Brandon Vera: Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou turned down UFC Fight Night 14 offers
By: MMAmania
Props: Baltimore Sun
Quoteworthy:
“They offered me Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Lyoto Machida and then Reese Andy. I turned down Machida. He’s not someone you take on short notice. You gotta get ready for Machida. The other fighters turned down the other fights so that’s how we came to Reese.”
Heavyweight-turned light heavyweight, Brandon Vera, reveals a personal behind the scenes take on what went down in the scramble to put together UFC Fight Night 14: “Silva vs. Irvin” on short notice to counter the Affliction “Banned” show that same evening (July 19). It appears that there were a lot of names and potential match ups swirling; however, not everyone was comfortable competing with little time to prepare. James Irvin — who takes on Anderson Silva in the main event — recently told MMAmania.com that four fighters turned down offers to take on “Spider” before he was approached.
167 Comments »
Enough with the “we’re all scared of Machida” talk. I wish someone would just stick their hand in the air and take the fight, then charge at him and knock him out.
Wand preferably.
Wandy, the spider, Shogun, and machida will not fight each other.. thats bull shit! but vera is a pussy it would be an honor to fight these guys.
correction, wandy and shogun would fight machida or anderson if given the opportunity, wandy and shogun won’t fight each other and anderson and machida won’t fight each other, but anderson would fight wandy or shogun and machida would also.
LINX. do you know if a.silva has had any sort of falling out with the rua brothers. it seems like i read a rumor some time back of of such a matter. i dont think either has ever said anything publicly about the other in a negative way.
I never heard anything like that b.w., from my understanding they respect each other.
http://www.cagetoday.com/cage-rage-video-phil-baroni-vs-scott-jansen/
bW….anderson has no problems with his old chute box mates, silva just felt that it was time to change camps to learn top of the line ju jistu….There s no beef between any of them, just mutal respect. ho better than the Nog brothers to imporve your jits?
love to see you tell vera he’s a pussy, u dont know sh*t about mma
he is a puss, he’s scared to lose again so soon, HA HA, so that means he is a puss.
You should pay attention to what you read. Vera was more than happy to fight ALL those others mentioned, but they ALL PUSSIED OUT. Any fighter with half a brain, wouldn’t fight Vera or Machida on short notice. No one pussied out, they are all just smart. Did you miss the key words? SHORT NOTICE.
Thank for pointing the knuckle head in the right direction, READ BEFORE YOU POST!
I did read it. A real fighter will fight anyone at anytime. He’s a puss.
It’s not like fighter’s are scared of Machida because he’s going to kick their ass and KO them. They know he’ll stick and move and squeak out a win for each round. Machida will frustrate the crap out of them and pull out the win.
It’s his style they have to practice hours on end for and change their entire game, someone that is very difficult to train for.
thats all part of fighting, if they wanna b like fedor then they’ll live there live knowing they cowered out of a fight, and stop calling him wandy its gay..
This article was confusing… does that mean that Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou turned down Anderson Silva also?
So when people question Lyoto’s statis amongst the LHW’s.. fighter turn him. More then once. He shot get a title shot just for that. Just kidding. On a serious note.. Lyoto’s ego must be on the rise..cuz nobody is knocking on his door.. ” hey..want to step in the cage with me..”
Even the “current”..UFC LHW Champ.. Forrest mentioned he ..” wants nothing to do with Lyoto Machida..nothing.”
Machida is fighting tiago Silva in October! Remember that u all heard it hear 1st.
Wanderlei vs. Rampage will take place in December, so will Forrest vs. Chuck
Soko vs. shogun will happen between October and January
THX FOR THE INFO JOHN!! Wow..I wish all these fights can take place on the same night.. Is Chuck vs Rashad still happening?? Or are they going to give Chuck an automatic Title shot.
Unfortunately Chyuck vs. Rashad is still happening. Asuming the psoterboy can win, he will fight Forrest in December
I just got done reading a bunch of latest interviews with a bunch of different fighters and I found it interesting that the majority of them say that they feel that The Forrest decision was BS, some of these fighters are good friends with Forrest and I found it to be very interesting!
You can add me on the list to as well. BS Decision.
watch the fight again…forrest won it clean.
get over it and move on
speak for yourself.
Amen brother.
Damn what fight did you all watch? I’ve watched it three or more times, it’s so clear Forrest won. Forrest kept the pressure on Rampage pretty much all of the fight. Most of the time Rampage was just sitting back to counter.
You will find what you look for. So what if you found a few fighters that thought Rampage won. If you were trying to prove otherwise you would find on hell of a lot MORE. Forrest won that fight, maybe not by the margin the judges had it,but he definitely won. Why don’t you go by the oppinion of the guy that would know more than any bystander? Rampage said HIMSELF, “FORREST WOOPED MY ASS”. There really is no debate.
OUt of all the interviews of fighters that I read, they all had Rampage winning the FIGHT! 1 fgighter said maybe Forrest did win, but it wasnt close to being a unanimous decision. I have yet to find one fighter who said that Forrest deserved to win the title…. THats just what IU read, maybe there are other interviews from fighters who said Forrest deserved the win, I have looked, but I have not found them. only person beside Forrest that was happy with the decision, was Couture….I wonder why? lol
GORD: If u know anything about Rampage u would know that he says stuff like, the guy whooped my ass all the time. Doesnt mean he means it, he just knows if he says otherwise he will get booooed by the crowd…. Go back and listen to some Pride interviews involving Rampage, and then get back to me
Man! I would love to see Machida and Tiago fight. Great matchup. The only thing that Sucks is I like both fighters and one has to go down.
grembone: That is tuf one for me to. I will lean towards Lyoto. I think it’s his time. Thiago is beast..and can beat Lyoto/Forrest/Page IMO. A part of me wants to see Lyoto shine now..then the very young and dangerous Thiago can follow up.
I agree. I would be pulling for Machida, absolutely.
Antonio Mendez had Thiago Silva rocked in their fight. Mendez wouldn’t have even been able to land a hawked loogy on Machida, never mind tag him with a strike!
Very good point.
VM, that is exactly what I was thinking. Silva is so tough, definitely up and coming, but Machida has looked way on top of his game. I am not sure how anyone could say Machida runs away. Keeping from getting hit and being illusive, is not necessarily running… especially when he backs up with a kick his opponents head.
A good example of Lyoto’s style..in his last fight against Tito..in between rounds you hear Tito complaining …he’s running from me..” you also see Tito’s face in between rounds get more and more swollen. I’m a Machida fan.
“How am I supposed to hit him? He keeps running away from me? Waaahh Waahhhh” – Tito after round two with a Q-tip massaging his skull.
Don’t be steeling my favorite Machida-related quote now Phil, LOL. j/k.
I have mentioned that one several times. I love it.
I heard it on the Savage dog show first
Everyone shouldn’t assume that people don’t want to fight Machida because they’re scared of him.
They don’t want to have to chase a guy around a ring for three rounds and get out pointed.
The octagon is not the size of a soccer field. If you can not put your hands, shins, feet, elbows, on this guy.. what are you doing in the fight game.. “fighters” don’t want to fight him..because he makes them look stupid. Lyoto is one tuf mofo.. it’s his opponents job to figure him out..and apply their game plan. Most of them can’t and want to complain about. Don’t complain about it.. do something about it.
Ya he’ll be a real tuff mofo when someone finally does connect. And it will happen sooner or later, hopefully sooner
Great Match ups, What happens if Rashad pulls a Serra?
That’s what I’m hoping for.
if Rashad pulls a serra:
Then Rampage would probaly get the next crack at Forrest.
and Chuck would get a rematchwith Wanderlei
Like most of you, I am a huge fan of both Machida and thiago, but its Machida’s turn now, Thiago is young Terror and wil have plentty of time to bounce back. Hope that Machida wins that fight.
by the way Soko is fighting shogun in between October -December
Seriously I am getting Sick of all the Machida haters with their lame arguments about how he hasnt fought anybody! How could he? All the top fighters want no parts of him! Joe Silva needs to put his foot down and STOP offering fights, INSTEAD he needs to dictate the fights…He should say u r fighting so in so, in October….and thats that!
Title shots should have to go through Machida! Why? Because no one wants to get in the cage with him! Simple as that!
john, I’ve posted before that I don’t know HOW fighters turn down matches!?! Silva should say,”On this date, you WILL be fighting…….” And the fighter either accepts or does not get a paycheck and suffers some kind of suspension.
Chedaddy! I actually read that post of yours and I completley agree!
I understand if you arent a top 10 fighter, but when u r close to a title shot, JOE SILVA should decide who and when u fight!
beating Machida is easy, just back pedal and he will do the same…make sure you hit him a few times and BOOM you win the decision!
LOL chad
Hitting Machida without getting hit back is lot easier said than done. That’s not how to beat Machida. He’s almost impossible to beat in a decision. If someone is gonna beat Machida, they have to bullrush him and swing for the fences and knock him out. You have to be able to accept that for every one time you hit Machida, he will probably hit you two or three times. The key is to make sure your shots hurt Machida.
Actually think Chuck has the best chance at Lyoto. He has lots of experience with Karate which is, according to Machida, what throws a lot of his opponents off. If they do give chuck a BS automatic title shot, they should make him fight Machida to prove he deserves it.
Ok Chuck doesn’t need to fight Machida to prove he deserves a shot anyone Machida has beat Chuck has beat better. Also have any of these guys refused to fight Machida on regular notice. I’m asking because maybe they have and I don’t know but as far as I know they were only asked for the UFN which was planned on very short notice. I think thats pretty ridiculous to expect a fighter to plan for a top tier fight especially considering you just got done with a fight or your coming off a two fight lose streak. Seriously shut up and get over the fact that Forrest won, Chucks getting the next shot, and Machida hasn’t been tested by anyone but Soku although Penn and Franklin are amazing competitors it would be considered about the same value as Fedor vs Lindland. Now we are getting an amazing list of fights and everyone is still complaining. I’m starting to wonder if some of these bloggers are women.
Plenty of people have turned down Machida with plenty of notice, and most say that they don’t want to fight him before its even an option.
And oh yeah, your buddy CHuck and his team including Hackleman have made it publick knowledge that they do not want to fight Machida. And of course, what Chuck wants, Chuck gets.
As for people turning down fights, I agree. Once you are in the UFC when Joe Silva calls you says you got a fight, you have to take it (and pray that its not against Kenny Florian, LOL), or you lose half your purse next fight. Unless you are injured, and can have a doctor prove it.
All this turning down fights is BS. If you want to try and chose who you fight, then you should be calling that fighter out at every possible opportunity.
The reason Hendo turned down the fight is because he wants to stay at MW for the time being, hence, he is fighting Rhusimar Phalares.
Eactly, I hate reading this site and having to hear Machida haters hang on to the dumb argument that he hasnt beaten anyone. hOw can he when:
Chuck
Vera
Rampage
Forrest
none of them want to fight him so shut up because your arguments are just dumb….He is one of the best fighetrs in the world, thats why he hasnt beaten anyone because none of the top fighters want anything to do with him…That alone deserevs a tite fight1
This comment is for Rubberman (below) saying that Lyoto hasn’t beat anyone. Here’s a list of a few names that he has beaten – Stephan Bonner, Rich Franklin, B.J. Penn, Vernon White, David Heath, Nakamura, Sokoudjou, Tito Ortiz. If you honestly feel that no one in that list is worth a damn then you just need to stop posting on this site. MACHIDA IS LEGIT!!!! Understand it and accept it. He is the future LHW champ.
it doesn’t matter if no one wants to fight him (why I don’t know) but the truth is that he hasn’t fought anyone worth a damn. If he has name them?
Im starting to believe that Vera is slowly becoming the next Tito Ortiz, cause will not be very well appreciated by those fights now that he said that
Read that interview. Look at that he says about Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar. This interview is awesome.
How sick would it of been to see Dan Henderson vs. Brandon Vera, and James Irvin and Spider Silva on the same card.
yep read the entire interview. some good stuff in it. thats funny that he thinks Mir Getting a title shot is BS.
shouda stayed in the Hvweights the LHvWeights are staked already.. can he get to 170?
Are you joking?
Any one of those LHWs would have totally destroyed Vera. I really dont believe he was ‘offered’ to fight any of those guys. Might have been mentioned, but yeah… Something is on the ground, I stepped in it and it stinks.
Its not far fetched that the guys mentioned turned down a fight against Vera. I know he is a true contender and he only has two losses, but ‘on paper’ he has lost 2 in a row (and I do beleive his last fight was stopped prematurely). Some of these other top guys may feel they wouldn’t have anything to gain in a win over Vera, being that he has 2 losses in a row, and it definitley wouldnt help if they lost, being that Hendo has dropped his last 2, and Silva 3 of his last 4 (not saying that they would lose to Vera). Its not surprising that a lower level guy like Andy Reese would take the fight, being that he does have everything to gain with a win over Vera, leaving Vera as the only one with anything to lose.
My bad, Reese Andy. Damn dyslexia.
You stepped in your post.lol Those guys all turned down Vera because they would destroy him LOL. They ALL did turn down Vera and for good reason, they know dam well he would kick their asses.
“MMA Stomping Grounds: If you and Anderson Silva both win, would you be willing to fight him at 205?
Brandon Vera: I would be willing to fight anyone they put in front of me. [The UFC's light heavyweight division] is stacked like you said, for sure, so I’m down to fight any of those guys whenever.”
Except Machida? What’s going on with this guy?
he said he would not fight machida on that short of notice.
he never said he would not fight him.
dont u read?
man whats going on with this guy?
Thats a bullshit reason.
He wants to comment on how its not fair Mir has a title shot after beating Lesnar… he could get a title shot after beating the #1 contender that is Machida.
You’re not gonna make a name for yourself running your mouth and not backing it up when the time comes.
If I am correct he did except fights with Wandy or Dan Henderson and they turned them down. So why is nobody hating on them? Because it happens.
Notice Brandon Vera said “I’m down to fight any of those guys WHENEVER” so short notice or not whenever means whenever. Vera should have some respect, don’t call out fighters who probably didn’t want to fight you on short notice if you don’t want to fight Machida on short notice.
First of all don’t talk trash about a guy who could force you to eat your own shit out of a toilet. Next choosing not to fight a guy on short notice is nothing to be pissed at a guy about. He was asked to move down and then offered the fights, he was asked he didn’t call anyone out. He didn’t talk trash about the guys who turned him down he has already said they probably didn’t feel comfortable fighting him on short notice the same way he didn’t feel comfortable fighting Machida on short notice. Also he was willing to fight guys way better than Machida just wants a little more time to train to be able to face Machida and beat him. If anything he is showing Machida respect by turning the fight down. How does Mir’s title shot have anything to do with him fighting Machida. He’s not asking for a title shot after Reese and it doesn’t seem like he even really wants to stick around at LHW for all that long.
I’m not mad, and I’ll talk trash if I want, I’m behind a computer. Of course Brandon Vera can beat my ass. All I’m saying is that he said he’d fight anyone whenever, bottom line. Also I’m saying he should have respect for the other fighters just don’t call out names, there is no need for that. The Average fan may think less of those guys. James Irvin didn’t call out all the people who didn’t want to fight Silva. You are the one who’s all pissed off.
Say what you want about Machida, he just became the most feared fighter at 205.
feared1!? since hes such a devastating striker with KO power who can KO you with any one punch or kick? lol hardly….fear of losing a boring decision to him is more like it…
Feared beceause no one wants to fight him! No one wants to deal with his style! Their afraid of how he fights!
Seriously. There’s no upside for these guys to fight him. The fight is going to be boring whether they win or lose and that does nothing but lower their drawing power. A lot of these fighters would rather lose an exciting fight than win a boring one because it’s better for them financially in the long run.
I agree. people don’t want to have to fight Lyoto’s fight. And they don’t want to have his style dictate the fight. No doubt a lot of people think Machida is boring and it’s a big risk small reward situation to fight him.
Exactly if anything Machida just became a less marketable. How is he feared when people are choosing not to fight him on short notice. They just don’t want to have a lame loss on their hands. Chuck and Randy both easily assisinated Tito who Machida couldn’t even finish. The guy hardly finishes any fights and sticks and moves. He doesn’t seem to have much power so if anything nobody wants to become any less marketable by fighting him. Also stating that Forrest doesn’t want anything to do with Machida you know doesn’t make sense. Everyone knows Forrest will fight Machida if he was asked and that its his style of humor when he says that stuff. He tends to talk himself down and his opponents up like he did with Rampage, it makes his opponents fight him with a big head. Does anyone notice how Machida is screaming at the top of his lungs bloody murder that he hasn’t gotten a title shot yet? Its because he knows its coming. He knows he’ll probably be in line right after Liddell. Man the only reason people want him to get an immediate title shot is because they don’t want him to lose before it happens. But if the guy is so good he shouldn’t have to worry about it. Besides can you imagine 5 rounds of his stick and move? I would never pay for a card where Machida is headlining unless the card is stacked. Mind you I like his technique but I’d rather save the money and watch a fight like that on the net so I can fast forward.
No Upside???? Are you crazy? The first fighter to figure out how to beat Machida will get a title shot.
Is that not reason enough?
How is defeating Lyoto small reward.Fact is they just dont want to lose. Last time I checked a fighter is to fear no man or style. If they say “Hey, I dont like his style, and he will probaly out point me anyways, so I dont want to fight him.” Is a lame ass excuse. If your good your good regardless of the opponent.
Hello, Rashad had a draw against Tito, and Forrest lost to him. Last I saw Machida made Tito look like a chump, and sent him packin.
WORD!
I am not quite on the opinion that Machida is by far the best. He still has a bit more to show. One thing I have not felt at all is, that he is boring. He did make Tito look like an idiot. His fighting style is pretty damn cool. He could have done what he did to Tito for 5 more rounds and I would have been laughing my ass off. I am not a Tito hater, I just would have rather seen Lyoto move up from that fight since Tito is on his way out anyway and it was awesome.
I’m not going to hate anyone for not taking a fight on short notice. With the talent in the UFC today, if you lose 2 fights in a row, you may be receiving a call from Dana the next day saying you’re gone.
Hendo’s 0-2 in the UFC. Silva and Soko are 1-1. I know they’re not trying to rush a training camp to take a fight that doesn’t make sense to them. Soko wants Shogun. Wand wants Rampage. And Hendo’s staying at 185.
Agreed. Nobody likes to see a fighter duck good competition, but fighting on short notice is different. Vera didn’t say that he wouldn’t fight Machida – just that he wouldn’t fight him on short notice.
hahaha i love it! all you yanks slag of Bisping but he wouldnt turn down anybody! this vera is rubbish i hope they don’t put him on UFC89. What a coward!
Vera said that those three guys turned down fights with HIM. Do they teach reading comprehension over there??
Also, the only reason Bisping WOULD accept a fight, is because he only fights cans. He lost to Hammil, contrary to the judge’s decision. And he lost in a boring ass fight against Rashad Evans. Those were the only 2 opponents he fought that you could even consider decent fighters.
His 2 “big” wins at 185 were against Charles McCarthy (who actually retired after the fight, lol) and Jason Day on short notice!
Vera accepts a fight with Soko, Henderson, and Wanderlei Silva and you say he’s rubbish?? Are you kidding me???? Bisping would get destroyed by all 3 of those guys. Bisping keeps fighting cans, because they’re trying to build him up for idiots like you in England. Apparently it’s working. LOL
Mate, i am from the UK also and am a fan of Bisping but coming on here and refering to “all yanks” does us as UK fans no favours.
“hahaha i love it! all you yanks slag of Bisping but he wouldnt turn down anybody! this vera is rubbish i hope they don’t put him on UFC89. What a coward!”
LOL, but look at the “rubbish” of competition they offer BIsping. Vera was offered all Top 10 fighters. Bisping has yet to fight against a fighter in the Top 25 of a division, except for when he fought Evans. Oh, and he lost that fight.
Actually, Bisping SHOULD have turned down some fights. He should have manned up and said that he is too proud and confident to fight the likes of Tupperware McCarthy. Bisping should have taken that as an insult. But instead, he just likes to pile of wins against the bottom feeders of the division. He has a lesson to learn at UFC 89.
unfortunatley , Chris Leben isn’t going to be the guy to teach it to him = (
But as an admitted big Leben fan and an admitted Bisping hater, I am entitled to keep my hopes up!!!!
All things being equal, like odds being -105 each, my money would be on Bisping, even though I’m whole heartedly rooting for Leben. But right now Leben is like +145, Bisping -175. I am hoping to get Leben at +150 which would be a sweet deal.
I heard that Machida’s next fight will be with Jardine. I have a feeling that the UFC is going to keep Machida busy with B level talent and pray that he loses. They definitely don’t want him and his boring style to have the belt!
Since when is Jardine a B level fighter??? I am not a fan, but give the guy his respect. With wins over the current champ and former champ, I think he deserves it.
Last I heard, albeit an internet rumor, but I heard that Jardine’s jaw is wired shut from injuries sustained during the Wanderlei fight, a few of which still existed from the ALexander fight. There is a possibiliity that he will no be able to fight again.
Unless that rumor was squashed over the weekend, that was the last that I heard.
WOW, that would make sense because when wnderlie pinned his head to the mat and dropped like three davestating blows and his head couldnt recoil. That was vicous
hope its not true for jardines sake considering he makes a living off of fighting
B level? Yet he beat Chuck, and ko’d Forrest. B level? What have you been smoking?
I wish someone would just steam roll Machida he talks a lot of shit. And thats retarded that there is 4 LHWs and they are all bum buddies and won’t fight each other, I hope Dana makes Wand vs Machida so we can watch Wand tare his face off.
Where was Machida talking shit? I never heard about that. Do you have a link to a specific interview?
Also, how are they acting “bum buddies”? They didn’t want to take a fight with Vera on short notice. Where in that quote does it say they don’t want to fight each other?? Henderson and Silva already fought!
srd, wandy and machida were never from the same camp and I don’t see any reasons why they would not accept a fight between each other. Where did you hear they wouldn’t fight each other? In all reality this is the fight I want to see, wandy vs machida (but I heard a rumor of a machida vs thiago silva next…).
Machida is actually a very humble fighter. On the same line as A. Silva
The UFC should not let fighters pick and choose who they fight. They either accept the fight that is given or they don’t fight at all. As much as I don’t like Machida, noone should be able to turn down a fight just because, it is unfair to fighters like Machida.
But this is a different case. It’s on short notice. The UFC shouldn’t be able to tell a guy he’s fighting in a month, without giving the fighter a chance to decline it.
vera isnt telling the truth… dan said in an interview that he was offered vera but he was taken away before he could answer. he did say he wouldnt take a fight on that short of a notice though so he would have turned it down anyway.
if your job is to fight just fight who cares if you get your ass kicked you get paid pretty damn good anyways shutup and fight already
But as a fighter you should be in training all the time. If there was a title in the picture would any of these guys turned that down even on short notice?
after wandy destroyed jardine, he went on vacation, I’m pretty sure he ate more than he should have, drank more than he should have, and probably didn’t lift any weights because he thought he wouldn’t fight again until the end of the year. So I can understand why he (and a few others) would not accept a fight on such a short notice, they’d need more time to train and get back in shape. These guys don’t train 24/365, they start training 3 months before a fight.
i doubt the Henderson story, he is set to fight Pulhares.
Your wrong! Bisping doesnt turn down fights! he just ends careers! LEBEN R.I.P
Bisping looks good ,but come on he is no where that good ,to act like he is a career killer and I personally think that Bisping vs Franklin would be a outstanding fight ,would probably be one of the best fight ever they just match up so well it would be a war
Franklin would murder bisping. Michael likes to stand up and bang, but unfotunatly Franklin does too, and he’s just much better at it.
My replys to tony never post. I only said “idi*t” once.
We all know Bisping will be fighting Franklin or Hendo soon! Everyone Mike fights a can! your reason will be for Franklin is that he never Recovered from the silva beating won’t it! Franklin stop running from Bisping up at lightheavy!
Bisping wont even get past leben
Get vera out of the UFC he is a bum! and stop sending him over here to fight!
Dan Quinn failed his medical!
Wow, is there anyway to ban people from posting on here? Tony is being a complete prick. It’s pretty messed up to disrespect fighters like that.
I enjoy coming here over places like Sherdog, because normally the people on here are mature and can discuss different topics. If people like Tony are allowed to continue posting, I’m outtie. I’ll actually start working at work.. or something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7km7SFbwcxY
Who the hell is Dan Quinn anyway? I saw his video on the link above and dude, this guys is fuckin whacked out.He even gives his number out on there, so I called him and the dude is fucking gone? What is his background?
That guy is a trip.
No I mean Anderson, Wand, Machida and Shogun they all spar and train together. IE; Bum buddies. Anderson already said Machida will reign and be champion at 205 so obviously he has no intention of fighting him and he doesn’t plan on furthering his 205 career after this fight at all, and if thats the case why risk it? it is a bad idea in my opinion because if he looses the fight against Irvin he will totally loose his aura of best pound for pound fighter. Also Machida was talking smack about Chuck, Forrest and the UFC. This is what he said “Look.. to me, Quinton beat Forrest, but they gave it to Forrest. I think the UFC wants a champion that Chuck Liddell can beat, so he can win the belt again.. he is an ex-champion, sells more and has more marketing.”
I always thought Machida was a humble laid back fighter but I guess not. Why diss you’re own company they sign you’re paychecks lol.
he disses them because he deserves a title shot and they won’t give it to him. on your first point (which is not valid), machida, wandy, shogun and anderson don’t train together. Machida and anderson train together. anderson, wandy and shogun were all at one point chute boxe, but all of them have left chute boxe a while ago (anderson left it about 3 years ago). so in reality, there really isn’t a reason for them not to fight each other (with the exception of anderson vs machida which will not happen), but all other scenarios I see possible (even wandy vs shogun, whom in the past said they wouldn’t fight each other but have changed their minds since).
IT is so annoying to hear all of the hating on Vera ,yeah he may be all hype ,he might be the shit at 205,we don’t know ,but this thing with Machida is not the reason to call him a coward or pussy ,nobody wants to fight him so is everybody cowards ,no ,but you don’t talk about that .Also i think it is funny that all the people that think tito is a punk ,and machida last victory was over him ,now nobody wants any part of him,people making a really big deal over a victory against a punk ,sounds like to me that people are odviously at least the fighters give tito more credit than anybody else ,just a thought
I think all those fighters ducking machida are puss*es, that includes the new LHW champion. if you’re a champ you don’t get to choose who you fight, just a thought
In regards to Vera you shouldn’t be able to pick and choose the fights you want or don’t want. Even if you want more time to train for certain fighters, if your truly a fighter it shouldn’t matter.
And what about the fighters that turned down fighting Vera, why didn’t you mention them. As quite a few people have already said, did you actually read what was said in that article. If so why isn’t anybody slagging of the fighters that turned down fighting Vera.
Awesome. Tony calls Vera a bum and posts absolute garbage, yet my post doesn’t appear.
Great job, Mania.
Scott you must be suffering from a very rare disease. JoeRoganitis. The only fighter whom remotely said anything close to what your saying is Forrest and he was only joking or creating hype he is not serious. We all know Forrest will go 25 minutes with anybody he doesn’t give a fuck. Other than that no one is afraid of Machida. Wand is not afraid of Machida, Chuck is not afraid of Machida, Rampage is not afraid of Machida no one in the 205 division is afraid of fighting anybody. Vera just needs more time to prepare for him.
srd, you think forrest is joking? list of ppl ducking machida that I know of (it’s actually quite small):
forrest
chuck
Linx, don’t hate on my boy Forrest. He never turned down a fight with Machida. Tell the truth…
actually he did turn down a fight before (when he fought shogun, they first offered him a fight with machida and he didn’t want it, but I had more respect for him choosing shogun over machida at the time). but now before they even offer him, he already says he wants no part of fighting him. to me that sounds like he’s ducking him.
IN an interview about a week before his fight with Rampage, Forrest Griffin said that Machida is not someone that he would like to fight.
FACT.
There is a difference between saying you don’t want to fight someone and turning down a fight. And Forrest was not offered the fight with Machida, the fight was booked and he pulled out due to staph infection. Then he goes on to fight Shogun. Doesn’t sound like ducking Machida to me. He just said there are several other guys he would like to fight first. I guess you guys will never give him props, but I will.
BNF, the only difference in turning down a fight and saying you won’t fight someone is a fight being offered in the first place. but both means he’s ducking machida.
turning down a fight with machida means you’re ducking machida.
saying you won’t fight machida means you’re ducking machida.
I’m sorry, but I’m puzzled on how you can’t see this.
I only consider it ducking if the fight is offered and you turn it down. Forrest has already excepted a fight with him once. Obviously, if Machida is the undisputed #1 contender and Forrest is still champ they will fight, no question. And look at the personality we a dealing with. The quote was written down by some journalist. Could there have been a hint of sarcasm in his tone when he said it?
I doubt it, what other kind of context would “I want nothing to do with that guy” have? But I hope you’re right, when times come I hope he accepts it, we’ll see.
Dude he is ducking machida by saying he doesnt want to fight him so they dont offer him a fight with Machida….FACT!
He turned down Machida as his 1st title defense by saying he would rather fight Jason Lambert…fACT!! Some champion he would be! He shold be stripped of the title just fot being such a coward that he said he wanted a guy like Lmbert (top 20 fighter) to be his 1st title defense~
Great champion we have~
As a champion Rampage was calling out guys like wanderie and shogun, Instead Forrest calls up Jason Lambert….Pathetic..
I dont even think Forrest could beat Sokoudjou
me either John, I don’t see Forrest keeping this belt for a very long time, I’d be surprised if he’s successful in defending it just once! No doubt I have major respect for forrest ever since the page fight, but I just don’t see him being champ for very long…
Forrest was quoted about Machida on June 14th, he was not the champion yet. I don’t think I have ever heard Forrest do an interview that wasn’t full of sarcasm so if you seriously believe Forrest called out Lambert as his first title defense, you are no where near as smart as I give you credit for. You should never call yourself a Forrest fan again. Show me some proof of 1 person Forrest has ducked since becoming champion.
BNF, come on dude, we’re not going to start second guessing each other’s intelligence are we? but seriously, first I never called myself a forrest fan, I only said I gained a little respect for what he showed with page. Second, he has only being a champion for a week now? There hasn’t been enough time for him to turn down fights just yet, he hasn’t even been offered one. I consider myself quite sarcastic often, so I can usually pick up on sarcasm, but sarcasm when it’s written is a bit harder to figure out. My only point is how can someone say; “I want nothing to do with that guy, he’s a tough guy and I’d have a tough time training for him” be sarcastic? Sarcasm usually is something that is so far fetched that the person hearing/reading can tell it’s sarcastic, saying machida is tough and hard to train for is not far fetched at all, and I remember writing this in the same post when forrest originally stated this prior to becoming champion; he is just not ready to be champion with that kind of attitude. That’s my only point brother, no need to second guess my intelligence as I don’t second guess yours. It’s only my opinion, you have yours, I understand you’re a forrest fan but you don’t need to take things personally.
Linx, my last comment was directed toward John. If you read his then mine it will make sense. Nothing but respect for you, my friend.
in that case I’ll let you kids deal with each other and I’ll get out of the way
not to mention that ufc 76, when Forrest fought Shogun, was quite a long time ago… So he was probably offered that fight more like ufc 72 or something after his win over hector ramirez… weve seen Machida tear through the competition since then, while back then perhaps his name wasnt nearly as big as it is now
http://www.youtube.com/user/poetwarrior41
Exactly and I have nothing but respect for Forrest,but he was not joking,all they are all saying is that his style is hard to train for ,and if they are going to fight him you need time ,you can’t just do it on a four week crash course where half the time you are trying to cut weight usually they at least want you to train hardcore for 6 weeks before a fight,so they are just wanting to be prepared they are professionals ,this is not the streets where you just pick a fight cause they look at you wrong
r-izzle, actually hendo is 2-2 in the ufc
vette, a little information about turning down title shot on short notice: pete spratt turned down a title shot with matt hughes bakc in the early days……
people, please do ur research or actually know what u are talkin about before posting… lets not turn this into dumb arguments
All I’m saying rice is that a fighter should always be ready to fight. That’s their job. I am an Electrician by trade and if you loose power I don’t tell you it is to short a notice. Most fighters in this era of MMA train in all aspects of fighting and should be ready to fight regardless of who it is. And if fighters are complaining about money and title shots then they should fight when when called upon. And when they turn down a fight with 1 person then take a fight with someone else of lesser caliber what do you call that?
Pete Spratt is a prime example why you don’t turn down a title shot. His record in the UFC is not very impressive since then. I looked it up so you know I did my homework.
oh yeah why is there not one person talking about all of those fighters ducking vera
because they did not want to fight on short notice, not that they won’t fight vera.
wow only a true B@tch would actually go out of their way to label themselves as someones B@itch on a site where your name is completely meaningless.
He lost a bet, manned up, and doing what he needs to square it. Only a complete loser would actually have to criticize someone they don’t know over something they know nothing about.
thanks chefdaddy for defending me, I wrote a response but it did not show…
do we all forget that tito, who has weak jiu jitsu almost submitted machida? i mean with that triangle was so deep he would of had to tap if he didnt transition to the arm bar?
they are all ex-pride fighters. i think they are gonna attend
affliction show that day.
royce gracie was a pretty boring fighter too.
machida’s style is hard to train for thats why he wasn’t willing to fight him on such short notice. as far as those other guys not taking the fights well hey i’m not a fighter so i don’t how i would respond but i do know that if i was asked to work an extra day at work when i had it off then i wouldn’t work depending on what i have going on in my life even more so if i knew i didn’t have to.and i’m sure training super hard for a month to get in shape and ready to peek at fight time when you had plans for the month won’t make it easy to take a fight. so try to be understanding of outhers dudes.
Forrest pulled out due to injury Linx, then took a fight with SHOGUN when everyone thought he was invincible like Machida. I’m telling you right now Forrest will fight anybody, he will fight Jesus for 25 minutes it don’t matter to him. Show proof where chuck declined to fight machida.
Also how is Forrest ducking Machida when they didn’t even offer him the fight yet!
I wouldnt say Tito’s jiu jitsu is weak… he just hasnt used it at all. He can keep guys on their back pretty damn well
IT SOUNDS LIKE VERA IS TRYING TO MAKE IT SEEM THAT HE AINT THE ONE KNOCKING BACK THE FIGHTS BUT HE IS. HE IS BEING PORTRAYED AS BEING SOFT THROUGH HIS OWN WORDS. JUST DROP IT ALREADY AND STOP TRYING TO COVER YOURSELF VERA!
Machida Machida Machida blah blah blah. i soo hope he gets destroyed soon so your whining can change to “conspiracy”. oh wait, theres already whining about that with the last Rampage/Griffen fight. five years from now all you dorks will be saying how rampage and lyoto are all washed up, just like 5 years ago Tito was and liddel was the man.
chuck liddell will be the first one to stop machida. that will be a good fight for next year!
never said that pete spratt is good… just say that he refused the title shot…
tito was never the man…..
Damn, I’m sick of how all of you think Machida has such a great style of fighting, like he’s so unstopable, dangerous, etc, whatever. Plain and simple, the guy hasn’t fought anyone worth a shit that can and will put him on his ass. Someone tell me who he has fought that doesn’t suck.
How can he fight in your words anyone worth as shit, if anyone worth a shit is to scared to fight him. He would just make them look stupid. And if he was just running away he would not get the victory. I am one of those who do not think watching Machida is boring. I can appreciate him the same way that I can appreciate the stand up of Anderson Silva, or Cung Li. I think Wanderlai style is probably the best one to take him out because he is so aggressive and relentless. And if Chuck couldn’t knock him out, after hitting with everything in everyround, then there is no way Machida is going to manage it. It would be a classic matador and bull fight. The next title shot definately belonged to Machida, but unfortunately in the UFC it is more about popularity than skill or wins. Most fans love that, I personally think it is b/s. Forrest getting a shot was bad enough but Frank Mir, I rest my case. I really hope Affliction doesn’t fold.
The reason no one wants to fight him is because he would be a step down for all of the top fighters and they know this. If he had beaten some top fighters then I might be able to see someone wanting to dodge him. They see him as a step backwards instead of a step forward. If you where a top 5 fighter and looked at who Machida has beaten, would you seriously think of fighting him to get closer to a title shot? Hell no.
They don’t want to fight him b/c his style is so difficult to train for, and they can’t find sparring partners who can imitate his style. Most of the top guys have actually come out and said this (Forrest, Chuck, and I believe Rampage.)
So when Chuck fought Jardine, he was looking at this as being a step forward. I am afraid you are wrong, they are afraid that Machida would make them look bad and he probably would. It’s a pity that because people hate Machida or think he is boring they cannot see this. I appreciate his skill and style the same way that I appreciate GSP’s, Silva’s or Cung Li. I am do not mind a fight that goes to a descision, that is won with skill and technique, and if one of the fighters is smart and skillfull enough to land strikes without being hit himself to get that win, then I have no problem with that. It is down to his oppenent to stop that from happening.
MMAMANIA, I’m not typing all that again. In short, no top 5 fighter wants to fight Machida because it would be a step backwards instead of a step torwards the belt, plain and simple.
i can smell the machida hate from a mile away… i wonder who the four lhw were that turned down anderson silva fight???
No Machida hate here, just the truth.