Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will hold its traditional pre-fight press conference today (Jan. 24, 2013) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, to promote the upcoming UFC on FOX 6: "Johnson vs. Dodson" event, which is scheduled to take place at the same location on Saturday night (Jan. 26) on FOX.
The press conference will begin promptly at 2 p.m. ET.
Scheduled to attend will be UFC President Dana White, UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson, John Dodson, Quinton Jackson, Glover Teixeira, Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone, Erik Koch and Ricardo Lamas.
UFC on FOX 6 will feature a 125-pound world title fight between flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14 winner John Dodson in the main event of the evening, with a co-main event between Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira in what is expected to be the final fight for "Rampage" under the ZUFFA banner.
In addition, top lightweight contenders Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis are also expected to hook 'em on the nationally-televised main card. Fight of the night? Of the year?
As always, MMAmania.com will have live updates of the UFC on FOX 6 press conference below, as well as a video player that will stream the entire event in real-time.
Enjoy!
Brian Hemminger here! The conference is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET.
Dana White: I'm here today to announce the retirement of Matt Hughes. Matt's been very successful inside the Octagon, outside the Octagon. He's been very loyal to us. As we were building this company back in the early days, it was like the wild wild west back then. Matt Hughes was one of the guys we could count on. I always knew if I had to pick up the phone and I needed something, Matt Hughes never said no to anything. Matt Hughes' new role with the UFC will be vice president of athlete development and government relations.
Lawrence Epstein: The implementation of a written code of conduct for UFC athletes. There's gonna be a huge connection with what Matt does and our new code of conduct. It's really not something that's new, just something that's been put in writing. We've always felt our athletes need to live up to a high level of conduct and the high standards of the UFC. It started when we took a look at the sports landscape and other sports league like the NFL, Major League Baseball. UFC's relationship with our athletes is an independent contractor relationship. They had an individual who was a mentor, in charge of athlete development, keep athletes out of trouble and make a career without tarnishing the reputation of mixed martial arts. We took a look at our roster of athletes and fighters who have helped built the sport. Matt Hughes is a great guy, has done a lot of good works throughout his career. Matt is going to be that guy for us. He's going to be the mentor for our 450 athletes. He comes with a unique set of experiences and has been at the highest level of the sport. He knows the challenges that come along with that and will be providing that perspective to our athletes. We're trying to make the UFC the best place in the world for athletes and frankly to be second to none. I don't think anybody is more focused on the relationship with athletes than Dana White is. We've developed the fighter healthcare program and this one today is the next step in the experience between UFC athletes and the organization.
Matt Hughes: I love this sport and this is the best way to stay in it moving forward. I look forward to using my experience to help the UFC and the fighters. Thank you guys.
Anthony Pettis: I don't regret the Guida fight at all. I had to have that happen to me to get where I am right now. He exposed a hole in my game and I became a more complete fighter. I'm better for it.
Anthony Pettis: Just understanding that if I don't win a fight by knockout or submission, I'd better be up on the scorecards when the fight ends. I was too comfortable on my back. In my head, I thought I was gonna submit him and I just need to understand that if I can't submit them right away, I need to get back on my feet.
Donald Cerrone: I just go out there and fight my ass off. That fight with Nate Diaz definitely sucked. I've been wanting this fight for a long time. Anthony is excited and I think we're gonna put on the fight of the year.
Demetrious Johnson: I believe with the UFC giving us the spotlight as the headliner on Fox, it'll give me and John a chance to show the world what the flyweight division can do. We bring everything, good conditioning, speed, footwork, everything.
John Dodson: 125 is the division that shows the technical aspect of the game. If everyone is great in the whole division, it's harder to gain finishes.
Demetrious Johnson: We both have the speed and I believe if you look down the back, it comes down to the fundamentals. I really think I'll showcase my skills in the Octagon on Saturday night.
John Dodson: I'm going to follow my own gameplan and make him make more mistakes than I am.
Dana White: The gate's great. If we're not sold out, we're close. We should be. It'll probably be a 1.3 million dollar gate. We had a rough year last year, a lot of injuries. This year has kicked off great, everything is going smooth. Everyone we put on the main card has stayed here again. We're delivering the kind of fights that we believe we can to Fox.
Donald Cerrone: It's a super fun, super good environment. John is the best one to lay around with, a little baby over here.
John Dodson: He keeps calling me a baby, do I really look like a baby? Me and Demetrious would both be able to beat your ass!
John Dodson: It's all family, it's just like a big brother picking on me.
Demetrious Johnson: I feel fine. I feel great. Washington's cold. I feel great out here so I'm ready to go.
Rampage Jackson: Naw, hell no. He hasn't faced anybody like me.
Dana White: I love what I do. I wouldn't say I'm ever stressed. There's challenges every day. I love it. I love this sport. I'm never really stressed.
Anthony Pettis: Initially the doctor said six months but I wanted to come back to training again. I came back to fast, hurt it a bit and dealt with some staph infections. The hardest part is watching the division develop. A lot of lightweights have been busy. I want to be top contender. I want that spot. I was stuck there watching so that was the hardest part.
Donald Cerrone: All the shit talking was to get this fight going. Now, it's two days out and I'm calm and ready. Getting under Anthony's skin, getting him fired up was what I wanted. I know he's trained, he's ready and he's coming hard. Let's see where this fight ends up.
Glover Teixeira: I just gotta do a smart fight. Everybody asked a question and it's not just a macho man thing where you stand there and trade. I'm gonna do my thing and try to knock him out.
Erik Koch: I'm so on this fight, I don't care about anything else. Of course I want a title shot. I'm here to fight the best. I want to be the best. I'm gonna do my work Saturday and we'll see what happens after that.
Ricardo Lamas: I've got one fight on my mind right now and that's Erik. We'll see what happens after.
Dana White: I ended up liking it. I battled with it years before whether we should or shouldn't (bring families onto TUF) and it added something extra. You normally can hear a pin drop when these guys are fighting to get on the show. I liked it a lot.
Anthony Pettis: Sergio is young. He's 19 years old. He's gonna develop where he needs to be. I had the WEC to develop. I think he's very talented and he's got a great home right now in the RFA. I think he'll be here soon.
That's a wrap folks. Thanks for stopping by!