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November
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9/25/04
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8/15/04
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(MMA)
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7/24/04
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July 9-12
BJJ
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(BJJ)
(SESC gym, Salvador, Brazil)
6/20/04
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(MMA)
(Japan)
May
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(Kickboxing)
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Bushido 3
(MMA)
(Yokohama Arena, Japan)
5/7/04
Rumble On The Rock
5
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
5/2/04
Ring of Honor 5
(Sub Grappling)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
4/30/04
Punishment
in Paradise 3
(MMA)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
4/25/04
Pride Heavyweight
Grand Prix
(MMA)
(Japan)
4/24 /04
Warriors
of the Ring 6
(MMA)
(Wailuku, Maui)
5th Hawaiian Champioships of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ)
(Honolulu, HI)
4/18/04
The Pride of Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport
Jiujitsu, G3 Kickboxing, Extreme Sparring & Submission Grappling)
(Kam H.S. Gym)
4/17/04
Kona MMA Event
(MMA)
(Kona, HI)
4/16/04
Super
Brawl 35
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/9/04
Ring
of Honor 4
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
4/3-4/04
Pan American BJJ
Tournament
(BJJ)
(California State University Gym, Dominguez Hills, Carson (Los
Angeles), CA) |
|
April 2004 News
Part 1
Wednesday
night and Sunday classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
Tuesdays at 6:00PM on
Olelo Channel 52 |
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Quote
of the Day
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Nick
G. Please resend me your email.
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Ring
of Honor Results
Campbell High School Gym, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
February 9, 2004
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
This
was a marathon of fights, 16 matches total, consisting of kickboxing
and MMA matches. The kickboxing matches pitted fighters from
many different schools, some of which have either not participated
in a kickboxing event or have not entered so many fighters from
their gym. All the fights were amateur bouts, but you probably
would not have been able to tell that from the talent. Versola
and Matila had a wild first round that had the whole gym on the
edge of their seats as these two warriors unloaded on each other.
The second round slowed a bit and by the third both men were
gassed out, but still found the energy to hammer each other at
every opportunity. MMA fighter Tyson Naho'oikaika from Maui stepped
up to fight Joseph Cooley in a kickboxing match. Naho'oikaika
won the match by unanimous decision, but Cooley took the upper
hand away from Naho'oikaika at times in every round. Tyson showed
great technique by slipping punches and firing back with counters.
"G-Money" Arevalo and Tyson Nam showed the crowd how
much energy and lightning quick strikes the small men have. Both
men put together great punch-kick combinations and kept up the
pace for all three rounds. MMA fighters Mark Moreno and Harris
Sarmiento also stepped into the kickboxing ring to take on two
tough opponents. Both fights went the distance and showcased
why it is always a good thing to have a solid stand up game when
fighting in MMA. It was great seeing so many fighters from so
many different schools in one event, where their fighters were
evenly matched, making for great fights.
Exhibition:
Kickboxing: 3 Rounds X 45 Seconds
Tristin Kamaka (808 Fight Factory) draw Triston Pebria (Ewa Beach
Fight Club)
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1 Minute
Caleb Price (808 Fight Factory) def. Tad Saiki (Gee Yung)
TKO via injury default due to separated shoulder after the end
of the 2nd Round.
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1 Minute
Joshua Versola (Advanced Kempo-Karate Systems) def. Jesse Matila
(HMC)
Split decision [(28-29), (28-29), (29-26)] after 3 rounds.
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Brandon Antonio (Jesus Is Lord) def. Eddie Lee (Gee Yung)
TKO via injury default due to separated shoulder at 34 seconds
in Round 2.
Exhibition:
Kickboxing: 3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Cory Ferriera (808 Fight Factory) draw Keith Kugiyama (Gee Yung)
MMA:
2 Rounds X 3 Minutes
James Vincent (Kodenkan) def. Kimo Lee (Freelance)
Unanimous decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 3 rounds
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Jason Simon (HMC) def. Ron Foster (808 Fight Factory)
TKO via referee stoppage at 1:05 minutes in Round 3.
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Tyson Naho'oikaika (Wailuku Kickboxing) def. Joseph Cooley (Advanced
Kempo-Karate Systems)
Unanimous decision [(29-28), (30-27), (30-26)] after 3 Rounds.
MMA:
2 Rounds X 3 Minutes
Jeff Clark (The Garage) def. Chaian Alesna (Freelance)
TKO via injury (broken nose) in Round 1.
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Frank Robello (Advanced Kempo-Karate Systems) def. Alex Zarriello
(Gee Yung)
Unanimous decision [(30-28), (30-27), (30-27)] after 3 rounds.
MMA:
2 Rounds X 3 Minutes
Kevin Delima (Bulls Pen) def. Allan Slate (Ewa Beach Fight Club)
Submission via rear naked choke at 2:16 minutes in Round 1.
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Gerald "G Money" Arevalo (808 Fight Factory) drew Tyson
Nam (Gee Yung)
Draw [(30-28), (28-29), (29-29)] after 3 rounds.
MMA:
2 Rounds X 3 Minutes
Casey Daniels (Kodenkan) def. Tosh Cook (New Era Martial Arts)
Split decision [(20-19), (19-20), (20-19)] after 2 rounds.
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Molly "Mol-inator" Helsel (Jeet Kune Do) vs. Jessica
Trevino (New Era Martial Arts)
Unanimous decision [(30-27), (29-28), (30-28)] after 3 rounds.
Semi-Main
Event:
Exhibition: Kickboxing: 3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Mark Moreno (Bulls Pen) drew Zack Elezario (Wailuku Kickboxing)
Main
Event:
Kickboxing: 3 Rounds X 1.5 Minutes
Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) def. Shuji Yamauchi (The
Garage)
Unanimous decision [(30-28), (30-26), (29-24)] after 3 rounds. |
IS
PENN THE NEXT CHAMP TO
LEAVE THE UFC?
It's been a bizarre week for the UFC. After a very successful
pay per view at UFC 47, there has been some backlash about the
Tim Sylvia situation, but now comes word that UFC Champion BJ Penn has signed a fight
in K-1 for May.
While
K-1 is excited by the fact that BJ Penn would be joining them,
don't believe it just yet. Look for a legal battle to ensue and
don't look for Penn fighting anywhere but the Octagon in the
upcoming months.
MMAWeekly
could not get in contact with Penn or his manager yesterday to
get an official comment, but MMAWeekly has learned that the main
reason Penn wants out, is of course, the money.
It's
believed that Penn wants Hughes type of money. Hughes made $55,000
to show and $55,000 to win on his latest UFC contract. Penn on
the other hand made little less than half that number as he made
$25,000 to show and $25,000 to win against Hughes.
While
Penn wants more money, the bigger problem right now is the fact
that he is under contract with the UFC. In recent months, Zuffa
has put together new championship contract clauses that as long
as you're the champion, you can only fight in the UFC. This was
done to try and avoid the previous embarrasments of current champions
like Jens Pulver and Murilo Bustamante being stripped for not
defending their belts in the UFC. Both fighters went overseas
to try and make more money.
For
Pulver, he left because he was at the end of the contract. He
wanted more money, didn't get it and left. Bustamante came to
an end of a contract and instead of fighting, sat out a year
to get his release from the UFC.
This
situation is different because Penn is still under contract according
to some insiders, which means it will be very difficult for him
to sign any other contract than a UFC deal. He wouldn't be able
to sit out a year like Murilo did because Bustamante was at the
end of a deal.
Penn
has yet to comment publicly about the deal. We hope to have more
about the situation this weekend.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Post
fight with Yves Edwards
by: Joseph Cunliffe
The Woodlands,
TX -- Yves Edwards is on a 5-win streak defeating Hermes Franca
a week ago at “UFC 47: It’s On!” The Third Column
fighter earned the Split Decision win over the American Top Team
fighter in their lightweight fight at the Mandalay Bay Events
Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Suggested to be a qualifier fight,
Edwards may now face Josh Thomson of Team AKA for the vacant
UFC lightweight championship. The Thugjitsu specialist is now
5-2 in the UFC and feels having a (UFC) lightweight champion
will be good for the sport. A good striker, Edwards is also well
versed on the ground and feels his style matches up well with
that of Thomson to make for an exciting fight. The 27-year-old
is the most active of the UFC lightweight roster with over 50
amateur and professional fights to his record.
JC:
Congratulations on your win, Yves! YE: Thank you. I appreciate
it.
JC:
What was your reaction when Bruce Buffer announced you as the
Split Decision winner? YE: I felt pretty good. I knew it was
going to be close that it was going to be split or a draw...
it just depended on the Judges. I was pretty excited! I know
I won the first round and he won the second round. I felt like
I pulled it off and I was hoping they saw I was trying to push
the action in the third round.
JC:
So, we agree that Round 1 & 2 was clear? YE: Yeah, definitely.
I knew I had the first round and after I watched it on tape I
knew I lost the second round, but I thought it was worse then
it actually was. It didn’t look so bad on tape. He had position
and submission attempts. He had me at his will for a good part
of the round, but it wasn’t a totally dominating round it
was just a pretty solid 10-9 round for him.
JC:
What made Round 3 yours? YE: I think the fact that he did get
one take down, but I escaped, then every other take down I was
on top throwing punches at him the whole time. He was the one
defending. His submission attempts didn’t really come through
and he was trying to defend himself from the punches. I think
the punches are what gave me the third round. The submission
attempts were not as effective as they were in the second round.
JC:
If you could do something over in the fight what would it be?
YE: In the second round I didn’t feel winded, but I felt
him pressing his position a lot better. I would probably have
tried to create more of a scramble in the second round. From
half guard he started looking for leg locks. I think I would
have tried to not just defend the leg locks or pass his half
guard, but try to pull everything back out and make him stand
up with me again because after he got that takedown in the second
round I think he was pretty much done as far as takedowns go.
JC:
Keeping your legs together and ankles crossed was defending the
leg locks? YE: Yeah, that was defending the knee bar and toe
hold. He wasn’t really in position to get a heel hook and
because of the position we were in with my leg being crossed,
I had more leverage then if I had just one leg fighting against
him. Having both legs together gave me more leverage to keep
my knees bent and avoid the knee bar and it made it harder for
him to reach around both of my feet to try and set up a toe hold,
so by the time he got his toe hold set up I was ready to roll
and spin out of it and try to pull my leg out.
JC:
You brought 7 years experience and 50+ fights to the octagon
Friday night. What got you into MMA? YE: I was just like everybody
else... I watched the first UFC and I finally found a gym to
train at and after training a few months I did a local amateur
Vale Tudo tournament and I was hooked. Once you do this, you’ll
either get hooked or give it up. There is no in between.
JC:
You are obviously hooked. What drives you in MMA today? YE: The
competition is still good. I think one thing I have done lately
is put too much pressure on myself thinking I need to do this
and that... that I forgot the fun, but I think I have grown up
in not wanting to kill people today. For a long time I wasn’t
confident in my ground game as I am now. I need to have fun with
it again. The fun thing about it is you go up against a guy who
has been training just as hard as you and he is ready for you
and he knows what he is getting in to. He has his opinions of
what he has to do to win and you have your opinions of what you
need to do to win and it’s who is going to execute those
things... I think that is the most exciting part of it... that
this guy is totally 100% prepared for me. What am I going to
do to over come that? Is my training enough to over shadow his?
Am I going to faulter? There ain’t gonna be no faultering
around here.
JC:
Your training incorporates many facets and people. How have you
made this work for you? YE: We do everything in one place and
all the guys come to me. I have my boxing coach. He trains me
pretty much everyday he isn’t working. My Jiu-Jitsu coach
makes sure that I’m prepared. We have some really good wrestlers
that come in and train. Everybody is willing to learn from each
other and everybody wants to get better themselves. It all comes
together in a way that is like a stew... everybody has the same
goals to make everyone better and to get better themselves. Nobody
is selfish. I think that is how it works out best.
JC:
What is the name of your fight team? YE: The Third Column and
our style is Thigjitsu.
JC:
What is Thugjitsu? YE: Thugjitsu is the modern art of the beat
down.
JC:
How was that developed? YE: It’s a combination of Thai Boxing,
Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling. It’s all about exploiting what
you’re strong at and your opponents weakness. It’s
the same as everybody else does, but it’s finding a weakness
in your opponent and exploiting it. If someone has a really weak
takedown you make them want to shoot so you can land knees or
you can land big shots as they’re coming in. Some guys on
our team have sick Jiu-Jitsu... they just abuse people on the
ground so they work whatever they need to get the fight on the
ground and dominate there.
JC:
Was there any pressure on you hearing the winner of this fight
goes against Josh Thomson for the vacant lightweight championship?
YE: I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but
that is what I want... I want the title. Whether it’s Josh
Thomson who whoever it may be... I hope that fight comes up...
and I hope we get to do it pretty soon because I’m ready
for it. I’m 5-2 in the UFC. I’m on a 5-fight streak
and I don’t want to be like Chuck (Liddell) and have to
wait forever for the title shot. I don’t want to miss my
shot. You only have a window of so long to do this and I don’t
want to get my title at the end of my career because I want to
defend it for a long time and hold on to it and represent.
JC:
The end of your career? YE: There is still plenty of time and
as long as I’m healthy and still learning I’m willing
to be in it. Things happen also. You never know. I don’t
want to think about it, but you have to accept it as a possibility.
JC:
Is there anything you’d like to say? YE: I just really want
to fight Josh for the belt because I think it will be good for
the sport having a lightweight champion and I think that fight...
the style of Josh and myself... can make for an exciting fight.
I would also like to say keep “TheRealJoker” free.
JC:
Thank you, Yves. YE: Take it easy.
Source: ADCC |
Latest
Pancrase Official Rankings (as of 4/5/2004)
by: Mr Oitate
[Open-weight]
the 10th Open-weight K.O.P. Josh Barnett (U.S.A./New Japan Pro-Wrestling)
#1 Yuki Kondo (PANCRASEism)
#2 Semmy Schilt (Holland/Golden Glory)
#3 Yoshiki Takahashi (PANCRASEism)
#4 Sanae Kikuta (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#5 Kiuma Kunioku (PANCRASEism)
#6 Nathan Marquardt (U.S.A./Colorado Stars)
#7 VACANT
[Super
heavyweight(221lbs. and over)]
the 1st Super heavyweight K.O.P. VACANT
#1 Semmy Schilt (Holland/Golden Glory)
#2 Ron Waterman (U.S.A./Team Impact)
#3 Keigo Takamori (Pancrase MEGATON) *UP from #4
#4 Tim Lajcik (U.S.A./Gladiators Training Academy) *DOWN from
#3
#5 Sehaku (RJW/CENTRAL)
#6 Jun Ishii (Chojin Club)
#7 Jimmy Ambriz (U.S.A./New Japan Pro-Wrestling)
#8 KENGO (PANCRASEism)
[Heavyweight(199lbs.~under
221lbs.)]
the 1st Heavyweight K.O.P. Yoshiki Takahashi (PANCRASEism)
#1 Tsuyoshi Ozawa (Zendokai)
#2 Katsuhisa Fujii (UFO)
#3 Jason Godsey (U.S.A./I.F. Academy)
[Light
heavyweight(181lbs.~under 199lbs.)]
the 3rd Light heavyweight K.O.P. Yuki Kondo (PANCRASEism)
#1 Sanae Kikuta (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#2 Ricardo Almeida (U.S.A./Renzo Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy)
#3 Akihiro Gono (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#4 Nilson de Castro (Brazil/Chute Boxe Academy)
#5 Daisuke Watanabe (PANCRASEism)
#6 David Terrell (U.S.A./Cesar Gracie Academy)
#7 Yuki Sasaki (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#8 Keiichiro Yamamiya (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#9 Osami Shibuya (PANCRASEism)
#10 Ikuhisa Minowa (freelance)
[Middleweight(165.7lbs.~
under 181lbs.)]
the 4th Middleweight K.O.P. Ricardo Almeida (U.S.A./Renzo Gracie
Jiu Jitsu Academy)
#1 Nathan Marquardt (U.S.A./Colorado Stars)
#2 Izuru Takeuchi (SK Absolute)
#3 Crosley Gracie (U.S.A./Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy)
#4 Kazuo Misaki (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#5 Kiuma Kunioku (PANCRASEism)
#6 Eiji Ishikawa (Pancrase GRABAKA)
#7 Hidehiko Hasegawa (SK Absolute)
#8 Shonie Carter (U.S.A./AIKI Training Hall)
#9 Hikaru Sato (PANCRASEism) *IN!
#10 Yuichi Nakanishi (freelance) *DOWN from #9
[Welterweight
(152.5lbs.~ under 165.7lbs.)]
the 1st Welterweight K.O.P. Kiuma Kunioku (PANCRASEism)
#1 Koji Oishi (PANCRASEism)
#2 Takafumi Ito (PANCRASEism)
#3 Kenichi Serizawa (Wajutsu Keishukai Suruga Dojo)
#4 Satoru Kitaoka (PANCRASEism)
#5 Hiroki Nagaoka (MMA Dojo DOBUITA)
#6 Yuji Hoshino (Wajutsu Keishukai GODS)
#7 Takuya Wada (SK Absolute)
#8 Heath Sims (U.S.A./Team Quest)
[Lightweight
(141.4lbs.~ under 152.5lbs.)] VACANT
[Featherweight
(under 141.4lbs.)] VACANT
Source: ADCC |
FOUR
MORE FIGHTERS ADDED TO TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004!
Slowly but surely it looks as though the Pride Grand Prix is
starting to come together. MMAWeekly on Friday broke the story
that Mark Coleman would face Fedor Emelianenko in the
first round. Coleman's teammate Kevin Randleman faces Mirko
Cro Cop and it now looks like a couple of other rumors include
Heath Herring facing Ron Waterman in the first round and
Don Frye most likely facing Yoshiki Takahashi; according
to, MMAWeekly's Scott Petersen who has seen a couple of Japanese
newspapers confirm it as well.
Source:
MMA Weekly
LOS ANGELES, California - Four more participants have been added
to the sixteen man heavyweight tournament, TOTAL ELIMINATION
2004, which will take place on April 25th, 2004 from the Saitama
Super Arena in Japan. The event is scheduled to debut on North
American pay per view on same day delay.
Newly
Added Participants:
Kevin
"The Monster" Randleman
Murilo "Ninja" Rua
Ron "H20" Waterman
Yoshiki Takahashi
Previously
Announced Participants:
Mark
"The Hammer" Coleman
Hirotaka Yokoi
Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva
Sergei Kharitonov
Fedor Emelianenko
Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
"The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring
Stefan "Blitz" Leko
Henry "Sentoryu" Miller
Two
of the previously announced competitors have dropped out---"Ice
Cold" Igor Vovchanchyn due to injury and Sylvester "The
Predator" Terkay for personal reasons.
One
of the most successful amateur wrestlers to make the transition
to mixed martial arts, Kevin "The Monster" Randleman
was a three time All-American and two time national wrestling
champion at Ohio State University. He enters the tournament as
a PRIDE FC veteran and as the UFC's former world heavyweight
champion, having won the title with a win against Pete Williams
at UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2. Along with Mark "The Hammer"
Coleman, he is the second representative from the Hammer House
Gym in this 16-man tournament.
Murilo
"Ninja" Rua is the official heavyweight representative
in the tournament for the Chute Boxe Vale Tudo team of Brazil.
With Chute Boxe's Wanderlei Silva having won the 2003 middleweight
tournament, "Ninja" is looking to make it a sweep and
continue Chute Boxe dominance!
With
a mixed martial arts record of 10-2, the 6'2", 250 lbs Ron
"H20" Waterman is one of the most powerful men in the
sport. His strength coupled with his wrestling and submission
abilities makes this Colorado native one of the toughest match-ups
in the tournament.
A
mixed martial arts veteran with nearly thirty wins in the Pancrase
organization, Yoshiki Takahashi blends a solid stand up game
with an array of submissions. Among this heavyweight fighter's
list of career victories is a win over Wallid Ismail at UFC 12:
Judgment Day.
The
final two remaining participants as well as the match-ups for
the opening round will be announced soon. The schedule for the
tournament will be as follows:
PRIDE
FC 16-Man Heavyweight Tournament
TOTAL
ELIMINATION 2004
April 25, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
(Opening Round)
CRITICAL
COUNTDOWN 2004
June 20, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
(Second Round)
FINAL
CONFLICT 2004
August 15, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
(Semi-Finals and Finals)
PRIDE
FC: TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004 will premiere on North American pay
per view through iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra,
TVN1, Bell Express Vu, and Viewer's Choice Canada on Sunday,
April 25th, 2004. The premiere time is 9:00pm EST, 6:00pm PST
and the count down show is at 8:30pm EST, 5:30pm PST
Participants
and fight card are subject to change.
Source: FCF |
Quote
of the Day
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the
need for a father's protection."
Sigmund Freud 1856-1939, Austrian Physician - Founder of Psychoanalysis
|
Ring
of Honor Tonight
Campbell High School, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
February 9, 2004
7:00PM
Come on down and see a ton of fights, there was at one point
20 fights scheduled. It will be a mix of kickboxing and MMA matches.
|
WLADIMIR
KLITSCHKO, JAMEEL MCCLINE, JEREMY WILLIAMS, ATTILA LEVIN, CEDRIC
KUSHNER, AND JOE BYRD ON 'KNOCKOUT RADIO' ON MAXBOXING.COM
by: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
We
are about to see just how new this 'new era' in boxing really
is.
In
case you're scratching your head, or merely shaking it, the historical
moment that was supposed to inaugurate this 'new era' was the
long-awaited and delayed retirement of Lennox Lewis in February.
Now we have four fights over the next three Saturdays for heavyweight
belts from four of the alphabet soup sanctioning bodies.
It's
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Lamon Brewster this Saturday for the vacant
WBO belt. On April 17, WBA champ John Ruiz defends against Fres
Oquendo, and IBF champ Chris Byrd defends against Andrew Golota.
Then on April 24, Vitali Klitschko fights Corrie Sanders for
the vacant WBC belt. If you had all that memorized already, go
out and read a book or have a beer or talk to someone, please!
Did
you ever leave a pot of soup sitting out on the stove too long?
Then you know the soggy, lukewarm mess you usually find. Multiply
that by a couple of decades, the length of time these alphabets
have been cooking up their schemes, and you don't have to be
a master chef to know that boxing has been stewing in a supersized
pot of poison that has already dragged it from the limelight
of the sports world into the flashing red lights of emergency
vehicles reserved either for criminals or the critically ill.
The business of boxing is both criminal and critically ill, so
much so that by contrast the politicians in Washington have stepped
forward to declare that they are its savior.
The
median age in America is about 36 years old. That means that
about half of the population was born in or before 1968, and
about half born in or after 1968. The last time the heavyweight
championship of the world was the world's most prestigious honor
in sports was in Muhammad Ali's second reign as champion, from
1974 to 1978. For boxing, that means that for about half the
population, that time was at best a dim childhood memory, or
took place before they were born. While there were numerous deserving
champions after Ali, the fragmentation of the title contributed
to diluting and eventually robbing it of its worldwide and previously
unequaled prestige.
Now
the fights over these next three Saturdays for the WBO, WBA,
IBF, and WBC heavyweight belts will presumably result in four
men holding these titles. If both Wladimir Klitschko and his
brother Vitali prevail in their fights, they have stated numerous
times that they will never fight each other. But that is not
the obstacle to unifying the heavyweight title. None of the contestants
in the Ruiz-Oquendo and Byrd-Golota fights are named Klitschko.
And if one or both of the Klitschkos fall over the next three
weekends, it will only be a moot footnote of history that they
had declared that they would not fight each other.
The
necessity for unifying the heavyweight title -- which most recently
became unglued when Lennox Lewis first refused a fight with John
Ruiz for the WBA belt and then Chris Byrd for the IBF belt --
occurs at a time in boxing when its basic structure is being
challenged from two different directions. Last week's passage
by the U.S. Senate, with bi-partisan support, of a bill to establish
a national boxing commission may begin a process where the politicians
begin to do what the promoters have failed to do for at least
a century -- establish some central control of this most fragmented
of major pro sports. At the same time, the move by the Teamsters,
through the Joint Association of Boxers (JAB), to set up a boxers'
union may take a giant step forward on April 15 with the holding
of what is being called the first unionized boxing card ever
at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom.
The
worse the promoters, television networks, and sanctioning bodies
make the heavyweight title mess, the stronger the politicians
will make their bids for control of the sport. And the more these
same forces -- the politicians included -- keep the boxers out
of the process of determining what the structure of boxing should
be, the stronger will be the efforts of the boxers themselves
to decide their own fates.
None
of this, of course, will happen straightaway and without all
sorts of zigs and zags. But there are some major and historic
showdowns coming in the boxing world, and its fate may just be
determined for at least decades to come by the outcome of these
power struggles.
That
is the backdrop behind the obvious and tedious succession drama
taking place over these next three weekends.
This
week on 'Knockout Radio,' exclusively on MaxBoxing.com(http://maxboxing.com),
host Eddie Goldman speaks with Wladimir Klitschko (42-2, 39 KOs)
about the prospects for unifying the heavyweight titles should
he win his fight Saturday night with Lamon Brewster (29-2, 26
KOs) in Las Vegas. We also speak with heavyweight contender Jameel
McCline (30-3-3, 18 KOs) about his fight in New York's Hammerstein
Ballroom on Thursday, April 15, with British heavyweight Wayne
Llewelyn (24-4-1, 19 KOs). We speak with heavyweights Jeremy
Williams (40-4-1, 35 KOs) and Attila Levin (29-1, 23 KOs), who
also face each other on that New York card, which will also be
broadcast on ShoBox on Showtime in the U.S. We speak with promoter
Cedric Kushner who put together this April 15 card. And we speak
with Joe Byrd, the father and trainer of Chris Byrd, about what
to expect on April 17 in the Madison Square Garden fight against
the controversial Golota.
'Knockout
Radio' is pre-recorded, and hosted by myself, Eddie Goldman.
Comments
or questions? E-mail the show at our new address: knockoutradio@aol.com
. Join in the discussion about boxing's hottest issues!
You
can always find 'Knockout Radio' on MaxBoxing.com by looking
at the right-hand column and going to the INTERACTIVE section.
'Knockout Radio' can be heard exclusively on the members-only
section of MaxBoxing.com. This section is a subscription service,
meaning that your subscriptions can keep the content there commercial-free.
The show is in RealPlayer format, so a media player that can
play RealPlayer is required.
'Knockout
Radio' is part of the MaxBoxing Audio Network.
Source: ADCC |
LIDDELL
NOW A SPECTATOR WAITING FOR FIGHT
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell was the featured guest on
MMAWeekly Sound-Off Radio Thursday. Chuck discussed his knockout
win over Tito Ortiz and his future title shot against the winner
between Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture.
Chuck
has been doing his media tour and just finished shooting "Last
Call" with Carson Daly that will air next Tuesday. He said
doing the show was fun and that he enjoyed talking with Carson
who loves the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Daly had both Ortiz
and Liddell on leading up to the fight and, according to Chuck,
gets excited about having fighters on his show.
Liddell
took us through the fight with Tito, nearly minute by minute.
As the two entered the octagon, Chuck said he could tell Tito
was nervous by how many intimidation tactics he was trying to
use on him. He went on to say, "I knew it bothered him that
he didn't intimidate me at all." When asked what was going
through his mind right before the fight while standing in there
looking across at Ortiz, Chuck said he was thinking "get
everyone out of the ring and let's get this going."
As
the fight started, Liddell was looking for Tito to try and take
him down. He said, "I know he was looking for a chance to
shoot in." After Tito's two unsuccessful takedown attempts,
Liddell knew he was going to knock him out sooner or later. In
the closing seconds of round one, Chuck landed a high kick on
Ortiz that he thinks hurt him. "I was about to let loose
the same hands I did early in the second round right there,"
Chuck commented.
Chuck
and Tito exchanged early in the second round, leaving Tito rubbing
his eye afterward. When asked if it was from a poke or a punch,
Liddell stated clearly that "it was a punch." He said
it got him below the eye and, "his eye started swelling
up below the eye." When he saw Tito rub his eye, "below
his eye," Chuck went in for the finish. He had been working
on letting "his hands go" in training and that's exactly
what he did.
Liddell
said he thought, "OK, I gotta go after this guy and finish
him, he's hurting right now, he's worried about my punches."
He knew from watching tapes of Tito's fight that "when he
covers up like that, he doesn't do anything until you stop throwing
punches." Chuck said he was in good shape and would have
thrown punches for the next four minutes if it lasted that long.
"I knew I could knock him out, if I could keep him on his
feet, I'd knock him out sooner or later," Liddell added.
He was excited that he "was able to finish it in such explosive
fashion."
What
is next for Chuck? It is a "waiting game" to see who
wins between Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture. Chuck isn't counting
Vitor out but is picking Couture to win. He said last time, he
ran out of gas a little bit against Randy. Since then, Chuck
has gone back to training the way he used to. He said that he
was getting away from what got him where he was and has now gone
back to it. He will focus more on wrestling with the guys at
Cal Poly to prepare for a fight with Couture.
Liddell
already holds a win over Vitor Belfort and doesn't think much
will change if they fight again. In the first fight, Belfort
caught Chuck off guard and got the early takedown, something
Chuck doesn't want to happen again. "Give me five rounds
and I think I will finish him," stated Liddell. As for now,
Chuck has to wait until probably November to fight again. Having
fought four times in the last ten months, this could be a needed
break from fighting for Chuck.
Source: MMA Weekly |
BENNETT
BREAKDOWN:
UFC 47 PAY PER VIEW BUYS LOOK GOOD
First wanted
to say thank you to everyone who helped out MMAWeekly Radio last
week on the road in Las Vegas. Beth, Jack, Spence and the Mandalay
Bay were tremendous. Big thank you to you. Hard to believe that
the radio show turns ONE YEAR OLD on Monday. Who would have thought?
After
a great show at UFC 47 it looks like the early word on the street
regarding UFC 47 pay per view buys is very encouraging. I talked
briefly with UFC President Dana White this week and while he
wouldn’t comment on the actual numbers coming in so far
he said "The preliminary numbers are very good. We are very
optimistic about the early numbers…." What are those
numbers?
Dana
continued "We never comment about numbers. We could do 1.5
million buys like boxing does and still not comment. It’s
just what we choose to do as a private company. Good or bad we
don’t comment" .
By
the way I predict "good" and think a 6 figure number
is very possible. You have to be hoping for 100,000 buys. What
we do know is that the UFC poured in a lot of money in advertising
in Los Angeles and it looks like it paid off.
Somewhere
in the ball park of $200,000 was poured into commercials in the
L.A. market alone and judging from the live gate; announced at
1.7 million at the UFC 47 post press conference, not to mention
a sellout of over 11,000 fans it looks like the media blitz worked.
Can they keep the momentum going unlike UFC 40? Maybe and here’s
why.
The
UFC followed UFC 40 which had Tito vs Ken Shamrock as the main
event, with UFC 41 Ricco Rodriguez vs Tim Sylvia headlining.
Zuffa then followed that headliner with UFC 42 of Matt Hughes
vs Sean Sherk. While those last two were solid as far as MMA
fans go, does anyone else outside of MMA internet fans understand
who these guys are?
By
the way, it’s not the fighters fault at all; since, they
haven’t been marketed like Tito, Robbie Lawler and some
others in the company. On the flip side it’s not Zuffa’s
fault because they have FIVE or SIX shows, count them, six at
the most, A YEAR to market guys. How many poster boys can you
truly create in SIX shows a year? Yes, we needed a weekly TV
show like two years ago already.
With
that said, will the mainstream public have puchased UFC 40, 41,
and 42 over UFC 47 Tito vs Chuck, UFC 48 – Ken vs Kimo (yeah
it’s a WWE dream match not an MMA one) and UFC 49 –
Vitor vs Randy III? I think we would all agree that 47-49 is
much more appealing than 40 through 42 was, from a mainstream
point of view.
By
the way if UFC 47 pay per view buys translates like I think it
will, not only will it be a huge success for the UFC….but
a huge for one Tito Ortiz. Say what you want about Tito but even
after two losses, he is still a huge draw for this company.
You
look at the last six UFC’s he has been a part of, Ortiz
has sold out every single main event he's been in. Look, I buy
the statements when they say Chuck had as much to do with the
success of 47 as Tito did and you could even say Ken Shamrock
did as well back at 40, but let me ask you this. Did Vladimir
Matyushenko, or Evan Tanner or Elvis Sinosic have to do with
it when they "headlined" with Ortiz? As much as a fan
I am of those three guys mentioned, it was Mr. Ortiz who is still
a box office smash. If your keeping track at home that means
sellout’s of Tito’s last five shows….UFC 30, 32,
33, 40, 44 and now 47. Pretty good track record in my book.
The
Wes Sims vs Mike Kyle match was weird, bizarre and spectacular
all in the same fight. Do I think Kyle bit Sims intentionally?
Initially yes, but after going back and watching the tape and
hearing my friend Jeff Osborne’s opinion on the situation….I
may be switching my mind. (If you didn’t see what Osborne
said read Tuesday’s News).
This
is what needs to happen. Sims has to come back because he took
this fight basically on one days notice and he helped out the
UFC big time. Throw him in there with Johnathon Wiezorek.
By
the way, I totally disagree with Kyle’s strategy of trying
to take the big Wes down. Mike you have fast hands, you are a
good striker. Never take a guy down. Use your speed and quickness
to your advantage. With that said, can we see Kyle vs Cabbage
after all?
Speaking
of Wes Sims, it looks like he is coming out to California to
come train with the Pit fight team. Very good move on the big
man’s part. The Pit did a very good job with Gan McGee for
years and they can do the same for big Wes. Spending time with
Chuck Liddell is a very good career move and training under one
of the best in the business, in John Hackleman, is always a great
move. Big Wes bring Coleman and Randleman with you quick! Cro
Cop and Fedor are on the way for your boys? Fly to California
tomorrow!!
With
all the great steps the UFC and Zuffa are making at this time,
it’s finally time for more than two champions in the company.
Yes, I’ve heard it before, you can’t get five champions
to fight on just six shows a year, when the champ has it in his
contract to fight every other UFC.
Math
geniuses understand this concept, the rest of us that can’t
figure it out….it’s mathmatically impossible to do.
Or so I'm told. (I failed Geometry many times and I can't event
spell it correctly..)
So
with that said, if my math skills are accurate, we have just
TWO champions right now at last count. Vitor Belfort and BJ Penn.
That means while we sort out the mess at 185, we have a plan
in place for the Heavyweight division which is now a four man
tournament…..check that….a three man tournament. Andrei
Arlovski vs Frank Mir or Tim Sylvia.
Let’s
do the right thing and make Yves Edwards vs Josh Thomson for
the title. That will help give more legitmacy to the 155 division
or if we don't want to crown anybody else, then let’s not
showcase 155 and just do from 170 up. That’s what it comes
down to. These guys at 155 work just as hard if not harder than
anyone else, let’s make this a title and add a legit champion
to 155. (Oh yea, I forgot....winner fights Jens Pulver, then
it’s truly legit! Moving on...)
Speaking
of legitmacy, while 185 is a mess right now I would love to see
a tournament to crown a champion. No not a tourney in one night,
but a tournament spread out over many shows. Look if you did
an 8 man or 16 man tourney it would be sensational. You only
need to book one or two fights per UFC at 185.
It
would serve two purposes. It takes a long time to get a champion
if your only showcasing one or two fights on the card and it
furthers a storyline EVERY UFC in the 185 division, instead of
not knowing what is happening in the division. 8 or 16 man tourney
would be great, it would take a long time and by then you most
likely will be on TV.
Speaking
of 185, David Terrell is the greatest fighter in that division
you don’t know about and I would love to see a Terrell vs
Jeremy Horn first round match. All in all, great job with UFC
47, hopefully we capitilize on the momentum at 48, and here's
to titles at 155 and 185 before 2004. See you on the radio at
www.mmaweeklyradio.com (Mandatory radio plug, got it in, thanks
for reading.)
Source: MMA Weekly |
LIFE
OF A FIGHTER: PART III
by Ivan Trembow
I've heard that many of the wrestling sheets will have more on
this later today, but for the mma fans, while doing research
for this week's article on MMA salaries, I stumbled upon something
that is not salary-related, but is interesting and noteworthy
to point out nonetheless.
On
the "Advance Notice" document for UFC 47 salaries,
the document already lists Wes "Cabbage" Correira vs. Andrei Arlovski,
and Mike Kyle vs. Wes Sims as fights that are scheduled to take
place at UFC 47. As it says right on the document, advance notices
must be completed and mailed at least five days before the date
of the event.
This
really put a lot of pressure on the UFC to have an "alternate"
plan in place in case Syliva tested positive for steroids. Assuming
that Zuffa mailed the Advance Notice on the last possible day
of Saturday, March 27, this explicitly means that the plan as
of six days before UFC 47 was for Cabbage to fight Andrei Arlovski,
and for Wes Sims to step in and fight Mike Kyle to be protected
by Nevada State Athletic Commision rules. That was the UFC's
plan as of Saturday, March 27. Then the UFC could have then changed
these plans if Tim Sylvia produced a negative drug test on the
week of the show.
What
this ultimately means is while Cabbage, Arlovski, Kyle, and Sims
may have only known for 100% sure who their opponents would be
on the day of the weigh-in (24 hours before the event), they
at least had an idea that they could have been fighting someone
else. In the time period on or before Saturday, March 27, the
UFC had to have contacted the appropriate fighters, offered them
the modified fights, gotten all of the fighters in question to
agree to their paychecks and their new opponents, signed all
of the contracts, filled out the "Advance Notice" paperwork,
and mailed the Advance Notice paperwork... again, all before
Saturday, March 27.
One
other interesting tidbit is at one point Zuffa planned to have
a Heavyweight Title fight at UFC 47... and I'm not talking about
Tim Sylvia vs. Frank Mir. In the Advance Notice paperwork filed
on or before March 27, Cabbage vs. Arlovski is listed as a five-round
fight, which would mean it was scheduled to be a title fight.
It was later changed into a three-round, non-title fight at some
point between March 27 and April 1.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Terrell
in UFC?
Graciefighter, David Terrell will be fighting at U.F.C. 49. The
BJJ Blackbelt has been making a name for himself in Japan's Pancrase
organization where he has fought 2 opponents winning once by
knockout (Yuki Sasaki) and once by choking his opponent (Osami
Shibuya) unconscious.
Terrell is widely regarded as America's #1 grappler and he will
now be trying to turn that notoriety into success at the U.F.C.
Zuffa has not of yet named an opponent nor has it been determined
if Terrell will be fighting at the 185lbs or the 205lbs weightclass.
Source: Gracie Fighter |
Lindland
Speaks
We spoke with Matt Linland and asked him about his team and what's
next for him. Here's what he had to say:
GF-
Matt what's next for you in the fight world?
ML-The fight business “game” is tough right now. I
have no idea what is on the horizon for my next fight and me.
I don’t just sit around and wait for a fight I started a
promotion company here in Oregon. Since I fought last in the
UFC I have put on two shows and my third is coming right up.
Like any new business it takes a lot of time and money to get
going. Like fighting the harder I work the luckier I get.
GF-Anything
coming up for Dan Henderson?
ML-Sounds like Dan will be back in Pride come June.
GF:
Randy?
Randy looks to be fighting Vitor in UFC 49
GF:How's
Evan Tanner looking for his rematch with Baroni?
ML:Tanner is getting ready to put another beating on that clown
Phil Baroni. I heard they named the next UFC “Payback”
they should have named the show “Replay”
ML:Team
Quest young up and coming guys are getting real tough. We are
looking forward to testing Ryan Schultz against Gil in May.
GF:
Thanks Matt, good luck
Source: Gracie Fighter |
Quote
of the Day
"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our
aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low,
and achieving our mark."
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Painter, Sculptor |
Super
Brawl 35 Fight Card Announced!
Friday,
April 16, 2004
Neil Blaisdell Arena
Tickets are on sale now! Get your tickets quick because with
Enson head lining, UFC Veterans Jeff Curran and Rich Frankin,
Super Brawl/Extreme Challenge 185 lb tournament champion Joe
Doerkson, as well as some of Hawaii's best fighters and Enson's
hand picked Japanese fighters from his own team on this packed
to the hilt card, this one may be a sell out.
205lbs
Enson Inoue (Purebred, Omiya 11-7)
v
Tom "Trauma" Sauer (Team Extreme Ocala, FL, 14-6)
205lbs
Rich "Ace" Franklin (Team Extreme, Cincinnatti, OH,
12-1)
v
TBA
138lbs
Jeff Curran (Team Extreme, 11-6-1)
v
Kimihito Nonaka (Purebred, Omiya, 6-6-2)
160lbs
Ryan Bow (Purebred, Tokyo, 10-5)
v
"3D" Deshaun Johnson (HMC, 5-6)
155lbs
Tetsuji Kato (Purebred, Omiya, 16-5)
v
Jason Dent (Indianapolis, 3-1)
150lbs
Makoto Ishikawa (Purebred, Omiya, 9-5-1
v
Antoine Skinner (Indianapolis, 4-3)
Heavyweight
Kerry "Meat Truck" Schall (Team Extreme, Ohio, 14-6)
v
Ray "King Kong" Seraille (Grappling Unlimited, 3-5)
155lbs
Toshikazu Iseno (Purebred, Omiya,)
v
Bart Palaszewski (Team Curran, 7-3)
128lbs
Jyoji Yamaguchi (Purebred, Omiya)
v
Billy "The" Kidd (Indianapolis, 2-0)
180lbs
Kai Kamaka (808 Fight Factory)
v
TBA
205lbs
Riki Fukuda (Purebred, Omiya)
v
Joe Doerkson (Team Extreme) |
2004
Pan-Ams Full Report
The
final day of the 2004 Pan-Ams was off the rocker. With great
matches started right away with the Team USA v Team Brazil competition.
Team USA scored many big wins with stand-outs Jacob McClintock,
Mike Folwer, Brandon Vera, Rafael Lovato Jr and Alberto Crane
leading the charge. The US team made great strides towards winning
the team event! Of note, Rener Gracie was defetaed by Eduardo
Telles by points in a very contested match and Aaron Lapointe
put a great effort before succumbing to World Champion Bibiano
Fernandes!
There
were too many great purple and brown belt matches to report.
Blue belt Juveniles saw Kron Gracie show a glimpse of things
to come. With his father Rickson's mannerism, young Kron submitted
every opponent he faced to win the Blue Gold. Ralek Gracie had
a run of three submissions stopped by Jason Collard. Collard
submitted Ralek with an arm bar on his way to the title. TT's
Andre Galvao won the Brown Belt medium going away. The kid is
a prodigy and he defeated many very tough opponents by submission.
The
story of the day however were the incredible Black Belt matches.
Bibiano cleaned out the field and collected gold in the Superfeather.
He is a rising star who demonstrated that it is going to be hard
to keep him from collecting titles.
The
featherweight division had too many stars, Renato Migliacio opened
up with a points win over Megaton. His reward was a match against
Superfreak Leo Vieira. Leozinho scored a large victory over last
years Champion using his trademark acrobatic moves, showing everyone
he was ready for the final.
On
the other side of the bracket current World Cup Champion Fredson
Alves defeated his opponent setting up the MEGA match of the
Superfreak against the SuperSweeper. The match was one for the
ages with Leozinho getting the win by an advantage with the final
score 4 x 4 .
In
the light it was Edson Diniz all the way to the finals, with
a win over tough opponent Alberto Crane while on the other side
of the bracket Daniel Moares disposed of his opponetns. Daniel
won the title by referee's decision.
In
the medium, it was Terere's time. The man is as fast a lightning
and he won his first three matches with split second chokes.
The fight would start and everything would be fine and as soon
as an exchange would occur . . . ZAP Terere had a choke on. On
the other side Paulo Guillobel had a semifinal win over Joao
Silva by points. Terere continued his relentless submission march
over Guillobel for the Gold, Paulo however gave Terere heaps
and demonstrated he is a top contender himself!
The
medium heavy was the story of two people Ronaldo 'Jacare' and
Braulio 'Carcara'. Carcara, just like the legend says captures,
kills and then eats his prey. His game is volatile and precise
and was too much for most everyone.
Ronaldo
'Jacare' is a phenom in his own right and he was out to prove
everyone wrong. During his match with Fabio Negao, former teammate
'Soluco' called for Negao to submit him, he said: 'Submit him,
you've already done it once!' That was enough for Jacare to go
for the kill. As soon as he disposed of Fabio he turned to Soluco
and said: 'He did it once but it will be once only, never again...
and you are next! '
Next
in the finals against Braulio, it was Marcio Feitosa telling
Braulio: 'He can't pass the guard to this side, you've got him!'
Sure enough Ronaldo passed to that side and then submitted the
dangerous Carcara.
The
heavy battle had Rodrigo Comprido and Gabriel Vella locked in
a stand up battle in the final with Gabriel getting the referee
decision, while in the Superheavy Ralph Gracie fighters Jorge
Oliveira & Ricardo Barros split the podium. In the Super-Super
'Cafe' Dantas defeated Marcio Corletta by a large margin of points.
Cafe got the early upper hand, kept the pressure and Corletta
did not find any rhythm.
The
Absolute was the story of two runaway trains with a scheduled
date at Domingues Hills Arena. Jacare and Terere went on a tear,
with a complimentary show by Leozinho. Jacare and Terere disposed
of their first opponents while Leozinho was in a battle with
the tough Fabio Negao. Leozinho, despite giving out over 40 pounds
manged to turn on his speed and dazzle for the win.
It
was time for Jacare v Soluco. The same Soluco that was warned
before. The fight started with Soluco gripping Jacare's jacket,
Jacare quickly applied a simple self-defense move for the screaming
submission in less than 20 seconds. Todd Margolis then defeated
the ever dangerous Eduardo Telles. Margolis playd a smart game
avoiding Telles dangerous leg locks. He would run to the back
but keep the leg to the side away from danger and took the win
in a battle of advantages. For that he earned the chance to fight
Jacare!
Their
semi's match was a testament to Jacare's ability as he fended
of Margolis shoot and suddenly leaped into a flying triangle
for the submisison. A stunned Margolis sat next to me and muttered:
'Muito bom!' (He is very good)
Leo
Vieira forefeit his place to Terere and the dream match between
him and Jacare was on. A match between two great fighters many
times is decided by a moment, this was no different, early in
the match Jacare made a sudden attack and got Terere's back.
Terere managed to escape the attack and clawed back some points
but in the end, after a beautiful match with lots of positional
exchanges Jacare reigned Absolute!
Ronaldo
Jacaré & Bibiano Fernandes Pan Am 2004 champions Seminar
Saturday
04/10/04 at Aloísio Silva Academy .
Bibiano seminar from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Jacaré Seminar from 1:30 to 3:30
You can get one seminar for $40 or both seminara for $70.00.
Don't miss this unique opportunity.
Aloisio
Silva Academy, 4646 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Lawndale CA 90260
Call
us to reserve your spot @ Koral USA # 310-3700116 . See You all
there .
Koral Staff . Get Your Game On !!
Terere,
Telles and Galvao Seminar
The
dynamic trio did a seminar at Carlos Valente Academy yesterday.
Terere led the class showing many details that had all the attendees
shaking their heads! Terere, Telles and Galvao are associated
with their mentor, Valente Academy, in the US.
Source: ADCC |
ADCC
2005 in the 'Development' Stages - News From Around The Globe!
We
caught up with ADCC's Guy Neivens, the man behind the ADCC Submission
Wrestling World Championships. Guy is fresh back in Abu Dhabi
after a trip to the Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun. 'I was
in Japan, working on the host site and promotion for the 6th
Submission Wrestling World Championships' stated Neivens.
The
6th Submission Wrestling World Championships, or ADCC 2005, is
already in the works for the Spring of 2005 (March, April, May).
'We will have a site chosen in the next few weeks, we have to
review the proposals.' states Neivens. 'We have a goal of doing
this event in Japan, and certainly this trip laid the foundations
for that. When the decision is made, the ADCC will do what is
best for the competition.'
Neivens
also reveals plans for tournaments under ADCC rules in Mexico,
where the winners earn a berth into the North American Trials.
'This is in the development stages as well.' explains Neivens.
Meanwhile,
ADCC lead judge Lubomir Guedjev is bound for South Africa, for
the first ever tournament on the continent of Africa. Fresh from
seminars and events in Scandinavia and the United States, Guedjev
was 'anxious' to see the level of grappling and submission in
Africa.
Finally,
there was news on the North American Trials. 'The North American
Trials will be in a new location this year.' states Miguel Iturrate,
the spokesman for the ADCC in the US. 'The first series was in
the heartland, in Indiana, and the 2003 series was in San Diego.
The next edition of the North American Trials is scheduled for
September 18-19th, and we will have an official announcement
as to the location in the weeks to come. It will be exciting!'
The
road to ADCC 2005 has begun!
Source: ADCC |
Submission
Wrestling Champs Developing at Sao Joao da Barra Submission Wrestling
Event!
A Look
Back...
While
older stars like Jorge Patino and Nino 'Elvis' Schembri embark
on their careers in MMA by joining the prestigious army of Chute
Boxe, some of Brazil's best grapplers have gone back to the basics
on the mats, so to speak. Young, filled with dreams and thirsty
for victories, the next guy to shock the world at an event like
ADCC 2005 were on dicplay at a show called Sao Joao da Barra
Submission Wrestling, held in Rio de Janeiro last March.
One
of the best fights in the event was the 76kg final between Rani
Yarhya and Leonardo Pecanha. At just nineteen years old, Rani
has been unbeaten since his defeat to Leo Vieira in one of the
best bouts at the ADCC 2003. Curious about his own performance
in the MMA world, he decided to check his skills in a small vale-tudo
event in Brazil's capital, Brasilia. Result: Rani finished his
opponent in about 1'30'' and took home no more than US$ 100.
Now, Rani Yarhya is one of the stars confirmed in Heat Fighting
Championship, and he is getting ready to fight Jiu-Jitsu world
champion Fredson Paixao on April 30th.
Leonardo
Pecanha, a Jiu-Jitsu teacher from, is almost as young than Rani:
at 21, Leo is another hard-to-beat grappler, and was responsible
for Rani's first defeat in a year, by one takedown. Brazilian
and world champion, Pecanha assures us that his victories will
last at least until ADCC 2005: 'My last defeat last year was
at a Jiu-Jitsu fight against the much heavier Fabiano 'Pega Leve'
by 2-0. In 2004, though, I won't lose to anyone, I want to show
what I got at ADCC', says a confident Leo, about US$ 240 richer
after winning his category in Sao Joao da Barra Submission Wrestling.
Submission
Wrestling champion at 65kg, the strong Rodrigo Damm dreams of
Japan: he plans to join Shooto after his next fight in Shooto
Brazil. Thales Leites, who won gold in the 87kg-category, may
also be SHOOTO bound. One of the most experienced fighters among
the event champions, Gabriel 'Napao' Gonzaga intends to spend
some time with Jorge Patino 'Macaco' in Curitiba, training with
Chute Boxe. 'My idea is to alternate the no-gi competitions with
Jiu-Jitsu and vale-tudo tournaments', comments Gabriel, who 2-1
in MMA.
Looking
back at the results:
65kg:
Rodrigo Damm (Alliance) submitted Aldo Júnior (RVT/Nova
Uniao) by leglock
76kg:
Leonardo Peçanha (Nova Uniao) defeated Rani Yarhya (Ataide
Jr.) by 4-2
87kg:
Thales Leites defeated Carlos Baruch by ref's decision (0-0)
105kg:
Gabriel Napao (Gold Team) submitted Antoine Jaoude (RVT) by leglock
Absolute:
Antoine Jaoude (RVT) won Rodrigo Riscado (NU) by one advantage
Superfight:
Marcelinho Garcia (Alliance) submitted Rodrigo Riscado (NU) by
rear-naked choke
Source:
ADCC |
Edwards
vs. Thomson: The Lightweight Title Reborn?
Going
into UFC 47, matchmaker Joe Silva, posed with the question of
whether or not the winner of the Yves Edwards and Hermes Franca
bout would fight for the title in their next bout, responded
with, “Nothing is set in stone, yet. We’ll give the
fans whatever they want.”
It
seems that the fans have wanted a lightweight champion for sometime
now, but the question is, “Does it make sense for the UFC
to crown a lightweight champion, just so they can have one?”
The
UFC has gone without a titleholder in the division ever since
the exodus of Jens Pulver back in 2002. Pulver had been on a
roll, winning the title in a bout with Caol Uno and defending
the belt against Dennis Hallman and current welterweight champion
BJ Penn. Unable to come to terms with the UFC on a new contract,
Pulver opted to leave his belt behind in hopes of greener pastures
elsewhere. The greener pastures have yet to materialize either
for Pulver or the UFC.
In
the wake of Pulver’s exit, the UFC attempted to crown a
new champion with a four-man, two-show tournament. The first
round of the tournament saw two lackluster bouts with Penn winning
a decision over Matt Serra and Caol Uno wrestling a decision
away from Din Thomas. With neither first round matchup creating
much excitement, hopes were for a very exciting rematch between
Uno and the man that ko’d him with an ugly looking onslaught
in the opening moments of their first fight, BJ Penn.
The
title bout between Uno and Penn ended with the title picture
even deeper in the muck than when Pulver bolted. Though most
onlookers felt that Penn had eked out a decision win, the judges
in Atlantic City saw fit to rule the bout a very rare 5-round
draw. The UFC still, one year later, had no lightweight champion.
Since
that bout at UFC 41, the lightweight title has basically been
put on the back burner. BJ Penn exited the UFC scene and rebuilt
himself, going back to his roots in Hawaii. He reemerged in the
welterweight division and dominating the dominator Matt Hughes.
Meanwhile,
a few new lightweight contenders have emerged, albeit with no
belt to contend for, as Yves Edwards, Hermes Franca, a | |