June News Part 2
Quote
of the Day
One man gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds
what he should give, and only suffers want.
[Proverbs 11-24] Bible, Sacred Scriptures of Christians and Judaism
|
NEW
FIGHTERS AND BROADCASTERS POLL OUT
MMAWeekly.com brings you our exclusive Top 10 Poll which is the
most unique poll in mixed martial arts. The poll consists of
rankings by actual fighters and broadcasters who compete in the
sport or follow it professionally on a daily basis. These results
have been updated and our currently up on our MMA Top 10 on the
home page of MMAWeekly.com.
Some
interesting notes about this month's poll. Mirko Cro Cop went
from being ranked basically 11th in the last poll to 3rd this
month. Randy Couture went from not being ranked as a Light Heavyweight
to #1 overnight by beating Chuck Liddell at UFC 43 and as a result
passes Tito Ortiz by a single vote for the top spot.
HEAVYWEIGHT
DIVISION
(210-265
lbs.)
1.Emelianeko Fedor - 130 (13 first place votes)
2.Minotauro Nogueira - 117 Points
3.Mirko Cro Cop - 95 Points
4.Josh Barnett - 82 Points
5.Tim Sylvia - 78 Points
6.Ricco Rodriguez - 52 Points
7.Heath Herring - 43 Points
8.Vladimir Matyushenko - 26 Points TIE- Pedro Rizzo - 26 Points
10.Gan McGee - 19 Points Tie - Mark Coleman - 19
Others
receiving votes - Frank Mir - (16), Andrei Arlovski - (15), Igor
Vovchanchin (14), Semmy Schilt (10), Mark Coleman (6), Wes Simms
(1)
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
(205
lbs.)
1.Randy Couture - 119 Points (6 first place votes)
2.Tito Ortiz - 118 Points (6 first place votes)
3.Chuck Liddell - 102 Points
4.Vanderlei Silva - 98 Points (1 first place vote)
5.Vitor Belfort - 78 Points
5.TIE - Quinton Jackson 78 Points
7.Ricardo Arona - 52 Points
8.Dan Henderson - 36 Points
9.Murilo Ninja Rua - 30 Points
10. Jeremy Horn - 10 Points
Others
receiving votes - Babalu Sobral (9), Kevin Randleman (8), Vernon
Tiger White (6), Rich Franklin (5) Jason Black (5)
MIDDLEWEIGHT
DIVISION
(185
lbs.)
1.Murilo Bustamante - 119 Points (12 first place votes &
1 person chose not to vote a number one)
2.Matt Lindland - 99 Points
3.Phil Baroni - 88 Points
4.Sakuraba - 69 Points
5.Pele Landi - 57 Points
6.Anderson Silva - 49 Points
7.David Loiseau - 39 Points
8.Dave Menne - 33 Points
9.Ivan Salaverry - 21 Points
10.Paulo Filho - 20 Points
Others
receiving votes - Joe Doerksen (15), Phillip Miller (13), Jorge
Riviera (12), Renzo Gracie (7), Amar Suloev (2) Ximu (1)
WELTERWEIGHT
DIVISION
(170
lbs.)
1.Matt Hughes - 130 Points (13 first place votes)
2.Sean Sherk - 96 Points
3.TIE - Carlos Newton - 86 Points
TIE - Nathan Marquardt - 86 Points
5.Gil Castillo - 69 Points
6.Pete Spratt - 46 Points
7.Jake Shields - 36 Points
8.Hayato Sakurai - 35 Points
9.Dennis Hallman - 26 Points
10,Robbie Lawler - 16 Points
Others
receiving votes - Tetsugi Kato (15), Jason Black (14), Shonie
Carter (14), John Alessio (13), Tony DeSouza (3)
LIGHTWEIGHT
DIVISION
(155
lbs.)
1.Takanori Gomi - 130 Points (12 first place votes)
2.BJ Penn - 99 Points
3.Caol Uno - 95 points
4.Yves Edwards - 64 Points
5.TIE Din Thomas - 58 Points
TIE Duane Bang Ludwig - (1 first place vote) 58 Points
7.Genki Sudo - 43 Points
8.Jens Pulver - 30 Points
9.Jason Maxwell - 29 Points
10-.Matt Serra - 19 Points
Other
votes - Dokojonosuke Mishima - (17) Vitor Shaolin Riberio (17)
Josh Thompson (10), Hermes Franca (8)
Voters include:
Fighters
- Chris Brennan, Josh Barnett, Pat Miletich, Matt Lindland, Steve
Berger, Evan Tanner, Sean Sherk, Din Thomas; Dan Henderson, Yves
Edwards, Pete Spratt, Nathan Marquardt, Duane Ludwig, John Alessio
and David Loiseau
Broadcasters
- Eric Apple (King of the Cage), Randy Harris - (WTAN Sports),
Jeff Osborne (Hook N Shoot & Shooto); Ryan Bennett (IFC,
UCC, Shooto and WEC), Monte Cox (Extreme Challenge), J.T. McCarthy
(UCC), Joe Goulet (UCC), Joe Ferraro (UCC).
If
you are a fighter from UFC, King of the Cage, or Pride, or a
broadcaster and would like to participate in the next poll, please
email MMAWeekly.com's media consultant ryanbennett@mmaweekly.com.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
PANCRASE
2003 HYBRID TOUR
~ NEO BLOOD TOURNAMENT ~
SUNDAY, JULY 27,2003
KORAKUEN HALL (TOKYO, JAPAN)
DAY EVENT - DOORS OPEN: 12:30PM / FIGHTS START: 1:00PM
NIGHT EVENT - DOORS OPEN: 5:30PM / FIGHTS START: 6:00PM
Japan's
PANCRASE organization has announced their annual NEO BLOOD tournament,
schedule for Tokyo's Kouraken Hall on July 27th, 2003. Dating
back to 1995, July has been the month for the traditional tournament,
where Pancrase looks to 'discover' new talent.
The
NEO BLOOD tournament has at times spread out over a two day event,
and at times it has been two events over several months. This
show looks to pack the 2 events into 1 day.
Recent
Neo Blood tourneys have featured mainly Japanese talent, while
earlier editions were used to scout out foreign talent as well.
The inaugural 1995 event featured both Frank and Ken Shamrock,
while the 1998 event saw American Evan tanner break throu and
win a tough eight man field. These early events were under Pancrase's
old, open hand rules, but many MMA stars found the format easy
to cross over and do fights from. Since then, Pancrsae organization
has moved to MMA rules.
The
latest tournament lineup will be announced as the event gets
closer.
Source: ADCC
|
The
WBC on Klitschko vs Lewis
"The Lennox Lewis - Vitali Klitschko fight is another historic
moment for the WBC in world boxing.
"Lennox
Lewis' fight against WBC No. 1-ranked Vitali Klitschko on June
21 in Los Angeles, California, will set a record for the combined
height of the fighters in a world championship fight, with a
total of 13 feet, one inch.
"Lewis
is 6'5" tall, Klitschko is 6'8. This will be Lewis' 19th
WBC world championship fight, 14th WBC world title defense, and
eighth world title defense against a WBC No. 1-ranked official
challenger.
"Vitali
Klitschko is the tallest boxer to contend for a world championship,
and the first fighter from the former Soviet Union to face a
world champion from England.
"Before
Klitschko and Lewis, the tallest world champion boxers in history
were Jess Willard at 6'6", Primo Carnera at 6'4.25",
and more recently, Henry Akinwande at 6'7".
"The
Lewis-Klitschko bout has been surrounded by lawsuits that created
an environment of enormous rivalry. The WBC went to great lengths
to make this fight a reality amid great expectation not only
in Great Britain, but also in Germany and the rest of the world.
"This
will be the 92nd heavyweight world title bout sanctioned by the
WBC. The first one recognized by this organization was 40 years
ago on July 22, 1963, between Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson.
"Other
interesting facts: Lennox Lewis has 31 KO's out of 40 wins, for
a percentage of 77.5, while Klitschko has 31 KO's out of 32 wins,
equivalent to 96.8 %.
"Lewis
has won 40 of his 43 fights against the greatest boxers of his
time, which represents a 93% winning percentage, while Klitschko
has 32 victories out of 33 combats, for a 96.9% winning percentage,
but his opponents have not been as good as Lewis.'
"Lennox
Lewis was born in Westham, England, on September 2, 1965, and
won the Olympic gold medal in the super-heavweight division in
Seoul, Korea, in 1988; he first won the WBC title by defeating
Razor Ruddock in two rounds, after Riddick Bowe refused to fight
Lewis and threw his WBC championship belt to the trash can. Lennox
had already overpowered Ruddock in the final contest of the Seoul
Olympic Games. Afterwards, he ratified his title by defeating
Tony Tucker on May 8, 1993. After losing to Oliver McCall he
was able to regain the title against McCall himself on February
7, 1997, after 11 years of his winning the title for the first
time. Lewis is a pride of the WBC and one of the best heavyweights
in history.
"Vitali
Klitschko was born in Belovdsle, Kyrgyztan, on July 19, 1971,
and at an early age moved to Ukraine. From there he moved to
Germany, where he has made his extraordinary professional career
and become a great idol at the highest level of popularity in
that country.
"This
will be the No. 1,391 WBC-sanctioned world title bout since February
16, 1963, when Philippine hero Flash Elorde defeated Johnny Bizarro
by decision in 15 rounds."
Source:Boxing
Talk/ADCC |
LENNOX
LEWIS vs. VITALI KLITSCHKO
SAT. JUNE 21, 2003
LIVE @10pm ET/ 7pm PT on HBO
Reigning
world heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis (40-2-1, 31 KOs) of England
will face No. 1-ranked challenger Vitali Klitschko (32-1, 31
KOs) of Ukraine. The six-foot-five Lewis scored a dramatic victory
in his last appearance in the ring, decisively beating Mike Tyson
one year ago in Memphis. Klitschko, who boasts a 94% knockout
percentage, is an imposing six-foot-eight. He has fought primarily
in Germany since turning pro; his only loss was to Chris Byrd
in 2000. This is a BIG fight for HBO, don't miss it!
http://www.hbo.com/boxing/
A Weighty Matter?
by Ron Borges
LOS
ANGELES - As the piece of weighed metal kept sliding along without
the arrow rising -- higher, higher, HIGHER -- concern grew. Standing
in his underwear in front of a statue of the hockey player Wayne
Gretzky two days before he would meet Vitali Klitschko at the
Staples Center, heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis seemed impassive
through it all but those around him were not.
His
trainer began to lean forward, as if to coax the scale to move,
and his camp members watched with fascination and some concern
when it for too long refused to do so. When the scale finally
balanced Thursday afternoon it read 256 1/2 pounds, the heaviest
the heavyweight champion had ever weighed for a fight. It was
either an omen fraught with dark possibilities or a meaningless
footnote, just a few extra pounds that come with age and missing
some training days while the scramble was on to decide what to
do after Lewis' original opponent, Kirk Johnson, was injured
two weeks earlier and threw the entire fight card into question.
In
the end, Lewis decided to go forward and insert Klitschko as
his opponent even though he had been preparing for an entirely
different style in Johnson, who tends to move side to side while
Klitschko is only slightly more mobile than Gretzky's statue.
Lewis' thinking was that he'd already penciled Klitschko in as
a future victim and had to get rid of him any way because he
was the mandatory challenger and No. 1 contender so why waste
seven weeks of training?
No
reason...unless those scales told a story.
The
256 1/2 pounds Lewis weighed in at was 7 1/2 pounds heavier than
he was for his last outing, his single-minded destruction of
Mike Tyson 54 weeks ago. It was 10 1/2 pounds more than he weighed
for his rematch with Hasim Rahman, who he took out in four rounds
by knocking him literally stiff. Perhaps most telling of all
though, it was the highest he had weighed since Rahman knocked
him out with one punch on a night when Lewis entered the ring
weighing 253 pounds. He was full of himself that night, exhibiting
the same cocksure attitude he has shown all week in Los Angeles
whenever Klitschko's name came up.
If
everything goes according to plan on June 21, his weight and
his attitude will be moot points. Lewis will dominate Klitschko
as the world expects and he will move on to perhaps a fight with
Klitschko's brother or Roy Jones, Jr. or, Lord help us, Tyson.
Regardless, it will be postulated after the fact that Lewis had
been right to accept the change of opponents on short notice
because at 37 it was a greater risk to layoff for say 18 months,
as would have been likely if he had not fought Klitschko now,
because at that advanced age unused athletic skills can quickly
erode.
Yet
as Klitschko's trainer, Fritz Studnek, watched the small piece
of metal on the scale sliding ever higher he began to smile.
He nodded his head several times as the commission official at
the scale kept tapping the metal a bit harder, sliding it a bit
farther. Then a bit more. Then, just a bit more.
When
it finally moved the arrow up and the weight was announced, Studnek
smiled, believing he'd seen something there that will come back
to haunt the heavyweight champion in two days time.
"I
am very surprised Lewis weighed that much," Studnek said.
"Maybe he has been drinking water for two days to convince
us he is out of shape but I did think he looked a little heavy.
I think it shows a lack of respect."
Most
everything Lewis said or did from the moment he urged his promoters
to make the fight with Klitschko on short notice seemed to indicate
his lack of respect for his challenger. Lewis has grown more
and more impressed with himself and his abilities over time and
more and more convinced that he is invincible, even though the
two knockout losses he's already suffered to Rahman and Oliver
McCall would seem to argue otherwise.
To
come in nearly five pounds heavier than your previous high after
a 13 month layoff may not be surprising but it also may not be
good news. Because of the disparity in talent and athletic ability
between the two fighters it is difficult to fathom that those
pounds will make a difference. But if Klitschko somehow can drag
Lewis deep into the fight the way Rahman pushed him into the
fifth round unexpectedly in South Africa two years ago before
knocking out a tiring Lewis with one punch, anything just might
be possible.
That
is the mystery and the attraction of heavyweight boxing. At its
highest levels one punch can change not only a fight but a life.
It can make a guy who made $13,000 in his previous fight, like
Rahman did before he fought Lewis, a multimillionaire. It can
derail the plans of a Lewis, a Tyson or even a Evander Holyfield.
It can make unknown people celebrities and leave fallen celebrities
wishing they were unknown.
So
does the fact Lennox Lewis enters the ring June 21 carrying the
most weight of his career really mean anything? Will it weigh
him down, slowing his feet and, more importantly, his reflexes
just enough to make him vulnerable? No one will know that until
the fight is over. Then it will be obvious what, if anything,
the extra weight meant.
Until
then, everyone is guessing, including Steward, who said after
the weigh-in, "I'm not worried at all. He's a big man, a
solid man who is about normal for a guy his size and age. Believe
me, Lennox is in great shape. If he'd come in at 250 I would
have been upset. What he weighs will not be a factor Saturday
night."
Unless,
somehow, it is. Unless, somehow, Vitali Klitschko unexpectedly
raps Lewis on his porcelain chin with the right hand that has
knocked out 31 of the 32 opponents he's faced. Then and only
then will the extra weight Lewis chose to bring with him into
the ring at the Staples Center make a difference. Only then will
the public know exactly how hard Lewis trained for this fight
and how lightly he took his opponent.
Until
that happens, it won't make a bit of difference what Lennox Lewis
weighed. And after it happens, if it does, it won't matter either
because it will be too late to do anything about it.
Vitali Klitschko
by Ron Borges
Not too
many weeks ago, heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said he wanted
Vitali Klitschko "for lunch.'' Turns out he's going to have
him for breakfast instead.
Lewis
was scheduled to fight challenger Kirk Johnson June 21 in Los
Angeles with Klitschko on the undercard against little known
Cedric Boswell, the idea being the dual appearance of the champion
and the World Boxing Council's No. 1 contender might wet the
appetites of boxing fans around the world for their scheduled
December showdown. After those two bouts were out of the way,
Lewis planned to continue gorging himself on the likes of Mike
Tyson and Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali's younger brother. This
was to be the 37-year-old champion's menu for the next year or
so until Johnson removed himself as the first item on Lewis'
bill of fare, claiming he'd been hurt in training.
It
was then that Vitali Klitschko became Lewis' Early Bird Special,
an unexpected dining partner for the WBC champion.
With
only two weeks remaining before the bell was to have toll at
the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, Lewis was clearly
hungry for a fight after a 54-week layoff since beating the tar
out of Tyson. Chomping at the bit, Lewis quickly announced he
was willing to take on the 6-8 1/4 Klitschko immediately, even
though he had been preparing for a far different boxing style
in the hestitant Johnson, who moves well for a big man. By comparison,
Klitschko moves well for a sofa.
Klitschko,
who had been in training for weeks in Los Angeles for a far less
formidable opponent himself, heard opportunity knocking when
it was suggested he face Lewis on such short notice and a deal
was quickly struck primarily because one was already in place
for the December fight any way and both guys were hungry to taste
some leather and make some money.
Lewis
lost no time challenging Klitschko because he firmly believes
he is about to knock the taste out of his mouth. Klitschko, on
the other hand, accepted the challenge because this is the chance
of a lifetime, an opportunity to get Lennox Lewis into a boxing
ring without a courthouse being involved.
Klitschko
had already sued Lewis in an attempt to block the Johnson fight
and force him to defend his title against him immediately following
the Tyson fight last June but he and promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl
relented when they were offered a lucrative slot on the Lewis-Johnson
undercard that brought them exposure in America on HBO and a
guaranteed December match with Lewis if he defeated Johnson as
expected.
Now
Klitschko doesn't have to worry about that. He only has to worry
about the giant champion, who at 6-5 and 255-odd pounds will
be as big a man as Klitschko has ever faced and a far more formidable
one than any of the collection of misfits and miscreants he's
previously squared off with.
"If
in life you have no risk it would be very boring,'' Klitschko
(32-1, 31 KO) said this week of accepting the Lewis fight with
only two weeks to prepare for him. "That's why sport is
very interesting. Because it's risky.
"Nobody
knows right now who it favors (the late change in opponents).
We can only imagine that it's good or bad. We both have to change
our whole preparation. Who can make those changes and be ready
to fight in this short time?''
That
is a question yet to be answered but boxing's wiseguys believe
it is already known. They believe Lewis (40-2-1, 31 KO) has far
too much skill, power and experience for the often robotic Klitschko
to overcome. They acknowledge that the towering Russian has a
puncher's chance because when you stand over 6-foot-8 and weigh
closer to 300 pounds than 200 pounds anything can happen. They
further concede that is even more likely with a guy like Lewis,
whose chin has cracked twice in his career when hit squarely
by journeymen Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman.
Yet
Lewis and trainer Emanuel Steward have confidently predicted
Klitschko won't last five rounds and the public is in full agreement
even though Klitschko's only loss came when he quit on his stool
after tearing his rotator cuff against Chris Byrd.
That
fight cost Klitschko a lot of respect in the boxing community
but he knows he can win it all back if he can ask some chin questions
of Lewis that the champion cannot answer. To do that he must
take great risks himself. He must go into the ring on two weeks
notice against the best heavyweight in the world and open himself
up to the possibility of being driven into unconsciousness if
he is to have any hope of landing the one shot that made McCall
and Rahman wealthy men when they least expected it.
Few
think Klitschko is capable of doing it, but then again fewer
people thought McCall or Rahman could either. As it turned out,
neither could do it in a rematch but if Klitschko can put himself
in a position where a rematch is necessary he will have beaten
the system the same way they did - by beating an ill-prepared
and overconfident Lennox Lewis to the punch just one time.
What
mitigates against such an occurence is that Klitschko seems to
be little more than an accident of nature, a very big man who
came along at a time when the list of heavyweight contenders
was so short he could plod his way to the top of the WBC rankings
without facing a truly formidable opponent.
Lewis
is in fact so sure of himself that he has not only promised to
put him to sleep early but is already in the early stages of
negotiating future fights with Tyson and Jones in a way that
makes it seem like he sees this fight as a mere appetizer along
the way toward a bigger fistic dining experience.
The
elder Klitschko is a well educated former officer in Russia's
Red Army who holds a doctorate in physical education. He is far
from in the dark when it comes to what is being said about him
by Lewis and the world. Yet he says he is unconcerned about all
the negativity swirling around him because while some may call
him the accidental challenger he believes the real accident is
coming on June 21 and it is going to involve a large Jamaican-born,
Canadian bred, British subject named Lennox Lewis.
"You
see my record?'' he said, arrogance peeking out from behind the
hard edges of his words. "Believe me, every one of my opponents
was saying they'd knock me out in four or five rounds. I heard
Lennox Lewis say he would destroy me. I've heard a lot of that
before.
"All
my opponents said the same thing. Where are they now? In all
my fights there was only one I was losing on points. Don't forget
we are all human beings. I don't make somebody bigger or stronger
than another guy. Everyone has strong sides and weaknesses. We're
not talking about Gods in the ring. No one is perfect. Everyone
has a weak point. So I don't make myself crazy about it.''
Instead,
he makes himself relax. He sits confidently, waiting for the
moment he has trained for all his life to arrive. He is waiting
for Lennox Lewis to try and eat him for lunch. If Vitali Klitschko
gets his way, it won't be a heavyweight happy meal.
Source: HBO |
The
Savage Truth - Bull Riding vs MMA
By Greg Savage
So
here I am sitting around watching ESPN’s Outside the Lines
and they are talking about the success of the PBR. For those
readers fortunate enough not to know what PBR stands for, it’s
Professional Bull Rider’s Association. What a coincidence,
I was just watching some of this stuff in the bar at The Orleans
after the King of the Cage show about a month ago. Larry Landless
and I were there rooting for the bulls to lay a beat down on
the crazy rednecks trying to ride them.
What
does this have to do with MMA? Not much I guess other than the
fact that they have been successful where MMA has failed. This
is a sport—and yes I use that term loosely—that is
truly on the verge of breaking into the mainstream. You don’t
think so? Try these numbers on for size:
Back
in 1995, while the UFC was in it’s hey day, PBR was pulling
in a paltry $350,000 a year in sponsorship money. As of 2003
that figure has jumped to an estimated $14 million.
PBR
sells out the Thomas and Mack Center—where the UFC just
played to less than 10,000 fans—for their end of the year
four day event no less while other Rodeo tours pack the house
throughout the year as well.
Rodeo
will be on television an estimated 211 hours in 2003.
The
top competitor on the PBR tour will pull down over $1 million
this year.
And
to top it all off, last years winner is dating Jewel. I am sure
she is not everyone’s cup of tea but I have had a thing
for that little snaggle-toothed hottie for a while.
The
key figure has got to be the network television exposure. Every
sponsor interviewed made reference to all the airtime Rodeo is
bringing their products. And we aren’t talking about Black
Ice and Nitro kids; sponsors for the Rodeos include Ford, Anheuser-Busch,
Jack Daniel’s, and Las Vegas itself.
I
am sure the UFC gets this as evidenced by their forays into TV
in Canada and down in Florida not to mention their history with
Fox’s Best Damn Sports Show but it’s time to step it
up a notch and land a TV deal that will increase their exposure
beyond regional markets. The sport has to be in the public eye
as often as possible and will only suffer when it is not a la
this summer’s blackout by Zuffa.
How
about that prize money? I am sure most fighters would be happy
with an income in the seven figures. Don’t you? That’s
what happens when you can pull in the fans and the corporate
sponsors.
Have
any fighters pulled any celebrities yet? Heard some Ricco Rodriguez
and Carmen Electra rumors but she was never A-list by any stretch
of the imagination. Nope, I guess not yet.
So
to wrap it up for y’all, for the UFC and MMA as a whole
for that matter to succeed, they will need to get big-time sponsors,
a national TV deal, pay their athletes huge dollars, and have
them bang some hot celebrities. Seems easy enough.
Now
that I solved that little problem I have a question for everyone,
did any of you get the feeling we were being bamboozled after
“The Natural” Randy Couture turned back the clock and
beat Chuck Liddell like he owed him money?
I,
for one, had my heart set on seeing “The Iceman” square
off with UFC regular champion, Tito Ortiz. I couldn’t help
leaving the arena that night without feeling like I had been
cheated and Tito was let off the hook.
In
a perfect world these guys would eventually meet to put an end
to all the questions and hoopla but who knows. There was this
other guy who fought last week named Vitor Belfort and he may
have something to say about what happens in this division.
If
he had truly rededicated himself, as it looks to be, the rest
of the guys in that division may be fighting for second best.
Vitor’s abilities have never been questioned—he commands
what is arguably the best set of tools of any fighter in the
game—his head on the other hand has been his downfall in
the past.
In
closing, I thought I would leave you with a little prediction.
Unless Quinton “Rampage” Jackson makes a trip back
across the Pacific and decides to fight in the UFC, Vitor Belfort
and Rich Franklin will be the class of the division. These guys
do it all and I feel those two and “Rampage” will be
the top three guys in that division for the near future.
That
is not to take anything away from Tito, Chuck, or Randy as they
are very gifted fighters but they are lacking in one area or
another whereas Belfort, Franklin, and Jackson can take it to
their opponents anyhow and anywhere. And for those of you that
think I forgot about Vanderlei, “Rampage” will put
an end to his hopes of being the top dog at 205 in the PRIDE
Grand Prix.
Source:
Sherdog |
Faceless
Fighters, Part 2
Between Rounds by Joe Hall
Welcome
back.
Last
time we talked, I was harping on the inability of major MMA promotions
to connect with their audience. I was preaching about telling
the stories behind the fighters and building the backgrounds
that captured the long-term interest of the casual viewer.
Rich
Franklin was my example.
I
said the compelling story behind his UFC debut was bungled. A
brief, hollow interview failed to even introduce him where a
concise narrative of his journey to the UFC would have rung poignantly.
Making
a point to creatively share the history behind a fighter or a
fight was not a novel idea, but more of a suggestion to capitalize
on an underused concept. From my perspective, the UFC, for instance,
was effectively setting the stage for main event fights throughout
their pay-per-view shows. They were building the big bouts and
piquing fan interest. Their efforts made the matches better and
the fighters more memorable -- an efficient means of hooking
new and enduring fans.
However,
their labors for the headline bouts were undermined by their
neglect for the undercard (and on the undercard are future headliners,
no doubt). Instead of framing a fighter's personality or capturing
the background behind a match, they were botching a golden opportunity
to give viewers a reason to follow a pugilist for the long haul.
At
UFC 43, Zuffa ceased bungling and began benefiting.
The
first fight of the night was more than a meeting between Frank
Mir and a tall guy from Ohio. It was a collision between a young
submission wizard who violently torques every limb he gets his
hands on and a six-foot-ten monster who will powerbomb you if
given the chance. It was a battle between a UFC veteran who had
made Tank Abbott quit and yet another hungry heavyweight from
the Hammer House.
Before
Frank Mir and Wes Sims fought, Zuffa introduced the fighters
through a video segment than ran around a minute and thirty seconds
(about a minute for Mir, 30 seconds for Sims). Mike Goldberg
narrated, informing viewers of Mir's history of submission victories
while the evidence rolled. Footage of Sims was next, which went
far beyond the verbal hype newcomers typically received in the
past. Goldberg explained Sims' esteemed lineage -- former heavyweight
champions Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. He uncovered the
fighter's background and ability, and clips of the carnage created
by Sims' brute strength undoubtedly connected him to fans.
The
segment was short, but it did the job. By painting faces on the
fighters, Zuffa made the fight better (regardless of the unfortunate
ending).
Similar
clips and stories ran before several of the matches (Belfort,
Eastman, Tank, Kimo, Couture and Liddell were all highlighted).
I thought each segment added to the bout that followed, even
for hardcore fans. For casual viewers, the segments may have
had an even greater, long-term impact.
Pride
also did a commendable job of using airtime to build the rematch
between Mark Coleman and Don Frye. Their pre-fight show told
the history of the two and conveyed the gravity accompanying
a second bout.
I
hope the UFC and Pride continue to fill in the gaps for the casual
viewer through similar segments. The footage they showed coupled
with the narratives read by quality commentators built much more
interest than flat conversation, and I extol the promotions for
this.
My
only request, though, is to be careful not to tell the same generic
story for every fighter and every fight. I'm not saying this
was the case at the UFC or Pride, but I think it's very easy
to slip into billing every matchup as an irresistible force against
an immovable object, as two unbeatable fighters facing each other.
In
reality, there are fights between two very beatable competitors
spiraling downward but invigorated for a win. There are matches
between heavy favorites and mammoth underdogs. There are fighters
who were pummeled in their last bout and their career could depend
on bouncing back in the current match. Don't be afraid to show
that fighter taking a beating; don't be afraid to show that he
is not invincible. Highlight his defeat then talk about resurgence:
Frank
Mir is a different fighter since his brutal loss to Ian Freeman
last summer. The defeat has bereft the youngster of his arrogance
and replaced it with a revived hunger. In his comeback performance,
he forced Bad Boy Tank Abbott to surrender in agony. Now the
submission wizard assumes the role of the experienced warrior
and faces what he once was: a brash young heavyweight too green
to be afraid of defeat and too immature to know he should lose.
If
a fighter is a consensus underdog, don't put him on the same
level as his opponent. The story of the underdog may be the best
tale of them all: a win for the ageless Couture is unlikely,
though he is blind to the odds against him.
Don't
be scared to show these guys are flawed when that's part of the
real story. Focus on their strengths, but don't shy away from
their blemishes when that's what the background mandates.
Again,
I applaud the recent pay-per-view shows, especially the UFC,
for sharing a little bit of the stories behind the fights. The
segments have room to improve, and I hope the promotions stick
with the idea long enough to enrich them and then reap the benefits.
Source:
Maxfighting |
Quote
of the Day
"Success is the child of drudgery and perseverance. It cannot
be coaxed or bribed; pay the price and it is yours."
Orison Swett Marden, 1850-1924, American Author, Founder of Success
Magazine
|
Absolute
Fighting Championship 4 -
July 19th in FT LAUDERDALE, FLA!
Absolute
Fighting Championship 4 - Saturday, July 19th, 2003 - War Memorial
Coliseum, Ft Lauderdale, FL.
'We
have been working hard behind the scenes to put together a solid
card for July, and we finally have a card to announce' starts
AFC matchmaker Miguel Iturrate. 'We have three co-main events,
superfights and the undercard is filled with surprises, so we
think we have a great event.'
The
top bill goes to UFC star Din Thomas, who comes home to Florida
a fight that is no gimme at all - he faces tough Steve Berger.
This is Berger's first bout in the 155 lb weight class, a transition
he hopes will set his career back on the UFC path. 'Din has something
to lose, and Berger is always hungry, so this bout has the potential
for fireworks.' describes Iturrate.
American
TOP TEAM's Dustin Denes returns to take on international competition,
taking onPRIDE star Akira Shoji. 'Shoji has competed at such
a high level for so long, this is another measuring stick for
Denes, who is still developing' explains the matchmaker. 'We
hope to match Dustin against Phillip Miller in September for
Phillip's Souteastern title' reveals the matchmaker.
Vitor
SHAOLIN Ribeiro takes on a brutal challenge in thai boxer Kultar
Gill who at 6'0 tall presents a new look to the BJJ superstar.
'This is the X factor match - impossible to pick a winner in
my book' reveals the matchmaker.
The
undercard features American TOP TEAM and Freestyle Fighting Academy
fighters, both locally based, taking on rugged competition from
MMA teams based in Wisconsin and Indiana. Justin Wieman v. Jorge
Santiago and feature an American TOP TEAM versus Dave Strasser's
Freestyle Academy flavor. In a previous bout, Faircloth owns
a win over giving the Wisconsin team the 1-0 edge in the rivalry!
On
the other hand, another pairing of schools features Indiana's
Animal House squaring off against Miami's Freestyle Academy in
two bouts:
(155 lbs) - JORGE MASVIDAL versus DARRELL SMITH and CHARLES MCCARTHY
versus JAY MASSEY. Both teams continue to try and establish themselves
in Absolute fighting.
There
is also a women's MMA bout featuring SHELBY WALKER versus BETH
WESTOVER.
Finally,
the card feature boxing, with superstar Shannon Briggs andlocal
hero JORGE 'CABALLO' JIMINEZ featured in bouts!
More
to come on this show as it develops!
COMPLETE
CARD - SUBJECT TO CHANGE:
3
ROUND MAIN EVENTS:
(155 lbs) - DIN THOMAS (American Top Team, Ft Lauderdale, FL.)
vs. STEVE BERGER (Vaghi JJ, St Louis, MO.)
(195
lbs) - DUSTIN DENES (American Top Team, Ft Lauderdale, FL.) vs.
AKIRA SHOJI (Tokyo, Japan)
(155
lbs) - VITOR
'SHAOLIN' RIBEIRO
(Nova Uniao, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.) vs. KULTAR GILL (Gibson
Pankration, Vancouver, Canada)
2
ROUND BOUTS:
(125 lbs) - SHELBY WALKER (Freelance, Indianapolis, IN.) vs.
BETH WESTOVER (PKO School of MMA, Boise, ID)
(155
lbs) - JORGE MASVIDAL (Freestyle Fighting Academy, Miami, FL.)
vs. DARRELL SMITH (ANIMAL HOUSE, Indianapolis, IN.)
(205
lbs) - WILSON GOVEIA (American Top Team, Ft Lauderdale, FL.)
vs. RON FAIRCLOTH (Freestyle Academy, Kenosha, WI.)
(185
lbs) - CHARLES MCCARTHY (Freestyle Fighting Academy, Miami, FL.)
vs. JAY MASSEY (ANIMAL HOUSE, Indianapolis, IN.)
(170
lbs) - JORGE SANTIAGO (American Top Team, Ft Lauderdale, FL.)
vs. JUSTIN WIEMAN (Freestyle Academy, Kenosha, WI.)
BOXING
BOUTS:
- SHANNON BRIGGS v. TBD
- JORGE 'CABALLO' JIMINEZ v. TBD
Source:
ADCC
|
Hidehiko
Yoshida Enters August Tournament
Japanese Judo legend and former Olympic gold medallist Hidehiko
Yoshida has officially thrown his hat into the eight-fighter
pool that will wage war in the first round of the PRIDE middleweight
Grand Prix August 10 in Tokyo, Japan. Joining PRIDE middleweight
champion Vanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson and Kazushi Sakuraba,
Yoshida is the fourth confirmed participant in the highly-anticipated
tournament, which will culminate inside the Tokyo Dome in early
November. The completed list of tournament combatants is expected
to be announced by the end of June, followed by a lottery to
form the brackets. Others believed to be competing include Alistair
Overeem, Ricardo Arona, and a representative of the Gracie family.
Source:
Maxfighting |
More
Developments - PRIDE Grand Prix!
Japanese
Judo champion Hidehiko Yoshida is to be in the PRIDE Grand Prix.
After his impressive win over Anderson Silva, it appears that
Daiju Takase is expressing interest in fighting in the tournament
as well.
Another
strong rumour reports that a famous American fighter under contract
with another organization might join the Grand Prix. The name
of Chuck Liddell is on everybody's mind at this point and he
might be the one due to the latest developments in the 205 weight
division in the UFC.
Source:
ADCC
|
KOTC
Post Fight Interview: DAN SEVERN
Dan Severn needs no introduction. Here is a post-fight from his
recent split decision win over Dan Christiansen in King Of The
Cage in Albuquerque. Dan took a head injury off the cage in the
first round which caused a stoppage while he recovered as well
as criticism ringside for fighter safety and the amount of use
the cage has been getting since it’s last face lift. After
recovering Dan out-conditioned Christiansen and even seemed to
want to go toe to toe with the taller striker in round two. After
three rounds of mostly relentless takedowns the judges gave Severn
a surprising split decision instead of a unanimous one.
KM:
What happened with the fence?
DS: When I went down I actually hit the metal bar. I don’t
know how I hit the bar but trust me; I know what a fence feels
like.
KM:
That looks like the only damage to you really.
DS: I think I hit that and hit a little piece of wire simultaneously.
KM:
I thought your corner man said something about getting stuck
with wire.
DS: I did hit wire.
KM:
It looked like that was going to be enough to stop the fight.
You recovered pretty well.
DS: I actually asked to stop it (for the doc to inspect) because
literally the moment I hit impact I was seeing stars right then
and there. Basically, I didn’t know how hard I hit or how
hard I gashed it. All I knew was I touched it and all of a sudden
I got blood. My skin is getting pretty thin over the years and
I gashed myself pretty good and that might have stopped it right
then and there. To me I’m out there for all the right reasons.
To me this is just competition.
KM:
You did surprise me there. I’ll say it to your face I was
wrong about your conditioning. You looked in better shape than
the last time I saw you in Albuquerque. It looked like you were
improving in the last year.
DS: There is room still for a lot of improvement. I really don’t
train but I am trying to change that. I am in my final year and
I’d rather go out on my terms than have some young buck
just come out and wreck me. I made a strong impact upon entering;
I’d like to make a strong impact. I have 13 championship
belts I’d like one more. The record was 7 when I first came
on, I’d like one more to know I doubled it and walk away.
KM:
Just to jokingly rib you a little bit you have been talking about
retiring for two years now.
DS: The age thing is 46. A lot of people had my age wrong all
the time. I’m still going to be involved in this sport but
it will be that spokesperson, that liaison getting this sport
open into other states, deal with the legislatures and stuff
like that. I feel my role will be more needed there.
KM:
Speaking of which just last week the UFC seemed to be a return
of the old-school fighters…
DS: Oh yeah, with Randy Couture out there.
KM:
And Kimo and Tank…but you never left, you never took a hiatus
and have been fighting all this time.
DS: I’ve fought once a month. I might miss a month or two
but I might do two or three. Last month I did two, this is actually
my third in one month’s time.
KM:
So that is the secret of your conditioning (laughs).
DS: I fight for conditioning? I don’t know about that.
KM:
So that was the rematch from the Aztec Challenge show. I didn’t
see that show, all I heard about it was that it was a controversial
decision.
DS: I look at it as more of a draw. There was both give and take.
Takedown wise I controlled the takedown but when you look at
kicks and stuff like this he landed far more kicks because I’m
not a kicker. If you want to talk about the standup game, something
I’ve never shown before, I would say we were pretty even.
You want to balance those three things out it pretty much comes
out a tie.
For
more in Dan check out www.the-beast.com or . For a gallery
of shots from Dan’s fight in KOTC including a short series
from the head/cage bar impact check out http://malarky.udel.edu/~keith/2003/severn.htm.
Source: ADCC
|
WILL
COLEMAN FACE FEDOR IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
Mark Coleman's Future: UFC or Pride?
Mark
Coleman appeared on Tuesday's MMAWeekly Radio Show and talked
about his recent fight with Don Frye in Pride. Coleman said that
he is happy to get a win, but he's not very happy with his performance.
Coleman said that he didn't have the power and explosiveness
that he normally does, and he hopes to change that in a big way
with his next fight.
Coleman
also said that he knew Don Frye would be a great opponent, and
he didn't want to take too many risks because he really needed
to pick up a win. Coleman said that he would love to fight in
the UFC again, but he would probably have a higher chance of
fighting in the UFC if he lost to Frye.
The
big news from the radio show though came when Mark Coleman said
that Pride has tentatively offered him a shot at Emlianenko Fedor
on the August 10th show
With
Coleman picking up the win over Frye, and with Pride offering
the biggest paychecks, Mark feels that he has to do what's right
for his family.
The
fight with Frye was the final fight on Coleman's current Pride
contract, and Coleman said that he has a lot of thoughts running
through his head about what his next move will be. He's not sure
if he's ready to accept that fight yet, but he knows that he
wants to be ready to explode and in top shape the next time he
fights.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
HALLMAN
TELLS MMAWEEKLY
"I CAN FIGHT IN SEPTEMBER"
MMAWeekly.com talked with Dennis Hallman on Tuesday and Dennis
talked about his future. The rumors are true that he is training
a special forces group for the government in August and early
September.
"There
were questions about me fighting in August orginially..."
Hallman told MMAWeekly.com. "The UFC was asking me if I
would be interested in fighting Matt Hughes and at first the
talks were regarding August." Dennis continued "If
it was early August,` I couldn't do it because of my obligations
to the government and training already scheduled. Now that the
UFC has moved their show to the end of September, I would be
able to fight if they wanted to put a deal together."
When
asked if he has signed to fight champion Matt Hughes, Hallman
said quote "No I haven't signed anything. We talked awhile
back, but I haven't heard anything lately." Hallman is the
only fighter in the world to have defeated Matt Hughes, not once,
but twice in MMA competition, as both wins came by submission.
Asked
about his future Hallman said "I'm actually competiting
in a small organization in Montana this month, then I'm supposed
to fight in King of the Cage on August 16th. I would love to
fight Hughes at the end of September in the UFC."
No
opponent has been named for his fight in King of the Cage in
August. The next UFC is believed to be around September 26th.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Excellence means when a man or a woman asks of himself
more than others do."
Ortega Y Gasset, 1883-1955, Spanish Essayist, Philosopher |
Pac-Rim
Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Wrestling Date Set!
The Pac-Rim Championships are set for August 23 &24 at the
University of Hawaii Klum Gym. More details are coming as they
are available! |
Suda
Officially Super Brawl Middleweight Champion!
After
deliberating for weeks, the Shooto commission and Super Brawl
officials have declared Masanori Suda the 2nd ever Super Brawl
Middleweight Champion. Congratulations to him and stay tuned
for details of his first title defense.
Source:
Superbrawl.tv |
Is
Doerksen and Kang UFC Bound?
With
the UFC and Murilo Bustamante failing to reach an agreement and
an injury that will keep Phil Baroni out of competition for a
few more months, the UFC's middleweight division is looking pretty
slim right now. Monte Cox and T. Jay Thompson set out to change that with a three
show series of middleweight tournaments, and it looks like they
may have achieved at least part of what they had hoped. According
to Monte Cox, ...the 185 pound division is in need of some fresh
blood and I just believe that these tournaments work.
It
looks as though UFC president Dana White believes that as well.
When MMAWeekly's Ken Pishna asked White if anyone had really
piqued his interest in the tournament, he said, "Oh yeah.
I think we're going to take Doerksen. I talked with Joe and told
him to have his manager call me. That's good news for Doerksen,
who - with a win over Kyle Jensen less than a week before SuperBrawl
- has just won four fights in six days.
Asked
if anyone else stood out to him, White replied that he was also
very interested in Denis Kang, who - like Doerksen - is from
Canada. Kang submitted Brendan Seguin, but had to withdraw from
the tournament due to a dislocated knee that he suffered in his
decision win over Hawaiian Kaipo Kalama.
Both
Doerksen and Kang would be welcome additions to the depleted
corps of the UFC middleweight division that sports Matt Lindland,
Phil Baroni (who is injured) and Niko Vitale as their top active fighters in the
division.
Source:
MMA News |
Joe
Hall's May Notebook
By Joe Hall
Neither
Pride nor the UFC ran a show in May, but the smaller events delivered
plenty of entertaining bouts. Everything important that transpired
is captured in this belated edition of the May notebook, so join
me as I take a look at how the month unfolded.
MAXWELL
KNOCKS OUT PULVER (HOOKnSHOOT on May 24)
It
was supposed to be a tune-up fight. Jens Pulver's bout against
Jason Maxwell was to be used for working out the kinks of a layoff
and the residuals of a knockout loss to Duane Ludwig. A convincing
win for "Little Evil" would rejuvenate his confidence
and generate much-needed momentum for his upcoming journey to
Japan.
His
opponent had other plans. Willing to stand and trade with the
man who once ruled the UFC's lightweight class, Maxwell knocked
out Pulver in the first round. The match, which should garner
deserved recognition for Maxwell, marks Pulver's second consecutive
defeat by knockout.
In
other fights at HOOKnSHOOT: AFC 3, American Top Team's Marcus
Aurelio racked up another submission victory by tapping Darrell
Smith with a triangle choke; Jennifer Howe knocked out Tara LaRosa
in a battle of undefeated women to claim the HnS 125-pound women's
title; UFC veteran Curtis Stout stopped Efrain Ruiz; and up-and-comer
Derrick Noble knocked out tough opponent Wald Bloise.
HORN
DECISIONS WHITE; JHUN GETS OVER THE HUMP
(KOTC on May 16)
Jeremy
Horn won the King of the Cage title in mid-May, though he didn't
win over many fans. He skillfully took down then-champion Vernon
White at will throughout their 25-minute championship fight.
The action on the ground, however, was limited. White showed
flashy and entertaining standup, but did little damage. In the
end, Horn's takedowns earned him the decision and the KOTC light
heavyweight crown.
Ronald
Jhun also
became a KOTC champion, as the talented fighter finally scored
a big win in a big bout. After 25 hard-fought minutes, Jhun grabbed welterweight gold by earning
a decision over Shonie Carter.
Other
bouts at King of the Cage: Eric Pele was victorious in the main
event, stopping Dan Christiansen in the first round; Dan Severn
won a decision over Cory Timmerman; Joe Stevenson quickly submitted
Thomas Denny; and up-and-comer Diego Sanchez submitted Mike Guymon.
BARNETT'S
BACK (May 2)
Almost
14 months after he captured the UFC heavyweight title by beating
Randy Couture and 10 months after the Nevada Athletic Commission
stripped him of the belt, Josh Barnett returned to mixed martial
arts competition.
New
Japan Pro Wrestling hosted a card in early May that featured
five real matches. Barnett faced former KOTC champion Jimmy Ambriz
in one of the bouts, and was victorious by stopping his opponent
via strikes in the opening round.
WINS,
LOSSES AND FIGHTS OF NOTE
The
King of Rock and Rumble, Elvis Sinosic , armbarred August Wallen
in Sweden on May 2.
Dennis
Kang, one of Canada's top middleweights, knocked out Keith Rockel
on May 3. It was an impressive win for Kang, considering that
both he and Rockel could give almost anyone at 185 a run for
their money. Also at the well-regarded Ring of Fury event, Jorge
Rivera, who is rumored to be on the verge of his UFC debut, knocked
out Solomon Hutcherson, and Marcus Aurelio impressively submitted
David Gardner.
Top-10
lightweight Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro remained undefeated
on May 4, as he won a unanimous decision over Ryan Bow in Shooto.
Ryota Matsune beat Kentaro Imaizumi in the main event, and Robson
Moura lost to Yasuhiro Urushitani on the undercard.
Also
in early May, Hitman Fighting featured a few quality matches
that received little publicity compared to the controversy surrounding
the event. Although debate has waged regarding who actually won
some of the fights, at last check it appears that Renato "Babalu"
Sobral won a decision over Chael Sonnen; Robert Emerson stopped
former teacher Chris Brennan; Wade Shipp beat Aaron Brink; and
Fabiano Iha also won his match.
Masanori
Suda knocked out Egan
Inoue on
May 9 in Super
Brawl.
The much-awaited showdown for the Shooto title ended in seconds
when Suda dropped his opponent with a right hand and finished
him on the ground. Controversy followed, however, regarding whether
the win should stand considering that Inoue was not give an eight-count as Shooto
rules mandate.
Several
top featherweights were also in action at Super Brawl. Kid Yamamoto
convincingly won a unanimous decision over a game Jeff Curran,
and Stephen
Palling
stopped Mark Hominick early on a cut. Also, Joe Jordan decisioned
Eddie Yagin.
Mauricio
Rua, brother of Ninja Rua, won his match over Angelo Antonio
on May 16 at Meca Vale Tudo. His Chute Boxe teammate, Nilson
de Castro, was not successful, however, as he was armbarred by
Delson Heleno. Marcelo Giudici stopped Luta Livre legend Eugenio
Tadeau on the undercard.
The
inevitable meeting between Yuki Kondo and Sanae Kikuta took place
in Pancrase on May 18 and ended as a draw. Akihiro Gono was triumphant
on the undercard, winning a majority decision over UFC veteran
Flavio Moura. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos also scored
a notable knockout over Osami Shibuya.
Laverne
Clark notched his second consecutive win by stopping Miguel Menendez
on May 24 at the Hardcore Fighting Championship.
Dennis
Hallman submitted Chris Irvine with a rear naked choke on May
24 at Ultimate Ring Challenge 5.
Shooto
held a smaller show on May 30 that featured Tatsuya Kawajiri's
win over Takumi Nakayama (TKO, three knockdowns) in the main
event.
Jake
Shields, the Cesar Gracie team member who beat Hayato Sakurai
last year, defeated Milton Vieira on May 31 at the Midwest Fighting
Championship. Ryan Ackerman reportedly earned a shot at Rumina
Sato by winning a decision over Joe Jordan on the undercard,
and Gideon Ray drew with Brian Gassaway.
AND
THE AWARDS
FIGHTER
OF THE MONTH: Jason Maxwell.
SUBMISSION
OF THE MONTH: Marcus Aurelio armbars David Gardner.
KNOCKOUT
OF THE MONTH: Jason Maxwell knocks out Jens Pulver.
Source:
Maxfighting |
New
KOTC Lightweight Champion THOMAS SCHULTE
Thomas
Schulte recently won the King Of The Cage Lightweight belt in
Albuquerque in 2:41 of round 1. Although Schulte was taken down
early by John Mahlow he quickly set up an armbar and most of
the round seemed to be Mahlow trying to work for position to
slam his way out of it, finally succumbing to the submission
half way through the first round. This settled the Lightweight
belt which Alberto Crane won but had to give up after he beat
Javi Vazquez, a stabilization that went so fast KOTC deserves
credit for.
KM:
Here it is you are the new Lightweight Champ.
TS: Yes, sir.
KM:
What are your thoughts on that?
TS: Right now all I can think about is going to eat.
KM:
Did you have to cut much weight for this?
TS: Yeah, I had to cut more weight than I ever have before. I
was fighting at 170 and having trouble putting the weight on
to get up to 190 to cut down and it was just too hard for me
to bounce back and forth. It was the right decision for me to
go down to 155.
KM:
How do you look back at that fight?
TS: I knew John was a touch guy, real tough takedowns and stuff.
Knew he wasn’t real comfortable striking so my plan was
actually to keep him on his feet and get him to wear himself
out trying to take me down. He shot a good shot on me, took me
down right away. I’m pretty good from the guard so I wasn’t
really worried about it at all, I knew it was just a matter of
time before I caught him in something.
KM:
It seemed to me like when he took you down you immediately went
for the submission and it stalled for most of the round while
he was trying to stay calm and work out of it but just couldn’t
get out of it. (Note: the fight lasted 2:41) Did you see it any
other way?
TS: Not really. I knew if I didn’t get that I would get
something else. Like I said my guard is pretty tight. I spend
a lot of time on the mat. For this fight I was actually training
a lot more (standup) fighting stuff and I was hoping to get a
chance to exchange a little bit more on my feet. It went the
way I did and I’m happy it went as well as it did.
KM:
Crane was talking before about giving up the belt, how he couldn’t
afford to defend it. What is your perspective on it being unoccupied?
You have trained with Crane before…
TS: Yeah. Crane is a really good friend of mine. He has a school
here in Santa Fe, New Mexico and that’s his livelihood;
he supports his family with his school. For him to go and fight
for King Of The Cage for a couple grand each fight, let’s
say a couple grand each month compared to the twenty grand he
would make for his school, it is not a real viable decision for
him to keep fighting.
KM:
You trained with him before and he is a friend but he just couldn’t
fight to keep the belt. Now you have it. Is there any jealous
tension between you two or maybe a feeling of redemption that
at least one of you has it?
TS: When he got the chance to fight for the belt I was still
fighting at 170 and hadn’t really made the decision to drop
down yet. I was all for him taking it. When I did decide to drop
down there was a little discomfort there. We wouldn’t fight
with each other. It worked out well that he was vacating and
I was there to take up the space. There is no animosity, we are
still real good friends. He totally understands that I’ve
been working real hard for this. He’s seen me grow, he’s
seen me come up and win grappling tournaments and stuff. He’s
real proud for me.
KM:
This was your first MMA fight at 155?
TS: Yeah.
KM:
You had what, three at 170?
TS: Let’s see, I had a couple at 160 and five more at 170.
KM:
Here it is your debut at 155 and you take the belt. Any thoughts
on that?
TS: I was pretty sure I was going to win. I worked really hard
for it and I spent a lot of time cutting weight, a lot of time
sweating to make the weight. The way I thought about it was there
was no way I’d go through all that to lose.
KM:
Aren’t you from Albuquerque?
TS: Yes I am, born and raised.
KM:
Your opponent John Mahlow was fighting out of MASH in Michigan.
In recent previews a couple fighters discussed the elevation
difference. Yours seemed over before conditioning became an issue.
Do you think it had any effect?
TS: Yeah. There aren’t a lot of places that have higher
elevation or altitude than New Mexico. Colorado is probably the
only place. A lot of it is in your head. Personally I don’t
think it makes that huge a difference. I’ve winded myself
in lower altitudes and winded myself pretty bad here too. It
matters what your strategy is and how much output you put forth
in your fight.
KM:
Feel free to say I’m blowing that issue out of proportion.
TS: No, you are certainly not. It’s definitely a factor.
Like I say I think a lot of it is in your head. You start to
feel that you are not getting as much wind as you would normally
get and you tend to freak out a little, tend to let it get to
you.
KM:
As far as defending the belt both Javi has three fights on his
contract and Chris Brennan signed again but both are out until
the fall. Between now and the time those two come back what are
your thoughts on defending the belt?
TS: I haven’t really put much thought into it yet. There
are a lot of tough guys fighting at 155 right now and I’ll
hopefully have a chance to fight with all of them.
KM:
Anybody particular you think would match up well?
TS: My personal feelings toward that is there are tons of tough
guys any one of which would be a great match.
KM:
Don’t you fight out of the same team as Diego (Sanchez)
and Keith (Jardine)?
TS: Yep.
KM:
What is the name of it again?
TS: Jackson’s Gaido Jutsu.
KM:
In the previews I didn’t mention the team name because I
knew I’d mis-spell it. No offense.
TS: It’s a pretty unorthodox name.
KM:
You guys went 3-0 tonight.
TS: Yeah, we did great.
KM
What is the reaction from the team as a whole on going 3-0 in
front of a local crowd?
TS: That’s pretty much the way it goes. We all train together,
we all keep each other really sharp, we all work really hard
together, and when we all fight together we get that group mentality.
Once we get on a roll there is no stopping us.
KM:
Now you have the belt and Keith’s next fight is for the
belt, Diego is one fight away form the belt…as far as the
fans not being familiar with you do you feel underrated?
TS: A little yes and a little no. People know who we are. We
have been going to the bigger grappling tournaments for a long
time now. They might not know our names or say the name of the
school correctly but they see the black t-shirts and they know
who we are.
KM:
Does the school have open classes to the public?
TS: Yeah, we’re just a regular school. Our coach spends
a lot of time training us and he is more dedicated to making
champions than running high enrollment at the school but we have
a lot of guys going to our school. Albuquerque is a tough town,
a lot of people are into it, and we have a good thing going.
There is a website www.gaidojutsu.com. The phone number
is (505) 881-7911.
KM:
Any sponsors?
TS: My personal sponsor is Defined Fitness. They are great people
to be associated with and they really believe in me and I can’t
thank them enough.
KM:
You are about 5’10?
TS: Yes, sir.
KM:
23? 24?
TS: I’m 22.
KM:
Anything else to get across to the fans?
TS: Send me to Japan.
Source: ADCC |
SHOOTO
- Upcoming Event...
June
27th, 2003
Hiroshima Sun Plaza, Hiroshima, Japan
Sustain
Lineup
Subject TO Change:
Class
B 2 x 5 minutes rounds: Lightweight [-65.0Kg]: WILD Usami vs.
Naosuke Mizoguchi
Featherweight
[-60.0Kg]: Yoshihiro Fujita vs. Hiroyuki Tanaka
Lightweight
[-65.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament 2nd round
Masatoshi Kobayashi vs. Seigi Fujioka
Cruiserweight
[-91.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament 1st round
The Great Naniwa vs. Yosuke 'M.D' Mikami
Middleweight
[-76.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament 2nd round
Hirofumi Hara vs. Shinobu Ito
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]: Masato Fujiwara vs. Takashi Nakakura
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]: Koutetsu Boku vs. Kenichiro Togashi
Class
A 3 x 5 minutes rounds Middleweight
[-76.0Kg] Seichi Ikemoto vs. Akira Kikuchi
[-68.0Kg]
Rumina
Sato vs.
Ryan Ackerman
|
The
WBC on Klitschko vs Lewis
By WBC
President Jose Sulaiman
'The
Lennox Lewis - Vitali Klitschko fight is another historic moment
for the WBC in world boxing.
'Lennox
Lewis' fight against WBC No. 1-ranked Vitali Klitschko on June
21 in Los Angeles, California, will set a record for the combined
height of the fighters in a world championship fight, with a
total of 13 feet, one inch.
'Lewis
is 6'5' tall, Klitschko is 6'8. This will be Lewis' 19th WBC
world championship fight, 14th WBC world title defense, and eighth
world title defense against a WBC No. 1-ranked official challenger.
'Vitali
Klitschko is the tallest boxer to contend for a world championship,
and the first fighter from the former Soviet Union to face a
world champion from England.
'Before
Klitschko and Lewis, the tallest world champion boxers in history
were Jess Willard at 6'6', Primo Carnera at 6'4.25', and more
recently, Henry Akinwande at 6'7'.
'The
Lewis-Klitschko bout has been surrounded by lawsuits that created
an environment of enormous rivalry. The WBC went to great lengths
to make this fight a reality amid great expectation not only
in Great Britain, but also in Germany and the rest of the world.
'This
will be the 92nd heavyweight world title bout sanctioned by the
WBC. The first one recognized by this organization was 40 years
ago on July 22, 1963, between Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson.
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"There are two kinds of people who never amount to much:
those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do
nothing else."
Cyrus Curtis |
KOTC's
former Lightweight champ Alberto Crane explains why he gave up
the belt!
On
the most recent King Of The Cage card the Lightweight belt was
on the line between Thomas Schulte and John Mahlow. This was
surprising for most fans considering the belt was last won by
Alberto Crane when he defeated Javi Vazquez, so what was up with
a belt shot? Alberto gave up the belt, and King Of The Cage deserve
credit for moving at high speed to stabilize their belt again.
While
shows can usually be looked at as “fight of the night”
or “submission of the night” etc if there was an angle
for standing up and being a man it would have to go to Alberto
Crane this night. It would have been easy to just not show up
at all or to use any number of excuses but that’s just it…if
you try to look into Alberto’s eyes as he struggles to find
the words to express his decision you would see this isn’t
an excuse, it is the moral dilemma Crane still struggles with.
Credit not only goes to Crane for making the right decision by
his family and his school but to stand up to questioning about
it and answering to the best of his ability.
KM:
How do you look back on your last fight, the title fight against
Javi Vazquez? AC: It was great. In front of my hometown, tough
fight, to win like that it was great. Beautiful.
KM:
I thought it was amazing to watch, even without the drama of
the belt and Javi’s injury. I thought it was the fight of
the night, so even and all over, pulling out submissions left
and right…how happy were you with your performance? AC:
Considering the amount of training I had in MMA I was really
glad how it came out. That was the only thing that worried me,
the standup and things like that. I guess my jiu-jitsu was good
enough to pull out the win for me thank God. I was glad it turned
out the way it did.
KM:
You have recently given up the belt. What were you thoughts when
you first won it? Did the belt mean anything to you? AC: It did.
I would have liked to fight for King Of The Cage again but it
just wasn’t financially doable for me. Economically I have
my school to run and things like that. It wasn’t worth it
for me. I have nothing but good things to say about KOTC, they
treated me very good and, umm, and it just wasn’t financially
doable for me.
KM:
It looks like you are struggling talking about it, that it was
a tough decision to come to. AC: Yeah, it was. I thought about
it a lot, what I was going to do like I should defend it one
time at least but then I just decided that was it unless I could
make more money.
KM:
How long has it been since you made that decision? AC: It’s
been over a month I think.
KM:
It sounds like it was the right decision for you. AC: Yeah.
KM:
Are you done with MMA? AC: I’d like t fight some more, I’d
like to fight in bigger shows.
KM:
What is it going to take to get you to come back? AC: I think
a dream of mine is to fight in the UFC. From the beginning I
studied doing jiu-jitsu that way, I watched the first UFCs, and
it’s always been a dream of mine to get in there. That’s
what is in my heart. I’m hoping it will work out.
KM:
In the meantime you said you have your own school to run? AC:
Yes. It’s in Santa Fe. It’s great, I have a lot of
students, a lot of tough guys coming up that are always pushing
me and making me better. It’s a great family.
KM:
Anybody we should be keeping an eye out for? AC: Fletcher Sievers
is fighting tonight. Tate Fletcher, Renato Migliaccio.
KM:
How can people that may want to train with you check out your
school? AC: I have a website santafebjj.com and it has all the
information.
KM:
It’s obvious to me watching you speak about this that this
is an unsettling or upsetting decision and the belt did mean
a lot to you and you regret walking away from it. Some of the
fans have expressed an opinion like ‘he knows he can’t
beat XXX’ and that kind of thing. How would you like to
defend yourself in public? AC: I’d like to fight, that’s
what gets me excited. Not somebody groomed for me to fight or
somebody set up for me to fight that they think I can beat. It
gets me excited and makes me train. That’s what it is about
to me, the challenge of it.
KM:
How about the term “on hiatus”? AC: Yeah, taking my
time. I have my school to take care of and see what is out there
for me.
KM:
Anything else you want to get across to the fans? AC: I’d
like to thank everybody in New Mexico and Santa Fe for all their
support and all their love. Thank you, thank you everybody.
Source:
ADCC |
MECA
WORLD VALE TUDO #9 will invade Rio in August!
After
two long years without an NHB event (the last one was HEROES
2 on June 30th, 2001) Rio de Janeiro will host the mos famous
national event in the land, the MECA.
The
event that in run by Rudimar Fedrigo (The ChuteBoxe headcoach)
and Jorge
'Joinha' Guimaraes, it will disembark in 1st or 2nd of August
in the beautiful city of Teresopolis, located in state of Rio.
Coincidence or not, this was the same city where HEROES 2 was
held. The card is almost done with 6 fights, the show will have
7 matches, and if nobody hurt himself during the training, this
is the card confirmed for next MECA 9.
Card
Subject to change(one fight will be announced):
- Leopoldo Serao (Clube de Luta) vs. Adriano 'BadBoy' (Macaco
Gold Team)
- Petterson Melo (Boxe Thai) vs. Marcelao (ChuteBoxe)
- Assuerio Silva (ChuteBoxe) vs. Carlos Barreto (BTT)
- Fabricio 'Morango' Camoes (Gracie Tijuca) vs. Haroldo 'Cabelinho'
Bunn (BTT)
- Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (ChuteBoxe) vs. Carlos Lima (BIT)
- Daniel Acacio (Golden Fighters) vs. Delson Heleno 'Pe de Chumbo'
(PitBull GYM)
Source:
ADCC
|
Catching
Up with ANDRE SEMENOV and AMAR SULOEV
Both of Russian RED DEVIL Team's biggest international stars,
ANDRE SEMENOV and AMAR SULOEV are looking forward to headlining
Russia's biggest event, the M-1 at the end of the year.
Semenov
recently won two tournaments - the Championship of Russia in
Combat Sambo wrestling and the Free style tournament in Moscow,
where he defeated the World Pancrase Champion (WAFC version)
Arslan Chalangov. He sustained a leg injury in these tournaments,
and had to turn down a July match in Florida's Absolute Fighting
against Dustin Denes. Look for both Russians in the M-1 tournaments
at the end of the year.
For
the first time in it's existence, Mix-Fight M-1 'Russia vs. World'
will hold the sixth World Championship in Moscow, at the Sport
Hall 'Lujniki'. It is expected to be the largest and most respected
MMA tournament in all of Russia.
'Russia
vs. World - 7' is scheduled for November 22nd at it's traditional
home, the sport palace 'Jubileiny'. Organizers of tournaments
guarantee that the tournament will equal to the event in Moscow.
The participation in both championships will feature an international
field of MMA fighters. Dutch heavyweight Gilbert Yvel is assured
to headline the St Petersburg event.
Schedule:
11th October - 'Russia vs. World - 6' in Moscow
22nd November - 'Russia vs. World - 7' in St.-Petersburg
Source:
ADCC |
PRIDE
26 RECAP
Pride 26 Review
Well,
the wait for the North American broadcast of PRIDE 26: Bad to
the Bone, is officially over. The event, which took place on
June 8th at Yokohama Arena, was to serve as the follow-up to
the organization's most riveting card, while serving as a prelude
to the mouth-watering August Saitama Grand Prix card(potentially
featuring a Heavyweight Title Superfight).
Once
again, a multitude of questions remained heading into this all
important card. Was Nino Schembri's win over Sakuraba a complete
fluke? Could a new crop of Japanese fighters emerge out of the
shadow of Sakuraba, and relieve PRIDE's deficiency in native
fighters? How sharp would a supposedly "out of shape"
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson look in his tune up fight
against a cagey veteran? Is Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
as good as some believe he is? Would Fedor show the same grace,
and brutality against Fujita that he did against Nogueira? Which
one of the 30 somethings, Frye or Coleman, would re-establish
himself as a legitimate Heavyweight contender?
The
North American PPV broadcast started with a 30-minute preview,
which featured some decent production pieces. The feature revolved
around the Frye-Coleman rematch, while occasionally mentioning
the Fedor-Fujita, and Herring-CroCop bouts. They showed a clip
of the Takayama-Frye fight in an attempt to show how "real"
their product was. I found the host to be terribly inept at putting
over the skill of the fighters; instead asking the potential
audience if they were "ready" for what they were about
to see. This isn't Rome circa 150 A.D. This is an *athletic*
event, involving highly skilled *athletes*. Overall, Millen,
the host, came off as a repetitive shill. If your going to be
introducing your product to a new audience(let us assume for
a moment that a number of people tuning into the preview have
little knowledge of the promotion), then at least put some time
and thought into your material.
Now
onto the matches!!
Fight
#1
Kazuhiro
Hamanaka vs Antonio "Nino" Schembri
Schembri
came into this fight fresh off his victory over Japanese superstar
Kazushi Sakuraba, which many believe to be one of the biggest
upsets in MMA history(or flukes). Schembri was able to KO Sakuraba
with a series of vicious knees, and a volley kick. Hamanaka,
Takada Dojo's new prodigy, was coming into this fight with zero
MMA experience. However, Hamanaka is a decorated amateur wrestling
champion, and certainly had the honor of his Takada Dojo stablemates
on the line.
Hamanaka's
inexperience showed right off the bat, as his striking looked
rather clumsy. This is not uncommon for an individual in his
first fight, because the timing of strikes is something that
comes with repetition. Nino, on the otherhand, showed vast improvement
from the opening moments of his Sakuraba fight, as he was able
to land some decent punches, a high kick, and some strong knees.
Hamanaka looked to be little nervous, and tentative in the first
five minutes.
Schembri
was then able to pull Hamanaka into his rubber guard, where he
would begin to work for his famous gogoplata submission. Hamanaka
was able to ward off several submission attempts, and stood up,
and peppered Schembri with some leg kicks(we're not talking Sak-Royler
here). Hamanaka was confident in his submission defense to go
back down, and play Nino's game, as he began to strike more and
more effectively as the match wore on.
In
the 2nd and 3rd Rounds, Hamanaka finally found his timing on
his feet, and landed some strong punches. Once in Nino's guard,
Hamanaka continued the onslaught, by unloading some wicked punches,
and hammerfists to Schembri's face. Nino was a bloody mess at
this point, but continued looking for a submission. He repeatedly
attempted the gogoplata, and tried for a Kimura from the guard,
but to no avail (Hamanaka's short, muscular limbs make submissions
difficult). The problem with Nino was that he left his head exposed
when he was attempting the Kimura, and later an omoplata, and
Hamanaka made him pay for it. Hamanaka continued to score on
the ground, and won a deserved unanimous judges decision.
This
was a very nice start to the night, as both men were active,
and looking to play their respective games. I don't like the
fact that Nino kept going for the gogoplata(a move that is difficult
to apply to a man of Hamanaka's stature), when he could've used
it, alongside the omoplata, to set-up a triangle choke. Of course,
this match is proof that the transition from BJJ to MMA is a
difficult one (as is Judo to MMA as exhibited by Nakamura vs
Rogerio Nogueira). Nino just isn't used to getting baraged with
punches when he is looking to apply submissions, and it showed.
I
think Hamanaka will be brought along slowly by Takada, and will
be given time to develop his MMA skills. He is young, injury
free, and somewhat charasmatic. I doubt the PRIDE brass includes
him in the Grand Prix, but they may opt to place him opposite
another B-level fighter. I'd love to him fight Ryan or Renzo
Gracie. Oh yeah, am the only one chapped that Hamanaka cut his
helmet hair?? That thing looked badass....
Fight
#2
Daiju
Takase vs Anderson Silva
Coming
into this fight, the likelihood of Takase beating Silva was the
same as Silva creating MMA's first mainstream fatality. Silva
was coming off a HUGE KO victory over top WW Carlos Newton, and
Takase was coming off a snoozefest loss to Nino Schembri. Then
again, if there is one thing we've all learned in today's MMA
game, it's that anything can happen.
Silva
started the bout off by throwing some short jabs, and cautionary
leg kicks. Takase was able to keep a decent amount of space between
himself and Silva, and eventually, got the takedown. While in
Silva's guard, Takase was unable to really land any effective
shots, despite the fact that he got a cheap crowd pop for his
double Mongolian Chop(anyone catch the "Saku" on the
back of his trunks). Takase continued with some subtle rabbid
punches, while Silva attempted a half-hearted Neck Crank from
the guard.
Silva
then went to the half-guard, which gave Takase a decent chance
at a Kimura. Anderson was able to slip out of the attempt, but
Takase negated his sweep attempts, and had side mount. Eventually,
Takase transitioned into the North-South position, and started
connecting with some punches to Silva's face. Takase tried 4
times for the reverse Triangle, but to no avail. All of a sudden,
Silva attempted to turn around, and Takase quickly caaught him
in a transitionary Triangle Choke. It didn't look like he had
it in at first, but once he started to push his hips up, and
Anderson's head down, it was all over, as Anderson Silva tapped.
What
a shocking result this is.. Silva had been branded as one of
the top 2-3 guys at 185 in the world for quite some time, and
he gets tapped by a *seemingly* "second-rate" Japanese
fighter. Of course, Takase had been previously praised as being
a tremendous grappler, but with an inability to translate that
into actual success. Finally, his huge breakthrough.
|