October News Part 1
Quote
of the Day
Live out of your imagination, not your history.
Stephen
Covey |
SHOOTO:
October Rankings!
Introducing
the Really Little Guys - Plus
The
Shooto Association has released its most current rankings as
of October 1st, and this is the first time that the Bantamweight
Class has appeared in the rankings. Even the world of Shooto,
known for its surplus of smaller fighters, didn't quite have
enough participation at 123 lbs to warrant rankings. However,
things are starting to stir and we some interesting things developing
for the little guys...
What
is most interesting is the fact that it is not a Japanese fighter
who appears in the top spot, but a Brazilian. Someone everyone
should know form his accolades in The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World
as well as the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships.
His name is Robson Moura, and his steady but convincing defeat
over the former Featherweight Champion Mamoru (who has moved
down in weight) has earned him the number one position. He is
followed by all Japanese, as you might expect, and it will be
interesting to see how this division develops.
There
was a little bit of movement in the Featherweight Class (132
lbs). However, an eight-man tournament to decide the next number
one contender for the Shooto crown is underway. Already, Kentaro
Imaizumi scored a TKO victory over ABKZ, and Kimihito Nonaka
defeated Hiroaki Yoshioka by Decision. Waiting in the wings is
Tokyo Ryota Matsune v. Hudson Rocha of the Brazilain Top Team,
and Shuichiro Katsumura v. the wild card of the tournament -
Alfie Alcarez.
Moving
up to Lightweight (143 lbs) we have some big happennings. At
the top of the rankings, Hiroyuki Abe is looking to finally capture
the World Title in his second bout with the champion. Abe KO'ed
the champ Alexandre Nogueira in a non-tile bout back on July
19th. Now he is poised to take the Champ down a second time.
Others have tried and failed... can Abe be the man??? Also, we
see 'Kid' Yamamoto surge up the rankings to where most people
would agree he belongs (in the top three). This comes after a
brutal defeat over the only other man to ever defeat Nogueira,
that is Tetsuo Katsuta. Yamamoto didn't just beat Katsuta, he
literally 'BEAT' him, earning himself a 3 month suspension in
the process for continuing his attack after the bout was stopped.
No harm to his career really as we all know that he will be back.
Then we see the long awaited return of Naoya Uematsu begin to
fizzle after several less than stellar performances. This has
been capped off by a disappointing loss to Next Generation up-and-comer
Bao Quach. Bao is a poised, controlling, ground-fighter who is
looking to redeem himself after losing to Jeff Curran not long
ago. Lastly, at 143 lbs we see the emergence of American Top
team member Hermes Franca. He moved down in weight but up in
performance, as he handily dispatched HOOknSHOOT Champion Anthony
Hamlett to earn this ranking.
Looking
at the Welterweight Class (154 lbs), arguably Shooto's best weight
class, we don't see alot of movement except at the bottom of
the ranks. Shaolin Ribeiro moves up after breaking onto the Shooto
scene with an impressive submission win over Takumi Nakayama,
and then Hiroshi Tsuruya in September. Right behind him is Yves
Edwards who made his mark by putting young, exciting fighter
Kohei Yasumi down with a perfectly timed straight right. He no
doubt has his sights set on another chance at Rumina Sato, as
well as, the title currently held by Takanori Gomi. Rumor has
it that the title will be contested for in December by Dokonjonosuke
Mishima. That bout has the makings of a world class match for
the ages.
Moving
on to the Middleweight Class (167 lbs) we see that it is topped
off by an absentee champion. After a convincing defeat of long-time
Shooto Champion Hayato Sakurai, Anderson Silva has seemingly
moved on to other venues. Eventually the title will be taken
back by the Shooto Association and put up for grabs. In the top
spots and hungry for a shot are Sakurai, Ray Cooper, Tatsuji Kato, and Jutaro Nakao. The
only two men in this grouping that have not met each other is
Sakurai and
Cooper. As
the current top two fighters in the division, it may happen yet.
Cooper, by
the way, is the only one of the top four who has not had a shot
at the title. Also,
a special note: Takuya Wada, a staunch representative of K'z
Factory has left his team and the entire sport of Shooto. Disputes
with management have left him looking elsewhere to build a career.
Last
up is the Shooto Light Heavyweight dvision. Having been a relatively
stagnant division for quite sometime, a great deal of focus has
fallen onto the the 183 lbers lately. First going back to January
when Lance Gibson lost a contraversial decision to Masanori Suda
for the vacant title. Then there is Egan Inoue who has been on a six fight winning
street in Superbrawl since June of 1999. Two of those were Shooto
bouts, and five of the six of which have ended by either submission,
KO and TKO. Most prominent was his KO victory over Dutch fighter
Martijn De Jong. After that win, Egan tentatively announced his retirement but has called
out the champ for one last title shot to round out his career.
Will the Champ oblige. All the while this drama was unfolding,
another American Top Teamer was solidifying his place in the
Shoot rankings by going 3-0 in Shooto bouts in the American Shooto
promotion HOOKnSHOOT. It is Dustin Denes and he has moved into
4th place by dispatching long time Shooto ranker, Izuru Takeuchi.
Denes, known as 'Clean', has had his eye on the Shooto LHW belt
for some time and is reported to have dozens of Shooto tapes
that he watches regularly. He is hungry for his shot. Additional
note: Takuya Wada teammate Izuru Takeuchi has also left K'z Factory
and Shooto for other opportunities.
Here
are the complete rankings listed below:
***
Bantamweight 56 kg (123 lbs) ***
Champ Vacant
1st Robson Moura
2nd Mamoru
3rd Homare Kuboyama
4th Yasuhiro Urushitani
5th Takeyasu Hirono
***
Featherweight 60 kg (132 lbs) ***
Champ Masahiro Oishi
1st Jin Akimoto
2nd Hisao Ikeda
3rd Kentaro Imaizumi
4th Hiroaki Yoshioka
5th Ryota Matsune
6th Hudson Rocha
7th Kimihito Nonaka
8th ABKZ
9th Shuichirou Katsumura
10th Masato Shiozawa
***
Lightweight 65 kg (143 lbs) ***
Champ Alexandre Nogueira
1st Hiroyuki Abe
2nd Stephen
"Bozo" Paling
3rd Norifumi Yamamoto
4th Tetsuo Katsuta
5th Bao Quach
6th Baret
Yoshida
7th Naoya Uematsu
8th Kazuhiro Inoue
9th Katsuya Toita
10th Hermes Franca
***
Welterweight 70 kg (154 lbs) ***
Champ Takanori Gomi
1st Dokonjonosuke Mishima
2nd Ryan Bow
3rd Marcio Cromado
4th Javier Vazquez
5th Rumina Sato
6th Tatsuya Kawajiri
7th Vitor Ribeiro
8th Yves Edwards
9th Takumi
10th Kohei Yasumi
***
Middleweight 76 kg (167 lbs) ***
Champ Anderson Silva
1st Hayato Sakurai
2nd Ray "Bradda"
Cooper
3rd Tetsuji Kato
4th Jutaro Nakao
5th Dave Strasser
6th Steve Berger
7th Aaron Riley
8th Takuya Wada
9th Dan Gilbert
10th Seichi Ikemoto
***
Light Heavyweight 83 kg (183 lbs) ***
Champ Masanori Suda
1st Lance Gibson
2nd Egan
Inoue
3rd Dustin Denes
4th Larry Papadopoulos
5th Izuru Takeuchi
6th Martijn de Jong
7th Shikou Yamashita
8th Scott Henze
9th Ivan Salaverry
10th Ronald
Jhun
Source:
ADCC |
Hughes
vs Castillo
One of the worst kept secrets on the impending UFC 40 card was
made official Tuesday when Zuffa announced that welterweight
champion Matt Hughes (27-3) would make his third title defense
of 2002 Nov. 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Despite winning
only one fight at welterweight since joining the UFC, Gil Castillo
(17-1), who hasn't fought since January, gets the shot at Hughes'
belt.
As
for Hughes, he looks to put an exclamation point on the most
successful year of his career, a year in which he defended his
title twice with decisive victories over Mach Sakurai and the
man he won the crown from, Carlos Newton.
Source:
Maxfighting |
COUTURE
STILL HAVING PHYSICAL PROBLEMS
MMAWeekly has learned that Randy Couture is still having problems
physically from his loss to Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 39. Couture
is still experiencing"double vision" from the fight.
Couture had to pull out of the Eco Challenge as a result. Teammate
Matt Lindland said Couture was worried about choosing the "wrong
path" during the race because of his problems with his vision.
Couture's eye
socket was injured in the fight and it was thought that taking
some time off would help the situation. Our thoughts our with
the former UFC champion and we hope everything will heal properly
in time.
Source: MMA
Weekly |
First
American National Championships Update
The
CBJJ Website has already updated with a complete list of all
the athletes currently signed up to compete in this great event.
The event is taking place in Los Angeles , Ca on November 2nd
and 3rd is going to qualif the American National Team that is
going to compete with the Brazilian NAtional Team in an unprecendetned
event in 2003. Don't miss out.
For
more info go to www.cbjj.com.br/english. anyone presigned by
October 25th gets the discount rate of $60.00 instead of the
$100.00 at the weigh in
1st
AMERICAN NATIONAL JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
THE
TOURNAMENT
The
tournament will take place on november 2nd and 3rd in Hawthorne
Memorial Center - 3901 W. El Segundo Blvd, Hawthorne, CA.
The
champions of the blue, purple, brown and black belts adult divisions
(man only) will join the first Jiu-Jitsu American Team to compete
USA X Brazil Jiu-Jitsu Teams Challenge that will take place in
the USA next year.
Male
adult division (Blue, Purple, Brown and Black belts) only american
citizens allowed.
On the other divisions, the tournament is open for athletes of
any nationality.
The
Enrollment Form is avaliable at the site www.cbjj.com.br/english.
WEIGH
INS AND HOW TO ENROLL
The
enrollment fee – which will be charged during the weigh
ins – for athletes who fill the form correctly is US$ 60.00.
Athletes who didn’t fill the form properly(any kind of change
or correction on your registration at the weigh in day) will
pay U$20.00 extra fee. Athletes who didn’t enroll through
the Internet will pay US$ 100.00.
The
weigh ins will take place on November 1st (Friday), on the Hawthorne
Memorial Center. Athletes must bring their Ids or some other
identification document (the athletes will weigh without Gi).
OTHER
INFO
Each
academy can only have two athletes in the same division (of age/weight/belt).
If your academy has problems regarding the number of athletes
in each division, please send an e-mail to IBJJF(ibjjf@cbjj.com.br).
Before
each fight, athletes will be asked to show their Ids to the officials.
Make sure you have it at hand. |
Interview
with Keith Hackney
Thinking
back to the early days of the UFC one can’t help but remember
the no nonsense, confident blue-collar fighter Keith Hackney.
Always game and with an intense, almost primal gaze he entered
the Octagon fearlessly to fight whoever was put in front of him,
no questions. I spent a few minutes on the phone with the man
they call “The Giant Killer”.
Patrick Patlán: Hey Keith, first of all I want to say
hello on behalf of MMA Weekly and it’s readers from around
the globe. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to speak
with you.
Keith Hackney: No problem. Thanks for calling.
Patrick:
What got you started in the martial arts and eventually competing
in the UFC?
Keith:
I always liked the martial arts and Bruce Lee movies as a kid,
but I was in wrestling before that. I competed at the state level
in wrestling, when I saw Enter the Dragon that pretty much sold
me on the martial arts so I started training in that. I trained
in a lot of systems and have black belts in them, but I always
trained towards reality and street situations rather than the
form aspect. I was always sparring and refining my techniques
that way.
Patrick:
Ok, let’s go back to 1994, it’s UFC 3 and your opponent
is a 6’8” 600 plus pound behemoth of a man who’s
standing across the Octagon from you chewing on his mouthpiece
like it’s a grape Now-n Later. What’s going through
your mind when you see Emmanuel Yarborough?
Keith:
(laughing) I was thinking to myself, “This is the largest
human being I’ve ever seen in my life!” I saw him earlier
in the day curling 315 pounds 10 to 15 times like it was nothing.
When we got in the Octagon I was thinking that I’m going
to give him the fight of his life. No matter what happened, if
I won, lost, got hurt it didn’t matter, I was going to give
it 200 percent. The press was so freaked out I won, they interviewed
him instead of me.
Patrick:
Three months later you destroyed Jo Son and his male identity
by simultaneously choking him and pounding him with savage, brutal
groin shots. Did you see his last appearance at Pride? Man, that
was a freak show! Do you feel in any way responsible for that?
Keith:
(laughing again…harder) I didn’t get to see that, but
I heard about the g-string and makeup and stuff, sounds nasty.
I hope it wasn’t the result of our fight.
Patrick:
I came to the realization after three weeks of phone tag that
you are a very busy man. You have been a successful coach for
Team USA in Pankration, and you have a school, Hackneys Combat
Academy in Rosell, Illinois. Are you still coaching? Do you have
any promising fighters at your school?
Keith:
We have Team Extreme Combat and a lot of good people fighting
out of the school, some who you will be seeing at some of the
bigger events. It took a while to get to a certain point where
we could compete, the school has been open a couple of years
now and we’ve got some tough guys. A couple of our guys
will be at the Ironheart
Crown on October 26th at the Hammond Civic Center and they are going to
put on one hell of a show. As far as Pankration goes, the people
involved in it are more concerned with titles, money and control
issues so the sport and its athletes have taken a back seat.
Between litigation for control in Greece and in-fighting amongst
the different organizations here in the U.S. Pankration probably
won’t make it into the Olympics. As a result I’ve backed
away from coaching in Pankration and it’s unfortunate, it
might have been a stepping-stone into maybe even introducing
NHB into the Olympics, who knows. The same thing happened to
Karate years ago and the only people that lose are the athletes.
Patrick:
I know you still train. Is there anybody in particular that you
train with?
Keith:
I enjoy it so much, it’s my life and my stress relief. I
get a lot of people from other places that come to train or give
seminars, but most of my training is with the guys at the school.
We cover all aspects from stand up to groundwork and submissions.
Shamrock has been here as well as Mark Schultz and others.
Patrick:
Which fighters do you enjoy watching today?
Keith:
Right now I like Vanderlei Silva and Antonio Nogueira. Nogueria
is one of the toughest heavyweight fighters, he’s so well
rounded and such a technician with a lot of heart. I just saw
that fight he had with Bob Sapp.
Patrick:
Don’t you think that was kind of irresponsible to put Minotauro
in there with monster like Sapp?
Keith:
Sapp is a guy who’s training with Mo Smith and Barnett so
it’s not like he’s just a big guy. When he gets to
the point of being a well-rounded fighter I don’t see too
many people beating him just because of his size. At Pride they
were talking Bob Sapp this Bob Sapp that, but you have to give
Antonio credit because he was hanging in there taking shots and
just being there in the ring. A super-heavyweight division will
almost have to be created for Sapp.
Patrick:
Do you have any predictions on the Ortiz-Shamrock fight?
Keith:
It’s probably going to be one of the best fights the UFC
has ever had. I don’t see Tito coming in and controlling
the match like he did with Frank. They are pretty much on the
same level playing field when it comes to strength. Tito’s
got the ground and pound working and Ken has better submission
skills so I think it’s a tough one to call. It all depends
on who shows up that night, who’s in better condition, and
who make the least mistakes. I’m thinking about flying out
there to see that fight.
Patrick:
Well Keith, you are a class act and I along with MMA WEEKLY wish
you all the best. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.
Keith:
I appreciate it, thanks for calling.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
SOUTH
KOREA TRIUMPHS AT ASIAN GAMES WRESTLING
By: Eddie Goldman
South
Korea romped in the 14th Asian Games wrestling competition, held
Oct. 2-8 in the Yangsan Gymnasium in
Yangsan City, South Korea. The host country won a combined total
of 12 medals, including six gold, in the
Greco-Roman and men's and women's freestyle events.
In
men's freestyle, South Korea's dominance was evident in the 66
kg gold medal match, as Korea's Baek Jin Kuk
upset Iran's former world champion and 2002 silver medalist,
Alireza Dabir, 3-1. Iran continued its disappointing
performance when, at 74 kg, 2002 world champion Mehdi Hajizadeh
lost in the semi-finals to Tajikistan's Yousup
Abdulsalomov, 9-7, and ended up finishing third.
South
Korea also dominated in Greco with three gold medals and three
silver medals.
Japan
scored well in the women's competition, winning two gold medals
and one silver out of the four weight classes.
Japan's performance was highlighted by three-time world champion
Kyoko Hamaguchi scoring three pins and a 6-0
shutout to take gold at 72 kg. China got its only medals of the
competition, two golds, in women's freestyle.
RESULTS:
Total
Team Wrestling Medals
Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
Korea - 6 6 0 12
Islamic Republic of Iran - 1 2 5 8
Japan - 3 2 1 6
Uzbekistan - 3 1 1 5
Kyrgyzstan - 0 2 3 5
Mongolia - 1 0 4 5
Kazakhstan - 2 2 0 4
Tajikistan - 0 2 1 3
People's Rep. of China - 2 0 0 2
D.P.R. Korea - 0 1 1 2
India - 0 0 1 1
Syrian Arab Republic - 0 0 1 1
GRECO
ROMAN
55kg
Asset Imanbayev, Kazakhstan
Kang Yong Gyun, D.P.R. Korea
Liran Kalilov, Kyrgyzstan
60kg
Kang Kyung Il, Korea
Dilshod Aripov, Uzbekistan
Makoto Sasamoto, Japan
66kg
Kim In Sub, Korea
Daniar Kobonov, Kyrgyzstan
Kim Yun Mo, D.P.R. Korea
74kg
Kim Jin Soo, Korea
Danil Khalimov, Kazakhstan
Parviz Zeidvand, Islamic Republic of Iran
84kg
Shingo Matsumoto, Japan
Kim Jung Sub, Korea
Ken Mohammad, Syrian Arab Republic
96kg
Aleksey Cheglakov, Uzbekistan
Park Myung Suk, Korea
Masoud Hasem Zadeh, Islamic Republic of Iran
120kg
Georgiy Tsurtsumia, Kazakhstan
Yang Young Jin, Korea
Alireza Gharibi, Islamic Republic of Iran
medals
- Greco
gold
Korea - 3
Kazakhstan - 2
Japan - 1
Uzbekistan - 1
silver
Korea - 3
D.P.R. Korea - 1
Uzbekistan - 1
Kyrgyzstan - 1
Kazakhstan - 1
bronze
Islamic Republic of Iran - 3
Kyrgyzstan - 1
Japan - 1
D.P.R. Korea - 1
Syrian Arab Republic - 1
Total
Greco Medals -
Korea - 6
Kazakhstan - 3
Islamic Republic of Iran - 3
Japan - 2
D.P.R. Korea - 2
Kyrgyzstan - 2
Uzbekistan - 2
Syrian Arab Republic - 1
FREESTYLE
- MEN
55kg
Dilshod Mansurov, Uzbekistan
Chikara Tanabe, Japan
Mohammad Rezaei, Islamic Republic of Iran
60kg
Oyunbileg Purevbaatar, Mongolia
Song Jae Myung, Korea
Ulan Nadyrbek Ulu, Kyrgyzstan
66kg
Baek Jin Kuk, Korea
Alireza Dabir, Islamic Republic of Iran
Norjin Bayarmagnai, Mongolia
74kg
Cho Byung Kwan, Korea
Yousup Abdusalomov, Tajikistan
Mehdi Hajizadehjoybari, Islamic Republic of Iran
84kg
Moon Eui Jae, Korea
Magomed Kurugliyev, Kazakhstan
Shamil Aliey, Tajikistan
96kg
Alireza Heidari, Islamic Republic of Iran
Alexey Krupnlakov, Kyrgyzstan
Magomed Ibragimov, Uzbekistan
120kg
Artur Taymazov, Uzbekistan
Abbas Jadidi, Islamic Republic of Iran
Palwinder Singh Cheema, India
medals
- Men's Freestyle
gold
Korea - 3
Uzbekistan - 2
Mongolia - 1
Islamic Republic of Iran - 1
silver
Islamic Republic of Iran - 2
Korea - 1
Japan - 1
Tajikistan - 1
Kyrgyzstan - 1
Kazakhstan - 1
bronze
Islamic Republic of Iran - 2
Kyrgyzstan - 1
India - 1
Tajikistan - 1
Uzbekistan - 1
Mongolia - 1
Total
Men's Freestyle Medals -
Islamic Republic of Iran - 5
Korea - 4
Uzbekistan - 3
Kyrgyzstan - 2
Mongolia - 2
Tajikistan - 2
Kazakhstan - 1
Japan - 1
India - 1
FREESTYLE
- WOMEN
48kg
Zhong Xiue, People's Rep. of China
Lidiya Karamchakova, Tajikistan
Tsogtbazar Enkhjargal, Mongolia
55kg
Saori Yoshida, Japan
Lee Na Lae, Korea
Naidan Otgonjargal, Mongolia
63kg
Xu Haiyan, People's Rep. of China
Kaori Icho, Japan
Tumen-ulzii Myagmarsuren, Mongolia
72kg
Kyoko Hamaguchi, Japan
Kang Min Jung, Korea
Yana Panova, Kyrgyzstan
medals
- Women's Freestyle
gold
Japan - 2
People's Rep. of China - 2
silver
Korea - 2
Japan - 1
Tajikistan - 1
bronze
Mongolia - 3
Kyrgyzstan - 1
Total
Women's Freestyle Medals -
Japan - 3
Mongolia - 3
Korea - 2
People's Rep. of China - 2
Kyrgyzstan - 1
Tajikistan - 1
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"The people and circumstances around me do not MAKE me what
I am, they REVEAL who I am."
Dr. Laura Schlessinger |
Ronald
"The Machine Gun" Jhun Drops to 170lbs!
Ron Jhun
versus Joao Morais at 2001 NAGA in Hawaii
Hawaiian born, Ronald Jhun was once again on the verge of breaking
into the "big show" at 185lbs before losing to UCC
sensation Stephan Potvin last month by toe hold. By all accounts
Jhun was dominating the fight and was going in for the kill when
he was caught with a very skillful submission.
Since then Jhun has been contemplating which way to take his
career. He even pondered taking some much deserved time off (although
that would have dropped him even further off the radar in the
big picture).
Well, once the stinging taste of defeat began to wear off, "The
Machine Gun" decided to reload......15lbs lighter! Jhun,
who walked around below the 185lb class he was previously fighting
in was constantly pitted against larger opponents.
Look for Jhun to make his debut at 170lbs in Super Brawl's "Battle
for the Belts" to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday
night, November, 9 against an opponent to be named in the coming
days.
A win against a formidable opponent will no doubt revitalize
Jhun's career.
Source: T. Jay
Thompson |
Need
I say more?
I always liked this magazine...
Source: Gracie Magazine |
North
American Trials: A Closer Look
Saturday, October 5th, 2002
Photo by KEITH MILLS / PIC:
Chance Farrar throws Phil Cardella in round 1 of the under 65
KG category
CHECK OUT THE The SHERDOG Report!!
Thanks Big Dog!
The 3rd NORTH AMERICAN
TRIALS went off this past weekend, and a new standard has been
set for SUBMISSION WRESTLING in the United States! 'In the past,
the Qualifiers were done with each tournament scheduled months
apart. This was the first time the tournaments were all scheduled
in one day, Abu Dhabi style!' states spokesman Miguel Iturrate.
'this was the first time the whole event captured the feel of
the World Championships - with the build up and anticipation.
The room was real worked up!'
Kid Peligro's View
The event showcased
the incredible level of North American Grappling. If this was
the level of the qualifier, I cannot imagine what the main event
is going to be like. Many of the fights had so many submission
attempts that had the crowd hooting and wowing in amazement.
Kid also noticed that most of the competitors must have rubber
knees, ankles and feet as I have never seen so many solid ankle,
foot and knee locks that somehow did not end up in submission!
Next step for these guys is Brazil, good luck to all of them,
and a job well done to the organizers and competitors. Tchau,
Kid Peligro
On to the PLAY by
PLAY of the weekend's event!
UNDER 65.9 KG
This division is always exciting, and this time was no different!
Eddie Bravo came with intent, and he overcame some adversity
as well as a tough field to sweep the division.
Bravo faced off against
AMC's Mark Ashton. Thinking he faced a wrestler, Bravo dropped
to guard immediately and he began to work. Insidiously, he worked
into his patented 'Twister' hold, but was immediately warned
by the referee - the cervical hold was illegal under ADCC rules.
Bravo protested briefly, but did not lose his cool, finishing
with a rear naked choke.
In the other bracket,
Renzo Gracie's Alan Teo was churning thru the competition. He
took out Chance Farrar by choke and eliminated Michael Bland
in round 1.
The finals was strategy
all the way - as Joe Rogan would say, kinetic chess. Bravo was
overheard to say 'Teo is the only guy I am worried about from
what I have seen' after the first round ended. Sometimes it happens
in the Submission Wrestling style - two competitors are well
matched, and a stalemate occurs. Teo had top position, with Bravo
staying busy underneath. Bravo reversed for top position, and
teo worked hard to regain, but Bravo was not to be denied.
In the 3-4 match,
baby faced Sean Krysa and Chance Farrar squared off, with Farrar's
wrestling background edging out the Canadian representative.
COMPLETE RESULTS:
TEAM CANADA: Shawn Krysa 140.8 v. Victory Athletics: Dominic
Curella 140.1: Sean Krysa
TEAM RENZO GRACIE: Alan Teo 144.6 v. Team Ricardo Pires: Michael
Bland 143.4: Alan Teo
MACHADO JJ: Eddie Bravo 143.9 v. AMC PANKRATION: Mark Ashton
144.2: Eddie Bravo
Fabio Santos JJ / Wrestling: Chance Farrar 144.7 v. Relson Gracie
JJ: Phillip Cardella 144.5: Chance Farrar
ROUND 2:
Shawn Krysa v Eddie Bravo: Eddie Bravo
Alan Teo v Chance Farrar: Alan Teo
3rd Place Match: Sean
Krysa v. Chance Farrar: Chance Farrar
FINAL: Alan Teo v.
Eddie Bravo: Eddie Bravo
67-77.99 KG:
This bracket contained the match of the night, and it was in
the first round! Renzo Gracie's Sean Williams and Kenny Florian
squared off and showed what grappling could be all about! Williams
worked from the top, until Florian executed a reversal, and took
the back. Several reversals ensued, and ouch! That FOOTLOCK!
At the end of the time limit it was Williams ahead on points.
Henry Matamoros advanced
to the second round with an exciting win over young Brad Blackburn.
In the second round Antonio McKey would prove too strong for
Matamoros, as he advanced to the final. McKey would live up to
his reputation - a great athlete who tends to be methodical.
It would hurt him in the finals!
Canada's Mark Bocek
would show a lot of heart, but McKey took him out in the first
round. This was a hard fought war.
Meanwhile, ATT's Pablo
Popovich battled tough Sean Spangler, a late addition to the
tournament, as well as tangling with Sean Williams, both wins
for Popovich.
Popovich would be
able to match McKey's physical attributes, as he is a super athlete
as well. Working from his guard, he stayed busy, while McKey
hung on when faced with a barrage of techniques. McKey was eventually
penalized one point for inactivity in the guard, something that
was explained in the rule meeting. The match would end with Popovich
scoring 0, and McKey at -1.
TEAM CANADA: Mark
Bocek 164.2 v. Team Ricardo Pires: Antonio McKee 166.2: Antonio
McKee
Pedro Sauer JJ - Costa Rica: Henry Matamoros 166.4 v. Victory
Athletics: Brad Blackburn 167.7: Henry Matamoros
American TOP TEAM: Pablo Popovich 168.4 v. J-SECT / NOVA UNIAO:
Sean Spangler 168.2: Pablo Popovich
TEAM RENZO GRACIE: Sean Williams 168.9 v. Grappling Champion:
Kenny Florian 167.6: Sean Williams
ROUND 2:
Antonio McKee v Henry Matamoros: Antonio McKee
Pablo Popovich v Sean Williams: Pablo Popovich
3rd Place Match: Sean
Williams v. Henry Matamoros: Sean Williams
FINAL: Pablo Popovich
v. Antonio McKee: Pablo Popovich
77-87.99 KG:
A phenomenal, bracket! Eventual champion David Terrell grinded
out a chess match with Keith Rockel, while Joe D'Arce and Ken
Kronenberg went to war, with D'Arce ending it with a footlock.
Todd Margolis submitted James Lee with a rear naked choke, and
Dennis Kang submitted Angelo Popofski with a keylock! These guys
came and went for it!!!
Kang and Terrell really
battled hard, with Terrell's tough defense holding off a game
Kang
Meanwhile, Todd Margolis,
who a lot of people might underestimate, took out tough Joe D'Arce
in a high speed paced match!
Terrell would prove
too much for Margolis in the finals, though Todd made a game
of it, he wore himself out on Terrell, and eventually he tapped
to an arm lock. Afterwards, Margolis commented 'I'm just a regular
guy who trains 3-4 times a week' but brother, can he hang! Todd
Margolis earned some fans!
And Terrell, he commented
'I fought like s%&%'. With some focus, Terrell can be a factor
in this weight division at the World Championships, as he has
all the skills to play.
Grapplers Quest Champion:
Ken Kronenberg 191.9 v. TEAM RENZO GRACIE: Joe D'arce 188.9:
Joe D'Arce
Grapplers Quest Champion: Todd Margolis 184.1 v. 2x Wrestling
Champ (Michigan): James Lee 192.3: Todd Margolis
TEAM CANADA: Denis Kang 188.3 v. Team Caique JJ: Angelo Popofski
193.2: Dennis Kang
Cesar Gracie JJ - KOTC: David Terrell 189.3 v. Massachusetts
Submission Academy: Keith Rockel 193.2: David Terrell
ROUND 2:
Joe D'Arce v Todd Margolis: Todd Margolis.
Dennis Kang v David Terrell: David Terrell.
3rd Place Match: Dennis
Kang - D'arce pulled out.
FINAL: Todd Margolis
v. David Terrell: David Terrell
88 - 98.99 KG :
Returning champion Marc Laimon was in cruise control, taking
out Canada's Terry Dellino, whose game was nifty, and scrapper
Anthony Argyros to get to the finals.
Kenny McClure almost
finished Jamal Patterson with a leg attack, but Patterson defended,
and eventually wore him out, finishing with an arm bar.
Dean Lister had a
tough fight with Nathan DuCharme - Dean missed a throw and landed
hard on the mats, getting a hematoma on his knee. Lister, playing
to the hometown crowd, focused around the injury and gutted out
the match with DuCharme.
In the second round,
Lister battled with Jamal Patterson, who he took out with a rear
naked choke.
Lister and Laimon
in the finals - this match had it all. Technique, mind games,
banter, falling into the crowd, action, etc. It was a classic
battle, with Lister edging out the defending champ in a grueling
match.
J-SECT / NOVA UNIAO:
Marc Laimon 216.1 v. TEAM CANADA: Terry Dellino 207.2: Marc Laimon
HnS Veteran : Mark Jackson v. 16x NAGA Champion: Anthony Argyros
199.7: Anthony Argyros
Carlos Machado: Kenny Mcclure 216.7 v. TEAM RENZO GRACIE: Jamal
Patterson 217.5: Jamal Patterson
Nathan Ducharme 215.9 v. KOTC Champion: Dean Lister 215.1: Dean
Lister
ROUND 2:
Marc Laimon v Anthony Argyros: Marc Laimon
Dean Lister v Jamal Patterson: Dean Lister
3rd Place Match: Jamal
Patterson - Argyros pulled out.
FINAL: Dean Lister
v. Marc Laimon: Dean Lister
DEAN LISTER won the
TAPOUT FIGHTER of the NIGHT award, a HOOKNSHOOT tradition that
goes to the fighter with the night's top showing! Lister fought
threw an injury for a phenomenal showing!
99 KG and up:
The big boys came to fight! The charge was led by wrestlers,
as 21 year old Mike Whitehead took out Roy Nelson, one of the
most impressive guys in the field. Nelson gutted out a win over
tough Jocko Willink in round 1.
John Rallo submitted
the Sugar Bear, Canada's Karim Byron with a ferocious arm lock.
In round 2, Whitehead
took out tough Renzo Gracie student John Rallo, while Nelson
and John Marsh fought a fight of the night candidate match! Nelson
threw Marsh for a 4 point score, and he worked through several
sick heel hooks from Marsh, who looked great in his matches as
well.
Whitehead and Nelson
went at it like little guys in the final. Nelson had a full tank
and went at Whitehead, who was strong and quick himself, and
enjoyed a 20 lb. weight advantage. Whitehead got off a massive
suplex, over his head on Nelson, and seemed to be up. Nelson
continued to go at Whitehead, increasing the pace. The match
ended with Nelson caught underneath Whitehead, his knee absorbing
the weight of Whitehead's fall. Nelson hobbled off the court,
smart enough to know he had given his all and left it on the
court. It would not be surprising to see Nelson invited to the
World Championships after his performance.
TEAM CANADA: Karim
Byron 343.1 v. TEAM RENZO GRACIE: John Rallo 263.9: John Rallo
ADCC VETERAN: Rocke Batastini 240.6 v. PRIDE veteran - John Marsh:
John Marsh with the night's QUICKEST SUBMISSION!
Victory Athletics: Mike Whitehead 272.4 v. Team Ricardo Pires:
Conan Dunn: Mike Whitehead
Roy Nelson 252.5 v. Dean Lister's Team Jocko Willink 238.8: Roy
Nelson
ROUND 2:
John Rallo v Mike Whitehead: Mike Whitehead
John Marsh v Roy Nelson: Roy Nelson - Nelson executed the Best
Throw of the Night!
3rd Place Match: Both
fighter's chose to not compete!
FINAL: Roy Nelson
v. Mike Whitehead: Mike Whitehead
Overall, an outstanding
event. TEAM AMERICA must focus now. They walk into the LION'S
DEN in Brazil, as the BJJ teams have been dominant in Abu Dhabi
competition, now add to that the home field advantage!
Source: ADCC |
Hughes
vs. Castillo at UFC 40
Second Ultimate Fighting Championship Title Fight On Live, Pay-Per-View
Tickets On Sale
Now; Ortiz To Battle Shamrock For Light Heavyweight Belt
LAS
VEGAS, October 8, 2002…Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes of Hillsboro, Ill., will defend
his title for the third time when he takes on top contender Gil
Castillo of Concord, Calif., live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m.
EST as the co-main event of UFC 40: Vendetta, Friday, November
22, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Tito Ortiz will meet UFC legend Ken Shamrock for the light heavyweight
belt in the main event. Tickets, $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30,
can be purchased at the MGM Grand box office and all Ticketmaster
locations, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-880-0880 and 702-474-4000,
or at www.ticketmaster.com.
UFC
40: Vendetta will be available live at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m PST
on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, BellExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada.
The suggested retail price is $29.95.
Hughes,
27-3-0 in Mixed Martial Arts, most recently defended his title
July 13 at UFC 38: The Brawl At Royal Albert Hall in London where
he defeated former champ Carlos Newton by referee stoppage due
to punches at 4:37 of the fourth round. It marked his second
victory over Newton in eight months after he won the belt from
him Nov. 2, 2001, at UFC 34: High Voltage at the MGM Grand in
Las Vegas with a knockout at 1:27 of the second round. In between,
Hughes also defeated Japanese legend Hayato Sakurai March 22
at UFC 36: Worlds Collide at the MGM Grand by technical knockout
at 3:01 of the fourth round.
Castillo,
17-1-0, is a top welterweight contender who defeated Chris Brennan
January 11 at UFC 35: Throw Down at the Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Conn., by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Castillo is a jiu-jitsu specialist who trains with Cesar Gracie
and like many Gracie fighters his strengths are grappling and
submissions.
The
Ortiz-Shamrock matchup has been much anticipated for some time
and the fight will pit the UFC's old guard against the new. Fight
fans are well aware they have a major score to settle based on
long-standing hostilities between each other although they have
never fought. Shamrock has not fought in the UFC since December
1996 but continued to train UFC fighters.
Bad
vibes were building for years, but reached a boiling point March
5, 1999, at UFC 19: Young Guns in Bay St. Louis, Miss., after
Ortiz battered Shamrock protégé Guy Mezger forcing
stoppage of the fight. In the post-fight celebration, Ortiz donned
a T-shirt parodying Mezger's name. Shamrock jumped atop the Octagon
fence and has since vowed to teach Ortiz some humility. 'I cannot
leave the game without fighting him,' Shamrock said.
Ortiz'
response to Shamrock's return is typical Tito. 'I can't wait
to welcome him back to the new UFC,' he said.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), headquartered in Las Vegas,
Nev., is the world's leading mixed martial arts sports association.
Owned and operated by Zuffa LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view
events yearly through cable and satellite providers. In addition
to its U.S. distribution on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Bell ExpressVu
and Viewers Choice Canada, UFC events are distributed internationally
through British Sky Broadcasting, WOWOW, Inc., in Japan, Globosat
in Brazil and Modern Sports and Entertainment in Scandinavia.
UFC licenses video games for all major playing platforms through
Crave Entertainment.
The
UFC's next PPV event will be UFC 40: Vendetta at 10 p.m. EST/7
p.m. PST on Friday, Nov. 22, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Locate Ultimate Fighting Championship on the internet at www.ufc.tv.
Editor's
Note: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz' mixed martial
arts record is 10-2-0. He lives in Huntington Beach Calif. Ken
Shamrock is 8-4-2. He lives in San Diego, Calif. The remainder
of the UFC 40: Vendetta card will be announced.
Source: ADCC |
Chris
Brennan talks of his next fight:
in the WFA vs. Shaolin!
Sorry
this was such a cute picture of Erica Montoya, I had to put it
up.
KM:
So you are fighting Shaolin in WFA. What are your thoughts? CB:
Like I said, I don't get easy fights-they give me tough fights
every time. His jiu-jitsu is phenomenal, he's got good wrestling,
haven't seen his striking yet. Like everybody I fight I respect
his skill: he's very tough. I'll train my ass off for it. 155
is fun, they keep giving me all these big names.
KM:
So this one is going to be at 155 again and your fight in Shooto
against Gomi was your first one at 155. You didn't have the problems
I thought you might have cutting that weight. So are you going
to stay at 155? CB: Oh yeah. I feel really good.
KM:
So what are your thoughts as far as you started at 155 with Gomi,
now Shaolin…you have some of the best people being thrown
at you right away. Must be kind of hard. CB: I had tough guys
thrown at me at 170. Berger, McGee, Stevenson, and Castillo…they
fed me a lot of tough guys at that weight too.
KM:
Yeah, but you were around at that weight a lot longer. I don't
recall what your first 2 or 3 fights were but I think you had
Miletich right off the bat. CB: Yeah, I think because since I
got to a certain level at the 170 once I got to 155 I'm still
skill wise and ranking wise at that level so they just started
giving me top guys right off the bat. Gomi was the champion and
Shaolin has got to be ranked up there pretty quick. He only has
like 4 fights but his record is 4-0 but they know.
KM:
He's making a big splash, having an early fight in HOOKnSHOOT
and in WFA, getting on the cover of a magazine; he's getting
a big publicity jump right off the bat. You've been around for
a while. Does that make you jealous at all that your next opponent
is only 4-0? CB. No. He's like a three time world champion in
jiu-jitsu. It sucks because not everybody knows. I mean most
people know who he is already but he's not super super well known
yet. It's not like I'm fighting Miletich or something where everybody
knows him but I think pretty much everybody knows him by now
because of his jiu-jitsu and what he's accomplished there. I
think it'll be a great fight. I'm excited.
KM:
As far as staying down to 155, is that going to change your training
at all? CB: Now I only have to cut from 185 instead of 205. (Both
laugh)
KM:
So you're going to walk around at about 185? CB: I want to stay
like 175-180 but after was at the hospital all last week I just
ate and ended up being 190. Now I'm cutting again.
KM:
Is your kid ok? CB: He's better. He's getting better every day.
He had some serious stomach problems and he's getting better.
KM:
I offer my sympathy and thoughts. CB: Thank you very much.
KM:
(Regarding the grappling tournament preceding the Abu Dhabi qualifier)
How did Next Generation do today? CB: Rami won the whole thing.
KM:
Which one is Rami? CB: Rami Boukai. He tapped out all of his
opponents in 145 and under. He fought up in Bakersfield. You
were there. Triangled the guy.
KM:
(Blush) ok. How about Bao. Bao beat Uematsu, the 6th ranked at
145 in Shooto. How is Bao taking all this? CB: He doesn't care.
He doesn't want to fight until January now or something. He's
going to school and doing his thing. He's still training but
it's same old same old.
KM:
What's up with the rest of the team? CB: Trying to get something
together for her (Erica Montoya). It's hard to find her fights.
She was supposed to fight a girl from Japan and (the Japanese
woman) hurt her shoulder so she couldn't fight. There's not a
lot of girls at that level at the weight so trying everyday for
something for her.
KM:
(To Erica) I heard you were fighting in kickboxing? (To Chris)
I think the last time I talked to you you mentioned she had a
kickboxing match? CB: She was talking about having a kickboxing
match when she training up at Fairtex but they ended up not having
it. Rami I'm trying to get a fight. Adam Lynn just fought in
UA4. He won his first fight and lost his second fight.
KM:
Who did he beat and who did he lose to? CB: I forget the name
of who he beat. He lost to Nick Diaz from Cesar Gracie.
KM:
I've had my eye on Nick Diaz since that IFC show but I couldn't
make it toWE4. CB: Threw him twice, landed across the side, got
back in the guard, got armbarred. I told him, 'don't go to the
ground with him, he's good'. He took him down twice so he got
what he you know…that was the first fight one of my students
had that I wasn't there ever. I was at the hospital. I felt really
bad.
KM:
Still, that's a pretty important excuse.
Our
thoughts go out to Chris' son during his recovery. For more information
on Next Generation visit NextGeneration.com
Source: ADCC |
|
Bob
Sapp News...
Bob Sapp is
in the news once again. This time is technically isn't for fighting
but for eating at a press conference that ended up with him making
headlines in Japan.
Numerous news
outlets are reporting that Sapp ate half-raw cow tongues (considered
an expensive delicacy in Japan) in front of a mob of press in
Tokyo last week. Thirty-three cow tongues in three minutes to
be exact.
Sapp, who has
one of the largest meal allowances in Pride, reportedly ate the
cow tongues as if they were candy and posed for the camera in
bizarre fashion.
Sapp, fresh
off a second KO win in K-1 has become a major player in not only
MMA but K-1 Kickboxing and now pro wrestling as well. Not bad
for a guy many WCW brass called 'uncoordinated and useless.'
After gulping
down the tongues, Sapp stated 'I'm going to make the K in K-1
stand for kill!'
Sapp will also
make his pro wrestling debut in New Japan on 10/14 where he is
expected to destroy Manabu Nakanishi. This comes from a desperation
move where New Japan lost Takyama due to his eye socket being
re-broken. Sapp is getting a HUGE payday for the show.
Keep in mind
that Sapp will also fight in PRIDE on 11/24 and for K-1 again
on 11/17.
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle
them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John
Steinbeck
|
Warriors
Quest 8
"YOUNG GUNS"
Thrusday, Oct 24, 2002
IFC Championship
185lbs.
Mark Mareno (Bulls Pin) Vs. Steve Heath (Cesar Gracie)
Lightweight
154.3 Shooto Class A
Jamal Perkins (808 Fight Factory) Vs. Jay R Palmer (Universal
Rough)
Welterweight
170lbs.
Renato "Charuto" Verrissimo (Nova Uniao) Vs. TBA
INTERMISSION
Middleweight
Shooto Class B
Deshawn Johnson (HMC) Vs. Blake Hottenberg (Koden Kan)
Wleterweight
Class Shooto B 2x5 Minute
Jim Kikuchi (808 Fight Factory)Vs. Neal Andres (HMC)
Middleweight
Class Shooto B 2x5 Minute
Tripstin Kerisiano (808 Fight Factory) Vs. John Naole (HMC)
Heavyweight
Class Shooto B 2x5 Minute
Doug Fulp (808 Fight Factory) Vs. TBA
Cruiswerweight
Class Shooto B 2x5 Minute
Desmond Miner (Koden Kan) Vs. James Standford (HardKnocks)
Middleweight
Class Shooto B 2x5 Mintue
Nassor Lewis (808 Fight Factory) Vs. Aki Tago (Team Assasin)
Cruiserweight
Shooto Class B 2x5 Minutes
Jason Verdadero (Bulls Pin) Vs. Kaipo Spencer (Freelance)
Dain Agbayani
won't be fighting due to new job and lack of gym time so we will
be postponing the fight for a later time.
Card Subject
to Change!! |
Upcoming
Super Brawl Info
November 9, 2002
Wes "Cabbage" Correira vs Jason Lambert
This fight is confirmed. Hawaii fans may remember that Jason
Lambert was the work horse from the Heavyweight tournament that
took a beating, but kept on coming. He has an excellent wrestling
background and a huge heart. Cabbage, now a UFC veteran, is coming
off a loss to the man who won the heavyweight tournament, but
made some fans with his never say die attitude. He stood there
and threw some heavy leather in America's premier show, the UFC.
He will look to get back to his winning ways against a very tough
and game opponent in Lambert.
The rest of
the fights are not confirmed and are currently in the negotiation
stage:
Niko Vitale (GU) at 190lbs on his way to 185 v tba
Shonie Carter v Japanese Fighter A-class
Kolo Koka (GU) v Japanese Fighter B-class
Ronald Jhun (808 Fight Factory) possibly at 170lbs? v tba
Brian Gassaway v tba
Deshaun Johnson (HMC) v Mark Moreno (Bulls Pen)
Miles Tynanes v King Kong
Mike Malone (East Sidaz) v tba |
Bloody
Midgets Wrestling In Hawaii
Ok, I know what you
are thinking. "There's nothing new and interesting to do
at night anymore." Well, have we stumbled across something
for you! Yup, bloody midgets. It is hard core full contact midget
wrestling at it's best. The show should be backyard wrestling
meets Willie Wonka's Oompa Loompas.
What venue would
be able to pull off the mighty midgets? Gussie La'mours of course,
the premier location for "break through" events.
When you ask?
November 10, 11, and 12, 2002
How much? Tickets
are only $10 and $15.
Why? Why not?
Check out http://www.bloodymidgets.com for a preview.
This is a dark
show so leave the kids at home for this one. Adults only. |
Month
in Review: September
Between Rounds by Joe Hall
Another
entertaining month of mixed martial arts is ready for the history
books. During the 30 days of September, all the major Japanese
promotions ran shows, and a stacked UFC card closed the month.
Before you file it away, join me as I take a look at how September
2002 unfolded in the sport.
MINOWA
AIN'T NO BOB SAPP (Sept. 7)
DEEP
delivered their strongest show to date in early September. A
stellar 10-fight card was headlined by two of Japan's most athletic
mixed martial artists, Kiyoshi Tamura and Ikuhisa Minowa. The
careers of both fighters, who would likely compete as middleweights
in North America, have been tainted as they've been persistently
matched against larger opponents. Tamura has suffered the worst,
his career spiraling downward during a string of five consecutive
losses that was capped by a defeat at the massive hands of super
heavyweight Bob Sapp.
Fighting
Minowa was a rare opportunity for Tamura to face a quality opponent
near his own size, and he shined. In what has been described
as an action-packed bout, Tamura captured a unanimous decision
and raised the question: How good could Tamura, once touted as
the Japanese version of Frank Shamrock but now aged considerably,
have been if he had only fought opponents of similar size?
On
the undercard, Rogerio Nogueira bounced back from his loss to
Vladimir Matyushenko with a victory over Tsuyoshi Kosaka. The
brother of Pride Heavyweight Champ Rodrigo Nogueira, Rogerio
is now 4-1 in MMA competition. Kosaka, on the other hand, has
clearly entered the twilight of his career. The always-tough
Japanese heavyweight has dropped three consecutive fights and
five of his last six outings.
In
other action, Joao Roque stepped up a weight class and claimed
a decision over top 10-ranked lightweight Ryan Bow. Roque is
4-0 since his loss to Jens Pulver in the UFC, which includes
two triumphs over Takehiro Murahama and an armbar victory over
Stephen "Bozo" Palling. Also, Dokonjonosuke Mishima
continued his emergence as one of the best finishers at 155 pounds
by quickly submitting Takafumi Ito, and Ryuki Ueyama rallied
to submit Brazilian Top Team member Gilson Ferreira.
GOMI
SLIDES BY 155-POUND BRENNAN (Sept. 16)
Takanori
Gomi's unblemished record narrowly escaped the challenge of a
trimmed down Chris Brennan in Shooto. A good, but not quite top-10
welterweight, Brennan survived an exhaustive weight cutting regimen
and surfaced as an instant lightweight contender despite losing
a close decision.
Masahiro
Ohishi retained his featherweight Shooto title in a back-and-forth
battle against Hisao Ikeda. The entertaining war was waged for
the full 15 minutes, ending as a draw. On the undercard, Norifumi
"Kid" Yamamoto destroyed top 10-ranked featherweight
Tetsuo Katsuta. However, Yamamoto continued to pound Katsuta
after the match was stopped and has since been suspended for
120 days as of October 1.
Bao
Quach, a student of Chris Brennan, was also victorious, upsetting
Naoya Uematsu. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro remained undefeated
by claiming a unanimous decision over Hiroshi Tsuruya.
UCC
INVADES HAWAII (Sept. 17)
Canada's
Universal Combat Challenge packed their bags and headed for the
sun-drenched getaway of Hawaii in mid-September. They took plenty
of UCC regulars with them, pitting many of the fighters against
Hawaiian opponents. In the main event, Jeff Curran stunned the
hometown audience by knocking out local product and submission
wizard Baret Yoshida. The win may prove to be a breakthrough
victory for Curran, who also defeated Bao Quach in late August.
Also,
Laverne Clark returned to MMA and ended a lengthy losing skid
with a unanimous decision win over Donald Ouimet. Word from Iowa
has it that Clark is training seriously for the first time in
a long while. Middleweight Ronald Jhun took a substantial step
backward in his quest to reach the UFC, falling to Stephan Potvin
via toehold. Rich Franklin and Falaniko Vitale also scored wins.
RICCO
CROWNED IN CONNECTICUT (Sept. 27)
The
UFC returned to the U.S. Northeast in late September with Ricco
Rodriguez capturing the vacant heavyweight title. BJ Penn prevailed
over Matt Serra in the lightweight tournament, earning a spot
in the finals against Caol Uno, who defeated Din Thomas. In other
action, Gan McGee smashed an overhand right into Pedro Rizzo's
nose to upset the Brazilian heavyweight, and Phil Baroni stunningly
knocked out Dave Menne in a mere 18 seconds.
UCC
DEBUTS ON TSN (Sept. 28)
The
UFC isn't the only promotion gaining mainstream attention. Canada's
Universal Combat Challenge, although under recognized in many
MMA circles, continued to stride forward in September with the
TSN debut of a show dedicated to their promotion. Considering
that TSN is Canada's largest sports network and has been called
the Canadian equivalent of ESPN, that is quite an accomplishment.
RAMPAGE
SCORES BIG 'W' (Sept. 29)
In
a significant step up in competition, Quinton Jackson solidified
his status as a top mixed martial artist by defeating Igor Vovchanchyn
at Pride 22. The rest of the card played out as many predicted
as Kevin Randleman, Guy Mezger, Anderson Silva and Heath Herring
all triumphed against overmatched opponents. In other action,
Paulo Filho finished Akira Shoji with an armbar; Mario Sperry
took out Andrei Kopylov with a soccer kick; and Ryan Gracie submitted
Shungo Oyama.
OTHER
NOTABLE WINS
Underrated
middleweight Yuki Sasaki defeated Alex Steibling in Pancrase.
Although the fight went the distance with Sasaki gaining a decision,
the Japanese fighter remains one of the best finishers in the
sport.
On
the same card, Ron Waterman returned to MMA with a submission
victory over Kengo Watanabe, and Kiuma Kunioku defeated Hiroki
Nagaoka.
Light
heavyweight Jorge Rivera took the HOOKnSHOOT 205-pound championship
from Travis Lutter in Ring of Fury. Rivera finished his Machado
black belt opponent with strikes late in the final round.
Steve
Berger was victorious at the same show, submitting Nuri Shakir
just before the end of the opening round.
KEEP
AN EYE ON…
American
Top Team featherweight Hermes Franca captured the HOOKnSHOOT
145-pound championship in early September. Franca, who is undefeated,
finished then-champion Anthony Hamlett with strikes from the
mount in the first round.
AND
THE AWARDS…
FIGHTER
OF THE MONTH: Ricco Rodriguez. He rallied over the final three
rounds and finished the venerable Randy Couture in a gutsy performance.
KNOCKOUT
OF THE MONTH: Phil Baroni knocks out Dave Menne at UFC 39. It
was quick, shocking and violent.
SUBMISSION
OF THE MONTH: Not much to work with this month, but Paulo Filho
gets the nod for submitting Akira Shoji, a fighter who had survived
bouts against Mark Coleman and Igor Vovchanchyn without quitting.
UPSET
OF THE MONTH: There were plenty to choose from, including Jeff
Curran's win over Baret Yoshida and Bao Quach's victory against
Naoya Uematsu. Gan McGee grabs the award, though, for his triumph
over Pedro Rizzo.
FAVORITE
MATCHUP OF THE MONTH: Although it didn't deliver the memorable
fight many expected, BJ Penn-Matt Serra was my favorite matchup
of the month. Honorable mention goes to Tamura-Minowa and Gomi-Brennan
at 155.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
UFC
TO TELEVISE ULTIMATE KEN SHAMROCK
ON PAY-PER-VIEW STARTING SUNDAY, OCT. 13
One-Hour Special
To Highlight Career of Ultimate Fighting Championship Legend
Shamrock Continues
To Train For Title Fight Vs. Tito Ortiz, Nov. 22, in Las Vegas
As he continues
to train for his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship
November 22 in Las Vegas with a title fight against Light Heavyweight
Champion Tito Ortiz, the UFC will premiere Ultimate Ken Shamrock,
a one-hour pay-per-view television special, starting at 8 p.m.
EDT/5 p.m. PDT on DIRECTV and 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT, Sunday,
Oct. 13, on iN DEMAND, BellExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada.
The suggested retail price is $9.95.
Ultimate Ken Shamrock is a retrospective of the career of the
UFC pioneer who was its first super fight champion. Highlights
will include classic battles with Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Oleg
Taktarov and Kimo. Re-plays of the show will air throughout the
remainder of October.
Shamrock will return to the UFC live on pay-per-view Friday,
Nov. 22, in the main event of UFC 40: Vendetta, when he meets
Ortiz for the light heavyweight championship. Fight fans are
well aware that Ortiz and Shamrock have a major score to settle
based on long-standing hostilities between each other.
The UFC's next PPV event will be at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on
Friday, November 22, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in
Las Vegas.
Source: FCF
|
3
Canadians added to Angle Classic
Canadian
stars Sissaouri, Huynh, Akuffo commit to competing at Kurt Angle
Classic in New Orleans, Nov. 8-10
Three
international wrestling stars from Canada have accepted invitations
to compete in the historic new Kurt Angle Classic, a challenge
competition featuring U.S. wrestling stars and many of the best
wrestling athletes from across the world.
The event will take place at the Morial Convention Center in
New Orleans, La., November 8-10, 2002.
The three new confirmed stars include 2001 World Champion Giuvi
Sissaouri, 2001 World silver medalist Carol Huynh and 2001 World
Team member Ohenwa Akuffo.
This brings the total to 12 World-class wrestling stars from
foreign nations who have agreed to participate in this exciting
new competition. These 12 international athletes have won a total
of nine World Championships, one Olympic Games championship and
28 World-level medals.
USA Wrestling, in conjunction with event organizers and international
wrestling federations, is helping firm up the final lineup at
this time.
The Kurt Angle Classic features a 'USA vs. The World' format,
and will spotlight Olympic and World Champion athletes in the
three Olympic styles of wrestling: men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman
and women's freestyle.
All wrestlers will be paid to compete, with bonuses available
to the winners. In all, the total purse for the event will exceed
$75,000.
Sissaouri, 31, won the World Championships gold medal in 2001,
but did not compete at the 2002 World Championships due to the
birth of his child. Sissaouri is the most successful Canadian
wrestler in history, the winner of five World-level medals. He
won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games, as well as a silver
medal at the 1995 World Championships. He also won World bronze
medals in 1997 and 1998. Among his other major titles were the
1999 Pan American Games and the 2002 World Cup.
Sissaouri will face three-time U.S. World team member Eric Guerrero
(Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at the Kurt Angle Classic at 60
kg/132 lbs. Sissaouri and Guerrero have met a number of times,
most recently at the 2002 World Cup, with Sissaouri winning the
match, 7-1.
Huynh won a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships and
a bronze medal at the 2000 World Championships. A three-time
Canadian Senior National champion, Huynh has also competed for
Canada at the Junior World Championships.
Huynh will battle 2000 World silver medalist Patricia Miranda
(Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) at the event at 48
kg/105.5 lbs. Miranda has dropped down to 105.5 pounds from 112.25
pounds, and has not battled Huynh to date.
Akuffo placed 10th at the 2001 World Championships, and also
competed for Canada at the 1997 World Championships. She won
a gold medal at the 2002 Pan American Championships, and has
also won gold medals at the 2001 Dave Schultz Memorial International
and the 2000 Sunkist Kids International.
Akuffo will compete against 2001 World silver medalist Toccara
Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) in the competition
at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. Montgomery moved up to 158.5 pounds from
147.5 pounds this season, and is new to this weight class.
Two featured women's matches were included in the Kurt Angle
Classic, even though the competition is just one week after the
2002 Women's World Championships. The United States and Canada
are among the world's top women's wrestling nations, and they
annually battle for supremacy among Pan American women's teams.
These two showdowns are expected to be competitive and entertaining.
As other international wrestling stars confirm their attendance
at this spectacular wrestling showcase, their information will
be posted on TheMat.com and shared with the international media.
The Kurt Angle Classic is part of the 'Show of Strength,' a competition
that will include body building, power lifting, arm wrestling
and a strong man contest. Included will be a hall with over 300
exhibits of products, supplements and other resources useful
in athletics.
'I am excited and honored to be hosting this event along with
USA Wrestling,' stated Angle, who after capturing Olympic gold
in 1996 went on to become a WWE superstar. 'This is my way of
giving back to the sport of wrestling. It should be an incredible
atmosphere and putting the top wrestlers in the world against
each other should help the sport of wrestling as well.'
There will be three sessions of competition. In session one,
a team comprised of military wrestlers from the U.S. Marine Corps
and the U.S. Navy will face a team composed of wrestlers from
the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.
Sessions two and three will pit the top U.S. stars in all three
Olympic styles (men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman, women's freestyle)
fighting against some of the top international competitors in
the world.
Wrestling will take place in an entertaining atmosphere. Matches
will be enhanced with music, up-close interviews and cutting-edge
production techniques that are certain to make this one of the
most fan-friendly and stunning amateur wrestling events ever.
For more information on the Kurt Angle Classic, visit www.showofstrength.com.
KURT
ANGLE CLASSIC
at New Orleans, La., Nov. 8-10
International
Wrestling Stars confirmed as of 10/4/02
Men's
Freestyle competitors
60 kg/132 lbs. - Giuvi Sissaouri (Canada)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Elbrus Tedeev (Ukraine)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Magomed Isagadzhiev (Russia)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Khadjimurad Magomedov (Russia)
96 kg/211.5 lbs.- Eldar Kurtanidze (Georgia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. -Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
Men's
Greco-Roman competitors
55 kg/121 lbs.- Geider Mamadaliyev (Russia)
66/kg/145.5 lbs. -Jimmy Samuelsson (Sweden)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Alexandre Menshikov (Russia)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Eddy Bengsston (Sweden)
Women's
Freestyle competitors
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Carol Huynh (Canada)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Ohenewa Akuffo (Canada)
To
apply for media credentials to this event, visit http://www.showofstrength.com/mediarequests.htm or call David Mueller
at (504) 558-1840.
Source:
ADCC |
NEW
ARTICLE ON FERNANDO VARGAS AND STEROIDS AT ROUNDCARDGIRLZ.COM
By: Eddie Goldman
NEW
YORK, Oct. 7 -- I'm asking you all to go to that site that features
all those buxom beauties who light up ringsides from sea to smiling
sea, Roundcardgirlz.com, at http://roundcardgirlz.com/, and click on the photo
of -- me!
Now,
before you conclude that I've gone totally mad, let me assure
you that there is some method to my madness. You see, clicking
on my photo will take you directly to my latest contribution
to this fast-rising site. It is an examination of the issues
surrounding the recent positive steroid test for Fernando Vargas,
following his Sept. 14 TKO loss to Oscar De La Hoya.
The
article is entitled 'IS FERNANDO VARGAS A DOPE WHO TOOK STEROIDS?'
The piece doesn't jump to conclusions, but neither does it pull
any punches.
There
is no charge to view this article, or much of the contents of
Roundcardgirlz.com, but the site does have a nice premium section
for members only. I can assure you that my mug is nowhere to
be found there! You will, of course, get access to many more
hot photos of the Roundcardgirlz.com models. So after digesting
my article, feel free to check out the rest of the site if you
haven't done so already.
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"He who asks a question is a fool for a minute;
he who does not remains a fool forever."
Chinese Proverb
|
NORTH
AMERICAN ABU DHABI TRIALS RESULTS
THE AVENTINE CLUB, La Jolla, California
October 5th, 2002
Congratulations
to all the competitors! The ADCC North America Trials set a new
level for Submission Wrestling events in the USA - simply put,
this show was one of the most exciting tournaments ever held!
Much more to come from The Aventine in San Diego - complete details
and pictured in the next days!
The 2003 North
American ADCC Qualifier Field - Official RESULTS:
Under 65.9
KG:
(MACHADO
JJ): Eddie Bravo 143.9
Bravo won the night's most technical fighter, an incredible performance
by the KOTC man!
67-77.99
KG:
(American
TOP TEAM) Pablo Popovich 168.4
(77-87.99 KG:
(Gracie JJ
- KOTC): David Terrell 189.3
88
- 98.99 KG:
KOTC Champion: Dean Lister 215.1
DEAN LISTER won the TAPOUT FIGHTER of the NIGHT award, a HOOKNSHOOT
tradition that goes to the fighter with the night's top showing!
Lister fought threw an injury for a phenomenal showing!
99
KG and up:
Victory Athletics:
Mike Whitehead 272.4
Match
Details:
Under
65.9 KG:
TEAM CANADA:
Shawn Krysa 140.8 v. Victory Athletics (Seattle): Dominic Curella
140.1
Winner: Sean Krysa
(TEAM
RENZO GRACIE): Alan Teo 144.6 v. (Team Ricardo Pires): Michael
Bland 143.4
Winner: Alan Teo
(MACHADO
JJ): Eddie Bravo 143.9 v. (AMC PANKRATION: Mark Ashton 144.2
Winner: Eddie Bravo
(Fabio
Santos JJ - Wrestling): Chance Farrar 144.7 v. (Relson Gracie
JJ): Phillip Cardella 144.5
Winner: Chance Farrar
ROUND
2:
Shawn Krysa v Eddie Bravo
Winner: Eddie Bravo
Alan Teo v Chance Farrar
Winner: Alan Teo
3rd
Place Match: Sean Krysa v. Chance Farrar
Winner: Chance Farrar
FINAL:
Alan Teo v. Eddie Bravo:
Winner: Eddie Bravo
Bravo
won the night's most technical fighter, an incredible performance
by the KOTC man!
67-77.99
KG:
TEAM CANADA:
Mark Bocek 164.2 v. (Team Ricardo Pires): Antonio McKee 166.2
Winner: Antonio McKee
Pedro
Sauer JJ - Costa Rica: Henry Matamoros 166.4 v. Victory Athletics
(Seattle): Brad Blackburn 167.7
Winner: Henry Matamoros
(American
TOP TEAM) Pablo Popovich 168.4 v. (J-SECT / NOVA UNIAO): Sean
Spangler 168.2
Winner: Pablo Popovich
(TEAM
RENZO GRACIE) Sean Williams 168.9 v. Grappling Champion: Kenny
Florian 167.6
Winner: Sean Williams
ROUND
2:
Antonio McKee v Henry Matamoros
Winner: Antonio McKee
Pablo Popovich v Sean Williams
Winner: Pablo Popovich
3rd
Place Match: Sean Williams v. Henry Matamoros
Winner: Sean Williams
FINAL:
Pablo Popovich v. Anotnio McKee
Winner: Pablo Popovich
77-87.99
KG:
Grapplers
Quest Champion: Ken Kronenberger 191.9 v. (TEAM RENZO GRACIE):
Joe D'arce 188.9
Winner: Joe D'Arce
Grapplers
Quest Champion: Todd Margolis 184.1 v. 2x Wrestling Champ (Michigan):
James Lee 192.3
Winner: Todd Margolis
TEAM
CANADA: Denis Kang 188.3 v. Team Caique JJ: Angelo Popofski 193.2
Winner: Dennis Kang
(Gracie
JJ - KOTC): David Terrell 189.3 v. (Massachusetts Submission
Academy): Keith Rockel 193.2
Winner: David Terrell
ROUND
2:
Joe D'Arce v Todd Margolis:
Winner: Todd Margolis
Dennis Kang v David Terrell:
Winner: David Terrell
3rd
Place Match: Dennis Kang - D'arce pulled out.
FINAL:
Todd Margolis v. David Terrell:
Winner: David Terrell
88
- 98.99 KG:
(J-SECT /
NOVA UNIAO): Marc Laimon 216.1 v. TEAM CANADA: Terry Dellino
207.2:
Winner: Marc Laimon
HnS
Veteran : Mark Jackson PEND v. 16x NAGA Champion: Anthony Argyros
199.7 Winner: Anthony Argyros
(Carlos
Machado-Lutter): Kenny Mcclure 216.7 v. (TEAM RENZO GRACIE):
Jamal Patterson 217.5:
Winner: Jamal Patterson
Nathan
Ducharme 215.9 v. KOTC Champion: Dean Lister 215.1
Winner: Dean Lister
ROUND
2:
Marc Laimon v Anthony Argyros: Marc Laimon
Dean Lister v Jamal Patterson
Winner: Dean Lister
3rd
Place Match: Jamal Patterson - Argyros pulled out.
FINAL:
Dean Lister v. Marc Laimon
Winner: Dean Lister
DEAN
LISTER won the TAPOUT FIGHTER of the NIGHT award, a HOOKNSHOOT
tradition that goes to the fighter with the night's top showing!
Lister fought threw an injury for a phenomenal showing!
99
KG and up:
TEAM CANADA:
Karim Byron 343.1 v. (TEAM RENZO GRACIE): John Rallo 263.9
Winner: John Rallo
ADCC
VETERAN: Rocky Batastini 240.6(J-SECT / NOVA UNIAO) v. (PRIDE
veteran) Winner: John Marsh
John Marsh with the night's QUICKEST SUBMISSION!
Victory
Athletics: Mike Whitehead 272.4 v. (Team Ricardo Pires) Conan
Dunn
Winner: Mike Whitehead
Roy
Nelson 252.5 v. (Dean Lister's Team) Jocko Willink 238.8
Winner: Roy Nelson
ROUND
2:
John Rallo v Mike Whitehead
Winner: Mike Whitehead
John Marsh v Roy Nelson
Winner: Roy Nelson
Nelson executed the Best Throw of the Night!
3rd
Place Match: Both fighter's chose to not compete!
FINAL:
Roy Nelson v. Mike Whitehead
Winner: Mike Whitehead
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2002 NORTH AMERICAN QUALIFIER CHAMPIONS!!!!
Source: ADCC |
WORLD
FIGHTING ALLIANCE
RETURNS IN GRAND STYLE
TRIGG VS. MILETICH IS ON!
Believe the
rumors! The World Fighting Alliance has come through again with
the official announcement of its first scheduled match-up for
its upcoming November 23rd show. The WFA's third installment
picks the party up where its Level 2 predecessor left it off
by bringing fans, the pulsating beats, electrifying sights and
tantalizing beauties it has become famous for. At the center
of all the excitement, are seven of the sport's most anticipated
match-ups, including a face-off of epic proportions between MMA
veterans Frank Trigg and Pat Miletich for the WFA Welterweight
title. For those who dare enter "Where the fight club meets
the night club," the WFA is back with the ultimate in freestyle
competition!
Internationally-revered
Frank Trigg returns to the WFA to serve up more devastation...
as only he can. Fighting out of the rAw team, Trigg's top-notch
wrestling skills, sheer aggression and confident attitude have
made him one of the most talked about MMA athletes today. With
victories over Jean Jacques Machado, Fabiano Iha, as well as
a close loss in a back and forth war against Japanese samurai
Hayato Sakurai, Trigg has certainly proved his mettle within
the combat arena. Clamoring for more top-notch competition, "Twinkle
Toes" may finally get his wish in the form of living legend
Pat Miletich.
Pat "the
Croation Sensation" Miletich proudly makes his WFA debut
on the heels of a prolific MMA career that has spanned seven
years of active competition. As one of the MMA's most influential
figures in the sport, Miletich's focus on mastering all aspects
of the fight game have served him well in his reign as a six-time
world champion. Looking to continue his tradition of solid performances,
Miletich views his move to the WFA as the next logical step in
his career. "I'm excited to fight for John Lewis and the
WFA -- he knows how to treat fighters -- and I'm excited to fight
Frank Trigg. Frank's a tough guy, and at this point in my career,
that's the only type of guys I want to fight." With this
bout to be joined by six other enticing pairings, the WFA: Level
3 will surely become one of the hottest tickets in town!
Don't miss out
on the next level in MMA competition. Stay tuned for ticket sales
information on the way.
For more event
information, please contact Paula Romero, WFA Marketing &
Promotions at prome100@aol.com.
Source: FCF |
UFC
TO TELEVISE ULTIMATE KEN SHAMROCK ON PAY-PER-VIEW STARTING SUNDAY,
OCT. 13
One-Hour
Special To Highlight Career of Ultimate Fighting Championship
Legend
Shamrock
Continues To Train For Title Fight Vs. Tito Ortiz, Nov. 22, in
Las Vegas
As
he continues to train for his return to the Ultimate Fighting
Championship November 22 in Las Vegas with a title fight against
Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz, the UFC will premiere
Ultimate Ken Shamrock, a one-hour pay-per-view television special.
The suggested retail price is $9.95.
Ultimate Ken Shamrock is a retrospective of the career of the
UFC pioneer who was its first super fight champion. Highlights
will include classic battles with Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Oleg
Taktarov and Kimo. Re-plays of the show will air throughout the
remainder of October.
Shamrock will return to the UFC live on pay-per-view Friday,
Nov. 22, in the main event of UFC 40: Vendetta, when he meets
Ortiz for the light heavyweight championship. Fight fans are
well aware that Ortiz and Shamrock have a major score to settle
based on long-standing hostilities between each other.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), headquartered in Las
Vegas, Nev., is the world's leading mixed martial arts association.
Owned and operated by Zuffa LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view
events yearly through cable and satellite providers. In addition
to its U.S. distribution on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, BellExpressVu
and Viewers Choice Canada, UFC events are distributed internationally
through British Sky Broadcasting, WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat
in Brazil and Modern Sports and Entertainment in Scandinavia.
UFC licenses video games for all major playing platforms through
Crave Entertainment.
The UFC's next PPV event will be at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on
Friday, November 22, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in
Las Vegas.
Source: FCF |
Chins
of Fury:
5 of the greatest Chins of all time.
by "The Sushiboy" Arnold Lim
Striking,
wrestling, and Jiu Jitsu are all integral parts of a good MMA
game. Without some modicum of comfort with all three arts, in
this day and age it is getting increasingly difficult to compete
at a high level of MMA. One facet of the game that cannot be
trained, is the God Given Physical toughness of the Chin. Call
it natural born talent, call it a God given ability, call it
a genetic mutation if you like. The ability to take an abnormal
amount of physical punishment to the face and head, while still
maintaining the ability to think and fight in an intelligent
manner is not something you can train, it is something you have,
or you don't. To quote the rules of the UFC one must be "intelligently
defending himself" the ability to do so when one is getting
pounded is a gift to say the least. Strikes must be brushed aside
on the fly, as if a mosquito had just landed on their nose and
nothing more. Every fighter will take an assortment of punishment
to the face at some point in their career but only a select few
can take the hits and keep on coming. This Column is dedicated
to the fighters out there who have what can only be described
as a gift. It is a gift that can't be bought or sold, traded
or bartered. If you are a fighter, it is a gift that keeps on
giving. This is for the men and Women who have what it takes
to be a Punching bag when they cross over into their next lives.
The hallowed chins that are immortalized on the walls of the
chins of fame. The toughest "Chin's" this side of the
Chinese Mafia. We will give these warriors there due right here
and now. Here we go with #5
#5 Yoshihiro
Takayama
What do you get when you mix 75 percent Japanese blood, and 25
percent Apache Indian blood? You get six foot 6 300 pounds of
Pure unadulterated, Yoshihiro Takayama. That is what you get.
His record in MMA is 0 wins and 3 losses. I don't know how this
guy does it but at the end of all three of his losses he had
more colors smattered about his face then the most Beautiful
Rainbow I have ever seen. He takes Punishment Head on with reckless
abandon and 0% regard for his health. Hell, who needs health
when you have a rainbow on your face? You could actually see
his face change colors as he took Punishment from Don Frye, different
shades of Violet, Maroon, Blue and Black. I could almost read
Frye's mind as he was punishing Takayama. With every punch he
must have been wondering, "where in the face am I going
to punch this guy next?" I can't see his face anymore, all
that's left is a melting pot of Colors that look like one of
those old abstract paintings. The nose is off on his forehead,
his chin is off by his ears, his eyes are on different sides
of his head, the similarities go on. Takayama has the heart and
the Chin to be a champion in any sport. He just doesn't have
much else.
#4 Chuck Liddell
Chuck can dish out the punishment as well as anyone out there
in the sport today. One part of his game that is sometimes overlooked
is his adeptness at taking the pain, as well as giving it out.
In his last 4 fights, Vitor Belfort tagged him, Guy Mezger tagged
him, Amar Suloev tagged him, and Murilo Bustamante tagged him.
Chuck must be a kid at heart because no one likes to play tag
like Chuck Liddell. He has proven that he can roll with the punches
with the best of them. Now, if only he could get his shot at
the only punishment that he really wants, and deserves, and that
is the leader of Team Punishment, Tito Ortiz.
#3 Kazuyuki
Fujita
I
don't know where this guys genes come from but one of his parents
must have been a punching bag because Fujita can take a punch
like nobody's business. He took multiple HUGE knee's to the noggin
via MARK KERR back in Kerr's hay day as a fighter. He ate a rocket
full of punches square to the face and chin via Ken Shamrock,
and numerous knee's to the gullet via fellow Chin of fame vet
Yoshihiro Takayama. No one was able to stop the Fujita-nator.
Only Mirko Cro Cop was able to stop him but that was a cut stoppage
not a Knockout. I am beginning to think that it would be impossible
to knockout Fujita. Fujita is an attrition specialist, he takes
pain like no other, and brushes it aside like he is brushing
his teeth. His skull looks like it is twice as think as his waist.
His strategy coming into a fight is something right out of a
Rocky Movie. It is a simple 3 step program that has taken years
to develop.
Step
1 - Take inhumane amount of punishment to the head and wait it
out till the opponent gets punched out and arm weary,
Step
2- Take more punishment to the chin and forehead, wait until
the opponents legs get tired and his knee's get sore from striking
your face.
Step
3 - When it is obvious that the opponent is gassed out due to
the arm-stiffening amount of punishment he has dished out, kick
it up from there and take the victory from the tired opponent.
#2 Aaron Riley
To some people he is affectionately referred to as Robbie Lawler's
opponent in the fight of the year at UFC 37. But Riley is so
much more then he showed in that fight, his fight with Robbie
Lawler does not tell the whole story, not by a long shot. The
huge bombs he took were only one of a Mouthful he has eaten in
a career where he has eaten more then his fair share. Robbie
Lawler was the first fighter ever, to knock him down in an MMA
fight. The only thing is, Riley took enough punishment in that
fight to knock down a herd of elephants. He has taken shots to
the face that have required dental work in the opening moments
of a fight and went on to finish the fight as if he took a slap
from his girlfriend. Bob Sapp could wind up and throw a haymaker
right into the chicklets of Aaron Riley and Riley would come
back and fight with the heart of a jungle full of lions. The
only thing that is keeping him off the number one slot of this
list is the fact that he actually has the talent to win fights
so he is not in a constant state of getting beaten down like
the number one bird on this list.
And
the winner is...
#1 Daijiro Matsui
This
is the founding member of the real Team Punishment. I am not
talking about Tito Ortiz's team Punishment I am talking about
the Pride Punching bag |