IWF EXCLUSIVE: DAN HENDERSON INTERVIEW

Irish Whip Fighting sat down with the one and only PRIDE FC Middleweight and Welterweight Champion, Dan "Hollywood" Henderson. We got his thoughts on PRIDE vs. UFC, Wanderlei Silva, his upcoming title fight with Rampage Jackson, if he plans to move down to Middleweight, and much more! An Interview By Ben Zeidler

Ben Zeidler: You've mentioned that you felt Wanderlei Silva was disrespectful towards you in interviews? Recently knocking out Wanderlei Silva, do you still have any negative feelings towards him?
Dan Henderson: I never really had negative feelings for him at all. I don't think he was that disrespectful, it was just…I always felt that we had mutual respect, especially after we fought the first time.

BZ: Do you have any plans to capture the UFC MW belt or do you prefer to fight at 205lbs now?
DH: Uh, I think it's up to me. The thing that I'm focused on right now is winning this fight, nothing else, whatever happens after that you know, happens.

BZ: Who in the UFC would you like to fight now that most of the talent pool is consolidated?
DH: I mean it doesn't matter to me, I mean, I'm just concerned about winning this fight and being the champ there and whoever is the, you know, the next guy in line for that title shot, I guess I'll be fighting him. Really, at this point it isn't up to me.

BZ: What made you test yourself in MMA after your wrestling career?
DH: Uh, well I started fighting while I was still wrestling. I wrestled for another three years when I started fighting. I was only fighting to get some money to keep wrestling. I had no desires to fight for that long but, once I started fighting full time, I started thinking that I was going to do it for much longer than I had anticipated.

BZ: What type of thoughts or feelings are running through your head knowing that you have the chance of being the first in history to hold three different title belts?
DH: It's amazing, I think that it is a great opportunity that I have in front of me and I want to make sure that I don't waste that opportunity and make sure I'm definitely as prepared as I can be for this fight, mentally and physically, on that night to win.

BZ: Are you planning to change anything in training to prepare yourself for Rampage Jackson?
DH: Yeah, I'm obviously going to switch it up and do more elbows to the face and head. I brushed up on my wrestling and my standup so, it's pretty much business as usual with some specifics in mind.

BZ: Do you have a prediction for us?
DH: Haha, well I definitely want to be the winner for that one, more likely in the later rounds if not a decision, depends on what condition he comes in at.

BZ: Do you have any knowledge as to what organization fellow Team Quest fighter, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has his eyes set upon?
DH: Well I manage him, so I do know, but nothing is set in stone. I'd rather not comment until then, when things are confirmed.

BZ: Fighting the majority of your career in Japan, how welcoming are fans here in the U.S.?
DH: Uh well, they're a little bit more rowdy, a little drunker, and they boo a little bit more but, you know, the excitement is there, the energy is there. Its very comparable energy wise, they're just different, I like them both.

BZ: Having fought in UFC 17, do you prefer fighting in a cage or a ring?
DH: I prefer the ring; I prefer to watch the fights through the ring too.

BZ: So far, how was UFC's treatment towards you differing from that of PRIDE's?
DH: You know it's fair to this point, still in the feeling out period. They haven't completely come to me with open arms, so I'm a little apprehensive. But, I'll be in the UFC for a long time and I plan to finish my career in the UFC. We're just starting out the relationship.

BZ: Okay Dan, I think that's it. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us today. We really appreciate it.
DH: No problem, let me know if you need anything else. Just give me a call anytime. Have a good one guys.

Irish Whip Fighting Exclusive: Top MMA Cities

As MMA mania sweeps across the United States like a swarm of hungry locusts, you would be hard pressed to identify one city or geographical region as contributing more than another. Taking into account the relatively young history of the sport here in the states, I have attempted to do just that. Knowing that the majority of MMA fans share the same deep rooted passion for the sport as I do, I can already see the hate mail piling up. After consulting many of my contacts around the country, I have ranked the top ten MMA cities in terms of general interest of the population, number of MMA gyms per capita, and reputation for producing (or hosting) great champions. I encourage anyone who reads this to provide their own feedback. (Note that I have only highlighted numbers 1-5.) by Doug MacEwan

Honorable mention: Hollywood, CA; Chicago, IL; Atlantic City, NJ; San Jose, CA

10. Cincinnati, Ohio
9. Houston, Texas
8. Anaheim, CA
7. Albuquerque, New Mexico
6. Sacramento, CA

5. West Palm Beach/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida- For those of you who have been hiding in a cave the last few years, you may not know that the W Palm Beach/Ft. Lauderdale area has become one of the hot spots for American MMA. Host to one of the worlds top MMA gyms, American Top Team, you can catch fighters like JZ Cavalcante, Din Thomas, Marcus Aurelio, Cole Miller, Thiago Alves, Denis Kang, Jeff Monson, Jorge Santiago, Dustin Denes, Wilson Gouveia, Mike Brown, Antonio Silva, Glaison Tibau, Benji Radach, Luigi Fioravanti, Charles McCarthy, Rory Singer, and Jorge Masvidal walking the streets of this beautiful city.

4. Hilo, Hawaii- It was nearly impossible for me to identify one city in Hawaii as the heart of their MMA culture so I took the easy route and chose the location of their most acclaimed gym, BJ Penn Academy, home to one of the greatest fighters in the history of MMA. Many people who have never had a chance to visit Hawaii have no idea how popular the sport has become on every island, and if it weren’t for the lack of more champions (and the spread of popularity over many cities) I would have put Hilo even higher. Many of today’s biggest MMA stars flock to Hilo to train with the great BJ Penn and you could argue that he has done more for his city in terms of lifting the popularity of the sport than any other fighter not named Pat Miletich. With so many MMA gyms and a host of top notch organizations like ICON Sport expect their ranking to climb in the coming years as they develop some of their young talent into tomorrow’s superstars.

3. Davenport, Iowa- I am sure it is no surprise that Davenport is on this list, but it may surprise some that it isn’t higher up. What separates Davenport from the two cities ranked higher is its lack of any big name events or shows. I hear that they are having difficulties getting MMA even sanctioned in Iowa which is unfortunate due to the wealth of talent they have there. I know that I don’t need remind all of you how much Pat Miletich has done for MMA or how much talent comes out of Miletich Fighting Systems but let me just give an abbreviated list of the many accomplished fighters and champions. Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn, Spencer Fisher, Robbie Lawler, Jason Black, Tony Fryklund, Drew McFedries, Josh Neer, Ben Rothwell, Bart Palazewski, Rory Markham, Ryan McGivern, Sam Hoger, Mike Ciesnolevicz, Laverne Clark. It’s hard to imagine MMA without these great athletes and although I find myself rooting against them more often than not, I have to give credit where credit is due.

2. Portland/Gresham, Oregon- This really should be a tie between Davenport and Portland, but with Portland hosting the IFL and countless Sportfight events, I gave them the nod for number two. Much like Davenport, it is hard to picture MMA without the contributions made by what is statistically the greatest fight camp in the world, Team Quest (go to sherdog to check the validity of this claim if you like). I know that Randy has recently moved from TQ and Portland to Las Vegas, and Dan Henderson has started up Team Quest Temecula, but both of these great champions spent the majority of their careers in their Gresham facility (a suburb of Portland). With names like Matt Lindland, Ed Herman, Matt Horwich, Josh Burkman, Chael Sonnen, Josh Haynes, Art Santore, Chris Wilson, Ryan Schultz, Heath Sims, and formerly Chris Leben and Nate Quarry all making names for themselves in the world of MMA, I can’t even say Portland without thinking MMA. With more MMA gyms there than you can count, I see Portland continuing their strong presence in the world on MMA and my sources tell me Portland will finally host a UFC event in 2008.

1. Las Vegas, Nevada- I’m not sure I need to justify this pick, but without Las Vegas sanctioning the sport in its infancy despite the pressure from politicians like John McCain, there would be no UFC and no MMA here in the states. Las Vegas not only hosts the biggest and baddest events year after year but many fighters like Randy Couture and Forrest Griffin have flocked there to train and I expect this trend to continue….oh, how I love Las Vegas.

Coming Soon…top MMA cities in the world!