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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2005
3/12/05
The Second Annual Maui
Jiu-Jitsu Open
BJJ tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Hawaii)
2/20/04
Punishment In
Paradise 9:
Hawaii vs. Mainland
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Kapolei H.S. Gym)
2004
12/11/04
Super Brawl
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
12/10/04
Kickin It Again
(Kickboxing)
(Kapolei HS)
12/4/04
So You Think You Tough 7
(Boxing, MMA)
(Kona Gym, Kona)
Ring of Honor
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Waimea H.S. Gym, Kauai)
Proving Grounds 3
(MMA)
(Hilo, HI)
12/3/04
Punishment In
Paradise 8:
East vs. West
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Kapolei H.S. Gym)
11/27/04
Grappler's Paradise
(Grappling)
(Chiefess
Kamakahelei Middle School, Kauai)
11/20/04
Rumble On The Rock
5
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
11/13/04
SUMA 2:
The Battle At The Hyatt
(Kickboxing)
(Hyatt Regency Waikiki Ballroom)
|
|
November 2004 News
Part 2

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Tuesdays at 8:30PM on
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Quote
of the Day
"What would you do if you knew that you could not fail?"
Robert Schuller, 1926-, American Minister (Crystal Cathedral),
Author, Social Leade
|
Rumble
on the Rock 6 Press Conference
Ala Moana Shopping Center
Center Stage
By Michael Onzuka
Mike@onzuka.com
The
powerhouse organization known as K-1 has teamed up with promoter
JD Penn to back Rumble on the Rock 6, ROTR's biggest show to
date. Once again, JD puts his famous little brother to work,
this time moving up yet another weight class to the 185 lb. division.
JD Penn was the man who placed his number one ranked 155 lb brother
against then number 2, Takanori Gomi, in this same octagon to
determine who was the best at 155 (Everyone knows BJ won). The
UFC then matched up the Prodigy against the most devastating
force at 170 lbs, Matt Hughes, whom was choked by Penn to claim
the number one spot at 170 lbs. This time Rodrigo Gracie, grandson
of the one of the two brothers that founded Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,
Carlos Gracie, puts his undefeated record on the line as Penn
attempts to climb to the top of the 185 lb division. If BJ does
succeed tomorrow night and a dominate 185 lb fighter is clearly
determined, you can probably bet that may be the next ROTR main
event. This would solidify his place in MMA history as the best
MMA fighter ever, but first a very talented young fighter with
an enormous family history in the fight business wants to de-rail
the BJ Penn train. During the press conference, Rodrigo Gracie,
showed a lot of class by acknowledging Penn's skills and said
that he was looking forward to the fight. BJ, when asked why
was he moving up, stated that he would fight anyone at any weight,
even a 300 pounder because if he got knocked out, he wouldn't
remember it anyway.
This
star studded card also features K-1 superstar Carter Williams
in an MMA match with the Green Beret Tom Howard. UFC veterans
Wes "The Project" Sims faces a lesser known Antoni
Hardonk and Hawaii's own Cabbage Correira is locked up in a heated
battle with Yoshihiro Nakao. There seems to be a little grudge
going on here. Cabbage needs a win badly to get his career back
on track as he attempts to raise his stock in the heavyweight
division. Rodrigo's second cousin and one of the most successful
grapplers of all time, BJJ black belt and Abu Dhabi world champion,
Royler Gracie, makes his Hawaii fighting debut after a brutal
loss to Genki Sudo in the last K-1 event. Royler thanked K-1
for giving him another opportunity and will face 2000 Sydney
Olympian, freestyle wrestler Kazuyuki Miyata who will be making
his fighting debut. Dennis "Superman" Hallman jumped
in after a number of opponents dropped out for local boy, Ross
"Da Boss" Ebanez. Ebanez, who usually fights at 170
agreed to fight at 180 to match Hallman. Hallman stated that
he has been working a lot on his upper body Karate which he plans
to use tomorrow night and after the fight he will be looking
for a lady to practice some lower body Karate. Ex-pro-wrestler,
Sean O'Hare had some funky hair and dropped 20 pounds to fight
a very small, but rugged Shungo Oyama. The fight of the night
may be the first fight were BJ Penn's Kaynan Kaku challenges
one the fastest raising fighters at 155, Cesar Gracie's Gil Melendez.
Both fighters come in with undefeated records and may possibly
make a jump to fight the division's best at 155 in a fight or
two.
Ticket sales have been going through the roof and the big screen
had to be taken down to add more seats to satisfy the Hawaii
fans. Other notables at the press conference were Kid Peligro,
Renato Barreto (Royler Black Belt), Claudio Coelho (Royler's
boxing coach), Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, newly crowned
Pancrase champ, TK Tsuyoshi Kosaka, and Pride veteran Gilbert
Yvel. ROTR has brought in Bruce Buffer to announce for the event
to solidify that he is the voice of the octagon(s) and Larry
Landless to referee. At the end of the press conference, K-1
revealed that the headline fight for the huge end of year show
would be none other than Hawaiian Chad "Akebono" Rowen
vs Royce Gracie. Both fighters showed mutual respect for each
other and Royce even joked that his strategy was to just survive
against the mountain of a man, Sumo Yokozuma (or Grand Champion)
Akebono. This is one of the biggest weight differential for quite
some time with Royce coming in at a lean 185 lbs and Akebono
listed at 460 lbs. Yours truly will be doing the color commentary
with Ryan Bennett and I will be looking forward to a number of
fights on this card as well as the main event. Stay tuned to
FCF for the full write up.
Rumble
on the Rock 6 Fight Card Tonight!
11/20/04
Neil Blaisdell Arena
Come
early because I can guarantee that traffic will be a nightmare
because of the large attendence!
Fight
Card
BJ
Penn (180 lbs) vs Rodrigo Gracie (182 lbs)
Carter Williams (249 lbs) vs Tom Howard (239 lbs)
Royler Gracie (155 lbs) vs Kazuyuki Miyata (150.5 lbs)
Wesley "Cabbage" Correria (268 lbs) vs Yoshihiro Nakao
(227 lbs)
Sean O'Hare (245 lbs) vs Shungo Oyama (204.5 lbs)
Juda A'Alona (236.5 lbs) vs Spencer "Aitor" Canup (204.5
lbs)
Mike Malone (214 lbs) vs Kristof Midoux (224 lbs)
Wes Sims (251 lbs) vs Antoni Hardonk (239 lbs)
Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez (178 lbs) vs Dennis Hallman (179
lbs)
Kaynan Kaku (154.5 lbs) vs Gilbert Melendez (154.5 lbs)

Rodrigo Gracie vs BJ Penn |

Tom Howard vs Carter Williams |

Kazuyuki Miyata vs Royler Gracie |

Yoshihiro Nakao vs Cabbage Correira |

Shungo Oyama vs Sean O'Hare |

Juda A'Alona vs Spencer "Aitor"
Canup |

Kristof Midoux vs Mike Malone |

Antoni Hardonk vs Wes Sims |

Dennis Hallman vs Ross Ebanez |

Akebono Chad Rowen vs Royce Gracie |

TK Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Gilbert Yvel, &
Larry Landless |

The Press Pit |
My apologies
to Kaynan Kaku and Gil Melendez. The pictures I took did not
come out. |
Falaniko
Vitale Added
to Already Stellar Super Brawl Card!

Hawaiian Sensation Falaniko Vitale will fight Cincanatti's Ron
Fields on the December 11, Super Brawl Ultimate card.
Source: Event Promoter |
Rumble
on the Rock Tonight!
Kid Peligro Jiu-Jitsu News . . . Rumble on the Rock Edition
by: Kid Peligro / ADCC JJ Editor
Rumble
On The Rock Set to Rock Hawaii
The
weight in and press conference for ROTR show was held Friday
November 19th. ROTR is set to raise their event to a new level
and whoever had not realised that by the stature of the names
of the fighters in their card, had to see that they were serious
when none other than 'The Voice of MMA', Bruce Buffer, entered
the conference room to start the weight in meeting.
All
the fighters appeared ready to rock, main event stars Rodrigo
Gracie weighed in at 182.0 while BJ Penn surprised everyone weighting
in at 180.5. The weight in was the first opportunity for some
of the fighters to see their opponents up close and from the
look of things some fireworks are ready to go of! Cabbage had
the day's staredown with his opponent and Rodrigo and BJ exchanged
some very intense looks. A couple of hours later at the press
conference fighters lined up for the press core, whe aksed by
the press core about going up in weight yet once again BJ Penn
stated: ' I am ready to fight anyone at any weight! If I get
knocked out fighting a 300 pounder it won't matter!'
Then
the announcement of the day came, K1 New Year's will feature
Royce Gracie v Akebono! Both legendary fighters in their own
specialty, their careers exploded at the same time in the early
90's and both professed admiration for each other. When asked
about why he would fight someone 2 and a half times his weight
Royce quickly responded: 'It is the challenge, I like to have
challenges!'
Akebono
for his part stated: 'I want to thank K1 for setting this up
nad thank Royce for being my opponent. at this point I don't
have my strategy down but I have time.'
Tonight
in Honololu, the fireworks begin at 7:00 PM local time
Kid
Peligro reporting from location:
Hawaii! Objective: covering
Rumble on the Rock's greatest card ever.
After
arriving in Hawaii on Tuesday Kid was quickly hauled away to
for (professional surfer) Andy Iron's rave celebrating his 3rd
consecutive World Title. The party, hosted and organized by BJJ
Black Kai Garcia, had some of the top surfers and fighters of
the island talking story etc. Details of the party remain sketchy,
suffice to say it was open bar and open chow but everyone at
the party was talking about the upcoming ROTR.
On
to the event info:
Earlier
in the day Rodrigo Gracie was doing some last minute training
adjustments with friend and sparring partner Matt Serra at Jason
Izaguirre's Gracie Kailua's Academy. BJ Penn has been preparing
for the fighting the Big Island and is due to arrive in Honolulu
Thursday night. BJ has been making the rounds promoting his fight
in local TV and print, one of his interviews was featured in
the sports page of the Islnds paper. ROTR is already a sellout
and is showing on Pay-per-view in 6 Countries.
Thursday
morning the last of the fighters arrived at the event Hotel and
organizers, JD Penn and many of the event sponsors were going
full bore to make sure everyone was taken care of. JD and ROTR
people want to make sure this is an epic event and that it will
project their event to the highest level. Event Sponsor Da Hui,
had two of his top guys, Leif and Cliff, in the lobby making
sure everyone was feeling welcomed and taking care of any missing
details. Da Hui is not only sponsoring the event but also sponsoring
'Local Phenom' BJ Penn.
Terere
Update
This
past Tuesday, Fernando Terere had his day in court. Terere was
sentenced to 2 months in prison for his Federal Offense in relation
to the incident on a flight from Miami to Rio. The sentence was
considered a victory by Terere´s lawyers and friends and
his record for his work with needy communities was a big help
and was taken into account by the presiding judge. Terere was
given credit for time served and should be released in 2 weeks.
Terere's
family and friends want to thank all that supported him throughout
this ordeal.
Source: ADCC
|
Rumble
on the Rock 6 - Preview
by James Hirth

Kaynan
Kaku vs. Gilbert Melendez
KAKU:
Undefeated Hawaiian fighter Kaynan Kaku out of BJ Penn's MMA
camp has a record of 5-0. "Da Monsta" (a.k.a. "The
Barbarian") Kaku is a four-time ROTR veteran and has beaten
solid competition in the form of RITC/KOTC veteran Santino Defranco
and KOTC/Superbrawl veteran Harris Sarmiento.
MELENDEZ:
Cesar Gracie fighter and WEF Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez
is 7-0 in MMA and a three-time World Extreme Cagefighting veteran.
You can get a look at the colorful lightweight on the Rumble
on the Rock 4 DVD on sale here at Sherdog.com. He took the upset
victory over Stephen Palling, stopping "Bozo" via strikes
from the mount with just a few ticks left in the second round.
Gilbert also stopped WEC poster boy Olaf Alfonso with strikes
on the ground in the third round to take the lightweight title.
His style, much like his look, is somewhat wild but he possesses
good takedowns and uses his elbows effectively on the mat.
MY
PICK: As the saying goes, "one of the 0's has to go."
Both fighters have comparable experience and have faced more
seasoned competition that the opponent in front of them, so it
may take few rounds to settle this one. Melendez is riding high
and I feel he has the edge.
Ross
Ebanez vs. Dennis Hallman
EBANEZ:
Also fighting out of BJ Penn's MMA camp is Ross Ebanez. Ross
"Da Boss" (these guys must all be Chicago Bears fans
or something with all "da" monikers) is 6-1 in MMA
with his biggest wins coming over Pride veteran Shannon Ritch
and Hallman stable-mate Eddy Ellis. Ebanez's only loss came at
the hands of then 808 Fight Factory member Nassor Lewis by decision
at ROTR 1.
HALLMAN:
Newly recognized American Top Team fighter Dennis Hallman is
on board as a late replacement for Antonio Inoki fighter Luciano
Nogueira. Hallman has an extensive MMA career with a record of
52-9-4 and three UFC appearances. The 1994 Washington state wrestling
champion and Ultimate Ring Challenge promoter is a former member
of the AMC Pankration camp and originally a student of Matt Hume.
"Superman" Hallman has been training with Benji Radach,
Aaron Riley, Paul Purcell, Joey Guel and Eddy Ellis as part of
the Victory Athletics team and will now help UFC veteran Jeff
Monson run the new ATT location in Washington.
Hallman
is best known for his pair of impressive submission wins over
UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes. And when Dennis loses,
it usually takes one of the best in the division to beat him.
The list includes Jens Pulver, Dave Menne, Caol Uno and Frank
Trigg (twice). Hallman has scored two submission victories since
his UFC loss to Trigg last June.
MY
PICK: With Ebanez's penchant for stopping people with strikes
and Hallman's ability to pull submissions out of a hat, we could
have a scrap worth remembering. Even with the short notice, I
have to think Hallman's experience will shine through.
Wes
Sims vs. Antoni Hardonk
SIMS:
"The Project" Wes Sims attempts to end 2004 on a positive
note as he recovers from a four-fight slide. Sims got back on
the winning track in September at Extreme Fighting Challenge
9 (just five days after his knockout loss to Ricardeau Francois
at the Apex show) by beating Joe Mellotte with strikes.
The
Hammer House wrestler trains with Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman
and brings a 7-5 record in MMA. With his four consecutive losses
dating back to his DQ loss to Frank Mir at UFC 43, his most recent
win prior to the EFC bout dates back to December of 2002. There
he won the HOOK'n'SHOOT Absolute Fighting heavyweight championship
by defeating UFC veteran Marcus Silveira. Sims has shown some
rare skills for a big man, the ability to apply submissions and
proven difficult to submit. He also works to finish the bout,
having only gone the distance once in his debut against UFC triple-crown
winner Dan Severn.
HARDONK:
Antoni Hardonk trains in Holland at the Johan Vos Gym with Ernesto
Hoost, Jerrel Venetiaan, Ivan Hippolyte and Clyde Petres. Hardonk
was an accomplished swimmer in his youth and took up kickboxing
and jiu-jitsu at age 16. At 9-3, "The Monk" has a fair
amount of MMA experience and has fought for both the RINGS Organization
and K-1 MMA.
MY
PICK: Hardonk is not as big as Sims (about 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds),
but he has the same amount of experience and may be the better
overall athlete. Is big Wes back on track or will his bad luck
against seemingly overmatched competition continue to haunt him?
Sims needs the win. That's why I think he'll find a way to fall
to the Dutchman.
Falaniko Vitale vs. Kristof Midoux
VITALE:
Falaniko Vitale is a Kaneohe, Hawaii native submission fighter
with four years of Brazilian jiu-jitsu training and kickboxing
experience. "Niko" played wide receiver at the University
of Hawaii and went on to play in the Arena Football League. Before
he took up fighting, Falaniko wrestled and took jiu-jitsu from
Kelly Matsukawa at the Kaneohe Jiu-Jitsu Klub. He has trained
with Ronald Jhun and the Jesus is Lord/SWAT team, Joe Silva from
Waimanalo Kickboxing and with Egan Inoue at Grappling Unlimited.
With
an 18-3 record in MMA, Vitale is a veteran of King of the Cage,
Universal Combat Challenge, Rage in the Cage, Warriors Quest,
RINGS USA, and a longtime fixture in Superbrawl. The two-time
UFC veteran split a pair of bouts with wrestler Matt Lindland
and has won three bouts in a row (including a decision win over
Dave Menne) since his UFC 45 appearance. Falaniko has stopped
Aaron Riley, John Renken and Justin Ellison with strikes and
finished Dennis Reed, Sean McCully and Tyrone Roberts by submission.
MIDOUX:
"The French Hurricane" Kristof Midoux (a.k.a. "The
Phoenix") fights on K-1 fighter Jerome LeBanner's Xtreme
Team. He has trained at the Versace Gym with Fofo and with Christian
Bruzat in Russian Sambo. Kristof's UCC Team includes Sean Peters,
Stephan Potvin, Jonathon Goulet and Yan Pellerin. Midoux had
a serious car accident in 2000 after the BJJ Pan-Am Championship.
A truck hit him from behind, breaking two bones in his neck and
nearly ending his career. He made a miraculous recovery and continues
to practice BJJ and Kyokushin Karate. Kristof has trained at
the Elite Training Center for many years and competed in Abu
Dhabi against UFC veteran Sean Alvarez, losing in the overtime
period.
The
Frenchman has a 3-4 record in MMA and is a three-time IFC veteran
(lost to Travis Fulton by KO) and a veteran of the former UCC,
now called TKO (lost to Jeremy Horn by submission). Last year
he battled Mirko Filipovic trainer Fabricio Werdum (losing by
submission) and most recently fought in the K-1 Dynamite show
last New Year's Eve against ROTR 6 card-mate Tom Howard (winning
by rear-choke).
MY
PICK: This could be one of the more exciting fights of the undercard.
Weight may be a factor here as Midoux (who will have LeBanner
in his corner) usually fights heavyweight or light heavyweight
and the seasoned Vitale is a solid middleweight. "Niko"
in Hawaii is usually a sure thing. With Midoux's spotty record,
I think Vitale takes it by submission.
Kurt
Kipapa vs. Aitor Canup
KIPAPA:
Making his MMA debut is Hawaiian Kurt Kipapa, a student of former
Sumo Grand Champion Chad "Akebono" Rowan and leader
of Team Akebono. "Akebono" will be facing Pride veteran
Bob Sapp under MMA rules on the eagerly anticipated K-1 New Year's
Eve show. As you can tell from that unwarranted plug, I know
very little about Kipapa.
CANUP:
Aitor Canup is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under Royce Gracie
and Muay Thai kickboxer. "Spenser" Canup, an AMMA instructor,
fights out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina under Greg Thompson
and has a 16-1 record in MMA.
Aitor
has fought in the Battle of Seven Hills, Kickfest, Battlejax,
The Gauntlet Trials, The Kaizen Challenge and The Dangerzone.
He finally made it to a more mainstream show this year, making
his King of the Cage debut last February against Jason Keaton
at KOTC 34 (and won by rear-choke).
MY
PICK: With "Akebono" in his corner, Kipapa should have
more confidence in his first time out but can he compete with
far more experienced Canup? I don't think so. He's a Gracie disciple
with Muay Thai skills. That's a lot to ask in your first go.
Sean
O'Haire vs. Shungo Oyama
O'HAIRE:
Former WWE/WCW and current UPW professional wrestler Sean O'Haire
is 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds. He has an extensive martial arts
background, having trained karate with Jerry Mills, Muay Thai
with Philip Nurse, kung fu with Tim Quickmeier and submission
grappling with Rick Davis. O'Haire is part of the Valor Fighting
camp of pro wrestlers who actually fight for real. Teamed with
Eddy Millis and the Shark Tank, O'Haire along with fellow wrestlers
Tom Howard, Stefan Gamlin, Sylvester Terkay, Nathan Jones and
others are fighting under the Valor banner as part of Team UPW.
Sean
carries a 9-0 record in MMA (I've seen it reported as high as
17-0 but that's unsubstantiated) and a 10-0 record in kickboxing.
The bouts have been in small underground shows in Florida and
North Carolina but now he is set to follow Howard, Gamlin and
Terkay and make his big-time debut on a K-1 card.
OYAMA:
Shungo Oyama is a sambo and judo stylist who trains out of Hiranaka's
Gym in Okinawa Japan. He is the winner of the 2000 All Japan
Amateur Shooto light-heavyweight championship and the 2000 All
Japan Sambo Championship. He has represented Takada Dojo and
worked out with Hidehiko Yoshida, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Hirotaka
Yokoi.
No
one will ever say "that Oyama, all he ever does is take
easy fights." In the past three years he has faced Dan Henderson,
Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Filipovic, Renzo Gracie, Ryan Gracie,
Wallid Ismael and undefeated UFC veteran Philip Miller. The tragedy
is he started out strong and could've been huge with the proper
management. Shungo debuted in MMA in the U.S. at King of the
Cage 7 with a knockout victory over Pride competitor Mike Bourke.
He has always shown a lot of toughness but his main weakness
appears to be his inability to say "no" to anyone.
At 2-6, his best bouts may be behind him, but no opponent will
ever forget they fought him.
MY
PICK: This one will fall along the lines of Sapp-Nogueira, Schilt-Kondo
and Silva-Herring. All of those bouts were competitive, if just
for a moment or two. If O'Haire is a big man who can actually
move, K-1 has struck gold. If he's all hype, Oyama will bag himself
a pro wrestler. I have to think O'Haire knows what he's doing
so I think he'll stop Oyama with a slam and follow up good ol'
traditional ground-and-pound.
Wesley
Correira vs. Yoshihiro Nakao
CORREIRA:
Wesley Correira is 20-6 in MMA and an islander who went through
the local tough guys easily. From 2000 to 2002, he was a regular
on SuperBrawl cards and has gone back to fight there on occasion
as well as appearing on the ROTR 1,3 and 5 cards. Correira is
known for his huge rock-hard head and possesses ultra-fast hands
for a big man.
He
has stopped Aaron Brink, Travis Wiuff, Kauai Kupihea and Joe
Riggs with strikes and took Justin Eilers the distance in a war.
He was submitted early in his career by both Eric Pele and Travis
Fulton. "Cabbage" had an impressive UFC debut, even
in defeat, against Tim Sylvia and scored back-to-back wins over
Sean Alvarez and David Abbott before being dropped by Andrei
Arlovski in a last-minute match-up. His last bout, a loss to
Pride (and almost UFC) veteran John Marsh at ROTR 3, went the
distance and had many feeling Correira was out of shape.
NAKAO:
Yoshihiro Nakao is the 2001 and 2002 Emperor's Cup All Nippon
Freestyle Wrestling Champion for the 97-kilogram division. Nakao
was also the Meiji Dairies Cup All Nippon Freestyle Wrestling
Champion of the 97-kg division in 2002 and in the 96-kg division
in 2003. He was a tentative 2003 World Championships of Freestyle
Wrestling entry and was showcased at a Shin Takanawa press conference
(lifting up the K-1 event producer to show his "power")
as a new force in sport fighting.
In
Nakao's MMA debut, he battled Barcelona Olympics Judo Gold Medallist
David Khakhaleishvili in the K-1 New Years Eve show. The judo
champion showed some striking ability on the feet early in the
fight but when Nakao grounded him with a single-leg takedown
he was able to finish him with strikes on the mat. He returned
to face Don Frye at the K-1 Romanex show in May of this year.
The bout was stopped when the fighters cracked heads, opening
a large cut on Frye's forehead and calling a halt to the bout
in the first round.
MY
PICK: Nakao may be tough but I doubt he can hang with "Cabbage,"
especially fighting on his home turf where the crowd will pump
him up. This fight is about redemption and getting back on track
for a title. Correira will stop him with strikes.
Royler
Gracie vs. Yoshihiro Nakao
GRACIE:
Royler Gracie, the 5-foot-8 150-pound brother of UFC champion
Royce, is the five-time BJJ World Champion and five-time Abu
Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Champion. Gracie, a 6th Degree
black belt, began training the family style when he was 3 and
has won grappling titles since the age of 7. He began fighting
MMA in 1996 and fought twice beating Ivan Lee and Noboru Asahi.
His Pride bout was against Takada Dojo's Yuhi Sano (who is 0-4
in MMA) and he submitted the Japanese wrestler via armbar after
more than half an hour of combat. It would be Royler's last win
in MMA as he went on to face Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride 8 in a
bout rife with controversy. Gracie never tapped to the shoulder
lock submission but the referee gave Sak the victory. Royler
had a draw in DEEP with shootboxer Takehiro Murahama and was
knocked out by Japanese superstar Genki Sudo at the K-1 Romanex
show last May.
In
addition to his professional fighting career, Royler is also
known for his hotel brawl with Luta Livre fighter Eugenio Tadeu
(who was scheduled to meet Ralph Gracie in Extreme Fighting years
ago). Royler had been working boxing with Claudio Coelho and
sharpening his ground game with BJJ black belt Vinicius Aieda.
He represents Gracie Humaita and brings a MMA record of 3-2-1.
MIYATA:
Kazuyuki Miyata is a wrestler who represented Japan in the Sydney
Olympics (Matt Lindland, Heath Sims, Alexandre Karelin, Rulon
Gardner and Ibragim Magomedov all wrestled there). He is rumored
to have a 7-1-4 record in MMA and will be making his professional
debut at ROTR 6. The word on Miyata is that he is a solid grappler
with explosive hands.
MY
PICK: Royler has not been one of the more dominating Gracies
in the fight game. He has not won an MMA fight since '98 and
is 0-2-1 in his last three outings so it is no sure thing. However,
Miyata couldn't help but be somewhat intimidated facing a Gracie.
Royler got caught by one of the best at his weight when he fought
Sudo. He has been training consistently so he should be able
to take out Miyata or at 39, this may be the last time we see
him in the ring.
Carter Williams vs. Tom Howard
WILLIAMS:
Carter Williams won the K-1 World GP 2003 championship in Las
Vegas defeating Michael McDonald, Yusuke Fujimoto and Rick Roufus.
He has also faced Alexey Ignashov, Ray Sefo, Dewey Cooper and
Mighty Mo (from the same Shark Tank as Howard). Williams carries
a 36-9 record in kickboxing and was both the W.K.A. North American
super-heavyweight champion and the I.K.F. US Amateur super-heavyweight
Muay Thai champion. He is 2-1 in MMA and fights for Team Voo
Doo.
Carter
won his MMA debut in 2002 by submission defeating Gary Marshall
at IFC 17. He followed it by competing in the Gladiator Challenge
13 eight-man tournament where he beat Dan Quinn with strikes
in the quarterfinals and lost to tournament champion Jamie Jara
in the semifinals.
HOWARD:
Pro-wrestler Tom Howard is the former UPW heavyweight champion
and former NWA Intercontinental Tag Team champion as well as
competing for both the Zero One and WWE promotions. These things
mean very little in the sport of MMA. However Howard, known as
"The Green Beret,", is 6-foot-4 and 260 pound, and
has an extensive martial arts background. Tom studied Russian
Sambo and Korean Hwa Rang Do as well as both freestyle and Greco-Roman
wrestling. In 1996, Howard began training MMA with Gokor Chivichyan
and Gene LeBell and in 1998 he started the Ultimate Pro Wrestling/Ultimate
University program with Rick Bassman (Extreme University) and
began training with Mark Kerr, Mark Coleman, Oleg Taktarov and
Kimo Leopoldo.
He
is currently part of the Valor Fighting camp of pro-wrestlers
along with Sylvester Terkay, Stefan Gamlin, Sean O'Haire and
Nathan Jones as part of Team UPW. They train with Eddy Millis
and the Shark Tank and many of them have already competed in
MMA bouts in K-1 events. Howard made his MMA debut in the K-1
Dynamite 2003 event last New Year's Eve against ROTR card-mate
Kristof Midoux and lost by rear-choke. He returned to the K-1
Romanex show to battle Serjubee Dolgorsuren "The Blue Wolf,"
but again came up short, falling to strikes late in the second
round.
MY
PICK: This could be another exciting match-up. Howard has all
the credentials and has trained with the right people to be a
solid heavyweight, but he has not been able to put it together
in the ring yet. Williams is a little smaller (about 6-foot-2
and 245 pounds) but he has a ton of kickboxing experience compared
to Howard's pro wrestling experience. The ground should tell
it all here. Has Williams worked on his ground game and takedown
counters? Has Howard developed ground skills and will he be able
to keep the kickboxer on the mat? I feel Williams stays on his
feet and does his damage standing for the win.
BJ
Penn vs. Rodrigo Gracie
PENN:
Hawaiian born BJ Penn is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and
trains with the UFC veterans Wesley Correira, Renato Verissimo
and other ROTR fighters as part of BJ Penn's MMA team. He was
given his black belt by Andre Pederneiras and was the first American
to compete at the black belt level in Brazil and win the World
Championships. He began training in Tae Kwon Do and boxing-style
sparring but his TKD teacher pushed him in the direction of Ralph
Gracie. He trained with Ralph and continued to train in Hawaii
with "Charuto" Verissimo.
Penn
debuted in a preliminary bout at UFC 31 against Chicago fighter
Joey Gilbert. BJ dismantled him and the footage of him sitting
in rear mount pounding Gilbert is shown on every highlight of
Penn's UFC career. BJ caught Din Thomas with a knee flush on
the chin in the first round and his most impressive achievement
at the time was his 11-second knockout of top contender Caol
Uno. Penn battled with Jens Pulver and the two battled for five
rounds with the decision going to Pulver. BJ beat Renzo Gracie
product Paul Creighton with strikes and then took a decision
from (Rodrigo Gracie training partner) Matt Serra. He took Caol
Uno to a draw in a rematch and them submitted the top Shooto
fighter in the world, Takanori Gomi, at ROTR 4. The bout showed
the old BJ was back and he followed it up by taking Matt Hughes'
welterweight title at UFC 46 and choked out Duane Ludwig in the
K-1 Romanex show last May.
GRACIE:
Rodrigo Gracie trains with his cousin Renzo Gracie and his team
of fighters including Ricardo Almeida, Matt Serra and Nick Serra
in New York as well as Ricardo "Cachorrao" and Mark
Colangelo. He was born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil and is the son
of Reylson Gracie and grandson of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu founder Carlos
Gracie. He is a four-time NAGA champion and has tapped out "The
Prince of Leg Locks" Robert Ferguson. Before moving to the
U.S., Rodrigo trained for many years under his father and earned
his black belt at 18.
Gracie
attended the first Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships
in 1998 and won the 77-87-kilogram division that year by winning
three bouts. He faced UFC and Pancrase veteran Adrian Serrano
in the opening round and choked him out. Gracie advanced to face
former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton and won their
match on points. In the final he faced Warrior's War and European
Cagefighting veteran Kareem Barklaev and won their half-hour
encounter.
He
was back in Abu Dhabi in 2001. In his opening match he beat UFC
and Pancrase veteran Genki Sudo on points and Australian submission
wrestler Galvin Kupler in the quarterfinals. Brazilian jiu-jitsu
practitioner and eventual divisional title winner Marco Feitosa
Souza beat Rodrigo on points to advance to the semifinals. Gracie
fought for third place against Leonardo Silva Dos Santos but
again lost on points.
Gracie
is 5-0 in MMA and all but one of his wins came against Japanese
opponents. He debuted in Pride 19 submitting Daijiro Matsui and
had fought exclusively for the PFC prior to this bout. He has
fought three quality fighters in the form of Yuki Sasaki, Daiju
Takase and Hayato Sakurai and went the distance with all of them.
MY
PICK: I'd be hard pressed to pick against Penn in his own promotion,
right? The fact is I really think he'll win. Gracie is good,
no doubt about it, but he hasn't fought an aggressive accomplished
grappler like Penn before. Sakurai was his biggest competition
to date, but Hayato now and Hayato two years ago are not the
same thing. Penn, in Hawaii in front of all his crew, will be
electric and nearly impossible to contain. I see BJ submitting
Rodrigo and setting up the showdown with former mentor Ralph
Gracie.
Source: Sherdog |
ADCC
Brazil announces trial's fighters

The ADCC organization has announced four athletes, per category,
which will join the final phase with invitation. All disputes
will be held on December 4 and 5, at Ibirapuera gymnasium, in
São Paulo. The athletes bellow will join to the four finalists
of the first phase of the trial, held on November 27 and 28,
in Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ). Tickets are available R$20 (general
admission) and R$30 (special chair). For ticket information call
Corporis academy at (55-11) 6914-7276) or Kickboxing Brazilian
Confederation at (55-11) 6914-3796).
Confirmed athletes:
Under 66 kg
-Wagney Fabiano;
- Rani Yarhya;
- Fábio Mello;
- Rodrigo Damm;
Under 77 kg
- Daniel Moraes;
- Júnior Buscapé;
- Fabrício Morango;
- Lucas Leite;
Under 88 kg
- Fernando Margarida;
- Rodrigo Comprido;
- Jorge Patino Macaco;
- TBA
Under 99 kg
- Fabiano Capoani;
- Roger Gracie;
- Rubens Macula;
- TBA
Over 99 kg
- Carlão Barreto
- Alex Paez
- Leonardo Leite
- Gabriel Napão
Source: Tatame |
LARRY
HOLMES: 'SHAMROCK WOULDN'T HAVE A CHANCE AGAINST MY JAB'
Heavyweight
boxing icon and former world champion Larry Holmes regularly
answers questions from fans on his messageboard on LarryHolmes.com,
and had some interesting replies when asked about how he'd do
against MMA fighters. Here's what Holmes had to say:
Larry
Holmes on fighting a grappler: To fight a wrestler type you have
to throw jab combinations and right hooks to the body. The body
shots will stop the guy.
Larry
Holmes when asked how he'd do against a grappler such as Ken
Shamrock: If I ever get the chance to fight Ken Shamrock I would
jab and move. Shamrock would not have a chance against my jab.
I would make him move around and throw jabs and right hands for
a few rounds until I stop him in the 8th round. I haven't seen
Ken too much, but I do know he can't handle my jab and right
hand.
Larry
Holmes on how he'd do against Bob Sapp: I would kick Sapp's butt.
He is big but can't fight. Sapp won't fight me because he knows
my jab and right hand will stop him.
Source: Fight Sport |
Fernando
Tererê is on the way home
News about Tererê's case points that BJJ world champion
Fernando Tererê may be back to Brazil in the end of November.
During an audience held two days ago, in US, American Justice
decided to deport Tererê. The decision was celebrated by
the defense.
On the next days, Tererê, who is at FBI Detention Center,
in Miami, will be conducted to emigration and return process
may take 10 to 2 months long. However his return has been expected
by TT leader's family. 'I am very excited about his return and
I don't even know what will be my reaction when I see him for
the first time. I am definitely hugging him and supporting him...
we gonna talk. The attorney said to me he might be home in two
weeks. It was a final decision. My son is free,' celebrated Dona
Helena, Tererê's mother.
Tererê was arrested last October 10 during a United Airlines'
flight on the way to Brazil because he was involved in an altercation
on board. Known as a national fight idol in Brazil and a peace
defender, Tererê is responsible for many social projects
held into poor communities in Rio de Janeiro. He had never got
into trouble and his resume is fulfilled by victories, in life
and on the mat. Team TATAME solidarities with his personal drama
and keep tuned at TATAME.com to know more about his case.
Source: Tatame
|
JAKE
R REPORT: BARONI VS. LAWLER AT UFC 51

Longterm and reliable sources in Iowa have informed this cyber
reporter that Phil Baroni and Robbie Lawler will be squaring
off at UFC 51. As my sourceexplained to me, Dana White is a big
fan of both fighters and wants to see one of them get back on
a winning streak. I was also told that whoever wins this matchup
will be given a push by Zuffa for a later Middleweight title
shot, provided he can win one or two more fights.
As
usual, stick to the Jake R Report, where all the news that is
fit to scoop is printed.
Source: Fight Sport
|
Quote
of the Day
"One cool judgment is worth a dozen hasty councils. The
thing to do is to supply light and not heat."
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 1856-1924, Twenty-eighth President
of the USA
|
Rumble
on the Rock Weigh-ins and Press Conference
Today!
November
20, 2004
Neal Blaisdell Arena
Fights start at 7:30 PM

The official weigh-ins will be held at Rumors Night Club from
12:30 -3:00
with the press
conference to
follow from 4:00-6:00
at Ala Moana Center Stage. This is a great opportunity to meet the big
name fighters that will be on this card including:
Hawaii's own BJ
Penn, currently
the best pound for pound MMA fighter on the planet and BJJ Black
Belt World Champion
One of the most decorated and successful grapplers of all time,
Abu Dhabi and World Black Belt Jiu-Jitsu Champion, Royler Gracie
Undefeated
Pride and K-1 fighter, Rodrigo Gracie
K-1
fighter Carter Williams
WWE
wrestler and MMA fighter, Sean O'Hare
The
monster of a man, Wes "The Project" Sims
The
only man, other than BJ, to submit Matt Hughes, Dennis Hallman
(he is the only man who did it twice)
Top
local fighters Ross
"Da Boss" Ebanez and Kaynan
Kaku
Tentative Fight
Card
BJ
Penn vs Rodrigo Gracie
Carter
Williams vs Tom Howard
Royler
Gracie vs Kazuyuki Miyata
Cabbage
Correria vs Yoshihiro Nakao
Sean
O'Hare vs Shungo Oyama
Kirk
Kipapa vs Spencer Canup
Falaniko
Vitale vs Kristof Midoux
Wes
Sims vs Anthony Hardonk
Ross
Ebanez vs Dennis Hallman
Kaynan
Kaku vs Gilbert Melendez
|
TITO
ORTIZ TO FIGHT VITOR BELFORT IN MAIN EVENT OF UFC 51: SUPER SATURDAY,
ON FEB. 5

Tickets Go On Sale at 10 a.m., Friday, Nov. 19, For 8-Fight,
All-Star Card at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas
LAS
VEGAS -- In a fight many Ultimate Fighting Championship®
fans have waited more than three years to see, The Huntington
Beach Bad Boy Tito Ortiz will step into the Octagon Feb.
5, 2005 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Events Center
to fight Brazilian star Vitor The Phenom Belfort
in the main event of UFCâ 51: Super Saturday. Tickets for
the all-star fight card go on sale at 10 a.m. (PST) Friday, Nov.
19, at the Mandalay Bay Box Office (877-632-7400) in Las Vegas,
at all Ticketmaster locations, and on the internet at www.ticketmaster.com
and www.mandalaybay.com.
Tickets
for this event are priced at $350, $250, $150, $75 and $35. To
order tickets by telephone call 877-880-0880 or 702-891-7777.
Ticket purchases are subject to transaction fees. UFCâ
51: Super Saturday will be available LIVE on pay-per-view at
10 p.m. EST on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu
and Viewers Choice Canada. The suggested retail price is $29.95.
Ortiz
(12-4-0 in mixed martial arts) from Huntington Beach, Ca., is
determined to defeat Belfort (12-4-0) from Sao Paulo, Brazil,
in a bout that should have taken place more than three years
ago on Sept. 28, 2001 at the same venue, the Mandalay
Bay Events Center.
Ortiz-Belfort
was set to be the main event of UFC 33: Victory in Vegas, but
had to be canceled two weeks prior to fight night when Belfort
sustained a serious right elbow injury while training. Vladimir
Matyushenko, a tough competitor, stepped in on short notice to
replace Belfort, but Ortiz was too strong and retained the UFC
World Light Heavyweight Championship by judges decision.
Ortiz later lost the title to Randy The Natural Couture
at UFC 44: Undisputed.
In the meantime, Belfort recovered from his injury and went on
to defeat Couture to win the championship belt at UFC 46: Super
Natural. Belfort caught Couture with a glancing left hook in
the first 30 seconds of the fight that opened a deep cut under
Coutures left eye. As the fighters clinched, referee John
McCarthy stopped the fight at the :48 mark so Nevada State Athletic
Commission doctors could check the cut. Couture suffered a corneal
abrasion that impaired his vision and NSAC doctors advised that
Couture could not continue.
Coutures
eye injury healed and he returned to recapture the championship
belt from Belfort at UFC 49: Unfinished Business.
Each
fighter now hopes to improve his future by winning this big match
from the past -- one that fans have talked about, dreamed about,
and hoped would take place ever since its disappointing cancellation.
It has been three-plus years in the making, but it is here now.
Both fighters are already promising a swift and decisive victory,
and fans are anxiously waiting to see this dream match-up take
place.
The
remaining all-star bouts of UFC 51: Super Saturday will be announced
in the coming weeks.
Look
for UFCs reality television show The Ultimate Fighter to
premier Jan. 17 on Spike TV. Follow 16 fighters each Monday night
for 13 exciting episodes as they train, workout and live together.
At the end of each week, one fighter from each of the two teams
must fight in the Octagon® to avoid being kicked out of the
UFC Training Center until only two remain in each of the
two weight divisions. In the end, The Ultimate Fighter
will be decided by a competition match -- a head-to-head fight
to the finish inside the Octagon.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship, based in Las Vegas, Nev., is
the worlds premier mixed martial arts sports association.
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the UFC programs six live pay-per-view
events yearly through cable and satellite providers. In addition,
UFC programs are distributed on iNDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network,
TVN, Fox Sports Net, Bell ExpressVu and internationally through
Viewers Choice Canada, WOWOW, Inc., in Japan and Globosat in
Brazil.
Zuffa,
LLC, licenses the distribution of UFC video games through Crave
Entertainment and Take Two TDK Mediactive, its fight show DVDs
through Studioworks Entertainment, a Ventura Distribution company
and its music CDs are published by Nitrus Records/DRT Entertainment,
the official publisher of UFC music. Ultimate Fighting
Championship, Ultimate Fighting, UFC,
Submission, As Real As It Gets and the
Octagon cage design are registered trademarks or trademarks owned
exclusively by Zuffa, LLC, in the U.S., Japan and other jurisdictions.
All other marks that may be referenced herein belong to their
respective holders.
Locate
the UFC on the internet at http://www.ufc.tv.
Source: ADCC
|
Preview
-
JAPAN's NEW YEAR's EVE SHOWS HEATING UP!
Saitama Super Arena 'Man Festival 2'
December 31st, 2004
NOTE:
The source of some of this data is http://www.puroresupower.com/ a phenomenal site
featuring Zach Arnold, with an intense focus on the Japanese
MMA and pro wrestling scene.
PRIDE
has announced several matches for their upcoming New Year's Eve
event. This line-up doesn't include Japanese stars Sanae Kikuta,
Yuki Kondo, and Yoshiki Takahashi, all who are rumored to be
entertaining offers.
Speculative
Lineup (Subject To Change):
-
Dokonjonosuke Mishima vs. Jens Pulver
- Dan Henderson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
- Takanori Gomi vs. Luis Buscape
- Takashi Sugiura vs. Giant Silva
- Naoya Ogawa vs. Sentoryu (Henry Miller)
- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
- Vanderlei Silva vs. TBA (Kosei Inoue or Keiji Suzuki - Judo
stars)
- Mirko Cro Cop vs. Mark Hunt
- Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Rulon Gardner
PRIDE
GP 2004 Championship & PRIDE Heavyweight Title Match:
- Emelianenko Fedor vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Meanwhile,
the Japanese scene braces itself for K-1 and Antonio Inoki's
event, Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2004, which will be running on New Year's
eve as well. On November 13th, Inoki made an appearance at a
Japanese pro wrestling event to begin promotion for the card
- Akebono, Bobby Orogon, and Yoshihiro Akiyama were accompanying
Inoki, and Naoya Ogawa participated in the pro wrestling Main
Event. There is also speculation that 5-0 star Lyoto Machida,
who has been absent from action since May of 2004, will return
for the New year's eve event. At the 2003 event, Machida defeated
highly regarded Rich Franklin.
There
are also beginning to be rumors about 'headhunting', as Inoki
is said to have a lot of money to put this event together, and
he is looking to procure talent. Heath Herring, a 17-yime PRIDE
veteran who is said to be contractless with PRIDE right now,
may be first on the list to sign.
Source: ADCC
|
BRUCE
BUFFER IS SET TO 'RUMBLE ON THE ROCK'
The
'Voice of MMA' is off to Hawaii to announce the 'Rumble on the
Rock' Saturday night Nov. 20th at the Neil Blaisdell Center in
Honolulu. With an exciting card featuring BJ Penn squaring off
against Rodrigo Gracie, who will be going for his sixth straight
win, Bruce Buffer has accepted the call to make the call.
'The
'Rumble on the Rock' card is action packed with excellent match-ups
and of course I am going to be a huge MMA fan sitting ringside
watching BJ
Penn and
Rodrigo Gracie go for it all. This is going to be a combination
of work and pleasure for me both as an MMA fan and as a surfer.
I will be working and doing what I love at night in the fighting
arena, but be assured I will also head up to the North Shore
for some classic Hawaiian surf during the day.' states Bruce
Buffer.
Source: ADCC
|
King
Of the Cage
Results
San Jacinto, CA -- The evening of November 14th turned into a
long one at King Of The Cage's debut at sixty million households
for their pay-per-view broadcasts. For almost six hours most
of the biggest names in the current KOTC stable fought for a
range of career goals, most notably the five titles on the line.
For some of the fighters it was enough to be on pay-per-view
in what is said to be literally every household in the United
States while for others it was a significant turning point, such
as for KOTC hype machine Krazy Horse, AKA Charles Bennett. Benett
was the largest of the non-title fights and he showed improved
work on the ground if a more cautious approach but after slamming
has way out of two submission attempts the third time Dave Hisquierdo
got the triangle from the top position to finish the fight and
possibly Krazy Horse's dreams of international stardom for now.
The
title fights had some changes along the way with defending champion
Eric Pele dropping off the card leaving opponent "Scary"
Jerry Vrbanovic to fight Kadillac Marshbanks for a superfight
belt as opposed to the original Unlimited belt. Vrbanovic also
looked improved on the ground and much of his spare tire from
last year seems to have been sculpted into upper-body muscle
since his losses to Mike Kyle and Ron Waterman. Marshbanks won
the majority decision largely due to impressive takedowns and
damage from strikes on the ground.
Paul
Buentello returned to KOTC to defend his Heavyweight title for
the first time. Not much can be said about his 0:45 TKO over
Bo Cantrell other than they went toe to toe standing and Buentello
got the better of Cantrell.
Uriah
Faber, the Gladiator Challenge Bantamweight Champion, took the
vacated KOTC belt in an exciting defeat over Eban Kaneshiro. Uriah is known as a headhunter on
the ground that critical fans say isn't known for controlling
the positions before unleashing barrages of strikes while fans
that praise Uriah view it as Uriah strikes before an opponent
is used to strikes coming in and from unorthodox angles, resulting
in an accumulation of blows that so far have always won him fights.
Takumi/Kohler
was one of the most evenly matched fights of the night, with
Takumi walking away with the belt in a fight where he for most
of the fight controlled the top position on the ground.
The
crowd did not like the judges' decision that gave James Fanshier
the Welterweight belt over Thomas Denny. Denny controlled the
takedowns and James did more damage with strikes in a very close
fight but it was probably the dominant first round by Fanshier
that won him the fight. As the bell rang Denny was stunned or
even knocked out, leading many to jump to the wrong conclusion
the fight was over. Denny recovered between rounds and got his
gameplan going in the second but that dominant round was probably
the edge that won Fanshier the title.
Look
for a full report in an upcoming issue of Full Contact Fighter.
Ray
Lazama def. Carlos Jimenez 4:31 R1 by choke
Mike Guymon def. Joe Frainee 2:22 R1 by TKO
Russ Muira def. Abe Hiroyuki 2:29 R1 by disqualification (knees
to head)
Randy Velarde def. Robert Emerson by majority decision (2 rounds)
Shonie Carter def. John Cronk 5:00 by TKO (doctor stoppage between
rounds)
Anthony Ruiz def. Brian Sesma 5:00 R1 (doctor stoppage between
rounds)
Cal Worsham def. Will Scott 0:52 R1 by TKO
Dave Hisquierdo def. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett
1:56 R2 by triangle choke
Kadillac Marshbanks def. "Scary" Jerry Vrbanovic by
majority decision (3 rounds)
Marshbanks is new KOTC Unlimited Superfight Champion
Uriah Faber def. Eban
Kaneshiro
4:33 R3 by TKO
Faber is new KOTC Bantamweight Champion
Takumi Nakayama def. Charlie Kohler 2:36 R2 by TKO
Takumi is new KOTC Lightweight Champion
James Fanshier def. Thomas Denny by split decision
Fanshie is new KOTC Welterweight Champion
Paul Buentello def. Bo Cantrell 0:45 R1 by TKO
Buentello retains KOTC Heavyweight belt
Frankie Bollinger def. Billy Thompson 1:47 R1 by submission to
strikes
Fernando Gonzalez def. Reggie Orr 2:38 R1 by verbal submission
(toe dislocation)
Robert Breslin def. Frank Guerrero 4:17 R1 by rear choke
Sost Infante def. Jose Ramirez 0:28 R2 by TKO (doctor stoppage)
Jeff Clark def. Tony Llamas 0:45 R1 by submission
Alex Rickards def. Paul Karsky 3:42 R1 by submission
Source: FCF
|
'CRO
COP' VS. RANDLEMAN POSSIBILITY

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
The
Japanese media is reporting that a Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic
vs. Kevin Randleman matchup may now be taking place on the PRIDE
card on December 31st.
Source: Fight Sport |
A
MESSAGE FROM PRIDE

PRIDE president Sakakibara spoke with the Japanese media and
had the following statement to say regarding their show on December
31st:
"I
think the fighters that fight today understand the style of fighting
that we are looking for. PRIDE fighters live for fighting. They
need to fight. I think that was what motivated them to give us
these great matches.
I'd
like to set up a rematch between Josh (Barnett) and Mirko (Filipovic)
as soon as possible but that will depend on Josh's shoulder and
the will of the two fighters. If they are in shape to do it,
New Year's Eve would be fine.
DSE
is proud to have (Vanderlei) Silva as our Champion and we want
to show our respect for him. Those at the top often lose their
motivation but, even now, he stoically continues to become stronger.
Because Silva is that kind of guy, he doesn't want to have an
easy match on New Year's Eve. He himself said that he wants 'to
fight a heavyweight', so it may be a heavyweight that he fights.
I
would like to see UFC fighters participate in next year's Middleweight
Grand Prix. Last year, Chuck Liddell participated. Next time,
I hope that Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort and Tito Ortiz will
participate. We plan on beginning negotiations with the UFC from
tomorrow.
I
believe that (Rulon) Gardner will train under Dan Henderson and
be in shape by the day of the fight. I'm sure he has a lot of
strength when grappling and there are many dangers for (Hidehiko)
Yoshida if the fight goes to the ground.
I'm
not really considering (Naoya) Ogawa for the New Year's Eve show,
as he is quite busy with the HUSTLE promotion.
Nobuyuki
Sakakibara
DSE President
Source: Fight Sport |
Kimbo
Slice vs. Sean Gannon Fight Tidbits
This illegal fight has garnered a lot of attention, so we thought
this would be of interest to read.
This
is reportedly from Sean Gannon from Sherdog's forum:
hi everybody,
i'm just got back from the hospital, was reading the threads,
am touched by the support i've gotten from so many people.
would
like to clarify a few points - i don't like being accused of
being a cheater, especially by people who don't have a clue what
the rules actually were. we originally wanted a no rules match,
but kimbos people demanded special rules to protect their fighter.
we wrote a (very) short list of rules and both parties signed
off on it prior to the fight. they asked for no groundwork and
this was agreed to. we never agreed to no submissions, and we
can't be held responsible if his team was so ignorant of our
sport that they didn't realize you could do submissions standing.
same with knees. they asked for no kicks and we agreed. kicks
were clearly defined as "striking with any part of the shin
or foot". knee strikes were completely legal. i followed
the rules to the letter, but kimbos team violated them repeatedly.
the
rules were signed by both parties prior to fight time. our team
was completely aware of the rules, and all the chaos stemmed
from a lack of real fight experience on his team. it was like
when tyson had his buddies work his corner in the buster douglas
fight, and they didn't even bring an endswell. kimbo is tremendous
competitior and deserved better.
i
don't know if his medical insurance is as good as mine, and i
wrote to iceberg about setting up a fund to help him if he needs
it. if he isn't hurt, he still deserves some bread for being
such a warrior and having a tremendous heart. anyone who was
entertained by the fight should kick him a little something,
he earned it.
And
again, thank you for your support.
Source: Sherdog
CAGEFIGHTER'S
CORNER: GANNON IS A DISGRACE TO CAGE FIGHTERS!
By the Predator
What
Sean Gannon did was both illegal, immoral, and highly dangerous.
He shamed the honorable profession of cagefighting like no one
else possibly could. His actions could end up banning MMA in
several states, possibly everywhere if enough media figures get
a hold of it.
I
would also like to get Gannon to Arizona and into the cage to
teach him a lesson in respect, but only if it is a legal, sanctioned
sporting event, not some slugfest illegal streetbrawl with questionable
characters sitting ringside. I speak for cagefighters nationwide
when I say we need to rid this sport of all the bad apples who
hurt its image, and Gannon is definitely one of them.
GROSSMAN
INSIDER: REVIEW OF KIMBO VS. GANNON
By Josh Grossman
LOL
at this so called 'win' for Mr. Gannon. He cheated at least 4
times according the rules that were put in place. He did manage
to rock Kimbo early with a punch but other than that he was getting
beaten like a drum for the legal portion of the fight.
The
2 guillotine holds won the fight for him in my opinion. Especially
the second one which seemed to take Kimbo's energy completely
away. I also found it very amusing to see how much the mma.tv
fanboys were lying about this fight. Gannon looked horrible standing
up and got drilled constantly by Kimbo's superior technique.
Considering that Kimbo has nothing but street training that is
hilarious.
Gannon
has professional training at an NHB gym and with the police force.
He is also supposedly a several times Golden Gloves Champion
in his state. Yet his head looked worse than Enson Inoue's did
after his fight with Igor Vovchanchin.
Gannon
may have won this fight with his excess cheating, but he clearly
lost the battle. If he had not cheated he would have recieved
even worse damage. I hope they have a rematch and the rules are
followed. Kimbo clearly showed he could wreck Gannon during the
legal portion of this match.
What
also impressed me was the fact that the older Kimbo was pushing
the taller and bigger man around the mat with ease while they
were both fresh. If Kimbo trained even a little for this fight
he could possibly kill Gannon in the process of kicking his ass.
Source: Fight Sport |
LEBANNER,
GOODRIDGE READY FOR K-1 GRAND PRIX
Two-time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals runner-up, Jerome
LeBanner, and veteran knockout artist, Big Daddy
Gary Goodridge, will each see action in tournament reserve bouts
during Saturday, December 4ths K-1 World Grand Prix Finals
event. LeBanner will face Hiromi Amada while Goodridge will square
off with Cyril Abidi during the card that will air live on United
States Pay-Per-View television from Tokyo, Japans Tokyo
Dome.
LeBanner,
who reached the championship round of the worlds most esteemed
martial arts fighting tournament both in 1995 and 2002, failed
to qualify for this years eight-man draw when he suffered
a defeat at the hands of former world boxing champion, Francois
The White Buffalo Botha on September 25th. One of
seven matchups that awarded each of its winners a spot in the
December 4th, single-elimination tournament, the showdown between
LeBanner and Botha was a highly competitive one that was ordered
into three minutes of overtime sudden death after
the ringside judges were unable to determine a winner at the
close of the three scheduled rounds. After LeBanner declared
that he would be unable to answer the bell for the added round
due to damage he had suffered to his left arm, the referee awarded
Botha the win by way of technical knockout.
Earlier
this year, Goodridge, a familiar face to fight fans worldwide,
signed a two-year contract with the K-1 organization. The hard-punching
brawler from Barrie Ontario, Canada has since made a statement
in The New Fighting Sport by defeating back-to-back
opponents during events in Las Vegas, Nevada. On April 30th,
he scored a thunderous first round technical knockout on New
Zealands Toa and, on August 7th, he earned
a unanimous judges decision over Dewey The Black
Kobra Cooper.
Goodridges
opponent, Abidi, is a 28-year-old native of France and a seven-year
veteran of the K-1 tournament circuit. His finest year to date
as a K-1 competitor came in 2000 when he twice recorded first
round technical knockouts on three-time World Grand Prix Finals
champion, Peter Aerts.
Should
one of the original, eight tournament competitors sustain an
injury that prevents him from returning to the ring after claiming
victory in a tournament bout, one of the reserve fight winners
will take the hurt competitors place in the draw.
The
live Pay-Per-View television broadcast of the K-1 World Grand
Prix Finals event will commence at 12 AM Eastern Standard Time
(9 PM Pacific Standard Time) on December 4th.
K-1
is a martial arts fighting sport that derives its name from its
inclusion of a wide array of combat disciplines, including Karate,
Kung-Fu, and Kickboxing (K), and its intent to determine
one champion in one ring (1). After being staged
for the first time in Japan in 1993 under the direction of founder
Master Kazuyoshi Ishii, it later evolved into the countrys
most popular sport and achieved popular cultur | |