Lawler-Smith-Baroni-Villasenor-Shaw Quotes

Crowd-pleasing EliteXC Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler of St. Louis will defend his title against exciting, hard-hitting Scott Smith of Sacramento, Calif., while fast-talking, colorful, controversial Phil “NYBA” Baroni of Long Island, N.Y., will meet determined, dedicated, world-class Joey Villaseńor of Albuquerque, N.M., in a 185-pound scrap in two of the five fights on the inaugural “CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS” on Saturday, May 31 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT), on CBS. The first mixed martial event in primetime on network television will be presented by Los Angeles-based Pro Elite, Inc.’s live fight division, EliteXC, led by Gary Shaw, and emanate from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Kimbo Slice, of Perrine, Fla., will face England’s James “Colossus’’ Thompson in the main event on CBS. Other televised fights will be Brett Rogers of Minneapolis taking on Jon Murphy of Philadelphia in a heavyweight match and Gina Carano of Las Vegas facing Kaitlin Young of Circle Pines, Minn., in a women’s bout at 140 pounds. Tickets for the live event start at $25 and are available at TicketMaster locations, by phone (201) 507-8900, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Prudential Center box office (973) 757-6625.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET. The first live fight is at 6:30.

Shaw: We are so excited to be working with CBS on this first‑time ever (live, primetime MMA event on network television where) all you need is a screen, rabbit ears and a plug, and you get it for free, f‑r‑e‑e. So it’s really exciting, May 31, 9 p.m., live in prime time.

The card is excellent and action packed. We are very, very excited to present it, as it’s going to be a great in‑arena experience. It also will be great television programming for CBS and ELITEXC as partners.

Smith: I’m real, real excited to be on this card. The biggest thing about this card is every time I talk to people that watch an MMA fight for the first time, they get hooked instantly.

And people just don’t always want to buy it on pay per view. And this is going to be on free television. We’re going to get millions of people watching this that may have never watched MMA before. They’re just going to get hooked. I think every time it’s on CBS it will get bigger. It’s a stacked card, going to be exciting. Get a lot of new fans and I’m honored to be a part of it.

Shaw: On May 19 at the CBS lot (in Studio City, Calif.) we’re having a West Coast press conference demonstration. I’ll let everybody know what it’s all about. Those that are on the West Coast, we’d love for you to be there live and attend it with us.

Question: Scott, can you tell us about your preparation for the Lawler fight?

Smith: I always bounce around a lot when I train. I’ve been up in Big Bear with Tito Ortiz. I have gone up there a couple of times for a couple weeks at a time. I am sticking with my same Muay Thai coach in San Francisco, which is actually about an hour and 45‑minute drive for me. I am on my way back from there now. I pulled over to talk. I go there two to three days a week. It is well worth the driver and working with my Jiu-Jitsu instructor. (Myself) and James Irvin, a fellow fighter, have our own gym in our own hometown to get the training for this fight. I bounce around a lot.

Question: Is Ortiz helping you out with some wrestling?

Smith: Ortiz is helping me out with the wrestling, and I’m helping him with the stand‑up. We are both fighting a left‑handed fighter. His fight coming up is against a southpaw, and Robbie Lawler is a southpaw. Both have the same training regiment. So, it works out.

Question: How do you and Lawler match up and how do you see this fight breaking down?

Smith: I see this as a stand‑up fight. If Lawler gets in trouble, he will take the fight to the ground. Not enough people give me credit for my wrestling background. I took fourth in state in junior college in California, which is a pretty good accomplishment. I’ve been doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a lot longer than Muay Thai. I haven’t been able to show that in my fights as much. If this fight does go to the ground, which I believe (because) I will get him stunned, get him rocked. I see him trying to take the fight to the ground.

But, I think we both want to go out there and put on a show like we always do. I see this fight staying on its feet and somebody getting knocked out.

Question: Even though Lawler had some really good wins in 2007, do you think he may have a little ring rust?

Smith: I definitely believe in the ring rust. I have the advantage there. If I’m fighting every three to four months, it’s great for me. I don’t get a chance to get out of shape. I’ve gone six, eight months without fighting and it feels like a first fight sometimes. So, that’s a definite advantage for me.

Question: Do you want to make a prediction for this fight?

Smith: I will win by knockout. I have no secrets about my game. Not only would I be willing to give my opponents my fight film, but they can come in and film me practice. There are no secrets about my game.

Question: Did you ever think you’d be fighting in prime time on CBS?

Smith: (No, I did not. I got into an MMA because I was a fan of it. I wanted to do it a couple of times. I did it seven, eight, nine, 10 times. I just kept winning. This is an absolute dream come true.

Every time I fight, I have some big accomplishments in my career. The fights become bigger and bigger opportunities for me. I don’t see a bigger opportunity than this right here. Fighting for a belt on network television is just a dream come true.

Question: Do you feel you’re getting closer to a point in your career where you’re comfortable vertical, horizontal? Do you think you’re 50/50 now, or are you leaning one way?

Smith: I still prefer to stand up and fight. But, I can honestly say in the last two years I have been doing just enough wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to get by. In the last two months preparing for this fight, I’m actually having fun with it for the first time in a couple of years.

I look forward to my private instruction with my Jiu-Jitsu instructor and my wrestling coach. I was kind of getting myself worried there that maybe I should be a boxer, Muay Thai fighter. But I’m having a lot of fun with my ground game now. So, I’m improving every day.

Question: Do you think a quick fight favors you?

Smith: A quick fight favors both of us. A fight that goes the distance definitely favors Lawler. I’m not going out there to try to outpoint him. I’m going out there to try to finish the fight. Every combo I throw is going to try to finish the fight.

Eventually, I am either going to land a big one or Lawler is going to land a big one. If it goes the distance, he would outpoint me and I would be disappointed. I’d probably never want to fight again if this fight went the distance.

Question: With this huge platform that you’ll be on, are you feeling any pressure actually to keep it standing?

Smith: I don’t feel the pressure because I’m the challenger and the underdog. I’m the one with nothing to lose. If anything, Lawler would be the one feeling the pressure. It is kind of an ego thing.

I assume people aren’t going to stand with me. I’m going out there and want to stand. If Lawler stands with me, that’s great. But I don’t feel the pressure to have to keep it on the feet. I’m not stupid. If I get rocked, I have no problem trying to take the guy down.

Question: Gary, a couple of months ago you mentioned on a conference call that you would like to put boxing gloves on Kimbo Slice. Is there any development on that?

Shaw: There is no development right now. I am concentrating on keeping Kimbo in the cage, building him to superstar status, which I believe he’s at. We’re happy where we are with him in his career. This is more than a spectacular opportunity for Kimbo to be in front of a potential audience of 100 million-plus eyeballs. So, for now, Kimbo is staying in the cage.

Question: Do you think Kimbo will ever be in the boxing ring?

Shaw: That is a good question. I think Kimbo is a potential heavyweight champion of the world, absolutely. But, right now, we’re focusing strictly on his MMA career with Bas (Rutten) and Randy Khatami and proving all the critics wrong who say he’s not really a great fighter.

We invite all those critics to (enter) the cage and we’ll prove that Kimbo is a great fighter.

Question: Scott, what would a win over Lawler mean to you?

Smith: This would be huge. This would put me right where I want to be. I’ve been knocking on the door to the Top 10 so many times, and then I lose a big fight. Winning a big fight like this would put me right back there.

If you gave me a list of the top-20 185‑pounders in the world, I would hand-pick Lawler. So, this is a huge opportunity for me.

Question: What does it mean to be on national television and be able to show your skills to a national audience?

Smith: It’s a dream come true. Everybody and their mom are going to be watching this. I have family in Oklahoma that didn’t even know I fought. They’re all throwing huge parties to watch this.

Even I can afford to watch CBS. You don’t have to buy it on pay per view. I love it.

Question: Gary, do you foresee Kimbo facing Butterbean in the near future?

Shaw: Anything is possible. (But) Right now, no, I don’t have Butterbean on the radar for Kimbo. I am trying to get Kimbo in with more MMA fighters and big‑time fighters.

But, there may be a time that we’ll let Kimbo knock Butterbean out. I’ve spoken to Butterbean personally. Remember, when Butterbean goes down, it’s with a thud.

Question: Scott, who do you think hits harder between you and Lawler? How confident are you standing with him? Do you think that you’ll get the knockout? Do you think your chin can take one of his punches and vice versa?

Smith: I do believe Lawler will be one of the hardest-hitting opponents I’ve faced. But, I definitely will be the hardest hitting opponent he’s faced. I’ve faced guys that hit real hard. Pete Sell hits hard. Jim Irvin hits like a truck. I guarantee Lawler’s never fought anybody that hits as hard as me. People don’t realize that until they fight or spar with me. Lawler is going to buy all the hype. Yes, I definitely see me winning this fight by knockout.

Question: Is not worrying about the scorecards a new approach or is that how you’ve always approached your fights?

Smith: That’s how I approach my fights. I went the distance once with Patrick Couture. It made me sick to my stomach. Even if I would have pulled off a decision, he definitely won that fight. If they would have given me the decision, it would have made me sick, too. I don’t like having those fights where you go out there not to lose. I want to go out to win the fight.

Question: Why are you so committed to winning by knockout? Why are you so turned off by winning by decision?

Smith: No. 1, I’m the underdog. No. 2, I have the power advantage. If I land a clean shot, I can knock anybody out. I don’t care if it’s 185 pounds, 205 pounds, or heavyweights. I’m improving on my speed every day. I’m improving on my technique, and I land those shots. I’m going to knock those people out.

Question: Do you feel you should be the underdog in this fight?

Smith: I definitely should be the underdog. Lawler is the champion. He’s won the bigger fights.

Question: Gary, can you tell us about some fighters on the undercard that we should watch for?

Shaw: I would think you would want to watch our entire card. One thing I pride EliteXC in is what we do on the fights and fighters that we present. I’m very proud. We’ve had very few mismatches. We’ve had very few boring fights. Before we sign fighters, we let them know they’ve got to fight. We’re not interested in having a love fest.

Skala “Jared’’ Shaw (EliteXC VP):

You’ll want to keep your eyes on Nick Serra, Matt Serra’s brother. He is a veteran making a comeback at 170 pounds against another good prospect we have out of Philadelphia named Matt Makowski. That’s going to be an interesting fight. You’ll want to keep your eyes out for Carlton Haselrig, a heavyweight. He is a former Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and N.Y. Jets. He is 1‑0 in his mixed martial arts career. He also was an accomplished All‑American collegiate wrestler. He also defeated Kurt Angle.

We are very interested to see Haselrig in the cage. Obviously we’re all very excited at EliteXC about Wilson Reis, who we feel at 140 is one of the top fighters in the world.

Shaw: What it boils down to is that it’s almost our entire card. I’m trying to figure out a new way not to define undercards against TV because these are all going to be the future TV stars.

I really believe that the in‑arena and TV experiences of watching all these young fighters will excite you.

You’ll see that we try our hardest to give all of you something to be proud of in the MMA world. We’re trying to build MMA as a sport, not just EliteXC as a brand. If we don’t build MMA as a sport, then the brand will not last. So, I’m glad my son, Jared, gave you a little rundown. Believe me, Smith wouldn’t be challenging for a belt if we didn’t think he was a worthwhile challenger, and we wouldn’t put him on if we didn’t think he was one of the most exciting fighters in the world.

I want to address one other thing because somebody asked a question about ratings. I think all the ratings are flawed. I’ve gone on record as saying that. They’re basically ratings of the UFC fighters. The UFC has some very, very fine fighters and has put on some fine fights. EliteXC has some fine fighters and we’ve put on some great fights.

So, the rankings aren’t really what they should be because until the UFC is willing to put their fighters up against our fighters, then the rankings will always be flawed. But, there are visionaries like Jay Larkin from the International Fight League (IFL) and Scott Coker from Strikeforce that see the benefit to the world of MMA, television and all the fans of these organizations fighting one another.

So, until that time happens, I don’t go by any rankings. I think Smith is one of the finest fighters in the world, as is Lawler.

Question: Gary, since you promote both boxing and MMA events, where do you see the two sports going?

Shaw: Boxing continually kills itself by only featuring old fighters, boring fights, where MMA has all these young Smith‑type fighters that light it up, and that fans want to see.

Fans of MMA are more rabid than boxing fans. MMA is a lifestyle. A loss in boxing is close to catastrophic. In MMA, it’s not.

So, therefore MMA is a very fast‑paced sport. Once people get in the arena, it becomes very addictive.

There is a huge difference. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure I liked it (MMA) myself. But, I can tell you now that I love it. I find it so exciting. It’s just fast. It’s great. The talent level is deep. That’s the major difference. That’s why this is going on CBS.

This is the single biggest thing that will ever happen to mixed martial arts — and boxing cannot get on a network.

Question: How much can mixed martial arts learn from those mistakes and try and fix it?

Shaw: Hopefully they can learn. If they cooperate, it will be much better for everyone. The differentiator is in the UFC where nobody can be bigger than (Dana White) or the UFC. In EliteXC, everyone can be bigger than Gary Shaw, not in waist line, but in notoriety. Everyone can be bigger than our brand. It’s supposed to be about our athletes. We need to get the UFC and other organizations to cooperate and let the fighters fight one another. We let Nick Diaz go and fight Gomi when there was Pride, and he wound up beating Gomi and really made a bigger name for himself.

If there’s a big fight out there for Smith, I’d let him go and fight for someone else. Those are the opportunities. That’s what can be learned. If we don’t learn about it in MMA, the sport will die on the vine just like boxing. It will be there, but it won’t be what it can be. Right now, mixed martial arts has the single best opportunity in the history of the sport by having all these eyeballs on CBS.

Question: Scott, how surprised were you that your second fight in EliteXC is now for a title?

Smith: I was pretty surprised, but I was honored at the same time. I didn’t think I was many fights away from being in a title fight. I didn’t think it would be one win away, but Kyle (Noke) was a top contender and I took him out, so that puts me right there.

Another top contender is Joey Villaseńor, but Lawler has actually beaten him. So, I think it makes sense for me to fight Lawler first.

Question: How strange does it feel to be fighting for a title fight and not being the main event?

Smith: I get a lot of questions on that. KCAL-TV in Los Angeles asked me if I was offended by that. Kimbo Slice is a huge name. He’s an upcoming, great fighter. I’m honored to be on the same card as him.

I would much rather fight for a title and fight the second to last fight than be the main event and not have Kimbo on the card. The fact that he’s on the card is going to have millions of more people tune in. So, if people tune in to watch him, they’re going to watch me and that’s great for me. So, I’m honored to be on the card with Kimbo.

Question: Gary, can you comment on the report that Mike Tyson has agreed to fight Kimbo?

Shaw: First, I want to comment on what Smith just said. He is now going to be my assistant promoter. He’s better than I am. But what he said happens to be 110 percent correct.

I have the media report about Tyson. I have had no discussions with Mike or anybody surrounding Mike. I know Mike. Yes, I would make that fight in a heartbeat.

Question: Scott, can you talk about your personal transition from UFC to EliteXC? How did that all come about?

Smith: It was kind of a mutual thing, but, bottom line, they (UFC) ended up letting me go. I was coming off two losses. They basically told me to go get a couple of wins before I came back and fought. I can’t stick around and wait. I’ve got a mortgage and kids. EliteXC had the door wide open for me, and UFC let me go at the same time.

So, it actually worked out great for me. I was a little nervous at first. But now, with the way EliteXC is going, I’m just thrilled to death they let me go.

Question: Is it correct to say you signed on for the show during the Ultimate Fighter contract?

Smith: Yes, I still have three fights left with UFC and they let me go after that.

Question: Gary, how many seats is the arena set up for?

Shaw: We are still working on it because of all the CBS television kills that we have to do. But we’ll probably be set for somewhere around 12,000.

We can expand on that. Scott (Smith), you remember to tell Tito (Ortiz) my door is open.

Smith: I think he (Ortiz) knows that.

Shaw: I happen to be a huge fan of his (Ortiz) on a personal level. No organization has the best fight, fighters or puts on the best fights. It’s all around. I’ll take all the Smiths in the world every day. They can walk in and there will be a contract. I’m sure Smith can speak for himself, but we treat every fighter, whether it’s their first fight with us or their eighth, we treat them all like champions.

Smith: That’s very true.

Question: Gary, can you address the criticism directed toward Kimbo that he’s getting his big shot on CBS even though he only has a couple of MMA fights?

Shaw: I’m doing a big HBO show Saturday in Nevada. It’s called Rising Stars and its three kids that are some of the best fighters in the world, and one of them has only had nine fights.

So, I don’t think the number of fights determines how good a fighter is, or whether that fighter could be a star or superstar. There’s a lot of jealousy in this sport. People are jealous of Gina Carano. I said I was going to make her the face of women’s MMA, and we delivered on that.

I knew Kimbo Slice could be a superstar. I believe if Smith does what he’s capable of, and it’s nothing against Lawler because I’m a huge fan, but Smith can be a huge star because of his personality, the way he speaks, the punching power.

For those that say things about Kimbo to me are haters because they should be cheer-leading him to lead the way and open more doors. I don’t think MMA has had as much excitement the last few years as Kimbo is now bringing to the table.

Let me remind everyone on this call that nobody cared who Mike Tyson fought. If you asked someone what they were doing Saturday night, they would say they were going to see Tyson. They didn’t say Tyson against anybody. If he beat up on somebody that wasn’t as good as him, people would say he’s the baddest man on the planet. Some of the questions on this call are about an aging Tyson who got knocked out in his last fight. But it’s still the aura of Tyson.

That’s what Kimbo Slice brings. I’m proud to promote him and proud to know him. I’m proud to call him a friend. Everybody should be cheer-leading Kimbo because he is a reason, not the only reason, but a reason that CBS really looked up. The logo of CBS, that eye, they put that eye right on Kimbo Slice.

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