February News Part 3
Quote
of the Day
Instead
of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to
be. It takes twenty years of hard work to become an overnight
success.
Diana Rankin
|
Media
Alert!
Championship Bout Postponed!
Looks
like all the fans looking forward to the much anticipated Super
Brawl match between Super Brawl Champion Egan Inoue and Shooto
Champion Masanori Suda will have to wait 6 more weeks!
6
more weeks to unify the belts. The bout was initially scheduled
for March 22 with both combatants agreeing to terms. But the
bout will now be held on Friday night, May 9.
It
seems the Shooto Champ may be trying to play head-games with
Inoue. In an e-mail sent to T.Jay Thompson (Super Brawl promoter)
on Thursday, Suda’s management stated Suda needed more time
to prepare. No further information was made available.
When
contacted Egan Ioue replied, “Maybe he is just scared. If
he is trying to play mind games with me it is not working. I
understand he holds the Shooto belt, but a professional fighter
should be prepared. I am working a full time job (at Merck Pharmaceuticals),
raising a family and still found the time to train. But it’s
O.K., maybe he just wants to hold onto his belt for a few more
precious weeks. I will be here waiting on May 9.”
Thompson
stated, “These things happen in the fight game. I never
have a dull moment. I am just disappointed that the fans will
have to wait till May 9 for this spectacular event. ” To
ensure the May 9, date, Suda has now signed a contract with a
considerable penalty if he misses the for any reason.
Ticket
holders to the March 22 event can return or trade there tickets
in at the Blaisdell box-office.
Source:
Promoter |
Ruiz
vs. Jones
Heavyweight Championship Fight
Saturday, March 1st
6:00PM EST
Live on HBO Pay-Per-View
Hear
what Roy Jones has to say:
The big question, can I beat a heavyweight? Come on, this is
Roy Jones, Jr. you're talking about. I ain't crazy but I love
to fight. Yes, this is different. I haven't been in the ring
with a heavyweight before. Everyone wants to do what hasn't been
done, that's why I'm doing this. I don't know exactly how I'm
going to win, but I'm going to win. When he hits the canvas and
the referee counts 10... I will have said all I need to say.
It took 100 years for a dude as bad as me to be born. That says
something right there.
What's
the Champ saying...
Speed...that's
all Roy Jones, Jr. has. Roy's going to be quick, but I don't
think he's going to be quick enough. I'm going to be very aggressive
with him. I will break Roy down because I am the bigger man...and
the smaller man never beats the bigger man. I am the first Hispanic
Heavyweight World Champion in history, and I will keep my crown.
Source: HBO |
Pacific
Fighting Championships
Updated Fight Card
Waikiki Shell, Honolulu, Hawaii
April 17, 2003
Here
is the PFC’s updated tentative fight card. This should be
action packed because almost every fighter on the card is a boxer
or kickboxer, so you know that leather is going to fly. Tickets
for the inaugural PFC event will go on sale on March 1st, at
the Blaisdell box office. Music group Kau’oka will also
be performing. Get your tickets early because it will be held
under the stars at the Waikiki Shell, where seating is limited.
170lbs
Paul George (Bulls Pen)
Vs.
Daris (Hard Knocks)
160lbs
Brit Collen (Kodenkan)
Vs.
TBA (Professional Training Center)
170lbs
James Kepa (Bulls Pen)
Vs.
Ata (Hard Knocks)
145lbs
John Neraveva (Bulls Pen)
Vs.
Lyndon Patricio (Westbrook Kickboxing)
205lbs
Roman Paris (Team Nanakuli)
Vs.
Jason Verdadero (Bulls Pen)
170lbs
PJ Dean (Waianae Boxing Club/Hard Knocks, AFC 2 Champion)
Vs.
John Naole (HMC)
170lbs
Blake Hottenberg (Kodenkan)
Vs.
Clifford Cumat (Bulls Pen)
155lbs
John Kukahiko (Kokenkan)
Vs.
Neal Andres (HMC)
Main
Event
170lbs
Deshaun Johnson
Vs.
Jacob Vela (Kodenkan)
Source: Event Matchmaker |
UFC
41: Onslaught -- Frank Mir vs. Tank Abbott
by: Joseph Cunliffe
Frank
Mir arrived in the northeast this week leaving behind sunny 80*
desert weather to brave freezing winter temperatures and David
“Tank” Abbott. Mir and Abbott face off at “UFC
41: Onslaught” this Friday, February 28 at the Boardwalk
Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The 4-1 Mir of Las Vegas, NV is a
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist. Seen as one of the most promising
young heavyweights, Mir exploded on the scene and captured technical
submission wins over his first 2 UFC opponents. The 8-7 Abbott
of Huntington Beach, CA is known for his quick knockout power
and has some of the most memorable KO’s in the UFC. It wasn’t
difficult to spot the UFC heavyweight at the airport Monday night.
Sporting Team Mir sweatshirts, Mir arrived with his parents,
girlfriend and trainer, Ricardo Pires. The look is definitely
more organized, a marketing aspect of fighting Mir is working
on.
Mir's
thoughts the on upcoming fight: 'The fight is going to whatever
guy can fight the style he wants and control the pace. He will
win the fight. If it’s a quick paced fight, it will be in
his favor. If it’s a slow pace fight, it will be in my favor.'
Coming
off the loss to Ian Freeman: 'I had a game plan for Ian, but
when the fight started, your ego sometimes gets a hold of you
and you try to jump in at the same pace as your opponent. I was
no where near the shape to compete at that pace of a fight. Just
the pace of the fight itself drew me out. I am now conditioned
enough to compete at a pace that is much faster than I like,
but my body can keep me there and going until I can bring the
fight into the situation I want it to be.'
Being
mentally and physically prepared: 'I’m probably more mentally
ready then any other bout. Physically I’m very strong for
once taking care of all the conditioning portions outside the
fight. The excuses aren’t as strong after a loss and it’s
hard to justify skipping training, which enabled me to come in
better form then for any other fight.'
On
training and conditioning: 'My training was inconsistent before,
which made it so I couldn’t train at a high level pace.
I’ve always been just barely trying to get into shape, but
with this fight, I had 6 weeks, which allowed me to jump up the
level of training and learn more about myself and what I was
capable of doing. It gave me more confidence to realize I’m
able to throw this many punches or attempt this many take downs,
and I’m not going to get tired. That definitely helps me
because fighting with a monkey on my back -- if I do take the
chance, will I be left out in open waters?'
Plans
for the week up to Friday: 'I took care of my physicals already,
so I’m just waiting for weigh-ins. I will get use to the
atmosphere while getting my head focused.'
Weight
for the fight: 'I will look to weigh 250 pounds for this fight.
When I trained for Ian, I trained to look good and I dieted down
to 236. I was 15 pounds lighter and looked better, but no where
near as physically sound.'
Final
thoughts: 'I have the best corner in the world supporting me
with my father and Ricardo Pires Jiu-Jitsu behind me. I showed
it works in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. I just have to do
what they show me in practice and I will win.'
Source: ADCC |
KOTC
Announces Two More PPV Bouts
by: Keith Mills
Hot on the heels of the hot Shonie Carter vs. Ronald Jhun announcement for King Of The Cage’s
May 16th pay-per-view show comes two more marquee bouts.
KOTC
Promoter Terry Trebilcock reports that Jeremy Horn vs. Vernon
White for the Light Heavyweight belt and Jimmy Ambriz vs. Eric
Pele for the Olympic belt have been signed. The event will be
held at the Orleans Arena, a 9300 state of the art facility.
When Terry Trebilcock was asked if Debi Purcell was still on
that card he responded, “No, Judy Neff doesn’t look
like she was going to be ready. Debi called us up and asked us
what we thought of her fighting in HOOKnSHOOT slightly prior
to that so that’s great. If she’s not fighting the
fight we wanted on pay-per-view we’d rather have her fight
at some other place.”
Horn/White
can be viewed as both a battle of Pride veterans, or as the KOTC
belt holder, White vs. the UCC belt holder, Horn. Both Horn and
White are 9-1 in their last ten fights, with White’s loss
in that stretch being a decision to Allan Goes in Pride, while
Jeremy’s was a decision loss to Ricardo Arona in Rings.
The main difference between these two fighters is activity, for
Horn 10 fights goes back to 8/11/01 while for White it stretches
to 8/7/99.
Eric
Pele’s long-awaited return to the ring is here! He is to
fight KOTC hed honcho Jimmy Ambriz for the belt in a match that
promises to be a cage-rattling war. Ambriz defeated Johnathan
Ivey on February 21st to retain his belt, utilizing size to keep
Ivey on the ground and deliver blows. However Pele has with wins
over Sean Alvarez by KO, Roger Neff by decision, and Wesley Correira
by submission. With John Lewis' training as a background. this
will be one of Ambriz’s toughest opponents yet.
In
other KOTC belt holder news, Super Fight belt holder John Alessio
reports he is back to training and the injury to his hand is
healed. After getting over one hand injury that postponed his
UCC belt defense back in October, to January when he injured
the other in when he fought Jason Black.
The
Middleweight KOTC belt currently held by City Boxing's Dean Lister
won’t be up until June. Dean won the belt by beating Brendan
Seguin back in August but hasn’t had a chance to defend
it yet. He competed in the October 5th US Abu Dhabi World Submission
Championships qualifier in San Diego, where Dean won his Abu
Dhabi qualifier division by winning three matches despite a knee
injury incurred in the first match. Dean reports he is completely
recovered and in the midst of arduous training for the Abu Dhabi
Worlds in May, after which he will have a month of sparring training
to prepare to defend his belt.
KOTC’s
Lightweight belt recently changed hands on February 23rd when
Alberto Crane defeated Millennia Jiu-Jitsu’s Javier Vasquez
by decision. Javi tore his ACL in roughly the first ten seconds,
but still managed to go the distance, losing his belt by unanimously.
With so much attention on the Lightweights right, with UFC holding
no less than three fights at that weight on February 28th and
HnS’s northwest belt on the line the following day, and
their world belt up for grabs March 8th, there are several options
for Alberto’s first defense.
The
aforementioned Carter/Jhun
fight is for the 170 belt currently held by Romi Aram.
KOTC’s
next card, a non-PPV one, is back in Soboba Casino on March 22nd.
Source: ADCC |
Latest
Official PANCRASE Rankings (as of 2/24/2003)
[Open-weight]
the 9th Open-weight K.O.P. Semmy Schilt (Holland/Golden Glory)
#1 Yuki Kondo (PANCRASEism)
#2 Yoshiki Takahashi (PANCRASEism)
#3 Kiuma Kunioku (PANCRASEism)
#4 KEI Yamamiya (PANCRASEism)
#5 Sanae Kikuta (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#6 Tim Lajcik (U.S.A./Gladiators Training Academy)
#7 Osami Shibuya (PANCRASEism)
#8 Katsuhisa Fujii (UFO)
#9 Ron Waterman (U.S.A./Colorado Stars)
#10 Jun Ishii (Chojin Club)
[Heavyweight(199lbs.~under
221lbs.)]
the 1st Heavyweight K.O.P. Yoshiki Takahashi (PANCRASEism)
#1 Tsuyoshi Ozawa (Zendokai)
#2 Katsuhisa Fujii (UFO)
#3 Jason Godsey (U.S.A./I.F. Academy)
[Light
heavyweight(181lbs.~under 199lbs.)]
the 2nd Light heavyweight K.O.P. Sanae Kikuta (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#1 Yuki Kondo (PANCRASEism)
#2 Ricardo Almeida (U.S.A./Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy) *UP
from #6
#3 Ikuhisa Minowa (PANCRASEism) *DOWN from #2
#4 Yuki Sasaki (Pancrase GRABAKA) *DOWN from #3
#5 Akihiro Gono (Pancrase GRABAKA) *DOWN from #4
#6 KEI Yamamiya (PANCRASEism) *DOWN from #5
#7 Osami Shibuya (PANCRASEism)
#8 Mitsuyoshi Sato (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#9 Eiji Ishikawa (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#10 Daisuke Ishii (PANCRASEism)
[Middleweight(165.7lbs.~
under 181lbs.)]
the 3rd Middleweight K.O.P. Nathan Marquardt (U.S.A./Colorado
Stars)
#1 Izuru Takeuchi (SK Absolute)
#2 Kiuma Kunioku (PANCRASEism)
#3 Kazuo Misaki (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#4 Chris Lytle (U.S.A./I.F. Academy)
#5 Yuji Hoshino (Wajutsu Keishukai GODS)
#6 Hidehiko Hasegawa (SK Absolute) *IN!
#7 Shonie Carter (U.S.A./AIKI Training Hall) *DOWN from #6
#8 Daiju Takase (Yoshida Dojo) *DOWN from #7
#9 Takafumi Ito (PANCRASEism) *DOWN from #8
#10 Kosei Kubota (PANCRASEism) *DOWN from #9
[Welterweight(152.5lbs.~
under 165.7lbs.)]
the 1st Welterweight K.O.P. Kiuma Kunioku (PANCRASEism)
#1 Takafumi Ito (PANCRASEism)
#2 Koji Oishi (PANCRASEism)
#3 Kenichi Serizawa (RJW/CENTRAL)
#4 Hiroki Nagaoka (Rodeo Style)
#5 Satoru Kitaoka (PANCRASEism)
#6 Yuji Hoshino (Wajutsu Keishukai GODS) *IN!
[Lightweight(141.4lbs.~
under 152.5lbs.)] VACANT
[Featherweight(under
141.4lbs.)] VACANT
Source: Mr Oitate, Pancrase Organization |
News
From Japan's SHOOTO
SHOOTO fighters are set to compete in the The 10th All Japan
Combat Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 23rd in Tokyo,
Japan. The sight will be the Machida Sogo Gymnasium.
Fighters
that are expected to compete include Mamoru Okouchi, SAHOOTO
155 lb Champion Takanori Gomi and the legends Rumina Sato and
Hayato 'Mach' Sakurai.
Additionally,
the SHOOTO commission awarded two fighters a 'A' class ranking:
Akira Kikuchi who comes of a 1st round TKO of Toru Nakayama and
has moved his record to 6-0 is the first. Also, 7-3-4 veteran
Ryuta Sakurai was awarded the 'A' ranking, as he comes off a
second round arm bar submission over John Renken
Source: ADCC |
Picking
and Grinning:
The Sherdog Fight Picks for UFC 41
With just a few days left before UFC 41, the Sherdog Team is
putting their money where their mouth is, and making their UFC
picks public. Since we know our opinion to be basically worthless,
we've rounded up "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge, and "El
Guapo" Bas Rutten to add some worthwhile insight on these
bouts tomorrow night.
Mike
Fridley, Brett Herman, Tom Hogan (aka Meat Fist), Rob King, Brian
Piepenbrink, Garrett Poe, Greg Savage, Jeff Sherwood, and Mike
Sloan take a break from their hectic schedule of donuts and remote
controls to arguing with each other about how Tank is going to
do back in the Octagon. Mike Fridley gets bragging rights from
UFC 40, going 8-0 with his picks. Cheater.
If
you want to skip the picks, and go straight to to the riducule,
click here.
Ricco
Rodriguez defeats Tim Sylvia 10-1
Gary Goodridge: Ricco will win because Tim's a no-name tomato
can.
Bas Rutten: I don't know who Tim Sylvia is. I do know who Ricco
is, and he improved SOOOOO much the last 1.5 years, he is going
to take the fight. He's got the submissions, the decent boxing
skills, ground and pound, and let's not forget the most important
thing you need in the heavyweight devision......the stamina!
Brett Herman: Sylvia goes "Cabbage" on Ricco, Ricco
sheds a tear as Tito looks down in shame. Sylvia by TKO.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil
Baroni defeats Matt Lindland 6-5
Brett Herman: My Baloni has a deathwish, it's B-U-S-T-A. KO,
round 2.
Tom Hogan: Slow and boring with neither wanting to engage...
OK, maybe not. Despite his lack of confidence, Baroni by KO in
the first or second round.
Mike Fridley: Possibly the fight of the night here . Expect Lindland
to Feed Baroni his lunch on a Olympic Plate (again). Lidland
by decision.
Brian Piepenbrink: Second verse same as the first. Lindland by
decision.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David
"Tank" Abbott defeats Frank Mir 8-3
Gary Goodridge: I need Tank to keep winning so I can fight him
- look for Tank to be in excellent shape.
Brian Piepenbrink: It would be smart for Mir to "lay and
pray", but pride is a poor substitute for intelligence.
Tank by TKO.
Bas Rutten: Tank has been out too long. He really wants to show
the world that he is still here, so I think that he might be
in the best shape of his life. Still I have to go with youth
here. Frank Mir will win.
Rob King: If Mir does a England job, Tank will probably kill
him. Thankfully that's not going to happen. Mir with the second
round submission.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BJ
Penn defeats Caol Uno 8-2 (1 Draw)
Brian Piepenbrink: What do you do when you can't take someone
down and you can't knock them out? You lose. Penn by TKO, round
2.
Bas Rutten: BJ Penn, he's the man, very well rounded.
Garrett Poe: Uno's a strong crafty little fellow, he'll frustrate
Penn and win by decision.
Greg Savage: Just like I predicted before the beginning of the
tournament, Caol Uno will be the next UFC Lightweight Champ.
The strong finishing Uno should be able to pile up the points
as the fight moves into the later rounds and outlast the quicker
starting Penn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vladimir
Matyushenko defeats Pedro Rizzo 6-5
Mike Fridley: Do or die time for Rizzo. Will it affect his gameplan?
I expect Pedro to be more aggresive, and pay for it dearly. Matyushenko
by KO, round 2.
Gary Goodridge: Pedro will win by TKO, he's a better striker.
Tom Hogan: This will be a tough one for the Rizzo, any slip-ups
or loss of focus and he will lose this fight. Still, he's arguably
the best striker in the sport and I'm a fan, Rizzo by KO in the
second round.
Jeff Sherwood: Rizzo could KO him off the sprawl, but I see Vlady
getting him down and pounding on him. Matyushenko by KO.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matt
Serra defeats Din Thomas 8-3
Greg Savage: Dinyero has all kinds of skills but I can really
see him having problems with Serra on the ground if his cardio
is not much improved from the Uno fight. Serra is tough as nails
and a wizard on the mat. I see this one going to Matt Serra after
a hard fought three rounds.
Rob King: Serra is another UFC fighter who is highly overrated.
Thomas via Decision.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gan
McGee defeats Alexandre "Cafe" Dantas 10-1
Mike Sloan: Should be interesting. I like McGee by stoppage.
Whichever ref is working the fight will have to rescue Dantas
from the beating late in round 2.
Tom Hogan: His only loss is to Barnett, and he's a "giant."
Light's out in the "Cafe."
Brian Piepenbrink: McGee's arms are too long for their own good.
Dantas by Triangle, round 1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yves
Edwards defeats Rich Clementi 5-2
Jeff Sherwood: I'll go with Yves on this, he's got the experience.
Garrett Poe: Clementi lives in my backyard, so that makes him
invincible.
Source: Sherdog |
The
Savage Truth - "Heart of a Champion"
By Greg Savage
Words
like courage, heart and intestinal fortitude get thrown around
so much in the sports world they seem to have lost their significance.
I can honestly tell you last Friday night, in New Mexico, I witnessed
a performance for the ages as Javier “Showtime” Vazquez
showed MMA fans what he is made of, fighting his heart out after
tearing up his knee just seconds into the first round of his
KOTC title bout. Although he came up on the losing end of a split
decision, Javi did little to damage his reputation as one of
the premier fighters in the lightweight division.
I
talked with his trainer and teammate Romie Aram after the match
and you could see the concern on not just his face but all the
guys from Javi’s camp at Millennia. He worried that the
fans would not realize the scope of the injury that had limited
his game and most likely would have left most fighters unable
to continue. That has not been the case as the MMA community
has shown their appreciation and support for what can only be
described as one of the gutsiest showings in MMA history.
The
thing that really makes this hard to swallow for those in the
Millennia camp is the fact that both Javi and Romie were set
to debut in the UFC in Miami in April. I have a feeling Mr. Aram
will have a little extra incentive as he makes his way to the
Octagon and I would not want to be the man standing across from
him as he will be fighting not only for himself but for his fallen
comrade.
I
really can’t express how unbelievable a performance it was.
I have had that same injury (torn acl) and I know just how painful
it is. It is unfathomable to me how that man went 15 minutes
with a fighter the caliber of Alberto Crane and even though he
lost, and pretty handily I must add, Javi showed the kind of
determination that will make him just as successful in any of
his future plans as he has been in the cage.
I
talked with Javi just a month ago about the rigors of being a
professional fighter and he told me how close he came to quitting
after his last knee injury. This is not always a glamorous life
even for fighters at Vazquez’s level. I really hope this
set back is not the final nudge that pushes this great fighter
out of our beloved game.
Word
is surgery is scheduled for next week and I am sure it will be
some time before we get a timetable or even a definite answer
to whether or not “Showtime” will be back. I would
just like to wish Javi a full and speedy recovery and let him
know his actions, even in defeat, showed the true meaning of
courage, heart and most of all guts.
Lost
in all of this well deserved attention is the man who took the
KOTC lightweight belt, Alberto Crane. Injury or not, Vazquez
would have had his hands full with this 155-pound grappling demon.
Alberto showed some slick ground skills as he rattled off submission
attempt after submission attempt.
He
may have come into this fight as a virtual unknown but he has
emerged as a contender in the ever-growing field of lightweight
fighters. As the new KOTC Lightweight Champ, I am sure he will
have the opportunity to showcase his skills in the near future.
All I can say is good luck and great job Champ.
How
about those New Mexico fighters? My partners Joey Villasenor
and Floyd Sword always told me about the tough guys back home
in the Land of Enchantment but I really had no idea. I knew both
of those guys had skills and had heard nothing of anyone else
from the area.
That
all changed last Friday night as the fellas from New Mexico racked
up an impressive 5-0 record, highlighted by Alberto Crane’s
victory and a dominant performance by Joey Villasenor who crushed
an outgunned Tony Galindo.
Another
hometown fighter that impressed was Diego Sanchez. This kid came
out and lit the place up with his intensity. He also won the
Copa Invitational (submission only) last month in Phoenix, defeating
both Jeremy Jackson and Javi Vazquez en route to the victory.
Look for him to make a push as he steps up his level of competition.
And
finally, it’s almost time for the UFC and I can’t wait.
I am not looking forward to the cross-country flight tomorrow
but it will all be worth it when the lights come on and the music
starts blaring. Unlike a lot of people I think there are some
intriguing match-ups.
First
and foremost has to be the return of the “Tank,” David
Abbott. I don’t think I would like to be Frank Mir come
this Friday evening as I see a free stretcher ride in his future,
courtesy of the real “Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” I
am not sure “Tank” can give some of the top heavyweights
much of a challenge but you can count on one thing when he gets
in the cage—someone is going to take a beating.
My
lock of the week has got to be Caol Uno at +250 last time I checked.
As long as he doesn’t try some stupid flying high kick at
the start of the match and can get past oh, say the 20 second
mark, he should be able to get the fight to the mat where he
can work his ground game. Uno always finishes strong and Penn
has proven to be stronger earlier in his fights, thus I have
concluded it will be Uno by decision after five tough rounds.
You
heard it hear first and remember I picked Uno to win this whole
tournament back in September, you can look it up. It is a shame
whoever wins this title will be considered a paper champion—and
believe me they will—in light of the fact that both of these
guys lost to the former champ, Jens Pulver. Lets just hope we
don’t have to have one of these tournaments for the middleweight
title this summer and yes that is a hint to Zuffa to sign the
best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Murillo Bustamante.
Source:
Sherdog |
Ready
For His Close-Up
Tim Sylvia Gets His Shot At The Crown
By Loretta Hunt
Although Tim Sylvia doesn't have much love for Ricco Rodriguez
these days, don't expect to see him chuck any chairs at the UFC
Heavyweight Champion in the pre-fight events leading up to their
square-off this Friday at UFC 41: Onslaught. "There was
some [love] until yesterday when he started running his mouth
about me and my team," remarks Slyvia from his home in Davenport,
Iowa. It's a couple of weeks before the 6'8" 250-pounder
will get his shot at the crown, and Sylvia is relaxing in the
few hours between his morning and evening workouts. Rodriguez
has appeared on a Canadian radio station that past weekend, where
the "Suave" one apparently directed comments towards
not only Sylvia, but also towards his team--Miletich Martial
Arts. "He did that once before and it's been a while, so
I let it go when he said stuff about Matt [Hughes]," comments
the former Maine native with a twinge of genuine forgiveness
in his voice. "But running his mouth about my teammates--you
know they had a tough time in Canada with Jens losing to Ludwig
and Tony losing to 'the Crow' [UCC 12]. He actually brought that
up!" proclaims the exacerbated giant, as if Rodriguez has
committed the ultimate cardinal sin.
It becomes abundantly clear that if you mess with one Miletich
fighter, you're messing with them all, and as Sylvia relates
the story of how he found out he'd be getting the next heavyweight
title shot, one can almost imagine a tattered picture of Rodriguez's
mug dangling from a dart board hanging in the famous Iowa gym.
"I didn't even know at first. Monte [Cox, Sylvia's longtime
manager] had told the rest of my team before me." Standing
in the hotel check-in line for UFC 40, Sylvia overheard fellow
teammate and resident lightweight powerhouse Jens Pulver rant,
"He better beat that boy's ass or I'll never talk to him
again." With the cat out of the bag, this revelation successfully
put to rest the rumor that Sylvia would be paired up next against
another towering figure, 6'10" Gan McGee, for a modern-day
"Battle of the Giants." Slyvia had heard that rumor
as well, but wasn't the least bit disappointed to find out that
it no longer held water. "Oh hell yeah," he confidentially
beamed from the MGM Grand Hotel lobby. The main event was on.
Three years have gone by since Sylvia made it his personal goal
to fight in the UFC, an accomplishment he achieved last September
with his debut against Wes "Cabbage" Correira at UFC
39. Not bad for a man who has test-driven more nicknames in the
last few months than an 18-year old with free reign in a Camaro
dealership. "Superman." and "The Grizzly Bear"
have fallen to the wayside, and it seems Sylvia has settled on
"Maine-iac," an homage to the northeasterly state he
hails from.
It was back in this rural countryside famous for its succulent
lobsters, that Sylvia took his first step towards becoming a
professional athlete, competing as a high school wrestler and
studying Okinawan karate for seven years. Eventually moving to
another town and taking up work as a bouncer at a local bar,
the then 330-pounder was first introduced to grappling when his
colleagues would meet twice a week at a Gold's Gym to roll. As
a group, they picked up moves from anyone that could spare them
and absorbed knowledge from every instructional tape they could
get their hands on. After a year, a confident Sylvia entered
a few local grappling competitions and quickly progressed to
open-hand amateur NHB fights in Rhode Island. Future NAGA founder
Kipp Kollar was the promoter of these shows, and he helped the
promising potential land a fight with the IFC in New Jersey.
From there, the chain of events fell like dominoes. A chance
meeting with Pat Miletich at one of the UFC's led to a week long
invitation to train with him and his established crew. After
a week where Sylvia says he "trained his ass off,"
Pat didn't have to ask twice when he offered Sylvia a permanent
chance to train with the team. The easygoing heavyweight was
back in Iowa by month's end training for his next fight in the
WEF.
Sporting a flawless professional record of 17-0 (he suffered
losses as an amateur before his Miletich days), Sylvia seems
as reasonable a contender as any in a short field of potential
heavyweight candidates affiliated with the UFC organization.
When asked why he thinks he got the chance to rest the belt from
champion Rodriguez's hands, Sylvia breaks it down as if he were
explaining a tedious math problem up at the blackboard. "They
can't really pick anyone else. I believe Gan McGee wouldn't do
it because he signed a 3-fight deal and the money wasn't enough
for him to take a championship fight. Pedro [Rizzo] just lost
and would it have been Ian [Freeman], but he also lost. Then
there's [Andrei] Arvlosky, but he's already lost to Ricco. Unfortunately,
everything fell apart at UFC 40 and I was the last man standing."
"I also think they think it's going to be an easy fight
for Ricco," he coyly adds. But whatever the reason, the
Maine-iac is willing to step up to the plate, even if, as he
openly admits, the timing might be a bit early for his (and many
fans') tastes. "They came to me and it's a hell of an opportunity,
so I'm going to take it. If I win and then later defend my belt,
you're damn right I'd want my opponent to earn that [title shot].
But at this time, no one has got the record I've got." With
a fresh 3-fight deal signed (guaranteeing at least one more fight,
Sylvia says, if he loses), the 26 year old has stopped concentrating
on why he got the chance, and on to how he will train for it.
As hefty as Sylvia is, you'd think he'd have a hard time finding
a training partner comparable to his or his 240-pound opponent's
size for that matter. But once the match-up was solidified, a
call went out to all ready and available heavyweights to make
their way to the field of dreams. Besides fellow in-houser's
Mark Hansen and J.D., established 275-pounder Kerry "Meat
Truck" Schall and 250-pound Travis Wuiff (also a UFC vet)
were both enlisted to help Sylvia with his training. Sylvia also
called on old friend Randy Couture, who ironically, Sylvia had
helped train for the very same foe just a few months ago. Sylvia
says he was lucky enough to join Couture in his home for the
two weeks prior to the former champ's fight, and rose each day
to a knock on his door and a welcoming, "Are you ready stud?"
from the congenial mentor. Training one-on-one each day, Sylvia
vividly recalls just how hard Couture trained for his third shot
at the heavyweight title, which made it even more difficult for
him to watch Randy fall prey to Rodriguez's onslaught. "I
was really hurt by it. It bothered me a lot. We all thought he
was going to win. I really don't know what happened to this day."
Now with the shoe on the other foot, Sylvia will have ample opportunity
to avenge his friend's loss, a task he proclaims he's more than
ready for. Down to 249 pounds and hoping to stay there, the self-professed
practical jokester hopes to keep the fight on its feet because
that's where he feels he can deliver the most punishment. "I
want to hurt him," murmurs Sylvia. "I can submit. I
can 'ground and pound' him. It will be the most fun to keep it
standing though, so I can really punish him. If he takes me down,
I'll just stand right back up. I guarantee it." Fully equipped
to go the 25 minutes if necessary, fans will know late Friday
night whether Sylvia will be able to preserve that unblemished
record or not. "Ricco said he's going to pop my cherry and
give me my first loss, " mouths the contender with an air
of disgust. "Well, I'm no virgin, so he better be ready
for something a little stronger than that."
Source:
FCF |
The
Maturation of Frank Mir
By Jason Probst
If there's
a signature thread running through every mixed martial artist's
career, it's the hard loss and the fallout that accompanies it.
With a deepening talent pool, there are no easy fights for the
lucky few that ply their trade in the UFC and other televised
events. This is the setup that derails a lot of fighters accustomed
to years of dominance through superior ability and good preparation.
Good
preparation is not enough, and will probably precede a pummeling,
tap out, or any of a medley of ways for the message to be driven
home, simply because your opponent prepared like a madman. Today's
mixed martial artist, whether he's a submissions fighter with
a string of jiu-jitsu titles, or a lauded NCAA grappler, must
push it to the edge across a wide spectrum of combat, constantly
juggling the demands of having to hone striking, grappling, and
submission skills. For every extra hour you spend working on
standup with a Muay Thai partner, that's one less hour spent
on Jiu-jitsu. Or takedowns. Or weight training. Or whatever.
It's triage and chaos.
To
do anything less, to reach back for the old standby of pedigree
that was once a dependable contingency plan in another discipline,
is risky fare.
Frank
Mir knows this and learned it the hard way. After submitting
Roberto Traven and then Pete Williams, his emergence onto the
MMA scene was impressive. But after losing to Ian Freeman in
UFC 38 - the bout was stopped after Mir was out on his feet at
the end of the opening round - he realized it just wasn't enough
to rely on talent. It's a seductive trap, how he burst on the
scene with submission wins that came so easily, and he's the
first to explain how it happened.
"Before
I would take it easy," Mir told maxfighting.com. "I
was lazy. I was resting on the fact that I was talented but my
idea of training was to learn some things, go down to the gym,
practice a submission or this or that. But as far as people going
in there and brawling with me, that wasn't my idea of an ideal
day. I basically found that talent still matters for a lot, but
you still have to have conditioning and preparation. You can
have a bad day. But if you have good conditioning that will carry
you through."
The
laconic approach is gone, and has been supplanted by a group
of training partners that swing for his head in an all-out assault
as he trains at the Las Vegas Combat Club.
"There's
days with variations. Some days I come in and there's this guy
that's 6 foot and 250, like Tank, and he's not that great a boxer.
But he's gonna come in and blast me," Mir said. "He'll
throw punches from every angle, wide looping ones, so I can prepare
for dealing with what Tank's likely to bring. Another day, I'll
work from a situation where my game plan is not going my way,
then another day, for when things are going my way."
He
could be on his back, looking up into the thundering guns as
Abbott looks to club him into unconsciousness. He could be on
top after using his superior speed and grappling technique, perhaps
hammering away at Abbott in a role reversal. Anything can happen
but Mir knows that Tank Abbott is still going to rely on what
he does best - knocking people out, skipping the foreplay en
route.
His
training partners serve that purpose, coming at him to knock
his head off, to wire his fighting brain for situational cognizance.
It's done to mimic Abbott's style, of course, but the 23 year-old
is a forward-thinking guy, whose thought processes seem more
like those of a manager than a fighter.
"Tank
watches his own tapes also," Mir said. "So we've prepared
for how he's likely to have improved. Within the guard he's gonna
be a little more polished and not extend himself so much. Originally
they offered me Gan McGee, but when they asked me to fight Tank,
I took it. It was fighting a super tough guy in the prelims or
fighting a main opponent in an almost-main event. Either guy
can hurt you. But I realized that it was a case of getting respect
from the hard core fans, and not much attention, by beating McGhee.
Or getting a lot of recognition but maybe not that kind of respect
from the hard cores by beating Tank."
He
figures if he can take Abbott into a distance fight, it's his.
Most would agree, but the problem with getting there is that
Abbott figures to pose a serious risk early. Mir knows he can't
make mistakes, and that to get too focused too early on getting
a submission while eating punches - which was what cost him against
Freeman - is not good.
"People
retain their power all the way through as they age. If a guy
is strong at 20, he's still going to be super strong in his 50s,
if he's healthy," he said. "Every year you lose a little
bit of your maximum heart rate. A short sporadic (pace) would
favor Tank, with his regimen. Basically, Tank is gonna come out
strong and determined, but eventually things will grind down
to a ground game, and I'll get a submission."
The
contrast in the ground game is considerable. Mir is the prototype
submissions fighter, transitioning from one technique smoothly
into another, and always looking for the angle to wrench a limb
into a victory. Abbott's, meanwhile, was and likely still is
rudimentary grappling technique, buttressed by the strength of
a 600-lb. bench press. It's like putting Lou Rawls vs. Slayer
in a battle of the bands. Can Mir handle the brute power? Or
will Lou's smooth crooning be drowned out in a crunch of ear-bleeding,
mine-goes-to-eleven amplified overdrive?
"Guys
doing submissions today are a lot different," Mir explained,
noting the trend in the UFC's nascent phase. "Typically
when Tank was fighting guys were 180-200 pounds, not big guys
that could open guard and arm bar you. Mark Coleman had an easy
time with jiu-jitsu guys. He could ground and pound them out.
A big guy could just power out of submissions. But now, he fights
Minotauro (Rodrigo Noguiera) and he gets triangle choked out."
"I'm
still pretty much in the learning phase of my career," he
added. "I'm figuring out where I stand, and I'm pushing
for self-improvement."
Abbott
should be a good way to find out.
Source:
Maxfighting |
Quote
of the Day
To
understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he
has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.
Kahlil Gibran
|
Mir-ly
Getting Started
Las Vegas Heavyweight Ready to Take on Tank and Beyond
Ever
wonder what you'd be doing two days before a fight with Tank
Abbott? It's a thought that crosses my mind as I knock on Frank
Mir's hotel door to check in on his progress since we last saw
him. It's the Wednesday before the "big day" and the
persistent breeze coming off the Atlantic City shore mixed with
a light fall of flurries keeps everyone bundled up and stranded
inside. Frank's girlfriend Jennifer meets me at the door, five
months pregnant and positively glowing. "Frank stayed up
till 5:30 in the morning reading this book. He just couldn't
put it down," she hastily explains as she escorts me inside.
Not exactly my first guess, but I surmise that's things could
be stranger. In the final hours leading up to what could become
one of his career defining moments, Mir, like most of the other
fifteen fighters scheduled to due battle at this Friday's UFC
41, is simply relaxing. The hard part is done -- the endless
hours of drills and sparring are behind him. From here on in,
it's pure mental preparation.
It might be a little because he has just woken from a nap, but
Frank's disposition is both tranquil and cheerful as he greets
me. It's been seven months since his last fight, where British
veteran Ian Freeman overcame the young heavyweight with a beating
that left him almost unconscious on his feet. In that time, Mir
has also had to withdraw from his first MMA fight due to injury.
[He was originally scheduled to meet Vladmir Matyushenko at UFC
40]. It's a tall drink of water for any fighter to swallow, but
these events already seem to be a memory as I start by asking
him why he took this fight with Tank Abbott. "Every opponent
in the heavyweight division has the ability to beat anybody,
but what you have to gain through a victory means a lot,"
he answers. "Tank has the most to offer -- the most name
recognition out of anybody in the heavyweight division.. Everybody
knows who Tank Abbott is and that's why I jumped on the opportunity
as fast as I did."
But why take a chance on a fighter like Tank, I think. Instead,
I ask him why he believes Zuffa chose him as Tank's first opponent,
hoping he has "seen" what many are speculating about
this match-up. He doesn't disappoint. "It's a contrast of
styles," he points out right off the bat. "It could
go either way. I think as far as Tank having an opportunity to
win, Tank resembles the only loss I have -- my last fight with
Ian Freeman. If they feel there would be someone out there that
would have a hard time with someone that is heavy-handed..."
His voice trails off.
Don't be fooled by his calm demeanor.
Mir says he's ready for Tank.
Mir is just one of those kinds of people where everything that
comes from his mouth -- even if it's "bad" -- just
doesn't sound that, well -- bad. His opinions on Tank's return
to MMA are no different. "Sport-side, as far as pushing
the level of competition in the athletes, I really don't think
it makes much of a difference with him showing up. It's not something
that people are going to emulate. You just have to be built kinda
the way he is," he explains. "Marketing-wise, it's
awesome. We could have the most skilled fighters in the world
but if no one's watching us, we might as well be fighting in
someone's backyard. People are going to watch Tank Abbott."
And if there were any doubts as to just how seriously the Las
Vegas native is taking his inevitable showdown with Abbott, Mir
lays it all out on the line. "Realistically, Tank trains,"
he states without the least bit of hesitation in his voice. "He
has martial artists in his corner. His physique has changed.
He's 250 compared to being 280. Obviously, he's been conditioning.
I know the difference between a marketing scheme and the truth.
There's no way that Tank Abbott is stepping into the cage without
a lot training for this fight."
So how has this reasoning effected Mir's training for Friday?
"I did a lot more boxing. My boxing shot up a lot. It's
a lot more intense, which was actually easier and harder in a
lot of ways. It was harder as far as I had to be a little more
conditioned and not as lazy, but easier in the fact that people
commit more when they're swinging so hard at me. When someone
throws a real haymaker, it's lot easier to get out of the way
because you see it coming. Commitment is easy to see and easy
to work with." Of course, Mir says, he has also continued
with his submission work as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt
under head trainer Ricardo Pires -- but with a slight twist.
"Ricardo explained to me that I needed to control people
a little bit more. I was abandonly shooting submissions at people
and was gonna miss and slip and leave myself open to people.
My submission style was way too open. There's time for it and
a time not for it, and Ricardo told me I was at fifth gear at
all times. Now, I've trained my jiu-jitsu to where it's a lot
more controlled. Even when I'm training with guys that aren't
at my level, instead of making it a submission clinic, I go there
and hold guys here and stall there while they throw punches at
me the whole time."
How important is this fight in Mir's mind? "It's extremely
important. Business-wise, this is probably the most important
fight I've had in my career. I'm the second to last fight. I'm
in between the two title fights. It's also good for me because
now I'm getting to fight a style of opponent that people feel
I have a hard time with. A victory will help to show how I've
grown from my last fight."
As a final thought, I wonder if I should ask Frank Mir if he
feels ready for this fight, but quickly think better of it. It's
obvious from his answers that he is as ready as he will ever
be -- both physically and mentally. All that's left are those
few unpredictable minutes after the Octagon door closes on these
two competitors. One thing is for sure though... at least one
of these fighters is coming in a whole lot wiser than last time.
Source:
FCF |
Undefeated
in MMA... Tim Sylvia Arrives For UFC Heavyweight Title Shot
“It’s
going to be a fast fight,” charges the undefeated Tim Sylvia
Monday afternoon, shortly after his arrival at Philadelphia Airport.
And it’s hard to discredit anything Sylvia says as he towers
over most men, including team mate Rich Clementi. Looking trim
and feeling in great shape, Sylvia has been walking around at
247 pounds.
Fighting
out of Miletich Fighting Systems, Sylvia has been looking forward
to his shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship belt for 2 months
“since the day after UFC 40,” he said, “They asked
if I was ready and I said yes.” Sylvia has been training
ever since. With nearly 500 pounds of fight between Sylvia and
Rodriguez, the octagon will be exploding with plenty of size
and power. “Ricco is a tough guy,” he said, “but
I have been training really hard... and I’ve been waiting
for this opportunity.” Sylvia looks forward to this fight
“I am ready and my team will be here shortly and we’ll
start rockin’ and rollin’,” he said.
The
final word from Sylvia today: “I’m going to take him
out and bring the belt back home to Iowa.”
Matt
Lindland: Everything In Check For Rematch
Everything
was “in check” for Matt Lindland upon his arrival in
Philadelphia Monday afternoon. His physicals were completed in
advance to give him the day off and he says, “I’m as
healthy as I’ve ever been.”
The
32-year-old Lindland is in town for his scheduled rematch against
Phil Baroni at “UFC 41: Onslaught” this Friday night
at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. “I thought it
was a decisive fight,” he said of the outcome of their first
meeting at “UFC 34: High Voltage” in November 2001.
“I cannot believe there were people out there who didn’t
agree with the Judges score cards,” said a puzzled Lindland,
“obviously Phil was one of them.” But it wasn’t
so obviously indecisive that Baroni filed a petition with the
commission, “no, no way,” said Lindland, who defeated
Baroni by Majority Decision [29-28, 29-27, 28-28].
Baroni
got his wish to avenge his only UFC loss when this rematch was
signed, “which is great for me,” said the Team Quest
member, “as I wanted a fight in this show.” Both fighters
are coming off wins at “UFC 39: The Warriors Return.”
Lindland earned a Unanimous Decision win over Ivan Salaverry,
while Baroni scored an outstanding 0:18 KO over Dave Menne.
“Training
went great for this fight,” said the 2000 Olympic Silver
medallist, who spent sometime in San Luis Obispo preparing for
this fight “that was good training too.” With local
friends coming to Onslaught, Lindland finishes “I’m
ready to go.”
Source:
ADCC
|
UFC
Stars in upcoming 'CRADLE to the GRAVE' Hollywood Blockbuster!
Those
heading to the movies this weekend looking for 'action' may want
to check out CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE starring Jet Li and DMX.
What
some fans of MMA fans may find interesting is that a host of
UFC fighters also make appearances in the film.
The
plot of the movie centers on an urban thief (DMX) who is forced
to team with a Taiwanese Intelligence Officer (Jet Li) to find
a girl who has been kidnapped held for ransom in exchange for
diamonds. As with many movies lately, the 'weapon of war' is
uncovered and it's a race against the clock for Li and DMX. Who
do they encounter in their adventure?
Tito
Ortiz, Randy Couture and Chuck Lidell!
Tom
Arnold, who plays an arms dealer in the film, made reference
to the movie on the BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW, PERIOD during Tank
Abbott's appearance last Friday. He praised Tito Ortiz for his
work in the movie and hyped his appearance.
You'll
get to see some action and stunt coordination that Lidell and
Ortiz came up with. The two worked together on a scene in the
movie with combined efforts of the stunt team.
There
will more than likely be some hints of MMA in the action sequences
as the movie hopes to dethrone DAREDEVIL as the top dog at the
box office. CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE starts this weekend.
Source:
ADCC |
Japan's
DEEP Event - Returning To Tokyo
Brazilian
Top Team fighter Fabio Mello is ready to depart for Japan where
he will participate in the DEEP show scheduled for next Tuesday,
March 4th at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Fabio will face the toughest
challenge of his professional career in Dokonjonosuke Mishima,
in a match at 155 lbs. Although Fabio belongs in a lower weight
division (145lbs) he took the fight because he sees an opportunity,
especially against a big name opponent.
After
the ADCC Brazilian Trials, where he placed third, Fabio started
to bulk up for this fight, since the 155lbs weight division brings
a fighter more exposure, because more organizations run this
weight class.
The
Deep show will feature as a headline match the return of Hayato
Sakurai, taking on Ryuki Ueyama. The DEEP show has started to
rely more on a stable of Japanese fighters, including serving
as another outlet for SHOOTO's fighters. Despite using masked
wrestlers as a gimmick in their earlier shows, DEEP has a reputation
for real fights with integrity.
Source: ADCC |
The
Final TRIAL - ADCC Debut's in the Land of the RISING SUN!
DATE:
March 30, 2003(Sun)
LOCATION: Tokyo-to Chuou-ku Sogo Gym
ADDRESS: 2-5-1 Nihonbashihamacho Chuo-ku, Tokyo Japan
PIC:
As the Japanese press looks on, the Japanese fighters unite to
celebrate the victory of Sanae Kikuta in the 77-87.9 KG Division.
The
Land of the Rising Sun will host the 2nd ever Japanese Qualfiers
for the Submission Wrestling World Championships, on March 30th,
2003. Tournaments will be held in the 5 ADCC eight classes:
Under
65.9 kg
66-76.9 kg
77-87.9 kg,
88-98.9 kg
99 kg Over
Much
more to come. As always, the lineup will be a closely guarded
secret until the event is close, but word is that the tournaments
may be up to 16 men in some of the weight divisions!
The
winners wil lreperesent Japan in the 5th World Championships
in ADCC's Submission Wrestling style. The event is scheduled
for May 17th and 18th, 2003 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Already invited
are the previous champions and qualifier winners from around
the world!
2001
CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: ROYLER GRACIE (Brazil)
66-76.9 KG: MARCIO FEITOSA (Brazil)
77-87.9 KG: SANAE KIKUTA (Japan)
88-98.9 KG: RICARDO ARONA (Brazil)
99 KG & Up: MARK ROBINSON (South Africa)
NORTH
AMERICAN TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: EDDIE BRAVO (JJ Machado)
66-76.9 KG: PABLO POPOVICH (American Top Team)
77-87.9 KG: DAVID TERRELL (Cesar Gracie JJ)
88-98.9 KG: DEAN LISTER(City Boxing)
99 KG & Up: MIKE WHITEHEAD (Victory Athletics)
AUSTRALIAN
TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: CHRIS DERKSON
66-76.9 KG: GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS
77-87.9 KG: TRAVERS GRUBB
88-98.9 KG: ANTHONY PEROSH
99 KG & Up: SOA PELELEI
EUROPEAN
TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: TEEMU LAUNIS (Finland)
66-76.9 KG: JUSSI TAMMELIN (Finland)
77-87.9 KG: ROBERT SULSKI (Poland)
88-98.9 KG: ILIR LATIFI (Sweden / Albania)
99 KG & Up: MIKA ILMAN (Finland)
BRAZILIAN
TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: RANY YAYHRA
66-76.9 KG: DANIEL MORAES (Gracie)
77-87.9 KG: RONALDO 'JACARE' (Gracie)
88-98.9 KG: ALEXANDRE 'Cacareco' FERREIRA (RUAS VT)
99 KG & Up: MARCIO 'Pe De Pano' CRUZ (Gracie)
Source:
ADCC
|
KOTC
Promoter Terry Treblecock
A King among Kings
By Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
Terry Treblecock is a King among Kings. The leader of the world
renowned King of the Cage Mixed Martial arts organization has
had fighters such as Quinton Rampage Jackson, current UFC heavyweight
champion Ricco Rodriguez, Javier Vazquez, Shonie Carter and many
more spend time fighting in his organization at one time or another.
He was kind enough to spend a little time out of his busy schedule
to talk to us only one day after the biggest event in the history
of the King of the Cage, KOTC 21 “Invasion”. In the
interview we talk about Javier's heart, Bobby Hoffman and his
friendly competition, the UFC.
MMARR:
Hello Mr. Treblecock
TT: Hello Arnold how are you?
MMARR:
I just watched the King of the Cage yesterday! I am doing pretty
good!!!
"Laughs"
TT: Obviously you know (Bobby) Hoffman!
"Laughs"
MMARR:
Yeah I think I have talked to him before!
"Laughs"
MMARR:
What did you think of the show overall?
TT: Ha Ha…Greatest show in the history of MMA, How does
that sound?
MMARR:
Ha Ha…It sounds like you are the promoter that is what it
sounds like :)
TT: I guess you weren’t there then...
MMARR:
what did you think of the Javier Vazquez fight?
TT: I thought it was a great fight...
MMARR:
Some people said he won that fight what did you think of the
decision overall?
TT: I didn’t think it was close. I didn’t think the
fight was close in any way, I thought maybe he won the last round,
I thought he got totally dominated in the first round. What I
saw was, two times he almost got knocked out by Crane standing
with head kicks. He was rocked twice, he was in probably eight
to ten deep submissions that he had to find a way out of. I didn’t
see Javier with one submission or see him hurt Crane with anything.
I don’t know what they saw him win the fight on, maybe just
being Javier Vazquez.
MMARR:
It looked like he injured himself pretty bad in the first 10,
15, 20, seconds of the fight, what do you think of Javier’s
heart after seeing that fight?
TT: Unbelievable, it is something you write a book on.
MMARR:
I don’t think you see to many people fight through an injury
like that…
TT: What people don’t even know is that when he had his
ACL torn for the first time and he didn’t know he had it
completely torn, he had no ACL. He fought his two fights prior
to Phillip Perez with no ACL. But he didn’t even know that
he didn’t have it. He knew that it locked up on him and
he knew that he had problems with it but he didn’t know
he didn’t have an ACL.
MMARR:
What did you think of Bobby Hoffman’s performance coming
out of Jail and reclaiming the title that he was originally stripped
of?
TT: I thought it was a very impressive performance. He went in
there and fought some tough guys, some people don’t know
how good Sotello actually is, he did knock out Paul Buentello…I
thought it was a great performance. You never know how tough
a guy is going to be til ask him to fight two times in a night,
right out of jail and not really try to duck anybody that was
in the line. I think that is pretty impressive.
MMARR:
Looking back to the show, it seems that this show had the worst
luck I have ever seen in terms of injuries in my life.
TT: If you only knew… there is even more that haven’t
been brought up yet.
MMARR:
Anything that you can bring up for us then? Ha Ha
TT: No not at the present time.
MMARR:
Even in the fights, Sotello hurt his elbow, Galindo hurt his
bicep…
TT: Sotello’s shoulder popped out and Galindo tore his Bicep
off…
MMARR:
OFF?
TT: Off….
MMARR:
Obviously Griffen didn’t make it, Buentello, all these Freak
injuries happening, as far as Seth Petruzelli we didn’t
really get an announcement what exactly happened to Petruzelli?
TT: Seth Petruzelli Broke his ankle.
MMARR:
How did he hurt his ankle?
TT: On a kick on the elbow…as hard as he kicked… he
broke his ankle. He broke his ankle somehow.
MMARR:
This is your Second show in PPV how would you evaluate the performance
of the show
TT: This is my forth show on PPV I have been on PPV for almost
a year now. My first PPV show was last may in Reno, then I followed
up with Double Cross in Soboba in August, then I was back in
Reno in Nov, then this one here and then I go to Las Vegas after
this.
MMARR:
So how would you evaluate the growth of KOTC since the first
show on PPV?
TT: Probably the biggest show in the world presently, that can
turn a profit show in and show out.
MMARR:
I actually believe you as far as that goes. Because I know some
of the things that go on in some of the other organizations and
it is pretty tough , making a living as a Promoter in MMA
TT:
What that really means is …that running a real business
plan and not something that is a hobby of somebody, people actually
get tired of funding hobbies after a period of time, It is the
biggest show right now probably worldwide.
MMARR:
You have a lot of your fighters going into the UFC, you have
Romie Aram going into the UFC…
TT: Romie Aram I didn’t resign. I have seven probably higher
profile fighters then Romie Aram at 170, I couldn’t keep
them all, I have Vasconselos, I have Ronald Jhun, I have Dennis
Hallman who as you know submitted Matt Hughes twice in under
a minute, I also have John Alessio at 170. My 170 runs so deep,
Benji Radach is going to sign this week I got so many guys at
170 pounds, that It didn’t make any sense for me to give
him the money that he demanded. The UFC wanted to get him, I
didn’t resign him. Javier Vazquez is under an Exclusive
with King of the Cage, I chose to let him fight in Miami (UFC
42) only with my approval could he fight, I chose to let him
fight, I was comfortable that they didn’t have anyone there
that could beat him.
MMARR:
I believe this is true you let him fight in Shooto and you were
one of the people responsible for getting him his big breakout
fight with Rumina Sato, Javier Vazquez is a guy that not too
many people know about, but he has world class skill and he is
able to compete at the highest level, when you see a fighter
go down like that with an injury as a promoter how does that
feel for you?
TT: I disagree that not too many people know about Javi (Javier
Vaquez), I always believe that the real fans know that he is
probably the best one hundred and fifty five pounder in the world.
He must be looking though eyes of the UFC that you see on TV
all the time but if you look at the way the sport really is right
now, at 155 pounds a guy that wasn’t ranked tenth in my
show (Duane “Bang” Ludwig), just knocked out their
best 155 pounder(Jens Pulver). I have the guy (Dennis Hallman)
that beat their hundred and seventy pounder (Matt Hughes) twice,
in under a minute. At 185 they lost Murilo Bustamante, they don’t
really have a hundred and eighty five champion. At 205 I just
signed Jeremy Horn who is the only guy to submit Chuck Liddell,
the only guy to beat Chuck Liddell, who Tito won’t fight
because when they train together it is not even a match between
Tito and Chuck. At Heavyweight my former champion Ricco Rodriguez
ran the table at the UFC, and I have the only guy that has ever
beat Ricco and knocked him cold in Hawaii (Bobby Hoffman), and
at the unlimited weight class I have four of the five best in
the world, with the exception of Bob Sapp. How do I compare my
show to the UFC? I don’t see a comparison. I see them spending
a lot of money and doing a lot of things, and I see it as a very
good show I am a big fan of the sport, but as the characters
and the fighters I feel I have the best fighters in the world
and they are proving it every where they go. Whether it is Quinton
Jackson beating everybody in Pride, Ricco beating everybody in
the UFC, I kinda look at it like that and it is kinda tough to
deny that right now, because everything I said is a fact.
MMARR:
There has been people saying that there is a little bit of a
feud between King of the Cage and the UFC, do you see it as a
feud or do you see it as friendly competition?
TT: I feel it is absolutely friendly competition, I would love
to be able to have the kind of money to create any type of Hobby
that I wanted, but unfortunately I have to run it like a business
because it is a business. I have to do it the way I have to do
it, they have to do it the way they want to do it. Competition,
I think that competition is good. I think the UFC has opened
an awful lot of doors for King of the Cage, I can’t do anything
but thank then for it.
MMARR:
Well that is all the questions I had today, I appreciate your
time.
TT: No problem, Thanks Arnold, Bye Bye
MMARR:
See you later.
We
would like to thank Terry Treblecock and the King of the Cage
for taking the time to speak with us during his very busy schedule,
The next King of the Cage event will be in Las Vegas and Live
on PPV. Check kingofthecage.com for more info.
Source: ADCC |
"The
Iceman" Chuck Liddell
The Iceman Cometh 1 of 2
Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
Chuck
Liddell has been tearing it up in the Lightheavyweight division
in the UFC for quite some time. He has taken on all comers beating
challenger after challenger in the UFC and even Pride, on one
occasion, patiently waiting for his shot at the Light Heavyweight
Crown that Tito Ortiz currently holds. It looks like Mr. Liddell
is tired of patiently waiting in the wings. MMA ringreport had
a chance to talk with him and this is what he had to say.
MMARR:
Hello Mr. Liddell how do you do?
Iceman: I am doing good.
MMARR:
You recently had a fight with Renato Babalu” Sobral, You
knew you had a title shot in the bag, what goes into your thinking
when you want to take a fight when you know that if you lose
you are not going to get your title shot anymore?
\
Iceman: The first thing is I am not thinking about losing a fight.
If I lost the bout I didn't deserve the title shot in the first
place. I mean then he would obviously deserve the title shot.
I am a fighter, the belt is just kind of a thing there, just
a symbol of being the best. That is the only reason I want the
belt. I gonna, I want to beat Tito for the belt. He is the best
guy out there right now in everybody's mind, and that is the
guy I want to beat.
MMARR:
You mentioned in everybody's mind. Lorenzo Fertitta ( The owner
of the UFC) was at the Post fight press conference for UFC 40.
After Tito's fight with ken he said in his own worlds he felt
that Tito was the best fighter at 205 in the world. I saw you
there, and you didn't look too happy about that. What were you
thinking when he said that?
Iceman: At the press conference and stuff they said he was unstoppable.
There was nobody that could beat him at 205, while I am sitting
there. At UFC 33 they said that nobody was willing to take the
fight so Vladamir stepped up. I was the first guy they talked
to and I said "yes!" No more money, no extra money,
I just wanted to fight. So I just wanted my title shot, I mean
it bothers me I am sitting right there and they talk like I am
not even there, like I am not even a threat to him.
MMARR:
Did that make you upset at all?
Iceman: You know, not really, it gets me a little bit...it just
makes me train harder. Other then that it is not a big deal.
People are going to say what they are going to say.
MMARR:
If the fight does not happen in April as planned, Is there any
chance that you will take another fight in between like you did
last time with Renato "Babalu" Sobral?
Iceman: Yes I will take a fight. If they can't get him to sign
April 25th, I will demand a fight. Because I am a fighter, I
am not going to sit around and wait forever. I mean if he doesn't
take it April 25th, what says he is going to take it June 25th,
or even December 25th of next year. I am not going to wait around
till he decides he wants to fight. I want to fight. I will really
petition for them to let me go fight Vanderlei (Silva).
I
want to put pressure on Pride to put that on. Do whatever they
need to put on a fight with me and Vanderlei.
MMARR: If you beat Vanderlei and become the Champion of Pride
does that mean that you would be sticking with Pride and no longer
be a UFC fighter?
Iceman:
I want to be a UFC fighter, I am not looking at being, I just
want to be a fighter and I want to be the best fighter in the
world in whichever way I got to go about that. If the fight works
with Tito and I beat Tito, and I will beat Tito, I would still
want to fight Vanderlei next, if they can work it out. I think
the two organizations need to get together and work it out, have
one champion against the other one, who cares, let the fans have
the fight that they want to see.
MMARR: You said that you "will" beat Tito, is there
any iota in your mind that you will lose?
Iceman: Well there is always the chance that he will get lucky,
but the thing is that is the way a fighter should think. That
is the way I think, and I am sure that is the way that he thinks.
When eventually he decides to take the fight, that is the way
that he’ll be thinking by the time the fight comes, that
he is going to win. You shouldn't be in there if you don't think
that you are going to win.
MMARR:
You used to train with Tito, you used to be good training partners,
and good friends at that time. How was your training together?
Iceman: I still like Tito, Tito is a great guy, We kinda took
the difference a little bit because we knew we were eventually
going to have to fight. If both of us kept winning there would
be no one left to fight us but each other. Honestly we have only
trained together ten times in the last two years. None in the
last year. It has been a long time, he has changed, he has improved
a lot, I have changed I have been improving, so after training
for a while, here and there for a while, we got to get back in
there and face each other again.
MMARR: You said "if Tito gets lucky" that he could
win. When you are in the ring do you think that there is any
possibility that you are going to lose? Does that run through
your mind at all?
Iceman: Not at all. Not when I am fighting not at all. I walk
into a fight I am not worried about losing. If you are worried
about losing, that is your first step to losing. You can't go
out there to not lose, you gotta go out there to win a fight.
MMARR:
People have been accusing you saying "Chuck isn't quite
as exciting as he used to be". They have been saying that
same thing, that Chuck has been fighting lately not to lose,
like against Amar Suloev, and Bustamante. You are taking them
to decisions a little bit, how do you answer critics who say
things like that to you?
Iceman: I went after Amar. I expected a different fight from
Amar. I expected him to come at me more, I hurt him early and
he backed off most of the fight, so I expected a different fight
from him. I won the first two rounds easy, and I was going after
him, I went after him enough, he would just take a punch and
then run, I can't do everything I threw an overhand right in
that round, that is the round that they are complaining about,
but I was in kickboxing mode, I was kicking his legs and expecting
to get that head kick sooner or later. It just didn't come before
the bell. Maybe I could have pressed the fight harder but that
was just one of those things. I was just out there in control,
just throwing my punches, throwing my attacks in if he came at
me a little bit, maybe I could have landed it, it is really hard
to knock a guy out if he is running away from you.
MMARR:
How about your fight with Bustamante, many people felt that coming
into that fight that you would destroy Bustamante because you
just came off a huge K.O over Guy Mezger?
Iceman: I think we may have underestimated Bustamante. The other
thing too I was out of shape coming into the fight, my fault,
my training. I cut a lot of weight for that fight, I would never
let that happen again but people underestimated him when they
thought I would roll through him like that. I would love another
shot at him but he is down at 185, so if he comes back up I would
love another shot at him.
MMARR:
Do you think that you won that fight?
Iceman: Yes I do, I watched it a couple times, I think I won
the fight, it was close but I still think that I won.
MMARR: We talked about you training together with Tito, a lot
of reports have said that Tito had a lot of trouble and a lot
of times couldn't take you down, do you feel that in your training
that you dominated Tito?
Iceman: Well the thing is that training is training. A fight
is a fight, two different things. You are working on different
things, you are working on stuff in training, you are doing different
stuff. So to judge whether or you someone could do something
in training as compared to a fight, it is two different things.
Tito is a gamer, he is going to show up to fight. Training is
training I try and work on a lot of different things when I am
in training too. So you never know.
MMARR:
So the reports that you dominated him in practice were not accurate?
Iceman: Like I said practice is practice. You know, you are working
on stuff and doing different things so, I don't’ really
comment on practices with people. I work out with a lot of people
and you are just working out, it is not really a public thing
as far as I am concerned.
MMARR:
what do you think about Tito's standup?
Iceman: It is much improved, he looks a lot better in his fights.
MMARR:
At the press conference after UFC 40 Tito talked about renegotiating,
he talked about friendship, he talked about a lot of things,
he didn't talk about "I want Chuck". Chuck, you have
been really vocal recently about saying you are very much in
need of a fight with Tito. Do you think that Tito is dodging
you?
Iceman: You make up your own mind. When he came in the ring after
UFC 37.5 he talked about me and him have to fight after he fights
Ken, and that I was going to lose. Go back and look at his interview
right when he jumped in the ring. He said that I was going to
get in his home and that I was going to have to lose, and I was
going to get a loss. After our fights (at UFC 40) when it is
time for us to fight, he talks about " Oh uh..you know I
am going to have to get paid more", I mean that was not
the reaction I was expecting from him. When five months earlier
he was talking about how he was going to beat me. So..it surprised
me yes.
MMARR:
Do you think he is hiding behind his friendship?
Iceman: honestly,…Whatever, I don’t know what he is
trying to do exactly, I like the guy and consider him a friend,
but he is not one of the guys I train with everyday, he is not
one of the guys I hang out with everyday. So I got no problem
fighting him, so I don’t know. He is more of an emotional
fighter, maybe he needs to not like me to fight me. I am not
an emotional fighter, I don’t have to not like you to fight
you. If you step in the ring I am going to try to take your head
off.
MMARR:
If you guys are friends before the fight and you guys fight,
if you lose or win would you have any problems with the friendship
afterwards?
Iceman: Me? No. Like I said I am not an emotional fighter. As
far as that stuff goes I am going to go in there and I am going
to try to rip his head off. I got no problems with him before
or after the fight.
MMARR:
Do you think he will have problems with you if he loses to you
after the fight?
Iceman: I don’t know, I don’t know him that well honestly.
I don’t know how he would react to that.
MMARR:
If you fought Tito what would your prediction be if you were
to fight him on April 25th?
Iceman: That all depends on how he fights. It all depend on how
he fights. I am planning on knocking him out, I think I have
made that pretty clear.
MMARR:
What do you think of Tito’s chin?
Iceman: He has only lost a couple I times I haven’t really
seen him hurt real bad though.
MMARR:
I have seen Tito get rocked a couple times and it doesn’t
seem like he handles punches to the face as well as you do. I
have seen you take a lot of shots to the face. Do you think that
is going to be a mode of attack for you?
Iceman: I plan to test his chin if he fights, so you will have
an answer to whether or not he has a chin after we fight.
MMARR:
The only time I got to see your chin REALLY get tested was against
Guy Mezger, It was a pretty even fight till the end of the round
and he caught you with a nice little kick and it dropped you.
Was that the first time you had ever been dropped in a fight?
Iceman: Yes… or no it was Pele in Brazil he caught me with
a kick, but I mean it was a flash, same thing I got right back
up.
MMARR:
What do you think of Vanderlei Silva?
Iceman: I would love to fight him, I think it would be a great
fight for the fans.
MMARR:
You fought in Pride just one time, how was your experience fighting
in Pride as opposed to the UFC?
Iceman: I fought in the UFC most of the time and I prefer the
cage, although I do like the knee’s to the head on the ground
in Pride.
MMARR:
How do you compare the ring and the cage?
Iceman: Well they have there ups and downs for me. As far as
the ring goes, it is easier to cut of then the cage. I think
the cage is good for getting back up to your feet too, it is
also good for wrestlers to hold you there. They both have there
pluses and minuses I really like both of them.
MMARR:
I notice all the fighters that I have seen, maybe you and Maurice
Smith are the best that I have ever seen at getting off the cage
and getting back on there feet after being taken to the ground.
Is that something that you work a lot on?
Iceman: I work on it a little bit. We have a cage out here and
I work on that.
MMARR:
When you are in Japan do the Japanese fans recognize you as much
as the American ones?
Iceman:
Well that is hard to say, I mean back the last time I went over
there, just when I beat Guy Mezger, I just really go started
getting on a roll. Beating some big names. Now in the U.S, I
have fought quite a few times. I get a lot of people who recognize
me.
MMARR:
How does being a celebrity affected you do you think it is a
good thing, how do you respond to that?
Iceman:
It has been kind of cool, I am kind of used to being… I
have got a lot of coverage in my home town. So I have always
had a lot of coverage in my home town where I live, everyone
is kind of used to me so I don’t feel like (it was) all
of a sudden. Out of town a lot more people notice me.
MMARR:
How do you rate your fight with Vitor Belfort? How did he feel
in the ring, did he throw anything that maybe you didn’t
expect?
Iceman: He threw a couple head kicks I wasn’t expecting
those to come up but lucky I am used to them. I keep my hands
up. He caught me with a shot, I was expecting for him to stand
up a little more then that, he tried to take me down right away
and I was able to get back up but he didn’t hurt me at all
on the ground. Got up just throwing punches you know, just throwing
everything and just exchanged with him. I mean, I expected him
to come at me a little more be a little more aggressive with
his hand.
MMARR:
Did you want to exchange with Belfort?
Iceman: Oh yeah.
MMARR:
Were you wary of Belfort’s hand-speed or the big left hand?
Iceman: I thought I hit harder then him and I wanted to test
his chin, see if I could put him down.
MMARR:
How high on your to do list is a rematch with Jeremy Horn?
Iceman: You know they way I would like to do it if it was a perfect
world and I could do anything I wanted to, I get to fight Tito,
I win there. I fight Vanderlei Silva, beat him, then fight Jeremy
Horn to erase the one loss on my record.
MMARR:
Do you think you could have continued? ( After being held in
an Arm Triangle by Jeremy Horn, Liddell did not tap and the bell
rang to end the round, the fight was stopped.)
Iceman: Oh I definitely could have contintued after a minute
rest, but their contention was that I went out before so.. and
you know I could have continued at that point.
MMARR:
Up to this pint what do you think was your toughest fight to
date?
Iceman: I don’t know I have fought a lot of tough guys in
there own way they have all been tough fights.
MMARR:
Are there any fighters in the sport that you are particularly
fond of watching? Do you have a favorite fighter or fighters?
Iceman: You know the guys that are more interesting are the guys
I know, I like watching a lot of guys a lot of guys I know like
Matt Hughes, actually I like watching BJ (Penn) in his last fight
he was kinda… was really conservative, but usually he comes
out real exciting. I just like a lot of guys. I just like watching
the fights.
MMARR:
So are you a fan of the game when you are not fighting?
Iceman: yeah I like watching guys fight. I like watching the
fights.
MMARR:
What do you think you are going to do when your fighting career
is over?
Iceman: Coach Probably…
MMARR:
We are seeing another side of Chuck Liddell nowadays and that
is a Chuck that is a trainer and cornerman. You have Team Pit
now, what is more important to you coaching or fighting?
Iceman: At this point it is my fighting, that is my main concern,
my main focus. But coaching is going to be a big part in the
future. I am trying tobalance the two right now. It is tough
to do both but John Hackleman my trainer is one of the guys that
trains most of the guys, I just help out with the ground stuff
and the workouts.
MMARR:
You train a guy named Gan Mcgee who just won his last fight.
He beat Pedro Rizzo, how do you evaluate his performance and
how good do you think that Gan Mcgee is?
Iceman: I think Gan is going to be one of the best in the world.
He is a tough fighter, he has got good wrestling skills and now
he is working on his kicks and getting good striking skills.
I mean he is going to get better every fight
MMARR:
Were you surprised that he won his fight by Knockout against
Pedro?
Iceman: It wasn’t the way I thought he would do it, I was
looking more for the shot and the ground and pound but that was
fine by me. He was doing great standing up though you know. Fighting
a guy like Rizzo I mean, the guy is dangerous you know, he has
got one punch power and at any given time he could stop the fight.
Same with Gan, he showed the same thing one punch power, he can
end the fight at any time.
MMARR:
How much longer do you want to be fighting in MMA for?
Iceman: It just depends on how my body holds up, I am 32 right
now I will be 33 this month, right now I feel great, as long
as I still feel like I can perform, I will keep fighting. There
are still some great fighters that are still performing at 37
and 38. I still feel like I got another 4 or 5 years in me easy
but you never know. When I feel I can’t perform at the level
that I want to, then that is when I will retire.
MMARR:
There has been a little bit of talk about Tito moving up to the
heavyweight division. Have you heard anything about that?
Iceman: I mean where is he going to go? I got a guy for him.
I got Gan (Mcgee) for him if he wants to go up there.
MMARR:
Would you ever move up to heavyweight?
Iceman:
I will fight Him at heavyweight if he wants to fight me at heavyweight.
I mean that doesn’t matter to me. We will go at whatever
weight he wants. I mean I got a guy at heavyweight that cuts
down from 285 to 265, I mean he is six ten. I mean he can stay
up at heavyweight I will go to 205 that is where I am comfortable.
Cause even if I fight at heavyweight I will walk in the ring
at about 212.
MMARR:
So you walk around at 212?
Iceman: I walk around at about 222. When I am in shape for a
fight I like to be about 210 or for a 205 fight I don’t
like to fight much heavier then 215. I feel a little sluggish
at 220 or 222.
MMARR:
how much did you weight for your Bustamante fight?
Iceman: About 220
MMARR:
Do you ever think about fighting in kickboxing or K-1 or anything
like that?
Iceman: No, not anymore. I used to want to when I was younger
but that was before I was doing MMA so much, they are different,
it is more specialized for kickboxing then the no holds barred.
They are a different kind of thing, and I just like sticking
to what I do. I would have to take a lot of time off to train
straight kickboxing to get back into kickboxing.
MMARR:
Lastly is there anything that you would like to say to the Chuck
Liddell fans out there?
Iceman: Check out my website it is either Chuck Liddell.com or
Iceman.tv and I will keep you informed on what I am doing.
MMARR:
Thanks a lot for spending time with me today I appreciate that.
Iceman: No Problem. Thanks a lot.
Source: MMA Ring Report |
Quote
of the Day
In
the final analysis there is no solution to man's progress but
the day's honest work, the day's honest decisions, the day's
generous utterances and the day's good deed.
Clare Booth Luce
|
First
of the May KOTC Bouts Announced!
Jhun vs Carter for the KOTC Belt
by: Keith Mills
With this weekend’s pay-per-view KOTC now in the history
books, attention is starting to shift to the future. Although
there is one KOTC scheduled in March back at Soboba it won’t
be PPV; the next PPV one is May from Las Vegas, NV.
Immediately
after last weekend’s KOTC it was announced Shonie Carter
signed on to fight Ronald
Jhun for
the 170 lb belt. The belt was previously announced as vacated,
but according to Romi Aram, it remains his until this fight in
May. Aram is moving on to fight in UFC 42 against Amaury Bitetti.
Shonie
earned this opportunity by technically defeating rAw’s Fernando
Vasconcelos last weekend. With Vasconcelos clearly winning the
first round and Carter the second, it would have been decided
in the third if not for a misunderstanding in the duration. Vasconcelos
and his corner understood it to be a 2-round fight, not 3. When
they refused to fight a 3rd round the fight was ruled a win for
Carter via corner throwing in the towel.
Jhun on the other hand,
is coming off a win in SuperBrawl in February and two draws,
one to Dennis Hallman in KOTC 19 and one to Shonie Carter in
SuperBrawl. Word around the scene is Jhun hasn’t been consistent since his loss to
Jermaine Andre back in WFA 1 over a year ago, but he is still
respected among the fighters as a deadly striker.
John
Alessio, who also fights at 170, still holds the Superfight belt
and is not considered a contender for the 170 belt, formerly
owned by his Millennia Jiu-Jitsu teammate Aram, who he won’t
fight. No plans are in the works for consolidating the belts
originally split back when Chris Brennan fought in KOTC, so until
Alessio losses the Superfight belt the field is wide open.
Source: ADCC |
VI
COPA PACIFICA Superfights announced:
Two Gracie boys fight, Ryron fights Saulo's brother
Cleber
Luciano, who is always looking to better his already incredible
event is proud to announce that he has locked in some H O T superfights
for his VI Copa Pacifica:
On
Saturday March 8th @ 3:00pm
Ryron
Gracie v 'Xande' Ribeiro
Rener
Gracie v Cassio Wernek
On
Sunday March 9th @ 3:00PM
Jorge
'Macaco' Patino v Joao 'Pitbull' Cunha
Paulo
Gilhobeu v Jeff Higgs
Alex
Brandao v Rodrigo Antunes
For
more info check out CopaPacifica.
In a conversation with Saulo Ribeiro yesterday, Kid found out
that Saulo will not be able to compete in the 2nd Black Belt
Challenge. Saulo told: 'There was a conflict of schedule, I am
going to be doing seminars in Europe after the Arnold's!'. Saulo
stated that after Europe all his attention will be directed to
Sao Paulo, Brazil for 2003 ADCC Tournamnt: 'I have won it once
and got two second places, but second is not for me. I plan to
be in the best shape of my life to fight for the Title!'
Everyone
at the under 88Kg class better be ready!
Saulo
has been training with brother Xande for the arnolds and confided:
'Xande is very toguh right now, one of the best for sure.' Xande
will get his chance to defend his titles against an extremely
toguh group that will include current World Absolute Champion
Marcio 'Pe de Pano' Cruz! That is of course if Marcio's travel
plans are all in order :) as Pano is famous for having last minute
hick ups with his tickets (one of the reasons he arrrived the
morning of the IGJJF Tourney only to compete 4 hours later!).
Source: ADCC |
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Maeda
- Another Comeback?
After
making the news last month by settling his well publicized court
case, where he was forced to pay a settlement to Pancrase promoter
Masami Ozaki, Akira Maeda is apparently on the comeback trail!
In
an interview this past week Maeda, who has always been surrounded
by controversy, said some strange things.
For
example, Maeda made a comment referring to Pride's recent happenings
that may fire up many of the foreign fighters. He made reference
to the high amounts of money being paid to fighters and recommended
a drastic drop in pay.
While
some con |