The UFC 163 post-fight press conference is the last piece of business to take care of after the action is over in the Octagon, and we have the live video below at MMAFighting.com.
UFC officials will announce the winners of the Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses, and winning fighters will meet the media after their fights.
The UFC 163 post-fight press conference takes place about 30 minutes after the main event ends, meaning it will start around 1:15 a.m. ET. The video is above. From: http://www.mmafighting.com/
Last time Jose Aldo Jr. set foot in the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, he put on a memorable show, as he ran over Chad Mendes with a knee, then ran into the crowd for a wild celebration with his fans at UFC 142.
There were no such histrionics on Friday for the UFC 163 weigh-ins, as both the UFC featherweight champion and his Saturday night challenger, Chan Sung Jung, made weight. Both hit the 145-pound title-fight limit.
Aldo (26-1), who is now the second-longest reigning current champion in the UFC, is making the seventh defense of his UFC/WEC title. His last bout was his unanimous-decision victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 156.
Aldo gave a nod to the Rio fans in his post-weigh-in interview. "I prove myself the crowd, the crowd will push me to go forward all the time," Aldo said."
Jung (13-3), meanwhile, is stepping in for original opponent Anthony Pettis. The 26-year old "Korean Zombie" has made his name as a scrappy, crowd-pleasing underdog and has won each of his past three fights via finish.
But he's been out of action nearly 15 months, as his last win was his fourth-round submission of Dustin Poirier in the MMAFighting.com 2012 Fight of the Year.
The "Zombie" addressed his underdog status. "No matter what people might think, I am confident in my ability to win," Jung said through an interpreter.
The weigh-ins went mostly without a hitch, as the only fighter to miss weight was John Lineker, who came in at 129 for his flyweight bout with Jose Maria Tome. Lineker chose to accept a fine of 20 percent of his purse to take the bout as a catchweight rather than attempt an additional weight cut.
While not reaching quite the levels thatDana Whiteprojected from trending patterns the night of the show,UFC 162, which featuredChris WeidmanendingAnderson Silva'srecord setting win streak and taking his middleweight title, now looks to have done about 550,000 buys on pay-per-view based on industry sources.
The number would be in the same realm as UFC 159, on April 27, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen for the light heavyweight title battling for the second-biggest number so far this year. UFC's high point was UFC 158, on March 16, headlined by Georges St-Pierre's welterweight title defense against Nick Diaz, which is estimated at doing 950,000 buys.
The number indicates that the Chael Sonnen series significantly elevated Silva as a drawing card on pay-per-view, where he'd have to now be considered No. 2 behind St-Pierre. As a comparison with Jon Jones, Jones pulled his number with Sonnen, a far better known fighter than Weidman, and a fight that also had the benefit of the exposure of an Ultimate Fighter season promotion.
It's also well above the estimated 410,000 buys for Silva's fight with Stephan Bonnar in October, although that was a non-title fight at light heavyweight.
White had projected 800,000 buys for UFC 162 based on the factors he and the UFC use the week of the fight to measure interest. For whatever reason, Silva fights traditionally do better in projections. Both Sonnen fights and the Vitor Belfort fight also measured higher in projections before numbers came in than they ended up doing, although all three of those fights were significant successes, falling between 600,000 buys and 925,000.
The number was slightly above most predictions going in. While there are no concrete numbers to back this up, the feeling was this fight would do strong numbers in post-fight sales due to the nature of Weidman's title win. Weidman was not well-known to the general public coming into the fight, and Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira, while ending up a great fight, was not a strong marquee co-feature.
Weidman, a former two-time All-American wrestler from Hofstra, had been injured and out of action for a year coming into the fight. He was on a highly-rated FOX show in early 2012, but it was a fight he took on late notice, and had to drop 32 pounds in a week. He beat Demian Maia in that fight, but got tired and didn't look impressive, certainly not making anyone think based on that night that he would beat Silva. His signature win, over Mark Munoz, was on a far less seen Fuel TV special.
UFC promoted the show based on a campaign that many of the biggest known fighters in the company were predicting Weidman to end Silva's six-plus year championship reign and undefeated UFC record. The campaign was based on reality, as a number of major stars were predicting a Weidman win long before it became the focal point of the ad campaign, most notably St-Pierre. Weidman won the title with a second-round knockout, catching Silva unaware as the champion was showboating.
The numbers continue a pattern for UFC. A show with a major main event does as well as it would have in any era. Even when UFC was setting pay-per-view records in 2010, Silva defending against someone who was an unknown without a strong amount of backup support, would not have done numbers at this level. The exception was the first Sonnen fight, but Sonnen is a master promoter. Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche earlier this year was a major success for a woman's fight. St-Pierre did his career best numbers as a headliner on his own with Diaz, although Diaz deserves credit for a show that picked up incredible interest in the last week.
However, the baseline number looks to have fallen. Fans are picking and choosing more. The June 15 show, UFC 161, headlined by Dan Henderson vs. Rashad Evans has been estimated in the 150,000-buy range. Both Henderson and Evans are well-known stars, with Henderson being a future Hall of Famer and Evans having a history of drawing big.
But enough of the regular buyers decided to pass on that show with the higher-profile Silva vs. Weidman fight three weeks away. Henderson had not looked good in his previous fight, with Lyoto Machida, but almost nobody ever looks good against the difficult style of the Brazilian former light heavyweight champion. Evans was coming off lackluster performances in losses to Jones and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
"DC" confirmed his plans to move down to light heavyweight following the bout to FUEL TV's "UFC Tonight" on Tuesday.
And not only is Cormier planning a move to light heavyweight, he wants an immediate 205-pound title shot, if he beats Nelson.
Cormier said that after the fight he will publicly ask the UFC in the cage to "cut the line" and fight the winner ofJon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson next. Cormier is now confident he can easily make the weight cut.
UFC 166, headlined by Cormier's teammate Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 3 for the UFC heavyweight title, takes place Oct. 19 in Houston .
Junior Dos Santos is no longer interested in fighting Alistair Overeem.
The two were supposed to meet at UFC 126 but the former K-1, DREAM and Strikeforce champion was caught in an antidoping test carried out by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and was removed from the event.
Since then, Cigano made comments to the effect that he would rather not fight “an opponent made in a laboratory,” with Overeem responding by saying Dos Santos was “afraid” of facing him in the Octagon.
Now Dos Santos says that he feels “avenged” by fellow Brazilian heavyweight Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, who knocked Overeem out in the third round of their fight earlier this year. Dos Santos says he no longer has any desire to fight the Dutchman. “Bigfoot put him on his place. I no longer feel the wish to face him but I fight whomever the UFC puts in front of me. I will train aiming that guy and to be very well prepared to win,” Dos Santos told Terra. “The limited fighters, guys who don’t believe in themselves, who don’t dedicate to the training and don’t take it seriously are the ones who make it to call for attention. They do it to hype themselves.
“It’s not that he [Overeem] is bad. He is an excellent fighter and he has great accomplishments in his career. You see [Chael] Sonnen making controversial statements as well but I’m not saying anything bad about him.
“Have you see Sonnen? He is an excellent athlete… but he is better as a commentator.”
TEMPE, Ariz. -- John Moraga climbs out of the sparring cage, soaked in sweat but otherwise satisfied with his last-minute homework session. His week is largely spent at Glendale's MMA Lab, but today is Wednesday, which means Jamie Varner barks out orders to a room full of Muay Thai students in the back while Lil Wayne pulsates through the stereo speakers at Tempe's Arizona Combat Sports.
Moraga grabs a faded blue UFC t-shirt and pulls it snugly over his 5-foot-6 frame. He fidgets when he sees a camera branded with a FOX logo waiting for him near the front of the room, but only slightly, and only if you're really paying attention. It's a small improvement, but an important one for a man thrust so abruptly into the spotlight.
Moraga's road is a curious one, particularly in the UFC's name-driven, what-can-you-draw-for-me world. In many ways, he's an unknown man. He's strolled into the Octagon twice and seized two finishes -- an uncommon claim in a division still struggling to find its footing. Yet both of those performances were curtain jerkers, and Moraga's walk was accompanied by near-empty arenas. Now that arena will be packed to the rafters, and millions of people will be learning his name for the first time.
From Rage in the Cage, to Facebook prelims, to UFC on FOX headliner; it's an implausible jump, one that would paralyze many in his stead. "I didn't get into the sport to have my face on cameras. That's why you don't see me on anything, out and about trying to get my face out there," Moraga says.
"It's not that I hate doing it. It's just that I'm out of my comfort zone most of the time while I'm doing it, and I'm not used to it. Like I said, I didn't get into this sport to be a poster boy. I don't like attention on me. I don't like going to places and people recognizing me. But it is what it is. I've heard people say it comes with the territory. This is what I chose."
Moraga is soft-spoken, but when he does speak it seems to carry weight. His sentiment is understandable considering how quickly all of this came to be. He expected greatness, of course. Every athlete does. But for it to potentially happen this fast, a flyweight title shot after just five months in the UFC? Never in his wildest dreams. So he learns on the fly, adapting to an increasingly strange world.
His ascent, while expedited, didn't come easy. His was a hard life filled with moments where the struggle to care was very real, he says, "to care about tomorrow, to even care what happens to yourself, because it ain't like you're losing anything." Moraga's mother landed in a mental ward early, and by the age of six he was wandering the streets of west Phoenix.
Still, Moraga doesn't like to complain. He freely admits, parts of his story aren't the best, but his opportunities were still better than most of the neighborhood. For the most part, those guys are either in prison or dead -- but Moraga, he got lucky.
UFC on FOX 8: Road to the Octagon
When Moraga was a sophomore at Maryvale High School, an on-campus security guard named Richard Fimbres saw promise and convinced the troubled kid to join the wrestling team. Fimbres, along with Frank Saenz, also served as the school's wrestling coach, and the two men kept Moraga on a straight path when it would've been easy for him to veer away. That led to college, where Moraga became a two-time University Freestyle All-American wrestler for the Arizona State Sun Devils before turning his attention to a new endeavor.
But life has a way of smacking you in the face, and the murky jungles of regional MMA are often thick with quicksand. For an athlete under 155 pounds, the fight for relevancy is a long one. Moraga doesn't like to admit it, but his dream nearly died more than a few times along the way.
Moraga picked up six quick wins in nine months fighting for Arizona's Rage in the Cage. Then came a fateful trip to the Dominican Republic and the first stumble of his career. Over 15 minutes he still recalls with disdain, John Dodson outworked Moraga to nab a close decision victory. The performance launched Dodson into the cast of the The Ultimate Fighter 14, while Moraga trudged back to obscurity.
His reality grew cold. Barely scraping by, Moraga worked as his own manager. Sponsorships were a myth. Fights were a rarity. He'd handle the phones, talk to a few businesses, try to reach some kind of understanding, but nothing ever took. "We actually never even got around to doing anything. It just seemed like I couldn't get a fight. After Dodson, no one wanted to fight me at the local shows, so it was just hard to even make $500 or $600," Moraga recalls.
By then Moraga already had a young son, John Jr., and the pressures of family were driving him to a crossroads. He hustled, worked sides jobs, construction, "whatever with whoever," as long as it kept a roof over his family's head and still allowed him to stay in the gym.
"It was a struggle like that for a long time. I don't know how long I would've been able to keep that up. I'm not a quitter, so I'd like to believe I would've kept going. But who knows?" Moraga grimly entertains the notion, then shakes his head.
"It was pretty close to the point where I had to make a decision; figure out if it was going to go somewhere or what I was going to do if not, because it wasn't happening and my family needed me to be a little more supportive for them."
The stresses, the long hours, the years of the hard work; it all culminated in one breaking point. Almost overnight, by a minor miracle, Moraga booked three fights back-to-back. Three fights in six weeks. A final hurrah. "I went out on my own, and I was like, ‘I'm going to have to make something happen now," he says.
Moraga never even got the chance to fulfill his contract. He armbarred his first opponent, guillotined his second, and then that life-changing call came. Finally, he was a UFC fighter.
Moraga shifts slightly as the FOX camera zooms and focuses. He picks his words carefully, a lesson he learned in early June when an off-the-cuff comment about Demetrious Johnson being ‘boring' made headlines throughout the MMA community. Though an honesty still remains in his voice. He can't help it -- it's how he was raised. The P.R. coaches haven't yet descended upon him, replacing every colorful remark with a tired march of clichés. It actually kind of refreshing, and it isn't long before any hesitancy about discussing the UFC flyweight champion is all but erased.
"I don't want to disrespect it, but yeah, I think that. And that's why I called him boring when they asked my opinion," Moraga argues. "That was my opinion as a fight fan, just because of that reason. It's a strategic thing that he does. He gets people impatient and frustrated, but it's winning on points. That's what he's worried about. He's worried about winning on points, so I think fight fans, for the most part, probably don't want to see that. And especially when you're trying to build a division that's already kind of getting criticism. So I just take it upon myself, it's my job to go out there and change some opinions."
It's here that Moraga's stoic demeanor is at its most striking. Call it the Diaz in him. While he isn't yet accustomed to the limelight, there's no question Moraga believes that he belongs. The flyweight division, more so than any other in the UFC, is awaiting the emergence of a star. Moraga may be far from it at the present moment, but to him it's just baby steps. Ultimately, Moraga knows he can become that man.
"I just believe that I take risks. I go for it when I see it, and I'm not afraid to get hit," he says.
"You can't really discredit [Johnson] for his style. He's fighting the top guys at the world. I understand that. We're not fighting local guys and beginners. Sometimes it's hard to finish people. But I think fans would really appreciate a little more effort to do so. Just to go for it, to take those risks. I feel like he fights pretty safe."
Moraga pauses, then tilts his head to the side. "At the same time, who knows? He's got to do what he's good at. Like he said, my opinion doesn't really matter. I don't pay his bills, and he's right. That's why we go out there and fight anyways. But that's just my opinion."
'I DIDN'T GET INTO THIS SPORT TO BE A POSTER BOY. I DON'T LIKE GOING TO PLACES AND PEOPLE RECOGNIZING ME. BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS. THIS IS WHAT I CHOSE.'
Let it be known that Moraga keeps it real, in the realest sense of the phrase. Even in the face of life-changing opportunity, Moraga can't help but consider the reality from his foe's perspective. His rough exterior masks a warmth that shines through every so often, whenever he allows himself to forget about the cameras and the microphones and the nodding reporters waiting to analyze his every word.
Moraga is also relentlessly committed to his hometown, and it shows. He sports a straight-billed, black and grey "Phoenix" cap and his face lights up when the topic turns to his old neighborhood.
One day Moraga hopes to help struggling kids break out from the depths of poverty and thrive; to create a future where there wouldn't otherwise be one, "maybe change some lives, or at least put them in a different direction." Kids like himself, and kids like his cousin, Jay.
Jay was killed this February, a bullet to the chest. He was only 16. Moraga talks about it when asked, but he prefers not to. Jay was special, he says.
Just hours after he buried Jay, the UFC called Moraga with an offer for his next fight. He said no. Moraga eventually reconsidered when a title shot entered the discussion, but there was no joy in it -- no elation of a dream finally being realized. In the ten days between the murder and the funeral, Moraga wasn't in the gym. He really had no intention of coming back so soon. When he eventually did, it was a struggle. His mind wasn't in it. So once Johnson's shoulder injury pushed back the fight date from mid-April to late-July, Moraga saw it a blessing in disguise. "That kind of changed things," Moraga admits.
Now this one is for Jay. Moraga's roller coaster ride here has been both surprisingly short and painstakingly long. He is, by and large, a mystery man; the stranger with a chance to usurp the throne. "I didn't expect it this fast. But when you think about it, man, it just seemed like it took forever for anything to happen," Moraga wryly says.
"It was definitely a long road coming, and I think the timing just, I don't know -- maybe they just say good things happen to good people. I paid my dues."
Moraga tries, but admits that he can't explain this feeling. He says he's unshakeable. That this isn't nervousness, or anxiousness -- not even the famed Octagon jitters. He doesn't understand it, and maybe you just had to grow up where he grew up to get it. So instead let's just say he's in the zone. After all, he's already in a fight. He has been for a while.
"Did you need me to go hit pads?" Moraga looks away and asks the FOX cameraman, who clicks off his rig and offers a slight nod in approval. Less than two weeks out from the biggest moment of his life, the 29-year-old peels off his faded blue UFC t-shirt, hikes back into the main training room, back to Varner's barking and the pumping rhythms of Lil Wayne, sits down and begins wrapping his hands. This is the world he understands. Already a grin creeps across his face.
Chael Sonnen has a new deal and is going back to 185 pounds.
Sonnen, who has signed a five-fight contract with the UFC, announced his return to the middleweight division after his upcoming fight against Shogun Rua on Tuesday's UFC Tonight.
"There are two guys I want to get matched up with. The first is Vitor Belfort because he's awesome and he's on an incredible roll. Second, is Wanderlei [Silva] who I have now found out is going back to middleweight," Sonnen said on UFC Tonight. "The landscape has completely changed. I have a new contract, and I'm returning to the weight class."
Sonnen will compete for the second straight time in the light heavyweight division when he squares off against Mauricio Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Boston on Aug. 17.
He had won two of his past three fights in the middleweight division before making the jump up to fight Jon Jones at UFC 148 on July 7, 2012. He was knocked out in the first round
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From: http://www.mmafighting.com/
But the former Bellator middleweight champion isn't afraid to admit the move wasn't his first choice.
On Monday's edition of The MMA Hour, the Cuban-born former Olympic judoka said he's making the move at the UFC's suggestion.
"The UFC wanted me to go to 170," Lombard (32-4-1, 1 NC) said. "They believe that I would perform better at 170 than 185. I have to do what the bosses say, you know? Can't argue with the bosses.
"If it were to be up for me, I would stay at 185," Lombard said. "I have to be disciplined ... I've been training hard and I think I'll be able to make it and I think I'll be able to perform better."
Lombard entered the UFC amid great fanfare last summer as the winner of 20 consecutive fights and on an unbeaten streak of 24-0-1. But he's since become an example of how thin the line between success and struggle in MMA can be. He's 1-2 in his three UFC fights, with a win over Rousimar Palhares sandwiched by losses to Yushin Okami and Tim Boetsch.
Both losses were split decisions, meaning he was one judges' card in each loss from being undefeated instead of 1-2. Lombard knows that all he can do is play the hand he's been dealt and do his best to take things in stride.
"I have confidence," Lombard said. "I believe I'm going to pick it up, I don't see myself losing from now on to anyone."
Lombard, who has fought as high as light heavyweight over the course of his career and doesn't exactly carry a lot of fat on his frame, insists that making 170 pounds is doable.
"I'm going to lose a bit [of muscle]," said Lombard. "But at the same time I'm going to be faster, not only am I going to be faster, my stamina is going to increase. I can feel it in my training right now."
The UFC 166 bout is one Marquardt wanted. It nearly happened in Bellator awhile back, but the proposed bout fell apart. The veteran Marquardt called Lombard out on Twitter, and Lombard was only happy to oblige.
"He was the one who picked me," said Lombard. "We were supposed to fight two years ago when he got cut from the UFC. And the fight didn't happen. But now were are both in the UFC, why not? Let's get that out of the way. I'm never going to walk away from any fighter, I'll fight anyone."
In the meantime, Lombard had an opinion on the most popular topic in mixed martial arts of the past week: The changing of the guard in his former division, where Chris Weidmanknocked out Anderson Silva to claim the middleweight title.
"Everyone was expecting [Silva] to win that fight," Lombard said. "I think he lost the fight himself. He was too cocky and I don't know, he went crazy in the fight. I don't know what happened to him. It's going to be in the hard in the rematch because Chris has a lot of confidence, and [Silva] will have less confidence this time. Chris Weidman knows he can win, and Anderson knows he can lose the fight."
Lombard will watch the middleweight rematch like anyone else. But a part of him wishes middleweight is where he'll compete.
"They said I'm too small for 185 and I would be better at 170," Lombard said. "I try to convince, but Joe Silva was taking, ‘no, no, no, I don't want you at 185.' So I have to do what he says."
