UFC 115 in Quotes: Liddell, Cro Cop, Barry and Gilbert Yvel

With just six days away from the long-anticipated UFC 115 event in Vancouver, main card combatants Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, the legendary Mirko Cro Cop, Patt Barry and the "Hurricane" Gilbert Yvel talk about their hopes and predictions for the promotion's first trip to British Columbia:

Chuck Liddell via Sherdog.com: "I respect Rich and I think he’s a bigger challenger [than Tito] for sure, so that motivates you more to get into the gym and I’ve gotta be prepared. I’ve got to show up ready to go or I’ll pay for it. I don’t see it being a problem. I think [ring rust is] psychological for some guys. At the end of the fight, I’ll decide what I want to do next. I’m planning on making another run at the title -- that’s what I want to do, so we’ll see what happens."

Gilbert Yvel via Las Vegas Sun: “I sincerely hope Dos Santos will become the champ so I can beat him. He beat me in my debut and I honestly think he’s doing really well right now. I can see him becoming the next champ. It would be great to avenge myself and take the belt from him when he’s at his high point.”

Mirko Cro Cop via UFC.com Media Call: “If you noticed I didn’t even try to do a kick with my German opponent [Al-Turk], and I didn’t try – or I tried only once to kick Junior dos Santos because I didn’t feel very stable in kicking. I didn’t feel like my leg was good so I just didn’t kick it […] The wound was still fresh. It was only less than six months after the surgery so it was ‘suicide’ according to the doctor. But I decided to take the fight and I decided to take another fight with Dos Santos, which wasn’t a smart idea in that condition. But I’m just a fighter, you know, and I like the sport. I like fighting. I like competition but obviously you need to make decisions with the head, not with the heart.”

But the leg is finally completely recovered. It was a very hard injury, you know, so it really took time. Now it is one and a half years since I had the operation and now it’s finally okay. Now it’s finally okay. And finally a few months ago I started with the full power kicking.”

Pat HD Barry via MMAWeekly.com: “If I walked up at the weigh-ins and hand him a picture of himself and a marker and ask him to sign it, that’s not going to be a joke. I’m going to be seriously asking for an autograph. If he slaps it out of my hand, that’s going to hurt my feelings.”

Cro Cop is a legend, he’s a living legend. He’s one of my heroes. He’s a guy I had a poster of, a guy I had on my top five list of never want to fight ever, and he’s the man. He’s killed all types of people. He’s done everything in the world. You know what? When that cage door closes and the bell rings, he’s a man just like me. If you get hit, you’re going to fall down no matter who you are. If I punch or kick anybody, they’re going to go down.”

The event will be held at the 19,500-capable GM Place, with fighters from USA, Croatia, Brazil, Denmark, Canada, Holland, England and Germany on the card. The Ultimate Fighter 11 finale will follow UFC 115 on June 15th, with the Light Heavyweight bout between Keith Jardine and Matt Hamill as the main event.

Do not forget to make your picks for UFC 115: Liddell vs Franklin event. Go to the Picks & Events page to predict who will leave Vancouver victorious.