Simpson Praises Schafer’s Jiu-Jitsu

Ahead of the matchup, Simpson (Pictures) joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to discuss Schafer and also who will win the UFC 136 main event between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard.

On Schafer’s jiu-jitsu compared to his own: “He’s a black belt, right? I’m a white belt. There’s the difference right there. His jiu-jitsu is top-notch. It’s top-notch for the UFC. He’s very impressive. I’m working towards it. I grapple every day against great guys like C.B. Dollaway and [Ryan] Bader … but it’s nowhere near his if we were going to go just straight grappling. Luckily we get to throw punches and get to wrestle too a little bit.”

On whether he can sit in Schafer’s guard and strike: “I definitely can. I feel very good in there. If need be, that’s where I’ll take the fight. If I need to stand with him, I’ll stand with him. That’s the good thing about having a wrestling background. I feel like I can dictate where we go. I feel like I can stop him from taking me down at any time and I can get a takedown or keep it standing.”

On the challenges Schafer poses: “He does provide a unique test in that he’s got great jiu-jitsu and he’s cutting down from 205. He’s a big dude, but I’ve fought big dudes. [Brad] Tavares was, from what I hear, 211 when we fought and I was probably 191 pounds. He had 20 pounds on me in that fight. Before that I fought a big, tall guy in Mario Miranda, and he’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu. It’s another good test for me.”

On teammate Ryan Bader having already fought Schafer for 15 minutes: “We’ve talked about it and we’ve watched video and really got a pretty good game plan … . It’s just a matter of going out and getting a win. I’ve got to go get a win now. That’s the plan.”

On his bout’s placement on the UFC 136 card: “Hopefully I’m moving up. I dropped from fighting Mark Munoz to like the first fight up in Seattle. Joe Silva and them, they punished me a little bit and put me down the lineup, but rightfully so. I lost and I’ve got to work my way up. Hopefully I’m fourth or fifth on the card now.”

On who will win between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard: “I think that [Maynard] won the last fight, although Frankie was ultimately maybe the most impressive of the night, to take that beating in the first round and come back and take it to a [draw]. I do think Gray is going to get it done this time. I think he knows how to beat him. He knows what he needs to do, and I think he’ll get it done. But Frankie’s pretty unbelievable himself.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 30:30).