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July 9-12
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3/13/04
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3/5-7/04
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2/15/04
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in Paradise 2
(MMA & Kickboxing)
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2/13/04
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Fighting Compeition 5
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2/8/04
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2/7/04
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1/31/04
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46: Super Natural
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(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV)
1/24/04
Ring of Honor 2
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
1/19/04
Second 2 None Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Oahu)
2004
12/31/03
"INOKI BOM-BA-YE 2003"
(Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe, Japan)
(MMA)
UFC "Ultimate New Year's Eve"
(MMA)
Pay per View
Pride's Special Otoko Matsuri
2003
(MMA)
(Japan)
K-1
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Japan)
12/27/03
Rumble On The Rock
5
(MMA)
(Hilo, Hawaii)
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December News Part
3
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Quote
of the Day
"Hold
on to your dreams for they are, in a sense, the stuff of which
reality is made. It is through our dreams that we maintain the
possibility of a better, more meaningful life."
Leo Buscaglia, American Expert on Love, Lecturer, Author
|
Onzuka.com
Wishes Everyone a Happy New Year!
Thank you
for making Onzuka.com and Fighters Club TV explode in popularity
this past year. We appreciate all the great comments we have
been receiving and thank you for your support. Please feel free
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us
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will be more than happy to post them.
We hope everyone has a great New Years! Stay safe and don't drink
and drive, unless you are drinking non-alcoholic eggnog. I love
that stuff!
|
All
3 Super Show's Fight Cards
PRIDE SHOCKWAVE 2003
Pride SP card line-up (in match order):
December 31st, 2003
Saitama Super Arena
Omiya, Japan
1.
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
2. Heath Herring vs. Giant Silva
3. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Daiju Takase
4. Akira Shoji vs. Murillo Ninja
5. Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Royce Gracie
6. Don Frye vs. Gary Goodridge
7. Wataru Sakata vs. Daniel Gracie
8. Yuki Kondo vs. Mario Sperry
9. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Ronnie Sefo
10. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
INOKI
BOM-BA-YE 2003
Kazayuki Fujita vs. TBA
Josh Barnett vs. Semmy Schilt
Stefan Leko vs. Kazunari Murakami
Yasuhito Namekawa vs. Masayuki Naruse
Tadao Yasuda vs. Ricardo Liborio
Rich Franklin vs. Ryota Machida
Amar Suloev vs. Din Thomas
Hiromi Amada vs. Pedro Rizzo
Alistair Overeem vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Alexandre Emelianenko vs. Angelo Araujo
Hiromi Amada vs. Pedro Rizzo
K-1
PREMIUM 2003 DYNAMITE
Bob Sapp vs. Akebono
Francois Botha vs. Yusuke Fujimoto
Ernesto Hoost vs. Montanha Silva
Francisco Filho vs. TOA
Jan Nortje vs. Masayuki Naruse-MMA
Genkie Sudo vs. Butterbean-MMA
Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura-MMA
Cyril Abidi vs. Sylvester Terkay-MMA
Kristof Midoux vs. Tom Howard-MMA
David Khakhaleishivili vs. Yoshihiro Nakao-MMA
Source: MMA Weekly |
Rickson
in Japan for K-1
by: Luca Atalla
The official press conference for K-1's Dynamite New Year's Eve
show went smoothly as usual. The news of the day was the announcement
that Rickson Gracie would be at the Nagoya Dome to watch the
fights. In addition to that, a live satellite broadcast from
Hawaii will have Mike Tyson sending a message to all fans.
Inside
the ring, an exciting night is expected. The main event will
pit former Sumo Yokuzona Akebono, from Hawaii, versus former
NFL player Bob Sapp. Sapp attended the press conference with
his arms tied and a mask like the one worn by Anthoby Hopkins
in the movie 'Silence of the Lambs'. K-1 superstar Ernesto Hoost
will face Brazilian giant (and former basketball player) Montanha
Silva. One of the organisation's hottest new fighters, Biel-
Russian Alexey Ignashov will make his MMA debut versus pro-wrestler
Shinsuke Nakamura.
Former professional boxer Francois Botha will take on Yusuke
Fukimoto (K-1 Rules), while French top MMA fighter Kristof Midoux
is set to face American pro-wrestler Tom Howard, in the event's
opening match. Another interesting match up is the one that puts
former Barcelona Olympic Judo Gold Medal Winner David Khakhaleishivili,
from Georgia, versus amateur wrestler Yoshihiro Nakao. Brazilian
Kyokushinkai Karate expert Mauricio da Silva will replace an
injured Cyril Abidi in a MMA match against the huge pro-wrestler
'The Predator'.
K-1
Dynamite!!
31 December 2003
Nagoya Dome, Nagoya, Japan
Starts at 16h local time
COMPLETE
CARD:
K-1 matchups:
- Bob Sapp vs. Akebono
- Ernesto Hoost vs. 'Montanha' Silva
- Yusuke Fukimoto vs. Francois Botha
- Francisco Filho vs. TOA 'The Samoan Beast'
MMA
matchups:
- Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Genki Sudo vs. Eric 'Butterbean'
- Mauricio Silva vs. The Predator
- David Khakhaleichivili vs. Yoshihiro Nakao
- Tom Howard vs. Christopher Midoux
- Jan 'The Giant' Nortje x Masayuki Naruse
Source: ADCC |
|
MERCER
NO SHOWS JAPAN EVENT
Inoki's
show has taken a bit of step backwards. In a bizarre story, former
Heavyweight Boxer Ray Mercer has not showed up in Japan as he
missed his flight to face Kazayuki Fujita.
Nobody
knows who will step in to fight Fujita, but according to various
published reports the top candidate seems to be Tsuyoshi Kosaka.
It will take a large chuck of change however. According to Zack
Arnold at Puroresu Power he said quote "There are questions
as to which pro-wrestler will be sacrificed to Fujita. Here's
a dark horse candidate - Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, and at a cost of a
million dollars."
In
other news Fedor Emelianenko vs. Yuji Nagata is official. It
will be very interesting to see the legal ramifications in the
future because of what happened by DSE. Cyril Abidi has dropped
out and is replaced by Mauricio Silva in his match against Sylvester
Terkay.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
PRIDE
SP PREVIEW:
IS ROYCE STILL A FORCE IN MMA?
Royce Gracie. That's all you need to say. Everyone knows that
name... or, at least, they know of the Gracie part of the name.
The family has been around from the start of vale tudo in Brazil
and Royce has been there since the beginnings of modern day mixed
martial arts when UFC 1 gave birth to today's modern style of
combat.
Royce
Gracie won the very first UFC tournament... and the second...
and the fourth. He defeated fellow legend Ken Shamrock, whom
he was inducted with as the premier entries into the UFC Hall
of Fame. He has defeated Kimo, Keith Hackney, Dan Severn, and
Nobuhiko Takada. His only loss, in fourteen bouts, is to Japanese
fighting legend Kazushi Sakuraba. His grappling expertise is
second to none.
And
yet, his reputation as one of the best fighters in the world
has consistently been questioned by the recent MMA community.
The predominate argument being that Royce is from a different
time when no one understood his art of Gracie Jiujitsu; that
he fought when fighters were stuck in one dimensional styles,
not the well-rounded skill sets of today's fighters.
Since
his infamous draw with Ken Shamrock in 1995, Royce has fought
under MMA rules only twice, his loss to Sakuraba and a win over
Takada. Also among that time was his controversial loss in a
special rules "jacket" match with his opponent on New
Year's Eve, Hidehiko Yoshida.
This
match is primarily a war of retribution for Royce. He has the
opportunity to exact a measure of revenge for the loss to Yoshida,
his foremost interest, and he has the opportunity to prove to
the critics that he is still one of the best fighters in the
world and that Gracie Jiujitsu still has its place in the sport.
Royce
is one of the most amazing ground technicians in the world. Where
he may have some trouble is with the strength that Yoshida possesses.
He will need to get this one to the ground and keep Yoshida from
gaining a dominant position where his strength would be a big
factor.
Royce
cannot knock Yoshida out, if Silva couldn't do it neither will
Royce. His best chance is to work and wait for a mistake by Yoshida
to capitalize on, something he is extremely good at; otherwise,
he will have to remain very active and hope for the decision
win, something that isn't too probable.
Win
- Art Jimmerson - Submission - UFC 1 - 11-12-1993
Win - Ken Shamrock - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - UFC 1 -
Win - Gerard Gordeau - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - UFC 1
Win - Minoki Ichihara - Submission (Gi Choke) - UFC 2 - 3-11-94
Win - Jason DeLucia - Submission (Arm Bar) - UFC 2 - 3-11-94
Win - Remco Pardoel - Submission (Gi Choke) - UFC 2 - 3-11-94
Win - Pat Smith - Submission (Punches) - UFC 2 - 3-11-94
Win - Kimo Leopoldo - Submission (Arm Bar) - UFC 3 - 9-9-94
NC - Harold Howard - (Threw in the Towel) - UFC 3 - 9-9-94
Win - Ron Van Clief - (Rear Naked Choke) - UFC 4 - 12-16-94
Win - Keith Hackney - Submission (Arm Bar) - UFC 4 - 12-16-94
Win - Dan Severn - (Triangle Choke) - UFC 4 - 12-16-94
Draw - Ken Shamrock - UFC 5 - 4-4-95
Win - Nobuhiko Takada - (Unanimous) - Pride - 1-30-2000
Lose - Kazushi Sakuraba - TKO (Corner Threw in the Towel) - Pride
- 5-1-2000
Source: MMA Weekly |
ANOTHER
CHANCE FOR YOSHIDA TO SILENCE DOUBTERS
Though he has only four actual mixed martial arts bouts under
his belt, Hidehiko Yoshida sure draws a lot of the attention
afforded the sport. A highly decorated Judoka with an Olympic
gold medal and multiple world championships, Yoshida started
to draw the attention of MMA fans when he fought to a controversial
ending with Royce Gracie in a special rules "jacket"
match. With Royce's reputation in MMA, many fans were immediately
crying foul.
His
first entry into a full rules MMA bout with Don Frye faired Yoshida's
reputation no better. Frye fought uncharacteristically and many
fans were sure the Pride was protecting their countryman and
that the fix was in. The story didn't change after a quick finish
of Kiyoshi Tamura in the opening round of the Pride Middleweight
Grand Prix.
Everything
seemed to change when Yoshida went toe-to-toe with Pride Champion
Wanderlei Silva for 15 minutes in the semi-final round of the
Grand Prix with Silva winning the decision. Yoshida earned more
respect in that loss than in his first 3 MMA bouts combined.
Now,
he gets a chance to silence the critics. Yoshida faces MMA legend,
Royce Gracie, in a full MMA rules match. No one has really questioned
whether or not he has the ground game to roll with Royce, but
after his bout with Silva, many may wonder if Royce has the stand-up
game to trade kicks and punches with the much stronger Yoshida.
After
weathering the storm of Silva's awesome striking, Yoshida would
seem to come into this bout the more impressive of the two on
the feet. The two appearing to be a stalemate on the ground,
and with strength on his side, Yoshida may do well to defend
Royce's takedown attempts and strike with him.
If
he can come out of this one with a clearly clean finish for the
win, Yoshida would silence the naysayers and solidify himself
as one of the top fighters in the world.
Win
- Don Frye - (Ref Stoppage Arm Bar) - Pride 23 - 11-24-2002
Win - Masaaki Satake - (Front Choke) - Bom-Ba-Ye 12-31-2002
Win - Kiyoshi Tamura - Submission (Gi Choke) - Pride - 8-10-2003
Lose - Wanderlei Silva - Decision (Unanimous) - Pride - 11-9-2003
Source: MMA Weekly |
PRIDE
SP PREVIEW:
YUKI KONDO VS MARIO SPERRY
Review by Niko Motiee
 
Yuki Kondo (PANCRASEism) vs Mario Sperry (Brazilian Top Team)
Perhaps
the most intriguing match-up on any New Years Eve card is this
battle between the Brazilian grappling legend and the explosive
Pancrase star. Kondo has spent the better part of the last 8
years establishing himself as the most polished Japanese stand-up
fighter, while repeatedly capturing a number of King of Pancrase
titles. Having accumulated convincing victories over Semmy Schilt,
Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Ikuhisa Minowa, Masakatsu Funaki
and Sanae Kikuta, Kondo brings instant credibility to this Pride
event [as much or more than any other native Pride has brought
in over the last three years]. Mario Sperry has overcome several
minor injuries over the last year, and will attempt to re-establish
himself as a player in the title picture with a win over the
red hot Kondo.
Initially
Sperry was set to fight Don Frye, but due to this being Gary
Goodridge's swan song, the match-ups were accordingly altered.
In actuality, Kondo had hoped to parlay his dominating late November
performance against Sanae Kikuta into a fight with Brazilian
Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. Unfortunately, Silva was
ruled out due to surgery to correct minor elbow inflamation.
Nevertheless, if Kondo wins this fight convincingly, Sakikabara
and company will most likely grant Kondo's wish of a bout with
the Axe Murderer (that is if Mr. Ozaki of Pancrase, who has been
known to be stingy with the distribution of his fighters, allows
it).
The
thing that makes this fight so appealing is the contrasting styles
that both fighters bring into the ring. Kondo is the protypical
dynamic striker, with a multitude of flying knees, kicks, alongside
a devastating left hand. Several fighters have commented to me
over the years that being hit by Kondo is unlike anything else
they had experienced throughout the course of their MMA careers.
They, like all fight fans who have seen Kondo in action, marvel
not only at his lightning quickness, but his deadly striking
precision.
Contrastingly,
Sperry epitomizes submission grappling. Sperry's Jiu-Jitsu technique
has long been heralded by peers and fans alike. Sperry has the
nuances of grappling down to an art [as evidenced by his unmatched
instructional videos]. However, unlike some Jiu-Jitsu based fighters,
Sperry also is a strong wrestler, with a wide variety of takedowns
in his grappling arsenal. His striking is not up to par with
Kondo's, but he has shown himself to be adequate in taking (see
Ninja-Sperry) and delivering strikes.
The
key to this fight is simple, how quickly can Mario Sperry take
this fight to the mat? One thing Sperry does so well on the ground
is control his opponents entire body. If Sperry can land a takedown
(it could be a leg trip, but Kondo has deceptively strong upper-body),
he could position himself to initially strike Kondo, and then
submit him. However, Sperry should not only be weary of shooting
for a leg (Kondo could easily catch him with a flying knee or
barage of knees after a sprawl), but he should not take Kondo
lightly on the mat. Kondo exhibited oustanding groundwork in
his first bout with Kikuta earlier this year (which is one of
my top 5 fights of the year), and has shown himself to be quite
adept at scrambling out of precarious positions.
It
is pretty safe to say that Kondo will almost immediately throw
a high kick or a flying knee out of the gate, so Sperry should
have his guard up early. Sperry should also be very weary of
Kondo's left hand, [specifically his left hook]. One thing Sperry
can not revert to is attempting to exchange strikes in the heat
of the moment (like he did against Ninja Rua), because he will
inevitably get put on the mat. However, if Mario (who is normally
a strong tactician) can stick to the gameplan of smothering Kondo's
offense by taking him down, he can win this fight.
In
the end, this fight can most likely go one of two ways. Either
Sperry continually lands takedowns, controls Kondo (who is smaller
than Sperry) on the mat, and wins a decision, or Kondo decimates
Sperry on their feet. Let us also remember Pride's recent stringency
towards action on the mat. If Mario is not *incredibly* active
in a dominant position on the ground, this fight will get stood
up. DSE wants an action packed fight that will keep Fuji TV viewers
tuned in, and the Saitama fans energized (not to say Mario can't
do that with his superb submission skills), so Sperry must continually
look for the finish if he grounds Kondo. While it is also interesting
to note Paulo Filho's (Sperry's teammate) decision victory over
Kondo (where Filho controlled Kondo on the mat), it is also pertinent
to point out how much Kondo has improved since 2001. Nevertheless,
I look for this fight to go the full three rounds, with Kondo
receiving a close (perhaps split) decision.
Source: MMA Weekly |
New
Year's Eve Preview - Part II
By Jason Probst
Talk
about competition making for a better product. It’s going
to be a great New Year’s Eve in Japan where three major
fight cards, featuring mostly mixed-martial arts action along
with some K-1-style competition, will be aired on three of the
largest terrestrial Japanese television channel.
Dueling
PRIDE’s intriguing card (today’s featured breakdown)
are Antonio Inoki’s Bom-ba-ye show and a much-ballyhooed
K-1 effort, including the talk of the island nation: Bob Sapp
versus Sumo Yokozuna, Akebono.
With
some of its biggest stars (Sakuraba, “Rampage,” Yoshida,
Herring …) competing on 12/31, PRIDE has pieced together
the most meaningful event of the night, the repercussions of
which will surely be felt throughout the coming year.
Hayato
Sakurai vs. Daiju Takase
Like the bigger Takase here in a good match of submissions aces.
Takase is one of those little guys that’s used to taking
on monsters, and Sakurai was the last guy to be a betting favorite
over Matt Hughes (imagine that!). Take Mach by decision.
Daniel Gracie vs. Wataru Sakata
Gracie versus a Japanese guy, wow, what an idea! Is it just me,
or do Japanese surnames always have 50% vowels? Sakata only needs
to spell “TAP,” and he’ll do just that. Gracie
by submission.
Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge vs. Don "The Predator"
Frye
Billed as a retirement match for “Big Daddy” Goodridge,
who’s probably fought more top fighters than most. He loses
and goes down swinging, and brings the ruckus, so to speak. This
is their third meeting, with Frye scoring two stoppages.
Don
Frye should be smart and take this one to the ground, but Frye
admittedly is too macho in trading shots. Take Frye by decision.
We’re all getting a little older … but Frye’s
Magnum P.I. moustache will always rock harder than front-row
seats to Molly Hatchet.
Quinton
Jackson vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
This could be grim. If you’ve ever seen a big dog tear up
a little dog, you’ve seen it before. Minowa’s record
of 23-17 shows he’s tougher against American fighters, who
haven’t submitted him nearly as often as you would expect
given his numerous stoppage losses to his countrymen (draw your
own conclusions). He’ll probably bulk up to 190 pounds from
his usual 180, which won’t help much.
Jackson
is on a roll right now and showed how tough he is with performances
against Murilo Bustamante, Chuck Liddell and Vanderlei Silva.
This is a fight where he can do pretty much anything he wants,
and he should bang Minowa around before taking him out in the
first round.
Mario
Sperry vs. Yuki Kondo
A hard one to call, pitting “The Zen Machine” against
Kondo, one of the most active top-level Japanese fighters in
the sport. At one time Sperry was one of the top grapplers in
the game, and was a threat to submit anyone; but his MMA career
never really took off and we didn’t see him as often as
we would’ve liked. Go with Kondo by decision, especially
since it’s in Japan and he’s been competitive against
heavyweights.
Hidehiko
Yoshida vs. Royce Gracie
It would be a clever move if Yoshida showed up without the gi
in a surprise move. Or somebody got KO’d from standup without
it ever going to the ground. It would also be cool if I was being
stalked by Christina Aguilera, an equally probable scenario.
This
one is going to be a gi-fest, grappling match, and it’s
got rules that are so anti-striker as to completely eliminate
the possibility of someone being beaten with strikes. Going to
the canvas will prompt a ten count, and the ten-minute rounds
guarantee a Gracie guard-fest. It’ll be tough for Royce
to overcome Yoshida but hopefully this one will at least have
a definitive ending, unlike the controversial first one.
Go
with Yoshida by decision. His confidence is rightfully high after
his showing against Silva in the PRIDE Grand Prix, and he’ll
control the action and land a few strikes on the ground en route
to a decision.
Source: Maxfighting |
Quote
of the Day
"You
don't become enormously successful without encountering some
really interesting problems."
Mark Victor Hansen, American Motivational Speaker, Author
|
Help
One of Hawaii's Best Raise Funds For The Olympics
Taylor
Takata is selling t-shirts in order to raise funds so that he
can make it to the 2004 Olympics. We don't have a picture of
them, but they are black with red lettering. It says "Takata"
and Judo with a picture of two guys throwing each other on the
back. They are pretty cool.
The cost is $14 for kid sizes, $16 for adult sizes, and $17 for
XXL.
If you are interested, you can contact Zack Pang via e-mail (zackpang@yahoo.com) or call him at 551-4421.
Taylor would like the orders, if any, asap so he can give the
printer an accurate count without over or under ordering.
For those of you that have never heard of Taylor, he is one of
the best Judoka at the Shobukan (off Liliha Street), the same
dojo that the Sunada's came from. Taylor has more Judo titles
than you can count and I think I still have a piece of Tatame
stuck in my back from over 6 years ago when he just about threw
me through the floor.
|
Fighters'
Club TV Episode 17 Tonight!
Tuesdays 6:00PM on
Channel 52 (Oceanic Cable)
Just when you thought we couldn't possibly get any better, along
comes
Episode 17. It's action packed from start to finish--and showcases
our best
"acting" yet.
Fighters' Club TV
has also recently been named Olelo's "Best
Sport's Program of 2003"!
Fighters'
Club TV Episode 17 features:
-Highlights
from Rumble on the Rock (Oahu)
-Ross Ebanez vs. Gabe Casillas
-Renato "Charuto" Verisimo vs. Gil Castillo
-Gilbert Melendez vs. Stephen Palling
-Ronald Jhun vs. Shawn Taylor (+ intvw w/ Ron)
-DeFranco vs. Deshaun Johnson
-BJ Penn vs. Takanori Gomi (+ intvw w/ BJ--his personality shines
through in
this one!)
-intvw w/ UFC president Dana White on BJ's fights and ROTR
Technique
of the Week (back by popular demand)
-Enson "Yamato Damashii" Inoue
and,
stay tuned for the credits where you can see out-takes of your
favorite
personalities: Mike and Chris Onzuka, and Mark Kurano mess up
their
lines--not to mention, Chris doing his Ludacris impersonation.
This
Episode will air for the next 4 Tuesdays
(Dec 23rd, 30th, and Jan 6th and 13th).
Comments,
Questions, and Suggestions to: fightersclubtv808@hotmail.com
We're
still looking for that "right" female to help host
the show--resumes
w/ pics attached to the same email address.
Happy
Holidays from the TOUGHEST SHOW ON TELEVISION!
|
Brazilian
Portuguese Classes
Farrington Community
School for Adults
SPRING SESSION 2004
Registration
Dates: Jan. 7-17, 2004
Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday 8:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
$24.00 plus
books
Ph# 832-3595
Saturday classes start on 2/7/04
Beginner classes 8:00 a.m. Advance 10:00 a.m.
|
Ring
of Honor 2
(MMA &
Kickboxing)
Campbell High School Gymnasium, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
January 24, 2003
$15.00
in advance and $20 day of the event
Tickets at all participating schools or call 671-4140 or 330-9484.
Here
is the tentative card subject to change.
Kids
Kickboxing 3 x 1 minute rounds
55.lbs Tristin Kamaka (808 Fight Factory) vs. Tristin Prebra
(Ewa Beach Fight Club)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
170.lbs Teddy Piko (808 Fight Factory) vs. Ryan Oasay (House
of Pain)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
130.lbs Kai (808 Fight Factory) vs. Hans Lee (Animal House)
Amateur
MMA 2 x 3 minute rounds
155.lbs Nestor (Bulls Pen) vs. Chase (BJ Penn Mixed Martial Arts
Academy)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
140.lbs Nick Corriera (Makakilo Kickboxing) vs. Kaniala Stanton
(Ewa Beach Fight Club)
Amateur
MMA 2 x 3 minute rounds
145.lbs Brandon Antolin (Jesus Is Lord) vs. Kevin Delima (Bulls
Pen)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
140.lbs Josh Baker (House Of Pain) vs. David Balicao (Hawaii
Self Defense)
Amateur
MMA 2 x 3 minute rounds
130.lbs Geraldo Arevalo (808 Fight Factory) vs. Ikaika Silva
(House of Pain)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
155.lbs Royce Akiona (House Of Pain) vs. Ben (Hawaii Self Defense)
Amateur
MMA 2 x 3 minute rounds
170lbs. Russell Strong (BJ Penn Mixed Martial Arts Academy) vs.
Jason Nicholson (808 Fight Factory)
Kids
Kickboxing 3 x 1 minute rounds
57.lbs Kai Kamaka III (808 Fight Factory) vs. Kiana Baker (House
Of Pain)
Amateur
MMA 2 x 3 minute rounds
160.lbs Robert Villapando (808 Fight Factory) vs. Ben George
(Bulls Pen)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
180.lbs Scott Redoble (Hawaii Self Defense) vs. Allan Ulip (Animal
House)
Amateur
MMA 2 x 3 minute rounds
185.lbs Ron Foster (808 Fight Factory) vs. Ryan Baqui (Kodenkan)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
185.lbs Andy Ahsing (Ewa Beach Fight Club) vs. Shelton Guerro
(House of Pain)
Amateur
MMA 2 x 3 minute rounds
140.lbs Shane Nelson (BJ Penn Mixed Martial Arts Academy) vs.
Ryan Lee (Bulls Pen)
Adults
Kickboxing 3 x 1:30 minute rounds
170.lbs Alvin Ulip (Animal House) vs. TBA
Main
Event:
Professional MMA 3 x 5 minute rounds
170lbs. Ron Jhun (808) vs. TBA
Source: Event Promoter |
Ring
of Honor 3
(Submission
Grappling tournament)
Campbell High School Gymnasium, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
February 8, 2003 (the day after Superbrawl)
$30.00
in advance and $40.00 the day
There
will be matches for 3rd and 4th Place. There will be team awards
for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
Source: Event Promoter |
'Pe
de Pano' Speaks!
by: Luca Atalla
MARCIO
'PE DE PANO' CRUZ SIGNS TO FACE JEFF MONSON IN A BATTLE OF ADCC
CHAMPIONS AT THE SUBMISSION WRESTLING OPEN 1 ON FEBRUARY 28th,
2004!
Controversy
has been added to the Submission Wrestling Open 1! Multiple BJJ
World Champion and ADCC over 98.9 kg champion Marcio 'Pe de Pano'
Cruz is the first big name to officially sign for SWO 1, an event
scheduled for Florida, USA, this Feb 28th. The match will be
held under official ADCC Submission Wrestling rules, a format
both Cruz and his opponent are familiar with. 'Pe de Pano' will
face former ADCC worldchampion Jeff Monson in one of the event’s
superfights.
'Pe
de Pano', known for his hot mouth, began the interview in a calm
tone, saying he’s very happy to participate in a submission
wrestling tournament again, since he spent the second half of
2003 competing with a gi. But the soft words finish there!
As
he starts to talk about his opponent, the heat rises right away.
the outspoken one states ‘Monson is a very tough guy indeed.
Especially because he doesn’t like to go for it, he stalls
a lot. Are the rules exactly the same as the ADCC World Submission
Wrestling Championship?’ he asks. Not waiting for the answer,
he resumes: ‘If so, I am the winner already! Those rules
are amazing!’
Cruz
bought up another incident from the ADCC 2003 World Championships.
On the possibility of Monson losing his temper and getting naked
after the bout like he did in Sao Paulo last May, 'Pe de Pano'
is emphatic: ‘Another man’s nudity is not my business,
but if he needs to lose to get naked, he can start undressing
right now.’
Pe
de Pano finishes: ‘But get naked like he did is easy. I
want to know if he can take off his trunks over his head this
time,’ finishes Cruz as he signs the contract to participate
in the tournament.
The
Submission Wrestling Open 1 is on!
Source: ADCC |
New
Year's Eve Preview - Part I
By Jason Probst
Talk about competition making for a better product. It’s
going to be a great New Year’s Eve in Japan where three
major fight cards, featuring mostly mixed-martial arts action
along with some K-1-style competition, will be aired on three
of the largest terrestrial Japanese television channel.
Dueling
PRIDE’s intriguing card are Antonio Inoki’s Bom-ba-ye
show and a much-ballyhooed K-1 effort, featuring the talk of
the island nation: Bob Sapp versus Sumo Yokozuna, Akebono.
Here
are the breakdowns of the latter two, with a PRIDE preview to
come Tuesday.
Inoki
Bom-Ba-Ye
Riddled with threats of lawsuits from Pride because of their
claimed exclusivity rights to Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Nogueira,
Inoki’s show still offers guaranteed matchups that are decent.
The latest reports have Fedor and Nogueira off the card because
of contractual obligations, and it’s been a game of musical
chairs with matchups.
However
there are still compelling matches, and here’s a look at
those that are solid, all of which are MMA.
Josh
Barnett vs. Semmy Schilt
Barnett
beat him once, and he’ll beat him again, as Schilt’s
still basically a huge kickboxer with limited takedown defense.
Barnett by submission, first round. Too bad he’s been AWOL
in the states since beating Randy Couture in UFC 36, because
he might be the best heavyweight out there.
Rich
Franklin vs. Ryoto Machida
Take
Franklin by decision. His ground skills should carry him through
a long fight and back up his solid standup as Machida opts for
a floor war.
Alistair
Overeem vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Overeem
brings a lot of takedown defense into his match with Vladdy,
and this could be a repeat of Matyushenko’s fight of Andrei
Arlovski if he can’t take it to the mat early.
Amar
Suloev vs. Din Thomas
Tough match for smooth, skilled Din Thomas, who steps up in weight
vs. Suloev. However, have a feeling here Thomas is getting better
with each fight; pick here is Suloev in tough distance win.
Kazuyuki
Fujita is also fighting on the card versus an opponent to be
named.
K-1
Show
(Kickboxing Fights)
Bob
Sapp vs. Akebono
Akebono might have edge in foot speed given his sumo background,
but getting punched by Sapp should be a weird experience for
him, if not a memorable one. This freak show is the draw of the
K-1 card, and even a hardened MMA observer like myself will be
guilty scanning the net for the results.
Take
Sapp by knockout or DQ after Akebono reverts to form, tossing
him down and squishing him.
Ernesto
Hoost vs. 'Montanha' Silva
Badman Hoost has too many weapons, skills for bigger but raw
Silva. Little axe chop down big tree.
Shannon
Briggs vs. TBA
Briggs by knockout in what may be a seminal crossover fight,
building toward larger things.
Francois
Botha vs. Yusuke Fujimoto
The Japanese love to see Americans -- any American -- in against
their own. Maybe it’s some lingering love-hate relationship
with our culture? Who knows. Botha may replicate Butterbean’s
first round KO of Fujimoto, but then again, he never had that
much power. Take Fujimoto by hard-fought decision.
Francisco
Filho vs. TOA 'The Samoan Beast'
Filho is a top K-1 fighter, take him by knockout, and nickname
cancellation, in two.
MMA matchups:
(MMA
Fights)
Genki Sudo vs. Eric 'Butterbean' Esch
For freak show rating, this might even surpass Sapp-Akebono.
Lord help little Genki if he falls to guard against Esch, whose
340-pound frame (or 320, or 380, depending on when he’s
last eaten) is twice his size. It might be an interesting object
lesson to see if an armbar or leg lock can be executed and implemented
properly against such a huge opponent (imagine Sudo going for
an omo plata against Bean’s pumpkin-sized shoulder), but
we’ll go with Sudo and the rear-naked choke in two rounds,
after some posing and general bizarre feeling out in the first.
It
should resemble a walrus fighting a terrier, albeit a terrier
with good submissions.
Other
fights on the card are mostly kickboxers doing MMA and serving
as filler for the night:
Alexey
Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Cyril Abidi vs. Sylvester Terkay
David Khakhaleichivili vs. Yoshihiro Nakao
Tom Howard vs. Christopher Midoux
Jan Nortje vs. Masayuki Naruse
Source: Maxfighting |
Sakakibara
Press Conference
"There
is one Japanese fighter that I would like to face Sakuraba, no
matter what it takes, and I'd like for the media to help me."
That was what Dream Stage Entertainment's President Nobuyuki
Sakakibara had to say to reporters gathered at the 12/23 press
conference held at DSE headquarters. He didn't mention any names
but there's no doubt that he's talking about a tough-minded fighter
who wears red shorts.
Kondo versus Sperry, Minowa versus Rampage, Goodridge versus
Frye … it was right after Sakakibara announced these fights
that he really got warmed up. "There were rumors that Sakuraba's
opponent would be Rogerio Nogueira. Rogerio is definitely a candidate
but DSE feels that there is one guy even more appropriate for
this event. We've been constantly after him, asking him what
it would take to fight for us in this event. He's a Japanese
fighter. We at DSE will give our absolute best but we will need
the help of the fans and the media."
It
was an unusual statement. Even without saying a name, it's obvious
whom he's talking about. Sakuraba's mentor, PRIDE FC General
Director Nobuhiko Takada, admitted that he was a man among men.
To make this public appeal is a big gamble for PRIDE FC as they
are still in the negotiation-stage.
Asked
why the fighter didn't immediately accept the New Year's Eve
fight, Sakakibara replied, "I don't know. If he has a reason,
it's probably personal. He's not the kind of guy to be in a hurry
just because of the money or the size of the event. He doesn't
really like to fight in events with giant themes or with other
Japanese fighters. But, that's exactly why we want to see him."
Sakuraba
has already agreed to fight him. According to DSE, Sakuraba said
he would fight him even if it weren't finalized until the 30th.
If the negotiations fail though, there'll be nothing for him
to do but wait and it may be trouble for the company broadcasting
the event, Fuji Television. Realistically, negotiating up till
the day before the fight is impossible but according to Sakakibara,
he plans on pursuing this fighter until the last possible minute.
The
hardheaded guy with the red shorts has already refused DSE several
times, however, DSE has been refused by him before but was finally
able to successfully negotiate his appearance in the past. Sakakibara
says that he's going to keep on pushing the offer until he gets
thrown out of the negotiating room.
Sakuraba
versus the mystery fighter was the most requested match-up by
the fans participating in the 11/9 fan survey at the Tokyo Dome.
"This is one of the greatest Japanese match-ups ever, right
up there with Yoshida versus Tamura." Sakakibara continued,
"This is a card that I want to make happen at any cost."
President
Sakakibara has a lot on his mind. The eyes of the martial arts
world will be on the New Year's Eve fights. It seems his willingness
to do anything to help the MMA world led him to ask for assistance
from the media this time.
After
hearing about Sakuraba, the mystery fighter said, "If the
fans want it, the media wants it and we want it, and that voice
is loud enough, I'll fight." The fans want it, the media
wants it and his opponent, Sakuraba, wants it. The only thing
left is for him to make a decision.
Additionally,
President Sakakibara addressed the reports of the PRIDE FC Interim
Heavyweight Champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's appearance in
another event. "We received a request for that but we haven't
held any discussions. We've officially refused to let Fedor Emelianenko
participate but have decided to loan Semmy Schilt to them. DSE
wants to be helpful and share our strengths as much as possible
but they cannot continue to decide things in such a one-sided
manner. Nothing has been decided at all about Nogueira's appearance."
Source: Pride |
Shockwave
Press Conference
A press
conference was held on December 23rd at Dream Stage Entertainment's
headquarters to announce three fights for the upcoming December
31st PRIDE SHOCKWAVE 2003 show. Two former Pancrase fighters,
Ikuhisa Minowa and the current Pancrase Light-Heavyweight Champion,
Yuki Kondo, will stand in the PRIDE ring. Additionally, PRIDE
FC's gatekeeper, Gary Goodridge, will fight in his retirement
match.
The battle for the New Year's Eve spotlight continues and PRIDE
FC has started firing back, as some very big Japanese names will
be appearing on the SHOCKWAVE card.
Yuki
Kondo … He's Pancrase's fighter ace and defeated Sanae Kikuta
on 11/30 to become the "King Of Pancrase" Light-Heavyweight
Champion. After seeing the fight, DSE President Nobuyuki Sakakibara
declared it as the best Japanese vs. Japanese fight of the year.
His
opponent in PRIDE FC, is none other than the head of the Brazilian
Top Team, Mario Sperry. Sperry suffered a recent loss to the
younger Murilo "Ninja" Rua, but is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu
master with victories over such formidable opponents as Igor
Vovchanchyn, Wataru Sakata and Andrei Kopylov.
Although
Kondo's appearance was arranged rather quickly, he remains confident.
"I was already training as if I would have a fight. Nothing
changes because my opponent has been decided. My training theme
is to be able to fight anyone, anytime." Finally the curtain
will be opened and PRIDE FC fans will be able to see the flying-knee
and "the brute", Kondo's vicious left hook, that took
out Kikuta in one hit. It looks like Kondo may have his eyes
set on PRIDE FC's Middleweight Champion, Wanderlei Silva, too.
"I don't want to just have one fight and say, okay, that's
it. I want to connect this fight with something in the future."
If he gets through Sperry, Silva will be one step closer. Kondo
is generally thought of as being one of a very small handful
of Japanese fighters that have a chance at beating Silva.
The
second Pancrase fighter is the man who calls himself a "real
pro-wrestler", Ikuhisa Minowa. He left the Pancrase organization
in May of this year, traveled to Brazil and is now returning
to Japan to fight after a 6-month training session with the Brazilian
Top Team. "He is one of the best, young Japanese fighters,"
President Sakakibara commented about Minowa, "He went to
Brazil, without being able to speak the language, and successfully
trained with the Brazilian Top Team. That is no easy task. He
is a fighter that DSE has been after for a long time." The
President of his former organization, Ozaki, readily agreed to
his appearance and Minowa has earned his first chance to climb
into the PRIDE FC ring.
It
will not be an easy climb, however. His opponent will be Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson, who placed second in the PRIDE Grand
Prix 2003. President Sakakibara seems confident about the newest
fighter to PRIDE FC, "Minowa is 85kg and Rampage is 95kg.
There is a weight difference but if there is anyone who can make
up for it, it's Minowa." Minowa himself has long expressed
a desire to fight bigger opponents, "Pro-wrestlers have
to fight opponents of all sizes. A small guy's victory over a
huge guy is the greatest win."
Both
fighters are skillful in their use of the power-bomb and fans
will have to pay close attention to see which one will slam,
and which will be slammed.
Also
of interest in the Shockwave show, PRIDE FC's gatekeeper, Gary
Goodridge, active since PRIDE 1, is going to hold his retirement
fight. According to "Big Daddy," the damage he has
acquired over his years in fighting and the physical and mental
damage he received in his loss against Fedor in August brought
him to the decision to retire.
It
was Goodridge who brought the offer to DSE. "I want to fight
again. I want my last fight to be against someone tough."
His opponent, it turns out, is one of the toughest men alive,
Don Frye. Frye has lost only once in the UFC and as one of the
toughest guys in PRIDE FC, he had no choice but to accept. Both
sides agreed upon the fight very quickly. Said Goodridge, "With
Frye as my opponent, I'm sure it will be a fitting final match."
Gary Goodridge, a man who has devoted his life to PRIDE FC, will
step into the PRIDE FC ring and stand before his fans for the
final time as a true man and as PRIDE FC's gate keeper.
This
now brings the total number of matches for PRIDE SHOCKWAVE 2003
to six matches. Excluding Sakuraba, there are 2 more Japanese
fighters that may participate in the scheduled 10 fights. "I
want to start announcing the fights tomorrow, as soon as they
are finalized." (Pres. Sakakibara)
Source: Pride |
Quote
of the Day
"Treat
a man as he is and he will remain as he is.
Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he
can and should be."
Stephen Covey, American Speaker, Trainer, Author of ''The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People''
|
Rumble
On The Rock 5 Results!
Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium, Hilo, Hawaii
December 27, 2003
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
(All
of these lovelies are Tahitian dancers and can shake some booty
like you wouldn't believe)
Rumble went back to the town that it originated, Hilo, Hawaii
and brought in some of the best production ever seen in Hawaii
for an MMA event. Light racks, two large screens, an entrance
ramp, smoke, fighter video introductions and instant replay treated
those who were in attendance at this event. The event brought
a full card of twelve matches and played the entire match between
BJ Penn and Takanori Gomi. The action started off with a 4-man
lightweight tournament with a fighter from BJ Penn's academy
and a fighter from Oahu's 808 Fight Factory meeting in the finals.
Some of the highlights were the war between Villapondo and Castro
with tons of reversals and even though Villapondo controlled
the match, you had the feeling that Castro could steal it from
Villapondo at any moment. Another came via KO from the hands
of Abraham Cortes-Kalaupa being delivered to Gaven Mata. The
finals of the lightweight tournament was also a war when Villapondo
fought off Robison's take down attempts or was able to fight
his way back up to his feet and pounded Robison, while Robison
was relentless with his take down attempts and had Villapondo
in some bad positions, keeping Villapondo on his toes for the
entire fight. The Sonnen-Moore fight was pretty uneventful, with
Sonnen peppering Moore for the whole fight and Moore getting
a few take downs, but not capitalizing on the positioning. The
judges made an error awarding the decision to Moore only for
the fight to be reviewed on tape at the request of Sonnen, causing
them to reverse their position on the fight, giving Sonnen the
victory.
Lightweight
Tournament Semi-Finals:
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Abraham Robison (BJ Penn's MMAA) def. Jerry Saribay (Bull's Pen)
Submission due to rear naked choke at 3:00 minutes in Round 1.
Lightweight
Tournament Semi-Finals:
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Robert Villapondo (808 Fight Factory) def. Ashton Castro (Young
Guns DeLuta Club)
Unanimous Decision [(20-17), (20-17), (20-17)] after 2 rounds.
2
Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Paul Laga (Bull's Pen) def. Eric Beach (BJ Penn's MMAA)
TKO, Beach could not answer Round 2.
2
Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Abraham Cortes-Kalaupa (BJ Penn's MMAA) def. Gavin Mata (Shirotaka
Kenpo & Kajukenbo)
KO (right upper cut) at 1:27 minutes in Round 1.
2
Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Mark Rodriguez (Rudy Valentino) def. Pete Sefo (808 Fight Factory)
Verbal submission due to strikes from the cross position at 20
seconds in Round 2.
2
Rounds - 5 Minutes:
DJ Delfin (BJ Penn's MMAA) def. Eric Devers (Shirotaka Kenpo
& Kajukenbo)
TKO, referee stoppage due to rear naked choke (Devers was about
to go unconscious) at 49 seconds in Round 1.
2
Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Mike Aina (BJ Penn's MMAA) def. Mike Bickers (Vendrell's Martial
Arts)
KO (right hook) at 22 seconds in Round 2.
Pro-X
Division: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes (no grappling)
Kaleo Padilla (Koden Kan/Kona Boxing) def. Mark Moreno (Bull's
Pen)
Unanimous Decision [(30-26), (30-26), (30-27)] after 3 rounds.
2
Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Kaynan Kaku (BJ Penn's MMAA) def. Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight
Factory)
Unanimous Decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 rounds.
Lightweight
Tournament Finals
Tournament Finals:
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Robert Villapondo (808 Fight Factory) def. Abraham Robison (BJ
Penn's MMAA)
Majority Decision [(20-17), (20-18), (19-19)] after 2 rounds.
Semi
Main:
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Ross Ebanez (BJ Penn's MMAA) def. Shawn Beckett (Fusion Fight
Team)
Unanimous Decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 rounds.
Main
Event:
2 Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Chael Sonnen (Team Quest) def. Homer Moore (Brausa Academy)
Unanimous Decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 rounds.
|
AKEBONO
READY FOR THE BEAST
K-1 'Premium 2003 Dynamite'
December 31st, 2003
Nagoya Dome
Nagoya, Japan
"The
image of defeating Sapp? I usually dream about it." Akebono
told the media at a press conference. "Christmas present
for Sapp? I want to give him the video of my training."
Akebono is very confident predicting a knockout against The Beast.
The
lineup has been described as a circus by many media outlets as
Sapp vs Akebono and Genki Sudo vs Butterbean are the two matches
that highlight this strange card.
-
Christopher "Phoenix" Midoux vs. Tom Howard(MMA)
- Jan "The Giant" Nortje vs. Masayuki Naruse(MMA)
- David Khakhaleichivili (Judo) vs. Yoshihiro Nakao (amateur
wrestling)(MMA)
- Cyril Abidi vs. The Predator(MMA)
- Genki Sudo vs. Butterbean(MMA)
- Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura(MMA)
- Frans Botha vs. Yusuke Fujimoto(K-1)
- Francisco Filho vs. TOA(K-1)
- Ernesto Hoost vs. Montanha Silva(K-1)
- Bob Sapp vs. Akebono(K-1)
Source: MMA Weekly |
PRIDE
FC - First Japanese Event To Announce Full New Year's Card!
by: Marcello Tetel
PRIDE FC - SHOCKWAVE 2003
December 31, 2003
Saitama Super Arena Tokyo, Japan
The
air is beginning to clear in the Land of the Rising Sun, as PRIDE
FC becomes the first of the New Year's Eve events that announces
a full card. Still to be announced are Japan's K-1 and the Inoki
BOM BAY YE events, in what has been a brutal, cutthroat competition
for TV ratings. PRIDE has beaten the other events to the punch,
revealing their full plans just three days prior to the event
occuring.
There
are rumors of further changes in the air, mainly around the opponent
of Japanese star Kazushi Sakuraba. Rogerio Nogueira is the opponent
of record for Sakuraba, but there is word Rogerio may fight Murilo
'Ninja', and Sakuraba would face Matt Lindland instead. When
Rogerio Nogueira left Brazil on the 26th of December, he was
supposed to fight Kasushi Sakuraba, but in the back of his mind,
he was aware that Pride could change the match at the last minute,
due to the pressure of the TV ratings.
When
he left Brazil, Murilo Ninja did not have an official opponent
yet. Now, his opponent will be the last victim of his brother
Shogun, Akira Shoji.
ONe
of the first changes involved Mario Sperry, who was supposed
to fight Don Frye, but his opponent switched to Japanese star
Yuki Kondo.
There
is word that Ryan Gracie is out, and his spot goes to his cousin
Daniel Gracie.
Due
to the New Year's competitions and the pressure from Japanese
TV, this year seems more frenetic than usual. Another Japanese
star, Kiyoshi Tamura was mentioned as an opponent for Sakuraba
in what would have been a classic all-Japanese bout, but they
Tamura will face Ronny Sefo as of this time.
Pride
FC wisely signed as many Japanese fighters as possible for this
card. The only matchups wihout a japanese fighter are the retirement
match for Gary 'Big Daddy' Goodridge against Don Frye and the
Heath Herring versus 'Giant' Silva bout.
Former
SHOOTO star and champion Hayato Sakurai takes on fellow countryman
Daiju Takase, who comes off a big win against highly regarded
Anderson Silva.
COMPLETE
CARD:
- Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson v. Ikuhisa 'The Punk' Minowa
- Heath Herring v. 'Giant' Silva
- Hayato Sakurai v. Daiju Takase
- Murilo Ninja v. Akira Shoji
- Royce Gracie v. Hidehiko Yoshida
- Don Frye v. Gary 'Big Daddy' Goodridge
- Daniel Gracie v. Wataru Sakata
- Ze' Mario Sperry v. Yuki Kondo
- Kiyoshi Tamura v. Rony Sefo
- Kazushi Sakuraba v. Rogerio 'Minotouro' Noguiera
Source: ADCC |
ADCC
NEWS - TOP 10 MMA Competitors
Debut of the NEW LIST
MONTHLY
TOP TEN LIST RETURNS TO ADCC NEWS
For
2004, ADCC NEWS re-introduces it's TOP TEN MMA fighters list,
to be updated monthly. A panel of 6 delegates (1 from each continent)
contributed to the voting for ADCC's Top Ten. The 'unified' weight
categories used in the USA to categorize the competitors, resulting
in ratings for 6 weight categories.
END
OF YEAR / DECEMBER 2003 - ADCC's TOP TEN MMA FIGHTERS
under
145 lbs.
#1 Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira (Brazil)
#2 Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto (Japan)
#3 Jens Pulver (Team EXTREME, USA)
#4 Joao Roque (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#5 Stephen Palling (USA)
#6 Tetsuo Katsuta (Japan)
#7 Ivan Menjivar (Costa Rica)
#8 Cole Escovedo (USA)
#9 Hiroyuki Abe (Japan)
#10 Jeff Curran (USA)
145.1
- 155 lbs.
#1 Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#2 BJ Penn (USA)
#3 Duane 'Bang' Ludwig (USA)
#4 Yves Edwards (3rd Column, USA)
#5 Hermes Franca (American TOP TEAM, USA)
#6 Joachim Hansen (Team Scandinavia, Oslo, Norway)
#7 Takanori Gomi (SHOOTO, Japan)
#8 Genki Sudo (Japan)
#9 Matt Serra (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#10 Din Thomas (American TOP TEAM, USA)
155.1
- 170 lbs.
#1 Matt Hughes (Team EXTREME, USA)
#2 Carlos Newton (Canada)
#3 Sean Sherk (USA)
#4 Jutaro Nakao (Japan)
#5 Frank Trigg (USA)
#6 Robbie Lawler (Team EXTREME, USA)
#7 Ray Cooper (USA)
#8 Karo Parisyan (Team Gokor, USA)
#9 Chris Lytle (Integrated Fighting, USA)
#10 Nick Diaz (Cesar Gracie, USA)
170.1
- 185 lbs.
#1 Murilo Bustamante (Brazil)
#2 Anderson Silva (Brazil)
#3 Matt Lindland (USA)
#4 Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan)
#5 Evan Tanner (USA)
#6 Masanori Suda (SHOOTO Champion, Japan)
#7 Amar Suloev (Red Devil, Russia)
#8 Ricardo Almeida (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#9 Yuki Kondo (Japan)
#10 Denis Kang (Soares JJ, Canada)
185.1
- 205 lbs.
#1 Wanderlei Silva (Chute Boxe, Brazil)
#2 Randy Couture (UFC Champion, USA)
#3 Dan Henderson (USA)
#4 Tito Ortiz (USA)
#5 Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (USA)
#6 Vitor Belfort (Brazil)
#7 Renato 'Babalu' (Brazil)
#8 Rich Franklin (Team EXTREME, USA)
#9 Ricardo Arona (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#10 Chuck Lidell (USA)
205.1
lbs and Up.
#1 - Emilianenko Fedor (Red Devil, Russia)
#2 - Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#3 - Mirko Filipovic (Serbia)
#4 - Tim Sylvia (Team EXTREME, USA)
#5 - Josh Barnett (NJPW, USA)
#6 - Semmy Schilt (Holland)
#7 - Roman Zentsov (Red Devil, Russia)
#8 - Andrei Orlovski (Belarus)
#9 - Frank Mir (Pires JJ, USA)
#10 - Ibragim Magomedov (Red Devil, Russia)
Source: ADCC |
Royce
Gracie News
Royce Gracie Rules Meeting: Yoshida demands shorter fight!
Late
breaking news from Japan. In about 2 hours there will be a rules
meeting and word is that Hidehiko Yoshida is now demanding 2
x 10 minute rounds instead of 3 x 10 minute rounds. Royce's camp
commented: 'It is funny isn't it, at first they offered us unlimited
rounds and we accepted it, supposedly it was accepted by Yoshida.
Then it was going to be 3 x 10 minutes and we agreed. Yoshida
even commented that Royce is the one crying about the rules but
now he is the one, just two days before the fight, requesting
a shorter match! We have always asked for less interference and
more fighting! More rounds = more fighting!'
More
to come on this late breaking development as we get news directly
from Japan!
Royce
Gracie Training on Schedule
A
fiesty Royce Gracie told us today that his training and preparation
for the big rematch with Hidehiko Yoshida is going right according
to schedule. Cousin Rodrigo has arrived already and is adding
some great insight and new energy to the team. In Japan are also
Renzo, Ryan & Daniel (Ryan was there to fight until he got
hurt and replaced by Daniel) adding to the team of Royler, Rolker,
Nono, Evaldo & Pat!
According
to his camp Royce is ready for battle! Comes December 31st it
will be a war in the ring they promise.
Source: ADCC |
Josh
Barnett Interview
By Derek Callahan
On New
Year's Eve "The Baby Faced Assassin," Josh Barnett
will continue to march on in another defense of his King Of Pancrase
Open-weight title. Although now doing some work as a pro-wrestler,
his KOP title defense will be an MMA match against the near 7-foot-tall
Semmy Schilt - a rematch of their UFC 32 outing, which Barnett
won via armbar.
FCF:
Since your leave from the UFC what have you been up to?
Josh Barnett: 6'3" so nothing has really changed. Oh and
touring on the New Japan Pro-Wrestling circuit and still fighting
in MMA in between. I dabble.
FCF:
How does what you're doing now in Japan compare to the old UFC
fights?
JB: Well I have to say that I like the rules a lot better since
there is more freedom and I also like that most fights in Japan
are judged on damage and effectiveness to end the fight, not
control. It awards the guy trying to finish and as I have only
had 2 decisions in my career so far that's good news for me.
I do miss Big John though; he was a character, literally. I told
him that I couldn't stand his character in the UFC game. His
front kick would practically kill you with one hit and [is] almost
impossible to beat. Way too aggravating. So I told him that one
day I was going to turn and attack him during a fight one of
these days. Big John, I haven't forgotten all those times you
infuriated me through that video game and I know you had this
planned all from the beginning to drive me mad. I still have
my sanity and I will savor my revenge.
FCF:
PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko ran into some trouble
with PRIDE when he tried to fight in another show. It seems as
if many of the great heavyweights are in PRIDE where there are
good fights for you. Do you foresee any similar troubles in fighting
outside of Pancrase?
JB: No, because I signed my contract with Vaseline, which makes
it easy for me to slip out of my obligations and fight wherever
I choose.
FCF:
You're facing Semmy Schilt next for the KOP title, how has your
training been altered for this fight?
JB: Well this is something that never changes, but I can say
again that I always train the same except for some emphasis towards
a weakness in my opponent. I believe that I should be ready for
any and everything.
FCF:
What are the advantages/disadvantages of fighting someone in
a rematch?
JB: Simply the fact that you have already beaten them and they
stand to gain much more than you stand to lose externally as
well as internally. Of course you are both now more familiar
with each other's styles, but that's not always a factor because
sometimes there wasn't that much you could pick up from the fight.
Maybe it was over quick or either one was not able to utilize
their strengths. Still, going in with one over them is never
going to hurt.
FCF:
What was the driving force behind your accepting this bout?
JB: They asked and he said yes. Oh and a red-hot poker.
FCF:
This is your first top contender at your weight in a little while,
how do the emotions change while facing a known threat as compared
to a lighter and/or seemingly overmatched opponent?
JB: As a fighter I understand other fighters and their strength
a lot better than someone who isn't. Kondo, Takahashi, and Ambriz
were not weak or easy opponents and weight doesn't mean as much
as people make it out to. If I won quickly or dominated a fight
it isn't because my opponents aren't good, I just trained really
hard and did what I do better than they could do at what they
do. Before me, Ambriz was undefeated and KOTC Super-heavyweight
champ with all wins by finish and 60lbs heavier. Because I beat
him in the first round laymen want to cry "bum." Kondo
was smaller, but had fought many, many times at unlimited and
had defeated Semmy three times before. Takahashi was at the top
of his game when he showed up at Ultimate Crush 2 and is known
to be a real tough guy and weighed 210, which is heavyweight.
The only people who think that those guys weren't any good are
people who aren't training for a fight. Personally I don't take
people lightly and I don't care who ranks them where or what
weight or how great people talk of him. I can tell who can bring
it and who just sings it.
FCF:
You've submitted your last two opponents and have previously
beaten Schilt by armbar. Are these stats any hint at a possible
strategy?
JB: Hell no! I don't give hints or play twenty questions. You
never know what I'll do, except that it'll be as exciting as
possible. I have to say there aren't many who can claim to have
pulled off a rolling German suplex in a fight. In fact just two
I know of. Someone already did the giant swing, and [Bob] Sapp
used the powerbomb so maybe I'll try a Death Valley Bomb. What
the hell is that you say? Guess you'll have to watch.
FCF:
After Schilt, what's next for you?
JB: You buddy. Hot sauce eating contest with the gloves off.
Loser has to rub "the Bomb: Ground Zero" in his underwear
and wear it. Then maybe PRIDE, or really anywhere that will give
me the chance to show the most exciting fights in the world.
Source: FCF |
Lindland
Not Fighting Sakuraba
The
story below probably confirms what I did after talking to Chael
Sonnen and Rob (sorry, forgot his last name) of Team Quest who
said that when they left to go to Hawaii, Lindland was not planning
on fighting anyone in Japan.
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