Strikeforce St. Louis: Media Conference Call Notes
Added on Nov 17, 2010 by John Petit in
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Strikeforce St. Louis is set to take place December 4, and the event is to feature a rematch of Dan Henderson and Renato Babalu Sobral as the main event. Scott Coker, Henderson, and Babalu were on a conference call to promote the upcoming card. The pair first squared off in 1999 under the Rings banner where Henderson took the split decision. Below are highlights of the media call.
Scot Coker (CEO, Strikeforce):
Scott Coker has implied that this fight will determine the next person in line for J.Z. Calvacante’s light heavyweight title. This would make sense as both are premier fighters, and former champions.
On Co-Promotion
“Our company philosophy is that we are not afraid of co-promoting. We did it with EliteXC, M1, DREAM. Each one of these relationships is different, so each comes with their own set of challenges.”
On Fedor Signing:
“It has been quite a long road with the M1 camp and trying to get this done but I agree there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But we welcome Fedor to have a long term deal to fight with STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME.”
Dan Henderson (Main Event Fighter):
On Layoff before his fight with Jake Shields:
“Not much really. I felt like my conditioning was great in that fight but it didn’t show. I had other things going on in that fight that affected me and my weight cut.”
On whether or not this is a must win fight:
“I feel like I am out there to win, and to make sure I win every fight. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, but I don’t feel like it’s a do-or-die situation. I am not going to retire if it doesn’t go my way, but I feel very confident in my training for this fight. Hopefully it won’t be an issue.”
On whether or not they thought they would still be making a living fighting after they fought 10 years ago:
“I think after we fought, we went in two different directions and didn’t give a rematch a lot of thought. I am pretty happy to have been involved in the sport for so long. The fans that have been following for a long time will have more knowledge about mine and Babalu’s career. I am just excited to get in there and fight again and perform well.”
On whether or not he hesitated accepting the fight with Babalu:
“Babalu is not close to the same style as Jake Shields. He has an exciting style and he is well-rounded. He has not had a problem standing up and trading punches. He throws a lot of kicks and obviously submits a lot of guys here and there but they are two totally different styles as far as I am concerned.”
On If he looks back at his ten year career:
“No. I had no idea I would be in this sport for this long. My first fight was in 1997, so it’s been 13 years. When I quit wrestling in 2000, I was going to fight full-time for a couple of years but at that time my body felt more beat up from wrestling than it did two or three years later after I quit wrestling and focused on fighting, which has prolonged my fight career.”
On Key to defeating Babalu:
“Conditioning. And I have enough experience in all the different aspects of MMA and where the fight can go, so I am confident anywhere. I just need to make sure the conditioning is there.”
On why he took this fight:
“Excitement value. It will not be a boring fight. I am in this to perform well and I want to make sure it is exciting for the fans and to bring new fans to the sport. I did not do that in my last fight so I want to make sure this one is exciting.”
On why he thinks he will win this fight:
“Because I believe in myself and that I am a better fighter. I am going to be ready to go, and conditioning should be all there. There is no reason in my mind why I should lose. I feel like I am as good as a grappler as Babalu, and I feel like I am a lot more dangerous on my feet and I just feel confident everywhere.“
Renato “Babalu” Sobral (Main Event Fighter):
On If he is staying at 205lbs:
“As I said before, it is up to the matchup. Just give me a good fight and I will fight at that weight.”
On whether or not they though they would still be making a living fighting after they fought 10 years ago:
“I never thought about this in the past. It wasn’t a dark age; it was just different. It was exciting then and now we have an opportunity to go out there and put on an exciting fight. It is an exciting match up for me, Dan and the fans.”
On the difference between fighting at 205, and 185.
“When you get lighter you get quicker but that is the only difference.”
On if fighting at 205 makes him stronger, like he did vs. Robbie Lawlor:
“I just decided to finish him on the ground because I had the opportunity but if I could finish the fight with a punch in the face I would do it. The secret to MMA is submit him and don’t get hurt, that’s about it.”
On taking the rematch:
“This is not revenge, just an exciting matchup. It’s a great fight for the fans.”
On What he has changed in training over the past ten years:
“Conditioning training has changed a lot, and I have a lot of different professionals that work with me. I was more amateur then, a young guy. I am totally different today because of all the stuff that I have learned over the past years. I train well and make fewer mistakes while training.”
On why he thinks he can win this fight:
“Because I am speedy and smarter. You will see on Dec. 4 who is better at grappling and on our feet.”
On if he expects Henderson to come right at him and try to knock him out:
“Hell, yeah. Who doesn’t?”
The Strikeforce St. Louis Card:
Main Card
Light Heavyweight bout: Dan Henderson vs Renato Sobral
Middleweight bout: Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Lindland
Heavyweight bout: Herschel Walker vs. Scott Carson
Welterweight bout: Paul Daley vs. Scott Smith
Heavyweight bout: Antonio Silva vs. Valentijn Overeem
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November 18, 4:36 pm
I like this card a lot, should be a great night of fights. I’m especially interested in seeing Daley’s return to US soil for MMA