April News Part 3
Quote
of the Day
"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 |
Quote
of the Day
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle,
stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson |
Kid
Peligro Jiu-Jitsu News
2003 Pan-Ams - Great Event
by: Kid Peligro
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
Class
B - 2 x 5 minutes rounds:
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament 2nd Round
Tomonari Kanomata vs. J-Taro Takita
Middleweight
[-76.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament 2nd Round
Yoichi Fukumoto vs. Hirosumi 'C-Bozu' Sugiura
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 |
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 |
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:
Brad McCall (NG) def. Jerome Kekumu (Hard Knocks)
Unanimous decision [(20-17-20-16), (20-17)]
Kickboxing:
(3 rounds - 1.5 minute)
Scott Redoble (Hawaiian Self-Defense) def. Lenny Liua (Bulls
Pen)
Unanimous decision [(29-24), (29-24), (29-24)]
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. |
