Tuesday's rowdy UFC 139 press conference was hosted by UFC President Dana White and open to the public in San Jose, California. Featured on the panel was former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, former Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva, and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le. The press conference was streamed live on MMA Nation, as well as the UFC's website.
UFC 139 is scheduled for November 19th at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. For more analysis, follow MMA Nation (@MMANation) on Twitter.
Here are partial notes from each participant. (Due to technical difficulties, credit goes to MMA Mania's Brian Hemminger for several quotes.)
Dana White:
- Cung Le had been talking to me for a long time. He called me and we made it happen. Wanderlei wanted to keep fighting, to stay in the UFC and we're giving him this opportunity to stay in the UFC.
- Dan and I get along just fine. We butt heads here and there. I respect him as a fighter and he's beating the best in the world. I can't hate him for knocking Fedor out either.
- (When asked when he's going to fight in the UFC) Trust me, you don't want to see that. I'm old and done. I can't get on a treadmill, let alone fight. (Henderson adds that the UFC already has enough heavyweights.)
- (When asked about Dan Henderson fighting Anderson Silva) He's got to beat Shogun first, and then we'll take it from there.
- If Koscheck wants to fight Fitch, maybe then we'll get him on [UFC 139]. Koscheck told me he wants to fight on the card.
"Shogun" Rua:
- Well Dan Henderson is a tough fighter and has been a stand-out for a long time since the Pride days. That was a fight that people want to see back then and it didn't happen. It only makes sense to fight the toughest guys and Dan Henderson is a tough fighter.
- I never really considered dropping to middleweight. My natural weight is 225-230 and I didn't really think I'd be able to.
- (On a potential fight with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson) Rampage is actually a guy that I like a lot as a person, his personality. I think this fight is bound to happen sooner or later.
Dan Henderson:
- I guess it's a little bit ironic that every time I win a title somewhere, Dana White has to buy the company to get me back. Just to get competition against top guys in the sport. Strikeforce has a number of guys that are tough and I feel like I fought some of the tougher guys over there. Beyond that, i wasn't excited about fighting anybody other than the guys in the UFC. I guess it was good timing to have them swoop up Strikeforce again.
- I prefer to fight light heavyweight. I'm not fond of cutting weight. There's only one fight I'd cut weight for and that's Anderson [Silva].
- Everyone can speculate why Silva doesn't want to fight me and I'm one of those people. Apparently he hurt himself.
- I think it would be fun to go back and fight in Japan. It's a place that I fought for many years and enjoyed the fans over there.
Wanderlei Silva:
- I love fighting. I love this sport. I grew up inside the ring and I will fight as long as I can.
- Some guys fight better with their back against the wall, and I'm one of those guys.
- I had some big events in MMA back in Japan. I hope for a fight there and I want to fight there.
Cung Le:
- I'm very honored to be fighting for the UFC and I'm very excited to be fighting Wanderlei. Vitor, Wanderlei, it wouldn't have made a difference. I would have been equally excited for either one of them.
- I actually learned my lesson the first time when I came back from Scott Smith. I wasn't very busy with training on set and just focusing on acting. Now I stayed in shape and when I came back to the states, I came back to the gym the following week. I've been training since February so I'll be ready to go here.
- Being a UFC fighter and the co-main event is a dream come true. I'm ready to rock and roll and give the fans what they want to see.
- I just wanted to fight in the UFC whether it was in San Jose or somewhere else. Being in San Jose makes it even more exciting and that's what I wanted after finding out they were coming here.
- I am focused on this fight, so right now it's all about being an MMA fighter.