[Blog] "Strikeforce: Evolution" conference call quotes & audio with Le, Smith, Thomson, Melende...: "Strikeforce: Evolution" takes place on Dec. 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Headlining the card will  be Actor/MMA fighter extraordinaire and former Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le, taking on Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith.

Both Le and Smith, along with Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, and his opponent, Josh Thomson, all took part in a media conference call today to help promote the event. Below are some quotes from the call as well as the audio*.

Strikeforce: Evolution conference call (audio):
[podcast]http://promma.info/audio/strikeforceevolution.mp3[/podcast]

Quotes from conference call after the jump...

Cung Le
This was sooner than I expected. I was planning on returning next year, but my movie project got pushed back.

I'm just going to do one fight at a time right now. After that fight I will see what's going on.

I'm focused and dedicated in whatever I do and it's all mental for me. [balancing acting with fighting]

I think a lot of Hollywood producers are taking chances on MMA fighters because of their status and how popular the sport is getting.

It was really hard to vacate the belt, but I felt it was the honorable thing to do.... I made a commitment to Scott Coker to fight when I'm not doing a movie project, so I'm back.

I'm a martial artist first [before being an actor], I love to compete, and I know I can't do it forever.

I've got Scott Smith in front of me right now, that's all I can focus on. I've got tunnel vision, sorry. [asked if he would like to fight Dan Henderson]
Scott Smith
I think both of our ground games are a little underrated.

If I get in trouble standing up, I can't be afraid to take it to the ground.

The chances of it going to the ground I think are slim to none...
Josh Thomson
Gilbert I think is a new fighter... I'm not really looking at the last fight as a measuring stick whatsoever.... This is a different Gilbert.

I'm telling you right now, I'm 100%, I'm ready to fight, and I'm ready to take my title back home. If he beats me, it's because he was a better fighter that night.
Gilbert Melendez
There's no question I'm here to win... More than anything, I just want to perform different than I did last time... The main thing I learned is I wanna be a fighter.

I know Josh was injured for sure. I know that people talk crap, but I never buy into it.

I love fighting at home, in my own backyard [HP Pavilion]. I get to wake up in my own bed...
Mike Afromowitz
It's a great addition to our roster. He's a great ambassador for the sport. [Dan Henderson]

Here is the full "Strikeforce: Evolution" card:

Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez
Matt Lindland vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
Scott Smith vs. Cung Le
Robbie Lawler vs. Trevor Prangley
Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead
Antwain Britt vs. Scott Lighty
Daisuke Nakamura vs. Bryan Travers
Juan Nunez vs. Luis Mendoza
Bobby Stack vs. Alexander Trevino
Alexander Crispim vs. AJ Fonseca

*Editor's Note: There's only about 14 minutes of audio because the battery died on our phone. If we obtain the full recording we will update the podc... -*http://promma.info/index.php/2009/12/09/strikeforce-evolution-conference-call-quotes-audio-with-le-smith-thomson-melendez/