B/R Road Report: UFC Fight Night 21 Post-Fight Press Conference Notes

Nothing notable for quotes or news coming out of the UFC Fight Night 21 post-fight presser. Regardless, here are the highlights.

There was no Dana White, even though he was at the event.

Bonuses

- Fight of the Night: Ross Pearson and Dennis Siver - $30k each

- Knockout of the Night: Roy Nelson - $30k

- Submission of the Night: Kenny Florian - $30k

Attendance/Live Gate

- 7700/$590,685. Arena was said to be really happy with the turnout.

Roy Nelson

- Nelson said that it felt great to win, but he didn’t execute anything he had worked on. He said he’d save his ninja techniques for another time. With Struve’s height, it was tough to gauge because of his long arms.

- He said the power outage mentally didn’t change anything for him; it was more physical as you get cold pretty fast. He joked maybe it was a sign the lights went out.

- Nelson talked about the long-rumored James Toney fight. He initially said that he’d like to see it and that he is fine with beating up Youtube guys. Then, he said he really wants to fight the best in the world and it’s not a fight he’d want to see.

- He said he’s under contract though, so it might be Toney.

Jorge Rivera

- Said the game plan went exactly as they expected. He’s got a lot to improve on, but was happy and wants to push hard to be on the Boston event in August.

- Said the game plan was to use a lot of fakes. Said Quarry’s leg kicks hurt more than he expected.

- He said he felt like he was faster than Quarry was. He wanted to get Quarry in his range and dictate the pace.

- On why he didn’t finish Quarry in the first, Rivera admitted that he got tired and that it was something he needed to work on. He just wanted to keep the pressure on.

- On Boston, Quarry said he would let Joe Silva figure that out. Ultimately, he wants a good hard fight. He understands the business he is in, which is entertainment.

- He has won three fights in a row and is very happy with what’s going on with his career right now. He said he is going to surprise some people. He’s come a long way since having some personal/business issues.

- Rivera said that he wanted that KO of the Night Bonus.

Ross Pearson

- He felt good going in and said that Siver is an awful tricky fighter. He mentioned the spinning back kicks as being tough. He was well-prepared to go three rounds and if it was a title fight, he would have gone five.

- He feels like the first round is always his weakest round. He didn’t want to rush into anything and revealed that the spin kick wasn’t flush but that it hurt.

- Cardio is a big strength of his, thanks to his conditioning coach who puts them through hell. He likes looking over and seeing his opponent looking for water and gulping for air, while he feels good.

- He talked about how it was a tough week with the Dan Hardy loss, but that ultimately he has to concentrate on what he has to do.

- Overall, he is excited about his career and can’t believe where it has gone from fighting in the UK to fighting in North Carolina on a UFC card. He said it’s almost going too fast and wants it to slow down a bit. He hopes to stay injury free and fight for the next 10 years.

- Said it was an awesome reception from the US fans. They’ve picked up on him and he doesn’t know why. Maybe because he is humble and a working class kind of guy.

- On the spinning back kick: It did catch him a little bit and it did hurt. He wanted to get in close and wanted to hurt him. Said Siver was faster than what he thought he would be. Sometimes, he gets hit and it kicks your backside and wakes you up a little bit.

- He had no immediate plans for his bonus, but that it may go toward a house as he still lives with his parents. He was going to party tonight.

Roy Nelson

- Was asked about his look and Nelson asked who has an issue with it: the opponents or the fans? He feels it is more media than opponents and that it’s the media that has a problem because they are usually just typing.

- Said that his training garage is now officially called The Country Club, not just a garage.

- He doesn’t hear much negative from the fans, even after beating Slice. He doesn’t hear a lot of hatred from fans, mostly just from the media. He really doesn’t care and as long as people are talking about him, that’s a good thing.

- On his body type, he said that Tank Abbott was a hero to everyone, but he just couldn’t fight. The difference is that Nelson can fight.

Kenny Florian

- He felt like it was a success. He definitely got to work the jab. He just wanted to be patient and wait and not make any mistakes. He thought he was successful at that.

- There were other things he wanted to do. His goal is to make small improvements every day. He said he has the best coaches.

- You can’t take anyone too lightly and to do that with Takanori Gomi would have been a mistake. He thought we saw a motivated Gomi. He had to be aware and be sharp through the fight.

- Overall, he said it just happened to be my night. He wanted to go out there and have fun. Tonight was his night. He put over Gomi pretty strong.

- He didn’t want to force anything and take what Gomi gave him. He wanted to stay low, but that because Gomi stays low, it’s tough to do that with him. He thought part of Gomi’s plan was to take Florian down as well.

- Eventually, Gomi decided to go upright and he opened him up with striking. He was able to change levels and take him down. At the elite level, one mistake can be the difference.

- He feels his top game is very sharp and that he’s been working a lot on guard from the bottom. His brother Keith is very detailed oriented and that was probably the worst position for Gomi to be in this fight. He kept pressuring and was hoping Gomi would make mistakes. He went to Renzo Gracie’s in NY to do some training.

- Said he doesn’t know where he’s at on his career. There are some things he has to work on. He is slowly changing some things around. His goal is to compete with the elite and not just be one of the best, but to be the best.

- He doesn’t really pay attention to fan complaints about things like Gomi’s current level. Gomi is a tough fighter and it happened to be his night. Fans are like that. If you lose, you stink. If you win, you’re the best. He knew he was in there with a former champion.

- He felt Florian’s power and that there was no doubt he’s among the most dangerous guys he has face. To him, Gomi had knocked out and fought some unbelievable fighters. He was excited to face a guy like that.

- On whether Gomi had first UFC fight jitters, maybe a little bit. He sensed early that Gomi was nervous but that so was he. The key is for it not to control you. He gave Gomi credit for going to a difference country with a different language and a different environment in a different arena. It’s tough for a fighter to do that and make the challenge. Gomi came to the best organization and fought him. It was a honor and that if you want to be a legend, you have to beat legends.

- Said that along with BJ Penn, Gomi was one of his toughest opponents.

- As far as future matchups, he mentioned Gray Maynard who had said he wanted the winner of this fight. Also said Penn is still out there, but he wants to face a tough guy….the elite guys.

- Said that he is asked about fighting in Boston in August every single day, but that he was just trying to just focus on the Gomi fight. Now that’s over, he can look forward to the future and getting on that show. To fight in front of his hometown fans would be another amazing step on his journey. It would be a dream fight for him. He joked that he is not excited for the calls for tickets.

- Said the five months between now and August would be perfect. He’s taking a Carribean vacation for the first time–his first vacation in five years–and was going to just relax on the beach.

That concludes our UFC Fight Night 21 Event Coverage.

Wednesday: UFC Fight Night 21 Cageside Live Blog

Wednesday: Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve Got The Look

Tuesday: Kenny Florian, Takanori Gomi look for redemption

Monday: Observations From Media Day

Josh Nason is a freelance MMA writer who has contributed to Bleacher Report, FIGHT! Magazine, MMA Madness.com, and others. He has been in Charlotte, NC, all week for UFC Fight Night 21, posting new stories daily. He's going to go to bed now. 

Follow him on Twitter: @joshnason.