Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
11/21/03
SuperBrawl
(MMA)
Neil Blaisdell Arena
11/9/03
Pride: Final Conflict
(MMA)
(Toyko, Japan)
10/4/03?
Pac Rim Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling & BJJ)
(Klum Gym, UH Manoa)
9/28/03
1st Annual Kauai "Grappler's Paradise" 2003 Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu tournament
(BJJ, Sub Grappling)
(Kauai)
9/26/03
UFC 44: Undisputed
(MMA)
(Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV)
9/21/03
3rd Annual Gracie Kauai Longman Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
Kauai Veteran Center, (BJJ, Sub Grappling)
(Kauai)
9/20/03
SuperBrawl
(MMA)
Neil Blaisdell Arena
9/13/03
NAGA - Hawaiian Grappling Championships
(Sub Grappling & BJJ)
(Farrington HS?)
In The Gym,
Monthly Smokers
Giraldi Muay Thai Gym
(Muay Thai, Halawa) |
|
August News Part
2
Quote
of the Day
"A man who doesn't stand for something will fall for anything."
Peter Marshall |
Baret
to Open School in Ewa
One of the best grapplers in the world happens to be born and
raised in Hawaii, Baret Yoshida. He is a two-time 2nd place finisher
in the Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships, a
numerous Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Wrestling Tournament Champion,
a BJJ black belt, a ranked Shooto MMA fighter, and he even has
instructional video tapes!
Baret
will be opening a school very soon in the Ewa area right after
St. Francis West. The tentative days will be Monday and Wednesday
nights at 6:30 pm (I think). More details such as the start date
will be coming soon as they become more concrete.
Many
people were waiting for Baret to open a school to teach his patented
triangles from everywhere or submissions from the back as well
as his many other battle proven submissions and techniques which
is the reason people call him the finisher.
For
more info, please send an e-mail to jkdu@hotmail.com.
Mahalo!
Burton Richardson
|
3rd
Annual Gracie Kauai Longman Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
Kauai Veteran Center, Lihue, Kauai
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Weigh-ins: 8:00 AM same day
Tournament starts: 10:00 AM
Cost: $40 includes a tournament shirt
Gi & No Gi divisions
Gi - Standard BJJ weight classes & rules
No Gi - One division, 4 weight classes (< 160lbs, 161-180lbs,
181-200lbs, 201lbs+)
Cash prizes will be given out to the winners of the No-Gi divisions.
Other
prizes will be given out at the tournament.
Tournament packets will be sent out to the academies shortly
or call Bruno Ewald @ (808) 645-1265 for more information. |
ADCC
2003 DVDs - UDPATE!
There
is a lot of activity surrounding the production of the 2003 Abu
Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships DVD Series. Del
Management secured the rights to the video and they are working
furiously to get what many believe to be the most exciting ADCC
Championships ever to market.
At
this point, Del Management has cataloged the event footage and
is in the process of having the originals transfered from the
native PAL format to NTSC -- working closely with a transfer
house to guarantee that no quality is lost in the process. The
production team anticipates a late October release date for the
2003 ADCC DVD set.
There
has been no down-time for the production team though. In a year
where the 2003 ADCC Championships marked the emergence of a 'new
breed' of grappler, it is only appropriate to highlight the events
from where competitors like Eddie Bravo, Dean Lister, Jacare,
and Marcello Garcia emerged. For the first time ever, fans of
ADCC will be able to see many of the competive submission wrestling
action from the 2003 ADCC Qualifier Tournaments from Brazil,
the United States, and Europe. A tentative release date of September
29th has been set for the project.
Additionally,
Del Management has been actively protecting their distribution
rights. It appears that at least one individual has been selling
and distributing video from the 2003 ADCC Championships illegally.
What has been most disappointing is that at least one individual
responsible has been a competitor in past ADCC events. Del Management
has issued a cease and desist letter, as well as sought financial
damages stemming from the sale of unauthorized videos and DVDs.
The
punitive action against the individual responsible for the unauthorized
ADCC products may be in for another unpleasant surprise. There
has been speculation that the individual responsible will be
banned from participating in future ADCC events -- a ban that
may extend to the entire team. An entire JJ team banned from
all ADCC competition because of the actions of 1 individual?
It could happen...
More
updates on the 2003 ADCC DVDs will follow soon.
Source: ADCC |
A
New Power in Brazilian Vale Tudo!
photo:
up - Wallid, Olegário, Magno, Ebenezer, Tigre, Pantera,
Leopoldo, Cyborg, Ricardão and Sakada
down - the trainers: Arthur Mariano, Darrell Gholar, Luis Alves,
Paulo Caruso and De La Riva
Early
this week, Wallid Ismail made the official presentation of Brazil
Dojo (BD), the New Vale-Tudo Team that represents Inoki Dojo
in Brazil. The team consists of several famous Brazilian names
like Ricardo Moraes, Marcelo Tigre, Ebenezer Braga, and Evangelista
Cyborg , but also features young talent such as Sakada (Italina
fighter living in north Brazil), Magno Penha, Luis Pantera Manaus'
latest fighting phenom Leopoldo.
'They
will have the best we can provide in Brazil. Luis Alves and Arthur
Mariano training Muay Thai, Darrel Gohlar training Wrestling,
Paulo Caruso taking care of the physical training and De La Riva
teaching ground skills. Some of them get financial support and
I also purchased an apartment for them' said the leader of the
Team.
Wallid
also announced some changes in the card of Jungle Fight. Instead
of Magno Penha, Rico Chaipareli will face Luis Pantera, student
of De La Riva. 'The only thing I know about Rico is that he is
technical, but I don´t believe in technique when punches
to the face are allowed. I hope he is well trained because I´m
not going there to lose guaranteed Pantera.
The
veteran Marcelo Tigre (42 fights and 2 losses) also promised
a return to the ring. 'We are like missiles. Each one of our
fighters is pointed at a top fighter. My goal is Chute Boxe.
It can be Ninja, Shogun or Assuério I want any one of
them' challenged Tigre during a heated training session.
On
Wednesday Wallid is traveling with Antonio Inoki himself to the
Amazon to take care of the final details. 'We will finish the
card for the event on the airplane. After taking care of the
final details of the event we are going to Xingu (the biggest
native indian village) in the middle of Amazon Forest', finished
Wallid.
Source: ADCC |
IFC
'Global Domination' Update!
Saturday, September 6th, 2003
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
IFC: GLOBAL DOMINATION
Though
an official press release has not been issued by the IFC as of
yet, word is trickling out of some attrition. Mike Van Arsdale,
long rumored to be trying to trying to work his way thru nagging
injuries, is officially out. His original opponent, Hawaii's Falaniko Vitale pulled out last week
for family reasons.
Forrest
Griffin v. Chael Sonnen appears to be the newest bout signed
to fill the bracket. Sonnen, a top shelf wrestler training with
Randy Couture's TEAM QUEST represents Oregon and another west
coast fighter. In Griffin, from Atlanta, GA. the IFC gets a HOT
name on the MMA scene, as few expected Griffin to so convincingly
defeated highly rated Ebenezer Braga at July's HEAT event in
Natal, Brazil.
The
tournament stands as follows:
TOURNAMENT
BRACKETS:
- Renato “Babalu” Sobral v. Trevor Pringley
- Paulo Filho v. Shogun
- Michail Avetisyan v. Jeremy Horn
- Forrest Griffin v. Chael Sonnen
ALTERNATES:
- Tom Sauer v. Sean Gray
Source: ADCC |
Tyson
challenges Sapp at K-1 battle
Tuesday,
August 19, 2003 at 05:00 JST
LAS VEGAS — Tensions reached a new high last weekend at
K-1's "Battle at the Bellagio" when former NFL player
and Japan-based K-1 superstar Bob "The Beast" Sapp
made his U.S. fighting debut and received a challenge from former
heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.
While
Sapp was celebrating his victory after knockingd out Hawaiian
heavy-hitter Kimo Leopoldo in the second round, Tyson surprised
the roaring crowd by jumping into the ring and challenging the
K-1 favorite to a match. Tyson who watched the event from a ringside
seat even suggested they fight on the spot.
"I'll
do it right here, get me a pair of shorts and I'll fight him
tonight," shouted Tyson. "Sign the contract. Sign the
contract!"
Sapp
replied, "I'll do it, I'll fight Tyson with all my heart,
spirit and technique. I'll sign the contract to fight you today.
The Beast is coming for you!"
Rumors
of the match-up have been stirring over the past couple of weeks.
Sapp's recent press coverage had him talking about this possibility
on national television and radio.
K-1,
with its customary eight-man, single elimination tournament swept
into North America three years ago and its popularity continues
to grow. The Aug 15 event allowed regional participants from
all over the world a final opportunity to capture this year's
K-1 World Grand Prix Championship which will take place at the
Tokyo Dome on Dec 7. (PR Newswire)
Source: Japan Today |
2003
Featherweight Black Belt World Champion:
Mário Reis Interview
By André Araújo
The
new black belt champion from South
On
the cover of this TATAME issue, Mário Reis (Behring),
the great name of the BJJ in the featherweight category, spent
almost forty hours driving from the southern city of Porto Alegre
to Rio de Janeiro to rule the mats at the BJJ tournaments held
on July. Check out a little more about our BJJ champion and what
has changed after the gold medals in the II World Cup and VIII
World Championship.
During
the last World Championship, you got the bronze medal as a brown
belt. You were defeated by Marco Joca (Barra Gracie)... what
has changed since that time?
That
was an absurd. For two times I got the perfect submission position
and he dragged himself away from the mat. The referee told us
to continue the fight on the feet and I lost for both times an
arm lock position. I finished losing by an advantage. It drove
me too upset. Well, I graduated as a black belt about seven months
ago and my training completely changed after that. I run for
40 minutes in the sand and I train eight hours a day, three teaching
and other five in the specific training one. Actually, now as
a black belt I can do things I couldn't do as a brown belt.
You
won two of the four gold medals of Behring Jiu-Jitsu Team. This
makes you the major black belt of the team...
This
is the result of my training. I just think about Jiu-Jitsu. I
even sleep early to wake up early, because I wonder my opponent
is doing the same. I trained a lot to be what I am.
Why
didn't you fight the open class category?
I
had my two knees injured. In Rio, four weeks before the World
tournaments, I got my left knee hurt at the State tournament.
During the first World Cup, I injured the other knee. I couldn't
handle the open class area.
Which
fights did you stand out?
The
fight I got more tired was against Frédson Paixão
(Gracie Barra). I got really apprehensive at the final with Soca
(Gracie Barra), because he scored four times and I sincerely
think the referee made it up the points. I don't understand what
happened. I even didn't want to risk the submission when I had
a chance to catch his arm. I opted for the mounting that guaranteed
four points and the gold medal.
And
in the World Cup?
It
was the victory over Michel Maia (Nova União), that besides
it was a hard fight, I usually face him in the final of several
tournaments. I beat him at the blue belt final, was defeated
in the purple and brown final and I won this time as a black
belt. We are tie now. Even though, the hardest combat was against
Reynaldo Ribeiro (Castello Branco). He is such a strong guy and
I cannot stabilize any position of submission against him.
In
the World Championship, did you have a previous strategy to beat
Frédson?
No.
I stepped inside the mat to get him and submit. Fortunately I
got the triangle choke and submitted him. I was so happy after
that.
How
did the Southern people receive you after those medals?
It
was great. Now I have other new fans, pretty much because the
fight against Frédson. The kids in Porto Alegre like him
a lot and they got proud of my victory. I remember while driving
back home of many moments I got emotional, thinking of what had
happened.
What's
the secret that Porto Alegre has developing such BJJ champions
as Márcio Corleta and Fabrício Werum?
I
guess is because we don't have a beach and there is nothing to
do... so we just practice and have all the free time to train.
And
about the future? Where we gonna be able to see you in action?
Now,
I wanna apply Desafio Black Belt. Maybe at next edition, hold
in January. I also wanna fight Abu-Dhabi. This year I got invited,
but I couldn't make it. I didn't have enough time to get ready
and I was kind of sick. I also had a seminar trip scheduled to
Spain. Anyway, I wanna badly participate those both events.
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what
we give."
W. A. Nance |
1st
Annual Kauai "Grappler's Paradise" 2003 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
tournament
Hello everybody, this is your formal invitation to the 1st Annual
Kauai "Grappler's Paradise" 2003 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
tournament. I will be sending you all official tournament flyers,
competitor packets, etc. in the next couple of days. We are looking
to make this a great tournament and an annual event. Hopefully
we can get enough support locally to make this a very fun and
worthwhile experience for competitors as well as spectators.
We are in the process of putting together packages for all outer
island and out of state competitors. If you know of anyone willing
to help in this area, your help would be appreciated. Any kind
of help at this time would be greatly appreciated. I'm always
looking for volunteer judges, score keepers, etc, and I would
be willing to make your volunteering worthwhile, if you know
what I mean. So, spread the word, it's on for Sunday September
28th. We're looking into other venues, so keep your weekend open.
Hopefully we'll be able to switch to Saturday the 27th to make
it more "travel friendly". Also, that way we can try
to have an official "after party" somewhere! Alright,
take care, and I hope to hear from you guys soon. Please feel
free to call me about any questions or suggestions to make this
thing awesome. You can call me at 823-6650 or email me at kendallg15@hawaii.rr.com
Thanks for the support.
Kendall Goo
|
Checking
in with....DEAN LISTER
On
September 5th City Boxing’s Dean Lister makes his second
King Of The Cage Middleweight title defense, this time against
MASH’s James Lee. Lee was supposed to be Lister’s opponent
on June 29th but became injured about a week out and Brian Sleeman
took his place. Lister holds the belt at KOTC after defeating
Brendan Seguin at KOTC 16 last August. He didn’t defend
it until June due to a knee injury sustained at the ADCC trials
in San Diego last October. Dean recovered and although he lost
in his division at ADCC this year he went on the win the Absolute
Division at the Submission Wrstling World Championships. Leading
up to his June fight when he thought his opponent was Lee he
talked about his new emphasis on boxing and renewed focus on
NHB. Now he is set to face Lee again.
KM:
How do you look back at your last fight, your first title defense?
DL: I look back at that as a little frustrating. It’s part
of the sport, it happens, but its frustrating when you have a
couple opponents change. I had a guy step in in the last week.
That took some courage. It good of him to do that, otherwise
I wouldn’t have had a fight. I’m glad to get in there
at least and get my warm up match back because I’ve been
out for a long time from injuries and then Abu Dhabi. After Abu
Dhabi it was difficult to snap back into no holds barred focus.
Feeling good.
KM:
Would you rather have done anything differently? DL: This time
I felt more relaxed in the match. It looked like one time he
threw me off of him with force. I wasn’t really trying to
hold him so bad; I was trying to hold him against the cage and
work my stance from there. I wanted to work on that a little
more in my fights, get more experience. Being that his style
is very aggressive he ran in to knock my block off. Either you
are going to get your head knocked off, you are going to knock
his head off, or you are going to grab him. I grabbed him, that
is my instinct. I don’t know if my next opponent will do
that to me. There is always a chance you can get hit by something
like that. There is also a big chance that your opponent is going
to fall on the ground and that’s where I hope it ends up.
So yeah, I was a little surprised it went to the ground that
fast.
KM:
Were you disappointed because in the previews you were talking
about your work in striking at City Boxing but you didn’t
really get a chance to showcase that. Was that in any way a disappointment?
DL: A little bit but if someone wants to knock my block off you’re
not really being a technical boxer. Maybe that’s not the
case; if you trade blows then you are a slugger. Being a slugger
is not my ballpark. I can do it ok but my forte is the ground.
On my feet I’m used to guys trying to take me apart with
technical boxing. They aren’t trying to rush in and knock
my block off. It wasn’t a disappointment, it was just the
way the match ended up. That’s ok, I’ll accept that
and let that happen.
KM:
We are a couple weeks out (note: September 5th). Is there anything
else you want to get across at this point? DL: Just training
hard and hope my opponent is healthy and I’m healthy and
we put on a good show for the public.
KM:
Any sponsors to thank? DL: My friend Ron at Marina Mortgage and
Sycuan Casino here in San Diego and Bad Boy Fightwear. They’ve
been helping me out and got me on a big billboard in Japan.
For
more on Dean Lister and his training partners check out City
Boxing’s website at http://www.cityboxing.com/. For more on this
fight card check out http://www.kingofthecage.com/.
Source:
ADCC
|
Hallman
Out; Radach In... Or Is He?
There
aren’t many things worse then being told you’ve just
lost your job, but that’s what happened this past weekend
to Dennis “Superman” Hallman. In a voicemail message
received from Joe Silva, UFC Director of Talent Development,
Hallman was informed he was off their September 26 card.
Although
his fight was not officially announced by Zuffa Sports Entertainment,
Hallman was scheduled to fight Nick Diaz of Team Cesar Gracie
at “UFC 44: Undisputed” in Las Vegas, Nevada. The decision
to drop Hallman is likely a direct result of his loss to Drew
Fickett Saturday night at KOTC in Reno, Nevada. “The pressure
is off,” Hallman said, who can now concentrate on personal
matters.
Diaz
replaced Jeremy Jackson of Team Freedom with his Referee Stoppage
win over Jackson on July 19. “It’s funny,” Hallman
said, “I was the one who asked for Jeremy.” Now neither
is scheduled.
In
the voicemail message, Benji Radach, a 185-pound fighter managed
by Hallman, was offered the opportunity against Diaz “if
he would cut to 170,” Hallman said. The offer wasn’t
enticing -- a 1 fight contract and 3/3 -- doesn’t make for
a valid offer, as Radach is coming off a spectacular 1:31 KO
win where he dominated “Ximu” Machado on the same KOTC
card. “The choice is his,” Hallman said, but it is
unlikely Radach will drop to 170. Radach spoke candidly today
“I won’t be dropping again,” he said, “but
if Diaz wants to come up to 185... we’ll fight.”
According
to graciefighter.com there are a number
of options (for Diaz at UFC 44) including another possible rematch
with Jeremy Jackson.
“UFC
44: Undisputed” is scheduled for Friday, September 26, 2003,
at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check out www.UFC.tv for more information.
A
Look At The UFC Welterweight Class - More Hallman Fall Out!
The
UFC Welterweight Class is in disarray. Certainly, there is no
question that Matt Hughes is the top fighter in the class, but
beyond the champion there is little to get excited about. The
lack of excitement isn't the fault of Hughes -- his workman like
effort in the Octagon is always good for a slam or two, some
serious ground-n-pound, and even the occasional submission attempt.
No, the problem is that there appears to be no one within the
weight class to threaten Hughes for the title.
Before
this weekend, many were excited about the prospect of Dennis
Hallman entering the UFC and setting up Hallman vs. Hughes 3.
Hallman,
having submitted Hughes in their two previous fights, provided
an intriguing matchup that offered a built-in revenge plot line
that makes for an exciting UFC battle.
But
Hallman's loss to Drew Fickett in this weekend's King of the
Cage derailed Hallman/Hughes 3 indefinitely -- as well as any
compelling match-ups to challenge Hughes for the title in November,
when reportedly his contract requires he defend his title.
Who
remains? Frank Trigg? Maybe, if he shows any real desire to sign
a contract. But even then, Hughes would be a heavy favorite.
Carlos Newton? After Hughes completely dominated Newton in their
title rematch the 'buzz' for this fight has died out. Pete Spratt?
A logical choice given his defeat of Hughes' teammate Robbie
Lawler. Gil Castillo or Sean Sherk? More recycling within the
division with neither bringing a marquee matchup that the UFC
needs for the weight class.
The
other option is to lure a major player back into the mix. There
have been rumors Zuffa is trying to get Royce Gracie back into
the Octagon. A Gracie return would generate the excitement the
UFC desperately wants. But a Gracie return begs the question
-- could Royce fight at 170lbs?
Another
option would be for Hughes to retire the Welterweight Championship
and move up to 185lbs. and attempt to win the title left vacant
by Murilo Bustamante. That would allow Lawler, Spratt, Newton,
and others to battle it out for the vacated title. The danger
is that would leave the UFC with three championship openings
(155lbs/170lbs/185lbs) and a potential publicity nightmare to
explain and rectify.
The
direction of the Welterweight Division reflects a crisis for
Zuffa to overcome. Hughes is a draw, but lacking a legitimate
contender to his belt. Leaving to a higher weight class may alleviate
some of the problems in the Welterweight Division, but creates
new (and possibly larger) problems for Zuffa to overcome. The
only consistent within the equation is that the UFC would still
have a tremendous talent in Hughes fighting in the Octagon.
Source:
ADCC |
DEEP
12th Impact: the end of story?
DEEP
has announced their full card for their next show, scheduled
for September 15th in Ohtaku, Japan. Despite rumors swirling
that this is DEEP's last event, there was no mention of this
in the press conference.
The
card comes with an several intriguing matches. SHOOTO stars Dokonjonosuke
Mishima and Tetsuji Kato will face each other on the card. In
addition, SHOOTO star Hayato 'Mach' Sakurai returns for his 2nd
DEEP appearance, facing Ryo Chonan.
The
main event for DEEP 12th Impact will feature a title match for
the middleweight champion, Ryuki Ueyama. He will defend his belt
against challenger and SHOOTO light heavyweight champion Masanori
Suda.
The
event will also feature the return of UFC veteran Brad Kohler,
taking on Mexican Lucha-Libre fighter Dos Caras Jr.
COMPLETE
CARD - Subject TO Change:
- Jun Ishii (Chojin Club) x Hagane Samurai (Hatenko)
- Ryuta Sakurai (R GYM) x Hirohide Fujinuma (Aramusha)
- MAX Miyazawa (Aramusha) x Yoshinori Momose (Zendokai)
- Dokonjonosuke Mishima (Cobrakai) x Tetsushi Kato (Purebred
Omiya)
- Dos Caras Jr. (AAA) x Brad Kohler (Team Extreme)
- Hayato 'Mach' Sakurai (Mach Dojo) x Ryo Chonan (U-File Camp)
DEEP
middleweight title match:
- Ryuki Ueyama (U-File Camp/champion) x Masanori Suda (Club-J/challenger)
Source:
ADCC |
Why
Ricco Rodriguez Wasn't Robbed
By Joe Hall (August 18, 2003)
The
stakes were high.
Ricco
Rodriguez against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Two top heavyweights.
Former UFC champ against former Pride titleholder -- seen by
some as essentially UFC versus Pride.
World-class
fighters with a history. Revenge was on the line; respect was
up for grabs.
The
buildup was rich, the anticipation strong, but in the end, the
fight fell far short of its thrilling expectations.
After
20 minutes the fighters moved to the center of the ring and the
judges’ decision was announced. Judge 1: Nogueira. Judge
2: Nogueira. Judge 3: Nogueira.
Ricco’s
jaw (an unofficial judge): wide open.
Then
came the maelstrom from some North American fans on the Internet.
Some
felt it was so clear that Rodriguez deserved the decision, they
charged Pride as corrupt for screwing a fighter from the UFC
-- apparently the enemy promotion -- and giving “their”
fighter the nod.
Other
critics chuckled incredulously and scoffed at the decision. It
was shady. Treacherous. Rodriguez had won, in their opinion,
and it was obvious. Just look at Nogueira’s dreary eyes
before the winner is announced, they said. How could a judge,
as underhanded as one might be, award Nogueira the decision in
that fight? Unbelievable.
The
first mistake these critics made was to think their opinion was
that of the majority. Wrong. As MaxFighting’s man in Japan
Keith Vargo pointed out, the Japanese media and fans agreed with
the decision. Thirty-five thousand in attendance and many, many
more watching from home felt Nogueira won. That my friends is
the majority.
They
must be blind though, right? Or, no, they’re in on the collusion.
Perhaps they’re ignorant of how to score a fight.
Or
maybe the Japanese, widely considered the most knowledgeable
of MMA fans, do know how to score a Pride bout? Maybe it’s
the critics of the decision who formed inept opinions?
I
confess that I initially figured Rodriguez probably deserved
the decision. Just seemed like he stopped all of Nogueira’s
subs, scored a couple takedowns and that should somehow make
him the winner. Ground control or something, I don’t know.
Rodriguez
was also on top. Whether it’s a subconscious inclination
we’re not aware of or something else, it’s difficult
to give the guy on the bottom the nod no matter what he does.
After all, we didn’t grow up watching kids win fights from
their back in the schoolyard.
Even
if you know MMA and can comprehend the effectiveness a fighter
can achieve from his back, you’re probably still a little
partial to the guy on top. I know I am, but at least I’m
aware of it. And if you’re mindful of your biases, you can
attend to them.
As
debate flared on the Internet, I watched the fight again. First,
though, I went to PrideFC.com and printed a summary of their
judging criteria. I watched the bout as though I were a Pride
judge, and, suddenly, the decision wasn’t so awful. (Note:
I did this before making any comments or accusations.)
Then
I took the time to learn the minutiae of Pride’s criteria.
I looked into how Pride officials developed their system, which
is far different from the UFC’s, and the philosophy behind
it. I researched how reversals, takedowns, submissions, escapes,
damage, ground control, striking and other things are scored
or not scored, and why a fight is scored by its entirety rather
than round-by-round. It actually didn’t take long, though
its something every MMA fan should do.
And
then I watched the fight again. On the third viewing, it was
clear that Nogueira had won.
Still
don’t believe me? Let’s go through the criteria.
Pride
judges score fights based on six criteria, which are listed in
descending priority:
1.
Effort to finish the fight by KO or submission
2.
Damaging your opponent
3.
Standing combinations and ground control
4.
Takedowns and defense
5.
Aggressiveness
6.
Weight differences
Judges
use a scorecard with the criteria listed beside accompanying
boxes. They score fights by making a mark in the appropriate
box when merited. For instance, if a fighter sinks in a solid
guillotine, he’ll get a mark beside the first criterion.
If he sinks in an armbar, he’ll get another mark.
If
the guillotine isn’t sunk deep or isn’t close to finishing
the fight, it may not quite warrant a mark. In that case, a judge
will make a note of it instead. If the notes for submission attempts
add up, they’ll make a mark in the first category. This
method applies to each criterion, which is weighted in descending
order. At the end of the fight, the marks, and if needed, the
notes are used to determine the winner.
Let’s
start with No. 1, the most important criterion: effort to finish
the fight by KO or submission. For each of Nogueira’s numerous
submission attempts, a judge would have noted his effort to finish
the fight even if it wasn’t close to tapping Rodriguez.
With as many omoplata, triangle and armbar attempts as Nogueira
made, the notes would have eventually earned some marks. Some
of Nogueira’s submission attempts would likely have single-handedly
earned a mark, like his kimura attempt in the third round. (Escapes
are not efforts to finish the fight; they do not earn marks.)
Rodriguez,
on the other hand, made no effort to finish the fight. If you
punch like Fedor does in the guard that would count. Pecking
away body-body-head does not.
#1:
Nogueira by a large margin.
Let’s
move on to No. 2: damage. A mark for damage can come from a single
strike, a deep submission, a hard takedown or even the accumulation
of effective offense. Rodriguez failed to do any damage with
his strikes. On the ground he never postured up and unloaded,
never cut loose a punch that really connected.
Nogueira
didn’t do any damage either, though his kimura attempt in
the third could have possibly caused some damage and warranted
a mark. Let’s say it didn’t.
#2:
No marks.
The
first part of the third criterion is standing combinations. A
fighter would need to strike effectively to earn a mark in this
category, but neither fighter did much on the feet. I would award
no marks.
The
second part is ground control. Ground control is considered achieving
advantageous positions. For instance, passing the guard to side
control would earn a mark. However, Pride judges view the guard
-- where Rodriguez spent the fight -- as a neutral position,
which, I think, makes sense.
Rodriguez
was on top, but he did not pass; he did not achieve advantageous
positions. On the other hand, it could be argued that Nogueira
dictated the action on the ground. He put Rodriguez into several
positions he did not want to be in. Even though I didn’t
hold my breath for a tap during Nogueira’s submission attempts,
they forced Rodriguez to defend, to move out of positions where
his arm or shoulder was somewhat trapped.
Forced
reversals -- when a fighter fights to avoid being reversed --
also count toward ground control. Reversals that aren’t
fought or are scored off of transitions would not warrant a mark.
For example, in the second round, when Nogueira swept Rodriguez,
he would have earned a mark. After the sweep he immediately tried
to improve position and, during the transition, Rodriguez rolled
him back over. A Pride judge probably would not have considered
that a forced reversal.
Even
if it had counted, it wouldn’t be enough. Overall, I think
the clearest illustration of ground control is the fact that
Rodriguez spent almost the entire fight reacting to Nogueira.
If you’re reacting, you’re not in control -- the other
guy is.
#3:
Nogueira by a few marks.
The
remaining criteria are a little easier to score. Next is takedowns
and defense. I’d give Rodriguez three marks for three clean
takedowns. Nogueira gets one for the takedown that opened the
fight.
#4:
Rodriguez by a couple marks.
The
fifth criterion is self-explanatory: aggressiveness. With all
of his submission attempts, Nogueira was clearly the more aggressive
fighter. He was also more aggressive on the feet. From the bout’s
beginning, Nogueira took the center of the ring and moved forward
throughout the fight.
#5:
Nogueira.
The
final criterion, weight differences, did not apply in this fight.
To be taken into account, the weight difference between heavyweights
must be 15kg or more.
Let’s
review (keep in mind the criteria is listed in descending priority):
1.
Effort to finish the fight by KO or submission: Nogueira by a
large margin.
2.
Damaging your opponent: No one.
3.
Standing combinations and ground control: Nogueira by a few marks.
4.
Takedowns and defense: Rodriguez by a couple marks.
5.
Aggressiveness: Nogueira.
6.
Weight differences: Did not apply.
Nogueira
won, folks.
Still
don’t believe me? Don’t even start barking that the
judging criteria must be off. I understand how the UFC scores
their fights, too, and Pride’s system is much, much better.
For
one, scoring a fight by its entirety and following criteria is
much better suited for MMA than round-by-round scoring. A quick
example:
Round
1: Smith lands a couple more punches than Jones, though it’s
not much.
(Smith
10-9)
Round
2: Jones floors and bloodies Smith, and nearly submits him with
a rear naked choke. (Jones 10-8)
Round
3: Smith recovers and lands a couple more punches than Jones,
though it’s not much.
(Smith
10-9)
The
result: a draw (28-28). The result as judged by Pride’s
criteria: Jones wins.
Pride’s
system encourages fighters to fight, to really win. If you sit
in the guard and try to win a decision instead of a fight, you
will lose.
It
is the product of trial and error, and it is the best judging
system in the sport. Every fan would be wise to learn it and
every promotion would be wise to adopt something similar. In
the case of Nogueira-Rodriguez, it produced an accurate decision
where other systems would have made an unfortunate mistake.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"The moment may be temporary, but the memory is forever."
Bud Meyer
|
Ninja
confronts Babalu in the next Meca
After
the success of IX Meca World Vale-Tudo, held in Teresópolis,
Rio de Janeiro, the promoter of the event, Jorge Guimarães,
talks about the next edition of the show:
“Probably,
Murilo 'Ninja' (Chute Boxe) and Renato 'Babalu' (Ruas Vale-Tudo)
will be the main fight”, says Guimarães. If it comes
true, the confrontation will shake the ring. Ninja fought in
the first five editions of Meca, and collected five victories.
However, the teammate of Vanderlei Silva comes off of two defeats
(Ricardo Arona and Kevin Randleman) in Pride. Looking at the
other corner, Babalu is a specialist in MMA. He fought four UFCs:
two victories (Maurice Smith and Elvis Sinosic) and two defeats
(Kevin Randleman and Chuck Liddell). The X Meca edition is arranged
for next December 19th.
Guimarães
doesn’t know if it will happen in Porto Alegre (south of
Brazil) or in Ibirapuera (the same gymnasium as ADCC 2003), in
the city of São Paulo.
Source: ADCC
|
Pancrase
Star Ikuhisa Minowa Now With Brazilian Top Team!
PIC:
BTT Stars Murilo Bustamante and Mario Sperry present their newest
member - Ikuhisa Minowa.
While
the attention of fans around the world was focused on the PRIDE
GP middleweight tournament held last August 8th in Japan, Brazilians
who follow the BTT's training session were seeing a Japanese
fighter among the Brazilians. Hey!?
Yes,
Ikuhisa Minowa has been training in Brazil since the start of
July, after breaking up with Pancrasism. He was without a team
in Japan, and since he has friends who handle BTT in Japan, he
was introduced to Jose Mario Sperry.
The leaders of BTT (Bebeo Duarte, Sperry and Murilo Bustamante)
had a meeting and they accepted Minowa as the newest BTT member!
About
this new international BTT member Sperry stated:
'Since Ms. Motoko (BTT matchmaker in Japan) and myself are partners,
her request for Minowa was a special request. He came to train
with us, and maybe the first step for an international jump for
BTT. We have the intention of making BTT-Japan and Minowa is
our first representative. But it does not mean that we will have
an BTT-Japan academy very soon. This's a new concept for us and
we need to procede with caution to make it long term.'
Minowa
is training hard - with a gi and without - and already is scheduled
to debut representing the BTT next September 19th in Brazil.
Minowa will put his skills in action against the WVC, UFC and
Deep veteran, Brazilian Jorge 'Macaco' Patino in th Brazilian
Super Fight event.
Here
is the rest of thae card:
BRAZIL
SUPER FIGHT [card subject to changes]
September 19th Tesourinha, Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do
Sul
MMA:
- Marcelo 'Grilo' Alfaia (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Jose Ricardo
'Dragao' (Gaviao Team)
- Loke 'The Duke' Piclum (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Eduardo Simoes
(Ruas VT System)
- Haroldo 'Cabelinho' Bunn (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Fabricio
'Morango'
Camoes (Gracie Tijuca)
- Eric Tavares (Ruas VT System) vs. Mau (Gold Team)
- Helio Dipp (Boxer) vs. Luis 'Beicao' Ramos (Ruas VT System)
- Roan 'Jucao' Carneiro (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Luis Azeredo
(Gold Team)
- Fabiano Capoane (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Brand (Gold Team Canada)
- Jorge 'Macaco' Patino (Gold Team) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (Brazilian
Top Team)
MUAY
THAI:
- Gerson Silva (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Eduardo Verissimo (Boxer)
Source: ADCC
|
Silva
Wins twice, Belfort Looking forword to November and Event's Extravaganza
in Brazil!
The
Brazilian Beat:
After more than twenty days of wait the Brazilian Beat is finally
back at FCF, trying to recap things from where we left. After
the so awaited PRIDE Middleweight GP 1st round became history,
things are geared towards the next shows in Brazil as plenty
of events are about to happened, and times has been changing
for our sport in the country. Needless to say Full Contact Fighter
is always up to date with all those news in this very country,
so after all that wait allow me not to hold you for a long time
with this introduction text, and let's head straight to the news
as we send our most sincere congratulations to "The Axe
Murderer" Wanderlei Silva for the birth of his son, wishing
all the best for the baby as FCF delivers the beat in lullaby
style hoping that deadly Silva will keep up the rhythm!
Fresh
from his PRIDE GP first round win, Chute Boxe superstar Wanderlei
Silva got back to Brazil this past Tuesday as happy as he ever
was. With his KO win over eternal rival Kazushi Sakuraba and
the birth of his first male son, Silva is truly enjoying success
in all areas of his life. His son was born two days before his
fight against Sakuraba, when he was already in Japan, and those
news got Wanderlei by surprise as the child was just expected
to come to this world near the end of August! "The Axe Murderer"
told FCF he entered the ring even more motivated with those news,
and the kid was born with more than 3kg of weight and in perfect
health. Silva and his wife, Tea Ariadne Silva, are still deciding
the name of the baby, and the PRIDE Middleweight champion is
just taking the rest of this week to enjoy his family, going
back to full-time training next Monday. Wanderlei also told FCF
he believes he is currently on the best shape of his life and
with Mirko Cro Cop's recent series of wins a rematch between
the two will end up happening sooner or later, and he is eager
to face the Croatian again.
MMA
events continue to pop-up all over Brazil in 2003, and one of
the most distant and less populated capitals of the country is
also going to have their share of our sport in the coming days.
The city of Boa Vista, in the state of Roraima, up in the North
of Brazil, is going to hold the 1st Octagon Vale Tudo, a small
show intending to bring MMA action to the city's population and
develop the sport in that area as well. The most important attraction
of the event is going to happen outside of the ring, with the
presence of UFC fighter Vitor Belfort as a guest, as well as
cornering his teammate Fortaleza, a young fighter out of Brazil
Fight Club who will be facing a local fighter called Adriano
Soares. The show takes place this Friday, August 15th at the
Vicente Feola arena.
Speaking
of Vitor Belfort, "The Phenom" already started his
training for his November UFC appearance. Belfort has been training
hard at the ADPM facilities, his training center, and wants to
prove the fans he is still focused on the fighting game and intends
to enter the octagon in November in the same type of shape he
was for his fight against Marvin Eastman. Vitor is still waiting
for confirmation on his opponent, but Rich Franklin continues
to be the likely one.
The
last edition of MECA World Vale Tudo took place this last August
1st in the city of Teresopolis in Rio de Janeiro. Although it
has been two weeks since the show happened, we decide to bring
you the results of the show here, since this is the first time
The Brazilian Beat is coming out since the date of the fights.
Needless to say, the highlight of the night was the amazing performance
put on by Chute Boxe prodigy Mauricio Shogun Rua against dangerous
fighter Evangelista Cyborg. In a action-packed fight Shogun was
taking the worst of the stand-up action, receiving numerous blows
from Cyborg, but showed incredible guts and endurance to withstand
the pressure and reverse the fight, taking it to the ground and
giving Cyborg a Jiu-Jitsu class, going from one submission to
the other and using his trademark aggressiveness to unleash punishment
to his opponent, until the referee stopped the fight. Here are
the complete results from the 9th edition of MECA:
Petterson
Mello defeated Marcelão by submission
Alessio
Sakara defeated Rafael Tatu by Doctor Stoppage
Ivan
Batman defeated Rafael Capoeira by judges' decision
Marcelo
Grillo defeated Claudinho das Dores by knockout
Roan
"Jucao" Carneiro defeated Adriano Bad Boy by submission
Daniel
Acacio defeated Delson "Pe de Chumbo" by forfeit
Gabriel
Napão defeated Brandon Lee Hinkle by submission
Assuerio
Silva and Fabiano Scherner fought a No Contest
Mauricio
Shogun Rua defeated Evangelista Cyborg by TKO
If
the north of Brazil is going to have its own show, the south
of Brazil couldn't be left behind and the newest show in the
country is going to be Brazil Super Fight, at the city of Porto
Alegre, one of the biggest in the country, and the capital located
more to the south in the entire nation of Brazil. Behind the
show, scheduled for September, is non-other than fighting legend
Mario Sperry, so you can expect nothing but a good spectacle
coming up. The project began as a show geared more for newcomers,
but things evolved to a point that some well-known names from
the fighting scene are going to be performing in the promotion's
inaugural event. Heat FC veteran Eduardo Simoes, out of the Ruas
Vale Tudo team, is going to be making his second MMA showing
against Australian fighter Luke Piclum. Other interesting names
on the card will be MECA veteran Marcelo Grillo and Haroldo Cabelinho
Bunn, Storm Veteran Helio Dipp and most importantly the main
event between former Pancrase star Ikuhisa Minowa against Brazilian
veteran Jorge "Macaco" Patino. FCF will keep following
the developments.
Speaking
of Japanese fighter Ikuhisa Minowa, the former Pancrase star
has been living in Brazil for quite a while already, training
in the Brazilian Top Team headquarters! Minowa joined the team
willing to have better training partners and a chance to evolve
in his technique, showing how serious the fighter is taking his
career. Language barriers aside, word is that Ikuhisa has been
training hard and doing well. His fight against Macaco at Brazil
Super Fight will be his first outing under the Brazilian Top
Team.
Speaking
of the Brazilian Top Team, Mario Sperry is still recovering from
his broken hand, but is expected to resume his ground training
in the coming days. From there on he will start to practice Muay
Thai again, but this, of course, will take a bit longer. Anyway,
Sperry has been busy with numerous affairs lately, so as usual
the "Zen Machine" has plenty of work in his hands.
Sperry's pupil, Ricardo Arona, is also recovering from his shoulder
injury that prevented him from participating on the PRIDE GP.
Arona is expected to do exams to check his recovery in the end
of this month, and then he will be able to know when he will
be ready to resume his training. Murilo Bustamante, on the other
hand, is living a great phase after his good showing against
Quinton Jackson on short notice on the PRIDE GP, replacing Arona.
Bustamante secured a multiple fight deal with the Japanese organization,
and is expected to fight again in PRIDE still this year since
the promoters got very happy with his performance.
Scheduled
for 13th of September Jungle Fight is still promising a solid
card, breakthrough concept and interesting production for the
MMA fans worldwide. The partnership effort between Antonio Inoki
and Wallid Ismail is trying to attract everybody's attention
to the devastation problems in the Amazon Forrest, and holding
the show in such a scenario promises to bring a gorgeous stage
for fighters to compete. As the show approaches, some names are
being confirmed as part of the card, and among those are two
awaited MMA debuts, from rAw team master Ricco Chiapparelli,
likely to face Magno Penha, and Jiu-Jitsu stand out Ronaldo Jacare.
Other famous names competing will be Carlos Barreto, Ricardo
Morais, Marcelo
Tigre and
Fabricio Werdun. FCF will keep following the developments.
Chute
Boxe prodigy Mauricio Shogun Rua didn't have time to celebrate
his emotional victory over Evangelista Cyborg at MECA 9, as he
immediately started his training for the coming IFC tourney this
next September 6th. Shogun is scheduled to face non-other than
Brazilian Top Team fighter and PRIDE veteran Paulo Filho, in
match-up that promises to heat up the famous rivalry between
Chute Boxe and BTT even more. Mauricio has been training hard
and expectations are high under the Chute Boxe headquarters regarding
his participation. His brother, PRIDE veteran Murilo Ninja Rua
has also been training very hard everyday in the academy, and
is ready to fight again as soon as needed, as he told FCF he
is eager to fight.
After
the success of the first edition of Heat Fighting Championship,
the promoters are already working on the second edition of the
show for late November. The show will once again take place in
the city of Natal, and expectations are high as the promise is
to deliver an even better card for the second show, and provide
a even shaper production. According to the promoters the card
for HEAT FC 2 is almost done, as fights are being signed since
the 1st of August. The first bouts of the next card are intended
to be announced in the coming days, as well as some other surprises
from the show. FCF will continue to follow the news, as well
as provide a late Heat FC 1 review in the next days.
Source: FCF
|
MIRKO
CRO COP NEWS
Despite allegations of worked fights in K-1 made by Mirko "Cro
Cop" Filipovic, the K-1 promoters have offered him a fight
for the 10/11/03 show at the Osaka Dome.
Sadaharu
Tonigawa, K-1's matchmaker, extended the offer to fight Francisco
Filho after a major fiasco in the Japanese press caused by Mirko's
"fixed fight" comments.
Many
believe Mirko is the #1 heavyweight in the world and a big money
match with Fedor is on track in PRIDE. Those inside his camp
have also said that he wants to focus exclusively on MMA. It
is not known if he will accept the offer to fight in K-1.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Frank
Shamrock’s ShootBox, 08/23/03
Orlando, FL Tickets NOW on sale!!!!
Frank
Juarez Shamrock rocks the combat sports arena with a whole new
sport for a whole new generation with “Shootbox”.
http://www.shootbox.com/
Shootbox
is more than your mixed martial arts event as this revolutionary
sport, In this arena it is up to the athletes, their skills in
mixed martial arts, physical endurance and strength, as well
as outthinking their opponent that will get them the win. In
this new “Box” gone are the days where an opponent
can utilize a fence or rope to gain position over his opponent.
In this new arena, The “Shootbox” truly tests the skills
of mixed martial arts practitioners as combatants will rely strictly
on speed, balance, strength, agility in true MMA combat.
“If
you have ever seen great champions compete in MMA, positioning,
use of your environment and patience were keys to success that
one combatant had over another” - Shamrock stated –
“In SHOOTBOX, I developed an arena that removes 2 main elements
that assists in favoring one over another, the cage and the ring
itself. In this new arena there are no rings and there are no
cages.
The
athletes themselves will be challenged both physically and mentally
to compete at this level.
Aside
the physical characteristics that make up the Shootbox (no ropes
or cage), a new element that includes deduction of points outside
the “out of bounds area” will bring into action the
“human chess match” component. By deducting points
to combatants that look to tie a match up in stalemate, fighters
are penalized for those stall attempts resulting in more a planned
attack with your opponent. This will revolutionize the sport
of mixed martial arts as we know it now. SHOOTBOX is destined
to be the biggest sports entertainment development since the
inception of wrestling in our culture and “cagefighting”
that became so popular in the 90’s….Welcome to Shootbox
!
Source: ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they're not so
good,
and sympathizes with your problems when they're not so bad."
Arnold H. Glasow
|
Rexie
Survives!
For those of you that attended Rex's "going off" party
last night, we wanted to report that Rex did survive it (just
barely). After uncountable beverages, luckily Ian and Chris were
in the condition to "assist" Rex out of Oceans and
Firefox Ross and Chris "assisted" Rex up to the room.
We wanted to thank all the brotha's that made it to the party
and put an APB on a Neal T. who was supposed to be there, but
is currently missing and not answering his phone (we will find
you Neal, it is only a matter of time).
Pictures will carefully reviewed and if approved (that's a big
if), we will post some on the page once we get them from Official
Casca Grossa photographer Papa Pimp Les.
|
Susumu's
got the pix!
Susumu's Gallery Update
Hello,
We
have added 19 photos from Pride 27 and 20 photos from a Shooto
show held on August 10th including 3 championships. Please enjoy!
Visit
Susumu's gallery at http://come.to/susumu.
Source:
FCF
|
The
Bob Sapp (And Mike Tyson) Experience
By Josh Gross
LAS VEGAS,
August 15 -- Bob "The Beast" Sapp did something for
K-1 -- 'the new fighting sport' as the Japanese fight organization
likes to call itself -- tonight that it couldn't do in several
years worth of promoting events in the United States: create
a sensation that undoubtedly will raise the attention of mainstream
sports media (if only for a moment, but long enough to get on
the radar screen).
Upon
knocking out Kimo Leopoldo with a heavy straight right to the
back of the head, K-1's lynchpin, who was dropped to the mat
by a series of punches (and pure exhaustion) at the end of the
first period, found himself joined in the ring by combat sports
most infamous character: Mike Tyson.
Tyson,
who lives in Las Vegas, held meetings with K-1 brass last night
in advance of Friday night's fight card from the Bellagio. Clearly,
those meetings proved fruitful for a fight company in need of
a boost in the United States.
Sitting
ringside, Tyson had to be salivating at the thought of trading
punches with the wide-open and slow Sapp. If Kimo could deck
the big guy, I'll destroy him, Tyson must have been thinking.
The former heavyweight champion of the world watched as Sapp,
with his 109-pound weight advantage plodded around the ring.
Tyson -- and the other of the 4,108 people in attendance -- saw
Sapp, with one heavy shot from Kimo, bounce off the ropes, desperately
trying to get his land legs back. Tyson, like the rest of us,
stood as the big man fell. And, like the rest of us -- save Kimo
-- he must have cheered (inside or out -- doesn't matter) when
Sapp rose.
Between
rounds, a battered and cut Sapp sat on his stool. Chaos reigned
in his corner. "There was a bit of confusion on the rules
on whether you could sit down or not," said Sapp at the
post-fight press conference. The standard one-minute break approached
two and after everything was cleared up, the doctor allowed Sapp
to continue the fight took a different tact.
Sapp
came out clubbing -- literally. He followed downward-type hammerfists
with a double-fisted strike to both sides of Kimo's quickly discoloring
face. Sapp was swarming now, wildly swinging to ensure the fight
portion of his night would soon lead into circus act. Kimo had
no place to go under the influence of the bombardment, so he
turned his back hoping to escape or catch his breath.
A
slow-motion missile of a right straight connected to the back
of his skull and he crashed to the mat. Referee Nobuaki Kakuda,
who let Sapp escape with infraction upon infraction, waved his
hands, the crowd roared, then booed, then roared. "The Beast"
had won at the 1:11 mark and then came "Iron" Mike.
"The
issue is not between Bob Sapp and Mike Tyson, though there may
be some bad blood, the issue is which is stronger between the
two striking sports: K-1 kickboxing or American-style boxing,"
noted Sapp, when asked about his possible bout versus the boxing
star.
In
addition to the Sapp/Tyson-related hysterics, K-1 actually put
on an excellent event encompassing some of their rising stars
and fighting veterans.
Culminating
the card were Remy Bonjasky and Michael McDonald, who traveled
almost identical paths en route to meeting in the "Battle
at Bellagio" eight-man heavyweight tournament finals.
Bonjasky
used his height and reach to score with knees and kicks in the
bout's first period. McDonald, meanwhile, was forced to work
from the inside -- and he did effectively. The pattern continued
into the second period as McDonald fired lightning-quick combinations
on the inside. Though few landed, the Canadian K-1 star did have
his moments. Bonjasky adeptly made use of his considerable height
advantage and peppered his foe's lead leg through much of the
period.
As
the fight moved into the third round, it was even on two of the
judges' three scorecards. Only Dalby Shirley had McDonald up
a point and a half. Back and forth the two fighters went at each
other, though McDonald was never able to hurt or score effective
power shots versus the Dutchman. His aggressiveness quickly waned
as Bonjasky racked up points with inside and outside kicks to
McDonald's lead leg.
As
the round closed, Shirley and Jeff Mullen scored it 10-9.5 for
the Dutch fighter, while Nelson Hamilton had the same score the
other way. With the fight that close through three rounds, K-1
rules allow for a fourth sudden-death period.
Both
men came out hacking to open the championship period. As the
round played out Bonjasky took the lead with aggressive combinations
to McDonald's face and legs. Hamilton and Mullen gave the ground
to Bonjasky, while Shirley had it slightly in McDonald's favor.
The young Dutchman was named the victor just before the pay-per-view
broadcast came to an end. With the win Bonjasky advances to the
next stage of the K-1 Grand Prix tournament.
In
the semi-finals, the tournament winner faced Jeff Ford, who lost
a decision to Rick Roufus in the opening round but stepped in
against the younger and much more explosive Dutchman when Roufus
couldn't continue. He had little trouble in dispatching the stand
in by TKO, to move into the finals.
McDonald
had a similar route. Knowing a quick win would put him in the
finals unscathed and fresh, he exploded out of the gate, peppering
the bigger, slower George Randolf with strikes to the body and
hooks to the head.
The
barrage continued until Randolf, who replaced Abdelaziz Khattou
after he couldn't continue following a grueling contest versus
Raul Romero, was put to the mat with a combination. Randolf stood
and asked to continue. Cecil Peoples let him and McDonald greeted
him with a vicious left hook to the chin that stoned Randolf
to the mat 0:55 of the first.
Bonjasky
started his march towards victory by stopping veteran mixed martial
artist Vernon "Tiger" White. It was clear early that
Bonjasky was too big, and too strong for White. White, who was
hurt to the body (it was called a slip), fell victim to a Bonjasky'
flying roundhouse. He fell to the canvas and could not rise to
meet the 10-count. Officially, Bonjasky moved on by knockout
1:55 round one.
McDonald
fired out of the gate, landing a straight right that dropped
Jefferson Da Silva to the canvas. The Brazilian could not continue
and the referee waved off the fight 2:22 round two.
In
superfight action Carter Williams, who won last May's K-1 USA
tournament at the Mirage, had only one bout on his mind tonight.
Facing him was fellow May tourney participant, Dewey Cooper.
Williams, who had nearly 40 pounds on Cooper, looked huge next
to the crafty and quick Las Vegas-based fighter.
Williams
stalked Cooper around the ring, waiting for power-shot opportunities
to present themselves. Conversely, Cooper danced his way around
much of Williams' early thunder. While he couldn't escape all
of the crowd-pleasing strikes, Cooper's strategy kept him from
absorbing damage in the early going.
Williams
landed a heavy straight right to open the second, but Cooper
responded well, displaying the quickness he showed in round one
with a period-ending combination that scored.
As
the fight moved into the final stanza, Carter's power shots piled
up. However, Cooper continued to score, making a fight some thought
would be relatively easy for Williams a bit more difficult. After
three rounds, Williams earned the unanimous decision victory.
Cung
Le, who's become synonymous with walkover fights over the course
of his San Shou fighting career, faced Phil Petit to open the
event's pay-per-view action. Over the course of the four two-minute
periods Le fought his typical fight: throw a kick, score a takedown.
Historically,
it's worked beautifully for him, and the fans have responded
in kind. But the fans in attendance had a different reaction
for Le after the fight ran its course: a chorus of boos. While
Petit never represented any sort of danger for Le, he stood his
ground when given the chance and even landed a punch or kick
of his own. In the end, despite the reaction of the crowd, Le
earned a unanimous decision victory.
Dark
Matches:
Heavyweights
Kelly Leo faced George Randolf in the evening's tournament alternate
bout. Leo, quicker and more mobile than the big-boned Randolf,
opened well, scoring with heavy punches in the first minutes
of the fight.
Randolf
fired back with strikes of his own, hurting Leo and backing him
towards his corner when Leo fired a looping left hook that landed
on his opponent's jaw. Randolf tumbled backwards, the canvas
greeting him at the end of his fall. The blow, however, was not
enough to deter the hefty fighter.
If
the first period was Day's, the second belonged to Randolf, who
managed to exploit his size and strength advantage as Day slowed.
By the third period Randolf had figured Day out and started to
landed heavy punches and high kicks with regularity. Less than
a minute into the final period, Randolf backed Day into a neutral
corner and unloaded a barrage of strikes that opened a large
cut above his challenger's left eye. Several Randolf shots followed
and the blood flowed from the gash. At the advice of the doctor
at ringside, referee Al Wichgers halted the bout 0:53 of the
final period.
Veteran
Full Contact Karate fighter Brian Schwartz continued his roll
and cruised to a lopsided unanimous decision victory over a game
but overmatched Zack Day.
Throughout
the five-round fight Schwartz dominated from the outside, landing
almost everything in his arsenal. The shorter, slower Day was
nothing but Schwartz-bait from the outside and tried numerous
times to score on the inside. To his credit, Schwartz never allowed
the fight to stay there for extended periods.
In
the second period Schwartz landed several more damaging blows
from the outside. In spite of that Day's corner asked their fighter
to continue attacking from that range. At the end of the period,
Day walked back to his handlers a battered, bloodied fighter
-- his nose and upper lip colored crimson.
The
onslaught continued in the third and forth periods, though Schwartz's
output in the second to last round dissipated. Knowing he had
no chance other than a knockout, Day came out bombing in the
fifth and final period. To his credit, Schwartz stood his ground
and fired back ill intended punches and kicks of his own.
Brian
Warren and Albert Torres put on the night's first quality contest
that, in the end, resulted in a split decision for the Eddy Millis-trained
fighter. In the first period Warren employed quick and powerful
combinations to get the better of Torres, but as the fight moved
into the middle round both fighters managed to land effective
blows.
In
the third period Warren, who appeared to get the better of Torres
in the first two periods, slowed. With his combinations slowing
and his power waning, Warren allowed Torres back in the fight.
Torres pushed forward but his late efforts weren't enough to
inflict the type of damage he needed to come back. With his performance,
Warren earned a split decision.
Amanda
Pera out-quicked her way past blonde bombshell LaTasha Marzolla
to win a unanimous decision. Ahead through two periods where
she consistently beat Marzolla to the punch, Pera started the
third period knowing that the fight was hers. Marzolla, however,
did not give in so easily. Scoring with punches and knees for
the first time in the fight, the former Playboy lingerie model
tried to make a fight of it. In the end, though, she could not
put Pera to the mat and left the ring a loser for a second consecutive
bout.
Travis
Johnson overpowered Adrian Foster, scoring two knockdowns, before
referee Steve Mazzagatti called a halt to the contest 1:57 of
the opening round.
Source:
Maxfighting |
KING
OF THE CAGE RESULTS
Dennis Hallman was upset, Benji Radach makes a logical choice
for Hallman's replacement if they need one for the UFC, as Radach
proves once again he deserves to be on the big show, and other
exciting fights make it an interesting night from Reno, Nevada
and King of the Cage. MMAWeekly's Tom Call gives us the breakdown
from Reno.
-
Benji Radach KO's at 1:31 over 'Ximu' Machado - Machado came
out with a high kick. Then both fighters mixed it up a bit as
they both had a good flury. Then Benji went into the clinch and
that's where Radach threw Machado down into the fence. Machado
was against the fence, when Radach landed right hand after right
hand, just bombing with authority and got the KO at 1:31 of the
first round.
-
Drew Fickett upsets Dennis Hallman by split decision - In a fight
that went back and forth both fighters had their chances at ending
the fight. Fickett at one point had the mount and was getting
some good shots in and then for Hallman he had a triangle choke
sunk it deep, but didn't have enough time to finish it as the
bell rang at the end of Round 3. It was Fickett pulling of the
split decision.
-
Joey Villasenor defeated James Fanshear in Round 2 at 2:26 by
rear naked choke. Good fight between both fighters.
-
Art Santore defeated Sean Gray at :54 second into Round 3 to
do referee stoppage. Santore was in the mount and they had to
stop it. Fight of the night so far as Gray won round 1, Santore
came back to get Round 2, and he finished him in Round 3.
-
Jason Coronado defeats Rocky Batastini in a very entertaining
fight. Coronado got the win at 3:24 of Round 1 by rear naked
choke.
-
Bo Cantrell defeats Rick Collup in Round 2 at :13 seconds in
with a front choke
-
Khomkrit Niimi TKO's Danny Mann in the 3:04 of second round.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Dennis
Hallman: On the Cusp -- Again
By Jason Probst
A fighter's
career is often not defined by its crests and valleys, but rather
what he did in between them to change the view.
For
Dennis Hallman the career is definitely on the upswing. Marked
by a willingness to fight the division's best on short notice,
Hallman faces Drew Fickett at King of The Cage this Saturday
in Reno. At 22-7-1, "Superman" Hallman has notched
two wins over Matt Hughes and won six of his last eight with
draws against Ronald
Jhun and
a loss to Frank Trigg in a bout that Hallman couldn't continue
in due to a foul blow. He's lost to bigger men such as Dave Menne
and Amaury Bitetti, and moved up and down in weight.
At
170 pounds, though, he's at his best. Dehydrated and battling
with a broken eardrum, he lost a decision to rival Jens Pulver
for the UFC 155-pound title. It was then that Hallman decided
to move up to 170 and stay there.
Fickett
is 12-2, a solid foe who figures to come gunning for a victory
over Hallman, and the added cachet a victory would bring.
"I
know he's a Rage in the Cage champ," Hallman said. "He's
a wrestler, he works out with Arizona Combat Sports, and he's
got good standup." A victory for Hallman would likely place
him in UFC 44, getting back on track for a match with Hughes.
The rumored foe is Nick Diaz, the 19-year-old phenom who beat
Jeremy Jackson in last month's IFC. Jackson was initially supposed
to be Hallman's UFC opponent, but Diaz' dominant showing has
placed him on a collision course with Hallman.
"I
haven't gotten confirmation that Diaz is actually my opponent,"
Hallman said. "But he's on their list of guys who are medically
cleared to fight in the next UFC, so I'm assuming it's me and
him if I win."
A
state champion wrestler in Washington in 1994, Hallman got into
the game early, mixing a submissions style with a wrestler's
attitude. As a result, he's got a mentality that may be better
rounded than most with a wrestling background. Many of his submissions
come from his back, and he doesn't rely on the ground-and-pound
approach that can prove a limited tactical outlook for guys who
wrestled first and learned submissions second. He plays many
roles in addition to fighter. As a father and husband, as well
as leader of the Victory Athletics team, he has a roster of fighters
he trains with at his school as he grooms them for mixed martial
arts.
One
of them is Benji Radach, who's fighting Gustavo Machado in the
main event after Hallman battles Fickett. Another was Eddy Ellis,
who was injured and had to drop out of this weekend's card. But
typical of Hallman, he's got a depth chart at the ready for these
expectable occurrences.
"Eddy
broke his ribs in a wrestling tournament," Hallman said.
"So we replaced him with Paul Purcell. I've got about 15
guys fighting under me. For a guy to try out, heart is the biggest
deal. We go out and train asses off and push ourselves to the
brink of exhaustion. What I look for is the guy that gets up
there between rounds and doesn't lay there resting. That's the
guy we pick. We focus on the guy that works harder. If they are
willing to keep going they'll make it."
It's
simple butt kicking that moves a guy up at Victory Athletics.
With Hallman and explosive Benji Radach, and the rest, your work
is cut out for you.
"We
have an A group, a B group, and a C group," Hallman said.
"The B group guys that are better than beginning, they are
just there as bodies. For a guy to break into A group he's got
to be beating everybody in B group. They can train for a long
time in their group."
"In
training we'll go 70 percent. No punching to the face full blast,
but kicking and punching to body full blast. Three weeks out
we are going 100 percent to body and 60 percent to the face with
punches. We'll throw 10 percent elbows," Hallman said.
He
reflects on his varied performances, since entering the sport
in 1997. He has looked spectacular in beating people with his
explosive submissions, and at times he feels he's been too passive
waiting for opportunities. He hopes to return to the old "Superman"
Saturday night when the cage door is locked, and it's just him
locking horns with Fickett.
"I've
been trying to change my training approach. I've been relaxing
a lot in my past fights. I guess you go through stages,"
he said. "In my early career I was aggressive and I'd try
to take guys heads off. I want to get back to the more brutal
type of fighting."
Source:
Maxfighting |
K-1
Battle At The Bellagio
by MMAWeekly's Greg Honda
At the pre fight conference we saw what happened as Kimo and
Bob Sapp went at it. When the fight started, Kimo showed he had
some more for Bob Sapp when the fight actually took place on
Friday night.
The
fans certainly got their monies worth, as favorites Bob Sapp,
Remy Bonjasky, Carter Williams, and Cung Le were all victorious.
Witnessing the action live were celebrities Michael Jordan, Dr.
Dre, and Mike Tyson. Tyson even made an appearance in the ring
to challenge “The Beast” to a match under boxing rules.
Hats off to all the fighters who came and fought their hearts
out.
In
the main event Bob Sapp escaped with a victory over Kimo. The
crowed went ballistic as Kimo floored Sapp late in the first
round. A winded, and wounded Sapp struggled to finish the round,
and then staggered back to his corner. Controversy surrounded
the events between rounds one and two as Sapp was given additional
time to rest as his cut was being looked at. Sapp came out for
round two revived and on a mission. At about a minute into the
round, Sapp landed a right hook that ended the night for Kimo.
Bob
Sapp called out Tyson....who was sitting ringside. Tyson entered
the ring and there is an exchange of words and people rushed
to get in the middle to seperate the two. Tyson said he will
fight tonight. Tell Sapp to "Sign the contract Big Boy".
Sapp responds by saying that he will fight boxing, K-1, or MMA.
It all does appear to be coming off very staged, but the crowd
is into it.
In
the first super fight of the night San Shou champion Cung Le
demonstrated his excellent takedown skills and landed a textbook
flying scissors kick to gain a unanimous decision over a game
Phil Petit.
In
the other super fight Carter Williams won an unpopular decision
over Dewey Cooper. The audience felt that Cooper got robbed,
I felt that Williams controlled the entire fight and did enough
to earn the victory. It may not have been as lopsided as the
judges decision showed, but there was no doubt in my mind that
Williams won that fight.
In
the 8-man tournament Remy Bonjasky walked through Vernon White,
and Jeff Ford before coming away with a hard fought victory over
Michael McDonald. McDonald also had a relative easy road to the
finals with quick victories over Jefferson Da Silva and George
Randolph. The finals between Bonjasky and McDonald was a hard
fought, close fight that had to go to a tie-breaking fourth round.
In the deciding round Bonjasky landed a couple of great combinations
that stunned McDonald. Remy also continued to chop away at McDonalds
leg, which he injured earlier in the fight.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
PULVER
GETS KO IN EXTREME CHALLENGE
Jens Pulver told MMAWeekly.com a month ago that things were turning
around in his life. After a tough battle with depression, he
told MMAWeekly's Ryan Bennett that "I'm happy again. It
will start to show again in my fight game."
Indeed
it did last night in Extreme Challenge, as Pulver fought for
the first time at 145 and looked great by getting a knockout
in Round Two against up and comer Joe Jordan. Here's the full
results from last night's Extreme Challenge 52.
Official
Extreme Challenge 52 results
Chris
Griffen def. Brandon Adamson, 2:58 Rd. 1 armbar.
Frank
Young def. Kaushik Sinn, Rd. 3 (9:00) Unanimous decision.
Derek
Mason def. BJ Mahon, 2:09 Rd. 1 tap from strikes.
Nate
Mohr def. Kain Rizzo, 2:15 Rd. 2 (5:15) tap from strikes.
Tagteam
submission match: Nate Schroeder/Kory Markham (Miletich) def.
Josh Rafferty/Chris Lynd (Meat Truck Inc.) 2 subs to 1.
Davy
Conger def. Ryan Sickler, 1:01 Rd. 1 rear choke.
Mark
Long def. Jordan Anderson, Rd 3 (9:00) unanimous decision.
Travis
Fulton def. Jason Miller, :45 Rd 1 rear choke.
Jason
Medina def. Karima Bennett, 1:48 Rd. 1 tap from strikes.
Jens
Pulver def. Joe Jordon, 3:12 Rd. 2 (8:12) KO
Source:
MMA Weekly |
JAVIER
"SHOWTIME" VASQUEZ INTERVIEW
Name: Javier 'Showtime' Vazquez
Height: 5'7
Weight: 155 pounds
Association: Millenia Jiu-Jitsu
MMA Record: 7-1-0
Biggest Victory:
Rumina Sato (Unanimous Decision) @ Shooto - Treasure Hunt 7 -
06/29/2002
MMAWeekly.com
Newsletter: Are you now fully healed or are you continuing to
rehab your knee?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: I feel almost fully healed. I can do everything
I was doing before I got injured but I am still doing rehab on
my knee. I can honestly say that my knee is much stronger now
that it was before I injured it.
Al
(Chicago, IL): Do you know when are you fighting next and who
is it against?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: No. Hopefully sometime in October or November.
I have no set opponents yet.
Steven
(Long Island): When you first felt pain in your knee in your
fight against Alberto Crane, did you believe it was as serious
as it ended up being?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: I knew exactly what happened after the first
scramble. When I threw the combination and fell down, I knew
what had happened.
Frank
(N/A): Did you ever consider quitting during your fight versus
Alberto Crane?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: No. I had too much to lose. Not only my belt
but I thought my UFC opportunity was also on the line.
Walter
(N/A): Do you believe that you would have soundly defeated Alberto
Crane had you not injured your knee so early in the fight?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: I think so. I don't think he could have put
me in too much danger if I was healthy. One thing though... he
is very good on the ground. I would love if he would give me
the opportunity to fight him again.
MMAWeekly.com
Newsletter: Due to your heart and determination, you made a lot
of new fans despite losing to Alberto Crane. Do you see this
is as a positive despite an obviously disappointing night.
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: I would have never dreamed that I was going
to get the support I did after the fight. It was very flattering
and emotional for me to see the kind of reaction I received after
the fight.
MMAWeekly.com
Newsletter: Were you expecting to get a call from the UFC following
a potential victory against Crane? How disappointed were you
that it did not happen?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: The UFC was actually faxing over my contract
at about the same time I got injured. How funny was that? I spoke
to them the next day and I was both surprised and excited when
they told me that they were still interested in using me when
I recovered. Things were not as bad as previously anticipated.
Gerry
(N/A): Who do you train with on a consistent basis? And what
does your regular training schedule look like?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: Romie Aram. John Allessio, Peter Dickason,
"Joe Boxer", Jason Brudvik, and Rodrigo Medeiros.
Showdown
Joe (Ontario, Canada): Prior to your injury, many were considering
you to wreak major havoc in the Lightweight Division. Due to
the injury, this did not happen, yet, now, about 6 months later,
people are still considering Javier Vasquez as a dominant force!!!
Why do you believe this is so???
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: First of all I don't want this to sound bad
but this is the general reactions I have gotten to my last fight.
Most people don't consider my last fight a "LOSS" because
I was prematurely injured. I lost the fight but I won the fans.
Tom
(Ohio): Who are the top five 155 pounders in the world?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: Gomi, BJ, Uno, Yves Edwards, Javier Vazquez.
I hope to prove it soon to everyone. I would fight any of the
guys that I consider to be a higher rank than me. I would also
like to fight a guy by the name of "Shaolin". I consider
him to be right up there with me at number 5.
Victor
(N/A): What has been your toughest fight to date?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: Rumina Sato.
MMAWeekly.com
Newsletter: For the many people that have yet to see it, can
you run through your fight with Rumina Sato?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: It was a basic Ground and Pound with some
occasional scrambles for submissions and some standup striking
in between.
Dan
(Buffalo, NY): How is your current relationship with KOTC?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: No Comment.
MMAWeekly.com
Newsletter: You mentioned in an interview that you were going
to fight in the UCC/TKO against the winner of Ludwig and Pulver.
Obviously your injury put that thought on hold, but is fighting
for the UCC/TKO something that is potentially on the horizon?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: There is always a possibility. I don't rule
anything out.
Tim
(Atlanta, GA): Where did the nickname 'Showtime' come from?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: I was competing in an open-hand tournament
about 4 or 5 years ago and the announcer asked me what my nickname
was. Romie Aram was standing next to me and I asked him...without
hesitation he said "Showtime". When asked why he said
"because when he fights its always showtime".
MMAWeekly.com
Newsletter: Any other comments you would like to tell your fans?
Javier
'Showtime' Vazquez: I would just like to thank everyone who stuck
by me and has supported me through this very tough time. I would
like to thank my mother and sister for all of their support.
I would like to thank my girlfriend Heather for all of her understanding
and caring for me. Lastly, I would like to thank a guy who has
helped me since I met him. I would like to thank Stan Hase for
all of his wisdom and support throughout the past 2 years or
so.
One
last thing. To all of my fans I can promise you this...I will
be back and better than ever. I hope to avenge my only loss and
I am shooting to be the best lightweight in the world.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Pancrase
Star Ikuhisa Minowa
Now With Brazilian Top Team!
by: Denis Martins
PIC:
BTT Stars Murilo Bustamante and Mario Sperry present their newest
member - Ikuhisa Minowa.
While
the attention of fans around the world was focused on the PRIDE
GP middleweight tournament held last August 8th in Japan, Brazilians
who follow the BTT's training session were seeing a Japanese
fighter among the Brazilians. Hey!?
Yes,
Ikuhisa Minowa has been training in Brazil since the start of
July, after breaking up with Pancrasism. He was without a team
in Japan, and since he has friends who handle BTT in Japan, he
was introduced to Jose Mario Sperry.
The leaders of BTT (Bebeo Duarte, Sperry and Murilo Bustamante)
had a meeting and they accepted Minowa as the newest BTT member!
About
this new international BTT member Sperry stated:
'Since Ms. Motoko (BTT matchmaker in Japan) and myself are partners,
her request for Minowa was a special request. He came to train
with us, and maybe the first step for an international jump for
BTT. We have the intention of making BTT-Japan and Minowa is
our first representative. But it does not mean that we will have
an BTT-Japan academy very soon. This's a new concept for us and
we need to procede with caution to make it long term.'
Minowa
is training hard - with a gi and without - and already is scheduled
to debut representing the BTT next September 19th in Brazil.
Minowa will put his skills in action against the WVC, UFC and
Deep veteran, Brazilian Jorge 'Macaco' Patino in th Brazilian
Super Fight event.
Here
is the rest of thae card:
BRAZIL
SUPER FIGHT [card subject to changes]
September 19th Tesourinha, Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do
Sul
MMA:
- Marcelo 'Grilo' Alfaia (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Jose Ricardo
'Dragao' (Gaviao Team)
- Loke 'The Duke' Piclum (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Eduardo Simoes
(Ruas VT System)
- Haroldo 'Cabelinho' Bunn (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Fabricio
'Morango'
Camoes (Gracie Tijuca)
- Eric Tavares (Ruas VT System) vs. Mau (Gold Team)
- Helio Dipp (Boxer) vs. Luis 'Beicao' Ramos (Ruas VT System)
- Roan 'Jucao' Carneiro (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Luis Azeredo
(Gold Team)
- Fabiano Capoane (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Brand (Gold Team Canada)
- Jorge 'Macaco' Patino (Gold Team) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (Brazilian
Top Team)
MUAY
THAI:
- Gerson Silva (Brazilian Top Team) vs. Eduardo Verissimo (Boxer)
Source: ADCC |
IFC
PRESENTS: “GLOBAL DOMINATION”
Falaniko
Vitale has been rumored to be out of the tournament for personal
reasons, but we have not confirmed that. He is still listed in
this story however.
Hot on the heels of the Pride Grand Prix, the IFC presents their
own 205 pound 8-man tournament. Featuring some of the top fighters
from around the world, the IFC kicks off their World Tour in
grand fashion at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on September
6th.
Entitled
"Global Domination," the IFC's Pepsi Center show is
highlighted by an 8-man tournament featuring Jeremy Horn, Renato
"Babalu" Sobral, Mike Van Arsdale, Falaniko Vitale, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua,
Paulo Filho, Michail Avetisyan, and Trevor Prangley. Also on
the card will be a rare American appearance by five time King
of Pancrase Nathan Marquardt, UFC and Pride veteran Ron Waterman,
and UFC veteran Brad Gumm, among others.
The
show will be available via pay-per-view a few weeks following
the event and there are plans for a DVD and VHS release. The
broadcast team will feature Jens Pulver, Jeff Blatnick, and MMAWeekly's
own Ryan Bennett.
With
Bennett on the scene and MMAWeekly's Ken Pishna being based out
of Denver, plan on tons of news, previews and interviews coming
you way as the show nears.
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Alternate Fight 1
Ahmad vs. Eric Escobedo
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Alternate Fight 2
Tom Sauer vs. Sean Gray
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Eliminator Fight 1
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Trevor Prangley
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Eliminator Fight 2
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Paulo Filho
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Eliminator Fight 3
Michail Avetisyan vs. Jeremy Horn
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Eliminator Fight 4
Falaniko Vitale vs. Mike Van Arsdale
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Alternate Final Fight
Ahmad-Escobedo Winner vs. Sauer-Gray Winner
Heavyweight
Contender Fight (265s)
Jody Poff vs. Chilo Gonzales
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Semi-Final Fight I
Sobral-Prangley Winner vs. Rua-Filho Winner
Light
Heavyweight Tournament
Semi-Final Fight 2
Avetisyan-Horn Winner vs. Vitale-Van Arsdale Winner
IFC
Women’s Middleweight Championship Fight
Amanda Buckner vs. Ginele Marquez
Lightweight
Challenge Fight (155s)
Brad Gumm vs. Doug Evans
Middleweight
Challenge Fight (185s)
Nathan Marquardt vs. Steve Gomm
Heavyweight
Contender Fight (265s)
Ron Waterman vs. Joe Briggs
IFC
World Light Heavyweight Tournament
Championship Final Fight
Semi-Final Fight 1 Winner vs. Semi-Final Fight 2 Winner
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"Top cats often begin as underdogs."
Bernard Meltzer
|
Congrats
Kimo!
Relson Gracie student, Kimo Kreis was recently promoted to brown
belt in BJJ. Kimo has been training for a long time here, moved
up and trained with Ralph Gracie for a while and has come back
to Hawaii again for a while.
Onzuka.com has a special place for Kimo because we were lucky
enough for him to pick our academy, Academia Casca Grossa de
Jiu-Jitsu (formerly the Gracie Aiea Academy) to start his Jiu-Jitsu
career. We used to beat the crap out of a snotty kid to teach
him humbleness and to get into the right frame of mind to learn
BJJ. Now he is an excellent fighter and teacher and the one cracking
open the cans of whoop ass and teaching us things.
Kimo, just because we missed your whipping don't think you are
out in the clear. We are currently working on a secret plan to
con you back to your roots and have your Aiea brothers and sisters
"welcome" your brown belt. heh heh
|
KOTC
PPV - Title Matches on the Card!
by: Keith Mills
San Jacinto, CA - The next King Of The Cage pay-per-view takes
place September 5th from Soboba Casino and features two belt
bouts. Word has leaked out over the past week that Millennia
Jiu-Jitsu/Bad Intentions’ John Alessio will fight 808 Fight Factory’s
Ronald Jhun
for the Welterweight belt while confirmation has finally come
that City Boxing’s Dean Lister will also defend his Middleweight
belt against MASH’s James Lee.
Alessio
is the current Superfight Champion, a title he won by beating
Chris Brennan of Next Generation by TKO in 2:20 of round 1 last
June in KOTC Bad Intentions, now available on DVD. Alessio hasn’t
been seen in the cage or ring since he lost his UCC (now TKO)
Welterweight belt by judge’s decision to Jason Black in
January. Defending Champion Ronald Jhun won the KOTC Welterweight belt in May by defeating
Shonie Carter by judge’s decision in Vegas in a rematch
of their SuperBrawl fight from last November in SuperBrawl 27.
This fight will determine the Welterweight Champion while the
Superfight belt will be dissolved.
ADCC
2003 Unlimited Champion Dean Lister retained his Middleweight
belt last month by easily defeating Brian Sleeman at Soboba.
James Lee was Lister’s original opponent. Now these two
finally get a shot at each other.
Source: ADCC
|
PRIDE's
'BUSHIDO' - A New Show For Lighter Fighters!
by: Denis Martins
At last week's PRIDE GP show, the organization announced that
they will run a new event featuring fighters who weigh under83kg,
calling the event PRIDE BUSHIDO.
The
event is an all star cast of Japan's 83kg fighters, such as Hayato
'Mach' Sakurai, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Daiju Takase and Akira
Shoji.
Then
fighters such as Nino 'Elvis', Carlos Newton and Anderson Silva
will have a renewed life, conquering a new belt created FOR Pride
Bushido. The first show is scheduled for Saitama Super Arena
on October 5th.
There
is also word that the president of Japan's DEEP organization,
Mr. Saeki, will become Pride Bushido's assistant director. Add
to this rumors that DEEP will seize to exist after it's next
show on September 15th.
Finally,
Pride's smaller pre-qualifying event, The Best, will still be
held without changes, featuring many upcoming fighters under
83kg.
Source: ADCC
|
Catching
Up With Trainer PAULO CARUSO
By Gleidson Venga / Team Tatame
Paulo
Caruso is one of the top names in Brazil when it comes to physical
preparation. Responsible for the conditioning of many famous
MMA athletes, such as Rodrigo 'Minotauro', Rogério 'Minotouro'
and Vítor Belfort, Caruso now is part of a new team of
MMA: Brazil Dojo. The team is built to select athletes to represent
the Inoki Army around the world.
Which
the importance of the physical preparation in current MMA? To
balance two very important physical capacities: power and explosion
until the end of the match.
Which
physical feature marks a top MMA athlete? To have a lot of explosion
and capacity to recover and continue exploding after fatigue
sets in.
Is
it true that having a good night of sleep is essential for a
good conditioning? Of course, because it is overnight that the
body produces the hormones that help in the muscular recovery.
What
are an athlete's main enemies? Very strong training without the
appropriate control of rest and feeding, or overtraining. Besides
the obvious of drugs, alcohol and tobacco....
Which
fighters impressed you the most lately? Randy Couture and Emelianenko
Fedor.
Which
are your main athletes? Rodrigo 'Minotauro' and his brother Rogério
'Minotouro', Vitor Belfort, 'Ricardão' Moraes, 'Pitbull
Italiano', Evangelista 'Cyborg', Marcelo 'Tigre', 'Pantera',
Rogério Olegário 'ET' and others that will begin
soon.
What
advice could you give for beginers in MMA? To seek a team with
trainers who have a conscience, as well as good contacts with
tournaments, and to get professional managers, allowing you to
concentrate on your job - to workout strong and in a correct
way.
Speak
a little of your career. I was a top athlete in Jiu-Jitsu from
1983 to 1996, winning championships several times. I am a black
belt, the 6th of master Osvaldo Alves. I have a degree in physical
education from the Universidade Gama Filho, and I have post-graduate
work in high performance training for top athletes.
Final
comments? Thank you for the support, and if possible we want
to tell people about the new MMA team that I am a partner and
coach of, Brazil Dojo. We have Wallid Ismail, Luiz Alves, De
La Riva and Darrel Gohlar, we selected athletes to represent
Inoki Army, that soon will be the largest MMA team in the world,
you can be sure of that, because several top athletes in MMA
are seeking us to close fights.
Source: ADCC
|
K-1
"Battle at the Bellagio" Results
Date: August 15, 2003
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
K-1 "Battle at the Bellagio" was the first event part
of ESPN/K-1's Martial Arts series.
After
the Bob Sapp/Kimo fight, Mike Tyson jumped the rail and they
had a WWE-like brawl in the ring.
Tournament:
1. Michael McDonald def. Jefferson "Tank" Silva via
KO - R2
2. Aziz Khatou def. Raul Romero via Majority Decision
3. Remy Bonjasky de. Vernon "Tiger" White via KO (High
kick) - R1
4. Rick Roufus def. Jeff Ford via Unanimous Decision
Super
Fight:
5. Cung Le def. Phil Petit via Unanimous Decision
6. Carter Williams def. Dewey Cooper via Unanimous Decision
Tournament
Semifinals:
7. Michael McDonald def.George Randolph via KO - R1
8. Remy Bonjasky def. Jeff Ford via KO - R1.
Super
Fight:
9. Bob Sapp def. Kimo via KO - R2
Tournament
Finals:
10. Remy Bonjasky def. Michael McDonald via Decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
RING
OF FIRE PREVIEWS:
TRAVIS WIUFF AND GREG WIKEN
Ring of Fire Fighter
Travis Wiuff
Tonight,
Colorado-based promotion Ring of Fire takes the show on the road
to Baraboo, Wisconsin and the Ho-Hunk Casino with a main event
featuring Greg Wikan (12-11) in a showdown with former training
partner and UFC veteran Travis Wiuff (20-4) in a battle for the
Ring of Fire heavyweight belt. Wiuff made an appearance against
Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 40 and he plans on this being his
next step on his way back to the big show. Travis took some time
recently to answer a few questions with MMAWeekly’s Ken
Pishna. Here is what he had to say.
Ken:
Where are you from?
Travis:
I am originally from Owatonna, Minnesota and currently live in
Rochester, Minnesota.
Ken:
And how old are you now?
Travis:
I am 25 years old.
Ken:
What are your vitals; height, weight, fight weight?
Travis:
I am 6'3” and weigh 260 pounds. I like to compete at about
250 pounds.
Ken:
Do you have a nickname?
Travis:
Yes, my nickname is "The Diesel."
Ken:
What other sports have you competed in besides MMA?
Travis:
I have wrestled all my life. I was a state champion in high school.
I was also a three time All American in collegiate wrestling.
I was National runner-up my Sophomore year and placed 5th my
Freshman and Senior years.
Ken:
So what got you started in MMA?
Travis:
I got started in MMA just by coincidence. A promoter was running
a monthly show in my hometown and we happened to meet one night
and he asked if I was interested. I told him "no",
but later tried it and have loved it ever since.
Ken:
Who are some of the people that you have trained with?
Travis:
Over the years, I have trained with Brad Kohler, Dave Menne,
and Pat Miletich.
Ken:
Who do you train with currently?
Travis:
I currently train with Dave Menne.
Ken:
Who would you say that you admire most in MMA? Anyone that you
sort of model yourself after?
Travis:
I think the person I admire most in MMA is Randy Couture. The
guy is truly a legend and always seems to be prepared to fight.
He is a warrior. Any wrestler, I try to model my fight style
around; Matt Hughes, Mark Coleman, and Couture are all guys that
I try to emulate when I fight.
Ken:
How long have you been competing in MMA?
Travis:
I have been competing in MMA for about a year and a half.
Ken:
In that time, who would you say has been your toughest opponent?
Travis:
My toughest opponent has been Cabbage. I slammed him hard more than once and he just
kept coming. He is one tough SOB.
Ken:
What is your most memorable moment in MMA?
Travis:
My most memorable moment has to be being able to compete in UFC
40. I was awe struck the whole week to be around such awesome
fighters.
Ken:
What goals do you have for yourself in MMA?
Travis:
My goal in MMA is to get back to the UFC and prove to people
that I am able to compete at that level. I think everyone’s
goal should be to be the champion, but first I need to just prove
that I can compete at that level. Then the titles will come.
Ken:
What are your greatest strengths that you bring to the ring?
Travis:
My strengths are my wrestling background, my work ethic, and
my physical strength.
Ken:
You will be fighting Greg Wiken. What do you know about Greg?
How do you see the fight going with him?
Travis:
I know Greg very well. He helped me learn this sport when I first
was getting started and we have trained together many times.
I see him trying to keep the fight standing and me working to
ground and pound.
Ken:
I believe you've gone 8-1 since your appearance in the UFC, do
you feel
like you're getting close to a return to the big show?
Travis:
I feel with a couple more "big" wins I will be ready
for a return to the UFC. I am just hoping to get that chance
and I know that the outcome will be different this time.
Ken:
Do you have any other immediate fight plans?
Travis:
I am planning on fighting in the IFC in September. Other than
that, I have nothing planned.
Ken:
Any other comments that you’d like to make?
Travis:
Thanks for the interview. I appreciate it!
Ken:
You’re more than welcome. Thanks for talking with MMAWeekly.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"One thought driven home is better than three left on base."
James Liter
|
Hawaii
Fighters to Fight at the Ironheart Crown?
There has been some buzz about possible matches at the next Ironheart
Crown. The IHC is held in Chicago and surrounding areas is promoted
by local boy, Dr. Eric Moon. The talk is that a couple of fighters
from the 808 Fight Factory will be pitted against the best of
the Chicago area. Jeff Curran and up and comer Gideon Ray look
to take on some Hawaii fighters. When the matches are solidified,
we will let you know.
|
THE
ULTIMATE SUBMISSION SHOWDOWN™
When
the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was developed, the idea
was to create a venue where the effectiveness of different martial
arts styles could be measured. It became clear that the advantage
of the grappler was tremendous. Eventually, everyone started
focusing on the importance of ground fighting and so the original
concept of comparing styles became obsolete. Now, in the current
NHB arena, everyone trains in some form of grappling as well
as striking—it’s become a comparison of athletes more
than a comparison of styles. Event coordinators, now, in their
determination to keep their audiences entertained, try to keep
the rounds shorter and the fighters off the ground. As a result,
more often than not, you have events consisting of overgrown
athletes relying on punches and kicks to pummel their way through
victory. Fans today will rarely see a match end with a classic
submission move. History has shown us, however, that in a true
no-holds-barred scenario, the knowledge of submissions is what
determines who the best fighter truly is.
From
the creator of the UFC: THE ULTIMATE SUBMISSION SHOWDOWN™
This
event is not for everyone. Only eight of the top grapplers in
the world will be invited to participate in this best-of-the-best
confrontation. There is NO TIME LIMIT. Competitors can choose
to wear whatever outfit they want. Wrestling singlets, a Jiu
Jitsu/Judo Gi, or fight shorts. ALL grappling styles are welcome,
wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, sambo, shoot-fighting, submission-fighting,
etc. In addition, ALL finishing moves will be permitted whether
it’s chokes, neck-cranks, arm-locks, knee-locks, ankle-locks,
foot-locks, takedowns, etc...
IT'S
TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP!
OCTOBER
11,2003 at the James Armstrong Theater, Torrance, California
USA
For
more info go to www.
IGJJF. com
Source: ADCC/Kid Peligro
|
TNT:
Marcio 'Pe de Pano' is Quick and Lethal
By Luca Atalla (with Marcelo Dunlop and Raphael Nogueira)
‘Pe de Pano’. What’s does that mean? The best
translation into English for the
nickname of the man many consider the best Jiu-Jitsu fighter
at the moment would be ‘Sugarfoot’, the name of the
Woody Woodpecker’s horse. But in the sports field, 'Pe de
Pano' isn’t as awkward as the Walter Lantz' cartoon horse.
He won the above 98kg class of the last ADCC World Submission
Wrestling Championship and kept pace taking the absolute Jiu-Jitsu
World Championship gold medal at the end of July. But for him,
it’s not enough. He’s now loading his guns to get into
the Vale-tudo world, and while he’s far from being a big
star in Pride or UFC, he has seemingly conqured the JJ world.
And he has prove n his mouth is as dangerous as his submission
skills.
“Even
though I’m the Jiu-Jitsu absolute champion since last 2002,
people are
still questioning my performance. Everybody is talking about
Ronaldo Jacare’s absolute titles in the brown belt. He just
got his black belt and now he’s saying that a fight against
me would be great. I will die on the day I lose to him. Jacare
doesn’t have game to play against me. He can’t pass
my guard. Actually, he doesn’t know how to pass a guard…
He’s crazy! Beside that, people don’t have any memory.
After all, everything Jacare did now I did better in my time
as a brown belt. I got two gold medals like him in the Worlds,
but the difference is that I submitted everybody who fought me.”
Big
talk, don’t you think? But he still had more to say: “What
about the other guy, (above 98kg class ADCC 2003 runner up) Fabricio
Werdum? He keeps saying he wants to fight me. He never gets tired
of losing. I would pass his guard every day. His will to fight
me will last until when?… There is also Fernando Terere.
He didn’t fight the absolute in the JJ Worlds and now his
excuse is a cold. Look, I actually pushed him out of the competition.
Don’t you remember when he fought me in Manaus, last year?
After the fight, he complained about my weight and said he wouldn’t
fight in the absolute ever again. Come on, eat more for dinner,
juice up, it doesn’t matter to me. Just don’t give
me excuses!”
The
25 years old Jiu-Jitsu ace nearly doesn’t breath as he talks
and he keeps shooting. He says he will break all medal records
in the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship. “I love to fight and,
but more than than, I hate to see someone else on the first place
podium, so I’ll keep fighting Jiu-Jitsu. I admit that vale-tudo
can take me out of some sport tournaments, but I have to earn
some money. Today, with my sponsors and the prizes I get, I’m
able to pay my bills, but it’s not enough to save money
for my future. Ok, you may argue that I don't have any background
in vale-tudo. But do you know anybody who start to fight in his
10th match? I don’t think so. Everyone starts in the first.
As I did in Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Wrestling, I’m ready
to claim my place in vale-tudo.” That’s all.
Source: ADCC
|
IFC
UPDATE: Falaniko
Vitale
Out, Forrest Griffin In?
Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado / September 6, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.
Promoter
Paul Smith announced that Falaniko Vitale was being forced to pull out of the upcoming
'Global Domination' tournament. Vitale, who has a formidable record with
only 2 losses, was expected to do well by many insiders. Best
wishes to Falaniko and his family.
Nothing
is official yet, but there are rumblings that young Forrest Griffin
is being heavily considered to fill the spot. Griffin's only
MMA loss is to Dan Severn, a decision in what was Griffin's first
fight. He has not lost since, and has quite a list of formidable
competitors on his resume.
Griffin
had a great showing at Brazil's inaugural HEAT show this past
July, taking out local hero Ebenezer Fontes Braga convincingly.
He is on a roll!
With
the event approximately 3 weeks away, look for an announcement
and confirmation one way or another in the coming days!
Source: ADCC
|
CARLSON
WORKING HARD ON THE BIRTHDAY!
by: Team TATAME
Together with his best friend Oswaldo Paquetá, we tried
hard to find master Carlson Gracie on August 13th to wish him
a happy birthday, but the phone lines to Chicago were busy.
When
we caught up with him later, he said 'Some of my students will
make a barbecue for me on Saturday. Yesterday we did not have
time for celebration.' said Carlson, who spent the whole day
training his team for the upcoming Jungle Fight. Gracie told
us that he will have four representatives on the September 13
the event, two from his school in Chicado and two from Manimal
Team in Rio. 'My students are Tom Murphy (110kg) represents Carlson
Gracie/Revolution Team and is trained by Carlson Gracie &
Julio Fernandez, will face Carlos Barreto (BTT) and Stephen 'Robocop'
Bonnar who will fight against a Japanese opponent. Tomorrow Manimal
will give the other two names to Wallid.' confided Carlson, who
is scheduled to arrive in Manaus on September 9th.
About
the confrontation for Murphy, who has only four fights (four
wins), against his ex student, Barreto, Carlson didn´t
gave any prediction: 'I prepared him to win, I´m not afraid
of losing. He has good chances'.
Carlson´s
black belt, Rinaldo Santos is also in Chicago training hard with
the master to take part in John Lewis´s next Vale-Tudo
event, schedule to happen on the first week of October in Las
Vegas. 'The team here is good. I´m sure that soon Carlson
will bring many surprises to the MMA world.', said Santos.
Now
68 years old, Carlson Gracie is one of the most important chapters
of the Gracie family history. He first stepped into the ring
when he was 17 years old, and after that fought 19 times defending
the Gracie name. He was the one who avenged his uncle Hélio,
beating Waldemar Santana in 1956. After his retirement Carlson
built one the strongest Jiu-Jitsu and Vale-Tudo Teams in the
world, Carlson Gracie Team. Later on, after some disagreements
with his pupils, they left and started Brazilian Top Team.
TEAM
Tatame and ADCC wishes the best to this living legend of the
MMA world.
Source: ADCC
|
BOB
SAPP: MAKE WAY FOR THE BEAST
The big man talks
about his upcoming K-1 debut in Las Vegas, his rapidly improving
martial arts skills, and being one of the most sought after individuals.
Written by Michael Afromowitz - muaythaimes@aol.com
Catching
up with K-1's biggest celebrity is not an easy thing to do. From
filming TV commercials to being courted by every major media
outlet in Japan, Bob Sapp is constantly on the move and tough
to keep track of.
On
the brink of his United States fighting debut that will come
on Friday, August 15th in the form of a three-round K-1 "Battle
at the Bellagio" Superfight with the dangerous Kimo Leopoldo,
the 6 foot 3 inch, 375-pound former NFL lineman is in even more
demand than ever as the American media has caught Sapp fever
and is anxious to get a piece of him.
After
a few days of relentless searching, though, I was finally able
to locate the big man and steal some time with him while he was
tucked away in a Japanese hotel, seeking refuge from the masses
that swarm him when he dare set foot on the streets there.
FCF:
So, how have things been going lately?
BS: Pretty good. Just a little bit tired, you know. But, I'm
making it work.
FCF:
How do you feel about this fight with Kimo?
BS: I'm looking forward to, not only, debuting in the United
States, but also to going against a great fighter and a great
legend like Kimo. He's definitely well-known in the United States
for his superior fighting as well as for his tenacity in the
ring. So, it's an opportunity to go into the United States with,
not only some flair that you often see in Las Vegas, but also
an opportunity to present some flair and tenacity while going
against Kimo.
FCF:
Have you seen any of his fights?
BS: Yea, I've seen him on tape. I don't know really how his stand-up's
gonna be, but I think it's gonna be close to boxer's style and
I know that he's got a pretty hard kick too.
FCF:
How do you feel you will match up with him?
BS: I think we'll match up pretty evenly. But, I think once my
pressure overwhelms him that you'll see me be able to squeak
out a victory.
FCF:
How do you feel about finally debuting here in the United States?
BS: Oh, man. There's a lot of pressure on me. There are a lot
of friends of mine who are going to be watching the fight. And
of course, it's in the United States and I'm basically the ambassador
for K-1. K-1 has shown why, in fact, it's the number one sport
in the world internationally. They're trying to make it number
one in the United States now. So, there's a lot of pressure on
me. But, this pressure cooker can have a tight lid.
FCF:
You've carried the sport a long way since you began fighting
by bringing massive media attention to it. How far do you feel
you can bring its popularity here in the United States?
BS: Well, I think what I can actually do is make it to be one
of the number one contenders along with boxing and make it surpass
boxing as the number one fighting sport. That's because K-1 -
not only is it exciting, but if you look at the knockout ratio,
which is what many people tend to watch the fights for, K-1 is
definitely over 80 percent most times. Some of it is also punch-kick,
punch-punch-block-block-kick-block - that kind of thing. If we
can get out of that kind of thing, I think you'll be able to
see a huge following from the American public to K-1 and maybe
to other fighting sports as well - but I think K-1 will lead
the fighting sports. Its simple, it's easy to watch, and it's
exciting.
FCF:
What do you personally find so thrilling about the sport?
BS: Well, I think one of the things that really turned me on
to K-1 is that, not only do you have to worry about getting knocked
out from punches, but you have to worry about getting knocked
out from kicks as well. So, it really expands your mind because
if you look at someone - when they get knocked out by a low kick,
you're like 'How does somebody get knocked out by getting kicked
in the legs.' Having experienced it, I can tell you 'Wow!' (laughs)
FCF:
I understand you have been doing a lot of formal martial arts
training lately. Can you tell me about it?
BS: Yes, now I'm studying Karate at Seidokaikan (The Seidokaikan
Karate school in Japan) and so I've basically just brought it
back down to the basics and started off with utilizing the basic
fundamental skills of kicking and punching that are incorporated
into Karate and putting them into my style and showing that I
can fight with them. I've actually been running on the beach
and working with 200 or 300 Karate students and it's great. I
haven't completed the black belt. From what I understand, that
takes two or three years to complete. But, I am interested in
pursuing that.
FCF:
What attracted you to Seidokaikan?
BS: I think that Seido is a good start because it's basic. They
hit below the neck and that's where a lot of my pain has had
a tendency to come from. I can get punched and kicked in the
head pretty much and take it. But, when it's come down to me
getting punched in the abdominal region, I've had some problems
dealing with that and Seido is a perfect way to turn those weaknesses
that I've had into strengths.
FCF:
How important is it to you to bring your skill level up to that
of some of the established fighters in K-1 who have been doing
this for years?
BS: It's very important, which is why I've started off with Seidokaikan.
It's very important that I develop into a more complete fighter.
Because I happened to beat the world champion (four-time K-1
World Grand Prix champion, Ernesto Hoost), that doesn't mean
that I've surpassed all the fundamental rules and that my style
at that particular time was better than other styles. In order
for me to get better, I must train and practice and go through
the same hard things that everyone has always gone through. What
happened with me is (the process) has just been fast forwarded
(laughs).
FCF:
What is life like for you in Japan in terms of the way the public
treats you?
BS: Really, it's a unique situation. Basically, I pretty much
just stay in my hotel room at all times at this particular point
in time because I really can't do anything without having a large
group of people come by and surround me at the restaurant where
I'm eating or during any type of leisure activity that I choose
to do. But, occasionally they can rent out arcade rooms for me
so that I can go in there when no one's in there and play all
the video games. So, I do get perks on the job, if you will.
I recently went to Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan and I didn't
have to wait on any lines at all and I got to go on as many rides
as I wanted to. It was awesome!
FCF:
A lot of people here have been curious about your new rap video.
Can you tell me about your venture into the music world?
BS: Oh, man (laughs). "Sapp Time" was just a CD that
I recorded. It was kind of meant to be like a fun, party kind
of CD to say things to the fans and to show everyone that I'm
having a great time doing entertainment and the fighting. I had
a great time doing it. It did alright over here. It was the first
time I've ever recorded any kind of music at all. But, having
had some success with it, I'm beginning to get used to it (laughs).
FCF:
I know you've been extremely busy in Japan with all kinds of
projects in the arena of entertainment. What kind of impact are
you looking to have in the entertainment world here in the United
States?
BS: I've been entertaining several movie scripts from Hollywood
so look to see me doing some Hollywood movies. I have several
offers and several bonafied movie scripts in hand. They're interviewing
me for several characters. I'm starting with some big-name actors
and doing some big-name titles. There's gonna be some great ones
ahead.
Source: FCF
|
Clash
of the Titans: A Brief Look at Sapp versus Kimo
By Aaron Barringer
Bob 'The Beast' Sapp and Kimo will face off in the K-1 ring tonight
in Las Vegas. Hungry and game, Kimo will attempt to make his
mark on 'the new fighting sport' in much the same way he made
his mark in the UFC, by fighting the odds. For his part, the
Beast will surely be looking to crush all opposition to the unparalleled
level of popularity (which culminated this week with an appearance
on the Tonight Show) he’s enjoyed over the past 12 months.
Both
fighters are unique in many ways, and each brings more than just
a talent to fight. Bob Sapp is synonymous with incredible size
and the ability to use it athletically. At six-foot-three-inches
and 356 pounds, Sapp has mangled most competitors with his sledgehammer-like
fists. His charm and charisma, meanwhile, have placed him atop
the pyramid of marketable fighters -- and his success seems assured.
Many
things can be said of the iconoclastic Kimo's fighting style.
Doubt what you will about his chiseled 248-pound frame, or even
his ability to wage a standup battle against Sapp, but do not
make the mistake of doubting his heart. Kimo has shown time and
again that fighting is a part of his spirit, and his indomitable
will to win may very well rise to the task.
He
has worked hard under the guidance of Shark Tank trainer Eddy
Millis to smooth and polish edges which months ago were rough
and jagged. He is a thinking man’s fighter, seeking out
ways to better himself in order to prepare for his war, knowing
that his opponent has been doing exactly the same thing.
It
may just come to pass that the deciding factors in Friday’s
showdown could be the things we cannot easily see, as opposed
to those which are visible. Sapp has often alluded to moving
on when his fight contract is finished. This begs the question
that if he faces stiff opposition from Kimo -- and he certainly
could -- does Sapp have the fortitude to stay in the fight? The
contest could come down to a battle of heart rather than brawn.
As Nogueira proved against Sapp last August, sometimes it is
the will to win that proves victorious.
In
spite of the Mike Tyson-esque melodrama at Wednesday’s press
conference, which was supposed to generate interest in these
fighters, but instead came off as staged, this will still be
the fight to see. When these two giants clash at the Bellagio,
the main event to a card also featuring an eight-man tournament,
if all indications are correct (actual and contrived), it should
be like watching Titans collide.
Source: Maxfighting
|
The
Future of PRIDE after the Tremendous Non-Tourney Bouts
By: Mike Sloan
For starters, let me acknowledge my joy as I watched the last
PRIDE event perched at the edge of the couch which sat in my
brother’s apartment. This was seriously one of the best
PRIDEs ever and easily one of the best MMA events in recent memory.
Almost
every fight ended with a spectacular knockout and the fights
that did go the distance were exceptionally exciting in their
own respect. Also, the new commentator, Damon, wasn’t that
bad, either. I’m partial to Quadros and still don’t
understand fully why he was let go, but Damon did a good job.
This
column will only be about the three non-tournament bouts (i.e.:
Fedor/Goodridge, CroCop/Igor and Ricco/Minotauro), so if you’re
waiting for commentary on the Grand Prix’s opening round,
keep waiting.
Let’s
talk about Fedor Emelianenko’s blistering destruction of
Gary Goodridge. When the fight was announced, I was both excited
and alarmed. I was excited because I knew it would end in an
emphatic, fabulous knockout. I was alarmed, however, because
I knew Goodridge stood little chance of taking out Emelianenko.
Not to sound like some stuck up, snot-nosed braggart, but when
the fighters entered the ring, I looked over to my brother and
said, “Fedor will end this fight early in the first round.
There’s no way Goodridge will be able to withstand Fedor’s
onslaught.”
Sure
enough, Fedor leaped all over Gary, landed a crushing left hook
that wobbled ‘Big Daddy’ into the ropes and teed off
until he was on the mat, kicked in the head and pummeled long
enough until the ref mercifully jumped in and stopped the action.
The fight ended quickly, like most probably expected it to, at
just 1:09 of the very first round. It’s not saying a whole
bunch for Fedor’s win because even though Goodridge is a
fantastic fighter with some of the best highlight reel KOs in
MMA history, the dude has lost his fair share of fights. 99%
of the folks expected Fedor to win handily and he did. It appeared
more or less of a showcase for Fedor’s fighting ability
than it was to be a tough contest.
With
his stoppage of Goodridge, the stage was set for Mirko ‘CroCop’
Filipovic to make waves and set up a war so obvious it’s
sickening. Filipovic was pitted against one of the most dangerous
men in MMA history; Igor Vovchanchyn. Igor sports some of the
most powerful strikes in the game and even though he’s looked
sluggish in his last few bouts against the sport’s top guys
(fights that he has lost), many expected him (myself included)
to give CroCop a tougher time than what actually happened.
There
I sat, believing CroCop would win, but I anticipated a sluggers’
duel with both men becoming painfully staggered until CroCop
finished him with a flash of a kick. No, not Guile’s Flash
Kick from Street Fighter II, but a kick so hard and quick, it’s
like a flash.
That
kick did occur, of course, but it happened to land just 1:29
into the very first round. They squared off, tussled and when
Igor backed away, CroCop leveled him with one of the most perfectly
timed and placed high kicks I’ve ever seen. Vovchanchyn
was out before he hit the deck. He fell flat on his back with
a thunderous thud, much like the one Gigli created when it hit
theatres. BAM! That’s it. Fight’s over.
After
the win, CroCop called out Fedor, who was sitting ringside in
observance. Is it just me, or did Emelianenko look a bit nervous
while CroCop called him out? Maybe it is his regular demeanor,
but Fedor didn’t look too fierce at that point in time.
Ah…It’s just me. What am I talking about?
Either
way, it sets up one helluva war! It’ll assuredly take place
in November, snugly nestled on the Total Elimination finals card.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find an MMA fan not dripping over
this one. CroCop vs. Fedor? Come on! It almost doesn’t get
any better than this. Supreme striker (CroCop) vs. supreme striker
(Fedor). Brute strength (Fedor) vs. lightning speed (CroCop).
Guy with an Eastern European accent (Fedor) vs. another guy with
an Eastern European accent (CroCop).
With
both men easily winning in dramatic fashion and so quickly in
their respective matches, this one will be decided on who wants
it more. My early pick is CroCop. I guarantee you that I’ll
change my pick about 438 times before they actually step foot
inside the ring and do battle, though, but I seriously cannot
wait for this one.
Next
up on my platter is the battle of former heavyweight champs.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira scored a victory over Ricco Rodriguez.
Well, at least that’s what the scorecards revealed and that
is what it will go down in history as; a win for Nogueira. The
fight was hella close, don’t get me wrong. You have to score
points for the man who’s trying virtually every submission
in the book. Nogueira attempted chimuras, armbars, triangles,
oma platas. The list goes one and on. He’s being aggressive,
scoring points and trying to end the fight early. But does the
guy who escapes every single submission attempt get any points?!
Ricco, when not escaping submission after submission, was busy
punching away at Nogueira’s body and head. He even scored
a few takedowns here and there. He did more damage than Nogueira
and pressed the action the entire time.
As
you can probably tell by reading this, I whole-heartedly disagree
with the decision. I feel that Ricco won the fight hands down.
I predicted that Nogueira would win the contest, probably by
submission. I thought Ricco would fight well, but I doubted he’d
come close to beating Minotauro. In fact, after witnessing Tim
Sylvia wallop Ricco with one shot, hardly anybody gave Ricco
a chance to beat the once ‘unbeatable’ Nogueira.
Ricco
proved many people wrong and fought a near perfect fight that
coincides with his style. Ricco almost could not have fought
better. At first, I thought the PRIDE judges gave Nogueira the
fight because it was the second UFC vs. PRIDE match of the day
after Chuck Liddell iced Alistair Overeem to capture the early
lead in the organizations’ competition. I figured that since
Chuck had already won, PRIDE couldn’t possibly lose two
fights in the same night on its home turf! ‘No matter what,
give the fight to Nogueira!’ I felt them say.
On
second and third thought, however, it’s hard for me to stomach
such Tom Foolery. Rigged judging only happens in boxing, not
in MMA, right? Now I’m not pointing fingers at PRIDE or
its officials, but I honestly feel that Ricco won the fight.
Maybe after watching it a few times again I may feel differently,
but for now my feet are firmly planted on the side of Ricco getting
robbed.
The
only logical solution is an immediate rematch (yeah, right- wishful
thinking) and this time, have it here on US soil and inside the
trusty Octagon. We’ll see how things unravel then. Who knows?
Maybe Ricco will get his ass handed to him in a rematch. But
if Ricco wins a rematch, why not have the rubber match on neutral
grounds? How about a place like the back room of a local Sav-On
right in front of the cardboard baler?
How
about the winner of Ricco/Nogueira II vs. the winner of Fedor/CroCop?
Source: Sherdog
|
John
Hackleman
News Notes and Quotes
Ärnold “The Sushiboy”Lim
The well respected trainer of “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell,
John “PitMasta” Hackleman was kind enough to shed some
light on the upcoming Pride Grand Prix show in November. The
stacked card will feature the highest talent stock of light heavyweights
in the world in one tournament, and with John Hackleman behind
him, Liddell is looking to be the last one standing.
Hackleman
always has Liddell's back
When
asked about Liddell’s performance against Allistair Overeem
in the first round of the tournament, he is satisfied with the
outcome and firmly believes Liddell’s chances are now very
good. The road will not be easy however; he feels that Liddell
will get the most difficult bracket of the tournament, which
should be against a very dangerous and well trained Quinton Jackson
from “Team Oyama”. Jackson defeated Murilo Bustamante
via split decision to advance to the second round of the tournament
and was originally the favorite to win the tournament outright.
Incidentally, while both were in Japan for the August “Total
Elimination” card, both Jackson and Liddell spent a lot
of time with each other and even ate dinner together on a number
of occasions. It is ironic that they will, in all likelihood,
meet each other in the next round of the tournament.
Hackleman’s
unquestioned confidence in Liddell’s abilities shines through
on more then one occasion, and undoubtedly feels he will be successful
no matter who he faces in the next round of the Pride tournament.
On the subject of Jackson he professes, “Chuck has a hell
of a lot more punching power then Bustamante. I think Chuck has
more savvy standing up and on the ground. I think he can nullify
Quinton’s explosiveness with his experience, and I think
he has more skill over the raw power [of Jackson]."
During
Liddell’s contest with Overeem he acquired a cut on the
scalp, but neither he nor Liddell, know exactly how he got the
cut. World famous cut man Don House was flown over to Japan to
corner him as well as keep a watchful eye on any potential cuts
that Liddell could endure, but in the end all was well, and he
came home with the impressive victory. He did have to get stitches
from John Hackleman after the fight, unknown to many, Hackleman
is a registered nurse as well as a world class fight trainer.
Hackleman put in three stitches into Liddell’s scalp for
the cut, which was not a problem, and things are on track for
Liddell to go to Pride in November to follow up his performance
on August the 10th.
Inevitably
Vanderlei Silva’s name comes up, “I think Silva will
try to dictate the pace of the fight, but I don’t think
that Silva has the chin to stand with Chuck power.” Many
feel that Silva will get the easy road to the finals against
Yoshida, that is, if Yoshida fights in the second round of the
tournament. With Yoshida’s injury, it is unknown at this
time what will take place in the next round, but a Liddell Vs
Silva match-up at some point in the future whether it is in this
tournament or not, seems likely and John is confident in what
Liddell brings to the table. “[Against Silva] Chuck will
be able to counter punch, and he can take 4 of Silva’s blows
to every one of his, he [Silva] won’t be able to hang with
Chuck”. I think it is abundantly clear, very few people
can.
Source: MMA Ring Report
|
Quote
of the Day
"Just when you think you've graduated form the school of
experience, someone thinks up a new course."
Mary H. Waldrip
|
HANSEN
GOT GOMI´S BELT IN SHOOTO!
 
Joachim
Hansen, teammate of the ADCC 2003 98.9 KG champion, John
Olav Einemo, is the new Shooto welterweight champion (70kg)!
To get the belt, the Norwegian defeated Japanese Champion Takanori
Gomi by judge decision, on August 10th at SHOOTO's Yokohama event.
From
the top or bottom, Hansen showed the same agressiveness that
marked all his
previous NHB fights and he proved he deserved the title!
In
the 2nd title to exchange hands this last weekned, Ryota Matsune
defeated the current champion, Masahiro Oishi by judges decision,
gaining Featherweight (60kg) belt.
Alexandre
'Pequeno' Nogueira was the only champion of the three defending
their belts who would keep his title in the Lightweight category
(65kg), getting a draw with american Stephen Palling.
With
a broken toe, Nogueira had a hard time putting Palling away in
the
first two rounds. 'Pequeno' completely dominated the last round,
getting very
close to a submission with his famous guillotine choke. 'Pequeno'
broke a
SHOOTO record, being the only fighter who defended the belt 5
times without a loss.
Nogueira
must face Palling again in a future edition for the belt. The
winner will probably fight sooner or later against João
Roque (Nova União), who ha been steadily climbing to the
top of the ranking, just like his teammate Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro
in the 70kg category.
More
to come from SHOOTO!
Source: ADCC
|
PRIDE
POST FIGHT:
No Excuses From MURILO BUSTAMANTE
Before
his return to Brazil, we had a chance to chat with Murilo Bustamante.
Here are his thoughts on the match with 'RAMPAGE' Jackson at
the PRIDE GP.
Murilo,
give us your thoughts on the fight? The fuel was over before
the car got to the finish line (laughs)! Now, seriously, I am
very disappointed, not with the result itself but with the feeling
I could do better. I tried to do my best and finish the fight
in the 1st round but unfortunately I was not able to do that.
Any
complaints with the decision? Not really. You know, I need to
see the fight before I state something because when you are there
sometimes you just don't remember what you did! So I can't complain.
But
some people came to you after the fight to say they thought you
won?
Yeah but I don't let myself get involved by these emotions. I
know I went there to win and I did my best. The only thing I
know is that he had a run for his money! (laughs)
Do
you think your strategy was not the best? That was not it. I
think the only thing I had 100% was the game plan. The cardio
was not there, the boxing timing was off and the ground game
was not 100% sharp. I went there to fight on the ground and he
accepted that in the beginning but I think he saw it was not
a good idea to allow a ground game with me. I really wanted a
chance to stay on the ground (laughs) but he refused...
Do
you think you lost the game standing? Again, it's hard to judge.
I know that I don't run from the fight. If my opponent don't
fight me on the ground, I don't lay there begging for the chance.
Who won the standup game? I don't know. I landed some good punches
and he landed some good kicks. It's hard to say.
Which
was the most dangerous moment of the fight for you? I think it
was the knee. Man, if it was on my chin, maybe I would have been
sleeping.
And
for him what was the most dangerous moment? The begining of the
1st round. The armbar was close to finishing him but the guillotine
was even closer!! He jumped to the side and there is where I
missed the fence of the UFC.... he would be finished in a cage.
So I think I got closer to finishing the fight than him.
What
do you think of the time to tie the shorts? Would be funny if
was not tragic for me. They need a manual to do it faster....
I was crazy to get back to the fight but his shorts seemed to
be very complicated.
Talk
about fighting for Pride? Well, I think was good overall, I don't
need to explain how in shape or out of shape I was, i just jumped
for the chance. I think I proved I can hang with the big boys.
I liked the feeling of fighting in Pride.
When
we gonna see you in action again? I don't know. Maybe in October
maybe in November, maybe in February....
But
when you wanted to be back? Oh, ASAP heheh!!!
October
you mean the Bushido Pride? Yeah, they have this show and I would
like to try it. I can drop down to 83 if I want so we will see.
There's
a rumour Yoshida may not come back to the 2nd round in November.
Do you think they would use you? Nah, I don't think so. I would
love to, but don't think so. Besides I did not fight him, so
the reasonable choice might be Tamura to replace him. But I am
here if they want me.
Any
other words? I would like to thank the people for all the e-mails
from everywhere. I got a lot of encouragement before the fight.
I had a lot of positive vibrations and support from the fans
and friends. I want to thank my team, I want to thank friends
who wrote me like Ricardo 'Big Dog', and several others that
I don't recall now for the words. And finally I want to thank
Qunton Jackson for stepping up to fight me on short notice. He
is a tough guy and I don't take anything away of him. His arm
was raised so props to him.
What
you still doing in Japan? Our representative here appointed some
promotions for me and i had to stay to do the job.
Source: ADCC
|
IFC
'Global Domination' MatchUp Announcement!
Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado / September 6, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.
The
IFC 'Global Domination' show Sat. Sept 6th at the Pepsi Center
in Denver, CO. has the following two fights as the first two
fight of the 8-man touney:
Light
Heavyweight Tournament:
Eliminator
Fight 1:
Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 205lbs/6’1”
Ruas Vale Tudo Luta Livre / Wrestling vs Trevor Prangley Coeuer
D alene, ID 205lbs / 6’1” Lion’s Den, Submission
Wrestling Light Heavyweight Tournament
Eliminator
Fight 2:
Shogun
Curitiba, Brazil 200lbs / 6’1” Chute Boxe Wa-Jutsu
Keisyu-Kai vs Paulo Filho Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 200lbs / 5’8”
Brazil Top Team Judo / Jiu Jitsu
IFC's
``Global Domination'' World Cage Fighting Championships to Be
Held at the Pepsi Center in Denver on September 6
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 2003--
The
Event Marks the 10th Anniversary of the First Mainstream Mixed
Martial Arts Event in the U.S.; Controversial from Its Inception
-- Now One of the Fastest-Growing Phenomenons in Sports
The
International Fighting Championships (IFC) will hold their Mixed
Martial Arts 10th Anniversary event, 'Global Domination' World
Cage Fighting Championships, at the Pepsi Center in Denver on
September 6 at 7:00 p.m.
The
original event in 1993 at McNichols Arena in Denver, the 'Ultimate
Fighting Championships 1,' initially stirred controversy due
to its 'no holds barred' billing, in which Denver City Council
refused to allow 'Ultimate Fighting Championships 2' to return.
Now Mixed Martial Arts has become one of the fastest-growing
sports worldwide, due to the IFC's introduction of safety rules
and time limits in 1996, and the return event in Denver will
celebrate the success of the sport since its initial debut.
The
'Global Domination' World Cage Fighting Championships will feature
eight of the best light heavyweight fighters in the world, colliding
in a 30-foot steel cage. The eight top light heavyweight contenders,
hailing from around the world, will battle for the IFC World
Light Heavyweight Championship title, recently vacated by former
IFC World Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell. The eight-man
tournament includes Brazilians Renato 'Babalu' Sobral, Mauricio
'Shogun' Rua and Paulo Filho; Russia's Michail Avetisyan; Trevor
Prangley (Coeur D Alene, ID); Jeremy Horn (Davenport, IA); Falaniko
Vitale (Hawaii); and Colorado's Mike Van Arsdale.
The
exploding popularity of the sport has enticed avid top-named
celebrity fans: Chuck Norris, Nicholas Cage, Sylvester Stallone,
Vin Diesel, Drew Carey, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, Steven Seagal,
Dennis Rodman, Mike Tyson, Bruce Willis, Ted Nugent, and Arnold
Schwarzenegger, to name a few.
Founded
in 1996, the IFC is one of the longest-running Mixed Martial
Arts promotion companies worldwide. IFC World Tour events, reaching
millions through its television network around the world, are
also available on DVD/VHS. The IFC's first major video release
joined the WWF and NBA on Billboard's Recreational Sports Video
bestseller chart.
For
updates/rules go to www.ifc-usa.com or www.iska-mma.com. Tickets are on sale
at all Ticketmaster locations, and ticket prices start at $20.00.
Order tickets online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 303-830-8497
or 719-520-9090.
Source: ADCC
|
Black
Belt's Promise a huge show!
3o BLACK BELT CHALLENGE this weekend!
The
third edition of the Black Belt Challenge, the event that pits
the top brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters in matches face to face,
winner gets the money prize, returns on August 21st to Ibirapuera
Gymnasium (The same localtion of ADCC 2003, in São Paulo).
This promises to a huge show.
'The
card is great and we are going to keep the whole 'structure'
developed in last editions', guaranteed Fernando Pontes, known
as Fepa, Black Belt's promoter. The features for edition will
be two superfights that will rock the audience. The brown belt´s
world champion Ronaldo 'Jacaré' will debut as a black
belt fighter facing the tough Délson Pé de Chumbo.
On the other side, Roberto Godói and Jorge Macaco (they
were gym-partners some years ago) will face each other for the
first time, under rivalry mood.
At
this edition, some BJJ world champions will have a chance to
prove they have deserved their gold medals. Two times champion
in the middleweight category, Fernando Tererê will face
the tough fighter from São Paulo Fábio Nascimento.
And the ADCC 2003 revelation Marcelo Garcia will fight Eduardo
Santoro. 'We also gonna know who is the real champion of the
heavyweight category! Fernando Paradeda, who won the II World
Cup will face Jeferson Moura, who has just won the VIII World
Champion', celebrates Fepa. For the first time the Black Belt
tournament will have a female fight. 'The world champion Letícia
Ribeiro will get Simone Ribeira and the winner will l be back
to defend her title it the next edition, probably in January',
says the promoter.
Check
out the full card:
-
Letícia Ribeiro vs Simone Ribeira
-
Bibiano Fernandes vs Roberto Matsumoto
-
Fredson Paixão vs Reynaldo Ribeiro
-
Carlos Eduardo Vieira vs Leonardo Santos
-
Eduardo 'Português' Santoro vs Marcelo Garcia
-
Adriano 'Magrão' Maciel' vs Gabriel Vella
-
Fábio 'Negão' Nascimento vs Fernando Augusto 'Tererê'
-
Fernando Paradeda vs Jeferson Moura
-
Gabriel 'Napão' Gonzaga vs Alexandre Dantas 'Café'
-
Phelippe Lira vs Luis Guilherme 'Guigo'
-
Roberto Godoi vs Jorge 'Macaco' Patino
-
Ronaldo Souza 'Jacaré' vs Delson 'Pé de Chumbo'
Source: ADCC
|
J.G.'s
"PRIDE Middleweight GP" Mailbag
You've
read our takes on Sunday's phenomenal PRIDE Middleweight Grand
Prix (and the three heavyweight fights on the same card), now
it's time to see what the MaxFighting.com readers have to say.
The overwhelming sense from your E-mails was that Ricco Rodriguez
was jobbed, Mirko Filipovic is an unstoppable monster, "Minotauro"
isn't the man to beat him anymore, and Murilo Bustamante still
ranks alongside the finest fighters at any weight. All that and
a little more in the latest installment of J.G.'s Mailbag.
SCREW
JOB NUMBER ONE
Josh,
Ricco got screwed by the judges last night. I like both UFC and
Pride. I have no ties to either org other than buying and enjoying
the PPV shows. That was a pathetic decision. -- Billy Burke,
Billerica, MA
I
hear you (and all the other fans that feel the same way you do).
I want you (and everyone reading this) to do something and then
make a decision on whether or not Ricco was "robbed."
Grab a soda, pop in a tape of the fight, turn on some of your
favorite tunes, turn down the volume on the television and take
a second look at the bout.
I
think the people that are screaming he got robbed will walk away
with an impression that the fight was much closer than they think.
That said, I'm not suggesting Nogueira should have won a unanimous
decision, but I feel the bout was a lot closer than most people
do.
I'd
have no problem if the bout was scored a draw. In the end though,
the right decision would have been Ricco by decision -- but barely.
SCREW
JOB NUMBER TWO
I
watched Total Elimination on PPV and thought it had to be one
of the greatest cards of all time but I do have two questions.
I am not sure if you were there or watched it like I did at home
but I for one could not figure out why it took a Pride official
minutes to retie Quinton Jackson's fight shorts after they came
off. Now I am not one of those internet MMA conspiracy theorists
who thinks it was done to screw Bustamante out of a win but Quinton
was breathing hard after being locked in a guillotine. I honestly
do not think it would have affected him at all but I was wondering
if you were there and saw or knew something the rest of us didn't.
My
other question is in regards to the Ricco Rodriquez and Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira fight. I know Pride has different scoring than
the UFC does. In your opinion, was this the deciding factor and
not letting 2 UFC fighters win in a huge Pride show? Again, there
are all kinds of donut-eating, non-training fools out there crying
fix but I am not so sure. I think Ricco won and I am not even
a Ricco fan, I can't stand the guy to be frank but he controlled
the fight and dished out more punishment from what I saw. Nogueira
tried repeated submission attempt (and I do know that in Pride
rules the fighter that tries to aggressively end a fight is giving
the better scoring) but only 3 or 4 were really even close to
catching Ricco, and then again, Ricco never even tried one. I
also know that there is a 10-kg rule being that if a fighter
is outweighed, that is treated like a handicap of sorts in the
scoring as well but I was not sure if that applied to fighters
that were from the same weight class as opposed to say a fight
like Herring vs. Belfort where one is a heavyweight and the other
a middleweight by Pride standards. Any light or insight you could
share would be appreciated. Please keep up the great work. I
always enjoy your candid take on MMA. -- Jeremy M. Cox
I'm
not sure how pulling up a fighter's trunks twists its way into
a conspiracy theory. First off, Jackson's shorts slipped as he
defended Bustamante's guillotine attempt. It's not like "Rampage"
repeatedly pulled them off to secure a chance to catch his wind.
As for answering why it took PRIDE officials a minute to retie
Jackson's shorts, I have no idea. I bet if you ask Quinton he'll
probably give you an X-Rated answer. I'd suggest something far
less interesting.
There's
no doubt that if Ricco had fought "Minotauro" under
UFC rules -- that means the rules and regulations mandated in
states like Nevada and New Jersey -- that he would have won the
fight. Ricco controlled position and defended several submission
attempts. I think it's a case of judges scoring bouts under different
criteria. As I understand it, PRIDE rules dictate that fights
are judged on a cumulative system as oppose to round by round.
There is no 10-point must system used by most of the other MMA
events in the world.
Factor
number one appears to deal with which fighter makes an effort
to win the fight. Did Ricco, who took down Nogueira, controlled
position and delivered a consistent yet tame version of ground-and-pound
during much of the bout, do that? Or did Nogueira, who repeatedly
looked for submissions from the bottom and forced Rodriguez several
times to counter in defense?
If
attempting fight-finishing maneuvers is basis for judging a winner
in PRIDE, then the argument can be made that "Minotauro"
won. Personally, I thought Ricco should have won a very, very
close decision. A draw would not have been out of the question.
Here's
a suggestion: a rematch of the ex-champs at UFC 45 in November,
though I understand Nogueira could face another ex-title holder,
Josh Barnett, in PRIDE that same month.
WHERE
OH WHERE HAS "MINOTAURO" GONE?
Josh,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira looked a lot slower versus Ricco than
he has over the past two years. Why do you think he looked so
sluggish against Ricco? Can he ever come back to be champion.
I loved the old "Minotauro" when he'd switch those
crazy submissions on guys until they had to tap. Where'd he go?
-- Jeff Hamilton
Ok,
there's no doubt that Nogueira is a wizard on the mat, but maybe
you should point some props in the direction of his opponents
instead of putting everything on the Brazilian's shoulders. Bob
Sapp: Freak of nature. Fedor: smart-bomb dropping machine. Ricco:
270-pound Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who just happens to
be a former UFC heavyweight champion.
So
Nogueira can't whip through those guys like he did Enson Inoue,
Sanae Kikuta, Gary Goodridge or an aging and out-of-it Mark Coleman.
I
think you can make the argument that the beatings he suffered
versus Sapp and Fedor have taken a toll. Nogueira might be slower.
The "Minotauro" mystique has somehow managed to disappear.
Until he faced Fedor, fighters stepped in against him fearing
a loss of a limb. However, after Fedor laid down a beautiful
blueprint there's now a primer on how to beat the guy. The problem
(not for Nogueira, of course) stands that there's no one else
in the world other than Fedor who can drop punches from the guard
that sound like shotgun blasts -- bet they don't feel good either.
Styles
make fights, and unless Nogueira finds a way to consistently
fight from the top position, wins against high-level opposition
will be tougher to come by.
"CRO
COP" SOON TO BE "WORLD COP"?
Did
you see Fedor's face after Cro Cop knocked out Igor Vovchanchyn!
He looked scared. Cro Cop's gonna knock him out and win the belt
in November -- Mike Smith, Austin, TX
Whoa,
now. Hold your horses. Yes, "Cro Cop" is a baaaddd
man (anyone that can make Igor Vovchanchyn pull a Francisco Bueno
isn't someone you can take lightly), but he's lined up to face
the top heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world. Fedor
can -- and will -- put Filipovic on his back. Once that happens
the fight is his to win. Fedor is powerful and quick enough were
"Cro Cop" can't get careless. If he does, he might
get popped, making a takedown all the easier. He has to make
Fedor earn the real estate he's going to need in order to get
inside and escape the danger of the Croatian's brutal kicks.
This is gonna be a hell of a fight.
BRACKETOLOGY
With
Silva, Jackson and Liddell (and Yoshida) moving on to November
how do you see the brackets playing out? Which of these guys
stand out as a favorite to win it all? -- David Allen, Omaha,
Nebraska
My
anticipated November brackets:
Vanderlei
Silva vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
Quinton Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell
It's
a safe bet that Dream Stage Entertainment does not want two Americans
in the GP finals, so Jackson and Liddell would have to face each
other. Also, they'll want Liddell to tow the toughest road --
which means he'll need to face Jackson and Silva. Meanwhile,
the PRIDE champion gets what should be considered a pass into
the finals and would most likely step in against a weathered
opponent.
Coming
into Sunday's event, I tabbed Jackson as the favorite. But I
can't ignore the fact that Silva will have a walk in the park
in the semis compared to the Jackson-Liddell winner. A fresh
Silva versus a worn Jackson or Liddell makes him the automatic
favorite.
BUSTA'MOVE
STILL NUMERO UNO
Even
though he lost, where would you put Murilo Bustamante in the
P4P rankings? -- No Name Given
Five
days notice, 15-pound disadvantage, not training for a fight:
Tall order.
Murilo
Bustamante: Priceless.
Busta
is the most dangerous all-around fighter in mixed martial arts.
As MaxFighting.com columnist Jason Probst aptly described what
makes Bustamante so great saying that when Murilo fights on the
feet you forget he's a BJJ guy. When he's grappling on the mat,
you forget he can box. The guy does everything so well it's scary.
There's
not a 185-pounder in the world that could give Bustamante a run
for his money -- though I'd love Dan Henderson give it a try.
That's a dream fight. The same would have been said for Kazushi
Sakuraba-Busta, but it really is time for Saku to contemplate
retirement. And if there's some way for Murilo to come down to
185 and Matt Hughes to meet him there, that might excite one
or two people, too.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
J.G.'s
"PRIDE Middleweight GP" Mailbag
You've
read our takes on Sunday's phenomenal PRIDE Middleweight Grand
Prix (and the three heavyweight fights on the same card), now
it's time to see what the MaxFighting.com readers have to say.
The overwhelming sense from your E-mails was that Ricco Rodriguez
was jobbed, Mirko Filipovic is an unstoppable monster, "Minotauro"
isn't the man to beat him anymore, and Murilo Bustamante still
ranks alongside the finest fighters at any weight. All that and
a little more in the latest installment of J.G.'s Mailbag.
SCREW
JOB NUMBER ONE
Josh,
Ricco got screwed by the judges last night. I like both UFC and
Pride. I have no ties to either org other than buying and enjoying
the PPV shows. That was a pathetic decision. -- Billy Burke,
Billerica, MA
I
hear you (and all the other fans that feel the same way you do).
I want you (and everyone reading this) to do something and then
make a decision on whether or not Ricco was "robbed."
Grab a soda, pop in a tape of the fight, turn on some of your
favorite tunes, turn down the volume on the television and take
a second look at the bout.
I
think the people that are screaming he got robbed will walk away
with an impression that the fight was much closer than they think.
That said, I'm not suggesting Nogueira should have won a unanimous
decision, but I feel the bout was a lot closer than most people
do.
I'd
have no problem if the bout was scored a draw. In the end though,
the right decision would have been Ricco by decision -- but barely.
SCREW
JOB NUMBER TWO
I
watched Total Elimination on PPV and thought it had to be one
of the greatest cards of all time but I do have two questions.
I am not sure if you were there or watched it like I did at home
but I for one could not figure out why it took a Pride official
minutes to retie Quinton Jackson's fight shorts after they came
off. Now I am not one of those internet MMA conspiracy theorists
who thinks it was done to screw Bustamante out of a win but Quinton
was breathing hard after being locked in a guillotine. I honestly
do not think it would have affected him at all but I was wondering
if you were there and saw or knew something the rest of us didn't.
My
other question is in regards to the Ricco Rodriquez and Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira fight. I know Pride has different scoring than
the UFC does. In your opinion, was this the deciding factor and
not letting 2 UFC fighters win in a huge Pride show? Again, there
are all kinds of donut-eating, non-training fools out there crying
fix but I am not so sure. I think Ricco won and I am not even
a Ricco fan, I can't stand the guy to be frank but he controlled
the fight and dished out more punishment from what I saw. Nogueira
tried repeated submission attempt (and I do know that in Pride
rules the fighter that tries to aggressively end a fight is giving
the better scoring) but only 3 or 4 were really even close to
catching Ricco, and then again, Ricco never even tried one. I
also know that there is a 10-kg rule being that if a fighter
is outweighed, that is treated like a handicap of sorts in the
scoring as well but I was not sure if that applied to fighters
that were from the same weight class as opposed to say a fight
like Herring vs. Belfort where one is a heavyweight and the other
a middleweight by Pride standards. Any light or insight you could
share would be appreciated. Please keep up the great work. I
always enjoy your candid take on MMA. -- Jeremy M. Cox
I'm
not sure how pulling up a fighter's trunks twists its way into
a conspiracy theory. First off, Jackson's shorts slipped as he
defended Bustamante's guillotine attempt. It's not like "Rampage"
repeatedly pulled them off to secure a chance to catch his wind.
As for answering why it took PRIDE officials a minute to retie
Jackson's shorts, I have no idea. I bet if you ask Quinton he'll
probably give you an X-Rated answer. I'd suggest something far
less interesting.
There's
no doubt that if Ricco had fought "Minotauro" under
UFC rules -- that means the rules and regulations mandated in
states like Nevada and New Jersey -- that he would have won the
fight. Ricco controlled position and defended several submission
attempts. I think it's a case of judges scoring bouts under different
criteria. As I understand it, PRIDE rules dictate that fights
are judged on a cumulative system as oppose to round by round.
There is no 10-point must system used by most of the other MMA
events in the world.
Factor
number one appears to deal with which fighter makes an effort
to win the fight. Did Ricco, who took down Nogueira, controlled
position and delivered a consistent yet tame version of ground-and-pound
during much of the bout, do that? Or did Nogueira, who repeatedly
looked for submissions from the bottom and forced Rodriguez several
times to counter in defense?
If
attempting fight-finishing maneuvers is basis for judging a winner
in PRIDE, then the argument can be made that "Minotauro"
won. Personally, I thought Ricco should have won a very, very
close decision. A draw would not have been out of the question.
Here's
a suggestion: a rematch of the ex-champs at UFC 45 in November,
though I understand Nogueira could face another ex-title holder,
Josh Barnett, in PRIDE that same month.
WHERE
OH WHERE HAS "MINOTAURO" GONE?
Josh,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira looked a lot slower versus Ricco than
he has over the past two years. Why do you think he looked so
sluggish against Ricco? Can he ever come back to be champion.
I loved the old "Minotauro" when he'd switch those
crazy submissions on guys until they had to tap. Where'd he go?
-- Jeff Hamilton
Ok,
there's no doubt that Nogueira is a wizard on the mat, but maybe
you should point some props in the direction of his opponents
instead of putting everything on the Brazilian's shoulders. Bob
Sapp: Freak of nature. Fedor: smart-bomb dropping machine. Ricco:
270-pound Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who just happens to
be a former UFC heavyweight champion.
So
Nogueira can't whip through those guys like he did Enson Inoue,
Sanae Kikuta, Gary Goodridge or an aging and out-of-it Mark Coleman.
I
think you can make the argument that the beatings he suffered
versus Sapp and Fedor have taken a toll. Nogueira might be slower.
The "Minotauro" mystique has somehow managed to disappear.
Until he faced Fedor, fighters stepped in against him fearing
a loss of a limb. However, after Fedor laid down a beautiful
blueprint there's now a primer on how to beat the guy. The problem
(not for Nogueira, of course) stands that there's no one else
in the world other than Fedor who can drop punches from the guard
that sound like shotgun blasts -- bet they don't feel good either.
Styles
make fights, and unless Nogueira finds a way to consistently
fight from the top position, wins against high-level opposition
will be tougher to come by.
"CRO
COP" SOON TO BE "WORLD COP"?
Did
you see Fedor's face after Cro Cop knocked out Igor Vovchanchyn!
He looked scared. Cro Cop's gonna knock him out and win the belt
in November -- Mike Smith, Austin, TX
Whoa,
now. Hold your horses. Yes, "Cro Cop" is a baaaddd
man (anyone that can make Igor Vovchanchyn pull a Francisco Bueno
isn't someone you can take lightly), but he's lined up to face
the top heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world. Fedor
can -- and will -- put Filipovic on his back. Once that happens
the fight is his to win. Fedor is powerful and quick enough were
"Cro Cop" can't get careless. If he does, he might
get popped, making a takedown all the easier. He has to make
Fedor earn the real estate he's going to need in order to get
inside and escape the danger of the Croatian's brutal kicks.
This is gonna be a hell of a fight.
BRACKETOLOGY
With
Silva, Jackson and Liddell (and Yoshida) moving on to November
how do you see the brackets playing out? Which of these guys
stand out as a favorite to win it all? -- David Allen, Omaha,
Nebraska
My
anticipated November brackets:
Vanderlei
Silva vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
Quinton Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell
It's
a safe bet that Dream Stage Entertainment does not want two Americans
in the GP finals, so Jackson and Liddell would have to face each
other. Also, they'll want Liddell to tow the toughest road --
which means he'll need to face Jackson and Silva. Meanwhile,
the PRIDE champion gets what should be considered a pass into
the finals and would most likely step in against a weathered
opponent.
Coming
into Sunday's event, I tabbed Jackson as the favorite. But I
can't ignore the fact that Silva will have a walk in the park
in the semis compared to the Jackson-Liddell winner. A fresh
Silva versus a worn Jackson or Liddell makes him the automatic
favorite.
BUSTA'MOVE
STILL NUMERO UNO
Even
though he lost, where would you put Murilo Bustamante in the
P4P rankings? -- No Name Given
Five
days notice, 15-pound disadvantage, not training for a fight:
Tall order.
Murilo
Bustamante: Priceless.
Busta
is the most dangerous all-around fighter in mixed martial arts.
As MaxFighting.com columnist Jason Probst aptly described what
makes Bustamante so great saying that when Murilo fights on the
feet you forget he's a BJJ guy. When he's grappling on the mat,
you forget he can box. The guy does everything so well it's scary.
There's
not a 185-pounder in the world that could give Bustamante a run
for his money -- though I'd love Dan Henderson give it a try.
That's a dream fight. The same would have been said for Kazushi
Sakuraba-Busta, but it really is time for Saku to contemplate
retirement. And if there's some way for Murilo to come down to
185 and Matt Hughes to meet him there, that might excite one
or two people, too.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
The
2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in Madison Square
Garden in New York City is exactly one month away!!
By: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
It
is exactly one month from the opening whistle of the 2003 World
Championships of Freestyle Wrestling, which will be held in Madison
Square Garden in New York City, September 12-14.
The
tournament will feature the world*s best men and women freestyle
wrestlers, competing in the world*s most famous sports arena,
Madison Square Garden. The World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling
is also a qualifying event for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Women*s wrestling will be contested in the Olympics for the first
time ever in Athens.
The
world*s best wrestlers have begun their final training preparations
for the competition, getting ready for the opportunity to win
World titles and medals in seven weight classes for men and seven
weight classes for women. The defending World Freestyle Team
Champions are Japan in women*s wrestling and Iran in men*s wrestling.
At
this time, based upon registration materials provided by each
national federation, there are 305 men freestyle wrestlers and
174 women freestyle wrestlers expected to compete at the World
Championships of Freestyle Wrestling.
These
479 athletes represent 71 nations: Albania, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada,
China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia,
Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guam,
Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,
Lithuania, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia,
Morocco, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru,
Phillippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal,
Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Chinese Taipei,
Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United
States, Uzbekistan.
The
teams for the United States have been determined, and the coaching
staffs are preparing for the final training camps. The U.S. freestyle
teams are coming off a tremendous performance at the Pan American
Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where they both won
the unofficial team titles. The women*s freestyle team swept
all four individual gold medals available, and the men*s freestyle
team won four gold medals and seven medals total.
The
New York community is also getting ready to host the championships,
with final planning underway for all aspects of the event presentation.
The Metropolitan Wrestling Association is among the leaders of
the local organizers for the event. The tournament is expected
to be a huge success, with special credit to the volunteers from
the region who have worked very hard to prepare for the competition.
'We
are honored to have the world's best freestyle wrestlers coming
to New York for these championships,' said Ken Podziba, Commissioner
of the New York City Sports Commission. 'With New York's large
ethnic diversity, we are confident that the World Championships
of Freestyle Wrestling will stir national passions and demonstrate
why New York is such an
extraordinary home for great international sports competitions.'
New
York's Korean and Russian communities, as examples, are full
of enthusiastic sports fans that will come out to support wrestlers
from their national teams, which have already named rosters for
these Championships. 'This event will show that New York is truly
the World's Second Home(tm), ' he continued.
Fans
who wish to purchase reserved seats must act soon, as they are
expected to be all sold prior to the first day of the competition.
Premier seats remain available throughout the arena for the event,
but fans should order them right away. Call today to order tickets
at 1-877-NYC-2003.
*The
30-day countdown has begun, as the organizing committee prepares
from what will be the greatest World Championships ever conducted,*
said Mark Scott, competition director for the 2003 World Championships
of Freestyle Wrestling. *The organizing committee is excited
about the brisk ticket sales, and anticipates a total sellout
of the championship finals. USA Wrestling is pleased to host
the world*s wrestling federations in this important Olympic qualifying
event. Fans will witness the most exciting wrestling action on
earth. It will be a tremendous event.*
Fans
who have not yet booked hotels still have a limited time frame
to get them through the organizers at the special event rate.
A variety of hotel options are available. To see the list of
hotel options, visit the World Championships web page at www.nyc2012.com/wrestlingworlds. Handling hotel accommodations
for the event is Total Travel Management at 516-222-9229 or via
e-mail at ttmny@ix.netcom.com.
Media
interest worldwide for this event has been strong, with over
250 media accreditation forms already received. There is still
time for journalists to apply for credentials, as well as available
space for these journalists to be accommodated at the competition.
The deadline for media accreditation is 25 August. For information,
contact Press Chief Gary Abbott at 719-598-8181, ext. 641 or
via e-mail at gabbott@usawrestling.org
Just
one month to go! Make plans to attend the World Championships
of Freestyle Wrestling today.
Source: ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when nobody
else will."
Sugar Ray Robinson
|
Congrats
to Wes and Gina!
One of our best friends Wes and Gina Nakahodo were just blessed
with the birth of their first child, a large 8 lb. 4.5 oz baby
boy. Their son's name is Luke Yutaka Nakahodo and was born at
11:45 pm on August 11, 2003. Mother and baby are doing well.
Since Lisa and I are about 5 weeks away from our child, we got
some tips from the Nakahodos. Wes told me, "Bring food.
They don't feed you here!" I'll take that one to heart.
I just hope that they have ice cream in the vending machines.
Also,
while we were there, we saw that Shane "Bam Bam" Cabiles
and his better half gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on the
same day that Wes and Gina did.
Congratulations
to the two couples!
Mike
|
GOMI
AND EDWARDS UPSET IN JAPAN
First
fight: Daiji Takahashi vs. Masatoshi Abe
Abe won by decision. Abe was hit by a low blow. The fight stopped
for three minutes because of the lowblow. After a vicious exchange
of blows the round ends. The decision goes to Abe.
Fight
2: Hiroaki Yoshioka v. Akia...Yoshioka loses in second round
by choke out.
3rd
fight: Yves Edwards loses a controversial decision to Tatsuya
Kawajiri. - Yves landed some strikes early but lost because his
opponent held him down for the entire fight. In a surprising
move, the referee wouldn't break it up when there was stalling.
Wasn't a pretty fight, but it sounds like it was effective enough
to win. Still not a good decision by MMAWeekly's Scott Petersen
who attended the fights.
Fight
4: Jake Shields defeats Akira Kikuchi. - This fight saw lots
of groundwork and Shields gets the win by decision in a tough
fight.
Fight
5 - Nogueira v. Palling - In the first and second rounds Palling
put on a boxing clinic. The last round went to the ground, most
exciting fight of the night so far. One judge: Nogueira, one
judge: Palling, one judge: draw, the fight ends in a draw and
Nogueira retains the belt.
Final
fight:- Champion Takanori Gomi v. Joachim Hansen - Incredible
action, standing up a lot of action, on the mat, a lot of action.
At one point on the mat Hansen had Gomi in a head lock, but Gomi
escaped. At another point Hansen was kicking Gomi in the face
while Hansen was lying on his back.
Hansen
wins by split decision
One judge: draw
two judges: Hansen
NEW
CHAMPION: JOACHIM HANSEN
Source: MMA Weekly
|
It's
Showtime:
Pride's Spectacle of 2003 a TV Oddity
Fighters
can do one thing when the spotlight is on, when new eyes are
turned towards them, and when money, reputations, and careers
are on the line.
Freeze.
Or fight.
In
September 2001's UFC 33, they froze, deer-in-headlights style.
In Pride's first real foray onto mainstream Pay-Per-View (a week-delayed
June effort was underwhelming and underpromoted), they fought.
Hard.
June
10's Pride: Total Elimination 2003 was nothing short of a success
considering the intensity of the athletes and the ramifications
involved. As a TV production, it was certainly curious.
The
ever-revered pre-game show, now a hallmark of any PPV event trying
to entice channel-flippers or fence-sitting prospectives, covered
solid ground with new producer Jerry Millen offering an explanation
of the event. More interestingly, the time was used to tell the
stories behind the matches: Chuck Liddell was the UFC infidel,
come to claim respect on foreign soil after a rough outing back
home; Quinton Jackson was the brash-talking American, quipping
his way into a definable personality; Kazushi Sakuraba and Vanderlei
Silva had their history retold; and Pride's identity of "no
rules" was played up to hard rock and smashing highlights.
Gone
was Stephen Quadros, a staple of every American Pride package
since their first (re-dubbed) event. In his place was Damon Perry,
who certainly acquitted himself well on camera, although seemed
to be reigning in a morning radio personality. Remaining in place
as the mischeivious colorman was Bas Rutten. Set in a milieu
of heavy drinking, the two cut interstitials featuring explanations
of impending bouts. While this was used to equally embarrassing
effect in "Ultimate Tank Abbott," at least these two
weren't actually getting smashed. While the UFC's current tact
is to play up a sporting angle, Pride is clearly speeding in
the opposite direction.
Things
got off to a fairly predictable start when Fedor Emelianenko
pounded Gary Goodridge into oblivion in a fight seemingly engineered
for a brutal end. For casual fans, it was certainly a jolt to
the adrenals.
Again,
much was made of Liddell's brash entrance into Pride, and Dana
White was featured prominently in a role somewhat lifted from
pro wrestling and its conspiratorial managers. Sitting ringside,
he maintained composure as Liddell was getting bullied by the
knees of Alistair Overeem, only to come back for the KO victory.
At one point, White had challenged Pride's management to a $250,000
wager with Liddell taking on Vanderlei Silva. During the broadcast,
that seemed to morph into being predicated on Liddell winning
the entire tournament - with DSE apparently accepting. Whatever
the case, a newly energized Liddell seems ready for the November
decisions.
In
what was the most intriguing fight on the card, Quinton Jackson
and Murilo Bustamante displayed twenty minutes of athleticism
and courage under fire. Bustamante nearly locked in two submissions,
but his size - or lack thereof - proved to be his undoing, as
Jackson easily pounded his way to a points victory. The loss
was hardly rough on Bustamante, who can only be commended for
the short notice on which he took the bout.
Rumors
swirled of Ricco Rodriguez being out of shape and simply looking
for a paycheck, and though he was a robust two-hundred sixty-three
pounds, he had little trouble controlling Antonio Nogueira for
what should've been a fair decision win. Laughably, but predictably,
Pride judges saw differently, leaving an aghast Rodriguez and
his corner to be satisfied with the support of the fan majority.
Now more than ever, Liddell and White certainly realize that
going inside the distance is their only shot at a belt.
Mirko
Filipovic proved to be frightening against Igor Vovchanchin,
laying him out cold with a high kick that should finally persuade
Vovchanchin to consider a drop to light heavyweight. At this
point, Filipovic taking on Fedor for the title seems inevitable.
(And again, a little thing like taping Filipovic playing cards
pre-fight serves to personify this total stranger to fresh eyes.)
Will
it ever end? Perpetual question mark Hidehiko Yoshida ate some
low kicks and a few punches for the first time in his MMA career
against Kiyoshi Tamura, whom he eventually snagged into a Gi
choke. The work/shoot rumors will continue indefinitely. My opinion?
Tamura sobbing in the fetal position while Yoshida grimaced in
pain at his damaged knee post-fight is acting good enough for
daytime television. Would it shock anyone if the injury will
preclude him from participating in the November finals?
But
who could replace him? I wonder if the wholly unnecessary footage
of Renzo Gracie complaining about not gaining admittance into
the tournament could be some foreshadowing.
Nah.
Finally,
Kazushi Sakuraba proved himself to be far too stubborn for his
own good, getting yet a third taste of Vanderlei Silva's power.
Again, for those in the cheap seats: Sakuraba is, on his best
day, a 185 lb. fighter. Here, the far heavier Silva looked bored,
simply waiting for the right time to collapse his face once again.
The pointlessness of the bout is certainly proof that the cultural
divide is alive and well.
While
the fights were predictable, hey, so are Harrison Ford movies.
Sometimes the journey's the thing. Pride gets major kudos for
devoting large portions of their broadcast time for personifying
the fighters and identifying reasons for the bouts. That storytelling
is integral to the growth of the sport and maintaining the interest
of new fans. Perry and Rutten work well together, and despite
some production gaffes - such as a "Chack Lidall" legend
plastered on the screen - this was certainly as entertaining
as real fighting gets.
Whether
US fans warm up to anything not slapped with a UFC logo, and
with such Japanese-heavy content, remains to be seen.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Pride
Hangover
It’s
kind of like the day after Christmas.
The
gifts have all been opened. There’s wrapping paper strewn
everywhere. Bows and ribbons cover the carpet. Uncle Ralph, tanked
from too much eggnog, has chosen to camp on the couch rather
than go home.
The
disorder of the next day is a disturbing reminder that the anticipation
is over. The fights have come and gone.
Here’s
to the days before, when you awaited an exchange between Igor
Vovchanchyn and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic like it was
a mysterious gift from a generous grandfather. Sure you had an
idea what was in the box, but you were never certain.
What
could it be? PlayStation maybe?
Try
a steel beam wrapped around Igor’s neck.
Watching
Cro Cop’s brutally quick head kick made for eerie spectating.
After witnessing Igor fold foes like sheets of paper and transform
others into zombies through the years, it was odd seeing him
dropped in similar fashion.
But
back to Christmas.
You
knew what was in the package labeled Fedor vs. Goodridge. You
just didn’t expect it so abruptly.
Fedor
should have been a little gun-shy after Fujita coldcocked him
in June. He should have hesitated, he should have looked a little
awkward, or he should have at least avoided at all costs exchanges
on the feet with his heavy-hitting opponent.
He
should have looked human.
He
should not have ignored your advice to immediately ground-and-pound
Goodridge. He should not have come out swinging and never slowed
until he had put a terrible ass-whoopin’ on a tough opponent.
You
didn’t ask for Yoshida-Tamura, but it was under the tree.
(And you wonder if it was bought broken because a few of your
friends are saying it was fixed. You don’t really care,
though, because you get the impression it wasn’t made for
you anyway.)
Then
there’s the present that delivered much more trouble than
fun: Nogueira-Rodriguez. Batteries weren’t included. A piece
was broken, a piece was missing.
Rodriguez’s
sub defense was excellent, but his offense from the top was nullified
by Nogueira’s activity on the bottom. In the end the fight
was nowhere near a decisive finish. Nogueira’s submissions
were never close -- save a kimura he sank in deep during the
third round -- and Rodriguez mounted minimal damage within his
opponent’s guard.
You’d
take the fight back if you had a receipt. Not worth the hassle.
To
think you almost forgot the stocking stuffers: Jackson-Bustamante
and Liddell-Overeem.
You
had expected Jackson-Arona, but you got a much better fight when
Bustamante stepped up. “Rampage” looked ready to run
the table in November. At the same time, it’s scary to remember
that Bustamante is a middleweight -- and a top light heavyweight.
Overeem’s
knees had to have hurt Liddell early. They stabbed into his abdomen
like daggers and forced “The Iceman” to uncharacteristically
move the fight to the ground. He didn’t back down when the
brawl went back to the feet, though. Like a veteran, he kept
swinging until he connected.
But
back to Christmas and the final gift.
It
sat in front of you, alone, standing gloriously above a heap
of wrapping paper. You knew what you asked for and you knew it
was too much. But your fingers were crossed.
It
could happen.
You
began with the bow then slowly peeled off the Santa Claus-clad
paper. Your heart pounded at a merciless pace as you prayed it
would be inside, as you hoped Sakuraba pulled off a miracle.
Then
the contents were revealed: No surprise. Tragic disappointment
again this year.
You
should have known better than getting your hopes up. Silva’s
an animal, and he won’t go down easy in November.
Ah
… November and the conclusion of the Grand Prix. It’s
the reason you’ll endure cleaning up the paper, taking down
the tree and moving Ralph off the couch and into his station
wagon. It’s cause to carry on through the drudgery of the
days after.
In
November, Christmas will come again.
Source: Maxfighting
|
DANA
WHITE TALKS ABOUT PRIDE GRAND PRIX
MMAWeekly's Ivan Trembow spoke with UFC president Dana White
shortly after the Pride Grand Prix event took place in Japan.
Here are the exclusive first comments on the event from Dana
White, including his thoughts on the controversial judges' decision
in the Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight.
Ivan
Trembow: What are your thoughts on Chuck Liddell's fight with
Alistair Overeem?
Dana
White: It was an awesome fight. They went at it. They were banging
right from the bell, right from the get-go.
Ivan:
Do you think it's especially gratifying for Chuck to win the
fight with a knock-out instead of any other method of victory,
since so many people including me thought that he shouldn't try
to stand with Overeem?
Dana:
Yeah, I do. Believe me, Chuck Liddell is the real deal. I've
always said that, and I've always believed in him... and it doesn't
take anything away from Randy Couture's victory, but I think
Chuck took him very lightly. Liddell came out against Overeem
like I knew he would, and he fought the way I knew he would.
He trained hard, and he got serious for this fight. As soon as
the fight was over, they give you those Pride trophies... Chuck
walked over to me and handed me the trophy and said, "I'll
give you the other half in November."
Ivan:
What about the Rodriguez/Nogueira fight?
Dana:
I think the big story after this event airs in the US is going
to be that Ricco Rodriguez got robbed. Ricco Rodriguez beat the
crap out of Nogueira, and they gave the fight to Nogueira. I
think that's what people are going to be talking about after
this show more than anything else.
Ivan:
Do you think the same thing would have happened to Liddell, like
he had to knock out Overeem or finish the fight before it went
to the judges?
Dana:
Yeah, I think he had to. When we're here, especially under the
circumstances, we need to win the fights before it goes to the
judges. I think Ricco decisively won the fight. I think Ricco
did everything but knock him out... it was pretty crazy. I was
on the phone with Lorenzo (Fertitta, co-owner of the UFC), because
Lorenzo is in Italy right now, and I said to Lorenzo, "We
got it; we went 2-0 tonight. There's one minute left in this
fight. Unless Ricco gets submitted in the last minute, we've
got this fight." And I also said to him, "But let's
not forget the judges' decision." And sure enough, we went
up there and I walked up to the ring apron and I told Ricco,
"You won the fight, but get ready for the judges' decision.
I bet they're going to make it a loss for you by judges' decision,"
and sure enough that's what happened.
Ivan:
What was his reaction after the decision was announced?
Dana:
Oh, he was devastated. Ricco was devastated.
Ivan:
Was it more like a lot of anger, or sadness, or what?
Dana:
Depressed. He was totally depressed. So you know, on his record
he just lost two in a row, but the reality is that he just beat
one of the best heavyweights in the world. It's tough, man. It's
tough when you train as hard as these guys do, and step up to
the plate and fight... to lose that way is terrible. It just
sucks.
Ivan:
Is this fight going to be regarded by the UFC for matchmaking
purposes and title purposes just as it would be if Ricco had
officially won the fight?
Dana:
Yeah As far as UFC matchmaking goes, Ricco Rodriguez is going
to be fighting like he beat Nogueira, and he did. He did beat
Nogueira. I don't look at the loss to Nogueira as a loss at all.
I see it as a win. I was excited and happy about the fight after
it happened. Even after they gave the decision to Nogueira, I
swear to God that it did not affect me one bit.
Ivan:
Is that because you expected it before it was announced?
Dana:
Exactly. As far as I'm concerned, Ricco Rodriguez won that fight.
Ivan:
Is this something that could affect Ricco mentally for a long
time given the circumstances of losing a fight that way?
Dana:
Absolutely not. I sat down and talked to Ricco after the fight,
and as long as he knows that the UFC thinks he won, I think he's
cool with that. I think the rest of the world is going to know
Ricco won the fight, too, when they watch it. Practically everybody
in that stadium was a Nogueira fan, and not one person clapped
when they raised his hand at the end of the fight. They don't
boo in Japan like they do in most other countries, but they just
don't clap the way they normally would. He got beat. I had people...
and I won't say any names, but people from Nogueira's own team
saying he lost.
Ivan:
Did Nogueira seem surprised to get the decision, and how did
he act after the decision was announced?
Dana:
He did seem surprised, and Nogueira was also very humble about
it, and very respectful, and everything else. Nogueira was great
about it, and so was his entire team. I think they were very
classy about it and showed very good sportsmanship. Nogueira
didn't do anything wrong; he just went in there and fought. It's
the judges that you have to question.
Ivan:
Have you gotten a chance yet to talk with Mr. Sakakibara or anyone
else at Pride about the judges' decision in the Nogueira fight,
or is Pride's judging policy something that you think is going
to kind of just be understood and not really brought up in conversation?
Dana:
It wasn't Mr. Sakakibara, but another Pride executive told me
that Ricco was defensive and not offensive. They said he fought
defensively and not offensively. I just kept laughing and I said,
"Okay, okay." You know, I wasn't going to argue with
them about it. I expected it. I expected that going in, and I
wasn't shocked Ricco was in the locker room afterwards going
crazy and I said, "Ricco, are you seriously surprised? Is
this really shocking to you? I told you, I told you that you
would have to finish him or they wouldn't give you the decision."
And I was taking nothing away from his performance. I said, "You
fought a great fight. You implemented your gameplan and you stuck
with it." You know, he got out of a couple of great submissions,
and he just fought an awesome fight. I said to him, "You
can't let anybody take this fight away from you, man. You just
have to know that you won this fight. I know you did, and the
rest of the world is going to know that you did, too. That's
all that matters."
Ivan:
So what's next for Ricco in the UFC? Maybe a fight with Frank
Mir or Pedro Rizzo?
Dana:
Either of those fights could happen. You know, Ricco lost his
title and hadn't fought since he lost, so Ricco was already in
a position where he hadn't fallen that far. He just lost his
title, and a guy who just lost his title is very much still in
the mix. So he was already in that position, and I give him big
credit for stepping up and taking the fight against Nogueira.
He stepped up, took the fight on short notice, and beat Nogueira,
who is one of the top heavyweights in the world.
Ivan:
I guess it's pretty safe to say that Ricco isn't going to want
to fight in Pride in the future now that this has happened, right?
Dana:
Yeah, I don't think Ricco is going to be too excited about fighting
in Pride anytime soon. I don't see that happening again anytime
soon.
Ivan:
Do you think this will kind of put a damper on things to have
it right out in the open that this kind of thing can happen anytime
a UFC fighter goes to a decision in Pride?
Dana:
Well, in Ricco's case, I would have to talk to Ricco about it,
but I would bring him back for a rematch against Nogueira if
he wanted it. I mean, he completely dominated Nogueira. He completely
dominated him.
Ivan:
Will the decision in the Rodriguez-Nogueira affect the possibility
of other UFC fighters being in Pride, since the UFC fighters
are pretty much going to have to finish the fight or lose by
decision? Does it change anything now that you know that?
Dana:
Well, I knew that anyway. But the bottom line is also that if
you're going to step up to the plate and you're going to come
over to another person's show and you're going to challenge them
like the UFC has, you have to come over here and you have to
win, man. You have to win and you have to win decisively. Ricco
did, but you have to stop guys. And in the tournament, Chuck
is fighting the toughest guys in the world at that weight class,
and he needs to stop every guy because he's not going to pull
out a decision.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
BOB
SAPP ON THE TONIGHT SHOW
Bob
Sapp made a good impression with the studio audience and hopefully
the national TV audience with his appearance Monday night on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Sapp was introduced by Leno as
"kickboxing superstar Bob Sapp." Sapp was his usual
likable self and quickly won over the initially apathetic crowd
with his joke about playing the "ass-back" position
in the NFL, where the coach tells you to "sit your ass back
down" when you try to get up and play in an actual game.
He
went through the story of his life from that point on, with all
of the money that he made in the NFL being lost because his financial
advisor was a criminal who stole it from him, then training to
wrestle in WCW only to have WCW go out of business right before
he was scheduled to be called up to the main roster.
Bob
Sapp then talked about how he fought William "The Refridgerator"
Perry in a Toughman Contest and shortly thereafter received a
phone call from K-1 representatives saying that a limo would
be there to pick him up the next morning and take him to the
airport so that he could talk to K-1 executives.
Sapp
said, "The next thing I knew, I was fighting in K-1."
When Jay Leno asked Sapp to explain to the people at home what
K-1 is, Sapp said that it's "kickboxing for lack of a better
term." Unfortunately, the story of Sapp's career was almost
cut off at this point, as Leno only briefly touched on the fact
that Sapp went from "fighting in K-1" to "fighting
in K-1 and being one of the biggest celebrities of any kind in
Japan."
Bob
Sapp's huge success as a celebrity figure in Japan was never
touched on by Leno, and instead Sapp had to make the attempt
to explain it himself in the last couple minutes of the interview.
Sapp said that he can't walk down the streets of Japan without
being mobbed by hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, which
is completely true, but the crowd didn't seem to buy it because
Leno wasn't backing him up by saying anything like, "Yeah,
I've heard you're one of the biggest celebrities in Japan."
Sapp
read off the usual list of statistics such as, "I've done
over 20 commercials, over a thousand interviews, a bunch of professional
wrestling matches, over ten real fights, had four books written
about me, had tons of merchandise branded with my name and likeness,
and released my own rap CD." The crowd definitely liked
Sapp, but at no point was the magnitude of his popularity in
Japan ever properly conveyed.
At
one point, Jay Leno had Bob Sapp crush an apple with his hand.
Leno asked about Sapp being so much more popular in Japan than
he is in the US, and Sapp said that he's making his US fighting
debut on Friday at a K-1 event in Las Vegas. The name of Sapp's
opponent (Kimo) was never brought up or mentioned, but it was
probably never supposed to be given the fact that the commercial
for the K-1 pay-per-view doesn't have Kimo's name in it, either.
One
of the funniest moments in the interview took place when Bob
Sapp went into the proverbial "Beast Mode" with the
deep voice and threats of violence against Jay Leno. The studio
audience seemed to react to this initially as if it was more
weird than anything else, until Sapp turned to previous guest
Ben Affleck (who was sitting right next to him) and proceeded
jokingly grab Affleck by the throat and make a comment about
Affleck's complete bomb of a movie, "Gigli."
Before
Sapp's hands were even around Affleck's neck, Affleck had a look
on his face that indicated he may have lost control of his bodily
functions. Affleck quickly turned it into a more exaggerated
facial expression and held the expression for an extra five seconds
to draw attention away from the fact that he seemed legitimately
surprised and startled (as anyone would be) when Sapp's hands
started coming towards him.
Overall,
Bob Sapp's appearance on The Tonight Show has to be considered
a success with a few caveats. The crowd seemed to like Sapp thanks
to his funny and affable demeanor, and they went nuts for the
visual of Sapp's hands wrapped around Ben Affleck's throat. If
there's a downside to the interview, it's that the crowd was
never made to understand (or even begin to understand) the magnitude
and scale of Sapp's popularity in Japan.
It
also has to be considered a bad thing that Sapp's fights in Pride
were not mentioned or acknowledged in any way, nor was MMA in
general. It could easily be said that Sapp was there to promote
a K-1 show, and would have definitely mentioned Pride if he had
been there to promote a Pride show, but that misses the point---
If Sapp was promoting a Pride show, he wouldn't be on Jay Leno.
He was only there because ESPN is promoting the K-1 pay-per-view
and because kickboxing is viewed as more "acceptable"
than MMA by the mainstream media, and this interview did nothing
to change that. Still, this factor is probably outweighed by
the fact that so many more people in the US have now seen Bob
Sapp as a result of his Tonight Show appearance, and if a commercial
comes on for a Pride show somewhere down the road with Sapp's
face on it, the average TV viewer in America will now be more
likely to recnognize Sapp and possibly order the show.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
BOB
SAPP ON THE TONIGHT SHOW
Bob
Sapp made a good impression with the studio audience and hopefully
the national TV audience with his appearance Monday night on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Sapp was introduced by Leno as
"kickboxing superstar Bob Sapp." Sapp was his usual
likable self and quickly won over the initially apathetic crowd
with his joke about playing the "ass-back" position
in the NFL, where the coach tells you to "sit your ass back
down" when you try to get up and play in an actual game.
He
went through the story of his life from that point on, with all
of the money that he made in the NFL being lost because his financial
advisor was a criminal who stole it from him, then training to
wrestle in WCW only to have WCW go out of business right before
he was scheduled to be called up to the main roster.
Bob
Sapp then talked about how he fought William "The Refridgerator"
Perry in a Toughman Contest and shortly thereafter received a
phone call from K-1 representatives saying that a limo would
be there to pick him up the next morning and take him to the
airport so that he could talk to K-1 executives.
Sapp
said, "The next thing I knew, I was fighting in K-1."
When Jay Leno asked Sapp to explain to the people at home what
K-1 is, Sapp said that it's "kickboxing for lack of a better
term." Unfortunately, the story of Sapp's career was almost
cut off at this point, as Leno only briefly touched on the fact
that Sapp went from "fighting in K-1" to "fighting
in K-1 and being one of the biggest celebrities of any kind in
Japan."
Bob
Sapp's huge success as a celebrity figure in Japan was never
touched on by Leno, and instead Sapp had to make the attempt
to explain it himself in the last couple minutes of the interview.
Sapp said that he can't walk down the streets of Japan without
being mobbed by hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, which
is completely true, but the crowd didn't seem to buy it because
Leno wasn't backing him up by saying anything like, "Yeah,
I've heard you're one of the biggest celebrities in Japan."
Sapp
read off the usual list of statistics such as, "I've done
over 20 commercials, over a thousand interviews, a bunch of professional
wrestling matches, over ten real fights, had four books written
about me, had tons of merchandise branded with my name and likeness,
and released my own rap CD." The crowd definitely liked
Sapp, but at no point was the magnitude of his popularity in
Japan ever properly conveyed.
At
one point, Jay Leno had Bob Sapp crush an apple with his hand.
Leno asked about Sapp being so much more popular in Japan than
he is in the US, and Sapp said that he's making his US fighting
debut on Friday at a K-1 event in Las Vegas. The name of Sapp's
opponent (Kimo) was never brought up or mentioned, but it was
probably never supposed to be given the fact that the commercial
for the K-1 pay-per-view doesn't have Kimo's name in it, either.
One
of the funniest moments in the interview took place when Bob
Sapp went into the proverbial "Beast Mode" with the
deep voice and threats of violence against Jay Leno. The studio
audience seemed to react to this initially as if it was more
weird than anything else, until Sapp turned to previous guest
Ben Affleck (who was sitting right next to him) and proceeded
jokingly grab Affleck by the throat and make a comment about
Affleck's complete bomb of a movie, "Gigli."
Before
Sapp's hands were even around Affleck's neck, Affleck had a look
on his face that indicated he may have lost control of his bodily
functions. Affleck quickly turned it into a more exaggerated
facial expression and held the expression for an extra five seconds
to draw attention away from the fact that he seemed legitimately
surprised and startled (as anyone would be) when Sapp's hands
started coming towards him.
Overall,
Bob Sapp's appearance on The Tonight Show has to be considered
a success with a few caveats. The crowd seemed to like Sapp thanks
to his funny and affable demeanor, and they went nuts for the
visual of Sapp's hands wrapped around Ben Affleck's throat. If
there's a downside to the interview, it's that the crowd was
never made to understand (or even begin to understand) the magnitude
and scale of Sapp's popularity in Japan.
It
also has to be considered a bad thing that Sapp's fights in Pride
were not mentioned or acknowledged in any way, nor was MMA in
general. It could easily be said that Sapp was there to promote
a K-1 show, and would have definitely mentioned Pride if he had
been there to promote a Pride show, but that misses the point---
If Sapp was promoting a Pride show, he wouldn't be on Jay Leno.
He was only there because ESPN is promoting the K-1 pay-per-view
and because kickboxing is viewed as more "acceptable"
than MMA by the mainstream media, and this interview did nothing
to change that. Still, this factor is probably outweighed by
the fact that so many more people in the US have now seen Bob
Sapp as a result of his Tonight Show appearance, and if a commercial
comes on for a Pride show somewhere down the road with Sapp's
face on it, the average TV viewer in America will now be more
likely to recnognize Sapp and possibly order the show.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by
being kind."
Eric Hoffer
|
MAJOR
MMA NEWS!!! CHIAPARELLI CONFIRMED IN JUNGLE FIGHT!!!
While
in Brazil, Marcelo Tigre told me about this event. He introduced
me to Wallid Ismail and Ricardo Moraes. This event is blowing
up to be a great show. More information will be coming soon!
Mike
Fighter
turned promoter Wallid Ismail has just given us the pre-card
for the upcoming Jungle Fight Championship, the Mixed Martial
Art event that Wallid is co-promoting wih Mr. Antonio Inoki in
a ring built on the Amazon River. The show is scheduled on September
13th, and one of the big surprises is the participation of RAW
trainer Ricco Chiapareli. Considered one of the best athletes
trained under the legendary wrestling coach Dan Gable, Ricco
will face off against tough brazilian Magno Penha.
After
taking second place in the eight man tournament of IVC 7, Magno
faced a battle with Leukemia that took him out of action and
thru the worst 3 years of his life. Now, after fighting and surviving
two comas, he is back! For this fight, he will train with the
respected brazilian JJ master, Oswaldo Alves.
The
event will also feature a battle of giants between Ricardo Moraes
and Jan “Giant Nortge”, a strikers battle between Ivan
Ludwig and Edward Marchal and the NHB debut of the amazing Ronaldo
'Jacaré' (Master JJ) – the guy won four gold medals
in the last two brazilian World JJ championships winning 21 fights
(18 by submission). He also won the ADCC 2003 Brazilian Trials
and placed 2nd in the World Championships.
The
other stars of the show, Fabrício Werdun, Marcelo Tigre,
Carlos Barreto and Ebenezer Braga still don´t have opponents.
“We must put some brazilians to face each other” ,
said Ismail who is will be in the Amazon with Mr. Inoki on August
20th to set the last details for the event. Soon Wallid promised
to reveal the final card.
Source:
ADCC
|
Rickson
Gracie's Defeat!!!
The
champion came from Los Angeles to compete, but he was surpassed
by Jiu-Jitsu new talents!
The
focused, disciplined eyes of some of the top black belts in the
world gleam with anxiety. It is understandable, since Rickson
Gracie is getting ready for action. At a time like this, even
the toughest fighter cannot hide his curiosity. The master concentrates
on his now-famous breathing exercises. We can see the very first
drops of sweat coming from his face, displaying his physical
preparedness. The announcer announces Rickson's entrance. He
finishes his stretching, stands up and shakes hands with his
adversary.
The
competition begins. In the first movement, Gracie falls down.
He is kind of dizzy, but he pulls himself together and tries
again. Unsuccessfully, just like the first time, he is taken
down again. It's a common mystique among the public: that Rickson
is going through a rough start, but he would be ok, just like
those legendary fights from the eighties where he was losing
until the last minute and then he came back to submit his opponent.
Not this time. As the minutes pass by he keeps showing no reaction
until a bell rings announcing the end. Rickson Gracie lost. End
of story.
With
his face a wrinkled mask, Rickson walks to the judges, still
kind of dizzy. Is he going to complain? No. Resigned, he accepts
his loss and tries a fake smile.
The
winner appears to say a few words 'I smashed Rickson,' jokes
'Gordo' Correa.
'But
that's the only place I can beat him' explains the victor, pointing
to his wet surfboard, his body language showing the struggle
to express himself in a respectful way. 'Gordo' placed Gracie
in second at the 10th Surf Challenge Cyclone Company Black-Belt
Jiu-Jitsu that went down on August 2nd, next to the life-guard
point number 3, at Barra da Tijuca, Rj. Desspite it being 'only'
a surf competition, the competitors didn't have to prove they
could actually surf - as long as they were black belt Jiu-Jitsu
fighters, they could enter in the tournament.
Actually,
it was theme throughout the tournament. Aside from Rickson, Jiu-Jitsu's
usual medal collectors such as Royler, Gordo, Gordinho, Soca,
Barretinho, Escorrega, among others didn't do very well. At least
the first three mentioned (Royler, Gordo and Gordinho) made the
quarter finals. And it was all.
As
it turns out, the big title ended up in good hands indeed. Ricardo
Guerra (Guerrinha), is away from the kimono competitions nowadays,
but he has former titles in the Pan-americans and Brazilian Nationals
in Jiu-Jitsu. And the Brazilian Top Team member ended the day
proving he can also paddle and surf with the best of them!
Results:
1º-Ricardo Guerra (Brazilian Top Team)
2º-Marcos Nevel (Gracie Humaitá)
3º-Pedro Bataglin (Gracie Humaitá)
4º-Bruno Fernandes (Gracie Barra)
EDITOR'S
NOTE:
Just
an observation, but the last time pictures of Rickson surfaced,
people were commenting that he looked out of shape. Not this
time - he appears to be getting back into form.
There
are also rumors of a trip later this summer or fall to Japan,
so the stars may be coming aligned for one more match for Rickson
Gracie!
Source:
ADCC
|
IFC:
Brazilians get ready for Mega Tournament in America on September
6th!!!
With
the first phase of Pride GP'S in the books, the attention of
the MMA world turning to the IFC, whose September 6the in the
United States also features a marquee 8 man tournament. Great
names in the sport will be in an 8 man tournament. On paper,
the IFC has everything it neds to be an event as exciting as
the aforementioned Pride GP.
Brazil
will have 3 representatives in the show, and the 3 fighters represent
the main Vale Tudoteams of the country: 'Paulão' Filho,
of Brazilian Top Team, Renato 'Babalú', of the Ruas Vale
Tudo Team and Maurício 'Shogun', of the Chute Boxe.
It
has been almost one year, since Pride 22, since Paulão
Filho was in the ring:
'I
am training like crazy. There are people that don't know me well,
they have people that think I am crazy, but I am very professional!
I am three-time world Jiu-Jitsu champion, five-time Brazilian
champion, I have five fights in MMA and five victories, I am
unbeaten. In the IFC I am sure I will run intomy friend 'Babalú',
or my enemy Maurício 'Shogun', and tough Americans like
Jeremy Horn or Mike Van Arsdale. I am going there to do my job.
one of the only things that I know how to do in the life is to
fight and I am sure, with every respect to all of the opponents,
that I will leave victorious.' states Filho.
Renato
'Babalú' won his match in Heat on July 31st. He is the
most experienced of the Brazilians, with 27 fights on his curriculum.
The Ruas Vale Tudo Team fighter has already competed in tournaments
in RINGS:
'As
soon as it finished Heat I went home to rest for the weekend
and I started training Monday again. Once again it will be a
tournament, tooth and nail for three fights.'
With
his victory over Evangelista 'Cyborg' in Meca 9, Maurício
'Shogun' won respect because he proved to be a great strategist.
A member of Chute Boxe, 'Shogun' is going in with all guns blazing:
'Now
I workout with Vanderlei and the best partners, I am very strong.
I know I will face great opponents, so I will workout even harder.
I am going there to win!
Source:
ADCC
|
KOTC
- Results from 8/10!
San Jacinto, CA -- Bobby Hoffman retained his Heavyweight belt
by defeating Pal Buentello by judges decision in his first title
defense in a fight that had the crowd cheering wildly. Sharing
the main event Joe Stephenson made his debut at 155 where he
made a great impression with his newly acquired boxing skills,
causing Kiko's corner to throw in the towel before the end of
the first round. Also on the card American Top Team went 0-2
in their KOTC debut with HOOKnSHOOT 155 Northeast and Southeast
Champion Marcus Aurelio losing a split decision to underrated
Antonio McGee while Jeorge Santiago took an early KO from Manvel
Gamburyan. Look for full coverage in an upcoming issue of Full
Contact Fighter.
Frankie
Bohlinger def Robert Bresland 3:58 r1 by armbar
Mat Mcpherson def Orion Gallagher 1:07 r1 by rear choke
Andy Murad def Salmania Clemente Jr. 1:25 r1 by TKO
Wes Combs def Johan Broad 0:41 r1 by TKO
Sean Ramage def Kevin Allvia 0:58 r1 by rear choke
David Rivas def Steve Hallock by unanimous decision (2 rnds)
Manvel Gamburyan def Jeorge Santiago 0:31 by KO
Keigo Kunihara def Timothy Mendoza 1:07 r1 by TKO
Antonio McGee def Marcus Aurelio by split decision (2 rnds)
"Scarry" Jerry def Paki 1:32 r1 by KO
Joe Stephenson def Kiko 4:29 r1 corner threw in towel
Bobby Hoffman def Paul Buentello by split decision (3 rnds)
Source:
FCF
Hoffman
(With Help From 30-point must "not") Clasps on to KOTC
Heavyweight Title
SAN
JACINTO, Calif., Aug 10 -- Bobby Hoffman retained his King of
the Cage Heavyweight title by walking away with a questionable
unanimous decision victory over challenger Paul Buentello Sunday
night at the Soboba Casino. After three give-and-take rounds
most observers at ringside had the fight two rounds to one for
the challenger, but the judges (using the KOTC 30-point must
scoring system -- more on that later) disagreed, scoring it unanimously
for the oft-troubled champion.
Hoffman
opened powerfully, bowling over Buentello and unloading a storm
of elbows, punches and hammer fists. The early barrage, however,
did little to deter Buentello. Surviving back to the feet, the
challenger landed the first of many power punches.
As
the first round waned, so did Hoffman's wind. Yet the brutish
fighter endured, doing enough to have the advantage heading into
the second frame.
Scoring
the heaviest punch of fight, Buentello delivered an ill-intentioned
right cross to open the championship bout's middle period. Staggered,
Hoffman backpedaled to the cage fencing, clinched and recovered
well enough to continue. From there Buentello peppered Hoffman's
left side with six hard shots to the ribs. There was no doubt
that round two was the challenger's, as the only offense from
Hoffman came in the form of a looping right hand at the end of
the period.
An
even fight on the MaxFighting.com scorecard moving into the third
and final period on, Hoffman scored the first blow of the round
by putting Buentello on his back in the initial 30 seconds. Not
only did it allow him to ground-and-pound, the position provided
Hoffman with time needed for him to fully recover from the beating
suffered the previous period.
With
the fight slipping away, Buentello attempted to escape back to
the feet. While transitioning Hoffman uncharacteristically maneuvered
for an armbar submission and came surprisingly close to catching
Buentello before the American Kickboxing Academy-trained fighter
escaped. For the remainder of round three neither fighter asserted
himself.
Hoffman
displayed an iron chin and great heart, while Buentello acquitted
himself nicely as well. The most dominant moments were Buentello's
in round two, yet the judges -- Lester Griffin, Raul Porrata,
and Cecil Peoples -- scored it unanimously in Hoffman's favor.
Fans booed heavily before chants of "bullshit" cascaded
down from the bleachers when the decision was announced.
Maxfighting
scored it 29-28 for the challenger, however KOTC -- when not
obligated to use mixed martial arts regulations widely accepted
throughout the United States -- mandates its judges base their
decisions on three criteria: striking, grappling and aggression.
Each
category is scored separately on the 10-point must scale. Combined
they form the 30-point scale for each judge per round. In theory
it should work for mixed martial arts, however problems are inherent.
Take round two for example. There is no arguing that Buentello
dominated Hoffman on the feet with power punch after power punch.
Score striking 10-9 in his favor. Let's say Hoffman managed to
get a takedown and Buentello didn't even bother to try a shot
of his own. That would be scored 10-9 in Hoffman's favor. Thus,
the thrashing that Buentello delivered on the feet is negated
by Hoffman's one takedown. The system is too flawed to accurately
score a fight.
After
three rounds Hoffman had mustered 263 points to Buentello's 252.
Porrata's scoring was particularly off considering he gave Hoffman
a 10-9 edge in round-two striking. There's no way anyone who
witnessed the bout should have come to that conclusion in the
second period.
Afterwards,
with Buentello still upset over the decision, Hoffman was attended
to inside his dressing room by EMTs. KOTC promoter Terry Trebilcock,
who ended up paying Buentello his entire purse despite falling
short on the scorecards, said that a rematch should take place
in the near future.
It
seems obvious that the 30-point must system has to be revamped.
By abiding full time to regulations already set in place in Nevada,
New Jersey and several other states, KOTC will make another step
towards joining most mixed martial arts promotions in the United
States.
In
under card action Joe Stephenson dominated his way to a TKO victory
over Kiko in a 155-pound fight. Stephenson used an excellent
sprawl to stand on his feet and out-box his overmatched foe.
Kiko's corner threw in the towel 4:21 of the first period.
Stephenson
looked comfortable at 155 and the youngster should work his way
up the division slowly before taking on some of the division's
tougher fighters.
In
addition to the main event's judging mishap, another sore eye
on Sunday's event was the "fight" between 210-pound
Kevin Alliva versus 125-pounder Sean Ramage in what was billed
as a "David versus Goliath" bout. This type of matchmaking
has no place in today's sport -- even if it was obvious Ramage
would be victorious, which he was by submission less than a minute
into the fight.
Source: Maxfighting |
EXTREME
CHALLENGE 52- The Return of JENS PULVER!
Coming
off a successful EXTREME CHALLENGE 51 in Chicago, Illinois, promoter
Monte Cox is already busy work on EXTREME CHALLENGE 52, scheduled
for Rock Island, IL.
EC
51 featured the return of Mark Hughes, twin brother of UFC Champion
Matt Hughes. Also on the card, Jeremy Horn fought his 185 lb
debut, clearing all the hurdles and making the weight without
a problem. 'And he definitely made the weight, confirmed!' laughs
promoter Monte Cox.
The
EC 51 show was reported to be wildly successful with big props
to local helper, fighter Jeff Curran.
EC
52, scheduled for this Friday, August 15th will feature JASON
MEDINA and LAVERNE CLARK. The main event of the show features
the return of UFC lightweight champion JENS PULVER, taking on
Kentucky's JOE JORDAN.
Source: ADCC |
SAPP
TO CHAT WITH FANS ON ESPN.COM
Following
his guest appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "The
Best Damn Sports Show, Period," K-1 bruiser Bob Sapp will
take one hour out of his demanding schedule to respond to fans'
questions and comments during an online chat on www.espn.com
on Wednesday, August 13th. The live chat session will be held
from 3-4 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Between
now and 3 PM on Wednesday, August 13th, fans are encouraged to
participate in the pre-chat by posting their questions and comments
on ESPN.com's Bob Sapp chat homepage located at: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=3809. Any questions or
comments submitted within this timeframe will be saved for the
fighter to answer during the live chat. From 3-4 PM on Wednesday,
fans can access the live chat and post questions and comments
by visiting the same web page.
Sapp
has become a red hot item with the mainstream media in the United
States of late. Following appearances in ESPN magazine and number
one hip-hop publication, The Source, he graced the cover of the
nation's leading daily business newspaper, The Wall Street Journal
on Monday, June 23rd. On Sunday, July 27th, The Seattle Times
published a feature story on the big man detailing his larger-than-life
status amongst the Japanese public. The following Thursday, July
31st, The Orlando Sentinel ran a feature piece on Sapp.
Source:
FCF
|
Explosive!
Decisive KOs Highlight Pride: Total Elimination
Then
there were four.
Before
more than 35,000 fans at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama,
Japan, the opening round of Pride's Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament
promised fireworks and delivered on the hype, with three of the
four bouts ending before the final bell. When it was over, Wanderlei
Silva, Quinton Jackson, Hidehiko Yoshida, and Chuck Liddell moved
on to the November finals, while their victims were left to regroup.
The
main event, the third bout between hometown hero Kazushi Sakuraba
and current Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva, played
out just like the previous two, with the game Saku having his
moments before eventually succumbing to the 'Axe Murderer', this
time via a first round knockout.
Sakuraba's
first shots were with bad intentions, and the two looked to rip
power shots in the opening moments. An uppercut staggered Saku
and drew blood from his nose, yet surprisingly, he did not look
for the takedown.
For
his part, Silva stayed calm, looking for an opening. The two
circled each other and tension built around the brief spurts
of fury. Finally, as Sakuraba came in, Silva shot a left right
that sent the Japanese warrior down and out at the 5:01 mark.
And
while Silva moves on to the next round of the tournament, Sakuraba
should seriously consider retirement, having taken a series of
beatings and injuries over the last couple of years.
Much
talked about Judo Gold Medallist Hidehiko Yoshida kept his unbeaten
Pride record intact in tourney fight two with an entertaining
first round submission victory (5:06) over countryman Kiyoshi
Tamura.
The
gi-clad Yoshida was dropped by a left to the head early in the
first, and Tamura aggressively took off after his foe. Eating
leg kicks over and over, Yoshida seemed out of sorts against
his focused foe, who defiantly walked in on Yoshida with his
hands down, drawing roars from the Japanese crowd.
After
some brief work on the ground, Tamura escaped to his feet but
was greeted with a headlock by the judo ace. After escaping,
Tamura continued with his left kicks as the two squared off.
Both men then traded punches before Yoshida was able to score
a takedown. Seconds later, Yoshida scored a choke with his gi
and the fight was over - just like that.
In
the third Grand Prix eliminator, a highly anticipated bout, the
United States' Quinton Jackson was able to cope with a late change
in opponents, earning a close split decision over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
ace Murilo Bustamante.
Bustamante,
who filled in for injured Brazilian Top Team teammate Ricardo
Arona, was coming off a long layoff, but he quickly got in the
swing of things, pulling guard and almost submitting Jackson,
first with an armbar and then a triangle choke. Jackson's superior
strength allowed him to escape, but soon Bustamante took control
again, this time with a guillotine choke. Thanks to some careful
maneuvering and a delay due to lost shorts, Jackson was able
to get the fight standing again, but Bustamante was able to hold
his own on his feet for the rest of the round, surprising some
observers.
In
the second, Bustamante was able to get Jackson back in his guard,
but lost his advantage while trying to land an armbar. Once standing,
body shots stunned Bustamante, and strong right leg kicks by
"Rampage" were wearing the Brazilian down. Late in
the round Bustamante pulled guard, but Jackson held his ground,
landing some good shots on the ground before standing just before
the bell.
Jackson
came out with jabs and low kicks in the final round, and Bustamante,
perhaps feeling the effects of his layoff, seemed unable to get
back in a rhythm. Jackson continued to score as the seconds ticked
away while Bustamante took on a decidedly defensive posture.
Two hooks moved Bustamante back and when he fell he brought Jackson
down into his guard. Again, Bustamante looked for the armbar,
but was greeted by a couple of quick shots to the head by the
now standing Jackson. In the final minute the two tussled on
the ground, with Jackson grounding and pounding as Bustamante
fired off short headshots while looking for an opening that never
came.
Top
UFC light heavyweight contender Chuck Liddell made the trip to
Japan for the Grand Prix and represented the company (and the
US) well, surviving some rocky moments to score a decisive first
round KO (3:09) over Dutchman Alistair Overeem, earning him a
spot in the semi-finals.
Coming
out quick, Overeem landed a couple of solid knees that stunned
Liddell and soon 'The Iceman' was cut on the right side of his
forehead and seemingly in trouble. The two briefly battled on
the ground, where Liddell caught Overeem with some knees on the
ground, but soon both fighters were back on their feet and throwing
bombs. Overeem continued to work well until a solid right cross
jarred 'The Demolition Man' and a follow up basically put him
out on his feet. Liddell pounced as Overeem staggered backwards
into the ropes, and a final left dropped him, prompting the stoppage.
The
undercard featured three heavyweight bouts, and in the main bout
among the big boys, Croatia's Mirko 'Crocop' Filopovic continued
his rise to the top of the MMA world with a first round demolition
of Igor Vovchanchyn.
Almost
dwarfing his opponent, Crocop bided his time and weathered the
attacks of the Ukrainian veteran before a single left kick to
the head exploded on Vovchanchyn, knocking him down and out at
1:29. After the bout, Crocop insisted that his next fight would
be for the heavyweight title against Emelianenko Fedor, a bout
that would be Armageddon revisited.
Former
Pride heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira made his first
start since losing his title to Fedor and was awarded an undeserved
unanimous decision win over another comebacking champion, ex-UFC
heavyweight king Ricco Rodriguez, who did more than enough to
earn the victory everywhere but on the judges' cards.
Heavier
than in recent fights (263 pounds), Rodriguez shot in with a
wide right before getting taken down almost immediately by 'Minotauro'.
Both fighters, who had met a couple of years back in the Abu
Dhabi submission grappling tournament (Rodriguez scored the victory),
worked their ground games, with Nogueira looking for a submission
and Rodriguez trying to ground and pound.
Both
men had their moments briefly in the first, but the high skill
level of the combatants ensured that neither got themselves in
too much trouble, even though Rodriguez appeared to control the
pace of the fight.
With
less than two minutes left in the round, Rodriguez attempted
a flying knee on Nogueira and scored a takedown, his confidence
showing no signs of being affected by his KO loss to Tim Sylvia
earlier this year.
Rodriguez
continued to be active on his feet as the second opened, but
Nogueira answered back with stiff leg kicks. Rodriguez responded
with an impressive takedown, and the two traded reversals before
Nogueira attempted a submission that Rodriguez was able to escape
easily. Once again though, by the end of the frame, Rodriguez
was on top and in control.
Another
flying knee by Rodriguez opened the final round and he followed
it with a double leg takedown. Nogueira quickly locked on a submission
hold, but again, Rodriguez was able to escape unscathed.
In
Nogueira's guard, Rodriguez stayed active with punches while
'Minotauro' retaliated with shots of his own before trying two
late triangle chokes that fell unsuccessful.
In
the opener, Pride heavyweight champ Emelianenko Fedor set the
tone for the evening with a first round blowout of veteran trialhorse
Gary Goodridge in a non-title bout.
Jumping
in immediately with a left hook, Fedor forced Goodridge to the
ropes, where he fired off a series of haymakers. "Big Daddy"
weathered the storm, but after a brief reprieve on the ground,
Fedor went back on the offensive, using a series of right hands
and kicks to the head to force a referee's stoppage at the 1:09
mark.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Chuck
Liddell: Now or Never
You
wouldn't blame Chuck Liddell if he had decided to take time off
following June's heartbreaking loss to Randy Couture. The perennial
UFC light-heavyweight contender's long-awaited shot had come
(though not against the man it should have in Tito Ortiz) and
bitterly passed. Yet there were no excuses: "He fought good,"
says Liddell of Couture. "He's a tough guy. I'd like another
shot at it. I don't think I did it right."
Some
say Liddell is quiet. Others label him boring. Whatever the case
may be, he was billed a man of results, not flash -- which made
the Couture bout all the more puzzling.
Bad
omens abounded. Coming into the ring in Ortiz-fashion -- instead
of Limp Bizkit and flames it was Vanilla Ice, blue lights and
dry ice -- Liddell, it seemed, was tabbed to win the title. Moreover,
there was an air of contentment about him, a stark contrast from
recent bouts versus Renato Babalu and Vitor Belfort.
The
last time he stepped into a fight as if he'd already won was
in September 2001 against Murilo Bustamante. Many pundits felt
the decision that night should not have been his. However, judges
at ringside disagreed and scored it unanimously for Liddell.
He was not as fortunate versus Couture. Battered and slammed
his way around the Octagon, the display was truly eye opening.
Liddell's
staunchest supporters, including yours truly, openly questioned
his lack of head movement and game plan. In less than 15 minutes
Couture had Liddell looking like a rank amateur.
All
things considered it would have made sense for Liddell to take
six months off, reevaluate what he does in the ring and work
on a few things before giving it another go. Instead (and it
really shouldn't be surprising) we're reminded why Liddell --
"The Iceman" -- earned a special place in our hearts.
The man has the fortitude of the U.S. Marines -- anytime, anywhere
Sir.
"I
would have come back anyway, but it was nice," says Liddell
of his quick turnaround. "It was something I was ready to
do. I wasn't ready to take a lot of time off."
With
that, Liddell took advantage of the only positive that came out
of the Couture bout -- an invitation to fight in the PRIDE Middleweight
Grand Prix. It forced the light-heavyweight terror, who beat
everyone he faced the past two years, into a back-to-basics crash
course. Remember, the last time he faced a similar situation
Liddell began the streak that Couture ended.
So
it came as a comfort to this reporter when at 1:15 a.m. (it was
8:15 p.m. Japan Standard Time for him), Chuck Liddell had a different
-- yet familiar -- sound to his voice. Twice before I'd heard
it and each time he walked out of the Octagon with important
and impressive victories. A sign? Perhaps. At the very least
he sounded anxious -- not an oh-crap-I'm-about-to-get-pummeled
anxiousness. If Chuck Liddell gets edgy it tends to signal lights-out
for opponents.
When
Liddell steps into the ring to face Alistair Overeem today in
the first-round of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix you can
run to your bookie knowing this (and if your man is taking odds
on this action, shoot me an E-mail): No Vanilla Ice. No distractions.
Content to him is what's in his gym bag, not a state of mind.
"I'm
ready to go," Liddell promises.
In
Overeem he finds a totally different style than Couture. A 23-year-old
Dutchman, Overeem is a lanky striker who mistakes knees for Daisy
Cutters. "He's a tough, tough kid," Liddell scouts.
"He knees from awkward positions and he knees at awkward
times. You just have to be ready."
With
two months to prepare, Liddell spent more time than usual in
Las Vegas, where he worked on his jiu-jitsu skills with John
Lewis. "I had planned on going out there anyway," he
says. "I hadn't been out there to work with John in a while
and I wanted to work on my ground stuff a little bit; get smooth
on the ground again."
The
extra mat time comes at a perfect time. It would seem to make
sense that trading strike for strike against his six-foot-five-inch
opponent would not be option number one, especially when Liddell
could take the fight to the ground and steer clear of those missile-like
knees
"I've
always said that my strength in fighting was that I was a balanced
fighter, that I can do both," he says. "I can strike
and I can wrestle. That's what I always thought my strengths
were anyway. That doesn't come into it. I'm going to strike.
That's what I do. If the ground game comes, it comes."
Most
pundits feel Liddell needs to take it to the ground in order
to reign victorious, an interesting predicament for a fighter
known for his knockout power. He says the keys to victory are
remaining focused on what he does well, avoiding Overeem's "crazy"
knees, and simply fighting his fight.
That
may not be as easy as it seems as. To many fans Liddell is doing
more than merely fighting. He's representing American mixed martial
arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Portrayed by the
Japanese media and PRIDE promoters as the "UFC assassin,"
Liddell faces not only the pressures of facing a dangerous striker,
he's also got a daily reminder that the UFC is counting on him
to perform. Joining him in Japan is UFC president Dana White.
But,
says Liddell, once the referee's instructions are done and the
bell sounds, "I won't be worried about the rest of it. You
think about it a little before and after. But when we step in
the ring it will be just me and him."
Should
he win there will be the GP finals in November to keep his attention.
More importantly Liddell will have salvaged some of the reputation
torn away after Couture thrashed him two months ago. Not that
it matters to "The Iceman." Stepping in the ring is
all he really wants to do.
Source: Maxfighting |
Quote
of the Day
"Exhilarations is that feeling you get just after a great
idea hits you,
and just before you realize what's wrong with it."
Unknown
|
Sorry
about the delay
I was having some "technical difficulties" on top of
the fact that every time I go to Hilo, I have to detox and recover.
|
PRIDE
Total Elimination 2003 - Complete Results!
Results from
PRIDE Total Elimination 2003
August 10, Saitama Super Arena
By Mark Ginther
The
preliminary round of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix brought
together some of the world's best middleweights, with three non-tournament
heavyweight fights, and contained some great action but few surprises.
Most of the matches played out as expected, but Murilo Bustamante,
a last minute replacement for Ricardo Arona (out with an injury)
came very close to choking out Rampage Jackson, the tourney favorite,
who barely eked out a split decision.
The
only other decision was a unanimous win over Ricco Rodriguez
for Rodrigo Nogueira in his comeback fight after losing the Heavyweight
title at PRIDE 25.
Yoshida
detractors will be disappointed, after a wobbly start, and being
dropped on his butt by Tamura, Yoshida submitted Tamura with
a gi choke.
The
results:
Fedor Emelienenko def. Gary Goodridge by TKO (strikes) 1:09 R1
Chuck
Liddell def. Alistair Overeem by KO (strikes) 3:09 R1
Quinton
Jackson beats Murilo Bustamante by split decision
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira def. Ricco Rodriguez by unanimous decision
Mirko
Filipovic def. Igor Vovchanchyn by KO (kick to head) 1:29 R1
Hidehiko
Yoshida def. Kiyoshi Tamura by submission (gi choke) 5:06 R1
Wanderlei
Silva def. Kazushi Sakuraba by KO (straight right) 5:00 R1
Source: FCF |
Rumble
On The Rock 3 Results!
Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium, Hilo, Hawaii
August 9, 2003
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
 
The third installment of Hawaii's newest MMA event pitted the
best of the big island versus all comers. A couple of matches
that garnered a lot of attention beforehand were Golden Gloves
boxer, Mark Moreno taking on one of HMC's best kickboxers in
Deshaun Johnson. Another match up of local strikers pitted John
Naole, who had impressive KO in the opening seconds of his last
fight at Kaos, taking on a kickboxer who has always been matched
up against grapplers named Kaleo Padilla. And the Hilo boy called
"Da Boss" stepped up his game to take on probably the
most active MMA fighter in the game today, Shannon Ritch. Those
fights were well matched, but some of the others mixed talent
due to some of the last minute replacements. The replacements,
some who had 5 hours notice, performed surprisingly well and
the crowd loved the exchanges between fighters. This event has
just completed, but the Rumble On The Rock promoters have a big
show lined up and are working on releasing some huge match ups
soon.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
180lbs
Marshal Ng (Hilo, HI) def. Mike "The Pike" Flanigan
(Straight Blast Gym, Dublin, Ireland)
TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes from the mount at 4:04
minutes in Round 1.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
300lbs
Scott Spencer (6'5", 314lbs, Nova Uniao, Hilo, HI) def.
Patrick Fonohena (6'2", 240lbs, Fonohena Fight Team)
Disqualification due to holding the cage and not heeding the
referee's instructions at 48 seconds in Round 2.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
250lbs
Aladasin "Junior" Tuyo (6'2", 245lbs, Nova Uniao,
Hilo, HI) def. Anthony Billianor (6'3", 263lbs, Maui Full
Contact Fighting)
Verbal submission due to punches on the ground at 1:14 minutes
in Round 1.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
155lbs
Kaynan "The Barbarian" Kaku (5'9", 155lbs, Nova
Uniao, Hilo, HI) def. Michael Baker (5'10", 155lbs, Vendrell
Martial Arts, Kona, HI)
TKO via doctor stoppage due to cut above eye at 2:24 minutes
in Round 1.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
155lbs
Johnny "Gunn" Sampaio (5'8", 155lbs, Nova Uniao,
Hilo, HI) def. David Padilla (5'6", 155lbs, Jesus Is Lord,
Honolulu, HI)
Submission via rear naked choke at 1:58 minutes in Round 1.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
155lbs
Mark Moreno (5'9", 168lbs, Bulls Pen) def. Deshawn Johnson
(5'10", 165lbs, HMC)
TKO via doctor stoppage due to cut above eye at 2:38 minutes
in Round 2.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
140lbs
Iwi Okano (5'9", 145lbs, Nova Uniao) def. Eric Devers (5'7",
145lbs, Kempo)
Submission via rear naked choke at 2:01minutes in Round 1.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
175lbs
Kaleo "The Pervert" Padilla (5'9", 155lbs, Westbrook
Kickboxing, Kona, HI) def. John Naole (5'9", 155lbs, HMC,
Honolulu, HI)
TKO, Naole could not continue after the end of Round 1 due to
a possible dislocated or broken jaw.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
170lbs
Royden "The Real McCoy" DeMotta (5'10", 175lbs,
Nova Uniao, Hilo, HI) def. Kyle Brees (6'0", 175lbs, Team
Phoenix, Chicago, IL)
Unanimous decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 rounds.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
170lbs
Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez (5'10", 175lbs, Nova Uniao,
Hilo, HI) def. Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch (5'9",
170lbs, Buel Fight Team)
TKO, Ritch could not continue after the end of Round 1 due to
a possible broken rib.
5
Minutes - 2 Rounds
170lbs
Renato "Charuto" Verissimo (6'0", 170lbs, Nova
Uniao, Honolulu, HI) def. Ray Elbe (5'9", 170lbs, Savage
Te Dawg Pound, Phoenix, AZ)
TKO due to referee stoppage due to strikes from the guard at
1:41 minutes in Round 1.
5
Minutes - 3 Rounds
290lbs
Wesley "Cabbage" Correira (6'2", 280lbs, Grappling
Unlimited) vs. Steve Sayegh (5'9", 215lbs, Lenninger Dojo,
Arizona)
TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes from the mount at 2:19
minutes in Round 1. |
Maui
Jiu-Jitsu Website is Up!
Rickson
Gracie Black Belt Luis 'Limao' Heredia has just released his
new website. The address is www.mauijiujitsu.com. The website is hot,
especially the picture gallery with some real innovative techniques.
Check it out and click and zoom on the wall of picture behind
Limao. It really is pretty cool!
Limao's
Academy in Maui has been booming with a great childrens program
and his women ani-rape class along with other conditioning and
specialty programs. If you are int he Islands you owe it to yourself
to check it out
Source: ADCC/Kid Peligro
|
Bozo
draws with Pequeno & Hansen defeats Gomi!
SHOOTO's Giant Card - Complete Results!
August 10th, 2003
Kanagawa, Yokohama Culture Gymnasium, Yokohama, Japan
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
Class
B 2 x 5 minutes rounds
Bantamweight [-56.0Kg] - Daiji Takahashi vs. Masatoshi Abe: Abe
by Judges Decision.
Bantamweight
[-56.0Kg] - Hiroaki Yoshioka vs. Junji Ikoma: Yoshioka by rear
naked 3:26, 2nd RD.
Class
A 3 x 5 minutes rounds
Welterweight [-70.0Kg] - Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Yves Edwards: Kawajiri
by Judges Decision.
Middleweight
[-76.0Kg]
Jake Shields vs. Akira Kikuchi: Shields by Judges Decision.
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg] Championship
Masahiro Oishi vs. Ryota Matsune: Oishi by Judges Decision -
Oishi is new champion.
Lightweight
[-65.0Kg] Championship
Alexandre Franca Nogueira vs. Stephen Paling: DRAW
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg] Championship
Takanori Gomi vs. Joachim Hansen: Hansen by Judges Decision -
Hansen is new champion.
Source: ADCC
|
|