Earlier today, MMAmania.com got the nod to sit in on the media conference call for UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy.” Fielding questions on the call were UFC Welterweight Champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and his opponent Jon Fitch, as well as heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring.
The call went pretty much by the book, with the fighter being respectful of their respective opponents. No trash-talking for this UFC event. In fact, GSP and Fitch both commented on that very thing:
St. Pierre:
“(Fitch) has got a lot of heart. Even if in the build up for this fight there is not trash talk, believe me, August 9 is going to be a great fight.”
Fitch:
“It shows you where the sport is going. The top-level guys are professionals and behaving as professionals. The guys who talk trash and spew all that garbage, they don’t last. They do that stuff because they need that to get attention because they suck as fighters.”
Fitch indeed lets his actions inside the cage speak for themselves.
Hell, if anyone could benefit from more media exposure (which often comes with talking trash your opponent), it would be Jon Fitch, who isn’t as well known by the average fan as a lot of number one contenders who came before him.
In fact, when asked if he feels he is underappreciated by the average fan, despite being so dominant inside the Octagon, Fitch had this to say:
“Because of the way I came up through the UFC, a lot of people didn’t see a lot of my fights. People develop an attachment to fighters that they see fight live. When they see you in a pay-per-view or they see you in a live event and they watch you fight, they develop a real attachment to you, rather than just seeing some of your fights on the playback, on like UFC Wired or the Unleashed show. So yeah, I think a lot of fans still don’t know who I am, really. They haven’t developed that kind of attachment or an appreciation for me. But it’s not really their fault, I guess, it’s just the way things go. We had a stacked weight division, and I just kinda slipped through the cracks.”
Both welterweights commented on the things they’ve learned as a fighter. GSP said that he had learned a lot from his loss to Matt Serra at UFC 69 (his first title defense), and isn’t ready to make the same mistake twice:
“I learned a lot of things. A lot of things happened in my life. I don’t want to make any excuses. That night I got beat by a better man than I am. Now for this fight … I’m working really hard, making all the sacrifices. I haven’t cut corners. I’m ready to go … Right now I realize what I have. I’m world champion, and I realize. Last time, I didn’t really realize what I had between my hands. Now I know what it is and I don’t want to lose it. I’m going to fight to win, I’m not going to fight not to lose, I’m going to fight to win. I’m going to go for the finish.”
Other good quotes from each welterweight followed.
When asked about the role confidence plays as a fighter, Fitch said:
“I think it’s a key factor in any career. For someone to be successful, if you don’t have the confidence in yourself to achieve the things that lay in front of you then you’re always going to be a failure. I think I struggled early in my wrestling career at Purdue because I lacked confidence. But ever since I’ve started fighting, I’ve put myself on the same playing field mentally as all my opponents, and my confidence is through the roof … Just the realization that I’m just as much of an athlete or just as much of a man as anybody else I’m facing.”
When asked about B.J. Penn potentially moving up to challenge for the welterweight strap, GSP stayed focused:
“I don’t even think about it. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. Right now I am going to fight Jon Fitch for my first title defense, and I have the chance to succeed where I failed last time. I see it as a great challenge, not only because I’m fighting who I think is the most dangerous guy that I’ve fought so far, but also because last year … I lost my first title defense, and now I am going to have a chance to redeem myself.”
Fitch, comparing his wrestling skills to GSP’s:
“As far as wrestling skills go, we don’t utilize all of wrestling in MMA. I think my wrestling style is more suitable for MMA than a lot of fighters. A lot of fighters take shots from open waters and very easily get stuffed. I hit takedowns from all angles, all directions, and I’m just relentless with what I need to get done. I think Georges is a very explosive style of wrestling, but it’s a fight, it’s not wrestling, so I don’t think it even matters.”
On specific problems Fitch brings to the table, GSP said:
“Jon Fitch is like a new breed of mixed martial arts fighters. He’s not like the old school guys. Of course he’s a great wrestler, that’s his first background, but he’s very good standing up and on the ground as well. So he’s bringing a lot more problems on the table than the other guys that I’ve fought in the past. I’m going to have to use a lot more tools than I’ve been using in the past. But I truly believe that fighting wrestlers in my specialty. Those are the type of people that I’m the best to fight. When I fight wrestlers I always do very well. And wrestlers are my favorite guys to fight.”
Fitch, on what he has improved since his last fight:
“One of the biggest things is punching power. I’ve been working a lot with Javier Mendez, and that’s kind of his specialty. So I’m hitting at least twice as hard as I used to. Other than that, my cardio is just on another level now. In my first time training for 25 minutes, I wasn’t sure where I could take my body physically. But I’m increasingly surprised with how great of shape I’m in.”
When asked about the level of competition Fitch has faced versus the level of completion he has faced, GSP replied:
“I’m more experienced in big fights, but he has fought a lot of very tough competitors. And I truly believe that he’s the toughest guy that I have fought so far. I have been taking my training very seriously. I’ve never been in as good of shape as I am right now. I’ve been training to face an army, not a single guy. Every time I’m training and I do my sparring, I have a fresh guy coming on me all the time. And very top quality guy, not like the karate teacher on the corner of the street. Top MMA fighters, so I’m very well prepared.”
When asked how he thinks this fight will be different than that of his training partner, Josh Koscheck, who lost to GSP at UFC 74 one year ago, Fitch didn’t hold any punches. Specifically, Fitch took Kos to task for insisting on training only standup for his fight against GSP — a fight that turned into a solid wrestling match, with “Rush” out-performing the four-time NCAA Division I All-American:
“That’s the thing with Koscheck, he’s really stubborn. And he didn’t want to listen to anybody, and we were telling him to practice his wrestling. He had it in his head that nobody could take him down if he didn’t want ‘em to. Literally I don’t think he drilled a single takedown that entire training camp. He did all standup and very little jiu-jitsu even. I don’t take that approach, I haven’t taken that approach to it. I always train everything, but I’ve also gotten back to wrestling basics again, just to sharpen things up.”
GSP, on the difference between fighting to win and fighting not to lose:
“It’s simple. When you fight not to lose, you don’t take chances. You don’t go for the opening, you don’t go all in. When you fight to win, you take that chance. It’s like your mind is free. That’s how I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight to win.”
Fitch, on if there is any added pressure for this fight:
“No, man, I don’t worry about pressure. This is a game to me, this is all fun. It’s not like I’m fighting a war or working in a factory or something. This is playtime. I’m living a dream. There is no pressure. Win, lose, draw, it doesn’t matter. I’m having fun.”
While the title bout received most of the attention on the conference call, both Lesnar and Herring fielded their share of comments (although if anyone received fewer questions, it was certainly Herring).
Lesnar was asked repeatedly about his UFC debut against Frank Mir — a fight he nearly finished before Mir caught him with a knee bar due to Lesnar making a rookie mistake. Lesnar claims he “wasn’t nervous at all” for his UFC debut, and says he’s learned a lot since his first Octagon fight:
“(I now) understand that I’ve got 15 minutes to try to win a bout. I really rushed that fight, and I made a foolish mistake. I had Frank in a dominant position, and I stood up and fed him a foolish amateur mistake, and it was something that we worked on a million times. Just to be a more controlled fighter and a little more relaxed in there. We’ve been working on that. It has to do with just putting time in the gym, and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Just trying to polish every aspect of the fight game and try to better myself everyday.”
When Heath was asked how he keeps focused on Brock Lesnar and not on “the reports of you saying that you’re going to get a title shot if you win this fight,” Heath took exception:
“I haven’t been saying that I’m going to get a title shot. They said after the last fight we had a title shot, and we didn’t get one. So I’m not going to count my chickens before they hatch, for sure. You know, you just gotta concentrate on the task in front of ya, and that’s kinda what I do. If you start getting your hopes up, you just get ‘em dashed. So the best thing to do is to just concentrate on what we got in front of us, and that’s Lesnar, and that’s what we’ll go do on August 9, and afterward we’re worry about how everything else falls into place.”
Both heavyweights said that they have been working on every aspect of the fight game — from standup to wrestling to jiu-jitsu. Since bringing in B.J. Penn’s strength and conditioning coach/nutritionist, Tony Aponte, Herring says that he’s actually going to be coming into this fight heavier, but in much better shape.
That might be a good thing. When Lesnar was first signed by the UFC, he reportedly walked around at 295 pounds. Not that Herring is any stranger to fighting big guys. That dude’s fought just about everybody out there, and some of them were a lot bigger than Brock Lesnar.
It should make for a fantastic night of fights!
It all goes down a week from Saturday, August 9, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The event also features a lightweight showdown between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta (who were not on the call) to determine the new number one contender in the division.
64 Comments »
No trash talk? Fitch saying that fighters who trash talk need attention because they suck is trash talking. And when he said he has only fought at 30% was insulting to his opponents. He might not be talking trash for this fight, but he definatly talks alittle trash himself. GSP wins a UD, The only reason this fight wont be boring will be GSP!!!
Fitch is all class. I like GSP and he great for MMA, But I think that Fitch takes GSP’s title, via GNP round 4. Aside from BJ, Fitch is my favorite fighter, so Im going with the crazy John the CRAZY son of a Fitch.
LOKIE, if Fitch is your favorite fighter, you must not have a pulse (lol) Fitch definatly has the tools to be a champ, but hes just so dam boring! I dont think Fitch will be able to hold GSP to GnP him. So like i said GSP via UD.
I honesty like fitchs chances. I agree i will be an upset if he wins for sure gsp, is a freak, but Im still goin wih fitch. And someone said not to go with my heart, well its just in my nature, Ive been a life long red sox fan, so it just happens
Don’t think with your heart. GSP can handle light heavyweights at Jackson’s Gym. We have a very good, detrmined, and strong Fitch against a athletic freak. If it goes to the ground, it’s GSP. On the feet, still GSP with Fitch getting a puncher’s chance.
MOst def. It’s only the “puncher’s chance” aspect of winning is what Fitch should be leaning heavily on.
More accurately, Fitch only has a humper’s chance.
Didn’t Fitch do some trash talking a while back saying gsp is scared of getting knocked out and some other crap.
i believe he did do that
Yea he did, so according to his comment “fighters talk sh*t for attention cause they suck” where does that put him????
And im sure it was before his title shot was guaranteed so he was obviously trying to get some attention lol he must have a bad memory or something? Im sure GSP will make it worse when he pounds his face in. Anyone ever see that GSP fight in UCC/TKO where he repeatedley slammed the back on the guys head into the mat? How awesome would it be if he did that to Fitch? That’s if it’s legal to do haha.
Fitch definatly said that about GSP. He was trying to get GSP to engage in some verbal BS. GSP is to classy for him outside of the cage and will most definatly out-class him inside the cage.
Why would Fitch say that anyways? Was he trying to get GSP pissed so he would stand and trade during the fight? I think that would be a bad idea considering the way his stand-up looked agaisn’t Wilson in his last fight… Very bad.
The only reason he did this was to get the fight, but check the records after he signed the bout he hasn’t said anything negative toward GSP. I think he was refering to the trash talk to hype a fight, much different then trying to get a fight.
Trash talk is trash talk any way you look at it, so your statement is meaningless.
Remind me again, what trash did fitch talk? He said “GSP got KO’d (fact) and hesitant to stand(kos fight)” Oh snap, he got him good…
It’s pretty obvious that Fitch said that,to entice GSP to stand, because he has seen what GSP does to guys on the ground (he owns them ). Fitch won’t fair any better on the feet. This isn’t going to be a close fight like so many think. It’s going to be very one sided, in GSP’s favor. Would Diego or Wilson last 3 rounds in a close fight with GSP? Hell no!
FIGHT OPINION.COM has interviwed josh barnett recently(wed night)and said that barnett stated that he would not take a paycut when asked about a recent statement that tom atencio made that fighters were going to have to take a 50% pay cut for their next show. yes 50%. i said that once a fighter makes that much money, he’s always gonna want that much or more (300k for barnett i believe). i think by the weekends out theres gonna be alot of shake-ups in the world of mma.
How can that be possible? These guys have multiple fight contracts. Who the hell would sign a contract that says they have to take a 50% paycut whenever the boss losses money?
i dont know. but that is what dave metzler is reporting that antencio is ‘alledgedly” going to ask his fighters to do. i dont think he can make them if they have definite contracts.
That’s crazy… sounds like the sh%t is going to hit the fan and they are going to have some disgrunteled employees. If my job told me to take a 50% pay cut because the company had a bad month that would be my last day at that job.
yeah. especially for the winners,its gonna be hard. theres actually all kinds of crazy threads (maybee rumors) on that site. like fedors name being taken off the list of fighters at the thomas and mack center actually fighting there in oct. that parts not a rumor, his name was on the list,now it isnt. the rumor is that he might be off the show. i cant imagine fedor or a.a. taking a 50% pay-cut. there is also a thread whee fedor’s MANAGER is saying that fedor and randy could still fight in the ufc, but still with certain stipulations. it boggled my mind all the stuff that’s being reported.
As I stated yesterday, asking for the fighters to take a paycut is like “trying to put the genie back in the bottle”. After their next money losing card will Atencio ask them to take a 75% paycut? It’s like trying to discipline kids after being slack with them. For those of us in the reality based community it is quite evident that EliteXC is on “their last legs” and that Affliction is not viable. Lorenzo and Dana are “in the driver’s seat”.
jv you never made varsity did you?
Dude you’re totally reaching. That isn’t anything close to trash talk. I’ve seen a lot of fishing for reasons to demonize on here, but that was a little ridiculous.
JV about the trash talk… I agree Fitch talked some sh*t to get the GSP fight, but once he had the deal I haven’t heard a single word of disrespect. I think he was talking about trying to hype a fight by starting some drama.
5th round victory to Fitch via RnC
I know Arnold! He was trying to get the fight, its understandable. But, considering what he said then the following fighters suck. BJ “sherk your dead” Chuck “Im gona knock him out” Rampage “Im gona whoop his a**” Just to name a few. Do you still agree with his comment???
I think he was refering to the fighters who “suck” as Matt Serra maybe Nick Diaz, fighters who talk sh*t for no reason… that’s how I took it.
Look at Silva or Fedor; they let their fights hype themselves, I think he’s trying to be on that professional level.
I do agree with BJ and Chuck because they were both insulted first by Sherk and Tito talking sh*t.
I guess Fitch doesn’t have to worry about that because GSP is a class act.
Don’t forget Jacob Ortiz.
The most interesting part of this snip of info is the fact that Fitch called out his boy Kos.
I wonder how Kos feels being outed for the lack of a game plan vs. GSP?
I would imagine that is not something you want aired out to the general public, especially by one of your own.
Embarassing for Kos.
“And when he said he has only fought at 30% was insulting to his opponents”
what??? what’s NOT trash talking…when i think trash talking, Tito Ortiz comes to mind. THAT’S talking trash.
or Rampage vs. Wand talk…or Soko on Shogun….that’s talking trash.
this Jon Fitch “trash talk” is NOT even close! sheesh!
Go away Brock Lesnar.
Why? He will be one of the biggest MONSTERS!!! you’ll ever see. Just give him alittle time. And atleast hes not taking the easy road right?
I dont question lesnar can fight i just fucking hate the way he talks.ie if brock lesnar thinks brock lesnar is a bad ass! He probably sits at home talking to himself and laughing at all his own jokes and shit
funny ass comment i can imagine brock doing that and sable being like “wtf”
I met and had a beer with Fitch in columbis oh, during the Randy vs Tim fight was was a cool guy.I’d like to see him go far in the ufc but I don’t think he has a donuts chance at ricco’s house. Round one ref stoppage! Sorry fitch
Brock Lesnar Loves Brock Lesnar
I haven’t seen Lesnar talk trash in the UFC, he knows better. You must be talking about his WWE days.
I think he was refering to a thread the other day where Brock was talking about himself in the 3rd person.
war brock!
Brock Lesnar loves tapping out to ankle locks,.. and being a douchebag.
Rob Dib
http://www.break-your-face.com
in my opinion, gsp takes this fight fairly easily. there’s just nowhere i can see fitch winning this fight or even having a slight advantage.
GSP all the way…. I can’t wait 2 see who his next fight Is going 2 be after this !!!
The Prodigy!!! B…J…. PENNNNNNNNN!!!!!!! WAR PENN!!!!!
Definitely The Prodigy!!!!!…HEy UFC!!!!Are you gettin’ this??!!??
If they bring BJ to fight for a title you’ll have a bunch of WW’s looking to jump ship to a better org. That would be an insult to Alves - Sanchez - Kos - Swick. Let BJ actually win a fight at 170 then give him a title shot…
lol, yeah cause swick is more deserving. bj would school all those kids, and they know it. He will get the next title shot and not one ufc WW will hate.
Off topic:
I watched some of Rousimar Palhares’ fights in other orginazations and he’s a monster. I’m not saying he’s goning to beat Hendo, but he’s definatley a good fighter. http://www.mmalinker.com/xViewer.php?vidid=6307&vidt=i
Yeah he looks like a good fighter.. His submission at UFC 84 was sick.
See also: http://www.mmalinker.com/xViewer.php?vidid=6304&vidt=i
INdeed. But Hendo is still a monster of a fighter to deal with. Plus there’s always the size mismatch…
I just have to break it! Jon Fitch comes off as a real asshole! I hope GSP punches a hole in his boring ass fighting style and personality.. he’s taking a shot at others just because he’s finally getting his title shot, there needs to be trash talking it’s a part of the game that exists in every sport and gets ppl excited, so i really dislike that he’s taking a shot at those who do trash talk when everybody understands that it’s fighting and part of the game to hype a fight.. too bad for him that he’s gonna lose to GSP and to Thiago Alves and Diego in a rematch then no one will know who he was and forget him cause he was so boring..
So you hate Jon Fitch for being a humble, respectful person? your right, he should be a massive dickhead and talk shit 24/7 - that would make him such a better person and ‘more exciting’. Because, you know, the actual fight on the night wont be exciting at all… :rolleyes:
basically yes, he’s boring but thats just him what i don’t like is that he’s taking a shot at others for being entertainers.. and you have to understand that fighters that do talk trash is because their hyping the fight.. It doesn’t mean that they’re like that outside of the game in their normal life, you do realize that?
There is a great show where you get tons of trash talking and hype its called… WWE, I think you’d love it.
The rest of us who think talking sh*t brings down the sport and takes away from the skilled tallent that is MMA don’t require verbal banter to enjoy a fight.
Arnold and Spawn, I totally agree.
Ditto. Arnold and Spawn are right on. All this trash talk is appreciated only by these hilljack morons who migrated over to MMA when they got sick of WWE and backyard wrestling. These events are all of a sudden full of these morons these days. The bottom line is all the pre-fight trash talk cheapens the sport and is counterproductive to it being taken seriously. MMA is growing DESPITE this crap, not because of it.
And….what about GSP. Is he a boring prick for not talking smack?
Well I guess the lip-service is done and let’s see if they can get it done in the cage. I just hope they can give us great fights, that’s all I can say.
Less than two weeks, I can’t wait.
Wow, I mean wow. I amazes me how many people in MMA, including a tons of fighters just don’t get this business. MMA is basically the new pro wrestling, just real. Promotion of a fight depends on, not always but in most cases, on the storyline/smack talk between the two fighter. The only guys drawing ppv buys and tickets sells for this ufc are GSP and Brock because one is a great fighter/good promo and the other is an awesome promo guy.
That’s just it, a lot of the fighters don’t do it for a “business” they do it for the competition of the fight. Jon’s best quote to date “This is a game to me, this is all fun. It’s not like I’m fighting a war or working in a factory or something. This is playtime. I’m living a dream.”
I’m sure a stage full of Tito’s would draw a bunch of high school kids and probably make some money; but I like the idea that there is an educated fan base that can support true tallent and leave the acting for the scripted “reality” tv shows…
It’s only “the new pro-wrestling” because idiots who liked pro-wrestling want it to be that. It’s the last thing it should ever become. Freaking kiddies.
Jon Fitch is gonna have the biggest upset of all time!! gsp is so overrated, I’m totally gonna laugh my ass off on all you gsp lovers!!HHHHAAAA HHHAAAAAA HHHAAAAAA !!!!!!B!T@#’S
BJ PeNN ALL DA WAY!….