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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)

 News & Rumors
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Year 2004

November 2004 Part 2
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November 2004 News Part 2
 

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New Time!

 11/20/04

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

 11/19/04

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 judge’s 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 Couture’s 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.

Couture’s 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 UFC’s 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 world’s 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 4th’s 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, Japan’s Tokyo Dome.

LeBanner, who reached the championship round of the world’s most esteemed martial arts fighting tournament both in 1995 and 2002, failed to qualify for this year’s 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 Zealand’s “Toa” and, on August 7th, he earned a unanimous judges’ decision over Dewey “The Black Kobra” Cooper.

Goodridge’s 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 competitor’s 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 country’s most popular sport and achieved popular cultur