The latest report states that Egan suffered a torn ear drum from
the compression and strikes he received. In Shooto, once a fighter
is knocked down, he is required to have a standing eight count.
As everyone who was there saw, Suda went in for the kill and
Egan did not receive his mandatory eight count after the shot
that put him down and took more shots that ended the fight. Egan
is currently contesting the lack of an eight count in order to
gain a rematch. I am sure that Shooto will make a formal ruling
on this. Once we get it, we will post it.
T.
Jay Vs. Meat Truck Tonight at Gussie's!
Saturday night fights at Gussie's (near the airport on Nimitz)
is going to feature, get this, Super Brawl Promoter, T. Jay Thompson,
fresh off of a successful Super Brawl 29 vs. Kerry "Meat
Truck" Schall who is about 6' 3" and 260 lbs (on a
light day) in a submission only match. I am sure there will be
other fights as well. All of the out of town fighters are scheduled
to be there. Come down and cheer on T. Jay (he'll need it since
he is probably going to be giving up 80-100 lbs) and meet and
greet the out of town fighters to show them what Aloha is all
about!
5/10/03
Quote
of the Day
"So great has been the endurance, so incredible the achievement,
that, as long as the sun keeps a set course in heaven, it would
be foolish to despair of the human race."
Ernest L. Woodward
Super
Brawl 29 Results
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
May 9, 2003
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
Years
in the making, came to an abrupt and surprising end that left
the largest crowd ever for an mixed martial arts event in Hawaii
speechless. Egan Inoue has been focusing on becoming the first
Hawaiian born fighter to capture the coveted Shooto championship.
He came out of a self-imposed retirement to fight his way up
the rankings for a chance at the champion. This was history in
the making, not only would Inoue have the opportunity to be the
first Shooto champion from Hawaii, but this would also mark the
first time that a Shooto championship bout would be held outside
of Japan. T. Jay Thompson went to work and not only got this
match set up in Inoue's home town, he also assembled a great
under card to build the tension to a fever pitch. Originally,
all the best fighters Hawaii had to offer were scheduled on the
card, with the exception of Cabbage Correira, due to recently
beating Sean Alvarez in the UFC, Falaniko Vitale, who will appear
in the next UFC against Matt Lindland and Baret Yoshida, who
pulled out of his fight to concentrate his efforts on the Abu
Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships. Unfortunately,
Ray "Bradda" Cooper had to pull out of his match due
to a rib injury days before the event, so heavy hitter Mark Moreno
stepped up to the plate to take on rising star Kuniyoshi Hironaka.
When everything was said and done, the stars of the night were
Rami Boukai for submitting a tough, Justin Mercado, Kuniyoshi
Hironaka for dominating Mark Moreno and Kid Yamamoto for demolishing
Jeff Curran. The stage was now set for the main event. Super
Brawl held a tribute and salute to the men and women of the armed
forces by bringing out a representative of each branch of service
and giving them leis earlier in the evening. And right before
the main event, the color guard came into the ring and a Navy
group sang the National Anthem. The crowd loved every minute
of it and showed their appreciation for our heroes. The fight
started with Inoue circling Suda, bobbing and weaving. Suda maintained
his composure and saw his opportunity when Inoue stepped toward
Suda while circling. Suda fired off a right hook that landed
at the base of Inoue's skull. Inoue slowly dropped down from
the punch and Suda rushed in to finish off Inoue. The referee
seemed to hold back stopping the fight in order to allow Inoue
ample time to recover, cover up or defend himself. After a series
of unanswered punches, the referee stopped Suda and declared
it a victory by KO after only 27 seconds in the first round.
Suda celebrated but rushed over to see if Inoue was okay. After
a while on the ground, Inoue sat on a corner stool to be further
checked and monitored by the ringside physicians. Masanori Suda
retained his Shooto title and became the Super Brawl Champion
while the stunned Hawaiian crowd stood in awe of the outcome.
Heavyweight
2x5 minute rounds
Tim Tynan (808 Fight Factory, 1-1) def. Ray "King Kong"
Seraille (Grappling Unlimited, 1-3)
Majority decision after 2 rounds [(20-19), (19-19), (20-18)].
167.5lbs
2x5 minute rounds
Brandon Keen (Grappling Unlimited, 3-0) def. Paul Laga (Bull's
Pen, 2-2)
Unanimous decision after 2 rounds [(20-16), (20-16), (20-16)].
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Rami Boukai (Next Generation, 2-1) def. Justin Mercado (Grappling
Unlimited, 2-2)
Submission via triangle choke at 2:47 minutes in Round 1.
167.5lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Kuniyoshi Hironaka (SSS Academy, Tokyo, 6-1) def. Mark Moreno
(Bulls Pen, 6-2-1)
Submission via cradle neck crank at 2:50 minutes in Round 1.
167.5lbs
2x5 minute round
"Ice Kold" Kolo Koka (Grappling Unlimited, 5-3) def.
Billy Rush (Meat Truck, Inc., 2-1)
KO due to strikes at 4:59 minutes in Round 1.
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Stephen "Bozo" Paling (Jesus is Lord, 11-4) def. Mark
Hominick (Team Tompkins, Ontario, Canada, 3-1)
TKO via doctor stoppage from cut at 16 seconds in Round 1.
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (Pure Bred, Tokyo, 5-1) def.
Jeff Curran (Linx, Chicago, IL, 5-6)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds [(30-27), (30-27), (30-27)].
145lbs
2x5 minute rounds
Joe Jordan (Extreme Impact, 4-1) def. Eddie Yagin (Grappling
Unlimited, 8-2)
Unanimous decision after 2 rounds [(19-19), (20-19), (20-19)].
Shooto
& Super Brawl Title Unification Bout:
183.2lbs 3x5 minute rounds
Masanori Suda (Tokyo) Shooto Champion def. Egan Inoue (Grappling
Unlimited) Super Brawl Champion
KO due to strikes at 27 seconds in Round 1. Masanori Suda retains the Shooto Championship and becomes
the Super Brawl Champion.
Warriors
of the Ring 3 Tonight!
Maui War Memorial Gymnasium, Maui, Hawaii
May 10, 2003
Shaun Saribay (Freelance) vs. Keola Cabalero (Backyard Assault)
Ian
Omalza (Maui Full Contact Fighting) vs. Eric Tolentino (Hard
Impact)
Mathew
Mozocca (Relson Gracie) vs. Josh Kawalo (Backyard Assault)
Kendall
Groves (Maui Full Contact Fighting) vs. Marvelous Tevaga (American
Kenpo)
Alan
Hinojesa (Maui Full Contact Fighting) vs. Mike Garcia (American
Kenpo)
Semi
Main Event #1
Eddy Seafross (Maui Full Contact) vs. Charles Hendrickson (Backyard
Assault)
Semi
Main Event #2
Anthony Billianor (Lockdown Unltd.) vs. Kadon Zimmerman (Freelance)
Main
Event
Edward Ferreira (Maui Full Contact) vs. Paulo Lupi (Brazilian
Freestyle)
Source: Event Promoter
ADCC
2003: THE EYE OF THE TIGER
by: Luca Atalla
Exclusive
interview with Ricardo Arona (part 1 of 4)
One
of the stars of the ADCC 2003 superfight, Ricardo Arona talks
about Mark Kerr, Wanderlei Silva and much more
A
friend of mine promised once that if he became rich, he would
have a band playing to announce his arriving wherever he went.
Ricardo Arona, 24, did not earn money enough to fill such ostentation,
but the way he walks near his home reminds me that quote.
As he goes to Itacoatiara, a beach in the Niteroi shore three
blocks far from where he lived, the pit-bulls Tigra and Ragi
go off in advance. Along the way, they trick the pedestrians
and announce his owner arriving. Arona came right after talking
to every person and calling them by their names. Someone shouts:
‘What’s up Ricardo, when will you fight that bald head?’
‘I don’t know, I don’t know, sometime,’ he
said, knowing that ‘bald head’ is Wanderlei Silva,
the one who holds the Pride middleweight belt, a trophy that
everyone knows he wants. ‘But I will fight Mark Kerr on
May 17th,’ he announces and keeps walking.
‘I think that in 10 years I will enter into politics,’
jokes Arona as he takes a look to the waves that are growing
in the left side of the beach. The spot, full of surfers, is
located at the foot of the steep mount the fighter usually climbs.
‘I use two courses; a straight one, to improve my power,
and a winding one, to improve my endurance,’ he explains,
pointing the hill.
Although Arona does not seem a surfer neither a climber, he’s
really tuned to the environment, a tiger in the Cambodian jungle.
The comparison makes sense. After all, the athlete is obsessed
for the striped cat. There are portraits hanged in his academy
wall, pictures showed in his room, several statues spread in
his house and five of these animals among the tattoos that nearly
cover his body’s right side. ‘People may think it’s
a bullshit, but it’s not. I have an identity with tigers
indeed,’ emphasizes Arona.
That sentence isn’t hard to believe if you figure his attitude
during the Jiu-Jitsu tournaments he participated; or along the
way to his three ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championship
titles (until 98kg in 2000 and 2001 plus the open division in
2001) or at the MMA fights he did in Japan. In all these performances,
one virtue stood alone: his desire to win; or, his eye of tiger.
ADCC
News: Arona, in the next May 17th, there will be one of the biggest
challenges of your life. What do you worry the most in this superfight
against Mark Kerr?
Arona: We both are undefeatable in the ADCC. He is one of the
biggest champions of Abu Dhabi, Japan, USA. So it is an honor
for every Brazilian to fight Kerr. Besides that, this time the
event is here in Brazil and I don’t fight here for a long
time. I will have the crowd shouting for me and I know if I win
I will be the great submission wrestling champion. But I don’t
worry about that. It will be a great fight and I have a big desire
to face him. I know he is very strong, but his size does not
mean anything. I always liked big challenges, and he will be
just one more in my life.
ADCC:
About the strategy: what’s the plan?
Arona: The only thing I have to pay attention is to don’t
let me enter into his game, that game to endure the whole time
of the fight. He keeps saving his gas and making one move to
earn a point or advantage. Lasting five minutes to go, he does
not move and doesn’t let you move as well. He is very strong.
So the tactic to beat him is to move a lot around him. No matter
if we are standing or on the ground, I have to attack his neck,
to try a take down, to pull into the guard, to do everything
I can in the first 10 minutes, when there’s no scoreboard.
From the 10 to 20, the game plan changes. Any mistake could mean
points. So in that period, either you take him down or hold yourself
to don’t let be taken down. Otherwise, he will earn points.
Kerr is very smart and if he opens the score he will manage the
fight and could possibly win. Thus, my plan is to step there
with more gas than him. And then I can execute this tactic.
Source: ADCC
THE
PREDATOR TO COLLIDE WITH THE HAMMER
LOS
ANGELES, California In what is shaping up to be one of the best
fight cards of the year, Don 'The Predator' Frye is now scheduled
to fight Mark 'The Hammer' Coleman on June 8, 2003 at PRIDE FC:
BAD TO THE BONE (the event will premiere exclusively on Pay-Per-View
on June 13th).
No
strangers to each other, these legends of the sport have collided
once before, back in 1996 at UFC 10. That night Coleman was victorious
over Frye via TKO during an event in which both men fought two
other competitors in the tournament before facing each other.
Since then, each of their careers has shot up to astronomical
levels: Coleman went on to win the prestigious title of PRIDE
FC 2000 Grand Prix Champion and Frye became a superstar in PRIDE
FC with incredible victories over the likes of Ken Shamrock and
Gilbert Yvel.
Now
these titans of the sport must meet once again! Coleman looks
to prove once and for all that his previous victory over Frye
was no fluke and that this match is nothing more than a stepping
stone on his journey to reclaim his heavyweight championship.
For Frye, it's personal. Now a solid thirty pounds heavier than
he was in his original fight with Coleman, 'The Predator' is
looking to avenge one of his only career defeats.
And
this is just the beginning of an outstanding fight card! Also,
scheduled: Newly crowned PRIDE FC Heavyweight Champion Fedor
Emelianenko will defend his title against the Japanese tank,
Kazuyuki Fujita and fresh off of his upset of Kazushi Sakuraba,
Antonio 'Elvis' Schembri will do battle with Sakuraba's teammate,
wrestling star, Kazuhiro Hamanaka. More bouts will be scheduled
soon! You don’t want to miss this card!
Fight
Card:
- Fedor Emelianenko (Russia, Champion) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (Japan,
Challenger)
- Mark Coleman (USA) vs. Don Frye (USA)
- Antonio 'Elvis' Schembri (Brazil) vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka (Japan)
(A
total of 7-8 bouts will be scheduled. Fight Card is subject to
change.)
For
more information on PRIDE FC, visit pridefc.com!
Source: Dreamstage
More
on the TITO-LIDELL Saga!
The
ex-manager of Tito Ortiz is coming forth with comments regarding
recent interviews with Ortiz.
Jim
Gallo, Ortiz former manager, is now surfacing with some interesting
facts questioning comments from Ortiz.
Gallo,
who also manages Chuck Lidell, made a public statement that shocked
many MMA insiders this past week.
Dating
back as far as September 2001, Lidell stated 'Tito will NEVER
fight me.'
Gallo,
who had remained quiet throughout the entire Zuffa/Ortiz ordeal,
went public on Tuesday by posting a revealing letter to fight
fans on MMA.tv:
'I
was Tito's Manager during the subject time frame. I have refrained
from publicly stating anything regarding the contract dispute
between Tito and Zuffa because of the confidential relationship
that exists between myself and Tito. However, Tito's recent comments
on this forum waive that confidential relationship on one issue,
which brings my credibility in to issue with my client Chuck
Liddell.
Specifically
Tito states:
'I was training for the Belfort fight and got a call saying that
Belfort was hurt. I never said once that I wouldn't fight the
replacement I had a choice of Vladdy, Randelman, or Chuck. I
remember my manager (Jim Gallo) witch is Chuck’s
manager saying Chuck wasn't training to fight me. So now Zuffa
had two choices Vladdy or Randelman. Or I had two choices. So
I picked Randelman. He pussed out so Vladdy was the last choice.
I never once asked for more money to fight and I had a right
to.'
Zuffa,
specifically Joe Silva and Frank Fertitta, believed that Chuck
was the most valid opponent for Tito. I conveyed the offer to
Chuck who accepted the fight without question on two weeks notice
while training for a 3 round fight.
I
then conveyed the offer to Tito, who refused. Tito stated that
his ankle was not 100% and he needed to be 100% if he was ever
going to fight Chuck Liddell.
Liddell
then told me 'Tito will never fight me.'
The
rest of the 'quoted portion' of Tito's statement is accurate.
We
did not request more money because Tito was a PPV partner in
the Show, and as everyone may recall there was much hype, including
a $2 mill advertising campaign, behind the return to cable. It
hardly made much sense to hold out and jeopardize a Show that
we were PPV partners in.'
At
the present time Ortiz seems to be content to stay at home and
do occasional movies in Hollywood while working on a resolution
with Zuffa.
It
would be nice if all this was just a long time work to get the
fans pumped for an eventual mega-fight (ala Tyson vs. Lewis).
With
more and more mudslinging, many doubt that this is the case.
Most believe that we've seen Tito Ortiz fight for the last time
(at least until the end of 2006).
Source: ADCC
TITO
ORTIZ Hits Hollywood
Tito
Ortiz has his second shot at being in a Hollywood film (his first
being CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE). Ortiz will co-star with Edward Furlong,
Dennis Hopper and Tara Reid in WICKED PRAYER. The film is the
fourth CROW movie (originally made famous by Brandon Lee in the
mid-1990's).
The
former-UFC Champion will play the part of 'Famine,' an evil member
of the Four Horsemen gang. Famine was character made exclusively
for the movie and was not a part of the original Norman Partridge.
Producers
Jeff Most and Edward Pressman will head-up the picture under
the Dimension Films banner. The film will being production in
Mid-June and last most of the summer.
On
the INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE (http://us.imdb.com/) Ortiz is also credited
with WORLD FIGHTING ALLIANCE. Described as a 15 episode TV series
with a credited case of John Lewis, Jeff Bowler and Joe Rogan.
This
could be the proposed WFA show that was scrapped.
Should
be an interesting upcoming summer for Tito Ortiz as he is not
expected to fight for UFC anytime soon.
Source: ADCC
Lewis
takes King to court
Lewis courts a huge payment
World heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is seeking damages of
up to $385m (£270m) from Mike Tyson and promoter Don King.
Papers
filed in a New York City court claim that King prevented Tyson
from signing a deal to fight on the same bill as Lewis in June.
And
they also allege that the promoter prevented Tyson from taking
on Lewis in a re-match of their Memphis bout in 2002.
The
suit claims promoter Don King made death threats to one of Tyson's
friends and bribed another in an effort to get the former champion
to back out of his fight against Lewis.
The
suit claims King cost Lewis $10m by keeping Tyson out of a 21
June card in Los Angeles and another $25m by stopping him from
signing a deal for an eventual rematch.
"What
happened was disgraceful," said Lewis' attorney Judd Burstein.
Tyson (left) and King have been named on the suit
"Don King should be hanging his head in shame."
The
lawsuit claims that King is desperate to get Tyson back on his
books because he fears losing a separate $100m suit filed by
Tyson against him six years ago for allegedly stealing money.
That
case is scheduled to be heard in September.
Lewis'
suit, which has also been filed on behalf of Lion Promotions,
names Mike Tyson, Mike Tyson Enterprises, Don King and Don King
Productions as defendants.
"This
case typifies the sad state of boxing today - a sport populated
by athletes who refuse to honor their contractual commitments
and corrupt promoters, such as Don King, who will stop at nothing
- including even death threats, tax evasion and bribery - to
advance their own causes," it states.
The
planned Lewis-Tyson doubleheader in Los Angeles was to feature
Lewis defending his WBC title against Kirk Johnson, while Tyson
took on Oleg Maskaev in a 10-round fight.
Source: BBC
5/9/03 Updated
4:30pm
Super
Brawl 29 Free Broadcast
Olympic Sportsbook (www.thegreek.com) presents a free internet
broadcast of tonights historic Super Brawl card.
The quality will amaze you! Make sure you have the Free RealOne
player installed and use the login information below:
When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams
that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then
we truly live life.
Greg
Anderson
Super
Brawl 29 Tonight!
Neil Blaisdell Arena
Honolulu, Hawaii
Fights are scheduled to start at 7:30 PM, but this WILL be the
most crowded Super Brawl event so if you don't want to miss any
action, you better leave way early to avoid the traffic and parking
problem.
2003
Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
EVENT OVERVIEW
Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu is a unique style of martial arts that incorporates
an array of ground techniques, such as arm locks, chokes and
submissions, to control and submit an opponent. It is today one
of the fastest growing and most popular martial art styles in
the world. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gained prominence in the early
90's through it's effective in various no-holds barred fighting
competitions. The recent Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships
were held in Santa Barbara, CA attracting nearly 1,000 competitors
from as far away as Japan and Mexico.
In
this tournament, athletes of all levels will compete against
other athletes from throughout the State, U.S. Mainland, and
Japan in a 1-day tournament. Jiu-Jitsu is an international sport
with worldwide appeal and participation that not only attracts
those in the Jiu-Jitsu community, but also those competing in
Wrestling, Judo and other grappling oriented arts. The 2003 Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an exciting event with
an objective to promote friendly competition, goodwill, sportsmanship,
camaraderie, and fun.
EVENT
DATE: May 24, 2003 / Starts time 10:30 am
EVENT:
2003 Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Gi / No Gi
Format
LOCATION:
University of Hawaii, Klum Gym / Honolulu, Hawaii
FORMAT:
1-day tournament / 10 weight classes
Gi and No Gi Format
White, blue, purple, brown and black belt categories in each
weight class
TICKETS:
$5 for adults / Children under 10 free
ENTERTAINMENT:
Martial arts (Capoera) demonstration by SENZALA
AUDIENCE:
Open to the general public.
CONTACT:
James Tanaka at 223-9363 / E-Mail at JKT@lava.net
Registration:
Each individual competing must turn in a separate individual
competitor's registration sheet along with $40 (checks should
be made payable to: Romolo Barros).
Disputes:
The competition will be single elimination. Each first place
showing will receive three team points and each second place
will receive one team point.
Prizes:
All athletes in first and second places will receive gold and
silver medals respectively.
Trophies will be awarded to the top three schools.
Gi
/ No Gi Competition Information:
" Weight Classes:
Rooster 110-122 lbs.
Super Feather 123-135 lbs.
Feather 136-148 lbs.
Light 149-161 lbs.
Middle 162-174 lbs.
Light Heavy 175-187 lbs.
Heavy 188-201 lbs.
Super Heavy 202-214 lbs.
Free Weight Open
" Match Points:
Flips 2 points
Knee on the belly 2 points
Mount position 4 points
Scissors 2 points
Passing the guard 3 points
Taking the back 4 points
Gi
Time Limits
White Belt
Kids: 3 minutes
5 minutes
4 minutes
Yellow Belt
4 minutes
Blue Belt
Adult:6 minutes
Masters:5 minutes
Purple Belt
Adult:7 minutes
Masters:6 minutes
Brown Belt
Adult:8 minutes
Masters:7 minutes
No
Gi Time Limits:
Novice (2 yrs or less training.)
Adult: 6 minutes
Masters:5 minutes
Advanced (3 yrs or more training.)
Adult: 7 minutes
Masters:6 minutes
Miscellaneous Information:
All
"Gi" competitors must compete with a clean Gi.
All competitors who fail to appeal when their name is called
will forfeit the match.
Rules workshop prior to start of competition.
The information may be amended or changed at any time.
Proceeds to benefit Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Youth Education Scholarships.
Hoping
for ADCC 2003 Glory:
66-76.9kg Brazilian Trials champion, Daniel Morais (Gracie Humaita)
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Can you introduce yourself for the readers? Daniel Moraes-
I started practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the age of 6 years
old and I am black-belt since 2001. My titles are two times Brazilian
champ, two times World champ, three times state of Rio champ,
and two times Pan Arms champ. My profile is 1,75cm, 77kg and
21 years old.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Who did give you the black-belt? Daniel Moraes- Royler
Gracie and Marcelo Clemente.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- I know that the Moraes family has a good friendship with
the Gracie's. Was this the reason which made you to become a
Jiu Jitsu fighter? Daniel Moraes- For sure it was that. My father
is a purple-belt under Relson and my godfather (Jose Moraes)
is a black-belt. When I started in Jiu Jitsu I loved soccer too,
but my father always encouraged me to fight and I began to win
titles in Jiu Jitsu, what made my interest for the Jiu Jitsu
grow more.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- In what age did you show more interest in Jiu Jitsu?
Daniel Moraes- At the age of 15 when Royler Gracie came to teach
Jiu Jitsu close to my home. Besides my father and my uncle who
started training with Royler, my all friends started too. So
I started to train with more seriousness.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Do you represent Gracie Humaita or Team Marcelo
Clemente? Daniel Moraes- In reality I train with Clemente nowadays,
he is my coach and he has motivated me alot for this ADCC2003.
Royler was the master who I started to learn Jiu Jitsu with,
he was the base the beginning. I do not train much with Royler
lately, but I represent Gracie Humaita, which is my team.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- When did you decide to fight without a gi and why? Daniel
Moraes- I began to train without gi when Royler took part in
his first ADCC competition in 1999. I realized that training
without gi was adding more skills to my game and when I took
part in my first Submission Grappling event in 2000 or 2001 -
I am not sure - and I lost a close fight to Marcio Feitosa (ADCC2001
champ.), since then I have dedicated myself to no gi events.
I added wrestling with Darrel Gholar and conditioning with Paulo
Caruso, these two new ways in my life have improved my game a
lot with gi too.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Which benefits did Wrestling give you? Daniel Moraes-
I liked this fight and this incorporated itself good on my game.
I trained with Wrestling expert and our trainings were tough.
I got strength in my legs and my on the feet and on the mat game(top
or bottom) improved due to Wrestling.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Did you have any problem in adapting your gi game for
no
gi?Daniel Moraes- The usual differences, meantime I never desisted
training. I love gi and no gi competitions.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Do you intend to practice both (Submission and Jiu Jitsu)?
Daniel Moraes- I do not have troubles on that. I just need to
share the training when the competitions arise. It is impossible
to train both if you are focusing MUNDIALS of Jiu Jitsu or ADCC.
You need to dedicate yourself to one way of training, I think
I have a point in my favor because with 2 months of training
I got the verge on what I am focusing, Submission or Jiu Jitsu.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Besides ADCC Brazilian Trials, you had fought only in
two Submission Grappling events (Copa Tijuca and Copa NitFight)
here in Brazil, while outside of Brazil you fought more than
5 times. Was this your wish or did not you plan it that way?
Daniel Moraes- I think happened naturally, I did not plan. I
fought more outside of Brazil and almost nobody paid attention
to this. I already beat Barret Yoshida in Hawai by 11-0 and he
always is very well ranked in ADCC. Only those who are close
to me know my potential, and then I delayed a bit on showing
my value to all. Anyway, these international events gave me a
lot of experience and while the insiders and fans picked Fernando
'Terere' (Masters JJ/BFC) and Luis 'Buscape' Junior (UA Fight
Team) to win the Brazilian Trials in under 76kg. I came without
any favoritism and captured that honor.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- About Brazilian Trials, did you expect an invite to compete
there or was it a surprise? Daniel Moraes- I did not expect.
I was focused on fighting Marcio Feitosa at the Dale Eanhardt
Jr. Grappling Classic; and there were rumors which I would not
be invited to fight in the Trials. So I trained a lot to try
to beat Feitosa who is the last ADCC champion, maybe if I beat
him I would be invited. However Feitosa did not agree with the
purse and the promoters put Jorge Gurgel to fight against me
in the USA. At same time, Marcello 'Tetel' Andrade called me
and told me I was in ADCC Trials. Like I said before, I was so
trained because my deal was to beat Feitosa and to conquer a
place on ADCC2003 due to that.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- So you learned not to believe to much in the rumors!
Daniel Moraes- [laughs] I learned, to be sure.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- So what kind of tactic did you adopt in the Trials since
you were preparing yourself for fight in another event where
you only wouldfight once? Daniel Moraes- I did not get the invite
so close of the event, I was trained, however I was not feeling
myself nice on that day. For the first time in my life I was
not excited about the fights. During I slept on the car during
the course to AABB Lagoa, it was strange for me. But when they
called me to face Johil de Oliveira (BUDOKAN) in first round,
the adrenaline was in my veins. My plan in ADCC Brazilian Trials
was to fight on the bottom, using my takedowns because the rules
favor this technique. Takedowns was what I trained more and added
to my game.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- The fact you were not the favorite, did this work to
your advantage? Daniel Moraes- I think so. I always like this
kind of situation, I agree gave me double adrenaline to fight
against 'Terere' (5x times World JJ champ), Johil (NHB veteran)
and Marcelo Garcia (multiple times Jiu Jitsu champ). However
the responsibility is with them, so I fight free.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- What can you comment about your fights? Daniel Moraes-
I beat Johil by 21-0, there are no comments about that fight
the score speaks for itself. 'Terere' was my following opponent
and I played a smart game to take him down at the right moment
and to keep him on the bottom. In the final against Garcia, I
was not confident enough to shoot for a takedown. I was careful
about his guillotine. I try to play that game for awhile, which
made the fight to be a little bit boring, he was punished by
a -1 when he sat down on the mat early in the fight. I did not
want to expose myself, then I administered that advantage until
the final whistle. I had told you before I was not fine on that
day and I did not want to lose that opportunity.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- During the Trials, in which fight did you execute your
game plan better? Daniel Moraes- I can not choose one, each fight
was a different fight. Meantime I had to annul the sweep of half
guard from Garcia and 'Terere' because they are dangerous at
this movement.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- After the Trials you did fight in Dale Eanhardt Jr. Grappling
Classic and Arnold Submission. Did not you fear an injury? Daniel
Moraes- In the Eanhardt event no, because it was only one fight
and for me it sounds like training. In the Arnold event, I knew
that I could get an injury, but I put in my mind that this would
be a good test for me. I have to make a different game plan from
that which I had at the Trials. I fought a lot on the bottom
against US wrestlers. I made 4 fights and I lost in the finals
to Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro via takedown.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- I noticed that you only fight submission with t-shirt.
Is there any special reason? Daniel Moraes- No special reason,
I always fought with it. I do not know if it is a superstition,
but I have won wearing it.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- How is your training for ADCC2003 going? Daniel Moraes-
The same: Wrestling, conditioning and Jiu Jitsu. I have done
some bike, running and mountain climbing too.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Those Submission events you fought were your preparation
for ADCC2003. So, logically, you are wanting the title. Daniel
Moraes- I surprised everybody at the Trials and I can surprise
more at the ADCC.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Did you hear who will fight in your weight class? Does
anyone worry you? Daniel Moraes- There are a lot of good and
experience fighters, so in the moment of each fight I will make
known my game plan.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- What do you prefer a tough or an easy fight in first
round? Daniel Moraes- An easy one, no doubts. I prefer to grow
during the competition than to risk myself in the first round.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Royler is the great ADCC champion. Is he talking to you
and telling you what you should expect? Daniel Moraes- Yes, he
did. My game plan is the same as his was.
FIGHTWORLD
Brazil- Do you have any thing more to add? Daniel Moraes- The
fans can be sure I will represent Brazil and my academy very
well. I am trained and dedicated to win this title. I want to
thank my sponsors the Gracie Brothers and Charles Henry; and
my coaches Paulo Caruso (conditioning), Darrel Gholar (Wrestling),
Marcelo Clemente and Royler (Jiu Jitsu).
Source:
ADCC
Frye
vs Coleman in Pride 26
DSE/PRIDE announced one more match up for next show PRIDE 26,
today.
Don
Frye vs Mark Coleman
(USA
/ Free) (USA / Hammer House)
Already
announced;
Emelianenko
Fedor vs Kazuyuki Fujita
(Russia/Russian Top Team) (Japan/Inoki Office)
PRIDE Heavyweight champion
Nino
“Elvis” Schembri vs Kazuhiro Hamanaka
(Brazil/Gracie Barra Academy) (Japan/Takada Dojo)
New
Pride leader Nobuyuki Sakakibara made several notable comments
on in late April regarding Pride and the U.S. fans. In attempt
to start competing with UFC, Pride will use more American fighters
on their June 8th PRIDE: BAD TO THE BONE show.
The
headliner, already announced, is Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko
taking on Japanese star Kazuyuki Fujita in his return.
The
event will be geared towards the U.S. audience for the first
time since Pride began airing on American PPV nearly four years
ago.
Some
of the names being thrown about are Quinton Jackson, Heath Herring,
Mark Coleman (possibly against Don Frye), Ricardo Arona, Kevin
Randelman and Igor Vovchanchin. Looks like PRIDE will try to
feature their heavyweight division, where they are considered
'deeper' than UFC.
The
show will air on tape delay the day after the scheduled UFC 43
PPV event featuring Tank Abbott vs. Kimo and Ken Shamrock vs.
Ian Freeman.
This
will mark the first time Pride will be seen on nearly all major
PPV outlets inside the U.S. It's expected the show will NOT do
anywhere near the UFC numbers but Pride is hoping to grow as
a PPV entity. Additionally, pride IS PLANNING US shows starting
in January 2004. This is a sign that PRIDE is bouncing back and
moving forward after some darker times.
Source:
ADCC
5/8/03 5:45
PM
Super
Brawl Weigh-In Coverage
Weigh-in and Press Conference
May 8, 2003
24-Hour Fitness Kapiolani
Honolulu, Hawaii
By Michael Onzuka Mike@onzuka.com
Promoter
T. Jay Thompson has really out done himself for Super Brawl 29.
Not only was he successful in hosting the first Shooto championship
outside of Japan, but he has filled the card with high ranking
Shooto fighters, one being Hawaii's Stephen "Bozo"
Palling, Shooto's number one ranked lightweight. Ray "Bradda"
Cooper was supposed to face number five ranked, Kuniyoshi Hironaka
, but had to withdraw with a rib injury so the hard punching
Mark Moreno stepped up to face Hiroanaka. Other than that, the
card remains intact.
Shooto
lightweight number three ranked, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto,
is quickly becoming one of the most exciting fighters in his
weight class and will face Jiu-Jitsu specialist and the well-rounded,
Jeff Curran, who has been on a roll, winning his last four fights
in impressive fashion. "Kid" has been here in Hawaii
acclimating himself to the Hawaii weather and has been at fighting
weight for about a week now and looking shredded to the bone.
This fight is the one to watch. Two highly explosive fighters
that will be sure to push the fight until someone goes down.
The
Filipino Phenom, Eddie Yagin will bring his aggressive style
against a wild card in 6-2 Joe Jordan. The under card is packed
with up and coming fighters which will surely make their mark
in the Hawaii scene which has been a hot bed of young talent.
Everyone
made weight and seems ready for action. Enson acted as a translator
for Masanori Suda for the three TV stations that came down to
cover the weigh-ins and press conference. The reporters asked
Suda if he was ducking Egan because the fight was put off for
more than a year after the original agreement. Suda, through
Enson, told the reporters that he did not know of any agreement
to fight Egan and wanted to fight him. Enson explained that the
Japanese fighters want to fight the best and Suda was in the
dark about any attempt by Egan's camp to sign a title fight.
Along with this fight, the other two fights could be headlining
cards anywhere in the US. I am itching to see the fighters go
at it, especially the Curran/Yamamoto fight.
A
possible sell-out crowd of 8,800 may be on hand to support Hawaii's
most popular fighter, Egan Inoue as he finally gets his shot
at the Shooto title. Masanori Suda has been holding the belt
since January 2002 and looks in great shape to try to keep it.
This event may be the largest audience in Hawaii and possibly
America for a Shooto sanctioned card. People worldwide can order
the internet live broadcast of the event by going to www.Superbrawltv.com
where FCF's own Mike Onzuka will be co-commentating the blow
by blow action with his partner in crime Anthony King. Check
out FCF's website for the results and get a subscription if you
don't have one already to get the fight breakdown of how this
event went down.
Fight
Card
167.5lbs
2x5 minute rounds
Brandon Keen 166.2 lbs (Grappling Unlimited, 2-0) vs. Paul Laga
163 lbs (Bull's Pen, 1-1)
Heavyweight
2x5 minute rounds
Tim Tynan 234 lbs (808 Fight Factory, 0-1) vs. Ray "King
Kong" Seraille 261 lbs (Grappling Unlimited, 1-2)
167.5lbs
2x5 minute rounds
Mark Moreno 168.5 lbs (Bulls Pen, 4-2-2) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
167.4 lbs (SSS Academy, Tokyo, 5-1)
167.5lbs
2x5 minute round
Billy Rush 165.0 lbs (Meat Truck, Inc., 3-0) v "Ice Kold"
Kolo Koka Did not weigh in (Grappling Unlimited, 4-4) Sorry for that shot with the crazy eyes Billy.
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Stephen "Bozo" Paling 142.0 lbs (Jesus is Lord, 10-4)
vs. Mark Hominick 141.0 lbs (Team Tompkins, Ontario, Canada,
3-0)
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto 141.8 lbs (Pure Bred, Tokyo,
4-1-1) vs, Jeff Curran 141.5 lbs (Linx, Chicago, IL, 16-5-1)
145lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Joe Jordan 145.0 lbs (Extreme Impact, 6-2) vs. Eddie Yagin 145.0
lbs (Grappling Unlimited, 8-1)
Shooto
and Super Brawl Title Unification Bout
183.2lbs 3x5 minute rounds
Masanori Suda 182.4 lbs (Club J, Tokyo 18-8-1) Shooto Champion
v Egan Inoue 182.6 lbs (Grappling Unlimited 12-5) Super Brawl
Champion
5/8/03
Quote
of the Day
I shall adopt new views as fast as they shall appear to be true
views.
Abraham
Lincoln
Super
Brawl Weigh Ins Today!
24-Hour Fitness Kapiolani
1:00 PM
Come
meet and greet the fighters that will be participating in one
of the best cards ever in Hawaii. Fighters from the mainland
and Japan, as well as numerous local boys will be fighting tomorrow.
If
you haven't gotten your tickets, get them quick before you are
left out in the cold!
Interview
with Kazuyuki Fujita
PRIDE
Fighting Championships: How's your training?
Kazuyuki
Fujita: It's going well.
PRIDE:
The same training as usual?
Fujita:
Yes.
PRIDE:
What did you feel when you met Fedor up close?
Fujita:
I wasn't looking very closely. He's the strongest guy in PRIDE
and probably the world right now so I've been looking forward
to fighting him. I've been away from PRIDE for a while but I
guess he's the wave of the future. I'm glad that I'll get a chance
at him.
PRIDE:
Are you going to wait until after your match with Nakanishi to
decide on a strategy?
Fujita:
No, I'm already thinking about it. My fight with Fedor was decided
first and the match with Nakanishi came later. My main battlefield
is PRIDE, after all.
PRIDE:
How do you think the fight will unfold?
Fujita:
Hmmm, that's a good question…He's good at grappling and
at striking. I don't know (laughing). I guess it we'll have to
slug it out until some loses their spirit.
PRIDE:
Fedor said that he hasn't seen your videos yet but he can imagine
how you, as a wrestler, will fight.
Fujita:
So? I don't have the belt. I'm not the champion, I'm the challenger
and I'm really looking forward to it.
PRIDE:
Fedor will come to watch your fight with Nakanishi. How does
you feel about that?
Fujita:
The opponent I have to fight will be the one in the ring, in
front of me. I don't know. I hope he enjoys this event, outside
of PRIDE. Maybe he's never seen pro-wrestling.
PRIDE:
Will there be anything special there for Fedor?
Fujita:
No, I'm not doing it for Fedor. I'm doing it for myself. That's
an entirely different story, though.
PRIDE:
You're currently training with Pancrase's Kengo. What kind of
motivation does he give you?
Fujita:
Everyone always motivates me. Not just him, many fighters.
PRIDE:
Are you going to call out Fedor after your fight?
Fujita:
I haven't thought about it (laughing). Maybe I'll think about
it after the fight.
Source:
Pride FC
Interview
with Fedor Emelianenko
PRIDE
Fighting Championships: What did you think about Fujita's fight
(against Manabu Nakanishi on May 2)?
Fedor
Emelianenko: To see him fight with my own eyes, I knew he's as
strong as I had heard. I'm positive he's one of the strongest
fighters in Japan. My manager, trainer and myself watched his
fight. We can use what we saw to develop some training and strategy
against him. We're going to take that material back to my country
and begin training.
PRIDE:
Fujita did a lot of striking in his fight yesterday. What did
you think of his striking skills?
Emelianenko:
Fujita definitely showed some impressive standing technique yesterday.
Much more than I expected. I had heard that Mr. Fujita is a wrestler
so for him to have some much striking power was beyond my imagination.
I think seeing that fight will really help my training.
PRIDE:
What do you think about going toe-to-toe with Fujita?
Emelianenko:
Who would win in a slug-out would depend on who's training was
better. Being the strongest and winning in the ring is a sign
of the level of your training. It's not just an issue of technique
but also of stamina.
PRIDE:
You said earlier that you could imagine what kind of fight he
will bring since he is a wrestler. After seeing his fight yesterday,
do you feel that you need to change your strategy?
Emelianenko:
If a wrestler only wrestles or a boxer only boxes, it's an easy
fight. Fujita has mixed a lot of different techniques as an MMA
fighter. I think that I need to work a little harder on my strategy.
PRIDE:
Did you see any weak points?
Emelianenko:
Yes, I saw some weak points but of course, I can't say them here.
PRIDE:
Did you feel that you can beat him quickly or will be a long,
tough battle?
Emelianenko:
My style is that when I get into the ring, I never assume that
I will win before I actually do. The only thing I am confident
in is myself. I think to assume that you are going to win before
the fight even begins is an insult to your opponent. I've always
thought so and I always will.
PRIDE:
Did you feel in danger after seeing yesterday's fight?
Emelianenko:
I've never felt in danger. Regardless of the match or the training,
I've never felt in danger.
PRIDE:
Fujita is called "The Beast" in Japan. Did he seem
like a beast yesterday?
Emelianenko:
Yes, definitely. He drew blood from his opponent yesterday so
I think the nickname fits him (laughing).
Source:
Pride FC
From
the Mount
UFC 42
will probably go down in history as one of those that provided
some good action, but seemed to have something missing - while
it wasn't a disaster by any means, the spate of upsets in the
bouts dissipated a lot of possible storylines, replacing those
with ones that will be built from scratch.
Luckily,
the UFC has one good storyline intact, and that's Matt Hughes.
It's becoming the most impressive career in MMA, and he isn't
too far from possibly being considered the most accomplished
mixed martial artist ever (we're talking post UFC I, here, not
the 400-0 record of early MMA fighters that were impossible to
verify).
After
an impressive defense against tough contender Sean Sherk - who
was game as they come in defeat after a rocky early start - Hughes
has now made four title defenses, and that ties the UFC record
along with Frank Shamrock. Turnover in the UFC is too high -
guys either leave over contract disputes or they get knocked
off, and currently the UFC only has two clear-cut champions in
five divisions. But Hughes just keeps on getting better and better.
The UFC is lucky he's a little guy and can't use the threat of
leaving for pro-wrestling as a bargaining chip. And with Murillo
Bustamante gone, the middleweights are sorely depleted. Tito
Ortiz is not fighting Chuck Liddell for whatever reasons, and
Liddell and Randy Couture will be fighting for the "interim"
light heavyweight title in June. Just what this sport needed,
an imitation of one of the worst things about boxing, and that's
interim titles. An interim champ is like an interim girlfriend
while you and the sweetie are on the outs, but not broken up.
It's still cheating, baby.
This
is not to disparage Liddell, or Couture. But rather the UFC for
not stripping Ortiz outright for not defending his title. This
kind of rule-bending only sets a lousy precedent, stripping what
thin veneer of credibility the sport may enjoy with casual and
uninitiated fans. At least in boxing you know it's corrupt, all
the belt-stripping, passing around, interim champions, and mandatory
contenders. UFC had better be careful or they will more like
boxing than ever.
You
need to make Ortiz fight Liddell. The same way Hughes fought
Sherk, or Bustamante took on Lindland. UFC's decision to do this
selectively only hurts their own credibility, and it creates
a noxious precedent for future champions to entertain as an option
when their own Chuck Liddell comes along, is a clear threat,
and suddenly they decide they need more money even though they're
still under contract and therefore still an active employee?
Imagine if garbage collectors or cops did that.
I
don't buy that agreement that Tito is somehow doing this to get
more money and it's a good thing, because it will give all the
fighters more money. The UFC will grow because they put on good
fights, not because they send out press releases regarding record
purses (strange how you never hear what guys are making, which
is public knowledge in boxing…..it would probably cause
even more alienation and episodes like Jens Pulver's departure
from UFC, when he found out challengers he was beating up were
making more money than he was). In fact, UFC in some ways is
like a private sector company, where nobody seems to know exactly
what other guys are making, but you have a guesstimation, and
there's a good deal of resentment and envy.
Sure,
Ortiz-Liddell is a much bigger fight 6 months or a year from
now, if it happens. Maybe that's the reasoning behind it, sort
of like when people wanted to see Tyson come back after being
gone from the game and in jail. So much for the meritocracy of
being Chuck Liddell, and knocking off a bunch of tough guys only
to find out you don't get The Shot, but rather, A Shot. It'll
be good enough for Chuck should he beat Couture - a tough fight,
probably - but the real problem is when someone else decides
to do this kind of thing in the future. Call it "The Ortiz
Tease."
From
Vernon White, to Tank Abbott, I've asked several fighters what
Ortiz would have to worry about against Liddell. They all same
the same thing: "He can't take Chuck down." I don't
know that there's anybody Tito can't take down, but what seems
weird is, I heard this right after UFC 41 from a very good source
who had seen both of them train, and it seemed a little far-fetched.
Until everyone else started saying it, too. Suddenly, that's
the line on why the fight ain't happening. Tito can't take Chuck
down? Hey, if Vitor Belfort could, Ortiz could, too, right? Anybody
can be taken down.
You'd
think that Liddell was Igor Vovchaynchyn and Ortiz had morphed
into Fred Ettish. The damn shame is that the fight isn't going
to happen anytime soon, and even people like me, who critique
Ortiz for not taking the fight, would like to see the bout because
I would go with him if forced to pick. But Tito's disinterest
in addressing it gives my confidence in him pulling it off a
limited shelf life.
It's
hard to make of what will happen given Liddell and Couture matching
up. Couture's body fat is minimal at 225 lbs., and it's hard
to see him giving up 20 to fight Liddell. The man is entirely
devoid of excess body mass, even at 39 years old. I think the
weight reduction, however he achieves it, and his age, might
prove too much to beat Liddell. But that's what Randy Couture
is - a fearless guy. And hell, after rolling around with Rodriguez
and Barnett in his last two fight, you've got to think fighting
the bigger stronger guys will be a huge advantage when he takes
on the younger, lighter guy.
Of
course, that's what I thought about Ken Shamrock-Ortiz. In the
end, cutting the weight seems like too much going against Randy.
But the guy likes a challenge and that was all Couture ever needed
to get into the Octagon. Let's hope the fight doesn't injure
the sport's image, because Liddell might play Roy Jones to Couture's
Holyfield, and nobody needs to see that.
Source:
Maxfighting
5/7/03
Quote
of the Day
Each of us is great insofar as we perceive and act on the infinite
possibilities which lie undiscovered and unrecognized about us.
James
Harvey Robinson
Super
Brawl is Coming Soon!
Neil Blaisdell Center
May 9, 2003
Honolulu, Hawaii
The
Blaisdell is filling up fast. Tickets are moving quickly so don't
miss this star studded event of the best of Hawaii on one card.
Get your tickets today! You don't want to miss this event. Suda/Inoue,
Curran/Yamamoto, Palling/Hominick, and Cooper/Hironaka all could
be headlining cards in any event across the country alone, but
all four fights are on this card as well as the ever exciting
Eddie Yagin.
Main Event
183.2lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Super
Brawl /Shooto World Championship
Masanori
Suda vs Egan Inoue
(Tokyo)11-6-1
(Grappling Unlimited) SB Champion
[Shooto
9-5-1, World Champion] [Shooto 3-0, #1 World Ranked]
A
fight that has been years in the making. Suda holds the prestigious
Shooto belt and Inoue carries the Super Brawl belt. They are
both well rounded fighters who have developed Championship level
talent. Suda will likely start slow and began to push the fight
in the 2nd and 3rd round. Suda will attempt to gain top position
on the ground and score points. Suda is very adept at winning
fights that go the distance. Inoue, on the other hand, has been
finishing most of his fights by K.O. or submission. It will be
a tough decision for Inoue, if he decides to go for an early
submission or knock-out he will risk tiring later in the fight.
But if he lets Suda dictate the pace he will risk losing a decision.
Pick-em Even Odds
This
has the ear-markings of an epic battle. He recently knocked out
Baret Yoshida in the Super Brawl ring. While in Hawaii, he prepared
for the fight with Relson Gracie. Relson’s actions (taunting
Baret) after the fight did not sit well with Baret’s Grappling
Unlimited teammates. Yamamoto, ranked #4 in the world is affiliated
with Grappling Unlimited and a training partner of Yoshida’s
in Japan. He has one gear….overdrive! He’s an Olympic
level wrestler who likes to brawl. He comes in the ring with
“bad intentions.” No doubt a win over Curran would
sit well with the GU faithful. Pick’em Even Odds
Feature
Fight
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Mark
Hominick v Stephen “Bozo” Palling
(Team
Tompkins, Canada) 3-0 (Jesus is Lord) 10-4 [Shooto 7-3, World
#1 Ranked]
At
just 19 years old, Hominick has barely gotten his feet wet in
this sport. But don’t let his inexperience fool you. He
is already a Canadian champion who will not back down from anyone.
He is not afraid to bang with the best and has a solid ground
game. He is also known for his tremendous conditioning. Palling
has tremendous punching power and a rapidly growing arsenal of
submissions. He will attempt to impose his will on his younger
opponent. A win here will ensure him a shot at Shooto Championship
belt in August. Palling 2-1 favorite
Feature
FIght
167.5lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Kuniyoshi
Hironaka v Ray “Bradda” Cooper
(SSS
Acdmy, Tokyo) 5-1 (Jesus is Lord) 12-5
[Shooto
5-1, #7 World ranked] [Shooto 7-1, #1 World Ranked]
Hironaka
is another great Japanese fighter. He has very fast hands and
is not afraid to use them. Cooper has K.O. power and a solid
wrestling background. A win over Hironaka could put him one step
closer to a shot at the Shooto championship belt. Cooper 3-2
favorite
You
won’t want to miss this one! Jordan has a tremendously aggressive
style and is not afraid to let his hands go. Hawaii fans know
Yagin is never in a boring fight. He is always willing to go
for “high risk” maneuvers and can bang with the best
of them. Possible fight of the night! Yagin 3-2 favorite
167.5lbs
2x5 minute rounds
Billy
Rush v “Ice Cold” Kolo Koka
(Meat
Truck, Inc.) 2-0
(Grappling
Unlimited)4-3 [Shooto 2-2]
This
should be a great fight! Both young fighters have tremendous
striking abilities and have shown great chins. Both are also
picking up the ground game quickly. The edge in power will go
to Rush, while the edge in experience is Koka’s. This one
will be close. Pick-em Even Odds
This
may be war. Two young fighters with everything to gain and nothing
to lose. Boukai is a submission wizard who is trained by UFC
veteran Chris Brennan. Mercado is ultra aggressive with fast
hands and a solid ground game. Pick-em Even Odds
These
two fighters fought to a draw in there first meeting. Both have
heavy hands and competent ground skills. A win will surely keep
them fighting on future Super Brawl cards. Pick-em Even Odds
Laga
has experience in Judo, Wrestling and boxing. This should make
him a formidable opponent. Keen is trained by Egan Inoue, has
a strong ground game and is rapidly picking up the stand up portion
of the sport. Keen 3-2 favorite
WILL
JEFF CURRAN STAY AT 145?
Jeff Curran appeared on Tuesday's MMAWeekly Radio Show and talked
about his fight against Kid Yamamoto at this Friday's SuperBrawl
event in Hawaii.
Curran
showed a great deal of respect for Yamamoto, while also showing
confidence in his own abilities. Curran said that his guard is
underestimated by a lot of people, and that his jiu-jitsu training
over the past ten years has trained him specifically to protect
himself from punches in the guard from the exact same style of
fighter as Yamamoto.
Curran
acknowledged that he feels much more comfortable on the ground
than he does on his feet, but he wouldn't call it "crazy"
for him to trade strikes in the fight, because he feels that
Yamamoto somtimes throws sloppy punches and makes basic boxing
mistakes.
Curran
said that he would love to be in the UFC right now, but his manager
Monte Cox has helped him understand that now might not be the
best time for his UFC debut. Curran said that he could very well
be ready for the UFC one or two fights down the road, or a year
down the road. Curran also said that a documentary production
company in Chicago has been following and filming him. He said
that he didn't want the cameras to come with him into doctor's
appointments or operating rooms (when he had knee surgery), and
they will not be filming his journey to Hawaii for SuperBrawl.
Curran said that the production company has about 30 hours of
footage, which they will now use to piece together the actual
documentary.
Source:
MMA Weekly
IN
THIS CORNER: CAN WE MOVE ON ABOUT THE UFC?
I will be the first one to say that UFC 42 was a solid fight
show, with bad production. What I don't understand is the fact
that we are four weeks away from UFC 43, the card has Ken Shamrock,
Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Tank Abbott, Kimo,
Frank Mir, Pedro Rizzo and others and we are still talking about
UFC 42?
Can
we please turn the page? Did anyone else miss that the UFC did
sign a decent television deal on the Sunshine Network with 20
episodes? Let me repeat "A TV deal was signed for most to
see on DirecTV and this weekly show has opened the doors for
something bigger to follow soon.
Yea
I know, it's not ESPN or Fox, but still two years ago, were we
even in the ball park or even close to a t.v. deal? What I'm
trying to say is every little bit helps and why it seems to be
in fashion to bash the UFC, folks let's move forward. Yes I want
to see Tito Ortiz fight Chuck Liddell, yes I want to see the
UFC on ESPN or Fox, but let's be honest for a moment. This card
has bigger names that UFC 40, it doesn't have the ultimate grudge
match of that main event between Shamrock and Ortiz, but it does
have more compelling matchups that UFC 40, 41, and 42 combined.
Just
realize this. When Turner Sports, who is based in Atlanta, Georgia,
watches how quality of a "weekly" show this is, I wouldn't
be surprised to see them or another cable network, gobble up
the UFC for weekly programming.
Working
in the television business, I see big wig executives scouting
around the competition for future shows. I wouldn't be surprised
to see a major cable network watch the UFC on the Sunshine Network
and sign Zuffa to a weekly deal. Just being out there every week,
is huge for the sport and currently that is what they are doing
with the Sunshine Network.
The
cool part about doing a daily radio show is talking with the
hard core MMA fans. I'm a bit surprised they aren't even talking
about UFC 43 quite yet.
When
you look at the card, no one seems to know for sure who will
win between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. While this isn't
Tito vs Chuck, Couture is more than a capable replacement. Here's
the underlining fact of this caard. We get to see the return
of the Phenom, Vitor Belfort. If Belfort comes out and hammers
Marvin Eastman, which is an "if", then where does it
put Belfort at 205? Think about it, Belfort might have a shot
to face the winner of Couture vs Liddell. Vitor wants to fight
Randy in a rematch, not to mention most people believe Belfort
was beating Liddell until the wicked right hand changed the fight
in the third for the "Iceman". We see the return of
Frank Mir who faces a man who is 6'10, 255 in Wes Sims.
I
mean when Yves Edwards, Matt Lindland and Pedro Rizzo, all conceivably
could be on the prelims, this tells you all you need to know
about the upcoming card.
Has
the UFC made mistakes? Yes. Do we have a right to be frustrated
with the last card? Probably, but I think we as an MMA world
forget how bad it was when 950 people was the live gate in New
Orleans to watch Frank Shamrock fight in S.E.G. Those were the
truly "dark" days of the sport.
Now
to the emails at ryanbennett@mmaweekly.com
"Ryan,
absolutely love the daily radio show and it is truly the best
thing in MMA today. Do you feel Pedro Rizzo's career is over,
especially with a loss to Tre?" Rick Daniels - Tempe Arizona
Rick,
I thought his career was over after losing to Vladdy. The guy
has all the tools in the world and could be the most passive
fighter in the game today. Vladdy was spent in Round Three and
Pedro just continued to circle and not press the action, even
though he was trailing late in the fight. It was bizarre. It's
too bad because Pedro has the tools to dominate the heavyweight
division. With that said, if he KO's Tra, then who knows, maybe
we see him against another name guy and he can resurrect his
career once again with a couple of wins. For now though he still
has a couple of UFC fights on his contract and becomes the world's
most expensive prelim fighter.
"What's
the latest on the Tito situation?" Chris Ally - Toronto,
Canada
The
latest is that Ortiz is currently shooting the next installment
of the "Crow" movies and will take up acting to pay
the bills until a deal can be reached between him and the UFC.
They haven't talked in weeks at last check. I wouldn't be surprised
to see Tito sit it out until Christmas.
"Will
Takanori Gomi fight in the UFC anytime soon?" - Andy Calvano
- Nashua, New Hampshire
I
hope so. Gomi was in Miami practically begging for a job. Here's
the problem. The UFC still has way too many guys under contract
at 155. Not to mention Sudo and Uno are two guys from Japan,
and if we want to watch Japanese fighters fight one another then
watch any Shooto competition. Here's the other question. Is Gomi
more exciting that Uno or Genki? No in my opinion. Still he deserves
to be there because this guy is the best at 155 right now.
The
interesting part of this whole equation is that Shooto has contacted
the UFC and said he can fight in the UFC, so they have already
given permission for Gomi to fight for Zuffa. It's just bad timing
right now. If Penn was crowned as the champion at UFC 41, I think
Gomi would most likely have a shot at the title. I still think
we will see Gomi in the UFC after he fights Shaolin and Pulver
in Shooto over in Japan. In my opinion he will be in the UFC
sometime after January.
You
can email Ryan Bennett any questions at ryanbennett@mmaweekly.com
and make sure you catch his radio show, live daily (for free),
Monday through Friday at 9am Pacific/Noon Eastern at www.mmaweeklyradio.com
Source: MMA Weekly
U.S.
NATIONAL WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS SET FOR MAY 9-10 IN LAS VEGAS;
GARDNER-BYERS, BONO-MCILRAVY, AND OTHER SHOWDOWNS EXPECTED
It is just about crunch time for the top American wrestlers,
as the U.S. National Wrestling Championships are set to take
place May 9-10 in Las Vegas. This is the first step for the top
men's and women's freestyle and top Greco-Roman wrestlers to
make the U.S. World Team and compete in the 2003 World Championships.
The winners go on to the World Team Trials, June 20-22 in Indianapolis,
where they face the winner of the two-day, single elimination
Challenge Tournament, comprised of the top finishers at the Nationals.
All this becomes even more crucial, as the 2003 World Championships
serve as a qualifier for the 2004 Olympic games.
There
are numerous rivalries and stories that will come out of this
year's Nationals. In Greco, the heavyweight division will include
2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2001 World Champion Rulon Gardner,
along with the 2002 World Champion Dremiel Byers. World Champion
vs. World Champion, in a U.S. qualifying event! You couldn't
ask for anything more. Gardner seeks to regain the top spot after
sitting out most of last year following his snowmobile accident
in Feb. 2002 that required one of his toes be amputated. But
he has returned to action on the mat. When he was laid up, Sgt.
Byers of the U.S. Army took his place on the World Team, and
gave the U.S. its third gold medal in a row at heavyweight in
Greco. Now both men are healthy and active -- but only one will
be able to advance to this year's World Championships.
In
freestyle, the 145.5 lbs./66 kg weight class is loaded with talent.
Last year's U.S. World Team member was Chris Bono. But returning
from a layoff which included coaching and training at the U.S.
Olympic Center is Bono's long-time nemesis, Lincoln McIlravy.
These two have wrestled numerous times, dating back to their
college rivalry in the 1990s when McIlravy wrestled for Iowa
under Dan Gable and Bono for Iowa State under Bobby Douglas.
Bono never beat McIlravy then, but this year Bono has been undefeated
in both national and international competition, while McIlravy
has had to drop a lot of weight to make 145.5, lower than what
he wrestled at in college, and also has had to shake off the
rust of not having been in active competition for a couple of
years. Will Bono finally upend his rival McIlravy, or will McIlravy
return to form and regain his spot on the World Team?
In
women's wrestling, Toccara Montgomery has ruled the roost at
several different weight classes the past few years. But she
was upset this year by a high school student, Samantha Lang.
These two have since traded victories, but who will dominate
at the Nationals?
And
just how good is Cael Sanderson at freestyle? He has won the
Nationals the past two years, but also is still adjusting to
freestyle after his unprecedented undefeated four years as a
college wrestler. He will also be facing other former NCAA college
wrestling champions here, as everyone seeks to upset him.
Then
there is Joe Williams, who has just won the John Smith Award
for the second year in a row as the Freestyle Wrestler of the
Year, as chosen by USA Wrestling. Everyone says he has the tools
to become a World Champion. But first he has to win at the Nationals.
These
and numerous other questions will begin to be answered at this
year's Nationals.
To
follow the event online, USA Wrestling has set up a special section
on TheMat.com. It includes previews by each weight class, and
will also have results posted when the competition starts. it
can be seen at: http://www.themat.com/specialevents/2003/nationals/default.asp
.
Below
are two press releases from USA Wrestling, about the Nationals
and Joe Williams.
--
Eddie Goldman, wrestlingeditor@yahoo.com
America's
best wrestlers to compete at U.S. National Wrestling Championships
in Las Vegas, Nev., May 9-10
by
Gary Abbott - USA Wrestling
The
United States National Wrestling Championships return to Las
Vegas, Nev., May 9-10, setting the stage for a busy and active
year of Olympic-level wrestling action.
The
Senior National Championships in all three styles will be contested,
with the nation's top stars in men's freestyle, women's freestyle
and men's Greco-Roman wrestling. The Senior Nationals will be
held on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10.
This
is the main qualifying event for the 2003 World Team Trials in
Indianapolis, June 20-22. This year's World Team Trials determine
the U.S. teams for the Pan American Championships and the World
Championships. The 2003 World Freestyle Championships are set
for New York City, Sept. 12-14.
America's
top wrestlers are expected to be on display in Las Vegas this
year. They include 2000 Olympic champion Rulon Gardner; 2002
World Champion Dremiel Byers; 2002 World silver medalist Tina
George; 2000 Olympian Kerry McCoy; U.S. World Team member Cael
Sanderson; 2001 World silver medalist Toccara Montgomery; 1996
Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson; 2001 World bronze medalist
Joe Williams, six-time World medalist Kristie Marano and many
more stars.
In
Las Vegas, America's finest wrestlers will be starting the road
to the World Championships. National Championships will be decided
in the seven international weight categories for senior men and
senior women competitors.
For
men, the weight divisions are: 121 lbs. (55 kilo grams), 132
lbs. (60 kg), 145.5 lbs. (66 kg), 163 lbs. (74 kg), 185 lbs.
(84 kg), 211.5 lbs. (96 kg) and 264.5 lbs. (120 kg).
The
tournament will be held in the Convention Center's North Halls
1 and 2, the same halls where the successful 2000 U.S. National
Championships were held. This facility will have the space needed
for all of the mats of this huge competition, as well as a great
seating arrangement for the gold-medal finals.
This
will be the 14th time that USA Wrestling and the Las Vegas Sports
Committee have partnered to present this championship.
The
Veterans National Championships, for athletes 35 years-old and
above, will be held May 7-9. For the first time, a Greco-Roman
division will be held, as well as freestyle.
The
West Junior Regional Championships, traditionally one of the
strongest Junior events in the nation, will be held May 7-9.
Top high school freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers from across
the nation annually attend this competitive and popular event.
For
information on the event, visit http://www.lvsports.org/current_events.html
Tickets
may be purchased IN ADVANCE by calling Toll Free 1-866-418-0372
(local: 702-360-3739) or by mailing in the LVSC ticket order
form. During the days of the event, daily tickets may be purchased
at the Las Vegas Convention Center Box Office. You can save money
by purchasing your tickets early.
Follow
the action throughout the U.S. Nationals (with complete results,
notes and quotes) in the U.S. Nationals Special Section on TheMat.com:
http://www.themat.com
DEFENDING
U.S. NATIONALS WRESTLING CHAMPIONS
Men's
Freestyle
121 lbs.- Teague Moore (Gator WC)
132 lbs.- Eric Guerrero (Gator WC)
145.5 lbs. - Bill Zadick (Hawkeye WC)
163 lbs.- Joe Williams (Sunkist Kids)
185 lbs.- Cael Sanderson (Sunkist Kids)
211.5 lbs. - Tim Hartung (Minnesota Storm)
264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy (New York AC)
Men
's Greco-Roman
121 lbs.- Brandon Paulson (Minnesota Storm)
132 lbs.- Glenn Nieradka (U.S. Army)
145.5 lbs. - Kevin Bracken (New York AC)
163 lbs. - Keith Sieracki (U.S. Army)
185 lbs.- Ethan Bosch (New York AC)
211.5 lbs. - Garrett Lowney (Minnesota Storm)
264.5 lbs. - Dremiel Byers (U.S. Army)
Women'
s Freestyle
105.5 lbs. - Patricia Miranda (Dave Schultz WC)
112.25 lbs. - Jenny Wong (Sunkist Kids)
121 lbs.- Stephanie Murata (Sunkist Kids)
130 lbs.- Lauren Lamb (Michigan WC)
138.75 lbs.- Sara McMann (Sunkist Kids)
149.75 lbs. - Toccara Montgomery (Sunkist Kids)
165.25 lbs.- Iris Smith (U.S. Army)
Joe
Williams named 2002 John Smith Award winner, as the Freestyle
Wrestler of the Year by USA Wrestling
by
Gary Abbott - USA Wrestling
Joe
Williams (Iowa City Iowa/Sunkist Kids) has been named the winner
of the 2002 John Smith Award as the Freestyle Wrestler of the
Year by USA Wrestling. It is the second year in a row that Williams
has won this prestigious award.
Williams
swept the two major domestic events of the year, claiming gold
medals at 74 kg/163 pounds at the U.S. National Championships
in Las Vegas, Nev. and the Senior World Team Trials in St. Paul,
Minn. Williams was named Outstanding Wrestler at the U.S. Nationals,
defeating Casey Cunningham of the Sunkist Kids in the championship
finals. He also defeated Cunningham in the World Team Trials
finals.
Along
with his six other teammates on the 2002 U.S. Freestyle World
Team, Williams was unable to participate in the World Freestyle
Championships in Tehran, Iran. Shortly before the U.S. team was
to leave for the competition, USA Wrestling received information
from the U.S. government about a threat of violence to the U.S.
team if it was to compete in Iran. USA Wrestling did not send
the team to compete due to this threat of violence.
Williams
had a successful year in other major international events in
2002. He won a gold medal at the World Cup of Freestyle Wrestling,
held in Spokane, Wash. It was the third straight year that Williams
claimed a gold medal at the World Cup. Among those Williams defeated
in the World Cup were 1994 World champion Alexander Leipold of
Germany, as well as talented Russian competitor Irbek Farniev.
Williams
won a gold medal at the 2002 Kiev Grand Prix tournament in Ukraine,
and claimed a bronze medal at the 2002 Yasar Dogu tournament
in Turkey. Williams also participated in the 2002 Kurt Angle
Classic, an all-star event where he went up in weight and defeated
1996 Olympic champion Khajimurad Magomedov of Russia in the bout.
Williams
is an assistant wrestling coach at the Univ. of Iowa. He was
one of the top wrestlers in Iowa Hawkeye history, claiming three
NCAA Div. I titles during his impressive career. Williams was
the outstanding wrestler at the 1998 NCAA Championships. He is
originally from Chicago, Ill., where he was a star for nationally
respected Mount Carmel High School. Williams was the 1993 ASICS
Tiger High School Wrestler of the Year.
USA
Wrestling will be announcing major award winners each day this
week on TheMat.com.
PAST
JOHN SMITH AWARD WINNERS AS FREESTYLE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
2002 - Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa, Sunkist Kids
2001 - Joe Williams, Iowa City, Iowa, Sunkist Kids
2000 - Brandon Slay, Amarillo, Texas, Dave Schultz WC
1999 - Stephen Neal, Bakersfield, Calif., Dave Schultz WC
1998 - Sammie Henson, Norman, Okla., Sunkist Kids
1997 - Les Gutches, Corvallis, Ore., Sunkist Kids
1996 - Kendall Cross, Raleigh, N.C., Sunkist Kids
1995 - Kevin Jackson, Phoenix, Ariz., Sunkist Kids
1994 - Melvin Douglas, Mesa, Ariz., Sunkist Kids
1993 - Terry and Tom Brands, Iowa City, Iowa, Team Foxcatcher
1992 - John Smith, Stillwater, Okla., Sunkist Kids
Source:
ADCC
5/6/03
Quote
of the Day
Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence
and ability to perform shall cease to exist.
Mary
Kay Ash
Sherk
is Back in Action
Sean Sherk is healed, he feels good and he told MMAWeekly this
weekend "I feel really good. I just got back from a cruise
and I'm ready to go."
Sherk
will be gearing up for Abu Dhabi which is coming up in a week.
Sherk is looking forward in competiting in his first Abu Dhabi
competition.
Source:
MMA Weekly
SUPERBRAWL
BRACKETS FOR THIS WEEKEND
MMAWeekly's Ken Pishna reports the following.
Here
are the brackets for the SuperBrawl/Extreme Challenge middleweight
tourney in Hawaii. Unfortunately Tim Kennedy who won the tournament
in Salt Lake City, has had to withdraw from a knee injury, while
Niko Vitale (was going to get an at large bid) was called up
by the UFC, and Cruz Chacon is dropping down to 155 lbs. and
will not compete so things have changed over the past few weeks.
The
good news is who they have added. Jason Miller was a stud in
the Utah show losing to Kennedy by decision, gets a tough draw
against mini-Ken Shamrock, Jay Buck. Should be a killer tourney.
The brackets:
"A"
bracket
Joe Doerksen
Vs.
TBA
Jay
Buck
Vs.
Jason Miller
"B"
bracket
Amir Rahnavardi
Vs.
Kaipo Kalama
Stephan
Potvin
Vs.
Brendan Seguin
Source:
MMA Weekly
ESPN
MAGAZINE FEATURES BOB SAPP
By Shaun Assael, ESPN The Magazine
Tokyo
is a city of uniforms. Girls on school trips in navy-blue sailor
skirts. Salarymen in smartly tailored black suits. Ladies who
lunch in kimonos. A bunch of them are bustling past one another
in a swanky hotel lobby when an elevator opens. As Bob Sapp bounds
out, it's hard to decide what's more startling -- the sight of
a 375-pound American in denim shorts or the sound of his deep
voice rumbling, "I'm hungry for pancakes. Time for Denny's."
Sapp
looks left, then right, scoping out his next move like he once
did in the NFL trenches. A year ago, the ex-Viking was just another
out-of-work jock trying to eke out a future. Then he stumbled
into a new career that has turned him overnight into a cross
between Ali and Elvis -- at least in Japan. But he's too slow
mapping out a path to the door. A dozen bankers spot him and
start squealing like so many Lizzie McGuires. It's the same everywhere
you go in this city of 12 million. Not since Godzilla (and we
don't mean Matsui) have the Japanese shrieked so loudly at something
so big.
Darting
into a cab, a light sweat on his brow, the 30-year-old Sapp wedges
his Sumo-size frame into the back seat. "I can't go out
anymore," he says. "It's like this everywhere. These
people have never seen anything like The Beast."
Ah
yes, The Beast. He emerges when Sapp widens his eyes, snaps back
his head -- roughly the size of a 5,000-BTU air conditioner --
and shoots a long, cartoon-villain cackle. That cackle is now
the hottest thing on Japanese TV, because The Beast has become
the hottest thing in the national obsession known as kickboxing.
His likeness glares at you from store windows, sidewalk noodle
shops, subway stations. When Sapp arrives at Denny's, the manager
wiping syrup from the breakfast bar freezes midwipe, as if facing
the Emperor himself. Before the guy can bow and say Arigato,
Sapp has ducked into a booth and ordered four strawberry sodas,
four kiwi juices, a blue-plate special and a stack of caramel
pancakes.
Sapp
seems a little jittery this morning, and for good reason. In
two days he'll fight a nasty hurt machine named Mirko Filipovic,
a.k.a. CroCop, a tightly wound antiterror commando from Croatia.
"Things are at such a peak that I haven't had much time
to train," Sapp says as his breakfast arrives, carried by
a kitchen staff poised at half-bow. They serve him and linger
with their paper hats in hand, politely waiting for The Beast
to sign them. "At this point, the only place for things
to go is down. And that might not be such a bad thing."
The
half-dozen waiters pick up their mementos and go. Six teenyboppers
quickly replace them, holding aloft camera-enabled cell phones.
"I'm a sex symbol," Sapp says, letting his food go
cold as he strikes a Beastly pose for each. Finally, a man old
enough to be their father whips off his suit jacket and begs
Sapp to sign his crisp white shirt.
Until
last spring, Sapp had never even eaten sushi. He was raised by
a police detective in Colorado (his mother left home when he
was in third grade) and earned a football scholarship to play
guard for Washington. In a 1994 game against Miami, he fell on
a fumble for a touchdown, part of a comeback that ended the Hurricanes'
home winning streak at 58. That was the height of his gridiron
career. He was cut by the Bears in camp after they made him the
69th pick in the 1997 draft, spent two years on special teams
with the Vikes, then battled injuries during a stint with the
Raiders. By the summer of 2000, he was out of work, broke and
sitting "alone in my apartment with black sheets on the
wall, playing a video game where I shot a lot of werewolves."
Sapp
picked himself off the couch and answered a talent call for World
Championship Wrestling in Atlanta. Even in a land of outsize
caricatures, a guy with a booming laugh, seven-foot wingspan,
bald head and (at the time) a 422-pound, V-shaped body will stand
out. "People kept calling me a freak and a specimen,"
he says. "I put it all together and came up with The Beast."
But
The Beast didn't arrive fully formed. Sapp spent about eight
months honing his shtick mostly at low-level, nontelevised events.
Then an offer arrived from the FX cable network to fight a three-round
Toughman match against The Fridge, ex-Bear William Perry. "You
need an angle, otherwise no one will watch," Sapp explains.
"Our angle was that I wanted revenge on the team that cut
me." It wasn't pretty: "Fridge hit me with a straight
right, and I had to hold on for dear life." But Perry tired,
and Sapp scored a second-round KO. Afterward his trainer, who
had contacts in Japan, asked if he was interested in a new career.
Harajuku
is Tokyo's trendy shopping district. Around the corner from Yves
Saint Laurent you can find Sapp Station, a remarkable testimony
to what's happened since The Beast agreed to relocate. Inside
are Sapp action figures, T-shirts, posters, cereal boxes, rice
cakes, two biographies (a third is coming soon) and a rap-and-soul
CD that jumped into the Top 20 on its release and features Sapp
in the same pose as Michael Jackson on the Thriller cover. And
that's just a fraction of what's available. In a nearby toy store,
there's a bootleg Beast mask that looks like King Kong.
Not
bad for a guy who was unknown when he made his debut on April
28, 2002. If Sapp had one thing going for him when he stepped
off the plane (following a six-month training stint in Seattle),
it was his agility. Kickboxing weaponizes the lower body, with
foot strikes counting the same as punches. At UW, Sapp was known
as Rubber Band Man because he could extend his legs straight
back over his head. No one in Tokyo had seen that kind of flexibility
married to the gale-force upper-body power Sapp brought across
the Pacific. The 10 million fans who tuned in to his first fight
saw the gargantuan newcomer clobber a 220-pound journeyman named
Yoshihisa Yamamoto.
In
his second fight, Sapp nearly caused a riot. The bout was staged
under rules that allowed for less traditional wrestling moves.
But after he leaped from a ring post onto the head of 214-pound
Tsuyoshi Nakasako, his rival's cut man jumped onto the mat. Both
corners emptied, threatening every manner of harm. The Tokyo
press ate it up, especially when paparazzi spotted Sapp sneaking
into one of the city's finer massage parlors afterward. "The
papers said I was on top of Nakasako by day, and on top of a
woman at night," he says with a chuckle.
Sapp's
image is cartoonish, but it's also culturally complex. Jason
Hall, a Seattle video game executive and close friend, thinks
that when Sapp first arrived in Tokyo, fight fans wanted to see
"a big black guy get beat up." Since then, he's become
a more endearing figure, but The Beast has also built his fame
on some eyebrow-raising scaffolds. Sapp promoted one match by
stomping through a zoo eating a banana. A wax sculpture outside
his store depicts him bending the bars of a prison cell. And
in a print ad for Panasonic TVs, he dressed like a pimp and asked
buyers to take him home to see his "big 32 inches."
Hall
concedes that "some of the stuff Bob does here wouldn't
go over at home." And Sapp's act would seem to reinforce
any prejudices harbored by Japan's older generation. On the other
hand, the hipsters in Harajuku get that it's just a big joke.
"To the young urban Japanese, black is cool," says
Ken Belson, a business writer for The New York Times in Tokyo.
"I think they see it as being all in good fun. So it cuts
both ways."
Sapp
is not only untroubled by the contradictions, he seems proud
of them: "If it's not illegal, and it's tongue-in-cheek,
I got no problem with it."
It's
two days after the visit to Denny's. Time to fight. The 37,000
fans pouring into Saitama Super Arena are here to see what is
regarded as a crossroads bout for Sapp. This is the first fight
in a 22-event season that will span as many countries. During
the tour, run by martial arts promoter K-1, a field of 50 fighters
will be whittled to eight, who'll then meet at the Tokyo Dome
in December. Last year, 20 million Japanese watched the tour
finale -- a share proportionately higher than what ABC got for
the Super Bowl.
Tonight
will answer an important question for many of those fans: Is
Sapp for real or is he just a heavyweight huckster? His opponent,
CroCop, has eyes like hollow points, and Sapp avoided looking
into them at the prefight press conference by sending a video
instead of appearing in person. CroCop's response: "Bob
shouldn't have much chance," he said matter-of-factly. "By
the time he gets tired, it will be over. If he doesn't get tired,
I'll break his leg."
At
the main event, torch-carrying geishas escort the fighters from
beneath a video screen that projects their larger-than-life images.
CroCop walks calmly to the ring. Sapp, wrapped in a feather boa
and a glittery robe, runs down the aisle like this is the WWE.
When the bell clangs, The Beast is a whirlwind. He takes CroCop
to the center of the ring, daring him to go blow for blow. But
CroCop dances toward the ropes. Sapp chases him, hungry to end
things quickly. Less than 90 seconds into the bout, CroCop connects
with a left kick, then fakes right. Sapp takes the bait. He moves
to protect his side -- and that's when it happens. CroCop pulls
back the kick and connects with a ferocious punch square to Sapp's
right eye. All at once, Sapp-a-san crumples to the mat.
In
the locker room, The Beast is rattled by the first KO of his
career. "Damn, I was ready. No problem, no problem,"
he keeps repeating, while holding an ice pack against his eye
socket. He struggles for an explanation. "I had to stay
down. I was seeing double. Damn, I think it's broken. Damn!"
(Turns out it was.)
A
year into it, Sapp is finally beginning to admit that the punishment
he's taking is very real. His punching power has carried him
to some spectacular wins, including two against defending world
champ Ernesto Hoost, on his way to a 7-3 record as a kickboxer.
(He is 2-1 as a wrestler.) But his lack of finesse means that
Sapp often absorbs 10 head shots for every one he gets in. "I'm
usually sick after a fight," he says. "But then the
brain swelling goes down, and I'm just hungry as hell."
The
kickboxing world is full of earnest competitors. But earnest
is for Larry King and high school yearbooks. Anyone who got a
UW degree in three years -- like Bob Sapp, for instance -- knows
that shtick is what sells. Which is why winning may ultimately
be incidental to his success. K-1 has already branded a new crop
of fighters under the name Team Beast so that Bob can sell tickets
without fighting. The NFL just hired him to be its ambassador
to Asia. ("I'm making more money from that than I did in
my whole time in the league," he says.) And a rep for Simon
West, the director of Tomb Raider, has called. "I'd love
to just do movies and play with my cat," Sapp says. "I
just knock wood that I don't get hurt too bad first."
In
January, Nippon TV sent him to cover the Super Bowl in San Diego.
There, Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp was besieged by Japanese reporters
asking if the two men are related. "I hate that," Warren
snapped, dismissing even the faintest blood tie. Clearly, the
memory of that loss to the Huskies still stings for one Sapp.
But his cold response also stung a little for the other Sapp,
who'd like to be known here for something other than bogus rumors
about their being distant cousins.
The
Beast has 15 fights to go on his K-1 deal, and he'll win his
share. The ultimate goal, though, is not the Kickboxing Hall
of Fame. "With me, it's not about the fighting," Sapp
says, flashing the killer smile he hopes will carry him into
yet another new career. "It's about being Bob."
Source:
MMA Weekly
LINDLAND
AND T. JAY THOMPSON ON MMAWEEKLY RADIO TODAY
To say it's a busy time for Matt Lindland and T. Jay Thompson
would be a tremendous understatement. Lindland has two more competitions
BEFORE UFC 43 in a couple of weeks.
Lindland
will be competing in a national wrestling tournament this week,
then he will turn around and compete in Abu Dhabi. Then two weeks
after that he fights Niko
Vitale
in Las Vegas at UFC 43.
Meanwhile
for MMA Promoter, T. Jay Thompson, he has the big SuperBrawl
Card lined up in Hawaii this weekend. He has been busy putting
that bracket together as he has had to have some last minute
replacements for the show.
You
can check out the official brackets at the bottom of the page.
Don't miss MMAWeekly Radio today for these two guests, not to
mention if you can catch live at Noon Eastern/9am Pacific, check
it out tonight on our daily archive at www.mmaweeklyradio.com
Source: MMA Weekly
5/5/03
Quote
of the Day
Remember, happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you
have, it depends solely upon what you think.
Dale
Carnegie
Warriors
of the Ring 3 Fight Card
Maui War Memorial Gymnasium, Maui, Hawaii
May 10, 2003
Shaun Saribay (Freelance) vs. Keola Cabalero (Backyard Assault)
Ian
Omalza (Maui Full Contact Fighting) vs. Eric Tolentino (Hard
Impact)
Mathew
Mozocca (Relson Gracie) vs. Josh Kawalo (Backyard Assault)
Kendall
Groves (Maui Full Contact Fighting) vs. Marvelous Tevaga (American
Kenpo)
Alan
Hinojesa (Maui Full Contact Fighting) vs. Mike Garcia (American
Kenpo)
Semi
Main Event #1
Eddy Seafross (Maui Full Contact) vs. Charles Hendrickson (Backyard
Assault)
Semi
Main Event #2
Anthony Billianor (Lockdown Unltd.) vs. Kadon Zimmerman (Freelance)
Main
Event
Edward Ferreira (Maui Full Contact) vs. Paulo Lupi (Brazilian
Freestyle)
Source: Event Promoter
KICK'N
IT AGAIN 2
Kapolei Middle school
May 24, 2003
5:30pm-10:00pm
Hawaii
kickboxing at its finest. Come out and support kickboxing's resurrgence.
The first event had a lot of action and this one promises the
same.
Tickets-$10 Advanced
$15 @ Door
Fight card coming soon.
Call
Danny for info 685-4800
Gracie
Pacific Rim Date Set!
The Gracie Pacific Rim will be held on June the 28th and 29th!
The
website will be up in about 7 days and will feature more information
regarding this upcoming event.
Open
Letter from IBJJF Pres. Carlos Gracie Jr
Regarding the Pan Ams
Open
Letter from IBJJF President Carlos Gracie Jr
In
light of some problems with the weigh in at the 2003 Pan-Ams,
IBJJF president Carlos Gracie Jr sent an open letter to all participants
and atendees.
The
background:
The
weigh ins at the Pan-Ams are always problematic, with the large
number of participants (900+) and without his normal staff, the
IBJJF has perenially run into problems with long lines and long
waits.At this years event some participants had up to a 5 hour
wait to complete the process. Because of that, we contacted Carlos
Jr for an explanation of the problem and to find out future plans.
Carlinhos
explained: 'In Brazil, we have a very solid system, we have been
doing the same thing for a number of years and have educated
the competitor of the process. All fighters are weighed just
minutes prior to their division fights begin. We give a generous
allowance for the weight of the Gi and weigh each and every one
of them just them, if they don't make the weight, they are automatically
DQ'd. The problem with that system, for the US, is that the participants
travel a long way to get to the event, they spend a fair amount
of money to compete and if they are DQ'd because they don't know
how the system works it is not fair. So we had to use an archaic
system, of weighing everyone the day before, and if they didn't
make the weight, they were placed on another division. Additionally,
we didn't have the acces to a credit card internet sign on system,
so we had to get the payment at the time of the weigh in and
only then make the brackets. That and other factors led to long
lines etc.
It
was not just the competitors that suffered as we had to spend
many hours well into the AM before the event making the final
brackets. Because of all that and because the IBJJF is constantly
trying to better the level of their events, we are going to change
and improve!'
With
the background of the problem and his concerns Carlos gave us
the following open letter:
In
name of the IBJJF, I want to apologize to everyone for the inconvenience
and distress caused during the weigh ins of the 2003 Pan-Ams.
The long and slow line and the people cutting in are unacceptable.
Our intent was to make sure that everyone that came to compete
in this great event was able to do so without being cut for not
making the weight. There were many that didn't make weight and
we accomodated them into another division. If we had used the
system that we use in Brazil, all those would have been eliminated
and that of course is not our intention as we are fully aware
of the sacrifices and costs involved to attend for many people
from various parts of the US.
However,
the problems that were caused by the current system have generated
some well deserved criticism from participants that were forced
to endure the waits, therefore we have decided to change. From
the next event on, the fighter will be weighed in at the time
of his divisional matches start. If he or she fails to make weight,
they will be automatically DQ'd. That is the same system that
we have been using in the major tournaments in Brazil with great
success and with minimal incidents of disqualification. Many
of the foreign fighters that come to Brazil to compete every
year have experienced this sytem and know how well it works and
I don't think any of them have ever missed their fights.
With
that and other improvements in pre-registration, we hope to,
as we do in Brazil, have the brackets available for viewing on
the internet days before the tournament. At that time, any mistakes
can be addressed and corrected prior to the event.
We
hope these improvements will correct this situation and make
the next event the best ever. We at the IBJJF work extremely
hard to put together these International events in order to expand
the reach of the sport worldwide and to give the participants
a venue to compete with each other and with the best in the World.
Sincerely
Carlso
Gracie Jr. Pres. IBJJF
Source: Kid Peligro/ADCC
SHOOTO
May 4th results - 'Shaolin' on course for a collision with Takanori
Gomi
Tokyo
Kourakuen Hall, JAPAN
Class
'B'
Welterweight [-70.0Kg]
2003 Rookie Tournament 2nd Round
Tomonari Kanomata armbarred J-Taro Takita at 4:40 R1
Youth
is Served as Carter Williams takes K-1 USA Tournament
LAS
VEGAS -- Twenty-two-year-old Carter Williams, listed as 8-1 to
win the tournament by Las Vegas odds makers, scored an enormous
victory for himself and K-1’s younger generation of fighters,
stopping venerable champion Rick Roufus, 36, 2:21 of the first
round following the second of two knockdowns.
Heading
into the championship bout in front of a capacity crowd of 5,385
inside the Mirage Hotel and Resort Event Center, both fighters
looked fresh, absent the nagging maladies that accompany tournament-style
fighting. Carter, the younger and hungrier -- if only because
he’d never been there before -- fighter, started fast, blasting
Roufus with a right hook-straight right-high kick combination.
The veteran fell to the mat and was visibly stung. Roufus, with
visions of winning yet another championship, refused to succumb
to his young foe.
Williams,
who upped his record to 33-5 (24 KO), stalked his prey, peppering
the retreating Roufus, 59-7 (38 KO), with power shots. Roufus’
hopes of moving onto August’s tournament took a sudden turn
for the worse as he walked head on into a perfectly placed Williams
right straight. Roufus slumped to the mat, devoid of his faculties.
Officially, the fight was called due to the two-knockdown rule
put in place for the tournament. However, he surely would not
have recovered by referee Jon Schorle’s 10-count.
Roufus
fought well, surprising many by making it into the tournament
finals, and along with Maurice Smith and Nobuaki Kakuda (who
showed an amazing level of desire in losing his retirement bout
at the hands of Musashi), signaled that in spite of the handicap
of age, the capacity to fight remains buried deep inside each.
Clearly,
though, it was a night for the young guns.
The
newly crowned champion advanced to the finals by stopping Japanese
fighter Yusuke Fujimoto, who was the only competitors in the
bracket that could match Williams’ power. In his quarterfinal
bout, Fujimoto displayed a hellish high kick versus the underpowered
Dewey Cooper. Facing Carter, however, presented a completely
different challenge for the Japanese slugger. Knowing his hard
shots could be reciprocated in kind, Fujimoto could not afford
to throw wild shots.
Carter
was the crisper of the two, resulting in his first round knockdown,
a snapping front kick that landed squarely in Fujimoto’s
midsection. Though he appeared fine, it was apparent that Fujimoto
was having difficulty delivering his power shots without eating
countering bombs.
For
Fujimoto there was no answer. Eating a round kick directly into
his mouth, he fell to the mat for the second time in the contest
in the early portion of round two. Despite being clearly shaken,
he fought admirably in continuing the fight. However, Williams
clinched the victory after scoring a second knockdown off with
a right hook that connected behind Fujimoto’s left ear.
Stunned, Fujimoto fell awkwardly to the mat. The contest was
stopped 2:26 of the second period.
Roufus’
path included an intriguing encounter versus 41-year-old Maurice
Smith, who outclassed Giuseppe DeNatale for three rounds in his
quarterfinal bout en route to an overwhelming unanimous decision
victory to advance to the semis.
The
two dominant American kickboxers of the past decade, Roufus and
Smith are admittedly in the twilights of their careers. In spite
of that, neither backed down during the three-round contest.
Roufus was the sharper of the two, getting better of the exchanges
and landing crisper shots. It paid off in the form of a second
round knockdown. Countering a Smith kick, Roufus, like he did
in his quarterfinal victory over Brazilian Eduardo Maiorino De
Morais, landed an overhand left, stumbling his veteran counterpart
backwards until he took a seat on the mat.
In
the third period Smith slowed considerably. Roufus, knowing that
Smith would need a KO to stop him, fought defensively. Try as
he might, Smith could not crack Roufus’ and fell by unanimous
decision (30-26.5, 30-26.5, 29.5-27.5). In doing so, Smith, 63-8-5
(45 KO), has apparently competed in his last elimination tournament.
Advanced age aside, the former kickboxing and Ultimate Fighting
champion is sure to compete again before riding off into the
green pastures of retirement.
Williams’
path to victory began versus last year’s K-1 USA champion
Michael McDonald. Sluggish through most of the first two rounds,
McDonald couldn’t recover and fell by split decision (29.5-29,
29.5-28.5, 29.5-29).
In
rounds one and two, Williams, despite moving backwards for most
of the first six minutes, scored with heavier shots. Save a low
kick-left hook combination, McDonald displayed little in the
way of offense. Anything but flashy, Williams landed effective
shots, accumulating a lead heading into the final period.
Needing
a knockdown or knockout to win the fight, McDonald pushed forward
in the third round, landing often with leg kicks. Williams, though
tired, endured to advance with a split decision -- and eventual
trophy.
In
Roufus’ quarterfinal contest, he added one more KO to his
impressive total by stopping Morais, who earned his spot into
the tournament by placing second in March’s K-1 Brazil tournament.
Using his vast in-ring experience, Roufus survived the Brazilian’s
early aggressiveness.
Scoring
a knockdown with a looping left hook counter off an inside leg
kick, Roufus took the early advantage. Morais never seemed to
recover. Weak-legged, he attempted a lazy low kick and Roufus
countered with an on-the-money straight right that landed flush.
Morais went down a second time and referee “Doc” Hamilton
halted the action.
Smith’s
only win of the tournament saw him exhibit his relaxed fighting
style versus DeNatale. Though DeNatale was accurate with his
strikes through the first round, he never came close to scoring
with anything heavy. Smith upped his tempo in round two, consistently
peppering Dena tale’s legs.
Following
an accidental low blow in the third round, DeNatale jokingly
kissed Smith on the cheek in the middle of the ring. The pass
appeared to anger Smith, who subsequently turned up the heat,
landing several heavy shots to Dena tale’s face and legs
en route to winning a unanimous decision (30-27.5, 30-28, 29.5-28.5).
Other
quarterfinal action saw local Las Vegas fighter Dewey Cooper
step into the ring versus Fujimoto, who wisely used his 27-pound
weight advantage. Using his size and strength, Fujimoto unloaded
several powerful leg kicks in the opening frame. Cooper, much
quicker but far weaker, danced away from many of Fujimoto’s
advances and, like a cobra, struck hard and fast with a counter
left hook that dropped his Japanese adversary towards the end
of round one.
Fujimoto
refused to back off. In round two he unleashed a salvo of powerful
kicks aimed at Cooper’s head and midsection. For the most
part Cooper did well to block the attacks, but Fujimoto kept
moving forward, forcing Cooper to defend throughout most of the
round. The third frame featured much of the same from Fujimoto,
except that Cooper attempted to counter the heavy kicks and punches
by moving forward through the onslaught instead of dancing around
them like the did in the first period. His strategy backfired
and the early knockdown wasn’t enough as the judges scored
it a majority decision (29-28.5, 29-28.5, 28-28) for Fujimoto.
Single
bout super fight action featured veteran fighter Gary Goodridge,
who stepped into the K-1 ring to take on 2002 K-1 Grand Prix
champion Mark Hunt. For five workmanlike rounds, Hunt picked
Goodridge apart, only getting hit when it seemed he wanted a
break from chopping away at his foe. The third round was Hunt’s
best, hurting Goodridge multiple times with punches to the head
and body.
In
round four, Goodridge recovered well enough to land some shots
of his own, but Hunt was never hurt and seemed to relish absorbing
Goodridge’s punches. Following a back-and-forth, but rather
uneventful, final round, Hunt was awarded the unanimous decision
victory (50-45.5, 49-45.5, 49.5-46).
A
light heavyweight San Shou battle featured Cung Le, who’d
been on the outs with K-1 but has since made good with promoter
Scott Coker, owned Scott Sheeley until referee Jon Schorle was
forced to stop action 1:13 of round two. There doesn’t appear
to be much opposition for Le on the San Shou ranks. It might
be time for him to try his hand at K-1 or mixed martial arts.
German
fighter Stefan Leko tallied another win on his impressive 48-12-1
(29 KO) record, as he put a clinic versus Japanese competitor
Great Kusatsu, culminating in a stoppage 2:24 of round two after
Kusatsu hit the canvas for the third time.
Nobuaki
Kakuda left it all on the table in what he says is his retirement
bout, going the distance versus a much younger and larger Musashi.
Dropped twice in both the second and third rounds, Kakuda refused
to give in to his challenger’s advances. With a sparse crowd
remaining in the Event Center (the tournament final took place
two bouts earlier), Kakuda received a standing ovation as the
bell for the third round -- and his career -- tolled. Though
the scorecards won’t show it (30-23.5, 30-23.5, 30-23),
Kakuda’s effort was truly impressive.
Under
Card Results:
Blake Lirette KO Heath Harris 0:29 R2
Melanie Kohler TKO LaTasha Marzolla R1 (didn’t answer bell
for second round)
Brian Schwartz TKO Adrian Foster 1:26 R1
Brian Warren TKO Santino DeFranco 1:49 R2
Source:
Maxfighting
This
Month in Mixed Martial Arts History: May
In
May 96, Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan hosted UFC 9, which was
the first UFC to feature a card of single fights rather than
a tournament. It will be forever remembered for its disastrous
main event: the rematch between Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock.
The fighters methodically circled each other throughout the 30-minute
duration, engaging only momentarily. In the end, Severn out-danced
Shamrock and snagged the UFC superfight title.
Billed
as "The Phenom," Vitor Belfort continued his seemingly
invincible run in May 97. In the UFC 13 superfight, Belfort pounded
Tank Abbott, forcing a referee stoppage in just 53 seconds. The
show also marked the Octagon debuts of future UFC champions Tito
Ortiz and Randy Couture. Couture dominated the heavyweight tournament,
though Ortiz stumbled in the finals of the lightweight (under
200 pounds) field, losing via guillotine choke to Guy Mezger.
UFC
17 in May 98 featured the Octagon debuts of Chuck Liddell, Dan
Henderson and Carlos Newton, among others. Jeremy Horn, another
UFC newcomer at the time, frustrated Frank Shamrock for over
16 minutes before losing by kneebar in a match that was not shown
live, but saved for a subsequent pay-per-view. Pete Williams'
first entrance into the UFC produced a highlight now embedded
into the mind of nearly every MMA fan. Facing a struggling Mark
Coleman, Williams fed "The Hammer" a brutal kick that
crossed the former champion's eyes and dropped him to the canvas
unconscious.
Bas
Rutten won the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 20 in May 99 by gaining
a controversial decision over Kevin Randleman. The decision is
still debated today with the majority of fans believing that
Randleman won the fight.
Also
in May 99, Caol Uno defeated Rumina Sato by rear naked choke
in a courageous battle at Shooto's 10th Anniversary Event. The
spirited fight is considered by some to be the greatest in MMA
history.
May
of 2000 marks a monumental gathering of MMA superstars at the
Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals. A packed Tokyo Dome witnessed the
defeat of legendary Royce Gracie by Japanese superstar Kazushi
Sakuraba. In the finals of the 16-man tournament (the opening
round was held months earlier), a rejuvenated Mark Coleman completed
his return to the top by finishing Igor Vovchanchyn. Also at
the event, Ken Shamrock successfully returned to MMA after a
lengthy stint in the WWF with a victory over Alexander Otsuka.
Also
in May 2000, Rickson Gracie choked Masa Funaki unconscious at
Colosseum 2000; Meca Vale Tudo, currently the largest MMA event
in Brazil, held their first event; and World Extreme Fighting
9 featured Dave Menne winning a decision over Jose "Pele"
Landi-Jons and Dan Severn finishing Marcus "Conan"
Silveira.
In
May of 2001, Randy Couture narrowly won a decision over Pedro
Rizzo in a back-and-forth classic at UFC 31. On the undercard,
Carlos Newton ended Pat Miletich's reign as welterweight champion
with a choke, and Shonie Carter finished Matt Serra with a spinning
back fist in an action-packed bout.
Murilo
Bustamante dominated Matt Lindland and eventually submitted him
with a guillotine choke in the UFC 37 main event in May last
year. On the undercard, newcomers Robbie Lawler and Aaron Riley
stood toe-to-toe in one of the year's most enthralling battles.
After 15 minutes of entertainment, Lawler won a unanimous decision.
Also
in May last year, King of the Cage debuted on pay-per-view. Dan
Bobish beat Mike Kyle in the headliner, and Javier Vazquez submitted
Sean Wilmot on the undercard.
Source: Maxfighting
Quote
of the Day
There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as
they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.
Dr. Denis Waitley
5/4/03
Quote
of the Day
There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as
they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.
Dr. Denis Waitley
FRYE
VS COLEMAN NOT HAPPENING AFTER ALL
In
a bizarre twist in the past 24 hours, it now looks as though
Don Frye vs Mark Coleman WILL NOT take place at the next Pride
Event called "Bad to the Bone".
MMAWeekly.com
is reporting that a deal could not be reached over the weekend,
so therefore the fight will not happen at the next Pride as we
previously had expected.
The
Hammer House gym told MMAWeekly.com that the fight will not come
off as they gave us in the information last night.
There
is a good possibilty that they will be fighting on the same card
however, but official opponents have not been named. No information
was given on when their opponents will be official.
Source:
MMA Weekly
Sylvia
vs. McGee for the UFC Title
Esteemed MMA promoter and manager Monte Cox confirmed on Thursday's
MMA Weekly Radio Show that Tim Sylvia will be putting his UFC
Heavyweight Title on the line against Gan McGee at UFC 44, which
Cox said it tentatively scheduled for August 1st.
When
Ryan Bennett asked Monte where Jens Pulver currently stands with
the UFC, his response was, "Outside the door... but probably
still in front of Tito." Cox said that Pulver's contract
with Shooto is a three-fight deal (not a four-fight deal), and
his first fight in Shooto is scheduled to take place in August.
Monte
Cox went on to say that Matt Hughes is likely to fight at UFC
44. When asked about Hughes' next few title defenses, Monte said
that Hughes will gladly fight Frank Trigg, Dennis Hallman, or
anyone else the UFC puts in front of him. Monte's statement that
Hughes will probably be fighting at UFC 44 is significant because
Zuffa only puts a maximum of two title fights on any given show.
With
the Lightweight Title situation not even being on the map for
the June UFC show, and with two championships already scheduled
to be defended on the August show, that means the UFC has no
plans at this time to make Penn vs. Uno III or any other fight
for the Lightweight Title. This was only reinforced later in
the interview when Monte Cox said that for the time being, the
UFC is just going to put on good lightweight fights with no Lightweight
Title.
Source:
MMA Weekly
Josh
Barnett Returns to the Ring
Josh
Barnett returned to action in the ring in Japan on May 2 2003.
He faced off agains King of the Cage Superheavyweight champion
Jimmy Ambriz and dispatched of him fairly quickly. After a brief
exchange on the feet, It was clear from the outset that the 300
plus pound Ambriz wanted little to do with Barnett's stand up
and pushed for the takedown from the clinch. Ambriz was able
to secure the single leg takedown and worked from within Barnett's
guard. Ambriz could muster little to no offense from within the
guard and the ref stood the fight up from there. Barnett took
over from there out boxing Ambriz and punishing him with knee's
from the clinch. A strong knee to the chin was the begining of
the end for Ambriz and could not escape another knee to the face
and the punishment from the back. Ambriz tapped and he lost at
3:05 of the first round.
Source: MMA Ring Report
UFC'S
NEW HEAVYWEIGHT GIANT DIVISION
The UFC has unveiled some new "GIANTS" in mixed martial
arts. The latest, Wes Sims, debuts at UFC 43. Sims is a monster
who is 6'10, 255 pounds and Sims currently works with Mark Coleman
and Kevin Randleman at the Hammerhouse gym. Sims also has boxing
expierence in toughman competitions.
This
now gives the UFC another giant. Sims is another fighter over
6'8". Zuffa now has Gan McGee at 6'10, UFC Champ Tim Sylvia
at 6'8 and now Sims at 6'10. Who would have thought that the
smaller guys now consist of former UFC Champ Ricco Rodriguez
who is 6'4 and 240, Frank Mir 6'2 and 240, and Cabbage at 6'3
and 260.
Frank
Mir is coming off a win against Tank Abbott at UFC 41 and will
be fighting in front of his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada on
June 6th. Some people feel with a Mir win, he could be ready
for title contention, but that is speculation at this point.
Source: MMA Ring Report
5/3/03
News
uploaded early so everyone can catch SuperBrawl Superstars at
midnight tonight!
See below.
Quote
of the Day
If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all
your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.
Glenn Clark
Happy
1st Birthday Katelyn & Logan!
Can you believe it has been one year already? They had a rough
start, but as you can see they are healthy as can be and are
taking quickly to their Daddy's ice cream and eating addiction.
Super
Brawl Superstars Airs again in Primetime!
Another episode of Super Brawl Superstars will air 3 times in
the coming week. A special half-hour, in-depth look into the
life of Super Brawl Champion Egan Inoue. Highlights of Egan's
past fights, talk of training, family, his upcoming fight with
Shooto champion Masanori Suda and his fight with Yukiya Naito
aired for the first time in it's entirety.
Where: K5 The Home team
When: Saturday, May 3 at Midnight
Tuesday,
May 6 at 9pm
Thursday, May 8 at Midnight
Source: T. Jay Thompson
Warriors
of the Ring 3 Returns to Maui!
The tentative fight card will be posted in the next couple of
days.
If you are in Maui, please support MMA in Maui so it can get
bigger and better.
Go out and get your
tickets at:
Results Unlimited (808) 264-5501
Lower Main 76 (Across from Subway in Wailuku)
Designer Body (808) 871-9115
Chris will be there to cover the event for Onzuka.com and Full
Contact Fighter.
Source: Event Promoter
SECOND
II NONE FIGHT WEAR sponsors 3D
We are proud to announce we have a new member of the family,
Deshawn "3D" Johnson who fights out of HMC in Kalihi,
Hawaii. Deshawn who fought in many events like Superbrawl, Warriors
Quest and also headlined Pacific Fighting Championships to a
victory. Also the first team to be sponsored by SECOND II NONE
Fight Wear is Waianae's Untaimed Bloodline Fight Team.
If any fighter that wants to be sponsored please email me your
Bio's and we will look over it or anyone who wants to buy Shirts,
Beanies or Hats email pfc.hawaii@verizon.net.
Source: Second II None
Official
Release from the Shooto Association -
Americas Division:
SHOOTO
Returns to U.S. Soil...
Professional Shooto has defined itself as a true international
sport with events having taken place all around the world; including
Holland, Brazil, Norway, Finland, Australia, Japan, Hawaii, and Indiana. To date
Indiana has served as a centerpiece for Shooto's growth on the
U.S. mainland with the Ironheart Crown and formerly HOOKnSHOOT
both holding sanctioned Shooto events. Now, following in the
wake of the Ironheart's triumphant showing last October, a new
promotion is stepping up to carry the Shooto torch and play a
significant role in the sports development. On May 31st in Hammond,
IN at the Hammond Civic Center the Midwest Fighting Championship
will offer up a card of 8 exciting Full-Contact Martial Arts
bouts featuring an international field of competitors.
The
main events scheduled for the evening are:
Dan
Gilbert v. Luis 'Buscape'
Jake
Shields v. Milton Vieira
Brain
Gassaway v. Gideon Ray
The
Midwest's own, Dan Gilbert is looking to re-establish himself
in the world of Shooto now that he has come down in weight. He
erupted onto the Shooto scene with a convincing TKO victory over
Shooto stand-out and UFC veteran Jutaro Nakao. Since then his
career has been a bit of a roller coaster ride, and this is his
chance to rise up as a serious player at 155 lbs. However, Buscape
is looking to break onto the Shooto and American fight scenes
himself and won't make this an easy night for Gilbert. Additionally
Buscape is coming off a victory in the Russian fighting event
known as M-1 where he is the current champion. Now he has his
sites on another belt and it seems Gilbert is the first fighter
to stand in his way.
A
year ago, Jake Shields is a guy that few people knew much about.
Despite having built quite a reputation on the West coast, he
was just another fighter when looking at things from the big
picture. But then he took a trip to Japan on just 2 weeks notice
to take on one of the best 170 lbers in the world (former Shooto
MW Champion, Hayato Sakurai). Jake brought his wide array of
skills to bear as he rose to the occasion and made his mark on
the world stage. Now he will be climbing back into the Shooto
ring to solidify his position as a contender for the Shooto World
title. Across the ring will be Milton Vieira, who like his teammate
Buscape, is also coming off a big win in the Russian M-1 event.
He is the consummate Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tactician winning his
first Russian appearance by submission, then controlling his
opponent Magomed Jabrailov to earn the decision and the title.
This bout between Shields and Vieira promises to be a barnburner
with the more well-rounded American taking on the crafty ground
fighter from Brazil.
The
last of the feature bouts has the potential to really bring doen
the house. After having dominated fighters on the Midwest scene
and building an undefeated record of 8-0, Gideon Ray is ready
to step up into the forefront of the Full Contact Martial Arts
world and be known. He has been itching to take on Chicago-land
legend Shonie Carter in an effort to prove himself as the unofficial
King of the Midwest. He will have to wait a bit longer for Shonie
but he will get to wet his appetite with Carter's teammate Brian
Gassaway. Gassaway is a real journeyman having competed in over
3 dozen fights since 1996 in events all over the world - including
Japan, Brazil, Hawaii, and Germany. He has
the skill, experience and ring savvy to test this upstart and
see if he has what it takes to be considered a "top"
fighter. Gassaway himself has long been on the verge of becoming
a major player on the international scene and he will be more
than happy to squash the Hackney trained fighter and go on to
bigger and better things.
Source: Rich Santoro - Shooto USA
BARONI
VS. TITO? Yeah right!
It
didn't take long for the New York Bad Ass to get under the skin
of someone during the UFC broadcast. While most thought Baroni
added insight and a few laughs, some of his comments were taken
out of context by the wrong person.
During
the Matt Hughes vs. Sean Sherk title match, Baroni made the comment
of 'and he (Hughes) defends his title...unlike some other champions
we won't mention here.'
While
many took this as a stab at Tito Ortiz, it was geared towards
Murillo Bustamante.
Bustamante
was the third consecutive champion to leave UFC when an agreement
could not be met. This left the potential fight of Baroni vs.
Murillo, a fight many fans wanted to see, in the dark.
Tito
Ortiz took offense to Baroni's words and immediately posted a
response publicly.
Baroni,
in turn, fired right back at him with this post:
'Yo
Taco, why are you so bitter. What's with the name calling partner?
I
hear you called me a dirt bag. Let me tell you what I think a
dirtbag is. A dirtbag is someone who doesn't honor his contract.
And
do you wanna know what a piece of shit is, that's a champion
that bites the hand that feeds him, and denies the long time
#1 contender his rightful shot at the title.
And
do you wanna know something Jacob? My comment wasn't meant for
you it was meant for Busta-move with my belt to Brazil. But if
the shoe fits wear it!'
NYBA
Phil Baroni (anyone, anytime, anyplace, I would never duck anyone.)
Fans
of the UFC have lost all hope for an Ortiz vs. Lidell or an Ortiz
vs. Anyone in UFC ever again.
Baroni,
who is rehabbing after surgery, is expected to return to action
in the fall or winter of this year.
Source: ADCC
5th
SUBMISSION WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO!
May
17th and 18th, 2003 - GINASIO GERALDO JOSE DE ALMEIDA IRIRAPUERA,
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL
The World Championships of Submission Wrestling are only two
weeks away! Called 'the Olympics of Submission', ADCC 2003, or
just 'Abu Dhabi', there can be no doubt that the attention of
the Mixed Martial Arts world will be focused on Brazil in the
middle of May!
Word
is spreading about who is in and who is out, since the official
invitations have gone out long ago, but the official list remains
a closely guarded secret at the ADCC. Expect MANY surprises,
as the 5th edition of the will host the most competitive field
of submission martial arts ever.
'This
year, the ADCC made a strong commitment ot the quaifier events.'
states ADCC spokesman in the USA Miguel Iturrate. 'I think this
will make a HUGE difference in depth at this year's event. Where
the thinking is the Australians or Europeans were weaker in year's
past, that is not the case this year. The qualifiers have tested
the guys, and they have also earned months of preparation time.
This will show in the level of competition.'
The
spokesman continues 'I think the ADCC will probably invite several
of the runners up, giving the qualifiers more legitimacy and
meaning. And again, I think adding experienced competitors will
improve the quality.'
TOURNAMENTS:
65.9
KG & under: 16 MAN SINGLE ELIMINATION
66-76.9 KG: 16 MAN SINGLE ELIMINATION
77-87.9 KG: 16 MAN SINGLE ELIMINATION
88-98.9 KG: 16 MAN SINGLE ELIMINATION
99 KG & Up: 16 MAN SINGLE ELIMINATION
ABSOLUTE
TOURNAMENT - OPEN WEIGHT - 16 MAN SINGLE ELIMINATION
*After the main tournaments, 16 standout competitors return for
an open weight tournament. By ADCC tradition, the winner of this
tournament challenges for the SUPERFIGHT title in 2005.
SUPERFIGHT:
MARK KERR (USA) v. RICARDO ARONA (Brazil)
WHO
IS OFFICIALLY IN?
The spokesman continues 'The OFFICIAL list is in the ADCC. The
only people I can confirm 100% are last year's champions, and
the TRIAL winners.' Kepp in mind that injury or other commitments
may keep several of those listed below from competing - it is
known that Japanese star Sanae Kikuta is committed to PANCRASE's
anniversary show and will not be back.
For
now the rumors of who will fill the tournament brackets are flying!
Two things are for sure - expect a few surprises, and don't beieve
everything you hear - until it's official!
2001
WORLD CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: ROYLER GRACIE (Gracie Humaita, Brazil)
66-76.9 KG: MARCIO FEITOSA (Gracie Barra, Brazil)
77-87.9 KG: SANAE KIKUTA (Japan)
88-98.9 KG: RICARDO ARONA (Brazil)
99 KG & Up: MARK ROBINSON (South Africa)
NORTH
AMERICAN TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: EDDIE BRAVO (JJ Machado)
66-76.9 KG: PABLO POPOVICH (American Top Team)
77-87.9 KG: DAVID TERRELL (Cesar Gracie JJ)
88-98.9 KG: DEAN LISTER(City Boxing)
99 KG & Up: MIKE WHITEHEAD (Victory Athletics)
AUSTRALIAN
TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: CHRIS DERKSON
66-76.9 KG: GEORGE SOTIROPOULOS
77-87.9 KG: TRAVERS GRUBB
88-98.9 KG: ANTHONY PEROSH
99 KG & Up: SOA PELELEI
EUROPEAN
TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: TEEMU LAUNIS (Finland)
66-76.9 KG: JUSSI TAMMELIN (Finland)
77-87.9 KG: ROBERT SULSKI (Poland)
88-98.9 KG: ILIR LATIFI (Sweden / Albania)
99 KG & Up: MIKA ILMAN (Finland)
BRAZILIAN
TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
65.9 KG & under: RANY YAYHRA
66-76.9 KG: DANIEL MORAES (Gracie Humaita)
77-87.9 KG: RONALDO 'JACARE' (Master JJ)
88-98.9 KG: ALEXANDRE 'Cacareco' FERREIRA (RUAS VT)
99 KG & Up: MARCIO 'Pe De Pano' CRUZ (Gracie Barra)
JAPANESE
TRIAL CHAMPIONS:
under 65.9 KG: Katsuyuki Hirata
66-76.9 KG: Mitsuhiro Ishida
77-87.9 KG: Y. Okami
88-98.9 KG: Yousuke Mikami
99 KG up: Jun Ishii
Source: ADCC
Cabbage
On Video
There is a video interview with none other than Wesley "Cabbage"
Correira after his destruction of Sean Alvarez in UFC 42. Check
it out on Sherdog.com.
Source: Sherdog
An
Open Letter from John McCarthy
I write
this in response to all of the true fans of the UFC who may have
questions as to what is looked at in a fight or what rules are
followed during a fight. The fans of the UFC need to be educated
to exactly what the rules are to the event. The way a rule is
written down on a piece of paper and the way it is interpreted
and allowed inside the ring are two different things. All fighters,
during the fighter / manager meeting are advised to exactly how
the rules will be enforced during the fight. They are allowed
to ask any questions they have to ensure that they have full
knowledge of exactly what the referees will be looking for and
what they need to do in certain situations. Then again in their
dressing rooms, fighters are given an opportunity to address
any concerns or clarifications they might have in regards to
the rules.
Elbow
strikes seem to leave a lot of fans confused to exactly what
is legal and what is not legal. I will attempt to clarify this
by telling you exactly what is told to the fighters. The only
elbow strike that is not allowed in the UFC is a downward point
of elbow strike where the fighter's hand is pointed up towards
the sky and he brings his elbow down on top of his opponent in
a vertical fashion. For instance, if your opponent attempts to
take you down and lowers his elevation to execute a single or
double leg takedown, you "may not" bring an elbow straight
down into your opponent's back or head area with your hand coming
from a position somewhere near your head straight down. This
does not mean that you cannot elbow from that position. Any elbow
strike that has any arc to it is perfectly legal. Any elbow following
a horizontal path with the ground, thrown from any position is
also legal. Say you have your opponent in side control and you
have your body across your opponent's so the back side of your
arm is against your opponent's head; it is perfectly legal to
bring your elbow straight back striking your opponent in the
head, with the back side of your arm, or elbow. Again, the only
elbow strike that is not allowed is the one that is vertical
with your hand going straight up and coming straight down.
Let's
talk about the stand up rule. It is and will always be subjective.
Anytime you ask a referee to involve himself or herself in the
fight you will have people who are unhappy about the involvement.
If you go to the fights you will hear people screaming to stand
the fighters up as soon as they hit the ground. You will hear
cornermen yelling at the referee the entire time to either stand
them up, (if their fighter is better on his feet) or let them
stay where they are if their fighter is better on the ground.
As the referee, you cannot listen to anyone but yourself. For
quite sometime stand-ups were taken out of the UFC because they
are subjective. Trust me, all referees would rather be in a position
where they have a rule stating you cannot stand up the fighters
once the fight goes to the ground. It takes the subjectivity
away and makes life much easier on the referee. The problem lies
in the fact that not all fights are exciting. Some fights go
to the ground and there is little, if any, action going on and
what you have is two guys lying in the ring. This happened at
UFC 33 and because of it a rule change was implemented by the
NSAC. When I say a rule change, it was not so much a written
rule was established to dictate the action, but rather the rule
stating that a referee was not allowed to stand up the fighters
was abolished. As referees we knew this was going to cause controversy
among the fighters and their respective camps. Subjectivity was
brought back into the ring. For every call you make you will
have whoever was a fan of the winning fighter saying you were
right and whoever was a fan of the losing fighter saying you
were wrong.
After
much discussion, a criteria was established as to the stand-up
of fighters involved in the fight. First and foremost, the fact
that you are in someone's guard and punching at them is not enough
activity in and by itself to keep you from being stood up. The
Athletic Commissions are looking to have action; that is what
they are interested in. They have been told all about the intricacies
of the sport and about how it takes a number of small incremental
movements and advances to put your opponent in a position where
they are in danger. The Athletic Commissions look at this and
say okay, we understand that, but if a fighter is in another
fighter's guard and he punches his opponent and then continues
to punch his opponent again, and again without truly hurting
his opponent, then that fighter is not being effective from the
position he is in so they need to change their position on their
own to help themselves in being able to bring an end to the fight.
If they cannot change that position, than that means they don't
have the ability to gain that advantage so they need to be brought
to a standing position to help bring action to the fight.
Now
you may not like this, agree with it, or think it is fair, but
this is what is put upon the fighters and referees, and they
must act according to the criteria. This is why after a short
amount of time on the ground you will hear the referee advising
the fighter on top of his opponent to improve his position. What
the referee is telling the fighter is "you have been in
that position for about a minute now (and that is only an estimation
in time since the referee does not have a clock in his head)
and you have not been able to bring an end to the fight from
that position. If you want to stay on the ground you need to
do something that improves your ability to end the fight. If
the fighter chooses to stay in that position, then they know
that the referee has no choice but to stand the fight back up.
What the referee is looking for is anything that he can say was
an improvement by the fighter in their ability to end the fight.
So if the fighter is in his opponent's guard and they pass a
leg into half guard, they have effectively improved their position
so the fight will stay on the ground. If the fighter is in guard
throwing punches and decides to throw more punches, the referee
will look to see if any of the punches were effective enough
to hurt his opponent. If they were not, no matter how many punches
were thrown, the fighter will be stood back up because they were
unable to improve their position. Again you may not like this
criteria, but this is what we are advised to go on when officiating
a fight. We will always give more time to a fighter in half guard
compared to full guard, more time to a fighter in side control
compared to half guard and so on.
You
can say to yourself, I don't care what the Athletic Commissions
say; I would let them stay down and fight. There have been referees
who have done that, and that is why they are no longer doing
fights in that state. Athletic Commissions do not care if a referee
is popular or unpopular among fans, as long as that referee is
following the rules and criteria set down by that particular
commission. It is a problem that most of the fans of MMA do not
truly know what the rules are and how they are carried out during
a fight. Many problems arise when you have different rules in
different states and countries. They see a show from Japan and
figure that all the rules are the same for a fight taking place
in Brazil, or the U.S. and they are not. Each state tries to
follow the Unified Rules established by the New Jersey State
Athletic Commission, but they all seem to put in a little change
here and there in their specific state. It may be something as
simple as the taping of the fighter's hands, but they all have
differences.
Now
for a second I am going to try and answer some people's ridiculous
comments that the Zuffa organization or I have an interest in
who wins the fight. If this is what you think, than you probably
also believe in the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and little green
men from Mars. I may be speaking out of place, but I feel safe
in saying the owners and employees of Zuffa only hope that the
fighters come into the ring and give it their all so that you,
the fans of this sport, are entertained. I only care that the
fighters come into the ring, give their best and hopefully leave
healthy. I have never purposely given an advantage to one fighter
over another. This is the simple truth. Some people may believe
that I have, or even attempt to build their conspiracy theories
around it. Does it happen? I would have to say yes, but it is
not because I choose one fighter over another. Take a look at
the Genki Sudo vs. Duane Ludwig fight. The fight was stopped
in the third round as Genki was throwing effective punches at
Duane as Duane held Genki in his guard. Duane was bleeding profusely
from his nose and gagging from the blood as it collected in his
throat. I stopped the fight to have the doctor check on Duane
and advise on if the fight should continue or be stopped. The
doctor allowed the fight to continue. At this point I have no
choice but to start the fight again with the fighters starting
in their respective corners. I don't do this to give an advantage
to one fighter over another; I do it because that is the way
the rules allow the fight to be restarted. I do not possess the
authority to instantly change things and put the fighters back
into the same position from which they were stopped. If that
were the rule, then that was what would have happened. Did Duane
take advantage of the situation? Hell yes he did, but I cannot
blame him for that because each and every one of us would have
done the same. Fighters work within the rules. If they can take
a rule, or the lack of a rule and use it to their advantage,
they will. This time the rules worked in the advantage of Duane,
but it is very possible that sometime in the future it could
work against him; you just never know.
To
all of the supporters of the UFC and the fighters, I thank you
and write this information down in an attempt to help if there
is some confusion. I will always take time to meet fans of the
sport and discuss any questions they have; they deserve that
because they are the reason this sport survives. To all of the
conspiracy theory experts and other know it alls out there that
spend their days sitting behind a computer screen writing lies
about events, fighters, and others, you all need to get a life.
Take
Care….
"Big" John McCarthy
Source: Maxfighting
Post-UFC
42 Q&A with Duane "Bang" Ludwig
Peter Lockley
MAXfighting:
Congratulations on your debut UFC victory, how did the fight
go for you?
Bang: My plan was to just stay on the feet, avoid takedowns and
submissions. He was really quick with the shot and I couldn't
defend it a couple times. He got me down and he stayed really
tight. The fight went good though, I felt strong in the second
round and in the second part of the third round.
MAXfighting:
The standup in the third round has caused a lot of controversy.
How do you feel about that rule, and do you think the fight would
have gone differently without it?
Bang: It probably would have gone differently because I was pretty
stuck in that position. I was too scared to open my guard and
go for anything. So, how do I like that rule? I love that rule.
It's like a 'get out of jail free' card, getting stood up. I
need to work more on defending off the cage and escaping from
the bottom. At that point I was pretty stuck, I didn't know what
to do. I knew needed to escape but I was scared to open my guard.
I'm just glad they stood it up.
MAXfighting:
What do you have to say to people who say Genki was robbed by
the standup?
Bang: That's just the rules. He should have finished me. He should
have knocked me out instead of cutting me. He should have punched
me in the chin instead of the nose, and maybe he would have gotten
the knock out. It's not my fault he couldn't finish me…
(smiles) I guess it is my fault!
MAXfighting:
Do you think the rule is fair?
Bang: You're aware of the rules going in. If you don't like a
standup rule or something like that, work your style around it
so that you don't have to deal with that rule. There was one
standup where I was in his guard and no one is complaining about
that one, they're just complaining about the one where I was
bleeding. Sorry guys, that's the way it goes.
MAXfighting:
A lot of people say the standup was biased, that the UFC was
favoring you as a striker.
Bang: I was bleeding all over the place and they had to stop
it and check for the cut. They had to see what was wrong. That
is the rule and if you don't like it I don't know what to tell
you. But that's the rule, and I'm glad it is a rule because it
saved me.
MAXfighting:
After the standup, do you feel you feel you won the third round
convincingly?
Bang: Well, I did more damage, plus I was staying busier. I was
landing the more effective shots. He landed a little left hook
that made my nose bleed, but that was it. There was blood all
over the place, but it doesn't take much to make a nose bleed.
I think I did a lot more damage as you could tell by his face.
I was being the aggressor at the end of the fight, I finished
strong and that's what counts.
MAXfighting:
Speaking of the finish, what was up with the "Karate Kid"
stance?
Bang: I just had to pay him back for all that dancing and spinning
around. It was kind of irritating, so I just wanted to rub it
back in his face. That's what that was about.
MAXfighting: You both went to the hospital after the fight, there
were rumors that your nose was broken.
Bang: My nose if fine. I thought for sure it would be broken,
but it's not, it was just bleeding all over the place. Genki
had a concussion so he had to stay there for a while, which sucks.
I hope he's all right.
MAXfighting: And Genki gave you something after the fight?
Bang: Yeah, it's a Japanese tradition that they exchange gifts.
He gave me his shirt and a box of cookies, which was really cool.
I didn't know he was going to do that or I would have gotten
him something. When I go out to Japan for K-1 in July I'll have
to bring him a gift because he's going to be in the tournament
as well.
MAXfighting:
So you could end up fighting Genki again in K-1?
Bang: Yes, and hopefully we do, because if we do fight under
K-1 rules I won't hold back. I won't have to worry about takedowns,
I'll just go after him and maybe I'll get the KO.
MAXfighting:
How about a rematch in the UFC?
Bang: I'll give him a rematch for sure. I'll give him a rematch,
I'll give Jens a rematch, he's been saying he wants to fight
me again, let's do it. If the money is there, for sure…
even if the money isn't there, you still want to fight, we'll
fight.
MAXfighting:
Jens has said he wants you to keep winning so that he can get
a rematch.
Bang: Yeah, if I start losing or he keeps losing then maybe we
won't meet. We both have to stay at the top if we want to make
good money in the rematch. Hopefully he'll win his fights and
I'll win mine and we'll meet again later. Or we can meet now,
that's fine.
MAXfighting:
What's next for you in the UFC?
Bang: Opponent wise, I don't know. We'll see what they offer
me in terms of another fight or a contract.
MAXfighting:
This was a big test for your ground game. How confident are you
in your ground game now and how do you think you would match
up with some of the better ground fighters in the UFC, like Matt
Serra, BJ Penn, etc…?
Bang: I feel pretty comfortable now, but I still have a lot to
work on. I've been making great progress and a lot of that is
thanks to Shane Pitts, Nate Marquardt, Robert Ferguson and Bas.
It's coming along, but the main thing for me is learning to block
the takedowns. I don't think I could win a submission tournament
against guys like Matt Serra or BJ Penn, but in an NHB fight
it's a different story.
MAXfighting:
You were offered a fight with Yves Edwards before Genki Sudo,
would you fight him?
Bang: Yeah, Yves and I will probably end up fighting if the money
is right. We're kind of friends but this is business, so if we're
paid right we'll fight. We're both strikers and it would be a
good fight.
MAXfighting:
Is this like a Tito Ortiz/Chuck Liddell situation?
Bang: No, I'm not asking for tons of money, just more than what
they originally offered me after the Jens fight. That money just
wasn't right to fight Yves, but it's not like a Tito Ortiz/Chuck
Liddell thing at all, I'm not asking for more than I should get.
MAXfighting:
Do you feel prepared to fight in K-1 again this year?
Bang: K-1 is in July so I have time to prepare. I'm going to
work on my boxing with Trevor Whitman. We'll see what happens
and whether I need to go somewhere to tune up my training. I
feel strong, confident with my hands. I have a lot more power
now, so hopefully I'll do better than I did last year. It would
be fun to fight Genki in K-1.
MAXfighting:
Did you see his fight with Masato?
Bang: Yeah, he did well with Masato because he's so unorthodox
and people don't know what do with him. But I know what to do,
just go after him. I couldn't in the UFC because he might take
me down and I had to be careful, but in K-1 I don't have to be
careful, I'll just go for it.
MAXfighting:
You've recently made another commitment that doesn't involve
fighting… Could talk about that and how it affected your
fight?
Bang: My fiancé Jessica 'soon to be' Ludwig was watching
at home. She was calling me a wuss when I had Genki in my guard,
so that hurt my feelings (laughs). She was yelling at me to get
up while he was punching me in the face.
Jessica: I wanted him to get up! I knew Genki was good on the
ground, so that kind of scared me, but Duane's standup was awesome.
When Duane was all bloodied up it freaked me out and I said a
few bad words (laughs), but thank god he finished strong.
MAXfighting:
When did you get engaged?
Bang: This year on Valentines Day! We haven't set a date yet,
but we'll see what happens with the fight thing. I want to save
up some money for the marriage and I want to take her to Hawaii
for the honeymoon.
MAXfighting:
Thanks for your time, do you have anything else to add?
Bang: Yeah, I'd just like to say thanks to Bas Rutten, Amir Ranahvardi,
GLC 2000, Dakotas Steak house, Brothers BBQ, Profile Autobody,
Octagon.com, rockhardnutrition.com, fairtex, mma-magazine.com,
Robert Ferguson's gym, Chuck Liddell, John Hackleman, Martialartsradio.com,
Sven Bean, UFC and Genki Sudo.
Source: Maxfighting
5/1/03
Quote
of the Day
"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and
take without forgetting."
Elizabeth Bibesco
Baret
& Jamal Out, but still one of the best cards ever!
Super Brawl 29
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
May 9, 2003
There was a rumor
that the show was sold out. Tickets are still available, but
you should buy them before the day of the event. There is a possibility
that it could be sold out.
Heavyweight 2x5 minute rounds
Tim Tynan (808 Fight Factory, 0-0) vs. Ray "King Kong"
Seraille (Grappling Unlimited, 1-2)
170lbs
2x5 minute rounds
Mark Moreno (Bulls Pen, 6-1-1) vs. Shawn "Tornado"
Taylor (Freelance, 2-0-1)
167.5lbs
2x5 minute rounds
Paul Laga (Bull's Pen, 2-0) vs. Brandon Keen (Grappling Unlimited,
2-0)
167.5lbs
2x5 minute round
Billy Rush (Meat Truck, Inc., 2-0) vs. "Ice Kold" Kolo
Koka (Grappling Unlimited, 4-3)
145lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Eddie Yagin (Grappling Unlimited, 8-1) vs. Joe Jordan (Extreme
Impact, 3-1)
167.5lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (Jesus is Lord, 12-5) vs. Kuniyoshi
Hironaka (SSS Academy, Tokyo, 5-1)
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Stephen "Bozo" Paling (Jesus is Lord, 10-4) vs. Mark
Hominick (Team Tompkins, Ontario, Canada, 3-0)
143lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Jeff Curran (Linx, Chicago, IL, 5-5) vs. "Kid" Yamamoto
(Pure Bred, Tokyo, 4-1)
183.2lbs
3x5 minute rounds
Masanori Suda (Tokyo) Shooto Champion vs. Egan Inoue (Grappling
Unlimited) Super Brawl Champion
Brazilian
Top Team Adding More Features!
by: Marcello Tetel
It
is known that Brazilian Top Team is an MMA powerhouse, having
one of the best cast of fighters anywhere in the world. Much
credit should go to the philosophy of having complete fighting
scenarios in their minds.
BTT
methodology consists in giving the fighter as many options as
possible to work, and the fighter and the game plan is studied
for each match separatedly. 'The main focus is to be able to
represent BTT as a complete fighting system. To do so we hired
wrestling coach Darrel Gholar, who has been giving us a hard
time ever since. Paulo Nikolai is our Muay Thai Teacher and is
doing great with our standup, but we felt something was missing
and that's why we have the honor of having Mr. Claudio Coelho
share his experience with us in boxing'. stated Mario Sperry,
one of BTT's chairpersons.
Claudio
well known in the NHB Brazilian scene as the boxing coach of
most all Brazilian MMA stars. Whenever you see Pedro Rizzo or
Murilo Bustamante fighting, Claudio is there. The same with Royler
and Renzo Gracie. Marco Ruas, who is rumoured to have his return
soon, is another Coelho pupil.
Claudio
adding more skills to BTT members and Murilo Bustamante' standup
actions already speak for themselves.
Source: ADCC
Dan
Henderson to Go Under the Knife Today
By Josh Gross
Mixed martial arts veteran Dan Henderson is scheduled to have
surgery today in the San Diego-area Oasis Medical Center to replace
torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments suffered
while celebrating his victory over Shungo Oyama in March. Henderson
will also undergo a procedure to clean out an elbow that's been
bothering him for some time.
The
fan favorite anticipates being on the shelf only four to five
months. As recently as two weeks ago he was negotiating with
Dream Stage Entertainment to participate in August's PRIDE middleweight
Grand Prix, however, he remains without a contract heading into
Wednesday's surgery. There have also been talks between Henderson's
representatives and Zuffa to bring him into the UFC's middleweight
division.
Source: Maxfighting
HALLMAN
LAYS THE SMACK DOWN ON MMAWEEKLY RADIO
Dennis Hallman continued his efforts to call out Matt Hughes
and Frank Trigg on Tuesday's MMA Weekly Radio Show. Hallman said
that he was surprised at how sorry Trigg's stand-up game was
when they fought in the WFA, and he was also surprised at Trigg's
lack of strength when going for takedowns. Hallman said that
once Trigg knew he couldn't land good strikes or score any takedowns,
he started to hit Hallman with a couple of knees to the groin
and topped it off with a kick that "hit me right in the
balls," to use Hallman's own words. Hallman also had some
choice words for the referee in his fight with Trigg: "Larry
Landless is the worst ref in the history of MMA... that guy couldn't
ref a fight to save his life." Hallman doesn't expect to
be back in the WFA, if for no other reason because the company
is going out of business from what Hallman has heard.
Dennis
Hallman went on to say that Matt Hughes has gotten used to dominating
people, but is still making all of the same mistakes that he
made in the past. Hallman commented that Hughes would be unable
to control him on the ground, and that Hughes would get knocked
out if he tried to keep the fight standing. Hallman said he doesn't
understand why people just stay on their backs when Hughes is
on top of them, because in Hallman's words, "It's not like
Matt Hughes is going to take anyone's back and submit them."
Hallman said that he will be fighting on the July 25th King of
the Cage show, and the list of his possible opponents includes
Jeremy Jackson, Shonie Carter, and Ronald Jhun. Hallman said
he would then like to fight Frank Trigg in the UFC (while wearing
a steel cup), and then fight Matt Hughes for the UFC Welterweight
Title.
Source: MMA Weekly
UFC
43: A Look At The Matchups
UFC
43 - Thomas and Mack Center
Las Vegas, NV- June 6, 2003
Ken
Shamrock vs. Ian Freeman
It's evident that UFC is looking to get Shamrock a win but this
will NOT be an easy task. Freeman is more than a handful for
any opponent on any given day.
Vitor
Belfort vs. Marvin Eastman
This one could get interesting if Belfort decides to stand. Eastman
has very strong standup skills and good ground defense. This
will be Belfort's second match for the new UFC and it's definitely
not one to take lightly.
Chuck
Liddell vs. Randy Couture
By now, almost everyone has given up hope on Tito Ortiz. An official
announcement is expected to take place regarding his match to
crown a new champion.
Tre
Telligman vs. Pedro Rizzo
They had a great first fight but Telligman just ran out of gas.
Rizzo has four...yes...FOUR more fights on his deal so this is
definitely not the last we'll see of him. Telligman's last big
fight was in PRIDE where he defeated Igor Vovchanchin.
Matt
Lindland vs. Falaniko
Vitale
Vitale has been fighting for a long time with little respect.
A VERY tough Hawaiian fighter with KO's and submissions. Lindland,
who always exceeds his potential, will keep his gameplan and
will make his bid for the 185lbs title down the road.
Tank
Abbott vs. Kimo
Looks very interesting on paper. If Tank doesn't win this, his
six-figure paydays are going to be questioned. This could be
the most interesting fight on the card. UFC would probably want
a KO victory from Tank to set up the Shamrock fight. Keep in
mind, Kimo has faced bigger men, taken many shots and has never
been KO'd. There's a first time for everything but we won't know
until the time comes.
Frank
Mir vs. Wes Simms
Mir is a four-time vet of UFC and this will mark Wes Simms first
'big fight.' Little will be known about Wes Simms to general
MMA fans. His biggest victory is over Marcus 'Conan' Silveira
on 12/13/02 for HOOKnSHOOT. He has a 3-1 record with his only
loss being his first match against Dan Severn. Mir is looking
to keep his victories rolling in (after a stunning submission
victory over Tank Abbott).
Yves
Edwards vs. Eddie Ruiz
Eddie Ruiz is a fighter out of the Tank Abbott camp. He is a
very aggressive wrestler who went to the ADCC World Championship
in 1999 on a few days notice and ended up placing. Edwards will
have tons more experience and says he won't hesitate to KO people!
Edwards is saying how he is new-and-improved and is going to
destroy!
This
one is going to be interesting. Without Ortiz on top in Vegas,
is running a bigger venue than the MGM risky? We'll find out
in about 5 weeks!
