UFC 118 Media conference call highlights with BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar
Posted on August 19, 2010, 10:22 PM by pennyjommaUFC 118 is being held in Boston, Ma. Aug. 28. The main event of the night will be the rematch lightweight title fight between Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn. The co-main event is the light heavyweight match-up between mixed martial arts veteran Randy “The Natural” Couture and making his UFC debut boxer James “Lights Out” Toney.
The following quotes were given to Penny Buffington of MMA2DAY and others members of the press during the UFC 118 Media Conference with the current UFC lightweight title holder Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and BJ “The Prodigy’ Penn.
To hear the audio from the UFC Media conference with Randy Couture and James Toney go to: http://www.pennyjomma.com/
Frankie Edgar: I try not to even think about the title. It’s another fight, it’s another great challenge ahead of me and that’s how I approach it. So this is a totally new fight for me whether it’s a title defense or a new fight, old fight - it doesn’t matter. It’s all the same to me.
You know, easy. I mean, you know, when you’re preparing for someone like BJ, you know, right away it’s going to force you to really focus and gear up for another hard fight. And, you know, I know BJ’s a very smart fighter and he’s got a good team around him and I know he’s going to come in with a great plan to counter my last fight. So, you know, my team and I have really focused on trying to counter what he’s going to counter if we can, you know
When I come in I think my last three or four fights I’ve been the underdog. So it’s a role I’m becoming comfortable with so I seem to perform pretty good in this position.
I think every fighter has doubts. I mean, you know, it's just what makes - what sets you apart is how you face them and what you do to combat those doubts. We really try not to put a face on somebody, you know. It's a style I'm fighting. And if I can go into every fight like that, that definitely takes the mental part out of it.
BJ Penn:
I think there are a lot of great fights out there and I want to - I’m 31 right now and I have been with the company for 10 years and I really want to be as active as I can in this next couple years coming up in my life. So I’m glad that there are all these contenders around in the division. It’s very good. It’s a very good division.
I congratulate Frankie Edgar on a good performance and that’s pretty much - Frankie did bruise me up pretty good here and there but I didn’t have almost like a brain damage type of feeling. I was just kind of feeling sorry for myself and this and that. So I realized pretty quick what went down. loss to Frankie actually made me step back and realize that I want to fight as much as I can, you know. After the fight with Frankie, you know, God willing I have no broken hand or any broken bones or no suspension, you know, I want to, you know, fight next month, fight, you know, next week. I really, you know, I don’t know if I feel my biological clock ticking or what but I just want to get in there and I just want to fight as much as possible and just see it, you know. I’ve kind of spaced my career out actually over the ten years and I kind of want to make a push to be a true fighter, a person that fights all the time. And I think I’ve got a good training camp and I’ve kind of figured out how to keep myself healthy through multiple training camps I think I could do it and I think I could try to be very busy and very active. And, you know, I don’t want to say that it’s just all about the money but I wouldn’t mind, you know, trying to make some money.
You know, I want to prove to the world, I want to prove to Frankie, I want to prove to Frankie's corner, I want to prove to my corner, I want to prove to everybody, you know, who the best fighter is in the world, who's got the most tools, and who can execute better. And, you know, the - as far as motivation, you know, I can find something. I can find something to not like Frankie about, you know.
First of all, no one is untouchable. And if they are, they just haven't, you know, they just haven't run into the right guy.
You know, when you hear people say you're the greatest lightweight of all time and this and that and this and that, it's bullshit. It's not real. It's fake. You know, being the champ is fake, all of that is all fake.
Comments
you knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou knowyou know. they say it about 40 times!
anyways i think BJ will take this one. I dont know what happened in the last fight, i think frankie did a great job with keeping a super fast speed and bj just wasnt expecting that. Props to edgar, but this time BJ is going to know hes fast and hes prob going to want to just take it to the ground where edgar cant use his speed. i see a last minute triangle coming! its been the new thing for fights in the past couple months! werdum, silva, petit, and now BJ!
*pettis
I'm still going wit that BJ won the first fight, Edgar didn't do enough to win imo and as for the rematch, I think Penn will use his wrestling/Bjj and finish Edgar off
@Ninja Iagree 100% Edgar did not win that fight and he was gifted not only a W but a belt too...it's disgusting he should be ashamed to even look at that belt. I think BJ comes out and steam rolls just like he did against Stevenson
Yeah what the hell happened in the last fight, Edgar was just so fast and for all five rounds, his cardio is INSANE I mean, we don't get to see a guy jump so much left and right for five rounds lol!
As someone said it already, BJ probably didn't expect that. Well there were no reports or anything about BJ being ill or injured, as some speculated, so I guess he was just overwhelmed with Edgar's cardio. He kept saying how he 'jumped around him' and 'didn't want to engage in a fight' but that's another part of the game, too.
Just like wrestling yknow, if you can hold someone down for 3 rounds then good for you! You're a winner, it's not the most exciting fight or most brutal fight, but it's still part of the MMA, that's why I love this sport so much.
And if Edgar's cardio is too much for BJ Penn well then, sorry to hear that. I love both guys, I don't want to pick a winner. I'm so excited omg!
BJ should have focused more on what Edgar could do last time. He didn't get a title shot by fluke, and should have been aware how good his movement is. I am glad there is rematch, I expect a great match again, and reckon Frankie will win again, but BJ is up for it, so it should be a great fight. Both world class.
i really hope BJ is himself in this fight and comes out ready to crack frankie in the first round. i will not be entertained by the LW divison if some crowd snoozer who cant finish any fights and cant do any damage is the champ. nobody wants 25 minute title fights filled with take downs that accomplish nothing and appollo creed footwork lol.bj was right man your not the ultimate fighting champion, thats a joke. finish a fight or have a dominate performance. THATS how you show everybody your world champion
BJ didnt finish Edgar, so he cant grumble about Edgar not finishing opponents. I agree BJ is far better at finishing fights, but not necessarily better at winning. I do admire BJ for taking on the best fights he can find in Hughes, GSP and Machida (when Machida was the next big thing), and although he struggled with GSP he is undoubtedly the best LW that ever lived. I feel though Edgar will beat BJ as he has a superior style. May make some snooze, may not fulfil the bloodlust of the savage fan, but none the less has an elusive style backed with tremendous work rate, and I think he'll get better and better. If he can improve on his finishing ability he could surpass BJ in years to come, but that remains to be seen. The great thing for all of us is that there is so much talent at LW, and whoever wins saturday night, Edgar deserves respect for getting where he has even if some of you dont appreciate his ability.
hes a great performer no doubt and your right honestly he earned that victory... but this guy is not the ultimate fighting champion. decisions are a fluke, in this next fight bj can go in there and slap frankie silly for the first 3 minutes of every round but what if frankie gets 2 take downs every round and he wins. he wins the UFC LW championship cause he tackled bj a few times and didnt even advance position? thats a joke man. im a fan and i respect your opinon but no way in HELL is frankie edgar the champion. if he goes out and submits penn or kos him or dominates a decision i cant see him as champ. or any other fighter for that matter. the scoring cards in mma need to be changed. theres just no way around it, people get robbed of fights. not to say bj did but fighters in general get robbed all the time.
can see him as champ***
BJ is the man, you know... :-D
this time it will not be that easy for frankie.... you know...:-D
i can't wait to see that fight!!!! - you know- !? :-D
you know lol
can't wait for this it'll be interesting to see what stratergy bj try's i love the fact he likes to strike a lot but i would like to see him do what GSP does and use his biggest advantage which is his ground game his striking his great too but Edgar is so much faster and could bounce around for ten round let alone 5
i think bj can beat frankie on the ground but i dont think he can take frankie down unless he pulls gaurd if frankie decides to shoot on him and try to finish frankie off his back. i think if the fight is standing bj penn would have to work his 100% to catch him i also think he should be the aggresor but not rush things. fight smart and fluid with alota counters he might just catch and hurt frankie if bj does'nt hesitate too much
To me it seemed like BJ was the only guy fighting on a regular basis. Now he wants to fight more? Awesome. Got to love him.
Whoever weaked you needs to go play in traffic and stop wasting good oxygen