"The
genius of you Americans is that you never make clear-cut stupid
moves, only complicated stupid moves which make us wonder at
the possibility that
there may be something to them which we are missing."
Gamal
Abdel-Nasser - the man who is perhaps most responsible for making
Egypt, and the Arab world generally, the thriving, peaceful,
and prosperous envy of the civilized world it is today (insert
sarcasm here).
Tito's
Way
Another
week, and another series of misadventures in The People vs. Tito
Ortiz.
Ortiz
was recently quoted as saying he "only" wants a mere
one hundred fifty thousand to show, and one hundred fifty thousand
to win in a prospective battle with Chuck Liddell. Interesting
development, especially considering that many doubt that's what
Ortiz originally asked for. And while he may indeed have come
back down to Earth with a semi-realistic purse request, it's
also doubtful that's the only thing he's requesting.
Rather
than sideline the light heavyweight title indefinitely, it now
looks probable that Zuffa will instead give Liddell his long-awaited
opportunity for it against Randy Couture. It's a solid and compelling
match between two proven contenders. But where does that leave
the reluctant current champ?
Source:
Maxfighting
Roger
Gracie - Coming Soon!
You
better watch him!
People
related to the martial arts usually say that the fighter career
begins when he gets his black belt. That saying is particularly
untrue when you talk about Jiu-Jitsu, where specialists, coaches
and teammates are able to notice a high skilled fighter since
he is a purple belt and even, sometimes, since he is blue or
green belt (the belt that only those who are very technical before
reaching the age of 16 years can hold).
That
is the reason why the new black belt Roger Gracie (go check my
colleague Kid Peligro last column for the details of yesterday
awarding) is not a newcomer for the ones who follow the Jiu-Jitsu
world. Roger has been smashing most of his opponents throughout
the tournaments for the last four years and certainly the black
belts of his weight division have their eyes focused on him since
the beginning.
But
this is not a yesterday about column and neither a Jiu-Jitsu
article. So why is it about Roger Gracie? Because he is right
now in the airplane along with Ricardo 'Big Dog' Almeida, and
both are arriving at Narita Airport, Japan. Almeida will face
Yuki Sasaki on next Saturday, 12, in the main event of Pancrase
2003 Hybrid Tourshow in Tokyo, and Roger is going to Japan in
order to help Almeida train.
Supporting
a teammate is a good enough reason to make one travel for 14
hours. But Gracie has another big reason to be in Japan. The
same reason that made him to spend the last few months training
at Renzo Gracie's headquarters, NY. He's getting used to the
MMA weather.
So
pay attention Pride fighters: a new Gracie is closer to the rings
than you can imagine. Roger, 20, 210 pounds, just got the blackbelt.
And his 6' body barely shows muscles. However, many witnesses
are able to say already: he's tough like hell!
Source:
ADCC/Luca Atalla
Catching
Up With JOE STEVENSON
One of the regular KOTC and Gladiator Challenge fighters Joe
Stevenson is one to keep an eye on, with wins over incredible
stand-out Jeremy Jackson and Extreme Challenge 50 tourney finalist
Cruz Chacon and losses only to top names like Ronald Jhun and UFC vets Brad Gumm, Jens Pulver,
Chris Brennan, and Romi Aram. It would be a stretch to say beating
Stevenson is a ticket into the UFC but Stevenson is definitely
a name to look for on a fighter’s record as well as an exciting
fighter to watch live. Now that Stevenson is dropping to 155
if he can get some wins against higher profile fighters we may
see him himself in the main show.
KM:
So you are on the next Gladiator Challenge card April 13th. Where
are you now in your training?
JS:
I’m not super peaking for this fight, just cruising. I’ll
try to peak for Thomas in May. A week after I fight I think I fight in Hawaii
against someone from 808.
KM:
Is that going to be in SuperBrawl?
JS:
No, it’ll
be in Kamaka’s show, Warriors Quest.
KM:
We talked about you dropping to 155 this summer. When is your
first fight at 155?
JS:
June supposedly. You’ll get that. I guess whoever Terry
(King Of The Cage) picks out.
KM:
So who is your opponent for Gladiator Challenge?
JS:
Chuck Kim.
KM:
I didn’t find much on Chuck Kim.
JS:
He’s fought Oleg Taktarov, Pat Miletich, a few other people.
He’s lost by guillotine and I’m going to try to keep
up the trend.
KM:
So you think you’ve spotted that weakness?
JS:
Yeah. That was six years ago he lost to those guys, a lot can
change, but hopefully he’s still susceptible to it.
KM:
How do you think your last fight went? I missed that one.
JS:
It went really quick. I wanted to submit him. You start hitting
people you start forgetting and I forgot. My corner didn’t
yell out ‘armbar’, they just yelled out ‘hit him’
and you do what they say.
KM:
And that was the day after the birth of your son.
JS:
That was awesome!
KM:
Did that have any effect on anything?
JS:
Yeah, I dedicated that fight to my son. I had incredible strength,
incredible stamina, nothing bad would have happened that day.
It helped pay for his circumscision.
KM:
And he was born on Valentine’s Day and you fought the day
after. Now you corner Phillip Miller at HOOKnSHOOT in Florida
and your next one is April 13th. You are staying busy here.
JS:
I try to push out a bunch and then will probably take a two month
break, three month break, and then at 155 rededicate myself and
try to be a new person. Right now this is just burning up 170
fights.
KM:
I was wondering if you are going to have challenges training
at 155. At Ted Williams Combat Grappling you have one person
at every weight class but I’m not sure who else trains with
you and if that is going to be a challenge.
JS:
It will be. We have some people at 145. Hopefully I can get some
friends in there like Antonio McKee or some people at lighter
weights that are used to fast paced. Hopefully at 155 I’m
a new person.
KM:
Last year you lost the KOTC belt to Romi and now here he is in
the UFC. In that sense people are looking at your fight with
him to preview Romi for the UFC. How do you feel about that?
JS:
It’s really hard to preview a person from one fight because
he fought me differently than he would fight this guy and he
fought this guy differently than he’d fight that guy. Every
fight is going to be different and he fought me the way he needed
to to beat me and it worked out great for him. It’s going
to be hard to judge his character and his ability from that fight
because he didn’t really do much on the ground. Do you know
who he’s fighting in the UFC?
KM:
Dave Strasser. In that sense people looking at that fight it
may not be a good judgment on Romi but it raises the stock of
you.
JS:
I can only hope for the best for Romi, don’t want him to
lose now (both laugh), but every fight is going to be different;
you’re going to have freak knock outs, submissions, wrong
decisions, boring decisions, and it’s all going to change
on how the person wakes up that morning. I hope the best for
Romi and actually I believe he’s going to win. I have no
doubt that he wins that fight.
KM:
Here we are in the waiting period for you to finish off your
170 lb fights, how do you feel about this stasis before rejuvenating
your career at your new weight?
JS:
It’s going to be really fun whooping Thomas’ ass at
170. It’s a nice highlight to finishing off at 170 because
I’m going to beat his ass.
KM:
In any way is it less motivation, that you know you are finishing
off that weight class before dropping?
JS:
No, because after the 155s I figure when I’m twenty-five
years old I’m going to grow a little bit and I’m not
going to try to keep my weight down; I’ll go back up to
170. Right now because people’s tendon strength and muscle
stamina and older strength…at 155 I’m going to do the
right thing, do it the natural way, the right way, and then I’ll
go back up and dominate hopefully there too.
KM:
At 155 in KOTC and possibly Gladiator Challenge too with Javi
out, Crane having the belt, and now word Chris Brennan is back…how
do you feel about those two in particular?
JS:
It’ll be awesome. Alberto is awesome; I felt the fight should
have gone the other way if Javi’s leg was 100% but if Alberto
is there he’s my mark. Chris would be a nice person to try
to fight again. Whatever they put in my lap I’m going to
take, just about.
KM:
So it’s not like you have anybody particular in mind at
155…
JS:
I’d like a couple rematches. Jens (Pulver) and Chris.
KM:
At 155 you have more options with Shooto too.
JS:
Yeah, I do. I have a lot more options with Shooto. Hopefully
I get the Japanese audience wanting me over there and that would
draw me over there because I don’t want to go knocking at
their door, I want them to come to me.
KM:
Anything else you want to get across?
JS:
No, just thanks for mentioning my son.
Source:
ADCC
Catching
Up WIth CHRIS BRENNAN (pt 2)
Before
the second all-women’s HOOKnSHOOT was cancelled the first
two matches being discussed were Erica Montoya vs. Tara LaRosa
with Tara dropping to 125 and Debi Purcell vs. Jennifer Howe
for the 135 lb belt. As reported here on February 17th Erica
was unfortunately injured in a car wreck, the Vegas HOOKnSHOOT
was cancelled bumping Purcell/Howe to MA, and then on the eve
of signing the contract Debi tore her ACL. Now Montoya is not
only back to training but has two fights in Japan scheduled.
Here is manager/trainer of Next Generation and 155 lb fighter
himself Chris Brennan updating us in preparation for speaking
with Erica herself.
CB:
April 24th I have three new guys all 1-0 all fighting in Hawaii
at Kai Kamaka’s show. We’ll have somebody on every
KOTC card from now on. Two nights after Bao fights in Hawaii
Erica (Montoya) is actually fighting the 19th for a title at
Smack Girl in Japan. A month later she is fighting in Ax in Japan.
KM:
How are her opponents?
CB:
Her last opponent was pretty good. You could tell she trained
specifically for Erica; she knew what she was doing. Erica beat
her with ten seconds left in the fight; she armbarred her. The
girl was tough and she trained defend defend defend, that’s
all she did. She caught Erica clean on the feet once, made her
nose bleed, so Erica was like ‘Oh, I got hit’. She’s
human.
KM:
I was sent a tape and at one point for about thirty seconds I
don’t know what the camera person was doing but they put
the camera down…
CB:
It was Rami. He was watching and cornering with me and he put
the tape down to yell at her.
KM:
And there was about thirty seconds of feet! I’m like ‘what’s
going on?’ (both laugh). What I was wondering, with two
shows a month apart how well she is going to train specifically
for her opponents and will her opponents have that advantage
of training specifically for Erica.
CB:
We’re changing her training a little bit because everyone
knows what she wants to do and unfortunately for all the girls
she fights there are not a lot of good girl wrestlers and Erica’s
wrestling is really good. They can’t stop her from taking
them down. As she gets older and becomes more of a woman, gets
a little more strength because she is not strong at all, just
very technical…she’s actually dropping to 115 now.
I made that happen because Debi Purcell and all these other girls
dropped down to 125. I don’t have a problem with her fighting
Tara (LaRosa) but Debi and a couple girls out there…I think
if we started on the ground Erica would beat them all. I trained
with Debi and I’ll compliment Debi and say she punches and
kicks like any man I’ve ever trained with. She’s a
BAD ASS girl on the feet, I’m sure her ground is getting
better, but Erica is not strong enough right now to fight those
girls; she just turned 18 years old. I know she could take them
down, I know she could submit them, but at the same time if she
took them down they are so strong enough to just kind of (makes
movement of tearing away). I don’t want to do that to her
career, I’d rather be smarter and have her fight the Japanese
girls or the American girls that are a little bit smaller, more
her size. She’s a normal young girl body and girls like
Debi is a big strong girl. Those are wiser decisions for her
right now.
KM:
I’m not aware of anyone else fighting at 115.
CB:
In Japan there are a lot. Here I don’t know.
KM:
I guess we’re not going to see Erica fight Stateside then…
CB:
There are a couple girls; 1 in Hawaii, a couple in the Mid-West, actually a few that
have popped up that are lighter. HOOKnSHOOT have notified us
about some girls that are interested in fighting her at a lighter
weight.
KM:
Really. They are holding out on me.
CB:
Well, we just notified them about cutting down. Soon as they
told me about Debi cutting to 125 I was like ‘okay, well
we’re cutting to 115’. I’m not going to make excuses,
I don’t want her to fight those girls, period.
KM:
It’s a wise career move. How many times do we see up-and-coming
fighters just going in there for the paycheck and getting their
ass handed to them and they come out with these losing records.
CB:
Unfortunately she would fight them like (snaps fingers) that.
If I told her ‘let’s stay here and fight them’,
‘Okay’. She’d be down for it but I’d rather
make the decisions for her for now.
KM:
So she is fully recovered?
CB:
Not fully. She has a pretty gnarly scar; the scab every time
she trains rips open. It’s not really a scab, it’s
a scar but it’s really thin and it still keeps tearing open.
KM:
How is she taking that? Is she doing okay?
CB:
Yep.
KM:
Just trying to figure out what not to ask her, what not to say.
CB:
No, she’s cool. She’s fine with it.
Next
up we talk with Erica herself as well as some of the other members
of Next Generation about their upcoming fights. Stay tuned.
Source: ADCC
It's
Going to be a Boy!
"Little Axe Murderer" is on His Way
as Wanderlei Smiles Away
By Eduardo Alonso
A
little more than a year after PRIDE Middleweight champion Wanderlei
Silva and his wife Tea Ariadne got married in January of 2002,
the Silva family is going to get bigger and as was the wish of
the champion himself, the couple is going to get a baby boy!
Wanderlei is already the father of a 6-year-old daughter named
Rafaela, from a previous relationship, and has always voiced
his desire to have a son to follow his footsteps in the NHB rings
worldwide. This week, as he came back from weeks in Japan, he
finally got confirmation from the doctors that the baby his wife
is carrying is indeed going to be a boy, and he promptly told
FCF first hand the great news! Needless to say the usually mean,
agressive and merciless "Axe Murderer" was as happy
as ever and all smiles with the news: "I'm so happy with
this that it's even hard to translate into words, hopefully now
people will have to see a Silva brawling in the rings for a long
time!" The baby is expected to come in August of 2003, coincidently
in the same time of his likely fight against Quinton Jackson
in PRIDE. Mr. and Mrs. Silva will now decide the name of the
heir that will be the newest addition to the growing Chute Boxe
family (Chute Boxe master Rudimar Fedrigo's son Rigan was recently
born). FCF Congratulates Wanderlei Silva and his wife and hopes
to see the "Little Axe Murderer" come to the world
in great health!
In other small Chute Boxe notes, the week promises to be very
busy at training camp, with STORM Grand Prix coming up this Saturday
and the participation of one of the team's newest aditions, Jadson,
in an NHB event defending the team's flag for the first time
this Friday. However, Muay Thai and NHB events aren't the only
thing shaking up the Chute Boxe headquarters, as an interesting
surprise regarding the team will be revealed in the next "Brazilian
Beat" coming later this week. Don't miss it!
Source:
FCF
4/9/03
Quote
of the Day
Take
your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing:
no one is to blame.
Erica
Jong
'The
Gracie Way!' A new book by Kid Peligro
Our
own Kid Peligro has recently completed a new book called 'The
Gracie Way'. The book has many interesting stories and great
backstage insights into Gracie family along with accounts of
some of their greatest battles.
The
book features pictures from some of the top photographers in
the world including Susumu Nagao, Luca Atalla, Ricardo Azoury,
Todd Hester & Mike McNeil, along with vintage family archive
pictures.
'The
Gracie Way' is a must for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/MMA afficionado.
For
a limited time you can pre-order your copy, autographed by the
author at www.mmamart.com with an expected ship
date of April 18th, 2003.
Source:
ADCC
Roger
Gracie Receives Black Belt
Roger
Gracie, the great young fighter from Gracie Barra, has been promoted
to Black Belt. Roger, who is currently training a lot of no-Gi
at Renzo Gracie's new Academy in New York, was awarded his belt
by his Instructor Carlos Gracie Jr. Renzo had the honors of presenting
the belt to Roger on behalf of Carlinhos. Many had question why
Roger did not get his belt directly from Carlos Jr defore he
left Brazil; so we contacted the man himself and Carlinhos told
us: 'Of course he has been my student since he was 15 years old
and he was ready to be promoted but I was waiting until after
the 2003 Pan-Ams to promote Roger to Black Belt. Now, because
of a scheduling conflict, he may not be able to compete in it,
so I decided there was no reason to delay the promotion any longer
and called Renzo and asked him to give the belt to Roger on my
behalf!' And he continues: 'Besides, Renzo told me that everyone
at his academy was complaining about being smushed by a Brown
Belt, so I had to promote him!' quipped Carlinhos!
Roger
(shown r. winning the finals over Ronaldo 'Jacare') has won the
World Absolute Title in the Brown Belt division for the last
two years running and is one of the top young fighters in the
World.
The
question in everyone's mind now is: 'Will he be at ADCC 2003?'
And if so, the possibility of a HUGE rematch with 'Jacare' looms
large!
Congratulations
to Roger!
Source:
ADCC
2003
Junior Nationals of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Due
to some scheduling conflict with the Easter weekend, I had to
move the 2003 Junior Nationals to June 7, 2003. However, MMA.TV
has made it a ranked event and everyone can download info about
the tourney from their tournament page.
I
am looking for the best Middle School and High School athletes
in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to come and compete for the Championship
Absolute Belts. The Cost is only $10.00 for preregistration,
can you beat that price? For more info contact me at tapuout247@aol.com .
Source:
ADCC
Catching
Up With ROMI ARAM
On
paper Romi Aram versus Dave Strasser looks to be one of the more
exciting fights scheduled for UFC 42. Romi, the former KOTC Welterweight
champ, trains with former KOTC and current Gladiator Challenge
Lightweight Champion Javi Vasquez, former UCC Welterweight and
current KOTC Superfight Champion John Alessio, and KOTC standouts
like Art Santore. Fighting out of Millennia Jiu-Jitsu Romi sports
a perfect 6-0 record with his most recent win being against Joe
Stevenson and his highest profile one being Jerry Bohlander.
Now realizing his dream of fighting in the UFC for the first
time many are taking the perspective of Romi may have the training
partners and reputation for studying his opponents more than
most but will his lack of experience play a role.
KM:
I wanted to start by asking what you think of Dave Strasser.
RA: I actually had a chance to see him live in Japan at a Shooto
fight the same night Javi fought Rumina Sato (note: Shooto: Treasure
Hunt 7 6/29/02). I don’t know why but I was actually sitting
around watching his match. He just to me like all the other Mid-West
fighters; just very tough, good chin, good cardio, well rounded.
I really didn’t see that much of his standup, the fight
went to the clinch right away. His submissions looked really
smooth. He looked pretty relaxed. That was probably from all
the experience he has had. I’ve seen another video of his
fights and his standup is not bad either. Straight punches…
KM:
The few videos I’ve seen of his he seemed like a typical
Mid-West fighter as far as the wrestling base and good striking
but I don’t recall seeing him use submissions as much. I
think the ones I’ve seen have been more like HOOKnSHOOT
against Barros, which went to a decision I recall more defending
submissions. RA: He ended the guy with a rear naked choke.
KM:
What do you know about his last fight in Russia? RA: I looked
up on SHERDOG to find out what his background is, I know he has
a lot of fights. A lot of the guys he’s fought I’ve
never really heard of before. I know a lot of them were local
fights in his area. I think he started fighting back in ’96
or ’97.
KM:
The perspective I’m taking so far is he has four times the
experience and fights twice as often as you, starting in ’96.
RA: The way he beat his opponents isn’t marked; the way
he beat his opponents whether it was armbar or knock out. I don’t
really know much about what he has done to his opponents. I know
his last loss was to Ronald Jhun so I talked to Ronald and Ronald
said the same thing I knew; the guy is tough, pretty tough on
his back, really squirmy, good hip movement…he pretty much
told me what I already knew.
KM:
One thing everyone knows is how much you and Millennia Jiu-Jitsu
in general prepare for opponents. That is one thing that makes
you guys stand out. What have you learned about Dave? RA: Dave
is a long lanky Welterweight close to 5’10” or 5’11”.
He doesn’t really throw more than just straight punches
down the pike so I got to try to stay on the inside a little
bit; I can’t let him get that reach on me. He’s not
really a shooter and his boxing is more counter boxing, he doesn’t
push the action. He waits for his opponent to throw a punch and
takes it and counter punches. From what I’ve seen he gets
most of his takedowns off tie-ups and he throws knees off of
tie-ups. I watched that in the Japan fight. I’ve been working
on that and working on fighting out of tie-ups and defending
takedowns from tie-ups. He works the butterfly guard mostly.
His submissions on the ground aren’t very quick, he kind
of takes his time and paces himself when he goes for submissions
which is better for me because I’ve been doing grappling
pretty long so I’m good at countering submissions. If I
do get caught I get caught unexpectedly. If he’s slow on
his submissions I should be able to do a good job of staying
away from them.
KM:
How do you see this fight going? RA: I don’t really know
because you never know between styles. His style could be real
difficult and clash against mine and make the fight long and
hard or my style could be really effective against his. The tapes
I have seen of him I haven’t seen him fight a guy who ground
and pounds that much. I don’t know how he deals with striking
on the ground and I haven’t seen that many fights of him
in a cage so I don’t know how he deals with fighting off
a wall. There are a lot of things I’m going to end up finding
out in the first round.
KM:
He has 1” on you and it looks like most of his fights have
been at 180 (note: this interview was done before the one with
Strasser in which he corrected me he walks around at 172-174).
I’m wondering with that Mid-West wrestling background if
he’s going to be able to drop more weight than you. I can’t
see 1” and a couple pounds of weight being that big a deal
it made me wonder is this the first time we’re going to
see you on your back I a while. His career spans seven years.
Have you been looking at his more recent ones? RA: I don’t
really have access to that many of his tapes. I studied about
three of his tapes. I pretty much have an idea of his style.
He’s not really flashy at one thing, not great at one thing
but he’s good at everything. That’s pretty much the
way I break it down. As far as his cutting weight it doesn’t
really bother me that much unless the guy is cutting from like
200. When I saw him in Japan I think he went up to 170. He didn’t
look that big. He definitely had the height and everything but
he didn’t look that big. I’m usually not worried about
that because I cut so much weight myself I know I come into my
fights pretty big. Even if he has a couple pounds on me it’s
not going to matter.
KM:
The way I’m looking at this right now is it’s basically
the experience versus the training. He’s been fighting since
’96, averages four fights a year while you tend to average
two and have only been fighting about three years or so but you
have the higher profile training partners. I always raise the
point of the belt holders at Millennia and all that, the strategies
Millennia as a whole will take in different fights, obviously
preparing against specific opponents…the one criticism I
have based on the few tapes I’ve seen is I haven’t
seen him vary that much. It’s not like John Alessio that
will vary greatly in his fight against Black for instance or
like a Shonie Carter where you never know what to expect. RA:
That’s the same thing I got. I notice he doesn’t stay
on his feet too long. He’ll throw with you for a while but
eventually he’ll want to get it to the ground and work the
ground game. He has a few finishes; looking at his record he
has a few submissions but most of them are from decisions or
TKO.
KM:
What do you think of the perspective of it’s experience
versus training differences. Is that accurate? RA: I think it’s
pretty accurate.
KM:
Feel free to disagree with me. RA: That’s what I deal with
what I usually deal with. Most of the opponents I fight are pretty
tough and usually have more experience than me so that’s
something to take into consideration. Strasser has a lot more
experience than me.
KM:
A lot. RA: The way I look at it is it’s always what you’ve
done in the past, it’s what happens at the moment. The one
thing that he’s got with experience is he’ll probably
be able to stay relaxed and know how to pace himself. Sometimes
you see fighters who have fought as long as Strasser has and
every fight they make dramatic improvement. That’s where
you really see experience play a big role. I think Strasser’s
style is pretty much the same and since he’s not flashy
I have a really good idea what I’m dealing with. That’s
the most important thing to me; do I know what my guy is coming
with. Experience plays a role but to me if I know what my guy
is coming with and know what his weapons are and I studied him
pretty well I feel pretty confident.
In
part 2 we’ll hear still more on Romi’s strategy and
how the rest of Millennia is doing.
Source:
ADCC
Are
Facts Are Clear?
-
The fact is Murilo Bustamante earned the UFC Middleweight Championship
belt in a decisive KO win over Dave Menne on January 11, 2002,
at ¡§UFC 35: Throw Down¡¨ in Uncasville,
CT.
-
The fact is Bustamante successfully defended his title belt against
Matt Lindland on May 10, 2002, at 'UFC 37: High Impact' in Bossier
City, LA.
-
The fact is Zuffa Sports Entertainment, owners of the UFC, made
an offer to Bustamante following this successful title defense.
-
The fact is Bustamante declined the offer.
-
The fact is Bustamante has not defended the title belt for nearly
10 months.
But
then the facts become unclear. After his win against Lindland,
Bustamante understandably considered himself even more valuable
than before. He declined an offer from the UFC, apparently disliking
the dollar amount and the show/win payment format. While the
show purse and win bonus are standard operating procedures for
the UFC, as well as many other professional MMA organizations
like HOOKnSHOOT and KOTC, it just didn't sit well with the middleweight
champion.
After
months of negotiations, Bustamante manager Marcelo Tetel says
he was told by the UFC 'to feel free to find better options around.'
But 'that's not the way it happened,' said Dana White, President
of the UFC, 'Why would I do that? He is my title holder. He is
my champion.' Bustamante does has the right to seek out better
offers, while the UFC has the right to match them 'Tetel said
a Japanese organization had given them an offer' said White,
'if he received a better offer, he needs to give it to us in
writing and we have the right to match.'
In
the end of 2002, Bustamante was offered a fight for a Japanese
organization and his management offered the UFC the deal to match,
but 'that has not happened,' said White, referring to receiving
this offer from Bustamante management. When Bustamante apparently
experienced Visa problems, this Japanese deal became mute.
White
preferred not to go into details, but was firm stating 'everybody
knows... Murillo walked away from the title 6 months ago. Tetel
was on the internet and said unfortunately we couldn't come to
terms.' White publicly acknowledged that Bustamante is the best
fighter pound for pound in the world.
Whether
or not the Bustamante camp confirms that he walked away, one
cannot argue that it can be seen that he virtually walked away
from the title by not defending it. But unlike former lightweight
champion Jens Pulver, Bustamante is still under contract with
the UFC 'he is probably just going to ride the contract out and
make another deal with somebody else,' said White.
In
a final attempt to rectify the situation, the UFC presented Bustamante
with a single fight offer for UFC 42: Sudden Impact, where Bustamante
would fight middleweight contender Phil Baroni, but only if Baroni
would win over Lindland at UFC 41. Baroni did not win, so this
final attempt was mute.
Word
from the Bustamante camp is that they have another offer. It's
known Bustamante was recently at Pride and is reportedly very
close to a deal to fight in Pride 26 scheduled for June 8, 'he
could possibly have something... I wish him the best,' said White.
And
with the current contract ending on May 10 and with only 1 UFC
scheduled between now and then and with an obvious situation
where Bustamante gave up on the UFC and the UFC gave up on Bustamante,
both will be free to go about their business. This would leave
the middleweight division without a champion. "We have to
regroup and rebuild,¨ said White. And in rebuilding, the
UFC will probably go with a tournament to crown a new champion
as they did with the lightweight division when Pulver vacated
his title in early 2002, ironically, after the same UFC that
Bustamante won his title; while Bustamante may possibly fight
for another organization.
Source:
ADCC
"I
Want My Belt Back!"
Interview with Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira
Recovered from his last fight on Pride 25, when he lost his title
and heavy weight belt to Fedor Emilianenko, Antônio Rodrigo
Minotauro is a man who has just one objective in mind: getting
back his championship belt. We met him last week in a Brazilian
hospital called Barra D'or, in Rio de Janeiro, where he was getting
a medical check up. After the exams, he finally got a green light
to resume his training routine.
Asked
about the match that knocked him from him a two-years amazing
streak of invincibility in Pride, Minotauro admits he used a
wrong strategy. Now, he is face to face with the biggest challenge
of his whole life. He is training to prove to himself and to
world that he is really capable of retaking the PRIDE belt. Guys
like Mirko "Cro-Cop" Filipovic, Bob Sapp and Fedor
Emelianenko are in his way.
JM
Costa: Were you expecting the fight against Fedor would be so
hard?
Antonio
Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira: I knew that the dude,
besides being tough guy, has been training a lot to beat me and
he made a strategy to avoid my game. That day, I really couldn't
find myself in the ring. He was holding down my arm well and
kept the elbow closed. Every time I tried submit him, he took
out his elbow and found a way to hit me. But in anytime, he didn't
try to pass my guard or try any position.
My
strategy was to tire him down, to win during the 3rd round. He
was already tired when the fight ended. That day, his strategy
was better then mine. Now I have to train again, and with my
team, think of a new strategy for revenge. I want my belt back!
Costa:
It seems that the right jab he hit you right in the beginning
of the fight damaged your game 'til the end...
Minotauro: I wouldn't say that it was just the jab. In fact,
after the jab hit me, he came over me and I felt with my head
stuck between the ropes. This bothered my moves for some seconds,
and he took advantage of it to punch me three times.
Costa:
What did you learn with this defeat?
Minotauro:
This defeat means that I have to train even more. If I win the
next fight in August, probably against Miko Cro Cop, I must have
my revenge with Fedor, in the end of the year, to take the belt.
Costa:
Do you think Fedor can beat Sapp?
Minotauro:
I think they should put him to fight Sapp as soon as possible.
It's gonna be a tough fight. If he gets Sapp down, he will win.
If he keeps the standing game and felt under him, its going to
be harder, hard to predict.
Costa:
Do you think this fight was harder than your fight with Bob Sapp?
Minotauro:
I don't think so. Against Emelianenko, I was so much calmer.
No doubts, I was in a pretty much hard situation against Sapp.
Costa: A lot of people write us saying that you wouldn't win
Sapp in a revenge, because he has been training on the ground.
Sapp says that he will win this revenge. What do you have to
say about that?
Minotauro:
I think we can meet again during the Pride Grand Prix. How far
he trains on the ground, better is for me. He will be more confident,
and that will make himlose more easily. When he tries to put
a position, I will give him three others. I've trained Jiu-Jitsu
since I was four years old and there are decades between us.
About Sapp, he has a lot to do yet. The only tough guy in Vale-Tudo
he fought was me, and he didn't beat me. He needs to fight other
tough guys now and think about challenge me again later.
Costa:
What did Sapp tell you during your fight, before you submitted
him with the armbar?
Minotauro:
Dude, while standing, he talked a lot, but I admit it seemed
ironic. Instead of asking me how I was feeling, he had the attitude
like "Do you want me to hit you more?" I think he was
challenging me during the fight, but in the end he took what
he deserved.
Costa:
We received hundreds of e-mails supporting you after your fight
with Fedor. How the Japanese react to the defeat?
Minotauro: The Japanese got really shaken. I think they were
expecting some submission from me. When I passed in the hall
to leave the ring, I saw a bunch of them crying. Two days after
the fight, I went for sushi and several fans came to talk that
I still was the number one and they were sure I would submit
him in the revenge.
Costa:
Last year you trained really hard during the second semester.
You fought UFO and Dynamite in just 20 days father. What are
your plans for 2003?
Minotauro:
The truth is that I spent the first semester of 2003 hurt. I
felt horrible pain in my spine. The doctors treated me, and after
I was feeling well, I had to train twice as much. The two events
happened kind of at the same time. I did it and I don't regret
it. But this year I will try to relax and better choose my fights.
For now, I'm keeping my mind on the belt that Fedor has.
Source:
Sherdog
4/8/03
Quote
of the Day
Hide
not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in
the shade?
Benjamin
Franklin
Fighters'
Club TV New Episode Tonight!
Episode
9 airs April 8th (Tuesday night) at
8:30 pm on Channel 52. It's a good one so don't miss it.
Episode
9 features:
More
Superbrawl 28 footage including:
-Falaniko Vitale vs. Tyrone "The Native" Roberts ("The
Chief's" little
brother) with post fight interviews of both fighters
-Egan Inoue vs. Yukiya Naito, including interview with Egan (Naito
was a little too
beaten down to talk--you'll see why)
-Tech of the Week, "Making the Band" Ikaika's big brother,
Haku Kahoano
demonstrating a bit of Muay Thai.
...and
on both episodes, your favorite two hosts, Mike Onzuka &
Mark Kurano
Any
suggestion, comments, complaints--email Mark at markk@flex.com
If you like the show, make sure to tell your friends to watch
it! Hell, even if you don't like the show, tell you friends to
watch it.
Local
Power Puncher in Latino Mag
The
Bull Pen's Mark "El Toro" Moreno has a fight bio featured
in this months Mahagony/Latin Hawaii Magazine April issue. It
is a free magazine that can be picked up at Times Supermarkets,
Borders Books, some Libraries, and Safeway. Pick up a copy and
show the local retailers and publishers that featuring MMA fighters
will increase their distribution!
Mark
will also be fighting in the Gladiator's Challenge this weekend
in California! Also, scheduled to be fighting on this card is
808 Fight Factory's Jim Kikuchi. We wish them good luck in their
fights!
TITO
TELLS EVERYONE HOW MUCH IT TAKES TO FIGHT LIDDELL...$150,000
MMAWeekly's Ryan Bennett joined the fellas on 640AM's Mojo Radio
with host Jeff Marek last night and talked about our great sport
of mixed marital arts, when one caller joined the show out of
no where and that was Tito Ortiz.
Ortiz
told the world exactly what it would take to have him fight Chuck
Liddell. Ortiz said all it took was to pay him $150,000 to show
and another $150,000 to win.
Bennett
then asked why he was not fulfilling the final four fights of
the contract before renegotiating and he said that Ken Shamrock
and Tank Abbott both made more money than he did when he has
put his title on the line four straight times. He wanted to be
paid like the champion.
Ortiz
then said he would knock out Chuck Liddell after he got paid
what he deserved. A very interesting show and thanks to Jeff
Marek and the guys at Mojo radio for doing another bang up job
on Sunday nights featuring MMA.
Source: MMA Weekly
The
Road to a Fourth Title! Interviewing 3X ADCC World Champion Royler
Gracie
As
announcer Bruce Buffer opens up with his patented voice to open
officially the 2001 ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championship,
a skinny guy warms up,
making circles his arms, a few steps away from the white square
area where the action will take place. The athlete's name is
Royler Gracie and his face shows no emotion. A few moments after
Buffer is done, he will fight, and he becomes like a machine,
ready like no one else, for anything that can happen in this
opening match. In the two days that follow that scene, Royler
barely breaks a sweat in beating four opponents to take his third
ADCC title in a row. Now, on the next 17 and 18 of May, at Ibirapuera,
Brazil, he will try to win the tournament for the fourth time
and in this exclusive interview, Gracie tells us what he thinks
about the championship, the foes and how he reviews the previous
years.
What
do you expect for the next ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championship?
Royler: The ADCC, in my opinion, is one of the most important
of all grappling tournaments. Not just because it is an international
championship but also because there are good money prizes. So
every good grappler in the world wants to compete in that tournament.
As it will be in Brazil of course the Brazilians will take advantage
on it. We will not have to go through a long trip, we will not
have time difference to adjust. Arriving from a long travel three
days before competing makes you tired. So if the tournament were
in Japan, it would favor the Japanese. So I believe the Brazilians
will have more chances now than in the last time, when they also
got until the finals. I don't know about the newcomers but there
are some old athletes, like the wrestler Joey Gilbert, who is
very tough; or Sasha (Alexander Palusky), the Russian, a guy
who trains this kind of style for a long time and for sure will
be able to give our athletes some trouble, with his leglocks
and kneebars; there
is also Baret, who fought against me in the last final. He's
very good and beat 2 or 3 Brazilians last time. He probably will
be among the finalists this year as well. Among the Brazilians there is this
kid who won the Brazilian trials [Rany Yahrya]. You know, our
trials are always tough.
Leonardo
Vieira applied to fight in your weight division. We don't know
whether he will be invited or not, but if so, would he be a dangerous
opponent? Royler: I don't know the names of the Brazilians who
will compete yet, so I can't give you a prediction right now.
Actually, I'm not worried about it, I'll pay attention to that
when I see the 16 names in the bracket. However, we can speculate
who will enter, if you want: Robinho [Robson Moura], for example,
got third in the last and probably will be invited; Soca [Alexandre
Carneiro], who beside me is the guy with the most titles in this
weight division, will probably be called again. I would think
he would be invited based on his past performances. Besides them,
there is Leozinho, Fredson Paixao, and many more. But you need
to keep in mind that they cannot invite only Brazilians, you
reach a very narrow list. There is me, there is the national
trials champion, and let's say, Robinho and Soca. If you open
this list for more Brazilians it will not get the international
status. And I know that Sheik Tahnoon and Guy Neivens don't want
to make the ADCC a Brazilian championship.
We
are a little more than one month away from the tournament. When
did you start to train? I started to train specifically for the
ADCC in the first week of April. From then on I stopped teaching.
I'm never totally out of shape as I keep training all year long,
warming up my body teaching, so one month and a half is time
enough to get in shape.
Did
you train a lot without gi before competing in Abu Dhabi? I started
to train without a gi six years ago and I think today I'm a pretty
tough guy without a gi. In these three years competing in the
ADCC I became a much more experienced fighter.
Could
you make a quick review of the previous years? When I went to
competed at ADCC the first time, in 1999, it wasn't the tournament'
first year. But people said it was already better organized than
in the 1998, when Soca won my category. In 1999, I fought against
him at the finals. In that year, I was a little anxious because
it was a different tournament in a different country and I did
not know what I should expect. And then I realized it was and
is a five star tournament where the athletes have all support.
And I became very impressed. Even though I spent 17 hours to
get there, I felt like I was in home, because we were very well
treated. I'm used to competing, so I know that most of times
the organization don't take care of the competitors. In Abu Dhabi
we only had to pay attention in fighting and, for some people,
in losing weight. You always watch people running in the eve
of the weight check in order to lose weight. It's not my case,
since I leave from Brazil with my weight accurate already, so
I only have to focus on my performance.
How
do you see the tournament being here in Brazil? When I came back
in 2000, I thought it would be like 1999, but it was much bigger,
specially about the worldwide media that the event attracted.
And in 2001 the things got better, so the prediction is to have
one event even better now. This idea of changing the championship
country through the years will attract even more media. Of course
Abu Dhabi is a neutral place. Holding it here in Brazil favor
the Brazilians, as when it goes to Japan will favor the Japanese
and so on due to a home field advantage but even that is overrated.
But we have to accept all this if we want make the tournament
more international.
What
was the difference among your performances through the years?
In the first year, I didn't know what to do. In the second, I
arrived there with a game plan built, and in the third this game
plan was even more well developed. Now, I'll be even more used
to the rules and I believe I'm a strong favorite, along with
others. But it is like a train. Once you put it on the trail
you can turn on the automatic pilot and let it drive the train.
So when you are more used with the environment, the rules, the
time and the kind of fight, it makes everything easier.
Source: ADCC
Susumu's
Gallery Update
Hello,
We
have finally added UFC 40 & 41 photos on our site. Please
enjoy!
Visit Susumu's gallery at http://come.to/susumu.
News
from Curitiba:
Muay Thai & NHB to Shake
Chute Boxe Hometown Soon!
The
months of April and May of 2003 will see plenty of fighting action
taking place in the city of Curitiba in Brazil, now known as
the home of the Chute Boxe team and birthplace of several top
fighters such as Wanderlei Silva, Murilo Ninja Rua and Anderson
Silva, starting with STORM Muay Thai Grand Prix in April, and
continuing with MECA World Vale Tudo 8 in May! MECA 8 will in
fact bring some interesting surprises for NHB fans at May 16th
and FCF brings you first hand those news; Along with the already
announced main event between Luta Livre legend and UFC veteran
Eugenio Tadeu facing Brazilian NHB veteran Marcelo Giudice, PRIDE
and UFC veteran Allan Goes was added to the card facing against
MECA 7 winner and K-1 Brazil veteran Carlinhos! The rest of the
tentative card, likely to be confirmed at anytime, includes MECA
7 veteran Rafael Capoeira having another chance against Marcelo
Dourado, UFC and IVC veteran Jorge Macaco Pattino matched up
against IVC veteran Claudinho, Chute Boxe black belt Israel Gomes
in a rivalry match against MECA veteran Bicudo, Claudionor Fontinelli
coming fresh from his win at Bitetti Combat 2 to fight against
Luis Alves student Peterson, Royler Gracie black belt Fabricio
Morango facing Vagao and of course Mauricio Shogun Rua coming
back to his second NHB match now likely against Brazilian Top
Team member Marcelo Alfaia, since Shogun is now in a different
weight division than his original opponent Roan Carneiro, also
from the BTT. The card is promised to have 10 fights, so promoters
are about to announce an opponent for Chute Boxe K-1 veteran
Nilson de Castro at anytime as well as announce an extra match
still in the works.
However, before May comes with NHB Curitiba will experience some
interesting Muay Thai action with the first ever STORM Grand
Prix. This next Saturday, April 12th four heavyweight fighters,
representing some of the best Brazil has to offer, will compete
on the brackets to become the first ever STORM Grand Prix champion.
The competitors on the brackets come from different parts of
the country including Helio Deep, from the state of Rio Grande
do Sul, Cresio dos Santos from Bahia, Julio Cesar "Jamanta",
who already competed in K-1 and will represent the Chute Boxe
team on the brackets, and a Luis Alves student who will replace
K-1 Brazil runner up Eduardo Maiorino, who isn't able to compete
anymore. Along with the tournament, the event will also feature
some single matches, with Chute Boxe Muay Thai stand out Marlon
Matias facing Tiago from the BVT academy, Edinei Marinho matching
up Julio Santos also from Bahia, Chute Boxe fighter Fabio Pelezinho
performing against Alex Vieira from Rio de Janeiro and most importantly
PRIDE, Shooto and MECA veteran Anderson Silva getting back to
his Muay Thai roots to face against San Marino! Anderson is without
a doubt the biggest attraction on the card that will also count
with some complementary matches, all being in five rounds of
three minutes each. The weigh-ins will take place this Friday
in Curitiba, and FCF is going to be there to bring you all the
details from the biggest Muay Thai event ever in Brazil!
Source:
FCF
UFC
42: Sudden Impact
Welterweight
Championship Bout
Matt Hughes vs. Sean Sherk
Welterweight
Bout
Robbie Lawler vs. Pete Spratt
Light
Heavyweight Bout
Evan Tanner vs. Rich Franklin
Heavyweight
Bout
Wesley
"Cabbage" Correira vs. Sean Alvarez
Lightweight
Bout
Duane Ludwig vs. Genki Sudo
Lightweight
Bout (prelim)
Rich Crunkilton vs. Hermes Franca
Middleweight
Bout (prelim)
Mark Weir vs. David Loiseau
Welterweight
Bout (swing bout)
Romie Aram vs. Dave Strasser
To be held Friday, April 25 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami,
Florida and broadcast live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m.
PST.
Source:
FCF
4/7/03
Quote
of the Day
Great
ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with
it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the
principals which direct them.
Napoleon
Bonaparte
Bull
Force Presents:
Kickin
It Again Results!
Palama
Settlement Gym, Honolulu, Hawaii
April 4, 2003 *Shawn
Taylor wins the Fighter of the Night Award
In the multifaceted sport of Mixed Martial Arts, fighters are
always looking to improve their over all performance by focusing
their training on specific areas. Many fighters have been known
to enter BJJ or submission grappling tournaments to improve their
ground game. And on the other end of the spectrum, fighters compete
in kickboxing matches to improve or test their stand up. Almost
half the fighters have fought at least one MMA match, so it was
going to be interesting watching them perform in the more strict
rules environment. MMA fighters won every match that they fought.
The event was put together by some people who love the sport
of kickboxing and want to bring it back to the lime light in
Honolulu. The match ups were very good, which can be seen by
every bout going the full three rounds and ending up in a judge's
decision except for the main event. Some of the highlights were
14 year old David Balicao's crisp punches and Jerome Kekumu's
accurate combinations. There were also a few wars like the Brandon
Absher-Jaime Galapia match and the Justin Dano-John Nerveza match.
They even had Vai Togia and Sheldon Abella, a couple of heavyweights
throwing down huge punches and kicks at each other. The main
event kept the crowd at the edge of their seat when Shawn Taylor
dropped Bryson with a right hand seconds into the first round.
He then dropped him again with a right kick to the head. Somehow
Bryson survived and relentlessly attached Taylor, winning the
second round, leaving the fight wide open. Taylor got the referee
stoppage when he seemed to get his second wind and put the pressure
on a tired Bryson. The production ran surprisingly smooth, considering
this was their first event. The next event is scheduled May 24th
and will feature younger fighters. If you are interested in some
great kickboxing, check out Derek Bright and Danny Kaheaku's
next event. The referee and Miss Teen Hawaii Kids Fight
125lbs
David Balicao (Hawaiian SD, 14 years old)
Def.
Zane Cabacugan (Hapkido TKD, 15 years old)
Via decision Heavy
Kunta Edmonds (Kempo Unlimited)
Def.
Willie Chambers (Hawaii Tae kwon do)
Via decision 170lbs
Paul Laga (Bulls Pen)
Def.
Wayne Kamealoha (Hawaiian SD)
Via decision 170lbs
Harris Sariento (808 Fight Factory)
Def.
Craig Park (Hard Knocks)
Via decision 145lbs
Jerome Kekumu (Hard Knocks)
Def.
Edwin Cabacugan (Hapkido TKD)
Via decision 155lbs
Brandon Absher (Hawaiian Self Defense)
Def.
Jamie Galapia (Bulls Pen)
Via decision Super Heavy
Vai Togia (Hard Knocks)
Def.
Sheldon Abela (Hapkido TKD)
Via decision Semi Main Event:
150lbs
Justin Dano (Hawaiian SD)
Def.
John Nerveza (Bulls Pen)
Via decision Main Event:
170lbs
Shawn "Tornado” Taylor
Def.
Bryson (Hard Knocks)
TKO via referee stoppage at 2:14minutes of Round 3.
USGWA
High School and Collegiate Nationals
Lake Orion High School, MI
March 29-30, 2003
Congratulations
to all the Hawaii women that competed and did Hawaii proud!
High
School Division
The Championship
Finals:
100-Damaris Barrios (San Diego, California) dec. Nicole Fonda (Kaaawa,
Hawaii) 3-3 2-OT tiebreaker
105-Sara Fulp-Allen (El Granada, California) dec. Jessica Hsieh
(Vallejo, California) 8-2
110-Debbie
Sakai (Mililani, Hawaii) pinned Caitlyn Chase (Bloomingdale, Illinois)
2:20
114-Caylene
Valdez (Honolulu, Hawaii) dec. Rachel Groft (Abbottstown, Pennsylvania)
4-2
118-Deanna Rix (South Berwick, Maine) dec. Manuelita Swartzlender
(Burns, Oregon) 7-0
122-Na' Tasha Umemoto (Portland, Oregon) pinned Jen Chu (Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania) 4:31
126-Iris Mucha (Anchorage, Alaska) dec. Hilary Lucarelli (Ishpeming,
Michigan) 1-0 OT tiebreaker
130-Madeline Brienes (San Leandro, California) pinned Othella
Lucas (San Diego, California) 3:47
134-Brandy Rosenbrock (Montrose, Michigan) dec. Vanessa Oswalt
(Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 8-5
138-Stefanie Shaw (Waterford, Connecticut) dec. Chelynne Pringle
(Hugo, Minnesota) 10-5
144-Heather Martin (Wellington, Ohio) pinned Anna Jenkins (Lake
Orion, Michigan) 1:27
152-Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minnesota) dec. Shawn Swartzlender
(Burns, Oregon) 7-3
165-Samantha Lang (Tualatin, Oregon) pinned Misty Stalley (San
Mateo, California) 0:53
165+-Laura DiCesare (Monroe, Michigan) pinned Lizz Sanders (Newton,
Iowa) 5:08
100 lbs. (28 entries)
First Round
Naomi Karlen (Honolulu, Hawaii) pinned Summer Mercier (Dayton,
Oregon) 5:34
Bernadette Javier (Wahiawa, Hawaii) maj.dec. Maribeth Grim (Vallejo,
California) 17-6
Nicole Fonda (Kaaawa, Hawaii) pinned Alyssa Lampe (Tomahawk,
Wisconsin) 3:27
Sadie Kaneda (Honolulu, Hawaii) dec. Jen Hicks ( Bellevue, Ohio)
9-5
Venus Bravo (Honolulu, Hawaii)-bye
Second Round:
Karlen HI pinned Garcia OH 0:32
Javier HI pinned DiLauri NJ 3:59
Fonda HI pinned Grear TX 3:07
Conder WA inj.def. over Bravo HI
Rasmussen, MN dec. Kaneda HI OT 8-6
Quaterfinals:
Karlen HI maj.dec.Hills PA 13-4
Fonda HI dec. Javier HI 5-3
Semifinals:
Fonda HI dec. Karlen HI 11-4
Finals:
Barrios CA dec. Fonda
HI 3-3
2 OT tiebreaker
Consolation Finals:
3rd-Karlen
HI maj.dec.
DiNatale MN 8-0
9th-Kaneda
HI dec.
Hicks OH 13-6
105 lbs. (19
entries)
First Round:
Elizabeth Torres (Kahuku, Hawaii) pinned Ashley Marsell (Mt.
Vernon, Ohio) 0:27
Second Round:
Torres HI pinned Hanson CO 1:27
Quaterfinals:
Torres HI pinned Arnhold KS 0:58
Semifinals:
Fulp-Allen CA maj.dec. Torres HI 10-2
Consolation-Finals:
3rd-Torres
HI pinned
Bangert MI 2:44
110 lbs. (21 entries)
First Round:
Rachel Kelly (Pueblo West, Colorado) dec. Jaynee Kim (Aiea, Hawaii)
10-4
Brittany Owens (Amarillo, Texas) pinned Ashley Cardenas (Honolulu,
Hawaii) 0:24
Debbie Sakai (Mililani, Hawaii)-bye
Second Round:
Sakai HI pinned Pender IA 3:25
Quaterfinals:
Sakai HI dec. Dupont CO 5-1
Semifinals:
Sakai HI maj.dec. Watanabe CA 17-3
Finals:
Sakai HI pinned Chase IL 2:20
114 lbs. (27 entries)
First Round:
Judy Williams (Pennsylvania) dec. Cassandra Bohe (Waianae, Hawaii)
7-4
Caylene Valdez (Honolulu, Hawaii) pinned Jennifer Rozevink (Iowa
Falls, Iowa) 5:17
Second Round:
Valdez HI pinned Ayala NY 0:43
Quaterfinals:
Martell VT pinned Valdez HI 5:34 (error?)
Semifinals:
Valdez HI dec. De La Mora CA 9-3
Finals:
Valdez HI dec. Groft PA 4-2
118 lbs. (19
entries)
First Round:
Roslyn Maiava (Hauula, Hawaii)-bye
Second Round:
Maiava HI dec. Gonzalez CA 10-7
Quaterfinals:
Wood MI pinned Maiava HI 5:19
Consolation-Finals:
7th-Maiava
HI pinned
Ludwig CA 2:58
122 lbs. (31 entries)
First Round:
Lauren Primiano (Wahiawa, Hawaii) dec. Kaylee Johnson (Wasilla,
Alaska) 8-1
Danyelle Hedin (Kailua, Hawaii) maj.dec. Courtney Douglas (Wasilla,
Alaska) 12-4
Leilani Relator (Kahuku, Hawaii) dec. Krista Meyer (Orleans,
Michigan) 8-4
Second Round:
Umemoto OR dec. Primiano HI 9-4
Hedin HI dec. Woenkhaus IN 7-0
Relator HI dec. Myrice OH 7-1
Quaterfinals:
Hedin HI pinned Stokes OK 5:39
Semifinals:
Umemoto OR dec. Hedin HI 9-5
Consolation-Finals:
5th-Hedin
HI pinned
Relator HI 2:30
9th-Primiano
HI dec.
Peasley MI 7-2
126 lbs. (22
entries)
First Round:
Jasmine Norman (Holualoa, Hawaii) dec. Jennifer Peake (Hastings,
Michigan) 7-2
Janet Franklin (Tuba City, Arizona) pinned Krislyn Mostoles (Kurtistown,
Hawaii) 5:21
Second Round:
Norman HI pinned Franklin AZ 5:35
Quarterfianls:
Norman HI dec. Jablonski FL 6-4 OT tiebreaker
Semifinals:
Lucarelli MI dec. Norman HI 4-0
Consolation-Finals:
3rd-Ludwig CA dec. Norman
HI 5-1
130 lbs. (12 entries)
First Round:
Jazmine Cockett (Honolulu, Hawaii)-bye
Second Round:
Shepard TX pinned Cockett HI 3:21
Consolation-Finals:
9th-Cockett
HI pinned
Haver TX 2:14
138 lbs. (20
entries)
First Round:
Shana Simon (Hilo, Hawaii)-bye
Second Round:
Pirozhkov MA maj.dec. Simon HI 13-1
State Scores
State Points
California 181.5
Michigan 163.5
Hawaii
144
Collegiate
Freestyle Division
114 pounds
7th - Cathy
Migita (U of Hawaii)
dec. Everdith Landreau (Am), 9-5
Perhaps
the fastest and most exciting match at UFC 42 in Miami later
this month will be Richard “Cleat” Crunkilton against
Hermes Franca. Crunkilton started fighting back in 1999 just
one month before his 20th birthday in WEF in Florida. Now 23
years old this 5’ 8” 8-0 fighter finally makes his
UFC debut. His opponent, 29 year old American Top Team star and
HOOKnSHOOT 145 lb belt holder Hermes Franca, looks to be the
perfect match-up with Crunkilton. Crunkilton has 2”s and
is used to fighting 10 lbs heavier then Franca with most of his
early wins being by TKO and recent ones with more technique.
Franca at 6-0 started out winning by submissions and more recently
taking the HOOKnSHOOT belt from Anthony Hamlett by TKO. It’s
California versus Florida, AKA versus ATT, WEC versus HOOKnSHOOT,
and prodigal son versus local hero all rolled up into one.
KM:
I have tapes of you from WEF and I saw you at Reality Superfighting
back in 2001 but the only fight of yours in 2002 I’ve seen
was WEC 3 in CT. I noticed you had I think four other fights
in 2002? RC: Yeah, I fought in two shows in Lemoore, two WECs,
and Ultimate Athlete.
KM:
Ultimate Athlete was against Next Generation’s Bao Quach?
RC: Yeah.
KM:
As far as those of us fans that haven’t seen your fights
in 2002 how do you look back on the last year? What have we been
missing since the well-distributed tapes? RC: I’ve been
doing a lot of fine tuning on my striking and more technique.
KM:
For a while there you were having one fight a year and then something
changed in 2002. Not only do you have those five fights but all
of a sudden your fights ended quicker. RC: Yes.
KM:
In WEF 7 was a two round fight, WEF 10 was three round fight,
Reality Superfighting was a three round fight then all of a sudden
1st round 1 minute, 1st round 3 minutes, 1st round 2 minutes,
1st round 1 minute. What changed that allowed you to just explode
in 2002? RC: When I was in Florida I was training on my own,
I wasn’t really training. Then I said ‘hey, I want
to fight’ and moved out here to California. Now I’m
on a regular training schedule with real good trainers.
KM:
Weren’t you fighting out of AKA that entire time? RC: My
first fight with AKA was a while before Ultimate Athlete. The
show out in Colorado (note: Rumble In the Rockies 1/26/02).
KM:
Okay, that makes more sense. They polished you up. RC: Yeah.
KM:
Here you are now in the UFC. Congratulations by the way. How
do you feel about that? RC: Thank you. I’m really excited
about that. I’ve been waiting a long time.
KM:
What do you think about fighting Franca? RC: I’m excited,
I think it’ll be an exciting fight. I don’t know that
much about him; I know he does Brazilian jiu-jitsu and that’s
about it.
KM:
Have you seen any of his fights in HOOKnSHOOT? RC: No, I haven’t.
KM:
This one is in the 155 class. I think you have always been fighting
at 155. RC: Yep.
KM:
In HOOKnSHOOT Franca has been dominating at 145, he’s their
belt holder at 145. I’m thinking you’ll have the weight
advantage but if you haven’t seen those… RC: No I haven’t.
KM:
Okay. Now that you are training out of AKA what do you think
of the rest of the team? With you in the UFC here is the spotlight
on AKA, what do you want us to know about the rest of the team?
RC: Everybody on the team is great. We have top notch training,
all of us do. We all do our different styles and contribute our
little thing to the team.
KM:
Seeing Mike Swick out at WEC 6 I was surprised; it wasn’t
what I expected after seeing only a couple AKA fighters with
different styles. Has anything changed with AKA the past month
or two? RC: No, not really.
KM:
Who do you think we should be keeping an eye out for? RC: Swick,
Josh Thompson, Christian Wellisch, all of them.
KM:
So Bob Cook, Javier Mendez, and Lynne Schultz are the trainers
out there? RC: Yep.
KM:
I think the only videos out on you are Stomp In The Swamp, New
Blood Conflict, and Ultimate Athlete 2. I think those are the
only ones available to the public. Of those three if fans wanted
to check you out to preview you for UFC which are you most proud
of, which should they see to get an idea of what you are like
now? RC: I like the Ultimate Athlete and I like the first WEC.
I don’t think the WECs are available.
KM:
As far as the last one I saw of you, WEC 3 against Cruz Gomes,
what do you recall about that fight? RC: It was really quick.
Couple throws.
KM:
If I recall correctly it seemed like he came out a little faster
than you and I don’t recall who got the takedown but once
it went to the ground it seemed like it was all you. What stands
out to me looking at your record now is that was your longest
fight in 2002 (3:04). Was there anything unusual about that?
RC: No.
KM:
If not for that fight I would project this as both you and Franca
are known for explosive early endings, expect this one to go
quick or be exciting on the ground. Is that how you expect this
to go? RC: Yes, definitely.
KM:
Was there anything else you want to project to the fans at this
point. Here’s your spotlight. RC: I don’t know. Just
look forward to an exciting fight.
KM:
Any sponsors to thank? RC: Yes, Pain Inc.
With
Franca originally planned to fight KOTC champ Javi Vasquez until
Vasquez’s injury these three fighters show that the UFC
is still doing a great job of giving opportunities to the 155s
and not giving up on the weight class. The only downside to this
fight is it detracts from the rest of the card including such
deserving fighters getting their first shots as Romi Aram versus
Dave Strasser. With the likelihood of this bout being on the
prelims fans that can get tickets and go see it live would be
well advised to do so; this one is going to rock the house.
The
UFC’s next live PPV event will be UFC 42: Sudden Impact
at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST, Friday, April 25, from AmericanAirlines
Arena in Miami, Fla. The suggested retail price is $29.95. Look
for the UFC on the internet at www.ufc.tv.
Source:
ADCC
Pan
American 2003 and First International Team Tournaments
Marcello
Siriema, the coordinator for the 2003 Pan-Ams, told us that this
year's event will probably break all participation records. As
of this time, the pre-registrations are 20% ahead of the best
ever and new signees are adding at a record clip. Marcello told
us that despite Visa difficulties for some athletes in Brazil,
the majority of the top echelon already had valid visas and will
be able not only to participate in the main event but also represent
Brazil in the first ever International Team Challenge against
what he called a very strong American Team! . For more info and
to check out the partial list go to CBJJ Pan Ams.
Source:
ADCC
Tito
Ortiz Controversy Continues
Despite
have four fights remaining on his contract with Zuffa, Tito Ortiz
reign as UFC Champion is in definite jeopardy.
Tons
of rumors involving Tito and the WWE flooded both pro wrestling
and MMA sites on Monday. This followed the WWE's WrestleMania
show where the announce team mentioned Tito during their main
event.
What
is evident is that Chuck Lidell is growing more anxious every
day in his quest for the UFC Light-Heavyweight Title.
Lidell
has take fight after fight to 'warm up' and stay in fighting
condition over the last year waiting on Tito to sign the contract.
It
is no secret that Ortiz has been unhappy with Zuffa as of late.
Just one month ago, Ortiz put out an open comment to the public
(check ADCC archives) that let his concerns be known about Zuffa
and the proposed fight with Lidell.
It
doesn't appear that the Lidell fight will take place anytime
soon or even at all at this point.
Ortiz
has four fights left and some of his recent actions have left
his fans wondering what is going on.
This
brings a bizzare twist into things. There is serious talk of
stripping Ortiz of his title and putting it up for grabs in Las
Vegas, NV in June.
Randy
Couture vs. Chuck Lidell is on the table and both have verbally
agreed to the fight according to sources. This would be the first
time Couture has ever fought at 205lbs.
Lidell
is sick of waiting and Zuffa is sick of making him wait. Many
are expecting a public announcement from Zuffa this coming week.
Tito
Ortiz is the fourth champion to have encountered problems with
Zuffa. He joins Murillo Bustamante (left for more money but has
yet to fight), Jens Pulver (left over money and has taken smaller
fights) and Josh Barnett (was negotiating with PRIDE at the time,
before he was stripped after a positive drug test).
Barnett
is the only former champion out of the three who is maintaining
a successful career doing pro wrestling.
For
both Ortiz and UFC, the upcoming weeks will be interesting to
say the least.
Source:
ADCC
MECA
VALE TUDO Returns To Brazil
Meca Vale Tudo is back in the minds of the Brazilian MMA fans!
The next show is scheduled for May 23rd, at the Opera do Arame,
in Curitiba, one week after the ADCC tournament in São
Paulo. The idea is to have all the press and media who will be
in Brazil anyway for the ADCC show , to attend to the best Brazilian
MMA show as well!
The
rumors about the card are out there, with interesting fights:
Jorge
Guimaraes is not only the Meca promoter but he has his own TV
program about Mixed Martial Arts, Submission Wrestling, Muay
Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. Jorge
also has organized the Tow In World Cup in Hawaii and he spent
the last 3 months in Maui working on that event. After so much
time spent in Hawaii, word about his MMA show spread. He heard
of a guy on the North Shore, a feared 'Black Trunk' surfer named
Kala who was interested in fighting Meca.
The
other side of this taleis the World Champion at the last Tow
In World Cup, a Brazilian named Rodrigo Rezende who won first
prize last year. What few people knows is that Rezende is BJJ
purple belt currently training under Brazilian Top Team.
Needless
to say the matchup was perfect and something that will bring
a different flavor to the Meca show in May. Both surfers, I mean
fighters, confirmed the fight, so it's time to see who's is the
best surfer in the ring or the best fighter on the board....
Source:
ADCC
Best
of ADCC, Volume 3 - IT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!!
If anyone
gets this, please let me borrow it! This looks like some killer
matches.
Third edition of the RARE Collector Series 'BEST OF ADCC SUBMISSION
WRESTLING' Ships Next Week!
BEST
of ADCC VOLUME 3:
- Ricco Rodriguez versus Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira
- Jean-Jacques Machado versus Ricardo Arona
- Tito Ortiz versus Matt Hughes
- Genki Sudo versus Vitor Befort
- Baret Yoshida versus Wellington 'Megaton' Diaz
- Joe Hurley versus Fabiano Iha
- Vitor 'Shaolin' versus Rumina Sato
- Mario Sperry versus Larry Parker
- Mark Kerr versus Josh Barnett
- Rodrigo 'Cumprido' Medeiros versus Roberto Roleta Magalhaes
Hayato
Sakurai and many more!
The
first edition is sold out and history, the second edition will
join it as a 'collector's only' classic! Now the 3rd edition
is complete and ready to ship this coming week!
1.
More content than ever before!
2. New NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN matches from 1999!
3. All-region encoded (plays anywhere)
4. Save 20% (price increases in less than 10 days)
K-1
'Beast' - Quick Results
K-1 'Beast'
April 6, 2003
Yamagata, Japan
The
them of the show was TEAM BEAST versus JAPAN, with Team Beast
being associates of Bob Sapp.
In
a bizarre turn, K-1 blackballed many of the press, including
high-ranking Japanese sports writers. The explanation was that
K-1 did NOT want results given out before their TV show aired
six hours later. Nikkan Sports as well as long time fight press
Bout Review were not permitted entrance to the show. This in
itself was a major story in Japanese press.
Tatsufumi
Tomihira over Chad Bannon via judges decisions of 3-0.
Yusuke
Fujimoto KO'd Kerry Karena in round 3 after a brutal hook.
Maurice
Smith defeated Tsuyoshi via majority decision of 2-0.
Cyril
Abidi defeated Shingo Koyasu by a unanimous decision with both
guys stealing the show. When the final bell sounded, Abidi kept
punching and kicking Koyasu which the crowd wasn't happy with.
Hiromi
Amada, as predicted, KO'd Tom Erikson.
Mike
Bernardo KO'd Tsuyoshi Nakasako.
Musashi
and Gary Goodridge went to a five-round draw.
Source:
ADCC
Chirs
Brennan - back in KOTC!
One of the biggest surprises at March’s KOTC was seeing
Chris Brennan present during weigh-ins. Turns out Adam Lynne
was fighting, making big news as Next Generation’s return
to California’s biggest event. As for Chris himself after
losing his belt to Millennia Jiu-Jitsu’s John Alessio, he
dropped to 155 and has been seen mostly in Shooto. Until now.
KM:
You mentioned opening a new gym. What’s the situation? CB:
I am actually giving my Irvine gym to Jeremy Williams; he’s
my first student and he’s going to run that one and I’m
opening a giant school in Temecula, 600 sq ft school. I’m
actually partnering up with Brian Teegan from Metal Militia.
He kind of got into this sport and sponsored a couple fighters
who were bad seeds in this sport. He didn’t know anything
about the sport; he was just into watching it. He ended up not
sticking with those guys very long and he got a bad rap for it.
He’s a really good guy. In the freestyle supercross thing
they’re some of the best guys out there for sure. I partnered
up with him because I’m really into supercross and motorcross
and have been training some of the guys that are the top racers
in the world right now. Met up with Brian and he wanted to open
a gym but wanted to be a little more straight than the last guys.
We got to talking and now we’re building a giant school.
It’s going to be phenomenal.
KM:
All I know about Metal Militia was that ESPN piece that really
didn’t do well. CB: Like I said, he liked the fighting and
they were kind of the bad boys. He didn’t know much about
it. (They) weren’t out to improve our sport any, they didn’t
know anything about it.
KM:
So now he’s backing away from that reputation, trying to
start over. CB: Yeah.
KM:
When does that open? CB: We’re hoping for April 12th. That’s
our hopeful grand opening. The good thing about being partners
with him is he’s going to have Fox Sports 2 and Blue Torch
covering our grand opening. It’s going to be on ESPN and
he has the connections for free television so that will really
help our sport, not just my school.
KM:
How far is that from Irvine? CB: About 35 minutes. It’s
inland a little bit and South of my school. Temecula is dying
for a school; there are like five different groups of guys training,
some at a Tai Kwon Do place, some out of a garage, and they all
need unity. My school will be exactly that. We’ll have a
cage, double the mat space…
KM:
Are you still going to be doing most of the classes at the new
school? CB: I’ll do most of the classes at the new school
and I’ll be at the old school two days a week.
KM:
Here we are at KOTC. It seemed like there was a little tension
when you left KOTC… CB: We had a long talk. It actually
turned out well. During our last tournament (Westside Submission
Championships) I bumped my telephone and it called Terry. I swear
to God. I didn’t know it and it hung up and then a few minutes
later my phone rang at it (LCD display) said KOTC. I handed it
to my brother and said ‘here, answer that’ (both laugh).
He answered it and (Terry) said ‘I’m returning a phone
call’ so he gave it to me. I said ‘I think that was
a mistake, I bumped my phone, sorry about that’ and he said
‘okay’ and we got off the phone. A couple weeks later
he called me and that was the first time we talked in however
long it’s been, it’s been a long time. I think that
was kind of the icebreaker for us, which needed to happen, and
I’m glad it did. I missed fighting here, it’s my home.
I have a fan base here that is crazy. I love that. I’m glad
that we came to some terms and agreements and are getting along
good now. We always got along; it was just right at the end we
had a serious tension problem or headbutt. You know me, I do
what I want to do and he’s the same way. Because I’m
very outspoken I guess I say what I feel and he didn’t like
that. Now we’re good to go. I have two guys fighting, one
tonight (Adam Lynn), one on the next pay-per-view card and it
looks like I might be signing a three or four fight deal with
them to go for the 155 title.
KM:
Which is currently Alberto Crane. CB: Hopefully by the time I
get it Javi’s knee will be better and we can do that.
KM:
Oh my God, that would be great! Glad to see you back here…this
is where we first heard about you. So we have Jeremy on the PPV
card? CB: Yes, May 16th.
KM:
Who is his opponent? CB: Diego Sanchez.
KM:
He was at the last KOTC PPV. He had the knees. Have you seen
that one? CB: No.
KM:
He impressed me that night. His opponent couldn’t really
defend the standing knees when he was pinned against the cage
and after one to the face it was pretty much over. CB: He won’t
be able to stand with Jeremy. Jeremy is 6’3, very good muay
thai and brown belt on the ground. He’s my best fighter.
KM:
Then we have Bao in SuperBrawl and three people in KOTC in May.
Anything between the two for Next Generation? CB: April 24th
I have three new guys all 1-0 all fighting in Hawaii at Kai Kamaka’s
show. We’ll have somebody on every KOTC card from now on.
Two nights after Bao fights in Hawaii Erica (Montoya) is actually
fighting the 19th for a title at Smack Girl in Japan. A month
later she is fighting in Ax in Japan.
Source:
ADCC
Pedro
Rizzo Talks About the UFC
After
a disappointing upset and huge blow to his career last UFC, Pedro
Rizzo is now returning to his training regimen. Pedro stayed
away one month, recharging batteries and regathering his confidence
to come back. Pedro is very upset with the results last times,
and will go for an 'All or Nothing' approach in his next match.
Rumours are out there that UFC tried to cut Rizzo's contract,
but it impossible to do so.
Pedro
stated that from now there is nothing to lose in his fights and
hopefully the audience will be rewarded with a different fighter.
Pedro does not want to do interviews and said only that there's
no excuse for his last performance. He also stated that he is
most likely facing Tra Telligman in a rematch at the UFC 43 in
Vegas.
Pedro
already knocked Teligman out the first time they met at UFC 20
- Battle for the Gold, back in 1999. Now we have 2 different
fighters. Tra is enjoying a pro boxing career and promises to
come back with even better standup. Pedro, on the other side
of the table, knows that it is time to be the agressor otherwise
he might pay a high price.
Source:
ADCC
KING
OF CAGE STRIPS JIMMY AMBRIZ OF TITLE
MMAWeekly.com's Ken Pishna reports that not only will Jimmy Ambriz
not compete in the upcoming King of the Cage pay per view but
he has been stripped of the K.O.C. Super Heavyweight Title.
It
appears Ambriz has now signed a pro wrestling deal to compete
in the New Japan organization. Yes this is the same federation
that currently has former UFC Champion Josh Barnett competing.
Ambriz
orginally signed to fight Eric Pele for the King of the Cage
title on April 16th, but now that has been changed as he is heading
to Japan. The Nevada State Athletic Comission will not let a
fighter compete within a 30 day period. And, since the two events
are scheduled within those 30 days, Ambriz could only take one
fight.
Pishna
has had it confrimed that Ambriz will most likely fight against
Barnett in New Japan Pro Wrestling and they are trying to build
it as a legit shoot fight. While that is in question, the money
Ambriz will receive is not.
Pishna
has been told that Ambriz will make somewhere in the neighborhood
of $50,000 to get into the ring with Barnett;.... so of course,
King of the Cage can't stand in the way of such a large sum of
money from Japan.
The
likely scenario for King of the Cage is to have Pele possibily
face Dan Bobish as they don't have a ton of options at this point.
But that's just talk, and nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
Source: MMA Weekly
4/5/03
Quote
of the Day
Yearn
to understand first and to be understood second.
Beca Allen
Kickin
It Again Tonight!
April 4,2003
Palama Settlement Gym
Fights start at: 6:00 pm
This is a new kickboxing event with a great card.
Check it out and come out and support our fighters.
'I
tasted the blood', says Minotauro
by: Luca Atalla
Among fighters and fans, the worst way to explain losses are
excuses. We remember Renzo Gracie's speech after his defeat to
Sakuraba at Pride 10, 'The only excuse I have is that Sakuraba
was better than me tonight', a remarkable example of this sentiment.
And
this is the reason why nobody heard any excuses from Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira after Russian Emelianenko Fedor took his heavyweight
belt at the last Pride event. 'Minotauro' is a true champion
not only for his great victories inside the ring but also for
his attitude outside it, and his behaviour after the loss proved
it once again.
The
fact that Fedor is a very powerful and well-rounded fighter is
undeniable. Besides that, he fought like a monster on the evening
of March 16th, and everyone saw it. However, people still question
Minotauro's performance in that fight. And questions remained:
what does the Brazilian have to say about it?
'I
fought badly and did not do anything right,' admits the former
champion. 'And after he hit me hard in the beginning of the fight,
the truth is that I was not comfortable playing from the guard,
and any time he touched the right side of my face, the pain was
nearly unbearable.'
For
those who didn't see the fight, it is important to describe the
moment
he alludes to. In the first minute of the fight Fedor threw a
right punch that sent Minotauro through the ropes. When the BTT
fighter was still regaining his bearings, the Russian waded forward
and connected with some accurate hits to Minotauro's face.
'My
body was on the ground but my head wasn't, because it was held
by the
rope. So it was impossible to escape from the punches,' remembers
Minotauro.
'The blood did not came out but I tasted it. From then on I fought
avoiding
exposing my right side.'
At
that specific moment Rodrigo broke a bone near his nose and,
and when he arrived in Brazil, he went through a complicated
surgery that fixed it with a titanium pin. Seeing how bad the
injury turns out to be, Minotauro's performance turns into a
hero's act.
The
surgery will keep the Brazilian off of the mats for 6 weeks.
But Minotauro is kind of a workaholic and he won't stop. He's
traveling next week to Gennep, Holland, where, under the supervision
of the physiologist Bert Wingenden, he will try to heal an old
injury in his lower back.
About
his future, Rodrigo promises: 'I'll be back even better'. And
according to him, much faster than anyone expects.
We
shall see.
Source: ADCC
Allan
Goes Back in Brazil
by: Marcello Tetel
After more than 1 year living in the USA, Allan Goes is back
in Brazil. His lasts results at Pride made him rethink his training
and career. As everybody knows, Allan was one of the Brazilian
Top Team members who left the team with Vitor Belfort and Ricardo
Arona. After that Allan fought once, in Pride 18 - Cold Fury
2 against Alex Stiebling.
Allan
reportedly had problems due to his brain bleeding after the Steibling
match, which made him stay in Tokyo for a few days after that
fight. Very troubling, this was something that happened before
when he fought Mark Coleman in Pride 13 - Collision Course. Of
course the issue was not as serious as everybody feared and Allan
treated and healed all the problems, specially the mind problems
after 2 losses in a row. 'I had to take a break and rethink what
was good for me. I went to USA to crosstrain with the Maurice
Smith people and had a great time there learning a lot from who
I think is one of the best in the world in the stand up game'.
What
people in Brazil was saying at that time is that Allan was not
only learning but teaching and the rumours got worse when 'Minotauro'
Nogueira fought Bob Saap in Pride Dynamite. 'I have rolled with
Sapp a few times, but this story about me training him to fight
'Minotauro' is nonsense. I did not know he would fight him when
we sparred and told this to Minotauro already. This is a closed
case.'
Allan
now is getting back to Brazilian Top Team headquarters and is
focused again. He will be fighting very soon and you keep an
eye on him because he dropped down to 185 pounds and is sharper
than never.
Source: ADCC
UFC
42: Sudden Impact Fight Card
Welterweight Championship Bout
Matt Hughes vs. Sean Sherk
Welterweight
Bout
Robbie Lawler vs. Pete Spratt
Light
Heavyweight Bout
Evan Tanner vs. Rich Franklin
Heavyweight
Bout
Wesley "Cabbage" Correira vs. Sean Alvarez
Lightweight
Bout
Duane Ludwig vs. Genki Sudo
Lightweight
Bout (prelim)
Rich Crunkilton vs. Hermes Franca
Middleweight
Bout (prelim)
Mark Weir vs. David Loiseau
Welterweight
Bout (swing bout)
Romie Aram vs. Dave Strasser
To be held Friday, April 25 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami,
Florida and broadcast live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m.
PST.
Source: FCF
Carlos
Newton: Here, There, and Everywhere
By Shawn
Duff
Carlos
Newton has done it again. Like no other fighter in the current
world of big time MMA, Carlos Newton has repeatedly done the
UFC to Pride organizational crossover. In search of only top
level opposition, he has again switched fighting organizations
to find a good match. Already an established superstar, the twenty
six year old Canadian refuses to settle down with one organization.
And if you ask me, I think its great for both Newton and the
sport of MMA.
If
you think about it, Carlos Newton is the closest thing we have
to an actual UFC vs. Pride showdown. By consistently switching
between organizations and fighting top notch opponents, Newton
has really solidified his status as one of the top welterweights
in the world. He has consistently tested himself by seeking out
good fights rather than long restricting contracts with a single
organization. He is like the floating welterweight champion.
Going back and forth, taking on the top welterweights of both
of the major organizations, and then some.
Imagine
the matchups that could take place if guys like Tito Ortiz, Vanderlei
Silva, or just about any other big name fighter stayed as active
in both organizations. While many top level fighters have switched
or left various organizations in the past, most of the time it
is due to contractual or money issues. Jens Pulver for example
left his lightweight championship belt for BJ Penn and Caol Uno
to fight over, as he and the UFC ownership were unable reach
agreements.
Many
other big time fighters like Coleman, Frye, Shamrock, and Gracie
have all made the early switch form the UFC to Pride, but never
really went back and forth between the two. Ricco Rodriguez and
Chuck Liddell have both fought in Pride as well, but do not go
back and forth. Pride’s middleweight champ Vanderlei Silva
even had a couple of earlier UFC appearances, but never returned
after losing to Belfort and Ortiz in his first two outings. Other
crossover fighters include Goodridge, Belfort, Couture, Kerr,
and Randleman to name a few. None of which have stayed active
in both Pride and the UFC at the same time.
While
this sort of thing is not unique in MMA, what Carlos Newton is
doing truly is. Newton is 4-1 in Pride, 3-3 in the UFC, and has
an overall record of 11-6 in MMA. The most impressive thing though
is that he is a top contender in both organizations at the very
same time. By staying active in both organizations, Newton is
taking MMA to new heights. I only wish this type of scenario
were true with more big name fighters, going between the two
major organizations fighting other top contenders. Think of the
matchups that are out there if more guys did this kind of thing.
Carlos
Newton made his UFC debut in May of 1998 in the tournament at
UFC 17. Newton went 1-1 in his octagon debut, beating Bob Gilstrap
in the first round of the tournament, and losing to Dan Henderson
in the tournament finals that evening. The young and exciting
Newton looked to have a bright future in the sport of MMA.
Rather
than continuing his young career with the UFC, Newton decided
to go overseas and fight in Japan’s new Pride Fighting organization.
That June, just one month after his loss to Henderson at UFC
17, Newton fought and lost to Japanese fighting legend Kazushi
Sakuraba at Pride 3.
Following
a Shooto win against Kenji Kawaguchi, Newton was back to Pride
in July of 1999. Carlos was winner by decision this time against
Daijiro Matsui in Pride 6. Between Pride fights, Newton’s
next opponent was at the WEF 9, where he successfully submitted
Karl Schmidt. In June of 2000, Newton was back in Japan to take
on Yuhi Sano at Pride 9. The impressive Newton again won by submission.
Again in Japan, his next fight versus John Oliveira was at Pride
12. This time going the distance, Carlos ended up winning again
by judges’ decision. He left Pride with a nice 3 fight winning
streak in the organization.
In
a transitional fight between the two organizations, Newton’s
next fight was against the seasoned MMA vet Dave Menne at Shidokan
Jitsu Warriors War 1 in February of 2001. Menne ended up winning
this fight after going the distance with Newton. Win or lose,
this was yet another top opponent for Newton in Dave Menne.
Momentarily
done with Pride, Newton headed back to the states and to the
UFC. His first fight back was against MMA legend and UFC champion
Pat Miletich in May 2001 at UFC 31. It what was a very close
battle between the two, but Newton was able to sink in the choke
on Miletich, forcing him to tap. With this giant win over Miletich,
Carlos Newton was now the man to beat in the UFC welterweight
division.
In
his first title defense as champ, Newton was to take on Miletich
fighter Matt Hughes at UFC 34. This was a tough fight for Newton.
Hughes is freakishly strong and has tremendous wrestling skills.
To say the least, the fight ended dramatically. Newton was slammed
from the top of the cage, while holding on to Hughes with a triangle
choke. Newton had the hold tight, but was suddenly knocked out
when his head smacked the octagon floor at the end of the fall.
This was a though loss for Newton, but he’d be back for
more.
Following
his loss to Hughes in the UFC, Newton again made the crossover
and headed back to Pride. Wanting to fight only top level competition,
Newton was to take on the dangerous Chute Boxe fighter Jose "Pele"
Landi-Jons at Pride 19 in February of 2002. What a fight this
one was. Newton was able to survive the powerful stand up assault
by Pele and get the submission victory. He showed major chin
in this fight, after eating a powerful knee from Pele, he seemed
to be unfazed. Newton was back in top form with this impressive
victory.
Newton’s
next stop was not another Pride fight, but a big rematch bout
in the UFC against Matt Hughes. Newton was back again to fight
for the title at UFC 38. This time the fight was not so close.
Hughes was able to control the action on the mat and ground and
pound his way to a TKO victory. While Newton did get handled
in this one, you got to give it to him for only fighting the
best. Hughes is a monster in the octagon.
Again
with the UFC, Carlos was to take on the deadly striker Pete Spratt
at the huge UFC 40 show in November 2002. Newton had his way
this time though. He owned Spratt on the ground and landed a
quick submission victory. Carlos was back to his winning ways
in the UFC after two consecutive losses to Hughes.
Can
you see the pattern forming? He basically comes and goes between
the organizations at his own will. A couple fights in the UFC,
a couple in Pride, then back to the UFC. Mix in a couple of smaller
shows and you have Newton’s fight record. Like no one else
in MMA, Carlos Newton has been able to juggle his time between
the two major organizations. Somehow he has managed to avoid
the contract discrepancies, long term deals, and tomato can fights
that plague the world of MMA. Instead, he has created a stellar
career for himself by staying active in both UFC and Pride at
the same time.
Is
it just me, or does anybody else like what Newton is doing? He
is a true warrior and champion. A perfect example of the best
wanting to fight the best. Newton takes the sport of MMA past
the big contracts, money disputes, and fight ducking that has
gone on. He is a proud fighter and is in it for the love of the
challenge, the fight, the desire to be the best, not just the
money. Newton knows as good as anyone, that to be the best, you
must fight the best. Credit is due, Newton has kept his career
all about the fights, not the organizations, the money, and politics
involved.
We
can only hope that others will follow in his footsteps. There
are huge fights and potential match ups out there. What if the
only reason De la Hoya never fought Trinidad was because they
were in competing organizations, one in Pride, the other UFC.
The fans and the sport are the ones being robbed of big fights
by the understandably separatist MMA organizations. The chances
of organizations merging to put on super championship shows is
slim and none, it just cant happen yet. The sport is still just
too new when it comes down to it. Unlike boxing, the sport of
MMA and its organizations are just not to that point yet. It
is up to the fighters, like Newton, to make these fights happen.
Source: MMA Weekly
4/4/03
Quote
of the Day
"We
act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements
of life,
when all that we need to make us really happy is something to
be enthusiastic about."
Charles Kingsley
Kickin
It Again Weigh-ins Tonight!
April 4,2003
6:00 pm
808 Fight Factory ( Waipahu)
Directions
H - 1 Waianae Bound
Waipahu/Ewa cut off make the loop into Waipahu. Take a right
at the second stop light at Leokane st. Drive straight down on
left as you make the bend, You will see a steep drive way up
to 2nd floor.
(Next to JESUS IS LORD) its up the drive way
If you want to meet the fighters come down and check out the
New 808 Fight Factory gym,
If you get lost contact Derek @ 554-7898
Danny or Kai @ 671-4140
Special Mahalo to Phenom Power
Oica poison Ink, 808 Fight Factory,
FairTex, Paikai Kenpo Karate,Strong Arm
Play Times Over,Hawaiian Self Defense,
& The Onzuka's for all the support.
We are having another event on may 24, its going to be a kids
event any schools,
or instructor's who has kids that want to fight Call Derek Bright
@ 554-7898 Danny Kaheaku @ 685-4800 leave a message if we don't
answer
UFC
42: MATT HUGHES Interview
by: Keith Mills
Defending his Welterweight belt at UFC 42 is keeping champion
Matt Hughes busy. Last time fans saw him around was as a ref
at Extreme Challenge 50 in Salt Lake City, the second of three
Extreme Challenge Middleweight tournaments with the finals now
pushed back until June.
KM:
You are getting to be quite an experienced ref. MH: Yes.
KM:
What was your perspective on tonight and the tournaments in general?
MH: Great. We had the first contestant go down in twenty or thirty
seconds to a knee injury that was bad. It was bad to the fans
that they wanted to see a fight and he hurt his knee. Besides
that those guys got in there and they did well. I only stood
people up maybe two or three times and everybody got in there
and they fought and the fought well.
KM:
Are you going to be the ref at the finals in Hawaii? MH: Yes,
I’ll be the ref there too. That was kind of the perk. If
you know Monte I don’t have a whole lot of cash in my pocket
but he’s taking me to Hawaii to ref that.
KM:
About the perspective of being the ref… MH: Oh I like being
the ref. I think one of my better qualities is I’m always
talking to the fighters. They know they have to keep working
or they’re going to come up. I tell them stay out of the
ropes; I tell them ‘hey, you guys are getting close to the
ropes, if you want to stay there circle your opponent back in’.
I’m real verbal and tell the guys right off the bat I’m
the boss.
KM:
In the rules meeting you were clarifying the stand-up rule. In
a post fight with Buck (from Extreme Challenge 49) he was talking
about the second fight and getting stood up. Can you repeat that
perspective. MH: When they take somebody down if they are just
punching but they are not doing any damage to their opponent
I’m going to stand them back up and give his opponent a
chance to do something. The main goal for the judges to see is
damage. That’s the number one criteria. If those guys aren’t
out there damaging their opponents it’s coming back up to
the feet.
KM:
What are your thoughts on fighting Sherk in UFC 42? MH: I think
it’s actually a pretty decent match-up. Sherk is shorter
than I am so I’ll have reach. He’s strong and he uses
his strength. Well, I think I’m stronger than him so I think
I’ll do well there. He’s not used to being muscled
around and I think my grappling is better than his and my takedowns
are better and my striking is better. He’s a tough guy who
really goes out there to fight but I think match-up wise I’m
going to be allright.
KM:
I thought it was interesting also because as far as the UFC this
is the first time you’ve fought somebody with a style as
close to yours. MH: Yes.
KM:
What is your perspective on that? MH: That is fine with me. I
come from a wrestling background and some of me doesn’t
want to fight another wrestler just because sometimes we are
brothers, one and the same. I’m going to go out there and
keep my belt, I’m going to win my money, and he’s my
opponent.
KM:
What are your thoughts on fighting for the UFC and having the
belt? MH: UFC treats me than I better thought. I love it. I would
never change organizations or anything. As long as the UFC keeps
me around I’ll fight for them. The last thing they have
to worry about is me jumping ship and trying to go somewhere
else.
KM:
Your only two losses on your record are to Dennis Hallman. Originally
Romi Aram’s opponent for this UFC was going to be against
Hallman but Hallman is now out. As far as the perspective of
Hallman back in the UFC and you might have to face him again
how do you feel about Hallman being back? MH: That’s fine
with me. I think I match up well with him. My submissions have
improved so much since I fought him, he doesn’t bother me,
doesn’t worry me.
KM:
Your whole game has improved since then. MH: Exactly.
KM:
When was the second loss to Hallman? Year and a half ago? MH:
That was right before Christmas about two or three years ago.
I can’t even remember it. Hallman back in the UFC, I don’t
care. Just an opponent. My third loss was to Pele; I’ve
lost three times.
KM:
Ooops, sorry. MH: Hallman does have two of my losses.
KM:
So what are your thoughts on being almost undefeated or undefeated
for so long? MH: I don’t think about it. I go in there,
I do my job, but as far as gloating or keeping my belts around
the house I don’t. You start thinking you are the champion,
thinking you’re the best and maybe you stop working as hard.
Maybe you start thinking ‘I don’t need to do this or
I don’t need to do that’ and everybody does. Everybody
needs to work on their basics, I don’t care how good you
are, basics are what win fights.
KM:
What are your thoughts on the Team Extreme up-and-comers or “B
Team”? MH: I will Iowa is known so well for having guys
behind the lineup that can go in there and win a national championship.
That’s what it’s like. These guys are training with
us and I’m in the UFC so they don’t want two guys,
three guys from the same gym at the same weight class. Only reason
I’m there and they’re not is I got my foot in the door
first. It’s hard coming up with a concept of how to explain
a “B Team” or whatever…
KM:
The next generation… MH: Exactly.
KM:
Was there anything else you want to get across to the fans regarding
UFC 42? MH: I train hard, in my last two fights I had not trained
real hard for them. Last fight I trained super hard for was Sakurai.
I’ve been working on my training and my standup and I’m
going to look out there.
KM:
Any sponsors to thank? MH: Full Contact Fighter or course. He’s
picked me up from the beginning and he’s been with me ever
since. Fairtex has been helping me out, International Sports
Wear, that’s about it.
The
UFC’s next live PPV event will be UFC 42: Sudden Impact
at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST, Friday, April 25, from AmericanAirlines
Arena in Miami, Fla. The suggested retail price is $29.95. Look
for the UFC on the internet at www.ufc.tv.
Source: ADCC
Florida
Sweeps Team USA Trials at Grapplers Quest
by: Joseph Cunliffe
American
Top Team & Freestyle Fighting Academy To Represent the USA
against Canada
The
2003 Grapplers Quest US National Championships of Submission
Grappling was held this past Saturday at Marist High School in
Bayonne, NJ. The exclusive No-Gi tournament saw 629 individual
competitors entered in 65 divisions, including the Team USA Trials.
The 3rd Annual tournament featured “our highest level of
competition at a tournament to date, hands down,” exclaimed
Promoter Brian Cimins.
Among
many firsts for Grapplers Quest and the northeast grappling scene
were double elimination Children and Teen divisions, assuring
all children and teens at least 2 matches. To further enhance
the quality of Grapplers Quest, competitors were able to earn
points toward MMA.tv’s nationally RANKED database.
The
Northeast is where Grapplers Quest started, “so it is where
our grassroots are and always will be,” said Cimins. The
national recognition and prestige of Grapplers Quest comes from
where everything started in Montclair, New Jersey back on April
24, 1999. Cimins adds, “the teams who supported us then,
still attend our shows regularly, and I’ve watched 15-year-olds
grow into Advanced Champions within 3-4 years.” The team
support for the amateur divisions was overwhelming and the audience
was tremendous, swarming to as many as 1,400 at certain points
of the day. This is unprecedented in Bayonne and truly shows
how much submission grappling and Grapplers Quest are rapidly
growing nationwide.
Grapplers
Quest continues to employ professional referees, which Cimins
says, “benefits the competitors for many reasons.”
Three reasons would be the referees are employed by the promotion,
therefore, they treat their refereeing performance like their
teaching of a martial arts class. They want to be invited back,
paid more, etc., so with every referee performance their merit
increases. They are trained by the organization specifically
in the rules of Grapplers Quest. Since they are apart of the
organization, they provide feedback and input to better the rules,
they really care about the success. Cimins concludes, “I
treat my organization, Grapplers Quest, as professional as it
can be. The referees are some of the most important decisions
we make, and we take it very seriously.”
Sponsored
by SPRAWL Fight Shorts and TRIBE Fightwear, Cimins developed
the first Team USA Trials for Grapplers Quest pitting 32 of the
best submission grapplers in the country together vying for top
spot, but in the end, it was 4 Floridians who reigned supreme.
Marcos Avellan of Miami based Freestyle Fighting Academy took
the lightweight division defeating Alan Teo of Renzo Gracie,
Mike Mrkulic of Royler Gracie and Leonardo Xavier of Saulo Ribeiro.
Paplo Popovich of Ft. Lauderdale based American Top Team took
the middleweight division defeating Anthony Talone of Marcio
Simas, Kenny Florian of Boston BJJ and Nakapan Phungephorn of
Linxx Academy. Following in his brother and team mates foot steps,
David Avellan of Freestyle Fighting Academy took the cruiserweight
division defeating Todd Margolis of Linxx Academy, Justin Ellison
of Walt Bayless and Jamie Cruz of Renzo Gracie. Finishing out
the Trials was Jeff Monson of American Top Team taking the heavyweight
division defeating John Jensen of Millennia Jiu-Jitsu, Pat Stano
of USGA and Brandon Vera of Linxx Academy.
Anthony
Argyros of Team Renzo Gracie and Roxanne Modofferi of New England
BJJ earned 1st Place in their respective Team USA Executive and
Women Absolute Trials divisions. The winners of each division
will represent Team USA against Team Canada when the Grapplers
Quest North American Championships returns to Marist on Saturday,
June 7, 2003.
For
more information on Grapplers Quest, check out www.grapplers.com.
Source: ADCC
The
Joe Moreira 3rd Annual Black Belt Challenge
This
year’s Joe Moreira Black Belt Challenge will be held on
April 24th at 8pm at the Hollywood Park Casino at 3883 W. Century
Blvd. in Inglewood, Ca. Don’t miss an opportunity to see
some of the best combination of black belts ever to compete on
American soil. This year’s theme will be America vs. Brazil.
The event will feature 10 of the best black belts from the Gracie
Barra, Carlson Gracie, & Alliance clubs representing Brazil,
competing against some of the best black belts currently residing
in America, including Wander Braga & Juliano Prado. There
will also be 2 exciting women’s matches, one of which will
include Kira Gracie. Additionally, Patricia Silva, daughter of
Aloisio Silva, instructor of the first women’s black belt
World Champion, will demonstrate women’s self defense. As
exciting as all this sounds, there is yet still more to come
as the highlight of the night will be a 4 man heavyweight tournament
featuring Marcio Corleta, Cafe, Margarida & Pe de Pano. You
won’t want to miss this exciting night of Jiu-Jitsu entertainment.
Tickets will go on sale for $20 general admission, $30 preferred
seats, and $40 ringside seats.
For
those interested in making this an all day event, there will
also be a 'Masters Seminar' starting at 12pm at the same location.
It will feature 4 master instructors starting with 6th degree
black belt, Marcio Macarao, who will teach Gymnastica Natural.
Then 8th degree black belt, Fernando Pinduka will teach self-defense.
The 3rd seminar will feature 7th degree black belt Joe Moreira
teaching Jiu-Jitsu. And finally, former UFC champion, Marco Ruas
teaching Vale Tudo. Each participant will receive a T-shirt,
the seminar video, and a participation certificate. The cost
for all of this is just $100.
Go
to www.blackbeltchallenge.com for additional information, or
call Joe Moreira at (949) 254-3554. Tickets will also be available
at the door the night of the event.
Source: ADCC
Bustamante
PRIDE Bound?
Does
the thought of Murilo vs. Dan Henderson, Anderson Silva, Carlos
Newton or a host of other guys make PRIDE more interesting?
It
should! What U.S. PPV didn't show is that Murillo paraded the
UFC belt around at PRIDE and he said it was his 'dream to become
a PRIDE Champion.'
The
reason this did not air in the U.S. was probably because it was
only talk at the time but sources are saying it could happen.
Bustamante,
who fell victim to a controversial loss to Chuck Lidell in his
9/28/01 UFC return, later took the U.S. by storm. With a heavy-handed
KO of Dave Menne and finishing Matt Lindland (two times) Bustamante
quickly became one of the best fighters in the sport.
Murillo
is also one of the few fighters to compete in the early stages
of MMA. He took part in a show where Jiu Jitsu fighters took
on Luta Livre and Chute Boxe fighters back on 9/26/91. Yes, nearly
12 years ago before UFC was ever heard of Murillo was fighting.
Murillo's
9-1-1 record speaks for itself with victories in Pentagon Combat,
MARS, UFC, Pancrase and other organizations but why is Murillo
out of the UFC picture?
It
just so happened that Murillo captured the UFC gold at the end
of his three-fight deal with UFC.
It
is doubtful that Murillo will ever return to UFC but a return
to MMA through PRIDE looks like about a 70% chance.
Source: ADCC
4/3/03
Quote
of the Day
Those
who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from
themselves.
Sir
James M. Barrie
TITO
ORTIZ TO WWE: FACT OR FICTION
So the pulse of the MMA world wants to know the following. Is
Tito Ortiz going to the WWE? Has he signed a new deal? MMAWeekly.com
gives you the details; including, how this episode started with
our fact or fiction report- exclusively from MMAWeekly.
FACT:
This whole rumor about the WWE started with this one single email
from Tito Ortiz on the Underground Forum: "I just signed
a two year deal with the WWE. The Chuck fight will happen but
not in the UFC but in Pride. We both signed a one fight deal.
Just thought I would let you all know. Thanks for the support.
For more info check out my site on the forum later today. Tito
"
FICTION:
While the email was legit, MMAWeekly.com talked to a few people
and it depends WHO you ask whether this story is B.S. or not.
One person who is close to Tito's manager was told that it was
basically an April Fool's Joke. That he and Tito were having
a good laugh about the whole situation. So it's case closed right?
Depends on who you ask.
FACT:
When MMAWeekly.com talked to Paul Herrera, who was Tito's fight
promoter for the Hitman Fight Promotion, he dropped this bombshell
to Ken Pishna of MMAWeekly.com late last night.
"Tito
IS going to the WWE. That is a definite. Tito has not actually
signed a contract yet with WWE, but it was definitely a done
deal other than the contract. As far as Tito finishing out his
contract with the UFC, he said "that was something that
would have to be worked out between Tito, Zuffa and WWE. He also
said that "Tito WILL continue to fight mixed martial arts."
As
for speculation that Tito wouldn't go to WWE because of the work
load, Paul said that "Tito's participation in WWE won't
be to the extent that some people think. Tito will not be taking
on the schedule of most full-time wrestlers. "
"He
will NOT be doing the 200+ shows per year that most wrestlers
are required to do". In Tito's last fight he made $80,000
to fight and another $80,000 to win, so it seems that it would
take more money than the WWE is willing to offer for Tito to
go "full-time" into wrestling.
So
Herrera was covering for Tito, but still seemed a bit fishy because...
FACT:
Tito never appeared on Fox Sports Network across the nation like
some people reported. Whether he was on a local Fox station in
Southern California, that's another thing. But he was NOT on
the Best Damn Sports Show like some people were reporting.
FACT:
Tito still has a UFC contract through sometime in 2004. So ,unless
the WWE wanted to buy out his contract which would be very costly,
it wouldn't seem that he was going anywhere.
FICTION:
Rumors said Chuck Liddell would fight Bas Rutten as Tito would
be stripped to pursue pro wrestling. This is fiction for a few
reasons- according to the The Iceman. Chuck told MMAWeekly.com
last night that he hasn't been approached by anyone from Zuffa
regarding a deal for his fight in June.
FACT:
Liddell will fight in June and it WILL NOT be against Tito Ortiz.
MMAWeekly.com had it confirmed at the WEC show this weekend that
Tito will not fight in the UFC before August/September.
FICTION:
Tito showing up on Wrestlemania was a coincedence.
It's
believed that once Ortiz did show up at Wrestlemania and RAW,
and that he did in fact talk to WWE management. There wasn't
a deal ever reached; however, it's believed that Tito did talk
briefly with WWE officials. Some insiders believe he may try
to use that to his advantage in renegotiating a contract with
the UFC.
FACT:
MMAWeekly.com did talk with two employees of Titan Sports/WWE
and they had no knowledge of Ortiz signing. They did say there's
a chance it could happen, but they usually would know since they
create video packages every week promoting fighters on RAW and
SMACKDOWN and nothing is scheduled to be created for Tito Ortiz
through the month of April.
Conclusion:
MMAWeekly.com orginally thought this story was B.S. and there
are too many what if scenarios. However, having guys like Paul
Herrera backing Tito's story is indeed interesting and unless
those friends are behind a "joke" they sure sounded
convincing that their buddy from Hunington Beach will sign.
It
seems there are so many grey areas with this story it's crazy.
Basically there are too many "what if's" surrounding
this story and it's uncertain if the UFC allows fighters to compete
in wrestling. This is what we do know. He is contracted to fight
in UFC. We don't believe he will be able to sign any type of
WWE contract until he speaks with the legal team at Zuffa. Thus,
we consider the story to be false....WE THINK.
Source: MMA Weekly
THE
RETURN OF JENS PULVER
It's been a very busy time for former UFC Champion Jens Pulver.
He has some fights coming up. More on that in a minute, but he
gave this official statement on the Underground.
"I
am finally home for a little while and then I'm going back. Little
Madeline Spring Pulver was born 2:15 pm and was 6.7 lbs and 19
inches long. I have never loved something so much. Just ten minutes
ago I finally left her side and I am hurting already. Again thank
you all for the support. I will get the Pics up asap. I'm so
tired right now. And, A Big huge Shout to Kelley, what she just
went through Oh My god."
As
has been reported at MMAWeekly, Jens Pulver is headed for Shooto.
The only questions that remain are when? And who? With a four
fight deal to fight for Shooto, everyone wants and believes that
Pulver will fight Shooto Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi.
Rest
assured, that fight is part of the reason that Pulver was willing
to work on a four fight deal with Shooto. The plan though, is
for Pulver to go into Shooto and fight two or three fights before
he faces Gomi. It is believed that he will be fighting the likes
of Ryan Bow and Caol Uno before he gets a crack at Gomi, so as
to build up Pulver’s profile with the Japanese audience
before the title fight.
Insiders
at the Miletich camp believe that Pulver will be making his first
appearance for Shooto in June. But as it currently stands, nothing
has been set in stone. It is a done deal that Pulver will again
be unleashed on the Japanese audience, but we just have to wait
and find out when.
Source:
MMA Weekly
Tim
Sylvia - Meet the New Boss
When
Tim Sylvia entered the ring last month against UFC heavyweight
champion Ricco Rodriguez, he was a 4-1 underdog with few believing
him outside of his comrades in Team Miletich. But all that changed
in a devastating display of takedown defense and big punching,
as he dissuaded and subsequently destroyed Rodriguez in the first
round to take the title in one of the more memorable bouts in
recent UFC history.
At
6'8 and 250 lbs., the self-described "Maine-iac" reigns
supreme over a division recently thought bereft of talent and
meaningful challengers. Standing tall over his peers, Sylvia
sports a 15-0 record and has emerged as the next potential superstar,
the guy Rodriguez was supposed to be.
What
made his win over Rodriguez so stunning was how easily it came;
resisting Rodriguez' takedowns with surprising ease, Sylvia registered
a resounding statement with his strength and tenacity, and literally
set the UFC on its ear with punishing series of right hands that
took the crown and once again proved that, in the Octagon, nothing
is certain; particularly when there's a motivated challenger
fighting for the title.
Tim
Sylvia knows what it takes to get to the top. And he hopes to
remember it now that he's the marked man in the eyes of the heavy-handed
suitors that are sure to come gunning for him in the days ahead.
"I
knew I would beat Ricco. Absolutely," Sylvia told Maxfighting.com
in an exclusive interview. "I knew if I could stop his takedown
defense I could win the fight. He wasn't as strong as I thought.
I've wrestled with much stronger guys."
"I
don't think he took me too seriously. I was supposed to be a
handpicked opponent, and he picked me over Gan McGee," Sylvia
said.
After
knocking out Rodriguez to take the title, Sylvia returned to
his old stomping grounds in Eastbrook, Maine, and the surrounding
towns who received him with open arms. There aren't any professional
sports franchises that far up in the New England country, but
suddenly Tim Sylvia is the closest thing to it. It's a nice reception
for a previously overlooked fighter who labored in the obscurity
of small-time shows.
"The
UFC set me up with a bunch of public relations," Sylvia
said, recalling his return home last month after winning the
belt. "I went to my old grammar school and high school,
and the local road said 'Maine-iac highway." The local stores
joined in, and they had a big party for me, and a bunch of t-shirts
made up. It was awesome. I had a standing ovation from my old
high school when I went back. And I had them all chanting 'What's
up now?'"
Now,
Sylvia finds himself at the top of the mountain. The win against
Rodriguez, perhaps, isn't as much of a surprise when reviewing
his record. Sylvia is a very tough guy to take down, owning two
knockout wins over Mike Whitehead, a powerful grappler who is
the North American representative in this spring's Abu Dhabi
world championships. With his long frame and imposing takedown
defense, it's no surprise he gives the nod to another like-minded
fighter in one the UFC's most anticipated matchups: Light Heavyweight
champ Tito Ortiz against Chuck Liddell.
"I
don't think Tito wants to fight Chuck," Sylvia said. "I
think Chuck would be a really hard fight for Tito, he would get
knocked out."
Staying
hungry is key for the new champion, and part of it is keeping
things on an even keel. Sylvia still answers his own phone, hasn't
added to the entourage, and steadfastly declares that he's going
to be the same guy. He's not going to be subsumed by the allure
celebrity, nor the trappings of success. He likes to keep it
simple, such as when describing how he beat Rodriguez in his
post-fight interview, where he said, "I hit him Haaad."
"Nothing's
really changed. I just earned a lot more money. I'll make more
money my next fight, and I'm gonna treat everybody the same way,"
he said. "I'd like to do UFC as long as my body will allow
me to do it. I can get a lot better. I'm just beginning and putting
things together."
Source:
Maxfighting
Short
Circuit: Interview with Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei
Silva
The
Champion, Wanderlei, took PRIDE 25 off this past month, but promises
to return ... PIC: Courtesy of PRIDE FC
You
knew in advance that you would be challenged by the winner of
Quinton vs.
Randleman. Why did you explode when Quinton challenged you? The
guy acted like an asshole. He was speaking too close to me and
I did not like that. He finished the fight and did not celebrate,
came straight and pointed at me. I said no way. I'm the champ
and he must respect me! At night, Randleman came to kiss my ass,
said that I was the champion and that he respected me. But in
truth, I dislike him even more than Quinton, because he's always
wanting to show off too much.
So,
if he had won, it would be worse? I think I would have punched
his face right there.
The
audience probably thought it was normal, since they are used
to watching
such things in pro-wrestling shows, don't you think? The difference
is that this was no joke. Pride is a real event and there's no
fake stuff here.
You
say that never watch your opponent's fights, you don't care about
that. But this time you cannot say that, since you were at ringside.
What did you think about your next opponent? Great! Actually,
Quinton's victory was great, I think our fight will be very exciting,
because we both like to exchange punches and kicks, and I love
opponents that have the courage to do tha against me. To fight
like Randleman was doing, pushing his foe against the ropes and
stalling is really boring.
If
Quinton fights like he promised, the match will be like you are
talking! He just said that you always complain the fighters avoid
exchanging against you, and that he will not take you to the
ground! That's what I want, that is the way I like it. Sometimes
you win and can't give the fans a good show though, because the
opponent does not allow that. But when you face a guy who ight
straight forward, it is delicious!
And
that fight will happen at the next show, in June? No, I will
probably be back only in August.
August?
I did not know your injury was so serious? Yes it was. I was
feeling pain in my knee since Pride 10, when I fought Mezger
and hurt myself on the fight's eve. I was training, went too
strong and got hurt. Thanks God I won anyway. Then came several
invitations to fight and I did not stop to heal my knee. I should
have take care of myself a little more.
But
it was exactly at the most important period of your career. How
could you stop? Yes, I couldn't. If was for me, I would fight
Quinton up there in the ring now. I want to come back as soon
as possible, because a fighter lives of his victories.
Source:
ADCC
UFC
42: Sudden Impact -- Franklin vs. Tanner
Rich
Franklin of Meat Truck Inc. and Team Extreme enters the octagon
when he makes his UFC debut at Sudden Impact to face cage veteran
Evan Tanner of Team Quest.
The
5’11 Franklin is a veteran of Extreme Challenge, Rings USA,
UCC and the WFA. His most notable fight is probably a 1:00 submission
over Marvin Eastman at WFA 1 in November 2001. The wrestler out
of Cincinnati, OH is undefeated in MMA. The 6’ Tanner is
a veteran of Pancrase and the UFC. He is coming off recent wins
against Homer Moore and Elvis Sinosic. A freestyle fighter, Tanner
is known for good groundwork, powerful knees and leg kicks.
Franklin
was to meet wrestler Mike Van Arsdale who is sidelined with a
neck injury. Franklin will have a tall order to fill in the Texan,
but it should be a great fight for everyone.
“UFC
42: Sudden Impact” comes to the AmericanAirlines Arena is
Miami, Florida on Friday, April 25, 2003. Check out www.UFC.tv for more information.
Source:
ADCC
K-1
JAPAN SERIES LINEUP
Date : Sunday, April 6, 2003
Place : Yamagata General Gym,Yamagata, Japan
Card
Subject To Change:
- Musashi (Japan / Seido Kaikan) VS Gary Goodridge (Trinidad
& Tobago / Free)
- Tsuyoshi Nakasako (Japan / ZEBRA244) VS Mike Bernardo (South
Africa / Leonald Boxing Gym)
- Hiromi Amada (Japan / TENKA 510) VS Tom Erikson (USA / Free)
- Shingo Koyasu (Japan/Seido kaikan) VS Cyril Abidi (France /
Challenge Boxing Marseilles)
- TSUYOSHI (Japan/Vos Gym) VS Maurice Smith (USA / Maurice Smith's
Kickboxing)
- Yusuke Fujimoto (Japan / Monster Factory) VS Kevin King (USA
/ Team Beast)
- Tatsufumi Tomihira (Japan / SQUARE) VS Chad Bannon (USA / Team
Beast)
Source:
ADCC
WORLD
CUP OF FREESTYLE WRESTLING SET FOR APRIL 5-6 IN BOISE, AND OTHER
OLYMPIC WRESTLING NEWS
There
is lots of Olympic wrestling news, as the international tournament
season heats up in preparation for the World Championships later
this year.
The
U.S. Olympic Committee's 'Week in Review' is always a good source
of news briefs about the U.S. national wrestling team, and competition
in other Olympic sports. This weekly feature can be seen at:
http://www.usocpressbox.org . For more detailed
information, both the USOC and we recommend that you check out
TheMat.com, at: www.themat.com.
Here
are the recent highlights from the USOC's 'Week in Review' regarding
wrestling:
Wrestling:
(Mar. 21) Following a successful showing at the XVII Senior Pan
American Wrestling Championships in Guatemala City, Guatemala,
the U.S. has qualified to compete in all 18 weight classes at
the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
later this summer.
(Mar. 22) The U.S. won the team title in men's freestyle and
men's Greco-Roman, and captured eight individual gold medals
at the XVII Senior Pan American Wrestling Championships. The
men's freestyle champions were Jesus Wilson (Fayette, Iowa),
Lee Fullhart (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Dean Morrison (Colorado Springs,
Colo.) and Brian Keck (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Winning gold
medals in Greco-Roman were Jim Gruenwald (Colorado Springs),
Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Dremiel Byers (Colorado
Springs, Colo.). The U.S. women's champion was Toccara Montgomery
(Cleveland, Ohio).
(Mar. 25) Rulon Gardner (Afton, Wyo.) will re-light the Olympic
cauldron during the Opening Ceremonies of the World Cup Wrestling
Championships at the Bank of America Centre in Boise, April 5-6.
Gardner has been named Chef de Mission for the U.S. delegation
competing at the Championships. For more
information, log on to www.themat.com.
It
should also be added that 2002 World Heavyweight Greco-Roman
Wrestling Champion Dremiel Byers of the U.S. scored a tremendously
significant victory at the Pan American Championships. After
winning his first three matches by shutout technical falls, he
faced Cuba's Mijain Lopez in the finals. Lopez was the man who
twice defeated 2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2001 World Champion
Rulon Gardner, first at the 2003 Dave Schultz Memorial International
and then a week later at the 2003 Titan Games. But Byers was
able to handle the 20-year-old Cuban, defeating him 3-1 in the
finals. It will be very interesting if and when these two World
Champions, Byers and Gardner, meet in the U.S. Nationals and
the World Team Trials this year, as well as when either or both
of them meet Lopez again.
Here
is more wrestling news from the USOC's 'Week in Review:'
Wrestling:
(Mar. 26) The 2003 World Cup Wrestling Championship, set for
the Bank of America Centre in Boise, Idaho Apr. 5-6, features
five world wrestling powers competing in this annual international
dual meet championship. Along with host United States, wrestlers
from Cuba, Ukraine, Russia and Germany will compete.
(Mar. 29) National freestyle coach Kevin Jackson has named three
additional members to the United States team that will compete
at the 2003 World Cup Wrestling Championship.
(Apr. 1) The media accreditation process has started for the
2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling.
(April 1) Russia has changed its lineup for the 2003 World Cup
Wrestling Championships. The new lineup includes six of the men
on the original roster with the addition of four others. For
more information, log on to www.themat.com.
In
other USOC news that is not directly related to wrestling, but
does involve 'empowering minority students,' as the USOC puts
it, the application process is open for its F.L.A.M.E. (Finding
Leaders
Among Minorities Everywhere) program. Here is the information:
(Mar.
28)
For 10 years, the United States Olympic Committee, in partnership
with its dedicated Olympic sponsors, has invested in empowering
minority students with a one-of-a kind experience found only
through the USOC's F.L.A.M.E. (Finding Leaders Among Minorities
Everywhere) program. The 10th session of F.L.A.M.E., a national
minority youth leadership initiative, will be held at the United
States Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs July 9-13. Applications
for the special 10th Anniversary program can be found at www.usolympicteam.com/flame.
The application deadline is May 9.
Source:
ADCC/Eddie Goldman
4/2/03
Quote
of the Day
Take
your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing:
no one is to blame.
Erica Jong
Another
official Shooto match announced for May 9, Super Brawl in Hawaii.
167.5lbs 3x5 minute rounds
Billy Rush v "Ice Kold” Kolo Koka
(Meat Truck, Inc.) 2-0 (Grappling Unlimited)4-3
This
has the ear-markings of a great fight! Both young fighters have
tremendous striking ablilities and have shown great chins. Both
are also picking up the ground game quickly. The edge in power
will go to Rush, while the edge in experience is Koka’s.
This one will be close. Pick-em Even Odds
Two more announcements will follow....but with all the April
Fools jokes being played today.....we will delay this "real"
announcement.
Word
on the street is that the upcoming annoucements are going to
bring in some local heavy hitters against some quality international
talent. Stay tuned!
Source:
Promoter
The
Pacific Fighting Championships' web site is up!
The PFC is a new event that will be held under the stars at the
Waikiki Shell on April 17, 2003.
Here
is the PFC’s updated tentative fight card. This should be
action packed because almost every fighter on the card is a boxer
or kickboxer, so you know that leather is going to fly. Tickets
for the inaugural PFC event will go on sale on March 1st, at
the Blaisdell box office. Music group Kau’oka will also
be performing. Get your tickets early because it will be held
under the stars at the Waikiki Shell, where seating is limited.
DESHAWN
JOHNSON HMC Vs. JACOB VELA KODENKAN
NEAL
ANDRES HMC Vs. JOHN KUKAHIKO KODENKAN
170LBS. 2x5 MINUTE ROUNDS
JOHN NAOLE HMC Vs. PJ DEAN HARD KNOCKS
INTERMISSION
HEAVYWEIGHT 265LBS & UNDER 2x5 MINUTE ROUNDS
KEONI POGECHI PTC Vs. JACOB FA'AGAI FREELANCE
170LBS. 2x5 MINUTE ROUNDS
PAUL LAGA BULLS PEN Vs. DARIS HARD KNOCKS
145LBS. 2x5 MINUTE ROUNDS
JOHN NERVEZA BULLS PEN Vs. LEA FREELANCE
160LBS. 2x5 MINUTE ROUNDS
BRIT CULLEN KODENKAN Vs. JASON SLATER PTC
170LBS. 2x5 MINUTE ROUNDS
JAMIE GALAPIA BULLS PEN Vs. ATTA HARD KNOCKS
Source:
Promoter
The
Savage Truth - The Fate of Tito's Belt
Tito
Ortiz HAS signed with the WWE and will no longer be fighting
in the UFC or any other MMA events for the next three years—the
length of his contract. This was confirmed by a source close
to the Champ who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity
and we here at Sherdog.com wish Tito nothing but the best in
his future endeavors.
This
certainly was a surprising turn of events and they sent shockwaves
rippling through the MMA world as the UFC had to scramble to
find a credible opponent for their number one contender, Chuck
Liddell. This is where things get really interesting. Bas Rutten
was contacted by the UFC and was offered a shot at the UFC light-heavyweight
belt that will be stripped from Tito Ortiz at the UFC 42 show
in Miami on April 25th.
Rutten,
who had been negotiating with PRIDE, unsuccessfully, jumped at
the chance to fight a guy the caliber of Chuck Liddell. When
I talked to Bas he could barely contain himself. He started training
for the June 6th fight last week and said he will be in the best
shape of his life. When asked about the opportunity he responded,
“I have been waiting for a chance like this for a long time
and I will not disappoint the fans.”
Bas
also went on to say, “Training fighters is great but I am
a fighter and can’t wait to get back in the ring and compete.”
I asked him how the injuries that forced him out off competition
nearly four years ago and this is what he had to say, “All
this time off was a blessing in disguise, I am all healed up
and will be ready to go on June 6th in Las Vegas. Vegas baby,
Vegas!”
With
Rutten off the broadcast team for PRIDE 26 (the UFC is happening
on the same weekend) some new additions to the commentating team
had to be made. I am happy to announce that Jeff Sherwood, the
Sherdog himself, will be making his debut behind the mike, joining
Stephen Quadros. PRIDE will also be adding another fighter to
add some perspective to the team and that will be none other
than Wallid Ismail.
I
don’t know about you but I can’t wait to hear that
threesome. It should be interesting to say the least. Jeff has
started his public speaking classes this week and should be ready
to roll come June.
The
crazy thing was Jeff almost turned them down since they asked
him to trim his trademark goatee, and it was quite a sticking
point for him as he feels it is part of his persona and is proud
that fighters like Tank have copied him and let their beards
grow out as well. Always the hard bargainer, Jeff convinced PRIDE
officials to toss in a free buffet ticket before he agreed to
trim the goatee.
Happy
Belated April Fool's Day.
Source:
Sherdog
THE
RETURN OF EVAN TANNER?
MMAWeekly.com has learned that there is a very good possibility
that Evan Tanner will be the opponent for Rich Franklin at UFC
42.
As
of today, there hasn't been any contracts signed, but we are
hearing from a few people that Tanner seems to be the lead candidate
to fight Franklin.
The
last time we saw Tanner in the UFC was in London, England for
UFC 38. He defeated Chris Haseman by decision in a classic ground
n pound display. We should get a more clean cut idea of who will
be fighting Franklin within the next 48 hours.
Source:
MMA Weekly
INJURY
REPORTS: ARLOVSKI BREAKS HAND
Yesterday MMAWeekly's Ryan Bennett wrote a column about how UFC
42 reminds him of UFC 37.
It
seems that analogy could be the case literally with the rash
of injuries that have struck the card. We told you earlier about
Josh Thomson, then yesterday about Van Arsdale having to pull
out with an injury. Today it's official. Andrei Arlovski is off
the UFC 42 card as well.
Arlovski,
who was training for his fight in a couple of weeks against Couture,
broke his hand. He did it in training and will not be able to
go.
Van
Arsdale, as we told you yesterday is out. It appears that he
hurt his neck about four weeks ago and he has been trying to
fight through the pain ,but his arm and hand have been going
numb so the decision was made to pull him out. American Kickboxing
Academy teammate Josh Thomson had an injury so his fight was
off against Genki Sudo.
If
Van Arsdale would have felt better by last week he would have
been able to compete at UFC 42, but he hasn't been able to train
for the last few weeks so he is out. He is hoping for a chance
at UFC 43.
So
where does this leave opponent Rich Franklin? MMAWeekly.com has
learned that the orginial plan was to pull him off the card,
but now it looks as though they will still try to find an opponent
for Franklin. As we mentioned today it could be against Evan
Tanner.
Couture
could be pulled off the card as traditionally the UFC has just
eight fights on their pay per view card. If the Couture fight
was left off the card that of course would make nine. We will
try to have an update for you in the next 24 hours.
Source: MMA Weekly
4/1/03 Happy
April Fool's!
Quote
of the Day
Hide
not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in
the shade?
Benjamin
Franklin
Another
Installment of KAOS Full-Contact Fighting Championships
Dennis
Bohner is coming back with another installment of KAOS.
Ron
Jhun will be the main event followed by Kauai Kupihea. Kai Kamaka,
head trainer of the 808 Fight Factory, will also be making his
return to the ring.
We
are still taking fighters that are interested in fighting they
can email kaos@hotmail.com or calling 808-671-4140.
Other
schools on the card are 808 Fight Factory, HMC, Hardknocks, Bulls
Pen, Jesus Is Lord, Next Generation and Brausa Academy.
Womens
BJJ Classes in Kaneohe
Ronn
Shiraki and AJ Jenkins are starting a women only Relson Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu classes very soon in the Relson Gracie Association
in Kaneohe, the Kaneohe Team. If you are a woman and interested
in Jiu-Jitsu, but didn't want to roll around with some sweaty,
hairy guys, this is the class for you!
Here
is some information from the Kaneohe Team website advertised
above...
The
Kaneohe Team is now enrolling students for an All Womens Class.
Adrienna Jenkins (AJ) will be heading up the women's class 3
days a week. Women are free to come to the mixed adult classes
and may switch between the two classes if they'd like. Class
tuition will be the same as regular Adult Classes. AJ is a State
Champion, competitor in both women and men divisions, and a welcomed
addition to our team. Classes will commence when we've enrolled
enough women to make a solid class. Call 387-1961 today for more
information!
Are
You Ready For FATTLESHIP?
FATTLESHIP 1 - Battle at the Buffet
It
was inevitable, and it had to happen. 'There will be some tonnage
in this tournament' states the spokesperson for FATTLESHIP, a
new MMA company.
For
months now, rumors have abounded throughout the MMA community
of a heavy hitting show, with major sponsorship and direction.
After months of planning, and not just talking, FATTLESHIP is
now ready to blossom. The first event, FATTLESHIP 1 - Battle
at the Buffet will take place on Dec. 31, 2003, a NEW YEAR's
EXTRAVAGANZA. The venue is not known yet, but you'd better re-enforce
the floors!
Bringing
back the glory days of the big boys battling it out in tournament
format, the lineup has been secured!
TOURNAMENT
LINEUP:
Telia Tuli V. Thomas Ramirez
Koji Kitao V. Ranger Stott
Jon Hess V. Fred 'The Mangler' Floyd
Julian Sanchez V. Chris Kondo
ALTERNATE
MATCH:
John Matua v. Jan 'The Giant' Nortje
Despite
the promoters' obvious keen desire to secure the return of Emmanuel
Yarborough, the legendary Sumo warrior tested positive for fat,
keeping him out of the inaugural event. 'We are still proud of
this lineup - it is record breaking in terms of scope, size and
girth. We can only get fatter from here' concludes the spokesman.
Source:
ADCC
K-1
Captures The Attention of Japan
As
expected, K-1 destroyed PRIDE in the TV ratings with preliminary
reports showing that nearly 110% more people watched.
The
downfall for the company was that Bob Sapp was brutally knocked
out and had to be taken to the hospital. The ambulance trip took
place immediately after the fight and it was revealed that Sapp
will be out for an extended period of time.
The
apparent injury is a broken eye socket (similar to Sakuraba and
Takayama injuries last year) which will require at least six
weeks with ZERO impact. This means training for any form of athletics,
aside from minor weightlifting, is out of the question. Many
don't see Sapp doing 'minor weight training.'
Once
again, the Japanese promoters are asking more of their fighters
than they should. K-1 is claiming that Sapp will go forward with
his K-1 USA show in Vegas on May 5, 2003. The last time fighters
weren't given proper time before fights resulted in even more
injuries and in the case of Sakuraba...total burnout.
The
other comment was made by K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa. Basically
saying that a rematch has already been booked between the two.
Again,
Sapp fell victim to his own fame with nearly 12-16 hours a doing
publicity for K-1 and other business deals. Sapp is on virtually
EVERY TV station in Japan almost every day doing something.
Some
close to Sapp feel it's time to spend more time at home and train.
'The Beast' spent the last month in Thailand training for the
Filipovic fight and lost almost 50lbs.
Sapp
will try and get a PRIDE-style match with Mirko Filipovic instead
of a rematch under K-1 rules. The same way Don Frye and Cyril
Abidi did their deal with both winning in their main sport.
Source:
ADCC
SHOOTO
NEWS & RESULTS
March
30th, 2003 Aichi Nagoya Public Hall, Nagoya, Japan
ALIVE!
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
Class
B 2 x 5 minutes rounds:
Keisuke Kurata defeated Katsuhisa Akasaki 1R 2:35 TKO
Bantamweight
[-56.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament First Round:
Yasuhiro Akagi defeated Kenichi Sawada by Judges Decision
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg]:
Akitoshi Hokazono defeated Akira Kibe by Judges Decision
agreed
weight [-67.0Kg]:
Hatsu Hioki defeated Yoshinori Amari 2R 2:38 arm bar
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg]:
Hiroshi Umemura defeated Hiroki Kita by Judges Decision
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]:
Naoki Matsusita defeated Masato Fujiwara by Judges Decision
In
addition, SHOOTO has announced many matches for their cards at
the beginning of May. Of particular interest is the Masanori
Suda vs. Egan Inoue title fight at 84 KG scheduled for May 9th,
and the feature fight on May 4th of Ryan Bow vs. Vitor 'Shaolin'
Ribeiro.
May
4th:
Kentaro Imaizumi vs. Ryota Matsune
Robson Moura vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani
Ryan Bow vs. Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro
May
9th - Super Brawl in Hawaii:
Rami Boukai vs. Baret
Yoshida
Norifumi 'KID' Yamamoto vs. Bao Quach
Masanori Suda vs. Egan
Inoue
INTERESTING
POTENTIAL MATCH?
It could happen in SHOOTO or UFC, but there is a potential challenge
developing between Caol Uno, perhaps SHOOTO's top lightweight
ever, and up and comer Joachim Hansen of TEAM FINNFIGHT. Hansen
recently dismantled SHOOTO legend Rumina Sato, handing out a
first round beating featuring 26 punches to the face. In his
celebration, he threw his mouthpiece into the audience, hitting
Uno's mother in the face. There is also talk of Hanseen taking
on champion Takanori Gomi.
Source:
ADCC
A
TALK WITH DAN GABLE DURING THE NCAA WRESTLING FINALS
It
was too much to resist, and too good of a story to pass up, so
I went over a couple of seats on press row to speak to wrestling
legend Dan Gable during the finals of the 2003 NCAA Div. I Wrestling
Championships, March 22 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO. At
149 pounds, Eric Larkin of Arizona State was on his way to defeating
Jared Lawrence of Minnesota, 10-8, and to earning not only his
first national championship, but the award for Outstanding Wrestler
of the entire tournament as well.
How
do these champion wrestlers compare to those in your day? I asked
him. Gable collected his thoughts, and offered the following:
'People are people. It's just a matter of opportunities to learn,
to expand, to become better athletes. Today's day and age has
a better opportunity because there's more out there in everything.
I mean, look at the war. We can see what's going on in the war.
So I really feel that between, as far as who could be the most
disciplined, probably the guys earlier on. But yet opportunity
to be better in something is more now. So there's more distractions,
but you kind of equal it out. So I would take old-timers against
new-times, and I think it would be a heck of a match. I don't
really think there's that much difference that way, except you
better be a better wrestler today than you were back then.'
I
also asked him his reaction to the victory at 125 by Travis Lee
of Cornell. Lee is the first wrestler from Hawaii to win a national
championship, and one of the few from an Ivy League school.
'I
love that,' replied Gable. 'Because kids then feel like they
have more places to go. Yet we're losing too many colleges, but
yet they don't have to just think they can go here. They can
actually go a place they may want to go, and accomplish both
academically and athletically. And that's important.'
There
is an electricity, an excitement that makes the NCAA's a very
special event. Gable also gave his thoughts on why this is so.
'What
really makes it special is when the athletes perform,' he observed.
'When they're out there, both guys thinking they can win, and
they have great matches. So far, the finals have been almost
that way. And that makes for great viewing, makes for great promotion
of our sport. It's obviously on TV, the finals. And so we can
actually promote this to a higher level because that's where
we got to go. We got to go to a higher level. Because there's
a lot of people out there that are pushing what they want on
their agendas. And we got to make sure everybody knows that we
have a good agenda already. We have a good product. But we're
looking even to improve it.'
Another
feature of the 2003 NCAA's was the series of victories by freshmen.
Later, I asked him about this right after the championship performance
by Oklahoma State's redshirt freshman Jake Rosholt at 184. He
had lost to his opponent, Scott Barker of Missouri, 9-1 in the
Big 12 finals two weeks earlier, but then defeated Barker in
the NCAA finals by a 13-5 major decision.
'It's
all the frame of mentality. You don't know when you're going
to get it,' explained Gable. 'I coached this little kid to a
national title in my last year, Jessie Whitmer,' referring to
the 118-pounds senior Whitmer, who had never even been an All-American
until he won his sole national championship in 1997, Gable's
last season as coach.
'He
didn't get that mentality until halfway through the tournament,
three-quarters of the way through the tournament,' continued
Gable. 'And I'm sure this Jake Rosholt developed that mentality.
He's probably had it before at one time. But you lose it, and
then all of a sudden you pick it back up for some reason right
during the tournament. It makes you look good as a coach, but
the bottom line is, you don't know when it's going to happen.
And it happened right here, and that's what counts.'
I
commented that while Rosholt unexpectedly went to the finals
and won, higher-ranked wrestlers at Oklahoma State, which won
the 2003 team title, such as 197-pounder Muhammed Lawal, 174-pounder
Chris Pendleton, and 165-pounder Tyrone Lewis, did not go to
finals. Lawal and Pendleton each finished third, while Lewis
finished fifth.
'It's
just all of a sudden the kid realized he could do it,' Gable
said of Rosholt's surprise win. 'There's a lot of them out there.
Even if you look at John Smith and Michael Jordan, they were
great. But they weren't superstars. And then all of a sudden
they became superstars.'
Source: ADCC/Eddie Goldman
Vitor
Belfort's Surprise Begins to Unfold
By Eduardo Alonso
A few "Brazilian Beat" editions back, Vitor Belfort
mentioned to FCF that he would be announcing a surprise soon
that would most likely please his fans, and now as March comes
to an end the surprise is finally beginning to unfold and reveal
itself. In a partnership with Cuban trainer and fighter Eugenio
Fuentes, with the support of the Military Police of the state
of Sao Paulo through its Sports Association, Belfort is putting
together an amazing training center for fighters, and his new
team: The Brazil Fight Club in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Some of the facilities are still being built, but the project
is amazing and will most likely result in the biggest and best
training center for fighters in South America! Among the facilities
are several swimming pools, tennis courts, soccer fields, basketball
courts, a bowling alley and more! Plus, in regards to fighting
it will have an official boxing ring, huge mats for grappling,
a weight-training room only for fighters [and another one for
general people] and even a huge octagon! Construction workers
are constantly laboring on the building of the facilities, and
in the next few weeks everything will be ready to receive fighters
and the general public. If all of that's not enough, the center
also has two arenas (one capable of holding more than 5,000 spectators)
intended to host fighting events of all sorts.
Belfort will, of course, train at this center as well as his
new fight team and lots of projects that will soon be revealed
are already in the works. Everything from boxing to jiu-jitsu
everything will be trained there and some international fighters
are expected to come every now and then to teach their techniques,
so wait for more news about "The Phenom's" plans in
his partnership with Fuentes to come soon here at FCF, as we're
just giving you a hint of what's coming up, because according
to Vitor there's plenty more surprises to come!
Source:
FCF
Zuffa
Bodyslams Ortiz Rumors
Seeing
Tito Ortiz ringside for the biggest pro wrestling event of the
year came as no great shock to hybrid fans of both scripted athletics
and full-on combat sports. Famous faces tend to make the trek
to the WWE's annual WrestleMania spectacle to take in the action
and appeal to the youngster-skewing demographic. What's more,
Ortiz pal Fred Durst was with band limpbizkit as part of the
on-air talent.
But
rather than pan across Ortiz's famous mug and leave it at that,
announcer Tazz informed viewers that the UFC Light Heavyweight
champ was in attendance to take in the Kurt Angle/Brock Lesnar
showdown. Mentioning him by name is a subtle, but telling, gesture
that may indicate strong interest on the part of the WWE. (Jaded
fans can now set their bandwagons to "Reverse".)
Such
news comes at a time when Ortiz is publicly running laps around
a proposed encounter between the champ and top contender Chuck
Liddell. Privately, UFC brass have been frustrated by demands
that far exceed the company's resources. And Liddell himself
has been vocal in his distaste for Ortiz's business acumen. Fans
at last weekend's WEC event made their disappointment known by
booing Ortiz when he spoke in the ring about wanting more money.
Regardless
of Ortiz's ambitions, his contract with the UFC precludes any
participation in pro wrestling or, obviously, another fight promotion.
UFC President Dana White is undaunted by rumors of a move to
predetermined grappling. "Tito's under contract with us,"
White says. "If anything, maybe it's positioning on Tito's
side. But he's a UFC fighter until Vince McMahon calls here and
says, 'Hey, can we talk about Tito?'"
White
believes a comfort level established with the WWE allowed for
the mention. "We've bought commercial time during the WWE
RAW events for PPVs in the past. We have a relationship with
the WWE."
Dave
Meltzer, operator of the industry leader Wrestling Observer newsletter,
is quick to point out stumbling blocks that Ortiz could encounter
in moving over to wrestling. "He's got charisma, but WWE
isn't Japan and making the transition isn't as easy," Meltzer
notes. Japanese promoters, as most fans are aware, are happy
to send their pro wrestling stars to a shoot ring, and vice versa.
"Their wrestling is more sport oriented and run by people
who are more versed in sports."
While
Ken Shamrock successfully made the transition from combat athlete
to entertainer, he also had experience in wrestling prior to
his UFC and Pancrase careers. For most athletes, says Meltzer,
learning the disarmingly intricate moves of scripted grappling
can take a long time. "It took Kurt Angle a year before
he was ready and he was a freak. It took Brock Lesnar from August
of 2000 when he signed until June of 2002 when they brought him
up, and his trainers thought that was rushing it. It's a slow
process and there are no guarantees."
Clearly,
Ortiz would be counting on his name to sell tickets in wrestling,
especially as the man who felled former transition player Ken
Shamrock. "Because of his name, he'll get every break, but
WWE also has never fully figured out how to maximize usage of
shootfighters. Vince is an entertainment guy and not a sports
guy."
Ironically,
the one fighter to entice a crowd with a shootfighter's attitude
and "look" was Bill Goldberg, largely an unknown at
the time of his debut. While he parlayed that into a successful
run, most mixed-style athletes have a hard time in the US wrestling
rings. Dan Severn was met with mediocre reception in the WWE
years ago; Tank Abbott went nowhere in a flailing WCW; and Shamrock
did not reach the heights of popularity many were expecting.
In
acquiring Ortiz, WWE owner Vince McMahon could remove a key chess
piece from the side of the competition. It would seem that his
success would almost be a bonus: the mere fact that McMahon could
severely disable his growing competition by snagging their biggest
star would be reason enough to sign him to a deal. Contractually,
however, that simply isn't possible.
One
would think that said contract would squelch any extended demands
for a pay raise, but essentially, Ortiz cannot be forced to fight.
With his income derived almost solely from athletics, it becomes
a game of who will blink first: Zuffa, who had counted on Ortiz
to attract more attention and made him the focal point of their
promotion, or Ortiz, who will eventually have to make a decision
in order to maintain his finances. One or both sides will lose
money and/or face, while fans continue to lose patience.
Assuming
the improbable happens - that Tito somehow winds up in the circus
of pro wrestling - let's hope the wrestling crowds aren't too
savvy about Ortiz's fighting exploits. If they are, chants of
"You Ducked Chuck!" might begin to echo throughout
the arenas.
At
that, Liddell might notice an influx of calls from Connecticut.
