UFC 75 Media Conference Call with Dana White -- Recap

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  1. Beyond the Grave

    Beyond the Grave Undisputed Champion

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    UFC 75 Media Conference Call with Dana White -- Recap
    The UFC and Spike TV today hosted a UFC 75 media conference call that included UFC President Dana White, main-event participants Quinton “Rampage†Jackson and Dan Henderson, and main-card fighters Michael Bisping and Matt Hamill (who’s using an interpreter).

    UFC 75 takes place Saturday, Sept. 8 at the O2 Arena in London. The event airs via tape delay on Spike TV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT. For the latest UFC 75 fight card, check out the UFC Rumors section of UFCjunkie.com (www.ufcjunkie.com).

    We had live updates from today’s call posted below:

    - Sept. 5 is open workouts for UFC 75, the press conference is Sept. 6 at noon, the weigh-ins are Sept. 7, and the event is Sept. 8. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. local time. The undercard starts at 6 p.m., and the main card starts at 8 p.m.

    - White said that he’s been meeting with Fedor’s people for months and that he hopes to have an announcement soon, but he seemed to downplay a report that said a deal could be reached today.

    - Henderson said that he needs to watch out for Jackson’s knockout power and that fans should expect a war.

    - Bisping said that there’s not really bad blood between him and Hamill, but that he’s not definitely “not keen on the guy.†Hamill is participating in the call through an interpreter.

    - White said that UFC 75 is on cable TV because he doesn’t want to be like boxing where only the good fights are available at a cost on pay-per-view. He specifically mentioned ABC’s “Wide World of Sports†as a model to showcase some top UFC talent.

    - White said he “fu*ked up†by showing UFC 72 live on pay-per-view during the afternoon because people tuned in later that night expecting to see the event. (The event took place in Northern Ireland.)

    - Henderson said that Jackson is going to be tough all-around and that he expects to go the full 25 minutes for the fight. He said he understand Jackson is explosive and a little bit bigger than him. Someone talked over Jackson, but I think he said he’s a whole lot “prettier†than Henderson too.

    - Henderson said he hasn’t thought much about what weight class to fight in after this fight. He said he’s only thought about his upcoming fight but that he doesn’t like fighting bigger guys.

    - White said that Babalu has been cut from his contract because of the episode this past weekend at UFC 74. He said if Babalu had held onto a leg or arm — rather than a choke — extra long that the results could have been a lot worse.

    - White said that win or lose, Henderson will be considered one of the top one or two contenders in the middleweight division. He said that he won’t know if he’ll get an immediate title shot with Anderson Silva or Rich Franklin until they have a better idea of the landscape of the division.

    - White said that he has “no clue†what he’s going to do with the lightweight division if Sherk’s appeal is denied.

    - Jackson said his life hasn’t changed much since winning the title because he’s been so wrapped up in training. He said training in Big Bear was excellent and that he and Bisping were “whoopin’ some ass up there.†He said he was in good shape after the Liddell fight so he was able to start full training immediately.

    - Jackson said the time difference in London won’t be a big problem because he’s already been in England for two weeks. He said he’s taking the fight more seriously than any other one of his career.

    - White said “Babalu†has been cut from his contract but won’t rule out having him in the organization in the future. “I never say never,†he said.

    - Bisping said there’s a benefit fighting in his home country because he has his whole support system there with him.

    - Hamill said he doesn’t have too much concern for Bisping other than his kicks.

    - White said he doesn’t know what the future of PRIDE will be and that it’s far more complicated than anyone realizes. He called it a “nightmare†and said it went out of business for a reason. He said he’s trying to get the PRIDE fighters fights now until they get the company all figured out. As far as the future of PRIDE coming back someday, White said Japan is a complicated place to do business and that he now knows that better than ever.

    - White said that the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter†is just as good, if not better, than last year’s.

    - White congratulated Henderson. He and his wife had a baby girl last night.

    - White said he wants to keep PRIDE alive. He said, though, that it’s an option to shut it down and just have a couple UFC fights in Japan a couple times per year. He said he has no idea when the PRIDE mess may be figured out.

    - White said he hasn’t signed Ryo Chonan.

    - Because it’s on free TV and because the guys already beat Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, White said that the Jackson-Henderson fight is one that fans should be crazy about it.

    - Bisping reiterated that he’s fighting Hamill, even though some people think it’s a step down in competition, because it’s what the fans want and what the UFC offered him.

    - Couture’s next opponent is not yet known. White said there’s a lot of competition, and since he doesn’t fight until early 2008, there’s always a chance that Fedor gets the fight. He said Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will probably fight before the end of the year, and that he or his opponent could fight Couture.

    - White said he doesn’t “give a sh*t†what Josh Barnett says about anything, including his recent comments about Couture being a paper champion.

    - White said he doesn’t know who the winner of Jackson/Henderson will fight next.

    - White said he’s spoken to Denis Kang but that he’s not one of the biggest fighters to come out of PRIDE.

    - Bisping says he looks forward to fighting a world-class wrestler and beating him so he can move on and know he can handle someone of that caliber.

    - Hamill said he’s spent the last two years working on his striking and that he’s confident in his striking.

    - White said Sobral knows he’s been cut from the organization and that he’s sure that he’s not happy about it. White said that despite the tone of past interviews, he was always planning to cut Babalu from the organization.
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