FLORIAN ON UFC 160: “VELASQUEZ IS JUST TOO AGGRESSIVE AND FAST. HIS WRESTLING SKILL WILL BE THE BIG DIFFERENCE.”
Florian and Sonnen Break Down UFC 160, Plus Dana White Interview
LOS ANGELES, CA – On this week’s UFC TONIGHT, Kenny Florian and Chael Sonnen preview the upcoming UFC 160: VELASQUEZ VS. BIGFOOT 2. Plus, UFC President Dana White talks about his most embarrassing song in his iPod and more. Plus, Insider Ariel Helwani reveals changes in UFC 161 and more.
UFC TONIGHT’s Kenny Florian on the UFC 160 heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva: “There’s a lot of pressure on Cain Velasquez. The last time he was defending the belt was against Junior dos Santos and he failed. But, when you’re a fighter and you lose by a cut like Bigfoot did, you think that it shouldn’t have gone that way. Cain was very dominant in the last fight, but I think Bigfoot Silva, as an underdog, performs extremely well.”
Florian on what Silva has to do differently in this fight: “He’s going to have to make sure that he keeps Cain Velasquez on the outside. The main thing is his level change. He has to make sure he’s lower, he has to stay eye level with Cain Velasquez and that’s going to prevent Cain from getting on the legs as easy as he did. Don’t throw a leg kick. Cain Velasquez will take advantage of that and take him down.”
UFC TONIGHT’s Chael Sonnen chooses Velasquez to win: “In this fight, the biggest thing Bigfoot needs to do is make things difficult. If he gets taken down, he can’t just fall down – he’s got to make it really hard. Ultimately, it’s going to be a closer fight than it was the first time but Cain leaves with the strap.”
Florian chooses Velasquez to win: “I think Cain Velasquez gets it done. He’s just too aggressive and fast. His wrestling skill will be the big difference.”
Florian on Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt: “Mark Hunt can knock anybody out. His leaping left hook is as deadly of a technique as we’ve seen in the UFC. We may very well see Junior dos Santos revert to an offensive ground game. If I’m Junior dos Santos’ coach, I’d say take Mark Hunt down, and don’t trade with him, that’s going to be too dangerous.”
Sonnen chooses Junior dos Santos to win: “I think Junior Dos Santos is going to win, but his grappling isn’t going to do it. He’s actually going to out-point and out-strike Mark Hunt on their feet.”
Florian chooses Junior dos Santos to win: “I think we’re finally going to see Junior dos Santos use some offensive grappling skills. He’s going to take Mark Hunt down. I think he gets it done early.”
Florian on Teixeira vs. Te Huna: “I was really impressed with Te Huna’s last fight and how he came back. But Glover Teixeira is a guy who’s ranked number four and he’s on an unbelievable win streak right now. He’s taking guys out left and right, and I’ve been really impressed with his wrestling. We’re going to find out if he’s the real deal against Te Huna.”
Sonnen on Teixeira vs. Te Huna: “Glover is outstanding, but in no universe should he be ranked number four in the world. He’s only been in the UFC a few times and none of those guys were ranked in the top 10.”
Sonnen chooses Teixeira to win: “I think this is a very close fight. I think their skills almost mirror each other and it’s a very competitive match. It’s going to come down to who wants it more, and maybe sprinkle in a little bit of luck, and I’m going to give it to Teixeira in a close battle.”
Florian chooses Teixeira to win: “Teixeira is going to take this in the third round.”
Sonnen on Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant: “What I love about Maynard is his heart and his desire to win, and for the first time in a long time, I believe that’s going to be met.”
Florian on Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant: “Gray Maynard knows how to win. When I fought him, I’ve never fought a lightweight who was that strong. Sometimes he doesn’t choose the best strategy. But he’s been training with AKA and says he feels great. TJ Grant has been fighting with such a high skill level. He wants to go out there and smash guys. He just wants to beat them and this is a huge opportunity for him. If he beats a guy like Gray Maynard, he may be next in line for a title fight.”
Sonnen on if he’ll fight Wanderlei Silva: “I gave Wanderlei a timeline and he didn’t meet it. In his defense, I can’t expect him to understand time. He’s going to have to wait outside a third grade classroom, wait until it clears out, sit with the teacher, have her get out a book and show him the clock with the left hand. Once he gets a grasp on time, I’m going to teach him about space, which is exactly where I’m going to send him with the same spinning wheel kick I taught Luke Rockhold out at Stone Cold’s ranch three weeks ago. I can’t expect Wanderlei to know the word ultimatum when he doesn’t even know the word sandwich.”
Helwani on how Eddie Wineland responded to not fighting for the title at UFC 161: “He said it’s crushing to him. He said it’s like dangling a piece of cake in front of fat kid for months, and then not letting him eat it. He wants to wait for Barao if it doesn’t take too long for him to recover from the injury. But, I talked to current champ Dominick Cruz and his recovery is going well. He’s hoping to come back before the end of the year. Then he’d get fight Barao, instead of Wineland.”
Helwani on if Roy Nelson will fight at UFC 161: “I’ve heard the UFC is asking Roy Nelson if he will step in [to fight at UFC 161]. Nothing’s confirmed and we’re not sure who he’d fight.”
Helwani on who Chad Mendes will fight next: “Chad Mendes was going to fight Clay Guida at UFC ON FOX 7, but Clay got injured. I’ve heard the UFC still wants to put this fight together and is targeting UFC 164 in Milwaukie.”
UFC President Dana White’s favorite sport other than MMA: “It’d be boxing and then if you talk traditional sports, it’d be football.”
White on the best advice he’s ever gotten: “I got it from Frank Fertitta. When we got in this business, and we started the reality show and all these things, he said: ‘I love who you are and the way you do things, always be yourself and don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.’”