MMA Hot Stuff

Patrick Cote's Advice to the TUF 11 Contestants...

Judging by how active Patrick Cote has been on his Facebook and Twitter lately, talking about his 'return to the octagon' I figured now would be a good time to check in with him. Coming off a loss to Anderson Silva (that dates back to UFC 90 in October 2008) that hurt him in more ways than just his record. While in the 3rd round he injured his knee and would later require surgery followed by a lengthy recovery. Back in high spirits and anxious to get back into the octagon, here's what he had to share...

Rachel: You gave a shout out on your twitter to Alan Belcher and congratulated him on his new baby, that’s so sweet. How important is family to you?

Patrick: Actually I don’t have kids yet, but you know what family is the most important thing in your life and you have to take care of it !

R: Speaking of fighting Alan, it’s been confirmed your return to the octagon will be at UFC 113. How excited are you? Especially being in your homeland of Canada!

P: For sure, it s about time, can t wait to herd the fans there and fight for them.

R: You’ve mentioned in the past you’d like to fight Bisping assuming he lost to Henderson. And clearly we all know he lost big time to Hendo. Is that still a wish? To fight Bisping?

P: I want to fight the best as possible, I want the best fight for me and I thought Bisping was this guy, but now I think Silva will murder him.

R: The 185lb weighclass is STACKED.  I know it’s hard to look past your next opponent but you must have short list of guys you’d like a shot at. Who are they?

P: My goal is to have another title fight and it s start with Belcher, I don t care about the opponent, my goal is to be world champion

R: The 11^th season of TUF has started filming. As a former contestant what advice would you give the new guys?

P: Enjoy and don t be stupid in front of the camera haha !!

R: Speaking of The Ultimate Fighter, you were on the same team as Matt Serra. Is it safe to assume you’ll be cheering him on as he faces Frank Trigg at UFC 109?

P: For sure. Serra and I we are relly good friend, he came to my house last summer and we had a great time !! I ll cheer for him for sure and he ll win !!

R: What’s the first thing you like to eat after weighins?

P: Babyback ribs

R: I hate to ask you, because I know you get asked all the time… but how’s the knee?

P: Knee is very very strong and it s almost done now !! the knee is 95% perfect !!

R: Tell me, who is your hero and why?

P: I don t have Hero but some athlete than I respect alot. Like Brett Favre is for me the perfect example of a true athlete and warrior!

R: Yikes, the big 3-0 birthday is coming up for you next month. Any plans?

P: Actually I’ll start my training camp around this date so that will be very calm and just nice diner with some friends!! I’ll do a freaky party after my win at UFC 113

R: According to your Facebook (and we know facebook does not lie), you’re in a relationship. How does she feel about your profession?

P: She don t like that at all haha but she is very very supportive. She just don t like watching me live because it s to stressful and she don’t want me to get hurt. It 's nice she's worries about me I guest hahah. Seriously she understand my life and everything is nice now !!

Happy (early) Birthday Patrick! And good luck at UFC 113.

You can follow Patrick on Twitter at twitter.com/Patrick_Cote and don't forget to follow me at twitter.com/MMAHotStuff

 
 

Shane Carwin Interview

Just spoke with Shane Carwin where he confirmed the bout agreement has been received and signed to fight Frank Mir at UFC 111 March 27th in New Jersey for the interim title.

Shane said "I'm excited to have an opponent confirmed and I have a lot of respect for Frank Mir. This will be my first fight against a south paw and my camp is under way to accommodate Frank as my opponent."

UFC 106 Recap - Forrest gets revenge & Koscheck impresses

What did we learn from Saturday's UFC 106 event? The more things change, the more they stay the same. For example, Tito Ortiz is going to whine after losing, no matter what; Anthony Johnsons' eyes seem to have finger magnets in them, and Josh Koscheck says what he thinks.

Ortiz VS Griffin

In his long awaited return to the Octagon, Tito Ortiz looked like 2/3 of the old Tito. Tight and rigid boxing, good takedowns, good top control, and good stamina, for two rounds anyway. Come the third round, Tito did nothing, and I mean nothing. Unless you count blocking Griffin's punches with his face as "doing something". It was as if Tito didn't know it was a 3 round fight and he only trained for 2. Then again, Griffin is no easy fight for someone that hasn't been in the cage for 18 months and is coming off of major back surgery.

Strikeforce Media Call: FEDOR EMELIANENKO & BRETT ROGERS

Here we go! The week of Fedor's debut on US Prime Time television has arrived. Here are some tib-bits from todays Strikeforce Media Call with Fedor and Brett Rogers. This is going to be a very interesting fight, and I can't wait to see this event on FREE TV!

• Don't forget, the fight takes place this coming Saturday at the Sears Center outside Chicago!
• Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker, with some welcoming comments.
• This is a co-promotion with M1 Global and is the Strikeforce debut on CBS

Here come the questions!

Q: Does Brett think Fedor's recent marriage is taking his mind off the fight and taking him lightly?
A: Rogers says no way. He's a professional. And as far as he knows this isn't Fedor's first marriage, so he's "been there done that". Rogers is sure he's set aside the time he needed for training.

Q: Has Brett been studying tape on Fedor? Because in the past he has not studied his opponents.

A: Absolutely. He wants every advantage he can get so he's been studying tapes of Fedor's previous fights.

Women And The UFC

A couple of days ago during an interview with Bloomberg TV, Dana White said 35-40% of UFC fans are women.

Where are you ladies? Are you all following me on twitter? twitter.com/mmahotstuff

ESPN MMA Live

Here is this weeks installment of ESPN's MMA Live. Can I just say that I love this weekly show? Great job ESPN for putting this out there for the fans.

This week's show spends some time on the controversial topic of Kyle Maynard's MMA debut. You may Kyle as a congenital amputee that found success in wrestling and then went on to pursue his dream of fighting. His dream has been met with mixed reviews. Hear what Kenny and the crew think of Kyle's achievement and future in the sport. Also, Kyle joins the crew live to discuss his love for MMA and why he wants to fight. What does Kyle have to say to the naysayers out there? Find out!

Say what you will about Kyle's place in MMA, but you must admit he's got heart and courage and you have to admire his determination.

The crew discusses the addition of Anderson Silva VS Forrest Griffin to the UFC 101 card. And apparently Kenny read my post about fighting styles, because he agrees this will be an exciting one given Griffin's aggressiveness and Silva's counter-punching style.

We hear about updates to the June 6th Strikeforce card. Jeff Sherwood joins to discuss the Sherdog top 10 pound-for-pound fighter rankings.

And Kenny takes us to Cambridge Culinary School of Arts for some tips on "healthy living" through turkey chili. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't see Kenny and Keith demonstrate the "chicken wrist", but the chili recipe looks GOOD!

Mark Cuban: Exclusive Interview with MMAHotStuff.com

What do you ask Mark Cuban if given the chance? I "know" about Mark Cuban, for those of you that live in a shoebox (and you do exist), Mark is not only the owner of the Dallas Mavericks but also part owner in HDNet and founder of HDNet Fights. HDNet Fights is a US based MMA promotion and television outlet for various other MMA and combat sports promotions. It's broadcast lineup includes DREAM, K-!, Strikeforce, Affliction Entertainment and others.He's also one that is not afraid to show his emotions when he doesn't agree with a call. It's been reported that since taking over ownership of the Mavericks he's been fined in the tune of $1.5 million dollars and was just recently fined $25,000 for a comment he made on his Twitter account. The first fine of it's kind.

But it's funny when you hear people talk about him, they describe him as a technology geek "genius", and I've even heard someone describe him as him having more money than God. But he's one of the most influential sports figures who has taken his passion for sports and coupled it with that technology geek in him. 

Here's a recap of my interview with one of the busiest guys in sports today:

Rachel: With MMA in its infancy stage, it feels much like the NBA in the early 1960's! Such a small number of fighters and shows and so much opportunity... and I'm still waiting to see MMA highlights on SportsCenter! What do you think is next for MMA?

Mark: I think MMA will continue to expand its fan base and become more popular as fans get exposed to it on Spike and HDnet.

Rachel: Clearly you're a busy guy, but do you ever attend smaller MMA shows?

Mark: Sure, been to MFC shows and others. My schedule is tight but when I can I go.

Rachel: Being the sports junkie that I am, I think competition can be a good thing. Having said that, I've never heard or read any beef between you and Dana. Is there a chance for a possible partnership in the future or do you think this space is big enough for everyone?

Mark: Dana wants to own the world and put everyone else out of business. so it's tough to do partnerships with him.

Rachel: Twitter is definitely the latest and greatest in viral tools. Yeah, sure you were fined for something you wrote on twitter, but I'm guessing you number of followers increased from all of the publicity over it. So, the question; Twitter, friend of foe?

Mark: Friend! I knew the fine would increase the number of followers, it was just a marketing cost.

Rachel: How should we be measuring engagement with fans online?

Mark: I have no idea.

Rachel: What do you think needs to happen for MMA to become mainstream? And what does mainstream mean to you?

Mark: Just time. It's making progress and will continue to do so. Mainstream means that there is a big enough market for the top 200 in any weight class to make a living.

Rachel: Do you think it's likely MMA fighters will ever make the kind of money other professional athletes make?

Mark: They are professional athletes, in fact, other than tennis and golf, are there any other individual sports where the athletes make more?

Rachel: People have been whispering about a fighters union for quite some time. Do you think there's a chance in hell that will happen? Would you be in favor of the fighters' union?

Mark: I really don't know.

Only time will tell. But one thing is clear. We still don't know how to measure engagmeent with fans and we still don't fully understand the sentiment of and impact of the conversations being had onlne.

Shane Carwin: Interview with MMAHotStuff.com EXCLUSIVE!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Shane Carwin. As you know he's coming off a huge WIN against Gabriel Gonzaga. Who does he want to fight next? How did he celebrate that last win and what food does he miss the most while training..... Find out here!

 
Rachel: Shane I'm a huge fan of yours and Lani's. Congratulations on your mega win at UFC 96. And while I'm handing out the compliments how about making the cover of FIGHT Magazine! That's a huge honor and accomplishment in my opinion! Your 11-0 record (all first round stoppages) is impressive to say the least. Who do you have your sights set on next? I'm sure you have an opinion on who you'd like to see win between Lesnar & Mir, care to publicly comment?
Shane: Right now I don't have my sights set on anybody, just trying to get healthy from my surgery (nose surgery). To tell you the truth I'm just excited to watch the fight. Both are great fighters and I love watching Brock's game evolve, they both are elite athletes. I think the new crop of Heavyweights at the UFC will be exciting for years to come.

Rachel: What did you do as a way of celebrating your latest win against Gabriel Gonzaga?
Shane: I have just been celebrating with family and friends they have been very supportive. Greeley the community I live in has been GREAT as well! Aside from that I have kept it low key. I am back at work and healing, my wife and I were on the morning flight home right after the fight.

Rachel: What's your favorite food that you can't eat while training?
Shane: Totinos party pizzas!

Rachel: Fast forward 10 years, and your son says he wants to be a fighter, what's your response?
Shane: Ten years from now he will still be in school so my answer is if you have straight A's in school I will let you train some of the disciplines of fighting, but you're going to college no matter what. My son and hopefully all kids will realize the importance of education. If it wasn't for my Mom keeping me focused and on track with school, my life today would be very different. My son is starting to understand this. I am able to fight because I stayed in school, how crazy does that sound!

Rachel: Knowing the skill set that is required to be a well versed MMA fighter, do yo think fighters with wrestling foundations are typically more successful? And do you think the wrestling fundamental is the hardest to learn?
Shane: Wrestling is a great base and provides a solid foundation, however I believe that all disciplines (BJJ, Boxing, Muay Thai) are equal. MMA today is less about being good at any one thing and more about respecting all discipline and LEARNING them. I have had people tell me my wrestling helped me win the fight with Gonzaga, fact is without the boxing and BJJ training, Gonzaga would have ran over me. The sport has evolved from where you can put a boxer against a wrestler and see who wins. The best baseline for MMA is a MMA.

Rachel: Since you have 11 fights under your belt and none have gone past the first round, which is usually a good thing, is that also a concern for you as you face harder opponents?
Shane: No, i face hard opponents every day in training, At T'sKO we go pretty much full speed all the time. We prepare for every fight as if it has five minute rounds. I am thankful for the preparation that my coaches and team put me through. It makes the night of the fight seem less significant.

Rachel: You see some of these fighters fight once a year and train full time (no other "job"). You have a job, fight/train, have a family and still find time to volunteer as a wrestling coach. Whats your secret?
Shane: A great team, time management and a great wife! My wife is not only supportive of my jobs but she holds down her own career and she works with my management team when I can't. Everyone works hard for me, I know I am working twice as hard to show them how much I appreciate the love and respect they give me.

Rachel: You have a gorgeous wife that travels to your fights with you. Does she give you any advice before your fights?
Shane: Lanie is always with me everywhere we go, she is my best friend, she helps me with everything! She is a strong woman who usually has opinion on things. What makes her so great is that opinion is not the only opinion. She listens, absorbs things and I usually have no idea which fires she put out until after the fight. Then I get a "Babe you won't believe what happened at weight-ins..." She is a HUGE part of my life in and out of the cage. My son and I are blessed to have met such a wonderful woman.

Rachel: You keep hearing people talk about MMA going "mainstream". Do you think having more acceptance and support from women will help the sport get to the same level as other major sports such as baseball and basketball?
Shane: Absolutely, Gina Carono, Katilin Young, Hillary Williams, Alicia Gumm and many many more tough fighters are already establishing that to be true. Boxing and High School Wrestling I think have softened the younger demographic that women are just eye candy. Women boxing has not been a huge hit at the vox office but some of the female boxers have had commercial success. A lot of wrestling rooms (college too) have a female or two on the team. I think that having women on the same cards as the men, not treating it as it is anything more than a great fighter facing another great fighter will see it gain acceptance. 

I'm happy to be officially be a part of Team Carwin. I expect we'll see a lot of momentum with Shane for a long time to come.
 

Josh Koscheck: Interview with MMAHotStuff.com

I had the pleasure of interviewing Josh Koscheck today. As you know he's preparing for his upcoming fight against Paulo Thiago February 21st (UFC 95) at the O2 arena in London.

Rachel: Josh thanks so much for your time, I know you're extremely busy. You're about to fight Paulo Thiago at UFC 95 where you hope to give him his first loss. Little is known about him here in the states, what types of challenges do you think he'll present?
Josh: I don't know anything about him. To be honest with you, I don't even know what he looks like. I've never seen video on him, nothing. For me, it's a fight. I expect to go in there and fight and just do what I do, which is win.

Rachel: We're starting to see fighters change weight classes (BJ Penn & Diego Sanchez for example). Are you staying put at 170lbs or do you have plans to flex up or down?
Josh: I'm staying at 170lbs unless they can get me a big exciting fight at 185lbs. But I'm staying at 170lbs until I've beaten everyone in this weight class.

Rachel: It's always good to see great fighters staying busy. Do you fight so often as a way of staying in tip top shape or just in a hurry for a title shot?
Josh: I fight because I like to fight and this is how I get paid. This is my steady paycheck.

Rachel: What's in your future? I know there was talk about you fighting Karo Parisyan although I'm guessing that is off given the recent drug allegations Karo is facing. Are you still planning to fight on the UFC 98 card in May and if so, who would you like to fight?
Josh: Yes, I'm still planning to fight on that card. But my fight against Karo has been cancelled due to the recent events.  I want them to find someone for me that will put on a good show, a good fight.

Rachel: After graduating college you were a wrestling coach at the University of Buffalo. Did you enjoy coaching, or was it more of a means to stay active and competitive in the sport?
Josh: I really enjoyed coaching. Being able to make an impact on those kids that were 17,18, 19 years old was fun. Helping them accomplish their goals and focus on an education was great. I don't miss it because now I'm training myself.

Rachel: Would you ever consider coaching on TUF?
Josh: Yeah that would be a pretty cool experience. To get back on the show. Although I'd like to see them do something to freshen it up and keep it interesting.

Rachel: It seems to me the fighters who start with the wrestling foundation are more successful in MMA overall. You've been recognized as having picked up the other skills rather quickly. but do you think that wrestling is the hard of the fundamentals to learn?
Josh: Wrestling is definitely the harder to learn however the sport has changed so much. It used to be striker vs grappler. Now it's full on MMA. The sport has definitely evolved.

Rachel: I love Mar Clothing. The designs are great. Where did the idea for Mar Clothing come from and what lead you to fashion?
Josh: I've always loved the California style -- surf and skate clothing. I've always been a huge fan of it, and growing up on the East coast, it was hard to come across. So when I'd go out there, I'd come back with board shorts, straight-billed caps and all the gear I could get.
I love that overall West-coast style, and I knew it could be a cool clothing line to really stand out. MAR is it. "Mar" means ocean-beach in Spanish, but in English, it can mean to fight or destroy. You can mar a wave when surfing, or you can mar a trick when skateboarding. We loved the idea -- that it can basically mean whatever you want it to. We launch about 2 years ago and we're in over 100 stores. I have a great group of employees and we're having a lot of fun. It's always been my dream.

Rachel: With TUF you became a quasi celebrity. What's the worst thing about it and what's the best thing?
Josh: The best thing about it is I get paid to be in the public eye. The worst thing is I can't steal. I mean I'm not a thief but I can't steal a candy bar because everyone knows who I am.

Thanks for your time Josh and I wish you the best of luck at UFC 95!!!

I'm guessing we'll be seeing Josh around for quite some time. And often... either shirtless in the octagon or sporting something from his own clothing line. If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to check it out. Buy something for your boyfriend/husband as well!

UFC 94: ESPN MMA Live Recap with GSP

The MMA Live crew sat down with GSP after his dominating victory over BJ Penn Saturday night at UFC 94. After four rounds with no answer for GSP's game plan or size advantage, Penn's corner had seen enough and called an end to the fight. Hear the MMA Live crew recap the fight and hear GSP's thoughts as well.