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“I’d fight Nogueira. I had other reasons to turn down that fight last year, but that was a whole different situation. He’s a tremendous fighter. I’ve watched him for years. I saw Danny [Henderson] fight him in the KOK [Rings “King of Kings” tournament in 1999]. I was heading to fight him myself in the KOK that next year.”

– Former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture tells Sherdog.com that he would welcome a fight against the one-time interim division champion, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. “The Natural” balked at the opportunity while he was in a contract dispute with the promotion for most of 2008, saying the fight that he wanted most was one against WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko. Couture and the UFC eventually reconciled and he agreed to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91. He lost via technical knockout. Nogueira, too, lost his belt to Frank Mir at UFC 92 in the mini heavyweight tournament that was coordinated to declare an undisputed champion. Pairing Couture against Nogueira is a fight that makes sense, but it wouldn’t happen until summer 2009 at the earliest — Couture is obligated to a six-week production schedule because of his new acting role in “The Expendables.”

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“My suspension is up on April 19. I will fight on the first card after April…. I’d love to fight Wanderlei [Silva]…. I want to actually try and get to 185. There are a bunch of guys down there that I really want to beat up…. I just fought Anderson Silva who I find a lot scarier than Wanderlei. Not to take anything away from Wanderlei, but I only get up to fight tough guys. I’ve trained for a long time and I’ve worked my way up the ranks. I only want to fight tough guys now. I don’t want to fight any lower class guys. Every time I fight now I’m going to ask for a top 10 guy.”

– James Irvin talks to Warrior Fight Store about his possible return to the Octagon. “Sandman” tested positive for Methadone and Oxymorphone after his first round technical knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19. “The Sandman” — who was nursing a broken foot just weeks before accepting the bout — claims that he used the banned substances to mask the pain associated with the injury. He apparently had to serve just a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). He has a split record (4-4) in eight fights for the promotion, which includes a win via disqualification over Luis Arthur Cane.

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“[Light heavyweight is] my normal weight. I never cut down too much weight for a fight. Maybe I go to fight one more time at light heavyweight, and after I go down…. I am thinking I want to fight Chuck [Liddell] again. I want to fight with him again because I had a good match with him, and his style is a good style for me, and my style is good for him. It’s good for the show. Maybe it’s good for Dana.”

– Former Pride FC middleweight (205 pounds) monster Wanderlei Silva tells MMAWeekly.com that he would consider a drop to 185 pounds if UFC President Dana White wanted him to make the cut. “The Axe Murderer” has lost four of his last five fights, three of which have been via brutal knockouts. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was the latest opponent to put him to sleep, scoring a vicious one-punch knockout at UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2006.” Before he sheds the 20 plus pounds; however, he’d like to challenge Chuck Liddell one more time. The pair — who were at one time the sports two biggest stars — duked it out in a thrilling three-round bout back at UFC 79: “Nemesis” in December 2007. Liddell is penciled in to return at UFC 96 in early March against a yet to be named opponent. Silva will more than likely not be ready in time — he has to serve a mandatory medical suspension until February because of the most recent knockout. Perhaps a change and some new scenery at 185 pounds would revitalize his struggling career.

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“He looks strong, but I think I hate him; I don’t know why. After this fight, I don’t think I’ll ever talk to him ever again, no matter the result…. I told [Shinya] Aoki, from here on out, I’ll make it so that you won’t ever hear anything about Gomi anymore. It’s going to be too long for me, but I don’t intend to let it go long. Gomi says he wants to show speed and strength. So I’m thinking, ‘Fine, let’s finish it fast.’ If I go as usual, this will be a quick fight.”

– Satoru Kitaoka tells Sherdog.com before his fight against Takanori Gomi at Sengoku: “No Ran 2009″ that he doesn’t like the lightweight sensation and predicted he would finish him fast. He did just that, locking in a fight-ending heel hook in less than 90 seconds and winning the promotion’s first-ever division title. “The Fireball” kid — the Pride FC posterboy for years — was widely regarded as the top lightweight fighter in the world not too long ago. But with two consecutive losses and having won just two of his last five fights it’s safe to say that he has lost much of his luster. Perhaps as Kitaoka suggests Aoki is now the man to worship in the division in the “Land of the Rising Sun.” And maybe he should have been all along.

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“He’s flat-footed, has no technique, but he can punch. That always helps. He’s accurate. He’ll follow you right to the floor, so he’s aggressive. But that aggressiveness can be used to our advantage, I think.”

– Freddie Roach — the world famous professional boxing training savant — tells SI.com that WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko lacks technique when it comes to his stand up game. He says what the Russian cyborg lacks in that department he makes up for with his accuracy and aggressiveness (see Sylvia, Tim for the most recent example.) Roach is currently working with Andrei Arlovski to refine his striking and prepare him for a possible cross-over to the sweet science. Emelianenko and Arlovski will collide in the main event at Affliction: “Day of Reckoning,” setting up one of the best heavyweight match ups in a very, very long time. For what it’s worth, Emelianenko is more known for his crafty and tight submissions … not his striking (at least recently). He is also known to be a bleeder. Can Arlovski find holes in his game and open up a hole in Emelianenko’s face? Will the former Pride FC deity once again answer the call and quiet the critics? What say you?

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“Tokyo’s Yoshida, who remained on the canvas while being tended to by commission doctors, was removed from the Octagon on a stretcher as a precautionary measure. He was later treated and released from a local hospital for a concussion.”

– Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today provided a medical update on Yoshiyuki Yoshida via its Web site. “Zenko” was brutally knocked unconscious last night during his main event welterweight tilt against Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” and was wheeled out of the Octagon on a stretcher as a precautionary measure. It was the first time ever the super tough Japanese standout was put to sleep. It was also the first time ever Koscheck scored such a decisive finish. Unfortunately, the result was the culmination of a night of carnage — Corey Hill (leg), Razak Al-Hussan (elbow/arm), Brandon Wolff (head) and Jonathan Goulet (head/knee) all sustained rather serious injuries. Get well soon.

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“I’d like to be the first guy that fights him…. I think I match up great with him. I think his ground game is phenomenal, but so is mine. I know his conditioning is phenomenal. So is mine. His boxing … is okay. But I think it would be a great match-up. You get two guys that are really aggressive fighters who have great conditioning who are going to go and bang it out for fifteen minutes.”

– Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk tells MMAWeekly.com that he wants to be the first to welcome Diego Sanchez to the lightweight division. “The Nightmare” recently made the decision to drop from welterweight. And UFC President Dana White reportedly confirmed that his next fight will be in the lighter class. If for some reason the match up is booked it would be one hell of a fight. It would also be throwing The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) champion into the deep end right off that bat.

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“On the ground in my wins, it took 19-25 seconds before I got the submission. I don’t think Bader can just hold me down for 15 minutes…. The last fight I had was six months ago. I’m not just jiu-jitsu. I think he sees it that he’s the better striker and he’ll try and keep it on his feet. That may have been the case during the show. But I’m not the same fighter. I’ve been training my boxing a lot and I think I’ll win by knockout. Bader thinks he can outstrike me, but he can’t.”

– Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Vinny Magalhaes is apparently now a more well-rounded fighter thanks to his new training at XTreme Couture alongside Shawn Tompkins, Stephan Bonnar, Forrest Griffin, Randy Couture and others. And he intends to demonstrate his newfound skills on Ryan Bader when the two collide to determine The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 light heavyweight winner at the Finale on December 13. Bader, for his part in the Yahoo!Sports.com interview, indicates that he, too, wants to keep it standing — the former Arizona State Wrestling star apparently wants no part of Magalhaes on the ground. Both fighters by all accounts intend to not rely on their respective strengths in the biggest fight of their careers … interesting.

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“My hand is healed and I’m really, really, really excited to use it. ou have no idea. When I fought him, I had no uppercut, no left hook, no left jab. I threw a lot of really heavy rights. He’s going to be shocked when he gets hit with jab…. Unless he decides he wants to take me down, I’ll stand and bang with him,” said Burns. “He’s said in the past that he hates the ground. If that’s the case, let’s see who takes who down. I’m guessing he stands with me, I press him with a crazy pace, and he starts to get tired and tries for the takedown.”

– Kevin Burns tells NBC.com that there are no more issues with his left hand, which led to a controversial result against Anthony Johnson at UFC Fight Night 14 earlier this year. “Rumble” lost to Burns via third round technical knockout in their first encounter; however, video replays of the stoppage show that Johnson was felled by an unintentional eye poke and not an uppercut. It was all because Burns had an injured paw going into the welterweight bout and had to use open hand palm strikes. The pair will run it back once and for all on the televised portion of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 13. Hopefully without incident.

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“I was originally preparing for Mr. Yoshida before I stepped up and took the Thiago fight. .. (It’s) definitely a different style. He poses some interesting threats, but I definitely have a lot of good training partners at American Kickboxing Academy and I think I’ll be ready. I’m a good wrestler, so I think our styles are going to make for an exciting fight…. Dave Camarillo is a judo guy and we are working on the judo throws. And I have San Jose State former judo coach who comes over. And there’s a lot of judo guys at our gym — Dave Camarillo teaches a judo class. So I’ve been doing judo for some time . … I have no worries.”

– Josh Koscheck tells the USA Today that he is preparing for the tight judo game of Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” this Wednesday (December 10) at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The welterweight tilt is billed as the main event of the evening. It should be an interesting contrast in styles — Koscheck is a decorated collegiate wrestling national champion.

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