Showtime/EliteXC Conf. Call Quotes: Noons-Edwards-Corbbrey-Lappen-C. Gracie
This is an MMA fight. I know what KJ’s weakness is ‑‑ I don’t necessarily know what his weakness is, but I think my ground fight is better. But that’s not the only place I’m going to fight him.
This is an MMA fight, and I’m going to make this an MMA fight. It’s going to be an all‑around thing. His defense has looked good in the past. I’m sure it’s gotten better. But he’s going to have to be prepared for everything, as will I.
You know, the ground game, if that’s to my advantage if we get there, that will be really important. If not, it is what it is. It’s just a thing. I’m just going out there to fight, and I’m looking forward to a good fight.
If it goes to the ground, it goes to the ground. I feel comfortable there. But I also feel comfortable on my feet punching and kicking. My point is it doesn’t have to get to the ground. It just has to get in the cage, and there will be a big smile on my face.
Q. Do you think that your MMA experience advantage will play a role in this fight?
Edwards: I think it could, but I don’t know it definitely will. KJ’s had a lot of fights. He’s not only fought in MMA. He’s fought in some open‑hand matches here in Texas ‑‑ professional boxing and kickboxing matches. So all of those things come together to form an experience.
I don’t think the experience is as definitively an edge for me. But it can come into play, and it could be an edge. But I’m not going into the fight hoping for it to be an edge, because if it isn’t, then that is a weapon that I planned on using that I lose. So I don’t look for that at all.
Q. KJ, that’s got to be a good feeling fighting in Hawaii as opposed to going to Budapest or something. Is it special for you or you’ve done enough of them there?
Noons: Yeah, super nice. No, this is definitely the most special for me. To have…. this is where my father used to fight 20 years ago in like the late ’70s. He fought professionally at the Blaisdell Arena. Then I got in MMA. This is where I started my career. I was the first fight on the fight card my first MMA fight at Blaisdell. (And now) I’m returning back as the main event on SHOWTIME, defending my title.
So this is really special. (To fight) In front of all my friends and family, and all the fans of Hawaii; it’s just an awesome experience.
Q. KJ, do you feel better on the ground game offense or defense? Do you feel you’ve come a long way on one or the other, or both?
Noons: I feel like I’ve come a super long way on everything. I don’t know where Yves is going to take the fight. But I train every fight as if, you know, that’s what the guy has to do is take it to the ground. So I prepare physically on the ground so I won’t get submitted or that I can submit, or I can ground and pound, or I can defend ground and pound. So I work on it a lot. I’m definitely prepared for it.
Q. Yves, how much have you been able to scout KJ? Is it just a film thing you look at or video you look at or do you talk to other people?
Edwards: You know, I don’t like to talk to other people and get information from them because everybody’s different. It’s different for different guys.
As far as scouting KJ, fortunately, we both fought the same guy, and that was Berto, and I’ve watched that fight tons of times just getting ready to fight Edson. And then they turned around and offered me the fight with KJ. So I just watched the same tape again from the other side. I also got to watch his fights with Nick and a few others.
But I prefer to watch tape to study. I think I have a good idea of what he’s really capable of and where I need to take the fight to him to make it easier for me.
Q. If it goes the distance, does it favor you or KJ?
Edwards: He’s shown that he has good cardio. And I never had a problem with my cardio either. That’s one thing, I think if it goes the distance, it’s good for the fans. I don’t think the explosiveness goes away in either one of us after the third round. I think it’s still going to be the same fight in the third as it was in the first and second. So the fans will definitely be pleased to see that.
In the end, I’m going into this fight trying to win it. So if you put a gun to my head and tell me to give you an answer, if it goes into the later rounds then it favors me.
Q. Yves, you’re going to be fighting in the Blaisdell. Do you think the crowd’s going to be a factor? Are you going to be affected by the crowd?
Edwards: I don’t know. I’ve gotten some good love from the fans in Hawaii. The thing is I wasn’t fighting a local boy when I did. It could be different this time around. But in the end, I’ve still got to fight KJ. I don’t have to fight the fans. So I don’t think it’s going to affect me too badly whether they support me or not. I do look to not be the favorite going into the fight.
Q. Any desire to compete in Japan now that the door to Japan has opened again with the ProElite and DREAM partnership?
Noons: I’m not looking past Yves this Saturday. I just want to fight the best out there. That’s all.
Edwards: I fought there before. I love the place. It’s a lot of fun. But that is another fight. It’s not this one.
Would I like to fight there again? Yeah, for sure. But I’m fighting in Hawaii on Saturday, and that is the one that matters now.
Q. Jeremy, it was mentioned that Feijao’s going to be appearing and he had quite a debut in February. Are there any plans to institute a light heavyweight title in the future?
Jeremy Lappen: Yeah, there definitely are. Probably sometime before the end of the year or early 2009 we’ll have the championship, and Feijao is one of the people that we’re very excited about. I think he’s got a tough test in Cole. Wayne’s a terrific wrestler. He’s dropping down to 205 just like Feijao.
I think Feijao’s got a chance; he’s got to get by Wayne Cole first though, which is tough. But I think he’s got a chance to be the best in the world, so we’re looking forward to that fight.
Q. Jeremy, Eddie Alvarez is doing good in Japan now. Do his wins in the DREAM tournament impact his standing in the eyes of EliteXC? Does that move him closer to a title shot?
Jeremy Lappen: We had Eddie before he fought in DREAM. So he was always going to be a contender for a title match. Obviously, winning in Japan helps his cause, and he’s one of the top contenders. We’re looking forward to having him back.
He’s got his finals first to get through in DREAM and then he’s getting married. As soon as he’s ready, we’re looking forward to having him back in EliteXC. Will it be a title match his first fight back? We’re not sure yet. But he’s right there in contention.
Q. KJ, you’ve done both MMA and boxing, but you haven’t boxed in about a year. Is there any reason? Is it too difficult to do both?
Noons: No, I think EliteXC and Gary Shaw have been focused on building his promotion and has me fighting on that. I’m concentrating on that right now. As soon as, like I say, I’m not looking past Yves, but as soon as I’m done with this fight, I’d like to pursue my boxing career.
Q. What about the different styles? What is so different between the two sports?
Noons: They have their similarities and definitely their differences. I take what I can from the boxing and implement them into the MMA. Then, when I train for boxing, it’s definitely different. You have four‑ounce gloves compared to 10‑ounce gloves, so you can take a lot more shots and feel a little more comfortable in the ring when you’re boxing. Compared to MMA, the gloves are so small, so you really can’t take as much punishment. So there are definitely differences.
Q. KJ, how do you deal with the mental preparation for a fight as they get bigger and bigger?
Noons: I just feel a lot more confident whenever I’m the underdog. The only time I lost is when I was supposed to win, and I got knocked out against “Krazy Horse’’ (Charles Bennett).
So I’m the underdog in this one; I was the underdog in the last one. I’m fighting guys with a lot of fights. The last three guys I fought had over 25 or 30 fights.
So I like the challenge. I like high pressure. I like the chance to show up and shine. So just pretty much take it. Before I went into the Diaz fight, before I walked out on stage where millions of people are viewing and thousands are watching me live fighting the best guy in the world at the time, I’m laughing at myself thinking, ‘I’m getting paid for people to see this.’ This is a dream come true.
I get to fight, and get paid and be on TV and people get to watch it. It’s just an awesome experience.
Q. On that Krazy Horse fight, do you still have an interest to go out and fight again in a rematch?
Noons: Yeah, as soon as they’re ready to give me that, I would like to take that fight next. I would like to definitely show that I can beat that guy. So as soon as the opportunity comes, you know, hopefully, I’ll be the underdog and I can go out and claim that win.
Q. Yves, what does fighting for the EliteXC lightweight title mean to you?
Edwards: It means a lot. EliteXC came to me and offered me a deal. I was excited about it. You know, after two fights in their organization, three fights since the deal happened, they’ve offered me a title shot. I’m excited about it, man. I appreciate the shot. I’m going to do everything I can to make the most of it.
Q. What kind of pressure do you feel from this opportunity?
Edwards: For the first time, I don’t really feel any pressure. I’ve got the backing of a good team. I’m not doing this on my own. I’m not trying to make the deals by myself and basically being my own manager.
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Posted June 10th, 2008 l 456 views
