"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and
take without forgetting."
Elizabeth Bibesco
Minotauro
Update: PRIDE Dynamite (Shockwave) 2
Tatame editor and Sherdog correspondent JM Costa reports that
Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira will return to
the ring at "Dynamite 2," after a few rounds under
the knife.
After
losing the PRIDE heavyweight belt to Fedor Emelianenko at PRIDE
25, "Minotauro" is taking time off to tend to some
physical issues that have bothered him for a while.
He's
already undergone one surgury for his nose, and had a bout of
eye infection to contend with. After these issues are taken care
of, he's got one more to go -- this time, in his elbow.
As
the next PRIDE event will showcase the middleweights, "Minotauro"
should be ready to fight in August, at the second edition of
"Dynamite!"
This
previous Saturday, Nogueira was in the Northeast of Brazil with
Ricardo de la Riva, teaching jiu-jitsu techniques to 80 people.
Some of the audience came from other states just to see them.
Last Monday, Minotauro went to his birth city, Vitória
da Conquista, Bahia and received from the politicians a tribute
for being a national champion.
Source: Sherdog
UFC
42 Highs and Lows
by Jake Rossen
There might
have been ambulances wailing and streaking away from the American
Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida this past Friday night, but
it's unlikely any of them were housing a condition critical fighter.
I'm more apt to think they were rushing the UFC's free preview
show into the ER, where it enjoyed its final moments after gasping
and wheezing during airtime.
Thankfully,
the actual Pay-Per-View presentation fared better. But when it
was important for the Ultimate to exploit thirty minutes of ad
space, they stumbled badly. More on this, plus all the highlights
and lowlights, inside.
PRE-SHOW
JITTERS
Weeks
away from the program, my level of excitement was rather dull:
after two (admittedly anticlimactic) comebacks for UFC pioneers
Abbott and Shamrock, this event was more of a building block,
with half the athletes featured making their UFC debuts. With
the Internet such a pivotal presence in the sport, why not make
it a priority to assemble video or text features of all combatants
and personify these guys on their official site? Hell, even some
diehard bootleggers had trouble getting psyched for the bouts
due to their complete ignorance of the athletes.
True,
sites like Maxfighting seek out interviews and profiles near
the start of events, but we can't get 'em all. Magazines have
it far worse: with rosters inevitably changing in the weeks leading
up to the show, it's hard to remain current. With television
exposure nearly non-existent or limited, this might be a viable
way of generating some pre-show hype. You gotta use what's available
to you.
Perhaps
with that in mind, Zuffa planned a live pre-show featuring a
preliminary fight culled from earlier that evening. Loiseau/Weir
ended with a KO in the first; Crunkilton/Franca was a three round
war. It's likely that iNDemand may have frowned upon a KO finish
on their unscrambled airwaves. So even though a fifteen-minute
bout gave them far less time to generate more hype for the program,
that's what got the slot.
It
wasn't a bad choice. But the production values of the pre-show
itself? Forced into being broadcast live for purposes that escape
me, it was disastrous. A live mic caught behind-the-curtain wrangling;
host Joe Rogan screamed at viewers to order the program in a
style reminiscent of a PBS pledge drive host on meth; hostess
Lisa Dergan provided inane chatter with single-celled attending
fans; and the fight itself was presented with zero introduction,
then choppily edited between rounds to accommodate more amateurish
shilling. It was a bizarrely abrupt presentation.
The
effect was a seedy and seam-showing disappointment, with the
UFC coming off as a kind of pseudo-Toughman event. Those same
thirty minutes could have been taped earlier that evening, coming
off far more polished in the process. Why not insert a brief
and electric explanation of MMA? Why not slot in pieces on the
main event fighters? Why not roll fights featuring Lawler and
Hughes?
Rogan
and Dergan signed off with Rogan again extolling the virtues
of the UFC, slyly eyeing Dergan's two qualifications for her
employment. (Somehow, I can't visualize Jim Lampley in the same
position.) Dergan seems pleasant, but again I wonder why it's
impossible to find an attractive woman who also knows her way
around the sport. Why do the two have to be mutually exclusive?
Daisy Fuentes has been a fan of the Gracies and MMA for several
years now. Anyone giving her a call?
Inexplicably,
the Carmen Electra experiment continues.
ON
WITH THE SHOW
Though
it may not have done any good for the people turned off by the
public access pre-show, the production values of the actual telecast
were quite good. The "Gladiator" opening montage sets
a nice mood and works well.
With
Mike Goldberg having prior commitments, Rogan was moved over
as anchor, while Zuffa flew in Phil Baroni to fill the fighter's
slot. Admittedly, my confidence in this combo working was non-existent.
Rogan does a very good job of maintaining enthusiasm and knows
his stuff, but two wisecracking, excitable personalities with
no buffer were destined to be too much.
While
I'm still not of the mind this would work every time out, it
came off surprisingly well. Baroni left much of his "New
York Bad Ass" at home and spoke with intelligence and wit
two notches down from his usual bluster. I always knew Baroni
was smart - any effective self-promoter has to be - but he didn't
get shell-shocked by the circumstances. When his athletic career
is all said and done, and with a year or two invested into broadcast
training, Baroni has a nice future ahead of him in the booth.
Rogan
pal Eddie Bravo entered as a backstage reporter and then segued
into the Harold Lederman role as unofficial scorekeeper for the
main event. Bravo was fine and comes off very smooth, but we
again come to the problem of having multiple hyper personalities
on one show. Zuffa again seems complacent in playing musical
chairs with a broadcast team, the importance of which shouldn't
be undervalued. With a revolving roster of fighters, fans like
seeing at least a couple consistent faces every time out. I appreciate
the UFC is intent on finding the right mix, but fourteen shows
in, this is getting ridiculous.
THE
FIGHTS
As
shallow and single-minded as I am when it comes to big marquee
fights between well-known names - age, talent level, and reasoning
be damned - I would have been perfectly happy with Genki Sudo
and "Bang" Ludwig (Duane, where'd your first name go?)
headlining. These guys have the charisma and talent necessary
to catapult this thing into the mainstream. And as forward moving
as they are, I doubt a win/loss record means a damn. I'll pay
to watch these two fight any day of the year.
I'm
surprised more wasn't made of Ludwig KOing defecting champ Jens
Pulver, especially since perpetual title contenders Penn and
Uno couldn't do it. It warranted only a brief mention: I would've
shelled out for the broadcast rights to the KO itself.
I
don't know if the ultra-masculine contingent allowed themselves
to really appreciate Sudo's entrance, dressed as a Kabuki girl
and demurely easing down the ramp. This is the kind of thing
that creates an identity for a fighter.
The
fight itself lived up to expectations. I thought Sudo's wrestling
and grappling would eventually be Ludwig's downfall, and it may
have been, if not for an illicit rule that negates a fair re-start
after checking a cut. It seems ridiculous Sudo could deliver
that kind of damage and then be cheated out of a finishing position
solely because of it. Something must be done about this, not
the least of which should involve a rematch.
But
politics aside, c'mon: Sudo attempting the wheel while in Ludwig's
guard? Ludwig making instant fans out of every '80s kid watching
by invoking the Crane Stance? I don't know if a more compulsively
watchable fight will be held this year. Shame on those who cried
foul on the UFC for not "building" these guys and holding
off on this bout. They accomplished a year's worth of promoting
in fifteen minutes.
I
watched with only slight interest as "Cabbage" Correira
walked through the largely inactive and badly matched Sean Alvarez;
Dave Strasser and Romie Aram slugged it out in near-obscurity;
and Rich Franklin immediately got placement on the radar with
the W over the perennially underrated Evan Tanner. It was solid,
if unexceptional, filler.
For
the co-main event, the UFC did a nice job invoking the drama
behind the Pete Spratt/Robbie Lawler battle. Casual viewers got
a sense of why the fight was matched, what dangers were there,
and why it was an important fight for both. Really, this should
be done to varying degrees before every contest. I realize time
is a concern - perhaps the source of outright paranoia after
UFC 33 - but again I remain convinced that making sure viewers
care about these guys is a priority above anything else.
Most
didn't give Spratt a shot here, especially coming off a horrendous
loss to Carlos Newton late last year. But he and Lawler gave
in to pride and let their fists and feet fly. Spratt's kicks
were just too much for Lawler, who will certainly be back, perhaps
this time with a better arsenal. This derails Zuffa's push for
Lawler somewhat, but that's to be expected. This is why pro wrestling
turned to scripts. Anytime you match your Golden Boy, you'd better
be prepared to promote his opponent. Let's hope they have something
in mind for Spratt.
The
main event went as expected, although it's frightening to think
Hughes barely training and Sherk training balls-out still resulted
in a rather one-sided victory. I was impressed with the video
montages for both, with the audience again aware and informed
of why the fight was matched the way it was. If there's any justice
in the world, Sherk has won over several new fans. His heart
is undeniable, and his brief turnaround midway through the bout
was amazing.
Baroni
and Rogan signed off by playfully mocking Dergan's vacuous disposition.
It was a fitting end to the evening.
UFC
42 was essentially a night of very compelling action brought
down a notch or two with hiccups in production. Instilled with
the powers of the Almighty, I'd vanquish Dergan back to soft-core
Maxim shoots; I'd have Rogan working all the shows or none at
all; I'd find a regular place for Phil Baroni behind the mic;
I'd beg, borrow and steal to get back Bruce Beck, easily one
of the most credible and talented broadcasters I've ever heard
anywhere; I'd max out resources to personify every single main
card fighter; and I'd take Tito's delusional financial demand
and split it six ways between Hughes, Sherk, Spratt, Lawler,
Sudo, and Ludwig.
Those
guys? Now, those guys get it.
Source: Maxfighting
HALLMAN
HAS A MESSAGE FOR HUGHES AND TRIGG
This was sent to us from the man himself, Dennis Hallman.
"Hughes
has called out (Frank) Trigg, who has done nothing but run his
idiotic arrogant trap about how he can stomp Hughes.
"Well
I've been there, done that I've slayed the lion in the cage twice.
(And Matt there is no such thing as a lucky decision, as I read
from your MMA weekly interview.)
"Sure
twinkle kick used his patented "groin kick escape"
to win a bullshit (shouldv'e been a no contest) paper WFA world
title belt, but hey Francis if you really are the Bad bitch people
used to think that you were then lets Fight again (I bought a
steel cup) and after it's over the UFC will have someone that
they can legitimatly market as an opponent for Hughes.
Quit
being the coward of Real American Wrestling. Quit overpricing
yourself and using that as an excuse not to fight, and most of
all wake up and realize that the WFA belt you have is merely
a piece of paper you earned by kicking someone in the nuts. I
would love to hear the stories you tell your grand kids. "Ya
JR. I was fighting this guy and he was lighting me up on my feet,
he split my lip in two, I tried to take him down but he was too
strong so, hey here is a family secret, just between me and you
JR, shhhh I kicked him in the groin" Shhhh Don't tell gramma
cause she couldnt handle the fact that i have been a coward my
whole life. UFC PLEASE SET ME AND TWINKLE PUSS UP SO THE WINNER
(me) CAN RETIRE YOUR CHAMP.
Signed,
Superman
Source: MMA Weekly
"I'LL
FIGHT SUDO AGAIN, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE"
Duane "Bang" Ludwig commented on his UFC 42 fight with
Genki Sudo on Monday's MMA Weekly Radio Show.
Ryan
Bennett asked Ludwig about the controversial stand-up near the
end of the fight, and Ludwig made no bones about the fact that
he was "pretty much stuck in that position," to use
his own words. Ludwig said that it was very hard to get out of
that position because any escape attempt could have resulted
in Sudo applying a submission.
Ludwig
said that he wants to spend more time in the future training
in ground escapes. He went on to say that he would give Sudo
a rematch anytime, anywhere.
Ludwig
also said that he was feeling frustrated during the fight because
of Genki Sudo's dancing around the ring, and also because Sudo
was saying things in Japanese when Ludwig was in Sudo's gaurd.
Ludwig
said that he had to keep his cool during the fight and channel
all of his energy into the late flurry, which he felt was appropriately
topped off by the Karate Kid pose at the end of the fight.
Duane
is a true gentleman and said he looks forward to his next fight.
When asked if he would fight Yves Edwards, he said "yes"
and even though they were friends he would fight him.
Source: MMA Weekly
THE
"BIG CAT" WANTS TO EAT SOME CABBAGE AND TAME THE BEAST!
On Monday's MMA Weekly Radio Show, Tom Erikson told host Ryan
Bennett that he expressed a desire to fight Bob Sapp, Emelianenko
Fedor, and Wes
"Cabbage" Correira.
According
to Erikson, his Pride contract dictates that he will fight at
least one more time in Pride, and he's hoping to fight on Pride's
June 8 show. Out of all the aforementioned names that were presented
to Erikson as possible opponents, he seemed the most enthusiastic
about fighting Bob Sapp, even going so far as to jokingly say,
"I get a hard-on when I think about fighting Bob Sapp."
Erikson
remarked that he thought he was going to fight Bob Sapp a long
time ago, but then Bob Sapp became a mainstream celebrity in
Japan. Erikson thinks that the promotional people behind Bob
Sapp are going to do everything possible to give him ideal opponents
that they think he can beat.
Erikson also said that if he wanted to, he would be able to cut
down to 265 pounds, which is the maximum weight allowed in the
UFC heavyweight division. Erikson said that he would have to
make a commitment to himself and the organization to lose that
much weight, and so in return he would want a commitment that
he's going to get a multi-fight deal when he gets under 265 pounds.
When
asked why so many fighters have avoided fighting him over the
years, Erikson said it's because good stand-up fighters know
that he can take them down, and good ground fighters know that
he can stay on his feet if he wants to. Overall, Tom Erikson
came off as a man who is confident in his abilities, but is also
a very classy guy above all else.
Source:
MMA Weekly
UFC
On TV: What's the Hold Up?
By Ivan Trembow
A weekly
TV deal for the UFC is necessary to make the sport of MMA grow
on a mainstream level, but getting such a TV deal off the ground
is much more difficult than you might think. UFC president Dana
White discussed many of the obstacles standing in the way of
a TV deal in the MMA Weekly Interview of the Week. The biggest
obstacle is the fact that cable networks are still scared to
death of the UFC product. Members of top-level management at
cable networks still view the UFC as the no-holds-barred blood
bath that was promoted in the mid-90s. Even those who know full
well that the UFC is a legitimate sport and is far safer than
boxing, are still too worried about public perception to sign
on the dotted line.
In
addition, many cable network executives are concerned that very
few companies will want to "attach themselves" to the
UFC product by purchasing commercial time on any potential UFC
show. Whether that's an accurate assessment or not, it also doesn't
help the UFC that cable networks would very likely want to sell
the advertising time themselves and keep the majority of the
advertising revenue. Zuffa is already losing huge amounts of
money with every PPV they produce, and would also lose large
amounts of money with every TV show that airs (especially given
the fact that they want to tape original fights for the purpose
of airing them on TV). Production costs and fighter salaries
would far outweigh any potential revenue the TV show could bring
to Zuffa directly. Zuffa knows this and is willing to accept
it, in order to grow the sport, bring in new fans, and hopefully
increase PPV buys.
Most
cable networks will always insist that a company like Zuffa actually
pay them for the air time, rather than Zuffa being paid a fee
for the rights to air UFC programming. Dana White said in the
MMA Weekly interview that one of the only things the UFC is not
willing to do in order to get a TV show is pay for air time.
While some networks are no longer insisting on Zuffa paying for
the air time like an infomercial company, the majority of them
probably still are. The WWE has paid UPN a whopping $350,000
per week for the past three years to air "Smackdown"
on UPN. Having to pay a weekly fee to the network just for the
air time is something that is going to take the UFC out of the
running with most cable networks right off the bat, but it's
very encouraging to hear Dana White say that there have indeed
been some networks that are not insisting on getting a weekly
airtime fee from Zuffa.
Due
to concern about the content of the UFC, any cable network that
Zuffa negotiates with is going to want to be able to edit pre-taped
fights and hand-pick fights that they deem "not particularly
violent." Many of these networks would want complete creative
control and would essentially be taking the show out of Zuffa's
hands in terms of who has the final say. Some of them might also
want to buy a minority stake in the company so that they could
have some level of control over the rest of the UFC's business
operations. Selling a minority stake in the company is something
that Zuffa is willing to do, but they would have to be very careful
to avoid putting themselves in a counterproductive situation
by doing so.
If
a cable network aired a UFC TV show and didn't own a percentage
of the UFC, that would have the potential to be counterproductive
in a completely different way. The whole purpose of any UFC TV
show would be to build up MMA as a sport over the long haul.
Any cable network with a weekly show is going to be thinking
the exact opposite. They're going to want ratings right here,
right now, and they're probably not going to care about what
the show is doing for MMA in the long run. This problem could
be alleviated if Zuffa sold a percentage of the company to a
cable network (thus giving the network something to gain from
the UFC's future success), but would you really want to hand
over any level of control to a cable network which could then
try to tell you how to run the rest of your business?
All
of the obstacles described above would stand in Zuffa's way during
negotiations with any cable network, but at the same time, each
individual cable network poses its own set of potential problems
and obstacles. Dana White can't comment on individual networks,
and that's understandable given the fact that he is still negotiating
with several of them. But even without confirmation from Dana
White or anyone else at Zuffa, many of the obstacles that individual
networks would pose can be figured out with a basic knowledge
of the TV industry. Others require more specific knowledge about
the obstacles that have previously stood in the way of pro wrestling
companies. Comparing MMA to pro wrestling is valid in this case
because a cable network is very likely to approach negotiations
with an MMA company in much the same way that they would approach
a pro wrestling company. The difference is that it would be even
harder for an MMA company to get on the air given the public
perception factor.
ESPN
told MMA Weekly about a week ago that talks between ESPN and
Zuffa are "dead," to use their own words. Dana White
would later say in the MMA Weekly interview, "We were never
really that far with ESPN," which is a statement that refers
to ESPN negotiations in the past tense as if they're no longer
going on. ESPN would probably be the last network to take what
it perceives as a huge risk by being the first national cable
network to air a weekly UFC TV show. ESPN is always thinking
about maintaining its image as a "highbrow" sports
network, and the UFC doesn't fit that image in the mind of anyone
who is ignorant about MMA and thinks it's some kind of blood
sport. Again, even the executives who know what MMA is really
all about are still extremely wary of public perception. ESPN
executives may also be difficult to negotiate with, given their
general attitude that they are the god of all sports and can
demand whatever they want financially.
TNT
and TBS would probably be out of the running for a UFC TV show
very quickly due to the notorious "Standards & Practices"
division of AOL Time Warner. Looking back at Vince Russo's time
as the head writer for World Championship Wrestling, he failed
for many different reasons, and one of them is that in his own
words, he "got his head cut off" by Standards &
Practices. Anything remotely controversial would either be shot
down immediately by the censors, or would only make it on the
air in a toned-down fashion after long periods of tedious discussions
with S&P. Most of the ideas that were shot down or censored
by S&P were far more tame than many of the movies that air
on TNT and TBS, but movies are given more leeway because they
are viewed as being more "respectable."
TNT
in particular would be unrealistic as a potential cable home
for the UFC, given TNT's general tone that they're above anything
like pro wrestling, boxing, MMA, or anything else that isn't
a "highbrow" movie. TBS seems like an ideal match for
the UFC given its focus on trying to brand itself a "man's
network" with strong male demographics. Nonetheless, the
entire TBS management team could want the UFC and would still
have it shot down by Standards & Practices.
HBO
is the one network that is owned by AOL Time Warner and is not
controlled by the company's Standards & Practices division.
Unfortunately for the UFC, HBO is controlled to a certain degree
by its strong ties to the boxing industry. The same can be said
for Showtime. While Dana White was probably correct when he said
in the MMA Weekly interview that boxing people are probably not
going out of their way to cut off a UFC TV deal at the pass,
this still doesn't change the fact that some senior-level boxing
officials do indeed feel threatened by the UFC.
Much
like the WWE, boxing officials don't feel threatened by the UFC
product of today... it's what the UFC could be in five or ten
years that scares boxing and pro wrestling officials. While the
UFC's attempts to get a weekly TV deal may or may not be flying
under the radar of boxing people right now, it would be very
hard to miss if it were right there on HBO or Showtime with a
prominently featured weekly TV show. Of course, HBO and Showtime
are not owned by the boxing industry and can do whatever they
want, but they certainly are influenced by the boxing industry
to some degree, and the last thing they would want to do is ruffle
the feathers of any boxing executives.
USA
Network is not in a position to take any risks due to the fact
that its parent company, Vivendi Universal, is in shambles. USA
Network has been on a downslide since last year when Vivendi
bought back its controlling interest in the company from Barry
Diller for several billion dollars. Vivendi itself has been bleeding
billions of dollars ever since it merged with Seagram, and is
now looking to sell off its properties one by one. With USA Network
being on the sale block and having unstable management as it
is, now is not the time for USA Network to be "taking a
risk" with the UFC.
Even
if USA Network wasn't in shambles, the negotiating waters have
already been poisoned by one too many start-up wrestling companies.
USA's policy for the last two years has been that any pro wrestling
company that wants to get on the air has to put up $30 million
as a sort of security deposit, and the pro wrestling company
doesn't get that money back unless it produces X amount of ratings
for X amount of months or years' worth of TV shows. When you
take the likelihood that USA Network would have a similar policy
with any MMA organization, and combine it with the fact that
USA Network itself is a bleeding organization waiting to be chopped
up, it seems extremely unlikely that the UFC could get a TV deal
with USA Network anytime soon.
The
National Network, TNN, is going to be renaming itself "Spike
TV" as of June 16 and is planning to be a completely male-oriented
network. Look past the ridiculous new name for the network, and
the network sounds like a good fit for a company like the UFC
that has so much potential appeal to the 18-to-35-year-old male
demographic. Maybe it would be a perfect fit, but we'll never
know thanks to the WWE's relationship with TNN. TNN is more dependent
on the WWE for its average ratings from week to week than any
other cable network is on any other single property.
Even
if TNN wanted to add the UFC to the line-up, it can't. The WWE's
contract with TNN's parent company, Viacom, specifically states
that the WWE is to be the exclusive provider of "sports
entertainment programming" on any Viacom-owned network.
While the UFC certainly isn't the same thing as the WWE, lawyers
for the WWE could (and would) argue that the UFC still falls
under the category of "sports entertainment." The WWE
probably win in court due to the vague wording in the WWE-Viacom
contract, and the fact that WWE lawyers don't lose very often
in general. Fortunately for the WWE, that case would never even
go to court, since TNN would never want to do anything that would
upset or alienate the company that provides the vast majority
of its big ratings numbers.
MTV
is another network that could be a great fit for the UFC thanks
to the potential appeal to the 18-to-35-year-old male demographic.
Unfortunately, MTV just recently disassociated itself from pro
wrestling because it didn't have anything to do with music, and
the same logic would apply to the UFC. Also, strange as it sounds,
MTV was actually far more finicky and censorship-happy with WWE
programming than even a broadcast network like UPN. The final
nail in the coffin of a potential UFC-MTV deal is that even though
it doesn't air WWE programming anymore, MTV is still bound by
the terms of the WWE's contract with MTV's parent company, Viacom.
So even if they wanted to air UFC programming, they would be
blocked from doing so.
Fox
Sports Network aired two UFC specials last year in the time slot
that is normally occupied by Sunday night boxing, and the UFC
more than doubled the usual boxing ratings, despite getting almost
no promotion or fanfare from Fox Sports. UFC stars have also
appeared on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" several
times and have produced some of the highest quarter-hour ratings
in the history of the show. You would think this would make Fox
Sports Net eager to sign a weekly TV deal with the UFC, but apparently
that's not the case. Zuffa is likely running into a lot of the
same problems with Fox Sports Net that they did with ESPN, in
the sense that Fox Sports wants to be perceived as a "highbrow"
network and probably doesn't think the UFC fits that mold. Fox
Sports is probably more educated about MMA than any other cable
network, but it's still just as worried about public perception
as every other network.
Even
if the UFC did sign a deal with Fox Sports Network, they would
face a unique set of problems, due to the fact that Fox Sports
is so reliant on regional and local programming. In the Washington
DC television radius where I live, Fox Sports Net's prime time
line-up consists of regional programming from "Comcast SportsNet,"
and Fox Sports' normal prime time line-up doesn't hit the airwaves
until several hours later each night. The same is true to one
degree or another in most metropolitan areas in the United States.
Fox Sports has regional programming overriding national programming
all over the place, and even in parts of the country that usually
get the national prime time line-up from day to day, Fox still
wants to be able to pre-empt any show at any time for regional
programming.
It's
a mess, and one of the biggest reasons that Fox Sports Network
hasn't come close to challenging ESPN's dominance as the #1 sports
network. The UFC could advertise a certain time slot for a TV
show on Fox Sports Net, and in fact the truth of the matter would
be, "This is the time slot... unless you live in an area
where regional programming controls the prime time block, in
which case the show might air at 11:00 PM, or it might air at
9:00 PM, or maybe at midnight, or maybe not at all... and if
you do live in area that normally airs Fox Sports' national prime
time line-up, the show could still be pre-empted by local programming
at any time." That's not the ideal way to get people to
watch a TV show, although it would be better than having no TV
deal at all. Without some kind of firm commitment from Fox Sports
that the UFC TV show would air in the same time slot, every week,
in the vast majority of the country, any UFC TV show on Fox Sports
Net would be more like a syndicated show than an actual national
TV show.
One
of the networks that is most overlooked by fans as a potential
home for the UFC is actually a sister network of Fox Sports Net:
FX. FX does well in the age and gender demographics that the
UFC also appeals to. Just as important is the fact that FX isn't
bogged down by the regional programming mess that continues to
mar Fox Sports Network. The UFC could still take advantage of
its relatively good relationship with Fox, and with FX they would
be able to advertise a time slot that would actually be a legitimate
national time slot that would be the same throughout America.
Also, FX has a long history of airing Toughman Contests. While
it would be sad if FX executives thought that MMA is comparable
to a Toughman Contest, it's ultimately good for fans if it makes
a UFC TV deal more likely to happen.
The
UFC could end up with a weekly TV show on any of the networks
mentioned above, but as it stands right now, it's very unlikely
for any of them except Fox Sports Network and FX. Out of those
two networks, FX is the ideal home for the UFC if Zuffa wants
to be able to advertise a consistent and national time slot,
and Fox Sports Net is the ideal home for the UFC if Zuffa would
strongly prefer to be on a "sports network" as opposed
to a "non-sports network."
In
the meantime, with all of the national TV negotiations still
pending, MMA journalist Josh Gross is reporting that Zuffa has
signed a 20-episode TV deal with The Sunshine Network. The show
will reportedly feature previous UFC fights, in much the same
way as the two UFC specials that aired on Fox Sports Net last
year. The Sunshine Network is a regional network based out of
Florida that is available in approximately six million TV households
in America (the US has a total of more than 100 million TV households).
If
the UFC has indeed signed a TV deal with The Sunshine Network,
or if such a deal is signed in the future, you may be thinking
that it's meaningless to you unless you live in one of the six
million homes that has access to the network. In fact, a deal
with The Sunshine Network or a similar network could be the key
to helping Zuffa get a national cable deal. Given all of the
cable networks that are afraid of the content of a potential
UFC TV show, or skeptical about what kind of ratings the show
would produce after a couple weeks or months, or concerned that
not enough advertisers would want to associate themselves with
the product, this is a golden opportunity for Zuffa.
After
20 or more episodes of the UFC TV show have aired on The Sunshine
Network, Zuffa would then have concrete facts to bring to negotiating
meetings with national cable networks. Zuffa would be able to
say, "This is the show that we ran for 20 episodes on a
network that reaches six million US homes, this is the content
of the shows that aired... nobody died, nobody protested the
UFC being on the network, here are the good ratings that the
show did, here are all the advertisers that were willing and
happy to buy advertising on the show," and so on. Having
this as a negotiating tool wouldn't make it a foregone conclusion
that the UFC would get a weekly TV deal with a national cable
network, but it would make it much more likely to happen. When
it does eventually happen, more people than ever before will
be exposed to the sport that we all know and love.
Source: MMA Weekly
4/29/03
Quote
of the Day
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle,
stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson
Relson
Gracie Hawaii Boys at the Gracie Museum & Capture Rare Photo...
Here are a couple more pictures courtesy of our man wth the cell
camera. Both were taken when the guys visited the Gracie Museum
in Torrence, California located at Rorion Gracie's academy. They
are scheduled to fly back in the late afternoon or night. Bobby
"Mr. Cellular Camera Man" Moss, Mike Onzuka, Gye Nitta
& Malcolm Ahlo
The
Gracie Hawaii team was able to capture this rare glimpse of,
the thought to be extinct, grappling leprechan. You may know
him by his latin name "Annoyus Maximus in a Small Paximus."
(Paximus is package in Latin, well, not really, maybe in Pig
Latin) This one answered to the name Shane and consumed mass
quantities of Skittles and Motzarella cheese sticks. Obviously
the group was shaken up by the sighting which could explain why
the team did not do better.
Maui
Jiu-Jitsu Instructor and Rickson Gracie's right hand man, Luis
"Limao" Heredia just called and said that he won the
Black Belt Senior Featherweight title and came in 2nd Place in
the Black Belt Senior Absolute division at the Pan-Ams. Congrats
to Luis and all the other boys from Hawaii that put it on the
line and tested themselves at the Pan-Ams.
The
2003 Pan Ams took place this past weeekend at the UCSB's Robertson
Gym in Santa Barbara, Ca. With over 850 participants the event
was the largest Pan-Ams to date. Except for the problems at the
weigh-ins/registration, and a 'hoax' Bomb threat that sent Police
officers to the site, the event ran extremely smoothly with a
large number of great fights.
Highlights
in Kid's perspective had to be Rener Gracie securing the Gold
for the U.S.A team in the Heavyweight Division of International
Team Brazil v USA by submitting two times World Champion Fabio
Leopoldo via triangle at 9:30 minutes of the match.
Rener
was also involved in the other 'best match' of the event, against
Roberto 'Gordo' Correia in the regular event. Rener secured a
solid triangle on 'Gordo' 1 1/2 minutes into the match. The resilient
'Gordo' remained there until the 7th minute when he somehow managed
to escape and then pass Rener's guard for the win.
Of
note also was Carlson Gracie's Black Belt Aaron Lapointe who
redifined the word guts and strength of human spirit. For those
who don't know, Aaron does not have use of his right arm and
fights with it trapped in the belt. Aaron fought against the
Brazilian National Champion in the International event and lost
big points, however it took the Champ over 4 minutes to pass
Aaron's guard. Aaron returned in the main event and lost his
first fight by points but not without scoring several advantages
by near sweeps. In a word 'AMAZING'. Aaron I take my hat for
you! All the respect!
Kid
wants to apologize for the delay and briefness of this post,
but we will have a great photo gallery and more details later
this week!
Team
Results:
Youth:
1 Relson
Gracie
(This is due to our two young guns, Rolan Gracie & Kyle Snyder-Olivares)
2 Yamazaki
3 Franco De Camargo
Female:
1 Machado
2 Gracie Barra
3 Clovis
Adult:
1 Gracie Barra
2 Aliance USA
3 Machado
Master:
1 Alliance USA
2 Carlson Gracie
3 Cleber Luciano
Source: ADCC/Kid Peligro
PACIFIC
FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS II
We are currently looking for fighters to compete in Muay Thai,
Kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts that will be taking place on
Saturday July 5, 2003. We are trying something new and want to
see how the fans will react. For those that are interested please
email matchmaker with bios at pfc.hawaii@verizon.net or go to www.pfchawaii.com to fill out an application.
Source: Event Promoter
Rumble
On The Rock 3 Is In The Works!
The Penn family's Rumble On The Rock event is scheduled for August
9th in Hilo, Hawaii.
2003
Hawaiian Championships of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
On May 24th
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu will host a BJJ tournament which
will feature both gi and no-gi divisions.
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2003
Start time: 10:30AM
Place: Klum Gym, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Early registration fee is $35 (before May 1st) and $40 after
that date.
$10 extra wil be charged if you want to compete in both the gi
& no-gi divisions.
Weigh-ins:
Date: May 23, 2003
Time: 12:00-1:00PM or 6:00-8:00PM
Place: UH Athletic Complex Studio 4
Contact: Romolo Barros @ 392-8330 or James Tanaka @ 223-9363
(or email James at jkt@lava.net) for more information or to obtain
applications.
Standing
Up for What's Right
By Josh Gross
Let's
sound this out. Maybe it'll make a little more sense after we
read through it once or twice. (Though I'll take bets it doesn't.)
You're a dangerous striker. You get taken down and pummeled until
blood streams from your face. You're on the verge of losing,
either by stoppage or decision. Your safety is in question. The
fight is halted and you're stood up so a ringside physician can
determine whether or not you're fit to take more punishment.
It's discovered you can: Jackpot!
You'll
get to fight on your feet -- the place in the ring you want to
be above all others.
And
that's how Duane "Bang" Ludwig was able to defeat Genki
Sudo on Friday night. Take nothing away from the young fighter's
heart, skill or desire -- he displayed each in an inspiring performance
-- but his victory, it seems, was tainted by the fact that an
illogical rule had more to do with the result than anything else.
"If
that wasn't stood up it could have been a different fight,"
UFC president Dana White said late Friday night.
"I'd
be chirping about it if I were Genki's people."
With
Ludwig on his back, bleeding heavily from his nose after several
powerful Sudo punches, the referee in charge of the action, "Big"
John McCarthy, stepped in to call timeout. The fighters were
stood up and Ludwig was brought over to the ringside physician.
The
kid, it was determined, could fight. And rightfully so, they
don't come much tougher than "Bang." But instead of
directing the fighters back to the mat where he found them, McCarthy
restarted action on the feet.
Clearly,
he holds no blame here. The stand up was not a subjective one.
McCarthy was interested solely in Ludwig's safety. The problem,
however, lies in the aftermath. "I went up and said something
to John afterward," said White. "And John said 'It's
the rule, man.'"
McCarthy,
like each Florida, Nevada, New Jersey or other mixed martial
arts-friendly state licensed referee, was just doing his job:
adhering to a rule that makes little sense.
It
seems, now more than ever, a petition for a regulation change
would be something worth exploring. "It would have to be
brought before the commissions," said White. "What
would have to happen is when a guy is down on the ground, you
check a cut and you put them back in the same position.
"It
would be a lot of work."
Work
should not be an issue in this. Simply stated: It's a matter
of right versus wrong. And while Ludwig should be commended for
continuing to scrape and claw his way versus Sudo, I can't help
but question the rule that played a large part in giving him
an opportunity to regroup, thus totally shifting the fight's
momentum in the final minute 45 seconds.
There's
not one rational reason for the current regulation to remain,
unless (and don't be surprised if this is the case) promoters
are working under the assumption that the "stand up"
rule encourages excitement.
Because,
clearly, it doesn't do much in the fairness department.
There
are other more extreme examples. Just last month, Carlos Newton
controlled Anderson Silva on the ground for the first six minutes
of their PRIDE 25 fight. He passed the guard, delivered strikes
and dominated position. Yet when the referee deemed Silva to
be stalling, the fight was stood up. What happens? Newton, the
better grappler, is subsequently knocked out with a flying knee
while Silva landed a rather pretty yellow card. One would think
that type of penalty is not worth enforcing -- unless, of course,
your last name happens to be Silva.
Exciting?
Maybe. But not always.
Fair?
No way. Never.
"How
a guy can lose controlling position to check a cut?" White
asked, stating out loud the question that came to my mind the
moment Sudo-Ludwig was restarted on the feet two-thirds of the
way through round three.
"It's
not right," White said.
You
better believe it.
Best
ever?
In
trying to get a sense for Matt Hughes' frame of mind (and his
conditioning) in the days leading up to his title defense versus
Sean Sherk, one theme rang true amongst those I spoke with: he
spent hardly any time training in Iowa with Pat Miletich and
the rest of the crew in Davenport -- but, still, it was obvious
no one was worried.
He
didn't train at all for Castillo, it was said. And for the rematch
versus Newton he was in the gym less than two weeks. It's getting
to the point with the UFC welterweight champion that you can't
tell if he spent time in the gym or not -- and you almost don't
want him to so he doesn't win too dominantly.
The
last fight he invested significant amount of time in the gym
was for his first title defense, a subsequent four-round drubbing
of Hayato "Mach" Sakurai. In the three bouts that have
followed, he's been as equal a force -- training omissions be
damned.
It
seems the only opponents that may conquer Hughes are complacency
and boredom. He's cleaned out virtually the entire welterweight
class. At this point, the only interesting option is Frank Trigg.
But he's not as skilled as Hughes, and is far too inactive to
be any more of a threat than Sherk, Castillo and Newton were.
Sure there are calls for Hughes to avenge two losses to Dennis
Hallman. But it's hard to imagine the outcome wouldn't be entirely
different when the two step in the ring for a third time.
So
where should, as odds maker Danny Sheridan dubbed him, "Gentleman"
Matt Hughes find his next challenge? (And this is presuming he's
even looking for one at this point. It's been said that if he
could make as much money farming as he does fighting we might
never see Hughes again.) I think it's clear that his future should
be at 185 pounds. With potential match ups versus the likes of
Dan Henderson (if he signs with Zuffa), Matt Lindland, Phil Baroni,
David Loiseau (who's dispatched a handful of Monte Cox's fighters),
et al, the anticipation of watching future Hughes' fights jumps
ten-fold.
But
then again, Hughes has said he could drop down to 155 pounds.
What the heck, maybe we're looking at the sports' first three-division
champion?
Lawler
Injury Update
Robbie
Lawler, who quit on his feet in the second round of his bout
versus Pete Spratt on Friday, is scheduled to undergo an MRI
when he returns to Davenport, Iowa this Tuesday. As of Sunday
night there was nothing new to report on the status of his injury.
There has been plenty of speculation that he may have suffered
a dislocated hip following a Spratt leg kick, however Monte Cox
told MaxFighting that it may just be a bone chip.
Source: Maxfighting
Shaolin's
Quest for the Shooto Title Continues
SHOOTO: May 4th - Tokyo, Kourakuen Hall
Middleweight
[-76.0Kg]
Yasuyuki Tokuoka vs. Shigetoshi Iwase
Bantamweight
[-56.0Kg]
Masatoshi Abe vs. Junji Ikoma
Class
A 3 x 5 minutes rounds:
[-68.0Kg]
Hideki Kadowaki vs. Makoto Ishikawa
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg]
Masato Shiozawa vs. Marco Roulo
Lightheavyweight
[-83.0Kg]
Martijn de Jong vs. Shikou Yamashita
Bantamweight
[-56.0Kg]
Robson Moura vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]
Ryan Bow vs. Vitor
'Shaolin' Ribeiro
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg] Survivor Tournament Final
Kentaro Imaizumi vs. Ryota Matsune
Source: ADCC
UFC
PRESIDENT TALKS T.V
UFC President
Dana White sat down with MMAWeekly's Ivan Trembow and the hot
topic was television as rumors continue to swirl about the possibility
of the UFC going on t.v.
Ivan
Trembow: What obstacles have you faced in trying to get a cable
TV deal for the UFC?
Dana
White: Basically, what's happening is that we've gone out and
talked to a lot of different TV companies. We make it all the
way up to the top... you know, the ground level people want it,
but once it gets to the top, they shoot it down. They're just
afraid of it. Basically, they're just afraid of the product right
now. Perception is still out there very strong even though we're
back on pay-per-view, we've changed it, and we're sanctioned.
Perception is still what's killing us.
Ivan:
I would imagine the first thing a network would say is that they
would never allow a live fight in a million years. They would
say, "Somebody's going to die out there" even though
no one ever has.
Dana:
Exactly. If we do eventually come to a deal, which I know we
will, we're still in talks with a lot of people right now...
it's going to be taped fights. Then they can hand-pick through
them, and they've even talked about editing. We were going to
sell the Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock fight to a large network and
they wanted to do it, but when the fight was over, they said
the fight was too brutal.
Ivan:
But you would have fights on TV that are specifically taped for
TV, kind of like with UFC 37.5?
Dana:
What we would do is, we'd do a smaller show, like here in Vegas,
and we'd have 20 fights, tape them all, and then cut them up
and turn them into like three or four different TV shows.
Ivan:
Have there been some networks that want partial ownership, like
maybe a ten percent stake in the company?
Dana:
Yeah, that could be a possibility, too.
Ivan:
Is that something Zuffa would be willing to do for a TV deal?
Dana:
We'd be willing to do anything. We'd listen to anything that
anybody had to say. If it makes business sense for us, then yeah,
we'd do that.
Ivan:
In the case of HBO or Showtime, do you think they're so embedded
with boxing that they wouldn't want to ruffle the feathers of
any boxing people who might perceive the UFC to be a threat in
the long term? Have you run into anything like that with those
networks, or even ESPN since they also have ties to boxing?
Dana:
I don't know if that's really true because we've definitely butted
heads with some boxing guys, but Lorenzo and I both come from
boxing, so we have a lot of relationships there. I really don't
think that it's the boxing powers trying to squash us. We've
had a couple of run-ins and a couple of headbutts, but nothing
real big.
Ivan:
Is it even looked at as a possibility to have a syndicated deal
with a regional group like The Sunshine Network out of Florida,
or are you strictly looking for just a national cable deal? Would
you be willing to do a syndicated deal?
Dana:
It would depend on the deal. I don't know what I would do unless
we got in a room and started talking. But just off the top of
my head, I can say that we're out there every day working to
get a TV show.
Ivan:
Has Zuffa's relationship with ESPN been damaged by the whole
"Outside the Lines" situation, where they filmed footage
at ten UFC shows and aired almost none of it, and changed what
they were going to air at the last minute? Has that put any kind
of a damper on negotiations?
Dana:
Not really, because we had been talking with ESPN, but at the
end of the day, it still all depends on the deal. We were never
really that far with ESPN. We were never to the point where we
had a deal with them.
Ivan:
Are you pretty much just negotiating with Fox Sports Network,
or are there other cable networks involved?
Dana:
There's a lot of other cable networks involved.
Ivan:
Are you able to comment on which networks you have negotiated
with, or are negotiating with, or can you not really name specific
networks for legal reasons?
Dana:
Specifically, I don't want to do that. Just because of the business,
I don't want to specifically say who I'm talking to and who is
interested.
Ivan:
With networks that are afraid of the product as you put it, what
can you do to show them that there's really nothing to be afraid
of?
Dana:
You just go out there and let them know what the sport is all
about now that it's changed and it's sanctioned. You know, show
them some fights and show them some stuff. There's not much else
you can do. Believe me, everything you can possibly do, we've
done it and then some. It gets all the way to the top, everybody
wants to do it, and then the top guy shoots it down because nobody
has the balls to take it right now.
Ivan:
What are some of the financial difficulties, like having to pay
to get on the air or selling advertising...
Dana:
That's the other thing. At the end of the day, they don't think
anyone is going to want to attach themselves to it and buy advertising.
Ivan:
Wouldn't you probably get a lot of the same advertisers that
boxing gets on TV, or do the networks think that those companies
wouldn't want to advertise with you?
Dana:
I really don't understand because we did the ratings that we
did on Fox Sports Net for the two specials, and it more than
doubled what they normally get for boxing in that time slot.
You can't tell me that the people who are advertising during
the boxing slots wouldn't want to advertise during MMA events,
when they're getting more eyeballs watching it than they would
with the boxing.
Ivan:
Is the amount of money that the networks would want you to pay
every week to be on TV a high enough amount that it would potentially
be financially crippling for the UFC?
Dana:
I would never pay to be on TV. That I won't do.
Ivan:
Well, I know that at least with any pro wrestling company, which
the networks would probably approach in much the same way they
would approach MMA, the networks are saying the exact opposite.
They won't pay for rights fees, and they want any new company
coming in to pay them a fee every week for the air time. Have
there been networks that have been willing to bend on that issue,
and not insist on the UFC paying them to get on the air?
Dana:
Yeah, definitely. That has definitely happened.
Ivan:
That's great to hear because that's a major hurdle to clear.
But going back to something you mentioned earlier... I think
the assumption has been that if the UFC gets a TV deal, it would
be something like the show you have in Britain right now, or
the two specials on Fox Sports Net last year. It would be more
about developing personalities and showing fights that have already
happened, with no fights taped specifically for the purpose of
airing on cable TV...
Dana:
Those fights on the specials weren't for the hardcore fans, they
were to bring in new viewers. But when you talk about people
having already seen those fights, you're talking about like 40,000
people, and the viewership we did on those specials was over
a million people.
Ivan:
But you're saying this would be different, and that you would
tape fights specifically for the purpose of airing them on free
TV?
Dana:
Yeah. I mean, it would do us no good to just keep doing the British
show and air it in the US. Plus, we would run out of content
eventually. The reason we want to do it the way I'm talking about
with smaller-type shows is so that we could build up guys into
pay-per-view stars.
Ivan:
So you would have guys getting built up on the TV show and moving
up to the pay-per-views, and maybe guys who are on losing streaks
on the pay-per-views would move down to the TV show. So it could
be kind of like a developmental system.
Dana:
Absolutely, just like they did with boxing. What we would do
is that I would have guys who are already my pay-per-view guys
like, say, Chuck Liddell and Tim Sylvia and a bunch of other
guys. Then we would take one of the younger pay-per-view guys
like Robbie Lawler, and he would be the main event on a TV show...
and the rest would all be up-and-coming guys, where we're out
shopping for new talent to build.
Ivan:
Would you have the TV tapings like once a month?
Dana:
That would just depend on how the TV deal was structured, like
how many fights we had to show, how often the show was on, and
things like that.
Ivan:
Would you say that you're farther away from a TV deal than you
were a few months ago, or closer to a deal, or has there not
really been any change?
Dana:
No no no, we're definitely closer. I just thought this was going
to be a much quicker process than it has been. We're working
on it every day. All we do day-to-day is work on getting on free
TV. It's not like we're just not into it and don't care about
it. That's all we do.
Ivan:
Alright, I've got one final question that is completely unrelated,
but I have to ask you this. What do you think about Pride's recent
statement that they want the US to be their primary market in
the future?
Dana:
I think it's insane. I know that if I were drawing 50,000 or
60,000 fans to stadiums in America, I certainly wouldn't go to
Japan and hope to sell 10,000 seats. That would be the last thing
I would want to do.
Source: MMA Weekly
4/28/03
Quote
of the Day
Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.
I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty,
believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott
Pan-American
BJJ Tournament Update:
These
are not official results just what Mike could remember off the
top of his head.
Sunday:
Relson
Gracie Team:
Shane Agena 3rd Place Brown Belt
Mike Onzuka 3rd Place Masters Brown Belt
Reyn Morimoto 1st Place Masters Purple Belt
Malcolm Ahlo 1st Place Seniors Purple Belt
Gye Nitta 3rd Place Master Blue Belt
Eben Kaneshiro (Kamole) 2nd Place Purple Belt
Black Belt Matches:
Roberto "Gordo" Correira def. Rener Gracie
Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz def. Todd Margolis
Todd Margolis def. Amal Easton
Saturday:
Black Belt Matches:
Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz won
Rener Gracie finished his opponent via triangle after his Fabio
Leopoldo escaped an extremely tight foot lock.
Relson
Gracie Team:
Rolan Gracie 1st Place Juvenile, Blue Belt, 16-17yrs old
Kyle Snyder-Olivares 2nd Place Juvenile, Blue Belt 16-17yrs old,
148-160lbs
Todd Tanaka 3rd Place Purple Belt
Brad Scott - 1st Place Blue Belt
Enson
Inoue and Josh Barnett return to the ring
...the Pro Wrestling Ring
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) organization make 5 matches MMA
in next show.
"ULTIMATE CRUSH" 5.2 TOKYO DOME
Date : May 2nd 2003
Place: Tokyo Dome
Start: 17:00
1st
Match : IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match:
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Koji Tanahashi
2nd Match
Takashi Iizuka vs. Ken Shamrock
3rd Match : IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title:
Koji Kanemoto & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Heat & Tiger
Mask 4
MMA
5 Matches
4th Match MMA rule
Ryoto Machida (Inoki Office) vs. Kengo (Pancrase ism)
5th Match MMA rule
Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar vs. Tsuyoshi Kosaka (Team Alliance)
6th Match MMA rule
Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW) vs. Jan "The Giant" Nortje
(K-1)
7th Match MMA rule
Josh Barnett (AMC Pankration) vs. Jimmy "The Titan"
Ambriz
8th Match MMA rule
Manabu Nakanishi (NJPW) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (Inoki Office)
9th Match
Enson Inoue vs. Kazunari Murakami
10th Match
Kenta Kobashi vs. Masahiro Chono
11th Match : IWGP Heavyweight Title:
Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Source: Koichi "Booker K" Kawasaki
Koka
& Fa'agai Sponsored by Second To None Fight Wear
If you
have not figured it out by now, Onzuka.com's primary mission
is the help bring notoriety to Hawaii's MMA and fighters, promoters,
events and martial artists. So with that in mind, we are posting
this information that was sent to us because hopefully it encourages
larger sponsors to support Hawaii's fighters, allowing them to
realize their full potential. If you know of a fighter that is
sponsored, please send us an email and we will recognize him or her.
FIGHTERS that are sponsored
Kolo "ICE COLD" Koka (Grappling Unlimited)
Jacob "Hitman" Fa'agai (Untaimed Bloodline Fight Club) *Recently
fought in Amateur Fighting Competition & Pacific Fighting
Championship
Source: Second To None Fight Wear
KOTC
'SIN CITY' - A Preview!
by: Keith Mills
Las Vegas, NV - Excitement is growing as we get closer to the
next King Of The Cage pay-per-view. As reported earlier, Ronald Jhun takes on Shonie Carter
for the vacant Welterweight belt. Like the UFC the title action
is not the only Welterweight fight for the night, as Diego Sanchez
takes on Mike Guymond and Joe Stevenson takes on Thomas Denny.
The
current KOTC Welterweight rankings are:
Champion:
Vacant
#1 Ron
Jhun
#2 Dennis Hallman
#3 John Alessio
#4 Shonie Carter
#5 Joe Stevenson
#6 Karo Parisyan
#7 Diego Sanchez
#8 Thomas Denny
#9 Benji Radach
#10 Jeremy Jackson
#11 Marcos Santos
#12 John Cronk
Although
this may be Stevenson’s last fight at 170 before dropping
to 155 at 15-5-0 he is still ranked #5 in the KOTC rankings.
Other promoters and matchmakers say Joe is a person to beat,
always on the cusp of making it big but falling short when facing
the top talent in the world. In his debut he caught Steve Horton
in a submission before he lost in the finals of a four-man tournament
to Jens Pulver by KO. He went on the beat Joe Camacho before
losing to Chris Brennan in KOTC 1 by triangle choke. After picking
up four straight wins he ran into KOTC #1 ranked Ronald Jhun and lost by decision.
Two wins later he lost his first fight to Brad Gumm but after
picking up another win rematched Gumm and won. He went on another
winning streak including EC 50 tournament finalist Cruz Chacon
and impressive up-and-comer and KOTC #10 ranked Jeremy Jackson
to finally take the 170 belt but in his first defense was matched
up against Romie Aram. Romie took the belt by decision before
vacating it to fight in the UFC. Stevenson went on to pick up
two more wins in Gladiator Challenge and now looks to leave the
170 division at least for now on a winning streak.
KOTC
#8 ranked and Shooto A Class fighter Thomas Denny also suffers
from the “limelight hurdle”, with losses to Shooto’s
#2 ranked Middleweight Jutaro Nakao, KOTC #3 ranked John Alessio,
UFC vet Duane Ludwig known as the man who KO’d Jens Pulver,
KOTC #4 ranked Lightweight Chris Brennan, and UCC Canadian champ
George St. Pierre. Denny is coming off a win in KOTC where he
totally controlled Justin Stanley.
Most
insiders are giving the edge to Denny standing, with his background
in kickboxing and his powerful strikes, while Stevenson is looked
at as having the edge in wrestling and ground-and-pound. With
both fighters experienced in submission defense but preferring
to strike don’t look for this one to end with a tapout.
Denny has 1” on Stevenson and both are said to cut roughly
the same amount of weight, so unlike Romi’s fight with Joe,
body type and size shouldn’t be a factor. Denny may have
a slight edge in cornering, having gone through both UCC and
KOTC with the three KOTC belt holders from Millennia Jiu-Jitsu
in his corner while chances are HOOKnSHOOT Middleweight Champion
Phillip Miller may be cornering Stevenson. Faith in Stevenson
as the favorite is running high as evidenced by the fact that
although he hasn’t yet fought at 155 he is currently ranked
#3 in the Lightweight class in-between former champion Javier
Vasquez and Chris Brennan who has beaten Joe before.
'King
of the Cage: Sin City ' will be held on Friday, May 16, 2003
from the Orleans Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gates open
at 4:30pm PST, fights start at 5:30pm. In addition, 'King of
the Cage: Sin City' will be televised on pay-per-view! The pay-per-view
broadcast begins at 6:00pm PST/9:00pm EST and is available via
DirecTV, The Dish Network, TVN, Bell Express Vu, and Viewer s
Choice. For more information on pay-per-view availability, check
your local listings.
Source: ADCC
Roy
Jones Jr. Says NO Tyson
Fight If He Signs With King
By Ron Heard
April
26, 2003; Now that Roy Jones Jr. has decided to stay at heavyweight
the boxing world is waiting to see who he will be fighting next.
The two most talked about names are Evander Holyfield and Mike
Tyson. In a conversation with Murad Muhammad this morning Boxingtalk
asked Murad who the front runner was to face Roy and this is
what he had to say. "I hear that Don King has offered Mike
Tyson $10-20 million dollars plus 5 automobiles to sign with
him. If this happens Roy Jones will not be facing Mike Tyson.
Roy has made it clear that he will not be involved in another
fight where Don King owns the other fighter and is also the co-promoter
- King must be one or the other, not both." When asked about
Evander Holyfield, Murad explained, "Evander is free and
clear of Don King so this fight is still a possibility. King
will be the co-promoter and that is o.k. as long as King does
not own the fighter."
Source: Boxing Talk
4/27/03
Quote
of the Day
"Abundance
is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into."
Wayne Dyer
KAOS
Full-Contact Fighting Challenge 2 Results
Dole Cannery
Ballroom, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, April 26th
KAOS Full-Contact Fighting Challenge 2
Dole Cannery Ballroom, Honolulu, Hawaii
April 26, 2003
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
Amateur
MMA (2 Rounds X 3 rounds)
Mike Bauer (HMC) def. Raymond Ursua (808 Fight Factory)
Unanimous decision [(20-17-20-16), (20-17)]
Amateur MMA
Tommy Woo (808 Fight Factory) def. Ben George (Bulls Pen)
Unanimous decision [(29-24), 29-24), (29-24)]
Professional
MMA:
Bob Ostovich (JIL) def. Shimone Yuhuva (Team Rukus)
Submission due to exhaustion and bad position in Round 1.
Professional
MMA:
John Naole (HMC) def. Paul Laga (Bulls Pen)
KO via straight right at 7 seconds in Round 1.
Professional
MMA:
Alex Serdyukov (Next Generation) def. Harris Sariento (808 Fight
Factory)
Submission due to Kimura key lock in Round 1.
Professional
MMA:
Dez Miner (808 Fight Factory) def. James Stanford (Hard Knocks)
Submission, fighter did not want to come out after the end of
the first round.
Professional
MMA:
Kauai Kupihea (Brausa) def. Vai Togia (Hard Knocks)
TKO via referee stoppage in Round 1.
Professional
MMA:
Ron Jhun (808 Fight Factory) def. James Meals (Team Pain)
Submission due to strikes to the body.
Some
Quick Pan-American JJ Tournament News
Here
are some of the guys who have placed in the first day of the
Pan-Ams.
Rolan
Gracie (Juvenile 16-17yrs old)- 1st Place
Kyle Snyder-Olivares (Juvenile 16-17yrs old, 148-160lbs) - 2nd
Place
Brad Scott (Blue Belt) - 1st Place
Half the team has competed and the other half competes today.
KOTC
Pre View: Shonie Carter versus Ronald Jhun
by: Keith Mills
One of the three title belts to be awarded at the next KOTC pay-per-view
will be the 170 belt on the line between Shonie Carter and Ronald
Jhun. This fight comes just over six months since these two fought
to a draw for the SuperBrawl belt back in December, a controversial
outcome to say the least. For that bout many spectators gave
the first round to Carter and the second to Jhun but in the third
round Jhun knocked down Carter, forcing a mandatory 8-count and
in many people’s eyes giving Jhun a 10-8 round and therefore
the win. The judges didn’t see it that way and the fight
was ruled a draw with scores of 28-29, 29-28, and 28-28. There
currently is no SuperBrawl 170 champion.
Carter
went on to pick up a win in another controversial fight in his
return to KOTC in February. Many thought in that fight Fernando
Vasconcelos had the first round while Shonie had the second but
the controversy arose when Fernando’s corner, who insisted
they were told the fight was only a 2-round fight, refused to
come out for the third round and the fight was ruled a TKO for
Shonie by corner throwing in the towel. In March Shonie won a
decision in Shooto before losing a decision in WEC in the fight
of the night to Jeremy Jackson and picking up yet another decision
win in Shido earlier this month. Shonie is known for his unorthodox
style, which excites the crowd even if it does usually result
in a judge’s decision.
808
Fight Factory’s Jhun “only” fought twice since
facing Shonie six months ago, with a draw to Dennis Hallman in
KOTC in December and a win over Mike Panalber in SuperBrawl 28.
Although Jhun, based out of Hawaii, is usually thought of as
a powerful striker he has proven he can whip out a submission
win from time to time and usually puts on a great show. The first
fight with Shonie was Jhun’s first at 170.
Now
these two much-feared warriors rematch for the King Of The Cage
170 belt which is up for grabs now that Romie Aram left to fight
in the UFC and vacated the belt. Romie never defended the belt,
having taken it from Joe Stevenson back in October. This fight
looks to be one of the closest and most exciting so far on the
next KOTC card and quite possibly the fight of the night. Detractors
for Shonie complain he takes too many fights and doesn’t
prepare enough against specific opponents to be a top star while
Jhun’s say he is too inconsistent, both arguments which
now seem outdated; Carter in his fight against Jackson knew enough
to try to take him down right away and when that didn’t
work tried to stay out of distance with kicks while Jhun looks
to have snapped out of his losing streak that plagued him last
year and reportedly is back to his old self.
Whoever
wins this belt will have some tough competition to defend it
against. Romi’s teammate John Alessio is still the KOTC
Superfight Champion and fights at 170, although rumors of his
possibly moving on have been circulating. California also has
some tough Middleweights like KOTC vet Jeremy Jackson and IFC
170 Champion Nick Diaz who would both make great contenders.
To further elevate the respect of this belt Chris Lytle, the
current HOOKnSHOOT champion, or Jason Black, the UCC champion,
could both be recruited.
The
bottom line is not only does this fight have great potential
but looks to carry the momentum of UFC 42’s attention on
the Welterweights forward into May and make that whole division
possibly the one to watch throughout the summer.
'King
of the Cage: Sin City ' will be held on Friday, May 16, 2003
from the Orleans Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gates open
at 4:30pm PST, fights start at 5:30pm. In addition, 'King of
the Cage: Sin City' will be televised on pay-per-view! The pay-per-view
broadcast begins at 6:00pm PST/9:00pm EST and is available via
DirecTV, The Dish Network, TVN, Bell Express Vu, and Viewer s
Choice. For more information on pay-per-view availability, check
your local listings.
Source: ADCC
Hughes
Dominates, Franca and Ludwig Surprise In Sunshine State
By Loretta Hunt
UFC
42: Sudden Impact will certainly not go down as one of the more
dramatic evenings of MMA action. Held in Miami, Florida at the
American Airlines Arena, the event drew a respectable yet far
from sell-out crowd (Zuffa estimates attendance at somewhere
between 6,500 and 7,000 spectators). Although there were a couple
of surprise upsets on the card, it was not enough to overcome
a lacking energy in the arena -- contributed to a stilted pace
and atmosphere.
Here's
a rundown of the night's action:
Sherk
It was a clear-cut domination by welterweight champion Matt Hughes
this evening, as he easily displayed his superior strength and
skills to best fellow wrestler Sean Sherk. With a sense of urgency,
Hughes shot in for the takedown off the bat, pushing Sherk to
the fence and down to the ground. The champ went on to dominate
Sherk for the first two rounds, positioning his challenger against
the cage for some punishment that opened various wounds on Sherk's
face. The Minnesotan rallied in the third, shooting in for his
first takedown which Hughes amply defended. Another double led
attempt had Hughes against the fence and eventually down, but
Sherk was far less effective in the top position. Hughes even
capitalized from below, almost catching Sherk in a tight Kimura.
Hughes was able to achieve full mount by round four, but Sherk
held on, all the while taking more damage with little chance
to mount a counter. By round five, Hughes' ground tactics were
just too overwhelming, but to Sherk's credit, he was able to
go the distance. Hughes was awarded the unanimous decision (48-45,
48-47, 49-46).
Spratt
For the co-main event, "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler suffered
the first loss of his career against Pete "The Secret Weapon"
Spratt, a former Golden Gloves boxer and expert kickboxer. Getting
Spratt to the ground first via a takedown and then by a Hughes-like
slam, Lawler looked promising, but Spratt's damaging leg kicks
soon took their toll. Spratt was able to get a takedown himself
late in the round and maneuvered to mount just as the bell was
sounding. In round two, Lawler worked his knees in the clinch
and the bout was stopped briefly when a deep cut opened up over
Spratt's right eye. The action was continued with Spratt landing
one more right high kick before Lawler, grasping his side, abruptly
(verbally) submitted at 3:25 in. At the time of this writing,
it is still unclear exactly what kind of damage Lawler took and
when and how it was inflicted.
In
the "swing bout" for the night, former King of The
Cage welterweight champion Romie Aram dropped opponent Dave Strasser
out of the gate with a clean right. Aram went in for the kill,
but an experienced Strasser recovered nicely, settling Aram into
his guard. Aram inched Strasser to the fence, but the fight would
soon be back up on its feet. Dodging a shot by Aram, Strasser
twisted behind his opponent and followed him down to the ground
into the mount, but was unable to finish the job from there.
Much of round two and three had Aram on the defensive, with the
action split between the ground and standing at a fairly even
pace. However, neither fighter was able to make much of an impression
on the by-then disinterested crowd. Strasser via unanimous decision
(30-27 all).
Cabbage
Hawaiian heavyweight Wesley
"Cabbage" Correira delivered exactly the performance fans came
out to see him for. After weathering a mostly uneventful first
round in which Renzo Gracie pupil Sean Alvarez tried time after
time to take him down, Correira unloaded on Alvarez three minutes
into the second after recovering quickly from the sole takedown
of the bout. With Alvarez visibly stunned, referee John McCarthy
stepped in along the cage to end the fight at 1:47 in round two.
In
the second televised bout of the night, Meattruck Inc.'s Rich
Franklin was able to beat the sizable odds against him by avoiding
opponent Evan Tanner's wrath on the ground. Tanner never shot
in for the takedown, while Franklin quickly overcame his lack
of Octagon experience, warming up into some crisp punching combos
and kicks. The Team Quest fighter defended well at first, but
Franklin soon got inside, stumbling the vet and then following
up quickly with more strikes. Referee Larry Landless stopped
the bout when Tanner, from his angle, fell to his knees and hunched
over. Although it appeared Tanner could continue after the men
were separated, he handled the somewhat questionable referee
stoppage like the true professional he is, congratulating Franklin
immediately for his impressive debut. Franklin gets the TKO via
ref stoppage at 2:20.
In
a much anticipated match-up of showman versus no nonsense competitor,
Japan's Genki Sudo and opponent Duane "Bang" Ludwig
started off the live pay-per-view with, well, a bang. Sudo had
dominated in his UFC premiere, but with world-class kickboxer
Ludwig standing across from him this time around, it would be
America's chance to see if "the Neo Warrior" was more
than just a court jester. With striking mastermind John Hackleman
in tow, Bang made his way to the ring and quickly settled into
his corner, probably knowing that his opponent's entrance would
be no ordinary one. Sudo garbed in a long black wig, white kabuki
mask and kimono, resembled a dainty female as he danced down
the ramp to the audience's approval. He started the bout with
his back to Ludwig, trying to taunt his opponent out into some
kind of attack. Ludwig wasn't biting. Sudo posed and preened,
and got little resistance from Ludwig as he took him down to
the mat. It looked like Ludwig was in trouble for Sudo had half
mount by 2:50, side mount by 2:45, and full mount by 2:30. Thwarting
an armbar, Ludwig managed to get to his feet and reversed Sudo
on the cage. Ludwig landed his first shots in the second, and
as suspected, the K-1 vet was too fast and too hard, forcing
Sudo to shoot in for the takedown. Stalled action had both men
brought back to their feet, where Ludwig began to expose Sudo's
weaknesses on his feet, and before long, the showman was dropping
his shtick and doing more to defend. Round three was Sudo's to
take. He easily got Ludwig to the ground and pinned him against
the fence while reigning down punches to end the bout. Big John
McCarthy's decision to halt the fight was the best thing to happen
to Bang. Bleeding profusely from his face it looked like the
doctors would stop it, but fans were about to witness the biggest
rally of the night. Bang came alive with less than two minutes
to go, gaining the key top position and turning the tables with
some ground and pound of his own to garner the unanimous decision
(29-28 all).
In
Preliminary Action:
Franca
Two of the fastest rising teams in the business put forth the
best they have to offer in tonight's first lightweight match-up
of the evening. Fans were treated to it all from devastating
strikes to hairsplitting submission escapes in an explosive first
round. American Kickboxing Academy's Rich Crunkilton came in
with a powerful right hook that he dispatched quickly and effectively.
American Top Team's Hermes Franca was ready though--much to the
surprise of those that considered the Brazilian jiu-jitsu untested
on his feet--countering well and landing a few punches of his
own which Crunkilton ate at first with little emotion. With a
beautiful judo throw, Crunkilton navigated the action to the
ground, and Franca dug in with a reversed heel hook that "Cleat"
narrowly escaped in the first of many close calls for the night.
The crowd was eating it up, cheering on local boy Franca and
applauding Cleat for his uncanny counter grappling. By round
two, Crunkilton began to show the wear and tear of round one's
frenetic pace, while Franca began to pick up some steam with
decent jabs and aggressive groundwork. Round three saw Franca
work from a triangle choke to an armbar to a Kimura attempt,
which torqued Crunkilton's elbow out of its socket and back in
again. An exhausted Crunkilton had just enough to defend, but
not enough to get back on the offensive. Franca was handed the
unanimous decision (29-28 all).
Loiseau
Those that were hoping for a stand-up war between England's Mark
Weir and Canada's David "the Crow" Loiseau might have
been surprised, but ultimately not disappointed, for their bout
ended in dramatic fashion. After one weighing kick from Weir,
middleweight Loiseau went in for the takedown, pushing the lanky
against the cage. The action staled as both fighters tussled
for position but finally Loiseau got Weir to the ground by switching
to the single leg. In Weir's guard, Loiseau played a patient
game picking his shots when he could, as Weir threw some occasional
leather up or maneuvered for a choke. At first glance, it seemed
that Loiseau might be slowing, but with 1:10 left he unleashed
an onslaught of shots that Weir could not defend. The Crow gets
the win with a knockout 3:55 into the first round.
Source: FCF
UFC
42 After the fact, News and Notes
The UFC’s
first foray into Miami came through with mixed results, To kick
things off, the production on the whole was poor, with the UFC
coming off looking like a “B” level production with
the Free Preview looking very second rate. The card on the whole
was a mixed bag with some good fights and interesting turns of
events and a few unfortunate disapointments, such Robbie Lawler
injuring himself.
The
Crowd was announced at 7500 fans, well short of a sell out considering
the size of the arena, the fans that were there, seemed involved
in the fights despite the ocasional booing. The lack of a sell
out or close to a sell out must be disappointing considering
recent past events had tickets selling very well for the UFC.
The PPV numbers are far from coming so how good( or not so good)
the PPV numbers will be is unknown at this time.
Speaking
of Robbie Lawler, the word on the street is that Robbie Lawler
dislocated his hip sometime in the first round, it is unknown
at this time, when the injury actually took place but he went
to the hospital to get it checked out, but the hospital line
up was around the block so he could not get into the hospital
to get it checked out! He left shortly after to get it checked
at another time.
In
the Genki Sudo Vs Duane Ludwig fight, many fans were upset about
the fact that the Referee checked the bleeding nose of Duane
Ludwig when he was against the fence and taking punishment. The
fight got stood up from there and Duane won on the strength of
the damage he inflicted after he was stood up out of the bad
position he was in. Genki was in control of the third round up
to that point and was pounding “Bang” with solid shots
that bloodied the nose of Ludwig. The Athletic Commission rules
state that after the doctor checks the cut, the fight cannot
be resumed in the same place, it is restarted from the standup
position. So that is the reason that the fight was restarted
from the standup, but the question remains why the Ref checked
the bloodied nose when the nose does not bleed into the eyes.
In the minds of many, the nose was not bleeding enough on it's
own to warrant a cut check and the resulting standup…
The
Crow, David Loiseau, who was not mentioned at all during the
telecast, won his fight with Mark Weir convincingly by knockout,
but it was not the back and forth fight of the night slugfest
that everyone was hoping for. Mark Weir came out and hit him
with a front kick and David decided to take the fight to the
ground. He took him down and grounded and pounded him from the
guard with hard shots to the head until he knocked him out cold
from the punishment. Impressive debut for the Canadian who was
not mentioned on the Broadcast.
Discuss
any of these topics
on our MMARingReport Forum HERE...
For
those of you who missed it, the results of UFC 42 were as follows:
David
Loiseau defeats Mark Weir via K.O Round 1
Hermes Franca defeats Rich Crunkleton via Decision after 3 rounds
Duane Ludwig defeats Genki Sudo via Decision after 3 rounds
Rich Franklin Defeats Evan Tanner Via K.O Round 1
Cabbage Defeats Sean Alvarez Via K.O Round 2
Dave Strasser Defeats Romie Aram Via Decision after 3 rounds
Pete Spratt Defeats Robbie Lawler Via Verbal Tapout Round 2
Matt Hughes Defeats Sean Sherk Via Decision after 5 Rounds
43
Taking Shape In A BIG Way
Usually
about this time, 6 to 10 weeks out from a UFC event, info starts
trickling in about the event taking shape. We always bring you
what we know to be true and then add in our thoughts as well
that are most logical at the time. So, lets break down the UFC
43 event and give you what we think we know up to this point.
First,
the line up.
1.
Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture
2.
Tank Abbott vs. Kimo
3.
Vitor Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman
4.
Ken Shamrock vs. Ian Freeman
5.
Pedro Rizzo vs. Tra Telligman
6.
Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko
Vitale
No.
There will be no sign of Tito Ortiz showing up for a fight so
don't hold your breath. The 7th and 8th fight is still out of
the picture, but if it hasn't been speculated on yet, it isn't
a big fight and neither will most likely be for a Title. With
that said, the Liddell-Couture might well be for an Interim Light
Heavyweight Title. It puts more pressure on Ortiz, clearly defining
an already unclouded picture. Redundant? We know. There would
be no other reason to give Liddell such a tough fight if it wasn't
for some kind of huge reward. With Tito sitting out, once again,
you would be hard pressed to find another light heavyweight to
challenge him except for Horn. Tanner would be moot for 2 reasons.
He is fighting at UFC 42 and the is no way in hell Chuck would
be able to take him out in a more devastating fashion that Ortiz
did. I know what your thinking, but Vanderlei legally can't make
the trip. Boohoo.
Tank
will finally get someone his own speed and he should be able
to handle Kimo who's wrestling ability
looked terrible against Lajcik in his last WFA outing. Shamrock
will have his hands full against Ian Freeman. If Ken can pull
out the win and Tank wins, look for a titanic showdown of epic
proportions at UFC 45 in October-November between the two. If
you want to see hype of UFC 40 caliber, keep your fingers crossed.
It would be both Ken's and Tank's last fight on their standard
3 fight deal.
Vitor
will return! And it ain't gonna be easy against Eastman, but
he should prevail. If Vitor wins, maybe he can face Tito. Oh
wait, Chuck beat Belfort. Niko Vitale will finally make his long awaited UFC debut,
but against Lindland, he might choke.
Finally,
Rizzo will get an opponent who will make him look good! Remember
the first Rizzo-Tellignman outing? War! With Telligman's improved
boxing skills and Rizzo's current shape, Tra just might come
right at him again. Keep your fingers crossed. This is the best
match the fans could hope for, considering they are forced to
watch Rizzo yet again.
UFC
43 is scheduled for Las Vegas at the Thomas and Mack Center.
The venue holds about 17,000. With Belfort, Liddell, Shamrock,
Tank, and Couture on the Vegas card, it should sell out easily,
making it the biggest crowd ever to witness an MMA event in North
America.
Source: MMA Ring Report
PRODUCTION
DISASTER
by Chris Rothey
(Editors Note: Chris Rothey is our television columnist who covers
professional wrestling pay per views and boxing pay per views
for many big sites, and of course he does the UFC pay per view
tv column for us here at MMAWeekly.com.)
My
friend Neil said it all when we first saw the broadcasters open
the show. After watching the opening moments of the broadcast,
Neil made the remark, "Is this amateur try out night or
what? What are they doing? Who are these people and how did they
get on t.v.?"
If
UFC 33 was a disaster to Zuffa as far as the actual fights go,
UFC 42 will go down in history as one of the worst produced shows
I've ever seen period.
Where
to begin? When will Zuffa learn that we have no idea what happened
in the David Loiseau and Mark Weir fight? Once the actual pay
per view started, there was no mention of what happened. The
Canadian fans are probably rioting at this hour and they deserve
too. This guy wasn't even mentioned? What the hell?
Folks
that's just the beginning. Let's start with fake crowd noise.
The UFC hired a company who used to work for the WWE at UFC 39.
This company, for some reason, piped in fake crowd noise, ala
pro wrestling which became very apparent especially at the end
of the main event.
With
the entire crowd almost gone and Matt Hughes doing an interview
with Lisa Durgan, Hughes finished the interview as a few people
stuck around to actually listen to what was being said.
After
Hughes concluded, the crowd erupted like he just got a knockout.
The only problem? There was no crowd in the building to even
cheer that loudly, so to hear a crowd go crazy when there was
only six people in the building was down right foolish to say
the least. They did this the entire night, piping in this crowd
noise after each guy would walk to the ring. I love the heart
of Dave Strasser, but a guy from Ohio has that kind of following
in Florida? It sounded like the immortal Hulk Hogan was making
his way to the ring as the crowd really loved a guy we had never
seen before. (touch of sarcasm)
For
some reason there were plenty of techincal issues. Joe Rogan
tried to throw to a taped piece with Lisa and Tank Abbott and
the guys in the production truck were either asleep or taking
a coffee break, because it took 10 seconds to get to the piece
on television.
There
wasn't any audio for the Sherk vs Hughes preview package before
the main event. There were many technical problems and it was
a sad show as far as presentation goes. As far as the broadcast
team goes, can we please hire the professionals you guys had
from UFC 33 to UFC 40 please?
The
UFC put Joe Rogan in a bad spot as a play by play announcer,
when they should have flew a guy like Ryan Bennett or Jeff Osborne
in who have called MANY MMA events and kept Rogan in his strong
suit of the analyst role. Joe Rogan and Phil Baroni, the two
New Yorkers, were average on the broadcast.
They
seemed to be o.k. once the fights started, but both guys had
a blank look once the camera was on them and it was like they
were embarrassed to be there. It was tough to watch in some spots
as Rogan starred at the camera with a blank, what the hell are
we doing now look.
The
duo's best quality moment came at the end of the show when they
dissed the ditzy Lisa Durgan. That was actually very funny and
I wanted to see Baroni go off more like that on the broadcast.
Baroni seemed too reserved on the broadcast and I would have
liked to see him have more fun.
Lisa
Durgan - For the love of god..... Dana and Lorenzo FIRE her beautiful
ass yesterday, please! Your credibility was shot last night as
this woman continues to embarrass herself and the company by
not having a clue of what's going on.
I've
seen some bad interviewers in the past. The worst was "Herb"
in UFC 1 and 2. James Werme was a close second as he was a baffoon
and looked as though he always had bad gas, but Lisa Durgan may
have passed Werme for the second worst interviewer of all time.
Durgan
continued to make amazingly bad comments with some bizarre statements
like "You got him with a good knee kick"?
Uh,
excuse me? What the hell is a knee kick? Durgan is taking this
sport to record lows with the fact we all know she doesn't have
a clue what she's saying and she can't help the sport grow.
If
we want eye candy, then we would watch the ring girls. The scripted
questions didn't even help, as she doesn't have a clue what is
going on. She couldn't tell an armbar from a candy bar and it's
time to bring Ryan Bennett and Jeff Osborne back to your broadcasts
immediately with play by play voice Mike Goldberg.
Joe
would be fine as the third guy in the booth, but if you want
any kind of credibility you need to change yesterday.
Eddie
Bravo - Bravo was a strange, weird guy who acted like he had
a big secret to get out by saying "Robbie Lawler was laughing
his ass off at the commentary of Joe Rogan and Phil Baroni".
He didn't add anything insightful and had no significant role
on the broadcast.
Bruce
Buffer - It wasn't one of his better days. He introduced Romie
Aram as Dave Strasser, then started to introduce Aram and as
he started to introduce him, his mic was immediately cut off.
Not sure why he stopped in mid sentence.
This
was a very bad effort by the UFC and I wouldn't be surprised
if some guys lose their jobs in the truck when it's all said
and done. Bring back the pro's and let's get rid of the.....you
get my drift.
Source: MMA Weekly
4/26/03
Quote
of the Day
Discipline
is the foundation upon which all success is built.
Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.
Jim Rohn
UFC
42: Sudden Impact Results
David Loiseau Def Mark Weir KO (Punch) at 3:55 minutes in Rd
1
Hermes Franca Def Richard Crunkilton Decision via (Unanimous)
after 3 rounds
Duane Ludwig Def Genki Sudo via Decision (Split) after 3 rounds
Rich Franklin Def Evan Tanner via TKO (Strikes) at 2:40 minutes
in Rd 1
Wesley
Correira
Def Sean Alvarez via TKO (Strikes) at 1:46 minutes in Rd 2
Dave Strasser Def Romie Aram via Decision (Unanimous) after 3
rounds
Pete Spratt Def Robbie Lawler via Submission (Verbal due to injury)
at 2:28 minutes in Rd 2
Matt Hughes Def Sean Sherk via Decision (Unanimous) after 5 rounds
2003
Pan-Ams . . Are you ready?
Word
from the IBJJF is 'All Systems Go!' for the 2003 Pan-Ams. The
braintrust of Carlos Gracie Jr, Marcelo Siriema & Andre Fernandez
have been working late into the Am to set up all the details
and scheduling for the LARGEST BJJ tournament is America ever!
Competition
will start on Saturday with the International Team event: U.S.A.
v Brazil and continue throughout the weekend with some great
fights in all belts.
Marcelo
Siriema told us that they even brought the IBJJF's Technical
Director Alvaro Mansor, who will be on hand Friday during the
weigh-ins to answer any and all rule questions for the instructors
and referees.
Everything
points to a great turnout and some great matches. See you at
the Pan-Ams.
Here
is the schedule fo fights:
Saturday
9:30
Brazil x USA
11:30 Black Belt master and seniors 1, 2 and 3
12:00 Blue Belt Juvenile
12:30 Blue Belt Adult - Rooster, Super feather, Feather and Light
14:30 Blue Belt Adult - Middle and Medium Heavy
17:00 Blue Belt Adult - Heavy, Super Heavy and Super Super Heavy
18:30 Purple Belt Adult - Rooster, Super Feather, Feather, Light
and Middle
20:00 Purple Belt Adult - Medium Heavy, Heavy, Super Heavy and
Super Super Heavy
Sunday
9:30
Blue Belt Master - Rooster, Super Feather, Feather, Light and
Middle
10:40 Blue Belt Master - Medium Heavy, Heavy, Super Heavy and
Super Super Heavy
12:00 Blue Belt Seniors 1, 2 and 3
13:20 Purple Belt Master and Blue Belt Master Open class
14:40 Black Belt Adult
16:00 Purple Belt Senior 1, 2 and 3
16:20 Adult Black Belt Open Class Sign in
16:30 Females (all divisions)
17:40 Brown Belt Adult
19:00 Brown Belt Master and Seniors 1, 2 and 3 - Purple Belt
Adult Open Class
The large gi and no-gi tournament is rumored to be taking place
in the last week of July or August, possibly sooner. I am awaiting
confirmation on this. I will let you know as soon as I know.
Tito
Responds
Tito Ortiz confirmed on MMA Weekly Radio yesterday that he is
asking for a three-fight contract that would culminate with Chuck
Liddell being the third fight on the contract. Ortiz said he
wants to fight Liddell, and that Liddell just "needs to
be built up more" before the two of them fight.
When
Tito was asked specifically about Josh Gross report that he wants
between $1.3 million and $1.75 million spread out over three
fights, Tito replied, "There is some truth to that,"
but would not name any specific numbers. Tito feels "blessed"
to have his new management team negotiating for him, and said
that it's all up to UFC president Dana White at this point. When
asked point-blank if he is injured in any way, Tito said that
this is purely a financial dispute and that he is not injured.
Ortiz
also said that his contract expires in two and a half years,
and that he's "not even going to be in MMA in two and a
half years." Tito said he wants to fight, but would have
no problem sitting out for that time period because he is excited
about his potential future in Hollywood.
Tito
has no interest in going to Pride because "Rampage (Quinton
Jackson) can have Pride and dominate over there, I don't want
Pride." Tito said that he is trying to take a stand for
all MMA fighters, and yet minutes later when Ryan Bennett asked
him about the UFC fighters who are only making $3,000 per fight,
Tito said that those fighters should "start to work harder
and get a little charisma." Tito said that Zuffa has promoted
him a lot, but certain guys are more marketable than others.
As an example, he said that Zuffa would never be able to give
a similar push to guys like Matt Hughes or Tim Sylvia.
The
rest of the interview can be obtained by subscribing to MMA Weekly.
Source: MMA Weekly
Frye
vs. Coleman: The Rematch?
MMAWeekly broke some news last weekend about a possible fight
between Don Frye and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.
Frye
told MMAWeekly at the ICC event last weekend that he was in negotiations
with Pride about a possible fight against Mark Coleman.
Judging
from this picture from Indemand PPV, it looks as though Pride
is planning on the same thing. The show called "Bad to the
Bone" has Frye and Coleman as the main guys on the poster.
Then you can also see Fedor and Fujita in the background as they
are also on the poster. Look for a big announcement to be made
from Japan very soon.
Source: MMA Weekly
Royce
Gracie: Gracie Under Fire!
By Mike Sloan
In
the cult classic movie Airheads, one of the characters asks the
question, "Who would win in a wrestling match; Lemmy or
God? Trick question! Lemmy is God!" Well, when it comes
to mixed martial arts, specifically the UFC, Royce Gracie is
Lemmy.
Royce
has never lost in the UFC (that loss on his record after he suffered
from dehydration in UFC 3 is bonk; he never physically lost),
winning the early tournaments three times. Ken Shamrock, Dan
Severn and Kimo all fell victim to Royce's unbelievable Brazilian-
er, I mean, Gracie Jiu Jitsu.
Mike
Sloan: Royce, you are probably the busiest guy that I personally
know, probably even busier than Dana White. What is going on?
You train, teach, do seminars, etc.
Royce
Gracie: Well, thank Mike Hogan (laughs). Thanks, Mike Hogan!
I'm traveling and my schedule is already booked for the next
six months. At least six months, man. I'm working on a book right
now and a video.
The
book is based on all the questions I get asked at my seminars,
like what food do I eat when I fight, when I'm at home, when
I'm on the road. What is the Gracie Diet? How do you combine
the foods? What kind of stretching I do, if I do yoga, what kind
of weight program I am on. Do I run, bike, swim and when I get
ready for a fight, what kind of leg work do I get into?
All
of that, so that's why I'm doing a book with my strength coach.
He used to train at USC, he trained the Rams when they were back
in LA, he trains Keyshawn Johnson, Serena Williams, everybody.
So we're working together and just putting the puzzle together
and getting it ready. It will tell what I do, what kind of cardio,
the food I eat in the off season, what kind of striking program.
I'm also working on a video, not an instructional video, but
more of what I go through to get ready for a fight.
Mike
Sloan: Will all of this be in both the book and video?
Royce
Gracie: No. The book is one thing, the video is another thing.
It's two different concepts that we're working on right now between
juggling my family and seminars. I've been doing a lot of cop
seminars, a lot of law enforcement.
Mike
Sloan: When do you think these will be available for people to
buy?
Royce
Gracie: The book by September, but the video doesn't have a time
yet. The video takes a long time.
Mike
Sloan: Aside from all the seminars and traveling, how often do
you get to actually train yourself?
Royce
Gracie: I train every night that I teach. I just got done teaching
a seminar in Raleigh, NC, and for the last half hour, I trained
with a bunch of the guys. I have another seminar tomorrow in
Chapel Hill, NC, and after the seminar, I'll be with everybody
again.
Mike
Sloan: When you do train yourself, besides jiu jitsu, do you
train in a lot of stand up fighting like Muay Thai or boxing?
Royce
Gracie: Not so much right now because I'm doing so much teaching
on the road and doing jiu jitsu, so I don't have that much time
to fully train for myself. But if I have a fight coming up, I'll
cut everything off and lock down and train just for myself. I
have to concentrate just on myself and cut everything out; stop
traveling, teaching and just concentrate on just my training.
Mike
Sloan: Speaking of your fights, when you last fought in PRIDE,
what exactly happened? I never saw you tap, but the ref thought
you did and stopped the fight. In your words, what happened there?
Royce
Gracie: Judo people like to, how do you say…, they like
to play the referees, like cheat, let's say. They-… I don't
want to say 'cheat' because that's not the right word, but they
like to play the referees. If the referee bought it, hey, the
referee bought it. So what the guy did was he covered my face,
covered my eyes, looked at the ref and said, 'Ref, he's out!'
The ref bought it. He never gave me a chance. He never walked
around to see. It was the referee's mistake. He wasn't in position
and it was a mistake. We put in the contract that the referee
was not allowed to stop the fight. We put that in the contract,
so he breached the contract right there. So, he put it over my
face, played to the ref and the referee never bothered to walk
around and my people stood on the apron on the other side.
Mike
Sloan: Do you think the referee was paid off or bribed?
Royce
Gracie: I think he was innocent, the referee. He was, uh, he
just made a mistake. He just made a mistake. I can't say that
he was paid off or bribed because I'm not sure on that. But if
you ask me my personal opinion, then yes, I think I got set up.
I think I got set up, but I can't prove that because nobody knows.
The
tape of the fight is right there, just look at the fight. In
that fight, I got him in a foot lock fast. I was squeezing his
foot and as soon as I got him in the foot lock, he tried to go
for my foot. His foot slipped out and as soon as he touched my
foot, the referee looked at me and said, 'Catch,' meaning that
he caught me. I looked at Matt Hume, who was the referee (he
stops talking to me and asks his manager who the referee was).
Yeah, it was Matt Hume. So, I said to Matt Hume, 'Don't you dare
stop this fight! Don't let them stop the fight.'
Then
the referee comes over and said, 'Catch.' I was like, 'What the
fuck is that?' I looked over at him and he didn't even have the
foot lock and I was like, 'Don't you dare let them stop the fight!'
Then the referee said that it was okay and a little while later,
the second time, he stopped the fight because my eyes were covered.
He thought I was out and didn't even look or step over. After
the fight, he said he did it for my safety. I was like, where
were they when Bob Sapp was smacking Nogueira on his head? Where
were they when the guy was getting choked unconscious over here?
(Chuckles in disbelief)
Mike
Sloan: It sounds like a setup to me.
Royce
Gracie: Yeah, but I can't prove it. I can't say that because,
you know, I gotta play politically correct.
Mike
Sloan: Have you been trying to get a rematch with him?
Royce
Gracie: We've been talking, but I think we're going to wait until
something big comes up to sell out the place. They (PRIDE) know
I can sell out the stadium. When they come up to me, they tell
me that they are going to move up from 64,000 in the Tokyo Dome
to 75,000 then to 91,000. I know how to sell out the place.
Mike
Sloan: Okay. Now, speaking of selling out the place, I was recently
speaking with Dana White. Actually, I interviewed him and I asked
him when you were going to return to the UFC. He laughed it off
and dodged the question repeatedly. By the way he was laughing
and avoiding the question, it seemed pretty clear that there
are plans on a Royce Gracie return to the UFC. Come on, Royce,
fill me in.
Royce
Gracie: (Laughing as he speaks) Well, there's always that possibility,
you know what I mean? Just like you and me, we've been playing
phone tag. (Laughing even harder) You know how hard it is to
get a hold of me. We are playing phone tag, you know? (Laughs
again)
Mike
Sloan: I don't know, but for some reason, I get the feeling that
you are fighting on the June card. Are you?
Royce
Gracie: (Chuckling in avoidance) I don't know. I've been calling
him, he's been calling me. We've been playing phone tag for the
past week! Hey, hang on one second, okay? (At this point, there
is a lengthy pause and I could hear Royce ordering food: "No,
just cheese and chicken, plain." (He comes back to the phone).
Sorry, man.
Mike
Sloan: Hey, it's alright. You have to eat.
Royce
Gracie: Yeah, I'm trying to get some dinner and I had to wait.
But, uh, we've been playing phone tag. Maybe he wants to talk
me, maybe we want to talk to him (snickers).
Mike
Sloan: Who is Zuffa trying to set you up to fight?
Royce
Gracie: Uh, say again?
Mike
Sloan: Who are they trying to set you up to fight, Ken Shamrock?
Royce
Gracie: I don't know. I don't know. I haven't talked to him (Dana)
yet. We just play phone tag.
Mike
Sloan: Hmm. With the way Dana answered my questions and with
the way you keep laughing, it certainly sounds like you are coming
back, probably in June in Vegas or the next show.
Royce
Gracie: I don't know (laughs yet again). Like I said before (about
the Octagon); that's my house. They're just renting it (laughs
loudly). Zuffa, come on, man, where's my rent? (Chuckles)
Mike
Sloan: You and Ken basically created the UFC. You two were the
original superstars and you never lost in the UFC.
Royce
Gracie: (Interrupting) Well, they did say I lost that one match
in UFC 3 against Harold Howard. That never happened.
Mike
Sloan: Nah, that's not a loss. I totally disagree with that because
you never entered the Octagon and got defeated.
Royce
Gracie: They said because I had bad dehydration and couldn't
fight, I lost. They said that if I would have stayed in my room
and never came out, it wouldn't have been considered a loss.
But since I walked out, it's considered a loss, but whatever.
Go ahead.
Mike
Sloan: Why did you leave after you won UFC 4? No, I'm sorry;
you had the super fight at UFC 5. Why did you never return?
Royce
Gracie: It's because they put in the time limits. And when they
put in the time limits, there was no way for me to beat somebody
back then. If they would have had time limits like they have
today, three five minute rounds, when I was fighting, I would
have lost, you know what I mean? Like with Dan Severn; he was
dominating me for the first 15 minutes. But in the last minute
and a half, that's when I caught him.
Mike
Sloan: Well, say you do come back, and I still think you are,
how are you going to adjust your gameplan with the time limits?
Royce
Gracie: It's something we're going to have to work out.
Mike
Sloan: If you do fight and it's going to be in Vegas, I doubt
the Nevada State Athletic Commission would allow a fight with
an unlimited time frame, or a thirty minute round.
Royce
Gracie: We'll make arrangements here and there (laughs). There
will be some arrangements. Nothing's impossible.
Mike
Sloan: When you do return, will you come down to the Octagon
and fight in your gi?
Royce
Gracie: Maybe (chuckles). It depends on who I'm fighting, then
yes, I'll probably wear the gi.
Mike
Sloan: Aside from the addition of time limits, do you like the
UFC the way it is now with all the rules, or do you prefer the
original setup?
Royce
Gracie: Man, the old one when it first started, it was raw. There
was no gloves. I've been there, done that. It was tournament
style. See, it was raw. It was style against style. With today,
I don't think it's doable to fight three or four fights in one
night. That I don't think will ever be repeated.
Mike
Sloan: I wish it would because I love tournaments. I think tournaments
are the greatest.
Royce
Gracie: Yeah and it was style against style. Today, it's who
is the better fighter? Who is better prepared all around? You
see wrestlers knocking people out, you see kickboxers choking
people out, you know what I mean? So, it's everybody is so all
around (trained) today and the competition isn't really style
versus style, so it makes it very difficult to have a tournament.
If
there was a tournament with no time limits, it makes a big difference
for the fighters and whatever was done in the past, man, I don't
think will ever be repeated. You can't ever take that and do
it again.
Mike
Sloan: You fought in both PRIDE and UFC. Which organization did
you like better?
Royce
Gracie: (A long pause of pondering). The UFC… Oh man. I
would say… That's a tough question right there. The difference
is probably… PRIDE, I think, probably pays you more and
gives you more stuff, you know what I mean?
Well,
at the same time, they are both very famous for being unfair
to the fighters like calling out the wrong fights. Like, for
example, when Royler fought Sakuraba. In their contracts, if
they finished the fight, it would be a draw. Even if Sakuraba
was winning, it would be considered a draw. Another one is Sakuraba
and Guy Mezger. I totally think Guy Mezger won that fight. Anybody
who saw that fight thinks Guy Mezger won. But at the last minute,
they had an extra round for Mezger and, come on, that wasn't
in the contract and Guy forfeit.
So
a lot of times, they are biased towards the fighters. Just like
the last time when I fought. Yeah, they treat you really good,
but you can't trust them always. In the UFC, they treat everybody
real good, it's just they-… It's a tough question. They're
both very good, I would say. I'm just very bitter with PRIDE
right now. Besides what happened with my last fight, they've
always treated me very good. Every time I come over there and
I have my requests, they always fulfill my requests because they
know I am going to put on a good show.
Mike
Sloan: Plus you're a legendary fighter with a legendary name
and people want to see you. I've never seen you fight live, just
on tape, but if I heard that you were going to fight somewhere
near me, I'd pay to see it just because it's Royce Gracie.
Royce
Gracie: Yeah. (Laughs) It's a show, man! When I fight in PRIDE,
man, I fill the entire stadium. It's awesome.
Mike
Sloan: Is there anybody out there right now that you'd like to
fight, like Vanderlei, Hughes, Arona?
Royce
Gracie: Oh, there's a bunch of tough guys out there. There's
a bunch! There's a bunch of tough guys! Like I said, it's not
about style against style anymore. Everybody's an all-around
fighter, so there's a bunch. It's hard to pick one person because
there are a bunch of guys out there who would put up a very good
fight.
Mike
Sloan: Well, who are some guys? Give out some names of guys you'd
like to fight.
Royce
Gracie: Oh, I prefer not to give out any names.
Mike
Sloan: Why is that?
Royce
Gracie: (Laughs loudly) I prefer not to give any names, man!
Mike
Sloan: Alright, alright, I gotcha. Okay, here's a question that
I'm sure you've been asked hundreds of times. Out of all the
Gracies who have ever fought, who is the best? Is Rickson really
the best Gracie? Out of them all; you, Renzo, Rickson, Rorion,
Royler, who is the best?
Royce
Gracie: I would say Rickson. People don't see much of his fights,
people don't see much of him. But if you ever walk up to him-
No, actually, I would have to say my father is the best! Excuse,
it's not Rickson, it's my father, man! Out of the Gracies, I
would have to say my father. The things that he did weighing
only 135 pounds and beating guys twice his size and fighting
for 3 hours and 45 minutes. You see, fighting with no rules,
no rounds, no time limits and being only that size and taking
on guys much bigger than him. I would say my father because of
the whole thing that he created.
Mike
Sloan: Why didn't Rickson ever fight in the UFC? I know he wanted
a lot of money to fight in the first few shows, but was that
the only reason?
Royce
Gracie: Probably. That's probably the best reason as to why he
never signed a contract. I never really asked him that but he
signed a contract to fight in Japan and he couldn't come back
to fight over here. But money probably was the main reason.
Mike
Sloan: I've been trying to get in touch with Rickson even longer
than I was with you. With you, you at least called me back many
times and we've spoken many times, or at least your manager called
me back. There was some sort of communication. With Rickson,
I never got anything! No managers, no agents, no Rickson. Rickson
is like a ghost. Why is he so hard to get a hold of? It's like
he doesn't exist!
Royce
Gracie: (Laughs) I don't know. That's how he is. I talked to
him about that before, too, but that's how he is.
Mike
Sloan: Is he a mean guy?
Royce
Gracie: No, no. He just doesn't get into the internet, no computers,
hardly any cell phone calls. He's just a very private kind of
guy. He is very hard to get a hold of. I have a hard time getting
a hold of him. I can never get a hold of him!
Mike
Sloan: Yeah, I've actually given up on Rickson because it's impossible.
At least I can get a hold of you, we just played phone tag for
God knows how many months.
Royce
Gracie: (Snickers) Yeah. Hey, can we only do a few more questions?
My food is on the table and its getting cold (cackles).
Mike
Sloan: Sure, no problem. Okay, Sepultura is one of my all-time
favorite music bands. How did they contact you, or did you contact
them, to be in their video for Attitude?
Royce
Gracie: He used to take classes with me. Well, he used to, when
he lived in Brazil, but he used to take classes with me all the
time.
Mike
Sloan: Who?
Royce
Gracie: Paulo, Jr. He's their bass player. So he used to take
classes with me all the time and when they came up with the song,
he came up to me and I was like, 'Yeah, man! Let's do it!'
Mike
Sloan: Are you a fan of Sepultura's music?
Royce
Gracie: Uh, not (laughs loudly). Not much! I like them, but they're
a little too crazy for me, man!
Mike
Sloan: What do you have to say to all your fans out there who've
been there from the start and loved you since the beginning?
Royce
Gracie: I would say to them; everything in life is doable. You
just gotta know what you're doing. It's like speaking another
language or learning how to bike ride. You just gotta know how
to do it. That's all. Do it and be good at it in anything you're
going to do. You see, anything's possible; you just gotta make
a choice.
Mike
Sloan: Okay, Royce. Thank you very much for the interview! It's
been a long time coming and it's an honor to interview you. I
deeply appreciate it.
Royce
Gracie: (Chuckles) Thanks, Mike. Bye-bye.
Well,
there you have it. The way Royce dodged the question about him
coming back and the way he laughed, it seems clear that he's
coming back to the UFC sometime in the near future. I just wish
we'd have more time to talk.
Source:
Sherdog
"UFC
42 Is Bigger, Better? Part 1"
Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
The always very vocal fans of MMA are letting it be known that
they are unhappy. Why are the fans unhappy you ask? Because in
the minds of many a fan, the UFC is doing a disservice to their
loyal fans by leaving the superstars at home and trying to grow
the sport with new faces and lesser known fighters. Does the
UFC owe it to the fans to put on a superstar laden extravaganza
every time out? Maybe the more important question is whether
the UFC CAN push out a super show every time out. The UFC cannot
please every fan out there, that much is obvious to any sensible
fan, fickle or otherwise, there will always be someone out there
that thinks the sky is too blue or the Octagon too round. Where
does the common ground lie?
Any
and all sports organizations have to grow a measure of talent
from within, as great as it is sounds, snatching a high priced
Mega star from the grasp of an opposing team is not always the
best answer. It would be great for the UFC to pick up a great
fighter like Rodrigo Nogueira or someone else with a hefty price
tag but would that actually help the UFC in terms of fan base
and fan support? The UFC's primary competition, the Pride Fighting
Championships groomed Nogueira, he started his Pride career against
Gary Goodridge, then on to Mark Coleman, Heath Herring, Enson
Inoue, and eventually Bob Sapp. He did not just appear on the
horizon and command respect, he earned it through his growth
as a fighter. Sakuraba and others are the same. At the UFC 37
show a last May an unknown fighter named Robbie Lawler fought
as a Preliminary bout and captivated the audience with his exciting
style and boundless energy. One year and a handful of fights
later he is now the semi-main event on the UFC 42 card and one
of the best young fighters in America. At UFC 17, an unknown
pasty white kickboxer with a Mohawk named Chuck Liddell fought
his very first fight in the UFC. That same card, UFC 17 Redemtion,
featured the very first UFC fights of fellow unknown entities
named Carlos Newton, Dan Henderson and Jeremy Horn. Chuck Liddell
was the very first Prelim on the card. Those four names alone
are among the biggest in the sport today, yet they too started
out as Preliminaries and unknowns. Last but not least a fighter
that is taking a bit of a brow beating from the same Internet
forums is a guy named Tito Ortiz. He started out in the UFC as
an alternate in the very first alternate bout of the evening.
He wouldn't of even been on the main card had Enson Inoue not
dropped out of his bout with Guy Mezger due to an injury. Tito
Ortiz is now the Light heavyweight champion of the UFC. Remember
he started out his career as an alternate without a guarantee
of even fighting on the main card...
Pride
Held a show on June 4, 2000 appropriately called "New Blood",
that show seemingly did not feature any popular names on the
card, there was no Sakuraba or Takada or any Gracies to sell
the show to the Japanese fans, but when one looked closely at
the card, we see that the smaller show served a higher purpose.
The very first fight of that evening was a fighter named Willie
Peeters facing off against an unknown Texan named Heath Herring.
Heath Herring fought his very first Pride bout that night annihilating,
and eventually choking out the overmatched Peeters. Today, he
is one of the best Heavyweights in the world. On the same card
that same night, another unknown American fighter named Ricco
Rodriguez got his first shot at the big show and grounded and
pounded his way to victory in the Pride ring. Before he was the
Heavyweight champion of the UFC Rodriguez was an unassuming,
unknown, fighter on what was considered the "B" show
of a big organization. Look where he is now. Having said all
that, showcasing predominantly new faces on a single card in
a brand new area without a big name attached to card as a foundation
isn't necessarily what I would consider the best strategy. A
card with established stars mixed in with some newer talent would
seem ideal, but remember the two biggest names mentioned in this
article, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell were originally meant to
meet on this card. The cards obviously did not fall the way everyone
would have liked, but I don't imagine anyone would be complaining
about the card if the Headliner was Chuck Liddell Vs Tito Ortiz
with a co main events of Matt Hughes vs Sean Sherk and the same
undercard, the difference is only one fight on the card. One
fight out of eight or nine fights on a card. A little bad luck
and everyone is riding this UFC as the worst ever. Remember UFC
33? That card had a handful of legitimate headliners such as
Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Jens Pulver, and Murilo Bustamante
fighting, and was supposed to be the second coming, remember
how that UFC turned out? Hmmm….wasn't that one of the worst
UFC's ever too?
Look
out for these fighters, and many other lesser known but very
exciting fighters at the upcoming UFC 42, look up and down the
card, remember a couple of names and see where those names are
a year from now, that is the only way to truly gauge how successful
or unsuccessful a show like UFC 42 will have been. They will
all come to fight at UFC 42, and much more importantly at many
many, more UFC's in the future. Support the Sport.
Source: MMA Ring Report
4/25/03
Quote
of the Day
The
only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.
Theodore Roosevelt
The
Relson Gracie Hawaii Team
safely arrives in Calfornia
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology via a cell phone camera,
here is a picture of the boys. As more pictures and news come
in, I will post them. With these ugly mugs, it is a good thing
that the camera is low resolution so you cannot see detail.
Amateur
Smoker Muay-Thai fights
Hawaii International Muay-Thai Boxing Association, is Hawaii's
First and Only Sanction Body for American Kickboxing, Muay-Thai,
Oriental, Free-Style, Unarmed Combat for Amateur and Pro competition,
presents our first Amateur Smoker Muay-Thai fights this Saturday,
April 26, 2003, from 12:00 PM.
Event will held at Giraldi Muay-Thai Gym.
99-1421 Koaha Place, Bay 3.
Halawa Valley, down the road from Pepsi-Cola.
All fight bouts will be fought under Muay-Thai Modified Rules.
MUAY-THAI the "King of the Ring"!
Bout 1:
Preston Panoki (Professional Training Center)
vs
Tai Chadwell (Gee Yung International)
Bout 2:
Niimoto Giraldi (Giraldi Muay-Thai)
vs
TBA (HMC Kickboxing)
Bout 3:
Niimoto Giraldi (Giraldi Muay-Thai)
vs
TBA (HMC Kickboxing)
Bout 4: Exhibition
Oxendine Giraldi (Giraldi Muay-Thai)
vs
TBA
Come and check it out, FREE to the public. Street parking.
Coaches and Amateur Fighters, the next Smoker event May 31, 2003,
FREE to the public. We would like to put together at least 10-14
bouts. Safety equipment mandatory, head gear, cup, 16 oz gloves,
shin pads.
For more information call Tony Giraldi at 808-487-0678.
Mahalo Mike and Chris for ALL your HELP!
Source: Tony Giraldi
UFC
42: Sudden Impact Today!
Hawaii start time
is as follows:
Channel 78 PPV
Countdown: 3:30PM
Starts: 4:00PM
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
KAOS
Full-Contact Fighting Challenge 2 This Saturday!
Dole Cannery
Ballroom, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, April 26th
The weigh-ins
will be at
808 Fight Factory
94-143 Leokane Street
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797
Friday, April 25th
7:00PM
Here is the tentative fight card: *subject
to change
Amateur MMA
Mike Brewner (HMC) vs. Tommy Woo (808 Fight Factory)
Kawika Bennett (HMC) vs. Raymond Ursua (808 Fight Factory)
Joe Nayo (Hard Knocks) vs. Jonathan Taamu (Rough House)
Kickboxing:
Sheldon Abela (JKD Hawaii) vs. Tom Pacenu (Hawaiian Self-Defense)
Scott Redoble (Hawaiian Self-Defense) vs. Ben George (Bulls Pen)
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pen) vs. Phillip Ping Jang (Hawaii Kenpo)
Professional
MMA:
Brad McCall (NG) vs. Jerome Kekumu (Hard Knocks)
Harris Sariento (808 Fight Factory) vs. Craig Park (Hard Knocks)
Jay R. Palmer (Rough House) vs. Paul Laga (Bulls Pen)
Bob Ostovich (JIL) vs. Shimone Yuhuva (Team Rukus)
Marc Moreno (Bulls Pen) vs. Alex Serdyukov (Next Generation)
Dez Miner (808 Fight Factory) vs. James Stanford (Hard Knocks)
Kai Kamaka (808 Fight Factory) vs. Rich Moss (Brausa)
Kauai Kupihea (Brausa) vs. Vai Togia (Hard Knocks)
Ron Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. James Meals (Team Pain)
Tickets
are available at these fine sponsors;
Designer Body, I&I Sports, Rad Motor Sports and 808 Fight
Factory
$20 tickets are limited so get them quickly.
If you have any questions regarding KAOS FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
please email info@kaosfighting.com
SUPERBRAWL
PREVIEW: BAO QUACH
by: Keith Mills
Honolulu, HI - On Friday May 9th SuperBrawl XXIX takes place
featuring, among other phenomenal bouts, Bao Quach vs. Norifumi
“Kid” Yamamoto fighting at 145 lbs. Yamamoto may be
the 2-1 favorite but Bao is one that insiders have kept an eye
on for a long time. In Gladiator Challenge Bao most recently
beat Cole Escovedo, previously thought to be unbeatable with
his triangle choke, in what turned out to be Escovedo’s
first decision outcome. Can this KOTC, WEC, and Ultimate Athlete
vet beat the man who has only lost to Stephen Palling?
KM:
Your next fight is coming up in SuperBrawl. What are your thoughts
on Kid Yamamoto?
BQ:
I know he’s a really good wrestler with crazy ground and
pound action. He knocks out people in the guard. Hopefully the
fight is going to be an exciting fight for all the fans and everyone
is going to talk about it.
KM:
He’s the #3 ranked Shooto guy.
BQ:
Yeah, I think so.
KM:
And you are currently ranked #5? #6?
BQ:
They moved me up to 6th. Joao Roque is 5th.
KM:
It used to be 5 and now it’s 6th?
BQ:
It used to be 5 and then I didn’t take a fight in Shooto
and Joao took some fight with somebody. (Note: Naoya Uematsu
in January).
KM:
And that affected the rankings. This is a chance for you to move
up in the Shooto rankings again. What are your thoughts on being
#6?
BQ:
It’s cool either way. It’s a good opportunity. People
go ‘oh, he’s ranked #6’ and I get paid a little
more.
KM:
Exactly. It’s leverage for a bigger paycheck. Yamamoto is
seen as being the favorite, ranked #3.
BQ:
There are a bunch of upsets always in mixed martial arts.
KM:
Does that have any effect on you?
BQ:
No, it doesn’t. I’m going to go out there and fight
a fight. I want us both to make the crowd go ‘damn!’.
KM:
You’ve been fighting mostly at 155 but recently at 145?
BQ:
Yes.
KM:
Isn’t this your fourth at 145?
BQ:
Third.
KM:
The first was against…
BQ:
Uematsu (note: Bao beat Uematsu 9/16/02).
KM:
I didn’t get a chance to see that one, I’ve only seen
Erica Montoya’s fight from that Shooto show. Chris (Brennan)
was telling me it was a close decision.
BQ:
It wasn’t close. Something like 26-20. I think I dominated
the whole fight the whole time.
KM:
Walk me through the fight.
BQ:
When I first took the fight I didn’t think I was going to
win. I was going to go out there and give it my all. On Shooto.net
everyone said Uematsu had a 100% chance of winning. I went out
there and I was stringer than him cutting down from 155. I just
controlled him, had an armbar at the end of the second round.
KM:
Here it was your first time fighting at 145, your debut in Japan…
BQ:
Even when I wrestled I never cut that much weight.
KM:
So it’s not really that indicative of a performance of you.
There is also the time zone difference. Of all those factors
what do you remember most?
BQ:
There are really no disadvantages. You weigh in the day before
and think you are pretty good to go. You get to eat unless you
are cutting a lot of weight. Ten pounds is not that much I don’t
think.
KM:
Here in the US we don’t really have as many opportunities
at 145. Even Hermes Franca had to move up. As far as the other
145s what is your perspective on how you fit in?
BQ:
Jeff Curran is good. Me and him fought.
KM:
That was at 155 though.
BQ:
Yeah, 155. It was a close decision. I thought that was a good
fight. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to. That was a cool
fight. It’s all good.
KM:
That was at WEC4, your last at 155. I remember that fight. What
was the decision to drop to 145?
BQ:
Shooto just asked me to fight at 145. It was a good opportunity
and Chris told me to take it because of the opportunity to go
to Japan.
KM:
(To Chris) What were you telling me about Kid? Isn’t he
one of Enson’s guys?
CB:
He’s Enson’s guy, Baret (Yoshida, fighting Rami Boukai)
is Egan’s guy. Kid is from Purebred and the other guy is
from Grappling Unlimited.
KM:
(To Bao) Any perspective on that? Here it is one of Enson’s
students against one of Chris’ students.
BQ:
I think the fight can go either way. He could finish me or I
could finish him. It’s going to be an explosive fight. Both
of us will try to kill each other, go at it. Have you ever seen
him?
KM:
No.
BQ:
He was punching after the ref stopped it so hopefully…
At
that point the tape cut out. For more information on Next Generation
check out www.chrisbrennan.com. For more on SuperBrawl
check out either www.superbrawl.tv for the news or to
see videos of previous fights.
Source: ADCC
Cabbage
Correira Rematch Against Tim Sylvia
Well,
actually it was a rematch on the UFC video game. There is a picture
on FCF's
news
site of them playing.
F.C.F. in F.L.A.
Full
Contact Fighter has touched down on the sunny shores of Miami,
Florida to bring you all the latest from the front lines of UFC
42: Sudden Impact. First stop today? An outdoor meet-and-greet
on the front steps of the Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant
in downtown Miami. With two large video screens hosting the latest
UFC Tapout 2 home video game, fans were able to take on the likes
of heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia or Chuck Liddell -- that's if
they could wrestle the game controls from the rest of the fighters'
hands! Tomorrow's 3PM (EST) weigh-ins are scheduled to take place
outdoors (another first!) at the Marriott's Coastal Terrace with
the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay as backdrop. Join us there
via fcfighter.com!
Source: FCF
An
"Axe Murderer" Hungry For Victims!
Wanderlei Gets Ready For Jackson
As His Fighting Hunger Continues To Increase
By Eduardo
Alonso
PRIDE Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva has been forced to
stay on the sidelines since his TKO win over Hiromitsu Kanehara
at PRIDE 23. After quietly dealing with numerous knee problems
during more than a year, Silva finally felt he couldn't delay
his previously so avoided knee surgery anymore, and ended up
doing it on December of 2002. From then on it was all recovery
to the Chute Boxe star, and Wanderlei has been counting the days
to return to the PRIDE ring. Known for his aggressiveness inside
the ring, Wanderlei was caught up in a recent post-fight incident
with NHB and K-1 stand out Quinton Jackson, hyping their future
confront even more and leaving many wondering how much credibility
such incident had, considering where it took place. With a renewed
hunger for action, Silva takes his time to explain it all to
FCF in this honest interview, where he also tells about his recent
experiences outside of the ring, his first son coming up and
much more! So, step aside and enjoy your read cause Wanderlei
Silva is craving for another victim, and Full Contact Fighter
won't want to be in the "Axe Murderer's" way! Would
you want?
FCF:
You recently stayed in Japan for the longest period of your life
there, close to three weeks I believe, and during your stay,
you shot a TV Commercial for Japan's most popular razor. How
was the experience of acting on such a commercial?
VS: It was a very interesting experience, since it was a commercial
of that importance. I think it was a smart move by the Japanese
brand cause I'm famous there, and I believe it's going to be
a success. Everything we fighters do these days creates interest
in the media and this brings even more media to the brand for
free. I hope some other companies will have this vision and will
use fighters in their advertising campaigns, because fighters
are now more in evidence than ever.
FCF:
What else did you do in Japan during your stay?
VS: The period I spent there was very useful. I recorded a number
of interviews for several magazines and TV stations there. Thank
God I worked a lot during my stay there.
FCF:
Did you miss your home a lot during the trip since it was, I
believe, the longest of your life?
VS: I missed my home a lot! My wife is pregnant, so I couldn't
wait to comeback to my house.
FCF:
How was the reaction of the TV producers in Japan regarding your
participation on the shaver commercial? Do you think we'll see
more Wanderlei in future TV ventures?
VS: I think so, cause I stayed in touch with the company that
did the commercial and they told me they will want to do some
other projects with me still this year.
FCF:
What is easier? Stepping inside the ring to fight against the
likes of Cro Cop, Dan Henderson and others or act along with
Mark Coleman on a TV commercial, having to "feel his shave"?
[Laughs]
VS: Man! [Laughs] This was really hard cause I didn't have this
sort of contact with another fighter ever before. But from all
the other, non-Brazilian, PRIDE fighters he is the one I like
the most. A very nice guy and a true professional. But I'm only
used to touch girls you know, it was hard! [Laughs]
FCF:
Getting back to your fighting career, you have been recovering
from knee surgery since the end of 2002. Give us a brief rundown
on how is your recovery going along.
VS: I'm already feeling very well. I'm already training close
to everything, like Muay Thai, boxing, Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling.
My recovery has been going great and I believe I'll be like 110%
in August! Without a doubt.
FCF:
Are you going to attend the June PRIDE show as a guest then?
VS: I'll go there to promote my next fight.
FCF:
On that PRIDE subject, you were on the last show to support your
teammate Anderson Silva in his fight against Carlos Newton. Anderson
won the fight in great fashion with a Knockout despite what some
people thought would happen. What did you think of the fight?
VS: I thought that Carlos Newton entered the fight very well
prepared. He was strong, and you could see he had trained a lot.
Anderson faced a tough opponent and he really surprised people.
In fact, Anderson can even surprise us. He really managed to
score a beautiful knockout.
FCF:
Who do you believe will carry the Chute Boxe flag in the June
PRIDE show, with you still being forced to stay on the sidelines?
VS: I believe Assuerio Silva is going to be fighting in it. They
are cogitating a fight between him and Waterman or Herring, but
it is all still in the talks, nothing sure yet. Assuerio is in
great shape now and training very hard.
FCF:
MECA 8 is coming up in Curitiba [May 16th] and some of your teammates
are already training for the event. You fought in one of he fist
MECA shows, and never returned since you gained a international
star status. Do you feel any will to fight again in front of
your hometown fans when you see all the guys in the academy training
for it?
VS: Sure I do! The public here is eager to see me fighting live
again and I think that I may be fighting again in Brazil soon,
in my hometown city of Curitiba.
FCF:
Speaking of the "will to fight", you once told me that
you are truly eager to fight again and feeling upset because
your injury has prevented you from fighting in so many PRIDE
shows. How has been for you to stay on the sidelines watching
so many events with the fans requesting your presence?
VS: It has been very tough to me, since there have already been
two events that I couldn't fight in so far. Everybody was asking
me to fight and I couldn't, and this is very painful to me because
I love fighting! I like the fighting rhythm, that atmosphere
of the preparation for a fight or the event you're coming to
fight. As of now I realized I can't live without it. On the other
hand this has been pushing my recovery to come faster, and driving
me to train even more to be able to fight again soon! Now I'm
training full time everyday, and doing nothing more than this,
I'm 100% focused towards my next fight now.
FCF:
So you'll be in an even better shape and condition in August?
VS: Without a doubt! I'm already doing an entirely different
preparation, a special one. Don't get surprised if Silva comes
back way stronger and in great shape.
FCF:
Your wife is expecting a baby for August. Are you afraid the
date of the baby's birth may be in conflict with PRIDE's date?
VS: No, I think my son is coming to add a lot to my life, and
there won't be any problems if he gets to be born near the PRIDE
show. My wife here knows how to handle things and if it happens
I'm going to offer him my next fight. I'm think this is a destiny
thing and it's maybe a sign that my kid is coming to this world
to be a fighter.
FCF:
Have you and your wife already chosen a name for the baby?
VS: As of now it's going to be Thor, then I'm going to chose
a middle name, and then of course Silva. I think it's a very
strong name.
FCF:
By the way you always stated in your interviews that you wanted
to have a son badly, since you already have a daughter. I know
you were in Japan when your wife got the result of the babys
gender, but she waited till you came back so you two would find
it out at the same time. What did you feel when you finally got
to know it is a boy?
VS: On the day that I went for Japan was the first day that the
doctor could check the baby's gender. Then I went to Japan but
I never thought I was going to stay there for that long, so I
called my wife and she told me she was going to check it, but
I asked her to wait my comeback so we could do it together. She
accepted and waited for three more weeks, very anxious, to find
it out! When we checked it and the doctor told us it's going
to be a boy, man! It was a feeling I can't describe! I felt a
huge sense of happiness, my hand was sweating and I was shaking,
I couldn't believe it. It was something very strong and unexplainable.
FCF:
Will your son help you to protect little Rafaela [Wanderlei's
6-year-old daughter] from the boys in the future? [Laughs]
VS: For sure! [Laughs] Without a doubt, he will have to take
care of his sister. Her future boyfriends will have now two reasons
to worry.
FCF:
There's no way not to talk about what happened after Quinton
Jackson's win over Kevin Randleman. A lot was talked about it,
and I want you to be very honest as always and tell us what really
happened there. Was it staged to some extent? or did you really
get mad at Quinton?
VS: The only thing that was set and could be called somewhat
"staged" was that I knew that I was going to be challenged
by the winner of that fight. I already knew I was going to be
challenged, and then they put me there at ringside. Besides that
not even I could imagine what would happen, since I had never
been challenged in person before in my life. To be honest when
I heard him talking to me like that my blood got hot and I wanted
to fight right there! I was already eager to fight again and
that made me want to go after him immediately. I wanted to solve
things right there.
FCF:
Did you think he was disrespectful in challenging you?
VS: No, I didn't like the way he was sounding, the tone of his
voice. I don't understand English, but I really didn't like the
way he was talking to me and in those cases I really go after
the guy.
FCF:
So you're not suited for one of those post fight "tough-guy"
antics that we see after some fights...
VS: No at all! Not with me, I'm a real fighter.
FCF:
Was there any translator by your side during Jackson's speech?
And what would've happen if the PRIDE people didn't break you
two apart?
VS: No, there wasn't any translators there. If they wouldn't
have break it I would go all after him! I would throw bombs at
him!
FCF:
Well, then we can expect this same intensity in August when you
two finally fight each other!
VS: A lot more! I'll go right after him, and don't be surprised.
I'll knock him out.
FCF:
What do you think about Quinton Jackson's skills as a fighter?
VS: I think he is a great fighter, and his fighting style will
make for a great fight between us!
FCF:
Do you believe he will accept to trade strikes standing up?
VS: If he is a man he will accept it.
FCF:
We'll have to wait till August to see it! But do you believe
this fighting is surely going to happen?
VS: It will, it will! I'm sure he is going to be my next opponent.
FCF:
Speaking of stand up trading, we just had the STORM GP in Curitiba
with some of the best Muay Thai Brazil has to offer. You even
refereed some of the fights, so what did you think of the event?
VS: It was truly the best Muay Thai event ever held in Brazil,
with all the production the sport deserves. I believe Muay Thai
in Brazil is growing a lot and soon we will be exporting Muay
Thai fighters for the biggest competitions all over the world.
We also expect to bring some Muay Thai fighters from other countries
to compete here in Curitiba in the near future.
FCF:
Speaking of exporting, how are the plans for your clothing brand
going along?
VS: My brand is going to be available in the USA soon. I'm already
selling in Japan. People in Japan loved it and the first batch
I sent there sold out in like three days in the Japanese stores!
They really loved the products there. Everyone that likes fighting
wants to have at least something from the fighters. My public
knows exactly what's my intention and this is why WAND is growing
more and more. I expect that the people on the USA will also
enjoy my products, and those of you who are fans won't be disappointed.
FCF:
Speaking of projects, I know you have been wanting do seminars
for a long time. Despite your tight schedule, are you planning
to do seminars abroad in the future?
VS: I already have my seminar ready and planned, and the first
country I'm going to visit with it will be the USA. I want to
show people in my seminars, not only fighting techniques, but
a bit about my fighting spirit. I'm still young and I know how
tough it is for a guy to do all the things the society expects
from us, and to earn his living and the likes, so I know all
the fears and expectations that go on inside our heads, and in
my seminar I will not only approach fighting but also tell some
backstage stories, and talk about motivation and how someone
like me, that came out of nowhere managed to be a champion!
FCF:
In past interviews you always mentioned that your wife suffered
during your "sparring sessions" with her. Now that
the pregnancy is getting to the later stages, are you having
to spend your energy only in training for Jackson? [Laughs]
VS: I don't know how it goes abroad, but here in Brazil we use
to keep all activities running as usuall [Laughs] Here we never
stop! I'll only stop when it's time to for the baby to be born
[Laughs]
FCF:
So he'll be born learning already? [Laughs]
VS: For sure! [Extending the words as he says them] [Laughs]
FCF:
Your next opponent is really going to be Quinton Jackson, or
will it be Mark Coleman or the Japanese shaver? [Laughs]
VS: [Laughs] There you go, I knew you would make fun of it [Laughs]
Anyway I'm doing a lot Boxing and I'm hitting very hard, so everybody
better watch out!
FCF:
But the shaver is sold separately right? [Laughs]
VS: Man! [Laughs] For sure, And it's a good one too [Laughs]
FCF:
Any final messages for your fans that were already missing our
interviews?
VS: I want to say that I'm anxious to go to the USA since I only
have been in the country once, when I fought at the UFC in Birmingham
[Alabama]. I know I have a lot of fans there, and the guys that
will have the opportunity to meet me in person will see that
Silva has something to tell you, and that I'm a friendly guy.
I expect to be able to meet and talk to as many fans as possible,
so when you guys get to know that I'm in a nearby city, take
your time to go and talk to me 'cause I'll be very happy to talk
to everybody. I also want to tell those of you who want to send
me messages to access my site at www.wanderleisilva.com.br cause
I'm starting to answer some messages in English as well. I hope
that you guys are going to continue to follow my fights, 'cause
soon you'll have the chance to see me fighting live!
FCF:
Thanks a lot for the interview!
VS: It was a pleasure as always!
Source: FCF
4/24/03
Quote
of the Day
He
that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He
that dare not is a slave.
Andrew Carnegie
KOTC
'SIN CITY' Preview: May 16th on PPV!
by: Keith Mills
Las Vegas, NV - Now less than one month away, King Of The Cage
“Sin City” features three title bouts; Shonie Carter
vs. Ronald
Jhun for
the World Welterweight belt, Vernon White vs. Jeremy Horn for
the World Light Heavyweight belt, and the World Super Heavyweight
belt. There is minor confusion existing due to conflicting reports
on whether Superheavyweight Champion Jimmy Ambriz will defend
his title against Eric Pele or Dan Christiansen, The only 'TBD'
is Tony Bonello’s opponent, who hasn’t been publicized
at this time.
The
official card so far is:
SUPERHEAVYWEIGHT
TITLE: Eric Pele vs. Jimmy Ambriz
LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Vernon White vs. Jeremy Horn
WELTERWEIGHT TITLE: Ronald
Jhun vs.
Shonie Carter
Dan Severn vs. Cory Timmerman
Thomas Denny vs. Joe Stevenson
Art Santore vs. Joe Crilly
Mike Gaimond vs. Diego Sanchez
Brent Stevens vs. Brian Pardoe
Bobby Gamboa vs. Dave Rivas
Tony Bonello vs. TBA
'King
of the Cage: Sin City ' will be held on Friday, May 16, 2003
from the Orleans Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gates open
at 4:30pm PST, fights start at 5:30pm. In addition, 'King of
the Cage: Sin City' will be televised on pay-per-view! The pay-per-view
broadcast begins at 6:00pm PST/9:00pm EST and is available via
DirecTV, The Dish Network, TVN, Bell Express Vu, and Viewer s
Choice. For more information on pay-per-view availability, check
your local listings.
Source: ADCC
UFC
43 - Rumored Matches
For those who missed the iNDEMAND UFC 43 poster appearing on
the MMA forum this weekend, here's the UFC 43 poster, from the
official iNDEMAND site for UFC 43. The poster features:
For
the UFC interim Light Heavyweight Championship
Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell (UFC just confirmed this match)
Ken
Shamrock vs. Ian Freeman (UFC just confirmed this match)
Tank
Abbott vs. Kimo Leopoldo (UFC just confirmed this match)
Vitor
Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman
Frank
Mir vs. Wes Simms (Hammer House, 6'10" & 255lbs)
Source: Sherdog
Under
the Microscope
A Closer Look at Hughes vs Sherk
By Mike Sloan
Matt Hughes
is the man. He has morphed into sort of the same unbeatable figure
that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had become. Since his third, and
thus far last, loss of his career way back on February 8, 2001
at the hands of Jose ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons on the Shidokan
Jitsu- Warriors War 1, Hughes has been near perfect.
He’s
toppled every foe that had the balls to stand in front of him,
going 11-0 in that three year period, scoring six knockouts,
four submissions and one decision. With such names as Carlos
Newton, Gil Castillo and Hayato Sakurai on that most recent string
of wins, it’s a no-brainer that Matt Hughes is alone at
the top of the welterweight mountain. Who’s close to this
guy?
Sakurai,
Newton or Frank Trigg? Sure, they’re close in the ranks,
but Hughes stands head and shoulders above them all. With a remarkable
MMA record of 29-3 and only losing to two different fighters,
Hughes not only is far and away the best welterweight in the
world, he’s become arguably the best fighter on the planet,
pound-for-pound.
Facing
him in the main event at UFC 42 this Friday in Miami is the young,
tough and undefeated Sean Sherk. He’s walked through every
man he’s faced, save for the lone blemish on his record,
a draw against Kiuma Kunioku in the Pancrase 2001 Neo Blood Tournament.
Aside from that, Sherk’s been untouchable.
Though
he’s not a household name by MMA standards just yet, Sherk
is out to prove the critics wrong and snatch the gold-plated
belt from around Hughes’ waist. Though Sherk is an undefeated
fighter with a solid record of 15-0-1, he hasn’t faced nearly
as good opponents as Hughes has. Most of his victories came over
lesser-known fighters that most MMA fans have either never heard
of or have forgotten. The most notable victims on Sean’s
resume? Jutaro Nakao, Tiki and Benji Radach. Aside from those
two, the only other upper echelon foe he’s faced was Kunioku,
which resulted in a draw.
So,
okay, Sherk hasn’t faced the likes of Newton, Sakurai or
Castillo, but that doesn’t mean he stands no chance of winning.
Sherk hasn’t moved into the UFC’s #1 contender spot
for nothing. He’s an incredible fighter with immense skill
and raw strength. He’s also a world class wrestler and should
give Hughes a run for his money. Neither Hughes nor Sherk have
crippling punching or kicking power. Instead, they rely and takedowns,
slams and slowly punishing their opponents with precise, accurate
attrition. Both welterweights have honed in on their submission
skills, but I wouldn’t consider them specialists like Nogueira
or Newton just yet.
By
methodically upping his opposition levels and reappearing in
the UFC, Sherk shouldn’t come down with a case of stage
fright. In fact, he’s been ready to face Hughes for quite
some time. It just took a few shows for all the pieces of the
jigsaw puzzle to fall into place. Sherk insists that he’ll
be making history by defeating Hughes and becoming the new welterweight
champ, but Hughes disagrees. Matt is coming to defend his title
for the fourth time and keep the Miletich camp at the top of
the food chain.
Let’s
break the fight down a bit and try and figure out who will be
victorious on April 25th in Miami, shall we? Who has the edge
in which categories?
Wrestling:
Hughes is the younger of the two, but by a mere few months. They
have relatively equal wrestling experience and both are decorated
in their own ways. It’s hard to say who has had more matt
time as far as wrestling goes, so I have to say that neither
man is better than the other in this category. Edge: Even
Submissions:
Well, Sherk is getting better at submission, but he only has
a select few on his fight resume. Hughes has submitted over a
dozen fighters. Even though most of those submission victories
were by injury or strikes, he has eight by way of either armbar,
triangle, keylock or rear naked choke. Sherk only has a handful
of submission, most of which by rear naked choke. Hughes has
fought twice as many times as Sherk, but has well over four times
as many submission victories. Plus, Hughes works with the better
submission-oriented team. Edge: Hughes
Stand-up
striking:
Neither Hughes nor Sherk is known for having world class Liddell-esque
striking ability, but both have been improving in this area for
quite some time. Hughes has scored a ton of KO/TKO victories
by way of strikes, but the vast majority of those came after
he ground-and-pounded them into oblivion. Same goes for Sherk.
If Hughes lacks anything, this is the area. Unfortunately for
Sherk, he sorely lacks in this area as well, so he can’t
truly capitalize on Hughe’s lone downfall. Both have solid
sprawls, but when it comes down to just stand-up striking, Hughes
appears to be just a tad better. Edge: Hughes
Strength:
Both men are about as strong as a bull and would easily throw
me around like as if I was a stuffed pigeon. I’ve seen Hughes
toss Newton and Sakurai around with ease, but then again, I’ve
seen Sherk do the same to his last few opponents. This is a very
difficult area of skill to judge, but I think Hughes is just
a tad stronger. Besides, he grew up on a farm bucking hay every
day of his life and wrestling cows. Edge: Hughes
Stamina:
Hughes has been fighting longer than Sherk, but has only gone
the distance a few times. Sherk has fought less than Hughes,
but had to go the distance several times. Hughes seems to have
unending stamina and the same goes for Sherk. It’s been
almost two full years since Hughes was stretched to go the allotted
time, but Sherk was taken the distance at UFC 36. Another tough
category to pick. Edge: Even
Desire:
Hughes is the best in the world in his weight class and he intends
to keep it that way. Aside from Tito Ortiz, Hughes is Zuffa’s
main man, has been a champ for quite some time and will stop
at nothing to remain the best. Sherk, however, is on the outside
looking in and is starving for Hughes’ glory. Sherk wants
what Hughes has and then some. Hughes could be taking Sherk lightly
because he isn’t as well known as Newton or Trigg, and that
could play into Sherk’s plans. This is the fight of Sherk’s
life. It’s not for Hughes. Edge: Sherk
Experience:
This is the easiest of the categories to gauge. It’s a no
contest in my eyes. Hughes has fought more than twice as many
times as Sherk, knows what it’s like to lose and he doesn’t
want to feel like that again. He’s fought arguably the best
the weight class has to offer besides Trigg and beat them all.
Compared to Hughes, Sherk is a novice. Edge: Hughes
Overall
edge: Hughes
Neither
guy ever called me back to do an interview, so that must mean
that they are both feverishly working on their gameplan, or they
simply hate my guts. However, without speaking to either one
as of right now, it’s tough to pick who is more focused.
With that said, I safely pick Hughes to win a decision in a tug
of war wrestling/striking match.
So,
will Hughes remain champ and continue in the Miletich Team’s
winning ways like Sylvia did to Rodriguez? Or will Sherk continue
the string of upsets that has been running rampant lately? Nogueira,
Sakuraba, Newton, Pulver and Rodriguez, all heavy favorites,
lost to their foes. I just don’t see the same upset bug
infecting Hughes.
Source:
Sherdog
The
Inside Scoops on Tito and the UFC
MMA Weekly Show with Ryan Bennett
Ryan
Bennett recapped UFC president Dana White's appearance on the
Live Audio Wrestling radio show on Sunday night. When asked about
Tito's recent statement that he would be willing to fight Chuck
Liddell for $150,000 to show up and $150,000 more to win, Dana
White confirmed Internet reports that Tito is actually demanding
more than 150/150. White said, "If Tito thinks Liddell vs
Ortiz will be bigger than Shamrock vs Tito then he is crazy...
150 and 150 was NOT what they (Tito's lawyers) were asking for.
I don't want to get into what he asked for. He needs to tell
his attorneys because his attorneys did not ask for that (150
and 150). If he thinks him and Chuck are bigger than Shamrock
vs. Tito, he's out of his mind. It's a harder fight, but not
a bigger fight."
During
the interview on the LAW show, Dana White also reiterated his
previous statements that what he's officially hearing from Tito's
people is, "Tito is injured." The hosts of the show
said told White when Tito was on the show himself, Tito made
it very clear that the dispute was based on money and not about
any injury. When asked if the UFC would eventually strip Ortiz
of the Light-Heavyweight Title if he continues to refuse to honor
his contract, Dana White's reply was, "Yes. We owe Chuck
this fight. The time is right now. Chuck stepped aside for the
Shamrock fight, and it was huge for the sport. Now it is Chuck's
time. It's 100% not fair to give Chuck his due."
To
conclude the recap of Dana White's LAW radio show appearance,
Ryan Bennett talked about the establishment of an "interim"
Light-Heavyweight Title and the things that Dana White had to
say about it. White said that because Tito's camp is telling
the UFC that Tito is injured, the UFC can't strip him of the
belt altogether, and so they can only create an "interim"
Light-Heavyweight Title for the time being. (And though Dana
White couldn't say it for fear of legal repercussions, what will
happen is that the UFC's "interim" LHW champion will
become the full-fledged LHW champion if Tito still hasn't fought
after a certain amount of time.)
Just
when the talk of Dana White's radio appearance was over, it was
time to talk about the biggest breaking news story of the day,
for which full credit goes to MaxFighting's Josh Gross. Gross'
news story was the first to publicly detail exactly what Tito's
side is asking from Zuffa. Tito's current UFC contract pays him
$80,000 to show up and $80,000 more if he wins. According to
Josh Gross, what Tito's side is offering is a new three-fight
deal that would progress as follows. First, Tito would fight
Guy Mezger and would be paid a flat rate of $400,000 or $450,000
to do so. Second, Tito would fight an opponent to be determined
at a later time (Tito's side is suggesting Frank Shamrock), and
Tito would be paid a flat rate of $500,000 or $550,000 to do
so. Finally, the third fight on Tito's proposed new contract
would pay him a flat rate of $750,000, and that fight would be
against Chuck Liddell, if Liddell remained undefeated throughout
this timeframe.
Ryan
Bennett continued recounting the news from Josh Gross' ground-breaking
story. Tito's lawyer, Henry Holmes, said that he doesn't think
Tito's current contract is "appropriate," and he compared
Tito to Lennox Lewis and Roy Jones, Jr. A letter obtained by
MaxFighting that was written by Henry Holmes brings up a boxing
law in Nevada that "prohibits agreements that oblige a fighter
to fight exclusively for one promoter." Ryan Bennett emphasized
that this is a law for boxing and that it has never been applied
to MMA before, and that Tito's lawyers is trying to be the first
to apply it to MMA. (If Tito's lawyer were to be successful with
this action, three things would happen. A) Tito's UFC contract
would be null and void, B) It would be illegal for any MMA organization
that operates in Nevada to sign an exclusive contract with any
fighter, and C) As a result of this, it would be illegal for
Tito himself to sign an exclusive contract with any MMA organization
that operates in Nevada, which would include the Pride in addition
to the UFC.)
Ryan
Bennett concluded the recap of these breaking news stories by
saying that if they rip up Tito's UFC contract, then all UFC
contracts would be gone. (It would be illegal for the UFC, Pride,
or any other MMA organization that operates in Nevada to sign
any fighter to an exclusive contract.) Ryan Bennett also read
a quote from Tito Ortiz on The Underground Forum where Tito said,
"I am ready to fight in June," implying that he is
not injured and is physically ready to go. Ryan Bennett said
that Tito and his side should either say it's about money or
say it's about injury, but they shouldn't say both things and
contradict themselves. Bennett said that it is basically all
about the money. He said that Tito should be more direct about
it, and that he looks forward to giving Tito the opportunity
to do just that when he appears on the MMA Weekly Radio Show
this Wednesday.
Ryan
finished up his commentary on the Tito Ortiz situation by saying
that $150,000 to show and $150,000 to win is one thing, but when
you go up to somewhere in the range of $1.6 million over the
course of three fights, at that point it's a very tough sell.
Ryan said that there's no way the UFC is going to give him that,
and that he doesn't think Pride would give Tito that much money
if they were free to negotiate with him.
Source: MMA Weekly
Horn
to fight in UFC Again!
MMAWeeklY
Radio talked with Jeremy Horn's manager Monte Cox yesterday and
Cox talked to host Ryan Bennett about the possibilities of Jeremy
fighting in the UFC.
He said Horn will fight in the 185 pound weight division in the
UFC in August. His immediate focus though is fighting Vernon
"Tiger" White at the next King of the Cage in a few
weeks.
Cox
said "I think he can do what Murilo Bustamante did and go
right through that division in the UFC. He has won 38 of his
last 40 matches, so expierence will be a factor in the fight.".
Cox finished by saying that UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva will select
an opponent for August.
Source:
MMA Weekly
Sean
Sherk Interview
By Ryan Bennett
Ryan
Bennett then aired an interview with UFC Welterweight Title challenger
Sean Sherk, who will be fighting Matt Hughes for the belt this
Friday at UFC 42. The interview was recorded on Monday morning
before the radio show went on the air. It was done this way rather
than being live because Sherk was on his way to his daily training
session. Sean Sherk started off by saying that he's very excited
to get this opportunity, and that this is what he has been working
for throughout his career.
Bennett
asked Sherk if was frustrating to have a record of like 22-0,
and be in the UFC, and still not have his fights shown on the
pay-per-views. Sherk replied that he would have liked to get
one PPV fight before challenging for the title, and that it will
add a lot of new pressure to him knowing that so many people
are watching him fight who have never seen him fight before.
Sherk said that he has been on an emotional roller coaster ride
that has been full of adrenaline but also nervousness.
Ryan
Bennett asked Sean about his training for this fight. Sherk said
that he always trains hard, but he has trained even harder for
this fight because of the caliber of fighter that Hughes is.
Sherk said that he has been training hardcore in boxing, kickboxing,
wrestling, jiu-jitsu, ground escapes, and a lot of endurance
training. He said that the endurance training is very important
for this fight in particular because he thinks the fight will
ultimately come down to which fighter can be the first to wear
down the other. Sean said he's pretty confident that neither
guy is going to finish off the other quickly, and he is preparing
for the long haul.
When
asked about the similarities between himself and Matt Hughes,
Sherk said that it's almost like a mirror match. People have
been telling him to prepare to fight himself, and that in any
situation he has to try to think what Matt Hughes would do in
the same situation. Sherk did say that Hughes definitely has
better wrestling credentials since Hughes was a two-time All-American
in college and Sherk didn't wrestle in college, but overall,
Sherk feels that he has many of the same strengths and weaknesses
that Hughes possesses. Sherk said that people in the gym tell
him that he has quick hand speed and is a good boxer, but that
he doesn't consider himself a good boxer until he does it during
an actual fight.
Ryan
Bennett noted that it's unusual for a fighter to be training
so much during the week of a fight, and asked Sherk why he is
still training so hard just four days before the fight. Sherk
said that he wants to be in top shape, and since it only takes
him a day or so to recover and be ready for a fight, he's going
to train his butt off until Wednesday and then stop. Sean said
that he is still going to be doing grappling, weightlifting,
swimming, running, and all of the other things that he normally
does.
When
Ryan Bennett asked about his weight, Sherk said that at the time
the interview was conducted on Monday morning, he was about 182
pounds. Sherk said he would probably be down to about 172 pounds
when he finished training, and he would probably be back up to
180 pounds before he goes to bed. Ryan said it's amazing that
fighters can do that, and Sherk replied that it's just a matter
of training for a whole day at a time and eating healthy food.
He said you eventually get to a point where your body doesn't
store much fat anymore.
Bennett
asked Sherk how much he thinks he'll weigh when the fight starts
on Friday night. Sherk said that he generally likes to fight
at 175 to 178 pounds, and that he will probably be 178 pounds
for this fight since Hughes is a little bigger. Sherk said that
he feels too light if he fights at any weight lower than 175
pounds, and at the same time he feels slower and more sluggish
when he fights at any weight higher than 178 pounds. Ryan said
that Matt Hughes normally weighs about 185 pounds at fight time,
and asked Sherk if he's okay with that. Sherk said that he has
no problem with that, and that he has given up weight in most
of the fights during his career.
With
so many fighters changing weight classes recently, Ryan Bennett
asked Sean Sherk if he's comfortable fighting as a welterweight.
Sherk said that he loves fighting in the 170-pound weight division
because it's stacked and one of the deepest in all of MMA with
great fighters like Matt Hughes, Carlos Newton, Robbie Lawler,
Anderson Silva, and Frank Trigg. That concluded the interview.
Throughout the interview, Sherk came off as very humble and down-to-earth.
He showed amazing maturity for a man of his age and with his
record.
Source:
MMA Weekly
Monte
Cox Interview
Ryan
Bennett was then joined live by Monte Cox. Cox is the manager
of many different fighters, including Matt Hughes and all of
the other fighters from Miletich Fighting Systems. Cox started
off by saying that as Sean Sherk's former manager, he can say
that Sean Sherk is a great guy, and that he is now getting the
chance that he has been waiting a long time to get. Monte said
that Sherk left on good terms, and that the only reason Sherk
left is because a promoter or manager can only represent two
fighters in any UFC weight class at any given time. Cox said
that Sherk found himself in the exact same situation that Jason
Black is in right now. Black can't be in the UFC welterweight
division because there are already two fighters in the UFC welterweight
division who are represented by Monte Cox (Hughes and Lawler).
Ryan
Bennett asked Monte Cox if he thinks that rule should be abolished,
and Cox basically said no. He said that he won't allow any two
fighters that he represents to fight each other. Therefore, he
said, if you have three or more guys in the same weight division
with the same manager, you have too many guys who can't fight
each other, and it comes down to a matter of available slots.
With the UFC only having six shows per year, every fight has
to have some kind of tangible meaning, whether it's a title fight,
or a fight that will potentially develop a title contender. Monte
said it's a hard situation, and that Lawler and Hughes are never
going to fight each other because "we don't do that."
Bennett
asked Cox what he thinks will happen in the Hughes-Sherk fight.
Cox said that Hughes is better at straight-up wrestling, but
that doesn't gaurantee him a win in the fight because it's an
MMA fight, not an amateur wrestling match. Monte said that the
wrestling factor is overrated because it's more than just a wrestling
match. He elaborated that it depends on how Hughes approaches
the fight. He thinks Hughes is very likely to win if it turns
into a wrestling match, but if Hughes starts throwing punches
and kicks, then Sherk is more likely to catch a leg or otherwise
take Hughes down. Monte did say that if Sherk is able to get
Hughes on his back, it will be very hard to keep him there.
Ryan
Bennett asked how many fighters Cox is currently representing,
and Cox said 29 fighters. That means not only signing the contracts
and setting up the fights, but also making sure that he's picking
the right guys for his clients to fight, and the right places
for them to fight. He said it's not easy to keep a guy undefeated
while still giving them good fights, but he has done it with
several fighters including Tim Sylvia, Rich Franklin, and Jason
Black.
Bennett
asked about the possibility of Matt Hughes or Robbie Lawler moving
up to middleweight. Cox said that Hughes doesn't have much interest
in changing weight class, and that he's having a lot of fun taking
on all comers in the 170-pound division. On the other hand, Monte
said that Robbie Lawler is a 20-year-old kid who is still growing,
and that people are going to be surprised by how big Lawler looks
at UFC 42. Cox said that as it is right now, Lawler has to struggle
to cut more than 20 pounds to make weight, and that he's not
going to be able to do that for much longer. As a result, he
said that you can probably expect to see Robbie Lawler move up
to middleweight in the not-too-distant future.
Regarding
his background, Monte Cox said that he went to college to be
a newspaper editor. He worked for several different newspapers
during his 18-year career in that field, and he also started
a boxing career that consisted of about 20 professional fights.
Monte hilariously said that the reason he decided to move from
fighting to promoting was that people kept hitting him in the
head, and that didn't happen when he was promoting. Cox said
he still had the newspaper job when he met Pat Miletich. Miletich
armbarred him and choked him, which caused Cox to say, "Wow,
this is great stuff!" and become a big fan of MMA. Miletich
was very persistent in trying to convince Cox to promote an MMA
event in the Quad Cities area, and when they finally did, it
drew 8,000 fans. Cox quit his newspaper job, and the rest is
history. Monte said that he doesn't have a 401k plan or anything
like that, but he loves his job. He jokingly said that he might
be living on the street when he's 65, but in the meantime he's
having a hell of a good time.
When
asked about Jens Pulver, Cox said that his situation was similar
to Tito's. Cox said that he might get in trouble for saying this,
but the difference between the two situations is that Pulver
did the right thing and fulfilled his contract before he said,
"Look, we need to renegotiate." Monte said even though
he's a manager, that's the right way to do things whether you
get the pay raise you want or not. Cox also said that if you're
not going to honor contracts, "What's the point? Why should
anyone sign someone to a contract if they won't honor it the
first time something goes wrong?"
Ryan
Bennett said that Monte is right, and that's probably why people
respect what Jens Pulver and Murilo Bustamante did more than
they respect what Tito Ortiz is trying to do right now. Cox asked
where it would end if you could renegotiate in the middle of
contracts whenever you wanted. He said, "No one is going
to say that the UFC didn't make Tito Ortiz. They completely did."
Monte said that situations change for fighters sometimes, but
they change both ways, and both sides should have to honor their
contracts. (This is referring to situations like Pedro Rizzo's,
where the UFC signed him to a big-money, six-fight contract and
then he went on a losing streak, but they're still honoring his
contract in full.) Monte Cox said that Pulver only made $11,000
to show up and $11,000 more to win for his victory over BJ Penn,
but Pulver held up to his word by finishing his contract, and
it was the right thing to do.
Monte
Cox said that they were actually trying to get Pulver back into
the UFC earlier this year, but with the way Pulver left last
year and with the loss to Duane Ludwig, the UFC wanted Pulver
to get another win or two under his belt before he returned to
the UFC. Monte said that Jens Pulver belongs in the UFC in the
long run. Cox also said that Pulver misses fighting in the UFC
enough that he is willing to forget about his previous financial
demands. Cox hopes to see Pulver back in the UFC sometime after
his stint in Shooto is finished.
Regarding
Pulver's deal with Hook-n-Shoot to fight Jason Maxwell on May
24, Monte Cox said that the fight is going to serve as a sort
of warm-up fight for Pulver and give him some exposure in the
US, but that he still has a four-fight contract with Shooto.
Pulver's first fight with Shooto will take place in August and
will end up with him fighting Takanori Gomi. Monte said that
he is really looking forward to Pulver vs. Gomi, because Gomi
is the only top-ranked lightweight other than Din Thomas that
Pulver hasn't beaten at one time or another.
Regarding
Pulver's loss to Ludwig, Cox said that sometimes things happen.
He commented that Ludwig certainly wouldn't knock Pulver out
ten times if they fought ten times, just as BJ Penn wouldn't
knock Caol Uno out ten times. At the same time, Cox gave Ludwig
credit for his victory and said that you can't take anything
away from the guy. When Ryan Bennett asked if Pulver is anxious
to have a rematch with Ludwig, Cox said that most of fighters
don't get hung up on rematches or dwell on them. He said that
Pulver isn't hung up on getting revenge against Ludwig, in much
the same way that Matt Hughes isn't hung up on getting revenge
against Dennis Hallman.
The
Monte Cox interview continued with Monte continuing to dispense
information about several of the fighters he represents. Regarding
Jeremy Horn, he said that something clicked in Horn's mind when
Tim Sylvia won the UFC Heavyweight Title. Monte said that Horn
sort of looked around and realized that everyone around him had
a title belt at some point, and he finally cared about the fact
that he wasn't in the UFC actively pursuing a title fight. Up
until that point, Horn didn't really mind and was having a blast
fighting throughout the country and the world. Horn has now decided
for the first time that he wants to actively pursue a UFC title
belt, and he wants to do it as a middleweight. Cox said he thinks
Jeremy Horn can go through everyone in the 185-pound weight class
just like Murilo Bustamante was going to. Monte confirmed Dana
White's statement on the LAW show that Horn is definitely returning
to the UFC. Cox said that Horn will drop to middleweight right
after the fight with Vernon "Tiger" White, and that
his UFC comeback is planned for August against an opponent that
has not yet been determined.
Regarding
Pat Miletich's future as a fighter, Monte Cox said that Miletich
would like to fight a couple more times. It was a big setback
for Miletich to suffer the neck injury that he suffered while
training to fight Frank Trigg a while back, a neck injury that
Cox said was very similar to the one that Randy Couture had a
few years ago. Monte said that Miletich rehabbed his neck for
six months with no sparring, grappling, or other kinds of training.
Miletich is now back in training and is looking forward to returning
to action. Monte said that Miletich wants to fight a big-name
guy like Frank Trigg or Hayato Sakurai. (No mention was made
of where Miletich would fight, given the current reports that
the WFA may be forced to shut down for financial reasons.)
Regarding
Ian Freeman, who just recently joined up with Monte Cox, Monte
said that Freeman was very frustrated after his loss to Andrei
Arlovski. Cox said that Freeman is a great guy who trains like
a maniac. Cox and Freeman were very happy when the opportunity
came up for Freeman to fight Ken Shamrock at UFC 43 in June.
Monte said that it's a no-lose situation because even if you
lose, you're losing to the biggest legend in MMA today. Cox said
that he thinks Freeman matches up pretty well with Shamrock,
and that there are definitely going to be some fireworks in that
fight.
Regarding
Dave Menne, Cox said that he still has one fight left on his
UFC contract. Cox said that after Menne's loss to Phil Baroni,
Cox requested and received permission from Zuffa for Menne to
fight on smaller shows for a little while. He said that Menne
looked great in his recent ICC victory, and that he will probably
take one or two more fights on smaller shows before returning
to the UFC. Cox said that you'll probably find out when Menne
is returning to the UFC in about two or three months (which implies
that his return could be at UFC 44 in August, or at UFC 45).
Ryan Bennett asked if Menne is planning on cutting down to welterweight,
and Cox said no because it would be very hard for Menne to cut
that much weight, and even if he did, Monte already has two fighters
in the UFC welterweight division (Hughes and Lawler) and one
waiting in line (Jason Black). Cox also said that the middleweight
division is very attractive for fighters because it's so wide
open right now.
Regarding
Rich Franklin (who is fighting Evan Tanner at UFC 42 this Friday),
Monte Cox said that he has a versatile set of skills and he's
very flexible. Cox said that Black never drinks, never smokes,
and is training with Meat Truck Incorporated, as well as Jorge
Gurgel for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training. Monte said that
people saw Rich Franklin dismantle Aaron Brink and were like,
"Holy cow, who is this guy?" Then he arm-barred Marvin
Eastman in a a minute on a WFA show. Monte said that he felt
comfortable with Mike Van Arsdale as Franklin's opponent before
Van Arsdale had to pull out of the fight due to a neck injury,
and that's there's a little bit more anxiety now that Franklin's
opponent is Evan Tanner. At the same time, though, Cox said,
"You can't hand-pick your opponents, and we're going to
go with it."
Ryan
Bennett asked Cox to name a few guys that fans should look out
for in the future. Cox said he would have said Emelianenko Fedor
last year, but of course everyone knows how good Fedor is now
that he has beaten Heath Herring and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Cox said that Rich Franklin is going to be a star in MMA with
or without a win against Evan Tanner at UFC 42. He also said
that Rich Clementi is going to do very well in this sport with
his work ethic and training habits, despite his recent loss to
Yves Edwards. Monte also mentioned Jason Black, saying that he
wins everywhere he goes, and that the list of people he has beaten
is just getting bigger and bigger. Cox also mentioned Justin
Eilers, a former college football player whom he described as
"one of the best athletes we've ever brought into the Miletich
camp" but unfortunately "he doesn't know crap about
MMA yet." Cox said that Eilers is learning quickly and is
getting better all the time. He lost to Dan Severn by decision
in his MMA debut, and since then he has racked up several wins
in a row.
At
this point, the Monte Cox interview ended. Besides serving as
a fountain of information, Monte seemed like one of the nicest
and most personable guys in the whole sport. I'm a big Monte
fan after listening to this interview.
Source: MMA Weekly
4/23/03
Quote
of the Day
If
you view all the things that happen to you, both good and bad,
as opportunities, then you operate out of a higher level of consciousness.
Les
Brown
Journey
to the Pan Ams Begins
The
Relson Gracie team leaves for LA and then the drive to Santa
Barbara to compete in the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu championships
that will be held this coming weekend. Almost 20 members of the
team will be leaving on a flight tomorrow and competing to represent
Relson and Hawaii. There are a few others from other schools
that will compete as well and we wish everyone from Hawaii good
luck and a safe trip home.
MaxPreview:
UFC 42
First-Ever Florida Show Spotlights the "Quiet Ones"
Whether
it's smart business is open to interpretation, especially coming
off of two high-profile programs featuring established fighting
veterans. Nonetheless, UFC 42: Sudden Impact, to be held April
25 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, will cast
a spotlight on the lesser-known combatants. Of the sixteen fighters
participating, eight will be UFC rookies.
Even
the main event, a welterweight title showdown between Matt Hughes
and Sean Sherk, features a contender not ever seen on a Pay-Per-View.
With any luck, casual fans will do some research before settling
in for an evening of not-so-familiar faces.
Have
a look at what's scheduled to go down.
Main
Event
For the UFC Welterweight (169 lb.) Title
Matt Hughes (Champion) vs. Sean Sherk (Challenger)
The
Lowdown: Next to Royce Gracie and Frank Shamrock, has there ever
been a more consistently dominant force in the UFC than Matt
Hughes? The Pat Miletich-disciplined fighter was always renowned
for his immense strength and wrestling ability, but in 2001,
he appeared to develop a finishing streak to accompany it. First
there was the bizarre bout for the title against Carlos Newton,
a fight that resembled Rocky II in its dramatic who-will-show-signs-of-life-first
finale. Then Hughes handled highly regarded Hayato Sakurai, rarely
ever showing any real concern. Then Hughes put an exclamation
point on the Newton controversy by pummeling him in the rematch.
2002 closed with a negligible victory over Gil Castillo, the
fight halted due to a headbutt.
Sherk
has been quietly working under the radar for a number of years,
amassing an incredible 22-0 record. His recent UFC appearances
- victories over Jutaro Nakao and Benji Radach - went untelevised,
meaning that it may be difficult for spectators to gauge his
chances. Like Hughes, Sherk uses coiled strength to positionally
dominate his opponents. Unlike Hughes, Sherk has not been tested
by the elite in the class. That's about to change.
Wild
Card: What are either one of these guys going to do when one
of them winds up on their back? Hopefully, they both saw what
happened to Kevin Randleman there in his fight against Randy
Couture, and come prepared.
Odds
On: Hughes by decision. It will be interesting to see how he
copes with a wrestler his near-equal in strength, but a far more
decorated career, a strong corner, and the confidence that comes
with a title all favor Hughes to begin 2003 with a bang.
Welterweight
Bout
Robbie Lawler vs. Pete Spratt
The
Lowdown: Between this penultimate bout and the main event, the
Miletich crew should keep busy come Friday. Heavy hitter Lawler
cut his teeth on feeder shows before his decision-victory war
against Aaron Riley in May of '02. KOs of Steve Burger (displayed
for a national audience on FOX) and Tiki Ghosen followed. With
a confident drawl and a penchant for finishing, Lawler is a candidate
for mainstream stardom.
Looking
to derail his ascent will be Spratt, a journeyman fighter who
was easily overcome by Carlos Newton in November. While he also
possesses heavy-duty power in his gloves, his record of alternating
wins and losses is a sign of trouble somewhere: his camp, his
motivation, or his skill level. It's probably a little bit of
everything.
Wild
Card: Lawler will finally face someone with real potential to
knock him flat. Can he handle it?
Odds
On: Lawler by KO. While Spratt is no joke, his desire is in question.
Spratt recently came out to say this would likely be his last
fight, win or lose. For someone in otherwise good health, that's
not encouraging.
Light
Heavyweight (205 lb.) Bout
Evan Tanner vs. Rich Franklin
The
Lowdown: Tanner looks to come in tanned, rested, and ready nearly
a year after his last Octagon appearance. The durable fighter's
only black mark in recent history is a flash KO at the hands
of Tito Ortiz. Tanner enjoys getting an advantageous position
on the mat and then delivering fight-ending elbows. A look at
his record also proves an extreme comfort level with submissions.
Not a wrestler, not a striker: Tanner is a fighter.
On
the surface, the bout looks to be a lopsided contention between
an established UFC veteran and a game rookie. Look closer, though,
and you'll see that Franklin holds a submission win over Marvin
Eastman and an immaculate record. While he's got his work cut
out for him, Franklin is not as green as one might initially
perceive.
Wild
Card: Could Tanner come in too sedated after time off and with
no hype surrounding his opponent?
Odds
On: Tanner by KO. Franklin may prove to be tough to put away,
but Evan has the potential to win belts in this class. He'll
eventually get another chance to prove it.
Middleweight
(185 lb.) Bout
Mark Weir vs. David Loiseau
The
Lowdown: Weir returns after two impressive showings in the Octagon,
albeit for entirely different reasons. His debut could not have
been more dominant: a seconds-in KO against a game Eugene Jackson
in July. In the follow-up, he could not have been more unfortunate.
After dictating most of the action against Philip Miller, he
was outworked temporarily, but long enough for a submission to
be sunk in. Weir is lanky and efficient with his strikes.
Loiseau
is an import from the Canadian UCC organization, where he's appeared
in nearly all of their programs. Two losses are offset by his
most recent win, a bloody TKO over Tony Fryklund in January.
Wild
Card: A total pick 'em. Both guys like their strikes and submissions
in equal measure.
Odds
On: Weir by TKO. Getting past those first-time UFC jitters shouldn't
be undervalued.
Lightweight
(155 lb.) Bout
Genki Sudo vs. Duane Ludwig
The
Lowdown: The showstopper. While all of the matches are intriguing,
perhaps none offer the near-guarantee of fireworks...save this
one.
Sudo
represents the Japanese contingent in Miami, and while US crowds
are infamously biased, they may have to rethink that here. In
between unorthodox striking and lightning-quick ground attacks,
Sudo concerns himself with entertaining his audience as much
as he does with winning. His UFC debut, a submission win over
Leigh Remedios in July, won over his opponent's UK home crowd
in little time flat.
Equally
flamboyant is Ludwig, finally in the Ultimate on the heels of
his surprise KO of Jens Pulver in January's UCC event. While
his ground game instills little fear, Ludwig's stand-up, polished
by the hammer-legged Bas Rutten, is enough reason to respect
him. Sudo generally likes to play on the feet: against Ludwig,
that may be ill-advised.
Wild
Card: The whole deck. Can Sudo's showboating style frustrate
Ludwig? Can Ludwig defend himself on the ground until a new round
begins? Can Sudo withstand Ludwig's ferocious kicking, kneeing,
and punching?
Odds
On: Sudo by submission, and by a nose. Ludwig deserves all the
honors for finally knocking Jens Pulver off his perch as the
number-one lightweight. Still, Sudo's slick groundwork is likely
going to be Ludwig's downfall here.
Heavyweight
(205 lb. and over) Bout
Wesley Correira vs. Sean Alvarez
The
Lowdown: Though the granite-headed "Cabbage" didn't
put up much of a fight against current champ Tim Sylvia in September,
observers say he's got far more to show in the ring. Correira
will look to silence critics by continuing his impressive KO
showings that began in Superbrawl.
Alvarez
makes his UFC debut after a sporadic career in MMA over the past
six years. The bout harkens back to the classic style/style bouts
of old, with slugger Correira looking to pummel the jiu-jitsu
expert.
Wild
Card: Correira claims he was out of shape for his beating at
the hands of Sylvia. Even so, he lasted far longer than UFC champ
Ricco Rodriguez. Sylvia, by the way, is a monster.
Odds
On: Correira. So long as he recognizes the value of training,
there won't be much to keep him from KOing the overwhelmed Alvarez.
Lightweight
Bout
Rich Crunkilton vs. Hermes Franca
The
Lowdown: Preliminary action sees two newcomers battle for bragging
rights. Crunkilton has mixed up his wins by way of KO, decision,
and submission. Franca is more submission-oriented, and will
need to look out for Crunkilton's more competent hands.
Wild
Card: No egos, no big money...maybe even no television exposure.
When fighters have little to lose, fireworks are usually the
result.
Odds
On: Franca by submission. He may be too slick a mat technician
for Crunkilton.
Welterweight
Bout
Romie Aram vs. Dave Strasser
The
Lowdown: Aram makes a long-awaited visit to the Ultimate after
a solid run in King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge. He first
gained notice with a decision win that derailed the comeback
of Lion's Den staple Jerry Bohlander.
Strasser
has experience to spare, with a laundry list of opponents and
wins by every conceivable manner.
Wild
Card: Same as above. Both men should look to try and make a statement
here.
Odds
On: Aram. Though Strasser more of a vet, Aram looks to be running
with a little more momentum.
Source:
Maxfighting
Rift
Between Ortiz, Zuffa Grows
Ultimate
Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Tito Ortiz
has asked Zuffa, promoters of the UFC, for a renegotiation of
his current contract that could pay him somewhere in the range
of $1.3 to $1.75 million over three fights, MaxFighting has learned.
Neither
Ortiz's lead counsel, Henry Holmes, a Los Angeles-based entertainment
lawyer, who represents George Foreman and Hulk Hogan among others,
nor representatives of Zuffa would confirm the dollar amount
of the proposed deal. Sources close to the situation, however,
intimated that the initial proposal from Ortiz's side would make
him one of the highest paid fighters in mixed martial arts history.
Holmes
says the offer is "proportional" to what other mixed
martial artists make. Currently signed to a long-term deal, Ortiz
is attempting to renegotiate while a fight versus UFC number
one contender Chuck Liddell awaits him.
The
past year has seen deposed UFC champions, Jens Pulver and Murilo
Bustamante, part ways with Zuffa following failed contract negotiations.
Ortiz, however, is the first to demand a renegotiation while
under contract.
"We
honor all our contracts and we expect all the people that fight
for us to honor theirs, too," said UFC president Dana White.
"Especially someone who's been treated as good as Tito."
"We
don't think his contract is appropriate," counters Holmes,
referring to Ortiz's current deal. "He's as much a champ
as Roy Jones Jr., Lennox Lewis and Oscar de la Hoya. As important
as Bill Goldberg."
Holmes
appears to be challenging the validity of Ortiz's contract as
it relates to Nevada law. In an April 10, 2003 letter obtained
by MaxFighting from Holmes to Zuffa general counsel Kirk Hendrick,
Zuffa's role as promoter, manager and sanctioning body as it
relates to putting Ortiz in the Octagon is challenged.
"…Nevada
law expressly prohibits agreements that oblige a fighter to fight
exclusively for one promoter or at the option of the promoter,"
the letter states.
"Zuffa's
contract specifically provides that Tito 'shall not participate'
in any bouts other than [those] promoted or co-promoted by Zuffa,'"
the two-page document continues. "Zuffa's form bout agreements,
therefore, clearly do not present the true nature of the relationship
between Tito and Zuffa, which is, as the title of the contract
implies, an 'Exclusive Promotion' relationship.
"In
light of the broad powers with which Zuffa acts under this contract,
the law imposes on Zuffa the highest standards, and mandates
that Zuffa act to protect Tito's interests above all others,
including his own. Simply stated, Zuffa has not done so."
Should
the Nevada State Athletic Commission hear Ortiz's challenge,
the statutes in question would be closely scrutinized to see
if they should be changed. NSAC general counsel Keith Kizer would
not comment on Holmes' claim, offering only that "Mr. Holmes
and Mr. Hendrick were two top-notch attorneys. I am sure they
will fully explain their respective positions if the need arises."
On
the surface it appears as if Holmes' argument is a compelling
one. However, Kendrick played a large part in drafting several
of the current Nevada unarmed combat laws and sources inside
Zuffa have told MaxFighting that they feel confident in the validity
of their contracts as they pertain to Nevada law.
Liddell,
despite his number one contender slot, stepped aside for Ken
Shamrock last November. In doing so, his contract guaranteed
his next bout would be for the UFC 205-pound belt. Initial plans
called for the Ortiz-Liddell bout to take place this week in
Miami at UFC 42. That never panned out.
Citing
injuries incurred during his TKO victory over Shamrock, Ortiz
turned down the spring bout. Following backlash from fans and
media, Ortiz stated numerous times that the Liddell contest would
take place this coming June. On March 14, Holmes informed Zuffa
that Ortiz would not sign the Bout Agreement that would pit him
versus Liddell in June, thus delaying the highly anticipated
bout yet again.
On
March 19, Holmes contacted Hendrick with a verbal offer that
would have had Ortiz fight in June for double the purse currently
outlined in Ortiz's contract (he received $160,000 versus Shamrock)
versus someone other than Liddell.
As
the June UFC drew near - Liddell forced into the ring due to
the terms of his contract, and Ortiz later claiming he was unfit
to compete - White says Zuffa had no other option than to create
an interim title bout, featuring Liddell versus former heavyweight
champion Randy Couture.
"…Zuffa
has attempted to impose its will on Tito as his exclusive promoter
and manager, by unilaterally creating an interim title to be
issued by the UFC at its matches in June," Holmes states
in his letter. "By threatening to create this paper champion,
Zuffa not only violates the duty it owes to Tito, but also confirms
that it is acting as a sanctioning organization in violation
of Nevada law."
"The
thing is, we've received a letter from Tito's camp saying Tito
is injured," counters White. "His former manager, and
Tito, told me he has a hand injury, knee injury and just had
Lasic surgery on his eyes. Plus his new attorney told us he had
'entertainment' obligations at the same time as our June 6th
event. So he couldn't fight in June. Chuck had to fight in June
per his contract and it had to be for a title. Chuck Liddell
is fighting for an interim title."
As
far as Zuffa is concerned, Ortiz is currently under contract
and is obligated to fight the winner of the Liddell-Couture contest
the next time he steps into the ring. "Tito is the light
heavyweight champion and as soon as he's back in shape, back
in form -- whatever his deal is -- the light heavyweight champion
will fight the light heavyweight interim champion to see who
the real number one guy is at 205,"said White.
According
to several sources, however, Ortiz has no plans on fighting Liddell
in the initial bout of the proposed three-fight deal. First,
that plan has him earning $400,000-$450,000 to face Guy Mezger,
a fighter Ortiz split bouts with before becoming champion in
1999.
Holmes
didn't express an interest in Mezger when MaxFighting spoke to
him two weeks ago, but he did seem excited about the prospect
of Ortiz stepping into the Octagon versus Frank Shamrock, who
delivered Ortiz's last loss. Following the second bout on the
proposed three-fight contract that would pay $500,000-$550,000,
Ortiz, purportedly, would earn $750,000 to face Liddell.
With
Zuffa unwilling to renegotiate Ortiz's current deal, the light
heavyweight titleholder cannot idly sit on the sidelines waiting
for his contract to run out. The Las Vegas-based promoter holds
an option to extend Ortiz's contract equal to the amount of time
he sits out due to injury. He's already missed nine months in
2002 following surgery for a torn ACL and his current ailments
are sure to add several more months to the agreement.
"Tito
signed a contract," said White. "We honor our contracts
with all our fighters. If you don't think I've cut bad deals
before where I've done a long-term deal with guys and two fights
in, let's say someone has a six-fight deal, it's not going the
way I thought it was going to go and the guy is on a two-fight
losing streak, I'm going to honor the contract."
Ortiz,
meanwhile, doesn't seem to be working under the same thought
process. Saying that bouts versus Liddell and Shamrock could
be "huge," Holmes and Ortiz are posturing for two hefty
paydays before a potential Liddell fight.
"We
want this to happen, obviously," said Holmes.
Any
Zuffa-promoted bout featuring Frank Shamrock seems like a long
shot, especially after an already strained relationship turned
ugly in recent months. "Frank Shamrock is not under contract
with us and we have no relationship with Frank Shamrock,"
said White.
The
name on everyone's mind, however, is Liddell. Assuming he gets
by Couture, the contract situation between Ortiz and Zuffa will
not be any easier to resolve. Fans can expect Zuffa to address
the situation on their upcoming April 25 UFC pay-per-view.
Source: Maxfighting
Evan
Tanner: Full Time Fighter
Evan Tanner knows how quickly things can change in the UFC. He
was 3-0 in the Octagon and had earned a shot at champion Tito
Ortiz. Fighting was still a casual endeavor for the Amarillo,
Texas product, and his training habits weren't marked by the
intensity necessary to compete at the top level. Ortiz ended
the bout quickly, in 30 seconds, with a crushing slam that proved
a wake-up call for Tanner.
He
responded aptly.
"Each
fight before Tito, I'd train maybe for a month and a half,"
Tanner told maxfighting.com. "It wasn't till I fought Tito
that it hit me that I was at another level. I realized I would
have to commit to the training full time rather than just hanging
out."
Tanner
has been impressive in the bouts following the Ortiz loss, beating
Homer Moore, Elvis Sinosic, and Chris Haseman. He feels he's
better than ever, because now he realizes that what came so easily
isn't as readily obtained - there are too many tough fighters
at this level to get by on anything less than a full-blown commitment
to the sport. He was once "The toughest guy in Amarillo,"
and he got there on a lark.
"It's
kind of a funny story. I was passing through Amarillo, and there
was a little local shoot fight. It looked kinda cool. I thought,
hey, I can do that, then, ho, I don't have anything to prove,"
Tanner said. "I finally decided to join up on the next show,
just for fun. I won a heavyweight tournament that night, and
then the USWF title. And then I thought, hey, having a title
is cool. Maybe just once more, and then once more again…"
He'd
won two state high school titles at 171 lbs., and pretty much
felt that was enough of a pedigree to keep going, despite early
indicators that other factors were creeping in that could pose
problems for a wrestler lacking the complementary submissions
skills. Sparring in practice was his first wake-up call.
"(Training
for my first fight) guys were doing submission grappling. I went
in there, I had good wrestling skills but I just got beat up.
I though, I'm gonna fight, I gotta learn some techniques. There
was really no one there to teach both wrestling and submissions
and explain how they worked together," Tanner recalled.
"I got the Rorion and Royce Gracie videos. I had a friend,
and we'd watch it in the living room and roll on the carpet and
try them out."
As
low-tech as the approach seems, it worked. Tanner took off to
Japan and won five straight Pancrase matches, utilizing his new
submissions skills, seeming like an old hand at it. Then after
his early UFC successes, the Ortiz fight happened and left him
wondering what he'd missed.
"After
Ortiz, it was tough, " he recalled. "Like I said, fighting
was never really a dream of mine. I'm not one of those macho
guys that feels I want to be tough or beat people down. I didn't
really train for Tito Ortiz, maybe thinking, hey I can pull this
off, maybe get a UFC belt."
Pitted
against 9-0 Rich Franklin in UFC 42, Tanner, 16-2, approaches
this Saturday's bout knowing full well that he is believed to
be a stepping stone for Franklin. Ironically, he's training full
time like he knows he should have been leading up to the Ortiz
loss, rolling in strenuous sessions in Portland with Randy Couture.
The
morning regimen consists of 1.5-2 hours of strength and conditioning,
and plyometrics; afternoons are 1.5-2 hours of working on fighting
techniques, hitting mitts, sparring, and doing a variety of fight-related
drills. Tanner is also fan of mountain biking which helps break
up the routine of constantly being in the gym. He's a regular
guy when he's not training, too.
"I
have a '99 Harley and my fiancé has a 2002 Fat Boy,"
he said. "It's really beautiful up here in Portland. I also
get tied up on the Internet goofing around on Ebay."
Those
things are largely moved to the back burner for now, though.
He knows Rich Franklin is looking to make a name for himself,
and is a lot like how Tanner used to be when he was coming up
as a highly regarded prospect, gunning for the big time. Tanner
knows what it's like to lose and go away knowing he could've
trained better, and represented his skills differently. He also
has learned a thing or two after the intense training with Couture,
who is slated to fight Chuck Liddell if Ortiz vacates his title.
"Who
would win? I couldn't tell you, I've never sparred with Chuck,"
Tanner said. "One thing about Randy, he just has an extremely
solid base. It's hard to get that guy off balance and move him
or do anything with him. Randy can make 205. He has never really
concentrated on losing weight since he's been fighting heavies.
If Randy wins the title I have no problem sitting out on the
fringes fighting who they bring in. I'm not really big on going
for the title if it's him."
"But
after the Ortiz fight I had to reevaluate what I wanted to do
with it, if I did want to walk away," Tanner concluded.
"And it's kind of hard to walk away."
Source:
Maxfighting
4/22/03
Quote
of the Day
Maturity
is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term
values.
Joshua
L. Liebman
Super
Brawl Supports Our Troops!
If
you or someone you know is currently in the Middle East in support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom, we'd like to tell them 'Thanks'.
Give us their Name, Rank, Unit Number and Address and we'll send
them some free SuperBrawl videos to keep them company over there.
Thanks
guys! Keep up the great work!!
Go to the link below to register the information. And don't
even try to put an address like Nanakuli, Iraq. Onzuka.com would
also like to say that we stand behind our troops 100% and hope
that everyone comes back safe and sound after we crush Saddam.
Our hearts go out to the families that have lost loved ones in
this war and commend them for their sacrifice as well!
On behalf of Pacific Fighting Championships, we would like to
thank all the team and fighters for their participation. We also
like to thank the fans that showed up to support Pacific Fighting
Championships on April 17, 2003. We felt it was a great success
for a first show outdoors, we also are very pleased with the
outcome and will only continue to strive forward and make this
better and better for the fighters and especially the fans. We
would like to give a special shout out to the judges Falaniko
Vitale, Kai Kamaka and Mike Onzuka and to our sponsors 808 Fight
Factory, HAWAII411.COM and Second 2 None Fight Wear. And of course
the always supportive Onzuka Brothers and FightersTV.
Source:
The Promoter
PRIDE
ANNOUNCES MORE MATCHES AND SCHEDULE!
Date: June 8th, 2003
Place: Yokohama Arena
DSE/PRIDE
announced 1 more match up for the next show, PRIDE 26:
2000
Inter College 2nd
2000 All Japan trials 3rd
2000 KBS Cup (Korea) 2nd
2001 All Japan Trials 97kg class free style 2nd
2001 All Japan Society 85kg class free style 1st
2001 All Japan Cup 97kg class free style 2nd
2002 All Japan trials 84kg class free style 4th
2002 All Japan Society 96kg class free style 2nd
Source:
Booker K
HOOKnSHOOT's
Absolute Fighting Championship 3 To Feature JENS PULVER!
Former UFC Champion at 155 lbs bound for Florida and HnS
HOOKnSHOOT
is a few days away from announcing the complete card of the 'Absolute
Fighting Championship 3', scheduled for the Ft Lauderdale, FL
Memorial Coliseum on May 24th, 2003, but word is leaking out
that Jens Pulver has signed for a match on that date.
'I
am still working on our May 3rd show.' quips matchmaker Miguel
Iturrate. 'It is true though - I have been speaking with Monte
Cox, Jen's manager, and we have come to an agreement. Jens will
do a superfight at HOOKnSHOOT, on May 24th, 2003 against one
of the HnS up and comers, Jason Maxwell'.
Maxwell
is a tough customer, who is young and well trained, and has a
3-3 record that will fool most observers. His first loss, in
1999, was in the limited rules of the old Texas USWF, when Maxwell
was 19 years old. He lost his first two MMA fights, both against
known opponents - Tiki Gohsen and Duane Ludwig - and neither
fighter finished him. Since then, he is coming off three impressive
showings, incuding a spectacualr KO win over Gunnar Olsen at
a HOOKnSHOOT event last year in Massachusetts. Against Pulver,
he will definitely be the underdog, but Pulver will have to be
aware that Maxwell's balaaanced attack makes him a threat from
anywhere.
Pulver
is expected to move on to SHOOTO, where he has a verbal commitment
for a 4 fight deal.
Source:
ADCC
INTERVIEW:
SEAN SHERK
Sean
Sherk... Earns His Shot At The UFC Welterweight Championship
& The Abu Dhabi Championships
Sean
Sherk will break out of his shell at “UFC 42: Sudden Impact”
in what can be seen as the toughest and most important fight
of his short, but active MMA career. You see, the undefeated
Sherk, a veteran of Pancrase, Reality Submission Fighting, KOTC,
UCC and Ultimate Wrestling, is relatively unknown to the UFC
PPV audience, but his outstanding record of 22-0-1 has earned
him a shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship belt. I first
met the 170-pound wrestler after his “UFC 30: Battle on
the Boardwalk” victory debut win by verbal submission over
Tiki of then Team Punishment. He was as unassuming outside the
cage at the post fight party then, as he is now talking on the
telephone. But Sherk is on a tear and recently defeated highly
regarded Benji “The Razor” Radach at “UFC 39:
The Warriors Return” by TKO at 4:16 Round 1. A recent UFC
press release stated: “this victory made him the undisputed
number one contender for the welterweight crown. During a meteoric
career, he has beaten some of the world’s top fighters,
including Martin Armendarez, Brazilian Claudionor Fontinelle
and Japanese submission fighter Jutaro Nakao.”
Won,
lose or draw, just 3 weeks later, Sherk is then heading to the
2003 Abu Dhabi Submission Grappling Championships in Sao Paulo,
Brazil. Known for his Ground & Pound fighting style, Sherk
understands no fists are allowed at Abu Dhabi, and that’s
fine with him “I’ve been working submission for 5 or
6 years,” said a confident Sherk, “I’ll have nothing
else to do but go for submissions.”
I
talked with the Midwestern warrior just 1 week out from his upcoming
title shot in the UFC and his long awaited debut in Abu Dhabi.
JC:
You’re heading to “UFC 42: Sudden Impact” to face
Matt Hughes for his UFC Welterweight Championship belt. How do
you see it going? SS: It’s hard to say. Matt’s a great
fighter. If anything, it’s going the distance. I don’t
think either of us is going to slow down. I think it’s going
to be an all out war to the end.
JC:
I’ve seen your 3 UFC fights, and 1 in KOTC, and you clearly
have a record that shows you have the heart, determination, training
and ability... though Matt has the same. Coming into the fight
he has one thing over you in that he is the champion, though
that is a pro and con. Pro is you have to take it from him. Con
is he has everything to lose. Comment? SS: I agree definitely.
If I’m going to be the UFC Champion I have to take that
belt. Anything that is close, it’s probably going to him.
I’ve been thinking about that throughout my training and
I’ve been pushing myself harder and harder everyday.
JC:
You continue to train in Minnesota? SS: Yes, at Minnesota Martial
Arts Academy with Greg Nelson.
JC:
The latest news is you’re heading to Abu Dhabi? SS: I’ve
wanted to go to Abu Dhabi for a while now. I’ve always known
about it as the toughest submission tournament in the world,
so this is a great opportunity for me. I’ll be coming out
of my UFC fight, win, lose or draw, I’m going to be in great
shape, so I’m definitely going to try to win the Abu Dhabi
also.
JC:
Will training for Abu Dhabi be very different for you? SS: I
think training for the Abu Dhabi will be easier. I’m not
going to have to work striking. I’m not going to have to
work any punches on the feet. No punches on the ground. I get
to take out a few workouts during the day.
JC:
So, the transition from UFC style training to Abu Dhabi style
training will be easy for you? SS: Yeah, it’ll be easier.
The only thing I’m going to have to do differently is work
wrestling take downs, rather then take downs with punches.
JC:
There’s an influx of new talent or first timers heading
to Brazil this year. Have you talked with people in the past
about going, or have you just thought about going? SS: I’ve
mentioned it here and there about wanting to go to Abu Dhabi
and how it came about was a couple guys at my gym talking about
it and how it wasn’t going to be in the Middle East this
year, but in Brazil. I told one of my training partners that
it would kind of cool to compete and a couple of days later he
told me you can go if you want, that he talked with the guy and
they want you to go. That’s how it happened for me.
JC:
Then you’ll be training more wrestling, more take downs,
controlling positions or looking for points in your wins? SS:
I want to do both. I want to score as many points as possible.
I know there’s no scoring points in the first 5 minutes,
but I also want to get submissions. A lot of people don’t
know it, but I’ve been working submission for 5 or 6 years
and before that I was doing shoot wrestling, so I do know submissions.
And seeing how this is Abu Dhabi and there are no punches on
the ground, I’ll have nothing else to do but go for submissions.
JC:
Funny you should mention no strikes on the ground. Clearly your
style is GnP first, but you’re also well versed in submissions.
Are you ranked in Jiu-Jitsu or are you a hybrid submission grappler
trained guy? SS: I’ve never tested for any type of belt...
not Muay Thai and not Jiu-Jitsu. Basically I train just to fight.
Rankings do not mean anything to me. I just want to be the best
fighter I can be. My trainer is Greg Nelson, a black belt in
Jiu-Jitsu, and we have a brown belt at our school and a whole
group of purple belts at out school, so I get to work out with
these guys everyday. I work out with and without the Gi.
JC:
How would you look to score the win in the end? SS: I want to
score as many points as possible mixing it with submissions and
just be dynamic and turn some heads to open some doors.
JC:
What new doors would you look to open? SS: There are scouts from
around the world there in submission fighting and NHB, so I’ll
look into anything. This is what I do for a living, so I want
to explore as many options as I can get.
JC:
You’ve been wrestling three quarters of your life, placing
in states about a dozen times and the nationals a few times.
You also train in Jiu-Jitsu. What other disciplines to you train?
SS: On the ground we do shoot stuff and Vale Tudo. I’ve
been playing around with boxing my whole life, but I really didn’t
have any formal boxing training until 1994. I’ve been doing
Muay Thai for about 4 to 5 years as well. I do it all... that’s
what my life is dedicated to... martial arts.
JC:
You’ve been doing submissions for 5 or 6 years and we’ve
talked before about you doing stand up as well. We haven’t
seen your submissions and we haven’t seen your stand up.
Hopefully I will see you bring all your disciplines together
one day. SS: Yeah, it will happen. It’s just a slow process.
Like you said, I’ve been wrestling three quarters of my
life and that’s second nature to me. I’ve been doing
that my whole life and it’s hard to veer away from that
because I feel so comfortable with the wrestling aspect.
JC:
Who are your influences? SS: My biggest influence in wrestling
would have to be my older brother Kerry Sherk. He’s about
6 years older then me and he has helped me by taking me under
his wing and turned me into a great wrestler. As far as MMA,
my biggest influence is Greg Nelson. I’ve been with him
since day 1... ever since 1994, and he molded me into the fighter
that I am right now. Those are the 2 biggest influences in my
life right now.
JC:
What is 1 word to describe Sean Sherk? SS: Focused.
JC:
Why focused? SS: I have my goals and there’s nothing I won’t
do to achieve my goals. I put everything else second behind my
goals, and my goal is to win the UFC Welterweight title.
JC:
And that’s this week. SS: Yes, Sir.
JC:
I’m real happy for you and this opportunity. You’ve
earned it. I think it’s unfortunate that people don’t
know you like I do, or like they know Matt... and I blame the
UFC for never having you on a PPV. SS: Yeah, but I’ve gotten
a great amount of publicity for this show. I think the UFC has
done a great job with the commercials. I’ve been to radio
stations in the last month. They’ve done a real great job
this time around. So I thing they’ve made up for [laugh]
the lack of in the past.
JC:
I’ll give them that. SS: They listen to the people. You’re
their Main Event, and when people say Matt Hughes vs. Sean who,
they had to act.
JC:
You’re doing more radio? SS: I’m actually on 93X Morning
Show, which is the biggest rock show here in Minnesota. I’ve
been wanting to be on the show for a long time, so I’m actually
kind of pumped about it.
JC:
Any thoughts on what you’re going to say or will you do
a Q&A? SS: I’ll do a Q&A. I’m going to arrive
a little early. Listen to the show and jump in... sound like
I know what I’m talking about.
JC:
I think you’ll do fine. It’s the people asking the
questions. They have to know what they’re talking about.
SS: I’m not bad doing interviews. I prefer when they are
spontaneous. I don’t like time to prepare. If someone asks
me a question and tells me they want the answer 5 minutes for
now, I’ve already thought how to answer that question 10
different times. That way you’re not going to get a very
honest answer out of me. Spontaneous is good just like I am talking
to you now.
JC:
I know you fairly well, but many in the MMA community do not.
Can you tell me one thing about Sean Sherk that would have people
saying, “hmmm... I didn't know that?” SS: That I got
engaged to Heather Moore over Christmas!
JC:
Is there anything you’d like to say? SS: I really haven’t
been on the internet in a while. I’ve been in my own shell...
getting in the zone and train and figure out what I need to do
to win this fight. I’d like to thank the fans and all the
people who have always supported me... and my family who have
always been there with me. They’ve traveled the world to
support me and that makes what I do so much more fun.
For
more information on this cage, mat and ring warrior, check out:
www.SeanSherk.com.
Source:
ADCC
Florida's
Rich Crunkilton
Set to Make His Own
Sudden Impact at UFC 42
It's
as simple as this. Since the age of fourteen, Rich Crunkilton
has wanted to be in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Now 23
years old, and with thirteen professional bouts [all wins] behind
him, this Florida native is on the brink of realizing his dream--
and in front of a hometown crowd at that. Making his UFC premiere
against fellow first-timer Hermes Franca at UFC 42: Sudden Impact
this Friday, April 25th, Crunkilton will get his chance to make
the all-important first impression. A versatile lightweight that
has both submitted and knocked out the likes of Victor Estrada
and Bao Quach, Crunkilton's name has floated about the fighting
circles for quite a few months as a fierce up-and-comer. Let's
take a look at the UFC's latest lightweight addition.
FCF:
For some reason your nickname is not an obvious one to me. Why
are you called "Cleat?"
RC: Cleat is a name my dad calls me -- kind of all the guys in
our family call each other that. When my dad was younger, that
is what they called all the athletes in the school. Growing up,
him and all his brothers would call each other Cleat, so then
it was passed on to me.
FCF:
Let's find out a bit about your career thus far. Who has been
your toughest opponent to date?
RC: I believe my toughest was a guy named Zviad [Abuseridze from
WEF:Rumble at the Rodeo 2]. He was a Russian fighter. That's
just the toughest fight I can remember.
FCF:
Have your other fights been less memorable and not as difficult?
Some of your other fights have gone the distance.
RC: Yeah, but I don't think they were that hard. That's the one
I remember being the hardest. For those other fights, they were
good opponents and -- [pause] I never really was in shape for
those fights. None of those fights were under "Crazy"
Bob.
FCF:
When did you start training under "Crazy" Bob Cook
and the American Kickboxing Academy team?
RC: It was a little over a year ago. I came out to California
to visit my [then] fiancee and I was looking around for fights.
I was asking around town if anybody knew about fights going on,
because I wanted to make some money. I was looking up "no
holds barred" and "karate" and "fighting."
I was living in Fresno and eventually got hooked up with Team
Fresno [Terry Dole and Phillip Perez] there. "Crazy"
Bob came by and wrestled with me a bit and then invited me to
come up to San Jose. I ended up moving to San Jose a week later.
FCF:
"Visiting" your fiancee? How were you two separated?
RC: I had met her at college. She was going to college with me
in Florida at Pennsicola Christian College. Then, she went back
to her family in Washington, but she had relatives in California.
FCF:
What did you study at Pennsicola?
RC: Biology, but my main reason for going there was wrestling.
It was the only [college] wrestling team in Florida at the time.
FCF:
How had your wrestling career gone up to that point?
RC: I was a Greco and Freestyle state champion four or five times
outside of the high school season. You know-- USA Wrestling.
It's the major amateur wrestling association. Because of Title
9, there's a lot of politics right now and all the college wrestling
schools dropped their programs years ago. I went to Pennsicola
for two years and then it became too much for me to handle. It's
a fundamental Baptist college and it's really strict.
FCF:
What kind of strict are we talking about?
RC: The rules basically. They don't allow us to watch any movies
or have any music or go out past 10 o'clock on the weekends.
The male and female students aren't allowed to talk off-campus
without a chaperone or they'll get expelled.
FCF:
No movies? So, I guess popping in a tape of the UFC was out of
the question.
RC: Right. Actually, for my first pro fight I had to lie and
say I was going to my parent's house. It was in New Orleans so
I drove about seven hours from Pennsicola to do this fight. If
they had found out, I would have been expelled.
FCF:
It sounds like you were really determined to become a fighter.
RC: Yeah, I must have seen UFC 2 or 3 on pay-per-view. I was
really young, but I wanted to be in it one day. Ever since I
first saw the UFC, I was on a mission to get in there.
FCF:
What was this first fight like for you? How were you prepared?
RC: I was just a college wrestler. That's it. I just winged it
and tried to beat him up. I had watched a lot of fights and did
a lot of kicks from karate, but it was basically point karate.
FCF:
You had studied karate as well?
RC: Yeah. I took Chun Kuk Do karate for three or four years on
and off. It's the system Chuck Norris is affiliated with.
FCF:
Were you a big Chuck Norris fan?
RC: Yeah [with a laugh]. I guess.
FCF:
Luckily for the fans, you eventually ended up in California with
the AKA team. Tell us about your training there now.
RC: My training with AKA has made me a much better fighter. I
never really did any kind of conditioning before I came out here.
I train with Bob and Javier Mendez and Frank Shamrock and the
all of the fighters out here and they've really sharpened me
up in a lot of areas. I do boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, submissions--
everything basically. I do a lot of work with Frank -- wrestling
and sparring. If I'm uninjured, I train five to six days a week
with two to three sessions a day.
FCF:
You also have another up and coming lightweight on the AKA team
to train with in Josh "The Punk" Thomson. Josh was
originally slated to fight Genki Sudo on this UFC card as well
before he succumbed to an injury.
RC: We train together and we're friends. I wouldn't see us fighting
each other anytime soon, if at all.
FCF:
Tell us about Rich Crunkilton the Ultimate Fighter.
RC: I like to do a lot of throws. I use a mixture of wrestling
and judo. I studied judo for six or seven years and have a black
belt in it. I'm very universal. I like to do a lot striking,
a lot of high altitude throws...
FCF:
And it seems a few of your fights have ended in submissions.
RC: I train there, but any fights I've had by submission I kinda
just fell into. I can do submission holds, but I'd much rather
stand and fight--kickboxing, boxing, Muay Thai-- I like it all.
FCF:
Let's talk about your upcoming opponent Hermes Franca. What do
you know about him?
RC: I know he's from American Top Team and that's a really good
group. I know he's a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I haven't
really seen any of his fights yet, but I've heard he has pretty
good stand-up and really good submissions.
FCF:
Knowing that he is a BJJ specialist, what are you anticipating
in this fight?
RC: I think he's going to try and hit me with every kind of triangle
choke, arm lock--all that kind of stuff. I really want to try
and avoid the takedown and keep the fight on its feet and see
how it goes that way. I think that [stand-up] is one of my stronger
points right now and something I've really been working on. I'd
rather go out there and win the fight fast.
FCF:
Is this a one-fight deal for you?
RC: Yes.
FCF:
So, the pressure must be there to turn it up and make it an especially
exciting fight.
RC: Yeah, yeah. Definitely.
FCF:
Why do think you got the "big call" from the UFC?
RC: I took Javier Vasquez's place [in the show]. He hurt is knee
and... [pauses] I don't know. I guess they'd heard of me from
Bob and others. I think they had wanted me to fight a little
while before, but at the time I was just moving back into town
and not training. I needed more time.
FCF:
What do you think Rich Crunkilton has to offer the UFC lightweight
class that the fans haven't seen before?
RC: A lot of unconventional stuff. A lot of excitement. I like
to do spinning kicks and whatever I can hit the guy with--just
a really fast pace, not a lot of resting and laying around.
FCF:
What would you say your strengths are as a fighter?
RC: I have a lot of heart. I don't like to quit. Good wrestling.
I do it all.
FCF:
What are your weaknesses as a fighter?
RC: I don't know. Anything that I consider to be a weakness,
that's what I'll train on the most.
FCF:
What do you train the most?
RC: Probably submissions [chuckling], but I don't really consider
that area a weakness because I've been working on it a lot.
FCF:
What are you goals in mixed martial arts?
RC: My goals are to do the best that I can do and go as far as
I can go with it. I really like this sport and I enjoy training
and competing in it.
FCF:
When your time as a professional fighter has come and gone, do
you foresee yourself staying involved in MMA in some way?
RC: I'll probably be working the family business, which is a
jewelry store and a pawn shop. There's also construction. My
dad has a lot of businesses going. I'll probably end up having
a small dojo to teach and train people.
FCF:
What does fighting in the UFC mean to you?
RC: I'm really excited. I can't wait. This will be a really big
step getting in there and I look forward to it.
Source:
FCF
4/21/03
Quote
of the Day
"Common
sense is the knack of seeing things as they are,
and doing things as they ought to be done."
Harriet Beecher Stowe
KAOS
Full-Contact Fighting Challenge 2
Weigh-ins
The weigh-ins will be at
808 Fight Factory
94-143 Leokane Street
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797
Waipahu
Friday, April 25th
7:00PM
The UFC will be replayed, food and drinks will be provided
(don't count on any being left if I make it down there in
time).
Source: Event Promoter
Searching
for a Sifu Beronica
We received an email from a Kung Fu stylist looking for a Sifu
named Beronica. The spelling may be wrong, but his former teacher
recently passed away and Sifu Beronica knows his deceased instructor
and hopefully can provide some information about him.
The only other information given was that Sifu Beronica studied
Kung-Fu in Europe under a Sifu Yamoto and he is supposed to be
living somewhere in Hawaii.
We have a number of readers of various different styles, so if
Sifu Beronica is in Hawaii, someone must know of him. If you
know how to get in touch with Sife Beronica or can provide any
leads concerning how to get in touch with him, please email
us
and we can pass on the information.
Thank you in advanced.
BJJ's
Makua Rothman is the Big Wave Killer
Kai Garcia student Makua Rothman has had a good week. First,
he gets his blue belt, then he wins his share (est.$50,000.00)
of the $110,000 prize money at a big wave competition on the
mainland. Here's the story below.
Rothman wins big
wave competition
April 20, 2003
HAWAIIAN
18-year-old surfer Makua Rothman has defeated competitors twice
his age in winning $110,000 for riding the largest wave of the
last year.
Rothman
rode a wave measured at 66 feet (20.12 metres) to defeat Australia's
Cheyne Horan as well as fellow Hawaiian Noah Johnson and two
Frenchman at the annual Billabong XXL awards for the year's largest
ridden wave.
Rothman
started surfing the outer reefs of Hawaii when he was just 13
and last November rode the largest wave of his life at outer
reef break Jaws.
"I
started on 10-15 foot surf and worked my way up to the 20 stuff
and when I felt I had good experience is when I wanted to tow
Jaws," Rothman said earlier this year, of where surfers
are towed into the wave behind jetskis.
"This
is my high in life. It is kind of like I don't experience fear
much and I just do what comes natural and feels right. I use
my emotions to my advantage when I'm surfing."
Horan,
42 and a four-time runner-up for the world title, nabbed his
huge wave at the same session as Rothman while two unknown Frenchmen
- Fred Basse and Sebastian St Jean - made a late run for the
title.
The
pair surfed the largest waves ever ridden outside of Hawaii at
the Bay of Biscay last month.
Contest
director Bill Sharp said the decision would cause controversy
because of the difficulty in measuring waves.
"Once
they (the waves) were measured, the rideable faces of all five
of the nominated rides were within a foot or two of each other,
in the 64- to 66-foot range," said Sharp.
"It's
been determined the margin of error of these measurement techniques
is about three to four percent, and all five fell within that
range. The rules define that if one wave is not distinctly larger,
the nod goes to the heavier wave, and in that case there was
no debate.
"In
the first ballot it was an unanimous decision...all eight judges
had selected Rothman."
Source:
Eric Goo
On
the road to the 2003 Abu Dhabi Championships
with Eddie “The Twister” Bravo
by: Joseph Cunliffe
Eddie Bravo won the lightweight division at the Abu Dhabi North
American Trials on October 5, 2002, qualifying for a spot at
the 2003 Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling Championships to take
place on May 17 & 18 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Machado brown
belt will be facing some of the best 145 pound submission grapplers
in the world, including 2001 Champion Royler Gracie of Brazil,
Chris Derkson of Australia, Teemu Launis of Findland, Rany Yayhra
of Brazil and Katsuyuki Hirata of Japan. Admitting his recent
strength training has definitely changed his game, The Twister
is confident, but not stupid in his abilities and says “the
strength training is helping me pull off my tricks -- if you
know anything about my game, it’s very unorthodox.”
JC:
You’re 1 month away from Brazil. How are you feeling? EB:
I can’t wait for it to begin. I’ve been training really,
really hard since I won the North American Qualifiers. I didn’t
wait to start training a couple months before the event, I started
right after the trials in October, hard core. I started doing
things that I never did before like hitting the weights. I hit
the weights really hard and blew up to 170 pounds. But now I’m
in the process of shredding down. Right now I’m 156 pounds,
so I’ve got about 10 pounds to lose but all I really need
to be at is 150 and the other 5 pounds is water... that’s
a joke... that’s easy. So I’m ready. I’m ready
to go!
JC:
You’ve talked about not lifting or running in preparation
for the Trials, but you’re lifting for the Championships.
EB: Yeah, for the Qualifiers I didn’t lift weights and like
I said before I never really lifted anyways, but I always knew
I would have to eventually, to take my game to the highest level.
I’ve always done Jiu-Jitsu just for the love of it and the
love of the game. I really didn’t want to do anything that
was strenuous and boring, and I always thought lifting was the
most boring thing you could do, but now my ass is on the line
and this is the big show... it really doesn’t get any bigger
than Abu Dhabi. I’m going to fight guys that were black
belts when I was doing zendoryu karate [laughing] so I need every
bit of strength I can muster up. I started lifting October 15
and have been consistent ever since. I’m no Matt Hughes,
but I am definitely twice as strong as I was before. I feel really,
really confident at 145 that I’m not going to be over powered,
and that was my main focus.
JC:
What are you benching today? EB: It’s still not that much,
but for me its epic! [both laughing] When I started I was doing
135 like 7 or 8 times, but now I can do it 20 times. I’m
still pretty weak, but it’s definitely changed my game 100%.
JC:
How has strength training changed your game? EB: All of a sudden
I’m rolling with guys I was never able to sweep or control,
and now I’m tapping them out. That’s how I know the
weights have improved my game. It’s evident by the people
I roll with... those I had trouble with before, I’m not
having the same problems anymore. And those I wasn’t able
to tap before, much less sweep, control... now, I’m sweeping
them, passing the guard, controlling them and choking them out.
My body is much stronger now and I’m just really, really
confident that I am going to do well. I’m not stupid though,
I know I can get caught. I’ll be in there with the best
grapplers at 145 in the world and when you’re dealing with
Leo Viera and Royler Gracie, you make one mistake and it’s
over. But I know I have the technique to tap every guy in my
division, whether I can that one chance I get to roll with them...
well that’s a different story, anything can happen.
JC:
You were nervous going into the Trials, but came out of it pretty
confident. Would you please explain? EB: The Trials are basically,
in the US, the most important tournament there is... the Abu
Dhabi Trials. If you win there, you’re going to the big
show in the Middle East, or in this case, Brazil... and that’s
the biggest show. It wasn’t like your everyday mom and pop
tournament, this was the big show. This is your ticket to Brazil.
There’s a lot at stake. But I’m nervous for every fight.
What gets me through it, is that I know I can win nervous. I’ve
won before when I was super nervous. I think for Abu Dhabi I
will be nervous again. What’s going to carry me through
it is knowing that I can win nervous. I think most fighters get
at least a little nervous, except for some guys... like Matt
Hughes, that guy never seems to get nervous, or Robbie Lawler.
I’m not going to sit here and say I’m a bad ass or
cold as ice or anything. I am really concerned about making a
mistake and getting careless, or falling into someone’s
trap. But as long as I’m playing my game and moving forward
and not getting too cautious, then I really feel confident that
I can win. Come May 17 and 18, I’m going to throw everything
I have onto those mats and win or lose, you’re going to
see some exciting stuff.
JC:
You’re up against some of the best grapplers in the world
@ 145, including Royler Gracie, who is one of my black belt instructors.
How is your grappling preparation going? EB: Well, you know what,
everything else has been the same for me except for the strength
training. The strength training is helping me pull off my tricks
-- if you know anything about my game, it’s very unorthodox.
I’m coming at people from different angles and I do stuff
that many people haven’t seen. The strength is just helping
me pull it off easier and faster. It’s adding new elements
and variations to my game... making it even crazier. So for me,
my game plan isn’t really to study want anyone else is doing,
except for Royler, I’m concerned with his foot locks, so
I’m working with Gerald Strebendt, a fighter that I train
who has fantastic leg locks, he’s a leg lock wizard and
I have him attack my legs, which keeps me on high alert for foot
locks that Royler or anyone can throw at me. As far as anyone
else, I’m not worried about their game. I think they have
to be worried about my game. It’s going to be really strange
for people to defend my stuff and that’s what makes me confident.
Most people don’t know the traps that I leave and they fall
right into them, and I’m relying on that for success at
Abu Dhabi. But like I said before, I know it’s not going
to be easy and who knows I can make a mistake and get caught
in a trap left by some unknown fighter, some dark horse that
could come out of nowhere. These guys are the best, but No-Gi
Jiu-Jitsu is my specialty. I do train with the Gi and I’m
pretty good there too, and I know I can compete with the best
black belts out there, but No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu is where I’m
going to shine. And in a month we’ll find out.
JC:
Abu Dhabi is a No-Gi tournament, so whether you’re a white,
blue, purple, brown or black belt... the belts come off and you’re
a No-Gi grappler. EB: Yes, exactly... exactly! But then, you
know, with the Gi I probably wouldn’t be as confident going
against Royler, although I would love to go against him with
it on.
JC:
You’ve talked about hanging with black belts. What belt
rank are you? EB: I’m a brown belt and I have been training
9 years.
JC:
Who are you ranked under? EB: Jean-Jacques Machado.
JC:
You were named the “Most Technical Fighter” at the
Trials. Why were you tagged that an how did it felt out of all
the competitors there that day? EB: I was pretty blown away hearing
that I won that award. I’ll tell you exactly why I won it,
right out of the mouth of Miguel (the show’s organizer),
you see I’m known for “the twister” submission
that I learned in high school wrestling, it’s actually called
a guillotine, but Jean-Jacques just started calling it the twister
because the guillotine to him was a front head lock. It just
kind of stuck. Well anyways, they made that illegal in the Trials,
and apparently in Abu Dhabi as well, but it wasn’t clear
in the rules meeting. But I guess it’s probably my fault
for not bringing it up and making it clear. So my first opponent
I get in the twister and the referee stops the match and asks
me to release what he called a spine lock. I protested briefly
but let it go and ended up getting him in a rear naked choke.
I was a little disappointed but oh well at least I won. What
I did with my second opponent is I got him in a twister, but
I didn’t crank it. To me it isn’t a dangerous move.
I’ve applied it many, many, many times and one person or
two people may have gotten hurt, but nothing that serious considering
people get hurt from leg locks much more frequently then the
twister. My second opponent I got in the twister, but I didn’t
crank it, I just wanted to show that if I wanted to get it, it
was there. I’m always working for it and I got it. After
a few seconds, I let it go and wound up winning on points. Then
I went on to beat Alan Teo in the finals. And Miguel came up
to me and said, “Listen, we took away your best move and
you still won, so you’ve earned the Most Technical Fighter
Of The Night.” I was pretty excited! There were a lot of
top fighters there: Dean Lister, Marc Laimon, Pablo Popovich,
David Terrell even Alan Teo, who was smoking through his first
couple of fights. I won it, and it blows me away! I couldn’t
have asked for a better night. I was flying high that night.
Free trip to Brazil to fight legends like Royler Gracie and I
got the most technical fighter of the night. It was pretty awesome
and could not have gone any better.
JC:
Would you look at the twister as a crucifix? EB: Nah, they look
at it as a spine lock and that I am going to ruin someone’s
spine. I do the move on a daily basis and no one gets hurt. If
anything gets hurt, it will be the neck. It’s kind of like
a neck crank, so if neck cranks are banned form Abu Dhabi, I
can understand. But it’s not a spine lock. No one has ever
tapped from their spine being locked from this move, but it is
a neck crank and so I do understand it being banned based on
that. Someone’s knee can pop form it, but that shouldn’t
factor into the decision why it’s banned because heel hooks
are far worse for the legs and they're not illegal. I don’t
mean to hurt anyone, I just want them to tap. I’m really
not happy with it being banned as it’s my favorite move,
but rules are rules and I’m just happy to be there. I’m
going to do my best and I have plenty of other stuff, although
I would like to get Royler in the twister, that would be nice
[both LAUGHING].
JC:
Is there anything you’d like to say? EB: I want to talk
about my protege, the only MMA fighter that has mastered all
my unorthodox moves including the twister. His name is Gerald
Strebendt, I mentioned him before, and he’s going to be
fighting in the next couple of months in a very big show. Nothing
is finalized yet, but he’s going to show the world what
he can do on the ground. His guard is amazing. Like I said before,
his leg locks are top shelf and he's working with Paulo Tocha,
a world famous Muay Thai instructor at “The Bomb Squad”
in Hollywood, who lived in Thailand for 20 years. With Jean-Jacques
and myself working his ground game and Paulo Tocha, who has 4
Muay Thai Champions in his stable, working his striking, Gerald
has a bright future ahead of him in the world of MMA, he really
is something special.
JC:
Thank you, Eddie... and best of luck in Brazil. EB: You’re
welcome.
Source: ADCC
Phil
Baroni Out of Action!
To
the delight of some and the dismay of others, Phil Baroni could
be sidelined for the next few months with a torn right pectoral
muscle (chest muscle). A blow not only for Baroni but the fans
who love him and those that love to hate him.
Last
week FULL CONTACT FIGHTER reported that Baroni tore the pec while
attempting to bench-press over 465lbs! Baroni underwent surgery
to reattach the torn muscle and is expected to recover completely.
This
does take Baroni out of the ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships.
Rumor had it that Baroni was slated to be one of the skilled-sixteen
fighters to enter the 77-87kg division.
This
would have created potential matchups for Baroni up with guys
like Renzo Gracie, Nino Schembri, Saulo Ribeiro and Erik Pauslon
(also string rumors from Indiana, Paulson's hometown, state that
he is going)! Another wild one would have been a rematch with
Matt Lindland who is also strongly rumored to be going!
Guess
we'll have to wait to find out how 'bad' Baroni can be at submission
wrestling.
Baroni
will be put through rehab and physical therapy for the injury.
Often if the injury goes untreated, the muscle rolls up into
the upper chest or shoulder and shrivels to nothing.
Similar
injuries have occurred with Phil Johns (a torn bicep and pectoral)
and Kevin Randleman (a torn quad muscle).
Best
of luck and a speedy recovery!
Source: ADCC
KOTC
23 Lineup, PPV
Jhun vs. Carter for the KOTC Title Ron
Jhun vs. Pete Spratt photo
"King of the Cage: Sin City " is proud to feature a
stellar fight card. Three K.O.T.C. World Titles will be up for
grabs: The K.O.T.C. World Super Heavyweight Championship, The
K.O.T.C. World Lt. Heavyweight Championship Match and The K.O.T.C.
World Welterweight Championship Match.
The
Giants amongst men “Big” Erik Pele and Dan Christianson
will face one another in an earth-shattering Super Heavyweight
Match. In the World Lt. Heavyweight Championship Match Jeremy
Horn takes on the fierce Champion Vernon “Tiger” White.
And be prepared for the World Welterweight Championship Match
between Ronald
“Machine Gun” Jhun and “Mr. International” Shonie Carter.
Also on the card… MMA Legend Dan “The Beast” Severn,
Joe Stevenson, and Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez. This
event promises to go off with a bang, so mark your calendars
and get ready for the best night of fights ever to hit “Sin
City”
"King
of the Cage: Sin City " will be held on Friday, May 16,
2003 from the Orleans Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gates
open at 4:30pm PST, fights start at 5:30pm. In addition, "King
of the Cage: Sin City" will be televised on pay-per-view!
The pay-per-view broadcast begins at 6:00pm PST/9:00pm EST and
is available via DirecTV, The Dish Network, TVN, Bell Express
Vu, and Viewer’s Choice. For more information on pay-per-view
availability, check your local listings.
Eric
Pele vs Dan Christiansen for the now-vacant KOTC Super-Heavyweight
title
Jeremy
Horn vs Vernon White for the Light-Heavyweight Title
Ronald
Jhun vs
Shonie Carter for the Welterweight Title
Dan
Severn vs Cory Timmerman
Joe
Stevenson vs Thomas Denny
Joe
Crilley vs Art Santore
Diego
Sanchez vs Mike Giomond
Brent
Stevens vs Brian Pardoe
Dave
Rivas vs Bobby Gamboa
Source: Sherdog
Couture
vs. Liddell Official?
The old saying, a picture tells a thousand words is so true about
this particular poster. InDemand has accidentally let the cat
out of the bag with this picture/poster of UFC 43, now called
"Meltdown".
From
the poster we see a few things. There is a belt above Liddell
and Couture which could mean this will be for the title. It also
confirms something we reported a long time ago and that was Tank
Abbott taking on Kimo. Ken Shamrock will also be part of the
card, same as Vitor Belfort and a new name which we didn't have
and that is Frank Mir.
It
looks like it's just a matter of time before it becomes official.
Chuck Liddell will fight Randy Couture in the main event for
UFC 43.
Source: MMA Weekly
Unfortunately no news is bad news for UFC fans. It appears there
will be no television deal in the forseeable future for the UFC.
After months of exhausting talk, Zuffa is not any closer to a
tv deal that they were many months ago.
MMAWeekly.com
talked a bit with a few representitives at ESPN and they told
MMAWeekly.com that any deal that was talked about is "dead"
with the company.
There
was talk months back that the UFC could be close to signing a
deal with ESPN, but unfortunately, the ESPN aired a negative
piece called "Outside the Lines" that made the UFC
extremely upset. Basically ESPN producers met with Zuffa officials
for many hours and days and out of no where changed their focus
from the UFC to "smaller" MMA promotions. The UFC was
not happy and the piece turned out drastically different that
first hoped.
Now
Zuffa is back to square one. Their ratings have shown a weekly
t.v. show could be successful, as a result of the solid ratings
in Canada and the U.K, but until a major network wants to step
up, it appears there is no t.v. deal in sight.
Source: MMA Weekly
Javier
"Showtime" Vazquez
Responds to Terry Trebilcock
Part 2 of 2
By Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
From
Part one
MMARR: So you think that Romie should have let you go out? Would
you have been upset at Romie, if maybe he would have thrown in
the white towel?
Javier:
He knows better then to do that. We have already had that discussion
before.
MMARR:
Could you blame him if he did?
Start of Part 2
Javier:
Yeah!!! Because I specifically told him before, “Don’t
ever throw in that towel!”We have had this discussion before.
He feels the same way, John Alessio feels the same way, we all
feel the same way, exactly the same way. We have the towel but
we are not going to use it. We will let the referee stop it or
we will let ourselves tap out. That is just the way I am, that
is just the way we are.
MMARR:
So you never thought for one moment, “Well my career is
going to be on the line, I should just take it easy for this
fight?”
Javier:
NO! Because the way I was thinking was if I would have lost that
fight outright, if I would have been healthy and Alberto Crane
would have knocked me out or submitted me or whatever, he would
have beat me outright, I was going to retire.
MMARR:
Retire?!?!?! Those are big words, you are still too young!
Javier:
Why? Because I am broke! I want to make money, I want to work
full time, I don’t want to work and fight at the same time
anymore.
MMARR:
Are you working and fighting at the same time right now?
Javier:
No, that is why I am broke. I am going to work throughout my
recovery. I am going to train and work, and do other things and
make money in between you know, because it turns out they don’t
exchange my bills for Privates (private lessons), I gotta make
money and once I do come back, I am just going to train full
time again.
MMARR:
Do you feel that if you were healthy, that Alberto Crane would
have standed any chance against you?
Javier:
Not a chance in Hell! Because he would have never taken me down.
MMARR:
So you were planning on keeping the fight standing up the whole
time?
Javier:
The whole time, that is all I have been doing is boxing. I have
been boxing with Pro’s and amateurs that is all I have been
doing. People don’t know what my standup is because I have
never had to show it. I never got my chance to show it but, it
is a lot better then what people expect. A lot better.
MMARR:
What do you think of Romie Aram? It looks like he is going to
be fighting in the UFC. I guess his fight with Dennis Hallman
is off?
Javier:
Yup, He is fighting Amaury Bitetti. (as of press time Amaury
has dropped out and will be replaced by Dave Strasser)
MMARR:
What do you think of Romie entering the UFC? What do you think
of his chances in the UFC?
Javier:
I think he is going to do very, very well.
MMARR:
Do you think he can beat Matt Hughes?
Javier:
If anyone can, he can. With his style, Romie is a lot better
on the ground then a lot of people realize.
MMARR:
You are going to be back in about six months or so do you think
having the surgery is going to affect your future abilities down
the road having two surgeries on the same knee?
Javier:
I don’t think so. My doctor promises me everything you know,
the first time I had the surgery he was like “You are never
going to fight again you realize that right?” This guy is
telling me “you are going to!” So he is instilling
a lot of confidence in me, and I am going to have faith in him.
I am not going to come back till I do feel good.
MMARR:
Everyone else has faith in you.
Javier:
That is what I am starting to see…
laughs
MMARR:
I saw that fight (His fight with Alberto Crane) on Pay Per View
and as soon as I saw that little thing with your knee, I was
like ahh man it was that same knee. Javi has to give up, or Romie
has got to throw in that towel. I thought at any minute he was
going to throw in that towel, it got to one minute, to two minutes,
you went to the first round, the second round…. I though
"What are they thinking!" I mean I was just going crazy,
I was so amazed you actually made it to the fifteen minute mark.
No one would have said anything to you, anything at all if you
had just given up after the first round. I have seen people do
it before and no one would have said anything. I mean you are
a fighter, you are in a fight, and Alberto Crane is trying to
rip your head off. He is trying to hurt you. He is not taking
it easy on you. When he saw you hurt your leg he threw a leg
kick! I mean obviously it is a fight, so you are not going to
take it easy on the guy, but obviously he wasn’t, you went
in and finished the fight with a torn ACL and that was amazing.
Javier:
Thanks I guess…I wasn’t even thinking about quitting.
It wasn’t even an option.
MMARR:
I am sure you have tonnes more fans on the underground all the
people are talking about you, everyone is talking about Javier,
You didn’t win anything!
Javier:
Yeah I LOST!!!
MMARR:
Well you won yourself a hell of a lot of new fans because of
what you did. The only thing that I was ever worried about because
I know you personally, is because maybe it was going to affect
your career, maybe you were going to get hurt. That was the only
think I was worried about.
Javier:
Like I said, if I would have lost that fight, I would have retired.
I told the guys that before I fought.
MMARR:
That fight you lost because of an injury, you didn’t lose
because you lost.
Javier:
A lot of people don’t… my teammates were like no way.
The guys that I am training with they know how I am. They train
with me all the time, John Alessio and those guys, ask every
one of them and they said “He wouldn’t have lasted
a Fucking round with you, “No way, No fucking way”
I know for a fact that I would have knocked him out. For a fact.
MMARR:
You got pretty close with one leg, you hopped around with one
leg and you made it as close possible. With both legs obviously
you could out wrestle him all day long.
Javier:
He would never take me down.
MMARR:
No, he would never take you down, but he has got awesome submissions,
you can’t take anything away from him
Javier:
No no, the kid is sweet on the ground. He is good on the ground
let me tell you. He is very, very good. I have nothing personal
against the guy. I really, really don’t. He is really a
sweet guy. I have met him before, I have spoken with him, the
kid is a sweet guy. No doubt about it. Nothing personal, there
was just a lot of things that were built up and he was just in
the middle of it.
MMARR:
I am going to let you go now but I have all this on tape so it
is alright if I put it up on the site right?
Javier:
Yeah, just Hey don’t misquote me.
MMARR:
No I never Misquote anyone.
Javier:
Or we are going to “Canadia” to take care of ya!
MMARR:
Hey calm down on that Canadia stuff alright! Are you going to
be at the next UCC?
Javier:
As far as I know, Do you know where it is at yet? It is supposed
to be in New Jersey but I don’t know man.
MMARR:
I just talked to Stephane Patry (The owner of the UCC) yesterday
and he says it is probably going to be in Quebec city, Quebec.
He says it is going to be in April. ( Word is the UCC 13 show
will now be in MAy) As long as it is in Canada. I mean anywhere
in Canada is better then anywhere in America everyone knows that
so…
