FOX Sports 1 UFC Tonight Show Quotes – 5/14/14

On this week’s UFC TONIGHT, Karyn Bryant reports from Team Alpha Male and interviews UFC 173 bantamweight title challenger TJ Dillashaw, UFC 175 women’s bantamweight title challenger Alexis Davis, UFC 176 featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes and coach Duane Ludwig. Insider Ariel Helwani provides additional reports.

UFC TONIGHT Analyst Chael Sonnen on who Matt Brown should fight next: “I’d like to see him fight Nick Diaz. I want to see someone fight Nick.”

UFC TONIGHT Analyst Kenny Florian on who he’d like to see Matt Brown fight next: “I’d like to see him fight Hector Lombard. He’s very exciting and has a lot of firepower. Matt Brown can’t be in a boring fight, but Hector is so explosive and so powerful. He’s a great contrast to the lanky Matt Brown.”

TJ Dillashaw on if he’s prepared to take on the champ Renan Barao in the title fight: “I’m more prepared now than I’m ever going to be. It’s a perfect storybook ending for me. I feel like I’m the best fighter I could be right now.”

Dillashaw on being the underdog in the fight: “If I didn’t believe I could win, I wouldn’t be doing it. Being an underdog is better for me because you don’t have expectations and you get to prove everyone wrong. I don’t feel the pressure at all.”

Dillashaw on coach Duane Ludwig leaving Team Alpha Male: “It’s going to be tough not having him here every day. His intensity is great and he keeps us accountable for our training every day. I’ll definitely cross-train with him in Colorado. My fight camps will be here and I’ll have him come out and train with me and I’ll have him in my corner when I fight.”

Dillashaw on if training with Faber, who fought Barao last, will help his prep for the fight:“Yes. Urijah prepared for some things that didn’t happen. Barao is an offensive fighter. I have to get him going backwards. I have to be aggressive while being safe.”

Florian on Dillashaw being the underdog against Barao: “He has the wrestling skills and the striking skills to handle him. I really saw improvement in his game in his last fight. He’s not going to be intimidated before he goes in there to fight Barao and that’s big.”

Karyn Bryant on Team Alpha Male getting a new coach: “They are going to have Martin Kampmann come in and will continue building on what Duane Ludwig has done in the past. Martin is a guy they really jived with.”

Chad Mendes on getting another title fight: “This is a huge fight for me. This is it. This is the top of the top. I fought him once before and it’s my only loss. That Chad Mendes is a completely different Chad Mendes than the one who’s here now. My mixed martial arts game has gotten so much better. My power, accuracy, everything is there as far as my standup and he has to worry about my wrestling also. This is my chance to bring that belt back to the United States where it belongs and I’m excited to do it.”

Mendes on how he improved his striking: “People always told me I was throwing haymakers, and now we’re adding accuracy with the power. Duane has fine-tuned that.”

Mendes on Ludwig leaving the team: “It sucks, but we have the system. We can keep using it and we know how he’s run things. Now we’re adding Martin Kampmann to pick his brain and use some new techniques in that fight.”

Duane Ludwig on leaving Team Alpha Male: “I’m still going to be coming out and still working with the team. We have too much of a strong bond. I’ll just be in Colorado.

Alexis Davis on fighting Ronda Rousey for the title: “Ronda is a great fighter. I’ve been constantly working on my wrestling. They’ve improved me so much since I’ve been here. I’ve been training jiu jitsu for a long time. I’ve been training for years with black belt world champions. If I can hold my own with them, I’m sure I can hold my own against Ronda.”

Insider Ariel Helwani on Sara McMann’s next fight: “Sara McMann wants to get back in there quickly after her loss to Ronda Rousey. She wants to fight Sarah Kaufman. But Kaufman wants to fight Miesha Tate or Cat Zingano instead.”

Helwani on who Jacare Souza wants to fight next: “Jacare Souza just had elbow surgery and his manager says his recovery is done. Now they want a title shot. They’re ready to unleash the beast. They’d like to fight either of the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida, or fight Vitor Belfort.”

Helwani on updates with Gray Maynard, Kyle Kingsbury, Steven Siler and Glover Teixeira:“Gray Maynard has moved from AKA to Power MMA in Arizona. He wants to return and fight again in July. It turns out Kyle Kingsbury has not retired after all and will fight July 26 in San Jose, with an opponent TBD. I’ve heard Noad Lahat vs. Steven Siler is in the works for July 26 in San Jose, and I’m told that Glover Teixeira will not need surgery on his injured shoulder.”