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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
November
Pride
Bushido 5
(MMA)
(Yokohama Arena, Japan)
September
Ring
of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Kauai)
Tentative
9/25/04
NAGA Hawaii State Grappling Championships
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
9/11/04
K-1 Hawaii
(Boxing & Kickboxing)
(Aloha Stadium)
August
Ring of Honor 6
( Kickboxing/MMA)
(Maui)
Tentative
8/28/04
Hawaiian Grappling Challenge
(Submission Grappling)
(Oahu)
8/15/04
Pride
Final Conflict
(MMA)
(Saitama Super Arena, Japan)
July
Bushido 4
(MMA)
(Nagoya Rainbow Hall, Japan)
7/26/04
False Crack Mondays
(MMA, Kickboxing, Toughman)
(Volcanoes Night Club)
7/24/04
Submission Wrestling Tpurnament
(Sub Grappling)
(Kahului, Maui, Hawaii)
July 9-12
BJJ
World Cup (CBJJO)
(BJJ)
(SESC gym, Salvador, Brazil)
7/9/04
Shooto
Hawaii
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/26/04
Kickin' It
(Kickboxing)
(Palama Settlement)
|
|
June 2004 News Part
3
Wednesday
night and Sunday classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
 
For the special Onzuka.com
price, click on one of these banners above! |
Tuesdays at 6:00PM on
Olelo Channel 52 |
Quote
of the Day
"Some people come into our lives and quickly go, some stay
for a while and leave footprints in our hearts, and we are never,
ever the same."
Unknown |
Soljah
Fight Night Weigh-In
The weigh-ins will be held at Hard Rock Cafe at 2:00 pm on July
8th. Come meet all the big names that will be fighting on this
super card!
Soljah
Fight Night
"Hawaii & Japan vs the World!"
Neal Blaisdell Arena
Friday, July 9th, 2004
Fights start at 6:00 PM so get there early
Promoted by Sustain and sanctioned by the International Shooto
Commission.
Tickets
are on sale NOW
and are starting at $20. There is no reason
to miss this show!
This
show is for Hawaii National Guard's Youth Challenge.
Keep the youth off of drugs and out of gangs and use their energy
to hit the books hard. You have to start the prevention early
and keep repeating the message!
This
is the most talent filled card ever put on in Hawaii. Two Shooto
World Title Fights are featured on this card. Hawaii's Ray "Bradda"
Cooper finally gets a title shot against Cesar Gracie trained
Jake Shields and the return of Masanori Suda, the man who beat
Egan Inoue for the Super Brawl World Title in just 27 seconds
comes back to Hawaii to defend his Shooto Light Heavyweight Title
against the submission machine, Dustin Denes from the black belt
filled American Top Team. The two hardest punchers pound for
pound in MMA face off as Hawaii's Stephen "Bozo" Paling
fights former UFC Lightweight Champion, Jens Pulver. One of the
best submission grapplers on the planet, multiple time black
belt Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and currently undefeated Shooto
Lightweight Champion, Vitor "Shaolin" Riberio makes
his first appearance in an MMA match on Hawaii soil. Also on
this card is the show stopper, Rumina Sato, facing a very tough
Bao Quach. A women's match is even included on this card as HMC's
Betta Yeung squares off with Ana Michelle Dantas of Arizona Combat
Sports/Nova Uniao. The card is rounded out with exciting and
top local talent such as Takao vs Newalu, Kikuchi vs the undefeated
Andres, and the much anticipated Moreno vs Dean slugfest. If
there ever was a reason to come to Hawaii, other than the sun
and beautiful people, this event should seal the deal.
Tentative Fight Card:
Card subject to change.
Shooto
Middleweight World Title Fight
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (12-6, #2 ranked in Shooto)
vs.
Jake Shields (Cesar Gracie, 8-3-1, #1 ranked in Shooto)
Lightweight
3R
Stephen
"Bozo" Paling (Jesus is Lord, 11-6-1, #3 ranked in
Shooto)
vs.
Jens Pulver (Miletich Fighting Systems, 20-5-1, #6 ranked in
Shooto, former UFC lightweight Champion)
Shooto
Light Heavyweight World Title Fight
Masanori Suda (Club J, 20-8-2, Shooto Light Heavyweight and Super
Brawl World Champion)
vs.
Dustin "Clean" Denes (American Top Team, 9-1-1, #1
ranked in Shooto)
Welterweight 3R
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (Nova Uniao, 9-0, Shooto Welterweight
Champion)
vs.
Mitsuhiro Ishida (Tops, Japan, 6-1-1, #10 ranked in Shooto)
Lightweight 3R
Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira (World Fight Center, 10-2-2,
Shooto World Lightweight Champion)
vs.
TBA.
Lightweight 3R
Rumina Sato (K'z Factory, 20-8-2)
vs.
Bao Quach (Team Oyama, 6-6, #10 ranked in Pac Rim Shooto)
Featherweight 2R
Kyle Takao
(HMC, 2-1-1)
vs.
Ed Newalu
(808 Fight Factory, 3-7)
Welterweight 2R
Jim Kikuchi
(808 Fight Factory, 4-3)
vs.
Neal Andres
(HMC, 4-0)
Middleweight 2R
Mark "El
Toro" Moreno (Bulls Pen, 5-4-2)
vs.
PJ Dean
(Team Bad Intentions)
|
SAPP'S
LATEST LOSS THE END?
MMAWeekly reader Mark Suzuki sent this interesting information
in from writer Zac Arnold. Arnold is a great writer who covers
the Japanese scene for puroresupower.com and had a great article
wondering if this was the end of the road for Bob Sapp.
Sapp
lost to Ray Sefo by KO at :49 seconds into Round 2 and Arnold
discussed whether or not K-1 was treating Sapp with respect or
not.
Here
is what Arnold said. "I'm amazed at the lack of outrage
there has been over the fact that K-1 management this last month
has basically thrown Sapp on the proverbial train tracks and
let him get run over. Did K-1 have a choice given the current
circumstances with Sapp wanting to go to Hollywood? No. But guess
what? They didn't have to book Sapp vs. Fujita on 5/22 in Saitama,
either, and they did. We've seen from PRIDE management that fighters
who have showed them box office bonanza with loyalty will get
that in return (see: Sakuraba).
However,
the way that K-1 management got rid of Sapp as soon as they possibly
could when he lost a no-win fight to Kazuyuki Fujita (who isn't
a draw in Japan and has the hardest cranium known to man) and
finished him off with a fight against Ray Sefo, someone with
skills 10-fold of Sapp in legitimate kickboxing, is stunning.
Yes, Sapp wanted out of fighting after the 5/22 Saitama fight.
And yes, Sapp had to fight the 6/26 show due to a contract. But
the way it was handled by K-1 was absurdly disloyal and dumb
on a business-level.
After
pushing and pushing and pushing Sapp onto the Japanese public
for merchandise, for wrestling matches, for fights, he finally
loses one MMA fight badly to a tough opponent and the next month
it is all over.
Sapp
was getting tired of the fight scene before his 5/22 Saitama
Super Arena fight with Kazuyuki Fujita, so imagine what he felt
like going into the fight on Saturday with Ray Sefo. It would
have been truly scary to have seen K-1 let Bob Sapp even get
a normal training schedule for fighting, which he just never
had.
And
when it's all said and done, Sapp's last fight comes on a B-level
show taping. Not the Saitama Super Arena, not the Yokohama Arena,
not even buildings like Nagoya Aiichi's Rainbow Hall or Fukuoka
Marine Messe. No, Sapp's last fight takes place in Shizuoka at
the Ekopa Arena with little fanfare.
This
is the difference between PRIDE & K-1 if it needed to be
stated anymore clearly. One understands how to book top draws,
the other one clearly has no idea what the hell they're doing
from one minute to another and has absolutely zero loyalty to
anyone at the top who even shows an ounce of being human as a
fighter (see: Hoost, Sapp, etc.)
I
don't hate K-1 or their office personally. I am confused as to
why they continue to accept mediocre business practices and put
themselves in a situation where they look secondary to PRIDE.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BUTTERBEAN
LOSES AGAIN IN K-1
K-1 PRESS RELEASE
SHIZUOKA,
JAPAN, - Thirty-two year-old boxer and K-1 veteran Hiromi Amada
squeaked out the narrowest of majority decisions in his first
fight, KO'd his semifinal opponent, then took a comfortable unanimous
decision in the main event to win the K-1 Japan Grand Prix 2004
in Shizuoka.....
Shizuoka
was the home of Ieyasu (1542-1616), the first Tokugawa Shogun.
The central Japan Prefecture is also where you'll find majestic
Mt. Fuji, historic Kakegawa Castle, and the Ecopa Arena, part
of the sports complex that hosted 2002 FIFA World Cup matches.
On this day, the Ecopa hosted the hottest ticket in town, as
the K-1 Beast 2004 in Shizuoka featured the eight-man Japan GP
Final as well as a couple of big-name Superfights.
In
the first tournament quarterfinal, Hiraku Hori met Seidokaikan
fighter Shingo Koyasu. Hori had lost against superior K-1 fighters
in his last three bouts (Musashi, Mighty Mo, Cyril Abidi), but
the high level of competition seemed to have bumped his skills
up a notch.
Some
28cm taller and eight years younger than Koyasu, Hori used jabs
and front kicks to keep his aggressive opponent outside in the
early going. In the second, Hori was able to back Koyasu into
the corner and launch punch attacks, but Koyasu was quick and
creative with his counters. The best strike of the round was
a Hori uppercut, and the fighters were just about even on the
cards going into the third.
As
Koyasu began to come in with his head down, Hori was smart picking
his spots, and answered a Koyasu low kick with a left punch to
score the down that made the difference. It wasn't a particularly
exciting or dominating performance by Hori, but it was sufficient
to put him through with a unanimous decision.
After
losing five in a row, Karate fighter Tsuyoshi Nakasako found
his form against German-American fighter Mavrick this March,
scoring a convincing first round KO victory against the tattooed
tough guy. In the second quarterfinal here, Nakasako stepped
in against Nobu Hayashi, who has been training at the respected
Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam for years now. Hayashi had dropped
four of his last five, and so had to be looking to turn things
around here.
Both
fighters were tentative in the first, although Hayashi probably
had the better stuff with some smart combinations. In the second
we had more of the same, the two trading blows but neither able
or willing to step up and take control. There was also a relative
lack of kicks in the first two rounds.
In
the third, Hayashi worked the low kicks more, and toward the
end of the round found an opening and got in with a couple of
right hooks that rattled Nakasako. In the absence of Seidokaikan
fighter Musashi (who has a bye to the Final Elimination), Nakasako
was one of the favorites to win the Japan GP. It had to be disappointing
for the 30 year-old fighter when the narrow but unanimous decision
went Hayashi's way. Again, not exactly action-packed, but a good
technical bout, with Hayashi simply a little better.
Continuing
the tradition of inviting a foreign fighter to the Japan GP Final,
K-1 put South African boxer Mike Bernardo up against tough customer
Tatsufumi Tomihira in the next pairing. Bernardo is a K-1 veteran,
while Tomihira is a hot young scrapper (nicknamed "Mr. Yellow
Card) with a lot of heart. Tomihira lost a close (some say controversial)
decision against Kelly Leo in Las Vegas this April.
Here,
Tomihira came out swinging, and quickly put Bernardo on the retreat.
The Japanese fighter took to the clinch to work the knees, but
Bernardo lurched forward and the two went careening across the
ring. There was accidental head to head contact during the exchange,
and this opened a cut over Bernardo's right eye.
After
a doctor check, Bernardo was cleared to continue, and quickly
delivered a right hook that set Tomihira to stumbling. The two
muscled in close, and for a spell this looked more like horizontal
wrestling than K-1 fighting. After another time stop to check
on Bernardo's eye, Tomihira got the knees working as he wanted,
connecting twice from the clinch. With Bernardo momentarily stunned,
Tomihira seized the opportunity to throw a high left kick that
dropped the South African for good. The blitzkrieg start stood
him in good stead, earning a tremendous upset for the scrappy
Tomihira.
Hiromi
Amada is always a tough customer, and something of an old-school
showman as well. He beat Kimo and Butterbean in his most recent
outings, and went up against MA Japan Heavyweight Champion Noboru
Uchida in the last of the tournament quarterfinals.
It
was close, but in the final analysis Amada just outworked Uchida
here -- focused, aggressive, and relentless. Uchida deked, and
danced the fancy, but Amada was better with his no-nonsense punch
combinations. In the third Uchida came out with high kicks, but
Amada refused to be intimidated and stayed on his game, charging
forward with haymakers and hooks. This made for a wild round
with plenty of shifts in momentum. One judge saw the fight as
a draw, but Amada was up by a single point on the other two cards
to take the majority decision.
In
the first of the quarterfinals, Hiraku Hori got into trouble
early against Nobu Hayashi. After head-to-head contact left Hayashi
with a cut over the eye, Hori was assessed a red card, which
cost him a point. Shortly thereafter, Hayashi got a straight
punch in for a down and Hori was trailing by another point.
Keen
to get back in the fight, Hori threw caution to the wind and
launched a desperate punching attack, but Hayashi was more than
capable with his defense and counters. Throughout, Hori the southpaw
had trouble when Hayashi stepped in and threw the right straight
-- by the end of the second Hori already looked utterly lost.
Hayashi scored two downs in the third, the first with a low kick
and the second with a right straight, to take the win by KO and
advance to the final.
Hiromi
Amada and Tatsufumi Tomihira had a raucous start to their semifinal
bout, both charging in from the bell to a brutal clinch. Midway
through the first, Amada's right hook counter dropped Tomihira,
and it took a gutsy effort for the fighter to get to his feet
and (barely) beat the count. Throughout this bout, Amada appeared
unbothered by Tomihira's kicks, and, as he had in his first outing,
stuck with his punch combinations to effect. Amada corralled
his opponent into the corner in the second and threw several
unanswered punches, but Tomihira absorbed these valiantly. Finally,
in the third, Amada's onslaught took its toll when another right
hook counter put Tomihira down. A minute later, a left to the
head caught Tomihira coming in and ended the bout.
For
all the determination in his first two fights, Hiromi Amada started
uncharacteristically cautious with Nobu Hayashi in the final,
and the first round was close. Both fighters did, however, score
with good punches, and there was more of this is in the second,
Hayashi working the jab and Amada good with his right. Hayashi
threw more low kicks, but Amada repeatedly put his hooks over
Hayashi's guard to make his counters better. Hayashi got a solid
right punch through in the second, and remained smart with his
combinations, but as the fight wore on it looked like Amada simply
wanted it more.
The
third began with Hayashi taking the initiative, but Amada was
again seemingly immune to low kicks, and soon he took control,
stepping in with the punches. The two mixed it up here, Amada
always a little better in the exchange. If there was any doubt
in the judges' minds Amada erased it with the strike of the bout,
a right hook that caught Hayashi's jaw at the clapper. By the
end of this one, Hayashi's face looked mighty rough. As for Amada's
mug -- it always looks rough.
A
well-deserved unanimous decision and Japan GP Championship for
Amada, whose wife and one year-old twins joined him as he pronounced
an emotional thank-you from the winner's circle
Amada
collects 5 million yen for the tournament win and a 300,000 yen
bonus for his semifinal KO. Equally importantly, the victory
earns him a trip to the World GP Final Elimination, the one-match
tournament this autumn which will determine the 2004 World GP
Tokyo Dome Final Eight.
Said
Amada in his post-tournament interview: "I trained very
hard for this tournament, with weights and running and boxing,
but another difference from previous years is that I used to
be nervous or excited before a big tournament, but this time
I was more relaxed. That helped me, that and the fact that my
punches are very hard!"
There
were two Superfights on the card. The first pitted Montanha Silva
of Brazil against Butterbean of the United States.
Silva
got the big punches working his last time out, scoring a third
round KO against Yusuke Fujimoto for his first K-1 win in four
starts. Coincidentally, Butterbean also recorded his lone K-1
victory against Fujimoto. Here, both fighters wanted very much
to put a second notch in their belts.
Silva
stands at 225cm, which afforded him a 45cm edge over Butterbean,
who lugged a 30kg weight advantage into the ring, for what that
was worth. This was a curious fight, to say the least, both men
struggling not only against their opponent but also with their
own preternatural physical configurations -- Silva's gargantuan
limbs do not permit him to strike quickly, whilst Butterbean's
corpulence reduces the reach of his relatively undersized arms.
The crowd gasped and giggled during the center-ring stare down,
and applauded anytime either of the fighters did anything halfway
good -- each low kick Butterbean managed, for example, drew an
appreciative response, and similarly when Silva hoisted a big
leg up for a high kick, well, it seemed to defy physics, which
is always interesting, so that tended to also elicit an 'Ooh!'
Somewhat
surprisingly, this dance went the distance. Butterbean, a constant
source of amusement, tried his best, but the stoic Silva had
the harder low kicks and initiated most of the exchanges, and
so he got the unanimous decision.
The
second Superfight saw Bob "The Beast" Sapp take on
K-1 veteran Ray Sefo of New Zealand.
There
had been many rumors swirling around Japan in the wake of Sapp's
recent ROMANEX Rules loss to Kazuyuki Fujita -- some stories
had The Beast giving up the fight game altogether! Few of the
tittle-tattlers bothered to mention the fact that Sapp had won
an impressive seven of his previous nine K-1 Rules bouts (with
the only losses coming against elite fighters Mirko CroCop and
Remy Bonjasky). Sapp's matchup here with Sefo was, therefore,
a chance for the American fighter to show his mettle.
As
usual, at the bell, Sapp charged, head down, NFL-style toward
his opponent. Within seconds he had bowled Sefo over, this ruled
a slip not a down. When Sapp reverted to his bad boy antics and
came in with punches on his seated opponent, he was disciplined
with the yellow card. The fight resumed with Sapp once again
bulldozing Sefo, this time into the corner, where he laid in
with a left-right punching and piledriving attack. Sefo wobbled
as he absorbed almost two dozen blows and a knee before somehow
rallying with his own fists. But with Sapp leaned far forward,
the Kiwi had nowhere to put his punches but the side and back
of Sapp's head, so referee Kakuda called for a break.
Again,
Sapp barreled forward when the fight resumed, but this time he
was met by a knee to the groin, and fell to the canvas in pain.
Sefo was cautioned and a two minute time stop called to permit
the wincing Sapp to recompose.
When
things started again, Sapp first threw a kick (remarkably, not
his only legwork, Sapp threw a number of hard kicks and knees
here), then again chased his opponent down with haymakers. There
ensued a real slugfest, but Sefo was able to get the upper hand
and put Sapp in the corner. Sefo rained perhaps a dozen punches
down on Sapp, stopping only when time ran out on the round.
Sapp
kept on coming in the second, but less than a minute in Sefo
brought a punishing right hook in to stun The Beast, then followed
up with a another to drop him like a tranquilizer dart. Sapp
struggled to beat the count, but could not, and so Sefo had the
victory.
As
Sapp left the ring, a reporter asked him how he felt. "I'm
a little bit tired," he replied, softly, "and I'm a
little bit injured."
"Sugarfoot"
Sefo the consummate sportsman had words of praise for The Beast:
"I took this fight on five days notice, and I am happy to
have the win. But tonight Bob showed he has balls, he is a true
competitor."
In
other bouts, K-1 fledgling Vitor Vitinho of Brazil got off to
a promising start, beating Great Kusatsu by unanimous decision
in the tournament reserve fight; and Ryo Takigawa beat Tsutomu
Takahagi by unanimous decision in an undercard matchup.
The
K-1 Japan Series Beast 2004 in Shizuoka attracted 5,500 fans
to the Shizuoka Ecopa Arena and was same-day broadcast across
Japan on the Nippon TV network.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TATAME'S
100TH ISSUE
(The following Press Release happened right before the Pride
GP show)
In
this week's edition of our Brazilian Insider, we would like to
wish our partners at Tatame.com a happy 100th! Almost ten years
after it´s first issue has printed, TATAME Magazine reaches
their 100th edition. To celebrate the most traditional MMA Brazilian
Magazine printed this cover page with a special golden color
cover which launches a series of reports about it´s own
history.
The
main story of this special issue talks about the evolution of
Japanese fighters. To prove that, TATAME # 100 cover brings you
Genki Sudo beating Royler Gracie, Takanori Gomi knocking out
Ralph Gracie and Kazuyuki Fujita kicking Bob Sapp.
The
headline says : "The Japanese Revenge - they improved their
skills and climbed the top of MMA". Take a look now at the
stories and more details of TATAME # 100 at www.tatame.com
Tatame
Press Release from Brazil
From
Chute Boxe camp
This
Meca 11 edition, on June 5, was a typical nightmare to the guys
from Chute Boxe camp. Five of thier six athletes lost, with just
Daniel Acácio winning. Talking about Acácio, his
victory over Eric Tavares (Ruas Vale-Tudo) was really impressive
and proved once again that it’s about time to fight in the
biggest shows of the MMA world, such as Pride, K-1 MMA or UFC
who should open their doors to him.
At
this days, the Luta-Livre representative doesn’t have opponents
on his weight in Brazil and he can do a good job out there. Two
Chute Boxe fighters are living a not a good moment this time.
Coming from losses at Pride, Jadyson Costa and Jorge Patino Macaco
were beat once again, by Milton Vieira (BTT) and the BJJ black
belt Délson Pé-de-Chumbo (Bitta). Milton and Pé-de-Chumbo
didn’t let their opponents to fight, with BTT’s representative
doing a great participation and submitting Costa by arm-triangle
choke, that one Minotauro used to submit Hiro Yokoi at Pride
GP’s first round.
De
Souza looking for Pride
Tony
de Souza returned last Wednesday (16) to Peru. After almost two
months training at Nova União gym, in Rio de Janeiro,
De Souza is in his birthplace, where he intend to stay a month
and a half to come back to Brazil. Tony is taking this opportunity
of being in Peru to also take the visa to Japan. It seems that
Pride's men Nobuyuki Sakakibara and Nobuhiko Takada liked his
participation at last Meca 11.
"Japanese
considered Tony's fight the best of the night and they also considered
Tony the best fighter", stated André Pederneiras,
the leader of Nova União team. According to Pederneiras,
they have already invited Tony to fight at next Pride's shows,
taking to Japan his beggar's look that he took to Meca and turned
the audience crazy calling him "Mendigo" (beggar, in
Portuguese). "They liked the Mendigo thing and they want
it at Pride. We now want to face Takanori Gomi, probably in one
of Bushidos", announced Pederneiras.
Belfort's
extra incentive to beat Randy
In
the United States since June 6, Vitor Belfort got an extra surprise
before his third battle against Randy Couture, on August 21st,
in Las Vegas. Last week, his wife Joana Prado informed him by
phone she's pregnant. 'When she told him, he called us here in
Brazil. Vitor is very happy with the news,' told us his manager
Ricardo Saito.
During
his first week in US, Vitor first went to Las Vegas, where he
was one of the stars of the UFC 49 TV advertising. Then, the
Light Heavyweight champ went to a city over the mountains next
to Los Angeles. The place where Vitor is living now is a famous
Boxing training camp and still had received names such as the
Mexican Oscar de la Hoya. Now Vitor is waiting for his coaches
Leonardo Vieira and Distac, that departured to US last Friday
(18).
Meanwhile
Vitor Belfort gets ready for his Light Heavyweight battle at
Ultimate Fighting Championship with Randy Couture, there is a
team working hard behind the scenes. The actual UFC champion
is recording a DVD with everything what does happen behind the
scenes during his training to face Couture. Those unseen images
will not be aired in any TV. The DVD will contain around 1 hour
30 minutes duration.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Lee
Murray Fires Back At Phil Baroni
The following was posted by "Lightning" Lee Murray
on The Underground Forum over @ MMA.tv. Due to its' vulgar nature,
you'll need to highlight the space below to read it.
--
"you think you're a mean mutha fucker,ok we will see how
mean you are pussy.try running your mouth on mmaradio like i
am one of these dodging guys like tanner and the rest of them
you think your the fucking bad man,im the fucking bad man you
think you can take my shots bring it on,i tell you what,you think
i hide behind money we put the winnings in a pot and winner takes
all!send the mutha fucking contract."
--
A
fight between Phil Baroni and Lee Murray is rumored for UFC 48
in June, given Baroni beats Evan Tanner, and Murray wins his
next fight.
Once
before, also in a Baroni fight, the actual "win" purse
was supposed to be put up for grabs. This was the second fight
with Matt Lindland, and the deal never came to fruition. Something
tells me Lee Murray isn't afraid to follow through on his words,
much the same with Phil Baroni.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right
thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing
at the tempting moment."
Dorothy Nevill
|
Punishment
In Paradise 4
“NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS”
PUNISHMENT
IN PARADISE 4
"NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS"
July 2,2004
@ Campbell High School
Tickets are still on sale for one of the HOTTEST kickboxing cards
to hit Hawaii in 2004. We are very pleased with the fighters
that are stepping up to BANG!!. Fighters from Eastside like Mike
Malone, Kaleo Kwon, Kaipo Gonzales along with other fighters
from Waimanalo Kickboxing gym and Team Thundas Instructor Andre
Washington. And Westside Team Bigdogs YOUNG GUNS Wayne Perrin
III & Domi "Dominator" Lopes along with Waianaes
AFC Champion PJ DEAN. Also 808 Dain Agbayani and Undeafeated
Frank Robello from Advanced Kempo plus much more. This is card
so STACKED from once I don't know which one would be the fight
of the night.
GET YOUR PRESALE TICKETS WHILE YOU STILL CAN.
Brennan Kamaka / 330-4483 or second2none@hawaii.rr.com
I'm available to meet people while supplies last.
808 Fight Factory / Kim Jhun 671-4140
808 is open from 530pm till 9pm
Advanced Kempo & Team Bigdogs
Both schools are carring tickets...
**Presale is going fast for this fight**
Cruiserweight
Kickboxing Championship
205lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Mike
Malone (Eastsidaz) Vs. Andre Washington (Team Thunda)
Super
Middleweight Kickboxing Championships
172lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Wayne
Perrin III (Team Bigdogs) Vs. Deshawn Johnson (HMC)
INTERMISSION
Middleweight
Kickboxing Championships
165lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Dain
Agbayani (808 F.F.) Vs. PJ Dean (Bad Intentions)
Super
Lightweight Kickboxing Championship
137lbs.
3x2 Minute Rounds
Domi
“Dominator’ Lopes ( Team Bigdogs) Vs. Steven Tandal
(Waimanalo Kickboxing)
Lightweight
Kickboxing Championships
132LBS
3x2 Minute Rounds
Gerald
Orvalio (808 Fight Factory) Vs. David Balicao (H.S.D.)
Super
Welterweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
157lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Vs.
Kaleo Kwon (Eastsidaz)
196lbs.
3x1 ½ Minute Rounds
Cruiserweight
#1 Contender Match
Val
(Team Bigdogs) Vs. Joshua Versola (Advanced Kempo)
Welterweight
Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
147lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Chris
Coderio (Bad Intentions) Vs. Kaipo Gonzales (Eastsidaz)
Middleweight
Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
165lbs.
3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Ikaika
(Eastsidaz) Vs. Frank Rebello (Advanced Kenpo)
Junior
Heavyweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match
100lbs.
3x1 Minute Rounds
Sage
Yoshida (H.M.C.) Vs. Keola McKee (Wailuku Kickboxing, Maui)
Junior
Bantamweight #1 Contender Match
60lbs.
3x1 Minute Rounds
Tristen
Febria (E.B.F.C.) Vs. Abraham Reinhart (Wailuku Kickboxing, Maui) |
Korea's
GLADIATOR FC - Complete 2 Day Results!
GLADIATOR - EPISODE 1
2004 Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul - SOUTH KOREA
Complete
results from Korea's 2 day MMA extrqavaganza held this last weekend
are in. An international field of competitors made there way
to Korea for the event, representing the host country as well
as Japan, Brazil, Russia and the USA among others.
Day
1 / June 26th:
- Shinji Katase KO'd Rhee Jeung Pil in R1;
- Matkine Seguei submitted Ku Wang Mo via guillotine choke in
R1
- Yasuhito Namekawa def. Fabiano Capoane by forfeit in R2
- Kozo Urita decisioned Jin O Kim by unanimous decision
- Dan Severn defeated Irie Hidetada by unanimous decision
- Ikuhisa Minowa KO'd Tchourakov Edouard in R1
- Jong Wang Kim KO'd Brad Kohler in R1
- Rogerio 'Minotouro' Nogueira decisioned Alex Stiebling by unanimous
decision
Day
2 / June 27th:
- Akhmedov Zourab KO'd Kokji Okuyama Koji in R1
- Sultanmagomedov Kavkaz KO'd Mitsunori Tanimura in R1
- Uji Sakurai TKO'd Sung Chul Kim in R1
- Claudio Godoy submitted Hamada Jyunpei no R3
- Alex 'Negao' Paz KO'd Chun Ho Bae in R1
- Paulo Filho decisioned Daijiro Matsui by unanimous decision
- Choi Mu Bae TKO'd Ammaev Murad in R1
- Anderson Silva decisioned Jeremy Horn by unanimous decision
Source: ADCC
Jeremy
Horn has been on quite the streak. He has only lost once in his
last 23 fights, but this weekend in South Korea, it was Anderson
Silva winning a unanimous decision over Horn.
There
have been a few reports saying that Horn pulled his groin in
the fight; however, MMAWeekly was unable to receive confirmation
that it did happen. Silva fought a very good fight and beat Horn
to the punch in the win.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Marcos
'Parrumpinha' Pumped
ATT
Instructor Marcos 'Parrumpinha' is all pumped up with his recent
victory over ADCC runner-up Baret Yoshida. 'Parrumpa' stated: 'I am so happy about my
win. He is a two times ADCC runner-up and I feel I showed the
people in America what they already know in Brazil, that I am
a contender in the division. I had been concentrating on teaching
and building the ATT Gi program for some time and laid low for
a while but lately I am competing more and more. I hope I get
a berth to ADCC 2005!'
Look
for more great things from 'Parrumpinha' and ATT.
Source: ADCC
|
TRIGG
WOULD LIKE ANOTHER SHOT AT HUGHES
Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg, fresh off his dominating
win over Dennis Hallman, joined MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio on Friday
and spoke about the fight, the 170 pound division in general,
and what his future plans are.
Trigg
said he was actually surprised at how one sided his fight with
Hallman ended up being. He attributed his performance to pushing
himself harder than he thought he could in training and training
with partners that are better than he is, on a daily basis. Trigg
has also changed his mental approach to fighting.
Frank
said he used to always compete in a "realm of uncomfortableness."
He was "super anxious and super excited," and now,
he is much more relaxed. He had to concentrate on staying calm
during the bout but his efforts paid off in a big way. Trigg
stated that he prepared in reverse, mentally, physically, then
technically. This new game plan, he thinks, would have made his
fight with Matt Hughes a very different one.
If
you read MMAWeekly's Ivan Trembow's medical suspension article
on Thursday's news page, you know that Frank Trigg was medically
suspended by the state of Nevada for an injured right hand. Quoting
from the article, "Frank Trigg is medically suspended for
six months unless his injured right hand is X-rayed and cleared
by a doctor." Trigg said it is just a routine, precaution
suspension and stated that his hand is fine. He did have some
swelling in it following the fight but that was all it was.
Frank
gave his opinion of the top five 170 pound fighters in the world.
He puts BJ Penn at number one for his victory over Matt Hughes.
Number two on his list is Matt Hughes for his record and established
ability in competition. Trigg puts himself at number three, with
Sean Sherk at number four. The fifth spot is up in the air basically.
He mentioned Nick Diaz and St. Pierre but pointed out their youth
and lack of high ranked opponents.
If
he were just going to rank the 170 pound guys in the UFC, Trigg
puts Matt Hughes as the top dog with himself second. Although
Hughes submitted Trigg in the first round, Frank said, "Matt's
not much of a finisher." He went on to say that Hughes is
a guy who will beat you up for all the rounds but typically won't
finish you. He also said he felt that things would go differently
a second time and would like to fight him a second time.
When
asked about Sean Sherk, Frank said Sherk's five foot five and
"it's like beating my littler brother." He said that
Sean is strong and explosive but style wise, it is a good match
up for him and not Sherk.
What
does the immediate future hold for Frank Trigg? Trigg's contract
with the UFC is up and he is officially a free agent. He expects
to start negotiations with the UFC soon but said, other offers
are coming in. On July 4th, he will be at the "Warped Tour"
in Vegas, selling some merchandise and hanging out. July 17th,
Trigg is conducting a seminar in Matthews, North Carolina. It
is a four hour seminar at the Matthews Judo Club. For all information
on Frank Trigg, his seminar and all things Trigg, got to www.FrankTrigg.com.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
LEBEN
COMES BACK TO DEFEAT RADACH
In front of a sell out crowd of 4,000 fans in attendance in Gresham,
Oregon, it was a tale of two fights in the main event between
Benji Radach and Chris Leben.
Radach
looked very good in the first round coming out and landing repeated
shots against Leben. Radach would stand and bang, then shoot
in and take Leben down, with some good scrambles in between.
The
second round was very similar and in that round Leben's eye was
swollen shut from the shots he took in the fight. The third round
was when the fight changed. Leben, in third round, tried to press
the action and in the round he threw five punches that went unanswered
by Radach. Radach tried to take Leben down and as he took him
down, his jaw was a bloody mess. Leben had broken Radach's jaw
with the punches and broke the jaw in two places. Radach's pallet
was cracked and when the doctor looked at the face of Benji,
he immediately stopped the fight.
After
the fight Radach when in for emergency surgery to fix the jaw
and mouth. For Leben it was an amazing come from behind victory
and for the fans it was another solid promotion by Matt Lindland
and Randy Couture as well as the rest of the Sportsfight organization.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
“Sportfight
4: Fight For Freedom” Quick Results
Sportfight 4: Fight For Freedom
Saturday, June 26th, 2004
Mt. Hood Community College, Portland, Oregon
The
Pacific Northwest fans experienced the “Ultimate Evolution
of One on One Combat” last night when Randy “The Natural”
Couture and Matt “The Law” Lindland presented their
4th installment of Sportfight at the domed sports arena on the
campus of Mt. Hood Community College in Portland, Oregon. “Fight
For Freedom” featured a card full of explosive young fighters
showcasing their power, speed and skill on this competitive 11
fight pro-am card.
Professional
Card:
- Chris “Lights Out” Leben vs. Benji “The Razor”
Radach -- Leben by TKO in Round 3
- Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman vs. “Ice
Cold” Kyacey Uscola -- Burkman by rear naked choke in Round
1
- Ed “Short Fuse” Herman vs. “Sugar” Shane
Davis -- Herman by arm bar in Round 3
- Dennis “The Piranha” Davis vs. “Slick”
Jeremy Saunders -- Davis by guillotine choke in Round 2
- Eddie Ellis vs. Chris Wilson -- Ellis by Unanimous Decision
- Brandon Melendez vs. Ray Perales -- Melendez by neck crank
in Round 2
Amateur
Card:
- Shaun Castlin vs. Jerry Linderman -- Castlin by rear naked
choke in Round 1
- David Brown vs. Toby Welch -- Brown by arm bar in Round 1
- Guy Delemeau vs. Brad Horner -- Delemeau by submission in Round
2
- Floyd Willis vs. Bill Brewer -- Willis by submission in Round
1
- Ian Loveland vs. Zach Combs -- Loveland by guillotine choke
in Round 1
Source: ADCC
|
BRINK
GETS DISQUALIFIED IN BOXING FOR KNEES
MMA fighter Aaron Brink hasn't been too active in MMA recently
so he has been trying his hand in boxing. Only problem was the
fact that he was disqualified a SECOND time for using knees in
a fight. Only problem? Last time we checked boxing doesn't allow
knees.
Brink
knee'd his opponent, not just once, but twice in the fight. The
first time the referee took a point away, the second time he
disqualified him. This isn't the first time Brink has used knees.
If you go back to 2001 he was also disqualified for using knees.
Needless to say, the California State Boxing Commission said
that Brink will never fight in the state again.
In
other MMA to boxing stories, Marvin Eastman won his boxing debut
this weekend with a win over Willie Broadie. Eastman won by TKO
in the 4th round of their four round fight at the Silverton Hotel
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you
may be the world."
Origin Unknown.
|
Rivera/Weir
headline Cage Rage 7!
London,
England - Cage Rage 7 is set for July 10th and looks to be taking
a huge step into the international spotlight with a main event
featurig UFC vets Jorge Rivera vs. Mark Weir. Also on the card
are UFC vets Renato Sobral and Leigh Remedios, plus several of
the up-and-coming EU fighters.
Rivera
vs. Weir is a fight with “bet the car the winner goes back
to UFC” written all over it. Both these fighters share David
Loiseau as a common opponent from their UFC days, with Weir losing
to Loiseau with a 1st round KO and Rivera winning a judges decision
after coming back from losing the first round. That loss to Loiseau
was Weir’s second loss in the UFC with his first being to
Phillip Miller by rear choke while his UFC debut resulted in
a win over Eugene Jackson with a 0:10 KO. Since then Weir has
gone 3-1. Rivera, after his win over Loiseau went on to pick
up a loss in the UFC to Weir’s fellow countryman Lee Murray
by armbar, and he also recently picked up a win 3rd round TKO
over Ricardo Almeida’s standout student James Gabert. Although
both fighters have repeatedly shown themselves to be well-rounded,
look for Weir to have an advantage on the ground and Rivera to
have an edge standing with the real winner being the fans lucky
enough to see this show.
Remedios
faces 4-0 Emanuel Fernandez out of France. Fernandez has been
fighting in Cage Warriors where he picked up four victories by
triangle choke in a row. Remedios needs the win since his record
post-UFC loss to Genki Sudo stands at 2-2 with his most recent
US fight being a decision loss to Team Elite’s Mike Brown
followed by a KO loss to Jean Silva in February. Sudo won by
rear choke but Remedios’ only other submission loss is way
back in 1998 when Denis Hallman got him with a kimura.
One
question mark to the show is Bisping/Sobral. Bisping has an internet
verifiable MMA record of 2-0 with both wins by KO and TKO in
under a minute. Not much else is known about him other than he
fights out of England. Sobral on the other hand has been headline
news for years ever since getting all the way to the finals of
Rings King Of Kings in ’99 where he lost to Pride vet and
Team Quest star Dan Henderson. He continued on in Rings picking
up an 8-2 record with his two losses being to Pride vet Valentin
Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko, the current Pride Heavyweight
champ and contender in this year’s Grand Prix. In his UFC
debut Sobral lost to another Pride Grand Prix contender Kevin
Randleman, the fighter Fedor beat in the last Pride show. In
the UFC Sobral went on to beat Elvis Sinosic and lose to Chuck
Liddell. Most recently Sobral won the IFC Light Heavyweight tournament
by beating not just three fighters in one night but by beating
UFC vet Trevor Prangley, Chute Boxe’s otherwise undefeated
“Shogun” Rua, and UFC/Pride vet Jeremy Horn.
Other
fighters on this card are vets of some of the best feeder shows
from around the world such as Liaudin from King Of The Cage,
Foupa-Pokam from European Vale Tudo, Damien Riccio from Shooto,
and Jean Silva and Robbie Oliver from that spectacular Extreme
Force show last summer.
The
full card so far is:
Mark
Weir (ENGLAND) VS Jorge Rivera (USA) Middleweight
Micheal Bisping (ENGLAND) VS Renato (Babalu) Sobral (BRAZIL)
Light-heavyweight
Jean Sliva (BRAZIL) Champion VS Ollie Ellis (ENGLAND) Lightweight
Robbie Oliver (ENGLAND) VS Sammy Schiavo (FRANCE) Lightweight
Leigh Remedios (ENGLAND) VS Emmanuel Fernandez (France) Featherweight
Matt Ewin (ENGLAND) VS Jess Liaudin (FRANCE) Middleeight
Paul Daley (ENGLAND) VS Xavier Foupa-Pokam (FRANCE) Middleweight
Damien Riccio (FRANCE) VS Jean Francoise-Lenogue (FRANCE)- Middleweight
Ronaldo Campos (BRAZIL) Champion VS Paul Jenkins (Wales) Welterweight
Dave Elliot (ENGLAND) VS Dave Roche (IRELAND) Lightweight
Jeremy (Bad Boy) Bailey VS Ricky Andrew
Source: ADCC
|
Cyborg:
Chute Boxe's new star
Brazil's Chute Boxe has announced that vetran Brazilian Evangelista
'Cyborg' will be joingin the team for an upcoming series of matches.
The Pancrase veteran started training with Chute Boxe camp last
Tuesday and the team is celebrating this new acquisition.
'Cyborg
has all the skills to be a Chuteboxer. He has no fear, and he
switches great on his feet' analyzed Rafael Cordeiro, one of
Chute Boxe's instructors. On his first day in Curitiba, Cyborg
trained for three periods with his new team mates, who now include
the Pride Middleweight champ Wanderlei Silva and Maurício
Shogun.
'He
trained hard and with Nino (Schembri) and Cristiano's (Marcello)
teaching, we will improve Cyborg's ground game' guaranteed Rafael,
who also dismisses any problems between Shogun and Cyborg. 'They
fought at Meca 9 and all ended there, inside the ring. Both trained
without a problem and after the practice they also chatted. Cyborg
is a different person outside the ring, very funny and friendly'
confided Cordeiro. Cyobrg continues living in Uberlândia
(Minas Gerais state) and he comes to Curitiba for the practice
at the Chute Boxe camp.
Source: ADCC
|
BUFFER
REFLECTS ON UFC 48
With UFC 48 in the books, veteran voice of the octagon Bruce
Buffer spoke with MMA Weekly’s Mick Hammond about what his
impressions of the show were and what is on the horizon not only
for the UFC but his continuously growing announcing career.
When
asked to comment about UFC 48 Buffer candidly replied, “I
thought it was a good solid show. It wasn’t the magnitude
of the last show with Tito and Chuck, but still a very good show.
Things went pretty much how I thought they would. The only unexpected
thing on my part was the Tim Sylvia situation. When his fight
with Frank Mir was first stopped Dana White, myself, and others
around the octagon weren’t sure why the referee Herb had
stopped the fight because from our vantage point you couldn’t
see what happened. After we saw the replay of the events we were
all very pleased the fight was stopped. When I got up in the
octagon I pulled Herb aside and told him it was a good call.”
Buffer
further commented on some of the nights fights, “With Phil
Baroni and Evan Tanner I saw Phil coming in very confident. He’s
a banger; a great mixed martial artist and hit very hard. Usually
he goes out and just goes to it, but it was obvious something
was different. I could tell he trained hard on his cardio and
that most likely his strategy was to stretch the fight out over
the three rounds. Evan on the other hand looked like he had the
best gameplan for any fight I’ve seen him have. At first
I wasn’t sure if the 360-degree turns he was doing after
punches was a planned thing but after he kept hitting Phil it
was apparent it was. It’s over now and Evan is the better
man, but Phil will be back and be in the UFC for a long time,
he’s just too marketable to let go.”
As
for the Charuto
Verissimo
versus Matt Hughes fight the usually vocal Buffer was very concise
in his response by saying, “It went the way I thought it
would. Charuto went after a ton of submissions and was definitely
the more active fighter. It’s not Matt’s best performance
but it is a ‘W’ in the win-loss column for him and
that’s all I can say.”
Bruce
finished out his retrospection on the action at UFC 48 talking
about the main event between Ken Shamrock and Kimo “Things
went very well for Ken. I figured he was going to KO Kimo but
I was surprised at how fast it happened and how easily he was
able to muscle around Kimo with over a 20lb weight difference.
It’s a definite chess game out there and Ken kept hitting
those knees and eventually he caught Kimo with his head hanging
too low and that was that. Ken is a legend and possibly the most
marketable MMA fighter to American audiences and I would love
to see him keep going at it in the heavyweight division rather
than go down to 205lbs and fight Tito Ortiz. Ken is a much stronger
fighter at 215lbs and I would love to see him against other legends
such as Marco Ruas, Oleg Taktarov, Don Frye or even Mark Coleman
who I would love to see back in the octagon, he carries such
a mystique about him.”
When
asked about the post fight festivities between Shamrock and Ortiz
where Ken had to be restrained from going after Tito, Buffer
commented, “It wasn’t a staged thing at all on Ken’s
behalf. I think Tito had in mind he was going to do something
and went in there and stepped on Ken’s spotlight. Ken can
be volatile if you catch him at the wrong time and Tito did.
I will say though that a rematch would be a huge marketing key
for the UFC and it needs it now more than ever with how things
continue to grow for the sport.”
The
conversation soon shifted as Buffer discussed the upcoming card
at UFC 49 which is taking place at the MGM Grand on August 21st.
“Obviously Randy versus Vitor is a huge fight and the one
I’m anticipating the most. It’s going to be a very
exciting fight as Randy always finds a way to win but can never
count Vitor out of a fight. I think Randy is the perfect example
of a MMA fighter with how versatile he is, Vitor on the other
hand is just so incredibly talented and explosive.”
Buffer
continued, “Josh Thompson versus Yves Edwards is also going
to be great. There’s going to be a lot of firepower in that
fight and it will come down to whomever can stay the most levelheaded.
Chuck Liddell verses Vernon ‘Tiger’ White could be
a great stand up war. It’s all up to how people show up
and what mind frame they will be in. Chuck seems to be more up
for bigger fighters and Tiger is very dangerous. I will say though
the fighters I am most excited about seeing is David Terrell
and Robbie Lawler. David is an amazing Jiu-Jitsu guy with devastating
abilities, I’m very curious to see how well he’ll strike
and handle a big time MMA fight against Matt Lindland. And we
all love Robbie, he’s a very exciting fighter every time
out and he generates a lot of energy at the events.”
As
the conversation winded down Buffer talked about what he has
coming up for the remainder of the year. “I will be working
the Moralis fight card at the MGM Grand on July 3rd. In August
I will be doing the K-1 show on the 7th and was originally going
to do the Hockey Gladiator show where Hockey guys get dressed
up in their gear and go at it, but it fell on the same day as
the UFC and the UFC is priority so I will be doing it on the
21st. I will be working the Oscar De La Hoya versus Bernard Hopkins
show in September. And of course there is my management company
for all the enterprises my brother and I do, which I love doing.
I’ve had offers to return to Japan for Inoki on New Year’s
but there’s a big MMA show in California that I’m involved
with, so we’ll see what happens. One exciting thing coming
up is that on Max Fighting is that I’ve arranged for the
Mixed Fighting Championship between USA and Russia that was in
Atlantic City earlier this year to be shown in its entirety on
the site. It was one of top non-UFC shows I’ve done, every
fight was action packed, and top notch. I’ll be doing their
next show too next November in Atlantic City as well.”
The
conversation finished out by Buffer commenting on his love of
high-stakes card games, “I usually win when I’m in
Vegas, but this time I managed to lose for the first time in
seven months at this last UFC. You figure I’m in Vegas two
times a month at least for work so I had a pretty good run. I’m
pretty good at blackjack and poker and even was recently invited
to one of those TV celebrity type of shows which I’d like
to do with my brother Michael possibly sometime next year.”
Things
ended with Buffer saying, “I want to thank all the fans
for coming out to the show and supporting us. I’d also like
to thank MMA Weekly and say to Ryan and the entire crew that
you guys do a great job on the site.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Letícia
Ribeiro out of BJJ World Cup
BJJ
fighter Letícia Ribeiro will not fight at BJJ World Cup,
which takes place in Bahia, from July 8th to 10th. Letícia's
problem is the prize paid for women over the tournament. She
doesn't agree about fighting for R$400 and the man fighting for
R$5,000. 'I am a BJJ black belt and I have won all the tournaments
I am into. I don't think its right," complains Ribeiro.
Check out this Sunday morning a full interview with Letícia
Ribeiro, here at TATAME.com. Keep tuned!
Source: Tatame
|
First
look at Sugar Shane Davis
Shane Davis took his first MMA fight in February 2003 just 3
weeks after he started training with UFC veterans Dennis Hallman
and Benji Radach at Victory Athletics in Washington. That submission
win over heavyweight Carl Pope was the first of many for the
Centralia, Washington, native, as he followed it up in March
with a submission win over Josh Robinett and in May win a submission
win over Tom Truex. The middleweight then experienced his only
loss to Tim McKenzie of Team Cesar Gracie at IFC in July “it
was a learning experience,” he said, of fighting up in weight
and on short notice, but he came back at 185 to defeat Ed “Short
Fuse” Herman of Team Quest by arm bar at “Sportfight:
Second Coming” in August. The high school wrestling team
captain stepped up in weight again and took former Sportfight
light heavyweight champion and Herman team mate Matt “Suave”
Horwich to a 3-round draw in October. A carpenter by trade, the
25-year-old took some time off to handle personal issues and
came back strong with a TKO win by way of Referee Stoppage from
strikes over RJ Gamez at “Lords of the Cage” in Washington
earlier this month. Now 5-1-1, the veteran of the IFC, Pride
& Fury and Sportfight recently sat down with me for this
interview.
JC:
Who is Shane Davis? SD: I’m just a guy who is a full-time
carpenter with 2 kids going through a divorce. Just somebody
who has grown up wrestling and never really did anything in college
with it, but it has gotten me into fighting and training and
enjoying it.
JC:
Where were you raised? SD: Pretty much all over. My parents got
divorced when I was little; probably 4 or 5, and I lived with
my mom for the first number of years just south of Olympia. I
then moved in with my dad for a while in Salt Lake City, on the
Hawaiian Islands and then back here in Washington. I later went
back with my mom, who remarried, and we moved to Castle Rock.
I’ve been in this area even since.
JC:
What were you like growing up? SD: A quiet guy. I was a pudgy
little guy back then. I kept to myself a lot. I was always moving,
so I was always the new kid in school. I always got picked on
and never really thought I had a certain spot to be, just kind
of going along with the shuffle.
JC:
What time frame are we talking? SD: Probably the first 10 years
of my life. Getting shuffled around a lot and dealing with the
parents not living together. Going through their things. I was
in the 6th grade when my mom remarried and we moved here. I finally
had a place where we stayed for a while and a place I could call
home and get in with some friends and keep friends. I found a
place where I am suppose to be.
JC:
Where you academically strong during school? SD: No, I wasn’t.
I was probably an average student. When I wanted to I could pull
off B’s pretty easily, but for the most part it was C’s
and D’s; just because I didn’t apply myself. I was
just too busy having fun.
JC:
How were you athletically? SD: I was always good at sports. I
have 2 brothers and we are all good athletes. I was on the varsity
football team and wrestling team.
[I
hear a blender in the background where Benji Radach is mixing
a fiber drinks post workout, which includes romaine lettuce,
spinach, cucumbers, celery, parsley and basil... along with a
banana, pear or peach (thrown in) for flavoring. I am told it
seems to work pretty well. It is all green and high in fiber.
It is designed to clean the toxins out of you.]
JC:
What dictates a fighting weight for you because you have fought
at middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight? SD: I chose
to go down to 185 because I thought I was more competitive. I
feel I am at the top of the list at 185 -- I’m bigger and
stronger then most of the guys I come across, compared to the
guys at 205. I feel they are pretty big boys there. Skill wise
I fair pretty well with them due to my wrestling background,
but strength wise I equally matched them or I was over powered.
Since I dropped down to 185, I noticed I have the skill and the
quickness to compete in that division and I also have the strength
of a 205 pounder.
JC:
With that said, your first fight was at heavyweight. How did
that fight happen? SD: Hallman called me and said “what
do you weigh?” and I said “205 or 210” and he
said “ok.” I showed up (at an event) not knowing what
the weight classes were and they put me in the heavyweight because
I was over 205. As soon as I found that out I was quick to get
under 205. [laughing]
JC:
How did you become involved in MMA? SD: I got involved in MMA
through Benji and Dennis. Benji and I watched every UFC there
was and spent hours and hours after watching UFC putting on 16oz
gloves in his living room and going at it for hours to the point
where we are exhausted. That was back in 1995. It was a long
time ago. I was always interested in it, but never knew of an
opportunity on how to get involved. Then I moved up to Olympia
and I knew Dennis through wrestling and we were friends. I ran
into him in Olympia in 1998 and he said “hey, I’m doing
this MMA stuff you really need to do it. You’d be good at
it.” I didn’t think much about it. I just shrugged
it off, but then Benji got into it a couple of years later and
I’d go to all his fights and I’d keep saying “I
need to do it... I want to do this” and finally he dragged
me into the gym and I’ve been going ever since.
JC:
What was training like today? SD: Today was a low key day because
it is the week leading into my fight. We went hard yesterday.
We did 3 5-minute rounds of Pankration; then 4 rounds of Bas
Rutten stand up audio tape, then some drilling and some boxing
stand up. We had a pretty hard day yesterday, so today, we tapered
down a bit by doing 30 minutes of cardio on the bike keeping
our heart rate above 100; then we did some quick sprints.
JC:
Do you train for an opponent or to fight? SD: Normally I train
for the way I fight. I am going to bring my game to the ring,
so I can’t sit there and try to change my game according
to somebody else’s because I am just playing into their
guard.
JC:
What is your fighting style? SD: I feel I am more well-rounded
then some fighters coming in. I might not be as good at submissions
as some fighters and I may not be as good at stand up as some
fighters, but for all around, I feel I have the upper hand. I
can grapple with the best of them. I stand up with most of them
(like Benji Radach) and I roll with the best on submissions (like
Dennis Hallman).
JC:
Most of your wins have been by submission? SD: With the exception
of my last fight, my wins have all been by submission. I’m
known as a wrestler who should be a ground and pounder, but I
can throw on a submission if I see it, and if the opportunity
is not there I can go with the ground and pound.
JC:
What has been you most memorable fight? SD: There is one fight
that I dwell on more then any other. The one that I loss to Tim
McKenzie. I really didn’t know exactly what I was doing.
I knew I was going to a big show, but I didn’t know the
capacity of it. I was excited and happy to be there. When I went
out and fought, I fought, for the most part, my game and I was
taking it to him, and he even talks to this day of my fight with
him, but partially through the second round I got, you can call
it shelled shocked, but I was frozen and he took an arm bar and
I didn’t know what to do.
JC:
You described the feeling of that loss as “like a deer in
headlights.” Explain? SD: I have replayed it in my head
many times and I try to figure out why I did that... it’s
not like he was getting the best of me because I was taking it
to him the entire fight. He spent the first round on his back
taking blows. The second round started the same way, and I remember
looking up at the crowd, seeing all the people and being in the
cage for the first time. I had fought in a ring in smaller venues
or a smokie bar pretty much, but I was overwhelmed by the whole
thing and drew a blank in my mind, which threw me off.
JC:
What has been a high for you in MMA? SD: It would have to be...
well, I met Tito Ortiz and I’ve trained with Randy (Couture),
and I’ve trained with Matt (Lindland), and I train with
Dennis, and I train with Benji... some people look at that like
“man you’ve met Tito Ortiz,” and they get overwhelmed,
but I don’t get star-struck like that. It was cool to meet
them and I enjoy working out with Randy and Matt, but they are
just people -- they put their pants on one leg at a time, but
for me my biggest thing that I am most proud of in my MMA career
is the self-confidence that I have in myself now, that I have
gained, that I never had before.
JC:
What has been a low for you in MMA? SD: The toll it has taken
on my family and my marriage. I’m not saying that MMA was
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