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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
November
Pride
Bushido 5
(MMA)
(Yokohama Arena, Japan)
September
Ring
of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Kauai)
Tentative
9/25/04
NAGA Hawaii State Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
August
Ring of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Maui)
Tentative
8/15/04
Pride
All Stars Show
(MMA)
(Japan)
July
Bushido 4
(MMA)
(Nagoya Rainbow Hall, Japan)
7/24/04
Submission Wrestling Tpurnament
(Sub Grappling)
(Kahului, Maui, Hawaii)
July 9-12
BJJ
World Cup (CBJJO)
(BJJ)
(SESC gym, Salvador, Brazil)
6/20/04
Pride Heavyweight
Grand Prix
(MMA)
(Japan)
6/18/04
Super
Brawl 36
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
5/30/04
Ring of Honor 5
(Sub Grappling)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
May
Kickin' It
(Kickboxing)
Pride
Bushido 3
(MMA)
(Yokohama Arena, Japan)
5/15/04
Punishment
in Paradise 3
(MMA)
(Campbell H.S. Gym)
5/7/04
Rumble On The Rock
5
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
|
|
April 2004 News
Part 3
Wednesday
night and Sunday classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
 
For the special Onzuka.com
price, click on one of these banners above! |
Tuesdays at 6:00PM on
Olelo Channel 52 |
Quote
of the Day
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also
dream; not only plan, but also believe."
Anatole France, 1844 -1924, French Writer
|
UPCOMING
PRIDE MATCHUPS?
Zac Arnold from puresopower website is reporting that the following
matchups are being rumored to happen at the next Pride.
Naoya
Ogawa told the Japanese media that he would love to fight either
Noguiera or Randleman in the next round. Here are some of the
rumors for the next Grand Prix.
Fedor
Emelianenko vs. Kevin Randleman
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Naoya Ogawa
Heath Herring vs. Sergei Karitonov
Semmy Schilt vs. 'Giant' Silva
Arnold
also reports that Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic has talked to PRIDE
about participating on the PRIDE Bushido 3 card on May 23rd.
Cro Cop wants to face Ron Waterman in an alternate fight with
the winner being the alternate for the main card. There rumors
if the fight did happen it would be on the next Bushido card.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Macaco
walking in Wildman's direction
by: Luca
Atalla with M. Dunlop
It’s
Sunday morning and, few hours after his teammate Murilo Ninja
fall on Pride GP Finals to Sergei Kharitonov, Jorge ‘Macaco’
Patino is already sweating to avoid a similar fate in his next
commitment, in Jungle Fight 2, on May 15th.
'If
I don’t train, I don’t win, so I can’t miss a
single day”, said an excited Macaco, just after getting
in his academy Gold Team in Sao Paulo. Patino started his special
diet based on carbohydrates on Monday and has been training real
hard to fight Californian Thomas “Wildman” Denny (77kg,
14 wins and 11 defeats). In the Jungle Fight 1, show held in
the middle of Rain Forest, Macaco KO'd new BJJ star Ronaldo ‘Jacare’
Souza in the first round.
“It’s
Macaco against a wild man close to Amazon jungle. So it’s
another warrior on my way, I heard the guy is really tough and
he has shown great skills on King Of The Cage”, said Patino.
Wildman has five-wins in his last five fights.
The
show, by Antonio Inoki and Wallid Ismail, will be held on May
15th in a big theater in Manaus, state of Amazonas, named Studio
5. Besides Macaco and Wildman, Jungle Fight’s card announces
hot shots as Evangelista Cyborg, Assuerio Silva, Ebenezer Braga
and UFC star Vladimir Matyushenko (RAW Team), which had been
victorious over Brazilian guys like Pedro Rizzo and Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira ‘Minotouro’.
Source:
ADCC |
United
Gracie, IJJF & Grappling Classic Tournaments
3rd United
Gracie Announces Black Belt Superfights
Organizer
Charles Gracie has announced the first confirmed Superfights
for the 3rd United Gracie Tournament:
Sandro
Batata Santiago X Mauricio Costa
Megaton
Dias X Renato Migliaccio
Alexandre
Crispim X Wander Braga
Igor
Gracie X Rodrigo Teixeira
Rafael
'Gordinho' Correa X Cassio Werneck
Fabio
Santos X Michael Sillyman
They
are still looking for qualified opponents to face Fabio Leopoldo,
Joao Cunha, Jorge Vandame, Rolles Gracie, & Luciana Dias.
They are lloking for fighters in the following categories: 150lbs.,
185lbs & 210lbs to fill out the final Superfight spots. Black
Belts interested in challenging themselves should contact (650)
756-7579 or email charles@charlesgracie.com
Charles
wants to thanks acknowldge the support and sponsorship of the
following companies:
Service
West
Marina Mortgage
Invincible Safes
Sambazon Acai
Digital Edge
The Window
Preferred Building Service (415) 861-6294
Kimonos Koral USA
Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear
Roseville Health Center
Zebra Mats
PPI Printing Precision (415) 467-8900
*
The deadline to register is Monday, May 3rd, by 9:00 pm. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Each competitor is responsible for his/her own registration and
payment. Please, have your registration materials and fee in
on time. No registrations will be taken after May 3rd, we WILL
NOT have registration during the tournament.
Register NOW!!! ( http://www.charlesgracie.com/tourn-reg-online.htm
)
2nd IGJJF
Around the Corner?
There
have been rumors about the 2nd IGJJF Open Championships being
scheduled for June 12-13, 2004. I was informed that that date
has been changed. As soon as the new date is confirmed we will
post it here. In the meantime get ready for go for it rules,
which is the trademark of the IGJJF.'
GRAPPLING
CLASSIC: Summer Trials
PRO
Division $1750 in Prize Cash
Grappling
Classic returns to Allen Park, MI, featuring PRO & Amateur
NO-GI, and GI divisions. Event to take place on Saturday, JUNE
12th.
This
time the PRO NO-GI division is open to advanced grapplers under
215lbs. $1750 in prize cash will be distributed to the top 3
finishers: $1000 1st place; $500 2nd Place; and $250 3rd Place.
All
submissions will be allowed in the PRO division. Time limit will
be 8 minutes, NO overtime. Int'l BJJ Confederation point scoring
will be in
effect (http://www.cbjj.com.br).
The
PRO division is open to all advanced grapplers. Please send your
resume for consideration to president@grapplingclassic.com. So
far, the following teams are represented in the PRO division:
Saulo
Ribeiro, Team Militech, Carlos Machado & Furukawa Judo
For
more information:
http://www.mma.tv/events/index.cfm?ac=EventDetail&EID=793
http://www.grapplingclassic.com
Source:
ADCC/Kid Peligro |
FCF
Sightings: DeSouza In Peru
By Loretta Hunt
Spanning
the globe for MMA coverage, FCF brings you to the breathtaking
landscapes of beautiful Peru, home to UFC 31, 32, and 33 veteran
Tony DeSouza, spotted here outside the ancient ceremonial ruins
of Machu Picchu. A rising star in the UFC remembered best for
his superb wrestling and lightening fast submission skills, DeSouza
stepped out of the spotlight two years ago to promote his own
gym in his native land, and was slated to appear on UFC 38's
July 2002 card in London, England before opponent Gil Castillo
dropped out due to illness. Always a fighter, though, and with
some newly sharpened boxing skills in tow, the crafty welterweight
has spent the last month traveling up the mighty Amazon via riverboat
on route to Brazil to reunite with his instructor Andre Pederneiras
of the famed Nova Uniao fight team. The impressive Nova Uniao
family has fostered recent successes Renato "Charuto"
Verissimo and Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro among their ranks,
as well as American standouts John Lewis and UFC welterweight
champion BJ Penn. DeSouza is hoping to follow in his brethren's
footsteps with a return to fighting in a yet-to-be named Brazilian
promotion as early as July. From there, 29-year old DeSouza told
FCF he is open to returning to the States and the UFC later this
year, or might even head east onto the flourishing Japanese scene.
As always, FCF will keep you posted on it all.
Source: FCF |
MO
SMITH GETS INTO ALTERCATION AT K-1
The Banter Before The Battle
The
K-1 “Battle Of The Bellagio II” Pre-Fight Press Conference
Experience
Written
By Michael Afromowitz
muaythaimes@aol.com
A
press conference with Bob Sapp wouldn’t be a typical press
conference if some kind of altercation failed to break out. Following
in suit, though, this afternoon’s pre-fight press conference
for Friday night’s Pay-Per-View televised “Battle At
The Bellagio II” K-1 mega-card erupted with physical fireworks
courtesy of Sapp and his Superfight opponent, Tommy Glanville.
After
being handed the stage by K-1 USA CEO and head promoter, Scott
Coker, Glanville, accused 2000 K-1 USA tournament champion, Maurice
Smith, of betrayal. Smith, who had trained and cornered Glanville
for a period of time, has been Sapp’s mentor since the 6’7”,
375-pound former NFL lineman became a giant hit in martial arts
fighting’s most prestigious fighting circuit. Following
an exchange of words between the two former allies, Sapp chimed
in by insulting Glanville.
An
all-out tussle commenced following a trading of shoves between
Sapp and Glanville. Several event officials quickly pried the
fighters off one another after a couple of tables were turned
over during the melee.
With
the exception of world champion Cung Le, who was held up in traffic,
the remainder of superstars slated for “Battle At The Bellagio
II” action were present and offered their thoughts on Friday’s
event.
Here’s
a re-cap of the more memorable comments that were offered by
several of the participating athletes:
Michael
McDonald: “I’ve still got a young heart and a good
spirit and I plan on being around for a few more years, so these
guys here better watch out because this man here might be getting
old, but age is just what’s underneath. I’ve trained
hard for this fight and I feel good.”
“Mighty
Mo:”
On
how he obtained his nickname:
“The
main reason why they call me “Mighty Mo” is because
of my strength. I used to do construction work and, one day (on
the job), a building fell. I had to climb out of it. I got my
way out of it – a couple of cuts, but I was still walking
on two feet.”
Dewey
“The Black Kobra” Cooper:
“I’ve
just got to do what I do – just kind of flow. I’ve
got to be free. I’m prepared, I’ve had great training.
Mentally, I’m matured. There won’t be any mistakes
on my behalf, so I’m ready to win the whole damn tournament.
It’s as simple as that.”
Marvin
Eastman:
On
his transition from mixed martial arts to K-1 fighting:
“In
mixed martial arts, we don’t do tournament style fighting
so it’s very hard to prepare (for this event). The only
thing you can do is come to the fights with as much energy as
possible and try to do the best you can and get the fight over
with as quick as possible.”
“Everybody’s
thinking the same thing, so all you can really do is prepare
as best as possible. I’m just ready to go, ready to fight
and we’ll see what happens on Friday.”
Nobu
Hayashi:
On
the training that he has done in Holland, away from his home
in Japan:
“I
did learn some different techniques and I hope to use them to
full advantage. Even though I am here as a representative of
Japan, I hope to win the American tournament and go back to Japan
as the American representative.”
Carter
Williams:
“Last
year was a great year for me and, this year, I plan to do much
better. I started this year off fighting against Alexey (Ignashov)
and I lost. But, now I’m coming to make up for that loss
in this tournament here.”
On
defending his 2003 K-1 USA tournament title during Friday’s
event:
”I
know a lot of these fighters are here to take this title away
from me, but I’m here to defend it and to move on to The
Grand Prix. I can’t let these guys affect the way that I’m
gonna fight on Friday night.”
Gary
Goodridge:
On
his Superfight opponent, Toa, who accepted the bout on only several
days notice:
“It’s
a big thing for someone to take a fight on such short notice.
Being a fighter, you have to have respect for them.”
On
his approach to the fight:
“I’m
gonna approach this fight as I do every other fight – I
try to be a train and go forward. No disrespect to my opponent,
but I’m here to win and kick ass.”
Toa:
“I’m
from New Zealand and I got a call on Saturday asking if I would
fight. I said ‘No worries.”
“No
disrespect to my opponent, but I’m from the bottom of the
Earth so I don’t really know who Gary is. He looks to be
at his game, but I’m from a strong heritage and we have
huge spirits and war-like people and I’m bringing that to
the ring.”
Additionally,
ESPN executive Matthew Kenny started off the affair with a short
speech that reinforced the network’s support for K-1 since
the two entered an agreement last year to co-market K-1 Pay-Per-View
televised events. “ESPN is pleased to get behind this event
and pleased to promote this event,” he said. “K-1 features
some of the finest athletes in the world in one of the finest
venues in the world. It’s consistent with our brand, which
we think is one of the best in the world as well. We’re
honored to get behind this event and continue to grow K-1 in
The United States.”
When
the press conference kicked off, it was noted that only 184 tickets
remained for Friday’s Bellagio Hotel and Casino event that
will hold a crowd capacity of 6,000.
Source:
Michael Afromowitz |
K-1
TEAM K-1 VS TEAM INOKI
MMAWeekly's
Scott Petersen reports from Japan that K-1 held a press conference
and officially announced their upcoming show in May that will
have MMA rules in their upcoming show.
Genki
Sudo was announced on the card so it will be interesting to see
if a Penn vs Sudo match comes about. Here is the card that was
announced at yesterday's press conference.
Main
Event
Bob Sapp vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Officially
announced participants at Press Conference:
Bob
Sapp vs Kazuyuki Fujita, Alexey Ignashov vs Shinsuke Nakamura,
Josh Barnett, Genki Sudo, Gary Goodridge, Sam Greco, Mark Hunt,
Don Frye, 'Lyoto' Machida, Sylvester Terkay, Yoshihiro Nakao,
Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto
Source:
MMA Weekly |
A
Look Back! SJ da Barra Submission Wrestling 3
by: Denis Martins
It's showtime as Garcia chokes again!
March
12th and 13th in Sao Joao da Barra Gymnasium, Brazil
Simply
put, Marcelo Garcia is the man to be beaten in Submission. Another
gala performance, this is what we can say about Garcia's fight
in SJ da Barra Submission Wrestling 3. Garcia was to fight in
the under 87kg tournament, super-fight and absolute weight class.
However, Garcia showed his tools only in superfight and the explanation
is obvious. With a marathon of fights in last three months, Garcia
resolved to preserve himself for his next Submission fight, scheduled
for March 27.
In
spite of being the first time that ADCC News covered the SJ da
Barra show, the details were the same as Submission Wrestling
de Campos; so we're used to the organization of this other show
by Leandro Ribeiro Gomes, but in one point the difference between
the two events was perceptible: the crowd. The atmosphere of
SJ da Barra Submission Wrestling was more exciting, so the first
day of competition provided more motivation for the fighters,
with the crowd. The prize of around $90 for semi-pro, 250$ for
the 4 weights classes and around 1100$ attracted a lot of Submission
specialists to fight.
–
Saturday, March 13th -
|SuperFight| Marcelo Garcia (Alliance) def. Rodrigo 'Riscado'
Gripp (NU) by rear naked choke
Garcia
started explosive! In the first seconds, he tried to pull 'Riscado'
into his magnificent game. But 'Riscado' surprised, pulling Garcia
to the half-guard and trying to work a game-plan, but he didn't
find a way of turning the fight to his side with a reversal or
a sweep. He only a timid attempt of toe-hold. On the other hand,
Garcia worked with his frenetic moves to pass Riscado's guard.
After
some seconds, the referee re-started the fight on the feet due
to a lack of action, before that, the referee gave an advantage
to Garcia due to an illegal grab made by 'Riscado' on the Garcia's
rush-guard. Afterwards, Garcia sat down himself on the mat and
invited 'Riscado' to his guard. 'Riscado' didn't accept the 'nice'
invitation and Garcia hunted one of Riscado's legs, to dominated
the pace on his half-guard. 'Riscado' had some success on escaping
from the dangerous guard of Garcia, but he didn't get to impose
his game. Garcia got to unsettle 'Riscado' in the half-guard,
and the end of this fight was only a question-of-seconds when
Garcia jumped fast and hooked the backs of 'Riscado', the rear
naked choked was already fitted and the warrior, 'Riscado', faltered
on tapout quickly, but no way of resisting and the tapout was
inevitable.
-
Friday, March 12th -
~ Under 65kg ~ CHAMPION, RODRIGO DAMM (ALLIANCE)
Rodrigo Damm got his 5th title in 6 editions of the two Submission
events organized by Gomes(Submission Wrestling de Campos and
SJ da Barra Submission
Wrestling). Strength and high Wrestling backgrounds are the weapons
of Damm,
who only had troubles on beating his Wrestling teammate, Daniel
'Pirata' Malvino, on the semifinal. On the two other fights,
Damm imposed his, particular and indefensible, leglock. Damm
doesn't have more challenges in National Submission events and
he is looking for new steps in his career. The first step will
be given at the entering in SHOOTO Brazil(April) class B fight.
~
Under 76kg ~ CHAMPION, LEONARDO PECANHA (NU)
At the first glance on this weight class, the balance was the
first word that must come on our mind. Two SHOOTO veterans(Dudu
Guimaraes and XANDINHO), a ADCC Brazilian Trials champion(Rany
Yahrya), a very well ranked Europe MMA fighter(Per Eklund) and
the champion of last edition(Leonardo Pecanha). But when the
fighters collided on the mat, we saw unbalanced matches, as what
Yahrya defeated Dudu by elastic score of 14-0 and when Pecanha
armbarred 'Rato' in less than 30 sec. The Swedish, Eklund, was
protagonist of a funny moment; after beating the Pequeno's brother(Leonardo
Nogueira). He faced off Pecanha and was schooled, when the score
was being handled by Pecanha (8-0), Eklund had gotten his back
grabbed, but he didn't let Pecanha submits him at biting the
Pecanha's finger, like that being disqualified.
Pecanha
and the tough Yahrya were on the mat for the final and when the
whistle tolled, Pecanha tried an armbar at pulling the fight
to the ground, this could be a quick submission. Yahrya had some
troubles for disentangling himself of this attempt, he did and
the fight come back to their feet. Yahrya took Pecanha down,
but the score didn't keep in Yahrya's favor for long time, when
he was taken down too. The fight came back to their feet for
the third time and on this moment a controversy happened, Pecanha
shoot a takedown and they kept tangled on the feet; when the
fight went to the ground, Yahrya was on the top, but the referee
gave the two points to Pecanha. Yahrya complained, but without
a corner(he was alone on the event), he was unsure how to act
and turn the score. By his side Pecanha closed the guard and
assured 250$ on his pocket.
~
Under 87kg ~ CHAMPION, THALES LEITE (NU)
The fighters of this weight class didn't jeopardize, this was
what we watched during 6 of 7 matches. The only guy who got a
submission was Romulo Barral in first round at choking 'Lavagem'.
The rest of fights had low scores, there were matches where the
referee had to decide who would advance. Thalles Leite got nod
on this weight classes against an unrecognizable Carlos Baruch.
Wake up fighters!!
~
Under 105kg ~ CHAMPION, GABRIEL 'NAPAO' GONZAGA (GOLD TEAM)
Last match of quarter-finals, Tiago 'Marreta' shoots a inaccurate
takedown, Mario Neto grabbed the backs of 'Marreta'. Still on
the feet, the rear naked choke is under the Marreta's chin and
the tapout is necessary. I think that the review of this match
was less quick than the all action, the situation happened in
less than 10 seconds and was the fastest submission of whole
event.
Going
to the semifinals, Neto was beaten by Antoine Jaoude, while Gabriel
'Napao' Gonzaga scored a 4-0 points over Fernando 'Soluco' DiPierro.
'Napao' knew of the Jaoude's fame on Wrestling, so he adopted
the tactic of sitting down on the mat and control the strong
Jaoude, who tried to use his strength to pass the guard. Jaoude
fended himself of the ankle-grabs twice, but when he thought
that 'Napao' would not use it anymore. 'Napao' insisted on an
ultimate attempt, and bang, he swept Jaoude, who didn't keep
a long time on the bottom. They stood up and 'Napao' pulled to
the guard, Jaoude opened the guard and tried an ankle-lock. However
he let his ankle for 'Napao' who acquired an perfect ankle-lock
and Jaoude tapped out.
–
Saturday, March 13th -
~ Absolute ~ CHAMPION, ANTOINE JAOUDE (RVT)
Jaoude came determined to erase the prior day of competition
at the conquering the absolute. With a game more developed than
he showed in 105kg weight class, Jaoude learned with the mistakes
committed. The champion's road started with a victory over XANDINHO,
followed by a battle of Dave versus Goliath; when Jaoude beat
Damm by 3 advantages. The important point about Damm is that
he faced the Luta-Livre fighter Vitor Hugo on 1st round, who
besides to be stronger, heaviest and tallest, he was good in
takedowns.
Hugo
got frustrated against Damm, who took the fight down once and
passed
the guard(5-0).Jaoude got his place on the final match at taking
Marcos Oliveira down. By the other hand 'Riscado' employed unorthodox
guard-game - dominating
the positions - against strongest opponents than him, as Baruch
and Fabiano
'Pega-Leve' Scherer.
Both
finalists were a bit exhausted, since 'Riscado' had fought four
times and Jaoude three. The fatigue of both was the explanation
for a methodical final match. 'Riscado' and his open-guard didn't
offer danger for Jaoude, that by his side got an advantage, through
his usual maneuver of trying to pass the guard. The fight's action
stayed without changes and the ten minutes ended. Jaoude conquered
his most important submission title, after the two titles in
ADCC Arab League. Now, his effort will be to get a place in Brazilian
National Wrestling Team, for competing in Athens 2004.
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
Under
65kg Quarterfinals
- Rodrigo Damm def. Daniel Rupinol by leglock
- Daniel 'Pirata' Malvino def. Tiago 'Carne-Seca' Pinheiro by
2-0[points]
- Vinicius 'Faisca' Gayhva def. Nazareno by 2-0[advantages]
- Jose Aldo Jr def. Thiago Tavares by 4-0[points]
Semifinals
- Damm def. 'Pirata' by 2-0 [advantages]
- Jose def. 'Faisca' by 2-0 [points]
Final
- Damm def. Jose by leglock
Under
76kg Quaterfinals
- Leonardo Pecanha def. Ricardo 'Rato' by armbar
- Per Eklund def. Leonardo Nogueira by 5-0[points]
- XANDINHO def. Tarsis Humphrey by referee decision
- Rany Yahrya def. Dudu Guimaraes by 14-0
Semifinals
- Pecanha def. Eklund by disqualification (Eklund bit Pecanha's
finger)
- Yahrya beat XANDINHO by choke
Final
- Pecanha def. Yahrya by 4-2 [points]
Under
87kg Quaterfinals
- Bruno de Paula def. Rafael Guimaraes by 2-0[points]
- Carlos Baruch def. Vito Hugo by W.O.
- Thales Leite def. Rodrigo Cordeiro by 2-0[points]
- Romulo Barral def. Vinicius 'Lavagem' by rear naked choke
Semifinals
- Baruch def. Bruno by 4-2 [points]
- Leite def. Barral by referee decision
Final
- Leite def. Baruch by referee decision
Under
105kg Quarterfinals
- Gabriel 'Napao' Gonzaga def. Alexandre Pereira by 4-0 [points]
- Fernando 'Soluco' DiPierro def. Mauro 'He-Man' by 6-0
- Antoine Jaoude def. Oscar Eklof by 6-0 [points]
- Mario Neto def. Tiago 'Marreta' by rear naked choke
Semifinals
- 'Napao' def. 'Soluco' by 4-0 [points]
- Jaoude def. Neto by 4-0 [points]
Final
- 'Napao' def. Jaoude by anklelock
Absolute
First round
- Alexandre Pereira def. 'Soluco' by armbar
- Marcos Oliveira def. Leite by 1-0 [advantage]
- Jaoude def. XANDINHO by 1-0 [advantage]
- Damm def. Vitor Hugo by 5-0 [points]
- Fabiano 'Pega-Leve' Scherer def. Humphrey by toe-hold
- Mateus Miranda def. Mario Neto by 2-0 [advantages]
- Baruch def. Tavares by 3-0 [points]
- 'Riscado' def. Bruno by 2-0 [points]
Quarterfinals
- Oliveira def. Pereira by 2-2 [points]/2-0[advantages]
- Jaoude def. Damm by 3-0[advantages]
- 'Pega-Leve' def. Miranda by kneebar
- 'Riscado' def. Baruch by referee decision
Semifinals
- Jaoude def. Oliveira by 2-0 [points]
- 'Riscado' def. 'Pega-Leve' by referee decision
Final
- Jaoude def. 'Riscado' by 1-0[advantage]
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"The fastest way to pass your own expectations is to add
passion to your labor."
Mike Litman, Author, Conversations with Millionaires
|
Punishment In Paradise 3
"WARRIORS"
May 15.2004 @Campbell High School
Fights start @ 730pm
Main Events
PJ Dean (Hardknocks)
AFC Champion, Punishment In Paradise Superfight Champion
VS.
Mark Moreno (Bulls Pen)
Kickboxing Champion
Superbrawl/Warriors Quest Veteran
3
Belts on the Line
Welterweight
Championship
Moreno Vs. Dean
AFC
Champion & Punishment In Paradise Superfight Champion PJ
Dean will face Mark "EL TORO" Moreno who is known for
his K.O. power. Both Moreno and Dean were Kickboxing and Golden
Glove Champions. They will square off MMA style. This is the
first Championship Belt fight ever in the Punishment In Paradise.
Watch for hands and bombs to fly as these to square off.
Armstrong
to fight Dominator for the Belt
Due
to a pull out, young MMA Star William Armstrong will face Kickin
It Kickboxing Champion Domi 'The Dominator" Lopez for his
belt.
Punishment
In Paradise
Womens Kickboxing Championship
Hannah
Vs. Molly
Waianae's
Kickboxing womens star Hannah who is still in high school will
face of aganist Molly, a journeymen women fighter who fights
both MMA and Kickboxing. Both will face of in Hawaii's first
womens kickboxing championship.
Get
you tickets now @ second2none@hawaii.rr.com
Check out www.punishmentinparadise.com
Source: Event Promoter |
ADCC
2005: North American Trials To Be Held in Vancouver, Canada!!!
The
Road To The 6th Submission Wrestling World Championships is Set
To Begin
Over
the weekend of September 17th, 18th and 19th, 2004, Vernon, British
Columbia is proud to host Amateur MMA fights, Pro MMA fights
and ADCC’s North American Trials, as well as training seminars
with one of North America’s top fighters.
'There
will be five tournaments of eight men, with the winners earning
a spot directly to the World Championships scheduled for the
Spring of 2005.' states ADCC spokesman Miguel Iturrate. 'With
the announcement of the World Championships coming ot the USA,
it is natural for the North Amerifan Trials to try a new venue,
and Canada's MMA community is very strong in the west. We will
have more details on the North American Trials in the days to
come.'
The
competition is taking invites at this time. The event will provide
hotel accomodations for competitors in Vancouver, Canada as well
as the only guaranteed shot into the World Championships.
Anyone
who wants to apply for a spot in the North American Trials should
send a complete resume to: itur_miguel@yahoo.com
'We
are so excited to have the event here,' Leslie Dickens from Team
Evolution announced. 'Working with Showdown and ADCC is a dream
come true for us. This weekend will be like nothing anyone has
ever seen and we just want to make everyone proud to be a part
of these fantastic sports.'
Friday
night will feature amateur MMA fights, with the North American
Trials taking place on Saturday. Saturday night will present
Pro MMA fights and the seminars are scheduled for Sunday. More
news to follow as many people will be part of this MMA and grappling
extravaganza.
ADCC
TOURNAMENT WEIGHT CLASSES:
- under 65.9 KG (2003 winner: Eddie Bravo)
- 66-76.9 KG (2003 winner: Pablo Popovich)
- 77-87.9 KG (2003 winner: David Terrell)
- 88-98.9 KG (2003 winner: Dean Lister)
- 99 KG and up (2003 winner: Mike Whitehead)
For
information on the event, please contact us at:
joe@showdown.ca or shooter@showdowncombatsports.com
Source: ADCC |
Sims
Appeals Referees Decision; Feels Errors And Mistakes By McCarthy
Impacted Outcome
by: Joseph Cunliffe
Lancaster,
OH -- In a 3 page letter dated April 14, 2004, attorneys for
Wes Sims filed a letter of intent on their clients behalf with
the Nevada State Athletic Commission to appeal the referees decision
rendered in the Wes Sims vs. Mike Kyle fight held on April 2,
2004, at “UFC 47: It’s On!” This appeal is based
on guidelines as set forth in the NSAC Rules and Regulations,
Section 467.770.
Section
467.770 of the NSAC Rules and Regulations governs the factors
to be considered by the commission for a change of decision after
a contest or exhibition. More specifically, Section 467.770(3)
provides that a fight decision can be changed if “as a result
of an error in interpreting a provision of this chapter, the
referee has rendered an incorrect decision.”
This
appeal is premised on the fact that Sims, now 0-3 in the UFC,
feels Referee John McCarthy made several errors in interpreting
provisions of the NSAC Rules and Regulations. The errors made
by McCarthy had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the fight
and resulted in the incorrect decision that Kyle was the winner
of the bout. Sims submits the following in support of this argument:
At
approximately 1:27 into Round 1, Kyle bit Sims on the upper left
chest while Sims was attempting to submit Kyle. The bite mark
on Sims’ chest was apparent during the fight and even more
clearly apparent when the fight was stopped. While it may be
within the sole discretion of the referee to determine whether
a foul has been committed by a contestant, when the foul is a
bite, and the bite leaves a clear impression on the opponent’s
chest, the discretion of the referee subsides and his duty to
not allow unfair practices that cause injuries to a contestant
takes precedence. Section 467.682 of the NSAC Rules and Regulations
governs the duties of referees, and specifically provides that
“a referee is responsible for enforcing the rules of the
contest or exhibition. He shall not permit unfair practices that
may cause injuries to an unarmed combatant.” When McCarthy
saw the bite mark on Sims’ chest, which at the very latest
was before the announcement of the winner of the fight, McCarthy
had the absolute duty to determine that the bite was an intentional
foul as defined by NSAC 467.7962. At that time McCarthy should
have made a determination of the effects caused to Sims by the
intentional foul committed by Kyle. McCarthy also had the duty
to determine what penalties, if any, were to be assessed to Kyle
for the intentional foul of biting Sims. Unfortunately, no action
whatsoever was taken by McCarthy as a result of the flagrant
and intentional foul committed by Kyle.
Amazingly,
there was not just one instance of an intentional foul committed
by Kyle in this fight. Kyle not only bit Sims early in the fight,
but he attempted to bite Sims again near the end of the fight.
At 4:49 into Round 1, Kyle clearly attempts to bite Sims again
while at the same time throwing punches at Sims. At the point
in time when Kyle attempts to bit Sims for a second time, Sims
motions for McCarthy to step in and stop Kyle from biting him
again. Again, while the argument can be made that it is within
the sole discretion of the referee to determine whether a foul
has been committed by a contestant, when a contestant is attempting
to bite another contestant, it is obvious that all discretion
ceases and the referee’s duty to enforce the rules, and
more importantly, to protect the contestants, becomes mandatory.
Such action by McCarthy in failing to consider the fact that
Kyle had already bitten Sims and had attempted to bite Sims again
was clearly not consistent with the NSAC Rules and Regulations,
and further not consistent with the Commission’s concern
for the safety and welfare of the contestants.
Finally,
there is a major concern of McCarthy’s use of the “restart”
rule. Pursuant to UFC rules, the “referee may restart the
round...if the fighters reach a stalemate and do not work to
improve position or finish.” The key word here is “restart.”
Contestants in the UFC always start each round in their respective
corners, and the referee always asks the contestants if they
are ready to fight before he starts the fight. If a fight is
to be “restarted,” it would seem only proper and appropriate
that the fighters would be required to be in their respective
corner. Even if the fighters were not required to go to their
respective corners before “restart,” at the very least
the referee should required to make sure both fighters are prepared
to fight before starting the bout.
At
4:39 into Round 1 of the Sims-Kyle fight, McCarthy enforces the
restart rule. McCarthy allows Kyle to get up and walk toward
his corner. McCarthy allows Sims to get up and walk toward his
corner. However, before Sims reaches his corner, and while Sims
is facing away from Kyle, McCarthy signals for the fight to restart.
Kyle charges at Sims while Sims is clearly not prepared to fight.
By restarting the fight while Sims was still walking to his corner
and had his back turned towards Kyle, McCarthy could very well
have caused Sims to suffer a serious injury. Such action by McCarthy,
while perhaps unintentional, was not consistent with his duties
as a referee, and surely not consistent with the Commission’s
concern for the safety and welfare of the contestants.
If
one looks at history of combat sports and the use of the “restart”
rule, it is fundamental that the referee shall ensure that neither
fighter gains an advantage from his movement before restarting
with fight. If the Commission would look at the history of the
use of the restart rule within the UFC, it would be clear that
the UFC has always followed this fundamental concept of not allowing
either fighter to gain an advantage from the use of restart.
Even looking at other fights in UFC 47, the use of the restart
rule followed this basic and fundamental concept. In the Edwards-Franca
fight in UFC 47, the restart rule was enforced twice, and in
both instances the referee made sure that both fighters were
prepared to fight before he allowed the fight to restart.
In
the Sims-Kyle fight, the procedure used by McCarthy when he enforced
the restart rule clearly gave an advantage to Kyle and was the
significant factor in the end result of the fight. McCarthy allowed
Kyle to charge at Sims and have an unimpeded and, in essence,
a “free shot” at Sims. Sims was unable to recover after
taking the hits from Kyle that came immediately after the restart.
The fundamental rule of the use of the restart was not followed
by McCarthy in this fight. Kyle not only gained a huge advantage
after the restart, he actually won the fight due to the advantage
he gained by being allowed to punch at Sims when Sims was not
prepared for the restart. Again, it seems that although maybe
unintentional, the actions of McCarthy were clearly not consistent
his duties as a referee, and further not consistent with the
Commission’s concern for the safety and welfare of the contestants.
In
conclusion, Sims feels that the errors and mistakes of McCarthy
in interpreting the rules and regulations of the NSAC had a tremendous
impact on the outcome of the fight and resulted in the incorrect
decision that Kyle was the winner of the bout.
Source: ADCC |
Jungle
Fight 2 - Card Developments!
by Marcelo Alonso / Team Tatame
Promoter
Wallid Ismail has just confirmed three fights for the second
edition of Jungle Fight, to be held on May 15th in Manaus, Brazil
at Studio 5, a famous concert house with a capacity for 8 thousand
expectators.
Despite
features that include Carlos Barreto facing the american Brian
Sherpa and Jorge 'Macaco', now representing Chute Boxe, against
the american Thomas 'Wildman' Denny, the big surprise of the
card was the rematch of the epic Meca 9 heavyweight battle between
former Chute Boxe representative Assuério Silva (Muay
Thai Dream Team) and Fabiano 'Pega-Leve' (BTT), who got hurt
after he fell out of the ring and could not return to finish
the first fight. 'I hope this time the promoters keep the ropes
really tight so we can finish this fight' stated Assuério,
who was first scheduled to fight Vladimir Matsuthenko.
Speaking
of the Janitor, after the russian told the Tatame website that
he would enjoy beating a brazilian just like he did Pedro Rizzo
(UFC) and Rogério Minotouro (Pride), there are many fighters
anxious to face him. 'We are setting up the last details. In
the next few days I´ll release the final card with americans,
Japanese and more brazilians. I just can tell you now that the
production of the event will be on the same level of Pride. The
fighters will arrive in the ring from the the mouth of giant
Panther.' promised the promoter.
Card
Subject TO Change:
ASSUERIO SILVA (MTDT) x FABIANO PEGA-LEVE (BTT)
CARLOS BARRETO (BTT) X BRIAN SHERPA
THOMAS WILDMAN DENNY x JORGE MACACO PATINO (Chute Boxe)
Source: ADCC |
Gary
Goodridge calls Briggs a coward on MMAWeekly's SoundOff Radio
Gary Goodridge was the featured guest on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio
Tuesday. Gary is participating in K-1's Battle at the Bellagio
II this Friday night. He isn't happy about a last minute opponent
change, commenting, "I'm so F-ing pissed off at what has
transpired."
Goodridge
was supposed to be fighting Shannon Briggs but according to Gary,
four days ago Shannon Briggs decided that he didn't want leg
kicks to be allowed. "Shannon Briggs will not accept a kick
boxing fight if there's kicking allowed below the waist,"
stated Gary. He referred to Briggs as a "coward" and
compared him to the lion in the movie, The Wizard of Oz, "no
heart, no balls, no nothing."
When
Briggs pulled out of the fight, rumors began to swirl about who
Goodridge would be facing. It was mentioned that he would be
fighting Francois "The White Buffalo" Botha, then it
was Eric Esch, also known as "Butterbean." Gary said
that neither Botha or "Butterbean" are the caliber
of boxer that Briggs is, yet neither of them asked for "anything
special." Goodridge will be fighting "Toa," a
guy Gary characterized as a "mountain of muscle."
Gary
said he is glad his new opponent, "had the balls to step
in the ring." He discussed how tough it is to prepare for
a fight when your opponent changes. He prepared to fight Shannon
Briggs, not "Toa." In the end, it doesn't matter. Gary
is fighting "Toa" and stated, "we'll deal with
it."
Goodridge
talked about his transition into MMA and kick boxing. He comes
from a boxing background. In fact, he was the 1993 Canadian National
Super Heavyweight Boxing Champion. Gary said the transition was
difficult to make but not as hard as it would have been if he
didn't come from a stand up background.
Gary
has just signed a two year contract with K-1 but that doesn't
mean he is done fighting MMA. He has a MMA fight scheduled at
the May 22nd, K-1 even in Japan. He said he is going to stay
in K-1 and that he likes fighting K-1 style better than MMA because
it is easier to train for. Goodridge is looking forward to meeting
a childhood idol of his at event. Muhammad Ali is supposed to
be there.
Tickets
for Friday, April 30th’s K-1 “Battle At The Bellagio
II” event can be purchased online at K-1 USA’s website
(www.k-1usa.net) store or by calling The Bellagio Hotel and Casino
box office toll free at 1-800-963-9634.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Ogawa
versus Leko Debate
Personally
I believe it was a work, Ogawa is one of the largest draw's in
Japan. Japan needs a heavyweight fighter that can contend with
the best. Fujita has been lackluster after his surgery. They
have Hidehiko Yoshida in the Middleweight category and they are
trying to build Ogawa up. He was supposed to fight Rickson Gracie
a few years ago because after Takada and Funaki, Ogawa is the
only other Japanese fighter with enough drawing power to afford
Rickson. Count how many times Bas' lame announcing partner said
that Leko was the best K-1 fighter. Someone remind me how many
Grand Prix's Leko won? Bas could barely keep a straight face
at times. Check it out. - Chris
There has been a lot of talk along message boards across the
USA
regarding the Stephan Leko vs Ogawa fight.
Some
people question the validity of the fight and some people in
the
States believe the fight was a "work", meaning pre-determined
outcome.
MMAWeekly's
Scott Petersen who covered the event in Japan doesn't
believe it. "I believe you have an inexperienced fighter
in MMA,
(Leko) who was a bit nervous in his first fight in Pride and
it showed.
Ogawa got the better of him."
Others
are more suspicious including Dave Meltzer from the wrestling
observer who came on MMAWeekly Radio yesterday.
Meltzer
said "Pride and K-1 were built because of success of pro
wrestling in Japan. Ogawa is a guy who is a huge draw, just under
Akebono, Bob Sapp and others." Meltzer went onto say "it's
interesting
that sportbooks didn't list the Ogawa vs Leko fight and it's
interesting that Leko has taken much harder shots from K-1 fighters
and
has never gone down...I think things point to this fight being
a work.
Let's just say the pro wrestlers in Japan... when this fight
was
announced, felt this fight would be a work, no doubt about it."
We
received your takes on the Soundoff Forum and this is what you
said
about the Leko vs Ogawa fight...
NYWarrior
- "The only thing I found strange was it seemed like he
went
down real easy from the punch. I thought maybe he even slipped.
They
didn't show it on replay...Conclusion: I don't think it was a
fixed
bout. I just think once it got to the ground he had NO chance.
(Mark
Hunt take notice!"
Hayabusa
- Cause MMA internet fans are racists who hate the Japanese!
Badguy
from Soundoff Forum - "I think it was strange that, Ogawa
would
only enter if he fought Silva or Leko. Leko looked a little lost.
I do
find it strange he got knocked down so easy. It looked funny,
But I was
thinking work well before the GP started.
Luke22
- I think its tough to call the fight a work. I don't think
Leko has ever worked a fight before and doing a worked fight
is much
more difficult than people think. Its pretty easy to watch on
tv and
say "oh he went down easy after the punch", but we
don't really know.
Luke
Gary
Mac - Why because....
1)
Ogawa has known works in his history
2)
Leko, a qualified striker, did not attempt a serious striking
attack
3)
Leko, a qualified striker, went down very easily from a Judo
player's strike
4)
There were zero instant replays
5)
This fight was "coincidentally" the ONLY fight not
shown in the
re-cap portion of the broadcast.
littlenero
- It was Leko's first MMA match, of course he looked
awkward. He was probably afraid to be taken down. On the other
hand
it wouldn't surprise me if it was a work.
BTW
Ogawa will "draw" Giant Silva next round. Bet the farm
on it.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Briggs
Out Toa In
MMAWeekly.com broke the story over the weekend, but Shannon Briggs
is definitely out and the man known as Toa is in.
Toa,
from New Zeland, is 6'4, 300 pounds and is the Oceania Sumo Champion,
and has a 2-1 record in kickboxing.
There
were some reports suggesting Tra Telligman was fighting, most
notiably fightsport was reporting that, but that once again was
untrue.
Gary
Goodridge came on the MMAWeekly Radio show and talked about how
upset he was that Briggs "chickened" out of his fight
and did not want to fight if kicks were involved.
Goodridge
also said on the show that Butterbean was another opponent rumored
for the fight; however, they have decided on Toa.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Vladimir
Matyushenko
By José Maurício Costa
Matyushenko:
"I face anyone from Brazil"
Out
of MMA scene since September 26th, when he was knoked out by
Andrey Arlovsky (UFC 44), Vladimir Matyushenko choose an original
way to return to the rings. The RAW´s fighter decided to
through away a public and polemic challenge: he wants to face
any Brazilian Top Fighter. But why a Brazilian oponent? That´s
exactly what you will find out right know. Take a look at this
exclusive given by Matyushenko for Tatame.
Tell
us a little bit about this decision of challenging any Brazilian
Fighter...
I
want to fight the best guys in the game. Vale Tudo started in
Brazil and it is where the toughest and most skilled fighters
live. This is why I am interested in fighting the top Brazilians
- to test myself against the best in their home country.
In
your fights against Brazilians you defeated either Pedro Rizzo
or Rogério Minotouro only by points... It was a referee
decision, so why you are so confident in be able to win any Brazilian
guy?
My
fights against Pedro and Rogerio Minotouro were unanimous decisions.
I never felt any danger in either fight in fact I could feel
them lose spirit. Since these fighters represent BTT and RVT,
two of the strongest teams in Brazil and Rogerio has not lost
to anyone but me, I am confident that my skills are capable to
fight anyone.
Which
Brazilian names would you like to fight against and how you intend
to pass over hem?
Anyone,
especially from the BTT or Chute Box since these are the most
established names in the business.
And
where would you like this fight happen. In the USA or Brazil?
Did
you ever hear of the RAW motto: "anyone, anywhere,
anytime..."?!
Do
you really think that teasing Brazilians fighters is a good strategy
before fighting in Brazil, with only Brazilians fans at the audience?
Our
sport has become very professional, I am only challenging myself
and my opponent so the fans can see the result. Everybody wins!
Why
did we not see you in recent MMA events?
I
have been training and building my spirit in preparation for
this year. I have been studying how to finish the fight definitively
and I hope to put that into practice from now on.
Source: Tatame |
Marvin
Eastman + Focus = A Long Night for Michael McDonald :
By Thomas Gerbasi
For
anyone else, it would seem insignificant. For Marvin Eastman,
it was monumental.
The
goosebumps weren't there.
Seconds
before perhaps the biggest bout of his fighting career, a UFC
43 matchup against Vitor Belfort last June, Eastman's arms were
bare, his mind was clouded, and there was little question that
he was going to have to go into battle against the Brazilian
phenom with a jammed pistol.
"When
you don't have goosebumps before a fight, something is wrong,"
explains Eastman, who takes on Michael McDonald in Friday night's
K-1 "Battle at The Bellagio II" tournament. "I
think that's your body's natural reaction to fighting. And when
you don't have any goosebumps, your instinct is not there. There
are certain things that you're taught to do, and what you know
to do when something happens. If I grab your arm, your natural
reaction is to twist your wrist and pull your finger out. But
if somebody grabs me and I have to think about it, that's not
instinct. It takes too long and fighters don't have time like
that. I just felt like I was going through the motions. I just
felt like a zombie."
Eastman
had good reason, having lost two uncles and a close friend within
the three-month period before the bout, as well as suffering
two eye injuries perilously close to fight night. Add it all
together, and it just wasn't there for "The Beastman".
"I
was just not there," he admits. "I shouldn't have fought
in the first place. I had a lot of personal problems outside
of training, and it was just a little too overwhelming for me,
and it just showed up that night."
Eastman
wound up getting stopped that night, in part to an ugly gash
on his forehead that looked like something straight out of a
slasher film (12 stitches later, Eastman says he's fully healed
and the cut is virtually invisible). But fast forward ten months,
and the 34-year-old is primed and focused on the task at hand,
which is winning Friday night's tournament.
Not
surprisingly though, for a fighter who has made a career of fighting
tough opposition (Belfort, Quinton Jackson, Vernon White, Rich
Franklin, among others), Eastman hasn't been given an easy round
matchup in McDonald, who was the K-1 USA champion in 2002, and
one of the sport's standouts since his debut in 1998.
"Obviously
they're not giving me no gift," chuckles Eastman. "Most
of the time when I fight, whether it's in the cage or in kickboxing,
they don't give me any tune-ups. They just stick me up against
the best people anyway. I have no problem with it."
Yet
while Eastman's warrior mentality dictates an "any fighter
at any time" philosophy, the Las Vegan believes the fans
get shortchanged a bit by seeing the best fighters battling it
out in the early rounds of a tournament.
"The
only thing is if they put you in a battle in the first one, and
they have a tournament, it makes it difficult because one or
both of us might be banged up, and you still have two more fights
to fight," he said. "You might not get the best performance
out of a fighter because they're banged up. I think it's a little
disservice to the fans. They want to see a war right off the
bat."
A
war is what fans should get when Eastman and McDonald square
off. As Eastman says, "We got the same skills and the same
height; he comes forward, I come forward too. We're just gonna
bring it out and hopefully, if anything, we give a good fight
and the best man will win. He's an excellent fighter, but I'm
no slouch either; and I'm not going into this thing just wanting
to say I fought with McDonald. I want to be the K-1 North American
champion. That's my goal. I don't go into anything halfway or
half-hearted."
And
even though McDonald has the edge in big fight experience, at
39, he's at that age where everything can go in one night, and
truth be told, he's been on a bit of a slide since late-2002,
going 4-5-1 in his last ten bouts.
Eastman's
not buying it.
"I'm
looking at the Michael McDonald when he was destroying everybody,"
said Eastman (17-4 with 10 KOs in kickboxing). "I don't
think the age makes a difference. Some people age differently.
I'm 34. I haven't been taking no beatings. The first thing that
I ever took were the two knees to the face from Vitor and it
didn't knock me out. And that's the only time I've ever been
in a war besides the one with Quinton Jackson."
"Look
at (middleweight boxing champion) Bernard Hopkins," continues
Eastman. "He's 39 years old and he's still killing people.
People think that people peak out at a certain age. You've got
guys who've been in the game 10-15 years that started out at
27-28 years old. Me, I'm still learning Muay Thai. I've been
doing it since 95, but I've been taught pure Muay Thai from Thailand.
All the stuff you see Remy Bojansky doing, the jump knees, if
we were using elbows, the jump elbows, all the jump roundhouses,
that's the way I fight. And I haven't learned a portion of what
I need to learn to be dominant in this game. I see McDonald as
being just as strong and just as dominant as he normally is.
And I hope he does come like that because I'm a retaliation-type
fighter. I've got to get even. If you hit me two times, I'm gonna
hit you back 15 times. I'm not, 'oh, you got me.' I'm not giving
you no psychological advantage. That's just the way I fight.
If he hits me one second before the bell, in a millisecond I'm
gonna throw another punch back, because I don't want him going
back thinking he got the best of me. I don't want them to say,
'oh, you beat a Michael McDonald that's over the hill.' I don't
want that, and I don't discount any fighter and say that they're
this, or they're that. They're still dangerous, and all it takes
is one punch or one kick and you could lose this fight."
On
Friday night, Marvin Eastman is looking to land that one punch
or kick, or maybe dozens of them; whatever it takes to get the
victory and move on to the finals, where he plans on becoming
the K-1 North American champion.
Rest
assured, he'll be feeling the goosebumps.
Source: Maxfighting |
Quote
of the Day
"Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to
stop fighting."
Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970, American Speaker, Motivational Writer,
''Think and Grow Rich''
|
2004
HAWAIIAN CHAMPIONSHIP OF
BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU RESULTS
Saint Louis High School Gymnasium
April 24, 2004
Team Results
|
Team
Points |
Points |
# of
Competitors |
|
Brazilian
Freestyle / Nova Uniao / HMC |
68 |
36 |
|
Relson
Gracie (combined academies) |
50 |
49 |
|
Gracie
Kailua |
36 |
23 |
|
Grappling
Unlimited |
4 |
2 |
|
North
Shore Jiu Jitsu |
1 |
2 |
|
Other |
1 |
4 |
Individual
Results
Kids
Gi Division
Under
55 lbs:
1) Moses Kaawaloa
Gracie Kailua
2) Koani Requilman
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
55
- 70 lbs:
1) Joshua Wills
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) Daven Shitabata
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
70
- 85 lbs:
1) Thomas Butenbah
Gracie Kailua
2) Jimmy Gallagher
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
Super
Lightweight Yellow Belt:
1) Bubba Gascon
Relson Gracie Casca Grossa
2) Noah Hashimoto
Relson Gracie Casca Grossa
Lightweight
Yellow Belt:
1) Noah Cronin
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) Marcus Hall
Gracie Kailua
Middleweight
Yellow Belt:
1) Kena Gugudan
Relson Gracie
2) Sage Yoshida
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu / HMC
Open
Division (ages 12-15):
1) Keola Knight
Gracie Kailua
2) Travis Hexton
Gracie Kailua
Teen
Division:
1) Ryan Peterson
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) Micheal Bright
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
Womens
Division
1)
Daynin Dashefsky
Gracie Kailua
2) Mellissa Cronin
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
Mens
White Belt
Super
Featherweight:
1) Phonz Nguyen
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) David Kalfleisch
Relson Gracie
Featherweight:
1) Josh Ambrose
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) Michael Bright
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
Lightweight:
1) David Harrington
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
2) Calvin Delaries
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
Middleweight:
1) Russell Strong
Nova Uniao
2) James Knight
Gracie Kailua
Light
Heavyweight:
1) Mikkel Boser
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) Gilbert Yguerabide
Gracie Kailua
Heavyweight:
1) Anthony Lynch
Gracie Kailua
2) Nicholas Tufts
Relson Gracie
Super
Heavyweight:
1) Thomas Ako
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) Ioane Makakoa
Gracie Kailua
|
Mens
Blue Belt
Feather Weight:
1) Jordan Flores
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Eric Alves
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
Lightweight:
1) Palani Mamalias
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
2) Dean Lista
HMC
Middleweight:
1) Ahmed Diallo
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
2) Daniel Espinosa
Gracie Kailua
Light
Heavyweight:
1) Kevin Yoshida
HMC
2) Hiroshi Tominaga
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
Heavyweight:
1) Jeremy Owens
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Ikaika Almadova
Gracie Kaneohe
Super
Heavyweight:
1) Ryan Young
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
2) Charles Hercules
Gracie Kailua
Freeweight
215+:
1) Phillip Baltunado
Relson Gracie Kaneohe
2) Benjamin Depauw
Gracie Kailua
Purple Belt
Featherweight:
1) Diego Moreas
Relson Gracie
2) Kyle Takao
Nova Uniao / HMC
Lightweight:
1) Abraham Robison
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Henrique Milioh
North Shore Jiu Jitsu
Middleweight
1) Alessandro Glorioso
Relson Gracie
2) Dylan Clay
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
Open Purple Belt:
1) Sidney Silva
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
2) Dylan Clay
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
|
Kids
No Gi Division
Lightweight:
1) Sage Yoshida
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu / HMC
2) Keola Mayural
HMC
Teen
Division:
1) Turner Kaimana
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Josh Hayes
Gracie Kailua
Mens
No Gi Novice
Super
Featherweight:
1) David Kalbfleisch
Relson Gracie
2) Brandon Hudgins
Gracie Kailua
Featherweight:
1) Jordan Flores
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Derek Atta
Grappling Unlimited
Lightweight:
1) Abraham Robison
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Dean Lista
HMC
Middleweight:
1) Ahmed Diallo
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
2) Russell Strong
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
Light
Heavyweight:
1) Gilbert Yguerabide
Gracie Kailua
2) Kevin Yoshida
HMC
Heavyweight:
1) Jason Allen
Gracie Kailua
2) Anthony Lynch
Gracie Kailua
Freeweight
215+:
1) Benjamin Depauw
Gracie Kailua
2) Phillip Baltunado
Gracie Kaneohe
Mens
No Gi Advanced
Lightweight:
1) Kiah Petrie
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Joe Mcilhone
Gracie Kailua
Middleweight:
1) Anthony Torres
Grappling Unlimited
2) Alessandro Glorioso
Relson Gracie
Heavyweight:
1) Jeremy Owens
Nova Uniao / BJ Penn
2) Jason McCormick
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
Mens
No Gi Advanced - Master
1)
Demian Dressler
Brazilian Freestyle Jiu Jitsu
2) Burton Richardson
|
Source: Event Promoters |
Ring
of Honor Submission Grappling Tournament Postponed!
The event previously scheduled for May 2nd, will be postponed to May 30th.
The promoter wanted to give more time between the Hawaiian Grappling
Championships (held thsi past weekend) and the ROH tournament.
It will still be held at Campbell High School Gym.
Source: Event Promoter |
Chuck
Liddell Seminar!!
May 15.2004
Campbell High School
12 Noon
Seating going fast!!
Just wanted to keep everyone informed about the limited seating
due to high volume of response. Teams and fans that want to come
let you to register names and payment with me as soon as possible.
I also will be given a real good deal if you have 15 or more
people that registers same time as you as a group I will give
your group a discount price @ $40.00 a person. Don't be left
out on this seminar.
Email
Second2none@hawaii.rr.com to reserve your spot.
Source: Event Promoter |
Pequeno
represents Shooto in Hawaii
A special invitation is driving Alexandre Pequeno to Hawaii on
July 9th. The Shooto Lightweight champion will be the Shooto
Japan representative Pequeno, who will do a super-fight in the
event. "I think I will be seen a lot in Hawaii now. They've
already did it before with Rumina Sato during a time," reminds
Pequeno. According to the Brazilian, this invitation is part
of the Shooto program to release Alexandre Pequeno's name in
US. On the same event, another Brazilian star will also fight:
Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro.
Source:
Tatame
|
Rumors:
Gomi vs. Ralph
Negotiations are in progress for the next Bushido show in May
for Ralph Gracie to fight Takanori Gomi. It is important to stress
that this fight is not yet signed, but there is alot of anticipation
for such a match up and we will keep you up to date on its progress.
Source: Gracie Fighter |
TAEKWONDO'S
LATEST POLITICAL BATTLE
by: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
While
the martial arts are supposed to build character, dignity, honesty,
and respect, something different seems to happen very often when
money, power, and politics become involved. One of the most glaring
examples of this irony has been in the Olympic sport of taekwondo.
Kim
Un-yong, an influential member of the International Olympic Committee,
had to resign his posts as president of the World Taekwondo Federation
and as a member of the Korean National Assembly in January following
the announcement that he was facing arrest for numerous charges
of corruption. Korean officials accused him of taking payoffs
from businessmen so that they would be named to the Korean Olympic
Committee. Kim, who is the former chairman of the Korean Olympic
Committee, was also accused of embezzling huge amounts of money
from the World Taekwondo Federation. He subsequently was suspended
from his position as a vice-president of the International Olympic
Committee.
Things
didn't sound much better in the USA. Following numerous charges
of mismanagement and financial irregularities, the U.S. Olympic
Committee (USOC) finally had to threaten its own taekwondo federation,
the U.S. Taekwondo Union (USTU), with decertification last year.
On the verge of that decertification, the USTU leadership retreated.
The USOC forced the resignation of USTU president Sang Lee and
his top staff. In Lee's place a USOC veteran, Bob Gambardella,
was appointed as USTU chief executive officer. Gambardella was
formerly head of USA Volleyball.
While
the crisis atmosphere seems to have subsided at the USTU, its
troubles are far from over. The debt-ridden USTU will soon have
to stop funding its athletes who have been training at the Olympic
Training Center in Colorado Springs. Gambardella is working on
getting new sponsors, but that will take time.
Now
a new problem has arisen for taekwondo. Three politicians, Rep.
Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), and Sen.
James Jeffords (Ind.-VT), have written letters to the USOC about
a recent rule change in taekwondo. That rule, enacted in 2002,
no longer mandates that all 12- and 13-year-olds must compete
under junior safety rules. Those rules limit kicks to the head
and neck, and call for disqualification for those head and neck
kicks which disable an opponent.
Before
this is all dismissed as more bluster from politicians ignorant
of the martial arts, it should be pointed out that both Jackson
and Jeffords are reportedly black belts in taekwondo.
These
letters can be seen in their entirety at:
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_health/
Source: ADCC |
ADCC
2005: North American Trials To Be Held in Vancouver, Canada!!!
The
Road To The 6th Submission Wrestling World Championships is Set
To Begin
Over
the weekend of September 17th, 18th and 19th, 2004, Vernon, British
Columbia is proud to host Amateur MMA fights, Pro MMA fights
and ADCC’s North American Trials, as well as training seminars
with one of North America’s top fighters.
'There
will be five tournaments of eight men, with the winners earning
a spot directly to the World Championships scheduled for the
Spring of 2005.' states ADCC spokesman Miguel Iturrate. 'With
the announcement of the World Championships coming ot the USA,
it is natural for the North Amerifan Trials to try a new venue,
and Canada's MMA community is very strong in the west. We will
have more details on the North Americna Trials in the days to
come.'
The
competition is taking invites at this time. The event will provide
hotel accomodations for competitors in Vancouver, Canada as well
as the only guaranteed shot into the World Championships.
Anyone
who wants to apply for a spot in the North American Trials should
send a complete resume to: itur_miguel@yahoo.com
'We
are so excited to have the event here,' Leslie Dickens from Team
Evolution announced. 'Working with Showdown and ADCC is a dream
come true for us. This weekend will be like nothing anyone has
ever seen and we just want to make everyone proud to be a part
of these fantastic sports.'
Friday
night will feature amateur MMA fights, with the North American
Trials taking place on Saturday. Saturday night will present
Pro MMA fights and the seminars are scheduled for Sunday. More
news to follow as many people will be part of this MMA and grappling
extravaganza.
ADCC
TOURNAMENT WEIGHT CLASSES:
- under 65.9 KG (2003 winner: Eddie Bravo)
- 66-76.9 KG (2003 winner: Pablo Popovich)
- 77-87.9 KG (2003 winner: David Terrell)
- 88-98.9 KG (2003 winner: Dean Lister)
- 99 KG and up (2003 winner: Mike Whitehead)
For
information on the event, please contact us at:
joe@showdown.ca or shooter@showdowncombatsports.com
Source: ADCC |
RANDLEMAN
PULLS OFF "MONSTER" UPSET
by Ryan Bennett
This is why the sport of MMA is truly great. You have a former
all american wrestler who knocks out one of the most feared strikers,
who happens to be a K-1 quality kickboxer.
Let
me get this right. Kevin Randleman, a former national champion
in college wrestling, just KO'd the most feared striker in the
Heavyweight division.... with a left hook? Once again this IS
why MMA is the best sport, because literally ANYTHING can happen.
I
remember earlier this year I was shocked when BJ Penn beat Matt
Hughes with a rear naked choke as this was an absolutely huge
upset in my book. Hughes was a huge favorite and if I remember
correctly the odds were just about the same as this fight between
Mirko Cro Cop and Kevin Randleman.
What
made this fight so shocking is thinking back that this was the
same Kevin Randleman who just a few months ago had a horrible
fight with Sakuraba, in which he mounted absolutely no offense
in the fight. Later we learned he had a bad arm injury which
hampered his performance. To see Randleman this weekend do that
to Mirko Cro Cop was unbelievable and sensational at the same
time.
I
did an interview with Randleman many months ago where he talked
about how tough it was for him to make weight as a heavyweight.
He jokingly told me he used to put weights in his shoes to make
weight at the Heavyweight Division (which by the way, I'm still
not convinced he was joking).
The
thing that was interesting in that conversation was the fact
that he felt the 205 pound division was harder and in all reality
a tougher division than the heavyweights, because the fighters
at Light Heavyweight were so much quicker and had better cardio
than the big boys in the Heavyweight ranks.
So
I guess with that said, we shouldn't be too surprised at how
great Randleman looked as a Heavyweight in the fight. This was
the same Kevin Randleman who won a UFC Heavyweight Belt a few
years ago.
So
what was the turning point of this fight? As strange as it sounds,
It was the attempt at a takedown that Randleman didn't get that
changed this fight. In the opening stages of the first round,
Kevin used one of his lightning quick double leg takedowns, to
try and get Mirko down.
Only
problem? When Big Kev backed Cro Cop in the corner, Mirko's power
was evident as Randleman couldn't budge the Croation fighter
let alone get him down on the ground. Later the referee would
stop the action and have both fighters go to the center of the
ring, for lack of action.
I
know, I know, I said the same thing you did. Randleman blew his
chance to take Mirko down and now Cro Cop will take Randleman's
head off with a nasty kick.
It
was just at that moment that the fight changed because Cro Cop
went from the hunter, to the hunted, as he stopped looking for
that one big strike or kick that would change the fight.
Instead
Mirko stopped moving forward from that point on and moved backward
trying to avoid the takedown, ala Chuck Liddell vs Randy Couture.
Cro Cop stopped being the aggressor and while trying to defend
the next takedown, it was Randleman landing a left hook from
Cleveland that brought on one of the bigger upsets in recent
memory.
Now
we hear people ask.....Can Randleman win this tournament? That
remains to be seen and I for one, kind of doubt it for the simple
fact that Kevin is only 5'9, which will become a problem as this
tournament progresses. Most of these guys truly are giants. Randlemen
in the post fight conference that you can see said as much, referring
to himself as a "midgit" in the land of giants.
Most
of us though didn't think Kevin could even contend with Cro Cop,
let alone beat him. So as I said at the beginning of this article,
that's the beauty of MMA. Anything can and will happen and Randleman
has just firmly established himself in the dark horse role in
the Kentucky Derby of MMA in what we know as the Pride Heavyweight
Grand Prix.
Source: MMA Weekly |
IS
THIS THE END OF AN ERA?
by Jake Downing
When Mark Coleman's career ends, he will no doubt be a first
ballot MMA Hall of Famer with all he has accomplished in his
career.
After
losing to Fedor over the weekend, have we seen the last of Mark
Coleman at the top level of the Heavyweight Division? It appears
that could be the case.
Coleman
has had to battle through many injuries; since, he last won the
Grand Prix back in 2000. Before the Fedor fight he talked to
MMAWeekly and said "I've really got that fire back now.
No matter what happens here (in the first round), I've got a
3-fight deal and I'm going to honor that contract and whatever
happens, it's either going to be in the Grand Prix or against
someone else."
Coleman
was very game in the fight with Fedor and Mark was just as shocked
as anyone else when Fedor pulled out an armbar out of no where
to finish Coleman. Seconds after the loss, there was the former
champion, looking at the ring apron in disbelief, wondering exactly
how he ended up in that position to lose the fight.
This
fight in the Heavyweight Grand Prix made it Coleman's fourth
fight in four years. He is 2-2 during that four year span with
wins coming over Don Frye at Pride 26 and Alan Goes at Pride
13 back in 2001.
So
the question remains. Are Coleman's best years as a fighter behind
him? Things point to the answer being "Yes". Can Mark
still beat his fair share of Heavyweights in the world today?
That answer is also "Yes", but will Mark Coleman ever
compete for another shot at a championship?
That
thought looks doubtful and after this first round exit of the
Grand Prix, regretably we may have just witnessed the last time
"The Hammer" competes for a championship in his hall
of fame career.
Source: MMA Weekly |
JAPANESE
FIGHTERS MAKE MARK IN MMA
JAPANESE FIGHTERS HAVE MMA WORLD TAKE NOTICE
For
years, the best fighters in the world have traditionally come
from the MMA powerhouses of Brazil, Russia and the United States,
but this weekend at the Pride Grand Prix three of Japan's up
and comers put their stamp in the world of MMA.
For
years it was the great Sakuraba who gave Japan their one and
only hope of MMA greatness, but this weekend we saw three Japanese
fighters make their marks in our great sport.
Ogawa,
Yokoi and Takahashi have punched their ticket as great fighters
as they made a great account of themselves in the Pride Grand
Prix. Ogawa made short work of K-1 Kickboxer Stephan Leko. Ogawa,
the judo player who won a silver medal in the Olympics, actually
surprised Leko with a left hook of all things.... that dropped
Leko on the white canvas and once this fight went to the ground
it was all Ogawa all the time.
Yokoi,
who was a huge underdog, battled Minotauro Nogueira tooth and
nail in the first round of their fight. The only thing that slowed
down Yokoi was fatigue toward the end of the first round. It
was the Brazilian fighter, the great Nogueira showed his experience
and superior conditioning to secure the win by submission due
to a choke.
Even
Takahashi, the pancrase champion, gave up a lot of weight against
Heath Herring, but still made a great account of himself in that
fight.
Japan
is one of the few countries that embraces and understands the
sport of MMA. It's front page news that draws anywhere from 20,000
to 70,000 fans. Now it looks as though the Japanese fans have
something to cheer about as these young fighters usher in the
new wave of Japanese fighters that the Japanese crowds have so
badly wanted to cheer for. This weekend we may have seen the
MMA scene shift to MMA's orginal homeland with the future looking
very bright in the land of the rising sun.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Rumble On The Rock
5
About a week and
a half until ROTR 5, get your tickets now!
On Friday May 7th Prodigy Productions has put together a world
class card happening in one of our nation’s premier Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA) events, Rumble On The Rock. Top Hawaii fighters
along with five (5) of the UFC’s best veterans will meet
at the Neal Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, HI. The show features
world class athletes in what is going to be an intense night
of Mixed Martial Arts action.
This will be the
sixth (6th) installment for Rumble On The Rock and the second
time ROTR has made it to Honolulu, HI.
At this time we
are proud to announce:
Main event
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira
VS
John Marsh
One other exciting
fight on the card:
Matt Lindland vs.
Tony Fryklund
Ross Ebanez vs. Steve Berger
Ronald Jhun vs. Ryan Schultz
Kawika Paaluhi vs. TBA
Kaynan Kaku vs. TBA
Rumble On The Rock
is a world class Mixed Martial Arts event that originated in
Hilo, HI with their first show on Dec 28, 2002. In less then
one (1) year Rumble On The Rock reached true world class scale
featuring such epic battles as Charuto Verisimo (#4 welterweight
in the world) Vs. Gill Castillo (#8 ranked welterweight) and
Lightweight World title fight between BJ Penn (UFC welterweight
champion) Vs. Takanori Gomi (Japans #1 lightweight and #2 in
the world), with a production that rivals the top shows in the
world.. With our current card featuring many top ranked fighters
from around the world you can see that Rumble On The Rock is
here to stay.
Until then
Thank you
Prodigy Productions
www.rumbleontherock.com
Source: Event Promoter |
Bob
Sapp faces Fujita at K-1 Romanex
After defeating Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar last March, the "Beast"
Bob Sapp has already a new challenge at the upcoming Romanex,
MMA event promoted by K-1, which happens on May 22nd at Saitama
Super Arena in Japan. Sapp will do a 5minx3round fight against
Japanese wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita, who comes from a victory over
Imamu Mayfield at last Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye, held in last December.
Sapp revealed how he intends to win the bout:
"I
know that Fujita is a talented wrestler, so I will strike and
I think he will try to take me down and get in with a mount.
It will be a good fight," said the 2 meters tall fighter.
According to K-1, the card may count with a match between Alexey
"The Scorpion" Ignashov and Shinsuke Nakamura. They
also promises names as: Don Frye, Mark Hunk, Sam Greco, Genki
Sudo, The Predator, Gary Goodridge, Yoshihiro Nakao, Josh Barnett
and "Kid" Yamamoto.
Source: Tatame |
The
List Narrows for Diaz
Penn, Nakao, Black, and Menne are all out of the prospective
opponent's list for various reasons. New names that have been
mentioned and are currently being considered are:
The winner of Shonie Carter vs. Karo Parisyan, the winner of
St. Pierre vs. Jason Miller or the winner of Matt Hughes vs.
Renato Verissimo.
Source: Gracie Fighter |
Quote
of the Day
"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not
an act but a habit."
Aristotle, BC 384-322, Greek Philosopher
|
'UFC
48: Payback' Hallman vs. Trigg
by: Joseph Cunliffe
Las Vegas, NV -- Their first fight ended in a controversial TKO
and it would be that outcome to later help change law. It was
in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 23, 2002, when Dennis Hallman
and Frank Trigg first met in an octagon. That WFA Level 3 fight
raised a question with the Nevada State Athletic Commission on
unintentional fouls. You see, Hallman was fouled and was unable
to continue, and as such, Trigg was awarded the win.
Hallman
continued his active fight schedule after WFA. With over 50 fights
on his record, the Yelm, Washington, fighter has competed in
multiple promotions and weight divisions since 1977. A veteran
of HOOKnSHOOT, KOTC, Shooto and UA, the wrestler has experienced
much success throughout his career. The 28-year-old fights out
of Victory Athletics, a Northwest school, with UFC veteran Benji
Radach. In his last UFC fight, Hallman lost a Unanimous Decision
to Jens Pulver in their lightweight championship title fight
at “UFC 33: Victory in Vegas” in September 2001.
Trigg
had one quick fight since WFA. The El Segundo, California, fighter
has competed in Shooto and Pride, racking up some of his 33 career
wins over Fabiano Iha and Jean-Jacques Machado. The 31-year-old
fights out of Team RAW, which he owns, in Los Angeles. In his
only UFC fight, Trigg lost by Submission to Matt Hughes in their
welterweight championship title fight at “UFC 45: Revolution”
in November 2003.
According
to the NSAC at the time, if an illegal technique occurred and
the fighter who received the illegal technique could not continue
after 5 minutes, that fighter would lose. The NSAC reviewed the
rule and changed it in early 2003. Hallman and Trigg return to
sin city on Saturday, April 2, for a rematch at “UFC 48:
Payback,” under the revised law, which would have deemed
their first fight a No Contest.
Source: ADCC |
Saturday
- A Day of Rest? Not For the PRIDE GP Champion...
by: Julio Heller
Saturday, April 17th, 10 AM
Great pictorial on Abu Dhabi.
It was a normal Saturday in Curitiba, normally a day of rest
for many people. We take a close look at the world famous the
Chute Boxe Academy.
The
first guy to arrive there on Saturday morning is the Pride GP
Champion Wanderlei Silva, who started to train alone. For three
hours until the afternoon, every member of the academy who arrives
gets the opportunity to face Wanderlei Silva. It is a tall task
for anyone, and excellent training for Silva. This is the price
to be a champion.
The
Chute Boxe team is going to Japan next Monday with Ninja, Rudimar
Fedrigo, Rafael Cordeiro and Wanderlei, who will attend the GP
to promote his next fight against Yuki Kondo.
Source: ADCC |
Antoine
Jaoude: Brazilian Wrestler speaks out the Olympics in Athens
By: Gleidson Venga / Team TATAME
The Olympic dreams of Antoine Jaoude are really close to becoming
true. Antoine, has tried to qualify for the Olympic Games in
Atlanta and Sydney and missed by one point, but in 2004 he´s
confirmed for the Olympic Games in Athens:
'The
statement has already been distributed but we can´t talk
yet. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) needs to confirm the
invites. The official decision has been promised for the end
of the month.' explains Antoine. Joaude's almost certain participation
representing Brazil at the Olympic Games isn't from an invitation,
but it is due to technical terms. Antoine explains:
'I
haven´t qualified by invitation, but by technical judgement.
These are evaluated. That´s what has qualified me, my techniques.
Now I await approval from the COB.'
Antoine
knows the difficulties he will face in Athens in the battle by
the medal:
'Let´s
get back to reality. It's gonna be a bit hard for me to get a
medal, but I will go looking for it. I will look to perform at
my maximum, I will not go to Athens to chill out, I want the
people to see my match and know that I will be there giving my
blood in order for my country's honor. I want to make a great
showing, because that´s a responsibility!' concludes the
RUas Vale Tudo competitor.
Source: ADCC |
Goodridge:
Entertaining for the Past Decade
By Marc Godin
Champions in the ring come in all forms. You have those with
belts and titles and those at the other end of the spectrum:
People's Champions. For a fighter, it can be as important to
be part of this second category as the first. People's Champions
have heart, determination, no fear and create doubts and passions
in every fan's mind. In other words, they are the entertainers
of the fight game.
Nowadays,
you have fighters like Bob Sapp, Tito Ortiz and Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson who can be labeled as elite entertainers. In the late
'90s mixed martial arts had one, Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge,
who left North America for Japan where he became a huge star.
Who
could forget his first match and the vicious elbows on Paul Herrera's
face at UFC 8 1996? Not all fighters can create a character as
quickly as he did on that night. The now 38-year-old Canadian
was able to capitalize on the situation and make a good living
out of MMA.
For
one reason or another, Goodridge became the litmus test for the
young guns in this business. He became the guy promoters like
PRIDE wanted new lions to showcase their skills against. Let's
not forget that Big Daddy was the first opponent for fighters
such as Ricco Rodriguez, Valentijn Overeem and Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira in PRIDE.
Friday's
upcoming Aruze K-1 World GP 2004 in Las Vegas at the Bellagio
Hotel features Gary Goodridge, once again becoming the ultimate
test for a newcomer. This time around, the new gun was supposed
to be Shannon Briggs, the former heavyweight boxing champion.
Briggs had previously showcased his skills in a K-1 match against
Tom Erikson, who happened to be Goodridge's close friend.
Unfortunately,
an injury to Briggs has put this bout on hold. But one thing's
for sure, we'll probably see this fight happening real soon because
bad blood runs deep between the two fighters. Here's a quote
from Gary on an Internet forum about Briggs' injury: "Yeah,
a pussy foot injury. Every fighter goes in the ring with an injury.
I'm injured. What was he planning to do, kick me? I'll catch
up with him later."
The
latest information has Goodridge fighting New Zealand sumo wrester,
Toa. This match will become a must-win situation for Big Daddy,
who currently has a 1-5-1 record with the K-1 organization. He
has to win his match on Friday if he wants a piece of Briggs
in the future.
Every
athlete comes to a point when he or she must ask: Is it time
to retire?
In
Goodridge's last match, at PRIDE Shockwave on December 31, 2003,
everybody thought that it would be his last. Facing fellow veteran
Don Frye, nobody could have written a better ending to a great
career, as Goodridge won with a stunning high kick.
But,
after settling some family issues, Gary Goodridge thought otherwise
about his pending retirement. Beside this week's bout in Las
Vegas, he is rumored to be fighting on the upcoming K-1 MMA Romanex
card in Saitama Super Arena on the 22nd of May.
Lots
of fans wonder why Goodridge continues. The reason is simple.
His record in K-1 style might not be the greatest, but he still
defeated an established K-1 fighter in Mike Bernardo and had
a draw against Mark Hunt in his last outing. Also, since his
loss to a Gilbert Yvel back in October 2000, he sports a record
of 9-2-1 in MMA matches. And those two loses came against the
likes of Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. I for
one, figure that Gary still has at least five good matches in
him before he should seriously think about retiring -- again.
As
a fan, I want to see a fighter like Gary Goodridge in the ring
because you never know what will happen. There's always the chance
that he will create an upset. And whatever happens, he will give
it his all out there. There's not enough fighters like him, but
let's not forget, not all fighters are entertainers. Thankfully,
we have Big Daddy.
Source: Maxfighting |
Pride
Grand Prix Random Ramblings
Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
Having just watched the first round of the Open weight Pride
Grand Prix I have put pen to paper and put together a list of
random ramblings regarding the Pride Grand Prix show that took
place on the 25th of April. One big upset mixed in with a mixed
bag of fights that included fighters that had no business in
the Pride Grand Prix came off with well…Mixed results. On
the plus side was Sergei Kharatonov vs Murilo Rua which is the
early front runner for fight of the year, even though it only
lasted half of the first round it packed enough action to fill
a twenty minute contest. On the minus side, Sentoryu vs. Giant
Silva, two people that don’t even use their real names,
mixing it up in a less then impressive fashion Surely it is a
shame that either of these fighters will be moving on when Mirko
Filipovic, and Mark Coleman will be sitting on the sidelines.
Contrary
to what many people believed, one member of the Hammer house
will be moving on in the next round of the Heavyweight grand
prix and representing Ohio in the biggest tournament of it’s
kind in the world. In the upset of the night Kevin Randleman,
coming off of two consecutive losses to Quinton Jackson and Kazushi
Sakuraba, ( who lost to Filipovic in the past), shocked the MMA
world by defeating “Cro Cop”, and defeating him soundly.
Not only did he win the fight, he knocked him out on the feet
and finished the job on the ground early in the first round.
Surely this is a turn of events that few save his direct family
could have predicted. The Hammer house is represented and represented
well in the next round, if Randleman is hot he has shown that
he can compete at the highest level. “The Monster”
has taken over the mantle of “Dark Horse” in this tournament
and in the meantime his stock, as well as his rankings in the
top ten rise in turn. Congratulations to Randleman, he will have
his hands full in the next round, but he has put himself back
in the mix, a concept that was fleeting only a few short months
ago.
Fedor
Emelianenko impressed with the slick transition off his back
into the fight ending armbar, an armbar that few including Mark
Coleman saw coming. An armbar that was almost as shocking as
Randleman’s Cro Cop Crushing haymaker to end all haymakers.
Emelianenko proved that his ground and pound attack, an attack
that was ushered in by Coleman in the early days of the UFC,
was not the lone tool in his dangerous skill set. Win impressively
he did, and he moves on as the early favorite to take home the
Pride Open Weight Grand Prix belt to match the Heavyweight belt
that currently sits on his mantleplace. Now that Filipovic is
out of the picture, his most dangerous rival looks to be Rodrigo
Nogueira, a man whom he has already defeated soundly in the past.
Some people had been wondering how his transition from the Russian
Top Team to the Red Devil team would affect him, but at this
point he looks like the same, calm, dangerous, expressionless
self. On paper it looks like his tournament to lose.
Coleman
looked solid in the fight but ran into a fighter that was just
too good at too many things, but having seen him compete, it
is not out of the question to see him back competing at a high
level. He was competitive until the fight ending submission and
even had Emelianenko’s back at one point, and for all intents
and purposes took down the Russian at will. I feel that a few
adjustments could put him back in the mix, but can an old dog
learn new tricks? No-one knows how much longer his body will
hold up either, he has been though many wars and if he does indeed
call it a career he should be applauded as one of the true pioneers
of the sport of MMA and a man that ushered in a new wave of fighters
into MMA.
I
don’t know if it was just me but I did not feel that Rodrigo
Nogueira looked like he was at the top of his game against Hirotaka
Yokoi. I don’t know if it was because Yokoi was that good
and better then anyone expected, or because Nogueira knew that
he had the easier road to the next round and relaxed a little
bit in his training. In any case I feel that he will need to
kick it up a notch if he is interested in defeating Emelianenko
if the two juggernauts meet up at some point in the Grand Prix.
The formerly undefeated Yokoi did show some impressive skills,
including solid submission defense, but cardio was his enemy.
If it is any consolation to him, he will go down in history as
the first person to be caught in the “Reverse Arm Triangle”
in Pride, if not everywhere. In a day and age where Pride is
doing everything it can to usher in quality new Japanese blood
you have to wonder if Pride is squandering a quality Japanese
fighter who looks like he should be fighting in the Middleweight
tournament and not the open weight tournament. With the proper
adjustments he could be a force as a middleweight (light heavyweight)
in the future. As far as Nogueira goes, although he didn’t
look as sharp as he has in the past, you have to be impressed
by his interesting submission, you can be sure that the Jiu Jitsu
gyms around the world will have a new technique to show off to
the up and coming practitioners of the future. Congratulations
to Nogueira who pulled off THE submission of the year to date.
One
of the early candidates for fight of the year is in the books
and Sergei Kharatonov and Murilo Rua left it all in the ring.
I feel that the size and reach advantage worked heavily in the
favor of the tough Russian fighter and he did just what he needed
to do to win the fight. He used his size and reach advantage
to knock out the always entertaining Rua, but not before getting
smacked in the face several times for his efforts. Rua showed
the heart of a champ and although he came up short on this day,
I am sure he will find his way back to his more natural Light
Heavyweight division and into the mix once again. I feel that
the extra weight worked against him and he didn’t look as
spry as he has in the past. In any case there is no shame in
this loss and hopefully we will see him soon.
All
in all the Pride event was a solid one but I didn’t feel
it had as many compelling matchups as the Pride Middleweight
tournament of last year. The strongest fight of the night was
easily the Kharatonov / Rua fight, a fight where Kharatonov went
a long way in legitimizing himself in the minds of the fans who
have yet to see him in active competition. At this point it is
looking like a 5 horse race with Kharatonov, Herring, Nogueira,
Emelianenko, and Randleman looking like the early favorites,
but anything can happen. The matchups that will round out the
next round will play a huge role in who will advance, but Semmy
Schilt, Giant Silva, and Ogawa have to be considered the heavy
underdogs at this point. Schilt has already lost to Fedor, and
Nogueira in the recent past. Ogawa has never fought or beaten
a credible opponent in MMA ever and some of the wins he currently
has have been called into question. Silva has only two fights
to his name and lost to fellow cardmate Heath Herring only four
months ago.Any which way the brackets fall I think it is fair
to say everyone is waiting in anticipation for the next round.
-MMARR-
Source: MMA Ring Report |
Interview:
Cung Le
By Mike Afromwitz
For
the last several years, the name Cung Le has been synonymous
with San Shou kickboxing, the genre of martial arts fighting
in which the 31-year-old rocketed to stardom by capturing five
major championships and captaining two United States national
teams. Still undefeated after 15 professional starts, he lives
and breathes combat. On Friday, he will return to the ring to
reaffirm his status in the sport.
Le’s
appearance comes in the wake of his two dominant Las Vegas K-1
Superfight performances last year. In May, he stopped longtime
rival Scott Sheeley with a spinning backfist in the second round
of their K-1 USA matchup. At the Bellagio Hotel and Casino last
August, Le earned a unanimous judges’ decision over Canada’s
Phil Petit by repeatedly executing his patented scissor kick
and swift takedowns.
Q:
Aside from your typical training, what do you feel has helped
you become a dominant martial arts fighter over the years?
A:
Well, consistency in my training, even though I took a two year
layoff from fighting because my son came into the world. Just
last year, I came back to K-1 and had two fights there. So really,
it was just a matter of staying consistent with my training.
I really don’t train just to maintain. I always train at
a high level. That’s what’s helped me grow and improve
and be better.
Q:
What is your impression of your K-1 “Battle At The Bellagio
II” opponent, Brian Warren?
A:
I haven’t really seen much of him. I was expecting to fight
someone else at first (Sean McCully) and he couldn’t make
weight so Brian Warren stepped up. He’s probably looking
at this like he has everything to gain and nothing to lose, but
at the same time, when he steps in that ring, there is something
to lose. We’ll definitely find out that night what he’s
going to lose. But for me, whoever steps in the ring is going
to train their hardest because they’re looking for their
shot. Being on top of my game, I don’t look at this like
I’ve got a lot to lose. I just look at it as if I’m
on top of my game and I come to fight every night like I have,
I’m going to succeed.
Q:
What kind of prediction can you make for this fight?
A:
Well, I look at it like this – in May, I hit my opponent
(Sheeley) with a backfist and the referee stopped it. Everyone
loved the fight, but afterwards, some fans and some critics were
asking how come I didn’t scissor kick or throw him. So,
my next fight (Superfight vs. Petit) I go out there and I was
looking more for the scissor kicks and the big throws. But, then
people go “How come you didn’t use your punches and
kicks?”
So, I’m not going to predict anything for this fight. I’m
going to put my punches, kicks, and throws together. I’m
not going to worry too much about what people want to see. I’m
just going to worry about what I need to do to win.
Q:
But, what kind of performance can people expect from you in this
fight?
A:
You know, I’ve got to say I love the fans, but they can
never be satisfied. I’m just going to do my best to deliver
the best performance of my life because I’m only as good
as my last fight.
I
know a lot of critics out there want to see me step up in competition.
Of course I do what I do for the love (of the sport) and I give
a lot of credit to the promoters, but it’s also a matter
of who’s going to step up and put the money on the table
and promote the fight right. That’s the way I see it and
that’s what I want everyone to know.
The
martial arts fanbase wants to see exciting techniques. By showing
these techniques, you build a name for yourself. When your name
is big, sports fans know you and they can link you with a specific
fight or with other fights that they want to see you fight. That’s
when the big money comes in. I’m just doing my homework
and I’m just doing my job to position myself in the right
way. A lot of people don’t realize that, during my amateur
career, I went to tournaments and to the world championships
where I fought three times in a day or in a five-day tournament.
I fought the best Russians, Armenians, Chinese fighters, Iranian
fighters. I put myself up against the best in the world. Now,
I’ve got a shot to be on a great platform like K-1. I’m
just there to do my job and excite the crowd.
Q:
Speaking of tough opponents, who in your weight class (lightheavyweight,
180-pound limit) do you feel can give you a tough fight?
A:
Well, there’s a few Chinese fighters and there’s always
Russian fighters. At the same time, there’s a lot of good
fighters out there in The United States who just haven’t
gotten the opportunity or who haven’t been built right and
they’re coming up the ranks. At this point, I just take
one fight at a time. I’m not too worried who my next opponent
is. I know that, when I’m on top of my game, whoever they
put me in there with, it will be a very exciting fight.
Q:
Pete Spratt called your name out before his scheduled fight with
Rudy Ott. (Note: The bout between Spratt and Ott, slated for
the February 28th Strikeforce kickboxing event at San Jose, California’s
San Jose Civic Center, was cancelled after Ott sustained a broken
right arm during training.) How would you feel about taking this
fight?
A:
That could be a good matchup. Pete Spratt is not the only great
talent out there. I feel there’s a lot of good fighters
out there whether it’s Pete Spratt or Phil Baroni, because
he’s a stand-up fighter who likes to brawl. I just want
these other fighters to realize that we’ve got names in
the sport and, if we can come to a good agreement and be promoted
right, then the fight’s worth it.
Q:
When you said Phil Baroni’s name, you surprised me. Is that
a potential fight that’s been formally proposed by someone?
A:
No one’s really approached me, but I’ve heard through
the grapevine that he wants a piece of me. You know, what’s
good is that when names like Pete Spratt, Phil Baroni, or whoever,
say they want to fight me, that shows that I’m doing something
right. They want to fight me ‘cause I’ve got the name.
Q:
Over the years, you’ve brought a lot of attention to San
Shou kickboxing. Do you feel that San Shou has, by itself, the
potential to grow in The United States. Or do you feel that the
real growth potential for martial arts combat sports is under
an umbrella like K-1 that encompasses many fighting disciplines
into its promotion?
A:
How I look at it is that it’s not really the style because
it really depends on the fighter like, for one, Michael McDonald.
He’s very technical, very powerful, and very exciting to
watch when he opens up. Carter Williams, also, is very powerful
and he’s got youth on his side. When he’s at his “A”
game, he’s exciting to watch.
I
feel like the reason why these sports, whether it’s NHB
or K-1, haven’t gotten to the major mainstream level like
boxing or football is that, of course there’s a lot of styles
out there, but the community is divided. Some fighters say NHB
is better, while some say Thai boxing is better. We should all
support a good fight whether it’s boxing, NHB, or whatever
rules. If there’s more support, that will make bigger sponsors
notice. I don’t consider myself better than others. I support
all styles. This is the style I do and prefer, but I still go
out and cheer on Randy Couture for a great performance.
Q:
You’ve taken a lot of time to develop talent at your two
schools in California’s Bay Area. Who should we look out
for in the future on K-1 cards and other big pro events?
A:
I’ve got a lot of fighters coming up. I don’t have
any heavyweights, though. You can expect a lot of good light
fighters from 165 (pounds) on down. I’ve got two female
fighters who are really dynamite – Elena Maxwell and Jenna
Castillo. They both have knockout power and, when they fight,
they really come to fight. They’ll stand in there and tee
off toe-to-toe. I’ve got other great fighters like Jose
Palacios and Kevin Ruas. It’s just a matter of whomever
will give them a chance to rise.
Q:
You’ve starred in a couple of independent films. What’s
going on with your career in entertainment?
A:
Right now, I’m a student of the art which is acting. I want
to take every step that I can to be a better actor. I’m
not focused on it like I am fighting, but I’ve been fortunate
enough to have gotten experience in the business through opportunities
that have come up. I haven’t really gone out there and pursued
the jobs that can take me to the next level. I want to be prepared
before I do that.
Q:
What kind of ambitions do you have left for your career?
A:
I would like to promote the martial arts and the fight game in
the right way because I feel that all the fighters don’t
get enough exposure. If there’s something that I feel I
can do to take it to another level, I’ll try to do it. But,
I know I’m not going to shoulder it all myself because there’s
a lot of great fighters out there and it’s only a matter
of time before the mainstream takes note of what we do as athletes.
As
far as my fighting career, I can’t fight forever. I’m
in my prime right now. I’m just taking it one day at a time.
I’ve got this fight coming up and I’m gonna be prepared
and ready to roll.
Source: Sherdog |
Quote
of the Day
"If you must hurt a man, do it so brutally that you need
not fear his revenge"
Anonymous
|
PRIDE:
TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004 Results
TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004 (Opening Round)
Sunday April 25th, 2004
Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan
-
'The Texas Crazy Horse' Heath Herring vs. Yoshiki Takahashi:
Herring by Strikes, RD 1.
- Murilo 'Ninja' Rua vs. Sergei Kharitonov: Kharitonov by KO,
RD 1.
- Paulo Cesar 'Giant' Silva vs. Henry 'Sentoryu' Miller: Silva
by Arm Lock (Kimura/Reverse Keylock), in RD 1.
- Semmy Schilt vs. 'Big' Gan McGee: Schilt by Arm Bar from the
mount, RD 1.
- Naoya Ogawa vs. Stefan 'Blitz' Leko: Ogawa by Choke, RD 1.
- Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Kevin 'The Monster' Randleman:
Randleman by KO (left hook following by hammer fists in the guard),
RD 1.
- Antonio Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Hirotaka Yokoi: Noguiera
by Choke Out (Guillotine Mata Leao), RD 2.
- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark 'The Hammer' Coleman: Fedor by Arm
Bar from the guard, RD 1.
ALTERNATE:
Ron 'H20MAN' Waterman was unable to participate, due to not needing
an alternate.
Source: ADCC |
MAJOR
BOMB: ADCC 2005 location inside
A
MAJOR BOMB has just been released by the ADCC World Submission
Wrestling Championships Committee!
A
little background: The ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships
is the largest and most prestigious submission wrestling tournament
in the World. Since its inception in 1998, the event was held
annually in the United Arab Emirates, under the auspices of Sheik
Tahnoon Bin Zayed, the creator of the event and the ADCC Club.
In
2001, in an effort to further expand the reach and stature of
the event, the ADCC Committee decided to change the annual event
to a bi-annual schedule to be held on a rotating basis at different
parts of the World. The location selection was based on several
factors, especially the region's interest in the sport. So it
was no surprise that in 2003 the event was held in Sao Paulo,
Brazil. Speculation had been that the 2005 event was going to
be held in Japan.
In
light of the tremendous growth of Submission Grappling in other
parts of the Globe, the ADCC Committe determined that the site
of the 2005 Event will be . . .
THE
U.S.A. ! ! !
ADCC
spokesperson and head organizer Guy Neivens commented: 'We are
amazed at the level of commitment and growth of Submission Grappling
in America. The ADCC Committee determined the USA to be the best
place to hold the 2005 World Submission Wrestling Tournament!'
Guy
continues: 'We are now in the process of selecting a local organization
to be in charge of the production of the show in the States.
We want American organizers to submit their proposals for our
review. We are looking for solid organizers that will hold a
top level event. The location should be a venue with maximum
exposure for our athletes and our event.'
All
interested event organizers should contact Guy at thecohiba@yahoo.com
That
means Dean Lister will defend his Absolute Crown against Ricardo
Arona in his home Country! This is a major win for the American
Grappling Community!
ADCC
Brazilian Trials
Another
major announcement was made by the committee: The ADCC Brazilian
Trials event was awarded to promoter Paulo Zorello. Zorello,
the organizer of the 2003 ADCC Brazil is planning Four Regional
Open Trials, with first and second place winners qualifying for
the Grand National Qualifier in a City yet to be announced.
Winner
and runner-up of the Grand National Trials would qualify automatically
for the 2005 Event!
Plus
the OFFICIAL North American TRIALS Location will be announced
in the coming day!
More
info on this as it develops!
Source: ADCC |
Wanderlei
shakes America Online!
PRIDE
Champion and Brazilian star Wanderlei Silva participated in a
chat session with subscribers to one of the biggest web portals
around, the Brazilian version of AOL. Known as a guy who doesn’t
choose his opponents, Wanderlei accepted a 50 minute session
with lots of Brazilian fans, discussing a wide range of subjects.
Flashing
his sense of humor, Silva chatted about 'Minotauro', Jiu-Jitsu,
the Gracie family and commented on the last edition of GRACIE
Magazine, where Wand was elected one of the 20 toughest Brazilians
alive, just behind Great Master Helio Gracie. Check out some
of what Wand had to say to the fanatics:
THE
20 TOUGHEST: “You know, I’m not fond of lists and rankings.
But this one I enjoyed reading. Because I was third on the list,
and I was one of the youngest guys elected. And there were only
great names from Brazil! I managed to be among great names representing
the sport of MMA, and it made me proud.”
FUTURE:
“First thing is that I will fight Yuki Kondo in June to
defend my belt”
VITOR
BELFORT: “I wanna fight him in August. There is nothing
personal between us, but it’s a fight that is destined to
happen. I will go for it, I’m a professional fighter and
I want to show I would fight anyone. I never choose my opponents”
JIU-JITSU:
'Between Terere and Pe de Pano? I think Terere is great and I
think he can beat Pé de Pano'
EARS:
“The chicks here in Curitiba say my ears are beautiful!”
GRACIE
FAMILY: “BJJ is all Gracie. My teacher, Cristiano Marcello
got his blackbelt from Royler, an excellent person. And the Gracie
family has got an excellent tradition in MMA. If they are humble
enough to train muay thai as we started to learn Jiu-Jitsu, they
are totally able to reach the top again. It’s all about
getting modern.'
MINOTAURO:
'I think I will fight him some day and I have no doubt it will
be a great fight. Every fight between champions is great.”
CRYING
WAND: “ It happened when I traveled to Japan last August.
I was at the airport calling my pregnant wife, and she said my
son was born. I started to cry at that exact moment. But there
were lots of fans asking for autographs and they got pretty scared
seeing me cry. It was the most touching moment of my whole life.'
CHAT:
“Fifty minutes was not enough, I was happy seeing so many
people interested in a fighter’s life. I enjoyed the questions
and felt really comfortable on AOL. Thank you all. If you fans
meet me in the streets, don’t be shy, come and chat live”.
Source:
ADCC |
Interview:
JORGE RIVERA (part 2)
On April 30th UFC vet Jorge Rivera of Team Elite returns to the
Tsongas Arena to take on Team Renzo Gracie/Team Ricardo Almeida’s
James Gabert. In the last couple of days we have heard from Gabert
and from Jorge talking about his last UFC fight. Now Jorge looks
at the fight with Gabert himself.
KM:
This time you don’t have any traveling to do. (Both laugh).
JR: Fighting at home sometimes is a bitch. You don’t want
to lose in front of your people, now what I’m saying? It’s
added pressure, know what I mean? So it’s like ‘shit’!
KM:
You had a better reaction in the Murray fight. It seems like
you are getting your name out there. JR: The crowd was great
to me. They (UFC) had me doing a lot of Spanish TV because I
speak fluent Spanish. I was out there plugging away at the Mexican
television and shit like that. On the way there I saw a lot of
Hispanic people that were like cheering me on and giving me support
and that was cool. I enjoyed it. I just wish I had given them
a better result. I’m really disappointed. I had never had
my heart broken like that. It’s like the first time I broke
up with a girl. Like ‘don’t leave me, I love you’.
(Both laugh).
KM:
I’m assuming that is motivating you more for this fight
against Gabert. JR: No, because I have to leave that behind me.
I can’t dwell on that. I look at him totally different.
He’s a guy I know is hungry, up-and-coming, and he wants
to take my name out and put his name in. I’m not going to
let him do that to me, I worked too hard at this.
KM:
With the amount of UFC undercard fighters taking fights between
UFCs like Yves Edwards and Chris Lytle I expected you to take
something like this whether you beat Murray or not. Do you see
it any other way? JR: This is the way I look at it; if I won
that fight with Murray I would hope the UFC would extend a hand
out and offered me a contract so I could focus my career on that.
I want stability like anybody else. I want to make sure I’m
set for the next four or five fights ad I’d make this amount
if I win and this amount if I lose and I could plan my life accordingly
to that. Whereas right now I’m going to fight the fight
and there is more pressure to win because this is how I’m
feeding my family. I have to win.
KM:
I don’t think you should take him lightly at all but you
have some pretty big advantages, literally. JR: No way will I
take this guy lightly. I know his jiu-jitsu is really good, I
know he is going to be ready, and he’s going to have good
strong support; a lot of the Gracies are going to be there. To
me, whatever…I’ll be ready. I train with the best up
here. It’s going to be a battle of will.
KM:
Let me clarify your weight. I remember you had the HOOKnSHOOT
and USMMA 205 belts. In the UFC you were fighting Middleweight?
JR: Yep. The reason I didn’t drop to 185 for this fight
is sometimes the Boxing Commission out here doesn’t give
you that day (to cut weight). 190 I could probably make and rehydrate
in a couple hours. 185? I don’t know about that.
KM:
I remember that ‘same day weigh-ins’ was the reason
Rockel/Kang wasn’t for the belt. JR: That sucks. I need
a day to get fluids back in me and recharge and sleep and all
that shit.
KM:
I hear that from so many people and hear that is why there aren’t
more shows up in Massachusetts. That one rule. JR: The Boxing
Commission need to get beyond that. If they want the UFC in Massachusetts,
want the biggest shows to come to Massachusetts, want to make
more money they need to accommodate the fighters and promoters.
KM:
So this one will be at 190. Assuming they pull that ‘same
day weigh-ins’ do you foresee any problems? Will you be
fluctuating lighter than usually? JR: I can make 190, no problem.
KM:
Point is you are going to have a ten to fifteen pound weight
advantage. You have a four-inch height advantage. What do you
think of those size advantages? JR: I think…you ever see
Mohamed Ali and Joe Frazier fight? You watch those three fights
and Joe Frazier shows you how to be a taller man. He moves. It
could work for you or against you. Usually it works for you.
Styles make a fight, so I don’t know what he will come at
me with but if he comes at me the way I hope he does it will
work to my advantage. It will help me because my limbs are longer
than his.
KM:
Sounds like the turning point will be can he close the distance
and clinch. I don’t believe he will shoot for a takedown
from a distance, he will clinch and maybe try to take you down
from there. Still, that reach advantage could keep him out of
clinch range. JR: Absolutely. Plus movement. Jab and move, jab
and move. You can’t make mistakes. If he commits to you
one way you move the other and light him up.
KM:
As a kid I took judo so I look at a clinch differently than a
Thai boxer… JR: I love Judo. Have you watched Nuri Shakir’s
throws?
KM:
The fights I’ve seen he is usually the one taken down. JR:
Keith, if you get a chance to watch his fight against Aaron Riley
watch the throw he gets Aaron Riley with. Literally head over
heels. Literally. If you freeze the frame you are going to see
Aaron is almost perfectly straight up and down. Fucking beautiful
judo. People think they mastered it all and then guys pull something
out like this and they are like ‘where did that come from?’.
KM:
To me a height disadvantage in a clinch could be to your advantage
in getting your center of gravity under them, getting your hips
under them, going for a throw…while it seems like clinch
work from a striker’s point of view a height advantage is
totally different. Can you explain height difference in clinch
work from your point of view? JR: For me it all depends on what
I want to do to the guy. If I want to take him down like you
said I have to get my hips lower than his and if I want to bang
him it’s a matter of keeping my forearms, my elbows, around
his neck so when he drops to shoot or drops to pick me up that
is the first wall he has to get by and if he can’t get by
that he’s going to get banged in the process.
KM:
Do you think your four inches are significant? JR: Yes. He’s
swinging up, I’m swinging down.
KM:
I guess I should say am I making too much of the height difference?
JR: I don’t know to be honest with you. Come at me after
the fight. (Both laugh).
KM:
With him I was looking mostly at the Mike Swick fight as closest
you your style while at first I thought he would be looking at
your Lee Murray. He seems to be looking more at your Loiseau
fight. JR: The thing is with Massachusetts unlike the Loiseau
fight he won’ be able to throw those elbows to the head.
KM:
That is right, I forgot about that. JR: It will be different.
Something I don’t have to worry about.
KM:
Thank you for reminding me about the ‘no elbows’ rule
up there. How does that affect your strategy at all? JR: It doesn’t.
Where I train I don’t use that.
KM:
Anything else you can tell us in public about how you think this
fight will go? JR: I expect a good fight. I know this guy is
going to be ready and I know he is well skilled and I know he
is going to be bringing his game. That is cool, the better man
will win. It’s nothing personal to me. I think it will be
a good show. I hope the fans come out in full support and I hope
to give them everything they want.
KM:
Anything else to say to the readers? JR: I just want to keep
on saying to the people thank you very much for your love and
support and I hope to give you something good every time you
come to watch me. If not I hope you get your money back. (Both
laugh).
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"He who wishes to secure the good of others has already
secured his own."
Confucius, BC 551-479, Chinese Ethical Teacher, Philosopher
|
PRIDE
GRAND PRIX TONIGHT
For Hawaii
fight fans, it starts at 3:00PM and replays at 6:00PM. This looks
to be the best tournament in MMA history, hopefully beating the
current best tournament, which was the last Pride Grand Prix.
The match order for the first round of the Pride Grand Prix tournament
at the Saitama Super Arena:
*Heath
Herring vs. Yoshiki Takahashi
*Murilo Ninja Rua vs. Sergei Kharitonov
*Paulo Cesar Giant Silva vs. Henry Sentoryu Miller
*Semmy Schilt vs. Gan McGee
*Naoya Ogawa vs. Stefan Leko
*Mirko Cro Cop vs. Kevin Randleman
*Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Hirotaka Yokoi
*Mark Coleman vs. Fedor Emelianenko
|
2004
Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Results!
The results will come shortly as the crack team of organizers
had their laptop out and were punching away the whole day.
Overall it was a great tournament with BJ Penn's team coming
from Hilo, Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu, HMC, Grappling Unlimited,
Team Relson Gracie and a few other schools supporting the tournament.
The tournaments are getting better concerning the "usual"
heated conversation over matches. This event had some discussions,
but no fights, which was great. All the teams were very professional
with each other and the overall feel of the tournament was very
friendly.
|
Vitali
Klitschko takes Corrie Sanders out in Round 8
The Ukrainian Giant, Vitali Klitschko has stopped South African
Corrie Sanders in the eighth round, winning the vacant WBC Heavyweight
title this Saturday.
Referee
John Schorle stopped the fight after two minutes and 46 seconds
of the eighth round had past. The ref stopped the fight as an
exhausted Sanders sank from a barrage of well placed punches
from Klitschko.
To
the delight of fans the fight was a war and after a shaky first
round for Klitschko, the Ukrainian Giant went on to thoroughly
dominate the fight
Klitschko
wins the title that was vacated by Lennox Lewis
Source: Dog House Boxing |
Best
Fight Challenge Results:
'Bibiano'
Fernandes (Gracie Barra) v Roberto Matsumoto (De La Riva) - 5
x 0 points
Willian
Couto (Monteiro) v Rodrigo Dam(Gracie Barra) - William wins by
medical intervention. Dam hit his head on the ground
Rodrigo
Pinheiro (Saulo Ribeiro) v Delson 'Pe-de-Chumbo' (Gracie Barra)
- Delson wins by advantage on a stand-up fight
Cristiano
Ribeiro (Luiz Neto) v Fernando 'Terere' (TT Jiu-Jitsu) - Terere
by Submission, choke from the rear
Ronaldo
'Jacare' (Master) v Marcelo Garcia (Alliance) - Marcelo wins
2 x 0 points half-guard sweep
Leopoldo
Montenegro v Eduardo Telles (TT Jiu-Jitsu) - Montenegro by advantages
0 x 0 - (6 x 4 advantages)
Alexandre
Ribeiro (Gracie Humaita) v Marcio 'Pe-de-Pano' (Gracie Barra)
- Pe de Pano by advantage (1 x 0)
Rio
team wins by 4 x 3
Source: ADCC |
Coleman:
One More Chance at Greatness
By Josh Gross
Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, the UFC's first heavyweight
champion, was running on empty. As quickly as he'd burst on to
the scene and crushed everything in his path, the powerhouse
wrestler was exposed as a fighter whose reliance on lenient rules
and sheer physical power could no longer deliver the sort of
dominating performances that helped build his reputation.
Then in the spring of 2000 he entered the PRIDE Heavyweight Grand
Prix, a tournament-style event that, by all accounts, was not
only one of the defining events in mixed martial arts history,
it was a career-saving moment for the American.
Four years later -- with two wins and one loss (versus eventual
PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) under his
belt since winning the GP title -- Coleman, now 39, understands
the questions, which once centered on his desire to do things
necessary to win, have shifted to concerns about his ability
to physically compete.
His lone win since 2001 came last June when he decisioned fellow
veteran Don Frye. ("That was something that I got away with,"
he says.) But it wasn't the sort of effort Coleman was accustomed
to. Because of a herniated disk in his neck, a situation was
created in which Coleman was so ailing physically that he was
constantly reminded to keep his chin down for fear of "getting
dropped pretty quick" if the nerve got pinched.
"It wasn't a good feeling at all because basically I was
wasting away here on the left side of my body," he says.
"The neck was pinching off nerves that were leading to my
tricep and chest. And I was getting weaker and weaker by the
day. It added a lot of pain and doubt into my mind, and this
probably went on for two, two and a half years."
A two-time UFC tournament winner and reigning PRIDE GP king,
Coleman is no stranger to the rigors of tournament competition.
On Sunday he faces the stiffest challenge of his distinguished
career.
Facing Fedor Emelianenko, the current PRIDE heavyweight champion
-- by most accounts the best heavyweight in the world -- Coleman
knows this tournament is much different than 2000, when he opened
the 16-man tournament by submitting an overmatched Masaaki Satake.
This time around, Coleman walks into the ring a substantial underdog.
"There would be an easier path to the finals ala the last
Grand Prix, and honestly I don't see a much tougher path to take
because I consider [Fedor] the top dog even over [Antonio Rodrigo]
Nogueira or [Mirko] Cro Cop," he says.
"This will be similar to fighting for the belt. ... This
is a chance at history here."
Coleman versus Fedor in the opening round of a tournament? The
pairing seems odd given both fighter's accomplishments and other
match-ups on the card. The veteran fighter, however, hardly seems
fazed by the prospect of such a tough opponent so early in the
brackets.
"I was approached by PRIDE and Fedor was the name,"
he says. "I had heard other rumors but when it came up,
Fedor was the name that came out. I said, 'let me think about
it,' and then people said I held out for more money. Well, it
doesn't take any kind of brains to figure out that if I'm going
to fight Fedor, why the hell would I fight him for less money?
That's just common sense.
"I hear there are rumors out there that I went hunting him
down and I went there asking to fight him. I will tell you this,
that ain't true. That would be stupid. Why would I want to fight
Fedor in the first round? This is a bad, bad dude and I, quite
frankly, would like to win this chance -- and, really, the easier
path is the best path.
"The Japanese people run their show and a lot of times you
don't know who they're going to ask you to fight. ... For me,
it's a chance for me to be in a main event. This may be the last
time I ever get this chance. Who knows. You don't know when it's
the last time. To even be considered main event material is sort
of an honor for me right now. So that's another reason why I'm
doing this. It's a chance for me to shine."
"It's a huge opportunity to fight the champion right now,"
he says, "and nobody else in the world has this opportunity.
So I feel lucky and fortunate and I'm going to try and do my
best with it."
In speaking with Coleman, one gets the sense that there is an
underlying need for him to find out what he's got left. As styles
go, Fedor provides him with the ultimate test. He's supremely
effective from each range of MMA fighting, and much like Coleman
did when he was decimating the opposition on the mat, the Ukrainian
has changed the way in which people perceive ground-and-pound
style fighting.
"I haven't seen big bombs coming down like he likes to throw,"
says Coleman of the awesome power Fedor creates within the guard.
"He may show me what 'G-and-P' really means," he says
with humility.
Having never been on his back during MMA competition, Coleman
is at a distinct disadvantage. And -- somewhat surprisingly --
Coleman seems sure that at least once during the 20-minute bout
he'll find out firsthand what it means to be ground-and-pounded
by the PRIDE champ.
"There's good potential during a scramble situation I may
end up on my back," he predicts. "I'm not saying that
in a negative way; I just feel like I have to be ready to be
in any position with this guy."
Can he survive if this happens? Most observers say no, but Coleman
is unwavering when asked if he must stay off his back to win.
"Against most people I do pretty well on my back,"
he answers. "I'm able to get the reversal with usually not
too much problem. I haven't been with a bunch of world-class
guys on top of me, but I'm able to get out and get away. And
I think that should be the same case with Fedor."
If Coleman is correct, then Sunday's contest could boil down
to which fighter has the better conditioning. Though he says
his neck feels 100 percent, it forced him from a training regimen
that he's employed since jumping into the Octagon in 1996. "Back
then I was younger and trained like a crazy man for a long, long
period of time. ... I didn't worry about injuries. This time,
I wasn't worried about them, but you're at least forced into
thinking about it you know because a lot of people are counting
on you."
"To be honest with you I'm not sure what kind of condition
I am in because I had to train differently for this tournament,"
he says candidly. "I had to be a little more careful because
of the injuries that I was letting heal up."
For the man from Columbus, Ohio, fighting has always boiled down
to one thing: common sense. When he's prepared, few are better.
And keeping it simple has always been a key to success.
"My game hasn't changed a lot over the years," says
Coleman. "He (Fedor) is well rounded. I've been taking people
down for a living all my life. Yeah, I need to take him down
and hopefully be able to do something with it. I don't know how
great his ground game is. I haven't really watched him much.
I probably should have watched him more but I'm just trying to
stay calm here. Hopefully I can pass the guard and do some damage."
"This will be my first fight back after neck surgery. But
it feels a hell of a lot better than it did prior to neck surgery.
It'll be the first time I test it out in actual competition.
I'm healthy and I feel pretty good about myself."
And if he shocks the world on Sunday? Well, "The Hammer"
will be one giant step closer to pulling off perhaps the most
impressive feat of his career.
"I haven't lost a tournament yet," he notes slyly.
"We'll look at it that way."
Source: Maxfighting |
Mike
Tyson wants Joe Mesi
According to the Seattle Times: Negotiations for a bout between
former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and contender Joe Mesi
have heated up to the point that Shelly Finkel, Tyson's adviser,
can almost see them in the ring at Madison Square Garden in November
or December.
"It's
definitely going to happen," Finkel said yesterday. "It's
going to be in New York."
The
two sides are still discussing money, but it is a mutually beneficial
bout for both Mesi and Tyson. Mesi wants to be taken seriously
as a title contender and Tyson wants to regain the world title.
In the current heavyweight climate it won't take long for Tyson
to get in the title mix.
Tyson's
appetite for the title must have been whetted when he watched
John Ruiz beat Fres Oquendo to retain the WBA crown and saw Chris
Byrd fight to a draw against Andrew Golota to retain the IBF
title at the Garden this past weekend.
The 36-year-old Tyson recently signed a lucrative promotional
agreement with K-1, the Japanese mixed-martial-arts company.
Finkel said it is a one-fight deal, and that Tyson will box and
not fight mixed martial arts. Tyson is tentatively set to box
Irish heavyweight Kevin McBride sometime in July in the United
States.
Source: Dog House Boxing |
Eddie
Bravo's POST UFC 47 Thoughts & Analysis!
The
leader of "10th Planet jiu-jitsu", official UFC score
keeper, the only American to 'tap' a Gracie, and great friend
to boxinginsider.com, Eddie "The Twister" Bravo once
again takes time out of his busy schedule to break down UFC 47:
It's On!
BoxingInsider.com:
Eddie, what did you think? Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell -- it
finally happened. What are your thoughts following that fight?
Eddie
Bravo: Well, I wasn't surprised that Chuck won but I was surprised
at the fashion in which he won. In the second round he unloaded
on Tito in a Vitor-like fashion. He looked to be screaming as
he was throwing that last combo. It was just shocking seeing
Tito drop. We've never seen Tito get beat down like that before.
It was insane.
BoxingInsider.com:
Can you describe the electricity in that room that night? --
someone actually threw Tito's hat back in the ring.
Eddie
Bravo: It was crazy. That place was sold out -- there was not
an empty seat in the house. Looking up to the top of the arena
-- every seat was filled and everybody was screaming. It was
ilike a KISS concert. You couldn't hear the guy talking next
to you. And it was star-studded. George Clooney was there, Michael
Clark Duncan was there.
BoxingInsider.com:
If you watch the replay closely enough, Tito seemed to get poked
in the eye by Chuck Liddell with the setup to the flurry of punches.
Do you think that might take away from Chuck Liddell's victory?
Eddie
Bravo: No, not at all. You know, in this sport you've got open
gloves and that's going to happen sometimes. That, to me, doesn't
take anything away from his victory. Chuck clearly won -- he
dominated. Unless someone can prove without a shadow of a doubt
that Chuck did it on purpose, and I don’t see that happening.
BoxingInsider.com:
But you don't think those gloves might not be safe?
Eddie
Bravo: No, that's just part of the game. I mean, punching someone
in the head isn't safe -- that's legal in the sport. How about
kneeing someone in the teeth? That's not safe, that's just part
of the game. Like I said, unless we can prove that Chuck thumbed
him intentionally, it’s not going to matter in the long
run.
BoxingInsider.com:
Do you think it was a mistake for Tito Ortiz to stand there and
trade punches with Chuck Liddell?
Eddie
Bravo: Was that a big mistake? Yes, absolutely. But it wasn't
as if he didn’t try to take the fight down. He did try to
shoot on Chuck. He just couldn't take him down. I think he should
have kept trying though. I think there were two or three shots
but I think he should have stuck with it because it was obvious
that he was outclassed standing.
BoxingInsider.com:
Given that Chuck Liddell has already beaten Vitor Belfort and
Tito Ortiz has lost heavily to Randy Couture and Rampage, where
does this put Chuck Liddell in the light-heavyweight division?
Eddie
Bravo: I'd say it puts him right back up to #2 or 3 in the light-heavyweight
division. And everybody loses; just because he lost to Randy
doesn't really mean too much. Can he beat Randy if they fought
again? I don't know; I'd put my money on Randy, but in this sport
anything can happen.
BoxingInsider.com:
Does this mean Chuck Liddell is back, or Tito Ortiz is finished,
or neither?
Eddie
Bravo: I think it means Chuck is back on the right track. He
got dominated by Randy; then he got dominated by Quentin. If
you want to make a comeback, knocking out Tito Ortiz is the way
to do it. I think Chuck is definitely back and Tito's not finished.
This is just part of the game. You can get knocked the f*** out
in one fight and then come back and knock someone else out. You
could have said the same thing about Chuck after the Quentin-Rampage
fight. Quentin dominated Chuck and look, Chuck's back. A fight
later, he's back. And all Tito needs to do is go back to the
drawing board, keep training hard and come back, and beat the
hell out of somebody -- he'll be back. You can come back really
easy in this sport. You've just got to keep your head up.
BoxingInsider.com:
What did you think of the Hermes Franca-Yves Edwards decision
-- who did you have winning that match?
Eddie
Bravo: I thought it was a bad decision. I thought Hermes Franca
won quite clearly. He was the aggressor, he was trying to finish
the fight. Yves was just counter-attacking. He was punching Hermes
-- like off leglocks, and all that, but he wasn’t pushing
the fight enough. I love Yves to death and I even picked him
to win, but Hermes was even throwing more head kicks than Yves
Edwards and Hermes isn’t even a striker.
BoxingInsider.com:
Considering Hermes lost his last two decisions so closely, what
advice would you give Hermes as a fighter? He seems to be pretty
frustrated right now.
Eddie
Bravo: I don't blame him for being frustrated. I thought his
previous fight with Thomson was a draw. If you score that fight
it was easy. I don't know how anybody could make a mistake about
Josh Thomson's fight. Josh won the first two rounds 10-9 and
Hermes Franca won the third round big, 10-8. He almost put Josh
away; the ref. almost stepped in and stopped it. He knocked him
down with punches -- it looked as if he was almost finished.
You've got to score that a 10-8. So 10-8, 10-9, 10-9 -- that's
a draw. And then to lose this decision with such an effort he
put into that fight. He was trying to finish the fight the whole
time and Yves was just counter-attacking. I just can't see how
the judges gave it to Yves.
BoxingInsider.com:
Wes Simms took a fight against Mike Kyle on one day's notice.
It appears at the end of the fight he was bit on the chest. Did
you hear anything about that -- do you know what's going on there?
Eddie
Bravo: Well, Wes is claiming that he bit him in the chest but
Mike Kyle is saying, how could he bite him in the chest when
he had his mouthpiece in? He did get him a choke where the choke
was shoving Mike Kyle's face into the chest of Wes Simms. So
maybe that was a mouthpiece imprint on his chest. I'm not sure;
it's hard to tell. Wes Simms doesn't always go by the rules himself,
so maybe he's getting a taste of his own medicine.
BoxingInsider.com:
Now Wes Simms took this fight on one day's notice and got knocked
out handily. Does he deserve credit for taking this fight on
one day's notice? Can he be a top UFC superstar still following
these three losses in a row?
Eddie
Bravo: You can't really judge him by his last performance against
Mike Kyle, like you said, it was taken on one day's notice. Who
knows what kind of shape he was in? In a high-pressure situation,
going head to head against a top conditioned athlete like Mike
Kyle -- you really can't judge him on that fight. What he really
needs to do, I would suggest, is to take a year, train really
hard in jiu-jitsu, really hard in striking, really hard in wrestling
-- for a year straight. He already has the mental attitude --
he's not afraid to fight. He loves to perform in front of a crowd
so it's not as if he's going to get rattled. He's got that, and
that's really important. Some fighters never get that. And he's
got the mental part of the game down -- he just needs technique
now. That's going to take a while.
BoxingInsider.com:
Andre Arlovsky knocked out Cabbage Correira. Is Andrei Arlovsky
the top heavyweight in the UFC?
Eddie
Bravo: I would say so. I actually picked Cabbage in this fight.
Based on his chin, I thought he could take Arlovsky's shots.
But Arlovsky kicks a lot harder than I thought. He looks as if
he's ready for K-1. It's going to be hard for anybody in the
heavyweight division to stand with Andre Arlovsky now. He looks
like a machine standing. And his grappling's not too bad either,
so he's got to be number one in the heavyweight division right
now.
BoxingInsider.com:
To the best of your understanding, what happened with Tim Silvia?
Do you think we was still taking steroids or were these really
just trace amounts still left in his system? And to follow up,
do you think he was getting bad medical advice since after all
this time he still failed the drug test?
Eddie
Bravo: I think it was just traces left in his system and that's
it. That stuff stays in your system for a while, I guess. He's
not stupid enough to keep taking steroids after he got caught.
Who's that dumb?
BoxingInsider.com:
UFC 47 was sold out at the Mandalay Bay. The fans were hyped
up for this fight like I've never seen them before. Did Mixed
Martial Arts seem to be on a whole different plateau? Where do
you think the sport's going now? It seems as if it is getting
more mainstream.
Eddie
Bravo: I think we're definitely getting closer. How close, I'm
not sure. I know for sure one day the UFC will be a household
name. That's going to happen -- you can't stop it. When, I'm
not sure. It might be a lot sooner than people think. That was
definitely the loudest, noisiest, craziest crowd so far. It was
insane. I loved it; it's what I live for. You need that energy
from the crowd -- that was there. So I guess it didn't matter
that Tito and Chuck weren't fighting for the title and they were
both coming off losses. I guess it didn't matter. People want
to see personalities and Chuck and Tito -- that's what they have.
They have the complete package. They've got the skills to bang
in the cage and the personalities. And they proved it -- sold
out the Mandalay Bay and the place was electric.
BoxingInsider.com:
Eddie, thanks as always for doing this UFC post-fight preview
and we hope at UFC's 48th that UFC lets you score more than one
fight.
Eddie
Bravo: I hope so, too. I love scoring the fights. I actually
like that better than the post-fight interview although I don't
get any camera time so the ladies could check my pretty mug out.
But actually I like it because I get to express my opinions more.
I would like to score every fight. I don't see why not -- it
takes 10 seconds in between every round. But that's not up to
me -- that's up to the big boys at Zuffa. Who knows -- I'm just
happy to be in there so it really doesn't matter.
Eddie
Bravo is a regular contributor to boxinginsider and can be reached
at twisterbravo@sbcglobal.net. Eddie is also authoring the first
Jiu Jitsu books ever put out by a major book label, which should
be released later this year.
Source: Boxing Insider |
Quote
of the Day
"I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station,
who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under
a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism."
Charles M. Schwab, 1862-1939, American Industrialist, Businessman
|
2004
Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Today!
St.Louis School Gym
April 24th, 2004
Start time 10:30AM
Gi and No-Gi
$40
entrance fee and $50 to enter both the gi and no gi divisions.
For
more info call (808) 223-9363 or (808) 392-8330
|
Charuto wants to smoke again
at UFC
Brazilian Renato
Veríssimo Charuto will be back to UFC's octagon on April 19th
in Las Vegas. After defeating the Canadian Carlos Newton at the
last edition of UFC, Charuto is ready to face the former welterweight
champion Matt Hughes. The fighter from Hillsboro comes from a
loss against BJ Penn at last UFC 46 and now he is trusty for
a victory.
Source: Tatame |
VITALI
KLITSCHKO vs. CORRIE SANDERS!!
12-Rd. Heavyweight Title Fight
SATURDAY, APRIL 24 at 9:30 p.m. ET/ 6:30 p.m. PT.
PRE-FIGHT
BUZZ:
The
last of three April Heavyweight battles, Vitali Klitschko vs.
Corrie Sanders holds the most promise for a first-rate classic
prize fight, even though it could turn out to be the least evenly-matched
bout of the month. With the redemption of not only the Brothers
K but also the entire weight class resting on his very capable
shoulders, Vitali Klitschko would seem to be the man to watch.
This fight will either confirm or destroy his status as the great
hope (white or otherwise) among a decidedly shallow talent pool
of big men.
Corrie
Sanders presents an uncomplicated but significant challenge:
When in the ring rather than on the golf course (that is, approximately
once yearly), he comes on strong and early; a fierce and straightforward
slugger, he routinely overwhelms unprepared or less able fighters
in the early rounds. Among his distinguishing traits, he possesses
notable handspeed and - like most southpaws -- the occasional
oddly-angled punch. Will he make the mistake of assuming that
he can dispense with Vitali as he did Wlad?
Dr.
Klitschko comes to the fight with good momentum; his dominating
victory against Kirk Johnson last December showed continued progress
from his breakthrough performance against Lewis in June of `03
-- when he was stopped by a monster cut while ahead on all 3
scorecards. Vitali Klitschko has workable abilities, and most
importantly that essential champion building block which no trainer
can impart: He has the heart and mind of a warrior. At range,
he can out-jab Sanders, and in the trenches, he is bound to rise
to the occasion. If he survives the anticipated early assault
by Sanders, then he will be hard to stop.
Source: HBO |
Joe
Doerksen Interview
Joe Doerksen is 26-5-0 and has a winning record against UFC veterans,
and he is just waiting to explode onto the big shows.
"Dana
White told me he was going to put me in, but I have waited almost
a full year since then....I'm making sure that I'm ready when
the time comes."
26-year-old Joe Doerksen from Winnipeg, Manitoba recently took
the time to talk to Rob King about his recent fights, his upcoming
fight with Chris Leben, and the UFC.
Rob
King: Congradulations on your most recent win Joe a victory this
past weekend over Riki Fukuda out in Hawaii. Briefly take me
through the fight. You went up in weight for this fight correct?
Joe
Doerksen: Yes this fight was at 205. I did not cut any weight
for this fight, I just basically fought at my walk around weight.
Rob
King: Going back a couple weeks, talk about your victory in Extreme
Challenge over Danny Anderson.
Joe
Doerksen: That was my first fight in almost a year, so I was
anxious to get back in the ring. I think it was a pretty good
fight. I didn't know much about him, but he turned out to be
a pretty solid opponent.
Rob
King: You have fought twice within the past month after a 9 month
layoff after your huge Superbrawl tournament victory. What was
the reason for such a long break between fights?
Joe
Doerksen: I took a few months off after the SuperBrawl tournament,
and just as I was getting back into the gym I got sick and had
to take another 2 or 3 months off. I was not in shape to fight
until January this year.
Rob
King: What is your martial arts backgrounds?
Joe
Doerksen: Eight years of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, about three years
of boxing and kickboxing, and I have been working on my wrestling
on and off for a little while now.
Rob
King: You have done some pro boxing too correct?
Joe
Doerksen: I have done one pro boxing match. I may do another
in the future, as long as it does not conflict with my mma career.
(Note: Doerksen won his pro boxing match on March 6, 2003 against
Mathias Hughes)
Rob
King: Who do you train with in Winnipeg?
Joe
Doerksen: I train grappling at International Martial Arts. There's
some strong talent there. I do my standup at Canadian Kickboxing
and Muay Thai Centre. The coaches there are Giuseppe DeNatale
and David Horvath. Both very accompished fighters. I feel fortunate
to be training there. I have also spent some time training with
other team Extreme fighters, and I plan to travel to the United
States to train with some more of them very soon.
Rob
King: You got a fight coming up on May 14 in FFC 9. Your opponent
is undefeated Team Quest fighter Chris Leben. What are your thoughts
on Chris Leben?
Joe
Doerksen: No thoughts. Never seen him fight. I will fight him
the same way I fight everyone else.
Rob
King: How are you going to approach this fight?
Joe
Doerksen: Train like a nut. Get in the ring. Punch him in the
face as many times as I possibly can in the time that they give
us.
Rob
King: There has been a lot of support on message boards and in
chat rooms for you fighting in the UFC. Do you know of any reason
why your not in the UFC? What would it mean to you to get a shot
in the UFC?
Joe
Doerksen: I really don't know why I haven't fought there. Dana
White told me he was going to put me in, but I have waited almost
a full year since then. Perhaps he can better answer that question.
For me, my focus is on training and making sure that I'm ready
when the time comes.
Rob
King: What fight is your biggest win?
Joe
Doerksen: Denis Kang (Note: UCC 11 on 10/11/2002)
Rob
King: Which of your losses would you like to try and have a chance
to avenge the most?
Joe
Doerksen: Stephan Potvin, Egan Inoue, and David Loiseau.
Rob
King: Okay, in Spetember 2001 you fought Robbie Newman down in
Louisiana in Extreme Challenge 44. I heard that because of the
terrorist attacks of 9/11, you had to drive 40 hours more or
less straight through, and then fight Robbie the day after you
arrived. Is this true?
Joe
Doerksen: It was actually only 26 hours each way. Going home
was easier because I had another fighter go with me. He drove
the first 12 hours to Illinois, and then I dropped him off and
went the last 14 alone. That was not as bad.
Rob
King: What does the future hold for Joe Doerksen in terms of
your everyday life as well as your fighting career.
Joe
Doerksen: Hopefully lots and lots of training, and hopefully
lots of big fights in big shows. I am having a good time, and
as long as that continues I will keep fighting.
Rob
King: Thanks for the interview Joe and best of luck in all your
future matches.
Joe
Doerksen: Thank you.
Source: Sherdog |
Brazilian
Beat
By Eduardo Alonso
Minotauro and Ninja
ready for the PRIDE GP, Jungle Fight back in business, Chute
Boxe youngsters go to battle in Curitiba and HEAT FC 3 postponed.
It is posted at FCF's news site, check it out.
Source: ADCC |
Pride
Grand Prix Preview
Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
Giant
Silva Vs Henry "Sentoryu" Miller
Henry
Armstrong Miller is better known to the Japanese public as “Sentoryu”
and is the first African American Sumo wrestler in the history
of Japanese Sumo and the 5th American ever to compete in the
legendary sport. His name “Sentoryu” is a Japanese
derivation of the word St Louis, which is where Mr. Miller hails
from. He competed in Sumo for 15 years and just recently retired
from the sport that he practiced for so long and now finds himself
facing Giant Silva in the Pride arena. What a difference a few
months can make. If I remember correctly, he is the third Sumo
wrestler to compete in Pride after Emanuel Yarbrough and Tadao
Yasuda, neither of which exactly lit it up in the Pride arena.
The ring will shake when this fight goes down as we may have
the most weight in the Pride ring at any one time in the history
of Pride. Miller has never fought an MMA match in his life, and
although he frequented the Sumo circuit, surprisingly he didn’t
exactly light it up in the Sumo Ranks either.
Sentoryu
spent the bulk of his 15 year sumo career in the lower ranks
and never reached the lofty heights that other Americans such
as Musashi-maru and Akebono did before him. He finished his Sumo
career with a total record of 402 wins and 303 losses most of
which were in the lower ranks, in comparison Akebono (Chad Rowan),
who recently lost in K-1 twice in a row had a record of 566 wins
and 198 losses, most of which was on the highest circuit in Sumo.
At 5 foot 9 and 300 pounds, Sentoryu is not particularly large
for a sumo wrestler or for any heavyweight for that matter, and
will be at a severe height disadvantage against the much taller
Giant Silva. I would imagine that his strategy will be to take
the taller more striking saavy Silva to the mat at his earliest
opportunity, or bull rush him and try to finish the fight early,
but even if he gets the fight to the mat I don’t know what
he will be able to do to keep the fight from being stood up or
from being reversed. I really do not feel that Sentoryu has much
of an opportunity to win this fight but if he has any intention
of winning he better do it early because although Silva is not
known for having the best gas he did go three strong rounds with
Heath Herring. I feel that Silva will eventually find his range,
and when he does “Sentoryu” will go crashing to the
mat, being a sumo wrestler he will not be able to get back up
quick enough to prevent Silva from stomping him or pouncing on
him before the ref steps in to stop the match. Silva is no stand
up phenom but he looked good enough to keep Herring on his toes
in their match-up and had pretty good wind for a big guy. He
is 7 foot 5 and will have almost two feet in a height advantage
and probably around that much on punching reach. He should be
able to stay away with long jabs and steer clear of any takedown
attempts long enough to pound out Miller who is not used to taking
punches to the face. It should be “Sayonara” to “Sentoryu”
and Silva should even his record to 1-1 and move on in the to
the next round.
Fedor
Emelianenko Vs Mark Coleman
I
know I am in the minority but I don’t think that Coleman
is in as much trouble as everyone has him out to be. Don’t
get me wrong, Emelianenko is rock solid and in my opinion the
best overall heavyweight in the world, but everyone has a bad
match-up and I feel that Coleman is his. We have yet to see Emelianenko
work extensively from his back against someone as strong and
as skilled a wrestling as “The Hammer”. Coleman is
a phenom on the mat, and few if any in the world of MMA can stop
his takedowns, the only problem for him is, Emelianenko is better
in almost every other category in the skill set of a mixed martial
artist. He is the better striker, is well versed in judo, is
more well rounded, not to mention he is younger, stronger, and
has better cardio at this point in his career. In fact, he is
a superior ground and pounder, which seems ironic because that
is the style that Coleman helped usher into the MMA game back
when he was fighting in old days of the UFC.
I
have serious doubts about whether Emelianenko will be able to
stop the double leg takedown attempts of the Coleman, precious
few fighters can, even at this late stage of Coleman’s career.
The real question is: Will Coleman be able to push the action
if he gets there? Will he be able to pass the guard of Fedor
and do damage from side control or mount and pound? The referee’s
move quickly in Pride and if he stalls or fails to improve position
against Fedor he will be stood up and forced to take Fedor down
again. Every time that happens it gives Fedor an opportunity
to end the fight, and wears his cardio down that much more, he
doesn’t have much to begin with so he has to work fast.
This is only the first round of the tournament so he will not
have to worry about fighting again later on in the same evening
so Coleman can put everything he has into this one fight, and
I think that is a big plus for him.
He
is the defending open weight Pride Grand Prix champion and much
like he was back in 1999 he will be a heavy underdog. He is my
dark-horse pick to do it again and I feel that he has as good
a shot at winning it as anyone else. Coleman will have to stay
active and actively go for he finish to accommodate the “New
and improved” Pride rules, going for the finish is something
he has not always done, but if the Don Frye fight is the barometer
of what he can do at this stage of his career it should be enough
to stifle but not stop the very dangerous wrestler. Coleman will
be able to take this fight to the ground and if he stays busy
enough he should be able to keep it there and grind out a decision
victory over Fedor. If he has improved his guard passing and
decides to be more aggressive from the top then we have seen
him in the past, side control or mount could be the beginning
of the end for Fedor, we saw what he could do from the top position
against Alan Goes and his knee’s will be his most dangerous
weapon, his ability to pass is a big if however so no one knows
what he can do from there at this point. If Coleman cannot take
this fight to the mat, and take it there fast, this will be a
very short fight and Fedor will knock out Coleman early. I know
I am in the minority but I am going with “The Hammer”
grinding out a huge upset victory over the Russian “Rock”
via unanimous decision.
Mirko
Filipovic Vs Kevin Randleman
This
fight is no different from any fight for Filipovic, he will keep
his distance, he will sprawl, he will throw the left leg, he
will rinse, repeat and do it all again. He knows that, I know
that, and Kevin Randleman knows that, but stopping it is another
story altogether. Both Filipovic and Randleman are predictable
in their strategy, everyone knows what Randleman brings to the
table, it is no secret that he will be shooting and shooting
often. Another well know fact is that he is less then adequate
on the feet and although he hits hard, by no means will he be
interested in keeping this a stand up dance, if he does, the
dance will be over before the band even gets through with the
mike check. Filipovic is a stand up wrecking machine and a natural
heavyweight, not a particularly big heavyweight, but a heavyweight
none the less. Contrary to what many believe, fighting heavyweights
is nothing new for Randleman. In fact, he has competed at the
Heavyweight division for over half of his career. Much like the
Mark Coleman vs Fedor Emelianenko fight, I don’t think that
this fight will be as lopsided as many believe, surely Filipovic
is the favorite but I think the great equalizer in MMA is wrestling
and Kevin has it in spades.
Filipovic
is arguably the finest striker in the realm of MMA but he has
worked on his ground game and his ground game has improved ten
fold. He has evolved and improved leaps and bounds, but the same
cannot be said for the “Monster Kevin Randleman who has
been on a slide of late. To an outsider, it seems like he hasn’t
improved with the times and grown with the sport like many others
have, he has four losses and five wins in his last 9 fights and
has dropped his last two fights to Quinton Jackson and Kazushi
Sakuraba respectively. On the plus side for Randleman, he is
probably the best wrestler that Filipovic has ever faced, with
respect to Kazuyuki Fujita, Randleman is as experienced wrester
and MMA competitor with a healthy ground and pound attack. If
Nogueira can take Filipovic down, at some point Randleman should
be able to do so as well, but will he be able to stay active
enough to keep the ref from standing it up, or effective enough
to hurt the “Cro Cop” if it goes to the mat? In the
end, I feel that a combination of better cardio, speed, and a
suspect chin on the part of Randleman, will be “The Monsters”
downfall and Filipovic will find his range and end it with his
fearsome left kick in the third round when Randleman begins to
fade. Cro Cop by knockout late in round three.
5
more fights will round out the big show on April 25th and the
Sushiboy's picks for the Pride Grand Prix show are as follows.
Naoya
Ogawa over Stefan Leko
Giant Silva over Henry Miller
Mirko Filipovic over Kevin Randleman
Mark Coleman over Fedor Emelianenko
Heath Herring over Yoshiki Takahashi
Rodrigo Nogueira over Hirotaka Yokoi
Sergei Kharatonov over Murilo Rua
Gan McGee over Semmy Schilt
Source: MMA Ring Report |
ATT
MEMBERS MAKE PROFESSIONAL BOXING DEBUTS
Say what you want about what Din Thomas and Jeff Monson have
accomplished in their MMA careers, but many thought they were
crazy for jumping into Professional Boxing this weekend, however
the two American Top Team candidates held their own in their
"other" sport.
Thomas
and Monson scored majority draws against their opponents this
weekend in their professional debuts.
Apparently
most people in attendance felt that Din had won the fight (his
opponent was 1-2), but it was still ruled a majority draw. Din
felt good with his performance and plans to continue boxing as
well as his MMA career.
Monson
also fought to a majority draw with his 1-1 opponent. Not the
world's most impressive debut by any means, but considering most
of Monson's MMA fights (based strongly on his wrestling skills),
who would have thought that his striking was good enough for
professional boxing?
Monson
is a bit of a late bloomer as well, making his debut in a sport
that is widely considered a young man's game at the age of 33.
On
a side note, Oscar De La Hoya was in the house to promote his
new reality show.
Source: MMA Weekly |
BRAZIL'S
JAOUDE AMONG 12 WRESTLERS GIVEN WILD CARD SPOTS AT 2004 OLYMPICS
by: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
Brazil's top wrestler, Antoine Jaoude, has been named as one
of 12 wrestlers being given wild card spots for the 2004 Athens
Olympic Games. The announcement was made by FILA, the international
wrestling federation. Jaoude will thus become the only Brazilian
wrestler in any style competing at the 2004 Athens Games.
Jaoude,
a 96 kg freestyle wrestler, narrowly missed qualifying his weight
for the Olympics at the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle
Wrestling. There he finished 12th. The top ten finishers qualified
their countries. Jaoude also finished second at the 2003 Pan
American Games. In both the 2003 Worlds and 2003 Pan American
Games, he was defeated by Daniel Cormier, the top American at
96 kg. However, Jaoude also failed to qualify at the two Olympic
Qualification Tournaments held this year. There he finished 16th
and 26th.
According
to FILA's stated criteria, 'Wild Cards are allocated to countries
which fully participated in the qualifying events, which have
a wrestler (man or woman) of an Olympic standard, but which did
not succeed in having a wrestler (man or woman) qualified to
participate in any of the three wrestling style competitions.'
Since no other wrestler from Brazil qualified for the Olympics,
and Jaoude is considered Brazil's top wrestler, he was chosen
for this wild card spot.
Jaoude's
wrestling coach is Roberto Leitao, who also has worked in mixed
martial arts with Marco Ruas, Pedro Rizzo, and many others. Jaoude
has fought in mixed martial arts as well.
Below
is FILA's statement announcing these wild card entries. There
will also be four more wrestlers chosen as wild cards. It is
expected that at least one of these will go to Iraq.
TO
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION CONCERNED TO ALL FILA BUREAU MEMBERS
Subject:
Allocation of the 12 FILA Wild Cards for the 2004 Athens Olympic
Games
Please find herewith the list of the 12 countries which have
received a Wild Card from FILA to participate in the 2004 Athens
Olympic Games.
These
Wild Cards have been allocated under the conditions fixed as
per the qualification system which are as follows: Wild Cards
are allocated to countries which fully participated in the qualifying
events, which have a wrestler (man or woman) of an Olympic standard,
but which did not succeed in having a wrestler (man or woman)
qualified to participate in any of the three wrestling style
competitions.
Concerning
the 4 Wild Cards of the Tripartite Commission, they will be allocated
by the IOC and the NOCs, in agreement with FILA. An information
on this subject will be released shortly by the IOC.
Deadline
confirmation
The countries which have received a Wild Card must confirm to
FILA and send also their NOC's confirmation that their wrestler
(man or woman) will be actually included in the Olympic Team
of their country, indicating the name and weight category which
must correspond to the ones which were allocated. The deadline
to send this confirmation is the 11th May 2004 at the latest.
Without
any confirmation within the above mentioned deadline, the qualification
place will be allocated to another National Federation.
Raphael
Martinetti
FILA President
Lausanne, 16 April 2004
TABLE
OF THE 12 FILA WILD CARD ALLOCATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2004
ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES
COUNTRY
NAME, FIRST NAME OF THE WRESTLER (MAN OR WOMAN) WRESTLING STYLE
WEIGHT CATEGORY
1
ALB PRIZRENI Sahit FREESTYLE 60 KG
2 ALG BENCHENEF Samir GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING 55 KG
3 BRA BRAGA Abau Jaoude Antonie FREESTYLE 96 KG
4 DOM RAMIREZ Jansel GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING 55 KG
5 GBR ACKERMAN Nathanael FREESTYLE 74 KG
6 NGR JESSEY Fred FREESTYLE 66 KG
7 POR PASSOS DA SILVA Hugo GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING 60 KG
8 PRK O SONG-NAM FREESTYLE 55 KG
9 TUN LOUATI Fadhila FEMININE WRESTLING 48 KG
10 PER GUZMAN Sydney GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING 60 KG
11 SEN SENE Matar FREESTYLE 74 KG
12 LAT KOSTINS Igor GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING 96 KG
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Without discipline, there is no life at all."
Katharine Hepburn, 1907-2003, American Actress, Writer |
Reader
Comments Requested!
A reader of Onzuka.com planted this thought in my mind so we
will start a comment line or Q&A regarding the various Hawaii
events to get different opinions on our site.
Our
first installment question will be:
Do you feel
that the Enson Inoue/Tom Sauer fight in Super Brawl 35 was stopped
too early and why?
Please
email us with your comments at info@onzuka.com and we will post some
comments. We will provide our opinion after we post some of our
readers' comments because we do not want to influence your comments
in any way (if we haven't spoiled that already). We may have
different opinions ourselves on many subjects.
Feel
free to just state your opinion and if you would like to be anonymous
if we decide to post your comment, please state that in your
email. That will be no problem.
We
reserve the right to choose which comments to post.
This will
be the last string of comments. Thank you for all of your responses!
I
feel Dain did his job I also I feel like everyone else that Enson
has taken alot of punishment in the past. But the hardest job
is Dain's job that night!!
Anonymous
Enson's a tough guy and has proven he can dish and take a lot
of punishment. I was very impressed with his guard and aggressive
style. Nonetheless, I think the stoppage was appropriate as it
seemed like the outcome would be the same however prolonged based
on the positions he was in and his reaction to them. Enson was
in the North-South press and in a tight neck crank/choke. Like
an imperfect triangle, it eventually took its toll. I along with
many other spectators, would have liked a different outcome;
on the other hand, I would love to see a rematch.
Keone
I think Dain did a good stoppage.
Bruce
|
A
BATTLE OF GIANTS: SCHILT VERSUS MCGEE!
by: Turi Altavilla
LOS ANGELES, California – The final match-up of the opening
round has been announced for 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.
In
the final bracket of the tournament will be a battle of giants,
as the pride of Holland, Semmy Schilt, will be taking on American
heavyweight and UFC contender Gan McGee. At nearly seven-foot
tall, Semmy Schilt is an expert kick boxer who uses his reach
advantage to cause havoc in mixed martial arts. Schilt is devastating
on his feet, often using a massive barrage of punches, kicks,
and knees to overwhelm his opponents. Thus far during his career,
this Golden Glory team member has won the titles of Hokutoki
DaiDoyuko Champion and King of Pancrase. Among his list of victims
are such notables as Guy Mezger, Yuki Kondo, Pete Williams and
Akira Shoji. Fighting out of San Luis Obispo, California, “Big”
Gan McGee stands at an imposing 6’10” and weighs 260
lbs. He brings in a record of 11-3, which includes impressive
wins over Paul Buentello, Pedro Rizzo, and Alexandre Dantas.
Like Schilt, McGee also possesses a substantial reach advantage,
making him a difficult match-up for fighters of lesser stature.
Always among the top heavyweight contenders in the UFC, McGee
is now looking to bring the PRIDE FC Grand Prix title home to
the United States.
Fight
Card:
-
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark “The Hammer” Coleman
- Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira vs. Hirotaka
Yokoi
- Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Kevin “The Monster”
Randleman
- “The Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring vs. Yoshiki
Takahashi
- Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Sergei Kharitonov
- Naoya Ogawa vs. Stefan “Blitz” Leko
- Paulo Cesar “Giant” Silva vs. Henry “Sentoryu”
Miller
- Semmy Schilt vs. “Big” Gan McGee
Previously
announced participant Ron “H20” Waterman is still onboard
as an alternate.
The
schedule for the tournament is 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)
Source:
ADCC |
Manaus
Event Set to Rock
A
major BJJ event is taking place this Saturday in Manaus. Top
fighters like Ronaldo 'Jacare', Fernando 'Terere', Marcio 'Pe
de Pano', Marcelo Garcia, 'Xande' Ribeiro & Eduardo Tellesare
set to compete.
In
the Mega card:
Xande
Ribeiro v Marcio Pe de Pano
Ronaldo
Jacare v Marcelo Garcia
Fernando
Terere v Cristiano Monteiro
Eduardo
Telles v Leopoldo
Stay
tuned to Kid's column and ADCC news for results and coverage.
Source: ADCC/Kid Peligro |
Vladimir
Matyushenko challenges Brazilian Fighters
by José Maurício Costa / Team Tatame
Vladimir
Matyushenko has been laying low since September 26th, when he
was knocked out by Andrey Arlovsky (UFC 44). Now, it seems that
'The Janitor' has chosen a boisterous and original way to return
to the ring. The rAw Team fighter decided toissue a public and
controversial challenge: he wants to face any of the top Brazilian
fighters: 'Vale Tudo started in Brazil and it is where the toughest
and most skilled fighters live. This is why I am interested in
fighting the top Brazilians - to test myself against the best
in their home country' states Matyushenko.
The
RAW´s fighter public teaser probably will result in a great
deal of noise in Brazil, since Matyushenko has won his two last
matches against top Brazilians Pedro Rizzo (UFC 41) and Rogerio
'Minotouro' (UFO). But Matyushenko does not seem worried about
the repercussions of his words: 'My fights against Pedro and
Rogerio 'Minotouro' were unanimous decisions. I never felt any
danger in either fight, in fact I could feel them lose spirit.
I have been studying how to finish the fight definitively and
I hope to put that into practice from now on. I want anyone,
especially from the BTT or Chute Boxe since these are the most
established names in the business' stressed the ghard nosed Russian,
who was recently announced on Brazil's next JUNGLE FIGHT event.
Source:
ADCC |
First
Look at “UFC 48: Payback”
UFC 48: Payback
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
The
main event at “UFC 48: Payback” will feature Heavyweights
Ken Shamrock from San Diego, CA, and Kimo Leopoldo from Huntington Beach, CA, in a rematch
of their February 1996 fight. “The World’s Most Dangerous
Man” submitted Kimo with a knee bar at
“UFC 8: David vs. Goliath” and fans have anticipated
a payback fight ever since. Shamrock was inducted into the UFC
Hall of Fame at “UFC 45: Revolution” last November
in Uncasville, CT. Kimo is coming off an impressive
submission victory over hometown rival Tank Abbott at “UFC
43: Meltdown” last June in Las Vegas, NV.
Card
Subject To Change:
Heavyweight: Ken Shamrock 25-8-2 vs. Kimo Leopoldo 10-3-1
Welterweight: Matt Hughes 36-4-0 vs. Renato “Charuto” Verissimo
6-0-0
Heavyweight Championship: Tim Sylvia 18-0-0 vs. Frank Mir 7-1-0
Middleweight: Phil Baroni 6-3-0 vs. Evan Tanner 30-4-0
Welterweight: Dennis Hallman 51-8-2 vs. Frank Trigg 9-2-0
Lightweight: Matt Serra 12-3-0 vs. Ivan Menjivar 13-2-0
Middleweight: Jason Miller 22-4-0 vs. Georges St. Pierre 6-0-0
Visit
www.UFC.tv for more information.
Source:
ADCC |
JUNGLE
FIGHT 2 CONFIRMED FOR MAY 15th
by Marcelo Alonso / Team Tatame
Mr.
Antonio Inoki and Wallid Ismail have confirmed the second edition
of Jungle Fight will be held on May 15th.
Unlike
the famous first edition held in the middle of Amazon Forest
at the Ariaú Towers Hotel, this one will be held in the
city of Manaus (capital of Amazon State) at Studio 5, in a famous
concert house with a capacity for 8 thousand expectators.
The
event will be broadcast live in Brazil by Sportv. 'The first
edition was such a success and was seen by such a big audience
on TV, that we decided to give the opportunity for the North
of Brazil to see the second event live.' explained promoter Wallid
Ismail, who guaranteed the best card ever in a brazilian event.
'Just considering the fighters already confirmed, I can guarantee
that it will be one of the best MMA events ever.' said Carlson´s
Gracie black belt.
THE
FOLLOWING FIGHTERS WERE CONFIRMED BY THE PROMOTER:
-
VLADIMIR MATYUSHEKO
- ASSUERIO SILVA
- CARLOS BARRETO
- JEFFERSON TANK
- JORGE MACACO PATINO
- LEOPOLDO MONTENEGRO
- EVANGELISTA CYBORG
- IVAN BATMAN
- BRIAN SHERPA
- ADRIANO MARTINS
- THOMAS WILDMAN DENNY
- CARLOS BARUCH
- EBENEZER BRAGA
- ALEXANDRE DANTAS
Source:
ADCC |
PELÉ
FIGHTING AS A HEAVYWEIGHT!
by Marcelo Alonso / Team Tatame
Former
Chute Boxe star José Pelé Landy reports that he
is putting on some weight in order to fight in the heavyweight
category. Last friday, after a hard training session at his academy
in the Merces district of Curitiba, Brazil. He states 'I´m
getting close to 100 kg (220 lbs). I have a new promoter, whom
I consider among the best in the world. He secured a place for
me in a really big event, we are just setting up the last minute
details. Soon everybody will find out Pele is badk!'.
After
a hard training session with his young guns, Eliezer Ninja, Gaúcho,
Sandrão and the Charneski brothers, Pelé also revealed
tht the third edition of his MMA event, 'Original Vale-Tudo Challenge'
is scheduled soon as well and is under development as we speak!
Source:
ADCC |
MINOTAURO
WANTS #1 TITLE BACK
There was
a time not too long ago when Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro”
Nogueira was the most dominant heavyweight in the MMA world.
From
mid-1999 until the end of 2002, it seemed as if almost nothing
could stop this member of the highly feared and respected Brazilian
Top Team. First in the World Extreme Fighting organization in
the US, then onto Japan’s RINGS organization and finally
settling into PRIDE, there was no doubt his journey was a special
one.
During
this time, only twice did he not come out the victor. First,
a tough split decision loss to Team Quest’s Dan Henderson
and then a draw to RINGS/UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kosaka in back
to back events were the only things keeping him from a perfect
record.
A
master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the tutelage of MMA legend
Mario “The Zen Machine” Sperry, Nogueira flat out dominated
fighters on the ground. Before coming to PRIDE in 2001, the slightly
larger twin brother of Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
had either outlasted or submitted all of his opponents in 11
victories capturing the King of Rings Championship in 2000. But
that was only the start of the legend he would begin to build.
Arriving
at PRIDE 15, Nogueira showed he meant business, submitting Pride
gatekeeper “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge just two and
a half minutes into the fight. Impressed by his performance,
PRIDE executives decided that Nogueira would be a good test for
legendary Mark “The Hammer” Coleman on what PRIDE was
thinking would be Coleman’s run to the inaugural Heavyweight
Championship match to take place near the end of 2001.
Nogueira,
a heavy underdog to Coleman, had other ideas. After a short standup
exchange, the fight went to the ground where it was clear the
aging Coleman was no match for the younger more dexterous Brazilian.
Nearing the six-minute mark of the fight, Nogueira locked on
a triangle choke/arm bar combination.
Coleman
did his best to shake off “Minotauro,” but was unable
to do so and had to tap out. It was then and there that the MMA
community knew that Nogueira had arrived. Coleman paid tribute
to his opponent by stating to the world that Antonio possessed
the strongest grip he had ever seen, which meant there was no
escaping the grasp of this Jiu Jitsu specialist once he got a
hold of you.
It
was at PRIDE 17 that Nogueira would get his shot at the Heavyweight
Championship against a strong opponent, “The Texas Crazy
Horse” Heath Herring. After three grueling rounds, Herring
managed to not get submitted, but was unable to get any real
offense going against Nogueira standing or on the ground. In
what was a clean sweep unanimous decision, Nogueira was crowned
the first Heavyweight Champion in PRIDE’s history. But as
the saying goes, it’s not getting to the top that’s
the hard part; it’s staying on top.
Over
2002, Nogueira fought five times and was victorious on all five
occasions. In that stretch, he recorded his first ever KO by
defeating Pancrase superstar Sanae Kikuta at a UFO show, he defeated
the freakishly huge Bob Sapp despite being over 100 pounds lighter
, and he avenged his only defeat by tapping out Dan Henderson
at PRIDE 24. Things were going like clockwork until Nogueira
was signed to fight rising Russian star Fedor Emelianenko at
PRIDE 25.
For
months it had seemed inevitable, Fedor, a fellow former dominant
RINGS fighter had been making quick work of the same men that
Nogueira had been defeating in PRIDE the year earlier. It seemed
like a great classic match, the ground and pound monster vs.
the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist with the iron grip. Unfortunately
for Nogueira, he could not overcome the tide that was this Russian
beast.
Nogueira
could not help but be pounded throughout the 20-minute battle.
Many times, he attempted to secure a submission on Fedor, but,
each time, Fedor .powered his way out in seemingly easy fashion.
When all was said and done, it was Fedor’s hand raised in
victory. The belt which Nogueira had so cherished and defended
with honor was taken from him and placed around the waist of
someone else for the first time in PRIDE’s history.
After
the loss, it seemed as if Nogueira’s time was possibly coming
to an end. After a highly controversial win over Ricco Rodriguez
at PRIDE’s Total Elimination 2003 show, Nogueira, who was
seemingly dominated by Rodriguez despite the unanimous decision
win, was given a shot at redemption. As it turned out, Fedor,
due to injury, could not defend his championship against Croatian
striking sensation Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at PRIDE’s
Final Conflict 2003 show. Thus, Nogueira was thrust into his
place to crown an interim champion until Fedor healed.
Back
in the unfamiliar territory of being the underdog, Nogueira was
being placed in front of the buzz saw as he got into the ring
with Mirko. After surprisingly lasting the entire first round,
a little banged up, but not too worse for ware, Nogueira managed
to finally take down the Croatian star and secured an arm bar
for the win. Redemption indeed seemed the order of the day as
a belt was once again placed around Nogueira’s waist as
he was crowned interim Heavyweight Champion.
Since
taking the interim title back in November of last year, Nogueira
has not stepped back into the ring despite rumors he would compete
at PRIDE 27. Then came the announcement that Nogueira would be
entering the upcoming PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix along with
Fedor and Cro Cop. So now comes a chance for the once most feared
heavyweight in the world to prove that he is still that man.
In
the first round, Nogueira will be facing off against undefeated
former RINGS fighter Hirotaka Yokoi who’s last appearance
in PRIDE was at PRIDE 23 when he defeated Jarrel Venetiaan via
arm bar. This has the makings of a classic battle between two
seemingly similar fighters on paper.
However,
fights are not fought on paper. They are fought in the ring where
Nogueira has a vast advantage in experience and class of opponent
over Yokoi. It is with that experience that this fight, which
will go to the ground, will be won with. As long as Nogueira
doesn’t underestimate Yokoi, this should be a smooth fight
for Antonio as he looks to advance to the second round.
While
a win is expected of Nogueira and wouldn’t do much to raise
his stock, it would move him on to the second round to face bigger
name competition. A loss, however, would be very bad. Not only
would he have lost his chance to move on in the tournament, but
it would lead people to question the validity of him holding
a portion of the Heavyweight Championship.
When
all is said and done, it’s a return to form that Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira is seeking, validation for the years of dominance
that have slipped through his once iron grip. Ultimately, he
would love to avenge his loss to Fedor en route to being crowned
Grand Prix Champion. Until then, Nogueira remains something of
a mystery, a mystery only he can ultimately solve.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
CAN
"NINJA" DO WELL IN GRAND PRIX?
Murilo
“Ninja” Rua is quite possibly the best prospect developed
by the famed Chute Boxe Academy behind PRIDE Middleweight Champion
Wanderlei Silva.
Ever
since debuting in MMA at the Meca Vale Tudo championships 4 years
ago, this 23-year-old Brazilian has had more ups and downs in
his young career than a roller coaster. And while his impressive
10-3-1 record may not reflect it, it hasn’t been the easiest
ride in the world for Rua.
Things
started off easy enough though, after practically walking through
the field of competitors he faced at the first five Meca Vale
Tudo shows, the only hiccup in his career was his only non-finish,
a draw to Akihiro Gono in his first and only Shooto appearance.
He looked very impressive in these early bouts, even winning
a couple by traditional submission, something the Chute Boxe
Academy isn’t exactly known for producing. So impressive
looking in fact that PRIDE, who had already imported Rua’s
teammate Wanderlei Silva to it’s ranks, extended their hands
to Rua (and recently his brother Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua) and he accepted their invitation.
After
debuting in spectacular fashion at PRIDE 16, defeating Takada
Dojo fighter Daijiro Matsui with a wicked kick early in the third
round, Rua suffered his first setback with a close majority decision
loss to Team Quest wrestler Dan Henderson at PRIDE 17. This fight
would be the first of four fights in a row that, despite a good
showing in three of the four fights, Rua couldn’t finish
off an opponent, thus the near Jeckyl and Hyde like dominance
issues that plagued Murlio during this part of his career.
After
defeating the head of the hated rival Brazilian Top Team, Mario
Sperry at PRIDE 20, Rua was matched up against Sperry’s
disciple Ricardo Arona at PRIDE 23 for what was looking like
a possible match-up to determine the top contender for Silva’s
Middleweight Championship. However, this time the Brazilian Top
Team member got the better of Rua, handing him only the second
loss of his young career.
Less
than 30 days later, Rua was back in the ring facing off against
Hammer House fighter Kevin “The Monster” Randleman
at PRIDE 24. During the fight, a surprisingly apt Rua managed
to keep up with the more experienced wrestler in Randleman as
the majority of the fight stayed on the ground. Unfortunately
for Rua, Kevin’s superior strength allowed him to get in
the better of shots and opened up a nasty cut above Rua’s
eye. This cut resulted in Rua’s second straight loss and
the first fight in five to not go the distance. It was at this
time that those who doubted Rua’s legitimacy really began
to come out of the woodwork.
That
seems to be the biggest knock on Rua. While a very competent
striker and improving grappler with some submission skills, people
are still not quite sold on him being the heir apparent to the
mighty Wanderlei Silva. Even with wins against Akira Shoji (PRIDE
Shockwave 2003) and Alexander Otsuka (PRIDE 27) in which he finished
both opponents, critics still laid doubt on the young striker
by saying he defeated two easy “tailor made” opponents.
So perhaps with the pressures of living up to Silva and his own
wishes to silence his critics, Rua has entered this year’s
Open Weight Grand Prix, even though he traditionally is a middleweight.
In
the first round of the tournament, Rua will be matched up against
Sergei Kharitonov of Russia. Kharitonov is a submission specialist
who’s been making news at the first Bushido event last year
and at PRIDE 27 where he submitted both of his opponents via
arm bar (including the 6’9” 300+ pound LA Giant). Despite
his good performances, it is Rua who will be the favorite to
win this fight due to his long standing in PRIDE and his training
with the Chute Boxe Academy.
To
win this fight Rua must stay away from Kharitonov’s main
advantage, his submission skills. Although Rua has shown great
competence in avoiding submission situations and has even finished
a few of his own fights with submissions, Kharitonov has finished
all his opponents, something that Rua had been having trouble
with doing himself in recent fights. The fight will most likely
come down to speed, if Rua can quickly establish himself quickly
and keep that advantage then look for him to be able to outlast
Kharitonov who has not gone more than two and a half minutes
in any of his previous fights. However, if Rua is over eager,
then look for his Russian opponent to capitalize on this and
make quick work of any mistakes Rua makes.
A
win would place Rua in the second round of the tournament where
it is anyone’s guess who he’ll face. It will also perhaps
silence, for just a bit, the critics who feel that Rua is just
unfulfilled potential. A loss would place Ninja back in the middle
of the pack of the middleweight division where his only hope
to get a chance for the title would be for his teammate Silva
to move up in weight (as it is rumored he will do). So this fight
could easily determine how Rua is perceived and how his future
will play out, at least for the coming year.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
BRIGGS
OUT; THOMAS AND MONSON BOX FRIDAY
John Hartnett broke the story yesterday, that Shannon Briggs
will not fight in the upcoming K-1 Event "Battle at the
Bellagio" in Las Vegas.
Hartnett
reported that Briggs sustained a foot injury that will keep him
out of his upcoming fight. Hartnett did not say what the exact
cause of the injury was, only to say that Shannon sustained the
injury a couple of days ago in training.
Meanwhile,
American Top Team members Din Thomas and Jeff Monson are making
their pro boxing debuts on Friday night. The duo will be weighing
in later today and get ready to fight in their home state of
Florida on Friday
Source:
MMA Weekly |
TRIGG
BREAKS DOWN GP
Frank Trigg jumped on MMAWeekly Radio with host Ryan Bennett
and broke down the upcoming Pride GP card. While many MMA fans
don't think Mark Coleman can win his fight against Fedor, the
insiders sure don't feel that way, as Bas Rutten picked Coleman
on Tuesday and Trigg did the same on Wednesday.
Trigg
talked about how Coleman's style will make this a very tough
fight for Fedor. Trigg talked about the obvious game plan of
staying away from Fedor's punching power, but Frank said he didn't
think Fedor would be very affective fighting off his back and
we really haven't seen Fedor on his back.
He
felt that if Coleman gets him down, Fedor will have a very difficult
time fighting from his back and Coleman "can make a lot
of fighters look real bad" once he gets his ground n pound
going.
Trigg
talked about a few of the other matches including Randleman vs
Cro Cop as well as who he thinks will win the entire competition.
Just click on yesterdays show and listen to Trigg's analysis
of the upcoming Grand Prix.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Pequeno
kicked ass at TATAME's poll
Alexandre Pequeno was elect the best fighter under 70kg by the
web users with 37,90% of the votes in our poll. In second place,
BJJ black belt Vítor Shaolin (Nova União) received
34,25%. Genki Sudo got 20,55%, Júnior Buscapé received
4,57% and Gomi got the last position with only 2,74% of the votes.
Over the Brazilian version, BJJ fighter Vítor Shaolin
received the title of best fighter under 70kg with 51,03%. Pequeno
got 32,66%. In third place, Júnior Buscapé received
9,77% and Japanese fighters Genki Sudo and Takanori Gomi got
4,18% and 2,36% respectively.
Now
you may guess again. Who will be the great surprise of Pride
GP on April 25th?
Source:
Tatame |
Master
Carlson Gracie is in Brazil
Master Carlson Gracie is in Brazil and he will be over here until
next week. Carlson is also dealing with a new gym in United States,
where has been living for many years. "I'm here to deal
with my visa and I am doing other things. Tuesday I am on my
way to US to continue my issues there," said Carlson.
Source:
Tatame |
ZUFFA
PRESS RELEASE: April 22, 2004
THE HEAVYWEIGHT
TITLE WILL BE UP FOR GRABS AT UFC 48: PAYBACK
Tim Sylvia To Meet Frank Mir for the Heavyweight Championship
LAS
VEGAS, NEV., April 19, 2004….Tim Sylvia makes his much anticipated
return to the Octagon Saturday, June 19, at the Mandalay Bay
Events Center as he tries to regain the belt that he relinquished
after a successful title defense in UFC 44. Sylvia gave up his
belt after testing positive for an anabolic agent following UFC
44 and was unable to fight in UFC 47 because new test results
were not available at the time of weigh-in.
UFC
President Dana White says it’s time for Sylvia to return,
“Tim has served his suspension, been very remorseful and
has handled the matter extremely well. I’m looking forward
to seeing Tim back in the Octagon and I’m anticipating a
tremendous fight.”
Sylvia
(18-0) from Davenport, Iowa will battle Frank Mir (7-1) from
Las Vegas in an attempt to regain the title that what was once
his. Mir is coming off an impressive win over Wes Sims in UFC
46, knocking Sims out in the second round. Mir knows this is
going to be a tough battle, “I am training expecting this
to be the hardest fight possible. Tim is going to be in the best
shape possible and is not going to make a single mistake.”
Also
added to UFC 48: Payback; Dennis Hallman (51-8-2) from Olympia,
WA, looks to avenge a previous defeat to Frank Trigg (9-2) fighting
out of El Segundo CA. Veteran lightweight Matt Serra (12-3) from
Long Island, N.Y., will meet Ivan Menjivar (13-2) from Montreal,
Canada in his UFC debut. Las Vegan, Jason Miller (22-4) will
also make his UFC debut against Welterweight Georges St. Pierre
(6-0).
The
main event at UFC 48: Payback will feature Heavyweight Ken Shamrock
as he returns to the Octagon to fight. Shamrock, “The World’s
Most Dangerous Man,” (25-8-2) from San Diego, Calif., and
Kimo (10-3-1) from Huntington Beach, Calif., will meet in a long-awaited
re-match. Shamrock submitted Kimo with a knee bar at UFC 8: David
Vs. Goliath and fans have anticipated a payback fight ever since.
Kimo is coming off an impressive submission victory over hometown
rival Tank Abbott at UFC 43: Meltdown last June in Las Vegas.
Former
UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (36-4) from Hillsboro,
Ill., will meet Renato “Charuto”Verissimo (6-0-0) from
Hilo, Hawaii; and in a feature fight, power striker Phil Baroni
(6-3-0) fighting out of Las Vegas will battle Evan Tanner (30-4-0)
from Portland, Ore., in a re-match of their controversial middleweight
fight November 21 at UFC 45: Revolution.
Tickets
for the all-star, fight card are $350, $250, $150, $75 and $35,
are on sale now at the Mandalay Bay Events Center box office
in Las Vegas, at all Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com
and www.mandalaybay.com. Tickets also may be ordered by telephone
at 1-877-632-7400 or 1-702-474-4000. Ticket purchases are limited
to eight per person and are subject to transaction fees. UFCâ
48: Payback will be available LIVE on pay-per-view at 10 p.m.
EDT on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Echostar, Bell ExpressVu
and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is $29.95.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championshipâ brand of mixed martial
arts is the world’s premier series of MMA events. Owned
and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev.,
UFCâ fight programs feature six live pay-per-view events
annually through cable and satellite providers. In addition to
its U.S. distribution, UFCâ fight programs are distributed
internationally through WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, Globosat in Brazil,
Sky Network in New Zealand and Setanta Sport in the United Kingdom.
Zuffa, LLC licenses the distribution of UFC video games through
Crave Entertainment and Take Two TDK Mediactive and its fight
show DVDs through Studioworks Entertainment, a Ventura Distribution
company. “Ultimate Fighting Championship,” “Ultimate
Fighting,” “UFC,” “Submission,” “As
Real As It Gets” and the Octagon cage design are registered
trademarks or trademarks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the
U.S., Japan and other jurisdictions. All other marks that may
be referenced herein belong to their respective holders.
Source:
Maxfighting |
Quote
of the Day
"It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the
limits to our abilities do not exist."
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 1881-1955, French Christian Mystic,
Author |
Reader
Comments Requested!
A reader
of Onzuka.com planted this thought in my mind so we will start
a comment line or Q&A regarding the various Hawaii events
to get different opinions on our site.
Our
first installment question will be:
Do you feel
that the Enson Inoue/Tom Sauer fight in Super Brawl 35 was stopped
too early and why?
Please
email us with your comments at info@onzuka.com and we will post some
comments. We will provide our opinion after we post some of our
readers' comments because we do not want to influence your comments
in any way (if we haven't spoiled that already). We may have
different opinions ourselves on many subjects.
Feel
free to just state your opinion and if you would like to be anonymous
if we decide to post your comment, please state that in your
email. That will be no problem.
We
reserve the right to choose which comments to post.
More comments!
"
I was trying to refrain from commenting on the so called early
stoppage. However, one can only take so much bullsh*t. First
of all, I don't understand why Enson fights if he doesn't care
about winning. In my opinion, if you don't care about winning,
then why fight? I totally understand that Enson is a "name"
in Japan and based on his marketability, win or lose, he makes
a ton of money. However, don't tell me that when Enson first
started fighting Shooto, he told himself..."Hey self, lets
try Shooto, I know I can be an exciting loser."
Secondly,
some of your responders spoke of special rules. Most notable,
Royce Gracie. My feeling about "special rules", is
that, there should be no such thing! MMA is an evolutionary sport
and for that reason, if you can't fight within the rules, then
you should be left behind. I understand why promotions are tempted
to set up "special rules" for fighters like Royce Gracie
and Enson Inoue. The simple answer, is that they bring in the
fans, which in turn, brings in the money. Don't get me wrong,
I love to see Enson fight. And I "loved" watching the
young Royce Gracie kick butt in the early UFC's. But I can't
be selfish and demand that these fighter's deserve "special
rules". Especially, when you have fighters such as BJ Penn,
Randy Coutoure and Vanderlei Silva who cross-train to become
more complete or should I say "evolved" fighters. That
is why they are the champions that they are today. I guess the
question I'm trying to get to is...was Enson's fight set up with
"special rules"? But I already know the answer, and
the answer is no! Therefore, there is no validity to a "special
rules" argument about the fight. Enson was taking punishment
and the referee stopped the fight. Period.
Finally,
it comes down to a "value argument", a value argument
is an argument such as abortion, the death penalty and gay rights.
It just depends how you "feel" about a certain topic.
Some fans "feel" that the fight was stopped too soon.
I might "feel" differently. But, the only person, who's
"feelings" really counted on that night, was the referee.
I understand that Enson is "Yamato Damashi", but he
is also human. I also, understand Enson's willingness to die
in the ring and I'm sure the referee did too. However, the referee
was not about to let him, and that was his final value judgment."
Sincerely, Ringside
"Imo
fighters safety should always come first no matter WHO they are
and what they believe in. Showing bias as a ref will only hurt
the sport. If it did go on I think only more punishment would
have been dished out by Tom. It was evident within the first
2 minutes that Enson was winded. It showed on his face and actions
in the ring(tongue hanging out etc.) I would expect that of Egan
but not Enson as he has always showed good wind even on the losing
end of his fights.
Where I really feel robbed is in the fight itself. I was promised
and kept hearing all about this "ko or be ko'd" stuff
and going to go "toe to toe" etc. Well all I saw is
one wild right from about 4 feet away straight into a clinch
to takedown attempt? wtf? Where's all the "banging"
and stand up? Didnt happen. This is what dissapointed me the
most. Otherwise it was a great night of fights."
-anonymous sole in the front row
"First
of all great job on everything.
That
whole argument about Enson not tapping out because it's his philosophy
and that's why the ref shouldn't have stopped is baloney. Fights
should continue if a fighter is in no real danger of receiving
severe injury, NOT because of the, "spirit of Japan"
attitude. Eardrums rupture and bones break no matter what the
spirit is. I would expect a ref to call matches the same no matter
who was fighting. If at all that the fight was stopped too early,
consider the likely alternative: 45 more seconds (correct me
if I'm wrong) of blows to the head. But of course this should
be beside the point.
What
is this whole up roar all about (from an audience's standpoint)?
Money. They paid a certain amount and wanted to get the most
from it. I don't blame them, I always hope for an extra McNugget
in my meal."
Love
that McNugget comment!
"The ref made the right call. Sure for some people the fight
may have seemed to be stopped early, but what would they do if
they were the ref and they had to make a big decision like that.
Would they want to be responsible for a fighter getting seriously
hurt or even killed? Sure Enson is willing to die in there, but
is that something people actually want to see happen to him or
any other fighter? That's the thing some people don't think about.
Both Enson and Egan are mma legends in Hawaii, but do they need
special rules about not stopping the fight too early, just because
they'll fight till death? Personally, I am not a big fan of Enson's,
but I wouldn't want him to become known as a "Special Rules"
type of fighter like Royce Gracie. There are other fighters will
not give up in a fight, and for those fighters it is the ref's
job to make the call. Dain made a good call."
|
KOTC
in May - The Return of ALBERTO CRANE
Albuquerque,
NM - The biggest buzz on the west coast MMA scene currently is
the return of Alberto Crane to KOTC on May 15th. Crane, a BJJ
champion, started out his MMA career in KOTC back in June of
2002 with a first round rear choke on Nick Shadwick. A triangle
choke on Joe Vigil in December of that year followed. He really
hit the spotlight when he took on highly regarded Lightweight
Champion Javier Vazquez in February, a fight that will live in
infamy as the one that saw Javier tear his ACL just seconds into
the fight. Crane walked away with the unanimous decision and
the title, but relinquished the belt shortly after. In October
he returned to fighting in 'Ring Of Fire' scoring a rear choke
over Christian Carvalho in 3:56 of the first round. He regained
the spotlight in the January ZST Grand Prix tournament where
he beat Takuto Hida by armbar in 2:05. So far, the Vazquez fight
is the only one to go out of the first round and the only one
available on video. He is now 5-0 with 80% submission victories.
Critics
say Hida was 1-7 at the time, Vazquez had a torn ACL from the
word ‘go’, and Crane’s other three opponents had
nine fights between them when they faced Crane while supporters
say his kicks standing and non-stop submission attempts on the
ground are a devastating combination in such an underrated fighter.
Crane’s home New Mexico in general has been overlooked and
underrated by the primarily West Coast MMA press, making it difficult
to tell how much is hype and how much is cold hard fact. On May
15th the MMA community should know more as Crane returns to KOTC,
perhaps seeking his belt out once again.
Source:
ADCC |
Can
Fabrício Werdum be a Chuteboxer?
'I would like to train with Wanderlei Silva and all those guys
from Curitiba', said the ADCC fighter & BJJ Black Belt!
Fabrício
Werdum came to noteriety after the ADCC 2003, where he finished
2nd in the heavweight division and 3rd in the Absolutes. WE caught
up with the BJJ Black Belt, who recently declared recently that
he wants to approach Chuteboxe to advance his MMA career. 'I
would like to train with Wanderlei Silva and all those guys from
Curitiba. It has been a while I had this idea. Right now, they
are the best in the world of MMA fights'.
Based
in Madrid, Spain Werdum has an academy with almost one hundred
pupils, the black-belt also said that he and Mirko Cro Cop are
have spoken together about wanting to create the European Top
Team. 'There already is the Brazilian, American and the Russian
Top Team. I live in Spain and meet great fighters every day,
around here. I mean in France, Holland… so, it would be
good to develop a team that can represent the old continent'.
The
reigning Jiu-Jitsu World Champion over 97kg, Werdum is excited
to win the absolute title this year. 'I can fight against any
opponent, including Marcio Pe de Pano (they are 1-1 in ADCC rules
against each other). A few days ago, I promised to my master
Silvio Behring that I will bring him the absolute gold medal
at the Jiu-Jitsu World Cup of 2004'.
Source: ADCC |
|
Peter
Aerts in Brasil!
Dutch
kickboxer Peter Aerts and Brazilian MMA star Pedro Rizzo have
been friends for long time, ever since Rizzo was a promising
MMA talent and traveled to Holland to train Muay Thai. From those
days in the mid 90's to nowadays, it´s common to see Rizzo
and Aerts training together, especially when Rizzo is focusing
his training for a fight.
Thouh
Rizzo has not revealed his next fight, or even in which event
he will fight, Rizzo has asked for Aerts´ for training
support, and the Dutchman landed in Brazil last Tuesday. Aerts
will be here for a few weeks preparing the Brazilian, sharping
his on standing techniques that are already among the most dangerous
in MMA. The 'Rock'comments:
-
He has come to help me out. When I´m preparing to fight
I always ask for his help. I have gone to Holland in the past
so this time I asked Peter to come to Brazil. I needed to make
my sparring training harder. He´s a great friend and we
have been friends for a long time. When we are sparring, he corrects
some of my mistakes, some fault of mine. He is here to work me
and to enlarge the scope of my training.'
Source:
ADCC |
PRIDE
TOTAL ELIMINATION INTERVIEW: "MARK “THE HAMMER”
COLEMAN
It’s
been four years since MMA legend Mark “The Hammer”
Coleman won the inaugural PRIDE Grand Prix. Now, in 2004, he’s
in the unfamiliar territory of being the underdog in a field
comprised of some of the best heavyweight fighters in the world.
On the eve of his journey to Japan, MMA Weekly’s Mick Hammond
spoke with Mark to get his thoughts on the tournament, his personal
life, and his relationship with the fans.
MMA
Weekly: First off, it’s pretty obvious what everyone wants
to know about, you’re returning after 4 years to defend
your Open Weight Grand Prix title. In the first round, you’ve
got current PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko; tell
us about the fight.
Mark
Coleman: Fighting Fedor is one hell of a challenge. It’s
quite a different challenge than I had back in 2000 when I fought
Satake in the first round. I’d say Fedor is probably the
most well rounded fighter out there, so it’s going to take
the best in me to beat him.
MMA
Weekly: We haven’t seen Fedor much on his back during his
time in PRIDE. You being a wrestler first and foremost, I’m
guessing your strategy is to take him down and get top position
as quickly as possible, right?
Mark:
You haven’t seen Fedor on his back because he’s pretty
hard to get there. I’m going to try my hardest to get him
on his back. He’s pretty good on his feet too and when it
goes to the ground, he usually ends up on top. So, obviously,
the game plan is to get him on his back, hopefully pass his guard,
and then do some damage that way. I’m going to have to find
a way to take him down which I’m sure I can do.
MMA
Weekly: In the past you’ve won a couple of matches with
side chokes, but it’s not something we’ve seen from
you of late. Is there a possibility we could see you attempt
any submissions?
Mark:
Well, people don’t think I have much experience with submissions,
but I’ve been in this sport for over 8 years now and I do
them all the time in practice. But doing them in practice and
doing them in a fight are two totally different things. It’s
fun to play around with submissions in practice and I’ve
gotten quite a few of them in my game, triangles, arm bars, and
ankle locks, but doing them in a fight would be rather difficult
and not something I’m looking for. Possibly a neck crank,
but I don’t really consider that a submission, it’s
more like a wrestling thing. I’m looking to ground and pound
this guy, that’s what I do, no sense in changing it now,
nothing has really changed about me. Hopefully, I can hang in
there and do some damage to his face.
MMA
Weekly: Your teammate Kevin Randleman is also fighting in the
Grand Prix against Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, are you
guys heading out to Japan together and have you thought about
the chance you may face each other?
Mark:
Kevin is leaving a day later, but only because it was more convenient
for him. We’re a still a team, we’d welcome the fact
if we had to fight each other because that means we did pretty
well in the tournament so far. We’ll worry about that when
the issue comes, because Cro Cop and Fedor is enough to worry
about at this point. Fighting Kevin is the least of my concerns
right now; I’m just worried about Fedor.
MMA
Weekly: There are a lot of fighters in this tournament with very
little or no MMA experience. Guys like Stefan Leko, Henry Miller,
and Giant Silva combined only have one MMA fight between them.
Do you feel that you got the worst of the draw having to fight
Fedor in the first round instead of one of those guys who surely
would have been a much easier fight?
Mark:
Well, I don’t question things. All I know is what they (PRIDE)
give me. Some people say that I asked for Fedor, which is absolutely
not true. I’m not that crazy. (laughs) I’d like to
win this thing, you know? I’m not saying I can’t beat
Fedor, but obviously, the easiest road to the finals is the best
road and I wouldn’t call him the easiest road at all. But
for them to offer me Fedor, I look at it like someone has to
be the main event and I’m honored that they saw main event
material in myself versus Fedor. Is it a tough fight? Hell yeah,
but it’s a huge opportunity for me to fight him in the first
round, it’s my title shot right there. That doesn’t
win the tournament for me, but I’m looking at it as a huge
stepping stone for my fighting career. It’s an opportunity
to me. It’s something I got offered and something I had
to contemplate because I could have fought someone of lessor
caliber and could have made it past the first round a little
easier, but I decided that’s what they wanted for a main
event. I’m just honored they offered it to me. Now, I got
to deal with Fedor because of it, but that’s life. I’m
getting paid for it, that’s my job, and let’s just
hope it goes well.
MMA
Weekly: Regardless of how you do in the tournament, what plans
do you have for yourself after it’s over?
Mark:
I’m feeling good, I’m finally getting my personal life
back in order, and basically I’m really just now starting
to train with the fire I had way back in ‘96, ‘98,
and 2000. I’ve really got that fire back now. No matter
what happens here (in the first round), I’ve got a 3-fight
deal and I’m going to honor that contract and whatever happens,
it’s either going to be in the Grand Prix or against someone
else. I just look to continue to get better in all areas, work
hard, and stay in this sport as long as I possibly can while
I’m healthy. I feel lucky and I’m going to fight until
I can’t anymore or until nobody wants to see me (laughs).
I owe them at least two more fights and I’m looking forward
to that. Plus, two weeks after this fight, I’ve got to do
a professional wrestling match in Japan and I’m excited
about doing that as well. Both careers I’m trying to perform
well in and hopefully take off and create some kind of future
for myself.
MMA
Weekly: Speaking of your personal life, that’s the side
of the sport many people don’t see. Can you tell us how
a fighter’s personal life affects their fighting career?
Mark:
Well, people don’t care about personal life status. To them,
personal life doesn’t matter and I don’t expect it
to matter to them. Just go watch The Smashing Machine and see
what personal problems can do to a person. You got to be on your
game and in the zone. It’s no different than any other athlete;
if you’re not in the zone and on your game, bad things will
happen. I’m trying to stay focused and stay in my game.
MMA
Weekly: So one little break in concentration or thought to something
else during a fight can completely get you off your game?
Mark:
Well, during a fight, one little mistake and you’re done.
You’re life has to be in order. It helps to have your family
life and your home life in order to be able to do these types
of things. To be a PRIDE Grand Prix Champ, you’ve got to
have your P’s and Q’s in order.
MMA
Weekly: I know you have to go soon so let’s close this out
for now. Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans
out there or any sponsors you’d like to give a shout out
to?
Mark:
I don’t have any sponsors out there, but the fans support
me and have stuck with me. I’m getting old now and I might
have some people sticking with me just for my age. But I appreciate
the fans support and I’ll just continue to work hard. I
feel the fans are my sponsors, I always fought for the fans,
they’re very important. I fight for myself obviously, too.
I’m not going to deny that I fight for myself and my family,
but the fans are very important to me and treated me well and
made me feel special wherever I went, that’s a bonus for
me. It was nice to go to the UFC and have the fans remember me
for what I did in the past. I appreciate it a lot and I’m
doing my best to hang in there and just continue to work hard
and do my best and be the champ.
MMA
Weekly: One last question and then we’ll let you go. What’s
your prediction for the fight?
Mark:
I’m just going to have to find a way to win and I’m
going to find a way to beat this guy. That’s the plan.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Grapplers
Quest Men’s Team USA Trials Is Taking Shape; 2003 Champions
Return
Bayonne, NJ -- The Grapplers Quest Men’s Team USA Trials
is taking shape as we’re seeing some of the best submission
grapplers in the United States confirming their spot in the Saturday,
May 22, tournament.
With
$500. on the line for first place, competitors in 5 stacked divisions
featuring veterans of Abu Dhabi and the Arnold-Gracie, and champions
of the Abu Dhabi North American Qualifiers, the SWO, the Pam-Ams,
Victory at Valley Forge, GQ Beast of the East, GQ Nationals and
GQ West, roll into Marist High School in Bayonne, New Jersey,
vying for top spot.
The
2003 Team USA Trials defending champions Marcos Avellan, Pablo
Popovitch and Jeff Monson return for the second installment of
this tournament. The three Floridians reigned supreme on March
29, 2003, earning the top spots in their respective divisions.
However this year, while Monson continues in the heavyweight
division, Avellan steps up to the welterweight division where
he may face Popovitch for the title.
There
is still a need for competitors and alternates in all divisions
of the Team USA Trials. Please send Grappling Resumes to Brian
Cimins at President@Grapplers.com. Visit www.Grapplers.com for
more information on Grapplers Quest and the Team USA Trials.
Lightweight:
149.9 lbs. and below:
Mike Fowler, Team Lloyd Irvin, Pan American Champion, 4-Time
Grapplers Quest Champion
VS.
David Jacobs, Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu, 3-Time GQ-National Champion
Jordan
'SuperFreak' Damon, Tai Kai Machado Jiu-Jitsu, Gene LeBell's
Grapplers Challenge Champion, Multiple Grappling Titles
VS.
Renato Tavares, American Top Team Black Belt, 2004 SWO Lightweight
Champion
Jeff
Glover, Paragon BJJ, 4-Time GQ-West Champion
VS.
Alan Teo, Team Renzo Gracie, 2-Time GQ-National Champion
Mike
Mrkulic, Royler Gracie/David Adiv USA, 6-Time GQ Champion
VS.
Mike Cardoso, Freestyle Fighting Academy, Abu Dhabi Veteran
Welterweight:
150-169.9 lbs.:
Anthony Tolone, Multiple-time Florida State Champion, Two-time
Georgia State Champion
Marcos
Avellan, Florida Freestyle Academy, 2003 Team USA Trials Defending
Lightweight Champion
Shawn
Williams, Renzo Gracie Black Belt, 2000 International Pro Am
Grappling Champion, 2-Time Grapplers Quest Champion
Pablo
Popovitch, American Top Team, 2003 Team USA Trials Defending
Welterweight Champion, 2003 Abu Dhabi North American Qualifiers
Champion, 2004 GQ-West Lightweight Pro Champion
Tony
Torres-Aponte, Urban Jungle Self Defense (Houston, TX), 2001
Abu Dhabi World Championships Alternate, 25-1-2 Grappling Record
Diego
Sanchez, Jackson's Gaidojutsu, 3-Time GQ-West Champion
Rob
Kahn, Team GroundHog/Team Royce Gracie
Middleweight:
170-184.9 lbs.:
Nakapan Phungephorn, Team Lloyd Irvin, Kimono Kombat Superfight
Champion, 4-Time Grapplers Quest Champion
VS.
Brad Pearce, Gracie Barra Virginia Beach (Team Gustavo Machado),
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Medalist and Casca Grossa Invitational Veteran,
as well The 2000 NYC Showdown Pancrase Champion
Efrain
Ruiz, Florida Freestyle Academy, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt
VS.
Noah Spear, High Level Jiu-Jitsu/Balance Studios, Victory at
Valley Forge Superfight Champion
Joe
D'Arce, Team Renzo Gracie Black Belt, Pancrase Veteran
VS.
Winner of the Kumite Classic Super Fight (sponsored by SPRAWL)
Bill Vucick of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania vs. Chris Moriarty (Alliance/Team
Jacare) of Atlanta, Georgia - Find out who gets the spot on May
8th in Monroeville, PA at the Pittsburgh Sports and Fitness Expo
Marcel
Ferreira, American Top Team Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt
VS.
James Brasco, Arnold Gracie Pro Veteran, 128-10 High School Wrestling
Record, 102-11 Collegiate Wrestling Record, 2-Time Eastern Regional
Conference Champion (Division I), Nationally Ranked #7, 2-Time
Pennsylvania State Champion in Freestyle, Age Group (16-17 yrs.)
National Champion, and 4-Time All-Pennsylvania Team Member, Member
of the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling Hall of Fame
Light-Heavyweight:
185-204.9 lbs.:
Fábio Leopoldo, Team Renzo Gracie/Ryan Gracie Black Belt,
Multi-Title Pan American and Mundial Champion, United Gracie
Champion
VS.
Marco Delima, Team NYMAG/Gene Simco, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brown
Belt, 3-Time Grapplers Quest Champion
Ken
Kronenberg, Tai Kai Machado Jiu-Jitsu, 1999 Grapplers Quest Superfight
Champion, 2000 NAGA Superfight Champion, 2001 Philadelphia Freedom
Superfight Champion, 2003 NAGA World Champion
VS.
Justin 'ChimChim' Garcia, Team Groundhog, 4-Time Grapplers Quest
Champion
Moacir
'Boca' Oliveira, American Top Team, Florida 2004 SWO Tournament
Division and Absolute Champion, GQ-West V Middleweight Superfight
Division Finalist
VS.
Rick Migliarese, Balance Studios, 2004 GQ-Beast of the East Light-Heavy
Advanced Champion
Todd
Margolis, Team Lloyd Irvin, 6-Time Grapplers Quest Champion
VS.
Eliot Marshall, Boulder Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (Colorado), 2-Time
Grapplers Quest Medalist, 2-Time Pan American Champion
Heavyweight:
205 lbs. and over:
Jeff 'The Snowman' Monson, American Top Team, Abu Dhabi Champion,
2003 Team USA Trials Defending Champion
Glover
Teixeira, The Pit Fight Team, 3-Time Grapplers Quest Advanced
Champion, Current SportFight Light-Heavyweight Champion
Pat
Stano, Champion Martial Arts/Joe Priole, 7-Time Grapplers Quest
Champion, RATED #1 World Grappling Ratings Advanced Heavyweight
Competitor
Lamonte
'Big Mont' Tyler, Royce Gracie/Team Roc, Grapplemania I and Dale
Earnhardt Jr. Grappling Classic 1st Place Advanced Champion
Tim
Carpenter, Balance Studios, Pan American Medalist
Glen
Sandull, Planet Jiu-Jitsu/Team GroundHog, 2000-2003 4-Time Grapplers
Quest Champion, Current Reality Fighting Heavyweight Champ
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you
had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting.
And you don't do that by sitting around."
Katharine Hepburn, 1907-2003, American Actress, Writer |
Reader
Comments Requested!
A reader of Onzuka.com planted this thought in my mind so we
will start a comment line or Q&A regarding the various Hawaii
events to get different opinions on our site.
Our
first installment question will be:
Do you feel
that the Enson Inoue/Tom Sauer fight in Super Brawl 35 was stopped
too early and why?
Please
email us with your comments at info@onzuka.com and we will post some
comments. We will provide our opinion after we post some of our
readers' comments because we do not want to influence your comments
in any way (if we haven't spoiled that already). We may have
different opinions ourselves on many subjects.
Feel
free to just state your opinion and if you would like to be anonymous
if we decide to post your comment, please state that in your
email. That will be no problem.
We
reserve the right to choose which comments to post.
We had a great
response for the first day of asking this question and doing
this kind of thing! Remember that this is America and everyone
is entitled to their own opinion so don't dog these people for
voicing their comments. Here are some of the comments (grammar
and spelling was touched up a bit, heh heh)...
Keep those
comments coming!
"I
think the fight was stopped at the right time. I mean being a
ref is not an easy thing to do. Enson was in a bad situation
and with the punishment he was taking, I don’t think he
would have made it out to the second round. If the ref let it
go and Enson got hurt, lets say a ruptured eye socket or whatever,
The ref is at fault for not stopping it sooner. Damned if you
do Damned if you don’t. Even though the ref made some questionable
decisions earlier in the night, he stopped the fight at the right
time. It was just Tom’s night that night."
Stephen
"In
my opinion, I feel Dain did his job as a ref when he stopped
it. Even though Enson had taken way more punishment than that
in his past fights, Enson was catching cracks and did not defend,
and i thought it was a fair call. Although, i cannot lie that
i wanted nothing else but for the fight NOT to be stopped. I
was actually whispering to myself, "Dain, don't stop the
fight.... Dain, don't stop the fight.... Dain, don't stop the
fight!" "
Aloha, Cisco
"I think the
Enson fight might have been stopped too early in the context
of THAT particular fight. It is Enson, and I'm sure he would
rather lose some other way than a ref stoppage, regardless of
what that other way is. But if it were any other fighter perhaps
it would have been a perfectly good call,
but for Enson I think not. And for some other fighters I think
not as well. This leads to both fighters agreeing on a set of
rules similar to those of a modern day Royce Gracie fight. Where
the rules are such that the match cannot be stopped (when Enson
is in trouble --when Tom is in trouble perhaps Tom would want
the normal rules to apply--) by anyone except Enson, or Enson's
corner with a towel flying across the ring. Although this increases
the danger slightly, it eliminates certain problems.
For instance, the
Royce/Yoshida fight, although I didn't really care who was going
to win, as I find both fighters interesting, I feel that in the
end Royce was robbed. Where the Royce/Saku fight had a specific
set of rules, I felt that Royce lost, as a fan of fighting I
could "feel" that he lost. This is important for a
few reasons, but the main one perhaps being that as a fan, we
come to know how certain fighters....fight. Over time we have
come to know how Royce fights, he doesn't give up unless there
is no way out (as in the case of the fractured bone in his leg
during the Saku fight) and if you are a fan of Royce, this is
perhaps the reason you watch him fight. As for Enson, I personally
enjoy watching him fight for this very reason, he is exciting,
he gives 110% in the ring, and its exciting to watch. The do
or die mentality (for better or for worse) is very apparent in
the fight,
whether he loses, or not. In fact I don't think his "real"
fans care if he wins or loses! I think they will keep watching
regardless, because of the "way" he fights, which is
more important. Although making a specific set of rules opens
a new can of worms in some respects, I think for certain
fighters it is sometimes what has to be done. And as a fan, I
can watch a fighter win or lose, and I don't get that bad taste
in my mouth. The ref's call's should always be respected I think,
but in a fight like this he is put in a awkward position, I think
a set of rules like the above may make it easier for him to do
his job without as much backlash."
just my .02 Yen
Ty
"disclaimer: the
following opinion, DOES NOT represent the majority of FCTV's
cast or crew, only the "other guys" (not mike's or
chris's) opinion.
--first, let me
apologize for my probably biased opinion--being a lifetime enson
fan--however, i feel the fight was stopped too early. Dain did
what he saw best for enson's safety, but from further review
of the tapes (two close-up shots) and a post-fight interview
w/ tom who admits his left arm
"popped" on the first armbar attempt (hind-sight being
20/20), it seems a little clearer that tom wasn't really connecting
on enson (especially having a weakened left arm) w/ anything
that would be dangerous--granted, enson was in a BAD position.
coming from a [EDITOR'S
ADDED NOTE: MID TO LATE ]
30-something grappler's perspective,sometimes, you have to reserve
your energy--even if it's at the bottom of a mount (and especially
after using a "crap-load" of energy blowing a chest-to-chest
spinning takedown). if tom did begin to connect w/ anything solid,
i'm sure enson had enough left in him to at least turtle--tom
didn't have a firm mount. btw, enson did do everything he said
he was going to do in the fight--he didn't promise a win, only
a destructive mind set and aggressive fight style. during the
fight, enson was in the position to just"hold on" (kinda
like what tom did for part of the round from the north/south
press), but instead, he kept on hitting him. kinda reminds me
of the black knight's scene in monte python's "holy grail".
i would've really liked to see what could've happened in round
two--then again, if you include the mini riot after the fight,
then we did get to see a "second round"--unless you
consider that the 11th fight of the night. whatever the case
though--you gotta love superbrawl!"
mark "keizoku
no chikara" kurano
aka. "the other guy"
"As a true
fan of Enson I believe that if was stopped to soon. We all know
that Enson would never tap out. With only less than 40 sec. left
in the round Dain should have let the fight go on. There's more
things that we all didn't like about the match. Tom was stalling
from the top while Enson was throwing up punches from the bottom.
In earlier matches Dain was standing up fighters for stalling,
but didn't do the same for Enson's match. In all Dain did what
he felt was right at the time and we can't change it. Maybe a
more seasoned referee should be in the ring for such a match.
Just an opinion but I think others would agree."
Keep up the good
work guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mahalo!
Ryan
"i don't think
the fight was stopped too early. the ref has to think about the
fighters safety and that was too many unanswered strikes. even
if enson is known not to quit, if he got seriously injured it
would set mma and the superbrawl back to being labeled as a human
cockfight. T. Jay has done a great job at promoting mma that
it would be a shame if it was banned because someone gets hurt
because the referee let the fighter take too many shots and not
intelligently defend himself. superbrawl is organized sporting
event with rules. if enson wants to fight to the death he should
go to Brazil and face marcelo tiger in luta livre."
Bulls Pen |
Punishment
In Paradise 3
'WARRIORS"
Campbell High School Gym, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
April 30, 2004
3 Belts on the Line
Welterweight Championship
Moreno Vs. Dean
AFC Champion & Punishment In Paradise Superfight Champion
PJ Dean will face Mark "EL TORO" Moreno who is known
for his K.O. power. Both Moreno and Dean were Kickboxing and
Golden Glove Champions. They will square off MMA style. This
is the first Championship Belt fight ever in the Punishment In
Paradise. Watch for hands and bombs to fly as these to square
off.
Armstrong to fight Dominator for the Belt
Due to a pull out, young MMA Star William Armstrong will face
Kickin It Kickboxing Champion Domi 'The Dominator" Lopez
for his belt.
Punishment In Paradise
Womens Kickboxing Championship
Hannah Vs. Molly
Waianae's Kickboxing womens star Hannah who is still in high
school will face of aganist Molly, a journeymen women fighter
who fights both MMA and Kickboxing. Both will face of in Hawaii's
first womens kickboxing championship.
Get you tickets now @ second2none@hawaii.rr.com
|
BJ
TELLS ALL ON MMAWEEKLY RADIO
BJ Penn was on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Monday and gave his side
of the story about the K-1 rumors, his UFC 170 pound title and
his future in Mixed Martial Arts. Penn has not signed a contract
to fight in K-1 "yet." The following contains a brief
review, but it would be worth your time to listen to the whole
thing on the Radio Archives at mmaweekly.com.
Penn's
contract with the UFC was up after the title fight with Matt
Hughes. BJ made it clear he still wants to fight in the UFC,
loves the UFC and is still excited about about the UFC. Zuffa
has the "right to refusal" and the right to match any
offer.
"I
can't picture myself not fighting in the UFC," stated BJ
but, he can't picture himself not taking the offer K-1 has on
the table. To Penn, it isn't all about the money. The money is
a factor but he said he will fight in the UFC for what ever they
can pay him. He said that he isn't interested in the UFC having
to match the K-1 offer. More than the money, he just wants the
experience and exposure of fighting in K-1.
Penn
had a verbal agreement with UFC president Dana White to give
up his 170 pound title and fight for the 155 pound belt late
this year, or at least that was the plan. BJ then got the offer
from K-1 and, in his mind, he could fit a fight in before December,
but the UFC doesn't want one of it's champions fighting in another
organization. Penn said he wants to try and "mediate this
whole thing."
"I
want to fight for the UFC and K-1," stated Penn. He said
it's not like he is trying to leave the UFC. "I'm willing
to do anything," he said. When Dana White was on the radio
show last week, he made reference to feeling bad for Matt Hughes
because Penn wouldn't rematch him. BJ said that he would sign
to fight Matt Hughes five times in a row tomorrow to show that
isn't the issue.
Penn
has not given up his UFC 170 pound title and really doesn't feel
he should have to. He said he will defend his belt but wants
to fight in K-1 to further his international career. He said
if he loses in K-1, they can bring that guy to the UFC and he
will fight them for the UFC title.
BJ
questioned what the UFC's plans are with the "smaller"
guys. He feels that K-1 recognizes his marketability and that
surely something can be worked out for benefit of all involved.
He wants to fight for K-1 and make the money they are offering
and still fight in the UFC even if the UFC can only afford to
pay him "substantially less" than the K-1 offer.
Now,
if Penn does fight in K-1, who does he want to fight? He mentioned
one name, Genki Sudo. Genki is only a prelim fighter in the U.S.
but in Japan, he is loved. To fight and beat Sudo in Japan would
be huge for his career and he wants to seize the opportunity
to do so.
In
closing, BJ thanked the UFC and Dana White for giving him the
opportunity to fight in the UFC. He thanked K-1 for making him
such a good offer and he thanked MMAWeekly for getting his side
of the story out there. Hopefully all will work out. BJ expects
to talk with the UFC in the coming days to see where everything
stands.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Is
Tim Sylvia Still Suspended?
Las
Vegas, NV -- According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia is still under suspension
stemming from a positive test result after his first title defense
at UFC 44 on September 26, 2003. Pursuant to terms of his suspension,
Sylvia was required to receive a satisfactory test result indicating
an absence of performance enhancing drugs in his system in order
to be licensed by the NSAC.
There
were reports and releases stating Sylvia had taken multiple tests,
and on April 2, UFC president Dana White told MaxFighting that
Sylvia is steroid free according to a test he took last Tuesday
(March 30). “He may have received a satisfactory result,”
said Marc Ratner, Executive Director of the NSAC, “but I
have not received it in my office.” And as such, almost
3 weeks later, Sylvia remains suspended. With all the money and
all the resources Zuffa put into getting the test competed by
the back-logged drug company, what could now be keeping Zuffa
from getting the negative result to the NSAC and clearing Sylvia
to fight? Especially when, according to White, Sylvia is scheduled
to meet Frank Mir for the vacant title at “UFC 48: Payback”
on Saturday, June 19, 2004.
Source:
ADCC |
APRIL
2004 - ADCC's TOP TEN MMA!
APRIL 2004 - ADCC's TOP TEN MMA FIGHTERS BY WEIGHT
under
145 lbs.
#1 Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira (Brazil)
#2 Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto (Japan)
#3 Jens Pulver (Team EXTREME, USA)
#4 Joao Roque (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#5 Ivan Menjivar (Costa Rica)
#6 Stephen
Palling (USA)
#7 Tetsuo Katsuta (Japan)
#8 Hiroyuki Abe (Japan)
#9 Hiroyuki Takaya (Japan)
#10 Mike Brown (Team Elite, USA)
145.1
- 155 lbs.
#1 Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#2 Genki Sudo (Japan)
#3 Duane 'Bang' Ludwig (USA)
#4 Caol Uno (Japan)
#5 Yves Edwards (3rd Column, USA)
#6 Joachim Hansen (Team Scandinavia, Oslo, Norway)
#7 Josh Thompson (Team AKA, USA)
#8 Takanori Gomi (SHOOTO, Japan)
#9 Hermes Franca (American TOP TEAM, USA)
#10 Matt Serra (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
155.1
- 170 lbs.
#1 BJ Penn
(USA)
#2 Matt Hughes (Team EXTREME, USA)
#3 Sean Sherk (USA)
#4 Jutaro Nakao (Japan)
#5 Rodrigo Gracie (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#6 Nick Diaz (Cesar Gracie, USA)
#7 Renato
Verrisimo (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#8 Chris Lytle (Integrated Fighting, USA)
#9 Carlos Newton (Canada)
#10 Hayato Sakurai (Japan)
170.1
- 185 lbs.
#1 Murilo Bustamante (Brazil)
#2 Yuki Kondo (Japan)
#3 Anderson Silva (Brazil)
#4 Matt Lindland (USA)
#5 Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan)
#6 Jeremy Horn (Team EXTREME, USA)
#7 Masanori Suda (SHOOTO Champion, Japan)
#8 Ricardo Almeida (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#9 Amar Suloev (Red Devil, Russia)
#10 Denis Kang (Soares JJ, Canada)
185.1
- 205 lbs.
#1 Wanderlei Silva (Chute Boxe, Brazil)
#2 Randy Couture (Team Quest, USA)
#3 Vitor Belfort (Brazil)
#4 Dan Henderson (USA)
#5 Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (USA)
#6 Chuck Liddell (USA)
#7 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#8 Renato 'Babalu' (Brazil)
#9 Ricardo Arona (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#10 Tito Ortiz (USA)
205.1
lbs and Up.
#1 Emilianenko Fedor (Red Devil, Russia)
#2 Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#3 Mirko Filipovic (Croatia)
#4 Andrei Orlovski (Belarus)
#5 Josh Barnett (NJPW, USA)
#6 Frank Mir (Pires JJ, USA)
#7 Tim Sylvia (Team EXTREME, USA)
#8 Pedro Rizzo (Ruas VT, Brazil)
#9 Semmy Schilt (Holland)
#10 Travis Wiuff (Team Extreme, USA)
Source:
ADCC |
Murilo
'Ninja' Rua, by Rodrigo Nogueira!
This
past week, the Brazilian Top Team left for Japan to begin the
final preparations for the Pride Grand Prix, scheduled for April
25th, 2004 at the Saitama Super Arena. Before he left, Rodrigo
'Minotauro' Nogueira shared some insights with us on one of the
most dangerous athletes in the GP: fellow Brazilian Murilo 'Ninja'
Rua, from Chute Boxe team.
'He
is a good fighter and he will be one of the most dangerous guys
on GP. He’s got great movement. If I have to face him though,
I will be ready. I know his game very well. He had a fight against
my teammate Ricardo Arona in 2002. I watched several tapes of
Ninja and tried I mimmcked his style during Arona's training
sessions. I think it worked out really well - at least Arona
won the bout against' Ninja' in Pride 23. I learned about Ninja
as a possible opponent as well' shared Minotauro.
After
training with high level boxers in Cuba and Sao Paulo, Rodrigo
is confident in conquering the GP belt and singles out Mirko
Cro Cop, Fedor Emelianenko and Heath Herring as the toughest
guys to be defeated. Although the official card is not released,
'Minotauro' will face the Japanese fighter Hirotaka Yokoi in
the opening round.
Rodrigo
joined his twin brother Rogerio 'Minotouro', in Japan, where
he was recovering really well from his arm surgery.
Source: ADCC |
K-1
still thinking MMA!
Japan's
K-1 organizationis showing renewed interest in investing in some
of the 'big' names in MMA. After capturing the attention of the
Japanese media towards the end of 2004, hinting about hosting
the return of Rickson Gracie to the MMA world, as well as hoopla
surrounding Mike Tyson and their New Year's eve event. K-1 later
withdrew the MArch date from their schedule. Now, the Japanese
media is firmly focused on Pride GP.
K-1
has been developing big ratings on TV, on hiring names such as
Bob Sapp and commanding lots of media attention. The word now
is that negotiations with BJ Penn, UFC's 170 lb welterweight champion are in advanced
stages. This has led to speculation that K-1 may be interested
in developing more than just heavyweights.
Source: ADCC |
MaxPreview:
Pride Total Elimination 2004
On the heels of a wildly dramatic middleweight tournament in
2003 that saw Vanderlei Silva retain an undefeated record, Dreamstage
Entertainment is hosting another sixteen man eliminator, this
time for the bigger boys. Unfortunately, it may be a few months
before we cut through the chaff. Among such notables as Emelianenko
Fedor and Antonio Nogueira are names that you would be hard-pressed
to find in anyone's top ten: "Sentoryu," "Giant"
Silva, and Naoya Ogawa. Incredibly, DSE has yet to find opponents
for entrants Ron Waterman and Gan McGee as of Monday afternoon.
Pride
Total Elimination 2004 will air on Pay-Per-View in the States
at 9 PM ET on April 25, some hours after its conclusion in Japan.
(You may want to stay away from your PC and opt for a nice picnic
lunch.) Winners from this bracket will be shuffled and enter
the quarterfinal rounds in June. The remaining four will decide
a tournament king in August. Here's a look at the action scheduled
to go down.
Emelianenko
Fedor vs. Mark Coleman
The
Lowdown: A devastating ground and pound specialist, Fedor comes
in as one of the most heavily favored entrants in the tournament.
A success in RINGS, Fedor entered Pride in 2002 with a plodding
win over Semmy Schilt. He shifted into gear rather quickly, demolishing
Heath Herring, Antonio Nogueira, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Gary Goodridge
in succession. Powerfully built, few seem able to withstand Fedor's
striking on the mat.
Mark
Coleman is the returning 2000 Pride tournament champion, an accomplishment
made all the more impressive by the string of defeats he had
suffered before entering. Neck problems quashed his career in
the interim: he has fought only sporadically, losing to Nogueira
and winning a decision over a waning Don Frye. Competing in the
most stylistically intriguing bout on the card, Coleman will
look to turn Fedor's strength against him and emerge as the once
and future king of ground and pound.
Odds
On: Fedor. Coleman's inactivity leaves a huge question mark as
to his ability at age forty. Will he have the lungs for a grueling
bout? Will he be able to contend with Fedor's sharper stand-up
striking? With such a huge obstacle in front of him in only the
opening round, is Coleman even determined to advance? While his
prior tourney win was impressive, MMA ages in dog years, and
2000 was two or three generations ago. The Russian is a newer
model of Terminator. Fedor by TKO.
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Hirotaka Yokoi
The
Lowdown: Nogueira is another top seed in the tourney, having
had an impressive run as Pride heavyweight (and now interim)
champion. Accomplished striking coupled with jiu-jitsu expertise
is a problem for any fighter: just ask Coleman, Mirko Filipovic,
and Bob Sapp. In Pride, only Fedor has been able to overcome
his skillset.
Yokoi
brings in the hometown hero cheers, having competed in RINGS
and assorted programs. He boasts of a 10-0 record, tainted somewhat
by the lack of formidable opposition. Fighting a top three heavyweight
is a daunting prospect.
Odds
On: Clearly, DSE is hoping for their marquee stars to get early
byes deeper into this tournament. While Yokoi has credentials,
he's going to find the step up in competition to be headache-inducing.
Nogueira by submission.
Mirko
Filipovic vs. Kevin Randleman
The Lowdown: Filipovic is something right out of a GI Joe toy
assortment: a Croatian Special Forces member, politician, and
kickboxer supreme. A success in K-1, Filipovic made waves with
his brutal defeat of Fujita in 2001. A good sprawl and vicious
stand-up led to victories over Herring, Igor Vovchanchin, and
Ron Waterman. Filipovic exposed his sorely lacking ground game
in a loss to Nogueira in late '03.
Randleman
is a former UFC heavyweight champion who struggled mightily in
his move down to light heavyweight. A physical powerhouse and
standout wrestler, Randleman fell to Quinton Jackson and Kazushi
Sakuraba in 2003. He's duked it out before with strikers, having
bested Maurice Smith and Murilo Rua.
Odds
On: Filipovic. This is a classic striker/grappler match-up between
two elite practitioners. As good as his sprawl is, Filipovic
will not likely avoid the takedown. What happens after that is
another matter. Kevin will risk a stand-up unless he stays very
active, throwing knees and punches. With Randleman frequently
taking dangerous risks, he might choose to trade strikes on the
feet, especially if he gets frustrated with referee intervention.
Filipovic by KO.
Heath
Herring vs. Yoshiki Takahashi
The
Lowdown: Once a promising heavyweight, the lanky Herring has
struggled in recent bouts, losing to Fedor and Filipovic. Even
underachievers Yamamoto and "Giant" Silva gave him
fits, though he was eventually able to finish. Herring is not
great at any one thing, but well rounded enough to be competitive
at all ranges.
Takahashi,
perhaps most recognizable for his short-tugging snore of a bout
with Wallid Ismail in a 1997 UFC, has racked up an amazing run
in Pancrase. It was cut short only when Josh Barnett was able
to submit him in late 2003. Takahashi is a prototypical Pancrase
athlete, with solid ground skills and competent stand-up.
Odds
On: If Herring is unable to pinpoint why his game has become
so stagnant, Takahashi may find an opening. His problem will
be with Herring's size advantage, and that may frustrate him.
Herring by decision.
Murilo
Rua vs. Sergei Kharitonov
The
Lowdown: Rua comes in at a distinct disadvantage, having bulked
up from light heavyweight. The dangerous striker is a Chute Box
regular, with stablemate Vanderlei Silva boasting of a '03 middleweight
tournament title. His biggest win to date? A well-fought decision
over Mario Sperry. Incredibly, Rua was giving wrestling phenom
Randleman plenty of problems on the mat before losing by TKO.
Kharitonov
is one of the great unknowns of the tournament, a Russian with
a perfect record in regional shows and 2-0 against iffy opposition
in Pride. Submissions are Kharitonov's specialty, though it would
be unwise to discount his mettle on the feet.
Odds
On: One of the most competitive fights on the program. Rua's
experience with upper echelon opposition may come in handy here,
although Kharitonov may just be the next generation of bad ass.
And what of Rua's legendary gas at a heavier weight? Rua by decision.
Naoya
Ogawa vs. Stefan Leko
The
Lowdown: Ogawa was one of the late entrants into the tourney,
and clearly one of its biggest draws. The Olympic Medallist in
Judo has built a successful career in Japanese pro wrestling,
though his record in MMA has been the subject of controversy.
Wins against Masaaki Satake and Gary Goodridge were questioned;
Ogawa has yet to enjoy a credible win over a ranked opponent.
Leko
is a K-1 standout making his MMA debut. As his ground skills
are obviously nowhere near those of a Judo expert, this represents
the purest style v. style bout on the card...
Odds
On: ... Live or Memorex, it's hard to imagine Ogawa dropping
the ball on this one. He has the skills and the marquee status
to advance. Perhaps he only needs one of the two to win. Ogawa
by submission.
Paulo
"Giant" Silva vs. Henry "Sentoryu" Miller
The
Lowdown: The mammoth Silva ups the freak show ante: at over seven
feet tall, Heath Herring had trouble putting him away. While
his size might make for a spectacle, we're not sold on his value
in a fight. He's only been in training for a short period, and
his age (40) and size aren't going to be kind to him a few minutes
in.
Miller
comes in boasting the most put-upon style in MMA: sumo. Can he
bullrush Silva and land some haymakers? With sumo matches only
lasting a minute or two, will he even possess the wind to last
the later rounds?
Odds
On: 1994 asking for their matchmaking back.
Gan
McGee vs. TBA
Ron
Waterman vs. TBA
Source: Maxfighting |
2004
Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
April 24th, 2004 at the St.Louis School Gym.
Start time 10:30AM
Gi and No-Gi
Sign
up now!
The weigh ins will be held at UH Athletic Complex Studio #4 from
12-1 pm and from 6-8 pm.
$40
entrance fee and $50 to enter both the gi and no gi divisions.
For
more info call (808) 223-9363 or (808) 392-8330
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