Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2006
Grappler's Quest Hawaii
(Submission Grappling)
(TBA)
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)
9/25/05
NAGA 2005 Hawaiian State
Championships
(Submission Grappling & BJJ)
(Leilehua
High School, Wahiawa)
9/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Kauai)
8/27-28/05
International
Masters & Seniors BJJ Tournament
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)
8/6/05
Hawaii Grappling
Grand Prix
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(TBA)
7/29/05
ROTR
8
(MMA)
(Aloha Stadium)
7/23-31/05
World BJJ
Championships (Mundial)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)
7/23/05
Super Brawl 40: Icon
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
7/21-23/05
World Cup of BJJ
(BJJ)
(São Paulo, Brazil)
7/16-17/05
Richard Bustillo 2 day Seminar
(Jun Fan
Jeet Kune Do, Cacoy Doce Pares Eskrima, and Muay Thai concepts)
(HMC)
7/15/05
Kickin It 2005 Part III
(Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery Square)
7/9/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center)
7/3/05
Warriors Quest 11
(MMA)
(Kapaa H.S. Gym, Kapaa, Kauai)
Super Braw: Full Contact Showdown 4
at Bayfest
(MMA)
7/2/05
Extreme Wars X-1: Hawaii's Top Team vs. Next Generation's Top
Team
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu)
7/1/05
Dan "The Beast" Severn Seminar
(Farrington H.S. Gym)
|
|
July 2005 News Part
1
Wednesday night and Sunday
classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
 
For the special Onzuka.com
price, click on one of these banners above! |
Tuesdays at 9:30PM on Olelo Channel 52 |
Quote
of the Day
"Some people come into our lives and quickly go, some stay
for a while and leave footprints in our hearts, and we are never,
ever the same."
Unknown
|
Super
Brawl: ICON on K5
Super Brawl / Icon Sport to air 30-minute TV show: "Super
Brawl: ICON" on K5 The Home Team.
Super Brawl / Icon Sport will air its 30-minute program, Super
Brawl: ICON, on K5 The Home Team from Monday, July 11 through
Friday, July 22 (program times below). Super Brawl: ICON is
a preview of the upcoming MMA event of the same name, which will
be held on July 23rd at the Blaisdell Arena. The TV program will
air the following fights:
Falaniko Vitale vs. Masanori Suda
...the first ever FREE broadcast of Falaniko's flying KO punch.
Robbie Lawler vs. Tiki Ghosen
...Niko's nasty opponent...video highlights courtesy of the U.F.C.
Mark Moreno vs. Kevin Barber
...the other KO at April's Super Brawl: DESTINY event.
Jason "The Mayhem" Miller vs. Shawn Taylor
...from Super Brawl 31...the fight that put The Mayem on the
map. "Egan, come out to play!"
Jason "The Mayhem" Miller vs. Egan Inoue
...from Super Brawl 32...where The Mayhem snatched victory from
Egan Inoue.
Super Brawl: ICON will feature other highlights of Falaniko Vitale
and classic interview moments with Jason "The Mayhem"
Miller. This special program should not to be missed by any
sports fan in Hawaii!
Super Brawl: ICON airs on the following times and dates on K5
The Home Team:
11 pm Monday, July 11
11 pm Tuesday, July 12
11pm Thursday, July 14
11 pm Friday, July 15
11 pm Saturday, July 16
1 pm Sunday, July 17 (special afternoon broadcast)
11 pm Monday, July 18
11 pm Tuesday, July 19
11pm Thursday, July 21
11 pm Friday, July 22
If you have any questions about this event-preview TV program,
please call or email Patrick Freitas, Super Brawl / Icon Sport
/ Full Contact Showdown Director of Promotions. 375-1645 superbrawl21@yahoo.com.
Source: Super Brawl |
MIR
TO RETURN TO UFC
MMAWeekly.com has learned that Frank Mir will not only fight
again, but will fight most likely in October it could be December.
MMAWeekly talked trainer Ricardo Pires tonight and Pires told
MMAWeekly's Ryan Bennett that "Frank is doing surprisingly
well, much better than I would have ever imagined."
Pires
continued, "I thought his career could be over, it's amazing
to see how fast he has healed and he is training." Originally
the thought was that Mir would fight in October but as of tonight,
it still could be December.
"We
should have a better idea tomorrow night. He will be going in
for his final exam tomorrow night on his leg and if it goes well
then he will fight in October. If not then we will probably have
to push it back to December" Pires told MMAWeekly. There
was plenty of talk the past few weeks that he may retire and
never fight again. That is not the case.
His
return fight won't be an easy one by any means, as Andrei Arlovski
has become one of the most feared fighters in the UFC. Arlovski
has acquired the current Interim UFC Heavyweight Belt and will
try to unify the belts in October at UFC 55.
Frank
Mir hasn't fought since June of 2004. Mir then defeated Tim Sylvia
at UFC 48 by arm bar as Mir broke Sylvia's arm in the win. It
will have been 16 months since Frank last appeared in the Octagon
if he fights in October.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Wanderlei
& Ruas challenge Rickson
'Rickson if you think Vale-Tudo is at a low technical the level
nowadays why don't you come fight me on Pride? I challenge you
to fight me for middleweight belt on December 31st'. This explosive
statement was made last week in Japan by Pride Middleweight Champion
Wanderlei Silva, after reading the last edition of Tatame Magazine
that had Rickson Gracie on the cover. In the 7 page interview
the Gracie family's head honcho summarized his career, telling
for the first time about his Vale Tudo debut on the Rio de Janeiro
streets and impressed the fans with controversial statements
like: 'I'm cheering for Ricardo Arona in this Pride GP'.
Rickson
also promised to fight once or twice before retirement: 'I don't
have any proposal right now but that's my plan. I really would
like to do one or two fights before I stop', said the Gracie.
But the most controversial part of the interview was when he
said Minotauro's guard for Vale-Tudo is weak and also that he
considers all Vale-Tudo fighters nowadays at a low technical
level: 'Sometimes I'd rather see a beautiful K-1 fight than one
of those bad Vale-Tudo fights', said Gracie in a statement that
turned into the main subject of all Brazilian fighters encounters
in Tokyo in the days before Pride GP.
Considered
the no1 rival of Rickson in Brazil during 80's, Marco Ruas (who
came to Japan to support his students Pedro Rizzo) also complained
about the part of the interview when Rickson told of day that
he invaded Luta-Livre HQ to challenge Luta-Livre people. 'He
said he challenged me and I asked four months to train. That
was not true because I was 100% ready that day, but he said he
was looking for Luta-Livre guys, not me. Everybody in Brazil
always dreamed of seeing this fight. I think we finally could
make it. We are about the same age. It would be a great pleasure
for me to make a retirement fight against Rickson', said Ruas.
The
challenge were filmed by Team Tatame crew and will be on the
air next Friday at www.tatame.com.br/tv.
Source:
Tatame
|
UPDATED
K-1 GRAND PRIX TOURNEY PAIRINGS
On Friday, July 29th, K-1 and Rumble on the Rock are teaming
up to bring possibly the largest crowd ever to a martial arts
event in North America. The event is a K-1 World Grand Prix tournament,
which is to be held at the 50,000 seat Aloha Stadium.
One
of the three super fights scheduled is to feature Hawaii’s
own BJ
Penn battling
his second Gracie under mixed martial arts rules. He defeated
Rodrigo Gracie by unanimous decision at Rumble on the Rock 6
in November of last year and now steps in to face Rodrigo’s
cousin, long time veteran Renzo Gracie. Another of the super
fights will indeed feature a “huge” fight as 6’8”,
484-pound Akebono looks to make Oahu
quake when he locks horns with 7’2”, 353-pound Hong-Man
Choi from Korea in a K-1 rules kickboxing bout. Four-time K-1
Japan Grand Prix tournament winner Musashi will face Swedish
fighter Richard Nordstrand in the third super fight.
As
with almost every fighting event plans change over time and MMAWeekly
has learned that there has been an update to the tournament portion
of the fight card. As you heard it first here on MMAWeekly, Wesley “Cabbage”
Correira
is still set to fight “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge, but
the rest of the tournament line-up has been slightly modified.
The
following is the current line-up according to our sources:
SUPERFIGHTS
BJ Penn vs. Renzo Gracie
Akebono vs. Hong-Man Choi
Musashi vs. Richard Nordstrand
EIGHT-MAN
TOURNAMENT
Gary Goodridge vs. Wesley
“Cabbage” Correira
Carter Williams vs. Hiromi Amada
Marcus Royster vs. Butterbean
Yusuke Fujimoto vs. Scott
Junk
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right
thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing
at the tempting moment."
Dorothy Nevill
|
TANK:
'TIM SYLVIA HAS NOTHING FOR ME,
DRUG FREE OR JUICED UP'
"Tank" Abbott
'Tank'
Abbott recently participated in a Q&A session with some of
his fans on an internet site. When asked about Tim Sylvia, here's
what Tank had to say:
Question:
Tank, at the UFC 41 post fight press confrence it seemed like
Tim Sylvia was less then impressed with your presence and comments.
Do you have any heat with Tim Sylvia, and if so why?
Tank:
Yes, but he's not on steroids anymore, so he probably won't remember.
He can bring the heat on, there's nothing he can do to me drug
free (or juiced up). Step up Timmy.
Source: Fight Sport
|
SHANNON
"THE CANNON" RITCH RESPONDS
In another MMAWeekly exclusive, Shannon "The Cannon"
Ritch responded to Jeff Weller's allegation that his fight with
Dan Severn over the weekend was a work. If you didn't hear what
Weller had to say on today's broadcast, listen to the show in
the radio archive.
Shannon
Ritch wasn't happy with what Jeff Weller had to say. He made
that clear. "That guy's an asshole man." Ritch told
MMAWeekly. When asked point blank if the fight with Severn was
a work, Shannon responded, F#%k no that wasn't a work!"
Further
commenting, Shannon said, "I haven't heard the interview,
just people have been calling me telling me that my fight was
a work, and that I'm a bum, and all this other stuff. That's
some bullshit dude. My fight with Dan Severn was real. That was
a legit fight. I went out there to win. I had him in a heel hook.
I cranked it harder than I've cranked it on anybody. He almost
tapped if you look at the tape. His hand, he almost tapped. As
far as I know, that was a real fight."
Ritch
added, "On my end, I wasn't involved in a work. You know
what I mean? I came to fight. They paid me to fight, and I showed
up, and I fought. I did my best to win that fight. You know I
could have stopped in the first round because Dan Severn threw
me, and I hurt my back. I mean physically I was, I even told
my corner man I was hurt. My back hurt. They were like dude you're
winning the fight, keep going, so I even continued into the second
round. So all these people that tell me hey you know Shannon
Ritch, the first sign of injury, he quits, hey man I went through
that, and I kept fighting. You know what I mean? I went to the
second round."
Weller
didn't only say Ritch's fight with Severn in Hawaii was a work,
but that their first bout in Alaska was a work as well. Shannon
said, "No. That was not a work. This isn't the WWF man.
This is MMA."
Shannon
urges people to watch the fight. He cited how hard his leg kicks
were being thrown and the bruising to Severn's legs. "I
caught him in a triangle, I'm punching him in the face as hard
as I can. I mean you tell me." He continued, "That's
what's funny because I've been getting phone calls all day. Hey
man every body's saying your fight was a work, and I'm like dude
that was a real fight. That's why I took the fight because it
was a rematch, because I thought I was winning the first fight,
and they asked if I wanted a rematch. Hell yeah I want a rematch
because I can beat Dan."
Ritch
went on to say, "I think Jeff Weller's just a little pissed
off because at the after-fight party he got caught smoking a
joint, and the bouncers threw him out. It kind of embarrassed
him because everyone else, all of the fighters were inside. Jeff
Monson, myself, and some other people, and he's smoking some
joints, you know, some marijuana, and gets kicked out of the
club, so that kind of ruined his time. So who was there? Shannon
"The Cannon," so what does he do? He has to go and
start talking shit about me. That's not cool."
Closing
out the interview, Shannon reiterated that the fight was not
a work. "That fight was definitely a real fight. I've done
one work in my entire career, and that was a pro wrestling match
in Japan against Matsui. Obviously everybody knows that who watches
pro wrestling. That was a work. That's pro wrestling."
"That's
my response. Point blank quote from Shannon 'The Cannon' is know
that fight was real. It was not a work. Watch the fight, and
you guys decide for yourself...A worked fight is not what MMA
is about. A worked fight is pro wrestling, so that's my viewpoint
on that."
WELLER
CALLS SEVERN FIGHT A WORK
MMAWeekly Radio Exclusive
In an MMAWeekly Radio exclusive, Ring Announcer Jeff Weller,
known as the "Voice of the Cage", worked the Extreme
Wars X1 Promotion in Hawaii this weekend. Weller believes the
Dan Severn vs Shannon Ritch fight last weekend was "a work".
The fight was as bad as "any WWE match" is what Weller
said on MMAWeekly Radio.
If
you missed the interview you need to check it out on the radio
archive. Weller called Ritch vs Severn as the new "work
squad" saying he believes the same thing happened a few
weeks earlier in Alaska.
MMAWeekly
tried to call Severn but he is out of town but a member from
his camp said he would call MMAWeekly later today.
Weller
called the fight "Complete unprofessional bullshit."
Weller said, "It was plain as day. It was insulting...It
was disgraceful. It was a real slap in the face to MMA."
Although
Weller was 100% sure the bout was a work, the X-1 organization
wasn't aware of it. He had nothing but good things to say about
the new Hawaiian promotion. The work allegation was placed squarely
on the fighters. "All I've got to say to anybody that refutes,
what I'm saying, and what the crowd saw here, all you've got
to do is look at the tape. The tape doesn't lie."
According
to Weller, not only was the fight scripted, but the fighters
were "whispering" to each other. He added, "It
was just bad MMA, and that's exactly what MMA does not need."
To hear the interview in it's entirety, click on the radio archive.
Pretty amazing show today.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMAFighting.com
Weekly Wrap-Up
By Hibbert, July 4, 2005
Welcome
to the Weekly Wrap-up. On behalf of the folks at MMAFighting.com,
we wish you a Happy Fourth of July!
Last
week (June 27-July 3):
Cro
Cop and Fedor Emelianenko signed!
PRIDE held a ceremony to celebrate the official signing of the
championship match between Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko.
The long awaited match will take place at PRIDE Final Conflict
2005 on August 28.
Critical
Countdown
Critical Countdown aired on pay per view Friday after a week
delay. Wanderlei Silva, Alistair Overeem, Ricardo Arona and Mauricio
"Shogun" Rua advanced to Final Conflict to determine
the 2005 grand prix champion. If you are borderline when it comes
to ordering the replay, our polls have 83.3% of our forum members
giving the show a thumbs up.
Fox
News covers the UFC
This Sunday July 10, FOX News Channel will have a segment about
the UFC. "Fox Magazine" is on at 11pm ET on Sundays.
Extreme
Wars X-1
On Saturday, Extreme Wars X-1 was held in Hawaii and featured
some big names on the card. Dan Severn won his fight over Shannon
Ritch by choke. Severn beat Ritch a month ago by keylock submission.
Ricco Rodriguez fought a match he called practice by submitting
Ruben Villarreal. Chris Brennan and Jeff Monson won their matches.
Dave
Menne headlines Extreme Challenge
Former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne will go for his sixth
straight win when he faces Team Quest's Ed "Short Fuse"
Herman at Extreme Challenge 63 on July 23. Extreme Challenge
63 will feature an eight-man middleweight tournament.
Pride
Bushido 8 Completed Lineup
Pride confirmed 9 bouts set for Bushido 8 on July 17. Lineup:
Ryo Chonan vs. Phil Baroni, Imanari Masakazu vs. Joachim Hansen,
Kazuo Misaki vs. Daniel Acacio, Jyutaro Nakao vs. Marcus Aurerlio,
Takanori Gomi vs. Jean Silva, Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscape,
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Kimo, Denis Kang vs. Andrei Semenov and Setoryu
vs. James Thompson. The pay per view will be broadcasted in the
US on Friday, July 22.
Tito
Ortiz joins Freedom Fight 2005
Freedom Fight 2005 announced that Tito Ortiz will take Chuck
Liddell's team USA captain spot. The reason given was that Liddell
had a prior contractual obligation.
Duane
"Bang" Ludwig back in K-1
Ludwig has two fights lined up for K-1. The first will be on
July 20 in Tokyo when he faces Ramon Dekker in a K-1 super fight.
The second will be on August 13 in Vegas against Remy Bonnel..
Rumina
Sato's opponent
Shooto is working on putting together a showdown between Rumina
Sato and Cesar Gracie's Gilbert Melendez for their August 20th
show. The winner of this match would go on to fight Alexandre
"Pequeno" Nogueira for the Shooto lightweight title
Source: MMA Fighting
|
LESNAR
RECONCILE WITH WWE ENDING POSSIBILITY OF MMA CAREER
by Ivan Trembow
WWE is believed to have re-signed Brock Lesnar, causing both
sides to drop their lawsuits against the other. Brock Lesnar
had sued WWE to get out of the six-year no-compete clause that
he signed when he left WWE and unsuccessfully tried out for the
NFL in 2004. Lesnar expressed in his lawsuit a desire to either
wrestle for other pro wrestling promotions, or compete in mixed
martial arts, which he would not be able to do until June 30,
2010 under the terms of his WWE no-compete clause. WWE had counter-sued
Lesnar for supposedly breaching his contract by appearing this
past January as a member of the audience at a pro wrestling event
in Tokyo, Japan.
This
news comes approximately one week after Lesnar basically threw
in the towel verbally in a newspaper interview, saying that he
just wanted to go back to work in WWE and was willing to drop
his lawsuit.
Lesnar
has not been paid any of his WWE salary since March 2004, and
in addition to that, WWE had cut Lesnar off from all back-pay
merchandising revenue when they claimed he breached his contract
in January 2005. Combine that with the fact that he had no other
income, had very little money saved, owed a six-figure amount
to the IRS in back taxes, and had to pay lawyers to fight WWE
in court, and WWE knew it was just a matter of time until Lesnar
ran out of money. To top it all off, when Lesnar finally did
run out of money recently, his fiance Rena Mero (formerly known
as Sable in WWE) left him.
WWE
now has a story on its web site claiming that Brock Lesnar will
be meeting with WWE management tomorrow to negotiate a possible
return. That is false. In fact, Lesnar has had meetings with
WWE for the past week, and the meeting tomorrow is expected to
simply be the place where the final paperwork will be signed.
This is simply another example of WWE taking a real-life situation
(ie, negotiations with Lesnar) and trying to turn it into a storyline.
Rather than just announcing on WWE.com that they have signed
Brock Lesnar, WWE is going to get a few days' worth of huge web
site traffic in order to make the announcement slowly over a
period of time.
Partially
as a result of Lesnar re-signing with WWE, and partially as a
result of the fact that their new TV deal with USA Network is
nowhere near as lucrative as their Spike TV deal, WWE is undergoing
massive lay-offs to cut expenses, even as the company continues
to make over $30 million per quarter in net profit. In addition
to lay-offs among front office staff, WWE has laid off a total
of 18 wrestlers in the past 24 hours, with several more cutbacks
expected in the coming days. When Lesnar does return to WWE,
he will likely face a large amount of resentment from the locker
room, not only due to the circumstances under which he left WWE
last year, but also because his salary will be viewed as a contributing
factor to so many wrestlers being released.
As
for how successful or unsuccessful Lesnar would have been in
mixed martial arts, it's likely that we will never know. Unless
the rigors of being on the road for WWE prove to be too much
for Lesnar (as was the case in 2004), it looks like he will be
spending his forseeable future as a pro wrestler.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Rua
throws a BJJ Black Belt???
By Takimoto
PRIDE GP's big question: Why was Minotoro thrown by Shogun so
easily?
If
you watched Pride "Critical Countdown" that went down
on June 26th, certainly you expected the fight between Mauricio
"Shogun" Rua and Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro"
Nogueira to be one of the most, if not... the most entertaining
of the night. This was a clash of styles and academies, with
Minotoro representing BTT and Shogun coming out of Chute Boxe.
We all know that MMA is composed by a mix of styles and you can
adapt your skill set to develop a complete game. But we also
realize that BTT is most well known for its BJJ pedigree, while
Chute Boxe for its stand-up Thai style of Vale Tudo.
So,
we may have expected expected to see Minotoro executing the grappling
techniques and Shogun focusing on making it a stand-up fight.
However, they seemed to have reversed roles with Minotoro openning
up with strikes early and Shogun was able to pass Minotoro's
guard during the entire fight. We all saw several throws executed
by Shogun on the BJJ balck belt, Minotoro. Shogun used a basic
throw which managed to put Minotoro on the mat. Well, to say
the least, I was surprised by this, thus I sought some reasoning
behind these developments. I caught up with the man who is not
just a wrestling expert, but the also the wrestling coach for
BTT - Darrel Gholar. He shared his observations:
'I
think that Minotoro's strategy wasn't good for this fight. He
thought Shogun would simply punch and kick, so he didn't train
a lot for wrestling. Shogun adopted a better strategy because
he knew that Minotoro would try to take him [Shogun] down. Minotoro
trained too much Boxing and Muay Thai for this fight'. stated
Gholar
Takimoto-
If you were in Minotoro's corner, how would you change that situation?
Darrel
Gholar- For sure I'd tell him the two ways to defend that. Those
takedowns that Shogun used are easy to defend.
Takimoto-
Do you have any idea about why Minotoro didn't try to defend
the throws?
Darrel
Gholar- I think he didn't know how and nobody in his corner told
him how to defend it.
Takimoto-
But he had a good strategy against Dan Henderson, so why wasn't
Minotoro repeat it?
Darrel
Gholar- I agree, but he knew that Henderson would wrestle so
Minotoro developed a strategy for it, and trained for it everyday.
Minotoro didn't believe that Shogun would approach the fight
the way he did. In my opinion, Shogun hard a very smart gameplan.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Semenov
Talks
By Scott Mallon
From the Mix Fight M-1 Website
Q:
Andrei you preparing for this fight, please tell us something
about your trainings and tactics. It's your first fight in a
Pride Bushido event and from the results of this fight, do you
think many things will become available in your fighting career?
A.S.:
I try to be differently ready to this fight. I will be ready
mentally and physically. I and my trainer, we also work together
on my tactic on fight.
Q:
You already fought with Denis Kang with draw. What do you think
he will do and what you will do in this fight?
A.S.:
Last fight against Kang I was in not best physical condition
and underestimated my opponent. But now I'm ready. I think he
prefers submissions techniques.
Q:
You to prefer grappling technique in this fight?
A.S.:
No, I will be read for different situations in this fight. I
hope my calisthenics will not be a good surprise for him.
Q:
What you think about your opponent?
A.S.:
So, Denis Kang is a serious opponent, very experienced and a
highly skilled fighter. But if I am ready in this fight tactically
I think I can defeat him. But how will the developments in the
ring unfold, I can't predict this.
We
wish you good luck and win in this fight!
A.S.:
Thanks a lot, I hope I justify your hopes! I will try to do one's
best!
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you
may be the world."
Origin Unknown
|
NAGA
2005 HAWAII STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
WHEN: Sunday, September 25, 2005
TIME: Doors open at 8:00 a.m.
WHERE: Leilehua High School, Wahiawa, HI
WHAT: 108 Gi & No-Gi Divisions!
RANKED: This event is Nationally Ranked
PHONE: 860-632-2753
EMAIL: President@nagafighter.com
WEBSITE: www.NAGAFighter.com
INFO:
For further information, including registration, travel, and
lodging, please visit HERE.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Doors open at 8:00 a.m.
Leilehua High School, Wahiawa, HI
108 Gi & No-Gi Divisions!
This event is Nationally
860-632-2753
President@nagafighter.com
www.NAGAFighter.com
For
further information, including registration, travel, and lodging,
please visit HERE.
Pre-register
click HERE.
Sunday,
September 25, 2005 NAGA returns to Hawaii. We have a new fantastic
venue this year, Leilehua High School which holds over 1700 spectators.
Come as an individual or as a team to compete. This event is
Nationally RANKED!
Championship
belts (sponsored by Fökai) to the No-Gi and Gi Absolute
Champions!
Samurai
swords to all other first place division winners!
Source: NAGA
|
Congratulations
to Jonathan Moeller!
Longman
Jiu-Jitsu student, Jonathan Moeller was featured in The Honolulu
Advertiser (7/3/05) along with Hawaii's outstanding graduating
seniors who received Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation 2005 Scholarships.
Jonathan graduated from Kapaa High School and will be attending
Westmont College.
Who says that Jiu-Jitsu guys are dummies?...
Source: Honolulu Advertiser
|
Ken
Shamrock Goes Reality TV:
New Pilot Documents Lion's Den Reincarnation
By Derek Callahan
Independence Day weekend was a big one for Ken Shamrock. On Saturday
July 2nd, the UFC legend teamed up with Valor Fighting to promote
"Home of the Brave," an MMA event held on at the Diamond
Mountain Casino reservation in his hometown of Susanville, CA.
The next day, Shamrock held tryouts for his Lion's Den fight
team. During it all, cameras were rolling for a reality show
pilot about Shamrock and the Lion's Den.
Needless
to say, things have been bustling for Shamrock, who fulfilled
the last fight on his UFC contract with his April 9th loss to
Rich Franklin on Spike TV during the finale of The Ultimate Fighter.
"We're full cookin' it," said an optimistic Shamrock
of the yet-to-be-titled reality show, which began filming during
the weekend's events, and has no timetable for its wrap.
With
cameras continuing to capture the action on Sunday, eleven pre-selected
fighters turned out to undergo the grueling all-day, military-inspired
audition process Shamrock made famous in the 90's with his original
den of standouts in Lodi, California. Receiving over 120 submissions
from advertisements placed on www.KenShamrock.com, the Lion's
Den patriarch invited his eleven hopefuls to Susanville from
all parts of the country, with the farthest traveling applicant
coming all the way from Switzerland.
Standouts
for this first round of auditions included Rich Montoya, Philip
Wyman (5-2), and Ash Bowman (0-2), according to Shamrock, who
will hold four more separate auditions in the future to find
a total of six fighters for the show. Like the earlier days in
which Shamrock's stable ate, slept, and trained together, the
six finalists will all live together in a house in Susanville.
Shamrock says he may also select up to eight more fighters to
join the team as the program progresses.
With
the success of TUF only months in the past, and with a second
season in the making, it's inevitable that comparisons will be
made between shows. Shamrock, however, doesn't buy into the links.
"I don't want to try and compare what we're doing with the
UFC. The UFC has a different agenda, different aspects of the
reality show which is not ours," said the pioneer fighter.
"Ours is gonna be based around my lifestyle, the way that
I train fighters and live with my family being involved, and
then following the career of fighters as we lead up to a grand
finale at the end of the show."
In
addition, the series may also focus on the crew Shamrock has
assembled to mold his new young charges, many of them graduates
of what has been credited as the first "official MMA training
program" in America, and a prototype for the scores of fight
teams that have followed. "It's a possibility [that] we'll
be doing a life story of trainers and trainees from the Lion's
Den," said Shamrock.
With
producer Scott Messick of Survivor fame on board, Shamrock sees
a bright future for the show. "I think that we're in a good
spot. They've taken the time to make that huge first step to
actually come out to film it," he said.
As
for this past weekend's "Home of the Brave," the card
was Shamrock's second foray into both promoting and matchmaking.
"I'm learning a whole different side to the fighting world
and I'm enjoying it," he said. Thinking ahead, one integral
part of the show was the invitation extended to both the California
and Nevada State Athletic Commissions, who both gave the finished
product positive feedback, says Shamrock.
"We're
bringing [them in] so that they can see the type of event that
we're putting on so that when we do go to Nevada they are already
familiar with the way that we run things. We want to let them
see the professionalism of our show," said Shamrock.
The
event was a bang-up way to start filming for a reality show,
which followed into the high-energy Sunday tryouts.
"We're
looking for all the new faces that want to be a part of the Lion's
Den," said Shamrock. Shamrock sees the Lion's Den hopefuls,
as well as those on his promotion's fight cards as, "a lot
of young, good talent and that's mainly what I want to do, build
new talent."
Source: FCF
|
HORN:
'LIDDELL HASN'T EVOLVED AS A FIGHTER'
Jeremy Horn
Jeremy
Horn was recently interviewed by an internet site regarding his
upcoming fight against Chuck Liddell on August 20th, and commented
that he feels Chuck Liddell hasn't evolved as a fighter since
the first time they fought.
Horn
defeated Liddell by choking him out in UFC 19 back in 1999.
Source: Fight Sport
|
ROGERIO
'MINOTORO' SPEAKS
Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira
Rogerio
'Minotoro' Nogueira was recently interviewed by Brazilian magazine
'Tatame'. Here's what Minotoro had to say (interview by Eduardo
Ferreira, translated by Ricardo Alonso):
Tatame:
What is your evaluation of your fight against Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua?
Minotoro:
I think it was a good fight. I was very confident in my standup,
and I was able to utilize my boxing very well. I felt I was perfect
in the standup exchanges. The only thing is that I wasn't able
to put much pressure on him in the clinch. I don't know if it
was due to being tired or what. I also tired out my legs and
abdomen while I was fighting from my guard.
Tatame:
A lot of people are saying that you gave more attention to your
boxing then to your wrestling...
Minotoro:
During training I injured my neck while practicing takedowns.
After that, whenever I'd sprawl in training I'd feel some discomfort
in my spine. Due to that, I trained more in boxing and jiu-jitsu.
But now I will return to training in wrestling too.
Tatame:
Your roles seemed to reverse during the fight. You're a ground
fighter, yet you looked to fight standing, and Shogun, who is
a Muay Thai fighter, looked to fight on the ground...
Minotoro:
I was training a lot in the standup and felt confident. I wanted
to fight standing so that I could put on a show for the public,
and everyone liked it. He's very good on the ground, and he showed
that he can attack and defend well. He's no fool when it comes
to submissions too, but I also fought very well from the bottom.
I lost points on the takedowns. I think I was taken down six
or seven times during the fight. That was the only part of the
fight I left a little to be desired.
Tatame:
What has happened as a result of this fight?
Minotoro:
They said it was the best fight of the event, the best fight
of the year, and one of the best fights ever. Sakakibara (PRIDE
president) was left very happy, and has already promised me another
fight this year. I was down about the loss, but I was left very
satisfied with all the public praising my performance and saying
that I fought well. The loss doesn't discourage me one bit.
Tatame:
At what moment do you feel you lost the fight?
Minotoro:
I might've lost the fight because of the knockdown in the third
round. I wasn't hurt though, because if I was then I wouldn't
have been able to defend the kick he attempted right after. But
I think I really lost the fight in the clinch. I was taken down
three times in the last round, and I think that impressed the
judges, who probably thought he looked more complete then me.
Tatame:
You also knocked him down, but you looked like you got tied up.
Why didn't you come after him more after knockdown?
Minotoro:
I went to punch him instead of kicking him after the knockdown,
and he was able to get back up to his feet quickly and clinch
with me. I think I should'nt have tried to punch him right after
the knockdown, and could've just waited to catch him on the way
back up. When I tried to strike, he only leaned on me and rested
from the clinch.
Tatame:
At the time of the decision, do you think the judges could have
given you the victory?
Minotoro:
I wouldn't have been surprised if they had lifted my hand in
victory. I think the right result should have been a split decision,
and not a unanimous decision for him. But I respect the decision
of the judges. Shogun deserved the victory, he showed that he's
a tough guy.
Tatame:
Would you like a rematch with him?
Minotoro:
I would like very much to have that rematch. Who knows, maybe
they match us up on the PRIDE show on December 31st, or maybe
some time next year. It would be another good fight for sure,
and I'd do everything I can to try and produce a different result.
I would try to fight more forward the next time, now that I know
his game.
Tatame:
How do you think things will turn out amongst the PRIDE GP semifinalists?
Minotoro:
I believe that they will match Shogun against Arona. For me,
Arona will win the ground game, but the fight will go the distance.
If Vanderlei gets Aistair Overeem, he will have to be careful
in the first round because Overeem is very explosive and comes
forward with everything he's got. But I think that Vanderlei
would knock him out in the third round, and advance to the final
against Arona. That's a good fight for Arona because Vanderlei
likes to fight at a close distance, and that allows Arona to
take the fight to the ground and win it from there.
Source: Fight Sport
|
K-1
offers open tryout in August
In an effort to acquire new blood for its world renowned martial
arts fighting circuit, the K-1 organization will stage its second-ever
open tryout at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Mirage Hotel and Casino
on Thursday, August 11th and Friday, August 12th, one day prior
to its “Mayhem At The Mirage” mega-card.
The
two-day trial will be open to all fighters who meet the weight
requirements of either of K-1’s two weight divisions –
the 154-pound limit “Max” class and the 200 pounds
and above, super heavyweight group.
Participants
will partake in various exercises that test a wide array of skills
including speed, power, coordination, flexibility, and knowledge
of the sport. They will also engage in sparring sessions with
one another.
During
its first open tryout in history last August, K-1 played host
to over 100 contestants who hailed from various regions of The
United States and whose combat sports training background included
experience in a wide range of disciplines ranging from kickboxing
to western boxing to wrestling. Both Max and super heavyweight
finalists were later enlisted to compete in K-1 events held in
Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Japan.
As
he did last time around, K-1 USA Fight Coordinator Sven Bean
will oversee and direct all activities during the two-day trial
period. A group of judges as well as executives from K-1 Japan
and K-1 USA will observe the tryouts and make recruiting decisions.
Last year, judges included legendary K-1 competitor Sam Greco
as well as three-time K-1 tournament champion, Michael McDonald,
and “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge.
Those
who wish to register for the tryout should contact Mr. Bean via
email at beanz4@msn.com or should fax a request for an official
tryout application to 303-400-1756. Candidates will be required
to make their own arrangements for travel and stay in Las Vegas
during the tryout period.
Source: Mike Afromowitz
|
Quote
of the Day
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor
the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
Charles Darwin
|
Marcello
Garcia Seminar!
Friday, Aug 26 6-9 pm
Sunday, Aug 28 3-6 pm
For more details email Burton by clicking here.
Source: Burton Richardson
|
BATTLEFIELD
KALI CLASS TAUGHT BY
BURTON RICHARDSON
This
class will focus on the techniques and training methods that
have proven most useful in all-out, limited protection stick
fights and "safety knife" sparring. (Nobody wants to
spar with real knives!) The primary goal of this class is to
develop fighting skill in a safe, fun environment. Although Burton
spent many years doing Dog Brother stick fights, this class will
have safety as the first priority.
Since the great majority of the training will be from the Filipino
Martial Arts, the history of the FMA will also be passed along
to ensure that it survives along with the art. Some Zulu Stickfighting
will also be introduced on some occasions. This class will be
fun, informative, and a great workout, while giving you real
life weaponry skills.
Burton
started his training in the Filipino Martial Arts in 1979. He
is one of the rare FULL INSTRUCTORS in the Filipino Martial Arts
under the legendary Dan Inosanto, and the only Full Instructor
in Hawaii.
Burton is one of the original 12 DOG BROTHERS, the group that
brought back full contact stick fighting in the United States
using heavy sticks and employing minimal protection.
In 1994, Burton became an instructor in Kali Ilustrisimo in Manila,
Philippines, personally certified by the late, great Grandmaster
Antonio Ilustrisimo. He also trained under the current heads
of the Kali Ilustrisimo system, Master Tony Diego and Master
Christopher Ricketts.
Burton trained extensively with the late Punong Guro Edgar Sulite
of Lameco Eskrima, as well as with Grandmaster Leo Gaje of Largo
Mano, Grandmaster Diony Canete of Doce Pares, Grandmaster Bert
Labaniego of Lightning Arnis, and Grandmaster Leo Gaje of Pikiti
Tersia, Lucky Lucay Lucay and Ted Lucay Lucay of Villabrille
Kali. Burton has also trained with many other Grandmasters and
high-level instructors in the Filipino Martial Arts on seminars.
Burton has traveled to the Zulu Villages in South Africa on five
occasions to train in the extremely effective Zulu Stickfighting
method that has been passed down for centuries.
Classes are Tuesday and Thursday evenings (6:15 - 7:15) in the
Kaimuki area. Please call 864-1620 to schedule your free class.
All skill levels are welcome to come in and enjoy the training.
Aloha!
For more details email Burton by clicking here.
Source: Burton Richardson
|
HEROS
Results
K-1
HEROS pulled off a mega show featuring the widest field of cross
talent that MMA has sen since Rings KOK. Fighters from all the
major Japanese venues converged to do battle. Stars from Pancrase,
SHOOTO, Pride, ZST, and of course K-1 where mixed and matched
to produce an excellent night of MMA action... with only 2 of
12 fights making it to the judges.
One
SHOOTO Champion goes down to a spinning back-fist, the other
elevates his game to win by TKO. ZST fighters go undefeated,
and the K-1 stand-outs perform as expected
Full
Results
Kazuyuki
Miyata vs. Arslan Magomedov - Miyata by RNC rd1
Hideo Tokoro vs. Alexandre
Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira - Tokoro by KO rd3
Koji Yoshida vs. Royler
Gracie
- Gracie
by JD (judges decision)
Takehiro Murahama vs. Remigijus Morkevicius - Morkevicius by
KO rd1
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Jani Lax - Takaya by TKO rd1
Norifumi
'Kid' Yamamoto
vs. Ian Schaffa - Yamamoto
by TKO rd3
Bob Sapp vs. Alan Karaev - Sapp by KO rd1
Ray Sefo vs. Kim Min-Soo - Sefo by KO rd2
Peter Aerts vs. Wakashoyo - Aerts by TKO rd1
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Carl Toomey - Akiyama by Armbar rd1
Rodrigo
Gracie
vs. Kiuma Kunioku - Gracie
by JD
Katsuya Inoue vs. Akira Kikuchi - Kikuchi by TKO (Ref Stoppage)
rd1
Source: Maxfighting
|
"I'LL
CHOKE HIM OUT"
Royler Gracie spoke to the press in Tokyo, Japan with the legend
Royce Gracie at his side. Royler will be fighting Koji Yoshida
at the upcoming HERO’S show on 7/06 in Japan. In a message
to his opponent, Yoshida, he said “ I hope we have a clean
fight. I hope he do his best, because I’m gonna do my best.”
But, how does he want to finish this fight. Royler said, “If
he give me a chance, I’ll choke him out.”
HERO'S
CARD
2x5
minutes with the possibilty of an extra round
Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Arslan Magomedov
Hideo Tokoro vs. Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira
Koji Yoshida vs. Royler Gracie
Takehiro Murahama vs. Remigijus Morkevicius
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Jani Lax
3x5
minutes.
Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Ian Schaffa
Bob Sapp vs. Alan Karaev
Ray Sefo vs. Kim Min-Soo
Peter Aerts vs. Wakashoyo
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Carl Toomey
Rodrigo Gracie vs. Kiuma Kunioku
Katsuya Inoue vs. Akira Kikuchi
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HERO's
PRESS CONFERENCE
Make sure you check out today's photo gallery as Hero’s
held their Press Conference for their 2nd show today in Tokyo,
Japan. Maeda was on hand with his stable of fighters to launch
the opening of the Middleweight World Tournament. It’s been
since march that the newly formed Hero’s promotion has had
a show. Maeda wanted to make sure they were able to get quality
events before announcing the dates. He said that this era of
MMA is just the beginning and to enjoy the most excellent fights
at 70 kg in the world.
Maeda
made gave a speech saying how Japan is one of the originators
of martial arts and there are many philosophies, Japan’s
philosophy is Bushido. Through Bushido we have the samurai, and
when they go to the battlefield they don’t throw themselves
to the gods, but rely on themselves. He reiterated that he’s
certain that the samurai have religion and God, but that they
trust themselves. And, they have conversation with themselves
and God, “trust me” and “watch me”. I will
show you the real figure through the battlefield. Maeda ended
saying even if one samurai win or losses the fight, I hope they
show the beauty of the battlefield.
So
will we see the beauty unfold upon the battlefield tomorrow night.
We shall see. Koji Yoshida claimed,” I would like to knock
him out tomorrow.” In which his opponent Royler Gracie remarked,”
..if somebody say something he need to prove it in the ring.”
A
funny moment was when Bob Sapp’s opponent, Alan Karaev,
said “ I will knock him out.” And, Sapp responded jokingly,
“ I will break him, just kidding.” And Ray Sefo and
Peter Aerts who where sitting next to each other burst out into
laughter. Sapp continued, “ I will show everybody what the
new beast is all about.”
Sefo
riding the tide of joviality jokingly said,” I will seek
and destroy.” This is Ray Sefo’s first MMA fight and
he’s been looking forward to fighting MMA for awhile. About
it being a first for him Sefo said, “ There is only one
way to learn, just jump in there and give it hell.”
Aerts
who is also new to MMA will be fighting a sumo wrestler. Will
he continue in the sport? With a smile on his face, Aerts said,
“ I will tell you tomorrow, if I like it or not, MMA.”
‘Kid’
Norifumi Yamamoto
who used to be in Enson Inoue’s camp is a big star these
days in Japan. He and Masato (K-1 World Max) are the big stars,
more popular than Gomi. His fight tomorrow night is a superfight
with Ian Schaffa. The too produced the most tension by far at
the press conference as they stared each other down. Ian Schaffer
said,” there can only be one hero in this fight and that
hero will be me.” Tomorrow night we shall see.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Frank
Shamrock is Building a Team
Frank
Shamrock is holding try outs for his team, to be held on the
1st and 3rd Friday of every month at noon. No experience is required,
and anyone can attend. Also, he is looking for experienced fighters
or fighters that are looking to make a change in its team affiliation.
The
team needs a boxing, kickboxing coach and a wrestling coach for
the fighters. Dorms will be available soon. Anyone interested
can email Fallen Angel at frenchchoclit2003@yahoo.com.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you
may be the world."
Origin Unknown.
|
***For
Immediate Release***
For More Information and Fighter Interviews, Contact Mike Afromowitz,
(917) 566-8754 or mike@k-1usa.net.
Penn
Tackles Another Gracie In Hawaii
Mixed
martial arts superstar BJ Penn (9-2-1) will take on another member of martial
arts fighting's most heralded family in Renzo Gracie (10-5-1)
at Honolulu, Hawaii's 50,000 crowd capacity Aloha Stadium on Friday, July 29th. The bout, which will
be presented as a featured contest during the K-1 "World
Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii" extravaganza, will premiere on
Pay Per View television along with the remainder of the card
on Sunday, July 31st.
Penn's
appearance in his home state will be his second in a period of
eight months. On November 20th of last year, he defeated Renzo's
cousin, Rodrigo Gracie, by way of unanimous judges' decision
at Honolulu's Blaisdell Center.
Penn's
latest challenger is an eight-time veteran of Japan's Pride Fighting
Championship and the owner of a fifth degree black belt in Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, the style of combat founded by his grandfather, Carlos
Gracie. The matchup with Penn will mark Gracie's first start
since October 5, 2003 when he lost a split decision to former
UFC welterweight crown holder, Carlos Newton. During his 13 year
professional career, Gracie has claimed wins over the likes of
martial arts fighting legends Maurice Smith and Oleg Taktarov.
Last
year, Penn defected from The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC),
where he had reeled off six of his nine career victories, to
the K-1 organization that recently expanded its repertoire of
combat sports promotions to include mixed martial arts competition.
Penn's dramatic career move came shortly after he had made a
jump from the UFC's 154-pound limit division to its 168-pound
class and easily defeated the heavier weight category's reigning
champion, Matt Hughes, by way of rear naked choke.
K-1
"World Grand Prix 2005 in Hawaii" will also feature
an eight-man, single-elimination tournament and a pair of "Superfights"
that will be contested under the promotion's traditional, stand-up
fighting rules. Amongst the talent enlisted for the tournament
affair are 2003 K-1 USA champion, Carter Williams; UFC and Rumble
on the Rock veteran Wesley "Cabbage" Correira; and
"Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge. In Superfight action, four-time
K-1 Japan Grand Prix tournament winner, Musashi, will meet Sweden's
Richard Nordstrand while sumo wrestling legend turned K-1 fighter
Akebono will do battle with 7 foot 2 inch giant, Hong Man Choi,
who captured the K-1 Grand Prix tournament championship in Seoul,
Korea earlier this year.
K-1 is a martial arts fighting sport that derives its name from
its inclusion of a wide array of combat disciplines, including
Karate, Kung-Fu, and Kickboxing ("K"), and its intent
to determine one champion in one ring ("1"). After
being staged for the first time in Japan in 1993 under the direction
of founder Master Kazuyoshi Ishii, it later evolved into the
country's most popular sport and achieved popular culture status
there as its athletes turned into larger-than-life celebrities.
Source: Mike Afromowitz
|
MaXpreview:
HERO'S
By Jeremy Wall
Monday, July 4, 2005
The
next HERO'S card, promoted by K-1, takes place this Wednesday,
June 6th at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo. As usual when it
comes to K-1 MMA cards, it's a subpar card in terms of interesting
bouts and evenly matched talent. However, it does featurea one-night,
eight-man 70kg tournament and a number of superfights which can
be described as at least mildly interesting. The show will be
airing on network TV in prime time in Japan.
Bob
Sapp headlines the card, taking on arm wrestler Alan Karaev.
This is Sapp's first fight since winning the Japan Grand Prix
a few weeks ago. This fight is under MMA rules.
Peter
Aerts is also on the card, making his MMA debut against sumo
Wakashoyo. See what I mean when I described this as a subpar
card?
The
Superfights:
Bob
Sapp vs. Alan Karaev
This
is garbage MMA featuring two freakshow fighters with the idea
of drawing a high rating on television. I think that sentence
pretty much sums up K-1's mission statement for the last three
years. Karaev is huge and strong and all that stuff which applies
to a super-heavyweight arm wrestling champion, and he has one
fight in MMA under his belt. It was a loss to Gary Goodridge
of all people via submission at the HERO'S show in March. You
know you're not talented when you're being submitted by Big Daddy.
But that's not the point here, right?
Sapp
is a better fighter than Karaev. It's a freakshow brawl, and
Sapp's experience and higher skill level in comparison to Karaev
should carry him to a win seen by millions on TV in Japan. Depending
how deep Sapp goes in the Grand Prix Finals (or put it this way:
how deep K-1 wants Sapp to go in the Grand Prix Finals) this
could be the year of the Beast. Hopefully K-1 has learned from
past mistakes and will continue booking Sapp against lesser skilled
opponents who still have the (freakshow) appeal of getting the
masses in Japan to tune in their TV sets.
Pick:
Sapp via whatever
Peter
Aerts vs. Wakashoyo
Aerts
is the second greatest heavyweight fighter in K-1 history, with
only Ernesto Hoost holding more Grand Prix Finals championships.
He's a star, and this is his MMA debut, which means that K-1
is going to feed him an easy opponent.
Enter
Wakashoyo. Ever seen a big sumo fight in MMA? Then I don't think
I need to describe what Wakashoyo brings to the table here.
Suffice
to say, we will not see what Aerts brings to the table in a mixed
martial arts fight against Wakashoyo. It would be a disaster
if Aerts lost here, though, so expect an easy win for the lumberjack.
Pick:
Aerts, again by whatever
Ray
Sefo vs. Kim Min-Soo
Kim
Min-Soo is the guy that fought Bob Sapp in HERO'S in March. That
was his only fight in MMA. Same deal as the Peter Aerts fight.
Sefo is an aged K-1 kickboxer making his MMA debut, so they feed
him an easy opponent so he gets an impressive win in front of
millions on Japanese TV. No one likes watching squash wins, but
they are necesarry in building up talent and solidifying who
your stars are in the minds of your fans. UFC please take note.
Pick:
Sefo, yet again by whatever
Yoshihiro
Akiyama vs. Carl "Tombstone" Toomey
Akiyama
has a background in wrestling. He debuted in MMA this past New
Year's Eve, defeating boxer Francois Botha, who had no experience
in MMA prior to that match. Akiyama then lost to Jerome LeBanner
earlier this year via knockout, which was somewhat of an upset
considering how poorly LeBanner has done in MMA in the past.
Toomey
is a fighter from Australia with some experience in XFC, one
of the bigger promotions in that country. He's finished both
of his fights in XFC, so he does have some sort of a skillset.
K-1
wouldn't book a match with an unknown foreigner against a Japanese
fighter whom they've been trying to push with the idea of Akiyama
losing, so barring an upset, he'll probably finish Toomey.
Pick:
Akiyama via TKO
Rodrigo
Gracie vs. Kiuma Kunioku
Kunioku
is a Pancrase veteran and a former King of Pancrase Welterweight
champion. He vacated that title when he left the promotion last
fall. He hasn't fought in over a year, so he is going to be rusty
as all hell.
Rodrigo
Gracie is one of the better "new generation" (or whatever
you want to call them) Gracie fighters, and his strength is in,
you guessed it, jiu jitsu. His only loss so far in MMA has been
to BJ Penn in his most recent fight this past November.
Both
guys are meticulous fighters, who like to fight on the ground
to a decision. The majority of wins for each fighter have come
by decision, so odds are, this one is going the distance. Rodrigo
Gracie will have to be the favourite considering his skill level
on the ground, although the experience edge goes to Kunioku,
who has over fifty fights in MMA.
Pick:
Rodrigo via decision
Katsuya
Inoue vs. Akira Kikuchi
Inoue
is a Pancrase fighter with a background in wrestling. He has
a respectable 10-2 record, and holds a win in Pancrase over another
talented wrestler in Heath Sims.
This
is an interesting battle of unknown fighters, with Kikuchi bringing
an 11-1 record to the ring. It's also a battle of Pancrase vs.
SHOOTO, the latter being the promotion where all of Kikuchi's
fights have taken place. Kikuchi is the SHOOTO 167 lbs Champion,
and holds wins in over Jake Shields, Jutaro Nakao, Sam Morgan
and Jani Lax among others with a large amount of wins coming
via submission.
The
questions seems to be whether or Kikuchi will be able to submit
the wrestler, Inoue. This will probably end up going to a decision,
and I think Kikuchi will come out on top based on the fact that
he has a record of defeating better talent than Inoue (although
they both have good records).
Pick:
Kikuchi via decision
Norifumi
"Kid" Yamamoto vs. Ian Schaffa
Kid
Yamamoto is one of the best fighters at his weight on the planet,
with only one loss during his career, being to Stephen Paling in SHOOTO over three years ago. Lately
he's been beating up on K-1 Max fighters under MMA rules, and
Schaffa will present his first real test in sometime.
Schaffa
is a jiu jitsu artist from Down Under with a 5-2-1 record. Most
recently he debuted with HERO'S in March, winning a split-decision
over Kazuyuki Miyata. Early in his career, he was armbarred for
a loss to Caol Uno in SHOOTO. Beyond those fights, he's been
splitting time between SHOOTO and Australia battling against
unknowns. Most of his wins have come via submission.
Yamamoto
is probably too experienced to be submitted by someone like Schaffa,
unless Schaffa is exceptionally talented. If Schaffa can avoid
being TKO'd, I think it will end up being a decision victory
for Yamamoto anyway.
Pick:
Yamamoto via decision
The
Tournament:
It's
an under 70 kg tournament, which is roughly 155-pounds. Lots
of Japanese fighters and lesser known lightweights are competing,
with a few interesting names sparsed throughout. Here's a breakdown
of the first round fights.
Kazuyuki
Miyata vs. Arslan Magomedov
Miyata
is a wrestler who is 0-2 in MMA, with losses to Schaffa and Royler
Gracie (who is also in this tournament). He's pretty undersized
for a 70 kg tournament.
Arslan
Magomedov is a kickboxer and a K-1 Max veteran who holds a win
over the talented John Wayne Parr via decision. He's got knockout
power.
This
is a battle of wrestler vs. kickboxer. Someone please remind
me how these kinds of fights usually go? Obviously the favourite
will have to be the wrestler no matter who he is. Even though
Miyata hasn't won a fight as of yet, he should do it here. I
think it's just a matter or whether he wins by decision or whether
he can show off some finishing skills.
Pick:
Miyata via decision
Koji
Yoshida vs. Royler Gracie
Royler
Gracie has always struck me as being one of the weaker Gracie
family members. I could be wrong. He, of course, holds a strong
background in jiu jitsu, and that's pretty much it.
Koji
Yoshida is actually a boxer with a 10-4-2 record in that sport.
He has no MMA experience. Royler should tool him easily. Can
you say Art Jimmerson? If Yoshida can't say it now, he will be
able to after this fight.
Pick:
Royler via submission
Hideo
Tokoro vs. Alexandre "Pequeno" Franca Nogueira
This
is the first mach listed here in the tournament where both fighters
actually have experience in MMA. Hideo Tokoro is 11-7, with the
vast majority of his fights coming in ZST. He's also pretty undersized
for the tournament. He's mainly a submission fighter.
Nogueira
is one of the best 145-pound fighters on the planet and like
Kikuchi is a current SHOOTO Champion. He holds wins over Joao
Roque, Stephen
Paling
and Rumina Sato among others. His two losses were to Tetsuo Katsuta
via decison and Hiroyuki Abe via knockout. He avenged both losses,
submitting Katsuta and doing the same to Abe. He also holds a
draw with Palling in another one of their fights, and a draw
with Uchu Tatsumi. In a rematch with Tasumi, he won via decision.
He's a damn good submission artist, and this should be a battle
of submission fighters. I think this is more so a question of
Tokoro's skills at submissions defense, and whether or not he
will be able to hang with Nogueira until the final bell. My bet
is that he won't.
Pick:
Nogueira via decision
Hiroyuki
Takaya vs. Jani Lax
Lax
has a 7-4 record, and has fought often of late for SHOOTO. His
biggest win would be over Joachim Hansen five years ago via submission.
He was recently stopped by Tatsuya Kawajiri in a SHOOTO match-up.
Most of his wins come via submission, although he has a knockout
win over a Finnish fighter named Toni Stenman on his record.
Takaya
is 4-1-1, with his only loss being his most recent fight this
past December against Cesar Gracie fighter Gilbert Melendez.
His wins are either via TKO or decision including a big KO from
a head kick against Stephan Palling. Tis could end up being a
stand-up battle or a battle of ground-and-pound against submission
fighter. Of all the Japanese fighters in the tournament, I think
Takaya has the best chance of winning if he can get past Lax.
That's a big if, however, and I think Lax's experience edge is
going to give him the victory.
Pick:
Lax via decision
Takehiro
Murahama vs. Remigijus Morkevicius
I'm
unclear on this, but I believe this may be an alternates match
for the tournament. Murahama is 3-3-1 in MMA. He is the guy that
Jens Pulver knocked out when Pulver left UFC to sign with UFO,
which only ended up doing the one show. He hasn't fought since,
so God knows where stands in terms of skill level today. He wasn't
particularly skilled back then, but he does hold a draw with
Royler Gracie.
Morkevicius
is a Lithuanian fighter with a 13-3 record, fighting mostly for
Shooto and ZST. He holds a previous win over Hideo Tokoro, who
is also in this tournament, and lost a later rematch to Tokoro.
He holds a large number of wins via knockout, and that is probably
what will happen in this match.
Pick:
Morkevicius via KO
So
based on my picks, you've got Kazuyuki Miyata, Royler Gracie,
Alexandre "Pequeno" Franca Nogueira and Jani Lax in
the second round. I have no idea how K-1 is doing the bracketing.
I'm just selecting Nogueira as my favourite to win the tournament,
as I don't think Lax and Miyata are skilled enough to get past
him and Gracie doesn't bring much more to the table beyond his
jiu jitsu, and even that has been shaky in the past.
Source: Maxfighting
|
SHOOTO
GIG Central Vol. 8
Fukiage Hall
Nagoya, Japan
July 3rd
Class-B
/ WW (154 lbs)
Kenichi
Hattori (Japan) defeats Takashi Ouch (Japan) by TKO in rd1
Class-B
/ WW (154 lbs)
Ken
Omatsu (Japan) defeats Takahiro Kajita (Japan) by majority decision
(19-18, 20-17, 19-19)
Class-B
/ FW (132 lbs)
Hiroyuki
Tanaka (Japan) defeats Akira Kibe (Japan) by majority decision
(20-19, 20-20, 20-18)
Class-B
/ LHW (183 lbs)
Masahi
Yozen (Japan) defeats John Valuri wins by second round TKO (injury)
Class-B
/ FW (132 lbs)
Hiroshi
Umemura (Japan) defeats Manabu Kanou (Japan) by submission (rear
naked choke) rd1
Class-B
/ BW (123 lbs)
Takeyasu
Hirono (Japan) defeats Keisuke Kurata (Japan) by majority decision
(19-19, 20-19, 20-19)
Class-A
/ LW (143 lbs)
Hatsu
Hioki (Japan) defeats Hideki Kadowaki (Japan) by submission (arm
bar) rd2
Class-A
/ WW (154 lbs)
Daisuke
"Amazon" Sugie (Japan) defeats Kultar Gill (Canada)
by submission (triangle choke) rd1
Source: Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"Excellence is the result of caring more than others think
wise, risking more than other's think safe, dreaming more than
others think practical, and expecting more than others think
possible."
Anonymous
|
4th
of July Picnic in the Books!
Well another 4th of July is in the books and we have finally
had a picnic like we used to do all the time during three day
weekends. Ala Moana was incredibly packed, but we had a great
turn out of Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu students from all of our
associations and from the main academy. We had a good mix of
old and new guys that came to the BBQ. Some of the guys even
stopped by for a short time which was nice of them to do.
Thanks
to the guys that came out to spend time with us and our familes
away from the mats and what is up with that guy in the blue tank
top looking at who knows what?
|
Need
a House Quick!
Our good friend and Super Brawl promoter T. Jay Thompson just
found out that he needs to find a new home by August 31. It needs
to be in the Kaiser School District (Aina Haina to Hawaii Kai).
He is looking to rent a 3 bedroom house or townhouse. He lived
at his previous house for 10 years.
Any
realtors or private sellers that can feed him some leads can
contact him by clicking here.
Come
on help a brother out!
Source: T. Jay Thompson
|
"Mayhem
At The Mirage"
Below and attached, please find a press release concerning open
fighter tryouts that K-1 will be holding the week of its "Mayhem
At
The Mirage" event.
Sincerely,
Mike
Afromowitz
***For
Immediate Release***
For
More Information, Contact: Mike Afromowitz, (917) 566-8754 or
mike@k-1usa.net.
K-1
Offers Open Tryout In August
In
an effort to acquire new blood for its world renowned martial
arts
fighting circuit, the K-1 organization will stage its second-ever
open tryout at Las Vegas, Nevada's Mirage Hotel and Casino on
Thursday, August 11th and Friday, August 12th, one day prior
to its
"Mayhem At The Mirage" mega-card.
The
two-day trial will be open to all fighters who meet the weight
requirements of either of K-1's two weight divisions - the 154-pound
limit "Max" class and the 200 pounds and above, super
heavyweight
group.
Participants
will partake in various exercises that test a wide array
of skills including speed, power, coordination, flexibility,
and
knowledge of the sport. They will also engage in sparring sessions
with one another.
During
its first open tryout in history last August, K-1 played host
to over 100 contestants who hailed from various regions of The
United
States and whose combat sports training background included
experience in a wide range of disciplines ranging from kickboxing
to
western boxing to wrestling. Both Max and super heavyweight
finalists were later enlisted to compete in K-1 events held in
Las
Vegas, Hawaii, and Japan.
As
he did last time around, K-1 USA Fight Coordinator Sven Bean
will
oversee and direct all activities during the two-day trial period.
A
group of judges as well as executives from K-1 Japan and K-1
USA will
observe the tryouts and make recruiting decisions. Last year,
judges
included legendary K-1 competitor Sam Greco as well as three-time
K-1
tournament champion, Michael McDonald, and "Big Daddy"
Gary
Goodridge.
Those
who wish to register for the tryout should contact Mr. Bean via
email at beanz4@msn.com or should fax a request for an official
tryout application to 303-400-1756. Candidates will be required
to
make their own arrangements for travel and stay in Las Vegas
during
the tryout period.
Leading
martial arts equipment supplier, Fairtex, will provide all
gear necessary to conduct the tryout sessions.
K-1
is a martial arts fighting sport that derives its name from its
inclusion of a wide array of combat disciplines, including Karate,
Kung-Fu, and Kickboxing ("K"), and its intent to determine
one
champion in one ring ("1"). After being staged for
the first time in
Japan in 1993 under the direction of founder Master Kazuyoshi
Ishii,
it later evolved into the country's most popular sport and achieved
popular culture status there as its athletes turned into
larger-than-life celebrities.
Source: Mike Afromowitz
|
Quote
of the Day
"People are like stained glass windows, they sparkle and
shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in their true
beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist Author, On Death and Dying
|
Posted
on: Sunday, July 3, 2005
3 Pearl
SEALs among 16 bodies returned to U.S.
We
are posting this because Navy SEAL James Suh who was killed the other day while
on a recon mission was a student of ours and we would to send
condolences to his family. If anyone has access or an idea of
how to get in touch with the Suh's in Deerfield Beach Florida
please send it our way. I am going to try to track them through
the local paper.
From
reading the article, no one had much information on him. He let
us know when he started that he was a SEAL, but asked us to keep
it to ourselves. He just wanted to let us know that he would
be popping in and out of class because of his missions. I got
to talk with him in depth a few times and he was a confident
and both mentally and physically tough young man. You would expect
that from a SEAL, but he was also very respectful of the other
guys in class and would train hard, but safe. His death really
hit home to me because I have seen a lot of reports of our soldiers
dying in the war, but now I personally know one of them. I know
from talking with him that if he had to go, he would have probably
wanted to go on a mission helping others. Rest in peace brother.
We
have some other students in the Middle East right now serving
our country and we would like everyone to say a prayer to not
only our guys or the Hawaii soldiers, but all of our soldiers
that are fighting to protect our freedom. Today is a day for
remembrance of the many lives that were lost to make this country
the most powerful country in the world and the country with the
most freedom. Don't take the freedom to do as you please for
granted.
God
Bless America!
Mike
•
Crash victims loved serving with elite units
• Profiles of 10 service members who died aboard Chinook
• A tribute to Pearl Harbor's Navy SEALs
Advertiser
Staff and News Services
A
transport plane flew home the bodies of 16 U.S. troops —
eight Navy SEALs and eight Army soldiers — killed when their
helicopter was shot down during a rescue mission in the mountains
of Afghanistan.
The
military said yesterday that three of the SEALs were based at
Pearl Harbor:
•
Petty Officer 2nd Class James Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.;
•
Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric S. Patton, 22, of Boulder City,
Nev.;
•
Senior Chief Petty Officer Dan Healy, 36.
They
were members of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One at Pearl Harbor,
the Navy said.
Sixteen
flag-draped caskets were loaded onto a C-17 transport plane during
an "emotional ceremony" Friday night and flown to Dover,
Del., military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said in Afghanistan.
The
Advertiser had earlier reported the deaths of Patton and Healy,
and ran their biographies yesterday.
Suh
joined the Navy in 2001 and arrived in Hawai'i in 2003. He joined
Team One that December.
Records
indicate that Suh, who was single, purchased a two-bedroom condominium
in Waipahu in May 2003. Little other information on him was available.
The
military was unable to immediately furnish his photograph, and
Suh's family in Florida made no statement.
The
16 died Tuesday while trying to rescue four SEALs trapped in
eastern Afghan mountains near the Pakistani border. The search
continues for those SEALs.
It
was unclear if there were any casualties from a Friday air strike
of a suspected Taliban compound in mountains near Asadabad town,
Kunar province, close to the Pakistani border. That was near
the area where the U.S. team was last heard from last week.
O'Hara
said a "battle damage assessment is ongoing."
"We
conducted an air strike on a target we deemed we had to hit immediately.
The target was an enemy compound in Kunar province," he
said. "The bombing was done using precision guided munitions.
The target objective was intelligence driven."
O'Hara
would not say whether the air strike was directly related to
the missing military team.
Violence
elsewhere left 38 rebels and Afghan security forces dead as fighting
rose ahead of fall elections.
A
purported Taliban spokes-man, Mullah Latif Hakimi, claimed Friday
that militants had captured one of the men and said he was a
"high-ranking American" caught in the same area as
where the helicopter went down. He reiterated the claim yesterday
in a phone call with The Associated Press.
"The
soldier is being held in Kunar. Taliban leaders will decide what
to do with him," Hakimi said. "He is being kept in
a home. His health is all right."
When
asked to provide evidence that the soldier was in captivity,
he said, "Tomorrow we will give proof."
Hakimi,
who also claimed insurgents shot down the helicopter, often calls
news organizations to take responsibility for attacks, and the
information frequently proves exaggerated or untrue. His exact
tie to the Taliban leadership is unclear.
Reacting
to the claim, O'Hara said there was no evidence indicating that
any of the troops had been taken into captivity.
He
said U.S. forces were using all their resources to search for
the missing men. The troops are a small team from the special
operations forces, military officials said.
The
downed Chinook helicopter had been trying to extract the troops
when it went into the mountains.
"All
our hopes are that we find our missing service members. On top
of those hopes are actions on the ground looking for them,"
O'Hara said. "It's a very demanding area: Very mountainous,
very wooded and the likelihood of enemy contact is probable."
The
loss of the 16 was the deadliest single blow to American forces
who ousted the Taliban in 2001 and are now fighting the escalating
insurgency.
In
three months of unprecedented fighting, about 502 suspected insurgents,
57 Afghan police and soldiers, 45 U.S. casualties and 134 civilians
have been killed. Only eight months ago, Afghan and U.S. officials
were hailing a relatively peaceful presidential election as a
sign that the Taliban rebellion was finished.
In
the latest fighting, 25 rebels and six Afghan soldiers were killed
in a raid on a mountainous Taliban hideout in central Uruzgan
province, Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said.
U.S.
and Afghan forces killed three rebels after coming under attack
twice near the southern city of Kandahar, the U.S. military said.
Advertiser
Staff Writer John Windrow and The Associated Press contributed
to this report.
Petty Officer
2nd Class James Erik Suh
Suh,
28, of Deerfield Beach, Florida was assigned to the elite Navy
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One, headquartered at Pearl Harbor.
Born
in Coronado, Calif., Suh later moved with his family to Florida.
He joined the Navy in January 2001, began his demanding SEAL
training five months later, and became a SEAL in February 2002.
Suh,
who was single, joined the SDV Team One in December 2003.
While
stationed at Pearl Harbor, Suh bought a condo in Waipahu. His
family in Florida made no statement yesterday.
Advertiser
staff writers Will Hoover and Karen Blakeman contributed to this
report. Also used were reports from The Associated Press; Miami
Herald; Indianapolis Star; Grand Rapids Press in Michigan; and
the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Source: Honolulu Advertiser |
Response
to Assuerio Silva’s Interview
By: Ed Soares (Assuerio Silva’s Manager)
I
would like to clear the air on a recent interview that Team Tatame
did with Assuerio. There were parts of the interview that were
direct misquotes of Assuerio’s words, Tatame quoted Assuerio
with saying "UFC is the second biggest event in the world
and it is a fighter's dream to be there.
Assuerio
meant he would be fighting in front of the second biggest crowd
population wise. Assuerio has fought in front of 40,000+ people
and this will in fact be the second largest crowd he has had
the opportunity to showcase his skills in front of.
Tatame
quoted Assuerio also saying, "And it is not difficult to
win this belt nowadays; difficult is in Pride, not in the UFC.”
Assuerio never conveyed these words to TATAME. Assuerio feels
very blessed to be given the opportunity to fight in front of
the American fans and this will be his first chance to showcase
his skills. Note from the editor - The actual statement from
Ausserio was likely misquoted during the translation process
and through passage from TATAME to maXfighting.
Assuerio
is not taking Tim Silvia lightly; he has immersed himself in
some of the most intense training he has ever endured for this
fight. He is training very hard and is prepared for Tim in all
aspects of the fight. Assuerio has said, if Tim decides to stand
up with him he will knock him out; if he takes it to the ground
he will submit him. Assuerio is very excited to have to have
the chance to fight in the UFC and is looking forward to making
his way through the ranks and bringing the Heavyweight title
back to Brazil.
It
upsets me that the media would fabricate the words of an athlete
when he is just starting to build his relationship with the UFC.
Assuerio’s main focus is beating Tim Silvia and putting
on an exciting performance for his UFC debut. Assuerio would
like to apologize to the UFC and fans if there was any miscommunication
on his part. Note from the editor - we sincerely apologize to
Assuerio Silva and his entire team, and to any parties disturbed
by the misquotations.
Source: Maxfighting |
The
Iceman Talks
A
lot can happen in a year, and that’s certainly the case
for Chuck Liddell. After knocking out Tito Ortiz in a long awaited
grudge match, then doing the same to Vernon “Tiger”
White a few months later, Chuck then helped MMA break new ground
by starring as one of two legendary coaches on "The Ultimate
Fighter" reality show. With his notoriety increased among
the casual fan base, he finally won the long sought after UFC
Light Heavyweight championship belt, knocking out fellow TUF
coach Randy Couture in the first round in UFC 52. Now on August
20th he’ll face dangerous veteran Jeremy Horn. Horn gave
the Iceman one of his three losses when he choked the champ into
unconciousness at the sound of the bell. Horn will be fighting
in the octagon for the first time since UFC 30 (four years ago).
Chuck was kind enough to talk about his upcoming fight and a
whole lot of other topics.
MaXfighting:
You were supposed to be the honorary coach at the Freedom Fight
2005 event coming up in July, but you pulled out. What happened
with that contractually where you had to back out?
Chuck
Liddell: Yeah, there were some contractual problems with being
involved with that. I’m trying to prepare for the Jeremy
Horn fight. The biggest thing was if you look at the poster they
were using, it looked like I was fighting at the event. You had
to look pretty close to see that I was just coaching. That was
the main reason I couldn’t do it, the way the poster was
promoting it.
MF:
You also have some fight team members to support in up-coming
action. I hear that Antonio Banuelos [135-pounder; 7-2 record]
is fighting in an upcoming event. Can you tell us a little about
that?
CL:
I think the promotion he’ll be fighting is the WFF…it’s
a SHOOTO sanctioned event. So I’ll be there in his corner
helping him out. We’re just trying to keep him busy and
find fights for him.
MF:
I know you’ve talked about UFC 52 a bunch of times, but
after all of the big wins you’ve had, when you beat Randy
was it more a relief to finally be on top, or just excitement?
CL:
It was definitely exciting. I had a lot of fights to get there,
but it was more excitement than anything.
MF:
I know you fought in the 2003 Pride tournament. Have you been
able to follow the 2005 tournament at all?
CL:
Nah, I really haven’t been able to keep up with that.
MF:
Obviously a lot of people would love to see a super-fight between
you and one of the semi-finalists, Wanderlei Silva. How much
would you like to get in there with him.
CL:
Oh yeah! Definitely. I’d love to get in there and fight
him. That would be a great fight.
MF:
Is there anything you see in him that you can take advantage
of, or is there something in your game that you think would help
you take him out?
CL:
It would definitely be a striker’s war. We’d be in
there trading. I feel I have a better chin than he does…I
also hit harder. But it would be a great fight and I’d love
for it to happen. I feel I’d knock him out.
MF:
Do you think it would ever be able to happen? Contractually it
would be tough. UFC has sent a few guys over there, but Pride
hasn’t returned the favor.
CL:
It’s on Pride to get it done. UFC has been frustrated trying
to work with them. Whether it can get done, it’s on Pride.
MF:
So now you’re fighting Jeremy Horn. I was at 53 when they
announced that, and as a hardcore fan I was pumped to see that
fight happening. The first fight between you two was a long ways
back. Can you take anything from that fight, or are you basically
starting from scratch?
CL:
Nah, neither of us can get anything from that. That was back
in ’98. That won’t help either of us.
MF:
You’ve started training already I assume?
CL:
Definitely.
MF:
How does your training progress as the fight gets closer?
CL:
About 8 weeks to go it gets harder, a lot more intense. With
about 2 weeks left the pace slows a little bit. Then the last
week, cut back a bit more and mainly just try and stay sharp.
MF:
Is there anything in particular you are doing to prepare for
Jeremy Horn? Are you basically expecting he’ll try and take
it to the ground, or do you think he might surprise people and
actually try and stand with you like Tito did?
CL:
Well Tito didn’t really stand with me. Basically he just
wasn’t able to go for the takedown. [Jeremy’s] going
to have to stand at least at the start. But eventually he’ll
try and go to the ground. He’s a smart fighter; he knows
it’s too risky to keep it standing. I’ll definitely
be ready for him.
MF:
Horn has fought a lot of tough competition over the years, but
he hasn’t been in one of the big two organizations [Pride
and UFC] in a few years. Do you think he’ll be that much
more dangerous since he’ll be hungry?
CL:
Well it’s definitely a big shot for him. He’s been
out of the limelight for a while. Really anybody is dangerous.
But hungry or not he’s definitely one of the most dangerous
guys out there, so he’s gonna be really tough.
MF:
Sorry, but I have to ask the typical reality show question. Have
you seen any of the episodes, and if so did they portray what
went on accurately
CL:
Well I have seen a little, but to be honest I didn’t see
most of it. And really all I saw while I was there was the training
and fighting aspect. I had other things to take care of so I
didn’t get to see much on TV…I guess I would like to
check out some of it to see how accurate the show was.
MF:
Do you keep in touch with a lot of the TUF guys?
CL:
Yeah, Definitely. I still talk to a lot of them.
MF:
Well I know you spent plenty of time with Forrest Griffin, and
probably saw Nate Quarry train as well. Were you surprised how
well they both did at UFC 53.
CL:
No, not at all. They’re both great fighters.
MF:
Do you know why Forrest smiles so much when he’s getting
punched in the face?
CL:
He’s just a different cat. He loves what he does, that’s
his personality. He has a great personality, he’s a funny
guy, and he just loves to fight.
MF:
How are you handling all of the extra attention you get between
the reality show and winning the title? Is it hard to deal with,
or are you getting used to it?
CL:
I’m doing OK with it. It’s mainly people who watch
the fights that notice me. It’s been slowly building for
a while, but with the show and everything, there’s definitely
been a big jump.
MF:
So now you get to fight Jeremy again, you won your rematch with
Randy. The other guy out there that put a mark on your record
is Quinton Jackson. He could be a free agent soon, and perhaps
end up in the UFC. If that could happen would you want another
shot at him?
CL:
Definitely! Absolutely. That was one of my poorest performances.
That was a bad fight. I’d LOVE another shot at him.
MF:
Is getting revenge for your previous losses important to you,
or is it just a side bonus?
CL:
I guess more of a side bonus.
MF:
I know this is old news, but is there any bad blood left between
you and Tito, or is that water under the bridge for you?
CL:
Well I haven’t really talked to him much, and he hasn’t
talked to me much.
MF:
Do you think what he’s doing is good for the sport as far
as the things he’s been saying and holding out on re-signing?
CL:
Well I haven’t really heard what he’s been saying.
MF:
Basically, he feels he’s a big draw, and he deserves a lot
more money because of his drawing power, etc.
CL:
Well I don’t think he is that big of a draw by himself.
I mean if you look at his last couple fights…it depends
who he’s fighting. If we fought again people would want
to see it, but they’d be watching to see me knock him out
again.
MF:
Well I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. Are there
any closing comments you’d want to make, sponsors, fans?
CL:
Definitely... Thanks to Xyience, all my other sponsors, and to
everyone out there supporting me. And if you want to find out
more about what I’m doing, my website is www.iceman.tv (or
www.icemanmma.com).
MF:
All right. Thanks again for your time. We appreciate it. Good
luck against Horn.
CL:
Thanks.
Source: MMA Weekly |
SHAOLIN
DOMINATES IN U.K.
Some great fights took place this weekend at Cage Rage 12, "the
Real Deal". Vitor "Shaolin" Riberiro
continues to show why he is one of the best at 155 with a win
over Gerald Strebendt. He needed just over a minute to win by
guillotine.
UFC
veterans Travis Lutter, Curtis Stout and Mark Weir all had wins
as well this weekend. Here is some of the results from this weekend's
event sent to us by reader Marvin Richards to MMAWeekly.com.
-
David Lee defeats Jason Barrett by rear naked
choke at 4:28 in round 1
- Travis Lutter defeats Matt Ewin by Submission (Keylock) at
1:40 in round 1
- Curtis Stout defeats Nilson de Castro by TKO in round 1
- Vitor Ribeiro defeats Gerald Strebendt by Submission
(Guillotine Choke) at 1:13 in round 1
- Alex Reid defeats Kyosuke Sasaki by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) in
round 1
- Antonio Silva defeats Rafael Carino by Submission (Verbal)
at 2:55 in round 1
- Mark Weir defeats Sol Gilbert by TKO (Corner Stoppage) at 5:00
in round 2
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They
see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire
of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these dreams die,
but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days
till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always
to those who hope that their dreams will come true."
Woodrow Wilson, 1856-1924, Twenty-eighth President of the USA
|
Platinum
Limousine and Platinum Public presents
Extreme
Wars X-1
Hawaii's Top Team vs. Next Generation's Top Team
Results!
Neal Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday July 2, 2005
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
MMA Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Kaleo Wolf (Eastsidaz) def. Shawn Castro (Mixbreed)
TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes at 2:09 minutes in Round
1.
Pro-X
Bout (Modified Kickboxing with MMA gloves)
Kaipo Gonzalez (Team MMAD) def. Duke Saragosa (808 Fight Factory)
TKO via referee stoppage at 54 seconds in Round 1.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Johnny "Gun" Sampaio (Nova Uniao/Young Guns de Luta)
def. Brian Garaghty (Strasser Freestyle Academy)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Josh Hinger (Next Generation) def. Kaleo Kwan (Eastsidaz)
Submission via arm bar from the triangle at 2:24 minutes in Round
1.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Fernando "Heavy Hands" Gonzalez (Next Generation) def.
Sidney Silva (HMC/Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Harris "The Hitman" Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) def.
Josh "Submit" Smith (Next Generation)
Submission via toe hold at 2:58 minutes in Round 1.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Adam "Bam Bam Banger" Lynn (Next Generation) vs. Kaleo
Padilla (Kona Boxing)
No contest due to a accidental thumb in the eye at 1:35 minutes
in Round 1.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Chris "The Westside Stranger" Brennan (Next Generation)
def. Mark Moreno (Bulls Pen)
Submission via arm bar at 1:14 minutes in Round 1.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Jeff "Snowman" Monson (American Top Team) def. Rich
Wilson (Team Severn, National Greco Roman Wrestling Champion)
Submission via arm bar at 1:56 minutes in Round 1.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Dan "The Beast" Severn def. Shannon "The Cannon"
Ritch (Team Cannon)
Submission via arm triangle at 1:05 minutes in Round 2.
MMA
Bout: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez def. Reuben "Warpath"
Villarreal
Submission via arm bar from the mount at 2:38 minutes in Round
1.
|
Full
Contact Showdown One-Hour Bayfest Show
Today!
*Correction - We
previously listed it on Saturday, but Sunday is the correct day.
We apologize for that.
Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe, Hawaii
July 2, 2005
One kickboxing match: 3 Rounds - 1 Minute
MMA Exhibition Bout:
Ryan Lee (Bulls Pen) & Kevin Delima (Bulls Pen)
This bout was put together to introduce and educate the Bayfest
crowd about Mixed Martial Arts.
|
808
Fight Factory Represents at King of the Cage
King of the Cage debuts in Arizona on July 9th at the Apache
Gold Casino and Resort. Featuring 15 action packed, full contact,
closed fist cage fights, King of the Cage is Knocking out the
Competition. 30 of the most talented combatants from Arizona
and around the world enter a steel cage to electrify the over
3000 seat venue.
In
the main event, Pride veteran Charles 'Krazy Horse' Bennett rematches
Arizona's Gabe 'the Hitman' Rivas. The two fought to a draw at
Soboba Casino in March on PPV. Krazy Horse returns to King of
the Cage fresh off his devastating knockout of formerly undefeated
Japanese star Yoshiro Maeda in Pride. Rivas looks to make his
name in the mixed martial arts world by defeating the popular
Krazy Horse with his own fists of stone.
In
title bout action, Phoenix's Del 'the Philipino Delight' Hawkins
defends his 135 pound belt against DeLuca Combat Academy's Victor
Hernandez. Hawkins is the first King of the Cage 135 pound champion.
Hernandez comes off a tough loss to the heavy hands of Charles
'Krazy Horse' Bennett, and moves down two weight classes, chasing
his first world title.
Also
featured on the card is a special team challenge. All the way
from eastern Europe comes the ferocious Hungarian national mixed
martial arts team to challenge Hawaii's 808 Fight Factory. The Hungarians' strong kickboxing
background matches up against Hawaii's most devastating strikers
to promise some of the greatest fights of the year.
This
is your chance to see the most electrifying show in the nation
at scenic Apache Gold Casino and Resort in Globe, AZ. Gates open
at 5:30pm and fights start at 7pm. For tickets, call Apache Gold
Casino at (928)475-7800.
Source:
Event Promoter
|
Stacked
Card at Cage Rage!
Cage Rage 12: 'The Real Deal'
Wembley Conference Center, London, England
July 2nd, 2005
Alex
Reid vs. Kyosuke Sasaki
Sol Gilbert vs. Mark Weir
Ebenezer Fontes Braga vs. Antonio Silva
Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro vs. Gerald Strebendt
Jorge Patino 'Macaco' vs. Curtis Stout
Travis Lutter vs. Matt Ewin
Mark Epstein vs. Mathias Riccio
Herb Dean vs. Tom Blackledge
Alex Reid vs. Hassan Muridi
Brad Pickett vs. Steven Milward
Phil Norman vs. Darren Guisha
Cyrille Diabate vs. Fabio Piemonte
Rick Andrews vs. Tony Thompson
Dave Lee vs. Jason Barret
Source:
Fight Sport
|
Bang
Returns to K-1
Though he was hoping to make his return to mixed martial arts
a full-time gig, Duane “Bang” Ludwig has given in to
the realities of the fight game and is returning to K-1 action.
“I can make $1,000 or whatever on smaller MMA shows, but
I can make quite a bit more fighting K-1,” said Bang.
In
fact, he is still under contract with K-1 who owes him three
fights before his contract runs out later this year. The first
two of those fights are to happen soon. The first is a K-1 Superfight
against Thai Boxing legend Ramon Dekker on K-1’s July 20th
World Max show in Tokyo, Japan. With 175 wins in his career,
Dekker will be a very difficult opponent. Despite his desire
to fight MMA, Ludwig is looking forward to this K-1 kickboxing
bout, “I want to be one of the best fighters in the world
and to be one of the best, you have to beat the best. This should
be a really good fight.”
Not
only does he have the fight with Dekker on July 20th, but then
Ludwig turns around and comes back home to the United States
to fight another Superfight. This time, he will be fighting French
fighter Remy Bonnel at K-1’s USA show in Las Vegas on August
13th. Of course there is one stipulation to the Las Vegas bout.
“The fight with Bonnel will happen about three weeks later
as long as I don’t come out with any injuries from the fight
with Dekker,” remarked Ludwig.
That’s
a pretty tight schedule for a fighter, but that is what it will
take to get in all three of the fights that K-1 still owes him
according to his contract. Though K-1 seems to want to use Ludwig
more in kickboxing rules bouts, there’s a chance that we’ll
see him in MMA action before his contract is up. “I don’t
have anything to say for sure, but I’m hoping that they’ll
use me in an MMA bout for the last fight on my contract,”
he said. That would be good news for Ludwig, as he would then
get the best of both worlds. He would get to fight MMA and the
solid payday that comes from K-1.
What
happens after his K-1 contract is up? Ludwig had this response,
“I can’t really say, but I know I’ll be fighting
somewhere thanks to my great sponsors: Sportsmaker.com who have
been working with me, BasRutten.tv, ROFMMA.com, NHBFights.com,
GLCDirect.COM, RealFightGear.com; and thanks to K-1 and MMAWeekly.com
for the time. Of course, as soon as I know what’s next I’ll
have it up on my web site at DuaneBangLudwig.com.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Leo
Vieira
By Takimoto
Leonardo "Brabo" Vieira, the brilliant fighter took
time to chat with us on his 2005 ADCC conquest and about the
outlook for an MMA fight.
Leonardo
Vieira surpassed himself in this latest installment of the ADCC.
Even with an injury to his foot, the FIGHTEAM fighter captured
the second 65.9 kg ADCC championship in as many competitions:
"I had little miracles every day and had a lot of lessons
with it. In my prayers I only asked God to keep focused, no matter
what happens. My injure limited me a lot, my movements were adapted
and my strategies became very limited. But I knew that if I dedicated
100% I would win and that's what I did. I gave my best not thinking
in pride, money or fame, only trying to prove that it is not
only trainings, but also efforts, dedication, humbleness and
faith. I didn't wait that things happened to me. I faced all
in the days before the competition and after my injure. I wake
up and fought all the adversities, some in trainings, others
in my University and others in work, but it didn't matter, I
only looked to God and persisted in my intention. I adapted my
trainings, slept 4 to 5 hours per day, took care of my patients,
did everything the best I could do and this, plus the motivation
of my fiancee, my family, teams and friends, all of this counted
a lot for this victory."
The
champion even praised his opponents, especially Rany Yahya, after
they engaged in a 50 minutes war:
"My
adversaries were very good, they showed high levels of technique
and conditioning, including my last bout that lasted 50 minutes,
it was amazing!"
A very curious episode involving Leozinho and his brother, Ricardo
Vieira, was reported by the fighter:
"When I won my semifinal, I called my brother who was in
Brazil and he said - Dude, you are the man, I'm gonna change
my miles and I'm going to travel to watch the final - so I answered
him, 'Now it is over, I had to be here in all the matches. Tomorrow
the fight will be long (the final lasts 20 minutes), but it will
not be as nice as today was.' After the fight he said he would
kill me for that, because the final was something incredible
and he has stayed in Brazil searching for results on the internet
sites."
Dean Lister victory against Jean Jacques Machado didn't surprise
Leozinho:
"I thought it would go that way, because Dean Lister trainer
was Rodrigo 'Comprido' Medeiros, the same who stayed in my corner,
my friend and training partner since the early days of my life.
He trained with Dean and studied a lot Jean Jacques' fight-style.
He built good strategies and they did a good work. Comprido is
a very good strategist and trainer and Dean Lister is very dedicated
and obedient, so these combinations became dangerous to any opponent."
With the four first places in the absolute division takenby Brazilians,
the champion only laments the lack of recognition in his country:
"I think we always prove that we are the best, I only lament
because the Brazilians don't give value to our sport which would
have be given and because of that we lost our best fighters to
other jobs or countries."
Now Leo lays out some new plans:
"I'm going to graduate myself in Physiotherapy. I will train
my students for this year's competition and compete after my
foot rehab and maybe even do an MMA match."
We
look forward to seeing what is to come from the Champ.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life,
that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping
himself."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, American Poet, Essayist
|
Full
Contact Showdown One-Hour Bayfest Show
Today!
Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe, Hawaii
July 2, 2005
There will be two kickboxing matches and one MMA match.
185 Full Contact Showdown Championship (MMA) Bout:
Steve Byrnes (Bulls Pen) vs. Aaron Rose (808 Fight Factory)
The event will take place from 3:30pm to 4:30 pm.
|
Platinum
Limousine and Platinum Public presents
Extreme
Wars X-1
Hawaii's Top Team vs. Next Generation's Top Team
Today!
Neal Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday July 2, 2005
Tickets will be available for purchase this Saturday, June 18,
2005 at the Neal Blaisdell ticket box office, all Ticket Master
outlets, and all Times supermarket.
Ringside $100.00
Risers $65.00
Lodges $45.00
General $35.00
Sidney Silva (HMC/Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu) vs. Josh "Submit"
Smith
Johnny
"Gun" Sampaio (Young Guns de Luta) vs. Fernando "Heavy
Hands" Gonzalez
Kaleo
Kwan (Eastsidaz) vs. Mike Corey (Next Generation)
Mark
Moreno (Bulls Pen) vs. Chris "The Westside Stranger"
Brennan (Next Generation)
Harris
Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) vs. Josh Hunger (Next Generation)
Ron
"The Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. Adam
"Bam Bam Banger" Lynn (Next Generation) (Next Generation)
Jeff
"Snowman" Monson (American Top Team) vs. Rich Wilson
(National Greco Roman Wrestling Champion)
Ricco
"Suave" Rodriguez vs. Reuben "Warpath" Villarreal
Dan
"The Beast" Severn vs. Marcelo Tigre
Source: Event Promoter
|
Sakuraba-
A Call for Retirement
Once considered by many the best pound for pound fighter in the
world, Sakuraba has now become a shadow of his former self and
is in serious danger of suffering irreversable damage to his
well being and possibly his life should he continue fighting
heavier top notch competition. There was a day when the Japanese
star could compete and defeat the world's best in any weight
class. That day is long passed and now his fights are often marked
by brutal and punishing beatings with long stints in the hospital.
Much like baseball's Babe Ruth, Sakuraba has "played"
too long. The difference is that MMA is not baseball. A washed
up player in baseball strikes out more or loses a step as he
tries to run the bases. In MMA the stakes are much greater and
the consequences run deep. Sakuraba is one of the sports greatest
participants and we do not question his heart, for it is still
the heart of a lion. However it's become painfully clear that
it's time for him to consider life outside of the ring.
Source: Gracie Fighter
|
'SHOGUN'
SPEAKS
by Ricardo Alonso
Tatame: What is your evaluation of your fight against Rogerio
"Minotoro" Nogueira?
Shogun:
It was a very good fight. Minotoro fought very well on his feet,
his boxing has improved very much. I thought he'd try to take
me to the ground, so I couldn't believe it when he wanted to
trade strikes with me. He impressed me.
Tatame:
Did you have to abandon your strategy when Minotoro was trading
strikes with you?
Shogun:
Whenever I'm fighting on the ropes, I look to take the fight
to the ground and strike from the top position. I spent more
time on top during the fight and I got a knockdown on each side.
Without a doubt, the knockdowns I scored on him made the difference
because they count as points. To tell you the truth, I never
do much strategy. I just do what comes to my head during a fight.
Up to now, that was the hardest fight of my life, but from here
on in it's going to continue to be a battle.
Tatame:
Who do you want to face in the GP finals?
Shogun:
They're going to match me up against either Ricardo Arona or
Alistair Overeem. Either one of those two will be difficult,
but the objective is to get to the final against Vanderlei.
Tatame:
What did Vanderlei say to you at the end of your fight?
Shogun:
He congratulated me and told me that I did a great fight. Not
just him, but the Japanese also praised me a lot after the fight,
and said it was the best fight of the event. I had people telling
me it looked like a matchup between Brazil and Argentina (laughs).
Tatame:
Are you already thinking about the GP finals?
Shogun:
I don't want to think about anything right now. I will rest for
one week, eating a lot, and I don't want to think about training
during that period. I don't want to know nothing about nothing
(laughs).
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
Unleased on Spike
Spike TV presents Unleashed a new one-hour show that will feature
past UFC fights. The series will air on Mondays at 11:05 pm et/pt
on cable and 11:05 pm et/8:05 pm pt on satellite. The first show
is Monday, July 25th.
July
25th Episode
Stephan Bonner vs. Forrest Griffin
Diego Sanchez vs. Kenny Florian
Alex Karalexis vs. Josh Rafferty
Mike Swick vs. Alex Schoenauer
August
1st Episode
Ivan Salaverry vs. Tony Frykland
Ivan Salaverry vs. Joe Riggs
Chris Leben vs. Jason Thacker
Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Sanford
Nate Quarry vs. Lodune Sincaid
Source: MMA Fighting
|
The
Iceman Talks
By John Buhl
A lot can
happen in a year, and that’s certainly the case for Chuck
Liddell. After knocking out Tito Ortiz in a long awaited grudge
match, then doing the same to Vernon “Tiger” White
a few months later, Chuck then helped MMA break new ground by
starring as one of two legendary coaches on "The Ultimate
Fighter" reality show. With his notoriety increased among
the casual fan base, he finally won the long sought after UFC
Light Heavyweight championship belt, knocking out fellow TUF
coach Randy Couture in the first round in UFC 52. Now on August
20th he’ll face dangerous veteran Jeremy Horn. Horn gave
the Iceman one of his three losses when he choked the champ into
unconciousness at the sound of the bell. Horn will be fighting
in the octagon for the first time since UFC 30 (four years ago).
Chuck was kind enough to talk about his upcoming fight and a
whole lot of other topics.
MaXfighting:
You were supposed to be the honorary coach at the Freedom Fight
2005 event coming up in July, but you pulled out. What happened
with that contractually where you had to back out?
Chuck
Liddell: Yeah, there were some contractual problems with being
involved with that. I’m trying to prepare for the Jeremy
Horn fight. The biggest thing was if you look at the poster they
were using, it looked like I was fighting at the event. You had
to look pretty close to see that I was just coaching. That was
the main reason I couldn’t do it, the way the poster was
promoting it.
MF:
You also have some fight team members to support in up-coming
action. I hear that Antonio Banuelos [135-pounder; 7-2 record]
is fighting in an upcoming event. Can you tell us a little about
that?
CL:
I think the promotion he’ll be fighting is the WFF…it’s
a SHOOTO sanctioned event. So I’ll be there in his corner
helping him out. We’re just trying to keep him busy and
find fights for him.
MF:
I know you’ve talked about UFC 52 a bunch of times, but
after all of the big wins you’ve had, when you beat Randy
was it more a relief to finally be on top, or just excitement?
CL:
It was definitely exciting. I had a lot of fights to get there,
but it was more excitement than anything.
MF:
I know you fought in the 2003 Pride tournament. Have you been
able to follow the 2005 tournament at all?
CL:
Nah, I really haven’t been able to keep up with that.
MF:
Obviously a lot of people would love to see a super-fight between
you and one of the semi-finalists, Wanderlei Silva. How much
would you like to get in there with him?
CL:
Oh yeah! Definitely. I’d love to get in there and fight
him. That would be a great fight.
MF:
Is there anything you see in him that you can take advantage
of, or is there something in your game that you think would help
you take him out?
CL:
It would definitely be a striker’s war. We’d be in
there trading. I feel I have a better chin than he does…I
also hit harder. But it would be a great fight and I’d love
for it to happen. I feel I’d knock him out.
MF:
Do you think it would ever be able to happen? Contractually it
would be tough. UFC has sent a few guys over there, but Pride
hasn’t returned the favor.
CL:
It’s on Pride to get it done. UFC has been frustrated trying
to work with them. Whether it can get done, it’s on Pride.
MF:
So now you’re fighting Jeremy Horn. I was at 53 when they
announced that, and as a hardcore fan I was pumped to see that
fight happening. The first fight between you two was a long ways
back. Can you take anything from that fight, or are you basically
starting from scratch?
CL:
Nah, neither of us can get anything from that. That was back
in ’98. That won’t help either of us.
MF:
You’ve started training already I assume?
CL:
Definitely.
MF:
How does your training progress as the fight gets closer?
CL:
About 8 weeks to go it gets harder, a lot more intense. With
about 2 weeks left the pace slows a little bit. Then the last
week, cut back a bit more and mainly just try and stay sharp.
MF:
Is there anything in particular you are doing to prepare for
Jeremy Horn? Are you basically expecting he’ll try and take
it to the ground, or do you think he might surprise people and
actually try and stand with you like Tito did?
CL:
Well Tito didn’t really stand with me. Basically he just
wasn’t able to go for the takedown. [Jeremy’s] going
to have to stand at least at the start. But eventually he’ll
try and go to the ground. He’s a smart fighter; he knows
it’s too risky to keep it standing. I’ll definitely
be ready for him.
MF:
Horn has fought a lot of tough competition over the years, but
he hasn’t been in one of the big two organizations [Pride
and UFC] in a few years. Do you think he’ll be that much
more dangerous since he’ll be hungry?
CL:
Well it’s definitely a big shot for him. He’s been
out of the limelight for a while. Really anybody is dangerous.
But hungry or not he’s definitely one of the most dangerous
guys out there, so he’s gonna be really tough.
MF:
Sorry, but I have to ask the typical reality show question. Have
you seen any of the episodes, and if so did they portray what
went on accurately?
CL:
Well I have seen a little, but to be honest I didn’t see
most of it. And really all I saw while I was there was the training
and fighting aspect. I had other things to take care of so I
didn’t get to see much on TV…I guess I would like to
check out some of it to see how accurate the show was.
MF:
Do you keep in touch with a lot of the TUF guys?
CL:
Yeah, Definitely. I still talk to a lot of them.
MF:
Well I know you spent plenty of time with Forrest Griffin, and
probably saw Nate Quarry train as well. Were you surprised how
well they both did at UFC 53.
CL:
No, not at all. They’re both great fighters.
MF:
Do you know why Forrest smiles so much when he’s getting
punched in the face?
CL:
He’s just a different cat. He loves what he does, that’s
his personality. He has a great personality, he’s a funny
guy, and he just loves to fight.
MF:
How are you handling all of the extra attention you get between
the reality show and winning the title? Is it hard to deal with,
or are you getting used to it?
CL:
I’m doing OK with it. It’s mainly people who watch
the fights that notice me. It’s been slowly building for
a while, but with the show and everything, there’s definitely
been a big jump.
MF:
So now you get to fight Jeremy again, you won your rematch with
Randy. The other guy out there that put a mark on your record
is Quinton Jackson. He could be a free agent soon, and perhaps
end up in the UFC. If that could happen would you want another
shot at him?
CL:
Definitely! Absolutely. That was one of my poorest performances.
That was a bad fight. I’d LOVE another shot at him.
MF:
Is getting revenge for your previous losses important to you,
or is it just a side bonus?
CL:
I guess more of a side bonus.
MF:
I know this is old news, but is there any bad blood left between
you and Tito, or is that water under the bridge for you?
CL:
Well I haven’t really talked to him much, and he hasn’t
talked to me much.
MF:
Do you think what he’s doing is good for the sport as far
as the things he’s been saying and holding out on re-signing?
CL:
Well I haven’t really heard what he’s been saying.
MF:
Basically, he feels he’s a big draw, and he deserves a lot
more money because of his drawing power, etc.
CL:
Well I don’t think he is that big of a draw by himself.
I mean if you look at his last couple fights…it depends
who he’s fighting. If we fought again people would want
to see it, but they’d be watching to see me knock him out
again.
MF:
Well I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. Are there
any closing comments you’d want to make, sponsors, fans?
CL:
Definitely... Thanks to Xyience, all my other sponsors, and to
everyone out there supporting me. And if you want to find out
more about what I’m doing, my website is www.iceman.tv (or
www.icemanmma.com).
MF:
All right. Thanks again for your time. We appreciate it. Good
luck against Horn.
CL:
Thanks.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Sakurai
Returns to SHOOTO
Negotiations are underway to pit the former SHOOTO World Champion,
Hayato Sakurai up against the MW (167 lbs) Champion Akira Kikuchi
on the August 20th card set for the Yokohama Arena. This event
is starting to shape up as it looks like Rumina Sato will be
taking on Gilbert Melendez from Cesar Gracie's camp on the same
night. Talks have stalled a bit, while everyone waits for Kikuchi
to come back to the table once he concludes his July 6th bout
in HERO'S.
This
would be a non-title bout, as Sakurai has fallen off the SHOOTO
world rankings due to his inactivity within the SHOOTO circuit.
However, taking on the Champ is the best way to get on the fast
track to a title shot. A very interesting component to this match-up
is that, Kikuchi won the title from the man who defeated Sakurai
in his final SHOOTO performance back in December of 2002. That
fighter was Jake Shields, who pulled off what was considered
a major upset. That victory started Shields' journey to capturing
the title himself after submitting long time SHOOTO ranker, Ray
Cooper for the then vacant title... That title was vacated by
the only other fighter to deal Sakurai a loss in his 6 year SHOOTO
career... Anderson Silva.
Hayato
Sakurai is deeply intertwined with the history of the SHOOTO
MW Championship lineage, having held the title for more than
3 years after winning in from Jutaro Nakao in May of 1998. While
the champ, he defeated a tough field of competition including
Haroldo Bunn, Marcelo Aguiar, Tetsuji Kato, Luis Azeredo, and
Frank Trigg. But after losing to Silva in a fairly one sided
decision, Sakurai looked to get back at the title by submitting
Dan Gilbert by ankle lock just 4 months later. But it was back
to back losses in the UFC and back in SHOOTO that gave him cause
to seek renew his career by moving into other organizations.
He has competed in DEEP and Pride/Bushido where he has just gone
5-3. Having gone undefeated in his first 17 fights, spanning
from October 1996 to March of 2001, this is a rocky progression
at best for the Japanese fighter. Coming back to SHOOTO may be
just what he needs to re-establish himself as on of the premier
fighters in the world... or it can be an even bigger boon to
the reputation of his probable opponent, Akira Kikuchi... Stay
tuned with more to come as this situation develops.
Source:
Maxfighting
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Quote
of the Day
"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
Edmund Hillary, 1919-, New Zealand Mountaineer
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Dan
"The Beast" Severn Seminar
Today!
Wrestling & ground fighting seminar
DON'T MISS THIS OPPURTUNITY TO TRAIN WITH A LEGEND!!!
Friday July 1st 2005
Farrington High School Gym 1564 North King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
(808) 330-7108 - 926-4466
Seminar: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Itinerary:
YOUTH / ADULT SEMINAR
Amateur Wrestling
Take Downs
Submission Holds
Chokes
Arm locks
Grappling Techniques
Training Tips
UFC inside information
And much more in this unique learning experience
Advance Registration
Attending Seminar: $45.00
At the door Registration
Attending Seminar: $55.00
* Limited
Mat Space - Get signed up ASAP. Each seminar will be limited.
Contact the numbers provided to secure your spot.
Advance Registration
Make checks payable to:
Platinum Activities
409 Lewers St. # 129
Honolulu, HI. 96815
Dan Severn Resume Highlights:
* World Record Holder of 14 Title Belts
* UFC Hall of Fame Inductee
* Former WWE Super Star
* 2 time NWA Heavyweight Champion
* 3 time UFC Champion
* Freestyle National Wrestling Champion
* Multiple Time Shoot Fighting Champion
* Greco-Roman Wrestler for 30 years
* Black Belt in Judo,
Jui Jitsu & Combat Sambo
* Holder of over 95 States, National & International Titles
& Records
Source: Dino Fernandez
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Melendez
vs. Sato?
from Maxfighting.com
Gilbert Melendez v. Rumina Sato???
Negotiations
are underway for an August 20th fight between Gilbert Melendez
and Rumina Sato. It will be to decide who will face the long
time SHOOTO Champion, Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira
for the SHOOTO Lightweight Championship.
Melendez
is a strong well-rounded fighter coming out of the Cesar Gracie
camp, and has already amassed a solid resume of wins in MMA.
At 9-0, he has bested several top fighters, incuding Stephan Palling of Hawaii, SHOOTO standout
Naoya Uematsu, and the another fast rising star in Hiroyuki Takaya.
He has also captured the WEC Championship, and has asserted himself
as the number 1 ranked fighter in the SHOOTO circuit. He is a
big 143 lber (which is his weight class of choice in SHOOTO),
and he plans to use that to his advantage in the fight with Sato
should it come together. That bout will open the door for the
confrontation he has been longing for... the match with the SHOOTO
Champion, Alexandre Nogueira.
Sato
is a proverbial legend in the MMA world. He has been competing
in MMA since 1994. He was way ahead of the curve back then, and
captured everyone's imagination with amazing moves like the flying-reverse-triangle-choke,
and the 6-second flying armbar. As the game caught up with his
snap-submission-style, Sato faced a string of losses at the hands
of bigger more tactical fighters. Many wrote him off as a relic
of the sport's early days, and considered the game to have passed
him by... But the legend returned with new vitality by winning
5 of his last 6 outings (4 by KO or submission). And no longer
does he depend on catching his opponent early with a slick submission...
he has taken to a more strategic approach, setting up his finishing
holds with control and position.
Melendez's
size and pure grappling ability has proven to be Sato's bane
in the past, but the Japanese fighter has shown that he can go
in against stronger fighters, and do it for the duration, when
he decisioned Makoto Ishikawa (a Purebred fighter under the always
aggressive Enson Inoue) in his most recent victory. Can he repeat
that kind of performance against Melendez??? Is Gilbert just
too much for the more "open" Japanese SHOOTO style,
where his strength and Gracie tutelage has allowed him to overcome
Uematsu and Hiroyuki??? Let's hope that we get to find out...
Source: Gracie Fighter
|
Fedor
vs. Cro Cop Officially Signed
By Scott Mallon
 
The day after PRIDE GP 2005 2nd Round, DSE held a signing ceremony
for the PRIDE Heavyweight Championship match between Emelianenko
Fedor and Mirko Cro Cop at Ebisu Garden Room in Tokyo.
At
the signing ceremony, the challenger Mirko Cro Cop said, “I
think this is going to be the most important fight of my career.
I want this to be the world’s best title fight” and
Fedor agreed, “I am same as Mirko, really looking forward
to this fight.”
Fedor’s
right fist hasn’t fully recovered yet but except for punching,
he has already begun training. Fedor is planning to go to Russia
for training in the mountains for a month, then as usual he will
go and tune-up at Vos Gym in Holland to get ready for this title
fight.
On
the other hand, Cro Cop will go back to Croatia, and other than
playing soccer and basketball, he is going to take a break for
about ten days. Then once he begins his training, he is planning
to invite various fighters from U.S. and Europe as his training
partner to help prepare him for the Russian Champion.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Marco
"Louro" - #1 SHOOTO Contender
By Takimoto
Takimoto-
You're going to be competing for the SHOOTO Featherweight [132
lbs] title in September, but you haven't had a fight last September.
Will you be prepared?
Marcos
Galvao- I work my mind now. To not fight between this period
isn't a good deal, you know I can have a little of lack of pace.
But I've a goal in my life and this is to gain the SHOOTO belt
making a nice performance against Ryota Matsune.
Takimoto- You had a problem with your shoulder early this year.
Are you healed?
Marcos
Galvao- This was another problem, I kept a high pace in the training
and I injured my shoulder. I stopped all training action during
a month and half, but I already came back stronger than ever
and I'm sure this belt is coming to Brazil.
Takimoto- Are there any positives to going without fights during
the period prior to the title match?
Marcos
Galvao- Yes, there is. I'm 100% focused on Matsune and I'm studying
just his fights. Since I don't have any fight scheduled, I've
only one target and it's Matsune. I live to train and since I'm
going to fight Matsune my all training and game-plan is being
elaborated to overcome him.
Takimoto- But, in your personal opinion, would you like to fight
before then?
Marcos
Galvao- No doubts about it, I wanted to fight in last Jungle
FC, because it's held in my city Manaus. I don't fight in Brazil
a long time. If after my SHOOTO title's belt match, this situation
repeats itself, I'll look for a fight here in Brazil.
Takimoto- You did make your MMA debut in Brazil, right?
Marcos
Galvao- Yes and I started at this game with just 17 years old.
Takimoto- How did that opportunity come to you?
Marcos
Galvao- My teammate, Jorge Clay, got a offer to fight, but he
wasn't prepared. So I replaced him in an eight-man tournament
event named Gladiador Kumite. I can tell you I wasn't 100% prepared
but I did fit my jiu jitsu and I beat 3 opponents on the row.
Takimoto- Three fights in a row isn't an easy task...
Marcos
Galvao- The funniest thing was that they told me that I was going
to fight twice, but I fought three times.
Takimoto- When was this event?
Marcos
Galvao- I guess in 1999, but I've to tell you that I fought against
fighter who looked-a-like me. I meant, they didn't have all MMA
tools such as me. I took them down and I worked my efficient
jiu jitsu game.
Takimoto- So you debuted in Japan somewhat late compared to the
17 year old debut in Brazil?
Marcos
Galvao- Well man, I agree with you. I lived bad moments in my
life. I stayed without any action during two year, and such as
I come of a poor family, I didn't have a way keep work in my
city [Manaus], and I lost focus for fighting. However, my mother
got some money and I finally traveled to Rio de Janeiro. When
I arrived here, Andre Pederneiras told that an opportunity in
Japan appeared and I grabbed it with my hands. If I didn't come
here or didn't get a fight, for sure I'd be dead or on the jail.
It's hard to live like that man, I'm going to battle for the
belt of the most important lightweight event around the world
and I don't have any sponsor.
Takimoto- When and why did you start in jiu jitsu?
Marcos
Galvao- I started with Nonato Machado, who I consider a daddy
for me. I ever loved jiu jitsu and I went to watch all jiu jitsu
classes there in Manaus. However I didn't have money to pay for
the classes and for the gi. A friend of mine and multiple times
world jiu jitsu champion, Arlison Mello, trained jiu jitsu since
he was a kid and I accompanied his trainings. My mother got some
money two pay two months and just with this time I surpassed
the expectations training very hard and I won an event with 1
month of training. But my money finished and I told the master
that I was not going to train anymore due to my lack of money,
he told that I could train without pay. So I owe Nonato Machado
a lot and because of his support I try to support everybody in
my life.
Takimoto- Taking a look on your fights, it's clear to see that
you're a cool customer. I mean, you don't express any feeling,
much like Emelianenko Fedor.
Marcos
Galvao- This is my style, I brawled lot on the streets when I
was a kid, so I think this style comes from the streets. I started
and I finished my fights by the same way. When I fought first
time in Japan, I was sure I would win that fight, but in last
round my opponent [Masato Shiozawa] really spanked me. I don't
have any problem on telling you it, but I kept the same calm
and game during the punishment.
Takimoto- How are you feeling about this title match in September?
Marcos
Galvao- I fought three times in Japan and I faced three tough
opponents. In my last one I faced Jin Akimoto, a very experienced
fighter with a vast resume. I worked hard to beat them and to
conquer the belt is the consequence of my hard job.
Man, people will never understand what I suffered in my life,
just arriving here, I already consider myself a champion. Just
a small occasion to illustrated what I told you about suffering,
a lot of times I just had water with sugar and a loaf to eat
during my whole day.
Takimoto- Do you feel lack of recognition for all your hard work?
Marcos
Galvao- I felt lack of sponsor and I think nobody from Brazil
still realize that I'm going to fight for a title belt. I feel
myself sad and without any recognition. It's hard to not have
any support, I guess people don't believe me.
Takimoto- Well, we believe in you, and you're doing a great job.
Marcos
Galvao- Thank you
Takimoto- In your first fight, the Japanese fans did think your
should develop more your stand-up game. Have you worked on that?
Marcos
Galvao- I improved, but I've my strategy and I can't change it
due to the crowd. I fight for the fans, but I have my game plan
and it works goods. I train boxing and muay thai, but my root
is jiu jitsu with excellent throws.
Takimoto- You won all of your SHOOTO matches by decision. Are
you going to try to win different this time?
Marcos
Galvao- I expect to. We need to know that my opponents were all
very good and they have strong talent. But this time I'll work
hard for a KO or a submission. The Japanese fighters are warriors
and they've merits.
Takimoto- Add anything else?
Marcos
Galvao- I'd like to say thank you for my JESUS CHRIST, my mommy,
Nonato Machado, my teammate Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
and the whole Nova Uniao "crew" and Andre Pederneiras
who are supporting me for the most important fight of my life.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
BUSHIDO
8 coming in July
Coming off of an already spectacular PRIDE event, DSE is set
to heat things up with an intersting BUSHIDO line-up featuring
and eclectic mix of talents. Kimo takes on Ikuhisa "The
Punk" Minowa, while the new ATT member Denis Kang squares
of against Andrei Semenov (it what promises to add some much
needed depth to the 185 lbs division), while Phil Baroni looks
to keep his value high by putting another deveasting performance
against the very solid Ryo Chonan. Fan favorites and former SHOOTO
stand-outs Jutaro Nakao, Takanori Gomi, Joachim Hansen, and SHOOTO
Champion Tatsuya Kawajiri aree all set to go.
Some
interesting developments with this card, is that it sets the
stage to see Hansen and Gomi to possibly lock horns down the
road, in what would be an over the top rematch from their SHOOTO
confrontation where Hansen won the title form Gomi via a questionable
decision. This card also holds the potential of setting up a
bout for one of these two former SHOOTO Champions, against the
current title holder, Kawajiri. The plot and the talent pool
thickens in the BUSHIDO ring.
Fight
Card:
Ryo
Chonan vs. Phil Baroni
Masakazu
Imanari vs. Joachim Hansen
Kazuo
Misaki vs. Daniel Acacio
Jyutaro
Nakao vs. Marcus Aurelio
Takanori
Gomi vs. Jean Silva
Tatsuya
Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscape
Ikuhisa
Minowa vs. Kimo
Denis
Kang vs. Andrei Semenov
Sentoryu
vs. James Thompson
Source: Maxfighting
|
WALLID
ISMAIL TALKS JUNGLE FIGHT
This September will mark a first for the growing Jungle Fight
promotion as they head out of their usual home in Manus, Brazil
and head to the USA to hold an event at the Orleans Casino in
Las Vegas, Nevada on September 9th. On the card co-promoter and
MMA veteran Wallid Ismail hopes to assemble the best cast of
fighters from previous Jungle Fight shows along with name talent
from the US and abroad.
Most
prominently featured will be the fighters who performed well
at the latest installment of Jungle Fight, which took place this
past May. As Ismail himself told MMA Weekly, the show was one
to build on as they get ready to make their American Debut.
“It
was unbelievable,” exclaimed Ismail. “The last show
was the best of all the Jungle Fights. I’m so thankful that
the first show was successful and the next one topped that one
and they keep getting better each time. Everything went as well
as could be expected. Nine of the fights had finishes. Mr. (Antonio)
Inoki (co-promoter and head of NJWP) and I were very impressed
and we are working on new PPV deals with Brazil, Japan, and America.”
Among
the fighters who Ismail hopes to secure for the show include
UFC and Pride veterans as well as the fighter made famous by
defeating BJ Penn earlier this year and the only man to have
defeated current UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin.
“For
sure we will have Pele (Jose Landi-Jons) on the show. He is such
a terrific and entertaining fighter. He has fought many tough
battles and has been in this sport a long time. He’s beaten
Pat Miletich and Matt Hughes, so we expect good things from him,”
said Ismail.
“Also
we are going to have Leopoldo (Montenegro), he’s a very
good heavyweight with great Jiu-Jitsu and has only lost to Travis
Wiuff. We want to have Vladimir Matyushenko as well; he performed
very well at the last Jungle Fight. I know a lot of people want
to see Lyoto (Ryoto Machida) because of him beating BJ and Rich
so we are going to bring him as well so people can see how good
he is. We might even bring his younger brother Shinzo to Vegas,
he won his first fight at the last Jungle Fight.”
One
of the more interesting possible match-ups includes a proposed
rematch between Mark Schultz and Montenegro. As many readers
of MMA Weekly may remember, Schultz had made accusations that
he was mislead into thinking his initial fight with Montenegro
at Jungle Fight 1 was going to be a pro-wrestling style “worked”
match. Instead the fight was a full-on MMA bout and resulted
in Schultz tapping out to a triangle choke.
Ismail
himself refutes the claims made by Schultz and is more than willing
to have the two fight again. “I do not understand why he
said he was lied to,” said Ismail. “Why would anyone
come all the way to Brazil if they didn’t feel they were
going to fight? I do not want to start any controversy so I will
just say that I respect him and I have a good proposal for him
if he wants a rematch against Leopoldo in Vegas.”
Along
with the fights Ismail says that there will be an exhibit among
other commerce to help bring awareness to the current situation
in the Amazon Rain Forrest. As Wallid makes it very clear, the
future of the Rain Forrest is very important to him and the organization.
“Jungle
Fight is trying to help the people of the Amazon. we want to
show people that there is so much the Amazon possesses. We are
going to have a large expo to help bring awareness to people.
We are bringing artwork and craftwork from Amazon Indians to
show people and sell. When you increase the tourism in the region
you increase the way for the poor people to make money. In 40-50
years the Amazon could be gone so we must make people aware that
there is more ways to make money other than cutting down all
the trees,” commented Ismail.
Not
only is Jungle Fight taking their show to the US but they also
hope to expand to Inoki’s home country of Japan before year’s
end. “We are working hard to take the next show to Japan.
Who ever performs well and impresses us in Vegas we will bring
with us to Japan. Win or lose it doesn’t matter, we want
the most exciting fighters to come so the fans have a good time.”
Ismail
concluded by saying, “I love what I do. Helping give the
new generation of fighters their opportunity to show their skills
is very important to me. At the same time we are going to give
the veterans a chance to show they can still be exciting. Helping
the generations come together is a great feeling. Mr. Inoki is
the best promoter in the world and the show will have great production
value, it will be a big show. The people are going to be shocked,
they are going to see high class fighters giving their all. There
is going to be a lot of high energy as the fighters will know
who ever wants to go to Japan will have to impress everyone and
the fans will get a good show because of it.”
Source: MMA Weekly
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