Strikeforce: Columbus Conference Call Highlights
On March 5th, Strikeforce comes to the state of Ohio for the first time in the promotion’s history. The blockbuster card will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight Title fight between current champion Rafael “Feijao” Calvacante and Dan Henderson. The event will coincide with the very popular Arnold Sports Festival, an annual fitness expo put on by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Columbus, Ohio. Also on the main card are a Middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and Melvin Manhoef and a Lightweight match between Jorge Masvidal and Billy Evangelista. ProFighting-Fans.com Senior Staff Writer Curt Heinrichs sat in on the conference call for the event, which featured Feijao, Henderson, Evangelista, and Masvidal, and he provided some of the highlights to follow.
-Feijao utilized Ed Soares as his translator (Cavalcante speaks Portugues) and showed great respect for Henderson.
- Feijao likes his odds no matter where the fight goes.
-Cavalcante trains with Blackhouse, which features fighters like Anderson Silva and the Nogueira brothers. He was asked if he has added confidence heading into a fight with Henderson, who has been defeated by Silva and both Nogueira’s. The Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion responded that every fight is different and that he won’t let his teammate’s success impact his outlook on the fight.
-When asked about Cavalcante’s skills on the ground, Soares responded by saying that if Henderson decides to test Feijao’s jiu-jitsu, it would be like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. This comment was surprising to me, since Feijao has outstanding Muay thai skills and an under-appreciated ground attack.
Henderson, a veteran of the fighting world, seemed like this fight was just another day at the office.
-Henderson was asked about Feijao’s last opponent, All-American wrestler King Mo Lawal, and Henderson said that he has better takedowns than Lawal. Henderson went on to explain that he has a different style of takedowns than Lawal and Henderson planned to make takedown attempts from a closer range than Lawal did.
-When asked about getting the chance to fight for yet another title in yet another promotion, Henderson replied by saying that Feijao was the real challenge, and winning the title was just the icing on the cake.
-Henderson has spent time at both Light Heavyweight and Middleweight in recent fights, and he said that he feels strong at 205 lbs. He explained that until he felt like he was overpowered at Light Heavyweight, he didn’t see any reason to cut any weight to get to 185. Henderson admitted that yesterday (February 22 nd) he weighed in at 203 lbs, so he wasn’t in any danger of not making weight.
-When his age and future plans were questioned, Henderson stated that he planned to keep fighting as long as he could hang with the top contenders. He planned to evaluate his career on a fight-by-fight basis.
-Henderson was asked about his last opponent, and he said that Feijao is more dangerous than Babalu in every situation and has a better chin, too.
-Henderson was asked what he expected from the fight, and he said that Feijao throws looping punches, and it shouldn’t be a shock that both fighters would be looking for a knockout.
-Despite the ground rules of the conference call asking the press to simply ask questions about the March 5 th event, Henderson was asked what he thought about Fedor’s recent loss to Antonio Silva. Henderson mentioned that he didn’t think Fedor’s heart was in fighting any longer, but he was just like the media and was speculating on his own.
> Check out the official Strikeforce: Columbus March 5 results after the fights become official and historic Strikeforce results online at ProFighting-fans.com!
-Heinrichs had a chance to question Henderson, and asked Henderson how he has evolved as a fighter since he fought Feijao’s Blackhouse teammates. Henderson said that he won’t be doing any tricks against Feijao, but he’s gotten better in every aspect of his game. He said that Feijao won’t be able to use Henderson’s previous fights against Silva and the Nogueiras as a measuring stick, because Henderson has come a long way since those fights.
-Heinrichs also asked Henderson what the atmosphere is like fighting in Columbus, since Henderson fought Anderson Silva in Columbus in March of 2008. Henderson noted that the atmosphere is pretty exciting, especially with the Arnold in town at the same time, but Henderson stated that he could get excited for a fight if it took place in a high school gymnasium.
The lightweight fighters were hardly mentioned or spoken to, but Masvidal stressed that he was proud to fight for Strikeforce, which he claimed had one of the deepest Lightweight divisions in the sport. Evangelista was very grateful, and thanked a bevy of sponsors before admitting that he was not incredibly familiar with Masvidal, but he knew that Masvidal was a long and lanky fighter.
The conference call came to an end, and the only disappointment in Heinrichs’ book was that Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was under the weather and was unable to participate in the conference call. Though it is still over a week away, the conference call went a long way in drumming up interest in the Strikeforce:Columbus card, which airs live on Showtime on March, 5th.
By Curt Heinrichs
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer