UFC 138 Post Fight Press Conference – at a glance

UFC 138 was the highest grossing event in the history of the LG Arena – generating $1.5 million

10,823 were in attendance

Bonuses Awarded:

Terry Etim – Sub of the Night

For his 17 second stoppage of Edward Faaloloto

Che Mills – Knock Out of the Night

After TKOing Chris Cope in 40 seconds flat

Brad Pickett vs Renan Barao – Fight of the Night

Barão defeated Pickett via rear naked choke at 4:09 of round 1

Quotes etc. after the jump

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MARK MUNOZ // CHRIS LEBEN

Round 1

Munoz scores an early takedown. Did he ever really consider standing in the pocket with Leben? Chants of “Leben” but all the while Munoz controls the action as well as his opponent. The Crippler gets Munoz down to the mat but doesn’t succeed, or necessarily try to keep him down. But quickly slams his opponent for a second time.

Bombs away from both guys in the closing minute and both appear to have conceded some damage, telegraphing their punches and Leben already showing signs of his zombie-ish offense.

Round 2

More control from the Filipino Wrecking Machine for the first part of the round. Some threats from Leben of course but it all looked like it could be over when a time-out was called to inspect the gruesome cut over Leben’s left eye.

The doc let things slide until the end of the round, but boos rang out when the Crippler’s corner threw in the towel before the third – Leben complained that he was struggling to see clearly.

A disappointed and disrespectful crowd but the humble Munoz moves into real title contention and goes on record to say that he deserves to face the Spider. Questions will be asked later tonight at the post-fight press conference.

Mark Munoz wants to be the “Manny Pacquiao of Mixed Martial Arts”

Nice guys don’t always finish last. A statement redefined by The Filipino Wrecking Machine with three solid wins in his last three outings. Appearing calm and confident at today’s UFC 138 press conference, one thing was clear right off the bat: this fight is for number one contender status.

Munoz surely makes the better claim with Leben faltering recently against Stann, compared with his own impressive win-streak in an intriguing Middleweight division. Leben emphatically made his pitch to be at the top of the pile with a win on Saturday but the Filipino discussed his thoughts more discretely but was adamant nonetheless.

“This is for number one contender, I’d be surprised if it was anything else. With the run that I’ve had, I beat the last number one contender in Demian Maia and Chris Leben’s got a big win over Wanderlei Silva. I had a four-fight winning streak and my last loss was to Yushin Okami, who fought for the title.

“I’m right there, I’m at the top of the heap and there’s nowhere else for me to go. I want to be world champ and I’ve written that goal on my wall so I see it every day. I train accordingly and I think accordingly.”

A calm and collected Mark Munoz (Steven Bond)

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The Weekend Weather Forecast: UFC 138

Leben vs Munoz

If I could sum up my sentiments about UFC 138 in a single statement it would be this: a weak card doesn’t mean poor fights. The UFC’s return to the UK shores is drawing a lot of criticism from limeys like myself - but - when it comes down to it we can all be sure that Birmingham’s LG Arena will be electric. Packed with thousands of Mixed Martial Arts fanatics who paid to see the sport they love, played out at the highest level, it will be noisy and it will be glorious.

The storyline of Leben/Munoz just about ties in with the shuffling around in the upper echelons of the decision. Munoz has proved his grappling to be top drawer stuff with recent wins over decent wrestlers Dolloway and Simpson before his tough battle with an ultra elite BJJ blackbelt in the form of Demian Maia.

But with the Crippler… we don’t even have a win streak to speak of. With a single win in recent months against an ageing Wanderlai Silva, he formerly lost in devastating fashion to Brian Stann. And that particular American hero just got dealt his own “red, white and blue ass whooping” from the P4P King of Trash Talk, Chael Sonnen.

Confused?

Well, in short this isn’t a game changing fight and it’s unlikely to be a memorable stand up exchange with Munoz looking for takedowns and effective use of his wrestling.

Munoz’s smart gameplanning with clinch this bout, leaving a frustrated brawler in his wake, possibly summoning a finish at some point in the third.

Pickett vs Barão

“One Punch” Pickett finally gets to fight in the UFC after a very respectable WEC run, including that notable win over Demetrious Johnson. Barao has already racked up one win in the Octagon against Cole Escovedo, but failed to make a lasting impression in the eyes of the fans.

With two well rounded and frantic Bantamweights getting their opportunity to shine, this should be one of the more entertaining fights of the whole night.

I see Brad Pickett transitioning effectively between his solid striking game and clinch-work. If he doesn’t manage a TKO by the end of the 2nd then a unanimous decision should be in the bag.

Alves vs Abedi

Casual fans can be forgiven for being unfamiliar with the career of Papy Abedi. And at 33 his UFC debut hasn’t come soon enough - but is he being thrown to a very hungry wolf?

Thiago Alves is a big Welterweight and he knows how to throw his weight around when it comes to Muay Thai. As an awesome striker Alves has only faltered in the past 8 years against decent wrestlers - most recently Fitch, Story and of course GSP at UFC 100.

Please God can we have a full on kickboxing war? At least in loving memory of K1. These guys are more than capable of showcasing high level MMA striking and Abedi may be in for a surprise with zero losses to date.

I’ve got Thiago Alves kneeing and shinning his way to a brutal TKO in the 1st or 2nd with both guys uncorking early on. Accompanied by an arena full of giddy and delighted Brits.