As driven as Pavelich is, he realizes White is number one in the MMA game. That doesn’t mean he has to like it.

"Some reporter called me ‘the defiant prince of MMA,’ " Pavelich said. "And I thought he’s so right cause the king is sitting there and I’m the defiant prince because it’s very difficult for me to wake up every day and go, ‘Oh I want to be number two in the world.’ That’s very hard for a person like me. I push because I want to be number one, and everybody knows that. The difference is, that realistically, that’s not realistic right now. Realistic is number two in the world. That’s very realistic."

Pavelich has been quoted as saying he does not like to" bow down to White." "The defiant Prince" explained what he meant by that.

"You know why, and this is the truth Jack, he is so good at what he does," stated Pavelich. "In this business there’s no one for me to look at and go he’s going to be someone I’m going to look to of what to do or what not to do or whatever. But he is so good at what he does."

"Now at the same time, he has a hard time showing admiration for other people in this business, right. There’s no question my work ethic is superior than 99.9% of the people in this industry. So for me, that’s what I’ve always had trouble with. Not that you have to send me a Christmas card, not that you have to get on a microphone and say ‘Mark Pavelich knows what he’s doing.’ You know, I’m not talking that kind of stuff."

"But he’s made innuendos and things in the past. He wants to make sure everybody knows he’s the 5000-pound gorilla and the rest of us are nothing. And I won’t allow that. And that’s where I got the comment of "bowing down to," right. If I’m going to be number two in the world, I got to be careful."

"That’s why I stopped watching his stuff on television. I don’t watch it, because I want to watch the Maximum Fighting Championship and I get in-fixed with that alone. I don’t want to have any of his stuff intrude into my mind. I want to make sure it’s all about the Maximum Fighting Championship."

Pavelich also discusses Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, the changing landscape of MMA and his quest to make MFC the number two promotion in the world... READ MORE

via prommanow.com

PRO MMA NOW: How big of a deal is this for you, has it been a dream of yours to one day fight in the UFC?

DAVE HERMAN: I think that's kind of... the UFC's the biggest promotion out there, so basically that's the end goal no matter where if you want to keep stepping forward. But I don't know, I'm not really that concerned. Just want to keep fighting, working. The UFC's pretty great and they definitely have the market cornered with the most publicity, put on the best fights. They've got the most known fighters. You can't really compete with that.

PRO MMA NOW: Do you feel comfortable at that level? You've had a lot of fights, but do you personally feel confident you will be able to compete with the guys there?

DAVE HERMAN: Yeah, to me it's all about the same. I probably won't approach it any different than if I just showed up drunk at a smoky bar and I'm fighting some guy for $500 bucks.

READ ENTIRE INTERVIEW at ProMMAnow.com

PRO MMA NOW: Any idea why you think that Lashley thinks that whole situation was ‘garbage?'

CHAD GRIGGS: (Laughs) Well I mean no one likes to lose. I think that Bobby is a great athlete. I think that he has huge potential and he is a big draw. I have tried after the fight to go up to him and thank him and he wouldn't look at me. He just blew me off and I've made a couple of attempts to be a good sport and try to I guess be cordial with him and yeah. He's made a lot of excuses and talked and said I'm crap. I don't know, what does that make him? (Laughs) I'm not much of a trash talker but I've got to say it does offend me a little bit that he has been such a poor sport. As for being excited after the win, absolutely. I think people had me at one time favored 8-1. People didn't know who I was and I was excited you know. It was a big fight. It was a big fight for him obviously. It cost him a lot of money to lose and really dropped him down. I'm sure he didn't like to see me celebrating but watch his fights. Watch when he wins against I think it was Bob Sapp or something, [he was] running around and jumping up on the cage and sitting on the cage throwing his arms around. What is that then? Sometimes I feel like he's a hypocrite. He's being hypocritical at times. I don't want to call names but I'm just calling it the way it is. I think he has done the same thing after fights. I'm trying to be a good sport about it. I absolutely think that he's got potential and is a great athlete but all the excuses beforehand... He was saying he was 100 percent. He was saying he was going to smash me. For someone with severe sickness and dehydration, that first seven or eight minutes he was pretty explosive, pretty strong and pretty energetic. It's just he spent his energy in the wrong way and his conditioning wasn't up to par. He can say whatever he wants. Obviously he's got to try and come up with something to create the reason of why he lost and to build himself back up. Everybody has got to sell themselves.

READ MORE:: ProMMAnow.com

PRO MMA NOW: Rumor has it that your contract with Strikeforce was up and you chose not to resign. Can you talk about why you and Strikeforce parted ways and clear up any rumors that might be out there?

BOBBY LASHLEY: It was basically that. I think Coker is a great guy and I think that he has a great organization. The last card was incredible. It was a great fight show. I have no bad words to Strikeforce or Coker. I think he is great. I just felt the need to just get away from that relationship for whatever reasons and start over and build myself back up. I've been talking with Joe Kelly and he has been an incredible person to talk with and an incredible person to work with and I see his vision with his organization and I just want to be a part of it. Then having an opportunity to be able to fight in Kansas and really build back up and get ready I think it was just the right fit for me.

PRO MMA NOW: Could you ever see yourself fighting with Strikeforce sometime in the future?

BOBBY LASHLEY: I don't know about that.

*******************
Lashley talks about a lot more including a possible fight with Batista, why he chose to go with Titan Fighting Championship, his upcoming fight, pro wrestling... and he calls Chad Griggs "garbage" and is pissed at the way Griggs celebrated his win over him.

SOURCE: ProMMAnow.com

Seth Petruzelli has not lost a fight outside the UFC since 2001, yet he is 0-4 inside the Octagon. Petruzelli says his losses in the UFC are not because of a higher level of competition, but it is mental:

Pro MMA Now: Only one of your 12 victories have come by decision. You knocked out 10 of the 12 and submitted the other one. You definitely have an exciting style. You have great striking. And you have won almost all your fights outside the UFC. What do you think it is about fighting in the UFC that has been the biggest challenge for you; Is it just the level of competition or is there more to it?

Seth Petruzelli: No, it's mental, it always has been mental. I do fine in the training room with top level guys. I guess I'm a mental midget with the UFC and the pressure it puts on me. Either that or I'm cursed... and I don't believe in curses.

Petruzelli cornfirms his UFC release, talks about his recent loss to Karlos Vemola, how long and if he wants to continue fighting, and much more..

Read the full interview at ProMMAnow.com.

ProMMAnow.com: What’s the word on this Twitter thing about your account being blocked by the UFC?

Shane Carwin: No issue just over reactive bloggers. Laura (@UFC Twitter) and I have a great relationship. I was giving her a hard time and she was away from the account and did not see it. Lots of people jumped on without asking me (like you are doing). So it was really a non-event. I was giving them a hard time and they took a while to respond.

ProMMAnow.com: You mentioned on your Twitter, "What’s Scott Coker’s number?" Is Strikeforce a company you would like to fight for if you and the UFC did ever part ways?

Shane Carwin: My contract with the UFC will likely wind out my career and I have not thought much farther past the current contract. My focus is winning the UFC Title so I have to be in the UFC to do that. That part of the tweet was to a long time Team Carwin member who had just unfollowed me the day before. Being unfollowed doesn’t really mean anything but we monitor it. He was teasing me and I was teasing him. Notice I said anyone besides Bjorn who doesn’t seem to have Scott’s number. The fact is the UFC has been great to me. They have taken care of me above and beyond what they are contractually obligated to do. When my kid was born they sent a ton of stuff, they get us fighters Christmas presents and most importantly they have built the best stage in the sport of MMA. If you perform on their stage people will take notice of you.

READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW HERE: http://prommanow.com/index.php/2010/11/22/shane-carwin-sets-record-straight-about-twitter-account-talks-about-his-relationship-with-the-ufc-and-surgery-recovery/

via prommanow.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn – Former linebacker for the University of Tennessee, Ovince St. Preux, who is fighting out of Knoxville MMA, will face off with Memphis BJJ & Judo’s Chris Hawk in a light heavyweight showdown on the "Strikeforce: Nashville" preliminary card on April 17. ProMMAnow.com has confirmed the match-up with a source close to the situation.

For the full story: http://prommanow.com/index.php/2010/03/17/former-university-of-tennessee-linebacker-ovince-st-preux-vs-chris-hawk-added-to-strikeforce-nashville-prelims/

"UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy" takes place on March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.ProMMAnow.com was on the UFC 111 conference call today as headliners Georges St. Pierre and Dan Hardy, as well as co-headliners Shane Carwin and Frank Mir, fielded questions from the media.

Here is the audio from today’s call:

http://prommanow.com/index.php/2010/03/16/ufc-111-conference-call-with-st-pierre-hardy-carwin-mir-audio/

Lukasz Jurkowski the first KSW champion has been in negotiations to fight on this show for over a year now and still nothing is set in stone. Aren’t you concerned that your US debut may also not come to effect?

I’m not concerned at all. I have a clause in my contract that once I sign it, within 24-hours I will receive certain percent of my purse for this bout. If it’s not there, I’m not going anywhere.

You’ve agreed to face Tim Sylvia, who only two years ago was a champion of the biggest organization in the world, but there are rumors that you were afraid to meet Pawel Nastula in the ring. Is that true?

Listen, I’m not afraid of anyone. I have my next fight on May 7th and another two weeks later, if everything goes as planned I’ll face Pawel in September. I do it step by step. My people, who work for me, they arrange everything. I don’t make any decisions without advice of my coaches.

Full interview at www.prommanow.com

via prommanow.com

NASHVILLE – Two of the country’s top amateurs will make their pro debut when Strikeforce makes its first visit to Nashville, Tenn., next month.

ProMMAnow.com has learned that Cody Floyd (5-0 am, 0-0 pro), who fights for AGEMA Fight Team out of Tupelo BJJ, will take on SSF Academy’s Thomas Campbell (17-2-1 am, 0-0) in a featherweight showdown at "Strikeforce: Nashville" on April 17. The fight has been confirmed by sources close to both camps.

Here's the full story with some more info on these two fighters: http://prommanow.com/index.php/2010/03/08/cody-floyd-vs-thomas-campbell-added-to-strikeforce-nashville-preliminary-card/

This is pretty funny... from a new interview with Strikeforce's Shamar Bailey:

Q:  Can you ask Wilcox why he stole Seth Petruzelli’s nickname? I mean, is MMA really big enough for two “Silverbacks”? I’m really don’t think it is. Now, Seth told us he got his nickname because The Silverback actually has the smallest penis-to-body ratio in the animal kingodm. It’s true – he said that http://prommanow.com/index.php/2008/09/26/seth-petruzelli-return-of-the-silverback-pro-mma-exclusive-interview/. I just wonder why Wilcox calls himself “The Silverback”?

A:  (laughs) Wow! Ummmmm… that’s a very good question. Sounds like Wilcox should have researched his nickname as hard as Petruzelli did huh? Whatever works for him I guess.

Full interview with Shamar Bailey

Pro MMA Now (www.prommanow.com) originally spoke with Sinosic just a few days prior to UFC 110, and everything seemed great. The Aussie was excited to fight on the UFC’s very first card in Australia, he had trained hard, and was incredibly grateful for the opportunity. Then on Feb. 20, two days before he was to step in the Octagon against Chris Haseman in a rematch, the news came out that Sinosic was injured and forced to pull out of UFC 110.

Of course, the fans were disappointed at the news, but surely not nearly as disappointed as Sinosic himself, who had spent weeks and weeks preparing and training for the fight. Pro MMA Now (www.prommanow.com) spoke again with Sinosic on Monday, Feb. 22, to get the full story, see how he is feeling, see what he thought of his fellow coach, Anthony Perosh’s performance, and what he thought overall of the UFC’s first visit to the "land down under".

Hi Elvis. You were all set to face Chris Haseman at UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia this past weekend. Apparently you were injured. Can you tell us exactly what happened, how it happened, and why you had to pull out?

I injured my shoulder severely on the weekend during my last sparring session. It was an aggravated injury. As with most fighters you get injuries. During the course of my training camp I received numerous injuries, my shoulder just being one of them. At the time it seemed like the least of my worries among them. In my last sparring session it just escalated to the point that it was too much. I just was not able to use my right shoulder/arm to it’s full ability. After this I went to see my doctor, got scans done, went and saw a specialist. Once I learnt of the extent of the damage I informed the UFC. They arranged their own doctor to look at it, organised for a cortisone shot. The cortisone shot did not help at all sadly. Even their doctor told me that he did not expect the short to help. But it was worth trying.

It turns out that I have a couple of underlying problems with my shoulder. Basically I have tendinitis, bone spurs which have lead to chronic Osteoathritis and on top of that Adhesive Capsulitis, known as "frozen shoulder". There could also be further damage but I will need an MRI or key hole surgery to determine the full extent. I had a sore shoulder during my camp but never realized the extent of what was wrong. The six-week camp aggravated the injuries and it continued to escalate until the last week where it became unbearable. The specialist informed me that I had about 40-50% use of my right arm.

Read full article: http://prommanow.com/index.php/2010/02/22/exclusive-elvis-sinosic-explains-injury-that-took-him-out-of-ufc-110/