UFC Quick Quote: Efrain Escudero eyes future fight against Roger Huerta
by Adam Wagner on Dec 15, 2008 12:40 PM EST
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"As of right now, I don’t know what to think. I just became a new UFC fighter, so I don’t know what to expect or what to say. But if I had to pick an opponent within a year, I would say Roger Huerta. I think me and him would make a good match up, just because I’m a gamer. I go in there and I study guys. I stick to my game plan from one end to the other. When he fights, he’s ready to give war."
-- Fresh off his unanimous decision win over Phillipe Nover at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale this weekend, the undefeated Efrain Escudero tells Fight Network Radio that he would welcome a fight against Roger Huerta within the next year. "El Matador" recently inked a new contract extension. He has not competed since losing to Kenny Florian via unanimous decision at UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" back in August -- his first loss ever inside the Octagon in seven attempts. Chances are Escudero will be groomed a bit more before taking on a guy like Huerta, but at least he's setting high goals early for a likely long run in the 155-pound division.
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I think that would be a good fight…right up to the point where Huerta KNocks this kid out cold! You guys know I’m not a fan of Huerta at all, if anything he’s over rated and the LW gatekeeper. Efrain didn’t say this on his own, UFC brass told him to say this. Rising mexican born star vs american born mexican who was the “latin up and comer.” they smell money, I smell first televised fight or co main event of a fight night! Does anyone give efrain a shot against Huerta?
by kevin on Dec 15, 2008 12:46 PM EST reply actions
efrain is more likable. Actually mexican 2. Hopefully he don’t start bitching about being the poster boy for latin america.
by onthebutton336 on Dec 15, 2008 12:55 PM EST up reply actions
What do you mean actually mexican? You know where a person is born doesn’t change their heritage. Huerta was born in East Los and speaks spanish… how much more mexican can you get?
by sp00ner1234 on Dec 15, 2008 2:36 PM EST up reply actions
You could also be born in Mexico. not that i disagree with what your saying, but that is how much more mexican a person can get.
by James S on Dec 15, 2008 6:42 PM EST up reply actions
I disagree! someone born in the US (black, white asian, mexican, etc) are americans!
plain and simple!
by kevin on Dec 15, 2008 6:51 PM EST up reply actions
haha no, he is not American he’s Mexican! just look at him and then read his name..
by RoB on Dec 15, 2008 8:23 PM EST up reply actions
He American dude. Born 1983 in Los Angeles. Unless you consider CA a part of Mexico, hehe!
by Syd[a.k.a. "The Negation"] on Dec 15, 2008 9:21 PM EST up reply actions
well, you could almost consider CA a part of Mexico since almost every place in CA has a spanish name and a shit ton of mexicans living there. and NY is for all the italianos! I have a friend from Chile born here in Sweden with his whole family being chilean you wouldn’t say he’s swedish would you?
by RoB on Dec 15, 2008 9:44 PM EST up reply actions
What!?!?!?! Over rated? ok I admit he gets pushed alot in the UFC now but the fight against Alberto Crane where he used the jumbo tron to see where to elbow him in the face? The last round against Clay Guida where he just refused to lose and fucked CG up even though he was losing that fight. No way Escudero is huerta caliber yet. He’s not even big enough… huerta is an enormous 155. He would rip Efrain’s face off
by sp00ner1234 on Dec 15, 2008 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
Spooner, the jumbo tron elbows was the most overrated clip in the history of the UFC. It really wasn’t very impressive and everyone was acting like he’s some kind of genius for doing it. All it showed to me was how much the media was on his nutsack.
by RedDog on Dec 15, 2008 7:16 PM EST up reply actions
He is a genius for doin’ it. It’s an unprecedented move and I’ve seen no one else do it after him…Where you been RedDawg?You’re rarely here nowadays…
by Syd[a.k.a. "The Negation"] on Dec 15, 2008 8:11 PM EST up reply actions
I do agree this was put to him by the UFC. I think Efrain is in a unique postition because they never pushed him during the show and he wasn’t nearly as popular as Junie and Nover. So the UFC needs to make their money off him so they tell him to start mentioning high profile people they want to hype. Plus Huerta was a fight from the title. No way Efrain gets to fight someone that high up in a stacked 155
by sp00ner1234 on Dec 15, 2008 1:00 PM EST up reply actions
Talking about this match up is a waste of time. This fight is at the very least a year away from happening. We all know that TUF winners get coddled by the UFC
by john on Dec 15, 2008 1:07 PM EST up reply actions
neither finalist this week end could beat nate diaz, never mind any top talent…which unfortunately Huerta is considered!
by kevin on Dec 15, 2008 1:10 PM EST up reply actions
i think huerta wouldn’t want to lay n pray the whole fight, he is more of a fighter
by mikeybear on Dec 15, 2008 1:12 PM EST up reply actions
U guts need to chill out with the way u r labeling Efrain. Everyone on this site that knows me knows how much I hate boring lay n pray wrestlers but Efrain is far from a finished product. All TUF fighters get better exponentially from when the show is over to a year later. THey all join top camps and improve tremendously. So Huerta vs. efrain is atleast a year away, and none of us have any way of gaging how much Efrain will improve by then or what fighter he will transform into.
I lost my dad recently and Its been the hardest period of my life. Im still not right yet and I am not sure that I will ever be. Much props to this kid for doing what he did on the show. He came on with a heavy heart and subbed everyone in the house and beat the next “Anderson Silva” in a decision. I havent seen the finale yet, but Nover is a Bad mofo, you gotta respect Efrain for what he has accomplished!
by john on Dec 15, 2008 1:38 PM EST up reply actions
People who are labeling him as a LnP wrestler need to switch over to K-1 because they clearly have no appreciation of the ground game. He has stopped all the opponents we’ve seen him fight, with the exception of a great fight with Nover. If Nover didn’t have a really good chin some of the shots Efrain caught him with probably would have knocked him out. Rashad started out as just a wrestler and now within a couple years he’s knocking people out and fighting for the belt. Efrain is already a lot more than just a wrestler so I think he has potential to have a great UFC career.
by GregC on Dec 15, 2008 1:48 PM EST up reply actions
Thank you GregC, i have no idea why people were ragging on him so much. I was very impressed with his wrestling game even if he wasn’t trying to put on a submission clinic. Huerta would be an awesome matchup and i think Efrain can win. All he needs to do is stick to his gameplan and most importantly not brawl. Huerta is an excellent litmus test for newcomers.
by NameNotRequired on Dec 15, 2008 2:00 PM EST up reply actions
Wasn’t Efrain’s Dad a professional boxer. I am sure he has some of that gene in him. Give him 1-2 years to develope his stand up and he will be for real.
by BNF on Dec 15, 2008 2:03 PM EST up reply actions
Agree. Efrain is kind of a wildcard. I didn’t see him as super skilled or dynamic, but he just seems to get the job done. Mentally he’s tough as hell, and that alone will get him a long way.
by CL on Dec 15, 2008 4:19 PM EST up reply actions
Dang that Escudero, he beat my boy The Nurse. Too bad for the Philippine Assasin.
I also noticed that everybody w/the monicker “assassin” goes down. Check out Houston and Soukodjou[did I spell that one right?]…
by Syd[a.k.a. "The Negation"] on Dec 15, 2008 6:01 PM EST up reply actions
Wasn’t Roger a wrestler in high school and collage as well? With that Roger would have better skill as Efrain, but Roger has more time in MMA. Personally I think Roger vs Diaz would be a better test for both fighters. I would love to see that fight, now this would be a fight that should happen sooner or later! I’m surpised no one has brought up Diego’s name in this talk. Here is what should happen next – Diego vs Roger, winner gets a pop of winner of Kenny & BJ.
by mmamac on Dec 15, 2008 11:40 PM EST up reply actions
I think Huerta vs. Diaz would be a great fight as would Huerta vs. Sanchez. But there’s no way Huerta should be one fight away from a title shot. He’s coming off a loss to Florian, so he shouldn’t get to face the winner of Florian and BJ after just one win.
by GregC on Dec 16, 2008 1:46 AM EST up reply actions
SpOOner1234, U make a lot of good points, most importantly, Efrain’s size, he’s not a legit 155lbr, he joins Frankie Edgar, they’d both would be decent size 145lbr. Gray Maynard & few other’s would out wrestle and manhandle Efrain due to a size advantage.
by THORAZINE on Dec 15, 2008 5:20 PM EST up reply actions
What’s up kevin? Still using my phone for computer access. You nailed this one right on the head bro! I don’t think he’s even close to being ready for a guy like huerta. And I, much like you, am not a fan of huerta at all. But efrain shocked me with the way he looked the other night! He was a complete sleeper on the show. Yeah he won his fights but he really wasn’t too impressive until he came out and controlled nover for 3 rounds. And I’m also with you on the topic of how he won. A lot of guys have been saying how boring he was???…..what fight were they watching? He was very active and pressed for the whole fight! FOTN for sure. Anyways…just wanted to say what’s up. I haven’t had much time to do anything lately. My mother-in-law has been in the hospital for a couple surgeries so I’ve been busy driving back & forth to Miami. It’s always somethin…..
by allamerican on Dec 15, 2008 1:23 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed. Maybe a good fight in a year or so, but no way to tell right now, and I don’t know why people keep saying it was a boring strategy/fight.
Watch your back in the “MIA”. I lived in Miami for nine years. Got out after a shoot out in front of my 5 yr old son.
by Jrandolph on Dec 15, 2008 10:15 PM EST up reply actions
hey kevin, dont know if u saw my post earlier… not sure if im gonna be back from new york by the 27th but well see… anyways, here is a list of bars that show the PPV fights in the gaslamp area that i reccomend, from best to worst…
1.East Village Tavern on 9th and market, great food, great screens
2.Tilted Kilt on 10th and K a bit like Hooters but better wings, great screens also, but maybe innapropriate for a family, they do have scantily clad waitresses!
3.Nicky Rottens on 5th and Market, great food, great screens but is pretty small so you have to get there early
4.Wings and things, also on 10th and K, good place to go if tilted kilt is packed
5.Hooters on 5th and market
keep in mind you should probably try and get to the top few as early as you can as you will get better seats/view… hope this helps!
by brendan on Dec 15, 2008 2:36 PM EST up reply actions
it does help. scantily clad doesn’t bother my wife and I, my son loves hooters!
if you’re gonna be around, let me know so we can watch it together!
by kevin on Dec 15, 2008 3:10 PM EST up reply actions
thanks brendan, get back to me if you’ll be around for the event, we’ll definitely meet up somewhere to watch it!
by kevin on Dec 15, 2008 3:45 PM EST up reply actions
Roger is a brawler with week takedown defense at minimum but is able to scramble to his feet very well. 3rd round TKO for Huerta unless Efrain improves his standup Xtreme Couture, or Mark Delagrotte seems to do the trick for most, if that happened then he will be a beast I could see him go very far. He also stated he is a white belt and most of his fights he has finished by submission could you imagine when he becomes a fluent BJJ practitioner it will be scary.
by hk on Dec 15, 2008 2:42 PM EST up reply actions
I dont think he’s ready for Huerta yet. I would start him off against Pelligrino or Danzig.
by c-war on Dec 15, 2008 12:49 PM EST reply actions
I think Pelligrino is a good gatekeeper. 155 is stacked
MMA stop moderating me super please
by sp00ner1234 on Dec 15, 2008 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
u guys are crazy! UFC is going to star him off against a no name bum.
by john on Dec 15, 2008 1:08 PM EST up reply actions
it’ll against that one guy that fought at that one place and sucks at wrestling
by randy murders on Dec 15, 2008 1:39 PM EST up reply actions
A no name bum? Is Clay Guida a no name bum? Mac didn’t get it easy with him.
by sp00ner1234 on Dec 15, 2008 2:11 PM EST up reply actions
yeah…who’s clay guida? you consider him top talent
by kevin on Dec 15, 2008 2:18 PM EST up reply actions
Kevin is there any fighters in the UFC you do like?
by sp00ner1234 on Dec 15, 2008 3:31 PM EST up reply actions
lots, I just don’t get all the hype a few guys get. Guidda, Huerta, danzig, basically guys that you’re mentioning as good fights for efrain are good fights for anyone! Just because I don’t like the guys we’re speaking of today, doesn’t mean I don’t have guys I like…tune back in tomorrow!
by kevin on Dec 15, 2008 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
Roger is a top lightweight for sure, the fight against Kenny was his worst performance so far and it wasn’t because Kenny is better than all of the other guys Roger’s fought it was because Roger wasn’t himself in that fight..
by RoB on Dec 16, 2008 7:24 AM EST up reply actions
Um, he’s got a way to work up before he even gets to Danzig or Pellegrino. Give him a Justin Bucholz or Terry Etim or something like that. He’s gotta start off toward the bottom, even if he did win.
by RyGuy on Dec 15, 2008 1:01 PM EST reply actions
I like Efrain an picked him to beat Nover, but currently Huerta would destroy him. He will definatly not fight Huerta next year unless Huerta loses his next 2 fights and Efrain wins. I highly doubt Huerta will lose so, not gonna happen.
by BNF on Dec 15, 2008 1:01 PM EST reply actions
BNF. i agree, as usual. efrain is at least 3-4 fights and at least 18-24 months away from being at huerta’s level. they wont put him up against anyone tough for at least 2 fights imo. BTW. did you see that KOS got all his hair cut off. you wouldn’t recognize him. check it out at BE.
by b.w. on Dec 15, 2008 4:19 PM EST up reply actions
I saw that, but I thought it was an old picture. He looks fat in that picture. What did you think about the TUF finalie? Gouveia is my man. Did you hear Rogan said Gouveia’s coaches said he was the most talented guy at ATT. I thought that was a pretty good compliment considering the guys that train there. I think he is good enough to make a run at getting a title shot, just needs to put in the work and make weight.
by BNF on Dec 15, 2008 4:50 PM EST up reply actions
BNF.GOUVEIA looked great. but those att guys all seem to have a hard time making weight,lol. hopefully this will be the last time for wilson not making weight and i will always give a fighter a 2nd chance but not a 3rd. :)
by b.w. on Dec 15, 2008 4:59 PM EST up reply actions
Probably cause they live in Miami… Lots of good distractions. :)
by BNF on Dec 15, 2008 5:03 PM EST up reply actions
Food and chicks dont mix…;)
by Syd[a.k.a. "The Negation"] on Dec 15, 2008 6:05 PM EST up reply actions
What has efrain done to deserve danzig or pellegrino? Lay on top of Nover for 15 minutes.
by Lyquid on Dec 15, 2008 1:08 PM EST reply actions
I think a fight between him and Frankie Edgar would be better. I think Huerta would be too much for him right now.
Some people might compare this to Swick calling out Alves. But, IMO, his mind set and reasoning in wanting to fight a big name like Huerta is way different than Swick wanting to fight Alves. Efrain is new and wants to try and make a name for himself. Maybe he just wants a fight that he feels he will be a good indicator as to where he is competitively in the division. Swick on the other hand seems to be thinking (why, I dont know) that a victory over Goulet puts him on the same level as Thiago Alves. So I guess if I beat some kid from a J/C at one-on-one at the park I’m ready to play Kobe, right?
by the_mexicutioner on Dec 15, 2008 1:12 PM EST reply actions
why would he want to fight another mexican.. they should stay away from each other, the UFC needs to go to Mexico and put these guys, Ortiz and all the other dudes that are mexican on the card!
by RoB on Dec 15, 2008 1:14 PM EST reply actions
Screw efrain, I want to see bader get matched with cantwell and i bet you any money he will and i want to see cantwell clean his block right off…
by What? on Dec 15, 2008 1:22 PM EST reply actions
cantwell cant wrestle… biggest problem for a striker is a strong wrestler,bader is a big 205 as well cantwell is a smaller guy for the weight he’d get outpowered and lnp all day, bader vs stann will be the matchup, cantwell will get like elliot marshall or someone else who likes to stand and trade
by randy murders on Dec 15, 2008 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
ok I like efrain but he better be jokin. huerta would make him regret ever wantin to fight him. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a rematch againt dat dumbass junnie browin cuz he lookin a lot better the other night. efrain should hace just called out ken-flo lol
by pimpin aint easy but its gotta be done on Dec 15, 2008 1:28 PM EST reply actions
Efrain will get matched up with Nate Diaz or manny gambruian for the first fight. Those are two good guys for him to start at. Huerta would kill him, guida would woop him and Kurt would kill him
by What? on Dec 15, 2008 1:28 PM EST reply actions
Nate Diaz is WAAAYYYY above Efrain on the ladder. Diaz is 5-0 in the UFC he is probably 1-2 wins away from a title shot.
by BNF on Dec 15, 2008 1:37 PM EST up reply actions
u really think he’s a couple of wins away from a title shot??? sherk, tyson griffen, ken flo, gray maybard, j lau r all guys a woul put infront of nate diaz
by ruan-fiy on Dec 15, 2008 1:44 PM EST up reply actions
I totally disagree… I think Nate should be considered top tier meaning at least top 6 in LW division Hes fighting Clay “the eternal gatekeeper” Guida. he beats him hes one maybe two fights out of a title shot against the prodigy… and believe me it will be against BJ. No way anyone in the LW beats BJ in the next 3 years. Longest reigning 155 champ unless he surrenders the belt after he beats GSP
by sp00ner1234 on Dec 15, 2008 2:15 PM EST up reply actions
gray before diaz ?? i dnt know bout that one
by tuffguy01 on Dec 15, 2008 2:20 PM EST up reply actions
That would be 7-0 in the UFC almost tie the record with Fitch and Gracie. What more do you want? Kenny is getting the next shot. Tyson just lost, Sherk needs a couple, Maynard needs probably 3-4 wins and needs to be exciting, Lauzon has a long way to go.
BJ may vacate the title when he wins and if Nate wins his next fight would like to him fight Kenny for the title and I think he can beat Kenny. Even if he doesn’t he is so young he will definatly be able to make another run at it.
by BNF on Dec 15, 2008 2:23 PM EST up reply actions
Writing too fast… Sorry. The ending is pretty bad, but you get my point.
by BNF on Dec 15, 2008 2:25 PM EST up reply actions
i bet hed beat them all but guida and diaz
by randy murders on Dec 15, 2008 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
There is a 0% chance he gets matched up with Nate Diaz for his first fight. Nate has won all his UFC fights, why would they put him against Efrain? That wouldn’t make any sense. Manny wouldn’t be a bad opponent though. And how can you say that Pellegrino would kill him but he should fight Diaz when Diaz already beat Pellegrino?
by GregC on Dec 15, 2008 1:42 PM EST up reply actions
Pelligrino is a unreal fighter. Who cares, diaz beat him with a triangle and it wont happen again. efrain sucks man…Quit licking his sack bro. Just cause the guy beat a buncha no names on the show mean snothing. He sucks.
by What? on Dec 15, 2008 2:01 PM EST reply actions
I like efrain but he better b jokin on this1. he shouldn’t fight any1 dats known in d ufc yet. he’s not ready. but I do think he should call out ken-flo lol
by pimpin aint easy but its gotta be done on Dec 15, 2008 2:02 PM EST reply actions
eh… he just wants Huerta because they’re both Mexican. I don’t see him beating Roger at this point.
by Scott on Dec 15, 2008 2:19 PM EST reply actions
Kevin I usually agree with what you say here, but I have to disagree with your opinion that Huerta is overrated. I think he has the heart of a lion and always shows up to finish fights. Just look how good Kenny is, finishing almost every single opponent, but he couldn’t finish Huerta, he used the Bisping vs Leben style, just running away and being technical. I think Huerta deserves a lot more credit than what you give him
by Don on Dec 15, 2008 2:52 PM EST reply actions
I am willing to bet that Philipe nover will be a monster in the division once he gets his wrestling up.
by What? on Dec 15, 2008 2:52 PM EST reply actions
I agree with comment by What?.. I just hope Nover dedicates about 2 hrs a day with just wrestling over the next year or 2 and he’ll definitely catch up, if he doesn’t dedicate that amount of time, it will show. I hate it when a talented guy doesn’t work his weak areas, hopefully nover doesn’t fall into that category.
by THORAZINE on Dec 15, 2008 7:29 PM EST up reply actions
One thing I never understood was why wrestling is so important when jiu jitsu is designed to counter it. Gracie was able to submit bigger guys who knew how to wrestle at his time. So i dont see why wrestling is so important. If you know jiu jitsu, you know the funamentals of position and control.
by What? on Dec 15, 2008 2:54 PM EST reply actions
Wrestling for MMA has evolved so much since Gracie’s time…. wrestling has more to do with control than JJ.if you utilize wrestling correctly you can neutralize a fair amount of jiu jitsu practitionors. Look at all the past and current Champions that started with just wrestling. I have done both and love both and find them equally important.
by Psyqo78®™ on Dec 15, 2008 3:20 PM EST up reply actions
I only do jiu jitsu and have no problem dealing with wrestlers. Granted I dont roll with olympic wrestlers of course. I just think that Nover could have won that fight if he went for more submissions off his back.
by What? on Dec 15, 2008 3:37 PM EST reply actions
U shouldn’t have any problems dealing with strictly a wrestler, but when u get a division 1 level wrestler that has good BJ knowledge and defense that’s when most BJ guys have a tough time.
by THORAZINE on Dec 15, 2008 7:23 PM EST up reply actions
Im a smaller guy, so im constantly rolling off my back and I find it easy to get foot locks on guys bigger then me with good control.
by What? on Dec 15, 2008 3:38 PM EST reply actions
Not yet man, Huerta would drive your face through the cage.
by yoububg on Dec 15, 2008 3:48 PM EST reply actions
this would be a good fight. not sure who to call for victory, but i know efrain would take down huerta several times. hopefully do more than just lay on him.
by captainbilldude on Dec 15, 2008 5:12 PM EST reply actions
Dana White wants to tap into that delahoya fanbase since they buy up PPV like hot tamales, a fight for la raza. Regardless on what anybody thimks it’s all about money $$$$$
by Eljefe on Dec 15, 2008 5:15 PM EST reply actions
Personally I think Joe Stevenson and Efrain would match up much better than a Huerta fight. This fight could go either way and would benefit either guy tremendously if they won. I can see it happening in the near future….maybe after a rematch with Nover.
by KJ Mack on Dec 15, 2008 7:56 PM EST reply actions
alright look erfian go do good in ufc but he didn`t beat phillpe too exctiedness cost him the so efrian is the frist winner of the uilmate fighter were that the other guy cost himself so he sucks anyway
by tz swanger on Dec 15, 2008 8:07 PM EST reply actions
I like roger he’s probably my favorite fighter in lw division
And efrain showed some skill but yea I don’t think he can defeat roger, give him a few months and we will see what happens,
It is a money fight and I would watch
Still I think huerta is top 5 in ufc lw
Like I said before I wanna see tyson griffin vs huerta next since both are coming off a loss I’m sure they will give it 100 percent.
For efrain maybe manny gamburryian or rob emerson
by phenomenal angel on Dec 16, 2008 12:26 AM EST reply actions
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