance will help people forget and I think this whole situation will bring me and the UFC closer. A lot of positive is going to happen from this.
- Ultimately my brothers can’t decide who wins or loses. I’m very interested in who plays the hardest. If Chandler plays better than Arthur, he’ll never hear the end of it.
- I’m not Anderson Silva. I can defend a double leg. I believe in being prepared. I wouldn’t have been able to do my homework with the Chael Sonnen fight. Hopefully we’ll be ready to be there tonight.
- I don’t know if it would have made much of a difference if they had told me they would cancel it, but they didn’t do that. I put my whole livelihood with that fight. If I had lost that fight, lost my championship, Dana wouldn’t have lost enough sleep. Why wasn’t that a good enough card? Why did it have to be cancelled? I think that was an insult to the fighters saying they weren’t good enough to keep the event without me and Henderson.
- When Vitor won his first title, I was a little boy somewhere. I remember when he knocked out Wanderlei Silva with those punches. It was a beautiful moment for mixed martial arts.
Vitor Belfort
- In life, we all have goals and dreams to fulfill. I learned something that was very important in life. We make history but the most important thing was living right in the present moment. I came to America with a dream. Not just to be a champion but to see my sport become a mainstream sport. People used to criticize us and having a champion like Jon Jones, all of us here, most important for me is to leave a legacy. We’re men of honor and character. being a champion I think is just creating a legacy for the future
- We’ve been training. I went to Blackzilians not just for this fight. I was supposed to fight Alan Belcher and to work on the wrestling skills, the gap in my game, I love to train with champions.
- Everything you eat and drink, you have to be smart. Eat healthy and try to stay healthy. Live balanced with your body, your spirit and soul.
Demetrious Johnson
- To accomplish something like this at the highest level and being the first ever champion, it would cement my legacy.
- This is the second time I’ve fought internationally and you guys have topped Australia so far.
- We’re here fighting our natural weight class against guys our size. Saturday night will submit how awesome the flyweight division and how awesome things are to come.
- It’s not gonna affect anything at all. I plan on putting on a great show for the Canada fans and having a great time.
- When I started this sport, it was an outlet for me. Trying to be competitive my whole life. I didn’t want to get tired or lazy. It was a different world for me. That’s why I do it.
Joseph Benavidez
- When you put your goals down to be world champion, you can’t imagine being the first ever. It’s really just a cherry on top. We’re here to leave a legacy. It’s the extra motivation and inspiration. Being on top means everything to me.
- I’ve heard mythical tales about the passion of Canada fans and you guys haven’t let me down. I’m soaking in every minute of it.
- Saturday night we’ll be proving something. This is the big introduction. It’s great that we’re in Canada with these fans and I know 100 percent we’ll deliver. With time, the fights will continue to be great. I know 100 percent every fight is gonna deliver.
- We had the opportunity to go to a Coldplay concert and I sat next to Demetrious. We fed each other popcorn. We were in the same arena, the Air Canada Centre and here was this crowd right there going crazy for a band. I realized that in a few months, people would be going crazy for us. Maybe they wouldn’t be crying and waving lighters, but even then I was thinking about taking him out.
- I’ve been fighting in some way or another all my life and this is the natural progression for me. I’m inspired by succeeding in this one life I have, making my family and friends proud. It’s my favorite thing in the world to do.
Brian Stann
- A lot of fighters when they find out there are Canadian events coming up, they call up Joe Silva and ask to be on the card. The fans are packed and it’s a completely different environment.
- I can’t speak for everybody but I believe from most fighters I encounter at this level that you’re born with a competition inside you. For us, we can’t live without some kind of obstacle in life. We’d be very bored doing something normal. Being a fighter gives you a challenge you can prepare yourself for that you can compete. Each fight, we become a little different of a person and learn a little more about ourselves.
Michael Bisping
- To fight an amazing champion like Anderson Silva, you have to have an amazing performance. Of course I think I can beat him. After I beat Brian Stann on Saturday night, I want Anderson Silva.
- Every time I come up to Canada, I’m blown away by the passion for MMA. The last time I was here was in 2008, it was one of the greatest moments of my career.
- We settled our differences. Joseph Benavidez turned down a fight with my son. We’re good now.
- This is what I’m best at. This is what I love. This is the best way I’ve provided from my family. There’s a lot more interesting things to talk about like how I’m going to beat Brian Stann’s ass on Saturday night.
- There’s more cards these days with more fights so it seems like more fighters are falling off cards.
