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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2009
1/31/09
UFC 93 BJ vs GSP
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
1/30/09
MMA Event
(MMA)
(Schofield Barracks)
1/24/09
Eddie Bravo Seminar
(BJJ)
1/10/09
Jiu-Jitsu
Tournament
(Gi & No Gi)
(Binhi At Ani Maui Filipino Community Center)
1/3/08
Uprising - Maui
(MMA)
(Binhi
At Ani Maui Filipino Community Center)
Hazardous Warfare - Maui
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center)
2008
12/27/08
UFC 92
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
12/20/08
4th Annual Clint Shelton Memorial
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
12/14/08
Submission Wrestling Tournament
(Sub Wrestling)
(IWFF School, Maui)
12/13/08
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Final
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
12/10/08
UFC Fight
For The Troops
(Spike TV)
Got Skillz Fighter
(Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom)
11/25/08
X-1 at Cirque Hawaii
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Cirque Hawaii, Waikiki)
11/22/08
Longman Jiu-Jitsu Open
(BJJ)
(Kauai Veterans Center,
Lihue, Kauai)
Hawaiian
Classic Kickboxing
(Kickboxing)
(Kalaheo H.S. Gym)
11/21/08
UFC: Penn-GSP Press Conference
(Blaisdell Concert Hall)
X1 World
Events
(Boxing & MMA)
(O'Lounge Night Club)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
11/15/08
Detiny
(MMA)
(Aloha Tower Pier)
Aloha State Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
UFC 91
(PPV, Portland, OR)
11/7/08
HFC Stand Your Ground IX
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
10/25/08
X-1
(MMA & Boxing)
(Palolo Hongwangji Hall)
UFC 90
(PPV, Chicago, IL)
10/19/08
Clay Guida Seminar
(Icon Fitness & MMA Gym)
10/18/08
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
UFC 89
(PPV, Birmingham, England)
10/17/08
Hawaiian Amateur Pankration Association
Presents
Friday Night Fights At Pipeline Café
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe, Honolulu)
10/12/08
HFL Championships
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
10/11/08
NAGA
(BJJ & Sub Wrestling)
(Blaisdell)
10/10/08
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
10/4/08
The Quest
for Champions Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling and Continuous Sparring)
(Kalani High School Gym)
EliteXC on CBS
(TV)
808MMA
(TV)
9/27/08
X-1 Presents Temple of Boom
(Palolo Hongwanji, Honolulu)
(MMA & Boxing)
9/20/08
Boxing
(Palolo District Park)
(Boxing)
9/17/08
UFC Fight Night 15
(PPV, Omaha, NE)
9/7/08
2008 Samahan Filipino
Martial Arts Tournament
(Forms, Fighting, Masters Demonstrations)
(Pearl City High School Gym)
9/6/08
UFC 88:
Break Through
(MMA)
(PPV)
9/5/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
8/23/08 & 8/24/08
Hawaii Training Ctr Boxing
(Boxing)
(Waipio
Industrial Court)
8/15/08
MMA At The O
(MMA)
(O Lounge Night Club)
8/14/08
Paragon Fighter
(Kickboxing)
(O Lounge)
8/9/08
K-1 Hawaii Grand Prix
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Stan Sheriff Center, UH at Manoa)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Kalaheo High School)
UFC 87
(MMA)
(PPV)
7/26/08
Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
7/19/08
Kawano B.C., Palolo B.C., & USA-Boxing Hawai Amateur Boxing
Show
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
Affliction - Fedor vs. Sylvia
(PPV)
7/12/08
Aloha State
Mixed Martial Arts Competition
10AM - 7PM
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
7/11/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 10
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
7/5/08
UFC 86 - Jackson vs. Griffin
(PPV)
6/27-29/08
OTM Pacific Submission
Grappling Tournament
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
MMA Expo
(Blaisdell Convention Center)
6/21/08
Hawaii
Xtreme Combat
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui)
Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale
6/20/08
Paragon
(MMA Hybred)
(O Lounge)
6/15/08
Grapplefest
(Submission Grappling)
Anderson Silva Seminar
Studio 4, UH at Manoa
1-4PM
$100
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Seminar
Tropic Lightning TKD
Waipahu
5-7PM
$60
6/14/08
EliteXC
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
6/7/08
UFC 85 - Bedlam
(PPV)
6/6/08
Punishment in Paradise
Pound 4 Pound
(Kickboxing)
(Ahuna Ranch, Maili)
6/5-8/08
World Jiu-Jitsu Championsihps
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California)
6/1/08
Hawaiian
Open of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
WEC 33
(Faber vs. Pulver)
(PPV)
5/31/08
CBS EliteXC
Saturday Night Fights
(9-11 p.m. ET/PT)
(CBS)
5/25/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/24/08
UFC 84 - Ill Will
BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
(PPV)
5/16/08
X-1: Legends
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
5/9/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 9
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
5/3/08
Hawaii
Fight League
Season 1, Event 3
(MMA)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Full Force 4
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
Heart-of-a-Cage-Fighter
(Kauai
Veterans Center, Lihue, Kauai)
4/25/08
Punishment
in Paradise
(Kickboxing)
(Farrington High School)
4/18/08
Local Pride
Friday, April 18, 2008
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
4/12/08
Man Up &Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
4/6/08
GrappleFest: Submission
Sundays
(Submission Grappling)
(Hawaii Room, Neal Blaisdell Center)
3/29/08
Garden Island Cage Match 7
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 8
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial)
3/28-30/08
Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Californina State University, Dominguez Hills, CA)
Registration ends 3/22/08
3/16/08
Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
(Continuous
Sparring, MMA, Submission Grappling)
(Maui High School Gym, Kahului, Maui)
Icon Fitness Gym Tournament
(Submission Wrestling)
(Icon Fitness Gym)
3/15/08
Icon Sport
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/9/08
2008 Pacific Invitational BJJ Tournament
(BJJ )
(Hibiscus Room, Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu)
3/7/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing/MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
3/1/08
USA-Boxing
Hawaii, Palolo B.C. & Kawano B.C. Presents Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park)
2/29/08
X-1 at the O-Lounge
Fight Club Meets Nightclub 4
(MMA)
(O-Lounge, Honolulu)
2/24/08
Icon Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Icon Gym)
2/17/08
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
2/15/07
Midwest Invasion: Team Indiana vs. Team Hawaii
(MMA)
(Coyotes Night Club, 935 Dillingham Blvd, Kalihi)
2/8/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 7
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
2/2/08
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery
Ballroom)
1/26/08
X1 World
Events: Champions
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/20/08
Big
Island Open Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(Konawaena High School)
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(POSTPONED)
1/19/08
UFC 80: Rapid Fire
(BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson)
Newcastle, England
1/12/08
Hawaii Fight League
Season 1, Event 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
|
|
December 2008 News
Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 6 days a week training!
We are also offering Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday nights
with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday and Thursday with Kaleo
Kwan!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
In Memory of
Lars Chase
Rest in peace my brother
March 10, 1979 - April 2, 2008 |
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Onzuka.com
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O2 Martial Arts
Academy Day Classes Start May 2!
Women & Kids Kickboxing Class starts May 4!
Click here
for pricing and more information!
O2MAA Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Day Classes will be held on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be taught
by one of Relson Gracie's first black belts, Sam Mahi!
We will be starting a Womens and Kids kickboxing class on Sunday
afternoons from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The class will be taught
by none other than O2's Kaleo Kwan! It will be a non-competitive,
fun atmosphere and allow the ladies and kids to get in a quick
workout and learn some legitimate kickboxing technique before
the long work week starts.
New
O2MAA Kid's Jiu-Jitsu Class Starts Friday, December 5 from 5:30
to 6:30 PM!
Adult Wrestling Class Starts Starts Friday, December 5 from 8:30
to 9:30 PM!
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Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Quote
of the Day
“He
who would leap high must take a long run.”
Danish Proverb
|
Giant
steps
The life of Masahiko Kimura, before, during and after the classic
battle with Master Helio Gracie
The
different reports don’t fit together entirely. The differences
are in the details. Be that as it may, Helio Gracie’s version
comes 50 years after the fight, in 2001. As for the other, the
Japanese Masahiko Kimura wrote his book My Judo in which he tells
of the events from that night of October 23rd, 1951, in 1984,
33 years after the encounter. It was the first and only fight
between the two, who are considered, by many scholars, to be
the greatest of all times in their respective arts – Jiu-Jitsu
and judo.
In
an interview published in issue 50 of GRACIE Magazine, the Brazilian
grandmaster tells of how, shortly after putting the Japanese
Kato to sleep in the Maracanã stadium, Kimura invaded
the ring to challenge him. As recalled by the Japanese, the challenge
would be made by the Brazilian, days later, and was first made
to Yamaguchi, the third member of the delegation of judokas that
traveled the country. As Yamaguchi refused to fight under Jiu-Jitsu
rules, Kimura accepted the challenge.
“The
stadium was silent when the sound of the bone breaking echoed.
Even so, Helio Gracie did not give up”
Kimura
Thus,
before over 20 thousand people, the two stepped in the ring assembled
in the Maracanã stadium for the great fight. Kimura never
forgot the site of the coffin he says he saw in the fighting
area, even 30 years later. A coffin meant for him, according
to Helio’s fans, after the Brazilian black belt would put
him to sleep. Helio never mentioned a coffin. About the fight,
however, Master Helio and Kimura agreed on almost everything.
They remembered the fight lasted a little over ten minutes and
it ended with a now famous submission hold, the kimura –
or udegarami, to judokas. The version of the Japanese, who was
25 kilos heavier, is dramatic: “I applied the udegarami
and thought he would give up immediately, but he didn’t
tap. I had no choice but to twist the arm further.
The
stadium was silent when the sound of breaking bone echoed. Even
still, Helio did not give up and his corner was forced to throw
in the towel. I won by technical knockout,” recounts Kimura,
making a point of extolling the Jiu-Jitsu master’s bravery.
Besides being valiant, Helio went into the fight prepared for
the Japanese’s weapons, which surprised his adversary. “Kimura,
as the great sportsman he was, showed surprise at my having the
wherewithal to escape from the holds he set up. I fought to see
with what hold he would beat me, but I must admit I didn’t
expect him to persist so much in applying the same hold,”
says Helio about the repeated attempts at applying the armbar.
About his broken bone, Helio confirms that he did not tap: “Carlos
[Helio’s older brother] threw in the towel and the Japanese
let go of the hold. The referee wanted us to continue but I told
him the victory was Kimura’s. I was very tired,” confesses
the grandmaster, living today, at 94 years of age, in his ranch
in Itaipava.
Battle
of the brave: in 1951, Kimura dared to attack Helio Gracie in
the Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro.
The
fight with Helio Gracie was the high point in a story that began
almost 30 years earlier, while performing cleaning duties at
young Masahiko’s primary school, in the city of Kumamoto.
The students participated in the cleaning, and on one of these
occasions the sport entered Kimura’s life. The reason for
this was not the most noble: “I was in the fourth grade
and during cleaning time the teacher left. When I realized this
I jumped onto a table my colleagues were carrying and started
yelling ‘Banzai!’ That was when the teacher reappeared
and grabbed me by the hair. I took a beating,” he tells
in his book. The humiliation was too much for the naughty kid,
who swore he would have his revenge: “I discovered he was
a first dan black belt in judo and figured that if I were a second
dan I could beat him up. So I went to the Shodokan Dojo, which
was right next to my school,” he tells.
His
less-than-noble reason for going to the dojo for the first time
he quickly left behind him. The sport soon came to the forefront
of the apprentice’s life. And he evolved quickly. Three
years later, after coming second place in a sumo tournament,
he was invited to join the Chinsei Junior High School and participate
in the judo club at his new school. But the new training environment
was not enough for the anxious youngster: “Besides at school,
I also trained at the Kawakita dojo, Butokuden, and the Imperial
5th High (now the University of Kumomoto).” The training
load was heavy. “At that time I trained up to five hours
a day and still ended each session with 300 sit-ups.”
“If
my adversaries are training 6 hours a day to beat me, I will
have to train 9 hours every day”
Kimura
To
achieve 3rd dan status, Kimura admits to committing an adolescent-type
sin. “I had to go to Butokukai, in Kyoto, to take a practical
test and a written one. I had no problem passing the practical
test, but I had no idea of the answers to the written one. As
time was running out, I grabbed the test sheet from the guy behind
me, put my name on it and turned it in. I was always ashamed
of what I did.” By 17 years of age, Masahiko was already
a fourth dan, which was rare for a judoka of that age. But at
18 years of age, already a student at Takushoku University, he
made history by beating eight opponents at his same level and
became the first man to ever receive the fifth dan at the age
of 18. Exhausted, he was defeated by Miyajima, his ninth opponent
of the day.
Beyond
this loss, Kimura suffered defeat only three more times throughout
his career. Curiously, all occurred in the year 1935. Kenichiro
Osawa, Keshiro Abe and Hideo Yamamoto, besides Miyajima, are
the men that hold the honor of having defeated Kimura. But the
tide did not turn too late. As he felt humiliated and was even
considering quitting judo, Masahiko relied on the help of his
friends to train even harder. The osotogari, for example, he
practiced with a tree, to strengthen his legs. After six months
of training, his technique became so refined that, often, his
training partners only agreed to train with him if he agreed
not to use the osotogari. His three nemeses were defeated before
the end of that very year of 1935.
Helio
teaches the udegarami: after the Japanese judoka, the hold would
gain a new name in Jiu-Jitsu.
From
1937 to 1939, Kimura dominated the Japanese scene, lining up
three national championship titles. On the first title conquered
over Masayuki Nakajima with a kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame after
40 minutes of fighting, Kimura states that the secret was observation
and youth: “After 35 minutes, I looked at his legs and saw
that they held the key to my victory. When the arbiter restarted
the fight, I grabbed his legs, threw him to the ground and controlled
him. After winning, I saw that I won only because I was stronger,
for being younger than him.”
After
tasting victory, Misahiko became preoccupied with how to keep
his title in the years to come. Upon looking in the mirror at
his 1.69 meter and 86 kg body that was nothing out of the ordinary,
Kimura decided: “My adversaries are still training six hours
a day to beat me, I will have to train nine hours every day.”
Thus was created the “San-bai no Do-ryoku” (triple
effort), which to many is what set Kimura apart and the reason
why he became one of the greatest legends of all times in the
world of fighting. In practice, the impressive training load
guaranteed him more national titles, in 1938 and 1939.
“The
promoter gave me a form saying that even if I died, he would
not be held responsible. I signed” Kimura, before the vale-tudo
against Valdemar Santana
Kimura’s
judo career ended in 1950. Before that, another important title
in his career path was the Ten-Ran Shiai, won in 1940, before
the eyes of the Japanese emperor. Retired, Kimura taught judo
classes to American soldiers that occupied Japan after the war
and went around the world demonstrating the sport’s techniques.
That was how, ultimately, the judo legend came to Brazil, at
the invitation of the newspaper “São Paulo Shimbum,”
run by the Japanese colony. The fame thus acquired from the fight
in the gi against Helio guaranteed he would make further excursions
in Brazilian territory, and the Japanese took up another sport:
vale-tudo.
Without
a doubt, one of the most notable fights of Kimura’s career
was against Valdemar Santana, in 1959, in Salvador, Bahia. It
was 40 minutes of bloody combat that ended in a draw. Something
Kimura revealed in his book about the fight was that “The
promoter gave me a form saying that, even if I died, he would
not be held responsible. I nodded and signed.” Kimura returned
to Japan in 1960 and started teaching judo classes at Tokushoku
University. Masahiko Kimura passed away on April 18, 1993, from
lung cancer. Even debilitated from the final surgery performed
to battle the disease, Kimura was seen doing sit-ups on the floor
of his room in hospital. At 75 years of age.
The
US army against Kimura
In the hard years following the Second World War, defeated Japan
was governed by the Allies, under the command of general Douglas
MacArthur. Among other restrictions, the teaching and practice
of judo and kendo were prohibited. But this restriction would
not be the only interference from the American military in Masahiko’s
life. In November of 1945, shortly after surrender, Kimura was
awaiting a train at Kumamoto station, when four military police
started to offend and aggress upon the people in line. “They
yelled ‘Jap!’ ‘Jap!’ So a soldier took the
first in line and grabbed him by the nose with his fingers.
The
man fell to the ground with his nose bleeding and moaning with
pain,” tells Kimura in his book, My Judo. The four military
men did this repeatedly to the others in line, until it came
to his turn. “When one of them tried to grab me by the collar,
I slapped his hand off. The four then pulled me over to Nagaroku
Bridge, near the station, and got ready to give me a beating.
Luckily, they came one at a time, like in a kung fu movie. The
first one tried to hit me with a right and I defended, and then
I kicked him in the nuts. The second one grabbed me from behind
and I threw him in the river with a seio-nage. The two remaining
ones that were watching finally attacked me, also one at a time.
The first one I knocked down with a head butt and the second
I defeated by squeezing his balls. Since primary school, I have
been a wicked ball smasher,” remembers Kimura.
One
week later, the Americans came back, to deliver the punishment,
by jeep, with the soldiers stopping in front of Kimura’s
house. “I knew I would be arrested, but I found the cordial
faces that got out of the vehicle to be odd,” he wrote.
The master entered the jeep and was taken to the Allied base.
Upon arrival, a great surprise. A gracious commander thanked
him for punishing the bad soldiers. “Captain Shephard shook
my hand and told me those were the worst four soldiers in the
battalion, And that they had already sexually assaulted a woman
and were being tried.” Beyond the thanks, Kimura was given
a job. He became the judo instructor on the base, thanks to Captain
Shephard, who one year later would become a black belt.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ronaldo
"Jacaré" training in Rio
“That
guy is awesome, very good”. Breathing strongly and sweating
a lot, the two times BJJ world champion André Galvão
defined the training partner at last Saturday, at X-Gym, in Rio
de Janeiro. Getting ready to fight for his first MMA belt in
Canada, Galvão had a first class train. Two times BJJ
open weight champion, Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza
arrived in Rio de Janeiro last Friday (28), and just went training.
Without fighting since September, when submitted Zelg Galesic
in Dream’s middleweight tournament semifinal, but was knocked
out by Gegard Mousasi in the big final, in the same night, Souza
came to Rio to spend the month and promises a lot of training
“I’m
training well with the guys here, I’m enjoying a lot the
training here, I’m very happy to help and being helped by
André Galvão, (Josuel) Distak and the people here”,
spoke Jacaré, after the strong session of sparring with
Galvão. If two days of heavy trains after arriving in
Rio already would be good, the black belt wants more, following
in search of a heavier preparation. “I wanted to thank “Minotauro”
(Nogueira), who opened the doors of his gym to me to train there…
It’s a pleasure to receive this propose from him, of who
I’m a big fan like person and fighter. He’s a man who
has a heart bigger than him”, said Ronaldo.
With
four fights and three victories in 2008, Jacaré doesn’t
think about putting an end in the year without fight one more
time. “I’m crazy to fight in December 31st, unfortunately
I stood a time witout fighting, and until December 31st, if Japan
calls me, I’ll be ready to fight. I’m hearing some
rumors and I believe that I’ll fight, so I’m waiting,
anxious”, reveled the fighter, who bets in Galvão
to the conquest of the belt in Canada. “Galvão is
with an exceptional gas. We both need to learn more MMA part.
We’re just starting now in MMA, we know our mistakes and
we’re trying to improve that and, when I improve my game,
I’ll stay very good in this thing”, promises Jacaré.
Source: Tatame
|
Thales
Leites focused for the belt
With
15 victories and only one loss in whole MMA career, Thales Leites
keep growing at the UFC middleweight division. With fours straight
wins, the Nova União athlete wants to grow even more,
eyeing a title shot against Anderson Silva, for the middleweight
belt. “I’m in a good position in the category, coming
from five victories and getting better in UFC. I don’t know
what’s gonna happen, if they’re going to give me the
title show, put me as the TUF coach, but whatever comes is good
to me”, said Thales, who doesn’t know who’ll be
his next opponent and when he’ll be back in action: “I
don’t know anything yet. André Pederneiras (his manager)
is taking care of that, but I don’t have anything right
yet”.
In
a category dominated by a Brazilian fighter, Thales is also doing
a great job, just like another Brazilian: Demian Maia. While
a lot of talents in the middleweight division, the possibility
of facing a compatriot to take one out and avoid a Brazilian
domination in the category is big, but Thales isn’t worried
about that. “I’d accept a fight, I’m a professional.
Demian is a great fighter and has been doing a great job in UFC.
It’s possible that they put this fight, because the belt
is with a Brazilian guy and we’re growing, so they can put
this fight to take one of the Brazilians from the tops”,
believes Leites, who believes that would be a great fight. “I
believe it’d be a good fight, we almost have the same game
and it’s kind of different from the American guys, who goes
from striking and work on the ground n’ pound. We know each
other’s game and it’d be a huge fight. Demian has been
doing a good job, but I’d accept this fight”.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Notes:
Koscheck returns; CSAC changes
If
you bring up to Josh Koscheck that he’s likely to be in
an unusual setting Wednesday night, he jokes, “You mean
for the first time I’m going to be cheered?”
Well,
that and the fact the show will be in front of an almost exclusively
all-military crowd.
It’s
not that Koscheck, the Ultimate Fighting Championships resident
“heel” since spraying a hose on a sleeping Chris Leben
during season one of the Ultimate Fighter, has never been cheered.
But it usually takes something spectacular for him to get that
reaction, like the flying head kick he threw that knocked out
local favorite Dustin Hazelett in Columbus in March.
Koscheck
will be fighting Yoshiyuki Yoshida in the main event of a Spike
TV special called “Fight for the Troops.” The show,
held in Fayetteville, N.C., just outside Fort Bragg, is being
used to push donations to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, to
help build an advanced facility for research and treatment of
military personnel and veterans who have suffered traumatic brain
injuries.
“I’m
like the hometown guy,” said Koscheck. “They are the
real heroes and the real warriors battling for our freedom.”
Koscheck
feels he’s been the object of “haters” since he
started, because fans were critical of him early in his career
for using only wrestling skills, even though he won nine of his
first ten fights.
Fans
and even other fighters he felt criticized the guys on the first
season of Ultimate Fighter as TV reality stars and not real fighters.
“I
was trying to win and I knew nothing but wrestling when I started,”
he said. “The Ultimate Fighter changed the sport and you
can’t argue that it wasn’t the best thing ever for
MMA,” said Koscheck. “Look at the first season. Almost
everyone made it. You’ve got the light heavyweight champion
(Forrest Griffin). Kenny Florian is about to get a title shot
and he’s one of the toughest guys in the world. Diego Sanchez
is a top five fighter. Chris Leben is one punch away from being
able to beat anyone.”
His
opponent, Yoshida, was a nationally ranked judoka in Japan in
his youth. A likeable guy, almost always laughing and joking,
he was a late starter in MMA as his debut match was at the age
of 30.
He
was working as a physical education teacher, but he mentally
battled a gnawing question of whether he had achieved all he
could in sports. In high school, he was part of a judo powerhouse
program that won a national championship at Setagayua Gakvin
High School.
As
a teenager with that program, he often trained with future judo
legends like Hidehiko Yoshida and Makoto Takimoto, who both went
on to win gold medals and become heavily publicized MMA fighters.
But
in going to Gakugeicai University, a mostly art college, he wasn’t
in a high-caliber college program, and while he went to judo
nationals, he never won a title.
“MMA
was already well accepted in Japan because of PRIDE (the leading
MMA organization in the country at that time),” said Yoshida,
through interpreter Shu Hirata, noting it didn’t have the
negative stigma that it still had at that point in the U.S. “I
wanted to go back to competition, but at 27 (when he first made
the decision), I had to do a professional sport because there
was no money in continuing to compete judo.”
In
that sense, he and Koscheck have similarities, because it was
the lack of any financial opportunity in continuing as an amatuer
wrestler that caused Koscheck to switch to MMA.
Yoshida
kept his training secret from his parents and all of his friends,
and didn’t even let them know he was doing it until after
he had his first match nearly four years ago.
Now
10-2, although his two losses were in his first three matches,
Yoshida was discovered by UFC officials after winning a welterweight
tournament in 2007 with the Cage Force promotion. Because of
the cage, as most groups in Japan use a ring, it was the Japanese
promotion that has the most similarities to UFC.
“I
chose UFC over DREAM or Sengoku because UFC has the best 170-pound
fighters in the world,” he said, noting that the only way
to prove himself to be the best in the sport would be to test
himself against Georges St. Pierre. “I fully believe he’s
a notch above everyone else in the world.”
Koscheck,
31, a former NCAA wrestling champion, is coming off a loss on
Oct. 25 to Thiago Alves. He insisted he keep his spot on this
show when asked less than two weeks before the fight before the
Alves fight to replace an injured Diego Sanchez against the most
dangerous striker in the division.
“He
was the better man on that night,” said Koscheck, whose
legs were battered by Alves’ hard kicks throughout the fight.
But
when the fight was over, he made it clear he still wanted to
fight on this show, giving him almost no time to nurse any injuries
from the fight.
“I
feel like I’ve been living at AKA (The American Kickboxing
Academy gym in San Jose) for the past six months,” said
Koscheck. “After the fight (with Alves), I had three days
off and was back sparring by Wednesday. Because my thigh was
so sore, I didn’t grapple for a few more days.”
“You
can call this judo against wrestling,” said Yoshida. “I
feel I come from the subset of judo and he comes from the subset
of wrestling and we represent those sports. But this is a mixed
martial arts match, so the match will involve everything.”
New
drug testing program in California
Bill
Douglas, the assistant executive officer of the California State
Athletic Commission, who is now running day-to-day operations
after the resignation of former executive officer Armando Garcia,
will put his new drug screening program into effect for shows
starting on Dec. 11.
The
policy will include testing for recreational drugs of virtually
every fighter on every show. On the major shows, every fighter
will be tested for steroids, and on smaller shows, all main eventers,
fighters in title matches and random undercard fighters will
be tested.
The
steroid testing will use Olympic standards, using the World Anti-Doping
Association lab at UCLA, the same lab that does the testing for
the Olympics, the NFL, NCAA Division I sports and minor league
baseball.
“My
mentality is very different from my predecessor,” he said.
“I don’t have a ‘gotcha’ policy and we’re
not looking to be happy catching people.
“I
never hide that I’m a big professional wrestling fan,”
said Douglas.
“I
have an extensive tape collection of pro wrestling and it’s
depressing when you watch matches from 15 years ago and how many
of the people have passed away. I’m starting a tape collection
of boxing and MMA, and I don’t want to look back in 15 years
and see the same thing happen.”
He
noted that he’ll never forget the feeling he had in 2005
when Eddie Guerrero, a pro wrestling superstar, was found dead
in a hotel room just hours before he was scripted to win a world
heavyweight championship.
“If
this testing forces people to deal with issues ahead of time,
it may allow their families to have more time with them, save
them from health problems in later life or even premature death.”
Douglas
is attempting to get new bylaws passed which would give California
the same powers as Nevada, including the ability to overturn
a decision if the winner has tested positive for a performance
enhancing agent, and the ability to begin a year-round testing
program.
The
new bylaws are currently under review by the state department
of finance. The current program, which only tests the day of
the fight, won’t catch fighters using many steroids during
the off-season and early in training.
At
this point there are no provisions for blood testing, so the
current program cannot detect usage of Human Growth Hormone.
He
also has two key issues on his agenda. Antonio “Bigfoot”
Silva, the Elite XC heavyweight champion, tested positive for
Nandrolone on July 26 and was suspended for one year. Silva just
signed to fight in Japan on Jan. 4. Douglas has sent a letter
to Silva’s camp, noting California bylaws call for revoking
someone’s license who fights while under suspension, which
essentially would mean Silva wouldn’t be able to fight in
any U.S. commission state even after the year is up.
He
also noted not only the fighter, but his manager and corner men,
can have their licenses revoked because the California code has
a provision for anyone aiding and abetting a suspended fighter
from violating his suspension.
The
second, a non-drug issue, comes from Affliction and M-1 announcing
earlier this week that Gilbert Yvel, nicknamed the “dirtiest
fighter in the world,” had signed to face Josh Barnett on
the Jan. 24 Affliction show in Anaheim at the Honda Center.
Yvel
was denied a license in Nevada when PRIDE wanted to use him in
2006, due to his checkered past, which includes biting an opponent
in 1998, repeated eye gouging in a famous 2001 Japanese match
with Don Frye, and most notably, decking referee Atte Backman
and kicking him while he was down in a 2004 match.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Torres
so good, he makes it look easy
LAS
VEGAS – Miguel Angel Torres is one of the most well-rounded
mixed martial arts fighters in the world, but he looked like
a one-dimensional boxer on Wednesday in his World Extreme Cagefighting
bantamweight title fight with Manny Tapia at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Tapia
had spoken frequently prior to the fight about knocking out Torres,
who didn’t fail to notice Tapia’s bold words.
So
Torres played Tapia’s game and, as it usually is in Torres
fights, it was a no contest. Torres knocked Tapia down twice
and pounded him on the ground, forcing a stoppage at 3:04 of
the second round.
“Manny
was talking about knocking me out, but I have pretty decent standup,”
Torres said after improving to 35-1.
Tapia
had blood streaming down his cheek at the postfight news conference,
courtesy of Torres’ jab. And though Tapia (10-1-1) didn’t
believe he could lose a toe-to-toe slugfest, he was quickly disabused
of that notion.
Seconds
into the fight, Torres popped him with a jab that had Tapia blinking.
“I
always thought I had a great chin, but I guess not,” Tapia
said.
As
easy as Torres made it look, he could probably have had an even
shorter night had he opted to take the fight to the ground and
utilize his jiu-jitsu skills. In his last outing, a June 1 stoppage
of Yoshiro Maeda, Torres showed one of the few flaws in his game
when he got angry after being cut.
He
let his temper take him out of his game plan and he was determined
not to let that happen on Wednesday.
“Sometimes,
when I go into a fight, I get emotional and I get kind of crazy,”
Torres said. “If I stay calm, my fights turn out this way.”
Tapia
offered little resistance and Torres was hardly pushed. He realizes
that won’t happen in his next outing, which is likely to
come against Brian Bowles.
Earlier
on Wednesday’s card, Bowles defeated one-time Olympic boxer
Will Ribeiro, winning a $7,500 submission of the night bonus
with a guillotine choke at 1:11 of the third round.
Bowles
is a former wrestler who has good standup and jiu-jitsu. Former
UFC middleweight Rory Singer, who is one of Bowles’ coaches,
said the matchup will be much more challenging for Torres than
many may believe.
“I
believe Brian is as complete a package as they come,” Singer
said. “He’s constantly improving in all aspects of
his game. He’s been training with us for 4½ years
or so. He had about five years of wrestling before he came to
us. The fact of the matter is, he grapples with black belts weekly,
and submits them. He boxes with professional boxers, which is
why I didn’t have issues with Will’s boxing, because
he’s been boxing better guys, who are professionals.
“Brian
has a good wrestling background. He’s got the jiu-jitsu,
he’s got the standup and he’s always improving. He’s
as tough as they come.”
Torres
said he’s eager to face Bowles because he respects the variety
in Bowles’ game and
how
hard Bowles has worked to improve. The East Chicago, Ind. native
said he came to the WEC because he wanted to challenge himself
against the best bantamweights in the world. Complete fighters
like Bowles, he said, are the reason.
“When
I was fighting in my early days, I was fighting a lot of big
guys, 165, 170, 175 pounds, but we didn’t have guys like
this,” he said, nodding toward Bowles. “He’s a
very dangerous opponent.”
There
are few more dangerous than Torres, who is ranked sixth in the
Yahoo! Sports poll of the world’s best fighters. Coming
in behind Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St. Pierre,
B.J. Penn and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is hardly anything to
apologize for.
But
Torres noted that he has a bulls-eye on his back as a champion
and knows he has to fix the flaws that exist in his game, even
if they’re not immediately noticeable to the average observer.
Singer
heaped praise upon Torres, but insisted he’s far from unbeatable,
despite his glittering record and the series of one-sided victories
he’s had since signing with the WEC last year.
“Without
a doubt, Miguel is a phenomenal competitor and he’s a well-rounded
guy,” Singer said. “But he knows as well as the rest
of us as fighters and people who are in the sport know that he
has holes in his game. He’s got a temper. He knows he has
to check that on occasion. He didn’t check it when he fought
that Japanese gentleman. I’ve seen holes in his game and
those are the things we’re going to work on.”
Bowles,
certainly, is eager for the challenge. He’s four in a row
in the WEC and has won a bonus in each of his last three outings.
There
aren’t a lot of guys in the division who are considered
on equal terms with Torres, but Bowles might be one of them.
“He’s
awesome,” Bowles said of Torres. “Anybody with a record
that good is obviously a good fighter, but I like to think I
match up well with anyone.”
And
that is what has Torres relishing the thought of matching his
skills with Bowles.
“If
you want to call yourself a champion, these are the kinds of
guys you have to fight,” Torres said of Bowles. “He’s
good got standup, he’s got good ground and he pretty much
can go wherever the fight goes. Guys like that are the toughest
and the biggest challenge and that’s what I’m looking
for.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Abdominal
Training
The abdominal region of the body is a critical training zone
for an MMA fighter. Without a strong core, the fighter will be
unable to throw powerful punches and kicks, apply throws or takedowns,
or work from the bottom or top on the ground. This is probably
one of the most neglected and misunderstood areas of the body
when it comes to training, not just for MMA, but for all sports.
By Martin Rooney, MHS, PT, CSCS, NASM
The
abdominal muscles are some of the most popular muscles to train
by athletes and fitness enthusiasts all over the world. The only
problem is, most people are either using them in training for
the wrong reasons, or they are just plain training them incorrectly.
When you look at gyms around the world, there are more exercise
gadgets, videos and classes that are specific to abdominal training
than for any other area of the body. Not only that, you can always
find gyms packed with people working their abs almost every day,
yet how many of the people in all of these gyms have a good looking
set of abs?
Usually
it is almost none of them. This fact should tell us all that
most people are not doing the right things to show off their
abs both in the gym and outside of it as well.
There
are three main reasons that I have identified why people train
the abdominal area:
1.
The most common reason is that people want a thinner, more defined
waist and abdominal area.
2.
The second reason is that people want to strengthen their abdominal
area for fitness or sports related reasons.
3.
Finally, people commonly work their abs because they want to
protect their back (this is a commonly seen prescription by doctors,
therapists, and trainers around the world).
The
Fastest Way to a Thinner Waistline
If
I had a dollar for every time a trainee or athlete asked me what
abdominal exercises are the best to thin their waists and make
them look more defined, I would be a millionaire. Even though
it may seem commonsense, (and you know fitness equipment manufacturers
want you to believe it) working the abdominal muscles is not
a good way to thin your waistline. This is known as the Spot
Theory, and it is actually a terrible use of your time if that
is one of your goals at all. The truth is, diet and nutrition
play the biggest role in whether or not you can see those rock
hard abs. Let’s face it, everyone has a nice set of abs,
just most of us have them covered with a layer of fat. No matter
how much you work those muscles, until you decrease your bodyfat
percentage, you still won’t see at thing.
So
the two best exercises I can suggest for developing better looking
abs are the table bench press (where you push yourself away from
the table early) and the reading of a quality nutrition book.
Newsflash!
The Abs are just like other muscles
Would
you curl your arm up and down for hundreds of reps if you wanted
to make it stronger? Probably not. Most people would instinctively
grab a heavy weight and do a low number or reps with that weight
and then repeat. All of us know by now about the Principle of
Progressive Overload, yet no one ever seems to apply it to abdominal
training. Take a hard look at how we train our abs “to get
stronger.?? Usually it is with a limited number of exercises
for thousands of reps, almost every workout with no external
weights involved.
The
abdominal muscles respond to training just like the other muscles
of the body.
Use
heavy resistance and low reps, they get stronger, use no resistance
with lots of reps, they build endurance. Either method you choose,
you are also going to have to leave time for recovery t improve.
If you try to train them every day, increases in strength are
going to be hard to find. Beside this fact that most people are
training their abs with the wrong reps, sets and recovery schema,
they also don’t seem to apply the Principle of Variety either.
Usually most people just use some form of sit ups and maybe a
twisting motion. The training of the abdominal area requires
much more than this to work all of the muscles completely. Knowing
this, your workouts should now begin to add heavy resistance
to the exercises you are doing as well as adding new exercises
periodically to add a new stimulus to the training.
These
new exercises should also have purpose toward your specific goals.
For instance, if your sport requires rotation with strength,
like wrestling and grappling, your training better have some
of the same. If all you do is crunches and that is no a major
movement in your sporting event, you may be wasting your time.
A
great piece of advice is to treat the abdominal area just like
you would other parts of your body. Most people work their legs
one day, and save upper body for another. What about the core?
Why should the most important area that links the arms to the
legs be treated any different? If you are training smart, this
region should have its own day as well. Start throwing it in
and you will thank me for the results.
Want
to Protect the Back? Then Work the Back!
Since
the muscles of the abdominal wall and lower back are all sheathed
in the same envelope, many practitioners believe that the abs
are the ticket to good back health. They are on the right track,
but unfortunately, they often fail to see the real issue. There
is an optimal abdominal to back strength ratio. Most doctors
and trainers will focus on the abdominal area, train it incorrectly,
and completely forget about training the low back. To strengthen
the core properly, the low back region should have the focus,
not only because it is more functional, but it is a great way
to work the abs as well. For instance, squats, deadlifts and
overhead presses are exercises that are feared by many athletes,
doctors and trainers, yet they are much more effective ways to
train the core than high rep sit ups or crunches that do nothing
more than leave you with a burning stomach.
If
nothing else, I hope this article has you questioning your ideas
about and methods of training the abdominal region. To summarize,
if you follow a healthy diet, and train properly, you can have
the abdominal region you always dreamed of. If you don’t
follow the concepts expressed above, you will probably continue
with the abs you’ve got no matter how “hard?? you work
them.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
“You
desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained
in one phrase: make use of suffering.”
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
numerous promoters and fighters, and get to voice your opinion
on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!
|
GURGEL
SIGNED, STRIKEFORCE VP TALKS TALENT
The recent addition of former Ultimate Fighting Championship
veteran Jorge Gurgel to the ranks of Strikeforce caps off a year
where veteran stars like newly crowned light-heavyweight champ
Renato “Babalu” Sobral and young talents like Eric
Lawson have helped the promotion grow to its biggest and most
diverse state yet.
With
a multitude of exciting fights and surprises from both the men
and women’s divisions, Strikeforce has a lot to grow on
in the coming year, according to company Vice President Mike
Afromowitz.
“I
think the talent we’ve had has really showed tremendous
progression,” he stated. “We brought in new talent
and there were some incredible moments.”
Specifically
speaking, the first fight that stood out in Afromowitz's mind
was also one of the year’s biggest upsets.
“The
Cung Le (versus) Frank Shamrock fight was probably one of the
best fights of the year,” he said. “It was amazing
being in the arena. The atmosphere was electric, and watching
those two guys fight after all those years of build-up was an
amazing thing.”
Another
title fight he feels stood out, as well as established the strength
of the promotion’s champions, was the clash of two longtime
friends in the lightweight division.
“Josh
(Thomson) really stepped up big time (against Gilbert Melendez),”
he exclaimed. “I think it was one of the finest performances
of his career.
“We
have some great champions on our hands. Some of these guys are
worthy of top rankings in the sport and they are the faces of
our organization and there’s a lot more in store for them.”
Not
only did established stars make their mark in 2008 for the promotion,
but Afromowitz also feels there is a multitude of young talent
that made its mark in the coming year.
“The
fight between Billy Evangelista and Luke Caudillo in Denver was
one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen,” he stated.
“Billy’s comeback is amazing, he’s still undefeated,
and we’re looking forward to bringing him back and having
him fight for us again.
“We
brought Corey Devela in, who suffered a loss at the Playboy Mansion,
but before that he had the big win over Joe Riggs. Luke Rockhold,
who just fought on the last show, is going to be something. We
definitely have a few prospects that are something we can build
on next year as well.”
As
it has since its inception, Strikeforce continues to be a great
home for the emerging women’s MMA scene, and Afromowitz
doesn’t see that changing next year.
“Women
with talent should be given the opportunity to fight,” he
stated. “There will be opportunities for women in Strikeforce.
“I
think we showed that a little this year with Kim Couture, Michelle
Waterson and Miesha Tate. The women’s division is growing
and I think you’re going to see more talent come up in the
ranks, try their hands at it, and it’s going to build.”
As
well, Afromowitz confirmed that Strikeforce will be looking to
continue to grow its base of fighters on an international scale
in the future.
“Definitely
you should see more Japanese fighters in the future from us and
foreign fighters in general,” he said. “One of them
is our heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem, hopefully we’ll
seem him back, as well as other fighters from overseas.”
He
also shed light onto perusing fighters from other organizations
who may be available now or in the future, such Tito Ortiz or
Gina Carano.
“I
think right now we’re kind of in limbo with some of the
fighters that are supposedly free agents, because they’re
not necessarily free agents on one hand,” he admitted. “Obviously
we’d like to work with some of these guys, and girls, so
it really just depends on how the situation goes legally, if
anything.
“Whether
they’re attached or not remains to be seen, but they’re
inactive right now and we’d like to bring them in. We’re
always looking for new talent – whether it’s established
talent or newcomers like Eric Lawson – fighters like that
are out there everywhere and we’d like to bring them to
our show.”
With
Strikeforce growing, adding new talent, and continuing to cultivate
existing talent both on their main show and their Young Guns
imprint, the promotion looks to build upon an explosive year
in the cage and get even better in 2009.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JUNIE
BROWNING FOCUSED ON MOVING FORWARD
Junie Browning became one of the most polarizing figures in the
eight seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, gaining notoriety for
his aggressive fighting style and one liners before generating
endless discussion on mixed martial arts forums and around water
coolers for his drunken exploits and short temper. Browning wants
to put the reality show persona behind him and focus on becoming
a better fighter.
In
the Spike TV reality show's final episode, America saw Browning
breakdown mentally and assault Shane Prim, nearly getting thrown
off the show for a third time. Browning admitted he shouldn't
have thrown the glass at Prim, but maintains the producers didn't
show the entire incident on television. "They didn't show
all the stuff. There was a lot more stuff said," commented
the Kentucky lightweight fighter. "Prim, he's a cool guy
and stuff, but they didn't show some of the stuff he was saying.
Afterward, he knew I had anger problems and he knew he shouldn't
have said some stuff. But I shouldn't have thrown the glass."
"We
were outside debating the fights and stuff. All of us were debating
more or less the fights like how buddies would at a football
game or a boxing match or something. Just talking about the fights,
and it was all cool," added Browning. "He's actually
the one who sort of instigated all the taking stuff personally.
We started talking about my fight. I was like I don't think he
can do this or this. Prim was like, we'll see. I hope he kicks
your (expletive). I mean, literally saying that stuff to me.
Of course I'm going to get angry after that."
"I
was so used to drinking out of plastic that I forget it was glass
on the show," Browning joked. "I've always ate off
Dixie."
Ultimate
Fighting Championship president Dana White was called to the
house, again, and Browning thought he was going to be kicked
off the show, again. "I thought I was gone, for a third
time," said Browning.
White
left Browning's fate in the hands of the other cast members who
decided they'd rather see Efrain Escudero have the opportunity
to send Browning packing rather than kicking him off the show
before the semi final match up. Escudero defeated Browning by
D'Arce choke in the second round advancing to the finals to face
Phillipe Nover on Dec. 13.
"Going
into the fight, I honestly knew I was going to lose anyway,"
said the 24-year old fighter. "I knew 100% that he was going
to be in shape. He was training with Nogueira's team. I saw the
way they trained. They came home from practice everyday and fell
asleep. I came home from practice and was throwing (expletive)
off the balcony. I knew I was out of shape."
Browning's
coach, Frank Mir, commented after the bout that he felt like
Browning quit in the fight, but Browning disagrees. "He
caught me. The drive and explosiveness to get out of certain
submissions that I normally would, I didn't have it. When you
have lack of cardio and stuff, you almost just kind of lay there.
That's the way I felt," explained Browning. "To be
honest with you too, I didn't know he even knew what a submission
was let alone a D'Arce. I was actually going to pull my butterfly
hook in and he just trapped the arm and got it. I didn't think
it was really that deep, so I didn't really fight it that hard.
He had it in pretty deep."
Looking
back on the season, Browning regrets having been on Team Mir.
"It wasn't necessarily just Mir," said Browning. "Mir
just trains differently. He's just more open to let you do whatever,
but I'm the kind of person, I need someone to push me. At least
I'm disciplined enough to know I need someone to push me. He'd
be like, you should be doing your own cardio and stuff. Everyone
doesn't just work like that. I need someone to give me that extra
push and make me do it. That's what coaches are for."
At
the end of the day, Browning got what he wanted out of The Ultimate
Fighter 8. People now know his name.
Since
the filming of The Ultimate Fighter, Browning has uprooted from
Lexington, KY and made the move to Las Vegas, joining Extreme
Couture where he hopes to hone his skills and become known for
his fighting ability rather than his reality television persona.
"There's so much stuff that I still have to learn. And I'm
getting better. I'm trying to learn. I'm taking stuff more serious.
I'm not like throwing glass at people in the club or anything,"
stated Browning. "I'm taking (expletive) serious. I'm not
going to be (expletive) around or anything. I'm done with that.
The show is over."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Dana
White favors own production over HBO Boxing's
The UFC on HBO deal never came to fruition in large part because
of UFC president Dana White's refusal to give up control of production.
White
sounded reassured in an article on Yahoo! Sports where he criticized
on Saturday the production of Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquio.
"Did
you see the production? And that was HBO," White said. "Maybe
they should give us some of their Emmys. The pacing was awful.
There was no energy in the crowd. They had to loop Pacquiao’s
music when he came out because he had to walk so far."
White
said in the September 2008 issue of Playboy magazine that HBO
would have practically "owned the UFC" if he had signed
the television deal. He also brought up his relief of not having
to hear HBO's Emmy talk.
"I’ll
tell you, if I had to hear one more time about how many [expletive]
Emmys they had won, I was going to dive out the window,"
White said. "I said 'You won a bunch of Emmys, but I’m
kicking your ass on pay-per-view.'"
While
White may not be satisfied with the pay-per-view production of
HBO, he's taking a cue from the premium network when it comes
to publicizing a fight. The UFC will present in January a preview
series in three parts called "UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs.
Penn" similar to the Emmy-award winning "24/7"
boxing series.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Anderson
negotiates next fight
Champion may fight at light heavyweight again
Anderson
Silva really does like to fight. That’s why Ed Soares, the
Brazilian’s manager in the United States, is hard at work
with the UFC’s organizers to find the middleweight champion’s
next challenge. And from the looks of it, there’s a chance
Anderson may try his luck at light heavyweight once again.
“It’s
really a tough mission trying to find fights for Anderson when
all the other fighters have fights lined up. Dana White (UFC
president) and I met up and were unable to reach a conclusion.
We’ll meet again in three weeks and I hope we manage to
get a fight for him. I think it will be at light heavyweight.
He (Anderson) wants to come back in January. So we’ll see,”
declared Soares to the Wrestling Observer.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Out
of WEC, Nogueira aims Sengoku
Starting
his career in Japan, Alexandre “Pequeno” Nogueira showed
his strength in MMA running over all the opponents that faced
in Shooto. After 19 fights in Japan, with 13 victories, Pequeno
moved to United States and did his debut in WEC, but the defeat
and the doping suspension put the Brazilian in the wait. Impeded
of fighting in United States until May 31st of 2009, date in
which the suspension ends, Pequeno might to come back to Japan.
“I’m negotiating with my manager (Alex Davis). We’re
focusing Sengoku, to come back to fight in Japan”, revealed
the athlete, who had his contract with WEC finished. “The
contract was finished because of the suspension. I’ll come
back to fight only in the next year, because now I’m focused
more in my athletes”, explained Nogueira.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
How
to Develop a Bone Crushing Grip
My father believed that a man in many ways could be measured
by the strength and toughness of his hands. When I was growing
up, my father and I would arm wrestle every weekend while watching
sporting events like boxing, football, or the World’s Strongest
Man competitions.
By Martin Rooney, MHS, PT, CSCS, NASM
For
years, I was never able to beat him, but he was always there
to help with advice on how I could someday win. A one time Olympic
caliber rower, my father would brag of how thick the calluses
once were across his hands and he would always impress me with
feats of hand strength like driving a single finger through the
lids of jars of peanuts and coffee.
I
also had an Uncle that was a three-star general in the Air Force
who would crush my hand with his grip at every family reunion.
No matter how hard or long you held his grip for, he would always
wait until you released first. It was an impressive show of dominance
of one man over another.
These
two men had powerful influence over me when it came to training
my hands. I remember with joy seeing my first callus forming
in my palm when I started lifting weights around 13 years old.
As the years went on, my dad’s advice paid off and one Sunday
evening our grips were locked in a battle and I almost beat him.
Interestingly, we never arm wrestled again. Not only was he strong,
he was smart too.
There
were many years of training that went by following that time
of my life when I was convinced that grip training was essential
not just to being an athlete, but to being a man. When I began
training jiu jitsu in 1998, I was again reminded not only that
grip training was important, but also that my grip was not as
strong as I thought.
Training
with the gi was tough on my hands at first, and although I had
strong hands in the gym, I quickly learned that there was more
work to be done before my hands could be considered battle tested.
In addition to this, I started training and working with ADCC
medalist and UFC veteran Sean Alvarez around this time.
Sean
was helping me with no gi takedowns one training session and
he clamped down with both hands on my left wrist like a bear
trap. Not only did I know I wasn’t getting my hand back,
but I was also worried he was actually going to break my arm
with the sheer power of his hands.
This
event was the final straw that made sure that grip work became
a staple in my training with fighters. Since that time, many
of the fighters (Renzo, Ricardo Almeida, Roger Gracie) may have
cursed me for what we have done to our hands, but their grips
have never let them down in competition.
Simply
put, if you have a strong grip, you have an advantage. If you
have a weak grip, you have a liability. Regardless of what you
might like to believe if you fear training the hands hard, a
vice-like grip can be the difference between getting the takedown
or not, finishing the submission or not, or ultimately winning
or losing. Without a strong grip, your hands become the weak
link in the chain of the entire body.
The
deadlift is a great example of this statement. Imagine that you
are trying to deadlift 450 pounds from the floor and you have
the arms, back and legs that are strong enough to do it. The
only problem is that your hands can only hold 300 pounds. Do
you see that the heavy lift is now impossible and that the entire
body will be limited in how much it can perform? Now take that
same concept and apply it to your fight game. The last thing
that you want is holes like this in your game holding you back.
Now
that I have your attention, this article is designed to show
you new ways for training the grip that you may never have either
seen or tried before. The great news is that training the grip
does not require expensive equipment. Most of the training we
do is with simple pieces that you already probably have, or can
get rather easily.
Below
is a short list of 5 exercises I like to use with my fighters
to develop a bonecrushing grip. Over 300 more full color exercises
for all parts of the body can be found in my new book, Training
for Warriors: The Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Workout.
Bar
Grip Exercises
1.
Band Deadlifts
This
exercise is a real challenge for the grip. By using elastic bands
connected to the bar, as the athlete lifts up the bar gets heavier
and tries to rip from the athlete’s hands. We do sets of
5 reps and hold the first 4 reps for 5 seconds at the top and
the last rep for 10. This way we are building leg and back strength
in addition to a powerful isometric grip.
2.
Fat Bar Holds
We
use a fat bar to challenge the grip. If you don’t have a
fat bar, you can place tape or clothes around the bar to make
it thicker. At that point, each athlete lifts a certain amount
of weight (we usually use 225-275) and see who can hold it the
longest. This is a killer on the forearms.
Gi
or Canvas Bag Grip Exercises
1.
Gi Chin Ups
In
addition to bar work, I have found that you must still replicate
the demands on the hands of the gi to truly train the grip for
competition. The first place we started was with the gi looped
over the chin up bar. We do sets of 6 and add weight if we can
do more. We use grips on both the lapel and the gi material to
toughen the hands correctly and work different angles of grips.
2.
Sandbag Lifts
A
sandbag is an easy tool to make and a great tool to challenge
the grip and the rest of the body. All you need is a big canvas
duffel bag or two, some sand and some duct tape and you are ready
to rock. I fill one duffel bag with a certain amount of sand,
tape the bag shut and then place that bag inside another bag
and tape that one shut. This way, there is no mess and you have
a great training tool. We use a 120 pound bag for bag lifts.
During this lift you grab the bag with the grip and lift with
the legs and place it up on a high box. We do sets of 5.
Rope
Exercises
1.
Rope Climbs
If
you have somewhere safe to hang the ropes, rope climbs are also
a great exercise for the fighter. Although I like standing more
for function and safety, this is another demanding exercise that
is a must if you want a strong grip. Depending on the height
of the rope, that will determine how many sets and climbs you
do.
The grip is an area of the body that is often overlooked and
undertrained. When I hear talk of some legendary fighters like
Mark Kerr and current stars like Minotauro, I hear a common thread
that athletes that have competed against them say: they had an
iron grip! Until you have appreciated a competitor’s grip
that could not be broken, you may not take this article as serious
as it is, but I hope this article is a wake up call. Now get
to work on that grip!
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NO
HESITATION, JIM MILLER STEPS UP LAST MINUTE
Most fighters just returning from their honeymoon after being
married only a few weeks earlier would never entertain the idea
of taking a fight on only eight days notice, but Jim Miller is
not most fighters.
Without
a blink, he stepped in for injured teammate Frankie Edgar, who
had to drop out of his scheduled fight against Matt Wiman, and
helped keep the bout on the main card of the upcoming UFC Fight
for the Troops card on Dec. 10.
"Tuesday
I got the call, like around noon, and came right down to the
gym and warmed up and did a fight simulation to see where I was
at, almost puked. I've just been training, trying to get a little
bit of the rust out, and get ready to start cutting weight,"
Miller told MMAWeekly.com about his decision to accept the fight.
The
weight cut could have been the biggest issue for Miller as he
admittedly indulged while on his honeymoon, but since that time
he has worked to get his weight back down and should have no
troubles by weigh-ins on Tuesday.
Beyond
the weigh cut, the bigger issue that Miller will deal with on
Wednesday is a challenger in Matt Wiman, who has been making
a quick rise up the lightweight ladder, winning his last four
fights in a row.
Make
no mistake that while Miller has nothing but the utmost respect
for his opponent, he took the fight believing he would win.
"He's
good in every area of the game. He's definitely a well-rounded
fighter. I think I've got better wrestling than him and better
jiu-jitsu than him," Miller commented. "He's got really
good defense and he's got good movement, his hands are heavy,
but I think it should be a good match-up and an exciting fight
for the fans and a good one for the troops.
"I've
got a lot of respect for Matt, he's a tough guy, and that's what
I want. I want tough fights, and I still think I can put on a
good show with eight days notice."
Short
notice has become a regular part of the Miller name lately. Back
in October, Jim's brother Dan stepped in for an injured Ricardo
Almeida just two weeks out from the fight and picked up a win
over Matt Horwich.
Now,
Jim will attempt to keep the family name alive by one-upping
his brother, taking a fight on only eight days notice.
"That's
the way it works with brothers," Miller said with a laugh.
"We made the comment we were playing 'MMA Horse.' He rear
naked choked his first opponent, I rear naked choked mine, but
then he had that tough one with (Matt) Horwich, I'm going to
have to break the chain."
Miller
finished up his short training camp and left for North Carolina
on Saturday to make final preparations to take on Matt Wiman
at UFC's Fight For The Troops on Dec. 10.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“We
must use time as a tool, not as a crutch.”
John F. Kennedy
|
UFC
Fight for the Troops Preview
UFC Fight for the Troops will come to us live on December 10,
2008 from the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, NC. The event will
air for free on Spike TV. The best part?
It’s
for America’s military men and women.
The
event will raise funds for the building of a hospital for those
military men and women that suffer from brain injuries. Thousands
of soldiers from Fort Bragg will be in attendance.
Great
idea by the UFC! No one deserves our help more than those fighting
to keep our country safe. Now onto the fights.
Josh
Koscheck (11-3) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2): Josh Koscheck is
one of the best wrestlers in the entire UFC, let alone the welterweight
division. He’s an outstanding athlete and as explosive with
takedowns as they come, save Georges St. Pierre. What’s
more, his stand up skills have improved to the point that he’s
better than average on his feet with excellent power in both
his legs and hands.
Koscheck
really isn’t a devastating submission fighter. In other
words, even if he is very difficult to submit—it’s
never been done before, in fact— when he does submit someone
it’s almost always via rear naked choke. So he doesn’t
appear to have a diverse submission arsenal.
Yoshiyuki
Yoshida possesses outstanding throws and ground control skills.
Further, his ground and pound is strong, as his six victories
by way of (T)KO can attest to. Yoshida’s striking is also
solid. In terms of submissions, Yoshida proved strong against
War Machine in his last outing, a first round victory by way
of Anaconda Choke.
Prediction:
Yoshida has outstanding throws and can be devastating with his
takedowns. However, Koscheck is a wrestler who won’t be
put on his back for any length of time easily. If Yoshida can
stay on top for any length of time, this will be his fight. But
guess is that Koscheck will dictate where this fight takes place
due to his superior takedowns and takedown defense. On his feet
and on his back, Yoshida is likely going to find the going tough.
People
will walk away from this fight impressed by Yoshida’s toughness
and skills, even though Koscheck will probably ground and pound
his way to an impressive win, helping to erase the memory of
his loss to Thiago Alves.
Josh
Koscheck wins by way of unanimous decision.
Matt
Wiman (10-3) vs. Jim Miller (12-1): Matt Wiman is a big, strong
lightweight that hits hard and has solid jiu jitsu and submission
skills. In his last fight against Thiago Tavares, he served notice
to the lightweight division that he’s a valid threat.
Jim
Miller has strong takedowns and takedown defense, as he’s
a former Division 1 wrestler. That said, his bread and butter
are his jiu jitsu and submission skills, which are stellar. From
a stand up perspective, Miller is solid.
Prediction:
Miller is a late replacement for Frank Edgar so you have to wonder
if he was in shape to fight in the first place. Guess is, though,
that he was as he’s that kind of guy.
If
both fighters are operating at full boar, Miller is the better
jiu jitsu guy. On the feet, Wiman may be more dangerous. But
the guess here is that Miller will bring this fight to the ground
at some point and exert his will.
Jim
Miller wins via second round submission.
Mike
Swick (12-2) vs. Jonathan Goulet (22-9): Jonathan Goulet is good
at everything: Submissions, wrestling, and striking are all in
his repertoire. Heck, he’s even tough.
On
the flip side, Goulet isn’t necessarily dominant at any
one thing he does.
Mike
Swick has solid jiu jitsu and takedown defense. However, he’s
best known for his striking skills and outstanding reach. In
the end, Swick can control a fight on his feet or end it violently
and quickly there.
Prediction:
At middleweight, Swick was controlled by a stronger wrestler
in Yushin Okami. But this fight is at welterweight, where Swick
proved able to use his reach and takedown defense in decision
victories over Josh Burkman and Marcus Davis. Guess is that the
same will happen against Jonathan Goulet.
Mike
Swick wins via unanimous decision.
Steve
Cantwell (6-1) vs. Razak Al-Hussan (6-0): Steve Cantwell comes
over to the UFC after defeating Brian Stann to take the WEC’s
light heavyweight belt in his last fight. With the WEC shedding
some of the higher weight classes, Cantwell unfortunately has
a long way to go before getting a chance at a UFC belt.
Still,
he’s proven to be a tough guy with excellent striking skills
and power (3 (T)KO’s to his credit). Further, he has solid
takedowns, takedown defense, and even submission skills.
Little
is known about Razak Al-Hussan other than the fact that he’s
undefeated in smaller market venues. Further, he seems to have
excellent submission skills, having won four of his six fights
by way of submission.
Prediction:
Everyone knows that a fighter’s first UFC fight is usually
one that brings out a lot of nerves. Cantwell has already fought
in the WEC so he knows how it feels to be on national television.
Al-Hussan, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same kind
of media experience, nor has he been in there with the same quality
of fighters as Cantwell. Expect Cantwell to keep this fight standing
and impress UFC fans with his power.
Steve
Cantwell wins via TKO in round one.
THE
REST OF FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS
Tim
Credeur (10-2) vs. Nate Loughran (9-0): Both of these guys are
outstanding submission fighters. Credeur has already proven his
toughness on a big stage. Still, I’ve got a feeling Loughran’s
jiu jitsu and athleticism will find a way to win out here.
Nate
Loughran wins via TKO (strikes) in round three.
Luigi
Fioravanti (13-4) vs. Brodie Farber (13-4): Farber is coming
off of a devastating knockout at the hands of Rory Markham. Fioravanti
is a good striker.
Luigi
Fioravanti wins via TKO in round two.
Steve
Bruno (11-4) vs. Johnny Rees (10-1): Bruno has been in there
against solid fighters in the past and has never been submitted,
which is Rees’ specialty.
Steve
Bruno wins via unanimous decision.
Ben
Saunders (6-0-2) vs. Brandon
Wolff (7-2):
Anybody that looks as happy as Saunders does when he’s fighting
is probably good at it.
Ben
Saunders wins via TKO in round two.
Corey
Hill (2-1) vs. Dale Hartt (5-1): If the fight stays standing,
Hill and his ridiculous reach will win. If not, Hartt will.
Corey
Hill wins via TKO in round two.
Eddie
Sanchez (8-2) vs. Justin McCully (8-4-2): Tough call.
Eddie
Sanchez wins via unanimous decision.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WEC
CHAMP CANTWELL READY FOR UFC CHALLENGE
Steve
Cantwell may have one of the shortest title reigns ever in mixed
martial arts and he never even lost his title.
Cantwell
became the World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight champion
when he defeated Brian Stann back in August. Upon winning his
title, Zuffa decided to merge the light heavyweight and middleweight
divisions into the Ultimate Fighting Championship so the WEC
could concentrate on their lighter weight classes.
It
would seem that a fighter would be upset that their title was
never defended, but for Cantwell, moving to the UFC is a very
exciting opportunity.
“I'm
extremely excited,” said Cantwell in a recent interview
with MMAWeekly Radio. “It's like the first day of school.
I've trained hard and did everything I can.”
While
the WEC is certainly a first-class organization, it was always
Cantwell's desire to join the number one mixed martial arts organization.
“No doubt that was the goal. The dream was to make it to
the UFC. I didn't think it would come so soon; overnight like
that. But it's good.”
Cantwell
was certainly not expecting to be moved to the UFC so soon. After
all, the UFC has the best collection of top-ranked light heavyweights
in the world. While Cantwell would have liked to get some more
experience under his belt in the WEC, he welcomes the challenge.
“I
have no complaints,” said the 22-year-old. “I have
a nice shiny belt. I would have liked to have a couple more fights
in the WEC to hone my skills a little bit more, but everything
happens for a reason. I'm completely thankful.”
Cantwell
boasts a 6-1 record with his sole loss coming at the hands of
the man that he just defeated to gain his title from, Brian Stann.
Cantwell
received a call that he was going to be fighting Stann once again
to settle the score in the WEC, but when news surfaced of the
merger with the UFC. He found out that he was going to take on
Stann on the UFC Fight for the Troops card. Cantwell wasn't thrilled
about fighting Stann already, being that fans just saw them fight
a few months prior. However, as fate would have it, Stann was
forced to pull out of the fight due to injury.
“I
thought it was fair under the circumstances because we're 1-1.
I wasn't too happy about it because I thought it was too soon,”
explained Cantwell. “I didn't think the fans would want
to see it that soon. Then they switched venues, because I was
supposed to fight Brian Stann in the WEC, and then they called
me a week later and told me I was fighting Brian Stann on the
UFC Fight for the Troops. I was kind of thrown into his backyard.
But whatever, that got me more pumped up for the fight. Another
week went by and then he pulled out for the fight.”
Cantwell
will now take on Razak Al-Hussan, who is undefeated at 6-0. Preparing
for Stann was definitely an easier task being that there is a
good amount of tape on him. However, Al-Hussan presents a different
challenge because there is not a lot of footage and he is relatively
unknown to the MMA scene.
“When
they first told me I was fighting him, my coach pulled up a fight
of his on YouTube, two fights of him,” he said. "The
first one with some not too good footage and the other one with
decent footage. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them because
they got pulled off of YouTube. My coaches and teammates have
seen him fight, but I haven't.
"I
think that's an advantage on his part, but I mix it up a lot
in my fights. Guys watching footage on me doesn't really matter
because I mix it up. I never do the same thing twice.”
The
UFC is running a very special card for the troops on Wednesday
night. The entire event is centered on the Intrepid Fallen Heroes
Fund to raise funds to build a hospital for traumatic brain injuries
for the brave men and women in the United States Armed Forces.
Thousands of soldiers from nearby Fort Bragg, the proud home
of the U.S. Airborne and Special Operations Forces, will be in
attendance. More information about the facility, including ways
to donate, can be found online at www.fallenheroesfund.org or
by calling 1-800-340-HERO.
Cantwell
is thrilled to take part. “I'm happy to be on the main card.
It should be a good card and a good fight. There'll be a lot
of energy in that place with those guys. I'm completely grateful
to the UFC and the WEC for what they've done for me. I'm looking
to put on a good show.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
FIGHTING
FOR SOMETHING BIGGER... THE U.S. TROOPS
As
the Ultimate Fighting Championship descends on Fayetteville,
N.C. and Fort Bragg for the "UFC Fight For The Troops"
show on Dec. 10, many of the fighters on the card have spoken
out about the honor they feel for the chance to compete in front
of the military personnel that defend the United States each
and every day.
Many
of the fighters have spoken to MMAWeekly Radio recently about
what it means to be involved with the UFC Fight For The Troops
show benefiting the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Josh
Koscheck:
"I'm
looking forward to a good opportunity to step up and headline
this event. It's going to be a historical event, where the UFC
is giving back to the foundation. It's just a good honor. I think
the UFC is doing a good thing and everybody that's fighting on
this card can hopefully put on a great show for these troops
and give them the show they deserve."
Mike
Swick:
"I've
been a huge supporter of the military. I've been to Walter Reed
in D.C., the hospital there where the troops come back from Iraq
who have been shot and had their limbs severed and stuff like
that. I've been to a lot of bases and trained with the Special
Forces guys.
"I'm
always trying to get to the bases and show support. When me and
Kos found out about this show being Fight for the Troops for
the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, we jumped on it. We were on
board immediately, there was no chance we would not fight on
this card."
"These
guys I feel are the real heroes. I get e-mails from them all
the time from Iraq and Afghanistan saying how much they look
up to us and this and that. Those guys are going out on patrols
and sometimes not coming home, sometimes coming home with one
leg or one arm. They're putting themselves at risk, they're the
real heroes that have the tough job."
Steve
Cantwell:
"Those
guys put so much on the line. For me to do anything for them,
even a little bit on the line for them, fight for them, try to
put on a show for them, it's nothing compared to what they do
everyday. I'm really thankful for them. I’m happy to put
on a show for them. Anything they need, they do so much for us.
I sleep at night better because of them, so I'm completely grateful
and just happy all around about it."
Tim
Credeur (former member of the Navy):
"It's
huge. You know there's a lot of people out there, some people
agree why we're at war, some people don't agree why we're at
war, but for me as a military vet the reality is that there's
Americans out there getting shot at. There's Americans out there
putting their lives on the line, and regardless of whether you
agree with it or not, supporting those guys, supporting their
situation, and more importantly supporting guys coming back from
that and having difficulties from that is a huge thing for me
as a vet and as somebody who supports our military."
"I
kind of requested to be on the card and it's important to me
to give back as much as I can."
Dale
Hartt:
"This
is kind of what I do and hopefully I go out there and me and
Corey (Hill) give them a really, really good show. I’m hoping
we make their night and I'm hoping that they realize that we,
or at least me, I'm going to fight extra hard just cause of what
they've done for me."
Nate
Loughran:
"It's
humungous. I consider it a great honor and the only thing that
could even come close to rivaling fighting in front of the troops
is fighting at home, but in front of true warriors, it's truly
an honor and you can't wimp out in front of those guys! I'm really
looking forward to the opportunity and I don't know how I got
picked on that, but I'm just really happy I am."
Jim
Miller:
"It's
a great opportunity. The UFC's doing a fantastic thing for these
guys, putting the show on and auctioning off the tickets for
the troops. It's great to be a part of it. You really feel good
about that.
"I
just really want to thank Dana White, and Joe Silva and Lorenzo
Ferttita for giving me the opportunity, doing this amazing thing
for the troops, and just thank all my sponsors and teammates."
The
special live UFC fight card will raise funds to build a hospital
for traumatic brain injuries for the brave men and women in the
United States Armed Forces. Thousands of soldiers from nearby
Fort Bragg, the proud home of the U.S. Airborne and Special Operations
Forces, will be in attendance. More information about the facility,
including ways to donate, can be found online at www.fallenheroesfund.org or by calling 1-800-340-HERO.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
'TUF
8' assistant coach James Horne to fight MMA
James Horne, who served as the assistant coach for Team Mir on
season eight of "The Ultimate Fighter," is scheduled
to make his amateur MMA debut on Jan. 9, 2009 in Las Vegas.
Horne
will face Abe Salazar in a heavyweight bout at a TUFF-N-UFF event,
the same amateur promotion Xtreme Couture head grappling instructor
Robert Drysdale made his MMA debut with.
Horne,
the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Frank Mir, is
also the former UFC heavyweight champ's main grappling partner.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Nate
Diaz to face Clay Guida at UFC 94
"The Ultimate Fighter 5" winner Nate Diaz will take
on Clay Guida on Saturday, Jan. 31 at UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn
2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Diaz's
camp made the fight announcement Friday evening on its GracieFighter.com
website.
The
UFC had planned for the lightweight scrap as the main event for
"The Utlimate Fighter 8 Finale" on Dec. 13, but a foot
injury suffered by Guida pushed the fight back.
Diaz
(10-2) has won all five of his UFC fights, and his most recent
one, a split decision, was the only fight that didn't result
in a submission win. The Stockton native has defeated in the
UFC Josh Neer, Kurt Pellegrino, Alvin Robinson, Junior Assuncao
and Manny Gamburyan.
Guida
(24-6) will look to defeat two straight "The Ultimate Fighter"
winners. In his last fight Guida won a unanimous decision over
season six winner Mac Danzig.
Current
fight card:
170
lbs. | Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn
205 lbs. | Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
205 lbs. | Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
170 lbs. | Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
170 lbs. | Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
155 lbs. | Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer
265 lbs. | Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
155 lbs. | Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
155 lbs. | Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida
Source: MMA Fighting
|
BONJASKY
& K-1 COMMENT ON FOUL-PLAGUED WIN
TOKYO
– On a sunny Sunday morning after his stormy win in last
night's K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 Final, Remy Bonjasky met with
media at the Keio Plaza Hotel in central Shinjuku. Joining him
at the press conference was K-1 Event Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa.
K-1
World GP 2008 Champion Remy Bonjasky
--
How does it feel to be the champion again?
I feel great, I'm really happy that I won the title back again
after a few years.
--
How did you celebrate last night?
I spent the night with my girlfriend. I was very tired after
the three fights, so resting was a good thing, to check out my
pains and try to recover.
--
Have you recovered?
Even when I woke up I had double vision and a headache. But from
the headache I will recover, and even from the double vision.
So it's okay -- the sport is hard, and we just have to learn
from it.
--
Will you see a doctor when you return to Holland?
Yeah, of course you want to check yourself out, physical health
is very important for me, both to continue in K-1 and also outside
of K-1.
--
Are you upset with Badr Hari for the foul he committed against
you?
Hari is a very good fighter and I respect his techniques and
respect his way of fighting. But I was very disappointed in his
actions when I fought him in the final, because I think all the
people that came to watch wanted to see a good fight. So not
only I was disappointed, but I think all the fans and all the
reporters and even K-1 were also disappointed by the outcome.
That was not a good thing, not for K-1, not for me, and I think
also not for Badr.
--
What sort of penalty do think Hari deserves?
It's not me who has to decide what sort of penalty he's going
to get, but I think he needs to be punished where it will hurt
most, which is financially. I think he will not do it again if
he's punished financially.
--
In 2003, you fell out of the ring, and you won the title. In
2004, you fought 12 rounds to win the title. This year you were
the victim of a foul, and won the title. It seems winning doesn't
come easily for you.
Winning is never easy, it takes a lot to win. But you don't want
to win like I did in the last fight yesterday. I'm a real sportsman,
and I love fighting in the K-1 ring. To win like this is very
disappointing. I've done a lot to achieve my goals, to come to
this level. It's not so satisfying to win like this.
--
Why do you think Hari did what he did?
Well, I can't look inside his head and know what he was doing.
But it happened before with me, a few years ago during a fight
with Bob Sapp. Sapp went down, then he did the same thing --
he pushed me to the ground and then hit me. Badr also went down,
maybe he was thinking like Bob Sapp, 'I won't be able to beat
this guy, maybe by a foul technique I can damage him and then
when he stands up if he's damaged I can punch him out and win.'
That's not a good way to play this game, to fight in the K-1
ring you have to have respect for your opponent and respect for
the rules. If you don't have respect, it's going to be bad for
K-1 and bad for all the other fighters.
--
Did you hear Hari's post-fight comments?
I didn't hear anything from him.
--
Well, he said he thought you were 'acting' . . .
The only thing I can say about that is that if he'd respected
the rules we could have fought normally and decided in the fight
who was the best. If he thinks I was acting, let me kick him
in the head when he's down and we'll see if he's acting or not.
--
After winning the title in 2003 and 2004, you had some rough
times. Now you've won again -- what changed, to help you win
again?
In many ways, things changed. I got divorced, but now I have
a beautiful girlfriend and she's helped me with everything. I
have a new manager, and we've built a new team around me. There
were three hard years, but together we coped with it. It was
hard work, but in the end, this is the result!
--
You've now won the championship three times. What's your goal
for the future?
Well, winning it one time is already a big achievement, winning
three times is great. Now, to win it four times or even beat
Ernesto [Hoost] and win it five times would be the best thing.
I'll work this year to try to win it a fourth time then lets
see what happens.
--
Is there a chance that you'll fight in K-1 Dynamite this New
Year's Eve?
I'm always interested to fight in K-1 Dynamite, but that's up
to Mr Tanikawa and K-1!
K-1
Event Producer Sadaharu Tanikawa's Comments
I
thought Remy Bonjasky was in great condition, with both strong
defense and strong attacks. He looked very good against Jerome
LeBanner and Gokhan Saki; and the down he scored on Badr Hari
in the final was also very good, he looked like he had a great
chance in that fight. But then came the foul; that was not good
at all.
K-1
is a sport; K-1 is not street fighting. We had the same problem
with Bob Sapp in the past, and it's unfortunate it happened again
yesterday. I was sitting ringside with Masato, and he was very
angry with Hari's actions. This morning in the newspapers I read
Hari's comments, he seemed unapologetic, and that is disappointing.
We have rules; to fight in K-1 you must have a professional attitude.
I will be discussing with K-1 Rules Director Nobuaki Kakuda about
an appropriate punishment for Hari. Peter Aerts told me he wants
a rematch with Hari at K-1 Dynamite on New Year's Eve, but as
we don't know Hari's penalty yet, that seems unlikely.
Otherwise,
I was happy to see some new K-1 fighters doing very well last
night and gaining popularity. I also think Melvin Manhoef can
perform well in K-1, and hope to see him in events next year.
K-1 is getting faster, as we saw last night, a big fighter like
Hong-Man Choi has a difficult time keeping up with the pace.
I think he might do well in mixed martial arts, we'll see about
that. We'll be announcing more fighters for the New Year's Eve
K-1 Dynamite event soon; some of the fighters from last night
might be added.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NEIL
GROVE NEW ULTIMATE CHALLENGE HW CHAMP
LONDON – Having started a new promotion with a clean slate,
former Cage Rage brains Dave O’Donnell set up three clashes
to determine the new champions in front of a busy London Troxy
on Saturday night to close out a turbulent 2008. Here’s
how it all went down…
Trying
to overcome a size deficit to someone like Neil Grove means that
you have to be smart, and initially, that’s exactly the
strategy James McSweeney implemented having opened his account
with a superman punch before concentrating on sticking and moving.
Once close, Grove took no hesitation in putting the smaller heavyweight
on his back and under his gait, unable to land much in the way
of damage, they went back and forth before finding their way
to the feet again.
Gaining
momentum in direct correlation with the increasingly raucous
crowd saw the fight swing back and forth between the two with
strikes before McSweeney found himself in a solid position on
Grove’s back, but unable to sink home a submission.
During
the gap between rounds, McSweeney appeared to suffer from fatigue
quite badly and made the tactical mistake of opening their next
exchange with a badly timed shoot. Grove sprawled, pivoted and
took side control on his turtled opponent before stopping him
with strikes. Grove picks up the Ultimate Challenge heavyweight
title and McSweeney is left to rue a tactical error that cost
him the chance of gold.
Early
exchanges between Tom Watson and Daniel Cubbit were quite tentative,
as both fighters felt each other out before landing the clinch
and trying to bully the other around with the plumb. Both seemed
content to throw knees in this position with Watson having the
edge in penetration. It facilitated the positioning of his kneecap
flush into Cubbit's face before following up with a short uppercut
for good measure. An academic ground and pound offense followed
before the referee intervened, handing the vacant middleweight
title to Watson.
Tim
Radcliffe wins big with a dominant victory over highly regarded
Team Titan prospect Jason Young with a rear naked choke at 3:03
of the first round. Forced to play to Radcliffe’s strengths
as a grappler from the moment they engaged put Young on the defensive,
as he knew any mistake would cost him dearly. Although never
looking in danger of causing a stoppage upset, Radcliffe used
his hands to great effect flustering and forcing Young to give
his back before sinking the hooks in and securing the tap to
become the inaugural Ultimate Challenge lightweight champion.
In
a fantastic reversal of fortune, Chris Harman came back from
a tumultuous experience in round one of his encounter with Robert
Salmon to record a left cross knockout finish at the start of
the second. His elation was evident, having been on the receiving
end of some serious knees and dirty boxing in the clinch, and
a very close call with a Kimura/straight armbar transition in
the first. He hung in there, weathered the storm, and made an
impression with his fists.
Dillian
Whyte made a successful MMA debut to complement his 20-1 K-1
record with a hugely destructive left hook on opponent Mark Stroud
only 12 seconds into the round. Bizarrely, Stroud seemed to ignore
the bellows from his corner advising him to go for a takedown
and threw a lazy low point kick. It was a mistake he will regret
when the thumping headache clears in his brain.
Michael
Pastou wasted little time in clinching up with Chris Woolcott
before dropping for a sweet double-leg takedown to land in half
guard. Wasting no time, he used the strikes to open up his opponents
guard before passing to side control and locking on a tight keylock
for the tap.
Jimmy
Manuwa showcased an improved wrestling base to thwart Chris Grieg
on the majority of his takedown attempts. Having recorded a vicious
TKO at the last FX3 event, it was clear that Grieg’s plan
was to avoid the standup, but his persistence started to drain
his gas tank quickly and left him with little energy come the
start of the second round. Following the bell, Grieg backed up
in a straight line against the aggressive Manuwa and telegraphed
his shoot before the next exchange. It was all the invitation
he needed to ground the fight and blast away from side control
with a heavy-handed assault.
Jack
Mason followed his patented approach of “take 'em down and
take 'em out” with a quick double-leg from the bell that
landed him in side control. It didn’t take much to move
into mount before opponent James Elson bucked him off and scrambled
to the cage wall. Capitalizing on the frenetic motion, Mason
latched on a tight guillotine for the tap at the 1:05 mark of
the opening round.
Marvin
Arnold opened his encounter with Jake Bostwick cautiously with
a fast pawing jab, but Bostwick had other ideas coming in like
a rampaging bull and landing a vicious right hook to drop his
opponent to the mat. Hesitancy left firmly at the cage door,
Bostwick pounced on the downed fighter to throw a relentless
series of punches to force the referee to intervene at 32 seconds
of the opening round.
In
other action, Mark Smith made short work of Jody Cottham after
dropping him with a right hook and following up with strikes.
Cottham scrambled, but fell prey to an armbar waiting in the
wings. Fabio Taldo secured the tapout victory over Edgelson Lua
on his third run at a heel hook submission.
Full
Results
-Neil
Grove def. James McSweeney via TKO (Strikes) at 1:38, R2
-Tom Watson def. Danny Cubitt via TKO (Strikes) at 1:57, R1
-Tim Radcliffe def. Jason Young via Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 3:03, R1
-Chris Harman def. Robert Salmon via KO at 0:23, R2
-Dillian Whyte def. Mark Stroud via KO at 0:12, R1
-Michael Pastou def. Chris Woolcott via Submission (Keylock)
at 1:15, R1
-Jimi Manuwa def. Chris Grieg via TKO (Strikes) at 1:35, R2
-Jack Mason def. James Elson via Submission (Guillotine) at 1:05,
R1
-Jake Bostwick def. Marvin Arnold via TKO (Strikes) at 0:32,
R1
-Fabio Taldo def. Edgelson Lua via Submission (Heel Hook) at
3:26, R1
-Mark Smith def. Jody Cottham via Submission (Armbar) at 1:05,
R1
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Life
isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
George Bernard Shaw
|
Pacquiao
Dominates De La Hoya En Route to 8th TKO
By Gabriel Montoya
You couldn’t ask for a more packed (15,001 to be exact),
more raucous and electric atmosphere tonight at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena here in Las Vegas, NV for the “The Dream Match”
between Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. The stars (and seemingly
every beautiful woman on the planet) came out in droves along
with legendary fighters of all eras for boxing’s biggest
fight since De La Hoya vs. Mayweather. Pacquiao came into the
thunderous strains of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”
as the crowd went nuts for their man. Wearing a velvet burgundy
robe and looking intense and focused,
De La Hoya entered to the familiar strains of a mariachi band
playing as the crowd got to their feet to cheer on “The
Golden Boy.” The stage was set, the build-up was complete.
It was now time to “get ready to rumble.”
The
many questions regarding the multiple intangibles and traits
of both fighters were immediately answered as both men came to
center ring. Pacquiao circling, constantly moving his upper body
and pumping his jab. De La Hoya plodded forwarded cautiously
laying out his jab without its usual snap. Despite his size and
reach advantage, De La Hoya appeared to bend down and negate
his advantages to get at the smaller Pacquiao. A jab from Pacquiao
landed sharply with no counter from De La Hoya. Then the two
men came into a clinch and Pacquiao seemed to push back De La
Hoya with seemingly little trouble. Pacquiao would land a lead
left and De La Hoya seemed to take it well. Body shot by Pacquiao
followed by a circle right then another shot. De La Hoya seemed
to be waiting to get off his shots but fro what remained unclear.
Pacquiao seemed to sense his speed and reflex advantage and began
t get braver landing lead lefts and an uppercut. De La Hoay flurried
as Pacquiao paused on the ropes but he easily circled off them
and answered back. Then Pacquiao got off a lead left. Then another.
And still another. He eluded the vaunted De La Hoya left and
customary ten second flurry that won De La Hoya so many rounds
in the past. A very clear round for Pacquiao and the beginning
of a disturbing trend for De La Hoya.
Round
two saw De La Hoya try and impose himself on the smaller man
with a flurry but Pacquiao came right back and quelled that with
a combination of his own. A right by De La Hoya landed but Pacquiao
took it well. De La Hoya continued to jab top find the range
but the snap and speed of his shots wasn’t there. Jab and
left by Pacquiao. Another lead left. They traded body shots but
it seemed that Pacquiao was getting all his leverage on his shots
while De La Hoya was throwing wild, sloppier shots. An uppercut
from Pacquiao got the crowd on its feet. The momentum was already
in Pacquiao’s favor as he landed at will.
Pacquiao
began getting to Oscar’s body more and more in the third
round though his pace slowed a hair. Counter punching and movement
from Pacquiao kept Oscar honest as he circled and attacked the
older, slower fighter.
Round
four began with a hard exchange at center ring. Pacquiao followed
up with two solid left hands that landed with a thud on a swelling
De La Hoya left eye. A right hand from Oscar landed with little
effect but instead were answered by two left hands and a flurry
from Pacquiao. It was the beginning of yet another shut out round
for the Filipino superstar.
The
rout was on as Pacquiao began to unload the kitchen sink in the
middle rounds. Uppercuts, lead lefts over and over again, and
occasional right hands all landed with regularity for Pacquiao.
Increasingly, Oscar looked discouraged and beaten as he was circled
and picked apart more and more by Pacquiao. More and more, the
combinations flowed from the smaller man. A right hook, uppercut
got the crowd on his feet and it began to look as if a stoppage
win for Pacquiao was not out of the question.
The
seventh round was by far the most brutal of Oscar De La Hoya’s
career. Seemingly out of gas and with no answers for the speed,
power, and vicious assault of Pacquiao and with a badly swollen
eye to boot, De La Hoya lay on the ropes and took his beating
like a man. Pacquiao cautiously opened up on De La Hoya looking
to finish things. A seemingly endless combination of punches
followed as Oscar moved from one set of ropes to another, taking
shots left, right and any which way Pacquiao could land them
with no answer. A 10-8 round if ever there was one.
In
the eighth round, De La Hoya again went to the ropes and Pacquiao
went right for his body with a two punch combo. De La Hoya landed
a right hand but Pacquiao answered right back with yet another
flurry. Pacquiao attacked cautiously, avoiding a potential Rope-A-Dope.
As Oscar tried to step forward to attack but a hard left hand
snapped him back to the ropes and Pacquiao yet again unloaded
the kitchen sink. De La Hoya threw a five punch combo near the
bell but Pacquiao ripped him back with a combo of his own to
punctuate a brilliant performance.
In
the end, it would be trainer Nacho Beristain, brought in by Team
De La Hoya to solve the puzzle of Pacquiao, who would call a
halt to the action before the ninth began. “I had to stop
the fight,” he said afterward. “I couldn’t risk
anymore. There was nothing else to do.” It was an improbable
ending to a surprisingly one-sided fight.
“The
media is never wrong,” Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said afterward.
“They said it was a mismatch and it was a mismatch.”
Following
the fight, De La Hoya would give credit to Pacquiao. “He
was the better man tonight. What can I say?”
De La Hoya would skip the post fight press conference and take
a precautionary trip to the local hospital following the bout.
Pacquiao’s
trainer Freddie Roach was excited afterward. For him the bout
was a personal vindication following a broken promise from De
La Hoya to finish his career with the trainer.
“I
said that Oscar couldn’t pull the trigger because I knew
we would keep the action in the center of the ring. Oscar didn’t
know he was coming or going. At the end of the seventh, I told
Manny to keep boxing for the first minute of the next round.
After that take it too to him. Don’t carry him. It’s
your job to knock him out. Go do it. Once we took Oscar’s
left hand away from him, the fight was over.”
A
respectful Pacquiao was thankful and humble in victory. “Thank
you to God and the Filipino people for giving me the support
and the power to win this fight. I would like to thank Oscar
for giving me this opportunity. He’s still my idol. Nothing
personal. It’s about making people happy. It isn’t
about Filipino vs. Mexicans. It just happened that during my
time, there were a lot of Mexican fighters. It’s not my
intention to fight all the Mexican fighters. I love Mexicans.”
Source: Dog House Boxing
|
D-Day
for Antonio Silva coming up - Sengoku or US MMA career
By Zach Arnold
Undoubtedly,
there is financial pressure on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
to take Sengoku’s offer to fight on January 4th at Saitama
Super Arena and risk losing his license to fight in America due
to his drug suspension.
I
have no idea what kind of money Sengoku is offering Silva, but
there’s not a lot of momentum heading into the January 4th
event in Saitama. Sengoku has never officially released any attendance
figures for past shows at Saitama Super Arena, so the houses
are not exactly setting the world on fire business-wise.
Combine
Sengoku’s lackluster live gates with news that Zombie Elite
XC may become shinsei (newborn) Elite XC and Silva’s in
a real rut. He was Elite XC’s heavyweight champion, after
all, and if Elite XC finds new ownership and the CBS TV deal
is revived… suddenly Silva may be needed to fight for the
promotion. Why is this development important? Because if you
believe past media reports, Silva was making over $100,000 USD
a fight for Elite XC. Is Sengoku going to be able to match that
kind of offer? Maybe they offer Silva $50,000 USD maximum to
appear, but what opponents is he going to face in Japan? The
only semi-marketable match-up on the table for him is a fight
against Josh Barnett, a fight in which he’ll likely lose.
Then what?
The
situation for Silva would be different if he was fighting on
the K-1 show at Saitama Super Arena, because that event will
be carried on Tokyo Broadcasting System and have a very large
audience on NYE. The Sengoku show, which will air on TV-Tokyo,
will not nearly have the same audience size as K-1’s big
event.
Let
me close by stating the following… Antonio Silva will certainly
bring more value to Sengoku (if he works for that organization)
than Gilbert Yvel will ever bring to Affliction. It’s absurd
that Affliction is even considering negotiations with Yvel at
this point. Maybe if it was 1997 and we’re talking about
his RINGS days…
Source: Fight Opinion
|
EVANS
AND GRIFFIN HEADED TO THE BREAKING POINT
by Tom Hamlin
Perhaps it goes with the territory for a psychology major, but
Rashad Evans thinks deeply about his upcoming title fight with
Forrest Griffin at UFC 92.
A
little over three weeks away from the big night, he wants to
make sure he looks at his shot through the right lens.
“It’s
an opportunity that I have and I plan on seizing that opportunity,
but if I don’t, this is by no means a make or break situation,”
Evans says.
As
the former Michigan State wrestler approaches a situation of
ever increasing pressure, his goal is to let go of its outcome.
It’s the kind of paradox he loves to tackle.
“You
have to be able to pay a lot of attention to, and be very cerebral
about, what you do and the kind of person you are,” he continues.
“You really have to be intuitive to yourself.”
The
UFC’s light heavyweight belt is arguably the pinnacle of
the sport, and with its pursuit comes a tremendous amount of
sacrifice. Most fighters never get the chance. With a September
knockout victory over perennial favorite Chuck Liddell, Evans
brings a career of exceeded expectations to his contendership,
and that’s what makes him a dangerous opponent for current
champ Griffin.
At
29, Evans knows well of the journey’s costs. Apart from
his brethren at Jackson’s MMA, he has isolated himself in
preparation for the fight. He trained through the Thanksgiving
holiday without his family and will miss them again when Christmas
rolls around. He’s accepted the price, begrudgingly, to
win the title.
“Now
I’m gonna have to try to ruin somebody else’s holiday,”
Evans says.
He
does plan to catch up with his wife and two daughters, but after
the year-end card.
Griffin
doesn’t have the highlight reel of Evans, nor does he lay
claim to the best technique in any area of the sport’s disciplines.
What he has in abundance is toughness and heart, traits that
brought him the first UFC belt of “The Ultimate Fighter”
alums.
“His
greatest attribute is my greatest attribute: he finds a way to
get it done,” Evans comments.
Knowing
Griffin won’t quit, Evans says the fight is as much about
his breaking point as the champion’s.
“My
theme for this fight is just going out there to beat myself,”
he says. “And I do that every single day in practice. I
go out there and try to defeat myself. Because if I know if I
can’t beat myself, there’s no way Forrest Griffin can
defeat me.”
The
usual cadre of training partners are assembled for his camp in
Albuquerque, N.M.: Keith Jardine, Joey Villasenor, Nate Marquardt.
Some notable additions, like Georges St. Pierre, Elliot Marshal,
and Brian Stann, have arrived recently. Evans is deep into high
intensity sessions, making the last push before he gives his
body a break in the final week before the fight.
If
Griffin’s past performances are any indicator, their meeting
will be five rounds of high intensity.
“I
see the fight coming out fast and furious,” Evans says.
“We’re going to be throwing really fast, right away.
And then I see it coming to a period, like in the middle, where
we’re kind of seeing who’s really going to break. Then
somebody’s going to give in, just a little bit. And then
the other person is going to jump on them.”
Evans
feels a victory might ease a negative perception about him that’s
traced back to his appearance on the second season of “TUF.”
Despite several spectacular victories, he hasn’t gained
traction with casual fans in the same way that, for instance,
Griffin has managed to do post-reality show.
“Well,
people don’t know how to feel about me,” he explains.
“In one aspect, they kind of hate me, because they kind
of still see me as the character on the show, that it was portrayed
that I’m a ‘showboater’ since that one statement
that Matt Hughes made. Then they’re like, he’s not
so good because he lays and prays; he barely wins. I can kinda
see some of their criticism, and shrug it off, and continue to
do my thing.
“But
I gotta tell ya, I’m there on those (Internet) forums. The
forums are brutal. My wife she goes on there sometimes, and she’ll
be like ‘oh my god, I can’t believe they called me
a loudmouthed bitch,’ and I’m like, ‘baby, you
can’t be reading that stuff, that stuff will drive you crazy.’
I had people that hated me after the Liddell fight, people writing
racist, racist (expletive). 'You (expletive) monkey nigger, you…'
all kinds of stuff, man. People were upset that I beat Chuck.”
And
therein lies another paradox. While Griffin isn’t the MMA
institution Liddell is, he’s well liked. Well-liked fighters
– not to mention heels – stay employed. At this point,
Evans is neither. It’s not only in his best interest as
a fighter to perform well and defeat Griffin; it also ensures
his livelihood. This is the paradox nobody likes: when the job
you love becomes essential to your survival.
“This
game, especially the UFC, you’re always one win or one loss
away from (expletive) being out of there,” Evans says. “And
this is how I make my money. As long as I keep winning, they
can’t really kick me out. But if I start losing, you better
believe they’re going to get rid of me, you know?”
It's
all part of Evans' balancing act between fighting, business,
and life. He says he doesn't have it all figured out. Like most
people, he's doing the best he can, under admittedly stressful
circumstances. One thing he's certain of, though, is when Dec.
27 comes, his mind and body will align.
“It’s
just a realization that I can’t control the outcome of anything.
I can’t control what he’s going to do,” he says.
“I can’t control his technique or stop his technique.
The only thing I can do is give everything I have. I have a lot
inside. I know I can break him. I know if I go in there and put
on the fight of my life, I can walk away, and know I’m going
to win that fight.”
And
whether Griffin makes him or breaks him, it's an opportunity
he's going to take.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Liddell:
Fourth fight vs. Couture 'doesn't make sense'
Chuck Liddell in a fourth fight against Randy Couture? Not so
fast.
"I really don't know of any of the rumor of me and Randy
fighting in June," Liddell said in a recent interview with
Fighters Only Magazine. "No one said a word to me, and I
don't want to wait till June to fight."
The
UK newspaper Sun reported last month that Liddell had been offered
a main event heavyweight fight against Couture at a June 13 show
in Cologne, Germany.
Liddell
continued, "We'll see what happens, we'll have to talk to
Dana about that and see what the plans are, but I haven't heard
anything about it. I don't know where it came from or who was
talking about it. To me at this point, it doesn't make sense."
Liddell
also knocked down a rumor of him fighting Anderson Silva in February,
saying a he won't return until sometime in March or April.
Liddell
(21-6) lost the first meeting at UFC 43 in June 2003 by TKO but
returned to knockout Couture (16-9) twice at UFC 52 in April
2005 and UFC 57 in February 2006.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Report
- Fitch vs. Gono Still a Go for UFC 94
Sam Caplan
A
previously reported welterweight matchup between Jon Fitch and
Akihiro Gono signed to take place at UFC 94 on Jan. 31 in Las
Vegas is still on tap, according to a report by MMAjunkie.com’s
John Morgan.
Morgan
was present while Fitch made the revelation as a panel member
during this week’s taping of “Inside MMA” on HDNet.
The
Fitch vs. Gono fight had come into question following Fitch’s
release last month that results in his subsequent re-signing
just 24 hours later. However, it’s been reported that amid
the chaos, UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva began
to inquire about replacement opponents for Gono.
The
fight vs. Gono will mark Fitch’s first bout since a unanimous
decision UFC welterweight title loss against defending champion
Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 this past August.
In
addition to Gono vs. Fitch, UFC 94 will be headlined by St. Pierre
defending his title against current UFC lightweight champion
B.J. Penn. Additional matchups include the return of Stephan
Bonnar vs. light heavyweight prospect Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida
vs. Thiago Silva, Christian Wellisch vs. Jake O’Brien,Manny
Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares, and Dan Cramer vs. Matt Arroyo.
A
rumored welterweight matchup between Karo Parisyan and Dong Hyun
Kim could be added to the card as well.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Bowles
Deserves Title Shot, Champion Says
by Brian Knapp
Brian Bowles may not have a marquee name yet, but he has a fan
in World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Miguel Torres.
The
unbeaten Bowles, now viewed by many as the top contender for
Torres’ 135-pound title, submitted talented Brazilian Will
Ribeiro with a third-round guillotine choke at WEC 37 on Wednesday
at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The 28-year-old
Georgian still has never gone the distance in seven professional
fights.
Not
long after he dispatched Manny Tapia on second-round strikes
in the WEC 37 main event, Torres (35-1) turned his attention
to Bowles.
“I
think Brian deserved this fight a while ago,” he said. “I
think we match up very well together. I think he’s a complete
fighter and a very dangerous opponent for me. Like I said before,
I’m here to fight the best in the world. I know he doesn’t
have a huge record, but from what I’ve seen of him, he’s
a very honorable opponent.”
Spawned
by the same Athens, Ga., gym as reigning UFC light heavyweight
champion Forrest Griffin, Bowles (7-0) seems content to meet
the challenges as they come. However, he likes the idea of testing
his skills against Torres, one of the top 10 pound-for-pound
mixed martial artists in the world.
“I
think he’s awesome,” Bowles said. “Anybody with
a record that good is obviously a good fighter. I like to think
I match up well with anybody.”
How
might he tackle Torres, a man who has not tasted defeat in more
than five years? Little would change in terms of preparation,
according to Bowles.
“I
just like to go into a fight and fight,” he said. “I
don’t really have a specific gameplan. I look at what other
people do, watch out for their little tricky moves or whatever
they do and just bring the fight.”
Though
clearly focused on a potential showdown with Bowles, Torres responded
to a recent challenge from former WEC featherweight title contender
Jeff Curran. He was training to fight Curran when he tore a knee
ligament in 2002, and the bout was never rescheduled.
“I
know Jeff Curran called me out and was talking some smack,”
Torres said. “He’s just trying to get an easy fight
without having to work for it.”
Bowles,
Torres believes, has better credentials at this point.
“I
think Brian Bowles right now at 135 has proven himself the most
out of anybody,” he said. “I see a lot of what Brian
does and what he’s doing now … I went through [the
same thing]. If he wants his time, I think it’s his time.”
Stephen
Martinez/Sherdog.com
Hiroyuki
Takaya took home a
bonus for his losing effort
Wednesday in Las Vegas.Zuffa Hands Out $7,500 Bonuses
Cub
Swanson and Hiroyuki Takaya were awarded matching $7,500 “Fight
of the Night” bonuses after their three-round tug-of-war
at WEC 37, Zuffa representatives confirmed. The bonus money matches
that which was distributed at WEC 36 a month ago but pails in
comparison to fight bonuses ($60,000) doled out at UFC 91 in
November.
Swanson
(13-2) has won 13 of his past 14 bouts, the lone blemish a 35-second
submission loss to former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver.
The 25-year-old Californian remains one of the WEC’s top
prospects at 145 pounds. Takaya (9-6-1), who entered their match
ranked eighth in the world, has lost consecutive fights since
his breakthrough technical knockout against highly regarded Antonio
Carvalho in November 2007.
Swanson
and Takaya were not the only WEC 37 participants to benefit from
the post-fight cash flow.
Former
International Fight League contender Bart Palaszewski pocketed
a $7,500 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he axed
UFC veteran Alex Karalexis with punches in the second round of
their preliminary lightweight tilt. Bowles, meanwhile, banked
$7,500 for “Submission of the Night” after he became
the first man ever to finish Ribeiro, locking down a guillotine
choke in the third round.
This
& That
Torres
has not lost a fight since his decision loss to Ryan Ackerman
on Nov. 22, 2003. In that same time frame, the nine other current
UFC and WEC champions -- Carlos Condit, Jamie Varner, Mike Thomas
Brown, Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Forrest Griffin,
Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn -- have combined
for 21 defeats … Former professional soccer player turned
mixed martial artist Diego Nunes went the distance for the first
time in a dozen career bouts, as he outpointed Cole Province.
The 26-year-old Brazilian was an equal opportunity finisher in
his 11 previous fights, finishing six of them by submission and
five more by knockout or TKO … WEC 37 saw the continuation
of several long winning streaks, as Torres (16), Nunes (12),
Joseph Benavidez (9), Wagnney Fabiano (7), Bowles (7), Mark Munoz
(5), Shane Roller (5) and Johny Hendricks (4) all maintained
their momentum … Since opening his career with a TKO loss
to Jake Pruitt, Roller has stopped five straight opponents inside
one round, including three of the last four with guillotine chokes.
He was a three-time All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University.
Source: Sherdog
|
Artilheiro
and Nogueira’s Wrestling
By Guilherme Cruz
Judo
and Olympic Fight Brazilian champion, Rodrigo Artilheiro is the
man behind Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira’s Wrestling
preparation. Helping the champion in his training for the fight
against Frank Mir at UFC 92, Artilheiro spoke with TATAME about
the trains in the Minotauro Team, the expectative for the fight
with Mir and still made an analyze about a fight with Brock Lesnar,
for the UFC heavyweight belt. “Rodrigo is very well, strong,
is well trained, with a good hand and I think he’s prepared
to win, it’s what we expect. We respect Frank, he’s
a big opponent, but we believe in the victory”, bets Artilheiro,
who still commented about Rogério “Minotouro”
Nogueira’s victory at Sengoku and still reveled that might
fight MMA in 2009.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC
Still Hunting TV Deal in Germany
by Tim Leidecker
In the eleven days since the official announcement was made by
co-promoter MLK that the UFC will be coming to Germany next summer,
the U.S. promotion has entered a “hot phase” in negotiations
with ProSieben, one of the big three commercial TV stations in
the country, to air live events.
Contrary
to various reports that misquoted a Nov. 24 article in Der Spiegel,
Europe’s largest weekly magazine, no broadcasting agreement
has been reached with any of the TV channels that Zuffa LLC.,
the parent company of the UFC, is currently negotiating with.
There
is still ample time to hammer out a deal, however. UFC 99 is
scheduled to take place on June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne.
Should
Zuffa and ProSieben reach an agreement, it will not only give
the Munich-based channel the rights to UFC content in Germany,
but to Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Europe as well.
ProSieben
has a market share of 6.5 percent for approximately 5.5 million
viewers. ProSieben also enjoys strong ratings in the coveted
18-to-34 demographic (sometimes as high as 18 percent) and boasts
the most successful German television host in Stefan Raab.
Raab,
a hybrid of David Letterman and Jay Leno, has captured the attention
of viewers by taking concepts which appear to be totally incompatible
to primetime TV -- like high diving and parallel slalom -- and
making them into big hits with huge ratings. The 10-year veteran
has also hosted celebrity boxing events and is said to an avid
MMA fan.
Dave
Mandel/Sherdog.com
B.J.
Penn may co-headline the UFC's Germany card.Not coincidentally,
Randy Couture has already been booked to appear on Raab’s
late night show “TV Total” in the week leading up to
UFC 99. Couture has been identified as the top main-card candidate
for UFC 99, primarily for his ability to speak German from his
days as a U.S. Army soldier stationed there. A fourth bout between
Couture and fellow legend Chuck Liddell has been suggested to
anchor the event, though both fighters have said they have not
been officially approached with the fight by the UFC.
While
ProSieben seems destined to air live events and a possible German/European
season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Sherdog.com has also
confirmed that Zuffa has begun talks with DMAX, a men's lifestyle
channel in Germany which is the home of programs like “American
Chopper” and “Miami Ink.” DMX would be a solid
choice to broadcast previous seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter,”
as well as other programming like “UFC Unleashed” and
“UFC Wired.”
“It
is true, we are currently in talks with the UFC,” wrote
Stefanie Braun, national press officer for DMAX, in an email
to Sherdog.com. “DMAX is interested in ‘Ultimate Fighting’
because young men are interested in it and DMAX, as the men's
lifestyle channel in Germany, is catering to exactly this target
audience.”
Complete
viewership numbers for DMAX were unavailable, but the channel
has released figures for the 14-to-49 year old demographic and
are just under one percent at 0.9 percent, which equals 750,000
viewers.
With
major efforts being made to break into the German market, it
is unlikely that UFC 99 in Cologne will be a one-night stand.
An anonymous source that asked not to be named told Sherdog.com
that Zuffa and MLK are indeed contracted for five events through
2011. However, the agreement allows Zuffa to unilaterally terminate
the deal should the first show not reach expectations.
As
far as UFC 99’s fight card, persistent rumors are circulating
that Zuffa is pushing for a lightweight title defense between
defending champion B.J. Penn and number-one challenger Kenny
Florian as co-headliner for the Cologne show. This bout is only
likely, though, should Penn be unsuccessful in his quest to become
the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history when
he takes on welterweight titleholder Georges St. Pierre on Jan.
31 at UFC 94 in Las Vegas.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Cub
Swanson Breaks Hand in Fight
John Pollock
Cub
Swanson appeared on Fight Network Radio Thursday and stated that
he broke his left hand last night during his win over Hiroyuki
Takaya where he fractured the knuckle on his carpal finger. He
will be on the shelf for six weeks. Swanson received a $7,500
fight of the night bonus for the win. Swanson also stated that
he had to borrow money for this fight and was in a situation
where if he lost the fight on Wednesday night than he would have
basically fought for free.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Between
Rounds interview with Mark Hominick
Affliction featherweight Mark Hominick was the guest on this
week’s edition of "Between Rounds" radio show,
which is available every Tuesday on MMAFighting.com.
Hominick (16-8), a former TKO featherweight champ, is currently
preparing for a fight on Jan. 24 against Miletich fighter LC
Davis (11-1) at Affliction "Day of Reckoning."
"He’s
definitely a strong athletic guy," Hominick said. "He’s
got a good wrestling base. He trains with a good camp and I think
he’s going to be a good test for me. It’s going to
be a fight where I can show how far my wrestling and my ground
game has come. And also I’m going to showcase my standup,
so I’m going to show how well-rounded I’ve come that
night."
Since
fighting in July at the inaugural Affliction “Banned”
event, where he submitted Savant Young with a second-round armbar,
Hominick has celebrated the grand opening of his new gym in London,
Ontario, Canada.
"We’ve
kinda taken the Team Tompkins name and carried on the tradition
with the boys now that Shawn’s now moved onto Vegas,"
Hominick said. "Sam Stout, Chris Horodecki and myself, we
opened the Adrenaline Training Centre, which is basically a continuation
of the Team Tompkins name and gym. Just bigger and better things
right now, so we’re pretty excited about it."
On
fighting for Affliction:
"From
a fighter’s perspective, I’ve never been treated that
well at any event I’ve been to. It was amazing from top
to bottom, they treated you like rockstars. It was pretty cool
to be a part of the show. And actually I was thinking the whole
time, I was just honored to be a part of it, and again, I’m
honored to be a part of the second show as well."
On
Shawn Tompkins:
"Not
even just as a fighter, as a person, as a man, everything. He's
taken everyone from the ground up and taken them to the level
you kinda dream about. I never though I'd be able to do this
full time, make it to the UFC, fighting in Affliction, fighting
in all these shows. He's the one making it possible. He's taken
us from little boys into men and that's kind of the person he
is."
On
showing he's more than just a striker:
"We’ve
got a new jiu-jitsu instructor up here, Rowan Cunningham. He’s
definitely one of the best in Canada. He’s totally improved
my game and I just got to go in there and show it really. Everybody
just expects me to go in there and strike and that's all I can
do. I’m just going to shock the world everytime I go in
there if all people think is that all I can do is strike. I can
submit, I can wrestle, I just gotta prove that."
Oh
his goals at this point of his career:
"My
mindset is all I want to fight are top ten guys. I never want
guys who ducked anybody, I always I want to fight, main event
fights. Those are the kind of fights I want to be in. That’s
the direction I’m going right now. I'm to the point right
now where's it's almost like I don’t care. I just want to
go in there and do it. Fight the best. I think that's what the
mentality should be for any guy that's competing int his sport.
It's getting so competitive now, if you’re not here to be
number one, then you don't deserve to be here."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Werdum
and the new life in USA
By Guilherme Cruz
November
was a month with too many changes to Fabrício Werdum.
After facing one of the most traumatic defeats of his career,
against Junior “Cigano” at UFC, which took him away
from a titleshot and culminated in the end of his contract with
UFC, the Chute Boxe athlete decided to begin a new life in United
States. A week ago in the America, Werdum spoke with TATAME about
the recent change.
“Better
impossible… I’m already at home with my family and
training with Rafael Cordeiro. Here is very nice”, said
the fighter. “I’m here a week ago and started the trains
yesterday. I recovered everything, I came back to train…I’ll
stay here two or three years, it’ll be good”, believes
the fighter, who liked the new house. “Until now, everything
is perfect. The guys here are great, they they’re treating
me very well, very educated, they recognize me… In fact,
here in United States, they don’t know MMA, they know UFC,
and it’s very nice. People are very nice, I’m already
at home and my daughter, Julia, is who likes more (laughs)”.
When
the subject is the new house in MMA, Werdum still has no definitive
answer, but denies the recent rumors that Affliction is discarded
because of financial incompatibilities. “We’re still
in negotiation, my sister entered in contact with them, but until
now there is nothing right. We’ll see everything in 2009.
I’m recuperating myself from injuries and, for this event
now (in January), there’s not way. Affliction is promising
more than 16 shows in 2009, mainly do not claiming exclusivity,
having the possibility to fight in others events, that is good,
but still there’s nothing right”, finished.
Source: Tatame
|
CSAC
TO RE-INSTITUTE DRUG TESTING FOR MMA
by Tom Hamlin
The California State Athletic Commission is one week away from
rolling out a new program to streamline and strengthen the drug
testing process in one of the country’s biggest hotbeds
for MMA.
Newly
minted Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas finalized the
program on Tuesday, and said it will take effect at two upcoming
California events, a Roy Englebrecht-promoted boxing card and
King of the Cage event scheduled for Dec. 11.
The
CSAC will now conduct steroid testing with one of two World Anti
Doping Agency (WADA) labs in the country at the University of
California, Los Angeles. In early November, the CSAC became its
exclusive client for combat sports testing. Among other clients,
the UCLA lab currently handles steroid testing for the NFL, NCAA,
and the U.S. Olympic Team.
Douglas
said the commission has doubled its funding to separate the facilities
used for steroid and drugs of abuse testing. The UCLA lab will
now exclusively handle performance-enhancing drugs, while the
CSAC’s current facility, Quest Diagnostics, will handle
drugs of abuse.
“With
this budget, we should be able to test every single bout on every
single show; no matter the size of the show,” he said.
Douglas
clarified that testing every MMA and boxing participant in California
was a goal, and not necessarily a rule, but the new funding allowed
the commission to conduct at least two steroid tests for every
event, in addition to increased testing for drugs of abuse.
Under
the WADA lab, the new program will also take a fighter’s
supplement usage into account during steroid testing. If, for
instance, an athlete discloses on his pre-fight medical questionnaire
that he has used a certain supplement, particularly a supplement
known by WADA to have issues with steroid contamination, the
lab will consider a “false positive” likely.
According
to Douglas, the new disclosure forms will address the heated
issue of positive tests caused by contaminated supplements. Last
year, the commission took heavy criticism after the suspension
of former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, who claimed his
dietary supplements flagged him for steroids.
“The
misconception before this, for whatever reason, with the drug
testing for combative sports, everyone is quick to say ‘commission,’”
Douglas commented. “Clearly the commission’s crooked.
Well, now that we’re under this protocol with everyone else,
questioning us is questioning everyone else that has this ‘sterling’
reputation. Same laboratory, same laboratory, same protocol.”
Funding
for the new program will be in place for “at a very minimum”
of one year, after which the CSAC will need to justify its continued
expense to state regulators. California currently faces a budget
shortfall of 11.2 billion dollars, and thousands of state employees
have faced layoffs. Douglas admitted the state’s fiscal
situation put the program on shaky ground, but stressed the need
to put it in place.
“What
we have right now is what I have to run with,” he said.
“Within my duty, I have to do what I can to make sure it’s
the best program and the fairest program.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts
of today.
Let us move forward with strong and active faith."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
|
BERT
SUGAR'S PRE-FIGHT BREAKDOWN OF
OSCAR DE LA HOYA vs. MANNY PACQUIAO
by Bert Sugar with Steve Small
STRENGTHS
OF BOTH FIGHTERS
OSCAR
DE LA HOYA
-
De La Hoya is a taller, heavier fighter fighting at a more natural
weight than Pacquiao who is moving up from lightweight (135 pounds).
-
Oscar's height and reach advantage will make it difficult for
Pacquiao to get inside where he does that voodoo he does so well.
-
De La Hoya possesses an effective jab which, together with his
mobility and versatility, along with a devastating left hook,
make him a more complete fighter than Pacquiao.
-
A turnaround left hander, Oscar possesses dynamite power in his
left hand--especially with his power punch, his left hook.
MANNY
PACQUIAO
-
Pacquiao possesses speed and power, throwing quick and explosive
punches.
-
Pacquiao is an aggressive fighter, one who keeps coming, coming
and coming some more, moving in behind a sharp right job, sometimes
doubling up, and then following with a powerful left--alternating
between left hooks and left uppercuts.
-
The boxer called "Pac Man" is a non-stop boxer with
bottomless energy and a buzzsaw style, which tends to wear his
opponents down in the late rounds.
-
A sharper puncher with fast hands, Pacquiao can hurt any opponent
as well as being an excellent "finisher," as attested
to by his 35 knockouts in 52 fights (a 67% slugging average if
you're scoring at home).
WEAKNESSES
OF BOTH FIGHTERS
OSCAR
DE LA HOYA
-
De La Hoya has been far less active than Pacquiao, having had
only six fights in five years (and only three in the last four),
winning only three of those six fights while Pacquiao has had
12 in the same five-year time span, winning 10, losing one, and
drawing one.
-
Speed tends to bother De La Hoya. In his two losses to Sugar
Shane Mosley, Oscar had difficulty dealing with the speed of
Mosley's punches.
-
De La Hoya can be reached with wide punches, one of Manny's specialties.
-
When De La Hoya throws a punch he is up on his toes, giving Pacquiao
an open target for his body punches, which could tend to slow
De La Hoya down in the later rounds where he has had stamina
problems in the past.
MANNY
PACQUIAO
-
Pacquiao is giving away height, reach, and weight to De La Hoya.
-
Pacquiao, who started his career as a 106-pound light flyweight,
is fighting at a weight limit of 147, raising the question of
whether he can carry his firepower north with him as well as
whether he can weather the heavier punches of a heavier fighter.
-
Pacquiao's style is one predicated on offense, not defense, and
he tends to come charging in with his hands held low and drops
his hands and raises his chin after he punches. leaving an inviting
target for Oscar.
-
The "Pac Man" sometimes experiences difficulty "getting
to" an opponent who doesn't stand directly in front of him
and moves out of range.
WHAT
EACH MUST DO TO WIN OSCAR DE LA HOYA
-
Oscar needs to use his physical advantages to offset Pacquiao's
speed, using his height and reach to keep Manny off of him and
fighting tall to stay beyond Manny's reach.
-
De La Hoya must throw hard jabs followed by crosses to keep Pacquiao
off.
-
De La Hoya must try to catch Manny coming-in in one of his "Damn-the-torpedos-full-speed-ahead"
charges.
-
Because Pacquiao tends to drop his hands and raise his chin after
he punches and jumps back, De La Hoya needs to catch Pacquiao
moving back with a left hook counter.
MANNY
PACQUIAO
-
Because speed bothers De La Hoya, Manny needs to move in behind
a fast right jab and throw speed combinations to Oscar's exposed
body, then go up to the head.
-
Pacquiao must fight at a fast pace, wearing Oscar down. De La
Hoya is rusty, having fought as often as Halley's Comet, and
has had stamina problems in the past. Manny must keep the pressure
on to wear him down.
-
Pacquiao shouldn't back straight up. Pacquiao tends to jump back
after throwing punches, raising his head over his guard. This
is a dangerous tactic against a taller fighter with a longer
reach like De La Hoya. Pacquiao needs to step back at an angle
going to his left, away from Oscar's left hook.
-
Manny needs to throw looping right hooks. Oscar has always been
vulnerable to wide hooks, Sugar Shane Mosley using them effectively
against Oscar. Manny needs to do the same.
Source: HBO
|
K-1
12/6 Yokohama Arena card
By Zach Arnold
As
it currently stands:
World
GP Reserve fight: Choi Hong-Man vs. Ray Sefo
World GP Reserve fight: Paul Slowinski vs. Melvin Manhoef
World GP Tournament: Peter Aerts vs. Badr Hari
World GP Tournament: Errol Zimmerman vs. Ewerton Teixeira
World GP Tournament Semi-Finals: Winner of Aerts/Hari vs. Winner
of Zimmerman/Teixeira
World GP Tournament: Gokhan Saki vs. Ruslam Karaev
World GP Tournament: Remy Bonjasky vs. Jerome Le Banner
World GP Tournament Semi-Finals: Winner of Saki/Karaev vs. Winner
of Bonjasky/Le Banner
World GP Tournament finals
Source: Fight Opinion
|
BABALU
WILL STILL HAVE HIS DAY OF RECKONING
by Ken Pishna
New Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato "Babalu"
Sobral may not be fighting No. 3 ranked Matt Lindland on Jan.
24, but rest assured, he is fighting at Affliction's sophomore
effort, "Day of Reckoning."
Instead
of fighting Lindland at a catch weight around 190 to 195 pounds,
Babalu will instead fight an undisclosed opponent at his natural
weight of 205 pounds. Lindland will return to a match-up with
Vitor Belfort at middleweight, which was originally scheduled
for Day of Reckoning when the event was set for October in Las
Vegas.
Now
that things have shifted a bit – Day of Reckoning will take
place on Jan. 24 at The Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. –
it will likely be a better fit for all parties involved.
Wilner
indicated that they have "no word" yet on whom Babalu
will fight, but that "he is on the card at 205."
"After
we agreed to fight Lindland at a catch weight, Affliction came
to us with an opportunity at Babalu's natural weight (light heavyweight),"
Wilner told MMAWeekly.com via email. "It is determined to
be in everyone's best interest, especially the fans, for the
light heavyweight battle instead of the catch weight fight."
"That
said, coupled with our favorable relationship and support of
and by Affliction, we opted to fight at 205 instead of 195. This
will make the already stunning card that much better."
In
addition to Lindland vs. Belfort, Affliction 2 also features
a headline bout for the WAMMA heavyweight belt held by Fedor
Emelianenko, who will defend against former UFC champion Andrei
Arlovski. Josh Barnett will also face Gilbert Yvel in a recently
announced bout, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will fight Vladimir
Matyushenko.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Tim
Sylvia looking to fight New Year's Eve in Japan
Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia is looking to celebrate
New Year's in Japan.
According to Sherdog.com, Sylvia (24-5) is currently preparing
for a fight as his manager Monte Cox works on landing him a spot
on either the "Dynamite!! 2008" card on Dec. 31 or
the World Victory Road "Sengoku 7" card on Jan. 4.
As
of now Sylvia doesn't know who, where or when he'll compete,
but the Miletich fighter understands that the scenario is common
for a New Year's Eve show in Japan.
"I
don't think anyone ever knows until about a week before they
fight," Sylvia told Sherdog.com.
Sylvia
competed for titles in his two fights in 2008 and was submitted
in both. Sylvia left the UFC after losing to Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira in an interim title bout at UFC 81, and then suffered
a 36-second loss to Fedor Emelianenko with the WAMMA belt on
the line.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Fertitta
Open to Rickson Gracie Fighting in UFC
Sam Caplan
It
remains to be seen whether the legendary Rickson Gracie will
ever compete in MMA again, but if he does, it appears that UFC
owner and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta would welcome the man known as
“The Greatest Gracie” competing in the historic Octagon
for the first time.
Gracie,
50, has not competed since a 2000 bout in Japan where he submitted
Masakatsu Funaki with a rear naked choke at 12:49 of round 1.
The older brother of UFC 1 winner Royce Gracie, Rickson claims
to be unbeaten in over 400 fights contested under grappling,
Vale Tudo, Sambo, MMA, and various other rules. In MMA, Gracie
was 11-0 with all victories coming by way of submission.
Despite
the calls of many hardcore fans to return for one more fight,
Gracie has been non-committal to the idea, yet has been very
critical of today’s generation of fighters. So critical
in fact that it prompted writer David Samuels to ask Fertitta
in a one-on-one interview for The Atlantic to share his thoughts
on Gracie’s claims.
Fertitta
responded by inviting Gracie to put his thoeries about today’s
fighters to the test while competing under the UFC banner.
“Let’s
do it!,” Fertitta told Samuels. “I mean, that’s
the ultimate test, that’s what I said, right? Let’s
find out! If that’s the truth, then let’s find out!
I mean, don’t just say it. Let’s do it!”
In
addition to extending the invite for Rickson to compete, Fertitta
was very complimentary towards the Gracie family’s legacy
in the sport of MMA.
“It’s
almost impossible to define it,” Fertitta began to tell
Samuels when asked to define the family’s impact on MMA
and the UFC. “They’ve had the most significant role
that there is, ever. I mean, they created the whole way, the
whole thing. They were the myth-breakers. They showed everybody
that this is the most effective form of fighting.”
Source: The Fight Network
|
Testing
Torres: What Waits for the Champ
by Tomas Rios
He’s a lean mass of sinew and muscle with a reputation for
cracking heads and limbs that has him popping up in pound-for-pound
debates left and right. And with good reason, as no one seems
willing to venture a name within his own division that would
do any better than some random fan wearing a knockoff Affliction
T-shirt.
No,
you’re not knee-deep in another article pondering if Chuck
Norris is the only man who can stop Anderson Silva’s reign
of fistic terror. The pugilist in question is Miguel Torres,
who has risen to demigod status in the bantamweight division
after his clinical vivisection of Manny Tapia on Wednesday.
Of
course, fight sport has a long and proud history of demigods,
and that same history has taught us that it is a select few who
never find their equal. For Torres, joining that elite group
means navigating a bantamweight division full of fighters ready
to commit deicide.
Who
exactly has the fortitude to topple Mt. Torres? I’ve got
some ideas.
The
Next in Line
Brian
Bowles wasn’t supposed to be here, just another southern
scrapper with more work ethic than talent. Sure, he’d hold
his own, but it was a matter of time before he ran into the wrong
fighter and got sent back home with tail tucked between legs.
After
taking out elite Shooto contender Marcos Galvao and another highly
regarded Brazilian in Will Ribeiro, Bowles now plays second fiddle
only to Torres. With a title shot all but wrapped up for Bowles,
he now has to resolve the Rubik’s Cube that is the wolf-haired
WEC bantamweight champion.
That
means using his superior wrestling to frustrate Torres from the
opening bell. No, that doesn’t mean a lay-and-pray game
plan, as Torres’ grappling makes him far too dangerous to
keep on the ground for long stretches of time. Instead, Bowles
has to mix it up and keep Torres from getting into a groove whether
it be standing or on the ground.
What
makes that approach dicey is Torres’ suddenly stifling jab,
which left Tapia struggling to find a way to close the pocket
without having a fist or an elbow deep in his grill. That and
the disparity in the jiu-jitsu department makes Bowles less than
a Ric Flair-level custom-made lock, but all things considered,
he’s the most ready to tangle on even terms with Torres.
WEC
37 was supposed to be
Curran's coming-out party.The Wildcard
While
WEC 37 served as a launching pad for Bowles’ bantamweight
title bid, it was also supposed to be a coming-out party for
Jeff Curran. An ill-timed hand injury has Curran’s bantamweight
debut on hold for 2008, but no one should be doubting anything
about “The Big Frog” save for that tragic nickname.
The
sport is flush with examples of weight-cutting giving failed
title aspirations a second life, and having already competed
as both a lightweight and a featherweight, Curran would likely
enjoy a hefty physical advantage over his bantamweight counterparts,
Torres included.
Better
yet, Curran is one of the few in the division who can roll on
the ground with Torres without coming off Tom Cruise-level crazy.
The downside is that Curran is nowhere near Torres’ caliber
as a striker, and his wrestling likely isn’t enough to corral
him either.
Gambling
on having the jiu-jitsu to beat Torres is in the same league
of stupidity as betting on the Lions to win … anything.
The one thing Curran has going for him is that he’s proven
his worth against top-flight grapplers such as Hatsu Hioki and
Wagnney Fabiano while Torres has yet to take on the grappling
elite of his division.
If
nothing else, Curran would make for a good barometer of Torres’
grappling skill, and isn’t that every fighter’s dream?
To be a good barometer?
The
Rookie
Looking
down the road, there is a youngster who should be on Torres’
and everyone else’s radar. The protégé of
former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez
was handpicked by MMA’s goldilocks and molded into his mirror
image minus 10 pounds.
Sporting
the same hyperactive style and penchant for unorthodox techniques,
Benavidez turned his recent WEC debut against Danny Martinez
into a master’s thesis on MMA. While taking out a journeyman
bantamweight, regardless of how impressively you do it, is not
fuel for a title run, the first step is always the one most likely
to knock you off course and Benavidez handled it beautifully.
Now
all that’s left is running through a division fraught with
contenders while keeping a level head and topping it all off
by locking horns with one of the MMA elite. However, let’s
stay away from the doom and gloom by remembering that Benavidez
is a true blue-chipper and as his arsenal grows, so do his chances.
Even
then, you may need a microscope to measure anyone’s chances
of taking out the nouveau one-man illuminati of MMA.
Source: Sherdog
|
Manny
Tapia Complains of Premature Stoppage
Sam Caplan
WEC
bantamweight competitor Manny Tapia complained following his
second round TKO loss to title holder Miguel Torres that the
fight was stopped prematurely.
“I
thought they called it too early,” said a visibly bruised
Tapia during a Sherdog video interview. “I still felt good.
I know he rocked me, like, twice — well, I didn’t feel
rocked.”
Despite
his critical assessment of the stoppage, Tapia was still willing
to acknowledge that Torres had inflicted serious damage.
“He
got me,” Tapia shrugged in acknowledgment. “They stopped
it because I got this little cut right here on corner of my eye.
I guess that’s dangerous?”
But
Tapia would voice protests over the stoppage again later in the
interview.
“People
say he’s pound-for-pound the best in the world. So who better
to lose to than him?,” Tapia asked rhetorically, before
continuing, “I still don’t feel like I lost. They just
stopped it. I didn’t lose — they stopped it. I don’t
know why.”
During
the interview, Tapia indicated that he planned to take some time
off following the loss but that he has every intention of returning
to the WEC’s bantamweight division.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Yahoo!:
Gina Carano No. 5 most influential woman
Gina Carano is considered by Yahoo! Buzz the number 5 influential
woman of 2008.
The list is based an a analysis of the most searches in 2008.
"Undefeated
kickboxing champ Gina Carano upped her profile in her turn as
Crush on 'American Gladiators,' then later made television history
in the first primetime female fight. The TV venue died within
a few months, but Carano's appeal proved she was unstoppable...like
so many other women in 2008," says Yahoo! Buzz.
Carano
and swimmer Dara Torres were the two athletes on the top ten
list filled out by major players in politics and Hollywood.
Yahoo!
Buzz's Top 10 Influential Women: 1. Angelina Jolie 2. Sarah Palin
3. Oprah Winfrey 4. Hillary Clinton 5. Gina Carano 6. Tina Fey
7. Michelle Obama 8. Katie Couric 9. Barbara Walters 10. Dara
Torres.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
INSTANT
REPLAY USED FOR FIRST TIME IN MMA
by Damon Martin
Instant replay has become an institution for most major sporting
events all over the world, and last year the sport of mixed martial
arts stepped into that arena when the New Jersey Athletic Control
Board instituted the policy, and now it has been instituted in
practice as well.
At
an event held by New Breed Fighters, an amateur MMA promotion,
a ruling by a referee was overturned by the commission after
video review.
The
fight between Joel Roberts and Ryan Vaccaro was stopped after
an apparent tap from Vaccaro, but referee Donnie Caroli was adamant
that he did not see a tap from the fighter.
New
Jersey Deputy Attorney General Nick Lembo, who was ringside,
stepped in and reviewed the video tape after the controversy
– per the instant replay rule passed last year – and
after several views decided that there was indeed a tap.
After
the ruling, the fight was indeed stopped and Roberts declared
the winner.
While
the instant replay rule had not previously played out in an MMA
fight, this newest development could give credence to a standard
that has been a major cause of getting the call right in other
major sports for years.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
93 (1/17 Dublin) fight card line-up
By Zach Arnold
As
it stands right now:
Undercard
Tom
Egan vs. John Hathaway
Light Heavyweights: Tomasz Drawl vs. Ivan Serati
Middleweights: Jeremy Horn vs. Rousimar Palhares
Welterweights: Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle
Main card
Lightweights:
Dennis Siver vs. Nate Mohr
Light Heavyweights: Antonio Mendes vs. Andre Gusmao
Middleweights: Alan Belcher vs. Denis Kang
Light Heavyweights: Mark Coleman vs. Mauricio Shogun
Light Heavyweights: Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
Watch your
thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Unknown
|
Longman
Jiu-Jitsu's "KAUAI CHALLENGE 2008" MATCH Results
Sorry it's late, a ton of competitors competed and the event
was a total success, Hawaii really does have the best grapplers!!
Can't wait for Kauai to hold another one, it should be even bigger,
and as we spared no expense on the trophies and medals, next
time we will have a even bigger better place! We had about 200+
competitors
Longman
Jiu-Jitsu's "KAUAI CHALLENGE 2008" MATCH WINNERS
November 22, 2008
Kid's
(50-59.9) White Belt
1st Place: Tai Mitchell (Longman)
2nd Place: Connor Garcia (Longman)
3rd Place: Spencer Vacalo (Longman)
Kid's
(60-69.9) White Belt
1st Place: Larson Aeiwohi (Longman)
2nd Place: Bryson Yoro (Longman)
3rd Place: River Knapp (Longman)
Kid's
(70-79.9) White Belt
1st Place: Kaeu Lizama ( Longman)
2nd Place: Reef Ewald (Longman)
3rd Place: Seth Kostelecky (Longman)
Kid's
(70-79.9) Yellow Belt
1st Place: Madison Leanio (Longman)
2nd Place: Ikaika Ruiz (Kamole)
Kid's
(80-99.9) White Belt
1st Place: Logan Fredrickson (Michetti)
2nd Place: Makai Sheldon (Longman)
Kid's
(100-125) White Belt
1st Place: Francesca Michetti (Michetti)
2nd Place: Kaimana Carney (Longman)
Kid's
(135-188) White Belt
1st Place: Chai Kimura (Longman)
2nd Place: Thomas Woods (Longman)
Kid's
(120- 140) Colored Belts
1st Place: John Hommel (Gracie Kaneohe)
2nd Place: Bobby Castle (Longman)
3rd Place: Braden Beck (Longman)
Teen's
(120-135) White Belt
1st Place: Kevin Bernardo (KTI)
2nd Place: Micheal Beltron (KTI)
3rd Place: Karl Kunewa (Longman)
Teen's
(135-150) White Belt
1st Place: Tyler Tangelder (Longman)
2nd Place: Kelen Demchuk (Longman)
3rd Place: Jake Monroe (Longman)
Mens:
( Up to 159.9lbs)
1st Place: Noah Esperito (Kapahi Strain)
2nd Place: Mark Kennett (KTI )
3rd Place: Jordan Flores (BJ Penn)
Mens:
( 147.9 lbs) Intermediate Lightweight
1st Place: Sergio Hurtado (Longman)
2nd Place: Paul Kuwamura (KTI)
3rd Place: Domenick Ansagay (Longman)
Mens:
( 175 - 188.9lbs) No Gi Intermediate
1st Place: Graham Kovarik (KTI)
2nd Place: Randall Silva (KTI)
3rd Place: Kelsey Espina (Longman)
Mens:
( 160-174.9 lbs) No Gi Intermediate
1st Place: Shane Kahananui (KTI)
2nd Place: Kaula Watson (Longman)
3rd Place: Seigi Yotsuda (KTI)
Mens:
(189-201.9) Heavy/ Super Heavy White
1st Place: Damon Dawson (Kamole)
2nd Place: Ward Mikami (Kamole)
3rd Place: Dustin Aguilara (Kamole)
Master's
White Light Middle (148-159.9)
1st Place: Sam Fernandez (KTI)
2nd Place: Larry Harper( KTI)
3rd Place: Tony Nuivo (Kamole)
Men's:
(160-174.9) No Gi Beginner
1st Place: Mason Moriguci (KTI)
2nd Place: Braden Rapozo (Kamole)
3rd Place: Treston Sagocio ( Longman )
Men's:
(189-201.9) Heavy Super Heavy No Gi Beginner
1st Place: Ward Mikami (Kamole)
2nd Place: Aaron Lee (KTI)
3rd Place: Damon Dawson (Kamole)
Men's:
(202 plus) No Gi Intermediate
1st Place: Tesai Seamster (Kamole)
2nd Place: Steve Alvarez (KTI)
3rd Place: Grant Manning (Longman)
Men's
(160-174.9) No Gi Advanced
1st Place: Malte Janssen (Icon)
2nd Place Kawika Stewart (Longman)
3rd Place: Casildo Quiroz ( Longman)
Mens
(147.9 and under) No Gi Beginner
1st Place: Justice Martino ( ESU )
2nd Place: Jaron Sit ( Longman )
3rd Place: Nigel Eames ( Kamole )
Men's
( 175-188.9) No Gi Beginner
1st Place: Alan Guillermo (Kapahi Strain)
2nd Place: David Campbell (KTI)
3rd Place: Jeremy Haupt (KTI)
Men's
Masters (189-201.9) Heavy Super Heavy Purple
1st Place: Shane Brede (Longman)
2nd Place: Gerald Hurd ( Kamole )
Men's
(160-174.9) Middle weight Purple
1st Place; Kavika Stewart (Longman)
2nd Place: Daniel Espinoza (Gracie Kailua)
3rd Place: Jake Scovel ( Longman)
Men's
(202 plus) Super Plus Blue
1st Place: Tesai Seamster (Kamole)
2nd Place: Wayne Midro ( Relson Gracie Main)
3rd Place: Steve Alvarez (KTI)
Men's
(174.9 and under) Middleweight Blue
1st Place: Kaula Watson (Longman)
2nd Place: Lindsey Archangel ( Gracie Barra)
3rd Place: Jay Jensen (KTI)
Men's
(202 plus) Super Plus White
1st Place: Lawrence Vidinha (Longman)
2nd Place: Keola Creuz (Longman)
3rd Place:
Men's
(175-188.9) Middle Heavy Blue
1st Place: Randal Silva (KTI)
2nd Place: Graham Kovaric(KTI)
3rd Place: Michael Kenney(Longman)
Men's
(159.9 and under) Blue
1st Place: Travis Talbo (Kamole)
2nd Place: Tyler Sadler (Morita Den)
3rd Place: Dayne McBride (Longman)
Men's
(147.9 and under) Blue
1st Place: Poncho Lopez (Kamole)
2nd Place: TJ Gerhart (Longman)
3rd Place: Noa Mau- Espirito (Kapahi Strain)
Men's
(147.9 and under) White
1st Place: Matt Park (Kamole)
2nd Place: Domonick Ansaygay (Longman)
3rd Place: Nigel Eames (Kamole)
Men's
(159.9 and Under) White
1st Place: Keigan Kaugren (Longman)
2nd Place: Tony Nuivo (Kamole)
3rd Place: Mark Kennett (KTI)
Women's
Blue Belt
1st Place: Mytra Mekeagee( Longman)
2nd Place: Eurielle Blair(Longman)
3rd Place: Lauren Bolton (KTI)
Women's
White Belt
1st Place: Cherith Hamman (Michetti)
2nd Place: Mandy Higa (Longman)
3rd Place: Francesca Michetti (Michetti) and Wendy Leanio (Longman)
Men's
(174.9 and under) White
1st Place: Treston Saygicio(Longman)
2nd Place: Nicky Pedro (Kamole)
3rd Place: Adrian Agan (Longman)
Men's
( 175-188.9) Middle Heavy Purple
1st Place: Shane Brede (Longman)
2nd Place: Gerald Hurd (Kamole)
Men's
( 188.9 and under ) White
1st Place: Alan Mundor (Longman)
2nd Place: Vaclav Burger (Kamole)
3rd Place: Jeremy Haupt (KTI)
Men's
( 189-201.9 ) Heavy Super Heavy Blue
1st Place: Koji Ueunten (Relson Gracie Main)
2nd Place: Keo McBride (Longman)
3rd Place: Jay Bento (Kamole)
Source: Shauna Castle
|
More
media heat-up for Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao
By Zach Arnold
Related
article: Media heat-up for Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao
The
Irish Times recently interviewed Oscar De La Hoya and asked Oscar,
the businessman, to describe why Oscar the boxer is mad at Manny
Pacquiao:
De
La Hoya has refrained from hitting back at Roach, who has Parkinson’s
disease, but as the hype escalates his response becomes pointed.
“Freddie
is a decent guy, but this is his way of motivating Pacquiao.
It’s desperate. And Pacquiao did not show much honour in
our past dealings. I had no idea we would ever fight and I liked
him as a boxer. I wanted to promote him and we met and shook
hands on a deal. Manny didn’t keep his word. He went with
[Bob] Arum instead. I’m not vengeful but I might make him
pay in Vegas.”
De
La Hoya delivers these heavily loaded words with a dazzling smile
as if to prove his mastery of blending business with pain. After
one of his rare mistakes, when he fought the much bigger Bernard
Hopkins at middleweight in 2004, De La Hoya followed his comprehensive
defeat by persuading his opponent to join him at Golden Boy.
Trainer
Freddie Roach is quoted in The Boston Herald as saying that being
a part of De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao is bigger than he could have
imagined:
“This
is the biggest fight of my career,” the Dedham native said
of Saturday night’s showdown between the man he trains,
lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao, and six-time world champion
Oscar De La Hoya. “When I had Michael Moorer against Evander
Holyfield, I thought that was big, but this has outdone it.
“All
the press. All the calls. HBO’s ‘24/7’ show. You
can’t get away from it. If you don’t feel it you’re
not human. I’m human.”
“Sure
you feel it,” Roach admitted. “The world is watching
this. My skin breaks out. I don’t sleep well. I think sometimes,
‘Did I bite off more than I can chew?’ Then I go over
the fight in my mind and I know Manny will win. Handily.”
Michael
Rome points out that something feels missing with HBO’s
recent 24/7 hype specials and thinks he’s found the reason:
Like
many others, I’ve been vocal about how the UFC needs to
step up its fight promotion game given HBO’s 24/7 series.
The difference was especially striking to me following the Mayweather/De
la Hoya series and then the Mayweather/Hatton series. As it turns
out, the key to these shows was Mayweather, not the multi-part
feature.
I
watched the build to Jones and Calzaghe on HBO, and the epic
narraration and music just felt forced. The classic narrative
from the first Mayweather series of this big mouthed kid against
the legend that would shut him up just wasn’t there. The
show ended up doing 225,000 buys, or so I thought, Ron Borges
over at The Sweet Science says it did under 200,000.
I
feel the same way watching the current series with Oscar and
Manny. The Manny stuff is fascinating, the Oscar stuff is boring,
and they have very little material to work with when it comes
to building a narrative for the fight. I knew they were forcing
it when the narrarator described Freddie Roach’s car and
Manny’s dog in his normal epic tone. Obviously this card
is going to do big numbers, but I think it’s more because
Oscar is a gigantic star and Manny has his own drawing base,
not because of anything the show has done.
Marco
Antonio Barrera has proclaimed the De La Hoya/Pacquiao fight
to be a circus. Fight Report doesn’t think the fight is
going to last long at all. Darren Rovell of CNBC says that efforts
by Tecate and Coca Cola to offer rebates to PPV customers for
Saturday’s fight is an innovative idea to stir up more fan
interest:
It
seems like getting $40 off will require some work, since both
rebates require an original billing statement for your Pay-Per-View,
but I still love the effort. Of course, the critics are going
to say, you have to spend to save and in the end it might be
a wash. But I’ve never seen something like this before and
it’s an innovative way to do something that the rest of
the pack isn’t doing. Nice work, beverage boys.
Meanwhile,
Ricardo Lopez Juarez in The LA Times discusses the merits of
the new bronze statue of De La Hoya at the Staples Center:
De
La Hoya hasn’t been the purest athlete in the world. He
has become half-boxer and half-businessman, and it’s been
a while since he last won a really big fight. Many Mexican boxing
fans will never forgive that the East L.A. fighter beat the great
Julio Cesar Chavez, twice.
None
of that really matters, however. De La Hoya’s legacy is
much bigger than any of his detractors.
Boxer
Urbano Antillon of Maywood says he is proud not only for De La
Hoya, but also “for all the Latinos. The statue tells you
that the sky’s the limit for us.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
TUF
8 Finals Set
December 13th Card Completed
By FCF Staff
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced the completed
line-up for the upcoming “Ultimate Fighter” season
eight finale, which will take place December 13th, at The Palms
Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada . As always the reality program’s
finale will be broadcast on Spike TV.
In
the lightweight semi-final matchups of season eight’s “Team
Nogueira vs. Team Mir,” Phillipe Nover submitted George
Roop while Efrain Escudero tapped out Junie Browning, to earn
their respective spots in the finals. At light-heavyweight, Vinicius
Magalhaes caught Krzysztof Soszynski with a first round armbar
and Ryan Bader worked his way to a Unanimous Decision win over
Eliot Marshall, to advance to the December 13th card.
The
Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale Card
Phillipe
Nover vs. Efrain Escudero (Lightweight Final)
Ryan
Bader vs. Vinicius Magalhaes (Light-Heavyweight Final)
Jason
MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia
Kevin
Burns vs. Anthony Johnson
Junie
Browning vs. Dave Kaplan
Krzysztof
Soszynski vs. Shane Primm
Eliot
Marshall vs. Jules Bruchez
Roli
Delgado vs. John Polakowski
Shane
Nelson
vs. George Roop
Kyle
Kingsbury vs. Tom Lawlor
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
DIEGO
SANCHEZ CONSIDERING WEIGHT CLASS MOVE
by Damon Martin
The Ultimate Fighter season 1 winner, Diego Sanchez, is healthy
again and looking for a fight, but despite previous reports,
it has not been decided whether it will be at 170 or 155 pounds.
Sanchez
posted recently on his MySpace page saying, " I'm training
hard and will be dropping down to fight at 155."
When
reached for comment by MMAWeekly.com, Sanchez' manager Jeff Clark
from NCFC Fight Management, confirmed that his fighter is healthy
and recovered from a rib injury that kept him out of his last
fight. But while he has made it no secret he has a desire to
move to 155 pounds, the UFC has not offered him a fight currently
and he would be open to a match-up at either lightweight or welterweight.
The
New Mexico native last competed in June when he defeated American
Top Team fighter, Luigi Fioravanti, by TKO in the third round
of their fight at The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale show.
Sanchez
was slated to face top welterweight contender Thiago Alves at
UFC 90 in October, but the aforementioned injury forced him off
the card at the last minute.
Now
healthy and training again, Sanchez is ready to get back in the
Octagon and compete, but according to Clark there has been no
set timeline from the UFC for his next bout.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Wagnney
comments on win
Black belt debuts at WEC with submission
Considered
one of the best featherweight fighters in the MMA world, Wagnney
Fabiano has been on an impressive campaign. With a win last night
over Akitoshi Tamura at WEC 37, in his debut for the organization,
the Nova União representative reached the seven-straight-win
mark, six of which were by submission and one by knockout. On
his record, there are 11 wins and only one decision loss. Direct
from the United States, Wagnney conceded an interview with Portal
das Lutas, GRACIEMAG.com partner site.
Portal
das Lutas – What did you think of your new home, the WEC?
Wagnney
Fabiano – My impression of it was the best possible, I thought
it was really cool. I found it to be high level, really really
cool. Just for it being in Las Vegas, with all that great organization
and infrastructure, it was really great.
PDL
– You dominated the entire bout, but the Japanese fighter
(Akitoshi Tamura) made things hard on you, stalling the fight.
What did you think of your performance?
WF
– He really had a bothersome half-guard. He defended well,
but I kept cool in doing my job. I train with the best team in
the world, with people from several different styles of fighting,
different games. That kept me calm and I knew I was doing well
in the fight. I sought to maintain the position and control the
fight until the submission.
PDL
– Taking into account the fact you left the IFL as champion
and your series of wins, do you think you’ll soon fight
for the title?
WF
– That’s what I’m here for. I was IFL champion,
but unfortunately the event went broke. I’ve come here to
focus on being number one again. I know it won’t be in my
next fight, since they’ve announced Brown will fight Garcia,
but I’m in line. I’ll be ready for whatever ends up
happening.
PDL
– What do you think of Mike Brown (current champion) and
Urijah Faber, the current big names in your category in the event?
WF
– They have their qualities, they’re good fighters,
but I’m good too. I just have to get in there to see what
will happen, because, just as they train a lot, we train a lot
too. Those two are practically the top guys right now and we’ll
see what happens.
PDL
– You and Jose Aldo are in the same category, academy and
event. What would happen if the WEC matched you two against each
other?
WF
– They wouldn’t do that, because, before we signed,
we already had a conversation about that and they said it won’t
happen. But I don’t know what goes on in those guys’
heads. As far as I know, I won’t fight Aldo.
PDL
– How has your training been going? When will you fight
next in the WEC?
WF
– So far nothing has come up. I’ll help the gang out
that will be fighting at the January Shooto, but, surely, I’ll
be taking things a bit easier. I’ll take a week or two off.
I think maybe I’ll fight in March of next year.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
WEC
to debut in San Diego on Jan. 25
WEC 38 will take place Sunday, Jan. 25 at the San Diego Sports
Arena in San Diego, California, the promotion announced Monday.
The event, which will air live on Versus beginning at 9:30p.m.
ET, will be headlined by a lightweight title bout between champion
Jamie Varner (15-2) and challenger Donald "Cowboy"
Cerrone (9-0).
Also,
former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber (21-2) will look
to bounce back from his loss to Mike Brown when he enters a rematch
against former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver (22-10-1).
Source: MMA Fighting
|
McCullough
vs. Hicks at WEC 38 Postponed
Sam Caplan
A
widely reported lightweight bout between former WEC lightweight
champion “Razor” Rob McCullough and Marcus Hicks that
had been scheduled to take place at WEC 38 on Jan. 25 at the
San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, Calif. has been postponed.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com
confirmed with news early Thursday morning with McCullough’s
agent, Ken Pavia of MMA Agents.
Pavia
indicated that the turn around time following McCullough’s
last fight at WEC 36 on Nov. 5 and WEC 38 on Jan. 25 is too short.
McCullough had to extend what originally was a rigorous eight
week training camp to 16 weeks after WEC 36 was moved from September
to November in light of Hurricane Ike. Then, he was involved
in a physically grueling unanimous decision loss against Donald
Cerrone last month that earned “Fight of the Night”
honors.
McCullough
had been hoping to earn a rematch vs. Jamie Varner following
a title loss to him earlier this year at WEC 32 in Albuquerque,
N.M.
Hicks,
8-1, suffered the first loss of his career while challenging
Varner during Varner’s first defense of the title at WEC
35 this past August. Prior to challenging for the title, Hicks
had gone 3-0 while competing under the WEC banner.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Kimbo
Slice to commentate at K-1 World GP Final
Kimbo Slice is scheduled to commentate at the K-1 World GP 2008
Final on Dec. 6, heating up rumors that the former Youtube sensation
will continue his fight career in Japan.
Mike Kogan of FEG, the parent company of K-1 and DREAM, told
MMAFighting.com that Slice will be ringside in Japan to handle
his broadcast duties as a guest commentator alongside Kogan,
Michael Schiavello and Ernesto Hoost.
Last
week a report in Japan stated that Slice would make his K-1 kickboxing
debut in March against current K-1 heavyweight champion Badr
Hari. The other fight reportedly under consideration was a rematch
against Seth Petruzelli at "Dynamite!! 2008" on New
Year's Eve.
The
K-1 World GP 2008 Final airs live on HDNet at 3:00 AM ET.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WEC
37 FIGHTER SALARIES AND BONUSES
MMAWeekly.com has obtained the fighter salary information from
the Nevada State Athletic Commission for WEC 37 featuring Miguel
Torres vs. Manny Tapia, which took place on Wednesday, Dec. 3,
at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just
as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view
bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included
in the figures below.
In
the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined
as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear
on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take
place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of
whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet
broadcast.
MAIN
EVENT FIGHTERS
–
Miguel Torres ($44,000/win bonus was $22,000) def. Manny Tapia
($6,000/win bonus would have been $6,000)
MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS
–
Wagnney Fabiano ($22,000/win bonus was $11,000) def. Akitoshi
Tamura ($6,000/win bonus would have been $6,000)
–
Brian Bowles ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Will Ribeiro
($4,000/win bonus would have been $4,000)
*Bowles also earned an extra $7,500 for “WEC 37 Submission
of the Night”
–
Joseph Benevidez ($17,000/win bonus was $8,500) def. Danny Martinez
($2,000/win bonus would have been $2,000)
PRELIMINARY
CARD FIGHTERS
–
Johny Hendricks ($16,000/win bonus was $8,000) def. Justin Haskins
($3,000/win bonus would have been $3,000)
–
Mark Munoz ($20,000/win bonus was $10,000) def. Ricardo Barros
($3,000/win bonus would have been $3,000)
–
Diego Nunes ($6,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Cole Province
($3,000/win bonus would have been $3,000)
–
Bart Palaszewski ($8,000/win bonus was $4,000) def. Alex Karalexis
($8,000/win bonus would have been $8,000)
*Palaszewski also earned an extra $7,500 for “WEC 37 Knockout
of the Night”
–
Cub Swanson ($10,000/win bonus was $5,000) def. Hiroyuki Takaya
($5,000/win bonus would have been $5,000)
*Both fighters also earned an extra $7,500 for “WEC 37 Fight
of the Night”
–
Shane Roller ($16,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Mike Budnik
($4,000/win bonus would have been $4,000)
WEC
37 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $219,000
WEC
37 AWARD BONUSES
Each fighter received a $7,500 bonus for the following awards.
Fight
of the Night:
– Cub Swanson and Hiroyuki Takaya
Knockout
of the Night:
– Bart Palaszewski
Submission
of the Night:
– Brian Bowles
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
92 (12/27 Las Vegas) fight card line-up
By Zach Arnold
As
it stands right now:
Undercard
Heavyweights:
Dan Evensen vs. Pat Barry
Welterweights: Ryo Chonan vs. Brad Blackburn
Light Heavyweights: Matt Hamill vs. Reese Andy
Heavyweights: Antoni Hardonk vs. Mark Burch
Middleweights: Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister
Main card
Heavyweight:
Cheick Kongo vs. Mustapha Al-Turk
Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson
Middleweights: CB Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio
Heavyweights: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir
Light Heavyweights (title match): Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad
Evans
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
“Learn
to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that
everything in this life has a purpose.”
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
|
Hazardous
Warfare
January
3, 2009
Lahaina Civic Ctr, Maui
Fights start at 6:30 PM
|
Bustamante
analyzes Palhares vs. Horn
Chuck
Liddell, Randy Couture, Rodrigo Minotauro, Anderson Silva, Forrest
Griffin, Renato “Babalu”, Ricardo Arona, Frank Shamrock,
Jorge Santiago... Those are only nine opponents that Jeremy Horn,
next to face of Rousimar Palhares at UFC 93, faced in the 103
times he step in a ring. Ready to fight another tough opponent,
Palhares is training in a strong rhythm at Brazilian Top Team,
and Murilo Bustamante is confident in the recuperation of the
athlete, who comes from a loss to Dan Henderson.
“This
is good for him. Jeremy has a good game, knows ground, and I
think “Toquinho” (Palhares) is better trained now than
the last time (against Henderson). He’ll not have the problems
he had, he fought injured, he won’t make the same mistakes
and I think that he’ll have a better performance”,
bets Murilo. With a great ground game, Rousimar faces an opponent
that also understands about the thing, after 49 of his 80 victories
coming from submission. “Horn has total condition of fight
anyone in the ground, so I think that he won’t run away.
The strategy is to prepare himself for everything. Rousimar is
improving in the striking part, doing Muay Thai and preparing
himself for where the fight develops itself. If he doesn’t
take him down, he’ll fight standing”, finished.
Source: Tatame |
Babalu
out, Belfort in
Substitution of Matt Lindland’s opponent at Affliction
Initially
called upon to face Matt Lindland at Affliction on January 24,
Renato Babalu will give up his spot to Vitor Belfort. The information
was given by the organization’s vice-president, Tom Atencio,
to the site MMAWeekly. In statements made Atencio didn’t
enter into much detail, justifying the change as an “executive
decision.”
With
17 wins and eight losses as a professional MMA fighter, Belfort
will be trying for his fourth win in a row. In 2008 the Brazilian
black belt fought but once and beat Terry Martin by knockout
at the Affliction maiden event.
Now
Matt Lindland, whose record shows 21 wins and five losses, appeared
on the same Affliction card, when he overcame Brazilian Fabio
“Negao” Nascimento by unanimous judges’ decision.
As with Belfort, Lindland ends 2008 with only one fight on the
year.
Belfort on Lindland
Bout set for January, at Affliction
The
news released by the international press caught Brazilian Vitor
Belfort by surprise yet again. In recent months, Vitor say the
possibility of facing Matt Lindland for the Affliction belt slip
through his fingers. The American top-ranked fighter was offered
to his compatriot Renato Babalu and speculations were that Belfort
would face Gegard Mousasi, who defeated Ronaldo Jacare in the
final of the Dream GP. Now Lindland is said to be Vitor’s
opponent, according to statements made by vice-president of Affliction
Tom Atencio.
“They
didn’t give me an adversary. Against Matt Lindland? That’s
great! Oh, glory!,” said Vitor Tuesday night, expecting
the bout to be for the belt.
“It
will be. They haven’t confirmed anything to me yet. They
were going to give me confirmation at any moment. They said it
would be another week or two, so we’ll see. It seemed Lindland’s
adversary would be Babalu, so we’ll see. It’s good
news they seem to have changed their minds, though,” he
commented.
Having
gone a long time with only surety he would fight January 24th,
Belfort has been preparing himself with no particular adversary
in mind. The doubt as to his future opponent didn’t worry
the Carioca at all.
“I’m
training hard in everything, looking to improve on my weaknesses.
Later, when my opponent is sealed, I’ll put together a strategy.
But there’s no mystery to it, I just have to train hard.
When I started fighting I never knew who I’d face and trained.
Have you forgotten I go back to the beginning?” he finished.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
WEC
37 FIGHTER AWARDS NET $7,500 BONUSES
Brian
Bowles – currently ranked as the No. 3 bantamweight fighter
in the world – defeated No. 8 ranked Will Ribeiro at WEC
37 on Wednesday night. Not only did the undefeated fighter state
his case to be next in line for Miguel Torres' WEC bantamweight
championship, but he took home WEC 37 "Submission of the
Night" honors. The distinction is accompanied with a bonus
check for $7,500
MMAWeekly.com
learned of the WEC 37 awards and bonuses on Wednesday night from
WEC officials.
Joining
Bowles was Bart Palaszewski. The former International Fight League
(IFL) athlete made his WEC debut by earning WEC 37 "Knockout
of the Night." He scored a second round TKO of Ultimate
Fighter alumnus Alex Karalexis, solidifying himself as a contender
in the lightweight division.
WEC
37 "Fight of the Night" honors were awarded to returning
featherweight Cub Swanson and Japanese fighter Hiroyuki Takaya.
The two battled for the duration of their three-round bout before
Swanson was awarded the unanimous decision, a solid return for
the four-time WEC competitor.
WEC
37 AWARDS AND BONUSES
(All
awards include a $7,500 bonus for each fighter.)
WEC
37 Submission of the Night
–
Brian Bowles
WEC
37 Knockout of the Night
–
Bart Palaszewski
WEC
37 Fight of the Night
–
Cub Swanson and Hiroyuki Takaya
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TORRES
TKO'S TAPIA TO RETAIN WEC CHAMPIONSHIP
Proving
once again why he is one of the best pound for pound fighters
in the world, Miguel Angel Torres finished top contender Manny
Tapia by TKO in the second round of their bantamweight title
match on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Early
in the championship fight at WEC 37, Torres showed his versatility
by using a nine-inch reach advantage over his opponent, landing
jab after jab that Tapia struggled to deal with.
While
Tapia was able to land a few solid body punches throughout the
first round, it was Torres who seemed as if he was toying with
his opponent hitting jabs and combinations that kept him off
balance all night.
Before
the fight ever started, Torres had commented that he felt he'd
be more than comfortable on the feet with Tapia. He showed his
dominance during the fight as well.
Torres
hit Tapia with hard shots repeatedly, but to his opponent's credit
he was able to survive and still come forwards early on.
It
was the second round that put Tapia away as Torres landed two
different punches in the session that hurt him, the second of
which brought about the end of the fight.
Torres
landed a big right hand that put Tapia down and immediately the
champion jumped on him, hitting some stiff elbow shots and a
few more punches before referee Josh Rosenthal stepped in to
stop the bout.
"Last
time I fought I got kind of emotional, I got kind of crazy. If
I calm myself, I fight like this pretty much all the time,"
Torres said after the fight about his performance. "I knew
Manny was going to come with big punches. I wanted to keep my
range, use my jab to measure him up, and throw a couple of fakes
and hit him with a big right hand."
With
two title defenses under his belt and 35 wins to only 1 loss,
Torres proved once again why he is one of the best fighters in
the world. He reiterated that he wants to continue to face only
top talent in the future as well.
"The
next step is to fight the next person in line, whoever that may
be. The WEC has a lot of great 135-pounders out there. I'm here
to fight the best in the world," Torres stated.
That
next step may be a title defense against undefeated 135-pound
fighter Brian Bowles in early 2009, as the champion speculated
prior to this event when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio.
Bowles
kept his spotless record intact at WEC 37 by defeating Top 10
fighter Will Ribeiro.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WAGNNEY
FABIANO SUBMITS TAMURA IN WEC DEBUT
In a battle of two of the best featherweights in the world, Wagnney
Fabiano submitted former top ranked 145-pounder Akitoshi Tamura
with a head and arm choke late in the third round of their match-up
on Wednesday night.
With
the majority of the 15 minutes being spent on the ground, Fabiano
displayed his extremely strong jiu-jitsu and wrestling game,
taking his opponent down at will while controlling the dominant
position throughout.
Fabiano,
the only International Fight League featherweight champion in
the promotion's brief history, took Tamura down in the first
round and virtually spent the entire fight in the same spot,
driving from half guard to mount to side control at different
points.
Tamura
did a solid job in the first round nullifying Fabiano from improving
his position too much, but still did nothing to get out from
the bottom or to catch a submission.
The
remainder of the fight went much the same way with Fabiano scoring
takedown after takedown, with Tamura only able to play defense.
At
the end of the second round, Fabiano got to the mount and went
for an armbar, but the round ended before he was able to lock
anything on.
In
the final round, the Brazilian fighter took total control by
simply outworking his opponent with a relentless ground game,
again moving from side control to mount, but this time hitting
the finishing move.
After
opening a cut on Tamura's head earlier in the round, Fabiano
transitioned perfectly into mount while holding onto his opponent's
head and arm. With another seamless transition, he immediately
locked on the choke, which caused the former Shooto champion
to tap out.
With
the win, Fabiano picks up his seventh victory in a row and after
a big win over a top ranked opponent, moves that much closer
to a shot at the WEC featherweight title.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
37: BENEVIDEZ SHINES, BOWLES EYES TITLE SHOT
Bantamweight Joseph Benevidez’s domination of Danny Martinez
came in fits and starts at Wednesday night's WEC 37 in Las Vegas.
Benevidez,
an undefeated Dream veteran, threw every combination in the book
at an advancing Martinez, who looked to scoop Benevidez off his
feet. Every time Martinez closed the distance, he was met with
a flurry of punches and stopped cold.
Showing
much of the busyness and creativity his coach, former WEC featherweight
champion Urijah Faber, had infused in his attack, Benevidez outworked
his opponent at every turn.
“It’s
always my game plan to just go out there as hard as I can and
never stop,” he said post-fight.
Benevidez’s
right leg, whether placed forward in traditional stance or to
the rear in orthodox, battered Martinez’s left side. As
the fight wore on, Martinez had learned his lesson and spent
far more time circling away.
Still,
the two were drawn to each other, rubber band-like, at the center
of the cage, where Martinez’s mostly one-punch offensives
were met with three or four strikes by Benevidez.
Late
in the third, Martinez salvaged a comeback, charging in with
a flurry of punches that found their target. But Benevidez was
quick to regain composure, and again rebuffed Martinez with another
hard combination of punches.
Cageside
judges acknowledged Benevidez’s performance, awarding him
a unanimous 30-27 decision victory. Though he was unable to stop
Martinez, it was a solid debut.
“I
expected it to be my hardest fight,” Benevidez continued
after the fight. “It’s my first decision. I expect
all my fights to be tough now.”
Twenty-eight-year-old
bantamweight Brian Bowles made his best argument yet for a bantamweight
title shot against newcomer Will Ribeiro.
Ribeiro,
25, came into the organization with Olympic boxing credentials,
and certainly gave Bowles a lot to handle on the feet. The two
traded punches – and some crazy spinning back kicks on Ribeiro’s
part – for much of the first round before Ribeiro decided
to try his hand on the mat.
Ribeiro
easily nailed a takedown, but left his neck exposed to a guillotine,
which Bowles rolled him over with and nearly got the submission.
Action
stalled in the second round as Bowles got a takedown of his own
and was unable to advance his position. Upon restart, Bowles
nailed another takedown, but ran out of time before getting another
chance to dominate from the top.
Behind
on the scorecards, Ribeiro tried to get around Bowles’ hands
with a variety of hooks, but couldn’t string any meaningful
shots together. Perhaps anxious to regain lost ground, he again
went with what worked, sort of, in a takedown attempt.
Unfortunately,
the move worked no better than it had the first time. Bowles
countered with a perfect arm-in guillotine and rolled the Brazilian
over. With nowhere to go, Ribeiro had no choice but to tap.
“I
think I’ve earned a title shot,” Bowles said afterwards.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
YVEL
SIGNS WITH AFFLICTION TO FIGHT BARNETT
M-1 Global is pleased to announce that Gilbert Yvel, one of its
top heavyweight competitors, has agreed to terms on a three-fight
contract with Affliction Entertainment.
Yvel
will make his Affliction debut against former UFC heavyweight
champion Josh Barnett on January 24 in Anaheim, California at
the Honda Center during "Day of Reckoning," to be presented
by Affliction, M-1 Global, and Golden Boy Promotions.
Despite
being veterans of the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships
in Japan, Yvel and Barnett have never fought before with "Day
of Reckoning" serving as the first-ever meeting between
the two.
Yvel,
33-12-1, who is known for the strong Muay Thai skills he developed
while training in his home country of Holland, has been competing
in mixed martial arts since 1997. Over the years, the veteran
fighter has recorded notable victories over K-1 standout Semmy
Schilt, current UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo, and former PRIDE
and UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
Yvel's
involvement serves to increase M-1's contributions to the event,
as M-1 contracted fighters Fedor Emelianenko and Kirill Sidelnikov
are already scheduled to compete.
Fedor
will be featured during the show's main event when he defends
his WAMMA heavyweight title against former UFC heavyweight champion
Andrei Arlovski.
Meanwhile,
the 19-year old fighting prodigy Sidelnikov, nicknamed "Baby
Fedor," will be making his United States debut against former
UFC heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello in an undercard
bout to be televised on HDNet.
Additionally,
the M-1 Challenge broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Sean
Wheelock and color commentator Jimmy Smith will be calling the
action during Affliction's pay-per-view telecast. Wheelock and
Smith can be seen and heard in the U.S. every Friday at 8 p.m.
ET during airings of the M-1 Challenge on HDNet.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“Learn
to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that
everything in this life has a purpose.”
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
|
GOT
SKILLZ FIGHTER
WHERE
FILCOM CENTER WAIPAHU
WHEN
DEC 5 2008 FRIDAY
DOORS
OPEN AT 6:30
DAS
RIGHT GOT SKILLZ IS BACKWITH ITS LAST EVENT OF THE YEAR. ITS
THE ORIGINATOR NOT THE DUPLICATER OR WHATEVER THEIR CALLING GOT
SKILLZ NOW DAYS. GOT SKILLZ IS GOING ALL OUT WITH THE YEAR END
FINALE WITH HERMAN SANTIAGO ORIGINALLY GOING UP AGAINST MARK
TUPAS FOR THE 155# BELT. BUT MARK GOT INJURED. SO MARK'S COACH
(STEVE FARMER) STEPPED IN TO REPLACE HIS STUDENT. BEFORE STEVE
CAN TAKE ON THE DIFFICULT TASK OF BEATING HERMAN HE HAS TO TAKE
ON THE TASK OF HITTING THE 155# MARK SO HE CAN FIGHT FOR THE
BELT.
INNER
CIRCLE IS GOING BIG FOR THE END OF THE YEAR. THROWING THEIR ENTIRE
CLUB AGAINST ALL TAKERS. THEY WERE GOING TO DO A TEAM VS TEAM
MATCH BUT NO TEAM RSVPD. SO GOT SKILLZ MATCHED THEIR WHOLE TEAM
AGAINST EVERYONE ELSE. THEY ARE DEFINITELY OUT TO PROVE THAT
THEY GOT SKILLZ. AND IF YOU DO A BACKGROUND CHECK ON THESE GUYS.
THESE PLAYAS GOT MAD SKILLS IN THIS EVENT.
ONE
OF INNER CIRCLE'S VETERAN PLAYERS (TRISTON REBALLIZSA) WILL BE
GOING UP AGAINST JESUS IS LORD'S ALL-STAR PLAYER (KOA RAMELB)
WHO HAS AN UNDEFEATED RECORD IN THIS EVENT. KOA HAS BEEN UNSTOPPABLE
IN GOT SKILLZ. HIS STAND-UP, TAKEDOWNS AND GRAPPLING IS MAJOR.
TRISTON REBALLIZSA WILL DEFINITELY HAVE HIS WORK CUT OUT FOR
HIM COME FRIDAY NIGHT. BUT TRISTON IS ALREADY PRACTICING HIS
VICTORY DANCE WHICH HE ALWAYS DOES IF HE WINS. THEY'LL BE BATTLING
FOR THE 150# BELT AND ITS GOING TO BE A WAR INSTEAD OF A BATTLE.
THE VETERAN VS THE ALL-STAR, SEE YOU THERE.
HERMAN
SANTIAGO
155
STEVE FARMER
JAN QUIMOYOG
125
BRYSEN KEALOHA
TRISTON REBALLIZSA
150
KOA RAMELB
SCOTT RAMIREZ
150
MIKE UEMOTO
DELVIN
200
SHAWN SHEPHERD
SETH KALUHIOKALANI
160
JASON ROCEMAR
KALANI SOLORICMAN
150
HOKU BUDDINGER
DEVIN ARAGAN
145
KEONI MARTIN
JORDAN
130
JAI
JUSTIN GARCIA
125
BRANDON HIYASHI
MICAH BURROWS 140 BRYCE GRAHAM
JOSHUA GONZALVES 145 OMAR MIRZA
SEBASTIAN MARICONDA 150 ELIJAH MANNERS
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 110 JOJO GUILLAOME
ALAN CLARK 130 KELII PALIENCIA
EVAN
QUIZON 130 JAMEN TAYALOA
JOHNNY
TUINASEVE 175 JUSTIN HELEMANO
KOLOA
KAHALEWAI 230 MAKANA VERTIDO
STANLEY
REBALLIZSA 185 BRANDON NALEEHA
ALL
MATCHES & PARTICIPANTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
TICKETS
ARE AVAILABLE AT WESSIDE FIGHT GEAR AND AT ALL PARTICIPATING
SCHOOLS. |
Team
Link celebrates two wins
Check out War in the Woods 5 results
The
Foxwoods Casino held the fifth installment of War in the Woods
last night in Connecticut. Before an excited audience, including
Tank Abbott, Oleg Taktarov and Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga,
ten fights took place, two of which featured fighters from Team
Link – from Gonzaga and partner Marco Alvan.
Chris
Manley brought his record to a clean 3-0. “We knew Valentin
was more of a striker, so all we did was take him down and end
the fight there,” Manley said after the bout.
The
team’s second athlete to enter the cage was Armenia’s
Karen Grigoryan, who also stayed undefeated in professional mixed
martial arts. “I did some serious preparation for this event
only to find out my opponent was switched at the last minute.
My coach told me I was going to fight a very tough Jiu-Jitsu
black belt, who came from Brazil. But I was very well trained
and didn’t flinch to accept this fight. I was expecting
a longer one, but wound up connecting a cross that settled it
within a minute. I just left the UFC house, where I won my fight
but fractured my nose, and unfortunately they said I had to leave.
After that, I already fought twice and am crazy to fight again
in the UFC – I believe my time is coming,” celebrated
Grigoryan, whose record is now 7-0.
Complete
results:
Chris
Manley def. Jose Valentin by TKO
Fred Belleton def. Fernando Rivera by TKO
Josh Laberge def. Barrington Douse by decision
Kym Sturdivant def. Jason Oneil by TKO
Reggie Higgins def. Jesus Ortis by TKO
Karen Grigoryan def. Daniel Rial by KO
Alex Davis def. Margarita Kolmykova by submission
Luis Palomino def. Marc Stevens by decision
Shamkhal Kerimov def. Ryan Griffith by submission
Charlie Brennaman def. Yanish Dimitry by TKO
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC’s
greatest hits: The modern era
In
our third and final installment of the 15 most memorable matches
of the first 15 years of the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
we look at the modern era. (In part 1, we looked at the company’s
intitial surge of success in the 1990s, and in part two, we reviewed
the bright spots during the period in which the UFC nearly went
out of business.)
Unlike
the boom period of the mid-1990s with its underground feel, and
the struggling early years of the Zuffa LLC era before getting
on cable television, the following five fights were huge pay-per-view
and live events.
(One
note on this list. We didn’t include the Brock Lesnar’s
UFC heavyweight championship win over Randy Couture, because
it technically came a few days after the actual 15th anniversary).
May
27, 2006: Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes
When
the UFC started in 1993, its first tournament champion was Gracie,
who revolutionized fighting by showing the importance of the
ground game, and in particular, submissions, to a public that
largely thought a real fight without boundaries would feature
two heavy hitters slugging away.
Gracie
stopped fighting in the UFC after his 1995 rematch with Ken Shamrock.
He returned in 2000 to fight in Japan, including a legendary
loss to Kazushi Sakuraba in a no time limit match that went 90
minutes before Gracie’s corner threw in the towel.
The
promotion of the sport’s original legend against Hughes,
the dominant welterweight fighter of the era, was among the best
jobs UFC has ever done. They made the match seem far more competitive
than logically should have been expected.
Commercials
in which Gracie talked of UFC being “his house,” and
how he was going to take the current star, choke him out, and
send him home, were contrasted by Hughes saying Gracie’s
style was out of date. The hype made for the first UFC show to
crack 600,000 buys on pay-per-view.
While
most insiders recognized Gracie, 39, stood little chance in the
fight, fans hotly debated the issue. Most had not only never
seen Gracie’s fights in Japan where it was clear his days
of domination were long over, but had never even heard of them.
Most thought that nobody had ever beaten Gracie, and he was billed
in the commercials as undefeated in the octagon, which wasn’t
a straight-up lie, but was misleading, as the Sakuraba fight
was in a ring.
Then-welterweight
champion Hughes, while dominant, had at least proven beatable,
leading people to think Gracie had a chance in their Los Angeles
fight.
But
it was a different game, with better, more skilled and further
evolved athletes. Hughes caught Gracie in a straight armbar early,
but when he saw Gracie wouldn’t tap, he got his back, and
fired punch after punch. After 17 of the blows, ref John McCarthy
stopped the fight in 4:39. This match showed that the days of
dominating with Brazilian jiu-jitsu and no other skills were
over.
December
30, 2006: Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz
In
many ways, this fight was the single event popularity peak of
UFC. Ortiz had just set an MMA pay-per-view record and then an
MMA television ratings record in two easy wins over Ken Shamrock.
Nobody was neutral about Ortiz. Some loved him for his charisma.
Others hated him for his brashness and wanted to see Liddell,
the light heavyweight champion, shut him up. Most expected that
result, since Liddell had knocked Ortiz out the first time they
met.
The
match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas did just over 1 million buys.
With the exception of boxing matches involving Oscar De La Hoya,
Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield, more Americans purchased this
pay-per-view than any othyer sporting event in history. It was
a buzz in Las Vegas that UFC has come close to a few times, but
never quite matched.
The
key was whether Ortiz would be able to take Liddell down, because
standing, Liddell had the distinct edge. In round one, Liddell
got the mental edge when Ortiz couldn’t take him down. Late
in the round, Liddell struck, opening up two cuts with punches,
and knocking Ortiz down late in the round, and nearly finished
him. Ortiz finally got a takedown and Liddell’s back in
round two, winning the round.
In
the third round, Liddell opened the cuts worse, and then as Ortiz
decided to trade, Liddell knocked him down, with a rapid flurry
of punches on the downed Ortiz, referee Mario Yamasaki stepped
in. UFC had its biggest spotlight in history shined down on this
night, and Liddell emerged, indisputably, as its brightest star.
March
3, 2007: Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture
If
Ortiz vs. Liddell was the UFC’s business peak, Sylvia vs.
Couture was the emotional peak. Held in Columbus, Ohio, Couture
had retired one year earlier after being knocked out by Liddell.
UFC
was in a quandary at the time. Brandon Vera, who was being groomed
to be the next heavyweight star, was in a contract dispute and
turned down the shot at the 6-8, 265-pound Sylvia. UFC was looking
at disastrous pay-per-view numbers if they put Sylvia in with
Gabriel Gonzaga, which seemed the alternative. Instead, Couture,
who had been knocked out in two of his previous three fights
as light heavyweight, and was a few months shy of his 44th birthday,
agreed to come out of retirement.
Couture
was giving away 13 years in age, eight inches in height, 12 inches
in reach, and at least 41 pounds.
At
the seven-second mark, Couture came over the top with the hardest
overhand right of his career, and Sylvia went down to the loudest
crowd reaction in UFC history. While Couture never came close
to finishing the fight, he dominated all five rounds, and with
time running out, the crowd counted down like New Year’s
had come early. They took their celebration to the streets after
the match like no UFC bout in history.
December
29, 2007: Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell
For
years, this was the dream fight that never happened. Silva dominated
Japan, with an unprecedented six-year reign as 205-lb. champion
with the PRIDE organization, where he headlined several events
that sold out the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome. Liddell was UFC’s
biggest star. Dana White tried to put the match together in 2003,
putting Liddell in a PRIDE tournament, but Liddell lost in the
semifinals to Quinton Jackson, who Silva then finished in the
finals.
In
the summer of 2006, PRIDE promised the match of champions to
UFC, but the deal fell apart as PRIDE instead decided to run
in the U.S. in opposition to UFC. Then PRIDE fell into financial
disarray, and was about to sell to UFC, and White was salivating
at putting together his personal dream match.
But
before the sale went through, Silva fought Dan Henderson on a
PRIDE card in Las Vegas, and got knocked out, losing his championship.
UFC president White was furious, thinking the biggest match in
history had been ruined. Then Liddell got knocked out by Jackson
at UFC 71 and lost his title.
In
September of 2007, with Silva signed to UFC and watching at ringside
and the dream match ready to be announced, Liddell lost via decision
to Keith Jardine.
White
was distraught, thinking the match would never happen, but then
decided to make it anyway. Both men were coming off two straight
losses, and Silva’s losses were by brutal knockout.
But
the match at UFC 79 in Las Vegas was everything people had hoped
for years to see. Both men went a fast-paced three rounds, trading
crisp, brutal shots. Unlike the usual, predictable Liddell who
would sit back and look for the knockout shot, on this night
Liddell combined kicks and takedowns, keeping Silva off balance.
The
second round, in particular, was one of the year’s best,
and Silva scored one clear knockdown and Liddell went down a
second time from a combination slip and punch. But Liddell took
over in round three, and scored a takedown with 20 seconds left
to ice the fight.
April
19, 2008: Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre
This
was a night where what seemed like a disaster for St. Pierre
a year earlier, ended up in storybook fashion.
Serra,
a tough UFC journeyman lightweight fighter, barely won a tournament
on The Ultimate Fighter reality show, in the welterweight class.
An 8-to-1 underdog against St. Pierre, he seemed to be one of
the few people on Earth who thought the idea of the match being
for the title wasn’t a joke. Then he knocked St. Pierre
out at UFC 67 in Houston and claimed the title.
The
rematch came at UFC’s Canadian debut, at the Bell Centre
in Montreal, not far from St. Pierre’s home just outside
the city. The show sold out immediately, with a UFC record 21,390
fans coming from all over the country, as well as setting Canadian
records for the most pay-per-view buys of any event in history.
Serra
may have done the best job in promoting an event in UFC history,
hamming up his “bad guy” role to the hilt, but once
the cage door locked, St. Pierre dominated, winning with hard
knees to the body on the ground, and the fight was stopped with
15 seconds left in round two.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Mailbag:
Cornucopia of concerns
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
No
group of sports fans, it seems, is more opinionated or more outspoken
than mixed martial arts followers.
And
the fans have at it again on a variety of MMA topics in this
week’s edition of the mailbag. My answers are in italics
after the questions.
Light
heavyweight machinations
Do
you see the winner of Thiago Silva-Lyoto Machida fight at UFC
94 on Jan. 31 fighting the winner of Rampage Jackson-Wanderlei
Silva, who are fighting at UFC 92 on Dec. 27, to determine the
next number one contender for the light heavyweight crown?
Yusef
Glen Ellyn, Ill.
ADVERTISEMENT
I
don’t think so, but it’s way too early to say. There
are so many in the title mix that it’s not easy to say who’s
going to get the shot until after the fights play out. Anderson
Silva could even find himself in the mix for the light heavyweight
belt before long. What it means, I think, is a lot of quality
fights over the next few months to sort things out.
Voting
for Brock
Can
you explain to me how it’s possible that Brock Lesnar received
six votes for Top 10 pound-for-pound in the Yahoo! Sports rankings,
yet Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett received none? Do we really
believe after four fights that Lesnar is a better fighter than
those two guys? Remember, Barnett has beaten Randy Couture as
well. Lesnar shouldn’t even be sniffing this list yet. Did
he look good against Couture? Yes. Did it look like Couture had
a good chance of winning before that punch landed? Yes. I think
everyone is getting a little overly impressed with that win.
I shouldn’t know more about MMA than people who get paid
to write about it.
Andrew
Seattle
I
didn’t vote for Lesnar in the top 10 and frankly believe
you need more than one top victory to qualify. I can’t get
into the minds of those who did vote for him, but I suppose you
could make the argument that he defeated a top three or top five
heavyweight and that in and of itself should qualify him. If
Lesnar defeats the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira-Frank Mir winner
when they fight next year, then I’d think he would have
proven he deserves it. In my mind, though, it’s a bit early.
Strikeforce
does it right
I
love the way Strikeforce has run its business. It seems they
keep inching closer to becoming serious competition for Affliction
and UFC. They could have some large fights in the near future.
With the rumored Babalu-Tito Ortiz fight, Scott Smith-Frank Shamrock,
and the prospect of signing Gina Carano, don’t you think
they are setting themselves up nicely for a big live event on
NBC? Tito and Gina are huge draws and having them on the first
live card could make a big ratings splash.
Justin
Dallas
I
agree with you that Scott Coker and the folks at Strikeforce
do a first-rate job of promoting the sport and putting on good
fights. But I don’t think they’re interested in competing
against the UFC. They know that takes big, big money and they’re
not interested in doing that. What I think Strikeforce wants
to do is continue to make quality fights and increase their business.
I think there will be a live show on NBC in 2009 and I’m
sure it will be a great show. But the UFC is going to have something
to say about Carano’s landing place, since it is interested
in signing her to fight in World Extreme Cagefighting.
Real
champions
This
is getting strange. It’s getting to the point where you
can’t safely argue that the UFC champion is the true champion.
If UFC president Dana White keeps on cutting his top fighters
in hissy fits, then what are we paying for? My question is this:
Do you think that Dana can be the cause of the explosion of UFC
and just as quickly responsible for its implosion? As a fan,
I don’t want this drama; I just want to know that I’m
watching the best fighters. (Jon) Fitch has a legitimate point;
it’s called contract negotiations for a reason. That said,
it is unbelievable to me that Dana is the one who would bring
this to light in public. If fans think he is cheating his fighters,
they will care less about cheating the UFC.
Mike
Aiken
New York
I
don’t think anyone is claiming 100 of the top 100 fighters
in the world are signed to UFC contracts. Clearly, the vast majority
of the top 100 are in the UFC, which is what makes the UFC belt
the most significant one in mixed martial arts. However, think
of other sports and you’ll see there is no difference. There
are quality baseball players, who would rank among the top 100
in the world, who are not playing in Major League Baseball. When
Daisuke Matsuzaka was pitching in Japan, all the scouts who had
seen him would easily have placed him in the top 100 in the world,
and he wasn’t signed to an MLB contract. The same is true
in the NBA. Most of the top players are in those leagues, like
most of the top fighters are in the UFC. In our recent Yahoo!
Sports rankings, seven of the top 10 fighters are UFC fighters
and two of those who are not are in the WEC, which is owned by
Zuffa, the same company that owns UFC. Only heavyweight Fedor
Emelianenko, who is No. 2 in our poll behind Anderson Silva,
is not signed to a Zuffa contract. Sherdog.com has seven UFC
fighters and one WEC fighter in its recently released top 10.
Why
is Fedor so highly ranked?
I’m
a little perplexed at all of the Fedor fans out there and the
constant whining that he’s the No. 1 heavyweight in the
world. Even Sherdog ranks him No. 1 and I just don’t get
it. Sure, he’s a tough dude who has fought some talent,
but none in the last three or four years. Hong Man Choi wasn’t
a test, an injured and washed up Tim Sylvia wasn’t a test.
His Jan. 24 fight with Andrei Arlovski may be the toughest bout
he’s had in MMA in a long time. What makes Fedor No. 1,
seriously? If you fight no one, doesn’t that knock you down
a few notches?
Ryan
Scott
Seattle
Well,
Ryan, he’s 28-1 with one no-contest and his only loss was
a fluke, when he was cut badly in the opening seconds of a fight.
He’s got a pair of wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who
is the UFC interim champion, and he’s had a series of other
good wins. Now, I agree with your point about his recent opposition.
Since beating Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in 2005, he’s
fought less than stellar opposition. But while I’m not the
biggest Sylvia fan in the world, Sylvia was coming off a very
close loss to Nogueira and Emelianenko handled him easily. I
agree that he needs to begin facing better competition more regularly,
and hopefully, the Arlovski fight is just the start. It’s
ridiculous that he has never fought Josh Barnett, given that
the two have fought in the same promotions for so long. But Emelianenko
is ranked highly because of his all-around game and because of
his past wins. It’s hard to argue with that record.
‘The
Spider’ is the top dog
I
propose that the only reason any fighter at 185 or 205 is undefeated
is because that person hasn’t fought Anderson Silva yet.
I think Silva would beat Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and even
greats like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture if Randy dropped
back down to 205. Know what’s even better? If Miguel Torres
could put on 30 pounds without having to eat Fatburgers, I’d
say he’d beat Anderson Silva. What do you think about all
of that?
Edward
Maharajh
Raleigh, N.C.
Silva
is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world for a reason.
But he’s lost before and I wouldn’t be so ready to
say he’s going to run through the light heavyweight division
like you suggest. He has a lot to prove at light heavyweight.
I love Miguel Torres as a fighter and think he’s vastly
underrated by many fans. Unfortunately, we’ll never know
if he’d be able to beat Silva, but he certainly has the
all-around game to do it if they were of similar sizes. Torres
is a stud.
St.
Pierre will roll
I
think you’re crazy if you think B.J. Penn has a chance to
beat Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre has already beaten him once
and B.J. is only getting another shot because he cried like a
baby to Dana White. It’s going to be an easy win for GSP.
Lois
W.
Arlington Heights, Ill.
You’re
selling B.J. very short, Lois, which is a mistake. GSP may win,
but the first fight shows that Penn has a chance. Penn is as
complete of a fighter as there is in MMA and he’s got a
very good chance to win. The interesting thing about this is
that I think both have improved tremendously since their last
bout.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Report:
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou dropped from the UFC
Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), a highly touted light heavyweight
who joined the UFC last year, has been dropped from the organization
following a recent loss to Luis Cane.
The
PRIDE veteran and Team Quest fighter went 1-2 in the UFC.
News
of his release comes from a variety of reports, including one
from fiveouncesofpain.com.
Following
high-profile victories over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo
Arona in the Japanese-based PRIDE in 2007—victories that
earned Sokoudjou a top-10 ranking in some major polls—the
24-year-old Cameroonian fighter signed with the UFC.
He
made his octagon debut at UFC 79 and suffered a second-round
submission loss to Loyoto Machida. He rebounded for a first-round
TKO of Kazuhiro Nakamura at UFC 84 before he was tagged with
a TKO loss to Cane at UFC 89.
He
appeared an unlikely candidate to be dropped from the UFC so
quickly, but his sizable contract likely played a factor. At
UFC 79 and UFC 84—the two events in which fight purses were
disclosed—Sokoudjou’s contract called for $40,000 to
show and an additional $40,000 as win bonuses.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Mike
Van Arsdale switches camps, eyes return to competition
If
things go according to plan, former UFC champion Randy Couture
won’t be the only well-conditioned wrestler in his 40s defying
conventional logic.
UFC
and IVC veteran Mike Van Arsdale (8-5), at 43 years old, recently
told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he is eying a comeback
after two-and-a-half years away from fighting.
“You’re
getting older and stuff, and you kind of want to let it go,”
Van Arsdale said. “But I didn’t let it go because I
always thought, ‘I’ve got to set the record straight
here. I lost some fights I shouldn’t have lost.’”
Van
Arsdale won eight of his first nine career bouts. But a loss
to Couture in August 2005 marked the beginning of a four-fight
losing streak that would last through Van Arsdale’s final
appearance in 2006.
Van
Arsdale said serious injuries marred his preparation for those
four defeats.
“I
was operating with some pretty bad injuries,” Van Arsdale
said. “I had a ruptured disc in my neck. Every time I got
hit on the right side of my head, my arms would go numb. And
then they started to go from being numb to burning because I
pinched the nerve off.
“Even
in practice, I wasn’t even capable of doing a real training
camp. Those big fights that I had with Randy Couture, Matt Lindland,
‘Babalu,’ guys like that, I wasn’t even able to
conduct a training and stay healthy because of that particular
injury. You have to get that fixed.”
In
the span since his last contest, Van Arsdale was able to have
his neck repaired.
“At
one point in time I was fortunate enough to have it fixed by
one of the best doctors in the world,” Van Arsdale said.
“Right now I think my neck is that of a 20-year-old, not
an 85-year-old.”
With
the injury behind him, Van Arsdale has remained in peak physical
condition. The 43-year-old feels his time has come to return
to the cage.
“Some
of [my fights] I lost out of stupidity,” Van Arsdale said.
“But some of them I lost just because physically I shouldn’t
have been in the situation where I was fighting at that time.
“Now
I’m physically capable, strong, fast, in-shape. I might
be 43, but I feel like I’m 30. So I think I could compete
with anyone at this point. I’ve just got to get the right
situation.”
Van
Arsdale thought the right situation had already arrived earlier
this year with the Kentucky-based American Fight League. Eventually
that offer fell apart.
“Thought
I had [the right situation] with the AFL, but they kind of called
me several months later and said that they couldn’t do it,”
Van Arsdale said. “They kept telling me I was going to fight
Tito Ortiz. And I was like, ‘Bring him on. I would love
to do it.’ But it was just a bunch of hope.
“I
had signed the contract and everything. After a couple months
of realizing I didn’t get my signing bonus, and nobody’s
calling me, I figured it was over. So I moved on from there.”
Van
Arsdale spent the last few years training and coaching at the
famed Greg Jackson’s Gym in New Mexico. While Van Arsdale
feels the time with the camp was beneficial, he is further inspired
by a recent move to Lion’s Den Scottsdale in Arizona.
“The
catalyst (to move) was somebody called me and asked me to help
them,” Van Arsdale said. “That right there is pretty
big. When somebody is interested enough to actually call you
and pursue you—and at the same time the city it’s located
in is in a city that the person that you’re married to wants
to live in? Now all of a sudden you have an opportunity to work
in the city where your family is trying to get.
“So
I looked at it like that. I said, ‘Well let’s do it
on a trial basis.’ And I’ve been here for three weeks
and it seems to be working out pretty good. It may end up being
a permanent thing.
“And
guess what. The MMA team is non-existent here. You’ve got
maybe one or two fighters. And that’s exciting for me, too,
because I like to be an underdog. I like to be a person that’s
starting at the beginning and building something from the ground
up. So that motivates me as well.”
So
while Van Arsdale will look to build the Lion’s Den Scottsdale’s
MMA team into the type of powerhouse camp he experienced at Greg
Jackson’s, the 10-year veteran will also be on the lookout
for his own return to the cage.
“I’m
looking to do something with the fighting stuff before it’s
all over,” Van Arsdale said. “And I’ve got a sense
of urgency. I’m training right now so that in case something
comes up, I’ll be ready.”
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Hermes
Franca to face Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 17
A
recently rumored lightweight clash between Hermes Franca (19-7
MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Joe Lauzon (17-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is a go for
the as-yet-unannounced UFC Fight Night 17.
Franca
confirmed the bout with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on
Wednesday at a Midwest Cage Championships event.
While
the UFC has yet to officially announce the card, UFC Fight Night
17 is expected to take place Feb. 7 at The Palms in Las Vegas.
Franca
is coming off of an emotionally charged decision win over Marcus
Aurelio at UFC 90 in October. It was the Brazilian’s first
win in his past three bouts after suffering back-to-back losses
to Frankie Edgar and Sean Sherk.
Prior
to the UFC-lightweight-title-bout loss to Sherk, Franca had reeled
off eight-straight victories, including wins over Spencer Fisher,
Nate Diaz and Jamie Varner.
Still
just 24 years old, Lauzon last saw action in a second-round-TKO
win over Kyle Bradley at UFC Fight Night 15 in September. “The
Ultimate Fighter 5” veteran was rebounding from an April
defeat—his first in the octagon—to Kenny Florian.
Prior
to the defeat, Lauzon had won six straight contests, including
three for the UFC.
The
confirmed bouts for the event include:
*
Nick Catone vs. Amir Sadollah
* Hermes Franca vs. Joe Lauzon
* Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer
For
complete UFC Fight Night 17 coverage, including the latest rumored
fight card, stay tuned to UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
Source: MMA Junkie |
Quote
of the Day
“An
idea is salvation by imagination.”
Frank Lloyd Wright
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
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NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
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FILHO
WORKING ON HIGHER PRIORITY THAN FIGHTING
Paulo Filho started his career with 16 straight wins en route
to being considered one of the top middleweights in the world,
but much of that mystique came crashing down after a loss to
Chael Sonnen recently.
Now
that his official release from the WEC has come down, Filho's
manager, Ed Soares, told MMAWeekly Radio that he wasn't surprised
by what happened after his fighter's strange performance in the
cage that night.
"It
didn't surprise me. I mean his performance wasn't that great,
but they had to do what they had to do," Soares said about
the release. "The WEC has been totally great and supportive
and it was just unfortunate that anybody that's seen Paulo Filho
fight knows that, that wasn't the real Paulo Filho. For many
different reasons, I'm sure he just wasn't himself."
Still,
Soares thinks that Filho has the competitive nature and skill
to be one of the best fighters in the world.
"I
still think he's one of the best middleweights in the world.
It was his first loss. It was a poor performance, but he's a
warrior and he's a fighter," Soares stated. "He's going
to come back. He's got to get his life straight. He's had a rough
year. He had some personal issues to go through, and had his
first loss, and I think (in 2009) we're going to see a different
Paulo Filho."
As
far as what options lie ahead for the Brazilian, his manage said
the door to Zuffa hasn't been shut, although nothing was mentioned
about a possible return for the fighter following his WEC release
either. Other options have presented themselves already, but
Soares says there is a higher priority for now.
"There's
been a few opportunities that came up, but right now we're really
focused on him and getting him back on track," he said.
"I'm sure there are going to be other opportunities out
there. There's quite a few. I mean we're bummed out we left Zuffa.
We're bummed that he got dropped, but we have to go on, we have
to go back to the drawing board and rebuild him.
"Right
now we just want to make sure he gets back in and focused and
just get his life in order. That's first and foremost before
we worry about what deal we're going to get."
Soares
did confirm that for the immediate future, Filho still plans
on competing in the middleweight division, and while there is
a chance the former Pride star could return to the land of the
rising sun, nothing has been determined yet.
"It's
not for sure Japan. It could be wherever the best offer is right
now," Soares explained about Filho's fight future.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
"CONSPIRACY"
PITS DAVIS VS. LYTLE AT UFC 93
It’s not much of a secret anymore that Marcus Davis has
great hands. The former boxer developed a respectable submission
game to keep up with the UFC Joneses, and in doing so, has been
more able to use his fighting base in the still-young sport.
With
questions of his viability as a complete fighter long behind,
Davis has found himself looking for fights that will cement his
legacy as a boxer who found greatness in MMA.
“I
always talk about who’s the best fight for me to showcase
me being able to throw punches and take a punch, and just get
down and nasty, and have one of those fights that’s going
to go down like (Marvin) Hagler and (Thomas) Hearns, or Evander
Holyfield and Riddick Bowe, the tenth round of their first fight,”
Davis said. “I want to have one of those.”
His
meeting with Mike Swick at UFC 85 fell short of its potential
to be a classic, though both fighters were physically not 100
percent. Unsatisfied, he immediately began looking for another
fight that would deliver on its promise.
One
fighter that immediately stuck out was Chris Lytle. The two had
often spoken at UFC events, and had agreed a meeting in the Octagon
would be “fight of the night” material. So, they hatched
a plan to make it happen at UFC 89.
“We
were talking and the idea was that originally I was going to
fight second, and he was going to fight before me,” Davis
said of the UFC 89 plans. “Either I was going to call him
out or he was going to call me out. Then they switched it. When
I told my management I was going to call out Lytle, they were
like, 'don’t call him out now. If he doesn’t win his
fight and you call him out before, it will look stupid because
you’re calling out the loser.'”
But
Lytle kept up with his end of the bargain, winning a hard-fought
decision over former Davis foe Paul Kelly. On the mic afterwards,
Lytle made the plea for a fight with “The Irish Hand Grenade.”
The
UFC must have been in on the conspiracy too, because two weeks
later it was a done deal. Davis and Lytle would meet on Jan.
17 in Dublin, Ireland at UFC 93.
Davis
says it’s the right time and place for his dream fight.
“I
used to always think it might have been Gomi, because he’s
so flat footed, and he just likes to throw bombs,” he explains.
“But because of Chris Lytle and his style recently of just
banging with everybody, I think that this is the fight. This
is the fight that’s going to be in my backyard, not his
backyard, (and) that’s where I’m hoping it’s going
to be one of the best fights ever in UFC history.”
Davis
is currently in Boston, training with his team at Sityodtong,
and says he’s pacing himself to peak correctly for Lytle.
In the next few weeks, he will move to North Carolina for the
UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” event at Fort Bragg,
and then to Las Vegas for more training. After another pick-up
at Sityodtong before the fight, he’ll be off to his native
land of Ireland.
And
don’t think Davis’ plan with Lytle will keep him from
going for blood.
“I
don’t know if you would call it a conspiracy, because trust
me, I’m going to try to knock him out,” Davis said.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BART
PALASZEWSKI GUNNING FOR WEC CONTENTION
Despite some of its shortcomings, the International Fight League
helped produce some of the best young talent in MMA across multiple
weight divisions over the last couple of years.
In
particular, the lightweight division saw the coming of lone league
champion Ryan Schultz, Canadian standout Chris Horodecki, and
Jeff Curran product Bart Palaszewski.
With
Schultz headed to World Victory Road (Sengoku) in Japan and Horodecki
to Affliction, only Palaszewski remained to find a home in a
major organization… until now… as he readies himself
to make his World Extreme Cagefighting debut on Dec. 3 at WEC
37 against “Ultimate Fighter” season one alumnus Alex
Karalexis.
“I
had some minor injuries that happened before my last fight that
I’ve tried to heal up, otherwise just been in the gym, every
day all day long," said Palaszewski of his time off since
his last fight in June. “(I was) training hard like I’m
getting ready for a fight, and then the call came through for
the WEC, so I was right on track and just kept on with it.”
After
a period of time that saw him fight 12 times in two years for
the IFL, Palaszewski used his relatively light schedule this
year to focus on becoming a better overall fighter.
“I’ve
been wrestling a lot more, taking a lot more jiu-jitsu with the
gi on; just going back to my roots with that,” he stated.
“Just sharpen up my game more than anything, and really
picking up my game as far as conditioning. I’ve taken it
to a whole new level.
“I
wanted to get to a new level of conditioning so I can go out
there and really make a statement right off the bat. I kind of
slid off the face of the earth the last few months, so I really
want to come back strong, climb that ladder and be Top 10 some
day.”
Having
a chance to get healthy prior to his fight with Karalexis on
Dec. 3, Palaszewski is truly anticipating a great performance
in his WEC debut.
“I
feel great about this fight,” he exclaimed. “I think
I’m in the best shape of my life for this fight. I know
I’ve said it before, but it is true.
“I
think conditioning is going to be a big factor in this fight.
He’s a big guy, and I’m sure the weight is going to
take a toll on him.”
While
he has been working on different aspects of his game, fans know
Palaszewski for his stand-up ability, which he feels will inevitably
be featured in this fight.
“I
think we’re both willing to duke it out a little bit,”
he commented. “I think I may be a cleaner boxer than he
is, from what I’ve seen. He does pack a lot of heat in his
punches.
“You
have to be careful about his wild punches, but I think I will
come out on top.”
With
the WEC focusing solely on 170-pound fighters and below heading
into 2009, the lightweight division looks to be the focus of
a lot of attention over the coming year. And it's attention Palaszewski
looks to use to get him the fights he needs to put him in title
contention.
“I
don’t want to get a title shot just because I have some
experience,” he said. “I want to go out there, make
a statement, and fight whoever I need to fight to get the belt.
“I
want to fight a legit contender, beat him, and get a title shot.
The ultimate goal is to get the title belt, but I don’t
want to get it the easy way. I want to work really hard and really
deserve it in the fans’ minds, the promotion’s mind,
and in my mind, as well.”
A
win over a WEC veteran could go a long way towards helping Palaszewski
make his case of becoming the first IFL product to make a serious
run towards taking a title belt, a legacy that that would be
just fine by him.
“Stay
tuned to Versus. I hope my fight gets aired,” concluded
Palaszewski. “I’m going to do my best to put on a great
show.
“Thanks
fans for all the support. I want to thank my coaches, Doug Mango,
Jeff Curran, Brian from SuckerPunch Entertainment, and all my
sponsors: Gamma-O, Tapout and everyone I’m forgetting.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MacDonald
stops French, unifies KOTC 155-lb. titles
Rory MacDonald, at the age of 19, calls himself both the King
of the Cage World and Canada lightweight champion.
MacDonald,
who entered as the King of the Cage Canada champ, captured the
world title by defeating PRIDE and "Sengoku" veteran
Clay French on Friday, Nov. 28 at King of the Cage "Grinder"
in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
MacDonald
floored French with a punch and finished with strikes for the
TKO win at 4:26 of the second round.
French,
who won the belt from "The Ultimate Fighter" winner
Mac Danzig, held the belt for close to two years and never suffered
a loss via (T)KO in his previous 19 fights.
MacDonald remained undefeated with a record of 7-0, while the
H.I.T. Squad fighter French fell to 16-4.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jucao
calls on Paulao
Fighter calls friend over to USA
Roan
“Jucao” Carneiro carries on with his life. After the
loss to Japanese fighter Ryo Chonan, considered by himself and
some others to be unfair, the Brazilian ended up rescinding his
UFC contract. Besides Jucao, many others from the organization,
among them Fabricio Werdum and Marcus Aurelio, had the same fate.
The fighter commended on the subject, but first he sent a message
out to his friend Paulo Filho, who also lost his contract recently
after an unrecognizable performance against Chael Sonnen in the
WEC.
“I
tried to communicate with him, but didn’t manage. I’d
like for him to read this interview or for someone to speak with
him about it. I want the guy to come here (USA). I’m not
belittling his training in Brazil, I know he has great training
partners, but he needs to make his life here now. He’s an
athlete, he has to do his business here. He’s very well
known here, he’ll have a phenomenal training structure and
the doors to my gym and the American Top Team’s are open.
I love him and he’ll always be my brother,” said Jucao.
The
black belt analyzed the policy adopted by the UFC, now considered
the most important in the segment.
“Truth
is the UFC uses the athletes to their own convenience. Of course
there are a lot of good fighters there, but there others who
are really god and don’t get the opportunity. I don’t
agree with what they’re doing with Lyoto, for example, and
other athletes. Rashad Evans is a really good fighter, but the
way I see it he shouldn’t be fighting for the belt against
Forrest Griffin now. But since he knocked out Chuck Liddell,
the guys put him in. In my opinion, Lyoto is much more deserving.
He shouldn’t have to fight Thiago Silva, he should fight
for the belt right away. But that’s how it goes, they do
what’s convenient for the show. They’re selling pay-per-views
to Japan, so it’s interesting to have Ryo Chonan in there,”
Jucao commented, and sent a message to fighters who had their
contracts recently rescinded, but admitting how hard it is to
leave the organization.
“These
days there are other shows, but it’s tough. The UFC is the
strongest in the whole world, with a very large monopoly on fighters
and a phenomenal staff. But life goes on. To those fighters who
left, I say the UFC never was the only show in the world, although
today it is the best, and there are other events around. You
see athletes like Fedor, among others, who never fought in the
UFC and are Top 10 in the world. So it’s not just the UFC,”
said Jucao, who carries on training while awaiting another opportunity
and the birth of his daughter.
“Now
I’m training, getting up to speed and dealing with other
events. My focus remains on staying and shape and the birth of
my daughter, since my wife is six-months pregnant,” the
ATT athlete said in finishing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Shooto
South America 9 all set to go
Webcast starts at 4pm Pacific time
The
Shooto South America 9 event to take place this evening, Saturday,
November 29th, passed the first hurdle in it becoming the biggest
event in South American MMA history when the last two athletes
struggling to shed excess weight finally achieved their goals,
at a little past 1:30 in the morning - 7-and-a-half hours after
official weigh-ins began.
For the first time, Shooto South America is being held outside
the city of Rio de Janeiro, in Fortaleza, capital city of the
state of Ceara. 12,000 spectators are expected to fill the Paulo
Serasati gymnasium for the occasion, to be broadcast live across
Brazil on cable television and for free over the internet.
On
the card are such notable figures as Leo Santos, Danilo Cherman,
VItor Miranda and up-and-coming Andre Chatuba, among others,
a Brazil vs Argentina and Brazil vs United States challenge tourney,
an enormous ring like none ever before seen in Brazil, a gymnasium
of the same scale, as well as inaugural title disputes for five
weight categories.
Although
everything went according to plan, after Nova Uniao / Kimura
fighters Renan Barao and Dinarti, from the neighboring state
of Rio Grande do Norte, finally made weight in the small hours
of the morning, the recent row over up-and-coming fighters Andre
Chatuba and Igor Chatubinha between their first instructor/mentor
Relma and team RFT has left the young fighters without guidance
and forced event promoter Andre Pederneiras to rearrange the
bout order so one will be able to corner the other, as no representative
of the team they now represent and have trained with eight times,
Minotauro Team, appeared to corner them.
Of
the featured bouts, five inaugural title matches will take place
to define the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, welterweight
and middleweight titles – the lightweight title had already
been won by Willamy Chiquerim in April of this year.
Lightweight
champion Chiquerim, hometown hero, will face off against American
Randy Stanke, in one of the three USA vs Brazil bouts. Jiu-Jitsu
phenomenon and brother to WEC fighter Wagnney Fabiano, Leo Santos
will face off against Corey Edwards, and his Nova Uniao teammate,
slick grappling stylist Danilo Cherman, will face off against
Mike Bonnette, in the two other USA vs Brazil fights on the card.
Most
notable in the Brazil vs Argentina tourney, K-1 fighter Vitor
Miranda will face Argentine kickboxing champion Gustavo Moia,
in a heavyweight MMA bout.
The event promises to be of groundbreaking proportions in Brazil,
as 12,000 people are expected to fill the Paulo Serasati gymnasium,
and 6.5 x 6.5 meter ring is of equally unprecedented dimensions.
The
event will be streamed live on the website wtnfight.com.br starting
at 4pm Pacific Standard Time.
Shooto Brasil 9
Paulo Serasati Gymnasium, Fortaleza, Ceará
Saturday, 29 November, 2008
Bout order:
70kg
(lightweight)
Jamil Silverio da Conceicao (Nocaute Fight) vs Rivanildo Aranha
(Hikari)
56
kg (flyweight) title bout
Maicon Willian (Nocaute Fight) vs Jucie Formiga (Kimura / Nova
Uniao)
60kg
(bantamweight) Shooto title bout
Carlos Alberto Betao (RFT) vs Eduardo Dantas (Nova Uniao)
65
kg (featherweight) title bout
Alexandre Pinheiro (JT Caverna) vs Renan Barao (Kimura / Nova
Uniao)
76kg
(welterweight) title bout
Igor Chatubinha (Minotauro team) vs Hernani Perpetuo (Nova Uniao)
83kg
(middleweight) title bout
Andre Chatuba (Minotauro Team) vs Dinarti Silva (Kimura / Nova
Uniao)
91kg
(heavyweight)
Gustavo Moia (Argentina) vs Vitor Miranda (M13 / Gracie Barra
Joineville)
70kg
(lightweight) superfight
Corey Edwards (Fight Legion/USA) vs Leo Santos (Nova Uniao)
70kg
(lightweight) superfight
Mike Bonnette (Fight Legion/USA) vs Danilo Cherman (Nova Uniao)
70kg
(lightweight) superfight
Randy Steinke (Fight Legion/USA) vs Willamy Chiquerim (Nocaute
Fight)
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
“An
idea is salvation by imagination.”
Frank Lloyd Wright
|
Gan
McGee vs. Scott
Junk at
PFC 12 'High Stakes'
Former UFC heavyweight title contender Gan McGee will fight UFC
76 competitor Scott Junk at Palace Fighting Championship 12 "High
Stakes" on Jan. 22, 2009 in Lemoore, California.
McGee
(13-4) returned in September after over four years in "retirement"
and won via TKO over Jonathan Ivey at an XFC event in Florida.
McGee
once challenged for the UFC belt in a losing effort against Tim
Sylvia in 2003. Finding himself out of the UFC title picture
even though Sylvia tested positive for steroids, McGee left for
Japan and fought twice for PRIDE before walking away from MMA
competition.
Junk
(6-2) made his UFC debut on less than two week's notice at UFC
76 "Knockout" in September and lost via heel hook submission
to Christian Wellisch.
"High
Stakes," the first PFC event of 2009, will feature a total
of five title bouts.
Current
PFC 12 "High Stakes" fight card:
- Diego Saraiva vs. Jorge Evangelista (featherweight title)
- Brian Cobb vs. Lance Wipf (lightweight title)
- Bryan Travers vs. Mike Moreno (welterweight title)
- Shawn Klarcyk vs. Masahiro "Jackal" Oishi (bantamweight
title)
- Rambaa "M16" Somdet vs. Pat Runez (flyweight title)
- Lavar "Big" Johnson vs. Dave Huckaba
- Gan "The Giant" McGee vs. Scott Junk
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Overeem
vs. 'Cro Cop' won't happen at 'Dynamite!!'
FEG president Sadaharu Tanikawa provided an update on the New
Year's Eve "FieLDS Dynamite!!" card during a conference
held Thursday at the Akasaka Biz Tower in Tokyo, Japan.
-
Alistair Overeem wants to fight Mirko "Cro Cop" but
FEG wants Overeem to fight somebody else.
-
In another strange matchup fitting for a New Year's Eve card
in Japan, lightweight Shinya Aoki vs. middleweight Yoshihiro
Akiyama is expected to happen.
"We
picked some fighters including Shinya Aoki for Yoshihiro Akiyama,"
Tanikawa said. "We are now waiting to hear from [Akiyama].
I believe he'll choose Aoki."
-
Popular fighters Masato and Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto
are not likely to fight on the card. Both are still recovering
from injuries and need doctor approval to be allowed to fight.
-
2008 Olympic gold medalist in Judo Satoshi Ishii won't fight
on the card.
"We
are going to wait patiently until he is fully ready to fight,"
said Tanigawa, who had a meeting with Ishii two weeks ago. "We
are not going to invite him to our event before we have a contract."
-
All the fights are expected to be announced after the K-1 World
Grand Prix finals on Dec. 6. Tournament competitors coming out
of the event without injuries may be matched up on the New Year's
Eve card.
Current
"Dynamite!! 2008" fight card:
-
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (MMA)
- Joachim Hansen vs. Gesias "JZ Calvan" Cavalcante
(MMA)
- Gegard Mousasi vs. Musashi (K-1)
- Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kozo Takeda (K-1)
- Hiroya vs. Shimada Shota (K-1)
- Kusakabe Ryuya vs. Urabe Koya (K-1)
-
Winner of Hiroya/Shota vs. Winner of Ryuya/Koya (K-1)
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Drew
Fickett, Ryan Jimmo win at PFP 5 'Wanted'
UFC veteran Drew Fickett and "The Ultimate Fighter 8"
contestant Ryan Jimmo were both victorious at Phoenix Fight Promotion
"Wanted" Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Dartmouth Sportsplex
in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Drew
Fickett, fighting as a lightweight, mounted his opponent Jason
MacKay and attempted an armbar before finishing with a triangle
choke at 3:25 of the first round.
Jimmo,
who failed to make it to "The Ultimate Fighter 8" house
by losing a decision Antwain Britt, defeated former K-1 fighter
Rick "The Jet" Roufus with strikes at 2:24 of the first
round. Jimmo took Roufus' back and landed punches to Roufus'
head for the referee stoppage.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
HIOKI,
INOUE WIN; SATO CONTINUES DOWNSLIDE
Following a disappointing loss to Savant Young earlier this year,
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue got back on the winning track
at Saturday's Shooto Tradition 4. He had no small task before
him either, defeating fellow Top 10 ranked featherweight Hideki
Kadowaki by unanimous decision.
Another
Top 10 fighter, Hatsu Hioki, picked up a huge win for his resume,
as well. Extending his streak of fights without a loss to six,
Hioki dispatched legendary Japanese fighter Rumina Sato in the
opening round of their bout, TKOing him at 3:32.
Once
considered one of the top fighters in the world, Sato has suffered
a debilitating downslide in his recent career, losing five of
his last six bouts.
-"Lion"
Takeshi Inoue def. Hideki Kadowaki by Unanimous Decision (3-0)
-Hatsu Hioki def. Rumina Sato by TKO at 3:32, R1
-Takashi Nakakura def. Bendy Casimir by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 4:58, R1
-So Tazawa vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo - Draw
-Yutaka Ueda def. Jin Kazeta by TKO at 3:32, R1
-Atsushi Takeuchi def. Katsuya Murofushi by Submission (Rear
Naked Choke) at 1:44, R2
-Taisuke Okuno def. Daisuke "Hunt" Okumiya by Unanimous
Decision (3-0)
-Nobuhiro "Mike" Hayakawa vs. Yuta Nezu - DRAW
Source: MMA Weekly
|
PAT
MILETICH: REBIRTH OF A LEGEND
Pat Miletich, founder and patriarch of Miletich Fighting Systems,
is tired of watching all the young whippersnappers having fun.
He wants back in the ring.
The
Davenport, Iowa native had a stutter step in his last return
to fighting, a submission loss against former teacher Renzo Gracie
in a 2006 International Fight League appearance, but has not
lost the competitive burn he feels makes him a threat to anyone
in the welterweight division.
Miletich
says he’s done extensive rehab on a longstanding neck injury,
and feels it’s time to test himself in action. On Dec. 11,
he will dip a toe back into MMA waters, facing Thomas Denny at
Adrenaline MMA’s second show, in Moline, Iowa, Miletich
Fighting Systems’ back yard.
It’s
been a long time since “The Croatian Sensation” ran
the two-lane roads of his home state, torturing himself outside
the cage to make his fights inside them easy. At 40, he’s
seen the first generation of his fighters go on to become world
champions, stars in their own right.
Miletich
himself lead the charge, becoming the first UFC welterweight
championship in pre-Zuffa days at “Ultimate Brazil.”
He defended the title twice in the organization’s dark days
before ceding it to Carlos Newton at UFC 31. The loss ended a
dominant period in Miletich’s career, and after losing again
to Matt Lindland in a middleweight contest at UFC 36, he decided
to hang up his gloves.
In
his gym’s recent past, cornerstone fighters like Matt Hughes,
Robbie Lawler, Spencer Fisher, and Jens Pulver have slowly moved
away from the nest leaving a void in leadership, maybe even in
the gym’s spirit. Some of the departures had to do with
the business side of the sport, others with fighters’ need
to see the world outside MFS walls. Fight teams are ever changing,
ever colliding groups of personalities and ideas; they need figureheads
and new blood equally to keep them vital.
With
over a decade in the fight game, Miletich had seen ebbs and flows
in the gym, but never an identity crisis. To the MMA faithful,
Miletich Fighting Systems meant work ethic. In a young sport,
it was one of the few gyms with an undisputed championship pedigree.
There were talented fighters at MFS with years in the game, but
they were always overshadowed by the marquee names. Miletich
realized he couldn’t be the only role model of the gym’s
reputation – he needed to convince the next generation of
fighters they were part of its tradition as well.
“Basically,
what it was is you need things to wake you up,” Miletich
explained. “You’ve got to keep up with the curve. I
think it was a phase where the new guys finally realized how
good they were and have just started taking over, which was very
important. I had been waiting for that to happen and had talked
to several of them. The older guys are retiring and moving on
and doing this and doing that. (I said), ‘You guys need
to step up and become the leaders of the team and be the guys
that are the role models of the work ethic, in the void those
guys have left.’ They’ve stepped up and done that.”
Somewhere
between a kick to the head and the crank of an armbar, Miletich
woke up too, realizing he loved competition too dearly to give
it up.
He
cites fighters like Ben Rothwell, Ryan McGivern, Mike Ciesnolevicz,
and LC Davis, all members of his Silverback team from the IFL’s
salad days, as the new heart of the gym. Former UFC heavyweight
champion Tim Sylvia also remains, faithful to the man who first
introduced him to the world of fighting.
No
less than seven of Miletich’s new stars will fight on the
Adrenaline card, and the gym appears to be singularly focused
on preparation for the event.
In
preparation for his fight with Denny, Miletich has re-invested
much of his training time into bringing his jiu-jitsu game up
to par, working with two Brazilian black belts at the gym.
“I’ve
gone back to learning,” he said. “If you ever quit
learning, you become so stagnant. And there were times in my
career where I had stopped learning, but I sought out and luckily
got the help of a couple of very good jiu-jitsu guys. I used
to feel that I was real good on the ground, and I’m starting
to feel like I flow like that again, which is nice.”
Miletich
says the plan, at least for now, is to wear Denny out and finish
him in the second round or early in the first. He thinks his
championship experience, as well as his daily grind fending off
the sharks at the gym, will be the deciding factor. But perhaps
because of his last return, he’s a little cautious about
making bold predictions.
“I
think he’s got a ton of experience, (a) fairly well-rounded
guy,” Miletich said of Denny. "(He) looks to slice
people with elbows a lot, which I’m not real fold of, but
I’ll do my best to avoid. Overall, I think I’ve got
better skills that he does, but it’s MMA. You never know
what’s going to happen, and upsets are happening all the
time in the sport. So I’ve got to be on my toes with him,
because he’s experienced enough to do damage.”
As
to whether he’s turning over a new leaf in his career, there
is equal caution.
“I
guess that depends on who offers me a fight,” he commented.
“We’ll just take this fight and see how it goes, and
work from there.”
One
thing he’s certain on, though, is that his time away will
not be a factor against Denny.
“Not
this time,” he said confidently. “I love to compete,
and still feel that if I’m healthy and in shape, I think
I can basically hang with anybody out there at 170. So I thought
I might as well get out there and have some fun.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STEVE
STEINBEISS MAKES MOVE TO UFC
Arizona Combat Sports light heavyweight Steve Steinbeiss is UFC
bound, according to his representatives at LG Sports Marketing.
Steinbeiss
will serve out the remainder of the four-fight deal he signed
with World Extreme Cagefighting in the Octagon.
The
kickboxer turned MMA fighter lost his first bid in the soon-to-be-shuttered
WEC light heavyweight division, dropping a split decision loss
to Carmelo Marrero at WEC 36 on Nov. 5.
Steinbeiss
made his MMA debut in the now-defunct Bodog Fight promotion,
and went 2-1 with the organization before picking up wins in
smaller shows. Currently 4-2 in professional competition, he
enters a deepening pool of talent recently migrated to the UFC.
No
word has been given on Steinbeiss' first UFC opponent or a date
for his Octagon debut.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
GOT
SKILLZ FIGHTER
WHERE FILCOM CENTER WAIPAHU
WHEN DEC 5 2008 FRIDAY
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30
HERMAN SANTIAGO 155 MARK TUPAS
JAN QUIMOYOG 115 RANDALL SATO
TRISTON REBALLIZSA 150 KOA RAMELB
SCOTT RAMIREZ 150 MIKE UEMOTO
DELVIN 200 SHAWN SHEPHERD
SETH KALUHIOKALANI 160 JASON ROCEMAR
KALANI SOLORICMAN 150 HOKU BUDDINGER
DEVIN ARAGAN 145 KEONI MARTIN
JORDAN 130 JAI
JEREMY GONZALVES 125 BRANDON HIYASHI
MICAH BURROWS 140 BRYCE GRAHAM
JOSHUA GONZALVES 145 OMAR MIRZA
SEBASTIAN MARICONDA 150 ELIJAH MANNERS
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 110 JOJO GUILLAOME
JUSTIN HELEMANO 170 ZAK SHEPHERD
EVAN QUIZON 130 JAMEN TAYUBA
JOHNNY TUINASEVE 175 INNER CIRCLE
ALL MATCHES & PARTICIPANTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Source: Derrick Bright
|
Submission
Wrestling Tournament
There is
a submission grappling tournament "NO Gi" only to be
held December 14 on Maui. Entry fee is $25.00. Inquiries can
be sent to email: iwffacademy@gmail.com or call Tyson @ 808-250-4882 |
|