Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters say the darndest things!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) descended upon Dallas, Texas last Saturday night (March 14, 2015) for an absolutely stacked UFC 185 pay-per-view (PPV) event featuring two title fights, a handful of top contender bouts, and a bevy of violence brought to you by the "Prelims" fighters.
In the main event, Rafael Dos Anjos put in a career-performance, stunning the MMA world by completely shutting down former UFC champ Anthony Pettis en route to a unanimous decision victory in their five round title affair. "RDA" was first to the punch in every sequence, landing hard shots on "Showtime" before dragging him to the mat and mauling him with ease (highlights here).
The co-main event saw another title belt switch hands as newly minted UFC women's strawweight champ Joanna Jędrzejczyk easily dispatched of former title holder Carla Esparza via (technical) knockout in the second round (highlights here).
Before the action unfolded in Dallas, there were a ton of promotional appearances and interviews to generate awareness for the highly-anticipated PPV. Fighters said this and that, hyping the event in hopes of garnering massive buys for the UFC 185 event.
MMAmania.com does a pretty good job of passing along all the noteworthy pre- and post-fight comments for each event. So, as we've done before, let us look at some of the most glaring remarks said not long before fighters stepped into the cage on Saturday night.
"(Rafael Dos Anjos) is the type of guy that can show my full potential. He's tough, he wants it so bad, and he believes this is his time. I'm the 155-pound king, and I plan on staying on top for a while. I'm not looking past this guy, but I'm looking through him though."
-- Well "Showtime" won't look back at this quote too fondly.
Dos Anjos did the exact opposite of allowing Pettis to show his full potential by completely shutting down the former champ en route to a decisive unanimous decision victory. In five rounds of action, Pettis was unable to win even one round on any of the judge's scorecards -- the true definition of laying an egg.
The former UFC champ had no right to look past or through "RDA," and the newly minted champ made him pay dearly for that.
"I am really looking forward to getting there on March 14 and to put on a good show for the fans and show everybody that I am ready and deserve to be champion. I am really looking forward to win this fight well; not by a close decision. I'll be looking for a finish. Every time go go into the Octagon I go for the finish. This fight is not going to be different. I don't see weaknesses, but I do see holes in his game. And i see the holes and he is not unbeatable. He's like a common human and he makes mistakes."
-- Dos Anjos knew all along he had it within himself to defeat the seemingly indomitable Pettis long before any fans or pundits believed in him. Sure the new champ didn't get the finish, but you can't say he didn't try his hardest to close the deal during the 25 minute beatdown.
In the end, "RDA's" victory was not close by any stretch of the imagination, and he absolutely exposed Pettis' weaknesses at UFC 185. Maybe next time the champ predicts how a fight will go down fans and pundits alike will be more eager to listen.
"Her wrestling is very good but I'm ready for it. I did my homework good in Poland and I prepared well for this fight. I can say something more about her wrestling after our fight. I feel good on the ground. My grappling is better, my wrestling is better, but I'm going to keep striking. If she does take me down, I'm not going to just lay on my back. I'm going to fight. In the future, my opponents should be focused because I'm going to fight on the ground as well because I'm a complete MMA fighter."
-- The question on everyone's mind heading into the UFC 185 co-main event women's strawweight title bout was whether or not Joanna Jedrzejczyk would be able to impede Esparza's relentless wrestling game.
Prior to the fight, the Polish striking sensation noted she was more than prepared to stuff Esparza's takedowns, and she was right on the money come fight night. "The Cookie Monster" was fighting in a defensive shell midway through the first round after Joanna stuffed several takedown attempts in easy fashion.
Jedrzejczyk may be a nine-time Muay Thai world champion, but you best believe the UFC champ is an all around MMA fighter.
"I have a fear of every man on this earth. I am scared of Johny Hendricks. I am afraid he is working harder than me. I am afraid he is better than me."
-- Well, at least Matt Brown was honest.
Using fear as his motivation to train harder for his UFC 185 welterweight collision with former 170-pound kingpin Johny Hendricks ultimately did not bode too well for "The Immortal." After three rounds of being taken down at will and pounded on, it is evident Brown is just slightly behind the elite of the elite in the welterweight division.
The exciting striker could never get off on the feet as "Bigg Rigg" was stifling throughout. With his second straight loss to championship-caliber fighters, "The Immortal" deserves to step back a bit and take on a middling fighter in order to get his feet under him once more.
That's a wrap!
For complete results from UFC 185: "Pettis vs. Dos Anjos," including play-by-play updates, news and notes, click here.