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July News Part 1
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 7/13/01

Quote of the Day

Your incredible brain can take you from rags to riches, from loneliness to popularity and from depression to happiness and joy - if you use it properly.

Brian Tracy American Trainer, Speaker, Author, Businessman

Marcelo Tigre Interview on FCF

Chris did an inteview with Marcelo Tigre and asked him of his various plans on fighting, his upcoming match at Super Brawl, and his potential rematch with Egan. He even mentions a fight with Kimo. Check it out by clicking
here.

Some Sakuraba Info

I guess Sakuraba is a party animal (like some of us) and he reportedly drinks alcohol obsessively and party's a lot. He is said to have liver problems which is the reason why he is fighting a scrub in the next fight. The Japanese want him in Pride to draw the audiences. Here's some info I found interesting from Sherdog's Website.

Ever wonder why Sakuraba has "Saku 39" on his clothes? We all know his name is abbreviated "Saku" in Japanese, but what about the 39? He's not 39 years old, and he doesn't weigh 39 kg, so what does it mean?

The Japanese word for "3" is "san", and the Japanese word for "9" is "ku". "39" then becomes "Sanku" or "Saku."

Source: Sherdog's Website

Musashimaru Tied for First

Hawaii's Yokozuna, Fiamalu Penitani, is tied with Kaio for first at 6-0 at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in Japan.

 7/12/01

Quote of the Day

"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."

Abraham Lincoln
Sometimes it seems like I have too much time on my hands, but believe me, I have lost valuable sleep over this. And you can see that I kind of threw this together quickly. This is for the guys who asked how my puppy is doing. He has to be kept isolated until August, so I can't take him out until then. Click here to see a pictorial of "The Rock"

Super Brawl XXI Press Release

So far the tentative match-ups are:
1. David Yeung 150lbs 5'7" 150 lbs
(Muay Thai) 0-1
vs
Gabe Lemley 5'10" 145 lbs
(Team Extreme) 2-2

2. Iwi Kohanu 135 lbs
(Nova Uniao) 0-0
vs
Lincoln Tyler 5'6" 135 lbs
(Freelance) 3-1

3. Rick Graveson 5'10' 199 lbs
(Team Extreme)
vs
Paul Ano 5'10" 200 lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-0

4. Kim Morishita 150 lbs
(Maui) 2-0
vs
Gary Frietas 5'7" 150 lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 2-1-1

5. Ben Earwood 176 lbs
(Team Extreme) 6-2
vs
John Crisostomo 5'7" 176 lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 2-5

7. Dennis Reed 195 lbs
(Team Extreme)
vs
Niko Vitale 195 lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 5-1

8. Cabbage Caberra 6'3" 270 lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 0-2
vs
Marcelo Tiger 5'11" 205 lbs
(Team Tiger) 33-1

9. Mike Buntenbah 199 lbs
(Team Tiger)
vs
Egan Inoue 190 lbs
(Grappling Unlimited) 6-2

Super Brawl XXI
July 21, 2001
Neil Blaisdell Arena
Tickets on Sale Now!

Press Conference
24 Hour Fitness
1680 Kapiolani Blvd.
Monday, July 16, 2001
10:00 AM

102.7 Da Bomb

presents

Super Brawl XXI

"The Road to the Rematch!"

Egan Inoue and Marcelo Tiger will attend press conference at 24 Hour Fitness on Monday morning 10am!

Without a doubt, Extreme Sports Productions biggest event to date will take place Saturday night, July 21st, as local superstar, Egan Inoue and Brazilian Madman Marcelo Tiger will face his each others' toughest students at the Blaisdell Arena in "The Road to the Rematch!

Sparks will be sure to fly at the Press Luncheon which will be held at 1680 Kapiolani Blvd at 24 Hour Fitness on Monday morning at 10:00am as Egan Inoue and Marcelo Tiger are put in the same room for the first time in two years! All press must attend to pick up press credentials for the Saturday’s event.

The first time these two fighters were in the same building was in Super Brawl XII. Inoue took home the controversial DQ win as Tiger football kicked him in the head while Inoue was down at the beginning of the second round. The fight was filled with excitement. The first 7 minute of the fight was all Inoue. He landed kicks and punches at will, but was not able to finish the Brazilian phenom. As Egan ran out of gas, Marcelo came on strong finishing the first 10 minute round on Egan’s back pummeling his head. The beginning of the second round saw a visibly fatigued Inoue get knocked to the canvas and then kicked in the head by Marcelo. As Marcelo was celebrating, referee Matt Hume announced the disqualification of Tiger. It was then all hell broke loose with both fighter’s teams posturing and screaming at each other.

With the tension as high as it is, there will be extra security at the press conference. "This is just a press conference. I do my fighting in the ring, but believe me, I will walk in to 24 Hour Fitness ready for anything and so will my students!" Egan Inoue

Marcelo is looking forward to this meeting. "I want to look into his eyes. I think he is scared to fight me. I beat him up the first time and I look forward to doing it again! I want to fight him now! But if I must beat his student up first, that is just what I will do!"

Hawaii will also have the privilege of watching former UH football standout Falaniko Vitale make his return to the ring as he faces veteran fighter Dennis Reed from Iowa.

There will also be 8 under-card bouts featuring local and international fighters. See you at 24 Hour Fitness!

Tickets are available at the Blaisdell box office and all ticket outlets. Reserved seating tickets are $25 in advance and $29 the day of the show. There will also be a limited number of VIP ringside seats available for $50 each.

Pictures and Video Available upon request

T. Jay Thompson (808) 524-6062

 7/11/01

Quote of the Day

"Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger and we will make not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large."

Mahatma Gandhi

Fredson Alves Seminar
this Saturday, July 14, 2001

Just got word from our inside contact, who we will call T.T. Boy to protect his identity, Royler Gracie black belt and resident ass kicker, Fredson Alves will be doing 2 one hour seminars this Saturday at the Gracie Academy 844 Queen Street 589-2524 from 12:30-1:30PM (with the Gi) and 1:30-2:30PM (No Gi) Cost: $20 each seminar.

Each seminar is $20, which is a steal for a class with a guy of his caliber. Call the Gracie Academy at 589-2524 to reserve your spot. Fredson will be leaving for Brazil to compete in the Mundial next week so this may be the last time to catch him. He is an incredible technician and has made everyone improve 200%. Please come out and show him that we value him at our academy and, more importantly, give him a reason to come back after the mundial.

Fighter/Promoter Nightmare

There has been a lot of instances where a fighter gets stiffed by a promoter as well as a fighter being unreliable and putting the promoter in a bad spot. An incident recently happened regarding Travis Fulton, the Ironman of NHB, who probably still has the most professional fights, Dan Severn and the promoter of the IFC. Since everyone has had an opportunity to give their view of what happened, I will let the readers come to their own conclusions. Here are some sides of the story from people involved:

Point from IFC:

The IFC has suspended Travis Fulton and Dan Severn from fighting in any IFC events until further notice. Also, Ms. Becki Levi who functions as manager and second to Dan Severn has been suspended from further representation of fighters until further notice. The suspensions are effective immediately.

The suspensions are the result of an apparent violation of IFC rules about predetermining the outcome of a fight. During the fight between Severn and Fulton on June 30th, it became apparent to Referee Mason White that Travis Fulton was holding back from punching Dan Severn when Fulton had Severn in a full mount. Upon questioning following the fight, Fulton disclosed that prior to the fight Becki Levi approached him on behalf of Dan Severn. At that meeting, Levi told Fulton that they don't want this fight unless they get paid more money, Fulton claims that Levi said to go easy and guarantee Severn the victory or they would not fight. Fulton accepted.

Scott Adams, President of World Extreme Cagefighting, LLC., the promoters of the event, expressed his concern, “I spent hundreds of hours to ensure that I would have highly competitive matches. This is very important to me, for I intend to promote many future cards. The rules were given to and explained to each and every competitor. I condemn any type of prearranged outcome matches. I also condemn any alteration of rules at a sanctioned event without the pre-match approval of the sanctioning body. This is an insult to the fans and an embarrassment to each and every one of us in this great sport. I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am. I would never cheapen my love of the martial arts or dishonor my Bushido by ever knowingly staging a dishonest bout.

IFC Commissioner Paul Smith states, " We are withholding our final determination until Mr. Severn and Ms. Levi have the opportunity to respond. However, I will say that the IFC's position on fixing fights is a strong one. As a young sport we cannot afford to have the sort of activity that appeared to have occurred here take place. We have fought too long and too hard to have Mixed Martial Arts recognized as a legitimate sport. This type of activity taints all of us.'

Under IFC guidelines the fight could be called a no contest and the participants fined and suspended for up to a year for a first offense.

The IFC will make the Video of the event, available to all concerned parties including State Athletic Commissions, with a complete copy of all statements from the investigation.

Written By: Event Promoters


Counterpoint: Dan Severn/Becki Levi

Our statement:

“Our reputations in the sport as fighters, trainers, and promoters speaks for itself. Both of us our pioneers in the sport and have done nothing but promote this sport in a positive light. I do think it is a sad time for the sport when someone has to stoop to these lengths in a personal vendetta.”

Facts:

1. We were contacted sometime at the end of the week of June 4-8. To fight in the promoters words “a tomato can.”

2. Dan was to replace Lidell on the card as main event.

3. The flights were $1200 per person to the show. We offer to use frequent flyer miles for $1000 added to purse. Instead of the show paying $2400 for those tickets.

4. A friend of ours is a radio voice in Fresno area and he did a bunch of extra promotion for the show to get more bodies in the seats (at no additional cost to the promotion)

5. Dan was scheduled for 4 MMA fights in a row starting June 23 and continuing trough July 15. This fight was the second fight in the series.

6. We had to change our weekend schedule, we had driven to the Pocono Mountains. for a seminar and for Dan to be inducted into the World Karate Hall of Fame. On the day of the fight show, we flew out of Newark NJ to San Francisco. We got in at 3 pm and had a 4 hour drive to the Palace Casino in LeMoore, CA.

7. Upon phoning one of the promoters Reed Harris we find out that they are having problems with Dan’s opponent and may change it to Travis Fulton. We don’t have much choice at this point.

8.We get to the event and Reed Harris pays me (Becky Levi) Dan’s fee for the fight. We go to the dressing area. Dan wants me to find out if they changed his opponent. I found a lineup sheet and it says that Dan is fighting Travis in main event.

9.I then go to check out where warm up area etc was located. I see Travis and Bruce Nelson. Travis proceeds to tell me about why they changed the opponent. Supposedly he (Dan original opponent) was drinking and smoking at the casino and they took him off the card. I asked him if he was getting paid more to fight Dan and he said yes. I also asked him what the time on the rounds were, since we did not get any rules or regulations.

10. I then go to find Reed since the $ negotiated was to fight “a tomato can” and not a veteran like Travis. I am told that they are over budget and have no more money to pay out. He proceeds to tell me if he knew we would want more money he would never of changed the opponent. At this point we could have walked. We already had our pay in hand. But no, we are there to help these guys out and the sport. So we fight. No questions asked.

11. I then went to warm up area and chatted with a few other fighters and the Tap Out crew.

12. I went back to let Dan know that it was two five minute rounds.

13. The show is quick most fights are done in under 2 minutes. I also see that Dan’s former opponent is on the card fighting another fighter. I tell Dan to be ready since Gan McGee is up and he is fighting a much smaller opponent. It lasts 38 seconds. I guess the hours of matchmaking were spent on that fight.

14. Paul Smith comes into our dressing room and asks Dan how he feels about fighting Travis. Dan says he did not want to fight Travis due to the travel and shortness of preparation time. Why is Paul Smith coming into our dressing room in the first place? He is not the promoter of the show.

15. Dan signed a contract to fight Travis in Sept for Iowa Challenge. So Dan really did not want to fight this fight.

16. As Dan is entering the cage I find out that there are no knees to the head on the ground. So, I am yelling that into the cage. The (IFC) ref then goes over the rules. He then tells Dan about no elbows or knees to the head.

17. Dan utilizes knees and elbow smashes in all his fights. He uses these to set up the top wristlock.

18. We have been up for 20 hours at this point. Dan is very sluggish. He tries to utilize an elbow smash and gets warned by the ref. Now he can’t knee or elbow smash. What good it did for me to keep yelling that at him during the fight.

19. Dan gets in one bad position during the fight. He gets mounted by Travis. But, what they fail to tell you is that Dan did not let Travis create any space and he was to high from the start. As Travis tried to make a move Dan bridged and turned him.

20. Dan dominated the whole fight. I will say that he has two more fights to go in this series. He is not going to do anything stupid to hurt himself. He is the main event in two other upcoming shows.

21. He stayed for over one hour afterward and signed autographs for the fans.

22. We were invited to the casino to lunch with the sponsors of the show (by the event coordinator of the casino).

23. We were to have our room taken care of for both Saturday and Sunday. We were informed by the motel that the promoter did not pay for our rooms, that the casino paid for our Saturday night accommodations. If we wanted to stay Sunday we would have had to pay for the room ourselves. We decided to drive back to San Francisco (4 hours) since we had an early flight the next morning, having to pay the expenses ourselves.

24. Sometime in the early evening on Sunday Scott Adams calls me and accuses us of doing a predetermined match with Travis. Basically, Scott Adams says that Travis Fulton told Paul Smith that the fight was a work.

25. I told him about the elbow warning etc. Dan hardly ever hits anyone with a closed fist. I also told him that Dan is not out to hurt anyone. He has always been that way.

26. I ask him if he spoke with Travis and he said yes. Said that Travis denies it. He said he did not believe him.

27. This was a World Extreme Cage Fighting show to our knowledge and not an IFC show. We were told by Scott Adams over the phone that the event was sanctioned by the IFC. To our knowledge who is the IFC to sanction any fight promotion? Especially when the show was on sovereign land and did not need to be sanctioned at all.

The IFC has a problem with our fight promotion The Danger Zone. Were represent competition. The IFC also owes Dan money from a previous seminar Dan did with Joe Lewis at one of their IFC events, not to mention a demonstration Dan did at yet another IFC show that Dan was not compensated for.

The Shooting Star Casino and 4 Bears Casino are two casinos that the IFC formerly had shows at. The Danger Zone took over at both those locations due to problems with the IFC. The former marketing director at the Shooting Star Casino, Mr. Bernie Fox moved back to 4 Bears Casino as co-general manager. You may contact him to find out why the IFC is no longer running fight shows there. His number is 800-294-5454.

The IFC is no longer running shows at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. The Tropicana is looking for other promotions to come in. The IFC told the event coordinator at the Tropicana that The Danger Zone had gotten Mr. Bernie Fox fired because our show was so bad at the Shooting Star Casino. On the contrary, Mr. Bernie Fox was promoted to co-general manager at 4 Bears Casino.

In conclusion, we (Becky Levi and Dan Severn of The Danger Zone fight company) reserve the right to add additional information as it arises. We will not put it in print unless it is a fact, and not something fabricated to hurt or slander individual reputations or the fight industry as a whole.

We can be reached at The Danger Zone 517-278-4908 or severndd@cbpu.com.

Submitted By: Becky Levi and Dan Severn

Counterpoint: Travis Fulton

Around June 1st Paul Smith of the IFC called me up and asked if I would like to fight Chuck Liddell in some new organization being promoted by Scott Adams. I said sure. I was told what I was going to get paid, and I was fine with that. Then Paul Smith made a deal with Scott Adams that if he paid for my plane ticket and brought me out weeks earlier to fight in the IFC, Paul would put me up in a hotel for the next two weeks. I make pretty good money driving a dump truck, so I made a deal with Paul that he would have to pay for all of my food as well, so I didn't lose money by staying out there for two weeks. Paul agreed thinking that he had just made a great deal. Well, Scott Adams had found a VERY cheap ticket at ghetto tickets.com and had purchased it for like $230. The ticket would fly me to California from Iowa on 6-13 and fly me home on 7-1. Tedd Williams then called me up and said that he heard that I was going to be in California and asked if I would like to fight on his card on the 17th. I said yes, and I told Paul Smith about it and Tedd agreed to pay for my hotel for two nights of my stay. Now we flash forward to the night before I was suppposed to leave. I talked to Paul Smith on the phone and he said that I had an electronic ticket. He gave me my itenery. Because of how ghetto the ticket was that was bought for me, I HAD to catch a flight out of Des Moines(which is 2 hrs from me)at 6:10 am. Meaning that I would have to get up a 2:00 am in order to make it to the airport on time. I tried to call the airline and change the ticket to a later time in the day and they told me that it was a non-transferable, non-refundable, non-changeable ticket. So it was be there or you are SOL. So I go to the airport in the morning. I had my girlfriend drop me off because I am not stupid enough to pay $200 to have my car sit in their parking lot. I go and check in and my girlfriend leaves so she can get to work on time. She called to come in two hours late. I finally get to the ticket counter after a 20 minute wait and I tell the woman that I have an electronic ticket. She tells me that I have a paper ticket. She will not let me board. My flight takes off in 20 minutes. So I call up Paul Smith and tell him that they will not let me board without my ticket because they say that I have a paper ticket. He tells me to go back through the line and ask if they will treat it as a lost ticket and let me pay $50 to get a new ticket. The lady tells me no and says that it was not a ticket bought through AAirlines, so they are unable to do
anything. I call Paul back and he calls Scott Adams. Scott says "Oh yeah, they wouldn't let us give Travis an
electronic ticket, so we had to FedEx him the ticket. He will get it by noon today. "Well my flight was at 6:10 am and I had to be on that flight. Scott says "Oh, really?" So Scott buys me another plane ticket that takes
off 6-15 (the day of the IFC)that will get me into California at noon. I will then have to make a three
hour drive to the event, and fight at 7:00 pm. So I call my girlfriend who is an hour away and she has to turn around and come and get me. She is late for work and is written up. Friday we have to repeat the same process. 2:00 am to make a 6:10 am flight two hours away. They wouldn't fly me out of my hometown airport because it
was too expensive. So I get to the fight and fight like crap because I haven't slept for 24 hours. Plus Cal
Worsham was really tough, I don't want to take that away from him. Fight is over I get paid, and I see Tedd
Williams. He says that him and Paul Smith got into an argument and I am not allowed to fight for him. So I lose that money. The fighters are taken the next day to San Fransico to stay in a hotel to catch their flight the
next morning. Paul Smith leaves and won't be back for a week. I ask him what I am supposed to do. He says
that Scott Adams will come and get me in a couple of days, and to keep all of my receipts and he will
reinburse me for all of the money I had to spend. Come the next morning the hotel calls my room
and says that it is not paid for. I have to pay for my room for the next two nights.
Scott Adams comes and gets me two days later. He tells me that my opponent will now be Paul
Buentello, and that I am only getting half the money that I was promised before.
Scott will not get me a hotel. He says that I can stay at his house. I feel very uncomfortable doing this. We get to his house which is a complete mess. ants all over the place and old food and dirty
dishes sitting all over the place. Scott then says that I need to go grocery shopping. He said that Paul
Smith will reinburse me for everything that we have to buy. So Scott and I go shopping and he picks out what
he wants and I pick out what I want. Spending $200 in all. Over the next week people come and go at Scott's
house. All of the food is eaten by his friends. This entire time I sleep on a dirty couch. Throughout this
time period fighters continue to pull out of his show. I find him three fighters who are willing to fight for
a plane ticket and $100. He flys them out and save his show. If it wasn't for the three guys that I got
and myself he would only have 6 fights. My opponent changes again to a 190 pound guy who
is a student of Scott's. Finally after 9 days I get my chance to go and stay in a hotel provided by the
casino. Once again I have to pay for all my own food. The night before the fight Scott asks me if I
would fight Severn for $1250 more. I said of course. The guy that Severn was set to fight was terrible. He
was 6'3 250, but an awful fighter. The guy was smoking and drinking and kind of acting like an idiot
at the hotel. That is why I was asked to fight Severn. They call Becky Levi and tell her that Severn's new opponent MIGHT be me. They said okay. Then Severn's plane was delayed and nobody arranged a ride
for him from San Fransisco which was 4 hours away. So Severn had to rent a car with his own money to drive
to the event. He arrived one hour before the show started. The entire time that I stayed with Scott the
rules were you could not knee the head at any time. Apparently this rule changed at the time of the event.
I missed the rules meeting and so did Severn. Becky comes up to me upon arrival and says that they are going to ask for more money because they changed his opponent to somebody much tougher. Scott
told me that if Severn didn't except my fight I would have no opponent and would only get my show fee of
$750. He also said that they were not going to give Severn any more money.
So when Becky told me that they planned to get more money or they would not except the fight, I told
her what all had happened. Severn and I have a signed deal to fight in my hometown in September and I really
needed that fight to happen. So I told Becky not to ask for more money and Severn and I would grapple for
real and I would agree not to throw KO punches.(which was not a problem considering my right hand was still
broken) Since I believed that there were no knees to the head, Levi said that this would be no problem. So the
fight didn't have a predetermined outcome. The fight happened and went the way that it did,
and Severn wore me down and won the decision. After the fight I was paid and told that I did a good job. Nobody said anything negative about the fight. It was a good main event. One of only two fights that went
past the 1st rd. The 250 lbs guy that Severn was supposed to fight was beaten in less than 2 minutes by
the 190 lbs guy. I talked to Scott at the post fight dinner and he said that he would arrange a ride for me to get to
the airport the next morning. I went to Paul Smith's room and talked to him about being reinbursed. He
asked me if Dan and I had agreed not to strike. I explained the whole situation to him and he said that
we should have just fought our original opponents, and was going off on Scott Adams and the WEC.
I showed him my receipts and he gave me $75 saying that he would give me the rest later. I went
to another fighters room and had a couple of beers. I had to get my ride in 2 hours in order to get to the
airport on time. Scott adams then calls me up and asks why I did a work.(apparently Paul had told him we did) I told Scott that it wasn't a work. He started bitching about it. I calmed him down and asked how I was going
to get a ride to the airport? He told me that he wasn't going to help me and that I had pissed him off and I needed to find my own ride to the airport.(keep in mind that these were ghetto tickets. If I missed my
flight I would have to buy a new ticket. Imagine how expensive that would be the day of my flight. I also
had to go back to work on Monday morning. I also would not have any other ride home from Des Moines because
my girlfriend couldn't miss anymore work.) Scott hung up on me and I didn't know what to
do. Scott's father was sitting in the dining room having breakfast. I told him what Scott had said and
it really made his father mad. He tried to find where Scott was but he was unable to do so. Mr. Adams had
to take a group of fighters to LAX in 3 hrs. He would not be able to take me to San Fransisco(which was 4 hrs away) So he thought about it and drove me an hour to Fresno. He then bought me a ticket out of his own
pocket that would get me to San Fransisco on time. He is a very good man. I make my flight and the rest of the day goes by fine. I then hear a few days later that Graciefighter.com releases a story that Severn and I
did a work. They released this story without having asked Severn or my sides of the story.
I call Paul Smith and he said that they weren't mad at me , but at Severn. He started complaining
about how Severn had negotiated with casinos that the IFC had done shows at and were able to take the shows
from the IFC. He said that they were sick of Severn. I asked how I fit into all of this suspension
stuff. He said that they were going to announce that Severn would be suspended for a year and that I would
be suspended for 2 months. I asked how were they going to get away with that? He said that the IFC
planned on using me in their August show so they would just say that I cooperated and Severn didn't, that way
my "suspension" would be much less. Paul then started telling me that I needed to go public and announce that the limited striking fight as Severn's idea. He said that Becky Levi had made a
statement that it was all my idea and I had approached Dan about doing a worked fight in order to not get hurt.
I then called Becky and she told me that Scott Adams had told them that I told him it was Severn who
wanted to do the work and that I was not for that, and that I told them Becky gave me $500 more to accept.
Becky and I compared stories and realized that they were trying to set us up because the IFC was mad at
Severn for taking the casinos from the IFC. Poor Travis Fulton is just caught up in the middle of all
of this. So by making a big deal out of nothing the IFC hopes to make Severn look bad in hopes to get their
casinos back. I have heard the complaints about the casinos from Paul Smith, and I have also heard Becky's side. I am caught in the middle here. I really like the IFC and they have always treated me good. I am
also very good friends with Becky and Dan too. My fight with Severn will be as real as they come in
September. If the crowd sensed anything that even resembled a work in my hometown, I would be cast out
forever there. The story is long and I don't want to listen to the ridicule of the underground. So if you would like
you can email this to whoever you want, just make sure that it isn't posted on the underground. It will all
blow over, and I don't want to ruin my reltionship with the IFC. This is just their way of getting back at Severn.

 7/10/01

Quote of the Day

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Teddy Roosevelt

eYada Shutdown

The company eYada that hosts many internet talk shows. One of the most popular was No Holds Barred hosted by Eddie Goldman. Eddie gave many fighters some press and put on a pretty entertaining show. Chris was on once or twice. Adding to this bad news is that BJ Penn was supposed to be on the show Tuesday. Eddie is a good writer and he will be seen in print very soon.

Some Shooto Comments

These are some comments of the Shooto fights with Baret, Bradda, and Bozo from the Underground forum. I have not been on the forum in a long time, but there are always something good on there. We have not seen the fights so these are just comments from people who have seen the fights and have talked to people who have. It makes for an interesting read. I am not even going to reference who said each statement. I hope you guys don't mind.

Norifumi walked around with his hands at his feet, and got kicked in the head for it once. But he was the better of the two with his hands. And KO'd his opponent with a right hook.

Bozo Paling has really good boxing skills and dominated standup in his fight. Nonaka had an armbar attempt in the fight, but could not finish it.

Cooper was on his back for most the fight against Kato. Kato GNP for round 1, but gassed as he usually does somewhat. And controlled for most of the fight beyond that point. Almost got armlocked, but Cooper could not finish it.

Baret triangled Toiyta within the first 10 seconds of the match. Toiyta was somehow able to get out of it with time. Baret spun for a kneebar and stuck it as well. Toiyta against escaped somehow. Baret gassed horribly and Toiyta took advantage. Armlocking Baret deep in round 3. Baret did not tap out and was able to survive to the end. From what I heard, this match was very exciting and technical. Toiyta was quoted as saying "Baret beat me in contenders, but shooto is mine!!!"

We just got done watching the tape Bozo dominated the whole fight he tried to get an armbar 30 seconds left in the fight but wasn't close Bozo countered right away. The whole fighting was standing Nonaka tried and tried but could not take Bozo down and got hit with some good shoots.

Cooper and Kato was a good fight Kato fought smart did not want to take risks. I thought the fight was a draw because of how the fight went. 1st round Ray cameout at Kato threw some punches Kato got under him and took him down. Kato tried to pass gaurd but could not and looked to be where he gased. Ray got an armbar Kato got out Ray also had a triangle Kato got out just before the round ended Ray reversed Kato and was land bombs for about 15 seconds when the bell rang. Round 2 Ray comes out pressuring Kato Ray hits Kato with a shot that look like Kato went down and shot when he was hurt. Kato got the takedaown but you could tell he was hurt because he just lied there controlling position. That pretty much how the third and second round went with Ray punching actively from the gaurd with Kato riding it out. Katos left side of his face was swollen and had a cut with Ray not having anything. Kato did win the 1st slightly Ray won the second round and third round was boring with Kato riding it out and Ray trying to punch from the gaurd. Kato did not throw a punch at all on the feet and did not attemp no submissions. I think that might have been his game plan and it work but at the most I thought it was a DRAW. It was not anything like what the scores said.


Kato game plan worked out for him, But theirs a couple of things I didn't agree on.Cooper Knock Kato down to his knees with a left hand but no Standing 8 count in round 2.Shooto rules is after Knock down fighter has a 8 count.Also How can you win a round from sitting in the guard with your head down.Kato was punching but seemed gassed Round 2 and 3.My review was fight should have been a draw Kato took coooper down but didn't do anything 75% of his punches that he threw from the guard didn't hit cooper but his gloves.Ref could have done a better job to keep the action instead of letting kato just lie their.

NO EXCUSES KATO WON THE DEC

 7/9/01

Quote of the Day

"All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge."

Albert Einstein


Shooto Results


July 6 in Tokyo Kourakuen Hall, full results:

Class B (2x5 minutes rounds)-Lightweight:
Masashi Kameda (Cobra Kai)
x
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto (PUREBRED Ohmiya)
Result: "KID" won via KO 4:17 R1

Class B (2x5 minutes rounds)-Welterweight:
Tatsuya Kawajiri (TOPS)
x
Daisuke "Amazon" Sugie (ALIVE)
Result: "Amazon" won via decision 3x0 (20-18, 20-19, 20-18)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)-Lightweight:
Stephen "Bozo" Palling (Jesus Is Lord)
x
Kimihito Nonaka (PUREBRED Ohmiya)
Result:
Palling won via decision 3x0 (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)-Lightheavyweight:
Martin DeJong (Martijn Dojo)
x
Izuru Takeuchi (K'z FACTORY)
Result: Takeushi won via decision 3x0 (28-27, 29-28, 28-27)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)-Middleweight:
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (Jesus Is Lord)
x
Tetsuji Kato (PUREBRED Ohmiya)
Result:
Kato won via decision 3x0 (30-27, 30-28, 30-27)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)-Lightweight:
Baret Yoshida (Grappling Unlimited)
x
Katsuya Toita (Wajyutsu Keisyukai)
Result:
Toita won via decision 2x0 (29-27, 28-27, 27-27)

Tito Ortiz Article

Here's an article that was published in the Orange County Registrar prior to the last UFC. It is a very interesting and enlightening article showing the emotional side of Tito which brings him back to human status to all of us who see him as an animal in the cage. He is a good spokesperson and figure head of the sport that we all love and needs a humane champion to be dominate, yet personable. Enjoy!

Sensitive slugger is bad boy of martial arts
With choke holds and a smile, champ Tito Ortiz battles to rehabilitate Ultimate Fighting.

June 29, 2001

Story by STEPHEN LYNCH
Photos by EUGENE GARCIA
The Orange County Register


TITO ORTIZ says you have to be bad in the ring but don't have to be bad in life.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" stands 6-foot-2, weighs 205 pounds, and boasts a specialty in "submission." The backs of his biceps are etched with gothic letter tattoos, one on each arm: "H" and "B." When he pulls up to the gym he co-owns, in an SUV the size of a tractor trailer, one quakes with trepidation. What will the king of a sport known for bare-knuckled brawling and bloodletting do first? Lay down the smack? Crush someone's head?

"Tito Ortiz," he says with a friendly smile and a handshake. "Nice to meet ya."

It is amazing, and a little disappointing, to realize that the light heavyweight champ of Ultimate Fighting, the "no holds barred" pariah of pay per-view, is a pussycat. He's happily married. Loves his mom. Councils juvenile delinquents. Before he enters the ring, he cries, for crissakes.

"I'm not crying because I'm afraid," Ortiz says. "It's because ... I don't know. I just get very emotional. I throw up and cry each time. I'm an emotional fighter."

In the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, when no one wore gloves and the only things outlawed were biting and eye gouging, crying was forbidden. Crying was for little girls and professional wrestlers.

But today, Ortiz is the poster child for a kinder, gentler UFC - one in which crying is allowed, as long as it's backed up with a vice-like chokehold. He may be called the Bad Boy in the ring, but outside the black chain-link fence that surrounds it, Ortiz wants to rehabilitate the image of his profession. He's bashing heads with a smile.

"The ignorant guys, the guys who just want to kick people's (butts), those are the people who don't get it," he says. "This is a sport."

Tonight, Ortiz will defend his title in New Jersey, in a pay-per-view match aired locally on DirecTV. Eventually, though, Ortiz wants Ultimate Fighting back on cable pay-per-view, then basic cable television, just like boxing.

It is on this topic that the sobbing slugger finally turns into the smack-talking Bad Boy: "I want to be the Muhammad Ali of mixed martial arts. I'm doing what Bruce Lee did 20 years ago, getting people to notice. I want to pick up where Lee left off."

The takedown

ULTIMATE FIGHTING light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz demonstrates his punch at his Ultimate Training Center in Huntington Beach.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The technical term for Ultimate Fighting is "mixed martial arts," though it's far less mixed than it once was. In 1993, when the UFC was founded, the fights were gladiator battles, as lopsided and comical as ancient Rome. Three-hundred pound Sumo wrestlers grappled with black belts half their size. Bar brawlers took on kung fu masters, just to see what would happen. It was spectacle, not sport.

Things changed, however, when Royce Gracie, a master of Brazilian jujitsu, entered the fray. A UFC match can be won by either knockout or submission, and Gracie proved that the latter, though not as exciting to watch, was much more effective. He swept the legs out from under bulky Goliaths, pinning them to the mat and rendering their concrete left hooks as useless in the ring as a college degree.

After Gracie, the UFC resembled an Olympic wrestling match more than a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. Today, almost every fighter uses a mixture of jujitsu and Greco-Roman wrestling, and most fights hit the ground within 30 seconds.

But just as Gracie was taking down opponents, critics were taking down the UFC. Sen. John McCain launched a crusade against the sport in 1996, declaring it "human cockfighting." (McCain, incidentally, is a prominent fan of boxing). UFC was banned by most states and kicked off cable pay-per-view. Limited to satellite television, it's audience, and profile, withered.

SEG Sports Corp., owners of the UFC, sent mixed signals. It toned down the UFC with new rules (such as no kicking a downed opponent) and introduced weight classes but continued to market the fights as brutal, no- holds-barred slugfests.

In January, the rights to UFC were acquired by Zuffa, LLC., a Las Vegas concern founded by casino owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. Dana White, president of Zuffa, says the company will ratchet down SEG's lusty hyperbole to broaden the sport's appeal and acceptance.

"The way it was marketed was as the most violent sport ever - that's what made it a pay-per-view monster, but it hurt them in the long run," White says. "Since we took over we've worked with athletic commissions, tightened rules, made the sport safer."

This time, the gloves are on - it's required.

Zuffa is lobbying states to permit Ultimate Fighting matches and hope to get clearance in California by the fall. It is negotiating with cable pay-per-view carriers to get back on local systems, and Zuffa wants to launch a basic cable version of the program as well.

Yet not everything has changed. A chain-link fence still circles the octagon shaped ring. And the sport is still called Ultimate Fighting Championship, with all the baggage that comes with that title.

"It's a double-edge sword," White says. "I think the name UFC has a lot of negativity attached to it, but at the same time it's the brand name of mixed martial arts. All we have to do is educate people about the sport."

The comeback

In this regard, Ortiz is the perfect champion for Zuffa. In the ring, he brings the pain. Outside of it, he brings the pride. He once visited a Simi Valley school because one young fan asked him to career day. He runs a gym in Huntington Beach with three other Ultimate Fighters, teaching kickboxing to housewives. He credits his three older brothers for his passion for wrestling (to defend himself); he credits his wife, Kristin, with his stability.

To demonstrate how different Ortiz is from the champions of yore, one need look no further than his former mentor, David Lee "Tank" Abbott.

Tank, a UFC fighter infamous for once kicking an opponent in the head as he lay, passed out, on the mat, listed his specialty as "other." He was the average bar brawler vs. the martial-arts experts, albeit a 6-foot, 280- pound bar brawler who once served six months for assault. He drank Stolichnaya by the Big Gulp and was suspended for getting into a fight at a UFC match - outside the ring.

In 1996, Ortiz, then a wrestler at Golden West College, was chosen as Tank's sparring partner. Ortiz became Tank's protégé in the UFC, but it wasn't long before the two had a falling out.

"His attitude was 'I don't give a (expletive),'" Ortiz says. "Tank was all about himself. Fans would come up and ask for his autograph, and he'd say, 'get the (expletive) away from me - he'd hit them! Without your fans, you ain't nobody, you're just another fighter."

Ortiz fought his first match in 1997, at 22, after winning the Junior College State Wrestling Championship twice. He stalked the ring, flipping opponent Guy Mezger and gashing his head. In the end, though, Mezger squeezed Ortiz's neck in something called a "guillotine choke," and the Bad Boy was forced to tap out.

After earning $19,000 for that first fight, Ortiz was hooked. He trained in jujitsu and in 1999, facing a seasoned competitor named Jerry Bohlander, Ortiz was a changed fighter. Blood streaming down both of their faces, Ortiz won the match in overtime when the doctor stopped the fight, having dominated Bohlander with repeated left hooks and throws to the mat.

Ortiz won almost every fight after that, and soon became middleweight (now light heavyweight) champion in April 2000. Today he defends his belt against Elvis Sinosic, a fighter from Australia. When he walks into the ring, Ortiz will be all business: bleached-blond hair glistening with sweat, mouth contorted into a sneer. The Bad Boy will come out. Afterward, he'll shake Sinosic's hand and cordially sign a few autographs.

"I believe in being a good person," he says. "In this sport you have to be bad in the ring, but you don't have to be bad in real life."

Source: Sherdog

 7/8/01

Quote of the Day

A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn't
particularly feel like it.

Alistair Cooke, 1908-, British Broadcaster, Journalist

BJ Penn on eYada Tuesday

BJJ Black Belt World Champion and UFC two-time winner, BJ Penn, is scheduled to be on Eddie Goldman's eYada.com talk show. Go to eYada.com and you can login to hear the show live (which I think may be at about 12:00 noon Hawaii time) or windows media player/realtime player the show if you miss it. Below is the link to go to the show.

http://www.eyada.com/redirect/adv/redirect.cfm?adv=1&id=20

 7/6/01

Quote of the Day

"I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it."

(excerpt from Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey)

Warrior's Quest Anouncement

For the upcoming Warrior's Quest that is happening on September 1, 2001 at the Hawaii Convention Center, promoter Brennan Kamaka has made some killer matches. Hawaii's Ray "Bradda" Cooper is slated to face Sean Sherk, a UFC veteran, who is 17-0, and a physical wreaking machine. Ron "The Machine Gun" Jhun is scheduled to face Matt Hughes who still is in the top five of any ranking out there. Stephen "Bozo" Palling is also going to be fighting on this card. These are huge fights for the Jesus is Lord team who are already scheduled in Shooto against formidable opponents.

Super Brawl Tickets on Sale Now!

Many people have been asking and I have received confirmation that the Super Brawl tickets are now on sale for the upcoming July 21st show. Egan Inoue is set to face Marcelo Tigre's number one student Mike Butenbah while Marcelo faces Tali or Cabbage from Egan's Grappling Unlimited. As of now, Baret is left without an opponent. T. Jay is looking for someone, but it is hard to find a fight for Baret.

Pride 15: Raging Rumble
Thursday, June. 7, 2001 From TOKYO, JAPAN

Sakuraba has been given a light opponent to keep him in the card to draw fans. He is supposedly also in bad health from excessive drinking. Yup, one of the top fighters drinks almost every night. There may be hope for me. Now a guy just has to be dominating without training and have a gut (Note: Igor does train, heh heh). Igor faces the K-1 kickboxing star Masaaki Satake. Igor is known for his punching ability, but has been displaying some pretty decent ground work in his last fights. Braga is a very talented Brazilian with stand up and ground while Matsui is a young fighter with similar skills and this should be a good match up.

Additional Match Ups

Three additional match ups and one change have been announced.

Additions:

Ebenezer Fontes Braga vs. Daijiro Matsui
Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Masaaki Satake
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Quinton Jackson

Change:
Due to the injury on the hand Renzo Gracie was replaced by Wallid Ismail.
Syungo Ohyama vs. Wallid Ismail

Ryan Gracie vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa (rematch)

*Card subject to change
*Total nine matches are scheduled.

 7/5/01

Quote of the Day

It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have
an opportunity and not be prepared.

Whitney Young, Jr., 1922-1971, American Social Reformer

BBQ in the Books

We sent the entire day and night at Ala Moana beach park BBQ'ing and hanging out. It was a shear terror finding parking and a spot. It's a long story why we didn't get the spot we normally do, but we ended up with a pretty good spot non the less. The fireworks were kind of weird because they had about three show separated by 30 minutes. I think something went wrong, but good thing we stayed.

Relson Gracie Website Back Up!

Relson has moved his website to a new address:
http://www.relsongracie.com. It is the same site as before and the information probably needs to be updated, but at least you are not looking at naked Pam Anderson pictures when you are searching for Relson's next seminar.

Big Event News Coming Tomorrow.

Since there was so much news today, I have decided to hold another big announcement about fights in another big Hawaii event until tomorrow.

Looking for the Star Bulletin

I could not find the sports issue with the little blurb on BJ Penn. If you have a copy, can I have it? I would like to send one to BJ's family and keep one for myself. Please email
me or call me (381-9530). Thanks.

SHOOTO To The Top

July 6 in Tokyo Kourakuen Hall

This is a big fight for Ray "Bradda" Cooper because with a win over Kato, Ray could jump back to number one or two in the rankings in Shooto and be back in contention for a title shot. Kato is easily one of the best in the division that has been dominated by Hayato "Mach" Sakurai. Bozo faces Nonaka who is also a very well balanced fighter that should give Palling a good fight. Hopefully, our Hawaii fighters come back victorious. There has been talk that Baret Yoshida has been added to this card, but there is no statement of it as of yet.

Card Subject to Change:

Class B (2x5 minutes rounds)-Lightweight
Masashi Kameda (Cobra Kai)
x
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto (PUREBRED Ohmiya)

Class B (2x5 minutes rounds)-Welterweight
Tatsuya Kawajiri (TOPS)
x
Daisuke "Amazon" Sugie (ALIVE)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)-Lightweight
Stephen "Bozo" Palling (Jesus Is Lord)
x
Kimihito Nonaka (PUREBRED Ohmiya)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)-Lightheavyweight
Martin DeJong (Martijn Dojo)
x
Izuru Takeuchi (K'z FACTORY)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)-Middlweight
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (Jesus Is Lord)
x
Tetsuji Kato (PUREBRED Ohmiya)

 7/4/01

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th.

 7/3/01

Quote of the Day

No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an
unchartered land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.

Helen Keller, 1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author, Lecturer, Amorist

BBQ Tomorrow!

It looks like everything is in place for our annual 4th of July potluck at Ala Moana Beach Park. Someone will be there at about 6:30 am and we plan on staying all day and night to watch the fireworks so if you work, come by after. Make sure that you bring some warm clothes in case it gets cold or you want to just change. As always bring something if you can, but if you are in the area and have nothing on you, don't let that stop you from coming by and hanging out even if it is just for a couple of hours. Todd has a sign up sheet at the academy, but if you are not in town, don't worry about not signing up.

BJ's Article in the Advertiser

An extremely stripped down version of my piece, but again, at least it's in the Advertiser. It is in today's paper so pick one up to support a paper that supports MMA events and Hawaii's fighters.


Isle File
Hilo's Penn wins ultimate fighting bout

Advertiser Staff

 

 Hilo's BJ Penn fought before a record crowd of 11,492 in East Rutherford, N.J.


Hilo's BJ Penn scored a second-round knockout over Din "The Dominator" Thomas at the 32nd Ultimate Fighting Championship at East Rutherford, N.J.

The June 29 event broke an American record for largest attendance for a mixed martial arts event with a crowd of 11,492.

Penn executed a Muay Thai kickboxing knee to the face of Thomas, which sent him to the canvas.

The Hawai'i fighter finished the fight with three well-placed punches, which convinced the referee to stop the bout and score it a knock out victory at 2:42 of the first round.

Michael Onzuka contributed to this report.

BJ's Article in the Star Bulletin

Another extremely stripped down version of my piece, but again, at least it's in the Star Bulletin. It is in today's paper so pick one up to support a paper that supports MMA events and Hawaii's fighters.

Hilo's Penn wins ultimate fight bout

BJ Penn of Hilo needed less than three minutes to defeat Din Thomas Friday night at the Ultimate Fighting Championships in East Rutherford, N.J.

Penn, in just his second career fight, scored a knock-out win over Thomas after 2 minutes and 42 seconds in the first round of the semi-main event. A crowd of 11,492 watched the mixed martial arts competition at the Continental Airlines Arena.

BJ's Article in the Hilo Tribune

I'm not sure where they got the 30 seconds because I stated the time of the bout later in the article. It is a slightly stripped down version of my original piece, but at least the article is in there. I believe this article was printed in yesterday's edition. Congratulations BJ!

Penn makes quick work of opponent

By Michael Onzuka/ For the Tribune-Herald

Hawaii's BJ "The Prodigy" Penn made his second fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship a memorable one. It lasted just 30 seconds.

The UFC is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious mixed martial arts event in America. The UFC allows martial artist of different disciplines such as boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Jiu - Jitsu, and Judo, among other styles, to compete in a one - on - one match up in a cage to see who is the dominate athlete.

Fights can end in knockouts, similar to boxing and kickboxing, submissions as seen in Judo and Jiu - Jitsu, or by referee stoppage.

BJ, a Hilo native who first started boxing in Hilo as a youngster, moved on to Brazilian Jiu - Jitsu. Penn took to Jiu - Jitsu, a ground based martial arts, like a fish to water. He soon became known as a shark in the Jiu - Jitsu world, quickly swallowing his prey in the competitions that he entered. His crowning achievement was winning the 2000 World Championships of Brazilian Jiu - Jitsu in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the black belt division and becoming the first non - Brazilian to accomplish this feat. All this after training in Brazilian Jiu - Jitsu for only four years.

No wonder why they call BJ "The Prodigy."

Penn started cross - training in wrestling at a local college in San Jose, Calif. to help accent his Jiu - Jitsu skills. While in San Jose, he started training at the American Kickboxing Academy run by former ISKA World Kickboxing champion Javier Mendez. Many mixed martial artists trained at the academy, including multiple UFC champion Frank Shamrock.

These fighters peaked Penn's interest in entering mixed martial arts competitions. He soon began training with these top fighters and once again, enjoyed success at the school.

Usually, fighters must prove themselves for many years by fighting in smaller events hoping to show the UFC that they have the skills and talent to be worthy of being showcased in the mixed martial arts event in the nation.

Penn's reputation has preceded him and he was invited to make his debut fight in the UFC on May 4, when he scored a referee stoppage against wrestler/fighter Joey Gilbert.

Penn was invited back last Friday to fight in only his second fight against the much experienced Din "The Dominator" Thomas at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. in the semi - main event.

Running to the ring with a "Hilo Boy" T - shirt, Penn started the fight trading punches with Thomas. The fighters soon came together in a clinch and went to the ground where Penn ended up on the bottom, a very comfortable position for the highly trained Jiu - Jitsu world champion. Thomas attempted a few punches, but the defense of Hawaiian proved adequate. Penn attempted a shoulder lock/arm bar, but failed and the two fighters stood up after the scramble.

With his one free hand, Penn grabbed the back of the neck of Thomas and perfectly executed a Muay Thai kickboxing knee to the face of Thomas, which sent him falling to the canvas. The Hawaii fighter finished the fight with three well placed punches to the face of his opponent which convinced the referee that the fight was over with Penn scoring a knockout victory at two minutes and forty - two seconds in the first round.

With this victory, Penn may be one or two fights away from fighting for the Lightweight Ultimate Fighting Championship title against the current champion, Jens "Little Evil" Pulver.

All doubts about Penn being the "real deal" have been silenced. After the fight, BJ told the crowd that he is a nice guy, but the Lightweight Championship belt is his. If he continues training and competing the way he has been, the champion better take notice because this Hawaiian native is on a mission and looks unstoppable.

Friday's UFC broke the American record for the largest attendance for a mixed martial arts event with 11,492 fans. The UFC has been censored from Hawaii pay - per - view audiences for about three years because of the decision of TimeWarner brass which owns the local cable company, Oceanic Cable.

Hawaii fans can only view this event by purchasing a Dish Network Satellite system. Zuffa LLC, the company that owns and runs the UFC, announced at the event that they have just come to an agreement with iN - DEMAND, to bring the UFC back to 2,000 cable systems across America. iN - DEMAND is the company that Oceanic Cable utilizes for Hawaii subscribers to order pay - per - view movies and sporting events.

The agreement should be in place for the next UFC event slated for Sept. 28. It is unknown at this time if TimeWarner and Oceanic Cable will allow the UFC to be available to Hawaii cable subscribers and if Hawaii's BJ Penn will be fighting in the next UFC.

Editor's note: Michael Onzuka is a freelance writer who follows martial arts as well as the promising career of Ultimate Fighing pro BJ Penn of Hilo.

He can be reached at: Mike@onzuka.com.

Minotauro Vs. Coleman in Next Pride

Minotauro of the Brazilian Top Team who won the King of Rings Tournament will make his Pride debut against the Pride Grand Prix Champion, Mark Coleman. This will be the virtual Rings Champ vs. Pride Champ. It should be a great fight because along with being a BJJ blackbelt and having teammates such as Mario Sperry, Vitor Belfort, Murilo Bustamante, and Ricardo Liborio, Minotauro is also pretty good in the stand up department which may cause Coleman some problems. Coleman has been working on his stand up with Pat Miletich, but we will see if he will stand toe to toe with Minotauro or do his normal ground and pound.

 7/2/01

Quote of the Day

"Contrary to what most people say, the most dangerous animal in the world is not the lion or the tiger or even the elephant. It's a shark riding on an elephant's back, just trampling and eating everything they see."

(excerpt from Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey)

Mach & Rumina in the UFC?

The UFC are in talks with Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, the number one ranked middleweight (170 lber) in the world in many rankings, to have a match with current champ, Carlos Newton. They are also in talks with Shooto star Rumina Sato for a possible match against Hawaii's BJ Penn. If this happens, the UFC will once again blow the roof off the fighting world.

BJ Penn Article in Hilo Today

The article I wrote about BJ's win in the UFC should be published today in the Hilo Tribune Herald. Make sure you pick up a copy.

BJ Penn Interview

The Hawaiian Punch: BJ Penn Pt. 1

ADCC NEWS just received a "pre-fight" UFC interview with the new "prodigy" of the MMA world, Nova Uniao's BJ Penn.

In today's NHB game, no one has as many people talking as BJ Penn "The Prodigy". For many years, he was like a shadow, in the BJJ world. There's hardly any available footage of him. But everybody knew some body who watched BJ maul a guy. The one thing people DID KNOW, was that he was liquid on the mat. Then last year he became the first American BJJ Black belt to win Mundial's.

People often write about BJ as a "phenomenon" in the realm of our sport. In many respects he is. He is just as fluid from the top as he is from the bottom. People who play against him know that there is not a "safe" place to be in a competition (other than the stands). But his talent, although unquestionably God given has deeper roots.

BJ Penn is by far the hardest working man in NHB that I have ever personally come across. He is always either training, traveling somewhere to go train, eating, or sleeping from having just trained. If you know anyone that knows him, they'll all tell you they have not spoken him in quite some time.

When you are sleeping in, he's just getting back from swimming. While you're are watching TV, he's on the heavy bags. When you are partying, he's sparring. BJ has actualized an equation developed by Richard Marcinko, founder of the counter-terrorist unit SEAL TEAM 6: The more you sweat in training the less you bleed in combat. Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Alexander Karelin and Rickson Gracie are all people who undeniably train harder than anybody who has ever known them. Though he is not there yet, BJ Penn appears for now, to be following in their footsteps in this regard while simultaneously paving his own road. On his journey, the next stops clearly reads "Jens Pulver." There are few true "phenoms" in any given sport. Mainly, there are just men of higher conviction. BJ Penn is one of them. Below is what he told be 3 days before his match with Din Thomas.

AB: You are one of the hottest stars in NHB right now. Part of the world's fascination with you is rooted in the mystery behind what you really know, how you train etc. Do you think people's lack of knowledge about you helps or hurts you in a fight?

BJ: I dunno, it probably helps me. People know I train with a lot of guys, so they don't know what to expect. They don't know if I'm gonna come out punching or grappling. So, I'm sure it helps a lot. But then, there is always that question for the promoters. Like
"How good is this guy? We wanna know."

AB: Now that it's Mundial season, do you miss the sport side of the game or are you immersed in Vale Tudo right now?

BJ: I train just for fighting. I'm not concentrating on scoring points or this or that. I'm all into fighting right now.

AB: I remember watching an interview with Joey Gilbert and he said something about him feeling that you did not respect his wrestling skills. Why would he think that?

BJ: I really have no idea. I did respect his grappling. Actually, when I was gonna go to Abu Dhabi, I looked at him and said to myself " There's one guys who is gonna be hard to take out. You gotta take him down. You can't just jump to your guard on him. What if he takes you down and scores some points?" He's a formidable opponent no doubt. He's beat some black belts in grappling.

AB: What did you think of your fight with him?

BJ: I saw some mistakes I made, that I hopefully can fix those before my next fight.

AB: How are you training for your fight with Din Thomas?

BJ: I'm doing a lot of NHB sparring, kick boxing, boxing, and grappling. I'm doing a lot of strength and conditioning. I'm trying to be as well rounded as I can. I don't ever want to be in a position where I cannot handle myself or I don't understand what's going on, or I'm gonna get KO'ed or submitted- or caught under a stall.

AB: Tell me you opinion on Din Thomas. What do you make of him?

BJ: He's a very good fighter. He's quick on his feet, fast, he has a long reach. In his ground game he looks tough to hold, real squirmy. He looks good. I think it's easy to train for a guy like that. You just train for everything. He's a tremendous fighter and a great athlete.

AB: After this fight with Din, will that set you up for Jens Pulver?

BJ: I hope so. I have not gotten any confirmations or anything. But I would like a title shot.

AB: So let me end it with this question. Why is BJ Penn in the UFC?

BJ: The reason I'm in the UFC is to prove to myself, not to anyone else…..But to prove to myself that I'm the best pound for pound fighter in the world right now.

Source: Abu Dhabi Page

 7/1/01

Quote of the Day

"Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do."

Don Galer

UFC 32 Photos

The Full Contact Fighter webpage has posted some pictures of the last UFC. They have included a couple of pictures of BJ Penn and Din Thomas, one when BJ was working the omo plata and another finishing him off in the guard. These are great pictures from one of the best fight photographers in the world, Joel Gold.

BJ Follow up Article in Hilo Tribune on Monday

The sports editor of the Hilo Tribune Herald has informed me that he will be running my follow up article on BJ winning in the UFC on Monday, July 2nd. If you are in Hilo or can obtain the Hilo Tribune, pick up a copy to support a paper that supports Hawaii's MMA fighters.

I have also sent a story to the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star Bulletin. I missed the deadline for the Sunday edition. Keep your eyes out in both papers, probably in Monday or Tuesday's editions. If you see the article in there, shoot me an email or call me (381-9530) so I can pick up some copies for myself and the Penn family. Thanks!