The following quotes are from tonight’sUFC 175 POSTFIGHT SHOW on FOX SPORTS 1. The show washosted by Jay Glazer, with UFC light heavyweight Daniel Cormier, former UFC middleweight Brian Stann and women’s bantamweight contender Miesha Tate providing analysis. Ariel Helwani conducted interviews on-site.
UFC 175 POSTFIGHT SHOW on FOX SPORTS 1 Analyst Brian Stann on Weidman vs. Machida:“This was the best title fight of the year so far. It was incredible. If you were to tell me that Chris Weidman was going to dominate the striking, I’d say you were crazy. Weidman took the center of the Octagon and didn’t allow Machida the space he needed to fight. Weidman put on a beautiful striking display. This fight was insane, one of the best performances by Weidman. I think rounds one, two and three are the most dominant ever against Machida. His skillset is still diversifying and he’s getting more dominant.”
UFC 175 POSTFIGHT SHOW on FOX SPORTS 1 Analyst Daniel Cormier on Weidman’s victory:“It was a rollercoaster, the way the momentum changed between the fourth and fifth rounds. Weidman showed he’s the champion, he has the heart of a champion and he has an iron will, but Lyoto stood in there and gave him what he could. The only time Lyoto was successful was when Weidman stopped putting the pressure.”
Chris Weidman on how he felt about the fight: “I wanted to finish him. He’s tough. Maybe I should have stayed after him a little more.”
Weidman on who he should fight next: “Vitor Belfort, if he passes his drug test, that sounds good.”
Weidman on having a bad training camp: “This was the worst camp of my life. I couldn’t hit pads for two weeks and my hand was messed up. My knees need a break. I think I rushed it a little after the surgery. It was a tough camp to get through.”
Stann on who Weidman should fight next: “Jacare has looked very scary, plus Tim Kennedy. I don’t want to see a rematch with Machida. There’s a long line of scary guys right now. I think it starts with Luke Rockhold.”
Tate on Ronda Rousey’s victory: “That was really incredible. Nobody expected that. I think Alexis didn’t think Ronda had the ability to knock her down. Alexis was out before she even went down. Ronda’s stock went up tonight. It lights a fire under the rest of the division. It fires me up to go train right now. I’d love another fight with her. When I see her succeed, it motivates me to get better.”
Cormier on Rousey’s victory over Alexis Davis: “Ronda was so much faster. Ronda has some of the fastest hands in the UFC. She’s only gotten better. This is not good for the rest of the division.”
Ronda Rousey on her hand:“This has been an injury I’ve been dealing with it since UFC 158, it’s my Hollywood injury. It hasn’t had time to heal. I already had something scheduled to get it looked at it after this. It turns out after the first overhand right, there was a cyst in my knuckle and it exploded and now I have stitches in my hand. And I have to get my knee scoped in a couple of days. I’ll be out for four weeks.”
Rousey on how she envisioned finishing the fight: “I was envisioning a first exchange knockout, and I just kept thinking about it. I planned for the first two punches, but after that, no. She was out with the first overhand right and she was falling into me. I don’t have the confidence to do the walkaway knockout. I didn’t want to let her recover and wake back up. I was being thorough. I feel very satisfied.”
Tate on who should fight Rousey next: “I like the idea of Cat Zingano. I’m expecting her to come back. She can match the speed and strength of Ronda. The question is the arm bar. I’d like to see the fight.”
White on Ronda Rousey’s performance: “It was the second fastest, but the things that happened during the fight make it the most dominant title defense ever. Alexis has twice as many fights as Ronda, is legit and she was destroyed. Ronda texted me and told me she’s going to blow me away tonight. She keeps getting better and better.
White on Weidman vs. Machida:“Chris Weidman proved tonight that he’s the real deal. He also needed this fight, not to prove to everyone that he’s the man. He’s never gone five rounds. Chris shut him down. He looked unbelievable tonight.
Urijah Faber on his victory over Alex Caceres: “My game plan was to make it an ugly fight, a messy fight, and I looked for an opportunity for him to mess up.”
Faber on if he’d fight TJ Dillashaw: “I’m ranked number two. I fight because I love it. I don’t do it for the money. If someone had a billion dollars, and wanted to make it worth it for both of us, I’d talk to him. But I don’t want to fight him. There’re all sorts of tough guys I’d like to fight. Kid Yamamoto, I’ve been asking for that a long time.”