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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)

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)

10/24/03

International Cage Combat

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

10/18/03

Amateur Fighting Competition 4

(Toughman)

10/10/03

Rumble On The Rock 4

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

9/27/03

1st Annual Kauai "Grappler's Paradise" 2003 Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu tournament

(BJJ, Sub Grappling)

(Kauai)

9/26/03

UFC 44: Undisputed

(MMA)

(Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV)

9/20/03

SuperBrawl

(MMA)

Neil Blaisdell Arena

News & Rumors

Sponsored by Wa’alani Enterprises

This
jiu-jitsu tournament will be the FIRST EVER nationally ranked
event ever held on Kauai! Mixed Martial Arts TV will give the
Kauai GP a National ranking. You will be able to see how our
tournament ranks against the TOP TOURNAMENTS IN THE NATION! All
fighters who compete today will also receive a national ranking
title which will follow them in whatever nationally ranked tournament
they enter across the U.S.!

We
are proud to have the support of the following sponsors:

Waalani
Enterprises, Kauai Electric, Bloodline, Na Guarda, 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, Tiger Fit

2003 Kauai
Grappler's Paradise News

With only a week to go before Kauai's first ever all Jiu-Jitsu
tournament, things are looking pretty good. Kendall Goo, a brown
belt under Relson Gracie, and sponsor of the event stated, "We're
getting great support from our local businesses here on Kauai
as well as some big name companies in the world of martial arts.
Competitors will be blessed with an awesome event, nice medals
and tons of donated prizes!" Almost every major academy
in Hawaii will be represented, with the exception of one. We
asked Kendall what the situation was. "Well, due to some
miscommunication, Bruno Ewald, a black belt under Royler Gracie,
has decided to boycott our event. It's very sad because not only
is it the first time an event like this has been boycotted on
Kauai, all of Bruno's students will miss out as well. What makes
this whole situation worse is that Bruno's school and my school
are supposed to be teammates. I've never heard of one school
boycotting their own teammate's event before in my life. The
reason for Bruno boycotting our tournament is his business, but
in good faith, we would be more than happy to have any of his
students enter and treat them fairly. Regardless of the situation,
we're going to have a great time and make sure all of the competitors
are taken care of."

The
2003 Kauai Grapplers Paradise Jiu-Jitsu tournament will feature
gi and no-gi divisions. Weigh-ins will be on Friday, September
26, at 4 to 7 pm at the Kauai Gym in Kapaa. Fights begin at 9
am on Saturday, September 27. You can contact Kendall at (808)823-6650
for more info.

UFC
44: Undisputed Odds

With
10 days left till UFC 44, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia and Caol Uno
are all favored to win.

These
are the odds from Olympic Sports as of 9/26/03 9pm. For up to
date UFC 44 betting odds, head over to Olympic Sports and click
on the "Other Sports" and "Boxing" link.

-
Tim Sylvia -144

- Gan McGee +114

-
Tito Ortiz -210

- Randy Couture +170

-
Vladimir Matyushenko -215

- Andrei Arlovski +175

-
Rich Franklin -500

- Edwin Dewees +350

-
Jorge Rivera +205

- David Loiseau -285

-
Dave Strasser -155

- Karo Parisyan +125

-
Jeremy Jackson +120

- Nick Diaz -150

-
Caol Uno -280

- Hermes Franca +200

-
Josh Thomson -125

- Gerald Strebendt -105

Source: MMA Fighting

The
Savage Truth - Don't Call it a Comeback

By Greg Savage

That’s
right folks, I know it’s been a while since the last Savage
Truth, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort.

Forces
beyond my control were at work, keeping me silent for the last
month-and-a-half but now that the stars have aligned and a certain
Sherdog.com owner, who shall remain nameless, has finished his
doctoral thesis, things can get back to normal around here. So
sue me.

It
has been a busy six weeks so let’s get down to it.

PRIDE
Grand Prix

The PRIDE middleweight Grand Prix got underway with the four
favorites advancing through to the second round. And what a card
it is shaping up to be for November. I still say “Rampage”
is the favorite to win the tournament as long as he can get by
Liddell without too much damage. On the other hand, how funny
would that be if “The Iceman” could pull off the unthinkable
and win the whole shebang? It’s doubtful even though the
UFC brass seem to be convinced Chuck will walk through into the
finals.

And
how bout the rest of that card? Cro Cop squaring off with Fedor,
rumors of Barnett and Minotauro, and a possible Bustamante versus
Ninja match up. Sounds good to me since I will be heading to
the Land of the Rising Sun for my first live Pride experience.

IFC
Tournament

Next up, the IFC light heavyweight tournament. It is a shame
they couldn’t get this thing on pay-per-view because the
tournament was amazing. Now you all know I am not a big fan of
the tourney format but I have to concede this was one of the
better shows I have attended. While the best fighter doesn’t
always win in a tournament, I don’t feel that can be said
in this instance.

Jeremy
Horn was the heavy favorite coming in and had a marked advantage
over “Babalu” going into the final. Hell, Jeremy didn’t
have a mark on him and had finished both his opponents early
while “Babalu” was knuckled up and had to fight nearly
30 minutes en route to the championship match. As I conducted
my own little straw poll at ringside, the consensus was that
it had been a nice run for Sobral while it had lasted.

Boy,
oh boy, were we wrong. Talk about your determination, leaving
it all on the playing field, giving 110% and every other cliché
in the book. “Babalu”, quite possibly in the best shape
of his life, showed the heart and determination that champions
are made of. His takedowns and ground-and-pound attack—and
a little help from the ref if you ask Horn’s manager, Monte
Cox—staked him to an insurmountable lead and propelled him
to the IFC light heavyweight championship.

I
also came away from the show thinking how explosive Forrest Griffin
looked until he ran into the right shin of Mr. Horn. He really
reminded me of one of Horn’s stable mates, Rich Franklin
who I incidentally think could be ruling atop the light heavyweight
division in the not so distant future. That is as long as they
don’t match him up with Belfort too soon. A dedicated “Phenom”
will be a monumental roadblock for anyone at 205 lbs. When I
look into my crystal ball I see Franklin and Belfort battling
it out sooner or later, hopefully later.

Memo
to Zuffa: don’t make this match and derail one of your best
young fighters. Belfort doesn’t need to be built up before
he gets a shot at the belt, feed him a scrub and hype up either
his re-match with Couture—a doubtful scenario—or the
highly likely mega-fight with Tito Ortiz. Then, if Franklin continues
to win, you have an undefeated challenger down the road to fight
the winner of Belfort-Ortiz (sorry Randy). There, that wasn’t
to longwinded was it?

UFC
44: Undisputed

That brings me to next weeks UFC 44—Undisputed, from the
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. So much for never going back to the
site of the UFC 33 debacle eh? I for one am happy they are going
back. Mandalay Bay was one of, if not the, best venues I have
ever watched a live event in.

I
am also curious to see the new look Zuffa will be debuting. They
will supposedly be casting off the pyro and big pro-wrestling
style intros in hopes of nabbing more viewers with the cleaner,
more polished look. With the big build up to this event, a la
last years UFC 40, MMA fans should be primed for an explosive
night of fights. Let’s hope so anyway.

Oscar
De La Hoya

And last but not least. What do Oscar De La Hoya and Murillo
Bustamante have in common? That’s right, they both lost
matches that left fans screaming in outrage while scores of unbiased
journalists at ringside felt the decisions were warranted. I
was there for Liddell-Bustamante and had Liddell winning that
match, albeit very narrowly, as did just about everyone around
me.

On
this occasion I thought De La Hoya had won pretty comfortably
and was almost as startled as “Sugar” Shane when the
scores were announced. C’mon, anyone that buys that B.S.
about not thinking they could get a decision in Vegas probably
believes Mosley’s old man was just pumping him up when he
told him he needed a KO to win the fight. He wasn’t even
entertaining the thought that he had won and was literally shocked
when Buffer bellowed his name.

Truthfully,
I could care less. Boxing has long been a crapshoot when it comes
to judging and MMA will be the same way. Any sport that is subjectively
scored will always have debatable outcomes. I really don’t
have that much of a problem—and who would really care if
I did—with the decision in either the Mosley-De La Hoya
or Liddell-Bustamante fights. They were both hard fought bouts
with close rounds that could have been scored either way.

One
thing is for certain, Oscar could use a lesson or two from Murillo
on how to conduct oneself after a controversial decision. His
act was shameful. I know he was pissed but c’mon. I though
he was going to subpoena everyone during his post-fight interview.
Sad, just sad is the only way to describe it but for all you
who think boxing will be hurt by this are almost as misguided
as Oscar.

If
we have learned one thing about boxing, it has to be that it
is the cockroach of combat sports. It will never die. People,
en mass, have been fed up for decades and have promised to never
buy another pay-per-view only to fork over the $54.99 next time
out. Boxing is here to stay no matter what. Get used to that
fact.

This
one time, Greg Savage (greg@sherdog.com) burned a CD with nothing
but the sounds of his bowel movements and the screams of his
manservants. It went triple platinum within the month.

Source: Sherdog

Couture-Ortiz
from the Fighters' Perspective

By Jason Probst

When it
comes to prognosticating fights, there's no better source for
revealing predictions than fighters themselves. In the small
world of mixed martial arts, it can often be tough to find an
admittedly objective observer when so many of today's athletes
have trained with one another. But in the unique contrasts of
the Tito Ortiz-Randy Couture bout there's a dominant strain of
objectivity running through the conventional schools of wisdom.

While
Couture has left no questions unanswered about his heart and
renewed potency at 205 pounds, Tito Ortiz has few doubters concerning
his tenacity. What it boils down to, in the eyes of most, is
a simple dogfight. And even then, there are few resolute predictions.

Virtually
every fighter Maxfighting.com contacted had to take a moment
or two to gather their thoughts when asked for a pick on the
bout. If anything, it's indicative of how closely contested it's
expected to be. It's also a sign that deep down, fighters are
fans too, because most of them sounded pretty interested in seeing
how Couture-Ortiz unfolds.

And
now, the picks:

Duane
"Bang" Ludwig

I would like to see Couture win. I think Couture will be pretty
strong, and I would give it to Couture or even in terms of strength,
but Tito will not out-strength him. I don't know if he can take
Randy down, but he has to just get Randy on his back. Tito's
not going to win standing up, but it'd have to be a ground and
pound. If Couture takes Tito down, Tito is pretty tough, and
I think he could take a beating before it was stopped.

Erin
Toughhill

Randy's pretty incredible, his stability, just his overall balance.
Once he gets on top of you, he can pretty much control you and
put you away. I'm not sure [how Tito fights him.] Tito strikes
me as more of a bully, and he's in there against guys who are
much smaller than him, a lot of his opponents are hand picked.
I'm not downing his skills, I think he has had some real competition
like Couture and we'll see how that affects going against a top
level opponent.

Frank
Mir, heavyweight contender

I think Randy couture wins by decision. I think, after I saw
the Liddell fight Randy has much better hands. If Tito tries
to box it out, it's Randy's advantage. Takedowns, Tito is good
at them. But Randy is a very decorated Greco guy, so I still
can't see Tito being able to get on top of Randy. If Tito can,
that's Randy's weakness. As for a prediction? Honestly, I don't
know.

Dean
"The Machine" Lister

I'm gonna be in Tito's corner, I'm working as his jiu-jitsu coach.
He's tough. Training with has been great. Tito's a natural athlete,
and we both just contribute to each other's games. He's helped
me with my tactics. He moves real well, and he isn't afraid to
take chances and go for it. The thing is, not to give away any
tactics, but Tito's able to move all around from every position
really well. His style is his own.

(Lister obviously couldn't make a prediction because he's in
Tito's corner, but did add that he will be bringing a beautiful
Brazilian girl with him to UFC 44 who knows jiu-jitsu. Does it
get any better than that?).

Matt
Hughes

I took Chuck over Randy and he surprised me there. But I'd probably
go with Tito. It's a tough fight. Takedowns are going to play
a big role.

Mark
Coleman

Wow, you really caught me off guard on that one. That's a big
question they are both great fighters. I just can't make a pick.

Pat
Miletich

I take Couture. I just feel Randy is a better wrestler and he's
a better striker. Tito's best strategy is if he can put Randy
on his back, but I see that as the only way. He's not going to
beat Randy standing up. Tito's a good enough wrestler. I think
Randy's only weakness is being on his back. It could happen.
But Tito's got to up him there. As far as who's stronger, I think
Tito may have some problems there with Randy. He's used to being
bigger and stronger and bullying people.

Monte
Cox

You know, this fight, it's just one of those things, I look at
Tito and it's really hard to bet against Randy, because he always
makes you pay for it. I get a feeling Tito is like that too.
He always finds a way to win. It's too close to call, but if
I had to pick a winner I'd go with Tito. I think what happened
was that in Randy's fight versus Chuck it gave Tito a heads-up.
Had Randy come out and not fought Liddell and came out with his
standup skills versus Tito, he could've used that to his advantage
and surprised him, but there's no surprise now. But now Tito
was able to see what Randy comes out for. Can Tito take Randy
down, can he consistently put Randy down on the ground and put
him in trouble? I just got a feeling he will put a Randy on the
ground. Can Randy put Tito on his back? Gosh, it's a bettor s
nightmare, it's almost a coin flip.

If
Tito is taken down, Tito's got heart, both those guys have everything
it takes to be champion. To say they don't is crazy. You can
bet, just like, Matt Hughes showed against Sean Sherk, they're
gonna be comfortable on their back. They train that way every
day. Matt Hughes was training every day underneath Jeremy Horn.
It wasn't like when Sherk got on top of him he panicked. Randy
and Tito have both got to be aware that they don't want to be
on the bottom.

Somewhere
in this fight, Tito is gonna be able to get Randy on his back.
I think Tito's gonna be able to win this fight.

That's
three picks for Couture, two for Ortiz, and three no-picks. If
that isn't close enough for you, take heart: fight night is almost
here.

Source: Maxfighting

MCGEE
READY TO BANG WITH SYLVIA

UFC heavyweight fighter Gan McGee appeared on Thursday's MMAWeekly
Radio Show, just one week before he is scheduled to challenge
Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 44.

Gan
elaborated by saying that he treats every fight that he has as
the biggest fight of his career, because that's what you have
to do if you want to be mentally prepared. Gan went as far as
to say that he is so focused on the fight itself that he is trying
to not even think of it as a title fight even though he knows
it is one.

At
26 years of age and with an MMA record of 12-1, a lot of fans
aren't familiar with Gan McGee outside of the two main-card UFC
fights that he has had (a loss to Josh Barnett and a win over
Pedro Rizzo). Gan said that he wrestled in college at Iowa for
a year and Cal Poly University, and that is where he met his
current-day teammates Chuck Liddell and former UFC Veteran Scott
Adams.

It
wasn't until a Bas Rutten Invitational event in Colorado back
in 1999 that McGee crossed over into the world of MMA, where
he won his debut fight over UFC veteran Sam Adkins. When asked
how a college wrestler became known for his striking game so
much, Gan said that he realized very early in his MMA career
how fun it is to hit people, so he started training with John
Hackelman and his stand-up game developed from there.

Regarding
his fight with Tim Sylvia, Gan said that he's not underestimating
Sylvia because he knows he has a great fight game, but he thinks
he will do fine with Sylvia in the stand-up position. McGee said
that he considers Pedro Rizzo to be a better striker than Tim
Sylvia, and he doesn't anticipate Sylvia being better than Rizzo.
McGee had won the stand-up war as he got decisive victory over
Rizzo. When asked for a prediction on the fight, McGee said that
his only prediction is that he's going to win and he's going
to finish the fight. Whether it ends via knockout or a ground-and-pound
referee's stoppage, Gan said that this fight is not going to
a decision.

Source: MMA Weekly

FRANCA
READY FOR BATTLE AGAINST UNO

American Top Team fighter Din Thomas talked about his teammate
Hermes Franca on Thursday's MMAWeekly Radio Show. While Franca
was still intensively training for his fight with Caol Uno at
next week's UFC 44 event, Thomas said that he has spent a lot
of time training with Franca and he can say with confidence that
Franca "is going to mess somebody up."

Din
said that he feels Franca will win the fight easily if he comes
right at Uno and makes sure that Uno is always backing up and
on the defensive. In Thomas' opinion, the only scenario in which
Franca could be in trouble would be if he gets nervous and holds
back too much. Having trained with Hermes Franca extensively
and fought Caul Uno twice, Din Thomas said that he feels Franca
is a more talented fighter and is going to win next Friday.

MMAWeekly's
own John Hartnett also talked about Hermes Franca on the radio
show, after spending a lot of time recently in training with
Franca and the rest of the American Top Team. John said that
he has seen first-hand how hard they have been working Franca,
what incredible shape he is in, and what incredible work ethic
he has.

John
said that Hermes has always had a great ground game and now his
stand-up game is also developing to the point that it's going
to pose a threat to anyone that goes into a fight against Franca.

Source: MMA Weekly

9/19/03

Quote
of the Day

"Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes.

Art is knowing which ones to keep."

Scott Adams American Cartoonist, The Dilbert Principle

Mike
& Lisa Had Their Baby This Morning!

Mike has never been one to be prompt and it looks like his boy
is already taking after him because their due date was September
16th and Caleb decided to pop out 3 days later. I guess he is
already on Brazilian/Hawaiian time.

Just before 8:00AM this morning the baby boy was born. His name
is:

Caleb Kamakana
Bung Kuen Mitsuyo Onzuka

Length: 20"

Weight: 7 lbs. 1.5 oz.

Born at 7:39 AM

For
more pictures check out

http://www.onzuka.com/caleb1.html

More pictures coming soon! I have to get back to the hospital
before Lisa kills me.

Super
Brawl Weigh-In Today!

Time &
Place Changed to 5:00PM at All Star Cafe

The official Super Brawl weigh-in will be held today, Friday, September 19,
2003 at
All Star
Cafe in
Waikiki at 5:00
pm. Normally,
it is held at about 1:00 so make note of this new time.

Come
down to meet the fighters and watch what some of these fighters
have to go through to make their weight. After the weigh-in,
run down to the Blaisdell to pick up some tickets for the fight.

There
is also a before and after party for Super Brawl at All Star
Cafe in Waikiki. There is free parking for ticket holders of
Super Brawl. You can go there early hang out and eat and there
will be a free shuttle to take you to the Blaisdell for the fight
and bring you back to All Star Cafe for the after party. Many
of the fighters will be there so you can talk to them about the
fights and what they have set up in the future.

Revised
Card as of the weigh-ins!

Exhibition
3x1 minute rounds

Randy Apolo (Untamed, 64 lbs) vs. Kai "Boy" Kamaka
(808 Fight Factory, 57 lbs)

135lbs
3x3 minute rounds

Edric Pajarras (808 Fight Factory, 0-0, 131 lbs) vs. Harvey Nakamura
(Grappling Unlimited, 0-0, 132 lbs)

185lbs
3x3 minute rounds

Kaipo Kalama (Grappling Unlimited, 2-1-1) vs. Jay Martinez (Shark
Tank, 3-1, 183 lbs)

Heavyweight
3x3 minute rounds

Travis "The Iron Man" Fulton (Iowa, 127-32-8, 255 lbs)
vs. Ray "King Kong" Serraille (Grappling Unlimited,
2-4)

170lbs
3x5 minute rounds

Tiki Ghosen (Team Oyama, 5-3, 169.5 lbs) vs. Ronald "The
Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Fight Factory, 18-10-2, 170 lbs)

145lbs
3x5 minute rounds

Eddie Yagin (Grappling Unlimited, 6-2, 144.7 lbs) vs. David Yeung
(HMC, 2-2, 144.8 lbs)

185lbs
3x5 minute rounds

Shawn Taylor (0-1-1, 181 lbs) vs. Jason Miller (Team Oyama, 10-3,
180 lbs)

160lbs
3x5 minute rounds

Joe Jordan (5-3, 159 lbs) vs. Kolo Koka (Grappling Unlimited,
5-3, 160 lbs)

185lbs
3x5 minute rounds

Falaniko Vitale (Grappling Unlimited, 12-2, 200 lbs) vs. Justin
Ellison (1-3, 200 lbs)

Amateur Fighting
Competition 4

Is Quickly Approaching!

It
is one month away from AFC's fourth installment. I believe there
is still room for fighters that are interested, especially in
the over 200lbs class. It is a great way to gain experience in
a safe environment.

Contact the promoters by going to their web site at:

http://www.afchawaii.com

Just announced:

The Coopers are also involved with Shooto Hawaii, which promotes
amateur Shoot (MMA style) bouts. There will be some exhibitions
held at the AFC.

What is the AFC you ask?

The AFC is a 2 weight-class 'toughman' kickboxing single elimination
tournament, where one take down per round is allowed. There is
an Under 200lb division as well as a 200 and over division. The
winner of each division gets either a cash prize (in which case
he would no longer be considered an 'amateur') or a gift certificate
(thereby keeping amateur status).

Interview: Former
PRIDE World Champion Rodrigo “Minotauro” Noguiera

By Gleidson Venga / Team Tatame

Rodrigo 'Minotauro' is back and he is looking forward to his
next Pride match, tentatively scheduled for November. He´s
not satisfied at all with his last fight against Ricco Rodrigues.
Minotauro promises he will not allow his opponents to stall and
drag the fight out.

Was Ricco tougher
than expected? His style is not good, he doesn't play, he doesn´t
try to pass the guard, he doesn't try to hit… so I got pissed
off over it. I didn´t appreciate that match, I didn´t
like the way the fight went, I mean style-wise. I watched Ricco´s
other fights on tape and I saw that all his fights are the same
that way. He is good, very technical, I think he is a good fighter
but when I was going to attack, he got on top with those 120kg
and then he stopped playing.

There were some
fans in America especially that thought Ricco should be the winner.
What do you think about that? People who say that know nothing
about Vale Tudo, they don´t understand what Vale Tudo means.
In the United States, people think that the fighter who is on
the top the whole time during the match is winning. At the end
of the fight, my face was clean, the guy stayed on the top the
whole time and didn´t hurt me, he didn´t beat me
up, he didn´t even have a good punch sequence. I don´t
think that he had a good fight against me at all.

You are one of the
more prolific submission fighters the past few years, but you
didn´t finish your last 2 matches. Are you worried about
this in some way? Both opponents were pretty good defensively.
Ricco got free from a triangle that almost had him passed out.
He took his head out in time and he also escaped from a very
tight armlock. I did try, he did it well and escaped. I don´t
think it was my mistake, it was due to his skills.

In some circles,
your next opponent is rumored to be Josh Barnett? I think so,
they hope so. That will be in November and if I win the fight
my net match will be against the winner between Fedor and Cro
Cop next year.

What did you think
about the Murilo match? I think Murilo´s pretty good. If
he could have carried the energy level to the 3rd round same
pace he had in the 1st round, I think he would have submitted
the American. Everyone knows Murilo didn´t have time to
train, he wasn´t ready physically, he knew he was going
to fight only a week before the match. But I think he fought
much better, he put the best punchs standing up, he tried submit
him. It was a tough match.

What do you think
about the Cro Cop and Fedor matches? Fedor was fast, he destroyed
the guy. Cro Cop was also fast, he´s very technical. When
Vovchanchin was moving and circling according to his game plan,
Cro Cop didn´t connet with even one strike. The time he
went to the left side, the guy got the kick. Cro Cop is very
intelligent, very good in stand up position.

About the middle
weight finals, what´s your bet? I´ve heard rumors
they may put Wanderlei against Yoshida and if they do that, Wanderlei
is in the final for sure. That leaves Liddel against Quinton
Jackson, a tough match, whose winner will likely get to the finals
broken. So I bet on Wanderlei. If they arrange the brackets in
this way, I think Wanderlei takes it.

Tell us about your
training. I´ve been training a lot, I went to Bahia recently,
I´ve was there with Popo´s brother, Luiz Claudio,
the guy has fought twice for the world title, so he is teaching
me to box and he is coming to Rio next week. I´ll start
a very focused preparation on boxing for the next matches, I
think it will add much to my fights.

Your brother, Rogerio
Minotouro, is going to fight in Korea... That´s true. He
is training, he is recovered from an injury he had, he is now
training hard, and I think he will beat this guy. I hope he gets
a submission, he is a submission guy as well, but nowadays the
guys are playing defensive, they try to stop our game, so, since
they don´t get submitted, the fight becomes boring and
sort of ugly.

What can you do
in order to finish with this stalling game? It´s hard to
say, I have to improve my sprawl and try to keep the match standing
up, not on the ground. I´ve got to improve my wrestling,
since when I´m standing up, it becomes easier for submission.

Final comments?
I´d like to thank MMA Gear, they are sponsoring me. Not
just me, but they are with a our team. They are with me, Allan
Goes, Rogerio, Arona, Grillo, a host of BTT fighters. And our
website (www.minotauro.net) is excellent too, we will add a virtual
store. During the events we tell about what´s going on
the background, after the matches we will come up with news,
great interviews. At the time of the Pride GP, when we had that
confusion, I got an interview with Murilo and Arona. I think
it is very good and it worth a look.

Source:
ADCC

ICC
COMMENTS ABOUT FUTURE

ICC President Dan Dease, addressed the fans this week on the
message boards about the companies future including a very busy
weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.

ICC
STATEMENT by Dan Dease from the UG

"We
had a very productive weekend. We created a schedule for monthly
pay per view and 48 tv show's a year. As far as the channel for
tv, the likely candidate, from a selection of three that have
expressed interest, is a broadcast network, not cable, I can't
mention the name until the ink is dry, for fear that someone
may try and interfere.

As
far as my partnership goes, after all the crap we got last time
for mentioning names, I will leave it to them to characterize
the nature of their involvement. Suffice it to say we are prepared
to take MMA to the mainstream in short order, I have been overwhelmingly
impressed with the assets at our disposal provided by the partnership.
I mean as an example they are spending $150,000 on the set design
alone to create a brand image unlike anything seen before, that
will give the ICC a look so impressive, you won't believe it
until you see it

We
have been having a little trouble getting some of the fighter's
we want for the 24th. We also found that there is an event in
Hi on the 10th, the 24th(same night), and 2 weeks after, with
some of the Hawaiian's we want already booked, on those show's.
We are having a conference call with our partners this week to
discuss our options to make this the best tourney we can. I'll
let you guys know when we arrive at a game plan. Whatever happens
I want this to be a world class tourney.

On
the Tyson issue I have noticed an interesting phenomenon. The
women who work for our partners hate the idea of having Mike
show up, he's a rapist, thug, yada yada ya etc. All the men involved
with us love the idea and most don't think he's a rapist just
a victim of a vindictive girlfriend. It actually got really heated
on whether we'd bring him. My guess is we haven't heard the last
of the women trying to get rid of him.

My
partners say yes, so the women lose out for now, and I guess
they're bringing him. I hope this doesn't alienate us with the
female segment of the fanbase. More news to come soon."

Source:
MMA Weekly

UPDATE ON SAKURAI'S
CONDITION

MMAWeekly's Scott Petersen reports from Japan that doctors did
an MRI on Mach Sakurai yesterday to check out his eye. The bone
was not damaged, as some peope compared this injury to what Sakuraba
sustained against Cro Cop. Sakurai may be able to fight in Bushido,
he also hopes to. But, it also depends on his back.

There were questions
surrounding Mach, that Sakurai might not be able to fight on
the October 5th PRIDE Bushido card due to the eye injury he sustained
in the fight, but things look good and he most likely will be
able to fight.

Source: MMA Weekly

SHAMROCK'S SURGERY
GOES WELL

MMA legend Ken Shamrock is coming off a successful knee surgery.
Shamrock just had surgery on his torn ACL last week in Reno,
Nevada. And, there is some talk that Shamrock wants a rematch
against Tito Ortiz.

It's believed that
Shamrock has mentioned to some that he should have had surgery
before the Tito fight and that was one of the reasons why he
couldn't shoot in and go for the takedowns. He now has fixed
the knee through surgery...something he has wanted to do for
quite some time.

Either way Shamrock
has shown interest that he will return to MMA. So when will he
return to MMA competition? His recovery time is not known. He
is in great shape, but at this stage of his career and because
of his age, it's believed that it will take him at least 9 months
to recover. Of course Shamrock feels he could be back in the
Octagon in a few months, but we shall wait and see.

Source: MMA Weekly

Jacaré Impresses
in MMA Debut!

by Marcelo Alonso

'It is better to lose while attacking than to win by stalling
in the fight'. Wallid Ismail repeated these words many times
at Jungle fight rules meeting. He made the importance of making
an exciting show clear to the fighters. At the end of the event
the brazilian promoter was really satisfied with the fighters
agressiveness, but one of them particularly impressed him: Ronaldo
'Jacaré', the Jiu-Jitsu phenom.

Making his debut
in Vale-Tudo after only two weeks of boxing, Jacaré showed
the same agressiveness that made him famous in Jiu-Jitsu. 'He
was the big revelation of the event in my opinion. He almost
defeated the experieced 'Macaco' training only two weeks of striking.
Imagine when I bring him to Rio to learn Wrestling with Darrel
Gohlar and Muay Thai with Luís Alves' stated an excited
Ismail. 'I loved to fight Vale-Tudo, I get much more nervous
when I fight Jiu-Jitsu. I feel that if I train six months I can
be among the best in the 83kg category.' said Jacaré who
broke his right hand punching Patino´s head. Ronaldo got
close to defeating Patino twice, but his opponent´s experience
- Macaco has 28 fights (24 knock outs in the first minute) made
the difference.

'He pretended to
attack my leg and he punched me right in my chin.' said Ronaldo
who ended up losing by knock out.

Two months ago Ronaldo
earend a a place in Jiu-Jitsu history. In only one week He won
21 fights, 18 by submission and winning four Jiu-Jitsu world
titles. Hw won his weight category and the absolute category
in both 2nd World Cup and 8th World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Due
to this amazing feat, Ronaldo earned an invitation for an exibition
in Japan at the end of this month. He also has an invitation
from Wallid to represent Brazil Dojo, together with Ricardo Moraes,
in the Ultimate Crush event that will happen in Japan on October
13th. 'The doctor said I need one month but I think in 15 days
my hands will be ok'. guaranteed Jacare.

Source:
ADCC

UFC MAKES TRIUMPHANT
RETURN TO MOHEGAN SUN

It's been awhile since the UFC was at the Mohegan Sun, but it
looks as though the UFC will make it's return to the beautiful
Mohegan Sun on November 21st for UFC 45.

The last time Zuffa
took the show to the luxury resort was at UFC 39 which was headlined
by Ricco Rodriguez facing Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight
Championship Title.

Most likely this
show will be the card that we see the return of Ricco Rodriguez,
Phil Baroni and Robbie Lawler. We've also heard rumors that Tank
Abbott will face Cabbage on this show as well, so it looks
like UFC 45 will be another big hit to the fans in New England.

Source:
MMA Weekly

COX TALKS ABOUT
PULVER, HORN AND MILETICH'S FUTURE

Monte Cox was a special guest on Wednesday's MMAWeekly Radio
Show and talked about several of the fighters that he manages.
Monte strongly stated that people don't realize how hard Tim
Sylvia trains, and he called Sylvia the hardest-working heavyweight
fighter in MMA.

Cox said that Sylvia
is always working hard and trying to improve, and that level
of work ethic didn't decrease one bit when he knocked out Ricco
Rodriguez to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Monte said
that he is sure that Gan McGee has good endurance, but if the
fight goes past two or three rounds, it will become clear that
Tim Sylvia has better endurance.

When asked about
Jeremy Horn, who recently lost to Renato "Babalu" Sobral
in the finals of the IFC's action-packed eight-man tournament,
Monte Cox said that there are big things coming up for Horn in
the not-so-distant future. Monte said that Paul Smith from the
IFC has a financial backer who is very, very interested in having
a Horn vs. Babalu singles fight rematch with a lot of promotion
put into it.

If it goes through
and happens, it could be before the end of the year. Monte also
said that Horn doesn't blame the loss on the clock controversy
in the second round, and Horn has been saying that Babalu just
beat him and had a much better gameplan going into the fight.

Monte said that
Jeremy is going to be fighting James Zikic at a British event
in late September, and then fighting at a big South Korean MMA
event on November 1.

Regarding legendary
fighter and trainer Pat Miletich, Monte Cox said that Pat would
love to have one final send-off fight, and he would love for
it to be in the UFC, but there's a lot standing in the way of
it happening. First and foremost is the fact that Pat's neck
and back injuries are not healed and are not the kinds of injuries
that are going to fully heal without surgery. Pat's doctors have
advised him not to fight and have told him that there would be
numerous risks if he did compete in a full-contact fight, including
the possibility of paralysis.

Cox said that he
personally doesn't think Miletich should take that kind of risk,
but it's up to him. Part of the hold-up in a potential send-off
fight for Miletich is the fact that he would have to get a good
payday for the fight given the risks he would be taking.

Finally, when asked
about the big promises being thrown around by the ICC, Monte
Cox spoke of the situation with skepticism and also a bit of
optimism. Monte said that the ICC executives' statements seem
so unbelievable, and while it would be great if it all happened,
it's going to be very hard to make it happen. Cox said that he
thinks people are naturally skeptical of the ICC because they
don't have an established track record, and they have to build
one from the ground up. Monte added that the ICC ran some smaller
shows before and lost a lot of money, and they won't be able
to continue to lose money now.

Source:
MMA Weekly

9/18/03

Quote
of the Day

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."

E. E. Cummings, 1894-1962, American Poet

DSE/PRIDE
announced match up

Gracie vs Japan of PRIDE BUSHIDO.

PRIDE BUSHIDO

Saitama Super Arena

October 5, 2003

Carlos
Newton (British Virgin Islands/Warrior Martial Arts Center)

Renzo Gracie (Brazil/ Team Renzo Gracie)

Dokonjonosuke Mishima (Japan/Cobra-kai)

Ralph Gracie (Brazil/ Team Renzo Gracie)

Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan/Yoshida Dojo)

Daniel Simones "Gracie" (Brazil/ Team Renzo Gracie)

Daiju Takase (Japan / Free)

Rodrigo Gracie (Brazil/ Team Renzo Gracie)

Kazuhiro Hamanaka (Japan/Takada Dojo)

Ryan Gracie (Brazil/ Team Renzo Gracie)

Promoter will announce 4 more match up soon.

Source:
Koichi "Booker K" Kawasaki

Super
Brawl Weigh-In Tomorrow Night!

The official Super Brawl weigh-in will be held tomorrow, Friday, September 19,
2003 at
24-Hour Fitness on Kapiolani at a special time of 6:00 pm. Normally, it is held
at about 1:00 so make note of this new time.

Come
down to meet the fighters and watch what some of these fighters
have to go through to make their weight. After the weigh-in,
run down to the Blaisdell to pick up some tickets for the fight.

Fighting
for Respect

Super Brawl's creator
wants his sport to be considered legitimate

By Jerry Campany

Super
Brawl

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Blaisdell Arena

Card:

Falaniko Vitale (12-2) vs. Justin Ellison (1-3)

Joe Jordan (5-3) vs. Kolo Koka (5-3)

David Yeung (2-2) vs. Eddie Yagin (6-2)

Tiki Ghosen (5-3) vs. Ronald Jhun (18-10-2)

Travis Fulton (127-32-8) vs. Ray Seraille (2-4)

Jay Martinez (3-1) vs. Kaipo Kalama (2-1-1)

TBA vs. Anthony Torres (1-0)

Eldrick Pajoras (0-0) vs. Harvey (0-0)

Why not a good old-fashioned street fight?

At
Super Brawl XXX last June 13, Dennis Kang experienced his greatest
high and lowest low as a modern-day Philo Beddo. Kang beat local
boy Kaipo Kalama by majority decision to earn a chance at the
middleweight title later that night, but was told to shower up
because he had suffered a dislocated knee.

He
would be replaced by a man he had forced to quit with an arm-bar
after just 2 minutes and 22 seconds. Kang was the second fighter
in the eight-man tournament to win but not be allowed to advance
because of an injury, and he wasn't happy about it. But that
is Super Brawl.

Super
Brawl is either a sport or a street fight, depending on your
perspective. The official line is that it is a mix of tae kwon
do, boxing, wrestling and judo, but the reality is that it involves
a pair of very skilled athletes seeing who can inflict the most
damage on the other. It is an endeavor in which there is no greater
glory than being powerful enough to force a man to make a choice
between a broken limb or broken pride. But those who face that
choice wouldn't have it any other way, believing that the rules
are set up right at the line between safety and barbarity.

"I
know that I'm not going to die in there," Egan Inoue said.
"Even though I'm willing to die in there, (Super Brawl promoter
T. Jay Thompson) won't let me. You will see more injuries in
a single football game than in a year of Super Brawls, but people
don't want to believe that."

Inoue
was supposed to headline Super Brawl XXXI this Saturday night
at the Blaisdell Arena, but may not compete because of injury.
Falaniko Vitale, who knocked out Olympic wrestler Matt Lindland
in Las Vegas over the summer, will take on Justin Ellison in
the main event if Inoue can't go. Local fighters Eddie Yagin
and "Ice Cold" Kolo Koka will also be on the card.
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets start at $15.

JUST
AS PEOPLE can argue for hours over whether a bear would win in
a fight with an alligator, people used to argue over whose martial
art was truly superior. It was all just that -- a debate -- until
Royce Gracie decided to test his Brazilian jiu jitsu against
other forms of martial arts. And he got the answer he wanted,
taking on and beating all comers until the world caught up and
came up with what is now known as ultimate fighting.

But
just as the fighters have evolved, so has the sport.

In
its infancy, ultimate fighting was little more than a human cockfight,
pitting disciplines against each other in a glorified street
brawl where the only thing saving an unprepared fighter from
serious injury or worse was his attacker's compassion. That version
of the sport still exists across the nation in fight clubs and
sanctioned events called Toughman, but is frowned upon by those
who love mixed martial arts as well as those who hate it.

"I
won't even watch it," Thompson said. "It is just dragging
the everyday Joe off the bar stool to fight, which couldn't be
more dangerous. In Hawaii people seem to understand that we are
not Toughman, but people in the rest of the country aren't so
sophisticated."

Thompson,
who owns Super Brawl and has built it into the third-largest
outlet for mixed martial arts fans in the world despite being
based on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, started
the phenomenon with blood on his hands. He would get to wondering
who would win in a fight between local tough guys like Kawika
Paaluhi and Wayne Fisher and do more than wonder. He would actually
get them together at Gussie Lamour's and find out.

But
even that got old for the man who got into the sport for the
same reason as the politicians who want to outlaw it. Thompson,
who trains as a fighter but saves his finishing moves for the
courtroom, likes a good old-fashioned row as much as anyone else.
But Thompson knew that if his hobby was going to survive the
knee-jerk reactions of politicians, it would have to develop
weight classes and rules outlawing groin strikes, head butts
and strikes to the spine. He basically wanted to find out who
the best fighters were, not the dirtiest fighters.

WHEN
A 30-year-old mother of two died in a Toughman exhibition in
Sarasota, Fla., the day after Super Brawl XXX, the Hawaii State
Boxing Commission began unofficial talks about expanding its
influence to include regulating ultimate fighting. The problem
is, nobody's sure exactly what ultimate fighting is.

"I
watched that fight where Egan got knocked out and thought, 'Gee,
this is just brutal,' " Hawaii State Boxing Commissioner
Willes Lee said. "But I was probably just biased rooting
for the local guy. It would have to start with a study of some
sort to determine if it is dangerous at all. We don't even know
if boxing is safer -- if it is safer -- because it is regulated
or because it is boxing. It is not far enough along for anyone
on the commission to even comment on it."

Rule
440D-1 in the Hawaii Revised Statutes explicitly outlaws "No
rules combat, extreme or ultimate fighting or similar contests,"
but does allow contests "involving the exclusive use of
boxing, wrestling, kickboxing or martial arts."

Avoiding
the law to put on a show is as simple as changing what you call
your product, or getting a letter straight from the governor
allowing it, as Thompson says he has done. When the law was drawn
up, Thompson simply changed the description of his event, calling
it an exclusive martial art known as pancreation, which dates
back to the first Olympics.

Florida
does not regulate Toughman or mixed martial arts events, only
boxing. Hawaii is the same, but mixed martial arts have been
legalized and are thriving in Nevada and New Jersey. The Washington
Times counted four deaths in Toughman events in the past nine
months, while not being able to find a fatality in mixed martial
arts.

Thompson
will not hide from the fact that his sport is "inherently
dangerous," and says he welcomes regulation as long as it
is regulated by people who have taken the time to educate themselves
on the sport. He believes what he is doing is as legitimate as
any other sport and would like the credibility that comes with
regulation.

"We
are still a full-contact sport that has inherent dangers and
accept anyone who is proactive for fighters' safety," Thompson
said. "But mixed martial arts is so different from boxing
I would be concerned about the boxing commission's ability to
come up to speed with the safety needs and govern it."

IN
A WAY, Super Brawl is already regulated. An official from the
state's Regulated Industries Complaints Office attends each event,
and Thompson is served a subpoena afterward. He has defended
himself so many times, countering the blood an official sees
with the lengths he goes to ensure a fighter's safety, that it
has become little more than a formality.

Thompson
and his stable of athletes are ever striving toward legitimacy,
not wanting to rest until they get a TV deal and are afforded
the respect given to boxing, whether pugilism deserves it or
not. No conversation about the issue of safety is complete until
it is compared with boxing.

Ultimate
fighters and boxers generally respect each other and admire each
others' craft. But it still bothers Thompson when he turns on
his TV and the only mixed martial arts he sees are infomercials
he has produced. Thompson is a boxing fan, but has gone all this
time trying to get his sport perceived as an equal.

When
traffic stopped on Ward Avenue three hours before Inoue's fight
with Masanori Suda at Super Brawl XXIX, an event that came 350
people short of selling out the Blaisdell Arena, Thompson thought
that day might be nearing.

"We
have felt like the red-headed stepson for the longest time,"
Thompson said. "Now the stepson has grown into a champion."

Source: Star Bulletin

Ruas
and Minowa at Brazil Super Fight

Marco
Ruas’s nephew Rodrigo Ruas and Pancrase fighter Ikuhisa
Minowa have been added to the card of the first Brazil Super
Fight. The event is scheduled for next Friday the 19th, in the
southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

Training
now with Brazilian Top Team, Minowa will face Silmar Rodrigo
(Kimura/Nova União), a very tough stand up fighter who
also has a good ground game. The Silmar Rodrigo vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
fight will be for the up-to-85kg BSF belt.

After
a no-contest fight against Haroldo Cabelinho Bunn (BTT) at 1st
Knock MMA, Rodrigo Ruas (Ruas Vale-Tudo) returns to the ring
fighting Luis Azeredo (Gold Team). As well as the seven MMA fights,
the tournament will feature a Muay Thai match, between Gerson
Silva (BTT) and Eduardo Veríssimo (Boxe).

COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):

-
Marcelo Alfaia (BT) vs. Jose Ricardo Dragão (Gavião
Team)

- Loke The Duke Piclum (Australia) vs. Aloísio Barros
(Ruas Vale-Tudo)

- Haroldo Cabelinho Bunn (BTT) vs. Leonardo Souza (Kimura/Nova
União)

- Eric Tavares (Ruas Vale-Tudo) vs. Andre Mau Lagendre (Gold
Team)

- Rodrigo Asmus (Gracie Barra BH) vs. Muriez Linke (Polonia Gold
Team)

- Rodrigo Ruas (Ruas Vale-Tudo) vs. Luis Azeredo (Gold Team);

For
the up-to-85kg BSF belt:

- Silmar Rodrigo (Kimura/Nova União) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
(BTT Japãn)

Muay
Thai fight:

- Gerson Silva (BTT) vs. Eduardo Veríssimo (Boxe)

Source: ADCC

RYRON
GRACIE Will Debut at New Rorion´s Event

Ryron Gracie, the eldest son of Rorion Gracie and the oldest
grandson of the legendary Hélio Gracie at 21 years old,
will make his debut in Mixed Martial Arts scene next October
11th. Ryron will be the first 4th generation Gracie representative
fighting in a professional tournament.

Ryron
is scheduled to participate in the eight man tournament at the
upcoming Ultimate Submission Showdown, the new grappling tournament
created by Rorion, where eight top grapplers in the world will
be invited to participate in this best-of-the-best confrontation.
Some of the tournament's nuances include competitors choosing
to wear whatever outfit they want, with all submissions permitted
including chokes, neck-cranks, arm-locks, knee-locks, ankle-locks,
foot-locks and takedowns in mactches without a time limit. The
first Prize is US $5000.00 and The IGJJF is still selecting fighters.

The
tournament is receiving fighters applications around all over
the world on the web-site www.igjjf.com/uss_general_info.html.

Source:
ADCC

UFC
44: Undisputed Schedule of Events

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Mandalay Bay Resort
& Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday, September 26, 2003,
with “UFC 44: Undisputed.” It’s been 2 years since
the Mandalay Bay was the venue chosen by Zuffa Sports Entertainment
for their Las Vegas debut in September 2001.

UFC
Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz (11-2-0) from Huntington
Beach, California will make his much anticipated return to the
octagon when he meets newly-crowned Interim Champion Randy Couture
(8-4-0) from Portland, Oregon for the Undisputed title in the
main event. Ortiz is coming off a significant win against legend
Ken Shamrock at UFC 40 in November 2002, while Couture is coming
off a win against former number one contender Chuck Liddell at
UFC 43 in June 2003.

UFC
Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia (17-0-0) of Davenport, Iowa will
defend his title for the first time against Gan McGee (12-1-0)
of San Luis Obispo, California. Sylvia earned the title at UFC
41 by defeating former champion Ricco Rodriguez, while McGee
is coming off a win against Alexandre Dantas on the same card.

The
9-Fight card features 2 titles defenses and a packed under card:

Tito
Ortiz vs. Randy Couture

Tim Sylvia vs. Gan McGee

Andre Arlovski vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

David Loiseau vs. Jorge Rivera

Rich Franklin vs. Edwin Dewees

Dave Strasser vs. Karo Parisyan

Jeremy Jackson vs. Nick Diaz

Hermes Franca vs. Caol Uno

Josh Thomson vs. Gerald Strebendt

The
Weigh-Ins take place in the House of Blues Concert Hall inside
the Mandalay Bay on Thursday, September 25, 2003. Doors open
at 3:00PM with an autograph session. Fighters step on the scales
starting at 4:00 PM.

Source: ADCC

"IT'S
TIME... TO BEGIN..." WITH THE UFC ON

NBC JAY LENO'S TONIGHT SHOW *

THIS FRIDAY - SEPT. 19TH - 11:30 EST/PST*

UFC
Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and Bruce Buffer, "The
Voice of MMA & the UFC Octagon", taped a special segment
for Jay Leno's Tonight Show with American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.
Scheduled to air on TV this Friday night Sept. 19th, the humorous
and informative segment was filmed under the guidance of Bruce
Buffer along with Tonight Show segment producer Scott Atwell,
as the crew spent three hours filming at the Ultimate Training
Center in Huntington Beach, California. Also featured in the
segment are UFC veteran Fabiano Iha and MMA champion Dean Lister.
The humorous and informative segment features all answering questions
by Seacrest about the UFC, its evolution, where it is today and
the sport of MMA. Seacrest is enthusiastic and game as he is
schooled by Tito, Fabiano and Dean on what it takes to be an
Ultimate Fighter while learning special moves and while training
with all three fighters.

"This
Leno segment is an historic network television event and promotional
opportunity for the UFC and Tito Ortiz. This level of positive
mainstream TV exposure for both the UFC and the sport of MMA
is priceless in my opinion and with UFC 44 being next week, the
timing could not be more perfect. If the Tonight Show can have
Oscar de La Hoya, Bob Sapp and Hulk Hogan on promoting their
events, then it's time to begin this Friday with Tito and me
promoting the UFC and MMA.

Tito,
Fabiano and Dean all did a great job and I owe a big thanks to
Tito's manager Marc Friedman and Glenn McCusker of X-treme Promotions
for their help in coordinating all the fighters, the Octagon,
the location and all else needed in time for the shoot,"
states Bruce Buffer.

Source:
Maxfighting

Coleman
Undergoes Neck Surgery

Pride
Grand Prix heavyweight champion Mark Coleman underwent surgery
Tuesday morning to repair a herniated disc in his neck. The decorated
UFC veteran had been suffering from significant neck pain for
over three years, prompting a stuttered fight schedule. His last
bout was a victory over Don Frye in June.

Friend
and fellow wrestler Kurt Angle recommended that Coleman have
orthoscopic surgery on his neck to repair the damage. It's the
same recently discovered procedure that Angle himself opted for
in April. Pittsburgh's Dr. Hae-Dong Jho performed both surgeries.
Recovery is expected to take a scant four to six weeks, at which
point Coleman expects to resume training.

Despite
just having gone under the knife, Coleman told Maxfighting Tuesday
afternoon that his neck already feels much better. "'The
Hammer' is back, and I'm going to kick some ass," he related.
A few days of hospital food should provide good motivation.

Maxfighting
wishes Mark a speedy recovery and return to the ring.

Source: Maxfighting

This
Month in MMA History: September

Royce
Gracie was forced to bow out of UFC III in September 1994, following
his energy-exhausting victory against Kimo. In another first
round match, Keith Hackney battered 600-plus-pound Emmanuel Yarborough
in the ultimate David and Goliath clash. Ninjitsu stylist Steve
Jennum replaced Ken Shamrock in the finals of the eight-man tournament
and became a UFC champion by rallying to defeat Harold Howard.

Marco
Ruas revealed the future of the sport the following September
at UFC VII. The well-rounded Brazilian submitted Larry Cureton
and Remco Pardoel on his road to the tournament finals, where
he then chopped down six-foot-eight Paul Varelans with a barrage
of punishing leg kicks. UFC commentator Bruce Beck captured the
zenith of Ruas' performance and Varelans' collapse by boisterously
proclaiming, "Down goes Varelans!" UFC legends Ken
Shamrock and Oleg Taktarov fought to a draw in the superfight.

Mark
Coleman won his second eight-man tournament at UFC 11 in September
96. Although Tank Abbott's grizzly countenance adorned the event
poster, alternate Scott Ferrozzo upset the street fighter in
the semifinals. A nightmare ensued as Abbott was ousted, Ferrozzo
was injured and no other alternates stepped to the plate, forcing
SEG to hand Coleman the victory without a championship match.

It
was a dark day for the sport, especially in Brazil, on September
27, 1997. While bitter adversaries Renzo Gracie and Eugenio Tadeau
met in the main event of Pentagon Combat, spectators and members
of their respective camps shoved their way to the cage for a
closer view of the action. The fevered rivalry inevitably spilled
over outside the cage and a horrendous riot resulted. At some
point during the melee, or possibly at the beginning of it, Gracie's
back was slashed open by someone who had reached through the
fence with a sharp object. When the riot finally subsided, the
match was ruled a no contest.

September
97 also featured the MMA debut of Vladimir Matyushenko. "The
Janitor" cleaned up an eight-man tournament in the IFC,
which included a victory over Vernon White in the opening round.
In Brazil, Artur Mariano stopped Vanderlei Silva on a cut, which
Silva opened himself by repeatedly headbutting, in the IVC II
tournament championship.

Two
years later in September 99, Frank Shamrock defeated Tito Ortiz
at UFC 22 in a fight destined for the history books. Shamrock
left the UFC after the epic win to never return, though he has
resumed his MMA career elsewhere.

Earlier
in that month, Igor Vovchanchyn appeared to have beaten a seemingly
invincible Mark Kerr, but his win at Pride 7 was declared a no
contest because he had struck Kerr while he was down. Vovchanchyn
won a decision over Kerr in the rematch at Pride 12.

Also
in September 99, Caol Uno submitted an inexperienced Din Thomas
in the third round of a competitive match in Shooto. The two
fighters met again in the first round of the UFC lightweight
tournament in September of last year (Uno won a decision).

UFC
27 fizzled in September 2000 after the planned title match between
Tito Ortiz and Yuki Kondo fell through. Instead, the main event
featured a quick but brutal victory by Pedro Rizzo over an aged
Dan Severn. Ortiz and Kondo met three months later in Japan,
with Ortiz winning via submission.

Also
in September 2000, Joe Hurley knocked out Chris Brennan at King
of the Cage: Cage Wars. Jerry Bohlander successfully returned
to the sport on the undercard, submitting Brian Foster with an
armbar.

Don
Frye exited professional wrestling and resurrected his MMA career
in September 2001 at Pride 16. The comeback turned ugly when
an ignoble Gilbert Yvel resorted to grabbing the ropes and eye
gouging to prevent Frye's takedowns. "The Predator"
was declared the victor via disqualification. In the main event,
Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira continued his rise by
submitting Mark Coleman.

Four
days later the UFC held their first show in Las Vegas while simultaneously
embarking on a widespread return to cable pay-per-view. UFC 33
proved to be an atrocious evening, however, as all five televised
fights went the distance and many fans watching at home missed
the end of the Matyushenko-Ortiz main event because the show
had exceeded its allotted time slot.

In
the same month, Sanae Kikuta defeated Ikuhisa Minowa in a thrilling
match