MDS Interview Posts -- FanHouse

Latest MDS Interview Stories

Nate Marquardt Talks UFC 95 and How an Extra Pedialyte Advanced His Career

Posted: Feb 13th 2009 10:15AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive

As Nate Marquardt gets ready to fight UFC 95, he says his preparation has never been better.

That preparation has come with help from coach Greg Jackson, and when I interviewed Marquardt Thursday, he raved about Jackson and his training partners (including UFC champions Georges St. Pierre and Rashad Evans) at Jackson's gym in Albuquerque. He also told me the story of how having an extra bottle of Pedialyte earned him his first invitation to that gym.

We also discussed what he expects from his opponent, Wilson Gouveia, and why he won't think ahead to a possible UFC middleweight title fight with Anderson Silva. The full interview is below.

Continue Reading Nate Marquardt Talks UFC 95 and How an Extra Pedialyte Advanced His Career

Dana White on UFC 94, GSP's Vaseline and Saturday's Fight Night on Spike

Posted: Feb 4th 2009 3:56PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: UFC

57 COMMENTS

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is on a roll on pay-per-view, with events that did in the neighborhood of 1 million pay-per-view buys in each of the last three months -- an unprecedented level of pay-per-view success for any organization in any sport.

But when I talked to UFC President Dana White on Wednesday, he sounded more excited discussing the fights that the UFC is putting on for free on basic cable, starting with this Saturday night's UFC Fight Night on Spike TV. White said he views the Fight Nights as similar to the old Tuesday Night Fights program, which helped build some of the young boxing stars of the 1980s and 1990s, and he pointed out that after the UFC put three shows on pay-per-view in a five-week stretch in December and January, it's now putting three of its next four shows on free TV.

We also discussed UFC 94 and the controversy over welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre having Vaseline applied to his body during his win over lightweight champion B.J. Penn. The full interview is below.

Continue Reading Dana White on UFC 94, GSP's Vaseline and Saturday's Fight Night on Spike

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson on Wanderlei Silva and Why Acting Is Easier Than Fighting

Posted: Dec 5th 2008 8:00AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: UFC

17 COMMENTS

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has had a long year.

At the start of 2008, Jackson was the Ultimate Fighting Championship's light heavyweight champion, he was a coach on The Ultimate Fighter, and he was one of the most popular and successful fighters in mixed martial arts.

Did You See That?

The field clears a fence during the New Season Handicap Steeplechase during the at Ludlow Racecourse on September 16, 2008 in Ludlow, England.

Emanuele Canonica of Italy helps his caddie in the rescue of a pigeon from the water around the 18th green during the first round of the Portugal Masters at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course on October 16, 2008 in Vilamoura, Portugal.

A multiexposure image showing Britain's Andy Murray returning to Croatian Marin Cilic during a last sixteen tennis match at the Madrid Masters in Madrid on October 16, 2008. Andy Murray won 7-5, 7-6.

English football fans dressed in armours and tunics play in a friendly match against Belarus fans in Minsk on October 15, 2008 before the start of the Belarus vs. England 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier of European group 6 match.

Travis Brigley (R) of Hamburg fights with Matt Keith (L) of Ingolstadt during the DEL match between Hamburg Freezers and ERC Ingolstadt at the Color Line Arena on October 14, 2008 in Hamburg, Germany.

Russian Nikolay Davydenko returns a ball to US Robby Ginepri during a second round tennis match at the Masters in Madrid on October 15, 2008.

A golf ball which has been enveloped by the tree over many years is pictured during the pro-am for the Portugal Masters at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course on October 15, 2008 in Vilamoura, Portugal.

Andy Murray of Great Britain plays football during his training session prior to his thrid round match tomorrow at the Madrid Masters tennis tournament at the Madrid Arena on October 15, 2008 in Madrid, Spain.

Samuel Peter from Nigeria gets a punch from Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine during their WBC heavyweight boxing world championship fight in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008. Klitschko won the fight after round nine due to technical knock out.

Herbert Knosowski, AP

Japan's Kyoko Hamaguchi (lower) fights with China's Hong Yan (red) during the semi-final of the 72kg class of the Women's Wrestling World Championships in Tokyo on October 13, 2008. Hong defeated Hamaguchi and will face Bulgaria's Stanka Zlateva in the final.

Yoshikazu Tsuno, AFP/Getty Images

But Jackson lost his title belt in an epic battle with Forrest Griffin on July 5, and 10 days later he was arrested and charged with felony evading, hit and run and reckless driving, and shortly after that he was hospitalized for a mental health evaluation. Many of Jackson's fans worried that he would never be back.

But he is back, working with new trainers and preparing to fight the opponent who has beaten him twice, Wanderlei Silva, at UFC 92 on December 27.

In a phone interview, I talked to Jackson about fighting Silva again, his preparation, and why he hopes to have a career as an actor.

Continue Reading Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson on Wanderlei Silva and Why Acting Is Easier Than Fighting

Freddie Roach: Manny Pacquiao's Fight With Oscar De La Hoya Will Be Decided by Speed

Posted: Nov 10th 2008 3:08PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Golden Boy Promotions

17 COMMENTS

Manny Pacquiao is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but he's an underdog in his December 6 fight against Oscar De La Hoya because De La Hoya is bigger than Pacquiao.

But Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, told me today that he thinks the size difference between the fighters has been overblown, and that speed will win this fight.

"He's handling the bigger sparring partners well," Roach said. "When I saw how he handled the bigger sparring partners, I was very pleased."

Roach said Pacquiao weighs 151 pounds right now, he'll easily make the 147-pound limit for the fight, and he'll walk into the ring at about 150 pounds.

Continue Reading Freddie Roach: Manny Pacquiao's Fight With Oscar De La Hoya Will Be Decided by Speed

Bernard Hopkins Still Going Strong, but He Won't Be the Next George Foreman

Posted: Oct 8th 2008 3:10PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: HBO

1 COMMENT

Bernard Hopkins got a late start in the fight game, thanks to spending his late teens and early 20s in prison.

Hopkins has made up for lost time with a professional boxing career that has spanned two decades (the 20th anniversary of his first pro fight comes up on Saturday), but while Hopkins is still, at age 43, one of the best boxers in the world, he knows that the end of his career is near.

I asked Hopkins today whether he could see himself still fighting at age 48, which is the age at which George Foreman finally retired. Hopkins answered in one word: "No."

"The first thing that goes with a fighter is his legs, and then his reflexes," Hopkins said, adding that if he fights into his late 40s, "I'll be a sitting duck and I'll be embarrassing everything that I have accomplished."

Hopkins made clear, however, that he's proud of the way he's worked hard enough to keep himself in the game into his 40s.

"It's not luck," Hopkins said of his longevity. "Luck didn't get me out of the penitentiary without getting killed, stabbed, raped, whatever. Luck didn't get me out of the ghetto. Hard work beats luck."

Continue Reading Bernard Hopkins Still Going Strong, but He Won't Be the Next George Foreman

Kelly Pavlik Ready to Fight Bernard Hopkins at 170 Pounds, Says Training Hasn't Changed

Posted: Oct 8th 2008 2:30PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: HBO

0 COMMENTS

Kelly Pavlik is the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, but when he fights Bernard Hopkins next weekend, he'll be fighting at 10 pounds heavier than his ideal weight, moving up to 170 to meet the light heavyweight Hopkins in the middle.

But Pavlik told me today that he weighs 171 or 172 pounds right now, that he feels better than ever at that weight, and that he's only made minor changes to his training regimen to get ready to fight Hopkins.

"Weight to me is not a big deal at all," Pavlik said. "I have more energy and more snap on my punches. I still lift weights but we don't do anything heavy to build muscle mass. I'm running a little more hills to add some muscle to my legs. Other than that there hasn't been much change at all."

Continue Reading Kelly Pavlik Ready to Fight Bernard Hopkins at 170 Pounds, Says Training Hasn't Changed

Golden Boy CEO Talks MMA, Expects to Promote Fedor Emelianenko on January 24

Posted: Oct 2nd 2008 4:10PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Affliction, MMA Videos

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Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer was in Chicago today to promote the December 6 boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, but I also pulled him aside for a minute to talk about mixed martial arts:

"It's an interesting sport and an attractive opportunity for us," Schaefer said of Golden Boy's involvement in MMA. "We have an existing promotional team in place and we think that there are opportunities for our company to be involved in the sport of mixed martial arts. We believe as well, as we did in boxing, in the empowerment of athletes."

Continue Reading Golden Boy CEO Talks MMA, Expects to Promote Fedor Emelianenko on January 24

Frank Trigg on Niko Vitale: 'He'll Try to Get Me in Half Guard and Beat the Crap Out of Me'

Posted: Sep 30th 2008 1:40PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Strikeforce

0 COMMENTS

Frank Trigg will fight Niko Vitale on Friday night at Strikeforce: Payback, and he gave me a few minutes of his time today for a Q&A in which we discussed his preparations for the fight, making weight and what kind of opponent Vitale is.

What are your preparations like, three days out from a fight?
We've got to make weight on Thursday, so I'm mostly working on making weight. I want to rest and sleep as much as I can to recharge the batteries after eight or nine weeks of training camp. I'm trying to stay comfortable, eating as little as I can, eating the right stuff and practicing once a day for an hour and a half with a warm up and cool down.

Is making weight difficult for you? Do you dislike it?
I've been doing it for so long. I was an amateur wrestler, so I was in a sport where you always had to make weight, so I'm used to it by now.

How much do you weigh today?
I'm about 195-196 right now, and I have to be 185 on Thursday.

Continue Reading Frank Trigg on Niko Vitale: 'He'll Try to Get Me in Half Guard and Beat the Crap Out of Me'

EliteXC Confident Ken Shamrock Will Be Cleared to Fight Kimbo Slice

Posted: Aug 27th 2008 3:31PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: EliteXC

1 COMMENT

After I questioned today whether Ken Shamrock could be medically cleared to fight Kimbo Slice on October 4, I spoke with EliteXC Head of Fight Operations Jeremy Lappen, who told me he's confident that the 44-year-old Shamrock will get approval of the Florida State Boxing Commission.

"We're concerned about all of our fighters, we always want to make sure they're healthy," Lappen said. "We're confident that Ken is going to pass his physical exams. ... When anybody fights you have to make sure they're OK to fights, and that's the commission's responsibility."

Lappen noted that Shamrock was cleared to fight Tito Ortiz twice in 2006, once in Florida and once in Nevada.

"He got approved by Florida and approved by Nevada, two of the top athletic commissions in the country," Lappen said.

Continue Reading EliteXC Confident Ken Shamrock Will Be Cleared to Fight Kimbo Slice

Can Ken Shamrock Pass His Physical to Fight Kimbo Slice? Commission Will Look at 5 KOs

Posted: Aug 27th 2008 1:59PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: EliteXC

10 COMMENTS

EliteXC announced this week that Ken Shamrock will fight Kimbo Slice in its October 4 show on CBS, a show that could be make or break for the future of EliteXC.

But before the fight can go down at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, it must be approved by the Florida State Boxing Commission. And Alexis Antonacci, press secretary for the Department of Business and Professional Regulations, which oversees the Boxing Commission, told me today that such approval is not a foregone conclusion.

Specifically, I asked Antonacci about the fact that the 44-year-old Shamrock has lost each of his last five fights by first-round knockout or technical knockout, and whether that could play a role in the Commission determining that it isn't safe to put Shamrock in the cage again.

"That is certainly something that we look at," Antonacci said of Shamrock's five straight knockouts. "The safety of the fighters is one of our foremost concerns."

Continue Reading Can Ken Shamrock Pass His Physical to Fight Kimbo Slice? Commission Will Look at 5 KOs