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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
3/5-7/04
Arnold
Schwarzenegger World Gracie Professional Submission Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Columbus, Ohio)
2004
11/22/03?
Pac Rim Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling & BJJ)
(Klum Gym, UH Manoa)
11/21/03
SuperBrawl
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
11/9/03
Pride:
Final Conflict
(MMA)
(Toyko, Japan)
11/8/03
Relson Gracie International BJJ Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser High School)
10/25/03
Kick'n It 3
(Kickboxing)
(Ewa Beach)
10/24/03
International
Cage Combat
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Rumored
to be cancelled
10/18/03
Amateur
Fighting Competition 4
(Toughman)
10/18/03
Relson
Gracie U.S. Nationals
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Columbus, Ohio)
|
|
October News Part
1
Wednesday
night and Sunday classes (w/ a kids' class) starting in October!
 
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Quote
of the Day
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
Confucius
|
Rumble
On The Rock 4 Weigh-ins
All Star
Hawaii
Thursday, October 09, 2003
7:00 PM
By Michael Onzuka
Mike@onzuka.com
Anyone who knows the Penn family knows that when they do something,
they never do it halfway. The star of the family, BJ starts Jiu-Jitsu
and after only 4 years becomes the first non-Brazilian Black
Belt World Jiu-Jitsu Champion. BJ then turns his efforts to MMA
and debuts in the UFC, the most prestigious show in America.
After only three fights, he gets a title shot. Now BJ's manager
and older brother JD takes the lead as the promoter for the Rumble
on the Rock. Usually, a new promoter starts his show on a low
budget and with successful events builds to bigger and better
production. As I said above, the Penn family comes out of the
gate with a custom built UFC style octagon, two 20' screens,
and a runway with a light setup that would make Dana White proud
in their first show.
After three successful events in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii,
the Penns decided to move the show to Oahu, which is easily the
most populated island in the chain. Oahu has approximately 800,000
people of the about 1.1 million people that live in Hawaii. The
promoters put out an avalanche of press hitting all the major
radio stations, local TV, ESPN, Discovery, The Learning Channel,
and other stations with commercials for this event. Their hope
is to get not only the huge following that BJ has on the Big
Island to come over to Oahu to watch him fight, but an already
large fan base to turn out for some MMA action.
Step one, get a great main event. How about the number one versus
the number two fighters at 155 pounds squaring off? Half of that
is easy enough since JD just had to walk down the hall and ask
his brother BJ if he is game. BJ wants to be the best ever and
the only way he can be the best is if he fights the best. Enter
Takanori Gomi. Gomi was the most devastating fighter from Japan
beating all comers until he was recently stopped by Joachim Hansen.
Gomi is still considered number two in most MMA polls. After
some negotiation, Gomi agrees. The Japanese fighters are always
known for wanting to fight the best as well and for putting on
great performances, especially in Hawaii. Interestingly enough,
this is Gomi's second fight in Hawaii. His first was in Super
Brawl 12 where he submitted Stephen "Bozo" Palling
who also happens to be on this card. Both fighters agreed to
a modification to the standard sanctioned rules of the UFC. The
modifications are that liver kicks (similar to the type made
famous by Royce Gracie) and north/south or straight up and down
elbow strikes are legal. In normal rules, the fighters must throw
an elbow with a hooking action in order for it to be legal. This
rule change opens the possibility for a huge amount of damage.
After all, look how much damage an elbow throwing expert like
Tito Ortiz can do with the hooking elbows.
Step two; create a solid under card filled with popular local
fighters taking on the best of the mainland. Done. Ray "Bradda"
Cooper, Stephen "Bozo" Palling, and Ron "The Machine
Gun" Jhun are all on this card. They are not facing slouches
by any means. Cooper faces off with the only man to defeat the
world's best 170 pound fighter twice, Dennis "Superman"
Hallman. UFC veteran, Gil Castillo, faces off against Jiu-Jitsu
Black Belt and Rumble on the Rock honed fighter Renato "Charuto"
Verissimo. Castillo, being a pupil of Cesar Gracie and a title
contender in both the 170 and 185 pound class of the UFC is a
huge step up in caliber for Verissimo. The rest of the card is
filled with gems which should keep the Hawaii fans satisfactorily
occupied until the main event rolls around. Celebrities that
are here for the event include Pitfight team mastermind, John
Hackleman, UFC veteran Josh Thompson, referee Larry Landless,
and none other than the New York Badass, Phil Baroni, who will
be doing the commentary with yours truly.
Can the Penns pull in the larger fan base of Oahu? If the amount
of people that showed up at the weigh ins at All Star Hawaii
is any indication, we are looking at a capacity crowd. This is
the largest crowd that Hawaii events have had at a weigh in.
All the fighters made weight, but some had to shed a pound or
two which came off pretty quickly. The card is intact and Penn
and Gomi are set to determine who the best is at 155.
Rumble
On The Rock 4 Fight Card
Tonight!
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Friday, October 10, 2003
Super
Flyweight
Yobie Song (Jesus Is Lord) 134.0 lbs vs. Antonio Banuelos (Pitfight
Team) 134.5 lbs
Lightweight
Constructed 160 lb Class
Santino "The Italian Job" Defranco (808 Fight Factory)
156.5 lbs vs. Deshaun Johnson (HMC) 159.0 lbs
Welterweight
Gabe Casillas (Debrazil Academy) 169.5 lbs vs. Ross "Da
Boss" Ebanez (BJ Penn MMA) 170.0 lbs
Light
Heavyweight
David "Kawika" Pa'aluhi (Jesus Is Lord) 204.5 lbs vs.
Joe Riggs (BRAUSA) 200.5 lbs
Flyweight
Gilbert Melendez 145.0 lbs (Cesar Gracie) vs. Stephen "Bozo"
Paling (Jesus Is Lord) 144.5 lbs
Welterweight
Ron "The Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Fight Factory) 170.0
lbs vs. Sean Taylor 170.0 lbs
Shawn was making weight.
Welterweight
Renato "Charuto" Verissimo (BJ Penn MMA) 170.0 lbs
vs. Gil Castillo (Cesar Gracie) 169.5 lbs
 
Both fighters had to cut a pound or so, hence the separate pictures.
Heavyweight
Andy Montana 250.0 lbs vs. Paul "The Executioner" Buenatello
(American Kickboxing Academy) 243.0 lbs
Welterweight
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (Jesus Is Lord) 169.0 lbs vs. Dennis
Hallman (Victory Athletics) 170.0 lbs
Lightweight
BJ Penn (BJ Penn MMA) 155.0 lbs vs. Takanori Gomi (K'z Factory)
154.0 lbs
BJ was all business at the stare down.
Gomi and BJ go over the modified rules.
Promoters Kalae Ah Chin and JD Penn with JD's beautiful girlfriend
and Vice President (AKA MVP) Jodi taking care of the final details.
|
The
Internationals Finally Has a Date!
What: Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu International Championships
When: 11/8/03
Where: Kaiser High School
Gi and No Gi Divisions
Prices:
$55 for gi/no gi division
$90 to enter both gi and no gi divisions
$5 more for each open division
Schedule
9:30 AM Start of the tournament
6:30-7:00 PM Awards
Weigh-ins will be on 11/7/03 at the main academy 9:00 am - 2:00
pm and 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Late registration at the event $5 extra
Source: Relson Gracie |
Carlson
Gracie joins Wallid’s Brazil Dojo: “I could never expect
that my revenge would come so quickly!”
Submitted by: Luca Atalla
GRACIE
Magazine’s site publishes Master Carlson Gracie and Wallid
Ismail’s open letter to the fans accepting the challenge
between Brazil Dojo and Brazilian Top Team Check here the complete
note!
Rio,
October 9th 2003
Open
letter from Brazil Dojo to BTT and all the fans
I
was really surprised about what was written on the note released
by the Brazilian Top Team, specially the part about Wallid Ismail.
Wallid has always been a warrior of ethic and responsibility.
The BTT leaders cannot speak about moral, ethics and honesty.
All the stuff I have always done for them not even a father would
do. And I have plenty of stories to support what I am saying.
One
of them: When their parents divorced, I offered all four students
from Bustamante family to keep training with me for free, and
I treated them as my sons, including Murilo. Zé Mário
Sperry used to train at other academies and lost all fights in
many tournaments, but I saw his potential and invited him to
train with me. He replied that his family hated to listen about
fighting and would not give him any money to join a Jiu-Jitsu
academy. So, I invited him to train for free as well. Bebeo was
another case, although I tried really hard, I could not make
him become a champion. He was interested in some others stuff…
But he has never paid any lessons either.
Some
time later, I went to U.S.A. and opened the big events to all
my students, and made them fight for valuable prizes, always
with my name behind. I even left them taking care of my academy,
the Carlson Gracie Team. But to my surprise, they started to
boycott me, they did not want to give any percentage of their
prizes to anyone.
That’s
how they came up with the Brazilian Top Team, promising that
they wouldn’t charge any percentage from any fighters. But
this did not happen. They betrayed me and then betrayed all their
teammates. That was the time Carlao, Vitor Belfort, Allan Goes,
Paulo Filho, Ricardo Arona and others fighters left BTT. The
three heads of the team, Sperry, Bustamante and Bebeo, had betrayed
everybody.
About
the challenge between BTT and Brazil Dojo, I could never expect
that my athletic revenge would come so quick. All I want is that
they make their list of fighters, although I’d prefer that
the challenge only involve the three leaders. I don’t have
anything against the other members of their academy, they actually
were betrayed as well. I only demand that it be a 'winner takes
all the money'; no money for the losers! And that the combats
be held in the NEXT JUNGLE FIGHT! As everyone knows, whoever
makes a challenge cannot choose where or when, fights anywhere!
Note
from Wallid Ismail:
The
BTT leaders said I, Wallid Ismail, had paid to Rodrigo “Minotauro”
and to Rogerio “Minotouro” to show up in the first
Jungle Fight. It’s a lie. I invited both of them because
they are my friends. In Paulo Filho’s case, he is my friend
since childhood and never had a comfortable relation in BTT.
About Carlao Barreto, he really was going to fight in the Jungle,
as he confirmed in several interviews before. Those guys from
BTT only wrote lies and bullshit on their note to the press.
Now I would like the readers and fans to decide: who works with
ethics, BTT or Brazil Dojo?
The
complete letter in his original version with all the polemic
you check in GRACIE Magazine’s site: www.graciemag.com !
Source: ADCC |
A
Look Back: SUPERCAMPEONATO CYCLONE DE SUBMISSION 3
SuperCampeonato
Cyclone de Submission 3
Date: September 13th
Place: Sao Januario, Rio de Janeiro
Well
if you have been paying attention to this event, something is
different
of before. The promoter removed the name - Luta-Livre - from
the
announcements. An explanation was made by the main promoter Mario
Miglioli
about that: -'I wanted to make an event where all fighters of
Grappling/Submission could fight, if I continued putting the
name
Luta-Livre, fighters from Jiu Jitsu would not come to this event
and it
worked. This time I got 68% of Jiu Jitsu fighters and 32% of
Luta-Livre'
The
presence of more Jiu Jitsu fighters, was perceptible when you
looked at the 6 tough weight class categories. The fighters were
divided between
under 59kg, 60-68kg, 69-77kg, 78-86kg, 87-98kg and over 99kg.
We all came to
see the multiple times Submission and Jiu Jitsu chmapion, Adriano
'Nasal' Pereira. Also, the Super-Heavy weight International Master&Senior
2003 champion Paulo 'Peposo' Rodrigues. All weight classes were
very tough, but the 60-68kg was toughest with the champion fighting
5 times to capture the 'gold' medal, the sponsor's prize kit
and the prize in money. The other considerable point was that
the three super fights did not dazzle the whole tournament. Once
again I was the only one who kept covering the event when the
three superfights were over. To tell the truth, at the last event,
the super-fight involving Alexandre 'Cacareco' Ferreira and Paulo
Filho did dazzle the whole event since the crowd's expectations
were totally focused on this match.
The
tournament results were:
Under 59kg
Rafael Rebello def. Wellington Dias [4-2]
60-68kg
TAEDE def. Marcelo Santos [6-2]
69-77kg
Adriano 'Nasal' Pereira def. Vitor Nobrega [4-0]
78-86kg
Alexandre 'Baby' def. Fabio Bastos [4-0]
87-98kg
Andre 'Marola' Candido def. Danilo 'Moto-Serra' [1-0]
Over 99kg
Paulo 'Peposo' Rodrigues def. Lenny 'Montanha' [advantage]
1st
Super Fight:
Rany Yahrya (Team Athaide Jr.) def. Fredson Paixao (Equipe 3)
by 6-0
Paixao once again showed that no gi competitions are not his
specialty. He
had the merits in the beginning of the match of almost armbarred
and toe-holded Yahrya. But he was limited to that and some grips
for get a best position for a wrist-lock, but with no success.
Then the fight went to the ground by Yahrya who after two attempts
of single leg, got to take Paixao down and work for the guard
passage. Fredson tried to adjust his position on the bottom to
sweep Yahrya. That gave an advantage to Yahrya. Paixao's mistake
was going back to his feet and letting Yahrya grab his waist.
Both guys on the feet and Yahrya pushed Paixao to the ground
from where he got 4 more points and to catch Paixao's back with
the two hooks. Paixao survived
around 2 minutes to not be submitted again this time (last time
was in MUNDIAL 2003). Yahrya tried rear naked chokes and simple
chokes, however Paixao was able to avoid these attacks esaily,
while tried to free himself of the Yahrya's hooks. With a move
of pure strength, Paixao freed
himself and in the same time attacked Yahrya with a heel-hook,
did not work, he went
for a ankle-lock and finally a toe-hold; all attacks were defended
by Yahrya. Who only waited for the time to finish. He conquered
a important victory in his career over Paixao. Yahrya who is
still a brown-belt should receive his black-belt soon. After
to wining the ADCC Brazilian Trials and this match-up against
a very well rounded black-belt.
2nd
Super Fight:
Fabricio 'Morango' Camoes (Gracie Tijuca) def. Peterson Melo
(Boxe Thai
Team/BTT) by 8-0
Two MECA winners faced each other in a Submission event and some
thing intriguing surrounded this match. Both guys have submission
backgrounds, while 'Morango' is a Vinny black-belt, Melo has
a black-belt in Luta-Livre and a brown-belt in Jiu Jitsu, but
Melo is known as a skilled
Thai-Boxer. Are you waiting for the intriguing things? Well,
'Morango' KO'd his last opponent in MECA while Melo submitted
his last two opponents in MECA, so if the fighters has his background
based on the feet or on the ground, it doesn't seem to matter.
In this magnificent sport never you can never know the final
result of a fight. Well then, let's leave the NHB out of this
issue, because now they were fighting Submission only. They were
only using their ground games. Melo did shoot a takedown first
Morango sprawled and did a guillotine choke that started without
any problem for Melo, but became a bit problematic when Melo
pulled guard in a weird way. With no danger
of a submission Melo fell in Morango's guard, then reversed him
and tried a toe-hold. He did no get but ended in Melo's half-guard.
The fighters came back to their feet and Melo shot a single-leg,
'Morango' defended and put another guillotine-choke that made
Melo step back to escape. But, everyone was expecting to see
when Melo would take 'Morango' down due to his multiple attempts.
Then 'Morango' surprised everyone and took Melo down with a classic
double-leg and passed his guard. Melo restored the half-guard
and after some stalling time they returned to their feet again.
After another of Melo's takedown shots, 'Morango' was able to
score his second takedown with
success again the basic double-leg. So 'Morango' started his
attempt to pass the guard again but it was too late and he overwhelmed
Melo 8-0.
Alexandre
'Cafe' Dantas (Gracie Barra) def. Denis Gomes (Team Athaide
Jr.) by rear naked choke.
'Cafe' and Gomes began gingerly with neck clinches and without
much effort to take the fight to the ground. The unknown Gomes
was the first who tried a takedown, he dominated Cafe's left
leg, but 'Cafe' was stronger than Gomes and defended it almost
lifting Gomes. 'Cafe' got his first points via reversal and they
started his head-to-head on the feet game. Then 'Cafe' took Gomes
to the ground with a takedown. Gomes felt the pressure and was
totally foiled by 'Cafe' who started his arsenal of attacks and
passed the guard. Soon he got Gomes's backs with the two hooks.
Gomes was in a bad position, face on the ground and with 'Cafe'
on his back trying to fit the arm under Gomes's chin, many attempts
were needed before finally he choked out Gomes in around 4 minutes
and the only one of the three super-fights finished with a submission.
Source: ADCC |
NSAC
Files Complaint Against UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia
On
October 7, 2003, Marc Ratner, Executive Director of the Nevada
State Athletic Commission, filed a Complaint For Disciplinary
Action And Notice Of Hearing against UFC Heavyweight Champion
Tim Sylvia.
The
complaint alleges Sylvia violated Nevada Administrative Code
467.850, including (1) “the administration of or use of
any alcohol, stimulant or drug, or injection that has not been
approved by the commission.” As a licensed Nevada professional
mixed martial artist, Sylvia is subject to the provisions of
Chapter 467 of the Nevada Revised Statutes and of Chapter 467
of the Nevada Administrative Code.
The
NSAC tests for any performance enhancing drugs, including anabolic
steroids. Sylvia voluntarily submitted to a urinalysis immediately
following his first title defense at “UFC 44: Undisputed”
in Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 26. An analysis of the sample was
conducted by Las Vegas based Quest Diagnostics and the results
were concluded just 4 days later. The toxicology report was received
by the NSAC on Oct. 2. “The urinalysis reflected the presence
of Stanozolol Metabolite, which is an anabolic agent,” stated
Ratner.
The
complaint, which included the toxicology report, was sent by
certified mail to Sylvia at his Bettendorf, Iowa, address and
also faxed to manager Monte Cox. Zuffa LLC, owners of the UFC,
was immediately notified by the NSAC.
An
official release from Team Extreme and Miletich Fighting Systems
states -- UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia announced today
that he had taken a banned substance prior to his title defense
against Gan McGee on Sept. 26 in Las Vegas. 'I made a terrible
mistake... the biggest mistake of my life,' Sylvia said. 'I wish
I could take it back, but that isn't possible. So, I'm ready
to accept the consequences for my actions.' The Nevada State
Athletic Commission notified Sylvia of the infraction earlier
this week. Sylvia hopes to have a hearing in front of the board
on Oct. 15 in Las Vegas. 'After I won the title, I wanted to
look better... to have a better physique,' Sylvia said. 'I have
never taken steroids before, so I tried it for a month after
the Ricco fight. Now, it's obvious that it was a big mistake.'
Sylvia said he will abide by whatever decisions are made by the
NSAC and Zuffa. 'I just want to apologize for letting people
down... my fans, my teammates, my family, the Nevada State Athletic
Commission and the UFC,' Sylvia said. 'I can't express how disappointed
I am in myself right now. I've gotten such great support from
so many people... I hope they will stick by me and help me get
through this. I want to accept responsibility for what I did,
do whatever I have to do to put it behind me, and move on with
my career.'
Zuffa
offered a brief, but supportive statement on Oct. 8 “we
don’t want to say much at this time,” said Jack Taylor,
Public Relations for Zuffa LLC, but in the statement, UFC President
Dana White said “we are very disappointed that the lab tests
came back and showed that he (Sylvia) used steroids. We fully
support Tim in his efforts to respond to these charges and to
work with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to come to a fair
and just resolution. We also fully support the NSAC in whatever
its judgment might be.”
A
hearing is already scheduled for Oct. 15, and is expected to
include Ratner, Sylvia, Cox and White.
Under
the NRS and NAC, the commission may suspend or revoke the license
of Sylvia, as well as impose a penalty of up to 100% of his $60,000
purse. Sylvia may also be required to pay the costs of the proceeding,
including investigative costs and attorney’s fees. “We’ve
had other cases, but each case is decided on its own merit,”
said Ratner. In the complaint, Ratner is seeking full reimbursement
“it’s unfortunate. We just need to educate everybody.”
Sylvia
is expected to speak on internet radio Thursday. ADCC News will
continue to follow this story and report as it unfolds.
Source: ADCC |
Say
It 'Aint So!
UFC Champion Tim Sylvia Issued NSAC Complaint For Steroid Use
For
a second time in less than two years, another UFC champion has
tested positive for steroid use. Current heavyweight champion
Tim Sylvia was verbally notified through his management a week
after the fight that test results detecting anabolic steroid
use had come back positive. As required by Nevada State Athletic
Commission (NSAC) regulations, Sylvia had voluntarily submitted
to a urinalysis following his title defense victory over Gan
McGee at UFC 44, held on September 26, 2003 in Las Vegas. A formal
written complaint, filed by the NSAC, was faxed to Sylvia's management
and a copy mailed out to his Bettendorf, Iowa home.
In
the complaint issued by Keith Kizer, Chief Deputy Attorney General
and acting legal counsel for the NSAC, alleged violations included
the use of the anabolic steroid Stanozolol Metabolite, a drug
or injection that is not approved for use by the NSAC. More familiar
by its street name, Winstrol, the drug is utilized to promote
body tissue-building processes.
As
part of standard procedure adopted after January 1, 2002, the
NSAC began regular steroid testing in title fights for all its
unarmed combat sports. For UFC 44, Sylvia, Gan McGee, Tito Ortiz,
and Randy Couture all went through the requisite steroid testing,
as well as standard drug testing, which includes scans for marijuana,
various foreign substances and masking agents. Sylvia's urinalysis
was the sole sample to come back positive for steroids. Kizer
could not confirm if the other fourteen UFC 44 competitors that
night were drug-tested as well.
Waiving
his right to answer these allegations within 20 days of notice,
Sylvia's management has already verbally communicated, with Kizer,
the champion's admission to the charges filed in the complaint.
Sylvia and his camp also issued a public statement on October
7th stating such. In response, the champion has been asked to
appear before the NSAC's five-member board, chaired by Luther
Mack, at a previously scheduled October 15th meeting. Since Sylvia
has already acknowledged his wrongdoing, the meeting will most
likely move into the NSAC's disciplinary phase. "I assume
that's how it will go," stated Kizer, "unless he changes
his mind [referring to Sylvia's admittance of guilt]. For better
lack of the term, Slyvia will have to 'throw himself on the mercy
of the court' and give reasons, if he can, as to why they should
be lenient." Marc Ratner, the Executive Director of the
NSAC, will present the evidence relevant to the case at the proceedings,
with Kizer there to assist him. Monte Cox, Sylvia's manager,
will also be in attendance, along with representatives of Zuffa
Sports Entertainment, the promoters of the UFC. At this time,
Sylvia is not planning on using legal counsel. (If for some reason
Sylvia fails to attend these hearings, a decision can still be
reached in his absence.)
Once
under disciplinary consideration, Slyvia's license to fight in
Nevada could be suspended for any given period of time deemed
appropriate by the Commission, including permanent suspension
or revocation of license. The least severe response would be
to give Sylvia a warning. In lieu of or in addition to the suspension
or revocation of his license, the NSAC can also administer a
penalty not to exceed $250,000 or 100% of Sylvia's fighting purse,
whichever is greater. Sylvia received a purse of $30,000 to fight
McGee and a bonus of $30,000 for his win. In the written complaint,
obtained by FCF, recommendations issued on behalf of the Executive
Director included both a monetary fine and action taken on Sylvia's
license.
The
NSAC's jurisdiction dictates over the sports of boxing, kickboxing,
"Toughman" competitions, as well as MMA, which it sanctioned
as a sport in July of 2001. Sylvia will be the fifth person,
out of an estimated 200-plus matches, to be formally charged
and (possibly) reprimanded for steroid use since January 2002.
Kickboxer Rick Roufus, boxer Fernando Vargas, and mixed martial
artists Josh Barnett and Mark Smith have all been penalized in
the past.
Barnett's
case was the first instance the Commission has ever had in which
an unarmed combat sports competitor has tested positive for a
performance enhancing agent. He denied allegations that he utilized
three anabolic substances found in his body following his UFC
36 victory and was eventually handed a ten-month suspension (from
the date of the fight) when he could not prove otherwise. Smith
was suspended for a year for multiple steroid and drug-related
infractions following his November 2002 King Of The Cage fight
in Reno, Nevada. In addition, Kizer noted that the NSAC has been
gradually adopting a more aggressive stance with its rulings.
Champion
Tim Sylvia politely declined to speak yesterday on the situation,
and requested comments be made on his behalf through longtime
Team Extreme manager Monte Cox. Cox, who stated that neither
he nor any of Sylvia's teammates at Miletich Martial Arts had
any knowledge of the use prior to NSAC notification, had this
to say. "It's not what people think, although people are
going to believe what they want to. This isn't like Tim did a
big cycle of steroids, he was stacking, and stuff like that.
That's not what it was. He won the title. He's always been not
too happy with his body and has worked hard to try and change
it and he took a shortcut. It was a bad choice, but he made the
choice on his own and people makes mistakes. He's a teammate
and we're gonna support him." According to Cox, Sylvia told
him he started a one-month cycle early into his eighth month
layoff between his appearances at UFC 41 and UFC 44. "He
did it well before the fight," relayed Cox. "It lasted
about a month and he really didn't think it was that big a deal.
He was under the impression it would be long out of his system.
But, he was actually not familiar with it. He'd never done it
before."
With
regards to Sylvia's UFC heavyweight belt, as it was also with
Barnett's case almost two years ago, the NSAC does not have any
authority to revoke a title and/or overturn the decision of this
or any other fight. Says Kizer, "We have no jurisdiction
over any belt -- whether it be kickboxing, boxing, or MMA. It's
totally up to the promotion." Kizer added the NSAC can make
a recommendation on the matter if they so wish, but he doubts
that will be the case.
Zuffa
has made precedent in the past when it decided to adjust ruling
on Josh Barnett's win over Randy Couture at UFC 36 to a "No
contest." Barnett was also stripped of the heavyweight belt
he had acquired in that fight. In Sylvia's case, however, this
champion was defending his belt and a "no contest"
ruling would erase the fight from the records, but not necessarily
revoke him of his title.
Contact
made to Zuffa today resulted in the following notification: UFC
president Dana White has refrained from making any comments till
after the October 15th proceedings, but did release a statement
earlier this morning supporting Sylvia, as well as the NSAC in
whatever action they make take in the matter.
As
for Sylvia's second title defense against challenger Frank Mir
that was slated for UFC 45 on November 21st in Connecticut, no
formal announcement has been made as to if and what any alternate
plans may be. Cox has not received any formal notification that
Sylvia won't be fighting come November, yet feels it unnecessary.
"They don't have to tell me. I know he's not going to fight
in November. He's going to get a suspension for this, and even
if he didn't get a suspension, mentally, he's in no way ready
to defend his title in November. Mentally, it's taken quite a
toll on him." FCF has learned that heavyweight contender
Andrei Arlovski's camp has been contacted by the UFC and the
two parties are in "discussions" now. UFC 43 veteran
Wes Sims has also confirmed his ongoing contact with Zuffa regarding
a potential UFC 45 fight and is currently training to step in
if the opportunity should arise.
Source: FCF |
Ultimate
Rebuttal!
Champion Couture Speaks Out on Ortiz's Claims for Rematch
By Loretta Hunt
We
recently brought you Tito Ortiz and his desire for an immediate
rematch. Now undisputed UFC light-heavyweight champion Randy
Couture strikes back with his on thoughts on a rematch, who he
thinks Ortiz and he should really fight, as well as insight into
his recent showdown with "the Huntington Beach Bad Boy."
It's all part of another exclusive interview to appear in this
month's Full Contact Fighter. Let's take a look at an excerpt:
FCF:
Once again, congratulations on another stellar outing at UFC
44. I'd like to start by asking you about an interesting comment
you made at the press conference following that fight. You said
that in fighting Ortiz, he made you do a lot of things you didn't
want to do.
RC: Besides the time I spent working on my bottom game, I was
referring to the other area of pre-fight hype. Tito kind of brings
a certain intensity and persona to the pre-fight hype and it's
not my style. It's not what I like to do. It's not how I like
to represent myself or the sport. And he kind of forced me to
stand up and do a few things that I'm uncharacteristically not
used to doing -- talking back a little bit and fortunately for
me I didn't have to make up a lot of what I felt. I pretty much
said what I felt about the situation and was able to do that
with conviction so that made it easier for me. Generally, I would
have kept those thoughts and feelings to myself and just gone
out and done my job.
FCF:
Jumping to the hot topic at hand, you stated at the press conference
that you would gladly give Ortiz a rematch, but under a certain
condition...
RC: That's correct. I'll give him a rematch, but not until he
fights Chuck Liddell.
FCF:
What if Liddell does less than favorably in PRIDE?
RC: None of that matters. If Chuck wins PRIDE, then he's going
to get a rematch with me. That makes sense. He'll hold the PRIDE
belt and I'm holding the UFC belt in the light-heavyweight division;
we should fight again and try to kinda unify those belts. If
Chuck doesn't do well in PRIDE, if he doesn't get past Quinton
[Jackson] or loses to Wanderlei [Silva], then it doesn't really
matter. He's still a top contender in this weight class in the
UFC and he and Tito should fight. Everybody wants to see that
fight and Tito needs to answer that question.
Find
out Couture's thoughts when we brought Vitor Belfort in the mix,
as well as his plans for his next and final fight on his UFC
contract. All in the next issue of Full Contact Fighter.
Source: FCF |
SHOOTO
on Halloween in Japan!
October 31st, 2003
Kitazawa Town Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Gutsman Promotion
Additional
Matches to be Announced - Lineup Subject To Change:
Class
B 2 x 5 minutes roundsL:
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]
Koji Takeuchi vs. Ganjo Tentsuku
Lightweight
[-65.0Kg]
Lion Takeshi vs. Masanori 'Gatch' Sugatani
Flyweight
[-52.0Kg] 2003 Rookie League
Issei Tsurumi vs. Tiger Ishii
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament Final
Tomonari Kanomata vs. Nobuhiro Obiya
Class
A 3 x 5 minutes rounds:
Bantamweight
[-56.0Kg]
Junji Ikoma vs. Takeyasu Hirono
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish
nothing in life."
Muhammad Ali, 1942-, American Boxer
|
Rumble
On The Rock Weigh-ins Today!
All Star Cafe
in Waikiki
7:00PM
Fight Card:
- Takanori Gomi vs. BJ
Penn
- Dennis Hallman vs. Ray
“Bradda” Cooper
- Paul Buentello vs. Andy Montana
- Gil Castillo vs. Renato
Verissimo
- Gilbert Melendez vs. Stephan "Bozo" Paling
- Joe Riggs vs. David
"Kawika" Pa’alui
- Gabe Casillas vs. Ross
"Da Boss" Ebanez
- Eddie Ruiz vs. Santino Defranco
- Antonio Banuelos vs. Yobie Song
Tickets
for the Blaisdell Arena show range from $35-200. For more information
call (808) 935-1600.
Rumble on
the Rock
Event Tickets/Package Deals
Front Row $200
Cageside Rows 2-6 $100
Cageside Rows 7-8 $65
Risers $55
Loge $50
General Admission $35
VIP Package
1RT Interisland, 1nt Stay OutRigger Maila
1 Front Row 1VIP Aft. Party $479
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1RT Interisland, 1nt Stay OutRigger Maila
1 Cageside $350
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For more Info Call (808) 935-1600
Tickets
are also available at:
Blaisdell Arena Box Office
Sack N Save Foodland
www.ticketmaster.com
Charge by phone at 877-750-4400
Ttickets
are going fast so grab yours now!
|
ULTIMATE
FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP STATEMENT CONCERNING HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
TIM SYLVIA
LAS
VEGAS, October 8, 2003 ... Dana White, president of the Ultimate
Fighting Championship, today made the following statement concerning
UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia:
"We are very disappointed that the lab tests came back and
showed that he used steroids. We fully support Tim in his efforts
to respond to these charges and to work with the Nevada State
Athletic Commission to come to a fair and just resolution. We
also fully support the NSAC in whatever its judgment might be."
Source: Zuffa |
USS
Fighter Travis Lutter
by: Kid Peligro / ADCC JJ Editor
We
touch base with yet another competitor of the upcoming October
11th event, to be held at the James Armstrong Theatre, in Torrance,
CA. is sponsored by mainstream companies like Varig Airlines,
BankCard USA Merchant Services and WorldSize Nutritional Technologies.
Your
name, different styles you've trained in, and your main fighting
style?
TL-Travis Lutter. BJJ
What
do you like best about your chosen fighting style?
TL-Submissions
Why
do you want to compete in The Ultimate Submission Showdown?
TL- The chance to win a major event like this
What
do you think of the rules of this event?
TL-Challenging and will make for interesting fights
What
is your favorite technique?
TL -Anything that involves my opponent tapping.
Who
would you like to fight as a final match and why?
TL- Doesn't matter, at this level everyone is tough.
Anyone
can purchase tickets at: Armstrong Theatre Box Office (310) 781-7171
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy (310) 782-1309
Or Online go to www.igjjf.com
Source: ADCC |
MATT
HUGHES TO DEFEND WELTERWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST FRANK TRIGG AT UFC
45: REVOLUTION LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW, NOV. 21
by: Jack Taylor
‘Tank’
Abbott Returns To Fight ‘Cabbage’ Correira In Heavyweight Action As
Ultimate Fighting Championship Marks Its 10th Anniversary At
Mohegan Sun Arena
TICKETS
NOW ON SALE!
LAS
VEGAS, October 8, 2003… Two of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
(UFC) most popular fighters, Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes
and legendary Heavyweight Tank Abbott, will headline an all-star,
eight-fight card LIVE on pay-per-view at UFC 45: Revolution starting
at 10 p.m. EST, Friday, November 21, from the Mohegan Sun Arena
in Uncasville, Conn.
UFC 45: Revolution, which will mark the UFC’s 10th anniversary,
will feature Hughes’ fifth title defense against highly-rated
Frank Trigg, while Tank, one of the UFC’s all-time knockout
artists, will meet Hawaiian power-puncher “Cabbage” Correira. The remainder of
the card will be announced.
Tickets,
$300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, are on sale now at the Mohegan
Sun box office and at www.tickets.com. Tickets also may be ordered
by telephone at 1-800-477-6849 or 860-862-8499. All ticket purchases
are subject to transaction fees. UFC 45: Revolution will be available
LIVE on pay-per-view on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, Bell
ExpressVu, TVN, Echostar and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested
retail price is $29.95.
Hughes
(29-3-0 in mixed martial arts), from Hillsboro, Ill., is considered
by most experts the strongest pound-for-pound fighter in MMA.
Known for his high amplitude body slams and devastating ground
and pound attack, he won the welterweight title at UFC 34: High
Voltage on November 2, 2001, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with
a second round knockout of Carlos Newton. Since then, he has
looked more and more unstoppable in title defenses against Hayato
Sakurai, Newton in a re-match, Gil Castillo and Sean Sherk.
UFC
45: Revolution Hughes/Tank – add one
But
in Trigg (9-1-0), from El Segundo, Calif., Hughes will be challenged
by a fighter who feels he is more talented in all facets of MMA,
including wrestling. Trigg is a four-time U.S.A Wrestling All-American
and a 2000 Olympic trials wrestling finalist. He also is a second
degree black belt in judo and the current World Fighting Alliance
welterweight world champion. Trigg also has beaten Dennis Hallman,
who defeated Hughes twice. Trigg says he knows Hughes is very
strong and an excellent wrestler, but he is confident he is the
better fighter.
“Tank”
(8-9-0) from Huntington Beach, Calif., is one of the most popular
fighters in the UFC’s ten-year history. All fans love knockouts
and he has delivered some of the most memorable. Tank, who says
he was born to fight, respects no martial arts style or fighter
and says that even when he loses it is his opponent who usually
ends up in the hospital.
“Cabbage” (16-4-0) from
Hilo, Hawaii, made his debut at UFC 39: The Warriors Return,
September 27, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun, in an absolute war with
future Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. Cabbage displayed fast
hands and an incredible chin and fans demanded to see him again.
He returned at UFC 42: Sudden Impact, April 25, in Miami, Fla.,
where he knocked out jiu-jitsu champion Sean Alvarez at 1:46
of the second round. Cabbage said he will be in the best shape
of his life and will be ready to go to war with Tank.
The
UFC’s first fight event, UFC 1: The Beginning, was held
November 12, 1993, at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colo. That night,
Royce Gracie defeated Gerard Gordeau in the final match with
a tap out by rear naked choke to become the first UFC champion.
Other fighters on that first card included Ken Shamrock, Kevin
Rosier, Art Jimmerson, Teila Tuli, Patrick Smith, Zane Frazier,
Jason DeLucia and Trent Jenkins.
As
part of the 10th anniversary, the public is invited to visit
the web site, www.ufc.tv, and vote for the top 10 UFC fighters
of all time.
Source: ADCC |
The
Savage Truth - Here We Go Again
By Greg Savage
Just
when you thought the heavyweight division of the UFC was starting
to come around, another champion looks like he will be KO’d
by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Tim
Sylvia’s announcement that he had taken steroids—winstrol
to be exact—in an effort to tone his physique after his
stunning knockout of previous champ Ricco Rodriguez throws the
proverbial monkey wrench into the plans for UFC 45 in Sylvia’s
old stomping grounds of New England. The “Maine-iac”
was to headline the show but will most likely be suspended and
possibly stripped of his title.
While
this new dilemma really isn’t anyone’s fault at Zuffa,
it is just another of a long list of incidents that have plagued
the patron saints of MMA here in North America.
After
a continuous parade of heavyweight champs were unable to defend
their belts, either in the ring or because of athletic commission
sanctions, Tim Sylvia looked like a marketable guy who could
sit atop the division and generate some interest for the UFC.
Think
again.
Sylvia’s
positive test has thrust the steroid issue back into the spotlight
that shone on former UFC champ Josh Barnett who also tested positive
in March of 2002. Unlike Barnett, Sylvia has vowed to comply
with whatever sanctions the NSAC hand down.
I
talked with Sylvia’s manager Monte Cox early Wednesday morning
and he informed me that Tim will indeed have a hearing on October
15 before the Athletic Commission to determine what sanctions
will be levied against him.
Cox
said he expects at least a six month suspension but that there
is a possibility of nine months, a la Fernando Vargas, or even
a year-long suspension if the NSAC really wants to make a statement
against performance enhancing drugs.
While
in Las Vegas he will also meet with UFC brass about the title
situation. The Team Extreme fighter and his camp claim that they
should not have to relinquish the title since he captured it
in a match in a state that required testing and that he subsequently
passed. The length of his suspension may have a lot to do with
the outcome of the heavyweight title.
I
can not see Zuffa being able to let a fighter hold a title while
he is unable to defend it for such a long period of time and
with the fiasco that was the light heavyweight interim title
I don’t think we will see that again in the UFC.
So
where does that leave Zuffa with UFC 45? With Matt Hughes and
Frank Trigg as the only viable headline match up, that’s
where. Know I love to watch Hughes fight as much as the next
MMA enthusiast but lets not kid ourselves, he is not a big draw
outside of hardcore MMA fans. It is a sad state of affairs when
one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world but it is
the truth.
Poor
old Zuffa. They are like the Chicago Cubs, loveable losers who
do their best but no matter how hard they try something is always
standing in the way of success. As fans we have come to expect
the unexpected and here it is again, rearing its ugly head at
the most inopportune of times.
With
the 10th anniversary show just over six weeks away and their
rising heavyweight star on the sidelines indefinitely, this looks
like the UFC 40 aftermath all over again. A tremendously successful
show that many hoped would be the momentum generating event towards
main stream acceptance only to be followed by an event that turns
out to be little more than a blip on the MMA radar screen.
It
will be interesting to see how this all plays out, whether Zuffa
can scramble to sign a big name to anchor the big anniversary
show, what happens with Sylvia and the title and what this will
do to the momentum gained from UFC 44. Stranger things have happened
but just like the Cubbies fans, when all is said and done, I
have a feeling MMA fans in North America will be crying in their
beers again.
Then
again the Cubs still have a chance to win the World Series this
year. Yeah right!
Greg
Savage volunteers for the Sherdog random drug testing just a
LITTLE too frequently.
Source: Sherdog |
Interview:
GIL CASTILLO (Part 2)
by: Keith Mills
Team Cesar Gracie’s Gil Castillo steps back into the limelight
to take on Nova Uniao’s Renato Verissimo, a vet of 2 previous Rumble On The
Rock. Castillo has been inactive in MMA since March with a back
injury keeping him out of WEC in August and September’s
IFC show getting cancelled where Castillo was supposed to fight
Frank Trigg. Verisimo debuted in MMA in March and so far has
raked up three wins.
Part
2 of this interview was originally done just 24 hours before
it was announced his fight with Frank Trigg for the IFC belt
was cancelled.
KM:
You currently hold the IFC World Welterweight belt. What are
your thoughts on defending that? GC: I had to do it sooner or
later. (Note this was when he thought he’d fight Trigg in
September).
KM:
It’s been about a year? GC: Two years since I won that against
Nathan Marquardt.
KM:
What do you recall about your fight against Marquardt? What can
you tell us about that? GC: It was a good fight. It went five
rounds, a lot of action, it was called by the promoters and several
other people the most technical fight they have ever seen. People
came up to me and said that fight belonged in the UFC. We went
back and forth, he’s a talented guy, a good fighter. That
is the only time I’ve ever been taken down in my life besides
Matt Hughes. Quite honestly I think it’s because I didn’t
sleep for two days before. Anyway, I took him down several times
and I had positioning the entire fight in every round. I won
every round in the fight but the second round they gave to him.
The reason was I won the first four minutes but in the last part
of the round I was in his guard and I postured up a little bit
and forgot in those rules you could kick to the guy’s face
from your back. Every other fight you can’t. I postured
up and he kicked me right in the face and I flew back like five
fight. He got up and smacked me again and I was wobbly at that
point so they gave him the round. In my opinion I won 23 minutes
of a 25 minute fight.
KM:
I’ve only seen that recent WEC fight and your three UFC
fights, so I’ve only seen you fight in a cage. The fight
against Menne…in the last round when you two came out instead
of touching gloves you did a little hug type thing. I’ve
never seen a show of respect like that. GC: It was for the title
and we just made it 25 minutes through the fight so we just came
out a did a little hug and said ‘let’s go’.
KM:
Those were the only fights of yours I’ve seen. Have you
ever fought in a ring before? GC: When I beat Vernon White, that
was in a ring.
KM:
Was that your only one? GC: Yes.
KM:
I don’t recall you really utilizing the cage. GC: The reason
I prefer the cage is if you go to take a guy down in a ring a
lot of times when they are sprawling out they go outside the
ring. I think for the safety of the fighters it’s better
for a cage.
KM:
Ahhh, not really using a cage as a weapon but the fighter safety
point of view. GC: You can use it as a weapon if you want to
do a Tito Ortiz tactic. I don’t do much of that.
KM:
As far as fighting in the IFC or maybe WEC Team Cesar Gracie
has you as the IFC World Welterweight Champion and your teammate
Nick Diaz as the US and Americas Welterweight Champion. Obviously
you two wouldn’t fight each other. Any chance of one of
you vacating their belt? GC: (Pausing) well, there is no reason
for Nick to vacate his belt because I have the higher belt. I
would vacate my belt if need be. I plan on getting another shot
at Matt Hughes. The UFC asked me to fight Frank Trigg. (Note:
this interview was done before the IFC show with Gil vs. Frank).
Maybe one more opponent in the UFC before Matt or going in from
Trigg to Matt, whatever they want to do because they are having
trouble finding opponents for him. I’ve been telling them
I wanted to fight (Hughes) that night but you guys wouldn’t
let me. Let’s do it again, I’m ready. I don’t
see why people should be in the UFC and then once they get there
say ‘I’m not ready for Matt Hughes’. I think you
are either a fighter or you are chicken shit, I don’t like
that kind of stuff. If you are in the UFC you are supposed to
be one of the best so you should have the attitude ‘I’ll
fight anybody’.
Source: ADCC |
BENNETT
BREAKDOWN:
WHAT SHOULD THE UFC DO NOW?
If you ask any member of the media that has spent any kind of
time with Tim Sylvia there's a common perception. You can't help
but like the champ. He's very easy going and he's a guy to root
for, because as some people in the South would say "Tim
is good people." While he is "good people" it's
very shocking to see this decision he made. Sylvia will be the
first guy to tell you, what he did is 100% wrong. I'm a huge
fan of Tim Sylvia and hope everything works out for him, but
now he has to deal with the consequences of his decision.
The
champ will have to go through the monsoon of criticism which
is well underway by the people he never meant to offend and that's
the fans. He has also put his bosses, the UFC, in a very difficult
position and now we have a big mess on what the future holds
in the Heavyweight Division. So what exactly IS the future in
the UFC Heavyweight picture? That's the question that no one
knows about and we won't have answered until the Nevada State
Athletic Commission rules on this case on October 15th in Las
Vegas.
The
common perception is...."Should Tim Sylvia be stripped of
his title?" Most people say yes. Before you think it's a
guarantee he will be stripped, because of what happened to Josh
Barnett, that still may not be the case.
There
is still a chance that he won't lose his title. I know, you say
how can you strip Josh Barnett and not Tim Sylvia? That's a good
question and personally, I don't know if you really can strip
one champion and not strip the other.... but for arguments sake
here's the reason why the Barnett case is a bit different than
the Sylvia case.
Basically
there are some different elements going into it. Josh Barnett
was the challenger in his fight against Randy Couture. Barnett
won the fight, he then won the championship and when the NVSAC
tests came back, Barnett had tested positive for steroids. We
all know the rest of the story. This is how the Sylvia situation
is a little different than Barnett
Sylvia
became champion with a win over Ricco Rodriguez. Sylvia immediately
was tested for steroids after THAT fight at UFC 41. Tim tested
negative for steroids in that fight which was 9 months ago. So
basically Sylvia won the championship, clean, and at that point,
100% legitimate. Tim Sylvia nine months ago was the champion
on his own accord.
Now
in his first title defense, Sylvia has tested positive after
he was already champion, so from some perspectives, why not call
the fight a no contest like the did with Barnett vs Couture?
If they did call it a no contest, would Sylvia still be champion
since he won the championship, (for a lack of a better word)
"clean and 110% legit" The NVSAC could be in a spot
to just suspend him and not take away his title if they chose
to go that route. That's a BIG "if", but that's what
some people think could possibly happen.
Basically
the thought process would be "since he was clean when he
was champ would they consider just taking away his last win and
make it no-contest and give him a suspension instead of losing
the title? I don't know either, I'm just talking out loud with
you. Some people will say that in the Barnett case, he was never
the "true" champion because he tested positive for
steroids. Sylvia on the other hand was the champion before testing
positive for steroids. Does it make any difference? Maybe, maybe
not, but this is what I do know. That subject, I guarantee you,
will be brought up to the commission and they will have to take
that into consideration when ruling on the 15th.
Here
is the bigger question...WHAT NOW? The UFC has to be sick to
their stomach. The UFC has spent so much time answering the questions
about their heavyweight division and now they finally felt, not
only do they have a legit champion, but they can rally behind
Tim Sylvia because he has been dominant... and now THIS happens?
If Zuffa was worried about getting a legit champion, now what
on earth will they do.
You
have a few scenarios in my mind playing out with this entire
situation. Let's just say for a moment that the NSAC and the
UFC strip Tim Sylvia. Frank Mir is the number one contender right
now, obviously, or he wouldn't be getting a title shot. Why not
have Frank Mir face your former champion in Ricco Rodriguez?
Ricco faired very well in Japan, he is a legit contender and
he probably deserves a shot ahead of Frank Mir in the first place.
So why not put your former champion into the drivers seat and
have him fight for the title? It makes as much sense as anything.
The
winner of this fight could then face Sylvia, IF he is only suspended,
say for six months. If Nevada suspends him for a year, like they
did Barnett, then you have the possibility of who should face
the Ricco vs Mir winner? While that is WAY down the road, there's
the thought you then can dangle Andrei Arlovski out there as
a future match up, if the champ is suspended for an extended
period of time.
WIth
that said you could also flip the equation and say Mir fight
Arlovski and if Sylvia doesn't come back, you have Ricco waiting
for the winner. As much as I love Arlovski's game, I think a
Mir vs Ricco situation is the best way to go. You could also
make an argument that Gan McGee should fight Tim Sylvia because
he was the guy that was "cheated" against. (By the
way, steroids did not make Gan lose the fight, it was McGee not
having his hands up in that lost the fight.)
One
more idea to throw in there if Sylvia is suspended for an extended
period of time. If the UFC wants to create some extra excitement,
you really could do a four man tournament in ONE night that really
would be exciting. Arlovski vs McGee and Mir vs Ricco. That however
would kill any future match, especially if Sylvia has to sit
on the sidelines for a year.
For
now speculation will run wild and everyone will throw in their
2 cents including yours truly on what the UFC should do. The
bigger issue coming out from all of this? It's sad when we as
MMA fans, can't accept a fighter for his skill but what he looks
like physically. Ricco Rodriguez has been crucified by fans for
his physical appearance. Rodriguez continues to get hammered
for "his gut".
It's
mind boggling to me when Josh Barnett and Tim Sylvia, of ALL
people, are busted for steroids. Think about that. Two guys that
don't have bodybuilder physiques by any stretch of the imagination,
two guys that have tremendous skill, but two guys who are not
happy with the way THEY look and want an edge. NOT an edge to
become better fighters, but to LOOK better. What does that really
say about the state of the sport. It's hard to believe that these
two champs became more worried about how be more marketable,
then focus on how they perform as world class fighters. That's
what the sport has become.
It's
not how great of a fighter you are, but do you have the "body"
to match your skill. This is just the beginning folks. Unfortunately
we will see more and more things like this happen. For now though
we will just sit back and play armchair quarterback and wait
for the big day, for October 15th to come, when the Nevada State
Athletic Commission will rule on the future of the UFC Heavyweight
Title.
Source: MMA Weekly |
HACKLEMAN
SPEAKS OUT
John Hackleman made an impromptu appearance on Monday's MMAWeekly
Radio Show had a few things to say about Gan McGee's loss at
UFC 44 and the way people have reacted to it. Hackleman is the
head trainer of many fighters at The Pit, including Gan McGee
and Chuck Liddell, and one of the things he has taught them is
the technique of a looping punch. John Hackleman half-jokingly
wondered aloud why people always call it a "power shot"
and not a looping punch whenever one of his fighters knocks somebody
out, but whenever one of his fighters loses a fight, people go
around saying that John Hackleman teaches people to throw looping
punches and it's not a very good strategy to have.
John
Hackleman correctly pointed out that looping punches tend to
work in devastating fashion when they connect, which has been
the case in ten MMA knockouts dished out by Gan McGee, and Chuck
Liddell's knockouts of fighters like Guy Mezger and Alistair
Overeem. Hackleman said that his fighters deserve respect and
so do their punching techniques. He also said that looping punches
didn't have anything to do with Gan McGee's loss to Tim Sylvia,
and it was more of a case of Gan not keeping his hands up at
all times to defend his head. Hackleman said that he and Liddell
both told McGee going into the fight to keep his hands up, but
he left himself open in the heat of the moment and Tim Sylvia
capitalized. Hackleman said that plenty of professional boxers
make the same mistake, and this case Tim Sylvia made Gan pay
for it.
John
Hackleman also said that Gan McGee has no fights remaining on
his UFC contract, so McGee is now a free agent. John said that
McGee would love to re-sign with the UFC, but he is also open
to fighting in Pride or any other organization if the UFC is
no longer interested in him. John promised the UFC that they
would not regret it if they give Gan another shot, and he brought
up one specific suggestion that Zuffa should consider. Hackleman
said that if the UFC is looking for an opponent for the 6-foot-10
Wes Sims, putting McGee up against Sims would make perfect sense
whether it took place at UFC 45 in November or at any other time
in the future. Hackleman said that it would be an exciting fight
and that Gan would prove all of his critics wrong by knocking
Sims out.
Source: MMA Weekly |
CESAR
GRACIE LOSING PATIENCE WITH FRANK SHAMROCK
Cesar Gracie appeared on Monday's MMAWeekly Radio Show and voiced
his frustration over the fact that it doesn't look like he will
be fighting Frank Shamrock anytime soon. Cesar said that everything
was set for him to fight Frank on the WEC's August show and both
sides verbally agreed to the deal, but then Shamrock never showed
up on the day of the contract signing and that was the end of
any potential fight in the WEC. Cesar said that it wasn't a particularly
classy move on Frank's part, but he still wanted to fight Frank
very much and agreed to fight him on the November ShootBox show
even though it's Shamrock's show with his referees, his judges,
and his company.
After both sides verbally agreed to a deal once again, the November
ShootBox show was delayed/cancelled and the Cesar-Frank fight
was delayed indefinitely. Gracie said that Frank didn't even
have the decency to notify him of the delay/cancellation, so
Cesar was training hard for a fight that had already been delayed
before he finally found out about the delay from someone else.
Cesar said that Frank went around telling people during interviews
and seminars that he was going to be fighting Cesar in November
(which Shamrock undeniably did claim), and Frank allegedly continued
to make these claims long after he knew that it wasn't going
to happen.
Frank
Shamrock went around saying that he and Cesar Gracie had both
signed the contract to fight and had also signed a contract with
the arena in Las Vegas, when in fact Frank never signed anything
and the arena had never even been booked, according to Gracie.
Cesar said that he verified that claim with the arena, and he
was disappointed that Shamrock would blatantly lie to people
like that.
At
some point, Frank Shamrock and his representatives started putting
out the word that Frank wanted to fight Cesar, but the Nevada
State Athletic Commission wouldn't sanction the fight because
they were afraid it would be a huge mismatch in Shamrock's favor.
(Gracie is 0-0 in full-contact MMA fights but has done very well
in Jiu-Jitsu and has tapped out numerous MMA fighters at his
gym.) After Shamrock and his people started putting out the story
about the athletic commission, Gracie said that he got in touch
with the Nevada State Athletic Commission and verified that Shamrock's
story turned out to be a complete lie. They had no problem sanctioning
the bout if Shamrock would sign a contract and book an arena
for the event. A dejected and discouraged Cesar Gracie said that
he would still love for the fight to happen, but he doesn't think
it ever will happen because this is twice now that Frank has
backed out of the fight with a lot of lies and not a lot of honor.
Cesar
Gracie was also asked for a status update on one of his many
promising young students, Nick Diaz. Cesar said that he was very
proud of Nick for his victory over Jeremy Jackson at UFC 44,
and he also credited Jackson for being a good fighter as well.
Cesar said that he would like to see Diaz back in the Octagon
against Karo Parisyan at UFC 45 or UFC 46 given the fact that
they're both welterweight fighters and they both looked impressive
at UFC 44. Gracie also said that he'd love to see the UFC match
Diaz up with Pete Spratt at UFC 46 in early 2004, but he added
that it's all up in the air right now and the UFC might also
decide to match Spratt up with Jeremy Jackson or any number of
other fighters at UFC 46.
Regarding
the injured orbital bone that MMAWeekly reported yesterday, Cesar
Gracie confirmed that Nick Diaz does indeed have an injured orbital
bone and added that it's more in the cheek-bone area than the
eye socket. The athletic commission doctors listed Diaz as having
a "possibly broken left orbital bone," but Gracie said
that it has started to feel a lot better since UFC 44 took place
and they're pretty sure that it's not broken. Just to make sure
that it's a nasty bruise and not a broken bone of any kind, they
are planning on having an X-ray for Diaz at some point, probably
later this week. If the X-ray does end up showing a broken orbital
bone, Diaz will not be cleared to fight in the state of Nevada
again until March 26, 2004 (six months after UFC 44).
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"Hard work without talent is a shame, but talent without
hard work is a tragedy."
Robert Half, American Businessman, Founder of Robert Half &
Associates.
|
Official
release from
Team Extreme and Miletich Fighting Systems
UFC
heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia announced today that he had taken
a banned substance prior to his title defense against Gan McGee
on Sept. 26 in Las Vegas.
"I made a terrible mistake ... the biggest mistake of my
life," Sylvia said. "I wish I could take it back, but
that isn't possible. So, I'm ready to accept the consequences
for my actions."
The Nevada State Athletic Commission notified Sylvia of the infraction
earlier this week. Sylvia hopes to have a hearing in front of
the board on Oct. 15 in Las Vegas.
"After I won the title, I wanted to look better ... to have
a better physique," Sylvia said. "I have never taken
steroids before, so I tried it for a month after the Ricco fight.
Now, it's obvious that it was a big mistake."
Sylvia said he will abide by whatever decisions are made by the
NSAC and Zuffa.
"I just want to apologize for letting people down... my
fans, my teammates, my family, the Nevada State Athletic Commission
and the UFC," Sylvia said. "I can't express how disappointed
I am in myself right now. I've gotten such great support from
so many people ... I hope they will stick by me and help me get
through this. I want to accept responsibility for what I did,
do whatever I have to do to put it behind me, and move on with
my career."
Source: FCF |
FCF
Exclusive!
Tito Ortiz Battles Defeat in a Candid Interview, Speaks of Next
Opponent
By Loretta Hunt
On
the heels of last week's UFC 44, FCF has been able to secure
the first exclusive interview with former light-heavyweight champion
Tito Ortiz on his devastating loss to undisputed champion Randy
Couture. In the comprehensive interview set to run in the next
issue of Full Contact Fighter, Ortiz speaks out on the fight,
his injuries going in, who and when he wants to fight next, his
rematch clause, and a slew of other hot topics. His answers may
surprise you. An opening excerpt follows:
FCF:
Tito, thank you for taking the time to speak with FCF. With a
week to reflect on the fight, you must have some thoughts regarding
it.
TO: It was everything I didn't expect. Randy Couture caught me
totally off guard. He out-wrestled me in every aspect as a wrestler
and as a fighter. It was his night. I couldn't take nothing away
from him. Randy Couture showed me a weakness that I should have
never looked past, and that was wrestling. I looked past it for
the last month. I don't know why I could let myself do that.
Of course, having a herniated disk in my back had a lot to do
with it, but at the same time, I'm not taking nothing away from
Randy Couture 'cause he did fight a tremendous fight. I'll tell
you one thing, though, I'm going to be a lot meaner the second
time because that just shows what type of takedowns I can take,
what kind of punishment I can take, along with the same factor
of defending myself. I mean, he never really hurt me one time.
He had me mounted, he had me -- I was in every position you can
get a guy when you take him down, but he never hurt me once.
FCF:
As round after round went by, while you remained unable to take
some control of this fight, we can only imagine the thoughts
that were running through your head.
TO: It felt like a dream. If felt like a dream that I wanted
to wake up. Every time he took me down it was so light and so,
I don't know, it didn't feel real I guess 'cause none of it hurt.
None of it felt real. I was having a bad dream. I was watching
myself in a mirror. It was funny. It was really, really funny.
It hurt me, but at the same time, it's just a factor of how much
tougher it's going to make me. I have so much anger built up.
This next time, Randy will be in trouble, that's for sure.
FCF:
It sounds like your gunning to fight Couture again right away.
TO: Yeah. There's no one else to fight right now. I want to fight
Randy again. In my mind, I have to get that loss back. I haven't
been beaten in three and a half years. This is a fight I really
want 'cause I can prove what kind of champion I really am. That
wasn't Tito Ortiz that fought that night, I guarantee it. I couldn't
believe Randy took me down that easy. Nobody takes me down that
easy. I should have let my hands go in the first round. Randy
had me intimidated for a second. I gave him too much respect.
FCF:
No one else to fight? I think there are a lot fans that say you
could fight Chuck Liddell, maybe even Vitor Belfort first?
TO: I have no problem fighting those guys right after. I'll fight
Liddell right after. I think I at least should get a rematch
for that, because of how we sold out the crowd and how many pay-per-views
there were. Of how much work I did as a champion and how long
I've been the champion, I think I deserve a rematch on that.
Find
out what Ortiz had to say next, including his thoughts on matches
with both Liddell and Belfort, as well as his response to fan
feedback following his loss. All in the next issue of Full Contact
Fighter.
Source: FCF |
A
look at USS Fighter Ryron Gracie
We
touch base with yet another competitor of the upcoming October
11th event, to be held at the James Armstrong Theatre, in Torrance,
CA. is sponsored by mainstream companies like Varig Airlines,
BankCard USA Merchant Services and WorldSize Nutritional Technologies.
Ryron
Gracie is the eldest son of the eldest son of Grandmaster Helio
Gracie and was awarded his black belt this year personally by
the Grandmaster.
Trained
by both his father, Rorion and his grandfather Helio, Ryron will
showcase the old school techniques developed by Helio in their
purest form. Has modern jiu-jitsu and 'new generation' fighters
surpassed 'old school' basics? Come watch Ryron fight and find
out.
What
else have you trained in besides BJJ?
RG- : Wrestling, boxing, and Judo.
What
do you like best about BJJ?
RG - Its submissions. We don't want to pin you, we don't care
about getting a nice throw in, we just care about making you
tap.
What
are your favorite submissions?
RG- Armlocks and chokes and footlocks.
What
do you think about the USS tournament rules?
RG- I like the 'no time limit.' I like how it can go for an hour.
I like basically not being rushed.
Of
all the competitors are there any you look forward to facing?
RG- Rener.
Anyone
else?
RG- Whoever the best is. Whoever has the biggest reputation,
which, I don't really know.
USS
has announced two of the referee's for Saturday's event: Ricardo
'Franjinha' Miller & Fabio Santos. Franjihna has a lot of
titles including the recent 2003 Pan Am BJJ title and has been
a standout referee at the IGJJF Tournament and many others.
A
look at USS Fighters Jeff Monson and Marcio Corleta with Dan
Duarte
We
touched base with another competitor of the upcoming October
11th event, to be held at the James Armstrong Theatre, in Torrance,
CA. is sponsored by mainstream companies like Varig Airlines,
BankCard USA Merchant Services and WorldSize Nutritional Technologies.
Jeff
Monson is a former ADCC Champion who has been training with the
American Top Team and learning BJJ to add to his wrestling background,
while Marcio Corleta is a World Champion in BJJ and an instructor
in Southern Brazil.
Jeff Monson:
Your
name, different styles you've trained in, and your main fighting
style?
JM-Jeff
Monson, Wrestling and BJJ, main fighting style BJJ
What
do you like best about your chosen fighting style?
JM- My takedowns and submissions
Why
do you want to compete in The Ultimate Submission Showdown?
JM-Great
organizations and to level competitors
What
do you think of the rules of this event?
JM-
Interesting, will see how it turns out
What
is your favorite technique?
JM
-Arm locks and chokes
Who
would you like to fight as a final match and why?
JM-
anyone!
Marcio Corleta:
Your
name, different styles you've trained in, and your main fighting
style?
MC-
Marcio Corleta..I'm Black belt BJJ and I practice Boxing and
Submission.
What
do you like best about your chosen fighting style?
MC-
The technique. I dont need to use my strength
Why
do you want to compete in The Ultimate Submission Showdown?
MC-
It's a great opporunity to show myself and sharpen my style
What
do you think of the rules of this event?
MC-
The rules are the best thing...It will prove for everybody the
official Jiu-Jitsu and the best Fighter.
What
is your favorite technique?
MC-
I have many
Who
would you like to fight as a final match and why?
MC
-The guy who go to the final match because he will can show for
everybody why he went to the finals.
Anyone
can purchase tickets at: Armstrong Theatre Box Office (310) 781-7171
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy (310) 782-1309
Or Online go to www.igjjf.com
Source: ADCC |
'SHOOTO
GIG WEST Vol.4' - October 12th
NGK Studio Osaka, Japan
Promoter: Sustain
COMPLETE
LINEUP (Subject To Change):
Class
B 2 x 5 minutes rounds:
Bantamweight [-56.0Kg]
Kenichi Sawada vs. Tetsuya Akihisa
Lightheavyweight
[-83.0Kg]
Masashi Kita vs. The Great Naniwa
Middleweight
[-76.0Kg]
Gonzui (*) vs. Hirosumi 'C-Bozu' Sugiura
*Formerly Jun Kitagawa.
Middleweight
[-76.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournamet Semi Final
Hiroaki Okada vs. Takamitsu Oba
Cruiserweight
[-91.0Kg] 2003 Rookie Tournament Semi Final
Kaichi Tsuji vs. Katsuhiko 'g' Ochiai
Welterweight
[-70.0Kg]
Shogun Kawakatsu vs. Takashi Nakakura
Middleweight
[-76.0Kg]
Seichi Ikemoto vs. Otoko! Tokuoka (*)
*Formerly Yasuyuki Tokuoka
Source: ADCC |
NATE
"THE GREAT" MARQUARDT VS RICARDO ALMEIDA?
Nathan Marquardt was victorious again over the past weekend as
he dominated Yuji Hisamatsu on his way to a unanimous decision.
Marquardt basically had his way with Hisamatsu landing an arm
bar as the first round came to an end and attaining full mount
before the end of the second round.
At
the post fight press conference, Pancrase President Ozaki announced
that Marquardt’s next bout would be a defense of his middleweight
King of Pancrase title against Ricardo Almeida on November 30th.
Almeida is the second ranked light heavyweight in Pancrase and
will be coming down to middleweight for the fight.
Questioned
by MMAWeekly’s Ken Pishna, Marquardt said that he is, “Excited,
real excited to face Almeida. A lot of people who don’t
really follow Pancrase know who he is,” said Marquardt.
He’s hoping that a win against Almeida would help to build
his own name with the worldwide MMA audience. He already has
a huge following in Japan.
Though
Almeida is known as a very good grappler, Marquardt isn’t
too worried. Asked if he felt his grappling was as good as Almeida’s,
Marquardt replied, “Yes. We have different styles, but even
as far as are jiujitsu goes, I feel that we’re on about
the same level. I saw him in Brazil [at the Abu Dhabi tournament]
and was very impressed, but I feel I can beat him.”
Marquardt
feels that he probably has a greater edge in their standup abilities.
“Watching some of his old fights, I think I’d kill
him [in a stand-up fight], but I’ve heard that he has gotten
a lot better recently,” he says. That said, Marquardt has
a lot of respect for Almeida and knows that it will be a big
challenge for him as, not only will Almeida be cutting down to
middleweight from light heavyweight for this fight, but Almeida
has also gone 4-0 since arriving in Pancrase.
Still,
Marquardt didn’t get to be King of Pancrase by accident
and he knows it. Asked how he felt about facing such a tough
opponent, Marquardt replied that, “I’m completely confident
that I’ll beat him.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
RUMORS
RUN WILD ABOUT FUTURE FIGHTS FROM HENDO, BUSTA, YVES AND DIN
MMAWeekly
has learned that there has been some preliminary talks for a
few upcoming shows. Murilo Bustamante's people have told MMAWeekly
that he will be fighting on the November show in Pride. His opponent?
That is a good question, but some insiders believe it could be
Dan Henderson. Henderson was not available for comment when contacted
Monday night.
The
other interesting development is in the UFC. It looks like the
UFC would like to line up a Din Thomas vs Yves Edwards fight
for UFC 45. There are a few things that still need to be worked
out before this fight can happen but it has been talked about.
Edwards
said he could not comment about the possible fight until things
were signed. Din Thomas told MMAWeekly the same thing, but said
there has been talk of the fight, but nothing has been signed
as of yet.
Anyway
you look at it,it could be two big fights between four of the
better fighters in the world today. Good news for MMA fans if
these fights can be pulled off by Pride and UFC promoters
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
44 Recap:
Gerald Strebendt talks about a great experience
Gerald Strebendt made his UFC debut against AKA fighter Josh
Thomson at “UFC 44: Undisputed” in Las Vegas, Nevada
at the last UFC. A journey that started with a submission grappling
tournament in 1997 has lead to obtaining his goal of fighting
in the UFC. The 6-3 Strebendt is already back to training in
preparation for his upcoming XFC fight in London, England on
November 9.
JC:
You obtained your goal... fighting in the UFC. How was your overall
experience?
GS: It was a great experience. I showed up in Vegas and it was
the first time I got to work with real professionals. These guys
really care about their fighters. I got paid decent money for
the first time in my life. I got a per diem for me and my trainer
to eat. The hotel and the per diem... that is what I normally
make when I fight in a small show... so to have that money and
a place to stay is amazing. Everything was first class... the
interviews, the photo shoot, and all that stuff was done right.
The training room was phenomenal.
JC:
Could anything have been made better?
GS: The only thing that bothered me were the weigh-ins. They
make it a big show while the fighters are struggling most of
the time. We’re hurting and we want to get on the scale
and they prolong it. That was the only glitch.
JC:
The weigh-ins are probably more for the media and public today.
Did you make weight and how long had you waited to weigh-in?
GS: I made weight and I was sitting at the exact weight for about
an hour before the weigh-ins. I would like the weigh-ins where
they set a time that everyone gets in line to jump on the scale.
I had all my food with me and I just wanted to eat. It wasn’t
an enjoyable experience, but that is small in comparison to the
big picture. Everything was great. We got paid well. We ate well.
We had comfortable rooms.
JC:
So, you made weight and met your opponent Josh Thomson at the
weigh-ins. How did that go?
GS: It was good. He was really respectful. He didn’t look
so intimidating face to face. There are pictures of him up on
the ShootBox web site where he has a neck as thick as my waist
[laughing], but I felt a lot better when I saw him face to face.
JC:
That is the difference with most in walk around weight to fight
weight.
GS: Yeah. Like right now I’m probably about 170 pounds.
JC:
You’re getting closer to my 210. It might be less than 2
minutes to a tap.
GS: No, because my cardio probably isn’t as good right now.
JC:
I can probably guarantee you that it is still better than mine.
[both laughing] You were realistic going into the fight knowing
your only 2 loses were TKO’s by strikers that Josh can probably
out strike. How did this play into your game?
GS: I really planned on standing with him, but you get in there
in the heat of the battle and anything can happen. I wanted to
stand with him, which is not my strong point, but I trained and
trained for it and the moment came and I shot in and he pushed
me up against the cage, backed away then came at me with a jumping
punch. I shot in underneath, but I could not take him down, so
I immediately ended up on my back. My mission was accomplished
in getting him to the ground. I basically had him where I wanted
him 15 or 20 seconds into the fight and then immediately I went
to rubber guard and locked up for that arm lock [where Thomson
was worried]. I thought the fight was going to be over. I pulled
down tight. Everything went the way I wanted it too. When that
arm lock failed I went straight to another submission and straight
to another submission. I thought I was going to shoot a machine
gun of submissions at him and one of them would hit, but he managed
to sneak out of every single one of them and he kept punching
and punching and punching. He fought a great fight. He fought
it smart. He fought it well. He had the ability to beat me fair
and square. That happens. What that tells me is that I have to
train a little harder, tighten things up a little more and get
more experience.
JC:
You had a good series of submission attempts as already mentioned
by Josh. Tell me about them.
GS: You can watch the video. I had 6 legitimate submission holds
on him that I normally finish people with at a pretty high percentage.
I had an omoplata, a gogo-plata, an arm lock, a knee bar, a heel
hook and a kimura. I went to them... as soon as one was finished
I went to the next one. My transition is similar to [American
Top Team fighter and UFC veteran] Hermes Franca where he attacks
with a lot of submissions real fast. I went straight to my omoplata
straight to my knee bar straight to my heel hook and he punched
out of that. I went straight for the kimura. I was having fun
and giving him all my best shit. He was one step ahead of me.
He did a really phenomenal move. I hooked his arms for the kimura
like Frank Shamrock does and I rolled to the knee bar, but he
new exactly where to place his feet. If he had slipped up I would
have caught that knee bar. He put his hooks into the back of
my knees then he rolled, which kept me from getting the knee
bar. It worked perfectly. When he did that I realized somebody
trained him very well.
JC:
Do you think they put thought into submission defenses?
GS: No, I don’t think they really put too much thought into
submissions I would use. I think they put their money in no matter
what I was throwing at him, as far as submissions, he was to
punch and punch and punch. I had numerous submissions and he
continued to punch.
JC:
Please tell me about the traditional Muay Thai dress you entered
the octagon wearing.
GS: In Thailand, the flowers over the shoulders is for somebody
who has a championship title in one of the stadiums there. I
have one because of my title in London. The Mong Kong [the head
piece] is part of the Thai culture and part of the Thai religion...
it’s a mystical thing they feel protects them. I wore that
because of my Thai trainer. I have a lot of Faith in Muay Thai
and the culture I believe it’s one of the most beautiful
things out there as far as the martial arts go. So that’s
what I put a lot of Faith in. I really thought the fight would
unfold on the feet and we’d have a KO from the feet. I had
no idea we would go to the ground in 15 seconds of the fight.
JC:
Who was in your corner?
GS: I had Paul Tocha [Muay Thai trainer, fighter and actor],
Chris “The Westside Strangler” Brennan and a friend
from Jean-Jacque Machado’s school.
JC:
Did “bobsappfan” get your gloves (from out pre-fight
interview)?
GS: No. I went to the hospital to get a cat-scan and as I walked
in the Emergency Room, there was a little kid in there, maybe
5-years-old, who had fallen from a 2nd story balcony and he landed
on his side and they were concerned about internal bleeding or
whatever. I walked in and my face was swollen up... Josh got
me pretty good. I looked at the kid and asked him if he was okay.
He said yes. I asked his dad what happened to him. He dad tells
me. His dad was a Hawaiian guy... a Samoan type guy... really
big typical looking. His son was just like him... already really
big at just 5-years-old. I was talking with them and the kid
is going to be okay, but he is really messed up laying on the
hospital bed. He asked what happened to me. [I laugh] I said
I just got knocked out. His dad asked if I was an ultimate fighter.
I said yeah... it’s pretty exciting. Everybody laughed.
I asked the kid to put his hand up to me... palm to palm. I said
you’ve got big hands... I might have something for you.
I reached in my bag and found my gloves that I just fought Josh
Thomson in. I took them out and told the kid to try them on...
and I will give them to him if they fit. He sat straight up in
his bed as if he was suddenly well. He put the gloves on and
within minutes his dad was holding his hands up and the kid was
punching his dads hands. That made the kid feel really good and
the dad feel really good... and it made me feel really good.
That’s where my gloves went. [long pause]
JC:
You’re already back to training for the next fight. Tell
me about it.
GS: I’m fighting Pat Carr in London for the XFC Welterweight
title. I’m doing a lot of running on the beach and on the
mountain trails. I live in a really nice area of Oregon with
a pristine beach about 1/2 mile down the road and the mountains
about 1/4 mile inland. Having a good time and making sure my
cardio is good.
JC:
Is there anything you’d like to say?
GS: I enjoy this life. Everybody has a hard life working blue
collar jobs making this world go around... and nothing is easy
about it. The most important thing is to be happy where you are
at and set yourself up for success. I realize how lucky I am
to have this life, to fight and entertain. I love to interact
with people. It’s a good time to be alive. I’m at a
great place in my life right now. I’m not going anywhere
for a long time. I’m going to get back to the top... get
back into the UFC... and make my hometown crowd proud... the
migrant workers, the repairmen and the hard blue collar men...
my heritage... where I come from... that is who I am fighting
for. When I come back to this town and I go out to the nightclubs
and I see all these people... I’m small in the big picture,
but to them I’m big. I’m happy where I am at.
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Image creates desire. You will what you imagine."
J.G. Gallimore |
Fighters'
Club TV Episode 14 Tonight!
Episode 14 is cut and submitted to Olelo programming. It will
air this
coming Tuesday at 6 pm on channel 52 and run at the same day/time
and same channel for the following 3 weeks.
Episode
14 features:
-Superbrawl
30 8-man tourney highlights
-ROUND I
-Jason Miller (Egan's opponent on the September 20 Super Brawl)
vs. Jay Buck
-Desi Minor vs. Joe Doerksen
-Dennis Kang vs. Brendan Seguin
-Kaipo Kalama vs. Jonathan Goulet
-ROUND
II
-Jay Buck vs. Joe Doerksen
-Dennis Kang vs. Kaipo Kalama
-ROUND
III
-Joe Doerksen vs. Brendan Seguin
-interviews
w/ Doerksen, Kang, and Miller
-Technique
of the Week
-Enson "Yamato Damashii" Inoue
PLUS,
-an exclusive interview w/ Superbrawl Promoter T. Jay Thompson
on upcoming Super Brawl
news.
We
would love to hear what you think of the show.
Email us at:
fightersclubtv808@hotmail.com
AND, Girls, think you're hot enough for the show? Resumes w/
pics to the
same address ;-)
|
Gatorade
and Hawaii's WB Network
on Board With 'Love and Glory'
Super Brawl's next venture is reality television. A ten week
episodic television series is being produced entitled, "Super
Brawl, For Love and Glory". The series will follow five
MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters through the trials and drama
of their lives as they prepare for Super Brawl 31.
"We could not be more excited about this project."
said T. Jay Thompson, Super Brawl promoter and the executive
producer of Love and Glory. "From what I've seen this series
is sure to be a hit. We will take the viewer into parts of these
fighters lives they have never seen before. We even have a wedding!"
(Kolo Koka got married one week before Super Brawl 31).
The show will also highlight the heroic training routines the
fighters endure leading up to a fight, as well as focusing on
the final hours leading up to Super Brawl 31, the excitement
of the actual fights and the drama that followed (more than one
controversial event occurred).
The presence of a major sponsor like Gatorade cannot go unnoticed.
"The sport (MMA) has made great strides in the last few
years to bring MMA to the mainstream and we at Super Brawl are
excited to be part of it. Major productions like this would not
be possible without the help of corporate America. I cannot express
enough gratitude to Gatorade for helping us with this exciting
venture."
T. Jay Thompson
|
Crocop
Shines, Fedor's Brother Debuts, and The Gracies Beat Team Japan
3-2
In
the main event of Pride's inaugural Bushido event, Mirko "Cro-Cop"
Filipovic annihilated Dos Caras Jr. with a single kick to the
head. In what is becoming a familiar site, Filipovic easily shrugged
off the mexican pro-wrestler's takedown attempts. Then he herded
Caras into a corner and bounced a hard shin kick off his head.
Caras was down and out. Flawless.
Alexander
Emelianenko, brother of heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko,
made his Pride debut in the match right before against Chute-Boxe's
Assuerio Silva. Alexander doesn't have the same power in his
punches as Fedor, but he still hit hard enough to keep Silva
on the defensive through most of the standing exchanges. What
he did have though was outstanding throws. The big russian put
Silva on his back many times in the 1st round, often slamming
him to the canvas. From there Alexander worked a lighter version
of the ground-and-pound his brother destroys people with.
It
wasn't until the final round that Assuerio Silva looked like
he might pull out a win. The brazilian had Alexander's back and
his heels dug in. But every time Silva tried to finish him off
with a rear naked choke, the russian just pushed the arm up over
his head and escaped it. In the end, the slams and the constant
pounding earned Alexander the win. Alexander Emilianenko by split
decision.
The
brother of another top Pride fighter also debuted on the main
card. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, brother of Murilo "Ninja"
Rua, faced longtime Pride veteran Akira Shoji. At first Shoji
did well, scoring a takedown and controlling the action on the
ground. But whenever Rua would escape to standing, Shoji would
stand and trade with the dangerous muay thai stylist. This proved
to be a big mistake, as Rua dazed Shoji with a number of shots,
knocked him down, and then stomped on the japanese fighter's
head for the knockout. Rua by KO at 3:47 of the 1st round.
TEAM
JAPAN VS. THE GRACIES
Ryan
Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka was probably the biggest match-up
of the Gracies vs. Japan series. It also turned out to be the
wierdest.
True
to form, Ryan opened the bout by charging across the ring and,
amazingly, taking down the world-class japanese wrestler. Once
on the ground, Hamanaka pulled guard and just held on. Gracie
wasn't very active either, mostly leaning on his opponent's neck
and throwing the occasional heavy punch.
When
Hamanaka escaped to standing, he tried a throw and ended up on
the bottom. Gracie got his back and dug his hooks in. But that
was about it. The normally hyper-aggressive Gracie only punched
occasionally and made one attempt at a rear naked choke. After
5 minutes of minimal activity from both fighters, the ref signaled
for them to break and start again again from standing. At first
Gracie refused, shouting "No! No! Get outta here! Go!"
at the ref. When he did stand up, both fighters were yellow carded
for inactivity.
Then,
in the first exchange after being stood up, it looked like Ryan
knocked out Hamanaka with a punch. The japanese fighter buckled,
fell, and absorbing a few kicks to the face before the ref stepped
in. But numerous replays showed that none of Ryan's punches landed.
Apparently, Hamanaka somehow injured his knee as he stepped in
to punch and had to be supported as he left the ring. Ryan Gracie
by KO (sort of) at 7:27 of the 1st round.
Renzo
Gracie came up short against Carlos Newton, but proved he's still
a dangerous submission fighter. Renzo got Newton's back early
in the first and tried to clamp on a choke. Later in the round
he had Newton in a reverse mount and almost caught him in a foot
lock and then a knee bar. But Newton always had an answer, escaping
and reversing Renzo's best. In the second round, Newton scored
a nice slam and cautiously tried to control and punch the brazilian.
Renzo scored some reversals of his own, but Newton was content
to stand it up, were Renzo looked like the more winded of the
two. In the end, the two judges decided Newton had done more
and gave him the victory. Carlos Newton by split decision.
Ralph
Gracie played a waiting game with Dokonjonosuke Mishima and it
paid off. Mishima easily controlled most of the first round,
taking Ralph down and winning the battle for postition. While
standing, the brazilian backpedalled whenever Mishima threw a
punch or kick. It was only in the last minute that Gracie really
came on strong, stunning the shooto star with a punch and then
getting him in a sleeper hold on the ground. Mishima was literally
saved by the bell.
When
they came out for the second round, Mishima looked like his head
still hadn't cleared and was throwing punches like he was underwater.
After eating another nice straight, Mishima backed off. He then
shot in again and got the takedown. But he looked spent. eventually,
Ralph worked for an armlock and had Mishima in trouble. But the
japanese fighter gutted his way out of it just before the final
bell. Too little, too late. Ralph Gracie by unanimous decision.
Daiju
Takase came to the ring looking relaxed, maybe too relaxed. The
mellow fighter seemed content to lay on his back for the first
round with Rodrigo Gracie in his guard. Takase worked over and
over again for an armlock, but it looked almost casual, like
the japanese fighter was at practice instead of in the Pride
ring. Both fighters were skilled enough to cancel each other
out on the ground. But Gracie pushed the action while standing
and scored a few takedowns. Rodrigo Gracie by unanimous decision
Judo
fighter and Yoshida protege, Kazuhiro Nakamura was the other
winner for Team Japan. He got his first win in Pride against
a larger Daniel Gracie. Oddly, the smaller man was the one pushing
the action. Gracie was on his back for most of the first round,
mostly kicking and trying for sweeps. Nakamura's strategy seemed
to be to punch Gracie from inside his guard for a while, stand
up out of it, then rush directly back into Gracie's guard and
resume punching when the brazilian tried to stand or kick. The
only thing close to a finishing move in this fight (besides a
single, half-hearted guillotine choke by Gracie) were punches.
Nakamura scored more of them, both standing and on the ground.
Nakamura by unanmimous decision.
THE
UNDERCARD
In the opening bout of the evening was a short night for newcomer
Eiji Mitsuoka. After slamming Chris Brennan and working in his
guard, Mitsuoka got caught in an armbar. Brennan, thinking his
opponent tapped, stood up and started celebrating. But a replay
revealed Mitsuoka hadn't tapped. So, after some shouting, the
bout continued and Brennan almost immediately caught Mitsuoka
in a kimura/straight armbar compination that had the japanese
fighter somersaulting and bridging, trying desperately to escape.
After switching back and forth between the two holds, Brennan
finally caught him with a kimura. Chris Brennan by submission
at 4:31 of the 1st round.
Sergey
Kharitonov also made short work of his opponent, kickboxer Jason
Nobunaga. Kharitonov easily took down the heavily tattoed Nobunaga
and dominated on the ground. Nobunaga did kick him off once.
But the russian was right on top of him again, in the mount,
and pounding him. When the kickboxer finally gave up an arm,
Kharitonov took it and finished the bout with a straight armlock.
Kharitonov by submission at 2:24 of the 1st round.
Team
Golden Glory fighter Chalid "Die Faust" Arrab also
looked good, scoring a solid decision over Rodney Faverus. The
first round was a fairly even exchange of clinches and strikes.
But in the second round, Arrab turned up the intensity and spent
most of the round on top of Faverus, pounding him and almost
sinking in a rear naked choke. Chalid Arrab by unanimous decision.
Source: Maxfighting |
Pedro
Rizzo Trained in Thailand
The Ruas Vale Tudo Team fighter Pedro Rizzo, is sharpening his
hands and feet in Thailand with his partner, K-1 kickboxer Peter
Aerts. Peter has been training to face Jerrel Vennetian in the
first phase of K-1 GP on October 11th, 2003. Meanwhile, Rizzo
is training hard to face his next challenge in the UFC. 'It sounds
like it will be Ricco Rodrigues who I fight, but I really don´t
care who will be on the other side, I just want to fight.' said
Pedro who returned to Brazil on October 6th in order to continue
his preparation for the UFC 45, in November.
Source: ADCC |
PART
II: INSIDE MMA IN AMERICA....MEDICALS
Last Friday,
we took a look at the salaries of MMA fighters, which have generally
not been public knowledge despite the fact that salaries are
public knowledge in almost every other sport. Just as with salaries,
almost all sports in America have in-depth injury information
available for public consumption at any time, but this has not
traditionally been the case with MMA.
In
any state that officially sanctions MMA such as Nevada, New Jersey,
or Florida, it is commonplace for the athletic commissions to
put a fighter on "medical suspension" for a few weeks
or sometimes even a few months if they get knocked out or otherwise
hurt during a fight. Usually the medical suspension doesn't make
much of a difference because the fighter doesn't plan on fighting
in that time period anyway, but it's still worth pointing out.
There are going to be fighters who get medically suspended on
any MMA, boxing, or kickboxing event that is sanctioned by any
athletic commission, and it's not uncommon for 50 percent or
more of the fighters to be medically suspended for one timeframe
or another.
There
is no strict rule that a fighter will be medically suspended
for X amount of weeks if they get knocked out, or TKO'ed, or
lose by decision. It is up to the state doctors to determine
the extent of the fighters' injuries and/or punishment absorbed,
and decide on an appropriate length for the medical suspension.
There are plenty of occasions where a fighter loses by TKO and
isn't medically suspended at all if they are deemed to be just
fine afterwards, and there are also plenty of occasions where
a fighter actually wins a fight and is still medically suspended
due to a cut, injury, or punishment absorbed during the fight.
If a fighter loses by KO or TKO and takes a lot of punishment
in the process, but is otherwise okay, the normal range for that
fighter's medical suspension is anywhere from four to six weeks.
After
any given MMA fight, it is standard practice for the State Athletic
Commission to require certain fighters to undergo certain tests
in order to determine if they have suffered a particular injury.
For example, if a fighter injures his or her arm during a fight,
the athletic commission would be very likely to order testing
on the injured arm to determine whether it's broken, has torn
ligaments, etc. Fighters can still fight in other states and
countries while they are medically suspended in one state, although
it's probably not advisable.
These
requests by the athletic commissions are often the earliest indication
that a fighter has suffered an injury in a fight. However, it
is very important to remember that the athletic commissions act
on the side of caution and sometimes order tests prematurely.
For example, just because it says below that Jeremy Jackson has
a "possibly fractured left index finger" does NOT mean
that Jeremy Jackson has definitely suffered a broken finger.
What it means is that Jackson's finger was injured in some way,
it may or may not be broken, it may or may not even be a serious
injury, and Jackson will need to have it tested to determine
the full extent of the injuries.
If
a fighter's exact injury status is unknown after an event, as
is the case with Jeremy Jackson and three other fighters listed
below, it is standard practice for the athletic commission to
medically suspend the fighter for six months (or suspend them
indefinitely) until a medical test proves that they are okay
or not seriously injured. To use Jeremy Jackson as an example
again, he was only medically suspended for six months because
his medical status is uncertain.mmaweekly.com If Jackson gets
his finger tested and it's not seriously injured, that medical
suspension could be reduced to four weeks very quickly.
Here
are the specific medical suspensions that were made after UFC
44, followed by a few notes on them.
-Caol
Uno is medically suspended indefinitely until he has a CT scan
of his head and an X-ray of his C-spine due to his awkward landing
and knockout
-Nick
Diaz is medically suspended for six months unless a doctor clears
his "possibly broken left orbital bone"
-Jeremy
Jackson is medically suspended for six months unless a doctor
clears his "possibly fractured left index fighter"
-Josh
Thomson is medically suspended for six months unless a doctor
clears his "possibly fractured right index finger"
-Tito
Ortiz is medically suspended for eight weeks due to punishment
taken from head blows
-Gan
McGee is medically suspended for six weeks after being knocked
out
-Vladimir
Matyushenko is medically suspended for six weeks after being
knocked out mmaweekly.com
-Edwin
Dewees is medically suspended for six weeks after losing by TKO
-David
Loiseau is medically suspended for six weeks due to punishment
taken from head blows
-Gerald
Strebendt is medically suspended for four weeks and must also
have a CT scan of his head mmaweekly.com after losing by TKO
-Jorge
Rivera is medically suspended for four weeks due to head lacerations
-When
a CT scan of a fighter's head is ordered after a fight (as with
Uno and Strebendt), it often means the doctors believe that the
fighter may have suffered a concussion, and they want to run
tests to find out one way or another.
-An
X-ray of the C-spine in the case of Caol Uno does not necessarily
mean that he suffered a spinal injury, but the doctors had no
choice but to order a spinal X-ray given the fact that Uno landed
directly on top of his head.
That
is the kind of landing that puts the most pressure on the spine
because it compresses the spine. This exact kind of landing has
temporarily and permanently paralyzed many athletes in the past,
so Uno is very lucky to have not been more seriously injured
than he was.
-The
"C-spine" refers to the cervical vertabrae in the spine,
which are located in the neck area. The two other sections of
the spine are the thoracic spine (which takes up most of the
back) and the lumbar spine (or lower back).
-Nick
Diaz having a "possibly broken left orbital bone" would
be very bad news if it turns out that he actually does have a
broken orbital bone. That's the injury in the lower eye socket/upper
cheekbone that Kazushi Sakuraba suffered last year in a fight
with Mirko Cro Cop, and it's an injury that would keep Diaz out
of MMA competition for several months.
It's
also entirely possible that he simply had a sore cheekbone after
the fight from one of his opponent's punches, and the doctors
just wanted to run tests to make sure that everything is in place
and nothing is broken.
-Again,
Jeremy Jackson and Josh Thomson having "possibly fractured
index fingers" does not mean that their index fingers are
broken. What it does mean is that their index fingers are injured,
and they need to visit a doctor's office or hospital to determine
the extent of the injuries.
-The
medical suspensions of 6-8 weeks for Ortiz, McGee, Matyushenko,
Dewees, and Loiseau are standard for fighters who got knocked
out and/or absorbed a lot of punishment.
For
the purposes of comparison and some perspective, here is a quick
rundown of the medical suspensions that were dished out after
UFC 43. The big three medical suspenstions were that Marvin Eastman
was suspended for six months unless his large forehead laceration
was cleared by a doctor before then, Matt Lindland was suspended
for three months unless he got a CT scan and was cleared by a
neurologist before then, and Frank Mir was suspended for three
months due to Wes Sims stomping on his head. Pedro Rizzo, Tra
Telligman, and Eddie Ruiz were all medically suspended for eight
weeks due to various cuts, and Chuck Liddell was suspended for
six weeks due to punishment taken from head blows.
After
the King of the Cage event that took place on August 16, the
athletic commission ruled that Dennis Hallman would be medically
suspended indefinitely until he gets medical clearance from an
Orthopedic surgeon or Neurosurgeon for what they described as
a "lumbar spine injury." It would seem to be likely
that Hallman did get medical clearance sometime after August
16, because the UFC had him secheduled to fight at UFC 44 on
September 26 at one point. Nonetheless, it's notable that as
recently as two months ago, Hallman did indeed have a lower back
injury that the state doctors feared could be serious.
The
fact that the state athletic commissions take a very hands-on
approach in protecting the fighters' safety is good for the fighters
and good for the sport."It's certainly a lot better than
the way some fighters are treated in Japan, with the most prominent
example being when Kazushi Sakuraba suffered a broken orbital
bone and was back in a Pride ring two and a half months later.
The
UFC 44 medical suspensions are highlighted above because it is
the most recent event and because it features plenty of recognizable
names, but medical suspensions are by no means limited to the
UFC. The number of fighters who are medically suspended is not
higher in the UFC, and generally the most injuries occur on smaller
shows where large mismatches are more likely to take place.
Source: MMA Weekly |
K-1
FInal Elimination Lineup
*Update*
- Jermoe LeBanner has injured his arm. His replacement will be
announced shortly.
With
the Saturday, October 11th K-1 “Final Elimination”
card just around the corner, the seven matchups for the Osaka,
Japan card have been hammered out. Here is the lay of the land
for the first K-1 Japan event in history that will air live on
United States Pay-Per-View television:
Peter
Aerts (Holland) vs. Jerrel Venetiaan (Holland)
Ray Sefo (New Zealand) vs. Carter Williams (United States)
Francisco Filho (Brazil) vs. Stefan Leko (Germany)
Alexey Ignashov (Belarus) vs. Mike Bernardo (Republic of South
Africa)
Ernesto Hoost (Holland) vs. Cyril Abidi (France)
Bob Sapp (United States) vs. Remy Bonjasky (Holland)
Jerome LeBanner (France) vs. Francois Botha (Republic of South
Africa)
At
32 years of age, Peter Aerts is seeking his 4th career K-1 World
Grand Prix title. While injuries plagued him during the second
half of 2001 and the first quarter of 2002, “The Dutch Lumberjack”
imposed his will this year and racked up enough victories to
earn a spot in the October 11th event that will award each of
its single fight winners a place in December 7th’s World
Grand Prix Finals tournament.
Another
one of Holland’s promising talents, Jerrel Venetiaan earned
his place in the “Final Elimination” loop by defeating
three straight opponents during May 30th’s K-1 World Grand
Prix single-elimination tournament in Basel, Switzerland.
Making
his debut in Japan, 23-year-old American Carter Williams will
be overmatched by K-1 veteran Ray Sefo in terms of fighting experience
in K-1’s birthplace, but not in terms of raw talent. Beginning
with his May K-1 USA tournament win when he outpointed defending
champion Michael McDonald and stopped Japan’s Yusuke Fujimoto
and six-time world kickboxing champion Rick Roufus, Williams
proved he belongs in the big show.
Since
that career breakthrough night, Williams has reeled off four
more consecutive victories, three of which came by way of knockout.
Sefo, a former International Sport Karate Association (ISKA)
world kickboxing champion and the 2000 K-1 World Grand Prix Finals
runner-up, enjoys the status of one of K-1’s most popular
athletes. 2002 was arguably the New Zealander’s best year
to date on the fighting circuit as he earned five wins in six
appearances.
On
July 13th, Brazilian Kyokushin Karate star, Francisco Filho,
made his long-awaited return to K-1 action after back-to-back
knee and shoulder injuries sidelined him for over 12 months.
Filho’s appearance on October 11th will be his second of
the year since he fought fellow K-1 standout Mike Bernardo to
a draw during his comeback fight in Fukuoka, Japan.
Germany’s
Stefan “Blitz” Leko has become an increasingly dangerous
force in “The New Fighting Sport” since he took the
August 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix Semifinals crown by brutally
knocking out Aerts in the championship round of the eight-man
single elimination tournament at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Bellagio
Hotel and Casino. Team Glory mentor and mastermind kickboxing
trainer, Cor Hemmers of Holland, who assumed command over Leko’s
training last year, is credited as the primary force behind his
29-year-old protégé’s improvement.
25-year-old
Alexey Ignashov has earned the respect of his international competition
during his three years of activity in the K-1 Superheavyweight
circuit. The 6’5”, 239 pound fighter’s long knees
are recognized as one of the most potent forces in the fight
game and have earned him the nickname “The Scorpion.”
South
African Mike Bernardo has repeatedly beaten his top-flight opponents
to the punch with superior western boxing skills that led him
to the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Heavyweight championship
several years ago. Bernardo has gone as far as the championship
round of the World Grand Prix Finals tournament in 1996, but
has not yet stood in the winner’s circle of the Tokyo Dome.
Aside
from being the most accomplished fighter in K-1 history with
a record four World Grand Prix titles under his belt, Holland’s
Ernesto Hoost has shown that he is, perhaps, the tournament’s
most durable fighter who deserves an “Iron Man” award
for his refusal to slow down at the age of 38.
2003
has been another year under sun for Hoost, who picked up victories
in both of his appearances earlier this year. In 1999, French
kickboxer Cyril Abidi debuted in K-1 competition with a brilliant
five-round victory over Petar Majstorovic and followed the performance
up with two consecutive knockouts over Aerts and a technical
knockout over Sefo.
Since
that early stage of his career, though, Abidi has experienced
some rough times as he was twice viciously mauled last year by
opponents possessing much lesser stand-up fighting experience
in Sapp and mixed martial arts heavyweight contender, Quinton
Jackson.
On
August 15th, appearances by Sapp and Remy Bonjasky highlighted
the K-1 “Battle At The Bellagio” Las Vegas card. While
the 6’3”, 365-pound Sapp narrowly escaped the clutches
of Superfight opponent Kimo by recovering from a knockdown and
delivering his own high-powered knockout blow, Bonjasky put on
an aggressive and dynamic display of high-flying kicks and knees
to capture the eight-man tournament championship and the admiration
of the 8,000 spectators in attendance.
Labeled
time and time again as the “next Ernesto Hoost,” Bonjasky
is expected to be tested next week as he will face a fighter
who carries over one hundred pounds more than him and one who
enjoys punishing his opponents at close range where Bonjasky
often strikes with his airborne tactics. Sapp is coming off of
a September 21st first round victory over fellow former NFL player,
Stefan Gamlin.
Styles
will likely collide most when two-time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals
runner-up Jerome LeBanner squares off with the event’s curveball
in heavyweight boxing contender, Francois Botha. Added to the
card last week after he came to terms with K-1’s front office
in Japan, Botha will test his elite western boxing skills under
K-1 rules for the first time.
LeBanner,
a swing-for-the-fences style fighter who sustained a broken elbow
during his World Grand Prix Finals championship round bout with
Hoost last December, reaffirmed his standing as one of the sport’s
best by earning victories during both of his ring appearances
this year. The French kickboxer, whose defensive skills have
been questioned at times, could very well be taken to task by
the polished punching techniques of his World Boxing Organization
(WBO) number 10-rated opponent.
Source: Maxfighting |
DAY
FOUR OF GRECO WORLDS: GEORGIA WINS ANOTHER TEAM TITLE, NAZARIAN
REPEATS AS CHAMP
Led by
66 kg gold medalist Manuchari Kvirkvelia and 96 kg bronze medalist
Ramaz Nozadze, the Republic of Georgia won the team championship
Sunday, Oct. 5, on the concluding day of the 2003 World Championships
of Greco-Roman Wrestling, held in Créteil, France. This
is the first time that Georgia has won the team title in Greco.
This victory goes along with the team title which Georgia won
in men's freestyle three weeks ago at the 2003 World Championships
of Freestyle Wrestling. Both these events were qualifiers for
the 2004 Olympic Games.
The
final day of the tournament saw competition in the three remaining
weight classes, 60 kg, 74 kg, and 96 kg. Only one of the three
individual champions that won on Sunday, and for that matter
in the entire tournament, Bulgaria's 60 kg champion Armen Nazarian,
had ever won a world title before.
Nazarian
took gold this year by defeating Cuba's Roberto Monzon in the
finals, 6-2. For the 29-year-old Nazarian, this was his second
straight World gold medal. He also won gold medals at both the
1996 and 2000 Olympics. Of the seven champions at this year's
Greco Worlds, Nazarian was also the only wrestler to repeat from
last year.
At
74 kg, Russia's Alexei Gloushkov won his first World gold medal
by defeating Konstantin Schneider of Germany in the finals, 3-0.
Gloushkov, 28, also won a bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics and
a silver medal in the 2001 World Championships, both at 69 kg.
He also was a 2003 European Champion at 74 kg and a 1999 and
2000 European Champion at 69 kg. If he continues to represent
Russia at 74 kg, at which Russia has numerous talented wrestlers,
expect Gloushkov to take home more medals. Gloushkov's gold at
74 was the second for Russia at this event, helping earn Russia
a second-place team finish. On Saturday, Russia's Khassan Baroev
won gold at 120 kg.
At
96 kg, it looked like it was going well for Egypt's star wrestler,
Karam Gaber. He had a rematch of last year's gold medal finals
with Mehmet Oezal of Turkey, who had defeated him then by a controversial
score of 15-11. This year they met in the 1/8 finals and Gaber
dominated, winning by a score of 8-0. Gaber made it to the finals
again this year, facing Sweden's Martin Lidberg, whom he had
just defeated at the 2003 Pytlasinski Tournament in August in
Walbrzych, Poland. That event is seen as a sort of tune-up or
test run for the Greco World Championships.
But
Lidberg, a 1998 World bronze medalist and 2000 European Champion,
was able to defeat Gaber in the gold medal finals, 3-0. This
gave the 30-year-old Lidberg his first World title in an event
in which he has been competing since 1993. Lidberg is also a
two-time Olympian, having finished sixth at 82 kg in 1996 and
seventh at 85 kg in 2000.
Here
are the results of the finals held Sunday:
60
kg
Finals
1-2 -- Armen Nazarian, Bulgaria dec. Roberto Monzon, Cuba, 6-2
3-4 -- Eusebiu Diaconu, Romania, win by injury default over Jim
Gruenwald, USA
74
kg
Finals
1-2 -- Alexei Gloushkov, Russia, dec. Konstantin Schneider, Germany,
3-0
3-4 -- Jin Soo Kim, Korea dec. Danil Khalimov, Kazakhstan, 3-0
OT
96
kg
Finals
1-2 -- Martin Lidberg, Sweden dec. Karam Gaber, Egypt, 3-0
3-4 -- Ramaz Nozadze, Georgia dec. Davyd Saldadze, Ukraine, 6-0
Here
is a list of all the medalists at the 2003 World Championships
of Greco-Roman Wrestling:
55
kg
Gold -- Dariusz Jablonski, Poland
Silver -- Im Dae-Won, Korea
Bronze -- Lazaro Rivas, Cuba
60
kg
Gold -- Armen Nazarian, Bulgaria
Silver -- Roberto Monzon, Cuba
Bronze -- Eusebiu Diaconu, Romania
66
kg
Gold -- Manuchari Kvirkvelia, Georgia
Silver -- Armen Vardanyan, Ukraine
Bronze -- Levente Fueredy, Hungary
74
kg
Gold -- Alexei Gloushkov, Russia
Silver -- Konstantin Schneider, Germany
Bronze -- Jin Soo Kim, Korea
84
kg
Gold -- Gotcha Tsitsiashvili, Israel
Silver -- Ara Abrahamian, Sweden
Bronze -- Attila Batky, Slovakia
96
kg
Gold -- Martin Lidberg, Sweden
Silver -- Karam Gaber, Egypt
Bronze -- Ramaz Nozadze, Georgia
120
kg
Gold -- Khassan Baroev, Russia
Silver -- Mihaly Deak-Bardos, Hungary
Bronze -- Georgi Tsurtsumia, Kazakhstan
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud."
Sophocles |
Pride
BUSHIDO Quick Results
Date: October 5th, 2003
Start: 17:00
Place: Saitama Super Arena
Reports
from Japan on PRIDE BUSHIDO have been very positive. TEAM GRACIE
went 3-2 in the face of TEAM JAPAN. Renzo Gracie lost a split
decision to adopted Japanese fighter Carlos Newton and newcomer
Daniel Gracie lost a unanimous decision to Kazuhiro Nakamura.
Ralph
Gracie and Ryan Gracie both fight and win with intensity. For
Ralph's first time in a ring in many years, he deserves credit
for taking on Dokonjonosuke Mishima, one of Japan's most impressive
155 lbers. He accepted Mishima's rush, attempted submissions
throughout and landed big punches in the stand up. Ryan Gracie
is uncontrollable! He took out Kazuhiro Hamanaka, the wrestler
from Takada Dojo who had avenged Sakuraba's loss to Nino 'Elvis'
Schembri.
In
Japan, it seems that Rodrigo 'CHANGEMAN' Gracie may be achieving
the most popularity. With his dyed hair and red gi, he was a
hit with the Japanese audience. Daijyu Takase has recently beaten
Anderson Silva of CHUTE BOXE, leading to the possibility of a
BUSHIDO event created around a Gracie versus Chute Boxe theme.
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
- Chris Brennan submitted Eiji Mitsuoka via armlock (in 1R)
- Chalid Arrab decisioned Rodney Faverus by 3-0
- Sergei Kharitonov submitted Jason Nobunaga via armbar (in 1R)
====Gracie
vs Japan =====
- Carlos Newton decisioned Renzo Gracie by 2-1
- Ralph Gracie decisioned Dokonjonosuke Mishima by 3-0
- Kazuhiro Nakamura decisioned Daniel Gracie by 3-0
- Rodrigo Gracie decisioned Daijyu Takase by 3-0
- Ryan Gracie KO'd Kazuhiro Hamanaka
-
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua KO'd Akira Shoji
- Emelianenko Aleksander decisioned Assuerio Silva by 2-1
- Mirko 'CroCop' Filipovic KO'd Dos Caras Jr. by only one highkick
at '46 R1
Source: ADCC
Fight
Descriptions
Special
Thanks to MMAWeekly's Scott Petersen from Japan who had some
great help from NoCorner and Knockout 2 for the help with our
live play by play.
8th
/ R1x10min; R2x5min
Mirko Filipovic vs. Dos Caras Jr. - Caras enters the ring with
the mask, very nice. The Croatian Killer enters the stadium to
Duran Duran's "Wild Boys". Caras is much taller than
Mirko. The fight begins Caras dances around the ring. Mirko is
just biding his time, stalking the inexperienced Caras. The fight's
over. One high Mirko kick to Cara's head and Caras falls to the
mat. Caras is propped in the corner, sitting on the mat, out
cold. The first and only stone cold KO today. Just for good measure
Mirko punches Caras in the face. That punch was a brutal assassin's
punch. Unbelievable cold. He saw Caras was out in the corner,
but for good measure, just to show Cara's he didn't belong here,
he punches him in the old noggin.
7th
/ R1x10min; R2x5min
Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Assuerio Silva - Silva enters the
ring with a fishing hat on. Enters Fedor's little brother, Emelianenko
Alessandre, looking pretty gruesome, ready to kick some teeth
in. Assuerio looks pretty belligerent. The fighters exchange
blows. Alexandre throws Silva down in the halfmount. Silva pushes
himself from the ropes with his foot. Silva going for a foothold.
Alexandre stands up. Both men scramble to their feet. Both men
exchange heavy blows, both fall, then stand...heavy blows.
Silva
taking punches with his hands guarding his face. Alexandre delivering
some heavy blows. Center of the ring. Silva grapples with Alexandre
and throws him to the mat. Both stand then Alexandre powers Silva
to the mat. Alexandre in Silva's guard throwing blows to Silva's
head. Silva lands some blows and Alexandre is bleeding...fighters
go to the mat and Alexandre reigns down some blows on Silva from
Silva's guard..
Fight stop for mouthpiece of Alexandre. Fighters positioned in
the middle of the ring Alexandre in Silva's guard. Five minutes
remain. Alexandre has Silva's back, now in halfguard against
the ropes. Fight stopped and repositioned in the center of the
ring. Blood coming from Alexandre's nose. Alexandre truly aggressive,
but Silva paring off the blows. Good fight...
Fighters grapple on the mat, but receive yellow cards for inactivity.
Fighters are stood up. last two minutes Both fighters holding
each other in the middle of the ring. Alexandre throws Silva
to the mat. Both pretty tired. Alexandre goes to Silva's guard.
One minute. Both fighters soldiering on through obvious fatigue.
Not much action on the mat. Round one ends with fighters exchanging
weak blows on the mat.
round two begins with a flying knee and punch from Alexandre.
Fighters clench in teh center of the ring. Silva picks Alexandre
up against the ropes and throws him to the mat. The fight is
repositioned in the center of the ring. Silva still in Alexandre's
guard. Silva takes Alexandre's back and goes for a rear naked
choke. Not enough chin. Silva's back on the mat, Alexandre's
back against Silva's stomach in a strange exchange. Both athletes
worn out... Silva going for the choke hold but can't get past
that Russian chin.
Alexandre reverses into Silva's guard, two minutes left. Both
aggressive, both worn out. Fighters grapple on the mat...to little
effect other than to exhaust themselves. Fighters are stood up
for the last minute. both fighters going all out to win this
fight in the last minute. Fight ends with Alexandre in Silva's
guard. Alexandre has thrown more punches, been more aggressive,
but this was a tight fight. Bell rings.
Decision:
Split decision to Alexandre Emilianenko!
6th
/ R1x10min; R2x5min
Akira Shoji vs. Mauricio Rua - Enter Mauricio Shojun, Akira Shoji
enters the stadium. Ivan Salaverry is cornering Akira. the fight
begins with Akira charges Shogun to the mat. Akira is in Shogun's
guard, holding Shoguns legs. Akira went for the leg log, but
Shogun slips out and both fighters stand. As Shogun stands Akira
kicks him in the head. Shogun with two nice right kicks. Shogun
goes for the groinage as the fight stops to give Akira a moment
to recover
Fighters exchange blows in the center of the ring as Shogun kicks
for the head, misses and falls to the mat. Akira is in Shogun's
guard. Akira pushes Shogun to the corner but Shogun counters
with some nasty rights. Akira is stunned, clenches and the fighters
falls to the mat. Shogun really connects with some nasty blows!!!
Fighters stand and exchange blows. Shogun getting the best of
Akira. Unbelievable!!! Shogun knocks Akira down after throwing
some wild wild rights and lefts. Finally he connects sending
Akira down and Shogun looks to do a little jolly-stomping on
Akira's face. Before he can destory Akira the fight is stopped!!!
Tough fight for Akira! He was overpowered by the sheer size of
of Shogun.
Vanderlei Silva and Yoshida now enter the ring for a showdown.
Silva throwing down the gauntelet but Yoshida countering only
by saying, 'I'll see you in September.' Yoshida used very polite
Japanese and bowed to Silva. Silva was a little nonplussed by
the polite behaviour. Takada, the announcer/former pro-wrestler
shakes Yoshida's hand but not Silva's.
5th
/ Japan Army vs. Gracie Family / R1x10min; R2x5min
Kazuhiro Hamanaka vs. Ryan Gracie - Ryan Gracie enters in a funky
Gundham mask. Kazuhiro Hamanaka enters with some cool 70's glasses
on. Kazu and Ryan feel each other out in the center of the round.
Ryan takes Kazu down and is in his guard. Kazu holding Ryan behind
the back. Both fighters grappling for position on the floor.
Both fighters get on their feet then fall again as Ryan takes
Kazu's back. Ryan is struggling for a good postion. Few punches
are being thrown. Kazu is on his stomach on the mat with Ryan
on his back looking for a better position. Ryan's glove has some
trouble as the ref stops the fight to take a look. Fight resumes
as Ryan demostrates extraordinary patience in looking for position.
5 minutes left.
Ryan
keeps Kazu's back, throwing ineffective punches. Action slows
down. Not much action as Kazu stays on his stomach. The ref says
break and gives a yellow card to Kazu. Ryan is a little upset.
Didn't want to get stood up. Ryan is in attack mode. Whoa!!!
Kazu goes for a takedown and is knocked down. Ryan begins jolly-stomping
Kazu's head as the ref tries to stop the fight. Ryan throws a
wild left as he pushes the ref away in an effort to get back
at Kazu. Pandemonium!!!
It didn't look like Ryan connected with any particular shot.
It looks like Kazu's leg is hurt. Maybe a nasty cramp or something.
He is accompanied out of the ring. That was wild. Ryan was pissed
about being stood up, and when he had the chance he went like
a wild beast after the kill when Kazu fell to the mat. He was
furious. After, Kazu was helped from the ring, favoring his right
leg, the Gracie team shares their thoughts with the crowd with
the likes of, "Our hearts are Japanese, so these fights
were a draw. Your future is our future," says Renzo Gracie.
Ryan challenges Yoshida. Yoshida beat Royce recently and it obviously
smarts because Royce gets on the mike and says that he thinks
the fighters should be allowed to decided the fight not the refs.
4th
/ Japan Army vs. Gracie Family / R1x10min; R2x5min
Daijyu Takase vs. Rodrigo Gracie - Daiju Takase enters the stadium,
kneels as taiko drums beat in the background. He has a sword.
He's getting crazy with the sword. He draws the sword and slashes
through the air as he makes his way to the ring
The fight begins both fighters measuring each other up in the
center of the ring. Rodrigo takes Daiju down hard to the mat
on his back ending in Daiju's guard. Gracie stands up waiting
for an opening. The ref lets Daiju up. Fighters throw each other
down then leap to their feet again. Center of the ring trying
to gain position. Some knees being launched. Still standing
Rodrigo takes Daiju down ending in the guard again. Daiju looking
over at his corner a lot. Better not get knocked out by not paying
attention to the fast Rodrigo fists. not much action as Rodrigo
is in Daiju's guard. Rodrigo throwing punches. Ref stops the
fight putting them in the middle of the ring. Rodrigo throwing
some punches. Five minutes remain.
Fighters
grapple on the mat, not accomplishing much. Rodrigo throwing
body shots and head shots, but to little effect. Daiju has him
wrapped up. Daiju raising his hand as if to signify that the
shots aren't hurting him. Daiju is holding his foot as Rodrigo
stays in his guard. Rodrigo landing a few good body shots. Rodrigo
stands trying to get better position pushing the fight 2 minutes
remain
Rodrigo goes to his feet while Daiju stays on his back. Rodrigo
goes back to his guard. Lots of Portuguese flying through the
ring as Rodrigo's corner is getting crazy with the advice. one
minute left. Rodrigo pressing the fight, being the aggressor
from the guard while Daiju looks to defend and not get beat.
Round 2 begins. Rodrigo takes Daiju down again ending in Daiju's
halfguard. Blood streaming from Daiju's grill. Ref stops the
fight to check his nose. Fight resumes on the feet. Daiju goes
for the legs, but Rodrigo evades as Daiju takes Rodrigo to the
mat. Daiju is in Rodrigo's guard and is bleeding profusely from
the nose (Daiju's nose) Daiju still in the guard. 3 minutes remain.
Daiju working in the guard. Each fighter trying to throw punches.
Both fighters trying to throw punches . Ref stops fight and stands
fighters up in the center of the ring. Fighters grappling and
holding while on their feet. Rodrigo with a big right then a
knee to the face of Daiju. Rodrigo going for the uppercuts but
Daiju resists the advances. One minute remains as both fighters
hold each other. Daiju unsuccessful in taking Rodrigo down. The
clenching continues. They break apart, neither fighter throwing
punches. Rodrigo going for a few wild punches and missing. Round
2 ends with Rodrigo throwing his arms in the air. Rodrigo landed
a few stiff rights in the last minute.
Unanimous
decision for Rodrigo Gracie!
Gracie was active the whole fight going after the game and determined
Daiju. Daiju was beat, but he kept his head up and appeared in
excellent physical condition. Tough fight. Maybe we can expect
even better in the future from Daiju Takase
3rd
/ Japan Army vs. Gracie Family / R1x10min; R2x5min
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Daniel Gracie - Naka goes in for a shoot,
they hit the corner and fall in Daniel on top half guard. Great
reversal.....Naka now on top and they are centered in the middle,
Daniel doing great and tieing up Naka`s hands, though a few getting
through...Nakamura tries to pass but fails,Daniel with a triangle
attempt but far from completing it Naka in half guard, going
for side.....Daniel gets up and its on feet with 1 minute left
round ends...Daniel may very well have done more damage in that
round. Also went for only submission attempts. Keep these in
mind as they are big parts to Pride's criteria. Nakamura with
beautiful sweep some GNP from top and managed to have top position
in Daniel's guard. rnd 2 - all stand up so far with Naka landing
the most Nakamura rocked gracie with a punch to the nugget, last
minute of the 2nd round. Daniel pulls guard Yellow card to both
fighters. End of round..Gracie gets a yellow card for stalling
in the guard
3-0
Nakamura and he gets on his knees to thank Daniel. Unanimous
decision goes to Nakamura!!!
2nd
/ Japan Army vs. Gracie Family / R1x10min; R2x5min
Dokonjonosuke Mishima vs. Ralph Gracie - Bell rings and Ralph
comes out with kick and narrowly misses being KTFO. Mishima gets
the takedown and Ralph grabs his leg.
Ref stops them to restart in middle....Mishima in half guard.
Ralph looks strong and Mishima looks confident as hell.....
Mishima pounding from half-guard ralph with a up-kick,Mishima
dives into ralphs guard again, Ralph is working good from the
bottom working with a choke but mishima gets out and stands up
again.
Mishima looking the more confident on the feet right now.....He
takes down Ralph and gets side mount and lays in some knees..Standing
up now, Ralphs boxing is good but he´s being pressuard
by Mishima. Mishima with a throw takedown from the clinch, sidemount1
minute left and Ralph reverses and gets side mount. Mishima gets
tagged and in trouble. Ralph gets him down in a choke just as
the bell rings...
Round
2 - Slow start... but Mishima gets hit twice...still standing
and not too hurt. Mishima bleeding from nose. Mishima gets a
takedown, in half-guard, Ralph tries an armlock from the bottom
1 minute in second round and Ralph has got his arm......Mishima
manages to escape the armbar. Ralph wins 3-0 UNANIMOUS decision.
Reasoning, looked closer but by Pride Criteria. Ralph did WAY
more damage. Ralph's tactics were more agressive and pushed to
finish the fight. Ralph Gracie remains udefeated. Props to Mishima
for surviving (got saved by bell in 1st lol) this is first guy
to make Ralph to the distance.
1st
/ Japan Army vs. Gracie Family / R1x10min; R2x5min
Carlos Newton vs. Renzo Gracie - Newton is twirling the Japanese
flag around his head. He has a Canadian (marijuana) maple leaf
on his gi. Basically Renzo took Carlos down and fell into his
guard. There were position changes...at one point Renzo had Carlos'
back, then Carlos reversed and had side control on Renzo. Some
more position changes. Second round, Carlos picks up and drops
Renzo...gets side control again. Renzo goes for an ankle lock
at one point...but basically the fight goes to the judges and
Carlos wins the decision 2-1. Renzo claps too. Carlos picks up
Renzo and carries him on his shoulders. Carlos gives thanks to
the Japanese Audience IN JAPANESE (DA MAN!) something about enjoying
representing Japan and he will continue to do do in the future.
Carlos had about 11 lbs on Renzo. It's funny how people were
saying that Renzo would have a weight advantage. There was no
weight limit set on this fight.
Bushido
Challenge 3rd / 2Rx5min
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jason Nobunaga - Sergei comes out into
the ring in some circus camoflage UN baby-blue beret, while his
opponent enters in a pro wresting mask get-up. The fight begins
as the fighters charge to the center. Jason kicks, and connects
with a few nice shots. Sergei takes Jason down, and Jason gets
Sergei in a head lock that he escapes. Sergei has side control
and takes Jason's back. The fighters go to their feet. Hard take
down, as both fighters fall to the mat. Sergei is in Jason's
guard. Sergei trying to throw punches with his back on the mat
Sergei mounts and is reigning the blows down onto Jason's head.
Sergei goes for the armbar, and...SUCCEEDS!!! Quick fit as Jason
taps out quickly after being submitted. The yound Sergei wins
by submission in the first round. Quick fight.
Bushido
Challenge 2nd / 2Rx5min
Rodney Faverus vs. Chalid Arrab - Faverus takes Arrab down and
is in his half guard. Arrab escapes the halfguard as they resume
in the center of the ring. Faverus takes Arrab down and is in
Arrab's halfguard, Faverus is punching Arrab's face from the
halfguard. They are tied up by the ropes. Faverus is using his
right hand to hit the mid section and face of Arrab. The ref
repositions them in the center of the ring, Faverus in Arrab's
guard.
Though not as cut, Faverus looks like a mini Randleman out there.
Arrab is doing a good job of defending himself. The fighters
look and act pretty beleaguered as the first round ends. The
break comes to an end. The fight resumes...Round two!!! Faverus
charges Arrab and Arrab takes him down. The fight stands up as
both fighters look for any advantage. They are holding each other
against the ropes as the ref breaks them up
Faverus looks pretty tired. Arrab takes him down and Arrab is
in Faverus' half guard. Arrab has north south on Faverus.Arrab
ends up outside of the ring. They are situated in the middle
on their feet. Faverus takes Arrab down rather sloppily, Faverus
appears quite tired. Faverus is in Arrab's half guard...little
action, some punching by Faverus to Arrab's midsection. A yellow
card is given for inactivity. Arrab mounts Faverus all the while
delivering blows to Faverus' head. Faverus is just trying to
defend himself . Arrab is going for a choke, but can't get it.
Arrab is struggling to get the sleeper while on Faverus' back.
Faverus is turned on his back, Arrab is mounted delivering blows
as Round two ends. Fight over, waiting for decision. Not a great
fight, but Arrab appears to have won as Faverus got too tired,
Decision Fight 2: Arrab wins by decision, in a fight he dominated
throughout
Bushido
Challenge 1st / 2Rx5min
Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Chris Brennan - Eiji slams Brennan to the ground
and Eiji is in Brennan's guard, an exciting beginning to the
first five minute round. Eiji stands up and kicks Brennan's legs
as Brennan stays on the ground. Eiji is in Brennan's half-guard
Brennan's arguing with Eiji and the referee. He doesn't want
to go back to the mat. Eiji went through the ropes and the fight
is centered in the ring. Brennan is yelling at Eiji telling him
to be honest and tell the referee where they should be. Confusion
reigns as the referee calls timeout. Nice break for both fighters
The
referee's confer. Like 7 referees are in the ring deciding what
should happen. The crowd is yelling and jeering. The fight is
about to resume as the refs finish their little conference. They
aren't sure if Brennan escaped from Eiji's hold or if they should
be placed in the center of the ring on the floor.
The stand the fight up in the middle of the round as Eiji tries
to take him down.Eiji is in a kimora. Brennan has taken control
of the fight. Brennan is trying to put Eiji in an armbar. Brennan
has mounted Eiji and is reigning the blows on Eiji's face. Brennan
wins by submission. He had Eiji in a kimura and pulls Eiji's
arm behind his back as Eiji taps out.
PPV
INFORMATION:
Premiere date: Sunday, December 21, 2003
Premiere time: 9:00pm EST, 6:00pm PST
Count Down show: 8:30pm EST, 5:30pm PST
PPV price: US $19.95
Run time: 3 hours (approximately)
Availability: iNDEMAND, DirecTV
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
A
look at USS Fighter Rener Gracie
We
touched base with another competitor of the upcoming October
11th event, to be held at the James Armstrong Theatre, in Torrance,
CA. is sponsored by mainstream companies like Varig Airlines,
BankCard USA Merchant Services and WorldSize Nutritional Technologies.
One
of the Gracie's representative in the USS is Rener Gracie. Rener
(shown above with Roberto 'Gordo' in '93 Pan-Ams)has been coming
off impressive victories at the Copa Pacifica, Pan Ams, and all-star
'closed door' tournaments, Rener's fights promise to be very
technical and explosive.
Why
are you competing in this tournament?
RG- I want to show our style. The key thing about the jiu-jitsu
that we practice is the lack of the necessity for strength. You
don't have to be strong doing the right technique. The technique
that we have, when applied properly at the right time can be
effective even against a much larger and stronger opponent. That's
the most important thing since most fights, or most encounters
we're going to have are going to be against larger attackers,
or larger opponents, anyway.
What
do you think of the rules?
RG- I think they are the best rules imaginable, and they are
designed for the outcomes to be truthful. So, whoever wins, under
these rules, will truly be the winner. Unlike the previous jiu-jitsu
rules which, many times, you'd have somebody win who wasn't really
the better fighter of the two representatives, so that does away
with that problem, which was a very big problem. If you're having
guys lose who are the better jiu-jitsu practitioners it doesn't
make any sense.
What
is your favorite moves?
RG- Armlocks, footlocks, chokes, triangle, kneelocks, and wristlocks.
If
you had to pick one fighter to go to the finals with who would
you want to face?
RG- My brother Ryron. I'd also like to fight the judo champion,
the judo guy would be fun. He's heavy, I heard, and it would
be good to feel that. To feel what they're capable of.
Source:
ADCC |
Dean
Lister and DC Maxwell's belts darkens up
Big
congrats goes to Dean Lister & DC Maxwell for their promotion
to the Black Belt ranks. DC was awarded her Black Belt by none
other than multiple times World and ADCC Champion Saulo Ribeiro
at his seminar in Philly, while Lister was surprised during an
impromptu workout by former training partners Black Belts Jeff
Higgs & James Neilsen .
DC
has been travelling to Brazil and competing in all the major
tournaments there with great success while Dean, well everyone
knows about Dean's exploits including his ADCC Absolute title
and his World Champion Belt at King of the Cageand their belts
were overdue. Congratulations to both!
Source:
ADCC
|
UFC
44 Recap:
Josh “The Punk” Thomson Hanging Up The Gloves?
Plagued
by injuries that saw 3 failed attempts at a UFC debut, Josh “The
Punk” Thomson finally made his way into the octagon at “UFC
44: Undisputed” in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 26, finishing
Gerald “The Finishing Machine” Strebendt by TKO half
way through Round 1. The AKA fighter set a goal for himself --
making it to the UFC, and may now consider hanging up the gloves.
What could keep him fighting, at least one more fight, is a rematch
with Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and more money. We interviewed
'The Punk' recently...
JC:
Congratulations on your UFC debut victory. How are you feeling?
JT: Feel pretty good. It was good to get it over with.
JC:
Please take us through your fight as it was not shown on the
PPV. JT: A vague memory. It was okay. He came out. I thought
we were going to stand. He rushed me real fast and I circled.
He came at me again. He tried to pull guard and jump guard at
the same time and I caught him with an under hook and pushed
him down to the ground. We had a little tussle on the ground.
I ended up on top and he worked for submissions. I sat up threw
a punch and sat back down in his guard. He went for submission
again. Started working the high guard, which I believe they call
the “rubber guard.” Popped his leg up over my head
and held it against my chin. I kept him stacked. Kept the weight
on him a little bit. He had both arms inside and it looked like
he was going for another submission and I felt a little threatened
by it... I told him after the fight that he had me a little worried
in that situation. With both arms inside I kind of hit a little
hammer fist to his face and that is when he loosened up the pressure
on the submission and that’s when I pulled both arms out
and when I pulled both arms out I stood up and threw some punches
and he went for a leg lock. Worked out of that one. He went another
leg lock and I sat back on him kind of hit him with a back fist
and I must have hit him just right by the ear. Caught him behind
the ear and he let go of the leg lock. We scrambled to the feet.
I saw he was a little wobbly when we came up to our feet I rushed
him and I believe I hit him with a right hand and he went down
to his guard and I went to hit him again and he rolled over to
all fours then I basically hit him a couple more times and the
Ref stopped it. I’m sure there are things I forget. When
things are moving a hundred miles an hour you loose track.
JC:
Would you say the fight was fast paced and in his face? JT: Yeah,
but a lot had to do with him. He pushed the action. I was surprised.
He really, really pushed the action. To be honest like I told
others he was better on the ground then I was giving him credit
for. I knew he was slick on the ground, but I didn’t expect
to be in that kind of game right off the bat. With the arm bars
that he worked in that I was worried. Not stressed or that it
was over, but that I thought how did I end up in this position.
He was good on the ground. I have to give him credit. He was
real genuine afterward.
JC:
Who was in your corner? JT: Javier Mendez, “Crazy”
Bob Cook and (student) Steven.
JC:
You had 3 failed attempts at this UFC due to injury. How important
was it for you to stay injury free? JT: Pretty important. It
had been whispered that if I had not made it to this show I probably
would not have been able to fight in the UFC. They would cancel
my contract or something like that.
JC:
Then you stayed away from Frank? [laughing] JT: I think what
it was is Frank stayed away from me. He hasn’t been training
all that much and I don’t think he wanted to come in and
train with people who train on a daily basis.
JC:
You’re already “at the top” (as you’ve said)
making it to the UFC. What’s next for The Punk? JT: I think
we’re going to wait it out for a week or two. We’ll
see how I feel then. I make my announcement whether I will be
keep fighting or not. Right now it’s hard to say.
JC:
Are you serious? JT: Yeah, dead serious.
JC:
When we talked pre-fight, you talked about a rematch with Norifumi
“Kid” Yamamoto. Is anything happening there or is this
coming in a couple of weeks when you make the announcement? [pause]
JT: Uhm... I guess we’ll find out in the next couple of
weeks whether the UFC has Kid or not... if they do have Kid then
I think we are going to make arrangements to perhaps fight him,
then I would be almost more than willing to say that perhaps
a victory of Kid, if I fight him, would could be my last fight.
JC:
In all seriousness, and we kid around a lot, there is a possibility
of you hanging up your gloves now, however, if this Kid opportunity
came up you would consider having that as your last fight? JT:
Yeah... that would be. Yeah, just because of the unfinished business.
I think he wants to know if he can really beat me and there is
a lot of other things that are in question... a lot of people
were saying I was starting to come back in the fight... perhaps
dominating the fight and I don’t think that’s fair
for anyone to say because no one knows how the fight would have
went. The other thing is I know how the fight was going and he
knows how the fight was going and it would be nice to find out
how it would end.
JC:
When will you go back to training? JT: Like I said, I’m
going to take this week and perhaps another week and make my
decision on what I want to do.
JC:
Is there anything you’d like to say? JT: I think the show
was a great success. It’s the biggest gate they have ever
had at 1.6 million, which means our sport is growing. I think
another thing is if I look to stay in this sport there needs
to be an increase in pay because it’s just not cutting it.
I feel like I am dedicating a lot of time and effort to it and
I know what the top guys in my weight class are getting paid,
and I know what I’m getting paid. It’s up to them to
say yeah or hay. Fighting is something I like, but if they say
nay, then I can move on with my life, but if they agree with
what I feel I‘m worth as far as entertainment value, then
I can perhaps look at a future in this sport. I’m excited
for the sport whether I’m in it or not. I will always be
a supporter of the UFC and other events. I wish the best for
everyone and glad we had a good fight. I think Gerald put on
a good performance, and myself the same. We came out and did
what we wanted to do. We had a fast paced fight. He’s a
great fighter.
JC:
Please give me a call when you are ready to make your decision.
JT: Yeah. We’ve already received calls that they are considering
having me on their 45 card. We have to see exactly where it is
going. I’m not sure if I’m prepared to fight that soon.
We’ll see what happens and make our decision.
The
Strebendt vs. Thomson lightweight fight from “UFC 44: Undisputed”
can be seen October 18, 2003, only on In Demand cable.
Source: ADCC
|
BOXING:
Toney & Casamayor Stop Opponents
October
04, 2003; IBF cruiserweight champion James Toney (67-4-2 with
43 KO's) put on a great boxing performance as he stopped the
legendary four time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield (38-7-2
with 25 KO's) in the 9th round after doing exactly what he promised
he would do - stand in front of Holyfield all night long. Holyfield
started off the fight good as he seemed to out work Toney in
the first round, then in the second round Toney caught Evander
with a good left hook that seemed to build his confidence. From
round 3 through 8 Toney steadily dismantled the legend we have
known for so many years and then after the 8th round, Holyfields
trainer Don Turner told him, 'if you don't stop getting hit with
so many right hands I am going to stop the fight.'
Check
out http://www.boxingtalk.net/ for the rest of the
articles and the best BOXING NEWS on the 'net.
Source:
ADCC
|
DAY
3 OF GRECO WORLDS:
4 NEW WORLD CHAMPS WIN!!
JABLONSKI
OF POLAND, KVIRKVELIA OF GEORGIA, TSITSIASHVILI OF ISRAEL, AND
BAROEV OF RUSSIA
Two
veterans and two newcomers each became World Champions for the
first time Saturday, October 4, at the 2003 World Championships
of Greco-Roman Wrestling, being held in Créteil, France.
The
third day of this four-day competition saw the finals and semifinals
completed in four of the seven weights, 55 kg, 66 kg, 84 kg,
and 120 kg. The quarterfinals were also completed on this third
day in the final three weight classes, 60 kg, 74 kg, and 96 kg.
The finals for those three weights will be held on Sunday, Oct.
5.
At
55 kg, 30-year-old Dariusz Jablonski of Poland won his first
gold medal in his seventh try in this event. Jablonski, who also
competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, edged Im Dae-Wong of
Korea by a 6-5 margin in the finals. In his eight total previous
Olympic and World Championships appearances, Jablonski's best
finish was in 1998, when he finished fifth at 54 kg. He also
was a European Champion in 1997 at 54 kg. At the 2002 World Championships,
Jablonski placed 16th. The 27-year-old Im was making his first
appearance at the World Championships here. He won a bronze medal
at the 2003 Asian Championships.
At
66 kg, in only his second trip to the World Championships, Manuchari
Kvirkvelia of Georgia defeated Armen Vardanyan of Ukraine in
the finals, 5-2. Kvirkvelia, who turns 25 on October 12, won
a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships, but only finished
fifth at the 2003 European Championships. The 20-year-old Vardanyan,
a Junior World Champion in 2000, won a silver medal at the 2003
European Championships. He was making his first appearance at
a Senior World Championship.
History
was made at 84 kg when an Israeli wrestler won the first World
Wrestling Championship for that country. Veteran Gotcha Tsitsiashvili
survived a grueling tournament to win in the finals, defeating
2001 and 2002 World Champion Ara Abrahamian of Sweden, 2-0.
Tsitsiashvili
barely made it out of his four-man opening round pool. Tsitsiashvili,
Artur Michalkiewicz of Poland, and Balazs Kiss of Hungary each
traded victories in their pool. Tsitsiashvili got by Michalkiewicz,
1-1, by criteria in overtime. But then Kiss edged Tsitsiashvili,
3-2, also in overtime, from the clinch. Then Michalkiewicz edged
Kiss, also 3-2 in overtime, also from the clinch. All three of
these wrestlers also overwhelmed Malik Satyadev of India. (We
hope to get more information on the criteria by which Tsitsiashvili
won his pool, but as is usual in international wrestling, getting
such information is often time-consuming and near-impossible.)
Tsitsiashvili,
who turns 30 on Nov. 11, originally wrestled for the Soviet Union
and the Republic of Georgia. He finished third in the 1991 Junior
Worlds for the USSR, and third in the 1993 Espoir Worlds for
Georgia. He began competing for Israel in 1994, when he finished
second at the 1994 European Championships. (In wrestling, Israel
competes in European continental events because of political
reasons -- more on that later.)
This
is the eighth time that Tsitsiashvili has competed in the World
Championships. His previous best finish was in 1995, when he
won a silver medal, which also until this event was the highest
an Israeli wrestler had finished at a World Championship. Tsitsiashvili
is also a two-time Olympian. In the 1996 Olympics, he finished
fifth at 82 kg. In the 2000 Olympics, he finished sixth at 85
kg.
As
has happened before in international wrestling, at the 2003 Greco
Worlds there have been some wrestlers who have refused to wrestle
opponents from Israel because political reasons. It is indeed
a shame and a tragedy that people from all countries do not learn
more from the lessons, traditions, and universality of wrestling,
the world's oldest and greatest sport.
At
120 kg, the three-year reign of the Americans was ended by what
may be the beginning of a return to a Russian dynasty at this
weight. After defeating 2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2001 World
Champion Rulon Gardner of the USA 3-0 in their opening round
pool, 20-year-old Khassan Baroev of Russia captured what may
be the first of many World Championships with a 3-1 victory over
Mihaly Deak-Bardos of Hungary.
Baroev
can now add his first World Senior gold medal to the two he won
in the Junior Worlds in 2000 and 2001. For Deak-Bardos, this
is the fourth time, and the third year in a row, that he has
had to settle for a silver medal at the World Championships.
He has yet to win a gold medal in World or Olympic competition.
Here
are the results of the finals and semifinals held Saturday:
55
kg
Finals
1-2 -- Dariusz Jablonski POL dec. Im Dae-Wong KOR, 6-5
3-4 -- Lazaro Rivas, CUB dec. Petr Svehla CZE, 5-1
Semifinals
Im Dae-Wong KOR dec. Lazaro Rivas, CUB, 4-1
Dariusz Jablonski POL dec. Petr Svehla CZE, 3-0
66
kg
Finals
1-2 -- Manuchari Kvirkvelia GEO dec. Armen Vardanyan UKR, 5-2
3-4 -- Levente Furedi HUN dec. Vaghinak Galvstyan ARM, 3-2
Semifinals
Manuchari Kvirkvelia GEO dec. Levente Furedi HUN, 6-3
Armen Vardanyan UKR dec. Vaghinak Galvstyan, ARM, 5-2
(Note: Apparently it was Galvstyan and not Monov, as we tried
to figure out yesterday, who advanced. We also hope to clear
up this confusion -- some day.)
84
kg
Finals
1-2 -- Gotcha Tsitsiashvili ISR dec. Ara Abrahamian SWE, 2-0
3-4 -- Atilla Batly SVK dec. Fritz Aanes NOR, 3-2
Semifinals
Ara Abrahamian SWE dec. Fritz Aanes NOR, 4-0
Gotcha Tsitsiashvili ISR dec. Atilla Batly SVK, 2-0
120
kg
Finals
1-2 -- Khassan Baroev RUS dec. Mihaly Deak-Bardos HUN, 3-1
3-4 -- Georgiy Tsurtsumia KAZ dec. Mingaudas Mizgaitis LTU, 4-0
Semifinals
Khassan Baroev RUS dec. Georgiy Tsurtsumia KAZ, 4-2
Mihaly Deak-Bardos HUN dec. Mingaudas Mizgaitis LTU, 3-0
Here
is the remaining schedule for the 2003 World Championships of
Greco-Roman Wrestling, in local time, which is UTC/GMT +2 hours,
or six hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time in North America:
Sunday,
October 5 --
9:00 am - 12:30 pm - 60, 74 and 96 kg quarter finals
5:00 pm - 7 pm - 60, 74 and 96 kg finals and awards
9:30 pm - Closing banquet
Monday,
October 6 --
Departure of the delegations
For
late results from Saturday's quarterfinals at 60 kg, 74 kg, and
96 kg, as well as the list of Sunday's semifinal matchups, check
the official event web site, which is in both French and English,
at:
http://www.creteil2003.uscreteil.com/
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud."
Sophocles |
More
Bushido News: Ryan wants Yoshida
After Hamanaka, Gracie asks to face the judo champion
TOKYO
– Ryan Gracie was calm for the week before a fight, but
he has his limits. And they were reached during the press conference
for the Pride Bushido, MMA event that will start five o’clock
of this Sunday at Saitama Super Arena, Japan.
‘I
respect Hamanaka [his opponent of tomorrow’s fight], he
comes from a very good school that is the Takada Dojo, but I’m
figuring already when they will put me to face Yoshida. He needs
a lesson after his ridiculous show in Royce’s fight. He’s
a cheater’, screamed the Gracie Jiu-jitsu black belt, who
was wearing a number 7 Japanese Soccer Team t-shirt, that belongs
to the local idol Nakata.
Ryan
was talking about the match between former Olympic Judo Champion
Hidehiko Yoshida against his cousin Royce Gracie in last fall,
during the Dynamite event, when the judo fighter was accused
to faking Royce was sleeping in order to make the referee to
stop the fight early.
Ryan’s
restrainer, Renzo Gracie now agree with his brother’s point
of view: ‘Yoshida is talking a lot, and sincerely it is
supported by a false win. It would be a big shame for everyone
in my family to accept a victory like his. I respect Yoshida
as one of the best Judo players that Japan ever made, but I disrespect
him as a man, and that is much more important.’
Source: ADCC
|
Bushido:
Renzo predicts 5 - 0 sweep
New York City based Jiu-Jitsu teacher thinks the Gracie Family
is ready to beat Japanese selection at Pride Bushido
TOKYO
– ‘I’ll be the winner, no matter the result’.
This is the Renzo Gracie’s thoughts about his upcoming fight
against Carlos Newton around six o’clock of this Sunday
at Saitama Super Arena, Japan. Renzo clarifies his point of view
saying it’s a match that was to happen for years and that
will be a great opportunity to measure himself against someone
like Newton.
In
adittion to the responsability of being one of his family against
Japan Team, Renzo also has the job of coach for all his relatives.
And, in the final line of the race, he seems confident: ‘Honestly,
I think it’s going to be five – zero for us. Everybody
did their homework right this time, we’re training together
for a long time studying every possibility and predicting all
difficulties that might happen. This could reflect in a very
positive result’.
This
challenge will be the heart of Pride Bushido, the new MMA event
of Dream Stage Entertainment, and an intriguing question of this
program is why a westerner will represent the Land of the Raising
Sun in one of the most important fights of the evening. At first,
Japanese Hayato Sakurai was supposed to face Renzo, but he got
a serious injury in last Deep show and was unable to attend at
Bushido. Then DSE picked Newton, who is a high caliber fighter,
UFC former champion, Pride veteran and, believe, considered here
an adopted son of Japan. It’s pretty common to see “the
Ronin” chatting with many Japanese friends and speaking
their complicated language fluently.
Source: ADCC
|
Interview:
GIL CASTILLO
Gil
Castillo of Team Cesar Gracie seems to always be hovering on
the verge of making it big. In his UFC debut he lost a judges’
decision to Dave Menne for the Middleweight belt two years ago.
From there he dropped to Welterweight and picked up a decision
victory in January ’02 over former KOTC Champion Chris Brennan
before getting a shot last November at champion Matt Hughes in
what is still recorded on the internet as a TKO/doctor stoppage
after round 1 (more on that below).
To
the fans in California who have seen more of Gil he has proven
himself one of the ones to watch. He earned his shot at the UFC
by taking the IFC World Welterweight title in a unanimous decision
over King Of Pancrase Nathan Marquardt. Although his verifiable
MMA internet record is 7-2 his actual record is said to be 18-2
not including his submission fighting experience where he is
said to have picked up his first loss ever in a bout with a score
of 2-2 when the ref gave the nod to Castillo’s opponent
Cassio Werneck.
Since
Gil’s loss to Hughes he has appeared only once. Back in
March he easily defeated the relatively inexperienced Chris Williams
in WEC in what many thought was a build-up fight for Frank Shamrock
who headlined the event. Gil was supposed to fight in WEC 7 in
August but a minor lower back injury kept him out mainly because
he didn’t want to risk his health with a fight signed to
take on Frank Trigg in September. Unfortunately the IFC show
where he was to fight Trigg was cancelled.
Now
Gil is set to fight in Rumble On The Rock 4 in Hawaii where he is taking on Nova Uniao fighter
Renato
Verissimo.
Verissimo made his debut last year and is a vet of Rumble On
The Rock 2 & 3 where he built up what appears to be now a
3-0 record, all by some form of striking.
This
interview was done when Gil was preparing to fight Trigg with
most observers speculating the winner would be brought to the
UFC.
KM:
The Matt Hughes fight was stopped because of a cut over the eye?
GC: No, no, no. This is a common misconception. The blood you
saw was a fingernail scratch over my eye, there was no cut. The
fight was stopped because he headbutted me directly into my eyeball
and when the doctor came in I told him I couldn’t see, my
eye had blacked out. They were doing hand movements around my
eye and my eye wasn’t following their hand and focusing.
That is why they stopped the fight. What should have happened
is an injury timeout because it was a foul. We appealed it and
they changed the rules because of what happened to me. We’re
not putting it on my record. The eye didn’t even swell up;
he hit me directly in the eyeball so there wasn’t anything
around the eye that swelled up. It was a fingernail scratch over
the eye which was the little blood people saw but that was not
a cut.
KM:
What is the official ruling on that now?
GC: They never gave me an official ruling. I told them I’m
not putting it up and they said ‘we agree with what you
are saying however the rule was not in place at the time of your
fight. We’re changing the ruling now because of what happened
to you.’ I said I’m not putting it on my record and
they said ‘do whatever you want to do, that’s fine’.
KM:
You have only had one fight since Hughes and that was in the
WEC. It looked like you were dominating so much at one point
you looked up at the ref waiting for the ref to stop the fight.
GC: What happened was the kid had a ridiculous gash underneath
his eye and his nose was busted and bent completely to the left
which is fine, that happens in fighting. What worried me was
every time I hit the kid his eyes were rolling back in his head.
I was looking up at the ref saying ‘this is ridiculous,
are you going to stop this or not’ because I didn’t
want to hurt the guy. I don’t want to say it was a mismatch
because he was a tough guy; very strong, very skilled, he was
tough. The thing was I was hitting him so much that he was very
hurt. I looked at the ref and said ‘are you going to stop
this or what’. You hear all the crowd, even the promoters
are yelling to stop the fight. His own corner was going to throw
in the towel. I had to keep fighting. I could have submitted
him several times but the thing was my contract I was getting
paid more for a knockout. I didn’t want to just give up
money. The ref made me keep fighting so I kept hitting.
KM:
One other point on your record I want to clarify. I saw on the
Cesar Gracie website it say you beat Vernon White but on Full
Contact Fighter’s and Sherdog’s databases I wasn’t
able to find a reference to that. What was that?
GC: Vernon White doesn’t even post it on his record either.
It was the first night I had ever fought but it was my third
fight. It was a tournament. Each of us fought twice and then
we got to the finals and I armbarred Vernon in the finals.
KM:
Was that open hand?
GC: No.
KM:
I’m just wondering why I’m having trouble tracking
that one down. What was the name of the show?
GC: (turns to Cesar Gracie) What was the name of that? Stockton
Extreme? (Back to me) I don’t know, we’re trying to
remember. What comes to my mind is Stockton Extreme Fighting
or something like that.
Team
Cesar Gracie’s website is http://www.graciefighter.com/. Updated with news,
find out more about Gil and TEAM CESAR GRACIE at the site.
Source: ADCC
|
PRIDE
Bushido Preview
PRIDE Bushido: Pride unveils its new event focused on fighters
under 200lbs with a Gracie family team challenge
Pride
finally acknowledges the lower weight classes by giving them
their own show. The highlight of the event is a five-bout "Team
Gracie vs. Team Japan" battle royal. The Gracies now get
the chance to shine on PPV that they were denied when Dreamstage
ignored them during the Pride Grand Prix 2003. Renzo, Ryan, Rodrigo
and Daniel have been fighting regularly but they must've called
up Ralph when it was clear Royler dropped out of the mix. "The
Pit Bull" hasn't been heard from in MMA circles in 5 years.
The Japanese contingent includes Takase, Mishima, Nakamura and
Hamanaka and is lead by Carlos Newton. One might ask "which
of these fighters is not like the others?" but hey, it's
their show. A new Russian Top Team fighter makes his entrance
in the form of Alexsander Emelianenko (last name ring a bell?)
against a resurfacing Assuerio Silva from Chute Boxe. "Cro
Cop" drops by to beat up a wrestler, Chris Brennan makes
his Pride debut and even Akira Shoji found his way onto this
card, facing highly touted Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
The
entire card breaks down as follows:
Team
Gracie versus Team Japan Match-Ups:
Daniel
Gracie battles Judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura
Ralph
Gracie takes on Cobrai-Kai fighter Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Rodrigo
Gracie squares off against Wajyutsu Keisyukai grappler Daiju
Takase
Ryan
Gracie throws down with Takada Dojo's Kazuhiro Hamanaka
Renzo
Gracie goes to war with Canadian grappler Carlos Newton
And
in single bouts…
Chute
Boxe fighter Mauricio Rua takes to the ring against Pride regular
Akira Shoji
Russian
wrestler Sergei Kharitonov rumbles with kickboxer Jason Nobunaga
Dutchmen
Chalid Arrab and Rodney Faverus aim to settle old scores
KOTC
veterans Eiji Mitsuoka and Chris Brennan let'em fly in Japan
In
his MMA debut Alexsander Emelianenko goes toe-to-toe with Chute
Boxe fighter Assuerio Silva
K-1
killer Mirko Filipovic meets Mexican wrestler Dos Caras Jr.
Now
for a closer look…
Team
Gracie vs. Team Japan
Daniel Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
GRACIE:
Daniel Simões or Daniel Gracie as he is now known is 6'2
and 225lbs, a Gracie cousin and a black belt under Carlos Gracie
Jr. He's 2-0 in MMA with wins over Japanese pro wrestlers Takashi
Sugiura in Pride (a win by split decision) and Shinsuke Nakamura
in the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 event (a win by armlock in the 2nd
round). Daniel is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has done well
in the Mudials, becoming the 1996 Absolute brown belt division
champion, the 1997 runner up in the black belt division and a
1998 champion as well. Although accomplished in the sport, he
seems to lose to the better competition in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Daniel has lost to Fabio Gurgel (UFC/WVC veteran) at the Mundials
in '97, Brazilian Top Team leader Mario Sperry at the Brasileiro
'95 and Carlos Barreto (Pride/UFC/RINGS veteran) in BJJ competition.
None of these men are slouches in the sport and he likely learned
a great deal from each experiment. His biggest BJJ wins are over
Fabio Gurgel's training partner Roberto "Spider" Traven
(UFC/AFC/RINGS veteran) and Robert Godói (Brazilian Vale
Tudo veteran). He has a reputation for being quite aggressive
and very strong in competition. He also prefers to fight from
the top and reportedly passes the guard well. He has been training
exclusively with cousin Renzo Gracie and his team (Matt and Nick
Serra, Rodrigo Gracie, Sean Alvares, Ricardo Almeida) prior to
his MMA debut.
NAKAMURA:
All Japan 100-kilo Division Judo Champion Kazuhiro Nakamura is
a training partner and protégé of Olympic Judo
Champion and World Gold Medallist Hidehiko Yoshida. Training
out of the Yoshida Dojo, the 23-year-old Nakamura is a judo instructor
and made his MMA debut at Pride 25 against Rogerio "Minotoro"
Nogueira. Nakamura opened with an impressive body lock throw
to the floor and landed inside Nogueira's guard. The powerfully
built Nakamura stood up in Rogerio's guard and attempted a number
of guard passes and threw kicks to the upper thighs of "Minotoro"
with confidence. His grappling looked solid as he avoided an
early armbar and numerous triangle attempts by the Brazilian.
However the standing battle was all Nogueira. Late in the 1st
round, Kazuhiro would jump back into guard and struck Rogerio
a number of times in the face, avoiding armbars, triangles and
even an Omo Plata in the process. In the second round Nakamura
didn't seem interested in standing and went to the mat with Nogueira.
He was able to reverse a bad position early (Nogueira had his
back for half a second) and have the bout brought back up. Rogerio
was able to bring it back to the mat and unloaded strikes in
Kazuhiro's guard. Nakamura was inactive on the mat and allowed
Nogueira to get his back. "Minotoro" never let up,
letting Nakamura think he was trying for the choke but maneuvered
him into an armbar for the win.
MY
PICK: This is a tough call. It's not easy to get a look at Daniel
Gracie in action and assess his skills. He's beaten two Japanese
wrestlers with little MMA experience but that is a Gracie trademark
in recent years. Nakamura was very impressive in his debut and
if he has improved his striking on the feet and submission skills
on the ground, he stands a real chance of winning. Gracie has
less experience than Rogerio Nogueira, the man who beat Nakamura
so that works in the Japanese's fighter's favor but my gut says
Gracie. I feel it will be Gracie by decision after the 3rd Rd.
Team
Gracie vs. Team Japan
Ralph "Pit Bull" Gracie vs. Dokonjonsuke Mishima
GRACIE:
To be honest, it has been a long time since Ralph "Pit Bull"
Gracie had a professional MMA fight. 5 years to be exact. He
has a 71-0 overall competition record with a 5-0 record in MMA
(but reportedly 12-0 in Vale Tudo by '93 in unknown bouts) sporting
wins in the Sau Paulo Gracie Vale Tudo event, the Unified Shoot
Wrestling Federation and was champion in the first three Extreme
Fighting/Battlecade events. Ralph is the grandson of Carlos Gracie
Sr. and will be fighting as a member of Team Renzo but he has
8 academies of his own on the West Coast. Gracie is highly decorated
in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having won the Gracie Barra Estadual
Tournament Lightweight Division, Champion Rio Sports Center Lightweight
Championship, Rio-Teresopolis Lightweight Tournament Championship,
URCA Military Club Tournament Championship, Grajau Club Tournament
Championship, AABB Tournament Open Division Championship and
the Tijuca Club Tournament Heavyweight Championship. He's also
an amateur boxing champion. Ralph has made short work of his
opponents in the past, finishing 4 out of 5 in under two minutes.
His most recent bout, a match against USWF fighter Steve Nelson
in 1998, went just over 13 minutes before Gracie caught him in
an armbar.
MISHIMA:
Dokonjonsuke Mishima is a highly rated Shooto fighter and entertainment
personified from the opening bell. He has a touch of Genki Sudo
in him, throwing jumping spinning heel kicks, flying knees, headlock
rolls, and his trademark "cobra hold" he likes to finish
people with (he tries to pin their heel to their ear on the same
side of the body). It doesn't work all the time but 6 of his
13 wins are by submission. He also employs pro wrestling theatrics
after a win (he backflips off the top rope and pins his cornerman)
and enters to a modernized version of the traditional "Godzilla"
theme (this version has lyrics). In the ring he's a deadly ball
of energy and constantly works to pass guard. Dokon began fighting
professionally in 1998 and has faced numerous top-level competition
including Din Thomas, Ryan Bow, Marcio "Cromado" Barbosa,
Takanori Gomi and Tetsuji Kato. He dominated long-time Frank
Shamrock guy Ryan Bow for two and a half rounds (Bow was coming
on at the end) and recently took apart Brazilian Top Team fighter
Fabio Mello. Other than some effective axe/heel kicks from the
canvas, Mello was controlled throughout and effectively grounded
for three rounds. Even when he was in trouble, Mishima makes
it look like a transition move and pulls off something better.
He is currently 13-2-2 in MMA with appearances in Shooto, HOOKnSHOOT
and he has recently begun fighting in DEEP events.
MY
PICK: Ralph has been away so long. Mishima's career in MMA began
the same year Ralph's "ended" and has fought 17 matches
in that period of time. Ralph may be a victim of the same complacency
that contributed to Ken Shamrock's loss to Tito Ortiz. Shamrock
was only training with Lion's Den fighters. Although Ralph has
Crosley Gracie, David Camarilo, Cameron Earle and other black
belt students in camp but are they able to push him? That remains
to be seen. And what about his stamina? Ralph hasn't gone more
than a minute in a half more than one time. Meanwhile, Mishima
is likely the best Japanese fighter on this entire card and Ralph
has to face him with no warm-up fight. I don't like his chances.
Ralph won't tap but he may not have a choice how long this one
goes. There may even be some controversy here. I feel it will
be Mishima by TKO/referee stoppage from strikes late in the 1st
Rd.
Team
Gracie vs. Team Japan
Rodrigo "Highlander" Gracie vs. Daiju Takase
GRACIE:
Rodrigo Gracie trains with his cousin Renzo Gracie and his team
of fighters including Ricardo Almeida, Matt Serra and Nick Serra
in New York as well as Ricardo Almeida and Mark Colangelo. He
was born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil and is the son of Reylson Gracie
and grandson of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu founder Carlos Gracie Sr. Rodrigo
is a 4-time NAGA champion and has tapped out Robert "The
Prince of Leg Locks" Ferguson. Before moving to the U.S.,
Rodrigo trained for many years under his father and earned his
black belt at 18. He attended the first Abu Dhabi World Submission
Wrestling Championships in 1998 and won the 77-87 kg division
that year by winning 3 bouts. He faced UFC and Pancrase veteran
Adrian Serrano in the opening round and choked him out, advanced
to face Pride Bushido cardmate Carlos Newton and won their match
on points and beat Warrior's War and European Cagefighting veteran
Kareem Barklaev in the final winning their half hour encounter.
He was back in Abu Dhabi in 2001. In his opening match he beat
UFC/Pancrase veteran Genki Sudo and advanced to the quarterfinals
but failed to make the semifinals. Rodrigo first fought MMA at
the Vengeance at the Vanderbilt event in 2000 winning by choke
in less than a minute. He made his Pride debut against Daijiro
Matsui at Pride 19: Bad Blood on just two weeks notice. Gracie
rocked Daijiro standing, putting him into the ropes and likely
breaking his nose. He took more damage in the second round and
in the third Gracie did what no one else has been able to do;
make Matsui tap. Rodrigo sunk a textbook guillotine choke and
his Pride debut was a success. He recently defeated Japanese
Submission fighter Yuki Sasaki by decision at Pride 24.
TAKASE:
Wajyutsu Keisyukai practitioner Daiju Takase fights out of the
same camp as UFC lightweight title contender Caol Uno and many
fighters that compete in Shooto, RINGS, Pancrase, ZST and other
Japanese MMA events. Takase is a ground specialist and has competed
in MMA since 1998. He debuted in Pride 3 against giant Sumo wrestler
and UFC veteran Emmanuel Yarborough. Takase ran around in circles
for the entire ten-minute first round and two minutes of the
second round until he got a talking to by the referee. Once grounded,
Takase punched from the bottom as Manny tried to obtain the mount.
Takase's leg was trapped but the accumulation of punches caused
Yarborough's nose to bleed. Once free, Daiju poured on the punches
to the back of Manny's head and the giant tapped out. He went
on to fight a number of times on the Pancrase circuit where he
faced Ikuhisa Minowa, Nathan Marquardt, Kiuma Kunioku and Laverne
Clark but beating only Clark. Takase is also a three-time UFC
veteran with a record of 0-3. At UFC 21 Takase took a last-minute
bout as a replacement and fought at 176 lbs against larger Jeremy
Horn who fought at nearly 200 lbs. Horn kept it standing and
peppered Takase with leg kicks for the first two minutes and
then controlled from side position on the mat, unloading forearms
to the face. He moved from knee on the stomach to mount and punished
him with punches and elbows until the ref had seen enough. Daiju
returned to UFC 23 in Japan to compete in the Japanese 4-man
heavyweight tournament but lost to eventual winner and Pride
veteran Kenichi Yamamoto. At UFC 29, also in Japan, he faced
Fabiano Iha. From the bell, Iha scores a single leg takedown
and Takase went to guard. Iha stands up and Takase stays in close
guard. They exchange strikes and Takase extends himself but when
he reached to grab Iha's leg, Takase didn't defend his face and
ate strikes until John McCarthy broke them up. In the Pride:
The Best series, Takase battled two Pride veterans and went the
distance with both going 1-1. He beat Luta Livre practitioner
Johil de Oliveira and lost to jiu-jitsu fighter Antonio Schembri.
Recently, he pulled a stunning upset over Chute Boxe fighter
Anderson Silva, submitting the Brazilian via triangle choke in
the first round.
MY
PICK: Takase has been on a roll lately, winning 3 of 4 since
2001. However, he usually falls to those who come out striking
aggressively and stay aggressive until he is gone. Anderson likely
underestimated Daijiro's ground skills and paid for it. Rodrigo
will not. Gracie is 3-0 and realizes the importance of this event.
He will pressure Takase and punish him early. I feel it will
be Gracie by TKO from strikes in the 1st Rd.
Team
Gracie vs. Team Japan
Ryan Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka
GRACIE:
Ryan Gracie is a black belt under Carlos "Carlinhos"
Gracie Jr. and is currently training with brother Renzo in New
York. He made his debut at Pride 10: Return of the Warriors against
Tokimitsu Ishizawa and dismantled the Japanese wrestler in just
over 2 minutes. He returned to face the then unstoppable Kazushi
Sakuraba at Pride 12: Cold Fury and met with the same fate all
other Gracie fighters did at the time, defeat. Ryan came to ring
covered in blue tape and required a special one round bout. It
was 8 months before Ryan was back in the ring to face Ishizawa
in a rematch bout at Pride 15: Raging Rumble. Tokimitsu took
the bout very seriously and stated he would retire from MMA if
he did not win. Ishizawa dominated position early and the bout
was stopped midway through the first round when Gracie suffered
a rib injury. However in his return to action at Pride 22: Beasts
From The East 2, it was all Ryan. Japanese striker Shungo Oyama
was stopped with a vicious armbar that looked like it almost
made Oyama pass out. Ryan was back on top. Gracie's aggressive
style and relentless attack coupled with his mental attitude
and pride in upholding the family legend make him a force in
this newly established venue. Now with the emergence of the Brazil
Dojo team headed by Wallid Ismael, maybe we'll finally see a
resolution to that long-standing feud.
HAMANAKA:
Kazuhiro Hamanaka fights out of the Takada Gym that has brought
us Kazushi Sakuraba, Daijiro Matsui and of course Nobuhiko Takada
himself among others. He joined the camp in 2001 after graduating
from college and trains there 3 times a week with supplementary
training at his old college university. Hamanaka is a grappler
with a great deal of amateur wrestling experience including taking
2nd in the 2000 Inter College event, 3rd at the 2000 All Japan
Trials, 2nd at the 2000 KBS Cup in Korea, 2nd in the 2001 All
Japan Trials in the 97kg freestyle class, 1st in the 2001 All
Japan Society event in the 85kg freestyle class, 2nd in the 2001
All Japan Cup in the 97kg freestyle class, 4th in the 2002 All
Japan Trials in the 84kg freestyle class and 2nd in the 2002
All Japan Society event in the 96kg freestyle class. He was scheduled
to compete in May in an All Japan event as his last shot at making
the Athena Olympics but I don't know the results of that event.
A win at the All Japan event would give him the opportunity to
travel to New York and compete in the World Championships. His
debut opponent was Antonio Schembri and he was selected by Nobuhiko
Takada (over Ryan Gracie among others). Kazuhiro was aggressive
early with strikes and forced Antonio to pull out all of his
tricks including the "Gomo Plata", a half Omo Plata
that acts like a guillotine choke with the shin resting under
the opponents throat. Also to his credit Schembri showed an improved
striking attack, employing solid striking and landing a roundhouse
kick to the face and knees to the top of the head. Hamanaka was
bloodied but still didn't fall prey to the submission techniques
of "Elvis". It was a stand-up spectacle until the first
round ended. The second round opened with leg kicks from Kazuhiro
and Antonio jumps to guard. Hamanaka was brutal on the ground,
tagging Schembri for the entire five minutes. Round three was
all Hamanaka, pounding Schembri on the mat and never in serious
danger of being submitted.
MY
PICK: I expect a real stand-up war here with Ryan taking the
match. Hamanaka looked very good against Schembri but Ryan is
a more consistently aggressive striker. Gracie has some of the
submission skills of Schembri but his striking will be superior.
Hamanaka hasn't shown himself to be overly susceptible to submissions
so it is likely this one will go into the second round. I feel
it will be Gracie by TKO/referee stoppage in the 2nd Rd.
Team
Gracie vs. Team Japan
Renzo Gracie vs. Carlos "Ronin" Newton
GRACIE:
Renzo Gracie returns to fight for the 8th time under the Pride
banner. He is easily the most likeable and down to Earth Gracie
family member However his string of bad luck in the ring continues
to haunt him. He has lost 4 out of 5 bouts dating back to 2000.
Hey Renzo, maybe you should try a cage again? I know a 185lb
division in this big American organization that could really
use some help. Just a thought. Gracie dominated the competition
in 1995 when he won the World Combat Championships (beating judo
champion Ben Spijkers, wrestler Phil Benedict and boxer James
Warring). He then went on to KO Oleg Taktarov with a spectacular
kick from the floor in a superfight at the Martial Arts Reality
Superfighting show the following year. In 1997, Renzo had his
most controversial bout when competed in the Pentagon Combat
event in Brazil and faced Luta Livre fighter Eugenio Tadeu. During
the match, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Luta Livre camps quarreled
outside the cage and the crowd erupted into a full-blown riot
that called a halt to the event.
Gracie
competed in the very first Pride event the same year and fought
Pride regular Akira Shoji to a 40-minute draw. At Pride 2, Renzo
beat Pancrase and UFC fighter Sanae Kikuta by choke and then
in Pride 8 he defeated Alexander Otsuka by decision. He competed
well in the 1999 RINGS King of Kings tournament and beat Wataru
Sakata and UFC veteran Maurice Smith in the tournament's opening
round. It was then that Renzo's bad luck seemed to manifest itself.
In his first bout in the KoK Final, he faced Japanese superstar
Kiyoshi Tamura and lost a questionable decision. Renzo was out
of the tournament and never returned to RINGS competition. However
the slump continued as he sustained a broken elbow at the hands
of Kazushi Sakuraba and was then KO'd with a knee to the head
by Team Quest wrestler and 1999 RINGS King of Kings Tournament
Champion Dan Henderson. Renzo returned to the ring to beat Michiyoshi
Ohara at Pride 17: Championship Chaos. The win over Ohara may
have righted the ship temporarily but Renzo lost to the hungry
Shungo Oyama by decision at Pride 21: Demolition. With a very
respectable record of 10-4-1, Renzo is never out of the race
for a title but when losses come in bunches where there were
never any before, you have to question it.
NEWTON:
Carlos Newton is a Dragonball Z Jiu-Jitsu fighter training at
the Warrior Martial Arts Centre in Newmarket, Ontario with Terry
Riggs. He began fighting MMA in 1996 at the short-lived Extreme
Fighting promotion. There Carlos fought a giant Jean Riviere
and looked promising in defeat. Newton ventured to Japan and
began fighting for the Shooto Organization. He faced Erik Paulson
in the year-end Japan Open Vale Tudo show, defeating the Shooto
champion via armbar in less than a minute. Paulson, seemingly
caught off guard by Newton's speed and fluidity, was forced to
tap with his foot on Newton's head to avoid the arm break. Newton
then faced veteran Kazuhiro Kusayanagi, defeating him by armbar.
Carlos would return to Shooto in 1999 to defeat Kenji Kawaguchi
(again by armbar) at the 10th Anniversary show. Newton debut
in the UFC 17 Lightweight Tournament where he made it to the
finals against Dan Henderson and lost a very close decision.
A debut at Pride 3 followed just one month later against rising
Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba. It was Newton's second consecutive
loss and marked the only time he has lost two bouts in a row
in his entire MMA career.
Carlos returned to Pride the following year and went the distance
with Daijiro Matsui. Newton quickly armbarred Karl Schmidt at
World Extreme Fighting 9 and it was back in Pride to defeat Yuhi
Sano, again by armbar submission. In December of the same year,
Carlos battled Luta Livre fighter Johil de Oliveira and won a
decision. The 2001 year brought Newton to Kuwait where he suffered
a decision loss to UFC veteran Dave Menne in the Shidokan Warrior's
War 1 Lightweight Tournament. Menne eventually won the tourney,
defeating Abu Dhabi veteran Karim Barklaev in the final. Back
stateside in the UFC, Carlos earned a shot at Pat Miletich's
welterweight title. Newton won his title in dramatic fashion
choking out Miletich in the third round and ending Pat's unbeaten
Octagon streak of 7-0. His first title defense against Miletich
fighter Matt Hughes provided plenty of drama and controversy
but their rematch at UFC 38 left little doubt about Hughes being
a champion. Sandwiched in between the UFC bouts was a trip back
to Pride to face Vale Tudo legend Jose "Pele" Landi-jons.
Minutes into the bout, Newton was tagged with a powerful knee.
Rather than finish him off, Landi-jons sat back and admired his
work allowing Newton to recover. Once on the ground, Newton regained
his composure rolled Landi-jons with an armbar for the victory.
Carlos was in the octagon at UFC 40 against Muay Thai fighter
Pete Spratt "The Secret Weapon". In classic Carlos
fashion, he wasted little time taking Pete down and armbarring
him for the win. Then in Pride 25, Carlos shot in for a takedown
and was kneed in the face and subsequently KO'd by Chute Boxe
fighter Anderson Silva.
MY
PICK: Newton. Both fighters are coming off losses but Newton
never loses two in a row. Renzo will likely be more technical
than we've seen him in the fast due to Newton's grappling prowess.
However Newton has exhibited some solid striking proficiency
in recent bouts and will likely feed off those skills to set
up submission attempts…but we all know Renzo never taps.
I feel it will be Newton by TKO from strikes in the 2nd Rd.
Single
Bout
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Akira "Mr. Pride"
Shoji
RUA:
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, brother of PFC veteran Murilo
"Ninja" Rua, brings a 4-1 record in MMA to his first
bout under the Pride banner. "Ninja" has the edge in
experience but "Shogun" has the better stand-up game.
In his victories, Rua has finished all four opponents with strikes,
three of which took place in the Meca Vale Tudo events in Brazil.
Although a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Cristiano Marcello,
he relies on crisp Muay Thai striking and in his MECA bouts he's
added head stomps to his game. His biggest win to date was over
recent Pancrase veteran Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos
from the newly formed Brazil Dojo, stopping the Luta Livre fighter
in under 10 minutes. He also took part in the IFC Global Domination
8-man light heavyweight tournament to determine who would face
former IFC champion and long-time UFC top light heavyweight contender
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. Rua defeated three-time
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Eric Wanderlei in the second
round with strikes. And in a highly competitive semi-final bout,
he went nearly 14 minutes with the eventual tournament winner
Renato "Babalu" Sobral before falling to a choke late
in the third round. The rumor is that Mauricio's brother Murilo
"Ninja" will be next to face "Babalu" Sobral
in an upcoming Meca Vale Tudo show. "Shogun" has a
destructive style with no let up and is sure to test Shoji's
mettle.
SHOJI:
Clearly fighters like Akira Shoji exemplify the heart of Japan.
This will be Shoji's 18th fight under the Pride banner (8-7-2
in the PFC, 11-8-5 overall) and it is for that reason he is called
"Mr. Pride". Shoji is fighting out of the A-3 Gym in
Japan (comprised of RINGS, Pancrase and GCM fighters including
the undefeated Hidetaka Monma) and has trained at Maurice Smith's
gym in Seattle in the U.S. Until the end of 2000, Shoji was a
very respectable 7-2-2 in the PFC. Early on he beat Juan Mott
by choke submission, beat an exhausted Wallid Ismael with strikes
and scored a huge upset win over Guy Mezger by decision. Although
it wasn't a win, Shoji also deserves some credit for going the
distance with Renzo Gracie in his Pride debut. He also went the
distance with fellow Japanese fighter Daijiro Matsui, USWF fighter
Larry Parker and lost to Igor Vovchanchyn. He advanced past Ebenzer
Fontes Braga in the Pride GP Opening Round but then faced a reemerging
Mark Coleman on his way to the title. Shoji had back to back
submission victories over John Renken and Herman Renting at Prides
9 and 11. That's when things took a nose dive. At the end of
2000 he faced Renzo Gracie fighter Ricardo "Big Dog"
Almeida and lost a decision to the tough grappler at Pride 12.
Akira fell for the first time due to strikes in a loss to Team
Quest wrestler Dan Henderson at Pride 14. It didn't get any better
at Pride 16 where he faced giant Dutchman Semmy "Hightower"
Schilt. Semmy delivered a severe pounding and KO'd him late in
round 1. A boring decision loss to Miletich fighter Jeremy Horn
followed and then at last September's Pride 22: Beasts From The
East 2 show, he was submitted via armbar by Brazilian Top Team
fighter Paulo Filho. Since that time he has beaten Alex Stiebling
at Pride 25 in March and Dustin "Clean" Denes in the
Absolute Fighting Championships 4 last July, winning both bouts
by decision. He is 4-1-3 in MMA overall outside of his Pride
appearances.
MY
PICK: "Shogun". Shoji is tough and has shown great
improvement since expanding his training but his last two wins
were against athletes who are predominantly known as submission
fighters. Against serious strikers like Coleman, Vovchanchyn
and Schilt, Shoji hasn't faired well. It won't be too quick but
"Shogun" will get the job done. I feel it will be Rua
by KO late in the 1st Rd.
Single
Bout
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jason "Psycho" (Suttie) Nobunaga
KHARITONOV:
Sergei Kharitonov is a Russian wrestler from Moscow with solid
submission skills. He has only fought in three MMA events, two
of which were tournaments and he's done very well. His only loss
was in 1998 at the Scandinavian NHB Championships where he was
stopped with strikes. He competed two years later in the Yalta's
Brilliant 2000 tournament in the Ukraine and won three bouts.
Pride veteran Denis Sobolov also competed and won one bout but
lost to tournament runner up Roman Savochka. His most recent
competition, and the event that put him on the inaugural Pride
Bushido card, was his complete destruction of his opponents in
the Tournament of Real Men 8. Sergei's combined fight time for
both bouts was under two minutes.
NOBUNAGA:
Jason Nobunaga or Jason Suttie as he is also known is kickboxer
and professional boxer with considerable K-1 experience. Nobunaga
is a tattooed powerhouse and has fought in the Elite Thai Kickboxing's
Settle the Score event where he defeated Richard Tutaki by decision
in a boxing match and was presented with the "Bronx Kick
Boxer of the Year" award. He is 8-3 in K-1 with 4 wins by
KO and 1 TKO. Jason won the K-1 New Zealand Grand Prix 2003 tournament
as part of the annual K-1 World Grand Prix competitions. He also
made it to the final bout of the K-1 Melbourne Grand Prix 2003
but lost a decision to Peter Graham. He also faced Australian
Caged Combat (sometimes referred to as the Australian UFC) veteran
Hiriwa TeRangi in a K-1 bout in 2001 and lost by KO. Oddly, I
couldn't find any info on any kind of MMA training in preparation
for this fight. That doesn't bode well now does it?
MY
PICK: Kharitonov. I'm not sure if this guy is so incredibly good
or if the quality of competition he faced in the Russian TORM
was incredibly bad. Either way, Nobunaga is a great kickboxer
but hasn't fought MMA before. That could be a mind opening experience
and I'm going with the veteran. If Sergei is able to bring him
to the ground and take him out of his element, this could be
over quickly. I feel it will be Kharitonov by TKO from strikes
in the 1st Rd.
Single
Bout
Rodney "Golden Glory Hunter" Faverus vs. Challid "Die
Faust" Arrab
FAVERUS:
Rodney Faverus trains out of the Mejiro Gym and is a highly experienced
fighter proficient in both kickboxing and grappling or "mix
fight" as they call it in Holland. He is a World Vale Tudo
Championships veteran, Absolute Fighting Championships and M-1
veteran, and has fought all throughout Holland including the
It's Showtime, Too Hot To Handle, and RINGS Holland promotions.
With as many bouts as this guy has, it's amazing he hasn't found
himself on a big show in the past. Faverus has fought some tough
people including Red Devil fighters Sergei Bytchkov and Martin
Malkhasyan, former Chute Boxe fighter Jose "Pele' Landi-jons,
Ruas Vale Tudo fighter Alexandre "Cacareco" Ferreira,
American wrestler Tom Sauer and RINGS USA veteran Ricardo Fyeet.
However he gets his greatest thrill, as his nickname implies,
out of pounding on Team Golden Glory fighters. He has already
faced the very tough Paul Cahoon, Faith Kocamis and Pride veteran
Valentijn Overeem, defeating all three and finishing two of them.
Faverus has a very aggressive style and likes elbows to the head
and flying knees to the body and face and even headbutts (which
he threw a lot of in his WVC days). Rest assured he will certainly
entertain, if he doesn't get himself disqualified.
ARRAB:
Challid Arrab is a boxer and Muay Thai kickboxer from Breda Germany
and fights out of Holland's Golden Glory camp. This is the same
team that has produced Pride veterans Gilbert Yvel, Semmy Schilt,
Heath Herring, Valentijn Overeem, Alistair Overeem and others.
As you might expect, the team has a second tier of "up'n'comers"
that haven't made their big time splash yet. This unit includes
Martin de Jong, Faith Kocamis, Paul Cahoon and Challid Arrab.
Arrab was supposed to make his big show debut on at least two
occasions prior to this one. Challid had been scheduled to face
Marvin Eastman at the World Fighting Alliance 2 show as was stablemate
Gilbert Yvel but both fell out of the event. Then more recently
he was scheduled to face recent IFC tournament champion and Ruas
Vale Tudo fighter Renato "Babalu" Sobral at the Extreme
Force show (where Lee Murray KO'd Jose "Pele" Landi-jons)
but Arrab pulled out due to an ankle injury. Arrab is starting
to get known. He's fought in the 2000 Pankration Championships
(an event that featured notable Russian fighters Maxim Tarasov
and Mikhail Avetesyan as well as GG stablemate Faith Kocamis)
where he went 1-1 in the tournament. He went on to fight in the
Millenium Sports event in Holland (de Jong also fought) and scored
a submission win there. He followed that bout with two appearances
in the Russian M-1 event knocking out both Roman Zentsov and
Stanislav Nuschik. In his most recent competition he went the
distance with Miletich Fighting Systems standout Jeremy Horn.
Arrab avoided submission after submission from the ground savvy
Horn and displayed solid striking, nearly KOing Horn at one point.
MY
PICK: Faverus. This could be a fantastic bout and I just hope
it makes the PPV. It's a good old fashioned Dutch fighter versus
Dutch fighter in a bout that could've easily been on an old RINGS
Holland card or an upcoming Too Hot To Handle show. I expect
lights out striking here. These two don't like each other if
only by what they represent. Faverus has had the edge over this
camp and has a lot more experience so I expect that trend to
continue. I feel it will be Faverus by KO from knees in the 2nd
Rd.
Single
Bout
Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Chris "The Westside Strangler" Brennan
MITSUOKA:
Eiji Mitusoka trains at Serizawa Martial Arts in Japan and fought
in the pre Pride 2 tournament but did not make the main card.
He considers himself a true mixed martial artist and has done
some professional wrestling. He competed in King of the Cage
9: Showtime against recent UFC veteran Gerald Strebendt. There
Eiji escaped both a triangle and armbar attempt to finish Strebendt
with strikes on the mat. He returned to KOTC 11: Domination and
battled grappler Betis Mansouri. Mitsuoka was controlling early
but "accidentally" eye gouged Mansouri and momentarily
stopped the bout. Betis was able to continue but he was visibly
affected by the injury and Mitusoka continued to score with takedowns
in round one. Round two saw Mitusoka and Mansouri exchange good
strikes but Mitsuoka started to wear down. Mansouri mounts but
doesn't put him away. The bout was ruled a draw but Mitsuoka
was clearly spent as he lay on the canvas after the fight. Eiji
has faced a number of solid competitors in the Pride: The Best
events including UFC veterans Anthony "Mad Dog" Macias
and John "The Natural" Alessio and veteran submission
fighter Scott Bills beating both Macias and Bills by decision.
He lost to Alessio on a cut stoppage. Mitsuoka recently defeated
Brazilian fighter Tibau on the DEEP 11 card by corner stoppage.
BRENNAN:
Chris Brennan is the leader of the Next Generation Fighting Academy
in California and has been fighting the sport of MMA for 7 years.
He began learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Alliance black belt
Roger Brooking. He's also trained with Marco Ruas and Frank Shamrock
and has a 15-9-1 record in MMA. He is a three-time King of the
Cage Middleweight Champion, an Extreme Challenge Under 170lb
Superbout Champion, and a veteran of Shooto, Gladiators Challenge,
Warrior's Quest and the Bas Rutten Invitational. Chris fought
and won in the UFC as a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and took the money
he won to open his first school. Brennan fought Miletich Fighting
Systems creator Pat Miletich three times, including one bout
in the UFC, with a record of 0-2-1. He's also faced UFC veterans
Steve Berger, Gil Castillo and John Alessio as well as noted
MMA veterans including Joe Stevenson, Antonio McKee, Joe Hurley,
Thomas Denny and Shannon Ritch. His most recent competitions
have bouts in Shooto with superstar Takanori Gomi and Takahuru
Murahama (both losses) and UCC standout Jason St. Louis (a win).
MY
PICK: Brennan. This is a bout Chris should win. He's coming of
a win in the Adrenaline Fighting Championships in July and a
win here could mean steady work overseas. Mitsuoka is a game
opponent capable of winning the bout and Chris took it on short
notice, Brennan is a seasoned veteran and has trained with many
of the people Eiji fought and beat. I feel it will be Brennan
by submission in the 3rd Rd.
Single
Bout
Alexsander Emelianenko vs. Assuerio Silva
EMELIANENKO:
I, like most fight fans, admittedly know little about Alexsander
Emelianenko. But we all know one thing; he's the younger brother
of the current Pride Fighting Championships Heavyweight Champion
Fedor Emelianenko. That by itself is worth something. He's part
of the Russian Top Team which includes his brother Fedor as well
as Combat Sambo master and RINGS veteran Volk Han and Pride veterans
Iouri Kotchkine, Mikhail Illoukhine, Andre Kopylov, Achmed Labasanov
and Bazigit "Volk" Atajev. With all of these wrestling
and sambo fighters in house, his training is intense and his
foundation is solid. He also has some "interesting"
tattoos whose origins have been bandied about on many an MMA
forum. To my knowledge this is Alexsander's MMA debut but by
looking at the guy, I think it's safe to say he's fought before.
SILVA:
Chute Boxe Academy fighter Assuerio Silva and two-time PFC veteran
has been away from Pride ring for nearly two years. Assuerio
made his Pride debut at Pride 15: Raging Rumble. He faced Golden
Glory fighter Valentijn Overeem and was actually quite lucky
to defeat him. Coming from Chute Boxe, his Vale Tudo skills were
played up but it was Overeem who was the striking aggressor.
From the onset it looked as though Overeem was on a mission to
prove the loss to Goodridge was simply a case of nerves but as
the fighters went to the ground, Valentijn virtually dared Asseurio
to leg lock him and the Brazilian took him up on it. To be honest,
prior to the leg lock Overeem looked to be in complete control.
He returned to Pride 16: Beasts From The East and disposed of
Norihisa Yamamoto in just 11 seconds with strikes. For many fans
those bouts were their only look at Silva but some may have had
the opportunity to see him tear up the ring in Meca Vale Tudo
in Brazil. There he fought four times and beat three opponents,
most notably "The Pedro" Otavio (Pride 3, International
Vale Tudo Championships, Universal Vale Tudo Fighting). His last
appearance there was a bout at MECA 9 where during the course
of the fight, both fighters fell out of the ring and Silva's
opponent Fabiano Scherer was injured. Assuerio also fought in
the World Vale Tudo Championships 7 against Russian Mikhail Avetesyan
(AFC 5 Champion) but he used the last name of Costa and many
didn't realize it was him. Assuerio fought in a 4-man tournament
in Brazil in the Bad Boy de Vale Tudo event and defeated both
opponents, KOing one, to win the event. And in his very first
pro fight, Silva faced a very tough Waldir dos Anjos at the Brazilian
Vale Tudo 12 event. Silva controlled position for much of the
fight but dos Anjos was able to escape a rear choke and pound
Silva on the mat in guard. Silva was taking heavy fiists to the
face while trying to secure a kneebar and the bout was close
to being stopped. Assuerio was able to regain control and sink
a rear naked choke to end an exhausting 11 minute match.
MY
PICK: Emelianenko. I haven't seen him fight but I'll give him
the edge by reputation alone. Silva likely comes from the better
camp but he simply has not shown he's a top shelf representative
of it. I've no question he's tough, just to be able to hang with
"Ninja", "Pele" (before he left) and the
other two Silvas, but his skills in the ring at this level remain
unproven. I feel it will be Emelianenko by KO in the 1st Rd.
Single
Bout
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Dos Caras Jr.
FILIPOVIC:
Mirko Filopovic is a kickboxer and the I.K.B.F. World Heavyweight
Full Contact Champion, K-1Grand Prix '99 finalist and K-1 World
Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka finalist. The Croatian native has
been pounding fighters on the K-1 circuit for many years and
I've seen him KO opponents with punches (he has a 40-5 amateur
and 12-5 professional boxing record) and some truly devastating
head kicks. In the K-1 Grand Prix '99 Mirco quickly took out
the much larger Mike Bernardo in the opening round. He then advanced
to beat Musashi and Sam Greco, losing in the final to the '96
and '97 tournament champion Ernesto Hoost (Hoost also stopped
Igor Vovchanchyn in the K-1). Mirco first fought MMA at the Andy
Hug Memorial show. There Filopovic trashed the Kazuyuki Fujita
in under a minute. He made his Pride debut at Pride 17: Championship
Chaos against now matchmaker Nobuhiko Takada in an un-aired draw.
From there it was a bout with New Japan pro wrestler Yuji Nagata
in the "K-1 vs. Inoki" themed Inoki-Bom-Ba-Ye 2001
event. Mirko disposed of him as well and it was back to Pride
to face "The Axe Murderer". Some felt it was Silva
who would be in trouble but Wanderlei was happy to stand and
strike with Filipovic. It was ruled a draw but had Wanderlei
been given the opportunity under full PFC rules, he would've
likely finished Mirko on the ground. Filpovic battled the significantly
smaller Japanese grappler Kazushi Sakuraba under full PFC rules
at the Pride Shockwave show. Kazushi grappled well with Mirko
but the larger "Cro Cop" showed good takedown defense
and made Sak pay on a number of occasions with punishing kicks
to the face. The doctor's determined Kazushi had a broken orbital
bone under his eye and called a halt to the match in the second
round. Then Filipovic and Fujita went at it again. The bout wasn't
over in seconds but Kazuyuki lost another round to the Croatian,
this time by decision. Heath Herring was next at Pride 26. Herring
looked flustered and unfocussed from the opening bell and paid
for it. He kept shooting in for the takedown without relaxing
and Mirko simply moved away. Filipovic looked good, avoiding
takedowns and seizing the opportunities Heath provided en route
to a Ground'n'Pound victory. In his most recent bout against
Igor Vovchanchyn, Filipovic stunned the crowd by KOing the Ukrainian
striker with a kick to the head in the first two minutes of the
opening round.
CARAS
JR. Dos Caras Jr. is a Mexican Pro Wrestler with a legitimate
Greco-Roman Wrestling background and the most successful of the
AAA pro wrestlers who have attempted to fight MMA. He's 3-2 in
MMA with noteworthy wins over Kengo Watanabe and Brad Kohler.
The win over Watanabe at DEEP 2001: 2nd Impact can legitimately
be called a fluke. As Caras Jr. was suplexing him to the floor,
Watanabe posted with his right hand and had the weight of both
he and Caras Jr. crashing down on the limb. It was a very disturbing
sight, especially when Caras Jr. didn't know what happened and
kept punching Watanabe until the ref stopped the bout. The rematch
at DEEP 2001: 4th Impact had a decidedly different outcome with
Watanabe choking the wrestler out. Dos Caras Jr. returned to
DEEP 2001: 6th Impact to defeat the winless Tatsuaki Nakano by
rear choke in just over 4 minutes. Dos lost a bout at DEEP 9
against Hiroyuki Ito for grabbing the ropes and returned for
his most recent bout at DEEP 12 against UFC veteran Brad Kohler.
He beat Brad but this is not the same Kohler you saw in the octagon.
He's 39 years old and has been sic for the better part of two
years. He's still big but he's not the machine he once was. Kohler
opened with his usual jumpy style waiting to land a big right
hand but Caras Jr. took him down and landed in sidemount. Brad
was punching from the bottom and then verbally submits stating
he hurt his shoulder on the takedown. Not much of a win there
for Caras Jr.
MY
PICK: Filipovic. No doubt about this one. Mirko wanted a warm-up
before Fedor so consider this a watered down version of Liddell/"Babalu"
Sobral before he thought he was getting Ortiz. Mirko has ever
improving takedown defense as displayed against Herring so this
guy will prove little in the way of competition. I feel it will
be Filipovic by KO early in the 1st Rd.
Conclusion
So the inaugural Pride Bushido event should prove entertaining
especially with most of the world getting their first look at
the little brothers of Murilo "Ninja" Rua and Fedor
"No Emotion" Emelianenko (my nickname for him, he doesn't
have one). The "Team Gracie vs. Team Japan" adds some
drama of the old rivalry from years ago. "Cro Cop"
makes a pit stop before heading over to the Pride Grand Prix
Final Conflict show in November and Chris Brennan makes his first
appearance under the Pride banner. And let's not forget the Dutchmen
going at it! That should be really good. Although we won't see
the fights until late December, many of them should be worth
the wait. Enjoy the fights…eventually.
To
recap, my picks are:
Daniel
Gracie over Nakamura by decision in the 3rd Rd
Mishima over Ralph Gracie by TKO/referee stoppage in the 1st
Rd
Rodrigo Gracie over Takase by TKO/referee stoppage in the 1st
Rd
Ryan Gracie over Hamanaka by TKO/referee stoppage in the 2nd
Rd
Newton over Renzo Gracie by TKO/referee stoppage in the 2nd Rd
Rua over Shoji by KO in the 1st Rd
Kharitonov over Nobunaga by TKO/referee stoppage in the 1st Rd
Faverus over Arrab by KO in the 2nd Rd
Brennan over Mitsuoka by submission in the 3rd Rd.
Emelianenko over Silva by KO in the 1st Rd
Filipovic over Caras Jr. by KO in the 1st Rd
Source: Sherdog
|
Paulão
Filho talks about his moving to Brazil Dojo 
After
all the problem between Brazilian Top Team and Brazil Dojo, Paulão
Filho insists that he doesn’t have any problem with his
former teammates from BTT. Paulão, that days ago moved
to Brazil Dojo, explains that it was just a professional decision.
'I am out of the rings for a long time, almost a year, and I’m
broke! Wallid came to me with an amazing offer and I couldn’t
deny. But I love all the BTT people and I know that they understand
my situation', explains Paulão, that talked with Zé
Mário Sperry and Murilo Bustamante, two of the BTT leaders,
before leaving the team. Besides the money offer, Paulão
is guaranteed also three fights, with the first one being at
December 31 Inoki-BOM-BA-YE. About his knee problem, that took
him out of the IFC’s 8-men-tournament, Paulão says
that he will do an arthroscopy on the next days and that he will
be able to return training just two or three weeks after the
intervention.
Source: ADCC
|
DAY
TWO OF GRECO WORLDS:
GARDNER, LOPEZ FALL, SEMIS SET IN FOUR WEIGHTS
According
to results posted both on the official event web site and several
other wrestling sites, the second day of the four-day 2003 World
Championships of Greco-Roman Wrestling, being held at the Palais
des Sports 'Robert Oubron' in Créteil, France, produced
its share of surprises and upsets. It thus set the stage for
the emergence of some new World Champions.
The
quarterfinals were completed on this second day, Friday, October
3, in four of the seven weight classes, 55 kg, 66 kg, 84 kg,
and 120 kg. Opening round pool competition began in the other
three weights, 60 kg, 74 kg, and 96 kg. The finals for the first
four weights are on Saturday, Oct. 4, and for the remaining three
weights on Sunday, Oct. 5.
By
the time this second day was done, only one of the two returning
World Champions in these four weights who are competing at this
event, Ara Abrahamian of Sweden at 84 kg, had made it to the
semifinals. Last year's 66 kg Champion, Jimmy Samuelsson of Sweden,
had fallen in the 1/8 finals (more below on that). Of the sixteen
wrestlers remaining in the semifinals at these four weights,
there is only one other former World Champion, Lazaro Rivas of
Cuba at 55 kg, who won it back in 1999.
Turkey's
two former World Champions, Seref Eroglu and Hamza Yerlikaya,
each lost in the quarterfinals. At 66 kg, Georgia's Manuchar
Kvirkelia defeated Eroglu, 7-3. Sweden's 84 kg defending World
Champion Abrahamian defeated two-time Olympic gold medalist Yerlikaya,
2-2 by criteria. Also, 2001 World Champion and 2000 Olympic bronze
medalist Murhban Vakhtangadze of Georgia fell in the quarters
to Slovakia's Atilla Batly, also 2-2 by criteria.
All
four Americans in the first four weights have been eliminated.
Only one American, Brad Vering at 84 kg, had made it to the quarters.
He fell to Fritz Aanes of Norway, 3-2 in overtime.
The
biggest upset, both for the U.S. and perhaps for the whole event
so far, took place at 120 kg. There American Rulon Gardner, the
2000 Olympic gold medalist and 2001 World Champion, had his comeback
bid, following last year's near-death snowmobile accident and
toe amputation, ended. Wrestling in the 1/8 finals against Khassan
Baroev of Russia, Gardner lost, 3-0.
'He
had techniques that I'd never seen before,' Gardner told the
Associated Press. 'Everything I'd been watching of him on video
tapes turned out different.'
Baroev,
who is only 20 years old, was a Junior World Champion in 2000
and 2001. In his first major senior competition, the 2003 European
Championships, he only finished seventh. Baroev will be competing
Saturday in the 120 kg semifinals, facing Georgiy Tsurtsumia
of Kazakhstan.
There
have been several other interesting results at 120 kg. In the
opening round pool on day one, 2003 European Champion Juha Ahokas
of Finland defeated 2003 Pan Am Games champion Mijian Lopez of
Cuba, 4-2. Lopez has defeated Gardner three times in a row. In
the quarterfinals on Friday, however, Ahokas fell to Mihaly Deak-Bardos
of Hungary, 4-1. In the finals of the 2003 European Championships,
Ahokas had defeated Deak-Bardos 5-2 in overtime.
Also,
at 55 kg, Iran's Hasan Rangraz, a 2001 World Champion and 2002
bronze medalist, fell in the quarterfinals to Petr Svehla of
the Czech Republic, 3-0.
In
the 66 kg quarters, the comeback of two-time World Champion Kim
In-Sub of Korea was halted. He fell to Hungary's Levente Furedi,
3-2.
There
also appears to be an error in the results listed on the official
web site. In an opening round 66 kg pool match, Nicolai Monov
of Moldova is listed as defeating Vaghinak Galvstyan of Armenia,
4-2 in overtime. This result is also listed on the FILA Database,
which is not posting results as quickly as the official event
web site. But in the quarters, it is Galvstyan listed as wrestling,
and not Monov. Then when the lineups for the semifinals are given,
Monov's name reappears. So we are assuming that it was Monov
who won in the quarters and not Galvstyan. Whoever it was, in
the 1/8 finals they defeated last year's World Champion, Jimmy
Samuelsson of Sweden, 4-3 in overtime.
Monov,
by the way, is another surprise entry. Until 2001 he wrestled
for Russia. He was a 1997 European Champion at 63 kg, and a two-time
World Cup silver medalist. Russia's entry at 66 kg, Sergei Kountarev,
lost in his pool to Turkey's Seref Eroglu, 6-0, and thus did
not advance. So by making it to the semifinals, the 31-year-old
Monov is assured of a higher finish than the wrestler for the
team, Russia, he no longer represents.
Here
are the quarterfinals results, along with the semifinal matchups
for Saturday:
55
kg
1/4 Final
Im Dae Wong KOR dec. Marian Sandu ROM, 5-2
Lazaro Rivas, CUB dec. Uran Kalilov BLR, 4-2
Dariusz Jablonski POL dec. Hakan Nyblom DEN, 5-0
Petr Svehla CZE dec. Hasan Rangraz IRI, 3-0
1/2
Final
Im Dae Wong KOR vs. Lazaro Rivas, CUB
Dariusz Jablonski POL vs. Petr Svehla CZE
66
kg
1/4 Final
Manuchar Kvirkelia GEO dec. Seref Eroglu TUR, 7-3
Levente Furedi HUN dec. Kim In-Sub KOR, 3-2
Nicolai Monov MDA dec. Ferik Mansurov AZE, 5-0 (corrected result
by EG)
Armen Vardanyan UKR dec. Jannis Zamandouridis GER, 3-1
1/2
Final
Manuchar Kvirkelia GEO vs. Levente Furedi HUN
Nicolai Monov MDA vs. Armen Vardanyan UKR
84
kg
1/4 Final
Fritz Aanes NOR dec. Brad Vering USA, 3-2
Aza Abrahamian SWE dec. Hamza Yerlikaya TUR, 2-2 criteria
Atilla Batly SVK dec. Murhban Vakhtangadze GEO, 2-2 criteria
Gocha Ziziashvilly ISR dec. Viachaslav Makaranka BLR, 3-2
1/2
Final
Fritz Aanes NOR vs. Aza Abrahamian SWE
Atilla Batly SVK vs. Gocha Ziziashvilly ISR
120
kg
1/4 Final
Khassan Baroev RUS dec. Serguey Moreyko BUL, 3-1
Georgiy Tsurtsumia KAZ dec. Xenofon Koutsoubias GRE, 3-2
Mingaudas Mizgaitis LTU dec. Yannick Szczepaniak FRA, 3-1
Mihaly Deak-Bardos HUN dec. Juha Ahokas, FIN 4-1
1/2
Final
Khassan Baroev RUS vs. Georgiy Tsurtsumia KAZ
Mingaudas Mizgaitis LTU vs. Mihaly Deak-Bardos HUN
A
note also on spellings. There is no standard transliteration
of wrestlers' names into English. Thus, the FILA site, the official
event site, and other sites often spell names differently. We
are using the names from the sites from which we get the information.
Also, often the various wrestling federations transliterate their
own wrestlers' names differently. So just try to use some common
sense in figuring this all out.
Here
is the remaining schedule for the 2003 World Championships of
Greco-Roman Wrestling, in local time, which is UTC/GMT +2 hours,
or six hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time in North America:
Saturday,
October 4 --
9:00 am - 12:30 pm - 60, 74 and 96 kg elimination by pools and
1/8 finals
55, 66, 84 and 120 kg semifinals
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm - 55, 66, 84 and 120 kg finals and awards
Sunday,
October 5 --
9:00 am - 12:30 pm - 60, 74 and 96 kg quarter finals
5:00 pm - 7 pm - 60, 74 and 96 kg finals and awards
9:30 pm - Closing banquet
Monday,
October 6 --
Departure of the delegations
There
are numerous web sites that are posting results.
The
official web site of the event, in both English and French, can
be seen at:
http://www.creteil2003.uscreteil.com/
TheMat.com
has a special coverage section for the 2003 World Greco-Roman
Wrestling Championships, including biographies of the American
wrestlers and results. It can be seen at:
http://www.themat.com/specialevents/2003/grworlds/default.asp
The
gold medal predictions of international wrestling journalists
for the 2003 World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships can be
seen at:
Source: ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from
becoming anything."
Eric Hoffer
|
Kauai's
Grapplers Paradise Press Release
September 27th, 2003, the first ever all jiu-jitsu tournament
held on
Kauai featuring the state's best grapplers and martial artists
was held
before 200 spectators this past saturday at Kapaa Middle school.
Over 50
competitors put it all on the line to find out who was "Kauai's
best."
Several competitors from the outer islands made the trip overseas
in show
of support of our first annual event. Athlete's from Oahu's Casca
Grossa
Jiu-Jitsu Academy, led by Chris and Mike Onzuka, as well as grapplers
from
Nova Uniao Jiu-Jitsu Academy who are students of world reknown
NHB fighter
BJ Penn also made the trip. All major academies from Kauai were
represented as well, including KG (Kendall Goo) Jiu-Jitsu, Kamole
Jiu-Jitsu
(Carl Ragasa) and Longman Jiu-Jitsu (Bruno Ewald). There were
even
fighters with no school affiliation whatsoever who came out to
see what
they were made of.
The tournament featured gi competition, as well as a no-gi (grappling)
class, and open weight divisions. Kamole Jiu-Jitsu had a strong
showing as
most of their fighters claimed top honors in their respective
divisions.
One notable fighter was Kyle Olivares who fought under Casca Grossa
Jiu-Jitsu. The 15 year old phenom from Oahu dominated most of
the adult
divisions and put a strong showing in the no-gi division as well.
Kyle
would take home the "Wild Bill" Fighter of the Day
award for his efforts.
For a first time event, the Wa'alani Enterprises 2003 Grappler's
Paradise won national attention. The event was nationally ranked
and
received support from major local and national business sponsors
such as
Waalani Enterprises, Bloodline, Na Guarda, Abu Dhabi Combat Club,
Big Save
Markets, Ishihara Fish Market, Howard Combat Kimonos, North American
Grappling Association, mma.tv, Fast Print, www.hawaiiautomart.com,
Tamba
Surf Company, Guava Kai Plantation, Safeway, the JK Show, The
Shack, MidPac
Auto, Craig Kawakami Construction, and Tiger fit.
Congratulations should go out to all athletes who participated,
as we
hope to make this an annual event for all of the martial artists
on Kauai.
Source: Kendall Goo, Promoter
|
Rumble
On The Rock 4 lineup and thoughts!
October
10, 2003
Blaisdell Arena
Honolulu, Hawaii
Oahu,
HI - Oct 10th the Blaisdell Arena holds Rumble On The Rock 4,
headlined by Takanori Gomi vs. BJ Penn. Up until last year Penn was highly hyped as
a top contender for the UFC’s Lightweight belt until that
belt was put on hold earlier this year. Gomi was the Shooto champion
until August when he finally picked up his first loss to Joachim
Hansen. Both these fighters have been in many people’s top
5 for years, making this fight one of the most anticipated of
the year.
Also
on the card is Dennis Hallman against Ray “Bradda” Cooper. For Victory Athletic’s
Hallman this is a “comeback” fight after losing in
KOTC to Drew Fickett in August. At that time Hallman was considered
one of the top Welterweights and was scheduled to fight Nick
Diaz in the UFC in September. The loss to Fickett not only cut
that short but also reinforced the perception that Hallman is
dominant in the feeder tournaments but can’t quite make
the jump to the big time. This perception is inaccurate as Hallman
is mainly known as one of two people who has ever beat UFC Welterweight
Champion Matt Hughes with not one but two victories over the
Miletich Fighting System’s juggernaut. Now Hallman has another
chance to get right back into the top rankings.
Many
fans may not know who Cooper is because he fights almost exclusively
in Hawaii. Cooper however is very familiar to fans of Shooto
and SuperBrawl. Currently Shooto does not have a Middleweight
Champion (note: Welterweight in the US) but Cooper has been the
number three fighter since May and was the number one ranked
fighter in Shooto from January until May. Fighting out of Jesus
is Lord gym, this local legend will have the crowd support and
response second only to Penn.
Team
Cesar Gracie’s Gil Castillo steps back into the limelight
to take on Nova Uniao’s Renato "Charuto" Verissimo, a vet of Rumble On
The Rock 3 & 4. Castillo has been inactive in MMA since March
with a back injury keeping him out of WEC in August and September’s
IFC show getting cancelled where Castillo was supposed to fight
Frank Trigg. Verissimo debuted in MMA in March and so far has
raked up three wins.
Team
Cesar Gracie’s Jake Shields in no longer on the card. Originally
the number one ranked Shooto Middleweight was set to fight former
KOTC Welterweight Champion Ronald Jhun from 808 Fight Factory
in another highly-anticipated match. No word is currently available
on why this fight was cancelled. Also rumors of Team Quest’s
up-and-comer Nate Quarry fighting on this card seemed to either
have been rumors all along or to have fallen through.
So
far the lineup looks like:
-
Takanori Gomi vs. BJ
Penn
- Dennis Hallman vs. Ray
“Bradda” Cooper
- Paul Buentello vs. Andy Montana
- Gil Castillo vs. Renato
Verissimo
- Gilbert Melendez vs. Stephan "Bozo" Paling
- Joe Riggs vs. David
"Kawika" Pa’alui
- Gabe Casillas vs. Ross
"Da Boss" Ebanez
- Eddie Ruiz vs. Santino Defranco
- Antonio Banuelos vs. Yobie Song
ROTR’s
website hasn’t been updated since August and has no information
on this show. Tickets for the Blaisdell Arena show range from
$35-200. For more information call (808) 935-1600.
Here
is what I found off of the Rumble on the Rock website.
Rumble on
the Rock
Event Tickets/Package Deals
Front Row $200
Cageside Rows 2-6 $100
Cageside Rows 7-8 $65
Risers $55
Loge $50
General Admission $35
VIP Package
1RT Interisland, 1nt Stay OutRigger Maila
1 Front Row 1VIP Aft. Party $479
Cageside Package
1RT Interisland, 1nt Stay OutRigger Maila
1 Cageside $350
Risers Package
1RT Interisland, 1nt Stay OutRigger Maila
1 Risers $299
General Package
1RT Interisland, 1nt Stay OutRigger Maila
1 General $279
For more Info Call (808) 935-1600
Tickets
are also available at:
Blaisdell Arena Box Office
Sack N Save Foodland
www.ticketmaster.com
Charge by phone at 877-750-4400
From
what I hear, tickets are going fast so grab yours now!
Source: ADCC
|
PRIDE
BUSHIDO - The GRACIES Are Ready!
PRIDE BUSHIDO
October 5, 2003
Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan
One
of the major themes of PRIDE's '85 KG and under' BUSHIDO event
is the 'Team Japan versus the Gracie Family' matches. All of
the competitors for PRIDE BUSHIDO have already arrived in Japan
and everybody is ready to fight. The 5 Gracie family members
held a press conference and presentation on October 3rd for the
media to promote PRIDE BUSHIDO.
A
complicated task - Mishima and his appointment with Ralph Gracie
on Pride Bushido
TOKYO – Dokonnjyonosuke Mishima. It’s a very complicate
name facing one of the rawest guys in that business: Ralph Gracie.
“I don’t have anything to say. Say something for me”,
Ralph asks his elder Renzo in a press conference, as a couple
of dozen journalists wait for a speech as aggressive as Ralph’s
performances in the Extreme Fighting Championship, back in 1996.
Although
Ralph’s fight is one of the main attractions of the first
Pride Bushido that will happen tomorrow at Saitama Super Arena,
Japan, he will not worry about marketing. “There’s
no message for the fans”, he answers a TV journalist. “Now,
I’m focused on fight. After the show, I thank them”.
The reporter insists: ‘What do you think about the fighter
who will face your relatives?’ ‘There’s nothing
to think about them, because I don’t know any of them,’
he replies.
Later,
covered by a blanket up to the neck, his friends are making fun
of his dry, straight answers. Ralph doesn’t change: ‘What
am I supposed to do? To lie?’ It makes sense. The few words
he said are a synopsis of how works the mind of someone who stayed
three days locked inside a hotel bedroom in order not to go to
jail like the other fighters who competed on Extreme II, in 1996.
‘The best creation of the humanity is the TV. I was three
days in a row just watching TV,’ Ralph remembers. He will
do the some thing to fill the hours in the next 24 hours before
he goes to Saitama arena.
It’s
expected that Ralph Gracie’s performance inside the ring
will be as dry and straight as his speech. Just like every single
move he did in his previous fights. Therefore, Dokonnjyonosuke
Mishima task’s is to complicate what’s simple. And
It’s not as easier as it seems.
Source: ADCC
|
USS:
A look at Lance Campbell
With
no time limits, and fewer rules, the USS promises to be like
the original UFC's (but without the striking). And in that tradition
it is the goal of
the USS to include as many grappling styles as possible.
We
touched base with another competitor of the upcoming October
11th event, to be held at the James Armstrong Theatre, in Torrance,
CA. is sponsored by mainstream companies like Varig Airlines,
BankCard USA Merchant Services and WorldSize Nutritional Technologies.
Lance
Campbell:
My
name is Lance Campbell. I started wrestling in high school, and
competed two years at the junior college level. After that, I
continued to compete in Freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling,
and I coached high school wrestling. In 2000, I took up the sport
of Sombo (also spelled Sambo). Soon after I began training in
Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Catch-As-Catch-Can. I have also
competed in MMA, and have trained a little in kickboxing.
Why
are you competing in this tournament?
LC-
I am excited about competing in the USS because it allows me
to test my skills against some of the best grapplers in the world!
What
is your favorite move?
LC
-The best thing about Sombo is the variety of leg lock techniques.
I am not very fond of the rules of the sport version of Sombo,
but I love the techniques from the combat version.
What
do you think of the rules?
LC-
The rules for the USS are innovative. They are not perfect, but
rules are never perfect. Athletes will always try to find a way
to use the rules to their advantage. I like the emphasis on submissions.
I would prefer no points scoring, and all matches ending by submission,
but many matches would be too long because athletes at this level
have such outstanding submission defense.
If
you had to pick one fighter to go to the finals with who would
you want to face? Why?
LC-
It does not really matter to me who I fight or when. There are
a lot of great grapplers in this tournament, and in order to
win it, I have to be able to beat the best of them. In the end,
I would just hope for an exciting match that ends with a submission
victory!
Source: ADCC
|
An
interview with Grandma’s Boy Renato “Bubaloo”
In
February 2000, Renato Sobral had beaten four opponents until
he fell down in front of Dan Henderson in the finals of the first
RINGS King Of Kings, in Tokyo. Besides the title, the Brazilian
known as Bubaloo had lost US$ 200,000 on the occasion. It was
with this memory that Renato entered the ring for the finals
of the last IFC – Global Domination, against Jeremy Horn.
“I kept blaming myself for the loss against Henderson, I
knew that I could have given more of myself in that fight”.
And he succeeded this time. Since that loss in his career, Bubaloo
fought 16 times (he has 26 total bouts, with only 5 losses),
managed to lose 15 kilos, almost got out of the MMA world and
still had to overcome the death of his brother. The only thing
he still hasn’t done is to move from his grandmother’s
home, where he has lived since he was 10 years old.
You
beat three guys in the same evening and demolished the IFC. The
situation got pretty ugly, though, right? It was tough; nowadays
an event with three fights for the title isn’t easy. In
the old times you could count on getting a weak guy in the first,
but today they are all good. I knew that, and I knew Mauricio
“Shogun” would be really hard. So I couldn’t start
slow.
What
did you know about your first adversary, Trevor Prangley? I received
a tape with all his great knockouts one day before the IFC. As
I wouldn’t have time to train anything new, we’ve chosen
not to watch, ‘cause it would only impress me. The guy is
good, but I was tougher.
Do
you started to remember your loss against Henderson, in 2000?
At that time, I wasn’t ready to be there, I wasn’t
expecting to fight a guy like Dan Henderson. This time, with
this in mind, I went for it. I know I could beat anyone this
time.
What
made you think about retiring some time ago? It happened after
a victory against Elvis Sinosic, I started do ask if what I was
doing was right or wrong in the eyes of God. It wasn’t anything
really about a religion, but to myself. I wanted to have a kid,
and started to think if he would enjoy having a father that lived
from beating the crap out other guys. It was a conscience crisis,
I was reading a book of Donald Walsch, “Talking with God”
that influenced me for real.
Now,
you’re married but live with your grandmother, why is that?
Yeah, I’ll be with grandma for a while. I got back from
California in May & my wife is in Spain, to visit her brother.
When I got back, something really bad happened, my brother got
really sick, no one knew what he had, and then he died. I didn’t
have mind to look for a new home, as you may notice.
And
your brother really supported you, right? He was my number one
fan. The last thing he asked me was to win the title in IFC.
It was the worst thing in all my life; Luiz Fernando was really
close to me.
Source: ADCC
|
'I
won’t fight for less than US$ 15,000',
says Pe de Pano
While
the vale-tudo fans are waiting to see Brazilian's best Jiu-Jitsu
fighter debut in the ring, Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz
is not in that big of a hurry. At least until the money gets
to where he is planning: “I wont fight for less than 15
thousand dollars”, warns Sugarfoot. “For this amount,
I already fight in ADCC and other tournaments with less risks”.
Still,
Pe de Pano guarantees he won’t disappoint his admirers.
“It won’t happen what happened to Ronaldo Jacaré.
I’ve been preparing myself for much more time to step in
the ring. He had less time with his blackbelt and was too fresh
to face Macaco”, says, referring to the combat that happened
in the Jungle Fight, September 13th.
Source: ADCC
|
Allan
Goes to Face Gustavo Ximu at HEAT FC 2!
As
the 27th of November approaches, HEAT FC promoters continue to
work on their second card with expectations to announce most
of the fights in the coming days. One major fight in the card
was, however, signed in the past few days. Brazilian Top Team
member, UFC and PRIDE veteran Allan Goes is set to face Ruas
Vale Tudo team member, RINGS and KOTC veteran Gustavo Ximu Machado
in a fight that promises to bring the old rivalry between Jiu
Jitsu and Luta Livre back to its fierce days. Coming from a unexpected
loss at KOTC against Benji Radach, Gustavo Machado already fought
BTT member Ricardo Arona at RINGS some years ago, and scored
a win by submission over MMA veteran Jorge Macaco Patino at MECA
6. As most Ruas Vale Tudo members, Ximu has a Luta Livre background,
and that caused most of his rivalry with Arona and other BTT
members, adding a bit of spice for this match. Allan Goes needs
no introduction to most MMA fans, with fights at the UFC and
PRIDE in his career. Coming from a win at MECA 8 against Carlinhos
Lima, Goes was craving for a top opponent to build his stock
again and open doors at events abroad for him soon, and defeating
Machado may be the perfect opportunity for him. Altough HEAT
FC has now introduced weight classes, a limit of 88 kg was agreed
to his fight by both fighters. Look for more news about the card
for HEAT FC 2 soon here at FCF, as the show will take place on
the 27th of November in Natal, Brazil.
Source: FCF |
KEVIN
BRACKEN PROMISES FOES 'A FIGHT ON THEIR HANDS' AT 2003 GRECO
WORLDS (Part Three)
Note:
Before we conclude our discussion with Kevin Bracken about the
2003 World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships, which took place
before he left for that event, we must point out that once again
2003 will not be the year he gets his first World medal.
The
pool and blind draw systems of FILA, the international wrestling
federation, add to the unpredictability of this event. Bracken,
as it turns out, had a very tough pool in his 66 kg/145.5 lbs.
weight. In it was two-time World Champion and Olympic and World
silver medalist Kim In-Sub of Korea. The 30-year-old Korean had
not competed in major international competition since the 2001
Worlds and the 2002 Asian Games. But the 2003 Worlds is a qualifying
event for the 2004 Olympics, so Kim is back. And it was Bracken
who drew him in his very first match.
Kim
was leading 2-1 after regulation, forcing overtime and a clinch.
The two men locked up, but 13 seconds into the overtime, the
officials ruled that Bracken had unlocked his hands. USA Wrestling
coaches argued that Kim had broken his hands first, but FILA
ruled that the decision would stand. Thus Kim was awarded one
point, making it 3-1, giving him the necessary minimum of three
points to win.
Once
again we have more controversy and another match decided by the
clinch. Maybe FILA will drop wrestling and organize the World
Championships of Clinching next year. In any case, Bracken's
dreams of a world medal must remain on hold for at least another
year.
One
of the features of the U.S. World Team is that the freestyle
wrestlers seem to be composed more of athletes who won NCAA championships
than the Greco wrestlers. According to Kevin Bracken, who wrestled
at Illinois State University but also never won an NCAA title
or achieved All-American status, there are many reasons for this.
'Freestyle,
at least in the United States, is easier to transfer into than
collegiate style,' said Bracken, who now lives in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, trains at the Olympic Training Center, and wrestles
for the New York Athletic Club.
'I
think it is a little bit easier for a collegiate guy to pick
up one or two techniques and get some really good decent par
terre defense,' he said. 'And they can hang right in there with
guys that are very talented and have great success in the collegiate
ranks. Whereas in Greco, you really have to kind of get your
lumps a little bit first. And I think that's why a lot of guys
are discouraged sometimes from Greco, because they have success
as the lower level.'
Bracken
mentioned that many of the collegiate wrestlers may do well in
Greco on the junior level. 'Then they go out against a senior
guy, and we're just two and three steps above them,' he said.
'And they're just, 'Why am I going to do this? I can go out in
freestyle and I can be top five right off the bat.''
Still,
he said that the Greco wrestlers in the U.S. are steadily improving.
'I think that the Greco-Roman pool in the United States and us
as a country has really grown to a respectable level. We placed
third two years ago in the World Championships. We weren't even
top ten in the years in the past. And we finished third as a
team at the 2000 Olympics. So it's a situation where Greco as
a whole in the United States has really risen to a level that,
when we walk onto the mat, every foreigner knows my name. They
know pretty much the gist of what I do. And they know they're
going to have a fight on their hands. And I think that's a big
credit to the coaches in the United States and to the athletes
that have gone out and are seeking the new techniques. They're
figuring out better ways to score. And Coach [Steve] Fraser has
brought in all these foreign guys. And it's really helped us
reach that new level.'
Other
countries, of course, do have the advantage, in both Greco and
freestyle, that their younger wrestlers are practicing those
disciplines exclusively. In the U.S., its own folkstyle is used
on the scholastic level as well as in college.
Bracken
agrees that this is a huge disadvantage for the American wrestlers
when they enter international competition.
'No
question,' he said. 'If we were a country that practiced freestyle
and Greco since we're in grade school or brought up on it, I
think there would be very few countries that would come close
to us.
We have such great fight ingrained in our style. And maybe that
does spawn from collegiate. You know when we go out on the mat
that we're not going to lay down for somebody. We're not going
to stop with a minute left just because you're down by a few
points. You're going to fight to the end.'
He
continued, 'If we were to train exclusively Greco-Roman or freestyle
or both, I think we would be a lot further ahead of the field.
I think that does reflect that we are a little bit older, because
we're a few steps behind, and it takes time to -- you're going
to be able to beat the guys that are decent. But the top level
guys, you got to be living it. You got to be doing it every day.'
In
the U.S., the multiple-time NCAA champions also usually wrestle
freestyle.
'You
got a guy that's a three- and four-time NCAA champion and four-time
All-American,' analyzed Bracken about collegiate champions who
try Greco. 'And he walks into the wrestling room, and he can't
score a point on somebody. 'Cause he's not living it, he's not
training it. And it takes time to develop that training. It takes
time to learn the techniques, to learn how to defend properly.'
He
does feel that these wrestlers could do the job if they devoted
enough time to Greco. 'I'm not suggesting that any one of those
guys couldn't step in and do very well. But you have to have
a passion for it. You have to have a desire to want to excel
in it. And when you get that feeling when you walk out of practice,
and you haven't scored on anybody, it's discouraging, you know?'
Bracken,
as a college wrestler, had a similar experience. 'When I first
started wrestling Greco seriously, I was a sophomore in college,'
he recalled. 'I took off '92, went to train in New York. At the
time it was Ike Anderson, Andy Seras, and Frank Famiano. I went
to train with the New York Athletic Club. I didn't score a point
for two months. I finally scored on Ike Anderson. I said, 'Hey
Ike, I scored on you.' He said, 'Yeah, even the sun shines on
a dog's ass some day.''
Then,
of course, Bracken persisted in Greco. He won a gold medal in
the Greco World Cup in 1996, his first U.S. Nationals in 1997,
and has not looked back ever since.
'It's
funny, because there are guys that come in there now. It's just
a technique session for me,' he said. 'I just tell them, 'Hey,
don't worry. You're going to be fine. You just need to stick
with it. You're going to catch up and you're going to learn fast
because you've been successful and you want to learn. There are
some growing pains there. That's the big reason why, I don't
know if you'd call it ego -- I guess it is ego. No one wants
to be embarrassed or made to feel like they don't know how to
wrestle. One of the biggest compliments that I think I can give
to somebody is Terry Brands.'
Terry
Brands, for those who don't know, was a 1993 and 1995 World Champion
and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist, but in freestyle wrestling.
He was also a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa under Dan Gable,
and, along with twin brother Tom, one of the legendary Battling
Brands Brothers that dominated American wrestling for many years.
He now is head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga.
'Terry
Brands was here [at the Olympic Training Center] during our camp
last summer,' said Bracken. 'I said, 'Hey, Terry? Do you want
to go a match?' And he said, 'Sure.' And he assumed it was Greco.
We went right into it. And I tell you, I arm threw him. I front
headlocked him. I just beat the hell out of him. And Terry got
up and he kept coming. And he didn't stop. He fought until the
entire nine-minute match was over. You know what I thought to
myself? He could have done one of a hundred things. He could
have gotten upset. He could have gone to blows. He could have
walked off the mat. And he stood in there and he went toe-to-toe
with me. When we were done, he said, 'You come over here, and
I want you to show me what you were doing here.' And he just
went right down the line. And we stayed there for 45 minutes.
I'll tell you, that took a lot of heart for somebody that talented
of a wrestler, for somebody that is that accomplished, to check
his ego and go out there and lay it on the line and not quit
and still keep fighting. That was impressive to me. That's somebody
that has a desire to still learn, even though he's coaching.
And that's somebody that had enough respect for me to not give
up.'
An
exception to this trend of top collegiate wrestlers focusing
on freestyle has been now-former Minnesota All-American Garrett
Lowney. He won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics, defeated
Randy Couture in 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials on his way to making
the U.S. World Team, and has had more success in Greco than in
college. Lowney was also on this year's World Team at 96 kg/211.5
lbs., but had to sit out the Worlds because of an injury.
'I
talked with Garrett,' said Bracken. 'If you look at Garrett,
he's given away quite a few pounds in college,' where he wrestled
at heavyweight, which in college is 285 pounds.
'It's
a different style of match that he can wrestle against the heavyweights
versus somebody that's a little more his size,' said Bracken.
'I talked with Garrett, and the only reason he wrestled this
last year was because his team needed him. That was the sole
reason that he stuck around at Minnesota. They asked him to stick
it out for them.'
Bracken
said Lowney's exclusive focus is now Greco. 'Whatever the situation
is next year, and obviously he's hurt, he committed to wrestling
Greco just this next year. I hope that Garrett makes a full recovery
for life and hopefully some day he can come back and compete.'
But he must first heal from his injury. 'He had surgery on his
neck. It's serious deal. It's going to be a day-by-day thing.'
Injuries,
or the claim of an injury in the course of a match, are often
themselves the subject of controversy in wrestling. Bracken has
definite views on how often injury time-outs are because of real
injuries, and how often they are just play-acting by wrestlers
seeking to buy some time.
'I
would say, with the foreign guys, between 85 to 90 percent of
them are looking for a rest, looking for a break,' he claimed.
'A small percentage of it is match strategy, a very small percentage.'
He
has noticed that some countries' wrestlers seem to take these
questionable injury time-outs more regularly. 'Obviously, if
you're hurt, then you're hurt,' he added. But that, he believes,
is usually not the case. 'When I was in Iran two years ago, each
Iranian wrestler, it seemed, worked it into their match. And
the crowd didn't seem to mind it. The other athletes didn't seem
to mind it. It was like built into their style of wrestling.
It was just very strange. That was my perspective being in Iran.
It really struck me as strange. I didn't agree with it. But if
that's the way they need to compete, then that's OK. But it seemed
more of a cultural tactic than it was a specific tactic to one
or two guys. Collectively, the Iranian wrestlers seem to take
more breaks.'
On
this note we conclude our discussion with Kevin Bracken about
the 2003 World Championships of Greco-Roman Wrestling. After
the Worlds, we also will post more comments he had on some other
topics. As usual, he was as blunt, outspoken, and analytical
as ever.
Source: ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"There is nobody so irritating as somebody with less intelligence
and more sense than we have."
Don Herold
|
PRIDE
BUSHIDO - The GRACIES Are Ready!
PRIDE BUSHIDO
October 5, 2003
Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan
One
of the major themes of PRIDE's '85 KG and under' BUSHIDO event
is the 'Team Japan versus the Gracie Family' matches. All of
the competitors for PRIDE BUSHIDO have already arrived in Japan
and everybody is ready to fight. The 5 Gracie family members
held a press conference and presentation on October 3rd for the
media to promote PRIDE BUSHIDO. Picture gallery below!
FULL
FIGHTCARD:
'Team Japan versus the Gracie Family'
-
Renzo Gracie vs. Carlos Newton
- Ryan Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka
- Rodrigo Gracie vs. Daiju Takase
- Daniel Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
- Ralph Gracie vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
-
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Dos Caras Jr.
- Sergey Kharitonov vs. Jason Nobunaga
- Akira Shoji vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
- Alexander Emelianenko vs. Assuerio Silva
- Chalid “Die Faust” Arrab vs. Rodney Faverus
- Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Chris Brennan
(Card
Subject to Change)
Bushido
will be available on U.S. pay per view (delay) on December 21,
2003 at a special reduced rate of $19.95. Don't miss the show!
Source: ADCC
|
Ultimate
Submission Showdown Q&A with Dave Avellan
The Ultimate Submission Showdown is less than 10 days away. Wit
the buzz that the tournament has been generating we thought it
would be interesting to check out what some of the star/competitors
of the event are thinking.
We
started with Dave Avellan; Avellan is a bright, young, American
star who has been tearing up the competition in Submission Grappling
events. Avelan recently competed and won the Grapplers Quest
Worlds which automatically qualified him to compete in the USS
event.
Why
are you competing in this tournament?
DA-
I read about the tournament on Grappling Magazine's ads. They
were vague and struck my curiosity. Eventually it came out that
it was the USS, which would call out the best grapplers in the
world for a big prize. At that point, Brian Cimins was running
his GQ Worlds and invited me to compete for a chance to enter
the USS. I jumped on the opportunity and made good on it. Now
I'm very excited to be involved in this tournament. Why? My goal
in grappling is to prove that I'm the best in the world. Victory
in this tournament would let me take a big step in that direction.
What
is your favorite move?
DA
- My favorite move would have to be the move I can hit on anyone,
which is the sweep single leg takedown. It was my best takedown
when I was in High school wrestling and continues to be my best
move now.
What
do you think of the rules?
DA-
I think the rules are very different than any current point system
in the world. With no time limit, staling will not be an issue.
Furthermore, with no takedown points, there will not be long
drawn out wrestling matches either. The fight will be fought
on the ground, which I believe will bring out the best in the
competitors. I have seen and participated in too many tournaments
where people play very conservative to prevent themselves from
losing by 1 point. That cannot happen here, so I think we will
see all the grapplers unleash their whole arsenal of weapons.
It is going to be very exciting and I can't wait to grapple in
the USS.
If
you had to pick one fighter to go to the finals with who would
you want to face? why?
DA-
I'm not too familiar with the seven other competitors. I have
seen Travis Lutter fight a couple of times in ADCC and I have
also seen Keigo compete in local tournaments in my area. To be
honest though, I have not studied video so I'm not sure what
to expect from these guys. I'm just going out there to do my
best and I'll make my opponents worry about what I'm going to
do rather than what they are going to do. That being said, I
would like to see myself in the finals with either Ryron or Rener
Gracie. I have heard many great things about them and they seem
to be tough competitors. Furthermore, it is not everyday that
you get to fight a Gracie BJJ Black belt. It would be a great
accomplishment for me to be able to claim victory so I look forward
to the opportunity of a great battle.
Source:
ADCC
|
PRIDE
Announces Chris Brennan vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
DSE announced yesterday that Chris “The Westside Strangler”
Brennan has been added to their October 5, 2003, Pride Bushido
card at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The
opportunity, which included a nice payday and a second fight,
came just 2 days ago and was too good for Brennan to pass up.
On tap for The Westside Strangler at 180 pounds is Eiji Mitsuoka.
It’s unknown whether Mitsuoka had been scheduled on the
card, but it’s been confirmed that AKA fighter and UFC veteran
Sean Sherk was approached for this fight. Knowing cardio could
be the only factor in the fight, Brennan hopes his recent training
with Pete Spratt pays off and he gets to stand and bang.
JC:
How are you feeling about your Pride debut? CB: I know the Japanese
always give Americans short notice. I don’t know if that
is on purpose or just because people drop out, but I had run
into Turi (Altavilla) last week at the UFC and said if there
were any openings on the next card to give me a call. He said
cool. A few days later they gave me a call. I didn’t mean
this card, but the next one, but it’s a good opportunity
for me and I don’t want to pass it up. Unfortunately I just
started training last week, but I’m excited and I think
they gave me somebody who is definitely beatable. I’m coming
in to the fight the way I am.
JC:
Did Mitsuoka’s opponent drop out? CB: I didn’t seen
him (Mitsuoka) on the card. It had been mentioned that (Frank)
Trigg and (Sean) Sherk were on this card, but it wasn’t
known whether they were fighting each other or fighting this
guy. [Sherk had been approached.] I think both of those guys
would kill this guy... because this guys strength is wrestling
and it’s not as strong as either one of theirs, as far as
wrestling goes, so he’ll be on his back with them. I’m
not sure if he was scheduled to fight already, but I heard he
wasn’t... and he was out of shape this weekend in Vegas.
JC:
Do you do better on short notice or when you have time to think
about a fight or opponent? CB: I like to train obviously, but
you know, the more time I have to train the more likely I am
to have injuries when I go into the fight. I don’t have
too many big injuries right now, there’s a bunch of little
nagging ones, but short notice... you know me, I like to have
good cardio... and that could be the ONLY factor that can play
into this fight this weekend.
JC:
Overall thoughts on this fight, Chris? CB: Well, I finally get
someone who is an inch shorter then me. I’m hoping that
all my training with Pete Spratt pays off and I get to stand
and bang with somebody, but I know he tries to shoot right away,
so I’m going to throw until he shoots and either defend
the takedown and keep it on the feet or of I get taken down...
I’m not going to play the 15 minutes on bottom and try to
submit somebody, I’m going to try and catch them in the
first minute... if I don’t, I’m going to work to get
back on my feet or sweeping him and getting on top. I’m
not going to get laid on ... I promise that.
JC:
Have you seen your stand up improving since you’ve been
working with Pete? CB: Tremendously. He said so before he left
and it gets better and better everyday now that he is gone because
I have so many things to work on. I’m teaching kickboxing
at my school now and that helps me get better and better.
JC:
How about fighting at 180? CB: I know his normal fighting weight
is 170. He was out of shape at 185. They said I could take the
fight between 175 and 185. I didn’t feel like cutting to
175 in the last couple of days, so I went in at 180. I was at
187 that day and today I am 184, so I have 4 pounds to go by
Saturday night, which is going to be real easy for me. It’s
fine. I know he isn’t going to be much stronger then me
like I’m 170 and he’s 185. I feel comfortable. If I
were going to fight one of the regular 185-pounders from the
UFC I’d be worried about their size and strength, but I’m
not too concerned as far as strength goes. My only concern is
to make sure I pace myself and do it my way so I don’t get
tired.
JC:
Would you look to avenge Strebendt’s loss in KOTC? GS: Yeah,
I do, but I think Gerald can beat the guy now. I’m not going
in thinking Gerald couldn’t do it, so I will do it for him.
I will definitely land a couple of extra right hands for Gerald.
JC:
Is there anything you’d like to say? CB: Thank all the guys
who help me train and get ready for my fights. My brother for
getting me these fights. Pride for bringing me over finally.
I’ve been waiting for about 5 years now, so I’m pretty
excited.
Bushido
will be available on US PPV (delay) on December 21, 2003.
Source: ADCC |
TOURNAMENT
BRACKETS SET FOR FINAL CONFLICT!
From Dream Stage Entertainment - October 1, 2003
LOS
ANGELES, California – At a special press conference in Tokyo
last night, all of the surviving participants from TOTAL ELIMINATION
were present to determine the brackets for the conclusion of
the middleweight tournament at PRIDE FC: FINAL CONFLICT.
Finalists
Hidehiko Yoshida, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, and Wanderlei
Silva were all in attendance. After a random selection from the
four fighters, Yoshida won the choice of choosing his opponent,
thus determining the formation of all brackets. The Olympic gold
medallist selected PRIDE FC Middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva
as his opponent, meaning Quinton Jackson will now face Chuck
Liddell.
The
winners of each of these match-ups will go on to the final round,
which will be held on the same evening.
FINAL
CONFLICT - Fight Card
Semi
Final round of the eight man middleweight tournament:
-
Wanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan)
- Quinton Jackson (USA) vs. Chuck Liddell (USA)
More
matches for FINAL CONFLICT will be announced soon. Fight Card
is subject to change.
FINAL
CONFLICT is scheduled for November 9th, 2003 from the Tokyo Dome
in Japan. The event will premiere on North American pay per view
(through iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, Bell
Express Vu, and Viewer’s Choice) on November 9th via same
day delay.
For
more information on PRIDE FC, visit pridefc.com!
Source: ADCC |
Exclusive
Interview With Randy Couture
MMANews.com got the chance to briefly catch up with Randy Couture
following his dominating outing against former UFC Light Heavyweight
champion Tito Ortiz. Here's what Randy "The Natural"
Couture had to say!
MMANews.com:
How are you feeling after the big fight on Friday?
Randy
Couture: I am feeling great. It was a great match.
MMANews.com:
Was Your Game plan with [Tito] Ortiz the one that we saw Friday
Night?
Randy
Couture: Yes it was. I have said that our fight would come down
to takedowns.
MMANews.com:
Ortiz is complaining that all the PR stuff is the reason he lost.
Are you up for another match with Tito or are you tired of Tito’s
excuses?
Randy
Couture: Well you know I had a lot of PR stuff as well so I think
that excuse is as solid as water. I would fight Tito again, but
I think that he needs to fight Chuck Liddell first.
MMANews.com:
Who do you think is next up in the UFC to fight you? Might we
be seeing a rematch between [Vitor] Belfort and you? Or could
you even be facing [Rich] Franklin?
Randy
Couture: It could be either one of them. There has been talk
about Belfort vs. Franklin and the winner face me. But I would
love to fight both of them.
MMANews.com:
A ton of people already consider you the best Light Heavyweight
in the world, but would you consider a fight with the Pride GP
winner so you can prove to everyone you are the best Light Heavyweight
in the world?
Randy
Couture: Well if it is possible then yeah I would like to. But
I don’t think that is possible.
MMANews.com:
If it was [Chuck] Liddell it might be possible.
Randy
Couture: Yeah, it could be.
MMANews.com:
Do you think Chuck Liddell has a chance in the Pride GP.
Randy
Couture: Yes, I think he has a really good chance.
MMANews.com:
Are you planning on returning to Heavyweight one day or do you
plan on ending your career as a Light Heavyweight?
Randy
Couture: I think I have found a new home in the Light Heavyweight
Division and I think I proved that with the last two fights I
have had. So right now I plan on staying in the Light Heavyweight
spot.
MMANews.com:
Well all right man. It was a pleasure to talk to you.
Randy
Couture: Same to you.
Source: MMA News
|
Quote
of the Day
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
Confucius
|
Rumble
on the Rock Fight Card
Tickets are going fast so you better get on it and get your
tickets before you are sitting in the nose bleeds.
The next Rumble on the Rock will take place at the Neal Blaisdell
Arena in Hawaii on October 10th. The event will be headlined
by a title fight between BJ Penn and Takanori Gomi.
-
Title Fight: Takanori Gomi vs. BJ Penn
-
Ray "Bradda"
Cooper
vs. Dennis "Superman" Hallman
-
Paul Buenatello vs. Andy Montana
-
Gil Castillo vs. Renato
"Charuto" Verissimo
-
Gilbert Malendez vs. Stephen
"Bozo" Palling
-
Joe "Diesel" Riggs vs. David "Kawika" Pa'alui
-
Gabe Casillas vs. Ross
"Da Boss" Ebanez
-
Eddie Ruiz vs. Santino Defranco
-
Antonio Banuelos vs. Yobie
Song
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Grandmaster
Helio Gracie Turns 91
By: Kid Peligro / ADCC JJ Editor
Grandmaster Helio Gracie turned 91 yesterday
The
father of Jiu-Jitsu celebrated his birthday at the Gracie Miami
Academy with family members, close friends Pedro & Guilherme
Valente and many of their students.
The
Grandmaster is on his way to California where he will be the
guest of honor for the Ultimate Submission Challenge scheduled
for October 11th in Torrance, Ca.
Source: ADCC
|
Gracie's
leave for Japan
The
early contingent of Gracie's scheduled to compete in the Pride
Bushido event departed to Japan this past Monday. Pictured here
at the are l-r Rillion, Roger, Renzo & Rodrigo along with
friend Eminho. Rillion and Roger helped out with the training
and are going to Japan as well!
They
are going to be joined by Ryan, Daniel, Ralph & Royce who
is acting as their coach!
Source: ADCC
|
BENNETT
BREAKDOWN: UFC 44 DONE WHAT NEXT AT UFC 45.....
-LAWLER
NEEDS AN OPPONENT, - -WHO SHOULD COUTURE FIGHT NEXT -WHY BASH
TITO?
It is the first day of October so we can officially start to
look at UFC 45. I know Robbie Lawler needs a fight and I enjoy
playing matchmaker for a moment so let me help my friend Joe
Silva. (Yea I know he doesn't need MY help, but bare with me.)
I
want an exciting fight and I think we deserve another Lawler
vs Riley type matchup. (Actually Lawler vs Riley II isn't a bad
idea either,) but why not bring in Shonie Carter to face Lawler
at UFC 45.
Mr.
International has NEVER had a boring fight. I don't think it's
possible for Shonie to be boring. He is still a solid fighter
and even though he is getting a bit older, let me just say this.
I have done his last two fights for broadcast on pay per view
and he is simply entertaining and as exciting as ever. I want
to see Robbie stand up and throw and Shonie WILL do that.
Or
why not bring Jeremy Jackson back to fight Lawler? Both Lawler
and Jackson are coming off losses, but I really see a young Lawler
in Jeremy Jackson. Nick Diaz did expose the problems Jackson
has, which is dealing with the ground game, but I know Diaz has
done that to plenty of fighters like Joe Hurley in recent fights.
Jackson
loves to stand and bang and that is his game. Robbie needs an
opponent that will do the same, so why not bring in these two
guys to bang with Mr. Banger, Robbie Lawler.
Randy
Couture thinking of retirement?
It
was a tough thing for me to watch. Watching Randy Couture being
cart off on a stretcher, with his eye socket basically broken
and me thinking to myself at the time..."Your 39 you were
a great champion, it's time to move on". Those were my thoughts
after watching Ricco Rodriguez defeat Randy Couture for the Heavyweight
Championship. It's amazing to see what a difference a year makes.
I
talked with Couture this week and I brought up the "R"
word, retirement. He basically told me his philosphy hasn't changed.
He sees his career one fight at a time. He is ready for his next
fight. Couture said he would like to fight Vitor again, then
maybe try Pride and get a shot at Vanderlei Silva, but no one
really after that unless you want rematches with Chuck or Tito
again.
I
personally see Couture vs Vitor at UFC 46 in January and depending
how that fight goes, he fights one more fight and then calls
it a career.
Tito
Ortiz, Why the hate? - I can't believe the crap Tito Ortiz has
to endure with so called "MMA fans". This guy has been
the most dominant fighter at 205 since 1999. He has fought everyone
put in front of him and I thought he showed a lot of class by
strapping the belt on the Couture. I thought it was refreshing
seeing the emotion he had in the loss as well. This guy wear's
his heart on his sleeve and I would much rather see a guy take
a loss THAT hard then just shrug it off like it was no big deal.
For the few a-holes that are ripping Tito for the emotion he
displayed, to take a line out of Kurt Angle...."YOU SUCK."
What's
next at 205?
Now
you have a perfect scenario for the fighters at 205. Have Chuck
Liddell face Tito Ortiz in January. THAT would be a card. Imagine
putting together Liddell vs Ortiz and Couture vs Vitor on the
SAME CARD!! While it's pure speculation on my part, if the UFC
could do that lineup I would fly anywhere in the world to see
that.
Either
way, the one guy that will be shutout in the 205 weight division,
unfortunately, is Rich Franklin. He is no doubt "the next
big thing" at 205. His big problem is the fact that he will
have to wait until Couture vs Vitor and Liddell vs Ortiz happens,
before the gets a shot at the big four.
How
about sending Franklin to Pride for one fight against Vanderlei
Silva? That would be a fight folks. I would like to see it. In
the meantime, Rich will have to stay focused and not get upset
by any young up and coming fighters.
The
division Zuffa needs to focus on next? 185.
Forget
about the talk of focusing on the 155 pound weight division.
Yea they need to give somebody a title, but other than that,
the division is already stacked. It's not a problem. It looks
as though there will be a fight at 155 at the Mohegan Sun (I've
heard Din Thomas vs Josh Thomson, but it's not been confirmed,
just the rumor stage).
The
big problem division wise is 185. Right now the division is Matt
Lindland and Phil Baroni. David Loiseau would have been there
as well, but now with his loss to Jorge Rivera, we shall wait
and see.
The
problem isn't getting the talent at 185. There is plenty of talent.
Between Joe Doerksen, Ivan Salaverry, Andrei Semenov, Dennis
Kang, Dean Lister, Nathan Marquardt, Phil Baroni, Niko Vitale, David Loiseau, Jeremy
Horn, Matt Lindland, Pele, and Lee Murray.
Zuffa's
big problem is finding room for all of the fighters on the three
hour pay per view show. that's always the battle they face, taking
care of the guys already on contract and then working in your
young guys.
Matches
I want to see over the next two UFC's
Alright,
just put my matchmaker hat on, (Damn I look good). These are
the fights myself and the fans want to see soon....
Chuck
Liddell vs Tito Ortiz
Randy
Couture vs Vitor Belfort
Genki
Sudo vs Bang Ludwig
Yves
Edwards vs Josh Thomson
Matt
Serra vs Hermes Franca
Nick
Diaz vs Karo Parisyan
Sakuraba
vs Phil Baroni
Jeremy
Horn vs ANYONE at 185
Any
Robbie Lawler vs Jeremy Jackson/Shonie Carter fight
Tra
Telligman vs Pedro Rizzo III just because the first two were
absolutely awesome, why not see a third time.
Forrest
Griffin vs Trevor Prangley
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DESOUZA
IS BACK! SIGNS TO FIGHT IN WEC
MMAWeekly.com has learned that Tony DeSouza has signed to fight
in WEC coming up on October 17th from the Palace Casino in Lemoore,
California.
This
upcoming card gets better and better as Cole Escovedo will take
on Anthony Hamlett for the WEC Lightweight Title. Mr. International,
Shonie Carter will be on the show, as will Chuck Liddell's brother,
Sean Liddell making his MMA debut.
The
last time fight fans saw DeSouza was back at UFC 33 when he lossed
a tough fight to Jutaro Nakao. Since then DeSouza has had many
visa problems trying to get back into the United States from
Peru. It finally appears that things have been worked out after
two years and he will make his return to MMA in the United States
in October for the WEC.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JAPAN
NEWS
MMAWeekly's Scott Petersen reports from Japan that the hot topic
right now is the possibility of Sakuraba fighting in the UFC.
Petersen
says that a few Japanese newspapers report that there is pressure
on Kazushi Sakuraba and Kazuyuki Fujita to work UFC's 10th anniversary
show on Novmeber 11th at the Mohegan Sun.
Sakuraba
has told the Japanese media that he is currently 80% healthy.
The other thing we are hearing is if the matches do happen with
Sakuraba & Fujita that the Japanese believe the fight will
happen under PRIDE rules in the UFC cage instead of UFC rules.
The UFC would not comment on the possibilities of special rules
at the UFC Press Conference at UFC 44.
In
Pancrase news, they have released their full card for next event,
and main event announced for the November show.
Pancrase
announced Sanae Kikuta vs. Yuki Kondo as the main event for their
11/30 Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall) show in Tokyo. It will air
on Nippon TV.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Horn
shines again in lopsided "draw" in UK
LONDON,
England -- Jeremy Horn showed little or no signs of jetlag Sunday
as he dominated his bout with James Zikic in the main event of
Extreme Brawl 4.
Although
the bout is officially a draw (there were no judges), Horn spent
more than half of the 15-minute bout in the mount and delivered
severe punishment to the face of Zikic, who refused to give up.
After the draw was announced, Zikic raised Horn's arm and declared
him the winner.
"He's
a tough guy... there was no way he was going to quit," Horn
said. "It's odd to get a draw when the fight was so onesided,
but I am very pleased with the way I fought."
Horn cornered UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and UFC light
heavyweight contender Rich Franklin in UFC 44 on Sept. 26 in
Las Vegas. He left the next morning for London, and arrived on
the morning of the fight. He slept a few hours and was soon fighting
in the cage.
The
bout had a weight limit of 96 kilos (212 pounds), but Horn, who
is hoping to fight more at 185 pounds, only weighed 198.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
AFC
Tickets Available Now!
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!
7& UNDER ARE FREE,
8-12 $6 PRESALE, $10 DAY OF EVENT,
ADULTS $15 PRESALE, $20 DAY OF EVENT
You
can't beat these ticket prices for the action that you will get
to witness! Save some cash and buy your tickets early. Take the
entire family and still have money left in your pocket!
Call 306-9326 or email us online at WWW.AFCHAWAII.COM
Shooto matches will also be on this
card. Are you an amateur looking to try your hand at a shooto
match? Do you weigh 120-125 lbs or 70-75 lbs? The AFC promoters
have two fighters looking for matches at these weight classes.
You don't have to have the skills of a pro, just have the desire
to compete in a safe MMA environment, some technique, and the
will to test your skills. Age does not matter, only that you
are a beginner and an amateur.
The
weigh-ins for AFC 4 will be at
Jesus Is Lord Gym
94-143 Leokane St #201
(on the second floor up the ramp)
Waipahu, HI 96797
at 7:00 pm on October 17, 2003
Meet the fighters and update yourself on the rules!
A couple
of spots are still available. For more information go to:
www.afchawaii.com
or
call 306-9326 |
Quote
of the Day
"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish
nothing in life."
Muhammad Ali, 1942-, American Boxer
|
THREE
MORE MATCHES ANNOUNCED FOR BUSHIDO
September 30, 2003 From Dream Stage Entertainment
LOS
ANGELES, California – Today Dream Stage Entertainment announced
three additional matches for the PRIDE Bushido show.
German
striker and Golden Glory team member Chalid “Die Faust”
Arrab will face Rodney “Golden Glory Hunter” Faverus
… Japanese vale tudo expert Eiji Mitsuoka will go head to
head with UFC veteran Chris Brennan and in the main event, Mirko
“Cro Cop” Filipovic will face Mexican MMA/Pro Wrestling
superstar Dos Carras Jr.
FULL
FIGHTCARD:
'Team
Japan versus the Gracie Family'
-
Renzo Gracie vs. Carlos Newton
- Ryan Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Hamanaka
- Rodrigo Gracie vs. Daiju Takase
- Daniel Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
- Ralph Gracie vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
-
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Dos Caras Jr.
- Sergey Kharitonov vs. Jason Nobunaga
- Akira Shoji vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
- Alexander Emelianenko vs. Assuerio Silva
- Chalid “Die Faust” Arrab vs. Rodney Faverus
Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Chris Brennan
(Card
Subject to Change)
The
live event is scheduled for October 5, 2003 from the Saitama
Super Arena in Japan. Bushido will be available on U.S. pay per
view (delay) on December 21, 2003 at a special reduced rate of
$19.95. Don't miss the show!
PPV
INFORMATION:
Premiere
date: Sunday, December 21, 2003
Premiere time: 9:00pm EST, 6:00pm PST
Count Down show: 8:30pm EST, 5:30pm PST
PPV price: US $19.95
Run time: 3 hours (approximately)
Availability: iNDEMAND, DirecTV
Gracie
in a Red Gi and Yellow Hair Headed to PRIDE BUSHIDO
New
York - After a long period of training in the US, Renzo, Ryan,
Ralph, Rodrigo and Daniel Gracie got on a plane yesterday in
New York,a and they are arriving in Japan on Tuesday. At Renzo
Gracie's academy in NY, all the buzz was about what great shape
the 5 chosens ones were in. The team is more thrilled than ever
for the new Japanese show scheduled for October 5th.
In
his return to the Pride ring, the good-humoured Rodrigo Gracie
has already come up with his new entry routine: The guy has learned
a new Japanese song (from the 'Changeman' series). He will make
his appearance to the crowd in a red gi and with new style yellow
hair!
For
the main fight in the event, Ryan Gracie is probably the man
once more, yet nothing is confirmed. Renzo Gracie looks to get
into the action for the opening fight against Carlos Newton,
so he could be in the corner with no worries to support the younger
members of the family.
Source: ADCC
|
A
Look Back At Ze Mario's Brasil Super Fight
The
Brazilian Martial Arts Community was really impressed with the
event promoted by José Mário Sperry and his partner
Walter Mattos. With an amazing production and exciting fights,
Brasil Super Fight (BSF) is set to become a new, respected venue
for brazilian talents to feature themselves for the Vale-Tudo
world.
Sperry
took care of every detail, making a very original show that was
opened by a duo of guitars in the ring playing the brazilian
national anthem. After that the 16 fighters of the show where
presented to the audience of almost 2 thousand people just like
in the Japanese shows. In the intros there was another surprise:
the fighters were introduced by Andrea Cavalheiro, a lady who
has exactly the same voice as the Pride announcer, Lenne Hardt.
Inside
the ring the fighters retributed with amazing knock outs and
submissions with only one fight lasting 15 minutes (3 rounds
of 5 minutes) being decided by the judges.
The
biggest star of the night was undoubtedly the Japanese fighter,
Ikuhisa Minowa (BTT). Even fighting away from home, he had the
brazilian crowd cheering from the first round by attempting submission
holds at all times. 3 minutes into the second round, Minowa finally
submitted Silmar Rodrigo (Kimura) with a tight leglock, winning
the championship belt of the event. Training for 3 months in
Rio de Janeiro, Minowa is now planning to open a BTT branch in
Japan.
As
usual in brazilian events, BSF launched 3 new talents into the
Vale-Tudo world. Leonardo Souza (from Kimura/Nova União-Natal),
Erik Tavares (from Ruas Vale-Tudo - Sergipe) and Rodrigo Durok
(from Gracie Barra - Minas Gerais) were all stand outs. Leonardo
knocked out BTT fighter Haroldo Cabelinho with punches from the
guard; Erik gave no chance to Macaco´s fighter Legendre,
making the referee stop the fight after 3 knock downs! Finally
Durok, a student of the respected black belt Vinícius
Draculino, submitted Polish fighter Muriez Linke (Macaco Gold
Team) with a guillotine from the mount position.
In
the most anticipated fight of the event Luis Azeredo, the Muay
Thai teacher of Macaco Gold Team, knocked out the nephew of Marco
Ruas, Rodrigo Ruas with punches from the guard.
After
the event Sperry promised one more edition this year and three
editions for 2004, transforming Porto Alegre into a new oasis
of Vale-Tudo in Brazil.
Complete
Results:
- Marcelo 'Grilo' Alfaia (BTT) defeated Jose Ricardo 'Dragão'
(Gavião Team) by unanimous decision;
- Aloísio Barros (Ruas Vale-Tudo) defeated Luke Piculum
(Australia) by mediacal stoppage due to a cut 2:46 3R;
- Leonardo Souza (Kimura/Nova União) defeated Haroldo
'Cabelinho' Bunn (BTT) by KO 1:50 2R;
- Eric Tavares (Ruas Vale-Tudo) defeated Andre Mau Lagendre (Gold
Team) by vebal submission 2:53 1R;
- Luis Azeredo (Gold Team) defeated Rodrigo Ruas (Ruas Vale-Tudo)
by KO 1:26 RD 1;
- Rodrigo Durok Asmus (Gracie Barra BH) defeated Muriez Linke
(Polonia Gold Team) by submission (guilliotine) 4:35 1R;
Middle
Weight Brasil Super Fight Championship:
- Ikuhisa Minowa (BTT Japão) defeated Silmar Rodrigo (Kimura/Nova
União) by submission (leg lock) 3:01 2R;
Muay
Thai:
- Gerson Silva (BTT) defeated Eduardo Veríssimo (Boxe)
by KP 2:26 1R
Source: ADCC
|
Toney
Says It's 'Lights-Out' for Holyfield
Check
out http://www.boxingtalk.net for the best BOXING
news on the net.
Four
days away from his eagerly anticipated showdown with former four-time
heavyweight champion of the world, Evander Holyfield, cruiserweight
king, James 'Lights-Out' Toney was doing one of his favorite
things when we spoke to him yesterday afternoon: eating. James
says he weighs 500 pounds, and joked about shutting a few all
you can eat buffets down, but when he spoke seriously, it's crystal
clear that he is focused and ready to go to War On October 4th.
Toney also responded to the harsh remarks former undisputed heavyweight
champ, Hasim Rahman made in his most recent exclusive interview
with Boxingtalk.com. So read on to see what one of the best fighters
in the world had to say.
(Read The Full Exclusive Interview)
Source: ADCC
|
Exclusive
Interview:
"Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr.
By G. Leon
Mayweather Says He'd
Make Easy Work Of Mosley At 154!
Sept 30, 2003; Like undisputed middleweight champion Bernard
Hopkins, world lightweight champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr., 30-0
(20), is confident to the point that he has to look ahead, therefore
making him very easy to talk with about some of his many future
possibilities. So although is currently training for his final
lightweight defense against hard hitting Philip N'Dou-which will
take place on HBO November 1st, in Floyd's hometown, Grand Rapids,
Michigan-much more than N'Dou is discussed in this exclusive
interview you won't find anywhere else. Mayweather Jr. told Boxingtalk.com
that he is ready to take on any of the top guys from junior middleweight
on down. He makes no bones about the fact that he feels a fight
against current junior middleweight champion Shane Mosley would
be easy work. "It doesn't matter who they is, put them in
front of me and I'll whoop them. It doesn't matter. From junior
middleweight on down! Come on, bring them! And if there's anybody
at from junior middleweight on down talking about, 'I know he
ain't talking about me.' Yeah I'm talking about you too. Bring
it. Put up or shut up. Kill or be killed, that's my whole slogan."
All the latest on the lightweight champ is just a click away,
so read on to see what else one of the very best in the world
had to say.
GL:
What's going on Floyd?
FM:
Nothing much, everything's been going good. I've just been working
hard, boxing, running, doing a lot of physical training. I always
work hard and I'm looking forward to going out there and putting
on a good show on November 1st in my hometown of Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
GL:
What do you know about Philip N'Dou?
FM:
I know that he went to the Olympics when I went to the Olympics.
He beat almost everybody they put in front of him and he likes
to box a little bit, so I'm just to take my time with, corner
him and go out,there and get the job done.
GL:
When you were on ESPN recently, you downplayed N'Dou, calling
him a tune-up before you move up to 140 and fight Arturo Gatti.
Is there any chance of you taking N'Dou lightly?
FM:
I never take no opponent lightly. I'm a fighter. Not like these
other guys, I'm Floyd and that's what sets me apart from all
of the other fighters. I'm going to go on TV and speak the truth,
if I say I'm going to beat a guy I'm going to beat him. I'm confident.
I'm not cocky or arrogant, I just feel I'm the best, so I'll
say I'm the best and when I get in that ring I'm going to go
out there and show it. I'm going to take care of business, I
won't, 'oh, I don't know what could happen later, maybe it's
a possibility' I'm not that type of guy. My confidence is always
up and on November 1st, I will go in there and take care of business
and do what I have to do so I could move on to this next opponent.
GL:
N'Dou is supposed to have one-punch power. Does that make him
your stiffest test as a lightweight?
FM:
I've been in there with the best lightweight puncher, which is
Jose Luis Castillo, and you saw I didn't budge. I didn't go anywhere,
I ain't never been knocked out and I've been in there with some
of the biggest punchers. Diego Corrales. I've been in there with
all them boys. I'm just going to do the same old thing, I'm going
to go in there, take him to the deep waters and drown him. It
may not even go to deep waters. It might be early. It might under
six rounds, it all just depends on how I feel.
GL:
You'll be fighting in your hometown. Are you expecting a sellout,
and how happy are you in front of your hometown fans?
FM:
It's great to go back home and give the fans a big fight, because
that's where it all started from. It started in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. Those are my first fans.
GL:
Will this definitely be your last lightweight fight?
FM:
Yes, it's my last lightweight fight. I'm going to 140 and then
on
up. I'll feel a lot stronger when I move up.
GL:
Some of your critics feel that you haven't been a big puncher
at lightweight and you might have some problems at 140.
FM:
(cutting me off0 Floyd Mayweather might not be the biggest puncher,
and they could say what they want to say. Floyd Mayweather is
a winner. I bet if you look at your pound for pound, all of the
other guys have a loss. It doesn't matter how they got them,
they've lost, so name one fighter on your pound for pound that
doesn't have a loss.
GL:
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
FM:
Name somebody else.
GL:
Many people feel Roy hasn't really lost.
FM:
That's not an excuse. Boxing is a clean sport. Never hit a man
when he's down.
GL:
Is what you're trying to say that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the
best fighter in the world, so he could do what others aren't
capable of?
FM:
I ain't trying to say it, I know I'm the best fighter in the
world. And I'm younger than all them guys still.
GL:
I talked to Vivian Harris recently...
FM:
Who? Who is that?
GL:
He holds the regular WBA junior welterweight champ.
FM:
I don't even know who this guy is. Vivian Harris? Hold on let
me find out who this guy is.(Floyd then asked his right hand
man Leonard Ellerbe who Vivian Harris is. Ellerbe replied, 'I
think that's a girl or something.')
GL:
Is Arturo Gatti the guy you're looking to fight at 140?
FM:
Oh yeah. That's the guy we're looking for.
GL:
Stylistically, would you be able to easily outbox him?
FM:
Like I said before, I could adapt and adjust to any style. Peoplepray
on my downfall, but it's not going to happen. All I'm going to
do is, continue to win, and thank God for putting me in this
position.
GL:
Prior to your last fight with Sosa you were talking about going
all the way to junior middleweight to fight Oscar. Now that Shane
Mosley has beaten him, would you now move all the way up to fight
Mosley?
FM:
Mosley had a chance but he could still get it. When he was a
lightweight I told him he could get it, but he bid himself out
and asked for $10,000,000. I saw his fight with Oscar the other
day. Each time they would bump shoulders or something, they were
touching gloves..They were fighting like two females in there.
I don't feel all of that touching gloves for every little thing
and at the beginning of every round. We're in there to fight,
and I'm trying to put you on your back. That touching gloves
stuff is something you do in the gym in sparring. Under the light
you're supposed to fight.
GL:
So the answer to the question is, yes, you would be willing to
fight Mosley?
FM:
Any day of the week. That would be easy work.
GL:
At 154?
FM:
EASY WORK!
GL:
Why have you decided to move to junior welterweight?
FM:
Why wait here? For who? I'm going to go up to the next weight
class and fight they bext they've got. I'm only going to fight
the best. At junior lightweight, first they said Genarro Hernandez
was then best, then it was Angel Manfredy and then they said
Corrales. And what happened when they fought Mayweather? Whether
they were knockouts or not, always remember this, a ugly victory
is always better than a pretty loss.
GL:
What are you goals for 2004?
FM:
I'm going to drive my Bentley's and Benz's eat good, and live
lovely with my family.
GL:
And in terms of boxing?
FM:
It doesn't matter who they is, put them in front of me and I'll
whoop them. It doesn't matter. From junior middleweight on down,
come on, bring them. And if there's anybody at from junior middleweight
on down talking about, 'I know he ain't talking about me.' Yeah
I'm talking about you too. Bring it. Put up or shut up. Kill
or be killed, that's my whole slogan.
GL:
What were your thoughts on De La Hoya-Mosley?
FM:
Shane Mosley was swinging with his eyes close. And to be honest
with you, I wasn't impressed with none of them. If Shane Mosley
let De La Hoya outbox him, please! I'll box circles around him.
And like I said before, Floyd Mayweather fights according to
the level of his competition. You put somebody in there great,
I'll look great and if you put somebody in there who's all right,
I'll look all right. It all depends on who's in there, but at
the end of the day it's all going to be the same result, I'm
going to be the winner.
I'm
really the black sheep of boxing. I know it. They don't like
me because I don't want to change. They're trying to make me
into something that I'm really not. I'm going to be Floyd. And
what do I like to do? Drive fast cars and keep a lot of cash
on me. I like rap music. It don't matter who they is, and they
could say whatever they want to say about me. I just want to
live my life. All I like to do is spend time with my kids. I'm
just flashy, I like jewelry and I like to rock platinum, and
that's just me. And I'm not changing for nobody, and if nobody
likes me, so be it As long as my kids like me I'm cool, because
at the end of my career, they're the only ones who will be there
with me anyway.
All
they have to do is put them in there and we could get busy. IfMosley
really wants it, tell him to shout my name out and we could make
it happen. But I don't think he'll do it, and I don't think he'd
take the fight.
And
for all of these guys who are the self proclaimed best trainer
in the world..man that's bull. Roger Mayweather is the best trainer
in the world. Hands down. Why? Because he's proved it; he's a
two or three time world champion, and he got a fighter who is
a two or three time world champion. These other guys out there
are getting fighters that are already made from another guy.
De La Hoya was already a made fighter and he went right back
to his old ways in that fight. I honestly thought he looked better
in the first fight than that last one.
GL:
I spoke Diego Corrales recently and he assured me that it wasn't
the real him the first time he fought you. And he says he's anxious
to prove it in a rematch.
FM:
(cutting me off) That's not coming from his mouth. That's coming
from certain people that's around him. He respects me. An ass-whipping
always humbles people. He's a good dude and I got nothing against
him, but he could never whoop me. He couldn't whoop me if he
had thirty pro fights and I was facing him in my pro debut. I'm
a thinking fighter and he has to plant his feet to be able to
shoot shots. He is similar to Felix Trinidad, if you move, they'll
have a problem with you all day.
GL:
Kostya Tszyu is the best 140-pounder in the world right now.
How does Mayweather Vs. Tszyu play out?
FM:
I do think that he is the best, but I beat him because I'm too
smart for him. He is a good fighter and I do think that he is
a better fighter than Shane Mosley or Oscar De La Hoya. From
154 on down, Ricardo Mayorga and Kostya Tszyu are the most solid
opponents
Source: Boxing Talk
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PAULO
FILHO JOINS BRAZIL DOJO!
Two weeks after taking BTT fighter Carlos Baruck and hiring Darrel
Gohlar to teach at Brasil Dojo full time, Wallid Ismail has just
announced another move in his war against Brazilian Top Team:
Paulo Filho is already part of Brasil Dojo.
'Wallid
made a very good financial proposal' said Filho, explaining the
cause of his choice.
After
Wallid accepted the public challenge made by BTT leader Roberto
'Bebeo' Duarte on the ADCC NEWS page, proposing a seven man challenge
between BTT and Brazil Dojo, the situation has been getting really
tense.
Even
the individual Muay Thai teachers from both teams have issued
challenges. Luís Alves, the former Muay Thai teacher of
Brasil Dojo and also the personal teacher of 'Minotauro' and
Mario Sperry, has challenged Paulo Nikolai, the former Muay Thai
teacher of BTT. 'Even though I am the teacher at Brasil Dojo,
I have an excellent relationship with all the BTT leaders. I
have a personal problem with their teacher, Paulo Nikolai and
I would like to solve it in the ring. That´s why I made
this challenge' explained Alves.
Carlson
Gracie is arriving in Rio tomorrow and Wallid promises to write
a public letter together with his master.
Source: ADCC
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SHOOTO
Lineup and Rumors!
Japan's
SHOOTO organization continues with a steady stream of shows to
close out 2003.
Sehedule:
Oct. 12th Osaka, Japan
Oct. 31st Tokyo, Japan
Nov. 3rd Tokyo, Japan
Nov. 25th Tokyo, Japan
Dec. 14th Chiba, Japan
Traditionally,
SHOOTO closes the year strong with a 'big' show, so look for
the December 14th event scheduled for Chiba, Japan to be a stand
out show. With
former Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi fighting in Hawaii, it appears more than
likely that SHOOTO will challenge new champion Joachim Hansen
with undefeated Shaolin Ribeiro. Word from both camps is that
this match is in the works.
The
October and November runs see SHOOTO return to their traditional
homes of Kouroken Hall and Kitazawa Hall, in Tokyo as well as
the NGK Studios in Osaka. So far, the lineups announced for these
shows are incomplete, but feature mainly Japanese talent.
Source: ADCC
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2003
WORLD GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD MEDAL PREDICTIONS
(Part One)
Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
The
2003 World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships will commence
this coming week, running from Thursday, October 2, to Sunday,
October 5. They will be held in Créteil, France.
That
means that it is time once again for my gold medal predictions.
This is part of an annual project organized by Gary Abbott of
USA Wrestling. The predictions of various international wrestling
journalists will be posted on TheMat.com, as were done for the
Freestyle Worlds this year and for World Championships and Olympic
Games for the past several years.
To
reiterate some points made about other sets of predictions, we
only venture to make gold medal predictions because of FILA's
random draws and pool systems, without wrestle-backs. That means
that the top wrestlers can meet anytime in a tournament, with
the loser being eliminated from medal contention. The wrestlers
thus regard every match as a gold medal match. But this also
takes away from the significance of the silver and bronze medals.
The medal that really matters the most, then, is the gold medal,
since its winner had to defeat everyone he faced.
As
with most of these international tournaments, most countries
have not released their rosters of competitors. This game of
hide-and-seek is horrible for the promotion of wrestling, but
then again most wrestling federations are clueless at best and
fearful at worst of the prying eyes of the media intruding on
their protected little worlds.
Another
factor complicating these predictions is the very unpredictability
of the sport of wrestling on its highest levels. Repeating as
a World Champion is extremely difficult. Here are the Greco-Roman
gold medal winners in each weight class for the 2000 Olympics
and the 2001 and 2002 World Championships:
2000
Olympic Games
54 kg Kwon Ho Sim, Korea
58 kg Armen Nazarian, Bulgaria
63 kg Varteres Samourgashev, Russia
69 kg Filiberto Ascuy, Cuba
76 kg Mourat Kardanov, Russia
85 kg Hamza Yerlikaya, Turkey
97 kg Mikael Ljungberg, Sweden
130 kg Rulon Gardner, USA
2001
World Championships
54 kg Hassan Rangraz, Iran
58 kg Dilshod Aripov, Uzbekistan
63 kg Vaghinar Galustyan, Armenia
69 kg Filiberto Ascuy, Cuba
76 kg Ara Abrahamian, Sweden
85 kg Muhran Vakhtangadze, Georgia
97 kg Alexander Bezruchkin, Russia
130 kg Rulon Gardner, USA
2002
World Championships
55 kg Gaidar Mamedaliev, Russia
60 kg Armen Nazarian, Bulgaria
66 kg Jimmy Samuelsson, Sweden
74 kg Varteres Samourgashev, Russia
84 kg Ara Abrahamian, Sweden
96 kg Mehmet Oezal, Turkey
120 kg Dremiel Byers, USA
Analyzing
these lists reveals that there are relatively few repeat champions.
From 2001 to 2002, there was only one, Ara Abrahamian of Sweden,
who went up from 76 kg to 84 kg to win both years. From 2000
to 2001, there were only two repeat champions in the eight weight
classes of those years, Rulon Gardner of the USA at 130 kg and
Filiberto Ascuy of Cuba at 69 kg. Comparing 2000 and 2002, when
the weight classes were reduced from eight to seven, there were
only two repeat champions: Armen Nazarian of Bulgaria at 58 kg
in 2000 and 60 kg in 2002, and Varteres Samourgashev of Russia,
who won at 63 kg in 2000 and went all the way up to 74 kg to
win in 2002.
The
total amount of winners for all three years of 2000, 2001, and
2002: zero.
So
with all these variables in mind, let us fearlessly tread where
no gambler dares to go, and make our gold medal predictions for
the 2003 World Championships of Greco-Roman Wrestling.
55
kg/121 pounds -- Asset Imanbayev, Kazakhstan
The 22-year-old Asset Imanbayev of Kazakhstan was the 2003 Asian
Champion at 55 kg. His resume also includes gold medals at the
2002 Asian Games at 55 kg, as well as becoming a Junior World
Champion both in 2000 and 2001 at 54 kg. His only trip to the
Senior Worlds was up a weight, at 58 kg. It resulted in him not
getting out of his pool, losing 4-2 to Petr Svehla of the Czech
Republic. At 55 kg, Imanbayev has proved that he is a winner.
This
weight class has lots of talent and past champions, any of whom
can win. 2001 World Champion Hassan Rangraz of Iran was a bronze
medalist in 2002. The 2002 World Champion, Gaidar Mamedaliev
of Russia, only finished in 17th place at the 2003 European Championships.
So the pattern of a new champion each year at this very competitive
weight, and its predecessor of 54 kg, should continue this year.
60
kg/132 pounds -- Armen Nazarian, Bulgaria
It is hard to believe that Armen Nazarian of Bulgaria is only
29 years old. Back in 1993, when he was just 19 and then wrestling
for Armenia, he won a silver medal at the 1993 World Championships
at 52 kg. He has won two Olympic gold medals. In 1996, he won
gold at 52 kg for Armenia. In 2000, he won gold at 58 kg for
Bulgaria. He is the reigning World Champion, winning gold last
year at 60 kg. He is the reigning European Champion at 60 kg.
In fact, his win in the 2003 Europeans was the sixth time in
eight tries that he has won that event, beginning with his first
win in 1994 at 52 kg for Armenia. Since 1997, he has wrestled
for Bulgaria.
In
his preview of this weight class on TheMat.com, Gary Abbott wrote
that, 'It could be argued that the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler
in the world is two-time Olympic champion Armen Nazarian of Bulgaria,
who is also the reigning World champion at this division.' Nazarian
is clearly the favorite to repeat this year, and the man to beat
at this weight.
Source: ADCC
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