To check out audio of the UFC 85 conference call with Matt Hughes and  Thiago Alves, click here.

When former UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell was forced to pull out of his fight against TUF 2 winner Rashad Evans, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes stepped in to take on Thiago Alves in the main event of UFC 85 on Saturday at noon on pay-per-view from O2 Arena in London England.

The UFC held a conference call last week and Hughes and Alves discussed their welterweight showdown.

Here is what the fighters had to say:

MATT HUGHES

On how he compares Alves to some of the other fighters he's faced:

"Thiago has very good takedown defense and he does a good job mixing up his striking with his defense, so that is one thing I really have to be aware of. But I can be relentless. B.J. Penn is a very hard person to take down and I got him to the ground. That's just one thing. I can't depend on that first move to get Thiago down. I gotta look at that second, third and fourth move to possibly take Thiago down. So that's what I'm looking at. It's not just hitting one move, but setting things up and look down the road for that takedown."

On if he will have an edge in cardio because of his experience in 5-round fights:

"I'm not counting on that. Like Thiago mentioned earlier, he's coming off a fight here pretty recently. he was already in shape when he got the call to take the fight."

On if he has turned into the gatekeeper for the 170-pound division:

"Not really. I just figure the UFC needed somebody to step in and take the lead role for this event in England. Chuck got hurt. They looked at Thiago and I to take the fight, so that's why I did it. I don't see this as a gatekeeper type of thing. I think the UFC needed somebody to be the main event, so that's the way I see it."

On taking a fight against Matt Serra next and possibly needing a few more wins to get back into title contention:

"I'm not worried about that. Right now, I'm not even worried about Matt Serra. I'm worried about Thiago. Thiago is not looking down the road. He already has me right now. As far as what comes after the Serra fight or if the Serra fight even comes about, what I'm worried about right now, and what I'm ready to talk about right now is Thiago."

On his thoughts about Jens Pulver's fight against Urijah Faber:

"I know that Jens is going to have his hands full. Jens has been in those situations before. When he fought B.J. the first time, the odds were stacked against him and he came out on top. No matter what happens in that fight, Jens will bring his A game and be there to fight. Win, lose or draw, Jens is going to put on an exciting event on, no doubt about it, he always does. I definitely think Jens has some things in his favor. It will be very interesting for me to watch.

"Right now, I'm out on the East Coast. Robbie Lawler has a fight (this past) Saturday, and I won't be able to go to Jens' fight. If I could, I would be there to support him, but I'm not. I'll definitely watch on TV and support him that way.

"I can't tell you what is going to happen to be honest. I have not trained with Jens for this fight nor have I been around him much. Jens is definitely going to be looking to knock him out."

On how Lawler has been looking:

"He's looking great. He's down to 183 or something, right now. It's been great for me to get ready for my fight. You got two teammates like Robbie and I and how close we are in weight, it really works out good. I always got somebody to push me and I'm going to push him to get ready for his fight. It's just great having people like that in the gym getting ready at the same time."'

(Note: Lawler's fight against Scott Smith ended in a no-contest after an accidental eye poke at "CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights" on Saturday in Newark, N.J., and Pulver lost a unanimous decision to WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber at WEC 34 on Sunday in Sacramento)

On the UFC expanding to Europe:

"The UFC keeps expanding all across the world. It's great for everybody. Obviously, it's great for me. On the personal side, the more the UFC expands, the more hits I'm going to get on my web site, the more stuff I'm going to sell. And also it's good for the UFC because they are going to have more pay-per-view buys, more fans buying their products and stuff like that. It's good for everybody and the better off we'll be down the road."'

On being the elder statesman of the UFC:

"(Laughs) How did I know you were getting to the fact of calling me old or an elder or something? I'm 34 years old and I'm definitely not done, yet. Randy (Couture) is 43. If I was 43, I'd be looking at retirement. But he's not looking at retirement. He's looking at a couple more fights. I'm very healthy, right now. I actually feel great.

"If I get a win over Thiago, it would be a great win for me. Sometimes people try to say, 'Hey Matt, you've won the title nine times, you can't gain abything by beating somebody.' I disagree. I think a win over Thiago is definitely something I am going to put on my resume as a fighter.

"I still got many fights left in me. I've got two more fights on my contract, counting the Thiago fight. By no means am I going to retire before my contract is over. I'm probably not going to retire afterwards. I just feel I have three or four fights left in me. I'm healthy right now. No aches or pains. No nagging injuries. I just feel great. I got many more fights under my belt. Like I said before, Thiago is a great opponent. He's somebody that if I get a win over, I'm definitely going to put that on my resume. He just knocked out Karo Parisyan, who had never been knocked out."

On if he has that label as the UFC's veteran who has been through the most:

"It kind of puts a target on your back. I don't need that, but on a piece of a paper if you compare me to everybody else in the division, I'm definitely the veteran. I've been there longer than anybody. But that's fine. Like I said before, I feel great. I definitely don't feel like I'm 34, more like 24. People label me the veteran, and that's part of it, but that's not how it is to me."

On the rumors that his twin brother, Mark, might be fighting in the UFC soon:

"This is an unexpected question. I do know Mark is close to signing a contract with the UFC where he won't compete for anybody else. That would be right here coming up. That's all I can really tell you and comment on. There is no fight scheduled. He is going to sign a contract with the UFC to fight for them and nobody else.

"We've tried that (fighting on the same card with his brother) in the past with the old owners and they never went for it. But that was six or seven years ago probabaly. We'll just see what comes out of it. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Hopefully, if it does, it will be in the Midwest somewhere."

On his next fight possibly being against Serra:

"I was actually expecting my next fight to be against Serra and then (UFC president) Dana (White) called me about this. My first thing was if I take the fight, will my first fight after this be against Serra? And he said, 'Yes.' Like I said earlier, I'm not worried about Serra, right now. I'm not worried abbout who is after Serra. What I'm worried about is Thiago like I'm sure he is putting his full effort into me."

On his memories about fighting in London:

"To be honest, it was a lot like fighting in the United States. I didn't get out of the hotel a lot. It's not a big change for me. The only thing is you have to fight a couple more hours across the Atlantic and that's about it. Other thana that, it's really no disruption to me whatsoever."

On his thoughts about Jon Fitch vs. Georges St. Pierre:

"You know, GSP really mixes his striking and his NHB and his MMA with his wrestling. It could go a lot like (St. Pierre's fight against Josh) Koscheck. I just don't think Fitch has the wrestling ability to really do anything to GSP. If you look at Fitch's resume, he's not an outstanding wrestler at all. He doesn't have near the records or titles that Koscheck does. And GSP absolutely killed Koscheck in the wrestling realm. To be honest, I kind of see GSP as being a very heavy favorite in the fight."

On the possibility of another fight against St. Pierre:

"It could very well be. If I beat Thiago and I beat (Serra), I could be up there. I would have beaten on of the biggest up-and-comers in Thiago and the former champion Matt Serra. You'd think I would possibly get a title shot, but like I said before, that's not what I'm worried about right now. What I'm worried about is getting my hand raised against Thiago."

On Tito Ortiz's comments about unfair fighter pay in the UFC:

"To be honest, I've been busy training and I got some partners that have some big fights coming up, so I really haven't gotten to see that. I really don't know what you are talking about."

On Lawler's development since his UFC days:

"What made Robbie so much better is just Robbie. The fact that he has matured. Yes, he is in a good environment to get better. But Robbie just growing up has been the best thing for him. I can't take the credit for Robbie being who he is today and I don't think my gym can take the credit. I think Robbie takes the credit here.

THIAGO ALVES

On taking the fight against Hughes on short notice and whether it might have been better to have more time to prepare for him:

"No. I mean, I just came from my last fight on April 2, so I had plenty of time. I had five weeks. I was in shape already. I think it was perfect timing."

On if five weeks is enough time to strategize:

"Well, Matt Hughes is a legend. I've been watching him fight forever. I mean, I pretty much have seen all his fights. It wasn't that hard to see all his fights and come up with a game plan."

On if there are any adjustments he has to make by fighting in Europe:

"I mean, not really. You gotta get there a couple of days early to prepare and get adjusted to the time and that's it."

On how he anticipates the fight will go against Hughes:

"Every fight is a different strategy. Everybody has their own style and Matt Hughes has his, so I have to prepare myself."

On how he compares Hughes' abilities with Karo Parisyan and Jon Fitch:

"Well, Matt Hughes is a wrestler, so he has many different takedowns. He's a strong guy and he's been in the game forever. I just have to prepare myself for everything. I'm on top of my game."

On fighting a legend in the sport:

"It's a pleasure. I have been waiting for this fight for a long, long time and I can't wait."

On the biggest concern with dealing with Hughes:

"Matt Hughes is known to be a great wrestler and great grappler and the most dominant welterweight of all-time. You gotta be careful with his wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu."

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