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Affliction post-fight press conference statements
By Zach Arnold | July 19, 2008
Fedor Emelianenko: “I was very pleased with my performance. Everything I wanted to do I was able to do.”
“Yeah I was hoping I would end the fight then (first time he took Sylvia to the mat). I was prepared to fight standing up, but I knew I had a better chance to end it on the ground.”
“You never know how short or long the fight will be, but I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible. I just wanted to show the fans my skills.”
“I was very pleasantly impressed by how many people came out and I hope to come back soon.”
“I would be very honored to fight Randy Couture.”
Tim Sylvia: “He got off first and then I had so much going through my mind. He got off first, landed the big punch, jumped on me, and got the submission.”
“I was amazed at how good he is. The guy’s a stud. I don’t think he’s human. He’s incredible. I don’t think anybody’s going to beat him for a while.”
Andrei Arlovski: “I think they got their money’s worth tonight. I did a lot of work on my boxing.”
“The game plan was to take him down. I didn’t think I’d get him down but I did come back. I didn’t show my jiu-jitsu but I showed my boxing. I won the fight.”
“I want to dedicate the fight to my grandmother who passed away a few months ago.”
“Tomorrow I’ll see what I did wrong, but tonight I’m going to celebrate this victory. I’m very excited. I’ve fought many great fighters and tonight I wanted to show my best performance.”
“I want to fight Fedor, Josh or anybody Affliction chooses.”
Freddie Roach (Arlovski’s boxing trainer): “I think boxing is what won the fight. The other guy was good on the ground and controlled it a little bit. Andrei’s boxing helped. His hands are really good and we’ve been talking about being a professional boxer.”
Ben Rothwell: “I hit him with some shots. Obviously it wasn’t enough.”
“I was wearing him down but it didn’t do much, considering the combination he pulled off.”
“My shots slowed him down a little bit but it didn’t do much.”
Josh Barnett: “He’s as stellar fighter and it could have been me laying on the canvas.”
“I wanted to take him down; you can’t chase a guy like that. He holds back because he waits to gauge you. When I’m in the ring with him I know what he’s doing.”
“I heard the crowd boo but I made up for it.”
“Floyd Mayweather is No.1 for a reason. His defense is unbelievable. When I made him miss two or three punches, I was loving it.”
“The win is great. Even though he beat me I hate that I had to beat him. Pedro Rizzo has a heart of gold.”
“I was changing levels a lot. My footwork wasn’t what I wanted. I clipped him at the top of the head and when he put his foot back, he wobbled. When I saw he was unstable, I came forward. I knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of the way.”
Renato Sobral: “I have been working a lot on my boxing with my coach. He was very strong. People forget that I can strike. I’ll make people remember.”
“I tried to finish the fight but I couldn’t. Two times I had the choke, but the ropes gave me some problems.”
“Whitehead is a good fighter; good striker.”
“I keep working on my jiu-jitsu and always like to finish my fights with a submission. But he was very smart.”
Matt Lindland: “I hit him with some huge shots. I had that thing (choke) so tight I was squeezing him hard enough to choke him out, but not enough to tire my arms out.”
“He was tough. It was no joke. I hit him with some good shots. I love choking out Black Belts, so he’s a tough guy.”
“After I had him on the ground, I was thinking it was going to be an easy night. He fell into the choke slam. He really is strong.”
“I have to get my ass in the gym and get into better shape. I’m running for the people of District 52 and I want to represent the people of Oregon.”
“He was so damn tough; he was the real deal.”
Topics: Affliction, MMA, Media, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
I am reading on some websites that some fans are not that impressed with Fedor or with the Affliction card.
The fact of the matter is that this was Affliction’s first card, and this was one hell of a card.
I hope Affliction continues, and hopefully they will get some money from Donald Trump to back them financially.
Where have you been reading about people not impressed with Fedor? Are they smart?
Fedor just blew through a two time UFC Heavyweight Champion in less then a minute.
As I was watching the Affliction card,like everyone else I thought the overall production leading up to the fights was sketchy. However, as the night progressed and the fights occured, the production seemed less of a hinderance. The overall card was phenominal. It is good to see events such as this and EliteXC as the UFC is going to have to keep sharp both in fighter salaries as well as event planning.
The people that decide to slam either of the organizations cannot be true fans of the sport. I hope that the EliteXC card replicates the Affliction card for excitement as tonight was wicked awesome.
Fedor Emelianenko is the best heavyweight fighter in the world until he loses which will be a long time.