With UFC 139: SHOGUN vs. HENDO on Nov. 19 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. quickly approaching, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will host a media conference call with the stars of the card Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and former PRIDE champion Dan Henderson will be on the call, as will middleweight co-main event stars Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le.
As with every media call, Bloody Elbow will be there to provide quotes and updates. For the instant updates follow Matt Roth (@mattroth512) on Twitter. Following the call, all of the tweets will be posted after the jump.
UFC 139 is Cung Le’s return to MMA after a 17 month hiatus where he spent most of his time trying to get an acting career off the ground. The card is also Dan Henderson’s return to the UFC after a contract dispute led him to sign with Strikeforce. Under the Strikeforce banner he went 3-1, capturing the promotion’s light heavyweight belt and handing Fedor Emelianenko his third loss in a row.
You can check out all the quotes below the jump.
SBN coverage of UFC 139: Henderson vs. Rua
Mauricio Rua
– I think I’m 100% recovered from injuries. I like to be active. A year off hurts my rhythm.
– I think this is a big fight for me. I’m not thinking about fighting for the belt. My whole focus is for the fight with Henderson.
– Hendo/Ninja was a great fight. My brother helped me with my strategy for this fight. I have good memories of that fight.
Dan Henderson
– Dan on return – It’s just part of business. It’s good to realize this is where I’ll likely end my career.
– I gotta worry about the cage before anything else.
– I think I have a lot left in me.
– Strikeforce had some top fighters. I’m not worried about proving anything.
– Fight with Ninja was a tough fight.
– I have goals and one is to obtain a UFC belt. I gotta get past Shogun.
– A loss is a loss. I’ve been lucky to not be knocked out. Guess I just haven’t been hit on the button. Good luck to him.
– Haven’t given thought to fight with Jones. Jones is unorthodox. I’m really focused on the Shogun fight.
– I’m happy with how things went. I’m happy with no regrets at all. I was fortunate to be in the situation when my contract ended.
– Yeah, I’m absolutely satisfied with the deal I have with the UFC. We’re here to get along and make some fights.
– I’m pretty versatile with what weight class I can fight in. I’m not worried about titles. It depends on timing.
– A lot of the guys weren’t in the situation I was in with having an established career. Timing worked out in a highlight part.
– If I was to cut weight, I’d only do it for one matchup right now. (He’s talking about Anderson Silva rematch)
Cung Le
– I’ve had a long layoff but I’ve stayed in shape. I’ve been sparring since February. Fighting in the UFC is an honor.
– I’m with Dan. I’m excited. I’m not worried about anything else.
– No stipulations that I have to fight a certain amount every year. I’m happy to be fighting this weekend.
– I come to fight. Wanderlei comes to fight. Every fight on this card is exciting. It’s gonna be a great card for all fans to watch.
– Last time I was on a movie set was February. All my focus is on Wanderlei. Then I’ll sit with my team afterwards.
– I’m a fighter first before I’m an actor. I could have hung up the gloves and focused on movies. I’m glad everything worked out.
– After Scott Smith fight I wanted to fight right away. I was put on hold for a while so I did 3 movies back to back.
– The UFC is the top of the foodchain. They’re the ones who put MMA on the map. It’s exciting to fight for a different league.
– My relations with Scott dates back to the first ESPN2 Strikeforce.
– It’s full circle. I had my first MMA fight in San Jose. I now have my first UFC fight in San Jose. More distractions though.
Wanderlei Silva
– I’m gonna come in great condition. (I think that’s what he said)
– I don’t have retirement in my mind.
– I have a lot of fun. What happened in the last fights can happen with anyone. Not like Cain Velasquez is going to retire.
– Brought in people to try and be Cung Le.
– We should have a good match. Both have a good stand up style.