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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)
9/05
Proving
Grounds -
ROTR
Qualifer
(MMA)
(Kauai)
8/27-28/05
International
Masters & Seniors BJJ Tournament
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)
8/05 (tentative)
ROTR 8
(MMA)
(Las Vegas, NV)
7/23-31/05
World BJJ
Championships (Mundial)
(Tijuca Tenis Clube, Tijuca, Brazil)
7/23/05 or 7/30/05
Hawaii Grappling
Grand Prix
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(TBA)
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)
7/9/05
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)
6/18/05
The Pride of Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Jujitsu, Sport-Pankration, Extreme (continuous) Sparring,
Submission Grappling)
(TBA)
Longman BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Kauai)
|
|
June 2005 News Part
2
Wednesday night and Sunday
classes (w/ a kids' class) now offered!
 
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Tuesdays at 8:30PM on
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Quote
of the Day
"Better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one,
than to have an opportunity and not be prepared."
Whitney Young, Jr. 1922-1971, American Social Reformer
|
Rumble
Rumors
Heading the ROTR 8 card is BJ Penn vs. Renzo Gracie, this will
be the first event in Hawaii that will be held at Aloha Stadium.
Aloha Stadium's capacity is 55,000, but the promoters are expecting
20,000, which would smash the current record of just under 9,000
set by Super Brawl 29 (I believe).
Here are some other rumored matches:
Battle of the Giants
South Korean fighter Hong-Man Choi (7'2") takes on Akebono
(6'8")
Musashi
vs. TBA
There is also a rumored heavy/super heavyweight 8 man tournament
attempting to be set up. Some of the fighters rumored to be contacted
about participating are:
Butterbean
Scott
Junk (previous fought Ricco Rodriguez at the last ROTR)
Carter
Williams
Yusuke
Fujimoto
Kimo
Leopoldo
Musashimaru's
brother
The
card sounds like it is going to be unreal. Again, this ROTR will
be heavily influenced by K-1, the most apparent change will be
the use of a ring instead of Rumble's cage.
|
Roger
Gracie: Best grappler in 2005
By Marcelo Alonso
Most
important name of ADCC 2005 after conquering up-to-99kg and Openweight
category, Roger Gracie is going to BJJ Worlds as the man to be
beaten. In an exclusive to TATAME.com, Roger talks about his
training to ADCC 2005, his expectations for next BJJ Mundials
and whether he intends to do a MMA fight, like his cousins Royler,
Renzo, Rickson and Royler. 'I intend to do a MMA fight, but I'm
waiting for the right time. My next step is to dispute my weight
category and Openweight at BJJ Mundials'
How
was your preparation to fight without the gi? You're not used
with it.
It
was interesting, because I had ever fought with gi. Fighting
no gi is even more slippery and difficult to control the opponent.
But I picked it up fast. Renzo was one of the few persons who
helped me a lot on it. He's a specialist and he knows a lot about
no gi. He got much more involved in MMA during the past years
and he put the gi aside for a while. You can train it a lot on
his gym. By the way, all his students are very tough without
the gi.
And
how long did you spend there with Renzo?
I
spent seven weeks and Kyra spent more. But she'll stay in New
York, teaching classes for women on Renzo's gym.
You
train in England, far far away from best BJJ centers. How come
do you go so sharpen to the tournaments?
On
this moment of my career what really matters are the small details.
It's tough to change my game. Of course I still can learn a lot,
but it will depend on me not on anyone. Teaching classes is the
best way to improve technically. You pay more attention on details
that you can't when you're training only with tough fighters.
If you train hard, you become tough, but you end up loosing on
the improvement of your technique. Nowadays I prepare myself
more technically and physically.
And
what about your fight against Ronaldo Jacaré. Did you
prepare anything special to beat him?
No,
not at all. I didn't prepare anything to beat nobody. I knew
he'd do what he did. I knew how the fight would be. I trained
hard on the feet and I was very confident I could take him down.
But, in the end, he gave his back. Like my grandpa Hélio
Gracie says: when someone takes your arm you can choose between
tapping out or not. But when your opponent takes your neck, it's
tap out or sleep.
Your
next opponent at ADCC will be Dean Lister (ADCC 2005 superfight
champ). How is your expectation about this fight?
It's
difficult to say anything about it now, because we will have
two years to prepare myself for it. But I'm very confident. My
next step is to dispute my weight category and Openweight at
BJJ Mundials, in July.
Is
there any other fighter you highlight on ADCC 2005?
I
always like to see Marcelinho Garcia fighting. I think he is
very technical and a great guy. But I have also to congratulate
some other fighters that did well too.
Have
you already thought on fighting MMA?
Of
course I intend to do a MMA fight, but I'm waiting for the right
time. I don't have to risk myself and my career now just to get
even more noticed. I trained Wrestling for ADCC, but that's not
an usual training for me. Training Wrestling I could defend myself
of Alexandre Cacareco take-downs attempts. I think this disappointed
him, because he did his best attempts and he wasn't able to take
me down. He didn't expect that, he takes everybody down and I
guess this affected him psychologically.
Source: Tatame
|
Preview
of Pride 'Critical Countdown'
By Scott Mallon
Critical Countdown Preview
June
26th is closing in fast and the countdown to the 2nd round of
"Critical Countdown 2005" has begun! The stage is set,
the fighters will definitely be ready and any-and-all true MMA
fans around the world have noted the date on their calendars.
Who will be the next Pride FC Middleweight Champion? Let’s
take a closer look at the combatants and see who stands a chance
and who doesn’t.
Wanderlei
“The Axe Murderer” Silva (Brazil / Chute Boxe) vs.
Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan / Yoshida Dojo)
After
a New Years Eve loss to Mark Hunt in a non-title bout, his first
in nearly five years, Wanderlei Silva advanced to the 2nd round
with a split decision victory over Olympic gold medalist Hidehiko
Yoshida. Silva is now rather appropriately set to face the number
one Yoshida protégé, Kazuhiro Nakamura. Nakamura
defeated a slumping Kevin Randleman by unanimous decision to
advance. Contrary to what some may believe he will be out of
his league against Silva. Silva is a top-notch striker with knockout
power in not only his hands but his knees as well. Although Silva
can, at times, get wild with his punches, his aggression and
adaptability make up for it. Nakamura will try and take Silva
down but at some point while on his feet, Silva will put Nakamura
to sleep with a big punch or knee. Nakamura is going to have
to wait awhile to avenge Yoshida’s defeat.
Kazushi
“The Gracie Hunter” Sakuraba (Japan / Takada Dojo)
vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil / Brazilian Top Team)
Once
you’re old, battered and a grizzled veteran, you normally
stay that way. Sakuraba’s “comeback” fight, if
you can call it that, was against “one of the finest Judoka
from Korea,” Yoon Dong Sik. He may be one of the finest
Judoka in Korea but he didn’t belong in a Pride bout against
Saku. The fact is Saku got a gimme from Pride so he could get
a “W” on his record, then get another shot at the middleweight
title and garner interest for the June 26th card. Arona is going
to bring his “A” game for sure, and at this point in
his career Sakuraba needs to get lucky or see Arona commit a
serious error. Arona in a unanimous decision beat down. No Japanese
will advance in the tournament.
Igor
“Ice Cold” Vovchanchyn (Ukraine / Team Vovchanchyn)
vs. Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem (Netherlands
/ Golden Glory)
Vovchanchyn
is strong, can take a pounding and can bang. Overeem is tall,
has good stand-up, an improving ground game and excellent knees.
The difference will be either Vovchanchyn’s ability to take
a beating and land the big shots or Overeem’s ability to
land a flush knee and KO Vovchanchyn. At 6’5 Overeem towers
over the 5’8 Vovchanchyn and may very well land a big knee.
My gut though tells me Vovchanchyn may get rocked but will find
a way to win. He’ll hold his own in the stand–up either
winning a close decision or submitting Overeem, possibly with
a heel hook.
Antonio
“Minotouro” Nogueira (Brazil / Brazilian Top Team)
vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (Brazil / Chute Boxe)
This
may be the most eagerly anticipated bout on the card. It ought
to be a great fight but is one I definitely won’t be betting
on. Both fighters have a shot at winning the championship and
the rivalry between Chute Boxe and BTT gives the fans one more
reason to watch the fight... as if it was really needed. Nogueira
is a complete fighter, very well-rounded and just coming off
a big win over Dan Henderson. “Shogun” has good ground
technique and excellent stand-up and is on a roll after knocking
out Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the first round of
the tournament. Neither Rua nor Nogueira has faced another Brazilian
fighter in Pride and both fighters are sure to be pumped for
this bout. It’s a pick-em fight but I’m going with
Rua by decision simply because of his confidence-building win
over Jackson.
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil / Brazilian Top Team) vs. Pawel Nastula
(Poland)
In
his first fight in 6 months, “Minotauro” takes on legendary
Polish Judoka Pawel Nastula. The skill and experience of Nog
is also legendary though. Nastula was the 1996 gold medalist
in the Atlanta Olympics and the 1995 and 1997 Judo World champion.
On paper it may look like a good bout but there is a big difference
between fighting in the Pride ring and being a Judo player. Nastula
should have taken a few tune-up bouts against lesser opponents.
Whether the match is a “jacket” bout or not won’t
matter. Nog by unanimous decision and who knows, perhaps he’ll
sink in the Anaconda choke.
Sergio
Kharitonov (Russia / Russian Top Team) vs. Pedro Rizzo (Brazil
/ Ruas Vale Tudo)
I
have a hard time figuring this bout out as I’m unsure of
Kharitonov and even more unsure of which Pedro Rizzo is going
to show up. Rizzo hasn’t fought in a year and a half and
has always been inconsistent. He is going to need to be focused
and on his game if he wants to have a chance at defeating Kharitonov.
The Russian is a good body puncher and deceptively quick and
strong. How will he react when hit by Rizzo? How will Rizzo react
to the wicked body shots of Kharitonov? Sergei is a few years
younger than Rizzo, tough as nails and has less wear and tear
on him. Couple this with Rizzo’s long layoff and this being
his first experience in Pride and I’ll be putting my money
on Kharitonov. I like Rizzo’s style but his mental state
during fights can at times be wishy-washy. He’s going to
need to be rock solid to beat Kharitonov and this bout should
be a war for as long as it lasts.
Mirko
CroCop (Croatia / Team CroCop) vs. Ibragim Magomedov (Russia
/ Red Devil Sports Club)
Mirko
is on a six fight winning streak since his devastating knockout
loss to Kevin Randleman and is hot on the trail of Fedor Emelianenko.
He’s focused and is probably more than a little pissed off
he’s not fighting for the title this time around. Magodmedov
hasn’t really fought anyone near the level of CroCop; however,
he has fought in six Russian M-1 competitions and in Holland’s
Too Hot Too Handle. This won’t be enough and CroCop will
surely take out his frustration on Magodmedov. Mirko will administer
a quick and impressive thrashing and knockout Magodmedov towards
the end of round 1.
Kiyoshi
Tamura (Japan / U-File Camp.com) vs. Makoto Takimoto (Japan /
Yoshida Dojo)
Takimoto
has one fight in Pride, Tamura has twenty. Takimoto was however
a gold medalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympics which may or may
not count for much. I haven’t seen Takimoto fight and event
though Tamura is 4-6 in his last fights, his experience should
be a deciding factor.
My
Picks for the Tournament Fights
Wanderlei
Silva
Ricardo
Arona
Igo
Vovchanchyn
Mauricio
Rua
Any
of the above four fighters are capable of winning the tournament.
What remains to be seen though is just how well each of them
will perform. Silva will have his hands full with Rua or Vovchanchyn,
each of whom is capable of beating him. Rua may be the dark horse
but he stands a good chance of winning the title if he can get
by Minotouro. Vovchanchyn is always dangerous and the road to
the title should be exciting for the fans. Japanese fans may
not like what they see but there are definitely some excellent
fights on the horizon.
Non-tournament
Bouts
Minotouro
Noguiera
Sergei Kharitonov
Mirko CroCop
Kiyoshi Tamura
Just
how good are the Judoka? How good is Sergei Kharitonov? Can CroCop
keep his momentum going? All these questions and more will be
answered on June 26th in the Saitama Super-arena and maXfighting.com
will be there to provide coverage.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men
with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933, Thirtieth President of the USA
|
SYLVIA
TALKS MIR, ARLOVKSI, AND UFC 54
MMA Weekly reported last week that former UFC Heavyweight Champion
Tim Sylvia is in Las Vegas currently getting ready to begin training
for his upcoming bout against Assuerio Silva at UFC 54. When
contacted about his trip to Vegas, Sylvia informed MMA Weekly
that he was going to be working with former multiple time UFC
Champion Randy Couture during his stay.
“I’m
down here relaxing a bit and I’m going to be doing some
training,” commented Sylvia. “I’ve talked to Randy
and we’ve set up some times to work together. We’ve
trained with each other before so I know what to expect. The
only thing that’s different now is that he’s lighter
than he was last time.”
According
to Sylvia, he will be spending a few weeks in Vegas before either
returning to Iowa or heading to Utah to finish his preparations
for his return to the octagon on August 20th. “I’ll
be down here for about a month. I’m not sure if I’m
going to Iowa or to Jeremy’s (Horn) after that. I’ve
trained in Utah before when I was getting ready for Gan McGee
(UFC 44). I really enjoyed it out there and I’m sure Jeremy
could use my help as well. I definitely feel I can help him with
striking to get ready for Chuck (Liddell)”
Assuerio
Silva presents a very tough challenge for Tim, as Assuerio is
currently 10-1 in MMA with wins in his last two fights after
losing a tough split decision to Aleksander Emelianenko at Pride’s
Bushido 1 show in 2003. Sylvia however doesn’t appear to
be fazed by the challenge, appearing relaxed and confident when
he said, “On my behalf everything is done, signed, and I’m
focused on Silva. I’m going to go in there and I’m
going to knock him out, and that’s how it’s going to
turn out.”
However
when asked while in Vegas if he would be making an impromptu
appearance on the upcoming TUF Season 2 show currently shooting
at the UFC’s training facility, Sylvia was a bit more uncertain.
“You know I have no idea, I don’t honestly know anything
about it. They’ve got two great coaches in Matt (Hughes)
and Rich (Franklin) and that’s about all I know. If they
asked me to make an appearance it’s really up to them.”
Sylvia
concluded the conversation by responding to his feelings on the
UFC’s heavyweight division and where he feels his future
lays in it. “I don’t think (Frank) Mir will get back
into the UFC. Even if he fights again I think he’s done.
You know I’m still the big man in the UFC and hopefully
within the next year I’ll get another shot at Andrei (Arlovski,
current UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion) and knock his ass out
and get the belt back.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Assuério
vs Sylvia confirmed at UFC
Without a representative at UFC's Heavyweight after the end of
Pedro Rizzo's deal, Brazil gets now his man in the category.
It's former Chute Boxe athlete Assuério Silva, who has
just confirmed the deal. Assuério closed a three-fight-deal
for a year and his debut is scheduled for August 20th, at UFC
54. Assuério will face Tim Sylvia and for his training
for this combat, he'll have the backing of former UFC's Light
Heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort.
-
I'm going to Belo Horizonte next week to train with him. Vitor
knows a lot about that octagon and he can teach me a lot - states
Assuério, who is also training with Karate master Ademir
da Costa.
Out
of UFC since his loss to Andrey Arlovski, when he lost his Heavyweight
belt, Tim Sylvia is confident on a good fight against Assuério
Silva. The American will train for this fight in company of former
Light Heavyweight champ Randy Couture. "I'm going to knock
him out and that's how the things have to go on", stated
Sylvia to our friends from MMAWeekly.com.
Source:
Tatame
|
PITMASTER
GIVES THOUGHTS ON HORN VS LIDDELL
"The Pit Master," John Hackleman was featured on MMAWeekly
SoundOff Radio Wednesday. Outside of his own fighting career,
Hackleman is probably most known as Chuck Liddell's trainer,
but John has put together a pretty impressive stable of fighters
at The Pit not named Chuck. Hackleman discussed Liddell, the
rematch with Randy Couture, the UFC 54 main event between Liddell
and Jeremy Horn, among other things. This is merely a brief recap
of what Hackleman had to say. To hear the interview in it's entirety
click on the radio archive.
Reflecting
on the rematch between Chuck and Randy, Hackleman said, "I
was a lot more nervous than Chuck was...I was just hoping that
everything was working, and Chuck would just stay on his game,
and focus, and just not slip back at all." What concerned
Hackleman the most going into the fight was, "His coming
forward and getting Chuck against the cage, and slamming him.
That was probably it."
Randy
Couture was able to control Chuck Liddell, both standing and
on the ground, in their first bout. John was asked what adjustments
were made to ensure that didn't happen again. He stated, "The
lateral movement was probably the biggest thing...Moving forward
is great, and he does that well, but when he moved back he was
moving straight back in a straight line, and there's only one
place to go. When you move back in a straight line you're going
to go right back against the cage. If you move back in a lateral
movement it's much more difficult to get caught."
Straighter
punches was another adjustment made. Hackleman commented, "There
was still a place for the old looping left hook which, as you
noticed, it actually set up the straight right a few times, but
yeah I wanted those straight punches to come right down the pike."
Many
have alleged that Liddell underestimated Couture in their first
bout, but Hackleman disagreed. "Not all all. He has nothing
but respect for Randy's skills...I'll give you he wasn't focused,
but he didn't underestimate him at all. I mean I was there during
the whole training. He was very focused. I mean he was not quite
as focused because he had other things going on. He got an injury.
There was other things. The whole build up thing with Chuck Liddell
this, and that. I mean the whole thing was more built around
Chuck, so it kind of took him out of his game a little bit when
he had to be the, you know, just so much hoopla going into that
fight. He wasn't as focused, but he didn't underestimate him."
"It was just a whole mixture, a whole, you know everything
put together. It just didn't work right that fight, but it wasn't
one thing."
Liddell's
popularity has skyrocketed since knocking out Tito Ortiz, appearing
on The Ultimate Fighter reality show, and winning the UFC light
heavyweight title from Couture. Stardom can change a man. John
was asked if Chuck has changed at all since becoming champ. He
answered, "No. Not a bit. He's just the same old Chuck.
Chuck's is Chuck. He's probably the most most down to Earth guy
ever. He'll be walking down the street and not only will he stop
to sign every autograph and stop to talk to everyone that asks
him. If there's a homeless guy on the side of the street, and
he calls him over, he'll go over there and talk to him for an
hour. Chuck's Chuck. He hasn't changed one bit."
Liddell
will defend his UFC LHW title for the first time at UFC 54 against
the man who handed him his first loss, Jeremy Horn. About Horn,
"Pit Master" commented, "Jeremy Horn's, I mean
even though he's fighting Chuck, I of course want Chuck to win,
but to me Jeremy's, I would say he's the best fighter out there
except for Chuck. He's definitely one of my favorites to watch.
I mean whenever I watch him fight, I love to watch Jeremy fight.
He's fricken unbelievable man. He ends up on his back, and you're
thinking oh shit the guy's going to land some brutal elbows.
Next thing you know the guy is out. He's just unbelievable."
Hackleman
went on to say, "He fights every friggen week. He's like
an old school boxer. You know? He shows up at these little out
of the way venues. In these little smoke filled arenas. He just
fights anyone anywhere, and beats everyone at the smaller shows.
He's unbelievable man."
John's
biggest concern is, "His submissions of course. That's his
game, and that's that biggest fear I have about him, but it's
a different Chuck now, and it's a bigger, stronger, more confident,
harder hitting Chuck with better movement. He's been there, done
that. A lot more experience, so I don't see Chuck losing this
one, but it's definitely a fight he has to stay on his toes for."
"I think he'll have a real hard time taking him down. If
he does I don't think he'll be able to keep him down."
John
Hackleman has several fighters to watch out for in the future.
"Probably next up would be in skill and experience level
coming up would be Antonio Banuelos, but he's 135 pounds, so
he's, it's hard for us to get him recognized. You know? It's
so hard to get him fights at 135. He was fighting 155 for a while,
and he walks around at about 140 or 138, so he was fighting guys
much bigger than him. He wasn't quite doing as well, but when
we brought him down to 135 he's been undefeated, and I think
he's explosive, great wrestler, great striker. His Jiu-Jitsu
is coming, and if you guys have seen the last couple of WECs
or Rumble on the Rocks, he's done really well in those shows,
but like I said, at 135 it's hard to get him fights."
John
continued, "Then we've got Von Flue, Jason Von Flue, "Cokeman."
He's kind of a sleeper. I mean he gets in there and just kind
of gets on his back, and the next thing you know you're asleep...Then
I've got a couple of really good kick boxers. I've got Scott
Lighty, Chuck's main sparring partner...He does well. He's getting
better. He's had some problems. One thing is he's small for K-1.
He walks around at 215, but he's getting a lot better."
He
added, "Then John "Buckets of Blood" Polakowski,
who had the the wars, the unforgettable wars with Olaf. And Abe
Baxter, another one of Chuck's sparring partners. He's just got
a first round knockout in the last WEC. He's doing real well."
Keep an eye out for these guys in the future.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
The
Two Sides of Pedro Rizzo
By Jeremy Wall
Sometimes it amazes me how fickle people in mixed martial arts
can be... how short memories can be. Once upon a time Pedro Rizzo
was bar none the single most devastating striker in MMA. Now,
he's considered UFC washout. But in reality, he's both. Is that
even possible?
Of
course it is. Rizzo was one of the most disappointing fighters
in the history of the UFC. He was signed to a six-figures-per-fight
contract in that promotion. Then in his final fight at UFC 45,
he ended up fighting former champ Ricco Rodriguez in a dark match
that didn't even air on pay per view . UFC figured that the match
would suck... and from all accounts they were right.
But
he's still got the skills. His striking hasn't diminished at
all by any account. Afterall, he did KO former UFC Champion Josh
Barnett, and the current Interim title holder, Andre Arlovski.
His war with Randy Couture from UFC 31 remains legendary, where
he could easily have been the victor. Prior to his loss to Gan
McGee at UFC 39, he had only lost in title fights.
However,
the bane of Rizzo's existence is that he has always been criticized
for being extremely unaggressive. And the criticism is deserved,
it you look back throughout his career in the UFC.
A
trainee of Marco Ruas, Rizzo was undefeated in kickboxing before
entering MMA. He competed in a number of MMA fights in Brazil,
which included winning a one-night tournament in WVC by knocking
out future UFC veteran Vernon White in the finals. Rizzo then
appeared in Ultimate Brazil, where he became an instant name
by sending Tank Abbot to the matt (and out of the UFC, off to
WCW) with a big right cross.
People
were expecting the same kind of knockout performance from Rizzo
when he was booked in his return UFC bout against Mark Coleman
just a few months later. Coleman had been defeated in two straight
fights by strikers, losing the UFC Heavyweight title to Maurice
Smith and then being knocked out by Pete Williams.
However,
even though Rizzo ended up defeating Coleman via split-decision,
he displayed some of his future problems with being unaggressive
when he held back and didn't knock Coleman out as expected. Coleman
ate strikes standing and Rizzo was able to score from his back
as well when Coleman took him down. Rizzo ended up with a victory,
albeit not in the way people had expected.
People,
with their short memories, would forget about any problems with
Rizzo, though, when he went to war with another striker in Tra
Telligman of the Lion's Den at UFC 20. Rizzo was able to knock
Telligman out in under five minutes, and the match was exciting
enough that when Rizzo was falling apart years later, Zuffa would
bring Telligman back into the fold to try and boost Rizzo with
an exciting win.
That
was three wins in a row for Rizzo, and he would have to take
on Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at the second Ultimate Japan event before
he would get a shot at the Heavyweight title. The entire fight
was standing, and in what would grow to be typical Rizzo fashion
it was a slow fight, where Rizzo was able to TKO Kohsaka just
a little over the eleven minute mark.
This
setup Rizzo challenging Kevin Randleman for the UFC Heavyweight
title. Randleman had defeated Pete Williams for the title, which
had been vacated when champion Bas Rutten decided to drop down
a weight class and ended up retiring. Randleman had previously
fought and lost to Rutten in the fight where Rutten had won the
vacant title, which at that point had been vacated by Randy Couture.
Rizzo
had defeated Coleman, and Randleman was Coleman's training partner
and protege so it was logical to expect Rizzo to defeat Randleman
as well. It didn't happen. The fight was so slow that at one
point in the second round when both fighters were dancing, John
McCarthy had to step between them and tell them to pick up the
action. Rizzo was slowly picking his shots, waiting for Randleman
to gas out. Rizzo ended up having a cut open on his face due
to an accidental headbutt from Randleman, and Rizzo never got
the chance to knock the champion out. He ended up losing a decision,
his first loss ever in mixed martial arts. The fight was so bad
the fans tossed trash into the ring afterwards.
Rizzo
came back with a quick win over Dan Severn at UFC 27. Severn
came into the fight on short notice when UFC's planned fight
with Tito Ortiz fell apart, and they moved Rizzo into the main
event slot. They needed an opponent for the Brazilian, and Severn
answered the call. Severn hadn't fought in the UFC in years,
and he buckled after one low kick from Rizzo just moments into
the fight.
What
was probably the biggest win of Rizzo's career came next, when
he knocked out Josh Barnett at UFC 30 in February 2001. Barnett
was doing an excellent job of standing and trading with Rizzo,
winning the fight until late in the second round until Rizzo
put him on queer street with a right hook and then clobbered
Barnett with a left hand in a highlight reel knockout. It remained
Barnett's only career loss until he was defeated by Mirko Cro
Cop recently in Pride due to injury.
It
was also enough to get Rizzo another title shot. By this point
Randy Couture had come back to the UFC and had reclaimed his
Heavyweight title by defeating Kevin Randleman. And at UFC 31,
Rizzo and Couture would collide in one of the closest heavyweight
bouts in UFC history.
Couture
destroyed Rizzo in the first round by taking him down and pushing
him up against the fence, where Rizzo took a beating. However,
in round two Rizzo was able to knock Couture down with a kick
to the midsection. Rizzo continued to dominate Couture, landing
strike after strike, even dropping him again before the end of
the round.
The
third round was more even, with Couture taking some punishment
standing, although he was able to take Rizzo down and dish out
some punishment of his own. Couture then won the fourth round
by tying Rizzo up in the clinch, and delivering more of a pounding
on the ground. Rizzo came back strong in the fifth and final
round, though, with Rizzo defending against the takedown and
winning the stand-up game.
Couture,
however, ended up winning a unanimous decision. A rematch was
booked for UFC 34 later in the year. This time, Couture trained
with Mo Smith for the fight and was prepared for Rizzo's stand-up
skills, and many people didn't give Rizzo much of a chance to
win the fight. Couture was able to pound him standing, in the
clinch and on the ground and eventually stopped Rizzo in the
third round. It would be the last time Rizzo challenged for the
UFC title.
Rizzo
wouldn't take a lot of time off, though, and would be back a
few months later to take on future UFC Heavyweight champ Andrei
Arlovski. The fight was all stand-up, with Arlovski making the
mistake of playing Rizzo's game and wound up knocked out from
a huge punch in the third round. The win was especially amazing
considering the amount of striking skills Arlovski has shown
in fights since that point.
However,
it would be Rizzo's last win for awhile, as he lost for the first
time outside of a title fight when he took on Gan McGee at UFC
39. Rizzo was winning the first round standing and was doing
a good job of avoiding McGee's takedowns. Unfortunately for Rizzo,
McGee had been training with Chuck Liddell and used his reach
to land a huge punch in the closing seconds of the first round
which shattered Rizzo's nose. Marco Ruas ended up throwing in
the towel between rounds. Even though Rizzo lost the fight, there
was a good chance that if that one punch from McGee never connected
that he would have scored a knockout or won the decision.
Rizzo
followed this up with another loss, in a very disappointing performance
against Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 41. Matyushenko had a great
gameplan, avoiding Rizzo's strikes and instead taking him down
and controlling him on the ground for as long as possible. It
was a dull fight, but it was a dull fight which Matyushenko would
win a decision in. Rizzo had now lost four of his last five fights
and looked finished.
Zuffa
brought Tra Telligman out of mothballs to fight Rizzo at UFC
43 in a dark match, and Rizzo clobbered him again, scoring a
victory due to a cut on Telligman in a good fight. Rizzo followed
that up with the decision win over Ricco Rodriguez, and now,
well over a year after that fight, he's back, and he's taking
on Sergei Kharitonov in Pride. It will be interesting to see
which Rizzo shows up against Kharitonov, if Rizzo even shows
up at all.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Interview
with Kenny Florian
By Jason Gatties
provided by MMAwreslting.com
Jason Gatties:First
off Kenny, thanks again for doing this interview for with us.
Kenny
Florian:No problem man. It is good to help spread the word MMA.
JG:Before
we get into "The Ultimate Fighter" questions, you appear
to be booked for "Ultimate Fight Night" on August 6th
against Alex Karalexis. How is the training going and break down
this fight for us.
KF:Training
has been going great. I have been staying in shape since the
finale, waiting eagerly for another fight. I am very focused
and just looking forward to the fight. Alex is a friend of mine
so it is too bad we have to fight, but I think both of us are
looking forward to fighting each other. We both fought in the
same shows here in Boston. We could have been fighting back in
the small shows not too long ago so to have this opportunity
to fight each other in the octagon and in front of potentially
millions of people is huge.
This
will be the first time in a long time that I am fighting someone
at 170 (my walk around weight) so I am excited. I have not shown
my true skills thus far from my fights on TUF so I am thankful
for another shot. If things come together like they should, it
will be tough for anyone to take me out at 170. Alex has good
cardio, some dangerous hands but I have experienced this many
times in training and in fights. I know how to deal with that
and I have proven that I can take a good punch. My striking skills
are improving daily. I train with pro boxers and pro muay-thai
guys who are at a high level. There is nothing I have not seen
before. I have skills everywhere to win this fight. Alex will
have to worry about it all for this fight. I have seen many of
his fights and I obviously have trained with him from the show
so I have a good idea of what to expect. Alex is a tough opponent
and I need no motivation to prepare for this fight. I am taking
this fight very seriously. I have started training with Steven
Seagal as well. I have been wearing huge and weird asian-themed
robes and growing a sweet pony tail. In all seriousness, I will
say that I will be ready come Aug. 6th.
JG:How
does it feel having the opportunity to work your way up the UFC
ranks?
KF:It
is a dream come true for me.
JG:Back
in 2002 I believe, you had your first MMA fight against Nuri
Shakir. Looking back now, were you at all nervous or did your
BJJ background keep your confidence level high?
KF:I
was actually calmer for my first MMA fight then for my BJJ and
submission matches. I kill myself in preparation for MMA fights.
I make sure that I have trained as hard as I can and as best
I can. There is no lying to yourself in preparation for MMA.
I know what my skills are and this gives me the confidence and
keeps me relaxed. I was very nervous for the last fight against
Diego due to the craziness behind the scenes. I was taking pictures,
trying to warm up, signing documents, urinating in a cup - but
not my own, it was a drug exam, doing interviews, getting phonecalls,
getting cued by production, talking to many people etc . . .
I learned so much from the last fight in every aspect possible.
After that, I am ready for anything.
JG:Ever
since I began to promote the fact that you agreed to this interview,
I've received many emails from potential "groupies".
Do any of these ladies stand a chance at going a round or two
with KenFlo?
KF:My
standards are low. If they are in perfect shape, like to cook
- preferably naked, have modeling experience, make 6 figures
and like to share me with other similar women then I am down.
Seriously, I think I can take any woman out there right now.
They may be the first opponent that I a stronger than. If I don't
get the knockout, I will get the submission. Ok, I will be honest,
I should I get a split decision out of it.
JG:Getting
back to your training program, when you are NOT preparing for
a big fight, how often do you work out?
KF:Like
I said, I have been preparing for this fight since I got home
from the final show. Before the fight with Diego, I started lifting
weights for the first time. I have continued working on my strength
program and have kept my skills sharp in striking. For grappling,
I have gone back to the basics and have gone back and done things
that have made me the grappler I use to. I have gone back to
the old school KenFlo. I work on my lifting @ 5 x a week, BJJ/wrestling
4 x a week, muay thai 2-3 x week and boxing 2x a week. This is
what I do all thetime, whether I am fighting or not. When I begin
training for a fight, the intensity changes. Harder sparring,
more intense workouts, strategy, etc . . . but I never really
take time off anymore.
JG:I
understand you've put out some instructional DVD's. Care to plug
them?
KF:Yes.
I have a No gi/MMA Seminar DVD for sale and a Sport BJJ Seminar
DVD for sale on my website at www.kennyflorian.com.
JG:And
now, TUF time. First of all, did the producers of the show truely
capture your personality?
KF:Not
really. I mean, they did not show too much of me until the end.
I am very laid back and tried to avoid the drama which kept me
out of a lot of episodes. I like to see people get along then
fight all the time. I was definitely one of the biggest clowns
of the group. I was constantly joking around and singing and
doing crap like that. Trash talking and drama takes precedent
over that stuff so that is what was shown.
JG:What
was it like living with other fighters? They're had to have been
some real tense moments perhaps not seen on TV.
KF:For
me, I was pretty cool with everything and I tried to avoid the
bickering. There were definitely some tense moments but most
of it was probably caught on TV. With all the Alpha dogs in the
house, things got interesting from time to time. I thought it
was all pretty funny. There was a tense moment for us in the
house that was not shown. One of the guys was terribly constipated
and he did not go to the bathroom for a couple of weeks. We were
all very concerned along with the producers and staff. He finally
went and the tension was released. I don't know why the editors
did not show that.
JG:I
think many people felt you stood no chance against Chris Leben
because people may argue that you are not much of a "striker."
You certainly put that to rest when you busted Leben wide open.
KF:Well,
I was much smaller than him and had much less experience than
he did. While I did get the win, I really did not show any great
striking skills or grappling skills compared to what my skills
were then or what my skills are now. I got Chris with some leaping
hooks and uppercuts but the combinations, footwork and timing
was not there. The two elbow combo at the end was great but that
is it. What I did show was, what I am all about though and that
is heart. Chris hit me with everything you could throw at a person.
I will never quit nor back down from anyone. I kept my composure
in there and was patient. I showed everyone that my chin is pretty
tough as well. My heart and me not accepting defeat won me that
fight.
JG:Looking
back, what went wrong during the Sanchez fight?
KF:The
main thing was my hesitation. In combat, there can be no hesitation,
that was my biggest mistake. I took a defensive posture instead
of doing what I wanted to do which was go at him and put the
pressure on him. This quickly changes everything and put the
burden on me. I try to always go forward in my fights and I waited
for him.
This
made Diego more comfortable. I wanted to relax in there and dance
around in there to mess him up. When I had the chance to attack,
I didn't and let him come at me not once but twice. He got in
and took me down with a takedown up against the fence. From there,
the first punch he threw, he cut me open on my nose and it bled
right down to my eyes.
I
remember throwing up-kicks with one eye and the other eye was
covered. That is when I panicked. I mean, fighting blind is something
I have never experienced before. The blood was in my eyes and
I could not see him at all. I was just moving on sensitivity
and hoping to get on top or stand up so the ref could clean m
eyes out. He tried to take my back, I rolled out not seeing where
he was and then he just kept punching realizing I was not defending
the ground anymore and that was it. Experience was the real key.
Including the show, Diego had close to 20 fights to my 5 fights.
Diego made his mistakes 15 fights ago in smaller events. I am
learning as I go at the highest level and on the biggest stage.
It is a tough way to learn but I will just get that much better
with every fight.
JG:There
is a lot of MMA promotions out there, would you be interested
in fighting for Pride, King of the Cage or perhaps some of the
promotions near the Boston area?
KF:Right
now I am happy fighting in the UFC and hope to be able to keep
fighting here. It is the highest level of MMA along with Pride.
I hope I will not take any steps down from here so I have to
win and be impressive. I would definitely be open to hear offers
eventually from other large organizations when my contract is
up but I am very happy with the UFC right now. It has also always
been a dream of mine to fight in Japan so I would seriously consider
fighting in Pride if the opportunity ever presented itself.
JG:Speaking
of Boston, can I get your thoughts about the City of Boston putting
a ban on MMA fighting?
KF:There
is a lot of misinformation going around about the sport and what
the sport is about. It is a witch hunt going on with a lot of
envious old school boxing influences going on in there. But,
in the end we will win. MMA is a sport that is here to stay and
it is being reviewed right now. The problem is a lack of education
about the sport. People get the wrong impression about the sport.
It is imperative that the promoters, fighters and fans promote
the sport in a positive and respectful manner especially now
when there is thism scare right now. People heard about a guy
getting killed in a pro-wrestling event here called "Ultimate
wrestling" or something and they heard about a girl getting
killed in a toughman contest and they think it is MMA. The Boston
Herald who is a major newspaper are getting their facts all wrong
and look like idiots talking bad about MMA. People fear what
they don't know. Now we just have to educate and use other states
regulations of MMA as a way to get back on track. It is like
a bad high school rumor that gets out of control. Now we just
need to get on the loud speaker and make a special announcement.
JG:So
when your not kicking some guy's ass, what do you enjoy in your
spare time?
KF:I
do a lot of teaching. I teach BJJ and MMA seminars and do a lot
of private lessons. Right now I am very booked up with teaching.
I like to hang out with my girlfriend and I assume she likes
hanging out with me. Sometimes I put on my favorite cardigan
sweater and smoke a pipe and read my leather-bound books. I like
traveling and going out from time to time to a club or a restaurant.
I enjoy long walks on the beach and sitting in front of the fire
wondering how to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
JG:I
had alot more to ask but much of the questions were complete
crap. Wanna send out thanks or promote something right quick?
KF:Some
crap questions can be good. Besides, I probably have my answers
to those crap questions saved somewhere. I could have just recycled
the crap with you. Please check out my website www.kennyflorian.com.
I hope to be able to update it with techniques, stories and articles
and news about me and the sport soon. Thanks so much to everyone
who has shown me support. I hope to make some more fans after
my fight on Aug. 6th. I am currently looking for companies or
even individuals who would be willing to sponsor me for my fight
on Aug. 6th live on SpikeTV.
JG:Thanks
again Kenny.
KF:Thanks
bro...
Source:
Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties
today of its strength."
Anonymous
|
The
Quest for Champions 2005
Today!
FEATURING:
USSJA Sport Jujitsu, Sport Pankration, Extreme Sparring, Juniors/Adults
Novice Divisions, Submission Grappling
Saturday, June 18, 2005
9:00 Weigh-In Registration
9:45 All Divisions will begin!
St.
Andrew's Priory Gym
224 Queen Emma Square
Honolulu, HI 96813
$25.00
Per Division
This
is NOT a no holds barred event!
For more information please contact
KEMPO UNLIMITED HAWAII at (808) 778-3601
|
Platinum
Limousine and Platinum Public presents
Extreme
Wars X-1
Hawaii's Top Team vs. Next Generation's Top Team
Tickets
On Sale Today!
Neal Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday July 2, 2005
Doors will open at 7:30pm
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
|
Richard
Bustillo Seminar in July!
I will be hosting world-renowned instructor, Richard Bustillo
from the IMB Academy in Los Angeles for a 2-day seminar covering
Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, Cacoy Doce Pares Eskrima, and Muay Thai
concepts.
The
seminar will be on July 16 and 17, 2005. Locationto be announced.
For more information and to register, contact Edward Barinque
at 381-2285 or e-mail edward@barinque.us
Mahalo,
Edward Barinque
Martial Arts Skill Development & Training
Source: Edward Barinque
|
Dan
"The Beast" Seminar!
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
|
PRIDE
FC Bushido Volume 8
Gomi versus Silva plus additional bouts announced
Takanori Gomi versus Jean Silva as well as additional bouts have
been announced for PRIDE FIGHTING'S BUSHIDO VOLUME 8 event. Gomi
is 6-0 in BUSHIDO/PRIDE and has won all of his bouts in impressive
fashion, including his last victory versus Luiz Azeredo of the
Chute Boxe Academy at BUSHIDO Volume 7. Now Gomi takes on Azeredo's
teammate, Jean "The White Bear" Silva, who boasts a
record of 11-2-3. Additional announced matches include Shooto's
Tatsuya Kawajiri (14-2-2) versus Brazilian Top Team's Luis "Buscape"
Firmino (10-2), as well as Yosuke Nishijima versus an opponent
to be named. Nishijima is one of Japan's premiere heavyweight
boxers and has a boxing record of 24-2-1 with 15 KO's.
Previously
announced matches include Ryo Chonan versus "The New York
Bad Ass" Phil Baroni … Joachim Hansen of Norway versus
Masakazu Imanari of Japan … Brazil's Daniel Acacio versus
Kazuo Misaki of Japan … and finally Jyutaro Nakao of Shooting
Gym Osaka against Marcus "Maximus" Aurelio of the USA
Fight
Card
Takanori Gomi (Japan) vs. Jean Silva (Brazil)
Ryo Chonan (Japan) vs. Phil Baroni (USA)
Masakazu Imanari (Japan) vs. Joachim Hansen (Norway)
Kazuo Misaki (Japan) vs. Daniel Acacio (Brazil)
Jutaro Nakao (Japan) vs. Marcus Aurelio (USA)
Tatsuya Kawajiri (Japan) vs. Luis "Buscape" Firmino
(Brazil)
Yosuke Nishijima (Japan) vs. TBA
(Fight
Card Subject to Change)
Additional Matches to be Announced Soon
BUSHIDO
VOLUME 8 will take place from the Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Japan
and is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view via
iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, VU!, and Viewer's
Choice Canada.
North
American Pay Per View Schedule:
PPV Premiere Date: Friday, July 22nd, 2005
Premiere Time: 7:00 pm PST, 10:00 pm EST
BUSHIDO
VOLUME 8 will be available at a reduced rate of $19.95.
For
additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider
or pridefc.com.
-
>From Dream Stage Entertainment, June 16, 2005
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Vitor
Belfort Preparing himself to return
By Eduardo Ferreira
After his loss at Pride GP Middleweight 2005 first round, Vitor
Belfort decided to change his life routine. First he moved from
São Paulo to Belo Horizonte and then he hired Luis Dórea,
Rodrigo Minotauro and Rogério Minotouro's Boxing trainer.
During an exclusive to TATAME.com, Vitor confessed he admires
the Chute Boxe way of living in a team: "I'd love to have
a big team such as Chute Boxe. At Chute Boxe there is that master
thing I had in Carlson's era".
Why
did you hire former Brazilian Olympic Boxing Nationals Luis Dórea?
Dórea
is an experienced trainer, he is available and he trusted in
me. Besides, he's a good corner and I needed it. He's doing a
good job with Rodrigo Minotauro and Rogério Minotouro.
After
your loss at Pride GP Middleweight 2005 first round did you keep
in touch with UFC's president Dana White?
No...
I'm only focused on my training. TV Presenter Jorge Guimarães
is my manager and the person in charge of it. I'll continue fighting
during this year, probably at Pride. I just need a good opportunity.
How
is your psychological aspect?
My
head was not good. I was very sad with that BTT thing, because
I like those guys pretty much. Most of them grew up with me since
Carlson's era. But I had some dealing problems and I decided
to leave the team again. I'm not all ashamed to say I'm going
to psychologist and I'm feeling much better. At this time, I'm
caring more about Vitor as a person.
Don't
you miss a big team behind you, supporting you?
I'd
love to have a big team such as Chute Boxe. They train together
since beginning and they are very close friends. Rudimar Fedrigo
(Chute Boxe's leader) and Rafael Cordeiro (Chute Boxe's technical
director) are only trainers, not trainers and fighters. Besides
it, there is also that master thing I had in Carlson's era. But
I think my big team period it's over. Nowadays, I see fighters
being part of a big team out of necessity and, sometimes, being
very unhappy.
Your
manager is very close to Chute Boxe people. Is there any contact
to take you to move to Chute Boxe? Is your problem with Wanderlei
Silva an obstacle for this moving?
No.
Joinha and Rudimar are friends, but there's nothing about me
being part of Chute Boxe team. I'm a professional fighter and
I don't accept this I-don't-talk-with-him thing. If I am part
of a team, I don't want to be in this kind of problem.
Why
did you move from São Paulo to Minas Gerais?
I
intended to be closest to my family. Here is a calm place to
live and train. For a while, I'm here in my father's house. But
I'm looking for my own home to take my family to there.
Have
you opened a Training Center in Belo Horizonte?
Not
yet. Actually, I'm only focused to train hard and I'm not worried
about Training Center. I hired Luis Dórea to take care
of my Boxing training. There're also Olímpio, my Muay
Thai trainer, the BJJ World champ and 2005 ADCC champ Ronaldo
Jacaré, his master Henrique Machado and Peposo, a Heavyweight
BJJ fighter. There're also the guys from Judo, who train at Minas
Tênis Clube.
Source:
Tatame
|
Black
Belt PRO AM rocks in USA
After
fighting at ADCC 2005, brothers Saulo and Xande Ribeiro continue
in US to dispute another tournament, Black Belt Pro AM. Sixteen
fighters, splited in two eight-men-brackets (Lightweight and
Heavyweight) will be on July 18th, in California, disputing a
US$10-thousand-money-prize. Apart the two brackets, there will
be two superfights, bringing Fábio Santos vs Aloísio
Silva and Cléber Luciano vs Johnny Ramirez.
There
will be some novelties on Black Belt Pro AM rules. The fights
will last 12 minutes, on the contrary of 10-minutes-Worlds-fights.
There's no advantage and the fight ends by submission, points,
disqualification, if an athlete is unable to continue or one
of two fighters score 16 points. If a combat ends drew, there
will be an extra time till one of the fighters score a point,
concedes or is unable to continue.
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
Black
Belt Pro AM
The Heritage Forum - Anaheim, California
Saturday, June 18th 2005
Lightweight
:
1-
Rodrigo Teixeira vs João Cunha;
2- Saulo Ribeiro vs Shawn Williams;
3- Paulo Guillobel vs Cameron Earle;
4- Cássio Werneck vs João Silva;
Heavyweight:
1-
Leo Dalla vs Arthur Ruff;
2- Bento Ribeiro vs Rafael Lovato Jr;
3- Kurt Osiander vs Luiz Guigo;
4- Xande Ribeiro vs Pal Marki;
Tournaments
Semifinals
5-
Winner of #1 vs Winner of #2;
6- Winner of #3 vs Winner of #4;
Finals
7-
Winner of #5 vs Winner #6.
Superfights:
-
Fábio Santos vs Aloísio Silva;
-
Cleber Luciano vs Johnny Ramirez.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"A coach doesn't just help you 'dream' it. A good coach
helps you 'reach' it."
Shad Helmstetter, "Who Are You Really and What Do You Want?"
|
Baret
Yoshida
to Fight at the 1st NOGI Fightwear Tournament
SUPERFIGHT
VITOR BELFORT X RICCO RODRIGUEZ
Saturday, July 9th 2005
PRO DIVISION
LIGHTWEIGHT
Jeff Glover (Paragon)
Rani
Yahya (Rickson Gracie)
Marcos
"Parrupinha" Da Matta (American Top Team)
Baret Yoshida
(Baret Yoshida Hawaii)
MIDDLE
WEIGHT
Cameron
Earle (Ralph Gracie)
Pablo
Popavitch (American Top-Team)
More
fighters to be announced!!
Registration
online at: www.nogitournament.com
No-Gi Tournament
Location: Aviation Park Sports Complex
1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Redondo Beach-CA 90278
Divisions: Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
Prizes: Medals for 1st and 2nd Places
Kit No Gi Brazilian Fightwear for 1st places
Weigh In:
Date- Friday , July 8th 2005
Time schedule- 9:00am to 1:00pm/ 2:00pm to 7:00pm
Locations: Tinguinha Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
1035 N. Armando St. Suite K
Anaheim-CA 92806
MC Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy
Impact Gym
1400 Aviation Blvd.
Redondo Beach-CA 90278
Professional
Division:
2 Divisions
Max. 4 Competitors per category
Prize: Cash prize for the 1st Places all divisions- $1,000 dollars
All interested in fighting please contact tournament organization
Superfights: Todays top fighters superfights
Tournament Fees: Competitors- $50 dollars
Spectators- $8.00 dollars
The
deadline for registration is at Wednesday July 6th 2005
The deadline for the fee payment is at the weigh in, July 8th
2005
All competitors will receive a tournament`s T-shirt upon registration.
Competitors must provide valid identification at the time of
weigh in.
Online registration will be available at www.nogitournament.com
Tournament Schedule:
All Beginner Adult & Women 10:00 am
All Intermediate 11:00 am
All Advanced Master & Women 12:00
All Advanced Adult 1:00 pm
Professional Division 3:00 pm
All Finals Advanced Adult 4:00 pm
Super fights 5:00 pm
Medal/Prize Ceremony for Professional Division/
Advanced/Superfights 6:00 pm
Categories:
Adult (18 to 35 years old)
Master (36 & Up years old)
Women (17 to Up years old)
Adult Division:
Beginner- Less than 12 months
Intermediate- 12 Months to 36 months
Advanced- More than 36 months ( 3 years)
Master
Division:
Beginner- Less than 12 months
Advanced- 12 months & more
Women
Division:
Beginner- Less than 12 months
Advanced- 12 months & more
Time Limits Adults:
Beginner- 5Min.
Intermediates- 6 Min.
Advanced- 7Min.
Time Limits Masters:
Beginner- 4 Min.
Advanced- 6 Min.
Time Limits Women:
Beginner- 4 Min.
Advanced- 6 Min.
Divisions Adult/ Master:
Feather
147lbs. and below
Light
148-160 lbs.
Middle
161-173 lbs.
Super Middle
174-187 lbs.
Light Heavy
Heavy
203-215 lbs.
Super Heavy
214lbs. & Up
Divisions Women:
Light
123.50 lbs. & below
Middle
123.51 to 146 lbs.
Heavy
Over 146 lbs.
188-205 lbs.
Point System:
Takedown to guard: 2 points
Takedown to side or mount position: 3 points
Sweep or reversal on legs: 2 points
Passing opponents guard: 3 points
Mounted position: 4 points
Back control w/ hooks or triangle: 4 points
(All positions must be held for Min. of 3 seconds)
Rules:
Ilegal
Techniques
* Striking of any kind
*Eye gouging or fish hooking
*Hair pulling
*Small joint manipulation (finger & toe locks)
Neck Cranks and Slaming
Neck Cranks- Are ilegal in all divisions except advanced.
The Can-opener can only be used to open the guard.
Once the opponent`s legs are opened the Can-opener must
be immediately released.
Slamming
No Slamming will be tolerated. This is to avoid slamming to
escape the guard and various submissions from the guard.
A competitor will be immediately disqualified.
Leg
Locks: Legal Leg Techniques
Adult
Beginners: Straight ankle locks.
Intermediate:Straight ankle and straight kneebars.
Advanced: All leg locks are legal.
Masters/Women
Beginners- Straight anckle lock.
Advanced- Straight anckle lock & knee bars
Bicep & SlicersBeginners
Only adult advanced may use these techniques.
Penalties
* Running from fight- Minus 1 point
*Stalling- Minus 1 point (on 2nd warning)
*You or coach arguing with referee- Minus 1 point
Winning by
*Submission or points
*Referees decision
(determined by aggressiveness,Submission attempts,takedown attempts
and top position)
More info at : www.nogitournament.com
Contact Info:
Mauricio “tinguinha” Mariano Marcelo Cavalcanti
(714) 630-62187 (310) 722-4999
Fx: (714) 491-6679 (310) 379-9153
tinguinha@tinguinha.com marcelobjj@yahoo.com.br
www.mcbjj.com
Source: Mauricio “tinguinha” Mariano
|
The
Quest for Champions 2005
Tomorrow!
FEATURING:
USSJA Sport Jujitsu, Sport Pankration, Extreme Sparring, Juniors/Adults
Novice Divisions, Submission Grappling
Saturday, June 18, 2005
9:00 Weigh-In Registration
9:45 All Divisions will begin!
St.
Andrew's Priory Gym
224 Queen Emma Square
Honolulu, HI 96813
$25.00
Per Division
This
is NOT a no holds barred event!
For more information please contact
KEMPO UNLIMITED HAWAII at (808) 778-3601
|
Sanford
and crew to fight in Hawaii
Chris
Sanford will be returning to the cage. This time Chris will be
fighting Royden
Demotta
from Team B.J. Penn. Penn will be having 3 of his fighters going
head-to-head against 3 of our fighters at the Hilo Civic Center
in Hilo, Hawaii on the 9th of July. At 155lbs local Hawaiian favorite, Kaynan Kaku,
will be fighting Jimmy Comandango, who has recently joined our
team after achieving his purple belt with the Ralph Gracie crew.
Jimmy now trains with Jake Shields and is eager to begin fighting
as soon as possible. At the 170lbs weight, Ross "The Boss"
Ebanez, will fight one of our 170lbs representatives. This should
be another excellent Hawaiian show put on by the Penns. Stay
tuned for further developments in the Hawaiian fighting scene.
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Fedor
looking forward to Cro-Crop
By Scott Mallon
Correspondent: Hello Fedor! How is your vacation going? How is
the weather? [Fedor Emalianenko is vacationing with family in
one of Kislovodk’s health sanatoriums]
Fedor:
We are resting just fine. The weather is good and sunny. It’s
true we did have a couple of rainy days but they have not been
able to damper with our high spirits.
Correspondent:
Are your wife and daughter also happy with your vacation?
Fedor:
Yes, they like it a lot here. Besides outdoor excursions, they
are also getting massages here, and going to different health
procedures.
Correspondent:
Are you able to train or did you decide to just rest?
Fedor:
As far as training goes, I mainly run cross-country. I also do
a little power exercising.
Correspondent:
I know that a few days ago you were visited by Mr. Shinoda ,
Pride’s 2nd manager. What was the purpose of his trip?
Fedor:
Mr. Shinoda was here to confirm my condition, and that I am not
able to fight against Mirko in June due to my injury. One of
the local clinics took an X-ray of my hand in Mr. Shinoda’s
presence, and the surgeon-traumatologist wrote a conclusion about
my health. Having received all necessary medical documentation
Pride’s manager flew back to Japan.
Correspondent:
So what are the doctors saying, how is the hand healing?
Fedor:
Doctors are saying that the break is pretty serious and deep,
and it’s making the healing process of my bone tissue harder.
They are not recommending I do any sort of training with that
hand at all until halfway throughout the year. Anyway, for now
the fight is only pushed on until August. Most likely the fight
will happen in August.
Correspondent:
Well you are going to have just a little time, when will you
be able to start fully training for this fight?
Fedor:
I do not know yet. Doctors have strongly forbidden me to do so
for at least for one more month. But I will be starting to train
hand striking as soon as I am given the green light.
Correspondent:
Not long ago there was some information about you planing on
participating in the Euphoria: USA vs Russia tournament. Will
you be able to participate?
Fedor:
It is true that initially we had plans in participating in this
tournament, but since I signed the contract with Pride, my obligation
is to first meet Mirko Cro Cop in the ring. After this fight,
I will be able to look at these other options.
Correspondent:
This weekend you were visited by a filming crew to continue the
film about you. As far as I understand, this film will be about
Fedor – the person, not Fedor – the fighter, is that
true?
Fedor:
Yes it is true. The film is being made so people can meet me,
and see a part of my everyday life. The film shows some of my
training, and some of my family.
Correspondent:
And how is your brother Aleksander doing, how is his hand injury?
Fedor:
Aleksander also has a complex situation, his injury is also fairly
deep and is not letting him train at 100% yet. It is most likely
his next fight will also take place in August but it has not
yet been decided who his opponent will be. There is a possibility
for that to be Rulon Gardner (weight class up to 120 kg) who
in 2000 won against the Russian wrestler Aleksander Karelin at
the finals in the Sydney Olympics.
from
- http://fedor.bel.ru/index_eng.shtml
Source:
Maxfighting
|
In
the aftermath of Pride, Baroni talks
By Mike Sawyer
OSAWYER: Hello Phil, congratulations on your peformance in Pride.
That was a huge debut, with that KO on Ikuhisa Minowa. Do you
feel they put you in hoping to use your name as a "stepping
stone" of sorts for him? Maybe he could pull off the submission
and get the big win?
Baroni:
Without a doubt. That is why they brought me in for. I was supposed
to be the sacrificial lamb wearing a UFC jersey. Everyone thought
I was a shot fighter. Everyone. But I proved them wrong, as I'm
far from done. I have a lot of fight left in me. I've already
made a lot of people look stupid. After I win the Grand Prix
and prove that I'm the best middleweight in the world I'll hear
a lot of apologies that I will not be accepting.
SAWYER:
What surprised you more his standup or his chin?
Baroni:
Both. I'd have to say his whiskers. I hit him with some big shots,
shots that sleep motherf#ckers and he fought back. That dude
was a savage. He didn't want to lose, but I was just too strong
for him, and in too good of shape. I broke his ass down.
SAWYER:
Who is next and when?
Baroni:
Ryo Chonan on July 17. Pride Bushido #8.
SAWYER:
What is the difference between Pride and the UFC?
Baroni:
Pride is International. It's like the Olympics. Plus the fights
are harder. 10 minute rounds, less rules and they shit do over
there. It's pretty much anything goes. You could get a lot more
fucked up in Pride. It's the best fighters in the world.
SAWYER:
How did the split go down with the UFC?
Baroni:
Well basically Dana White, who I consider a true friend of mine,
called me into his office to talk. I could see he felt for me
and basically he told me to retire. I mean my own dad asked me
how much longer do I want to keep fighting. I told them both
simply you don't know what kind of man I am. You don't know what
I'm made of. I'll fight and claw my way back to the top. I'll
do whatever it takes, risks, whatever I have to do. I don't care
what anyone thinks.
SAWYER:
The 185 lbs divsion is really starting to develop. Who would
you say is the most overrated fighter at 185?
Baroni:
There are a few. Lets just say I'm the most underrated. I think
that will change when I KO Chonan.
SAWYER:
How do you think you matchup with the current UFC champ Rich
Franklin?
Baroni:
He is a friend of mine and a real good guy. I'm happy for him.
He has worked hard and earned everything he got. But I feel he
matches up real nice for me and I'll leave it at that.
SAWYER:
You seem to have alot of charisma is your presentation, have
you ever been approached by any Pro Wrestling groups?
Baroni:
Yeah, I'm considering Hustle Hustle.
SAWYER:
OK... now, your coworker at the Spearmint Rhino, Frank Mir will
be fighting Andre Arlovsky in October. Who do you like and why?
Baroni:
You gotta like Frank especially when on paper he is supposed
to lose. He won't even train for the fight and armbar Andre in
the 1st round. On paper the Pitbull is supposed to win easy.
SAWYER:
Let's run down a list of folks in MMA and you give the first
word that comes to your mind....... Dana White?
Baroni:
Hollywood.
SAWYER:
Evan Tanner?
Baroni:
Tough.
SAWYER:
Frank Mir?
Baroni:
Talented.
SAWYER:
Diego Sanchez?
Baroni:
Delusional.
SAWYER:
Jeremy Horn?
Baroni:
Overachever.
SAWYER:
Great... What is the future for Phil Baroni?
Baroni:
I'm gonna KO Chonan and win the Grand Prix. After that, who knows,
take a vacation maybe. I'm just happy to be fighting in Pride.
I'm happy being so active. I'm a wrestler at heart. I use to
compete in Gyms with 5 people watching. I don't do this for fame.
Not even money, although the money is nice. I do this for me.
SAWYER:
Thanks alot for your time Phil. Do you have anything to add?
Baroni:
I want to thank my sponsors Fokai, Bettodessa.com and WorldWide
Sports Nutrition.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
FICKETT
MAKES RETURN TO UFC
MMAWeekly.com has learned that Drew Fickett will most likely
be the new opponent for Josh Neer at the next UFC on August 20th.
Neer was originally scheduled to fight Jayson Mayhem Miller at
UFC 53, but Mayhem's management had a change of heart and decided
not to have him fight in Las Vegas.
Mayhem
will now fight at SuperBrawl in Hawaii on July 23rd on the undercard
of the Niko Vitale vs Robbie Lawler fight. Fickett last fought
in the octagon at UFC 51 when he lost to Nick Diaz.
This
will be Neer's debut as he sports a professional record of 12-1-1.
His only loss was a controversial one to Spencer Fisher where
he lost by split decision.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bushido
8 announces first combats
Two Brazilians are confirmed at eight Pride Bushido edition,
next July 17th, in Nagoya City Rainbow Hall, in Japan. Coming
from a victory over Daiju Takase on his debut at Bushido, Daniel
Acácio (Chute Boxe) returns to Japan to face Pancrase
vet Kazuo Misaki. Misaki has 14 wins, four losses and two draws,
beating names such as Flávio Moura and Jorge Patino Macaco.
The
other Brazilian in the card is ATT's Marcus Aurélio. Like
Acácio, Aurélio is coming from a good result, a
winning over Daisuke Nakamura at Bushido 6. ATT fighter will
face Jutaro Nakao, Shooto vet who had a good participation at
Deep. Nakao has 18 wins, nine losses and two draws.
Now,
the fans' expectations are on the other names that can appear
in the card, such as Japanese new sensation Takanori Gomi, and
who will be his opponent. Stopped to face Hayato Sakurai due
to a suspect of pneumonia, Luiz Buscapé is already recovered
and can appear on next Bushido, that same happening with his
BTT mate Murilo Bustamante.
COMPLETE
CARD (subject to change):
Pride
Bushido 8
Nagoya City Rainbow Hall, Nagoya - Japan
Sunday, July 17th 2005
-
Ryo Chonan vs Phil Baroni
- Kazuo Misaki vs Daniel Acácio;
- Masakazu Imanari vs Joachim Hansen;
- Jutaro Nakao vs Marcus Aurélio.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself.
Being true to anyone else or anything else is...impossible."
Richard Bach, Author, Illusions
|
Super
Brawl 41 Press Conference
Today!
Lawler/Vitale
Press Conference Today at 1pm.
Robbie Lawler and Niko Vitale will be at the Eastide Grill on
University Avenue this afternoon to look each other in the eye
for the first time. Robbie is sounding pretty confident that
he is going to take the belt back to Iowa next month. Please
come down and show your support for Super Brawl Champion Falaniko
Vitale at 1pm at the Eastside Grill.
Source: Event Promoter
|
Getting
to know Jason "Mayhem" Miller
By Hibbert
Let's start off with questions from our readers:
Kai
asks: Has Genki Sudo or Sakuraba influenced you in anyway?
Mayhem:
Absolutely. There is no way that there could not have, even on
a subconcious level. I've always had the idea to have unique
entrances, and I can't help but bring my personalities to the
ring with me. I just wanted to make sure it was all me and not
too much of Sak's thing, or Genki's thing. I also watched a lot
of kung fu movies growing up and a lot of Ninja Turtles, and
a lot of pop culture that has infected my mind to a point I have
to let it out when I get the chance.
Ghost
asks: Despite the loss to St Pierre, you showed much flair and
excitement, something the UFC definitely needs, when are you
to return? PS, you should've made triple the payday!
Mayhem:
Ha I agree... I should have been able to roll around naked in
baby oil and one hundred dollar bills for the ass whoopin I took
that night. I don't know when I'll be back to the UFC, that's
between the UFC and my manager. I just wanna scrap.
dwarfofdoom
asks: Who is your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? Do you
have any plans on coming to in Europe/England (Cage Rage/CWFC/KOTC
etc)?
Mayhem:
Wow, I just fricken mentioned the Ninja Turtles! doom must be
reading my brain, or in my closet-- now, when I was younger,
I would've said Michealangelo, but as I've grown and matured,
I've realized that Raphael was the smartest turtle in the crew.
I mean, he was like, "What the hell are we doing? We live
in the damn sewer, eat nothing but pizza, and don't even have
any place in our shells for our dongs to get out! How the hell
are we suppossed to have a gang bang with April O'Neil?"
Sarcastic bastard.
As
for England, I would LOVE to come to the other side of the pond
and knock some limeys teef straight. It would be an honor, but
again that is up to my management, Quattro Media. Have someone
give them a call, they're in LA.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Tigre
returns to the MMA ring in Brazil
After submitting Jody Demeritt by Strikes at the Hawaiian event
'Rumble on the Rock: Proving Grounds' back in March of this year,
Marcelo 'Tigre' (Banni Academy) will is now set to return to
an MMA ring. His last fight in Brazil was two years ago at Jungle
Fight 1, when he submitted Joseph Bamguish by Rear Naked Choke.
Next June 16th, Tigre will do the main fight of the upcoming
'Fight Club Tournament', scheduled to take place at Serejinho
Gymnasium, in Taguatinga, a city-satellite of Brasília
(DF - Brazil's Middle West).
His
opponent will be the fighter from Natal known as Edson 'Godzilla'.
'I will kick his ass badly, and then I will fight Buda again!
This is my goal' challenged Tigre, who has aseven victories and
three loss MMA record. He commented his opponent's game: 'I do
not know a lot about him, except for the fact that he belongs
to the same academy as Buda, who I've fought in the past. He
seems to be a tough fighter' stated Tigre.
On
the rest of card, seven other MMA bouts will drive the audience
nuts, as they are jammed with local fighters! Of the eight bouts,
six of them involve local academy Banni Club's athletes. It will
be a real challenge between Taguatinga vs the rest of Brazil!
According to the promoters of the show, the fight event will
celebrate the 47th anniversary of the city. Well, it will be
a birthday filled with KOs!
Fight
Club Tournament
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Serejinho Gymnasium, Taguatinga (DF)
COMPLETE
LINE-UP (subject to change):
-
Marcelo Demolidor (Street Fight - 65Kg) vs Wolverine (Banni Club/Marcelo
Tigre - 67Kg);
-
Agnes Oliveira (Betinho - 77Kg) vs Júnior Lava (Banni
Club/Marcelo Tigre - 77Kg);
-
André Shaollin (Fit 21 - 87Kg) vs Pezão (Pantera
Negra - 92Kg);
-
Carlos Águia (Street Fight - 88Kg) vs Getúlio Cavalcante
(Banni Club/Juquinha - 92Kg);
-
Tarso Santos (Pantera Negra - 77Kg) vs Piter Bull (Banni Club/Banni
Cavalcante - 77Kg);
-
Akiles (Nobre Arte Vale-Tudo - 98Kg) vs Moreno (Banni Club/Banni
Cavalcante - 102Kg);
-
Buda (Potiguar Fight - 100Kg) vs Paulo Pantera (Heróis
do Ringue - 98Kg);
-
Edson Godzilla (Potiguar Fight - 130Kg) vs Marcelo Tigre (Banni
Club/Banni Cavalcante - 96Kg).
Source: Tatame
|
Tyson
and K-1... Is it real???
By Mark Pickering
At the K-1 press conference in Hiroshima today Sadaharu Tanigawa
expressed his intention of recruiting Mike Tyson. The recently
retired Tyson has been invited to compete at the promotion's
8/13 show in Las Vegas. K-1 also has interest in using Tyson
at the 7/29 show in Hawaii, if negotiations run smoothly.
If
both parties agree on terms, then a special "Tyson Festival"
show will be held later in the year. Due to Tyson's inability
to enter Japan because of his criminal record, alternative locations
are being discussed with South Korea, Hawaii, and Australia being
the favorites.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Interview
with Randy Couture
By Jeremy Wall
Jeremy Wall: What are your thoughts on your fight against Mike
Van Arsdale?
Randy
Couture: I'll pretty much approach like I approach all my fights.
I'll look at Mike's tendencies and take into consideration that
he's a good wrestler and will be ready to deal with that as his
background and area of strength, and just go from there.
JW:
With Van Arsdale having such a strong background in wrestling
being a former NCAA champ, with both of you having that kind
of wrestling skill, how do you think the fight will go?
RC:
Well, it's hard to say how the fight will go. I'm probably a
little more well rounded fighter than Mike is. We both come from
a similar background, but the other pieces of the puzzle are
what's going to be the difference in the fight. The wrestling
skills are comparable, and so it's the striking and the submissions
and the other parts that are really going to tell to the tale,
I think.
JW:
Have you started training for the fight?
RC:
Yes.
JW:
How is training going so far?
RC:
It's going great.
JW:
How have you been preparing thus far?
RC:
You know, working on my conditioning and getting my fitness level
back up to where it should be. Also striking, takedown defense,
submission skills. Not much different really from any other fights,
just a little bit of a different emphasis.
JW:
How many fights do you have left on your current UFC deal? Is
this fight your last one?
RC:
This fight will be the last fight on my contract.
JW:
What have you decided to do after this fight then?
RC:
Start negotiations for a new contract. A new three-fight deal.
JW:
How close are you to retirement? Is this something that has even
crossed your mind?
RC:
There's no age limit on this. I'm physically holding up very
well and I love what I do. So until I'm unable to prepare and
physically compete and train the way I know I can do, I don't
see any reason to stop training and fighting.
JW:
Is there anyone in particular you want to fight after Van Arsdale?
RC:
Yeah. Chuck Liddell.
JW:
How do you think a third fight between you two would go?
RC:
I think it would go very well. I'd look forward to the opportunity.
He's got his hands full with Jeremy Horn and he's probably not
looking past that, and I'm certainly not looking past Mike Van
Arsdale. But ultimately my goal is to work my way back to the
title.
JW:
Has UFC talked to you about doing a rematch with Liddell sometime
down the line?
RC:
No, nothing official.
JW:
What would you do different in a third fight with Chuck as opposed
to what happened in the second match?
RC:
I made a tactical mistake and lost my composure after the poke
in the eye. I chased Chuck instead of cutting him off. I think
other than that... it only takes one mistake to create an opening,
and certainly Chuck's a tough enough opponent to take advantage
of that.
JW:
How do you think Chuck vs. Horn will go?
RC:
I think both guys are very capable. I think Jeremy's striking
and overall fitness has really improved in the last couple of
years. I think he has the potential to win the fight by submission.
He's a very good grappler, very good submission fighter. Chuck's
going to try and keep the fight on it's feet and try and knock
Jeremy out. No one has ever knocked him out before, so I'm sure
that is what Chuck is aspiring to do. It makes for a very interesting
fight.
JW:
If you end up fighting Horn down the way, how would you approach
that fight?
RC:
I fought him once before.
JW:
In RINGS?
RC:
Yeah, the King of Kings tournament back in 2000. He's very tough.
It was a tough fight. I don't want to spend any time worrying
on that right now. Just stay focused on Van Arsdale and worry
about Chuck or Jeremy when the time comes.
JW:
Do you find you're being recognized by more people in your day-to-day
life after being on The Ultimate Fighter?
RC:
It seems that way. It seems that I really can't go anywhere without
being recognized by somebody. The show has elevated our sport
quite a bit. On one hand it's a very fun time to be involved,
and on the other hand it's a little bit different being recognized
everywhere you go.
JW:
Do you enjoy that aspect or can it be annoying sometimes?
RC:
Well that depends on the individual. Most people are very gracious.
It's an opportunity for me to meet a lot of people and that's
fun. Some people kinda freak out, and that makes me a little
uncomfortable because I'm not sure how to handle that.
JW:
Do you have any interesting stories in regards to meeting fans?
RC:
No, not really. People make me wait in the store so they can
buy a camera to take a picture and stuff like that, which is
fine.
JW:
How do you think the second season of The Ultimate Fighter will
go? Do you think it will be as successful as the first?
RC:
You never really know. I mean, you never really knew the first
one was going to be successful. We're certainly optimistic. The
contrast between the welterweights and the heavies will be interesting.
I think the new coaches in Matt Hughes and Rich Franklin, I think
it will be interesting to see their perspective on training and
how they approach it. I know from my perspective as a host for
the show and introducing the challenges and getting involved
in developing the challenges, the challenges will be more interesting
this time. So, looking forward to it and hopefully it will be
well received like the first season was.
JW:
Are the challenges more MMA oriented? Like with cardio training
and stuff like that?
RC:
It will be more combative sports oriented. That's all I can really
say, that it's going to be more sports oriented.
JW:
Is there anything else you want to add to the interview?
RC:
I think it's a great fight [against Van Arsdale], and I look
forward to competing against Mike.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up
is what makes it permanent."
Marilyn Vos Savant, US columnist, writer
|
Platinum
Limousine and Platinum Public presents
Extreme
Wars X-1
Hawaii's Top Team vs. Next Generation's Top Team
Neal Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday July 2, 2005
Doors will open at 7:30pm
This is your chance to support Hawaii's greatest fighters as
they earn themselves a spot on Hawaii's top team. Watch them
battle Chris Brennan's Next Generation fight camp.
Hawaii's All Stars are Mark Moreno, Ronald "Machine Gun"
Jhun, Kaleo Kwan, Johnny "Gun" Sampaio, Sidney Silva,
and Harris Sarmiento.
Plus special super fighters including Marcelo Tiger, Jeff Monson,
Dan Severn, Ricco Rodriguez, and Tito Ortiz.
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
Source: Event Promoter
|
BOXING:
TYSON QUITS, ALI DESTROYS TOUGHILL
USA TODAY has reported the following.
WASHINGTON ” Mike Tyson was the main attraction, but a surprise
appearance by Muhammad Ali stole the crowd's affection as the
beloved former heavyweight champion watched his boxing daughter
Laila Ali make mincemeat of Erin Toughill in one of two other
featured fights.
Laila
Ali bashes Erin Toughill in the second round of their fight.
Ali is undefeated.
By
Paul J. Richards, AFP
Erin Toughill
"I am the champ," said Laila Ali, who defended the
WBC and WIBA super middleweight titles and added the WBC crown
with a TKO at 1:54 of the third round. She improved her record
to 21-0 with 18 KOs. After the fight, the famous father climbed
into the ring and gave his daughter a congratulatory hug and
kisses.
"It
was wonderful having my father in the audience," she said.
"It adds to my fire. People are not used to seeing me hit
on my opponent like that. She was cowering in the corner. Damn,
I tore her up."
Toughill
paid the price for Laila Ali wanting to honor her father's presence,
and the crowd rekindled the "Ali, Ali, Ali" chant that
her dad used to inspire as she ripped apart her outclassed oppponent
with hard combinations to the face. Referee Joseph Cooper stopped
the fight when Toughill (6-2-1) turned her back after absorbing
19 unanswered punches.
Toughill
had only eight professional fights in five years, and four of
those were against women who had never had a fight.
"She
talks like me," Muhammad Ali said.
"I
back it up, too, don't I, Daddy?" Laila replied.
Muhammad
Ali was impressed not only with his daughter's speaking ability,
but her fighting ability.
"She's
bad," Ali said. "It runs in the family."
Source: Fight Sport/USA Today
|
Cesar
Gracie, On Frank Shamrock
By Jeremy Wall
Jeremy Wall: How did the fight against Frank Shamrock come about?
Cesar
Gracie: Well we'd been working on a fight for the last two years
now with various organizations. We originally went with the WEC,
as a guy by the name of Scott Adams thought it would be a good
fight to put together. Frank had fought on one of his cards.
Scott and I thought it might be a good one, so he approached
Frank about it. Frank was receptive to the idea. I know he ended
up leaving the WEC and starting his own organization and he wanted
me to fight on that. He called me and asked me if I still wanted
to fight him, this time in his organization. I said yes. That
organization had some problems and I think it went bankrupt.
Rumble on the Rock tried to get the fight together, and for whatever
reason that didn't happen. I've always been game about doing
it. It's all in the past now anyway. I'm just happy the fight
is going to happen. Frank is one-hundred percent on board and
I'm one-hundred percent on board, so we're looking at putting
a good show together.
JW:
So this all started as an idea to put together a fight in WEC?
CG:
Yeah. There's been a little bit of other circumstances. He had
said in a magazine at one point that the Gracies are dead and
everyone knows it. And at that time he was at [American Kickboxing
Academy] in San Jose, which is only about an hour away from my
school. I thought at the time that was somewhat disrespectful.
We didn't really get along very well because of different things.
I didn't talk to him, he didn't talk to me, that sort of stuff.
I think we're doing the mature thing by settling our differences
in the ring where they should be settled.
JW:
How will you approach the fight with Frank?
CG:
I'll train really hard, and I've got a really good team of fighters
here. I've got Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, a list of guys, too
many to mention. I will train hard with them and I'm to the point
where I'm doing really well with them. So if I feel like if I
can get to their level, I'll be at a world class level because
they are world class fighters.
JW:
So you've already started training for the fight?
CG:
Yes I have.
JW:
What are you doing right now to prepare?
CG:
I'm lifting weights to keep my strength up because I'm doing
a lot of cardio and I don't want to get small. I'm doing five
minute MMA rounds, kinda light, we're not beating the crap out
of each other. I'm wrestling, boxing, kickboxing. I'm doing everything
that we do here, it's just the only difference is I'm doing more
of it now.
JW:
A lot of people would expect you to bring a jiu jitsu strategy
to the fight. Is there anything that you will do or bring to
the ring that will surprise people?
CG:
I'm definitely working on my stand up. I don't want to be one
of those guys who can't take someone down, and end up getting
punched standing for a long time until you get knocked out. I'm
working standing, I'm working everything. I can't neglect the
ground work because I think that's where my strength is. If it
goes to the ground I'm going to feel real comfortable, I believe.
It's going to be a really good fight. I think there's a lot of
emotion coming into this fight from both [of us]. I think Frank
has a lot to lose by losing this fight.
JW:
That's a real interesting aspect of it, since Frank hasn't fought
in so long and he's a legend in mixed martial arts and everything,
but there's always the question of whether or not he'll still
be able to face top competition.
CG:
It would not be good for him. It would definitely be good for
me if I beat him. But if people think I have nothing to lose,
they're mistaken. They're really mistaken. I mean I could be
a jiu jitsu teacher, I have a very successful team, whatever,
live off of that and everything and instead I'm challenging myself
and if I look like crap in there and get knocked out or gas out
in ten seconds and just don't look good, where's the credibility
in that? So I'm putting a lot on the line in this fight. We both
have a lot to lose in this fight.
JW:
Do you think it will be tough debuting in MMA against a guy with
so much experience and skill?
CG:
Definitely there is going to be disadvantages, and I've come
to terms with that. I think if you let the event get to your
head, that's the biggest thing. Frank is used to being in big
events, used to being on TV, used to fighting in front of thousands
of people. Internationally, also, in Japan. He's used to being
the focus of attention and living up to that. You take someone
who isn't used to that and the event is so big, and I've seen
it happen, they get scared and they lose their focus. They get
stage fright. I've considered that. But I think I'm pretty level
headed, and I think when that fight happens it is something that
I've wanted for a couple of years and my focus is going to be
on no one else who is watching. My focus is going to be on Frank
Shamrock.
JW:
Will it be any tougher to go into the ring against a guy who
hasn't fought top competition in five years or so, making it
harder to tell where his skill level stands right now?
CG:
That's correct. It's very hard to gauge. I just watched a couple
of fights of his where he fought Tito Ortiz and Enson Inoue,
and a couple of other high level fighters. I thought,'wow, this
guy... I gotta be really in shape for this'. This is going to
be something if you're not ready for, it's going to be a really
bad night. And then I've seen other fights of his where I was
not impressed at all with him. So I don't know which Frank Shamrock
is going to show up. I'm going to assume it will be the Frank
Shamrock at his best. He's got a lot of time to train. He's got
a lot of stuff to lose. He'll be in the best shape he's been
in. He'll want to prove to the people that he's still a force
to reckon with. And he's coming out to demolish me to show people.
JW:
Which fights of his did you see that you were unimpressed with?
CG:
His Bryan Pardoe fight, I wasn't that impressed with. Other fights,
like when he fought Allan Goes, he didn't look that good. Jeremy
Horn, you know, [Frank's] conditioning was excellent throughout
the fight but I think Horn was on his way to win if the referee
hadn't pulled him off the mat so many times. He always comes
in shape though. He's a tough guy. He comes from humble beginnings
and he knows that this is his ticket out of that. He's going
to bring it.
JW:
Is there anything you want to add?
CG:
I just look forward to a good fight, and I hope everyone comes
down and checks it out.
Source:
Maxfighting
|
INTERVIEW
OF THE WEEK:
FRANK SHAMROCK
by Damon Martin
Very few fighters have the honor of being called a legend by
fans, critics and other mixed martial artists. Frank Shamrock
is one person that has proven himself as an ambassador for the
sport and is considered possibly the greatest MMA fighter of
all time. He was a 5 time defending champion in the UFC and fought
in one of the most spectacular matches when he took on perennial
bad boy, Tito Ortiz. Now, Shamrock makes his comeback to the
world of MMA when he takes on Cesar Gracie at the HP Pavilion
in San Jose, California on October 1st. Shamrock sat down for
an interview with MMAWeekly to give his thoughts to the fight
and his future in MMA.
MMAWeekly:
The fight is finally signed with Cesar Gracie on October 1st,
what finally brought this fight to happen?
Frank
Shamrock: Business. I made the deal happen, it just took a while.
Everybody talks money and everyone talks a big talk, but that's
a considerable chunk of money, to make something like that happen,
so it took a while. I tried with a couple of people and they
weren't able to put it together, moneywise, whatever. But we
finally got it together. We had some help from HP Pavilion and
actually the city of San Jose came in and they're going to help
promote the fight, and make it a hometown battle.
MMAWeekly:
How do you see this fight going? Do you see it as a stand-up
fight or do you just kind of play with it and the flow of the
match?
Frank
Shamrock: Well, you know, I do whatever happens. I'm a complete
fighter. I know his desire is to get me to the ground, I just
plan on beating the crap out of him. I was a professional kickboxer
for a minute and I love to stand-up, I love all fighting arts.
I don't think he'll ever get me down and if he does, I'm going
to beat the crap out of him there as well. I know all the styles,
I know the game, I'm an old dog. He's a young guy.
MMAWeekly:
When this fight happens, is this a personal grudge or is it all
business?
Frank
Shamrock: For me it's all business. I don't care, I mean for
me I've never had a grudge except for John Lober back in the
day, but for me it's all business.
MMAWeekly:
So this is his (Cesar Gracie) first fight in MMA, he's trained
a lot of fighters, but he has never fought, how do you think
that's going to play into his gameplan?
Frank
Shamrock: Psychologically, I don't think he'll be prepared for
what's about to happen, and unless you've done it, you can't
say you've done, you can't experience it. I think inexperience
is really going to hurt him. I know he's got competition, but
that doesn't prepare you for getting punched in the head. If
they haven't done it, they haven't done it. That's why it's a
joke; he's going to challenge me to a fight? I'm going to crush
you. That's just silly. I've been waiting my whole career to
fight a Gracie, and I don't care where I start. I'll start with
this one, if the other ones want to fight, that's just fine.
You know, whoever.
MMAWeekly:
Your school and training center are open now, how's that going
so far?
Frank
Shamrock: Our gym is exploding, I always thought that it would,
but it truly has. We've got people coming from as far as South
Africa. I got guys coming here and we're going to rebuild the
team, our student base is really strong, our amateur team, we
just started an amateur team. We've got 9 people already on our
amateur team. It's like we finally have a home. Everything is
just coming together like I thought it would. I'm so happy, I
love going to the gym, and my training is fantastic. I just finished
training Brian Ebersole for the Strikeforce event in San Jose
against Cung Le, and he did so good, he just did so good! He
not only took the fight, but he kicked the crap out of Cung Le.
Cung thought he was going to have an easy night, he came in a
little out of shape, and boy Brian put a whoopin' on him.
MMAWeekly:
The fight with Cesar Gracie is on October 1st, having this much
time between now and the fight and your training, are you going
to wait and really focus about 2 months before the fight or how
are you planning on training?
Frank
Shamrock: You know I've been thinking about this for a long time,
and I've been planning this for a long time. I am going to build
myself and my body up strong, and really focus on raw strength,
and then I'm going to train myself for a fight, like I do for
all my fights. I'm going to take two weeks off go to Jamaica,
get married, relax, I'm going to comeback and train for the fight.
When I trained to fight Tito, I inadvertently peaked about 4
weeks out, my body was ready to fight about 4 weeks before the
fight. I was ready to fight and I still had 4 more weeks. So
I basically took 10 days off and did nothing, I just rested and
relaxed and reset my mind, then went back to the gym for 2 weeks
of training, and I trained myself again. That mental break, that
physical break, the psychological break, all that stuff, had
me so charged and so ready to fight. I was already ready to fight,
and I'm going to do that for this fight. Fighting Tito was the
peak of my mind, body and spirit, and my body was just retardedly
strong. All the things, my spirit, my technique, all of them
were clicking that day, and I think this time I can even double
that. The knowledge that I have, what I do everyday. Most people
go back to whatever they do, I go back and I study the arts.
I study the body. Focus on my nutrition. I see the body as the
ultimate fighting machine.
MMAWeekly.com:
What would it take to ever see Frank Shamrock fight full time,
or a more regular schedule? Would it be business or training
or how would that work out for you?
Frank
Shamrock: I honestly, I don't know. One of the reasons why I
quit, training so hard, doing so much, was because it became
so much work. I had to travel here, I had to travel there, I
had to get my back fixed, my shoulder fixed, you know, workout,
lift weights. I was going to five different places in one day
to get myself together, so I could keep running that machine
at that level. I honestly became bored with it, I became tired
with it. Tired of running around, living in cars, living in gyms.
I got bored, I needed something else. I think building this center,
might be a rebirth of my interest. I don't know yet. I love the
gym, I love doing it, I love training, but will I love doing
that everyday for the next year or so, I don't know.
MMAWeekly:
The UFC, with it's popularity at a pinnacle right now with the
success of shows like "The Ultimate Fighter", would
you ever consider coming back to the UFC or is that totally out
of the question?
Frank
Shamrock: No, it's not out of the question. I don't do business
with the UFC, because I don't agree on their business practices
with talent, that's all. I don't agree with a lot of people,
I don't do business with them because I don't choose to. Will
it ever happen? I don't know. Who knows?
MMAWeekly.com:
Your brother fought Rich Franklin a couple of months back, and
Rich Franklin is now the 185lb champion in the UFC, if the money
was right and the fight was offered to you, would you have any
interest in fighting Rich Franklin for the title in the UFC?
Frank
Shamrock: Sure! That's fun, that's exciting, that's a challenge.
I look at things, it's like jumping out of a plane. Once you've
jumped out of a plane a thousand times, and you're like we're
going to jump out of the plane again, it's just not the same.
And you've really got to have that excitement, that energy, this
is "a brand new woman" kind of feeling, cause if you
don't, then you're going to get hurt or you're going to waste
your time doing something that's just not really your passion.
My passion at one time was beating the absolute best in the world
and knowing more than anybody else. And after I did it, then
what do you do? To maintain that edge at all times. But when
I'm presented with an opportunity like a Cesar Gracie, who's
going to challenge me, in my town, come in here and try to take
my students, take my respect, that's a whole other story. That's
fun! That, I'll get out of bed every morning and go beat up my
boys for. That I'll be excited about, cause he's trying to come
into my home. That doesn't work for me.
MMAWeekly.com:
You were one of the first really great hybrid fighters that developed
mixed martial arts where it is today. Where the UFC and Pride
are today, what do you think about how it's transitioned and
who are some of your favorites to watch?
Frank
Shamrock: I think the new generation started about the time I
was rolling into the UFC until about the time I was leaving,
what is the complete fighter. The true mixed martial artist.
I like all the guys out there. The Rich Franklins, I like Tito,
I like Chuck. Everybody's got a style that's just mixed up with
all these different things, and I really feel like our future
is a complete art, to extend further than just the fight itself.
Cause you can be the greatest fighter in the world, but if you're
not a good person, or a respectable guy, you're never really
going to get better. I think this generation we'll see the complete
martial artist...the healer, the teacher, the father...instead
of just the fighter.
MMAWeekly:
When Rumble on the Rock happened not too long ago, there was
a rumor that Tito Ortiz wanted to get a rematch with you. Would
fighting Tito do anything for you or is that more, "you've
beat him already, do you really need to fight him again",
or would you have any interest in that?
Frank
Shamrock: I wouldn't have all that much interest. I'm sure that
we could make it make money, but at the end of the day, it's
not all that exciting. He's a big dude, he's highly skilled,
he and I had a war last time, we're just going to beat the crap
out of each other. Somebody's going to win, doesn't matter who,
we're going to beat the crap out of each other, and what do we
really get out of it? I'm sure Tito wants it, but to me it's
not all that exciting. I don't see Tito coming into my hometown,
trying to take my stuff. I'm not that worried about it. Would
it be something I would do? Yeah, if we could make it all work,
it's a challenge, but I'm getting older. It took me 2 and a half
years to put this fight together (with Gracie). I worked for
over 2 years to put the Sakuraba fight together, and came up
with zero. It's not as easy as "I wanna fight that guy",
lets make it happen. I wish it was, I know what the fans want,
and I wish I could give it to them. But the reality is that the
world is run by the money that circulates in the sport.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
K-1
World GP 2005 in Hiroshima Results
June 14, 2005
Hiroshima Green Arena in Hiroshima, Japan
Sapp wins K-1 Japan GP
-
Kazuki Hamasaki defeated Yuya Yamamoto via TKO in round 2.
-
Reserve Fight: Takeru defeated Yuki Nimura via 2-1 decision.
-
Quarter Final: Tatsufumi Tomihira defeated Hiromi Amada via 2-1
decision in an extra round.
-
Quarter Final: Yusuke Fujimoto defeated Hajime Moriguchi via
3-0 decision.
-
Quarter Final: Bob Sapp defeated Yoshihiro Nakao via 3-0 decision.
-
Quarter Final: Hiraku Hori defeated Tsuyoshi Nakasako via 3-0
decision.
-
Hong-Man Choi defeated Tom "Green Beret" Howard via
KO (knee) in round 1.
-
Semi Final: Tatsufumi Tomihira defeated Yusuke Fujimoto via KO
in round 1.
-
Semi Final: Bob Sapp defeated Hiraku Hori via KO in round 2.
-
Super Fight: Ray Sefo defeated Ruslan Karaev via TKO in round
1.
-
Japan GP Final: Bob Sapp defeated Tatsufumi Tomihira via 3-0
decision.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Monte
Cox talks Liddell vs. Horn
Monte Cox has has been saying it for years, Jeremy Horn should
be fighting in the UFC. It has been over four years since Horn
last competed in the UFC octagon, losing to Elvis Sinosic at
UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk. Not only is Jeremy back in the
UFC, he's fighting for a title. Monte Cox, Horn's manager, spoke
with MMAWeekly about the UFC 54 main event match up between Chuck
"The Iceman" Liddell and Jeremy Horn for the UFC Light
Heavyweight Championship, how it came together, and what he expects
to happen.
Jeremy Horn handed current UFC LHW Champ, Chuck Liddell, his
first loss in Mixed Martial Arts at UFC 19, back in 1999. "As
soon as Chuck won the title I told Jeremy that's your best chance
is Chuck winning the title, but we really didn't look at it.
I didn't suppose. They didn't talk about it. It just all kind
of fell together." Monte Cox told MMAWeekly.
Monte went on to say, "I was having dinner with Joe Silva
(at UFC 53) and it just all kind of fell together. I did it as
a joke. I mean when he was having trouble filling that spot,
I had a picture of Jeremy on my cell phone, and I was waiving
it at him while he was on the phone. We just sat there and he
goes, you know, what if I could sell this? What would it take?
We hammered that out and we called Dana, and Dana said yes. I
mean wow. It was just like all of a sudden we got it. I was in
shock."
Questioned about the the contract Jeremy received, Monte said,
"It's a three fight deal...It's not guaranteed, but I believe
that they're not going to look to get rid of Jeremy. I mean how
do you, you can't just release you champ. Right?" That is
of course best case scenario. What if Horn loses? "I think
that, that fight is going to be so good that they're not going
to care. I think that there is all kinds of other fights for
Jeremy, and this really opens up that division." Commented
Cox.
The worst case scenario is Chuck Liddell comes out and gets a
quick knock out, which he's certainly capable of doing. Monte
stated, "I don't see that happening...That's a chance that
I'm willing to take. He hasn't been knocked out in 100 fights.
He hasn't even been dropped or anything. I don't think it's going
to happen. I'm willing to take that shot."
Horn has fought his last several fights at 185, so even if he
loses to Liddell, there is always the possibility of him moving
down in weight class. Monte was asked about Horn hypothetically
dropping to 185. He replied, "To be honest with you, he'd
prefer to fight at 185 because he thinks at that weight he has
more of an advantage than he does at 205, but Jeremy is not the
kind of fighter that relies on size and strength. If that's what
he relied on, he'd be about .500. Jeremy's a finesse guy, a technical
guy...for Jeremy it doesn't make that much difference."
Looking ahead to the August 20th title fight in Las Vegas, Cox
said, "I just like Jeremy's attitude right now. I like where
he's at. I like that he's fired up. I haven't seen Jeremy fired
up in years." He added, "We're sending a dietitian
out for ten weeks. We're going to have Matt [Hughes] and [Rich]
Franklin out there as soon as the TV show is over. Travis Wiuff
is going to be out there full time. We're going to rally around
him. Joe Doerksen called and said that he's going to come in
and run all of the classes, so Jeremy doesn't have to run any
classes. We're treating this like the golden shot, and we're
not going to look back and say man I wish we would have done
this because we're going to do everything, and I think this is
his chance. I mean all the other chances were good opportunities
before, but nothing like this."
Cox continued, "Just imagine...Jeremy eating and training
properly. He's never had instruction. I mean he trains himself.
He's always the best guy, and my feeling is he's helped six other
guys win UFC titles...He's helped six others. He's cornered them.
He's trained them, and now it's time for all those people to
turn around and help Jeremy. I haven't been this excited about
this sport, I can't tell you when. This is a high for me for
sure."
Will Jeremy Horn be able to seize the opportunity to snatch the
UFC LHW title? We'll find out on August 20th, at UFC 54, from
the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
will defend his belt, for the first time, against the first man
to defeat him.
Transcribed
By: Jeff Cain
Source: MMA Weekly |
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
REALPROWRESTLING
CROWNS EIGHT INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS IN ACTION-PACKED FIRST SEASON
Iowa Stalkers capture team championship
LOS
ANGELES (June 13, 2005) – The RealProWrestling league on
Fox Sports Net crowned eight individual weight class champions
in its inaugural season, and the Iowa Stalkers captured the team
championship. Dough Schwab, at 145 pounds, helped Iowa to the
team title with 91 points, and was selected outstanding wrestler
of Season One.
Final
Individual Results:
121
Pounds: Sammie Henson (Pennsylvania Hammer) decision over Teague
Moore (Oklahoma Slam), 10-3
132
Pounds: Tony DeAnda (New York Outrage) decision over Zach Roberson
(Iowa Stalkers), 8-7
145
Pounds: Doug Schwab (Iowa Stalkers) decision over Eric Larkin
(Texas Shooters), 14-10
163
Pounds: Joe Williams (Chicago Groove) decision over Joe Heskett
(Iowa Stalkers), 7-4
184
Pounds: Mo Lawal (Oklahoma Slam) decision over Brad Vering (New
York Outrage), 11-9 (OT)
211
Pounds: Daniel Cormier (Oklahoma Slam) decision over Tommy Rowlands
(New York Outrage), 5-0
264
Pounds: Pat Cummins (Pennsylvania Hammer) decision over Tolly
Thompson (California Claw), 10-3
Final
Team Standings:
Iowa
Stalkers 91, Pennsylvania Hammer 64, Oklahoma Slam 60, New York
Outrage 57, California Claw 47, Chicago Groove 36, Texas Shooters
13, Minnesota Freeze 1.
RealProWrestling
generated a total of 2.5 million household impressions (1.2 million
on PAX and 1.3 on Fox Sports Net) in the inaugural season. On
May 15th, 2005, 472,000 persons (2+) watched the RealProWrestling
finale on PAX, a 48% increasing in viewers from the premiere.
Total household viewing stayed relatively steady with an average
of 150,000 households tuning in weekly. The top 41 markets averaged
a .2 rating for season one. The top markets for RealProWrestling
on PAX included: West Palm Beach, San Antonio, Kansas City, Miami-Ft.
Lauderdale and Oklahoma City. Top regions for the Fox Sports
Network included the Northwest, Detroit, North and Midwest.
Founded
in 2002, RealProWrestling is based in Nashville, Tenn. and is
the creation of two former Northwestern University collegiate
wrestling teammates, Toby Willis and Matt Case. RealProWrestling
is reviewing results of the first season and has begun discussions
with television networks for season two.
RealProWrestling
will release a DVD of season one this summer. The DVD will include
the full quarterfinal matches as bonus material.
RealProWrestling
is also working to release a comic book this summer. The comic
book will introduce the RealProWrestling team mascots as a rag-tag
bunch of wild grapplers who come together as the newest league
of superheroes. The comic book will be used to market RealProWrestling
and help introduce kids to the sport of wrestling.
For
additional information about the league please visit www.realprowrestling.com
http://www.realprowrestling.com. For additional information about
the athletes, media or sponsorship opportunities please contact
Kimberly Moran or Noah Gold with BZA at (818) 344-6195, ext.
121 or ext.108 kimberlym@bzapr.com or noahg@bzapr.com.
Source: Kimberly Moran
|
Quote
of the Day
"We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at
the stars."
Oscar Wilde, 1856-1900, British Author, Wit
|
Super
Brawl 41 Press Conference
Lawler/Vitale
Press Conference This Thursday 1pm.
Robbie Lawler and Niko Vitale will be at the Eastide Grill on
University Avenue on Thursday afternoon to look each other in
the eye for the first time. Robbie is sounding pretty confident
that he is going to take the belt back to Iowa next month. Please
come down and show your support for Super Brawl Champion Falaniko
Vitale at 1pm at the Eastside Grill.
Source: Event Promoter
|
"
...I Know I Can Beat These Guys"
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has come along way from the
banks of the Mississippi River, growing up in Memphis, to the
pinnacle of International Mixed Martial Arts, the Pride Fighting
Championships. He has risen above the allure of fast cash and
high risk endeavors of street life to become one of the most
successful athletes in the highly disciplined world of MMA. Quinton
recently spoke with MMAWeekly about his future and his past.
"I fight for a living. That's my job. Don't forget I used
to be homeless. Remember? I'm from the streets...I've been homeless
a few times. I've been homeless since I was fourteen. My momma
decided that she couldn't handle me anymore, so she booted me
out of the house. She had five, four other kids. She couldn't
really afford me anyway...I was fourteen at first when she booted
me out. I went and was living with my cousin. That's the one
that named me Rampage when I was eight years old. My cousin No
Touch. He came out and visited me one time, and he did a fight.
He got tapped out in fourteen seconds. [laughs] He fought on
the street his whole life. He thought that what I do is a joke.
He thought oh I don't have to train to go out there. I'm a fighter.
You know? And Brady went out there and tapped him out in fourteen
seconds. I just had to put that out there because I love him."
Jackson told MMAWeekly.
He continued, "My momma put me out and I was on the street
thing with him...I used to beat up a lot of bullies. I used to
hate bullies, man. A lot of my friends was little, and they knew
that I could fight. If people picked on them, I could go whoop
up on them. My little brother, he was one of those brothers that
would say, 'yeah, my brother can beat you up', so he would go
do whatever he want. So I had to go beat up the people that beat
up my brother, and came back and beat up my little brother for
having me beat up those people that he had me beat up, so that's
what my job was. That's why when I got up to Pride and stuff
all those guys got a lot more years experience than me as professional
fighters, but I've been fighting on the streets all my life.
It's like second nature to me. You know what I'm saying?"
Quinton added, "God told me he trained me for this moment,
for this sport. He trained me. That's why I know it's my destiny
to come back and do better. When I first started fighting in
Pride, I moved out to California on my own. I could have stayed
back at home and worked with my family. My uncles and stuff own
a construction company, so I could have been a construction worker.
I wouldn't be making much money, but I move out to California.
Sacrificed. Left my family and everything, and it was hard for
me to get a job. When I first started fighting in Pride, I was
living in a RV by the beach."
Since then no one can accuse Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
of not fighting the top competition. Over the last year he's
faced Ricardo Arona, Wanderlei Silva, Murilo "Ninja"
Rua, and his brother Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. In that
order. He holds wins over the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, over Igor Vovchanchyn,
Murilo Bustamante, Arona, and "Ninja" Rua, but has
lost two out of his last three bouts.
Losing twice to Wanderlei Silva, having a tough time with Ricardo
Arona, narrowly defeating Murilo "Ninja" Rua, and losing
to "Shogun," Quinton remains confident in his ability
to beat any one of them. "I know I can beat those guys.
That's the thing that's eating me up a live. When you fight,
and you know you can beat them. I look at myself in the mirror
and I think about my losses. That's what you remember most are
your loses, and I know I can beat these guys. I know I can. There's
no doubt in my mind." Stated Jackson.
Right now Quinton isn't under contract with anyone. He's a free
agent. "I'm a free agent...The grand prix was my last fight.
My manager says I've got to wait five months before I can negotiate
with anybody, but I'm a free agent. I'm doing my thing. Chuck
[Liddell] is my inspiration right now because Chuck went down
through a slump like me. I'm in a little slump right now, but
he came out of it, and he's OK. Now he's champion. You know what
I'm saying? Chuck is my inspiration. I look up to Chuck. I look
up to Randy too, and Randy was a fine champion." Commented
Jackson
The biggest obstacle he must overcome is the lack of dedicated
training partners. "Every since Team Punishment broke up
I kind of lost a lot of training partners and stuff like that,
so hopefully I can get some good sparring partners, and can get
a bunch of good guys my size to train with. That's what I'm going
to have to do now. I'm going to have to get some good training
people. I'm going to have to go out and train with people. I'm
going to visit Twinkle Toes, do some wrestling up there, and
go different places because I know one person don't know everything."
Jackson stated.
Quinton further commented, "My coach is a good coach man.
Coach is a real good coach, but he has a lot of things going
on. He produces a show, and a gym, and there are a lot of guys,
and a lot of times it gets watered down. My coach don't have
time to push us as hard. My coach used to train us real hard
man back in the day when I was vicious. My coach was training
us real hard. A lot of people don't see it. I think a lot of
people see me and say I was born again and say awe his fights
went down. He started losing fights, and then they go God is
weak. Jesus is weak. They don't know that's my strength. It probably
kept me doing half as good as I was doing because they don't
look at my training and see what my training is like. When I
fought Arona, if you go back and check that fight, I was getting
my butt kicked until I got that lucky slam. I'm the first one
to admit it. That slam was very lucky. Arona was whooping up
on me. One more leg kick and he probably would have seen the
pain on my face and he probably would have rushed in on me. I
don't have that many training partners. I don't have that many
sparring partners, and I train with fights that don't even fight
on the King of the Cage level sometimes. You know what I'm saying?"
Jackson continued, "A lot of guys don't come. That's not
their job. That's not their love. They don't have time. Sometimes
they don't come. I've got some good guys on my team, but they're
still kind of green right now, and a lot of them don't come training
all the time. A lot of times it will just be me and my coach."
"I don't blame my coach, but it got watered down a lot.
A lot of people got to messing around and it hurt his feelings.
Him and Tito kind of fell out, and Tito was like a son to him.
I stay out of their business. I'm kind of separated from all
of it."
In his journey from being homeless to one of the top ranked fighters
in the world, Quinton Jackson finds himself at a crossroad with
his training and future fighting path. He's a free agent looking
to make changes in his training. Ultimately the future will be
what he makes it, but he feels fighting is his destiny.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
A
LOOK BEHIND THE NUMBERS
By Damon Martin
Analyzing the Top Grossing Sales for the UFC in Las Vegas
November
22nd, 2002 marked the real return of the UFC to the prominent
spotlight of Las Vegas sports when Tito Ortiz took on Ken Shamrock
in a packed house at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The hype that
was built around this monumental match-up was seen on mainstream
television sports networks for the first time since the Fertitta
brothers purchased the UFC just years before. The personal grudge
that was at stake between Ortiz and Shamrock helped to fuel one
of the most charged crowds to ever witness professional mixed
martial arts in America. On that night, 13,055 fans packed into
the MGM to watch these two fighters battle it out for the UFC
light heavyweight championship.
Since
the UFC was purchased by the Zuffa Corporation consisting of
casino moguls, the Fertitta brothers and president Dana White,
they have made Las Vegas the home of mixed martial arts in America.
Every major boxing promoter in the U.S. knows that if a major
fight is to be held, Las Vegas is the place to be. The promoters
and officials for the UFC were able to see the profitable nature
of holding their events in Sin City and the numbers since don't
lie.
For
the first major event that the UFC held after Zuffa purchased
the struggling namesake, they were able to book a great main
event with Tito Ortiz taking on Brazilian, Vitor Belfort. Despite
Belfort sustaining an injury just weeks before, the UFC was able
to plug in Russian wrestler and veteran fighter, Vladimir Matyushenko,
to take his place headlining at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
The crowd totaled out at 7,238, which was not a bad number for
an event that had just lost one of its main event contenders
weeks prior to the fight.
One
of the biggest signs that the UFC has to look at when booking
an event in Las Vegas has to be the numbers surrounding the big
main event fights. Until the "Ultimate Fighter" premiered
in 2004 helping the casual fan to see how great MMA was no matter
who was competing, the UFC was dependant on name recognition
of their fighters. Another of the big main events that the UFC
held featured now light heavyweight champion, Chuck "The
Iceman" Liddell against former champ, Tito Ortiz.
This
was another classic grudge match as Ortiz and Liddell had been
having a war of words for well over a year and the fans had grown
to love both competitors. Both fighters coming off of losses
to Randy Couture, finally readied themselves for war in the octagon
on April 2nd, 2004 again at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. 9,129
people paid to see this great fight and sales reached over 1.4
million, the highest they have had since the fight with Ortiz
and Shamrock.
UFC
President Dana White has said for years that the UFC would gain
worldwide notoriety and popularity with a television show featuring
the stars of the octagon. When "The Ultimate Fighter"
debuted and fans started to watch in record numbers, the true
test of how much fans would buy into the UFC would be determined
at their big pay per view bouts held mostly in Las Vegas.
Super
Bowl Sunday holds almost a religious significance in this country
as billions of people gather around the television to see the
best in football compete. UFC 51, nicknamed "Super Saturday"
was a pre-cursor as it was held the night before the Super Bowl,
in Las Vegas. The main event finally saw Tito Ortiz take on Vitor
Belfort, a fight that was supposed to take place almost 4 years
before. This time the numbers reflected both a great main event
and the growing popularity surrounding the UFC's exposure on
mainstream cable TV. 9,268 fans were inside Mandalay Bay for
the fight and again sales skyrocketed over 1.4 million.
The
truest test for the UFC's success in Las Vegas came when the
main event featured two fighters that hardcore MMA fans and casual
watchers of "The Ultimate Fighter" would both recognize.
A rematch for the light heavyweight title pitted champion and
"Ultimate Fighter" coach Randy "The Natural"
Couture against devastating kickboxer and co-coach, Chuck Liddell.
Not
since the fight with Ortiz and Shamrock have more fans clamored
to see a MMA event. The battle that saw the two coaches go to
war drew a crowd of 12,643, which was the second largest behind
the Ortiz/Shamrock fight, but outgrossed that event when the
UFC was able to pull in over 2.5 million in sales. In that one
night the UFC was able to gross over a million dollars more than
their most successful show ever.
A
couple of questions still remain about the UFC's future and it's
presence in the city of the sand, Las Vegas. First, has to be
will the UFC be able to hold a strong crowd without a huge main
event? No fight may be able to match Ortiz and Shamrock for quite
sometime, but the Liddell/Couture build-up was very solid. The
UFC learned how to market their talent using the hit Spike TV
show, but that formula of coach vs. coach won't succeed for this
season. Coaches Matt Hughes, who is the current welterweight
champion, and Rich Franklin, who is the new middleweight champion,
have said that you won't see them fight when this season is over.
Now, the UFC has to bank on other mainstream sports outlets to
put their fighter's faces into fans' minds and hope they show
up in record numbers for live events.
The
second question that begs to be asked is with the UFC holding
only six major pay per view events per year and Las Vegas showing
that it is proud to be the home for professional MMA in America,
why would the UFC ever travel elsewhere? I'm sure fans on the
east coast love having the UFC in Atlantic City at least once
a year, but the numbers don't lie. Fans will always travel in
packs to see the big fight, and the celebrities that help with
the recognition of the sport come in large numbers when the fight
is in Las Vegas. Roy Jones Jr. was about the only named celebrity
when the UFC ventured back to Atlantic City for UFC 53, and while
Donald Trump always plays the host, the UFC can ill afford to
send an event east when the biggest gates seem to draw in the
west.
The
MGM Grand will host the UFC again in August when champion Chuck
Liddell makes his first title defense against Jeremy Horn. While
longtime fans will love to see this fight, again the casual fan
may not see the true luster around this match-up. But with the
newest season of "The Ultimate Fighter" starting two
nights later and with the primetime debut of "Ultimate Fight
Night" on August 6th in Las Vegas, live on Spike TV, the
hype machine will sure to be in full motion. Hopefully, for both
Las Vegas and the UFC the numbers will only continue to grow.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
Fight Network Strikes Programming Deal With PRIDE Fighting Championship
Toronto, CAN -- (BUSINESS WIRE) - June 13th, 2005 The Fight Network
Inc, is pleased to announce that is has signed a multi-fight
programming deal with PRIDE Fighting Championship ("PRIDE
FC").
The
agreement makes The Fight Network the exclusive (Canadian) rights
holder of thirteen of PRIDE's premier events. These events will
be aired during 2005 through to 2006.
"PRIDE
FC is a world class mixed martial arts ("MMA") promotion.
Its events in Japan are held in front of huge crowds and feature
the biggest names in mixed martial arts. These include fighters
such as Wanderlei Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueiura, Kazushi Sakuraba,
Bob Sapp and Canada's own Gary Goodridge. We are thrilled that
The Fight Network will be showcasing them on a regular basis,"
said Brian Sobie VP of Programming and Production for the Network.
"We
are very pleased with this arrangement", said Yukino Kanda
EVP of Dream Stage Entertainment. "This opportunity will
allow us to connect with Canadian MMA fans on a regular basis,
allowing us to grow our band awareness in this marketplace. We
wish The Fight Network all the best of luck with its upcoming
launch," she added.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
ATT's
Conditioning Coach Andre Vinicius
By Takimoto
Andre Vinicius
Aurnheimer, most known like Benkeinowadays, is considered one
of the most talented conditioning trainers in Brazil. Benkei
has revolutionized the way that fighters prepare for their conditioning
in MMA. Benkei recently joined American Top Team to bring his
specializations to their training regimine.
Takimoto- After working in Brazil as a conditioning trainer for
fighters; you moved to the United States to work with ATT. How
did you get this opportunity?
BENKEI-
First, an opportunity like this would be an honor to any conditioning
trainer to work with a team with ATT's structure and trainers.
It's a dream come true for people like me that love what they
do. Going back to the question, I had this opportunity because
Master Liborio, ATT's head coach, invited me. Also I always had
a great relationship with many of their fighters. Also, Gesias
"JZ" Cavalcanti has trained with me at the former Universo
Atletico Fight Team. I believe this invitation appeared because
of the good relationship that I have with everybody, and for
the fact that ATT's head coach, master Liborio, has closely followed
the work I've done with Hermes Franca for the Euphoria MFC and
the AFC.
Takimoto- You are one of the best conditioning trainers in Brazil,
because of that, you're going to the USA. However you don't stand
out as the others. Why?
BENKEI-
I was always believed in teamwork and never really cared about
the media, only the results I get from my work is what matters.
In 1996 together with the Physiotherapist J. Santos, I rehabilitated
an Olympic soccer player, Ana Mozer, from an ACL surgery in a
record time of three months when a normal recovery takes at least
twice this time. I've rehabilitated and prepared athletes in
other sports, and I am the only conditioning trainer acknowledged
and authorized by Cybex to develop training projects, when the
company was tied to rehabilitation and training of athletes.
In the fight arena, my work became known because of my fighters'
performance and victories. The main reason is that I chose a
team of beginners to work with, and this is the reason that my
work is just starting to show as big names of the new generation
start to win and impress, I feel that the media in our sport
recognizes my work.
Takimoto- Since when have you been a conditioning trainer and
where did you graduate?
BENKEI-
I have been a conditioning trainer since 1991 after I graduated
at Gama Filho University. I've been working with fighters since
2000, when I started the Universo Atletico Fight team.
Takimoto- Which are your specializations?
BENKE-
I'ma personal trainer certified by the International Sport Science
Association, I'm specialized Isokinetic Strength Tests, muscular
recovery, nutrition, high performance training, power-training
and physiology.
Takimoto- When was your first contact with martial arts?
BENKEI-
I practiced Judo at Guanabara (an independent league that mixed
Judo with Jiu jitsu) from 4 until I was 16 years old and karate
Kyokushin with one of the few special students from Mas Oyama,
Sensei Matsuro Megumi.
Takimoto- Did you always intended to work in this area?
BENKEI-
I always loved martial arts, and am fanatic about MMA. I'm happy
to be able to work with what I love. I have always tried to focus
on martial arts, thast why I am leaving my business and my gym
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to dedicate myself exclusively to the
fight world. For this I had the support of my family, which understands
the love that I have for this job.
Takimoto- Which fighters did you prepare?
BENKEI-
I consider the work with the following fighters: Luis "Buscape"
Firmino Jr., Milton Vieira, Roan "Jucao" Carneiro,
Eduardo Guedes, SHOOTO World Champion Alexandre "Pequeno"
França Nogueira, Hermes França. But I've helped
some other fighters even not considering their conditioning training
my work, some of them are: Allan Goes, Paulo Filho, Carlos Barreto,
Rodrigo Artilheiro, SHOOTO Americas Champion Gesias "JZ"
Cavalvanti.
Takimoto- Which of these fighters do you still work with and
why have these fighters stay with you?
BENKEI-
I still work with Hermes Franca, Pequeno, Eduardo Guedes and
Roan Jucao. I'm very paternalistic in my relationship with my
fighters. I treat them like my sons, worry about them and guide
them not only in their conditioning but about life as well. Some
of my fighters chose ways that I don't think are the right ones
for me and I had to let them live with what they think its right
for them. As any good father, I still have them in my heart.
Takimoto- Which are the "lazy" and the most dedicated
fighters regarding to conditioning training.
BENKEI-
I wouldn't say lazy, but that they put less effort into physical
training. The most technical, generally, are the ones that put
the least effort in their conditioning training sessions, for
these I need to go through HARD coaching to get them to do right.
Takimoto- Did anyone really surprise you during the training
sessions? Who and Why?
BENKEI-
I had a great surprise with Hermes Franca, even being an extremely
technical as a fighter, he demonstrated huge will power in his
conditioning trainings. He increased a lot his strength and speed,
and still wants more and more. This is very uncommon for a fighter
that has reached his level. The other surprise was Pequeno, I
met him when he was already a champion and has never seen someone
so dedicated to his physical work. He trains harder each time,
for over four years. He is the only fighter in the modern history
to defend his title and keep his belt for five consecutive years,
and four of those he was training with me. At last, I had a great
surprise this year, working with an unknown kid, Eduardo Guedes.
During the time I was training Hermes Franca for MFC and the
AFC, this kid surprised all with his physical performance in
the two weekends of the last ADCC Brazilian Trials. This unknown
kid is a BJJ brown-belt, and won big in his weight class and
defeating such competitors as Daniel Moraes, Lucas Leite, Bruno
de Paula among others. He ended in second losing on the finals
for only two points to another of my fighters, Roan Jucao.
Takimoto- About four years ago you had a MMA Team named Universo
Atletico Fight Team, what happened to it?
BENKEI-
After the MMA coach leaves, and for lack of support to the sport
in Brazil, it got hard to maintain the team only with the sponsorship
of my gym. That's when I decided to work with fighters independently
of where they train.
Takimoto- Who was part of your team?
BENKEI-
We were the pioneers in Brazil to promote a technical commission
for MMA Teams. We had a head coach (Marinho, BJJ Black Belt under
master Carlson Gracie Sr, who was also my business partner in
the team), a conditioning trainer (which as me), a doctor (Dr.
Aniello Montouori, specialized in sports medicine at Dr. Kenedy
Coooper's clinic in the USA), a wrestling trainer for MMA (Jefferson
Teixeira, today he is BTT Trainer), we had many boxing trainers
and for striking we had the guidance of Sendei Masturo Megumi.
I want to thank our wrestling coach, Jeferson Teixeira (BTT Team),
I consider his work the best for MMA fighters, and he was one
of the big reasons for the fast success of our team.
Takimoto- It looks like you had some happiness with the UA Fight
team, but many headaches, did this unmotivated you to work in
this area?
BENKEI-
The team was a great passion I had, and as in any relationship,
it comes with its up's and down's .What was left was a group
that have gone on to great things, and even the trainers being
now among the best in the world in their specialties. I was sad
and thought about getting out of the MMA scene, but my fighters
Pequeno and mainly França helped me to remember how much
I love what I do.
Takimoto- Since when do you train Hermes França and how
did you two started training together?
BENKEI-
We've been working together for six months, right after he did
his last fight at the UFC. We go to the same MMA website, and
started to talk to each other via MSN Messenger. When he went
to Brazil to train at BTT he invited me to help him with his
conditioning training.
Takimoto- You didn't train Hermes França for his last
fight in SHOOTO Hawaii. Will he be another fighter that you will
miss training?
BENKEI-
No, it is going to be very hard for us to stop training together,
we get along very well and each day our work evolves more. I
couldn't be with him in his last fight in Hawaii for personal
reasons, I had to solve some problems at my Gym in Brazil (Universo
Atletico - www.universoatletico.com.br ) When I received the
invitation for to join ATT, the only request that I made was
to be able to continue working with Hermes Franca and Pequeno.
Master Liborio authorized me to continue my work with both and
it has made me very happy. My goal with Hermes is to make him
number one fighter at below 70kgs this year.
Takimoto- You are going to a long stay in the USA or are you
going for good?
BENKEI-
I intend to establish myself in the USA; I'll bring my experience
to play with the work that ATT has done already. I feel honored
to be guided by a head coach with Master Ricardo Liborio's level.
ATT already has a fantastic work with high technical level trainers
and will be such an honor to work side by side with them: Howard
Davis Jr. (Head Boxing Coach), Cristian "King Cobra"
Toleque (Head Muay Thai Coach), Marcos "Parrumpinha"
da Matta (BJJ Instructor), and many others super star.
Takimoto- Do you think it will be easy to adjust your training
methods to an American team?
BENKEI-
As everything in my life, nothing will be easy, but hard work
and dedication will bring me the results that I'm looking for.
What I know is that I'll have the help of the best equipment
to work, and the support of the fighters and head coach Liborio.
Takimoto- Did you elaborate personal methods of preparation for
MMA? Can you tell us something about it?
BENKEI-
Yes, I have done some studies of the MMA fight physiology. I
condition my work to develop these physical Balances and variables,
besides this is why I created a resistance and strength method
for 'ground and Pound' that I based on the ancient techniques
Kyokushin Karate, when you observe my fighters fighting, you
will notice their conditioning is the same standing up or on
the ground, the reason is a circuit of works done to adjust their
bodies to the constant gravity changes that happen during an
MMA fight. And to finish the innovations, I brought a strength
work, harder than the one done by Olympic wrestlers. I cannot
give many details, or people will discover my "Magic".
Takimoto- Like a conditioning trainer, you should watch the MMA
fights with a different point of view than the average fan. I
mean, that you need to know who is up to date with their conditioning
during a fight. Do think that nowadays physical conditioning
may supersede technicality? Why?
BENKEI-
Yes and no, let me explain. I don't think that strength by itself
wins over technique. I believe that technique is essential for
a fighter, but the physical conditioning and the strength are
the means for the fighter to make his techniques work during
the fight. We are born with talent, but physical conditioning
is a discipline. A technical fighter may have excellent physical
conditioning through discipline, while a fighter, that is just
strong, cannot become talented overnight. Let me give you an
example; in the last fight Minotauro vs. Fedor, I think that
if Minotauro had better lumbar muscles to support Fedor attacks,
and could effectively use these muscles for effective takedowns,
he would have made his technique overcome Fedor's offensive strength.
Takimoto- Which fighter you have never trained (any nationality)
that has the perfect conditioning? Why do you think so?
BENKEI-
I'm Randy Couture's number one fan. I consider him and Team Quest's
work perfect for MMA. I see Team Quest's fighters always well
conditioned. They are quick, strong, resistance. I take my hat
off for Team Quest. I've been talking with some of their fighters
and conditioning trainers, and I intend to visit them in the
future and make an exchange of training techniques. In Brazil
I admire Ruas Vale Tudo's work, mainly for their interaction
with wrestling through Beto Leitao.
Takimoto- And the worst conditioning that you had the opportunity
to see?
BENKEI-
Some fighters in Brazil lack in their physical skills. I see
some with good aerobic conditioning, but poor in strength and
anaerobic resistance (short and high intensity efforts). I see
fighters in smaller events and even at MECA FC showing up to
fight with very poor physical conditioning; I remember Delson
"Pe-de-Chumbo" and CYBORG who disappointed me in their
physical conditioning, mainly because I consider both of them
great fighters.
Takimoto- What will ATT fighters show different since you're
with them?
BENKEI-
They will be quicker, stronger, more resilience and better conditioned
so
that for each event that ATT fighters participate in they will
place well and win.
Takimoto- Thank you. Would you like to add something?
BENKEI-
First of all I'd like to say that besides my work at ATT I'll
be at Mixed Martial Arts Center 'ATT Jupiter'- 603 Commerce Way
West /Jupiter, FL 33458/ Phone: 561.743.2060; I'll work with
Hermes França who has a BJJ Team in this gym, and work
for the Jupiter community. At Martial Arts Center 'ATT Jupiter'
I'll be working with for all athletic styles. The center also
has a modern physical evaluation center and is focused not only
on "high performance" but also for non-athletes and
wellness, the Martial Arts Center "ATT Jupiter" can
bring my work to anyone in Florida.
Finally I'd like to thank the dedication of my fighters that
help me become known internationally. Specially Hermes Franca,
for the opportunity to have worked with him during the Euphoria
MFC Grand Prix and to Pequeno for all the happiness he has brought
me for being my dedicated fighter all these five years. I also
would like to thank the trust from ATT, mainly to master Ricardo
Liborio for inviting me to become the
conditioning trainer of ATT. I will dedicate my efforts to the
success to ATT. It will be, as I said, an honor to train renowned
fighters such as: Din Thomas, Marcus Aurelio, Jeff Monson, Dustin
"Clean" Denes, Marcel Ferreira, Aaron Riley, Steve
Bruno and Denis Kang. But I must confess that my special affection
will be with the new ATT generation. With them I intend to reach
my best such as strength and conditioning coach of ATT. Following
are some names that, in my opinion, will be making history in
MMA in a few months: Thiago "Pitbull" Alves, JZ, Jorge
Santiago, Paulo "Guerreiro" Dantas; and in the next
few years: Rafael Diaz, Emyr "Tubarao" Bussade, Andre
"Gigueto" Soares, Francisco "Manoel" Soares,
Mike Bruno, Reynaldo "Reyzinho" Duarte, and Justin
"Shrimp" Thrift.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress;
working together is success."
Henry Ford, 1863-1947, American Industrialist, Founder of Ford
Motor Company
|
The
Quest for Champions 2005
Tomorrow!
FEATURING:
USSJA Sport Jujitsu, Sport Pankration, Extreme Sparring, Juniors/Adults
Novice Divisions, Submission Grappling
Saturday, June 18, 2005
9:00 Weigh-In Registration
9:45 All Divisions will begin!
St.
Andrew's Priory Gym
224 Queen Emma Square
Honolulu, HI 96813
$25.00
Per Division
This
is NOT a no holds barred event!
For more information please contact
KEMPO UNLIMITED HAWAII at (808) 778-3601
|
Exclusive:
TATAME #112 PREVIEW
It's on air the preview of brand new TATAME #112, which features
special reports of the best fight and more complete fight magazine
in Brazil. Over this amazing edition, you will know everything
about Rickson Gracie! TATAME's editor Marcelo Alonso visited
his academy in California and had a great chat with him and his
wife Kim Gracie. The other great news is that you will be able
to read the best of ADCC 2005, which drove the Pyramide's audience
insane during the tournament. Plus: a special report of Pride
Bushido, Shooto Brazil 8, Jungle Fight 4, Showfight 2, Rumble
of the Rock and a special report about the BJJ Nationals! Check
out the preview now!!! Only at TATAME.com!
Source: Tatame
|
LIDDELL
TO TAKE ON HORN AT UFC 54:
BOILING POINT
Light Heavyweight Belt On The Line In Much-Anticipated Grudge
Match;
Couture Looks To Bounce Back Against Van Arsdale
LAS VEGAS, NV--Chuck 'The Iceman' Liddell will look to avenge
the first loss of his career and defend his UFC® light heavyweight
crown in the process when he takes on challenger Jeremy Horn
at UFC 54: Boiling Point this August 20th at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas. Also on the card is a huge matchup between
Randy 'The Natural' Couture and Mike Van Arsdale. Six additional
bouts will complete the eight-fight card, which will be available
LIVE on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST, on iN DEMAND,
DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu and Viewer's Choice
Canada for a suggested retail price of $34.95.
GRUDGE
MATCH
Liddell (16-3-0) is fresh off his big win over previous light
heavyweight champ Couture at UFC 52, but he'll have one thing
on his mind when facing Horn: revenge. That's because Liddell's
first career loss (March 5, 1999, at UFC 19) came when Horn,
a longtime veteran of mixed martial arts with a record of 85-13-5,
executed a first-round arm triangle choke on the future champion.
So UFC 54 provides a chance for Liddell to wipe the slate clean
against his old nemesis. But Horn's well-rounded skills and versatility
will present a tough challenge for the champ in what should be
a match for the ages.
THE
REBOUND
Couture (13-7-0)--the only man to win UFC titles in two separate
weight classes-- is looking to climb his way back into title
contention in the light heavyweight division. 'The Natural' is
one of the most popular figures fighting in the UFC today. He'll
have his hands full with Van Arsdale (8-1-0), a world-class wrestler
and athlete who hasn't lost in almost seven years
TICKETS
Tickets priced at $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, for the all-star,
eight-fight card go on sale at 10 a.m. PT, Monday, June 6, at
the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations,
www.ticketmaster.com, www.mgmgrand.com and by telephone at 800-929-1111
or 702-891-7777. Ticket purchases are subject to transaction
fees.
Source: From Zuffa/UFC
|
Leo
only cares about BJJ World Cup
During a visit to TATAME's office, Nova União black belt
Leonardo Santos forgot Abu-Dhabi's loss and only has eyes to
BJJ World Cup, which takes place in July, in São Paulo.
Leo Santos was elected by Gong Grapple - Japanese fight magazine
- as the number one of Jiu-Jitsu and was pointed as one of the
favorites to rule Abu-Dhabi 2005. Even thought, Leo had to deal
with a forth place at the division which put Marcelinho Garcia
as champion.
-
For the first time I've trained out of home. I went with my brother
to Canada and I suffered with that. I was feeling confident even
being prepared. I was defeated by Marcelinho by a negative point
because I stepped back to defend a leg attack. Then I disputed
third place. I underestimated Jack Shields and ended defeated
again - Leo told. He also fought at the open class and was defeated
by Alexandre Cacareco. "I defended a foot lock and tried
to sweep and he applied an ankle lock and submitted me - concluded
the BJJ black belt.
Source: Tatame |
Q
& A Interview with Dan "the Beast" Severn
by Reed Walker, Team IronLife.com Staff Writer
After the
first day of the expo had concluded, I was sitting with Dan ‘The
Beast’ Severn. Dan was kind enough to invite me to his hotel
room after the day’s activities had ended. I did not quite
know what to expect meeting him in person, but I was pleasantly
surprised.
When
I went up to interview Dan, I found him relaxed on a chair watching
lacrosse. I asked him how he thought the day went.
“It
was decent,” he remarked, “But the turnout was not
anywhere near the numbers I was told.” I was surprised.
“What
were you expecting?” I asked.
“A
lot more,” he replied. When I had first approached him,
at the end of the first day of the expo, he was packing up his
title belts and the contents of his booth. “In case I decide
to cut my losses and just drive home tonight,” he explained.
Fortunately, at least for the expo-goers, he decided to stay.
“What
did you think of the expo itself?” I asked.
“Busting
boards, breaking blocks of ice and swinging nunchucks won’t
help you on the streets. If you walk around carrying a pair,
I think it might attract just a wee bit of attention from law
enforcement,” he said.
Life
sometimes works out funny, I guess. I was not expecting Dan Severn
to give me an interview – I figured the guy would be too
tired from being asked the same questions all day long. In fact,
I did not even have a list of questions to ask him on hand. So
I decided to bring up a controversial subject – a subject
named Ken Shamrock.
Although
I did not get a chance to talk to Dan until much later, he spent
most of the first day answering questions about Ken Shamrock.
I’m not sure why, but Dan gave me the impression that he
is constantly asked about his experiences and opinions of ‘The
World’s Most Dangerous Man’.
“Well,
put it this way,” he said, leaning in. “I have always
been a drug-free athlete. I’ve never needed to stick needles
in my behind to get bigger.”
“I’ve
wondered about that; he said he only used steroids in his early
wrestling days,” I said. Dan shook his head.
“No.
Take a guy like Ken Shamrock… without drugs, he would probably
only weigh around 175, 185 pounds. At one point, he was up to
245. A guy like that… I don’t think he even deserved
to compete against me in the Superfights,” Dan said. I asked
him why he thought this.
“He
never won a UFC!” Dan said emphatically. “The whole
organization… I didn’t like it.”
“Why’s
that?” I asked.
“Most
people don’t know this, but the UFC was originally co-owned
by the Gracie family. It was intended as a way of promoting Gracie
Jiu-jitsu internationally. So they pretty much did whatever they
wanted,” Dan said, looking rather disgusted.
I
asked him what he thought of Ken Shamrock’s book, Inside
the Lion’s Den. He laughed.
“Ken’s
book wasn’t about Ken. It should have been called the ‘Ken
Shamrock vs. Dan Severn book’,” he said. “Ken
talks a lot about beating me. I have 95 or 96 titles, what does
he have?”
I
nodded. “The UFC does check for steroids though. I know
of several fighters, such as Tim Sylvia, who were stripped of
their titles after failing steroid tests,” I said.
“They
pick and choose who they test,” Dan said.
“Yeah,
a lot of the wrestlers I see are obviously using pretty heavy
cycles. Like Mark Coleman, for instance, and the evidence of
his growth hormone use,” I said.
“It’s
true. There are a lot of problems with the UFC. I prefer fighting
in smaller promotions these days… on my way driving down
here [to Toronto], I got a call from a promoter asking if I would
be interested in doing a fight,” Dan said. He put his feet
up and seemed quite relaxed.
“What
do you think of Mark Kerr?” I asked him. The question came
to mind, as I had watched The Smashing Machine documentary a
few nights before.
“Mark
Kerr smoked, popped and injected a lot [of controlled substances].
I saw his little HBO documentary,” Dan said. I noticed that
whenever the issue of steroids came up, Dan seemed very disdainful.
He has little respect for those who use steroids. So I asked
him his opinion of them in general.
“Steroids
have their uses. If someone has cancer, for instance, and they’re
having chemotherapy… it takes a lot out of them, so people
like that need them. Other than that, you could get guys like
Greg Valentino, who seem to have fried their brains from the
inside out. How big are his arms? 27 inches or so? It’s
ridiculous,” Dan said, chuckling.
One
of the most interesting things I learned talking to Dan Severn
was gaining insight on his training. He’s an imposing figure,
at 6’2”, 250 pounds of largely muscle. He’s not
thin, but you would be hard-pressed to find a 47 year old in
better shape than Dan.
“How
do you train, Dan? You look like you do a lot of heavy compounds.
Do you squat?” I asked him, pointing at his trunk-like quadriceps.
“No,”
he said, simply.
“No?”
“No.”
“Wait
a second,” I said. “Let me get this straight…
do you even train with weights?”
“No.
The last time I trained with weights was probably in training
for the Olympic team in 1988,” he said.
“So
how do you stay in the shape you do?” I asked. “How
do you train?”
“I
don’t specifically train for fights. I just do basic calisthenics
– push-ups, sit-ups, that sort of thing. But I have a training
facility in Michigan. I get there at 7:30 in the morning, and
I don’t leave until around 9:00 in the evening. A lot of
the young guys can’t keep up with an old timer like me!”
he says, smiling.
“I
don’t tell my family when I fight either,” Dan continues.
“I just tell them I’m a salesman – I’m going
to sell the sport,” he says. I was not sure if it was an
inside joke or not.
“What
about diet?” I asked.
“I’m
on a seafood diet. I see food, I eat it. Of course, closer to
a fight, I’ll eat a little cleaner, but generally I eat
what I want,” he said.
“What
are your plans for the future?” I asked.
“I
still plan to compete for at least a few more years. I would
ideally like to continue competition until I have at least a
hundred titles. But even when I stop MMA, I will go back to wrestling.”
“Dan,
tell me a bit about yourself. What makes The Beast tick?”
I asked.
“My
greatest attribute is my mind. Most athletes train a body, but
champions have to train their minds too. I have a positive attitude
– the BEAST principle (the acronym explanation can be found
on Dan’s site). I have had a lot of success. But I also
believe in the importance of an education, because the mind is
the greatest tool.”
Overall,
I was surprised by Dan’s candour and honesty. He is a straight-up
guy, and he is not afraid to speak his mind. One of the biggest
impressions he made on me though was his commitment to drug-free
training. Although obviously genetically blessed, he is an example
of how successful a lifelong drug-free athlete can be.
Dan
Severn offers training and motivational speaking services. His
website is www.dansevern.com.
Source:
MMA News
|
Quote
of the Day
"If you don't like something, change it, If you can't change
it, change your attitude."
Maya Angelou, 1928-, African-American poet, Writer, Performer
|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2005
Falaniko
Vitale
vs. U.F.C. Star “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler in Super Brawl:
ICON
 
Honolulu, HI. – There is little rest for Falaniko Vitale
these days. The celebration of his amazing aerial knockout of
Masanori Suda in Super Brawl: DESTINY has ended. Just seven weeks
out from his first defense of the Super Brawl Middleweight title,
all of his time is spent training at the 808 Fight Factory in
Waipahu.
After
his victory over Suda, Vitale insisted that Super Brawl President
T. Jay Thompson match him against the best fighters in the world.
Vitale is ready to compete against the world’s elite fighters;
there will be no more “tune-up” matches and certainly
no time to relax. Vitale has committed himself to proving to
fans what he already knows…that he is the best middleweight
in the world.
Today
Thompson confirmed the match-up of Falaniko Vitale vs. “Ruthless”
Robbie Lawler in the main event of Super Brawl: ICON on July
23, 2005 at the Blaisdell Arena. Lawler, one of the Ultimate
Fighting Championship’s (U.F.C.) marquee fighters, is currently
in the middle of a multi-fight contract with the organization.
Lawler accepted the match knowing that a loss to Vitale will
jeopardize his outstanding U.F.C. contract.
Robbie
Lawler is one of the top fighters at the world-famous Miletich
Fighting System in Davenport, Iowa. The school, run by mixed
martial arts legend Pat Miletich, earned its fame over the last
decade by turning Midwest wrestlers into world-champion mixed
martial arts athletes. Lawler trains daily with current world
champion Matt Hughes and former world champions Jens Pulver and
Tim Sylvia. Lawler is known for his explosive energy, powerful
striking ability, and strong takedown defense.
Lawler
and Vitale will appear at 1 p.m., June 16 on the main stage of
Eastside Grill for a special media-only main-event press conference.
JUST
IN: At 3 p.m. today Thompson confirmed the match-up of current
Super Brawl Welterweight World Champion and U.F.C veteran Jason
“Mayhem” Miller vs. Honolulu’s Mark Moreno in
the co-main event in Super Brawl: ICON. Miller turned down an
August 20th offer by the U.F.C. to defend his Super Brawl title
against Moreno.
WHO:
Falaniko Vitale & “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler
WHAT:
Main Event Announcement / Press Conference & Interviews
WHEN:
1 p.m. June 16, 2005
WHERE:
Main Stage, Eastside Grill (Puck’s Alley, University Avenue)
"Ruthless"
Robbie Lawler v Falaniko
Vitale
Icon
announces July 23rd Championship Fight.
"Ruthless"
Robbie Lawler v Falaniko Vitale
MMA fans in Honolulu Hawaii will be treated once again to a world
class MMA show on Saturday night July 23rd. Super Brawl Champion
Falaniko Vitale will put his shiny new belt on the line against
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler.
"I
was thrilled to knock out (Masanori) Suda and win the belt. (Vitale
won the belt on April 9th with a thrilling flying punch K.O.)
I waited a long time for that opportunity" said Niko Vitale.
When asked why he did not take a "tune-up" fight, Vitale
responded, "The fans don't want to see me fight a tomato
can. The fans here in Hawaii are a big part of what I do. They
stood behind me on my way up and I don't want to disappoint them."
The
ever confident Lawler stated "I am very excited for this
fight. Niko is a big powerful guy but I plan on standing in front
of him and throwing some big powerful shots of my own."
When asked about fighting in Niko's hometown and a possible judges
decision Lawler replied "We don't need to worry about that.
This fight will not make it that far. Somebody will end up on
the canvas."
Contact
Patrick Freitas, Director of Promotions, at 808 375-1645 or superbrawl21@yahoo.com
to confirm attendance.
Source:
Super Brawl
|
Tyson
is back and Ali takes on Toughhill &
BJ vs. Renzo
He's back, folks. Former undisputed World Heavyweight Champion
and unquestioned box office king Mike Tyson is back once again.
Tomorrow night, Tyson will face unheralded Irishman Kevin McBride
on Showtime PPV ($44.95 9pm ET/6pm PT). As is customary for a
heavyweight bout, the fighters weighed-in yesterday with Tyson
looking fit at 233 pounds and his opponent weighing a career
high 271 pounds.
On
the undercard, Laila "She Be Stingin'" Ali faces MMA
and boxing veteran Erin Toughill. MMA fans should be particularly
interested in this one as Erin is a regular on the UG. Can Toughill
shock the world?
InsideFighting
will have live blow-by-blow coverage of both Tyson-McBride and
Ali-Toughill. If you can't order the PPV, stop by and catch all
the exciting action at InsideFighting.com.
Meanwhile,
on HBO, Miguel Cotto seeks revenge against Olympic conqueror
Mohamad Abdulaev and Joel Casamayor faces hot prospect Kid Diamond.
In
breaking news, late yesterday, the WBC ordered an immediate rematch
between Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales. In MMA news, BJ Penn signed to fight Renzo
Gracie at the July 30th K-1/ROTR event in Hawaii. The fight will be held in a ring
presumably under MMA rules.
Source:
Insidefighting
|
Terrell
vs. Prangley
It's official, David Terrell has signed to fight Trevor Prangley
at UFC 54 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prangley is known as a well rounded
fighter with good standup and grappling skills. Terrell is coming
off of a loss to Evan Tanner and is eager to get back on track
for the UFC's light-heavyweight title. This fight is a great
addition to one of the most stacked cards in recent memory and
should be a good one.
Source:
Gracie Fighter
|
Column:
"Ultimate Fight Night" provides UFC with an "Ultimate
Opportunity"
by Chris Marshall
Two
weeks prior to UFC 54, "Ultimate Fight Night" will
air on Spike TV on August 6. Apart from showcasing some very
interesting fights, it will provide UFC with a unique opportunity
to do something they have been unable to do at any time in their
history: Hype their PPV through a free TV show.
Attaining
a free TV show has been the biggest goal for UFC since Zuffa
bought the company in 2001. Free TV is the advertising medium
that UFC needs to get their product out there to a mainstream
audience. After witnessing what "The Ultimate Fighter"
reality show did for the buyrate of UFC 52, one can only hope
that UFC takes full advantage of their "Ultimate Fight Night"
program to properly hype and promote UFC 54 which takes place
two weeks later.
In
order for UFC to properly take advantage of this unique opportunity,
there are certain things they need to do. 1) Create some high
quality pre-taped video packages on Chuck Liddell, and more importantly
Jeremy Horn to familiarize new fans with the guys who are headlining
the upcoming PPV. 2) Do a promo with Liddell and Horn, and allow
them to talk about what the fight means to them, and why the
viewing audience should pay to see it. This should happen face-to-face
in the octagon. 3) Feature some of the fighters from the Ultimate
Fighter show. Because of the exposure that they've already received,
they have the potential to be PPV draws for the company, and
that potential needs to be realized for the long-term health
of UFC. UFC 53 was a tremendous start. It featured strong performances
by both Forrest Griffin and Nate Quarry, and as most noticed,
Quarry and Griffin were more over than any other fighters on
the show. It's equally important for Chris Leben, Josh Koscheck,
and Stephan Bonnar to have strong performances as well, and continue
to get over with the new fans that are tuning in.
The
fourth thing UFC needs to do, and this goes above and beyond
the TV show on August 6th, is start working with their fighters
on developing good mic skills, so that after they have a strong
performance, or even after a weaker performance, they're able
to either stay over with the fans, or transition to their next
opponent. Some of the promos that the fighters cut after UFC
53 were good examples of what they shouldn't say. Instead of
making the polite and courteous statement that they'll fight
whoever UFC puts in front of them, they should be talking about
who their next opponent should be, and why. Often, fighters spend
valuable air time thanking sponsors, when they should be talking
about future fights. Sponsors can be thanked in a graphic window
underneath; it's a quicker and easier way to plug them, especially
when a fighter is winded after a long fight. Joe Silva and UFC's
matchmaking team need to give the fighters some choices on who
they're going to call out after their fight, and they need to
book longer-term so the promos actually lead somewhere and they
can actually promote them on their free TV shows in advance.
Fighters shouldn't be calling out fighters from other organizations,
they should be calling out fighters from UFC because those would
be match-ups that UFC could actually put together and deliver
to the fans. As opposed to a match with Wanderlei Silva, that
will never happen in a UFC octagon. It's important to give the
fans something to look forward to on the next PPV, or a PPV in
the future because UFC doesn't book fighters on two consecutive
shows very often.
UFC
needs to book for purpose, and that purpose is to generate fan
interest to spend money on the product. Free TV is really just
a sexy infomercial that's used to get people to buy your PPVs.
I heard a rumour earlier (that's since been dispelled) that Frank
Trigg was going to face George St. Pierre on the "Ultimate
Fight Night" on August 6th. While Trigg vs. St. Pierre isn't
a quality headline match, its still a PPV quality match that
shouldn't be given away on free TV, and UFC is making the right
choice in not putting it on free TV. Giving away PPV fights on
free TV is very slippery slope to tread down. You don't want
to tell your fans that the free TV show is more important than
the PPV, because then they'll watch the free TV instead of buying
the PPV. Ideally, you want them doing both.
Free
TV could also help other revenue streams as well. Buying or using
some commercial time to promote their DVDs and merchandise could
also benefit them. Maybe encourage fighters to wear combinations
of there own merchandise, as well as their sponsors merchandise.
That way, you not only help out "Rockstar" energy drink,
but you also help sell your "Cat Smasher" Chris Leben
t-shirts. The UFC reality show was able to bring in some very
highbrow mainstream sponsors that help lend credibility to the
UFC product. Free TV can also help in that regard to. It will
give sponsors more opportunity for product placement, and hopefully
attract new sponsors who can provide beautiful prizes like Toyota
Scions and Suzuki Motorcycles to the winners of the reality shows.
The bottom line is that free TV exposes fans to fighters and
it sells product (PPVs, merchandise, DVDs, etc.).
Editorial
by Chris Marshall for mmafighting.com.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Notes
from Bushido 7 Press Conference
By Jeremy Wall
Pridefc.com has posted a brief transcript of the post-fight press
conference with Nobuyuki Sakakibara and Joachim Hansen. Hansen,
from Finland, was announced as having signed a deal with Pride
to fight in Bushido. His highest profile win would be a decision
victory over Bushido star Takanori Gomi for the SHOOTO World
Championship a couple of years ago.
Sakakibara
spoke extensively on the upcoming Bushido Grand Prix, with the
idea being that there will be two Grand Prix tournaments in Bushido
later this year, at 73kg (161 pounds) and 83kg (183 pounds),
essentially welterweight and middleweight Grand Prix tournaments
based on the U.S. weight divisions. "[W]e are planning to
hold a BUSHIDO Grand Prix at the end of September," Sakakibara
said at the press conference. We are thinking of having a –73kg
and –83kg Grand Prix at the same time. "The rules and
the number of participants (8 or 16) will be decided from here
on." Sakakibara also implied that the tournaments will take
place over September and November, with the finals possibly taking
place on this year's New Year's Eve show.
Sakakibara
also said the next Bushido card will be taking place on July
17th at Nagoya Rainbow Hall. Pride has already announced a list
of possible fighters to be on the card: Takanori Gomi, Ikuhisa
Minowa, Ryo Chonan, Jutaro Nakao, Hayato Sakurai, Tatsuya Kawajiri,
Kazuo Misaki, Masakazu Imanari, Naoyuki Kotani, Marcus Aurelio,
Luiz Buscape, and Hansen.
Hansen,
10-2-1 in MMA, also spoke at the press conference, talking about
signing with Pride and the idea of a rematch with Gomi. "Gomi
says all kinds of things before the fight," said Hansen.
"I know that Gomi wants to fight me. I’ll fight Gomi
anytime."
Source:
Maxfighting
|
The
Brazilian Bob Sapp at Jungle
Photo by Marcelo Alonso
Huge
!!!!! That's what most people said after seeing Jungle Fight
promoter, Wallid Ismail being presented to a big guy seated right
in front of the ring. He is son of the legendary Zulu, considered
by Rickson Gracie as his strongest opponent. Weighing 155kg and
2 meters high (342lbs & 6' 7"), The 26 years old Zuluzinho
is following the steps of his dad in the Northeast and North
region of Brazil . "I'm looking for someone to beat me in
Brazil but it's pretty hard to find it. I have 34 fights and
34 wins by knock out', guaranteed the non humble giant. Wallid
liked the size and also the appeal of Zulu' son and invited him
for next edition of Jungle Fight in Manaus. 'Get ready for the
next edition after Las Vegas', said Ismail, very impressed with
the size of Brazilian Bob Sapp.
After
congratulating the promoter for the excellent show, Zuluzinho
told us that unlike his father his is concerning to improve his
technique. "I'm training a lot of Boxing with Brazilian
national boxing team and I'm also a Jiu-Jitsu purple belt from
Cássio Façanha. Unlike my father I want to be a
technical fighter", said the Giant from Maranhão
state, promising that after get fame He wants to avenge his dad:
'I'm ready to fight anyone from Gracie family. I'll avenge my
father'.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Some men see things as they are and say, Why?
I Dream things that never were, and say, Why not?"
George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950, Irish-born British Dramatist
|
Renzo
Gracie vs. BJ Penn
This fight has been in negotiations for some time and our sources
tell us that it is has been signed. At one point it did look
like it might fall through, leaving the promotion with the secondary
option of BJ Penn fighting Ken Shamrock. The fight will be taking
place in Hawaii on July 30th and is being put together by a coalition
of the K-1 organization and the ROTR. Unlike other ROTR shows
the fights will be held in a ring and not a cage and will therefore
most likely be a K-1 event. Japanese fan favorite, Akebono, is
also slated for the card. Bob Sapp is the first choice to face
Akebono, however it is unclear if Sapp will take the fight.
Source: Gracie Fighter
|
BJ
PENN VS RENZO GRACIE JULY 29th
In another MMAWeekly exclusive, MMAWeekly.com has learned that
BJ Penn has signed to fight Renzo Gracie in a K-1 Superfight
in July.
Penn
will fight Gracie at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii in front of a possible
crowd of 20,000 people which would make it the biggest crowd
in MMA North American history.
On
that card, K-1 will also feature an 8 man Heavyweight Grand Prix
World Tournament; in which, the winner of the tournament punches
their ticket to the World GP Final in Tokyo this November.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fernando
“Margarita” Pontes Seminar
Saturday,
June 11, 2005
Hawaii
Martial Arts Center (HMC)
King's Gate Plaza
555 North King Street
(808) 841-5144
Time: 4:00PM-7:00PM
Cost: $50
|
Cro
Cop added to Critical Countdown
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Ibragim Magomedov and Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Makloto
Takimoto have been added to the PRIDE Critical Countdown.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Frank
Shamrock Speaks on Cesar Gracie Fight
By Jeremy Wall
JW: The
idea of a fight with Cesar Gracie has been in the air for awhile
now. What were the details of the fight actually getting signed?
FS:
Well let's see... it sorta came about because he was doing all
the challenging and stuff. I started with trying to make it happen.
I tried with WEC. They weren't able to finance it or get it together.
I tried with Rumble on the Rock. They weren't able to finance
it or get it together. I went with the HP Pavilion locally in
San Jose. And they were able to get it all together.
JW:
So it's the HP Pavilion that's promoting it?
FS:
Yeah. The arena here is the actual promoter for the event.
JW:
What will the event be called? Does it have a name?
FS:
I think it will be called "Shamrock-Gracie". Strikeforce
is the local promoter. But I think it's gonna be called "Shamrock
vs. Gracie".
JW:
How are you going to approach the fight with Cesar?
FS:
Well, I'm going to get my lazy butt in shape. I'm going to beat
the crap out of him. His strategy is fairly obvious. Take me
to the ground, tie me up, all that crap. I'm gonna clobber him
on the stand-up. And beat on him.
JW:
When will you begin training for the fight?
FS:
Oh I've already started.
JW:
How's it going so far?
FS:
It's going real well. Just doing basic conditioning. And working
on my core structure and my base, which is my legs and hips.
So this is just the beginning stages. So I'm just going to approach
it like any fight. Four months is actually the longest I'll have
to train for any fight. So I figure by the end of it I should
be in pretty damn good shape.
JW:
So with the extra time is there anything different you're going
to do to prepare for the match?
FS:
The only thing I'm going to do different will be sorta like I
trained for Tito, which was actually by mistake. I'm actually
going to train for two fights. I'm going to peak out in the middle
of August, and then I'm actually going to take two weeks off
and do absolutely nothing, and then I'm going to train for five
or six weeks again. I got really good results out of that for
the fight last time.
JW:
Why do you think that is?
FS:
I think I obsess. I turned my brain to it one-hundred percent.
I never rest. I think a lot of it mental fatigue. I get bored.
And when I got bored I get slow and I get dull, and I'm not as
competitive and as fiery as I'll normally be because I love to
win. What I've found is if I take a mental break and a physical
break, then when I come back I'm already at a incredibly high
laser focused level physically and mentally and it's easy for
me to slip back in. I did it by mistake last time, but I've been
experimenting with it. I think it's something I'm going to implement
and do this.
JW:
How do you think ring rust will factor into the fight?
FS:
I don't know. I have never felt rusty, in all honesty. I train
every single day. I just prepared Brian Ebersole to fight Cung
Le for San Shou, so I just spent the last five weeks training
in kickboxing with throws. I never stop training. I never stop
sparring. I never stop beating up my friends. I don't think it
will be that big of an issue for me.
JW:
Now, California hasn't officially been regulated MMA yet, but
it's kinda on the last...
FS:
It's on the last leg. Basically all this is just pending commission
approval.
JW:
Ok, if there is a delay in California regulating the sport, is
there another date or location where you will do the fight?
FS:
I think our focus is here. Our target is here in San Jose.
JW:
Yeah, I guess since the venue is the promoter.
FS:
Yeah, everything works here. Plus, he's right up the street,
and I'm right here. I just opened a new center. So there's a
lot of media, there's a lot of local attention on the sport and
also on the training center. But if we can't do it October 1st
then we'll wait a month and do it again.
JW:
So you're not with American Kickboxing Academy?
FS:
Correct.
JW:
How is the training center going so far then?
FS:
Oh, man, it is absolutely fantastic. When we came here and saw
the place, I knew it was what we wanted and I knew we could make
the place that I always wanted to make. And that was a place
where you could go and do anything training. You know, lift weights,
do cardio, kickboxing, swordfighting, stickfighting, chiropractic,
ART, personal training, private training, whatever you want.
I had that service oriented martial arts and fitness idea and
mind when we came in here.
JW:
Maybe you could combine two of those things, like having chiropractic
stickfighting.
FS:
But the thing is, everything is fitness, wellness and martial
arts. All martial arts is the application of what we do. But
fitness and wellness, that encompasses massage, visualization,
meditation, all that stuff. You need the three elements of mind,
body and spirit to accomplish really anything. When we were making
the center, we always stuck to the three elements, the three
things necesarry to make you strong, healthy, happy and competitive.
We're like a doctor's office/martial arts funhouse [laughs].
It's very interesting.
JW:
So the fact that this was something you always wanted to do was
the reason for leaving American Kickboxing Academy?
FS:
It was just time. It's been almost eleven years since I've been
doing this. I've been travelling to schools, and teaching and
appearing and training, and I've always been like if this place
only had cardio machines, or if all they needed was a lounge
and some big screens. Everyplace I went I was like, ahh, if they
only had this I'd want to stay here so much longer. So we've
got all of this in here.
JW:
So you've got the big screen?
FS:
We've got a thirty foot screen with surround system for all of
our events. We've got a two story gym, with the top story open
so we can look out over the ring. We've got an MMA cage, a boxing
ring, a bag area, a weight room, a cardio room, a lounge, chiropractic/massage/ART/acupressure,
bathrooms and a pro shop. So we're pretty stacked.
JW:
Have you given any consideration to fighting again after Cesar
Gracie or are you just taking it one fight at a time?
FS:
It's just one match at a time for me. Honestly my days of fighting
are pretty much something I quit caring about. My studies and
my life have taken me elsewhere. If you come out and challenge
me and you're a real guy with a real name and you think you can
fight. I'm up for any challenge, especially if there is money
involved and especially if there is fighting involved. I welcome
it.
JW:
So we're not going to see regular fights?
FS:
Not that I have planned. I want to have babies and go on to the
next stage of my life. It's just not what it used to be for me.
JW:
So this fight with Cesar Gracie could be your last for awhile?
FS:
Could be. Could not be. There used to be a time in my life when
fighting consumed every conscious thought I had. It just doesn't
happen anymore. I've got so much stuff going on to draw my interest
and intrigue. I started fighting because I truly wanted to be
the best fighter in the world. I had to be the greatest at something,
and when I achieved that I did the next thing.
JW:
Is there anything you want to add about the Cesar Gracie fight?
FS:
I don't think so. I'm just looking forward to the fight, looking
forward to the sport growing, and hopefully we grow in a good
way with positive role models and positive direction for our
sport.
JW:
What do you think of the burst of popularity given to the UFC
from the Ultimate Fighter? Do you think this is a short-term
fad thing or a long-term gain?
FS:
I think it's the beginning of a long relationship with the public.
I think the public wants this stuff. They come in here all the
time. The public wants it, they want reality and they want martial
arts. They want to see something good and positive. The Ultimate
Fighter is some of that, and it represents some pretty good stories
and some other fun at the same time. The sport has always been
one of those sports you love to hate or you just love it to death.
It's got that raw energy. I think this is the beginning of growth.
I've always said once we get on real TV and we show who these
people really are, then it's going to be the biggest sport in
the world.
JW:
How do you think the Chuck Liddell-Jeremy Horn fight will go?
FS:
That's a tough one. I'm one of those guys that never took [Horn]
seriously, until I fought him. He's tough, he doesn't look it.
He's technicaly strong and he doesn't look it. He's one of the
unknowns. He has the chance to make Chuck look bad, which is
not the best thing. If I were to go numbers, I would still have
to say Chuck will beat him. Just by his experience and his presence
right now. I think all of this stuff is clicking. I think Jeremy
is a long time in the game, and I don't think he is as fresh
and as sharp as he used to be. Like most of us [laughs]. Most
of us old guys.
JW:
He's around thirty and he's had like a hundred fights or something...
FS:
Yeah he's had like a hundred and thirty fights.
JW:
Yeah, so he's gotta be at least somewhat broken down from taking
that many fights.
FS:
Even psychologically. If you're not used to preparing one-hundred
percent all the time, then you're not going to present yourself
in that manner. And when you meet someone else who is, there
is going to be a discrepancy. And I think that's what you're
going to see. A working man, battered warrior against a superfast,
superstrong top of the world kinda guy. The opposite could happen.
Horn could very much embarass Chuck Liddell. Last time he side
choked him, put him right out.
JW:
I dunno if I would've booked that fight right out of the gate
like that.
FS:
Yeah, that's [laughs]...
JW:
I believe the reason they booked this as Horn's first fight back
is that you're never sure what you're going to get with Horn
when he fights.
FS:
Well that's true.
JW:
Although the reverse of that is if Horn does well and beats Liddell,
then has a bad fight and loses the title, you've damaged Liddell
plus had all of these title changes in recent months at that
weight.
FS:
They always could have saved that one, you know what I mean.
They could have saved that one. They could just give him knuckleheads
right now and he could be knocking them out for entertainment.
JW:
Yeah, and that's the thing is that UFC won't often book tomato
cans to build a guy up the way Pride does.
FS:
Think of it as work. The more days you go to work, the more people
know who you are and know what's going on. If they just let him
work and get out there and do his thing, he doesn't have to fight
Randy Couture everytime. He could fight people with names, people
with interests, people with stories. Then they could keep the
"Super Chuck" thing going. And that's what they need.
Stars are built and stars are born. And when you put the two
together you get a real star. It's the combination of both, and
it's not one or the other. What if Jeremy Horn completely embarasses
Chuck Liddell? And it's a boring, slow, ugly, gruelling fight.
The risk there doesn't seem like it should be worth the gain.
But I see their attempt at loyalty to the purity of fighting
in the sport, and I appreciate that. They are true fans, which
is cool. But it's always give and take.
JW:
Ok, that's it, I totally appreciate your time Frank.
FS:
No worries.
Source: Maxfighting
|
RIGGS
LOOKS FORWARD TO FIGHT WITH LINDLAND
Joe "Diesel" Riggs came into his UFC 52 bout with Ivan
Salaverry on an eight fight win streak of dominating performances.
He was quickly becoming a contender in the UFC's middleweight
division. His rise to the top received a set back when he fell
victim to Ivan Salaverry's submission skill, tapping out to a
triangle choke. With an impressive win over Rob Gimmons at WEC
15, Joe Riggs is ready to get back in the mix of 185 pound contenders.
Riggs spoke with MMAWeekly about his loss to Salaverry and his
probable next opponent, Matt "The Law" Lindland.
It's
been a couple of months since his loss to Ivan Salaverry. Reflecting
back on the fight, Riggs said, "To be honest with you, leading
up to the fight I started to get more and more confident. I was
starting to think that I was going to finish him in the first
round. I went in there, and I thought it was going to be a stand
up fight and just got over confident...He shot and ended up getting
caught. I mean he had me on the ground. The thing that I need
to take out of my is falling in with punches. That's got to go
because Doerksen almost caught me with that...I just get too
wound up. I like to bang too much, and get caught in stupid things,
but when I got kicked in the face that didn't hurt at all. It
didn't wobble me or anything like people think. It's just that
I fell right into the triangle. You know? It didn't hurt. I can't
be hurt like that, but I get caught in triangles...I'll come
back from that. I'm fighting in August again in the show, so
I just got to come back from that. I've got to make a few wrongs
right again."
There's
no love loss between Joe Riggs and Matt Lindland. The two look
to be fighting at UFC 54 on August 20th in a grudge match of
sorts. Riggs explained to MMAWeekly his feelings toward Lindland
and where they stem from. He stated, "I was supposed to
fight in the IFC a while back, the week after the UFC [52]. I
got hurt, and I was supposed to fight a guy by the name of Ed
Herman. Don't know anything about him. Anyways, I got hurt and
couldn't fight. This turkey calls me in the middle of the night
talking shit...Just talking mad crap to me. I was like whoa,
blown away. I wake up in the morning and listen to my answering
machine. Somebody gave him my number. I call and flip out on
him. Then Matt Lindland calls me. That Chris Elliot looking bastard.
So he calls me...He's woogie. So anyways, he calls me and he's
trying to get me to fight this guy. I was like what's that going
to do for me?"
Riggs
continued, "So I'm trying to call Matt Lindland out, throwing
little pokes at him. We were going back and forth, just chatter,
but you know what? That Matt Lindland guy really chaps my balls
that guy. I don't like that guy, man...I'd love to fight Matt.
That's what I was saying. I was like 'hey you don't have an opponent
in the August show, maybe me and you.'" He added, "Something
about balding old men that doesn't scare me."
Further
commenting on a fight with Lindland, Joe said, "He's a tough
guy, but like I said, at worst I get taken down. Oh God don't
do that. I mean he's going to have to come through the hands
to get to that, but yeah. That's a fight where I need to establish
myself as one of the top middleweights in the world again. I'm
always looking for fights like that." "Matt's the fight
I want."
The
UFC 54 card is shaping up to be one of the most stacked cards
in UFC history. With Liddell defending his title for the first
time, Randy Couture's comeback, Jeremy Horn's return, and it
looks like Joe "Diesel" Riggs and Matt "The Law"
Lindland will settle their differences one way or another.
Source: MMA Weekly |
The
Brazilian Notebook: “Shogun” vs. “Minotouro”
by Portal do Vale Tudo
The
Brazilian Notebook: “Shogun” vs. “Minotouro”
By Portal do Vale Tudo In Brazil, the anxiety for the second
round of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix grows every minute.
The organizers didn’t temper efforts to make a sensational
card again, putting fire in the rivalry between Chute Boxe and
Brazilian Top Team with the fight between Maurício “Shogun”
and Rogério “Minotouro.”
Outside
of the event, but always with a sharpened tongue, José
“Pelé” provokes his Americans opponents and
anxiously expects to give Matt Hughes a rematch.
“Shogun”
vs. “Minotouro” — most anticipated match in PRIDE
GP
The
fight that really puts into motion the discussion forums, at
least in Brazil, is the one between Maurício ‘Shogun”
Rua and Rogério “Minotouro” Nogueira. The bets
are tight and none of the fighters’ fans are sure in their
predictions.
Wanderlei
Silva, Rua’s teammate in Chute Boxe, talked about the bout.
“I
think this fight was a good choice,” said Wanderlei. “Both
have the same height, they are big guys. I think it has everything
to become the most anticipated fight of the event. Minotouro
is in a very good phase, is fighting really well, but Shogun
is excessively good — the guy is almost ‘flying’
and if he keeps with the seriousness that he had in his preparation
for the Jackson fight, I think he is going to win.”
“I’m
betting all my fishes on him,” the PRIDE middleweight champion
continued. “He is in a very good phase, training hard standing,
is really good on the ground; it will be very difficult to catch
him on the ground and standing, his technique is really strong.
We believe in the victory, but the opponent will be really tough.”
On
the other side, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira bets his
brother will be winner of the PRIDE GP.
“Rogério
is, without a doubt, the most complete fighter in the tourney,”
said Rodrigo. “He trades well standing, is good in putting
his opponents down and has a great ground technique. He is ready
to show this in the ring and become the PRIDE GP champion.”
“Minotouro”
talks about “Shogun”
Already
preparing for the fight against “Shogun,” Nogueira
told us what he thinks about his opponent: “He is really
tough and is very well prepared,” analyzed ‘Minotouro.’
“What
he did with Quinton Jackson was amazing and that gave him confidence
and raised his moral. The thing is that none of us can really
change a lot is our style because we already have a very solid
one, which can’t be changed in the last minute. Of course,
I will make some little adaptations until the fight. He is a
fighter that trades really well, and my goal will be to make
a similar preparation as the one I did for the fight against
Alistair Overeem, because they have similar styles — they
fight Muay Thai and like to trade standing with kicks and knees.”
José
“Pelé” provokes Americans One of the only fighters
in the world to have defeated UFC welterweight champion Matt
Hughes, José “Pelé” Landy laments the
fact that UFC never called him to fight.
“They
never called me to fight there,” he said. “It would
be a dream for me to let go my elbows. When I see the Ultimate
circuit, I see a bunch of friends hindering my entrance to revolutionize
MMA in the U.S. I have already won against Matt Hughes, was clearly
robbed against Dave Menne and gave a punishment to Pat Miletich,
the American’s trainer. It’s good to emphasize that
I knocked Matt Hughes out.”
About
the fight with Hughes in the Warriors War event, “Pelé”
says of his effort in the fight: “I did everything that
nobody did to [Hughes]. Put him down, but he fell on top position,
left out of his ground-and-pound and knocked him out.” After
beating Fabrício Monteiro in Jungle Fight 4, José
“Pelé” expects to fight in the August edition
of Gladiator FC, in Japan. Marco Ruas in Brazil, bets on Wanderlei
Silva for the PRIDE GP
Marco
Ruas came to Brazil to strengthen Pedro Rizzo’s training
for PRIDE. The UFC 7 champion also guarantees that he will return
to the ring this year. “I’m waiting an offer,”
said Ruas, “but I don’t want to fight just for money.
I want to fight for the victory because for me my name is more
important. They already called me for a fight, but I have to
be prepared to fight.
Because
I have to remake my schedules, I have to stop my classes. I pay
my bills with the classes that I taught in the academy. Nowadays
the business is more professional, everybody is training and
the people that take it seriously don’t have another job.
So it has to be this way and take it seriously, to achieve a
good result.”
With
his eyes towards the PRIDE GP, the Brazilian already made his
bet: “I’m still betting in Wanderlei,” Ruas affirmed.
“He is the favorite. He proved to me that he is the kind
of guy who believes a lot in himself. I take off my hat for him.
I don’t have anything more to say. There are other great
fighters in this tourney, but I believe in Wanderlei.”
Crosley
Gracie talks about his first loss in PRIDE
After
good participations in previous editions of PRIDE, Crosley Gracie
suffered his first loss in the Japanese event. The Gracie was
defeated by Akihiro Gono in May’s Bushido 7, and told us
about the match.
“Even
with the fact that I have broken my hand at the beginning of
the fight, I think I dominated the first round and half of the
second when I lost the mount and felt underneath him,” Gracie
explained. “He had two good moments in the fight —
that was a punch that knocked me down and a foot stomp in my
face in the end of the last round that made my nose bleed.
“The
punch which knocked me down didn’t cause any real damage,
because I felt aware, pulling guard and getting back on my feet
right away. I think I fought well considering the circumstances.”
Early
in the fight Crosley injured his hand and that, he said, changed
his fight game during the remaining portion of the bout. “At
the beginning I thought the pain was going to stop,” he
said. “I didn’t know it was broken. But during the
fight I realized that my hand couldn’t close because of
the swelling. … Because I couldn’t trade with both
hands effectively, I took the fight to the ground, but even there
I had difficulties to achieve a good grip to go for a submission.
In other words my fight game on the ground was only based in
movements, but I tried to hit him the way I could.”
After
having surgery on his hand, the Brazilian will stay out of training
for six to eight weeks.
MECA
is back
The
most traditional Brazilian mixed martial arts event, the MECA
FC, had gone one year without realizing a show. But now the organizers
confirmed the next edition of the event will take place July
9, and has already some fights confirmed.
Fabricio
Morango (Gracie Humaitá) vs. Gleidson Tibau (Kimura)
Gabriel Gladiador (Fighteam) vs. Jair Sorriso (Gracie Pitbull)
Delson Pe-de-Chumbo (Gracie Pitbull) vs. Claudinho de Angra
Fabrício Monteiro (Fabrício JJ) vs. Thales Leites
(Nova União)
Valdir Kabeca (Union RS) vs. Rafael Tatu (Gracie Pitbull)
Evangelista “Cyborg” (Chute Boxe) vs. TBA
Helio Dipp (Boxe Garra) vs. TBA
Rodrigo Riscado (Nova União – Campos) vs. TBA
Storm
Samurai will happen this Saturday
According
to organizers Rudimar Fedrigo and Rafael Cordeiro, the forecast
for Storm Samurai FC, which will happen this Saturday in Curitiba,
will have a live attendance of 10,000 people. For that, the organization
realized a card with great attractions:
MMA:
Marcelo Brito (Thai Boxe/Arena) vs. Gleidson Tibau (Kimura Nova
União-RN)
Joselino Índio (Equipe 1) vs. Jadson Costa (Chute Boxe)
Helio Dipp (Boxe Guarra) vs. Rodrigo Riscado (Nova União
- Campos)
Cláudio Matos Popeye (Chute Boxe) vs. Eduardo Pamplona
(Never Shake)
Felipe (Profight) vs. Vitor Viana (Never Shake)
Henrique Silveira BA (Chute Boxe) vs. Sebastian Lali (Equipe
1)
Vagner Gaveas (Noguchi) vs. Erilson Paraíba (Gracie Barra
- BH)
Ricardo Macula (Fight team) vs. Fernando Lageado (Chute Boxe)
Muay
Thai:
Luis Sorriso (Chute Boxe) vs. Marcão (Never Shake)
Lúcio Aurélio (BTT) vs. Nelson Jaca (Octagon Chute
Boxe)
Minotauro
Fight 1 pleased Nogueira Brothers
Minotauro
Fight 1, organized by Rodrigo “Minotauro” and Rogério
“Minotouro” Nogueira along with the boxing trainer
Luiz Dórea, was realized May 31 featured great fights,
with the stand out being the victory of Edson Drago against Bruno
Carvalho.
MMA:
Vanessa Santos (Cabula Fight) def. Camila Pitbull (Taurus Combat)
KO R3
Will Ribeiro (Boxe Thai) def. Rogério dos Santos (Rio
Grande do Sul) TKO R2
Márcio Bittencourt (Fight Club/Thai Combate) Drew Estevão
Bolívia (Taurus Combat)
Genilton Van Dame (Taurus Combat) def. Cleiton Souza (Fight Club/Thai
Combat)
Enock Neto (Taurus Combat) def. Heitor Moura (Fight Club/Thai
Combat)
Yuri Fernandes (Taurus Combat) def. Wanderson Vandinho (Senhor
do Bonfim) side choke R2
Bryan Rafiq (França) def. Averaldo Ferreira (Jacaré
Team/Thai Combat) rear-naked choke R1
Cezar Profeta (Bushida) def. Luis Buda (Fight Club/Thai Combat)
kimura R1
Edilberto Crocotá (Campo Formoso) def. Leônidas
Godim (Taurus Combat) guillotine R1
Danilo Índio (BTT - Brasilia) def. Alexandre Lima (Edson
Carvalho) decision
Edson Drago (Rio Grande do Sul) def. Bruno Carvalho (Edson Carvalho)
TKO R1
Boxing:
Kelson Pinto (Bahia) def João Pereira (São Paulo)
KO
News
and notes
Royce
Gracie doesn’t stop. The idol is still traveling offering
seminars and spreading out jiu-jitsu to the planet. “I’m
still traveling a lot,” he said. “Last month I went
to Hawaii, Canada, England, Las Vegas and I’ve just returned
from Mexico. I was there teaching the “Federales.”
To put an end with the rumors that he would fight in the next
months, Royce said, “Fight for me only in the end of the
year, but I still don’t know against whom.”
Not
fighting on Bushido 7 because of pneumonia, Luiz “Buscapé”
has already set a date to return to the event, July 17, in Bushido
8. Besides him, Marcus Aurélio is another Brazilian confirmed
to fight. The rumor that surfaced in Brazil is that Jean Silva
will be the next opponent of Takanori Gomi.
Source:
Sherdog
|
|