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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)

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June 2004 Part 3
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June 2004 News Part 3
 

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 6/30/04

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

 6/29/04

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

 6/28/04

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 the demise of my marriage, but I know it didn’t help. Also, being away from home a lot.

JC: Why the time off, nearly 8 months, between your last 2 fights? SD: I was on a pretty good roll getting a fight every 2 months, but it was right then that I split up with my wife in September -- I didn’t train for the fight in October against Matt Horwich and it showed in the results. I just separated from my wife and going through all that, and to call a spade a spade, I was being a drunk and feeling sorry for myself.

JC: Is that in the past? SD: Oh yeah. God knows what he has going for me and I am going to do what I do.

JC: What drives you in MMA? SD: I’d have to say what drives me the most are the people I work out with. I’m not a very conceded person and I know I am not the best looking guy and I know I’m not the best wrestler and I know I’m not the greatest fighter, but to hear Benji and Dennis and Matt and those guys sit there and say how good I am and how much progress I am making and I’ll be at the big show it’s just getting my break, that is what drives me now. That keeps me motivated.

JC: When was the point that you knew this was for you? SD: I would have to say right after my very first win. There are guys who have fought that have come with us to practice and get one fight in or a few fights in and they don’t come back. They just wanted to say I did it. You can do that in this sport at the amateur level, but if you want to go to the top you can’t go with that and it’s just one of those things were some people have it and some people don’t. You either get hooked or you don’t, and for me I just got hooked after my first fight and that adrenaline rush and gearing the crowd go nuts and having my buddies there is awesome!

JC: How far would you like to go in MMA? SD: I’m going to go as far as I can in this business for as long as I can. As long as my heart and desire are in it. I don’t want to just go through the motions. That is where I was with wrestling. I did it for so long and got burned out. I had been to nationals and I had been to the tournaments and there really wasn’t anywhere I could go now that I haven’t been before, but now with this it is completely different. If my skills get better, and I imagine they will progressing with the times and the more I train and the more I fight, I’ll get better. So, as long as I keep progressing in MMA I think I will move toward my goal. If the day comes that I don’t have the heart or I’m sitting stagnant on my skills, it might be time to hang it up.

JC: Preference ring or cage? SD: I prefer a cage for my style because you can use a cage to your advantage in ground and pound, where in a ring you can get tied up in the rings and they bring you back in or you fall through the ropes. There are a lot of stoppages in a ring with ground and pound. I think a stand up fighter prefers a ring, where a ground and pound fighter prefers a cage. For me, a cage is better suited for my style.

JC: What do you do outside MMA? SD: I spend as much time with my kids as allowed. That is my first priority. I get very few visitations now compared to what I use too. My weekly schedule now is go to work, work out on Monday, go to work on Tuesday, pick my kids up, Wednesday work and go to practice, so on. If I have some free time I like to go out on a boat and play around with some buddies ride motorcycles and shit, hang out.

JC: Finish this line: Training with UFC veteran Dennis “Superman” Hallman for me has been... SD: nothing but... there’s no way to really put it... I don’t want to say a God sent, but I mean it’s definitely an excellent opportunity for one to have as good a friend and kick ass trainer and manager... and for me to be around that caliber fighter and to train with him is good for me.

JC: What is one thing about you that would have people saying “hmmm... I didn’t know that about Sugar Shane Davis?” SD: My kids are my life. For me, I’m a low key and quiet humble type of guy.

JC: That wraps it up. Have a great fight this weekend, Shane. SD: Thanks.


Source: ADCC

 6/26/04

Quote of the Day

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change."

Charles Darwin

Parrumpa Beats Baret Yoshida in NAGA!

This information is from the Underground forum, so it may or may not be true. This is the only results I could find on their submission grappling match.

Not many people thought he would win but Parrumpa pulled it off winning by points. No trademark triangles or armbars this time. Huge win for Parrumpa! Congrats to Baret for coming down and giving Parrumpa this opportunity. Baret seems like a class act.

Congrats to Superfight winner Dan Lambert beating Kirik by points. 2 of the classiest guys in the biz.

Jeff Monson subbed his first opponent then beat Rene Hernandez from FFA by sweep to win in the finals. What impressed me is Jeff's back went out on him and just gutted this tournament out. True Champion Monson.

Renato Tavares once again, proves he is the man at 150 beating Mike Cardoso decisively in the finals to win it all. Great job by Renato!

Marcel Ferreira is the MAN! He faced off against Charles McCarthy in the finals and they both went at it. Charles landed an armlock that would have tapped most guys easily. Marcel is just not human and refused to tap, then almost gets caught in a triangle. I guess that was Marcel's wake up call because he fianlly got out pulled guard and swept Charles, then passed, mounted got Charles back and mounted again. Alot of action between these two, but it was Marcel who pulled away at the end winning by decision. Hats off to both for a great showing!

In Gi, Edson beat Diego Saravaia(sp) by points. Edson is just a freak with the Gi. He put the Gi on this week for the first time in quite a while and he just flows like he never took it off. In my opinion he would be a World Champ if he concentrated soley on the Gi. Great win for Edson and congrats to Diego.

Great tournament all around.

Also, congrats to Robert Portocarrero for winning the Mens AdVanced Adult Lightweight Division. Ben Guerriero for winning the Mens Masters Lightweight Division. Chris Martin raking up 4 medals, Carloa and MArcoa for splitting the heavyweight Advanced division and the rest of the guys for giviing it there all. Congrats!

And to our Coaches who kick our ass everyday!! Thank You!

American Top Team

Source: ATT post on the Underground

FRIENDS FIGHT THIS WEEKEND AT SPORTFIGHT
Benji Radach faces training partner Chris Leben for his 185-pound title
By Joe Hall

It's being billed as the biggest MMA bout in the history of the Northwest. Indeed, the Sportfight 4 main event between heavy-handed middleweights Benji Radach and Chris Leben looks like a wild fireworks extravaganza on paper.

They know each other well, having trained together considerably over the last two and a half years. Radach trains primarily with Dennis Hallman and the Victory Athletics team, but has stepped onto the mat and into the ring with Team Quest -- and Chris Leben -- regularly over the last two years for friendly sparring sessions.

"I like Chris and he's a tough fighter," says Radach. "I have nothing but good things to say about him, except that he started to get a little cocky after he beat some fairly good guys."

Leben denies that he began talking trash as he accumulated wins. "Benji knows me," he says. "I know him. That's total bullshit, man. Everybody that knows me, that's ever trained with me knows that I'm not a person to talk shit about anybody."

Neither fighter sounds especially enthusiastic at the thought of fighting the other. Talking to them gives you the sense that the grapevine has generated just enough disdain to get them in the ring together for a couple high-powered exchanges ... and then they'll go back to being friends.

"A lot of other people want to see us fight more than we really want to fight each other," says Radach tellingly. "I think this fight is kind of stupid in one way because we are teammates and there's lots of other guys we could be fighting."

Leben traces the claims that he ran his mouth back to when he requested to fight Radach's trainer Dennis Hallman. The fight was expected to happen, but when the UFC called Hallman to fight Frank Trigg, Leben was asked to square off against Radach instead. "I said I didn't want to fight him because he's my friend," says Leben. "I don't really like to fight my friends."

A series of indirect exchanges however, will bring the fight together this Saturday in Gresham, Oregon, at Sportfight, a promotion ran by Matt Lindland and other Team Quest luminaries. "He says I started talking shit about him and now I'm scared to fight him or whatever," explains Leben. "If it gets like that, I'll fight anybody at 185. Now we can fight and I can worry about being his friend after the fight."

A CLASH OF STYLES ... VERY REAL IMPLICATIONS

Radach is the better known of the two, as he has fought in the UFC three times, losing only to Sean Sherk on a cut. He has since moved up from 170 pounds to the 185-pound middleweight division, and has taken knockout power standing and on the ground with him. "He's a hard-hitter, we know that," says Leben of his foe. "He's a hard-hitter and he's fast.

"All-around, he's a good fighter. I don't think he's great at submissions. I know he can't submit me. I mean, if (Joe) Doerksen can't submit me, then Benji can't submit me. He might be able to take me down, but if he takes me down he's not going to be able to hold me down. As far as standup goes, he hits hard, but I hit harder. And I can take a hit. If you look at some of my fights, I've been hit by the best of them. If he wants to play rock'em sock'em, that's fine with me."

Leben is steadily building his name as a heavy-fisted slugger with a jumbo-sized heart. "Chris is a brawler," says Team Quest teammate Matt Lindland. "He fights on heart. I don't know if I've seen anybody that enjoys beating people up as much as I do .... Chris may be that guy. He loves fighting."

His biggest asset, says Lindland, is the training room at Team Quest. Leben has been training for a mere two and a half years, but that's 30 months with names like Couture and Lindland and Henderson and Tanner and trainer Robert Follis. The results have been swift and violent, including several knockout wins and only one loss, a recent decision he dropped to future UFC participant Joe Doerksen in a fight that may have established Leben more so than any of his wins.

"He's not a technical fighter," says Lindland. "He likes to get in there and mix it up. I think this is going to be an exciting fight. Benji has the power; Chris has the toughness and the chin to take that kind of power, and he can deliver it back just as hard."

Although Radach says he's never had any problems with Leben's striking in their past, he says there is a dangerous stylistic clash. "Our standup styles are bad for each one of us. I'm a straight puncher. I have a straight right. And he's a left-hander with a hook. I'm open to his hook and he's open to my straight right. So it's kind of like, whoever hits the other first ...."

It was almost exactly eight months ago when Radach was hit first by little known Danny Lafever. The punch was an overhand right. Radach never saw it, not in his dreams or anyone else's. He's seen the stunning knockout blow several times since however, through the bitter replays that have run in his mind, reminding him of how he got cocky and got beat in front of family and friends by someone who shouldn't have even been in the ring with him.

Asked whether the knockout, which came in his last fight to-date, may render him just a bit gun-shy against Leben, Radach doesn't hesitate in replying. "No," he says quickly. "It's kind of opened my eyes to a lot of things. I know I can get knocked out. And I know if I am hesitant or if I'm not fighting my fight, then that's more of a chance for you to get knocked out. If you are gun-shy ... that's when you get knocked out because you're not taking it to him and you're not setting the pace."

Hence, Radach plans on striding out of the gate at a pace he intends the fight to follow. Leben, however, feels his opponent will indeed be affected by the nasty knockout he suffered in his last bout. "He has to be a little wary about his chin," says Leben. "I think he's going to be timid to overcommit. I don't think he's going to rush me. I think he's going to try to draw me out and look for that one big shot."

Regardless, neither fighter really throws anything that isn't packed with power and the intention to blast a hole through its target. The implications of this are very real: one friend could make a highlight of another tomorrow night, and one could be leaving the ring not exactly sure how to feel about his win as the other exits with a confused stare from a foggy and recently regained consciousness.

Perhaps the most overlooked skill of either fighter, though, is Radach's wrestling ability, which is better than that of most middleweights in the sport and could be his ace in the hole. Leben remains undaunted, however. "I think he's probably, technically, a better wrestler," he says. "He probably knows a little bit more than me on the ground, but no way is he as tough as me."

INSECURITY AND BLOODBATHS

Despite all the physical attributes that both fighters bring to the table, general health may be the most vital element. There's a marked difference between the two that can be heard when talking with them over the phone just 48 hours before their showdown. Leben sounds confident, eager now when he wasn't before; Radach sounds like he belongs in a hospital somewhere.

"I've had a lot of obstacles," says Radach, "like a staph infection and I got bit by a brown recluse spider. That kind of threw me out for a while. It's just been kind of a tough time. If he's going to beat me, this is the best time."

Radach's tone is less complaining and more genuine realization that he can't work full-time and fight at this level much longer. "It's just kind of kicking my ass," he says. Leben is in the same boat, but he's getting out of it very soon to concentrate on fighting. Radach is stuck until this fall at least, and his weary schedule coupled with infections and spider bites have stirred up an air of uncertainty.

"My body's so crazy right now," he says. "I'm actually really worried about how I'm going to perform strength-wise and stuff like that because I've had a lot hold me up."

It's not a good time for Radach's body to be going haywire. Leben is hungry, and figures that a win over his friend could catapult him into the UFC. "If I have it my way," says Leben, "it's going to be a bloodbath. It's going to be all over the place and, in the end, he's going to be knocked out."

Radach feels a win will keep his name a familiar one at 185, which will assist the major breakthrough he expects to make as soon as he can fight full-time. As long as he holds up physically, says Radach, he will beat his former and probably future training partner. "If I'm on my game and my conditioning is where it needs to be," he says, "I should have no problem beating him. No one's really stopped him at all. He's run through people and then he had that war with Doerksen. I want to be the first guy to put a stop to him real quick."

Source FCF

Georges St. Pierre
One Dream at a time...

Story by Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim

“I was very sad...” Georges St Pierre trained Kyokushin Karate from the age of six to to the age of sixteen years old, right up until his Karate master of ten years, Jean Couture, died from Lung Cancer. “When my Kyokushin Karate teacher died I wanted to stop Martial Arts.” He almost quit, the then sixteen year old was understandably devastated the day his sensei died, but fortunately for him and his fans, St. Pierre made the decision to continue his training. He now finds himself on the cusp of his second UFC appearance, not a bad feat considering he is only 23 years old and still lives with his parents. It is an appearance that is due in part, to the passing of his master. “I don’t want to say this, as it is not a good thing, but when he died I started a new style of martial arts, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. (The fact) that he died made me start my career in MMA” From the throes of death, birth is only a stones throw away and wrought of sorrow, St. Pierre’s MMA career was born.

Much like everyone else, his dream of fighting in the UFC began on television, from the first show he ever watched he knew that someday that would be his calling. “I went over to my friend’s house and watched my first UFC. It was when Steve Jennum won the UFC….I knew when I saw my first UFC, it was going to be my sport.” His dream of fighting in the UFC would be realized at UFC 46 where he faced off against and defeated the heavily favored Karo Parisyan, grounding and pounding his way to a well deserved unanimous decision victory. Success has followed St. Pierre in every endeavor he has pursued, but even on the eve of another showing in the “Big Show”, he is keeping his eyes open and realizes that he is only one fall, or one injury away from sitting on the sidelines for good. It is a reality and something that has hit close to home for the young upstart. “One of my friends got injured and now his career is finished. [My girlfriend] is always saying to me “keep your mind open because this thing happened to your friend and it can happen to you.” She is a little bit worried about me but that is good, she wants to keep my eyes open. I know one day I can get injured and my career can be finished. It can happen to anybody, this is a dangerous sport, we don’t play golf.” Golf is the last thing on his mind as he prepares for the second step in his journey of achieving one of his goals. In two years, his hopes to get a title shot in the welterweight division against whoever the champion is at that time. In the meantime he is also preparing to start his first year of university in the fall to study sport science. It is another dream that will be fulfilled in the coming fall season to coincide with that of his dream of fighting in the UFC.

While his scholastic endeavors are goals that are developed with the perusal of fat textbooks, the 23 year old’s MMA dreams are cultivated on the mat, and training is spent with Angelo Exarhakos at Tristar gym in Montreal Canada, sweating it out with UFC veteran David Loiseau, Steve Vigneault, and Ivan Menjivar among others. He currently wrestles with the Canadian Olympic team, boxes with Canadian Golden glove champion Paul Clavette and is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Brazilian Top Team Black belt Fabio Holanda. It is the same Fabio Holanda who ironically fought St. Pierre’s upcoming UFC opponent Jay Hieron in Hieron’s most recent MMA fight.

St. Pierre’s pro MMA record now stands at a perfect 5-0, with one no contest with fellow UFC 48 cardmate Ivan Menjivar, he has come a long way from his first MMA bout, which was an amateur bout that took place when he was just 16 years old. “When I won my first amateur (MMA) fight. I was 16 years old and I beat a guy that was 25. I was only a Kyokushin Karate fighter and the guy I fought was a boxer. At the time my ground skills were very poor, I didn’t know nothing on the ground.” Georges won his fight by knockout, going low with several leg kicks and then going high with a Karate kick to the head. To this day much of the media has him pegged as a wrestler, or a Jiu Jitsu fighter, but he still considers himself a karate stylist at heart. His amateur MMA record stands at 4 wins and no losses. He even sports an amateur boxing record of 6-0 on top of his pro MMA record of 5-0, with the most impressive victory of all coming over the talented Judo stylist Karo Parisyan in his first UFC fight, a fight that St Pierre claims was the toughest of his career.

That was then, this is now, he knows what Jay Hieron brings to the table and he is prepared for the most grueling battle of his career. He has spent some time with Hieron in the gym practicing wrestling drills together in New York at Rodrigo Gracies academy, an academy where he has spent some time in the past. They will not be strangers when the meet in the Octagon in Las Vegas and he knows that the talented Hieron will be looking to hurt him, which is something that he is now accustomed to. “When I was at school all the guys tried to hurt me to have my money and tried to steal my clothes, I (would) always fight…. I was alone and I started martial arts…I got my ass kicked a lot of times in the street at this time. A lot of people ask me…“Hey Georges you must be undefeated in the street, I think that nobody can beat you.” That maybe now, but when I was young, I think my record was 2 victories and twenty five losses… when you are 8-9 years old and the other guys are 12-13, they are teenagers and you are a kid.” George St Pierre is right, he was a kid, but that was then, and this is now. The young kid who got hurt and beat up for his money and his clothes is no longer. Georges St Pierre the kid has ushered in Georges St Pierre the man and is making his way in the world, one step, one fight, and one dream at a time. -MMARR-

Source MMA Ring Report

HORN VS SILVA IN SOUTH KOREA

This weekend some big fights are taking place overseas as one of the main events in South Korea featuring both UFC and Pride veterans. Jeremy Horn will be squaring off against Anderson Silva in one main event matchup. Horn weighed in yesterday at 84.9 kilos while Anderson Silva tipped the scales at 84 kilos on Friday for the Gladiator Full Contact event in Seoul, S. Korea.

Horn and Silva are the main event on Sunday, which is the second night of competition. Alex Stiebling and Rogerio Nogueira are the main event for Saturday's opening night as this two day event should be very good.

Source MMA Weekly

BARNETT VS WATERMAN OFFICIAL

Pancrase has officially announced Josh Barnett vs. Ron Waterman for the King of Pancrase as the main event in Seoul Korea, July 17th. This will be Josh's third defense of his title as King of Pancrase and looks to add another notch to his belt. Waterman is 6'2"(188cm) 265lbs(120kg) with a record of 11-2-2 with all of his wins by KO or submission. Waterman has been asking for this fight and Josh is ready to give him what he wants and then some. Who's going to get suplexed in this fight?

Source MMA Weekly

BAR NONE TALKS ABOUT HAMMERHOUSE

MMAWeekly had a chance to talk with Adam "Bar None" Guerra, an up and coming Hammer House heavyweight, about his teammates, the UFC heavyweight division and his future fighting plans. He held nothing back in this rather candid interview.

MMAWeekly: First of all, how are you doing Adam?

Adam Guerra: I am as good as a motherf#%ker can be bro. How are you doing yourself?

MMAWeekly: I am good. Tell me a little bit about training at Hammer House with all those guys, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Wes Sims and the others.

Guerra: I will be honest, those guys are all f#%king bad ass. When I get the chance to go to Ohio its a well worth trip. Those motherf#%kers are as tough as anyone in any room. I go all over cross train a lot but Ohio is tops. How many punk bitches can say they train with real men? I get sick of hearing all the bullshit, Coleman needs BJJ ,Randleman needs this, Wes needs that. Well, f#%k you punks. How many BJJ men have won the Pride Grand Prix or been multiple f#%king time UFC champs? That's what I f#%king thought.

MMAWeekly: Hammer House isn't lacking in heavyweights to train with, is that a big asset training there?

Guerra: Big time! You have bad ass guys in there like Branden Lee Hinkle. He is a bad motherf#%ker man. He gets no respect when it comes, but people like me, after training with a beast like him, know better. I have been around and I have yet to roll with anyone stronger then my teammates. Wes for instance, he is a tough f#%ker. He can take anything you give to him and keep going. He won't be tapped out by anyone at all. His limbs are strong as f#%k. Then when Kevin is on, he would beat anyone's ass that's his mentality. Fedor was one lucky man on the day of their fight. Anyone would have had their neck broke off. Coleman was dominating Fedor and got caught in a mistake. He is like f#%king Joe Montana, he will creep back on your ass when you least expect him. So I would say these are men amongst men when it comes time to go to war. So if I'm there and getting my ass handed to me in training, nobody and I mean nobody is going to man handle me like there, so hell yeah it's a strong asset.

MMAWeekly: Let me ask you a little about Mark Coleman. He is being inducted in the Universal Martial Arts Hall of Fame in July, that must be a huge honor.

Guerra: Mark has done a lot in MMA. Mark in my opinion will go down as one of the best ever in the world of MMA. Mark Coleman is not only a great fu#%king fighter, but a great role model as well. He has done lots for me and I appreciate a person of his magnitude. He is a great father and leader to the Hammer House. Without Mark bringing strong wrestling into MMA would it be where it is today? F#%k No! It's an honor to know him. The day I have kids, I'll pop in a DVD and tell my kids that is one bad motherf#%ker. I will always Cherish everytime I get to hang with him. Mark is the best.

MMAWeekly: Before we jump into what you have on the horizon, lets talk some about Kevin Randleman. Even though he lost to Fedor, he sure put together a nice highlight reel in the Pride Grand Prix. How's he doing and does he plan on staying at heavyweight or fighting at 205?

Guerra: You never know with Kevin. Where ever and whoever he fights, Kevin will always do f#%king well. I mean, he tossed Fedor like a bitch. No disrespecting Fedor at all, who is a bad muthaf#%ker but he was lucky not to die. Kevin is a cool cat. He does a lot for people and is overlooked for it. People don't know the f#%king good side of Kev. I for one was taken in by Kev when I fought in Ohio where he gave me the f#%king nickname the Governor. Cause I dress like a f#%king real pimp in Armani not bullshit curtain blinds like some other idiot. Kevin will be a force for as long as he wants. He is a threat to anyone, ,just ask Cro Cop. By the way, how's his f#%kin chin?

MMAWeekly: Before the Pride heavyweight Grand Prix, Kevin was rumored to be one of the possible opponents for former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz. Is there any truth to that and who do you think that fight would play out?

Guerra: Well, I doubt there was any truth to it, but who knows? I don't think Tito can handle Kevin. Tito would get his ass beat no if ands or buts. Tito would rather fight Shamrock again anyways so why take a chance on losing 3 straight fights? You don't see Tito calling out Kev, Randy, or Chuck. Imagine if he lost to Kevin, he would scream like he does after he loses and maybe take a page out of Jeff Monson's Abu Dahbi 2003 and run and take his shorts off.

MMAWeekly: So, what do you have in the works, any fights coming up, what's your plans?

Guerra: I have something coming up for London, England that is in the works and some people have contacted me from Japan again. Its early to say but it's a f#%king honor to fight in Japan. I am sure the London people will like me too if it happens cause, win or lose I am far from boring and far from a staller. I hate people who don't fight to win. To me it's a paycheck fighting bitch who stalls. People go to see knock outs or fast pace submissions and I can bring it. I am confident I can do well verses anyone. I am finally in good shape. I'm not a fat f#%ker anymore so there you have it.

MMAWeekly: Adam, you have a good record, only two professional loses. It varies depending on where you look, so what is your official record?

Guerra: Right now, I am 18-2. I have fought guys that weigh more and less. I have beat down a guy once who was 385 lbs, big Bitch, and small guy 200lbs. I have paid my dues.

MMAWeekly: When do you think those dues are going to pay off to get in the UFC or one of Pride's cards?

Guerra: Well, I have fought in Japan already and its every f#%king fighters dream to go. I been to Mexico. UFC? I would love to I guarantee them a f#%king fight, no bullshit stall that's for sure, and the fight, win or lose wouldn't leave round f#%king one.

MMAWeekly: You seem to follow the sport pretty close, what is your take on the state of the UFC heavyweight division?

Guerra: Well since Tim caught a bad break and Gan is gone and Cabbage who is one of my favorites is on suspension, it looks bad right now. Don't get me wrong, their are some tough guys in the division like Arlovski. Whew that's a bad man.

MMAWeekly: Your training partner Wes Sims lost a controversial fight to Mike Kyle, is there still some harsh feelings there and what do you think about Mike Kyle?

Guerra: Mike Kyle can't wrestle for shit. He is a dirty f#%ker. He has to bite to win and throw a cheap shot. Maybe next time his ass wants to eat and he is hungry I'll loan the bitch five dollars for a happy meal. Wes doesn't care for him. I think in a rematch Wes would own his ass.

MMAWeekly: Have there been any mention of a rematch between them that you know of?

Guerra: Nah, I don't think Kyle could handle Wes when he is ready. Eilers will beat him silly.

MMAWeekly: Well Adam, it was nice talking to you my man. Good luck in Japan or London, which ever it may be.

Guerra: Thank you and hope to see you in a cage near you!

Source MMA Weekly

BTT's army ready to combat in Korea

Brazilian Top Team athletes Fabiano Capoane, Rogério Minotouro, Cláudio Godoy and Paulão Filho will be in action tonight (26) and tomorrow night at the Gladiators, MMA event which takes place in Seoul, South Korea. The event will be held at the 2004 Olympic Gymnastics Arena and BTT fighters are ready for this new challenge. Other Brazilian over the tournament, Anderson Silva will face American experienced fighter Jeremy Horn. Keep tuned at TATAME.com to know the results as soon they come out. Don't miss it!

COMPLETE CARD (subject to change):

June 26th
- Tanimura Mitsunori x Tchourakov Edouard
- Yasuhito Namekawa x Fabiano Capoane
- Sung Chul Kim x Sakuragi Uji
- Dan Severn x Hidetada Irie
- Ikuhisa Minowa x Igor Borisov
- Kim Jong Wang x Brad Kohler
- Rogerio Minotouro Nogueira x Alex Stiebling

June 27th
- Okuyama Koji x Matkine Serguei
- Hamada Jyunpei x Claudio Godoy
- Sultanmagomedov Kavkaz x Bae Chun Ho
- Jin O Kim x Shinji Katase
- Choi Mu Bae x Akhmedov Zourab
- Daijiro Matsui x Paulo Filho
- Jeremy Horn x Anderson Silva

Source Tatame

Montanha Silva fighting at the TV

It's not only in Japan Montanha Silva's size is popular. Over here, the giant of 2,21m ended at the television. Montanha made a special episode of "Da Cor do Pecado", aired by Globo Networks, acting as fighter Maciste Brasil. During the recording, a couple of weeks ago, Montanha acted with Caio Blat. "Montanha is a such a professional and he will do everything he can to be over the TV," guarantees Sérgio Batarelli, Montanha's manager. Now the fighter is ready for a new battle, this time for real, against American Butterbean, at K-1, which happes tonight, over the K-1 Beast 2004.

Source Tatame

Where Would Roy Jones Jr. Rate As An All-Time Great If He Were To Retire Today?
Juan Angel Zurita

In this two part series, Juan Angel Zurita assesses Roy Jones Jr’s career and gives his personal rating of where Jones would rate amongst the all-time pound-for-pound greats if he were to retire today. Part 1 assesses Jones’ all-time rating in each of the divisions he’s won titles in.

For over a decade, Roy Jones Jr. had been hailed as an immortal whose only real competition existed somewhere in the realms of time travel. Many lauded him as the Michael Jordan of boxing, a present day Ray Robinson. As his career neared its final chapter, it appeared he’d never find a true challenge. That all changed when he ran into a crushing left hook compliments of Antonio Tarver.

With Tarver’s kryptonite filled second round KO victory over boxing’s ‘Superman’, many have now been left scrambling to put Jones’ career into its proper perspective. In a crude twist, Jones’ worst nightmare has provided the sport of boxing with long sought after historical clarity. Boxing historians now have a barometer of Jones’ degree of greatness. The enigma that once existed is no more.

MUST SEE AND IT'S FREE!
This week: Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero - Hardcore sparring & non-stop action at the WildCard Boxing Club. If you haven't heard of him...YOUR GONNA!.
Free At DogHouseBoxing.com.
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(Video © MaxBoxing.com)

Not surprisingly, in the light of Jones’ recent misfortune, many are now questioning his place amongst boxing’s all-time greats. There is often a huge backlash within the boxing community when a perceived untouchable finally falls from his pedestal and Jones is the latest to fall prey to this vicious web. Unfairly, the criticism has been extremely harsh. Many have tossed around the words ‘fraud’ and ‘exposed’ to describe him. This is short-term memory loss and lunacy at his finest.

No one in their right mind can erase the fact that Jones has had a marvelous Hall of Fame career. Not even a grandiose perfectly placed left hook.

In his 14 year career, he has shown immense talent and skill, a unique blend arguably unrivaled throughout the sport’s history. However, talent alone does not equate to greatness. So what does make Jones special? What makes him one of the best fighters of his era?

Perhaps it’s knowing that he would’ve brought home Olympic gold had it not been for one of the most corrupt decisions in the history of amateur boxing. Perhaps it’s that coupled with the fact that he won titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight, while dominating his competition over 90% of the time.

Yes, I’d say those are all good reasons.

After rehashing the obvious, that brings us to the mother of all questions. How would Roy Jones Jr. rate as an all-time great if he were to retire today?

To answer that intriguing question, we must first assess his place in each of the divisions he’s graced.

The Middleweight

Jones looked damn near perfect in this weight class. He was as quick as lightning and had one-punch dynamite in both hands. Just ask Thomas Tate, a highly rated, world-class fighter whom Jones embarrassed in two short rounds of work. Jones the middleweight was a sight to behold. But ask current middleweight kingpin, Bernard Hopkins, and he might tell you different.

In their fight, Jones failed to dominate Hopkins. It was hardly one of his greatest performances. It was simply a good, competitive, match-up between two future greats who hadn’t yet come into their own. Nevertheless, Jones is excused for that less than stellar performance. After all, it was Hopkins and he did come out victorious.

So where does Jones rank as a middleweight? It depends on what one’s ratings emphasize. If you focus on the highly subjective ‘who-beats-who’ argument, he’s easily in the top ten. Based on my criteria (emphasis on quality of opposition, longevity, and accomplishments), he shouldn’t crack the top ten, but there is an exception to every rule. I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t rate him as one of the top ten middleweights of all-time. I can’t ignore the combination of talent and power he displayed in his short-lived stay in this weight class. What further justifies my ranking of Jones at middleweight is the success he went on to have in the super middleweight (emphasis on the Toney victory) and light heavyweight divisions.

I rate him at number ten, a few slots behind Bernard Hopkins. Yes, he did beat Hopkins, but Hopkins has accomplished much more in this weight class. However, I won’t argue with anyone who doesn’t rate him top ten at middleweight. Accomplishments and longevity go a long way and Jones had neither at 160.

The Super Middleweight

Now this is where Jones began to shake up the boxing world. In his first fight at super middleweight, he scored the most impressive victory of his career by outclassing IBF Super Middleweight Champion, James Toney, a top three pound-for-pound fighter of that time. Most impressive about this performance was the manner in which Jones easily out-boxed and toyed with ‘Lights Out’, at times making him look like a third rate opponent. Sadly, rather than pull out the broom stick and proceed to clean out the rest of the division, Jones opted to defend his strap five times against sub-par competition. Instead of facing Frankie Liles (scored a standing 8 count on Jones in the amateurs), Steve Collins, Chris Eubanks, Nigel Benn, Gerald McClellan (who beat Jones in the amateurs), Michael Nunn (Jones’ mandatory in the late 90s), he sparred against Antoine Byrd, Vinny Pazienza (blown-up lightweight), Tony Thornton, Merqui Sosa, Eric Lucas, and Bryant Brannon. Take a close look and you’ll see that the former bunch make the latter look like a Mercedes stacked up next to a Ford Pinto.

Surprisingly, despite failing to defend against the more difficult and dangerous super middleweights that lurked during his super middleweight reign, many boxing pundits, including this writer, will rate Jones as the number one super middleweight of all-time. One might ask how that could be possible. Jones is number one on the mere basis of his dazzling victory over James Toney? That’s ludicrous because he failed to defeat the aforementioned group, right? Again, his dominance in a higher weight class (light heavyweight), somewhat validates this ranking, but more importantly, it must be pointed out that the super middleweight division is but a mere twenty years old. There haven’t been many special talents in this division. In terms of accomplishments, Sven Ottke has a case, but do you really believe he was a much better super middleweight than Jones? Jones is basically the default choice in a division that has been a mediocre refuge during its short lifespan.

The Light Heavyweight

The light heavyweight division ultimately became Jones’ niche. It is in this division where he made his most significant mark. Here he notched wins against Mike McCallum (Hall of Famer), Virgil Hill (future Hall of Famer), Montell Griffin, Reggie Johnson, Eric Harding, Antonio Tarver, unified all the major belts, and in total scored twelve light heavyweight defenses. But as impressive as those accomplishments may appear, a few things can be a bit misleading regarding Jones’ opposition.

Mike McCallum was a 39 year-old, blown-up junior middleweight, when Jones defeated him. Virgil Hill was coming off a loss to German Dariusz Michalczewski. Montell Griffin was the first fighter to defeat Jones, albeit by DQ, in their first meeting. Harding was giving Jones fits before his corner stopped the bout due to a bicep injury suffered in the early rounds of their fight. Many feel Antonio Tarver deserved no worse than a draw in their first fight, and of course, Tarver knocked him out in the rematch.

Perhaps the biggest black mark on Jones’ light heavyweight career is the fact that he never became the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world. He managed to unify the three titles, but never defeated the linear champion, Dariusz Michalczewski, the biggest threat throughout the bulk of Jones’ light heavyweight reign. Furthermore, the WBC light heavyweight title he held from 1998-2004 was unjustly stripped away from Graciano Rocchigiani by the WBC in 1998 after he’d won it by defeating Michael Nunn, the fighter Jones refused to defend that belt against.

It is these negativities that have led many boxing historians to conclude that Jones is not a top ten all-time light heavyweight.

I beg to differ.

Personally, I don’t rate Jones above light heavyweight greats, Sam Langford, Gene Tunney, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Bob Foster, and Michael Spinks, but I do rate him above Conn, Fitzsimmons, Rosenbloom, Greb, and all others.

I rate Jones at #7 for a number of reasons.

1. Jones spent over six years at the top of the light heavyweight food chain. How’s that for longevity?

2. Although he didn’t exactly light the world on fire with his level of opposition, he dominated most of his mediocre light heavyweight opposition with such brilliance. Jones seldom lost a round when he was in the zone.

3. Critics will cite that when he finally ran into his best light heavyweight challenge, Antonio Tarver, he didn’t dominate him. He was lucky to pound out a win in the worst performance of his career. But in all fairness, Jones didn’t look 100% in that bout due to weight struggles, yet he still managed to come out victorious against a top quality opponent on his worst night.

Love him or hate him, Jones did prove he was a top ten all-time light heavyweight great. His longevity in the weight class and superb talent make it difficult to deny him a spot among the light heavyweight all-time top ten.

The Heavyweight

There isn’t much to discuss here. Jones took a calculated risk against a top five heavyweight from one of boxing’s worst heavyweight eras. Ruiz’s clumsy, slow-as-molasses style was the perfect fit for Jones. Fights against smaller, extremely skilled opponents (Hopkins, Jirov, Tarver) would’ve been much more competitive, and Tarver clearly proved that notion down the road. With one fight at heavyweight, Jones merits no ranking in this weight class.

Propaganda Exposed

Before anyone can attempt to objectively assess Jones’ rightful place in boxing history, a few pitfalls must be avoided. Below is a bulk of propaganda which Jones’ most ardent, misinformed, and blind supporters regularly try to sell.

1. Roy Jones Jr. only has one loss.

Did I miss something? I do recall watching Jones disqualify himself after viciously hitting Montell Griffin several times while he was already down in a fight where Griffin was giving Jones many fits. Boxing rules are in place for a reason and Jones broke a major rule on that night. The disqualification was totally just.

2. Roy Jones Jr. is special because he didn’t lose in the early or middle part of his career several times like a lot of highly regarded hall of fame fighters.

Of course not. Jones comes from an era where many fighters are babied. Many all-time greats who lost a handful of times before hitting their prime or during, lost due to a number of reasons.

a) Rookies: A few of these all-time greats turned pro as kids with no amateur careers whatsoever. Others turned pro at 18-21 yet still didn’t manage to rack up decent amateur careers. You basically see a lot of old timers with early and mid career losses because they were learning their trade as professionals. As we all know, Jones had an extensive and impressive amateur career.

Examples: Baby Arizmendi, Henry Armstrong, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore

b) Level of activity: While these kids and rookies were learning their trade as professionals, they were also fighting at an insane rate. Look up the records of Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Willie Pep, Sandy Saddler, and many other old time greats and you’ll see that they sometimes fought several times a month or every other month. They’re level of activity was unreal.

c) Bring ‘Em All On: Jones didn’t always fight the best his division(s) had to offer, and it could be argued that he dominated for so long for that very reason. Many all-time greats fought the best around because that’s what it was all about. Fighters wanted to prove that they were the baddest hombres in the ring. With that mentality, it’s no wonder they were often bested. That’s what happens when you fight at a rampant rate against the best of your time.

d) Poor Management & ‘The Times’: Again, Jones comes from an era where top talents are often times carefully managed, and he was no exception. Can you imagine how much greater certain all-time greats would appear on paper had they had the luxury of fighting a string of handpicked opponents throughout their careers?

Another important factor that contributed to losses on the ledgers of some all-time greats were ‘The Times.’ Black all-time greats like Joe Gans and Henry Armstrong were reportedly coerced to throw fights numerous times. These black greats who were stuck in racist America basically had no choice. These are only several examples.

In a nutshell, Jones’ record looks much prettier than many all-time greats because he fought less often (huge understatement), didn’t consistently take on the most dangerous fighters, and was managed a lot better during vastly improved social times.

3. No other all-time greats have ever dominated for as long and consistently as Jones and with far less losses.

Refer to # 2.

4. Roy Jones Jr. is in a league of his own because he’s defeated 17 current or former world champions.

This feat is truly deceiving. With Oscar De La Hoya’s recent victory over Felix Sturm, he now has 17 victories over current or former world champions, counting the WBO. However, is anyone arguing that he’s one of the greatest fighters to ever lace ‘em up? Today, we have four boxing organizations with four titles apiece per division. The dilution of titles has lead to misleading accomplishments like this one. C or D level fighters with good management and connections can pick up a title these days. Can you imagine if there had been four titles per division when Robinson and Armstrong were around? With their fighting mentalities, they would’ve probably racked up 60-70 wins over current and former boxing champions. Okay, maybe that’s a bit too much, but you get the picture.

5. Jones completely dominated four Hall of Fame legends in Hill, McCallum, Toney, and Hopkins.

Let’s examine these victories:

Virgil Hill: Virgil Hill was coming off a loss to German Dariusz Michalczewski.

Mike McCallum: Mike McCallum was a 39 year-old, blown-up junior middleweight.

James Toney: A truly impressive victory against one of the top three pound-for-pound fighters of that time.

Bernard Hopkins: Jones didn’t exactly dominate Hopkins. It was a close, competitive, fight which took place before Hopkins hit his prime. We’re talking about the same version of Hopkins who was given hell against Segundo Mercado in their first fight. Hopkins wasn’t even a champion back then.

6. When Jones defeated John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title, he joined Bob Fitzsimmons as the only other middleweight champion to win the world heavyweight crown.

Hogwash! Jones defeated a heavyweight titlist. If Jones really wanted to join Fitzsimmons in that rare class, he would’ve had to defeat Lennox Lewis, the true lineal heavyweight champion during that time. Diluted titles cause frequent headaches.

7. When Jones defeated John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title, he joined Bob Fitzsimmons, Gene Tunney, and Michael Spinks as light heavyweight champions who went on to win the world heavyweight crown.

Hogwash part 2! Fitzsimmons, Tunney, and Spinks actually defeated the linear and true heavyweight champions of their day. Diluted titles can also cause heart attacks.

8. Roy Jones dominated every weight class he’s won titles in.

Not quite.

At middleweight Jones beat Hopkins when Hopkins was but a mere top five ranked middleweight. Hopkins wasn’t the badass we see today. He was still learning his trade. Take a look at Hopkins’ first fight with Segundo Mercado and you’ll see that he wasn’t the same fighter.

Jones did in fact defeat the best super middleweight around when he defeated James Toney, but he did not dominate the rest of the weight class. He didn’t defeat Frankie Liles, Nigel Benn, Steve Collins, Tim Littles, Michael Nunn, or Gerald McClellan.

As a light heavyweight champion, Jones feasted on a lot of third tier fighters, he never defeated the linear champion, Dariusz Michalczeski, nor did he ever dominate Antonio Tarver. Against the latter, he barely squeezed out a win in their first fight and was knocked out in the rematch.

Roy Jones Jr. never officially dominated an entire weight class. The closest he came to accomplishing that feat was at light heavyweight, but he missed his opportunity by failing to conquer Michalczeski.

9. Jones’ place in boxing history should not be affected by the fact that he didn’t face Vassily Jirov, Dariusz Michalczeski, Bernard Hopkins (rematch), Frankie Liles, Nigel Benn, Steve Collins, Michael Nunn, Gerald McClellan, and Julian Jackon, because he would’ve beaten them silly.

Wasn’t it a foregone conclusion that Curry would beat Lloyd Honeyghan?

Wasn’t it a foregone conclusion that Tyson would squash Douglas and Holyfield?

In recent times, wasn’t it a foregone conclusion that Shane Mosley would out-speed Vernon Forrest? There was all this talk about Mosley bypassing Forrest to dominate the junior middleweight division. Surely, Forrest had no business in the ring with the return of ‘Sugar’. What were they thinking?

Ironically, many believed that Jones defeating Tarver was a foregone conclusion as well. Tarver had lost to Harding and many felt he’d be no match for Jones. Tarver nearly defeated him in the first fight and finished the task in the rematch. Go figure!

If you’ve followed boxing long enough, you’d know that boxing doesn’t work that way.

Styles make fights and when you consistently take on the best, you’re bound to run into some problems even against fighters that you’re suppose to destroy on paper.

Justly, Jones’ place in boxing history should take a hit for failing to fight all of those fighters. It’s not just one or two opponents we’re talking about. There are more than a handful of them. It’s not absurd to think that several of those fighters could’ve upset him.

Rating Roy Jones (Pros)

* Spanning four weight classes (three of the original eight), Jones dazzled the boxing world with his flash and skill, picking up titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight.

* Taking into account the list of fighters he didn’t face, we must also take into account those he did manage to defeat. He dominated several current and future Hall of Famers more convincingly than all of their previous or subsequent opponents.

* James Toney, a great fighter in his own right, has never been dominated like Jones dominated him. We’re talking about a fighter who has since proven himself at cruiserweight and who is now attempting to take over the heavyweight division.

* Virgil Hill was still quite formidable when Jones became the first man to knock him out with a picture perfect body shot.

* Since his loss to Jones, Hopkins has gone on to establish himself as the most dominant middleweight since Marvin Hagler. He hasn’t lost a fight since losing to Jones and has racked up a record 18 defenses at middleweight. He’s currently rated as a top three pound-for-pound fighter. For what it’s worth, The Ring Magazine currently rates him as pound-for-pound #1.

* Say what you will about John Ruiz, but he’s currently a top five heavyweight and has given many top heavyweights fits. Fighting him was a calculated risk, but an impressive performance nonetheless.

* Jones was not quite ‘The Fighter of the 90s’ but close to it. I grant Pernell Whittaker that distinction. Second best is not bad at all though considering that I rate Pernell Whittaker as one of the top fifteen fighters to ever step into the ring.

Rating Roy Jones (Cons)

* Roy Jones Jr. has been an exceptional talent throughout his career, but his reluctance to consistently test himself, damages his all-time standing. If he would’ve had the same mentality as Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, or Roberto Duran, he might’ve cracked the top ten. However, that’s all mere speculation. Those fighters actually took on the best and prevailed more often than not while in their primes. Jones cannot boast the same.

* When he did take on a few top quality opponents, he faired very well, therefore, it’s difficult to understand why he was so reluctant to consistently face the best. Why did he take an eight year break between Toney and Ruiz? Maybe he knew something that we weren’t aware of?

* Jones’ all-time standing is further damaged by the nature of his struggles with Antonio Tarver. Sure, he was 35 years-old, but so was Tarver. It also doesn’t bode well for Jones that he struggled and lost to the best light heavyweight he ever faced. Tarver gave boxing historians a bit of insight as to how Jones would fair against the taller, more powerful, all-time light heavyweight greats.

* Jones was still considered the top pound-for-pound fighter by many when he barely scraped by Tarver in their first fight. Likewise, he was a heavy favorite, and still the perceived pound-for-pound head honcho when he was knocked out in two rounds in the rematch.

* Can anyone think of the last time the perceived pound-for-pound king was knocked out with one punch? Can anyone think of the last time an all-time great fighter was knocked out with one punch while still at the top of the pound-for-pound ranks? And please don’t mention Lennox Lewis. He’s not an all-time pound-for-pound great and he was never at the top of anyone’s pound-for-pound list. Further, Jones was never known for having a tender chin like Lewis. That makes his knockout loss even more devastating.

Jones’ Rating Per Division (Summary)

Middleweight – # 10

Super Middleweight – # 1

Light Heavyweight – # 7

Heavyweight – N/A

Jones’ All-Time Rating

First off, it should be noted that I have two all-time ranking lists. The first includes fighters from all eras, dating back to the late 1800s. The second I call my ‘Modern’ list and it typically rates fighters who fought from the 1930s to the present. I put more emphasis on my ‘Modern’ list because I find it difficult to rate fighters from eras where there is limited video footage, and because this list focuses on eras post full-integration.

Rating Jones as an all-time great is still a bit perplexing. One has to find a balance between the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s not easy.

Per my estimation, if Jones were to retire today, he’d definitely crack the top 35 on my first list without hesitation. He’d probably fit somewhere between the late 20s and early 30s. Top 20 is a deep stretch. Those slots are reserved for the elite core who consistently tested themselves against the best of their time. Most of those slots also happen to be dominated by boxers who fought at a freakish rate. Conversely, on my ‘Modern’ list, the picture looks a bit different. Jones rates somewhere between 22-25 due to the omission of several pre full-integration greats.

In closing, this article hypothesized on how Jones would rank all-time if he were to retire today, but since he isn’t really retired, his all-time rating could still improve or suffer. To improve it, he’ll have to avenge his knockout loss to Antonio Tarver in impressive fashion. Jones proponents have always argued that Jones has never had any real competition because he was simply too great to be tested. Well, finally a ‘test’ has arrived. Greatness is often defined by how a fighter reacts to adversity and this test may ultimately define Jones’ place in boxing history. Should he avoid Tarver or suffer the same fate in the rematch, his all-time standing could suffer.

That said, these ratings are tentative since a boxer’s place in boxing history cannot be fully understood until years after he’s left the boxing scene. And as we know, the final chapter of Roy Jones Jr’s illustrious career has yet to be written. The boxing world shimmers with the anticipation of its release.

Source Dog House Boxing

K-1 RESULTS:
Sapp gets KO'd & Montanha beats Butterbean

K-1 'Beast 2004
June 26, 2004
Shizuoka Ecopa Arena
Shizuoka, Japan

Single fughts:
Ray Sefo defeats Bob Sapp by KO at 0:49, RD 2.
'Montanha' Silva defeats Eric 'Butterbean' Esch by unanimous decision.
Ryo Takigawa defeats Tsutomu Takahagi by unanimous decision.

Japan GP tournament:

Quarterfinals:
Hiromi Amada defeats Noboru Uchida after three rounds by split decision.
Tatsufumi Tomihira defeats Mike Bernardo by KO at 1:30, RD 1.
Nobu Hayashi defeats Tsuyoshi Nakasako by unanimous decision.
Hiraku Hori defeats Shingo Koyasu by unanimous decision.

Semifinals:
Hiromi Amada defeats Tatsufumi Tomihira by KO at 0:58, RD 3.
Nobu Hayashi defeats Hiraku Hori by KO at 2:31, RD 3.

Final:
Hiromi Amada defeats Nobu Hayashi by unanimous decision.

Source Fight Sport

 6/26/04

Quote of the Day

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change."

Charles Darwin

Kick'in It Returns to Palama Settlement Tonight!

Kick'in 5: 2004 Part II
Palama Settlement Gymnasium, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 26, 2004

Tentative Fight Card!

55 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Triston Pebria vs. Dahwen Bright

150 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Randy Rivera vs. Jerome Kekumu

185 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Jessie Matilda vs. Alan Yulip

150 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Sonny Howell vs. Nick Correa

100 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Sage Yoshida vs. Keoni Brick

115 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Derwin Wright vs. J.B. Williams

300 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Roger Danielson vs. Bob Atisinoe

300 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Levi Joseph vs. John Taamu

105 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Devin Damo vs. Tony Pererra

165 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Oscar Kano vs. Kaleo Kwan

200 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Kaleo Kamakeeaina vs. Joane Tao

120 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Koichi vs. Ikaika Silva

130 lbs.: 3 Rounds - 1.5 Minutes
Jensen Reece vs. Ronald Cordeiro

Leo Santos earns R$20,000 at B. Belt

Leonardo Santos is the great champion of Black Belt GP, BJJ event that ruled Espéria Gymnasium in São Paulo. The Nova União black belt defeated the Bras athlete Reinaldo Ribeiro by points. He scored 4x0 (2 sweeps). With the result, Leo Santos takes home R$10, 000 cash prize plus a R$10,000 bonus, gave by his sponsor. "Who wants to feature BJJ lightweight events has to pay Nova União athletes to not to fight! They are ruling everything!," stated the CBJJO's president Luiz Hermínio de Morais

Check out the full results:

1st Round:
Leonardo Santos defeated Tiago Gomes by 4 x 0
Gustavo Falcirolli defeated Fredson Alves by 2 x 0
Luciano Casquinha defeated Carlos Eduardo 'Português' by 4 x 0
Frédson Paixão defeated Laercio Fernandes by 8x2
Márcio Feitosa defeated Rodrigo Damm by an advantage
Reinaldo Ribeiro submitted Danny Abu via choke
Daniel Moraes defeated Ocimar Costa by 16 x 0
Mário Reis submitted Leandro Fidellis

Quartas de final:
Leo Santos derrotou Gustavo Falcirolli by 2x0
Reinaldo Ribeiro defeated Márcio Feitosa pby an advantage (sweeping)
Frédson Paixão defeated Luciano Nutti by 8x2
Daniel Moraes defeated Mário Reis by (4x3 advantages)

Semi Finais:
Leo Santos defeated Fredson Paixão by 5x0
Reinaldo Ribeiro submitted Daniel Moraes via choke

Finais:
Frédson Paixão defeated Daniel Moraes by WO and got in third
Leo Santos defeated Reinaldo Ribeiro by 4x0 and got the title of the GP

Source: Tatame

Confidence Amid Confusion:
A UFC Champion Is Crowned

By Loretta Hunt

"I knew I broke his arm," UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir confidently beams from his Las Vegas home. "I knew. That's why when they stopped the fight and I got up, I raised my hand. I was like, this is over with. People were trying to tell me in the locker room that it was popped, and I kept saying yeah, okay. Sure enough the doctor came back and said, 'Nah, it's broken.'"

Ironically, Mir was one of a small minority last Saturday night who realized that something big had occurred just fifty seconds into his title bout with former champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 48. Referee Herb Dean was the first to catch the uncomfortable snap of Sylvia's forearm under the pressure of Mir's hold, as he rushed in mid-fight to separate the two entangled athletes. Commentator Joe Rogan was the next to identify it on the multiple replays that followed. Unfortunately for Mir, it took the estimated 10,000 in attendance far more convincing that this fight needed halting before Sylvia was subjected to further, even permanent, damage. Despite ringside physician Margaret Goodman's simple nod towards Dean affirming his fears, the audience still hissed the abrupt stoppage, further fueled by Sylvia's protests that he was fine and could continue.

"That kinda sucked with the confusion in the fight as far as the crowd not understanding what was going on," Mir comments of those awkward few moments. Granted, with the belt now secured around his waist following a two-and-a-half year climb up the ranks of the UFC promotion, the negative cries from an unsatisfied audience was probably not how Mir's victorious moment had played out in his mind. But true to his easygoing nature, the 25-year old Las Vegas native has chosen to focus on the positives of his career-topping performance. "As far as how the victory happened, I'm very happy with it. I went out there and did pretty much what I said I was going to do. I was gonna go out there and every time he threw a punch I was going to kick his leg."

A 2 to 1 underdog against the 18-0, 6'8" striker, Mir was just as startled as the crowd when Sylvia chose to move the action to the ground after seizing the fighter's leg and pushing him off-balance. According to Sylvia, he wanted to violently slam Mir down and rise again quickly, but instead, the Miletich fighter lingered in his opponent's guard, much to Mir's amazement. "The fact that his next option was to go ahead and try and pull me to the cage as if he was going to ground and pound me or something, and stay inside my guard, which at this point in my game, I don't think anyone in the heavyweight division wants to be in my guard. I train pretty much now that everyone wants to stand up and get out of my guard and for him to go ahead and stay there a few extra seconds allowed me to go ahead and pull my hips out and armbar him. Actually, that was surprising to me."

Whether it be a flaw in Sylvia's strategy or a simple mistake, Mir's ground prowess can not be denied. In fact, the Ricardo Pires student has now amassed four swift submission victories in his seven UFC appearances and not one has gone past a minute and five seconds. The 6'1" fighter clocked in fifty seconds flat for this latest flashy feat, sparking longtime coach Pires to promote his top scholar right then and there to black belt status. "It was just us in the back, just between us. He threw it at me to be honest with you," Mir laughs lightly. "After he lectured me about how much harder we're gonna have to train for the next fight for the next ten minutes, he then says, 'Oh, by the way, here's your black belt.'"

Although it's a time of celebration in the Mir household, Pires' words of wisdom aren't far behind in the new champion's mind. "Oh yeah, I'll be fighting Andrei [Arlovski] in October," Mir declares, referring to the tough Belarusian who, like himself, had to wait a bit longer than first anticipated for his title shot against the former champion. But, now instead of facing Sylvia for the belt, Arlovski might have Mir to contend with. Again, Mir is confident. "I think Andrei has pretty much the same kind of mindset that Tim has," he rationalizes. "He wants to try and knock you out with hands. I like that match-up. I like when guys come in and try to box 'cause to me, it'd be the equivalent of putting a really good boxer against a really good kickboxer. Kicks beat punches every time, so I feel comfortable again that if Andrei wants to throw hands, I'll keep kicking him in the legs and taking shots, and eventually within that time, we're gonna hit the ground. I know that Andrei is a little more versed on the ground than Sylvia and I'm sure he feels pretty confident about his ground game. He started off as a grappler, but I feel that I'm a lot better and that once we hit the ground, he'll be fighting off submissions."

Source: FCF

Sapp miss the K-1 press conference

Always unpredictable over the press conference, Bob Sapp, this time didn't show up at the Shizuoka Century Hotel, in Japan, where the athletes popped up for the K-1 Japan Series Beast 2004, which will happen tomorrow (26). Sapp will face the experienced fighter from New Zealand Ray Sefo, who left his message: "I do respect Bob, we are friends, but business are business. I came here to win!" The event will also feature a eight-fight-tournament, which will prize the winner with 5 millions of yen.

On the other super-fight, Brazilian Montanha Silva (2,25m) will face American Butterbean (1,80m). Montanha and Butterbean have fought once at K-1 and won the same opponent: Yusuke Fujimoto. This K-1 Beast 2004 will also be a debut night for Vitor Miranda (Boxe Thai) in Japan. One of the highlights of last K-1 MMA in Brazil, Vitinho will face the experienced Great Kusatsu on the first fight of the night.

COMPLETE CARD (subject to change):

- Great Kusatsu Vs Vitor Miranda;
- Ryo Takigawa Vs Tsutomu Takahagi;
- Montanha Silva Vs Butterbean;
- Bob Sapp Vs Ray Sefo;

Tournament

1 - Hiraku Hori Vs Shingo Koyasu;
2 - Tsuyoshi Nakasako Vs Nobu Hayashi;
3 - Mike Bernardo Vs Tatsufumi Tomihira;
4 - Hiromi Amada Vs Noboru Uchida;

Semifinals:

5 - Winner (1) Vs Winner (2);
6 - Winner (3) Vs Winner (4);

Final:

Winner (5) Vs Winner (6)

Source: Tatame

LINDLAND LOOKS AHEAD TO UFC & THIS WEEKEND

Matt "The Law" Lindland joined MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Thursday. Matt is preparing to fight David Terrell at UFC 49 and promoting his Sport Fight organization but took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with us. Matt discussed UFC 48's results, the possibility of fighting Evan Tanner, and future plans for Sport Fight.

Matt was in Evan Tanner's corner for Evan's bout with Phil Baroni and said, "Evan stuck to the game plan and the fight went as planned. Laughing, Lindland commented that he has changed the name of the strategy from, "stick and move to hit and run." He added, "Phil's got one thing, he hits hard, that's what he's got going for him," and it was key for Evan to keep moving in order to win the fight.

"He wasn't going to stand toe to toe with someone that that's their only game," stated Lindland. He wasn't surprised at Phil's lack of offense in the fight. Matt said Phil couldn't hit Tanner, "Evan would be in and be gone."

When asked about possibly having to fight Evan Tanner, Matt replied, "I have no desire to fight Evan....but if it happens, it happens." It is not Matt's goal to fight Tanner. He thinks the 185 pound division is a "deep lake" of talent and there are a lot of guys to fight rather then them facing each other.

Matt also said that he would take fights at 205 and so would Evan. Matt just wants to stay active and if moving up for a fight helps that, he is willing. Matt stated that Evan would like another shot at Tito Ortiz, saying, "He would love to get a rematch against Tito." Matt questioned why Tito is wanting to fight Ken Shamrock again and was critical of Ortiz, saying, "The only tough guys he's fought, he's lost." He speculated that maybe Tito thinks it is an easy fight for him to win.

Matt gave his take on the heavyweight title match between Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia. He said Mir was able to exploit Tim's weakness and win. He pretty much said that Sylvia didn't take the fight seriously, planning victory parties and interviews. "That's just not a good way to go into a fight," added Lindland.

This Saturday night, Matt Lindland's and Randy Couture's fight promotion of Sport Fight is holding an event at the Mt. Hood community college gymnasium that they have renamed the "Sport Fight Dome." The venue seats 4,000 and doesn't have a bad seat in the house. Team Quest member, Chris Leben will be facing Benji Radach as the main event, in what Randy called, "an awesome fight."

Matt said running Sport Fight is a lot of work, harder than fighting even. Promoting isn't as easy as it seems, stated Lindland, there are always complications and negotiations. In August, Sport Fight is holding an outdoor event in an 8,000 seat stadium. They held one last year and the fans wanted it brought back, even though, "it is a security nightmare." For all the latest on Sport Fight, go to WWW.SportFight.tv for all the latest information on Sport Fight events, fight cards, ticket information and directions to the shows.

Source: MMA Weekly

PRIDE NEWS AND NOTES

The following information comes from Jeremy Wall's Touch of Evil Newsletter. The last Pride show did a 20.3 rating on FujiTV, with Yoshida-Hunt being the highest quarter hour at 25.4

Quinton Jackson will meet Wanderlei Silva sometime in October in a rematch of the 2003 Grand Prix Finals, but this time it will be for Silva's Middleweight title. Silva still has to fight Kondo first on August 15th in a non-title match. Kondo is booked against Shannon Ritch on a Pancrase card at Korakuen Hall on June 22nd (tonight).

Sakuraba's next opponent is unknown, but the rumor is that his fight against Nino Schembri was the beginning of a series of fights with Sakuraba vs. Chute Boxe fighters, leading to an ultimate rematch with Wanderlei Silva sometime down the road.

Silva is now rumored to be fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Mirko Cro Cop on New Year's Eve, which means that either a possible fourth fight with Sakuraba will have to wait until next year, or Pride is planning on going in a different direction with Sakuraba.

Fedor is said to be fine after the slam from Kevin Randleman. In fact, Fedor looked fine just moments after the slam. Ricardo Arona's condition after being powerbombed by Quinton Jackson is not known.

Randleman's fight against Fedor was the last on his current contract. His new deal he signed with Pride prior to the fight is for six fights over the course of two years.

Source: MMA Weekly

Javier Vazquez Contemplating Future
By Ken Pishna

He was on a roll, headed towards the big shows. Javier Vazquez had just won 7 fights in a row, including a huge win over Japanese legend Rumina Sato, on his home turf in Japan no less. He stepped into the cage at King of the Cage 21 to defend his lightweight title against challenger
Alberto Crane. Though it was a defining moment, that's when everything started to crumble.

Vazquez tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in the opening moments of the bout. Amazingly, he fought on through three rounds of agony with the blown out knee. In the end, it was Crane that won the decision and took Vazquez's belt.

Nine months later, Vazquez returned to the ring, this time to face Robert Emerson under the Shooto banner. He won a split decision and earned his shot at the big time. Vazquez finally got the call to face Matt Serra at UFC 46. While training for Serra, he again injured his knee and had to bow out. Now, he's not sure where to go from here.

"I don't know man, it's just not worth the risk," Vazquez responded when asked if he would ever return to the ring. "Right now, there are two things that would make it worth while for me fight again... money and Alberto Crane."

The problem is that there just isn't that much money in the sport of mixed martial arts right now. Why should Vazquez risk injuring himself yet again, when the reward isn't even enough to cover his medical expenses? He is still taking care of the medical bills from his last injury.

Having had surgery this past January, Vazquez is just starting to train again. Though he can't do anything standing (no boxing or wrestling), he is able to train jiujitsu, as long as he starts on the mat and stays off his feet.

Despite not having made a decision on his MMA career, Vazquez does plan to continue teaching at his school, Millenium Jiujitsu, and competing in grappling tournaments. In fact, he has plans to enter this year's Abu Dhabi Combat Club North American Trials in Canada.

Evidently, the loss to Crane still bothers him though and could be a driving force in getting him back into the sport. Crane is one fighter that Vazquez would return for, regardless of the risk. "If I could fight Crane, I'd be able to sleep at night again. I can't right now."

Source: MMA Weekly

Countdown to Conflict
Pride’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Continues

By Jade "Ninjamonkey" Prout

Sixteen fighters from around the globe were invited to participate in a tournament of great magnitude, facing off in April’s "Total Elimination 2004" event to determine the quarterfinalists. After five submissions and three knockouts, the field of competitors had been cut in half. On June 20th, the eight remaining warriors returned to the Pride ring for "Critical Countdown" to earn the right to advance to "Final Conflict" in August.

In the first of the four Grand Prix matches, Holland’s Semmy "Hightower" Schilt squared off against the Russian dark horse, Sergei Kharitonov. Schilt, a seven-footer with excellent striking ability, made his way to the quarterfinals with an armbar submission against fellow big-man and UFC veteran Gan McGee. Kharitonov’s first-round fight was a brutal knockout victory over Chute Boxe’s Academy’s Murilo "Ninja" Rua. Fans anticipated an explosive slugfest, and were not disappointed.

Kharitonov immediately went to work with an attempted jab to the body, then a kick to the leg. Semmy landed a solid jab, then threw another, only to be met with a right hook. Schilt launched a front kick to the body, which Sergei caught in mid-flight, driving Semmy into the ropes. Kharitonov appeared to be caught in a guillotine choke, and the two hit the ground with Sergei popping out on top. Schilt landed a hard left to the head, and attacked Kharitonov’s kidneys with a barrage of heel-kicks. Sergei rose to his feet with Semmy’s legs triangled around his midsection, and attempted to unload a big right hand, but Schilt got a solid grip on both of his wrists to prevent any potential pounding. With that avenue closed to him, Kharitonov immediately passed Semmy’s guard and then took the full mount! Schilt tried to hold Sergei’s head down, but was unable to do so; instead, he grabbed the Russian’s wrists and swept him onto his back, earning a roar of approval from the rapt audience.

Semmy went on the offensive with ground strikes, landing several left hammer-fists before Kharitonov tied up his wrists and began looking for a sweep of his own. Schilt landed a couple of powerful left hands to Sergei’s face before both men scrambled back to up their feet. Semmy fired off a high kick that fell just short of its mark, then backed up to recompose himself. They clashed again, with Kharitonov ducking a jab and throwing a left to the body. Schilt backed Sergei into a corner and attempted a flying knee that went high and outside. Kharitonov secured a body-lock, then a headlock, but could not manage a throw. Semmy drove him back into the corner and blasted him with a knee to the leg, then another, putting all of his weight on the smaller man. With the pace slowing, the referee broke up the clinch and restarted the fight at the center of the ring. Schilt appeared to be bleeding from the right eyebrow and from his mouth.

Sergei blocked a kick and answered it with a looping right. He threw a straight right to the body, then attempted a left, but was stopped by a stiff left to the face from Semmy. The gargantuan Dutchman advanced and missed with a kick. Kharitonov fired back with a left, then went for a takedown, nearly eating a big knee before backpedaling away. Schilt advanced, backing Sergei towards the corner again, and launched a sharp left, which Kharitonov ducked before scooping Schilt’s legs and driving him back down to the mat. Again, Semmy gripped Sergei’s wrists and held the guard position, but Kharitonov ripped his right hand free and blasted the big man’s face with a powerful punch. As Schilt tried to regain his grip, Sergei pounded down again, and again. Still bleeding, and hoping to make up for lost points, Semmy threw punches from the bottom and heel-kicks to the kidneys, but Kharitonov rose to his feet and landed another right hand bomb. Schilt pulled him back into his guard and connected with a couple lefts, but Sergei again rose, throwing down a volley of rights before backing out of the guard.

Kharitonov dove back in, hoping to land in side control, but Semmy managed to catch him in his guard again, and attacked with several more heels to the kidneys. Sergei stood within the guard again, trying to turn out to the right while striking down, then returned to his knees, unable to pass. Schilt continued to slip in lefts from his back, but caught a solid hammer-fist to the face. Kharitonov repeatedly rose up and bombed down, but could not seem to solve the riddle of Semmy’s guard. Finally, he got his chance; a glancing heel-kick to the head from Schilt allowed Sergei to pass to the left, and then to the full mount! Semmy tried to buck, but was unable to do so; soon, Kharitonov got his right knee over Schilt’s left bicep and pounded down with a looping left and a series of right hammer-fists. From this horribly disadvantageous position, Semmy could no longer control Sergei’s arms, and was defenseless against the strikes from above. Schilt made several attempts to use his legs to push Kharitonov off him, and made one last effort to buck, but to no avail. Sergei continued to drop the hammer, concentrating his shots on Semmy’s right eye. When the referee saw the grisly condition of Schilt’s face, he stopped the contest, giving Kharitonov the win by TKO.

Japanese Judo superstar Naoya Ogawa stunned fans (and critics) with a one-sided win over K-1 legend Stefan "Blitz" Leko at Total Elimination, knocking the smaller man down with punches before eventually locking in the kata-gatame for a speedy submission victory. Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva took his first-ever MMA win over the completely inexperienced Sumo wrestler Henry "Sentoryu" Miller by submission as well, with a Kimura from the bottom. DSE claimed to have set this match up to see how Ogawa would handle such a monstrous opponent, giving the Japanese fans a "giant-killer" spectacle to behold.

Silva came out with his trademark "caveman" punches, only to be clinched and taken down, with Ogawa landing in the across-side position. The judoka seemed to want the kata-gatame at first, but had trouble locking it in against such a large target. A struggle ensued; Ogawa went after Silva’s left arm, then his right, and nearly secured an armbar from North-South before the Giant powered up to his knees, lifting his smaller opponent in what looked like a fireman’s carry! Ogawa tried to take his back, but Silva turned around and ended up fully mounted, much to the crowd’s delight.

Ogawa tried another side choke, then an Americana, then seemed to be working for an armbar when Silva turned onto his side. Ogawa abandoned the arm and attempted another side choke, then landed a solid left to the Giant’s face. Silva struggled back to half-guard, avoiding a few more punches, but Ogawa continued to look for submissions and throw strikes on his way to regaining the mount. Once there, he opened fire with punches, and appeared to stun Silva with a couple of hard lefts to the face. With the Giant just covering up and mustering no intelligent defense, the referee stopped the fight and declared Ogawa the victor by TKO. The great Japanese hope would go on to fight in the next round of the tournament.

The third GP match on the star-studded card pitted Pride’s Interim Heavyweight Champion, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, against the always-exciting Heath "Texas Crazy Horse" Herring in a rematch of their memorable Championship bout in November of 2001. Nogueira had advanced to this event with a choke-out victory over then-undefeated fighter Hirotaki Yokoi, while Herring had pounded out UFC veteran and Pancrase standout Yoshiki Takahashi with punishing hammer-fists.

Heath immediately went to work with low kicks; Nogueira answered with straight punches, getting the better of the exchanges. Herring went to the clinch and was quickly leg-tripped, with Nogueira landing in side-mount and going immediately for a lock on Heath’s right arm from the opposite side. Herring tried to stave off the attack with knee strikes from the bottom; maintaining a death grip on the trapped arm, Nog flowed into knee-on-stomach and then to North-South, but could not lock it out. Heath spun beneath him, exposing his back for a frightening moment, then rolled over and gave up side control again, this time with Nog on his right. Minotauro again seized the opposite arm as Herring popped him with another knee. Nogueira opened up with some short left hands to Heath’s face, then turned around and transitioned from North-South into a crucifix! He tried to lock in the rear choke, but Heath squirmed out of it and into Nog’s guard, getting a huge response from the crowd.

It was then Heath’s turn to go on the offensive, landing some quick left hands, but Nog fought back with some rights and a nasty up-kick. Herring paused briefly to recover, and Nogueira immediately went for an omoplata! Heath wriggled free and went back to the ground strikes, with Nog using his knees to keep him at a distance. The Brazilian attempted another omoplata, but Herring slipped free and passed the guard to Minotauro’s right side. Heath had just managed to take the mount when he was neatly swept onto his back; Nogueira passed the guard and slid his knee across his opponent’s stomach to take the full mount! Herring immediately bucked and spun to his hands and knees, giving up an arm in the process. As Heath struggled back to the top position, Nog tried to lock in a triangle, but lost control of the arm in the attempt, and ate several solid lefts to the face. After another failed triangle attempt by Nogueira and some glancing strikes by Herring, the referee called a halt to the action to move the fighters out of the corner into which they had worked themselves.

The fight resumed in the center of the ring, with Heath in Nogueira’s guard. Minotauro again used his knees to keep Heath at a distance, but this time Heath stood up -- narrowly avoiding another up-kick – and threw some chopping kicks to Nogueira’s legs. With just seconds left on the clock, the referee motioned Nogueira to his feet. Herring caught him with a high kick, but the tough-as-nails Brazilian shrugged it off and responded with quick, straight punches. Herring landed a takedown just as the round ended, and both fighters returned to their corners for a brief respite.

In the second round, Nogueira continued to use his boxing skills to back up his opponent, but Heath rebounded off the ropes with another takedown attempt. Nogueira sprawled and locked up Herring’s head and arm, then spun onto his back for the same "Anaconda Choke" he used to finish Yokoi in his last match. With the hold locked in tightly, he rolled on top and gave Heath only one option: to tap out. Nogueira took the win by submission, advancing to the final four.

In the final fight of the evening, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin "The Monster" Randleman took on the number-one fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. Kevin shocked the world at Total Elimination when he knocked out fan favorite Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic with a vicious left hook and jackhammer ground strikes. Fedor, for his part, earned a spot in Critical Countdown with an armbar submission victory over Kevin’s close friend and trainer, former UFC Champion Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.

As usual, Randleman looked amped and energized, and Fedor looked slightly bored. They sized each other up for a few long seconds, then Kevin threw his left hook and shot in for the double-leg, lifting Fedor up into the air and slamming him down onto his back. Randleman remained cautious in the half-guard, and allowed Fedor to spin to his hands and knees beneath him. As the Russian scrambled to his feet, Kevin body-locked him from behind and delivered the most devastating German suplex the mixed martial arts world may ever have seen! Incredibly, Fedor seemed unfazed. Randleman floated from side control to North-South and fired a knee, but Fedor blocked it and reversed into side-mount on Kevin! Randleman tried to slide out from under him, but Fedor rained down nearly twenty left hands to the left side of his head. From that point, it was only a matter of seconds before Fedor had stretched and twisted Kevin’s arm in a Kimura lock; The Monster screamed in agony and tapped out. With that, the night was over and Fedor filled out the final four.

What will the match-ups be at Final Conflict? The prevailing theory seems to be that DSE will want Ogawa to take on Nogueira, while the two Russians will be forced to fight each other. After all, the fan poll before this event showed that several thousand people wanted to see Nogueira-Ogawa, and Mr. Sakakibara responded by saying that DSE hoped to hold that match "in the finals." As we learned in April, there is no guarantee that a favorite will advance; if DSE wants this fight to happen, they need to set it up A.S.A.P. However, with these four finalists, there really are no bad match-ups possible. No matter what DSE decides, the result is sure to be an exciting end to the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix and a treat for MMA fans everywhere.

Source: MMA Fighting

Shamrock back on track, but whether Tito will follow is the question
From the Mount by Jason Probst

There are two types of fighters in the UFC - reality track and nostalgia track. Admittedly, Ken Shamrock versus Kimo was something of a nostalgia fight. But, it does bring in the critical eyeballs to pay for the rest of the card. It's always funny when you hear fighters complaining about what other guys make, who take either lower-risk fights for bigger money.

Usually, in some abstract sense of the meritocracy, they're right. When a guy makes $100,000 for beating up a chimp, while you're making $5,000 for tackling a gorilla, you've got a point. But what if the hard corollary to that was nobody would be watching you fight the gorilla unless the guy beat up the chimp? Indeed, a conundrum…

How many of the guys on the UFC undercard would be mobbed at the Mall in your hometown? Shamrock's been with the UFC since its inception - he's like the veteran employee who doesn't have the corner office anymore, but still has the sales figures that come from cumulative exposure. And his win over Kimo was virtually perfect. It extends his shelf life at least for another couple fights, and to be honest, the UFC needs him.

The UFC needs somebody….anybody…to penetrate the veil into the mainstream. Shamrock is well spoken and a name that registers. In the grocery store, they call it a loss leader - the item that gets you inside so you'll hang around and buy more.

However, the line must be drawn somewhere, and that's with a Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock rematch.

Sure, it's probably viable - more so to the casual fans than the hardcore, who know that weights mean little in this match - but Tito Ortiz, if he decides to do so, will have become the Roy Jones of MMA if he takes a Shamrock fight.

Jones - who said after losing to Antonio Tarver that he "couldn't get up for this guy" - then proceeded to take a fight with IBF champion Glencoffe Johnson instead of Tarver. Funny how he can get up for Johnson, a tough, but up and down fighter with nine losses on his record. He probably can get up for anybody he feels confident about collecting an easy payday with.

Tito is starting to look the same way. Talk of Lee Murray was thrown around after UFC 46, after Murray, in his barely intelligible, but highly entertaining Cockney accent, busted Tito's chops about their alleged street encounter in London after UFC 38.

It would only make Tito look bad to beat up on Murray. And he would beat him something awful.

Lee even isn't even a big 185-lb. fighter - he was 182 against Jorge Rivera, and 140 of that is biceps and forehead. Tito needs to fight Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, or Chuck Liddell again. Hey, if you lose while fighting the best, it's still better than beating up on soft touches. Look at Chuck Liddell. The guy has more street cred than any fighter in the game, because he fights anybody, anytime. Fans respect that. Liddell could wait around for the Belfort-Couture winner, but instead he's fighting Vernon White at UFC 49, the same way he fought Renato Sobral at UFC 40 while he was waiting for Tito.

If Tito takes on Shamrock, let us dismiss talk of injuries, excuses, and weights. What it really signifies is that Ortiz, like Roy Jones, has let paydays become more important than prestige. Jones jumped up to heavyweight, decisioned a very beatable John Ruiz, and then slipped back down safely to light heavyweight. You can guess whether or not Ortiz would really stay at heavy if he beats Shamrock again. It's a good payday, sure, but does little for his career.

When Chuck Liddell is old and gray, he probably won't be as rich as Ortiz. He won't have the endorsements, clothing lines, or movie credits, whatever, the poseable action figure with the cage-slam grip. But he'll be able to sleep easy at night knowing that he fought every tough mother in the game. We can only hope Tito keeps that in mind - and that the UFC avoids steering him onto the nostalgia track - in the near future.

As for what's next for Shamrock, who knows? He delivered Saturday night, and at 40, your career pretty much goes on a fight-by-fight basis. As storylines go, he and Frank Mir would make a good one -- Old School versus New. Odds-wise he's likely to be as much a long shot against Mir as he is against Ortiz, but at least it's not a repeat…and Mir is more likely to fight from his back, which always gave Ken a better chance.

Short Shots

Matt Hughes-Renato "Charuto" Verissimo was a tough, close fight. But two judges scoring the first round for Hughes suggests that a scoring review is in order with Las Vegas judges. If a fighter like Verissimo has a near-submission locked in and has the other fighter completely focusing on getting out of the impending disaster, that should count the equivalent to a punching flurry that has a guy on Queer Street. Charuto didn't do a lot after the first round but he virtually neutralized Hughes' ground and pound attack, although Hughes did land the occasional shot and scored all the takedowns.

Charuto will be a very dangerous spoiler against welterweights, particularly strong aggressive types, with his astute groundwork and dexterity. Against Georges St. Pierre or Frank Trigg, he'd be especially effective.

A word on Trigg: his post fight flip off of Dennis Hallman wasn't much in the way of high etiquette, but Trigg nipped out-of-line fans in the bud at the post fight press conference who cheered Dana White's announcement that Tim Sylvia had suffered broken bones from Frank Mir's arm bar.

"That is jacked up," said Trigg, taking the mic and admonishing fans who applauded the grotesque injury. It needed to be said, and Trigg, for all his bluster in pre-fight buildup, earned this writer's respect.

To cheer a fighter is one thing, but to applaud an injury is sick. There's enough cheering in press row as it is…much less post fight conferences where half of the media are there to collect autographs and pretend they're journalists, and the other half are fighter entourages who serve no function except to take up space and issue the occasional challenge. Hell, even boxing post fight pressers are fairly organized compared to this chaos…..still room for improvement there….

Georges St. Pierre needs to fight a top ten opponent. He's pretty good so far, and how many times have you seen such a good wrestler try an honest-to-pete spinning back kick? How about St. Pierre against Chris Lytle? Lytle's mix of striking and grappling would be a fine test for St. Pierre.

Still don't understand why Tim Sylvia willingly went to the floor with Frank Mir. He seemed to be executing the game plan perfectly - deterring Mir's first clinch attempt with a knee, and landing a good shot before hooking a leg kick and charging forward, taking Mir down. It ranks right up there, in terms of mysteries, with why Tito ever chose to slug with Chuck. Baffling.

However, Sylvia may be the toughest mother in MMA. It's a credit to ref Herb Dean - the one pair of eyes that mattered - catching the broken forearm and stopping the match. Sylvia deserves to fight another day, and most refs might have missed it. Dean, who's fought MMA himself, knew where to look and what to look for. He probably would've given Verissimo the first round against Hughes, too…..

Source: Maxfighting

TYSON GRANTED BOXING LICENSE IN NEW JERSEY

The AP reports that Mike Tyson was granted a boxing license Monday in the state of New Jersey.

Tyson failed to re-gain his NJ License six years ago after swearing at regulators during a licensing hearing regarding the ear-biting incident with Evander Holyfield.

Tyson manager Shelly Finkel added that they would like to see Tyson fight in New Jersey in the near future, and that Tyson's next fight will most likely be against former European champion Danny Williams on July 30 in Louisville, Ky., but that the date isn't official yet.

New Jersey governor James E. McGreevey disagrees with the decision of granting Tyson a boxing license this time around, and has said that he will ask the board to review the decision. But according to our own insiders, the decision will stand.

Source: Fight Sport

VANDERLEI'S FUTURE OPPONENTS

Kakutogi World reports that Vanderlei Silva is scheduled to compete on the next three PRIDE show, so long as he doesn't get injured.

Silva's next three opponents will be Yuki Kondo in August, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson in October, and then an opponent-to-be-named on December 31st.

Silva's opponent for December 31st will be either Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira, Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, or Fedor Emelianenko.

Source: Fight Sport

'CRO COP' VS. RANDLEMAN PART 2 POSSIBILITY

The Japanese media reports that PRIDE is planning a rematch between Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and Kevin Randleman for later this year.

According to reports, the rematch may happen in August, but will most likely happen in October.
Source: Fight Sport

TANNER WANTS TITO

Inside sources close to the Team Quest camp are telling us that if the opportunity ever presents itself, that Evan Tanner would like to move back up to light heavyweight for another shot at Tito Ortiz.

These same sources also say that Evan Tanner and Matt Lindland would fight each other if the UFC asks them to,

Source: Fight Sport

 6/25/04

Quote of the Day

"Excellence is the result of caring more than others think wise, risking more than other's think safe, dreaming more than others think practical, and expecting more than others think possible."

Anonymous

ATKINS INSIDER: K-1 WANTS 'CHARUTO'
By Todd Atkins

My sources in in Japan and Hawaii are telling me that K-1 is planning to sign
Renato 'Charuto' Verissimo. Look for this to be made official in the near future.

Source: Fight Sport

CATCHING UP WITH JOAO ROQUE
by: Denis Martins

Denis Martins: Hello man, nice to meet you again. Joao Roque: This is my pleasure. It is nice to with meet you too.

Denis Martins:: Let's talk about your last match in SHOOTO 2004-1/24 in Korakuen Hall. That was a draw with Hiroyuki Takaya. Did this result keep you from getting the SHOOTO lightweight title bout? Joao Roque: I do not know if the fight against Alexandre 'Pequeno' França Nogueira was depending on my last match. I do not believe that. Anyway, I think if I had won, I would have gotten a chance, but I am not sure I won't. My place in the rankings did not change due to this draw, so I am relaxed because if the rankings prevail, I will have a title bout sooner or later. I think that I am still a contender.

Denis Martins: Did this draw come at the wrong time? I mean you faced a guy who fought A class in SHOOTO for the first time. Joao Roque: I do not think it was the wrong time. Takaya made his first fight as an A class fighter, but he was a good opponent and I respect him. We, who are in the fight world, know that there're a lot of very skilled fighters looking for their first good opportunity.

Denis Martins: Did you get to watch any footage of him? Joao Roque: I did get some. I watched two of his fights. Sometimes this happens. I had two opportunities to beat him, in R1 and R2, but I failed. This was the fate of the moment and it was not my day to win.

Denis Martins: It seemed like you dominated the first round. What did happened when you did not get the submission? Joao Roque: I took Takaya down quickly in first round. I dominated the action with punches from the mount position, where I hit him in his face a lot. In the final moments of R1, I went for an armbar where I stretched out his arm and the judge pointed to the 'catch'. So due to that I won the first round.

Denis Martins: This was the second time in your career that a Japanese fighter has resisted your armbar! Joao Roque: Yeah, the first was Hisao Ikeda and now Takaya. The Japanese fighters have the Samurai Spirit in them!

Denis Martins: So in the second round did Takaya balance the fight? Joao Roque: I had problems taking him down and it was difficult to impose my game-plan of putting him on the ground. Near the end of the round I landed a knee to his face and I almost KO'd him. However I committed a mistake that perhaps cost me the victory by decision; I had hoped the referee would start counting, but he did not and I went ahead. Takaya took advantage of the clinch to recover.

Denis Martins: Was the round 2 a draw? Joao Roque: Yes, I guess it was. He showed better defense than my attacks. I did not feel like I was in danger of losing at any time in R2, but I think this was a draw due to my mistake. Also because when I shot in for a takedown, he cut my eyebrow with a knee. The story of the third round was basically, he struck me when I shot in for takedowns. I had expended too much energy to take him down in the first and second rounds and in the third I was gassed.

Denis Martins: Now you have 4 draws in 12 fights. This is an oddity! How are you feeling about that? Joao Roque: I do not see it that way. My three first draws were different than this last one. In my first three fights in Japan the results were draws. I feel I was better than my opponent, especially against Ikeda who I think I beat convincingly. Also, this event had different rules and there were no winners by decision. In this bout against Takaya, I know that this REALLY was a draw. I think that this draw will not bring my name down in Japan. I have only one defeat and I am undefeated in 7 fights where I submitted 4 of my opponents. I had a contract of 3 fights with SHOOTO and I think I performed well.

Denis Martins: Will your SHOOTO contract be renewed? Joao Roque: I hope so, but I am always looking for new fights and I am already negotiating for two more fights. I am training to keep in shape and I am open to fight for SHOOTO or any other MMA association.

Denis Martins: You fought Ryan Bow in 2002 and beat him by decision. Bow was beaten for the first time in his career by a method other than decision against Tatsuya Kawajiri in SHOOTO's 2003-Year-End Show. How did you see that fight going and how did you feel when you fought him? Joao Roque: I saw it as normal, this happens to everyone who steps in the ring. In my fight against him in DEEP 2001-6th Impact, I think he adopted a very weird tactic with me in the third round. We got tangled on the feet and when we went to the ground, he was on the top and simply stalled. I had never seen that before in my career! We did not trade much on the feet. We fought on the ground throughout the bout and I won the first two rounds. When he had a chance to change the fight he stalled during his best chance in R3. He should have used this tactic at the beginning of R1 and not at the end of R3. When I realized what he was doing, I stayed very relaxed (laughs).

Denis Martins: Did you see any difference between the atmospheres at the DEEP 2001 and SHOOTO shows? Joao Roque: The atmospheres were the same but the challenges were new and good for me. I was at a high point in my career, and I tested my skills against Ryan Bow, a fighter who ranked number one in a division heavier than my own. I fought him pretty well and I was very successful in this challenge.

Denis Martins: Is there anyone that you would like to face? Joao Roque: I am not thinking like that at this point in my career. I want to face whoever has a belt. I would like to fight 'Pequeno', but if he loses the belt, I do not want to face him. I want to continue to advance.

Denis Martins: Well, I want to finish this interview with a very intriguing question. Once on a Japanese MMA forum, there were rumors that some Japanese promoter will put Takehiro Muharama against you for a third time. He felt a third fight would prove something that the other two did not. Have you heard that? Joao Roque: (laughs) Never. By the way, I will accept the bout if the promoters want to do it. However, I think this fight is done in MMA. I would like to face him K-1 style. This would be interesting and new for me.

Denis Martins: Okay, I hope to see you back in action soon. Thank you for the nice words. Joao Roque: You are welcome.

Source: ADCC

A Brazilian Wrestler has eyes on Athens 2004
By: Gleidson Venga / Team TATAME

Antoine Jaoude traveled to Cuba this past Monday, where he will spend a few weeks training Wrestling with the Cuban athletes. Afterward, the athlete from Ruas Vale Tudo will go to Canada, where he will meet his coach, Beto Leitão and where he will compete in a tournament against wrestlers from the Americas Europe.

In July, Antoine heads back to Brazil, only to head back to Europe to compete in a tournament in Russia, the last one before the Olympic Games. He ends up his preparation in Bulgaria. From Bulgaria he will travel to Athens, to take part in the Olympics, where he qualified as a wildcard representing Brazil.

According to Beto Leitão, Antoine will be very well prepared by the time of the Olympic Games are here:

'This preparation has been very well planned. We were here in Brazil focused on his preparation for months, and he did the regimen very well. The two tournaments he will participate in will be very important. In the one in Russia, he will probably face other qualified athletes for the Olympics'.

Source: ADCC

Mario Reis to rematch to Yuki Nakai
by André Araújo / Team TATAME

In early 2000, during a visit to Brazilian Top Team headquarters, BJJ black belt Yuki Nakai was surprised by a young BJJ blue belt. At that time, Mário Reis was training for his first BJJ Mundials, where a few days later he became world champion. 'I remember when Zé Mário Sperry called me and invited me to go to BTT. Japanese TV waw recording a program with Yuki Nakai and I had a chance to roll with him. It was amazing! I caught him twice with a triangle choke'! revealed Reis. This fact turn him into a known fighter in Japan, and Reis also got a chance to compete in Japan, during the 1st 'Desafio pro Jiu-Jitsu', when he submitted Japanese fighter Watanabe Takashi with a arm-lock. 'Nakai told me at that time I was the toughest blue belt he ever met' states Reis.

After surprising everybody at the 2003 Mundial and the World Cup, when he got the gold medal in both tournaments, Mário Reis has been away from the mat since last November. Reis is about to return at the upcoming Black Belt GP, BJJ event scheduked for this month in São Paulo. After that, Reis will depart for Spain, where will do a super-fight against a tough Submission athlete in Europe.

'Then I return to Brazil, where on July 3rd, I will fight at the World Cup in Bahia. Then I will fight the feather weight division at the Mundials and then I will have a great challenge: I will give Nakai a rematch!,' celebrates Reis. The 2nd Desafio Internacional Pro Jiu-Jitsu is scheduled to go on next July 29th at Olímpia gymnasium, in São Paulo. 'I can tell you I am well prepared and I will give my best one more time' stated the brazilian.

Source: ADCC

Fabrizo Werdum challenges Alexandre 'Cafe' Dantas
With M. Dunlop

A Brazilian who has been living in Madrid, Spain, BJJ black belt Fabricio Werdum made a big splash in ADCC 2003, finishing 2nd in the 99+ KG class, and finishing 3rd in the Absolutes. He kept on a roll in 2003, debuting in MMA, starting his career with 5 wins and no losses.

We caught up with Werdum, and one of his old Jiu-Jitsu bouts still bothers the heavy-weight fighter, as he told us: 'I'd like to face Alexandre 'Cafe' Dantas again, I have not forgotten when he beat me at the BJJ Pan-Americans in 2003. I was not alert and he submitted me with an ankle-lock. I want to avenge this loss.'

Although Werdum's challenge starts the heat for the upcoming BJJ World Championships scheduled for July 22nd-25th, Werdum had a few new ideas on the matter: 'I want to fight him with and without gi, so we can see who is progressing, and who is who!' Let's wait for Cafe's reply!

Source: ADCC

HOOKnSHOOT ANNOUNCES WOMEN'S MMA EVENT!
November 6th, 2004
Evansville, Indiana

HOOKnSHOOT will rise to the occasion once again to bring the best women fighters to the forefront of MMA with athletes from around the world.

In April 2002 HnS stunned the world with 'Revolution.' An all-women's Full Contact show that has since won a film award, was shown on ESPN's 'Outside The Lines' and got an even bigger response long after the show was over.

'Already things have been happening that surpass the first show' says promoter Jeff Osborne. 'Playboy has expressed interest in doing an article as well as Femme Fatale Magazine (a publication about prominent women's rolls in Hollywood movies).'

'One thing that caught me off guard was MTV's interest in the show' continues Osborne. 'They will be at the women's show filming for a new series and potentially casting some of the women for the show.'

The main event is now official!

Megumi Fuji of Japan will take on Erica Montoya in the main event.

Fuji is both a Japan National Sambo Champion and pro wrestler as well. Her list of grappling accomplishments are incredible. She is 1-0 in MMA but vows to tap Montoya out!

Erica is not only a fighter, she's a UFC broadcaster, in addition to her undefeated 6-0 record in MMA, Montoya still remains active in grappling and many consider her a slight favorite to win.

Unlike the first show, Osborne says instead of 18 fighters, there are now over 55 interested women and he urges others to step up and get involved.

Anyone wishing to sponsor the event or get involved, should contact HOOKnSHOOT@aol.com.

More matches and big announcements will be made in the upcoming weeks!

Source: ADCC

FCF’s New Issue is Out!

In the current issue of FCF ...

Pride Bushido 3 hits the shores of Yokohama, Japan with Team Japan vs. Team Gracie and the comeback fight for Cro Cop.

K-1 jumps into the MMA arena full force with Romanex.

Is Massachusetts ready for Mixed Martial Arts? We speak to some of the fighters, promoters and members of the Mass. Boxing Commission to find out.

A Puncher's Chance: MMA fighters compete for a spot on Sylvester Stallone's reality show "The Contender".

Olympic basketball player-turned MMA fighter "Giant" Silva talks with us.

WEC X: Bragging Rights - Melendez and Parisyan earn bragging rights with belt victories.

Chute Boxe no longer holds the monopoly on MMA in Parana. We take a look at the new teams led by Pele, Minotauro and Anderson Silva on the rise in the Brazilian state.

Jungle Fight 2 turns the MMA World upside down.

TKO 16 returns with Quebec with Infernal.

Pride & Fury in Idaho: Professional MMA gets its start.

Mass Destruction 16 brings the action back to Boston.

Jay Hieron makes his UFC debut and we sit down to take with the "Thorobred."

Cage Warriors 7 hits South Yorkshire, UK with Showdown.

We bring you the action from WFF 6 in Canada and FFC IX in Mississippi.

Fans give their thoughts and predictions for the match-ups at the upcoming UFC 48: Payback.

In this month's Shooto Report, we bring you some of the best action from the Shooto events held in Tokyo and Lithuania in May.

Former AMC Pankration strength & conditioning coach Mark Ginther discusses Injury Prevention & Rehab Part 2: The Shoulder Joint.

Dan "The Beast" Severn BioFile.

Fight fans give their predictions and thoughts on the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix.

In our monthly columns...
In Matt Hume's techniques, Matt Hume & Daniel Eng demonstrate Kick Catch Sweep; and in the Punchers Corner, champion kickboxer Derek Panza discusses Making Your Boxing Coach Work for You.

Every issue of Full Contact Fighter is jam-packed with fight news from the U.S. to Brazil to Japan. FCF travels the globe to bring the fights to you. Get yours today! Available at Tower Records stores around the world or by subscription...

For FASTEST service call in your credit card order
(516)676-0033

Source: FCF

Alexandre Cacareco
By Eduardo Ferreira

Changing home again

One of the biggest names of national Submission, Alexandre Cacareco is, one more time, changing home. Now, Cacareco approaches Brazilian Top Team, after quitting Gracie Barra Combat Team. Old issues has been solved as personal things between Paulão Filho and Cacareco. Check out now the full interview with the old GBCT fighter now at TATAME.com.

Why did you chose to leave Gracie Barra Combat Team?

There is nothing to do with training. I have been almost an year without a single fight. I guess I haven't gotten what I deserved at Gracie Barra and I opted to leave it. I have a wife, two kids and a nephew to raise. Without my sponsorship, the situation would be even worse.

You reached the ADCC 2003 finals in two divisions and ruled Campos. How come you got an year without fighting.

Over there I felt I was not doing okay. It missed will power to set me up in major events. I even talked with him, before I leave, asked for fighting, but they didn't give me a concrete position. So I felt comfortable to leave the team.

Why did you chose Brazilian Top Team?

In fact, I thought about quitting fighting, but my friend Marcelo Salazar, who lives in Ilha do Governador (RJ), invited me to train at BTT. He'd spoken with Zé Mário Sperry and Murilo Bustamante and both of them welcome to train there, but they would talk with the team to fix up the last details.

And about your personal issues with Paulão Filho?

I already did a first train in there, on last June 11th, and I had a conversation with Paulão for 40 minutes. We solved our differences. I do think our rivalry must remain on the mat... we are professionals and I should keep this on the mat.

You belonged to Ruas Vale-Tudo and you were the first one to leave, going to GBCT. Now you are leaving to BTT. Do you care about what people say about it?

The athlete's career is too short and you have to enjoy it when you are young and fine. When I left RVT, I called Zé Mário and Murilo to train at BTT. But, as I had a personal issue with Paulão, I went to GBCT. With our problems solved, I want to join Top Team's group. Now I just wait for the final Team decision.

Source: Tatame

Minotauro: "I want Ogawa"
By DSE

After winning Heath Herring by submission at Pride GP, which happened last weekend in Japan, Rodrigo Minotauro spoken with Japanese press about his impressions of his fight and the event. During a press conference organized by Dream Stage Entertainement (DSE), Minotauro explained that Herring improved his game and he is more technical than three years ago and stated he has been training hard the new submission position: the hand's triangle choke. "I have been training this move around 30 times per train with my brother Rogério Minotouro. I ended ruling this movement!," said the champ. Check out the full interview bellow.

Tell us a little bit about your fight with Heath Herring.

I was feeling fine and peaceful. Just because my training, my fans and cause, during the fight, I was able to do everything I wanted. I got several positions, including the final one: the hand's triangle choke. I was so happy with everything I got on the ring.

It's the second time you use this movement over the GP. You seemed to enjoy it?

For this fight, I was able to get it faster. I was pretty confident to use the hand's triangle choke faster. I reached omoplata, triangle choke and armlock, but in fact, my opponents are already aware about it. So, because of it, I have been training this move with my brother. We did repeat it for 30 times during the train. I ended ruling the position!

How it was facing Herring for the second time?

He is such a tough fighter and I had fought him three years ago. I know him very well, and I am sure he knew me so. He is able to escape from many of my moves, but this hand's triangle choke made him confused and he didn't know to escape from it. On the feet, I imposed my game and I put him on the corner... his only choice was attacking my legs and that was the key I need to use my secret weapon. He is one of the heavyweight fighters and everybody was waiting to see this fight.

What's the main difference about his game?

He is way far more technical than last time. He's improved his game and now he is even more tough than before.

Who would you chose to face over the semifinals?

I am ready to face anyone of the three guys. But I really need to say I would prefer Ogawa. He made some comments over the press telling Pride fighters are amateurs. I do represent Pride for few years and I want to prove him we are professionals and we do train hard. It would be a classic between Jiu-Jitsu and Judo, it would be one of the best fights Pride ever seen.

Have you seen Ogawa's bout? What do you think about it?

I saw him facing Brazilian Giant Silva. Giant is new at Martial Atrs and it is easy to dominate him on the ground. He is damn big and strong... Now he is at the finals, it will be a little hard to him to keep moving.

And Randleman Vs Fedor?

That fight was great. Kevin applied two good take downs and Fedor showed he is a tough fighter and handled well the situation. He got it reversed and proved the world why he is the Pride Heavyweight champion.

Source: Tatame

Ricardo Arona explains loss at GP

Ricardo Arona was ruling the fight against American fighter Quinton Jackson at Pride GP, in Japan. The Brazilian was annulling his game and almost won the combat, after a kick that cut Jackson's face. "By that time I hit him and a bruise came off... I saw him asking me to stop and he also called the referee..., but it took so long to realize he was dizzy on me... When the fight returned, you know what happened," lamented Arona, referring to the movement used by Jackson when was inside a triangle and elevated Arona over his head and threw him down.

"I didn't feel anything. I lost my sense for few seconds and the referee had already stopped the bout," tells Arona, revealing he was ready to avoid that move. "In fact, he've already studied movements like that, but when he raised me blocking my legs, I realized it was too late. The shock was huge... it was my mistake. I took so long to escape from the position", admits Brazilian Top Team's fighter.

Source: Tatame

COUTURE HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Randy "The Natural" Couture was the featured guest on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Wednesday. He is set to battle Vitor Belfort at UFC 49 for the light heavyweight title and spoke about the match-up as well as many other things.

This is a brief recap of what Randy had to say. To hear the entire interview, get yourself a Premium Membership and gain access to the radio archive twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Training has been going "very well" for Randy and he isn't changing much in his approach for Belfort this time around. He said, "The overall training is pretty much the same." Randy's "looking forward to August and competing against Vitor and settling that one way or another." He's been looking forward to it since the last fight ended. He doesn't think he or Vitor learned much, if anything from the last fight.

Couture discussed last week's UFC 48, where Randy called all the fights right except for the heavyweight title match between Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia. He thought Mir would have "serious problems" taking Sylvia down. It was a surprise to Randy that Mir was able to do what he did. When asked what Tim did wrong, Randy said, the first thing he did wrong was he didn't tap.

Randy thinks Tim should have stood up in Mir's guard as soon as Frank hit the ground to get out of that position. He felt that by the time Tim realized he wasn't getting out of the arm bar, it was too late.

Couture commented that Ken Shamrock did great. He thought that Ken would wear Kimo out to win the fight and was a little bit surprised that Shamrock got the KO. He further discussed Ken's probable next fight against Tito Ortiz.

Randy thinks Ken may have had problems getting down to 205 the first time he and Tito fought but could probably easily make 205 now. He added that Ken is doing the right things, going back to the drawing board and re-dedicating himself. When asked if he would like to fight Ken, Randy replied, he'd love to fight Ken. He thinks it would be a great fight and one that a lot of fans wouldn't mind seeing.

Radio show host Ryan Bennett asked Randy if he missed competing at heavyweight and if he would want to avenge any of his loses against, Enson Inoue, Ricco Rodriguez and others. Randy said he didn't miss it "at all" and, "I'm pretty comfortable at 205 now and don't think I need to go back up." He did say that Enson would probably be willing to fight at 205 so that isn't out of the question.

A question Randy is frequently asked is, will he and Wanderlei Silva ever fight. Randy said he has certainly been open to the idea but won't hold his breath. When asked point blank if he thought the fight would ever happen, Randy replied, "Probably wouldn't happen before I retire from competition unfortunately."

That of course leaves the question of how long will Randy Couture continue fighting. Randy said, "I'm going to take it one fight at a time. I think as long as my body holds up and I'm able to train and prepare the way I need to, I'm going to keep fighting." After his fighting days are over, Randy said, 'I want to be involved in fighting in some way, shape or form, help promote it and help see it grow."

This Saturday night, Randy's and Matt Lindland's fight promotion of Sport Fight is holding an event at the Mt. Hood community college gymnasium that they have renamed the "Sport Fight Dome." The venue seats 4,000 and doesn't have a bad seat in the house. Team Quest member, Chris Leben will be facing Benji Radach in what Randy called, "an awesome fight." Couture said running Sport Fight is a lot of work and that he is more of a figurehead and Matt Lindland is the "Chief Operating Officer." Go to WWW.SportFight.tv for all the latest information on Sport Fight events, fight cards, ticket information and directions to the show.

Source: MMA Weekly

SHAMROCK'S SECRET TO SUCCESS LAST FIGHT?
TRAINING WITH NEW COACH..


UFC Hall of Famer, Ken Shamrock looked very good in his first fight back since his ACL surgery. He moved well, he threw his hands well, and bottom line is that he fought well against Kimo at UFC 48.

So what was his secret to success? Could be his new boxing coach Battalia Balamoundo of "Battalia Olympic Fitness" in Yorba Linda, CA. Battalia was a three-time Olympic boxer for Italy who competed at middleweight in 1976 in Montreal, 1980 in Moscow and 1984 in Los Angeles. Here's what coach Battalia had to say with our friends over at boxing insider.com

Boxinginsider.com: Were you pleased with Ken's performance boxing-wise?

Battalia: "Well, his boxing is very good. When I met him in the beginning, his quickness was too slow. Last fight with Tito, he was too slow. He wasn't moving well, his condition was terrible. I changed his diet, nutrition-wise, worked on his quickness. Got him to jump rope. And we worked on some technical things like he used to close his eyes sometimes when he punched. Against Kimo, his boxing was excellent. And next fight it will be even better."

Boxinginsider.com: What can still be improved about Ken's boxing?

Battalia: "If he fights Tito in October, you're gonna see a lot of boxing in that fight. His right hand is very strong. But he needs to twist his hand and shoulder a little more - to make it harder. I tell him, when he twists it, he can knock ANYBODY out."

Ken's shoot fighting coach Eric Paulson said:

"Ken totally changed his strike game. He's actually ten times better now. He did tons and tons of padwork. Tons of different drills. He knows all the different drills now, he can go right through them...His right hand - at the end of training - nobody wanted to spar with him. He broke two noses and had three knockouts. And that was with 18 oz. gloves. And I had a bruised leg for two weeks after a leg kick. I think his striking is actually going to get better...I was really content with his performance against Kimo. We trained for seven months for that fight. He really trained hard. He really sacrificed a lot for this...For him to end the fight with that knee like that was just wonderful. We worked for almost seven months to get his standup back. Our whole plan was to keep the fight standing up...He did 100 rounds a week, I'm not exaggerating about this, he did it."

Boxinginsider.com: I'm getting the impression the new and improved Ken might beat Tito Ortiz....

Battalia: "Easy. If it's boxing, easy. The first fight he wasn't ready. If he fight him right now - after Kimo - he beat him easy. I guarantee it can be easy. Now we have months to get Ken even better...I was very upset at what (Tito) did after the fight. It's not only Ken's fight, it's gonna be my fight. I boxed in the Olympics, I don't like any athlete talking like that, attack him like that - especially after winning. This fight is not only Ken's fight, it's my fight."

To contact Battalia's Olympic Fitness in Yorba Linda, CA for training information and rates, you may call 714-524-6330.

Source: MMA Weekly

Inside MMA: UFC 48 Fighter Salaries with In-Depth Analysis
by Ivan Trembow

UFC 48 Fighter Salaries

-Ken Shamrock: $170,000 ($120,000 for fighting; $50,000 win bonus)

-Matt Hughes: $110,000 ($55,000 for fighting; $55,000 win bonus)

-Frank Mir: $90,000 ($60,000 for fighting; $30,000 win bonus)

-Kimo: $55,000 ($55,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $0)

-Tim Sylvia: $40,000 ($40,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $40,000)

-Evan Tanner: $30,000 ($15,000 for fighting; $15,000 win bonus)

-Phil Baroni: $20,000 ($20,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $20,000)

-Frank Trigg: $20,000 ($10,000 for fighting; $10,000 win bonus)

-Matt Serra: $16,000 ($8,000 for fighting; $8,000 win bonus)

-Renato Verissimo: $10,000 ($10,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $10,000)

-Georges St. Pierre: $8,000 ($4,000 for fighting; $4,000 win bonus)

-Trevor Prangley: $5,000 ($2,500 for fighting; $2,500 win bonus)

-Dennis Hallman: $4,000 ($4,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $4,000)

-Curtis Stout: $3,000 ($3,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $3,000)

-Jay Hieron: $3,000 ($3,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $3,000)

-Ivan Menjivar: $2,000 ($2,000 for fighting; win bonus would have been $2,000)

Total Fighter Payroll: $586,000

Comparative Notes on Total Fighter Payroll
UFC 46: $540,500
UFC 47: $333,000
UFC 48: $586,000

Comparative Notes on Number of Fighters Making $10,000 or More
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

Commentary and Analysis on UFC 48 Salaries by Ivan Trembow

-The overall fighter payroll increased dramatically from UFC 47 to UFC 48, as did the parity of the contracts. A whopping ten of the sixteen fighters who competed on the card made $10,000 or more, which has not been the case since the early days of Zuffa owning the UFC. Only fighters who are relative newcomers to the UFC took home less than $10,000 for their fights at this event, and you can't always say that about any given UFC event.

-Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz have almost identical UFC contracts when it comes to the bottom line financially. Ortiz makes $125,000 for fighting and another $50,000 if he wins, while Shamrock makes $120,000 for fighting and another $50,000 if he wins.

-Matt Hughes' contract of $55,000 to fight and another $55,000 for winning is huge for a fighter of his weight, but it's hard to argue that Hughes isn't worth every penny given the fact that Hughes was one of the most dominant champions in UFC history in any weight class. With BJ Penn unwilling to give Hughes a rematch and choosing to sign with K-1 instead, it seems likely that the now-vacant UFC Welterweight Title will be decided in a fight between Matt Hughes and an opponent to be determined. The list of possible suspects includes Frank Trigg, Georges St. Pierre, and the winner of the Nick Diaz vs. Karo Parisyan fight.

-Frank Mir is still making the same amount of money that he has made for his last several UFC fights--- $60,000 for fighting and another $30,000 if he wins. That was considered by many fans to be an inflated salary for "a non-champion who has never really proven himself," which is what many fans thought of Mir before his decisive victory over Tim Sylvia. However, now that Mir is the bona-fide, 100% legitimate UFC Heavyweight Champion, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a pay raise in the future. This has to be considered even more likely when you consider the huge level of international demand for heavyweight fighters from companies like K-1 and Pride who have much deeper pockets than the UFC. While any light-heavyweight or heavyweight fighter in the UFC is an attractive target for K-1 and Pride, Mir won't be going anywhere in the near future. He has more fights remaining on his UFC contract, and even if he didn't, all contracts for UFC title fights now state that the winner will be exclusive to the UFC for a period of one year after winning the title.

-Kimo's gauranteed contract, which paid him $55,000 to fight and had no win bonus, is not the norm in the UFC but is not all that unusual, either. Several other fighters have had similar contracts in the past (with no win bonus), including Carlos Newton, who always fights with that kind of contract when he fights in the UFC.

-It was expected that Tim Sylvia might have to take a pay cut after coming back from his steroid scandal, but the opposite is true. This is due to the fact that Sylvia is in the middle of a five-fight contract that appears to pay him slightly more with each passing fight. Sylvia's most recent fight prior to UFC 48 saw Sylvia make $30,000 for fighting and another $30,000 for winning. Sylvia's fight at UFC 48 saw him make $40,000 for fighting, and he would have made an additional $40,000 if he had been victorious.

-If you want to talk about fighters who might have had to play a little bit of hardball to get their current deals (based on the current UFC pay landscape), the three names that would come to mind would be Evan Tanner, Frank Trigg, and Renato Verissimo.

-In Renato Verissimo's case, it is extremely unusual for any fighter in only his second UFC fight to have a contract that pays him $10,000 to fight and another $10,000 if he wins. Even Robbie Lawler doesn't make that kind of money, and he is one of the UFC's "poster boys." Then again, when your first UFC fight is such a thorough and impressive domination of a fighter like Carlos Newton, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Verissimo got this much of a pay raise for his second UFC fight. (Verissimo's first UFC fight paid him $5,000 to fight and another $5,000 to win.)

-Frank Trigg pulled off the slightly more impressive feat of getting a two-fight contract with the UFC wherein both fights would pay him $10,000 to fight and another $10,000 to win. (The UFC 45 fight with Matt Hughes was the first fight on Trigg's contract, and the UFC 48 fight with Dennis Hallman was the second.) Trigg likely got that kind of deal by sitting out so long and turning down several offers for less money, and actually making it seem like it was a step down for him to make $10,000 and $10,000. While that's considered a lot of money on the UFC pay scale due to the fact that Trigg is "just a welterweight," it really shouldn't be that way in my opinion. Trigg came in as a big-name free agent signing who was going to fight for the title at his weight class. To do so for any less than $10,000 and $10,000 would only skew the pay scale of the whole 170-pound weight class downward.

-I was also somewhat surprised to see that Evan Tanner's contract for UFC 48 paid him $15,000 to fight and another $15,000 to win. That might not seem like a lot of money, but it's fairly high up on the UFC pay scale for non-main-eventers, and is only slightly smaller than the contract that Baroni himself came into UFC 48 with. The reason it was surprising for me to see Tanner making that much money is not because he doesn't deserve it; I just wouldn't expect that kind of money to be going to someone whose only fights in the UFC over the previous two years consisted of getting TKO'ed by Rich Franklin and scoring a controversial victory over Phil Baroni. It was a risky investment for Zuffa to pay Tanner that much for his UFC 48 bout with Baroni when it was considered a strong possibility that Tanner would be knocked out and might then be gone from the UFC for a long time. Fortunately, Tanner made Zuffa's investment in him more than worth it with his impressive performance at UFC 48.

-One of the reasons that Phil Baroni has gotten the treatment he has gotten from the UFC is that he is a big name from New York, and the UFC's pay-per-view buy rates have always been noticeably lower on the East Coast than on the West Coast. The line of thinking is that if a marketable fighter from a big East Coast city such as New York were to do well in the UFC and blossom into a championship-caliber fighter, it could boost buy-rates on the East Coast. So, given that some people within Zuffa consider Phil Baroni to be one of the company's top draws, I would actually consider his UFC 48 contract of $20,000 to fight and another $20,000 if he wins to be a little lower than I expected. One could easily argue that Baroni is lucky to be employed at all given the fact that he intentionally struck an official in the face several times, but if you're going to employ him and you consider him one of your top draws, I would expect to see him making more than $20,000 to fight and $20,000 more to win.

However, now that Baroni is 3-4 in the UFC, even casual fans have caught on to the fact that Baroni is more about marketing than actual fighting. I don't mean that in an insulting way, but you have to be considered "more about marketing than actual fighting" when anyone else with your record would have been long-gone from the UFC by now. New fans who have started watching the UFC since September of 2002 have never seen Baroni win a fight on pay-per-view. It would be a major blow to the UFC's credibility if Phil Baroni, or any other fighter on a three-fight losing streak, would continue to fight in the UFC with no explanation or sense of consistency, as if he's not on a three-fight losing streak.

While Phil Baroni is obviously a much higher-caliber athlete than Tank Abbott, the comparison has to be made to Tank Abbott's 2003 Death March through the UFC, which was an embarrassment to the sport and turned off even casual fans by the end. If it's just about getting fighters with a marketable look who can cut pro wrestling-style promos, there are any number of (non-WWE) pro wrestlers that the UFC could sign who could, A) Have a marketable look, B) Cut pro wrestling-style promos, and C) Maintain a losing record in the UFC. Given all of these facts, I would consider it to be a huge gift to Phil Baroni if he fights again in the UFC for any amount of money (much less for $20,000 and $20,000) without having to prove himself on smaller shows like anyone else would have to.

Making it Big in the UFC

Not all fighters make $10,000 or more for competing in the UFC. In fact, on most UFC events the majority of the fighters make less than $10,000. The six fighters on this event who were gauranteed to take home less than $10,000 were Georges St. Pierre, Trevor Prangley, Dennis Hallman, Curtis Stout, Jay Hieron, and Ivan Menjivar. This is consistent with the salary structure in the UFC for fighters who are not considered "big stars" and are not long-time UFC veterans.

If you're not considered an already established big star coming in, it's almost certain that your first one, two, or three UFC fights are going to pay you $2,000 to $4,000 to fight, and another $2,000 to $4,000 if you win. Even Lee Murray, with all of the hype around his debut at UFC 46, only made $3,000 and $3,000. This relatively small paycheck is acceptable for fighters who simply love to fight and don't care about the money, but even these fighters have to have "bigger paydays down the road" as a topic in the back of their mind.

What's so risky for fighters coming up through the ranks in the UFC is the fact that there is so little room for error. Looking at UFC newcomers since the first Zuffa-run UFC event in early 2001, the trend is clear: Lose one fight, and there is a very strong possibility that you're out of the UFC for the forseeable future. Lose two fights, and you're almost certainly out. There is often no second chance, and hardly ever a third chance, for a young hopeful just starting out in the UFC making a few thousand dollars per fight. For aspiring mixed martial artists, the task of getting to the UFC is not the big payoff at the end of the rainbow in and of itself. It's only after you succeed in the UFC on multiple occasions that you can begin the dream job of doing something you love for a living and getting paid good money to do it.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC Vets in "Blind Date"

Sometime in July, some of the veteran fighters of the UFC will be on the T.V. show, Blind Date. Rumoured to be on the show are fighters, Pete Spratt, Josh Thompson, and Tim Sylvia. Nick Diaz was approached to be on the show, but it is still unclear if Nick will accept. The show will be taped in Las Vegas and fight scenes will be broadcast throughout the show.

Source: Gracie Fighter

UFC 49 CARD

UFC 49: Unfinished Business
Saturday, August 21, 2004
MGM Grand Garden
Las Vegas, Nevada

Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture (light heavyweight title)
Chuck Liddell vs. Vernon 'Tiger' White
Nick Diaz vs. Karo Pariysan
David Terrell vs. Matt Lindland
Mike Kyle vs. Justin Eilers
Robbie Lawler vs. Ronald Jhun
Joe Riggs vs. Joe Doerksen
Josh Thompson vs. Yves Edwards

Source: Fight Sport

Fight Sport News

ICEMAN OUT IN THE COLD AGAIN, OTHER UFC NEWS
Atkins Insider
BY TODD ATKINS

UFC was pleased with the live gate and walk up ticket sales at UFC 48. PPV number's so far are not as good but they expect them to be solid because of Ken Shamrock.

Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz will fight at UFC 50. Ken Shamrock had the rematch clause in his contract and would like the fight to be at Heavyweight but Tito Ortiz wants to fight at Light HeavyWeight 205lbs. He has told Zuffa that's where he will fight Ken Shamrock or else.

Tito Ortiz was telling people all weekend that fighting Ken Shamrock again is a perfect deal for him, Great payday and super PPV exposure. He said Ken was an opponent he thinks he can easily dominate again. Here is the real kicker, if he wins he gets a title shot, thus leaving Chuck Liddell out in the cold yet again!!!!

Dana White and Lorenzo Fertita were pretty happy with the show. The biggest dissappointment for them was Evan Tanner beating Phil Baroni again. ZUFFA is praying that Dave Terrell will take out Matt Lindland to avoid 2 Team Quest fighters facing each other in the same weight class. Word is that ZUFFA will try to bring Jeremy Horn into this weight class if the money is not too high to sign him.

Frank Mir's win sets up a nice fight with Andre Arlovski.

Dennis Hallman getting beaten was also a bit of downer for ZUFFA, but with Georges St. Pierre looking so good, UFC has a couple of options in the 170lbs Welterweight division . Frank Trigg and St. Pierre looked the best and got the live crowd pumped up pretty good. Those two would make for a nice matchup but UFC has to give Matt Hughes a title shot next. So the question for ZUFFA is, do they put Frank Trigg in there again so soon or feed St Pierre to Matt Hughes?

YOSHIDA INJURED

The Japanese media report that Hidehiko Yoshida injured his left shoulder in his victory against Mark Hunt in last weekend's PRIDE show.

Doctors will examine it furhter this week to decide if surgery will be needed. Either way, it's been said that Yoshida will not be fighting until the end of the year at the earliest.

SAPP TO TAKE TIME OFF

Yomiuri Sports reports that Bob Sapp's fight against Ray Sefo on June 26th will be Sapp's last fight for a long while.

Furthermore, according to inside sources, Sapp will be taking the extended time off from fighting to concentrate on improving his fighting skills, and to work on a few movies in Hollywood.

According to these sources, Sapp is still with K-1, and will be returning to the ring some time next year, most likely in the spring or 2005.

IAN FREEMAN: 'MIR IS A PAPER CHAMPION'

English MMA Fighter Ian Freeman directed the following statement to Frank Mir

LOL, Mir beats Tim and he is a champion.... yeah, like hell he is.

As long as there is a hole in my ass, I will always say your a paper champion. Why? because there is someone you will never submit or ko and thats ME! Yes, ME...you know the guy that schooled your ignorant ass in England.

Sorry to hear you lost Tim, but you just aint got the limbs to hold off submission guys like Mir. Your the real champ, you just played your game wrong.

Mir looked shabby against Sims, beat a worn out Tank and fought Tim who for some unknown reason took the fight to the floor?????????

You cannot claim to be the champ with a half assed record like that..... Washed out UFC fighters, 1st time UFC fighters or worn out UFC fighters and you get a title shot.... who's dick you sucking pal

Oh yeah, and you have also been beaten off a big dumb englishman, who you said "would never beat me." and if I did you said "I'll swim my ass back to USA if he does." ......you still swimming big boy?

And before all you Mir ass kissers diss me.... I'm just saying what is on most people's minds right now.

Does this make your blood boil Mir??? Sorry pal, but I don't give shit after the way you tried to diss me as a dumb fuck Englishman.

Ian 'The Machine' Freeman.

Source: Fight Sport

 6/24/04

Quote of the Day

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins- not through strength but by perseverance."

H. Jackson Brown, Author, Life's Little Instruction Book

Shooto Hawaii Super Show Coming Up!
Neal Blaisdell Arena
Friday, July 9th, 2004
Fights start at
6:00 PM so get there early

Tickets are on sale NOW and are starting at $20. There is no reason to miss this show!

This show is linked to Hawaii Youth Challenge.
Keep the youth off of drugs and 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 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 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.

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)

Female 51kg 2R
Ana Michelle Dantas (Arizona Combat Sports/Nova Uniao)
vs.
Betta Yeung (HMC, 1-1)

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)

Hawaii's Best Strikers to BANG in PIP!

Punishment In Paradise will put 6 Championship Belts as 16 fighters will BATTLE for the GOLD!

TICKET INFORMATION

Brennan Kamaka

second2none@hawaii.rr.com or 330-4483

808 Fight Factory/ Kim at 671-4140

Punishment In Paradise 4

“NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS”

@ CAMPBELL HIGH GYM

Cruiserweight Kickboxing Championship

205lbs. 3x2 Minute Rounds

Mike Malone (Eastsidaz) Vs. Andre Washington (Team Thunda)

Light Heavyweight Kickboxing Championship

179.lbs. 3x2 Minute Rounds

Tommy Pestana (808 Fight Factory) Vs. Kaleo Padilla (Westbrook Boxing, Kodan Kon)

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 "G-Money" Orvalio (808 Fight Factory) Vs. David Balicao (H.S.D.)

Super Welterweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match

157lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds

Tyson Coloma’ Nahooikaika (M.F.C.F) Vs. Kaleo Koon (Eastsidaz)

196lbs. Kickboxing 3x1 1/2 Minute Rounds

Val (Team Bigdos) Vs. Joshua Versola (Advanced Kenpo)

147lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds

Chris Coderio (Bad Intentions) Vs. Kaipo Gonzales (Eastsidaz)

Middleweight Kickboxing #1 Contender Match

165lbs.2x3 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)

UFC 48: Payback Suspension List

Las Vegas, Nevada -- The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) released the official suspension list for “UFC 48: Payback” held last Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Licensed fighters with TKO losses received an immediate 30-day suspension until July 20, along with a no contact, or no sparring, order until July 11. Additional time was given to Tim Sylvia and Jay Hieron, who sustained injuries during their respective fights.

Kimo Leopoldo is suspended until July 20 due to his TKO loss to Ken Shamrock. He also received a no contact order until July 11.

Tim Sylvia must receive a doctors clearance for his broken right forearm or he is under a no contest order until December 17.

Dennis Hallman is suspended until July 20 due to his TKO loss to Frank Trigg. He also received a no contact order until July 11.

Frank Trigg must have his right hand x-rayed and be cleared by a doctor or he is under a no contest order until December 17.

Renato Verissimo DeOliveira is suspended until July 20 and has a no contact order until July 11 due to a right eye laceration.

Evan Tanner must have right hand x-rayed and be cleared by a doctor or he is under a no contest order until December 17. He received a minimum suspension and no contest order until July 20 and a no contact order until July 11.

Curtis Stout is suspended until July 20 and has a no contact order until July 11 due to a right eyebrow laceration.

Jay Hieron must receive a doctors clearance for his broken nose or he is under a no contest order until December 17. He received a minimum suspension and no contest order until August 19 and a no contact order until August 4.

Ivan Menjivar and Matt Serra is the only fight not to receive a suspension or no contest order.

Source: ADCC

SHOOTO 'SHOOTO JUNKIE is BACK'
Sunday, June 27th
Blue Field, Chiba - JAPAN

CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE:

Class B (2 x 5 minutes rounds)

Flyweight [-52.0Kg] 2004 Rookie Tournament 1st round
Kenichi Takeda (PARAESTRA Sapporo) x Hayato Sato (PARAESTRA Matsudo)

Featherweight [-60.0Kg] 2004 Rookie Tournament 2nd round
Shin 'JET' Kato (PARAESTRA Sapporo ) x Tetsu Suzuki (Keisyu Kai Iwate)

Featherweight [-60.0Kg]
Nobuyuki Minami (PUREBRED Omiya) x Yasushi 'MAD' Watanabe (PARAESTRA Matsudo)

Welterweight [-70.0Kg]
J-Taro Takita (Keisyu Kai) x Takashi 'Doctor' Ouchi (PARAESTRA Koiwa)

Class A (3 x 5 minutes rounds)

Welterweight [-70.0Kg]
Takeshi Yamazaki (Team GRABAKA) x Kazeka Muniz (Gracie Barra)

Lightweight [-65.0Kg]
Naoya Uematsu (K'z FACTORY) x Hideki Kadowaki (WKSS)

Featherweight [-60.0Kg]
Ryota Matsune (PARAESTRA) x Daniel Lima (Five Rings Dojo)

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match

Purple belt - Absolute weight - 8 minutes
Akihiko Adachi (PARAESTRA Matsudo) x Edmundo Cavalcante Jr. (Amazon Jiu Jitsu)

Source: ADCC

"Payback" Playback - A UFC 48 Postscript


"It doesn't mean anything" was the Gregorian Chant leading up to UFC 48 headliner Ken Shamrock's repeat encounter with Kimo this past Friday. Disgraced former champ Tim Sylvia expressed outrage that the two vets got top billing over his title bout with Frank Mir; fans were apathetic. Funny thing about nostalgia, though: it can sneak up on you.

Cheering a decisive finish for the dedicated Shamrock in the same caged arena where it all started was apt to melt the heart of even the most jaded, tattoo-laden onlookers. How can you not root for a pioneer giving his most sincere effort to entertain and remain relevant? Hell, even poker-faced Shaquille O'Neal couldn't contain his excitement, gnawing on the nearest head he could find.

Seeing Ken - eerily unchanged since UFC 1 - strut around the ring with a mixture of elation and pride brought a smile to my face. Now that a knee to the head can actually be construed as heartwarming, it could be time for a break...but not before I get my rant on.

"NO MAS" TO ORTIZ/SHAM II
UFC light heavyweight leadweight Tito Ortiz needs to notch a win, and who better to sacrifice than the newly energized Shamrock? Seeing the two engage in a labored war of words at the post-fight presser implies that this is seriously being considered.

It's beyond my comprehension. Fans want to see the old school crew with their hands raised, not gurgling in a puddle of blood. We already know that matching the old regime with newer models is a foolish, obvious exercise in sadism. Let Ken continue to settle old scores with his contemporaries. Their first fight left nothing to the imagination and I don't think a rematch is the box office guarantee Zuffa believes it to be. Does anyone really have any unanswered questions after that mauling? It was enough to make John Merrick cover his eyehole. Once was enough.

I'm sure Tito would love a win right now, and I'm sure Ken would relish the chance to redeem himself. Tough. Get Tito back into the competitive mix at 205 and let Ken do his thing with guys like Tank Abbott or Marco Ruas.

If the higher-ups can't be persuaded to drop the match, at least make it a heavyweight fight so we can see how Ken and Tito stack up at 220-ish. I doubt the result will be any different, but at least you can squeeze a few ounces of suspense out of it.

SYLVIA
Whenever a fight looks so one-sided on that proverbial paper, you know something's up. Rather than be concerned with taking Sylvia down, Frank Mir found Tim literally falling into his lap, and it wasn't hard to figure out what was coming next. Ref Herb Dean had the unenviable front-row seat for Sylvia getting his forearm snapped in two, easily the most gruesome finish in UFC history. I was amazed at Sylvia's composure afterwards, going so far as to complain about a premature stoppage and intoning to Mir that the fight would continue. (Joe Rogan went on to say it was because Tim was "so juiced up," a Freudian slip if there ever was one.)

Boy, does Mir make a credible, marketable champ. In a sport filled with good sportsmanship and apologetic fighters, Mir's ruthless approach to submission fighting is an interesting contrast. Mir doesn't have the demeanor of a Vanderlei Silva, but I suspect he's going to emerge as the grappling equivalent to that brand of anticipated brutality.

Arlovski should be next in line for a title shot once he recovers from his hand injury. I don't think it's a stretch to say that one will be incredibly violent.

THE REST
I don't know what to make of Phil Baroni. He came into the rematch with Evan Tanner sporting considerably less muscle than usual, presumably to improve his cardio conditioning. Had it not been for fatigue setting in quickly during their November '03 contest, Tanner's head would likely have been auctioned off on eBay.

But Baroni was unable to find a happy medium, instead choosing to play it too conservative and allowing Tanner to rack up points on the feet. By the time Phil realized he had been too lethargic, it was too late to change momentum. Team Quest has Baroni's number. We get it. Time to move on.

Equally underwhelming was Matt Hughes' plodding, safety-first victory over Renato Verissimo. As he controlled the tempo of the fight and landed more strikes, it was a deserved win under UFC scoring methods. But unless Hughes regains some of that killer instinct that had him decimating the best at welterweight, the crowd may refuse to back him.

Trigg/Hughes II seems like the logical pairing for the welterweight title, especially now that Trigg has settled the score with a game - if easily exhausted - Hallman. Trigg is not likely to make the same mistake of giving up his back twice, and he was matching Hughes step for step right up until then. Let's see it.

COUTURE/BELFORT REDUX
Do Couture and Belfort qualify as two of the classiest, most respectful fighters in the game, or what? Amidst a fight card nearly choking on its own bad blood, it was a refreshing change of pace to see the two of them laugh and joke around during what was intended to be a slice of pre-fight hype. Belfort had a wise bit of strategy in having delayed the rubber match for as long as he was able, letting Father Time do some of his work for him. At a certain point, age will catch up to Couture. Whether August 21 is the date remains to be seen.

Oh, and memo to the Madison Avenue contingent of Zuffa: "Unfinished Business" clearly represents the last stop on the subtitle highway. You're really reaching now. "Belfort Vs. Couture III" would've done just fine. After a decade of Meltdowns, Battles, Brawls, and Clashes, it may be time for these guys to make the sale based on their own reputations.

TIP OF THE HAT TO...
Frank Trigg, who risked substitute teacher-level apathy when he chastised some ghoulish fans for cheering when Dana White announced Tim Sylvia's injuries during the press conference. Sylvia's post-fight attitude and recent troubles haven't won him any new fans, but he's still a human being who risks his neck in a spectator sport. Trigg never provoked a reaction in me before, but I have a newfound respect for his integrity.

HALF-EMPTY?
I'm finding less and less to complain about, re: the UFC's broadcast values. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan continue to offer a polished and informative commentary, especially now that Rogan has brought a different, dialed-down attitude in contrast to his "Man Show" duties. The video packages do a decent job of explaining whatever motivation - real or invented - exists for a match.

My only initial complaint was the morbid shot of a woman - presumably a girlfriend - crying after Jay Hieron was pummeled by Georges St. Pierre. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but maybe it's not so bad we're reminded that these guys aren't just palookas dueling for our amusement. The people who care for them have a far different perspective on what goes on inside the cage, one worlds removed from betting slips and armchair cornering.

If you need help remembering that, maybe Trigg can be of some assistance.

Source: Maxfighting

TIM SYLVIA INJURY UPDATE
Sylvia On The Shelf For 2004

Last Saturday night at UFC 48, Tim Sylvia's arm was fractured as he attempted to fend off an armbar by Frank Mir. Because of the fracture, referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout and Mir was awarded the most prestigious distinction in American mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Title.

MMAWeekly's Mick Hammond spoke with the Nevada State Athletic Commission's executive director Marc Ratner who filled him in on Tim Sylvia's condition following the devastating loss. According to Ratner, Sylvia's arm is fractured in possibly three or four places and he couldn't even lift it in the dressing room following the fight.

Following the rules in place by the Nevada commission, Sylvia is automatically placed on medical suspension, effective immediately. He will be on suspension at least until December 17th and until such time that he can be cleared for competition by an orthopedic surgeon. Basically, this means that he is most likely out of action for the rest of the year.

Both the ulna and the radius bones in Sylvia's arm were broken. The ulna bone was broke at least once, while the radius bone was broke twice. In order for the arm to heal properly, there is usually a surgery involved in which the doctors will put the bones back in place. To hold the bones in place while they heal, there is usually a metal plate inserted that is attached to the bones with screws. The minimum healing time for such an injury is normally 8 to 10 weeks. Sylvia is scheduled for surgery on Monday.

Source: MMA Weekly

185 JUST GOT DEEPER
...ADD RICH FRANKLIN TO LIST

In an MMAWeekly.com exclusive, MMAWeekly has learned that Rich Franklin will move down from the 205 weight class to 185 and compete in the middleweight division.

Franklin has compiled a record of 13-1 in the light heavyweight division, but felt he could be one of the most dominant fighters in the world, if he moved down to 185.

Right now Franklin has been training hard and is on his way to South Korea to corner Jeremy Horn. Franklin hasn't heard back from the big organizations yet about his future, but it appears now that future will be at 185.

Source: MMA Weekly

MIR TALKS ABOUT BEING CHAMP, SYLVIA AND FREEMAN

The new UFC heavyweight champ, Frank Mir, joined MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Tuesday and talked about the title bout, who may be next, and set the rumors straight about the rift between he and Ian Freeman.

Frank said that he didn't think Sylvia respected his game going in to the fight. Mir knew it would be hard to shoot in on Tim and had no real intentions of doing so. His plan was to kickbox, using leg kicks to offset Tim's reach advantage, throw Tim off balance and take away some of Tim's power. "Plan B" was to shoot in for a takedown but only if "Plan A" failed.

When asked why he thinks some people still don't give him credit for what he has accomplished, Frank said, people really don't understand submissions and they may think it is luck. Mir has finished every opponent outside of his one loss to Ian Freeman and his MMA debut.

Frank feels he is getting better every time he steps in the octagon. He admitted that training was an issue for him in the past because things came so easy for him at first. The days of relying on natural talent are over for Mir. He added, once you get in the octagon, that is the easy part, the hard part is the training weeks before hand.

Mir addressed the rumors about him saying things about Ian Freeman's family following his loss to Ian at UFC 38. Frank denied saying anything like that. "I have enough animosity to Ian Freeman himself to go ahead and accept the fight, I don't need to bring his family into it." He went on to say that he would definitely like to fight Freeman again. Mir thinks this time will be different because he is much more poised, relaxed and focused now versus then.

Having said all of that, Frank commented that Andrei Arlovski, "most likely he's going to get a shot." He described Arlovski as having fast hands, powerful, with a good understanding of submissions. He sees the fight as, "fighting a very good kickboxer who has a very good understanding of Jiu-Jitsu." He did point out that he has submitted guys with a better ground game that Arlovski has.

For his fight with Tim Sylvia, Mir had the chance to train and roll around with Vitor Belfort, the UFC light heavyweight champion. Frank said, "He's good," and "He's a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu legitimately." Although, the two of them rolling around on the mat was interesting, Frank said it was boring to watch.

In Belfort's rematch with Randy Couture, Mir is leaning toward Vitor to take the win. He said you can't count Randy out but Vitor is really focused right now. He went on to say, "I'd hate to have to fight a mentally focused Vitor Belfort."

Source: MMA Weekly

 6/23/04

Quote of the Day

"People are like stained glass windows, they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist Author, On Death and Dying.

False Crack Mondays Results
Volcanoes Night Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 21, 2004
By Chris Onzuka -
Chris@Onzuka.com


(Left) Deshaun "3D" Johnson finishing Edsel Fukuda with a short guillotine as super-referee Dain Agbayani pulls Johnson off. (Right) Champ 3D striking a pose with his new belt.

To meet the demand for new fighters wanting experience, False Crack Mondays was created. It hopes to give a lot of fighters an opportunity to make their debut in a smaller venue. As with many new fighters, the order of the night was wild hooks...and boy was it served up in large portions. However, the action was at a super high intensity and carried through the second round, burning out by the end of the fight. There were some interesting styles from the different fighters. One fighter fought using a French Savate style that confused his opponent for the first half of the match, but after some adjustments, his opponent came back to win the fight. There were three MMA matches scheduled, but two fighters from the same gym, who showed up for weigh-ins, did not make it to the event, leaving their opponents high and dry. The main event pitted Deshaun "3D" Johnson and Japanese fighter Edsel Fukuda. Johnson just fought in the Super Brawl 155lbs tournament three days earlier, not once, but twice that night. You would have never known it because he showed the ferocity that we have not seen in 3D for a while. Fukuda pushed to take the fight to the ground, but Johnson side stepped and landed hooks, kicks and knees, making Fukuda pay for every attempt to clinch. Fukuda started looking worse for wear, but showed his toughness by sticking to his game plan. Johnson stopped every take down attempt and threw a few punches from the guard before letting Fukuda back up to his feet. The fight ended when Johnson sprawled on a shot attempt and locked in a short guillotine on Fukuda and pushed him back into the corner, where Fukuda had no choice but to tap out. Johnson's impressive performance won him the Punishment In Paradise Welterweight Championship title, which is a sister show to False Crack Mondays. Overall, the crowd enjoyed the action, but some of the family and friends were disappointed with the cancelled matches. Such is the plight of a promoter. Hopefully the event gains popularity because the promoter is planning to hold these events monthly and possibly weekly if there is the demand.

Exhibition: 3 Rounds - 1 Minute
Light Middleweight Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds x 1 Minute
Zane Kamaka (Freelance) vs. Alex Zarrello (Muay Thai Family Center)

Welterweight Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds X 11/2 Minutes
Dyson Domen (Team Big dog, Waianae) def. Frank Moreno (Bulls Pen)
Unanimous decision [(28-29), (28-27), (29-27)] after 3 rounds.

Super Middleweight Match
3 Rounds x 1 1/2 Minutes
Joe Palino'o (Freelance) def. Jason Yee (Freelance)
Unanimous decision [(29-28), (26-24), (30-29)] after 3 rounds.

Super Lightweight Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds x1 1/2 Minutes
Ryan Lee (Bulls Pen) def. Matthew Takata (Palolo Gym)
Unanimous decision [(26-24), (29-28), (29-27)] after 3 rounds.

Welterweight Kickboxing Match
3 Rounds x 1 1/2 Minutes
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pen) def. Alan Villegas (Freelance)
TKO via referee stoppage in Round 2.

Punishment In Paradise Championship MMA Match
Welterweight
2 Rounds x 3 Minutes
Deshawn Johnson (HMC) def. Edsel Fukuda (Freelance, Japan)
Submission via short guillotine at 2:36 minutes in Round 1.

HUGHES ESCAPES WITH A WIN VS CHARUTO

Just a couple of minutes into the first round, it looked as though Matt Hughes was about to tap out, as Charuto Verissimo had locked a triangle choke that had Hughes going out. "I just fell on my butt to get out of it..." Hughes said after the fight. "I was in huge trouble and just had to find a way out."

He found his way out, when he literally dropped to his derriere to get out of the triangle choke, which loosen the hold enough for Verissimo to decide to change tatics in the first round. Hughes escaped the first round and later did enough to win a very close decision over Verissimo.

While the outcome seemed to be in doubt until the judges cards were read, the most perplexing thing about this fight was the fact that two judges ruled the fight 30-27. How anyone in the building could gives Hughes the first round is beyond comprehension. Hughes was almost choked out, but still TWO judges ruled all three rounds for Hughes. MMAWeekly scored the fight 29-28 Hughes in a very close decision. (Yes we did receive a billion emails that if this was Pride rules Verissimo would have won)

Nevertheless, Hughes did win and hopefully we see a showdown fight between Georges St. Pierre and Hughes from the vacant UFC welterweight title.

Source: MMA Weekly

Touch of Evil's PRIDE GP News Update!

The following information comes from the Touch of Evil Newsletter,
which can be accessed at www.touchofevil.us:

The most likely match-ups for the final four in the Pride Grand Prix tournament are Naoya Ogawa vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Sergei Kharitonov vs. Fedor Emelianenko. Ogawa-Nogueira was second in the DSE Japanese fan polls for which fight fans wanted to see the most in the second round, behind Fedor vs. Randleman. Kharitonov and Fedor are former training partners.

The way the match-ups work out, the most likely outcome to the Grand Prix tournament is Fedor vs. Nogueira in the finals. Fedor already holds a win over Nogueira in Pride in an exciting fight, so Fedor is easily the heavy favourite to win the tournament right now.

Hidehiko Yoshida injured his shoulder against Mark Hunt, and was very visibly favouring the shoulder after the fight. He has a checkup with his doctor regarding the shoulder this week to determine whether or not he will need surgery, but he's most likely going to be out for most of this year.

We'll have more analysis on the possibility of Ogawa-Giant Silva being a work in the July 5th issue of Touch of Evil Newsletter.

The show did a 20.3 rating on FujiTV, with Yoshida-Hunt being the highest quarter hour at 25.4

Quinton Jackson will meet Wanderlei Silva sometime in October in a rematch of the 2003 Grand Prix Finals, but this time it will be for Silva's Middleweight title. Silva still has to fight Kondo first on August 15th in a non-title match. Kondo is booked against Shannon Ritch on a Pancrase card at Korakuen Hall on June 22nd (Kondo won in under 2 minutes).

Sakuraba's next opponent is unknown, but the rumor is that his fight against Nino Schembri was the beginning of a series of fights with Sakuraba vs. Chute Boxe fighters, leading to an ultimate rematch with Wanderlei Silva sometime down the road.

Silva is now rumored to be fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Mirko Cro Cop on New Year's Eve, which means that either a possible fourth fight with Sakuraba will have to wait until next year, or Pride is planning on going in a different direction with Sakuraba.

Fedor is said to be fine after the slam from Kevin Randleman. In fact, Fedor looked fine just moments after the slam. Ricardo Arona's condition after being powerbombed by Quinton Jackson is not known.

Randleman's fight against Fedor was the last on his current contract. His new deal he signed with Pride prior to the fight is for six fights over the
course of two years.

Rumored Lineup for August 15th:
- Sergei Kharitonov vs. Fedor Emelianenko: GP Semi-Finals
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Naoya Ogawa: GP Semi-Finals
- Nogueira/Ogawa vs. Kharitonov/Fedor: GP Finals
- Wanderlei Silva vs. Yuki Kondo

To order Touch of Evil Newsletter, please visit www.touchofevil.us for
subscription information.

Source: ADCC

AND "NEW" UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION....WILL SYLVIA EVER BE THE SAME AFTER INJURY?

He was a big underdog entering the fight. He heard the comparisions that were flying around Las Vegas. If Ricco Rodriguez couldn't take down Tim Syliva, how could Frank Mir.

Well Mir not only took down Tim Sylvia, he finished him in under a minute. Think about that for a moment folks. Tim Sylvia, who had been not only the champion, but dominant champion, lost in under a minute to the skilled black belt jiu-jitsu player.

"I knew once I got the arm, that I would finish him" Mir told MMAWeekly. "He's a tough guy and I was surprised he still wanted to fight....you know the Miletich guys, they will never tap..." but not tapping may have damaged the future for the former champion.

No one will ever question the toughness of Big Tim Sylvia, but after breaking the two bones in his forearm, the immediate future doesn't look good. MMAWeekly Reader, Gary Furness, who is a doctor, posted his expert opinion on the Soundoff Forum. "Unfortunately, it appeared that Tim Sylvia suffered what is commonly called a "both bones" fracture of his mid forearm. Usually, both the ulna and radius are fractured, and the typcial method of healing involves a metal plate plus a half dozen screws, to be in place for several weeks. Long term, his forearm will always be weakened." Not a good diagnosis for the former champion.

For the current champion, maybe people will start respecting Frank Mir. He is a fighter who was barely ranked in the Top 10 in the latest Fighters and Broadcasters Poll at MMAWeekly. He has always has been knocked as being "too soft" in the Octagon, but the bottom line is this. He has just one loss in his professional career and he has finished ever fight he has been in, with the exception of his first fight of his career. Maybe now Frank Mir will get the respect he deserves.

Source: MMA Weekly

FEDOR TAKES OUT RANDLEMAN IN GRAND PRIX


Kevin Randleman had so much emotion going into the fight with Fedor Emelieneko, that it was hard to predict how his fight would go.

Randleman used the emotion to his advantage early in the fight. After taking down the bigger Fedor early in the fight, "Big Kev" executed a vicious belly to back suplex that amazed all 43,000 people watching in attendance.

For a split second, it looked as though Randleman would KO Fedor as Kevin pulled off an incredible suplex/slam that was similar, to Sapp and Nogueira as Fedor apperared to land on his neck from the violent slam.

Fedor, basically landing on his head, somehow survived the slam and would later establish superior position from the north/south position and would go on to apply a kimura for the submission victory.

Fedor showed why he is the best heavyweight in all of mixed martial arts, with the impressive submission victory over Kevin Randleman in the emotionally charged match.

Fedor will now wait and see who his next fight will be against. Will he face his countryman in Kharitonov , or will he face the Brazilian submission machine in Minotauro Nogueira in a rematch, or will it be the Japanese fighter Ogawa? We should know soon enough, but this is what we do know. The best Heavyweight in the world, showed why he is the champion, as Fedor moves on in the Pride Grand Prix.

Source: MMA Weekly

"RAMPAGE" SLAM DIFFERENCE IN FIGHT


A nasty cut that took somewhere between 30 and 40 stiches to close, he took a nasty kick that had him stunned, he had to fight off submissions and from a fight Arona was winning, it all changed quickly from one huge slam by the man we know as "Rampage"

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson picked up Arona after Ricardo was trying to lock down a triangle choke, and Rampage elevated his opponent past his head and threw down Arona, what almost seemed through the mat with a violent, powerful slam to knock out Arona late in the first round.

The win for Jackson allows him to face Vanderlei Silva, for a shot at the middleweight title.

Jackson fought off submission attempt after submission attempt and some how survived a kick from Arona, in his guard that dropped Jackson for a moment.

Somehow though, Rampage would survive the Arona onslaught and win with just over a minute left in the round to get the ko victory and set up a huge showdown between himself and Vanderlei Silva.

Source: MMA Weekly

MINOTAURO WINS AGAIN,
KHARINTAROV IS FOR REAL


Minotauro Nogueira has shown the world that he is back as one of the best in the world in the heavyweight division.

A very game Heath Herring spent the first round standing with Noguiera, but half way through the round, the fight would go to the ground and Herring would spend a lot of time escaping from Nogueira's potential submissions.

Herring did a great job defending the submissions and extend the fight to the second round. It was in the second round that Herring would shoot in to try and get Nogueira down to the ground, but in the end Herring would pay for the mistake.

After Herring came in on a shot, it was Nogueira locking in a guillotine choke, but then changing the position of the hold to a "anaconda" choke, as he calls it, and Herring could not escape in the opening stages of the second round and would later have to tap out in the second round.

Nogueira was very active in the fight, showing a ton of aggressiveness with an offensive arsenal of submission skills. The "old" Nogueira appears to be back which is bad news for future opponents in the Pride Grand Prix.

If there was a question going in how good Sergei Kharitonov was, the answers came fast and furious as Kharitonov was extremely impressive with a win over Semmy Schilt.

There seemed to be questions about the Russian after defeating blown up middleweight fighter Murilo Ninja Rua in his last fight. This time though, he took out the 6'10, 300 pound Schilt with a vicious ground n pound style.

After a very entertaining exchange, where Schilt swept Kharitonov, it was Sergei coming back and getting superior position and using some wicked ground n pound, pinning Schilt's left hand, behind the right leg of the russian and landing many hammer fans then went unanswered, turning Schilts fans into a bloody mess. The referee would have to stop the fight after Schilt could not intelligently defend himself from the wicked blows in the first round TKO.

If there were any questions before the fight, there is no question now. Kharitonov is a legitmate contender and has a shot to win the entire Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Source: MMA Weekly

SAK, YOSHIDA AND OGAWA ALL WIN AS JAPAN GOES 3-0

One of the bigger stories in this past Grand Prix was how the Japanese fighters performed this past weekend. The Japanese fighters went 3-0 in Pride's Critical Countdown.

Kazushi Sakuraba got more than he bargained for against Elivs "Nino" Schembri. Sakuraba's superior striking style was the big difference in the fight, but Nino was very game and surprised the over 43,000 in attendance, pressuring Saku through out the fight, as it was Sakuraba getting a unanimous decision over Schembri.

Naoya Ogawa continues to be impressive with a TKO victory over Giant Silva in Round 1. There were a few questions whether Ogawa could get the big giant down, but just a few minutes into the first round, not only did he get the mammoth 7'7 fighter down, he punished him on way to the TKO victory.

In a high profile match, what happens when a gold medalist judo player in Hidehiko Yoshida faces one of the most feared strikes in K-1 in Mark Hunt? As usually is the case, the ground fighter beats the stand up fighter as Yoshida took down a very game Hunt and ended up with a submission victory by armbar in Round 1.

Hunt tried to keep the fight standing, but Yoshida did a very good job of closing the distance and after taking some nice body shots, it was Yoshida securing the arm for an arm bar victory over Hunt, as the Japanese fighters sweep the three matches at Critical Countdown.

Source: MMA Weekly

PRELIM FIGHTS SEE STARS ON THE RISE
UFC 48 STARS ON THE RISE

People argued whether Ken Shamrock and Kimo Leopoldo was worthy of main event status or whether the UFC Heavyweight title bout between Tim Sylvia and Frank Mir should be at the top of the card at UFC 48 held Saturday night in Las Vegas. Regardless of who was at the top of the card, one thing is for sure, those arguments aren't going to stop anytime soon because there are some fighters on their way up that are going to be vying for main event status for some time to come.

The preliminary fights, or dark matches, at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, was a diverse crew of fighters that ranged from young first timers in the octagon to cagey veterans and everywhere in between. One common thread between them all? They all came to fight and fight they did.

In the first bout of the night, the latest fighter in the current wave of impressive Canadians crossing the boarder, Georges St. Pierre, came out fast and furious and proved that his win over Karo Parisyan at UFC 46 was no fluke.

St. Pierre squared off against UFC first timer Jay Heiron. Most were a little suspect of Heiron's credentials coming in, with only 4 total MMA bouts to his credit. Heiron's conditioning was excellent and he actually looked pretty good standing and trading with St. Pierre. Unfortunately for Heiron, St. Pierre was one step ahead the entire bout. About a minute and a half into the bout, St. Pierre landed a nice combination that dropped Heiron and immediately pounced on top of him and landed punches and forearms until referee Steve Mazzagatti was forced to stop the bout at 1:45 of the first round.

St. Pierre then did a little spin-a-rooni move on the mat followed by some acrobatics that proved, not only is he a well rounded fighter, but he knows how to get the crowd excited as well. At the post fight press conference, UFC President Dana White introduced St. Pierre as "the future of the 170 pound division." That's high praise considering the UFC's welterweight class already includes Matt Hughes, Frank Trigg, Charuto Verissimo, Nick Diaz and Karo Parisyan.

The next preliminary bout featured two longtime MMA veterans, Trevor Prangley and Curtis Stout. Prangley was making his Octagon debut and Stout his sophomore attempt in the cage.

South African Prangley controlled this bout from start to finish, taking Stout down at will and wearing him down with an effective ground and pound strategy. There were a few good exchanges on the feet as well, but it was Prangley that showed his diversity of skill and took Stout down in the second round and finished him by applying a neck crank that actually constricts the rib cage area causing Stout to tap out at 1:09 of the second round.

Now 7-1 as a professional, Prangley's only loss was to a much bigger Renato "Babalu" Sobral in the IFC Light Heavyweight Tournament last year. At 31 years of age, he is looking to make his name in the big leagues and Prangley has shown the well rounded skills that it will take to do so. Expect him to be vying for the top position in the middleweight division, soon.

The final preliminary bout pitted Matt Serra, a seven time UFC veteran, against Octagon newcomer Ivan Menjivar. Serra really needed a win here, having lost two of his last three bouts. Menjivar, a star in Canada, was stepping up onto the biggest stage of his career and looking to impress. Neither fighter disappointed.

Serra was visibly much larger than Menjivar, a fighter used to competing at 145 pounds, but stepping up to 155 for his UFC debut. Serra used his size to his advantage throughout the bout and basically converted himself from a submission specialist to a ground and pounder. He consistently was able to put Menjivar on his back and used his size to control and pound him.

Menjivar, for his part, was very active from the bottom and able to reverse positions several times. Serra was still able to score the takedown, basically at will. At one point in the second round, Serra performed a huge belly to back suplex, but landed with Menjivar applying a kimura lock that he was barely able to fend off until the bell.

Serra continued his assault throughout the third round, still fighting off Menjivar's submission attempts and scoring with his ground and pound attack to win by unanimous decision. Serra's conversion from submission expert to ground and pounder was a tremendously effective strategy that really played to his size advantage. Serra evolved once again to show that he continues to grow and earned his spot in the UFC.

For his part, Menjivar was very exciting and nearly pulled off the victory at the end of the second round. He showed a lot of heart and skill and would be a great addition to the UFC's lightweight division. Hopefully, they will bring him back soon and match him up in bouts against Hermes Franca and Yves Edwards. Stylistically, these would be great fights with tons of explosive potential.

The victors will be back for sure. Serra, despite being a veteran, showed that he is still growing as a fighter and is a player in the UFC. Prangley and St. Pierre showed that there is some tremendous
talent out there that will continue to drive the future of the UFC. St. Pierre especially is a very exciting fighter that is the prototype of the complete package that is starting to dominate in MMA. Looks like there is a bright future ahead as new talent continues to rise.

Source: MMA Weekly

 6/22/04

Quote of the Day

"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who hope that their dreams will come true."

Woodrow Wilson, 1856-1924, Twenty-eighth President of the USA

UFC 49: Unfinished 'Business' - A First Look!

UFC 49: Unfinished Business
Saturday, August 21, 2004
MGM Grand Garden
Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada -- Randy “The Natural” Couture has unfinished business to take care of Saturday, August 21st, at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, as he returns to the octagon to fight Vitor Belfort in the main event at “UFC 49: Unfinished Business.”

Couture, 12-6-0, from Portland, Oregon, is determined to get back the light heavyweight title he lost to Brazilian phenom Vitor Belfort, 12-3-0, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, in a fight that ended quickly at “UFC 46: Super Natural.” Belfort is out to prove that his win over Couture was no fluke. Belfort caught Couture with a glancing left hook in the first 30 seconds of the fight that opened a deep cut under Couture’s left eye. As the fighters clinched, referee John McCarthy stopped the fight at the 0:48 mark so Nevada State Athletic Commission doctors could check the cut. Suddenly, it was over almost before it began and Belfort was the new UFC light heavyweight champ. Couture suffered a corneal abrasion that impaired his vision and NSAC doctors ruled he could not continue.

Light Heavyweight Championship: Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture
Light Heavyweight: Chuck Liddell vs. Vernon White
Welterweight: Nick Diaz vs. Karo Pariysan
Middleweight: David Terrell vs. Matt Lindland
Heavyweight: Mike Kyle vs. Justin Eilers
Middleweight: Robbie Lawler vs.
Ronald Jhun
Middleweight: Joe Riggs vs. Joe Doerksen
Lightweight: Josh Thomson vs. Yves Edwards

Source: ADCC

Wanderlei confirms: 'I will face Rodrigo Minotauro or Mirko Cro Cop on December 31st´


Pride´s middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva is scheduled to face the Japanese star Yuki Kondo on August 15th, but the brazilian fighter is already thinking almost six months ahead. Last week, he confirmed the information that many of martial arts fans would like to hear: 'I will face Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira or Mirko Cro Cop on December 31st' stated Wand.

The chuteboxer pointed to his countryman Nogueira as the toughest fighter in the world: 'To beat him, I must avoid his takedowns and try to win the fight using my striking skills. I will try to knock him out while we are standing'.

Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira, who defeated Heath Herring last Sunday during the Pride GP quarterfinals, celebrates the opportunity to face Wanderlei. 'I´m more than ready to get him. I respect him very much and I think it is going to be a great fight, in a great event. Maybe I am the one who will stop his streak and end his four year period without a defeat' says Minotauro.

The challenge against Minotauro might be the first step for Wanderlei Silva on his way to the heavyweight category. 'My current weight is 98kg and I´m ready to fight anyone, whether im my category or among the heavyweights, I´m able to face any fighter in the world', ends Wand.

Do you disagree?

Source: ADCC

JUNE 2004 - ADCC's TOP TEN MMA!

under 145 lbs.
#1 Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira (Brazil)
#2 Jens Pulver (Team EXTREME, USA)
#3 Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto (Japan)
#4 Joao Roque (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#5 Ivan Menjivar (Costa Rica)
#6 Stephen Paling (USA)
#7 Tetsuo Katsuta (Japan)
#8 Hiroyuki Abe (Japan)
#9 Hiroyuki Takaya (Japan)
#10 Mike Brown (Team Elite, USA)

145.1 - 155 lbs.
#1 Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#2 Yves Edwards (3rd Column, USA)
#3 Genki Sudo (Japan)
#4 Joachim Hansen (Team Scandinavia, Oslo, Norway)
#5 Josh Thompson (Team AKA, USA)
#6 Caol Uno (Japan)
#7 Takanori Gomi (SHOOTO, Japan)
#8 Hermes Franca (American TOP TEAM, USA)
#9 Matt Serra (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#10 Caol Uno (Japan)

155.1 - 170 lbs.
#1 BJ Penn (USA)
#2 Matt Hughes (Miletich Fighting Systems,, USA)
#3 Sean Sherk (USA)
#4 Jutaro Nakao (Japan)
#5 Rodrigo Gracie (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#6 Nick Diaz (Cesar Gracie, USA)
#7 Chris Lytle (Integrated Fighting, USA)
#8 Renato Verrisimo (Nova Uniao, Brazil)
#9 Carlos Newton (Canada)
#10 Frank Trigg (USA)

170.1 - 185 lbs.
#1 Yuki Kondo (Japan)
#2 Jeremy Horn (Miletich Fighting Systems,, USA)
#3 Anderson Silva (Brazil)
#4 Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan)
#5 Matt Lindland (USA)
#6 Masanori Suda (SHOOTO Champion, Japan)
#7 Evan Tanner (USA)
#8 Ricardo Almeida (Team Renzo Gracie, USA)
#9 Amar Suloev (Red Devil, Russia)
#10 Denis Kang (Soares JJ, Canada)

185.1 - 205 lbs.
#1 Wanderlei Silva (Chute Boxe, Brazil)
#2 Randy Couture (Team Quest, USA)
#3 Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (USA)
#4 Vitor Belfort (Brazil)
#5 Dan Henderson (USA)
#6 Chuck Liddell (USA)
#7 Tito Ortiz (USA)
#8 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#9 Rich Franklin (Team EXTREME, USA)
#10 Renato 'Babalu' (Brazil)

205.1 lbs and Up.
#1 Emilianenko Fedor (Red Devil, Russia)
#2 Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Brazil)
#3 Josh Barnett (NJPW, USA)
#4 Frank Mir (Pires JJ, USA)
#5 Andrei Orlovski (Belarus)
#6 Mirko Filipovic (Croatia)
#7 Sergei Kharitonov (Russia)
#8 Tim Sylvia (Miletich Fighting Systems, USA)
#9 Ibragim Magomedov (Red Devil, Russia)
#10 Pedro Rizzo (Brazil)

Source: ADCC

A HEALTHY LEGEND FINISHES KIMO


He is already a UFC Hall of Famer and on Saturday night he went back in time as the Shamrock of old was present at Mandalay Bay. In front of an announced crowd of just over 10,000 people, a healthy Ken Shamrock made quick work of Kimo with a perfectly timed knee that knocked out the bigger heavyweight. "I didn't have any injuries and I've been healthy for the first time in many years...." Shamrock told MMAWeekly.

A couple of telling signs early in the fight is when Kimo shot in on to try and take down Shamrock. Ken just pushed Kimo to the side on the shot, then put Kimo up against the fence, negating Kimo's strength. That showed that the strength and knee was back for Ken. Even though Shamrock was giving up 26 pounds, it looked as though Shamrock was the stronger fighter.

After Kimo could not wrestle down Shamrock, it was the 40 year old Shamrock, working hard in the clinch and landing a perfect Muay Thai knee that ended the night for the man from Hunington Beach.

The press conference was just as entertaining as the fight in the Octagon. Shamrock got up and spoke to the media and was very gracious in the victory. After Shamrock was done with his speech, UFC President Dana White got up and asked for questions. That's when Tito Ortiz followed up with a couple of comments that got the blood boiling for Shamrock.

Shamrock responded with a few comments, maybe the best was the quote when Shamrock told Tito "I'm going to hit you so hard, I'm going to knock your hair...black." The entire post fight press conference is up right now on MMAWeekly TV.

So what will Shamrock's future be? Most likely against Tito Ortiz. Don't be surprised if this fight highlightes UFC 50. What better way to celebrate 50 fights for the UFC then another Shamrock vs Ortiz fight? They saw the magic at UFC 40's Vendetta. Don't be surprised if it happens again. Shamrock said in the press conference he would like to fight Tito at 208, not 205. Would it be any different? Judging from Shamrock's mobility and performance, it defintely could be different the second time around.

Source: MMA Weekly

U.S. MEN WRESTLERS ROUT GEORGIA AND SPAIN, BUT U.S. WOMEN SPLIT WITH CANADA, AT TITAN GAMES

The second annual Titan Games came to a close Sunday night in Atlanta with a series of decisive victories for the American men freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers over Georgia and Spain.

While most of those wrestling for the U.S. were members of the 2004 U.S.. Olympic Team, Georgia, the 2003 world champions in both freestyle and Greco, did not send many of their top wrestlers to this event, less than two months before the start of the 2004 Olympic Games in August in Athens, Greece.

While the American women escaped with an 8-6 team win over Canada, each team, which included their respective country's 2004 Olympians, won two matches.

The most significant wins in women's wrestling came at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., where 2003 World Cup gold medalist Lyndsay Belisle of Canada defeated two-time world silver medalist Patricia Miranda of the U.S., 4-0, and at 72 kg/158.5 lbs., where two-time world silver medalist Toccara Montgomery scored a pin over Canada's six-time world champion, Christine Nordhagen.

The reported total attendance for this three-day, multi-sport event was 11,334. The Ultimate Titan awards went to female judoka Celita Schutz and male weightlifter Shane Hamman. The Rising Star Award went to judoka Ronda Rousey.

For complete Titan Games results in all sports, go to:

http://www.usolympicteam.com/titangames/index.cfm

Below are the press releases issued by USA Wrestling and the final results issued by the U.S. Olympic Committee for the wrestling competition.

WRESTLING: U.S. men's freestylers close out 2004 Titan Games with 26-3 win over Georgia
by John Fuller - USA Wrestling

Atlanta, Ga. - The U.S. men's freestyle team closed out competition at the 2004 Titan Games Built by Home Depot on Sunday evening with a 26-3 win over the Republic of Georgia.

In the closest match of the evening, Eric Guerrero battled for a 4-1 victory over Levan Chabradze at 60 kg/132 lbs.

Guerrero trailed 1-0 midway through the first period before scoring four consecutive points to win the match.

2003 World silver medalists Cael Sanderson (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) and Kerry McCoy (Bethlehem, Pa./New York AC) also posted victories.

Sanderson defeated Malkhaz Jorbenadze 9-1 at 84 kg/185 lbs. McCoy won by injury default over David Otiashvili at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.

'Any time you can get international competition is a great advantage. Any time you can get top level international competition, it's that much better,' stated McCoy as he spoke of the competition at the Titan Games.

2001 World bronze medalist Joe Williams (Iowa City, Iowa/Sunkist Kids) won by a 10-0 technical superiority at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Daniel Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) won by a 11-1 technical superiority at 96 kg/211.5 lbs.

Winning by forfeit were Stephen Abas (Fresno, Calif./Sunkist Kids) at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Jamill Kelly (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs

TITAN GAMES -- Session IV
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.
Greco-Roman: Georgia 16, Spain 10
55 kg/121 lbs. - Vicente Lillo (ESP) win by forfeit
60 kg/132 lbs. - Lasha Lomadze (GEO) dec. Joaquin Martinez (ESP), 2-1 OT
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Moises Sanchez (ESP) win by forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Tariel Melashvili (GEO) dec. Alberto Recuero (ESP), 3-0
84 kg/185 lbs. - Tedo Kupatadze (GEO) tech fall Ramon Garcia (ESP), 11-0 4:27
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Petre Metreveli (GEO) dec. Waldo Moreno (ESP), 7-1
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Revaz Chelidze (GEO) dec. Jairo Rodriguez (ESP), 7-0

Greco-Roman Exhibition Matches
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jim Gruenwald (USA) tech fall Ahamed Jasim (IRQ), 11-0 at 5:30

Men's Freestyle: USA 26, Georgia 3
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephen Abas (USA) win by forfeit
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero (USA) dec. Levan Chabradze (GEO), 4-1
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Jamill Kelly (USA) win by forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Joe Williams (USA) tech fall Mikheil Kharebava (GEO), 10-0 at 2:51
84 kg/185 lbs. - Cael Sanderson (USA) dec. Malkhaz Jorbenadze (GEO), 9-1
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Daniel Cormier (USA) tech fall Tamaz Gegeshidze (GEO), 11-1
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Kerry McCoy (USA) win by injury default David Otiashvili (GEO)

Team Results
Women's Freestyle
1. USA
2. CAN

Men's Freestyle
1. USA
2. GEO
3. ESP

Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling
1. USA
2. GEO
3. ESP

WRESTLING: Belisle upsets Miranda, men's Greco-Roman team tears through Spain

by John Fuller - USA Wrestling

Atlanta, Ga. - Canada won its first two matches in a dual meet against the U.S. women's freestyle Olympic Team at the 2004 Titan Games, Built by Home Depot, but it was not enough as the U.S. pulled away with an 8-6 win at Phillips Arena.

Lyndsay Belisle, a 2003 World Cup gold medalist, upset two-time World silver medalist Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs., 4-0. Belisle controlled the entire match, and Miranda was unable to finish her shot attempts in the match.

Pins by Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 63 kg/138..75 lbs. and Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/New York AC) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. gave the U.S. team the win, however.

Montgomery's pin was over six-time World champion Christine Nordhagen.

McMann pinned 2003 World bronze medalist Viola Yanik midway through the second period. The match was tied 1-1 at the time of the fall.

Tela O'Donnell (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) dropped a 9-4 decision to 2003 World Cup silver medalist Tonya Verbeek at 55 kg/121 lbs.

In Greco-Roman action, the U.S. won six of seven matches en route to a 22-6 win over Spain.

2000 Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner (Cascade, Colo./Sunkist Kids) dominated Jairo Rodriguez 10-0 at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. to finish off the victory for the U.S. Gardner's win was the third technical fall in the dual meet for the U.S.

'I did exactly what I wanted to do, even while nursing my wrist back to health. I set up the way I wanted it to a go,' Gardner said after his win.

The U.S. won two matches against 2004 Olympic wrestlers in the dual meet.

At 66 kg/145.5 lbs., Oscar Wood (Fountain, Colo./U.S. Army) continued to dominate, pinning Moises Sanchez midway through the second period. Keith Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), fought back from a 3-0 deficit to wear down 2004 Olympian Albert Recuero in a 7-3 win.

Also posting wins for the U.S. Greco-Roman team were Lindsey Durlacher (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Jim Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Brad Vering (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) at 84 kg/185 lbs.

Vering and Gruenwald both recorded wins by technical superiority.

2000 Olympic bronze medalist Garrett Lowney (Freedom, Wis./Minnesota Storm) did not compete due to damaged cartilage in his ribs.

Also injured an unable to compete is Giorgi Kharebava of the Republic of Georgia, who was competing in both styles at 66 kg/145.5 lbs. Kharebava tore his ACL last night.

Spain defeated the Republic of Georgia 12-12 on the criteria of most wins (4-3) in men's freestyle action.

In an exhibition match, Tariel Melelashvili of Georgia pinned Ahmed Weali of Iraq at 74 kg/163 lbs. in Greco-Roman competition

TITAN GAMES - Session III
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.

Women's Freestyle: USA 8, Canada 6
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Lyndsay Belisle (CAN) dec. Patricia Miranda (USA), 4-0
55 kg/121 lbs. - Tonya Verbeek (CAN) dec. Tela O'Donnell (USA), 9-4
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Sara McMann (USA) fall Viola Yanik (CAN), at 4:12
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Toccara Montgomery (USA) fall Christine Nordhagen (CAN), at 3:34

Greco-Roman: USA 22, Spain 6
55 kg/121 lbs. - Lindsey Durlacher (USA) dec. Vicente Lillo (ESP), 8-4
60 kg/132 lbs. - Jim Gruenwald (USA) tech fall Joaquin Martinez (ESP), 10-0 at 4:59
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Oscar Wood (USA) fall Moises Sanchez (ESP), at 4:40
74 kg/163 lbs. - Keith Sieracki (USA) dec. Alberto Recuero (ESP), 7-3
84 kg/185 lbs. - Brad Vering (USA) tech fall Ramon Garcia (ESP), 11-0 at :47
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Waldo Moreno (ESP) win by medical forfeit
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Rulon Gardner (USA) tech fall Jairo Rodriguez (ESP), 10-0 at 4:12

Greco-Roman Exhibition Matches
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Ahamed Jasim (IRQ) win by medical forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Tariel Melashvili (GEO) fall Ahmed Weali (IRQ), at 1:30

Men's Freestyle: Spain 12, Georgia 12
55 kg/121 lbs. - Francisco Sanchez (ESP) v. win by forfeit
60 kg/132 lbs. - David Del Val (ESP) tech fall Levan Chabradze (GEO), 10-0 at 3:58
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Fernando Rodriguez (ESP) v. win by forfeit
74 kg/163 lbs. - Urtzi Lertxundi (ESP) dec. Mikheil Kharebava (GEO), 4-3
84 kg/185 lbs. - Malkhaz Jorbenadze (GEO) win by default
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Tamaz Gegeshidze (GEO) dec. Nicolas Castro (ESP), 9-5
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - David Otiashvili (GEO) tech fall Jose Cuba (ESP), 10-0 at 2:01

Source: ADCC

 6/21/04

Quote of the Day

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life,
that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist

Monday Night Fights Tonight!

Volcanoes Night Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 21, 2004
Doors Open @ 6:30pm
Fights Start @ 7:30pm

Volcanos is the club behind Nimitz Business Center with Eagle Cafe (the old World Cafe).

Last fight card released (subject to change):

HMC'S Johnson to Fight Japans Fukuda for P.I.P Welterweight Belt

We are pleased to announce Deshawn Johnson will fight Undefeated Edsel Fukuda a freelance fighter from Japan for the vacant Punishment In Paradise Welterweight Championship Belt.

Welterweight Championship MMA Match
165lbs. 2x3 Minute Rounds
Deshawn Johnson (HMC) Vs. Edsel Fukuda (Freelance,Japan)

Featherweight MMA Match
135lbs. 2x3 Minute Rounds
Mark Oshiro (Bulls Pin, Kalihi) Vs. Kini Sofa (Hardknocks, Waianae)

Welterweight Kickboxing Match
147lbs. 3x11/;2 Minute Rounds
Marcus Moreno (Bulls Pin, Kailihi) Vs. Louis (Team Bigdogs, Waianae)

Welterweight Kickboxing Match
147lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Toni “The Tiger’ Rodriquez (Team Bigdogs) Vs. Alex (Home Grown Muay Thai)

Super Lightweight Kickboxing Match
137lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Ryan Lee (Bulls Pin, Waipahu) Vs. Chad (Bigdogs, Waianae)

Welterweight MMA Match
175lbs. 2x3 Minute Rounds
Rae Cavako(Eastside, Kailua) Vs. Mickey Tafflinger (Team Nanakuli)

Super Middleweight Kickboxing Match
172lbs. 3x2 Minute Rounds
Kevin Smith (Team Bigdogs,Waianae) Vs. Bryon Ingram (Freelance, California)

Flyweight MMA Match
145lbs 2x3 Minute Rounds
Kevin Delima (Bulls Pin, Kalihi) Vs. Curtis Rivera (Freelance, Waianae)

Welterweight Kickboxing Match
147lbs. 3X2 Minute Rounds
Frank Moreno (Bulls Pin, Kalihi) Vs. Dyson (Team Bigdogs, Waianae)

Light Middleweight Kickboxing Match
159lbs. 3x11/2 Minute Rounds
Zane Kamaka (Freelance, Waianae) Vs. Mike (Hardknocks, Waianae)

Source: Event Promoter

Post-fight with new KOTC champion Diego Sanchez

On June 12th, Diego Sanchez won the vacant KOTC Welterweight belt by beating American Top Team’s Jorge Santiago via unanimous decision. Up until about two weeks prior, the belt was held by John Alessio with Jorge scheduled to fight him for the belt this night, and Diego to fight the winner in August.

KM: What are your thoughts on being the new King Of The Cage Welterweight champion? DS: I worked so hard for it but after I won it, it was a weird feeling. I knew the guy was tough but I wasn’t expecting him to come in with so much heart. He trained three months to fight John Alessio day in and day out and he wanted it. I took the fight on a thirteen days notice and I didn’t tell nobody about this but I injured my tendon on my right leg so I was unable to run for two months. The only conditioning I could really do was jump rope and wrestling but that just wasn’t enough. I ended up getting tired.

KM: Tell me about the first round. DS: We mixed it up a little bit but he didn’t want to come in on me so I had to push. He maybe caught me with five or six punches throughout but mainly I took him down and I had some real ground-and-pound. After the fight my forearm was sore, my elbows, my big knuckle on my right hand was extremely sprained. I thought I was going to feel better than I did but I was kind of tired. I kind of punched myself out a little bit throwing a lot of leather.

KM: I heard he got a good slam in the second round. Can you describe that? DS: We came out in the second round and mixed it up a little bit, we got into a clinch, and he was a real lanky guy so he had underhooks on me and I had a bear hug overlock on him. He had inside position on me and I had him up against the cage resting trying to catch my breath and he got me with a little judo trip. He sunk his leg inside and had a pretty good takedown on me. He ended up in side mount but as soon as we got to the ground I got my hips out and got back into the guard. I was being more aggressive than he was, throwing harder strikes and defending all his strikes and basically he was trying to stall on the top so Cecil (ref) stood us back up. He landed a couple inside leg kicks and then I dropped him with a right hook. He went down and I landed another big punch on him and thought for sure he was going to go out but he didn’t. He stayed conscious and I pounded throughout the rest of that round.

KM: Third round? DS: We mixed it up a little bit and I went in with a combination and he threw a high kick. I caught his leg and I took him down, pounding him from the guard some more. I passed his guard to side mount and then took the mount. When I took the mount I fired hard shots and I saw a real clean armbar. I went to go for the armbar and my coach Greg told me ‘no, hit him’. I hit him and he kind of turtled a little bit so I was in the middle of his back and in the mount. I hit him with a big left hook to the nose and he went back in the mount position. I decided to go for the armbar but unfortunately he turned his arm over and I kind of had a triangle on him and time ran out.

KM: I heard with the exception of that slam that the fight was all you. Was that the fight for which you want to be remembered? DS: I should have been in better shape. I couldn’t run and didn’t want to tell nobody and took the fight on a short amount of time plus me and my trainer Greg had a big plan to work a lot of up fighting, a lot of kickboxing, and a lot of boxing up until August (when he was originally scheduled to fight the winner of Alessio/Santiago) because mostly I have been doing a lot of ground fights and submission grappling tournaments. I did give the fans and the MMA world a little bit of a view of how I fight but it’s not totally all me.

KM: At what point did you feel the fatigue? DS: Going into the second round. I felt pretty fresh the first five minutes. I was throwing so much…Jorge Santiago has a huge heart, a true warrior. He showed a lot of spirit and I’m sure he’s going to come back from this loss. A very tough fighter. I have never seen a person take that kind of punishment and not go out.

KM: From a team perspective or New Mexican perspective is there any sense of vindication like “proved New Mexico is worthy”? DS: Only have to say one thing. My team is going to prove to America that we are the American top team. I’m not trying to talk trash or anything but are 85% Brazilian and that is not American in my opinion. We re going to continue to win and we’re going to show who really is the American top team.

KM: Now that it is over is there any sense of dissatisfaction it wasn’t Alessio or that it was a vacant belt? DS: Not at all. I know Jorge Santiago has two losses but I think as a fighter he really learned from those losses and they have guided him to be a better fighter. The Jorge Santiago I fought was not the same Jorge Santiago that lost those other fights at all.

KM: You were originally scheduled to fight for the belt in August. Is there any word on if your first defense would be in August or if you would get some time off? DS: I might defend it in August, I really don’t know. I kind of hurt my hand so might be taking a couple weeks off. It’s not broken or anything…I’ll be back at the gym as soon as possible.

KM: That was your first decision. Do you feel disappointed you didn’t finish him or content you have proven you can go the distance? DS: I would rather have finished him. This fight I take as a learning experience. Now that I’ve worked my way to the top now if I’m hurt I’m not going to take the fight. In a way it’s a blessing in disguise because anybody looking at the fight can say “oh, I can take him in this area or take him in that area, look. he got tired” and they’ll think they can hang with my pace but they will find out when they get in that cage it’s not going to be the same pace. When I defend the belt it’s going to be in New Mexico and they’ll come up to 5,000 feet altitude.

KM: Are you superstitious at all? DS: I’m not really superstitious, I just believe in God.

KM: I’m not either. Where this is going is in the past I’ve made the point the Welterweight belt has only been successfully defended once and that was by Joe Hurley back in ’99. Since then it has either been vacated or the champion lost. Given that Matt Hughes years ago said you aren’t really the champion until you have defended the belt at least once how do you feel about defending it? DS: I feel that I’m special and the KOTC belt is just a stepping stone for me. I will move on to bigger things. I will defend it and they will have to come to New Mexico and get the beatdown. The first guy who will probably get the title shot will be Thomas Denny.

Source: ADCC

TAKADA STUDENT TO STAY AT CHUTE BOXE FOR 3 MONTHS!

Japanese fighter Wataru Takahashi of Takada Dojo made hjis MMA debut at the last Meca FC event last June 5th, and he received a gift from his master Takada, after submitting local warrior Emerson Portilho with a guillotine choke in 4min48s.

Wataru will stay in Brazil training at the world famous Chute Boxe gym in Curitiba for 3 months. During this period, he will be living inside the academy. The 19 years old japanese fighter will have the oportunity to train 3 times a day with some of Vale-Tudo top fighters, such as Wanderlei and Shogun. During the last two weeks of training, Wataru won over Chute Boxe leader Rudimar Fedrigo. 'He is a good fighter. He is also a Judo black belt under Yoshida. Besides learning, he is also teaching some interesting throws to our members' revealed Rudimar Fedrigo, who decided at last minute to not accompany Nino and Cordeiro to Japan, due to health problems with his son.

Source: ADCC

UFC 48 - Little "Payback" for Returning Foes


Las Vegas, June 19 - On a card laden with second chances, few fighters were able to take advantage and avoid history repeating itself during UFC 48: Payback, an eight-fight event originating from the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Eight years after their initial encounter, UFC heavyweight veterans Ken Shamrock and Kimo drew the most recognition from casual fans. Despite being outweighed by 26 lbs, crowd favorite Shamrock was able to avoid being muscled around by his opponent, keeping a neutral position in the clinch before unloading with a knee that sent Kimo sprawling to the canvas. Down but not out, Shamrock threw a score of punches to punctuate the victory, with referee John McCarthy stopping it at just 1:26 of the first round.

The bout marks Shamrock's first victory since a win over journeyman Sam Adkins in 2001. Newly invigorated after rehabilitating a problem knee, the 40 year old Shamrock seemed excited to be back in the ring. Some speculate that a rematch with Tito Ortiz could be in the offing.

One of the many vacant title spots was filled in the co-main event, as Frank Mir overcame his underdog status to claim the heavyweight crown over distressed former champ Tim Sylvia. Sylvia - previously barred twice from competing due to testing positive for performance enhancers - was thought to be too slick a slugger for submission expert Mir. But it was Sylvia who moved into Mir, forcing them both to the ground.

Mir used every inch of his 250 lb. frame to lock out an armbar; referee Herb Dean shouted out in surprise and then moved to break the two apart at :50 into the first round. Initially, it seemed as though the stoppage was premature - but the replay displayed all the gory details of Dean's POV, as Sylvia's forearm literally snapped in two. An angry, irrational Sylvia insisted the fight continue, but it'll have to be on another date.

Continuing the series of rematches, welterweight Frank Trigg cleared the air over his 2002 match with Dennis Hallman. In that fight, Trigg scored a win after Hallman couldn't continue due to a low blow. There were no accidents this time, as Trigg wound up in the guard, avoided a few submission attempts, and then opened up with punches to score a stoppage at 4:15 into the first round.

In a bout declared a grudge match by everyone except its participants, welterweight Matt Hughes found himself in a bit of trouble against Renato Verissimo. Hughes - who was vanquished after a long championship run by Verissimo student BJ Penn - could not figure out the puzzle of his opponent's guard. The lanky Renato couldn't avoid the takedown, but kept Hughes at bay and locked in a triangle choke during the first round that had a good shot of ending it. Hughes escaped and never found himself in that much trouble again for the duration of the three-round fight, earning the unanimous decision by dominating position and scoring with strikes.

Oddsmakers made middleweight Phil Baroni a heavy favorite after seeing his trimmed-down physique at Friday's weigh-in. He had, after all, rocked Evan Tanner with strikes in their first fight, and many believed that if he had been able to keep up the pressure, he would've emerged a winner. But a different night brings different circumstances, and this time Tanner circled Baroni, refusing to let him unload a flurry. Tanner scored with strikes and knees of his own, and was able to bring the fight to the mat several times en route to a three-round unanimous decision.

In preliminary action, UFC lightweight rookie Ivan Menjivar was outmuscled by Matt Serra, losing a unanimous decision; middleweight Trevor Prangley slapped on a neck crank to force a submission over Curtis Stout at 1:09 of round one; welterweight Georges St. Pierre TKOed a game Jay Hieron at 1:45 of the first.

Source: Maxfighting

"MIR IS A PAPER CHAMPION" - IAN FREEMAN

Ian Freeman defeated Frank Mir at UFC38 by brutal TKO

English MMA Fighter Ian Freeman directed the following statement to Frank Mir

LOL, Mir beats Tim and he is a champion.... yeah, like hell he is.

As long as there is a hole in my ass, I will always say your a paper champion. Why? because there is someone you will never submit or ko and thats ME! Yes, ME...you know the guy that schooled your ignorant ass in England.

Sorry to hear you lost Tim, but you just aint got the limbs to hold off submission guys like Mir. Your the real champ, you just played your game wrong.

Mir looked shabby against Sims, beat a worn out Tank and fought Tim who for some unknown reason took the fight to the floor?????????

You cannot claim to be the champ with a half assed record like that..... Washed out UFC fighters, 1st time UFC fighters or worn out UFC fighters and you get a title shot.... who's dick you sucking pal

Oh yeah, and you have also been beaten off a big dumb englishman, who you said "would never beat me." and if I did you said "I'll swim my ass back to USA if he does." ......you still swimming big boy?

And before all you Mir ass kissers diss me.... I'm just saying what is on most people's minds right now.

Does this make your blood boil Mir??? Sorry pal, but I don't give shit after the way you tried to diss me as a dumb fuck Englishman.

Ian 'The Machine' Freeman.

Source: Fight Sport

TYSON VS. LE BANNER POSSIBILITY


Mike Tyson

Hirohito reports the following from Japan:

"I hear that K-1 is planning a Mike Tyson vs. Jerome LeBanner matchup for late July. The fight would take place under Western Boxing rules.

LeBanner told the Japanese media that he doesn't care about rules and will still throw leg kicks."

Source: Fight Sport

SHAMROCK-ORTIZ IN POST FIGHT INCIDENT

Fallen Champion, Tito Ortiz after his humiliating loss to Randy Couture

FS 24-7's Keith Sutton witnessed the following incident at the UFC48 Post Fight Press Conference;

Ken Shamrock finished speaking and had sat down, then Tito from the back asked if he could ask a question. "So whats your answer Ken?"

Ken at first looked like he didn't know what Tito meant and then Ken blew up and they had a good 3 or 4 minute scene with Ken saying such things as "im going to hit you so hard it'll turn your hair black" and "lets go right now" and "don't let me see you out around tonight Tito".

Tito was just laughing most of the time and wanted to get up on the mic but Ken was too 'out of control'. Tito just said "I don't want to beat you up here" and "why should I do it for free?"

Tito also told Ken to come back down to 205 and Ken said he would.

It was pretty entertaining IMO. I'd count on them fighting again

Source: Fight Sport

Fedor overcomes Randleman at Pride

The rematch between Rodrigo Minotauro and Fedor Emelinanenko may by getting closer. Ending the Pride GP Heavyweight, at Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Fedor overcame Kevin Randleman. The American started better and took the Heavyweight champion to the ground, while hitting him. Fedor was confident. He swept and reversed the situation. He got few good punches and ended to submit Randleman via Kimura. Now we do have the name of four finalists of pride GP Final Conflic, which happens on August 20th: Sergei Kharitonov, Naoya Ogawa, Rodrigo Minotauro and Fedor Emelianenko.


R. Minotauro rules Heath at Pride GP

Rodrigo Minotauro one more time proved his Boxing training has been making the difference at this Pride GP, which is happening now at Saitama Super Arena, in Japan. Showing a sharpening Boxing, Brazilian gave a hard time to Heath Herring on the standing game. This fact open the way for Minotauro complete the second task: on the ground. Brazilian Top Team attacked the arm, tried the triangle choke, and Herring was brave and swept Minotauro in the first round. However, in beginning of second one, Minotauro used his secret weapon. The same move used against Hiro Yokoi was enough to beat Herring: arm's triangle choke. Rodrigo Minotauro was the third name to qualify to Pride GP Final Conflict, which happens on August 20th. During the super-fight between Hidehiko Yoshida and K1 star Mark Hunt, Japanese submitted Hunt via armlock in first round. It was Hunt's debut night at Pride.

Ogawa & Kharitonov in the final of GP

Sergei Kharitonov was the first name among the Heavyweights to guarantee his presence at the final of Pride GP, which is going on now at Saitama Super Arena. Kharitonov has just defeated Semmy Schilt in round 1. Both fighters exchanged lot of punches and Schilt was the first one to take the fight to the ground, when attempted a choke. Kharitonov escaped and got the mount, when punished the opponent. Schilt swept and both returned on the feet. So Kharitonov took Schilt down and reached once again the mount. Then Russian fighter punished Schilt until the referee's stoppage.

Over the second GP's bout, Brazilian one more time saw his plans ruined. At this time, Giant Silva didn't resist to Japanese Naoya Ogawa's attacks and was disqualified of the GP. Ogawa knocked Silva down and gave him a hrad time on the ground. From the side, Ogawa tried the submission, Giant got his arm free and escaped. The Japanese was superior and kept the fight on the ground, reached the mount and abused of ground'n pound. The referee once again had to interrupt the combat.

Source: Tatame


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