Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will hold a public press conference today (Aug. 15, 2013) to help promote UFC Fight Night 26: "Shogun vs. Sonnen" airing on the launch of Fox Sports 1 this Saturday night (Aug. 17).
The press conference will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET and will take place live from the Wang Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. Scheduled to attend will be the headlining fighters of the evening: Mauricio Rua, Chael Sonnen, Alistair Overeem, Travis Browne, Urijah Faber, Yuri Alcantara and UFC President Dana White.
Rua is the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, having earned the title by defeating Lyoto Machida back in 2010. He would lose the belt in his first title defense against Jon Jones, but has since waged some pretty all-time great fights inside the Octagon while trying to work his way back to the top.
Sonnen is perhaps the loudest fighter on the UFC roster. After earning two title fights in the middleweight division, he accepted a bout against Jon Jones on short notice at light heavyweight, which eventually became a light heavyweight title fight and a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter. He's also looking to work his way back to the top.
Overeem is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight champion, even defeating former division king Brock Lesnar in his UFC debut, but a test for excessive testosterone kept him out of the title picture until earlier this year when he was shocked by Antonio Silva via third round knockout. He's looking to get back on track against Browne.
Browne has long been considered a top heavyweight prospect but it's time for him to start playing with the big boys. He suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Silva last year after a first round leg injury, but he recently got back on the right track against former title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga, scoring a brutal first round knockout.
Hemmi here! The press conference will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET.
1:05 p.m. Should be starting any minute now
1:11 p.m. The presser is starting
Shogun Rua: Part of my inconsistency is because I'm always fighting the best in the world.
Shogun Rua: I try to follow the evolution of the sport.
Shogun Rua: Sonnen has always shown me a lot of respect. Even if he starts talking, it won't mean anything. My desire to win has always been the same.
Shogun Rua: My main goal today is to get back to the belt, get back to a title shot and I think a victory over Sonnen would help that.
Conor McGregor: I don't really care about what people say, hype good or bad. When the door shuts, I'll go at my opponent and we're gonna exchange. I'll just do what I do, day in and day out and have fun.
Dana White: When I went to Ireland at the Trinity College thing, all I heard about was Conor McGregor.
Michael Johnson: I had no second thoughts. My first thought was I'm excited to get this fight. It's great for me. We're definitely gonna go out there and put on a fight. He's expected to go out there and run right through me. I haven't been sitting on the couch watching TV the last three months.
Michael Johnson: There's no thought about those last two fights. It's over and done with.
Conor McGregor: There's two things I do well and that's whoop ass and look good. I'm doing one of them right now and I'll be doing the other thing on Saturday night.
Chael Sonnen: I like watching myself on TV, so that's why my fights take longer, but if I see a finish, I'll go for it.
Chael Sonnen: You should watch me on Saturday because if you watch on Friday, the fights won't be on yet and if you watch on Sunday, you'll be a Johny-come-lately.
Michael Johnson: People weren't talking about us doing better at the Blackzilians, but they did focus on the negative when we weren't doing well.
Yuri Alcantara: I'm fine, I'm calm. I'm about eight pounds away from making weight.
Chael Sonnen: I would rather not cut weight, but there are certain fights I want. I love to fight at light heavyweight. I started in 1997 and we didn't have the good fortune of weight classes then.
Urijah Faber: Dangerous is my motivation for this one. It's not about whether the fans know who he is. That always keeps me alert and heightened. This is the type of fight you always want. you have to keep your senses up.
Travis Browne: All of us hit hard, we're all big boys. The first one of us to land a big shot is usually the winner. This an MMA fight so it can go anywhere at any time. I look forward to competing against Alistair and coming on top on Saturday.
Dana White: I could have made this table longer and brought more people out here.
Dana White: The new deal will be great for the UK. We're going to be doing a lot of fights in the UK.
Joe Lauzon: I know I have a lot of bonuses, but I don't keep track of them. I'll be winning more on Saturday night.
Alistair Overeem: I don't mind being out of the spotlight, but I expect to be getting plenty of more attention after Saturday.
Max Holloway: The short notice wasn't too bad. I like to stay in shape. I think we have the tools to make the fight of the night. Hopefully we can walk away with a bonus.
Chael Sonnen: Everytime Little "Nerd," or Vitor get a fight announced, I go into training camp because I know they'll be pulling out. When I give my word to fight, I will.
Shogun Rua: The only thing that bothers me is when he talks about my country and Wanderlei, but I'm focused.
Dana White: Fuck them (the culinary union)
That's a wrap folks, thanks for stopping by!