All photos courtesy Esther Lin/Showtime.
HOUSTON — All eight fighters from Saturday night’s Showtime-televised “Strikeforce: Houston” card took part in a pre-fight press conference today at Dave & Buster’s on Richmond.
Attending the event were “King” Mo Lawal, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, Tim Kennedy, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, K.J. Noons, Jorge Gurgel, Bobby Lashley and Chad Griggs. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker did not attend the press conference after falling ill, but promised to attend the event on Saturday night.
Check out a selection of quotes from each fighter on the following pages.
KING MO LAWAL
On how the fans are treating him now that he’s the light heavyweight champion:
“I don’t really notice a difference. I like the fans that understand MMA. But a lot of the fans don’t understand MMA, and they just want to talk trash. Like I said, the fans who don’t know anything, I just don’t even listen to. But the ones who are knowledgeable? I will listen to them all day. But the ones who just talk out of their neck, I don’t pay attention to.”
On the mutual respect between he and Feijao:
“I respect Feijao. We train with some of the same people. I have no problem with him. He never questioned my character like Mousasi did. Mousasi was quick to go on record and say that I’m full of myself and I’m this and I’m that. Me and Feijao, we didn’t need to do that. We’ll do that Saturday. We’ll fight Saturday and have fun.”
On whether or not he has anything to prove on Saturday:
“Yeah, man. The champion always has something to prove. I think any fighter that steps in the cage has something to prove. And to be real with you, in MMA there is no true favorite in the cage. Because when the door closes, everybody is even. So I’m not really worried about anything but just winning this fight.”
RAFAEL “FEIJAO” CAVALCANTE
On how he prepares for a fighter like Lawal:
“I’ve been training hard. I saw his last fight. He’s a complete fighter, so I prepare for everything. I’m ready.”
Is it inevitable that he’ll end up on his back at some point because of Mo’s wrestling ability?
“I don’t think he’s gonna do just that, man. I think he has a lot of surprises for this fight. I think he’s training everything and he’ll have some new things that he’s gonna try and show in this fight.”
On defending himself if he is taken down:
“I’m from jiu-jitsu. A lot of people think I’m just a stand-up guy, but I’m a black belt in jiu-jitsu. When I was ten years old, I started training jiu-jitsu. I just haven’t had a chance to show it yet.”
TIM KENNEDY
On working his submission defense:
“I’ve brought in some of the best guys I could get my hands on in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. My fight camp in the last few months has been getting ready for Jacare, who’s one of the best grapplers in MMA history. I’ve done nothing but prepare for Jacare and this fight.”
On fighting full time:
“It’s been 10 months since I’ve been fighting full time and it’s been awesome. I’m stronger and faster than I’ve ever been. I train three times a day.”
On a third bout with Jason “Mayhem” Miller:
“I don’t want to dilute the value of the STRIKEFORCE belt. I’d love to fight him (Jason “Mayhem” Miller) if I win the title, but it’s not about me. It’s about the STRIKEFORCE belt and the honor that comes with it.”
RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA
On how he believes he’ll win the fight:
“I’ve been training very hard and I’m prepared for this fight. Tim Kennedy is a great fighter. I don’t know if I’ll win by submission or knockout, but I’ve been training very hard.”
On training for a title match:
“The belt deserves a good fight, a battle. I know Tim and I are going to fight hard for that title.”
K.J. Noons
On possible future bouts with Nick Diaz and others:
“Fighting Jorge on Saturday is my No. 1 priority. He’s a tough opponent and I’m not looking past him. There are a lot of interesting fights to be made in the lightweight division, but I’m not looking past Jorge.”
On playing football in Texas:
“Living here and playing football in high school, that’s everything here. You can get away with everything if you play football in Texas. But seriously, fans in Houston are great.”
JORGE GURGEL
On facing an opponent with an exciting style:
“I’m just so glad I don’t have to bring my Nike’s to chase someone around the cage to fight. I know KJ will bring it and not back down.”
On his ideal opponent:
“I just like to fight real fighters. He comes from a real fighting family. He’s been working on his ground game, so I’m definitely fighting the No. 1 contender. I’m fighting No. 1, a former champ, so I couldn’t ask for more. I’m in a great position.”
BOBBY LASHLEY
On opponent Chad Griggs:
“I don’t know very much about him (Griggs). I know he has an impressive record and he’s been fighting for a while. I’m just trying to work on everything. I’m going to try to pressure him hard and see what happens.”
On people who have a problem with his WWE background:
“Some people have a problem with my WWE background, but don’t look past my 18 years of wrestling before that. That’s part of my game.”