Today is October or according to SPIKE network it’s Brocktober ,2010. Bisping, Akiyama, Hardy and Condit all made it to a phone somewhere in the world to be a part of an UFC conference call moderated by Marshall Zelaznik ,who is the president of the UFC UK division. For the up and coming UFC 120 event free on Spike network October 16th, 2010.
Today’s call got underway with initially just Bisping on the line as we were waiting on Akiyama’s translator. To be honest I needed a Translator to get through Bisping’s thick English accent! Before I knew it Akiyama was on the line and the questions began. The first question was directed to Bisping. He was asked if it was a distraction fighting on home turf due to his popularity there. He answered that even though he’s so well known in the UK it doesn’t affect him at all. He grew up in a small town where he still lives, in the same house. He’s surrounded by people that he’s known a lifetime. So he’s not so special!
Akiyami was asked what he thought his strengths were over Bisping, he answered that he thought his take downs were better which I’m sure is a reflection of his long, highly accredited judo career.
Next Marshall Zelaznik was asked how he became the president of the UFC UK division. He told us how he was offered the position after working with the UFC for some time dealing with PPV and licensing issues with the UFC western USA division .
Akiyama was asked about the strategy used when fighting Leben. If standing toe to toe with a guy like Leben was the best thing to do. He said striking was on the game plan but other things held him back. When pressed about what those other things were, He told us that since Leben took the fight on relatively short notice so he didn’t prepare a specific game plan for Leben.
I didn’t realize that Akiyama was training with Greg Jacksons camp out of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He was asked what he got out of that training. He told his interpreter that he learned intricate takedown skills and better MMA striking. He felt that working with Jackson helped him to improve everywhere. That question led to a question for Bisping. He was asked if his strategy changed due to Akiyama training with the Jackson camp, since Bisping and his camp would’ve studied fight tapes before the Jackson training. . Bisping passionately replied that he didn’t give a shit about Akiyama’s training. He made it clear that he could care less. He said he is focussed on his own training, too which he said that he thinks he will be too much for Akiyama. Bisping feels that he has matured as a fighter and is peaking in his mma career. He doesn’t think that a couple weeks training with Jackson is going to make much of a difference.
Bisping was asked about fellow Wolfslair fighter Aaron Wilkinson, who is fighting in the ultimate fighter house. To which he gave a shout out too. Michael says he’s a cool guy and wishes him luck and says he’s sure that he will make it far in mma.
Akiyama isn’t known for trash talking his opponents. He was asked if and why he doesn’t trash talk. He told us that he has no interest in trash talking his opponents as it is frivolous. He was also asked about his choice of music by Andrea Bochelli, called “time to say good bye”, which is not your typical heavy or high energy entrance song. He said he’s used it since his debut and he continues to use it because he thinks it brings the entire crowd together.
Akiyama was a asked a good question about adjusting to fighting in the cage as opposed to the ring. He has had two fights, and almost 6 rounds fighting in the cage. He feels that he is acclimatized to the cage and the last two fights have been good for him.
UFC 120 will be held at the O2 stadium in London, England. Since this is another fight in home territory he was asked if the hometown crowd affects him before a fight. Bisping said that sometime he feels the pressure to win and perform flawlessly. During his last fight at home against Denis Kang in Manchester , England. He was knocked down and didn’t perform as dominantly as he said he would. (There’s that trash talking coming back to bite you in the ass!) That made him feel like he let down his fans and was seen apologizing to the fans after the 1st rd when he went back to his corner.
Bisping was asked the inevitable question about whether a title shot was a big focus for him. He told us that he feels that he deserves a shot at the title but for now he is just focused on Akiyama. He said he will fight anyone, he doesn’t care who, he just wants a shot at the top dogs and of course he wants to avenge the Wanderlei Silva fight. As he feels he could’ve taken that fight! He says that Wanderlei wants a rematch too. I can’t wait to see that one Bisping vs. Silva 2!
This concluded the questions for those two. I was disappointed that I didn’t get my questions in. I had so many questions for Bisping, Akiyama not so much. I had questions from making weight, to his family, to why he fights and what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a fighter. Better luck next time! Both fighters were thanked and were disconnected only to be replaced with Dan Hardy and Carlos Condit, welterweight contenders.
I have to be honest. Dan hardy is one of my favourite UFC fighters. I was disappointed that I wasnt able to ask him my questions either. He seems to be a fan friendly fighter, so I wanted to ask him about how important his fans were, any memorable fan experiences(that he can share) and where the best fans in the world are. I didn’t get my answers and I’m sure I’ll live. This is what I did learn about these two fighters today during the conference call for UFC 120.
The first question was for Carlos Condit who has a record of 25 and 5. He was asked to explain the differences between fighting in the USA vs. the UK? He said that this will be his first time flying there. He has flown to Japan and didn’t seem to affected by the time change and such and doesn’t anticipate any ill affects from this trip.
Dan was asked about a quote he said after he fought GSP in regard to his performance, that he knew what was wrong with it and how he intends to fix it. He was asked what that meant. Dan answered that it was obvious what was wrong with that performance. His wrestling. He assured us that he has trained hard at his wrestling, also focussed on his jiu jitsu. He was asked if he is more comfortable fighting in the UK. He told us that it makes no difference to him where he fights. It’s just easier to fight on home turf because he can drive to the venues and bring more family and friends.
Dan was asked about his wrestling weakness and asked if he felt he has done enough to prevent take downs and such. He said he felt he is thoroughly prepared and is looking forward to taking Condit down.
Condit was asked why he called out Dan after one of his last fights. Did he see something in Dan that he thought he could handle? Carlos, who by the way comes across as a smart down to earth fighter, stated that he felt Dan had status, so a win against him would catapult him in the division. He said Dan is an exciting fighter who comes to fight and those are the kind of fights he wants to be in.... Exciting fights.
I loved the answer Carlos gave us for the question in regard to his ability to come back from a beat down and win. He said it’s called fighting not winning. Its adversity, some people crumble under it and others refuse to go down easily and fight in the face of it. It all depends on what kind of a fighter you are. He was asked what he thought of Dan’s performance against GSP. Carlos eloquently stated that Dan showed tremendous heart and determination because GSP is no joke!
The last question of the call was directed to Dan Hardy. He was asked if he thought this was a perfect fight for him because they are both stand up fighters, does he think it has the potential of fight of the night? Dan agreed it should be an exciting fight but he really wants to take him down and put him to sleep! Again the fighters were thanked for taking the time to participate and the call was over.
Just remember OCTOBER 16TH/2010 ON SPIKE TV. I can’t wait to see Bisping annihilate Akiyami and I’ll be waiting for Hardy’s prediction to come true. Night, night Condit!.
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