May News Part 3
Quote
of the Day
"People are eternally divided into two classes, the believer,
builder,
and praiser, and the unbeliever, destroyer and critic."
John Ruskin |
Ultimate
Warriors In Maui!
Saturday, June 7, 2003
Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui
6:00 gates open
7:00 fights
The fight card will be coming soon!
All you Maui fight fans make sure that you support this event,
along with the others and as the sport grows in Maui, so will
the events.
Source: Event Promoter |
Fighters
Club TV Episode 11 This Tuesday
Episode 11 is finished and will premier this coming Tuesday on
Channel 52 @ our normal time slot of 830pm. (It'll then run
for the next 3 Tuesdays--same bat time/same bat channel)
Episode
11 features:
-Highlights
from Ray and Monica Cooper's "AFC 3" at the Waikiki
Shell
(including interviews w/ Ray)
-Highlights from Danny Kaheaku's "Kickin' it" at Palama
Gym
(interviews w/ Danny, Ron Jhun, Stephen "Bozo" Paling)
-Technique of the Week:
Featuring Purebred's Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto demonstrating
some of his NHB takedowns
-and of course, TV's two favorite fight hosts, Mike Onzuka and
Mark Kurano
(Jocelyn where are you?)
It's
a fast-paced show so don't miss it!
|
Don
Frye: Fighting Smart
By Jason Probst
Don Frye
finally gets his rematch with Mark Coleman in PRIDE June 8, and
once, just this once, he'd like to fight the right way, dispensing
with the macho stuff and letting his technique do the work.
"I'd
like to fight smart for first time in my life," Frye told
Maxfighting. "I get out there, and I'm kinda dumb in the
sense that I want to brawl. I'll stay in there, I been working
so hard, and I just want to make all of that training count.
Sometimes I want to really go out there and make it last because
I just train so hard."
Frye's
wired that way - he's a fighter to the core. With a record of
14-2, he's lost only to Coleman and Hidehiko Yoshida via arm
bar in his previous outing, last year. In UFC 11, he took his
first loss in a brutal, blood-soaked stoppage against Coleman
that saw both men dig deep in a taxing war. It was the seminal
ground-and-pound clinic for Coleman, and Frye knows exactly when
the fight went wrong.
"I
knew I lost when I woke up that morning," Frye said. "I
just didn't feel myself. I was sick and you could see it in my
matches earlier that day against Brian Johnston and Mark Hall.
I just didn't have that killer instinct."
Now
training with Frank Shamrock at Shamrock's San Jose American
Kickboxing Academy, Frye is enduring a whole new world of exhaustion
and pushing himself to develop new skills, while digging out
and polishing forgotten ones to help him turn the trick against
Coleman.
"I
came here to Frank's place to learn a new game, to learn something
new," Frye said. "I don't think Mark can change his
game plan. He's a midwestern guy, a wrestler. I don't think he's
going to change anything."
"Don's
been working on his submissions," adds Frank Shamrock. "He
was always good at avoiding them, but now we're working on that,
too."
"We've
been working on the triangle choke, it was effective versus Mark
in his last fight. We're training with chokes and arm bars, and
you know what? Frank's trying to get me to do a flying arm bar.
Which I think it would kinda look kinda silly unless it actually
worked."
The
sticking point against Coleman has always been his dominance
of top position. Nobody has ever been able to put him on his
back and keep him there. Wrestler mentality resists that before
anything else, and regardless of how sharp Coleman is in being
inactive since his September 2001 loss to Antonio Noguiera, he
still figures to be very tough to take down. But Frye and Shamrock
think "The Predator" can change the equation of the
fight by doing just that.
"We've
been training on our double leg takedowns, I used to have a pretty
damned good one, in college, I haven't used it in 15 or 18 years,"
Frye said. "We just might impose that. I think Coleman is
susceptible to that. I think he will quit mentally before he'll
quit physically. We are looking to take him down and put him
on his back. We wanna see how mentally he would do with that."
Frye expects to fight at 230 lbs., some fifteen pounds bigger
than he was against Coleman in their first fight.
At
37, Frye is the first guy to joke about how tough the training
is for someone of his experience.
"Do
I want to retire? Heck yes. I don't wanna be in it right now,
and I don't wanna be in it yesterday, because these guys are
killing me," Frye jokes, referring to Shamrock and the hard-nosed
training team at A.K.A. "I just want to get this one outta
the way."
He
also mentions that there is no animosity left after finally getting
his long-coveted fight with Ken Shamrock last year, where Frye
took a hard-fought split decision win.
"You'd
have to be a real asshole to fight in the ring for 20 minutes
with someone and still have a problem with them," Frye said.
"Everything is settled between Ken and I. I'm just glad
to get the opportunity to fight Coleman again."
Source: Maxfighting |
Frank
Mir: Back in The Driver's Seat
By Jason Probst
Frank Mir
enters the Octagon in UFC 43 facing a 6'9 Wes Sims, whose dimensions
are similar to UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. It's no accident
that Mir, a contender once more after his defeat of Tank Abbot
in UFC 41, is looking to show he can beat a big guy, because
he needs to do just that in order to get a title shot.
For
Mir, the 6'9, 260-lb. Sims just means more limbs to grab on to
en route to one of his submissions finishes. At 6'1 and 240 lbs.,
Mir figures to want to take it to the ground quickly. Noting
that former champion Ricco Rodriguez was beaten by Sylvia trying
to do just that, Mir answers in that characteristic way of his
- that suggests he thinks as much about the psychology of fighting
as the aesthetics of it
"I
don't see too many guys overpowering me because I use technique,"
Mir told Maxfighting. "I think in Ricco's case, the training
partners he had, he had gotten away from jiu-jitsu. I think he
was used to doing big man jiu-jitsu, being on top. My jiu-jitsu
is little man jiu-jitsu. I am almost more comfortable on bottom.
If I'm a big guy and I use small guy tactics to beat a big guy,
with my strength and size, I should be better off. The arm bar
that Rodriguez tried on Tim, the set up was fine, but the legs
weren't down and he didn't arch his hips, and when he was lifted
up he didn't transition to another hold. But it probably didn't
com up in his training. I think a lot of guys are so much into
the conditioning aspects of fighting they forget to work on technique."
Mir
puts Sims in perspective, the way he did over previously vanquished
foes in Pete Williams, Roberto Traven, and Tank Abbott - by assessing
what his man is likely to want to do. Mir then builds his fight
plan around denying the guy the chance to do it.
"I'm
not gonna try and get this guy out of his strong point. Sims
feels very confident with his ground skills," Mir said.
"Against Roberto Traven, I waited a little bit before going
to the ground, because that was what the guy wanted."
Mir's
career momentum built readily after impressive submissions over
Williams and Traven, but he slacked off in training and started
to read his own press clippings, so to speak, prior to fighting
Ian Freeman in UFC 38. Mir absorbed a steady barrage of punches
while being caught in a ground-and-pound fight with Freeman,
and the bout was stopped after the first round with the Las Vegan
out on his fight. Perhaps the most important post-script regarding
the Freeman fight is that he was not gun-shy in facing Abbott
in his next match. He came right out and took the fight to the
ground without delay.
"I
wasn't surprised by the quick submission against Tank,"
Mir said. "I do it all the time in practice."
Mir
can find submissions in a haystack, and against Sims, he's likely
to get the chance with the long limbs and various entanglements
that occur with such a disparity in size.
In
the short list of "Who's next?" for Tim Sylvia, Mir
will definitely be up there with a win, particularly with Gan
McGee and Sylvia being unable to reach an agreement to fight
this September. Yet at the same time he doesn't exhibit a sense
of entitlement about it even if he does win; Mir takes a long
view of the UFC purse structure and the sport's exposure.
"It's
a professional sport. But it's also about who brings in numbers,"
Mir said. "You have to consider who brings in new numbers.
So, say a Maurice Smith decides to go back to UFC and it bringsa
lot of new buys, that's going to help every fighter in the long
run."
"There's
definitely some meaning behind me fighting Sims. He's a big guy,"
Mir added. "I don't think there should be weight classes
- anytime I ever trained with somebody above 280 lbs., it's easier.
There's very few guys that have the quickness to move around.
I think that's the reason there's not much reason to have a super
heavyweight class. It isn't like all of the Pride heavies are
300 lbs. How many guys out there are 300-lb. freaks and have
any ability and in shape? The only guy I can think of the states
is Eric Pele. NO matter what the size, the submissions are all
the same."
Source: Maxfighting |
UFC
SCHEDULE CHANGE:
FROM AUGUST TO SEPTEMBER
Late last night word rolled in that Zuffa had just canceled UFC
44. Not really true. Zuffa hasn't actually cancelled UFC 44,
but more accurately, they have changed the date of the show.
Though
they never officially announced the show, it was widely known
that both Tim Sylvia and Matt Hughes had been expecting to defend
their titles and Rich Franklin was to fight Edwin Dewees on August
1st in Las Vegas, aka UFC 44.
Though
we were unable to reach Sylvia or Hughes, three MMAWeekly sources
did verify that Sylvia, Hughes and Franklin were all informed
that the August 1st date was not going to happen.
Questioning
the reasoning for the canceling of the August 1st date, all they
could say is that they were told that "the August 1st date
was never firm and that the UFC 44 fights would be pushed back
to the September 26th date" that had originally been planned
as the date for UFC 45.
Though
we don't currently know exactly why the date change occurred,
we do know that the UFC is now putting themselves in a bit of
an awkward position in regards to many of the fighters that they
have signed to multi-fight deals.
Most
of the fighters, such as Tim Sylvia, that are signed to a 3-fight
deal are guaranteed for those fights to take place in a certain
amount of time, usually within one year on a 3-fight deal. By
the time September 26th rolls around, it will be about 7 months
since Sylvia last fought.
Ordinarily,
the UFC would have just one more show after September 26th to
finish out the year. Given this scenario, Sylvia would then have
to turn around and fight again on the next consecutive show in
order to fulfill his contract.
And
Sylvia is just one of a handful of fighters that will be in the
same predicament which will lead the UFC to have to have a certain
number of fighters crammed onto their year end show.
After
the questionable decision by the UFC to forego the momentum generated
by the UFC 40 mega-show last year and wait 3 months before running
another show, the critics and skeptics will again be out in droves
to again question the UFC's motives. Why would they build up
such a huge card full of name fighters on UFC 42, only to turn
around and not run another show for nearly 4 months?! Again losing
out on the possible momentum that such a superstar card should
generate.
Speculation
aside, the fact is that the decision has been made, UFC 44 will
NOT take place on August 1st and fans will be facing a long barren
summer when it comes to big-time MMA shows with only the Pride
Grand Prix to look forward to in August.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
To be capable of steady friendship or lasting love, are the two
greatest proofs, not only of goodness of heart, but of strength
of mind.
William Hazlitt |
LIDDELL
STARTING TO GET CREDIT HE DESERVES
He has beaten the best fighters in the world. He doesn't care
who he fight. He just wants to fight the best. Chuck Liddell
fights who the UFC tells him to. (Tito you listening?) Chuck
Liddell is finally getting the credit he deserves from the mma
fans and he will get a chance to be rewarded on the big stage
with a national television interview on Fox Sports Network.
The
Best Damn Sports Show is calling and "The Iceman" will
be the third UFC fighter to be on the show shown nationwide on
Tuesday evening. (Ortiz and Abbott were the only two fighters
to be on the show.) Check your local listings for times in your
area.
Liddell
is looking forward to fighting Randy Couture next week for the
Light Heavyweight Interim Title at the Thomas and Mack Center
in Las Vegas. Liddell is a slight favorite in the fight according
to oddsmakers.
Source: MMA Weekly |
SPRATT
TALKS ABOUT B.E.T AND FIGHT FUTURE
Pete Spratt made an impromptu appearance on Wednesday's MMAWeekly
Radio Show and took the opportunity to talk about his next fight
in the UFC. Pete said that he would really like for his next
fight to be against Jeremy Jackson because Jackson is a great
fighter and the two of them would have a very entertaining fight.
Spratt
also mentioned Ronald Jhun, Jake Shields, and Dave Strasser as
potential opponents for his next fight, but he reiterated that
Jeremy Jackson is the one he would like to fight. Spratt said
he hopes that his next fight will be at UFC 44 on September 26,
but it's also a possibility that it won't be until UFC 45 in
November.
Pete
Spratt also said that regardless of who he fights in his next
fight, he would like the following fight to be a Welterweight
Title shot if he wins. When asked in the Live Chat Fighter (which
Spratt visits regularly) how he would approach a fight with Matt
Hughes, Spratt said he would try to chip away at Hughes and would
also have to work on takedown defense and ground escapes.
One
person that should be helpful in the development of Spratt's
ground game is Eddie Bravo, who recently got a tap-out victory
over Royler Gracie in Brazil. Spratt is going to Los Angeles
in the near future to train with Chris Brennan, and while he's
in the city he also plans to spend a lot of time working on his
ground game with Eddie Bravo.
Remember,
you can see Pete Spratt this Saturday, May 31 on BET at 12:00
PM noon Eastern Time (11:00 AM Central Time). Spratt will be
featured on a segment during the Mad Sports show in which he
educates people about mixed martial arts, gives fans a backstage
tour of the UFC, and shows fans what it takes to prepare for
a UFC fight.
Source: MMA Weekly |
BUSTAMANTE
NOT FIGHTING IN PRIDE 26
Brazilian Top Team representative Marcello Tetel has gone on
the record saying that Murilo Bustamante will definitely not
be fighting on next week's Pride 26 show.
Bustamante
has been negotiating on and off with Pride since his UFC contract
officially expired on May 10, but he was unable to reach an agreement
with Pride to fight Anderson Silva (or anyone else) on Pride
26.
Though
it has not been officially confirmed by Pride or Bustamante,
several sources report that Bustamante isn't being offered anywhere
near the amount of money that he expected to be offered by Pride.
When
Bustamante's teammate Ricardo Arona had to pull out of his scheduled
Pride 26 fight with Alistair Overeem, Bustamante immediately
became one of the top two candidates to replace Arona (who has
a severe case of the flu).
However,
according to a statement by Marcello Tetel on ADCC News, Bustamante
is no longer available to fight on Pride 26 because he wouldn't
be able to get his work visa quickly enough. With Bustamante
officially out of the running, any number of fighters could sign
to fight Alistair Overeem on Pride 26, but the far-and-away leading
candidate at this point is Jeremy Horn.
Here's
the interesting about Horn though. MMAWeekly.com talked to Horn's
manager, Monte Cox and Cox said that Horn has not been contacted
by Pride. You would think they would have contacted him by know
if he would be fighting next week.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
WHO
IS EDDIE RUIZ ? UFC 43 COVERAGE
Not many people know Eddie Ruiz as a fighter. As we continue
to get closer to UFC 43 next week, we continue to get you closer
to the action with the most interviews of any site in the world
today. We continue our coverage with an interview with Eddie
Ruiz.
MMAWeekly:
Eddie Ruiz joins us now. How are you doing man?
Ruiz:
I am doing pretty good man.
MMAWeekly:
You ready to fight in your first UFC?
Ruiz:
Oh Yeah I am ready. I have been waiting for this a long time.
MMAWeekly:
Well this has to be pretty exciting for you. Tell the fans a
little bit about your background? Your fighting background?
Ruiz:
I have done Shooto in Japan. I was a wrestler in Jr. College.
I wrestled all through high school– overall for the last
ten years with Division 1 wrestlers, and I played the old submission
game for the last eight years. I tried out some of my submission
skills at Abu Dhabi, where everyone is supposed to be an expert.
I did not ever really take a Jiu-Jitsu class, just hardcore wrestling
as my background, and I ended up placing 4th overall. This with
having broken ribs and like I said, not even training for that.
I end up not kissing the Princes’ ass, so they did not invite
me the next year.
MMAWeekly:
Eddie- that is funny. I know you train with Tank and I am a guy
that loves Tank. I mean there are people that know David Abbott
and people that know Tank Abbott, and I just think the guy is
hilarious. The thing I like about him is his honesty and I can
see that rubbing off on you.
Ruiz:
Exactly! What you see is what you get. Most guys are like…nothing
wrong with doing, what you need to do to make a living and do
whatever, but it is almost like they are like the “Backstreet
Boys”. They are all made up. You see what I am saying?
MMAWeekly:
Yeah
Ruiz:
There is a new generation of fighters that are fucking tough.
MMAWeekly:
Right
Ruiz:
But not too many are real.
MMAWeekly:
It is interesting, I hear you cut a lot of weight Man. How much
weight are you cutting to get to 155lbs.?
Ruiz:
I weigh around 185lbs.- but that is walking around looking good.
That is not fucking competing weight.
MMAWeekly:
185lbs?
Ruiz:
185lbs. – but when your around Tank and all, everybody throws
up a lot of weight. So you get caught up in getting big, getting
strong, but like I said, I was weighing 185lbs., but that was
also coming out of jail.
MMAWeekly:
What is it with you guys man? You guys fight in the streets,
fight in the bars…..
Ruiz:
Hey, it is just the way that it is. I do not know.
MMAWeekly:
I hear ya….
Ruiz:
I don’t play well with others sometimes.
MMAWeekly:
(laughs) All you guys down there….I am telling you. Eddie
Ruiz joins us live on MMAWeekly Radio, he will be facing Yves
Edwards coming up on June 6th from Las Vegas. I am looking forward
to seeing you fight Eddie. As far as the actual fight goes, Yves
is a pretty ought guy and I know you had a chance to see him
on film, but what is your overall take an Yves?
Ruiz:
You know what? I like him because he comes in shape and he bangs.
I do not want to go against anybody. I do not want to go fish.
You know what I mean? “This is who I have gone against”-
I do not care. Tell me about whom a guy has lost to. I can tell
you I have gone with some tough guys, Sakurai, Uno, Gracie –
not cousin, his brother, and I have gone with other top ten fighters.
I do not care who it is. I just want to get the best fight I
have out of me. I want to be losing and then come back. I want
to see what I got in me. All I can say is he (Yves) is a tough
guy and were scrapping for 15 minutes.
MMAWeekly:
I was going to say, you are more a guy that likes to take people
down and pound them correct?
Ruiz:
Yeah, don’t get me wrong. I got into Muay Thai last year
pretty solid. I can take guys down when I want, but I can also
break arms and legs. If we go there and Yves want to play ‘who
kicks harder’- we’ll play that.
MMAWeekly:
I am still tripping about you weighing 185lbs. and cutting to
155lbs. How do you do that training wise?
Ruiz:
It is just hardcore wrestling man. If you have ever seen a hardcore
wrestler for twenty years, you go to D1, to the national championships
and you see some crazy animals cutting thirty pounds. I started
wrestling and working out, and I was looking big and stuff, but
last time I fought I was 155lbs. naturally and I just started
cutting weight. I fought Caol Uno well– I was throwing him
around like a rag doll with no training. As for Sakurai? I am
in there, I know I am in there.
MMAWeekly:
I do not think a lot of fight fans even knew you competed against
these guys. Tell me about both guys.
Ruiz:
What happened was I went out there and those Saudi guys started
setting me up. They knew I was banged up. I told them that I
was hurt and I was not even in training. “Can you make weight?”
Yeah, I can make weight and they sent me out there and I go against
Royce Gracie’s brother in the second round. I upset him
in a 25-minute match. Take it! Broken ribs and no cardio….this
is what people don’t understand. I got fucking heart and
you need to break my heart. I beat him and then I go with Uno.
This would be for the finals to go against the world champion.
I take him down and control him and all of the sudden they break
us apart. He got a new start and we get in a scramble. I got
in a knee bar and I was trying to block it out because I knew
I did not have the cardio. I went for a submission and locked
it. I got into position, he got on top and I was leading 7-0
and he ended able to get me down and choked me. If you look at
the tape you know it was a man vs. boy.
MMAWeekly:
As far as MMA goes, how many MMA fights have you had?
Ruiz:
Like four, but like I said that is not even important. I have
gone to Japan in Shooto with real light heavyweights like Kanehara.
He just fought Vanderlei Silva. I do not see too many lightweights
fighting Heavyweights.
MMAWeekly:
I don’t either.
Ruiz:
It is just out of my weight class, but it is a fight. I don’t
think they have the mentality, like I said, I trained with Tito,
with Tank and it goes on and on. I’m not afraid to fight.
Don’t get me wrong we're tough. I am going out of weight
class and I have to prove myself. I can go to the KOTC and be
like “Uh…can I fight that guy?” that is not what
this is about. Do not give me a guy I am going to beat. Give
me a guy I am supposed to lose to, that is what fighting is all
about. Most of these guys want 30-0 records so they can go to
Japan. I have already been there. I have been all around the
world. I don’t want that. I want a tough guy.
MMAWeekly:
Eddie Ruiz fights Yves Edwards for his first fight. He wants
a tough guy and I think he got one in Yves Edwards. It should
be a great fight. Eddie what is your prediction for the fight?
Ruiz:
A lot of punches, bunches of punches. I know it is going to be
a good good fight. There is nothing better to fight in front
of all those warriors. I saw that poster and looked at all those
warriors- nothing better. Basically I am opening up for U2 and
Michael Jackson brother.
MMAWeekly:
A lot of the guys in the live fighter chat want to know since
your cutting 185lbs. to 155lbs., does that hurt your conditioning?
I know you are training well and have a wrestling background,
but cutting all that weight- does it effect you? Make you worried
about making it to the third round?
Ruiz:
It is a gradual thing. Anyone that knows about cutting weight
it is not overnight. I dropped 10…then 10…then 10 every
couple of months. I made sure not to cut too fast. A pound a
week. I did not want to lose my strength. I still have strength,
same thing I threw up at 185lbs.- still throwing up now. It could
be done, but needs to be done over six months. It can’t
be done in two or three.
MMAWeekly:
You told us you wrestled a lot. What is your wrestling background?
Ruiz:
I have done the whole thing. All through high school, Jr. college
state champs- full ride, but chose another road. I am no saint
brother. I made some wrong turns, but you know what? Come June
6th there is a right turn. I think it is a right turn and the
right time. I should have been the first lightweight, but I blew
my knee out. You do not get too many second chances in life and
win or lose I am fucking going out throwing the dogs.
MMAWeekly:
I like that attitude. I love how you are going to throw it all
out there.
Ruiz:
Nothing to lose. I am supposed to lose and nobody wants me to
win. I guess that is why I am going to win period! I don’t
hate the guy, he is just in front of me.
MMAWeekly:
Eddie you made your presence felt on MMAWeekly Radio. We will
get you on again when we meet up in Vegas.
Ruiz:
Right on and thanks for having me.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
There is in every true woman’s heart a spark of heavenly
fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity,
but which kindles up, and beams and blazes in the dark hour of
adversity.
Elisabeth Guizot |
Super
Brawl 30 News
On Friday night, June 13th, Super Brawl
will prove once and for all Size Does Matter!
Two
of Super Brawls biggest stars, Andre "The Chief" Roberts
and Cabbage will continue their collision course that may end
up with them fighting for the Super Brawl belt.
Cabbage
will face Justin Eillers, a tough young fighter who is roomates
with UFC Champion Tim Sylvia. Cabbage would like nothing better
than to beat Eillers while Sylvia watches from the opposing corner.
Sylvia
and Eillers have different plans. Eillers was a D-1 College football
player who was highly scouted by the NFL. His natural athletic
ability and size (nearly 245lbs) will make him a formidable opponent
for the Super Brawl Heavyweight Champ.
The
Chief is returning after an impressive victory over GU fighter
"King Kong" Serraille. His opponent will be the always
exciting Jonathan Ivey. Ivey moves tremendously fast for a big
man and has many victories in less than one minute.
Also
on the undercard, the finals of the most highly touted tournament
series of the year. Super Brawl promoter T.Jay Thompson and Extreme
Challenge promoter Monte Cox, teamed up over the past six months
to promote two separate 185lb, 8-man tournaments. The top two
finishers in each tournament, as well as 4 invitees will compete
in the finals held during the undercard of Super Brawl 30, Collission
Course! They include, Stephan Potvin (Montreal, 7-3), Brandon
Seguin (Canada, 6-2-1), Kaipo Kalama (Grappling Unlimited 1-0-1),
Joe Doerksen (Winnipeg, 18-5), Jay Buck (Hellhouse, 9-4), Jason
Miller (Team Oyama, 23-12-0), Desi Minor (808 Fight Factory,
4-1), and Amir Rahnavardi (Irvine, CA, 7-6).
Source:
Superbrawl.tv |
Frank
Mir: Back in The Driver's Seat
Frank Mir enters the Octagon in UFC 43 facing a 6'9 Wes Sims,
whose dimensions are similar to UFC heavyweight champion Tim
Sylvia. It's no accident that Mir, a contender once more after
his defeat of Tank Abbot in UFC 41, is looking to show he can
beat a big guy, because he needs to do just that in order to
get a title shot.
For
Mir, the 6'9, 260-lb. Sims just means more limbs to grab on to
en route to one of his submissions finishes. At 6'1 and 240 lbs.,
Mir figures to want to take it to the ground quickly. Noting
that former champion Ricco Rodriguez was beaten by Sylvia trying
to do just that, Mir answers in that characteristic way of his
- that suggests he thinks as much about the psychology of fighting
as the aesthetics of it
"I
don't see too many guys overpowering me because I use technique,"
Mir told Maxfighting. "I think in Ricco's case, the training
partners he had, he had gotten away from jiu-jitsu. I think he
was used to doing big man jiu-jitsu, being on top. My jiu-jitsu
is little man jiu-jitsu. I am almost more comfortable on bottom.
If I'm a big guy and I use small guy tactics to beat a big guy,
with my strength and size, I should be better off. The arm bar
that Rodriguez tried on Tim, the set up was fine, but the legs
weren't down and he didn't arch his hips, and when he was lifted
up he didn't transition to another hold. But it probably didn't
com up in his training. I think a lot of guys are so much into
the conditioning aspects of fighting they forget to work on technique."
Mir
puts Sims in perspective, the way he did over previously vanquished
foes in Pete Williams, Roberto Traven, and Tank Abbott - by assessing
what his man is likely to want to do. Mir then builds his fight
plan around denying the guy the chance to do it.
"I'm
not gonna try and get this guy out of his strong point. Sims
feels very confident with his ground skills," Mir said.
"Against Roberto Traven, I waited a little bit before going
to the ground, because that was what the guy wanted."
Mir's
career momentum built readily after impressive submissions over
Williams and Traven, but he slacked off in training and started
to read his own press clippings, so to speak, prior to fighting
Ian Freeman in UFC 38. Mir absorbed a steady barrage of punches
while being caught in a ground-and-pound fight with Freeman,
and the bout was stopped after the first round with the Las Vegan
out on his fight. Perhaps the most important post-script regarding
the Freeman fight is that he was not gun-shy in facing Abbott
in his next match. He came right out and took the fight to the
ground without delay.
"I
wasn't surprised by the quick submission against Tank,"
Mir said. "I do it all the time in practice."
Mir
can find submissions in a haystack, and against Sims, he's likely
to get the chance with the long limbs and various entanglements
that occur with such a disparity in size.
In
the short list of "Who's next?" for Tim Sylvia, Mir
will definitely be up there with a win, particularly with Gan
McGee and Sylvia being unable to reach an agreement to fight
this September. Yet at the same time he doesn't exhibit a sense
of entitlement about it even if he does win; Mir takes a long
view of the UFC purse structure and the sport's exposure.
"It's
a professional sport. But it's also about who brings in numbers,"
Mir said. "You have to consider who brings in new numbers.
So, say a Maurice Smith decides to go back to UFC and it brings
a lot of new buys, that's going to help every fighter in the
long run."
"There's
definitely some meaning behind me fighting Sims. He's a big guy,"
Mir added. "I don't think there should be weight classes
- anytime I ever trained with somebody above 280 lbs., it's easier.
There's very few guys that have the quickness to move around.
I think that's the reason there's not much reason to have a super
heavyweight class. It isn't like all of the Pride heavies are
300 lbs. How many guys out there are 300-lb. freaks and have
any ability and in shape? The only guy I can think of the states
is Eric Pele. NO matter what the size, the submissions are all
the same."
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Game
Review - Pride FC
Creating a mixed martial arts-style fighting game with an emphasis
on realism and detail, THQ's "Pride Full Contact" is
a solid effort that offers good replay value and a thoughtful
approach to capturing the nuances of hand to hand combat.
The
game is fairly similar to previous UFC games, with many of the
same buttons used for punches, kicks, takedowns, and finishing
holds. But PRIDE FC offers more variety of positions, including
clinches, man standing vs. man on canvas, and more submission
holds. One of the original problems with earlier mixed martial
arts (MMA) games was the difficulty in balancing the ability
to throw strikes versus takedowns - in this game it's more realistic
in that if you time something right you can land a blow without
the inevitable fear of being taken down. However, you'll have
to understand the proper ranges of each type of strike - there
are dozens rated in varying degrees of speed and damage - so
the realism comes into play more than ever.
Gameplay
is good. There's a minimum of muss and fuss with load times and
preliminary screens, though the ambient details of fighting Japan
are nicely captured throughout, should you wish to enjoy the
referee's accented final words before the fight; or the trademark
hush-quiet of the Japanese audience that is an excellent touch
on part of the design team (Japanese audiences make very little
noise expect during a finishing sequence at match end).
You
can play in various modes of Survival (taking on numerous consecutive
opponents as your stamina is depleted accordingly), Tournament,
or Single Match mode. One strong feature is that when you lose
in these modes - except for Survival - you get an instant rematch
at your opponent should you wish. This makes the initial learning
curve far less cumbersome without having to go through load times
and prelim screens again.
The
detail in the fighting is excellent. There are such a rich variety
of strikes and moves, and they are suited realistically to the
fighters in the game. A tall European kick boxer like Semmy Schilt
will have plenty of kicking and punching wrinkles available,
but few submissions outside of the basics - there's a deep spectrum
of fighters to choose from, including Ken Shamrock, Royce and
Renzo Gracie, Rodrigo Antonio Nogueira, and Vanderlei Silva.
Fighters appear correctly proportioned relative to each other,
and it does make a difference in the fights with the accompanying
difference in reach and range.
Fighting
on the ground is a key element to any reality combat game, and
the PRIDE FC version is much improved over other earlier efforts.
You can stay stuck on the ground for a good while, trading shots,
or working to improve position through well timed moves, or going
for submissions. The submissions are fairly accurate in their
depiction with regards to what happens if you miss - (blow an
arm bar from the mount and you end up on your back, a nice touch
along the risk-reward spectrum). Many times, you can just have
a good old time pounding your opponent and picking when to punch
and when to block - there's a fair degree of savvy and skill
in not going overboard and timing strikes correctly to avoid
getting reversed or submitted.
The
instruction manual, though, is fairly spare and not much help.
It doesn't tell you how to do more than the most basic things,
which perhaps is easily forgiven once you're sucked into playing
the game, which happens quickly. There's no instruction, for
example, on how to keep from being reversed while in the other
guy's guard, so invariably you end up getting flipped over if
you can't finish quickly, though against the CPU opponent it
takes a while longer. The instruction manual is pretty much a
high-level overview of the game and you've got to spend some
hours in the "Training" mode to learn what works from
what position, and what doesn't.
The
"Training" and "Create a Fighter" modes are
the strong suits of this game, even more so than the actual matches.
They allow you to start from every possible position with an
opponent freely controlled by the computer, or just countering,
or trying to reverse, or doing nothing but letting you uncork
moves.
The
display on the screen during training mode would seem very helpful
if it weren't for the fact that the instructions give no real
assistance in explaining what the displays imply, and the information
flashes for a split second while you're doing a choke or a submission,
and it's kind of a frustrating peek at something you can't get
a good look at it. But if you play for a few hours you'll get
the gist of it very quickly, and with a variety of guys to work
with in sparring you'll start to develop an affinity for certain
fighters whose moves dovetail with your own favored approaches.
The sparring itself can be much more fun than most training modes
in games, because you can iron out the weak points in your live
matches by learning what moves work best in each position.
The
"Create a Fighter" method is, in a word, deep. You
begin by selecting the expectable variety of attributes for your
character, with dozens of kinds of bodily, facial, and equipment
types to choose from. Then, from every possible position, you
select from hundreds of possible moves to assign to the button
combinations. It is here that the game shines. There are so many
kinds of different individual punches and kicks, with the demo
on the screen quickly showing them, that it's almost a primer
on mixed martial arts technique in addition to an instructional
for your character. You can spend a good deal of time selecting
which takedowns to assign your character while debating the aesthetics
and effects of each. The display also helpfully indicated which
moves are chainable, unblockable, or stun an opponent; in this
you can build your fighter to your heart's content. Whether it's
a fast-handed striker, or a lugging power puncher, to a submissions-oriented
technician, your fighter will reflect your efforts and thought
processes imparted in creating him.
There's
no career mode in the game, but once you create a fighter (a
dedicated effort can take a half-hour, which is pretty fun) you
can select him from the fighter screen for all the requisite
events in the game, from Single Matches to Tournaments to Survival
Mode. Your hero can then spill blood or be bloodied to your heart's
content.
All
in all, PRIDE FC renders the details of mixed martial arts fighting
with a good degree of accuracy, and the ambiance of fighting
in the Orient is a nicely nuanced thing that gives the game an
exotic flavor. It's a solid effort from THQ, and nothing beats
the joy of landing a foot stomp to the face in live combat. The
small details in the game are what ultimately overcome the shortcoming
in the instruction manual and lack of a career mode.
Gameplay:
3/5
Graphics: 4/5
Replay Value: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
Source: Maxfighting |
Quote
of the Day
Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's
not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've
had everything to do, and you've done it.
Margaret Thatcher
|
World
Championships Fund Raiser
It's getting close again and we don't want to wait till the last
moment (how we normally do) to do some fund raising for this
expensive trip. We are sending a small team to Brazil again this
year to compete in the World Championships of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Due to the lack of sponsors interested in providing monetary
gifts, we have to take it upon ourselves to scrap up whatever
we can.
We
are selling School Kine cookies as our fund raiser at $5 a bag.
I know what you are thinking, "I just bought chilli from
those punks." That's why we are going with cookies. What's
better after a nice chilli dinner than some cookies for dessert?
Ok,
maybe you didn't buy chilli. Nothing goes better with watching
Jiu-Jitsu, submission wrestling, or MMA than cookies. In fact,
the UFC and Super Brawl is coming up so you will probably need
a few bags for the friends that will be coming over to watch
pay-per-view or for the long drive down to the Blaisdell.
We
have chocolate macadamia nut and short bread for sale.
Please
email us if you are interested in buying cookies by clicking
here. We will arrange to
meet you and bring the cookies to you. We have to unload 300
bags so we have a lot of work ahead of us and any help would
be greatly appreciated! |
Team
HK Saturday Class Update
Team HK (a Relson Gracie Association) instructor Todd Tanaka
now has classes on Saturday from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm.
Check
out the link from the banner ad above for more details on his
school schedule and general information or click here! |
Ricardo
Arona is Out of Pride 26
After
3 months of heavy training in preparation for the ADCC 2003,
Ricardo Arona was scheduled to fight in MMA against Alistair
Overren at PRIDE 26, scheduled for June 8th. Unfortuantely, Arona
won't be able to participate due to health problems.
In
a brief conversation Arona explained the situation: 'Few people
know that Mario Sperry was sick during the ADCC 2003, and we
were roommates during those days. I got the flu he had and it
affectedmy 2 weeks of preparation for Pride. It's no big deal
if I was 100% but the problem is that I had to recover myself
for some time, then put in some hard training and I didn't have
the days. I tried to train for this fight but after 2 boxing
sessions I decided that I had better wait until the next Pride
in order to be 100%'.
Ärona
now will have his recovery time and after one week will be back
to his training routine.
Source:
ADCC
Ricardo
Arona out of PRIDE 26
By Eduardo Alonso
In
a surprising turn of events, Brazilian fighter Ricardo Arona
has pulled out from his fight against Alistair Overeem in PRIDE
26, due to illness. Arona is coming off of an Abu Dhabi Submission
Wrestling World Championship Superfight win against veteran wrestler
Mark Kerr, this past May 17th, and was to make his PRIDE comeback
in June, stepping into the Japanese ring for the first time since
his win over Chute Boxe fighter Murilo Ninja Rua at PRIDE 23.
Unfortunately Ricardo became ill with a very strong flu, diagnosed
as almost the start of pneumonia, and is experiencing high fever
and all sorts of head and body aches. He is forced to quit his
training routine and has been advised by the doctors not to compete
in the next PRIDE show. Arona's friend Mario Sperry was victim
of the same flu, which cost him a better perfomance in Abu Dhabi,
and Ricardo probably got the illness from Sperry since both were
in the same hotel room during the Submission Wrestling competition.
According to the Abu Dhabi 2003 superfight champion's camp, the
PRIDE organization has already been informed of the fact that
Arona isn't competing anymore, and a replacement will be announced
soon. Both Mario Sperry and Ricardo Arona are now taking medication
and recovering with expectations of being part of PRIDE's August
card.
Source:
FCF |
ADCC
2003: 77kg weight class: WHO'S MARCELLO GARCIA?????
They call him 'Marcelihno', and Marcello Garcia has been around
the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu scene for a while. He has fought BJJ
tournaments since he was a teenager, and always impressed with
very good results.
Born
in Minas Gerais, he started his Jiu-Jitsu career learning from
Paulao, a teacher from Pocos de Caldas who is under Leonardo
Castello Branco. At that time Alliance was a united team, no
splits and Marcello decided to move to Sao Paulo. He was looking
forward to advancing his Jiu-Jitsu. Fabio Gurgel as the Alliance'
most recognized representative in the city and Marcello stayed
with Fabio, where he eventually got the opportunity to teach
in Fabio's school. In early 2003, with BJJ World championships
and BJJ National titles on his resume, Marcello applied to the
ADCC Brazilian qualifiers and got the opportunity to show his
skills last January in Rio de Janeiro.
In
the qualifiers, he submitted his first opponent quickly (Guess
the submission....) and he won his 2nd match after trying several
submissions but winning by judges decision.
The
final match was against Daniel Moraes who had beaten Fernando
'Terere' in the other semifinal. Garcia pulled to his guard,
getting a minus 1 under ADCC rules. Then we had 20 minutes of
unsucessful work and he got second place. He was clearly disappointed
but he lost fair and square. They could only hope they had done
enough to impress!
It
is 3 days before the ADCC 2003. I arrived in Sao Paulo and talking
to Guy Nievens and the organizers, it seemed they were looking
for a reserve in this weight division. Sean Sherk was not coming
and the official reserve, Tony deSouza was already used. Marcello
came to mind as a great option. 'He is from Sao Paulo, we don't
even have to think about flying him in.' The mastermind behind
ADCC, Guy Nievens confirmed him.
Fabio
Gurgel was teaching private classes and I called him around 10
times in a row. His secretary took the cell phone and interupted
the class and said: 'Fabio this is the 10th time it is ringing.
You better pick up because it might be important'. When I talked
to Fabio I asked if the boy was ok and the answer was 'To fight
when? Tonight? Yesterday? Tomorrow? Just tell me when....'
I
explained it would be a reserve and Fabio said 'No problem'.
When Dennis Hallman did not show up the boy was included in the
brackets and the rest is history!!
Source: ADCC |
A
EUROPEAN COMMENTS ON 2003 EUROPEAN GRECO CHAMPIONSHIPS
by: Eddie Goldman
One
of the many great features of the Internet is that it allows
those with common interests around the world the ability to communicate
virtually instantaneously. Many in wrestling, with the exception
of some old cavemen, have discovered this, and are taking full
advantage of it.
In
the wrestling community, one such person goes by the name Bo
Minkov, and lives in Bulgaria. He regularly posts on TheMat.com's
Forums. He also recently sent in a summary of the 2003 European
Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships, which I have reproduced
below, with some editing since Bo is a Bulgarian whose first
language is not English, and few readers of this site would understand
Bulgarian anyway.
Bo
has set up an English-language Yahoo discussion group about European
wrestling, which is free for anyone to join, at:
Although
this group is very new and has not had much traffic, I encourage
wrestling people to join groups like this and communicate with
each other. You can also contact Bo directly through it.
Here
is Bo's summary of the European Greco Championships:
-Only
two wrestlers saved their titles from the previous championship
- Nazarian and Eroglu.
-There were a lot of surprises - the losses of Mamedaliev, Koguashvili,
Ozal, and Khasaia; the wins of Nozadze and Ahokas. A lot of young
wrestlers are hungry for medals a year before the Olympic Games.
55kg
- The champion is M. Sandu of Romania. After the loss of Russia's
Mamedaliev to Radkevich of Belarus in the opening round, Sandu
used his chance and won against the younger Armenian and Ukrainian
wrestlers. There is not a favorite in this category in Europe,
and this is a chance for American and Asian wrestlers, and especially
for Rangraz of Iran for the world title.
60kg
- The new-old champion is Nazarian. No chances for the others
in this category. I don't see a wrestler who can beat Armen in
the next years.
66kg
- The sixth European title for Eroglu of Turkey. After he won
against Kirkvelia of Georgia, he had no problems with the younger
wrestlers from Belarus, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine. The interesting
thing is that in the first categories, the Russians have problems
and cannot find good wrestlers who are ready for titles.
74kg
- The only problem for Russia's Glushkov was Khasaia of Georgia,
but he lost to Yli-Hannuksela of Finland, and the road of the
Russian to the title was open. There are no problems for the
Russians in this category, knowing that here they have Glushkov
and Samurgashev (2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2002 World Champion).
84kg
- In this championship there were not Abrahamian of Sweden and
Yerlikaya of Turkey. This was good for Mishin of Russia, who
won the gold without any serious problems.
96kg
- European wrestling has a new star in this category - Nozadze
of Georgia. He is a young wrestler, won against Koguashvili,
and showed that everyone has to be careful with him in the future.
The surprise was the loss of Ozal of Turkey to Ezerkis of Lithuania.
He has to prove that he is one of the best wrestlers in this
category in the future.
120kg
- After the retirement of Karelin this category is still searching
for its new king. The new champion is Ahokas of Finland, but
there is not a wrestler in Europe who we can say is better than
the Americans.
Six
different countries have champions, 12 countries have medals.
This shows that Greco-Roman wrestling is popular in Europe. The
Russians are again the best in Europe. Georgia and Ukraine showed
they have wrestlers who are ready for medals. Turkey is one of
the best wrestling countries, and not only in freestyle. There
are a lot of young wrestlers who are hungry for titles, and the
champions cannot be sure that in the next championship they will
be again on the top.
The
official site of the 2003 European Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships
is: http://www.wrestling.org.yu/ .
Source: ADCC |
The
5th Submission Wrestling World Championships - AS GOOD AS IT
GETS!
Submitted by: Miguel Iturrate
May 17th and 18th, 2003 - Sao Paulo, Brazil
AWARDS:
BEST THROW: CHRIS BROWN (Australia)
BEST MATCH: RONALD JACARE (Brazil) v. RICARDO ALMEIDA (Brazil)
MOST TECHNICAL FIGHTER: MARCELLO GARCIA (Brazil)
FASTEST SUBMISSION: MARCIO CRUZ (Brazil) :14 (on Alex Araujo)
It
has been the power of the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships
from the very beginning - to capture and captivate the grappling
world by bringing together the best grapplers for an elite competition.
This years event eclipsed anything ever seen before, as 87 of
the world's top grapplers left themselves on the mats in heroic
displays. It was unbelieveable, especially up close... : ) There
would be more submissions than ever by the weekend, and a new
guard in submission grappling was to emerge.
Leading
up to the event, this year was different. Brazil has always been
dominant, and now with the homefield advantage, 'TEAM BRAZIL'
was ready to shine again. But immediately in the opening rounds,
several Brazil versus Brazil matchups would force the competition's
pace and energy. It is a compliment to the athletes regarding
conduct - the Brazilians have really gotten over their historic
unprofessionalism, and they have done it without losing that
fire - it is a compliment to the athletes that it can now be
said that Brazil can host world level events in mixed martial
arts. These volatile matchups were expected to develop, but two
early stood out.
FINAL
RESULTS:
THE
COMPLETE BRACKETS AND RESULTS CAN BE FOUND HERE:
THANKS
TO THE BOYS AT SHOW NO PITY
Under
65.99 kg
1º Leonardo Vieira (Brasil)
2º Barret Yoshida (USA)
3º Royler Gracie (Brasil)
66
Up to 77.99 kg
1º Marcelo Garcia (Brasil)
2º Otto Oslon (USA)
3º Vítor Shaolin (Brasil)
77
Up to 87.99 8k g
1º Saulo Ribeiro (Brasil)
2º Ronaldo Jacaré (Brasil)
3º David Terrel (USA)
88
Up to 98.99 kg
1º John Olav Einemo (Norway)
2º Alexandre Cacareco (Brasil)
3º Roger Gracie (Brasil)
OVER
99 KG (217.5 KG)
1º Márcio Pé de Pano (Brasil)
2º Fabrício Werdum (Brasil)
3º Alex Negão (Brasil)
ABSOLUTE
1º Dean Lister (USA)
2º Alexandre Cacareco (Brasil)
3º Fabrício Werdum (Brasil)
Superfight:
Ricardo Arona (Brasil) defeated Mark Kerr (USA) 4-0.
Anyone
who says the ADCC tournament is a sham is an idiot anyway, but
here is further proof. If anyone would be protected, it would
be MARIO SPERRY, right? The first SUPERFIGHT Champion, he is
the man that really helped build the ADCC tournament with his
total dominance since 1998, the ADCC's inception. Losing the
superfight last year, returning to the 98.9 KG (217 lbs) divison
Sperry would meet ROGER GRACIE, a young gun ADCC Champion RENZO
GRACIE has been grooming for the event. TOP TEAM v. GRACIE FAMILY.
Again, a hard battle developed, as Sperry attacked relentlessly
with takedown attempts. Gracie proved to be worthy of the name,
as he wore Sperry down and scored points in the final minutes.
It
should be said that Sperry was heard to say 'i am old'. He returned
like a true warrior to the competition he loved and he fell victim
to the tournament's random draw immediately. For 10 minutes,
he gave his all for the competition, but on this day the younger
man would win. Renzo Gracie would pump his fists in the air in
Roger's corner, as the tournament's first unbelievable moment
had occured - Mario Sperry was gone in the first round.
It
really is not age, as Sperry is still competing in MMA at a high
level, and he continues to develop MMA and BJJ stars with Brazilian
TOP TEAM. It would prove to be the first time a a consistent
theme came up - the fighters training for PRIDE, UFC and the
like are developing different instincts, and the 'submission
only' style fighters are able to adapt quicker to this game now.
After two years, it has been a while since the athletes have
competed under the ADCC rules, and there is a real need for more
competitions under these rules.
Another
Brazil v. Brazil matchup came in rd 1. RYAN GRACIE versus RONALDO
Jacaré was a stunning match, receiving votes for fight
of the night. Gracie is a live wire, and when he goes, he is
uncontrollable. Jacaré is from the north of the country,
and he already has an established rep in JJ as a guy who does
not back down, he will slit your throat. They went at each other,
neither willing to give bottom position. At one point, Jacare
went flying over the table on a single leg from Gracie, and the
situation got heated, but the judges got up from the table and
controlled the situation. In the end, Jacaré would win
5x0 as Gracie tired. Remember this name - Jacaré!
A
notable international bout featured FERNANDO TERERE and JUSSI
TAMMELIN. Terere is a submission wiz, but he came in hurt, with
a banged up rib after a training session with MARK KERR. Tammelin,
from Finland, is tall and his game is really unorthodox, and
he gave as good as he got for while.
FERNANDO
'MARGARIDA' PONTES entered the tournament on the day of the event,
replacing JORGE PATINO, who was cut in his MECA Vale Tudo fight
the night before. This is unfortunate for ROBERT SULSKI, a rugged
European Trial Champion who was forced to sit thru a 3 hour delay
while things were sorted out. Sulski wouldn't know his opponent
until he hit the mat, and Margarida is a natural. 'Margarida'
would advance, and Sulski would not get a fair break. Reports
from the trial give Sulski a lot of points for potential.
The
tournament would be further defined by the showing of the qualifiers
from all the regions. By the end of the night, history would
be written by qualifiers from Brazil and the US. Two unbelievable
performances where also turned in by Jon Olav Einmo of Europe
and Australia's Chris Brown, putting on display the international
depth of the tournament.
UNDER
65.9 KG
ROYLER
GRACIE lost. It is resounding. One of the many lasting images
is this - Royler never made an excuse. When it happened, he looked
at the tatame, then stood up and walked off with his head held
high, mouthing only 'filho de puta', not even a whisper. American
Qualifier Champion EDDIE BRAVO had served notice.
The
weight class was packed with talent. In the first round, LEO
VEIERA, BARET YOSHIDA, ALEXANDRE SOCA and JOACHIM HANSEN would
all advance. Royler would take out CHARLIE PEARSON of AMC, getting
him with a choke. Pearson came out, tried his leg lock/takedown
and worked. Royler played around, had some fun, and methodically
cut the air off as he dominated Pearson at the end. Bravo would
work his way thru GUSTAVO DANTAS, making the 2nd round matchup
that would make history.
Royler
would get top position in the match, and several scrambles would
result in Bravo showing real guts. Royler seemed to have trouble
with his breathing at one point, but when he got to it, he pressured
Bravo. It was late and Royler was up 5-2, with a knee in the
stomach and guard passing points. Bravo had scored a sweep, then
given it back up. Bravo got to guard again, and worked hard for
the triangle and sunk it. Royler and the crowd relaxed, he had
been there thousands of times. It would come as a shocking moment
at 8:42 in the round, when Bravo would release the hold at Royler's
tap, stand up and walk toward his corner arms held up in victory.
Royler sat there for a moment. The crowd attendance was terrible
anyway, but Brazilian crowds are boisterous and it was dead silent
in the room. Bravo was gone too however - he would be too stoked
for the next round, and understandbly so.
As
for Royler Gracie, he is a gracious, unbelieveable champion and
his unbelievable streak at ADCC sees him as the only 3X tournament
champ in his weight class. In defeat, all he asked for was one
more chance, and he would be heard from again. But this moment
woke everyone up - this tourney was on, and there were to be
no questions asked - the fighters came to fight, to give there
all and to leave it in the ring, and they should be commended.
Baret
took out 'Soca' in the seminfinals to set up a final of Baret
and Leo. Leo would eat up Bravo, 15-0 as Bravo would get an injury
and bow out of the 3-4 fight. Royler would be back in the 3-4
spot, facing 'Soca' an excellent, gifted stylist who has faced
the nemesis of Royler his entire career. On short notice, it
is hard to say how hard this was on Soca, who must want to face
anyone but Royler, but for Gracie it was just what the doctor
ordered. He would beat Soca, and earn 3rd place.
In
the finals, Veiera would prove strong and fit. Yoshida is all
heart, and his guard has been described as 'infernal', but Leo
was not going to play that game. He stayed real busy, circling
and darting in, playing but never getting in too deep. His game
was more complete, and Baret would finish 2nd again. It is interesting
to speculate how a Royler-Baret or Royler-Leo match would have
gone, but we now know anything is possible. Yahra - Baret would
have been something to behold as well, as the 18 year old Amazonian
can play with anyone as well! the fastest weight division is
wide open and filled with talent.
LEO
VEIEIRA is the new champion at 65.99 KG. Leo is a special athlete,
and he was the guy that had Royler Gracie the most worried in
the division. He has been destroying people, playing with them
in JJ in his Japanese appearances, a Jiu Jitsu insider once confided
quietly, almost sacrilegiously, 'Listen, Rickson is #1, but Veiera
is #2 - his techniques are really that new and fresh right now'.
And
most impressively, he had a gameplan for everybody - he was scouting
Bravo, watching his matches, and he had a gameplan operational
for Yoshida as well. Watching Veiera, it is possible to say that
he is talented and complete enough to inherit Royler's mantle
as the cream of the crop at this weight class. There may have
been more than 1 guy in this tourney capable of taking out Royler,
but no one was ready for LEOZINHO.
66-76.9
LG
Perhaps the single biggest revelation of the tournament would
be mild mannered, unassuming MARCELLO GARCIA. Trained by Fabio
Gurghel, Garcia had impressed in the Brazilian Trials, but had
finished 2nd to DANIEL MORAES. Garcia took a -1 for playing guard
in the finals of the TRIALS, and lost as Moraes used a stifling,
defensive top position style to take Garcia out.
In
the world championships, Moraes would lose to Matt Hume student
OTTO OLSON, as Moraes would not get top position on the wrestler.
Olson would ground out local star FERNANDO TERERE as he took
out a few big BJJ names before running into Garcia in the finals.
PABLO
POPOVICH the American Qualifier took out defending World Champion
MARCIO FEITOSA, in another example of how the field was highly
competitive throughout.
Meanwhile
Garcia was churning through his bracket, taking out PANCRASE
star Kiuma Kunioku in round 1 and serving notice in Round 2 with
an unbelievable matchup with Renzo Gracie. He won the position
battle all night, getting to backs and finishing. Renzo had come
in shape, very fit at 169 lbs, the weight class he has been a
2x Champion at ADCC. He was fit and ready to go - he takes this
competition very seriously. To Renzo's credit, he would not go
down without a fight, but he lost on points to a younger gun,
and another ADCC tournament champion was gone. The field was
wide open. Garcia would throw the entire building into a frenzy
in Round 3, when he left SHAOLIN RIBEIRO asleep in :20 seconds
with a choke. Shaolin had defeated JASON RAMSTETTER in round
1 and taken Popovich out in round 2, and was one of the favorites
going in.
Another
favorite going into the night was Australian olympic wrestler
CHRIS BROWN. Brown returns to the competition known as the man
who took Renzo Gracie out of the competition in 2001 in the weight
class above. He dropped in weight class, as did Renzo, but the
rematch never materialized.
Brown
took out MITSUHIRO ISHIDA, the Japanese stylist who came through
the 16 man Japan Trials in March. In round 2, he would engage
in a war of attrition with TONY DESOUSA who represented Peru
well - he is the first south american fighter not to be Brazilian
to make an impact - in fact, to even be invited. Desousa was
the alternate, who got in when DENNIS HALLMAN was a no show.
The
blood would pour. Desoua is a grinder, as he proved in his days
as a UFC up and comer. Now living in Peru, he has been out of
touch, but he showed himself to be a legit world class fighter
again. Brown is a 5x Olympian, and he is impossible to compete
against in the preparation for a long grinding battle. Perhaps
it was frustration, or just bad luck, but Desousa elbowed him
several times in the heat of battle, splitting Brown open and
getting a lengthy medical timout while Brown was bandaged. In
OT, Brown came out with his head competely wrapped like a mummy,
and he pulled out the win over Desousa.
To
get to the finals, it was wrestler against wrestler as Brown
took on Olson. Normally this match up edge would go to Brown,
but he was depleted, and Olson is definitely in the neigborhood
- he is absolutely huge for this weight class!
Brown would not be able to continue, as Olson opened the cut
up again and the blood poured freely. Brown would fight SHAOLIN
in the 3-4 match on day 2, but he was done for the competition.
Olson advances, looking like Fryklund at the UCC, covered in
Brown's blood.
In
the 3/4 match, Shaolin would get Brown's back and win on points.
Both men fought an extremely classy match, as Brown played JJ
in SHOALIN's guard and showed that the level down under is getting
really high. Shaolin for his part, earned 3rd and did not attack
Brown's head, giving the heavily bandaged cuts clearance while
still using an abundance of technique to dominate. Shaolin is
a classy superstar in the making.
Matt
Hume always does his homework. An insider saw him running around
the back area looking for info, any info on Garcia. Another insider
warned him 'watch him, play cautious to win, this kid is magic'
- someone who had seen the Brazilian Trials. Hume is always game
for a challenge, and to his credit Olson came out fighting, taking
it right to Garcia. Garcia was a train not to be stopped, and
he certainly proved he is the real deal. He caught Olson in the
choke, for a submission in the finals. The level of the event
has skyrocketed again, and the fact that there were submissions
in the finals again, rather than people holding on, show that
the athletes are giving the all to showcase there talents in
a world level competition.
Again,
the beauty of ADCC, is that as good as he looked, Marcello Garcia
would be heard from again in the ABSOLUTES. It would be a shame
if the commitment to the World Championships waned in the 2 years
to 2005.
77-87.9
LG
This weight class was extremely high in expectations. All the
qualifiers, especially ROBERT SULSKI of Europe, DAVID TERRELL
of the USA and JACARE of Brazil received high ratings coming
in. Add returning runner up and former world Champion SAULO RIBEIRO,
'COMPRIDO' MEDEIROS and MARGARIDA PONTES led the Jiu Jitsu contingent.
Wrestlers appeared as well, led by Olympic silver medalist MATT
LINDLAND, Purdue's DEVIAN PETERSON and AMC's REESE ANDY. Pancrase
was well represented with KING of PANCRASE NATHAN MARQUARDT,
veteran DENIS KANG of Canada and YUKI SASAKI in the weight class.
But
the talk was the BIG DOG, RICARDO ALMEIDA. Dropping to his natural
weight class, and one of ADCC's biggest stars, Almeida was the
favorite in many eyes. He looked focused and ready early, and
this tournament means so much to him. Cacharao is another example
of an athlete who left it all in the ring - he literally wanted
to die fighting by the end of the weekend, so spent and emotional
were his wars.
In
round 1, Integrated Fighting's DAVION PETERSON held off the BIG
DOG' s attempts to get him to the ground, making him work. The
points kicked in, and Davion got a takedown of his own, getting
up 2-0. Big Dog was working, and he sunk a nice guillotine to
get thru the first round, nine minutes in. The attrition had
already begun. Peterson had dropped in weight class, and made
weight easily. He replaced ERIK PAULSON, who came in at 206 and
fought a weight class up.
Matt
Lindland got by Japanese qualifier YUSHIN OKAMI using solid wrestling
and his strategy of staying strong, on top and in control. Afterwards,
when he had lost to submissions, Lindland talked about different
strategies, such as playing the stand up game like Veiera did.
The strategies and the sport are evolving and the top athletes
are showing they are evolving with it. Hopefully support for
the budding sport will continue!
Lindland
would succumb to JACARE, while RODRIGO 'COMPRIDO' MEDEIROS took
out the KING of PANCRASE Nathan Marquardt. Comprido would tangle
with Saulo Ribeiro in a HUGE match of Jiu Jitsu stylists in round
2, Brazilian versus Brazilian. Australia's LARRY PAPADAPOULOUS
submitted last minute replacement KEN KRONENBERG who moved up
a weight class when MARC LAIMON got injured in the last training
session before the event.
In
Round 2 Almeida would take out AMC wrestler REESE ANDY - the
AMC guys would always come prepared, and Reese would impact the
ABSOLUTE tournament significantly.
Former
ADCC Champion SAULO RIBEIRO would have emotional hard battles
the entire tournament. Medeiros is always dangerous, as they
have competed against each other before and both come away with
wins. Ribeiro is a champion who imposes his will in his bouts,
and he is strong and has gas to go through long fights. He has
a defensive style that is hard to beat, but his style also forces
him to grind out hard fights. This would catch up to him in the
ABSOLUTES, though he was defintely emerging as the strongest
competitor in the weight class, even after hard fights. He got
points for takedown on Comprido, earning some votes for best
throw.
The
hard road would start for Saulo with a controversial match with
young DAVID TERRELL, the American Qualifier who had never been
scored on in any grappling tournament, and is the pride of teacher
CESAR GRACIE's American academy. He took the match to the overtime.
This is a battle of two defensive stylists, both winners with
winning strategies, but at ADCC, the rules sometimes dont favor
a defensive style, so funny things happen. Some think Terrel
gave Saulo a run for his money - but the once and future champion
had experienced a real tough 15 minutes - he would have to have
full tank of gas to get to the end of the journey.
David
Terrel made an impact, though there was some talk about his Margarida
match. Margarida pulled off two HUGE german suplexes, put lost
on a -1 when he dropped to guard. Margarida was a late addition,
but he was in the trials and he has never been to an ADCC rules
meeting - he doesn't know the rules, and Terrel won. Terrel would
return in the 3/4 match, feeling like he had something to prove,
game face on.
The
other bracket featured another BRAZIL v. BRAZIL war - JACARE
versus CACHARRAO. The energy level from both fighters was sky
high - repeated battles to take down each other made for stalemate
after stalemate. After 15 minutes, one OT, none of the judges
could pick a winner.
The
rules meeting was clear - if it was 0-0 after the first OT, the
judges would pick a winner - they would go on impressions if
need be: the fighter who spent more time moving forward, or was
more attempting to engage would be given the victory. After a
lengthy conference, a precedence was issued - the judges couldnt
pick a clear winner by any criteria, so the fighters were told
they would fight until points were scored.
What
ensued would rewrite the record books of ADCC as the longest
match in the tournaments! But not a moment was spent without
action as the two locked horns in a stale mate for two more OT's.
Cacharrao
is a special athlete - great fighter, but his attitude about
a fight is what sets him apart. He was not going to give up,
he was not going to back off from the onslaught of Jacare. One
of the VIP's was heard to say 'They are so evenly matched, it
is scary.' And they were - for 25 minutes. Cacharrao and the
brilliant newcomer battled with no give. It took nearly 1/2 hour
for one of them to catch the other - and when it happened, both
men redefined themselves again.
The
beaming smile of JACARE could be felt around the arena - the
boy was joyful, and his smile carries a lot of star power. He
is one of the discoveries of the tournament. The gutteral scream
of dissappointment issued by Almeida was the cry of a man who
was giving his all, of a man whose realization that on this day,
his best was not good enough and that his efforts at winning
this weight division where not enough. The realization was more
painful than anything to Cacharrao. Far from being a death cry,
Almeida really showed himself to be an athlete whose fighting
spirit will keep him at the pinnacle of the sport for a long
time. The fans of Mixed Martial Arts want to pay to see this
guy - he has star power!
But
it would be a day for the boy from the North of Brazil, Jacare.
The 'Crocodile' has a reputation for having an endless tank of
gas, and he blasted his way through the incredibly tough Brazilian
Trials looking ready to take on the world. Jacare took Cacaharao's
back for points in the 4th OT, securing the win. His match against
Saulo Ribeiro in the finals was set.
In
the 3/4 match, Cesar Gracie student versus Renzo Gracie student.
It would be David Terrel who would finish quickly, catching Cacharrao
in a footlock that caused a scream for the tap out. Cacharrao
was beat up, but he would enter his name into the absolutes.
It
should be noted that ADCC has sometimes had some matches that
are called 'questionable'. There have been situations where teammates
have met, or relatives and the results were a match that may
be less than 100%.
No
one was aware of this more than the ADCC - and steps were taken
this year to prevent it. Entries were scrutinized more closely,
waivers were signed about pre arranged fights, and a warning
was issued by the judges early in the tournament. In the past,
the matchups were there, and in Jiu Jitsu, the traditional 'closing
of the coffin' occurs, and teammates share the spoils. The fighters
responded to the challenge with unquestionably the most REAL
submission wrestling tournament of all time. Congratulations
to all the fighters, but especially the Brazilians, who many
times engaged in internecine war against each other. A historic
tournament occured and it could only have been this way - the
fighters and the ADCC organization have responded to the question
- THIS IS 100% REAL. This tournament will be proof.
The
77-87.9 KG Class was by now total combat. Ribeiro comes off a
grueling battle, and Jacare comes of the eventual 'Match of the
Night'.
When
you go to war, there is no one better to have in your corner
than Saulo Ribeiro. He is a thinker and a fighter, and he plays
the whole game, covers the whole canvas. He is a 6x BJJ World
Champion, and by the end of the day, he would have his 2nd ADCC
World Championship. And in many ways, this tournament's hardest
road was walked by Saulo.
Saulo
is part of a team of elites. Royler Gracie and he are a formidable
1-2 punch, winning everything in JJ, surmounting every challenge.
At this point, Saulo is so decorated that he walks his own road,
he corners Gracie, but there will always be a part of him that
will see Gracie as a senior, revered figure. That Saulo had to
deal with the effects of Royler's tap should not go beyond notice.
Saulo
is also mentoring his younger brother Xande, who was writing
an odyssey of his own in the tournament's 98 KG weight class.
Xande took out Dean Lister, who would later own the Absolute
class, but Xande's corner work was no less taxing on Saulo, who
emotionally was working overtime while preparing for competition.
And
across the mat stood the merciless Jacare - at this point riding
his own wave of momentum. It would take Saulo into the OT period,
and he would have to fight the whole way, complaining to the
judges, talking to Jacare, imploring himself, gesturing to the
crowd, but he would finally catch up to Jacare and take him down.
From there, Jacare showed his limitation - if you can keep him
on his back.... And Saulo emerged as the 2003 87.99 KG Champion
- his 2nd ADCC World Championships.
Another
thing people don't know about Saulo - he has long looked at Mark
Kerr as beatable, and no doubt Arona and the superfight were
in his agenda. He came in much better shape than the 2001 Saulo,
and he certainly put his name into the ABSOLUTES. The question
was, had he already paid the price in grueling matches? Saulo
would fight close to 75 total minutes this weekend, more than
any other athlete - a remarkable record.
88-98.9
KG
It
is Brazil's second ground art. The practitioners of LUTA LIVRE
have traditionally been rivals of Jiu Jitsu - poorer kids, the
word was that Luta Livre and JJ were not on the same level.
Now
comes ALEXANDRE FERREIRA into the mix. Yes he is from the poor
side of Rio, and he has dedicated his life to the art of Luta
Livre, but with his unbelievable strength and physical stature
comes a training regimen under Ruas Vale Tudo and ROBERTO LEITAO
that has lifted Luta Livre to the very elite of grappling.
Ferreira
would finish 2nd in his weight class and in the ABSOLUTE - an
unbeleivable performance that sees him emerge as a major threat
to be in future superfights. Normally a defensive fighter, Cacareco
was winning, but absorbing negative points under ADCC's 'anti-stalling'
rules, as defensive fighters are at risk to do. It was then that
the coach changed the ball game - Cacareco came out and finished
matches - the strategic adjustment was made, the techniques were
there in Luta Livre, and Cacareco should be hailed as the poster
boy who took the art from the favella!
In
the finals of what would be a grueling weight class, Cacareco
would meet JON OLAV EINMO - from Norway, one of the richest countries
in the world, Einmo has shown a dedication to MMA fighting and
to Submission Wrestling in the 2 years since ADCC 2001 that have
seen him become Europe's top Mixed Martial Artist. Now, could
he perform on the world stage again?
Einmo
answered all questions by tearing up the competition. Einmo would
get warmed up in the early rounds by taking out BRANDON VERA
in round 1 and Australian LARRY PAPADAPOULOUS in round 2.
Einmo
was looking forward to rematching Cacareco, who had taken him
out of the 2001 World Championships - and he would let everyone
in the competition know he meant business with a definitive win
over ROGER GRACIE, the man who had eliminated legends RIGAN MACHADO
and MARIO SPERRY. He rode the young Brazilians back on the ground
and standing for several minutes before finishing with the submission.
Einmo had Cacareco firmly in his sites now.
OVER
99 KG
Drop outs affected this tournament, as ROGER NEFF, RICCO RODRIGUEZ
and TOM ERICKSON weakened the American team and the depth of
the division substantially. In true ADCC fashion - several INCREDIBLE
upsets and new faces from out of no where would make this one
of the most exciting ACCC heavyweight tournaments of all time!
JEFF
MONSON would start his tourney with a win over look a like European
Qualifier MIKA ILMAN of Finland.
Pe
de Pano began his inevitable road to the world championship with
a submission win over American qualifier MIKE WHITEHEAD. Whitehead,
a big wrestler, ran into one of the ore focused guys out there
- Pe de Pano expected to wein his class and the Absolutes - and
his road had begun.
Japanese
star TUYOSHI KOSAKA would lose to upstart FABRIZIO WERDUN. Fabrizio
attended the event with Mark Kerr, as his BJJ instructor, and
at 6'3, 230 lbs, he offered to compete if need be. When the drop
outs mounted, Werdun was in, and he would make his mark. Kosaka
was merely the first to fall.
Palestinian/American
JIHAD HAMDAN took out massive TATA Duarte, but it took him an
overtie to do it. At 220 lbs, Jihad is one of the strongest guys
out there, but tackling 350 + lbs of TATA would tax the all-american
wrestler for round 2.
ADCC
star SEAN ALVAREZ would take out French stand out KRISTOF MIDOUX
in a hard fought fight.
Brazilian
TOP TEAM's ALEX ARAUJO would take out Japanese Qualifier JUN
ISHII. In round 2, Araujo would wipe out Alvarez 8-0, the boy
was gaining confidence. He would lose quickly to PE DE PANO,
who earned fastest submission in this match.
MIKE
VAN ARSDALE would mount an all out attack on massive South African
MARK ROBINSON. Robinson came in with a defensive strategy, and
he is indeed hard to take down, but this year in Abu Dhabi, if
the matches were 0-0, the judges favored the fighter who was
moving forward, trying to engage.
The
3-4 match between Araujo and Van Arsdale ended quickly, as Araujo
would be very focused for the 2nd straight day, catching the
submission early for the 3rd place finish.
SUPERFIGHT
MARK KERR (USA) versus RICARDO ARONA (Brazil)
The
matchup was 20 minutes, and it occured on Saturday night as ther
grand finale of the first day. Kerr was in the back, and there
was some concern over his condition even before the fight. To
his credit, he came out and gave it his all, but his all is clearly
not what it used to be.
Arona
would get an early advantage, on a 2 point takedown that occured
too early to score points. Under the ADCC structure, the match
would go to Arona on advantage after 1 OT, if the score remained
0-0. The match would be up on it's feet at the 10 minute mark,
when the point sytem kicked in, Kerr was tired already, sucking
wind. It would be 0-0 at the end of 20 minutes of regulation,
where Arona really established the pace throughout, but Kerr
held him off. Several times throughout the match, Kerr would
complain about incidental headbutts - Kerr would shoot sloppy
and Arona would sprawl - when Kerr was slow getting up, Arona
would charge and they butted heads many times. Kerr used the
occassions to suck for air, and the Brazilian fans let him know
about it. Arona stayed focused, as it was obvious it would only
be a matter of time.
Heading
into the OT, Kerr would approach the judges, stating 'OT is 5
minutes'. This was another sad attempt to gain time, since Kerr
himself fought a 10 minute extra period at ADCC 2001 with Mario
Sperry. The judge responded, '10 minutes' and Kerr asked 'since
when?' The final answer was 'since Roberto Traven and Sperry
fought two of them'. Kerr would not survive the next 10 minutes
and he knew it. Arona finally scored a takedown, 4 points, obtaining
side control position. Kerr was controlled for 3 seconds, giving
Arona the 4-0 edge. The few people in the place went nuts! Kerr
would be forced to work to catch up, and his tank bottomed out.
Time ran out, and Kerr was done. Hopefully, this is not a sign
that his demons are back to haunt him, but he must get in shape
if he is to fight again.
THE
ABSOLUTE:
MARCIO
CRUZ PE DE PANO
YUKI SASAKI
MIKE
VAN ARSDALE
MARCELO GARCIA
NATHAN
MARQUARDT
DEAN LISTER
JEFF
MONSEN
SAULO RIBEIRO
ANDY
REESE
MARK ROBINSON
ALEXANDRE
CACARECO
RODRIGO MEDEIROS
AKIRA
SHOJI
MITSUHIRO ISHIDA
FABRICIO
WERDUN
MATT LINDLAND
The
draw is done by an international panel of insiders and the local
promoters, with all applicant names going in a hat. Votes are
cast 1-10, the criteria is: 'What are the chances that this fighter
can win an 16 man open class tourney in the ADCC style?' Votes
are added up, and the top 16 go. Sevgeral fighters drop out,
and as the original draw is looked back upon, DEAN LISTER was
the 20th seed going in. History was starting to write itself
again.
The
opening match featured MARCIO CRUZ, the top seeded choice to
win the open weight tournament, against Japan's SASAKI, a Pancrase
star who lost to Saulo Ribeiro in round 1 of the 77-87.9 KG class.
Sasaki came out close to 50 lbs lighter, and he jogged back to
the arena from the hotel as a warmup for the match, since the
ABSOLUTE draw gives fighters very little time. PE DE PANO was
focused on sweeping both his weight class and the ABSOLUTE -
so he was ready to complete the task he is famous for in Jiu
Jitsu - sweep the weight class and the ABSOLUTE.
Sasaki
would prove to be more pesky than Cruz bargained for. Cruz played
the top postion, smothering the lighter guy and workin gto get
points. At one point, Sasaki turtled to stand, and Cruz jumped
on his back pretending to surf - really a classless move. Sasaki
kept fighting, and he achieved something noteworthy - a reversal
for a 2 point score.
In
ADCC, many matches result in a shutout, as the scramble to consolidate
a position for 3 seconds result in fierce struggles when both
competitors understand the rules completely. Sasaki got back
to 7-2 before succumbing to the bigger man's pressure again,
but it is a mark for the Japanese stylists throughout the competition
- they come to go for it - and there would be another example
in the ABSOLUTES as well.
The
second match featured American wrestler MIKE VAN ARSDALE against
MARCELLO GARCIA, who was already the darling of the competition.
Van Arsdale, an olympic level wrestler whose ability to compete
makes him dangerous at all times, is susceptible to tricky submissions,
so Gurghel's young wizard was the worst possible matchup for
the aging star. Van Arsdale struggled to keep it up, but Garcia's
attacks made him look bad, so he had to wade in and fight - an
honorable warrior. Garcia was still sharp, and he caught the
submission shortly after - Van Arsdale was submitted in under
5 minutes by the Brazilian HARRY POTTER.
Next
up, DEAN LISTER would start his unlikely odyssey, taking on KING
of PANCRASE NATHAN MARQUARDT in the first round |