Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will hold a press conference call today (August 2, 2012) in advance of UFC on FOX 4: "Shogun vs. Vera" which will take place this Saturday night (August 4, 2012), at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The press conference will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET and will be streamed from the JW Marriot in Los Angeles, the home city of the event. Scheduled to attend will be the headlining fighters for the evening: Mauricio Rua, Brandon Vera, Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader as well as UFC President Dana White.
"Shogun" Rua is the former UFC light heavyweight champion. He won the title in 2010 but lost it last year to current champion Jon Jones. Since losing the belt, he avenged a loss to Forrest Griffin and then had the 2011 "Fight of the Year" against Dan Henderson in which he raised his stock in a losing effort.
Brandon Vera has not had his stock raised, losing more than he's won as of late, but a close decision victory over Eliot Marshall opened the door for him to step in and fight Rua as an injury replacement. This will be a huge opportunity for "The Truth" to get back to where he feels he belongs.
Lyoto Machida is also a former UFC light heavyweight champion, winning the belt from Rashad Evans and defending it once before dropping the title to Rua. He earned another shot at glory last December against Jon Jones, but was choked unconscious by the champ in the second round after many felt he won the first round. He has not fought since.
Ryan Bader is the most resurgent fighter of the four headliners. After dropping two straight, he defeated Jason Brilz via first round knockout and then upset former champion Quinton Jackson in Japan earlier this year. Bader is looking for his second straight victory over a former title holder.
We'll have all the live updates and video from the UFC on FOX 4 conference call after the jump:
Brian Hemminger here. The press conference is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET.
2:20 p.m. - Still waiting for the presser to start. We've got two Brazilians on the card and it's taking place in LA, not surprising.
2:26 p.m. - We're officially getting started
Dana White: The way I look at my job is I'm here to give the fans what they want. They decide who they want to see get the title shot.
Dana White: There's always contenders. You know how this is. Shogun Rua had the fight of the year last year. It was a war against Dan Henderson who's now fighting Bones Jones for the title. If it sucks on Saturday, I'll be the first one here letting you know.
Shogun Rua: I respect Lyoto a lot and it would be a great opportunity to fight against him. Maybe next TUF Brazil but this is a fight I will have soon.
Lyoto Machida: It will be a great opportunity for both of us.
Dana White: The ref cam is great in boxing, maybe it'll be fantastic. We have 11 cameras in the UFC already. We're gonna try new things and see how it works out.
Ryan Bader: We're both mixed martial artist. He's not just a karate practitioner and I'm not just a wrestler. I'm young in the sport and I have the ability to surprise people and grow substantially. My goal is to be a more well-rounded MMA fighter every time I come out. I do think I can surprise some people.
Brandon Vera: The UFC gave me a great opportunity, Shogun gave me a great opportunity. People wait their whole lives for this. I'm not gonna squander it. We'll see on Saturday night what happens.
Lyoto Machida: When I was there on TUF season 8, I saw Ryan Bader for the first time. He was a great athlete, had great heart, trained very serious and I believed that (I could fight him someday).
Shogun Rua: UFC knows better than anyone what is best. It would be fair to have me and Lyoto as the next coaches for TUF Brazil to decide the next contender for the belt.
Dana White: Brandon was a guy who at one time I was trying to get him on the Ultiamte Fighter because he just wanted to go for the title. He didn't want to screw around on TUF. He came out and started ripping through guys and then he had personal problems on the business side and went into a tailspin. He had injuries. He's a talented guys and he's got an opportunity on Saturday. A lot of people have been talking shit about him. This is his opportunity.
Brandon Vera: I don't know what makes you guys think that we weren't gonna try to take the fight seriously before that we weren't gonna try to knock the guy across from us before. I can't speak for after the fact. That's a bonus.
Ryan Bader: I agree. I'm trying to win the most impressive way anyways. It changes nothing. It's there in the back of your mind but I'm gonna try to go out and win the best way I can regardless.
Shogun Rua: I have a tough fight on Saturday. I'm just focusing on that. You can't let that get in your head.
Lyoto Machida: I don't change my mind. I am focused on Saturday. I have to keep my performance for this fight.
Dana White: Rankings would be great. There's a lot of ranking systems out there. I've always said the best way to find out who the top guys in the world are is to have them fight. If you look at these guys and what they've done, they're the best in the world.
Dana White: I think in this sport, people like all the fighters no matter the weight class. I guess we'll find out on Monday when the ratings come out.
Dana White: We start filming The Ultimate Fighter here on Monday but I haven't thought about The Ultimate Fighter Brazil yet. Whether we were USA, Brazil or Australia, they are both candidates for great coaches. They'd both be amazing coaches. I just haven't thought about Brazil yet.
Dana White: They say ticket sales are fantastic.
Dana White: We're aware that we're going up against some tough competition on Saturday night (in the Olympics).
Lyoto Machida: This camp, I didn't train with Seagal, but I had a lot of support from my family and my team. Maybe I'll have a surprise on Saturday.
Shogun Rua: Brandon has a good background in Muay Thai, aggressive like me, so I think this fight is gonna finish in a knockout. Let's see on Saturday.
Lyoto Machida: I just think about my preparation. I don't think about Bader's preparation. I know that he brought in a great karate guy. For me, that doesn't matter. I just want to do my style, my own style.
Lyoto Machida: It's great for me. My family is always with me and I just keep my focus on my fight.
Brandon Vera: I used to consider myself a wrestler, then I considered myself a striker. Now, I consider myself an MMA fighter. You need to surprise people all the time. It's three of us out of the same gym on this card. You don't have to go through the training by yourself. It's been amazing. Phil Davis is an awesome training partner. We picked up the wrestling some. We both were playing on each other's strengths and weaknesses all at the same time.
Brandon Vera: I had to wait forever for the legal process, going through the commission and it was a headache. I couldn't fast track it.
Dana White: There's lots of tough guys in the light heavyweight division. Somebody will be buzzing after Saturday.
Dana White: Having both guys win impressively is a problem I'd love to have.
Dana White: You'll never find super heavyweights.
Dana White: I haven't watched the Olympics, but if you're an Olympic athlete, what's next? You've made it to the pinnacle. This is an outlet for those guys. I'd love to see some of those Olympians start training in mixed martial arts when it's over.
Lyoto Machida: I just want to win the night and put on a great performance on Saturday.
Dana White: We love it out here. Southern California has been a hotbed forever. We're always going to be coming back to LA.
Dana White: No matter what group you have, not everybody at the arena is gonna like that act. While music goes with fighting, I don't think a band with fights works together. It's been done a few times.