UFC 91 Post-Fight Video Interviews and Analysis

UFC 91 Weigh-Ins Video

UFC 91 Predictions: Natural Selection

Lets take a look at the rest of the card before we get to the big fight of the night.

Non-Televised Bouts

Ryan Thomas vs. Matt Brown
I gotta go with Thomas in this fight, he is an up and comer with alot of talent. I think he can control this fight with his wrestling and overall ground game. Brown has a significant advantage standing, but I don't think he can avoid this fight going to the floor.- Thomas by decision.

Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek
Love this fight, it has the potential to be the fight of the night, but I see Robinson as having better overall skills. He should be able to control the stand-up and avoid Bocek's take downs and submission attempts.- Robinson by TKO.

Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley
We all hear in every Gurgel fight how fantastic his Jiu-Jitsu is, but we rarely ever get to see it. Gurgel is the type of fighter that wants to put on a good show and actually winning the fight takes a back seat. This should be a brawl as both fighters have great chins and like to press the action, but if Gurgel decides to stand with Riley(I think he will) he will be in trouble as Riley has some heavy hands. I just can't pick Gurgel because he's showed many times that he will fight away from his own strengths.- Riley by Decision

Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos
If Anjos can't get this fight to the mat, he's gettin knocked out. Stephens is a phenomenal striker and I think he gets the stoppage after avoiding some early take down attempts.- Stephens by KO


Televised Card

Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory
Another fight that should be extremely entertaining. Hazelett has the type of potential that could make him a champion one day, but McCrory has that same potential. I think this fight is a toss-up, but ultimately I like Hazelett to pull off another entertaining submission.- Hazelett by Submission

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks
Hendricks makes his UFC debut and Gonzaga is coming off a win against Justin McCully. I don't know much about Hendricks, but I do know that if he has the cardio to take Gonzaga into the third round he has a chance. Gonzaga has shown suspect cardio in his losses against Couture and Werdum. That being said, I'm still picking Gonzaga to finish this fight early.- Gonzaga by TKO

Demian Maia vs. Nathan Quarry
Maia's Jiu-Jitsu is on another level compared to most fighters in the world, on the other hand his stand-up is sub-par to say the least. Quarry ran a track meet in his last fight with Kalib Starnes, so his cardio should be tremendous! Anyways, I think Quarry stays out of the sub and uses the Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares strategy.- Quarry by Decision

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson
Ken-Flo is one of those fighters that gets better every time we see him. The only real advantage I can see for Stevenson in this fight is maybe he's a little better wrestler than Florian. Other than that I see Florian dominating this fight from start to finish with superior striking and even better Jiu-Jitsu than the recently anointed black belt, Stevenson. edit.- Florian by TKO

Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar
I hear many, many people talking about how great an athlete Brock Lesnar is. I'm sorry, but I disagree strongly with anyone that anoints Lesnar as a "great athlete". He has done nothing to earn a title like that. If you watched "UFC 91 Countdown" you no doubt saw the story about Lesnar's quest to play for the Minnesota Vikings. In the piece his trainers say that he had better numbers in the 40 and bench(not a suprise) than Houston Texans' number one overall choice Mario Williams. His trainers also go on to say that he has the talent to play in the NFL, even though the Vikings cut him. Forgive me for being highly skeptical of that whole situation and I don't know the whole story, but if he truly had the talent to play in the NFL that's where he would be(its not like the NFL is picky about who they let in.) and to insinuate that he is as good an athlete as Mario Williams is, is absolutely ridiculous.

He moves fast for a big man and he's a great wrestler and that gives him a chance in this fight, but I just have a problem with calling the guy a great athlete. When you think of a great athlete in terms of an MMA fighter, among other things, you have to think of overall skill set, heart, chin and endurance. Three things that we have no idea of when it comes to Brock Lesnar. You know who is a great athlete? Randy Couture.

Couture has been the underdog many times and he has risen to the occasion to prove all the critics wrong in the past. I think he pulls it off again here against an inexperienced fighter. Couture will pull out all the old MMA tricks to consistently frustrate the big man. I think dirty boxing will be a huge factor in this fight for Couture in the stand-up. Of course in the highly likely scenario that Couture does end up on his back, I suspect he has a few suprises for Brock either scrambling or submission attempts. I'm picking Couture to end this fight late in the third round after Lesnar realizes that he is outgunned in skill set and fighting intelligence.- Couture by TKO Late in the Third Round.

Anderson Silva to Possibly Fight on November 15th at UFC 91

After the debacle that was Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote at UFC 90, it seems that "The Spider" is willing to redeem himself quickly. UFC President Dana White told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Anderson is ready to go as soon as possible.

"He's flipping out. He wants to fight again, like, on Nov. 15. He's (upset) about his performance and he wants to fight again immediately."

Silva had this to say about his performance.

"I didn't come here to play. I didn't come here to put on a show," Silva said through a translator afterward. "I came here to do my job and I didn't become a champion and defend the title as many times as I have by not doing my job."

I can definitely see Dana White and the UFC brass making this happen. Probably a long shot, but there are some fighters out there that would take this fight on 3 weeks notice. I mean its a win-win for Silva's opponent win or lose.

The best case scenario is if Silva were willing to fight at 205 again. That would open up alot more options, including a super fight with Chuck Liddell.

At middleweight, I think the best possible scenario would be a rematch with Nate Marquardt. In any case, if Dana were to pull this off, UFC 91: Lesnar vs. Couture would probably shatter UFC Pay-Per-View records.

Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson 3 Likely for UFC 91

The long awaited third match in the Rampage vs Wandy saga looks like its finally gonna happen. MMACanada.net has the scoop.

Sources have told us at MMACanada.net that Rampage Jackson will fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 91 which is headlined by Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship on November 15th in Las Vegas. This will mark the third fight between Jackson and Silva since last meeting twice in the PRIDE organization. Both fighters have changed their training around since leaving PRIDE and this will be one fight that has "FIGHT OF THE YEAR" written all over it

UFC 91 is looking like a huge card that may shatter pay-per-view records. The big question in this match-up is can Jackson finally defend the clinch of the Brazilian.

Its Official: Randy Couture is Back in the UFC and will Fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91

Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com breaks the news, which happened at the UFC 91 teleconference. If any audio or video comes available I will post it.

From Thomas Gerbasi

If we’ve learned one thing in combat sports, it’s to never say never. This old adage was solidified once again today, as UFC President Dana White announced the November 15th return to the Octagon of heavyweight champion Randy Couture to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The announcement comes after nearly a year of contentious relations between the organization and Couture, who walked away from the UFC in October of 2007 with two fights remaining on his contract. But in August, the heavyweight champion and the organization worked on a renegotiation of his contract that will enable ‘The Natural’ to finish his Hall of Fame career with the UFC.

In addition BloodyElbow has many details of the announcement.

- Dana White: Brock vs. Couture will be "the biggest fight in UFC history".

- Dana White on competitors and co-promotion: ": These guys are dying on the vine. You’re not under contract if the company’s not in business anymore.

- Dana White: "I would be horrified if Affliction's still in business in January."

- Couture: would rather fight Fedor, but fight with Brock "a step in the right direction"

- Couture says UFC and he have "cleared the air"; "comfortable with way things stand right now"

- Couture says he'll weigh approximately 225lbs for this fight.

- Dana White says he doesn't know if Couture is the richest fighter in the UFC.

- Dana White: Nogueira is probably thrilled Couture is back.

- Dana White: research was done and proves Brock vs. Couture will be biggest fight in UFC history.

- Couture: re-signing with the UFC to get Fedor is "path of least resistance"

- Dana White: the heavyweight division "is looking pretty damn good now"

- Couture: MMA is the combative sport for this generation

- Couture: how can you overlook a guy [Brock Lesnar] that size?

- Dana White: over the next year we are going to see some really great heavyweight fights.

- Randy and Dana: feels good to have this problem resolved; "to see a little sunshine for a change is pretty nice"

- Dana White: "I like fighting with Tito"

- Dana White suggests Fedor might have to be not under contract for the UFC to sign a fight with him. He didn't say it was required, but he alluded to it.

- Dana White: Affliction is losing "shitloads" of money.

- Couture: biggest part of my decision was communicating with Lorenzo and Dana that I was feeling. Second was frustration with legal system. Tired of throwing money with lawyers with no end in sight. Best place for me to fight is a cage, not a court room.

- Dana White: "I'm like a giddy little girl right now"

- Dana White: "It drives me insane when Fedor is called the best p4p fighter in the world." If Fedor is the best, he has to come to the UFC eventually.

- Dana White: people don't know this, but there was bad blood between Brock and Herring. Herring was insulted he had to fight him.

- Brock Lesnar: "not a lot of people get this opportunity".

- Brock Lesnar: "who gives a shit about Fedor Emelianenko?" I'm sick and tired of sitting on the phone listening about Fedor. "Who fucking gives a shit?"

- Dana White: "UFC Countdown" for this fight could be two or three part series.

- Dana White: this is where all the best heavyweights are. Randy Couture is relevant; Fedor is not.

- Couture: I can't spend any time worrying about losing to Lesnar and losing luster on a fight with Fedor.

- Dana White: rivals can have whichever fighters we cut.

- Dana White: Werdum is still in the mix.

- Dana White: expecting 1million to 1.5 million PPV buys for this fight. It's a new deal: 3-fight deal.

- Dana White: I would not sign a one-fight deal with Fedor.

- Dana White: all court action is dead.

- Dana White: Randy Couture is the guy everyone wants to fight. Fedor is completely irrelevant.

- Couture: Mark Cuban wants what's best for me. He just wanted to facilitate what I wanted. Now the best path is to make the fight with Fedor happen in the UFC.

Some amazing news for MMA fans, hopefully they are serious about making the Fedor fight happen. Does this willingness to work with Couture and possibly Fedor come from Lorenzo Fertitta now working full-time with UFC or did Dana White finally come to his senses?

Rumor Alert: Randy Couture to Possibly Headline UFC 91, Lesnar a Possible Opponent

MMA Junkie has a story on a possible UFC return for Randy "The Natural" Couture by the end of the year at UFC 91 in Portland, Oregon.

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture could return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship by year's end as part of an out-of-court settlement with the organization.

Multiple sources close to the fighter, speaking exclusively to MMAjunkie.com, today said that Couture is willing to fight once more for the UFC, possibly before the end of the year, as a potential resolution to his ongoing legal battles with the fight promotion.

Red Sweat reports on a possible Brock Lesnar match-up.

In addition, the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota reported last Thursday that the UFC had Brock Lesnar in their sights for UFC 91. They apparently informed Lesnar of their wishes to have the WWE superstar compete at the event earlier that week.

What does this mean? If both of them compete at UFC 91, there is a chance they could compete against each other. However, there have also been rumors that Lesnar will be facing Cheick Kongo at the Portland event. Then again, with the Couture Saga in full swing and the popularity of Lesnar, a battle between the two would make for one of the biggest PPV events of all time.

While Couture’s participation at UFC 91 is far from official, Eric, an amateur member of the Xtreme Couture gym where Randy trains, has confirmed that Couture is training to fight somebody in the near future.

I would love to see him fight Lesnar or Nogueira, that would be a huge PPV for the UFC, especially the Lesnar fight. I just wish the UFC would somehow find a way to sign Fedor so we could all see the fight we've been waiting for.

Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson Likely for UFC 91 on November 15th

MMABay.co.uk is reporting that lightweight contenders Joe "Daddy" Stevenson and Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian will likely face off at UFC 91 on November 15th.

Source’s close to the camp of TUF 2 winner, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, have confirmed to Mmabay that they have been offered and accepted a fight against Kenny Florian on November 15th, likely to be UFC 91.

Mmabay can also confirm that the fight has been accepted by Florian and is most likely to be held in Boston, giving Florian the home turf advantage as he looks to bridge the gap between his last fight and a possible title shot next summer against B.J. Penn.

Interesting style match-up and should be a good scrap, ultimately I don't think Stevenson's skills are on par with Florian, but "Daddy" has tremendous heart and an upset wouldn't shock me.