On his nickname, “Big Frog” – “I have a tattoo of a frog on my bag. I was training with Pedro Sauer and some of the Brazilian guys thought I looked like a frog. They just starting calling me “Big Frog” and it kind of stuck.”
On the Faber hype machine – “I think he is overhyped a little but if he was based in the Midwest and fought the fighters he has, not everyone would know his name. But he is based in California. Don’t get me wrong -- he is totally legit, but he is over-hyped.”
On wrestling vs. jiu-jitsu – “Old-school jiu-jitsu works well against wrestling. It is the level of his wrestling that poses a threat. In jiu-jitsu, you have to relax and take your time. Sometimes wrestlers move too fast for their own good. [Faber] has been out of position before. I’d like to think that I could take advantage of that situation.”
On weathering Faber’s opening assault – “I’m going tight into the eye of the storm. I’m willing to take the fight to him. I don’t normally take that route, but I may have to chase the fight a bit. I won’t sit back and play defense in this fight.”
On his defensive style – “Something about me as a fighter is that I become calculated. I don’t mix it up too much. That is the conservative old-school me. It’s a matter of flipping a switch and letting it go. The timing is right and this specific opponent will allow me to attack. We both have a lot to prove to each other and to the fans.”
On Wednesday’s fight – “Both have a lot to prove to each other and to the fans. It’s something people haven’t seen me do. Against Barret Yoshida, I let my hands fly and got a knockout [on September 17, 2002 – Curran’s only KO]. With a lot of guys I’ve fought, it’s been survive and wait for my opportunity. It’s given me a lot of close decisions and submissions, but not many knockouts. I’ve been saving it all for Wednesday night.”
From
