There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those
who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less
competition there.
Indira Gandhi
Happy
Halloween!
Onzuka.com and Elvis wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable Halloween.
Be careful when you are out on the street walking around or keep
an eye out for kids in the street while driving.
Sneak
Peek of Super Brawl Superstars
T. Jay has
sent us a couple of links to a preview (or post view) or the
TV show Super Brawl Superstars. Check it out.
IRONHEART
CROWN 5: TRIBULATION RESULTS
October 26, 2002
Hammond Civic Center Arena, Hammond, Indiana
HAMMOND,
IN -- Ironheart Crown promoters Eric Moon and Braulio Corral
have been smiling non-stop since the start of their latest production
of the Ironheart Crown, held on October 26 in Hammond, Indiana.
The show was a success from start to finish. Local boxing announcer,
Johnny Bellino opened the show with an introduction of the U.S.
Marine Corps color guard. They marched into the ring, then stood
at attention as a capella vocalist Dave Wilner sang a beautiful
rendition of the National Anthem.
...And
then the fights began. From start to finish, it was non-stop
action as perfectly matched competitors fought to the finish
in ten exciting bouts. The results are as follows:
Bout
#1: SHOOTO Class-B (145 lbs) Tommy Lee [Gilbert Grappling] def.
Cedric Stewart [Warrior Concepts] Decision (3-0) 5:00 rd2
Bout
#9: SHOOTO Class-A (145 lbs) Jeff Curran [Pedro Sauer Team] def.
Ryan Ackerman [Grappling Works] Decision (3-0) 5:00 rd3
Bout
#10: SHOOTO Class-A (170 lbs) Shonie Carter [Chicago Fitness
Center] def. Jay Buck [Gilbert Grappling] Decision (2-1) 5:00
rd3
Current
Title-Holders:
Bantamweight Champion (125 lbs): Jeremy Bolt
Featherweight Champion (145 lbs): Jeff Curran
Lightweight Champion (155 lbs): Henry Matamoros
Welterweight Champion (169): Shonie Carter
Middleweight Champion (185): Brian Gassaway
Light-Heavyweight Champion (205): Jim Theobald
Heavyweight Champion (245): Jason Godsey
This
fight was the first IHC event sanctioned by the Japan Shooto
organization. Rich Santoro, a representative of Shooto's U.S.
division has been negotiating with the Illinois Department of
Professional Regulation, and it seems hopeful that the next Ironheart
Crown will return to its home in Chicago.
Source: Ironheart
Crown
Mega
Event: Dale Earnhart Jr. Classic
Relentless Pursuit of Recognition.
Gracie/Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu came on the world scene 10 years ago when unknown at
the time Brazilian national Royce Gracie dominated the first
Ultimate Fighting Championship with his family’s style of
ground fighting, changing the world of martial arts and fighting
forever. Over the last decade the popularity of Jiu-Jitsu has
grown immensely not just in the United States but world over.
Jiu-Jitsu and Submission wrestling tournaments are being conducted
in just about every state and world over.
However
one aspect seems to have faded in the United States from the
early days of Jiu-Jitsu, when Royce Gracie was still fighting
in the UFC’s – the fan base. Average spectators, drawn
to the events for sheer enjoyment. One purple belt in small town
North Carolina is trying to change that.
(l-r
Trooper Barger, Royce & Hurst) Joe Hurst now a 4 stripe purple
belt under Daniel Moraes and Marcello Clemente was drawn to Jiu-Jitsu
when he saw Royce Gracie’s impressive victories in the early
UFC’s over opponents in times 100lb over his weight. Joe
in his own words was amazed at the techniques used by skinny
Brazilin and relative ease with which he dominated his opponents.
Joe, who at the time had studied traditional martial arts was
now no a new quest, to learn the art of Gracie/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Over the last 10 years Joe has had the pleasure of training with
some of the elite Jiu-Jitsu Black belts such as the Legendary
Royce Gracie, Royler Gracie, and Relson Gracie. Joe was even
invited to train with Grand Master Helio Gracie himself, at his
house in Brazil; Joe considers the experience to be the most
memorable in his life, outside of the birth of his son Jackson,
who is 1 years old. Joe frequently travels and competes in Brazil
and runs a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Concord, NC. Joe is
a dedicated teacher, as well as a model student.
So
how does Joe plan on bringing more attention to the sport he
so loves? With a help of his friend NC State Trooper Garrett
Barger, whom Joe met while teaching Law Enforcement Course at
the Justice Academy, and some surprising celebrity athletes Joe
and Garrett are trying to pull off what may end up being the
best North American Jiu-Jitsu Tournament ever.
Garrett,
a long time friend of NASCAR Legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.(shown
top w.Royce), a son of the late Dale Earnhardt, along with Joe
have approached Jr. with the idea of putting together a Jiu-Jitsu
Tournament in North Carolina. Jr. had been a long time fan of
the MMA and much like Joe was fascinated with Royce Gracie and
his victories, the idea appealed to him and so the work started.
“The Dale Earnhardt Jr. Classic” was the selected title
of this new North American Jiu-Jitsu event. Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
using his popularity and influence brought aboard a professional
public relations firm to handle the organization of the event,
while Joe and Garrett have been left with the hard task of recruiting
the competitors and putting together the combative part of the
event. Dale Earnhardt Jr., contacted Budweiser and Coca Cola
requesting them to come aboard as major sponsors providing much
needed funds to make this event a success. Brazilian based kimono
giant Atama Kimonos have also been listed amongst the sponsors
of this event. The tournament will be held in newly build Cabarrus
County Arena, a 28,000sf facility that can seat up to 6,000 spectators.
Joe promises this to be a first class event, with 2 x 20foot
jumbotron screens following the action on the mats, super fights,
GI and no GI divisions and prize money offered in access of $1,500.00
for each pro division winners and $2,000.00 for super fight winners.
NASCAR memorabilia and a real Dale Earnhardt Jr., race car will
be on display, along with Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself present
at the event. Gift baskets will be given to all participants,
and there is even a rumor of Rock Superstar Kid Rock as doing
an opening song for the first The Dale Earnhardt Jr. Classic
Jiu-Jitsu Tournament. Ticket Master has been contacted to distribute
tickets to the event “and we are hoping to sell out the
arena” Joe says.
And
what Jiu-Jitsu tournament can go without some of sports own celebrities
– Royce Gracie has been invited as the guest of honor to
the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Classic. Royce will conduct a pre-tournament
seminar on Friday January, 24-Th, 2003 and then will be available
at the event the following day. Royce is also scheduled to do
a MMA/Jiu-Jitsu demonstration at the event. Yours truly has been
invited to cover the event, so look out for more coverage as
the event takes place.
So
why go through all these organizational hassles and last minute
problems to put on the tournament? I asked Joe and this is what
he had to say:
“The
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Classic has the potential to be a outstanding
North American event. We are inviting fighters from all over
the world to compete and hope to not only have great competition,
but developed friendships with people from all over the world.
The way the world is today we want to promote friendship and
peace for all nations in the world through competition. We are
inviting the mayor and local politicians to the event since others
countries will be represented here'.
Guys
train extremely hard and we want the world to know, as we do,
what they are all about. We love this sport very much and we
feel that if we get people to see it they will too.”
The
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Classic Jiu-Jitsu Tournament will take place
in Cabarrus County Arena less then 45 min north of Charlotte,
NC on January 25-th, 2003. Royce Gracie Pre-tournament seminar
will be conducted on the 24-th of January. More information on
the pre-registration for competitors as well as tickets sales
for spectators will be coming soon.
From
all of us Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and fans from around the world,
we want to thank Joe Hurst, NC State Trooper Garrett Barger and
NASCAR Legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well as all those involved
in organization of this event for their unselfish and Relentless
Pursuit of Recognition for the sport we all come to love.
Source: ADCC/Kid Peligro
The
BattleShip - Fact, or Fiction?
The MMA Forums (Battleship tapping out the UFC?) are abuzz with
rumors of "the next big show", aka BattleShip. Jeff
Sherwood spoke with one of the promoters on October 29, to separate
the facts from the fiction.
While there
has been talks of such an event, it was all talk, and nothing
more. No contracts were signed, no venue was booked. Currently,
even the talk has died, because of lack of funding.
On a positive
note, the plan is down, but not dead yet. Funding may return
in the future - but right now, there is no BattleShip.
As with most
internet rumors, "if it sounds too good to be true, it usually
is."
Source: Sherdog
Tito
Ortiz vs Ken Shamrock Breakdown
On
November 22nd, the match that nobody thought could ever realistically
take place, will finally go down as the main event at UFC 40.
A "Vendetta" aptly names what Ken Shamrock feels he
owes Ortiz in the twilight of his career. What began back in
1999, is culminating to a boiling point and might finally close
the book on one of the biggest stories of rivalry and unfinished
business in the history of modern mixed martial arts.
It began back in 1999 when Tito handed a serious beatdown to
Shamrock's pupil, Jerry Bohlander at UFC 18, then at UFC 19 he
dispatched another Shamrock fighter, Guy Mezger. After his win
he dawned a T-shirt printed with "Gay Mezger is my bitch".
Shamrock climb the cage and went ballistic with finger pointing
and brow beating only a mother could understand. Tito stood waiting
for his hand to be raised screaming "You started it. I finished
it. Stop stuttering you steroid freak!" The war of the four
letter words went back and forth for some time. Back in the dressing
room, Ken's Lions Den troupe began talk of furthering the "discussion"
with Ortiz back at the hotel. Ken's adopted dad preached for
constraint. Ken just wanted an SEG official in the room so he
could make a formal complaint about his claim that Tito won with
illegal blows to the back of the skull. In any case, that set
the tone for the dislike between Tito Ortiz and the pride of
the Lion's Den.
Since
that time, Shamrock, who last fought for the UFC in 1996, went
on to revive his pro wrestling career and fought in the MMA arena
4 times. His last bout, taking place at Pride 19, was an all
out war with aging fellow combatant Don Frye. The two stood toe-to-toe
slinging punches like a good old street fight and Ken also showed
signs of his old Pancrase days as he tore Frye's knee with a
heel hook that Don refused to tap from. In the end he lost, but
proved he still had the heart and determination to take the fight
to anybody in the ring. Tito Ortiz, during this time, has stuck
with the UFC and made the Light Heavyweight Title his, and currently
lays claim to the #1 light heavyweight in the World. His only
loss came to Ken's adopted brother, Frank Shamrock, immediately
following the Mezger fight, but it made him the monster he has
become today, owning the weight class that Ken will be entering
to try to dethrone him. He rattled off 5 consecutive wins, but
suffered a career threatening knee injury while training takedowns
in practice. Knee surgery and months of therapy later, he will
finally be making his return to the Octagon, over a year since
his last Title defense.
Zuffa
spent 4 months trying to put this match up together and it seems
to be paying off. At 4 weeks out from the showdown between Tito
and Ken, An estimated 7000, out of 14000 available seats have
already sold for the event at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
That's a staggering number when compared to other combat sport
receipt sales. Ticket sales have traditionally been a strong
indicator of how well PPV numbers will do with boxing and they
are hoping this indicator works for MMA as well. There is little
doubt that Vendetta will sellout, and that will make this the
largest crowd to ever witness a live mixed martial arts event
in North America. Make no mistake, Tito's status as the most
recognizable UFC star coupled with Ken Shamrock's pro wrestling
crossover and legendary status lingering with him from the old
"There are no Rules" days of the UFC has made this
event into a bout of titanic proportions. The UFC is expecting
double the press attendance for this event, with a number of
networks with their eye on the possibility of taking the show
to network television. This match up is all that they hoped it
to be so far. It has brought more publicity eyes to this one
event than most all other UFC's combined.
Can
this one match live up to the hype? There is almost no way it
can. Unless Tito and Ken stand in the middle of the Octagon and
go toe-to-toe until one of them drops, it won't. What the real
question is, with all of the build up and the total dislike that
Ken has for Tito, will the game plan for both camps go out the
window? That is the key to this fight being epic after "Big"
John McCarthy finally says, "Let's get it on!" Will
Ken see red as soon as there is no one standing between him and
the kid that beat up his students? Will Tito's bravado lead him
to make an example out of Ken that he is the new breed of fighter
and his time has passed? Despite popular belief that this is
all an act to sell tickets, Ken wants ever so badly to ram his
fist down Tito's throat. He wants to rip off any limb he gets
a hold of. He wants to teach Tito Ortiz the meaning of respect
by beating the life out of him. Make no mistake, Ken is the old
General on the battlefield, carrying the weight of his troops
on his shoulders, as this is the last stand for the Lion's Den.
That's a heavy burden. Tito wants to keep that belt. His entire
existence, over the past 3 years, has revolved around the fact
that he owns the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. He's the franchise.
He's who the press wants to speak to. He's the one the people
ask for when the UFC does meet and greets. He's the one that
they want the interview from when discussing this budding sport
of MMA. In a nutshell, the UFC is his identity. Without it, he
is just another fighter in a sea of mediocrity for which the
sport of MMA, as a whole is relegated too. Tito has been one
of the few, if not the only one, to swim out of, if only so far.
This
could be a good old fashioned throw down, or worse, it could
be a calculated bout both fighters are so well known for. Tito
and Ken, while fantastic at selling the fight outside of the
ring, have both been accused of being less than stellar inside
the ring. Ken has been a part of some of the most mind-numbing
bouts in MMA history (remember Ken-Royce II, and Ken-Severn II),
while Tito's workman like destruction of most fighters have involved
a lot of ground-and-pounding that is methodical and…well…boring.
Let's cross our fingers and hope that Ken is just so damn pissed
at Tito and Tito is so defiant of this father figure trying to
bully him around, that they both throw caution to wind and let
everything fly come go time.
Lets
break it down:
Striking
Dept.
Both of these fights are not known for their ability to kick
and punch exceptionally well on their feet. Tito will trade punches
until he gets hit, then he backs down by attempting a bodylock.
He also usually will not stand and punch until he has established
a lead with his wrestling ability. Where Tito is good, is striking
with his elbows once he has been put in the guard. He is a master
at cutting his opponents wide open.
Shamrock,
although not great at stand up striking either, has proven far
more adept at finding his opponent's chin. Despite his enormous
muscularity, he has the ability to throw a straight punch and
is not afraid of getting hit, unlike Tito. He also has the ability
to ground and pound with the best of them.
Edge: Ken Shamrock
Takedowns
Ortiz is the most devastating stand up grappler in the world
of MMA. Never moving beyond College wrestling, he has been able
to do what a lot of wrestlers can't, making their takedowns work
while strikes are being thrown. The use of his underhooks from
the tie up has allowed him to takedown everybody. If Tito gets
underhooks on you, better think about protecting your face from
those elbows, because he will be throwing them at you from your
guard. His destruction of Vladimir Matyushenko solidified his
status as the sport's premier takedown artist
Ken
Shamrock is a fighter that everyone swears it the strongest man,
pound for pound, in the clinch. And he has been there, in the
heavyweight division, wrestling with big fighters, and successfully
using his takedowns. Will it be enough? Probably not. Tito is
the better.
Edge: Tito Ortiz
Ground Grappling
Ortiz is a master of ground control. His ability to shutdown
any kind of offense is the key to his success. He never ends
up on his back and his base is strong enough for him to be able
to dish out punishment from within the guard. He doesn't need
to break the guard and rarely even attempts to.
Ken
Shamrock will end up on his back more so than Ortiz and he too
has the ability to shutdown almost anyone's offense from within
the guard and dish out a stream of punishment, but not with the
authority that Ortiz has been able to do.
Edge: Tito Ortiz
Submissions
Ortiz, throughout his entire career, has only one win via submission
and that was to a smaller fighter with a neck crank. He's proven
he has the skills in submission wrestling tournaments, but has
never been comfortable pulling off submissions, much less attempting
them in MMA.
Shamrock
has over 20 wins via submission throughout his career from all
positions. He is, hands down, the better submission fighter between
the two. The real question people are asking is, will he be able
to get a hold of that formerly injured leg of Ortiz? And if he
does, will Tito panic? Ken proved he still has the skills by
ripping Don Frye's knee apart in his most recent fight.
Edge: Ken Shamrock
Experience
Tito Ortiz's career has spanned about 12 fights with 4 title
defenses. He has is no newbie to the big game.
Ken
Shamrock's career was in his prime when Tito's was just beginning,
spanning 9 years and almost 40 fights. Ken is no stranger to
the Octagon, being there since the very first event. He also
will be coming into the fight with less ring rust than Ortiz.
Edge: Ken Shamrock
Stamina
Since his loss to Frank Shamrock, and citing that loss on the
inability to keep up with Franks pace, Ortiz bought stock in
oil companies and bought a few gas stations to go with it. He
does not get tired and seemingly has enough gas to go on for
days. In fact, his stamina is his deadliest part of his game
now.
Ken
Shamrock's biggest Achilles heel may well be his endurance. He
is 38 years old and evidence of his lack of stamina is in his
bouts with Fujita, where he quit, and in his fight with Frye,
where he looked terribly winded after the opening exchange. Also,
because of his extreme muscularity, one has to wonder if he is
too anaerobicly inclined over his aerobic ability. Sure he is
strong as an ox, but for how long?
Edge: Tito Ortiz
Conclusion
Simply put, the longer this fight goes, the better chances Tito
has of winning. He is the favorite and if he sticks to a gameplan,
this fight is his. He will implement his underhooks, put Ken
on his back and cut him wide open with strikes from the guard.
Ken will not be able to get off his back or stop the onslaught.
If Ken pulls Tito into a street fight, it's anybody's belt. But
count on cooler heads prevailing, a square dance for a round,
and Ortiz getting busy as soon as Ken begins to get winded from
chasing Ortiz or Defending the shot.
Winner: Tito Ortiz
Source: MMA Ring Report
10/30/02
Quote
of the Day
"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains
its original dimensions."
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
BJJ
Meets NASCAR in January!
The rumors
that have been out there about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and NASCAR
teaming up are true! Dale Earnhart, Jr. will be hosting a Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu tournament in North Carolina scheduled for January
of 2003. Many BIG NAME sponsors have already agreed to come on
board - yes, the sponsors that every promoter has dreamed of
are on board for the 'Dale, Jr.'
It is also
true that their will be a Professional NO-GI competition attached
to the tournament, reportedly with big money prizes. There are
several members of the Gracie Family scheduled to be present
as well. Kid Peligro will be bringing you some more inside information
as well. For now, plan to come to North Carolina in January for
a truly first class event.
Source: ADCC/TAPUOUT247@aol.com
Fighting
Father Time and Losing
Between Rounds by Joe Hall
Compared
to the century-old histories of major American sports, mixed
martial arts is a baby. Even so, it boasts an illustrious past,
entailing the spectacle of the early days to the legal struggles
that followed, from catching its second wind to the stars that
have emerged between then and now.
For
the first time in our sport's youthful history, we're seeing
a generation of top fighters collectively begin to fade. If mixed
martial arts ever flourishes, such trends will become commonplace.
It's routine in other sports. A wave of baseball players who
play together and compete against each other will slowly deteriorate
as a group. Of course, a few oddballs linger late and more go
early, but the average leave together. Our sport will be the
same; it just hadn't been around long enough to see it before
now.
One
such venerable warrior nearing the end is Randy Couture. His
retirement was hardly discussed following his loss to Josh Barnett,
but that may have been because allegations that Barnett used
steroids made the convincing defeat a little less conclusive
to some. The aftermath of his loss to Ricco Rodriguez has been
a different story. He controlled the fight early, taking down
his younger foe and pounding him in typical Couture fashion.
By the third round, Couture was smiling, and it appeared as though
he was ready to close out another day at the office. The tides
turned, however, and he soon found himself on the bottom absorbing
blows.
Talks
of his retirement followed. Maybe the discussion is a result
of an aged Couture looking so good early but floundering late,
or because it was his second straight loss to a young heavyweight
that many felt he would beat. Perhaps the scene of Couture on
his back, stomping his feet after taking an elbow to the eye
has also prompted the conversation.
Few
would say that Couture can no longer compete with the current
crop of heavies. He could very well beat anyone on any night,
but his chances of doing so are declining rapidly. The game has
evolved, but it's not the evolution alone that's beating Couture
like it has so many other fighters. He has opened his mind and
developed a more multi-dimensional game; he's simply getting
older, and keeping up with the pack has become a fleeting ability.
His
class is unparalleled in the sport and coupled with his run in
the UFC heavyweight division, his spot in mixed martial arts
history is secure. Only Couture himself knows how much he has
left, and retirement would certainly be an admirable decision.
However, if he chooses to return once his eye fully heals, he
will undoubtedly be supported. The goal of reclaiming UFC gold
probably wouldn't be the wisest or most realistic aim if he were
to fight again. It would only lead him to meet more agile, youthful
240-pound fighters. A different course unworried about the title
could place him against a quality opponent without pushing him
out the door. Matches against other aging veterans would also
work, and I hope Couture chooses one of those paths if he decides
on a comeback.
Igor
Vovchanchyn is another fighter entering the twilight of his career.
In his heyday, Vovchanchyn boasted the heaviest hands in the
business and consistently used them to crumble adversaries in
the oddest of fashions. Renzo Gracie said it best on eYada a
few years ago: "Where he hits you, the hair don't grow back."
Years
of battle have taken its toll on Vovchanchyn, though, seeming
to thwart him mentally as well as physically. He was never the
most technically proficient fighter, but he had an iron will
and an endless supply of haymakers. His success resulted from
that will allowing him to stay in the fight until one of those
mammoth strikes finally landed.
Lately,
his determination has disappeared and even a lengthy break couldn't
retrieve it for his bout against Quinton Jackson. Without it
he looks flat, spends nearly the entire match on his back, and
never lands the right hand. At this point, unfortunately, it's
doubtful that Vovchanchyn will ever find that spirit again.
Other
fighters that entered the sport around the same time appear to
be headed in the same direction. Tsuyoshi Kosaka is always competitive,
but will struggle with top 20 heavyweights for the remainder
of his career. Marco Ruas is long gone, as is Pete Williams and
Maurice Smith. Ken Shamrock and Don Frye are still around, but
not for long. Even though Royce Gracie competed recently, like
the others, he is well past his prime.
Some
fighters in the same cohort are still plugging along. Dan Severn
is probably fighting in a show somewhere as I write this article.
That says something for his tenacity, but also for his intelligence.
Fighting on the smaller shows is a wise, less dangerous decision.
The one time he returned to the UFC since early 1997 proved to
be a rude and awfully violent wakeup call.
The
state of a career appears to be an interplay of age, injuries
and health, and the level at which one is competing. Length of
career, frequency of fighting and how those fights play out contribute
to injuries and health. This allows someone like Gil Castillo,
who is old for a fighter (37), to outlast many of his contemporaries
because he entered the sport later and bypassed much of the punishment.
Likewise, the interacting factors would cause some young fighters
to retire early relative to others, if they jumped in the sport
(and physical abuse) early. Training style likely makes a huge
difference, contributing to injuries and general wear and tear.
It's a no-brainer that the fighters who have prolonged their
careers with success are prudent in their training methods.
Fighters
willing to step down a level can also stay in the game, which
is what Dan Severn has done. Another long-lasting competitor
is Murilo Bustamante. The UFC middleweight champ first fought
in mixed martial arts years ago, yet has competed sparingly since
and has taken little punishment relative to others. Gary Goodridge
has never been afraid to tap rather than suffer, and he's still
around. The fighters on their way out, like Pat Miletich, are
high on multiple factors, including age, length of career and
injuries.
Regardless
of how a fighter preserves himself or herself, the end is inevitable.
Some may go early, some may outlast the average, but they'll
all go out one way or the other. As our sport grows, it will
become a familiar process to say goodbye to the Coutures and
Vovchanchyns and Fryes. We'll never be immune to the exit of
one our favorites, and we shouldn't be. When it bothers us to
watch Couture dismantled late or Vovchanchyn finished early,
it teaches us that we love the athletes as much as the sport
itself. And that's a foundation on which mixed martial arts can
flourish.
Our
feelings aside, we should ready ourselves for the turnover, if
for nothing else, because that's what the future holds. We'll
follow fighters from their early days, listening to rumors and
an occasional exaggeration of their potential. We'll check their
progress in grappling tournaments or amateur kickboxing fights.
We'll stay up late to surf the Internet for results from their
pro debut in a grass roots event in the Midwest. When they make
it to the big show, we'll drive seven hours to see them fight
in person. We'll follow their career until the end, and realize
there's little we can do as they fade away -- just like now --
other than offer our respect. The aged warriors will tip their
hats, and new blood will quickly fill the hole. We'll hear the
rumors again and find another fighter to follow.
Source: Maxfighting
Martial
Arts Black Belt Family Tree Submissions
Aloha,
This letter
is to remind everyone of their Biography, Picture, family Tree
and Updates.
1. If you
need to make changes on your biography and picture for the Society
New Book and Website, please email: Porf. Steven Dowd at: kyud@arnisbalite.com Deadline December 1st, 2001
2. If you
have not send in your family tree of all those black belts under
you, please send it to: hmasociety@yahoo.com Deadline December 1st, 2001
3. The Society
new website is www.hmaisociety.com The Hall of Fame section is
open for nominations. Please make any changes on your website
if the Society has a link to your website.
4. Pleas see
the newsletter section for more Updates.
Aloha &
Thank You for your time,
Prof. Jaime
Abregana jr.Hawaii
Martial Arts International Society has a new website
Aloha,
This letter
is to inform you of the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society
new website. www.hmaisociety.com
We are currently
still adding information to the website. The website address
now has the letter "i" in it for the international.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Prof. Jaime
Abregana Jr.
Hawaii Martial Arts International Society
P.O. Box 2106
Ewa Beach, HI 96706 - USA
(808) 271-0225
10/29/02
Quote
of the Day
You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things
that never were; and I say "Why not?"
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Is
the BATTLESHIP Coming?
More news about BATTLESHIP is coming out but met with mixed reactions
from insiders.
The organizers
of this new show that is being put together are working on the
apparent plan is to pay the fighters $25,000 to show and compete
in a 4-man tournament with the winner getting $250,000.
There are
big names being thrown around and we have the following RUMORS
about the tournaments that promoters are wanting.
In the heavyweight
division, these four athletes have been named as potential fighters:
RODRIGO NOGUIERA
JOSH BARNETT
MARK COLEMAN
DON FRYE
The proposed
tournament for the 185lbs tournament is the following:
FRANK SHAMROCK
PAT MILETICH
PHIL BARONI
MURILLO BUSTAMANTE
While this
is any MMA fan's dream, we spoke with two of the eight fighters
listed above and neither had been contacted about appearing on
the show.
Baroni and
his management have made it clear that their loyalty is with
the UFC and want to stay there.
Nogueira is
a free agent with no exclusive contract with PRIDE or anyone
else after the new year.
Barnett has
restrictions with any group that could fall under jurisdiction
in Nevada.
If this is
pulled off and happens, expect many fighters to step up for a
quarter-million dollars on the line.
Source: ADCC
"WHERE
THE FIGHT CLUB MEETS THE NIGHT CLUB"
THE "PLAYAS"
ARE IN THE HOUSE...
WORLD FIGHTING
ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL LINE-UP FOR NOVEMBER 23RD LEVEL 3
CARD
LAS
VEGAS (October 25, 2002) - Lights! Music! Action! The World Fighting
Alliance returns to "Sin City" this Saturday, November
23rd for its third installment. Bringing its unique mix of battling
warriors and gyrating beauties to the heart of the Las Vegas
strip are Mixed-Martial Arts superstar John Lewis and the King
of the Nightclub John Huntington. Touching down at the Aladdin
Resort & Casino's own 5,000-seat venue, WFA: Level 3's distinctive
blend of combat and unparalleled style will surely elevate this
mixed martial arts experience above all others. The stakes are
high for these chosen "playas" willing to lay it all
on the line. Two championship belts are up for grabs, and with
a guest performance by rap music pioneers Naughty by Nature,
Level 3 is sure to provide hardcore thrills like never before!
Frank Trigg: an unstoppable world-class wrestler who's dominated
the competition in the WFA cage and beyond. Pat Miletich: a nine-time
world-champion with solid boxing and grappling skills. Vying
for the WFA welterweight championship, these two men will meet
for the first time to determine who's the baddest welterweight
on the planet. Will the Croatian Sensation's well-rounded game
be too much for the wrestler? Or will the Trigg-machine steamroll
over another victim?
With the WFA light-heavyweight title at stake, Las Vegas' own
Marvin "the Beastman" Eastman will face Alex "the
Brazilian Killa" Stiebling in a bout that pits brawler against
brawler. The Beastman mauled his way to victory at his last WFA
outing, with a solid display of ferocious takedowns and quick
hands. Stiebling makes his way to the WFA cage via a successful
run in Japan, where audiences marveled this promising newcomer's
aggressiveness and fortitude. Only one of these top competitors
will walk away with the belt. It all comes down to just who wants
it the most...
Two of the toughest lightweights in the sport clash in co-main
event action, as Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro and Chris
"the Westside Strangler" Brennan will test their high-level
jiu-jitsu skills in the cage. Shaolin continues to impress each
time he does battle. He put his last WFA opponent to sleep with
a choke and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Brennan's
move down to the lightweight class has already started to make
waves in the division with a recent and impressive performance
against one of Japan's best. Can Shaolin overwhelm the Westside
Strangler? Or will Brennan's vast experience prove to be too
much for the Brazilian warrior?
The WFA Championships:
Level 3 Playas -
Pat Miletich
"The Croatian Sensation"
Miletich Fighting Systems
Team Extreme
Bettendorf, IA
WFA
Welterweight Title Bout
Vs.
Frank Trigg
"TwinkleToes"
RAW Combat
RAW
Los Angeles, CA
Marvin Eastman
"The Beastman"
Kickboxing/Wrestling
Lewis/Pederneiras Vale Tudo
Las Vegas, NV
WFA Light-Heavyweight
Title Bout
Vs.
Alex Stiebling
"The Brazilian Killa"
Freestyle
Muay Thai Inst. of Kunponly
Salt Lake City, UT
Chris Brennan
"The Westside Strangler"
Jiu-jitsu
Next Generation
Irvine, CA
WFA
Co-Main Event
Vs.
Vitor Ribeiro
"Shaolin"
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
Nova Uniao
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mike VanArsdale
Wrestling
Zinkin/American Kickboxing Academy
Colorado Springs, CO
Vs.
Chris Haseman
"The Hammer"
Wrestling
Team Extreme
Brisbane, Australia
Rob McCullough
"Razor"
Submission wrestling
Huntington Beach, CA
Vs.
Josh Thomson
"The Punk"
Submission Fighting
American Kickboxing Academy
San Jose, CA
Todd Lally
Kickboxing/Submission Wrestling
Lewis/Pederneiras Vale Tudo
Las Vegas, NV
Vs.
Nigel Hudson
"UK Hammer"
Thaiboxing/Boxing
UK
Stay tuned in the coming days for a final match-up to be announced.
In total, seven scintillating fights will be set in motion to
put your mind into submission.
The next level of MMA competition is upon us. Don't let it pass
you by! Tickets go on sale Monday, October 24th and can be purchased
directly through the Alladin Resort & Casino's box office
(877-333-9474) and through all Ticketmaster locations (702-474-4000
or www.ticketmaster.com). Ticket prices range
from $30, $50, $100, $150 and $200. A seating chart is available
at www.aladdincasino.com and (The World Fighting
Alliance website), the official web site of the world's hottest
MMA experience.
For
additional event information, please contact: Paula Romero, WFA
Marketing & Promotions at prome100@aol.com
Source: FCF
WFA
Up Close: Rob McCullough
by Keith Mills
Team Punishment basically started with Tito Ortiz, Tiki, and
Rob 'Razor' McCullough. McCullough, a 5-time muay thai champion
with a 2-1 MMA record and a 17-3 overall record with 8 KOs, is
referred to by Tiki as Team Punishment's secret weapon. McCullough
is next fighting in the WFA against Josh 'The Punk' Thomson in
Las Vegas on November 23rd. Fighting out of American Kickboxing
Academy, Thomson brings a 2-0 record to the fight with 1 by KO
and 1 by triangle.
KM:
It seems like it might be awkward with your teammate Tiki fighting
in the UFC the night before WFA and then having to concentrate
for your own.
RM:
It's work for me, I've done it before. I've gone to a number
of UFCs before and flown there somewhere out of state and then
flown back to fight in a thai boxing fight. It's just a job to
me. I'm pretty focused on it.
KM:
Tiki was describing you as the 'secret weapon'. How appropriate
is that term?
RM:
I definitely enjoy kicking; it helps a lot, especially my mixed
martial arts with range finding and stuff. If you can kick hard
and you can kick fast you can stop a pretty big handed puncher.
A heavy handed guy is going to put a lot of weight on his front
leg so if you can kick good you are confident enough to set up
stuff like that, it's going to make it a more exciting fight.
The chance of a knock out is so much more evident when the guy
is a good kicker because if the guy drops his hands he might
get one in the face or if he's a heavy puncher you can kick him
in the leg. You have your downfalls (if) the guy shoots on you
but it makes for a more exciting fight than between two grapplers.
KM:
Over and over again I hear from the promoters that the fans want
the stand-up. I'm noticing many promoters doing match-ups that
are less likely to go to the ground.
RM:
Yeah. I think the sport from where it started to where it is
now has definitely evolved. There's the hardcore fans that watch
it and know when it goes to the ground it's a chess match and
it's great to watch but some of the people that don't watch it
that don't really know, they just want to see people throw.
KM:
You've been thai boxing for a couple years now but are crossing
over to MMA at a time when the stand up fighters are getting
more recognition. How do you feel about the timing?
RM:
I think right now where I'm at I wouldn't change anything just
due to the fact it's prefect timing, the sport is getting ready
to blow. Stand up fighters and the guys that really want to scrap
and go toe to toe, those guys are getting a lot more recognition
which is cool because that is where I came from. I think I'm
lucky right now to be where I'm at.
KM:
Tell me about your first three fights.
RM:
I started in West Coast Extreme Cage Fighting. It was pretty
short to tell you the truth (10/04/01 :24 r1 vs. Jesse Heck),
caught the guy right off the bat, kick in the head. Got him stunned
and followed with a couple kicks and he was out. 2nd fight (11/11/01
3:55 r1 vs. Steve Wagner) was a lot like the first except the
guy pulled guard on me and I stayed inside the pocket and just
elbowed him, cut him open. After that he was dazed and I followed
with kicks and the fight was over in the first round. The 3rd
fight (3/30/03 dec loss to Kenneth Alexandre) went into double
overtime. It was a scrap and a half. Didn't know much about the
guy, at that point didn't really care cause I was kinda like
'I'm on the up and up'. Basically it turned into a ground fight.
I tried to show some of my skills; I tired to armbar the guy,
I had a few guillotine chokes and stuff. I couldn't get anything
so I lost in the fight but it just made me a better fighter.
KM:
Do you know much about your opponent?
RM:
He trains with Bob Cook, I'm sure he's a well-rounded guy, he's
going to have some good cardio. I heard he's probably signing
with the UFC so he's not a tomato can. I hope he comes ready
for war because that's what I'm coming for.
KM:
How many of his fights have you seen?
RM:
Haven't seen any of them yet.
KM:
So you aren't training any differently because it's him?
RM:
Not at this point, I'm just training hard at this point.
KM:
Does that matter to you, to know who your opponent is? Do you
need to see video to fine-tune your game plan or is your game
plan open enough that it doesn't matter that much?
RM:
To tell you the truth I think sometimes you can get a little
set off to the side if you watch too much video on the guy. Every
fight I've done I've always changed something. It's kind of nice
to watch a video to kind of get a feel for it, I like to look
at the face of the guy and imbed them in my mind, just picture
the guy bleeding as I'm beating on him, but then again if I don't
get to watch a video it's that much better.
Fans
will get to see Rob try to do just that in the WFA in about a
month at WFA in Las Vegas on November 23rd.
Source: ADCC
10/28/02
Quote
of the Day
"If a man has talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If
he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed.
If he has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it,
he has gloriously succeeded and has a satisfaction and a triumph
few men ever know."
Thomas Wolfe
Super
Brawl Goes Prime Time!
For Immediate Release:
October 17, 2002
Primetime Television!
A Super Brawl
1 hour program entitled “Super Brawl Superstars!” will
air on Hawaii’s Channel K5, the local WB affiliate, at 9pm
on Wednesday, October 308. The show will feature a “Best
of” series of fights featuring, Cabbage, Falaniko Vitale
and Ronald “The Machine Gun” Jhun. The program will
also feature never before seen training and lifestyle segments
of each fighter.
T.Jay Thompson
said “ I just left the editing studio with the Master copy.
I am truly proud of this show. It will show a different side
of the sport to 10’s of thousands of new fans in Hawaii!”
The program
will re-air Monday-Thursday, Nov 4-7, at midnight.
American
National Tournament Registration Deadline Extended
Due to high
popular demand, Carlos Gracie Jr and the International BJJ Federation
have decided that the Internet enrolment for the First American
National Jiu-Jitsu Championship has been extended until Tuesday,
October 29 th, paying U$60 fee, after this last chance to sign
in, only at the weight in day but you will pay US$100 fee. Your
last excuse just went out the door! Want to do it??? Go to www.cbjj.com.br/english and sign up!
Source: ADCC
The
Fertitta Brothers Make Fortune Magazine
Forbes Magazine
Brothers In Arms
Friday October 25, 10:44 am ET
By Peter Kafka
The
Fertitta siblings, who have built a casino fortune, like to fight.
Can a passion beget a business?
Lorenzo Fertitta's parents wouldn't let him become a fighter.
They never said anything about running a fight club. Now 33-year-old
Fertitta and his brother, Frank III, 40, get to do just that.
The brothers' day job is running Station Casinos, a $912 million
(2001 revenues), second-generation, off-the-Strip casino operator
that caters more to Las Vegas locals than to tourists (nary a
pirate ship nor a waterfall in sight). Their passion is running
Ultimate Fighting Championship, a few-holds-barred fight circuit
that targets young men with bloodlust.
Excluding movies
and porn, pay-per-view dollars have been shrinking since 1999,
due to fewer big-time boxing matches and declining interest in
pro wrestling.
$2.2
billion
Total
pay-per-view sales in 2001.
39%
Decline
in pay-per-view event revenue since 1999.
8 seconds
Fastest
knockout in the history of ultimate fighting.
Good
luck. The sport got its start a decade ago, when promoters pitched
it as a modern-day gladiator match minus the big cats. A species
of "mixed martial arts," ultimate fighting is a combination
of boxing, kickboxing and wrestling, as well as body slams, roundhouse
kicks and forearms to the face. Matches take place in an octagonal
ring lined with chain-link fence, and fighters win by a judge's
decision or by forcing their opponent to quit. The fights generated
interest from pay-per-view cable audiences--and disgust from
the morality police. Under pressure from politicians like Arizona
Senator John McCain, they were banned in some states and eventually
dropped from cable TV. Now the Fertittas, who bought the franchise
in 2001, must scratch for legitimacy and an audience that is
less inclined to watch wrestling and boxing.
Call
it a draw, so far. The brothers claim their holding company,
Zuffa--colloquial Italian for "fight"--is breaking
even on revenues of $7.5 million. They're back in the good graces
of cable outfits and,to a lesser extent, state regulators. But
while they've increased viewership fivefold and moved from 2,000-seat
theaters to 10,000-seat arenas, ultimate fighting still barely
qualifies as a niche sport. "We think there's an interesting
business opportunity, but it's high risk," Lorenzo admits.
Still,
there's less at risk for these guys than for run-of-the-mill
fight promoters. Their 26.5% stake in Station--Frank is chairman
and chief executive, Lorenzo is president--is worth $220 million.
The brothers insist they've spent little on the fights beyond
an initial investment in the "low seven figures."
Why
not stick to running slot machines? Lorenzo Fertitta was first
exposed to the sport itself while at his last job, as a member
of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Then-UFC owner Robert
Meyrowitz had come to the state board seeking approval to run
fights. The commission never formally ruled on the request, but
as part of a fact-finding mission Fertitta flew out to Iowa to
watch a series of brawls. "The thing that really shocked
me was the quality of the fighters," he recalls. "They
were world-class athletes. I had this perception that these were
just guys getting off a barstool and trying to hurt each other."
The
Fertittas were hooked. They started taking weekly fighting lessons
in the basement gym at Station's headquarters; lessons morphed
into daily sparring. (The brothers say their limited liability
company contract calls for any dispute between them to be resolved
by a fight judged by Zuffa's president.) When Meyrowitz asked
them to buy a 50% stake in his operation in 2000, they bought
the whole thing instead.
Task
number one: getting viewers. That meant courting In Demand, the
cable consortium that controls the lion's share of the pay-per-view
business. At that time only 18 million households with satellite
dishes could get the fights; Zuffa needed In Demand's customer
base of 28 million, too. But cable operators were wary--until
the Fertittas received licenses from states with major fight
markets.
Their
Vegas roots helped the brothers crack open some doors with state
athletic commissions in New Jersey and Nevada. To get approval
they had to agree to a series of safety rules: Lightweight gloves
are in, for instance; kicking your opponent in the head when
he's on the ground is out. They also upgraded production values,
booking larger venues, adding more TV cameras and a sprinkling
of lasers, rock music and fireworks throughout their shows. "The
Fertittas have done a good job," says Daniel York, senior
vice president at In Demand. "They produced a better, safer
product and made a commitment to marketing the brand."
But
the clincher was their willingness to take it on the financial
chin. Promoters for big boxing matches can get 50% of the pay-per-view
retail price from cable operators. The Fertittas, desperate to
get back onto cable, settled for much less--an estimated 40%.
"It wasn't like I was coming in with [Lennox] Lewis and
[Mike] Tyson," says Lorenzo. "I didn't have a whole
lot of negotiating leverage."
Which
makes turning a profit even tougher. The Fertittas' goal is 150,000
buys, at an average of $30 each, for each of the six live events
they put on every year. Right now they're getting about 55,000
buys. That forces them to cover the $1.3 million average cost
of a fight with revenue from the live ticket sales and by airing
"best of" fights six times a year, which draw about
a third of the viewers of the live fights, but cost nothing to
produce.
They
could use a marketing boost. Big boxing matches can count on
free publicity from the sports press, while pro wrestling puts
on hours of free television every week, all designed to get viewers
to buy pay-per-view events each month. Zuffa hasn't had much
success wooing the mainstream press, but it may have more luck
with TV. In August it ran two hour-long shows on Fox Sports Net,
which says the heavily promoted fights got a spike in viewership
from the boxing show that normally ran in that slot. The brothers
are looking for a cable network to air a weekly show; the major
broadcasters are a poor bet, thanks to an already full schedule
of programming and NBC's calamitous adventure with the XFL.
Growth
also depends on winning over more state commissions. New York,
which banned the sport in 1997, doesn't plan to reconsider its
decision, but California, a hotbed of martial arts and ultimate
fighting's largest potential customer base, may come aboard soon.
A proposal to license the sport is under review and could be
approved in six months. Meantime, the Fertittas are trying to
boost the entertainment value of the brawls, introducing rules
to decrease the amount of time fighters spend locked in holds
on the ground and paring the number of fighters under contract
so fans will see the same stable of grapplers more frequently,
as in pro wrestling.
Expect
to see a lot more of Phil (New York Bad Ass) Baroni, who arrives
at fights in a red satin robe with an entourage of ring girls.
And Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell, who sports a bright green Mohawk
and, less well-known, a B.S. in business from California Polytechnic
State University in San Luis Obispo. The brothers promise they
won't gin up storylines to make the fights more popular. Says
Lorenzo, "We're purists."
Source: Bruce Buffer & Forbes
10/27/02
Quote
of the Day
"If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved
the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve
the same results."
Anthony Robbins
Relson
Gracie US National Championships
by: Dustin Ware
MORE NEWS TO COME FROM THIS EVENT!
Yesterday
in Columbus, Ohio will be home for the 3rd Annual Relson Gracie
US National Championships! This competition has proven to be
one of the most prestigious and competitive Jiu-Jitsu/Submission
tournaments in the United States. This years competition will
feature an amateur Gi and No-GI competition, as well as a 'much
talked about' SUPER BOUT!
SUPER BOUT:
Name: Alex Paz (2001 World Jiu-Jitsu Brown Belt Champion)
Height: 6'4'
Weight: 235 lbs
Birthdate: 23
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Team: Brazilian Top Team
VS.
Name: Marcio
Corletta (2001 World Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Champion)
Height: 6'4'
Weight: 214 lbs
Birthdate: 27
Hometown: Porto Alegre - RS, Brazil
Team: Winner Behring Jiu-Jitsu
Note that
the winners from the amateur No-Gi competition will qualify for
the Professional Arnold Schwarzenegger World Gracie Submission
Competition, which will be held in late February 2003. The top
3 teams will be awarded cash prizes and trophies with individual
competitors receiving Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.
Source: ADCC
Southern
California Youth Pankration Championships
Everyone 17 years and under are invited to compete on Sunday
November 17th at 902 Cardiff Street, San Diego. Strikes to the
body, takedowns and submissions are allowed. Two mats,double
elimination and 3 minute matches. Custom Medals will go to first,
second and third place. $35 at the door, $25 if pre-registered.
We will give an additional $10 dollars discount if you competed
in Grapplers Quest on Sat. and make it back for our event. Contact
jfrank128@cox.net or 949 829-6857 for more info
or a registration form.
Source: ADCC
WFA
3 Card Finalized
The WFA has
finalized their fight card for WFA Level 3, taking place November
23, 2002.
Frank Trigg
vs Pat Miletich
Marvin "The
Beastman" Eastman vs Alex Steibling
Vitor "Shaolin"
Ribeiro vs Chris Brennan
Mike Van Arsedale
vs Chris Haseman
Rob McCullough
vs Josh Thomson
Todd Lally
vs Nigel Hudson
Source: Sherdog
Nino
"Elvis" Schembri Interview
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Ypu have been out since Pride 14 with a hurt shoulder
- what happened? 'Elvis': I tore ligaments in my right shoulder
and also I tore my bicep muscle. Actually, I suffered two injuries
at the same time.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Let's talk about your fight at THE BEST VOL 2, against
Daiju Takase. The fight was considered boring. What do you think?
'Elvis': The fight was really a bit boring! When the fight was
on the ground I fought almost the whole time from the bottom,
and I was better on the feet. Takase stalled a lot, he just wanted
to stay in my guard just trying to keep me underneath him.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Do you think you match Johil de Oliveira showed more
of your style than this last fight against Takase? 'Elvis': Against
de Oliveira, I was very comfortable. I was very anxious against
Takase, because I was returning to the ring after a serious injury.
He also played a very defensive game. But even with that, I was
able to win this fight.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: You didn't compete, but you were at the Jiu Jitsu Mundials?
What's sis you think? 'Elvis': I think the level of competition
was very high. In my opinion Roger Gracie and Carlos 'Escorrega'
Lemos were the names of the event. Carlos Gracie Jr. Deserves
all the props for his job with the CBJJ.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: You've never hidden your desire to face Carlos Newton.
What's the main reason for this wish to face him? 'Elvis': I've
never had the interest to fight Carlos Newton. What really happened
is my manager Jorge Guimarães (Joinha) said that this
would be a great fight. But Newton left Pride and I don't see
this fight happening since I'm a Pride fighter.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: What do you think about his performance against Matt
Hughes at UFC 38? 'Elvis': I think that Newton started very well
in the fight, got the mount position at the beginning of the
fight, but after that he got tired and accepted Hughes game and
was totally dominated by him.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Do you think that sometimes the brawler beats the technician,
as happened in this Hughes vs Newton fight? 'Elvis': Pay attention.
Here is my analysis - the brawler can beat the technician if
the cardio and conditioning is not there to deal with the rush.
If you get tired in an MMA fight, it doesn't matter who you are
because you are gone.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: You were in the first Brazilian v. Brazilian match in
PRIDE. The Brazilians have been doing a good job out there, and
we probably will be seeing more fights between Brazilians in
the future. What's your opinion about this? 'Elvis': I think
that there're many foreign fighters for the Brazilains fight
against, but it's natural that ocasionally the Brazilians will
be facing each other in Pride, or in big events.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Were you supposed to fight Pele in Pride before you got
injured? Did it matter to you to face another Brazilian in your
second NHB match? 'Elvis': I was to face 'Pele' before I got
my shoulder injury. It doesn't make any difference to me to face
a Brazilian or a foreign fighter. Obviously it's better to face
someone from another nationality than face a countryman, but
I'm a Pride fighter and I'll fight anyone who they choose for
me.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Facing more experienced and tough opponents, will this
be Elvis's way in NHB? 'Elvis': I hope so. I love challenges
and I've a lot of confidence in my ground game.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: The BUDOKAN and HEROES 2 and IVC Venezuela veteran, 'Cyborg'
Santos said that he wants to fight against you. Do you think
that even with only two NHB fights under your belt, there are
people checking you out, or this is because you beat his teammate
Johil de Oliveira? 'Elvis': I don't know. I'll repeat. I'm a
Pride fighter and I'll fight anyone who they choose for me.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Many fighters have been fighting in the both of the main
NHB organizations, Pride and the UFC, Do you've want to fight
in the UFC? 'Elvis': Maybe one day, since Elvis (Presley) was
huge oi the U.S. (laughs)!
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: In which weight division would you like to fight? up
to 77kg or 77-87kg divison? 'Elvis': For sure in the 77kg weight
class.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: And what about Jiu Jitsu? Won't we see you fighting anymore?
'Elvis': This year I didn't have too much time. But next year
I'll be back in the main tourneys such as the Brasileiro, Pan
Am and the Mundials.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Do you want to fight in Abu Dhabi again? Have you been
training for this? 'Elvis': I've a huge desire to fight in this
tourney again! I won the most technical athlete award at the
last ADCC edition, , which was an honor, and I've been training
a lot.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil: Do you've any message for your fans? Do we'll be seeing
you fighting again at this year? 'Elvis': I'll be fighting in
December on the Pride 24 show. For my fans, wait, because 'Elvis'
is still alive and is really training a lot!
Source: ADCC
JEFF
CURRAN - Future Star?
by: Joseph Cunliffe
Even on
his worst days... when he is down on his luck... tired... and
even ill... 'I can't remember not wanting to at least watch guys
grapple at the academy,' says Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt
Jeff Curran.
The
quiet, non-intimidating 25-year-old began Jiu-Jitsu by accident
at a local Hapkido school in 1993. Curran recalls saying to his
friends, 'that guys doing what I do (referring to Royce Gracie),'
but shortly thereafter realized that it should have been worded
I do what that guy is doing. Curran has also trained in Jeet
Kune Do, Thai Boxing, Boxing, Muay Thai, Kali and Karate, but
it wasn't until around the age of 18 that he put it all together,
'I started to hit pads and basically do whatever I thought would
be essential.'
Curran
wanted to test his skills someday, and it was a very smooth transition
into MMA. Competing since 1998, Curran was full of 'blind energy'
as he calls it for his first pro fight against now friend and
fellow Pedro Sauer student, Henry Matamoros. Curran admits to
bouncing from so many small events 'I really got caught up in
fighting in just about anything that popped up,' but those days
are over for Curran. Monte Cox has managed Curran for his past
2 fights, and 'basically was the one who got me started in the
Extreme Challenge back in 1998,' said Curran. Cox, the undisputed
manager of champions, says, 'I think Jeff has the ability to
reach the top level of the sport at 145 pounds. He's a fighter
who has been in my shows for a long time, starting as an amateur.
He called me, asked me to help him with his career, and it didn't
take me long to decide to do it.' Today, Curran relies on 'one
very important tool that I believe I wasn't tapping into enough...
strategy.'
Curran
has partially joined forces with Team Extreme, receiving an open
invitation from Pat Miletich to participate in the fighter training
at his gym. Curran recently spent a week with the most well respected
fight team in MMA preparing for his upcoming match. I believe
this sort of defines 'teamwork' that is so important in this
sport. Although it would be nice to have my coach and Pedro Sauer
by my side each fight, it has been an honor to share locker rooms
with Team Extreme. On being an asset to the Team, Cox replied,
'right now, Jeff is the only 145-pounder on the team. While many
organizations don't have that low of a weight class, it seems
the sport is moving in that direction. So, when somebody calls
needing a 145-pounder, Jeff is there to take the challenge.'
With
a 5-4-1 professional record, the veteran of Extreme Challenge,
HOOKnSHOOT, UA Fighting, UCC & WEC is coming off two recent
wins. On August 31 at 'WEC 4: Rumble Under The Sun,' Curran fought
Bao Quach from California's Team Next Generation, winning by
a Majority Decision. That was followed up on September 17 at
'UCC Hawaii: Eruption in Hawaii,' when Curran fought Baret Yoshida
of Hawaii's Grappling Unlimited winning with a vicious KO in
Round 2. Promoter T. Jay Thompson knew Curran had the tools to
'hang with Yoshida at every level' and he didn't disappoint.
After defeating Yoshida, could a black belt be far away for Curran?
'Jeff did a great job,' exclaimed Sauer, 'he has a lot of talent
and he will probably be one of the my first black belts.'
The
night before a fight is the probably the worst for Curran. He
finds it hard to sleep, 'because I fight all night in my head,'
he said. However, the hour before the fight is when he starts
to gear up and get ready, 'my mind sort of drifts to a relaxed
place,' and he uses that time to try and generate every bit of
everything, 'that I have in my mind, body and spirit, and then
make sense of it all when I hit the ring.'
Besides
running his academy, training for a fight is a full time job
for Curran. Hitting the weights in the morning, Curran works
specifically on boxing 3-4 days per week. Muay Thai is worked
in about 2 days per week followed up with a 3-4 mile run. Takedowns
are practiced 2 days per week, usually alternating with boxing.
Jiu-Jitsu training takes place 6 days per week, with at least
5 days per week sporting the Gi. And everyday consists of about
2 hours of live grappling without the Gi.
Curran
describes himself as persistent... looking to keep a steady pace
towards goals he wishes to achieve. Looking ahead one year, Curran
sees himself still fighting, 'so long as the body holds up,'
he said. Curran would love to be able to have earned the respect
in the MMA community and hopefully have a name that will help
draw people to want to learn from him. Curran adds, 'I hope the
UFC adds the 145lb division and I can come take the belt.'
Curran
credits Frank Cucci for 'being the MAN,' he says, and 'helping
get this whole thing started.' Additionally, Curran thanks his
staff and students at Linxx Academy, 'I truly feel blessed for
having all my great students, a great staff and a great family
in the Martial Arts.'
As
for fighting, Curran says, 'bring it on... I am ready to go,'
and on October 26 Curran faces Ryan Ackerman at 'Ironheart Crown:
Tribulation' in Hammond, IN.
Rulon
Wins, Lindland Loses
REALPROWRESTLING
DEBUT IS JUDGED A SUCCESS
by: Eddie Goldman
RealProWrestling
Oct. 26, 2002
Los Angeles Center Studios - Los Angeles, California
LOS ANGELES,
Oct. 26 -- After 14 matches, seven apiece in freestyle and Greco,
at the inaugural taping of a television pilot for RealProWrestling,
the winner is -- RealProWrestling! Unlike the shipwreck that
became 'The Contenders,' an attempt at a submission wrestling
pay-per-view almost exactly five years ago, the rules and format
of RealProWrestling worked, and worked well. While there were
some complaints about some of the refereeing and the scoring,
there was none of the acrimony and confusion that followed that
event, when wrestling people got mad at the jiu-jitsu and submission
people, and vice versa, and everyone was mad at the promoters.
Here, all involved felt they had been part of a good -- but not
perfect -- show.
The intent
of this taping is to put together a pilot to shop around to television
executives so that RealProWrestling can become a regular television
series. Thus, while the overwhelming sentiment was that this
was a good live show, what the final, edited product looks like
will play a major role in determining the fate of this enterprise.
These rules
also succeeded in encouraging action throughout each match. Thus,
there were no scoreless first periods in the entire event, no
overtimes, and thus no clinches.
We will have
much more extensive coverage of this RealProWrestling event in
the days and weeks to come.
One of the
highlights was the successful return to the mat of Olympic and
world champion Rulon Gardner for the first time since his snowmobile
accident in February. His injuries, though not 100 percent healed,
showed little effect on his wrestling. He defeated Billy Pierce
by a score of 2-0. Both of Rulon's points were scored by a new
rule used in RealProWrestling that awards one point for pushing
your opponent off the mat.
The stunner
of the show was the pinfall victory by Dennis Hall over his longtime
rival Jim Gruenwald. Hall was leading 5-2 when he hit a throw
that forced Gruenwald to his back. Gruenwald, who has defeated
Hall of late in the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials, turned
the wrong way, and Hall stuck him for the fall at 1:22 of the
second period.
There were
two teams, called Team Black and Team Red. Wrestlers had the
choice of wearing singlets or fighting shorts of their team colors,
with most choosing the fighting shorts. Team Black won both duals
by close scores, taking freestyle 21-19 and Greco 27-23. The
RealProWrestling scoring system uses the differential of points
in decisions for the team score, and 15 points for pins.
There was
a moment of silence in honor of the tragic passing Friday in
a plane crash of Sen. Paul Wellstone, a former wrestler and a
member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Here are the
quick results:
FREESTYLE
55kg/121
LBS. -- Stephen Abas (Team Black) def. Jeff Prescott (Team Red),
7-4
60kg/132 LBS. -- Eric Guerrero (Team Red) def. Eric Akin (Team
Black), 8-2
66kg/145.5 LBS. -- Chris Bono (Team Black) def. Tony DeAnda (Team
Red), 6-3
74kg/163 LBS. -- Donny Pritzlaff (Team Black) def. Ramico Blackmon
(Team Red), 13-2, technical fall
84kg/185 LBS. -- Brandon Eggum (Team Red) def. Markus Mollica
(Team Black), 10-4
96kg/211.5 LBS. -- Tim Hartung (Team Black) def. Ryan Tobin (Team
Red), 9-4
120kg/264.5 LBS. - Kerry McCoy (Team Red) def. Brian Keck (Team
Black), 10-3
GRECO-ROMAN
55kg/121 LBS. -- Brandon Paulson (Team Black) def. Lindsay Durlacher
(Team Red), 11-0, technical fall
60kg/132 LBS. -- Dennis Hall (Team Black) def. Jim Gruenwald
(Team Red), pin, 4:22
66kg/145.5 LBS. -- Kevin Bracken (Team Red) def. Darnell Lollis
(Team Black), 11-0, technical fall
74kg/163 LBS. -- T. C. Dantzler (Team Red) def. Darryl Christian
(Team Black), 7-6
84kg/185 LBS. -- Quincey Clark (Team Red) def. Matt Lindland
(Team Black), 7-4
96kg/211.5 LBS. -- Dean Morrison (Team Red) def. Chael Sonnen
(Team Black), 10-1
120kg/264.5 LBS. - Rulon Gardner (Team Black) def. Billy Pierce
(Team Red), 2-0
Source: ADCC
Dean
Lister Interview
77-87.9 KG Champion of the 2003 ADCC Trials
by: Joseph Cunliffe
The
MACHINE also went home with the TAPOUT & HnS FIGHTER of the
NIGHT trophy - the traditional honor singling out the tournament's
top performer!
PIC
by Mike McNeil: Lister on the mats with Laimon in the finals
- check out the SWAIN MATS!!!!
Dean
Lister recently won his division at the Abu Dhabi North American
Trials qualifying for a spot at the 2003 Abu Dhabi Submission
Wrestling Championships in Brazil. Sustaining a knee injury during
his first match, Dean persevered and was named the TapouT Fighter
Of The Night. Dean is optimistic heading to Brazil, but knows
he has to train hard for the Championships. Experiencing one
of the best days of his life, the KOTC champion talks about his
3 matches, defeating a big rival, and training for MMA.
JC:
Is this your first Abu Dhabi Trials? DL: Yes, this was my first
Abu Dhabi Trials tournament.
JC:
How did you come to compete at the Trials? DL: I was invited
about 2 weeks before the tournament.
JC:
How are you feeling about your performance... your wins? DL:
I feel happy about my performance and my wins, especially since
I overcame a painful injury and beat a big rival of mine and
more importantly a rival who had been talking trash about me
on the internet. I feel even more proud of winning this tournament
because I haven't been training much in grappling for the past
six months. I've been spending 80% of my training time boxing
and kickboxing. Going back to a high level grappling tournament
was a change of pace.
JC:
Can you tell me how you won each of your three matches? DL: First
of all, I had a tough route to win the tournament, everyone there
had skill and athleticism. The first two guys I faced were both
super strong guys and on top of that both were from good teams.
My first opponent Nathan Ducharme from Caesar Gracie's school
had a heavy wrestling background. I ended up working from guard
and got on top with a half guard sweep, I went for an arm lock
but the guy was so strong that I felt he was going to pull out
of it so I transitioned to the back and got my hooks in and slipped
in a rear one armed choke for the win. I ran into problems here
when I got to his back because Ducharme jumped off the mat and
spun, when we hit the mat, all 400 plus combined pounds hit the
mat hard, but the problem was my knee bore the impact of this
fall, I developed a golf ball sized lump on my knee cap. It was
extremely painful to touch and I needed to put several knee pads
on to cushion any force in the upcoming matches.
My
second opponent was Jamal Patterson from Renzo Gracie's school.
This guy was also strong and had a wrestling background. I almost
took him down but we ended up back on our feet. I remember there
was a struggle where I almost got his back, but he went for a
kimura. All I really remember was him attempting a knee lock
on me and then us exchanging foot locks. The guy wouldn't tap
and then I got a sweep on him from the half guard and ended up
almost mounted. I was in good position to try an arm lock, but
felt that was the predictable move he'd be expecting. Instead
I went to the back of my opponent and slipped in the rear naked
choke for the tap. My knee was hurting even worse now, but I
knew I had only one more match to get through, also the guy I
was facing, Marc Laimon has always been a rival of mine and I
didn't want anyone thinking I was using my knee as an easy way
out of facing him.
For
my last match with Marc Laimon, I found myself in a long stand
up battle, both of us were cautious and calculated. I had to
stand with my uninjured leg forward which is not my usual stance
but somehow the injury helped me to focus and be intense on winning
my match. I had several takedowns that ended up off the mat and
we had to be restarted, there was even one time Marc hopped out
of bounds when I had his other leg in the air and I unintentionally
threw Marc into the crowd of spectators. My only gripe about
the day is Marc Laimon who kept running off of the mat, in fact
in each of our three matches we've had, he's ran off of the mat
each and every time. That is something I would never do, I'd
rather my opponent get two points on me than to run off of the
mat and rely on the ref to restart us, but he did it to me many
times. There was even a point where I had a guillotine sunk in
around his neck, Marc hastily started back-peddling off toward
the edge of the mat and we ended up out of bounds, still on our
feet. When the ref said 'stop, don't move', I listened and stopped,
ready to circle inside to resume the match. Marc at that moment
distinctively after the ref had already told us to stop pulled
his chin in saving his neck or at least making it much harder
to be scored upon. He did this blatantly and many people saw
this. I don't like having matches with this kind of behavior.
Marc is very talented I don't know why he had to cheat against
me, but he did. Anyways I ended up getting two points by a takedown
that did go out of bounds slightly. I was in control and got
my two points, I found myself in an umoplata but easily escaped,
and I didn't have to go out of bounds to do it. Marc played a
largely defensive game and in the end when he realized he was
down by points tried to take me down but it didn't work out very
well. In the end, the last thirty seconds or so, I jumped and
threw my guard on Laimon, I was criticized for doing this since
I lost a point for this action but the reason I did it is because
I saw the match going to a boring 2-0 end and wanted to add some
excitement to the match as well as do something my opponent wouldn't
expect me to do. I lost a point and won the match 1-0.
JC:
How did you train for the Trials? DL: I only had about two weeks
to train and focus back on my grappling. I have been training
extensively in boxing and kickboxing in preparation for my upcoming
King of the Cage matches.
JC:
What are your thoughts on being named the TapouT Fighter Of The
Night? DL: I'm proud of it and it is a topic of conversation
for those entering my gym to train when they see the trophy.
I had a lot of pressure that night and was glad to see my injury
help me to focus and really happy to see my team there supporting
me in all of my matches.
JC:
What was your overall experience? DL: Overall experience is one
of the best days of my life.
JC:
Are you looking forward to Abu Dhabi 2003? DL: I can't wait for
Abu Dhabi 2003 and will train like a madman for it. I know what
to expect there and am very optimistic.
JC:
How will your train for the tournament? DL: Hard, Hard, Harder.
I don't have the luxury of training purely in grappling and focusing
on only point techniques. I must make up for this lack of luxury
by training harder than my opponents.
JC:
What are you doing between now and Brazil? DL: Fighting December
7th in King of the Cage, focusing on NHB training and taking
my team around to tournaments.
JC:
Is there anything you'd like to say? DL: Thanks to everyone for
coming to the event and supporting all of the competitors and
a special thanks to my team and training partners from City Boxing
as well as my sponsors who have done so much to help me and have
always believed in me.(Bad Boy, Sycuan Casino, Ultimate
Source: ADCC
Boxers
in MMA? It May be Closer than You Think
By Thomas Gerbasi
It
sometimes appears that the world of mixed martial arts revolves
around various rumors that circulate from Internet sites to message
boards to chat rooms. The latest big rumor is that some high
profile professional boxers from the United States, such as Shannon
Briggs and Michael Moorer, are being recruited to fight in Japan,
presumably for the Pride organization.
Briggs,
a former challenger to heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, has
been one of the names bandied about, and as a member of the American
Top Team and one of the most marketable fighters in the sport,
he is the perfect representative for the boxing world in MMA.
"I've
studied it for a while and I'm a big fan of a lot of the UFC
guys and the guys in Pride," Briggs told MaxFighting. "I'm
looking forward to eventually fighting in either tournament."
Eventually
is the operative word, since Briggs just underwent elbow surgery
last Monday. But he does admit that the prospect of him fighting
in Japan "has been brought up", so he has been working
on making himself a well rounded fighter if and when he enters
a MMA ring.
"I've
been practicing my Jiu-Jitsu for a couple of months," said
Briggs, who regardless of this latest development, has not turned
his back on boxing after an April decision loss to top contender
Jameel McCline. "I'm going to give myself some more time
on the ground and then basically I'll see how I feel after I
recover from my operation. I figure in the next six months if
I get better on the ground I'll give UFC or Pride a shot."
Michael
Moorer has also been a much discussed name in the "boxers
to MMA" rumor mill, and while long time advisor Prentiss
Byrd admits that "there was some conversation," about
the former two-time heavyweight champion entering the world of
MMA, he says that the talk "hasn't gone any further than
that."
Said
Byrd, "I haven't sat down with anyone to talk about the
particulars. It's not that he wouldn't do it and I wouldn't have
a problem talking to them about it. You always sit down with
someone and talk about what's going on. If someone came along
who was a part of the business and made an offer, we would see.
It would have to be a lot of money though."
So
why now? Boxers like heavyweights Melton Bowen and Art Jimmerson,
and former cruiserweight champ James Warring have competed in
MMA with mixed results, but the sport has never seen a high profile
fighter like a Briggs or Moorer compete, though many boxers,
such as Arturo Gatti and Mike Tyson, are fans.
"I
think they're looking for a pretty high profile name to bring
into the sport," said Byrd. "The sport is growing,
there's no question about that."
If
the boxers do fight in Pride, having a "name" US boxer
in the ring would be a perfect segue into Dreamstage Entertainment's
expected foray into the States in 2003. It's smart business.
Can
a Moorer or Briggs compete in MMA though? Pride would be the
perfect place for them, since the promotion has some more flexibility
than the UFC due to the fact that they've run not only K-1 rules
matches, but special rules matches as well. "Michael is
a boxer; he's not a mixed martial arts guy," admits Byrd.
"It wouldn't be a situation where I'd have him wrestling.
He'd be like a fish out of water."
But
Briggs isn't looking for any special rules. If he competes, he
will be looking to compete as an equal with his opponent.
"My
guys have told me that I've improved but I want to get really
confident," said Briggs. "I know standing up that a
lot of these guys won't be able to deal with me, but I want to
be prepared for the takedown and stuff like that."
And
all criticism aside, if a promotion does succeed in bringing
in a high profile boxer, like a Briggs or Moorer, boxing fans
will tune in, buy tickets, and order pay-per-view telecasts.
That's the bottom line.
Stay
tuned.
Source: Maxfighting
10/26/02
Quote
of the Day
"Happiness is an attitude of mind, born of the simple determination
to be happy under all outward circumstances."
BRITISH FIGHTERS
FREEMAN, WEIR; HEAVYWEIGHT MIR COMPLETE UFC 40: VENDETTA PAY-PER-VIEW
CARD, NOV. 22, AT MGM GRAND
All-Star
Lineup Will Feature Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock
Light Heavyweight Title Fight; Matt Hughes To Defend Welterweight
Belt
Tickets
Now On Sale; Chuck Liddell To Fight Renato 'Babalu' Sobral
LAS
VEGAS, October 24, 2002…The Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC) will offer fight fans an All-Star lineup at UFC 40: Vendetta,
live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m., EST, Friday, Nov. 22, from the
MGM Grand with today's addition to the eight-fight card of two
of Britain's top fighters, Heavyweight Ian Freeman and Middleweight
Mark Weir, and Heavyweight Frank Mir of Las Vegas. Light Heavyweight
Champion Tito Ortiz will meet UFC legend Ken Shamrock for that
title in the main event and Welterweight Champ Matt Hughes will
defend his belt for the third time against Gil Castillo in the
co-main event. In addition, Light Heavyweight top contender Chuck
Liddell will take on Renato 'Babalu' Sobral. 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 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.
Freeman,
13-5-0 in Mixed Martial Arts, of Sunderland, England, will clash
with Andrei Arlovski, 5-3-0, of Minsk, Belarus, in a battle of
strong strikers. Freeman is a former boxer who is also well-versed
in jiu-jitsu and wrestling. In addition to previous UFC victories
over Nate Schroeder and Tedd Williams, he won the FNC World Championship
in Russia and defeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Carlos
Barreto to win the Hook N Shoot Super Heavyweight Championship.
He handed Mir his first UFC loss with a first-round technical
knockout July 13 at UFC 38: Brawl At Royal Albert Hall in London.
Arlovski, a sambo/kickboxing style fighter, is a former World
Sambo Champion and European Mixed Fighting Champion.
Weir,
17-0-0, of Gloucester, England, will meet Phillip Miller, 14-0-0,
of Hesperia, Calif., in a battle of unbeaten fighters. Weir,
the U.K.'s top ranked middleweight contender, made an explosive
UFC debut July 13 before a hometown crowd in London with a 10-second
knockout of veteran Eugene Jackson. A Tae Kwon Do black belt,
Weir opened with a kick to the chin that Jackson dodged, followed
by a hard right hand that ended the fight. Miller, a striker/grappler,
also made a successful UFC debut on the same London card with
a hard-fought, unanimous decision over the U.K.'s James Zikic.
Miller moved up to the light heavyweight division for that fight,
but will return to middleweight to meet Weir.
Mir,
4-1-0, of Las Vegas, will fight veteran wrestler/grappler Vladimir
Matyushenko, 11-2-0, of Los Angeles, Calif., who is moving up
a weight class for the fight. Before running into Freeman in
London, Mir earned two UFC victories in less than two minutes.
In an impressive debut November 2, 2001, at UFC 34: High Voltage
in Las Vegas, he defeated previously unbeaten Brazilian Roberto
Traven by armbar submission in just over a minute. In his second
fight March 22 at UFC 36: Worlds Collide in his hometown, he
submitted veteran Pete Williams by modified shoulder lock in
just 47 seconds. Matyushenko will be formidable. In his last
UFC fight, he met Ortiz for the light heavyweight championship
Sept. 28, 2001 at UFC 33: Victory In Vegas. With less than two
weeks to prepare, he went the full five rounds and gave the champ
all he could handle.
The
Ortiz, 10-2-0, of Huntington Beach, Calif., versus Shamrock,
8-4-2, of San Diego, Calif., showdown for the light heavyweight
title will settle a long-standing vendetta. Fight fans are well
aware they have a major score to settle based on hostilities
between each other, although the two have never fought. Shamrock
is a UFC legend who was its first super fight champion. Ortiz
has risen through the ranks to become light heavyweight champ
and represents the new UFC.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship, 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 live PPV event will be UFC 40: Vendetta at 10 p.m.
EST/7 p.m. PST on Friday, Nov. 22, from the MGM Grand. Locate
Ultimate Fighting Championship on the internet at www.ufc.tv.
Source: ADCC
It's
Not What You Think ... It's the Real Thing - RealProWrestling
Has Arrived
by: Eddie Goldman
RealProWrestling and Epicenter Films Team Up to Create Reality-Based
Sports Program That Will Bring Wrestling Back to the Masses!
LOS ANGELES,
Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Fans of real wrestling have anxiously
been awaiting the arrival of a league of their own, just like
the NFL, NBA and MLB. Now RealProWrestling (RPW) and Epicenter
Films will deliver just that and more when they tape the first-of-its-kind
sports television pilot on Saturday, October 26th.
'It's been
a long time coming, but now is the time to honor the sport of
wrestling, the athletes and its fans,' said Toby Willis, Founder
of RPW and Matt Case, Co-founder of RPW. 'We believe that RealProWrestling
will make its mark on the world of sports and is here to stay,'
added the duo.
The event,
being held at Los Angeles Center Studios, will take place inside
a 360-degree Roman coliseum inspired arena. The event will showcase
our country's best in Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling surrounded
by jumbo projection screens and heart-pounding music. State-of-the-art
lighting effects will spotlight world class athletes as they
compete for the admiration of true wrestling fans.
'Epicenter
Films is thrilled to be a part of RealProWrestling and the exciting
revival of the real sport of wrestling that deserves to be recognized
by the masses. With our state-of-the-art equipment and production
expertise, professional wrestling is sure to make an indelible
impression on the fans and all the people who appreciate world
class athletes,' said Sean Entin, Principle of Epicenter Films.
With dozens
of Olympic and world champion wrestlers set to appear, RealProWrestling
is poised to gain the attention that wrestling hasn't seen since
the early 1920's. The much anticipated return of Rulon Gardner,
the 2000 Summer Olympic Champion, All-Star wrestlers such as
Matt Lindland, Stephen Abas, Ramico Blackmon, Dennis Hall, TC
Dantzler along with Gardner plan to return the sport to its roots
when they lock up inside the arena.
RealProWrestling
is the brainchild of Northwestern University wrestling teammates
Toby Willis and Matt Case. The two have taken the first step
in creating a new and exciting sports league that audiences young
and old will be able to embrace. Combining high intensity action
with gripping background stories of these sports heroes, the
duo has come up with a product that is sure to put wrestling
'back on the mat.'
RealProWrestling
has finally become a reality, and on October 26th it will place
a chokehold on the rest of professional sporting leagues as it
takes its place once again as America's dominant sport.
For more information
about RealProWrestling and the October 26 event in Los Angeles
please visit their website at http://www.realprowrestling.com.
Source: ADCC
Wrestling,
Boxing and MMA, JAPANESE STYLE
In week of
sick and bizarre television for the WWE, they are continuing
behind-the-scenes talks about the proposed Lennox Lewis vs. Brock
Lesnar fight.
Now it appears
that Kurt Angle may also to be added to a MMA style match on
the same card (IF it happens).
In another
twist PRIDE revealed one of their main events for their upcoming
event. Don Frye will face Hidehiko Yoshida.
One would
think it would be a bad move for Yoshida to do his first closed-fist,
MMA match against such an experienced fighter as Frye. This is
where the skeptics will run wild.
Frye has done
pro wrestling and isn't above doing a worked fight. There was
also controversy in the old SEG days of UFC involving Frye. Mark
Hall went public (a few years later) saying that his fight with
Frye was fixed so that Frye could advance to the finals (both
had the same manager at the time which is not allowed in the
current UFC).
It is also
no secret that PRIDE wants Yoshida to be their next big superstar
which leads many to believe that this will be a 'stiff work.'
If this is true, the match may be kept short to avoid any 'holes'
that may reveal the fix is in. If the match is legit, Yoshida
could be in for a serious beating.
There were
rumors reported this week that PRIDE is wanting to bring in more
American pro wrestlers such as Booker T and the Big Show of WWE.
Neither have
formal training but the belief, at least inside pro wrestling's
make-believe world, is that the Big Show has a 'tough guy' reputation.
This has always been a belief among pro wrestling fans largely
based on just the size of the wrestler.
Big Show,
real name Paul Wight, was sent down to the minors for a WWE feeder
system a year ago because of his work ethic. He became very overweight
and was told to lose over 100lbs. He was then taken back by the
WWE but has since started gaining weight again and has been known
to down two large pizzas before a match.
This is all
speculation but if the price is right, a pro wrestler could be
'persuaded' to do a real fight.
Goldberg is
having offers extended his way as well. MMA Weekly is reporting
that Goldberg may have his first MMA fight in PRIDE. He is risking
EVERYTHING and has almost no training at all but whether or not
he signs is a different story.
Bob Sapp would
virtually destroy any of the above in MMA and his next rumored
opponent (after Minotaur) is none other than the human punching
bag, Takayama.
Takayama is
wanting to make an early comeback to MMA. After Frye broke his
eyesocket, he was told to take three months off. He didn't listen
and rebroke the bone.
If he takes
the fight with Bob Sapp, it's not going to do anything good for
his already disfigured face!
Source: ADCC
News
on Rodrigo 'MINOTAURO' Nogueira & His Status in Japan
by: Sensei Juji
The future
of Rodrigo Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira is becoming very interesting!
It is not news that Minotauro's camp reportedly had a difficult
time dealing with DSE/Pride last summer, due to Minotauro's excersizing
his contractual right to fight elsewhere, since the Pride contract
was non exclusive. The Pride Heavyweight Champion did not succumb
to DSE pressure and fought in the UFO show.
Now DSE/Pride
is having issues finding an opponent for Minotauro to fight in
the November PRIDE, since the biggest challenges are fighting
in K1, such as Semmy Schilt and Bob Saap. Though rumored to be
working on a Saap-Nogueira rematch were out there, Saap was never
mentioned to the BTT as a potential opponent, so these appear
to have been just rumors. DSE is trying to promote the fight
between the Russian and Rings champion Emilianenko Fedor and
Heath Herring, trying to build a good and deserved opponent for
Nogueira. This is news, but not to everybody.
Things are
confusing again, as PRIDE will want the Fedor-Herring winner
to fight Noguiera with less than a month to prepare, since the
fight is scheduled for November 24th. Also, the last Pride of
the year is scheduled December 23rd. Waiting that long, or even
until 2003 present problems for PRIDE - since Minotauro won the
heavyweight championship, he has never defended it in a title
fight. The second problem is that Nogueira's contract is up on
December 31st, whether he fights or not! This is new information
revealed!
Source: ADCC
GOLD
MEDAL PREDICTIONS FOR 2002 WOMEN'S WORLD WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
by: Eddie Goldman
The Women's
World Wrestling Championships will be taking place in Halkida,
Greece, Nov. 2-3. That means it is once again time for me to
make my gold medal predictions. This is part of a larger effort
by TheMat.com and Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling, who poll a panel
of international sports journalists for their predictions.
In
the men's freestyle and Greco predictions, my results have been
mixed. I got two of the seven weight classes correct in freestyle.
One journalist got three, but then Turkey's Harun Dogan was stripped
of his gold at 60 kg, meaning that a bunch of us ended up tied
at the top with two apiece. In Greco, I got a grand total of
zero correct, so please don't ask me again why I don't gamble.
This
is also a year of transition for women's wrestling. Many new,
young women wrestlers will be competing this year in anticipation
of women's wrestling being included in the Olympics for the first
time in 2004. Many other former world champions and top wrestlers
will be sitting this year's Worlds out, due either to injury,
retirement, or just taking a year off.
There
will be only four weight classes in women's wrestling in the
Olympics, but FILA, the international wrestling federation, is
using seven weight classes in other international competition.
The increase of weight classes this year from six to seven, and
the desire of top wrestlers to be situated in an Olympic weight
class, has also led to several wrestlers switching weight classes
and wrestling at one weight class in one event, and going up
or down at other times. Thus, some of the U.S. World Team Trials
and Asian Games winners will compete at the Worlds at weight
classes that are newer for them.
All
this means that women's wrestling is coming of age internationally.
That in itself is an historic development.
Here
are my gold medal predictions for the Women's World Wrestling
Championships:
48
kg/105.5 lbs. -- Mika Noguchi -- Japan
I'm going with Mika Noguchi of Japan, who just turned 20 on Oct.
9. At this year's World University Championships in Edmonton,
Canada, Noguchi finished first, ahead of China's Zhong Xiue,
a 28-year-old former five-time world champion. Zhong was still
good enough to win gold at this year's Asian Games. All this
adds up to a victory in the World Championships for Noguchi,
who is from Chukyo Women's University, and in 1999 was a world
cadet champion at 46 kg.
51
kg/112.25 lbs. -- Chiharu Icho -- Japan
Here Japan goes with another young wrestler, Chiharu Icho, who
just turned 21 in October. At this year's World University Championships,
she won her weight class and finished ahead of China's Gao Yanzhi,
who was a bronze medalist at the 2001 World Championships. Although
this is Icho's first trip to a World Championship, coming home
with gold is nothing new to her. In all her previous major international
competitions -- the 2000 and 2001 Junior World Championships,
the 2001 Asian Championships, and those 2002 World University
Championships -- she finished first. Expect Chiharu Icho to come
through again.
55
kg/121 lbs. -- Saori Yoshida -- Japan
Japan should strike gold once again here with rising superstar
Saori Yoshida. She is another wrestler who has not lost in international
competition. In 1998, she won the Cadet World Championships at
52 kg, and again in 1999 at 56 kg. In 2000 and 2001, she won
the Junior World Championship at 58 kg. In 2002, she won the
World University Championship at 59 kg. At the 2002 Asian Games,
she went down to 55 kg, and won gold there as well, outscoring
her four opponents 38-1, including an 11-1 drubbing of Korea's
Lee Na Lae, who finished fourth at the 2001 World Championships.
Yoshida's rout of Lee Na Lae demonstrates she can dominate against
world-class senior competition. She also just turned 20 and also
is from Chukyu Women's University. That must be quite a school!
59
kg/130 lbs. -- Ahmed Maher Doaa -- Egypt
This new weight class is stuck between the old weight classes
of 56 kg and 62 kg, so it will be drawing wrestlers from both
of those. That, and the fact that there is an influx of many
new women wrestlers, makes it one of the trickier ones to predict.
I agree with Gary Abbott's assessment that, 'This new weight
class will be very hard to handicap this year. There is really
no way in advance to know which athletes will be competing because
it is a new division in between two well-established weight classes.
The fact that it is a non-Olympic weight class may also play
a factor in determining where certain talented athletes compete
this year.'
Those
circumstances might create the conditions for an upset, the emergence
of a new star, or the return to form of a veteran. For example,
this year's European Championships were won by Sara Eriksson
of Sweden, who was a world champion back in 1995 and 1996. But
she was only fifth last year, and at a lower weight, 56 kg. Japan's
Rena Iwama won a world silver medal in 2000, but only finished
in 14th place in 2001, both at 62 kg.
I
am thus going to go out on a limb here and pick a newcomer and
relative unknown: 2002 African Champion Ahmed Maher Doaa of Egypt.
Although this was her first major international competition,
she got the gold by defeating the veteran Faiza Bejaoui of Tunisia.
Bejaoui, for her part, had finished second in the Klippan Ladies
Open, ahead of Greece's Agoro Papavasileiou, who finished fourth
at the 2002 European Championships. Bejaoui showed she was a
talented wrestler in international competition by winning the
previous two African Championships, in 2000 at 51 kg and 2001
at 46 kg, and also by finishing in eighth place at the 2000 World
Championships at 51 kg.
It's
not much to go on, but Egypt's wrestling program seems to have
taken a step forward by capturing silver and bronze medals at
this year's Greco-Roman World Championships, along with finishing
a strong second at the African Women's Championships, and first
at both the African Freestyle Championships and African Greco-Roman
Championships, sweeping all seven weight classes in the latter.
So my pick is Ahmed Maher Doaa of Egypt.
63
kg/138.75 lbs. -- Meng Lili -- China
It seems more cut-and-dried at this weight class, just one kilo
more than the old division in which China's Meng Lili won last
year. She had been close to the top of this division for some
time, winning a world silver medal in 1999 and tying for another
silver at last year's Women's World Cup, where she finished behind
Japan's Rena Iwama, who has since gone down to 59 kg. (Full results
of this year's Women's World Cup, in which Meng wrestled again,
have not yet been made available.) China's backup at this weight,
Xu Haiyan, took a gold medal at the Asian Games, besting Japan's
Kaori Icho in the finals.
At
last year's Women's World Cup, Meng tied for second with Tara
Hedican of Canada, a 2001 junior world champion. Despite winning
gold at the 2002 Dave Schultz Memorial International, Hedican
finished fourth at this year's Canada Cup of Freestyle Wrestling,
losing to eventual gold medalist Xu Haiyan of China by a grand
superiority with a 16-5 score, and in the bronze medal match
to Lotta Andersson of Sweden by a 10-6 score. Hedican also only
finished eighth at the 2002 Poland Open, although she only lost
one match out of three. In her loss, she was pinned by Russia's
Luba Volosova, before defeating Ewa Malarczyk of Poland 12-0
and the tough Stephanie Gross of Germany 7-6.
But
Hedican, who turns 21 in November, is someone with tremendous
potential. In her second year at Guelph University in Ontario,
she won both the CIAU (Canada's college national championships)
and the National Senior Championships. As a member of the Eabametoong
First Nation and the Loon Clan, she also won in 2002 the Tom
Longboat Award for being Canada's top female Aboriginal athlete
of the year. Plus, she is a history major at Guelph.
We
will see who wins this year, and it may be so that Meng still
has the edge. But keep your eye on Tara Hedican, who one day
will likely add a senior world title to her 2001 junior world
championship.
67
kg/147.5 lbs. -- Kristie Marano -- U.S.
I'm looking for another comeback by 2000 World Champion Kristie
Marano of the U.S., who also owns four world silver medals. She
won her gold in 2000 at 68 kg, and then lost a lot of weight
by going down to 63 kg. She lost in this year's U.S. World Team
Trials to Sara McMann at 63 kg, but then went back up to 67 kg
to win a special wrestle-off over the very skilled Katie Downing
to earn the spot on the World Team. Despite all of her international
experience and having competed on the world senior level since
1996, she is still only 23 years old. This should once again
be her year.
72
kg/156.25 lbs. - Toccara Montgomery -- U.S.
She's rough, she's tough, and now has the technique to beat any
woman wrestler on the planet -- and she's only 19 years old.
Wrestling at 68 kg at last year's World Championships, she defeated
three former world champions before finally losing in the finals
to six-time world champion Christine Nordhagen-Vierling of Canada,
who is not competing this year. At last year's Sunkist Open,
Montgomery had scored a touch fall on Nordhagen-Vierling. For
her efforts, Montgomery was named the FILA International Woman
Wrestler of the Year.
At
the 2002 U.S. Nationals, she again astonished even veteran onlookers
by hitting a five-point throw in the 67 kg finals against the
talented Katie Downing. This was called by many observers the
best move of the entire Nationals. Montgomery won in the finals
with a 12-1 tech. fall, and was named outstanding wrestler. But
she then moved up to 72 kg, which is an Olympic weight, and proceeded
to win the U.S. World Team Trials there by defeating U.S. Nationals
champion Iris Smith in the finals in two straight matches.
Still
wrestling at 67 kg, Montgomery pinned all her opponents at the
2002 Dave Schultz Memorial International Tournament and was also
named outstanding wrestler in the women's division. Montgomery
also pinned Xiomara Guevara of Venezuela in the 2002 Pan American
Championships in March in Caracas, Venezuela. As a freshman at
Cumberland College in the 2001-2 season, she was ranked No. 1
in TheMat.com's North American Womens's College Wrestling Poll,
wrestling at 147.5 pounds.
Expect
a lot of wrestlers to be seeing the lights when they face Toccara
Montgomery at this year's World Championships. She should walk
home with her first world title, which very likely will not be
her last.
For
more information, there is a web site for the 2002 Women's Freestyle
World Championships at:
In what promises to be one of the mega-weekends in mixed martial
arts history, the World Fighting Alliance today announced an
impressive card set to take place at Las Vegas' Aladdin Resort
& Casino, Saturday, November 23.
Former UFC
welterweight champion Pat Miletich faces top-five 170-pounder
Frank Trigg for the WFA welterweight title. Marvin Eastman battles
Alex Steibling for the WFA light-heavyweight crown. Lightweights
Chris Brennan and Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro face each
other for the first time. Returning to action following a long
hiatus, veteran fighter Mike Van Arsdale takes on savvy Australian
Chris Haseman. A possible sleeper fight features "Razor"
Rob McCullough versus an underrated Josh Thompson. Rounding out
the card, Todd Lally takes on Nigel Hudson. The seventh and final
bout should be released sometime next week
Source: Maxfighting
10/25/02
Quote
of the Day
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable,
and eventually inevitable. "
Christopher Reeve", Submitted by Mark Houck
Warriors
Quest 8: Young Guns
Wanted Dead or Alive
Blaisdell Arena,
Honolulu, Hawaii
October 24,2002
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
Warriors Quest 8, aptly named Young Guns, gave a chance for Hawaii's
young fighters to gain experience and build their records. The
great thing about up and comers is that they go into fights with
something to prove and nothing to lose, so the action is usually
high intensity. Tonight was no exception, some fighters found
out what people meant when they said that one mistake can cost
you the match, while a few of the others fought it our for at
least one round. The event was hurt by poor attendance, two matches
being dropped due to two no-shows and bad refereeing. The referee
halted one match prematurely to the extreme dismay of that fighter,
one match way too late and he restarted two fighters that had
just barely started touching the ropes instead of dragging them
into the center of the ring. The crowd did not like this at all.
Paul Smith flew to Hawaii for this show as his International
Fighting Championship sanctioned all the bouts. Overall the event
ran smoothly with exception of the problems previously mentioned.
Cruiserweight
Class Shooto B 2x5 Minute
Augie Padekan def. Desmond Miner (Koden Kan)
TKO via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 1:27 minutes
in Round 2.
Constructed
140lbs
Kyle Takai (HMC) def. Josh Vierra (Universal Roughhousing)
TKO via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 0:54 seconds
in Round 1.
Cruiserweight
Constructed 190lbs 2x5 Minutes
Kapono Spencer (Team Spencer) def. Jason Verdadero (Bulls Pen)
Submission via strangle choke (both hands on neck) at 2:10 minutes
in Round 1.
Middleweight
170lbs 2x5 Minute
Tripstin Kerisiano (808 Fight Factory) def. John Naole (HMC)
Unanimous Decision after 2 Round.
Welterweight
155lbs. 2x5 Minute
Neal Andres (HMC) def. Jim Kikuchi (808 Fight Factory)
TKO via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 2:52 minutes
in Round 2. Questionable call due to the fact that Kikuchi was
getting up when the fight was stopped.
Welterweight
170lbs. 2x5 Minute
Nick Diaz (Cesar Gracie) def. Harris Sariento (Koden Kan)
TKO via corner calling an end to the match due to strikes at
1:47 minutes in Round 2.
Lightweight
155lbs. 3x5 Minute
Jamal Perkins (808 Fight Factory) def. JR Palmer (Universal Rough)
TKO via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 2:50 minutes
in Round 2.
IFC
Championship 185lbs. 3x5 Minute
Steve Heath (Cesar Gracie) def. Mark Moreno (Bulls Pen)
Submission via heel hook at 20 seconds in Round 1.
Chris
Brennan Seminar Today!
The seminar from
the Westside Stranger, Chris Brennan is today from 3:00PM - 8:00PM
(yup, 5 hours) for only $40. You can't beat that deal with a
stick.
It will be held at:
Hawaii Martial Arts Center (HMC)
King's Gate Plaza
555 N. King Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
"Chris will be teaching EVERYTHING he can fit in to a
5 hour period of time. For only $40 we will be going over many
of the techniques that help him become a 3X King of the Cage
World Champion, along with many other titles. Chris will be covering
NHB techniques, Wrestling techniques, Striking on the ground,
and Submission Wrestling techniques. Bring your video camera
because this will be one you don't want to miss or forget. For
more information email Chris at chris@chrisbrennan.com."
Don't
bother emailing Chris, he on his way to Hawaii. Please support
those who help to support this page! Check out his seminar. I
am sure that you won't be disappointed.
American
National Jiu-Jitsu Championships
The internet enrollment
deadline is October 25th!
Athletes who didn’t enroll through the Internet will pay
US$ 100.00.
The next LEGEND/UFO show will happen sometime in March at the
Tokyo Dome. This was the event whose first edition featured Minotauro
Noguiera KOing Sanae Kikuta and Jens Pulver's match with Murahama
and was considered a major disappointment all the way around
(attendance, revenue and ratings) backed by Antonio Inoki.
IF the show
takes place in March, there are two matches being talked about
that could shatter all existing MMA records (world wide)!
Inoki's reported
multi-million dollar offer is still in effect for Rickson Gracie
to fight Naoya Ogawa. Rickson's return to Japan against their
top pro wrestling draw would mean serious income and exposure
to everyone involved.
If this goes
through, Ogawa would receive his biggest payday ever as he has
made it clear that he would NOT do a legitimate match unless
he receives HUGE money.
The other
match being talked features legendary Russian Wrestler Alexander
Kareline. Kareline could conceivably be a bigger draw than Rickson
Gracie. Being a pro wrestling 'character', as the unstoppable
force he was in his Greco career, he is sure to draw major money
at the box office (similar to his match with Akira Maeda that
set the all-time gate record at the time for pro wrestling/MMA
in Japan, pulling in over $2 million at the gate for RINGS).
Kareline vs.
Ogawa would mean instant TV ratings as well. This would cover
Inoki as he fell short on his first venture with Japanese TV
and made big promises to them for the second show.
No word on
the proposed Mike Tyson vs. Ogawa fight that was obviously a
publicity stunt to keep Inoki's name in the news.
Source: ADCC
W.I.N.
Magazine's Preseason Div. I Rankings
PRESEASON COLLEGE WRESTLING RANKINGS
NEWTON, Iowa
‹ W.I.N. Magazine has released its preseason NCAA wrestling
rankings. We have included as many freshmen (redshirt or true)
as possible. As in previous years, the W.I.N. rankings are compiled
on how coaches and the ranking committee feel the individuals
and teams will finish at Nationals in mid-March ‹ not dual
meet strength.
The rankings
are compiled after receiving feedback from the collegiate wrestling
coaches. The committee then takes that information and looks
at the team and individual performances from past years to come
up with the final rankings.
The team and
individual finish from the 2001-2002 collegiate season is included
in parenthesis when applicable. National qualifiers are abbreviated
(NQ). The release schedule for the rankings is listed at the
bottom of this release.
(Any media
person can also request the have W.I.N.¹s weekly rankings
faxed to them during the wrestling season. Please e-mail W.I.N.
at info@win-magazine.com or call the W.I.N. office at 888-305-0606
to request that your name be added to the list.)
October 23,
2002 Rankings W.I.N.¹s Top Twenty-five (Preseason)
Team (2002
NCAA finish)
1. Minnesota
(1st)
2. Oklahoma State (5th)
3. Iowa (4th)
4. Oklahoma (3rd)
5. Iowa State (2nd)
6. Ohio State (6th)
7. Michigan (9th)
8. Nebraska (8th)
9. Lehigh (7th)
10. Illinois (10th)
11. Missouri (17th)
12. Arizona State (12th)
13. West Virginia (13th)
14. Northern Iowa (16th)
15. Edinboro (14th)
16. Boise State (T19th)
17. Pennsylvania (11th)
18. Hofstra (38th)
19. Cornell (18th)
20. Penn State (35th)
21. Lock Haven (T19th)
22. Purdue (15th)
23. Wisconsin (25th)
24. Harvard (23rd)
25. Air Force (22nd)
Source:
W.I.N. Magazine
The
Brazilian Beat:
By Eduardo
Alonso
New NHB
event in Brazil in November!
PRIDE 23 approaches &
MECA 7 Just Around the Corner!
October 2002 is close to being called history and, as the month
just flew through by, the news never stopped "popping up"
in the Brazilian NHB scene! In a month where few major NHB events
are being held, and when November will bring several important
shows, logically several contract negotiations and hardcore training
sessions are going on at all major fight camps. MECA World Vale
Tudo 7 is just around the corner, and promoters are working out
the final details on a brand new promotion to bring NHB excitement
to other parts of the country! Bitetti Combat will debut in one
of the most beautiful Brazilian cities and hopefully will add
another venue for fighters to perform. In days where there's
talk about cutting fighters' purses and reducing expenses, it
is good to see new events coming to life, especially to benefit
the newcomers to the sport. So, with two events coming up in
Brazil, plus PRIDE 23 and UFC 40 approaching, what more can a
fan want? Raise your intensity level, cause FCF is here to give
you the beat...
After years suffering from the lack of no holds barred events,
Brazil will have yet another event in November! Carlson Gracie
black belt Amaury Bitetti is putting together a brand new show
to be held in the beautiful city of Natal, located in Brazil's
Northeast, on the 28th of November at the "Machadão"
Gymnasium, a facility that is reported to hold up to 15,000 spectators.
The promoters couldn't have chosen a better location for the
event, since interest for NHB is growing dramatically in the
country's Northeast and Natal is a beautiful city with astonishing
beaches. The event is called "BITETTI COMBAT NORDESTE"
[which translates to Bitetti Northeast Combat] and the promoters
estimate a live audience of more than 10,000 people! The card
will feature eight fights, including several Brazilian Top Team
members as well as other seasoned veterans. The highlight of
the show will probably be the participation of MECA veteran and
BTT member Jorge "Navalhada". Sportv will broadcast
BITETTI COMBAT on tape delay, and FCF will be releasing more
details on this brand new enterprise soon.
Speaking
of the Brazilian Top Team, although the team's participation
in PRIDE 23 is certain, it is still not decided what fighters
from the team will be performing in the Tokyo Dome. With the
highly likely absence of Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira from the
show, chances are now a bit higher that his twin brother, Rogerio
Minotouro, may be fighting in DSE's November show. The "Zen
Machine" Mario Sperry hasn't yet reached a new deal with
PRIDE, therefore his participation is still uncertain, and at
this point the only sure thing is that former Top Team member
Ricardo Arona will be competing at the show. Rumors are high
that his opponent will be Chute Boxe's own Murilo Ninja, however
nothing is signed as of now.
As
PRIDE 23 is rapidly approaching, things are also busy at the
Chute Boxe camp. Vanderlei Silva is already intensifying his
training routine as fight-time approaches and he guaranteed FCF
the four stitches he is still sporting above his eye hasn't reduce
his training pace a single bit. Although his opponent is not
officially decided, it's now looking highly likely that it'll
be RINGS veteran Hiromitsu Kanehara. "The Axe Murderer"
is still not aware of whom he will fight for certain, but in
typical Vanderlei fashion, he told FCF that, "It doesn't
matter!"
Vitor
Belfort is recovering very well from his knee injury suffered
a few weeks ago. According to Belfort the surgery was a success,
and the recovery process is going as well as expected. "The
Phenom" told Full Contact Fighter he is doing physiotherapy
as recommended by the doctors, and expects to resume his physical
training next month. Vitor went on to say that he expects to
be doing his complete training, including his fighting training
of course, in January and will certainly return to the Octagon
in 2003. We will continue to follow Belfort's recovery.
The
Seventh edition of the biggest NHB event currently running in
Brazil, MECA World Vale Tudo, is also quickly approaching! Tickets
are already on sale in Brazil, and Sportv/Premiere is already
taking care of the details for the event's live broadcast on
pay-per-view. The fighters are also excited and in the final
stages of their preparations. Chute Boxe fighters Nilson de Castro
and Silvio Urutum are barely being able to wait for fight-time!
Nilson had a good year so far in 2002, with his victorious comeback
at MECA 6 and a K-1 win in Japan and is in top shape to face
Lucas Lopes. Urutum on the other hand is eagerly waiting for
the fight since this fight can decide the future of his career.
Both fighters are reported to be in top shape, and Rudimar Fedrigo
told FCF that Royler Gracie black belt Cristiano Marcello, who
has been training Muay Thai with Chute Boxe for close to a year
now, has improved his striking skills a lot and is as ready as
he ever was for this fight. Stay tuned to FCF for more on MECA
as the event draws near.
Still
speaking of MECA, Mario Sperry's black belt, Luis Orlando, who
will be fighting HOOKnSHOOT veteran Dave Phillips at MECA 7 is
already in Rio de Janeiro training for the fight at the Brazilian
Top Team headquarters. Luizao, as he is called by his friends,
is a black belt from Sperry's academy in the city of Porto Alegre,
in the South of Brazil, and he traveled to Rio to be close to
his master and to prepare for his match with Phillips, who is
reported to have a very good Jiu-Jitsu and trained a lot with
Cristiano Marcello and the Chute Boxe team for this fight. "The
Zen Machine" will be in Orlando's corner for the fight.
Another MECA fighter who did some sparring sessions with the
BTT is Muay Thai talent Alex Gaze! Gaze will do MECA 7's opening
fight, and it is reported that in addition to great Muay Thai
skills he did some ground sparring with Top Team members to pick
up some grappling techniques. FCF will be there to cover all
the action of MECA 7!
Source: FCF
WFA
Pre Fight: In Depth with FRANK TRIGG (Part 3)
by Keith Mills
KM:
Jermaine Andre and Rich Franklin headlined the first two WFAs
and while you appeared either 2nd or 3rd from the top while this
one I believe you are headlining in your fight against Miletich.
It seems that this is another turning point in your career, stepping
out a little bit more. What are your thoughts as far as being
the headliner?
FT:
Doesn't make a difference to me. The only thing it means to me
is I have to wait longer before I can fight. The way the nature
of wrestling goes every time you make the finals of a wrestling
tournament you are the headliner, so it's not that big a deal.
It's a little less strenuous than most people would think. Just
means you have to wait all night, that's what the deal is.
KM:
What are your thoughts on Pat himself?
FT:
Pat is a legend. Six time UFC champ. I respect him and like what
he's done with his camp up there but its kind of time for him
to be retired. He's done his thing and I appreciate what he's
done because he paved the way for the rest of us but Pat retired
from the UFC because he didn't like fighting at 185, he couldn't
be the big guy anymore. He wins his fights the same way that
I do because he's a little bigger and a little stronger than
most of your opponents and you kind of crush these guys and wear
them down. That's what he does. He's up there in years now. I'm
not saying he's an old guy but he's a little bit older than he
was two years ago. You lose stuff; you lose that power and lose
that ability. I think he's at the point in life where he needs
to move on and train the guys he's got and get those guys to
the top of the game and all that stuff.
KM:
I understand what you're saying, I'm one day older than Pat.
I can attest yes, you lose that quickness you lose that recovery
rate, you don't heal as fast…
FT:
He can train all his kids out of there and do amazing stuff with
Fryklund and Hughes and Medina and LaVerne Clark and Jeremy Horn
and all those other guys he has up there training with him, there's
no reason why he can't have a stable of fighters that are bringing
him a tremendous amount of income every time just training with
him. But if he wants to go ahead and put a couple more gos on
the mat and wants me to be one of the guys I'm more than willing
to take the challenge. It's unfortunate because I respect the
guy but he's also a guy I've wanted to fight since I saw him
in the UFC fighting Townsend Saunders, so this is a guy I've
always wanted to fight against and I'm happy to have the opportunity
to fight him, especially on a WFA card. I don't want to be disrespectful
about it but I want to let him know it's time to move into retirement.
KM:
Pat seems to be one of the fighters that stand out the most for
clinch boxing or as some call it 'dirty boxing'. I don't like
that term 'dirty boxing' because it sounds too much like cheating
but as far a clinch boxing, your stand-up style seems to be more
of the straight up boxing and kickboxing, keeping them more at
a range. Are you worried about his sharpness on the inside or
concerned about keeping him at a distance at all?
FT:
No, actually I want him to clinch box because my best stuff is
actually from the clinch. You're right, when I box I try to keep
people at a distance but my best stuff is from the inside so
if he starts clinching up with me he's going to get rocked. Not
taking anything away from Pat, he's got good stuff in the clinch,
but the stuff I have counters everything he has plus I'm a much
better wrestler so maybe I'll take him down. They call it dirty
boxing because as far as boxing goes that is 'dirty', doing stuff
from inside the clinch, pulling an pushing and stuff like that,
but that's the game, that's the way a clinch goes. You're going
to get elbows, going to get knees, a whole bunch of stuff in
there and I am a guy that likes to mix it up; I like being inside
that close and having contact with guys that are going to swing
and potentially get cut because an elbow is flying through or
what have you. My best throws, my best stuff is from that same
spot he wants to put me in so I'm going to go ahead and let him
do it.
KM:
A lot of people think this fight will go a lot like the Miletich/Lindland
fight, a matter of if you can get him down that he's not going
to be able to get you off of him and you are very strong in your
ability to strike from the guard but now that you're talking
about your strength on the inside techniques do you think that
public perception is accurate or inaccurate?
FT:
More likely it'll go along the lines of Lindland. He can't stop
me from taking him down; it's not going to happen, I'm just too
good at wrestling for him to stop me from taking him down. My
stand-up game has improved so much now that you always worry
about getting hit but it's not a point of high stress for me
anymore. I'm going to take him down, there's no doubt about it.
The question now is am I going to be able to mount him as easily
as Lindland did and beat the snot out of him or am I going to
pound him up from the side mount. As far as game plan goes my
game plan is same as always, that if he gives me the ability
to kick him in the head then I'm going to kick him in the head.
If he gives me the ability to take him down and elbow him in
the face while I have him on his back then that's what I'm going
to take. Whatever he gives me is what I'm going to take. I'm
not going out there thinking 'now I'm going to do this and do
this'. I'm going to go out there and start the action and see
how he counters and what he reacts to and then whatever he gives
me off that reaction is what I'm going to finish the fight with.
KM:
Both LaVerne and Jason in the first two WFAs were Miletich students
and now here is Miletich the teacher. It seems similar to Sakuraba's
quest for the Gracies in Pride. It seems you are tearing through
the Miletich camp right now. I'm wondering if like in the early
part of your career you were mentioning getting a reputation
for beating up on jiu-jitsu guys and now you seem to be getting
a reputation for beating up on the Miletich guys.
FT:
Blame Monte Cox for that one, their promoter. Don't blame me
for that one.
KM:
It does seem that from a motivation perspective this is a chance
for Pat to get redemption for your wins over his team. Does this
affect you at all?
FT:
Doesn't affect me at all, I could care less.
KM:
If you beat Pat you will have run the gamut of Miletich 170s,
I think Jason Black is still available but it seems pointless
to throw you against another Miletich person.
FT:
Only one more guy they can throw me against and that's Matt Hughes.
KM:
Exactly. As far as styles, are there any other camps or teams
whose styles intrigue you, make you want to test yourself against?
FT:
No, not particularly. Like the shirt says, 'anyone, anywhere,
any time'.
KM:
This is the longest you have been with one promotion.
FT:
That's right, usually I do a lot of one-time deals. This time
John just came to the table with the correct contract. It had
things in there that I had to have in my little quirkiness, things
we have to have in there from a good management standpoint that
Rico had to get in there for me, and he came with good money
to the table. We're making things work.
KM:
Do you feel you've found a home at last?
FT:
I wouldn't say a home at last but I definitely found a place
I can be with for at least through the next year. We're actually
negotiating my contract right now and I'm confident I'll be in
the WFA fifteen months from now. John gave me some things I couldn't
get other places, gave me some allowances I must have plus I
like John, I like the way his partners run the show and it's
close to me. LA to Vegas is a short trip and my family can come
in there and see it and when the fights are over I can go right
out to New York and see my son. It's a good spot for me.
KM:
And see what?
FT:
My son. I have a son that lives in New York. I have a 9 year
old son that lives out there so every chance I get I try to fly
out there.
KM:
You're turning out to be a real family man.
FT.
Yeah. I'm the middle of seven children; they are all boys. I
grew up around a large family.
KM:
So is that how you became such a good fighter, growing up in
the middle of six brothers?
FT:
Tell you what; the middle child syndrome is in full effect with
me.
KM:
What about the UFC?
FT:
No, the UFC is not really a goal for me. We were trying to negotiate
contracts with them before and they just don't particularly like
me or don't need me or don't want me, for whatever reason. Whenever
they did approach me the contracts just weren't good for me at
the times they were approaching me so it wasn't a good match.
KM:
As far as the perspective of your fight especially could be viewed
as a WFA vs. UFC bout, here's the former champion that recently
stopped fighting in the UFC and most recent loss was in the UFC
and here he is taking on you, one of the stand-outs of the WFA
and a tremendous record of your own, one way of looking at this
fight is WFA vs. UFC. Do you have any thoughts on that at all?
FT:
No, not really. I don't think of it that way. He's just another
guy. If you guys want to bill it as a UFC vs. WFA thing that's
fine but I don't know if you necessarily want to step into those
waters.
KM:
I think that is making a mountain out of a molehill.
FT:
Do I care? By no means, I could care less.
KM:
I'll leave that for the WWE writers to take that angle, I'm more
of a math geek looking at numbers and stuff like that. Speaking
of which, what are your thoughts on turning 30?
FT:
I don't know. I got a couple really good up and coming fighters
right now. One guy (WEC vet) Matt Danzig, he's a little raw right
now but a little more technical training he'll be popping his
head up. He's like 22-23 years old and we have a couple guys
that are like 24-25 years old that we work out with every day
and they look at Rico (Chiapparelli) and Rico is older than Pat
but every day Rico kicks the shit out of them. Every day. Yeah,
when you talk about age Pat has that old man look about him;
he's hunched over and he can barely move and everything hurts
you can tell he's just falling apart but you get a guy like Rico
who is 3 or 4 years older than Pat beating me up every day, age
isn't really a factor around here. I'm the youngest guy here
as far as the professionals. Rico is old, Chad, Vladimir, I'm
the youngest guy. Age doesn't really make a difference.
KM:
One thing I noticed in your fights is the amount you listen to
your corner and the strategy changes throughout the fight.
FT:
It's from wrestling. You always listen to your corner because
they can see things you can't see.
KM:
I definitely noticed that in the Cooper fight and was reading
about it in the Clark one. You have never gone to a judges decision?
FT:
No.
KM:
With the exception of the Medina fight that ended in the first
round which was your quickest fight listed at 3:43 it seems like
the strategy is to test the person in the first round, get some
feedback from your corner, and then go for the kill. That you
aren't somebody that comes out right away.
FT:
There is no point to going crazy right off the bat. You never
know, this may be the first fight I have to go the distance.
KM:
It does seem a big part of your strategy involves your corner;
testing your opponent and changing strategy after talking to
your corner.
FT:
Always.
KM:
Any other words for the readers?
FT:
When they're in LA come down and see the RAW training center,
go to my website www.franktrigg.com , and come to the fight in
Vegas.
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist
sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Sir Winston Churchill
Keep
an eye out for stolen items
Mike's car got broken into tonight while at the Warrios Quest
weigh-ins at the Aston Hotel Kai at Waikiki (aka Waikiki Parkside),
right across the street from the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Please
keep an eye on the street for anyone trying to sell the following
items:
Dell
Inspiron 7000 laptop and laptop accessories
Simplex-Grinnell leather shoulder bag
Aiea
Academy Closed Tonight
Just a reminder that the Academia Casca Grossa de Jiu-Jitsu (Relson
Gracie Aiea Association) is closed on Thursday night to watch
Warriors' Quest. It's a field trip so see you there.
Tournament
News
by: Kid Peligro
The First American
National BJJ Tournament is rocking. Organizers Carlos Gracie
Jr & Marcello Siriema have informed that hordes of teams
are heding over to challenge for the honor to represent the USA
against Brazil. Already confirmed are the presence of Megaton
Dias, Rodrigo Medeiros, Mauricio Tinguinha, Steve Maxwell, Gersinho
and many others. The event is scheduled for November 2 &
3 at the Hawthorne Memorial Center, in So. Cal.
The deadline
for internet signing is on the 25th so hurry up and get the disconted
rate. For info and to sign up go to www.cbjj.com.br/english
Want more Tournament
info??? How about . . .
VII
U.S. Open Update (from the promoters)
The following
Black Belts have confirmed they will compete for $1000 in the
Professional Black Belt Divisions, November 9th and 10th, at
the VII U.S. Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament in Santa Cruz,
CA.
In the Light
Weight Division (172 and under): Cleber Luciano, Wander Braga
and Ricardo 'Frajinha' Miller. In the Heavy Weight Division (173
and over): 2001 U.S. Open Champion Garth Taylor, Jorge 'Macaco'
Patino, and Judo Mark from BHJJC. We are still working on other
BIG names.
Also, this year
the CFBJJ Association will donate 20% of ticket sales to the
Jacob's Heart Childrens Cancer Association. Please, encourage
your family and
friends to support this worthy cause by coming out to see you
compete.
Tickets are
on sale now at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. To charge by
phone call: (831) 420-5260. Note, the deadline to register for
the U.S. Open is Monday, November 4th, by 9:00 PM. Those of you
who have competed in our tournament before know that we make
NO EXCEPTIONS. Please, help us make this
and future Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournaments run professionally
and in a timely manner by completing your registration on time.
For more information
about tournament registration, please visit our website at www.claudiofrancabjj.com or call (831) 476-7650.
Source: ADCC
Rodrigo
Minotauro Nogueira Likely Out of PRIDE 23
By Eduardo Alonso
It is almost certain that the PRIDE Heavyweight champion will
not be competing in November's PRIDE 23 at the Tokyo Dome. Despite
DSE's initial plans to have Minotauro defending his belt for
the first time in the show, it looks highly likely the Brazilian
fighter will only be appearing on their December card. The probable
absence of Nogueira at the next PRIDE is due to the difficulty
getting him a desired opponent, leaving the Champion waiting
for a December title defense. Dutch fighter Semmy Schilt, who
was considered as an opponent for Minotauro, is going to compete
at the K-1 Grand Prix in early December and this is his main
priority right now. A rematch with Bob Sapp was never seriously
considered, at least by the champion's camp; additionally, Sapp
is also competing at the K-1 Grand Prix, and after his win over
K-1 super star Ernesto Hoost he has to be considered a candidate
for the tourney prize. With PRIDE 23 already featuring a Vanderlei
Silva title defense, a likely Nobuhiko Takada farewell match
and Kazushi Sakuraba's return, DSE can hold Minotauro's defense
for their December card, probably against Heath Herring or Emelianenko
Fedor, who may face each other in November. At this point, chances
are slim that Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira will grace the Tokyo
Dome ring in November, but FCF will continue to follow the developments.
Source: FCF
PRIDE
23: Frye vs Yoshida, Takada vs Tamura
DSE
announced that Don "The Predator" Frye will face Judo
star Hidehiko Yoshida at PRIDE 23, and Nobuhiko Takada will fight
Kiyoshi Tamura at PRIDE 23: Championship Chaos II, taking place
November 24, 2002 in Tokyo.
This
will be Yoshida's first MMA match, and Don Frye's 16th.
Source: Sherdog
Curran
Aims for the Ironheart Championship
By Jason Probst
In
challenging Ryan Ackerman for the vacant Iron Heart Crown 145-lb.
title, Jeff Curran is finally getting a big time shot after years
of fighting on low-level shows.
Originally
scheduled to face Helio Moriera, Curran learned last week that
the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist was injured and would be replaced
by Ackerman. It's his third opponent for this fight so far, but
such is life for a hard-toiling NHB fighter.
"I
had about 4-5 days after I got word where I wasn't even sure
about who my opponent was. Just late Sunday night I found out
it was Ackerman," Curran told maxfighting.com. "To
be honest, I'm always ready for a ground fight because I train
that so much. I hear he's mainly a grappler with a wrestling
foundation. If he's one of those wild swinging guys than that's
good for me for me. I'm just happy at this point to have an opponent."
Curran
cut his teeth early in his career on Extreme Challenge shows
promoted by Monte Cox. After deciding to go another route and
change management, he's back with Cox, and seems happy hooked
up with the Midwest's leading NHB promoter. During the exodus
he often fought fights that, in retrospect, he wouldn't have
taken now.
"I
was kind of young and stupid and made my own choices and took
my own fights. I was listening to the wrong people," Curran
said. "I realized I should go back to the guy that got me
started." Though his record is listed at 6-4-1, he still
is trying to get documentation to online record keepers about
the 10-12 fights that he refers to as "lost fights".
Curran currently runs the Linxx Academy of Martial Arts in Crystal
Lake, Ill.
"I've
got about another 10-12 fights that aren't logged. My record
is like 19-4-1. I beat Sam Wells twice, and he's doing pretty
well, and that's one that's gone unsaid," Curran recalled.
"Pedro Silveira, I know his NHB record isn't the greatest,
but he's a multiple champion in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and I beat
him in 46 seconds in a guillotine choke.
Like
everybody I grew up doing karate, boxing with my grandfather,
wrestling in junior high, I was always kind of a rough kid. I
introduced into jiu jitsu, and after a few years I met Pedro
Sauer, and it gave me a different outlook."
His
influences, Royce, Royler and Rickson Gracie, "Are obvious.
If I go outside of that, I always enjoyed watching Pat Miletich.
He kind of broke the ice for people to cross train. I look up
to his guys. I am a fan of Jens, and I've been training at the
Miletich camp since I'm under the same mgr. It's become part
of their priority to take care of me. Jens popped my nose the
other day in sparring. He's got a punch."
Fighting
Saturday night in Hammond, Illinois - just outside of Chicago
- the hometown favorite will be gunning for a good showing in
front of his fans. But knowing how quickly opportunities in the
fickle world of NHB can dissipate, Curran keeps his future goals
simple.
"I
just hope to be one of the guys that's there to fight, and stay
injury free," Curran added. With his third scheduled opponent
in front of him, and a championship within his grasp, Curran
is the type of guy that represents the NHB survivor, the stalwart
worker who soldiers on. Ironheart Champion would be a fitting
title.
Source: Maxfighting
Tossing
Out a Stale Loaf
By Jason Probst
Being
a humble scribe for sister publication Maxboxing.com, I occasionally
get a well-meaning inquiry from a fan regarding a boxer's chances
in an NHB event. Having been on that side of the argument once
and having realized its futility, I always write back kindly
and tell them my opinion, which is that the boxer has slim to
no chance. I try and tread gently, and explain that it's like
a quarterback trying to punch out a blitzing safety, sans helmet,
to deter a sack. Those that refuse to believe this are inflicted
with what I call "Strikeritis", that thin-ice supposition
that because someone can strike impressively in the boxing game
they could do it as effectively in an NHB bout.
Strikeritis
thrives among the average Joe sports fans, particularly boxing
ones, despite the fact that no one in boxing comes remotely close
to the accelerated velocity of a grappler's takedown, and that
hitting a that target is something that can't be done effectively.
Strikeritis is a tough disease to cure, and usually I offer to
send 'em a tape of Gracies in Action if they'll send funds for
the effort. But they never do.......
I
would love it if some ultra-wealthy NHB backer offered up the
sufficient purse funds to induce numerous top-level boxers to
fight NHB guys, who would even give away some serious weight
to make it all the more effective a point. You'd need maybe half
a mil or so to induce your average top ten boxer to do it, but
you could if the money was there. The NHB guys would probably
do it for a fraction of that. Heavyweights might not unless you
gave them a million or so to fight a Renzo Gracie, or somebody
that size, but that wouldn't really matter then, except they
wouldn't know it until it was too late. Helio Gracie never managed
to get Joe Louis into a ring, but imagine how that would've accelerated
NHB stateside. Hell, we'd be on UFC MXV by now.
Then
the argument could be settled. What would be really funny would
be if, after the third or fourth fight, the boxers kept getting
word back in the dressing rooms. "He dove at my ankles and
I never had a chance." "He clinched me and I couldn't
get rid of him.......and it was suddenly over." "Trying
to hit someone from your back is like punching underwater...."
"I don't know what a Kimura is, but it hurt like hell."
Sort of a negative creep. Looks of doom and terror as the boxers
enter the ring after the first initial bouts end in a flurry
of Limbs and Leverage. The fear spreads like a contagion. Grisly,
to be sure.
The
rub, of course, is the outcome tree, that either/or procession
of positions and developments wherein the boxer either lands
a knockout punch, or misses, and begins the quick road to a tap
out. The boxer can basically make zero mistakes, whereas the
grappler can make several, especially after he gets the clinch.
Sure, in NHB there's the occasional one-punch knockout, and those
guys don't strike as hard as boxers (remember, we're dealing
with light gloves NHB strikers wear...which would make Roy Jones
faster than ever). But boxers, even if some were wise enough
to take rudimentary grappling training as a contingency plan
for the event, wouldn't be good enough to sprawl and defend takedowns.
It would be a smorgasbord of easy openings for the grapplers.
Hence, they wouldn't even have to play it honest, as they do
today. The old low shoot would be plenty sufficient.
This
is in no way a disrespect to boxers, who are as tough as anybody.
I wouldn't ask NHB fighters to box, either, as few if any of
them would even be able to compete in that venue. As one of the
few people that has an equal love for both sports, and dual respect
that my comrades on both sides of the fence sometimes find somewhat
incongruous, I find it funny how NHB people are admittedly realistic
about whether or not a Vitor Belfort could box professionally,
despite being a very successful striker in NHB. Yet it's weird
how boxing fans expect their athletes to be able to compete in
another sport with completely different rules existing alongside
some illusory commonalities -- as though because a guy was good
at baseball that meant he'd dominate in cricket.
Really,
the underlying implication is that because NHB is a lesser sport,
they would lose to boxers, and that would be a nice thing to
eradicate from the public arena. It's enough to make you dig
an old tape of UFC III and watch Steve Jennum give Bowen the
business. When Mike Tyson was the self-proclaimed "baddest
man on the planet" it felt great to hear, simply because
we gravitate towards ironclad arguments that give us a sense
of finality, and the charisma of inviolability is a great thing
to believe in.
Nobody
wanted to hear that there were 10,000 guys in Rio that could
beat him in a street fight, probably while smoking a cigarette.
Maybe
some rich Sheik can pick up this idea and run with it..........call
it "Boxing vs. Grappling", pony up $10 million for
an eight-fight card, and put it on Pay Per View. The grapplers
could even go so far as to sign agreements not to break anything
provided the boxers tapped in good time, so as to remove the
threat of a career-hindering injury. I guess it's the freak in
me, but I love the idea of some half-pint Rio badass showing
up at a heavyweight contender's press conference waving a million-dollar
check in the air, drawn on the "Bank of United Arab Emirates",
and calling him out. The peer pressure from the boxer's entourage
to shut the guy up would seal the deal.
"Man,
you gonna get one million to punch this little punk out? SIGN,
dawg! We gonna get PAID!" And such beings the pathway to
enlightenment. By the time the guy is staring up at arena lights
getting smacked and tapped, it's too late to go back to the old
order of assumptions.
It'd
be nice to put that Flat Earth argument to rest. And I think
you could sell half a million $39.95 PPV buys, easy, as boxing
and NHB fans would make a helluva interested base to see the
lab experiment. Maybe closer to a million if you got some name
boxers and NHB guys on the card. Pomp and Circumstance are key,
so you'd have Mike and Bruce Buffer do dual announcing to cap
off the rivalry feel. With the proper coverage from edgy sports
programs on FOX, like Best Damn Sports Show, and Jim Rome, you
could get some huge media buildup to the event. Romie, one of
the few mainstream sports commentators who actually knows his
boxing, would be a great forum.....you could have a 240 -lb.
heavyweight contender on alongside his 150 lb. opponent for prefight
buildup.
Romie:
Hi clones. We're here along with Joe Boxer and Rpseudonym Gracie,
who'll be hooking up this Saturday on the "Boxing vs. Grappling"
pay per view special. Straight up. No fronting. Who gets the
W?
Joe
Boxer: Well, Romie, I'm in great shape and I'm here to prove
that, hey, boxing is boxing and I'm gonna knock some heads. I
just can't believe they gave me this little guy here to fight.
I am worried about hurting him, but if that's the chance he wants
to take, so be it.
Rome:
Rpseudonym?
R:
Mr. Rome, my English not so good. Takedowns much better. We will
see which matter. He is a big man, this is true.
Rome:
Call me "Homie", Brazilian Style. I visited the dojo
in Torrance, and let me say, there was some serious tude in the
hiz-ouse. I haven't seen that much reeking machismo since watching
Charles Bronson in "Death Hunt" with Spanish subtitles.
Joe -- do you have any idea of what to expect from this mad dog
perp sitting beside you?
Joe
Boxer: He half my size, mang. I just don't want to get locked
up again or nothing. Wrestlin'? Sh***it. Get real. Back in the
day we used to knock wrestlers out all the time. He gonna give
me his head.....and he gonna get served, y'dig? Let's see some
respect for fighters, man. You know we don't play, Romie. We're
FIGHTERS.
Rome:
I feel you. Here's a letter from a reader. 'Dear Romie: Boxers
are going to stomp those grapplers. It's time the fighters got
their props from these NHB people or whatever it is they call
themselves. Say good night to grappling. I'm out - Patti from
the 'Natti.' Well, clones, we're out of time. Be sure to tune
in Saturday night to "Boxers vs. Grapplers". Good night.
What's
cool is, after the evening was up, all that buildup would be
converted into a serious NHB fan base. Like the Luddites, boxing
fans could likely be converted if only given the right forum
to demonstrate the antiquity of their beliefs. If you could do
the event, and take pictures of the various fan reactions, it
would come out something like those photos of people getting
the O.J. verdict...half of them horrified and shocked, the other
half gleeful and elated. Sometimes it's better to just kick a
sleeping dog in the nuts.
It
could do for NHB what Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King did for
women's tennis.
Regrettably,
you could only do it once after the sheep were sheared. But until
then, answering these emails does get cumbersome. Your thoughts
on this are welcomed........
Source: Maxfighting
WFA
Pre Fight:
IN DEPTH WITH FRANK TRIGG
Part 2
Here in part 2 Frank talks about his brief but impressive history
in the World Fighting Alliance. Frank returns to the WFA on November
23rd where he takes on Pat Miletich for the Welterweight title.
KM:
How has your training changed since your loss to Sakurai?
FT:
My training hasn't changed, it's my technique has improved. I
don't train any differently for a fight than I do a wrestling
match. What I did do is say I have a habit of leaving this right
hand out here after I hit so lets work on bringing my jab back
so I improved my technique more.
KM:
You've been doing this over half your life.
FT:
I've been wrestling over half my life but I've only been fighting
since '96.
KM:
As far as diet and weight cutting…
FT:
Oh yeah. That's the big advantage for this fight.
KM:
I'll get back to that in a moment. Next up in your career was
your debut in WFA against Laverne Clark in the inaugural WFA.
I heard it the first two rounds you'd take him down and he'd
reverse you and follow it up with strikes. Round three I'm told
was all you.
FT:
What happened with the fight, first it had been a year since
I fought and it was the first fight after a loss, so a little
bit of ring rust. Two, we were confident he couldn't hit me hard
enough to knock me out because of the improvement with my hand
skills but I had never really been on my back in a fight. We
made the discussion before the fight that at some point during
the fight I need to be on my back to see what it's like to be
down there in a fight: what I do, how I move, what is going to
happen kind of thing. So I took him down and I was like 'I'm
about to get swept'. I could have fought the sweep off but I
thought 'let me go to my back and see what I do'. The other thing
is I'm assuming there are five rounds because a couple other
guys that we trained with trained for 5-rounders. Now as fatigue
sets in your mind doesn't go straight and I'm thinking 'I got
five rounds so the first two rounds let's play with this back
game, let's see how I do, control my breathing'. Laverne is known
for a big right and I wanted to make sure that I could defend
myself against a big right hand guy and I could go against a
boxer so I want to make sure I can test myself on my feet and
do all that, so I kind of used Laverne as a testing fight. In-between
the 2nd and 3rd round Rico is like 'how do you feel?' and I'm
like 'fine, I have no problems at all, I'm ready to go the next
three rounds' and he goes 'this is the last round, you don't
have three rounds left. It's only a three round fight. You need
to go out there and end the fight right now.'
KM:
You definitely did. You were just saying that was the first time
on your back but I've seen the Ray Cooper fight and near the
end of round 1 it looked like he had you in a little trouble
there when he had you on your back and he was hitting your face
until he went for an ankle lock.
FT:
He caught me with a right and I went to duck but I didn't duck
correctly; I ducked with my back and didn't move my body so when
he hit me he knocked me down but he didn't stun me. We kind of
rolled a little bit but he didn't really challenge me at all
like being in my guard or trying to pass my guard at all. As
soon as he started swinging he realized he really couldn't hit
me from the guard (so he) sat back to an ankle lock and all I
did was sat up so it really wasn't that challenging to me. So
yes, I was on my back in that one but I wasn't in a position
where I had to check myself to see how I feel or what's happening.
KM:
Next one was Jason Medina, the one Shonie Carter backed out of.
If I recall correctly Shonie failed an eye test.
FT:
Shonie didn't do what he was supposed to do, he was supposed
to get all the testing done before he goes to Vegas and he shows
up the day before the fight saying he doesn't have any tests
done.
KM:
So Jason was thrown in the day before. I was wondering if that
is why that fight is the quickest fight I found a record for
at 3:43 of the 1st round by elbow strikes.
FT:
Actually I had a whole bunch end faster than that but as far
as the new record goes with the unified rules that was the fastest
fight. That's because he was really sitting by the pool with
a beer in his hand when they called him and asked if he'd fight.
You can't take anything from Jason because he was the 8th or
9th guy that they asked. They asked a bunch of other guys that
were in e Vegas that had been training that could have made the
weight that talk about being professional fighters, they were
given the option and they backed out. Jason stepped up like a
man. He said 'let me put the beer down and go pack, I'll be there
tomorrow morning' and he showed up.
KM:
It sounds like you respect him a lot for that. I'm wondering
how he fits in with the other high profile fights we have been
talking about.
FT:
He has just as much guts if not more than most of the other guys
I've fought. He showed up to play.
KM:
As far as fighting in the WFA, this is the first show you have
fought in that is run by a fighter. How is that different, how
are things run differently?
FT:
They run about the same because (John Lewis) is the head promoter
or what have you but he has other business interests like any
organization has different partners. His ideas he brings to the
table are great ideas that could happen of course the partners
don't agree on and you have to change stuff over so there is
always stuff that doesn't quite work. I think the way he does
stuff is better than any of the other organizations that I've
dealt with and it's a lot easier to get things done. He understands
when you say 'I need this' why you need this so there is never
going to be an argument. A lot of other organizations, the guys
who run it never competed in anything ever in their lives and
they say 'what do you need this for' and they don't understand
like a king size bed because my wife has to come with me, I don't
fight without her. They don't understand that. When I fight in
the States she comes, when I go overseas she's on speed dial.
That's one of the things that I've got to have. When I fight
my wife has to be close to me and some people don't understand
that. With John Lewis it's definitely easier to get things like
that done.
KM:
It seems like your wife is a big influence on you, more so than
many of the other fighters that we see.
FT:
My wife is a heavy influence. We met at the University of Oklahoma.
She was an athletic trainer at the University and was responsible
for rehabbing my knee when I tore my ACL in '94. We started dating
in '95 and have been together ever since. Every portion from
the time I go to bed and get up in the morning to how my training
is going and the kind of foods we have in the house, everything
is done by her. She's with the ebb and flow of the entire training
and how things go and she's there, by no means making excuses
for me. If I lost she's the first one to say it. She got interviewed
by a couple local papers right after the loss to Sakurai and
she's like 'he left his right hand out there and got knocked
unconscious, it's his own fault'. She's not going to mince words.
It's very difficult at times but it's a great relationship to
us.
KM:
How does she handle the risks you take in this?
FT:
There are no risks, I get hurt more wrestling than I do fighting,
and like I said she's an athletic trainer and a science teacher
at a local middle school, she has a background in nursing, she
knows like I'll come with some little thing and I'll ask if this
is something I need to go to a doctor for and she'll go 'no,
you need ice and rehab' or whatever. For her the big risk is
the risk she takes on me being married to me because this is
something I'm going to be doing for a while. More her end then
my end.
KM:
How long have you been married?
FT:
Five years on the 21st of November. Anniversary is going to have
to wait to celebrate until the 23rd.
KM:
So how does it feel to fight right by your anniversary?
FT:
I fought Iha on my anniversary, I fought a couple on my anniversary.
It's not a big deal, we fight all the time.
KM:
What is your wife's name?
FT:
Nicole.
KM:
I didn't mean any disrespect by not referring to her by name.
Any advice on making a relationship work being a professional
fighter?
FT:
First of all they've got to know that this is what happens. Just
because I'm home at 2 O'clock in the afternoon doesn't mean I'm
not doing anything. I got up in the morning and already worked
out and maybe I'm at home. They got to understand that it's physically
taxing. If I'm training and not doing anything but training it's
still an 8 hour deal. You got to have your downtime at home.
Sometimes because I help around the gym here that I leave the
house like this morning I left the house at 6:45 and I will not
get home until about 6:30 tonight so it's a 12 hour day. And
then understand that when I come home that I'm physically tired,
not so much mentally tired, I'm physically tired from my day
because of how much energy that I used. You want dishes done
before I go to bed let me know the dishes need to be done before
I go to bed, not the dishes need to be done right now. The garbage
needs to go out before tomorrows garbage run, okay I'll get the
garbage out before the garbage run in the morning. Also be prepared
for that lashing out. I'm frustrated because of the day I had,
I'm not frustrated with you and I'm just lashing out to lash
out. She knows she's going to ride this storm and I'm just being
an asshole and she's going to deal with it. There are certain
things that are off limits when I'm training really hard that
we just do not discuss at the house because it's just too emotionally
charged and because I'm cutting weight, because I'm training,
it's not worth it trying to get in the argument because it just
doesn't work well. She knows I like Playstation, I gotta do my
Playstation games. She knows that sometimes I just need to be
out of the house, sometimes I'll come home from practice and
I'll grab my daughter who is 1 and my daughter and I just take
off for a couple hours. Don't ask me any questions, don't ask
me about my day, just let me do my thing and we'll talk about
it later.
Finally
in part 3 Frank shares his thought on fighting Pat Miletich and
the show November 23rd in Vegas.
Source: ADCC
10/23/02
Quote
of the Day
If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he
surely meant us tostick it out.
Arthur
Koestler
Aiea
Academy Closed Thursday
Just a reminder that the Academia Casca Grossa de Jiu-Jitsu (Relson
Gracie Aiea Association) is closed on Thursday night to watch
Warriors' Quest. It's a field trip so see you there.
Warriors'
Quest Weigh Ins Today!
Correction: Wrong Hotel
Weigh ins and press
conference will be held today at the Waikiki Parkside Hotel at 6:00 pm. This
hotel is at the edge of Waikiki next to Wailana Coffee House
(across the street from Hilton Hawaiian Village (right off Ala
Moana Blvd). Everyone
is invited to meet the fighters and check out the final card.
Lightweight
154.3 Shooto Class A 3x5 Minute
Jamal Perkins (808 Fight Factory) Vs. Jay R Palmer (Universal
Rough)
Welterweight
170lbs.
Renato "Charuto" Verrissimo (Nova Uniao) Vs. Nick Diaz
(Cesar Gracie)
INTERMISSION
Middleweight
Shooto Class B 2x5 Minute
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 Minute
Nassor Lewis (808 Fight Factory) Vs. Aki Tago (Team Assassin)
Cruiserweight
Shooto Class B 2x5 Minute
Jason Verdadero (Bulls Pin) Vs. Kaipo Spencer (Freelance)
Nakao
in SuperBrawl 27??
Neil Blaisdell
Arena
Saturday, November 9, 2002
7:30 pm
Rumors
have it that UFC and Shooto veteran Jutaro Nakao will be making
his way back to the SuperBrawl ring at SuperBrawl 27. Nakao might
best be remembered for his win over Pat Militech in SuperBrawl
11. Man, that was a tight triangle!! Video
Stay
tuned for details.
Kukuchi
vs. Koka
SuperBrawl
matchmaker T. Jay Thompson is not giving Grappling Unlimited's
young gun "Ice Cold" Kolo Koka a break of any kind.
After taking Shonie Carter the distance in SuperBrawl 25 and
man-handling Canadian favorite Pain Peters in SuperBrawl 26,
Koka will be tested yet again. This time by another star on his
way up.
Akira
Kikuchi, hailing from the Land of the Rising Sun, is the latest
prodigy to come out of the legendary K'z Factory gym. Kikuchi
has been on a tear since his pro debut in January 2002 and is
undefeated in his first 3 fights in Shooto, finishing his first
2 opponents by submission.
Get
your tickets now for SuperBrawl 27 going down at the Blaisdell
Arena on Saturday November 9. Tickets are available at the Blaisdell
Box Office or at any Ticket Plus location. Tickets start at only
$15.
The
Machine Gun takes on Mr. International
Ron Jhun will be making his Welterweight debut against UFC and
Pancrase veteran Shonie Carter at SuperBrawl 27. Jhun is looking
to get his career back on track after suffering a loss against
Stephan Potvin in SuperBrawl 26, where Jhun dominated the fight
until getting caught in a toe-hold at the end of the 3rd round.
Jhun is hoping a win over Carter will get him his shot in the
big show.
Carter
will make his return to the SuperBrawl ring after earning a decision
victory over Hawaii's heavy-hitter Kolo Koka.
It
all goes down at the Blaisdell
Arena on
Saturday
November 9.
Get you tickets at the Blaisdell Box Office or at any Ticket
Plus location. Tickets
start at only $15.
Newton/Spratt
and Lawler/Tiki added to UFC 40 card
CARLOS
NEWTON, ROBBIE LAWLER TO FIGHT AT UFC 40: VENDETTA FRIDAY, NOV.
22, LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW FROM MGM GRAND
Ultimate
Fighting Championship Is Creating One Of Its Best Fight Cards
Ever As Ortiz Meets Shamrock For Light Heavyweight Championship
Tickets
Now On Sale; Hughes To Fight Castillo For Welterweight Belt
LAS
VEGAS, October 22, 2002 - The Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC) will offer fight fans one of the best cards in its history
with the addition today of two welterweights, top contender and
former champion Carlos Newton and its fastest-rising star Robbie
Lawler, to the lineup for UFC 40: Vendetta, live on pay-per-view
at 10 p.m. EST, Friday, Nov. 22, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas. Newton, of Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, will meet
Pete Spratt of Denton, Texas, and Lawler of Davenport, Iowa,
will fight 'Tiki' Khalil Ghosen of Huntington Beach, Calif. The
main event will be the light heavyweight title fight between
Champion Tito Ortiz, 10-2-0, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and
UFC legend Ken Shamrock, 8-4-2, of San Diego, Calif. Welterweight
Champion Matt Hughes, 27-3-0, of Hillsboro, Ill., also will defend
his title for the third time against top contender Gil Castillo,
17-1-0, of Concord, Calif. 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.
Newton, 11-6-0, is a veteran martial artist although he is just
25. He is a three-time Canadian jiu-jitsu champion and the current
Canadian Pankration champion. He won the UFC welterweight title
May 4, 2001, at UFC 31: Locked And Loaded at Trump Taj Mahal
in Atlantic City, N.J., with a third-round tap-out by choke of
UFC legend Pat Miletich. Newton lost the belt to current champion
Hughes Nov. 2, 2001, at UFC 34: High Voltage at the MGM Grand.
His
opponent, Spratt, 11-4-0, is known as the 'Secret Weapon' because
he is one of the most talented 'unknown' MMA fighters. Although
he is welterweight in the UFC, Spratt is the Ring of Fire Middleweight
Champion, Reality Combat Middleweight Champion, a two time Renegades
Extreme Fighting Middleweight Champion and the USKA US Muay Thai
Champion. Lawler, 5-0-0, is not only the youngest fighter competing
in the UFC but also is one of its stars. He made a spectacular
debut on May 10 at UFC 37: High Impact in Bossier City, La.,
in a grueling war with Aaron Riley that many believe to be one
of the best UFC fights of all time. After three tough rounds,
Lawler won a unanimous decision.
He
returned in a main undercard match June 22 at UFC 37.5 Liddell
vs. Belfort at Bellagio in Las Vegas against veteran Steve Berger.
His punching power proved too much for Berger and Lawler won
a second straight victory with a TKO at : 27 of round two. 'Tiki,'
8-2-0, is a submission and kickboxing specialist who is as an
excellent stand-up fighter, which is also Lawler's strength.
'I've never seen him fight in person, but I am training hard
every day and am now in the best condition of my career. I'm
looking forward to meeting him,' Tiki said.
Another
major match-up will pit UFC top light heavyweight contender Chuck
Liddell, 10-1-0, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., against Brazilian
kickboxing/submission specialist Renato 'Babalu' Sobral, 10-1-0,
of Rio de Janeiro.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship, 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 live PPV event will be UFC 40: Vendetta at 10 p.m
EST/7 p.m. PST on Friday, Nov. 22, from the MGM Grand. Locate
Ultimate Fighting Championship on the internet at www.ufc.tv.
Source:
ADCC
WFA
Pre Fight:
IN DEPTH WITH FRANK TRIGG
Frank
Trigg is finally getting a headline shot and it's about time.
On November 23rd Frank takes on the legendary Pat Miletich for
the Welterweight title in WFA 3 at the Alladin in Las Vegas after
wins in WFA 1 & 2. In this first installment Frank talks
about his fight career preceding the WFA.
KM:
I looked at your record on two websites and saw you listed as
6-1 but then read an interview on-line where you said you had
33 matches. What were the other matches?
FT:
I've had 33 matches.
KM:
The earliest two I could find were in USWF but your main record
lists your first fight as Marcelo Aguiar in Shooto. What were
you doing before Shooto?
FT:
I was fighting.
KM:
You've been wrestling since age 12?
FT:
Yes.
KM:
What shows were you in before Shooto? Anything we would have
heard of?
FT:
USWF and a couple smaller shows down in TX. The reason that site
doesn't count them is in TX there is no closed fists. It's not
counted as MMA.
KM:
Okay. Let's start with the Marcelo Aguiar fight. That was your
debut in Shooto. What were your thoughts on your first fight
in Japan?
FT:
As far as what?
KM:
Looking at your record it looks like you debuted in Shooto (5/13/98),
one of the most respected events. Was that a turning point in
your career?
FT:
Not really.
KM:
It looks like you started out taking on mostly jiu-jitsu guys
like Aguiar, Jean Jacques Machado, and Fabiano Iha.
FT:
Aguiar is a vale tudo guy. Yeah, for a while I kind of had a
reputation for going around beating up on jiu-jitsu guys.
KM:
I'm noticing a couple trends in your career and that's your first
one: jiu-jitsu guys in Japan. Aguiar was 3:08 of round 2 by punches.
Machado was :20 of round 3 (Japan Vale Tudo 10/25/98) when the
towel was thrown in. Can you clarify that? What happened?
FT:
He had been shooting really poorly the first two rounds. You
could tell when the shot was coming in and what have you and
I have a really good front kick and a really good knee so I gave
him the front kick to get him to shoot and when he shot I just
bombarded him with the knee and split his forehead open. He dropped
to the canvas and grabbed a hold of my ankle and I just started
raining down knees and elbows and punches on him and his brother
threw the towel in. He was a mess. As soon as I hit him I knew
the fight was over because it was the kind of hit where you know
if I didn't fracture his skull I knew I hurt him bad enough where
he's not going to defend himself and as soon as I looked down
blood was gushing all over the place. At the end of the fight
they were wiping blood off my back. I was punching him in the
face and because of the position I was in as I was drawing back
blood was splattered off my glove onto my back, there was that
much blood coming out of the cut.
KM:
Your next one was Fabiano Iha in Pride (Pride 8 11/21/99). A
lot of fighters have a goal of Pride or UFC and here it is what
appears to be fairly early on in your career you have that shot
at Pride. You were about 25 at the time?
FT:
27, 28…something like that.
KM:
Was that a peak in your career so far? How do you look at the
Fabiano fight?
FT:
Just like any other fight. The fight game is still relatively
new, the way it works out it's not like because I'm in Pride
I'm at the peak of my career or because someone is in the UFC
they are at the peak of their career. If you want to go by that
standard then I'm at the peak of my career right now in the WFA.
Supposedly they say once you're in Pride you are in there forever.
Well, I've only fought in Pride one time. It just depends on
the circumstances. Now of course when I fought in Shooto and
I fought in Pride I was in the middle of wrestling; still trying
to make the Olympic Team and still trying to make the World Team.
I turned down a lot of fights during that time because I was
wrestling. I'd only take fights that wouldn't conflict with the
wrestling tournaments.
KM:
The Pride one was 5 minutes of round 1 by TKO. It seems like
the next one against Ray 'Bradda' Cooper (WEF 'New Blood Conflict'
8/26/00) was another turning point, the first striker that you
took on.
FT:
Yeah, actually I guess it was.
KM:
Was that a deliberate turning point? Were you getting tired of
the jiu-jitsu guys?
FT:
I don't pick my opponents, Rico does all that. He tells me 'this
is who we got and this is what we're doing'. I don't say 'I'm
tired of jiu-jitsu guy, let me have a striker'. I don't do that
at all. The fight comes up, the name gets put on the table and
it's always a 'yes', it's not whether or not he's a jiu-jitsu
guy or a striker. If the time is right then I take the fight
and go on.
KM:
I think you were the only one to ever choke Cooper out. A forearm
choke from the guard.
FT:
He actually got choked out by Alex Cook too.
KM:
I didn't know that.
FT:
The night I fought Sakurai he fought Alex Cook over there and
got choked out by him as well. Only two choke-outs he's had.
KM:
Okay, how do you feel about being one of only two people to choke
him out or the first?
FT:
I don't view it as that. I'm a fighter but I'm not a big fight
fan. I don't do stuff like that. I win by the way he gives me
to win. To be honest with you it wasn't a tight forearm choke,
I was just using it to pass his guard so I could sit up and hit
him a couple more times and as I was passing I pinned him and
he couldn't move and he was so exhausted he had to give up.
KM:
Watching the tape of that it looked like it was really the strikes
to the face from the guard that really ended it. It may have
technically been the forearm choke but it was really the strikes
that finished it.
FT:
Exactly.
KM:
That was your first time back in the USA since your three fights
in Japan. What was it like returning to the USA and fighting
at 'home' again?
FT:
It's kind of hard because American fans are better fans but they
don't understand how the fight game goes. Its kind of mixed feelings.
American fans are the best fans to fight in front of or compete
any genre in front of but a lot of them don't understand the
rules so they don't know what is going on the ground so they
boo when people are on the ground and they don't understand the
guard game so well. We're so brought up with the Heavyweight
boxing mentality where we're looking for the big knockout, the
big crushing blow that they don't really see the little nuances
and stuff that is going on the ground so it's difficult. I got
booed in that fight because I took Ray down and put him on his
back relatively easily. I love fighting in America and it's better
because my family is spread throughout the county so every time
I have a fight there is someone close by that can get there.
One of my six brothers can always get to one of the fights so
it's nice in that aspect. Of course after it's really easy to
talk to the fans and go out and have a couple drinks with the
guys and things like that but it's disheartening because they
really don't understand the rules so much so it's kind of hard.
They're booing you and it's not because they are mad at you or
they don't like you, they just don't understand what is going
on. It's upsetting to me because I'm trying to fight the best
way I can and to get booed… they just don't understand.
It's hard because you want to go 'hey, look, this is what I'm
doing and this is why I did it' and once they understand they
don't boo any more. It's just right now American culture hasn't
caught up with it yet.
(After
we talk about wrestling for a few minutes)
KM:
Next up was Sakurai (Shooto R.E.A.D. final 12/17/00), your only
loss. I read an interview where you said it was the shot to the
back of your ear that really ended the fight even though the
official ending is by knees.
FT:
Yeah. I was beating him on the ground: I took him down and was
ground and pounding him pretty much and passed his guard, just
basically having my way with him the entire fight and then he
was kind of getting away and my corner said 'just let him up'
because I was going to bang him again and take him back down
again. I was getting overly aggressive because I hit him with
a couple good shots when he got up. He was literally looking
for a place to fall down. I started chasing him and left my right
hand hanging out there. I gave him a jab and went to grab the
back of his head and left my right hand hanging out there and
he came over the top and hit me with a left hook. That was it.
Lights out in Austin.
KM:
That was almost two years ago now. How do you want the fans to
look back at that only loss in two years?
FT:
I don't care if they look back on it or not. Makes no difference
to me. I can spin it any way I want to, all they have to do is
go get the tape. Once they look at it they'll realize this is
what happened. All I can tell anybody is after I got hit with
that hook I was unconscious even though I fought for 45 more
seconds, I was done. The ref had every legitimate reason to step
in there and stop the fight.
Frank
went on to win his next two fights in WFA and is now scheduled
to take on Pat Miletich on November 23rd. In part 2 Frank talks
about the first two WFAs and his thoughts on Pat.
Source: ADCC
Bizarre
MMA Crossover News!
There is serious
talk going on within the camp of LENNOX LEWIS and the WWE.
With Lewis beating
nearly all the top heavyweights he is looking to do something
else and the plan is that he may be a 'special ref' on a WWE
show.
The current
rumor (that has been confirmed by many sources) is the Lewis
wants to do a MMA style match against WWE star and NCAA Wrestling
Champion Brock Lesnar.
This would no
doubt gain a major buy rate from both pro wrestling and about
1/2 the boxing fans who just want to see Lewis fighting.
The only problem
is that Lewis is asking for a special set of rules that is an
apparent ploy to stack the deck in his favor.
1. The wrestler
is not allowed to throw ANY punches.
2. A certain amount of time would be allowed on the ground and
the fight will be stood up. Rumored to be :20 to :30 seconds.
Lesnar, one
of the most physically impressive sports entertainers of all
time, wouldn't stand a chance under those rules.
Although Lesnar
was a NCAA powerhouse, even with submission training, wouldn't
be able to finish Lewis in :20 seconds. This would be considered
a major risk for the WWE in putting their top star in a legitimate
fight where he has a good shot of losing and losing his marketing
appeal.
In other bizarre
news, the man who was putting together an alleged Mike Tyson
vs. Nayoa Ogawa MMA fight has come up with a new publicity movement.
Antonio Inoki
is saying that he wants to 'help' MMA become an Olympic sport
in the 2004 Summer Olympics. From one extreme to another...
Source: ADCC
CHUCK
LIDDELL:
WILL HE GET HIS TITLE SHOT?
This
past weekend Chuck Liddell was attending the World Extreme Cagefighting
show promoting his upcoming fight vs Renalto Babalu at UFC 40.
Liddell is in excellent shape for his upcoming bout, sporting
a six pack and he looks ready to go. The one interesting thing
he said in the interview was the fact that "he wasn't sure
if he would get a title shot if he defeated Babalu."
When
you look further into it, it appears that UFC Champion Tito Ortiz
has an automatic rematch clause in his contract. So if Ken Shamrock
defeats Tito Ortiz it looks as though Tito could get the automatic
rematch, leaving the "Iceman" out in the cold.
Liddell
is a fighter who has won nine straight fights. We are talking
about defeating a whose who list. Vitor Belfort, Murilo Bustamante,
Kevin Randleman, Amar Suloev, Pele, and the list goes on. It's
unfortunate that the #1 contender could be in big trouble if
he loses to Babalu at UFC 40. With a loss we may never see a
fight vs Tito Ortiz for the title in the UFC.
So
why is Liddell taking this fight? It's simple. He loves to fight
and he loves the pay day. Chuck is one of the most active fighters
and with 9 straight wins, you would think he is building up some
money. Remember the UFC pays your money for showing up, then
they double it with a win. If a Liddell made say $35,000 to show
up, then get the additional $35,000 to win, with a nine fight
winning streak you know it would add up. His bank account has
no doubt increased with his win streak. With that said, there
is still no guarantee that he will get a title shot in the near
future.
Source: MMA Weekly
LAST-MINUTE
SCORING CHANGE, BUT 'EVERYTHING'S A GO' FOR REAL PRO WRESTLING
By: Eddie Goldman
REAL
PRO WRESTLING THIS SAT., OCT. 26
It's
getting to be crunch time for Saturday's inaugural Real Pro Wrestling
taping of a television pilot, and the organizers seem right on
track to pulling this event off smoothly. The taping will take
place on October 26 at the Los Angeles Center Studios.
'Everything's
a go,' said Toby Willis Tuesday afternoon. 'No problems that
I know of.' His partner Matt Case arrived in Los Angeles Monday,
and he will join him Wednesday. The wrestlers will mostly be
arriving Friday, and will be working out at the RAW Training
Center.
There
has been one important change in the scoring system. Previously,
one point was to be awarded both to takedowns, as in international
competition, and also for pushing an opponent out of bounds.
Now a takedown will be worth two points, as it is in folkstyle.
'A
push-out should not be worth the same as a takedown,' Willis
said. The change was done to encourage wrestlers 'not just to
push the opponent off the mat, but to finish the move on the
mat.' This change accommodates some criticism of the original
proposed rules, which had been circulated beforehand to some
in the wrestling community working to develop this real, pro
wrestling league.
Although
the rules and scoring will be slightly different from those in
international competition, this event is being sanctioned by
USA Wrestling, the governing body for wrestling in the U.S.,
and a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Right
now the organizers are also overseeing the construction of the
sets for the show, as well as the selection of music and dancers.
The idea is to make Real Pro Wrestling an entertaining experience,
like other sports are, without going overboard and turning it
into a circus or spectacle.
The
announcers for the taping will include Tim Johnson, a regular
with Iowa Public Television's 'College Wrestling' series, as
well as coaches and former wrestlers Bobby Douglas, Kendall Cross,
and Tom Erikson.
Tickets
for this event are free, but may no longer be available by the
time you read this. You can inquire about them by calling Epicenter
Sports at: 213 534-3100.
The
taping will be held on October 26 at the Los Angeles Center Studios.
It will begin at 2:00 PM PDT at Stage #2 of the L.A. Center Studios
at 1201 W. 5, in Los Angeles.
For
more information about Real Pro Wrestling and the October 26
event in Los Angeles, visit their newly-redesigned website at:
http://www.realprowrestling.com.
Source:
ADCC
10/22/02
Quote
of the Day
You don't pay the price for success. You enjoy the price for
success.
Zig
Ziglar
HOOKnSHOOT
'FRONTIER'
Blazing New Territory!
HOOKnSHOOT's
End of Year Show scheduled for mid-December!
'HOOKnSHOOT
is continuing to work on it's end of the year show.' starts promoter
Jeff Osborne. Originally scheduled for November 2nd in Evansville,
Indiana, the event is being rescheduled. 'There has been a lot
of word out about this show, and we had to move the show date
back - we are looking at the middle of December.'
The show venue
will probably change as well, with word circulating of a new
location outside of Indiana. 'We have run shows in Indiana and
Massachusetts in 2002, and we are working on a liscense for our
women's show in Las Vegas. For our traditional end of the year
event we always try to do something different, and we are probably
going to explore a new site in a different state' hints Osborne.
'More news on this to come, the event location should be ironed
out in the next few weeks.'
'The rumors
are true - this show is scheduled to feature the return of Matt
Hume to Mixed Martial Arts. 'We have talked with Pain Peters
and a few other guys about doing this fight, and nothing is set
in stone yet, but we are very psyched to have Matt competing
in HOOKnSHOOT.' states Osborne. Hume, known for running Seattle's
very successful AMC Pankration school is one of the sports most
reknowned instructors. He last competed in the inaugural ADCC
1998 Submission Wrestling World Championships, and fought for
John Perreti's EXTREME show and in Japan's Pancrase prior to
that.
Osborne goes
on 'We also have the historic 135 lb title match between Angela
Restad and Judy Neff, to crown the first ever HOOKnSHOOT ladies
Championship. This match will set a new standard for women's
athletics - just wait and see! We also expect to have Aaron Riley,
145 lb Champion Hermes Franca and many others on this card. All
systems are GO for HOOKnSHOOT 'FRONTIER' - we will have much
more info in the coming weeks!'. concludes Osborne.
Source: ADCC
INTERVIEW:
PAIN PETERS
Pain Peters is on the
right facing off against Kolo Koka
Shawn 'Pain'
Peters is one of the most colorful fighters in MMA today, filling
the shoes of Tank Abbott and adding a dimension of personality
lacking in many of the matches. He started out with a win in
'97 and picked up a loss to Matt Hughes in '00, both in Extreme
Challenge, but it was in UCC starting 2 years ago where his fan
base really took root. Like many of the Canadian fighters seen
in UCC Pain has been underestimated by American audiences, a
fact hopefully rectified soon as the UCC seeks US tv distribution.
Pain has an
unorthodox style which surprises many opponents and fans alike
with a strong judo background and a preference for high front
kicks and odd angle shots. Don't let his biker image fool you,
this is no street brawler sent in as a tomato can. Rumor behind
the scenes has been Pain might be the first opponent for legendary
fighter Matt Hume when Hume comes out of retirement, a fight
which reeks of a Heaven vs. Hell theme.
KM: What are
your thoughts on fighting Matt Hume?
PP: He's just an old guy trying to make a comeback and he wants
an easy fight for his first fight but I'm not going to be an
easy fight for his old fucking ass I am going knock the shit
out of him.
KM: How do you
see a fight with you and Hume going?
PP: Pretty much the way I want it to go.
KM: Your fight
in UCC 10 in Hawaii you lost. What happened?
PP: The only reason I lost in Hawaii was just jetlag. We got
there Sunday and we fought Tuesday. I don't feel like I really
lost, I just gassed. The guy didn't do too much better than me
to win. He won, yeah I'll give him the fight because I was so
fucking tired. I want to get back into it and get another win.
When I got back I felt pretty jetlagged and shitty when I got
back to Canada but I started training right away to try to get
back into things.
KM: As far as
your reputation for being one of the more controversial fighters,
is this something that you deliberately cultivate?
PP: I don't really give a shit but it seems to follow me around.
I've won a lot of fights controversially and I get in a lot of
trouble due to controversy so I don't really give a shit. I don't
expect it to stop anytime soon.
KM: If there
was one tape you want the fans to see to know who Pain Peters
is, what would it be?
PP: Probably my Charles Nestor fight because I took a beating
throught most of that fight and just to come back and win it
because I'm pretty tough. I think that would be probably my turning
point.
KM: Getting
back to Hume, how close is a Pain/Hume fight being signed?
PP: As far as I know if it were up to me I'd fight him. It's
pretty much up to the other guy. He told me we were fighting
but I never signed nothing yet.
KM: Would this
be in HOOKnSHOOT?
PP: HOOKnSHOOT, yes.
KM: There you
can't use elbows, here (in UCC) you can. Does that matter to
you at all?
PP: I don't know, I've never really thought about it yet. I didn't
know you couldn't use elbows up until now.
KM: Any final
words?
PP: Everyone is going to feel the Pain.
This interview
took place before UCC11 where Pain lost to his friend Donald
Ouimet in a fast action-packed fight just 2 weeks after fighting
in Hawaii. Although Ouimet had little trouble taking Pain down
he couldn't submit Pain. This guy just has to be seen to be believed.
PRE-FIGHT
IRONHEART CROWN 5 - 'TRIBULATION' INTERVIEW: CONTENDER FOR THE
VACANT I.H.C. FEATHERWEIGHT BELT, HÉLIO 'SONECA' MOREIRA
(GRACIE BARRA)
SHOOTO
hits the IRONHEART CROWN: this interview was conducted prior
to 'Soneca' pulling out due to injury! Jeff Curran will now be
facing Ryan Ackerman for the vacant title.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Please 'Soneca', introduce yourself to the NHB fans?
'Soneca'- My name is Hélio Moreira , and 'Soneca' is my
nickname. I was born in October 27th of 1969. I've started to
train Jiu Jitsu with 10 years old. I've started to train because
I used to fight a lot in school. I was World Champion in 1996,
three times consecutive Rio de Janeiro State Champion, International
in 1999 among others which I can't remember right now since at
my time many of those Championships had others names.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- When did you leave Rio de Janeiro and where're you living
right now?
'Soneca'- I left Rio de Janeiro in September of 2001 and I've
been in many places in the US since then. Now I'm living in Orlando
waiting for my son born. I was teaching on the Márcio
Simas academy but I rather to wait until open my own business.
Sometimes I train with some friends which I made here. But I
don't like too much to train. I rather to play a soccer match
with my friends than train. I'm a very accomodated guy.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Where was the last time where you fought a Jiu Jitsu
tourney?
'Soneca'- I don't know exactly when was it. Maybe something between
1999 and 2000. I tried to return after my back injury in 1996
but I didn't do very well.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- You were in Abu Dhabi. How was out there?
'Soneca'- I was there in January of 1996 and I left it to fight
in the 1996 World Jiu Jitsu Championship. At that time, the Sheik
was just a blue-belt and noboby talk or have plans to the ADCC
Championship. But it was a very good experience for me. I learned
a lot about another culture, I learned about the Ramadan (religion).
I went to races between horses and chammels and learned to love
much more my country.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- You're a Gracie Barra athlete. Do you think that the
Gracie Barra is an Academy more focused on the Jiu Jitsu?
'Soneca'- No. There're great brawlers out there. They just aren't
on this self promotion stuff as many which you can see.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- When did you decide to fight NHB? '
Soneca'- I'm very nervous here and I had the wish to brawl with
someone, since there're many
disrespectful guys out here. But if I had fought this guys on
the street I'd be on the jail.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- But did you've a NHB fight in Mexico. Isn't it true?
'Soneca'- I fought in El Paso (on the Border between Mexico and
US). The event was called World Fighting Championship. I fought
against Casey Erwin, a wrestler with a 8-0-1 record. I took him
down, passed his guard and got his back to submit him in 2:25
sec of the first round.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- You'll be fighting on the Ironheart Crown main event.
How this opportunity appeared to you?
'Soneca'- It was due Carlson Gracie Jr. efforts, because I told
him to try to find a fight for me , but I never expected that
it'd be one of the main events of the card.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- You were the main Jiu Jitsu instructor of the ChuteBoxe
team too. How was this experience and do you still have contact
with them?
'Soneca'- If they said that I was their main Jiu Jitsu instructor
I feel very honorable with this mention. The first ChuteBoxe
fighter to appear on my academy was José 'Pelé'
Landy-Johns, and we still under contact nowadays. He's a great
friend of mine. After this, Rudmiar Fedrigo brought Vanderlei
Silva and asked me to help train him too, because he'd be the
best fighter of the World, and this is what he turned into, nobody
wants to face him. Another ChuteBoxe guy who I like a lot is
'Pica-Pau'. He had a great technique and is a very cool guy.There
was also Vidalzinho, who was their first student to train with
me. I used to make a lot of jokes with him. Nobody can keep serious
near me.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Obviously you trained Muay Thai out there. Did you've
many difficulties to develop your standup game? '
Soneca'- Rudimar gave some tips about how to punch, throw elbows
and kicks, but it was very slow since my back didn't help me
too much. But even with that, I learned a lot and turned into
a better fighter. Now I know some Muay Thai, Wrestling and a
lot of Jiu Jitsu.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- And for this match against Jeff Curran? What have you
been training more?
'Soneca'- My mind, knowing that I can beat anyone. This'll be
my training.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Curran has an advantage over you since he has many NHB
fights on his curricullum. Do you think that the rings experience
is too much important or a good preparation can equal the things
for you?
'Soneca'- The guy is the favorite and that is exactly where I'll
try to take some advantage.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- What're your biggest difficulties to train for NHB?
'Soneca'- A good place and some sparrings
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- In which aspects do you've been foccusing more your preparation?
'Soneca'- Submissions for sure. I can't waste time because the
clock is ticking.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Did you study Curran's game? Which're his stronger points
and his weakness?
'Soneca'- I didn't study him yet. But some people told me that
he's a complete fighter. I'll try to find something about him
since is very important to know something about your opponent.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Are there any plans after your fight at the Iron Heart
Crown?
'Soneca'- For Sure. UFC, SHOOTO Japan... ...who knows. It all
depends of contacts.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Do you want to say something for the readers? Say whatever
you want.
'Soneca'- I'd like to thank the support the ADCC News towards
FIGHTWORLD Brazil is giving to me and I'll try to not dissapoint
the Brazilians as the same way which I did at my first fight.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Good Luck.
'Soneca'- Thanx !
Source:
ADCC
Aram
Secures KOTC Title;
Vasconcelos Rolls
San
Jacinto, Calif. -- Try as he might Saturday night at the newly
completed Soboba Casino arena, Joe Stevenson, in his first title
defense since winning the King of the Cage welterweight crown
in June, had little answer for challenger Romie Aram.
Throughout
the 15-minute fight Aram, who was supposed to fight Stevenson
in early summer for the then vacant 170-pound belt, controlled
the bout with his superior reach and striking -- particularly
when the shorter Stevenson was on his back.
From
the get go it was obvious that Aram’s reach bothered Stevenson.
In previous fights, reach hadn’t played a significant role
for the powerful Tedd Williams-trained fighter, but Aram’s
ability to wrestle neutralized any advantage Stevenson may have
had on the mat.
Once
it was clear that Stevenson could not put Aram on his back, the
outcome was academic. Stopping an early Stevenson takedown attempt,
Aram scored first blood by dumping the champion to the cage floor.
Though Stevenson momentarily rose to his feet, Aram secured a
second first-round tackle and set out to assert his game plan.
Wobbled
thanks to a solid right cross in the opening moments of round
two, Stevenson had no answer for Aram’s attacks. Fighting
from the top for nearly the entire frame, Aram landed shot after
shot in an excellent display of ground-and-pound fighting.
Stevenson,
despite scoring the odd punch, elbow, kick or knee from the bottom,
was relatively ineffective from his back -- a place he could
not be if he was going to pull out the victory -- and ate a tremendous
number of hard punches from Aram.
Down
two rounds heading into the final five minutes, Stevenson came
out with a spring in his step. He was unable to hurt Aram, however,
especially when the challenger began to jab and deliver combinations
effectively.
Soon,
Stevenson had his back to the mat again and Aram capitalized,
landing heavy shot after shot to the champ’s body and head
in the Sean Sherk-like performance. During the 15-minute fight
that saw both men fight like champions, Aram was clearly better
and the judges awarded him the unanimous decision (MaxFighting
agreed 30-26).
The
winner of the KOTC welterweight clash was scheduled to face Dennis
Hallman on November 1, however that will no longer happen. Despite
winning, Aram displayed several battle scars, and figures to
have sore hands after dishing out the punishment he did. Hallman
will take on a yet to be determined opponent in Reno, NV.
In
undercard action, Fernando Vasconcelos overcame adversity (for
a change) en route to a submission victory over a game Marcos
Santos. Though few gave Santos a shot of winning, he was clearly
winning early.
Firing
unorthodox haymakers that made life tough for the unbeaten Vasconcelos,
Santos took advantage and tripped his off-balance opponent to
the mat. Whether he took Santos lightly or was lethargic in front
of long time family friend Rickson Gracie, Vasconcelos didn’t
need very long to wake up.
Back
on his feet, the rAw-trained fighter finally looked like the
man most anticipated would show. With punches starting to land,
particularly his straight right, Vasconcelos stunned Santos with
a blow to the chin and did not hesitate to move in for the kill.
Jelly-legged
and in trouble, Santos, who started off wonderfully, was now
in deep trouble. Securing the dominant position on the mat, Vasconcelos
adeptly passed what was left of his challenger’s guard.
From there he transferred from side control to mount, where he
proceeded to drop heavy leather upon Santos’ face.
In
spite of the fact he knew that giving up his back meant trouble,
Santos rolled to avoid the consistent pummeling. Vasconcelos
didn’t need a second opportunity as he sunk in the hooks
and the rear naked choke simultaneously. Santos tapped out 3:54
into the first round in what was one of the better fights on
the card.
The
remaining 11 fights on the card yielded a tremendous amount of
action, though this was definitely not the strongest group of
fighters ever assembled by the promotion.
Joe
Crilly and Adam Brooks battled for 10 minutes before judges rightfully
awarded Crilly the unanimous decision victory. Crilly used his
superior strength to outlast Brooks, who attempted several submissions.
He came close twice (almost securing a guillotine choke and armbar),
but in the end it was Crilly who walked away the winner.
Art
Santore took advantage of an out-of-shape Dave Roberts to score
a decisive victory 2:25 into the first round by TKO. From the
opening bell Santore pushed the pace, forcing Roberts into uncomfortable
positions. Santore closed out the fight by landing several unanswered
shots from behind Roberts that cause the referee to jump in and
halt the bout.
Jason
Lambert out-powered Joshua Hoag en route to a lopsided victory
1:25 into the first round. Following a high-elevation double-leg
takedown, Lambert secured the mount and rained down heavy punches
until referee Herb Dean stopped the contest.
Freddy
George simply outlasted Cliff Jacobs to notch the win after only
one five-minute round. Neither fighter did much (other than get
tired), but Jacobs was the one that collapsed first (literally)
and he threw in the towel between rounds.
Thomas
Denny impressed, easily taking out Aaron Anderson in their two-round
fight. Anderson started strong, but Denny stayed relaxed and
didn’t look back after a failed Anderson takedown attempt.
Securing the mount, Denny pounded away until the referee stopped
action 3:40 into the fight.
In
the first female fight in the history of the King of the Cage,
Debbie Purcell and Nicole Albright fought a competitive bout
much to the delight of the ticket holders in attendance. Both
fighters had their moments. Purcell, the quicker of the two,
scored with numerous low kicks, however, Albright seemed impervious
to the shots.
Using
her superior size and strength, Albright used her boxing ability
to counter Purcell’s speed. Both displayed good skills (better
than many of their male counterparts on the card). The pro-Purcell
crowd left happy as the veteran fighter walked away with a well-deserved
unanimous decision victory.
In
other action, Brent Stevens dropped a hammer on Mike Bourke;
scoring the KO 38 seconds into round one. Dave Rivas and Cipi
Gamino fought a competitive back-and-forth contest. Rivas scored
an early flash knockdown, however Gamino recovered well. Rivas
turned up the heat the latter half of round one and put Gamino
to sleep at the 3:40 mark when he refused to tap to a rear naked
choke. Richard Solis landed a straight right to Ricky Libertini’s
nose that splattered blood on several people ringside to score
the TKO victory 1:45 of round two. Jesus Morales earned the victory
over Josh Lewis 1:06 of round one. Shad Smith earned an eight-second
victory when Chris Jeffers had to retire following injury. Alex
Richards scored a submission victory when he slapped a guillotine
choke on Mark McCleland 1:34 of round one.
Source:
Maxfighting
From
The Mount - Belated Thoughts on Abu Dhabi and Hook N Shoot
As
a fitting prelude to the Abu Dhabi qualifiers, Tuff N Nuff Promotions
hosted the Hook N Shoot tournament October 5 in San Diego that
saw some intense grappling as well as up and coming talent on
the scene.
Notable
was the debut of Joao Cuhna. A two-time Brazilian national champion,
Cuhna originally believed he would take part in the Abu Dhabi
trials, but due to citizenship requirements, he instead fought
in the Hook N' Shoot. A week after drawing with top Ralph Gracie
student David Camarillo, Cuhna submitted his first opponent nearly
as soon as the match began with an ankle lock; then, facing Ronnie
Martinez in the semis, Cuhna tackled the tough, ultra-aggressive
Martinez with technique. Fighting off numerous choke attempts,
he worked into mount and slammed home a textbook arm bar for
the tap.
Meanwhile,
Daniel "Coyote" Souza had beaten two opponents in the
other bracket of the 76 KG division, and was looking equally
good. But the two men are good friends and train together. Prior
to the Finals match, Cuhna kindly told the announcer: "We
are from the same academy. We will not fight." It was his
only concession of the evening.
It
was a good showing for Souza as well, who humorously told maxfighting.com
that he'd barely trained for the past nine months, and largely
on Jack in the Box. Scary to think what he could do with a regimen
behind him! For "Coyote" it was his third fight of
the week, having fought in the Ralph Gracie invitational and
an L.A. tournament match prior to the Hook N' Shoot. Imagine
what he could do if he supersized those Jack in the Box training
meals.
All
of this is in good humor of course, and the author would be remiss
to omit the fact that both Cuhna and Souza train out of his own
gym. On average, yours truly is tapped a dozen times a week or
more by the capable duo, and as such is becoming familiar with
the struggle for fighters to find fights with precious few slots.
When Joao is particularly bored by my rube-like attempts to pass
his guard, he'll put his hands behind his back, look whimsically
off in the distance, and proceed to choke me out with his foot.
It's funny as hell to everyone except me...reminds me of one
summer at wrestling camp where a four-time state champ was grappling
with a kid twice his size, and a soda fell out of his sweatshirt
pouch while executing a pin...he proceeded to crack open the
soda while pinning the monster, exclaiming "Hey, a soda!"....
good stuff......
Practically
any pro boxer can stumble across something along the lines of
paying combat; yet high-level top grapplers who are the equivalent,
class-wise, of at least a decent pro journeyman boxer have to
compete and break through with a combination of good circumstance
and plain old luck. There are so many of them out there, particularly
in martial arts hotbeds like southern California, that it can
only make you hope that more modest level events evolve so more
fighters can get a chance. It's dizzying to think how the quality
of fighters has improved, and even more so when you look at the
evolution of how well rounded the top dogs are. Cuhna so impressed
Ralph Gracie during his recent draw match with Dave Camarillo
he was invited to spend a week with him to train. It's all about
small, incremental waves, but even then that's not enough. There
are a lot of guys like him waiting for the breakout chance. It
just makes you cringe when you see 300 lb. heavyweights get top
billing because they provide the freak show aspect in lieu of
technique.
The
exodus from Brazil has placed as many black belts per capita
here as anywhere in the states; at the Abu Dhabi qualifiers that
followed the Hook'N Shoot tournament, it looked like a Gracie
Clan gathering. Every degree of the Brazilian lineages, along
with numerous stateside fighters from various fight clubs, were
in attendance. The action was fittingly competitive. There were
more than a few guys with hellacious skills fighting in crappy
old wrestling shoes and assorted modest gear. The measure of
a sport's integrity is gauged by the willingness of its participants
to do it for free, and no other sport can measure up to NHB or
competitive grappling in that respect.
Sure,
there's the big prize money as an inducement to trying out for
Abu Dhabi, but even in its absence I believe every guy who hit
the mats that day would've been there anyways. The love of the
game. It's Dean Lister fighting off a knee bar on an injured
knee he could barely walk on, and winning; or a "gotta fight"
Relson Gracie guy sucking off 17 pounds in four days to make
weight so he could compete, traveling from Austin, Texas with
little more than his gear and his guts as carry-on luggage- you
gotta respect that.
Field
Notes from the Abu Dhabi action:
66
KG winner: Eddie Bravo. Bravo showed an excellent ground game,
and was voted most technical fighter of the night. He defeated
a very tough Allen Teo in the finals, and should definitely represent
us well in Brazil.
78
KG winner: A classic BJJ fighter, Pablo Popovich showed patience
and a counterattacking style, with probably the most impressive
physique of the evening. If you've never seen a ten-pack abdomen,
check this guy out. Technically sound and patient, and very strong.
88
KG winner: David Terrell, a smooth, technical BJJ fighter, defeated
Todd Margolis in the finals to get his berth. You gotta like
a guy that has a "Gracie Jiu-Jitsu" tat on his shoulder.
David wore his credentials, literally, on his arm, and lived
up to his billing. Threw Margolis to the floor during the finals
match, causing a lengthy delay as Margolis recuperated from the
impact. Bit of a mean streak, and uses it well.
99
KG winner: Dean Lister. Lister fought with a bum knee, and after
his semis match with Jamal Patterson, he looked through after
fighting through an excruciating lock that was painful to watch,
and hear, as he screamed in agony, but fought through it to beat
Patterson. Amazingly, Lister returned for the finals, adjusting
and fighting off his good leg to take a tough decision over ?.
One thing about Lister: despite the odd rules of Abu Dhabi, where
the first half of the match allows no scoring of points, he's
very aggressive and willing to risk pulling an opponent to guard
to go for a submission. While many in the competition played
the straight points game, Lister aggressively sought submissions
and fought to make things happen. Despite being the King of the
Cage 185 lb. champion, fought at a solid 215, which makes you
wonder how long it will be before he moves up to challenge KOTC
205 lb. champ Vernon White (ahhhh....what a match that would
be). An Abu Dhabi veteran and probably the most popular fighter
in the competition, Lister has a bright future ahead of him,
and when he gets healthy will be plain scary.
99+
KG winner: Mike Whitehead, a very strong wrestler, defeated Roy
"Country" Nelson in the finals, popping his opponent's
knee after a vicious throw that yours truly was lucky to get
the hell out of the way of. No pretty boy type, Whitehead is
just a straight-up, 272-lb. hardassed grappler with deceptive
quickness, solid balance and raw power. After seeing "Country"
manhandle John Marsh with one of the best throws I've ever seen,
Whitehead was even stronger, and simply dominated in the final.
Notes:
The Abu Dhabi rules make for an interesting match. The pre-finals
bouts are 10 minutes, with the championship round 20 minutes,
while the first half of the match is not scored. Therefore, there's
a subtle tactical waiting game to be played. Much of the first
half of the bout is spent battling for hand control to exploit
a possible takedown window, but largely the action gets underway
once the halfway mark is crossed. One of cool subplots of Abu
Dhabi is when the corners yell, "Points Time!" and
the combat tends to be yoked up a couple notches in intensity.
One
of the big sleepers in the competition was Country. He battled
out of several well-plotted submission attempts against his opponents,
before facing John Marsh, whose massive, shredded physique seemed
a counterpoint to Country's good ole boy build, which was optimistically
described as "healthy". But it was merely appearances,
as the highly regarded Marsh got completely dominated, with Country
proving impossible to takedown or be overpowered. The aforementioned
throw was a beauty, sending a charging Marsh whipsawed off the
mat in a thundering body slam. It pretty much took the fight
out of Marsh at that point and Country proceeded to pile up points.
They don't announce the scores in the competition, merely raising
the victor's hand, but Country was damn near the equivalent of
a technical fall in a wrestling match. A former state champ back
in high school in his native Nevada, he made some serious waves
and is one to keep an eye on in the future. With just two years
of submission fighting experience, he's going to get a lot better
and he has serious tools to build on.
Source:
Maxfighting
More
Dopes: TWO TURKISH WRESTLERS STRIPPED OF 2002 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
MEDALS
By: Eddie Goldman
After
weeks of speculation and unconfirmed reports, FILA, the international
wrestling federation, has revised its rankings for the 2002 World
Freestyle Wrestling Championships, held Sept. 5-7 in Tehran,
Iran. These are listed on its web site on its database at: http://www.fila-wrestling.com/beta/resultats/resultats.php3?menu=8&lang=an.
Harun
Dogan of Turkey, wrestling at 60 kg, had won the gold medal by
defeating Aram Markaryan of Armenia by a 3-2 score in the final
match. Now Dogan's ranking is listed as 99, meaning he was disqualified.
Thus,
the gold medal at 60 kg now goes to Aram Markaryan of Armenia.
Purevbaatar Oyunbuleg of Mongolia, who had finished third, moves
up to second and takes the silver medal. Mohammad Talaee of Iran,
who had finished fourth, moves up to third and takes the bronze
medal.
At
74 kg, Turkish wrestler Ahmet Guelhan had won a bronze medal.
He had lost to eventual gold medalist Mehdi Hajizadeh of Iran
8-1 in the semifinals, but defeated Volodymyr Syrotyn of Ukraine
5-1 in overtime to take third. Guelhan's ranking has also now
been officially changed to 99.
The
bronze medal at 74 kg now goes to Volodymyr Syrotyn of Ukraine.
As
usual, FILA has issued no explanation or press release. The only
'news' on their web site is this: 'Mr Raphael Martinetti was
brilliantly elected as President of the International Federation
of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) (86 votes out of 90).'
Besides that article in which they seem so impressed with their
own 'democracy,' FILA has nothing to say about what happened
to these champion wrestlers.
There
have been unconfirmed international press reports for several
weeks now that the two Turkish wrestlers had been stripped of
their medals for illegal drug use. By officially revising the
rankings, FILA has confirmed that the two wrestlers were indeed
stripped of their medals. But by not listing the reasons why,
FILA continues to show just how out-of-touch it is with the requirements
of running a modern sport in this age of instant information.
Also, if indeed the two wrestlers were stripped of their medals
for illegal drug use, then it is FILA's duty to release all the
details to help spread the anti-doping message.
One
of the criticisms the IOC had of FILA was its lack of exposure
in the media. This was given as a reason for considering the
dropping of one of the two styles of wrestling currently in the
Olympics.
It
thus appears that, at least in the early days of the new Martinetti
administration, not much has changed.
Source: ADCC
10/21/02
Quote
of the Day
The path to success is to take massive, determined action.
Anthony
Robbins
No-Gi
Division Added to Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu International Tournament!
With the growing popularity of no-gi or submission wrestling
tournaments in Hawaii, Relson Gracie has decided to add a no-gi
division to his International tournament. The no-gi division
will be under standard BJJ rules and the tentative weight classes
are as follows:
No-Gi Weight Divisions
Under 155lbs
156-175lbs
176-200lbs
201 & Over
Every school and athlete is invited to compete.
Fees:
$45 Gi division ($5 extra to enter the Open division)
$45 No-Gi division ($5 extra to enter the Open division)
$65 Both divisions (Gi & No-Gi)
Every competitor will an official tournament shirt!
11th Annual Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu International Tournament
Kaiser High School Gym
511 Lunalilo Home Road
Honolulu, Hawaii
November 16th, 2002
For more information or a registration packet:
(808) 589-2524 Gracie Main Academy
Due to the additional matches, the tournament will start early.
Here is the tentative schedule:
8:00AM - 8:30AM Viewing of the brackets
8:30AM - 8:45AM Rules Clinic
8:45AM Tournament Starts
4:00 - 4:30PM Awards Ceremony
Warriors
Quest 8
"YOUNG GUNS"
This Thursday, October 24!
Here's
the fight card!
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. Nick Diaz
(Cesar Gracie)
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!!
UFC
40 Preview:
RENATO 'BABALU' SOBRAL
November
22, 2002
Renato
'Babalu' Sobral is a fighter that different fans see different
ways. To many fans new to the sport or only familiar with the
UFC Renato has a mixed record in the UFC with a decision loss
to Kevin Randleman in UFC35 and a decision win over Elvis Sinosic
in UFC38 but to fans of MMA from before UFC's return to cable
Renato stood out more in the now defunct Rings organization where
in 2000 he only lost to Dan Henderson in the King Of Kings '99
tournament finals and Valentijn Overeem in King Of Kings '00.
Although Renato's UFC debut win against Maurice Smith in UFC28
wasn't very exciting it took over a year to see him return to
take on Randleman. Fighting out of Ruas Vale Tudo Renato is now
scheduled to fight in UFC40 in Las Vegas.
KM:
Your next fight is in the UFC against Chuck Liddell. How do you
feel about that?
RS:
I think it's a very exciting fight because Chuck Liddell is one
of the main guys. Tough guy. I like fighting, I train hard. Every
time I fight I train hard but now I train here in L.A. with my
master Marco Ruas for this fight.
KM:
It seems like your biggest opportunity so far. I've seen you
fight in Rings 'King Of Kings', in UFC against Maurice Smith,
and then the fight against Randleman. You also fought Elvis in
London and now this. I think you've improved a lot in that time.
I didn't see the Elvis fight but thought you were really impressive
against Randleman. Having seen the Maurice Smith fight I thought
the Randleman fight would be similar to that but you improved.
What changed between those fights?
RS:
The weight class.
KM:
You dropped down about 30 lbs?
RS:
30 lbs, yes. I dropped too much weight. It's no good for your
body. Now I'm 215, I drop just 10 lbs.
KM:
Are you going to stay at this weight?
RS:
Yes. It's better for me. When I fought Elvis I'm used (to it).
I'm training more fast, more quickly. It's better. When I fight
different guys it's a different (strategy). When I fought Elvis
I fought ground and pound, when I fought Randleman I fought on
the ground.
KM:
Everybody thinks this is your first chance to stand out fighting
on your feet. It's going to be hard to take Liddell down. Are
you doing anything different preparing for Liddell?
RS:
I fight stand-up, on the ground, doesn't matter because I'm training
for this. If I can't fight on the ground I'll stand up. They
say Chuck is difficult, good sprawl.
KM:
Are you getting a chance to train with Pedro (Rizzo) to train
for Chuck?
RS:
Yes.
KM:
How long have you been in the US training?
RS:
Two months.
KM:
How is training in the US different than training in Brazil?
RS:
Elevation here is same as Brazil. It's drier here.
KM:
Does that affect you at all? Drier?
RS:
Yes. The food, the friends. It's good. I move here. I want to
live here, train here, help Marco.
KM:
It seems like the Randleman fight was a turning point for you.
With Maurice Smith you took him down at will but seemed to have
a hard time finishing him off but when Randleman took you down
you were constantly moving. I was wondering how much of if it
was the weight difference.
RS:
I wanted to fight with Randleman on the ground. I wanted a submission
but I couldn't because the guy is strong. I make maybe 10 attempts
but the guy has too big a neck. When I fought weight no problem.
He took me down, no problem-I want to fight on the ground. I
can make a sprawl but I didn't want to make a sprawl. I wanted
to go down.
KM:
Which of your fights are you most proud of? Was it Rings?
RS:
Every time I win, that's nice. Long job, hard job. Every time
I win I'm proud.
KM:
What did you think of the Elvis fight?
RS:
He was a nice guy. No (indicates nose in air). It was like a
job.
KM:
Any final words?
RS:
I want to give the best of me. I want to show my skills.
Chuck
Liddell is currently the #1 contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight
belt but if he loses to Renato he forfeits that shot. Renato
has a great opportunity to further his reputation with the fans
in this fight since if Renato loses he loses to the #2 in the
world but if he wins he beat the man who should have had a belt
shot since Renato lost to Randleman. Ruas Vale Tudo also need
this win since Pedro Rizzo's downward slide since last May as
well as Marcos' injury prior to UFO and although Debi Purcell
has been tearing up the women's 135 division the rest of the
Ruas Vale Tudo fighters haven't yet made the leap to the bigger
shows to take up the team's name. One thing is for sure: this
fight will be one most fans will be watching
Source:
ADCC
KOTC:
Complete Results!
KING of the
CAGE - MASSIVE SHOW THIS PAST WEEKEND!
COMPLETE RESULTS:
- Alex Rickards def Mark McCleellnad 1:34 r1 by guillotine choke
- Shad Smith def Chris Jeffers seconds into r1 by injury (torn
ACL)
- Chuy def Josh Lewis 1:06 r1 verbal submission to strikes
- Richard Solis def Ricky Libertini 1:45 r2 by TKO
- Dave Rivas def Cipi Gamino 3:48 r1 by rear naked choke
- Brent Stevens def Mike Bourke :38 by KO
- Debi Purcell def Nicole Albrecht by unanimous decision
- Thomas Denny def Aaron Anderson 3:40 r1 by TKO
- Freddy George def Cliff Jacobs between rounds 1 & 2 when
Jacobs succumbed to exhaustion
- Jason Lambert def Josh Hoag 1:25 r1
- Art Santore def Dave Roberts 2:52 r1 by TKO
- Joe Crilly def Adam Brooks by unanimous decision
- Fernando Vasconcelos def Marcos Santos 3:54 r1 rear naked choke
- Romie Aram def Joe Stevenson unanimous decision
King
of the Cage Rocks on
King of the
Cage event was back at the Soboba Casino, however under the new
17,000 seat Arena that was recently built by the Casino. The
new surroundings are great and are highly needed as KOTC's constantly
sells out the original joint!
KOTC's latest
edition continued to give the crowd a heavy dose of adrenaline
and excitment as the first five matches ended up with quick bangs!
The usual and unusual cast of Celebs there led by surprise presence
of Rickson Gracie who came to side with Fernando Vasconcellos
father Luis Fernando joined Renato Magno, Mario Aiello, Carlao
Valente, Eddie Bravo and many others saw a night of action including
the noteworthy Debbie Purcell's California debut battle with
Nicole Albright. These two exchanged heavy leather and in the
end Purcell took the unanimous decision. Way to go for both of
them!
Larry Landless
showed that not only he is a great referee but also a great trainer
when his fighter Dave Rivas defeated Cipy Gomino by rear naked
in the first round!
In the best
fight of the night Fernandinho Vasconcellos, who trains under
Raw Team beat a game Marcos Santos. Santos opened up big early
in the round surprising Fernando with some solid kicks and a
big take down, but Vanconcellos remained calm and started to
throw some leather and slowly turned the tide. Fernando eventually
took Santos down, passed the guard, mounted him and delivered
a barrage of punches that caused Santos to turn over for the
choke.
In the title
match Romie Aram defeated Joe Stevenson in a battle that had
the Champ mostly on his back while Romie delivered blows from
above while eating some quicks to the face. In the end, the unanimous
decision went to the new champ!
Source: ADCC
MECA
World Vale Tudo 7
The
card for the biggest NHB show currently running in Brazil is
finally set. Despite some previous cards published on the Internet,
the event's card was only finalized in the past few days and
it promises to bring several new talents to the NHB scene. Promoters
Rudimar Fedrigo and Jorge Guimaraes had to deal with several
issues to put the card together, from injuries to a limited budget
going trough TV issues, but they managed to put together nine
fights for the seventh edition of MECA. The event is scheduled
for November 8th, as always in the city of Curitiba, with the
fights starting at 9 PM Brazilian time, being broadcast live
in Brazil on Pay-Per-View. Among the young fighters who will
be appearing in the event, some deserve a close look as they
might make some noise on the international circuit in the near
future; Alex Gaze is a Muay Thai fighter from Rio de Janeiro
with great striking skills who will be making his MECA debut;
Royler Gracie Black Belt and current Chute Boxe training partner
Cristiano Marcello will be making his return to MECA, but this
time with improved striking skills; and Mauricio "Shogun"
will make his NHB debut trying to follow in the footsteps of
his brother, Murilo Ninja. This show will not only feature exciting
young newcomers on the rise, but some tough veterans will be
gracing the ring in Curitiba as well… like BTT member Haroldo
"Cabelinho", IVC veteran Claudionor Fontinelli, Chute
Boxe's Silvio Urutum, and his teammate and K-1 veteran Nilson
de Castro. With all those ingredients, MECA 7 promises to deliver
the action. Stay tuned to FCF for a preview of the event in the
near future. Here's the complete card* (the sequence of the fights
is not yet set):
Carlinhos (Brazilian Impacto) vs. Gazé (Muay Thai/RJ)
Claudionor
Fontinelli vs. Haroldo "Cabelinho" (Brazilian Top Team)
Cristiano
Marcello (Royler Gracie/CB) vs. Jackson (Muay Thai)
Mauricio
"Shogun" (Chute Boxe) vs. Rafael "Capoeira"
(Barra Gracie)
Silvio
"Urutum" (Chute Boxe) vs. Evangelista "Cyborg"
David
Phillips (Jiu Jitsu/Muay Thai) vs. Luiz Orlando (Brazilian Top
Team/Mario Sperry)
Riscado
(Jiu Jitsu) vs. Cristiano Lazarini (Titi - Jiu Jitsu)
Juan
Carneiro (Jucão - BTT) vs. Carlos Gomes (Esponja - Jiu
Jitsu)
Nilson
de Castro (Chute Boxe) vs. Lucas Lopes (Jiu Jitsu/Boxing)
Source:
FCF
Robin
Gracie wins NHB Debut & American National BJJ Tourney
Congratulations
go to Robin Gracie for his successful debut in La Noche de Los
Desafios an old fashioned style winner take all challenge type
event in Spain. Robin KO'ed his opponent at the 5 minute mark
of the second round. In the first 10-minute round Robin mounted
his opponent and delivered a series of blows to the face that
left his opponent's face all beat up. Then in the second round
Robin did the same and kept hitting his opponent until the KO.
Congratulations big guy!
The
American National Championship
Have you ever
been to a historical event? I have, the first World in '96. I
still remember the feeling of being a part of history in the
making. Well if you missed that chance a new one has come along,
by participating in the first ever US Trials that will determine
Team America. Team America will compete against Team Brazil in
2003 in the first ever International Team Challenge! The event
will take place on November 2nd and 3rd at the Hawthorne Memorial
Center - 3901 W. El Segundo Blvd, Hawthorne, CA.
This event is
so important that the brain trust of the CBJJ has relocated to
Southern California to make sure that every detail is taken care
of. AS of this time, Carlos Gracie Jr, Marcello Siriema and Andre
are hot on the program to make sure this is one of the best events
ever.
SHOOTO's
Osaka Event - OCT 27th
October 27th Osaka, Japan - NGK Hall
PROMOTER: Sustain
CLASS
B - 2 ROUNDS:
Featherweight [-60.0Kg]:
Manabu Kano v. Hiroyuki Tanaka
Welterweight [-70.0Kg]:
Takashi Nakakura v. J-Taro Takita
Lightheavyweight [-83.0Kg]:
Ryuta Sakurai v. Jun Kitagawa
Middleweight [-76.0Kg]:
Seichi Ikemoto v. Shigetoshi Iwase
Welterweight
-70.0Kg - 2002 Rookie Tornament Final:
Tatsuya Kawajiri v. Ken Omatsu
Source:
ADCC
MAINSTREAM
MEDIA FLOCKING TO REAL PRO WRESTLING PILOT ON OCT. 26
By: Eddie Goldman
The
historic taping of a television pilot for Real Pro Wrestling
is attracting a lot of mainstream media attention. It will take
place Oct. 26 in Los Angles.
Noted
sportswriter Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times traveled
to Colorado Springs to the Olympic Training Center last week
to conduct an extensive interview with Rulon Gardner. The 2000
Olympic gold medalist and 2001 world champion Greco-Roman wrestler
will be competing in his first match at the Real Pro Wrestling
pilot since his frostbite injuries suffered February. The feature
on Rulon is scheduled to be run this week in the Los Angeles
Times. Elliott is also slated to attend the Real Pro Wrestling
pilot and cover it for the Los Angeles Times.
The
East Coast media is not being left out, as an item on this event
is planned to run in the New York Daily News. It will appear
in the Rush and Molloy gossip column, and focus on the development
of a fresh alternative to the phony pro 'wrestling' that, as
it has been put, 'we all know and hate.'
Again
closer to the event itself, the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch,
a weekly newspaper, has committed to running a story in its sports
section about this event.
Besides
the mainstream media, numerous members of the boxing, wrestling,
and martial arts media have been contacted about covering the
Real Pro Wrestling pilot, with many already indicating they will
be matside for this historic event.
For
the fans, according to Matt Case, one of the organizers of the
Real Pro Wrestling pilot, there are still some free tickets remaining.
If
you want to attend, the first 400 fans who contact Epicenter
Sports will be put on a list for free admission. You must call
first, at: 213 534-3100.
The
taping will be held on October 26 at the Los Angeles Center Studios.
It will begin at 2:00 PM PDT at Stage #2 of the L.A. Center Studios
at 1201 W. 5, in Los Angeles.
For
more information about Real Pro Wrestling and the October 26
event in Los Angeles, visit their newly-redesigned website at:
http://www.realprowrestling.com.
