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November
Pride
Bushido 5
(MMA)
(Yokohama Arena, Japan)
10/22/04
UFC 50: 'The War of '04'
(MMA)
(Boardwalk Hall
Atlantic City, NJ)
September
Ring
of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Kauai)
Tentative
9/18/04
NAGA
Hawaii State
Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
9/11/04
K-1 Hawaii
(Boxing & Kickboxing)
(Aloha Stadium)
9/5/04
Kickin’ It 6
(Kickboxing)
(Naniikapono Elementary)
August
Ring of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Maui)
Tentative
8/28/04
Hawaiian Grappling Challenge
(Submission Grappling)
(Oahu)
So You Think You Tough 5
(MMA)
(Kona Gym, Kona)
8/27/04
Punishment in Paradise
(Kickboxing)
(Kapolei High School)
8/21/04
UFC 49: Unfinished Business
(MMA)
(MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas)
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August 2004 News
Part 2
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New Time! |
Quote
of the Day
”Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster
man.
But sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he
can.”
Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970, American Football Coach |
Super
Brawl to Air on SPIKE TV This Weekend!
Watch for the new Super Brawl TV show to air on SPIKE TV this
weekend late friday night (early Saturday morning) at 4:30am,
3:30 Central, Saturday night (early Sunday morning) at 3:30am,
2:30 Central and Sunday night (early Monday morning) at 3:30am,
2:30 Central.
There is the new Super Brawl theme. Please credit Death Row Records,
Top Exceutive Suge Knight, Artist - Eastwood
Source: Super Brawl |
Wrestling
Seminar with Olympian at Gracie Academy on Aug. 23rd
Wrestling Seminar with Sanshiro “Sonny” Abe
1996 NCAA Wrestling Champion for Penn State
1996 Atlanta Olympian representing Japan
Gracie Main Academy
844 Queen Street
589-2524
Cost: $30
When: Monday,
August 23, 2004
Time: 7:30-9:00PM
Wrestling
Clinic at Saint Louis High School Too
Wrestling Clinic with Sanshiro “Sonny” Abe
Saint Louis High School
August
21 & 22, 2004
11AM-4PM
$30
$300 for teams (10 + wrestlers and coaches)
Many thanks to Myles Suehiro for setting this up.
Source: Myles Suehiro |
PUBLIC
BETTING ON BELFORT
The
latest lines are moving as the public is picking the underdogs
for UFC 49. Vitor Belfort orginially started at +160 not he's
down to +146 as the fans continue to bet on him. The biggest
underdog being bet right now is David Terrell. That line has
changed the most as Terrell started at +205 and now has come
down to +181.
The
only favorite to be continually bet on has been Chuck Liddell.
Our Best Bets page will not only have updated odds all weekend
long, but our panel has their "best bets" already up
so check out the latest odds there and of course our friends
at sportsbook.com
Randy
Couture -156 Vitor Belfort +146
Chuck
Liddell -313 Vernon "Tiger" White +283
Justin
Eilers -158 Mike Kyle +148
Matt
Lindland -201 David Terrell +181
Joe
Doerksen -190 Joe Riggs +180
Josh
Thomson -101 Yves Edwards -109
Nick
Diaz -160 Karo Parisyan +150
Chris
Lytle -228 Ronald
Jhun +208
Source: MMA Weekly |
Opinion
Poll about Belfort and Couture III
Submitted by: Luca Atalla with R.N.
Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture will be in the octagon again
facing each other next August 21st at the UFC 49. Both athletes
have already fought twice. The american wrestler won the first
match by TKO (strikes), and the second confrontation had a frustrating
ending: 49 seconds into the first round, Couture had an eye injured,
and the battle was stopped by medical KO. Now, the UFC main event
features a ‘tie breaker’. Check out the opinions of
many of Brazil's top observers:
Rodrigo
'Minotauro' Nogueira: 'Vitor is a much more complete fighter.
His punches are better than Couture's, who is a terrific wrestler.
On the ground, Vitor is better too. Much more aggressive than
the american'.
Anderson
Silva: 'Vitor should be able to win again. He just can’t
let his 'warrior spirit' go away. Couture is very dangerous,
a great champion, but I believe in Belfort. He has developed
very efficient muay thai strikes'.
Ricardo
Arona: 'Ths is a fight between experience and youth. Belfort's
physical condition is great. I just don’t know how good
his mind is today. Couture is very determined and he doesn’t
lose focus in fights'.
Murilo
Ninja: 'It can go to a decision, or it can end in a matter of
one punch'.
Pedro
Rizzo: 'It is a very even fight. Vitor cannot permit Couture
to develop his strategies. The brazilian has better overall skills
than the wrestler'.
Source: ADCC |
UFC
49: Unfinished Business This Weekend!
by: Joseph Cunliffe
UFC 49: Unfinished Business
Saturday, August 21, 2004
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Couture
and Belfort have “Unfinished Business” in Las Vegas
this weekend; Liddell puts it on the line against White
Las
Vegas, Nevada -- Randy “The Natural” Couture has unfinished
business to handle Saturday, August 21, when he fights “The
Phenom” Vitor Belfort for the light heavyweight championship
title in the main event at “UFC 49: Unfinished Business.”
The 12-6-0 Couture, from Portland, Oregon, will be looking to
reclaim the light heavyweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas, that he lost to the 12-3-0 Belfort, from Sao Paulo,
Brazil, in a fight that ended much too quickly January 31, at
“UFC 46: Super Natural,” but Belfort is out to prove
that his 0:49 win over Couture was no fluke.
Chuck
“The Iceman” Liddell puts his top contender status
in the light heavyweight division on the line against Vernon
“Tiger” White. The 13-3-0 Liddell, from San Luis Obispo,
California, earned his chance to face the Couture/Belfort winner
by finishing off former champion Tito Ortiz in their UFC 47 fight.
Liddell risks losing that championship shot if the 11-6-1 White,
from Palo Alto, California, defeats him.
Matt
“The Law” Lindland returns to the octagon to meet David
Terrell in his UFC debut. The 9-2-0 Lindland, from Eagle Creek,
Oregon, avenged a previous loss to Falaniko Vitale at UFC 45
forcing him to tap out due to strikes. The 9-1-0 Terrell, from
Concord, California, will be making his UFC debut.
Mike
Kyle makes his return to the octagon after a successful debut
at UFC 47 where he knocked out Wes Sims in their heavyweight
fight. The 11-2-0 Kyle, from San Jose, California, takes on long-time
friend in the 8-2-1 Justin Eilers, from Davenport, Iowa, in his
UFC debut.
Nick
Diaz will try to prove he is among the top welterweights in the
world as he meets Karo Parisyan. The 11-2-0 Diaz, from Stockton,
California, showed real championship prowess knocking out rising
star Robbie Lawler at UFC 47. The 19-3-0 Parisyan, from North
Hollywood, California, is coming off a split decision loss to
Georges St. Pierre.
Yves
Edwards and Josh “The Punk” Thomson both think they’re
the best lightweights in the UFC, but only one of them can be
victorious in this fight. The 25-8-1 Edwards, from The Woodlands,
Texas, has an impressive five-fight winning streak in the UFC.
Edwards is coming off a split decision win over Hermes Franca
at UFC 47. The 25-1-0 Thomson, from San Jose, California, is
undefeated in the UFC. Thomson won his last fight at UFC 46 also
defeating Franca by unanimous decision.
Two
middleweights make their UFC debuts when the 20-4-0 Joe Riggs,
from Phoenix, Arizona, faces the 8-2-1 Joe Doerksen, from Winnipeg,
Canada.
Chris
“Lights Out” Lytle is stepping in on short notice to
fight Ron “The Machine Gun” Juhn in this welterweight
fight. The 28-10-4 Lytle, from Indianapolis, Indiana, is coming
off a submission victory over Tiki Goshen at UFC 47. The 26-11-2
Juhn from Honolulu, Hawaii, is making his UFC debut.
Light
Heavyweight Championship: Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture
Light Heavyweight: Chuck Liddell vs. Vernon White
Middleweight: Matt Lindland vs. David Terrell
Heavyweight: Mike Kyle vs. Justin Eilers
Welterweight: Nick Diaz vs. Karo Parisyan
Lightweight: Yves Edwards vs. Josh Thomson
Middleweight: Joe Doerksen vs. Joe Riggs
Welterweight: Ronald
Jhun vs.
Chris Lytle
Check
out www.UFC.tv for more information.
Source: ADCC |
KOTC
and HOOKnSHOOT women's competitor Sarah Boyd of Alberto Crane's
school
by: Keith Mills
Sarah
Boyd has two fights lined up. On August 28th she fights in King
Of The Cage in New Mexico and on November 6th she fights in HOOKnSHOOT
against Adrienna
Jenkins.
Sarah is coming off a loss in Smack Girl in June against Yuuki
Kondo but is better known for her BJJ experience, training under
former KOTC champion and ZST vet Alberto Crane at Santa Fe BJJ.
On May 3rd of last year she took gold in the Pan Ams. Last November
she came took 2nd place in Grapplers Quest in her weight division
and 3rd in open weight. This May she came in first in her division
at the Arizona Combat Grappling Challenge. Now she is making
the transition into MMA.
KM:
You are fighting on the King Of The Cage card in New Mexico.
Is this your debut in MMA? SB: Yes. I fought in Japan but it
was Smack Girl. It’s a little bit different. It was twenty
seconds on the ground, no hitting to the face…it was a lot
different.
KM:
Let me back up and ask how Smack Girls went? SB: It went good.
I fought one of the top judo champions over there. It was three
five-minute rounds and then I had to tap three minutes into the
third round. She did a really good judo throw on me and armbarred
me so it didn’t turn out so good. It was a really good fight,
she was a really tough girl. I knew I was going against one of
the top girls over there. She is from Purebred.
KM:
How would you describe training with Alberto Crane? SB: I Love
it. I’ve been training there for years and the first two
and a half years I have been doing noting but jiu-jitsu tournaments.
I won the US Open as a white belt and the Pan Ams as a blue belt.
As a purple belt I did some small tournaments here and there.
I fought like twenty-five girls and actually this fight in Japan
was the first time I had to tap out. In jiu-jitsu tournaments
my record was something like 23-4. Most of the times I lost was
in the open weight, I did pretty good in my weight division.
KM:
How do you feel about making the transition to MMA and KOTC?
SB: I’ve been wanting to do it for a while because a lot
of my teammates started getting me into it. I started off kickboxing
about four years ago before I got into jiu-jitsu for fun. Recently
I just got back into boxing and kickboxing, trying to mix it
all up. When I started kickboxing it was something more for self
defense. I was in college and it was an elective. Seeing the
UFC, seeing Royce Gracie, I started doing jiu-jitsu. First time
I did it I fell in love with it so I just forgot about everything
else. The kickboxing came through more as conditioning I guess.
I could roll for hours but when you stand up it’s a totally
different game.
KM:
How much do you know about your opponent in KOTC? SB: I don’t
know much about her. I know she is from New Mexico somewhere
but don’t know much about her at all. I know she is pretty
young and fights with (Eddie) DeLuca.
KM:
You fight at 135. How much do you know about the women’s
135 division? SB: I know there are a lot of tough girls like
Debi Purcell. I’d love to have a chance to fight them. Also
dropping weight for me might be good in the future because there
are a lot of good girls at 120-125 like Erica Montoya. I’d
love to see them later when my record is built up. 135 is good
for me right now. It just seems like with my experience in jiu-jitsu
tournaments there are more girls in my weight division, it’s
more the normal weight. The strength is there, the competitiveness
is there and I feel it’s an even match.
KM:
You are on the next HOOKnSHOOT card. I take it you aren’t
looking that far down the road yet? SB: Yeah. Alberto has talked
about that with me. He says one of the girls trains with Jens
Pulver.
KM:
Yeah, your opponent. SB: I love that HOOKnSHOOT, definitely.
There are so many tough girls in that, it’s getting to be
really well known for sure.
KOTC
and HOOKnSHOOT are almost polar opposites as far as matchmaking
strategies and fanbase so it will be interesting to see how Sarah
does in both these events. Also look for Alberto in MFC’s
Lightweight tournament in October in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
For more information on Sarah, Alberto Crane, and all the other
fighters Alberto trains check out www.santafebjj.com
Source: ADCC |
WANDERLEI
SILVA TO ATTEND UFC
by: Turi Altavilla
LOS ANGELES, California – PRIDE FC Middleweight Champion
and 2003 Grand Prix Champion Wanderlei Silva will be in Las Vegas
attending this weekend’s Ultimate Fighting Championship
event at the MGM Grand. The event, UFC 49: Unfinished Business,
is scheduled for Saturday, August 21st, and will feature a main
event of Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort versus Randy “The
Natural” Couture for the UFC light heavyweight championship
title.
Silva’s
last bout was against Yuki Kondo at PRIDE FC: FINAL CONFLICT
2004 on August 15th (results unreported for this press release).
The champion is currently scheduled to defend his title against
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on October 31st, 2004 at
PRIDE FC: HIGH OCTANE.
For
more information on PRIDE FC, visit pridefc.com!
Source: ADCC |
Jacare
and Nossov, golden arms!
by: Luca Atalla
This
year at the Jiu Jitsu World Championships, Ronaldo Jacare and
Roger Gracie astonished the world with an unforgettable match
in the Absolute finals. As the story goes, Jacare would not tap
to Roger's armlock, going on to win the IX Worlds with a dislocated
arm. In the Olympics, Russian judo athlete Dmitri Nossov placed
in Athens 2004, winning the bronze medal with a similarly hanging
arm. After beating Brazilian Flavio Canto, Nossov was beating
Greek Ilias Iliadis (the eventual gold medalist) when he fell
on his arm during a takedown, trying to avoid the ippon. Fans
may remember: a similar event happened when Carlos Honorato of
Brazil defeated a certain Hidehiko Yoshida of Japan in Atlanta
1996!
But
Dmitri Nossov, just like Jacare, was more than focused: he came
back in the bronze medal match and beat Azizov Mehman. He was
not afraid of attacking the opponent, although he had just one
arm left to fight!
The
Russian’s great deed in Athens however was not so controversial,
as Jacare’s resistance has been:
Master
Carlson Gracie: 'The referee has the obligation to stop the fight,
check the arm’s condition therefore interrupting the finals,
electing Roger as the winner. This was the big mistake of the
referee'.
Rodrigo
Minotauro Nogueira: 'The ref was right when he did not interrupt
the fight. The only person who knows his limits is the athlete
himself, so he is the only one who should stop the fight. However,
I knew the only person who could even be close to Jacare in the
fight would be a guy with a very good closed guard like Roger
Gracie, otherwise Jacare passes all day'.
Otavio
de Almeida Jr, president of FPJJ (JJ Federation of Sao Paulo):
'The referee made a big mistake. That is sport, not war. The
ethics and the morale and health of the athletes must be preserved
above all other things. What happened was a kind of violence
on the mat. How can our masters teach students their limits if
we now applaud a fighter who does not respect his body’s
limits? Jacare, with his hurt arm chased the victory at any price
and I disagree with it'.
Fernando
Margarida Pontes: 'Each fighter knows his limits. Once, at the
ADCC 2003 trials in Rio de Janeiro, I grabbed Jacare’s foot,
he never tapped and no one mentioned to stop the fight, so why
would they would stop it now? It was the right decision'.
Source: ADCC |
Couture:
Determined to Reclaim Lost Glory
by Mike Sloan
When it comes to defying the harsh words of critics and, in turn,
proving them dead wrong, Randy Couture is probably the uncrowned
king. Couture has been the underdog in almost every fight he's
participated in and almost every time he winds up scoring some
sort of dramatic victory.
Self-proclaimed
experts have chosen against "The Natural" more times
than possibly any other fighter in MMA, specifically because
his opponents have either better striking, better wrestling or
are simply too big. But Couture usually prevails and simply snickers
at the naysayers.
Pedro
Rizzo was supposed to batter Couture's legs from start to finish
and eventually score a bone-shattering knockout, but Couture
stuck to his gameplan and brawled with the Brazilian powerhouse
for five rounds, coming away with a close decision.
Many
fans cried foul after the too-close-for-comfort decision and
when the rematch was announced, a majority of insiders felt that
Couture was too old and worn out, paving the way for Rizzo to
dominate their second match.
Again,
Couture was right as he bombarded Rizzo en route to a vicious
third round stoppage.
Couture
defended his title (or he at least tried) against a much larger
Josh Barnett. But while he dominated the first round, Barnett's
size was too much and he stopped Couture in the second round.
When the heavyweight title was vacated -- after it was found
that Barnett had tested positive for banned substances -- Couture
was given the chance to redeem himself and regain his title against
an in-his-prime Ricco Rodriguez.
Couture
was winning late in the fight, but when he suffered a damaged
orbital bone courtesy of several Rodriguez elbows, he was forced
to tap. From there, Couture was thought as nothing more than
an old fighter, whose best days were behind him.
Then
came the call from Zuffa for Couture to fight Chuck Liddell for
the interim light heavyweight belt, meaning Couture had to drop
in weight, a move rarely seen by veteran fighters. Liddell was
on target for a showdown with Tito Ortiz, but when Ortiz couldn't
fight for various reasons, Couture stepped up and challenged
"The Iceman" for the belt.
Most
expected Liddell's sprawl and striking ability to be too much
for the village elder to handle, but Couture trounced him. He
wound up beating Liddell worse than anybody had up to that point
in his career, forcing a referee stoppage in the third. Couture
then got his shot against Ortiz and defied all odds yet again,
by methodically dominating Ortiz over five rounds to capture
the light heavyweight title.
Then
came arguably the most frustrating fight in UFC history: his
highly-anticipated rematch with Vitor Belfort. Belfort missed
a huge hook, but the seam of his glove slashed Couture's eyelid
so severely that fight had to be stopped. It was ruled a TKO
win for Belfort, a match that Couture (and Belfort, for that
matter) would like to get back.
"The
fight lasted only 20 seconds," Couture told Sherdog.com.
"Neither one of us saw or did anything in that fight to
really determine any change in training. Obviously we both can
refine our gameplans and skills since the last time we fought,
but not a whole lot has changed."
Couture
was understandably disappointed, but he accepts it as a defeat.
Come this Saturday, he is vowing to make sure the rubber match
doesn't end freakishly. But while most would expect Belfort to
trash talk Couture for his expressed disappointment and dismissal
of the match, the two have equal admiration for each other and
both agree the fight's ending was lousy.
"Vitor
and I have always gotten along," he explained. "Win
or lose, or no matter how the fight is going to go down, I don't
think that is going to change. Obviously he expressed some discontent
in winning the title that way and I certainly wanted a chance
to compete. It's one thing to lose a fight, but to not get a
chance to really compete and exhibit what you've done in training,
or at least see where you're at, that's the most frustrating
part. He stepped back up and we get a chance to settle it and
finish the fight one way or another this time."
Not
that Couture is one to enjoy or relish himself in defeat, but
he certainly wouldn't have minded being legitimately knocked
out in their rematch.
"In
my mind, I'd definitely have rather taken the punch rather than
being grazed by his glove and having my eyelid cut," he
stated. "It was the weirdest thing I've seen in fighting.
But it doesn't really matter because it's all history now. We're
going to get a chance to compete against each other again. Hopefully
nothing like that happens again and we get a chance to have a
good fight and settle it one way or the other."
Fluke
laceration aside, rumors spread like wildfire that Couture's
eyeball was severely gashed and that his career and, more importantly,
vision were in jeopardy. Thankfully, all that post fight garble
was just nonsense, and Couture openly explains the circumstances
he had to painfully endure in the days and weeks following the
battle.
"The
eyeball itself was fine," he revealed. "It scratched
the cornea and I had some inflammation and what they call iritis
just from the trauma, but that all healed up pretty quickly.
The stitches were in about nine days and the iritis was gone
in two and a half weeks. The danger that came from the cut is
if you don't get your eyelid put back together properly, then
obviously you have issues with your eye for the rest of your
life. The eyelid basically serves as a windshield wiper to your
eyeball, so it's a pretty important piece of equipment. I had
eight stitches -- three on top, five on the bottom. It was not
a very comfortable place to get stitches."
Couture,
who has just signed on to a new three fight deal with the UFC,
is thankful that he was given an immediate rematch with "The
Phenom." Fans and media insiders alike were treated to an
early Christmas present a few months back when their third showdown
was announced. Zuffa used their heads and decided to not force
the two warriors into separate bouts and instead allowed the
fight to basically leave off where it started.
"[Zuffa]
didn't want us to fight anybody else," he said. "They
wanted to see this fight happen. They were actually hoping that
this fight would have happened in June on the UFC 48 card, but
Vitor wasn't willing at that time to step up. He had some other
personal issues that he was trying to get settled and he said
he'd do it at the end of the summer. Zuffa then pushed as back
to the end of the summer, so that's what is happening now."
And
indeed it is happening. As a side-note, Liddell is also fighting
on the card and providing that he wins, he'll get first dibs
at the winner. While most agree that Liddell should get past
Vernon White, anything is possible. Liddell, though, has already
beaten Belfort but is salivating at the thought of fighting Couture
again, the first man to truly beat him up.
Like
Liddell, Couture is a fighter for the fans and won't back down
from any challenge. Couture wants to fight only the best and
if both Randy and Chuck prevails on Saturday, Couture will find
himself in the middle of another rematch.
"I
have a lot of respect for Chuck," Couture openly admits.
"I've never been one to dodge any fight and if people want
to see a Chuck Liddell-fight again, I'd be happy to compete with
Chuck again. I think he's a great competitor and certainly after
his win against Tito, he's put himself back into top contention
for the title at light heavyweight. If that's the direction [Zuffa]
wants to go, then that fight will happen."
But
if Couture is successful in his quest to regain his lost treasure,
do the MMA fans really want to see him fight Liddell again? The
burning desire that engulfs every fight fan's hunger for action
is the possible showdown between UFC's 205-pound champ versus
PRIDE's. While the possibility of Couture, should he win, locking
horns with Wanderlei Silva sounds hotter than tea kettle, it's
doubtful to ever come to fruition. A showdown with Quinton Jackson
is more likely, but the intrigue of a Couture-Rampage just doesn't
have that same ring as Couture-Silva.
"Quinton's
never been brought up and I don't think he makes a lot of sense
[fight-wise] unless he beats Wanderlei," Couture elaborates.
"Wanderlei is their No. 1 guy at our weight class, so it
makes sense to go and try and fight him, but I just see too many
differences between the two organizations that they have to be
reconciled for it to ever happen. But it's basically a pipe dream
right now. It's kind of not worth wasting the energy on it. I
have made the statement that I'd like to do that and see that
happen, but I'm not going to hold my breath."
Maybe
it will happen if the sport of mixed martial arts can gain widespread
notoriety and respect, but until that happens, all we can do
is dream. As for Randy, though, he has been getting his own sort
of recognition from fans everywhere. It seems that every day,
Couture stumbles across some MMA fan who slips out of a crevice
and gives respect to the former heavyweight and light heavyweight
king.
"It
seems that I can't go anywhere now without being recognized,"
he chuckled. "I was actually at a spa and pool place recently
and I was looking at possibly buying a swimming pool for my backyard
-- for my 14-month-old son. Two guys that work there at the pool
place recognized me."
Thankfully,
Couture has yet to run into some jerk tough guy who wants to
go toe-to-toe with him.
"Most
people are very friendly, very nice and respond in a normal way,"
he said. "Occasionally you run across someone who kind of
freaks out about it and that's a little strange. I don't know
if 'bothersome' is the right word, but it's still a little strange
to get recognized and then to have somebody really freak out
about it. It's just an odd thing to have happen. We had a female
fan at one of our small shows in Oregon and this was actually
before we had the rules sanctioned. We put on an amateur show
and there was a girl there that came up to us after the show.
We were signing autographs and she started crying, which was
rather strange. I wasn't sure what to do. She was shaking and
then she kinda just broke down. It was very odd. She was in her
late-teens/early-20's. It was strange."
After
a few laughs bellowed from Couture's belly, the interview turned
to a subject he's heard too many times to fathom: his age. Couture
is like fine wine: he seems to get better with age, but he doesn't
really think about it too much. He feels great and until his
body eventually succumbs to Father Time, you can bank on Couture
continuing to fight. The question is, though, has it become too
much of a burden on his family for their 41-year-old hero to
keep fighting?
"It's
a sacrifice that I make and it's something that I have to acknowledge
-- the sacrifice that they make when I'm gone," he explained.
"I have to acknowledge the burden I put on them when I'm
gone training and traveling. As long as I continue to do this,
I have to show that I have appreciation for them taking on that
burden, and they are very supportive of what I am doing. As long
as I am able to compete and train at a high level, they are supportive.
I think that if it came down to a time where I couldn't prepare
or compete at the level I am at right now but was still trying
to do it, and was risking serious injury, they would probably
have more to say. The way things are going right now, it's going
very well obviously and they are behind me 100-percent."
But
what if Old Man Randy feels great until he has white hair and
past 50?
"I'm
kind of taking it one fight at a time, so if that was the case,
I don't see why not," he stated with the stern seriousness
of how he fights. "I love to compete, I love the sport and
I can't imagine any other job that I'd rather do. I can't see
why I'd want to do anything else."
Source: ADCC |
Joe
Doerksen
By Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
“He is a fucking hard working guy, he works construction
14 hour days.” Doerksen’s Jiu Jitsu coach Rodrigo Munduruca
has seen much of the blood, sweat, and tears, poured onto the
wrestling mat by Joe “Dirte” Doerkson first hand. The
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt who handles much of Doerksen’s
grappling bears witness to the dedication that Doerksen brings
to the table each and every night and has high praise for his
prized student. Doerksen is a member of a concrete crew, and
after his highly physical work is done for the day he makes his
way to the gyms and trains for 1 and a half to 2 hours a night
splitting time with Munduruca and his Stand up Coach K-1 Veteran
Giuseppe DeNatale. By any standards, it makes for a grueling
schedule before he heads home to sleep for the night.
On
August 21st at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada,
the “Team Extreme” member will be fulfilling one of
his lifelong dreams by competing in the world famous octagon
in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Big fights require big
preparation, and he is training south of his native Canada at
the friendly confines of the Horn and Howe household where he
finds himself living with tough Team Miletich member Jeremy Horn
and his equally tough girlfriend Jennifer Howe in Utah. It is
here that he is refining his preparation on route to the biggest
contest of his career, a career that has shared more then its
fair share of ups and downs.
His
career wasn’t always this bright, and at one point, quitting
MMA altogether was a very real possibility coming off three straight
losses to Stephan Potvin, Egan Inoue, and David “The Crow”
Loiseau. It was 2 and a half years ago that he was almost ready
to pack it in, adding that if things didn’t turn around
“I might have quit or taken a year off, it is hard to say.”
His career was at a crossroads, but instead of packing it in,
he looked upwards and onwards in his trek to become the fighter
he knew he could become. In retrospect, Doerksen feels his losses
were just as important as the wins that have fashioned him into
the fighter he is today. “It was kind of a wake up call.
I was having a lot of fights ending early, and being able to
submit just about everyone I fought. You know, then I started
to fight tougher and tougher guys and it was time to learn something
new and kind of step it up a notch… losses like that for
me are what made me grow and improve as a fighter.”
Improve
he did, he has gone on to win 10 fights in succession since those
early setbacks, and of his 30 fights, his resume includes victories
over John Alessio, Denis Kang, Brendan Seguin, Jay Buck and Team
Quest fighter, Chris Leben. He also holds the distinction of
being the only fighter to have defeated the highly touted Englishman
“Lightening” Lee Murray, a man that has made a name
for himself with an impressive victory over Jorge Rivera in the
UFC, as well as by being involved in one of MMA’s most famous
street scuffles with Tito Ortiz. The Doerksen vs. Murray bout
was a quick one, with “Joe Dirte” securing the submission
at 79 seconds of the first stanza, an impressive victory by any
standard, but he is humble in retrospect. “It is hard to
say, you could fight the same person 10 times over and have a
different result every time so I don’t like to predict what
will happen in a fight, you really don’t know till it happens.”
On
top of being an MMA fighter and a full time member of a concrete
crew, he is most importantly a father of one. He has since separated
from his wife but carries on the duties of a supportive father
despite the fact that his 10 year old daughter Danisha Jarrett,
is biologically not his own. Danisha knows him as father and
that is all that matters to the man they call Joe “Dirte”
and he proves it not with his mouth, but with his actions day
in and day out. It is something that Munduruca has seen personally.
“She is not really his [Biological] daughter but he still
takes her around, and buys her clothes and stuff… he doesn’t
have to, but that is the kind of guy he is” Munduruca seems
as proud of Doerksen’s principles as he is of his accomplishments
in the ring. Surely a man that fights in the UFC, a company that
in the words of Phil Mushnick “sells honest-to-badness violence,
real-deal brutality and blood instead of ketchup” must also
be a violent man on the verge of a vicious rampage at the drop
of the proverbial hat? Well, Despite what the asinine views of
the uneducated few feel, Doerksen like most MMA fighters, is
a man who is no stranger to the finer virtues of life. In fact,
he once extended the hand of friendship to the unlikeliest of
people, his future opponent Joe “Diesel” Riggs.
They
first met at an ICC show that took place on April 30th of 2004
and ironically Riggs asked Doerkson to corner him for his fight
with David Vitkay later on that evening. [For whatever reason]
His trainer was unable to make the trip. Never having met each
other didn’t deter either of them from working together
for the evening, and Mr. Riggs knocked out his opponent impressively
early in the first round to close out the abbreviated partnership.
"I end up doing that a lot of times when fighters don’t
have anyone coming out to the fights with them. When I was starting
my career I ended up with strangers working my corner a lot of
times. It is just nice to know someone is in your corner, it
sucks having to walk out there alone, so I try to help people
out when I run into them". 4 months after being his corner-man,
Doerkson will be his opponent, fighting for his UFC career against
a man whose power he has had a chance to see first hand, only
this time those deadly fists will not be raised with him, they
will be raised against him. In his own words his toughest fights
to date have been Denis Kang and Chris Leben, but Riggs could
very well be the biggest challenge of Doerksen’s career
and he knows it. “He is a fighter like me, I don’t
expect it to be an easy fight or a quick one, I am training for
a tough fight. I met him once, we got along alright, seems like
a nice enough guy. He is just like me, it is his first UFC, so
he is going to want to do well. I think when the fight is over,
then it is over. We will just do what we got to do and after
that we will maybe go get a beer.” From cornerman, to opponent,
to drinking partner, for “Joe Dirte” and Joe Riggs,
the circle is almost complete. –Arnold “The Sushiboy”
Lim-
Source: MMA Ring Report |
UNOFFICIAL
BATTLE FOR 155 TITLE
Yves Edwards vs Josh Thomson should've been the battle for the
155 pound title, but instead the fight finds itself on the prelim
card at UFC 49.
Josh
"The Punk" Thomson was the latest featured guest on
MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio's sixteen fighters in sixteen days.
According
to Josh, "It's going to be a pretty good fight. It has the
potential of being a boring fight and it has the potential of
being a great fight." He considers Yves to be a "counter
fighter" and that he will be the one pushing the action.
Thomson commented, "We'll see how long he can run away until
I catch him." "It only takes one little hit with those
gloves man, and someone's going to drop," stated Thomson.
He went on to say, "I think the power thing's on my side,
maybe speed's on his side."
When
asked how he thought the fight would play out, Josh said, "This
whole fight's going to be on the feet." He added, "I'm
not going to go out there and shoot and waste my energy trying
to take him down." Having said that, if the opportunity
for a take down presents itself, Josh will take it. In fact,
he said, "We'll end up on the ground eventually."
Josh
is confident about his chances at victory. The way he sees it
is, "If he gets me in trouble, he fears the fact that if
he gets me in trouble, he can't put me away because I can just
take him down." He continued, "If I get him in trouble
on the feet, he's stuck."
When
questioned about his game plan to stand with Edwards, Josh said,
"His stand up is good. It's pretty sound but it's not the
best out there. I'm not too concerned about that." The key
to this fight, according to Thomson, will be the "overall
aggressiveness," by one of the fighters. He pointed out
that the guys who have beat Yves in the past have pushed the
action. Anyone who has seen Josh fight knows, he always pushes
the action.
A
hot topic, as of late, has been whether or not this fight will
be a prelim or on the main card. When asked what he has heard,
Josh replied, "Nothing's been said to me on what it's going
to be. Just given the past with the lightweights always being
prelims, I can say we're probably going to be a prelim."
Thomson
does what he does because he has fun fighting. He stated, "I
think you have more fun when you win so I'm looking to win. He
added, "I don't mind being hit and I love hitting other
people."
I
will leave you with some of the more entertaining statements
made by Josh. When asked what the difference in this fight will
be, he said, "I would say my looks." He didn't stop
there, "I know I'm a hell of a lot better looking than him,"
stated Thomson.
To
hear all of what Josh had to say, get yourself a Premium Membership.
For only five dollars a month, you gain access to the radio archive,
the video section filled with one on one interviews, behind the
scenes footage of weigh ins and press conferences. Not to mention
the Tips of the Week from the top fighters in MMA. With the upcoming
Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix and UFC 49, there is no better to
sign up than today.
Source: MMA Weekly |
WILL
LIDDELL GIVE AN ULTIMATE BEATDOWN AT UFC 49?
UFC 49 Unfinished Business Profile: Chuck Liddell
Not
one to be content sitting on the sidelines waiting for a title
shot, Chuck Liddell enters the Octagon at UFC 49 to once again
risk that opportunity. He is queued up for a shot at the winner
of Randy Couture and Vitor Belfort, but will square off with
Vernon “Tiger” White first where a loss would knock
him back down the list.
He
did the same thing at UFC 40 where he knocked out Renato “Babalu”
Sobral with a vicious kick to the head. Liddell was promised
a long awaited title shot against the winner of Tito Ortiz and
Ken Shamrock, but chose to stay active and risk that shot if
he had lost to Babalu. Well he won and still had to wait almost
7 months for his shot, which ended up being against Couture instead
of holdout Ortiz.
Liddell
ended up losing to the revitalized Couture, had a win over Alistair
Overeem and a loss to Quinton Jackson in last year’s Pride
Grand Prix, and then finally got his match with Ortiz, knocking
him out in the second round at UFC 47. Now, Liddell finds himself
in line for the winner of the Couture vs. Belfort main event
at UFC 49.
Besides
a fight to keep him active, something that Liddell relishes much
more than inactivity, his fight with White is something of a
grudge match as well. The two were supposed to face each other
years ago at King of the Cage. Basically due to better opportunities
elsewhere, Liddell moved on without the fight taking place. Now,
much trash talk later, the two will square off in the octagon.
Both
are known for their striking ability, although Liddell has KO’d
many more of his opponents than White has. Liddell also has the
edge in high-profile fights, defeating the likes of Vitor Belfort,
Tito Ortiz, Murilo Bustamante, Guy Mezger, and Kevin Randleman.
For his part, White has been in many high-profile fights, so
the experience is there, it’s just that he hasn’t been
quite as successful finishing his opponents as Liddell.
If
this one stays on the feet, Liddell has the edge due to a more
aggressive and powerful style of striking than White does. Liddell’s
background is in Kempo and Kickboxing, which have more powerful
kicks than the Tae Kwon Do styling of White’s background.
Don’t expect this one to go to the ground. Both are decent
in their ground skills, but this fight was created for banging
if ever a fight was.
Liddell’s
title shot lies in the balance and a loss would probably put
him two or three wins out of any chance at returning to the title
picture. For White, his career is really on the line here. He’s
hasn’t been able to step up and grasp the spotlight yet
and he’s getting on in years. So this is a big fight for
both, the question now is, who will step up?
Source: MMA Weekly |
IFC
WILL FORCE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ROSE
In the past 48 hours the IFC has produced two press releases
about what happened in Sturgis. Here are the two press releases
and keep in mind Howard Petchler form the IFC will be on today's
radio show.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STURGIS MUSIC FESTIVAL FOLDS FORCING CANCELATION OF IFC EVENT
Sturgis,SD
- Sturgis Music Festival 2004 promoter, Ron Rose, pulled out
of the Sturgis Music Festival on late Tuesday afternoon taking
the box office with him. The unannounced move left Grand Funk
Railroad, .38 Special and Rare Earth ready to play on Tuesday
night but unpaid. Also canceled were the upcoming nights events
which included, BB King, J.Geils, Dr. John, the Bacon Brothers,
Paul Rodriquez and the IFC’ Sturgis Rumble
Rally. Exactly what made Rose a World Poker Champion fold is
unclear. What is clear is that he left a lot of entertainers
and fans very irate. No refunds for ticket holders were available
as of the time of this release.
The
IFC fought to keep their Saturday show alive. We spent all Wednesday
working with the property owners and the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce
to try to make this thing happen, stated IFC Caged Combat President
Paul Smith. They were very supportive, but logistically it just
proved impossible for us to pull it off. We cannot begin to express
our regret to the fighters and fans. The event had been scheduled
for a September 2 pay per view release via TVN.
The
IFC will be joining with several of the events vendors in legal
action against Mr. Rose. Smith encourages all of the fans who
purchased tickets to any of the canceled events to vigorously
pursue him.
STURGIS
MUSIC FESTIVAL PROMOTER THREATENS TO SUE IFC
After
suddenly pulling out of the Sturgis Music Festival 2004 in mid
festival and forcing the cancellation of such acts as Grand Funk
Railroad, .38 Special, Rare Earth, BB King, J.Geils, Dr. John,
the Bacon Brothers, Paul Rodriquez and the IFC Sturgis Rumble
Rally, the events promoter “Poker Champion Ron Rose is threatening
libel action against the IFC and others.
a
novel concept worthy of a world poker champion, says IFC Caged
Combat CEO Howard Petschler. You fail in a business venture,
lose money and then threaten to sue the people you just screwed
over for saying that you screwed them over. Its one way to consider
getting your money back. Unfortunately for Mr. Rose when it comes
to libel, the truth is an absolute defense.
Continues
Mr. Petschler, Mr. Rose declines to mention certain facts. He
was solely responsible for the marketing and promotion of the
festival and had assumed absolute control of the Festival. I
dont question for a minute that he failed to sell sufficient
tickets to keep from losing money. What I find deplorable is
his failure to accept responsibility. He stranded his own crew.
Most had worked for a week, hadnt been paid and didnt have the
resources to even get home. Once the events caterers packed up,
a local supermarket donated food to help feed them and other
former partners of Mr. Rose helped them get home. IFC crew members
even donated money to help feed one the crew members dogs when
the crew member was unable to provide for it. We had assumed
that it would take quite a while for us to get Mr. Rose into
court. Perhaps he can speed up the process for us.
Sturgis
Mayor Mark Zeigler said that Rose's allegations about the city
are false. Zeigler said the city supported the event as much
as possible, promoting it on the town's Web site and at other
venues. "He (Rose) is going to try and find a scapegoat,"
Zeigler said. "The city of Sturgis is not the scapegoat
for the failure of the Sturgis Music Festival. He is looking
for a scapegoat and in the same breath he skips town and leaves
people unpaid and ticket holders unreimbursed. We all live in
this community and this area with the understanding that we pay
our bills and we live up to what we say we do. He (Rose) didn't
live up to his promises."
The
South Dakota Department of Revenue is investigating Mr. Rose
for his failure collect and pay sales tax. In fact, he hadn't
even applied for a sales tax license for the event, despite having
been advised to do so by the Department. The Department is just
one of the agencies now exploring the actions of Mr. Rose.
Source: MMA Weekly |
RHADI
FERGUSON FINISHES IN TOP 16 IN THE WORLD: 'I LEFT EVERYTHING
ON THE MAT'
by: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
We
knew that whatever the final results at the 2004 Olympics were
for U.S. Olympic judoka Rhadi Ferguson that he would still be
a champion and inspiration to those who have followed and supported
his efforts. While he did come up a little short in his quest
for an Olympic medal Thursday, he has remained upbeat, positive,
and informative even after winning one match and losing two,
and thus being eliminated from medal competition.
A
broadcast of Rhadi competing at the Athens Games is scheduled
to be included on the Olympics program on the U.S. cable network
Bravo beginning at 12:00 AM EDT on Friday, Aug. 20 (or late Thursday
night midnight). As always, check your local listings.
Below are two reports direct from Athens about how he fared.
The first is the latest message sent as part of Rhadi's Olympic
journal. The second is the press release issued by USA Judo.
Rhadi
Ferguson, one of the top 16 players in the world
Man,
I had a great time today. I was on the World's Stage at the Olympics,
competing against the World's best athletes, with the Whole World
Watching. I had the time of my life. I threw my first round opponent
for Ippon (at the Olympic Games) and then I fought Jang of Korea
and lost by a Koka. I had a yuko, he had a yuko and a koka. I
attacked sooo many times he should have gotten put out of the
match because of the passivities. Afterwards I fought a man from
Cameroon who has to be, by far, the strongest individual that
I ever fought against. Because of a tactical error I lost and
I pulled my groin (which I didn't need) in the match. But, I
lost, and guess what? A lot of people lost today. World Champs
were out in the first round. Olympic Champs were out in the third
round and so was I. I fought great, I left everything on the
mat, the crowd loved me - I was signing all types of autographs
afterward and I have the respect of the world judo community
after my match with the Korean who won the silver today.
Injury
report:
My
torn quadriceps muscle in my right thigh causes extra stress
on the surrounding muscles in my leg. This is the 2nd time I've
pulled my groin in 4 months. I have to make a decision if I am
going to get it surgically repaired.
My
rotator cuff in my shoulder is torn, and I hurt is worse today
:-) but, hey this is the Olympic Games. I will have a MRI and
then I will decide on surgery once I return home.
I
finished the day as one of the best 16 players in the world.
I'm hurt, I'm happy and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to
compete for my country, in front of my family and I'm glad I
can write to all of you and tell you about it.
For
those that care:
Kosei Inoue looked very good in the beginning of the day and
then he had a barn burner with Kovacs and his day went down hill
from there.
Nicolas
Gill lost to Monti from Italy.
Zeevi looked like a stone cold beast!!!!
The
two guys that beat Inoue (van der Geest and the guy from Azerbaijan)
lost in the finals and both placed 5th, leaving the tournament
just like me - without a medal. :-)
The
Olympics are a funny thing, things don't happen like you expect
them to.
I
know when people look at results they think they know what happened
but really there are things that take place at the Games that
you can't even imagine. Like a player has a knock down dragout
fight with a very good player and his next opponent just killed
his guy quick. If the player that had the knock down drag out
fight is better than his next opponent, he may just lose because
of fatigue.
The
things that happen at the Games are crazy!!! It was a great time.
Thanks for you emails, your support, your love and you best wishes.
1
Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO
80909
USA
USA
Judo press release:
Ferguson
and Kubes elminated from medal contention
by John Miller - USA Judo
ANO
LIOSSIA OLYMPIC HALL, Greece (August 19, 2004) –
Rhadi Ferguson, men's 100 kg, Colo. Springs, and Nikki Kubes,
women's 78 kg, Ft. Worth Texas, lost their first consolation
round matches this afternoon and were eliminated from medal contention.
Rhadi
faced Franck Martial Moussima of Cameroon. Both players received
penalties for passivity, but late in the match Moussima came
in low and threw Rhadi for a Yuko score (quarter point) which
proved to be the difference in the match.
Nikki
faced the #3 seeded Edinanci Silva of Brazil. Nikki came out
aggressively and Silva was given a penalty for passivity. However,
at about the 1:20 mark, both women went to the ground and when
Nikki tried to get Silva in a pin, Silva reversed it, and pinned
Nikki, ending the match.
Quotes:
Rhadi:
Asked
what he's taking home from the Games:
'Two losses. But that's OK. I won a match too. Everything I had,
I left out there on the mat.'
'I'll
tell you, waiting on deck for each match, I was smiling. Excited.
Not really nervous, but my hands and legs were quivering, teeth
clackin' together. Just from the excitement of the Olympics.'
'I
started Judo at 7 years but took a long time off. Came back at
22 and now at 29, after a number of injures, I’ve
played three matches in the Olympic Games.'
Asked
as a college football player, what’s the biggest
crowd he's played in front of and how does this crowd compare:
'Probably something around 65,000 was the biggest. But it's not
the crowd, it's the Olympics. I've never played in the Super
Bowl, but the ambient pressure of the Olympic Games is incredible.
There’s nothing like it.'
Nikki:
Asked
if she had a plan for the first match:
'I knew I was just going to attack off the grip. I do that a
lot, and I got her for Ippon (instant win) in 8 seconds.'
About
the competition:
'These ladies are very strong. I need to hit the weights harder.'
About
the experience:
'I know this is great to help me figure out what to do in future
fights.'
Coach
Ed Liddie:
'This
is such a great experience and will go a long way toward her
development. She was already saying to me, 'I should have done
this, I should have done that'; she's learned things already.
Nikki's only 17 and will be going to the Junior World in two
months. She's certainly got more Olympics in her. Training with
other young ones, Ronda Rousey is on the Junior World team and
is 17 as well, they can bring each other up through the ranks.
They've got a great future. They're already ranked the #1 ranked
in both juniors (under 20 years old) and seniors.'
Source: ADCC |
RHADI
FERGUSON READY TO GO THURSDAY AT 2004 OLYMPICS
by: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
The
time has finally come for U.S. Olympic judoka Rhadi Ferguson
to compete. His weight class, -100 kg/220 lbs., will be contested
on Thursday, August 19.
Here
are the final pre-competition messages Rhadi has sent as part
of his Olympic journal.
If
you would like to join this list send an email to http://athens2004@aweber.com/
and write in the subject line SIGN ME UP!!
Wed.,
August 18 READY TO GO!!!!
Another
chapter of my life will come to a close tomorrow. I am not sure
if I will continue to compete or not. I will make that decision
later. But my 2004 Olympic competition chapter will close.
And
I would like to thank those that have joined me. And I want to
say thank you to all of you that have sent a kind email, a kind
voice mail and/or a kind word. I would also like to thank my
naysayers. You all drive me to prove you wrong - to let you know
that 'as long as you have a lane - you have an opportunity!!'
The
Olympic Games are an honor and I feel blessed to have been chosen
by THE ONE to participate. For those of you that pray - please
pray for me. For those of you that hope - hope that I do well
and all of us competing leave the venue safe. And for those of
you that know that some things only come by prayer and fasting
- you know what to do!! :-)
I
believe that I can win. If I didn't I wouldn't go out there.
I came to win. Will I win? I sure hope so. If this was a horse
race, I am sure that I wouldn't be the odds on favorite, but
I would be THE THOROUGHBRED!!!!
Humbly,
Rhadi Ferguson
2004 Olympian
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?.dCIp03wJJLHeMwp0TUn5A
Rick Hawn looked great today. He fought hard. In his 2nd loss
his opponent was losing the pace of the match. So he acted like
he was hurt for a second and in the next exchange he threw Rick
for Ippon. I think he lulled Rick to sleep for a second, but
that's all it takes. It was a heck of a tactic. Rick went 2-2
for the day.
Ronda
Roussey fought well as well. You could tell that she is young
in terms of the strength difference, but her fitness is through
the roof. She definitely will medal at the Olympics one day.
She attacks non-stop. She is such a sweetheart, but on the mat
she is a Natural Born Killer!! :-)
Right
now my weight is on point. I am one kilo (2.2lbs) over weight.
It is right where I want to be. I had a protein shake today,
a protein bar, some cashews, a couple bottles of powerade and
a salad. I feel great and I will be around the same weight for
the weigh ins that I was at the Olympic Trials.
Brian
Olson is up tomorrow. He has a pretty rough draw, but there aren't
any easy draws at the Olympic Games. I certainly want him to
get on the medal stand. If he uses his feet the way he knows
how, I don't have any doubt that he will be there.
I
am very proud of the way Ronda and Rick fought. I take off my
hat to them.
Rhadi
Ferguson
2004 Olympian
P.S.
Tomorrow will be my last message until after I compete.
Tues.,
August 17 Subject: weight is coming off as planned
Today
2 lbs. over. Everything is going as planned. I want to be 9.99kg
if possible.
Rick
Hawn went 2-2 (Rick fought very well).
Ronda
Rousey went 2-2 (there was a real big strength difference. She
is young and has a great opportunity to be one of the greatest
ever. She has to get in the weight room and get some strength.
Her conditioning is phenomenal!!! She was able to push the pace!)
Later,
Rhadi Ferguson
Tues.,
August 17
Inspirational message from Lloyd Irvin
My
Brazilian Jiujitsu Instructor, Lloyd Irvin, sent me this message
a little while ago. I thought I'd share it with you. He wanted
me too see how far I've come so he sent me a message that I sent
to him and some of my former teammates on the 6th of August of
2002!!!
8/6/02
Lloyd
today was the first day of practice. The lifting session began
at 7:00am. I had a decent lift today. Next week I have to test
so that the Strength and Conditioning Coaches here at the OTC
can get some 'numbers' on me so that they can better develop
my workout program. The lift this morning was pretty tough. Some
of
my teammates were trying to talk to me while I was lifting and
they saw very quickly that when I am working out - I don't waste
my time doing tongue pushups. When I hit the weight room - I
go to work. I'm not out here to play and I'm not here to be flappin'
my gums when I'm supposed to be making the weights talk.
So,
after the lift, I had a nice hearty breakfast. I had 5 pieces
of French toast, 3 scrambled eggs (with salsa on top), 4 pieces
of sausage and 3 big cups of water. At 11:30 I went to SportsMed
and got a half hour message - It was great. I got my back and
forearms worked on extensively. (I really missed this place).
I had a big salad for lunch and then I took a little nap.
P
R A C T I C E !!!!!!!!!!!
Practice
was reallllllly hard today. The altitude hurt me today, not to
mention the room was hot. I'm in pretty decent shape though.
We did a lot of drills. We didn't do any randori (live fighting).
We drilled HARD for an hour and a half. The pace was murder,
but I was pushing. I'm glad I came here in some half way decent
shape. It's really nice to be around some folks who are constantly
pushing and calling each others name out when somebody starts
dogging.
After
practice Eddie Liddie (head coach) spoke for a while and basically
said that for a year we are going to hit it hard and if you can't
hang - sorry. I'm looking forward to it. I gotta make sure I
get my hands on a good stash of Vioxx and Celebrex :-) That way
I won't hurt to bad. Tomorrow's run is at 7am. We are going to
a place called Palmer Park to run some uphill trail It should
be good. I'm going to push and try to be near the front. I figure
that I rather vomit now and get in shape so that I can push the
pace 10 months from now and watch my opponent breakdown like
a fraction.
Take
care and until next time, train hard.
The
quote for today is - 'DON'T SING IT - BRING IT!!!!'
I
heard one wrestler tell the other one that when they were talking
about who would be who.
Reflection
is good, but the future will be better. August 19th!!
Take
Care,
Rhadi Ferguson
2004 Olympian
Tues.,
August 17 Subject: Jimmy Pedro, Jason Gatson, nice picture
Okay
Okay Okay...
Jimmy
Pedro got in last night around 3am and when I heard him rustling
around, I got up and grabbed him and hugged him. I was so proud
of him. I told him, 'Man in two of those matches I was wondering
how you were going to do it. The guys were stronger than you,
you were getting pushed around and I was just asking myself how
in the world is he going to do it.' He said, 'I was thinking
the same thing' And we laughed. Jimmy fought 7 matches and they
all looked like World War III. Awesome, just awesome.
I
just got done working out today. It is my last judo workout.
I am scheduled to get my cortisone shot for my shoulder in about
an hour. I will stay in the village and chill for the next couple
of days. I will probably help Olson warm up tomorrow. It is just
too emotionally draining watching everybody. Right now I am not
even watching the 'live feed' in the village. It makes my heart
hurt to see people lose and I get too exciting when people I
know win. So I will just sit back and write you all :-)
I
talked to Jason Gatson (USA Gymnastics) this morning. He's still
riding on a high. The US won a silver medal yesterday and he
hasn't removed his smile yet. Japan won the gold (go figure).
Andy
Roddick and his partner lost in doubles competition yesterday.
What
else...... oh, Rick Hawn and Ronda Roussey are fighting today
and I'm up to bat in 2 days!!!!!
Check
this picture out ....
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?IWw0kCFgR03TnbQ53VcuOQ
Take
care,
Rhadi Ferguson
2004 Olympian
Going for the Gold!!!! (why go for less?)
P.S.
I will send more pictures AFTER I compete I PROMISE. YOU HAVE
MY WORD!!!!
Mon.,
16 Aug 2004 PEDRO (73 KG) WINS THE BRONZE!!!!!
Jimmy
Pedro wins the Bronze Medal!! In a hard fought match against
France - Jimmy tired the Frenchman out and pinned him. Well,
really Jimmy submitted him because the guy tapped. I think Jimmy
pushed him to the brink of exhaustion. I am very happy for my
man Jimbo. Hey the Korean won. He threw everybody for Ippon.
What an amazing day!!
Jimmy
really showed his perseverance in hanging in there and coming
back after a loss. To hear more reports like this straight from
Greece - sign up for my Athens 2004 Newsletter at athens2004@aweber.com
and get the update info. straight from the source.
One
more thing - Rick Hawn (81kg) and Ronda Rousey (63kg) are up
tomorrow.
I
am not sure how Ellen Wilson did today. I just didn't follow
that well. I was working out earlier today to drop these last
couple of pounds and I didn't follow. As a matter of fact I missed
Jimmy's first match.
73
Kg final
Korea
Rus - Makarov
USA - Pedro
BRA - Guilerho (Jr. World Champ)
This
was an exciting day!!!!!!
Take
care,
Rhadi Ferguson
http://clicks.aweber.com/z/ct/?u3M1Gw3i0uAv90jul8TTjg
1
Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO
80909
USA
Mon.,
16 Aug 2004
Jimmy
Pedro won his first two matches and then got thrown for Ippon
by the Korean (2003 World Champion). He is now in the repechage.
The best he can do now is a Bronze. :-(
I
certainly hopes he does well.
1
Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO
80909
USA
Sun.,
August 15 - Charlee Minkin, Alex Ottiano
Today
was an exciting day at the Judo venue. Charlee Minkin (52kg -USA)
lost in her first bout against Brazil. She fought hard but lost
by a koka (small score) that resulted from a false attack penalty.
The messed up part is that Charlee was attacking the whole bout.
She was really trying to make something happen.
Alex
Ottiano (66kg) lost in the first round also. He fought against
the Russian in a hard fought battle.
A
lot of matches went into golden score today (overtime). I guess
as the weight classes get heavier and the action gets a little
slower there will be more golden score matches.
I
also sat down and had lunch with Andy Roddick today. He won his
first match here in Greece as well. What a cool dude.
That's
it for today. I am still five pounds overweight. I will compete
on the 19th and I will get a cortisone shot in my shoulder on
the 17th.
Rhadi
Ferguson
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO
80909
USA
Sun.,
August 15 - Puerto Rico just beat the US Badly!!!!
Puerto
Rico just beat down the US in Basketball.
Everybody
here said it serves them right, seeing as how they wouldn't take
any pictures with anybody and they didn't act like they were
part of the US Olympic Delegation. Maybe they will be a little
more humble. They need to respect what it is that we do on a
daily basis!!
1
Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO
80909
USA
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
”Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out
how far one can go.”
T.S. Elliot, Poet |
2
Places Airing UFC 49 in Hawaii
Come show your support for local boy, Ron “The Machine Gun” Jhun as he takes on Chris
Lytle in his UFC debut on Saturday, August 21. There are two
establishments that are supporting MMA by airing the UFC. Please
come to watch the fights and support local businesses that are
helping MMA in Hawaii.
Round
Table Pizza
In Waikiki at the Ohana East
(corner of Kaiulani & Kuhio)
944-1199
Free validated parking in the Kaiulani parking on Kaiulani St.
Airing live at 3:30PM Countdown
4:00PM Fights start
Eastside
Grill (old Moose’s)
1035 University Avenue
(across the street from the Varsity Theater)
Parking is available behind Varsity Theater
952-6555
Airing at 7:00PM
Thanks for Todd T. & TJ for the referrals
|
"I'VE
WAITED MY WHOLE LIFE FOR THIS"
Ronald "Machine Gun" Jhun is a Mixed Martial Arts veteran.
He has thirty four professional fights in ten different promotions
and will be making his UFC debut on the 49 card. Jhun will be
squaring off against Chris "Lights Out" Lytle in a
fight that promises to be exciting.
Lytle
wasn't Jhun's first opponent for his UFC debut. He was originally
lined up to face the heavy handed Robbie Lawler but a rib injury
forced Lawler out of the fight. Then Phil Baroni was the next
fighter to step in to face Jhun but some health problems left
Phil no choice but to withdraw. It is fitting that Chris Lytle
would be Ronald's opponent. Lytle called the UFC after Lawler
pulled out and offered to take the fight but Baroni was signed
instead.
This
fight could easily be billed as the Blue-Collar Battle. Ronald
Jhun, like so many other fighters on the brink of making it,
has to balance a full time job while trying to stay in fighting
shape. Ronald works full time as a foreman in the construction
industry. He goes in to work at seven in the morning. After working
all day, he has just enough time to shower, grab a bit to eat
and then he is off to train. It is the drive to succeed in the
sport that motivates him to work so hard.
Lytle
also has a full time job outside of fighting. When he's not training,
boxing or doing MMA, Lytle is a fireman. He goes in to work at
seven AM and works twenty four hour shifts. When he is not at
the fire station, he is still on call if needed. Apparently,
he is also on call for the UFC.
Ronald
has put together a four fight winning streak with two of them
ending with his opponents corner throwing in the towel. Jhun
has fought some impressive competition and holds victories over
Pete Spratt, Dave Strasser, Shonie Carter, and his most recent
victim was Ryan Shultz.
On
paper, this fight looks as if it will go the distance. Lytle
has never been stopped in a fight. All ten of his loses have
been by decision. In fact, seventeen of Lytle's twenty nine fights
have gone to the judges score cards. Jhun has been stopped only
once from strikes but submitted on five occasions. Both Jhun
and Lytle have finished their last two opponents though. This
fight has all the makings of a long and grueling war but one
thing it won't be is boring.
Ronald
Jhun's professional MMA record. (21-11-2).
Source:
MMA Weekly |
AKEBONO
WANTS TO DO MMA
Akebono spoked with the Japanese media and announced that he
would like to start doing MMA matches in addition to K-1.
Akebono
also added that he would like to face Remy Bonjasky on K-1's
September 25th show.
Source:
Fight Sport |
RICKSON
POSSIBLY IN K-1 NEW END SHOW
The Japanese media is reporting that Rickson Gracie will most
likely participate on the K-1 card on December 31st.
Source:
Fight Sport |
Hoping
to Inch Closer to Another Title Shot, Lindland Faces Terrell
at UFC 49
by Mike Sloan
When it comes to pleasing packed arenas with electrifying performances
and ungodly excitement, the name Matt Lindland isn't one of the
first to roll briskly off of one's tongue. "The Law"
is stuck in a quagmire of sorts, because while he isn't MMA's
version of Arturo Gatti, Lindland certainly gets the job done.
And he usually makes it look both painful and painfully easy.
When
someone squawks that Lindland is a bore to watch and that he
isn't really that great, just go ahead and ask Falaniko Vitale,
Pat Miletich, Yoji Anjo or Tony Fryklund. The chances are extremely
high that every one of those aforementioned fighters will say
that Lindland is one tough S.O.B.
As
Lindland prepares for what will hopefully catapult him into a
second shot at the UFC middleweight crown, he has one rugged
and brave hombre to get through first, and that is none other
than David Terrell. While not many fans of the UFC may know who
Terrell is, it can be assured that he deserves to be a UFC contender.
A strong wrestler and with superb grappling skills to boot, Terrell
could pull off a minor upset and score a win over Lindland.
"I'm
sure he's pretty good if he's going to be in the UFC and [they
are] throwing him at the number one guy in the world," Lindland
says about Terrell, a man he admits to not knowing much about.
"So I gotta imagine that he's very good to get that shot."
Lindland
seemed nonchalant about not knowing his opponent like the back
of his hand, and with the lack of knowledge about Terrell, he
couldn't fully elaborate on his devised gameplan. But that doesn't
mean that Lindland hasn't been doing his homework in the days
succeeding our brief interview.
"As
a fighter, I don't know a whole lot about him," Lindland
simply stated.
But
for all of you pro-Lindland fans out there, don't fret because
it usually is a good thing to not know so much about your opponent.
Much like what Lindland and many other fighters have claimed
throughout the years is that if you know your opponent too well,
you might be thinking in the ring or octagon more than normal
and you could wind up making too many mistakes.
But
while Lindland and the vast majority of Team Quest's roster are
superb wrestlers, he may have his hands full with Terrell. Even
though Terrell is only 4-1 as a pro MMA warrior, his grappling
skills are better than most would expect. After losing his pro
debut to the highly respected Vernon White, Terrell has been
on a tear, scoring submission wins over the likes of Joey Villasenor,
Marcos da Silva and most recently Osami Shibuya.
"I
know he's an incredible grappler," Lindland said. "[Terrell
is] very good at submissions, so I gotta work on that part of
the game."
That
is true. In order for Lindland to keep his winning streak alive
he'll have to be his best against Terrell. And while fans may
not be exactly clamoring to see him fight like they would the
more popular Robbie Lawler, Lindland deserves his credit and
should be mentioned among with the top of today's MMA stars.
Obviously,
his fight against Terrell won't be the recipient of top billing
at this Saturday's UFC 49, but it should be televised. Whether
or not Lindland-Terrell will make it onto TV sets across the
globe still remains to be seen.
"I
don't have that information," Lindland quipped. "But
I would imagine that it would be on TV."
Until
then, do Matt and David a favor and keep an open mind in regards
to this fight. Lindland has been bashed on numerous occasions
across the various MMA forums for being a boring fighter who
is too technical, but just remember his two memorable and absolute
wars with Phil Baroni. If Terrell can perform as well as many
MMA "experts" feel he can, this has the makings of
being of the most intense, dramatic fight of UFC 49.
Source:
Sherdog |
FIGHTER
DIARY: THREE DAYS AND COUNTING
Today we continue our UFC 49 event week with our Daily Fighter
Diary and this week's participant is Olympic Silver Medalist
Matt Lindland who is a huge fan of course of the Olympics and
this week's UFC 49 event.
Matt
will give us a very brief, but interesting look at what is going
on in his daily routine as "The Law" checks in today
with MMAWeekly.com.
WEDNESDAY
- 3 DAYS UNTIL UFC 49
Well
it's been a very busy week. I went from one end of the country
to the other and while I'm a bit tired, I thought the television
stuff went really well in New York yesterday. It was fun and
I was glad I could contribute to help promote the sport.
My
day this morning will start with me waking up around 10am. I
will head down to the spa for 20-30 minutes. Next up is to work
on my cardio as I will spend some time on one of those stair
climber/step machines.
My
morning workout will be a light work out. Basically I just want
to get a good sweat in this morning.
My
weight is very good as I'm just 9 pounds over. In most of my
fights, this far out from the actual fight, I'm usually about
12 to 13 over. Not sure if it's just water weight or what, but
it's been a lot easier to make weight for this fight. For lunch
I'm going to have a salad and some tuna.
Tonight
we will get a good workout in. Couture, Tanner and myself plan
on doing some stand up and will spend a couple of hours sparring.
After
that I will jump on the mits and work on them for a half hour
with John Hackleman before I take it easy.
I
plan on relaxing tonight by watching more of the Olympics. I'm
looking forward next weekend to the wrestling of course where
some of my guys, like Rulon Gardner will be competing. By the
way, don't believe the rumors of Rulon fighting in the future.
There is no way that guy is fighting anytime soon. People have
been asking me about it lately. He likes to watch MMA but is
not interested in competing. Unless somebody pays him a boat
load of cash to make him change his mind, he isn't interested
in fighting. He's said it many times.
I
worked out with a lot of the guys at the Olympic training center
in Colorado Springs getting ready for this fight and they are
all huge fans of the sport, but most of them are just that....
"fans" not wanting to fight.
Time
to call it a night at midnight as we get that much closer to
fight night. Have a good one everybody and that's for reading
my daily routine. See you tomorrow.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
ENOUGH
TALK ALREADY....
WILL GRACIE AND SHAMROCK SIGN A CONTRACT IN VEGAS THIS WEEKEND?
Well if the two do ever sign a contract they won't have to worry
about talking a good game. The latest verbal war between Frank
Shamrock and Cesar Gracie resumed yesterday when Shamrock made
this challenge on his website.
"I
have never received a legitimate contract to fight any Gracie
but would still be honored to do so. I will accept HIS challenge
to fight."
Shamrock
put together a blank contract with the number of $15,000 to show
and $30,000 to win to Cesar Gracie. He gave Gracie his fax number
and wanted him to fax it back today. Shamrock said "I have
a pledge for financing and promotion if HE will sign it and Fax
it back to me. He has never signed anything so we have never
fought. This is how real fighting and business is done."
Cesar
Gracie laughed and told MMAWeekly.com last night "So he
wants me to sign a mystery contract? For what organization, for
what date, for what time? Are we fighting on the street are we
fighting for a legit organization? We might want to address these
issues so I can sign a contract" Gracie said laughing.
Rumor
has it Rumble on the Rock caught wind of it as they were trying
to have this fight signed for August and some people have said
that ROTR will try again by bringing contracts to Las Vegas this
weekend.
Gracie
said "If the guys from Rumble bring contracts to Las Vegas,
I will sign. Frank wants me to sign some mystery contract. Where
I would like to fight him is in a legit promotion like Rumble
on the Rock. I think I will be in Las Vegas this weekend"
Gracie said smiling. "Everyone knows where to find me....in
the corner of David Terrell and Nick Diaz at UFC 49."
Source:
MMA Weekly |
LOOKING
FOR "THEE" UPSET THIS WEEKEND
UFC 49 Payback Profile: Vernon White
In a fight that nearly took place twice in King of the Cage,
Vernon "Tiger" White will finally get his shot at Chuck
"The Iceman" Liddell this Saturday night at UFC 49.
Their two accounts of why the bout never took place vary but
one thing remains the same, the two aren't very found of one
another.
Vernon
has forty-seven professional MMA fights. On paper, his 20-25-2
record may not seem that impressive. It is a losing record after
all, but there is no substitute for experience. He has been competing
professionally in MMA for over a decade. White has competed in
Pancrase some twenty-six times. He has competed in such organizations
as the IFC, King of the Cage, World Vale Tudo Championships and
the UFC.
White
has fought some of the biggest names in MMA. He has been in there
with Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock, Pedro Rizzo, Mario Sperry, Kazushi
Sakuraba, Vladimir Matyushenko, Marvin Eastman, Ian Freeman and
Jeremy Horn. A fighter just doesn't compete all over the world
against that type of competition and not learn a thing or two.
As
previously mentioned, Vernon and Chuck were supposed to fight
before in King of the Cage but it didn't happen. White's account
of the situation was that Chuck didn't think the money was enough
and eluded to Liddell possibly ducking him. Chuck agreed to an
extent about the money. Liddell said the money wasn't what was
originally offered. After a war of words, Chuck claims to have
offered to fight Vernon for "winner take all," but
White declined.
MMAWeekly
asked both fighters about their rift recently. Liddell commented,
"He's talked a lot of trash for a lot of years," and
"I wanted to get a chance to shut him up for a long time."
Vernon said, ""The way I look at it now, there's no
running. If he did run, there's no running now. If it was money,
well he's getting the money that he wants now so shut up and
fight."
Forget
about the grudge match and the settling of old scores. The most
interesting thing about this match up is what is on the line.
At first glance, it looks like Liddell has all the pressure on
him with a shot at the light heavyweight title waiting in the
wings. Make no mistake; Vernon has a lot at riding on this one
as well.
Vernon
said he anticipates "a brutal fight happening because neither
of us can stand to lose this fight." Chuck has his title
hopes on the line and White may very well have his career at
stake. White commented that he is trying not to feel the pressure
but "knows this is a big fight." On August 21st, at
the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a high stakes game of MMA will go
down in the octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
MR.
INTERNATIONAL GIVING IT ANOTHER GO THIS WEEKEND
Shonie Carter is one of the most charismatic fighters in MMA
today. A veteran who has competed virtually everywhere possible,
Carter is a mainstay in the welterweight division. Recent news
broke that Carter had signed a three-fight deal with Pride for
their Bushido series. MMA Weekly’s Mick Hammond spoke with
Carter as he prepares to face Jason Biswell at WEC 11 this upcoming
Friday, August 20th in Lemoore, California.
When
asked about the fight against Biswell, Carter replied, “I
don’t know much about him. The only thing I know about him
is something I read on the internet that he was some kind of
gangster or something. I guess he’s one of those thug type
guys who thinks he’s tough as hell, you know everyone’s
a gangster now. I know this young boy is going to come after
because he knows I’m signed to Pride now and so he’ll
come after me like I slapped his mama. He’ll bring his worst
and I’ve been through that before so it’s no big thing
for me.”
The
conversation then segued into Carter’s recent multi-fight
deal with Pride as he said, “I finally signed with Pride
and they want me for the show in October. They haven’t mentioned
anything about an opponent. I’d like to know as soon as
possible but you know how things go over there, I probably won’t
know until a week or two before.
What’s
really funny is that my last fight (a loss to Karo Parisyan)
in the WEC was a blessing in disguise. Karo got back into the
UFC and I don’t know if it’s just a one fight deal
or whatever, but I’ve got a three fight deal with Pride.”
Carter
was quite open with how the deal came together as he stated,
“With all the fighting I’ve done the UFC didn’t
seem like they needed me, or that’s the vibe I got from
(UFC match maker) Joe Silva. When I talked to him he had told
me that I needed like 3 sold wins in a row or move to 185lbs
where Joe said I’d be too small to compete, even if I am
small at that weight, who has my experience to do what I do?
I’m
also thinking Phil Baroni is like 0-4 in his last four fights
and I’m 3-1 in the UFC. Even the guy I knocked out (Matt
Serra) keeps getting invited back. So what happened is that I
met Eddie Delucca, who’s involved with Bobby Hoffman, at
King of the Cage 23 and we’ve kept in touch on and off since
then. I asked him if there was something that he maybe could
do for me since sometimes it’s easier for someone other
than the fighter to talk to people in the management. Eddie called
me back and said that Pride was interested in me, all they needed
to know was what my age and birthday and he said things sounded
curiously interesting. So I waited a little bit more and he contacted
me and said that they wanted me and put an offer on the table.
They gave me a three fight MMA deal with the bonus of wanting
me to do pro wrestling in Japan and I’m up for it, so there
you go.”
Carter
then suprisingly brought up the fact that if he hadn’t signed
with Pride he was contemplating retirement as he said, “I
almost retired, I almost said to hell with the business. Things
just weren’t going the way I wanted to and there’s
only so many championships and titles I can win. I’ve done
it all asides from the winning UFC title. This was going to be
my last year I was going to make the announcement after Shidokan.
But I said to myself ‘let me take one more crack at this’
as I was driving on the express way on the way home from working
out preparing for the WEC fight.”
The
conversation finished up with Carter commenting on the possibility
that he and training partner/Shidokan fighter Brian Gassaway
may be appearing on NBC’s Fear Factor hosted by current
UFC announcer Joe Rogan, “Yeah that’s some craziness.
What it was is that Brian is a model and has been in Ebony magazine.
The
company he’s with is highly reputable, I guess sent him
to an audition for the models edition of Fear Factor. They wanted
him to bring his girlfriend with him to try out also but she
didn’t want to do it so I went down with him. We went down
there and after they realized what we did for living they were
like ‘woah we aren’t going to put you together.’
Average people don’t do things physically as well as we
do. We’re trained athletes and so they split us up with
girls we know so that we’re not on the same team. We’ve
been through two interviews so far and it’s for an October
hopefully it won’t interfere with the Pride fight if we
get on the show.”
Source:
MMA Weekly |
'CRO
COP' TURNS DOWN K-1
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic issued a statement denying any participation
in K-1 and it's September 25th show, in which they had hoped
to sign him to face Remy Bonjasky.
Filipovic
stated that his only focus is on PRIDE and trying to win the
PRIDE heavyweight belt.
Filipovic
added that he hurt some ligaments in his knee during training
a few weeks prior to his recent win against Alexander Emelianenko.
Source:
Fight Sport |
TITO
CAUGHT IN ANOTHER LIE ACCORDING TO COUTURE'S WORDS
Tito Ortiz had claimed in a recent interview with another website
that Randy Couture had inquired having Ortiz help Couture train
for his upcoming fight against Vitor Belfort.
According
to a new interview Randy Couture just gave, Couture claims that
despite popular opinion, both Tito Ortiz and Ricco Rodriguez
were not invited to help Randy Couture prepare for Couture's
upcoming fight against Vitor Belfort; rather they volunteered
to train with him.
Couture
went on to say that he had reservations about letting both Ortiz
and Rodriguez train with his camp, as their reputations and attitudes
are not in accordance with the mission statement of Team Quest.
However, Couture added that both fighters were gracious and good
to have at the school.
Source: Fight Sport |
ATKINS
INSIDER: K-1 VS. PRIDE WAR TO HEAT UP
 
K-1 promoters made an official offer to Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic
to fight against Remy Bonjasky on their September 25th show at
the Nihon Budokan. K-1's official website had an official fan
poll and Cro Cop vs. Bonjasky was the fight most fans voted for.
K-1
promoter Sadaharu Tanigawa also said that he would've made an
offer to both Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko
had their fight not ended in a no-contest.
This
is a sign that K-1 is seriously struggling, and is ready to try
and go to war with PRIDE in order to regain ground.
The
first round of the K-1 World GP Finals usually is booked for
a 50,000 seat capacity arena, but now they are holding it at
the Nihon Budokan, which only seats around 10,000. The rumor
is that K-1 tickets are not selling well, and that more and more
fans are interested in PRIDE-style matches and events.
K-1
is very worried about the year end event because they have no
superfight to put up against PRIDE. They wanted to make a Akebono
vs. Bob Sapp rematch, but this was laughed at by the Japanese
media, and Sapp is rumored to be having some problems with the
K-1 office.
I
want to add that in my opinion more and more fans are losing
interest in the kickboxing-style matches. NHB/MMA has grown in
popularity ten fold in the last two years, and it seems that
nothing is going to stop that from increasing.
The
popularity of MMA matches and events has also made for a much
deeper talent pool for PRIDE to select from. K-1's massive drop
in talent, and selection of boxers and project fighters has shown
that the amount of good kickboxers is not growing in number,
and that the sport as a whole seems to be losing popularity fast.
Source:
Fight Sport |
UFC
and Olympic Wrestling Connection
For
Both Olympic Wrestlers and Ex-Olympic Wrestlers There Is 'Unfinished
Business'
Wednesday August 18, 2:30 pm ET
STORY
SUMMARY:
If
you think there are no connections between Greco Roman Wrestling,
the oldest and most prestigious athletic event in the world,
and the once controversial Ultimate Fighting Championship, think
again. Ultimate fighting, a full contact sport that brings all
styles of martial arts together, has been providing a professional
arena for talented athletes to showcase their skills. The Ultimate
Fighting Championship, which originated 10 years ago, had been
criticized for its unregulated and controversial style. But now,
in the past three years, new rules and regulations have legitimized
the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and are making it mainstream.
Mixed Martial Arts, a combination of Wrestling, Boxing, Judo
and Tae Kwon Do, is a direct descendent of the Greek sport, Pankration,
which was first introduced into the Olympic games in 648 BC.
In
Athens, current Olympic athletes know first-hand the talent and
sacrifices it takes to be an Olympic athlete. While current Olympians
are competing in Greece, former Olympians are gaining mainstream
acceptance in Mixed Martial Arts, a sport that debuted two thousand
years ago at the first Olympic games. To learn more about Mixed
Martial Arts and the Ultimate Fighting Championship visit http://www.ufc.tv.
To learn more about the USA Wrestling Team visit http://www.usawrestling.org.
Source:
Dog House Boxing |
Morceguinho
By André Araújo
The
best Abadá Capoeira fighter
15
years ago, Cristiano da Silva switched his name to Morceguinho
(little bat) when joined Abadá Capoeira. Nine years later,
the 24 years old conquered for the second time a Brazilian Capoeira
title. The first Abadá title came in 2000 and the new
one was conquered last August 15, at the Circus national School,
in Rio de Janeiro. His goal now is the World title. Last year,
Morceguinho got the second place and lost the title to Estácio.
Check now the full interview with the champion of the Capoeira
Abadá Games.
How
is your training to a Capoeira tournament like this?
I
try to keep a good alimentation and respect my sleeping time.
Missing four weeks to the competition, I train six times a week.
Four hours a day. On Sunday I usually rest, but I cannot resist
to a Capoeira play.
What
to you think about Capoeira becoming a obligatory course in College
for Physical Education major?
I
think its great. All students will learn a little bit more about
Capoeira and this might happen to present Capoeira to more people.
We should be careful with the student that will try to teach
Capoeira after taking this course. This cannot happen. Only Capoeira
masters are allowed to teach Capoeira
There
is four styles in Capoeira: Angola, Iúna, Benguela and
São Bento Grande. What is your favorite?
In
fact, the Capoeira champion is the best in all of those styles.
I have a good average grade on it and that's the reason I won
the Brazilian title. Its hard for me to name one. I get excited
with any berimbau rhythm. I guess I enjoy more São Bento
Grande because of the adrenaline and the speed. Its the strongest
game, very fast.
And
about Angola?
Angola
may be played or fought. Its all about disguised moves. You have
to have ginga and sometimes be a bad boy. You do tease the opponent
when hit, you mock him. Its just great.
And
now. Tell me about your plans? Do you have Vale-Tudo in your
mind?
I
want to keep my Capoeira training and be better at the Capoieira
Worlds. I want to conquer Estácio's title, who defeated
me last year. I got the second place. About Vale-Tudo, I respect
the fighters, but I don't think about it. I just have Capoeira
in focus. But I do enjoy watching the bouts.
Who
is your idol in MMA?
Nowadays
I like Wanderlei Silva. I like his fight style. He seems to fight
like a São Bento Grande bout. He handles the situation.
Another MMA fighter whom I admire is Gustavo Careca, who won
Shooto Brazil twice. We are friends and I do like his bouts.
However I am a Capoeira fighter and he is a Vale-Tudo one. That
is just different.
Source:
Tatame |
Quote
of the Day
"Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground."
Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, Twenty-sixth President of the
USA |
Super
Brawl to Air on SPIKE TV This Weekend!
Watch for the new Super Brawl TV show to air on SPIKE TV this
weekend late friday night (early Saturday morning) at 4:30am,
3:30 Central, Saturday night (early Sunday morning) at 3:30am,
2:30 Central and Sunday night (early Monday morning) at 3:30am,
2:30 Central.
There is the new Super Brawl theme. Please credit Death Row Records,
Top Exceutive Suge Knight, Artist - Eastwood
Source: Super Brawl |
Wrestling
Seminar with Olympian at Gracie Academy on Aug. 23rd
Wrestling Seminar with Sanshiro “Sonny” Abe
1996 NCAA Wrestling Champion for Penn State
1996 Atlanta Olympian representing Japan
Gracie Main Academy
844 Queen Street
589-2524
Cost: $30
When: Monday, August 23, 2004
Time: 7:30-9:00PM
Wrestling
Clinic at Saint Louis High School Too
Wrestling Clinic with Sanshiro “Sonny” Abe
Saint Louis High School
August 21 & 22, 2004
11AM-4PM
$30
$300 for teams (10 + wrestlers and coaches)
Many thanks to Myles Suehiro for setting this up.
Source: Myles Suehiro |
|
UFC
49 Unfinished Business Profile: Chris Lytle
Long
considered a journeyman in the sport of mixed martial arts, Chris
Lytle has spent the past year and a half trying to prove that
he belongs in the upper echelon of the sport. Despite an overall
record of 14-10-5, Lytle has gone 6-2 in that year and a half
span including wins over fellow UFC veterans Laverne Clark, Tiki
Ghosen and Pete Spratt and a very close decision loss to another
UFC veteran in Robbie Lawler.
On
August 21st, Lytle returns to the Octagon to square off with
UFC first-timer, but MMA veteran, Ronald “Machine Gun” Jhun. Both combatants have
followed similar up and down paths over their careers. Jhun primarily
built his skills in SuperBrawl and Shooto events and Lytle in
Pancrase and Hook n Shoot.
Known
for many years as a submission specialist, Lytle has worked hard
to earn his more recent “Lights Out” nickname and develop
his repertoire. Along with an abundance of training in Muay Thai,
he has been focusing heavily on his hands, including professional
boxing matches on his resume over the past couple of years.
Lytle
has amassed a boxing record of 10-1-1 and that success has carried
over into his MMA game holding his own against Robbie Lawler
and actually knocking out the iron chinned Aaron Riley. In short,
Lytle has become a very well rounded fighter, lifting him up
from journeyman status into a UFC contender.
Over
his past nine bouts, going 7-2, Jhun has developed into a contender
in much the same manner as Lytle. He defeated Shonie Carter and
Ryan Schultz over that span with his only losses to UFC veterans
John Alessio and Tiki Ghosen. Like Lytle, Jhun is also very skilled
on the ground and on his feet knocking out his fair share of
opponents.
With
both fighters still on the brink of becoming headliners, and
they know it; expect them to want to put on an exciting display.
If that wasn’t clear enough, these guys are going to throw
down. The winner will be the won that is able to gain the upper
hand and impose his will. Neither has been flat out knocked out,
so look for this won to be a war, but very likely ending in a
decision.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
Checking
in on the American Top Team
Tito
Ortiz made an appearance at the new American Top Team headquaters
facility in Coconut Creek Florida on Monday August 16th. Tito
came in to check out the new gym and rolled for a while with
some of the ATT members including Abu Dhabi grappling champion
and UFC vet Jeff 'Snowman' Monson. Tito was sporting his new
mohawk haircut and looked to be in great shape.
Kimo
Leopoldo—recently suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission
for failing his post fight drug test following his loss to Ken
Shamrock at UFC 48—will not be relocating to South Florida
to join the American Top Team.
Sources
inside ATT have informed Sherdog.com that Kimo, who did visit
the academy a few weeks ago, was there as the guest of a friend
who trains there. Kimo never inquired about training with the
fight team and has not been to the gym since and is not affiliated
in any way with the American Top Team.
Source:
Sherdog |
'MINOTAURO'
VS. FEDOR PART 3
The Japanese media reports that a third matchup of Rodrigo 'Minotauro'
Nogueira vs. Fedor Emelianenko will most likely take place on
either the PRIDE 28 show on October 31st or the year end show
on December 31st.
The
inside word is that it will most likely take place on October
31st.
Source: Fight Sport |
OGAWA
NEWS
The Japanese media are saying that DSE/PRIDE will have Naoya
Ogawa do some 'assessment fights' to determine whether he deserves
a high profile spot in the promotion.
According
to the Japanese media, this is just an angle to build up more
interest with Ogawa's fans, most of who are pro-wrestling fans.
The majority of the PRIDE promotion's fanbase are pro-wrestling
fans as well.
Source:
Fight Sport |
SAPP
AND K-1 MAY BE ON THE ROCKS
The inside word amongst the Japanese media is that the relationship
between Bob Sapp and K-1 management is deteriorating.
Sapp
is getting more offers to appear in Hollywood movies and appears
to be wanting to go that route on a permanent basis.
Adding
more fuel to the speculation is the announcement K-1 recently
made that Sapp will not appear on any of the 2004 World GP Finals
shows.
Source:
Fight Sport |
'CRO
COP' VS. BONJASKY POSSIBILITY
K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa announced that they have made
a substantial offer to Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic for him to face
Remy Bonjasky in a super fight on their September 25th show.
If
Cro Cop accepts the offer and beats Bonjasky, he would qualify
for the K-1 2004 World GP Finals on December 4th.
Under
new rules implemented this year, Bonjasky already qualifies for
the finals as last year's GP champion.
Source:
Fight Sport |
|
COMING
SOON: 'ZUFFA EXPOSED!'
MMA
journalist Scoop McTroll will be reporting the findings of his
new investigative report, which will be called 'Zuffa Exposed!'.
Watch
for it in the coming week.
Source:
Fight Sport |
LINDLAND
FIGHTER DIARY DAY TWO
It is UFC 49 event week and that means MMAWeekly.com will get
you closer to the action than any other website in the world.
Today we kick off our UFC 49 event week with our Daily Fighter
Diary and this week's participant is Olympic Silver Medalist
Matt Lindland who is a huge fan of course of the Olympics and
this week's UFC 49 event.
Matt
will give us a very brief, but interesting look at what is going
on in his daily routine as "The Law" checks in today
with MMAWeekly.com.
TUESDAY
- 4 DAYS UNTIL UFC 49
"Today
is one of those days that I will have to get some rest on the
airplane as my travel schedule is very busy. Today I go to Las
Vegas from New York. I have to wake up bright and early for the
Fox and Family morning show. It airs nationally from what I hear.
Yesterday
the UFC flew me from Portland to New York. Now I will do the
show, catch a plane at 11am from New York, fly back across the
country and land in Las Vegas at 1:30pm. I plan on sleeping the
entire flight so I can catch up on some sleep. Either way this
is great promotion for the UFC and I’m glad I have the opportunity
to represent them and myself on national tv.
Once
I land in Las Vegas, I will take a shuttle over to the MGM grand.
I look at the MGM as a home away from home. I’ve had some
great success there, back in my wrestling days to now fighting
in the UFC. The UFC has a shuttle that picks up all the fighters
and takes us from the airport to the hotel. Once I get checked
in I will meet up with Randy (Couture) and Evan (Tanner) and
get a work out in.
Today’s
workout will be pretty simple. We will roll around on the mats
for a couple of hours and do some wrestling, then we will do
some stand up work for a couple of hours as well. After the workout
I will just lay low and get some room service with a salad and
watch the Olympics.
My
hard work was completed a week ago, so now it’s all about
getting my cardio work in and get my weight right for Friday’s
weigh-in. Today it will be short and sweet since it’s a
travel day, but I will have plenty more to talk about tomorrow.
As always thanks for the support!
Source:
MMA Weekly |
DOERKSEN
READY TO MAKE MARK AT UFC 49
As the countdown to UFC 49 continues, so does MMAWeekly SoundOff
Radio's sixteen fighters in sixteen days. Joe Doerksen will be
facing Joe Riggs this Saturday night in his UFC debut and he
spoke with MMAWeekly about the fight.
Doerksen
hasn't lost in over two years. He is on an impressive ten fight
winning streak. Joe has been training in Salt Lake City with
Jeremy Horn, Alex Steibling and others. He took a month off from
work to prepare for this fight. Doerksen has also been working
with some K-1 guys recently to improve his stand up game.
About
making his UFC debut, he stated, "My attitude going into
this fight is real simple. Basically just worry about my opponent
and not so much about the show. I just want to go and have a
good fight. Not worry too much about being in the UFC, just worry
about how to deal with Riggs."
Doerksen
is familiar with Riggs. He has seen him fight once live and training
partner Alex Steibling recently defeated Riggs. He considers
Riggs a "tough guy," who hits hard and has "decent
wrestling." Doerksen commented, "He's a fighter. I've
fought lots of fighters so I'm just going to go in there and
fight him like I would anybody else."
When
asked about how this fight will play out, Joe said, "If
I can get him down and submit him, I'll do that. If I can't get
him down then I'm stuck throwing punches. And if that's what
I have to do then that's what I'll do." He added, "I
don't want to stand with a guy just to prove anything to anybody.
I just want to win the fight."
When
questioned about his game plan, Joe commented, "When I fight,
I try to basically just be prepared for anything and my only
real first plan is to keep my hands up and my chin down. Go in
there and whack him in the head and see what happens after that."
"I've trained for it and am ready. So I've just got to go
in there and do it," stated Doerksen.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
UFC
49 PROFILE: JUSTIN EILERS
UFC
49 Unfinished Business Profile: Justin Eilers
Not
too many fighters make a name for themselves when they lose,
but Justin Eilers did just that. He took Wesley “Cabbage”
Correira to a 3-round split decision loss on Cabbage’s home
turf of Hawaii. The decision was so controversial that UFC president
Dana White was ready to make a rematch of the fight in the UFC
and, maybe more impressively, the Hawaiian crowd actually booed
as the decision was announced.
Eilers’
only other loss was the first fight of his career, when he faced
MMA legend Dan “The Beast” Severn. Since the loss to
Cabbage, at SuperBrawl 30 in June of 2003, he has gone on a rampage
winning 5 straight fights, 4 by technical knockout and 1 by submission.
This guy can bring it!
On
August 21st, Eilers makes his Octagon debut against UFC sophomore
Mike Kyle. With a record of 7-2 and also riding a 5 fight win
streak, Kyle has been looking impressive as well.
It’s
actually fitting that their careers are similar; Eilers and Kyle
actually grew up together in Idaho. In fact, they played junior
college football together as well. That will all be out the window
come fight time though. They each know that this is a business
and, personal friendships aside; they have a job to do.
Both
are finishers. Both are big. And both are looking to make a name
in the UFC heavyweight division. While both have skills on the
ground, these are two more fighters looking to make a UFC splash
and they know as well as anyone that U.S. fans love to see the
big man knockouts. That’s a desire that either man knows
how to fulfill. The question is who will bring their A-game on
Saturday night.
One
thing that stands out is each fighter’s ability to withstand
a punch. While Kyle was knocked out when Paul Buentello touched
him on the infamous “button,” both of Eilers’
losses were by decision. He threw down for three rounds with
Cabbage, dishing out more punishment than he received, but even
the heavy-handed Correira could not put Eilers out. That could
be the deciding factor if Eilers can locate that button.
Both
these fighters are looking to make their names and each has pretty
much the same to lose, their chance at UFC stardom. Eilers and
Kyle are both still in the UFC proving grounds trying to make
their way. The loser will probably be propelled out of the UFC,
while a win moves that fighter one step closer to title contention
in a growing UFC heavyweight division.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
IFC
Exclusive at PANCRASE.US - Ron Rose Responds!
by: PANCRASE.US
Our friends at PANCRASE.US got an exclusive interview with investor
RON ROSE, responding to allegations surrounding last weeks controversial
STURGIS event - Read on....
My
name is Ron Rose. I am the managing member of Sturgis 2004, LLC
and one of the major investors in this enterprise. Many of the
fight websites have printed libelous remarks about me and my
involvement in the Sturgis Music Festival. I can no longer remain
silent and swallow this abuse without replying with the facts.
The following article making the rounds is typical enough of
what is being said that I will respond to it point by point with
facts, not innuendo!
This
is what is being printed about me:
Some
friends of mine are involved in a fight promotion in Sturgis
this weekend. Seems Mr. Rose skipped town to the tune of $600k.
This from www.graciefighter.com :
'An
absolute fiasco has engulfed the IFC show in Sturgis, South Dakota.
The IFC was one of several shows to be prominently featured at
the famous Sturgis motorcycle rally. Musicians B.B. King and
the group 38 Special along with comedians Dana Carvey and Paul
Rodriguez were all contracted to perform this weekend. Unfortunately
it seems as if a crooked investor has forced the cancellation
of all performances. Ron Rose is a 7x World Poker Champion and
one of the co-investor/promoters. Mr. Rose apparently stole an
estimated 400 to 600 thousand dollars of the ticket sales and
then promptly skipped town. He also took with him all of the
E ticket terminals. The terminals were the only record keeping
machines for the revenues being generated and it is assumed that
he took them so he could wipe out the hard drives, making an
exact accounting of how much he took impossible. Several hundred
bikers had purchased tickets to the various shows and are now
left with the fact that they were duped out of their money. Millions
will be lost on the show due to the fact that there were several
television shows filming the performances along with an HBO special.
The IFC show was set to be a pay per view event and will very
likely be cancelled if other investors don't ante up for the
stolen revenue. Paul Smith and Monte Cox are scrambling to make
the Horn vs. Marquardt fight happen, however Pe De Pano vs. Severn
and all of the Brazilian fighters' fights have been officially
cancelled. We will not find out until tomorrow morning whether
or not the whole show will be cancelled. '
First
and most libelous is the fact the I have been wrongly accused
of taking off with $600,000 of ticket receipts. If that were
not so absurd, ridiculous and downright malicious, it would be
laughable. The sales for the first three concerts, all of which
were first class, were dismal. Total sales for the first concert
in an arena that would hold 15,000 spectators was 548 paid attendance.
Second Concert, 562 paid attendance. Third concert, Hank Williams,
Jr., one of our top draws was 1501 paid attendance. The receipts
for these figures did not even begin to cover what we paid in
entertainment fees to the artists. All cash sales were deposited
the next day in the bank. All credit card sales were recorded
at Etix online ticket sales. All figures can be accounted for
by the bank, Etix and by the CPA who acted as the controller
to be sure that sales were conducted properly. How I could walk
off with $600,000 is a mystery to me and to any reasonable person.
Accusations to this effect are not only libelous they are incredibly
hurtful to myself and my family.
Read
the rest of the article at
http://www.starzworld.com/ron_rose.htm.
Source:
ADCC |
Euphoria
MFC - 1st of the ROAD TO THE TITLES Series Now 2 Months Away!
by: MMA Observer
TROPICANA CASINO, Atlantic City, NJ
Friday, October 15th, 2004
EUPHORIAMFC.COM
For
Tickets and Information call the Tropicana Box Office: 1-800-526-2935.
1st
of the ROAD TO THE TITLES Events Coming Into Focus
'The
show is now under 2 months away, and things are beginning to
settle down' starts matchmaker Miguel Iturrate. 'We have replaced
heavyweight Paul Buentello with Kerry 'Meat Truck' Schall, so
we hve complete tournaments. Tickets are on sale, and more details
like a seating chart will be out in the days to come. The box
office at the TROP has tickets on sale now!' states the promoter.
Much
more to come on this event. All matches are subject to approval
by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission.
Subject
to Change:
FIRST
ROUND - 8 MAN LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (146 to 155 LBS):
- Joachim Hansen (Team Scandinavia, Oslo, Norway) v. Sergei Golyaev
(RED DEVIL, St Petersburg, Russia)
- Hermes Franca (ATT, Ft Lauderdale, FL) v. Phil Johns (Silverbacks,
VCanton, IL)
- Yves Edwards (Thugjitsu, Houston, TX) v. Naoyuki Kotani (Rodeo
Style, Tokyo, Japan)
- Rich Clementi (Team EXTREME, New Orleans, LA) v. Alberto Crane
(Santa Fe JJ, Santa Fe, NM)
FIRST
ROUND - 8 MAN HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (206 to 265 LBS):
- Ibragim Magomedov (RED DEVIL, St Petersburg, Russia) v. Travis
Wiuff (Team EXTREME, Minneapolis, MN)
- Jeff Monson (ATT, Ft Lauderdale, FL) v. Brian Stromberg (Team
Quest, Portland, OR)
- Ulisses Castro (Freelance, Vancouver, Canada) v. Kerry 'Meat
Truck' Schall (Team Extreme, Cinncinnati, OH.)
- Roman Zentsov (RED DEVIL, St Petersburg, Russia) v. Antoine
Joaude (Ruas VT, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
ALT
BOUT:
- Ben Rothwell (Team Extreme, Bettendorf, IA.) v. Johnathan Wiezorek
(Valdosta Academy, Valdosta, GA.)
FIRST
ROUND - 8 MAN LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDERS TOURNAMENT (146 to 155 LBS):
-
Jay Ireland (Team TAP or SNAP, Detroit, MI.) v. Kurt Pellegrino
(Team Renzo Gracie, NYC, NY)
- Darrell Smith (Animal House, Kokomo, IN.) v. Henry Matamoros
(Matamoros JJ, Milwaukee, WI)
- Jorge Gurghel (Team Extreme, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) v. Keith
Wilson (Team AKA, Denver, Colorado)
- Ryan Schultz (Team Quest, Portland, OR) v. David Gaona (SHOOT
Spain, Valencia, Spain)
Euphoria
MFC Tournament Series Schedule:
December
11th, 2004 - TRUMP TAJ MAHAL Arena, Atlantic City, NJ
FIRST ROUND (4 matches) - 8 MAN LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (186
to 205 LBS)
SECOND ROUND (2 matches) - LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (146 to 155
LBS)
SECOND ROUND (2 matches) - HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (206 to 265
LBS)
February
26th, 2005 - TRUMP TAJ MAHAL Arena, Atlantic City, NJ
SECOND ROUND (2 matches) - LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (186 to
205 LBS)
FINALS (1 match) - LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (146 to 155 LBS)
FINALS (1 match) - HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (206 to 265 LBS)
April
15th, 2005 - TRUMP TAJ MAHAL Arena, Atlantic City, NJ
FINALS (1 match) - LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT (186 to 205 LBS)
Plus RUSSIA versus USA II
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here
in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater
vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are
here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you
forget the errand."
Woodrow T. Wilson, 1856-1924, Twenty-eighth President of the
USA |
FIGHTER
DIARY: MATT LINDLAND
It is UFC 49 event week and that means MMAWeekly.com will get
you closer to the action than any other website in the world.
Today we kick off our UFC 49 event week with our Daily Fighter
Diary and this week's participant is Olympic Silver Medalist
Matt Lindland who is a huge fan of course of the Olympics and
this week's UFC 49 event.
Matt
will give us a very brief, but interesting look at what is going
on in his daily routine as "The Law" checks in today
with MMAWeekly.com.
MONDAY
- FIVE DAYS AND COUNTING
"Just
wanted to say hello to all my fans at MMAWeekly.com and I always
appreciate your support. To be honest, I really don't know how
exciting this will be for you guys to read because all of my
hard work has already been done, but without further ado, here's
what I have on tap for today."
"The
UFC has asked me to fly to New York for some promotional stuff.
I will be on the television show “Fox and Friends”
that is live on Tuesday, so today I will be catching a plane
later this morning. I wake up at eight o’clock and I never
really eat much of a breakfast if anything. Basically I will
have a cup of coffee, get a quick workout in, run to a quick
meeting, then board a plane for New York City.”
“I
catch my plane at 1pm in Portland, Oregon and the nice part is
I fly straight, non stop to New York City. I basically just sleep
on the plane rides, so it’s nice and relaxing. I have a
car picking me up tonight from the airport and taking me to my
hotel. When I get to my hotel room, I will put some work out
gear on and head right to the sauna that night. Basically being
a travel day, today is pretty boring and it’s going to be
more of the same tomorrow."
"I
will watch the late coverage of the Olympics as it has a strong
place in my heart as many of my friends are in Olympic competition,
especially on the wrestling side for the United States of America.
I have a strong bond with those people because of my experiences
in the Olympic games. By the way, where the hell is everybody?"
"I
can’t believe no one is attending any of these events. The
crowds are non-existent. Anyway, time to get some sleep in. I
will crash around midnight tonight, then get up bright and early
for the morning show. I believe it’s televised nationally
so you guys can see me on the show talking about the Olympics
and UFC 49. Time to get some rest and I will check in with you
tomorrow right here on MMAWeekly."
Source: MMA Weekly |
BELFORT'S
CAMP CONFIDENT
We had received an interesting post last week from Rogelio Liborio
who talked about how good Vitor's training has been for this
upcoming fight. He followed up with a couple of comments.
"First
of all I want to thank all the friends of Vitors that support
him, but I also want to answer the questions of a lot of fans
who seem to not give a lot a credit to Vitor, most of them are
not in this website, but they went and made a lot of talk with
no base.
I
never said that Vitor is going to try to make this a wrestling
match with Randy, but that he is well prepare for Randy's wrestling,
this is very different, but if it was nessesary to take Randy
down to finish him, then we will make sure that Vitor puts him
there.
As
far as who are the wrestlers training with Vitor?
Ernesto
Pena, Cuban Greco Roman Wrestling National champion twice, panamerican
champion, and atlanta olympic bronze medal at the 96 klg.
Juan
Luis Maren, a lighter very technical cuban greco roman legend,
barcelona, and atlanta olympic medalist silver and bronze.
And
for the first fight with randy, vitor trained for 2 months with
filiberto azguy a cuban greco roman legend, twice olimpic gold
medalist, who couldn't be in big bear since he is on his way
to the Olympics right now for his 3rd gold medal, but would tell
you if he was here, that vitor belfort is as good a greco roman
wrestler as any in the planet, that he will prove in the octagon
against randy, and if you are so confident that randy will take
vitor down, then bet, and lose.
Rogelio
Liborio.
Source: MMA Weekly |
WHERE
DOES THE IFC GO FROM HERE?
Confusion Reigns Over IFC Sturgis Cancellation
With
all the controversy surrounding the canceling of the Sturgis
Music Festival this past week, including the International Fighting
Championships Sturgis Rally Rumble, it's been confusing for everyone
trying to understand just what happened.
Last
week on Wednesday, we got word from the IFC's Paul Smith that
the festival was in jeopardy due to financial backer Ron Rose
packing up on Tuesday night and leaving town taking computer
equipment and money with him, leaving the IFC and all of the
remaining musical acts scrambling.
For
his part, Rose released a statement to the press saying that
ticket sales had been abysmal and that the company behind the
festival, Sturgis 2004 LLC, had lost everything and was basically
bankrupt and that was why everything was cancelled.
Apparently,
Rose has been in contact with officials in Sturgis and according
to the police department in Sturgis, he has not yet been charged
nor arrested for anything at this point.
Though
the refund process for people who actually purchased tickets
at the box office in Sturgis has been frustrating to most fans,
Sturgis 2004 LLC promoter Erica Hansen said that they are working
diligently to
refund fans' money. Etix, the online vendor handling ticket sales,
has already started sending out email statements notifying ticket
purchasers that their credit cards were in the process of being
credited.
The
whole Sturgis Music Festival, which is one separate faction of
the entertainment at the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, was up
against some very stiff competition for rally goers' entertainment
dollars, specifically the concerts at the Buffalo Chip Campground.
On Monday night last week at Buffalo Chip, ZZ Top reportedly
brought in over 50,000 fans and later in the week Kid Rock brought
in fans estimated to
be between 75,000 and 100,000 in number.
In
contrast, Sturgis Music Festival act ticket sales were basically
horrid. Credence Clearwater Revisited and the classic rock night
featuring .38 Special each sold only 600 or so tickets and Hank
Williams, Jr. sold about 1,500. The venue at Lynn's Dakotamart
holds some 15,000-plus fans. With such terrible ticket sales,
Sturgis 2004 LLC had to be losing money. The decision was made
to cancel the classic
rock show just prior to show time on Tuesday night, the rest
of the festival shows were cancelled at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Aware
of what was happening, the IFC tried to find a new financial
backer to come in and rescue the IFC's Saturday night show. According
to Smith, they did find such a backer in Dennis Maloof, who is
part of Paradise Entertainement who has worked with the IFC in
the past and agreed to rescue the IFC show. The problem was that
officials also wanted the musical acts rescued as well and were
asking for various related fees to be covered by Maloof in addition
to the backing necessary to keep the IFC show itself on track.
In any event, an agreement could not be reached and everything
remained cancelled.
In
the meantime, most of the fighters and their camps were not notified
until late Wednesday night that the show was cancelled and some
weren't notified until Thursday morning. Dan Severn was actually
on his way to the airport when he was notified.
Regardless
of how things shake out between the IFC, Ron Rose and Sturgis
2004 LLC, the bigger question now for the IFC is how it will
regain credibility in the mixed martial arts community. This
latest occurrence at Sturgis follows a laundry list of associations
gone awry for the IFC.
Last
year in Chicago, a show sanctioned by the IFC's sanctioning arm,
ISKA-MMA, under the direction of Paul Smith, went bad when the
promoter, Ed Kim, did not pay nearly all of the fighters on his
Battleground show when his checks bounced.
A
show in Texas last year, Rumble on the Rio, co-promoted by the
IFC, also left fighters in a lurch when the main financier didn't
follow through on his responsibilities to pay the fighters. Luckily
in Texas, the show was sanctioned by the commission and was required
to be bonded and insured, so the fighters were eventually paid.
Just
last month, the IFC cancelled their scheduled show in Monterrey,
Mexico due to the promoter they were partnering with misleading
local fans into believing that former UFC Champion Tito Ortiz
was going to fight on the card.
Unfortunately
for the IFC and fans of the sport, the IFC's bad business dealings
with other promoters is developing into a pattern of misfortune
that is starting to point right back in their direction.
Both
Nathan Marquardt and Jeremy Horn, the feature fighters in the
most high profile bout on the Sturgis card, displayed their misgivings
about the IFC saying that they were hopeful that the IFC would
follow through on contracts and pay the fighters since the fights
were cancelled due
in no part to the fighters themselves, but weren't optimistic.
We
will continue to follow this story this week as more details
come to light. There will be more discussion on this story today
on MMAWeekly Radio. You can listen to the show at 9am Pacific/12
Noon Eastern at www.mmaweeklyradio.com.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Aaron
Riley Talks About AFC Brazil
by: Keith Mills
On
August 28th Aaron Riley fights in AFC Brazil 1. Some confusion
remains whether this fight will be at 155 or 160 lbs. but either
way Aaron is dropping down from his previous Welterweight division.
Five
videos or Aaron's fights are available. WEF 8, HOOKnSHOOT 'Kings',
and AFC 1 are his best distributed wins while UFC 37 and HOOKnSHOOT
'Showdown' are his best distributed losses to Robbie Lawler and
Yves Edwards respectively. Even though he lost those two they
were very exciting fights, making Aaron the perfect example of
being remembered not so much for whether he won or lost but how
he fought and who he fought. Keep in mind this was before he
moved to Florida where he joined the American Top Team as reported
on ADCC News on March 8th. At 23 years old Aaron has a record
of 20-7-1.
KM:
I don't anything about your opponent for AFC in Brazil. AR: Miguel
(AFC's matchmaker) is matchmaking the show. I'm sure he is going
to be a worthy opponent. He scouts his guys so I respect my opponent.
I know he is coming to compete, I know he is coming to fight
hard so I know it will be a good fight.
KM:
This is your second fight this year. How did the Nuri Shakir
fight go?
AR: I won the decision. I didn't finish the fight decisively
but there were a few times I had him in predicaments. I had him
in a kimura at one point but didn't finish. I had him I think
pretty rocked on his feet; I landed some good knee strikes and
had him a bit wobbly at one point. It ended up going to a decision,
I won the decision. Really controlled the fight in all aspects.
KM:
All I heard was from Nuri's teammate Jorge Rivera who said he
had a good slam on you. AR: Oh yeah, he had a good throw for
sure. He almost got two. People should look out for that man,
he has a really good hip toss.
KM:
With this being your second fight this year any concerns of ring
rust?
I know ATT is going to put you through the paces but how do you
feel about that? AR: You always want to stay active. At this
stage in my career it's all about taking the right fights. People
know who I am so its not so much to get my name out there, it's
all about choosing the right fights or the fights that make sense.
KM:
Sponsors to thank? AR: For sure American Top Team. Tapout has
been with me, sponsoring me always. I thank the fans for supporting
me and supporting the events. Keep on keeping on.
Source:
ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination."
-Unknown |
Showing
Pride or UFC Anyone?
If anyone out there knows where some bar or place is airing Pride
or the UFC, please let me know. I have gotten a bunch of inquiries,
but I am at a loss. Let me know and I will share it with everyone
on this page.
Thanks
|
PRIDE
GP FINAL CONFLICT 2004 *SPOILER*
Results from
Pride Final Conflict 2004
By Mark Ginther
Pride
Final Conflict 2004
Heavyweight Grand Prix finals
Held August 15, 2004
Saitama Super Arena - Saitama, Japan
Non-tournament
fight: Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Murilo Bustamante by unanimous
decision
Semi-final
match: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def Sergei Kharitonov by unanimous
decision
Semi-final
match: Fedor Emelianenko def Naoya Ogawa by armbar 54 seconds
into the first round
Reserve
match: Ron Waterman def Kevin Randleman 7:44 into the first round
by key lock
Non-tournament
fight: Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic def. Aleksander Emelianenko
by KO 2:09 into the first round
Non-tournament
fight: Wanderlei Silva def Yuki Kondo by KO 2:46 into the first
round
Tournament
finals: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fedor Emelianenko - no contest;
Fedor cut
A hard accidental headbutt cut Fedor's forehead BADLY (ala Belfort
x Eastman) and the fight had to be stopped.
Source: FCF/ADCC (note about cut) |
IS
VANDERLEI COMING BACK TOO SOON?
By Ryan Bennett
He is pound for pound one of the best fighters in the world.
He is also one of the most feared. With apologies to Randy Couture,
Vanderlei Silva has solidified his stance of being the best fighter
in the world at 205 after an epic performance in last year's
Middleweight Grand Prix tournament.
Now
he has a different challenge ahead. That's to not only defeat
the very tough Yuki Kondo, but do the tough Japanese fighter
coming off an injury.
Silva
is coming off knee surgery and if you listen to Silva himself,
he doesn't sound too convinced that he's anywhere near 100% healthy.
Vanderlei
recently told our friends at Tatame Magazine quote "I'm
going to Japan at 110%. I trained a lot of Muay Thai for this
fight. I hope Kondo will trade strikes with me. I don't want
to put on a boring fight, I'm ready to fight hard for 20 minutes
straight if necessary. I want to steal the show in this PRIDE
GP!"
In
order to steal the show he will have to defeat Kondo who has
improved a lot the past couple of years.
Kondo
who has close to 70 professional fights under his belt hasn't
lost to somebody near his weight class in a couple of years.
His
last lost was to Heavyweight Josh Barnett who outweighed him
by close to 50 pounds. Kondo still fought very well in the fight.
Before Barnett his last loss was two years ago.
Yuki
Kondo vs Vanderlei Silva would be a competitive match for Silva
anyway, but add to the fact that Silva is coming off knee surgery,
not to mention Vanderlei himself says he may be coming back too
early, makes this fight even more interesting tonight in Japan.
Source: MMA Weekly |
ROSE
SAYS NOT TO BLAME AND SAYS HE IS INNOCENT
There seems to be two sides of the story about the IFC fiasco
in Sturgis over the weekend. The International Fighting Championships
said over the weekend that the reason why they cancelled their
show was due to Ron Rose, a professional poker player, who was
accused by the IFC that he stole computers, and ticket money
and left town, thus the IFC event was cancelled over the weekend.
According
to Rose that is simply not true as he hasn't fled anywhere and
has only been routinely questioned by the police and nothing
more about the incident.
Rose
told newspapers in South Dakota this weekend that poor ticket
sales, not any sort of monkey business was the reason the show
was cancelled.
Rose
said "The corporation has zero funds. Therefore, we've lost
everything," Rose said. He said Sturgis 2004 LLC would be
forced into bankruptcy.
All
in all a very different story from Rose and there seems even
more may come out of the story over the next few days.
Source: MMA Weekly |
MEDIA
MAKES PICKS ON GRAND PRIX
MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio put together a round table discussion
about this weekends PrideFC Heavyweight Grand Prix. The panel
consisted of some of those who follow the sport very closely,
MMA journalists. Loretta Hunt joined in from Full Contact Fighter
(FCFighter.com), Sherdog himself, Jeff Sherwood from Sherdog.com
and Mike Disanto from Insidefighting.com were all featured. Radio
show host and broadcaster Ryan Bennett and co-host/fighter Frank
Trigg made up the rest of the expert panel.
The
first fight to be discussed was Murilo Bustamante verses Kazuhiro
Nakamura. Disanto commented that the only reason this fight is
happening is so Pride can get another Japanese wrestler on the
card. Loretta doesn't think this match will get out of the first
round and Sherwood agreed but pointed out that Nakamura "has
heart." Frank Trigg said, "This is going to end early
but it's not going to be very technical so it's kinda boring
for me." Bennett made the predictions even across the board,
all for Murilo to win and win early.
The
reserve match for the heavyweight tournament will be between
Kevin Randleman and Ron Waterman. Jeff Sherwood went with Randleman.
He said he hasn't been impressed with Waterman and question the
durability of Ron's chin. Mike Disanto was firm in his opinion
that Waterman has no chance. "Waterman's not the better
wrestler. Waterman's not the stronger guy. He's not the faster
guy. I think the 'Monster's' going to crush him," predicted
Disanto. Mike added that Kevin's move back up to heavyweight
was, "exactly what he needed to do."
Loretta
Hunt reiterated what the two previously said. She picked Randleman
saying, "I'm confident he's going to win this one."
She went on to say that Kevin's speed will be too much for Ron
and that Randleman is the more skilled fighter with more weapons
in his arsenal. Frank Trigg had more of Disanto's view on this
fight. Frank said, "Waterman just can't hang with him. It's
just not possible." Ryan Bennett didn't break from popular
opinion and also picked Kevin Randleman to win. He did however
say that he thinks Waterman will give Randleman a much better
fight than people think.
One
of the most highly anticipated fights for the Japanese fans is
the Yuki Kondo and Wanderlei Silva bout. Loretta and Disanto
went with Silva, citing a size and overall skill advantage as
the reason. Sherwood was thinking this fight would be "real
close" but that Silva would pull out the victory.
Frank
Trigg had some interesting thoughts on this fight. He thinks
Silva is due to lose sometime soon. He also pointed out Wanderlei's
knee surgery possibly being a factor. "Yuki is a lot better
fighter than people give him credit for," stated Trigg.
He continued, "If anyone's going to upset Wanderlei Silva,
in the recent history, this is the guy I'd pick to upset him."
Having said all of that, Trigg picked Silva to win.
Mirko
"Cro Cop" Filipovic will be taking on Fedor's younger
brother, Aleksander Emelianenko. Everyone picked Mirko to win
the match but disagreed on if he is back to his old self after
the devastating knock out at the hands of Kevin Randleman in
the opening round of the Grand Prix.
Sherwood
and Loretta feel that Mirko is "back on track." Trigg
believes that "Cro Cop" is not only back but possibly
even a better fighter. Disanto and Bennett disagreed. Disanto
doesn't think he two fights since the knock out are enough for
Filipovic to not still be thinking of it in the back of his mind.
Bennett commented that Mirko's last two fights have been less
than stellar and although he picked Mirko to win, he said he
wouldn't be surprised if he lowest.
Finally
we get to the Grand Prix match ups. The first of the semi-final
bouts to be discussed was that of Sergei Kharitonov and Minotauro
Nogueira. Loretta is "not sold on Kharitonov" and went
with Nogueira. Frank Trigg said, "It's hard to pick against
Minotauro against anyone." Disanto agreed and commented,
"I just don't see any aspect of the game that he's better
than Nogueira at."
Jeff
Sherwood likes Sergei's chances but not enough to pick him to
win. "He's proved us wrong every fight so far that he's
fought," said Jeff. He added, "If there's a dark horse,
he's definitely the guy." His prediction for the fight was
that Nogueira would submit Kharitonov late in the match. Ryan
Bennett concurred and made it a unanimous decision that Nogueira
would be victorious.
After
breaking down five fights, the panel all agreed on the results.
The only disagreement, to this point, was whether or not Mirko
"Cro Cop" was mentally back after the knock out loss
to Randleman. That was all about to change.
The
other semi-final match up of the Heavyweight Grand Prix is between
Fedor Emelianenko and Naoya Ogawa. Frank Trigg has been saying
for several days the he thinks Ogawa will pull off the upset.
Trigg feels that Ogawa's background in Judo and competing at
the highest level of that particular style gives him a mental
edge. He also pointed out that if the fight goes to the score
cards, Ogawa could get the decision by the Japanese judges. You
would think that Trigg may have been alone in he prediction for
this fight but Mike Disanto also picked Ogawa beat Fedor.
Loretta
Hunt thinks that Emelianenko will just be too much for Naoya.
Sherwood was in agreement with Hunt that Fedor would win. Jeff
didn't even have to think about it, he predicted Fedor to beat
Ogawa with out hesitation.
The
panel's view on how the final of the Grand Prix would turn out
may surprise some people. Sherwood and Loretta both see Fedor
winning it all over Nogueira. They both said that Emelianenko
will have the easiest road through the Grand Prix.
Mike
Disanto and Frank Trigg had very different views on the finals.
In an odd coincidence, they both think that Ogawa will beat Fedor
in the semi-finals but take too much damage to participate in
the finals against Nogueira. They both also predicted that Kevin
Randleman would step in and lose, by Arm Bar even, to Minotauro
early in the fight.
Source: MMA Weekly |
IS
RANDLEMAN OVERLOOKING WATERMAN THIS WEEKEND?
by Ryan Bennett
Everybody on the planet picks Kevin Randleman to defeat Ron Waterman,
and why not... Randleman is on a HUGE roll right now. I talked
about this briefly on the radio on Friday, but let me go into
more detail 24 hours before the Grand Prix.
Even
in defeat against Fedor, Kevin Randleman shocked everyone by
picking up Fedor and throwing him on his head....literally.
But
the one thing people seem to forget is the fact their are really
TWO Kevin Randleman's when he fights. The Kevin Randleman that
KO'd Mirko Cro Cop and as formentioned, almost KO'd Fedor.
There
is also the passive Kevin Randleman that has looked bad at some
points of his career, I.E Sakuraba, where I know he was injured,
but that first round is still tough for the most enthused die
hard MMA fan to watch.
Here's
the interesting thing about this fight in my perspective. Kevin
Randleman is DUE for a let down in this fight.
He
trained like a mad man for Mirko Cro Cop Fedor and Quinton Jackson
in successive fights. After those three guys, is it possible
for him to be "up" and get excited to train and fight
Ron Waterman?
Not
to mention Randleman has now had time to deal with his father's
death. That reality is final, where before it happened so close
to the fight he could be somewhat distracted in Japan.
Here's
the things about Waterman. His size is unbelivable at 6'3 and
a solid 250 pounds. Mirko Cro Cop called Waterman "the strongest
fighter I have ever been in the ring with."
Yes
Randleman is the better wrestler, but Waterman is by far the
more powerful fighter on sure strength. Kevin Randleman will
not submit Ron Waterman in this fight. Waterman has the power
and strength to keep Randleman on his back in this fight as well.
Maybe not for the whole fight, but he can make Randleman squirm
at some point of this fight off his back.
Source: MMA Weekly |
ADCC's
Toronto Showdown
5 Men Secure ADCC North American TRIAL Selections!
2004 Toronto Showdown Grappling Open & Submission Wrestling
Pope John Paul II Secondary School
Saturday, August 14th, 2004
PIC:
Canada's Mark Bocek (camouflage) and New York's Jordan Damon
engaged in one of the event's most high skill matches - Bocek
went on to win, capturing his 2nd ADCC pre-Trials title.
'Toronto
and our sponsors here at SHOWDOWN have been great hosts' starts
ADCC spokesman Miguel Iturrate. 'The TORONTO SHOWDOWN competition
was well run, and the level in Canada has certainly been growing.
Five Canadians broke through for titles, and all of them will
be headed for Vernon, Canada for the North American TRIALS. The
road to ADCC 2005 has begun.'
CANADIAN
PRE-TRIALS CHAMPIONS:
65.99 KG: Rob 'SPIDER' DiCenso
66-76.99 KG: Mark Bocek
77-87.99 KG: Corey Macdonald
88-98.99 KG: Rob Vanderbrueken
99 KG +: Karim Byron
'The
level in Canada continues to rise, with the lower weight classes
really showing a lot of depth' explains the spokesperson. Head
judge Lubomir Guedjev, who attended the event, added 'the level
is higher than at many of the other pre trials we have had. Scandinavia,
which has a reputation for good grapplers, and Canada are very
close in talent - the sport seems to be growing'.
Up
next is the Vernon, Canada North American TRIALS. 'Vernon in
the fall is said to be beautiful. We think the level of the Trials
will be sky high, the deepest ever. In 2003, several of the TRIALS
winners broke thru big time at the World Championships, with
Eddie Bravo, David Terrell and Dean Lister each making history.
This year, the World Championships will be more difficult than
ever toi win - so the TRIALS winners will have certain advantages.
Having a competition under the rules, and a confirmed slot wil
lhlep in the long run.'
Source: ADCC |
Hawaiian
Pro Am Challenge Submission Grappling 2004 from the promoter
Saturday, August 28th, 2004 / 11:00 a.m. Saint Louis School Gymnasium
(Open to all competitors regardless of affiliation or style:
Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo, NHB, etc.)
FORMAT:
No Gi; Sport BJJ/ADCC Rules; Single Elimination; Rules &
Regulations on back.
WEIGH-IN:
All
Oahu Residents: Friday, August 27, 2004 / UH Athletic Complex
#4 / Noon-1 pm, 6-8 pm
Non-Oahu
Residents ONLY: August 28, 2004 / St. Louis School Gym / 8-10
a.m.
**
Due to the high volume of late weigh-ins, and resulting delays
on tourney scheduling and bracketing, all late weigh-ins after
specified times, regardless of professional or amateur standing,
will be assessed a late fee of $5 (no exceptions given). Organizers
of this event also reserve the right to reject any and all late
applicants.
PRO PRIZE MONEY:
Indiv.
Weight Classes $700/1st & $300/2nd;
Absolute Class Only $1,000/1st & $500/2nd.
**
Medals will be awarded to all 1st & 2nd place winners in
the amateur ranks.
ENTRANCE
FEES: Amateurs $40 / Professionals $80
**
Pay at weigh-in (applications will be available on-site)
CONTACTS:
Romolo Barros @ 392-8330/E-Mail @ barroshawaii@hotmail.com;
James Tanaka @ 223-9363
Source: Event Promoter |
RHADI
FERGUSON MEETS THE WORLD, AND THE WORLD MEETS RHADI AT OLYMPICS'
OPENING CEREMONIES
by: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
The
opening ceremonies of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece,
are now in the books. Here is some poignant commentary on them
by U.S. Olympic judoka Rhadi Ferguson.
Last
night was INCREDIBLE!!!! The Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics
has to be the most amazing sporting ever!! I was there on the
worlds' stage, with the worlds' best athletes, with the whole
world watching!! I really enjoyed myself. I had an opportunity
to take lots of pictures which I will probably share after the
judo competition ends on the 19th and I took lots of video footage.
Yao
Ming has to be the tallest individual that I have every seen
in my life!! He was literally heads and shoulders above everybody
else.
Most
disappointing moment.
Some
of the members of the Men's USA Basketball team refused to take
pictures with the other Olympians!! I will not mention any names
because I don't want to go there. I will just say their behavior
was not received well by a large contingency of the US athletes.
I was really surprised that they would act in such a way. We
are all the 'best' at what it is we do. We all practice hard
and long, sweat and bleed, and we all are here to compete for
the USA. That part of the evening really left a bad taste in
a lot of the athletes' mouths. I know for a fact there are some
jerseys that I will not spend my money on EVER!!!!
Hey,
I talked to Andy Roddick today - what a cool dude. He is really
down to earth and just a smooth cat. It was a pleasure to talk
with him and grab a couple of laughs. It was real refreshing
to rap with him after the behavior of the basketball players
the other night.
Well,
I gotta go. Just got a massage and got iced up. I'm going to
do my laundry and get something to eat.
Rhadi
Ferguson
2004 Olympian
Source: ADCC |
De
La Riva faces Yuki Nakai at September 19th
by: Luca Atalla with R.N.
'I’m still happy and I’m fighting well. When I am not
anymore, I will retire' explains on of Carlson Gracie’s
most famous pupils, Ricardo De La Riva. Now, at the age of 39,
he travel to Japan to face Yuki Nakai in a challenge match of
10 minutes under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rules. The match is scheduled
for September 19th, 2004.
The
‘Ground Impact’ challenge will be in Japan, where De
La Riva will probably arrive on September 17th. Will the different
time zone be another opponent? The guard playing virtuoso, is
very discreet. He doesn’t say controversial things, and
he has always demonstrated sharp control during his fights. His
main academy is in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but the
brand 'De La Riva' is all around Brazil, and in other countries
like USA, Canada, Spain and France.
Now
De La Riva introduces himself to Japanese Jiu-Jitsu fans: ‘I’m
a black-belt since 1986. My debut with a GI was in January of
1980, when I was fifteen. I’m proud of being a Carlson Gracie
pupil. Today, I’m a black-belt in the 5th degree. My best
fights were against Royler Gracie, around 1990. We fought 3 times
and I won twice. Royler is a great reference for me. My last
Jiu-Jitsu fight was agaist Fredson Paixão, in the Jiu-Jitsu
World Championship 2002 (De La Riva lost the fight). After that,
I got my left arm injured and I needed to stop for a while. Now,
I’m back, against Nakai. I hope that the fans of my old
Jiu-Jitsu pupil Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira will root
for me in Japan. After the challenge against Nakai, I intend
to do some seminars there. It will be great!’
Source: ADCC |
Quote
of the Day
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable
ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor."
Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862, American Essayist, Poet, Naturalist |
Kimo
Attends NSAC Hearing On Steroid Allegations:
Receives Six-Month Suspension
By Loretta Hunt
Much like the quiet and sometimes aloof fighter himself, Kimo
Leopoldo's hearing in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission
over steroid allegations came and went without a whisper this
past Wednesday. The UFC, WFA, and K-1 veteran was present at
the 8:30 am meeting to answer to charges that his June 28th urinalysis
test results came back positive for various drugs and/or stimulants.
According
to NSAC Senior Deputy Attorney General Michael Mersch, Leopoldo
admitted to voluntarily taking the anabolic steroid stanozolol
metabolite, as well as the stimulants phenylpropanolamine, ephedrine
and pseudoephedrine prior to his main event bout with Ken Shamrock
at June 19th's UFC 48. These substances are not approved for
use by the NSAC and Leopoldo acknowledged his awareness of this
at the hearing.
Kimo KO'd For 6-months!
In
explanation, Mersch says Leopoldo alleged that it was a knee
injury sustained in training that led him to taking the substances
approximately one to six weeks prior to his bout with Shamrock,
although Commissioner Dr. Phil Homansky was quick to point out
that these specific substances would not have aided the fighter
in his recovery. Mersch described Kimo's mood as "very contrite
and forthcoming" as the humbled heavyweight communicated
that the entire affair was not only embarrassing for him, but
also detrimental to his reputation as a professional athlete.
Upon
Leopoldo's apology to the five-member board, the fighter was
suspended from competition in Nevada for six months, making him
eligible to fight again on February 11, 2005. He was also assessed
a $5,000 fine. Says Mersch, "The prior imposition of fines
and/or suspensions regarding other MMA licensees, as well as
Fernando Vargas, was discussed to give the Commission some perspective
on how discipline on other licensees had been imposed."
In the past, NSAC disciplinary actions have been actively recognized
and upheld for their duration by other athletic commissions and
sanctioning bodies in the U.S.
Upon
completion of his sentence, Leopoldo will have to provide a clean
drug test to the NSAC prior to his license reinstatement. FCF
could not reach Leopoldo for comment.
Source: FCF
|
K-1
SALARIES RAISE EYEBROWS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS
by Ivan Trembow
Before we get into the analysis and commentary on these numbers
and an interview with Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive
Director Marc Ratner, let's take a look at the numbers themselves.
These are the dollar figures that K-1 submitted to the Nevada
State Athletic Commission for the K-1 USA event that took place
on August 7, 2004.
K-1:
Battle the Bellagio III Fighter Salaries
-Marvin
Eastman: $10,000
-Sergei
Gur: $9,100
-Chad
"Akebono" Rowan: $7,800
-Gary
Goodridge: $7,800
-Rony
Sefo: $7,800
-Brecht
Walis: $7,800
-Jorgen
Kruth: $7,800
-Jan
Nortje: $7,800
-Ray
Sefo: $6,550
-Alexander
Ustinov: $6,500
-Carter
Williams: $6,000
-Rick
Roufus: $6,000
-Dewey
Cooper: $6,000
-Mighty
Mo Siliga: $5,550
-Tommy
Glanville: $5,000
-Scott
Lighty: $2,000
-Frank
Cota, Jr: $2,000
-Rob
McCullough: $2,000
-Anthony
Brown: $1,800
-Brian
Warren: $1,500
-Raul
Romero: $1,500
-James
Martinez: $1,000
-Alex
Jucan: $1,000
Total
Fighter Payroll: $120,300
Comparative
Notes on Total Fighter Payroll:
UFC
46: $540,500 (average per fighter of $33,781)
UFC
47: $333,000 (average per fighter of $20,813)
UFC
48: $586,000 (average per fighter of $36,625)
K-1:
$120,300 (average per fighter of $5,230)
Comparative
Notes on Number of Fighters Making $10,000 or More MMAWeekly
UFC
46: 8 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more
UFC
47: 6 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more
UFC
48: 10 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more
K-1:
1 out of 16 fighters made $10,000 or more MMAWeekly
Commentary
and Analysis:
-You
may be asking yourself how it's possible that not a single one
of the fighters made more than $10,000 on a card promoted by
a company with deep pockets like K-1. While there's no doubt
that K-1 doesn't spend as much money on its American shows as
it does on its Japanese shows, the company as a whole has the
deepest pockets of any MMA/kickboxing organization in the world.
K-1 as a company has more money to throw around and is more notorious
for throwing such money around than its Japanese competitor Dream
Stage Entertainment (which runs Pride), and is in a different
league financially than the UFC.
-While
exact figures are not known, by all accounts K-1's top fighters
make six-figures per fight in Japan or at least high five-figures.
Even if one makes the assumption that American fighters make
a lot less money on K-1 USA shows since the shows don't generate
a large amount of revenue, it would be naive to think that K-1's
top fighters in the Japanese market are not well taken care of,
especially considering the bidding wars that frequently take
place between K-1 and Pride.
-K-1
is not legally required to disclose to the Nevada State Athletic
Commission the complete financial structure of any given fighter's
contract, and we'll get into why that's the case later in this
article. It would certainly seem that K-1 is using its legal
right to not disclose the complete salaries, because it would
be hard to look at the salaries listed above and believe that
K-1 is paying 20+ fighters a grand total of $120,300. That would
be a very difficult to believe assertion in general, but let's
look at three cases that would be particularly hard to believe.
1.
Ray Sefo has been a huge star in K-1 for years, and this year
has been groomed to become one of K-1's very top stars by being
fed a burnt-out Bob Sapp in a match in Japan, which Sefo predictably
won by TKO. He is listed as making $6,550 on this show. Okay,
maybe Sefo just loves to fight and is willing to travel to America
and do it for next-to-nothing. That argument can be made, but
it's a lot harder to explain the cases of Gary Goodridge and
Chad "Akebono" Rowan.
2.
Gary Goodridge is one of many fighters who have been snatched
away from the competing company in the ongoing war between K-1
and Pride in Japan. Goodridge had a contract with Pride that
paid him high five-figures or low six-figures, and he was signed
away by K-1 with the promise of more money. He is listed as making
$7,800 on this show.
3.
Chad "Akebono" Rowan, despite never having won a K-1
fight, is one of K-1's mega-stars in Japan, having drawn several
of K-1's top ratings of all time. He makes well into the six-figure
range per fight, and yet he is listed as making $7,800 on this
show. To put that number in perspective, eleven of the sixteen
fighters who were on the UFC 48 card made more than that... and
the UFC has a small fraction of the money to work with that K-1
has.
Digging
deeper only reveals more questionable numbers. Let's take a look
very specifically at some of K-1's top stars in Japan and how
much money they supposedly made for various fights in America
over the course of the past three years.
-Perennial
Grand Prix players Peter Aerts and Stefan Leko supposedly made
$750 each for a K-1 USA show on August 11, 2001.
-Multi-time
World Grand Prix Champion Ernesto Hoost was listed as making
$100 at K-1 USA's show on August 17, 2002. On the same show,
Stefan Leko and Mike Bernardo were also listed as making $100,
while Gary Goodridge supposedly made $1,100. Additionally, all
eight fighters in that night's tournament were listed as making
between $100 and $500.
-Former
World Grand Prix Champion Mark Hunt supposedly made $50 for his
K-1 USA fight on May 2, 2003. Gary Goodridge and Stefan Leko
also allegedly made $50 that night.
-Bob
Sapp was listed as making $5,000 for his April 30, 2004 fight
against Tommy Glanville in Las Vegas. When you consider that
Sapp was one of the K-1's biggest stars of all time, and very
likely K-1's highest-paid fighter of all time, it seems ridiculous
to suggest that he would be fighting for $5,000 under any circumstances.
-If
you think Bob Sapp fighting for $5,000 is questionable, consider
this: For his K-1 fight against Kimo on August 15, 2003, Sapp
supposedly made $50. One of the biggest stars in K-1's history...
signing a bout agreement that pays him fifty bucks.
-How
would it be legal for K-1 to not report the full amount that
the fighters are making, you ask? Well, as a foreign company
with foreign contracts that are not bound by US law, K-1 is fully
entitled to have "promotional contracts" wherein a
particular fighter might make X amount of dollars per year and
X amount of dollars per fight on top of that.
These
promotional contracts are not public record in Japan and are
completely outside the jurisdiction of the Nevada State Athletic
Commission and all other branches of US government. Therefore,
there is no way to know how much K-1 fighters are making on their
promotional contracts, or if K-1 is reporting these figures to
the appropriate branches of government in Japan. In no way does
MMAWeekly have evidence of K-1 doing anything illegal in this
situation; all we seek to do is report on the numbers that K-1
has filed with the athletic commission over the years and then
raise the obvious questions that those numbers bring up. K-1
has not responded to MMAWeekly's requests for comment as of press
time.
If
one assumes that K-1 has promotional contracts with fighters
in Japan that pay the fighters a base salary and an additional
amount for any given fight, it would still be hard to believe
that Akebono's amount for any single fight would be $7,800; or
that Peter Aerts' amount for any single fight would be $750,
or that Ernesto Hoost's amount for any single fight would be
$100, or that Bob Sapp's amount for any single fight would be
$50.
After
taking all of the above into consideration, one also has to consider
that K-1's former CEO Kazuyoshi Ishii was convicted of massive
tax fraud in Japan earlier this year and was sentenced to 22
months of prison time. According to court records and numerous
Japanese newspapers, the court found that Ishii and at least
two other K-1 employees concealed millions of dollars of income
over several years and thus avoided paying millions of dollars
in taxes. While K-1's business practices in Japan do not necessarily
have any bearing on any of the company's US operations, Ishii's
conviction means at the very least that one cannot simply give
K-1 the benefit of the doubt in any legal matter without looking
at the matter from every possible angle.
-For
more details on the legalities of this situation, and the specific
role that the Nevada State Athletic Commission is able to play
in the process of K-1 fighters getting paid when they fight in
America, we turn now to the Executive Director of the Nevada
State Athletic Commission, Marc Ratner. After an initial exchange
of e-mails in which I explained what my concerns were, I spoke
to Mr. Ratner via telephone and here is how the conversation
went.
Ivan
Trembow: I appreciate you taking the time to comment on this...
Marc
Ratner: ...Well, what you're asking me, we have these contracts
and they say they're fighting for a thousand dollars or whatever
that number might be. And there are other contracts, promotional
contracts in foreign countries, which is legal. Our fidiciary
duty at the athletic commission is to make sure that the fighter
gets paid what's on the contract that they signed in Nevada,
the bout agreement.
Trembow:
So provided that K-1 reports the salaries in Japan or whatever
country they're paying any given fighter, it would be perfectly
legal for any given fighter to be paid additional money in Japan,
or with money coming from Japan?
Ratner:
Yes, it would be legal because a fighter might have a promotional
deal that pays them a certain amount per year, and then whenever
they fight they get an additional amount. But the purse that
they get in the state of Nevada is what I go on. The contract
they sign with the Bellagio... my legal duty, my fidiciary duty
is to make sure that they have a check for that amount.
Trembow:
So anything else in addition to that would be beyond the jurisdiction
of the Nevada State Athletic Commission?
Ratner:
Yes, that's correct.
Trembow:
And it would be beyond the jurisdiction of the Attorney General's
Office or anything else in American government as well?
Ratner:
Right, that's correct, because what we're going by is the bout
agreements. And I mean, certain fighters in boxing, they have
promotionals where they get a certain amount, and then they make
a certain amount for fighting, and they might get paid an amount
by a promoter in England or wherever it may be. All we want to
make sure is that we have the money for what they get paid as
far as the contracts that they sign, the bout agreements signed
in the state of Nevada. The tax liability is upon the fighter
when they get paid and has nothing to do with the state. All
the fighter will get here from the Bellagio is a 1099 [tax form
that they can fill out] for whatever amount they earn here in
Nevada.
Trembow:
One big factor that raised a red flag in my mind in the first
place is the fact that the former CEO of K-1 in Japan was convicted
and sentenced to jail time for tax evasion...
Ratner:
...Right, but I understand that he may have been here, so he's
not gone yet.
Trembow:
Yeah, he had a suspended sentence as of a few months ago. I'm
not sure if it's still suspended or if...
Ratner:
...That's K-1 Japan, and this is an important legal distinction.
K-1 Japan is completely separate from K-1 America even though
these guys, they're completely separate corporation-wise, I'll
say that. And when K-1 fights here in America, the sole promoter
is the Bellagio (Hotel & Casino), which has a very important
gaming license. And they are aware of Mister Ishii's problems
in Japan, and that's why they have an arms-length agreement to
do business with K-1 America, because they couldn't do business
with a felon in a foreign country. The gaming company wouldn't
be able to. So we as the athletic commission, through our lawyer
who is also with the gaming commission, made sure that the Bellagio/Mirage/MGM
corporate lawyer was aware of everything that's going on in Japan
with Mister Ishii, and they are.
Part
Two of MMAWeekly's interview with Marc Ratner on a variety of
topics (some related to K-1, some not) will be published soon.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Interview:
"The Fight Professor" Stephen Quadros
by Marco Antico
MA: This is Marco Antico reporting on behalf of MMAFighting.com.
I’m here with Stephen Quadros, “The Fight Professor”,
actor, musician, fight broadcaster….am I missing anything?
SQ:
Umm, alpha male?….no just kidding. Actually, you know what?
I really like MMAFighting.com. The webbie is a very honorable
guy and they’ve got a lot of really, really good people
on that site that are working towards a good image for the sport
of MMA. So I’m glad you called Marco.
MA:
Thank you and I agree 100%. I’m here with Stephen Quadros
who I personally think of as the Kurt Cobain of MMA. Any idea
why I say that Stephen?
SQ:
Hopefully we’re not talking about Remington 870s?
MA:
(laughing) No, no nothing like that
SQ:
Well, Kurt Cobain was somewhat of a prophet. He had his own creative
genius. Not to say that I’m like that (chuckles). Actually,
Marco why don’t you tell me what you mean?
MA:
What I mean is that while Kurt was part of Nirvana everyone respected
him and enjoyed his work much like yourself when you were with
PRIDE. When Kurt Cobain left us, much like when you parted ways
with PRIDE there was this tremendous outcry from his fans. I
see the name Quadros come up on the MMA chat forums almost every
day, certainly every week. Fans are constantly wondering what
you’re up to now. They all wish you were back doing what
they loved watching you do. You’ve almost become legend.
In fact, I think there’s a solid argument that you are indeed
the most adored MMA figure in the world right now. That may sound
crazy, but honestly I don’t hear fighters talked about as
much as I hear your name come up. And always a positive light
too. What do you have to say to that?
SQ:
I am momentarily speechless Marco. I will get it together I promise.
I am deeply in gratitude to that statement. It’s articulate
and intelligent. I am very much indebted to the people who have
that point of consciousness. What I strive to do is make the
world a better place and the fight game tends to be my pallet
in which to paint. If people show appreciation for the work that
I do it really strikes me deeply inside. It’s almost a feeling
of completion. I work extremely hard at what I do. Actually,
Quinton Jackson just told me the other day “of all the announcers
I’ve ever heard you have the most passion in your voice”.
To hear that my impact is as relevant as it was 5 or 10 years
ago is good because honestly I feel as though I’m just beginning.
MA:
Really? You feel as though your career is just beginning?
SQ:
Yes indeed. There are a lot of things that I’m going to
be offering in the near and distant future to the sport of MMA.
I often think of my idols, Howard Cossell and Chick Hearn and
the far reaching impact they had in their respective sports.
I’ve met most of the champions in MMA, obviously all the
guys in PRIDE including Bas Rutten who is a dear friend of mine.
There seems to be this respect among fighters. For some reason,
I’m not really sure why this is, the fighters looked at
me differently than most reporters or broadcasters. I think they
knew how much I loved the sport and that I was there to help
them. Just look at Marv Albert and how much he is associated
with and how much he loves the NBA. When Marv isn’t at the
NBA finals people are saying to themselves “wait a second,
something’s missing here”. Marco, when you say that
I have that same kind of impact in relation to MMA I am flattered
and beside myself. That makes me feel really good to hear that.
Thank you so much.
MA:
No worries, no need to thank me. I think there are few people
that would contest my earlier statement. So with that said please
share with us the new and exciting work you’ve got coming
up in a few weeks time.
SQ:
I am getting ready to go to Montreal, Canada! I’ve always
wanted to go there. Back in 2000 I was in Toronto as an advisor
for a movie called Exit Wounds (Warner Bros.), starring my buddy
DMX. While I was there I got to know a couple of guys by the
name of Danny Yen and Joe Ferraro (the duo behind Showdown Fight
Gear). They took me all over Toronto and I loved it. But all
the guys I met told me “dude, you’ve got to go to Montreal”.
Fortunately now through the efforts of Alex Caporicci and Joe
Ferraro (both now VP’s with APEX) we’ve come to an
agreement that will bring me there. I’ll be the host and
play by play guy for APEX Championship Fighting in their debut
event called APEX Genesis. It’s going to be on Sunday, September
5th and it’s gonna rock! I’m reeeaaaly excited about
this.
MA:
That’s Labour Day Weekend.
SQ:
Exactly. There’s going to be lots of people there on vacation.
Everyone will have the next day off so they can let loose and
party with us on fight night. It’s going to be something
else.
MA:
Do you know who are going to be in the broadcast booth with you?
SQ:
(laughing)…ok I’ll break the news. First off we’ll
have the Showdown man himself Mr. Joe Ferraro.
MA:
Formerly of TKO and with lots of commentating experience.
SQ:
Yes, and along side me and Joe will be Mr. Frank Trigg. I’ve
known Frank for a little while. I commentated on his early PRIDE
fight against Fabiano Iha and I thought to myself this guy’s
pretty cool. I’ve since seen since him fight in the WFA
and UFC. He’s got a certain spark. I know and respect his
trainer Rico Chiaparelli, who also comes from a wrestling background.
But, both Ricco and Frank understand the entire world of MMA.
I first met Frank in person at a pro wrestling show put on by
Antonio Inoki. I was there hanging out with some people I knew
and all of a sudden Trigg, whom I’ve never met before in
person, comes screaming up to me “Hey Quadros! When are
you going to put me in a movie?” We started talking and
I thought he was awesome. He was hysterical and I really liked
him. So we stayed in touch and when this APEX deal came along
I immediately thought of him. Alex Caporicci (VP of Operations
at APEX) told me it was my decision to make.
MA:
So you pretty much hand picked Frank Trigg?
SQ:
Yes, I thought this would be a fun situation, and it should be.
Professional fighting has got to be entertainment.
MA:
For all those internet fans out there that cannot make the trek
to Montreal this should make the APEX Genesis DVD all the more
attractive. Quadros, Trigg and Ferraro gives APEX a commentating
team second to none. I can’t wait to hear you guys together.
SQ:
Why thank you.
MA:
Definitely. Okay, let’s talk about this fight card!
Stephen Quadros breaks down the APEX Genesis fight card.
APEX
Genesis – Septemeber 5th
Super
Lightweight Single Bout
Ivan Menjivar (Tristar Gym) vs. Ryan Ackerman (Grappling Works)
SQ:
There was a time where a man named Bruce Lee walked the Earth.
He weighed 145lbs. On the movie set of Enter the Dragon the director
said to him “I’m sorry but you are going to have to
slow down your techniques because the camera cannot capture that
kind of speed”. There’s a certain thing that these
lighter guys bring that no other weight class can. They rely
more on speed, dexterity and strategy. Ivan and Ryan are both
top dogs in the featherweight division. Don’t blink because
there isn’t going to be anyone asking these guys to slow
things down.
Middleweight
Single Bout
Dennis Hallman (Victory Athletics) vs. Tony Fryklund (Miletich
Fighting Systems)
SQ:
This is such a great match! You can really tell Tony Fryklund
likes to fight. He’s got a “freak”ish guillotine
choke. The only fight of his to go to decision was against Matt
Lindland. Coming from team Miletich you know he’s well rounded.
But Dennis Hallman is one of the most gifted submission guys.
On his back he’s a smaller version of Antonio Rodgrigo Nogueira.
I would imagine that Fryklund is going to have to be ready to
fight like Fedor Emelianenko did against Nogueira. Then again
part of the beauty of this sport of MMA is that Dennis may surprise
Tony and stand with him. Fighters cannot always fight the same
style of fight. I personally think the winner of this fight will
be decided upon how much each guy has progressed beyond what
is expected of them by his opponent.
Welterweight
Single Bout
Steve Berger (Rodrigo Vaghi Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Keith Wisniewski (Duneland
Vale Tudo)
SQ:
Oh man, I love this match. It’s going to be like Arturo
Gatti versus Micky Ward. It’s going to be the same kind
of approach because both guys know they’re one step away
from the big show. You better wait to get your lemonade or popcorn.
Be sure not to miss the walk outs, the stare down and every moment
of this fight.
Lightweight
Single Bout
Gerald Strebendt (10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Santino Defranco
(Nuclear Jiu-Jitsu)
SQ:
Gerald is trained by Eddie Bravo, one of the best jiu-jitsu guys
in North America. Gerald has the nickname “The Finishing
Machine”. Santino comes with his own style of jiu-jitsu.
This could be one of those Carlos Newton versus Kazushi Sakuraba
type grappling matches, kind of like dueling octopuses. Then
again they may surprise the other guy and try and knock their
head off. There’s mystery in fights like this where they
have no common opponents yet seem to have a common style. That
said, I’m betting it ends in submission.
Light
Heavyweight Single Bout
Tim McKenzie (Cesar Gracie) vs. Antony Rea (Team Lebanner)
SQ:
Antony comes from Team Lebanner, as in K-1 kickboxing legend
Jerome Lebanner. Tim is a real aggressive ground and pound type
guy. Although a lot of people don’t know of Tim and Antony
I think this is one of the fights that fans will walk out of
the stadium talking about. These guys are going to give the fans
in Montreal a great show.
Welterweight
Single Bout
Ryan Schultz (Team Quest) vs. Randy Spence (Cesar Gracie)
MA:
This match is going to be a star maker. Ryan likes to bang. Coming
from a camp of wrestlers that are the level that the guys in
Team Quest are (Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, it’s going
to be tough to take him down. So this fight may end up looking
like War of the Worlds standing because ANY guy out of Cesar
Gracie’s camp is going to be really tough.
MA:
Also on the card we’ve got the following matchups;
Middleweight
Single Bout
Fritz Paul (Charles Nestor) vs. Stéphan Potvin (Club de
Boxe 454)
Welterweight
Single Bout
Steve Legault (Club de Boxe 454) vs. Brad Blackburn (Victory
Athletics)
Single
Bout
John Hackleman Jr. (Pitfight Team) vs. Marcus Celestin
Lightweight
Single Bout
JF Bolduc (Exarhakos) vs. Dustin Severs
MA:
This card is solid from top to bottom. There are several UFC
veterans on this card that are sure-things when it comes to entertaining
the fans. We’ve got a few guys that could be in the big
show in perhaps their next fight. And there are numerous guys
on this card that people will look back on a few years from now
and say “wow, that guy was in the first APEX card!”
SQ:
I agree. All the fighters will be saying to themselves “we’ve
got several UFC veterans on this card. We’ve got Quadros,
Trigg and Ferraro involved. The world will be watching this fight.
It’s my opportunity to step up and show them what I’m
made of”.
MA:
You know what? Talking to you about these fights…damn. I
wish it was September 5th today and I could get in my car and
start driving to Montreal.
SQ:
You said it. When we break down these fights like this I think
to myself “when’s that plane leaving again?” I
want to call up Ferraro and Trigg right now and say “man,
I just off the phone with Marco and these fights are going to
rock!”
MA:
Sure, and they’ll respond “who the hell’s Marco”?
…(both of us laughing)…I’m still taking baby steps
in building up my reputation in the industry. It’s all good.
Allow me to remind all those internet fans that cannot make the
trip to Montreal to keep their ears open for the APEX Genesis
DVD which should be available in the fall. Okay Stephen, now
it’s time to answer some of the fans questions.
MA: Okay Stephen, now it’s time to answer some of the fans
questions.
SQ:
Go for it.
Tony
Montana from mmafighting asks: If you could have a 15 minute
conversation with any historical figure who would it be?
SQ:
(without a moments hesitation) Jesus Christ! Not to say it wouldn’t
be Buddha, Mohammed or Ronald Reagan….
MA:
…..Ronald Reagan? (laughing)
SQ:
I would want to look into Jesus’ eyes and say “bro,
explain it to me man. Give me the answers.”
MA:
Bruce Lee from mmafighting asks: What do you think of the Dan
Henderson and Chris Leben situation with PRIDE and their last
minute cancellations?
SQ:
Well, I know Dan very well. I’ve never met Chris. I honestly
don’t have enough information on the situation to offer
an opinion.
MA:
Zigga Zagga from sherdog asks: Do you feel as if you’ve
progressed in your commentating abilities? And if so is it because
of experience, a mentor, or something else?
SQ:
I have absolutely progressed. Regardless of whether you flip
burgers at McDonalds, trade stocks or commentate on fights I
think it’s essential that you progress until the day you
stop doing what you do. I have had mentors. Howard Cossell immediately
comes to mind. But I also get influenced by lots of people that
aren’t commentators. For example, I remember listening to
Sydney Potier at the Academy Awards accepting his lifetime achievement
award. He gave this speech which absolutely nailed me to the
wall. It was his voice and his presence. I think you also need
to be unique at what you do and not just try and imitate one
person or one way of doing something.
MA:
Dhk1980 from mmafighting asks: The Legend of Rickson, true or
false?
SQ:
All I can say for certain is that Rickson Gracie is one of the
most influential figures in jiu-jitsu and in MMA. Rickson is
the family champion acknowledged pretty much by all people with
the last name Gracie. I watched Rickson fight Masakatsu Funaki
and I’ve read many interviews with him. I have a great deal
of respect for him. I don’t put him on a pedestal just like
I don’t put Randy Couture, Wanderlei Silva or Fedor Emelianenko
on a pedestal. But, I respect their accomplishments. Some fans
like to talk about this fighter versus that fighter, or in terms
of the greatest ever. I don’t like to get into that. All
I can say is that Rickson was an incredible influence on the
sport we all love.
MA:
Classy response.
SQ:
Thanks.
MA:
Thinknick from mmafighting asks: What up and coming fighters
do you believe the fans should watch out for?
SQ:
Without trying to sound shameless my initial response would be
watch out for much of the fighters on the APEX Genesis card.
MA:
Alex Caporicci and the rest of the guys at APEX are going to
love that response.
SQ:
Besides that the first guy that pops into my mind is Joe Riggs.
Lee Murray also comes to mind. Alexander Emelianenko is also
going to be a real problem for opponents. The skills he possesses,
the guy’s he trains with and his size advantage are going
to prove very difficult to deal with.
MA:
So Alex is going to beat Mirko then?
SQ:
Well I didn’t say that (chuckles). That’s going to
be a great match. What I am sure of is that this fight is going
to go to the ground at some point. When it does Mirko’s
going to really have his hands full.
MA:
Dr. Octagon from sherdog asks: Do you have a favorite fight of
all time?
SQ:
Tough question to answer. There are fights that have a different
effect on me then they do on the audience. Take Kazushi Sakuraba
versus Royce Gracie as an example. There was so much background
to that fight. Heath Herring versus Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
was a pretty damn exciting fight. I was screaming throughout
that one. Nogueira versus Fedor Emelianenko was the truest Heavyweight
Championship the sport has ever seen.
MA:
To me that was as significant a fight as Ali versus Foreman.
SQ:
Funny you say that because I had people come up to me after the
fight and say I made it sound like it was Ali versus Foreman
in there. But to me it was! Actually, now that I’m thinking
about it I think I would have to choose, from a significance
standpoint, my favorite fight was Fedor vs. Nogueira.
MA:
manji from sherdog asks: What kind of acting projects do you
have on your plate?
SQ:
The most recent thing I did was all the fight choreography on
the first independent film ever financed by 20th Century Fox
called PitFighter. We just wrapped up doing behind the scene
interviews at Universal Studios this past Saturday. It will be
screening on opening night during the Toronto International Film
Festival, although it’s not part of the film festival. Pitfighter
stars Dominiquie Vandenberg, who was the fight choreographer
from Gangs of New York. It also stars Stephen Graham from Snatch.
Steven Bauer from one my favorite movies ever, Scarface, also
stars in the movie. I’ve also got 2 movies in development
that, being where I come from you, know they’re going to
be gritty and have some elements of the fight game. I want to
take the genre of fight films to a whole new level that will
concentrate not only on the fight scenes but also on the acting
and plot development. Also, I just got a call back today on a
feature film in which I’m up for a bad guy role like no
other bad guy I’ve ever played before.
MA:
Cbear from mmafighting asks: Any cool music gigs coming up?
SQ:
Yes I do. My band, The Deadagains, just had our debut gig last
Monday at a club galled The Gig in Hollywood, California. We
outdrew the headliners. Our next gig is on September 9th at 14
Below in Santa Monica.
MA:
Anyone recognize you from your MMA career?
SQ:
Actually the drummer from the other band trained with an instructor
I know. He kept looking at me and finally came up to me and said
“hey, you’re Stephen Quadros”.
MA:
User Name 3812 from sherdog asks: Did you catch the comment Joe
Rogan made about you at UFC 48? He said something to the effect
“except for Stephen Quadros, he loves me”. Do you know
where that came from? Was there sarcasm in that statement? Can
you shed some light?
SQ:
I was actually in a room full of people when I was watching it
so we all missed it. Someone then sent me an email telling me
about it. I was like wow, cool, free publicity.
MA:
o Y o from sherdog asks: Have you been watching the PRIDE GP?
If so, is there anything you would have done differently?
SQ:
I have not watched the English language broadcast of PRIDE since
I left the organization. I do keep in touch with my contacts
there and from what I understand everything is going well. I
have a lot of respect for everyone involved. I coined the term
“the premier mma organization in the world” and I think
that still holds true.
MA:
Do you think that you’ve left big shoes to fill over there?
To me it seems like the PRIDE English broadcast team will always
loom under the tall shadow of Quadros now.
SQ:
I heard stories about the guy they originally replaced me with
but I never actually watched him. Therefore, I have no critique
of him. I hear that Mauro is doing a really good job. Right now
I just need to take a little hiatus from it. Eventually I will
go back to watching it. It was very close to my heart and I just
feel I need some time away.
MA:
Alright, those are all the questions I have for you. Thanks for
your time Stephen. Please continue to keep us up to date with
all the things you’ve got going on in your career. I will
personally look forward to tracking you down in Montreal for
a drink so we can shoot the breeze about this awesome APEX event.
SQ:
Sounds great. I’ll definitely talk to you then. Cheers to
mmafighting.com. To all the MMA fans out there, please be on
the lookout for the APEX Genesis DVD to be coming out in the
fall.
APEX
CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTING
Tickets
for the most star studded event in Canadian history are available
via the Admission Network across Canada and the United States.
Admission can be contacted via there website at www.admission.com
or by telephone at (514) 790-1245 or toll-free at (800) 361-4595
in Canada or (800) 678-5440 in the United States.
Contact
“The Fight Professor” Stephen Quadros on the world
wide web at:
http://StephenQuadros.com
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WHERE
WILL RICCO FIGHT NEXT?
Ricco Rodriguez Status Update: No UFC Anytime in Near Future
by
Ivan Trembow
Ricco
Rodriguez is not currently scheduled to fight on any upcoming
UFC card. Despite false rumors to the contrary, Rodriguez has
not been signed and is not scheduled to fight on UFC 50, UFC
51, or any other upcoming UFC card. When reached for comment,
UFC President Dana White confirmed this news without offering
further comment.
Rodriguez
last fought in November 2003, losing a unanimous decision to
Pedro Rizzo. On a related note, it is believed that Ricco might
have a hard time reaching an agreement with Dream Stage Entertainment
because he was very upset and disrespectful backstage after his
controversial decision loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride
last summer (which was confirmed from a video that circulated
online clearly showed) which would also not help his chances
of being offered a contract by Pride in the future.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WHO
CAN BEAT FEDOR IN PRIDE GRAND PRIX?
Pride Final Conflict Profile: Fedor Emelianenko
If
there is one name that embodies dominance more than Fedor Emelianenko
then few have ever heard it. Because as things stand in this
modern era of MMA, the Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor is, without
a doubt, the most dominant force in his weight class in the world.
He
is the consensus number one ranked heavyweight in the world on
most MMA polls and many have him as the odds on favorite to win
this year’s Heavyweight Grand Prix.
With
the successful run of Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva in
last year’s Middleweight Grand Prix, it is easy to understand
why Fedor would choose to enter this tournament when he has nothing
to prove to anyone other than to solidify his dominance of the
heavyweight division. Standing 6’ tall, weighing in at 233
pounds and having an impressive 16-1 record, it’s undeniable
that he has the talent to run the gauntlet.
Fedor,
a product of the famed Red Devil Sportsclub in Russia, burst
onto the scene fighting for the RINGS organization in their
international competitions. After dispatching his first three
opponents (including current Pride middleweight Ricardo Arona),
Fedor ran into MMA veteran Tsuyoshi Kosaka in the annual RINGS
King of Kings tournament and was stopped due to a cut early in
the fight.
Since
that minor setback, Fedor has not looked back on his current
quest of dominance. After finishing out the year 2001 going undefeated
in all six of his fights, Fedor was invited to Pride to prove
himself against his toughest competition yet.
First
up was veteran Pancrase and Pride monolith Semmy Schilt at Pride
21. After three full rounds of dominating on the ground, Fedor
was awarded a unanimous decision victory. Next up was another
Golden Glory member, Heath Herring, and just as in his fight
against Schilt, it was all Fedor. Dominating top position as
always, he opened up a series of gashes on the “Texas Crazy
Horse” and, after the first round, it was
determined that, due to the cuts on Herring’s face, he could
no longer continue. Fedor was now standing tall with an 11-1
record.
Then
came the news that everyone had begun to buzz about, Fedor would
face Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Pride Heavyweight Championship.
It seemed inevitable since Fedor came to Pride that the two should
meet. Nogueira had dominated the heavyweight division recently
and it was Fedor who was the rising star.
In
classic Fedor fashion, he dominated the entire fight. Try as
he would, Nogueira could not escape the Russian monster’s
grasp, let alone breathe without getting a mouthful of the powerful
Fedor’s fists. After all was said and done Pride had crowned
a new Heavyweight Champion.
Fedor
didn’t stop there, after returning to RINGS for one more
fight, the champion returned victorious as he dismantled Kazuyuki
Fujita and Gary Goodridge at Pride 26 and Total Elimination 2003.
Then a series of events lead to Fedor not appearing in a Pride
ring until the upcoming Grand Prix.
It
had appeared as if Fedor would be on a collision course with
rising star Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, but a finger
injury kept Fedor from defending his title at Pride’s Final
Conflict 2003 show. In his place, the man whom he had defeated
for the title, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was penciled in to face
Filipovic for the interim Heavyweight Championship. After pulling
off what most consider an upset, Nogueira submitted Mirko and
set up what many thought would be a unification rematch with
Fedor in 2004. But then management issues created havoc preventing
Fedor from returning to Pride to defend his title.
It
seemed that after having switched management teams, Fedor claimed
his Pride contract was with his former management group rather
than with him. This caused all sorts of problems logistically
with Pride and got worse when it was announced that Fedor would
be competing for Antonio Inoki at the annual Bom-Ba-Ye instead
of for Pride at their
Shockwave 2003 show. Pride considered serious legal action over
the issue before finally allowing Fedor to compete for Inoki
after realizing it wouldn’t be good face for them to possibly
alienate their champion and have him bolt ala the UFC.
After
months of negotiation and posturing, the deal was finally signed.
Fedor would compete in the Open Weight Grand Prix and headline
the event’s opening round card at Total Elimination 2004
by facing Grand Prix 2000 Champion Mark “The Hammer”
Coleman. For the second straight year a champion would take the
ultimate test and, rather than sit back
and wait for the outcome of the tournament, he would enter it
himself to prove once and for all he is the best in his weight
class.
At
Total Elimination 2004 the battle of the ground ‘n pound
kings took place. The old master Coleman and the new model Emelianko
matched up in what was a short, but very entertaining bout full
of twists and turns. Surprisingly to some, it was Coleman, not
Fedor who comanded much of the early action, taking the giant
Russian to the ground as the
two eventually ended up in the corner with Fedor’s back
to Coleman.
Next
up was Coleman’s prize pupil, Kevin Randleman at Critical
Countdown 2004 in June. Much akin to the fight with Coleman,
this one went to the ground quickly where interestingly enough,
it was Randleman, flying high off his victory over Mirko Filipovic
at Total Elimination 2004, who asserted himself first, lifting
the larger Fedor up in the air and slamming him on the back of
his head. To say anyone who saw that slam didn’t cringe
thinking that Randleman had just broken
Fedor’s neck is an understatement. But alas the power of
the Pride Heavyweight Champion remained unfettered as just a
few seconds later Fedor got superior positioning on Randleman
and submitted his second Hammer House fighter in the tournament,
finishing off Randleman with a Kimura. Thus setting the stage
for Final Conflict 2004.
In
the semi-finals Fedor is scheduled to face former Olympic Silver
Medal winner Naoya Ogawa. A Judo specialist, Ogawa has found
his way into this match by defeating less than adequate talent
in the eyes of many in his wins over Stefan Leko and Giant Silva.
So it appears as if Fedor’s path to the finals is a clear
one if he can get past the road bump that is Ogawa.
To
defeat Ogawa, Fedor has to use his superior size and power to
out muscle the Japanese star and get him to the ground so he
can pound on him. Ogawa’s only hope if the fight goes to
the ground is a submission, but as Fedor showed against Nogueira,
it’s one thing to be able to grab a limb of Fedor, but it’s
another thing to be able to hold onto it without him ripping
it out of your hands as if you were a child.
A
win would propel Fedor into the finals, the place everyone expects
him to be, where the challenge will either be Nogueira or Sergei
Kharitonov for the Grand Prix Championship. Against either of
them the course is again simple and to the point, out-power,
out-maneuver, and dominate.
To
his favor, it is highly likely that the winner of Nogueira and
Kharitonov will not enter the final in top form. Both are tenacious
fighters that possess good all around skills. They will most
likely
have a fairly drawn out battle that will leave the winner in
less than stellar condition, all the better for Fedor.
Fedor’s
title will not be on the line in any of the fights remaining
in the tournament. Win or lose, it is up to Fedor to do as he
is expected to do. If he does just that, he’ll be adding
another belt to his collection and put a stranglehold on the
top spot of the heavyweight rankings for a long time to come.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Evangelista
Cyborg
By Eduardo Ferreira
Cyborg:
The Chute Boxe's face
Admired
and respected inside and outside of the rings, Evangelista Cyborg
always showed a lot of aggressiveness inside the ropes. Cyborg
was revealed at Budokan, then became a Brazil Dojo member and
nowadays, trains at Chute Boxe. During this exclusive interview
to team TATAME, Cyborg talks about the team exchanging, why did
he pick the Chute Boxe and about his relationship with Maurício
Shogun, who defeated him at Meca IX.
How
is training over the new house?
Its
great. I have been training a lot in there. All of them are very
professional and right now, my biggest opponent is the cold weather,
but step by step I am beating on it.
When
you first arrive at Chute Boxe, there was any trouble between
you and Shogun?
Not
at all. We are very professional. I've never had a personal issue
with an athlete outside the ring, I am sure if we had I would
solve this fast.
You
are a Budokan member, then went to Brazil Dojo and now you are
at Chute Boxe. What has going on with you lately?
I
always belonged to Budokan and took few classes with Artur Mariano,
because I always liked to exchange on the feet. There was an
invitation for me and Artur to go to Brazil Dojô and we
accepted it. Unfortunately the team is over, but my friendship
remained the same with Artur and I fought some times representing
Champions Factory. I looked after Chute Boxe because I've always
admired it and I have their style.
Tell
me about Brazil Dojo?
I
can say that everybody who joined the team lost in some level.
In my case, I got really upset. Wallid lost all credibility with
me. So I got nothing. No train, no team and consequently no fights.
And
about your skills on the ground?
I
have been working hard with Cristiano Marcello, but my thing
is on the feet. I do like to exchange punches on the feet and
I am sure you guys will see a new Cyborg. And I guarantee he
is damn more aggressive.
Do
you know when you gonna fight?
Not
for a while. But I have been aware about a fight next October
in Pancrase. Meanwhile I am in Minas Gerais to take care of an
old lesion in my shoulder. In the end of August I will be back
in Curitiba and I must be in there until November.
How
is your relationship with Pancrase, once you did not fight in
Japan...?
I
did not have a signed contract with them. So, Sérgio Batarelli,
my ex-fight manager, called me and asked me if I wanted to fight
and I accepted it. It all happened very fast and I was switching
teams. I said to Wallid I wanted to join his new team, but I
warned him I wanted to do this fight first. Wallid poisoned me
telling me I did not need them. The only one who got stained
over this story was me. I even tried to go to the airport with
Artur Mariano, but I couldn't travel. Unfortunately I couldn't
make it. But I assure you there in no hard feelings between Pancrase
and I.
Source: Tatame |
Robson
Moura trains hard for Shooto
Thinking
about the Bantamweight belt dispute of Shooto, Róbson
Moura is in Rio de Janeiro to complement his training with Nova
União leader, André Pederneiras. Living in Ribeirão
Preto, Robinho has been training Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu and taking
care of the physical condition to face Japanese Mamoru Yamaguchi
on September 27. Yamaguchi is the same fighter Robinho defeated
over his debut in Vale-Tudo, in 2002. "I fought Yamaguchi
two years ago and I am sure we do improved a lot. Now I have
few weeks to train and define my strategy. I just can tell you
its gonna be great," guarantees Robinho.
Source: Tatame |
Challenge
rocks next Black Belt GP
The president of Olympic BJJ Confederation's president Luiz Hermínio
has launched another odd bet. Luizinho challenged the 4x black
belt champion Mário Reis to fight his son, the BJJ brown
Eduardo Pessoa. 'It's taken. I love challenges', guarantees the
Brazilian Top Team fighter, who has no problems to face a brown
belt: 'I don't analyze fighter by the belt. He is a good athlete
and I will train hard as always.'
The
dispute will be held during the upcoming Black Belt GP, scheduled
to happen in September. 'Luizinho looked after me and I warned
him I didn't have the money. He said it was not the problem.
This challenge is great for the event,' celebrates Fernando Lopes,
Black Belt GP's organizer, who wants to take the competition
to Rio de Janeiro. According to Luizinho, if Mário Reis
win by points, he takes home R$5,000. If he submits I double
the prize. If he loses by submission, Mário will have
to pay R$5 mil. If he loses by points, he does not have to pay.
Source: Tatame
|
PRIDE
Heavyweight GP Finals
August 15th, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan
DSE/PRIDE
officially announced the following matchups for their PRIDE Heavyweight
GP card on August 15th:
Heavyweight
GP semifinals:
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Sergei Kharitonov
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Naoya Ogawa
Single
fights:
Vanderlei Silva vs. Yuki Kondo
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Alexander Emelianenko
Kevin Randleman vs. Ron Waterman
Murilo Bustamante vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Source: Fight Sport
|
KONDO
TO UNLEASH 'NEW PUNCH'
Yuki Kondo spoke to the Japanese media during the PRIDE Heavyweight
GP press conference, and said that he has added a 'new punch'
to his arsenal and will unveil it tomorrow when he faces Vanderlei
Silva.
Source: Fight Sport
|
PRIDE
CLOSE TO SIGNING RULON GARDNER
Yomiuri Sports reports that DSE/PRIDE is in negitations with
the agent of US Olympic wrestling gold medalist Rulon Gardner,
with the intention of signing him to a fight contract.
According
to reports, DSE/PRIDE is very close to signing Gardner, and would
like him to have his MMA debut on their December 31st show.
Source: Fight Sport
|
UFC
50 CARD
UFC 50: 'The War of '04'
October 22nd, 2004
Boardwalk Hall
Atlantic City, NJ
Tito
Ortiz vs. Guy Mezger
Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre
Renato
'Charuto' Verissimo
vs. Frank Trigg
Marvin Eastman vs. Patrick Cote
Evan Tanner vs. Robbie Lawler
Rich Franklin vs. Jorge Rivera
Phil Baroni vs. Trevor Prangley
Tra Telligman vs. Paul Buentello
Source: Fight Sport
|
COFFEE
GUY EXCLUSIVE: RICCO NOT IN UFC 50, MAY GO TO K-1
By Coffee Guy
Before
reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.
The
following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant
called 'Coffee Guy':
Ricco
Rodriguez won't be participating in UFC 50. I'm not sure what
happened but negotiations between him and Zuffa seem to have
broken down for now.
According
to some people around here, Ricco is having serious talks with
K-1 to fight in their MMA division, and this may have had something
to do with it. There's still a chance Ricco might be in UFC 51,
but nothing is certain at this point.
Source: Fight Sport
|
VANDERLEI
ON JACKSON: 'I'LL MAKE HIM INTO MY NEW SAKURABA'
Vanderlei Silva
Marcelo
Alonso of Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently spoke with PRIDE
champion Vanderlei Silva regarding many topics. Here are a few
of the things Silva had to say:
Vanderlei
on his current physical conditioning: "I'll going to Japan
at 110%. I trained a lot of Muay Thai for this fight. I hope
he (Kondo) will trade strikes with me. I don't want to put on
a boring fight, I'm ready to fight hard for 20 minutes straight
if necessary. I want to steal the show in this PRIDE GP!"
Vanderlei
on who will win the PRIDE Heavyweight GP: I thought they were
going to put Minotauro against Ogawa in the semis. In my opinion
it would have been a more interesting fight. They should have
put the two Russians against each other, like when they put the
two Americans against each other (Jackson against Liddell) in
last year's GP. The way it's set up it will now be more difficult
for Minotauro, but I still think he can win it all.
Vanderlei
on Quinton Jackson: "I'm very anxious to face him again
in October. I'll make him into my new Sakuraba. I will beat him
one, two, or as many more times as he wants to be beaten. I will
knock him out again!"
Vanderlei
on Belfort vs. Couture: I think this fight is going to be 50-50.
Either one of them can win. Psychologically speaking, Couture
has a certain advantage because Vitor's custom is to get tied
up against hard opponents. If Vitor gets tied up, Couture will
win. I will take a vacation after my fight against Kondo. I will
go to California, but I won't be attending the UFC.
Source: Fight Sport
|
SPERRY
AND 'MINOTAURO' SPEAK
Mario
Sperry and Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira were recently interviewed
for the PRIDE website. Here's Sperry and Minotauro had to say:
PRIDE:
Mario, what did you think of the fight with Herring?
Sperry:
I was confident before the fight that Minotauro would win by
submission. I didn't think that Herring could take it to a decision
and I expected (Nogueira) to go for a submission. It was just
as I imagined. I try not to say that kind of thing to him though
because it would interfere with his training.
PRIDE:
From my point of view, it looked like you dominated the entire
fight. Do you feel the same way?
Minotauro:
I was really happy about that fight. I think I was able to use
everything that I worked on before the match. I was able to fight
calmly and relax. I think I led the fight from beginning to end.
PRIDE:
The end was a spinning choke. How do you develop new techniques
like that?
Minotauro:
I practice the spinning choke many, many times every day. That's
why the timing was so good and I was able to apply it quickly.
There are a lot of coaches in Top Team and because they are there,
we can try out many different techniques.
Sperry:
I think of Top Team as a place to develop techniques. Our coaches
aren't just coaches. There are a lot of pro fighters and students
that want to become professionals. There are many types of fighters
like guys with long arms and legs and guys that are really strong.
That's why we have a lot of variation in our training. If anybody
comes up with a new technique, he will share it with the other
members. Then, they will work on it and improve it through trial
and error. We've been using the spinning choke, for example,
in our dojo for at least 1 year. It's been refined for a year
to a level that it can be used in a real fight. Even if the form
isn't perfect, our team has a lot of new techniques.
PRIDE:
Unfortunately, Arona's fight didn't turn out as well.
Minotauro:
That was really unfortunate for Arona but I think he had a good
fight. He attacked aggressively from the bell and Jackson wasn't
able to hit him with punches well. Arona continued attacking,
even on the ground. He just had a little bad luck. He should
have let go of the triangle choke and pushed Jackson away. If
you look at Jackson's damage after the fight, I think Arona could
have won in the 1st round if he had continued that way.
Sperry:
I don't think Jackson thought Arona would come out that aggressively.
Arona's low kicks were hurting him and I think Jackson lost consciousness,
just for a moment, when Arona kick him from below but he was
able to recover when Arona was talking to the referee and the
fight went on.
PRIDE:
DSE President, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, and PRIDE General Director,
Nobuhiko Takada, visited the Brazilian Top Team in Brazil before
the Grand Prix 2nd Round. What was the reaction like there?
Sperry:
The Brazilian press went crazy. Sports magazines, cable television,
regular magazines and newspapers all covered it. It was an honor
for us that the President of PRIDE, the top MMA event, came to
visit. It was their first visit but we hope he will come back
many more times. The fact that they came proves that our team
is strong.
Source: Fight Sport
|
COLEMAN
SPEAKS
Mark
Coleman was recently interviewed for the PRIDE website. Here's
what Coleman had to say:
PRIDE:
Have you heard about Mirko's plan to fight you in August, Randleman
in October and challenge for the PRIDE Heavyweight Championship
next year?
Coleman:
That's the first I've heard of it. That's for DSE to decide anyway,
not Mirko. He's not our boss, nor is he the PRIDE Champion. He's
just one fighter? What gives him the right to say things like
who he wants to fight next and what schedule he wants to fight
on? That's ridiculous. I think he's a great fighter and I can
respect him for having that ambition, but that's not how an adult
speaks in public. He can say whatever he wants, though.
PRIDE:
What would you do if you were matched up with Mirko?
Coleman:
If it happens, it would probably be an amazing fight. It would
be a difficult challenge for Mirko. I would also be prepared
and in top condition. I'm certain that I would win in the end,
though.
PRIDE:
You said in an interview before the GRAND PRIX that Mirko is
a level below the others "Top 3" fighters. Do you still
feel that way?
Coleman:
Wait a minute. "Top 3" isn't correct. You've got to
add Kevin, Kharitonov and Ogawa to that. I've been training with
Kevin for 15 years, since our amateur wrestling days. He took
Mirko out so you've got to add him to that list. Kharitonov has
great balance and I think his abilities will continue to grow
from here. Ogawa is a dark horse but he's worth watching since
he made it to the GRAND PRIX finals. You never know what's going
to happen. That's the beauty of MMA as a sport. You can look
at the current results and see whether Mirko is better than them
or not.
PRIDE:
Kevin said that he beat Mirko with a strategy that you gave him.
Do you think a fight between you and Mirko would turn out the
same way?
Coleman:
Kevin's win was the result of him training every day. If I fight
Mirko, it will be a little different that Kevin's fight. I'm
bigger than Kevin and I've got more wrestling experience than
him so I would definitely take Mirko to the ground. Of course,
there's a big risk that you take whenever you fight Mirko but
I'll take that chance. Mirko's physically strong and Kevin said
he was strong so I think it would be a really hard, and fun,
fight. I'm in great condition now so I'll stay in this condition
for our fight.
PRIDE:
If it happens, would it be in the October event?
Coleman:
I hope so. Mirko's not the matchmaker, though. He's not the best
fighter and he doesn't have the belt so I don't have a burning
desire to fight him. The fights that I want right now are a rematch
with Fedor and the winner of the GRAND PRIX. I can't say much
about it right now but I would like to wear the belt again before
I retire.
PRIDE:
What kind of training would you do for a fight with Mirko?
Coleman:
It's not really for Mirko but after my fight with Fedor, I felt
I needed to do more jiu-jitsu training. I've been wrestling for
a long time so if something happens, I can deal with it by instinct
but in jiu-jitsu, I have to think about what I'm going to do.
If I don't think about what I'm going to do next, my body won't
move. There's no time for thinking in the ring, though. Your
body has to be able to react without thinking. That's why I need
to work on my jiu-jitsu techniques more. At the same time, I
have to maintain my current condition.
PRIDE:
I see. Who do you think stands the greatest chance of winning
the August 15th PRIDE GP Final Round?
Coleman:
That would be Fedor. He's got the best mix among the remaining
4 fighters. 1 point that you can't overlook is that in the Final
Round, you have to fight 2 fights in 1 day. They may get injured
in the first round and how long they can maintain their stamina
will become important. Luck is just as important as actual skill.
PRIDE:
What kind of fighter did you think Fedor was after you fought
him?
Coleman:
I was watching him from a long time before. He's a great fighter.
He's very strong and he's fast for being so big. That arm-bar
was really tight and I thought my arm might be broken but he
was careful to only use the force that was necessary. He's combined
both gentleness and coldness. I said earlier that "luck"
would be necessary to win the GRAND PRIX but "luck"
might be a little rude. In the end, spirit and strategy will
probably decide it. The fighter that exceed in everything will
win the Championship.
Source: Fight Sport
|
PRIDE
HEAVYWEIGHT GP 'ALTERNATE' FIGHTER POLICY
The
way the alternate fighter policy will work for the PRIDE Heavyweight
GP finals is as follows:
If
a fighter cannot continue to the final, he will be replaced by
the fighter he just beat and not by an alternate fighter.
An
alternate fighter will only be used if the losing semifinalist
can not replace the injured winner.
Having
said that, the Kevin Randleman vs. Ron Waterman matchup will
be to determine the first alternate fighter.
The
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Alexander Emelianenko matchup will
be the second alternate fighter.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Quote
of the Day
"The secret of happiness is not doing what one likes to
do, but in liking what one has to do."
Sir James M. Barrie, 1860-1937, British Playwright |
So
You Think You Tough 5 is Back!
Kona, Hawaii
August 28, 2004
Source: Event Promoter
|
Silva
ready to face Kondo @ Pride
Wanderlei Silva can't wait the time to face Japanese Yuki Kondo,
during the Pride GP Final Conflict, which happens on August 15,
at the Saitama Super Arena, in Japan. Who guarantees is Chute
Boxe leader, Rudimar Fedrigo, who bets on Axe Murderer's good
phase. "Wanderlei is ready for Kondo. Today he is a complete
fighter. He is good on the ground and also great on the feet,"
analyzes Rudimar.
The
confidence in Wanderlei is so big, that Rudimar calls Wand as
a favorite in case he would be fighting among the heavyweights.
"If Wanderlei were fighting at Grand Prix heavyweight, I
have no doubts he would win. All of them are extremely good,
but Wanderlei is way too far," stated Fedrigo, adding: "He
is a middleweight, but has a heavyweight punch. He is also fast
and intelligent."
Source:
Tatame |
AFTER
YEARS IN THE MAKING, BARNETT TO PRIDE
When Josh Barnett left the UFC, many people thought he would
jump right minto working for the rival company in Pride. Now
years later the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, will try to
win a Pride Heavyweight Championship in Japan.
Zac Arnold broke the story that Josh Barnett has officially signed
on the dotted line with DSE and the Pride Fighting Championships.
"I'm just glad to get a fight..." Barnett told MMAWeekly's
Ryan Bennett last night. "I was just sitting around waiting
for a fight, so I'm glad to be fighting again."
It's unknown who Barnett will be fighting, but it most likely
will happen in October. Barnett wanted to be a part of the Heavyweight
Grand Prix, but for whatever reason, it didn't happen.
Josh says he is still under contract as a professional wrestler
for New Japan, but is anxious about the opportunity to fight
again. Hopefully the Minotauro Nogueira vs Josh Barnett fight
that we wanted to see years ago, when both were champions for
rival organizations, can know take place in the near future in
Japan.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Official
Pride News From Josh Barnett.tv
Here is what Josh Barnett had to say about the rumors of him
fighting in
PRIDE.
"I
have not yet received an official offer from PRIDE yet but my
office and
DSE have talked in the past many times and something may be in
the works.
PRIDE knows that I am willing to fight in their show and New
Japan is the
head decision maker for my career. Joshbarnett.tv will be the
first to
report the facts on news on my upcoming participation in PRIDE."
Source: JoshBarnett.tv |
THE
DIESEL READY TO ROLL INTO THE OCTAGON
MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio continued to bring it's listeners sixteen
fighters in sixteen days Wednesday with featured guest Joe "Diesel"
Riggs. He is set to fight Joe Doerksen next weekend at UFC 49
and spoke about his UFC debut.
Riggs
fights at 185 pounds these days but that weight wasn't always
his fight weight. Riggs used to weight 310 pounds and had to
drop weight to make heavyweight weigh ins. Joe said, "If
I wanted to make it in the fight game, I just had to drop weight."
That's exactly what he did and it took a lot more than some Subway
sandwiches. Through hard work, diet changes and determination,
Riggs will be fighting his third fight at 185 with his bout against
Doerksen.
Joe
feels good at his new weight and stated, "There's no on
in the world at 185 that can beat me with my strength, punching
power. It's like playing with kids to be honest with you."
Riggs
has watched many tapes on Doerksen's fights. He said, about the
other Joe, "He's got good ground game. He's got, he's well
rounded but he's, you know, I don't know. That guy's tough."
According to Riggs, Doerksen's not tough enough to beat him.
Riggs
is know for loving to throw bombs. In fact, his last fights have
been knock outs. He is looking to extend that streak to six saying,
"I want to knock him out. I want to knock everyone out."
He took it one step further and said, "It's going to be
a knock out, first round."
Joe
isn't banking on a knock out though. He said he as been, "Training
his butt off." He is fully prepared to go the distance if
that is the case. Riggs realizes that he expels a lot of energy
early in bouts and may be a little more conservative this time
out. At least that is what he says now, before the bell sounds.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
PRIDE
PLAY BY PLAY VOICE BREAKS DOWN GRAND PRIX
With the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix in just a matter of days,
MMAWeekly spoke with the play by play voice of Pride, Mauro Ranallo.
Ranallo gave his insight on the Grand Prix and some of the other
matches taking place in what he thinks, "could be the MMA
event of the year."
A
fighter that has emerged out of the Grand Prix, as a force to
be reckoned with, is that of Sergei Kharitonov. Mauro said, Sergei
has, "proven to be one of the big surprises and success
stories of the year for Pride Fighting Championships." Kharitonov
is going up against Minotauro Nogueira in the semi-final round
this weekend. Questions remain about Sergei and this will be
his biggest test to date.
When
asked what Sergei has to do to win, Mauro stated, "I think,
If Sergei Kharitonov is to have any chance of winning this, even
though wrestling and Sambo is his background. I mean, you're
taking on one of the greatest submission fighters in MMA heavyweight
division anywhere in the the world. I think, If I were Kharitonov,
I'd try to keep it on the feet and exchange strikes and, you
know, hope for that lucky shot."
Ranallo
noted that Nogueira is a patient fighter and can take big shots
in order for the fight to get to where he wants it, on the ground.
Interestingly, Mauro commented that he thinks Sergei and Minotauro
will inflict enough damage to each other that it could effect
the winner's performance in the finals, giving their opponent
the upper hand.
The
other semi-final match up of the Heavyweight Grand Prix is between
Fedor Emelianenko and Naoya Ogawa. Mauro thinks that people forget
that Ogawa was the youngest ever winner of the World Cup Judo
Championships back in 1987 and an Olympic Judo Silver Medalist
in the Barcelona Olympics Games in 1992.
Naoya
is a huge draw in Japan and has the opportunity to be an even
bigger one. Ranallo doesn't think Fedor will "walk over"
Ogawa. He added, Ogawa "will surprise some people with his
performance." In a side note, Frank Trigg is picking Ogawa
for the upset in this fight.
In
a reserve match of the tournament, Kevin Randleman will be fighting
Ron Waterman. Waterman wanted to be a participant in the Grand
Prix but was left of the list. Mauro thinks that Ron will be
trying to prove to everyone that he should have been apart of
the original sixteen fighters that started the Grand Prix.
Weight
could play a factor in this fight, Waterman will have nearly
thirty pounds on Kevin. The way Ranallo sees it, "Waterman
probably knows submissions more than Randleman but if it goes
to the ground, of coarse, there's the danger of the ground and
pound of Randleman." He pointed out that Kevin has been
susceptible to submissions in the past so he wouldn't be surprised
to see Waterman win by submission, that is, if he doesn't get
knocked out.
Mirko
"Cro Cop" Filipovic is back and taking on Fedor's younger
brother, Aleksander Emelianenko. Ranallo said that Aleksander
has been working on his striking and is very confident going
into this bout. At the same time, Mirko will be wanting to send
a message to Fedor by beating his brother. Mauro thinks that
"Cro Cop's" loss to Randleman may have made him an
even more dangerous fighter.
In
one of the most anticipated match ups in Japan, Wanderlei Silva
and Yuki Kondo will do battle. Mauro commented that Yuki Kondo
"represents the last great Japanese hope" to beat Silva.
Wanderlei is the huge odds on favorite but does that really mean
much? Silva is coming off a knee injury and Kondo could be catching
him at the right time. Ranallo said, Kondo is "not at all
intimidated by Silva."
Mauro
Ranallo's upset pick of the night is Sergei Kharitonov to beat
Nogueira. He picked Fedor Emelianenko to win the Grand Prix.
The
event will not air in the States until August 22nd but we will
have live results in the SoundOff Forum. MMAWeekly will not put
up the results on the main or news page and they will not be
discussed on the radio show until after the event airs.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
TKO
SIGNS 21 ATHLETES TO MULTI-FIGHT PROMOTIONAL AGREEMENTS!
(MONTREAL, CANADA) - TKO Communications continued with its wave
of major announcements today with the signature of 21 of its
most important athletes to multi-fight promotional agreements.
"It's a great day for TKO and for everyone involved with
the organization. We are very proud of the athletes that we signed
today and we'll continue to work very closely with them so they
can follow in the footsteps of UFC/TKO fighters Georges St-Pierre,
David Loiseau and Patrick Cote". TKO President Stephane
Patry did also put the emphasis on TKO's main mission when making
the announcements "Our mission is very clear, we want to
give the MMA fans the BEST show but the main priority is to give
the Canadian fighters a place in Mixed Martial Art history. We
opened the door very wide for these athletes with these deals
today; it's now up to them to go through that door with their
performances in the ring. We went to the plate by offering them
lucrative contracts that will help them continue their rise in
the MMA world."
Currently
managing the careers of UFC/TKO fighters GEORGES ST-PIERRE, DAVID
LOISEAU and PATRICK COTE, Stephane Patry was very happy with
the recent turnout for his organization "2003 was a very
tough year and I'm very happy with what's coming up for us and
for the sport of MMA in Canada, as I often said in the last few
weeks there are some more major announcement that we will make
in the days and weeks to come and I've never been more confident
about the future of this sport."
Fighters
that signed these new TKO agreements include TKO WW Champion
GEORGES ST-PIERRE, TKO MW Champion DAVID LOISEAU, TKO LHW Champion
PATRICK COTE, TKO SLW Champion MARK HOMINICK, TKO LW Champion
DONALD OUIMET, STEVE CLAVEAU, JACOB CONLIFFE, RYAN DIAZ, STEPHANE
DUBE, STEVE DUQUETTE, KULTAR GILL, DAVID GOULET, JONATHAN GOULET,
TODD GOUWENBERG, ICHO LARENAS, ROB MACDONALD, THIERRY QUENNEVILLE,
SAM STOUT, MARTIN TREMBLAY, STEPHANE VIGNEAULT and STEVE VIGNEAULT.
TKO is currently negotiating with some other athletes and more
news should be announced shortly.
Behind
these great athletes there's always a manager and a trainer working
in the shadow, and Patry had nothing but great words to say about
some of the trainers/managers he has the chance to work with
on a daily basis "When I think about Angelo Exarhakos, I
see someone that was there with me since day 1, I have nothing
but respect for this great man - he doesn't get all the credits
he deserves, my hard work would've been useless without his incredible
participation. Shawn Tompkins is another man I respect so much,
we went through wars together - and we always supported each
other, I believe Shawn is probably one of the best corner men
in the sport of MMA right now. And with Lance Gibson you get
nothing but professionalism, he is by far the easiest person
I ever had to deal with in this sport, he's a true gentleman
so are his athletes; they are also some of the most lethal fighters
in Canadian MMA"
Most of the fighters signed by TKO Communications today are trained
by either Angelo Exarhakos, Shawn Tompkins or Lance Gibson, they
were ecstatic about these new deals offered to their athletes.
Angelo Exarhakos for one sees this as the best opportunity for
fighters he's seen in the sport of MMA "I'm so pleased that
most of my fighters have signed long-term fight and management
agreements with TKO. I have worked very closely with Stephane
since day 1 and results speak louder than words. Three of my
fighters in the UFC, television exposure on TSN - RDS and Pay
per view, prize money that's worth fighting for and shows with
great attendance. Those who were around him during the early
days know how far the sport has come under Stephane's leadership.
These agreements guarantee fighters security so that they can
single mindedly pursue their goal of becoming the best MMA fighter
they can be. It is a win-win deal for all parties involved and
I'm sure that we will see other organizations follow TKO's lead.
I am proud to be closely associated with TKO Communications and
Stephane Patry and I look forward to many more years of success
and growth for both MMA and TKO, in the end it's the fighters
who benefit the most."
UFC
veteran and elite manager/trainer Lance Gibson was also thrilled
with the agreements signed by three of his athletes "I feel
really good about these multi-fight agreements we just signed
with TKO. It will enable Team Gibson to stay busy and also achieve
the recognition as one of the top fight teams in MMA. TKO has
built many stars throughout the years and has extended a lucrative
offer to my fighters; we are looking forward to what the future
will bring for TKO, the sport of MMA and Team Gibson".
Team
Tompkins leader Shawn Tompkins had nothing but great things to
say about the announcements "My guys are all very excited
to continue to be part of such a great organization. What this
means to them is for once an organization is giving back to the
fighters a commitment. This will allow the fighters to continue
to train specifically for upcoming events as well as know in
advance the financial position that they will be placed. The
multi-fight agreement gives them a chance to grow to the level
that they deserve without the stress of uncertain finances and
fight dates. As manager and trainer of Team Tompkins, I could
not be happier about the offers placed by the TKO organization.
For me, this is a chance to make a secure commitment of my fighters
and give them the future that they deserve. I'm so excited about
the future of TKO; it has done nothing but grow and become more
and more elite over the past years of our involvement. I am not
only proud to be part of it, but to be part of it for a very
long time!"
14
of the 21 athletes signed today by TKO Communications will be
part of TKO 17: INFERNAL scheduled for September 25th 2004 in
Victoriaville, Quebec. Tickets for this exceptional event are
on sale right now through the TKO ticket office at 514-999-7531.
TKO
Communications inc., a Canadian owned and based company has its
headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. TKO is Canada's #1
Combat sports fight promotion and one of the world leaders in
the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Owned and operated by
Stephane Patry, TKO produces four (4) pay-per-view events yearly
that are broadcasted on Viewer's Choice Canada (pay-per-view),
Bell Express Vu (pay-per-view satellite provider), Canal Indigo
(pay-per-view), Star Choice (pay-per-view). TKO events are also
broadcasted on Canada's Largest Sport Network, The Sports Network
(TSN) and on Le Reseau des Sports (RDS). All the events are distributed
on DVD and video cassette.
TKO
Communications would like to thank its sponsors for their continuous
support: Golden Palace, Lifestyles, Auberge Universel, Autobus
La Québécoise, Bar Gentleman, Bell ExpressVu, Belle
Gueule, Boes, Classic Steel, Cuirs Akoury, Domination Fightwear,
Espace Bell, Fantaisie Sensation 2000, Gamma Force, Gary Chartrand
Heating and Conditioning, Harley Davidson, Hotel Colibri, Ironik,
Joey's Limousines, Journal de Montréal, Knoc1.net, L'Evasion
Night Club, MVP Nutrition, Nissan Canada, Quebec Broue, RDS,
Shoot, Skins, Skratch Billiard, Studio X, Summum Magazine, UBI
Soft, Vertical Snowboard, Viewer's Choice Canada, Webit Network,
X-Box, XPN Nutrition and many others.
Source:
Event Promoter
|
K-1
Event Has Plenty of Medical Suspensions, and Possibly Disciplinary
Suspensions As Well
by Ivan Trembow
A whopping 12 fighters who competed on K-1's August 7 event in
Las Vegas were medically suspended by the Nevada State Athletic
Commission. That is an unusually high amount due to the large
amount of KO's and TKO's on the show, as well as freak injuries
like Marvin Eastman's eye and Alexander Ustinov's shin. The following
is a full report on all of the event's medical suspensions, followed
by notes and analysis on possible disciplinary suspensions stemming
from the event.
K-1:
Battle at the Bellagio III Medical Suspensions
-Marvin Eastman is medically suspended indefinitely unless an
eye doctor clears his left eyelid laceration, corneal abrasion,
and sub-conjuctiva hemorrhage
-If Marvin Eastman is able to get medical clearance from an eye
doctor within the next month, he will still be medically suspended
for at least the next four weeks
-Tommy Glanville is medically suspended indefinitely unless he
is medically cleared by the athletic commission, as well as the
athletic commission's Medical Advisory Board, after a fight in
which Glanville lost by TKO
-Jan Nortje is medically suspended for six months unless a doctor
clears his fractured nose and vertigo problem
-If Jan Nortje is able to get medical clearance within the next
month, he will still be medically suspended for at least the
next four weeks due to a left elbow cut
-Alexander Ustinov is medically suspended for eight weeks due
to a severe shin laceration
-Brecht Walis is medically suspended for six weeks due to a forehead
laceration
-Scott Lighty is medically suspended for six weeks due to punishment
taken in his TKO loss
-Rob McCullough is medically suspended for six weeks due to punishment
taken in his TKO loss
-Mighty Mo Siliga is medically suspended for four weeks due to
a laceration above his left eye
-Brian Warren is medically suspended for four weeks due to punishment
taken in a fight that he lost by decision
-Jorgen Kruth is medically suspended for four weeks due to punishment
taken in a fight that he lost by decision
-Carter Williams is medically suspended for four weeks due to
punishment taken in his KO loss
-Frank Cota, Jr. is medically suspended for four weeks due to
punishment taken in his KO loss
Commentary
and Analysis on Medical Suspensions:
-Marvin Eastman will not be able to compete in his tentatively
scheduled UFC 50 bout with Patrick Cote in October unless an
eye doctor first clears a series of eye injuries suffered that
Eastman suffered in his loss to Ray Sefo. Having an eyelid laceration
and a corneal abrasion is bad enough, but this is the first time
I can recall a fighter having a "sub-conjunctiva hemorrhage"
listed on their medical sheet. Conjuctiva is the mucous membrane
that lines the inner surface of the eyelid and the exposed eyeball,
and it has to be considered a very serious injury when that membrane
is hemorrhaging.
-It
is not known what the medical staff's specific concern was with
Tommy Glanville after his TKO loss to Raul Romero. However, it's
safe to say that their concerns would be have to be pretty severe
to suspend him indefinitely and require that he gets cleared
not just by an outside doctor, but also by the athletic commission
and its Medical Advisory Board.
-Having
a broken nose may or may not have been enough to cause the commission
to suspend Jan "The Giant" Nortje for six months, but
the fact that he was also having vertigo problems after his fight
certainly was. Additional details are not known, but Nortje's
post-fight health problems would have to be severe for the commission
to actually classify them as "vertigo problems" and
not just general dizziness.
-The
split in Alexander Ustinov's shin after his decision victory
over Jan Nortje was shown on American PPV and was gruesome to
say the least. The color commentators later said that Ustinov
was unable to continue in the tournament because the cut in his
shin went down to the bobe. It's unlikely that such an injury
will be fully healed eight weeks from now, and it's not known
when Ustinov will be able to fight again.
-As
this card's medical suspensions show, there are no hard and fast
rules for how long to suspend a fighter who has been TKO'ed or
KO'ed. It is up to the judgment of the commission doctors to
decide after their post-fight examination of every fighter. Jorgen
Kruth and Brian Warren lost their fights by decision, but were
given the same medical suspension (four weeks) as Carter Williams,
who was knocked out by an absolutely brutal high kick that hit
him square on the temple. Given the force and placement of the
high kick, as well as how completely out cold Williams was, it's
amazing that he wasn't more seriously injured. The commission
can (and has) suspended fighters for six months or longer if
they suspect the fighter has suffered a concussion, so the fact
that Carter Williams only received a four-week suspension has
to be considered a good sign that the commission didn't consider
him to be seriously injured.
Other
Notes:
-Of all the fighters competing on this card, only two were drug-tested:
Brecht Walis and Mighty Mo. It is standard policy for American
K-1 events to only drug-test the two fighters in the tournament
final, just as it is standard policy for American UFC events
to only drug-test fighters who are in title fights or non-title
main events. All of the fighters who were going into this K-1
event with non-tournament bouts knew going in that in all likelihood
they would not be drug-tested.
-In
addition to Marvin Eastman being medically suspended indefinitely,
possible disciplinary suspensions also have the potential to
keep Eastman off of the UFC 50 card, and could also keep Ray
Sefo off of the K-1 event held in Japan on September 25. Taking
part in a brawl after a fight, as Sefo and Eastman did after
their bout, is considered no different than an unsanctioned street
fight that just happens to be taking place in the middle of a
K-1 ring. Technically, they both could have been arrested. Pending
a decision on what disciplinary measures to take against Sefo
or Eastman, one-hundred percent of their fight purses are being
withheld by the athletic commission. The commission could decide
to fine or suspend the fighters, or take both actions, or take
neither action.
-In
Ray Sefo's case, all it would take would be an eight-week suspension
and he could be out of K-1's 2004 Grand Prix. An eight-week suspension
would run through October 7 and would prevent Sefo from taking
part in K-1's September 25 show in Japan where the field of Grand
Prix participants will be narrowed down from sixteen fighters
to eight. As an organization that is sanctioned in Nevada by
the Nevada State Athletic Commission, K-1 is required to honor
all NSAC suspensions regardless of where the fight is taking
place. If such a scenario were to play out with a suspension
keeping Sefo out of K-1's September 25 event, K-1 could always
simply make Sefo one of the eight finalists. K-1 has done this
in the past, most notably with Ernesto Hoost when he failed to
make the final eight in 2002 and still ended up winning the entire
tournament when all was said and done.
-Chad
"Akebono" Rowan had a point taken away from him in
the second round of his fight with Rick Roufus when he shoved
referee Cecil Peoples. Surprisingly, having a point taken away
was the only punishment that Akebono received for shoving a referee;
he was not fined. With Akebono receiving no fine or suspension
for shoving a referee, and Phil Baroni receiving a light slap
on the wrist for punching a referee in the face several times,
it doesn't seem to be a particularly safe time to be a referee
at a martial arts event in America. Fighters would become less
likely to put their hands on a referee in the future if there
were more serious consequences for doing so.
-In
Gary Goodridge's controversial decision win over Dewey Cooper,
judge Glenn Trowbridge scored the bout 29 to 28 in favor of Goodridge,
while judge Sal D'Amato scored the bout 29 to 28 in favor of
Cooper. The tie-breaker ended up being Dick Houck, who scored
the bout 28.5 to 28.0 in favor of Goodridge. Many fans in attendance
thought that Cooper deserved to win the fight, while others believed
that Goodridge deserved the win.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what
makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the
world needs is people who have come alive."
Gil Bailie
|
Yuki
Kondo Talks Silva, Training, and How He's Going to Win This Weekend
by Masa Fukui
With less than one week until Yuki Kondo faces "Axe Murderer"
Wanderlei Silva at PRIDE "Final Conflict," the Pancrase
organization offered an interview session with Yuki Kondo on
Tuesday evening at P's Lab Tokyo. There were 15-20 journalists
present from different Japanese media, who randomly asked questions
for 20 minutes.
Afterwards,
I felt that this 29-year-old gentleman is very calm and very
confident, even though he said he has just a 50-percent chance
to win.
Here's
a story about him: When he fought Josh Barnett, he sorted out
his personal affairs, preparing for his accidental death in the
match. This time he said this fight will be the biggest challenge
for his fighting career. It means he expects this fight will
be tougher than the Barnett fight -- that's saying something.
So
one week to the fight. How do you train now? Just train easy?
Yes, I'm just cruising now. Today, I did easy mitt work and sparred
for five three-minute rounds. And my condition is the better
than ever
Do
you get any information about your opponent Wanderlei Silva?
Not at all. I don't really care.
You
were supposed to fight him in May, but the fight was cancelled.
So this time you had plenty of time to prepare for this fight
didn't you?
Yes I did. I trained hard. And all of my skills are sharpened
up very well. My punch became very accurate and my mind has also
gotten very sharp. If I say my condition in May is 100, now I'm
at 150, and this number will go up to 170 by the day I fight.
Is
you're training for this fight the hardest training you have
ever had?
Yes, it is.
So
you pushed yourself to the limit each every time?
Nahhhh. Maybe not. I didn't push myself to the limit … hahaha.
That
means training hasn't been changed from the training for the
other fight?
The training I've been doing hasn't changed since the preparation
for my May fight (the one which was postponed). I just have been
doing same training for long term. Then the whole skill level
became better and accurate. Also I think I trained a bit more
than spring time, especially for punching skill. And I can concentrate
on the fight more than before. My punch technique is much better
than before, but I'm not sure if this punch training will work
in this fight or not until it's started.
Are
there any specific punch you train a lot?
Not really, I train all different kind of punches equally. Jab,
straight, hook, upper cut ... some combination.
What
skill have you been brushing up the most? Grappling? Striking?
Umm ... I don't know.
What
is the existence of Wanderlei mean for you?
Biggest stimulus ... biggest stimulus for my life as fighter.
How
come?
Because I think he's the best in the world now.
Do
you have the image of how the fight will go?
Yes I do. But it's not that clear. And I don't have strategy
either.
How's
the preparation for his vicious knees?
Yes, I've been preparing for them. So I think I'm ready for his
devastating knees.
Have
you watched his videos?
Yes, I've been watching his video. I've watched up to Sakuraba
vs. Silva II.
Have
you found any his bad habit in the fight?
No I haven't. I don't know, I don't analyze that much. Even if
I started, it won't go anywhere. Silva is Silva.
So
you haven't find his weak point or anything?
Well, I found some …
Can
you tell us?
Hmm, (smile) I think his guard could be his hole. So that could
be a chance.
What
part of Silva changed the most since his debut in PRIDE?
I don't think nothing is changed. He's been aggressive fighter
since his appearance.
You
said you've watched more than several of his fights on video.
Are there any specific fights that you learned a lot about the
way he fights?
Nothing specially. I watch all the fight equally.
Have
you ever heard any information from the fighter who already fought
Silva? Such as Your ex-teammate Ikuhisa Minowa?
No I haven't. I really didn't have a chance to get that information.
And I don't want to get too much information that other people
sensed in their fight. I'd rather fight only with my sense.
Sakuraba,
Yoshida ... Silva has defeated so many Japanese fighter. Do you
take this fight as their revenge?
Not at all.
Sakuraba
said: "That's my role to beat the Silva." What do you
think about his comment?
What should I comment on that one? (Laughing)
You
said you don't have strategy. So you think if you can perform
as best as you can, then you can beat him?
Well, I'm not the type of the guy who plans strategy. I think
fighting is not about strategy … it's not that easy.
While
you're training for this fight, I think you have some certain
image that you will win this fight. So if you win, what will
be the finishing move.
I think that'll be KO by my punch. I think KO by punch is the
highest possibility for ending this fight.
Do
you think Silva will answer your choice of war of punches?
Yes I do. I think he will react naturally to the striking battle.
Are
you nervous?
Yes I am. But it's very comfortable one. Nothing stressful, but
very comfortable.
Will
this be a biggest challenge for you in your fight career?
Yes it will. (nodding his head, and closing his eyes for a moment)
Are
there any possibility to go distance?
There's always possibility for decision. But I'm not looking
for it.
Do
you think You're better grappler?
I'm not sure. You'll figure it out when it happens.
You're
fighting Semi-Final in front of more than 40,000 people. What
do you think about the environment which you're fighting?
I'm very pleased to perform my skill in front of that many people.
Do
you think You represent PANCRASE?
I don't really feel like I represent Pancrase. I feel more like,
I'm representing myself.
If
we look at Silva, we can see when his switch is turned on for
the fight … but we can't really see when your switch is
turned on for the fight. Do you have that kind of switch on-off
moment when you fight?
No I don't have that switch. I want to fight in the ring with
just same mentality as I am talking right now.(very calm and
confident)
Is
that's what you call "Fudou-shin" (Immovable mind/Immovable
spirit)?
Yes it is.
Do
you have confidence you'll win?
Yes. But it's like 50 percent.
Would
you like to say something to the fans?
I'll fight as hard as I can. Thank you very much for your support.
Source:
Sherdog
|
PRIDE
PREVIEW: NOGUEIRA WANTS GOLD
At one time, one the most intriguing questions in mixed martial
arts was, "When is this Nogueira guy going to lose?"
After a 13-fight string of victories that included wins over
the likes of Dan Henderson, Mark Coleman, and Heath Herring,
the answer seemed to be- Never."
Then
along came the workman-like Russian hammer, Fedor Emelianenko.
Not only was he able to fend off Nogueira's submissions like
Herring, but Fedor was also able to maintain the top position
and dish out some punishment of his own, something Herring was
not able to do. In fact, Fedor dished out enough punishment to
earn a unanimous decision over the once unbeatable Brazilian.
The
loss left the Brazilian Top Teamer with nothing to do but regroup,
and regroup he did. Despite a controversial decision win over
Ricco Rodriguez, Nogueira then began to return to dominance.
He has since reeled off victories over Pride's prize project
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, Hirotaka Yokoi, and Heath Herring,
all three by submission and the latter two by a wicked choke
referred to as the "Anaconda."
It
would seem that Nogueira, a master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under
the tutelage of MMA legend Mario 'The Zen Machine' Sperry, is
back on the track to dominance. His win over Filipovic was for
the 'Interim' Pride Heavyweight Title due to the temporary inability
of Fedor to defend his title. So it would seem that Nogueira
is back on track for a rematch one way or another.
In
his way at Final Conflict is the highly touted Russian intruder,
Sergei Kharitonov. Though many wrote off Kharitonov's victory
over Murilo 'Ninja' Rua because of the Brazilian's pudginess
due to the weight he had to gain for the Grand Prix. However,
more than a few eyebrows were raised when he dismantled 6'11"
veteran Semmy Schilt at Critical Countdown. Kharitonov has shown
he is both adept at submissions and has an effective striking
style that employs lots of bodywork. In short, he is well rounded.
But
then again, so is Nogueira. In fact, Nogeuira has been regarded
as one of the most well rounded fighters in all of mixed martial
arts. Of course, his submissions are regarded as second to none,
but his striking has quickly gained respect over the years as
well. Not one to rest on his laurels, Nogueira has also been
working out recently with the Cuban boxing team to continue improving
his hands.
Though
Kharitonov has been impressive and does have a wealth of tournament
experience, it is unlikely that he can impress his will upon
Nogueira the way he has upon Rua and Schilt. For one, Nogueira's
encyclopedic knowledge of submissions means that he can defend
as well as apply. Secondly, his striking is as good or better
than Kharitonov's. Lastly is Nogueira's loss to Fedor. Yes his
loss. Despite losing, Nogueira displayed a chin of granite, absorbing
unending hammering blows from Fedor, proving his durability.
It
is likely that Nogueira's experience and superior skill will
earn him the victory in this one, probably by submission. But
that's not to say that it will be an easy victory. To the contrary,
Kharitonov's abilities will probably make this one of the most
competitive fights of the night. Even in a winning effort, it
is likely that Nogueira will come out of this one scathed. Possibly
too scathed to be able to finish out a run at the Grand Prix
belt.
Even
if he wins, Nogueira will likely have to go on to face a fresh
opponent. In the other semi-final, Fedor squares off against
Naoya Ogawa. More than likely Fedor will ground and pound Ogawa
into submission quickly. If he doesn't and Ogawa wins, it is
highly likely that his win will have come rather quickly by submission,
as the Judo master likely won't have the skill to hang with Fedor
in any other realm.
Either
way, Nogueira faces a tough road. He will most likely be tired,
if not battered, and his opponent fairly fresh. An uphill battle
if ever there was one.
If
Nogueira wins and gets Ogawa, if not too battle worn, he still
stands a good chance of defeating the Judo player. Nogueira's
vast experience in tournaments and superior MMA skills should
still allow him to out-strike Ogawa en route to a Grand Prix
victory.
If,
on the other hand, Nogueira then draws Fedor in the final? ouch!
Though Nogueira was able to absorb all of it the first time around,
Fedor has shown no reluctance to pour on the pain when his opponent
is on the skids. As dangerous as Nogueira is, Fedor will definitely
show no reluctance to mow him down if, like a hunter stalking
his prey, Nogueira shows any signs of wear an tear.
If
Nogueira and Fedor end up in the final, expect to see the king
of the Pride continue to reign. Even if that does happen, it
would be very difficult to deny Nogueira a one-on-one title shot
in the near future? New Year's Eve perhaps?
Source:
MMA Weekly |
NCAA
BANS COLLEGE WRESTLERS FROM NAGA
We
received this email from one of our readers last night....
"My
name is Chad Campbell and my best friend is competiting in the
upcoming NAGA competition this weekend. We were very much looking
forward to this show because it featured five current NCAA college
wrestlers. This would be the first show of it's kind featuring
major college athletes in a submission event. Unfortunately it's
now NOT happening because of the NCAA. I've heard your MMAWeekly
Radio show and the host, Ryan Bennett has said many times how
corrupt the NCAA governing body is and this time I truly believe
him after how they just stepped in and took away these athletes
from competing. The athletes had already said they would not
accept ANY money from the event, but the NCAA is still being
hard asses about it. It's unfortunate for our sport. As for more
information, I just saw this post from Zodiac 666 on the Underground
Forum. He went into more detail about what is going on. Zodiac
said quote "I'd like to come on here an tell everyone now
that the 5 Lehigh wrestlers that were coming to compete this
weekend at NAGA have been ordered not to compete in the event.
The event has obviously garnered too much publicity, and due
to the fact that 4 of the 5 were to compete in the professional
divisions and the superfight, the coach was forced by the NCAA
to not allow the athletes to compete due to the strict rules
of not accepting money for athletic competition."
"The
original proposed team of Chris Ayres, Jon Trenge, Cory Cooperman
and Derek Zinck (4 All-Americans) will not be able to compete
but the 5th athlete, Aaron Kling, (starter at 149 lbs.) will
still be competing only because he has officially graduated as
of July. I would also like to say that all of the athletes were
forced to withdraw from this tournament against their will. The
3 current returning All-Americans- Trenge, Cooperman and Zinck-
were all threatened with NCAA ineligibility if they competed
at NAGA this weekend. This just came down late last night and
even yesterday there was a practice with all the competitors
with Danny Ives and Mike C. from Miletich's school. The guys
trained hard and were really looking forward to competing in
the professional divisions in they're first tournament and we
were hoping to encourage others to avoid sandbagging by following
their example. Sorry for hyping this up all week, but the decision
was not ours, the NCAA forced us out". Zodiac 666 explains
it well, but once again the wrestlers have already given their
word they would not accept the money. I don't understand why
the NCAA is not letting them compete if no money is involved
for them. It's unfortunate because I would've have loved to see
how they performed against some of our best in the submission
game.
Sincerely,
Chad Campbell - Amherst, New Hampshire "
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
PRIDE:
FINAL CONFLICT 2004 PREVIEW
By Jade “Ninjamonkey” Prout
Of the original field of sixteen fighters, only four remain;
when all is said and done, only one man will be left standing.
In addition to the two Grand Prix Semifinal matches and the resulting
Final Match, DSE brings us a “PRIDE vs. Pancrase” match
between Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva and Light Heavyweight
King of Pancrase Yuki Kondo. Also on the star-studded fight card
for Final Conflict 2004 are Kevin Randleman and Ron Waterman
in a Grand Prix Reserve Match. Who will survive the Final Conflict?
Only time will tell, but perhaps a look at the fighters involved
will shed some light on the outcome…
Murilo
Bustamante (9-3-1) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (3-2-0)
DSE
was reportedly attempting to find an opponent for Dan Henderson,
and many in the Japanese press were buzzing about the possibility
of a Bustamante-Henderson rematch, but it was announced this
week that “Dangerous Dan” was being elbowed aside to
make way for Yoshida’s top student, Kazuhiro Nakamura. It
would seem that instead of giving Murilo a chance to avenge his
somewhat controversial loss to Henderson, PRIDE is instead giving
Nakamura a chance to atone for his two losses to Antonio Rogerio
“Minotoro” Nogueira by matching him with Nogueira’s
teammate and training partner, Murilo Bustamante.
Busta,
one of Brazilian Top Team’s most decorated members, made
a name for himself by fighting to a forty-minute draw with Tom
“Big Cat” Erickson at the Martial Arts Reality Superfights
event in 1996. He went on to seize the UFC Middleweight Championship
from Dave Menne at UFC 35, and successfully defended the title
with a submission win over Matt Lindland at UFC 37. Unable to
reach a financial agreement with the UFC, Murilo jumped to PRIDE
and lost a split decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
After a loss to Dan Henderson by TKO, Bustamante now seems to
be in a must-win situation.
Kazuhiro
Nakamura lost his PRIDE debut (which was also his MMA debut)
by submission to “Minotoro” in March of last year.
He returned to the PRIDE ring in the inaugural Bushido show,
playing a cautious game and taking a win by decision over Daniel
Gracie. After earning another decision win, this time in a largely
forgettable performance against pro-wrestler “Dos Caras
Junior” earlier this year, Nakamura finished Chalid “Die
Faust” at Bushido 3 with an arm bar. At Bushido 4, Nakamura
again lost to Rogerio, this time by split decision. He will have
a hefty weight advantage over Murilo… but so did Tom Erickson.
Mirko
Filipovic (11-2-2) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (3-0-0)
One
year ago, the MMA world was buzzing about a potential match-up
between Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic and PRIDE Heavyweight
Champion Fedor Emelianenko. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira put an end
to that possibility when he arm-barred Cop in the Interim Heavyweight
Championship match at last year’s Final Conflict. Fans had
hoped for a Cop-Fedor match in this year’s Grand Prix, but
Kevin Randleman crushed those hopes with a left hook and a series
of devastating hammer-fists at Total Elimination 2004. Now, Mirko
faces Fedor’s brother, Aleksander Emelianenko. Fedor will
certainly be paying attention.
Filipovic
holds a 16-7-0 record in K-1 kickboxing competition, having bested
Jerome Le Banner, Mark Hunt, Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky and Bob
Sapp among others. Upon making the jump to PRIDE, he took out
prominent fighters such as Kazushi Sakuraba, Heath Herring and
Igor Vovchanchyn on his way to the top. Last year, his streak
was ended by the aforementioned loss to Nogueira. Since then,
“The Croatian Sensation” has been struggling to regain
his former momentum and re-enter the Championship picture. A
victory over Fedor’s brother would get him back inside the
Heavyweight Champion’s head, to say the least.
Aleksander
Emelianenko stands undefeated in mixed martial arts competition,
but doesn’t have nearly as much experience as his opponent,
and hasn’t faced the same caliber of opposition. His most
notable win was a split decision over Assuerio Silva at the first
PRIDE: Bushido show. Although that match didn’t make the
pay-per-view, this one most definitely will. A fight with Cro-Cop
could be a case of too much too soon, or it could catapult Aleksander
into stardom and herald the beginning of a climb to the top of
the PRIDE Heavyweight ladder. Nogueira may have TWO Emelianenkos
to worry about in the near future!
Wanderlei
Silva (25-3-1) vs. Yuki Kondo (42-13-5)
While
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson sits back and waits for his
shot at Silva’s Middleweight Championship belt, “The
Axe Murderer” will take part in a non-title match with Yuki
Kondo. Silva is once again coming off a several-month absence
due to problems with his knee, possibly caused or aggravated
by his nasty habit of ramming it into his opponents’ faces.
With nearly NINETY FIGHTS between them, these are clearly the
most experienced fighters on the card. When they meet in the
ring, expect fireworks, and keep your eyes peeled. Either one
of these warriors could conceivably walk away with the win in
this match.
Wanderlei
Silva, already an established name in the Vale Tudo circuit,
made his UFC debut at “Ultimate Brazil,” falling to
the fast hands of Vitor Belfort in just 44 seconds. Taking the
loss in stride, Silva began fighting in PRIDE as well as the
UFC, but a decision loss to Tito Ortiz at UFC 25 prompted him
to focus his energies on PRIDE. After racking up wins over Guy
Mezger, Dan Henderson and Kazushi Sakuraba, he became PRIDE’s
Middleweight Champion. Silva swept last year’s Middleweight
Grand Prix as well, defeating Hidehiko Yoshida and “Rampage”
in the same night. Can anyone end his winning streak?
Yuki
Kondo plans to do just that. Semmy Schilt, Frank Shamrock, Guy
Mezger, Ikuhisa Minowa, Yoshiki Takahashi, Alexandre “Café”
Dantas, Sanae Kikuta and Mario Sperry have all tasted defeat
at the hands of the 3rd Light Heavyweight King of Pancrase. How
many fighters can say that they have fought in SIXTY mixed martial
arts matches? Kondo is one of the few who can. In his last 10
fights, Yuki’s only loss was to the gigantic Josh Barnett.
A submission artist with heavy hands and a vicious flying knee,
Kondo always brings a well-rounded game to the table. This match-up
could easily turn out to be the fight of the night!
Kevin
Randleman (15-8-0) vs. Ron Waterman (11-2-2)
It
would appear that Kevin Randleman has finally returned to his
Heavyweight roots after several years of competing as a Light
Heavyweight/Middleweight. Many fans gave Kevin the proverbial
snowball’s chance in hell to get past Mirko “Cro-Cop”
Filipovic in the opening round of this year’s Grand Prix,
but he proved them wrong. That victory has raised his stock considerably.
Ron Waterman could have earned himself a spot in the GP if he
had beaten Cro-Cop at Inferno earlier this year, but it just
wasn’t in the cards for him. Now, both men will receive
a second chance to advance in the Grand Prix by way of this Reserve
Match.
Kevin
“The Monster” Randleman debuted in the UFC with a victory
over Maurice Smith. After losing a split decision to Bas Rutten,
Kevin bested Pete Williams to seize the Heavyweight title left
vacant in Bas’ absence. After losing the title to Randy
Couture, Randleman dropped to Light Heavyweight, losing to Chuck
Liddell but earning a win over Renato “Babalu” Sobral.
Kevin then moved to PRIDE and scored several wins before losing
to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Kazushi Sakuraba.
Although he was eliminated from the Grand Prix by Fedor Emelianenko,
he could buy his way back in with a win here.
Ron
“H2O-Man” Waterman won his UFC debut at UFC 20, the
same card on which Rutten defeated Randleman. After earning a
2-1-1 record in the UFC, Ron branched out to fight in Pride,
WEC and IFC, and he is currently one of the top-ranked Super
Heavyweights in Pancrase. Although he holds a mixed martial arts
record of 11-2-2, Waterman has only really faced one “big-name”
opponent, and that opponent was Cro-Cop; Ron lasted about five
minutes in that fight. Yes, that’s longer than Igor Vovchanchyn
lasted, but it still doesn’t say much for Waterman’s
ability to hang with the heavy-hitters. He could be in trouble.
Grand
Prix Semifinal Matches:
Sergei
Kharitonov (9-0-0) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ( 23-2-1)
In
the first round of the Grand Prix, Sergei Kharitonov went toe-to-toe
with Murilo “Ninja” Rua and scored a knockout victory
to advance to Critical Countdown, where he traded blows with
Semmy Schilt and came out on top to win by TKO. Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira overcame his first two opponents, Hirotaki Yokoi and
Heath “Texas Crazy Horse” Herring, submitting both
of them in the second round with his now-famous “Anaconda
Choke.” Still, this is not your typical “striker-versus-grappler”
match; Sergei is a Sambo expert with excellent submission skills,
and Nogueira has displayed rock-solid boxing ability and a chin
to match.
Kharitonov,
who has displayed an impressive combination of skill, resilience
and sheer aggression in his less-than-one-year-old career in
PRIDE, is undefeated in mixed martial arts competition. This
ruthless Russian has shown himself to be equally adept at submissions
and striking, and not a single one of his fights has ever gone
to the judges’ scorecards. In fact, in his four fights in
PRIDE, he has spent a combined total of less than 20 minutes
in the ring, and has never had a fight enter the second round!
Many viewed Kharitonov as a “dark horse” to win this
tournament, and he may potentially pull off the upset in August.
Antonio
Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira cut his teeth in World
Extreme Fighting and Rings before signing with PRIDE in 2001.
Handily submitting Gary Goodridge and Mark Coleman, Nogueira
won a unanimous decision over Heath Herring to become PRIDE’s
first Heavyweight Champion. After winning non-title matches against
Enson Inoue, Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt and Dan Henderson, he dropped
the title in a unanimous decision loss to Fedor Emelianenko,
but bounced back with a win over Cro-Cop to seize the Interim
Heavyweight Championship. Experience will be his biggest advantage
over Sergei in this match.
Fedor
Emelianenko (18-1-0) vs. Naoya Ogawa (7-0-0)
Ogawa
is “The Great Japanese Hope” in this tournament, as
was Yoshida in last year’s Middleweight Grand Prix. Although
arguments still rage over the quality of opposition these Japanese
icons faced on their respective roads to the semifinals, one
cannot dispute the fact that they were both given tough draws
once they got there. Yoshida, of course, fought Wanderlei Silva
in last year’s Final Conflict, and Ogawa’s opponent
will be the most feared Heavyweight on the Planet: PRIDE Heavyweight
Champion Fedor Emelianenko. This could be Ogawa’s chance
to give his many critics something to chew on, win or lose.
Fedor,
who amassed a 9-1-0 record in Rings competition between 2000
and 2002, is undefeated in PRIDE. After back-to-back wins over
Semmy Schilt and Heath Herring, Fedor set his sights on Nogueira
and the Heavyweight Championship; he got his title shot at PRIDE
25, and walked away with the victory and the belt. In the first
round of the GP, he arm-barred former GP Champion Mark Coleman,
and submitted Coleman’s protégé Kevin Randleman
by Kimura at Critical Countdown to earn his place in the semifinals.
He is now just two wins away from becoming both Heavyweight Champion
and Grand Prix Champion.
Still,
Fedor had best not look past his next opponent, Naoya Ogawa.
Undefeated in his MMA career, this popular pro-wrestler has claimed
victories over Gary Goodridge, Stefan “Blitz” Leko
and “Giant” Silva. However, if you take Goodridge out
of the picture, Ogawa’s other victims have a combined MMA
record of just four wins and SIXTEEN losses, and four of those
opponents have competed in just one MMA fight each. Ogawa has
never faced a top-shelf opponent, and Fedor is arguably the greatest
mixed martial artist in the world. “Ogawamania” is
running wild, but “Emelianenkomania” may stamp it out
at Final Conflict.
Grand
Prix Final Match:
Who
will make it to the finals? When Fedor was rumored to be facing
Kharitonov, we could have safely assumed that one of the finalists
would be Russian, but now it’s anybody’s guess. Sergei,
Nogueira, Fedor, Ogawa… those are four heavy-hitters any
way you match them up. In the world of mixed martial arts, there
are no givens; however, if anything is certain, it is that Final
Conflict 2004 will be an event to remember.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
IFC
Show Cancelled
It's now official. The IFC Sturgis show has been cancelled and
none of the fights will happen. Despite several attempts by IFC
promoter, Paul Smith, to come up with the money or change the
venue, there was simply nothing left to do. Ron Rose's bizarre
roberry was featured in this morning's CNN Headline News. There
will be a press release some time this afternoon.
Fiasco
at the IFC in Sturgis
An
absolute fiasco has engulfed the IFC show in Sturgis, South Dakota.
The IFC was one of several shows to be prominently featured at
the famous Sturgis motorcycle rally. Musicians B.B. King and
the group 38 Special along with comedians Dana Carvey and Paul
Rodriguez were all contracted to perform this weekend. Unfortunately
it seems as if a crooked investor has forced the cancellation
of all performances. Ron Rose is a 7x World Poker Champion and
one of the co-investor/promoters. Mr. Rose apparently stole an
estimated 400 to 600 thousand dollars of the ticket sales and
then promptly skipped town. He also took with him all of the
E ticket terminals. The terminals were the only record keeping
machines for the revenues being generated and it is assumed that
he took them so he could wipe out the hard drives, making an
exact accounting of how much he took impossible. Several hundred
bikers had purchased tickets to the various shows and are now
left with the fact that they were duped out of their money. Millions
will be lost on the show due to the fact that there were several
television shows filming the perfomances along with an HBO special.
The IFC show was set to be a pay per view event and will very
likely be cancelled if other investors don't ante up for the
stolen revenue. Paul Smith and Monte Cox are scrambling to make
the Horn vs. Marquardt fight happen, however Pe De Pano vs. Severn
and all of the Brazilian fighters' fights have been officially
cancelled. We will not find out until tomorrow morning whether
or not the whole show will be cancelled.
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
POSTAL
CONNECTIONS: HUNT VS. IGOR OR COLEMAN AND OTHER PRIDE 28 NEWS
Hello my friends, my postal connections in the DSE/PRIDE organization
are telling me that DSE/PRIDE is leaning towards matching up
Mark Hunt against either Mark Coleman or Igor Vovchanchyn for
their PRIDE 28 show on October 31st.
Stefan
Leko has also been announced for the card.
According
to various sources, the developing card for PRIDE 28 is starting
to look like this:
Vanderlei
Silva vs. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson
Josh Barnett vs. Suren Balachinsky
Mark Hunt vs. Igor Vovchanchyn or Mark Coleman
Stefan Leko vs. TBA (possibly Hirotaka Yokoi)
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. TBA (possibly Kevin Randleman)
Heath Herring vs. TBA (possibly Roman Zentsov or Kevin Randleman)
Dan Henderson vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura*
*If
Nakamura beats Murilo Bustamante first.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
POSTAL
CONNECTIONS: PRIDE 'NEW YEAR SHOW' NEWS
By Tape Lord
Hello my friends, my postal connections in the DSE/PRIDE organization
are telling me that DSE/PRIDE is leaning towards matching up
Vanderlei Silva against the PRIDE 2004 Heavyweight GP champion
for their show on December 31st.
They
are alo leaning towards matching up Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic
against the PRIDE 2004 Heavyweight GP runner-up.
That
means we can possibly see a matchup of Vanderlei Silva vs. either
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko, Sergei Kharitonov,
or Naoya Ogawa.
Likewise,
you can also see a matchup of Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic against
one of these four fighters as well.
According
to various sources, the developing card for December 31st is
starting to look like this:
Vanderlei
Silva vs. PRIDE 2004 Heavyweight GP champion
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. PRIDE Heavyweight GP runner-up
Royce Gracie vs. Genki Sudo
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Naoya Ogawa
Mark Hunt vs. TBA
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. TBA
Source:
Fight Sport
|
YOSHIDA
VS. OGAWA
DSE/PRIDE announced that they would like to make an MMA matchup
of Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Naoya Ogawa for the show on December
31st.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
BARNETT
TO FIGHT IN PRIDE
PRIDE president Sakakibara announced to the Japanese media that
Josh Barnett will be participating on the PRIDE 28 card on October
31st at the Saiyama Super Arena.
According
to Sakakibara, Barnett's opponent will most likely be Suren Balachinsky
of the Russian Top Team.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
TITO
SUPPOSEDLY TRYING TO BACK OUT OF UFC 50
There are rumors coming out of Huntington Beach that Tito Ortiz
is now trying to back out of his scheduled UFC 50 matchup against
Guy Mezger, even though he originally agreed to take the fight.
According
to these rumors, Ortiz waited until advertising had started and
the matchup was announced, so that he can squeeze the UFC for
more money.
Source:
Fight Sport
|
COFFEE
GUY EXCLUSIVE: RICCO VS. KYLE
By Coffee Guy
Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.
The
following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant
called 'Coffee Guy':
The
matchup of Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Kyle has now been signed
for UFC 50, which is tentatively scheduled for October 22nd.
The
UFC 50 lineup is starting to look like this:
Official
(signed)
Tito Ortiz vs. Guy Mezger
Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Kyle
Tra Telligman vs. Paul Buentello
Evan Tanner vs. Robbie Lawler
Phil Baroni vs. Trevor Prangley
Unofficial
(not yet signed)
Renato 'Charuto' Verissimo vs. TBA (possibly Frank Trigg)
Matt Serra vs. Hermes Franca
Marvin Eastman vs. Patrick Cote
Rich Franklin vs. Jorge Rivera
Source:
Fight Sport |
|
PRIDE
'VEGAS' UPDATE
PRIDE
president Sakakibara announced to the Japanese media that their
planned show for Las Vegas will take place in the Spring of 2005.
The
Vegas show will focus on a second edition of the Middleweight
(205-pound) Grand Prix.
Source:
Fight Sport |
|
Trouble
at 'Chez' Peligro!
Things
just got a lot tougher at the Peligro house; arguments just became
dangerous, life threatening situations! The reason: After 11
years of dedicated training, Mrs. Peligro just got awarded her
Black Belt under long time instructor Royler Gracie!
And
you guys thought you had it rough at home : )
Congratulations
to the Mrs. for the HUGE accomplishment!
Superfight
announced for 2nd IGJJF Update
Announced
Superfght for the 2nd IGJJF. 'The superfight taking place on
Sunday, 29 of August will be the much anticipated rematch between
Travis Lutter and Ryron Gracie. The first and only time they
have fought, was at the Ultimate Submission Showdown on October
2003. Lutter won 13x0 over Ryron after his epic 68 minutes battle
against Jeff Monson. Don´t miss the rematch and many other
great fights!
For
more info go to www.IGJJF.com
Source:
ADCC/Kid Peligro |
RHADI
FERGUSON'S ATHENS JOURNAL: JIMMY PEDRO SPEAKS TO TEAM MEETING
by: Eddie Goldman/ADCC Wrestling Editor
ATHENS, Aug. 11 -- We had a team meeting today and Jimmy Pedro
gave a talk that would have knocked your $@#%#$^(% socks off!!!
Man, I got so hyped from that speech is was unreal.
He
basically explained, after having been to 3 Olympic Games (this
being his fourth) that nothing happens at the Olympics the way
you expect it to. He said that every Olympic Games there has
been a nobody that you have never heard of before the Games that
gets on the medal stand and then after the Games he's a nobody
again, but on THAT DAY he was the man. He said, if you believe
you can get to the stand, you'll be there. He told us how he
was favored to win in 2000 and ended up fifth and how he wasn't
favored in 1996 and ended up 3rd. He talked about believing that
you can do it and leaving the naysayers in the dust. It was truly
moving.
We
had press conference today. It was the first time that I've been
on a discussion panel having questions fired at me. I felt like
Michael Jordan. :-)
Practice
was good. My legs feel a bit heavy. I will take 2morrow off,
get an ice bath a massage and get ready for................ THE
OPENING CEREMONIES BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As
you can see.... I'm slightly excited.
Oh
one more thing. I had a great conversation with Flavio Canto
(81 kg judoka from Brazil). We were just talking about how this
is the culmination of all of our hard work and training and sacrifices.
He was talking about the magic of the Olympics and how this is
his last hurrah. It was moving. We talked for about 40 minutes.
Man, everybody here has a story. I'm just glad that you have
chosen to read mine. Take care and I'll write again. I will probably
shut down a day or two b4 I compete. I compete on the 19th of
August.
Rhadi
Ferguson
2004 Olympian
USA Judo
'You gotta be in it - to win it!'
www.trainingtowin.com
Source:
ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"Victory belongs to the most persevering."
Napoleon
Bonaparte, 1769-1821, French General, Emperor |
The
Brazilian Beat:
Minotauro already in Japan, Wanderlei departuring, Sperry going
to be father, Storm Samurai results and more!
With the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix finals an UFC 49 coming
up later in August, what else could a fighting fan ask for? Needless
to say, as anywhere in the globe right now, most of the Brazilian
MMA fan attention has been focused on those two great shows coming
up, as expectations are high with Brazilian fighters such as
Wanderlei Silva, Rodrigo Minotauro and Vitor Belfort involved
in the most crucial match-ups of those events. But as I usually
say in this space, this is not all by any means and there's always
much more going on this country's mixed martial arts scene. Two
interesting shows took place recently in Brazil, with Carlson
Gracie presenting his new venture Real Fight, and the already
traditional Storm Samurai promotion brining what many thought
was their best show ever. Besides that rumors and news continue
to appear all the time regarding fighter's next moves, training
sessions and even the now so usuall team's changing. While the
big time shows are still a bit distant, allow FCF to bring you
the news straight from Brazil as we lay down the beat once again!
Enjoy!
UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort is ready for the
big time task of rematching Randy "the Natural" Couture
at the next UFC. Training in California for a good while already,
"The Phenom" told FCF he is feeling great and training
has been tough, as he is already anxious for fight time. Meanwhile,
nothing was found yet about his missing sister, Priscila Belfort,
here in Brazil. It has been a while since any news were heard
on TV and FCF still hopes for the best.
The
finals of the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix are coming up, and
Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira left Brazil this past Wednesday, going
to Japan along with the rest of the Brazilian Top Team crew to
take care of the final details of his preparation on the land
of the rising sun, making sure everything will be perfect in
the night of fights. According to Mario Sperry training went
great and Nogueira is ready for both Kharitonov and whomever
makes it to the final. Murilo Bustamante, who turned 38 years
old recently, is also happy to be coming back to Pride facing
Kazuhiro Nakamura, and is still wanting a rematch against Dan
Henderson in a future Pride edition.
Another
fighting icon who's returning to the rings in this Pride show
is the one and only Wanderlei Silva. "The Axe Murderer"
will be departing for Japan this Monday, and is feeling more
than ready to face Japanese idol Yuki Kondo. Training sessions
for the fight at Chute Boxe were truly insane in the past weeks,
to make sure Silva gets to the fight in great shape. Word has
that Wanderlei and his teammate Murilo Ninja Rua have been training
very hard with one another, with Ninja being also in great shape
and eager to fight.
Another
edition of the already traditional Storm Samurai event, promoted
by Chute Boxe master Rafael Cordeiro, took place this last Saturday
August 7th in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Storm started out
years ago as a Muay Thai only event, but with time it merged
to a diverse Martial Arts showdown as Storm Samurai was created,
and since then the show saw also Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Wrestling
and most importantly MMA fights in its cards. This last edition
focused on Muay Thai and MMA, with some interesting fighters
featured at Mixed Martial Arts. Mauricio "Veio" Amado's
brother, Andre "Dida" Amado from Chute Boxe was one
of the stand outs adding one more win to his record, taking Leandro
Sousa for a judges' decision win, as was long time Muay Thai
stand out Fabio Tigrao, also from Chute Boxe, who used the same
choke that Minotauro has been making famous in Pride to defeate
Julio Cesar in the second round. However, the most impressive
outing was done by top Chute Boxe fighter Luis Azeredo, who needed
mere 30 seconds to score his KO win over Heat FC veteran Eduardo
Simoes. Here are the results from the MMA fights:
Andre
"Dida" Amado defeated Leandro Sousa by judges' decision
Marcelo
"Pato" Donald defeated Julio Cesar "Jamanta"
by TKO in the 1st round
Tadeu
defeated Michael Costa by footlock at the 1st round
Fabio
Tigrao defeated Julio Cesar by choke in the 2nd round
Luis
Azeredo defeated Eduardo Simoes by KO in the 1st round
If
this past weekend had its share of good MMA action in Brazil,
the one before that wasn't an exception as Real Fight, promoted
by master Carlson Gracie, took place in the worlwide famous city
of Rio de Janeiro bringing some of the sport's newcomers in our
country, as well as lots of veterans from Brazilian shows, to
compete inside its ring. The biggest appeal of the show, at least
in its press releases, was the participation of recent Brazilian
Big Brother TV show participant and Meca veteran Marcelo Dourado
on its card. Unfortunatelly for Dourado though, his comeback
to MMA after achieving his 15 minutes of mainstream fame didn't
go as well as planned, and he was controlled by a smart, but
not so aggressive, Luiz Pimpolho from Nova Uniao in a judges'
decision effort. The biggest stand out in a night full of judges'
decision was Italian fighter Alessio Sakara, who scored a quick
KO over K-1 veteran Eduardo Maiorino in about 30 seconds, showing
his long time of training in Brazil has been paying off. Here
are the results from the show:
Farinha
defeated Buiu by judges' decision
Ivan Alves defeated Rodrigo "Bicudinho" by forfeit
after the 1st round
Daniel Pit defeated Neca by judges' decision
Ricardinho defeated Rodrigo Totti by judges' decision
Ricardo Petrucci defeated Fabio Flores by judges' decision
Nilson Pugatti defeated Eraldo Paes by judges' decision
Leopoldo Serao defeated Fabrinni by rear naked choke in the 1st
round
Antonio Sergio defeated Fabio Silva by judges' decision
Peterson Mello defeated Julian Soares by judges' decision
Paulo Boiko defeated Jorge Brito by judges' decision
Luiz Pimpolho defeated Marcelo Dourado by judges' decision
Alessio Sakara defeated Eduardo Maiorino by KO in the 1st round
UFC
veteran Hermes Franca is leaving the American Top Team to comeback
to Brazil and join the Brazilian Top Team. Franca is reported
to have had a problem with one of his trainers at ATT, and even
though the problem was later solved and Hermes believed he was
indeed wrong in the argument, he felt he couldn't stay in the
team and the Brazilian Top Team seemed like the perfect place
to continue his fighting career. After the BTT heads decided
to accept Hermes Franca as a new member of the team, everything
was set and the Brazilian fighter will likely come to his birth
country at August 18th, when he will finally start training at
his new home.
Speaking
of the Brazilian Top Team, legendary fighter and one of BTT leaders
Ze Mario Sperry is going to be a father! Sperry told the good
news to FCF recently, as his wife's pregnancy is around six weeks
already. With a busy schedule as he has, training, fighting and
managing, the "Zen Machine" will have to work his magic
once again with his new daddy duty, and FCF wishes the best for
the couple and the baby on the way!
UFC
veteran Pedro Rizzo's next MMA fight is likely to take place
in Pride, despite many beliefs that had Pedro going to Pride's
rival Japanese organization K-1 MMA. At least this is what UFC
legend Marco Ruas said during his recent visit to Brazil on cable
channel Premiere Combate. During an interview to the channel,
Ruas told the show's host Jorge Guimaraes that negotiations are
going on with Pride, and this is likely to be "The Rock"
next stop.
Meca
11 sensation and UFC veteran Tony De Souza is still in his birthplace
country of Peru. "Mendigo", as he got famous in Meca
11, has been taking this time to train his students, as well
as being a guest referee in some grappling competitions in the
country. Tony is still unsure about when he will come back to
Brazil, as he is still awaiting confirmation about his likely
fight at the next Pride Bushido even in September.
Brazilian
Top Team fighter, UFC and Pride veteran Allan Goes will be back
in action this next September 26th, in Stockholm, Sweden, facing
Pierre Guillet at European Vale Tudo 4. Guillet's orginal opponent
was scheduled to be Guy Mezger, however with Mezger getting a
fight against Tito Ortiz in the UFC the spot openend and Goes
looked like the best choice. This will be a good opportunity
for the Brazilian fighter to get back on the winning track after
his controversial loss to Gustavo Ximu at Heat FC 2.
Source: FCF
|
IFC
in Sturgis - This Weekend - Bikes & Fights!!!
PIC:
Cuthroat Fightgear's STURGIS 2004 commemorative t-shirt! Be on
the lookout at the show, check out their other great gear at
http://www.cutthroatfightgear.com/
This
weekend, the IFC holds their much anticipated show at the 64th
annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. The
confirmed change to the card so far is that Mike Van Arsdale
is out of the Heavyweight tournament, and “Scary” Jerry
Vrbanovic of KOTC and WEC fame is in. This means Team Extreme’s
Travis Wiuff will fight James Irvin while Vrbanovic fights BTT’s
Andre Mussi in the first round of the tournament with the winners
of those fights facing off for the IFC world title at the end
of the show.
One
of the other fights may be in jeopardy. IFC World Women’s
Lightweight Champion Jacqueline Andrade is supposed to be fighting
IFC World Women’s Middleweight Champion Jennifer Howe for
Howe’s belt. The dividing line between these two weight
classes is 135 lbs with Light Heavyweight going from 135-149.99.
Jennifer's manager Monte Cox, and Andrade’s manager/trainer
Cesar Gracie report Andrade is not able to make 135. It should
be noted that Andrade just joined Cesar’s about a month
ago, several weeks after signing to do this fight, so Cesar academy
was not responsible for a miscommunication i the weights. Cesar
states the fight will either happen at 145 for Andrade’s
Light Heavyweight belt or not at all while Jennifer and Cox are
trying to adhere to the original agreement at force Andrade to
cut to 135 or pull out. According to Cesar this is a result of
a mis-communication between IFC President Paul Smith and Andrade
and currently she walks around at 148. Paul could not be reached
for comment.
Also
on the card are BJJ champion Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz’s
MMA debut against UFC vet Dan Severn, former King Of Pancrase
Nathan Marquardt vs. vet of just about every MMA show Jeremy
Horn for the World Middleweight belt, two K-1 style matches,
and much more. Although the Sturgis rally may be difficult for
most fans to attend in person the results of this card will be
felt for a long time to come.
Preliminary
Welterweight Fight
Alex Gasson vs. Ali Abdelazizi
Preliminary
Heavyweight Fight
Jacob Conliffe vs. Gabe Beaupurthy
ISKA
K-1 Style Lightweight Fight
Jake Hattan vs. Mark Hominck
ISKA-MMA
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Eliminator Fight 1
Travis Wiuff vs. James Irvin
ISKA-MMA
World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Eliminator Fight 2
'Scary Jerry' Vrbanovic vs. Andre Mussi
ISKA
K-1 Style United State Light Heavyweight Championship
John Cronk vs. Pete Spratt
IFC
World Women's Middleweight Championship
IFC Women’s World Light Heavyweight Champion Jaqueline Andrade
vs. IFC Women’s World Middleweight Champion Jennifer Howe
ISKA-MMA
World Middleweight Championship
Nathan Marquardt vs. Jeremy Horn
ISKA-MMA
World Heavyweight Tournament Championship Final
Winner of Semi-Final Fight 1 vs. Winner of Semi-Final Fight 2
IFC
Caged Combat Heavyweight Super Fight
Marcio 'Pe de Pano' Cruz vs. Dan “The Beast” Severn
Source: ADCC
|
Pe
de Pano - Always Controversial as he Debuts in MMA!
'In
my corner, there won’t be any white towel, and nobody is
going to wear white t-shirt' starts BJJ and ADCC Submission Wrstling
world champion Marcio 'Pe De Pano' Cruz, who debuts in MMA this
weekend in South Dakota's Sturgis event. 'Only the referee will
be able to stop the fight. I’m a warrior. I’m not afraid
of being in a vale-tudo fight' he adds. This was back in December
of 2003, when the Gracie Barra athlete had just won the absolute
category of the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship for the second time
(2002-2003). At that time, he was very anxious to start his career
in the Mixed Martial Arts, and said a lot of controversial things.
And
now comes the time for Cruz to back up his quotes. The black-belt
debuts in a MMA ring at August 14, in the International Fighting
Championship (IFC), against ‘The Beast’ Dan Severn.
If Pe de Pano defeats the veteran wrestler, there are rumors
that his next opponent could be another vale-tudo novice, and
JJ champion: Ronaldo 'Jacare' Imagine what Cruz would say about
that. When he gets back, we will ask him, and then the fireworks
will begin again!
Source: ADCC
|
Pride
GP: Rodrigo Nogueira will exchange punches with Kharitonov
Pride
Heavyweight Interim Champion Rodrigo Nogueira, departed from
Rio de Janeiro last Wednesday for Japan, where next August 15th,
he will face Russian Sergei Kharitonov in the semi finals of
Pride GP's Final Conflict, at Saitama Super Arena.
The
Brazilian will spend ten days training with Zé Mário
Sperry, his twin brother Rogério Minotouro, Luis Dória
and Luiz Alves and he has a warning for his Russian opponent:
'I will exchange punches' Minotauro stoically adds: 'I already
have a strategy planned for him. I am aware how to neutralize
his game. But I must say I trust in my boxing skills and my training
in Cuba and I will give my best' Minotauro also wants to reach
the Pride GP finals in good physical condition. 'I will exchange
punches until I feel uncomfortable with it. I don't want to get
hurt' stated the Brazilian champion.
Minotauro
also commented on Kevin Randleman's entry as a alternate. 'I
have been talking about it with Zé Mário. We think
Kevin surprised throughout the tournament. He did an awesome
fight against Mirko Cro Cop and then gave a hard time to Fedor.
Pride's choice was really good. Kevin deserves it' said Minotauro,
who sends a message to fans all over the globe. 'Cheer for me.
Send us here in Japan some good vibrations. I will give my best
and I need to bring this title to Brazil. Brazilians do need
this title right now' believes Rodrigo Minotauro.
Source: ADCC
|
RHADI
FERGUSON'S ATHENS NOTES: TRAINING, RULON, JENNY FINCH, AND MAURICE
GREENE
August
9th - practice, Rulon, Jenny Finch
Just
got out of practice. It was very hot, but I feel great. Crisp
and smooth. My teammates look good too. I am really impressed
with Celita Shutz, Brian Olson and Jimmy Pedro.
I
ran into Rulon Gardener today at the American College of Greece.
He looks fit and ready to go. Most of the Americans train at
the American College of Greece instead of at the village of at
the venues that are available to the other countries. At The
ACG we have a setup that is very similar to the Olympic Training
Center.
We
have a Sports Medicine Div, a sports Psych division, we brought
the chefs from the Olympic training center so the food is similar
to what we are used to and we have our own strength and conditioning
facility. It's all gravy!!
After
practice today I went to Sports Med and got a massage and then
saw chiropractor to get my hips and back loose. Things are going
okay, we (the judo team) are staying downstairs from the Softball
team. I got Jenny Finch to autograph a picture for me. And yes,
she is as beautiful as all the magazines make her out tobe (but
my WIFE'S GOT HER BEAT BY A MILE!!! :-)
The
Greco Roman wrestling team got here yesterday and the freestyle
team will be here on Wednesday. That's about it.
Going
for the Gold,
Rhadi
Ferguson
USA Judo
2004 Olympian
http://www.trainingtowin.com
August
11th
Today
is the 11th of August - 2 more day until Opening Ceremonies.
Most of the Lightweights are not practicing today. I think I
am going to do 2 hard randori rounds (for my wrestling fans -
that's 2 five minute goes). I will get on the track and do 'my
warmup' and then change into my gi and fight. It is important
to do 'your warmup'.
I
don't train with the people here on a regular basis so when other
people lead the stretching routine it bothers me because I have
certain things that I want to do in my warmup routine - so I
find a way to break away as soon as possible. This morning I
just asked the coaches if I could do my own thing so I can make
sure that I am ready and that my warm up is sufficient for this
climate. It is very hot!!! It feels like South Florida here.
Drinking water is a must. I strained my left bicep muscle yesterday
which was due to dehydration (hurts like hell :-) ) but it's
not bad just irritating.
I
am getting real excited about the Games getting ready to begin.
Yesterday I was hanging out with the track and field athletes.
They have got to be the funniest athletes on the planet. They
have a wide array of personalities and charisma. I took some
pictures with Maurice Greene yesterday, he's a pretty small guy,
but of course fast. I will have a picture CD made and then after
the Opening ceremonies - I will put some up. Gotta go to practice.
Take
it easy,
Rhadi
Ferguson
2004 Olympian
USA Judo
If
you would like to join this newsletter send an email to
athens2004@aweber.com and write in the subject line - SIGN ME
UP!!
Source: ADCC
|
U.S.
OLYMPIC GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING TEAM MEETS THE PRESS IN ATHENS
The
six-member U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team arrived in
Athens, Greece, Sunday afternoon, ready to compete at the 2004
Olympic Games. After settling in, one of their first orders of
business was to conduct a press conference Monday afternoon.
Here are quotes from that press conference, as supplied by the
U.S. Olympic Committee.
Quotes,
U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Team Aug. 9, 2004, 2 p.m.
Steve
Fraser (Colorado Springs, Colo.), head coach
Assessing his team:
'I'm very confident with our team. We've got a nice mix of veterans
who have won medals in past Olympics, and we've got some newcomers
to the Olympics, which lends itself to a nice mix in our chemistry.
I'm confident we're going to do a great job here in Athens. The
field is very difficult, it's very deep, there are a lot of tough
matches. We're going to have to wrestle up to our potential and
beyond that to achieve the goals we're set. Our goal is to win
four medals and place all six wrestlers in the top 10. If we
can do that, we'll win the unofficial team title. Every one (of
the U.S. team members) has the capability of winning a medal.'
Dennis
Hall (Plover, Wis.), 55 kg
On his return to the Olympics for the first time since 1996:
'I'm very excited to be coming to my third Olympic Games. I'm
looking forward to the events here.'
On
Athens' preparations for the Olympic Games:
'I was pretty impressed with the way Athens is set up and ready
for the Games. I came over here in 1999 and the traffic was real
bad. I'm impressed so far – the traffic's been
great and security's not a concern. They've got enough people
doing the job. My main concern is getting ready for the Games.'
Jim
Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 60 kg
On his medal chances:
'As with any tournament, you don't train to lose. I think my
medal chances are great. You look at my performances at the last
four world competitions, every year I've taken a step up. Last
year I was fourth, and this year, if I keep heading in the right
direction, I'll get a medal.'
On
Athens' preparations for the Olympic Games:
'I was here in 2001 and at the time, to be honest, I didn't think
they'd be ready. Then you hear all the things that had been put
out in the media, that things weren't going to be ready, that
it didn't look good. But then you get here, they're fine, they've
done what they've needed to do to get the Games rolling. We got
to the Village yesterday and it looks great. The cafeteria was
unbelievable. At least they got the food ready for us.'
Oscar
Wood (Fort Carson, Colo.), 66 kg
On what he's learned from the veterans in his first Olympic experience:
'I've talked to a lot of the guys on the teams who are previous
Olympians. They give a lot of good advice about things to think
about and how to perform.'
Brad
Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 84 kg
On being the first Nebraska-born (Schuyler, Neb.) wrestler to
compete in the Olympics:
'You not only represent the United States (as an Olympian), but
you also represent your home state. Being the first one from
(Nebraska) to do it in wrestling, it feels good. I know that
it's important for me to represent all the kids that have a dream
coming from small towns. I feel blessed to be here representing
my family, my hometown and, of course, the United States.'
On
Athens' preparations for the Olympic Games:
'Athens has done a great job. The people have been great here,
and I feel very secure in the city.'
Garrett
Lowney (Freedom, Wis.), 96 kg
On the neck injury that kept him from competing at last year's
world championships:
'I had a herniated disk between my third and fourth vertebrae.
Along with some other neck problems that I'd had over the years
it complicated things quite a bit. I had to have surgery to have
my third and fourth vertebrae fused together, and they put a
plate on it. I wasn't planning on wrestling again, but my neck
healed up just the way I could have asked for. The doctors gave
me the okay to start training again, and I haven't looked back.
My neck doesn't limit me at all, and I really don't think about
it any more.'
Rulon
Gardner (Afton, Wyo.), 120 kg
On entering this Olympic Games as an underdog despite being the
defending gold medallist:
'Coming into the Athens Olympics is a bit different feel, knowing
that it's the second Olympic Games, but overall I think the anxiety
is still the same. Being able to represent your country is everything
an athlete can ask for. I think we'll all go out there and do
our best and hopefully come home with a gold medal.'
On
being in Athens to compete:
'On the way in from the airport, we saw signs that say 'welcome
home' and I think that's what's astonishing to me. Greco-Roman
is one of the first Olympic sports, and this is its birthplace.
This is going to be the place for us to go out and show how we've
prepared. The people of Athens have been nothing but spectacular
in the last few years to get this beautiful city in place for
us to be here to compete and hopefully be successful.'
Source: ADCC
|
Quote
of the Day
"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948, Indian Political, Spiritual Leader
|
Rumble
Vision Premieres Tonight!
Prodigy Productions, the producers of Rumble On The Rock now
gives you a new TV series called RUMBLE VISION.
RUMBLE
VISION is a new and action-packed Mixed Martial Arts Television
series that will showcase the best fighters in the World. The
show will give fans the opportunity to see what it really takes
to be in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
RUMBLE
VISION is a one-hour program that will be aired every Wednesday
night at 10:30 pm. The show will be aired statewide in Hawaii
on K5 The Home Team for one full season. You can watch the Premier
of the show on Wednesday, August 11, 2004.
|
Murilo
Bustamante fights at Pride GP thinking of Henderson
Brazilian
Top Team black belt Murilo Bustamante is ready to face Japanese
fighter Kazuhiro Nakamura on the undercard of the next Pride
GP Final Conflict, which happens on August 15th at the Saitama
Super Arena.
Despite
the bout, Bustamante still has a rematch with American Dan Henderson
on his mind. 'I have been training hard to face Henderson and
sooner or later it will happen. This is one of the goals for
my career' reveals Bustamante, who still has trouble accepting
the results from their first match, last September. 'That fight
did not finish, and I don't see myself as defeated. The headbutt,
even though it was involuntary, influenced the final result'
complains the Jiu-Jitsu black belt, who requested a 'No Contest'
from Pride. 'Unfortunately I think nothing will really happen'
he lamented.
Murilo
Bustamante's opponent at the Final Conflict will be the same
fighter who fought Rogério 'Minotouro' at the last Pride
Bushido 4. 'Rogério and I talked about and studied his
game. I will be better on the ground and on the feet. In fact
I am not worried. I already have been training hard and it will
be a great fight. He is a Judo fighter and a really tough athlete,
who has great take downs, but I will impose my game' guaranteed
Bustamante, who traveled to Japan last Saturday with BTT leaders
Bebeo Duarte, Cláudio Coelho, Márcio Pimentel and
BJJ black belt Fernando Paradeda.
Source: ADCC |
Japanese
Power Play Hits Zero
Commentary by Jake Rossen
One would think that ESPN - a content funnel that has a near-stranglehold
on a unique sports product in the States - would embrace that
opportunity and make its viewers aware of such alternative programming.
Owning a monopoly on any kind of schedule filler in a 500-channel
universe should be something to brag about.
I'm
not speaking of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, a sardonic
annual event that ESPN2 embraces like a charming retarded child,
but of K-1, which is - impossibly - the lowest rung on their
corporate ladder. Saturday night's "Battle at the Bellagio
III" event, broadcast on ESPN PPV, seemed to operate in
stealth mode, which is a curious strategy for a premium product
that viewers need both locate and pay for. I saw no barker display
for the event other than flashing banner ads threatening epileptic
site visitors on the fight pages.
One
could argue that the meat of the show - an obscene showdown between
Rick Roufus and the bulbous Akebono - was of little interest
to Stateside viewers. One might then wonder why K-1 chose to
ship Akebono over (via barge, I imagine) if the sight of his
quivering mass wouldn't coerce viewers to order up. And if they're
really smart, one would catch themselves trying to make sense
of the Japanese fight scene, stop, and then check for a gas leak.
K-1's
belly flop in the States was perhaps foreshadowed by the collapse
of kickboxing in the 1970s. Pundits (chirping jerks like me in
leisure suits, I suppose) thought that the added dimension of
toe sandwiches would enthrall a public weaned on the exploits
of standard-issue pugilists. This was probably the thought process
that went into three-dimensional chessboards. Remember those?
Of course you don't. Add in a fractured title picture and a lack
of any truly charismatic stars, and kickboxing went the way of
the DoDo before you could say "Atari."
But
the 1990s revealed a new appreciation for expert kicks to the
sternum. The Japanese culture - stereotyped by the Yanks as a
group of honorable traditionalists - embraced K-1, a volatile
mix of karate, kickboxing and even kung-fu. Westerners migrated
overseas for the competition, recognition, and financial reward.
This was kickboxing with some extra flair, involving a generation
weaned on better training methods and mixed with the increasingly
bizarre promotional attitude of professional wrestling.
ESPN
was interested enough to carry repackaged events as late-night
programming on its sister network, and ratings were predictably
solid. K-1 was and is by no means appointment television, but
engages viewers based on the premise that few people are going
to turn away from a fight. We are wired to enjoy drama, and it
can't be pared down any further than a physical conflict. Few
boxing fans were turned on by it, but those ethereal "casual"
fans turned out.
It's
gone no further. Inexplicably, ESPN has no interest in promoting
the content and failed to even acknowledge the weekend's PPV.
We live in the world of corporate synergy: when Warners' new
"Harry Potter" trailer hits, you can bet that AOL will
be bleating about it on its front page. When Microsoft unveils
a buggy piece of software, you can bet that MSNBC will have a
camera plugged in and ready to go. And yet ESPN has yet to have
even one K-1 fighter on ESPNews, or even on "Friday Night
Fights" in what would certainly be a sensible attempt to
engage the boxing contingent.
Despite
a powerhouse media conglomerate behind it, K-1 is regulated to
the backwoods of television, and its PPV events are throwaways.
K-1 does itself no good by making expensive moves into the world
of ailing and aging boxers, enlisting Frans Botha, Ray Mercer,
Larry Holmes, and Shannon Briggs...only to treat them as standard-issue
combatants. How easy is it to package this crew and sell it as
the ultimate showdown between boxing and kickboxing? What art
has the stuff? Your casual fan may not recognize these names
or guys like Sefo and McDonald, but they can certainly wrap their
brains around broad concepts.
Forget
it. It didn't happen.
Instead,
K-1 used Mike Tyson's name to generate huge publicity and inch
after inch of free advertising in the sports pages, something
any combat sport other than boxing is seemingly barred from enjoying.
With that deal having predictably fizzled and Tyson now a non-issue,
they're left with their core product. Having done nothing to
try and ingratiate themselves into the culture, K-1 will remain
a fringe offering for the very simple reason that Americans need
the hard sell, and ESPN isn't pushing. They're not even grunting.
Maybe
Akebono should've entered the hot dog eating contest. There's
your synergy.
***
Equally
perplexing are the wheezing attempts of Dreamstage Entertainment
to try and crack the American market. For years, they've been
promising a US "invasion," dropping fun bombs like
Vanderlei Silva for Las Vegan crowds to eat up. Cranky fans bored
with the UFC's plodding march into the mainstream seem to delight
in believing that Pride will swoop in with the marketing and
production budgets to eviscerate the competition.
Reality
check: Their buyrates on US PPV are anemic, which is frightening
considering that your average "hardcore" MMA fan shouldn't
be able to pass most of their offerings up. (In fact, I'd argue
that however many people order Pride is proportionate to the
exact number of the real diehards here in the States.) They do
little advertising and seem to exert - understandably - a foreign
"feel" that isn't enticing to general viewers. Worst
of all, they're rewarding those who have followed the first two
Grand Prix installments by forcing them to wait on a seven-day
delay for the resolution. The WWE's "Summerslam" is
the weekend of the 15th, the UFC the weekend following.
Sorry,
but the lesser of two evils there would be to try and beat your
direct competitor to the air by a week. MMA fans are not necessarily
pro wrestling fans, but MMA fans are going to be getting online
and deciding whether the show is worth their time and money.
Some counterprogramming to the WWE's dreck would've been a smart
move. They have little to lose.
It's
the kind of decision that indicates what the US market really
is to DSE: a bit of a hobby that deserves little attention or
effort. Brass are probably aware that trying to service two wildly
disparate markets with one show will simply dilute the product
and damage the real cash cow: the Japanese crowds. Likewise,
a Japanese-centric event is not going to excite the fans here.
Is DSE really prepared to give equal time to separate market
strategies? I doubt it. And I doubt even further than DSE has
a handle on what viewers here want. It's a different culture.
I don't see the UFC assuming they can march into Japan and compete
with embedded promotions.
Without
the strength of a marquee name like Tyson or Lesnar behind them,
both Pride and K-1 will forever be on the fringe of the public's
consciousness. Without a sound marketing plan, they will forever
be a misshapen import, too obtuse for people to bother with,
too exotic to be understood.
BRIEFS
TIRED
MIKE
Tyson was conveniently photographed being wheelchaired out of
a hospital last week to bolster claims made by his camp that
his aging, uninterested body collapsed due to a lateral meniscus
tear and not because he was bested by an unknown. Even money
says he'll be fighting a bum on Showtime before the end of the
year. Again, forget Mike in MMA: the last thing anyone would
want to do while their career is on fire is dive into a gas tank.
PENN'S
STATE
BJ Penn is seeking legal action to disrupt an October title bout
between Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre, claiming that Zuffa
refused to give him an opportunity to defend the 170 lb. belt.
I'm no lawyer, but I find it impossible to believe any amount
of legal wrangling could force Zuffa to employ anyone they didn't
want to. Contracts aside, the belt is just a decoration. I'm
not sure if awarding it to a janitor would be grounds for anything.
BET
THE WIFE
Odds are up for the upcoming UFC cards at PinnacleSports.com
and Sportsbook.com. Matchmaker Joey Oddessa seems to favor Antonio
Nogueira and Mirko Filipovic, while I think respective opponents
Sergei Kharitonov and Aleksander Emelianenko could easily upset
and double your money.
THE
"WHY, GOD?" DEPT.
Rumors abound that Guy Mezger is ready to sign off on an October
rubber match against Tito Ortiz. If the second fight - wherein
Ortiz came in on just a couple weeks' notice and manhandled him
- left anything to the imagination, reduce your medication. And
if a win over a semi-retired Mezger is grounds for Ortiz meeting
a title holder in 2005, I'll burp the Japanese alphabet.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
MIR
TAKES OFF UFC 50 TO GET MARRIED
Last time we saw Frank Mir in the Octagon, he was taking out
Tim Sylvia with an armbar that ended up breaking the arm of the
former champion.
The
new champion, Mir, was planning on facing Andrei Arlovski for
the title, but now Mir has had to change a few things. MMAWeekly.com
has learned that Mir will be getting married in September, so
he will take a few months off and fans will have to wait to see
the heavyweight showdown at UFC 51
Source: MMA Weekly |
BELFORT'S
CAMP CONFIDENT VS COUTURE
We had received an interesting post over on our Soundoff Forum
from Rogelio Liborio. He talked about how good Vitor's training
has been for this upcoming fight.
"This
is Rogelio, and first of all, I want to thank everybody, all
of the fans, Vitor and Couture, it should be a great fight. Vitor
says hello to all of his supporters, and he wants to tell you,
that he is ready 100 %, and he is better than ever in his life
before his condition and force is tremedous right now, and is
getting harder for anybody to be able to sparred with Vitor,
since he is taking everybody out. Couture has never seen a fighter
like Vitor Belfort as Vitor is a 1000 times in better shape skill
wise, body wise, and mentaly than in first fight, he will shake
the ground in Las Vegas.
We
have two Olympic level wrestlers with us overhere right now,
one just flew from Miami yesterday and they can't take Vitor
down. Actually Vitor is taking them down at will, so wrestling
will not be factor in this fight.
I
will add a set of pics of training for all of our friends, and
we will try to get then in the news section.
God
bless and thank you for all the support
Rogelio
Liborio.
Source: MMA Weekly |
READY
TO BREAKOUT AT UFC 49
David Terrell joined MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio as a featured guest
of the sixteen fighters in sixteen days segment on Friday. David
is fighting Matt Lindland at UFC 49 on August 21st. Lindland
is considered the top fighter at 185 pounds in the world but
Terrell doesn't really care about that. He sees this fight as
his opportunity to showcase his talent on the big stage.
David
said he has wanted to fight in the UFC for a decade now and at
UFC 49, he will be getting that chance. With two weeks to go
before his big debut, Terrell said, "I'm ready to get this
show on the road."
Terrell
is a part of Cesar Gracie's camp, a camp made up of several young
and promising fighters. On a daily basis, David gets to train
with Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, WEC lightweight champion Gilbert
Melendez, along with a slew of others including UFC veteran Gil
Castillo. He has been training hard and said, "I just feel
fully prepared."
On
the same UFC 49 card, Terrell's stablemate, Nick Diaz, will be
going up against Karo Parisyan. Diaz is coming off a huge knock
out victory over Robbie Lawler at UFC 47 and Karo is fresh off
an impressive winning performance over Shonie Carter. When asked
his thoughts on the match up, Terrell stated, "I don't think
Karo, I don't think that he has a chance in hell unless he just
holds on to him like a baby and don't let go."
David
walks around at nearly 215 pounds when he isn't training for
a fight. Right now, he is about 198 before workouts. Ideally,
he would like to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 195 pounds
the week of the bout and cut down on the day of weigh ins to
make the 185 pound limit. Terrell has been wrestling since he
was in the eighth grade and is no novice to cutting weight.
About
his fight with Lindland, David said, "I'm preparing mentally
and physically for a fifteen minute war." He went on to
say, "I think it's going to be the best fight of the night.
It's going to be an absolute war." Terrell expects Matt
to show up in excellent condition but commented, "I'm in
the best shape of my life and there's no way I'm getting tired
in these fifteen minutes."
Source: MMA Weekly |
MGM
ROLLS OUT CARPET TO WELCOME UFC
It's been quite awhile since the UFC last went to the MGM Grand
in Las Vegas. You have to go back to UFC 40 where Tito Ortiz
took on Ken Shamrock in the main event as far as the last time
that the they have hosted the show.
Now
the MGM is rolling out the red carpet for the upcoming UFC 49
card. As you can see, Randy Couture and Vitor Belfort are featured
on the Blackjack table.
The
MGM will have 20 or so blackjack tables out ready to go, 10 days
before the fights start. So if you going to Vegas, you will have
the opportunity to play on these tables.
Some
good visibility for the average fan, not to mention the MGM is
putting up a section of slot machines with the UFC in the glass,
so Zuffa is getting creative how to market this product to the
masses at the MGM.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Punishment
In Paradise NEWS!!
Friday August 27.2004
Kapolei High Gym
Here comes the MAN OF STEELE!!
Danny Steele
Vs.
Harris "Hitman" Sarimento (808 Fight Factory)
In an Exhibition match with 3x2 Minute Rounds these two fighters
will square of to entertain the fans. We would like to thank
Both Mr. Steele and 808 Management for making this happen.
Kickboxing Championship
Kaipo Gonzalez (Eastsidaz, Kailua)
Current Champion
Vs.
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pin, Kailhi)
Chalenger
MMA Flyweight Bout
Mark Oshiro (Bulls Pin, Kalihi)
Vs.
Jamar (808 Fight Factory, Kaliua)
Light Middleweight Bout
Preston Lee (Animal House, Ewa Beach)
Vs.
Duke Saragosa (808 Fight Factory, Wahiawa)
Light Heavyweight Kickboxing Bout
Alvin (Animal House, Ewa Beach)
Vs.
Leon Spinks (Freelance, Kauai)
**Card Subject To Change**
MORE TO BE ANNOUCED SOON!!
Ticket Information 330-4483 |
Hawaiian
Pro Am Challenge
Submission Grappling 2004
Saturday, August 28th, 2004 / 11:00 a.m.
Saint Louis School Gymnasium
(Open
to all competitors regardless of affiliation or style: Jiu-Jitsu,
Wrestling, Judo, NHB, etc.)
FORMAT:
No Gi; Sport BJJ/ADCC Rules; Single Elimination; Rules &
Regulations on back.
WEIGH-IN / All Oahu Residents: Friday, August 27, 2004 / UH Athletic
Complex #4 / Noon-1 pm, 6-8 pm
/ Non-Oahu Residents ONLY: August 28, 2004 / St. Louis School
Gym / 8-10 a.m.
** Due
to the high volume of late weigh-ins, and resulting delays on
tourney scheduling and bracketing, all late weigh-ins after specified
times, regardless of professional or amateur standing, will be
assessed a late fee of $5 (no exceptions given). Organizers of
this event also reserve the right to reject any and all late
applicants.
PRO PRIZE MONEY:
Indiv. Weight Classes $700/1st & $300/2nd;
Absolute Class Only $1,000/1st & $500/2nd.
** Medals will be awarded to all 1st & 2nd place winners
in the amateur ranks.
ENTRANCE FEES: Amateurs $40 / Professionals $80
** Pay at weigh-in (applications will be available on-site)
CONTACTS:
Romolo Barros @ 392-8330/E-Mail @ barroshawaii@hotmail.com;
James Tanaka @ 223-9363
AGE DIVISION: Junior / 17yrs & below & Adults / 18 yrs
and over
Amateur/Beginner: Less than 2 years experience.
Amateur/Advanced: More than 2 years experience.
Professional/Expert: Any Adult with more than 2 years experience
who wants to compete as a Professional.
Note:
Experience level is determined from the date of your initial
exposure to grappling/wrestling/bjj in a training setting, regardless
of your progress or frequency of training. Please keep in mind
that the goal of sportive competition is to test your skills
and challenge yourself, and is NOT to guarantee victory by competing
against lesser opponents.
WEIGHT DIVISIONS:
143 lbs. and under
144 - 167 lbs.
168 - 191 lbs.
192 - 216 lbs.
Absolute Class - Open to all weights and 217 lbs. and over
RULES & REGULATIONS:
Legal Techniques:
·
Any kind of choke (except for using the hand to close the wind
pipe) with or without the use of the uniform.
· Any arm bars or shoulder locks.
· Any Leg Lock or Ankle Lock (no heel hooks).
Illegal
Techniques :
·
No neck cranks or heel hooks
· No striking of any kind
· No eye gouging or fish hooking
· No grabbing the ears
· No hair pulling
· No finger or toe holds
· No thumbing (body slamming)
· No scratching and pinching
· No kicking
· No biting
· No touching groin area
· No hands, knees or elbows on face
· No slippery substances allowed on body or clothing
Securing Points:
· Mount position = 2 points
· Back mount w/hooks = 3 points
· Passing the guard = 3 points
· Knee on stomach = 2 points
· Sweeps = 2 points
· Takedown = 2 points
Ways
to Win:
· Submission
· Points
· Referee Decision/Disqualification
Time Limits :
· Amateur = 5 Minutes
· Professional = 10 Minute
Miscellaneous
Information:
·
All competitors must compete with clean attire.
· All competitors who fail to appear when their name is
called will forfeit the match.
· The competition is not liable for any injury and/or
accident involving competitors.
· The organizers of the competition reserve the right
to consolidate weight divisions if there is a lack of competitors
and competition.
· No video cameras allowed at the event.
Source: Event Promoter |
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