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.
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!
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
6/19/03
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.
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
6/18/03
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.
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
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
6/17/03
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.
Where
does PRIDE go from here? Firstly, they must place Takase in the
Grand Prix, because his name is hot at the moment. Having him
and Sakuraba in the field takes care of the pre-requisite native
entries. I don't know if Anderson will have an opportunity to
compete at the GP because of Vanderlei's inclusion, and this
loss, but he will certainly be back at some point looking for
vengeance. I did however think Silva looked a bit tired, and
out of shape(did he look soft to anyone else), which is understandable
considering his activity. Nevertheless, a great win for Takase
and the PRIDE organization.
Fight
#3
Alistair
Overeem vs Mike Benicic
This
was Benicic's first MMA fight, and it showed. I've liked Overeem's
game ever since the first time I saw him in RINGS. Then again,
when I first saw his brother, Valentijn, fight in 1998, I thought
he was going to be a stud for years to come. Of course, Alistair
has heart, desire, and a freakish frame that make him a very
undesirable opponent for your first time out. Credit to Mike
for taking this fight, but he didn't offer too much resistance
here.
After
an early exchange on the feet(Overeem has quick, sharp knees),
Overeem ended up in Mike's guard, and began to work for a pass.
Benicic showed some strong skills, as he nearly pulled of a sweep
on Alistair. Alistair passed Mike's guard, and avoided a submission
attempt, but Mike was able to re-adjust. Eventually, the fight
went back to the feet, where Alistair connected with some shots.
Once Benicic fell down holding his stomach, Alistair rained down
shots until Mike tapped the mat, thereby conceding the victory
to the up and coming Dutchman.
To
anyone who feels that Rampage is going to walk over Overeem,
think again. I think he can strike with Quinton, and can hold
his own in the grappling portion. This guy is surrounded by good
trainers, and he appears incredibly motivated to succeed, which
is half the battle. However, if Overeem runs into a guy like
Arona(who I think would've beaten him), those long limbs may
be in for a stretching.
Fight
#4
Quinton
Jackson vs Mikhail Illoukhine
I've
watched Mikhail work shoot style matches in RINGS since 1995.
He obviously has/had legitimate skills, but could he seriously
test Rampage here? I thought Mikhail's only hope would've been
to catch Rampage with something standing and take him down, and
make Rampage work from under him. At first sight, I couldn't
believe how big Mikhail was. He looked much thicker than usual,
which I thought might hurt his flexibility on the mat.
Mikhail
and Rampage both came out swinging, but the big Russian caught
Quinton in a quick standing guillotine choke. It didn't look
like Mikhail had full leverage on the choke, but Rampage was
certainly grimacing. Somehow, Rampage pulled his head out of
that mess, and after some good grappling, took the fight to the
ground. Rampage looked to land some decent shots, but nothing
big. Mikhail on the otherhand, looked to be working very hard
on a chickenwing. Rampage again looked to be grimacing a little,
but Mikhail didn't have full torque on the arm. In a beautiful
sequence of events, Rampage took a risk by attempting to roll
throw the submission attempt. It ended up working very well,
and Rampage took the offensive and started cracking Mikhail's
jaw with some heavy strikes.
At
one point, Mikhail fell out of the ring(if it was in a cage,
it would've been over), and Rampage looked like he had won the
fight. The referee restarted the fight, only to see Rampage take
control with some more acute strikes, and some big time knees
from the sidemount: "TO THE LIVER!!"--Bas
In
the end, a very exciting fight. In both submission sequences,
there was the drama that Rampage could be beaten. To his credit,
he showed his freakish strength, and pounded his way to a victory.
Onto
this whole Silva/Rampage/Grand Prix situation. I should dedicate
an entire thread just to this, but let me briefly mention some
things. I like the idea of having them both enter the GP, but
I still think it's more logical to have them face off in a title
superfight instead, with the winner of the GP getting the next
shot at the champion. PRIDE seems to be hyping up how they will
be on opposite sides of the bracket, and "may" face
off in the finals, but how likley is that? Silva had double knee
surgery, and there are so many other great fighters in this tournament,
that it may not pan out.
Factor
in injuries, luck, etc, and you may create one big disaster.
What happens if Silva gets beaten in the first round, and Rampage
loses somewhere along the line as well? What kind of credibility
does that establish for the top of the division and the title?
Plus, you may be spoiling future money fights by entering Rampage,
and Silva in this tournament (Rampage/Arona, Rampage/Sakuraba,
Silva/Sakuraba, Silva/Arona, Rampage/Overeem)..... I just do
not see the one time payoff being better than spreading this
thing out.
Match
#5
Kazuyuki
Fujita vs Fedor Emelianenko
On
paper, this looked like the Fujita's head of steel versus Fedor's
brick hands. Fedor was coming off the impressive beatdown of
the formerly indestructable Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Fujita,
who lost to CroCop in December, was looking to re-establish himself
in the PRIDE ranks. The problem with Fujita is that he has shown
no true evolution of skills. He is a great wrestler, but his
stand-up just looks sloppy.. But he is strong as hell, so one
of his haymakers always has a chance to end a fight.
Both
fighters came out looking to throw. After a little circling,
Fedor catches Fujita with a righthand, and Fujita then shoots
but Fedor sees it coming, and defends well. Fedor starts striking
with a little more vigor, but Fujita throws a WILD right that
absolutely ROCKS Fedor. Fedor's legs looked like they absolutely
buckled, as he went to the ground, and Fujita followed Fedor
down to the mat.. This is what I eluded to earlier. If Fujita
could've followed up immediately(very short window of opportunity),
he would've won this match. As it was, Fedor found his way back
to his feet, where he used a nice kick to liver/stomach, and
a combination that sent Fujita down hard. Fedor, knowing how
difficult it is to TKO/KO Fujita, immediately went for a choke.
He slapped it on very tight, and that was that. Fujita was down
for a very long time after the fight, but that choke was just
vicious.
Not
only is Fedor a cold blooded killer in the ring, but he is also
smart as hell. Knowing the opportunity to submit Fujita presented
itself, he took it, whereas 95% of other fighters would've continued
to pound the downed opponent. I guess that is why he is the man
at the moment.... Volk Han is proving himself to be a very capable
trainer at the moment.
Fight
# 6
Mirko
"CroCop" Filipovic vs Heath Herring
Since
when did Mirko's last name disappear? Anyhow, this was the fight
that I was most looking foward to. Herring was coming off a bad
loss at the hands of Fedor, and Mirko was coming off an impressive
K-1 KO of Bob Sapp. The key to this match would be whether Herring
could draw Mirko to the ground. If this was a stand-up fight,
Herring(whose stand-up skills have been overrated in the past
in my opinion) would lose.
Heath
looked incredibly trim to me(looked like he had been hitting
the tanning booths too), and he began the fight coming at Mirko.
Mirko, ever the stoic, simply plotted, and took his sweet time.
After some failed high kick and takedown attempts, Heath laid
on his back, seemingly wating for Mirko to come down and play
the ground game with him. Mirko wanted no part of that, and even
offered Heath a helping hand.
Once
the two began to engage again, it was basically over for Heath.
Mirko had attempted some quick kicks, but finally, a huge shin
kick to the midsection dropped Heath. Mirko followed this up
with a barage of devastating punches..... Heath never had a chance,
as Mirko got the relatively quick TKO win.
I've
steadily grown to really like CroCop, but not because he keeps
winning, but because of the way he carries himself in the ring.
He is confident, yet respectful. He doesn't exhibit the chauvinism,
or idiocy of some other fighters, but remains humble even in
victory. Plus his English sounded rather fluent? Fortunal, lets
get the big man a Sherdog account.....
As
far as the Heavyweight title picture, I still think it is a three-dog
race. Minotauro is still my #1 contender, with CroCop a close
second. I would love to see a Mirko/Nog Superfight at the August
show, with the winner getting Fedor somewhere down the road(Las
Vegas??). I like Heath and think he is a great fighter, but even
a convincing victory over him is not enough in my mind to take
the top spot from Nogueira. Of course, DSE could place Nog/Yoshida,
and Mirko/Fedor on the same card, with the winners pairing up
down the road. A lot of money fights to be made in this division,
especially when you consider that enigmatic beast Sapp.
Fight
#7
Mark
Coleman vs Don Frye
We
all know the backstory to this fight. Coleman dominated Frye
years ago, and Don has never forgiven himself for it. Frye was
smaller back then, and Coleman is attempting to make yet another
comeback here. Frye enlisted the help of Frank Juarez Shamrock
in preparation(did anyone notice how much rub Franky was getting
throughout the show).
The
key to this match would be whether the Hammer could take Frye
down and keep him down. Frye has showed that he can knock anyone
out in one shot. Mark has been susceptible to gassing late in
fights, and getting hit with big shots, so if he could conserve
his energy, he would have a good shot here.
The
staredown may have been the most intense part of this fight.
I didn't sense bad blood between these two, but more of unfinished
business on Don's part. Anyhow, Frye came out looking to throw,
and Coleman threw a few wild hooks of his own. Eventually Mark
scored the takedown, and began to work his standard Ground n
Pound game. Coleman scored with shots to the body, and generally
controlled position for the entire first round. Don never looked
in any major trouble in the first round, but Coleman definately
dominated position, and was scoring throughout.
The
second and third rounds were quite similar, as Don could not
avoid the takedown. Don seemed quite tired, and never really
went for any clean sweep attempts. Of course 250 lbs of Coleman
on you doesn't help. Coleman looked content just riding out the
match, with some knees, and some punches to the body. At the
end, Coleman won a somewhat anti-climactic unanimous decision.
Coleman
apologized after the fight for the lack of excitement, but explained
that he just wanted a victory. I think Coleman had his gameplan,
and stuck to it. I thought there was a possibility the fight
would go down like this, but I also thought whoever ref'd the
fight would stand them up a few times. I mean Coleman was active,
but so was Hamanaka when he was stood up against Schembri.
I
think Coleman may pose problems for anyone in the Heavyweight
division, due to his incredible wrestling prowress. However,
I just cant see him winning fights in any other manner than last
night. He certainly can't strike with the top guys, and he would
have trouble holding Fedor, Fujita, or Nog down(at least getting
position on Nog). I would love to see a Fujita/Coleman elimination
bout. How bout Coleman/Yoshida??
Overall,
a very good show. The main event didn't live up to the hype,
but maybe that was to be expected. I think it was on par with
the UFC 43 show.
The
commentating was solid as usual, but I found Bas to be the one
carrying the show last night. He was analytical, concise, and
funny at the same time. SQ was his standard self, but he came
off as a bit of a shill at times(it's understandable to pimp
the next show, especially with its importance, but limit it to
only pertinent plug-in spots).
Production
value was again top notch, and the fan heat was decent.
I
do have one problem with the upcoming Grand Prix show, in that
PRIDE is not exploiting the names they have fighting. I mean,
this is the company's biggest show in a long time, and they are
holding it at the Saitama Super Arena, which will draw 30,000
max?? You're going to get those 30,000 whether you run th GP
here, or another PRIDE event sometime in 2004. Why not the Tokyo
Dome, National Stadium, or Kawasaki Baseball Stadium? Even if
you're planning to spread this thing out over 2 cards, you could
legitimately draw crowds of 60,000 plus at all three arenas,
alongside adding that majestic big stadium aura to the shows.
I mean, we are talking about legitimate 6-7 million dollar gates
in the aforementioned venues. Also, I can't see getting these
venues as being a problem considering the pull this organization
has, and the magnitude of these shows.. Anyhow, I digress for
now...
Source: MMA Weekly
RESULTS:
PRIDE 26: Bad To The Bone
6/8/03
Yokohama Arena
Announced Drawing 17,187 (sell-out)
1.
Kazuhiro Hamanaka (89kg /196lbs) defeated Nino ``Elvis`` Schembri
(86kg / 190lbs) in 5:00 of 3R by unanimous decision (3-0).
-Hamanaka came out wearing a Sakuraba mask.
-1R: Schembri goes down and into the butt scoot. Hamanaka gets
on top of him in Schembri`s closed guard. Schembri attempts an
uma plata. Schembri almost gets it, but Hamanaka escapes and
gets back to his feet. Schembri gets a jumping guard, pulling
Hamanaka down, putting himself on his back. Schembri continues
to look for a submission. The referee stands them up. Schembri
lands a knee to the head that draws blood from the nose. Schembri
pulls guard again. Hamanaka pulls out of another uma plata, resulting
in both going to their feet. They exchange some small strikes.
Schembri gets Hamanaka up against the ropes to land some punches,
before taking it to the ground into Schembri`s closed guard.
Schembri goes for the uma plata again, but Hamanaka quickly gets
out and to his feet. Schembri tries to pull guard, but Hamanaka
throws him down. Schembri tries to pull guard again and does.
Schembri goes for a chickenwing, but Hamanaka gets out, but not
before Schembri lands some good punches. Schembri is in butt
scoot and they`re stood up. Both are bleeding from the nose.
Not much happens standing before the round ends.
-2R: Schembri gets Hamanaka down again by pulling guard. Hamanaka
lands some punches to Schembri`s face. Hamanaka continues to
pull up and drop punches from Schembri`s guard. Schembri is bleeding
quite a bit. The rounds ends.
-3R: Hamanaka lands some good shots to the face in stand-up.
Schembri gets guard again with Hamanaka pounding Schembri. The
referee gave Hamanaka a yellow card, possibly for inactivity,
but he looked pretty active. Hamanaka continues to land punches
to both the head and body. Schembri is bleeding badly now from
the nose. Hamanaka stands up and waits for Schembri to get up.
Hamanaka lands a good series of punches before the fight ends
and will go to a decision.
-Hamanaka wins the fight by unanimous decision.
2.
Daiju Takase (84kg / 185lbs) defeated Anderson Silva (85kg /
187lbs) in 8:33 of 1R by submission (triangle choke).
-Takase came out in an unusual robe.
-1R: Takase shoots, but Silva stops him. After two attempts,
Takase gets the takedown and is in Silva`s half guard. Silva
gets guard, using the triangle guard. Takase hits a Mongolian
chop. They exchange some punches from the guard. Takase has a
problem with glove that the referee has to fix for him. Takase
passes guard into half guard. Silva gets a crucifix in the half
guard, but lets it go. Takase goes for a kimura, gets out of
half guard and gets it in tight. He turns it into a reverse armbar,
but Silva escapes. Takase has side mount. He almost gets a reverse
triangle. The fight is paused again for Takase`s glove. Takase
lands a few punches. Takase tries for a neck crank, Silva prevents
it. Takase applies a triangle choke. Silva taps out. A huge upset.
-They shake hands after the fight. Takase said, ``It took me
a very long time to get here,`` and thanked everyone for their
support. Takase stumbled over his words at one point and his
corner, including Hidehiko Yoshida laughed at him.
3.
Alistair Overeem (94kg / 207lbs) defeated Mike Bencic (102kg
/ 225lbs) in 3:44 of 1R by submission (strikes/injury).
-Bencic comes out in a Batman mask and cape. CroCop, who is fighting
tonight, is in Bencic`s corner.
-Overeem comes out in an orange ski mask.
-1R: Overeem gets Bencic down in the corner. Bencic gets guard.
Bencic goes for a triangle, but Overeem evades it and gets half
guard, but Bencic gets full guard again. Overeem throws some
punches to the head, while Bencic ties to defend. Overeem gets
side mount position. They return to their feet. In a weird moment,
Overeem lands a left, hits a jumping knee and takes him down.
There was a weird moment where the fight seemed to have been
paused, but wasn`t as Bencic appeared to be in great pain. Becic
taps out due to an apparent injury. Possibly to the ribs.
4.
Quinton ``Rampage`` Jackson defeated Mikhail Illoukhine in 6:26
of 1R by submission (knee to the body).
-Jackson came out, howling as usual and shaking hands with the
fans.
-Jackson gave the referee a yellow card, playing up on his unhappiness
about being given a yellow card in his fight with Randleman at
last PRIDE.
-1R: Jackson tries to slam Illoukhine, but Illoukhine twists
out of it. Illoukhine gets a guillotine, going for a guard, loses
the guillotine and gets guard. Illoukhine goes for a kimura,
but Jackson gets his leg in to block it. Jackson can`t do much
but punch with his other hand while Illoukhine tries to crank
it. Illoukhine almost got it out from his knee, but Jackson pulls
it back in. Jackson rolls out for an amazing escape, nails Illoukhine
with a knee and right and almost knocks Illoukhine out of the
ring. More strikes from Jackson. Down into Illoukhine`s guard.
Jackson gets up, wanting Illoukhine standing. Illoukhine gets
a hold of a leg and they go down into Illoukhine`s guard. Illoukhine
goes for a kimura and a triangle, but loses both, letting Jackson
get side mount. Jackson goes for big knees, but they don`t land
fully. Jackson hits one big knee to the body. Illoukhine taps
out.
-Jackson wants the microphone, but no one will give it him.
-Intermission
-Nobuhiko Takada gave a speech, saying PRIDE would live forever,
playing up on the ``REBORN`` subtitle being used in Japan. Vanderlei
Silva is in the ring and this quickly turned into something that
looked a lot like the opening of WWF Raw in 1999. Takada asks
Vanderlei if he`ll fight in the Grand Prix. Silva says he will.
Takada says, ``You are real man.`` Quinton Jackson gets up on
the apron. Takada says Jackson can fight in the GP and fight
Silva if he wants. Jackson agrees. Takada says to Jackson, ``You`re
a man, too.`` Renzo Gracie then gets the microphone and asks,
``How can we have a Grand Prix without a Gracie?`` Takada asks
Renzo if he wants to be in the GP. Renzo says the Gracies will
send someone to be the GP. Takada says the Gracies are real men.
Then Takada said that there was one person everyone was forgetting:
Sakuraba. Sakuraba then came out with his mask on. He apologizes
for losing his recent fights and says he`ll fight in the GP.
Takada asks him if his health is okay. Sakuraba says it is. Takada
says that Sakuraba is a real man also and that the Grand Prix
will happen on 8/10.
5.
Mark Coleman defeated Don Frye in 5:00 of 3R by decision (3-0).
-Frank Shamrock is in Frye`s corner.
-They have a big staredown.
-1R: Coleman hits a left and shoots, but Frye spralls. Frye with
two knees to Coleman`s body with a very tight guillotine. It
looks like it could end the fight, but Frye lets go. Frye gets
another guillotine, but lets go again. They go into an over-under
clinch. Strikes to the body are exchanged. Coleman looks tired.
Frye pushes Coleman into the corner. The referee breaks them
up. Coleman with a left to the head. He gets a double-leg takedown
into Frye`s guard. Some good shots to Frye`s body. Coleman continues,
landing shots to both the head and body. The referee moves them
away from the ropes. Coleman gets side mount, almost mount. They
get into a weird tangled position before getting into Frye` guard
again. More small strikes to the body and face by Coleman for
the rest of an unexciting round won by Coleman.
-2R: Coleman shoots and gets himself in Frye`s guillotine again.
Coleman takes a single-leg and gets in side mount. Coleman hits
a knee to the head and one to the body. Coleman gets a north-south
position. The referee brings them back to the center of the ring.
Coleman goes back to side mount. Frye covers Coleman`s nose and
mouth with his hand. Coleman gets north-south again and lands
a series of light knees. More knees, not very hard, but they`re
hurting Frye. The round ends. Frye took a good beating, taking
about 20 knees, but gets up without a problem. Frye will probably
have to finish the fight in he third round to win.
-3R: Coleman goes for the takedown, but Frye gets the guillotine
again, but they go down into Frye`s guard. Coleman gets mount.
Coleman lands some punches, nothing huge yet, but enough to cut
Frye. Coleman puts his weight on Frye`s face, doing a neck crank,
but it doesn’t appear to be effective. Left and rights by
Coleman. Frye rolls and almost gives him his back. More punches
by Coleman. The bell rings and will go to a decision. The fight
was dominated by Coleman. It wasn’t very exciting and both
look very tired.
-The judges give the fight to Coleman by unanimous decision.
-Frye may have a rib injury, as he’s holding his abdomin.
-Coleman got the microphone and said, ``I`m sorry this wasn`t
one of my more exciting fights. But it`s been a long time. I`ve
had a lot of injuries. I told you I`d come back. I`m halfway
back... I promose to become the dominate fight I once was...
Don Frye is a true champion. He`s one tough man and I`m very
happy to get the win.`` Frye turned around and acknowledged him.
``I gonna work hard and I`m gonna get that f***ing belt back!
I know it`s gonna’ take a lot of work, but I promise I`m
gonna do it!``
6.
Mirko ``CroCop`` Filipovic (104kg / 229lbs) defeated Heath Herring
(108kg / 238lbs) in 3:17 of 1R by TKO (middle kick / punches).
-Herring gets a big pop coming out. Herring and his cornermen
have to push their way through the crowd like in old All Japan
main events.
-1R: Herring comes after him with punches. CroCop throws him
down twice, leaving Herring to get up both times. CroCop goes
for a high kick, but it`s block. Herring goes for high kick,
also blocked. They go down. CroCop lands some knees from the
north-south position. Herring escapes and gets to his feet. Herring
goes for a double-leg takedown, but isn’t successful. Big
middle kick by CroCop as Herring goes for a low kick. Herring
goes down. CroCop gets on him with about 10 unanswered punches.
The referee stops the fight.
-CroCop remains undefeated in mixed martial arts competition.
-CroCop said on the microphone that he his big dream is to become
the champion in both PRIDE and K-1.
-Antonio Inoki made his entrance. The crowd mobs him. Security
really has to shove the crowd out of the way. ``Genki desu ka!?
Fujita, get out here!`` Fujita then made his entrance.
7.
Emelianenko Fedor (107kg / 236lbs) defeated Kazuyuki Fujita (116kg
/ 266lbs) in 4:17 of 1R by submission (rear naked choke).
-Kendo Kashin is in Fujita`s corner.
-1R: One-two combination by Fedor. Fujita punches back. Fedor
goes for the takedown, but can`t get it and they separate. They
touch gloves. Big right by Fedor and pushes him down. Kick to
Fujita`s head. Fujita goes for a single-leg. Fedor stands back.
Big left by Fujita and they`re back on their feet. Those two
exchanges happened very fast. Big right by Fujita, stunning Fedor.
They tie up. He puts Fedor on the ground. Fedor gets guard. Fedor
is cut over the left eye from that right punch. They return to
their feet. Fujita goes for the takedown, but doesn’t get
it. Right by Fedor. Left by Fedor. Fedor gets Fujita`s back.
Rear naked choke applied by Fedor. Fujita taps out. Very exciting
fight.
-This
is the first time that Kazuyuki Fujita has ever been submitted
or knocked out in MMA.
-Inoki
got the microphone again and did one of his usual clever speeches.
He says, ``Wearing a suit will not produce dreams,`` probably
referring to the Japanese economy and businessmen. ``I`m going
after mixed martial arts dreams. Fighters produce dreams.`` Then
he said, ``Today is the beginning of the new PRIDE. I would like
to start this new PRIDE with courage.`` And everyone did ``ichi,
ni, san, da!``
-The
show ends around 9:45pm Japan time, so the PPV ran about three
hours, 45 minutes, which I think is shorter than the usual. I
think I remember some of those shows like the Dynamite! stadium
show went something like five hours.
Source: MMA News
6/16/03
Quote
of the Day
"Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some
work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for
it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never
be yours."
Dale Carnegie 1888-1955, American Author, Trainer
CABBAGE
WANTS TANK
After surviving this weekend in Hawaii, Cabbage Correira wants
to set his sites on a possible fight with Tank Abbott.
Wes
"Cabbage" Correira talked about his future in the UFC
on Friday's MMAWeekly Radio Show. Cabbage said that he is going
to be fighting at UFC 44 in September, but he doesn't yet know
who his opponent will be.
Cabbage
said, "It was supposed to be the winner of the Kimo-Tank
fight, but I'll fight anyone they put in front of me. I'll just
take one of these old guys and show them what the new blood can
do." Cabbage continued, "I was hoping it would be Tank,
but Tank seems kind of like a wimp right now.
That
guy says he wants to die fighting, but he seems to tap out whenever
someone puts a submission hold on him." When asked if he
would like to fight Tank despite the fact that it wouldn't be
much of an accomplishment to beat him, Cabbage said yes and added
that one of them would probably end up going to the hospital
of the two of them ever fought.
When
asked if he would be able to fight with Kimo on the ground, Cabbage
said that Kimo is too old, and he would love to roll on the ground
with Kimo just to show everyone that he can. Cabbage said that
he has been training in Jiu-Jitsu for several years and is currently
a Purple Belt.
Cabbage
also feels that he could outlast Kimo in the Octagon and said
that Kimo was breathing heavily a minute into the Tank fight
like he was in the second round of his fight with Tim Sylvia.
Cabbage reiterated that he will fight anyone the UFC puts in
front of him, and when asked specifically about Frank Mir, his
response was, "That would be ugly... I know he can't take
a punch, and I would probably hurt him."
In
response to Monte Cox saying earlier this week on MMAWeekly Radio
that Cabbage trained for his SuperBrawl fight by getting a tattoo,
Cabbage said that he trains a lot regardless of what some people
might think. Cabbage said he's improving all the time and is
only going to improve more between now and September. Cabbage
said he often gets a new tattoo after a victory, so shortly after
he beat Sean Alvarez he got a tattoo of a Japanese fish that
goes from his neck to the bottom of his back.
Source:
Maxfighting
KOTC
#24: Complete Results!
Albuquerque,
NM - King Of The Cage 24 was a quick one with 80% of the fights
ending in the 1st round while the other 20% went to decisions.
In the main event Dan Severn out-conditioned Dan Christiansen
for a split decision victory, Thomas Schulte defeated MASH’s
John Mahlow to win the Lightweight belt, and Keith Jardine and
Diego Sanchez both took victories that advance them to title
contenders.
Complete
Results:
- Dan Severn def Dan Christiansen by split decision after 3 rounds
- Thomas Schulte def John Mahlow 2:41 r1 by armbar
- Joey Villasenor def Joe Merrit 4:06 r1 by TKO
- Paul Rodriguez def Adam Durant 4:29 r1 by rear choke
- Keith Jardine def George Allen by unanimous decision after
2 rounds
- Diego Sanchez def Rene Kronvold 3:39 r1 by armbar
- Santino FiFranco def Josh Pacheco 0:39 r1 by triangle
- Jimmy Westfall def Eric Meelroy 1:49 r1 by submission to strikes
- Mike Mendoza def Victor Hernandez 0:49 r1 by armbar
- Fletcher Sievers def Tyrell Mcelroy 1:58 r1 by triangle
Source:
ADCC
K1
Paris - Quick Results
June 15th, 2003 - Paris, France
8
Men Tornament:
- Alexei Ignashev x Pavel Majer: Ignashev by Ko
- Tony Gregory x Alexander Ustinov: Ustinov By Ko ;
- Cyril Abidi x Aziz Kathou: Abidi by decision
- Pele Reid x Chalid Faust: Chalid by decision.
Semifinal:
- Ignashev x Ustinov: Ignashev by decision;
- Cyril Abidi x Chalid: Abidi by TKO 2 rd (Chalid fell out of
the ring)
Final:
- Cyril Abidi x Ignashev: Alexei Ignashev by decision -
Super
fights:
- Ernesto Hoost x Martin Holm: Hoost by decision.
- Jerome Le Banner x Vitali Akhramenko: Le Banner by TKO no 2
round.
Source:
ADCC
2003
USA WRESTLING WORLD TEAM TRIALS, JUNE 20-22 IN INDIANAPOLIS:
AMERICA'S MOST EXCITING NATIONAL WRESTLING EVENT!
Coming this week are the 2003 USA Wrestling World Team Trials,
which will take place over three days from Friday, June 20, to
Sunday, June 22. The location is the Indiana Convention Center,
which is part of the RCA Dome, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Aside
from the Olympics or the World Championships themselves, the
World Team Trials is the wrestling event that packs the most
drama, skill, and action into one package. While many other domestic
tournaments like the NCAAs and the U.S. Nationals regularly make
history, this is the one that tops them all.
The
reasons should be obvious.
Over
a three-day period, all of the top, active wrestlers in America
in all three styles of freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women's wrestling
will be competing. Only those wrestlers who have qualified either
at the Nationals or another major national or international tournament
are eligible to wrestle in the Trials. Thus, these are truly
the best of the best in America, bar none.
The
first two days of the World Team Trials are reserved for the
Challenge Tournament. All but the winners at the 2003 Nationals
compete in a grueling, single-elimination format in this Challenge
Tournament. During the Challenge Tournament, you often have NCAA
champions and World and Olympic medalists and champions going
at each other for this last chance to get back into the world
medal hunt. It is not uncommon for two former national champions
to face each other as early as the first round, with one going
home after one match.
On
the third and final day, the Challenge Tournament winners in
each weight class face the winners of the Nationals. These National
Champions have not only rested and scouted their opposition for
two days, but also have the luxury of only having to win a best-two-out-of-three
series.
The
winners get a shot at going on to the next level, and will represent
the United States at the 2003 World Championships.
Tension,
high stakes, and having to perform right then and now fuel a
high tide of excitement that runs non-stop from the opening whistle
to the last match of the last day.
This
year's edition will have added drama, as 2000 Olympic gold medalist
and 2001 World Champion Rulon Gardner, America's most famous
active wrestler, will first have to win the Greco Challenge Tournament
in order to earn another crack at a world medal. He finished
third at the Nationals, and hopes to make it to the finals. If
he does, he will have quite an opponent facing him: 2002 World
Champion Dremiel Byers. If Gardner and Byers meet in the finals,
it will be the first time these two World Champions have wrestled
each other since Byers won his gold in 2002.
In
some countries, the coaches or the wrestling lords select their
favorites to represent their country at the Worlds. As you see,
in America, whether you are a national hero with a mile-long
list of championships, or a newcomer making his or her first
run at a world medal, you can only get to the next level by earning
it on the mat.
LIVE
WEBCAST ON LIVESPORTSVIDEO.COM
For
those who cannot make it to Indianapolis, there will be a live
webcast of the last two days of this event. LiveSportsVideo.com
has teamed up with USA Wrestling to make this possible. A high-speed,
broadband connection is required, and the cost is just $20 for
two days of all the action. For more information on the live
webcast, go to:
The
wrestling starts Thursday in the Indiana Convention Center's
Exhibit Halls F & G, which seats 3500.
Below
is the schedule, all in local Indianapolis time. Please note
that there is no daylight savings time in Indianapolis, so all
times listed are U.S. Eastern Standard Time, which is UTC/GMT
-0500, or one hour earlier than U.S. Eastern Daylight Time.
Event
Schedule:
Date
– Time – Event - Ticket Prices
Day
1 – Friday, June 20 - 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. -
Greco-Roman Challenge Tournament - $14 and $18
Day
1 – Friday, June 20 - 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. - Men's
& Women's Freestyle Challenge Tournaments
Day
2 - Saturday, June 21 - 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. - Greco-Roman Challenge
Tournament - $14 and $18
Day
2 - Saturday, June 21 - 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. - Men's & Women's
Freestyle Challenge Tournaments
Day
3 - Sunday, June 22 - 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. - **Championship
Finals Match #1 (All Styles) - $17 and $21
Day
3 - Sunday, June 22 - 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - **Championship
Finals Match #2 (All Styles)
Day
3 - Sunday, June 22 – 5:30 p.m. –
6:30 p.m. - **Championship Finals Match #3 if necessary (All
Styles)
*
Single-Day Ticket includes two sessions. **Championship finals
are a best of three series.
All-Session
and Single-Day tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets,
charge-by-phone (317-239-5151 in Central Indiana) or online at
www.ticketmaster.com. Order forms also are available at Indiana
Sports Corporation's Web site, www.indianasportscorp.com.
TheMat.com
has a special section on the 2003 World Team Trials, including
previews in all weight classes and styles, at:
HMC'S Mike Bauer will be replacing Maui's Mike Labuanan in PFC
2 July 12.2003 card. Labuanan who commited himself to fight for
PFC Hawaii, pulled himself out due to his management to save
himself for Maui's July 27, 2003. Bauer, who is 2-0 as an amatuer,
will be taken on Grappling Unlimited's Raymond Pintor who is
also 1-0 and beat Kolo Koka as an amatuer. You won't wanna miss
this as these two young stallons meet up in the ring.
PFC 3 News
Pa'aluhi Returns
Waianae's David "Kawika" Pa'aluhi, who K.O.'d Pride
veteran Bobby Southworth, will be making his long awaited return
back to the ring. Pa'aluhi, who was hit with injuries, will be
back.
Source: Event Promoter
Limoz
back in the ring!
WBO Asia
Pacific Welterweight Championship
Sheraton Waikiki Hawaii Ballroom, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 17, 2003
7:30PM
Teddy Limoz, Jr.
(WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight Champion, 9-1, 8 KO's)
vs.
Wat Vor Wutinun
(Thailand's #2 Welterweight, 10th ranked by WBO, 11-3, 8 KO's)
Dustin Kim (18-5, 10 KO's)
vs.
Orose Muengpimile (11-3, 6 KO's)
Plus prelims.
Klitschko
targets upset
Vitali Klitschko says he should not be underestimated Vitali
Klitschko has rounded on the critics who say he will be knocked
out inside five rounds by world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
The Ukrainian is a late replacement for Lewis after the Briton's
original opponent for the bout in Los Angeles on 21 June, Kirk
Johnson, withdrew because of injury.
"People
say I am not strong enough or in the champion's league. I don't
care what people say," said Klitschko.
"Look
at my record. Everybody I fought said they were going to knock
me out.
"Don't
forget we are all human beings. The ring is the same whether
you are in Japan, Africa or the United States.
It
will show at the end who can change and be ready to fight on
short notice.
"Everybody
has their strengths and weaknesses. We aren't talking about a
God here.
"I
will give everything in this fight. But I don't want to get crazy
or nervous about it."
Klitschko
was scheduled to fight Cedric Boswell on the Lewis-Johnson undercard.
But
the German-based boxer says he will be ready to take on the WBC
champion.
"It
will show at the end who can change and be ready to fight on
short notice," said Klitschko.
"We
were both training to fight on 21 June so we should both be in
shape."
Source: BBC
808
Fight Factory Fighters in Gladiator Challenge
Dain Agbayani vs. Chuck Kim, Bain Serna vs. Harris Sariento,
George Evangelista vs. Tripson Kerisiano and James Neuarez vs.
Tim Tynan in Gladiator Challenge on June 22.
Jamaal Perkins will be fighting Gary Myers and the winner of
this match will be fighting Bobby Gamboa for the World Title
on PPV on Sept. 6.
Source: 808 Fight Factory
Wrestling
Now Offered At AKA; Purdue Team Captain Jon Fitch Instructing
by: Joseph Cunliffe
Wrestling classes are now offered at the American Kickboxing
Academy in San Jose, California. Taught by former Purdue University
wrestler and volunteer assistant coach Jon Fitch, students can
take advantage of Folk-style, Freestyle and Greco instruction
from the Red Mackey Award recipient.
Fitch
has wrestled 15 years, including 5 years at Purdue University,
where he lettered 4 years and was their team captain. During
his time at Purdue, Fitch spent 1 year as a volunteer assistant
coach working closely with head coach Jessie Reyes, and assistant
coaches Tom Erickson and Scott Hinkle. Fitch has worked many
camps and a local club and received most dedicated honors while
at Purdue. Fitch graduated with a degree in PE and an Indiana
state teaching license. “This guy is the real deal and he
is definitely a horse at wrestling,” says Miguel Iturrate,
matchmaker for HOOKnSHOOT.
Instruction
is open to people over the age of 13 Fitch says, “to show
more in-depth techniques and concepts.” Although Fitch is
a professional MMA fighter, you do not have to be one to take
wrestling instruction, but private lessons can be specialized
to what the student wants to learn. “I will be teaching
as much technique as I can, with positioning and concepts too,”
said Fitch, who will look to get feedback from students “to
see what they really want to learn and what they are having trouble
with,” he said, “I will also make sure to teach them
what they need.”
Students
will learn leg attack (takedowns), leg attack defense (takedown
defense), toss, trips, turns, rides, escapes, set-ups, mis-directions,
shrugs, ducks, body locks... and much, much more. “I will
not just be showing moves like most camps do,” said Fitch
“I will be showing people how to wrestle.” Fitch adds
“the class will last through the summer so skills can be
worked on at great length and not rushed” a benefit to anyone
interested. Fitch will also be limiting the number of students
to a class “to give everyone the attention they need,”
he said.
Current
AKA members will benefit from instruction under Fitch by learning
many takedown techniques and concepts to those who are lacking
in that area, like BJJ'ers, boxers, Muay Thai and those with
only minimal wrestling experience, while Fitch hopes “word
of mouth about how good the class is” will bring in new
members.
AKA
is located at 1830 Hillsdale Avenue. Classes will be held on
Saturday and Sunday at 12:00PM, lasting 2 hours and will include
live wrestling. Classes are only $60 per month or $160 for 3
months. Walks-ins are welcome at just $10 per class. Private
instruction is also available at just $50 per hour. “Take
this chance - you can learn from this guy,” says Iturate.
Who
better to learn from then a licensed teacher, a stand out player,
a university team captain and an assistant coach? For more information,
e-mail Fitch at caveman142@hotmail.com
Source: ADCC
6/13/03
Quote
of the Day
"Persistence takes a focus that doesn't see the obstacles
but only sees the opportunity.
Doug Firebaugh President/CEO, Passionfire International
Super
Brawl 30: Size Does Matter Results
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
July 13, 2003
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
The
final eight fighters of the Extreme Challenge/SuperBrawl Middleweight
tournament series went to battle and two very large gentlemen
beat their opponents to put them on a collision course for a
future match. As is the case with a lot of tournaments, fighters
drop out for various reasons and are replaced. The objective
of this tournament was to hopefully provide fighters for the
UFC's middleweight class. Currently there are very few top fighters
in the UFC at that weight and they are in need of more depth
in the line up. There were some favorites going in, but they
were taken out early and a lot of people forgot about a fighter
that has been quietly making a name for himself and honing his
skills over the years, Joe Doerkson. Doerkson looked invincible,
with the exception of a tough exchange with Brandan Sequin, Doerkson
dominated the competition. Other stars of the tournament were
fellow Canadian, Dennis Kang, whose timing, takedowns and grappling
was impeccable. Another standout was local boy, Kaipo Kalama.
Kalama knocked out Goulet and then had a war with Kang. Andre
"The Chief" Roberts made short work of Jonathan Ivey,
who to his credit, took the fight on days notice and when no
one else would. Finally, Cabbage literally squeaked out a victory
by the slimmest margins over a very tough Justin Eilers. Many
of the Hawaii fans thought that Eilers should have won it with
his devastating over hand rights that landed almost every time
by booing when Cabbage was given the decision.
Extreme
Challenge/SuperBrawl Middleweight Tournament: A Bracket Semi
Finals
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Jason Miller def. Jay Buck
Split Decision [(29-28), (28-29), (29-28)] after 3 rounds.
Joe
Doerksen def. Desi Miner
Submission via rear naked choke at 2:20 minutes in Round 1.
Extreme
Challenge/SuperBrawl Middleweight Tournament: B Bracket Semi
Finals
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Dennis Kang def. Brendan Seguin
Submission via arm bar from the guard at 2:22 minutes in Round
1.
Kaipo
Kalama def. Jonathan Goulet
KO at 12 seconds in Round 1.
Extreme
Challenge/SuperBrawl Middleweight Tournament: A Bracket Finals
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Joe Doerksen def. Jay Buck*
*Jay Buck replaced Jason Miller due to a broken hand.
KO via kick to the head at 41 seconds in Round 1.
Extreme
Challenge/SuperBrawl Middleweight Tournament: B Bracket Finals
3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Dennis Kang def. Kaipo Kalama
Majority decision [(29-29), (30-27), (30-27)] after 3 rounds.
Feature
bout:
Andre Roberts def. Jonathan Ivey
Submission via tap out due to elbows from the cross position
at 1:38 minutes in Round 1.
Extreme
Challenge/SuperBrawl Middleweight Tournament Finals
3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Joe Doerksen def. Brendan Seguin*
*Brandan Sequin replaced Denis Kang due to a dislocated knee.
TKO via referee stoppage due to punches from the mount at 2:14
minutes in Round 1.
RN
Vale Tudo 2 this Friday, Vitor Belfort Looking for Seminars,
"The Axe Murderer" at PRIDE GP & Cacareco Out of
RVT!
The
Brazilian Beat:
By Eduardo Alonso
Now that
the two biggest events of June are already history, Brazil is
now focusing on the next challenges to come up. UFC 43 brought
plenty of joy for Brazilian fighters, as Pedro Rizzo and Vitor
Belfort both scored great victories in their fights. Now, back
in Brazil the two NHB fighters are as happy as ever and already
planning their next steps. Speaking of steps, PRIDE superstar
Wanderlei Silva is also taking a major step in entering the PRIDE
Middleweight GP, and Alexandre Cacareco takes a delicate step
leaving his long time team in Ruas Vale Tudo. Since NHB is now
in a frenzy in Brazil, with new shows appearing all the time,
June is no different as RN Vale Tudo comes in this Friday with
its second edition, proving the sport is more than alive at the
country's Northeast. With no further delay, enjoy your share
of news as Full Contact fighter enters June delivering its usual
Beat, as the Brazilian Valentine's day week comes to an end in
Vale Tudo rhythm!
2003 Abu Dhabi World Wrestling Championship two-time runner-up,
and one of the best submission wrestlers in Brazil, Alexandre
Cacareco, left the Ruas Vale Tudo team in a surprising move.
Cacareco is now training under the guidance of Jiu-Jitsu master
Osvaldo Alves, and wanted to make sure it was a professional
decision, based on his last performances and seeking the development
of his career. This was strictly a business decision, there were
no fights with his former RVT teammates and they are still friends.
Speaking
of submission wrestling, plenty of events are still popping up
all the time in Brazil. September will have another edition of
the already famous Cyclone Cup, which will include some of the
best names of this sport in Brazil. UFC veteran Alexandre "Café"
Dantas will be among those in the show, as well as Marcio Feitosa
and Fredson Paixao. Smaller events are also going on, as the
Carcelo Sound Cup, taking place in Bangu, in Rio de Janeiro counting
with several weight divisions and giving younger fighters a chance
to perform as well.
Talks
are flying around about Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro's next fight at
the AFC event in July. Despite rumors about a fight between Shaolin
and fellow countryman Junior Buscape, it looks like Vitor Ribeiro
will indeed face a Russian fighter, trying to keep his winning
streak alive at the American NHB show. Shaolin is currently in
Rio de Janeiro training hard and getting ready to the task.
In
a strange and confusing situation, after being with the Chute
Boxe team for a extremely short while, Brazilian Northeast talent
Tiago Pitbull was now announced as part of the American Top Team!
Tiago, who was a stand out at Bitetti Combat 1 and 2, joined
the Chute Boxe team in April in what was a dream come trough,
according to the young fighter. However he left the team only
a few days after, due to health problems in his family. As time
went by he never got back to Chute Boxe, and now he was announced
as an American Top Team member. Despite anything else regarding
the situation, Tiago Pitbull is surely very talented and is a
good addition, skills-wise, to any team in the world.
K-1
Brazil promoter Sergio Batarelli is now in the process of scouting
talents for his two next K-1 shows in Brazil. The events will
likely take place in September and October of this year, being
one of them a heavyweight tournament, and the other one a lightweight
tournament like K-1 World Max. As always all the process of scouting
is followed by the Japanese K-1 organization, and Batarelli is
looking for aggressive fighters for both shows.
Chute
Boxe team superstar Wanderlei Silva is going to compete at PRIDE's
Middleweight Grand Prix in August! Even being the event Middleweight
Champion "The Axe Murderer" is eager to fight the best
in his class, and accepted to compete in the show. Already back
in Brazil, after attending PRIDE 26 as a cornerman for his teammate
Anderson Silva, Wanderlei told FCF he is training hard for the
fights, and is looking to face Quinton Jackson during the tournament.
When asked about the toughness of the competition he is getting
himself into, the Chute Boxe fighter just smiled in his usual
style, saying he doesn't fear competition and is looking to make
instant impact as he steps in the PRIDE GP ring.
Vitor
Belfort finally got back to Brazil after his impressive win at
UFC 43. Vitor, who came back to the octagon in great style beating
tough Marvin Eastman in little more than one minute of the 1st
round, took time to enjoy some free days in the USA celebrating
with his fiancé Joana Prado, and his mother Jovita Belfort.
Now, back to his hometown, Belfort is happy as ever with the
fan response to his performance and willing to take time to do
a few seminars abroad, for the first time in his life. However,
Vitor already has his sight set on Randy Couture and the September
UFC, and he plans to start training for it as soon as possible,
likely after his seminars.
Another
UFC fighter that is also back in Brazil is Pedro Rizzo. "The
Rock" returned this past Sunday and is obviously very happy
with his second win in his career against Tra Telligman. Rizzo
told FCF that he is not just happy because of the win, but because
of how the fight unfolded and the way he performed. According
to Pedro he is now going to be aggressive and try to press the
fight in all his outings, cause he got mad with himself in his
last bouts and believe that he was now finally able to unleash
his game better in UFC 43. The RVT talent also went on to say
that this win is not enough and he plans to prove to the fans,
and mostly to himself, that he is game again by fighting against
as soon as possible in that aggressive manner, whether it'll
be against Cabagge, McGee, Sylvia or even Vladdy again.
After
Argentina, Peru is the next South American country to enter the
NHB world, following Brazil's footspets, and hold an NHB show!
Big Time, the name of the show, will take place in early July
in Peru, and will count with seven students of Royler Gracie
black belt Admilson Juquinha. Although most of the Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu fighters taking part in the show are newcomers, one
experienced one is also going to represent Brazil in the event,
Alexandre Ribeiro who already won three NHB fights in Brazil.
Speaking
of NHB, there will be plenty of action going on this Friday at
Brazil's Northeast, with RN Vale Tudo 2! The show will happen
in the gorgeous city of Natal, at the Sports Palace arena. Counting
with two four men tournaments, one below 72kg and another below
82kg, the show will also have two superfights. In the superfights
Bitetti Combat 2 winner Wallace Kociansky, who is a Chute Boxe
black belt who lives in Natal, will face a fighter called "Bam
Bam", and Junior will face Chicao, from Buda Team. In the
up to 82kg brackets the action promises to be heated with BC
veterans Rivanio Aranha, Lokinha and Brazil's northeast stand
outs Bolinho and Neto Barruada. According to promoter Conrado
Carlos, the standouts of the show will have a spot at his next
big event in the coming months.
Source: FCF
Zuffa
Declares Ortiz Champion
Las Vegas, June 13, 2003…The light heavyweight division
in the Ultimate Fighting Championship is heating up. After Randy
Couture (8-4-0 in mixed martial arts) of Portland, Ore., won
the interim light heavyweight championship with a technical knockout
victory over Chuck Liddell (11-2-0) of San Luis Obispo, Calif.,
at 2:40 of the third round last Friday in the main event of UFC
43: Meltdown, the division instantly became one of the best in
mixed martial arts.
When
light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz (13-2-0) of Huntington
Beach, Calif., told the UFC he was injured and unable to fight
in the last two events, UFC officials scheduled the Liddell-Couture
fight because Liddell was the number one light heavyweight contender.
Ortiz
continues as the light heavyweight champion and UFC officials
said they are working to schedule a fight between Ortiz and Couture
for the undisputed UFC light heavyweight championship.
“The
UFC light heavyweight division is jam packed with some of the
toughest fighters in the world. With Tito as the champion, Randy
now the interim champ and with Chuck, Vitor Belfort and Rich
Franklin as top contenders, fans should get ready for some amazing
fights in our upcoming events,” said Dana White, UFC president.
Source: Shedog
Couture
is the Champ, But So is Tito
A Deeper Look at the UFC Light HW Situation
By Mike Sloan
Last
Friday night in the main event of UFC 43: Meltdown, Randy Couture
demonstrated arguably the greatest performance of his life by
resoundingly beating Chuck Liddell until referee John McCarthy
had to stop it. The official end came at 2:40 of the third round
in a fight that was as one sided as a fight could get.
Discuss
Couture's bout with Liddell in the MMA forums
From
the outset, Couture seized control of the action and actually
beat Liddell to the punch routinely, deeply flustering and frustrating
the UFC’s #1 contender. At the midway point of the opening
round, it was clear as to which fighter wanted the interim light
heavyweight title more. As “The Iceman” repeatedly
retreated, was forced to regroup and desperately scramble back
to his feet, it was Couture who was the hungrier warrior.
It
was mind-boggling to witness Liddell, a man so confident and
deserving of the title shot he was gypped of for almost two years,
get his behind handed to him by another man labeled as an aging
former champ on the downside of his career.
Liddell,
fresh off an impressive nine bout winning streak and holding
victories over such top-notch mixed martial artists like Guy
Mezger, Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante and Vitor Belfort,
was destined to become the light heavyweight champion.
After
months and months of being dodged by champ Tito Ortiz for reasons
ranging from injuries to monetary issues (and many believe fear),
Liddell grew enraged, forcing himself on various opponents just
to stay fresh while he awaited Ortiz to sign to dotted line.
Finally,
after so many agonizing months of waiting and getting the shaft,
Liddell received his chance at glory, albeit the ‘interim’
light heavyweight title. However, Liddell wasn’t about to
face Ortiz; he was scheduled to face former two-time heavyweight
champ Randy Couture. It didn’t matter as to whom Chuck was
facing because all he needed was that first horn to sound to
kick off the action.
His
plan was to counter Couture’s strikes and sprawl/scramble
with each takedown attempt. It should have been an easy task
since Couture was two weeks shy of his 40th birthday and lost
two consecutive fights, both by stoppage.
Couture
leaped at the offer and began his journey to become the UFC’s
first ever two-division world champ (Pat Miletich and Frank Shamrock
don’t count due to their titles being changed because of
the altering of weight classes). If Couture had any chance of
defeating Chuck, he had to first get past his lethal striking
ability.
If
that’s not all, Couture then had to worry about Liddell’s
world-renown takedown defense. “The Natural” certainly
had his work cut out for him and considering his last two performances,
factored in with his ripe age, not many insiders and fans gave
him a glimmer of hope of winning, let alone surviving the entire
the five rounds. Ortiz wasn’t ducking this guy for nothing,
right?
Well,
Couture proved everybody who betted against him dead wrong as
he not only defeated Liddell, he tanned his hide. It was one
of the most one-sided fights in recent memory. Every fighter
is bound to have an off night here and there, but this wasn’t
just off for Chuck, it was downright abominable. Liddell could
not clinch his fist around any chunk of a rhythm. He was disallowed
the opportunity to lock horns and deliver the necessary punishment.
It was like his timing was caught somewhere in a distant hourglass
tipped over and then kicked into a muddy ravine.
Ever
leave a cassette tape on the dashboard of your 1979 Camaro in
the middle of summer and when you went to pop that baby in the
stereo, the horror of a melted tape corroded your ears? The wind
breezed through your mullet as you anticipated Quiet Riot to
be blasted, but all you heard was the slow, slurred drowning
sounds of a badly warped album. Well, that’s how Liddell’s
performance was against Couture.
Now
don’t get me wrong: I’m not bagging Liddell at all
and if it sounds like I am, it sincerely is not my goal. It’s
just that he couldn’t find his groove against Couture. Where
was Stella when he needed her? Was it a matter of over training
on Liddell’s part, or did he enter the Octagon a wee bit
tired or drained? Was Chuck shocked when he realized how much
Couture’s standup game improved? What exactly threw him
off?
At
the post fight press conference, trainer John Lewis had no answers.
“I don’t know what went wrong,” he sighed. “He
looked so flat. He couldn’t get into a rhythm. I don’t
know what happened out there.”
Liddell
couldn’t be reached for comment afterwards, but the look
of disappointment on his face told more than a thousand words.
Images of the fight must have been looping through his head over
and over, analyzing every nuance that went wrong, every missed
opportunity and every punch he tasted. For some unfortunate reason,
Chuck had a bad night. Sometimes Barry Bonds goes fifteen games
without a home run, sometimes great fighters have bad nights.
Friday night was Liddell’s, a superb fighter, bad night.
On
the flip side, however, it was Couture’s dream night. Everything
he did went according to plan. He could do no wrong. He was able
to score repeated knockdowns and when he succeeded in doing so,
he was able to deliver the advantageous punishment needed to
gradually break Liddell down. His standup game was at another
level, one we’ve never witnessed to that full of a degree
before. And pushing 40 years old, Couture’s combos not only
had snap and zing, they had speed. Those were by far the quickest
hands that were attached to an almost 40 year old’s body,
bar none.
With
all that said, it brings us down to the most important piece
of this article: the belt. Or should I say belts. At the post
fight press conference just thirty minutes after the main event’s
conclusion, UFC president Dana White proclaimed that the UFC’s
light heavyweight champ is Couture. He also stated that if Tito
wants his belt back, he has to come and fight Couture.
By
saying that, it sounds as if Tito had been stripped of his belt,
but in reality, he hasn’t. Though Dana repeatedly kept saying
that Couture is the champion, he disregarded all prior announcements
and not once called him the interim champ. So is Tito officially
stripped? The answer is no.
When
speaking to Lorenzo Ferttita, he set everything straight and
declared that Tito Ortiz is, in fact, the true UFC light heavyweight
champ and that Randy Couture is the ‘interim’ champ.
Zuffa is desperately trying to organize a plan to have Ortiz
face Couture in a mandatory ‘duel’ championship bout,
with the winner obviously staking claim at the full title. When
asked if Tito refuses to fight Couture by then, Ferttita wasn’t
sure what would happen, but a stripping was definitely not out
of question.
With
the August 1st Las Vegas show pushed back until September, Zuffa
has an extra month to satisfy Ortiz and his needs, whatever they
may be. Couture says he wants nothing more than to fight Tito
for the belt and if Ortiz had any care for the sport of MMA,
he’d step up. If not, maybe Belfort will get his rematch
with Couture. I’m positive that Randy wouldn’t avoid
him.
Source: Sherdog
Yves
Edwards Talks About His UFC 43 Fight And His Future
Yves Edwards talked about his future in the UFC on Thursday's
MMAWeekly Radio Show. Yves said that he wants to fight BJ Penn
more than anyone else. But, with Penn taking some time off from
MMA competition, his next choices would be Din Thomas and Caol
Uno.
Edwards
also said that he would love to fight Matt Serra and Genki Sudo.
Regarding Sudo, Edwards said that he would make Sudo fight and
wouldn't give him time to break-dance. As Yves put it, "It's
not a night club, it's an Octagon." Yves said there's a
trick to countering Genki Sudo's technique, and he said that
if you want a hint you should go watch the boxing match between
Marco Antonio Barrera and Prince Naseem.
When
asked about fighting Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Edwards said
that he is friends with Ludwig and they both know they're going
to fight each other at some point, but they would like to get
some wins over other fights before facing each other. Yves also
said that it's a good thing he trained a lot for his fight with
Eddie Ruiz, because it was not an easy fight for him as many
people expected.
Edwards
credited Ruiz for having an iron jaw, which might have frustrated
Edwards if he hadn't trained so much leading up to the fight.
When asked how he would approach rematches with Caol Uno or Matt
Serra, Edwards said that he needs to be more aggressive and he
is also spending a lot of time working on takedown defense. Yves
said he's a UFC fighter, and that's where he wants to stay. Yves
also talked about the recent birth of his son. All of us here
at MMAWeekly send our congratulations to the proud new father!
Source: MMA Weekly
VITALE
TALKS ABOUT FIGHT WITH LINDLAND
While in Hawaii for SuperBrawl 30, MMAWeekly's Ken Pishna spoke
with Falaniko Vitale about his recent win over Matt Lindland
at UFC 43. For those that don't remember, Lindland was attempting
an upper body throw on Vitale.
When
they went to the ground, Lindland's head hit the mat while Vitale's
head clashed with Lindland's at the same time, with Lindland
ending up unconscious.
Lindland
has since stated that he wants a rematch with Vitale and that,
"It's going to be September. It's gotta be September."
When Pishna talked to Vitale, asking what he thought about the
incident, he said, "He didn't just fall. I had something
to do with that.
If
you look back at the tape, my foot was on the fence." Indicating
that part of the reason that Lindland landed on his head the
way he did; instead of, executing a clean throw, was because
Vitale was fighting off the takedown and pushing off of the fence
with his foot.
Asked
whether he felt that a rematch was justified or not, Vitale did
say that, "Yeah. He probably deserves a rematch." He
also said that if approached about rematching Lindland that he
would do it, but as of today, Vitale had not been contacted by
anyone at the UFC regarding a rematch or any other fight for
that matter. "They do want me back. You'll see me in the
UFC again. It's just a matter of when," said Vitale who
has hopes of fighting for Shooto in Japan before the next UFC
in September.
Source: MMA Weekly
6/12/03
Quote
of the Day
"Persistence takes a focus that doesn't see the obstacles
but only sees the opportunity.
Doug Firebaugh President/CEO, Passionfire International
Super
Brawl 30: Size Does Matter Weigh Ins
24-Hour Fitness Kapiolani
July 12, 2003
1:00 PM
By Michael Onzuka Mike@onzuka.com
Super
Brawl 30: Size Does Matter
Tonight!
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
July 13, 2003
Fights start at 7:30 PM
The
culmination of the search for the best unknown 185 pounder concludes
tomorrow night at the Neil Blaisdell Arena as Super Brawl and
Extreme Challenge complete their middleweight tournament. Two
qualifying tournaments took place in Iowa and Salt Lake City
and unfortunately, both finalists from the Salt Lake City show,
Tim Kennedy and Cruz Chacon, are out of the tournament. They
have been replaced with locals Kaipo Kalama Miller of Grappling
Unlimited and Des Minor of 808 Fight Factory. The collaboration
of Extreme Challenge and Super Brawl has been extremely successful
in discovering new talent through their two heavyweight tournaments
which sprung UFC heavyweight champions, Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodrigues,
and Tim Sylvia as well as Pride and UFC veterans Heath Herring
and Bobby Hoffman. Falaniko Vitale was almost assured of being
in this tournament, except that the best unknown 185 pound fighter
from Hawaii got his shot in the UFC and beat number one ranked
Matt Lindland. Keep your eyes on these warriors because you may
see any of in the UFC or Pride very soon. All middleweight contenders
made the weight except for Joe Doerkson and Jonathan Goulet who
were in flight at the time of weigh-ins. There seemed to be a
bit of bad blood between Chicago's Jay Buck, one of the tournament
favorites, and Brendan Seguin who may meet in the finals. Buck
already owns a win over Seguin and Seguin has to be looking for
revenge, but will have to make it to the finals in order to cash
in.
Topping
off the middleweight tournament is Andre "The Chief"
Roberts and Wesley "Cabbage" Correira, who is fresh
off a huge win in the UFC over Sean Alverez. The Chief rocked
the Blaisdell in his last performance against King Kong Seraille,
Cabbage's teammate. Roberts is slated to face a short, but stocky
Jonathan Ivey. Ivey comes in with a lot of experience, but this
will be a big step up in competition, and in weight differential,
by taking on the Chief. Cabbage has shown national fans that
he can not only take a punch, but also give them out in his last
UFC appearance. Cabbage faces a well put together Justin Eilers
from the Miletich Fighting Systems camp. Along with the knowledge
gained from one of the best team of fighters put together anywhere
in the world, Eilers was also a division one football player
with a lot of natural talent. He said that he is not afraid to
bang with Cabbage which should make this an interesting fight.
Both Roberts and Cabbage need to win in order to secure an eventual
showdown in a future Super Brawl. Both men are also heavier than
their opponents so we will see if Size Does Matter. Move over
bacon, here's something meatier!
Fight Card
Extreme Challenge/SuperBrawl Middleweight Tournament: A Bracket
Semi Finals
Joe Doerksen vs. Desi Miner 186 lbs
Jay
Buck 181.2 lbs vs. Jason Miller 184.8 lbs
Extreme Challenge/SuperBrawl
Middleweight Tournament: B Bracket Semi Finals
Jonathan Goulet vs. Kaipo Kalama 182 lbs
Denis
Kang 183.8 lbs. vs. Brendan Seguin 183.5 lbs
Feature bout:
Andre Roberts 372 lbs. vs. Jonathan Ivey 252 lbs.
Sport-jujitsu
(Men's Advanced Heavyweight)
1. Jeremy Wong- Kempo Unlimited
2. Justin Nidgion- Kempo Unlimited
3 Alden Simbahon- HI Chinese Kempo
Sport-jujitsu
(Men's Master's Division)
1. Daniel Shioi- Hawaiian Kajukenbo Association
2. Terence Matsuno- Shootfighting Hawaii
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SUPERBRAWL
Preview: BRENDAN SEGUIN!
Brendan
Seguin may be one of the odds favorites to win the SuperBrawl
Middleweight tournament for several reasons. First off he is
one of three fighters out of MASH that are fighting for belts
this month along with James Lee and John Mahlow, all of which
are sponsored by Fury Fight Gear. He was a finalist in the EC49
qualifier, together with Jay Buck being the only two finalists
to actually make it to the Hawaii show now that both finalists
from the Salt Lake City show are out. Finally in one of two losses
in his MMA career he went as far as 4:37 in the 3rd round in
his fight against Dean Lister for the KOTC belt before finally
succumbing to a triangle choke. His other loss was to EC49 tournament
winner Jay Buck.
KM:
What the Hell is this, not just a job but an adventure or tough
job but somebody’s got to do it? Hawaii…my heart bleeds
for you. BS: (Laughing) Yeah. First and foremost I’m concentrating
on the tournament of course. I’m going to win. I’m
excited about going to Hawaii too. Probably the only time I’ll
get there. I’m looking forward to a good hard-fought tournament.
I want the belt and have a good time afterward.
KM:
It’s been about four months since you were a finalist in
the Extreme Challenge 49 tournament. You’ve had four months
or so to prepare for this. Has that been too long? BS: In some
ways yes, in some ways no. I’ve sustained some injuries
and this and that between that time but they were right in the
middle so they’ve had some time to heal. It was also good
because I got to brush up on a lot of things I thought I did
wrong in the last tournament.
KM:
What did you think you did wrong? BS: Minor things. I think I
got taken down a couple times when I shouldn’t have. Keeping
my hands down was a major error that cost me the tournament.
I thought for the most part I was prepared but there was a couple
little things I had to take care of and got it wrapped up now.
KM:
The last tournament breakdown I saw had you in the “b”
bracket and Jay Buck in the “A” bracket. I think your
first round fight was going to be against Stephen Potvin. BS:
It was going to be but he had an injury or something so now I
believe I’m fighting Denis Kang first round.
KM:
Kang’s back in it? Allright! He was really impressive in
Salt Lake City and Boston. Did you get a chance to see any tape
from the Salt Lake City qualifier? BS: No, I didn’t. I haven’t
even watched the tape from my own fight actually. I don’t
know anything about this guy. Even if I had it wouldn’t
make any difference.
KM:
He’s very good at jiu-jitsu but that is one thing that struck
me as a difference between the qualifiers; there were a lot of
wrestling-based fighters in the Iowa show but the Salt Lake City
show had more jiu-jitsu based fighters and standup strikers.
It’s going to be interesting to see how it breaks down.
How are you training differently to prepare for this tournament?
BS: I really don’t. I train the same no matter what. I’m
a very versatile fighter and I go out there and take guys out
of their game. That’s all there is to it. If I’m getting
beat in one aspect I’ll take it somewhere else and just
break them down until I either finish them or the fight ends.
More methodical in that way.
KM:
What impact has the EC49 show had on your career so far? BS:
I was scheduled to fight in KOTC in Las Vegas last month but
I turned it down because this tournament was supposed to be May
9th and that one was on May 16th and you can’t fight within
30 days. I was working on something with Ring Of Fire but I just
wanted to prepare for this one and keep myself as healthy as
possible. Tournaments take a toll s I figured I’d just stick
it out and work for this thing.
KM:
Not just in MMA but in your athletic career as a whole is this
the biggest challenge you’ve faced? The highest pressure
you’ve faced? BS: I’d say one of them. The only other
biggest one was when I fought Dean (Lister) in KOTC for the Middleweight
belt. I don’t really feel a lot of pressure but it is a
big deal with me. I want to do well, I want to win. I guess I
put it up there with any other fight. I want to win, I don’t
like losing.
KM:
With this being a tournament endurance is going to be a great
factor. What are you doing for conditioning? BS: One of my biggest
assets is my conditioning, my endurance. I feel I’m almost
untouchable by almost everyone I’ve ever faced in that category
because I do so much of it. That is one thing that I’ve
learned, to not gas out. That’s the worst way to go out.
I train that probably weeks on end before my fight.
KM:
As far as training out of MASH you have another Middleweight
to train with in James Lee? BS: It benefits me greatly because
James is an awesome fighter. He has a lot of raw talent.
KM:
Getting back to the tournament with the exception of Jay you
aren’t familiar with the others? BS: A couple I’ve
been studying a little. I know Joe Doerkson is a real phenomenally
conditioned fighter. I know about him, I read a little about
Jason Miller and think he’s good all-around.
KM:
After the EC49 show you were looking forward to a rematch specifically
against Buck but what I’m picking up now is you seem less
focused specifically on Buck and more focused on the tournament
as a whole. This isn’t a matter of redemption or revenge
like I thought it might be. BS: It is, it’s about that also
but most importantly it’s about winning the tournament.
I would love for it to be me and Buck in the finals. I would
have preferred it to be me and Buck in the first round. Whoever
it is is fine with me too.
Source:
ADCC
Interview:
SUPERBRAWL Competitor
JOHNATHAN IVEY Note: Team Extreme's Monte Cox is in the background doing
his "La Cucaracha" dance.
This weekend in SuperBrawl Johnathan Ivey takes on Andre Roberts
on the same card as the Middleweight tournament. Ivey has had
a less than perfect career but can usually be counted on to produce
an unorthodox approach which many times entertains the fans.
Now training with Yves Edwards a revitalized Ivey is getting
ready to come out. Main question is will it be this fight?
KM:
So what do you think of fighting in Hawaii? JI: I’m looking
forward to it. I didn’t realize the flight took so long
to get over there. Getting over there I’ll be on planes
ten hours not counting layovers. It takes me twenty-three hours
to get home.
KM:
So you’ve been out in Texas for a little while now. JI:
Four months.
KM:
Where are you training now? JI: Yves Edwards’ Thug Jitsu.
KM:
How is that coming along? JI: Great. He’s really helping
my stand-up and takedown defense.
KM:
In the past most of your fights I’ve seen you shoot in pretty
quick and either the fights are over quickly if they can defend
or the fights get interesting with your unorthodox style. Is
that going to change your strategy? JI: My whole gameplan has
changed. Thug Jitsu is the complete opposite of what I was doing
in Tennessee. The muay thai, the takedown defense…my takedown
defense sucked before. We really work on it. I was content before
being on the bottom and submitting from the bottom but in NHB
you can’t get away with that anymore because people are
just staying on top, keeping position, and striking. We’re
really working on keeping top position and things like that.
KM:
Have you had any wins since King Of The Cage? JI: I fought “Dirty
Harry” Moskowitz in New Orleans.
KM:
How did that go? JI: I beat him in 0:42 seconds by kneebar.
KM:
Back to the leg submissions! Don’t see many people try to
pull those off. JI: Yves is not a big fan of those because you
have to give up position but if it puts itself right there in
front of me I’ll take it. People are more athletic with
their upper body I’ve found than their lower body. They
are used to opening doors and stuff and pulling and pushing with
their upper body but when you get a hold of a leg they are not
quite as athletic with their legs.
KM:
Is this the “new Johnathan Ivey”? JI: Yes.
KM:
I guess we’ll see a continuation of that this weekend with
SuperBrawl against Andre Roberts? JI: Right.
KM:
What do you think of the perception of the “new” Johnathan
Ivey? JI: I like it. I really think it is “new” Johnathan
Ivey. We’ve really been working on cardio. Before if it
went over two or three minutes I was in trouble if I couldn’t
catch a quick submission or knockout. I don’t think it’s
that way anymore, I think I can fight for the duration of the
fight now.
KM:
Can you put in perspective what effect Yves has had on your career?
JI: I can say this; I started as a brawler and I had a lot of
fight in me. As I learned the leg submissions I think the real
fight got trained out of me and I turned into a submission guy.
Yves is putting the fight back into me. He’s all about not
passing up submissions but if somebody gives you an arm when
you have full mount don’t go for the armbar, keep position
and pound the hell out of him. He’s putting the fight back
into me so now I feel I have the best of both worlds. Yves is
totally ‘this isn’t submission grappling, this is a
fight’. In a fight you want to punish your opponent.
KM:
How would you describe your level of conditioning now? Is this
the best you’ve ever been? JI: Absolutely. That’s not
saying a whole lot from where I used to be at. I think when you
were out in Tennessee I went a ten minute fight. I think it’s
quite a bit better than that now.
KM:
I do recall Tennessee Shooto being one of the longest fights
I’ve seen of yours. JI: I think it was the longest.
KM:
Up until that point or still? JI: Still. I don’t know where
Andre’s conditioning is. I hear he’s up to 380. That’s
130 some-odd pounds more than me.
KM:
Here we go again with you fighting people significantly larger
than you. JI: I’m not SuperHeavy but it got offered to me
and I’m realistic. The only reason it got offered to me
is because they don’t think I’m a threat at all to
Andre and I realize that. They wouldn’t have given me the
opportunity if they thought I was a threat to Andre but we’ll
see how it goes.
KM:
The poster this time around does have Andre and Cabbage as if
they are preparing fans for a fight between them next time. JI:
I think that is what is going to happen if they both win.
KM:
Now that you are training with Yves if not for the size difference
I’d wonder if you would throw a monkeywrench in those plans.
JI: I’ve lost my share of fights, Keith, but I don’t
get on my knees for anybody. I don’t think he’s going
to run over me by any means.
KM:
Have you seen any recent Andre fights since his comeback? JI:
No.
KM:
How do you see this going? JI: A 380 pound guy that knows how
to keep his hips out of trouble, that’s going to be hard
to take that guy down. I’m just going to stand and bang
with him. I eventually do want to start taking primarily Heavyweight
fights until I can get down to Light Heavy.
KM:
Personally I think you should drop the SuperHeavyweight fights
soon. What’s this about Light Heavy? JI: I’m going
to be Light Heavy by next year.
KM:
What do you think of this opportunity? JI: Well…they said
they’d have me back win or lose because I took the fight
on a week and a couple days notice when his other opponent dropped
out. They’re not looking at me to be able to come in and
win. Andre Roberts is a big name. He was fighting before I got
started. I’m a big fan of his anyway. A chance to go out
to SuperBrawl, one of the bigger events, if I do pull it off
maybe that’ll put me in a position to fight another big
name guy and we’ll see about getting into a bigger show.
KM:
With training with Yves, when he is training for the UFC for
instance do your opportunities to train diminish in that time?
JI: No, it was me and him training together for that. When we’d
spar we’d spar together, when we’d roll we’d roll
together.
KM:
He did show more of the ground than I am used to. JI: Yves is
so good on the ground I don’t know a tenth of what he knows
on the ground. People don’t realize how good a grappler
he is. He just prefers to beat people up.
KM:
What would you say you bring to this fight? JI: Experience and
athleticism and entertainment value. So many of these guys are
so worried about losing that they don’t take any chances.
Nobody wants to see a guy who is afraid of taking chances and
the fight gets to be boring and so predictable. Yves is training
that out of me a little bit because he’s not a big fan of
that but that’s the way I started and it’s my background.
I’ll still go for rolling kneebars and kimuras and stuff
like that but this Friday we’re just going to stand and
bang.
So
where are we in Ivey’s progression into an Yves trained
fighter? Can Ivey overcome the weight difference with Roberts?
Has Ivey picked up enough standup from Yves to stand and bang
with Roberts this early in his training change? Check out this
weekend’s SuperBrawl to see.
Source: ADCC
DEEP
Making Plans in Japan...
Apparently, there are movements in JAPAN around the DEEP organization.
There is talk of a new organization being developed that is aimed
at the lighter weight classes. A heavy schedule has 2 shows in
2 weeks - DEEP 10th on June 25th will feature the Dave Menne
v. Hayato Sakurai fight at 170 lbs, certainly a marquee bout
in the lighter weight division.
DEEP
11th has announced the main event for their upcoming July event
as well. That event is scheduled for July 13th in Osaka, Japan.
The June 25th event is scheduled for Tokyo's Kouraken Hall.
July
13th Main Event:
Dokonojosuke Mishima vs. Masakazu Imanari (ZST)
The
DEEP organization, a group that has defined itself by using a
vast array of international fighters in MMA (spanning from Mexican
pro wrestlers to Royler Gracie himself) seems to have a more
homegrown feel, with A LOT more Japanese fighters than usual.
Source:
ADCC
6/11/03
Quote
of the Day
"You can have anything you want – if you want it badly
enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set
out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness
of purpose."
Abraham Lincoln
Super
Brawl Weigh-ins Today!
Where:
24-Hours Fitness
Kapiolani
Time: 1:00 PM
Come
meet the fighters that will put it all on the line for this upcoming
Tournament as well as Cabbage and the Chief, Andre Roberts, as
they head for a collision course.
The
times and location has not been confirmed, but if nothing changes
from the last how many Super Brawls, this should be ok news.
INOUE
REMATCH VS SUDA?
Call
us crazy, but don't you get the feeling that when you see this
tattoed into Egan's Inoue's hand that Inoue just may want a rematch!!
MMAWeekly.com
Photographer, Scott Petersen caught up with Egan and Inoue said
he is ready for the rematch between him and Masanori Suda sometime
very soon.
Rumors
right now have the match occuring late in the fall, but there
was no confirmation on the fight yet. Egan said "Yea the
tattoo hurt like hell, but I think you can tell I REALLY want
the fight."
You
think? I don't know too many people with tatoo's on the palm
of their hands! Either way fight fans will be excited to see
how Inoue returns from the loss. We look forward to having SuperBrawl
promoter T. Jay Thompson on Friday's radio show at mmaweeklyradio.com and find out when
this match up could take place.
Source:
MMA Weekly
FUTURE
STARS OF TOMORROW ON DISPLAY IN HAWAII
If you look at SuperBrawl history you know that the winner of
the upcoming tournament this weekend will most likely get a shot
at the UFC. SuperBrawl has always put together great shows and
great talent as champions like Riccor Rodriguez, Josh Barnett
and Tim Sylvia are just three names that became champions in
the UFC. This weekend UFC President Dana White and Zuffa CEO
Lorenzo Fertitta are making their way to the Islands to check
out the latest edition of the popular tournament format. Here's
the official press release and as you can see MMAWeekly.com is
the proud sponsor of this spectacular event.
Source: MMA Weekly
SIMS
OFFERS HIS SIDE OF THE STORY
Wes
Sims had a chance on Tuesday's MMAWeekly Radio Show to explain
his actions at UFC 43. Whether Sims dug himself out of a hole
or dug himself far deeper into a whole is something for each
individual listener to decide, but what we can do is report on
what he said. Kevin Randleman said after UFC 43 that he was training
Sims under Pride rules and that's why the incident happened,
but Sims said just the opposite on Tuesday's radio show.
According
to Wes Sims, it was mentioned many times in rules meetings that
stomping on an opponent's head is illegal in the UFC. Sims said
he knew before, during, and after the incident that stomping
a downed opponent is illegal. Sims feels justified for doing
what he did because he says Frank Mir thumbed him in the eye
at one point during the fight.
In
Sims' own words, "I'm not putting up with nobody's s--t.
I'm there to kick ass, not to make friends." Sims said that
he has a general philosophy that if someone commits a rules violation
against him in a fight, he is going to retaliate by doing something
even worse. Sims said, "You thumb me in the eye, I'll stomp
on your head. You kick me in the balls, and I'll throw you right
out of the cage."
Ryan
Bennett asked Sims why other fighters wouldn't just intentionally
provoke Sims during future fights knowing that he's going to
get himself disqualified. Sims didn't respond directly to that
question other than to say that he will keep the same philosophy
of commiting rules violations against fighters if they do the
same to him.
Wes
Sims also said that he would love a rematch against Frank Mir
because, in his own words, "Frank Mir can't hurt me and
he can't submit me." Sims denied that Frank Mir took the
fight to the ground, saying, "I'm 6-foot-10, 255 pounds.
The fight goes to the ground when I choose for it to go to the
ground." When asked about Tim Sylvia's claim that Wes Sims
has refused to fight him on multiple occasions in the past, Sims
said that he has indeed refused to fight Sylvia in the past,
but with good reason.
Sims
said that the only reason he has turned down fights with Tim
Sylvia in the past is because he didn't want to go to Sylvia's
home turf in Iowa and he wanted the fight to take place somewhere
else instead. Sims also reiterated previous statements that he
originally wanted to be in the professional wrestling business,
and he would still love to be in pro wrestling. Finally, in response
to the fan backlash against him, Wes Sims said, "To all
the fans that have turned against me and said they've lost all
respect for me, I have lost all respect for you."
Source:
MMA Weekly
Alexandre
'Cacareco' leaves Ruas Vale-Tudo Team
O
Tatame Website reports that ADCC standout Alexandre 'Cacareco'
has left the Ruas Vale-Tudo team and is now training with Master
Osvaldo Alves. Cacareco made the decision one week after finishing
as the runner-up in both his weight and the absolute at ADCC
2003. According to the site report Cacareco said the the losses
at ADCC were the final drop and he stated: 'It was a professional
decision. I wasn't happy with the training there, there was no
problem between myself and the teammates.'
Cacareco
is now training under Master Osvaldo Alves, along with World
BJJ Champions Fredson Paixao & Bibiano Fernandes.
Source:
ADCC
USA
WRESTLING WORLD TEAM TRIALS TO BE WEBCAST LIVE TO ENTIRE WORLD,
JUNE 21-22
Anyone who tries to follow international wrestling knows how
frustrating it can be getting results of major competitions.
It is often near impossible to find a broadcast of these events.
Despite
the worldwide popularity of wrestling and its great prestige
as a sport, many of the media 'experts' continue to ignore it.
Now,
however, there is a great opportunity for fans of real wrestling
around the world to view a major event featuring world-class
wrestlers. The USA Wrestling World Team Trials each year determines
who will represent the USA in the World Championships in freestyle,
Greco-Roman, and women's wrestling. It includes only the elite
wrestlers in America, and puts them against each other until
one winner in each weight class in each style emerges.
Below
are two press releases announcing the details of the live webcasts
of the 2003 World Team Trials. If you cannot make it to Indianapolis
for this event, this is how you can see them.
A
high-speed, broadband connection is required to view this live
webcast. So if you were waiting for some reason to upgrade from
dial-up, now you have it!
We
will also be having much more in the weeks to come on the 2003
World Team Trials.
--
Eddie Goldman, wrestlingeditor@yahoo.com
World
Team Trials to be webcast live by LiveSportsVideo.com
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
For
the first time, action from the USA Wrestling Senior World Team
Trials will be available over the internet to sports fans across
the world.
LiveSportsVideo.com
has reached an agreement with USA Wrestling to provide two days
of action from the 2003 World Team Trials at the Indiana Convention
Center in Indianapolis, Ind. Matches featuring America’s
top international wrestling stars can be viewed live from your
home computer.
Live
coverage of the tournament will begin on Saturday, June 21, the
second day of the Challenge Tournament at the World Team Trials.
LiveSportsVideo.com will cover two of three mats Saturday and
all of the Championship Series matches on Sunday, June 22. Unlike
television, you have the control to pick the mat you want to
watch!
This
event determines the athletes that will compete for U.S. teams
at the 2003 World Championships and the 2003 Pan American Games.
America’s best international wrestlers will battle for the
chance to represent the United States this year!!
The
cost for this tremendous service is $20, for a full weekend of
live wrestling all day and night, Saturday and Sunday.
To
subscribe go to www.LiveSportsVideo.com, click on 'WORLD TEAM
TRIALS' and follow the steps to watch the World Team Trials live.
See
stars such as Dremiel Byers, Cael Sanderson, Toccara Montgomery,
Brandon Paulson, Joe Williams, Patricia Miranda, Garrett Lowney,
Sara McMann and Kerry McCoy competing with everything on the
line! This is a must-see for wrestling fans everywhere.
Many
wrestling fans can not attend the World Team Trials in person,
but still wish to witness the best of men’s freestyle, men’s
Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling action. This
new technology allows you to bring the action from Indianapolis
right to your home.
This
exciting program will be available to purchase starting Friday,
June 13, 2003 on www.livesportsvideo.com http://www.livesportsvideo.com
Those
that can not see the entire tournament coverage should still
sign up for the service. If you subscribe and cannot catch all
the action live, there will be an archive of the coverage so
you can go back and watch it at your convenience as many times
as you wish.
With
this cutting-edge technology, you need a broadband internet connection
and a personal computer. If you do not have it, it is a good
bet that someone you know does have this technology. Team up
with friends and family
where there is a broadband connection and watch the best wrestling
live.
USA
Wrestling will provide the broadcast commentators for the action,
providing matside play-by-play and commentary on the action as
it unfolds.
For
more information, Contact LiveSportsVideo at 866-821-7653 or
send an e-mail to Michael J. Raite at mike@medpole.com
Don’t
miss the exciting action from the 2003 World Team Trials, LIVE,
from LiveSportsVideo.com
WATCH
IT LIVE FROM HOME or ANYWHERE...
www. LiveSportsVideo .com
(exclusive to wrestling coverage)
**Will
be available to purchase starting Friday June 13, 2003 on www.livesportsvideo.com**
Tired
of missing the best wrestling and not being able to watch it?
Now,
www.LiveSportsVideo.com will bring the World Team Trials live
to you. Watch it from the convenience of your own computer with
TV-like
quality video and audio.
It
is simple and exciting! Live coverage will start June 21, 2003
at 9:30am.
To subscribe go to www.LiveSportsVideo.com, click on 'WORLD TEAM
TRIALS'
and follow the steps to watch the World Team Trials live and
then archived for
3 months so you can go back and watch it over and over.
Watch
it Live! The best of Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and woman's wrestling!
World
Team Trials ... Pay-2-See ... $20.00 (available for purchase
starting June 13, 2003)
for a full weekend of live wrestling all day and night, Saturday
and Sunday.
Finally you can watch the best wrestlers live from the convenience
of your home,
office, anywhere.
www.LiveSportsVideo.com
will cover two of three mats Saturday and all
Championship matches on Sunday. Unlike TV you have the control
to
pick the mat you want to watch! Simply put ... it is more exciting
than
watching TV.
USA
Wrestling who hosts the World Team Trials will provide Live
Commentators. So you will be able to watch this exciting wrestling
live with play-by-play commentating!
The
World Team Trials begins Friday night June 20, 2003, from the
Indianapolis Convention Center. Our live coverage of the World
Team
Trials will begin Saturday morning (9:30am) June 21, 2003, on
www.livesportsvideo.com then last all weekend thru Sunday night.
Remember,
if you subscribe and cannot catch all the action live...no
worries...we archive the live coverage so you can go back and
watch it
at your convenience as many times as you wish.
With
this cutting-edge technology you need a broadband internet
connection and of course the computer. If you do not have it
- someone
you know does. Grab some popcorn and team up with friends and
family
where there is a broadband connection and watch the best wrestling
live.
Go
to www.livesportvideo.com. We look forward to you joining us
in
bringing the best sport with the greatest athletes to the loyalist
of fans...LIVE.
Contact
us. 1-866-821-7653 or mike@medpole.com
Michael
J. Raite
mike@medpole.com
1(315) 952-9847
1(866) 821-POLE (7653) www.livesportsvideo.com
6/11/03
Quote
of the Day
Learn to self-conquest, persevere thus for a time, and you will
perceive very clearly the advantage which you gain from it.
St. Teresa of Avila
The
Man Challenging DEAN LISTER.... Meet JAMES LEE!
When
Dean Lister returns to the cage on June 29th to defend his King
Of The Cage Middleweight belt it will be to face James Lee of
the Martial Arts Submission Hybrid or MASH Academy. A casual
search for Lee will likely only turn up one fight against Vernon
“Tiger” White in King Of The Cage that resulted in
a loss late in the third round. Why then does Lee get a shot
at Lister and the belt? Besides the facts he manages and trains
the entire MASH team and earlier this month won the Gladiator
Challenge belt in his fight against James Fanishier there is
more to his record than is readily available.
KM:
What is your background?
JL:
I started out wrestling in High School and College at Eastern
Michigan. Then they opened up a kickboxing school on the corner
by my house. I started kickboxing in ’92 and started boxing
a little bit down at Galaxy in ’92 and hooked up with Relson
Gracie in ’92. He showed me some things from Brazil before
the UFC came out. I started training and kickboxing fights and
it escalated from there.
KM:
As far as the perception why you deserve the title shot against
Lister what would you say?
JL:
Through a lot of extenuating circumstances against Vernon I bumped
up a weight class in order to fight him. On the judges cards
I was winning the fight until the third round. At 185, my weight
class, I’m also 12-0 with 12 KOs or submissions (and) I
haven’t had a fight go over the 2-3 minute mark. Vernon
is one of the elite fighters in the world and I was beating him
up until the third round in a fight I didn’t train for.
KM:
All I can find is the one against Vernon in September of 2001.
Can you tell us what the others were?
JL:
I fought in three 8-man tournaments. They were lower events back
in ’99, a lot of fights in Indiana.
KM:
I’ve heard that before and think the perception you don’t
have the experience to deserve a shot against Lister is insufficiently
researched. Was there anything else you wanted to say about that
perception?
JL:
I’ll give you another example. Gladiator Challenge this
past Sunday I just fought James Fanishier who is ranked #5.
KM:
I thought that was you but thought at the time I was confused
or it was a typo. What did you think of that fight?
JL:
I won the Gladiator Challenge 185 belt. I beat him in 2:24. I
collapsed in the parking lot. Vernon was there to corner me and
picked me up and sat me on a bench I fell off from cutting weight,
four pounds a couple hours before my fight. I hadn’t eaten
for two days so I was extremely dehydrated. I was skipping rope
and then hopping in the car with the heater on full blast with
plastics and sweatshirt and winter coat and hat on. I fought
James Fanishier at my absolute worst and beat him at 2:24 and
took the belt.
KM:
Where are you in your training right now? You just came off a
fight but have Dean Lister coming up at the end of the month.
How are you going to train for this?
JL:
To be honest it’s better for me to train like that because
it’s easier once you set up a routine, a rhythm, to keep
it going.
KM:
Basically you are doing the same training from before Gladiator
Challenge as if it didn’t end.
JL:
Exactly. I took it easy this week, didn’t really do anything
intense but I had to work on my guys because they have title
fights as well.
KM:
Are you going to be training right up until the end or the last
week…?
JL:
What I do is have sparring and intense training up until the
week before the fight. Then I do low impact cardio, just kind
of tack it down a little bit, some light grappling, stuff like
that. I’ve really been working intensely on my boxing.
KM:
Do you cut much weight?
JL:
Yeah, typically my weight is around 192 but I started lifting
and just packed the pounds on to like 202.
KM:
I thought Dean competed in ADCC at 205 and have been hearing
rumors he might go up to 205 for MMA.
JL:
Yeah, we’re going to come in abut the same weight.
KM:
KOTC’s Middleweights tend to be better strikers then technical
ground fighters. Dean is the exception to this. Does this have
any effect on your strategy?
JL:
No. Basically I like fighters to prefer to be in one certain
area because we cross train so intensely it provides me to expose
their weakness. Dean being a ground guy, I’m comfortable
on the ground, I didn’t fare as well in the Abu Dhabi trials
but tapped black belts before and stuff like that so I’m
not at risk fighting Dean on the ground and then I stood up a
lot of the fight with Vernon “Tiger” White, one of
the best fighters in NHB. Obviously it’s no secret I’m
going to try to keep the fight on our feet to keep Dean in an
uncomfortable position, try to knock him out because I know my
hands are better than his and his ground is better than mine.
I’m a pretty good wrestler so I think it’s an interesting
matchup.
KM:
So Vernon was in your corner for the Fanishier fight and you
in his for KOTC Las Vegas show against Horn. Was it after your
fight with him that you started to get along?
JL:
We had partied before in Ricco Rodriguez’s room at KOTC
8 when one of my students had fought. We had been friends but
nowhere near where we are now. What really got us close was after
Vernon and I fought and Vernon had got hit by a car. I called
Terry and got his phone number and started talking. He thought
that was really cool that I’d call and check on him after
our fight. He’s gone out here to stay with me and train
and I’ve flown out there and stayed for weeks and trained
out there at the Lion’s Den. We have grown very very close.
KM:
I was wondering if that was a training option.
JL:
We’ve probably trained together about four times since our
fight.
KM:
The name of your team is MASH?
JL:
MASH fight team.
KM:
Is there anybody else you travel to train with?
JL:
I stop by Millennia. We have some local camps here in Michigan
that we cross train with, stuff like that.
KM:
Who else is fighting out of MASH in the near future?
JL:
John Mahlow. Next weekend he is fighting for the KOTC Lightweight
belt, (Note: this is the Albuquerque show 6/14), Brendan Seguin
(fights in the SuperBrawl/Extreme Challenge Middleweight tournament
in Hawaii).
KM:
(Seguin) is the one I thought you would be closest to weight
against. I’m wondering how your styles match up.
JL:
We match up really good; same weight, really tough guy, and we
slug it out every day. Also Greg Mayer. He’s ranked #3 at
145 in KOTC and is fighting on the same card as me (Soboba 6/29).
Tadarius Thomas, a veteran of UCC, Ring Of Fire, UA, KOTC.
KM:
So what is the gameplan?
JL:
Basically sprawl and box. I’m not going to throw any kicks,
keep my feet on the ground so I can defend the shots, and knock
him out with my hands. I’ve been working with Tommy Hern
and Michael Caldwell on my hands.
KM:
That’s what I was wondering with you being in Vernon’s
corner. I thought he trained with Dean but so have you.
JL:
He trains with Dean. Dean and I are friends, just so you know.
We haven’t trained together but hung out a lot and partied.
Dean and I have talked and we are both uncomfortable with fighting
one another.
KM:
So this fight is just business, nothing personal?
JL:
We really would prefer to fight somebody else but Dean’s
having a hard time going up to 205 and I’m a little bit
older and I want to make a hard run, having some big fights while
I’m still a decent age. I got to go now.
KM:
Then where do you feel you are in your career?
JL:
Right now I feel I’m at the top just starting the climb
down. Right now I don’t have the legs or cardio of say 25
year-old. I think a fighter’s prime is 23-27. What you lack
in cardio and explosiveness you make up for in experience.
KM:
To me it’s also flexibility vs. instinct and reaction times.
JL:
I’m generalizing of course because some guys are 40 years
old that could out-cardio anybody any day.
KM:
I’m not trying to start any trouble but so far the word
I’m hearing is all about Dean and his winning the absolute
division, being the title holder even if this is his first defense,
etc. I think it’s partially because it’s hard to find
out more about your record, they don’t know you train with
Seguin and run MASH.
JL:
I enjoy being the underdog. That’s not a problem at all.
Fighters know what people are doing, the guys sitting behind
a computer don’t. If anybody watches that fight between
Vernon and I, Vernon is a world-class guy.
The
fight Lee refers to against Vernon White is King Of The Cage
“Domination”, also known as KOTC 11, from 9/29/01.
Although there is little information on this show currently on
kingofthecage.com tickets are on sale
now at Ticketmaster.com for both this and
the 6/14 Albuquerque shows.
Source:
ADCC
Couture's
Conquest
Who
do you want to win? I was asked.
Couture
or Liddell?
Well,
I said, I'm just hoping for a good fight.
Ah-ha.
I had delivered the obligatory answer and evaded the unwelcome
inquiry.
In
reality, however, my equivocal reply was right-on. I cared about
who won the battle for the interim light heavyweight title. But
I also didn't care.
Part
of me felt the world would cease spinning if a title didn't find
Chuck Liddell's waist. Finally, after swimming through a sea
of capable opponents and tolerantly waiting in the shadow of
Tito Ortiz, he was fighting for the belt. Part of me wanted Liddell
to triumph simply because he deserved to win.
Another
part couldn't cheer against Randy Couture. The venerable competitor
was staring eye-to-eye at three straight losses. Only a rare
blend of guts and confidence could provoke a fighter nearing
the end of his career with consecutive defeats to accept a confrontation
with Chuck Liddell. A great champion was facing a potentially
unbecoming exit from a sport he helped shape.
Who
do you think will win? I was asked. This interrogator would not
be diverted so easily.
Well,
I said to buy some time, that's a different question .
I
said something about Liddell being in his prime and Couture in
his decline. Something about Liddell's superior skills on the
feet, his sound takedown defense. Then I mentioned something
along the lines of Liddell being a solid favorite. Couture was
one of the greats, I said, but he probably couldn't pull this
one off. It was the consensus opinion.
So
who do you want to win then? I was asked a second time.
I'm
neutral, I reiterated slowly and on a very basic level. Impartial.
Doesn't matter to me; I like them both.
Then
the fight started and I began picking sides.
I
suddenly wanted Liddell to win when he fended off Couture's first
attempts to clinch. This was the man who had earned his shot
at the title then watched others step right in front of him.
This was the fighter who had floored Randleman, sent Mezger out
on a stretcher, smashed a shin into Babalu's face, and convincingly
beat Belfort. Among others.
His
time was now, and I wanted him to stop Couture's takedowns like
he had prevented everyone else's. I wanted him to keep the fight
on the feet and pick apart another foe. I wanted to see UFC gold
strapped around his waist. And I wanted Tito Ortiz, wherever
he was, to frown and spit in disgust as Liddell wiped out the
latest obstacle.
But
then Couture scooped up Liddell and planted him into the mat.
Wow. The old man isn't fighting 250-pounders anymore.
Liddell
escaped to his feet, but it was clear that Couture was in the
game. He had that look, that sage-like mystique. It was the same
aura that allowed him to grin from ear-to-ear before his bout
against Vitor Belfort while the rest of the world grimaced at
the thought of his impending beating. He knew something we didn't.
It
invoked in me the same feeling I get at the gym when I watch
the robust old men run the pick-and-roll and give-and-go flawlessly
against their supremely athletic counterparts. Couture possessed
the same clever ability that is exclusive to the aged and experienced.
The only clues to his secret knowledge were his beaming smile
and the dismantling of Chuck Liddell that would follow.
Round
two was unbelievable. Randy Couture, the champion wrestler, was
clobbering Chuck Liddell, the daunting striker, with almost everything
he threw.
In
my astonishment, I became neutral again. It wasn't that I abandoned
Liddell when Couture grabbed the upper hand; rather, I was so
surprised by Couture's prowess on the feet, I forgot about my
early allegiance.
Not
one to jump on the bandwagon, my loyalty returned to Liddell
despite his pummeling. He was absorbing a barrage, but he only
needed to land one of his own blows for the fight to conclude.
That's all it took. If Couture is lured into a standup fight,
this one will end on a mistake .
But
it didn't. Couture wisely mixed his game up, taking down Liddell
between assaults on the feet. He was fighting the perfect fight,
leaving Liddell thoroughly confused.
I
was on the fence again entering the third. Couture was in control,
heading for a monumental victory, and I didn't want to see it
slip away in the later rounds. He had looked great in the early
going against Rodriguez, but that bout turned drastically. For
a revered champion like Couture, I didn't want to see a repeat.
Let Couture put this one away. Let him pull this off .
At
the same time, I didn't want Liddell's moment in the limelight
to fade so quickly. Here was his title shot -- finally -- and
it was going tragically awry. Let the tides turn and bring in
what Liddell deserves.
Couture's
attack continued in the third, and I became compelled to cheer
one of the most brilliant performances in mixed martial arts
history. Part of me was reluctant to applaud Couture as he mounted
Liddell, but it was the weaker half. The punches rained down
and I couldn't help but stand.
Liddell's
moment would be put on hold -- again. His misfortune, however,
was out-shined by Couture's glory. John McCarthy stopped the
fight, and I roared approval of the dramatic ending.
In
the end, the wise old men had left their athletic opponents standing
on the basketball court dumbfounded. A not-so-old Couture had
left Liddell lying in the Octagon bewildered and beaten. I was
disappointed for the fallen fighter, but I was happier for his
triumphant opposition.
Source: Maxfighting
Post-Fight
Statement from Chuck Liddell
First, I would like to thank my sponsors, Black Ice, Lexani Wheels,
Tapout, Sinister Clothing and my friends, family and fans for
all of their support. I would also like to thank Zuffa for the
mainstream promotion of my accomplishments over the past four
years and for stepping up and promoting a TRUE Light Heavyweight
Title fight for the fans to enjoy. Randy Couture kept me off
balance, destroyed my timing, frustrated my fight plan, and beat
me. Randy has now beaten three of the most successful strikers
in UFC history, Vitor Belfort, Pedro Rizzo, and Chuck Liddell.
In my opinion, Randy Couture is the most successful Fighter in
UFC history. Randy is the TRUE UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
and he should be promoted as such. Tito Ortiz’s career will
always have a blemish on his record until he steps up and fights
me.
I
will be back better than ever and quickly establish that I am
entitled to a rematch against the TRUE Light Heavyweight Champion,
Randy Couture.
Chuck
“the Iceman” Liddell
Source:
Maxfighting
GET
2 KNOW: Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
BIOFILE:
CHUCK LIDDELL
From Scoop Malinowski
STATUS:
UFC No. 1 Light Heavyweight contender.
BORN
ON: Dec. 17, 1969 IN: Santa Barbara, CA
HT:
6-2 WT: 205
CHILDHOOD
HEROES: "Dan Gable, Walter Payton and Gale Sayers."
NICKNAMES:
The Ice Man, Chuck, Chaz. ("I used to try to go by Charlie
or Charles but it never stuck because everybody just called me
Chuck.")
HOBBIES/INTERESTS:
"Other than train...watch movies. I don't do a whole lot.
Hang out. I guess being outdoors, the beach, things like that."
PRE-FIGHT
FEELING: "By the time I'm in the dressing room, I've done
everything I need to do. I'm ready to go. I do what I have to
do to get ready, warm up. I'm just impatient to get in the ring.
I know I've worked two months getting ready. Even when I get
out there, I just want the announcer to get out of the ring!
I don't try to stare people down. I'm not big on that. If they
try to stare me down, I just smile."
FAVORITE
MOVIES: "The first five minutes of Way of the Gun. The first
20 minutes of Full Metal Jacket. I like funny goofy movies like
Old School, Tommy Boy, Joe Dirt and Dumb & Dumber."
MUSICAL
TASTES: "Real varied. I listen to everything from Slayer
to country to rap. Clint Black, George Strait, Travis Tripp,
Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr., Dr. Dre, Snoop, Tupac, Cypress
Hill, Pantera, Suicidal Tendencies."
ALL-TIME
FAVORITE TV SHOWS: "The Master - a ninja show when I was
a kid. I started karate when I was 12. I watched that show religiously
every week. I gotta ask my brother (Dan), he knows me better
than I do, Dan what show do I like?...Oh yeah, News Radio I like
a lot."
EARLY
FIGHTING MEMORY: "I remember one time going to watch some
friends box in Nipomo. And the heavyweight didn't show up for
the main event fight. So we had just got done eating at Jocko's
- a nice steak restaurant - I was stuffed, almost ready to puke.
So, they asked me to do them a favor and fight the main event.
I said okay. We were laughing at how stuffed we all were. I started
boxing...the guy wasn't too good. In a clinch, I accidentally
swept him...tossed him on his head. All the boxing fans were
booing. I didn't mean to do it on purpose, just an instinct from
kickboxing."
FAVORITE
MEAL: "Toss-up between stuffed manicotti, good ravioli,
tortellini and sushi."
CHILDHOOD
DREAM: "I really wanted to be a baseball player. After that,
I wanted to open and run a karate school. Now I have a kickboxing
school (called SLO Kickboxing School in San Luis Obispo, CA)."
GREATEST
SPORTS MOMENT: "It's hard to pick one as a fighter. I guess
my last few UFC fights, getting the chance to go out there and
prove what I knew all along...that I can beat some of the best
fighters in the world."
MOST
PAINFUL MOMENT: "The loss to Jeremy Horn (UFC 19). I got
caught (in an arm triangle). It happens. I made a mistake. He
capitalized on it. I didn't think he had it in him. And he did.
He's a very tough guy. I was waiting for time to run out. I didn't
think he'd be able to finish."
FIRST
JOB: "I had a paper route delivering newspapers (Santa Barbara
News Press) after school (age 12)."
FIRST
CAR: "A white Ford Fairmont station wagon. I had a name
for it...'The Chuck Wagon [smiles].'"
FAVORITE
VACATION SPOT: "Considering I rarely go on vacation, let's
see. I went to Hawaii last year. I liked that. Or Las Vegas."
PEOPLE
MOST ADMIRED: "I like for people to be honest. Mental toughness.
That's something you can't teach, so."
LAST
HALLOWEEN COSTUME: "I've worked as a bartender for a long
time, so usually I'm working that night."
FUNNY
FIGHTING MOMENT: "One of my friends (Eric Schwartz), a guy
that I train with, took a kickboxing fight on short notice in
Las Vegas. He was beating the tar out of this guy, chasing him
all around the ring, throwing non-stop punches. Suddenly, he
decided to throw a spinning back kick. But it took him like four
seconds and five steps to throw it! We were all laughing at how
long it took him to throw it. Slowest spinning back kick I ever
saw [smiles]."
ON
FIGHTING TITO ORTIZ: "He doesn't want to fight me. I don't
think he will ever fight me. I am going to pound him if he ever
decides to fight me. It's a good move for him not to fight me.
He knows I will win. I give him fits when we trained. Training
is training but I beat him in every facet of the game when we
trained. I don't know what he would do. He has a very, very hard
time trying to take me down. I actually take him down a lot more
than he takes me down. A lot more. Striking? Let's just say I
could play with him. He knows it. I'm in his head. It would be
easy for me to break him in that fight. I think I could break
him in the first minute of that fight. But I don't think he will
ever fight me."
Source: MMA Insider
Super
Brawl 30 This Friday!
Friday, June 13,
2003
Neil Blaisdell Arena
Super
Brawl 30 is fast approaching. Get your tickets now for the best
seats. Two of the hardest hitters to ever step in to the Super
Brawl ring are scheduled to fight and you know that both guarantee
some huge blows. Also, the 185 pound tournament looks very stacked.
If you have not seen fighters like Jay Buck and Joe Doerkson
fight, you are in for a treat. I am looking forward to seeing
Brendan Seguin and Dennis Kang. These are up and comers that
are already making their mark on the 185 lb class.
Fighters hope to continue Super Brawl history
In two previous Super Brawl tournaments, a total of 10 fighters
have used the exposure to advance their careers, earning berths
in either the Ultimate Fighting Championship or Pride -- the
sport's two biggest promotions.
The
eight competitiors in this Friday's 185-pound tourney at Super
Brawl 30 hope they can reap the same benefits.
"I dare anybody to pick the winner in this tournament...
I know I can't do it," said Super Brawl promoter T. Jay
Thompson. "We truly have eight guys capable of winning it
all and moving on to the UFC. It will be quite a treat for the
fans."
Thompson,
along with Extreme Challenge promoter Monte Cox, have assembled
the field through two qualifying events and some at-large berths.
Fans can bet on their favorites at Thegreek.com website.
Jay
Buck of Chicago and Brendan Seguin of Detroit finished first
and second, respectively in an 8-man qualifier in Iowa... Meanwhile,
the top two finishers in the Utah qualifier dropped due to injuries
and were replaced by fellow Utah competitors Jason Miller of
Los Angeles and Denis Kang of Vancouver, British Columbia.
The
last four spots were filled with at-large berths ... Joe Doerksen
of Winnipeg, Manitoba; Jonathan Goulet of Montreal, Quebec; and
Honolulu favorites Desi Minor and Kaipo Kalama.
In
addition to the tourney, a pair of heavyweight showdowns will
keep fans entertained at the Blaisdell Arena. Huge Andre Roberts
(380 pounds) of Tama, Iowa, returns to Honolulu to face veteran
Jonathan Ivey of Houston, Texas.
In
the Super Bout, Wesley "Cabbage" Correira will face
up and comer Justin Eilers, a member of Team Extreme and roomate
of UFC Champion Tim Sylvia.
The lineup:
A
bracket
Match 1: Joe Doerksen Vs. Desi Minor
Match 2: Jay Buck Vs. Jason Miller
B
bracket
Match 3: Jonathan Goulet Vs. Kaipo Kalama
Match 4: Denis Kang Vs. Brendan Seguin
Semifinals
Match 5: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2
Match 6: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4
Feature
bout
Match 7: Johnathan Ivy vs. Andre Roberts
Tourney
championship
Match 8: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6
Super
Bout
Match 9: Justin Eilers vs. Cabbage
Source: The Promoter
Brazilian
Portuguese Language Classes!
Farrington Community School for Adults is offering conversational
Brazilian
Portuguese language classes, once a week, beginning Saturday,
June 14, 2003 for
the Summer term, ending July 26.
Instructor-Sandy
Tsukiyama de Oliveira
(DOE teacher, member-Hawaii Interpreters & Translators Assn.,
Leader,
vocalist-Mistura Brazilian Jazz Band)
The
Brazilian Portuguese program at FCSA has been ongoing for over
3 years.
Teaching
materials-
Photocopied pages from the textbook, Fala Brasil!
Purchase of two additional books, 501 Portuguese Verbs, and Portuguese
Verbs &
Essentials is recommended. Both available at Borders Books &
Music. Also
available from instructor, casssette tapes of textbook dialogues
& drills.
Please
call FCSA for details on registration & fees. 832-3595.
Located on the campus of Farrington High School, in the heart
of beautiful,
central Kalihi, corner N. King & Kalihi Sts.
