August News Part 1
Quote
of the Day
Don't tell me that worry doesn't do any good. I know better.
The things I worry about don't happen. |
ON
FRANK SHAMROCK'S INJURY!
Submitted by: Eddie Goldman
The
much-anticipated return to action of Frank Shamrock, mixed martial
arts' top fighter of the 90s, its first decade of organized,
worldwide competition, has been delayed. He will not be fighting
at the World Extreme Cagefighting show on Aug. 31 at Mohegan
Sun. Whether or not the whole show will be postponed has not
yet been announced. Below is the press release put out by Frank,
which implies that this show will still go on. Stay tuned for
more information.
Frank
Shamrock: Out, but not for the count! Broken Leg sidelines Champion's
return to the Cage
Just
as quickly as the long-awaited return of the great Frank Shamrock
was scheduled at the World Extreme Cagefighting's east coast
premiere, an unfortunate incident during a grueling training
session with partner 'Crazy' Bob Cook quickly gave Frank the
break he didn't want nor expect causing Mr. Shamrock to pull
his name from his match-up against Ricardo Almeida.
After
continuing his training after sustaining the break the day prior,
his drive and ambition coupled with an un-human tolerance for
pain left the living legend unaware of the damage to his Right
Fibula. Once through his last training day thursday, August 7th,
he attended a physician by the 'unusual inability to walk'. Always
the consummate comedian, he proceeded to have an X-ray that revealed
a severely broken Right Fibula that required immediate casting.
Mr. Shamrock will be unable to train for 1 full month therefore
unable to keep his fight commitment.
Being
one to never balk at a fight, Mr. Shamrock immediately notified
the Fights Promoters to discuss alternate future dates for the
long-awaited comeback.
As
for his spirit…'I am deeply disappointed as I have been
training hard in the gym to show the world that I'm back to rule
the cage. Unfortunately, they will not let me fight with a cast,
so we'll have to re-schedule'.
Frank
will still be attending the show and to promote the new date
(soon to be determined) as the World Extreme Cagefighting's East
Coast vs. West Coast plans to shake the house at the Mohegan
Sun.
Frank
Shamrock Vs. Ricardo Almeida is OFF!
AUG.
31st, 2002 WEC CARD AT MOHEGAN SUN IN FLUX!!!
World
Extreme Cage Fighting's much heralded main event ended when Frank
Shamrock broke his leg in training. Frank suffered the injury
this week, and his match with Ricardo Almeida is off.
Frank
apparently suffered a compound break of his fibula while training
with Bob Cook. Trying to save half of their main event, WEC reportedly
approached Almedia to take on a different fighter. Almeida had
a previous hand injury, and the 'Big Dog' feels that anyone other
than Frank would not be worth the possibility of reinjuring his
hand. According to the 'Big Dog' himself, he had not even received
doctor's clearances to fight Shamrock, but Ricardo thought the
fight with Frank would be worth the risk. This leaves the WEC
in a bind, no big names for their event in a big venue will definitely
hurt ticket sales.
Source:
Abu Dhabi |
Greater
Expectations:
Pre-Injury, Frank Shamrock Talks Tito, Steroids, and Silva
"I
always told myself that I would retire when I was thirty,"
Shamrock groaned. It is at once a self-mocking criticism of a
failed premonition and a resignation to go back to basics. Because
on the eve of his thirtieth year as a social security number,
Shamrock was set to climb back into a caged arena and try to
impose his will over someone looking to make headlines by beating
on freestyle fighting's former golden child. The guy who de-matted
UFC poster boy Tito Ortiz. The dude who made freak knockout slams
and flash submissions de rigueur for the sport. The ridiculously
likable fellow who is good-natured even in the middle of a fistfight,
uttering such faux-tough guy commentary like "I'm gonna
kill ya!" and "You're gettin' tired now!" in between
slams and ankle locks.
Author's
Note: Turns out we'll have to wait just a wee bit longer for
Shamrock's return to action. On August 8, he broke his leg mixing
it up in training. Before the injury, the California native spoke
with Maxfighting regarding his current and future plans, as well
as his opinion on the pressing issues of the MMA day: steroids,
incoming mainstream exposure, and his odds of ever fighting Sakuraba.
Enjoy his thoughts, as we did, and expect the durable and decorated
athlete to get back to work by year's end.
End
depressing interlude.
The
guy who has spent the better part of the past three years, as
he says, "Just being Frank Shamrock." Sure, there were
fights to avoid the spread of rust: one against Elvis Sinosic,
a rare decision win with hybrid rules; and one kickboxing bout
with Shannon Ritch that ended in Ritch bowing out due to arm
injury inflicted by a kick.
But
all told, Shamrock has not had a challenge to suit his talents
since September of 1999, when he displayed the greatest defense
of a title in mixed competition, using every trick in the book
to literally beat down the far larger Ortiz. It was the closest
thing to an open weight fight possible in the later stages of
the sport, with the burly Ortiz trimming down to 200 pounds,
and the 190-odd lb. Shamrock cheerfully weighing in with paperback
books in his pockets.
Come
fight time, it's believed that Ortiz had a healthy weight advantage
over the Champ, and he used it to full effect, nullifying any
submission or striking attempts. It was only when Shamrock resigned
to making Ortiz work overtime, outpacing him in a display of
cardio, did he walk away with the victory.
"I
tried all kinds of things," Shamrock recalled. "I eventually
just gave up because he was so strong. I realized that if I put
my strength against his, I would be done. I just had to go around
it the whole time."
And
that was it. After the fight, Shamrock announced his retirement,
partially to wriggle free of a prohibitive SEG contract, and
partially because he felt the sport had reached a plateau. At
the start of his absence, it was still a good year away from
being rescued by the influential Zuffa regime, and about three
away from the inevitability of free television exposure and bigger
paydays. Shamrock spent precious little time crashed on the couch
in a Cheetos haze: Forty-five weekends out of the year would
see him traveling for appearances, seminars, or law enforcement
training.
But
now mass exposure seems imminent, along with the resulting dollar
signs and attention. For Shamrock, it's now or never. "When
I stepped out, the sport wasn't going anywhere. It was dead in
the water. We were on DirecTV, eight million homes, and that
was it. There was no money in it. I was basically crippling my
body for a wee bit of fame. There wasn't a whole lot going on.
Now that the sport is going somewhere, I'd like to jump back
in, rebuild my name, rebuild my fanbase, and then jump back out
and get back into acting." At nearly thirty, Shamrock is
hardly ready for one of those helper bars alongside his potty.
But, "There is a window, and that window is getting shorter
and shorter for me."
Anticipating
a renewed interest in the combat arenas, Shamrock abandoned his
acting pursuits and began regular training with the promise that
he would fight Kazushi Sakuraba in what was once dubbed the MMA
World Cup, now the joint DSE and K-1 venture Shockwave. Excited,
Shamrock even announced the plans to a crowd at a recent fight
program. It was a short-lived hope. "In Japan, there are
no contracts," he bemoaned. "You never know. It's so
different. Everything changes about two weeks out. But I was
willing to take the risk. I've been waiting to fight Sakuraba
for a long time. He's one of the guys in this sport I really
wanted to fight. Everyone else I couldn't really care less about.
"And
then my opponent changed to Oyama. And then they came back and
said, 'You can't fight Oyama, and we don't have a fight for you.'
So all that fell through." Well, almost. In late July, DSE
informed Shamrock that he could take on Vanderlei Silva in an
open weight fight. "That was pretty much the breaking point
of our negotiations. First it was Sak, then they threw me this
consolation prize of Oyama, then they hit me thirty days out
with, 'Well, you can fight Vanderlei Silva.' And I thought, 'You
know, I may be Superman, but I don't think I can pull through
that fight.' It was a decision based on my physical conditioning,
my mental training and focus, and where I was at in my fight
game. I believe in my heart of hearts, that at one hundred percent
I can destroy Vanderlei Silva. But I'm not one hundred percent.
I think the challenge is to try and get me close to that level."
So
with a few weeks of intensive training and no rational fight
scheduled, Shamrock friend and student Bob Cook approached the
World Extreme Cagefighting show by asking what plans they had
for a late summer event on the East Coast, and if those plans
could possibly accommodate a marquee fighter already prepared
to peak that weekend. It was not a problem. The WEC chose Ricardo
Almeida, a Renzo Gracie student and UFC veteran, to complete
the main event set for August 31 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in
Uncasville, Connecticut. It's a solid bout, far more compelling
than Shamrock contesting the affable, but average, Oyama in Japan.
Such was the interest in the match that many have wondered why
an upstart promotion like the WEC could finalize Shamrock's comeback,
while the UFC is left to wonder what happened.
"The
thing about the UFC is that they're so concerned about controlling
people, controlling athletes, and protecting their product that
they sometimes shoot themselves in the foot, and it seems like
they did on this one," he reasoned. "They don't want
you to go around and be Frank Shamrock. They want you to be UFC's
Frank Shamrock. The WEC people were real open about me competing
and using my image, and doing a number of other things. They
didn't want to tie me down. They were just excited to have me
fight and participate. They gave me pretty good money and a pretty
tough opponent. Everything just kind of fell into place."
For
some, despite Almeida's credible record and experience, Shamrock
is already a winner on paper. He scoffed at the prospect of having
anything wrapped up. "He's a very serious challenge for
me, because I haven't been in the game, I haven't been training
at the top level, and here's a guy who's going to come out and
try everything in his power to beat me. I have to be as good
as I can be in thirty days. That's my challenge, and it's got
me excited. It's got me training really hard. It's got me focused
on this fight. I'm not looking past it. I'm looking at it as
one of the toughest challenges of my career."
Whether
the motivation is really there is sometimes suspect. In one breath,
Shamrock will discuss the anticipation of returning to a sport
he helped cultivate, eager to finally reap the long-delayed benefits
of scrapping for small crowds and spotty respect. Other moments
have him seemingly weary of the fight game, weary of the rigors
of training, and weary of the roughhousing. "I'm so tired
of training, beating my body up, that I'd just as soon sit and
play chess than go out and try to beat someone down. I really
like the challenges of competition. With the MMA stuff, the only
problem is that I've been there and done that."
But
facing Almeida is seemingly a strong statement, one that may
have made up Shamrock's mind for him. "I think that fighting
Almeida will show me, and show the MMA world, where I'm at. And
I think according to that, we can judge what comes next."
His contract with the WEC was simply for the one fight. He has
not ruled out entrance to Pride, but the dream of trading Mongolian
chops with Saku is now dormant. "It's just a pipe dream.
I don't know what the deal is. I have been told my image is not
strong enough in Japan anymore, I have been told that stylistically
people don't want to see the fight in Japan, I have been told
it won't sell on American PPV. I've been told everything, and
I don't know what to believe.
"I
held on for two years to try and get that fight going. I did
everything humanly possible besides sawing my arm off. It just
kept slipping away. I am completely disinterested in it. I don't
care, I don't think it's gonna happen, and I'm just gonna move
on."
The
UFC is another option, of course, but the aforementioned concern
over their lack of star treatment bothers him. "They still
think that the UFC is the star. They still think that the UFC
is what people go to see. I disagree with that. I don't even
know who promotes De La Hoya, but I go to see Oscar. I think
that's what our sport needs. They need to take individual stars
and build them as stars and continue to build them, and put time,
energy, and money into them.
"They're
too focused on the sport. The sport's wonderful, everyone digs
the sport. But I don't think the sport itself is big enough or
strong enough or exciting enough to put us over and go to the
next level. There are a handful of superstar athletes that can
take it to the next level. Fighting is the last thing that goes
on. The first thing that goes on is talent, and stars, and their
interaction, and their lives, and how they carry themselves,
and what makes them fight. I think they've missed the point."
Consistently,
the UFC has made their point with Tito Ortiz, their brash and
dominant Light Heavyweight Champion who continues to be the promotion's
figurehead, even during a fourteen-month layoff due to injury.
"I don't know if he's the best option," Shamrock analyzed.
"I think he is the best that they've got. They put a lot
of time and commitment and money into Tito Ortiz. I think that
there are a handful of superstars in this sport, and Tito's one
of them. He represents a large group of people. I think there
should be five more that represent other groups of people.
"Everyone
is drawn to someone, and identifies with something. Not everyone
identifies with Tito. Some people identify with Jens Pulver,
and so Jens should be a star. They need to develop personalties
and people. Not just one guy. It's not just one guy. I know for
a fact that my Grandma does not like Tito Ortiz. Just for the
reason of what he symbolizes. There are those people who don't
like that extreme, over the top smash-your-head-in approach.
I think that if you put your eggs in one basket, like with Tito
Ortiz, than you've labeled your sport. This is what we do, this
is who everybody is. And if you don't like that, you're not gonna
participate. You won't watch."
Should
Shamrock decide to return to the Octagon, he will likely head
directly for the 185 lb. class, home to current Champion and
newly minted star Murilo Bustamante. "I would like to fight
Bustamante. I like his skill, I like his approach. I've been
watching him for years, watching him do his thing. I remember
when he fought Bohlander a long time ago. I was impressed with
him then, and he's only gotten better.
"But
again, he's an A-level fighter at the very top of his game, and
for me that was three years ago. I have a little catching up
to do. I made a lot of jokes that when I got out, I was gonna
stop and let people catch up, but it's actually turned out to
be the truth. Everybody's gotten a lot better, and I'm still
the guy who walked out after beating Tito."
Shamrock
is Tito's only unavenged loss, and in a roundabout way, Ortiz
may get his chance to even things up with the name, if not the
body. In November, he will meet UFC old school star Ken Shamrock
in the grudge match to end all grudge matches. Adoptive sibling
Frank, having trained extensively with both men, will be harassed
unmercifully until fight time.
He
has not yet grown tired of the pestering. "I think that
fight is gonna be enormous," he enthused. "I can't
pick a winner. I think it depends on if Tito's knee has healed,
I think it depends on what weight Ken comes in at, how hard he's
training, how good a shape he's in. I think it's a big turn in
the industry. Ken Shamrock is a pioneer of the UFC, a pioneer
of MMA, and he's meeting the modern-day equivalent of Mike Tyson
in MMA, the unstoppable smashing machine. So I think we've come
full circle now in the sport. I'm just dying to see the results."
Both
men are noted for their strength. "When I fought Tito, I
came out of the ring, and I told Maurice Smith, 'Maurice, that
guy is as strong as Ken is.' I don't know. I wrestled with Tito
many times after that. I've wrestled with Ken many, many times.
I think strengthwise, they're both comparable."
So,
whose corner? "None. I'm gonna sit ringside, with a beer
in my hand, and I'm gonna enjoy the violence."
Having
been a spectator for most of the past few years, Shamrock has
also been witness to the first real scandal of MMA, Josh Barnett's
suspension for using steroids during competition. "He did
all this great fighting and built himself up, and everyone said,
'Oh, he's fat, he doesn't represent the sport well.' When he
made a change, which I don't agree with, and rose to a new level,
he gets busted for steroids. He's caught in this weird quagmire
where he can't win for losing, and he can't lose for winning.
"I
reviewed the stuff that happened at the commission meeting, and
I think his representation may have been a little...misguided.
I think that hurt him in the long run. I think it's a step in
the right direction that they are testing for steroids in our
sport. I think it will legitimize what we are doing even more
so. I say it to every athlete out there: Don't take the shortcut.
Don't use steroids. Because it's gonna help you in this fight,
but then you'll be damaged psychologically, physically, and you
may wind up in a position like Barnett where it damages you for
a long period of time."
Shamrock
is well built. Not to the point of being obscenely sculpted,
but clearly in shape and possessed of some premium muscle mass.
And so the question is asked: Have you ever? "Never. Ever.
And I refuse to. I'll be perfectly honest with you: I've done
about every drug under the sun, but I made a conscious decision
in 1994 when I started training that I would not use steroids.
I saw the effect they had on people very close to me. I saw the
physical and psychological effect. I have an extremely addictive
personality, and my fear was that my psyche, my psychological
approach to things would be changed and differed by using steroids,
and I would no longer have that focus and that strength that
made me who I am."
Shamrock
pegs past usage among athletes in MMA to have been at eighty-five
percent. "I think that percentage has slipped now, because
of the fear of getting caught. But at the same time, on a lower
level it may be growing, because people see the guys at the top
have these phenomenal physiques and they look like superheroes,
and people want to emulate that. But they don't have good role
models to say, 'Don't do that crap.' I fear that it's growing
at a grassroots level."
Illegal
substances are seemingly not part of Shamrock's equation to conquer
his chosen profession. "I know what it takes to be a champion,
I know what it takes to be the best in the world, and I've done
it many times." But the lingering presence of boredom, of
listlessness, remains. "I don't know who else to fight or
what else to do or how else to challenge myself. I go into the
gym and train as hard as I can, but it's not the same. I don't
have those dreams of sitting there with all those belts, 'cause
I got all those belts. I got all the stuff. Now it's just career
decisions.
"But
who knows? Maybe I will ride off into the sunset with another
belt, or another victory."
For
Shamrock, the thrill of the combat arenas may have dimmed. For
fans, the promise of the former star lighting up Bustamante or
Baroni or Lindland on national television, shouting, "I
gotcha now!" may be infectious, and enough to make him smile
once more, under the hot lights and through the cuts and bruises.
Welcome
back, Frank. Now get well soon.
Source:
Maxfighting |
Frank
Shamrock Interview
For those
of you who don't have Internet access on the weekends, you missed
a lot. Let's try to get you caught up. It was supposed to be
just another weekend at MMAWeekly.com with live updates from
the UA III Vengeance show, until the phone call came. Some of
our staff talked with the Public Relations staff of Frank Shamrock
and unfortunately the news was true. Frank Shamrock had broke
his leg in training. This was confirmed by Vikki from Shamrock's
PR desk.
-MMAWeekly
Editor Scott Petersen called UFC Reporter, Ryan Bennett, who
does the interviews for our site and asked him if he heard the
news about Frank. Ryan said "yea I'm actually talking to
him on the phone right now." Bennett was going to do a follow
up interview. Scott asked him if it was o.k. to put there conversation
on the website and Frank was kind enough to say yes, so here
is the official explanation of what happened in training.
Ryan:
I know you were looking forward to your comeback fight. Tell
me what happened.
Frank:
Last Thursday I was training with Crazy Bob. (Trainer Bob Cook).
I kicked Bob in the elbow and it hurt (my leg) quite a bit. I
paused for about 20 seconds, then continued training. I kept
going and I looked down at it and it kept swelling and swelling
and swelling. So I went to a chiropractor and he took some x-rays
and it showed a crack. I was thinking, well I will lay on my
back for a day or two and it will be O.K. I thought I could train
some more later, but it kept swelling like crazy. I then went
to the orthopedic doctor and come to find out I broke my leg.
I broke the fibula right in half. It's very painful. So now I
have the big fat cast on and I'm bummed out. It's very frustrating
because I was looking forward to this fight a lot."
Ryan:
So what are the doctors telling you....any idea when you can
come back?
Frank:
The good thing is, it's not a compound fracture or displaced.
It broke clean through so if I stay off it for 30 days, it will
start to heal properly and then I can start back into some training
and go back to work.
Ryan:
So fight wise, when do you think you can come back?
Frank:
I told the WEC that I'm still committed into getting this fight
done for them and defeating Ricardo Almeida for the West Coast.
So once my leg is healed, I will go back to work. As soon as
we can get everything together I will be back fighting for the
WEC.
Ryan:
So this would be with the same organization and same fighter?
Frank:
Oh yea. We will get this done and I will be back after this minor
set back....my BROKEN LEG! (laughs)
Ryan:
I know this was very disappointing for you, but you sound like
your in better spirits than 24 hours ago.
Frank:
Yea I was pretty bummed this weekend. I really wanted this fight
for a lot of reasons, but what are you going to do. There's nothing
I can do about it.
Ryan:
Well get that leg better, because I know a ton of people are
excited to see you fight again.
Frank:
I'm excited to fight for the fans. A little too excited... obviously
since I broke my leg. My camp says I train with TOO much aggression,
whatever that means.
Ryan:
Will you still be at the event on August 31st?
Frank:
Oh yea. I will be there. I got to support the west coast guys.
Then after, I will rest a little and start training for that
next fight. I will be back hopefully by December to fight again."
Source:
MMA Weekly |
SHOOTO
'SHOOTO GIG EAST 10'
August
27th, 2002
Kitazawa Town Hall - Tokyo, Japan
Promoter: PARAESTRA
SHOOTO
returns to Kitazawa Hall for a 'smaller' show, featuring the
semi finals of three of the extended tournaments SHOOTO has been
working on this year. Of particular interest is the -89 KG (about
196 lbs) category, a weight class SHOOTO has not used extensively
in the past.
Current
Line-up:
CLASS B Middleweight:
Shinobu Ito vs. Hiroaki Okada
Lightweight [-65Kg] 2002 Rookie Tournament Semi-Final:
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Hiroshi Komatsu
Bantamweight [-56Kg] 2002 Rookie Tournament Semi-Final:
Yasuhiro Urushitani vs. Tomohiro Hashi
Middleweight [-76Kg] 2002 Rookie Tournament Semi-Final:
Yuji Kusu vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
CLASS B [-89.0Kg]:
Ryuta Sakurai v. The Great Naniwa
CLASS B Welterweight:
Masato Fujiwara vs. Koutetsu Boku
CLASS A Welterweight:
Takumi Nakayama vs. Takeshi Yamazaki
Source:
Abu Dhabi |
ULTIMATE
FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP'S WORLD TELEVISION PREMIERE ON FOX SPORTS
NET HAILED A MAJOR SUCCESS!
HIGHLY
ANTICIPATED 2ND SPECIAL ON FOX SPORTS NET EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
RATINGS MOMENTUM
LAS
VEGAS, AUGUST 7, 2002....Following its recent ratings success
on Fox Sports Net, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will
return for a second installment of UFC: As Real As It Gets at
6 p.m. (local time), Sunday, Aug. 11. This special one-hour edition
of the network's Sunday Night Fights will once again showcase
an array of taped bouts of exciting fight action never before
seen on TV and profile UFC fighters, including Ken Shamrock.
Featured fights include a title bout between UFC Light Heavyweight
Champion Tito Ortiz of Huntington Beach, California vs. Elvis
Sinosic of Sydney, Australia; a welterweight match-up between
Pat Miletich of Davenport, Iowa and Carlos Newton of Newmarket,
Ontario, Canada and a heavyweight fight between Frank Mir of
Las Vegas, Nevada and Roberto Traven of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"We are excited about the UFC returning to our air this
Sunday night. It promises to be a highly anticipated event and
we hope to build on the success of last Sunday's show,"
said Dan Harrison, Senior VP, Programming and Strategic Planning
for Fox Sports Net.
"We know from Fox Sports Net's first broadcast of As Real
As It Gets that American sports fans like our brand of fighting.
It's exhilarating to know our world television debut was so well
received and we look forward to this Sunday's show," said
Dana White, UFC President.
UFC's next PPV event is 10:00 p.m. (EST) Friday, September 27,
2002, live from Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
Source:
FCF |
Quote
of the Day
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not
absence of fear."
Mark Twain |
Robinho
making Shooto debut
Word is that Moura
is a BJJ prodigy and does not train that much. He has a gift
and absorbs technique immediately. Because of that, it seems
that he is not putting in adequate time training for his Shooto
debut and Nova Uniao head, Andre Pederneiras is worried enough
to threaten to pull him out if this does not change.
SHOOTO in September 16th, 2002
September 16th, 2002 - Kanagawa, Yokohama Culture
Gymnasium: Sustain
SHOOTO is gearing
up for another big event in Japan, this time in Yokohama. More
matches to be announced, but just added is Nova Uniao's 5X BJJ
Black Belt World Champion Robson Moura. Another great card to
watch for...
COMPLETE CARD
- Subject to Change:
Class B 2 x 5 minutes rounds: Makoto Ishikawa v. Eiji Murayama
Class A 3 x 5 minutes rounds: Mamoru v. Robson Moura
Featherweight [-60.0Kg]: ABKZ v. Kentaro Imaizumi
Welterweight [-70.0Kg]: Vitor Ribeiro v. Hiroshi Tsuruya
Lightweight [-65.0Kg]: Norifumi 'KID' Yamamoto v. Tetsuo Katsuta
Featherweight [-60.0Kg] Championships: Hisao Ikeda v. Masahiro
Oishi
Source: ADCC |
Fighters
needed
"Walk the Walk - Bring It ON"
Promoter, Tony
Giraldi - looking for Male / female AMATEUR FIGHTERS-ONLY! Tentive
date December 12, 2002, Neil Blasidell Center. Sanction by the
International Kickboxing Federation (IKF), "The Largest
Kickboxing Sanctioning Body In The World." State championships
open to students, J.R. Fighters ages 8-17, 18-year's old and
above, from all local martial art schools, gyms, etc. Competing
discipline are Muay-Thai and Kickboxing.
The 2002 State
Championships will serve as a precursor to Hawaii's 2003 Regional
Championships. Finalists from each weight class and discipline
will advance to the 2003 IKF / RINGSIDE USA Nationals and represent
Hawaii.
If you want to fight, please E-Mail: Snowtiger499@aol.com, your full name, gym name, coach
contact number, discipline, ture fight record By AUGUST 31, 2002,
to receive your fighters registration forms, fighters registration
fee is $40.00
Source: Tony
Giraldi |
INTERVIEW:
UCC President Stephane Patry Submitted by: Mike "the shooter's shooter"
McNeil
The UCC is ready to invade the U.S with a fantastic show set
for Sept.
17th in Honolulu Hawaii and will be unveiling their Octagonal ring back
in Montreal at UCC 11 on Oct. 11th. It looks like the UCC is
ready to become 'the next big thing'. We were lucky to catch
up with the very busy UCC President Stephane Patry and ask him
about the future of his ever growing MMA company.
ADCC-You
must be really excited about the next 2 months for the UCC with
the Brawl in Hawaii and of course UCC 11 in Montreal? Stephane
Patry- I'm very, very excited! The company has finaly reached
the level where I wanted it to be when I started this two and
a half years ago. Actually, my plan was to do that in 5 years
so we are way ahead of our objective and that makes me very proud.
We worked so hard in the last two years to make the UCC what
it is today, and these two shows will just help solidify our
position as one of the most serious groups in this sport.
ADCC-How
did the Hawaii event come about? What made you want to have a
UCC there? S.P-As you know, I have tremendous respect for Monte
Cox. He's been my mentor since I started the UCC, I mean before
I even met him the first time I was already looking up to him.
What he did for this sport in the USA and even on the world scene
is just amazing. Look at the fighters he manages, they are all
great athletes and also class acts, that is the Monte Cox influence.
In the last years I got the chance to become a close friend of
Monte, we talk every day and every day I learn from his experience.
Lately we started talking about doing a UCC show south of the
border and we were planning on doing that in Salt Lake City at
first. But earlier this year I had the chance to meet another
great name in the MMA business, T.J. Thompson and he's just another exceptionnal promoter.
So we decided to go to America's paradise for the first UCC in
the States! It's going to be just amazing working with Monte
and T.J., having them help me on that show is just phenomenal.
It will be another great show!
ADCC-Your
events just seem to be getting bigger and better. Not only do
you have some of the best production in MMA but you're also picking
up huge name fighters. How far do you see the UCC going?? S.P-
Like I said before, that comes from two things: hard work and
passion. Some people are wondering why I'm running like a mad
man at every show, that's only because I'm a perfectionist. I
want everything to be perfect. I want to make sure the production
is perfect so I get really involved in every little detail. And
it's the same thing with every little aspect of the event, from
production to making sure our ring girls are the best looking
in the business! hahaha! But it's not a one man show, I also
have a very hard working team that is learning every show. From
working with me in the last two or three years they are starting
to know exactly what I expect from them and that's why the UCC
is improving every show. I'm sure you'll see me soon sit down
and enjoy one of our shows!!! hahaha!
ADCC-AT
UCC 11 in Montreal you will be debuting the Octagonal ring, you
must be excited about that? S.P.-UCC 11 will be just amazing!
This show is such a huge step for us that this had to be the
show we would introduce 'THE UCC ZONE', our 30' Octagonal ring.
This will be a spectacular show. We already know the fights are
going to make this one of the best MMA show ever produced, but
we will also have 120,000 Watts of sound and lightning and we
will also have some incredible fireworks effects throughout the
event, it will be a great show. Look at those matchups, Duane
Ludwig and Jens Pulver has the potential to be the fight of the
year. We talked a lot about David Loiseau in the last few years
and how we believe he is the best canadian fighter in MMA, it's
gonna be his chance to prove he is one of the best fighter not
only in Canada but in the world when he fights Jesse Jones for
the UCC World Middleweight championship. I was really impressed
with Jesse Jones, he's such a complete athlete. His grappling
is very good; his striking is impressive especially his kicks
but what impressed me the most about Jesse is his transition.
I mean, he beat Dave Menne by armbar a few years ago. So this
will be Loiseau's toughest challenge... While David Loiseau was
climbing the ladder of success in Canada, another young warrior
was also emerging and I'm talking about Steve Vigneault. Steve
is becoming one of the most dangerous striker in the game. He
has a 7-1 record with 6 KO's. I heard a lot of people saying
he did not fight top level competition, but that's BS. He'll
get the chance to fight one of the toughest guys around on October
11th in Anthony Fryklund: THIS WILL BE A WAR. Plus we have Sean
Alvarez defending his World HW title for the first time, the
return of Canadian Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre when
he squares off against one of the most entertaining UCC Fighters
Sean 'Pimp Daddy' Pierson. Wow! I'm so excited! And all this
in the new Octogonal ring! This will be a great show!
ADCC-How
did you get the idea and who did you go to to put this dream
into reality? S.P- Actually I wanted to have this octagonal ring
when we first started but I thought it would be better to introduce
it when the UCC would reach 'The Next Level'. So this is the
time!!! I always thought MMA had to be played in a ring not in
a cage but also I thought the ring would have to be different
from a boxing ring, to set our sport apart from boxing, the octagonal
ring, in my opinion, will become the perfect ring for our sport.
I know the cage is the 'original' and everything but I also think
it will always be bad for public opinion.
ADCC-Did
the company that made the ring think you were crazy or did they
know about MMA etc. S.P.- They really thought I was crazy! They
are used to building traditional boxing rings so that was somehow
unusual for them but they also learned to know me and they know
I'm crazy! I always come up with crazy ideas buy they always
seem to end up working very well for us!
ADCC-You
seem to have a very good working relationship with Monte Cox.
How did that come about? S.P-Like I said before, the UCC has
reached 'The Next Level' a lot because of Monte. And it's not
only the fact that he brought some awesome fighters in our show.
It's all the experience he has. I mean, we talk every day and
I learned so much from him. Who promoted more shows than Monte
Cox? Nobody. Who managed more champions than Monte Cox? Nobody.
I could never thank Monte enough for all he did for us.
ADCC-Explain
a little about your event 'Future Stars' this seems like great
idea to scout for and prepare fighters? S.P.- I thought it was
important to develop talent, I mean we have some very good fighters
that emerged from this division: Georges St-Pierre, Shawn Davidson,
Stephane Vigneault, Frederic Poirier and Yan Pellerin. And we
will develop even more talent. It's also a good avenue for us
to keep our weekly MMA show alive on National television.
ADCC-That's
great Stephane. Thank you very much and good luck in the future!
S.P- No problem Mike.See you at UCC
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Most games are lost, not won."
Casey Stengel |
Glad
to be back
Sorry about not adding to what Mike posted, but it was close
enough. The trip was great and a ton of fun. As with other trips
that we took with Jiu-Jitsu guys, we always get a lot closer
to our travelmates by the time we get back...Not that kind of
close. Although Shane did repeatedly ask me, "Do you like
me?" Sorry private joke.
To add a little color commentary for those of you that are thinking
about going to Brazil some day. Our apartment in Ipanema, which
is a better area than Copacabana, had a pilot light to heat the
water. For you young 'uns, that is where you have to get a match
and light a little flame that heats the water. So basically we
had luke warm showers for our entire trip. The air is poluted,
not extremely poluted, but like Los Angeles, which causes me
to cough after a few days. Shane was nice enough to hack on all
of us and pass around his cold. It got bad enough for me to scower
my Portuguese-English dictionary and write all my symptoms on
a piece of paper and place my life in the hands of a corner drug
store clerk. We all got just enough sleep to survive, while siteseeing
and shopping. I am working on a primer for traveling to Brazil
to add to our page.
And the flight time? 18-19 hours IN THE AIR. Not including stop
overs or time spent in the airport.
As far as the tournament, our guys did great considering that
we came in one day early and that some of them were partially
sick. The mundial was not as good as it was in the past due to
Nova Uniao's new BJJ federation and their creation of another
World Championships that was held on the same day as the CBJJ's
to directly compete with it. The trend that we saw and like was
that BJJ guys are now going for more submissions, rather than
playing a sweep and stall game. It is good to see BJJ going back
to its roots.
I also wanted to send
out a special thanks to the boys who kept our Casca Grossa Academy
open and running while we were gone; Rex Barnum, Kaleo Auwae
and Brandon Bernardino. It is a great feeling to have the piece
of mind and not one doubt that these guys were going to run our
academy as good, if not better, than we would run it ourselves.
A million thanks to these brothers.
My wife started
her night job, so I won't be at the main academy due to baby
sitting duties, so I will see you guys when I can.
Chris |
UFC
39: The Warriors Return Card Finalized?
I found this on
Sherdog's site, but the UFC site mentions nothing about the card.
Or at least I can't find it on their site. Killer card though.
The best in the East fight the best in the West: Serra vs. Penn.
We waited to see this in BJJ, but it is going to happen in NHB.
Cabbage will fight the winner of the SB Heavyweight Tournament
Tim Sylvia. Thomas and Uno will be awesome and Menne and Baroni
are going to bang.
Randy Couture will face Ricco Rodriguez for the now vacant UFC
HW title on September 27, 2002.
Other bouts include:
Matt Serra vs BJ Penn
Din Thomas vs
Caol Uno
Pedro Rizzo
vs Gan McGee
Tim Sylvia vs
Wes Correira
Dave Menne vs
Phil Baroni
Matt Lindland
vs Ivan Salaverry
Sean Sherk vs
Benji Radach
Source: Sherdog |
Local
girl does great at National IKF Tournament
2002 IKF/Ringside
USA National Tournament
IKF/Ringside USA National Tournament, in Davenport, Iowa,
August 2-4, 2002. This was Hawaii's FRIST TIME - EVER.
Elisa Oxendine, Light Middleweight 159
lbs, place 3rd in the IKF/Ringside Muay-Thai National Tournament
from Giraldi Muay-Thai, Hawaii, USA.
Quarterfinals:
Elisa Oxendine, Hawaii vs Ron Young,
Kentucky. Elisa Oxendine won by unanimous decision 30-24.
Semifinals:
Elisa Oxendine, Hawaii vs Philip
Botha, Georgia. Elisa Oxendine lost by split decision 28-29.
During this bout he received a serve right knee injury, leaving
him with his left leg to fight for 3 rounds.
2002 Light Middleweight Final Bout:
Ben Yelle, Michigan vs Philip Botha, Georgia.
To my surprise, Michigan's Ben Yelle, sat next to me and ask
if I could be his Head Corner-Man for his championship bout?
Because his Head Corner-Man didn't show for his championship
fight. After I ask my assistant coach Terrance Manago and fighter
Elisa Oxendine, hey, Ben wants me to be his Head Corner-Man,
they said okay. Well, Ben Yelle, Michigan won the 2002 IKF/Ringside
Muay-Thai Light Middleweight tittle by split decision 29-28,
with Tony Giraldi as his Head Corner-Man. I would like to thanks
my assistant coaches Terrance Manago, Mike Tanaka, Eddie "Hammer
Head". And special thanks to our sponsors OICA Custom Print,
INTEGRATED Pest Management, EUROSPORT, AL'S TINTING, Rad Motorsport,
PAMCO, L.A. Landscape, ConstRx, Ltd, Mu Beta Lambda Chapter Alpha
Fraternity, Pearlridge Chirpractic Center.
Giraldi Muay-Thai, Hawaii, USA, established by
Coach/Step-Father, Thailand's own 6-time World Muay-Thai Champion,
Charlie "Little Elephant" Jaiut-Solkoloff.
Mahalo,
Tony Giraldi
Source: Tony
Giraldi |
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig Interview
By Dan Rose
August 9, 2002
Jens
Pulver and Duane Ludwig will go head to head at UCC's October
Spectacular. It's an amazing opportunity for Ludwig to solidify
himself as one of the word's best and step into MMA's bright
hot spotlight. I caught up with "Bang" and he was gracious
enough to do a quick interview.
Bang beat Thomas "Wildman" Denny in Hawaii at the Shogun
event.
Dan
Rose: Duane, right off the bat, where'd the nickname come from?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: About my nickname, nothing much really.
One day I thought of it and realized that it makes sense and
it rhymes plus its original.
Dan
Rose: How old are you?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I just turned 24 August 4th so everybody
better hurry up and send there gifts.
Dan
Rose: Where are you from?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: Denver….
Dan
Rose: How long have you been training?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I have been training Muay Thai for 9
years now and I have been rolling on and off for about 3 years.
Dan
Rose: Who are some of your influences?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I have a few influences. Bas Rutten
of course also Bruce Lee, Ramon Dekkers, Rob Kaman and Jesus.
Dan
Rose: Where do you train?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: When I am training in California, I
train with Bas, Bettiss Mansoui, Romi Aram and Javier Vasquez.
When I train in Colorado, I train with Christian Allen, Nate
Marquardt and Mark Beirs.
Dan
Rose: Who is your main instructor?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I would say that my main instructor
is Jesus. He is the one that keeps me focused and in good health
to train.
Dan
Rose: What made you pursue a life in mixed martial arts?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I love MMA, it's easier on the body.
The money is better and the exposure is great.
Dan
Rose: What do you do when you're not training?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: When I am not training, I help my training
partners train.
Dan
Rose: Which do you enjoy more, NHB or K1 style?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: K1 has always been my dream, but I love
MMA also. I really want to win one of the Tournaments then I
will probably stick with MMA.
Dan
Rose: Duane, is there anyone you've lost to who you'd like another
shot at?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: There is only one guy that I lost to
that I would really LOVE to fight again. Alex Gong. That is,
if he has the balls to step up to the plate.
Dan
Rose: How would you fight him differently?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: The only thing that I would do different
this time is KO him. Hopefully I will have more then two weeks
to train for the fight. All though I would fight him in a heart
beat.
Dan
Rose: You've racked up a lot of titles and championship belts
in your short career. You're among the best and most exciting
fighter that isn't in the UFC. How do you feel you'd fit in there?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: The UFC has offered me the chance to
fight for them but I had to follow my dream which is K1. They
both came up at the same time so I had to go with my dream.
Dan
Rose: Is that something you hope comes along again?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: Right now, I have no problem trading
with anyone on the feet and my ground is coming along nicely
so I think that I would do really well in the UFC. Either at
155 or 170.
Dan
Rose: Well, let's switch gears and talk about the fight you have
on the horizon. You'll be fighting against Jens Pulver at UCC
11 in October. How are you approaching that fight?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I am approaching this fight as a once
in a life time chance because it is. I am training very smart
right now and I can't wait for the bell to ring.
Dan
Rose: Right on, obviously you'd love to stand and have Jens stand,
but it's very likely he'll try and take you down and fight on
the mat…what can you do to keep the fight on your terms?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: When the fight comes, I will be comfortable
in any situation.
Dan
Rose: Jens is one of the rare fighters who have owned their weight
division. He is almost the consensus top 155 guy in the world.
A win over Jens would give you carte blanche to fight anywhere;
does that add extra pressure to you?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: There is no added pressure to fight
Jens, actually it's a blessing. His style suits me very well.
Dan
Rose: UCC utilizes the Octagonal Ring….do you think that
will work in your favor….not having a cage to get pressed
against?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: If he does try to GnP me, then the ring
will be great. I won't be stuck in the fence.
Dan
Rose: The UFC is having their Lightweight Tourney. The first
fight has BJ Penn taking on Matt Serra. The second fight is Caol
Uno mixing it up with Din Thomas with the winners facing each
other at the next show. Who would bet on to come out of that
Champion?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I can't call the UFC tournament, they
are all so good. It just depends on whose night it is.
Dan
Rose: I hear ya, it's a tough call. I think Penn is the favorite,
but I am putting my money on Serra.
Anything else you'd like to add Duane?
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig: I would like to thank my sponsors, THEOCTAGON.COM,
GLC 2000, that stuff works. Dakotas's steak house and my training
partners for putting in there time to help get me ready. Also
JESUS for keeping me alive.
Source:
Sherdog |
Quote
of the Day
A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities
and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.
Harry
Truman, American President (b. 1884) |
UFC
37.5 on Oceanic Pay-per-view
Friday August 16, 2002 4:00 PM
Channel 76
Belfort vs. Liddell (Main Event)
Listings
for Oceanic
Replays
Sat Aug 17 1:00 PM Ch 77
Sun Aug 18 8:00 AM Ch 77
Sun Aug 18 12:00 PM Ch 76
Sunday,
Aug 11 UFC (Ortiz vs. Kondo, past UFC) 3:00 pm Ch 41 (FSN?)
|
UFO:
First Impressions...
More details
will become evident over the next few days but it appears that
the UFO debuted with a horrible and confusing show. Proving once
again that MMA and Pro Wrestling do not mix on the same show.
Many Japanese
fans also were vocal about the event wishing that Inoki would
stay out of MMA and just do pro wrestling.
Those attending
live said the crowd was between 10,000 and 13,000 which is horrific
considering the money spent on this show.
Inoki even tried
some last minute publicity stunts (such as advertising Mike Tyson)
that apparently did not work either. For the record, Tyson wasn't
there but Inoki played it off like he had signed Mike Tyson for
the 'next' UFO show.
Complete Results
& Descriptions:
1. Hirotaka
Yokoi beat Bulldozer George in 1:47 with a guillotine choke.
2. Jens Pulver
beat Takehiro Murahama by split decision.
3. Vladimir
Matyushenko beat Rogerio Nogueira by decision.
4. Joannie Laurer
(Chyna from WWF) beat Chika Nakamura in 1:50 by referee stoppage
in a worked fight.
The first four
fights weren't even televised. The rest of the card went as follows.
5. Mario Sperry
vs. Wataru Sakata. In a fight that was described as 'action-less'
by a fan who attended the show, Mario Sperry utilized his ground
wizardry to neutralize Sakata.
Sperry continuously
took Sakata down at will end gain controlling positions and including
a mount but could not finish him. The decision victory goes to
Sperry.
One controversial
point in the fight is when doctors took OVER 4 minutes to help
Mario Sperry with a cut. Since it's a pro wrestling show, there
aren't rules or regulations that would make this a sport. The
fight was allowed to continue where in most cases it could have
been stopped.
The sixth match
featured Wallid Ismail, coming off a loss to Alex Steibling,
faced Murakami Kuzanari.
Wallid controlled
the ground game, as expected. Kuzanari's guard gave Wallid trouble
throughout the first round. Wallid would try to make the most
of a half-mount but Kuzanari kept getting full guard.
During the second
round, Wallid threw a wild right hand that connected and knocked
Kuzanari down. Wallid took control and landed dozens of shots
(punches and knees) until the ref stepped in to call a TKO win
for Wallid.
Sanae Kikuta
was soundly finished by Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira by KO.
The first round
was described as VERY exciting as Nogueira made excellent transitions
almost getting Kikuta in an ankle lock. The two played it safe
for most of the fight until the end. Nogueira landed a straight
right that put Kikuta on a stretcher ride to the dressing room.
The Kazayuki
Fujita vs. Yasuda match was good from all accounts. It appeared
that Yasuda knows nothing and Fujita came off as the 'pro wrestling'
God he is. This could have been a work since Fujita is one of
Inoki's people. Fujita wins with the arm-triangle choke and Yasuda's
light go out.
The Naoya Ogawa
vs. Matt Gafarri match was described as totally fake and garbage.
Gafarri was made fun of for being grossly overweight for MMA
competition (well over 310lbs). Gafarri took one punch to the
nose and it was over. He fell to the ground and the fight was
done.
Ogawa continued
his crusade to fight Rickson. Again, Ogawa has made it clear
that he will NOT DO A REAL FIGHT unless the money is huge. Ogawa
vs. Rickson will result in the largest Japanese fight in history
(money and attendance).
This has got
to be the largest money losing MMA show in history and the proposed
return of UFO is January will probably not happen. MMA and pro
wrestling just don't mix!
Source: Abu
Dhabi |
Royce
Gracie Interview
Gong Kakutougi
Sep.
22 No.125
Interviewed
by Shu Inagaki
Translated
by Roberto Pedreira
Read
Mario Sperry's prediction for the fight.
****
Q:
What made you decide to fight with Yoshida this time?
Royce:
Because this year is the 50th anniversary of my father Helio's
fight with Masahiko Kimura, I had been thinking to commemorate
it with a jiu-jitsu match. My father is turns 90 years old this
year, you know? And I have been talking about it with the promoter
since last year, and I started to get into shape one and half
months ago.
Q:
Why did you choose Yoshida?
Royce:
It wasn't me who decided. It was the promoter. Probably because
Yoshida is the top judoka.
Q:
Have you seen him on video or something?
Royce:
I haven't seen him, but I've heard a lot about him. And he is
strongly built, isn't he?
Q:
Yoshida weighs over 20 kilos [44 lbs.] heavier than you. Do you
want him to lose weight?
Royce:
Have I ever complained about an opponent's weight? (laugh)
Q:
No, you haven't. And there's no time limit?
Royce:
No [there is a time limit]. I want to fight under the same rules
that my father fought with Mr. Kimura. Three 10 minute rounds,
and if no one gets finalized, then it will be a draw. And striking
is not allowed either.
Q:
Because Yoshida has no vale tudo experience, wouldn't it be to
your advantage to permit striking?
Royce:
That's definitely true. But because this is Yoshida's first pro
fight, not allowing striking is probably the best thing to do.
And it will be a good challenge for me too to fight with him,
the strongest grappler and the judo gold medallist, with a dogi
under the rules of grappling, because I've been doing only vale
tudo these days and far from a fight only with grappling. When
I told Rickson that this fight was decided, he asked me "What
made you decide to fight with him?" I answered, "because
I love a challenge."
Q:
At a press conference, Mr. Ishii said "probably it will
be vale tudo......"
Royce:
Nothing has determined yet. We will start negotiations from now.
Q:
What is a difference in techniques between Judo and Jiu-jitsu?
Royce:
The first point above is the throwing technique. I've heard that
Yoshida can quickly throw any opponent no matter who they are.
It must be possible for that kind of fighter with such a strong
throwing technique to KO an opponent with a throw.
Q:
Frank Shamrock in the UFC KOed an opponent [Igor Zinoviev] by
throwing him. And Vanderlei [Silva] broke Sakuraba's shoulder
by throwing him, didn't he?
Royce:
That's right. Around the time when Kimura fought with my father,
Kimura also knocked out many opponents by throwing them. And
Kimura told my father before that fight that "you are completely
lighter than me, so if you can fight with me for more than 3
minutes I will consider you the winner". But it took him
more than 10 minutes to have finished my father with an armlock.
Q:
What is a difference in ground fighting between Judo and Jiu-jitsu?
Royce:
In judo, holding an opponent down under your control is mainly
focused on .But in jiu-jitsu, finalizing is the final objective.
But I've heard that Yoshida is good at finalizing too, so it
would be an interesting fight much more than a fight with an
opponent focusing on only holding down.
Q:
Do you think that this fight is a fight for revenge of jiu-jitsu
against judo?
Royce:
I don't think so. For me it is a challenge while at the same
time a chance to commemorate my father's great fight with Kimura.
Q:
What kind of training are you doing?
Royce:
In Los Angeles, I wake up at 5:30, and start training at 6:00.
Then I take a nap, and try to adjust to the time difference in
between [the West Coast and] Japan.
Q:
And the training in Los Angeles?
Royce:
Yes, but I will go to Japan 10 days before the fight. I have
always come three weeks ahead of the fight, in the past, but
this time I couldn't change my schedule.
Q:
Who is your training partner?
Royce:
I'm training with my students, but at the end of July my father
will come to Los Angeles.
Q:
So you trained together with Royler?
Royce:
You know alot! [laugh] The other day we did sparring for the
first time in about five years. Royler had some business to do
in LA, so I asked him to come over where I am training. It was
a very good training.
Q:
The last time when Rickson came to Japan, he said "all our
family members should not only improve techniques but also share
and enhance the passion for jiu-jitsu with each other by training
together again." It seems to come to realization, doesn't
it? Are you going to train with Rickson?
Royce:
Yes. I will get in touch with him after I return to America.
And if it's convenient for him, I would like to train with him
together. But he is back to Brazil now, so I have to catch him
first. And I want to invite to this event not only my father
and Rickson but also as many members of the family as possible.
As far as conditions allow, I want everyone to come.
Q:
That would be fun, wouldn't it? By the way, I heard that you
recently went to see Oscar De La Hoya who is the five weight
divisions boxing champion.
Royce:
You really do know alot! [laugh]. He was a good guy. Through
the introduction of an acquaintance, I went to his boxing camp,
and compared or learned training methods with each other. When
I told him "After the fight why don't you come to my place
to learn how to choke", he said, "in that case, I'll
teach you how to punch".
Q:
If it really happens, I want to go there for interview for sure.
Yoshida was surprised to see how tall you are.
Royce:
Yoshida might become more surprised on August 28.(laugh)
***
GTR's crack reporter Roberto Pedreira had an unexpected opportunity
to interview Mario Sperry in Tokyo on August 6 at Axis Jiu-Jitsu
Academy. Zé Mario was in town with the Nogueira brothers,
Murilo Bustamante, and a lot of other very big guys, for the
UFO event to be held August 8. Roberto asked Zé Mario
for his prediction in the upcoming Pride fight between Royce
Gracie and Yoshida Hidehiko (Barcelona Olympic gold medalist).
"Royce will win", Zé Mario predicted confidently.
Yoshida is a great judoka, but unlike the days when Kimura was
touring Brazil, when Japanese judokas were very strong on the
ground, judo players since the 1964 Olympics have lost their
feel for the floor. Royce will not have a problem with Yoshida
on the ground, Zé Mario explained. But might Yoshida knock
Royce out with a powerful throw? "Everything is possible,
but it won't happen", Zé Mario said.
Source:
GTR |
PRIDE
News From Japan
Coming
off an impressive KO in the UFO show against the current King
of Pancrase, Sanae Kikuta, it appears that Rodrigo 'Minotauro'
Nogueira will fight in the upcoming PRIDE DYNAMITE show, scheduled
for August 28th, 2002.
Despite
all the talk about problems with PRIDE, Minotauro is set to return
to the organization that calls him Champion. The opponent is
not released yet, but word is that it may be the giant Bob Sapp.
'Minotauro'
seems ready to answer any call to fight these days, a true warrior!
Taking on Sapp, who is 2-0 and will weigh nearly 100 lbs more,
on three weeks notice is admirable. We will see what happens!
Source:
Abu Dhabi |
UFC
on FOX Sports Net Sunday
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will return for a second
installment of UFC: As Real As It Gets at 6 p.m. (PST), Sunday,
Aug. 11. This one-hour edition of the network’s Sunday Night
Fights feature:
Profile
of UFC fighters, including Ken Shamrock
Tito
Ortiz vs Elvis Sinosic
Pat
Miletich vs Carlos Newton
Frank
Mir vs Roberto Traven
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official
Press Release
LAS
VEGAS, AUGUST 7, 2002 - Following its recent ratings success
on Fox Sports Net, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will
return for a second installment of UFC: As Real As It Gets at
6 p.m. (local time), Sunday, Aug. 11. This special one-hour edition
of the network’s Sunday Night Fights will once again showcase
an array of taped bouts of exciting fight action never before
seen on TV and profile UFC fighters, including Ken Shamrock.
Featured
fights include a title bout between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Tito Ortiz of Huntington Beach, California vs. Elvis Sinosic
of Sydney, Australia; a welterweight match-up between Pat Miletich
of Davenport, Iowa and Carlos Newton of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
and a heavyweight fight between Frank Mir of Las Vegas, Nevada
and Roberto Traven of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“We
are excited about the UFC returning to our air this Sunday night.
It promises to be a highly anticipated event and we hope to build
on the success of last Sunday’s show,” said Dan Harrison,
Senior VP, Programming and Strategic Planning for Fox Sports
Net.
“We
know from Fox Sports Net’s first broadcast of As Real As
It Gets that American sports fans like our brand of fighting.
It’s exhilarating to know our world television debut was
so well received and we look forward to this Sunday’s show,”
said Dana White, UFC President.
Source:
Sherdog |
Interview
with Frank Shamrock:
August 6, 2002
There
are only a handful of legends in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Only a few fighters have the heart that Frank Shamrock has shown
over the years. Frank will be fighting Ricardo Almeida at the
next WEC show on August 31st at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
He spoke with MMAWeekly.com about his upcoming fight, and his
future.
Ryan Bennett: We are with the guy we can now call the Hall of
Famer, Frank Shamrock. And Frank congrats on being named into
the Martial Arts Hall of Fame this weekend in St.Louis, Missouri,
that must have been a thrill...
Frank
Shamrock: Thanks Ryan. Yea it was great. I got inducted as America's
Premiere Full Contact Fighter for the last decade. It was a pretty
big honor for myself. I had to break out the black tie, (laughs)
and prepare a speech and get a plaque. It was pretty cool.
Ryan:
You and some other big names were inducted, does it seem strange
to you that you are in the Hall of Fame and still fighting?
Frank:
Yea, it's a little strange. I was surprised by how big the event
was. It was enormous. We had this dinner with around 400 people,
everyone in tuxedos, so yea it was a big deal. All I could think
about though was fighting though.
Ryan:
Let's talk about that. We finally see the return of Frank Shamrock
in the Cage against Ricardo Almeida on August 31st for World
Extreme Cagefighting at the Mohegan Sun. When did you decide
you were going to fight again and fight so soon?
Frank:
I was originally scheduled to fight in the MMA Super Show in
Japan on August 28th. They were putting together this 100,000
seat arena deal. I thought I would throw my hat in that deal.
Then negotiations fell through at the last minute, so I had went
through all of this training, and found myself just hanging out.
My partner Bob Cook, "Crazy" Bob, he said that WEC
would be interested in having me fight in their show. And low
and behold I am fighting there on August 31st against Ricardo
Almeida.
Ryan:
Yea, I found it interesting as most MMA fans. Here we are expecting
you to fight in UFC and Pride, but now you are fighting for a
new upstart organization like World Extreme Cagefighting...Why
the WEC?
Frank:
It's my own decision. The WEC has given me the liberty to do
what I want, represent myself how I want, and get the contract
details like I wanted, and everything just fell into place. It
was refreshing to get the contract deal done in FOUR DAYS! And
then it was done and I'm fighting so, for me it was a god send.
I was already training ready to go, and then my fight in Japan
was basically called off, and this just fell right into place.
I snatched it up. I figured that this is a tough fight, I will
make pretty good money and I will be on the East Coast with my
East Coast fans and you can't beat it.
Ryan:
Ricardo Almeida is a very tough guy with great submissions. When
you break down this fight is it a fight where you want to do
a lot of standup?
Frank:
Ricardo is a dangerous fighter especially on the ground. He has
adequate stand up. I think the key to beating him is making him
stand up, make him box with me, and make him kick box with me,
make him fight out of the clinch and extend knees and elbows.
I think his comfort zone is on the ground so if I can keep him
up and keep him banging, I can knock him out.
Ryan:
Tell me about your future. Do you see yourself competing several
times in the upcoming year or what is left out there to accomplish?
Frank:
I don't know if there is anything else to accomplish. I am truly
fighting because I love to do it. I was very excited to fight
in Japan, in the previous show in front of 100,000 seats, that's
something I can't imagine, but it didn't work out. This fight
presented itself as a challenge. I've been out of the game for
quite awhile and I haven't fought in mixed martial arts. Ricardo
Almeida is a world class fighter and I'm taking this on a 30
days notice, so this is dangerous fight because I need to get
my old ass up and in shape. And get out there and throw down.
It's a tough fight, especially for my first fight back in years.
Ryan:
Let me throw some names at you and tell me if your interested
in a fight soon with these fighters. Bustamante?
Frank:
Sure.(smiles) I would love to fight Murilo. That would be a fun
fight.
Ryan:
Sakuraba?
Frank:
I love Sakuraba! I've been trying to do that fight for TWO YEARS
NOW! I'm still waiting....
Ryan:
I know you and I talked at the last WEC show about that fight
and you told me it was supposed to happen...what happened in
that fight?
Frank:
That was the original deal. I was supposed to fight Sakuraba
in this giant show of mixed martial arts in Japan. But then everything
changes in a few days. That the way the Japanese promoters do
business. It's like Celebrity boxing. If your not the superstar
THAT week then you get shuffled to the back. I ended up not getting
that deal after talking with them. Then they feed me Oyama as
a consolation prize, so I accepted. I had a few weeks of training
in already, and then they pulled that one, they pulled the rug
from under me on that deal, so I'm just sitting there holding
a bag full of nothing and waiting, [Part II begins here] and
I didn't want to put all that good energy and beatdown to waste,
so I got the WEC deal fired up .They offered me a slew of opponents.
Ricardo Almeida was the toughest one they offered me from the
East Coast as they are promoting East Coast vs West Coast and
that's the one I took.
Ryan:
East Coast vs West Coast. Let's talk about that is their a rivalry
between the East Coast and West Coast?
Frank:
The rivalry is there. We are going to send the entire west coast
team out and we are going to CRUSH the East Coast! Nothing personal.
That is the way they set it up, (East vs West) but when it comes
to fighting and it comes to grappling and slinging big dogs,
the West Coast is it, we will have our way with them!
Ryan:
Wow, look at the smack talk.....
Frank:
It's the truth! Everybody knows it....the West Coast is better
than the east.
Ryan:
(laughs) It's on now. You of course have your gym going strong
and there is a guy at your gym I think is the next young gun
and that's Richard Crunkleton. What do you like about him and
his game?
Frank:
Crunkleton or "Cletus" as we call him. I like everything
that kid does, he throws bombs, he kicks, he can wrestle, he
throws well, he knows submissions. He does everything. He's a
young kid. He will go to the top. He will be a superstar. He
is the third generation of athlete. There was a generation before
me. I was the second generation. He is truly the third generation,
the COMPLETE mixed martial arts fighter, that can do anything
and everything. He's on the WEC show as well.
Ryan:
Do you still want to fight in the UFC? They put a great show
on television over the weekend and it seems like now would be
the time for a veteran like yourself to step back into it. Do
you want to be a part of it.
Frank:
It is something I want to be a part of in the near future. Lorenzo
and I are friends. Lorenzo Fertitta who owns the UFC and I have
a great relationship. When they were courting me to fight awhile
back, my big thing was "when you get on television give
me a call." So Lorenzo calls me two weeks ago and says "Frank,
we are on television" (laughs)...
Ryan:
So does that mean we will see you on T.V. and the UFC soon...
Frank:
(laughs) You may see me there in the near future. It really depends
how my old body holds up to this Ricardo Almeida guy.
Ryan:
I was going to say, your entire future probably depends on how
you fight on August 31st, because you probably want to see if
you still have the power and skill like the old days. If you
fight like the old Frank Shamrock then you are back, if not it's
a different story, is that accurate?
Frank:
I think so. What people don't realize is the fact that it really
has been a couple of years since I last fought an MMA fight.
I've dabbled in boxing and same thing with professional kickboxing.
I always train in the martial arts, but it's been a considerable
amount of time since I've specifically focused on the mixed martial
arts style, with my body, my mind, and spirit. And it will be
a test. I've been sitting back at a desk for a year now, and
it's nice to spend my time, full time in the gym. It's good to
sweat a little bit, draw a little blood, and get it out. It will
be interesting to myself - to see where I'm at. I still firmly
believe that I'm the toughest guy on the planet. I firmly believe
that. I will find that out very soon.
Ryan:
And I'm not going to dispute that my man, I've seen you fight
too much. Thanks for making time for me and I will see that fight
here in a couple of weeks.
Frank:
My pleasure Ryan, anytime for you. I will see you soon.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
Many hands make the Light work.
Leroy W. Jones
|
Our
Trip to Brazil
I am still trying to
catch up with things at work so here's the relatively "short"
version of how our team did on our trip.
We left on Tuesday
night and arrived on Thursday. Most of our team fought the next
day, Friday after about 18 hours of flying (that's airtime, not
layovers). I'll start with the worst result...myself (heh heh).
After eating
like a pig at every stopover (San Fran and Atlanta) and not missing
a meal on each flight, I came in heavy upon landing in Brazil
(I left light of course) and ran to make my weight the day of
the fight (Saturday). I made it my 0.2 kg (whew!). I wanted to
be aggressive because I always tend to play to passively. Unfortunately,
the disadvantages of being aggressive is the increased opportunity
of getting caught, which is what happened. I advanced to the
second round because my opponent came in a kilogram over (which
he did not seem upset about for some reason). Since my second
opponent came in standing relatively straight, I wanted to throw
him. I got my grip, but was too worried about him pulling guard
prior to my throw attempt so I rushed it and screwed it up. Of
course, missing a throw means that the opponent is on your back.
We scrambled a bit and he remained on my back. I couldn't get
a good shot at a rolling knee bar or anything like that. After
a roll, I was looking for his leg again and he went for my neck...and
got it. I had one chance to escape, but failed. This was the
first time I got submitted in competition, which was a new experience
for me, but I can't complain. It was a combination of my opponent
being very technically gifted and a bit of luck because the choke
went in quick and deep. I was disappointed since I did not have
a chance to do anything I having been working on or training
for, but hey, shit happens. I always preach to our team that
you walk on the mat like a champion and walk off, win or lose,
like one. If I did not do that myself, I would be the biggest
hypocrite in the world. I took my loss as gracefully as I could
and congratulated my opponent. I think I would be more disappointed
if I played passively and didn't try anything. Live, learn, and
train to get better. The recall of my match is from pure memory
because I haven't seen my match on video yet so it could be totally
different then described above.
Chris fought
after me on Saturday. The guy pulled to guard and swept Chris.
He tried to pass and he did for a little while. Chris recovered
half guard and looked for opportunities to attack. He replaced
his guard and tried some submissions. With about a minute down
and I think down 5-0, I yelled to him to just go crazy and try
something. He had a decent attempt at a toe hold, but couldn't
finish as the guy held off for the end. I'll let him add things
when he has a chance.
Everyone else
fought on Friday, except Vinnie who fought on Thursday. We didn't
get to see his first two matches, but caught the end of the last
match in his weight class. He got the guy's back at the edge
of the mat, but didn't get points. The guy took him down at the
end of the match and got the controversial win, leaving Vinnie
with third place in the kids super super heavyweight division.
In the abolute, Vinnie grabbed the kid's neck and pulled it up,
getting him disqualified in the first round. Congratulations
to Vinnie!
Reyn's opponent
clearly came to finish. I believe he was Terere's student and
had good stand up. He took Reyn down passed and even mounted,
furiously trying submissions. Reyn showed great defense and his
opponent could not finish him. He ended up losing my a pretty
good margin, but showed great defense and great heart.
Harris was looking
for revenge this year after winning two matches last year. He
looked great controlling his guys on his way to once again, two
wins in his weight class and one win in the absolute. In his
final match in his weight class, he met a Barra guy (I think)
who had a killer half guard and was attacking sweeps. Harris
was defending well, but eventually got Harris with a sweep and
somehow got to Harris' back for the finish. Harris was of course
disappointed, but he looked great with his ability to control
his opponents and advance his position.
Shane was looking
to test himself after improving greatly these past years. I believe
his first opponent pulled to guard and he tried to pass. I think
after a scramble, he ended up in guard, not letting the guy pass.
He almost finished the guy with a triangle, but said that the
guy was too strong and he escaped. He ended up winning his first
match. He was extremely tired and got sick during our trip (which
he gave me the same sickness on our first night there). He went
out to his second match and did better than the first. He passed
the guy's guard, but didn't get points. After attempting to pass
again, he almost finished his guy with a walk around armbar.
He ended up winning his second match as well, but couldn't even
walk off the mat due to exhaustion and Relson grabbed him and
carried him off the mat. He told me that he had nothing left
in the gas tank and couldn't go on.
Malcolm's first
match in his weight class was a bomb. He went for a new cow catcher
move that he has been working on lately. He almost caught the
guy with it and the ref seemed kind of confused with the move
and talked to another official during the match. I was yelling
to the ref to let me know if the move of illegal. He said nothing
and did not motion at all. Malcolm pulled the move again and
got disqualified. Of course, both him and I were extremely upset
because we did not know the move of illegal and the official
said that it is not the referee's job to let us know that the
move was illegal. We got screwed.
Malcolm was
pissed and rested for the absolute. It turned out good that he
only had the one match because in a class of 91 competitors,
he would need 7 matches to take the absolute. He ended up finishing
2 or 3 guys on his way to a third place finish. The final guy,
who ended up winning the weight class, pulled to guard and tried
a triangle. Malcolm defended at first and the guy made another
attempt where Malc was just too tired to defend and got caught.
This was an incredibly great achievement for another guy from
the Relson Gracie Team. We were all proud of him and his performance.
Congratulations to Malcolm for his third place finish!
Chris and I
were extremely proud of the small team we went up with and their
performance. We had a good time after the tournament checking
out the many sites of Rio, eating like pigs, and getting out
of shape.
|
Brazilian
Beat
The second
edition of "The Brazilian Beat" was supposed to happen
in about a week or so. However, in a month full of action and
with lots of things happening on the Brazilian NHB scene I decided
to rush things over and present the readers with some very interesting
and relevant information about several Brazilian fighters. With
several major events happening in the coming weeks -- such as
UFO and Shockwave -- all the Brazilian NHB camps are training
as hard as ever. With all this activity and new deals being inked
all the time, we will continue to do keep an eye on things in
the effort to present you with the latest facts and breaking
news from Brazil, so enjoy the news as "The Beat" continues
in its fast pace at Full Contact Fighter!
Pride Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is finally
set and ready to fight in UFO on August 8th. After much talk
his management confirmed his participation in the new Japanese
event since he is allowed to do so by contract. Also, after Minotauro
expressed his will to fight at Shockwave if Pride wants him to
do so, FCF was informed that the champion's camp is already negotiating
a fight between Rodrigo Minotauro and K-1's Mark Hunt! Right
now they are negotiating the rules for the fight, which will
probably be Pride rules. The fight isn't signed yet, but it's
close to being signed.
Speaking
of Minotauro, he and his twin brother Rogerio Nogueira are leaving
for Japan this Thursday. The "Zen Machine" Mario Sperry
will be leaving on Friday due to some visa issues. The three
of them are in shape and anxious to fight at the Tokyo Dome.
Sperry, who is also a manager, will stay a few extra days after
his fight to take care of some business in the land of the rising
sun.
Vitor
Belfort is continuing to train hard after his fight against Chuck
Liddell. Despite some early rumors of Belfort losing motivation
once again, this is not the case as "The Phenom" told
FCF he is training very hard at Macaco's academy in Sao Paulo
and is probably fighting on the November UFC card, with Evan
Tanner being a likely opponent. Belfort, who appeared in some
TV shows in Brazil this week, said to Full Contact Fighter that
(contrary to Internet rumors) a rematch with Chuck Liddell would
be very much welcomed, and he is still very serious about his
training and fighting career.
Speaking
of TV, starting next week Brazil will have its first fighting
only channel! "Premier Combate" will be a premium cable
channel that will show UFC, Pride, Meca, KOTC, and other NHB
events, both old and recent, as well as some boxing matches.
The channel, which is a SporTV partner, will also feature special
interviews and coverage of fighters training and will begin broadcasting
only on Fridays charging a monthly fee to its viewers. Best wishes
for the new channel and hopes that more fighting channels will
appear all over the world.
UFC
Middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante will be also leaving
for Japan this week to corner his friends and teammates at the
UFO event. After this short stay in Japan Murilo will be flying
to the USA where he will teach some seminars at the American
Top Team academy. Once he returns to Brazil, Bustamante plans
to finally be able to define his situation regarding a new contract
with the UFC.
Speaking
of the UFC, Vale Tudo legend and Chute Boxe's eternal star Jose
Pele Landi is training hard and told Full Contact Fighter he
is very much willing to fight in the UFC! Pele is eager to fight
in the Octagon and hopes to be able to do it as soon as possible.
Chute Boxe's manager Rudimar Fedrigo also told FCF he will do
everything he can to make Pele's wish a reality, as he wants
the Chute Boxe team to have a steady and positive relationship
with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the years to come.
As
the Chute Boxe team never stops working, Pride veteran and Heavyweight
contender Assuerio Silva is finally recovering from his knee
surgery. Assuerio is doing physiotherapy every day and is already
training hard at the Chute Boxe academy. His Muay Thai is getting
sharper and he is reported to be weighing 110kg now, with a very
low percentage of body fat. Silva is expected to be ready to
fight again in two months and will return to Pride as soon as
possible, as his goal is to be the Pride Heavyweight Champion,
and according to Master Rudimar this is bound to happen in the
near future.
Another
star from Curitiba who is continuing to train hard is Vanderlei
Silva. Vanderlei has been sparring a lot and preparing himself
for his likely fight at Shockwave, but the deal hasn't been closed
yet. During the course of this week his probable opponent changed,
however is still very likely that it'll be a K-1 fighter under
Pride rules. Vanderlei is eager to fight and expects the deal
to be inked by the end of this week. On a side note, Chute Boxe's
rising stars Anderson Silva and Murilo "Ninja" Rua
are both training hard as always, and they'll be likely both
be fighting on Pride's September card against yet to be named
opponents.
The
Jiu-Jitsu community was agitated these past days with two Jiu-Jitsu
World Championships going on at once. The Jiu-Jitsu "World
Cup", created by Nova Uniao, attracted several top athletes
from teams such as the Brazilian Top Team and Alliance with the
payment of purses to the fighters, while the traditional "BJJ
Worlds" promoted by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Confederation
and had the presence of Gracie Barra and Gracie Humaita. However
one of the biggest attractions at the "BJJ worlds"
was the presence, outside of the mats, of Rickson and Renzo Gracie.
The Gracie cousins came down to Brazil for the World Championship
and the presence of the legendary fighters in Brazil is already
a major happening for Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. Rickson plans
to return to the NHB ring in 2003.
Source:
FCF |
UFO
Interview:
Rodrigo 'MINOTAURO' Noguiera
ADCC: Minotauro,
you had a hard week dealing with contract problems, are things
all set? First of all I had no problems! The problems were maybe
between Pride and UFO, not me. I am a professional fighter and
will fight when I am allowed in my contract.
ADCC: So you
don't feel any pressure with the organizations fighting over
you? Honestly, I got advice from several people saying what I
should and shouldn't do, but bottom line is I have managers that
have work on the deal, so to me, there is no stress...
ADCC: Did you
speak with Pride representatives? Yes, I did and everything is
ok. I was allowed by the contract to fight in UFO, so I didn't
ask them permission, I just followed my contract.
ADCC: Are you
healed from your back injury? Totally! Pedro Rizzo and Peter
Aerts are great friends, and they took me to the right doctor
and personal trainer in Holland. I feel 100% for the fight and
very excited to fight in this show.
ADCC: What do
you think about the UFO show? I think this is a great opportunity
for the fighters, because we have options and we can fight for
good promotions. I have to trust in a promotion that books a
venue like Tokyo Dome and that signs a deal to broadcast the
show live on free TV.
ADCC: How do
you see your opponent? Sanae Kikuta is a very good fighter, and
he is proving that he deserves respect in both aspects, on the
ground and standing. Those who watched Pride 20 understand what
I mean. Those who watched him in ADCC 2001 as well.
ADCC: Whats
your strategy for him? The same one as for anyone else: go for
it! I like to fight on the ground, standing, between the ropes
or wherever!! (Laughs)
ADCC: Thank
you Minotauro and good luck! Thank you Tetel.
Source: Abu
Dhabi |
|
Tito
Ortiz on National TV
UFC
Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will be appearing on the
#1 cable news morning show "Fox and Friends" tomorrow
(Thursday, August 8). The show runs from 6:00am to 9:00am ET
on the FOX NEWS Channel. Check local listings for channel information.
Tito's segment will be in the last hour of the show, between
8:00am and 9:00 am.
Source:
FCF |
Heating
up for UFO:
Sperry Takes His Class Act to a New Stage!
One
could say a lot of things about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
Mario Sperry, however no one would be able to deny one thing:
he is a true class act. After a career marked by all possible
titles in Jiu-Jitsu, and some memorable NHB fights over the years,
Zé Mario had to deal with a serious injury, which required
surgery, for the first time in his professional and victorious
career more than a decade long. This didn't take away Mario's
will to fight and only some months later he is already back in
great fashion, at a brand new event that will be broadcast nationwide
in Japan by one of the country's most famous TV stations, attracting
a cast of celebrities outside of the ring such as Mike Tyson
and NHB's legendary Rickson Gracie. In a conversation with FCF
just one day before leaving for the land of the rising sun, Sperry
shared his views on his last fight, his serious knee injury,
his next challenge and much more. As Full Contact Fighter is
more heated than ever for UFO, he continues to be all about class!
Let the "Zen Machine" speak...
FCF:
Your last fight was against Murilo Ninja, at PRIDE 20. This fight
was considered by many one of the best fights in recent years.
Now, after some time has passed, how do you analyze that fight?
Would you do anything different?
MS: Man, in fact I believe I entered the fight too confident
and at the time I don't know what happened. I thought, "I'm
going to test how this kid fighting standing up" and I risked
trading strikes. There I paid the price of my will to test things.
You know, I'm an older guy and I already conquered a lot of things
in my life, but this for me, despite being a job, is something
exciting! So I like to test myself, to rate myself, and unfortunately
in the beginning of the fight I took a serious knockdown that
got me dazed for twenty minutes and injured my knee. That doesn't
take away his mer |