Before Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson share the Octagon at UFC 161 just hours from now at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the two light heavyweight contenders were forced to endure one final formality:
For mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, the weigh-ins are the last time they will see stand face-to-face (see the staredown pic here) with their opponent before colliding inside the cage. Some fighters are casual when stepping on the scale, others use the moment as one final opportunity to try and intimidate their opponent.
Just moments after successfully making weight, Evans and Henderson both appeared on the FUEL TV weigh-in show to share some finals thoughts on their bout with correspondent Ariel Helwani less than 24-hours away from UFC 161.
First, the former UFC champion "Suga" discussed getting booed by the crowd when he stepped on the scale, if he has anything to prove after losing two fights in a row, possibly forcing Henderson into retirement, where Henderson would prefer to fight him and how he is going to earn the victory.
On The Boos
"I thought [the fans loved] me too, but you know what, when they started to like me too much I went on a losing streak so the boos kind of made me feel good, they made me feel at home, so if I get booed, I fight well."On If He Has Anything To Prove
"More or less to myself, if anything. I feel like I let myself down as a competitor and I know what's inside of me. And when I don't go out there and fight the way I need to fight and I go to the dressing room feeling sick and disgusted and stuff and I can't look in a mirror after I fight, then it's gut check time for myself and I know I need to make something change."On If He Wants To Push Henderson Into Retirement
"I don't want to be the one to end his career, you know I love to see Dan fight. It's hard to say how much anybody has left in their career, when it comes down to fighting it's all about will. And as long as he does what he needs to do to keep training and stay at the top of the ladder, then I think he should compete. But if he doesn't have that, then maybe he should retire."On Where Henderson Will Want To Fight
"I think that he would prefer it on the feet. I think that's where he feels his best chances are and when you stand and bang it out on the feet it's really a 50-50 game so he'll want it on the feet."On How He'll Finish The Fight
"Probably G and P, baby. Ground and pound."
The former Strikeforce and duel division PRIDE champion also spoke with Helwani on the FUEL TV weigh-in broadcast, sharing his thoughts on if Evans has lost a step in his fight game, Evans' last fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, if he expects a lot of wrestling to take place in the fight, retirement talks that are surrounding him and how he will come out victorious in the fight.
On If Evans Has Lost A Step
"No, I'm expecting to fight the best Rashad Evans that there ever was. And that's what I hope for, I hope he at his best so we can have an exciting fight.On What He Took Away Evans' Last Fight
"Not a whole lot. Everybody has a bad fight or a flat performance and I've been there too and I'm not going to judge him on how that last one was."On If Evans Will Try To Take Him Down
"No, I think he's still not going to forget about his stand up, but I was already expecting him to try and take me down at some point in the fight."On Retirement Talks
"I hear it, but it doesn't bother me at all. It's entertaining for me and it creates a bigger challenge I think."On How He Will Win The Fight
"I think it's going to be a war and I plan on stopping him."
Just a few more hours until showtime, Maniacs!
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