On this week’s UFC TONIGHT, Chael Sonnen announces his next fight against Shogun Rua at FOX Sports 1 1, while he and Kenny Florian break down this weekend’s UFC ON FUEL TV 10: NOGUEIRA VS. WERDUM. Fabricio Werdum talks about his upcoming fight. Plus we’ve got an exclusive Mike Tyson interview and much more.
Quote of the Week: UFC TONIGHT’s Chael Sonnen on his next fight against Shogun Rua: “Shogun and I are going to be the main event on FOX Sports 1 on August 17. We were going to fight in Winnipeg, and they pulled it.”
Sonnen on what happened to the Wanderlei Silva fight: “I like Shogun. I admire him a lot. I wanted to fight Wanderlei. He’s the worst fighter in the UFC. I couldn’t get him. I figured I’d get the guy who destroyed Wanderlei in the practice room for all these years.”
UFC TONIGHT’s Kenny Florian on how these fighters have changed from their first fight: “Werdum is a completely different fighter now. He was strictly a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guy with tremendous credentials and a world champion, but he didn’t have the striking skills. Now he’s putting things together so well. We saw that in his fight against Russow and against Roy Nelson.”
Sonnen picks Werdum over Nogueira: “We’ve all been waiting for Big Nog to quit fighting and we need to accept that he’s still got it. This guy can still fight. He’s ranked number eight in the world and that might be a little bit low. He’s going to be tested with Werdum. Werdum needs this a little bit more. Werdum should win this fight. I’m going to take Werdum.”
Fabricio Werdum on how this fight will be different from their first seven years ago: “I’m a completely different fighter now. I’ve been training and learning a lot. My setup is very good now, my Muay Thai is better and my wrestling is better. I’m more confident now.”
Werdum on what’s next if he beats Minotauro: “If I beat Minotauro, I want the chance for the title shot. I’m just waiting for Cigano [Junior dos Santos] vs. [Cain] Velasquez.”
Sonnen picks Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante over Thiago Silva: “These guys love their jobs. Thiago is about as aggressive and mean as anybody to get in the Octagon. Feijao has been off for a while and he’s a former Strikeforce champion. I like Feijao in a dog fight.”
Sonnen picks Erick Silva over Jason High: “Erick Silva has to say off the bottom. Jason High is a very easy guy to figure out – it doesn’t mean he’s an easy guy to stop, but I’m taking Erick Silva.”
UFC TONIGHT Insider Ariel Helwani on Dana White’s call for BJ Penn to retirement: “The door is still open for BJ Penn to return to MMA in the future. He’s actually training right now and has to check in with his body and mind in the next few months. If he does come back, it will be at 155 pounds.”
Helwani on Michael Bisping’s health: “After the fight against Alan Belcher, Michael Bisping completely lost all peripheral vision in his right eye. He went to see an eye on doctor on Tuesday and he found out that he had a detached retina. On Thursday, he had surgery to fix the detached retina. He’s hoping to return to the UFC in October.”
Helwani on who Bisping would fight next: “Luke Rockhold, Costa Philippou, and Cung Le have all called Bisping out. Michael told me the guy who interests him most is Cung Le. He’s not interested in fighting Luke Rockhold and told him to go out and win at least one fight in the UFC before he talks to him.”
Helwani on Roy Nelson and Daniel Cormier: “A couple of weeks ago, Daniel Cormier told me he wants to fight the winner of Nogueira vs. Werdum. He also told me to throw Roy Nelson’s name in the mix. On the UFC 161 conference call, Nelson mentioned that Cormier turned down a fight against him for UFC 161. When Daniel heard this, he called me and said ‘Forget about Werdum, forget about Nogueira, I want Roy Nelson.’ He said, ‘I want to kick his ass for Dana White.’ Cormier wants it to be his last fight at heavyweight.”
Other upcoming fights announced: Michael McDonald vs. Brad Pickett on FOX Sports 1 1, Sara McMann vs. Sarah Kaufman at FOX Sports 1 2, and Benson Henderson vs. TJ Grant at UFC 164 main event.
Mike Tyson on the biggest problem in professional boxing today: “The greatest boxers are afraid to fight each other.”
Tyson on who he thinks would win in Dana White vs. Vince McMahon: “That’s a tough one. Vince is pretty big and tough and has the wrestling moves down. I’m going to go with Vince.”
Tyson on how did Evander Holyfield’s ear tasted: “His ear tasted like s**t. I’ve discussed that with Evander before. Human flesh is horrible. Evander promotes hot sauce now – I think it would taste better with his hot sauce. My advice: try not to bite any ears.”
Tyson on the better trash talker – Muhammad Ali or Chael Sonnen: “Chael Sonnen. Chael talks too much. I think Chael believes what he says – Chael hands down.”
UFC President Dana White on Mike Tyson: “For a guy like me, who’s such a huge fight fan, and came from boxing and is such a huge boxing fan, Mike Tyson was one of my all-time heroes like any other man on this earth. He’s like the Justin Bieber for grown men. When Mike Tyson walks in the room, every guy gets giddy, and every fighter goes crazy. It’s an honor for guys in the fight business to have him here and enjoy the fights.”