UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has been the subject of several negative “hype inducing” comments from recent Octagon winner Chael Sonnen(for those that aren’t in the loop he just beat Nate Marquardt at UFC 109. Silva’s manager, Ed Soares doesn’t seem to have any problems with responding in kind, saying:

We are fine if this is what the UFC wants, but if you look at this logistically, Sonnen should fight Demian Maia first. Demian beat up easily, by submission, so why not make them fight first, to determine who gets a shot at the title…It’s funny, but really, who actually listens to what Chael Sonnen has to say? The only time people listen is when he talks about Anderson. Who is he, really? If you walk down the street and you mention his name, does anyone really know who this guy is? Likely not, but if you mention Anderson Silva, people know the name…Chael’s also said a few things about Anderson’s choice of clothes and that he wears earrings, didn’t he? Sounds to us like he may have a crush on Anderson.”

UFC had said previous to the UFC 109 bout that the winner of Sonnen and Marquardt would be the number one contender in the division but perhaps Sonnen will look to avenge his first round submission loss to Demian Maia(UFC 95). In any case Silva will first take on uber dangerous opponent Vitor Belfort at UFC 112, with Sonnen having to wait for word of his title shot. (quote via SportsNet)

Last month Tito Ortiz told the Las Vegas Sun that Chuck Liddell’s problem with with alcoholism had got to the point where Dana White was forced to step in and set up a intervention for the former UFC light-heavy weight champion.

On Thursday White denied these rumors and took a subtle shot at the married Tito Ortiz.

“He’s no different than anyone else. He’s no different than Tito.”

Former Olympian, and professional football player Herschel Walker who successfully made his MMA debut last weekend for Strikeforce told sherdog.com that he is thinking about getting back in the cage as soon as April. Walker told sherdog that if an offer was put out there he would have to defer it to his coaches and trainers at American Kickboxing Academy where he has been training since October.

“I’m going to get back into the gym and say I’d love to have another fight, and I’m gonna work hard, but I’m leaving it my trainers and coaches’ hands and the fighters at the gym,” said Walker. “If they think I’m not ready, they gotta tell me, and I will swallow my pride and not do it.”

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (19-5) feels blessed that he has the ability to knock opponents out with one punch.

“Ruthless” talked about his “blessed” punching power after knocking opponent Melvin Manhoef out at this past weekends Strikeforce “Miami” event. Lawler landed a total of just three punches in that fight.

“Two things happen when you’re backed into a corner; you either look for a way out or you fight him off of you. I am one of those guys who looks to fight, but he was definitely tearing my leg up. I’m not going to lie about that…I’ve just been blessed with the gift of punching power and athleticism and I can hold my power in some weird spots.”

Check out the rest of the interview by FightHype.com where Lawler discusses the fight and his preparation for Manhoef.

After Herschel Walker’s mma professional debut this past weekend at the Strikeforce “Miami” event, former baseball star Jose Canseco has called out the NFL legend.

Posting from his Twitter site a few days ago Canseco wrote “I guess I may have to show Herschel Walker who the real bad Boy of the Sports industry is. If the powers that be are reading, I want in.”

One can only speculate that this is a publicity stunt after Canseco’s first mixed martial arts fight against Hong Man Cho at the DREAM “Super-Hulk” Tournament last fall. In that fight, the baseball star threw one kick and ran around the ring avoiding his opponent, till he fell down tapping before suffering any damage.

Walker responded to Canseco’s comments on Wednesday during the Bob and Dan Radio show based in Dallas.

“Jose wants to do this for money,” Walker said. “My thing is, if he wants to fight me and he thinks it’s going to be a circus, I will hurt him. This is not a joke, I will hurt him, because I don’t do things as a joke. I don’t do this as entertainment. If we go out and play a flag football game, that’s entertainment. We’re having fun. But this MMA fighting, is real. You can get hurt, and he doesn’t understand it. I do this as an MMA fighter, not as a joke.”

Walker said he knew Canseco was simply hoping for a quick payday, and if they ever actually got into a cage, things would end badly for the former baseball slugger.

HT: MMAFighting.com

Renato “Babalú” Sobral (35-9) is waiting patiently for Strikeforce to give him the call back to the cage. The former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champ is 99% ready to make his return after recovering from a leg injury.

Sobral had won five straight matches, including winning the belt, before he faced Gegard Mousasi at the Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg event last summer. “Babalú” was KO’d in the first minute of their fight and looks to make a triumphant return once he gets the call.

I hope to fight again soon, I’m 99%, I’m training and waiting. I had a muscular disruption on the left leg and I stood still for a while, but I’m back now and I’m training with Werdum, Rafael (Cordeiro), Wanderlei (Silva). We’re training hard. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Strikeforce call us overtime, I still don’t know.

It’s tough, getting each time better. I’m looking for big fights. I’m on a moment on my career to make important fights, not just to add. Being for the title or not, I want to fight with big names. I talked to the guys of the event to don’t be focused only on the light heavyweight division, but, of course, my biggest aim is the fight against (Gegard) Mousasi, but I’m giving a lot of fight options. I think it’s nice to fight in a lot of categories, and just gave me three months…

Tatame.com

“You want me to let you in on a secret, Anderson Silva speaks perfect English,” Sonnen told MMAWeekly Radio. “He just has such a low amount of respect for you and all the rest of the media that he pretends he doesn’t. I’ve had conversations with Anderson Silva in perfect English, and on top of that he’s so boring to listen to that he and his rocket scientist manager, Ed Soares, who is also about as exciting as watching grass grow, have decided that Ed is better on the mic than Anderson, so just let Ed do the talking.”

HT: Cagewriter.com

UFC welterweight champion GSP has nothing but positive things to say about his recent training with Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. Here’s the quote, via SI.com:

“I see myself [in Mousasi], but two weight classes above. He’s a great fighter. He’s very open-minded. He’s amazing. He taught me two great techniques. Those two things I learned today are worth my whole trip. I’m very happy, and I’m going to be working on it a lot…[Mousasi] does things that he doesn’t even know he does well. He does things he doesn’t think about. He just does it. It’s really amazing. It’s something not everybody has. You can’t teach that. There is something from him that I know I can learn. If I can help him at the same time, we both are going to gain from each other. It’s a great experience…If I could have a choice between money, fame or wisdom and knowledge, I would take wisdom first, without hesitation”

Former World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Miguel Torres (37-2) wants to show the world that his recent loss to Brian Bowles in August was a fluke.

The loss came after Torres had won 17 straight bouts, including five in the WEC, and now he’ll face Joseph Benavidez on March 6th at WEC 47.

“I think this fight is more important than having a title shot or a rematch with Bowles. This fight is going to show what kind of fighter I am and show how I can bounce back from a loss. This fight is going to send a statement to everyone else that I’m going to face in the future…I’m going to show that what happened was a fluke and that it happened for a reason and that reason is to make me a better fighter. I want to show in the first 2 to 3 minutes of that fight that I’m a better fighter.”

FightHype.com

Former IFL heavyweight champion and recent “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10 winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson (14-4) talked about his victory saying he must have been the most skilled to have won.

“My goal when I went there was to win the show, whether I had fought Kimbo or not…I won it all, so I guess I was the most skilled…If it’s Struve, sure, I think that will be a good fight, bu tat this point, I honestly don’t know who my next opponent will be.”

Nelson also talked with FightHype.com, about his training regime and his experiences in the house, as well as commenting on whether or not we’d see him fight at 205!

UFC light heavyweight fighter Matt Hamill is still recovering from the injury he sustained to his shoulder while fighting Jon Jones at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. Hamill won the bout when Jones was disqualified for throwing illegal elbows, but he certainly took the most damage, most of it occuring when he was taken down hard. Here’s the quote from his manager regarding his current progress, via MMAJunkie.com:

“He’s taking it day by day. We want to be training, but the injury is just so painful, so we’ll have to see how it goes. It’s unbelievable; the first time in 11 pro fights he gets taken down, and he gets injured like that. With the wrestlers he’s working with, he never gets taken down; he doesn’t know how to fall.”

Sounds like it could be a while before we see Hamill returning to the Octagon.

British striker Paul “Semtex” Daley (23-8-2), much like his nickname, has some serious explosive power. He’s earned 18 (T)KO victories, including two straight in the UFC, and is set to face fellow welterweight Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 in Montreal, Canada on May 8th.

Daley isn’t interested in getting into a war of words with his opponent, he plans on letting his fists do all of the talking.

“Koscheck, if he has any sense, will not stand and trade with me. He will get knocked out or his blonde fraggle top [hair] will turn a shade of red quickly, before the ref drags me off him…I ain’t gonna get into a lot of verbal with him. He will be the only one in that battle. The war is in the cage and that I will win for sure.”

Check out the rest of Daley’s interview with FightHype.com by clicking the link.