Dana White's UFC 95 Video Blog - 2/21/09

Here's Dana White's latest video blog, chronicling his times at UFC 95: Sanchez vs Stevenson. Highlights include various shots of the ring girls and Rampage Jackson, uh, giving lapdances to the ring girls. And also sometimes they show the ring girls. Did I mention ring girls yet? Because there are ring girls in this video. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to roll my jaw off the floor like some sort of cartoon character.

Dan Hardy makes eye contact with GSP

Dan Hardy got a relatively easy knockout win over Rory Markham at UFC 95: Sanchez vs Stevenson. After the win, he told The Sun that during the fight he locked eyes with Georges St. Pierre and the two shared a brief staredown moment.

"There are so many good guys in my division but I managed to lock eyes with Georges St Pierre outside the cage and we had a moment where I was like - 'I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you.' But I know I've still got improvements to make. There are some guys I need to pick off on my way up to him. But whoever the UFC send me next, I'll be ready."

This is a fight I'd really like to see happen. Not because I think it would be competitive, I've just never seen a fight end by murder before.

Demian Maia is pretty good at BJJ

Demian Maia (10-0) put on another Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu clinic on Chael Sonnen (21-10-1) last Saturday at UFC 95: Sanchez vs Stevenson, submitting him with a beautiful triangle choke in just the first round. He earned a $40,000 "Submission of the Night" bonus for the win, making this his fourth "Submission of the Night" in just five fights (which he's all won by submission). He's already made $215,000 in post-fight bonus money alone. Which is, ya know, almost as much as I make in a day. That's right ladies, I said a day.

It's pretty clear we're dealing with one of (if not the) best BJJ practitioners to ever fight MMA, but it's what Joe Rogan said during his entrance that really has me psyched about this guy. He's submitted Gabriel Gonzaga? The same gigantic Gabriel Gonzaga that manhandles heavyweights and has won Mundials? And he makes Frank Mir feel like a brown belt because he simply dominates him on the ground? These are legit heavyweight BJJ blackbelts we're talking about. I knew Demian Maia was good, but I didn't know he was second degree BJJ blackbelt who beats other heavyweight blackbelts good. I mean, aw geez, is this a boner? No, no it's not. It's two boners.

Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen discuss UFC 95

Here's a pre-fight video of Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen talking about their upcoming fight at UFC 95: Sanchez vs Stevenson this Saturday (February 2, 2009) at the O2 Arena, United Kingdom. I'm glad Maia is aware that Sonnen's game plan will be to avoid the ground and simply outpoint him. And I'm glad Sonnen is aware Maia isn't afraid to pull guard. It'll be interesting to see the two of them try and nullify the other's game plan, knowing full well the other's game plan will be to nullify their game plan. Uh, or something like that. Was that even a sentence?

UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson Media Call

The UFC held a conference call this afternoon for UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson. You can listen to the entire media call on Tapout Radio. FiveOuncesOfPain live blogged the conference call and highlights include:

1:18 p.m. -- Diego apologizes for being late. He said he was late because he's working on his cut. Said he was 193 lbs. on Christmas Eve and has dropped about 30 pounds. Said he wanted to make the cut because it's a challenge and that losing the last few pounds has been tough.

1:19 p.m. - Diego said cutting carbs out of his diet has been tough but that he hasn't had to cut water out and as such, he's feeling strong.

1:20 p.m. - Diego says he's been training in the high altitudes of Lake Tahoe since January 4. Brought his jiu-jitsu coaches out for the camp and said that Jake Shields also helped him. He mentioned that Joey Gilbert and Jacare also helped him out.

1:42 p.m. - Fighters are asked about their heroes in MMA and who they like to watch. Joe said Dan Henderson. Diego prefaces his response by apologizing to Dana White and said for him, it's Fedor Emelianenko. Said he doesn't even know if he's human. Said he has no emotion in his fights and respects how he comes into fights wearing "the cross" and "honors the lord" after the fight. Said he also looks up to Anderson Silva but that he sees holes in Silva's game.

2:01 p.m. -- Joe says by fighting since such a young age that he feels like he's 47 even though he's only 26. Says it hurts when he wakes up sometimes but that with the right training and proper nutrition there's no reason why he can't get properly prepared for his fights. Asked about retirement and Joe said he's going "to ride this car until the wheels come off."

Chael Sonnen and Demian Maia: better than Anderson Silva?

In an interview with USAToday, Chael Sonnen says he believes both him and Demian Maia are better than Anderson Silva, and that their fight at UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson will determine who the best middleweight is. He says:

In my opinion, these are the two best guys fighting right now, me and Maia. I think whoever wins this fight is the best middleweight in the UFC. I think I'm better than Anderson and I think Demian's better than Anderson; I think we would both beat him. For my money, this is the fight to figure out who's the best. But who's the best and who's the champion are two different deals.

Anderson Silva has gone on record and said, "I can't beat Paulo Filho." Anderson's manager went on record saying he can't beat Paulo Filho. And Paulo Filho went on record as saying, "Anderson can't beat me." It wasn't like Anderson massaged Paulo's ego and then Paulo came back and massaged his. Everybody involved in that training camp said that Paulo beats him.

I defeated Paulo Filho -- that gives me a good argument.

While I don't think Chael Sonnen could hang with Anderson Silva, I do believe Demian Maia would have a legitimate shot. In his fights against Travis Lutter and Dan Henderson, Silva showed he's susceptible to take downs and top control. And Demian Maia has a whole different level of ground game than Lutter or Henderson. Yeah, Lutter's a blackbelt in Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu, but Maia is a world champion blackbelt in Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu. It's the difference between getting your driver's license and winning Le Mans.

Josh Koscheck talks Paulo Thiago

In an interview with Cage Potato, Josh Koscheck says he doesn't watch video of any of his opponents and says he doesn't even know what Paulo Thiago looks like. He says:

I really don't know anything about him. To be honest with you, I don't even know what he looks like. I've never seen video on him, nothing. For me, it's a fight. I expect to go in there and fight and just do what I do, which is win... I just don't even care to look. I don't care to watch it. I don't watch video on any of my opponents. For me it's just another fight. I fight tough guys every single day at the gym. I got a couple guys in the top ten in the weight class, like Jon Fitch and Mike Swick, plus the other guys from other weight classes at our gym. I'm just looking for another good fight. I'm sure he's a tough opponent, but he hasn't fought in the UFC yet. This will be his first opportunity to fight somebody really tough.

He also says he'd like to fight as often as possible.

Like I told the UFC, I'll fight anybody at any time. I don't care who it is, where it's at, if the fights are three weeks apart from each other. I just want to fight as much as I can. You know, ultimately, it's about the paycheck. The only way I make money is by fighting, just like the only way you make money is by writing stories. In order for me to make money I've got to be in the cage fighting. I'm in the gym pretty much year round anyway, so I might as well be fighting and making money rather than just training.

One of these days I'd like to take a fighter who says they'll fight "anybody at any time" and really put them to the test. Ya know, maybe put them up against a 90-year-old disabled war vet and see what happens. Or an 8-year-old girl. Because what would be more awesome than seeing Josh Koscheck tackling an 8-year-old girl and then trying to arm bar her? Nothing, that's what.

UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson In Depth

Here's the hype video for UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson. It features an in depth look at the two main fights of the card: Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson and Wilson Gouveia vs. Nate Marquardt. Although, honestly, the fight I'm most excited to see is Demian Maia vs. Chael Sonnen. Sonnen was the WEC middleweight champion before it was absorbed by the UFC, so this should be a solid test to see where Maia's at in the UFC division. I've already placed him somewhere near the top, so a loss to Sonnen would pretty much shatter my dreams and leave me curled up and weeping in the corner. Hey, just like every other Saturday night for me!

...I'm so lonely.