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2005

12/10/05
Proving Grounds -
ROTR Qualifer
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center)


11/19/05
ROTR 9

(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)


11/14/05
3rd American National BJJ Championships
(Torrance Unified School District, Torrance, CA )

10/29-30/05
Brazilian Team Titles
(Equipes)
(Brazil)

10/05
Proving Grounds -
ROTR Qualifer
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Maui)


9/05
Proving Grounds -
ROTR Qualifer
(MMA)
(Kauai)


8/27-28/05
International Masters & Seniors BJJ Tournament
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)

8/05 (tentative)
ROTR 8

(MMA)
(Las Vegas, NV)


7/23-31/05
World BJJ Championships (Mundial)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)

7/21-23/05
World Cup of BJJ
(BJJ)
(São Paulo, Brazil)

7/9/05
Proving Grounds -
ROTR Qualifer
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center)


5/7/05
ROTR 7

(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)


5/7-8 & 14-15 & 21-22/05
Brazilian National BJJ Tournament
(Youth, Adult, Master & Senior)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil?)

4/16-17/05
2005 Junior Olympic Male and Female State / Regional Boxing Championships
(Boxing)
(Palolo Boxing Gym
/ Rec Center)


4/15 or 16/05
Punishment In Paradise 10
(Kickboxing, MMA)
(McKinnley H.S. Gym)

4/9/05
Super Brawl
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)

4/1-3/05
Pan American & Team Title USA vs Brazil BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA)

3/26/05
Proving Grounds -
ROTR Qualifer
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Maui)


3/25/05
Shooto Hawaii: Pro/Am
(MMA)
(Blaisdell - Hawaii Suite)

3/18 or 3/19/05
Super Brawl: Full Contact Showdown 2
(MMA)
(Kahuna's Sports Bar & Grill, Kaneohe MCBH)

3/12/05
The Second Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
BJJ tournament

(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Hawaii)

3/11/05
ROTR - Proving Grounds 6
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ball Room, Honolulu)

3/6-7/05
Hawaii State High School Wrestling Championships
(Blaisdell Arena)

3/5/04
SUMA
(Kickboxing)
(Hyatt Waikiki)

So Yo
u Think You Tough 8
(Boxing, MMA)
(Kauai)

Proving Grounds -
ROTR Qualifer
(MMA)
(Honolulu)

3/4-6/05
Arnold Schwarzenegger Gracie World Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Columbus, Ohio)

2/27/05
2005 Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Saint Louis H.S. Gym)

G-3
(Kickboxing)
(Palama Settlement Gym)

2/26/05
So You Think You Tough 7
(Boxing, MMA)
(Kona Gym, Kona)

2/19/05
Kickin' It
(Kickboxing)
(Kapolei High School)

 News & Rumors
Archives
Year 2004

February 2005 Part 2
February 2005 Part 1

January 2005 Part 3
January 2005 Part 2
January 2005 Part 1
December 2004 Part 3 December 2004 Part 2 December 2004 Part 1
November 2004 Part 3

November 2004 Part 2
November 2004 Part 1
October 2004 Part 2
October 2004 Part 1

September 2004 Part 3
September 2004 Part 2
September 2004 Part 1
August 2004 Part 3

August 2004 Part 2
August 2004 Part 1
July 2004 Part 3
July 2004 Part 2
July 2004 Part 1
June 2004 Part 3
June 2004 Part 2
June 2004 Part 1
May 2004 Part 3
May 2004 Part 2
May 2004 Part 1

April 2004 Part 3
April 2004 Part 2
April 2004 Part 1
March 2004 Part 3

March 2004 Part 2
March 2004 Part 1
February 2004 Part 3
February 2004 Part 2
February 2004 Part 1
January 2004 Part 3
January 2004 Part 2
January 2004 Part 1
Year 2003
December 2003 Part 3
December 2003 Part 2 December 2003 Part 1
November 2003 Part 3
November 2003 Part 2
November 2003 Part 1
October 2003 Part 2
October 2003 Part 2
October 2003 Part 1
September 2003 Part 2
September 2003 Part 1
August 2003 Part 3
August 2003 Part 2
August 2003 Part 1
July 2003 Part 3
July 2003 Part 2
July 2003 Part 1
June 2003 Part 3
June 2003 Part 2
June 2003 Part 1
May 2003 Part 3
May 2003 Part 2
May 2003 Part 1
April 2003 Part 3
April 2003 Part 2
April 2003 Part 1
March 2003 Part 3

March 2003 Part 2
March 2003 Part 1
February 2003 Part 3
February 2003 Part 2
February 2003 Part 1
January 2003 Part 3
January 2003 Part 2
January 2003 Part 1
Year 2002
December 2002 Part 2
December 2002 Part 1
November 2002 Part 2
November 2002 Part 1
October 2002 Part 3
October 2002 Part 2
October 2002 Part 1
September 2002 Part 3
September 2002 Part 2
September 2002 Part 1
August 2002 Part 2
August 2002 Part 1
July 2002 Part 3
July 2002 Part 2
July 2002 Part 1
June 2002 Part 3
June 2002 Part 2
June 2002 Part 1
May 2002 Part 3
May 2002 Part 2
May 2002 Part 1
April 2002 Part 3
April 2002 Part 2
April 2002 Part 1
March 2002 Part 3
March 2002 Part 2
March 2002 Part 1
February 2002 Part 2
February 2002 Part 1
January 2002 Part 3
January 2002 Part 2
January 2002 Part 1
Year 2001
December 2001 Part 2
December 2001 Part 1
November 2001 Part 2
November 2001 Part 1
October 2001 Part 2
October 2001 Part 1
September 2001 Part 3
September 2001 Part 2
September 2001 Part 1
August 2001 Part 2
August 2001 Part 1
July 2001 Part 3
July 2001 Part 2
July 2001 Part 1
June 2001 Part 2
June 2001 Part 1
May 2001
April 2001 Part 2
April 2001 Part 1
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
Year 2000
Nov-Dec 2000
October 2000
Aug-Sept 2000
July 2000
March-May 2000

February 2005 News Part 3
 

Wednesday night and Sunday classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!


Tuesdays at 8:30PM on Olelo Channel 52
New Time!

 2/28/05

Quote of the Day

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you'd like to win but think you can't, it's almost certain that you won't.

Life's battles don't always go to the stronger woman or man,
but sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.

Author Unknown

2005 Hawaiian Championships of BJJ
Individual Results Soon!


Once we get them, they will be posted. The tournament had a ton of great matches and a great 4-man super tournament.

4-man Tournament:
1st Place: Ronn Shiraki
2nd Place: Baret Yoshida
3rd Place: Ermin Fergustrom & Dillion Clay

Here are the team titles:

1st Place: Relson Gracie
2nd Place: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Kailua (Jason Izaguirre)
3rd Place: Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu (Romolo Barros)

Source: Fight Sport

Euphoria MFC: 'USA vs. World'
February 26th, 2004
Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City, NJ

Single matchups:
Jeremy Horn defeats Kazuhiro Hamanaka by KO at 3:19, RD 1.
Ryan Schultz defeats Hiroyuki Abe by TKO at 0:42, RD 2.
Travis Wiuff defeats Antoine Joaude by unanimous decision.
Dan Christison defeats Ben Rothwell by keylock, RD 3.
Chael Sonnen defeats Adam Tarsey by TKO at 3:49, RD 1.
Daniel Tabera defeats Ron Faircloth by unanimous decision.
Mike Delaney defeats Pat Stano by TKO at 1:48, RD 3.
Jeff Monson defeats Jay White by TKO at 4:07, RD 1.
Eddie Alvarez defeats Seichi Ikemoto by TKO at 1:25, RD 2.
Jorge Santiago defeats Chris Liguori by rear naked choke at 3;27, RD 1.
John Kolosci defeats John Sivori by majority decision.

Lightweight GP tournament:
Yves Edwards defeats Hermes Franca by split decision.
Rich Clementi defeats Daisuke Hanazawa by unanimous decision

Source: Fight Sport

When MMA goes mainstream
by Peter Parsons

Part III - When MMA goes mainstream - How would the live weekly fight show work?

In parts 1 and 2 of this 3 part series, I talked about why and how MMA will go mainstream. In part 3 of this article, I will talk about when MMA goes mainstream and in particular, how the live weekly fights show would work.

The weekly show would build fighters into PPV stars. There are a lot of first timers in the UFC who most fans haven't heard of. Take the past UFC 51 card for example; I couldn't wait to see Paul Buentello fight. Most fans of the UFC probably never heard of him. Imagine if we saw Buentello's previous few fights, which were KO's, on national tv. You would have fans a lot more excited to see a fighter like Buentello fight on PPV.

The show's main purpose would be to build up and coming stars like Jason "Mayhem" Miller or Keith Wisniewski. It would also be a good venue to rebuild fighters coming off of PPV losses like Robbie Lawler or Renato Verissimo. Then there are fighters who like to go elsewhere to stay active like Joe Riggs or Rich Franklin. Some fighters would rather have 6 fights per year then 3. Instead of going to the WEC or Superbrawl to stay active they could compete on the weekly show occasionally in between PPV fights.

The weekly show would go from state to state (where MMA is sanctioned) and of course to Canada. Of course, as MMA grows, it will be sanctioned in more and more states. It would showcase the top regional talent on the undercard and have one half of the headliner featuring a local star. The Georges St. Pierre vs. Jason Miller fight scheduled for UFC 52 would be a good example of a main event for the weekly show held in Montreal.

Examples of local headliners would be Georges St. Pierre or David Loiseau in Montreal, Pete Sell or Matt Serra in New Jersey, Jorge Rivera or Kenny Florian in Boston, Nathan Marquardt or Duane Ludwig in Colorado, Robbie Lawler or Sam Hoger in Iowa, Sean Sherk or Travis Wiuff in Minnesota, Chris Leben or Nate Quarry in Oregon, Jeff Monsen or Din Thomas in Florida, Reanato Verissimo or Cabbage in Hawaii, etc.

Notice how I mention Lightweights like Din Thomas and Matt Serra above. With the live weekly show the UFC could showcase the Lightweight division more. They eventually could even bring in the 145 pounders, the occasional Super Heavyweight fights and eventually even women. Can you imagine watching Erica Montoya or Erin Toughill fighting on the weekly UFC show?

The show would be for the most part in more intimate venues seating 3 to 5 thousand people. Some of the smaller shows like TKO or Sport Fight have good attendance and you would have to think the attendance would be even better for a nationally televised UFC show with a local star headlining. You could also have local promoters helping to co-promote the show. For example, Monte Cox in Iowa, TJ Thompson in Hawaii, Sven Bean in Colorado, etc.

I know some people would question if there would be enough MMA fights to have a weekly show. There are good fight cards in North America every weekend. Right now you have exciting up and coming fighters and UFC veterans fighting on shows like WEC, Superbrawl, TKO, Sport Fight, IFC, etc. You also have to remember that there would be commercials of upcoming PPV's, fighter interviews, professional analysis, behind the scenes footage etc. Also, as I mentioned earlier, there would be more weight classes to feature.

The weekly show would act like a commercial to the PPV's. Not only would they feature fights of up and coming fighters, but they would have Joe Rogan as their Max Kellerman talking about the upcoming PPV fights. Not only is Joe Rogan a mainstream celebrity, but he speaks very enthusiastically about the fighters and the sport. They would have fighters on the show talking smack about their upcoming PPV fights. They could also have well spoken fighters like Ken Shamrock or Frank Mir throwing their opinion in the ring.

Many people have criticized the UFC for not building fighters up and for the lack of lightweight fights. With 6 PPV cards per year, 8 fights per card and 5 weight classes, it's very difficult to build up fighters. With a live weekly show the UFC will be able to do so and feature more weight classes. Let's take a look for a moment at what Zuffa has done since taking over the UFC. They got back on cable PPV, got MMA sanctioned in Nevada, and now they have the UFC on free TV.

For the past decade, the hardcore fans of MMA have followed the sport on PPV and the internet. Now that the UFC is on free TV, it's just a matter of time before MMA takes off. We may have to be patient though as I think the successful formula is the reality show, the taped fights and then the live fights. We tend to forget that the sport is very young and so is it's fan base that will grow with it. I think MMA is the combat sport of the future and it's a sport that our kids will enjoy watching.

Source: MMA Weekly

 2/27/05

Quote of the Day

"Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to,
when all they need is one reason why they can."

Mary Frances Berry, US government official, author.
She was chief educational officer of U.S., 1977-80

2005 Hawaiian Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
7th Annual Event
Today!

DATE: February 27, 2005
TIME:
Starts at 10:00 AM
LOCATION:
Saint Louis School Gymnasium
3142 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii

Format: Gi & No Gi Sport BJJ Rules; Single Elimination

Fees: $40 Gi or No Gi / $50 both
(Applications will be available at weigh-in)

$5 discount if Pre-registration by February 1st
Divisions: Various Age, Rank and Weight
Contact: 223-9363 / 392-8330 for details

Additional Information:
www.brazilian-freestyle.com/events.htm

Murilo Bustamante is in town!

Word on the street is that former UFC champ and Brazilian Top Team founder Murilo Bustamante is in Hawaii and training with Hawaii's Kai Garcia. As most of our loyal readers know, Murilo is one of our favorite BJJ and MMA fighters. On top of that, after taking a couple seminars and doing an interview with him, he is as humble and great as he seems. Hopefully, we can catch up with him while he is down here.

Who's next for BJ Penn?

On May 7th the ROTR will have their next show, with
BJ Penn reportedly again headlining. What isn't clear is who his next opponent will be. Jeremy Horn has expressed interest in the match but all indications point against this. We will most likely see Gilbert Melendez fight a top 155 pounder as well as the return of Jake Shields. The K-1 organization is looking to help make this card a very notable one. There are rumors that we will see another Gracie fighting and that Charuto will also be on the card. With the ROTR and the K-1 now actively working together, 2005 promises to be a spectacular year for MMA fans and May 7th could very well be one of the best dates of the year.

Source: Gracie Fighter

Euphoria MFC 3 "USA vs. World" Results
Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City, N.J.
February 26, 2005

Yves Edwards defeated Hermes Franca via split decision.

Jeremy Horn defeated Kazuki Okubo via KO in round 1.

Rich Clementi defeated Daisuke "13" Hanazawa via unanimous decision.

Ryan Schultz defeated Hiroyuki Abe via referee stoppage (ground and pound) in round 2.

Travis Wiuff defeated Antoine Joaude via unanimous decision.

Dan Christiansen defeated Ben Rothwell via kimura in round 3.

Chael Sonnen defeated Adam Ryan Tarsey via referee stoppage in round 1.

Daniel Tabera defeated Ron Faircloth via unanimous decision.

Mike Delaney defeated Pat Stano via referee stoppage (strikes) in round 3.

Jeff Monson defeated Jay White via submission due to injury in round 1.

Eddie Alvarez defeated Seichi Ikemoto via TKO in round 2.

Jorge Santiago defeated Chris Ligouri via rear naked choke in round 1.

John Kolosci defeated John Sivori via majority decision.

Source: MMA Fighting

Catching Up with Georges St. Pierre

Over the last year French-Canadian fighter Georges St. Pierre has gone from being a relative unknown in the States to being one of the most promising young fighters in the welterweight division. With only one loss in his career to current UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes, it's easy to understand that St. Pierre has got serious game when it comes to fighting. Currently in preparations for his upcoming bout against Jason "Mayhem" Miller at UFC 52, St. Pierre spoke to MMA Weekly's Mick Hammond about what he's been up to since last seen on PPV in the loss to Hughes and what he has planned for 2005.

After losing to Hughes last October, St. Pierre returned to TKO, the Canadian based promotion run by his manager Stephane Patry, this past January in victorious fashion, proving he can rebound from the first adversity his young career has faced. "I fought Dave Strasser (at TKO 19). We exchanged a little standing up then I put him down and went for the kimura and submitted him," said St. Pierre. "It's one of my favorite moves."

The fight against Strasser was St. Pierre's first fight in his native Canada since 2003. And while he is happy to have competed again in his home country, he has his mind set on his return to the States for future achievement, "It's good to fight in my hometown but it's nothing compared to Vegas. Everything is so well done in the UFC, it's bigger, very professional and the crowd is bigger. Some people boo me because I'm not from the US when I fight there, but they do not know me yet. I like to fight on the big show."

St. Pierre had a chance to experience the big show recently when he cornered teammate David Loiseau in David's victory over Gideon Ray at UFC 51. The connection between Loiseau and St. Pierre, so strong in fact that Georges considers Loiseau more than just a teammate, "David is like my brother, we train with each other every week. We kill each other because we train so hard and it makes us closer. I go with him when he fights and when I go to war I bring my brother with me into the octagon."

According to St. Pierre, the emotions he feels cornering is at times more unnerving, "I like it, it's like I'm fighting but I'm very nervous. I'm more nervous when Dave is fighting when I fight because I don't have control. For sure you want to be in the octagon with him when your teammate fights, because you don't have control. You can only scream and give tips, sometimes when it doesn't go well you cannot do anything about it."

In an age where many fighters travel to cross-train with other teams and fighters, St. Pierre remains loyal to his teammates and doesn't much consider going elsewhere to mix up his training routine. "I think the weather is not the same first of all, but the training everywhere is the same, it changes only the sparring partners," commented Georges. "Everybody lift weights, wrestles, does Jiu-Jitsu, and boxes, I have very good sparring partners and I'm very lucky to have these sparring partners, so why go somewhere else?"

At UFC 52 St. Pierre will be taking on the debuting Jason "Mayhem" Miller who is currently riding a four-fight winning streak including victories over Egan Inoue and Ron Jhun. Surprisingly the early preparation for the fight that St. Pierre has been making has been more mental rather than physical, "Jason Miller I am prepared for mentally because he's a big talker. Until now he hasn't said anything and I hope he doesn't open his mouth, but it is okay if he does because I do my talking in the ring."

Otherwise from the mental aspect of the fight, St. Pierre hasn't altered any of his training routine for the fight. "I do the same kind of training every time, only the strategy changes every time. I'm very well rounded, I am good at everything, I'm not the best at every specific thing like striking, but I use openings, I study my tape, and I will have strategy ready for the fight."

As St. Pierre gets closer to returning to the UFC, he feels more confident and stronger than ever after losing to Hughes in his last appearance for the company. "Since loss to Hughes, I grew up mentally, " said St. Pierre. "I sleep better; I'm calmer, and more relaxed. I feel much stronger in many ways now and I can't wait for a rematch."

In the days prior to UFC 51 St. Pierre and Hughes ended up in the same training room as Hughes was preparing his Miletich Fighting Systems teammates and Georges was doing the same for Loiseau. The two exchanged pleasantries and even some good-natured ribbing. "Matt and I are friends. There are no hard feelings over our fight. If he comes to Montreal we will go out and have fun together. Fighting is strictly business, we do the same job, I have nothing against him personally, he's always been very respectful to me. I can fight I guy I like because I fight with my heart not with my anger."

Depending on how the line-up is set up for UFC 52, St. Pierre may have a chance to see the match between Hughes and Frank Trigg. It very well may determine who Georges fights for the title later this year or next year depending on St. Pierre's success in his upcoming bouts. If he gets the chance to observe the fight, Georges will be doing so very intently, "I will watch the match closely and take notes. Trigg has the tools to beat Hughes, but Hughes has the experience. I think Hughes will win by submission again."

With Hughes or Trigg on the possible horizon, make no mistake that St. Pierre has his mind firmly set on his task at hand against Miller, "I'm going to come to fight. Don't blink because it's going to be an exciting war. I'm going to bring my A-game and am going to have a rhythm that nobody can handle, so watch out."

Source: MMA Weekly

How MMA will go mainstream?

Part II - How MMA will go mainstream?

As was mentioned in my previous article, the UFC has made a huge first step with "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show. I have to be honest, when I first heard the news of the reality show, I was a little disappointed. The reason being is I was hoping that the UFC would come out with a weekly fights show as was rumored at the time. The hardcore MMA fan in me wanted to see live fights as soon as possible. As I thought about it more, it was clear to me that a reality show would be ideal before a weekly fight show in order to establish and educate an audience on the sport and its fighters.

Many people think that the success of the reality show will lead to a live weekly fight show. However, before doing a live fight show, the UFC should do a weekly fight show featuring past UFC fights. With live fights, you risk the chance of boring fights which could turn away mainstream viewers.

The idea of having live weekly fights would be to build up future PPV stars. So why not build up your current PPV stars first, by showing their past exciting fights. You could start off by showing standup knockouts and gradually get into showing some exciting ground fights.

When I watched the Pride Hardcore Knockouts with a friend of mine who does not like ground fighting, he loved watching Quinton Jackson's fights the most which consisted of some highlight real slams and some vicious ground and pound. You could start off showing some good Knockouts and eventually show some exciting ground and pound and submissions. For example, start off showing fighters like Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia and Chuck Liddell. Of course you wouldn't show Liddell vs. Bustamante or Suloev, but instead show Liddell vs. Randleman and Babalu. After showing previous Arlovski and Sylvia KO's you could show Sylvia vs. Arlovski which is a great fight to show because there was the exciting knock down followed up by a submission.

After showing some good knockouts, you could then mix in some Tito fights starting with Tito vs. Tanner which ends in a KO as a result of a slam. You could then go on to show Tito vs. Ken Shamrock, Tito vs. Chuck and finally Tito vs. Vitor. Subsequently, you could go on to show Randy Couture's fights against Kevin Randleman, Pedro Rizzo I and then Randy vs Chuck I. You see the sequence I'm getting at.

After showing some good KO's and ground and pound you can then showcase some submissions. For this, may I suggest a showcase of Frank Mir's fights and Matt Hughes' fights over Frank Trigg and Georges St. Pierre. The week before showing St. Pierre vs Hughes you could show St. Pierre's victory over Jay Hieron which was an exciting victory for St. Pierre. Again, you see the sequence I'm getting at. Also, you may want to show exciting fighters like Genki Sudo and his win over Leigh Remedios which was a fight that had a bit of everything ending in a submission. I think it would be a shame if some of these exciting fights were never shown on free TV to millions of viewers.

The idea would be to build up the current PPV stars by showing nothing but their most exciting fights. After a few months of classic UFC fights, the mainstream fans would then be ready for some live fights. As a hardcore MMA fan, I still want to see live fights ASAP. However, after further consideration, I think it is more important to establish the fan base first before showing live weekly fights.

When the UFC is showing live weekly fights successfully then you can say MMA has gone mainstream. In part 3 of this article, I will talk about when MMA goes mainstream and in particular how to run the live weekly fight show successfully.

Source: MMA Weekly

 2/26/05

Quote of the Day

"The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change,
the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being."

Lech Walesa, 1943-, Polish Trade Union Leader, Politician

Rumble On The Rock:
Proving Grounds Breaks Ground On Oahu And Marks The Return of Marcelo Tiger!


The Proving Grounds is set for Friday, March 11, 2005 at the Dole Cannery. It will feature the return of Marcelo Tiger and one of the best lightweight tournaments to hit Honolulu.

The next event, Rumble On The Rock 7 is slated for May 7, 2005

Source: Event Promoter

2005 Hawaiian Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
7th Annual Event
Tomorrow!

DATE: February 27, 2005
TIME: Starts at 10:00 AM
LOCATION: Saint Louis School Gymnasium
3142 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii

Format: Gi & No Gi Sport BJJ Rules; Single Elimination
Weigh-in: Saturday, February 26th, 2005
UH Athletic Complex, Studio #2
12-1 pm; 6-8 pm


Fees: $40 Gi or No Gi / $50 both
(Applications will be available at weigh-in)

$5 discount if Pre-registration by February 1st
Divisions: Various Age, Rank and Weight
Contact: 223-9363 / 392-8330 for details

Additional Information:
www.brazilian-freestyle.com/events.htm

Tito Ortiz Camp Clarifies Salary Demands
Tito Ortiz Camp Clarifies Salary Demands:
$350,000 Guaranteed Per Fight

by Ivan Trembow

Tito Ortiz' management team previously indicated that Ortiz would be looking for a huge, unprecedented salary now that he is a free agent, and they have now clarified that statement with an exact number.

Ortiz' agent/manager previously said in an interview with Sherdog's Josh Gross that Ortiz was looking to make "at least $300,000" per fight, but never specified an exact amount. Now, in a recent interview with MaxFighting's Benny Henderson, Jr., Ortiz' agent has said that the amount they're looking for is $350,000 per fight, and further added that they feel Ortiz is worth the money. This would be guaranteed money just for fighting, with no win bonus.

As I wrote in the UFC 51 salaries article, this is a ridiculous demand that I don't believe the Ortiz camp expects the UFC to take seriously. It can be argued that Ortiz is the fourth-biggest star in the UFC, but it would be extremely hard to suggest that he's in the top three. Ken Shamrock has been the UFC's box office mega-star and biggest PPV draw since his return to the company. Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are the two central figures on The Ultimate Fighter, one of this TV season's biggest break-out hit series on all of cable television. More people have seen The Ultimate Fighter than have seen all of Ortiz' fights combined.

So, with all of that said, and with Randy Couture as the current highest-paid fighter in the UFC with a guaranteed amount per fight of $150,000 (with a $75,000 win bonus), it would be ridiculous for Tito Ortiz to suggest that he should get paid $200,000 guaranteed per fight. It would be comical for Ortiz to suggest that he should get paid $300,000 guaranteed per fight. But with the demand at $350,000 guaranteed per fight being so drastically far away from reality, one has to wonder if the Ortiz camp legitimately thinks they might get that much money, or whether they just want to be able to save face while walking away from the UFC.

When Pride signed Rulon Gardner last year as a huge name free agent who was an Olympic Gold Medalist, it was a three-fight deal for $200,000 per fight. So, while Pride and K-1 are much bigger companies with much deeper pockets than the UFC, it's still unlikely that they would be willing to pay Ortiz $350,000 in guaranteed money per fight. Time will tell whether or not this is the case, but there appears to be a significant possibility that Tito Ortiz is pricing himself out of the sport.

Source: MMA Weekly

KING OF THE CAGE ODDS

KING OF THE CAGE -MMA- February 25, 2005 - Cleveland , Ohio - All bouts start at 4pm EST

Our good friends at sportsbook.com have odds ready to go for this weekends show. MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa has created the lines so you can bet this weekend.

Michael Westbrook -170
Jarrod Bunch +140

Forrest Petz -130
Charles Bennett +100

Dan Bobish -200
Ruben Villarreal +160

Joey Villasenor -650
Brendan Seguin +450

Jorge Gurgel -325
Jay Ireland +250

Buddy Clinton -1000
Angelo Popofski +700

Source: MMA Weekly

BTT and ATT sharing Hermes´ corner



The Jiu-Jitsu black belts Roberto Bebeo Duarte, from Brazilian Top Team, and Ricardo Libório, from American Top Team, are ready to help Hermes Franca on his corner in the upcoming Euphoria MFC 'USA v the WORLD'. The show will be held this Saturday (26th) at Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City - NJ. Chek out now the complete card. Hermes, who have been trainning at BTT in the last six months, are returning to ATT team. The other Brazilian top fighter who will be at the show is Antoine Jaoude, the most experienced Brazilian wrestler.

COMPLETE CARD (subject to change):

Middleweight:

- Yves Edwards (3rd Column) v. Hermes Franca (ATT);
- Jeremy Horn (Team Extreme) v. Kazuki Okubo (U-File);
- Rich Clementi (Team Extreme) v. Daisuke '13' Hanazawa (Cobra Kai);
- Ryan Schultz (Team QUEST) v. Hiroyuki Abe (AADC);

Heavyweight:

- Travis 'Diesel' Wiuff (Team Extreme) v. Antoine Joaude (Ruas VT);
- Ben Rothwell (MFC) v. Dan Christiansen (Freelance);
- Chael Sonnen (Team QUEST) v. Adam Ryan Tarsey (Epic MMA);
- Ron Faircloth (Strassers Freestyle Academy) v. Daniel Tabera (SHOOT Spain);

Challenge:

- Pat Stano (Hardcore Gym) v. Warren Kikaba (Strassers Freestyle Academy);
- Jeff Monson (ATT) v. Kerry 'Meat Truck' Schall (Team Extreme);
- Eddie Alvarez (Fight Factory) v. Seichi Ikemoto (Riroots Conan);
- Chris Ligouri (Pitt's Pen) v. Jorge Santiago (ATT);
- John Kolosci (Duneland Vale Tudo) v. John Sivori (Advanced Fighting Systems).

Source: Tatame

Butterbean vs The Beast Severn
By Media Report

King of the Four Rounders Ready to Roll…
BUTTERBEAN GETS SET TO TAKE ON DAN THE BEAST SEVERN ON PAYBACK KING OF THE CAGE PAY PER VIEW WHICH AIRS ON MARCH 6
***Former NFLers Michael Westbrook vs. Jarrod Bunch in mixed martial arts main event live in Cleveland on Feb. 25


New York, February 18-Eric "Butterbean" Esch, boxing's celebrated "King of the Four Rounders," will make his mixed martial arts debut when he squares off against former UFC standout Dan "The Beast" Severn on PAYBACK in the King of the Cage co-feature, which will make its national pay-per- view premiere on Sunday, March 6 (9:00 PM/ET, 6:00 PM/PT). The contest will originate from CSU Convocation Center in Cleveland, Ohio on February 25. Former NFL standouts Michael Westbrook, the Washington Redskins all pro wide receiver, and Jarrod Bunch, the former New York Giants first round draft pick, will collide in the main event.

Butterbean, a behemoth 350-pound native of Jaspar, Alabama, gained national attention in both boxing circles and the Toughman competition. He now enters the King of the Cage octagon in attempt to combine traditional boxing with Mixed martial is the combo of wrestling, judo, and kickboxing. There are three five minute rounds with a one minute break in between. The contests are decided by submission, tap out knockout, or judges decision. The gloves are 4 ounce fingerless gloves

Butterbean's boxing record is an impressive 63-1-2. Butterbean appeared this morning on both Fox and Friends, and the nationally syndicated Imus in the Morning Radio program, also seen on MSNBC.

"I actually wrestled in high school, and did sumo wrestling in Japan, so this is not totally new to me," says Butterbean. But I am mostly going to try to fight standing up. We are going to work on getting back up that is the main plan right now. I just fought last Saturday, had a knockout, and I am ready to go.

Source: Maxfighting

CSAC Says “Yes” to MMA,
Hurdle Cleared for Sport in Golden State

by Josh Gross

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 – Despite objections from California State Athletic Commission Chairman Christopher Mears, the regulatory body voted 4-1 on Tuesday in favor of adopting Full Contact Martial Arts rules and regulations, virtually identical to the guidelines established by the widely used mixed martial arts Unified Rules.

Following a brief yet compelling public comment period, highlighted by a powerful presentation by Zuffa, promoter of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, commissioner Mike Carona, who flew in by helicopter from Orange County to attend the hearing, indicated he was prepared to accept the rules as they stood and called a motion to vote.

Out of the blue the CSAC, which to that point had moved with the speed of a dial-up Internet connection, jumped at the chance of deciding the issue. Vice-Chair John Frierson, Bruce Jenner, and Armando Vergara sided with Carona (commissioners Dr. Gary Gitnick and Gene Massey did not attend).

Mears, whose desire to have an “extensive discussion of the rules” in a special hearing was trumped by the pragmatism of his colleagues, voted against the motion, not as an objection to California’s regulation of MMA, but as a protest to the process in which the rules were passed.

“I think more time was needed,” the Chairman said afterwards.

Jenner, who earlier this month expressed a willingness to revisit the rules and modify them to include a more liberal standard, underwent a change of heart.

“A lot of people looked those rules over with and you’ve got to trust them from that standpoint,” said the commissioner. “Plus, we’ve put this off for so long I thought it was extremely important that we moved forward.”

In doing so, the CSAC adopted regulations that had been established in 2003 in an attempt to make an end-run around the state’s Budget and Finance office. That effort failed, but the rules—MMA-specific guidelines folded into a batter of kickboxing legislation—remained.

The Hearing

Advocates for modification included Hideki Yamamoto, a Senior Vice President of Dream Stage Entertainment, promoter of Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championship; Turi Altavilla, Vice President of Production for DSE; and Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, a four-time member of the California Martial Arts Advisory Committee, who in 2000 and 2003 played a major role in writing the state’s MMA rules and regulations, and continues to this day to be an advisor to the commission on all matters Martial Arts.

“As long as the rules that are adopted are protecting the fighters, which is paramount important, or at least can’t be proven that it hasn’t been protecting the fighters, then they should be able to come in and promote under the umbrella of the California Athletic Commission,” a frustrated Hamilton told the body to begin the public comment period.

Speaking on behalf of DSE, Altavilla specifically mentioned six guidelines his company wished to include if it were to promote in the state: the PRIDE round and scoring structure; equipment use, such as the ability of fighters to wear a gi or shoes; the use of knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent; and, perhaps most important, the ability to hold fights in a ring as opposed to a cage, the norm for many North American events.

As he had done in November ’04 (the last time the commission met in a public forum) Altavilla also cited statistics compiled over the course of several years that DSE hoped would mollify any commissioner who might be hesitant to vote for a more liberal set of rules.

Arguing against change to the Unified Rules, Zuffa COO Kirk Hendrick proceeded to weave together an excellent case. Keeping what were tantamount to the Unified Rules established in New Jersey, a meeting noted Hendrick, that included PRIDE representatives, was critical to the health and growth of MMA and the UFC.

He also mentioned that the rules showed last year to lawmakers in Sacramento—the impetus by which the CSAC was finally granted jurisdiction over MMA—were the same ones in front of them on Tuesday.

“Those rules were designed to become and actually have become the regulatory model for every state to follow,” Hendrick said. “As a result, consistent sets of rules have been created for the fans and the athletes.”

In an ironic twist, Hendrick invoked Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona—the strongest critic of the UFC during the mid-1990s—as an ally in his argument against deviating from the Unified Rules. To go back and include kicking and kneeing the head of a downed fighter, rules that “were just not sportsmanlike” in the previous incarnation of the UFC, would be counterproductive, he said.

“It would be the same as if you turned back the clock a century and you were asked to regulate boxing,” Hendrick told to the commission. “Would you have the chance now for California to say, ‘It might bring a few more fights to California if we just allow one low blow a round. That would be fair. How about a couple of rabbit punches a round?’ To go backwards in time, to deviate from what is set now and is determined to be a legitimate sport in this country, is going backwards.”

A former Nevada chief deputy attorney general and legal counsel to that state’s athletic commission, Hendrick suggested that rule changes could also lead to another television ban, the likes of which plagued MMA during the mid- to late-90s.

“You will not be the forefathers and at the forefront of this sport,” he forcefully warned the CSAC, “you will be the pariah.”

Consistency was the theme echoed by Referee “Big” John McCarthy and fighter Ken Shamrock, both of whom spoke on behalf of the Unified Rules.

“Having a fighter understand that the rules that they’re fighting under don't change only protects the fighters more because they know what they can do and what they can’t,” McCarthy said. “And it helps the officials who are a part of that sport in doing their job correctly, too.”

“We’ve always tried to make it safer, to make it safer for the athletes,” said Shamrock, who wore a banged up nose that did not go unnoticed by the commission. “And by allowing kicks on the ground and allowing knees on the ground, we are not making it safer. We are making it more dangerous than it already it is. And me being a fighter, I do not want to get kicked in the head if I’m on the ground.”

If the commission was not moved to act based on the testimony of those associated with the sport, lobbyist Tim Lynch of Platinum Advisors, hired by Zuffa to push its agenda in Sacramento, spoke a language understood by the quorum.

“This commission is also due up before the Sunset Review Committee in the next six weeks and will be in Sacramento answering before the Legislature,” Lynch said. “I do not want to raise another issue for them.

“We’ve been involved in this process with the Legislature and I would hate to see us have to go through that route again because of changes made that the Legislature is not comfortable with.”

Taking time that would have been Yamamoto’s, Altavilla attempted to rebut. “I want to stress that there are lot more similarities than differences between our rules and the proposed rules,” he said. “Again, we’re looking for flexibility. We’re not trying to dictate.

“We must stress that statistics prove that these methods (PRIDE rules) have been proven safe.

“Our rules are different, but they are just as safe. And we are looking out for the fighters.”

“You understand, we also have to be concerned with perception,” interjected Mears, moments before his fellow commissioners outflanked him.

The Aftermath

“I can’t speak for the commissioners,” said CSAC outgoing interim Executive Officer, Dean Lohuis, “but my feel for it was everything had been discussed before, they had adequate time to go over everything and they needed to make the decision for the sport. To ask the sport and ask the people to wait another six weeks, two months, would have been cruel and I they felt it was better to do a decision now than waiting.”

Yamamoto was “disappointed” but said PRIDE’s interest in coming to the United States will not waiver. The Japanese company was licensed to promote in Nevada in 2002, and considering it leaves allowances for the use of a ring, something the California rules do not, it may look to that state as an entry point.

However, an option exists in the rules that allows for exhibitions and championship matches featuring modified rules, leaving the door open for multiple scenarios, including a potential unification fight between PRIDE and UFC champions.

The UFC, meanwhile, is on the verge of bringing its event to the biggest boxing state in the Union. (Last year, California regulated 126 cards, more than double its closest rival, Texas, which hosted 56.)

“California represents probably the largest fan base for the sport of mixed martial arts [in the United States],” said UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta. “Second, it’s in the interest, not just of the UFC but the sport of mixed martial arts, that the more states that allow this type activity the more legitimate it’s going to be; and it’s going to allow the sport to flourish and grow. And that’s really what’s most important at the end of the day.

“Certainly when we come to California we want to do it in the biggest way possible and depending upon the timeframe of the California Commission to be able to get all the rules and regs in place and officials in place and everything, we would like to come here in a large fashion by doing a show at the Staples Center.”

There are several steps before that can happen, starting with 90 days worth of pulling and prodding from several state offices. A budget request must also be sent to and approved by Sacramento.

In November, a request of $46,000 was denied, but Lohuis indicated that was because procedurally, things were off kilter. Back on track, a new budget—considerably larger than $46,000—should be signed off by the state’s Budget and Finance office, and sanctioned mixed martial arts cards could be held in the state as early as June.

California already has its share of native MMA promotions, including KOTC, WEC and Gladiators Challenge, all of which take place under the protective umbrella of sovereign Native American lands. Unlike the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act that federalized all boxing commissions, including those on Native American soil, Tuesday’s vote does nothing to impact MMA promoters who continue to operate on reservations.

Now that the option may be there to leave the reservations, it shall be seen how these organizations react. Clearly, an influx of new promoters will flood into the state, a good thing for the coffers in Sacramento as well as young fighters who had been forced to fight in unsanctioned fights because other options were not available to them.

Unlike the failed attempts to make rules into law (2000 and 2003), the commission now has the weight of a friendly Legislature behind it and a Governor who sees the addition of the sport as a moneymaker for the state, not a black eye.

Summing it up best was Shamrock, a resident of California since he was 5 who made San Diego home to the famous Lion’s Den gym: “This is a fighting state. You’ve got the best grappling fighters in the world in California. … To be able to have [MMA] here on our turf would be awesome.”

Source: Sherdog

Day 2: Bruce Buffer Advances Against Top Poker Pros

I got to start watching Poker...damn!

*Pictured is Bruce Buffer and Shauna Hyatt, Co-Host of The Travel Channel's WPT Poker Show.

Bruce Buffer, the "Voice of the UFC Octagon", played over ten hours of intense poker against many of the world's top professionals Wednesday at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles to become one of the final six players who will compete for $200,000 in prize pool money to become the winner of the third annual WPT Poker Invitational on the 2005 WPT Tour. The competition was fiercely competitive as Buffer went heads up against other celebrities and professionals to claim one of the final six top money earning positions.

"This is one of the most exciting things I have ever accomplished in my life. I've been watching these professional poker players on TV winning millions of dollars and beating up other players with their poker skills. Last night I went heads up with many of them and took them down and I still can't believe it. I've only slept a few hours, but I'm ready to do my best to crush my final five opponents today and go home with the cash. No matter what, I am in the money already and am happy to know I've made it this far... but I only know one thing and that is to win the whole damn thing. Wish me luck because now "It Is Truly... Time to Begin...!" exclaims Bruce Buffer.

Today's final competition is being filmed for TV and will be televised on The Travel Channel's highly rated and viewed poker show.

Source: Maxfighting

Evangelista Cyborg
By Eduardo Ferreira

"I want to fight everything"

At the age of 27, after nine training MMA, Evangelista Cyborg wants to make 2005 his year. Training hard on Chute Boxe camp, in Curitiba, Cyborg now is flying to London, where he will face Anthony Real on this Saturday. Next Jungle Fight edition, Chute Boxe fighter can be returning facing an old opponent, José Pelé Landy, who beat Cyborg at BVF 8, on November 1997. Check out an exclusive interview with Cyborg, who talks about his fight at Cage Rage, his moment at Chute Boxe team and the possibilities about a revenge against Pelé.

Why didn't you fight WEC?

I had problems to get my VISA to United States. It was very confused, I was in Mato Grosso state with my family, I had to fly to Curitiba and then to Uberlândia to take it. I couldn't do it, but Chute Boxe replaced me with another athlete, who lives in US.

How was your training to Cage Rage 10?

I'm feeling ok, I spent last days just for it. I trained hard all day long. Here at Chute Boxe I have all kinds of training and I've been supported by people such as Wanderlei Silva, Murilo Ninja and Maurício Shogun. I'm moving from Uberlândia to Curitiba to make 2005 my year.

Do you know your opponent?

I don't know him, I've never seen him fighting. It seems he trains with Jerome LeBanner. We choose woman. Fight is like a relative, we don't choose.

How is your training at Chute Boxe?

I train here for six month and I've already fough for the team, against Yuki Kondo, at Pancrase. Now I'm recovering myself from some injuries and this year I want to fight everything: Meca, Storm, Jungle Fight, whatever appears to me. But it doesn't depend on me, of course. About Chute Boxe, if I knew I would be supported like I am, I had come to Curitiba earlier. That's the support I needed.

You can appear next Jungle Fight edition facing José Pelé Landy.

Me, Rudimar (Fedrigo, Chute Boxe's leader) and Rafael (Cordeiro, technical director) knew it by press. Nobody talked to us about it till now.

Just in case you face Pelé, how would it be facing an experienced fighter as Pelé?

I think it would be good, but Pelé had his moment and now he's decadent. But he's a great fighter and it would be a tough dispute. I think many people would love to see it, at least here in Curitiba.

Source: Tatame

 2/25/05

Quote of the Day

"Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature ... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these things about a person, you can touch him at the core of his being."

William Bernbach, 1911-1982, American Advertising Executive

Advance Release: February 23, 2005
Super Brawl 39: DESTINY

Niko Vitale Looks To Take On SHOOTO & Superbrawl Champ Masanori Suda


Two years ago, Japan's Masanori Suda stole Hawaii's pride. On Saturday night, April 9th at the University of Hawaii's Stan Sheriff Center one man is prepared to take it back. For the glory. For the legacy. For Hawaii. For the belt.

Honolulu Hawaii, Are.....You.....Rrrreeeaadddy?!?!?

Masanori Suda vs. Falaniko Vitale for the Super Brawl middleweight Championship.

Source: Event Promoter

Cabbage Possibly In WEC

The WEC is shaping up nicely with another star studded card. We spoke with promoter, Scott Adams, and he let us in on some developments. Besides the much anticipated rematch between Olaf vs. Polakowski, there are negotiations under way to to bring Cabbage into the show. We will also be entering at least 2 fighters; Brown belt, Vini Magalhaes and Dan Marks. Vini will be making his MMA debut and is anxious to be initiated in the steel cage. Marks is a late replacement for Nathan Diaz who is still healing from a hurt knee. Luckily Marks has been training hard with Jake Shields and feels he is very ready to fight. Lastly, we can say there is a very real possibility that Royler Gracie Blackbelt, Sergio Lourenco, will be fighting a representative from Team Quest. Everything is taking shape rather quickly and we promise to let our readers be the first to know of new developments.

Source: Gracie Fighter

COFFEE GUY EXCLUSIVE:
KEN SHAMROCK VS. FRANKLIN

By Coffee Guy

The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant called 'Coffee Guy':

"The matchup of Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Franklin is now pretty much signed for 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality show finale in April."

Source: Fight Sport

CARNEIRO SOUNDS OFF ON CONTROVERSIAL LOSS TO CHONAN

Brazilian fighter Roan 'Jucao' Carneiro spoke to the Brazilian media, and sounded off regarding his controversial loss to Ryo Chonan, in which the referee seemed to greatly favor Chonan in the fight. Here's what Carneiro had to say:

"I do think the fight didn't develop on the ground because the referee stood the action up all the time. I didn't understand why he did this, because Mishima fought his entire match (on the same show) playing on the ground. I took Chonan down,and immediately the referee put us back on our feet -- it happened all the time.

I have a big motivation to go back to Japan because I have a lot to show there, and I want to fight in the upcoming PRIDE Bushido (on April 3rd). I want to say that Chonan needs to take care because I'm hungry for a rematch under Bushido rules. I deserve it." -Roan "Jucao" Carneiro

Source: Fight Sport

The Ultimate Fighter Breaks 2.0 in Sixth Week
By Loretta Hunt

An average audience of 2,229,000 tuned in to witness the conclusion to the ongoing Josh Koscheck-Chris Leben saga with a 2.03 Nielsen's Household rating for TUF's sixth episode. Koscheck wrestled his way to a two-round unanimous decision win that forced Leben off the show, but the real victory came in the numbers rise for the UFC's reality TV venture. Ratings jumped in two key demographics from last week: 1.60 to 2.14 in the Male 18-49 set and 1.96 to 2.28 in Male 18-34. Last week's episode averaged 1,902,000 million viewers. (Data provided by Spike TV)

Source: FCF

The Ultimate Fighter Now Officially a Break-Out Ratings Hit: What This Means for the UFC's TV Future
by Ivan Trembow

The Monday, February 21st episode of The Ultimate Fighter posted a final overall rating of 2.0, shattering the show's previous high mark of 1.7. As stated on MMAWeekly before the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter ever aired, first-hand knowledge of the TV industry tells us that anything over a 1.0 rating on cable television is a hit, anything over 1.5 is a very big hit, and anything over 2.0 is a huge hit that places it among the highest-rated original series on all the hundreds of channels of cable television.

Spike TV's Relationship With the UFC

Spike TV executives, who are shown in internal company documents to have been ecstatic about the ratings of the first four weeks of the show (all of which were between 1.4 and 1.6), are now said to be even more thrilled with Week Five having drawn a 1.7 rating and Week Six having drawn a 2.0 rating.

Even with Spike TV president Albie Hecht recently leaving the company over creative differences with parent company Viacom, and a new management team in place to re-brand Spike TV yet again, the UFC's future on Spike TV appears to be relatively safe. Despite the re-branding goal to come off as more "high-brow," which automatically excludes pro wrestling and MMA in the minds of many TV executives, Spike TV is well aware of the fact that it has two original shows that are hits: WWE Raw and The Ultimate Fighter.

An "original show" is a term that refers to something debuting on a specific network, as opposed to programs like CSI repeats that draw good ratings for Spike TV but don't give them the pride, bravado, and prestige of being able to say that they have a "Spike TV original series" that is a big hit. WWE Raw debuts on Spike TV every week, but Spike TV has no role in the production of the series whatsoever. On the other hand, Spike TV does have a hand in the production of The Ultimate Fighter and can claim it as a "home-grown Spike TV hit."

Just as importantly, Spike TV can have a sense of security with the UFC. Spike TV doesn't have to worry about other cable networks lining up to pay the UFC $30+ million per year in rights fees just to air the programming, and the network can rest assured that it's going to have UFC programming in the future for as long as it wants to. On the other hand, even if Spike TV does decide that it wants to renew its contract with WWE before its expiration in August of this year, Spike TV would find itself in a bidding war with USA Network that Spike is likely to lose.

WWE, which currently gets paid $28 million per year from Spike TV for the right to air WWE programming, is looking to have that annual amount raised to the range of $40 million, despite the fact that WWE's ratings have fallen drastically in the past few years. USA Network is apparently willing to meet that price or something close to it, and if Spike TV does end up losing the rights to WWE programming later this year, that would put the UFC in the position of having the one and only hit original series on Spike TV. That would make Spike TV all the more likely to continue to work with the UFC in some form in the future, whether it's a second season of The Ultimate Fighter, a series of specials with old fights, a monthly series with new fights, a weekly series with new fights, or any of the other dozens of different directions that Spike TV's relationship with the UFC could go in the future.

The Full Ratings Picture

As stated before on MMAWeekly, the single most important number in terms of how the UFC is perceived in the TV industry will be the rating for the live UFC special on April 9th. With anticipation building week by week for the Light-Heavyweight Finals and Middleweight Finals, as well as the added draw of Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Franklin (as recently confirmed by Shamrock), it would be a shock for the live special to not be successful. Keep in mind that when Fox Sports Net ran a "Best Damn Sports Show Special" in late 2004 with a live boxing event starring James Toney, the rating came in at 0.7 and everyone was thrilled with that number, prompting Fox Sports Net to want to do more live boxing specials in the future. The UFC is so far above the category of what is normally considered a "hit show" on cable that it doesn't have to worry about being considered anything other than a big success.

To recap The Ultimate Fighter's ratings from the beginning, here are the ratings for the first six weeks in chronological order in the four most important categories. In the overall rating among all viewers regardless of sex or age, the show has drawn ratings of 1.4, 1.4, 1.6, 1.5, 1.7, and 2.0. Among males 18 to 34 years old (which is the single most important rating to Spike TV), the show has drawn ratings of 1.5, 1.8, 2.2, 1.9, 2.0, and 2.3. Among males 18 to 24 years old, the show has drawn ratings of 1.7, 1.9, 1.8, 1.3, 1.5, and 2.2. Finally, among males 25 to 34 years old (which has been the strongest supporter of TUF), the show has drawn ratings of 1.3, 1.8, 2.5, 2.4, 2.3, and 2.3.

For the purposes of comparison in the latest weekend for which ratings are available, WWE Velocity drew a 0.5 rating, WWE Experience drew a 0.5 rating, and WWE Sunday Night Heat drew a 0.4 rating, all on Spike TV. On Fox Sports Net, TNA Impact drew a 0.2 rating, while The Best Damn Sports Show Period averaged a 0.2 rating. In terms of "mainstream sports," the NBA fails to average even a 1.0 rating on cable, Major League Baseball on cable doesn't do particularly well in the ratings either, the NHL doesn't exist at the moment and drew terrible ratings when it did exist, and the hugely successful NFL is seeking equally huge increases in its already enormous rights fees with the expiration of its cable deal with ESPN.

The Ebb and Flow of Ratings Over Multiple Weeks

A lot of factors contribute to a particular rating rising or falling for any given week's episode, but the biggest factor is what percentage of the previous week's viewers were satisfied with what they saw and compelled to tune back in for the next episode. So, the impact of last week's Leben-Southworth-Koscheck shenanigans can best be reflected in the rating for this week's episode, and the verdict is that it was a big ratings hit (albeit a rating hit that portrayed a trashy image of MMA). One important thing about last week's episode, which drew a 1.7 rating and forced people to tune back in this week to see Leben vs. Koscheck, is the fact that there was a lot of "reality show activity" and no actual fight. As I have previously discussed, the dynamic of an actual fight being on any given episode completely changes the make-up of the ratings.

In the case of Week Five with the Leben-Southworth-Koscheck antics and no actual fight, the quarter-hour ratings demonstrate that the absence of an actual UFC fight seemed to wear thin on the viewing audience, even as the suspense was building over the possibility of one or more fighters being kicked off the show. The rating for the final quarter-hour of the show, which had been shooting up significantly in recent weeks when there was an actual UFC match in the final quarter-hour, actually fell by about 0.1 instead of duplicating the normal pattern of being up across the board in the final quarter-hour.

In the 18 to 24 year old male demographic in Week Five, the rating stayed the same from the third quarter-hour to the fourth and final quarter-hour. This demonstrates that people in that demographic didn't mind the lack of a fight all that much, although the fact that the final quarter-hour simply stayed the same rather than going up shows a certain level of apathy.

It was a completely different story in the 25 to 34 year old male demographic, which has been the demographic that has supported TUF the most over the course of the series. In that demographic, not only did the rating not increase in the final quarter-hour, and not only did it fail to stay the same, but it actually fell by a whopping 0.6. Over a quarter of the audience in the demograhic that watches the show the most turned off the show in the traditionally strong final 15 minutes, which demonstrates that many those viewers got sick of the over-abundance of drama and wanted to see an actual UFC fight.

The message to the editors at Spike TV should be clear: The viewing audience does want a certain amount of drama and does enjoy it, but first and foremost they want a fight at the end of every show. Obviously, the tease of having to wait until the following week to see Leben vs. Koscheck was a primary factor in helping to draw this week's 2.0 rating, but another fight between two light-heavyweights who were unrelated to the controversy could have satisfied the viewers who want an actual UFC match at the end of every episode.

In another sign that younger males may have been more intrigued by the Leben-Koscheck build-up than slightly older males, the show's average rating among 25 to 34 year old males stayed the same from Week Five to Week Six. It was 2.3 last week, and it was 2.3 this week; no change. On the other hand, the show's average rating among 18 to 24 year old males, which had actually been down from a Week Two peak, shot up drastically from 1.5 last week to 2.2 this week. This points to a huge word of mouth build-up of anticipation to see the Leben-Koscheck fight this week among 18 to 24 year old males, many of whom are college students.

Where the Ratings Go From Here

The question now becomes this: How will the rating change next week to reflect the two biggest factors coming out of this week's episode? The first factor is that many of the people who tuned in this week were not regular viewers of the show and had just been told by a friend that they couldn't afford to miss the Leben vs. Koscheck match, a factor that would seem to point to a significant drop next week from this week's 2.0 rating.

The other big factor is quite simply that the Leben-Koscheck match itself was relatively boring. People who are not regular MMA viewers but are simply viewers of The Ultimate Fighter, which describes the vast majority of TUF's viewership, have never previously been exposed to the fact that sometimes an MMA fight can be boring, just like with any other sport.

Sometimes there can be a build-up to a grudge match, and the actual contest can be less than spectacular to watch. That is a reality of life in every other sport, and MMA is no exception. How will the average person watching The Ultimate Fighter react to this fact? Will they be turned off and not want to watch as often in the future? Or will they realize that it's no different from any other entertaining sport where there are sometimes boring matches, but they are far outnumbered by exciting matches? An intriguing factor to watch in the coming weeks will be how much tolerance the general public shows for the occasional boring match.

Source: MMA Weekly

GROSSMAN INSIDER:
YAMAMOTO OUT OF 'K-1 MAX' CARD

By Josh Grossman

Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto has suffered a shoulder injury in training and has pulled out of the K-1 'Max' card on February 23rd.

His replacement will be Kazuyuki Miyata.

Expect K-1 to officially announce this later on today.

Source: Fight Sport

The Brazilian Notebook
by Portal do Vale Tudo

The Brazilian fans have much to commemorate in early 2005. Marco Ruas announced that he will come back to the ring and his pupil Pedro Rizzo promised to fight soon in PRIDE. But at the moment, attention is focused on Antoine Jaoude and Hermes França, who will fight this weekend at the Euphoria show, and a Brazilian contingent formed by Renato "Babalu," Jean Silva, Evangelista "Cyborg" and Gabriel "Gladiador" that will be in the Cage Rage 10. Details on the Brazilian participation in PRIDE 29 will appear in our next column.

Pedro Rizzo has his eye on PRIDE

During the last visit of the Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara to Brazil, it was practically certain that Pedro Rizzo would join PRIDE. Rizzo was almost signed for PRIDE 29, but his debut in the Japanese ring will have to happen in a future edition.

Away from the MMA scene since his victory over Ricco Rodriguez in November of 2003 at UFC 45, Rizzo is not worried about the lack of rhythm of fights. "I trained the entire year of 2004," Rizzo said. "I was practically certain to fight on six different dates, but it ended up not happening. My will to fight is enormous and I wait to go up in ring very soon."

The event change means not only will he leave the Octagon for a ring, there are many things that interest the fighter. "New airs, new challenges, new opponents and a new audience," he explained. "PRIDE has different rules that they favor my style of game. I’ll do my best and I am waiting the chance to debut."

Antoine Jaoude prepares for Travis Wiuff

Antoine Jaoude will be part of one of the main fights of the next stage to the Euphoria on Saturday. He is going to face wrestler Travis Wiuff and informs us that he is ready.

"I am arriving at the end of my preparation that is the intensive part,” he said. "I’m arriving there ready to make a good fight."

A member of Ruas Vale Tudo, he explains what he intends do in the fight. "[I will try] to keep the distance, to do a jab and a straight; and if happens I’ll work the top position. But I go to try to keep my distance. I know that he likes to be in the clinch, we’ll see what happens. When the fight arrives, I will be calm."

Top Brazilian wrestler, Jaoude discloses what he thought of the participation of Rulon Gardner in the PRIDE Shockwave 2: "He made a good fight. I think that if he continues he is going to evolve a lot, and is going to give a lot of trouble in the heavyweight division. Most people don’t realize how hard the Olympic training is. He trained in the maximum two months for this fight, only caught the basic, because he had just arrived from the Olympics. If he dedicates himself to MMA, I believe that he’s going to give a lot of work."

Marco Ruas wants to face Ken Shamrock

In interview with Brazilian magazine "Nocaute,” Marco Ruas reaffirmed his old desire to make a farewell super fight against Ken Shamrock. "I would like to fight against somebody of name," he said. "If I fight a can it will take a lot away form my retirement. A good one from my time is Ken Shamrock. He is very popular in U.S.A., a national icon. It would be a good fight.”

The “Little Phenom”

One day after his defeat to Tito Ortiz in UFC 51, Vítor Belfort already had reasons to smile when his son Davi was born in São Paulo, fruit of the marriage of the "Phenom" with the Brazilian model Joana Prado. The arrival of the "Little Phenom" was a lot of joy for the fighter. "Was the biggest emotion of my life," Belfort commented.

On his fight against Ortiz, the Brazilian says not to have understood the criteria of the judges and thinks that he was the true winner of the combat. "I won the two first rounds," he said. "But it is good knowing that everybody thinks the same.”

Jorge Patino "Macaco" comments on training with Wanderlei

Just about to complete his first year at Chute Boxe, Jorge Patino "Macaco" is adoring his new team. He does not hide his admiration for the Masters Rudimar Fedrigo and Rafael Cordeiro. "Chute Boxe is very cool," he said. "The Master Rafael Cordeiro is a person of a character without equal, like the Rudimar Master also. I am very happy there, I found my space."

"The practices with Wanderlei are very hard,” he said. “The man has a rock hand and is a very aggressive technician. I always try to give to the maximum of me to provide good trainings for Wanderlei. To me only has to add, therefore training with best the one day I go to also arrive there."

SHOOTO Brazil 6 next Saturday

While we wait for the highly-anticipated combat between SHOOTO 143-pound champion Alexander Pequeno and number-one contender João Roque, which will happen in March in Japan, the current talk is about the SHOOTO Brazil 6, next Saturday in Curitiba, land of Wanderlei Silva. Fourteen fights will be involving diverse revelations of the Brazilian MMA.

The complete card, subject to change, of course, is the following:

Fábio Tigrão (Shooto Brazil Dojo) vs. Renato Matos (Giudice)
Josenildo Índio (Giudice/ Equipe 1) vs. Willian Casquilha (Fighteam)
Wanderlei Smala (Zenedin) vs. Cristiano Neguinho (Gracie Curitiba)
Cristopher Lenhador (BIT) vs. Helio Dipp (Power Team)
Ivonildo Cafu (Never Shake) vs. Emerson Graxaim (BIT)
Carlinhos Lima (BIT) vs. Eduardo Pamplona (Never Shake)
Julian Jabá (RFT) vs. Paulo Bueno (Zenedin)
Wagner Gávea (CWB) vs. Fábio Baum (Falcão/Santa Catarina)
André Vicente (Shooto Brazil Dojo) vs. Mateus Andraus (Thai Boxe)
Erinaldo Pitbull (Gracie Barra Combat Team) vs. Ricardo Rodrigues (Fighteam)
Wagner Tibúrcio (CWB) vs. Daniel Galvão (Champions Factory)
Sergio Schiavon (Ponto 1) vs. Mário Fumagalli (Muay Thai Dream Team)
Paulo Boiko (BTT) vs. Rodrigo Ruiz (Never Shake)
Christopher Led (BIT) vs. Hélio Deep (Boxe Garra Team)

News and Notes

The victory over Akebono at K-1 Dynamite 2004 again put the name of Royce Gracie into the rumor mill. Despite a great deal of talk about his participation in PRIDE GP 2005, the Gracie contradicts the subject. "[It] is all rumor," he said. "At the moment I am alone making seminars, and I am busy until June."

Milton Vieira, from Brazilian Top Team, is practically certain to participate in the edition of on April 30. The champion of Meca and of the AFC Brazil, Milton waits to bring a victory for its country. "I am coming back to practice now, therefore it was a little hurt. Then I am in the expectation, I wait to bring plus a victory for Brazil,” he said.

The Gold Boys project is taking place in “Favela da Rocinha” since February 1 in, in Rio de Janeiro. The charity project already has 150 participants, with the majority of them being children. It has lessons of jiu-jitsu, boxing and Muay Thai. The "favela da Rocinha" is the biggest favela, or shantytown, in Latin America.

Source: Sherdog

Another Olympic Medalist Signs with Pride
By Jeremy Wall

Olympic gold medallist in judo at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Pawel Nastula, has signed a contract to compete with Pride with his first fight taking place later this year.

Nastula is from Poland, and along with capturing gold in the '96 Olympics he was also the world champion in judo in 1995 and 1997. He's also won a large number of championships in Europe and elsewhere.

Pride originally announced that he would be competing in this year's Middleweight Grand Prix, which the first round is pegged for April 23rd at Saitama Super Arena, but they later corrected that mistake claiming the information is false.

Source: Maxfighting

New BJJ Federation

Yesterday 40 BJJ blackbelts held a meeting in Long Beach, California to set up a framework for a new national BJJ federation. Unlike Brazil, the US has no recognized body to determine State or National Champions, recognized rules or point systems. Most tournaments have been following the Brazilian, CBJJ rules. Meeting organizer, Charles Gracie, hopes to bring about an American Federation independent of the CBJJ.

Source: Gracie Fighter

EUPHORIA PREVIEW:
THE SLIM VERSION OF TRAVIS WIUFF


It’s been a shrinking past few months for Travis Wiuff, the man who has been affectionately referred to in the past as “The Incredible Bulk” has gone from 250lbs to his current weight of around 225lbs in preparation for his next fight against Antoine Joaude at Euphora’s upcoming “USA Vs. The World” competition on February 26th in Atlantic City, NJ. MMA Weekly’s Mick Hammond spoke to Wiuff as he took time out of his busy training schedule to discuss his next fight as well to address his slated match at UFC 52 against Renato “Babalu” Sobral in the light-heavyweight division.

MMA Weekly: First off Travis, tell us about your upcoming fight against Antoine Joaude in Euphoria, how have preparations been going for the fight?

Travis Wiuff: Training has been going really good. Obviously I’ll be doing a lot of wrestling against Antoine, he wrestled in the 2004 Olympics and I have to respect that. I’ve also been working a lot on my striking and a lot of my game from the clinch. I think a lot of the fight will be on the inside, so I’m working a lot on my knees and dirty boxing. I definitely feel better than I’ve ever felt going into a fight.

MMA Weekly: What are you expecting from Joaude in this fight?

Travis Wiuff: I’m sure he’s seen video of me and what I like to do. He knows I like to get the fight to the ground, so he’s probably working on his striking, jabs, and trying to stay away and keep me off of him. I would assume he’s working some Jiu-Jitsu, and I think he’s doing a lot of wrestling. It doesn’t matter what he brings with him; I’m prepared for the fight.

MMA Weekly: This fight was initially supposed to be the second round of the Euphoria Heavyweight Tournament but instead is going to be a singular fight as it appears they’ve dissolved the tournament. How do you feel about them abandoning the tournament format they had originally planned?

Travis Wiuff: It’s a little disappointing, but there is little I can do about it. All I can do is just prepare for the fight. In the future if Euphoria wants to do the winner with the two heavyweight fights (the other being Jeff Monson VS TBA) I’d be willing to do it. Overall I’m just not trying to look too far ahead.

MMA Weekly: During the post fight press conference for UFC 51, UFC President Dana White announced you would be fighting Renato “Babalu” Sobral at UFC 52. Many of us in the crowd thought perhaps that a mistake had been made in the announcement because Babalu is a light-heavyweight and you’ve fought your whole career near 240lbs. Is he going to step up in weight or are you actually going to cut down your already massive frame to 205lbs?

Travis Wiuff: I’m coming down to 205lbs. For this fight against Antoine I’ll be around 225lbs so my weight is fine. I cleaned up my diet a lot in preparation for this fight. I’ve done a lot of running and after a solid work out I’m 223lbs. I’m fairly close right now I think I’m going to have to dehydrate myself 24 hours prior to the UFC to make weight (against Babalu). I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. I’ve gradually lowered my weight, I was starting at 275lbs, then moved to 250lbs and then 235lbs for my last fight and honestly the lighter I get the better I feel. With my cardio like it is I haven’t lost any strength as I’ve lost weight. It’s not going to be fun to cut weight, but it’s possible. A lot of people don’t think it’s possible for me to do it, but it is possible.

MMA Weekly: I guess you’re not going to be in a good mood come weigh ins. Whose idea was it to move down in weight to light-heavyweight?

Travis Wiuff: (Laughs) No, I’m not going to be a happy-go-lucky guy, but it’s worth it, it’s a big fight, a win at that level is a major thing. Monte (Cox, Wiuff’s manager) and I had talked about in October. When he mentioned it to me, first I thought he was nuts, but the more I thought about it and the big picture, it has a lot of advantages for me. I don’t think I’ve ever been pushed around at heavyweight, I’m able to get inside position and I’m a small heavyweight now. All the other guys are around 250-265lbs, so I’m giving away 20-30lbs right now and none of them can overpower me.

MMA Weekly: Right now there appears to be a lot of opportunity at light-heavyweight compared to the past where it was a very tough division to make headway in with all the fighters in it, was that part of your motivation to move down?

Travis Wiuff: Yes, I think obviously the big four (Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort) are at the top, but other than that there is not a lot depth in the division. There is opportunity for someone to step in and make a big run. A win over Babalu will put me right up there as fast as I could get to the top in the heavyweight division.

MMA Weekly: Word has it that Ortiz and Belfort could have just made their last appearance in the UFC and Couture has said to us that retirement isn’t too far off, so that opens up a lot of room for a young fighter in the division.

Travis Wiuff: Definitely, you know Randy Couture is my hero, my idol, but sooner or later he’s gonna slow down, it’s remarkable what he’s doing right now. It’s amazing he can do it at his age, but he can’t do it forever. Chuck is in his mid-age so I don’t know how long he can go either.

MMA Weekly: At only 26, you could fight to near Chuck’s age, you could have a solid 8-10 year run as a light-heavyweight.

Travis Wiuff: Exactly; that’s what I can offer the division. The UFC is the big one, I’m not overlooking the Euphoria show, I’m prepared for that one and will have a good showing and win the fight. Then hopefully sign a multi-fight deal if I do well in the UFC and stick with them. I think a win over Babalu puts me right in there in the top three or four. I definitely think I can be the number one contender if I get enough fights. I like to stay active, don’t like to sit around, the more I can fight the bigger impact I can make.

MMA Weekly: Thanks for the time Travis. Is there anything you’d like to say as we close out the interview?

Travis Wiuff: You’re welcome. I want to say I’m just training hard getting ready for this fight. I would like to thank Sprall; they’ve been great to me. I’d like to let everyone know to keep their eyes open for me, I think I’ll be a monster at 205lbs. I will get my weight down, it will be tough, but I will be able to do it and, I will tear it up at light-heavyweight.


Source: MMA Weekly

 2/23/05

Quote of the Day

"We are not just our behavior, we are the person managing our behavior."

Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D., American Business Lecturer, Author

Pride PPV Showing at Bedrock!

This Friday, February 25 Bedroq will be showing Pride.

Bedroq is located off University Avenue next to Jiffy Lube and Varsity
Theatre. There is no cover charge and it will be happy hour till 8 so
drafts and pupus are half off while pride is playing.

Bedroq Bar & Grill
2535 Coyne
Honolulu, HI 96826
Phone: 808-942-8822

Any questions, email Tavis.

2005 Hawaiian Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
7th Annual Event
This Sunday!

DATE: February 27, 2005
TIME: Starts at 10:00 AM
LOCATION: Saint Louis School Gymnasium
3142 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii

Format: Gi & No Gi Sport BJJ Rules; Single Elimination
Weigh-in: Saturday, February 26th, 2005
UH Athletic Complex, Studio #2
12-1 pm; 6-8 pm

Fees: $40 Gi or No Gi / $50 both
(Applications will be available at weigh-in)

$5 discount if Pre-registration by February 1st
Divisions: Various Age, Rank and Weight
Contact: 223-9363 / 392-8330 for details

Additional Information:
www.brazilian-freestyle.com/events.htm

BRUCE BUFFER TO FACE OFF AGAINST TOP POKER PROS AND CELEBRITIES AT THE WORLD POKER TOUR'S "WPT 2005 INVITATIONAL" IN LOS ANGELES

Bruce Buffer has received a special invitation to face off and compete against many of the world's top professional poker players along with many other Hollywood celebrities at the World Poker Tour's 2005 Invitational Tournament being held at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California on Wed. Feb. 23rd. The winner will take home approximately $200,000 in prize money. With the preliminaries beginning at 1:00 Wednesday and the Finals to be held on Thursday, Buffer will be competing amongst a field of approximately 200 other top players from around the world, all of which have received a special invitation to play due to their being amongst the elite poker professionals of the world along with many invited celebrities expected to compete such as Ben Affleck, Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon, Jerry Buss, Meat Loaf, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mimi Rogers and a host of others.

Drawing large crowds of spectators watching the ongoing action, the WPT Invitational is one of the most crowd pleasing events of the annual WPT Tour and the finals will be filmed for TV and televised at a later date on The Travel Channel. Buffer is well known for his gaming skills and can be seen at many a UFC event winning and stacking chips at the blackjack tables and is also an avid semi-professional poker player.

"I'm excited about playing in the WPT Invitational against many of the top professional players. I plan on representing not just myself, but the UFC and MMA and with a little bit of luck I hope to make the final table and crush anyone who bets against me. All I have to say to poker pro's such as Gus Hansen and actor's like Ben Affleck is when they bet against me and I've got the cards, you can be sure that "It's Time... To Go All In!" states Bruce Buffer.

Source: Max Fighting

"It will be different this time.", says Hermes Franca about facing Yves Edwards

As the third installment of the Euphoria MFC gets ready to explode at Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal this upcoming weekend, the most anticipated fight during the event will be the rematch between Hermes Franca and Yves Edwards. Originally the two had battled to a hotly debated split decision victory for Edwards at UFC 47 last year. Now with a change in teams and a lot of growth as a fighter and individual, Franca prepares to take revenge and move on to the finals of the Euphoria lightweight tournament.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Franca continues to train through an injury for a rematch he's wanted since the initial decision came down nearly a year ago. Currently he is working with his former teammates at the American Top Team in Florida as legal issues have kept him from going to Brazil to work with the Brazilian Top Team. Franca discussed where he is at in training when he told MMA Weekly's Mick Hammond, "I've been training hard for this fight. Right now I'm just working on positions and my cardio. I still need to lose a little weight before I go to Euphoria."

As MMAWeekly first reported from Vegas during the days surrounding UFC 51, Franca had suffered torn ligaments in his left hand. The injury will not keep him from competing against Edwards, and as we learned it wasn't the only injury to come from Franca's hard preparation for the rematch, "I'm putting ice on my hand every day and resting it. I hurt my knee too in training, but it should be good also. I'm finished all my hard training so I'm going to heal my body. I want to rest and put ice on everything so it's ready when I fight."

This will be the third fight for Franca since joining the BTT last year after his loss to Edwards. While Franca seems very happy to be a part of the BTT and to train with them in his native Brazil, there is no doubt he has a strong love for his adopted homeland of the US. "It's awesome (working with the BTT). There were a lot of great moments, great days, and good fighters over there in Brazil. There's a lot of guys in my weight division like Buscape (Luiz Firmino) and (Milton) Vieira. They are all very technical and skilled. I was happy in Brazil, but I love the USA, it's my home now. When I was in Brazil I was in my country but my family, son, business is here (in the US). I was happy in Brazil, but I was wanting to come home."

Make no mistake; Franca realizes how rare rematches can be in this business and he plans to take full advantage of the opportunity afforded to him. "I'm happy I got the chance to fight Yves again and that's why I am training hard," said Franca. "I think I won the last the fight, but I won't make excuses, the judges gave it to him, and right now I want to change the outcome and want to win the fight."

It's easy to understand that Franca is tight-lipped about his exact strategy for Edwards the second time around, however he did make it clear things would be different. "Everybody knows he's going to try knock me down/out, he's not going to change his game. I've trained a lot of Muay Thai so maybe this time I can fight standing up. I don't want to take him down, I know he thinks I want to take him down, but it's too easy and I want to try and knock him down/out."

Franca continued, "It will be different this time. In the first fight I was a little nervous because he's experienced fighter with more than 30 fights. He's a good striker and I was scared about his knees and kicks. I'm not scared this time, he's not supernatural, I can beat him, I know his game. For sure I will be more comfortable. It will be two professional guys fighting. Yves was here last week at the AFC (Absolute Fighting Championships 11), he's a good guy, so it will be a professional fight."

This is the second fight of the 8-man lightweight tournament that started in Euphoria last year. The winner of Yves and Hermes would then presumably face the winner of Rich Clemente and Daisuke Hanazawa later this year for the tournament championship. For Franca though, a tournament title isn't the most important reason for fighting, "When I fought against Manny Reyes it was because fans wanted me to fight and told me to fight. I felt with a lot of pressure, and you never know how it will go. My fans came to me and told me to kick the guy's ass. All my fights are important to me. It's a big tournament, but it doesn't matter where I fight. The point to me isn't the tournament it's the fight, the fight is most important. Euphoria is an opportunity to get to the Pride Lightweight GP, a lot of guys are waiting for that and so am I."

With an impressive 10-2 record, Franca is one of the top lightweights in the world and if he should defeat Edwards and run the table in the Euphoria tournament there is no limit to where Hermes could fight. One thing is for sure, Franca wants to return to the big stage of PPV fighting, whether it's in Japan or the States, he is hungry for the biggest fights possible.

"It would be amazing to fight in Japan," said Franca. "I was at the Heavyweight GP last year for Rodrigo Nogueira's fight and it's unbelievable. I was just looking around and saw thousands of people cheering it's so unbelievable. I say one day I want to fight there, I'm just waiting for my opportunity. I would like to fight in UFC again, but from what I hear it's not good at 155lbs anymore there. I'm not sure if they are going to keep the division, if they keep it I wish to come back. I think because after the UFC TV show a lot of people know about the UFC and that's good."

No matter what happens at Euphoria, Franca is focused on the task at hand and is not looking past the toughest challenge of his career. Hermes made sure to let people know how thankful he is for everything and that it's going to be a different fight this time around, "I want to say thanks to all my fans they make me strong. A lot of fans came to me to say good luck and give to me a lot of confidence. I want to also thank God and my family. I'm not thinking anything but Yves, and I'm gonna do my best. I have a good surprise waiting, you will see a new Hermes Franca for sure."

Source: MMA Weekly

"...at Euphoria I will force my gameplan on whoever I fight." SAYS JEFF MONSON

As the third installment of Euphoria approaches, one of the more interesting matches scheduled for the night's action may not be happening. MMAWeekly's Mick Hammond spoke with Jeff "Snowman" Monson of the American Top Team over the weekend and according to him, his scheduled opponent Kerry Schall may not be available to fight.

"I heard that Kerry was injured, " said Monson. "I think they're going to replace him with Jay White or another member of Renzo's (Gracie) school. It doesn't really matter who I fight both guys they're maybe going to replace Kerry with are both the same size and style so it doesn't change anything."

Not only has Monson been hard at work training for another busy year, he's had the added pressure of the opening of ATT's Olympia school, "Training has been kind of slow. I've been trying to get the gym together so I haven't had the time I would like to put in it, but I will come in shape (for Euphoria). I did the Northeast Grappling Championship a week ago and I got six matches in there and felt fine."

When asked how he balances all his fighting commitments in MMA, boxing, and grappling, Monson seems to take it all in stride, "I just consider it all part of the training. I try to maximize it for a really big event, but with things like the boxing I'm using it for striking development. If I was a pro I wouldn't take fights like I do on short notice, but it helps for the MMA events. I try to put it all together for Euphoria and Abu Dhabi and see where it goes."

Originally the upcoming Euphoria was supposed to be the continuation of a heavyweight tournament started last year, but Euphoria has decided to scrap the idea in favor of a "theme event" with US competitors taking on fighters from abroad. Monson doesn't seem too happy about the change; "I don't like that, I had heard that they were going to do it and just found out about it. I was kind of hoping to do a tournament, I would rather do a tournament, I think it's more entertaining for the fans."

If the tournament format was to have continued, the winner of Monson's match would have faced the winner of Travis Wiuff and Antoine Joaude taking place later in the evening. Jeff made it clear when asked that he would love to face the winner of the fight and that it's something he's looking forward to seeing. "I would like to fight either one of those guys, they are both talented guys. I don't know who to call for the win between them; they have two different styles and both of them good at everything. They are very well-rounded and I want to see that one after my fight."

After his fight against Joaude, Wiuff will be making the trip down to light-heavyweight for his next fight, Monson's response to a similar move for himself was surprisingly agreeable considering Monson is usually near 235lbs for his fights. "I would go to 205lbs, but only for a UFC event or something like that," said Monson. "I wouldn't do it just once, it would have to be something long-term. I will never grapple at 205lbs, that's for sure. I grapple better at heavyweight between 235-230lbs, the bigger the better. I can lay on my opponent a little more because if a heavy guy lays on you with good hips, you feel it. You get stuck and have no room to wiggle if you're trapped in mount or side mount against a bigger guy who can move."

As was mentioned earlier, Monson is part of the staff currently putting finishing touches on the ATT facility in Olympia, Washington along with MMA standouts Dennis Hallman, Benji "Razor" Radach, and others. From what Monson says the gym is coming together quite nicely and finishing touches should be applied shortly, "Everything is in place now. Weight equipment has been ordered, we a have ring, Mauy Thai bags, boxing bags, 2000 square feet of Tatame mats, and a total of 5400 square feet (at the facility). We are trying to make it look nice and more of a health club atmosphere rather than a training gym so we can get the general public in here and excited about the place. We don't want it to be a fighter gym only, we want more regular people coming in and signing up for classes. It has to be like that, we have guys like Radach, Hallman, and (Evan) Tanner who come in, they are guys that train that are high caliber and they usually come in at night. We want it to be fan friendly the rest of the time because you don't make money solely off the fighters, you make it from the regular people who come in. Things like the kids classes, women's classes, conditioning classes and stuff like that is how you make a business like this survive."

Monson continued, "Our motto is we offer something for everyone. I want to something new and something fun rather than the old gym mentality, we want people to come in and get a good workout and learn something at the same time. Everybody wonders what it would be like to be a fighter, this gives them that chance to find out and also get in great shape. There's something for every level of skills and types of people, from the kids, to ex-athletes looking to stay in shape, to the business people who want to keep healthy. We've only been open for a week and a half and not one person who's signed up for a free trial has left, they all signed on full time. We're trying to give people a workout and get them feeling good about themselves and have a positive impact in their lives. We're also going to be holding an amateur fight card on March 12 that will feature some of the ATT fighters from the Florida school and may get some Team Quest guys on there as well."

Not only is Monson going to compete at Euphoria, but the former Abu Dhabi champion will be competing again at the championships which are making their US debut this May in Los Angeles, California. While Abu Dhabi is extremely important, it may not be the grappling tournament that could create the most sparks for Monson as he's also slated to return to the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic / Gracie Championships this year. At last year's tournament Monson created quite a stir when he faced off against Relson Gracie student Pe de Pano.

For those unfamiliar with what happened last year, Monson was quite vocal about the festivities when asked to describe the scene; "I'm going to compete at the Arnold Classic this year again. I'm surprised they invited me back after what happened last year. Basically I made it to the finals against Pe de Pano, during the match I put him in a can opener move to escape his guard and he tapped. The move is illegal to finish a fight but I was using it not as a submission but rather a way to escape his guard. So Relson Gracie and Pe de Pano threw a big fit about it saying Pe de Pano win the match and I should be disqualified, even though he tapped. After about 10 minutes of delay the director of tournament told us that he wanted us to restart the match in guard with 4 minutes left with a 0-0 score. For 20 minutes there was more complaining and arguing and the director said to them either he get back in the guard or forfeit the match. Relson went over to the announcer and told them to declare his fighter the winner and things went downhill from there, the cops had to come in and everything."

Monson is normally a very relaxed and reserved fighter who never speaks ill of anyone in the business, it's understandable however that he has less than a respectful view of Pe de Pano, "He didn't do anything but wuss out. I will never say anyone can't be me because anyone can catch you at any time in a match, it doesn't matter who they are. I will say this about Pe de Pano and I'll go on record saying this, he will never ever, ever, ever beat me. I will never lose to Pe de Pano, I broke him mentally in our match and he won't fight me again."

The conversation closed out with Monson reiterating his thoughts on his upcoming fight, "You going to see a more well rounded me. I will strand, wrestle, and use Jui-Jitsu, there's not any position from before when I was uncomfortable being in a certain place that I'm still uncomfortable with. I feel comfortable in every aspect of the game. Certain fighters you have a gameplan for, but at Euphoria I will force my gameplan on whoever I fight."

For people interested in checking out American Top Team Olympia's facilities, or schedule, you can contact them via email at ATTWest@AOL.com or visit them directly at 710 Marine Drive NE, Olympia, Washington, 98501. The school offers a free week-long pass for anyone to try any of the classes available on their schedule. They are currently offering classes Karate, Akido, Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, cardio kickboxing, kids wrestling, MMA, and will soon be adding a morning "bootcamp" style conditioning class for people who work during the day and are unable to workout any other time.

Source: MMA Weekly

 2/23/05

Quote of the Day

"We are not just our behavior, we are the person managing our behavior."

Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D., American Business Lecturer, Author

Tim Sylvia: Speaks Out On Arlovski, His Future and His Fans

6’8” giant Tim Sylvia was ready to face Belarus born Andrei Arlovski at UFC 51 for the interim UFC heavyweight title, but the Maniac wasn’t ready for a looping right hand with an Achilles lock ending his night at the forty-seven second mark of round one of this highly anticipated bout.

Sylvia made his debut in 2001, beating Randy Durant by TKO in round one of an IFC event. For the next two years Sylvia would go on an all out rampage, destroying his opposition with a relentless style. Sylvia paved a path to the top with knockout after knockout and in true Maniac fashion, he delivered his power to Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 41 to gain the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Sylvia successfully defended his title against two-inch taller opponent Gan McGee with yet another knockout, but relinquished his belt less than a month later after testing positive for an anabolic agent in his body, which was found by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on October 15, 2003.

After admitting his mistake and serving his four-month suspension Tim returned to the octagon at UFC 48 to face Frank Mir for the vacant heavyweight title, but after fifty seconds Sylvia would be denied the heavyweight crown when he suffered a broken arm.

After his rehabilitation and defeating Wes Sims at Super Brawl, his return to the UFC wasn’t successful but then again it wasn’t the end. Sylvia is already set to return as soon as he is called upon to do so and hopes for a rematch with Arlovski, and in an interview conducted with MAX FIGHTING, Sylvia gives his thoughts on his recent loss at UFC 51 as well as his future.

Benny Henderson Jr. - Hey Tim how are you?
Tim Sylvia - I’m fine I just got back from the gym about an hour ago.

BH - Can you give us your thoughts on your recent bout at UFC 51?
TS - I think I just went in there a little overconfident and I underestimated Arlovski and how fast he was. He closed the distance very quick on me and they studied me very well; they know when I throw my double jab I don’t bring the second one back to my face to protect my chin and stuff, and he threw the looping overhand right and he caught me, dazed me and then he capitalized the win by jumping on me and going for a leg lock.

BH -You said after the bout you felt your ankle pop a few times so you tapped out to stop any further damage or injury, how is your ankle now?
TS - Oh it is fine, it was popping from the pressure, but I think I just got a little scared because when my arm broke I heard the three pops and I knew it broke and I kept going. I don’t want to be sidelined for another year so I just tapped out; that’s the right thing to do. I say to myself I wish I would have fought it longer but I believe in my heart I did the right thing because hopefully I can fight as soon a possible.

BH - This bout was very important to you, as you wanted to get back to the heavyweight title and stake your claim. With this loss it moved you back a couple of steps from reaching your goal, so does it frustrate you to the point of tearing down any of your confidence level or do you look at this as motivation for your next bout?
TS - The way for me to look at this positively is to motivate myself. Yeah it is frustrating because I lost against Mir, I beat Sims, then I got beat by Arlovski again. So with the two losses in my career it is definitely frustrating, but the best thing for me to do right now is get back on the horse and give it another try.

BH - Any news on your next fight and who your opponent may be?
TS - I have no idea. I am hoping that they will have me in June. I actually just started training again today. So I’m hoping to get back in shape and be ready in case somebody gets hurt for April, so I can be a last minute replacement and jump in then.

BH – Let’s say you were given the chance for a rematch with Arlovski, I know you would take it so I am not going to even ask that.
TS - Absolutely

BH - But how would you approach a rematch if you two were to meet again in the future?
TS - Well actually I want to keep that a secret because we know how we are going to approach it. There are some things that I held back on a little but we are not going to do that this time. I hope to fight Arlovski again down the road; obviously he beat me legitimately so I don’t deserve an immediate rematch, but I hope I can put a couple of wins together and face him down the road.

BH - After the fight I saw you singing autographs and taking photos with the fans. I wouldn’t say they were mauling you but they were pretty much going crazy to get a chance to talk to you and take a photo and so on. How did it feel to know even in defeat you have a legion of loyal Sylvia fans backing you up?
TS - It definitely feels great man; that’s why I always want to try to do stuff like that. A lot of guys, they lose and shell up and don’t want to talk to anybody and it’s not those people’s fault, they came there to see you win or lose, they came to see me. They are true fans so I want to give back as much as they give to me; they give me the inspiration to get in there and compete and they pay the bills. They are the ones who buy the tickets for the shows and they are the ones who allow me to get paid what I get paid. Right now I’m living a dream and their dream was to come to UFC and meet me or some of the other guys so I’m trying to help them out as much as I can.

BH - Is there anything you would like to add or say in closing?
TS - I would always like to thank my sponsors, I have two major sponsors right now, KTFO has helped me out a great deal with paying me monthly fees and that is helping me out a lot, and of course Full Contact Fighter and Rock Hard Nutrition Centers.

Source: Maxfighting

Rampage speaks out

It isn't the first time a fighter has said it, but it's probably the first time it has been said in front of a stadium full of fans. Quinton Jackson said what many fighters in Pride complain about and that is getting short notices to fight on the big show. Quinton Jackson was told in less than one month that he was going to fight. He was so disappointed with his performance in which he won by split decision that he dropped his check and tried to give his trophy to Murilo Ninja. He proceeded to say in the ring that he needed more time to get ready if he was going to be able to put on a good performance. It was a close fight between the two warriors and one could say that Quinton was a bit more impressive with his body slams, when Murilo had a very tough time trying to take Jackson down.

But on the other side, Pride fighters know the way that Pride works and that short notices are common. This is a job and fighters need to stay in shape for when they are called upon. So, to place all the blame on Pride is unfair. Jackson also said that he would not fight on short notice and the top brass took notice. In fact after Pride 29, Pride President Sakakibara said that Pride wants to set the Middleweight GP matches up soon, so that the fighters have enough time to train. This sense of urgency in part due to Quinton Jackson saying that he will not fight if he is not given enough time to train. But Pride also wants the fans to know about the fights in advance to build up the anticipation, which should sell more tickets or PPV. This should be a good thing which should also result in better fights for the fans to watch.

Source: MMA Weekly

"Unofficial UFC Lightweight Champion"


Yves Edwards

Yves Edwards gets set to rematch Hermes Franca in Euphoria 3, next weekend, February 26th, at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The two first fought last April, at UFC 47 and ended in a split decision in favor of Edwards. Yves was the featured guest on MMAWeekly SoundOff Radio Thursday and spoke about the rematch with Franca, the lightweight division in general, and the possibility of being in the upcoming Pride lightweight tournament.

Yves was originally supposed to fight Joachim Hansen, but a hand injury forced Hansen out. About the opponent change, Edwards said, "If his hand is really broken, I'm not too upset about it. I mean, things happen in the fight game. Things happen. You get injuries, and you've got to make adjustments, but if there were other reasons behind it, that would suck....I'm not too upset about it. I was looking forward to fighting a really tough guy as well as fighting a good fighter, and that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to fight Hermes. Everybody knows how tough Hermes is. He's definitely a great fighter. He's a guy who can take me to the limit. I know that to be a fact. I'm just looking forward to a good fight. I'm over the fact that I'm not fighting Hansen, so I'm on board with the fight with Hermes."

Discussing Hermes Franca, Edwards had nothing but respect. When questioned what Franca brought to the table, Yves responded, "He's ring savvy. I mean the guy's, he's a really smart fighter. The mistakes that he makes, he knows how to minimize them, and he knows how to recover from them. Also, he has pretty good timing. I watched the guy on tape, and I'm like, man this guy's, he's slow. He's not going to be able to take me down, but then I watch the tape, I replay the tape, and the guy gets like three or four take downs. It's all because of timing. He sets things up. He kind of throws a big hahay-makero make you lose sight, and then he's in on the take down. He's trying to work body locks and the single leg and whatnot. His timing is pretty good, and then he's just savvy. He's a lot more savvy than a guy with only ten MMA fights."

Both fighters know each other well. They've fought before, and know what the other brings. This time, Yves said, "I definitely need to let the hands fly a little more. His timing really threw me off that first fight. I started to get a lot more comfortable at the end of the fight, and I think I'll be a lot more comfortable with it going in to this one. I mean, I've got to play to my strengths, which is going to be the stand up game. I'm going to pose trouble for him getting the take down, I know that much. I think putting the hands in his face is going to make it harder for him to get the take down. I mean, Hermes is great. I love the guy. ATT is pretty much my surrogate family. I just think for this fight, for me to win it, I have to press my strengths and that is going to cause me to have to hurt a friend. That's the way it works. That's the game."

Euphoria kicked off the lightweight tournament in October, but what started out as a tournament may not end as one. Yves commented, "It's no longer a tournament. I don't necessarily know what is going to happen. I know Rich [Clementi] and this Japanese guy, '13' [Daisuke Hanazawa]. I'm going to call him '13' because I can't remember his name. I guess that's his nickname. They're fighting at 165 pounds. I don't think that guy can make 155. If he were to win that fight, I don't think I'd be fighting him. If Rich were to win the fight, and I were to win the fight with Hermes, then he has a good argument to say, hey he wants a rematch with me and he wants a shot a me for the belt, or whatever in Euphoria. I don't know where it's going necessarily, but I know that there will be another show, and there will be more fights in Euphoria, and I'll definitely be fighting here again. I ha! ve one more fight with them under contract after this, and I think if we keep this a good working relationship I'll be there for a while. I'd love to be there. I'd love to get back to the UFC, and I want to fight in Pride. They guys at Euphoria have been really good to me. I love fighting in the UFC, and Pride just has a sick tournament going on I want a shot at. Any one of those three things is want to do, and I'm all for options."

UFC president Dana White has made reference to Yves Edwards being the "unofficial UFC Lightweight Champion." Although Dana saying that gives Yves a little solace, Edwards commented, "It's always going to be frustrating when you put so much into something, and you don't feel you get the recognition you deserve. Someone like me, I care about the sport. I definitely care about pretty much all the 155 pounders out there. If in the U.S., I'm the guy leading the U.S. in the 155 pound division, then it's really frustrating to not be able to demand that we get seen. You know what I mean? I definitely want a shot at that belt. You know, the unofficial champion, I guess it's fine, but you don't go down in history unofficially. You know what I mean? There's no unofficial legacies, and I want to be a part of history. I want to be a part of history for this sport, and I want to be a great champion at 155 pounds. I mean, officially I won't be until the belt's around my waist, and that's just the sad part about it."

To hear all of Yves Edwards' interview, click on the radio archive. He says so much more, such as the possibility of being in Pride's planned lightweight tournament this year. If you're not a Premium Member, you're missing the whole story.

Source: MMA Weekly

 2/22/05

Quote of the Day

"Successful people begin where failures leave off. Never settle for 'just getting the job done.' Excel!"

Tom Hopkins, American Sales Trainer, Speaker, Author

Rumble on the Rock Replay!

If you missed it, you have more than one more chance to catch this event
All are on Oceanic Cable channel 701

Feb 21 8:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Feb 22 1:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Feb 24 1:00AM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
6:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Feb 25 3:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 2 1:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 7 10:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 11 7:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 13 9:00AM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)
Mar 16 2:00PM iN1 K-1 Fighting: Rumble on the Rock (Replay)


Source: MMA Weekly

Pride Pics

Check out
MMA Weekly for pictures of Pride!

Source: MMA Weekly

THE Z-FILES - PART 1 The History of the family behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship
BY SCOOP MCTROLL

Please take this post with a grain of salt. After all the author's name is Scoop McTroll, can you trust a McTroll?

In the January of 2001, the ailing reality fighting contest known as The Ultimate Fighting Championship, was purchased from its founder, the SEG CORPORATION by ZUFFA LLC. Three men, Frank Fertitta III, his younger brother Lorenzo Fertitta and their brother in law, the low profile but nonetheless powerful, Blake Sartini, are the owners of ZUFFA LLC.

The Fertitta brothers Frank III and Lorenzo, take the limelight in this partnership and have recently become known to millions of people through the reality television show 'American Casino'. As the CEO and President respectively, of the Station Casinos Empire, they appear to be amiable and successful young businessmen. Las Vegas residents may know of Frank III through his involvement in many charities and community projects, including Catholic Charities, Opportunity Village and the Las Vegas Chapter of the I Have A Dream Foundation. They may know of Lorenzo Fertitta from his time on the board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, or as the chairman of the Nevada Resort Association. The two millionare brothers donate hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to the Republican Party and they are an integral part of the Las Vegas A-list social scene. Many people have wondered just how they came to be so successful at such relatively young ages and where they came from. Our in depth report 'The Z-Files' will explore these issues and attempt to throw some light on the history of the family behind The Ultimate Fighting Championship. I hope you enjoy reading The Z-Files; it is the result of several months of research.

Part 1

It is 1993 in Galveston, Texas and a relative to the Fertittas, 89 year old Vic Maceo has just shown how business is done in his family. The aging alleged mobster had walked into the Galveston Post Office, pulled out a .38 calibre revolver and started firing at postal worker Pete Miller, whom Maceo believed owed him money. Maceo's aim was a little off since his hey day but he still managed to hit Miller in the right arm, shattering the bones and bringing him to the ground, wincing in pain.

When the Maceos and the Fertittas ruled the town a few decades prior, this was the way disputes were settled in Galveston, Texas. In this case Vic Maceo had sold a house to Pete Miller for $45,000 in 1968 and when Miller sold it in 1991, he sold it for $180,000. Naturally Vic felt that some of the profit should have been his. Miller had once worked as a busboy at the Maceo-Fertitta controlled illegal casino known as 'The Balinese Room' and Vic C. Mateo, who was also known as 'Little Vic' to distinguish him from his cousin Vic A. 'Gigolo' Maceo, could not cope with the fact that a busboy had seemingly gotten the better of him.

As Vic Maceo attempted to make his escape in his sports car, police apprehended him. He gave himself up willingly and when approached by the police, he said in a defiant and firm voice, "When you look a guy in the eye and tell him he owes you forty grand and he tells you, 'Let me get the file,' you know that the son of a bitch is lying." As the police slapped handcuffs on him he retorted with "You don't handcuff a gentleman in this town!" Such was the power that the Maceo and Ferttita gang once wielded in Galveston

It all began in the early 20th century when two Sicilian barbers arrived in Galveston from Sicily via Louisiana. Rose and Sam Maceo were soon to build an illegal gambling empire from simple bootlegging roots and become known as Papa Rose and Big Sam. Along with their relatives the Fertitta family, they would control the black economy, the organised crime and the politics of Galveston for many years. One of their more well known illegal casinos was 'The Balinese Room' but by the mid 1930's, and the time that prohibition ended, they had built up an entire city block of illegal casinos and gambling dens in Galveston. Many people feel that they created the Vegas format before Vegas ever existed. Sam Maceo organized for all the big name singers and bands of the time to appear at his casinos, including Frank Sinatra.

The Maceo-Fertitta gang was responsible for funding many things in the Galveston community and despite obvious connections to the New Orleans mob; no one dared to complain about the criminal benefactors of the town. In fact those that did complain usually ended up sleeping with the fishes, according to local legend.

The Maceo-Fertitta gang wielded great power and most of the other mobsters knew better than to tread on their turf. The Chicago crime czar Al Capone had heard about the lucrative gambling and bootleg empire that the Maceos and Fertittas had built in Galveston and he wanted some of that action. He planned to at first become a partner with them and then muscle them out of the picture once he had his hooks firmly embedded. Al Capone sent his main man Frank Nitti to Galveston to intimidate the Maceos into allowing Capone to "invest" in their businesses. The Maceos received word of Nitti's impending arrival and they decided that they would flat-out refuse any offers from Nitti on behalf of Capone to take a piece of their illegal gambling pie.

They decided to call on the skills of the most ruthless member of their family's gang, Maceo In-Law, Anthony Fertitta. Nitti arrived in town and was introduced to the Maceos and to Anthony Fertitta, Fertitta told Nitti that they needed to talk and he took Nitti for a drive in his car. The two men were gone for several hours and it is not clear what events took place during that time. All that is known is that Nitti was dropped at the city limits very late that evening, he appeared to be shaken but alive and well. No one knows what took place during the car ride but when Nitti made it back to Chicago, he told Capone that the Fertittas were no pushovers and it would require an all out war to move in on their territory. Capone never pursued it any further.

Rose Maceo was suspected of many gangland killings during the 1930's. Including his first wife and her lover, but no Maceo was ever convicted of a felony.

Al Capone came off second best when he tried to muscle in on the Fertittas.

Sam Maceo, was the brain behind the Maceo-Fertitta empire and he was directly under the control of New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello, who later would be linked to the assassination of JFK. Sam also helped the pioneer Vegas hotelier, Moe Dalitz to get a gaming licence for The Desert Inn Las Vegas's first casino, not very long before his death. Papa Rose and Big Sam had both passed away by the 1950's and many of the remaining Maceo's and the dealers who worked in their illegal casinos moved out to Las Vegas.

The Galveston gambling empire was under the control of mob boss Carlos Marcello, who would later be implicated in the JFK assassination.

The Fertittas, who were related to the Maceos by marriage, took control of the Galveston gaming empire, where they honed their skills in the casino and hospitality fields, a legacy that would remain lucrative to the family for generations to come. Unlike the socially more adept Maceos, who flaunted their success despite its illegality, the Fertittas did not take too kindly to publicity.

The August 1955 edition of Time Magazine that exposed the Fertittas as thugs.

In 1955, a Time magazine LIFE reporter visited one of the illegal Fertitta casinos in Galveston. In an article entitled 'Thugs vs The Press', he reported the following in the August 1955 edition of Time Magazine.

" Many a mug on the edge of the big time thinks there is a formula for dealing with newsmen: intimidate or bribe. In Galveston, Texas, where vice and crime abounds, Gambling Boss Anthony Fertitta tried that formula in an effort to prevent LIFE from getting pictures of his illegal operations. It did not work.

After LIFE Photographer Joe Scherschel and Reporter Hank Suydam took pictures (with a concealed camera) in one of Fertitta's gambling houses, the boss and two henchmen followed the LIFE men to their hotel. Photographer Scherschel took his film upstairs while Reporter Suydam encountered Fertitta and his two strong-arm men in the lobby. Fertitta demanded an explanation of what Suydam and Scherschel had been doing, suddenly smashed Suydam in the face. By the time Suydam had picked himself off the floor, Fertitta had switched tactics, tried to stuff a $20 bill into the reporter's pocket.

Last week, just before LIFE published "Wide-Open Galveston Mocks Texas Laws," Gambling Boss Fertitta was tried for simple assault in the Galveston justice court. After Fertitta pleaded "not guilty" and then refused to take the stand, Justice J. L. McKenna found Fertitta guilty, gave him the maximum punishment: a $25 fine. The conviction was much more important than the small fine. In Galveston, where gang leaders like Fertitta have long tried to pose as legitimate businessmen, the criminal conviction reported on Page One of Texas newspapers helped to expose these "legitimate businessmen" for the thugs they are."

Partially in light of the adverse publicity that they began to attract and partially due to the more conservative political climate of the mid to late 1950's, the Galveston gambling empire began to slowly crumble. Many of the Fertittas also began to migrate to Las Vegas and it all finally came to a crashing halt in Galveston in 1957 when the Attorney General Will Wilson, along with the Texas Rangers, smashed the Fertitta's illegal gambling racket. The glory days for the Maceos and Fertittas were over in Texas, for the moment at least.

With no choice but to shut up shop and leave town, a mass exodus took place. With the vast experience the owners and employees had gained in Galveston by running or working in the biggest chain of illegal casinos and live entertainment restaurants in the country, Las Vegas seemed to be the natural place to migrate. A pilgrimage from Galveston to Vegas of mobsters, card dealers, croupiers, hores and gamblers began. In those days Vegas was not as heavily regulated as it is today and offered the lure of an easy buck to such dregs of society.

In 1960, a 21-year-old man named Frank Fertitta Jr would arrive in Las Vegas and find work at a Casino as a bellboy. With him are his wife and newborn son, Frank III.

The fun for him, was just beginning.

(That was Part 1 of Scoop McTroll's new series 'The Z-Files'. Watch this page for part 2, coming to FS 24-7 soon.)

Source: Fight Sport

 2/21/05

Quote of the Day

The essence of greatness is the ability to choose personal fulfillment in the circumstances where others choose madness."

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, 1940-, American Psychotherapist, Author, Lecturer

Pride Announces It's 4th Gold Medalist

In press conference today, SportsNavi reports that Pawel Nastula, a former judo Olympian from Poland, who participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, will join Pride. He will be the 4th Gold Medalist Olympian to join Pride behind- Yoshida, Rulon Gardner and Takimoto. His debut fight for Pride will be in the 2nd round of the Middleweight GP show on June 26 th at the Saitama Super Arena.

Source: MMA Weekly

Babalú ready to fight at the Cage

In England since this morning, Renato Babalú is ready to face Pierre Guillet at Cage Rage 10, which happens next February 26. "I have plans to train with Roger Gracie and Roberto Gordo a week before the fight," Babalú Said, adding the fact he wants to defeated Gullet by KO. "He likes to fight on the ground, so I'll KO him." Cage Rage's card also features other three Brazilians: Evangelista Cyborg Vs Antony Real, Gabriel Gladiador Vs Mark Weir and Jean Silva Vs Chris Brennan.

COMPLETE CARD (subject to change):

Cage Rage 10

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Wembley Conference Centre, London, England

- Renato Babalú Vs Pierre Guillet;

- Sol Gilbert Vs Curtis Stout;

- Evangelista Cyborg Vs Antony Real;

- Alex Reid Vs Jorge Rivera;

- Chris Brennan Vs Jean Silva;

- Mark Weir Vs Gabriel Gladiador;

- Jeremy Bailey Vs Sami Berik;

- Robbie Olivier Vs Leigh Remedios;

- Andy Costello Vs Daniel Buzzorta;

- Marc Goddard Vs Robert Berry;

- Atilla Kubilay Vs Adam Kelly;

- Kuljit Degun Vs Mustafa Alturk;

- Brad Pickett Vs Chris Freeborn.

Source: Tatame

Black Belt GP middleweight in Japan

After promoting a Lightweight GP - won by Daisuke Sugie last February 9 - Fernando Lopes, in partnership with a Brazilian manager will promote a middleweight GP in the country. The idea is featuring the tournament as a trial of Black Belt GP middleweight, Schedule to second semester of 2005. Talking about lightweight GP, the second edition of the tournament may happen in Japan. "We want to do it in Japan because they have some of the best lightweight fighters in there," Fernando Lopes believes.

Source: Tatame

PRIDE CONFIRMS FIGHTSPORT.COM SCOOP

DSE/PRIDE president Sakakibara confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported on February 9th, that DSE/PRIDE officials had traveled to Russia to try and re-sign Fedor Emelianenko to a new deal.

That attempt was apparently unsuccessful, and Sakakibara announced to the Japanese media that he will himself go to Russia next month to try and re-sign Fedor to a new deal for 2005.
posted by Fightsport #7:35 AM

Source: Fight Sport

2nd Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament

War Memorial Gymnasium, Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii
Saturday, March 12, 2005

The Onzuka Brothers and the Relson Gracie Casca Grossa Team will be there, so make your arrangements to get to Maui for the tournament. Last year's tournament went extremely well, with a ton of talented JJ fighters who had a great time.

For Tournament information, please
email us and we can email you details and registration forms.

Dear Friends,

It is our great pleasure to invite you and your organization to attend and compete in the 2nd Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu open Tournament. The event will take place on Saturday, March 12, 2005 at the War Memorial Gymnasium in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. We also welcome back all who attended last year's event. We expect this years tournament to be even larger, with bigger and better competition!

Competition will consist of matches in all belt levels and weight divisions with medals, trophies, and prizes to the winners. There will also be a team competition this year, as well as a number of exhibition matches between advanced level competitors. (Anyone interested - please contact us).

Weigh-ins will be held on Friday March 11, at the new Maui Jiu-Jitsu academy location on Hanamau Street, near the airport (directions included) from 1 pm to ??. Opening ceremonies and late registrations will held at the War Memorial Gym at 8:00 am, Rules briefing at 9:30 am, Competition to begin promptly at 10:00 am.

Neighbor Island competitors can weigh-in on the day of the event, but it is strongly urged that all competitors weigh-in on friday in the interest of starting on time.

It is our hope that you and your organization will join us in the spirit of sportsmanship and competition, and help us in promoting the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu throughout the State of Hawaii.

Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions.

2nd Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu open Tournament
732 Makaala Drive
Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii 96793
Email:
mauibadboy@aol.com
www.mauijiujitsu.com
Ph. (808) 298-7698 Lee
(808) 357-0657 Luis

Thank you for your interest in the 2nd Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open Tournament. Your support for our tournament is greatly appreciated, and it is Maui Jiu-Jitsu’s goal to support and compete in many other tournaments hosted by our friends statewide.

One of the greatest obstacles of having a successful tournament is of course, the substantial cost of traveling to the neighbor isles. Understanding this, We at Maui Jiu-Jitsu would like to provide you with some information on accommodations and transportation, while here on Maui.

Hotel options:

1. Maui Beach Hotel – 170 Kaahumanu Ave. Ph. 877-0051 ( 2 miles from airport & gymnasium)

Probably the best option – better than average rooms, approx. $110 / night.

2. Maui Seaside Hotel – 100 Kaahumanu Ave. Ph. 877-3311 (next door to Maui Beach)

Slightly cheaper, but not quite as nice as Maui Beach – decent.

3. Maui Islander – 660 Wainee Street Ph. 667-9766 or 1-800-367-5226 (A little farther away – 20 miles)

As another option, we are currently in the process of building our new academy and should be on schedule to move in within the next 2 weeks. We would like to offer anyone who in the interest of saving money, would want to stay at the academy. Accommodations would be limited to sleeping bags on the matted training area, but if you don’t mind, plenty of space is available as well as bath facilities. Call us for more info.

Thanks again for your support of our tournament. We hope to make your experience here as enjoyable as possible, and hope that we will continue to grow and make this event better in the years to come.

Mahalo!

Luis Heredia and Lee Theros
(Event Promoters)


Counter courtesy of www.digits.com