Upcoming
Events
Do you want to list an
event on Onzuka.com?
Contact Us
(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
11/9/03
Pride: Final Conflict
(MMA)
(Toyko, Japan)
9/27/03
Grappling tournament
(BJJ, Sub Grappling)
(Kauai)
9/26/03
UFC 44: Undisputed
(MMA)
(Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV)
9/23-24/03
Pac Rim Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling & BJJ)
(Klum Gym UH Manoa)
9/13/03
NAGA - Hawaiian Grappling Championships
(Sub Grappling & BJJ)
(Farrington HS?)
8/10/03
Pride: Total Elimination
(MMA)
(Saitama Arena, Japan)
8/9/03
Rumble On The Rock 3
(MMA)
(Hilo, Hawaii)
In The Gym,
Monthly Smokers
Giraldi Muay Thai Gym
(Muay Thai, Halawa) |
|
July News Part 3
|
7/19/03 Early upload because we leave
for Brazil at 9:15PM, Friday night |
Quote
of the Day
The right attitude can change obstacles into opportunities.
Unless you focus on the road, it won't take you where you want
to go.
When a collection of minds, hearts and talents work together,
great things can happen.
|
HAWAIIAN
STATE GRAPPLING CHAMPIONSHIP
WHEN: Saturday, September 13th, 2003
WHERE:
Honolulu, HI (Farrington H.S. Gymnasium)
WHAT:
Over 50 Gi & No-Gi (Kids, Teen, Women, Senior & Adult)
Divisions
MORE
INFO: Kipp Kollar at (860) 632-2753 or Email President@Nagafighter.com
WEBSITE:
www.NAGAFighter.com
RULES:
NO-GI Use standard NAGA Rules, ADULT GI DIVISIONS: Use standard
BJJ Rules
8
CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS WILL BE AWARDED!
We
are bring out the Belts to Hawaii. We would like to see a representative
from Joao Morais, Nova Unio, Shokushinkai, Suzui, Tiger Marcello,
Renato Verissimo, Grappling Unlimited, and Reson Gracie represented.
Source: Kipp Kolar |
Kaos
"Island Pride" in Maui on July 27th!
Maui War Memorial Gymnasium, Wailuku, Maui
July 27, 2003
Main event 3 x 5 minute rounds
Brandon Keen vs. Mike Labuanan
Ku
Ka'ili Moku Team Competiton 3 x 3min rounds
Oahu Maui
Santino Franco vs. Tyson Naho'oikaika
Jim Kikuchi vs. Ed Joy
Tripson Kerisiano vs. Kendall Groves
Kelii Newalu vs. Allan Hinojosa
Dennis Bohner vs. Kaniala Joy
Stephen Paling IV vs. Jr. Baldron
Kickboxing:
Shawn Taylor vs. Kevin Cabrera
Scott Redoble vs. Als Kaiohu
Tani Na'ahealu vs. Malani Recopuerto
Kai Kamaka III vs. Abe Rhinehart
Tristin Kamaka vs James Ramos
Source:
Event Promoter |
Worlds
2003 Heats Up - Foreign fighters invade Prof. Helio Gracie's
Retreat -- Onzuka.com
by: Kid Peligro
2003 Worlds
Heats Up
The
greatest BJJ event of the year begins in a week and already the
first fighter names are starting to emerge. Kid has found out
that in addtion to previously confiremd names of Marcio Pe de
Pano, Marcio Feitosa, Rodrigo Comprido, Fredson Paixão,
Delson Pe de Chumbo, Fernando Terere, Rico Vieira, Damien Maia
a host of top dogs are gearing up to compete.
Names
like Fabricio Verdum, Marcio Corleta, Cassio werneck, Austragesilo
will join in the fracas. Additionally some 'old dogs' are coming
back with full force; former World Champions Roberto 'Spider'
Traven, Roberto 'Roleta' Magalhaes & Leo Leite will all be
at the Tijuca Tennis Clube on Saturday and Sunday July 27 &
28 to fight for the Gold.
BJJ Team invades
Prof. Helio Gracie's Retreat
A
team of 60 fighters from all different parts of Brazil and the
world chartered a bus and made an impromtu visit to Prof. Helio
Gracie's retreat in Itaipava.
Led
by Royler & Rolker Gracie the group comprised of Americans,
Australians, Canadians, Hawaiians, Frenchmen and Swiss joind
in with competitors from several parts of Brazil for the great
visit.
Professor
Helio received them in grand-style, showing the gorounds and
the residence followed by the customary invitation: 'Let's hit
the mats!' The group joined in and asked the Grandmaster a series
of technical and historical questions and were all astounded
by Professors great clarity of answers.
After
a group photo and a round of Prof. autographing many Gi's and
copies of The Gracie Way, the group departed but not without
already setting up a future visit!
New
and improved Onzuka.com
Relson
Gracie reps. Michael & Chris Onzuka have revamped and made
super-hot web site www.onzuka.com. With great new flash and great
info onzuka.com gives you loads of info in the Hawaiian Fight
scene and more. Go check them out!
Source: ADCC/Kid Peligro |
Zuffa
Overhauls PPV
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view sports programming,
that began as an ‘over the top’, no holds barred spectacle
ten years ago, is overhauling its production.
The
on-air presentation will better reflect the significant changes
Zuffa, LLC has made to this evolving sport as well as a newly
acquired legitimacy and respect in the sports world.
Discuss
this move in the MMA forum
“We
listened to sports media experts, the analysts and handicappers
who were telling us some of the over-the-top spectacle was preventing
us from being taken seriously. Often the mainstream press didn’t
understand who we were and the seriousness of the sport of Mixed
Martial Arts,” said Dana White, Zuffa's president.
“The
production values of the past got us attention and put us on
the map with fight fans from all walks of life. But, the larger
audiences of football, hockey and even boxing fans were a bit
confused by it and told us they found it somewhat distracting.
They weren’t used to the pyrotechnics and the elaborate
entrances. They said it reminded them of pro wrestling, which
is not at all what we’re about. MMA under the UFC brand
is an intense, aggressive, real combat sport that is the most
thrilling and entertaining sport you can watch. However, we realized
the entertainment value comes from the raw power and real skill
within the Octagon, not the theatrics outside it.”
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship, nearing the three-year mark under
new ownership, cited a tradition of high production values that
will remain unchanged. Specific changes will also be implemented
to enhance the on-air graphics presentation as well. (These will
be updated variations of broadcast sports programming elements
currently in use such as logo animations, elevators, wipes and
dynamic roll-ins all of which are contemporary elements in use
today by other sanctioned sports.)
“These
changes will enhance the viewers’ overall experience and
better satiate their growing appetite for extreme, edgy, high-risk
sports by providing an undiluted presentation of the action as
well as a better understanding of the fighters, complexities
of the disciplines and the historical roots of this extraordinary
combat sport,” said Steve Tornabene, vice president of production
for UFC’s televised and home video/DVD products. “The
new look will make the seriousness of the sport more evident
by stripping away some of the spectacle of the past. HBO boxing
is a gold standard of combat sports programming and has provided
some of the inspiration for these changes,” he added.
The new look will debut live on pay-per-view at UFC 44: Undisputed
live from Las Vegas at 10 p.m. EDT on Friday, September 26. That
bout features an historical main event between two light heavy
weight champions, Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”
Ortiz and Randy “The Natural” Couture. The fight, billed
as “Champion versus Champion,” will be a first in UFC
history, pitting two concurrent titleholders to determine who
will be the undisputed champion in that weight class.
The
UFC’s next live PPV event will be UFC 44: Undisputed at
10 p.m. EDT on Friday, September 26, from the Mandalay Bay Events
Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
Source: Sherdog |
Battle
Ground: War Cry brings MMA back to Chicago with 8 UFC veterans
on the card
James
Hirth caught up with Battle Ground: War Cry promoter Edward Kim
about his first MMA event and the first legal MMA event in Chicago
in 7 long years. The show is just a day away and features an
impressive line-up:
Jon
Fitch vs. Kyle Jensen
Jeff Gerlick vs. Vaughan Palelli
Davion Peterson vs. Mike Patt
Rich Franklin vs.Roberto Ramirez
Brad Gumm vs. Antwoin Skinner
Travis Wuiff vs. Travis Fulton
Main
Events
Chris "Lights Out" Lytle vs. Laverne Clark
Eugene "action" Jackson vs. Tony Fryklund
James
Hirth: Have you promoted a MMA event in Chicago before?
Edward
Kim: No, this is my first ever event.
JH:
It has been a while since we've been able to have the sport here.
EK:
This is the first MMA event held in Chicago legally since 1996.
JH:
Have you promoted any events before?
EK:
Yes. My company, Battle Ground Entertainment Inc., has and still
does throw musical events. We do dance parties, upcoming DJ shows
and things of that nature.
JH:
So this is your first venture in the sports arena as well.
EK:
Yes.
JH:
What made you get into MMA?
EK:
I have been training with Brian Ebersole for a long time and
I've always been into martial arts since I was a little kid so
it seemed like the natural way to go. I really wanted to bring
Mixed Martial Arts back to the Midwest in a big way.
JH:
Has Brian promoted an event before?
EK:
No he hasn't.
JH:
Wow, so it's the first time for both of you.
EK:
Well, Brian's not a promoter, he's the matchmaker.
JH:
Yeah, I saw him listed on the website as fight coordinator. He's
also a fighter himself. (A veteran of Ironheart Crown, Ultimate
Wrestling, Total Combat Challenge, Ultimate Athlete, Dangerzone
and others -J.H.)
EK:
Yes he is.
JH:
I wanted to talk a little bit about the show. For a first event,
it's a great line-up. At last count you had 7 UFC veterans on
the card; Rich Franklin, Brad Gumm, Travis Wuiff, Chris Lytle,
Laverne Clark, Eugene Jackson and Tony Fryklund. Is everyone
still fighting?
EK:
Yes they are. We had to drop two fights but all of the UFC veterans
are still fighting.
JH:
I believe you had 10 bouts on the original schedule. So there
will be 8 now?
EK:
Yes, now we have 8. Kevin Knabjian (Shooto Midwest veteran) was
going to fight Kyle Helsper (Team Integrated Fighting) but Kyle
is injured. Mike French (Cage Fighting Monterrey) is also off
the card.
JH:
Have all of the opponents remained the same? When I last looked,
there were no set opponents for French or Travis Wuiff.
EK:
It looks like there will be a rematch between Travis Wiuff and
Travis Fulton. (Wiuff won a decision at the Iowa Challenge almost
a year ago to the day - J.H.).
JH:
That brings the total number of UFC veterans to 8. How were you
able to get so many UFC veterans on one card, especially in your
first show?
EK:
I put a lot of time and money into the show but I have to give
a big thanks to Monte Cox. He really set up most of the matches
with the Miletich guys and the other UFC veterans. The rest of
the fighters called me and were able to fight so it worked out.
It's amazing how the card came together.
JH:
With that line-up I'm surprised at how little coverage it is
getting.
EK:
Our biggest promotion vehicle is with a radio station and the
DJ Mancow Muller on Q101. Mancow has 1.7 million listeners in
Chicago and is broadcast nationally. He's a huge fan of MMA and
it has been going really well.
JH:
I imagine he's been a big help to you.
EK:
Yeah. We're promoting mostly in the Chicagoland area and we're
trying to get the new fans. We're not trying to focus on the
fan base that is already here because it is rather small…
JH:
It's a little tough to sell a sport that has been banned in the
city for more than 5 years.
EK:
Exactly. I think that helped a little and hurt a little. It helped
because it built more hype around the event. I mean it is finally
happening again. And it hurt because people haven't seen it in
a while.
JH:
Are there any particular matches you're looking forward to?
EK:
Yes, I'm really looking forward to Chris Lytle and Laverne Clark.
I know those two are going to throw down.
JH:
It'll be good to see Clark back in action. He had a string of
like 6 straight losses and now he's won two in a row. Who knows,
a win here may get him noticed and back on a big card.
EK:
That's what we're hoping for. I also wanted to give Chris Lytle
a chance to fight another UFC fighter.
JH:
Right, Chris is doing well. He just knocked out Aaron Riley in
HOOKnSHOOT last March and is coming off a decision loss in Shooto.
It's great to have Rich Franklin on this card too because he's
in the next UFC. (Franklin is fighting Edwin Dewees at UFC 44
on September 26th in Las Vegas - J.H.) It's also Eugene Jackson's
first fight since losing to Mark Weir in England at UFC 38. And
of course Tony Fryklund had that loss to "The Crow"
Loiseau in the UCC but bounced back to submit your fight coordinator
Brian Ebersole at a Dangerzone show last April. This event could
be a springboard for any one of these guys back into the big
shows.
EK:
Absolutely.
JH:
Now best case scenario, how often do you intend to have an event?
EK:
We're expecting a lot of people because this last week has been
a blitzkrieg of advertising and promotions. We had a huge bar
crawl with some of the top bars in Chicago where people can come
out and meet the fighters and win tickets to the event. If all
goes well, we intend to have about 6 shows a year.
JH:
What are the ticket prices?
EK:
They are $25.00 for general admission and $35.00 for floor seats.
They are available through Ticket Master. I can also be contacted
at Edward@the-battle-ground.com. The website is www.the-battle-ground.com.
JH:
Do you think future events would also take place at The Odeum
Sports Arena in Villa Park?
EK:
Yes, I like working with The Odeum. They are excellent to work
with.
JH:
Are you having any giveaways or ring card girls or anything along
those lines?
EK:
Not with this first show. I would like to thank Ideal Rides though.
They are one of my sponsors and can be found at www.idealrides.com.
They are bringing a bunch of custom choppers to the show that
are just beautiful.
JH:
Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?
EK:
Just that I'm really happy to be bringing Mixed Martial Arts
back to Chicago.
Source: Sherdog |
"Battle
of Belarus"
The
UFC President, Dana White, speaking with Ryan Bennett, announced
that Andrei Arlovski will be taking on Vladimir Matyushenko at
the September 26th UFC The Arlovski musical chairs of opponents
appears over.
Arlovski
was reportedly originally slated to face "Cabbage",
then Frank Mir, and now, fellow countryman, Vladimir Matyushenko.
This move leaves the door open for November as both Frank Mir
and Cabbage could be offered exciting match ups for the 10th
anniversary show. Many fans are calling for Cabbage to fight
Tank and Mir could be held out for a shot at the Title between
the winner of Sylvia-McGee taking place in Sept, although it's
unlikely because making a Heavyweight Champion fight back to
back is uncommon. Mir could also face Wes Sims who was DQ'd in
their first meeting for stomping Mir in the face while he was
down. Having Sims back at all is debatable considering his attitude
towards another repeat of his last appearance is indifferent,
but having him face anyone else would be rewarding him for foul
tactics. Their first meeting put a dent in Mir's stock as he
came out of the affair victorious, but bruised and battered.
Arlovski-Matyushenko
could prove to be a wide open free-for-all as both men have been
known to swing for the fences, although Matyushenko has become
a more controlling fighter as of late. Arlovski has an underrated
ground game and is more than confident standing. His size could
ward off Matyushenko's initial takedown attempts, pulling him
into a slugfest. Matyushenko is known for abandoning his gameplan.
We will see come September 26th at the Mandalay Bay.
Source: Ring Report |
SYLVIA
TRAINING HARD FOR MCGEE AND WILLING TO FIGHT BOB SAPP
UFC Heavyweight
Champion Tim Sylvia appeared on Thursday's MMAWeekly Radio Show.
Sylvia said that he is training hard for his upcoming title fight
with Gan McGee, which is scheduled to take place at UFC 44 on
September 26.
Sylvia
said that he's not sure if McGee will want to take the fight
to the ground, given the fact that he was willing to stand and
trade strikes with Pedro Rizzo, but either way Sylvia will be
prepared. Tim said that he is comfortable fighting on the ground
but he prefers to stand up and slug it out against any opponent,
including Gan McGee.
Tim
Sylvia also said that Pride presented him with an offer to fight
Bob Sapp in late 2002. This offer came at a time when Sylvia
was just coming off a big win over Wes "Cabbage" Correira
in the UFC, but hadn't yet been named as the next fighter to
get a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title (which he would later
win in dominant fashion).
Sylvia
and his manager Monte Cox were willing to accept the offer to
fight Bob Sapp, but only if they got some form of commitment
from Pride in the form of a two- or three-fight contract. Pride
refused and would only offer Sylvia a one-fight contract, while
the UFC was offering him the security of a three-fight contract
and a shot at then-champion Ricco Rodriguez. Sylvia said he has
no doubt that he made the right decision in staying with the
UFC, and he would still welcome a fight with Bob Sapp (which
he believes he would win).
When
asked about the splitting of Team Miletich into two smaller groups
that will still train together from time to time, Tim Sylvia
said that he is staying with the core group in Iowa and the vast
majority of the other fighters are doing the same thing. Sylvia
said that Jens Pulver had a great opportunity to open a facility
in Boise, Idaho and train some fighters in addition to training
for his own fights, and there are no hard feelings between anyone
at Team Miletich.
Sylvia
said that his fellow Team Miletich fighter and roommate Justin
Eilers might be fighting Wes Sims this fall in what may or may
not be a UFC fight. Tim commented that Eilers deserved a decision
victory in his recent fight with Wes "Cabbage" Correira
in SuperBrawl, and Cabbage knows it. Tim Sylvia also said that
the UFC may be putting on Frank Mir vs. Pedro Rizzo at some point.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
Excellence is doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Look beyond boundaries to glimpse unlimited possibilities.
By respecting others, we all reach new heights.
|
Gone
to Brazil!
Our little contingent leave tonight for Brazil. We will be gone
for 2 weeks, getting back on Friday, August 1. During that time,
we don't expect to be able to update the news page.
For that we apologize.
During that time, please take the time to check out our site.
There are tons of articles, pictures, etc to hopefully keep you
entertained. Go to http://www.onzuka.com to get the full effect
and main menu to navigate the site.
Please hold off any suggestions or corrections until we get back
or our email will overflow.
Academia Casca Grossa de Jiu-Jitsu will be open as usual and
in good hands.
|
Kauai
Grappling Tournament
Last week of Sept.
gi and no gi, 1st and second place medals and a belt up for grabs
in the no gi.
Brown belt super fights.
Sure to be Kauai's biggest and best tourny yet.
venue info to follow...
ALL SCHOOLS WELCOME!!!
Cost: $35 tentatively
CBJJ rules for the BJJ
NAGA rules for the submission grappling
a Hawaiian Freestyle Combat promotion
Source: Event promoter
|
WARRIORS
QUEST
"REBIRTH"
Warriors Quest which once was the fastest raising event in the
U.SA. will be back in action by the end of the year with new
ownership. Warriors Quest which is known for its matchmaking
of great fights will also hold kickboxing which will be matchmaked
by Dereck Bright who is an instructor of Hawaii Self Defense
and Brennan Kamaka will be the matchmaker for Mixed Martial Arts
area.. We are very excited in trying to bring back Honor to this
name we also know we have a tough task ahead but willing to take
on the challenge head on. We also will strive to help the fighters
achieve their goals.
Source: Event promoter
|
From
BTT the camp chapter II: *Catching Up* with Murilo Bustamante
by: Denis Martins
DM:
When will we get to see you fight again? Busta: I am disappointed
with my current situation. I am ready and going crazy waiting
to fight again. I train everyday at the Brazilian Top Team camp
and technically I am in the best shape of my life. I have been
trying to fight in Pride and the UFC but the negotiations always
fall through. I hope to fight again before the end of the year.
DM:
What is happening between you and these organizations? Busta:
I was not able to make an agreement with the UFC. So I tried
to fight for Pride but negotiations did not work out there either.
I hear the UFC is still interested in having me fight in their
events and I never shut the door on fighting for any organization.
I want to fight for the UFC again. I am a professional fighter
and I hope to get good contracts and good opponents. Most importantly,
I need to fight.
DM:
You brought your UFC belt into the Pride ring. Why did you do
that? Busta: I was invited by Pride to make an appearance with
my belt. I also did it let them know I would like to fight in
Japan.
DM:
The fans thought since you appeared in Japan you would be fighting
in Pride and your relationship with the UFC was over. You are
saying it is not? Busta: I never broke with the UFC but we could
not come to an agreement. So I looked to fight in another event
because I am a professional fighter. The opportunities seemed
to be in Pride but it did not work out there either. I will not
be held back. I will continue training and hope that Heaven brings
me a fight soon. I will fight anyone in my weight class. I am
ready now.
DM:
In this period of time without fights, have you been able to
lead the Brazilian Top Team with a better focus than before?
Busta: This has been the only good thing to come from my inactivity.
I never stopped working on my team but I would also like to work
for Bustamante fights too (laughs).
DM:
Since you beat Matt Lindland, Phil Baroni has been trying to
get you to fight him any way possible. He has become a much hated
guy for Brazilian NHB fans. Has any of what he is done or said
disturbed you? Busta: He is not my enemy. Maybe I am his enemy
but he is not mine. However I was upset with his unsportsmanlike
attitude. He says he will KO me but it is just part of the game.
But then he started to speak about things that were none of his
business like my UFC contract. He said I was not worth the money
I was asking for. Who is best suited to determine my value to
the UFC? I feel it is me. I was the champion at the time and
I wanted a more suitable contract because of it. Baroni would
win in that situation as well because if I got what I was asking
for, all of the fighters would have come with me and benefited
from it. He proved he was immature and does not have the mindset
of a professional fighter. Still, it would be a pleasure to face
him in the ring.
DM:
Aside from the issues mentioned, what do you think of him as
a fighter? Busta: He is a good fighter and has potential. But
he has a bigger mouth than he has talent. If he can balance his
attitude and his skills, he will be a better fighter. He said
he would kick Matt Lindland's ass and we all know what happened
there.
DM:
Did you see the Lindland/Falaniko Vitale fight? Busta: No I did
not. I did know about the accident where he hit his head and
was KO'd though.
DM:
What surprised you more; that Lindland lost or who he lost to?
Busta: Falaniko won the fight. You cannot make mistakes in NHB
and this bout proved it. Lindland made a mistake and Falaniko
took advantage. Anything can happen when you step in the ring
and both fighters have a 50/50 chance.
DM:
What did you think of Lindland's performance in the 2003 Abu
Dhabi Tournament? Busta: Lindlland is not a submission wrestler.
He is a good Greco Roman and Freestyle wrestler and I spoke with
him about that. If he wants to compete in events like that, he
will tap out until he learns to fight using the rules of those
contests. NHB and submission fighting are different. Lindland
is a top NHB fighter but in submission fighting he needs to learn
a lot.
DM:
Would you like to have competed in the last ADCC tournament?
MB: I did not want to. I was given the opportunity to compete
twice before and it was a pleasure to be there but now I am focused
on NHB.
DM:
We spoke about the big events like UFC and Pride but if another
organization offered you a great deal would you be interested?
Busta: I am ready. If I get a proposal to fight within a month
before the event I would fight. I normally train as if I am preparing
for a fight. It is very hard to stay in shape when you do not
know when you will be fighting again. I am not currently at 100%
but if I have a month to get ready I will fight anyone, anywhere.
DM:
Both Paulo Filho and Ricardo Arona are fighting in tournaments
in the coming months. You have already fought in a tournament
so are you sharing your experience of that with them? Busta:
Of course. Arona will fight in the quarterfinals and if he wins
he will qualify to fight twice more on the next Pride show. Filho
will fight as many as three fights in one night with tough fighters.
You know I really think the man who wins this IFC tournament
will gain great recognition from it.
DM:
What do you think about this kind of tournament (an 8-man event
all in one night)? Busta: They are good events. But these days,
I think it best to fight in the quarterfinal one night and then
come back to fight the remaining bouts on the next show like
Pride is doing it. Fighting twice or even three or four times
in one night gets a lot of attention but sometimes the fighters
suffer injuries and the best competitor does not always win the
event.
DM:
Honestly, would you fight in this type of event now? Busta: I
would do it. I would have liked to have fought in the Pride GP
and I was invited to do so. However, our representative, Arona,
has already fought in Pride three times and is ranked at the
top of the division so it was more important that he fight for
us. We are preparing him and rooting for him to win the whole
tournament and get the title.
DM:
Would you like to add anything in closing? Busta: For the fans,
who I know await my return to the ring, please stay positive.
I will be back. I am willing to fight in the UFC again, in Pride
and in other organizations that want to have me there. I am a
professional and I need to keep fighting.
Source: ADCC
|
AFC
#4 Pre Interview: DIN THOMAS
by: Keith Mills
This
weekend in Absolute Fighting Championships 4 in Ft. Lauderdale
two UFC vets go at it when Din Tomas steps in the ring to take
on Steve Berger.
KM:
What do you think of fighting Steve Berger? DT: He's a tough
guy. Real durable. It's going to be a tough fight for me; I'm
not into taking any easy fights. They asked me who I wanted to
fight, I could have picked anybody pretty much. I said I wanted
to fight somebody tough that would make me step up a level. Berger's
name came up and I was like 'call him up'.
KM:
How do you feel about returning to a ring instead of a cage?
DT: I like to work in the ring. Ever since I came to American
Top Team I've been working in a ring more because of the boxing
program and everything. It's going to be a little bit easier
for me to adapt to that.
KM:
You started out in a ring but you last couple have been in cages
while his have been in rings. DT: It's not really going to matter
too much. I'm not looking to pin anybody up against the fence
anyway.
KM:
I thought you used the octagon space pretty well in your last
fight in the UFC against Serra in February. How do you look back
on that fight now? DT: I thought I executed a perfect plan. I
did exactly what we trained. I didn't get to land the big shot
like I wanted to but at this level you can't always submit a
guy and you can't always knock a guy out. These guys are top
10 guys. It's hard to knock a guy out. Besides that I thought
I fought a really well executed fight and I'm happy with what
happened.
KM:
Are you as focused on a gameplan with Berger? DT: Yeah, we worked
on a lot of different things with Berger.
KM:
I don't want you to give away any kind of secret, I'm just trying
to compare your thoughts on Serra to your thoughts on Berger.
DT: It's a totally different fight. As far as the ground game
goes we always work on the same little things. Berger brings
a little more to the table, he likes to stand up and punch. We
had to work off some things that I could adjust, try to change
my game a little bit for that. Besides that one thing carries
over to the next. It's actually a little easier to prepare for
this one just because I had trained myself so much for Matt that
is carried over to this one. I had to touch up on some things.
KM:
I heard you are fully recovered from knee surgery earlier this
year. DT: That was actually in April. They just went in and scoped
it out and it's taken care of. Fans should see a 100% Din Thomas
on Saturday.
KM:
When I look at this fight I see a couple things that could be
advantages to you or that could work against you. One is it's
your home state although I wouldn't say a 'home town advantage'.
How do you feel about that? DT: I'm happy to be fighting back
in Florida. It's been years since I fought here. A lot of people
from my home town, Orlando, are going to come. To be honest with
you it's great for me because I live right down the street from
the place. Weigh-ins are going to be five minutes from my house,
the fights are going to be fifteen. I don't have to really stress
out and struggle like I would if I was fighting in Vegas or Atlantic
City or whatever. Definitely it's a mental advantage. Plus another
advantage I may have is because I'm used to fighting at this
weight ant he's dropping down.
KM:
That's another thing I was going to bring up. This is his first
at 155. Is that any kind of advantage to you? DT: I think so.
Maybe psychologically it may have an effect because he may no
know what his limitations are going to be at 155. His pace may
be longer. He may not want to go too hard or he may tire. I'm
not expecting him to really because I've never seen him tire
in a fight. Who knows.
KM:
Did you get a chance to scout out many of his fights? DT: Yeah,
I watched a couple. It's always important to Ricardo Liborio,
he always likes to scout them out and take us through some things.
They we go into the room and we work on those things.
KM:
Any particular fight that you've been looking at more than others?
I would think the Ring Of Fury show since that is his most recent.
DT: I watched that one a couple times, pretty much all of them.
I didn't sit at home and watch all his fights.
KM:
Didn't pull a 'Berger-thon'? DT: No, definitely wasn't that.
I got hold of some of his fights and we went over them. The advantages
of seeing some of their fights is you get to see what they do.
The disadvantages of watching their previous fights is they may
not come out the same way.
KM:
We've talked before about the American Top Team being an advantage.
Has the training with the American Top Team changed since your
UFC fight? DT: To be honest when we have a UFC fight going on
everybody's training centers around that. Ever since then it
kind of changed because then we had to focus on Hermes because
Hermes had that fight against Crunkilton in April. Now training
is more of a general training because we have a lot of fighters
that are going to be fighting within the next two months.
KM:
I hear American Top Team is even in King Of The Cage now. DT:
We have Marcus Aurelio going out there.
KM:
One of the things I was wondering seeing a couple boxing fights
on this next AFC card has something to do with an emphasis on
boxing at the ATT. DT: We do have an American Top Team boxing
program. Any chance these guys can get a fight we're going to
give it to them. We have some influence on what goes on the card
so they said 'let's get some boxing matches and bring some more
fans in'. When these boxing fans come to watch the fights we
make new fans out of people that probably have never seen it
before that just came to watch the boxing. We're kind of scratching
each other's backs here.
KM:
As far as the advantages we already covered or talked about before
or even being used to the time zone what affects you the most?
DT: To be honest fighting in my home state does kind of put a
little pressure on me. This time realistically I'm going to be
fighting in front of guys who I've known for years and have never
seen me fight. These guys are guys I went to high school with
that have heard about me fighting coming out. It's going to put
a little pressure on me to perform well because they just heard
I'm some bad ass and will come to watch me fight. I have to show
improvement. It could have an effect on me.
KM:
I take it you have pretty much wrapped up your training? Just
cardio for this last week? DT: Yeah, definitely. As a matter
of fact I think this morning was my last session.
KM:
I take it you feel ready to go? DT: Yeah. I'm in good shape,
I have a lot of confidence. I can't wait until Saturday and see
what he's got.
KM:
Any strategy on what is next? I take it UFC is still the goal
or is it Shooto or has Pride shown any interest? DT: Staying
loyal to one organization, those days are pretty much over because
one organization pretty much isn't going to be loyal to you when
the shit hits the fan. Basically what I'm saying is I'm a fighter,
I'm looking to fight anywhere I can get a paycheck. To be honest
with you I only want to fight good guys now. It ain't going to
do nothing for my career to beat up nobody. I want to fight good
guys in good organizations, I don't care where it's at. I'm really
looking forward to UFC again, they are the best organization,
but with the way things are it's a business and they have to
run their business. If they say we don't want you no more I'll
see you around.
KM:
You know how much respect I have for everybody involved with
the AFC but some fans perceive this as a step down. To me it's
just not the same level of spit and polish (as a specific rival
show not running the same weekend) but it is as far as matchmaking
and skill. First off do you think it's a step down and second
what do you think of those fans' perspective? DT: I tell you
right now, it's definitely not a step down as far as skill. To
be honest I've seen a couple (specific rival show) and they have
a couple good fights and then a couple just throw me fights where
guys that don't know how to fight get put together because they
don't know how to fight.
KM:
Like engineering knockouts. DT: Exactly. I don't knock them for
that because that is what is going to get people to watch. I
don't think this is a step down for me. It may be as far as the
packaging goes, it may be a step down in the appearance but for
me it's not a step down as far as the level of competition or
any aspect like that.
KM:
Also on the card are ATT fighters Dustin Denes, Wilson Goveia,
and George Santiago. What are your thoughts on them? How would
you project them to the fans? DT: I'm telling you right now these
guys are freaks. I never met guys like these guys. They came
from Brazil to fight and that's what these guys do. They don't
come to play paddycake with nobody. 'Clean' (Denes) doesn't come
from Brazil, Clean is from here and he's the worst of them all.
He's an absolute nut sometimes. The boy is raw and he's going
to hurt somebody.
KM:
It seems like this next month is a real breakout for the ATT,
especially with King Of The Cage. DT: I am glad (Aurelio) is
getting a shot in KOTC. They do get a lot of press because a
lot of the magazines are based on the West Coast and when you
get in a show on the West Coast a lot of people will hear about
you. That had a lot to do with Richard Crunkilton's success.
He was on the East Coast tearing it up and nobody heard about
him but as soon as he moved to the West Coast he had maybe two
fights and next thing you know he was all over the internet.
I think the same thing is going to happen to Aurelio.
KM:
Anything else to get across? Any sponsors to thank? DT: I'd like
to thank American Top Team. (Both laugh). You know what, I want
to thank you, man. You looked out for me, you let me voice my
opinion, and a lot of times I look over and guys like you have
always been by my side. That's who I want to thank.
KM:
Thank you. Anything else about this show coming up? DT: It's
going to sell out. If you can get your tickets you better get
them now. One more thing, don't call me up the day of the fight
asking for free tickets. I ain't got that, call TicketMaster.
KM:
One last thing, isn't Shaolin fighting at 155? (Note: Vitor 'Shaolin'
Ribeiro is also on the card) DT: Shaolin fights at 155.
KM:
Going to get a chance to scout him out? DT: Not really. I'm not
too concerned because I know he is going to put on a good performance
and I'll watch the video later.
KM:
I do think that's one we'll see further down the line. DT: Shaolin
is definitely a force to watch out for. I've had my eye on him
for a long time. This is nothing new to me to watch Shaolin fight.
Source: ADCC
|
AFC
#4 Preview Interview: STEVE BERGER
by: Keith Mills
This
weekend Steve Berger makes his debut at 155 against Din Thomas
in Absolute Fighting Championships 4, possibly one of the closest
match-ups at first glance. Since the beginning of 2002 Berger
went 2-1 with an additional 'no contest' while Thomas recovered
from knee surgery last year and has only gone 1-1 in that time.
Both are coming off wins in their last fights with Thomas beating
Matt Serra by decision in UFC 41 while Berger is coming off a
guillotine choke win with literally 1 second left in the round
in Ring Of Fury 2 last September. Both had their fight-before-last
a tough loss with Thomas losing to Caol Uno for a second time
in a career that only holds three losses while Berger took a
high-profile KO from Robbie Lawler in UFC 37.5.
Paraphrasing
UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva in the past
Berger was thought of like Chris Brennan or Aaron Riley as a
name to beat to cement a national name at 170. Up until now Berger
has been one of those fighters that makes fans of his want to
tear their hair out because he can be one of the most exciting
and talented fighters to watch but he needed a little bit of
an advantage to get to past the top fighters.
Like
dropping a weight class.
KM:
What are your thoughts on this fight against Din Thomas? SB:
It's a new weight class; obviously he's a tough fighter but I
wouldn't have it any other way. I don't want to waste my time
at 155; I want to prove myself right away.
KM:
In your entire career you've gone for the toughest fighters out
there. SB: Sure.
KM:
Looking at your career is indicative of fighters to keep an eye
on. What are your thoughts on fighting at 155? SB: To be honest
I think I should have been doing it for quite a while. When I'm
in shape I probably walk around at 168-169 lbs. These guys I've
been fighting I've noticed they make weight at 169 and by the
time I'm fighting them they're up to 190. It's something I think
I should have been doing for a while. The past two years or so
I haven't been keeping myself in the best shape and I've been
walking in around 180 but I've had love handles for every one
of those fights. This fight I've really transformed my body and
I'm in great shape. I'm ready for the fight.
KM:
It seems like you are turning a corner in your career. No offense
intended, it seems you are taking this much more seriously than
some of your previous fights. SB: Sure. Most definitely.
KM:
Did something change? What was the catalyst? SB: It's one of
those things I really love this sport and I love fighting and
I don't believe I've put out my all throughout my career. I just
turned 30 May 20th.
KM:
Oh, happy birthday. SB: Thank you. Its kind of one of those things
where I have to kick it into gear. I work a full-time job roofing
and it's really tough to work all day and train all night. I
made a lot of sacrifices for this fight and I've been training
real hard and I think I'll do well.
KM:
I normally don't ask the fighters much about their personal lives,
I try to allow them that secret identity every super hero needs,
but I was wondering since I've done outside work before if your
full-time job was overly detrimental because it takes away from
your raining or if because it is physically demanding I wouldn't
say augments your training but doesn't overly hinder it? SB:
There are two ways to look at it. Number one it's really tough
because you've got to get up. When you're roofing you get up
at 4 AM, you're at the job site by 5:30, and then you have a
physical day. It's unorthodox type lifting; you're lifting bundles,
tearing off roofs, running wheelbarrows, carrying bundles up
ladders. It is a workout in that sense. It does help me keep
the weight down and stay in shape but it also takes away form
my focus training I guess you could call it. I feel so drained.
The biggest problem I had in the past is I would tell myself
'I'll do it tomorrow, train tomorrow'. I said that so many times
and next thing I knew fight time came around.
KM:
I see you and Din so evenly matches I'm looking at the smaller
advantages. What state do you live in? SB: St. Louis, Missouri.
KM:
Isn't that in central time zone? SB: Yeah.
KM:
Having just come back from London I'm understanding schedule
fluctuations like never before and you were just talking about
waking up at 4 AM. That's how small the advantages I am looking
at here (laughing). SB: I tell you what, I haven't had a problem
in the past. Sometimes you feel tired when it's nighttime but
when that adrenaline kicks in you're boosted and ready to go.
Those advantages are so small that I don't even worry about them.
KM:
Does the hometown crowd Din will have any effect on you at all?
SB: (firmly) No. Doesn't phase me.
KM:
Any other advantages you look at? SB: None that I can rattle
off off the top of my head. I think you hit the nail on the head
when you said we are both evenly matched and it's going to come
down to the better man that night.
KM:
Your most recent has been in a ring while his have been in a
cage although his style doesn't really use a cage that much.
Do you feel more comfortable in a ring? SB: To be honest I don't
really use the cage either when I fight that much so I don't
think that is going to benefit either one of us, being in a ring
instead of a cage. If I had to guess he's probably been training
on jiu-jitsu mats or maybe in a boxing ring and that's kind of
where I've been training too. I imagine we're both going to feel
at home in the ring.
KM:
Are you pretty much wrapped up on your training right now? SB:
pretty much.
KM:
Where have you been training? SB: I train out of Rodrigo Vaghi's
Jiu-Jitsu.
KM:
How much time do you usually train before a fight? SB: I try
to get about two hours a day five days a week.
KM:
Your last fight was Ring Of Fury in Boston where you choked out
Nuri Shakir. It's been nine months but I don't recall you having
too much trouble with that fight. How do you look back on that
fight? SB: To be honest I took way too many punches, I felt.
That was one I came in I don't want to say out of shape but I
wasn't in my best physical condition and I don't feel my timing
was on perfect either. My ground game I always feel comfortable
because I always spend a lot of time on the ground and that paid
off in that fight but I felt like Nuri hit me a lot more than
I should have let him hit me. It was a lesson learned.
KM:
Did you change any training after that? SB: No, pretty much the
only thing I did was step it up more.
KM:
I was recently watching both your fight in Ultimate Athlete against
Pete Spratt and HOOKnSHOOT against Aaron Riley. Since Din is
thought of as having a reputation as a strong striker before
joining the American Top Team I was focusing on those two. Both
of those were a couple years ago. How do you feel you're standup
has changed since those two? SB: I think my striking is just
as good as it's ever been. It's a matter of like I told you earlier
these past fights when I roof all day and then it's time to train
I tend to let the boxing go and just train jiu-jitsu because
I didn't have time to get it all in or at least I made that excuse.
This time around I've really been trying to incorporate both
of them in so that I am a complete fighter and I feel I did a
good job of it this time around. I feel the homework is done
and I'm ready to make weight and fight.
KM:
Anybody to thank? SB: Thank Ed Clay and his team and Donnie Broadway
and his boxing club. And of course Rodrigo Vaghi.
KM:
I don't look at it as a 'comeback' so much as a 'turnaround',
moving down to a weight class that is more appropriate. Everybody
is dropping and I say it's Matt Hughes that started it all. SB:
Yeah.
KM:
Anything else to get across as far as this point in your career?
SB: I feel this is the weight class for me and I hope I can prove
it Saturday night. Otherwise what you said I couldn't have said
it better myself. It's the path for me to take.
Source: ADCC
|
PRIDE
News:
Barnett Out of the Scene, in Comes Rodriguez
By Eduardo Alonso
The
never-ending tale of Minotauro's opponent for PRIDE's August
10th event may now be finally coming to an end, as one more occurred
today. After training for a long time believing he would have
to face PRIDE's sensation Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, former PRIDE
Heavyweight champion Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira ended up receiving
information he would have to fight former UFC stand out Josh
Barnett, in Josh's PRIDE debut. The fight between Minotauro and
Barnett, which highly anticipated ever since the American challenged
the Brazilian after Nogueira's win over Bob Sapp, is now going
to have to wait once again as Josh Barnett decided to take part
in a Japanese Pro-Wrestling event and postpone his PRIDE debut
for the near future. With that, DSE secured former UFC Heavyweight
champion and PRIDE veteran Ricco Rodriguez as Minotauro's opponent,
and now negotiations are on in the final stages, with this fight
on the verge of being announced at any minute to take place at
the PRIDE GP, as a single bout. The interesting side of this
match-up is that both fighters already fought each other in a
submission wrestling match at the Abu Dhabi tournament once,
with Rodriguez beating Minotauro by knee bar. This is a chance
for revenge for Nogueira, who recently avenged his only MMA loss
(at 1999 RINGS King of Kings) against Dan Henderson in PRIDE
24. The Brazilian fighter is confident in his win and is welcoming
this chance to redeem himself in the PRIDE ring. FCF will keep
you posted on new developments for the PRIDE August 10th card.
Source: FCF
|
Murray
Steals the Show at Extreme Force: Genesis
By Jim Burman
Lee Murray knocked out Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons with
some crisp short punches early in the second round to send the
Wembley Conference Centre into a near riot at last night's Extreme
Force: Genesis show in London. Pele gave Murray a real fight,
refusing to trade bombs but looking for the tie up and ground
and pound from the outset. Cornered by Renzo Gracie, Pele clinched
to land knees and took Murray to the ground for most of the first
round. Murray looked more frustrated than hurt as the round ended
but just 32 seconds into the second he found his mark with a
right hand that rocked Pele and dropped the Brazilian to one
knee. Murray gave his opponent no time to recover and landed
a further two punches to end the fight. Whilst Murray's performance
was far from flawless he showed again that all he needs is one
good punch and it's lights out.
The
show, despite numerous dropouts (Arrab, Pulver, Freeman) ran
smoothly with the undercard providing some great entertainment.
American Jason Black took no time in despatching Michael Johnson,
taking him down, passing his guard, landing knees that seemed
to loaded up in the lighting rig (!) and then tapping him out
with a reverse guillotine. Black showed real skill and technique
in this win and hopefully we'll get to see him on these shores
again soon. James Zikic and Cyrille Diabete fought the fight
of the night with Zikic demonstrating his boxing prowess, Diabete
demonstrating his muay thai efficiency and both showing uncanny
ground games. The decision eventually went to Diabete but Zikic
must be commended on an exciting performance. The original headline
fight of the night could not go ahead as Freeman rang in sick
from his hotel room on the day of the show. It's been rumoured
that two fighters offered to replace him, Mark Epstein and Tengiz
Tedoradze, but Overeem was understandably reluctant to accept
at just a few hours notice. Tedoradze co-incidentally dominated
UFC veteran Remco Pardoel earlier in the night and was willing
to fight twice! As predicted Jean Silva opened his fight with
a Capoera spinning back kick to double leg takedown combination
much to the appreciation of the crowd. Working meticulously he
eventually tapped out last minute stand in Robbie Oliver four
minutes into the fist round. Oliver lasted well considering the
circumstance but Silva's preparation for original opponent Jens
Pulver showed. Full details of the show to be found in an upcoming
issue.
Gaz
Roriston def Mark Day 1:30 rd2 by rear naked choke
Neil McCleod def Ricky 'Ninja' Salhan 1:15 rd1 by armbar
Tengiz Tedoradze def Remco Pardoel 2:34 rd1 by submission (punishment)
Alex Evans def James Shiavo 4:50 rd2 Shiavo unable to continue
Cyrille Diabete def James Zikic rd3 unanimous decision
Jason Black def Mike Johnson 1:35 rd1 by reverse guillotine
Jean Silva def Robbie Oliver 4:00 rd1 by triangle choke
Lee Murray def Jose 'Pele' Landi-Jons 0:32 r2 by KO
Source: FCF
|
RIZZO
TO FIGHT AT UFC 45
MMAWeekly's John Hartnett reports that Pedro Rizzo will fight
on the UFC 45 card in November. His opponent? That's a good question,
but from what Hartnett has heard it looks to be one of three
guys.
There
has been talk of a possible matchup between Rizzo and Ricco Rodriguez.
He could also face Frank Mir or Andrei Arlovski, but there hasn't
been anything confirmed officially by the UFC.
This
is what we do know. Pedro Rizzo will be on the card for UFC 45
and if you look at some of the names believed to be on that card,
November will be one to remember with Rizzo, Rodriguez, Phil
Baroni, Robbie Lawler, a possible Cabbage vs Tank match up plus
more. This looks like a great card to celebrate the 10 year anniversary
of the UFC.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Great
Jens Pulver Interview on Sherdog
If you were wondering what toppled the undisputed lightweight
in the world, this interview answers this question. It is a great
and revealing interview of Lil' Evil.
Source: Sherdog
|
COX
TALKS ABOUT HUGHES VS GRACIE PLUS PULVER'S CONDITION
Monte Cox appeared on Wednesday's MMAWeekly Radio Show and talked
about several of the fighters that he manages. Perhaps the biggest
statement coming out of the interview was when Cox said that
Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie is a legitimate possibility for
the UFC's 10th Anniversary Show in November. Monte added that
he talked about the situation with Renzo Gracie last weekend
in London, and Renzo said that Royce wants the fight really bad.
According
to Monte Cox, Renzo also said that he doesn't think Royce should
take the fight. Monte said that if anyone is moving up from welterweight
to middleweight in the UFC for more than one fight (referring
to Hughes vs. Gracie), it will be Robbie Lawler. Cox said that
Hughes is a fully grown man who walks around at about 185 pounds
and has no problems making weight at 170, while Lawler is still
growing all the time and is already walking around at 195 pounds
at this early stage of his career.
Monte
Cox also talked about Jens Pulver and how disappointed he was
to miss the Extreme Force show last week in England, where he
was scheduled to fight Jean Silva. Cox said that Pulver dislocated
three of his ribs in early July, and Pulver was hoping to work
through it and still fight even though his ribs kept popping
out of their natural positions during training. Unfortunately,
just when it appeared that his ribs were no longer going to pop
out, they once again popped out about a day before Jens was scheduled
to leave for England.
Cox
said that he couldn't take the risk of Pulver's ribs popping
out during the fight, and it was more important that his ribs
are given time to heal. He added that if Jens isn't healthy enough
to compete on Shooto's August show in Japan, he would have to
wait until Shooto's next big show in December to make his long-awaited
Shooto debut. Monte commented on an unrelated note that he is
very impressed with Lee Murray as a fighter, and he thinks anyone
would be insane to stand up and trade strikes with Murray.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use
to change the world."
Nelson Mandela
|
From
BTT's headquarters:
*Catching Up* with Jose Mario Sperry!!!
He
is on of the core members of Brazil's TOP TEAM. Mario Sperry
spoke with us about the coming year in a great interview - thanks
Mario!
Denis
Martins- Your last three fights in MMA were in different weight
classes. So how do you decide in which weight class you will
fight this year? Sperry - I have a problematic weight, where
I weigh between 100kg-103kg, and I have had a lot of trouble
losing weight for ADCC 2003 and I did not fight good. I am looking
for an offer to fight, if the promoters want, I will fight in
light heavyweight or heavyweight. This year, I still do not know
what I will do, because the next big event is Pride GP Middleweight
and our representative there is Ricardo Arona.
Denis
Martins- But what class would you prefer to fight? Sperry- For
me there is no problem. I want to fight, like I said before.
I only look for the proposal, so I can get prepared.
Denis
Martins- You commented about a bad performance at ADCC 2003.
Talk about that... Sperry- Sincerely, for ADCC 2003 I trained
only two days, because I was training for Pride. This would be
a heavyweight fight and I weighed 104kg in preparation for this
Pride fight. But one week before ADCC 2003, the Pride promoters
told me my fight had been canceled, so I had to lose 6kg to compete
at ADCC 2003. I felt weak and without specific preparation for
the rules, I didn't have that ADCC pace because I was focused
on Pride. But I love to compete, this is important.
Denis
Martins- Who would you have faced in Pride? Sperry- They never
told me. They only announced that it would be a heavyweight guy.
But the event did not happen and they gave priority to the Pride
GP.
Denis
Martins- On internet there were rumors you had the flu during
ADCC 2003 on top of everything else. True? Sperry- I do not want
to talk more about that, because the people might consider it
an excuse. A flu only aggravated the problems I had losing weight.
I could not eat well. I went almost two days without eating and
I arrived to fight in ADCC 2003 weak.
Denis
Martins- Since 2001 you had stated that would fight in ADCC 2003
under 98.9kg tournament. So why did you not prepare yourself
more for this event? Sperry - Because times change. I had intention
of fighting in Pride. I was focused on that, and Pride's promoters
demanded that I not fight in ADCC 2003 to avoid injuries. But
Pride was not held, so I went to fight at ADCC 2003 on short
notice. I have a place in my heart, and I put the obligastion
on myself to compete for ADCC staff because this event helped
me a lot and I am one of the ADCC pioneers.
Denis
Martins- What did you think about Roger Gracie? Sperry- He is
a strong and smart young fighter. He has the youth on his side,
and technically he is developing himself good on the ground and
on the feet.
Denis
Martins- A lot of surprises on this last ADCC. What did you think?
Sperry - I agree man! The up & comers are arriving with a
lot of will. We, the veterans, need to keep up to their pace,
or what happened in this ADCC 2003 will be normal. We need to
train more or our traditional names will be surpassed by these
new fighters!
Denis
Martins- Which were the surprises and which were the best fights
of ADCC2003? Sperry - No doubts, Ricardo 'Cachorrao' Almeida
x Ronaldo 'Jacare' was very good and Dean Lister x 'Pe de Pano'
also. The biggest surprise fight was Eddie Bravo submitting Royler
Gracie. Royler was undefeated in the event's history and he was
caught on 2nd round! Some fans still do not believe this!
Denis
Martins- Mark Kerr was not in good shape... Sperry - Yeah, he
was not. But he fought 30 minutes against Arona. When I fought
Kerr in 2001, some people said he was not in good shape, but
he performed very well. Kerr is a phenomenal fighter, his body
was not looking good, but his wrestling skills and tools were
working. He came to win that superfight and not only to participate.
I think that most of the guys in the ADCC 2003 Absolute, if they
had faced Kerr, they would lose.
Denis
Martins- I think he showed that he is a great fighter too. Did
he not delay on being taken down by Arona? Sperry - He has a
lot of talent. When Arona took him down, I felt Arona would win.
Kerr fought until the end, he has experience on the mat and he
almost confused Arona when he started complaining about aggressive
grips done by Arona. I told Arona, do not have conversations
with him during the match, only fight.
Denis
Martins- Next big event in Pride GP middleweight. Do you think
this event can be better than Pride GP heavyweight? Sperry- It
is hard to evaluate this way, to make a comparison is a bit complicated.
I believe this GP will be a great event because only fighters
with high level will compete. I only hope the Japanese do not
protect the Japanese fighters.
Denis
Martins- Is this protection worrying you? Sperry- I hope it will
not.
Denis
Martins- Paulo Filho also will fight a tournament - the IFC -
nowadays it is becoming normal to fight more than once a day
during an event. Do you think that the daysof the tournaments
are coming back? Sperry - I think this is a test for the fighters.
I already fought three times in the same night and I can say
that this is hard. I liked testing my skills in an event with
this format.
Denis
Martins- You are with Arona, but is Arona with Brazilian Top
Team? Sperry - He is a Brazilian Top Team member. He is not here
training now because he had a problem in his home...
Denis
Martins- But when he fights BTT is never shown. Why? Sperry-
Life is a bit complicated, he is young and a lot of people talk
to the kid, put ideas in his head. When he left BTT, I said to
him that he would see who his real friends are. He go to see
that and thanks GOD without bigger troubles for us (Arona and
BTT).
Denis
Martins - Allan Goes is another former BTT member who came back.
Sperry - We are united. The controversy started when everybody
said that Goes had trained Bob Sapp for his fight against 'Minotauro'.
This was not true, Goes was training in Maurice Smith's academy
and Sapp was there. It was a coincidence, and there was no specific
training to face 'Minotauro', they only trained.
Denis
Martins- 'Minotauro' x Mirko 'Cro Cop', how do you analyze this
fight? Sperry - Tough fight, but like I said before, the BTT
likes hard challenges and we love to prove ourselves. I think
'Minotauro' will win.
Denis
Martins- Last words? Sperry - I want to thanks the fans for their
support and to say that BTT is always working to perform at the
highest level and to give show for the MMA fans.
Source: ADCC
|
Catching
Up With MARCIO CROMADO
is
one of luta livre's TOP fighters. He has branched out and is
running his own team: RFT.
Cromado
is back, and he got a chance to bring 2 of his students who fought
in Shooto Brazil and won to Japan for competition. Luciano Azevedo
and Aritano Barbosa accompanied Cromado for their bouts in SHOOTO.
In
his bout, 'Cromado' took on rugged Takaharu Murahama taking him
out late in round 1 via TKO. He needed this win, as his last
bout was a loss to Ryan Bow. Despite fighting at the top of the
SHOOTO rankings, he needed the win!
As
for his students, Luciano had just gotten his luta livre black
belt and was hungry for his Shooto debut. Aritano was more relaxed,
since he is a Meca World Vale Tudo veteran.
Both
guys took losses in their matches, but look for much more from
team RFT.
Source: ADCC
|
Menjivar
vs Ribeiro this Saturday
TKO Management has just announced that Ivan Menjivar will battle
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro at the Absolute Fighting Championship
show in Florida this Saturday.
Source: Maxfighting |
KING
OF THE CAGE RETURNS TO SILVER LEGACY
PRESS
RELEASE - Reno, Nevada (July 15, 2003) - Silver Legacy is pleased
to bring King of the Cage back to Reno on Saturday, August 16
in the City Center Pavilion. After an overwhelming audience response
to the first two live events held in 2002, Silver Legacy will
once again be the home of the mixed martial arts competition
featuring professional fighters from around the world.
Created
just over three years ago, King of the Cage is known internationally
for presenting only the most exciting matches. King of the Cage
fighters compete in a no-holds-barred sport utilizing many forms
of combat including Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling, street-fighting
and kick-boxing. In the cage, all styles are welcome and encouraged
but to consistently win, participants must be well versed in
every aspect of fighting sports.
The
August 16 fights in Reno will bring dozens of skilled fighters
to the cage who will all be battling for the glory and honor
of becoming the King of the Cage. Featured on this fight card
are three Reno fighters returning from King of the Cage: Sudden
Impact held at Silver Legacy in 2002: Rick Collup, Jimmy Walker
and Rocky Batastini.
In
a main event match Brazilian fighter Gustavo "Ximu"
Machado (6-1-1) will take on Benji Radach (10-1-0). Machado,
Brazil's latest phenomenon, will face tough competition in Radach
who has been an unstoppable competitor. Sparks will fly as "Superman"
Dennis Hallman (22-7-1) and Drew Fickett (12-1-0) meet in the
cage. Hallman is known to be one of the sport's best fighters,
proving himself time and again against the most elite fighters
globally. James Fanshier (3-3-0) and Joey Villasenor (9-3-0)
both return to Reno after fighting in the City Center Pavilion
in previous King of the Cage events.
"King
of the Cage is the fastest growing extreme sport out there,"
says event promoter and former fighter Tedd Williams. "Once
people see a competition they become immediate fans."
Witness
the awesome mixed martial arts event you have been hearing about
-tickets are going fast for this thrilling night of hard-hitting
and aggressive knockouts, submissions and straight-up mixed martial
arts fighting prowess. Ticket prices to see King of the Cage
are $150, $100, $75, $50 and $40, and are available at silverlegacy.com
and tickets.com, through Silver Legacy reservations at 1-800-MUST-SEE
or 325-7401 in Reno, and at the Resort Casino's Club Legacy booth
on the main casino floor.
Stay
and play with us at Silver Legacy Resort Casino! Voted Reno's
"Best Must-See Attraction" for the second consecutive
year in the 2002 Casino Player magazine reader's poll, Silver
Legacy is a 1,720-room Victorian-themed hotel - the tallest in
northern Nevada. The Resort Casino boasts every amenity for a
perfect getaway destination: 85,000 square feet of thrilling
gaming space, 90,000 square feet of state-of-the-art convention
space, Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club, six fabulous restaurants
and eateries, top name entertainment, elegant boutique shopping,
an award-winning health spa, the world's largest composite dome
and mining rig and Rum Bullions Island Bar - Reno's only rum
bar. For reservations, call 1-800-MUST-SEE (1-800-687-8733) or
325-7401 in Reno, or visit the Resort Casino online at www.silverlegacy.com.
Source: Maxfighting
|
ICEMAN
GETS PURPLE BELT
While the Iceman is a 4th degree blackbelt in Hawaiian Kempo
Karate, he now is working on his ground game to become a better
fighter. Late last night, John Lewis presented Liddell with his
purple belt in Jiu Jitsu.
Liddell's
trainer, John Hackleman was extremely happy and wanted to congratulate
him as he is in Las Vegas. Congrats to the Iceman for advancing
as he continues to work on his game and shows why he is one of
the best in the world.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Wrestling
World Championships Schedule
We are
going to have a banner year at this years World Championships
in Creteil, France! Not only is it the World Championships but
the top ten will qualify for the Olympic Games to be held in
Athens, Greece in August, 2004. This year will be the year to
make Greco Roman history.
The
goal is simple...4 medal minimum, five wrestlers in the top 8,
1st place team finish, and all 7 wrestlers placing (and qualifying
for Athens Olympics) in the top 10.
We
do this and it is "all the Domino's pizza" you can
eat for one year (entire delegation)! Come on....make my day!
It
all starts with great preparation! So let's get fired up and
ready to make history!
World
Team Training Camp #1...August 17 - 27, in Colorado Springs
(open to US national team and selected others)
The
travel days are August 17 and 27.
The
World Team and National Team are required to attend this camp
in its entirety. We will have a few spots available for non National
Team Members. The German World Team will be attending this camp.
They will arrive August 14 and depart August 31.
Everyone
must contact Jaimie Millward by July 25th with their travel info.
Any National Team Member that has a problem with attending this
camp in it's entirety must contact me to discuss issues.
World
Team Training Camp #2...September 3 - 13, in Col Springs
(open to US national team and selected others)
The
travel days for this camp are Sept 3 and 14.
We
will train from September 4th through the 10th in Colorado Springs.
On
September 10th we will travel to New York (just the World Team
and selected coaches) to train and watch the freestyle World
Championships. We will depart for home on September 14th (early
morning).
This
will be a great weekend that should geek us up for our Worlds.
Our US freestyle and women teams are going to have a tremendous
showing, mark my words. They will kick major butt in NY!
Five
Denmark world team members will be participating in this September
camp. They will train from September 1 - 14. So even though the
World Team will go to NY on the 10th, the Demark team will stay
in Col. Springs and train with the resident team and any other
national team members that come to camp.
At
this September Training camp some National Team Members will
not be required to attend. We will basically leave it up to you
if you want to participate. All World Team Members and coaches
will be required to attend.
Everyone
must contact Jaimie Millward by August 7th with their travel
info. Any National Team Member that does not want to attend this
camp should contact me to inform me of this. Again...all World
Team Members and Coaches are required to participate and should
contact Jaimie Millward by Aug. 7th.
World
Team Acclimation Camp...September 22 - 29, in Paris, France
(US World team and selected training partners)
We
will depart for Paris, France on Monday, September 22. We will
train at INSEP and stay in same hotel as last year.
More
on the selected training partners later (all selected training
partners must attend all training camps).
World
Championships...September 30 - Oct 6, in Creteil, France
(Tournament from Oct. 1 - 5)
We
will move to the hotel in Creteil (about 20 minutes away) on
probably Tuesday, September 30th. (or maybe Monday, Sept. 29).
October
2nd.... Weigh-in
October 3rd, 4th and 5th.... Greco World Tournament
October 5th....Enjoy our medals and team title and return home!!!
Source:
Coach Fraser |
Quote
of the Day
A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so
well that no one at all would find fault with what he has done."
Cardinal Newman, 1801-1890, British Preacher
|
Welcome
to the Much Anticipated Revamping of Onzuka.com!
Please feel free to peruse the site and email us with any suggestions
or corrections. We have been working on this forever because
we wanted to add a decent amount of content before releasing
it.
Besides while we are in Brazil for 2 weeks, we will not be updating
the site, so it will hopefully keep our loyal readers occupied
while we are suffering through the harsh beaches...err..umm...conditions
of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Some cool things in our opinion are the Articles page, the Gracie Family
Pictorial
page and the Gracie
History
page.
To
get the full feel of the new site, start off at http://www.onzuka.com
We hope you have a lot of time to sit back and go through this
site. Take your time, remember after Friday, the site most likely
will not be updated for 2 weeks.
We
always have a reputation to give credit where credit is due.
This goes true with moves that we learn or get taught, as well
as people who help us out. If you like this site and need to
re-vamp your site to draw more customers in or just to make a
killer personal site, you have to check out Marc A. Ebalaroza
at Pacific Design Company. Not only is this guy a incredibly
nice and honest guy, he is one of the best guitarist I have ever
seen or heard, but more importantly, he is the mastermind behind
our site and the killer flash intro.
Check
out more information about Marc and Pacific Design Company at:
http://www.pacdesco.com
Believe us, you'll be glad you did! |
WRESTLING
MEDIA ADVISORY:
U.S. rosters set for the Junior World Championships
The
U.S. lineups for the FILA Junior World Championships have been
set. The event will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, Aug. 24-31.
Women's freestyle wrestlers will compete first, wrestling Aug.
24-25. Greco-Roman competition will follow Aug. 26-28 and men's
freestyle action will take place Aug. 29-31.
Seven
of the eight FILA Junior World Team Trials champions will compete
for the men's freestyle team, led by 2002 Junior National champions
Paul Donahoe (Davison, Mich.) at 50 kg/110 lbs., Nathan Moore
(Indianapolis, Ind./Purdue) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. and Cole Konrad
(New London, Wis./Minnesota Storm) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. Moore
placed third at the FILA Junior World Team Trials.
Donahoe
and Konrad also won the Greco-Roman competition at the FILA Junior
World Team Trials, but will only be allowed to compete in one
style at the World Championships.
Iowa
State Univ. teammates Nate Gallick (Tucson, Ariz./Cyclone WC)
and Kurt Backes (Neshanic Station, N.J./Cyclone WC) will also
compete. Gallick will wrestle at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Backes will
wrestle at 84 kg/185 lbs.
Also
wrestling for the U.S. will be Mike Silengo (Colorado Springs,
Colo./Dave Schultz WC) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Andy Simmons (Williamston,
Mich./Michigan WC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Don Reynolds (New
Lenox, Ill./Overtime WC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. All three have been
very successful in the U.S. at the Junior level.
Silengo
currently competes at the Univ. of Pennsylvania and Simmons attends
Michigan State Univ.
U.S.
Naval Academy head coach Bruce Burnett of Annapolis, Md. and
Troy Steiner of Madison, Wis. will coach the men's freestyle
team.
Leading
the way for the Greco-Roman team will be Ryan Halsey (Oceanside,
Calif./Dave Schultz WC), a 2001 Junior National champion and
current FILA Junior National champion, at 84 kg/185 lbs. Halsey,
who attends Cal Poly, recently won a gold medal at the Grand
Prix de France.
Joining
Halsey are 2003 FILA Junior National champions Joe Betterman
(Marquette, Mich./USOEC) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Casey Lawson (Marquette,
Mich./USOEC) at 60 kg/132 lbs., Harry Lester (Cuyahoga Valley,
Ohio/USOEC/Sunkist Kids) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. and Bobby Fisher
(Platte County, Mo./USOEC) at 74 kg/163 lbs.
All
four of those wrestlers attend Northern Michigan University and
train in the U.S. Olympic Education Center program. Lester, a
2001 Junior National runner-up, placed seventh at the 2003 U.S.
Senior World Team Trials.
Rounding
out the Greco-Roman squad will be Jeff Courtney (Fairmont, W.V./Mountaineer
WC) at 96 kg/211.5 lbs. and Cody Parker (Roseburg, Ore.) at 120
kg/264.5 lbs. Parker placed second at the FILA Junior World Team
Trials to Konrad.
Courtney
is taking the place of Adam Haake (Marquette, Mich./USOEC), who
injured his knee at the recent Grand Prix de France and will
be unable to compete in this tournament.
The
Greco-Roman team will be coached by U.S. Olympic Education Center
Coach Ivan Ivanov of Marquette, Mich. and high school coach Isaac
Ramaswamy of Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
The
women's team will be led by two-time U.S. National Team member
Mary Kelly (Mahomet, Ill./Dave Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Kelly is a past Cadet World Champion and placed third at the
2002 and 2003 U.S. Senior World Team Trials. Kelly currently
competes for Neosho County Community College in Kansas.
Also
on the women's team will be the 2002 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High
School Wrestler of the Year Brandy Rosenbrock (St. Claire Shores,
Mich./Michigan WC) at 59 kg/130 lbs. Rosenbrock placed fourth
at the 2003 U.S. Senior World Team Trials and was a member of
the U.S. National Team in 2002. She was also a Junior National
champion at the inaugural Women's Junior National Championships
in 2002.
Debbie
Sakai (Miliani, Hawaii/Rainbow Wahine WC) and Alaina Berube (Escanaba,
Mich./Cumberland College) both placed sixth at the 2003 U.S.
Senior World Team Trials. Sakai will compete at 51 kg/112.25
lbs. and Berube will compete at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.
Also
on the women's team will be FILA Junior World Team Trials champions
Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minn./Minnesota Storm) at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.
and Juanita Russell (Galway, N.Y./TNT) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Completing
the women's team are Liz Short (Lombard, Ill./UM-Morris) at 44
kg/97 lbs. and Cathy Migita (Honolulu, Hawaii/Rainbow Wahine
WC) at 55 kg/121 lbs. Short placed eighth at the 2002 University
World Championships.
Migita
replaces Jessie Shirley (Galion, Ohio/Cumberland College), who
is injured and unable to compete.
The
women's team will be coached by Rusty Davidson of Grants, N.M.
and Cumberland College head women's coach Kip Flanik of Williamsburg,
Ky.
The
FILA Junior World Championships were not held in 2002. In 2001,
the men's competition was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and the
women's competition was held in Martigny, Switzerland.
In
men's freestyle competition, Steven Mocco had the highest U.S.
finish with a fourth-place showing. James Woodall placed fifth
for the U.S. team as well. LeRoy Gardner was the highest Greco-Roman
place winner with an eighth-place showing. In women's action,
Toccara Montgomery won a silver medal and Tori Adams won a bronze
medal. All eight women placed in the top 10 of their respective
weight classes.
Only
wrestlers born 1982-1984 are eligible to compete in the FILA
Junior World Championships.
2003
FILA Junior World Championships at Istanbul, Turkey U.S. Rosters
MEN'S
FREESTYLE - August 29-31
50 kg/110 lbs. - Paul Donahoe (Davison, Mich.)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Mike Silengo (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz
WC)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Nate Gallick (Tucson, Ariz./Cyclone WC)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Andy Simmons (Williamston, Mich./Michigan
WC)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Don Reynolds (New Lenox, Ill./Overtime WC)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Kurt Backes (Neshanic Station, N.J./Cyclone
WC)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Nathan Moore (Indianapolis, Ind./Purdue)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Cole Konrad (New London, Wis./Minnesota Storm)
Coaches:
Bruce Burnett (Annapolis, Md.), Troy Steiner (Madison, Wis.)
GRECO-ROMAN
- August 26-28
55 kg/121 lbs. - Joe Betterman (Marquette, Mich./USOEC)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Casey Lawson (Marquette, Mich./USOEC)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Harry Lester (Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio/USOEC/Sunkist
Kids)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Bobby Fisher (Platte County, Mo./USOEC)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Ryan Halsey (Oceanside, Calif./Dave Schultz
WC)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Jeff Courtney (Fairmont, W.V./Mountaineer
WC)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Cody Parker (Roseburg, Ore.)
Coaches:
Ivan Ivanov (Marquette, Mich.), Isaac Ramaswamy (Lake Ronkonkoma,
N.Y.)
WOMEN
- August 24-25
44 kg/97 lbs. - Liz Short (Lombard, Ill./UM-Morris)
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Mary Kelly (Mahomet, Ill./Dave Schultz WC)
51 kg/112.25
lbs. - Debbie Sakai (Miliani, Hawaii/Rainbow Wahine WC)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Cathy Migita (Honolulu, Hawaii/Rainbow Wahine
WC)
59 kg/130
lbs. - Brandy Rosenbrock (St. Claire Shores, Mich./Michigan WC)
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Alaina Berube (Escanaba, Mich./Cumberland
College)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Ali Bernard (New Ulm, Minn./Minnesota Storm)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Juanita Russell (Galway, N.Y./TNT)
Coaches:
Rusty Davidson (Grants, N.M.), Kip Flanik (Williamsburg, Ky.)
Source: ADCC |
Jones
eyes Tyson or Lewis & More Boxing News
WBA
heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr could fight either Mike Tyson
or Lennox Lewis later this year according to his adviser. Brad
Jacobs said no deal had been done with either fighter contrary
to a report that said Jones Jr would fight Tyson in Kenya in
November.
'We
have been talking directly with Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis for
prospective opponents for Roy's next fight,' Jacobs said. 'But
as of yet, nothing is in stone.'
Promoters
in Nairobi announced Tuesday that Jones will defend his title
at the 60,000-seat Moi International Stadium.
Tyson
'could face Botha'
Former
world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson could face a rematch with
South Africa's Francois Botha in September, according to Botha's
manager Sterling McPherson. The manager hopes to set up the fight
for 13 September in Johannesburg to give Botha a chance to avenge
his fifth-round defeat against Tyson in January 1999.
'The
date is a little strange because Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley
will fight the same night in Las Vegas but I can say I've heard
from Jay Larkin at Showtime TV and Tyson's manager Shelly Finkel,'
said McPherson.
'I
was on a conference call with Sports Network TV and each of the
people involved has expressed serious interest.
Source: ADCC |
ABSOLUTE
FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP -
'SHAOLIN' versus MENJIVAR is on!!!
Saturday, July 19th, 2003 - War Memorial, Ft Lauderdale, FL.
Tickets
available at www.ticketmaster.com. Enter 'ABSOLUTE'
for the event!
'We
are lucky to make this match' states AFC matchmaker Miguel Iturrate.
'SHAOLIN was ready to fight anyone, and we wanted to make the
best possible match. With so short a time period left since the
injury to Kultar Gil, then with Rich Clementi's injury, we had
given up.'
Menjivar,
the pride of El Salvador, will give SHAOLIN back a little of
that latin fever. Menjivar has fought in Canada's UCC, establishing
a solid record, and going undefeated at his weight of 145 to
155.
SHAOLIN
fights with the pressure of an 8-0 record, and a #1 ranking in
Japan's SHOOTO, where he is earmarked for a title bout in September.
'Now
they collide at AFC #4 - and we have our 3rd main event!' states
Iturrate. 'Huge credit goes to both guys - they are committed
and on short notice, there really is a feel that anything can
happen. This bout features two of the top guys that are still
on there way up. This bout is what the sport is all about!!!'
Source: ADCC |
Interview:
NICK DIAZ!
This weekend
Nick Diaz takes on Jeremy Jackson in a rematch of their UA 9/28
King Of The Mountain tournament finals. Nick came out throwing
a high kick but kept his hands down and Jackson knocked him down
with a quick left. Jackson pounced on Nick but Nick did a good
job of keeping Jackson away as he tried to grab an ankle. Jackson
backed away and the fighters returned to their feet but again
Nick kept his hands down and was quickly knocked down by Jackson,
this time with Jackson firing off shot after shot to Nick's face
and causing a TKO at 0:49. Now these two rematch with both fighters
knowing more about each other and having time to prepare.
Nick
also pulled off possibly the fight of the night at IFC last July
to pull out a win over current HOOKnSHOOT Welterweight champ
Chris Lytle and an impressive win over Joe Hurley by a rather
gory kimura at WEC earlier this year. Jackson represents Diaz's
second loss, Diaz's other being in Shooto to Kuniyoshi Hironaka
by split decision in December of last year.
KM:
Your next fight is IFC on July 19th. What are your thoughts on
Jackson? ND: I think he's awesome. He got great hands and everything.
Last time I didn't know what he was all about. They offered me
a rematch and I'll fight anybody they put in front of me. It's
what I do.
KM:
I was reading an interview with you where you were talking about
the UA King Of The Mountain finals where you were trying to trick
him…I don't recall the exact words. ND: No, no, no. I didn't
know anything about him. Going in I didn't think he was anything
special and I didn't have great boxing. I box a lot with people
that were trained to fight MMA. I usually beat them but that
was before I started boxing with pros.
KM:
Speaking of which I'm interrupting your boxing training right
now. How is that coming? ND: It's coming along pretty good actually.
I got all these pro boxers in here; R. J. Carson and Chris Cruz.
They are pretty good.
KM:
You are one of the people that run a Team Cesar Gracie affiliate
now but tonight anyway you are training back at the main academy.
ND: I took a couple months off so I could train right. After
I'm done with that I'll go and work on that school. It's pretty
good over there in Antioch out of an Extreme Fitness gym. Got
a lot of students over there. It's pretty cool because it's right
in-between an affiliate school in Stockton and the home base
right here.
KM:
The one is Stockton is David Terrell's school? ND: No, that is
Steve Heath's school. I started training with Steve Heath. I
used to train there with him but when I started to get promoted
Cesar wanted to open another school in Antioch so they put me
there to teach. We've got five schools to train out of; Stockton,
Fairtex, Santa Rosa, Concord, and now Antioch. I can go any of
these places and train. I go to Santa Rosa all the time to train
with David Terrell for my grappling and then right here in Concord
we have the CYC with all the pro boxers and they had some kind
of falling out. All the pro boxers moved into our gym. We have
a ring with people sparring and boxing all day.
KM:
It sounds like you have everything you need under the umbrella
of Cesar Gracie. Are you wrapping up training? ND: I'm doing
some boxing today (note: this was July 10th) and tomorrow. Saturday
I'll be doing some jiu-jitsu, do a little bit of boxing. Sunday
I'll go to David Terrell's and freshen up my jiu-jitsu. That
guy always makes me feel I can do anything. After training with
him I feel unstoppable on the ground.
KM:
Anything different for conditioning? ND: Basically I box a lot
of rounds, eleven rounds, twelve rounds, stuff like that. I do
wind sprints in the morning. I do boxing 5-minute rounds like
five or six of those four times a week.
KM:
This one with Jackson is a five round fight and I'm expecting
it to go at least into the second if not the fifth. I'm thinking
conditioning is going to be a factor but both of you have made
it through tournaments. Have any of yours gone the distance?
ND: Yeah, the Lytle fight (IFC 7/12/02).
KM:
That's right. How do you look back at that fight now and how
have you changed? ND: I'm at least three times better than that.
I got my takedowns together and everything, my boxing is way
better, my jiu-jitsu game is better…
KM:
I thought your boxing looked better in the Hurley fight (WEC
3/27/03). ND: Hurley was a little shorter than me. I don't like
to judge myself off that fight. I wish I had more of a warm up
fight before this one with Jackson but you gotta do what you
gotta do.
KM:
You are the IFC U.S. Welterweight Champ and Jackson is the America's
Welterweight Champ. Both those belts are on the line but isn't
there a third? ND: I don't think so.
KM:
Doesn't (Cesar Gracie's) Gil Castillo own the World Welterweight
belt? ND: I don't know how that works.
KM:
One thing I was wondering is if you win this fight against Jackson
what would happen with the belts since you wouldn't fight Gil.
After the WEC you were saying you didn't know it was for a belt?
ND: I didn't. All of a sudden he came in…it kind of sucked
to tell you the truth. It put a lot of pressure on me right at
the last moment, like 'oh great, five rounds'.
KM:
Exactly, the extra rounds. Do the belts themselves mean anything
to you like extra pressure? ND: No, I already fought this guy
(UA 9/28/02). Basically I want to do better than I did last time.
He's as tough an opponent as I can think of because basically
I think he plays the same game I do, I just have a better ground
game. He likes to go out and punch until the guy tries to take
him down, that kind of thing. That's what I do. When a guy takes
me down finally he's tired and that's when I tap him out. That's
usually my game, what I start trying to do. Since he does the
same type of thing it's going to cause a big mess.
KM:
Did you get a chance to see Jackson's WEC fight? ND: Yeah, I
saw it.
KM:
Did you learn anything from that or did it change your plan?
ND: Yeah, it looked like he was getting tired. It looked like
it was a pretty even fight for a little bit. I didn't notice
at first, I thought Jackson just kind of tore off on him but
then when I watched it a couple more times Shonie was starting
to get to him there.
KM:
You have a couple other fighters fro Team Cesar Gracie on the
card with you that night. What does that level of support mean
to you? ND: It makes you feel a little more comfortable. My buddy
Steve (Heath) is fighting Benji Radach and that should be a tough
fight for him. We're all going together like we're all in it
together. There isn't anything to be afraid of. It's a big school
and even though I have a lot of people to train with it's not
like they are going to train like you are. The thing is they
(the other Team Cesar Gracie fighters on the card) are all training
for a fight too so we're all training together.
KM:
Besides the fighters on the card there will be Gil Castillo and
David Terrell but how many students are going to be in the stands?
ND: All of the students are going to be there, I'm sure. That
kind of puts a little bit of pressure on me. Go ahead and post
this, I don't like everybody to know what I'm doing. My family
for one, they get on the internet and see all this shit. They
know exactly what I'm doing and it puts a lot of pressure on
me. If nobody knew what was going on it would make it a lot easier.
If it was jut the people I trained with that knew that would
be perfect. People that don't train want to comment and ask me
if I'm ready, it gets to me a little bit. I like going to Japan
because you get away. No-one is giving you shit and no-one knows
you. You and your guys you train with go up there and fight.
KM:
As far as Jackson's next fight already lined up for the UFC does
that bother you at all? Your fight with him isn't even over and
he's already moving on to the UFC. ND: I guess that's where we
are all trying to go. I can't stop him. I'm only 19. I've been
doing this for three years and I'm just trying to do the best
I can. For now I'll just fight whoever they put in front of me.
They
put Jeremy Jackson in front of Nick at IFC on July 19th. Tickets
are still on sale
Source: ADCC |
JEREMY
JACKSON - Part 2
Jeremy
Jackson fights a rematch against Nick Diaz on July 19th to unify
their IFC Welterweight belts. Currently Jackson hold the Americas
Welterweight belt while Nick Diaz holds the U.S. belt. Gil Castillo
holds the IFC World Welterweight belt. Jackson appears to also
be making his debut in the UFC this fall against Dennis Hallman.
Jackson
is trying to change the sport itself with his fight strategy
based around exciting fights, reminiscent of Carlos Newton's
interviews but from a standup perspective instead of a ground
fighter's perspective. Jeremy is much more well-rounded than
many fans think, he just prefers to use his wrestling and jiu-jitsu
skills to gain a standing position so he can knock his opponents
out. Over and over again Jackson takes the perspective of making
the fights more interesting for the fans, from his perception
on preferring a ring so the fans can see to his basic strategy
mentioned above. Bottom line is Jackson is focused on taking
the UFC Welterweight belt and knows selling tickets will surely
help him get there almost as much as having a great record. In
part one Jackson was talking about his career up to fighting
in the UA King Of The Mountain tournament.
KM:
That brings us to Nick Diaz. What do you remember of it? JJ:
I threw the left hook and saw him fall and then I hit him a couple
more times. I saw he was still going for a leg lock so I knew
he wasn't out of it so I backed out. I wanted to bring us both
back to the feet because I didn't want to ground and pound and
make it boring. I brought it back to the feet and I could see
his punches coming a mile away because I'm always sparring with
the best guys in the world in boxing. I can see punches coming
a mile away.
KM:
I was reading an interview with him. I know he didn't mean any
offense to you but he was saying that he was trying to switch
stances to confuse you like he might be able to trick you. Did
that have any effect? JJ: No, I fight southpaw guys, I fight
guys that are left leg forward, right leg forward…I just
look at it as whichever leg is forward is going to get hit.
KM:
How are you training for Diaz? JJ: The way I'm training for Diaz
is the way I'm training for Hallman. The fight you are going
to see with Hallman is the same fight you saw with Jens Pulver
except it won't go past the first round, it will be a knockout.
I hit a lot harder than Jens Pulver.
KM:
Finishing up on Diaz this is for three belts, you have beat him
before…what would happen if you did lose? JJ: I don't see
that happening. If I did lose then there will be a rematch in
WEC 7.
KM:
That would only be about two weeks away. JJ: Either way he's
screwed because let's say he does beat me, it's only by decision.
If he does we'll have a rematch in August then he'll get knocked
out then. If he taps me out I don't even want a rematch, I'll
just admit he's better than me. He's not going to catch me, there
is just no way. Last time I fought him I broke my hands on his
face. I'm going to try not to break my hands this time. They
let the fight keep going because the referee trains with him.
Whenever I hit him and knocked him out I saw in his eyes he was
out so I just kept hitting him and hitting him. After a while
I just grabbed his head and started hitting him. It was terrible
and I felt bad for him actually.
KM:
All three of yours at King Of The Mountain were TKOs. Shonie
Carter (WEC 2/27/03) was your only decision. Shonie was the stop
to the TKO streak. How do you feel about that? JJ: I didn't like
it. It made me mad because I told a lot of people I was going
to knock him out. Shonie is really slippery and he's really smart;
he doesn't stay still. When I was hitting him he doesn't care
about turning his back and running, Shonie's got so much experience
he's not there to please the crowd, he's there to win it. If
he does feel good enough he will please the crowd but since he
thought he was losing he turned his back and would run all the
way to the other side of the cage. He didn't care.
KM:
Anything else to get across to the fans at this time? JJ: What
I want to get across is just to jump on the bandwagon because
about a year from now I'm going to be holding Matt Hughes' belt
and then I'm going to hold it for a long time because I'm young
and I can hold it for ten years. I'm going to make it entertaining
though. There's a lot of 170s that are good. People want me to
go up to 185 or drop to 155…I want to stay where all the
competition is. This is fun. There are so many guys I can fight,
I love it.
KM:
What is your normal walk-around weight? JJ: About 185-190.
KM:
Any sponsors to thank? JJ: I'd like to thank Tapout, Shear Images,
a tanning salon, and Maverick's Gym.
KM:
Any website for either you or Team Freedom? JJ: http://www.submissionwrestling.com/ and also check out
Global MMA.
Two
parts of this phone interview with Jackson experienced difficulties
with the tape. In the first segment Jeremy spoke of a submission
tournament he was in where he beat Javier Vazquez before losing
to Diego Sanchez in the finals. He was saying he had an armbar
on Diego when they went out of bounds and the position was restarted
with the armbar in a less threatening position, allowing Diego
the win. In the second segment Jeremy speculated about his possible
fights if he gets through Dennis Hallman in his UFC debut this
fall. He was saying if they don't give him a shot at Matt Hughes
right away he'd have Pete Spratt.
IFC
holds Warriors Challenge XVIII 'Big Valley Brawl' July 19th at
Konocti Vista Casino near Clear Lake, CA. Tickets are still available
through http://www.highsierratickets.com.
Source: ADCC |
Unbelievable:
3rd black Belt Jiu-Jitsu!
3rd black Belt Jiu-Jitsu
Date: 21st August
Place: Via Funchal - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Look
out for an incredible JJ tournament being planned for the month
of August. Several world champions in JJ will take place in the
event, as well as several stand outs from the ADCC tournaments
of this year and year's past.
Complete
Card:
-
Janaína Ventura (Gracie Barra) X Letícia Ribeiro
- Bibiano Fernandez (Clube Pina) X Róbson Moura (Nova
União)
- Frédson Paixão (Gracie Barra) X Reinaldo Ribeiro
(Castello Team)
- Carlos Eduardo Português (Cia Paulista) X Leonardo Santos
(Nova União)
- Eduardo Santoro (Cia Paulista) X Marcelo Garcia (Alliance)
- Fábio Negão (Lótus) X Fernando Tererê
(Master)
- Adriano Maciel (Godoi) X Gabriel Vella (Gracie SP)
- Jefferson Moura (Gracie Barra) X Roberto Tozzi (Godoi)
- Felipe Lira (Clube Pitbull) X Luis Guilherme Guigo (Guigo JJ)
- Alexandre Café Dantas (Gracie Barra) X Gabriel Napão
(Napão Gold Team)
- Roberto Godói (Godoi) X Jorge Macaco (Macaco Gold Team)
Source: ADCC |
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