UFC 299: Pre-Fight Press Conference

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sh m is an absolute star this guy's

special Al came off at Dana White's

Contender series back in 2017 oh that is

it the sugar show all systems go ever

since he has taken this sport by storm

he slept in bed he's got that it Factor

but more important than anything this

guy can

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fight the sugar show this is just the

beginning of the sugar erao where you

are Marlin Sho Vera this is the most

decorated finisher in UFC bantamweight

history and he's the only man with a

professional Victory against sha Ali

oh something's wrong with Al's leg yep

his right

leg another ITC to

the I won the fight but I'm going to K

his house again he got super lucky he

knows it I'm going knock him

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out knocking people unconscious Marin

Cheo he's one of the most dangerous any

and he will put you off start up we fin

the diamond of Lafayette

Louisiana por a certified UFC Legend Ben

we're looking at a future star in the

lwe division I'm coming for

everybody a lot of fans wonder if this

would ever happen without a doubt that

man is the guy we want to

see he's taking on Kevin Holland he is

one of the most complete mixed martial

artists in the game he can be a real

problem for anyone in the division the

UFC's returned to Miami keep it

going let's go

baby welcome to the UFC 299 press

conference in Miami ladies and gentlemen

you are in for a treat because we have

one of the most stacked fight cards of

the year for you on Saturday night let's

start with our main card opener in the

Phantom weight division to the stage

first one of the the most devastating

Strikers at 135 lbs he already has five

Knockouts in the UFC the third most in

bantamweight history at just 26 years

old please welcome the kung fu kid Sona

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do and his opponent a former Champion

coming back to reclaim his throne he

uses a combination of crisp boxing and

elite wrestling to break his opponent's

will he holds wins over Legends like

Jose Aldo and Uriah Faber put your hands

together for pter No Mercy

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Yan moving on to our next fight in the

welterweight division up first coming

all the way from Down Under to try and

take a spot in the top 10 of 170 lbs a

Brute Force brawler who's been storming

through his division with 16 straight

wins please welcome Jack Dela

Melina and across the Octagon on

Saturday night a former title Challenger

who has proved to be one of this

division's toughest tests he throws

bombs on the feet with his hands and has

one of the best submission games in the

world please welcome the fourth ranked

welterweight in the world Gilbert

darinho

[Applause]

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Birds

and another mustsee matchup at 170 lbs

one of the most exciting Strikers in the

world is coming to the UFC to test

himself against the best don't blink or

you might end up as his next viral

knockout victim please welcome for the

first time

MVP Michael Venom

[Applause]

Pig

and his opponent entertaining the masses

since the first time he stepped foot in

the Octagon a freestyle fighter who can

put you out on the feet or the ground he

doesn't just talk the talk he backs it

up every time he makes the walk here is

the ever popular Kevin the Trailblazer

Holland and now for our five round

co-main event up first to the stage a

friendch fighter that comes into

Saturday with all the momentum five

straight wins all by devastating finish

now he looks to break his way into title

contention with a win over one of the

legends of the sport please welcome

penois

Sandi standing across from him on

Saturday night a future UFC Hall of

Famer whose Legacy has already been

cemented 22 wins by stoppage in 29

career wins a former UFC interim

lightweight champion he holds wins over

Legends like Conor McGregor Justin gatei

and Max Holloway training out of South

Florida here is Dustin the Diamond

[Applause]

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hoier and now we settle the score in our

main event a rematch four years in the

making up to the stage first he is one

of the most dangerous dous and durable

fighters in the sport he has the most

finishes in UFC bantamweight history and

with a win on Saturday night can become

the first Ecuadorian born champion in

UFC history please welcome the

Challenger Marlin Chito

Vera and standing across the Octagon one

of the brightest stars in the sport he

has captured the attention of fans all

over the world world with his flashy

style and even flashier Knockouts a

combination of speed and power that the

bantamweight division has yet to see

eight performances of the night bonuses

and 11 UFC fights now looking to make

the First Defense of his bantamweight

title ladies and gentlemen here is the

UFC bantamweight champion of the world

sugar

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Sha what's up Miami how are you guys

today thanks for coming out we

appreciate it it's good to be back who's

got the first

question start with the champ please

Sean you know you said quite a bit along

the way that the result of that first

fight between you two never really

mattered it hasn't held over you but

given some of the emotion this week some

of the exchanges this week what is this

fight mean to you now and how important

is it for you to get this win on

Saturday yeah I'm very calm going into

this fight you know it's easy to be calm

when you know you're going to knock

someone the

out and you said it this is a big fight

and it's got that big fight feel I mean

technically there is one result so given

how big this is you win on Saturday is

there a need to do this a third time

down the road to make sure that there's

no question about the history of this

series

[Applause]

I wouldn't mind knocking him out two

times fair enough Cheeto I'll ask

you you're the only man that's ever had

your hand raised against him I know

there's some question about how the

fight went down Etc but how does that

factor into this knowing that you've

been in there and been able to walk away

with a

victory H say that again yeah mentally

psychologically how much does that first

result factor into this fight knowing

that you do have a win over

shaal oh man I'm ready to go I'm healthy

I'm happy I've been doing everything I

had the long row but I'm here and I'm

going to dig dig for that

goal and last thing Cheeto I know it's

tough for us to hear you tough for you

to hear us just can you tell us what

this would mean to Man 10 years in the

UFC chasing this opportunity you have

become a superstar the crowd is here for

you what would winning the title mean

for you this is lifechanging opportunity

I work so hard for this moment it's been

10 years in the company and I been love

every single second of my career and I'm

glad I'm fighting for the UFC goal I

love to be

here who's got the next question go

ahead question for Dustin porier

Straight Ahead DUS

I think you can hear

me obviously you're from Louisiana but

you call South Florida your home in Camp

so I guess when they announced they were

returning to Miami how important was it

for you specifically to be on this card

and represent for South Florida yeah

this is my second home man I lived here

for 6 years uh it's a short flight

across the gulf Louisiana to here I'm

representing Louisiana here representing

Florida here get ready

man and obviously for years you were you

were the one you know you wanted your

shot against these guys and then

eventually you got it and then it's been

it's been Main Events and title fights

for you from that point on benois is in

that same position now where he wants

his shot against you so what type of

fight are you expecting from him when

you do get ready for your five round

co-main event on Saturday he's gritty

you know he he I'm I'm it's going to be

War you know this guy has finished his

last five opponents I'm coming to finish

him he's going to do the same it's going

to be crazy just just enjoy the show

similar question for benois obviously

this is your first round fight and

you're fighting a guy like Dustin who's

fought in like the best lightweights

that I've ever been there so I'm curious

what are you expecting from Dustin in

there on

Saturday yeah it's a huge honor for me

to fight Dustin PO on this card it's in

home soil for him uh I prepare hard to

give him the the the biggest battle we

can have and uh the better fighter will

win and it will happen Saturday night it

will be a bloody

war question for song up

here earlier earlier this week you

declared yourself the best boxer in the

bantamweight division P said at meia day

like let's see who is the best boxer

when he does face off with you so I'm

curious what do you expected from Peter

in there do you think he will stand in

there with you and just box

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uh

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he's a great fighter you know I'm also

honored to fight with him and he's a top

level former Champion but you know

everything can happen in the fight I'm

ready not not him out how about you what

do you think

Peter

[Applause]

hey guys in

Saturday I show him who is best boxer I

Ser an all in boxing I have a lot

fighters in boxing I smash this guy you

know thank you so

much question for this different

level question for Shan Al yesterday

Sean you asked the media to ask cheito

what you dm'd him he didn't tell us he

did say it was weird but he didn't tell

us can you clear up what exactly have

you guys been messaging about hey that's

up to him to tell you I might tweet it

later I don't know if he doesn't want to

tell you he doesn't got to I might tweet

it later we'll see question for MVP

Michael you're here in the big leagues

massive press conference I see you

enjoying the energy what is it like to

finally reach the UFC and be here at one

of these sort of

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days you know what all I can say right

now is wow the passion in here is

crazy

wow I'm going to I'm going to bring that

back to you don't worry Saturday night

I'm going to bring that back to you but

I just want to say UFC has a new

MVP for you Kevin obviously we've all

seen the highlights we've seen the knock

outs that mvp can do but how do you

think his wins over those Bal guys rank

against the guys you fought in the

UFC uh you

know they know we all know what the

difference is ask the boss what the

difference is it's a reason why

y'all pay for UFC fights and not

Bellator fights right I thought

so my first question is for Gilbert

Burns uh Gilbert I guess first off what

does it mean to hear to hear that

Ovation today after uh last time you

were here the crowd was a little more

split but pretty firmly behind you

today what was it like to hear that

Ovation when you walked out today I love

it I love

[Applause]

it we're going to put on a show Saturday

night we're going to put on a show make

sure you get your tickets show up it's

going to be an amazing card and and

Miami going to be one of the official

homes from the

UFC and you have a tough rising star in

Jack Del Melina in front of you have you

been impressed at what he's done so far

in the UFC for sure he's tough he beat

my guy Kevin Holland was a good fight

this guy tough and uh we're going to put

on a show Saturday night I like the guy

respect the guy very very tough it's

going to be a good fight and for Jack on

the flip side of that coin um walking

into hostile territory is this something

that is you going to have to block out

on Saturday or does that come easy to

you yeah I appreciate it you know and I

look forward to stealing all these fans

so on Saturday night and for you uh

Gilbert's always been at the top of this

division right in line for a title shot

for the last couple years so for you

what kind of statement would you make

with a win over him do you

think yeah big statement you know crew

right into their top five and

Bounds question for Dana Dana the

turnout in Miami here is always amazing

I mentioned this to you a while ago but

I'm going to ask you now is there an

opportunity that the UFC returns here

for UFC

305 I I'm literally standing here watch

this is one of the most electric press

conferences of all

time so Saturday night 13.6 $75 million

gate we broke our record from last time

the highest gate ever in the arena

history Miami you are awesome thank

you question for shaali it's a rare

occasion where you're not unanimously

the fan favorite how do you deal with

that and is that extra motivation for

Saturday night cheeto a pinata

Peter Yan's one fight away from bare

knuckle boxing and mor Rob's knows more

crooked than Joe Biden let's go

[Applause]

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baby there's no pressure I'm ready on

Saturday to become the world champion

[Applause]

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for

you're a veteran and you're coming in

and facing a guy who's coming up and a

lot of times veterans don't like that

position are you okay with this fight

yeah for

sure Portuguese

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Portugues

it's a tough fight you know it wasn't a

hard decision at all to accept this

fight I'm coming off a loss so I need a

win to get to the belt so as soon as he

offered it to me I said

yes

you said during this week that you need

to listen to your body you know we saw

you last year having three fights in

five months and you said that you you

need to take some time but I'll ask you

right now is it possible to see you in

UFC

Rio yeah if everything goes good on

Saturday theya give a good oppon if

everything goes good yeah we think about

Rio but main focus is going to be Jack

madalina Saturday night

go ahead John Bernard with KO Sports

this one's for Shawn sha Cheeto said his

game plan is to go straight for your

legs what are your thoughts on his game

plan and are you prepared for his leg

kicks to avoid what happened in the

first fight I'm going to just kick him

in the lips baby you can kick my legs

all he want but my my legs are going to

be on his chin

so another one for Cheeto Cheeto we've

saw what's happened throughout the week

he's called you out in the hotel he's

sending you

DMS what are your thoughts on that and

do you think he's playing mind games to

throw you off your

fight everything is mental in life I'm

prepared I'm ready I'm feeling good and

honestly it's how you handle it the rest

the

noise and last one for Dana this is one

of the most Stacked Cards of the year

was it difficult to put on a show for

UFC 300 with such a stack 298 and

299 I mean that's this year when you

look at how this year played out I love

the card nanahe too this is a great card

we got 300 we got International fight

week and then we got the sphere and then

when you see the stuff that we have

lined up for the end of this year too I

know we say this every year but this

might be the baddest year ever in in in

the history of the company

so here we go it's all good

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go ahead

Siro represent am

Latina

[Applause]

fore

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the first

question it's been four years since your

first fight with Sean he's been saying

that it's it was pure luck what do you

have to say about that Jito says you

know luck is as you created you created

with a lot of hard work you created in

the gym and let's have some luck

[Applause]

again

[Applause]

Ahri

[Applause]

I came here to be the UFC world champion

I prepared for everything so I'm going

to be the world champion on Saturday

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right now I have this fight to focus in

front of me we'll see what happens after

go ahead sir our questions for so this

isig

China so uh moments ago P said he's in

the fight he's going to SM you but what

you saw what kind of technique you want

to show to the war show to the

peteran you know Peter is tough but I'm

tougher I'm knock him out 39 you guys

will say time will

tell

a couple years ago you fought was Cheeto

and you want to fight and now he's to

become the new Challenger for the title

what you saw about

Cheetos he Cheeto it's time to book a

fight please win the fight and count me

out

okay focus on your fight

first no don't don't turn to wipe your

eyes before you take a sh you don't

ain't winning this no I might as well

not talk about

[Music]

this and soon so you are you are one of

the most potential fighters in this

world so anything that you want to say

to you know to the Miami fans to the to

the fans around the

world what's up Miami I'm

coming welcome K

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you all right last question right here

where are

you

[Applause]

that

good go ahead ma'am is

you go ahead okay

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okay

I prra I'm very strong and I'm going to

take his head

off Miami you're incredible I can't wait

for Saturday night thanks for coming out

[Applause]

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today

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never happen through there buddy I can

cut you a little bit

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here

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nothing B first oh yeah you he about

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that

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hey bre

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thank you boys appreciate it have a

great

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day

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l

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B

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yeah

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on

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Shan Ali is certainly taken the MMA

World by storm and tonight the sugar

show takes on what most people believe

is his toughest test to date Cheo ver

the real threat in this division to

anybody including sha Ali I felt

confident he felt slow I feel like I was

piecing him up he threw a kick and his

toe hit my perennial nerve completely

shut down

something's wrong with Al's leg yep his

right leg we'll hear about it in the

corner if he gets there oh huge elbow

fromo another

one Marin Vera stops the sugar show in

round one my show baby I beat him I

knock him out and I know he's been

saying for the last three years that he

didn't lost but he wasn't sleeping when

I was El with him the face so I won the

fight

W that got super lucky he knows it

that's just it is what it is nine out of

10 times I smoked this

dude it'll all be four years by the time

we Rumble again and I've improved a

lot CH Ali continues to up the Andy

every time he steps in there the way

that he mixes up his attacks is second

to none his angles his Precision he is a

sniper dedicated my life to this sport I

know you guys see the hair the beautiful

pink Lamborghini the houses and all the

fun stuff but I'm grinding I'm in the

gym every single day so I can come out

here and

[Applause]

win Ohi trying to close it out here that

will do it the sugar show on top of the

world and new bantamweight champ Shadow

melli wow I want to be considered one of